MHA

Chapter – 2

I stood in front of my superior, the president of the HPSC while waiting for him to begin the briefing. He was looking through some papers for the past 5 minutes after asking me to enter, and I knew he was doing this just because he could, the man in front of me enjoyed petty power plays like that. I didn't let out even an ounce of my impatience, I knew this man would latch onto it like a shark smelling blood in the water.

And I didn't want this psychopath to pay any more attention to me. I knew I was a bit messed up in the head but I still had some morals and codes, I religiously abided by but this man was a crazy person who treated humans like chess pieces to be used and discarded as he pleased.

'Maybe, that's why he was able to prop up this fake society. You would need a man like this to set up the rules and order of a new society after the era of chaos.'

As I mused about the era of chaos and the formation of the HPSC and quirk regulations, The president cleared his throat and looked up to me.

He smiled and it was the most obvious fake smile I had ever seen, honestly it would be better if he never smiled at all, "Good job, Sleeper. Checkers was a stain on all heroes and needed to be put down before his corrupting influence could spread."

I nodded stoically at that and didn't give any other response

He continued, "Don't worry about the investigation. The Police will chase all our fake trails and arrest a villain who couldn't handle the grief of losing his daughter to a hostage situation and blamed Checkers for failing to save her. He works in construction and the HPSC has ensured evidence of building an explosive device will be discovered at his home. Unfortunately, it looks like the heinous villain took to drugs and alcoholism as well in his grief and is unable to answer any questions due to drug issues."

His smile became even more psychotic, "Villains must be immediately arrested and put down. Don't you agree, Sleeper?"

I smiled blandly at that keeping my face neutral, "Of course, sir. Any threats to our glorious and peaceful life must be eliminated immediately."

He looked satisfied with my response before continuing, "Sleeper, you are one of the most successful projects of our organization. A shining beacon of our country, which can help even the most underprivileged and destitute to contribute to society. "

I nodded at that as he continued, "We have decided to expand on our success and decided to train other agents to complete the same tasks as you." He smiled at that and continued, "You would be satisfied with the new assignment, I am giving you. It will reduce your own workload, after all I am a kind boss who looks after my subordinates. We have found an apprentice for you, teach and train her in all your skills. She will be a great asset to the HPSC in the future."

I pretended to be happy about the task given to me, "Thank you for your consideration, President. I will surely succeed in this task."

He leaned back in his chair and pushed forward a file to me, "I know, you will succeed Sleeper. You have never disappointed before. Here, these are the details of your protégé. Read it and go find her. Dismissed."

I moved forward to collect the file and bowed to him, before heading out the door.

I was reading the documents handed to me and couldn't help but frown, 'This was going to be a shitty assignment.'

The HPSC had found a person with an excellent quirk for silencing people and her intelligence and skills according to her previous instructors and teachers were top-notch. It was not something, I would usually complain about but there was great problem with the person involved.

She was a completely civilian girl from a normal family with a normal upbringing and she was too young. Which might not seem like an issue but she was still only 16 years old and in school while I too had joined the HPSC at the same age but I was different. An orphan with no ties to anybody and somewhat messed up personality was perfect for this kind of life and this girl was not suited for it, no matter how suitable her meta-ability might be.

I scratched my head in annoyance while calming myself, 'No point complaining. I had been given a task and I had to complete it.'

I was currently waiting for my young protégé to appear while drinking a cup of coffee and leafing through her file even though I had already memorized all the important details.

I was interrupted with a knock and without waiting for a response, the door to my room was opened and in walked a young girl with purple hair and a friendly smile on her face.

I couldn't help but lament about how unsuitable she is after seeing her one more time. The girl would fit in better at a mall with her friends chatting about inane nonsense than learning about wet works under me.

My feelings must have shown on my face as the girls smile fell and she seemed nervous, "Uhhhh, Mr. Sleeper, it's nice to meet to you." She ventured tentatively

I immediately wiped the frown from my face and smiled in as kind a manner as possible, "Sorry about that, I am quite sensitive about my privacy. Please wait for me to respond before entering my room."

