My Hero Academia - Under Pressure - Season 2 - Episode 19 - Rock You Like A Hurricane

The week of internships was winding down, and while it wasn't without fault or issues, Tonen Keitomo found himself in good spirits with his own adventures during the week. Sparky had proven not just to be the right choice for Tonen in terms of getting a good hero mentor. But she proved to be a good person that he could call a friend, and he hoped she felt the same way about him.

Every day they honestly did pretty much the same thing. They went out on patrol to see who was in need of some help, they would stop at times to recharge or eat, as well as get to know one another, then when it got dark they'd do one last patrol then head back to the agency. Sparky cooked for him every night and they recounted their day so that Tonen could pick up on little things that would make him a good Pro-Hero later on.

Sparky would go to her own home while Tonen would rest in the guest room the agency had. Then she'd return the next morning and start all over again. Thankfully for them both, many of their days weren't as dramatic and intense as their first day, but they did help many citizens every day, and that's what mattered to them both.

On the final day, Tonen got up and ate a decent-sized breakfast to prepare himself for the patrol to come. Not long after he started Sparky arrived, already in full hero garb.

"Morning, Tonen," greeted Sparky.

"Morning, Sparky," Tonen greeted back.

"You ready for your final day?"

"Yeah, just let me finish this and I'll get suited up."

"No need to rush, I got to check in on something at my desk computer. Let that be another lesson for you, leave your work stuff at the agency, and only allow certain work contacts on your personal phone. It'll be easier for your sanity, and it helps you relax when your day is done."

Tonen nodded in appreciation of that nugget of wisdom, "Come to think of it, my parents do something similar. Just never noticed I guess."

Sparky waved it off, "Don't worry about it. Like I said on day one, UA is meant to train you in specific circumstances, but nothing beats real world experience. Anyway, I'll do my thing, you do yours, and we'll hit the streets one last time."

They gave a thumbs up to the other before doing their own tasks. Tonen got done with breakfast then went and changed into his own hero garb before joining Sparky in her office.

When he entered, she was still on the computer typing up a storm, "Just give me one more minute. Apparently there were some big incidents yesterday, just following up with some friends about it."

"Any near us?" asked Tonen slightly concerned, "Could we have helped?"

"No no, nothing near us. Most of them were a bit north, one was a long ways south. They all got handled, minimal damage and people hurt. I appreciate your concern though, shows your character."

"Like I said on day one, I want to be a hero that helps everyone, no exceptions."

"A good answer from a good kid," she said with a smile as she finished up her typing and shut down the computer. "Ok, let's head out. What direction are we going today?"

"Following the pattern we've been doing? South, as it's day seven."

"Glad to see you were paying attention on that. Let's roll."

They headed to the main floor of the building and passed by Mina the receptionist, who was on the phone and trying to wave them down but they unintentionally ignored her, which forced her to call out, "Hold on! Don't leave!"

Both Sparky and Tonen paused and turned to her. Mina was frantically writing something down while talking to the person on the phone.

"Yes, yes of course, she'll be right there! Thank you!"

She ended the call and took a sigh of relief, which very much got the attention of Sparky, "Everything ok, Mina?"

"Me? Yes. Someone else? Not so much. We got a direct request from a businessman who says he needs your help right now. He wants you to meet him as his office."

"I know we get requests from people, but this is a first for me," noted Tonen, now very curious about what was happening.

"Not for me, but this feels different, let me see what you wrote, Mina," stated Sparky as she went over to the receptionist desk.

Mina handed her the note with all the details, and the more Sparky read, the more confused she got. A look that Tonen had honestly not seen from her.

"Is it bad?"

"Not exactly. The person in question, a Mr. Ishii, is saying his life is in danger, but wouldn't elaborate outside of asking us to come to his office. And according to what Mina wrote..."

"He's a respected businessman," finished Mina, "that's why I wanted to make sure you two went to him right away."

Tonen felt uneasy about it, "But if his life is in danger right now, why is he asking us to come to his office to speak with him?"

Sparky was thinking this too, but refocused quickly, "Perhaps he thinks something is wrong with him, or something is going to happen to him. Either way, he asked for us, and we'll at the very least see what he has to say. Saving people in need, no exceptions, right Pressure Wave?"

"Right Sparky."

"Mina, if anyone else calls, tell them I'll try and help when I can, but I'm assisting someone else at the moment. Don't tell them who, or where I am, just in case."

"You got it, ma'am," answered Mina.

"Let's head out, Pressure Wave, something tells me this might take a while," noted Sparky with a small grimace on her face.

"Right behind you," he replied as he followed her out the door.

Ironically enough, they headed south to go to the business of the man in question. But as Tonen and Sparky arrived at the building, both of them again got curious. Because it was a large complex, and if the man in charge was indeed the one asking for Sparky, this was atypical.

"Say it," Tonen remarked to his mentor.

