The Towering Expendable

Welcome everyone to the third chapter of volume 2! No guest review questions to answer this week it seems so let's dive right into the story!

Downtown: Near Former Yakuza Territory

It wasn't often Clay's nerves got the better of him these days. Between escaping a burning oil tanker, multiple villain encounters and seeing the granddaddy of all bad guys, All for One, in the flesh he was really chipping down the number of things which actually scared him. But even he had to admit that it was a little nerve-wracking going on an actual patrol near an area with known or at least suspected criminal activity. Thankfully his mask hid most of his face so no one would be able to tell right away that he was the slightest bit nervous unless they were observant enough to notice his occasional fidgeting with his costume.

Slade wasn't doing much better as Clay noticed him clenching and unclenching his fists every now and then, one of the telltale signs he'd come to recognize as his big friend actually being antsy. The only person to not seem overly nervous was the aptly named Sergeant Seal, who wore the same outfit as the rest of Gang Orca's men but had to have it accommodated to fit his half sea lion head. "I know investigating is a bit new to the both of you, but don't get too nervous," said Seal with his voice slightly distorted by the mask, "just relax and keep an eye out for anything unusual. After all, the main investigation is being handled by Gang Orca himself."

"I get that we're just looking around the perimeter a block away from the actual investigation," said Clay, "But I don't think you realize just how bad our luck has been since our hero training started."

"It's been villain attack after villain attack and that's not counting the insane tests we've been through up to this point," said Slade, "One of the few upsides has been that random people wave at us from time to time because they recognize us from the sports festival." As if on cue, a few people from across the street did just that while also letting out a few cheers. "What'd I tell you?"

"And given that the both of you were able to pull through each time just adds to the fact that you shouldn't feel so nervous about patrolling," said Seal as the trio turned a corner and walked down a more deserted side street, "what you need to do now is be taking note of things like possible out of place noises, behaviors and sights. Ask yourself: Does this seem out of place or, is that supposed to be here, or why is that guy ducking down an alley?"

"You mean that guy?" Questioned Slade as he pointed out an individual in a green hoodie who was indeed performing that very action.

"You guessed it," said Seal as his voice took on a more business-like tone. His movements became a bit more tense as conversation dropped to a minimum. The group slowly crept forward and peered into the alley to get a look at what was occurring. Their target seemed to be a bit fidgety as his head darted from side to side, looking around the alley until a voice startled him. In the next moment, a short figure wearing a black outfit with a white bird mask came treading into view as the sidekick and two work studies strained their ears to listen to what was being said.

"You're back earlier than expected this week," said the smaller figure, "I told you not to waste the merchandise so quickly."

"I ran into a sidekick, what was I supposed to do," said the man in the green hoodie, "I had to use them or I woulda been caught."

"You assured the boss you wouldn't draw any unwanted attention," said the smaller figure, "tell me you at least hid the fact that you used the drug."

"I did, I swear," said the hooded man, "for all they know I just went ballistic with my quirk. I wouldn't be that careless with something so important."

"And yet you allowed yourself to be followed," said the masked midget as his gaze turned towards the entrance of the alley where the trio was currently standing. "Rikiya, if you wouldn't mind taking out the garbage." The wall in front of him burst forth then as a massive hand with an armored glove reached out and yanked the frightened criminal in the green hoodie through the wall.

"Dammit, they're getting away," said Seal as he, Clay and Slade all rushed forward down the alley towards their target. The small man in the black cloak seemed to be in no hurry as a massive shadow emerged from the hole in the wall. Clay was quick to send out a cloud twice the size of a marble that sped towards the two unknown villains. The one blocking their way wasn't fast enough to stop the high speed projectile as it impacted on the back of the midget's head, causing him to fall over unconscious.

This victory, though small, enraged their new enemy as he threw a massive punch towards the three of them. Slade increased to max density to block the blow while Clay flew over his head using his cloud greaves and gauntlets, leaving Seal to leap up and attempt a punch of his own against the behemoth. But the large man was surprisingly quick for his size as he backed up and caught Seal's arm before throwing him against the wall. His next blow was stopped, however, as several crescent blade clouds cut at the skin of his joints. The muscular giant grew annoyed as he turned his head towards Clay, who could now see he was wearing a bird mask with black coloration that resembled a crow's head.

As he cocked back his fist for another blow, Slade came jumping up from behind him, grabbing his head while also increasing his density. "Try some aikido prick!" exclaimed the U.A. student as he swung his quickly increasing weight to the side, knocking their opponent off-balance and causing him to fall to the ground with an impact that cracked the concrete beneath him. Seal was also back on his feet as he came in with a flying ax kick on the giant's black, tank-topped stomach.

"Annoying little flies," murmured the bird-masked man as he shot back up, forcing Seal off of him before aiming a kick at Slade, who was sent skidding back despite raising his density in time. Clay was next as he dropped down on the giant's head, covering it with a mass of thickened clouds. The villain stumbled around as he tried to free his head, each success meeting only with the clouds reforming back on his head as the wielder held on for dear life.