She immediately became flustered, "Sorry, sorry. I was just so excited about working with a Pro Hero and couldn't control myself." She was bowing repeatedly, and I could hear her mutter, "Nice job, Kaina. You ruined everything before even starting. "

I was even more certain now; the girl was too normal and well adjusted. She was going to have a hell of a time working with the HPSC

I waved her apology off, "No problem, calm down. I too have done some stupid things in my excitement when I was young. Just note it down for later. Now, would you like to introduce yourself?"

She gave a weak smile at that, "I am sorry one more time, Senpai. I will be careful in the future." I waved my hand one more time to indicate her to move on, she gave a more genuine smile in response, "My name is Tsutsumi Kaina, Pro Hero Lady Nagant. I only just got my Hero License and my dream is to become a successful hero who can help people."

I nodded at that introduction, "Nice to meet you, Kaina. My name is Yasu, Pro Hero Sleeper in the field. I look forward to working with you."

I indicated for her to sit down across from me and when she had sat down, I immediately dove in, "I read your file about your skills and quirk. Anything else, you would like to add which might have been missing from the file."

She frowned in thought before saying, "I am a good singer as well."

I immediately became annoyed and frowned, "Skills relating to combat." I clarified

She had the decency to blush, "No, everything is as mentioned in the file."

I tapped the desk in thought, "You must be very disappointed to work with a Pro Hero like me."

She looked about to protest but I raised a hand to stop her, "It's not an insult but the truth, All Might, Endeavour, Nighteye are much more popular than me. Even newcomers like Best Jeanist and Gang Orca are more popular than me."

I paused at this point and looked at her, she was frowning at my statement, "Sleeper-senpai, believe me, I am more than happy to learn from you. I have seen your file as well and your mission completion record is through the roof and even the cases of villain captures are high enough to be in the Top 30."

I chuckled at that, "Thank you for kind words, Kaina. But I am not popular and that is a fact and it is purposely crafted like that. I am an investigative hero along with some other skillsets which make me useful for the HPSC. I will teach you all I know and don't worry; you will surely be more popular than me."

She smiled before pouting, "I don't want to be popular. I want to help people."

I couldn't help but laugh at that, "Pay attention to what I say and do, you will be able to help people. But, Kaina I must warn you, working for the HPSC is not going to be easy and you will be forced to do things that might leave a bad taste in your mouth."

She smiled and responded, "I can take whatever you throw at me, Senpai. Don't worry, I will show everybody how awesome I am."

I looked at her with a blank look and knew she wouldn't be able to say the same thing in a few months but I decided against bursting her bubble.

I patted her shoulder and stood up, "Good, let's head to the training center. "

Right now, I was inside the HPSC's training center or more like my training center, it was an abandoned warehouse in Hosu near my house which had been bought by the HPSC for my use. After all, a bunch of bureaucrats had no use for a dedicated facility.

I had put Kaina through the wringer, testing her stamina, flexibility and meta-ability usage, I was impressed she had obviously worked hard and the results showed that.

We were currently facing each other in a small ring meant for sparring which I had never used before as I had nobody else to spar with, as I patiently waited for Kaina to make a move in a loose stance. I was distracted by her looks. She was dressed in workout clothes which were a tad bit too revealing in my opinion and I being a workaholic ever since 16 didn't have many opportunities to appreciate women unless it was part of a mission which didn't count in my opinion.

While I was slightly distracted, she immediately struck with a right jab which I deflected to side with my arms and retaliated with a kick to her midsection, she moved back and stepped back into my range to grab me in a hold. But I firmed my stance and countered that by leveraging her hold to throw her. She fell with a thump and I lifted my leg to stomp her but she rolled away and took out my legs from under me causing me to stumble. As, I reestablished my balance, she was on me with a series of kicks and punches which I was forced to continuously dodge and deflect. I was being pushed to the edge of the ring and was almost forced out before I got the chance to counter, I was able to grab her overextended legs and immediately moved to make her fall.

