In the Blink of an Eye
Chapter 5 – Recruitment Part 2
Walking inside I hear Tensai call from the back room of his workshop, "Ah, Sabaiba you're here, just wait in the front I gotta find your surprise OH SHIT."
Hearing crashing sounds following his OH SHIT I ask, "You need some help back there?"
"No I'm fine, just knocked some stuff over, I will be out in a minute." Shrugging I decide to browse the front of his workshop which he set up as a store. Inside see through bullet proof glass I spot all kinds of things, blades, armor, guns, and things I have no idea about. Hearing the back door open while I was in the middle of inspecting a badass looking sword I looked over and saw Tensai walking to the front desk with a box in his hands.
"Sabaiba good to see you again, it's been a while. You seem to get taller every time we meet." Tensai greeted. Looking over at him it doesn't look like he has changed at all. Tsuiho(Pronounced Sue-ee-ho) Tensai is a tall, skinny man with graying brown hair. He has a gaunt, bony face with a curved nose. He always seems to be wearing suit pants, a white long sleeved shirt, a beige suit jacket, and a vest with a tie, and glasses every time I see him.
Smirking I reply, "And you seem to be getting even grayer every time I see you. How have you been doing?"
Laughing off my comment he responds, "I've been doing good, business has been steady and I haven't had any trouble with law enforcement lately." After he was expelled from UA's Support Course Tensai began selling his inventions on the black market in order to make a living. Apparently no other Support Course would except him after being expelled from UA and no Support Company would give him the time of day.
"Good to hear, so what do you got for me? Knowing you it's probably going to be something pretty cool." I ask while gesturing to the box he is holding.
Smiling he sets the box down on one of the display cases and says, "Well I figured that since I already supply you with weapons you'd appreciate something with less lethality and more utility. So I came up with this." Opening the box and spinning it around I see what looks like a blank metal mask with what look like a camera lens over the eye holes.
"Okay I will bite, what's so special about this mask?" I question while picking it up to inspect it. Knowing Tensai there is probably more to it than that.
Taking the mask from my hands he begins to explain,"I'm glad you ask. On top of being able to lesson the blow of people with strength enhancement quirks and being tough enough that it would take something with an extreme amount of energy to pierce it, the mask also has two other functions to it. Those lenses over the eye holes act like a telescope or binocular, and has ten different levels that you can zoom in. It also has a built in directional microphone that picks up the sound waves of whatever is centered inside the lenses. The sound waves are then filtered into speakers that I placed on the sides of the mask where your ears would be. You don't have to worry about this messing with your hearing as the microphone only activates when the zoom function is being used."
He hands the mask back to me after showing off all it's features and I can only stare at it in awe. "This is amazing Tensai, this will definitely help me out when I am out and about. Thank you."
He chuckles and says, "Well it's the least I can do, after all you did get me out of that jam when we first met."
"I already told you that you didn't have to worry about that Tensai, hell saving you wasn't even my main objective when we first ran into each other. Besides you already give me a discount from your store as it is." I remind him while sheepishly scratching the back of my head.
"Oh so you don't want the mask then, well if that's the case I will just have to take it back." Tensai comments with a raised eyebrow before reaching for the mask in my hands.
Quickly putting the mask behind my back and taking a step back I say, "Now I didn't say I don't want the mask, it's way to badass for me to give up."
Chuckling and lowering his arm back to his side Tensai comments, "I thought so, and it doesn't matter if you intended to or not. You saved me so I wanted to give you a gift, it's as simple as that."
Smiling at him I place the mask on my head, "Well you're gift is appreciated."
"You're welcome then, glad that my hard work didn't go to waste. By the way didn't you say that you had something you needed my expertise with in your text?" Tensai questions.
"Oh right, I was wondering if you could make me a ranged weapon, taking down Janyu would have been much easier if I would have been able to kill those annoying clones of his at a distance before they could see me." I explain.
"Heh so it was you that took him down, I had a feeling it was when I heard about it on the news this morning. So do you have any requirements for this weapon you want me to create, or am I to fill in the details myself?" Tensai questions while resting his elbows on the display case and resting his jaw in his hands.