"Slade, under over!" Called out Clay as he produced a rope from the cloud sack on his opponent's head.

"I love this one!" Exclaimed Slade as he grabbed onto the rope and swung between their foe's legs while upping his density. Clay jumped off of the villain as the force of Slade's high density swing yanked his head downwards into the pavement before flipping his body forward onto his back.

"The bigger they are and all that," said Seal as he pulled out and fired his own personal cement guns at the villain's feet and legs. The quickly hardening residue formed a layer of stone over his limbs as he appeared to struggle at grasping the situation. Or so they all thought until something strange happened. A loud inhaling noise sounded from the giant as some kind of essence seemed to be pulled from Slade and Seal, both of whom collapsed to their knees.

"Guys, what's wrong?" Asked Clay as he tried to help up his friend.

"They're vitality now belongs to me," said the villain before shattering the restraining cement on his feet, causing debris to rain down on them and make Clay lose his concentration on the cloud that was holding his head. "And it has made me ever stronger." His point was clear as his already bulging muscles expanded even more and his height seemed to increase by more than a foot as he flexed his large, combat-gloved hands. "You're creative teamwork isn't half bad, but what will you do now that you're fighting more or less alone?"

It was true, both Seal and Slade were having trouble standing right now, while Clay's own normal attacks were ineffective against a thick-skinned opponent. Ordinarily he'd have Slade buy him a little time so he could charge up a higher powered version of grasping thunder, but he couldn't do that and protect his friends at the same time. There were only a few options he could see now, and Clay chose the one that would benefit at least a little as he produced a massive cloud which filled up the alley and charged toward the villain. The man named Rikiya seemed unconcerned as he cocked his fist back and threw a full power swing which met some resistance, but not enough to stop him as he felt his hand break through and make contact with the ground.

But the sound of splintering bone and squished flesh did not reach his ears. Looking around, the Yakuza member noted that his prey was nowhere to be seen. Even more infuriating, neither was the body of the bird-masked midget.

Near Gang Orca's Hero Agency

The supposedly dissipated cloud drifted to the ground until it dissolved completely, revealing a less exhausted Slade and Seal while Clay himself was busy catching his breath. "Who was that guy?" Asked the density shifter as he experimentally flexed his hand. It seemed their strength was slowly returning, thankfully, but it still left the question of how it had been drained in the first place.

"Rikiya Katsukame," replied Seal, "a member of the Shie Hassaikai's eight expendables. They work for Kai Chisaki, or to be more precise the group is pretty much devoted to him. I wish I knew why he was hanging around that particular area in the first place though."

"Maybe this will shed a little light on things," said Clay as he pointed to an empty black cloak and mask, "I managed to grab onto the short guy with my clouds, but there doesn't seem to be a physical body in there. The guy must've escaped with his quirk somehow."

"But we're not empty-handed," noted Slade as he rummaged around in the cloak and pulled out what appeared to be some kind of drug injector, "I think Gang Orca will definitely wanna take a look at this."

Analysis Lab in Gang Orca's Hero office: A Short Time Later

"I must say I'm actually a bit impressed," said the Pro as he read through the report, "you encountered one of the Shie Hassaikai and still managed to grab some evidence in the middle of escaping. Though in hindsight perhaps I should've tagged along with the two of you on your first patrol to make sure things went smoothly."

"Well hindsight is twenty twenty anyway," said Clay, "none of us could've predicted what was going to happen and the fact that we escaped at all is still amazing to me honestly. Speaking of amazing, did we learn anything about that Rikiya guy's quirk?"

"From what you told me he appears to absorb vitality," mused Gang Orca, "but he either needs to make physical contact first or he can only absorb the vitality of so many people at once. It would explain why you were unaffected Mr. Cero."

"And the drugs we recovered," questioned Slade, "Have your guys been able to determine what sort of effects they're supposed to have on someone?"

"By the looks of the preliminary analysis," replied Gang Orca as he flipped to the next page of the report, "the drugs appear to be capable of enhancing one's quirk to incredible levels and, in theory, even allow the surpassing of certain limitations one would normally have in the use of their quirk."

"So that's the Shie Hassaikai's game," said Clay as he adopted a thinking pose, "sell drugs to petty criminals with small quirks to beef up them up and rake in some dough while also using said drugs to strengthen their own, more powerful quirks to spread their influence throughout the city once again."

"A possible scenario to be sure," said Gang Orca, "though with this small amount of information it's too soon to be making broad assumptions just yet. The next thing we need to know is if Kai Chisaki is connected to any of this or if his subordinates are acting of their own accord. We also need to determine the source of these new drugs as it's still possible the Shie Hassaikai are merely the middlemen for another organization, especially given the recent reports that they might be teaming up with the League of Villains."

"So what should our next step be?" Asked Slade, "Should we head back out on the street?"

"You two have done plenty of work for today," said Gang Orca, "I need to make a few calls to some other agencies who are also doing an investigation into Kai Chisaki and his group. So for now just head home and come in at the next appointed time. We should have something for the both of you by then."