But she was able to grab my upper body as well and as I fell, I adjusted myself to grab her in a hold and used my heavier body to bare down on her. I held it for a minute while she tried to break free and then released her.

I stood up immediately while she was gasping on the floor trying to gather her breath. I walked towards a cooler and pulled out a bottle of water and threw it at her.

"Good job, drink that and cool down. Then, we can discuss your assessment." I said while drinking from my own bottle.

She reached for the bottle and swung her head back and I was once again staring at her nape and the way the sweat glistened off her body before shaking my head and heading over to the mat and sat down on the floor across from her.

I waited patiently while she finished hydrating and said, "You are very impressive. Your instructors have taught you well and I can see that you have worked hard." She gave the brightest smile I have ever seen in response, "But" I continued and face immediately fell, "You lack experience, that is not your fault. You are just starting out. I can't teach you anything particularly new and I have never taught before, so that might be good for both of us. As, we continue doing missions you will pick up on tricks and know-hows, we will continue our workouts and sparring sessions in the future as we work together."

She seemed very happy at my assessment, but she suddenly became a little subdued, I saw her opening her mouth wanting to ask me a question. I maintained my silence waiting for her to gather her nerve, "Senpai, you fight very well. Even better than many top ranked pro heroes, but why don't you take part in villain captures and fights."

I smiled at that question, it was a very tame one compared to the nerve she had to gather to ask it, "Because my quirk is not suited for heroics at all. It is the nature of things to put the right person in the right place with right tools and I am not the right person for the tasks you mentioned."

Kaina seemed to protest that, "Even Nighteye doesn't have a quirk that helps him directly in a fight but he manages just fine."

I grimaced at the comparison, "His quirk still supports him in a fight. Do you even know what my quirk is?"

She shook her head

I responded with the most refreshing expression possible, "Efficient sleep. My quirk allows me to function with only 2 hours of sleep every day. What another human needs 8 hour for my body and mind can do in only 2 isn't amazing? Even All Might would kill to have my quirk."

She looked absolutely shocked; this was one of the few pleasures in life seeing the shocked look people gain after hearing about my meta-ability. It was not something for a hero at least not directly but people all over the world would still be envious because who doesn't want more hours in a day.

She spluttered out, "That's, that's so …." She paused looking for a non-offensive word

I nodded, "Underwhelming is what you are looking for."

She nodded before realizing that it was rude and tried to apologize,

"Calm down, Kaina. It's true while it is a quirk which is very useful. It's not exactly a hero quirk as the media likes to say these days."

I seem to said something as Kaina looked at me with a firm expression, "It's not a bad quirk at all. And it doesn't make you an ineffective hero at all. You can just ignore what everyone else says."

I couldn't help but feel puzzled at that, No one had ever really insulted me about my quirk, most were actually jealous and I was so unknown as a Pro Hero that the media hardly ever mentioned me. But I decided to roll with it

"Thank you, Kaina. I will be sure to remember that in the future. Now about your training" I said as we had gone off topic quite spectacularly, "I will teach you, infiltration, tracking, investigation, hacking, some forensics, some finances and some other things which will make you a better investigator. After all, the smartest villains are those who knows one even knows exist."

Kaina nodded at that statement, "Senpai, What about rescue and arrests? Will we not be doing those?"

I looked at her in askance before responding, "No, we will not. You will do those as part of your duties with HPSC but I will not be involved in those missions."

She pouted again, "But, I wanted to kick ass together."

I looked at her severely and said, "That will never happen. The day I become famous is the day my life will be ruined."

She looked miffed at that but didn't argue, so I took that as a win but she suddenly looked at me sharply and said, "Senpai, I never asked this before. But how old are you anyway?"

I was taken aback at that question but answered anyway, "20 years old. I have working for the HPSC for 4 years."

She looked flabbergasted and yelled in a particularly shrill voice, "20 that's impossible. I was guessing early 30s for sure. You don't look 20 at all."

I scratched my chin and mused to myself, "Maybe, it's the beard. I haven't shaved for a few weeks."

She stood up and grabbed my hands, "You need to shave."