"Yeah I want it to be silent while also having a variety of ammunition that I can use for different situations. Ammunition that can help with people with elemental quirks would be a big help. I would also prefer for the weapon to be small and compact, something that I can use in one hand."
As I specify my requirements for the weapon Tensai straightens up and says, "Heh you sure don't make things easy. I don't have anything like that in stock at the moment, but I have something in mind that should help you out. Come back in about two weeks, I will definitely have it ready by then."
Nodding I turn toward the door and begin to make my way out. "Sure thing Tensai, thanks again for the mask." Taking off the mask I put it in my jacket pocket.
Tensai calls out to me just before I open the door, "No problem, be careful with that mask Sabaiba, if you break or lose it the replacement won't be free."
"Sure thing," I reply before opening the door and exiting his shop. 'Hmm I wonder if the train station is up and running yet, if not making my way back to the apartment from here is going to be exhausting.' Making my way back to the Tatooin train station I see that a construction crew is working on the track to repair the damage done to the walls on the side that are to prevent the train from flying off the edge. 'Damn it, I suppose it would be unrealistic to expect them to be done fixing it up already. Hmm I have an idea, let's put this new mask to use.' Heading toward a back alley I blink up to the rooftops and look for the tallest building nearby. Finding one I blink up to it and place the mask on. 'Now let's see if this works out the way I'm hoping it will.' Using the zoom function on the mask I place it on it's highest setting and focus on the roof of a building that's about two miles away. 'Here goes nothing.' I activate my quirk and blink to the building.
'Holy shit doing that was exhausting, but it looks like it worked.' Looking around while gasping for air I see that I made it to the building. 'Lack of breath aside this is awesome. Normally blinking long range is not worth the trouble since trying to focus on a destination to far away is not accurate and I tend to over or undershoot the blink.' Sitting down I pull out one of my water bottles and drink three quarters of it in one go. Setting it down next to me I lay on my back and try to catch my breath. 'I really need to work on my cardio, would definitely help being able to use my quirk for long distance travel. Plus it would help me in fights since it would allow me to use it more before I get exhausted.'
After resting on the rooftop for a while I stand up and put my mask back in my pocket. 'Well I cut down the distance I need to travel by two miles, I think I will just walk the rest of the way.' Blinking down to the streets I proceed to make my way back to Taris City toward my apartment. By the time I made it back to the complex the sun was beginning to set. Making sure no one was around I blink up to the building across from my apartment window and blink inside. Cooking myself some white rice on a portable stove that's powered by butane I set it on the table in front of my couch and eat. 'Hmm what to do now, I don't feel like heading to bed yet and I definitely won't need to collect some funds for a while. Eh I think I will just play some video games for tonight.' After finishing my rice and tossing the plastic bowl and spoon in the trash I walk over the generator and turn I on. Filling it with gas to make sure that my play session isn't interrupted for the night I walk over to the TV and turn it on. Being in the mood for some mindless violence I grab my God of War disc, put it inside the PS4 and boot it up.
An hour into my play session I am startled by a voice that I've never heard before coming from behind me. "It appears that you enjoy games, Tomura might actually like you."
Dropping my controller, I spring to my feet and turn around to see what I can only assume is a guy in a bar tenders outfit. I assume it's a guy due to the deep voice since the rest of his body is nothing but a black and purple mist. "Who the hell are you, how did you get in here, actually how the fuck did you even find this place!?" I demand while reaching for my knife.
"Please remain calm, I am not here for a fight. As a matter of fact, I am come with an offer," Mist man replies in a calm tone.
Fingering the knife in my pocket I hesitate on pulling it out and ask, "Oh, what's this offer and why should I be interested? You still haven't answered my questions either."
Standing completely still Smokey begins talking, "My offer was originally intended for Janyu Fett, I was going to introduce myself to him last night before your attack. At first I thought you were just a vigilante but upon seeing the brutal way you dealt with Janyu and his clones, along with how you stole all the yen he had I realized you might not care so much about justice. As for who I am, you may call me Kurogiri."