"Yes sir," they both replied politely before turning and heading out the door. As soon as they walked out the door, though, their minds started working in overdrive. It made the walk out of the agency relatively quiet as the both of them were lost in thought. Their stroll down the street and to the train station was also fairly quiet, until Slade saw his friend eyeing one of the stops on the train's schedule.

"You aren't really thinking of doing what I think you are, are you?" Questioned Slade.

"We have a potential source that the other hero agencies don't," said Clay, "And if the possibility exists that the Yakuza might be trying to rise from the ashes, then it would make sense that he'd at least hear about it to some extent."

"Yes, but if anyone we know catches us going in there again we could get expelled from school," said Slade, "It's already difficult with Momo and Jirou knowing about it."

"Those two discovering us was a complete accident," assured Clay, "and besides, can they really get mad at us if we bring in solid evidence on a group like the Shie Hassaikai?" The obvious answer was yes, the teachers at U.A. could still get mad about them obtaining information this way. But at the same time, the possibility of gaining valuable intel that would help the hero community seemed like it would be worth at least a little risk and the chances of them getting into a potential confrontation with an unknown enemy were also lower. The density shifter turned the idea over in his head every which way before finally sighing.

"Let's just get in and out this time," he said, "As much as I like pool, betting our lives on it takes some of the fun out of it."

"Glad we're in agreement," said Clay as the two of them stepped onto the train.

A Short Train Ride Later: The Eight Ball Knuckles

"I gotta admit," said the massive ex-villain as he adjusted his pool cue, "I didn't expect to be seeing either of you again after last time, or at least not this year anyway." He then proceeded to break the current formation of pool balls and came up with stripes as one fell in a side pocket. "But at least you showed up before opening this time."

"We figured after the mishap that was our first visit it'd be better if we didn't show up when this place was full of possible villains," said Clay, "I honestly wasn't even sure you'd let us in despite that."

"Ditto," said Slade as he got his turn and managed to sink one of the solid pool balls with a skillful push of his cue. The two of them had switched over to their street clothes and kept the hoods up on their jackets in order to look as seedy as possible on the way over to the now familiar villain's bar.

"Well truth be told It's been forever since I've had a good opponent for this game," replied Eight Ball, "A bunch of the punks that come in these days don't have the patience or skill to play but love to talk it up with their own excuses. Sore losers, the lot of them."

"In all honesty a lot of villains are sore losers," Clay pointed out, "So it shouldn't really be a surprise."

"It's not," admitted Eight Ball, "but there seemed to be more respect for good sport when I first opened this place. Anyway, what can I do for the both of you this time?"

"Shie Hassaikai," said the cloud wielder, "we encountered one of them earlier today who was selling some kind of quirk enhancement drug, as well as a huge guy wearing a bird mask."

"Katsukame," mused Eight Ball as he actually missed his next shot, "I remember tangling with him once over a territory dispute. Packs quite a punch but the real kicker is when his quirk activates and steals the vitality of anyone he makes physical contact with."

"So that is how it works," commented Slade as he managed to knock another solid ball close to a side pocket.

"As for the drugs, its Shie Hassaikai alright," continued Eight Ball, "but they've got something else they tried selling me recently too. Specialized bullets of some sort. Not sure what's in 'em, but they claim it'll put down the quirk of anyone I've got a beef with."

"Do you happen to have any with you right now?" Questioned Clay.

"Guns don't really do me any good," replied Eight Ball as he managed to sink another stripe ball in a side pocket, "my hands are too big for most conventional firearms and I prefer punching out my problems with fisticuffs anyway. But there is one thing I've realized after doing a little figuring."

"And that would be," said Slade as he sank one of his own colored pool balls in a far end pocket.

"Only a few of the patrons coming in here have mentioned the bullets or the drugs," explained Eight Ball, "which tells me his supply ain't huge right now. If that's the case, he may only have one or two sources for the both of them right now. If you can find that, you might be able to shut down the whole operation before it even takes off."

"Sounds like a fairly straightforward plan," said Slade as he observed Eight Ball scoring another point.

"On paper," said the ex-villain, "but they don't call these guys the Shie Hassaikai, The Eight Precepts of Death, for nothing. If you kids are really dead set on going after them, you'd best be ready for just that, a fight to the death." As if to stress how dangerous it really was, the bar owner sank the eight ball and ended the current game. The two students left the bar with just as many questions as answers that day, and a feeling of foreboding as their first day of work studies came to an end.

The two heroes in training make even greater strides to becoming pros, but in so doing march ever forward to an uncertain fate. Hello again everyone I hope you enjoyed this latest chapter as the story begins to pick up a little. This still being the early stages of the arc means that the best action is yet to come, so in the meantime feel free to leave a comment or review about what you liked/disliked or if you've got any neat ideas for future chapters. Be sure to stop in next time as a number of fears are confirmed for our heroes. 'Til then.