I just stayed loose and was pulled along with her.

I stared at my reflection in the mirror, a somewhat rugged face with small scars from my childhood which had already faded, white hair and light blue eyes with a newly clean-shaven face and had to agree with Kaina. I did look my age now even though I never cared much for my looks, I didn't mind cleaning myself up to look nice once in a while.

I headed out of my washroom into my house and saw Kaina had taken over my couch and mindlessly flipping through the channels. She looked at me as I walked into the room and was staring at me, with her face blushing.

I looked at her and asked, "What? Is it really so surprising?"

She looked like steam about to rise from her face, "Yes, yes, it is. You look much better without that awful beard." She paused and averted her eyes, "why aren't you wearing a shirt?"

I glanced at myself and looked at her and couldn't help but laugh

"This is what is causing you to act like a blushing maiden. I am at my house and was feeling hot, so I decided against wearing a shirt. That's it"

She looked at me about to erupt in anger before averting her eyes again, "I am a maiden and you are supposed to be well dressed when you have a guest in your house. Now, put on a damn shirt."

I smirked at that response, "I don't know, you seem to enjoy the view." But I made my way to my room to put on a shirt while I felt a pillow hit me on the back of my head which just made me laugh even more.

After putting on my shirt, I made my way out and sat on the sofa where Kaina had calmed down and was watching some news about All Might saving some families from a villain.

"Kaina, it's about time you head home. I will see you tomorrow at 9. We can work on our first case then." I said to her who showed no signs of leaving for some reason.

She looked at me and complained, "A beautiful girl is in your house and you are chasing her out." She demanded

I looked at her and said, "Kaina, you are only 16. I don't want the neighbors to report me to the police."

She smirked at that, "Why? Are you going to do something?"

I looked at her and sarcastically said, "I have no interest in being shot." And continued in a more normal tone, "But your grandparents will worry. So, you should head home."

She looked at me and pouted again, "Don't you feel anything at all with a girl in your house and it's boring at home, so let's do something fun senpai."

I groaned at that response, 'What did I expect from a teenager?' I groused to myself

"What am I supposed to feel if there is a girl at my house? "I asked her in my most convincing perplexed tone.

That brought Kaina up short and she looked at me to see if I was joking, but I just looked at her curiously like I was genuinely curious about some new information.

I could practically see the gears in her head turning, "Senpai, don't take this the wrong way, but have you ever had a girlfriend?"

I looked at her and said, "No, not really." She looked at me and nodded before opening her mouth and slowly saying, "Do you find girls nice to look at?"

I just tilted my head to the side, "Yes, I do but what does that have to do with anything? I find flowers beautiful as well and Mount Fuji was beautiful too."

I looked at Kaina who looked like she saw something absolutely monstrous and grabbed her head with both her hands, "Denser than a black hole actually exists in real life" was the mutter, I could hear from her. Before, I couldn't hold it and began laughing.

She was startled before looking at me and realizing what I just did before grabbing a pillow and proceeding to continuously whack me with it while cursing up a storm.

"I can't believe you thought" I said as I wheezed, "That an Investigative Hero who deals with murders due to jealous lovers and affairs would be so clueless."

Kaina just threw the pillow at my face one more time, "You are a jerk. I can't believe I trusted you."

I smirked at that, "Your first lesson is how to spot lies, Kouhai. You just failed spectacularly at the first test."

Kaina just pouted, "Of course, I would."

I raised my hand in consolation and warned her, "Don't believe and trust people too easily, Kaina. It will cause you a lot of grief in the future if you do especially in our line of work"

She looked puzzled at my seriousness but nodded anyway, I knew she hadn't internalized the advice, I just gave but passed it off. She would learn eventually.

I was about to give her some tips about spotting liars but was interrupted by a call.

I answered my phone while Kaina looked to me.

After finishing up my call and smiled at Kaina

"You have good luck, Kaina. That was the Hosu Police Department. They want my help on a case and it looks like you will have to tag along."

I saw her face blooming into a smile as I moved to my room to pick up my gear and head out.