"Stay on your toes, something is wrong," she said, eyes narrowing intensely as she looked at the building.

Without another word they entered the building. Sparky kept her eyes focused on what was in front of her, while Tonen did more sweeping scans of the area to ensure that they weren't walking into a trap of some kind.

Upon entering the building, they noticed immediately that it was indeed a major business as there were people walking in and out, talking to one another, on phones of clearly business nature, and more. They approached a rather grand receptionist desk and the two women behind it stopped and looked at them both.

"Can we help you?" they said in unison, forcing Tonen to stifle a laugh at the Deja Vu he was feeling.

Sparky took the reins with the conversation, "Yes, I'm Sparky from the Lighting The Way Agency. Mr. Ishii called for my assistance."

The two ladies checked their computers and smiled at her, "Indeed. But who is this?"

"This is my intern from UA High, Pressure Wave, he's ready to help Mr. Ishii as well."

They looked at Tonen, and he bowed to them and smiled kindly. They again typed on their computers and paused for a bit before motioning to a nearby set of elevators.

"Mr. Ishii is on the top floor, the elevators are over there."

With a small head bow, they went to the elevators and made their way up to the top floor. The two got more and more nervous as it went up, because they had no idea what was awaiting them.

Eventually, the elevator doors opened and they entered a rather lush office. Full of all sorts of trinkets and items that showcased the owners' personality. Said person appeared from a side room within the office.

"Oh, wonderful, you're here," said the man known as Mr. Ishii.

He extended his hand to both of them and Tonen did a quick scan. He looked like your typical Japanese businessman, a well-done suit, glass, perfectly parted hair, and so on. But what really got Tonen's attention was that of the expression on the man's face, it was one of extreme anxiousness.

"How can we help you, Mr. Ishii?" asked Sparky, who tried to maintain a look of confidence despite not knowing what was about to be said. "On the phone you said your life was in danger, but you seem fine at present."

"Yes, I know that this was a bit of a rush ask, but I assure you, I am in danger. Someone has been stalking me recently, and I believe they are an assassin."

This took both of them aback, Sparky yet again regained composure first, "Based on what evidence?"

To this, Mr. Ishii pulled out his phone and pressed some buttons. A section of a nearby wall moved and revealed a massive television screen. It was turned on to reveal a large collection of feeds from various cameras.

"My business took off several years ago, and ever since I got my success, I've found people trying to get in on my claims if you will. Hostile takeovers, sniping my workers, false claims of illicit practices, the works. They have been relentless, but I have fought them all back because I run a clean business that cares about my employees. That's why I do so well, I don't cut corners.'

"An admirable set of qualities," acknowledged Tonen before going back to the monitors, "but where does your stalker/assassin come in?"

"That, young man, would be here."

He pushed another button, and a set of screens changed to reveal someone lurking in spots just outside of the building they were in. They were partially concealed, but you could tell it was the same person.

"About a week ago, one of my employees, who happens to have a very useful Quirk for monitoring security cameras, noticed this person popping up frequently. At first they thought it was someone waiting for someone outside the building, but then they realized that every time they showed up, I was either entering or leaving the building. When I was gone...they were gone."

Sparky gazed at the mysterious person, "Ok, so that's the stalker theory proven, but how do you know they're out to kill you? It could be kidnapping, or someone you know trying to talk to you privately."

Mr. Ishii shook his head, "I have a good memory for people I've met, I've never seen this person before up close. As for the other query, I have friends in law enforcement and I sent them this picture. This person, whoever they are, were also seen stalking other people days before they died. But because they could never prove it, they never really followed up on things outside a routine investigation. But they believe that this person killed them all, and now, they're stalking me."

He sighed heavily and leaned against his desk, dread and fear ripe in his expression. Spark paused for a moment to see how she should play this, then pushed her biggest question upon him, "Why call me? We've never met before either, and yet you were adamant that I come to your office. Almost as if I was the only one who could help you."

"Ha ha, we may not have met personally, but you saved my son's life once. Months ago. You pulled him from his wrecked car using your sparks to eject various parts of metal away so you could reach him. You never took credit for it, that was rather surprising to someone like me. It took a while to find out it was you, but when I did, I knew you would be my first call if I was in danger. I need someone that selfless yet determined to help me now."

Tonen couldn't help but smile at this, Sparky's character again shined through, and proved that he made the right choice in choosing her.

"I'm flattered, sir," admitted Sparky with her own smile.

"And to be even more honest," started Mr. Ishii, "I don't just want this person stopped, I want them caught. While I do have connections to certain top-tier heroes, I fear if I called them in, the person might get scared away, and wait until they can't stay around me so they can strike. With you, Sparky, and your intern, I feel they will underestimate what you can do and still try to kill me. So that way..."

"We can catch them in the act. I like the foresight. Though to be clear, we can't stay with you 24/7, we have other people we need to protect."

"I wouldn't dream of taking you fully away from your duties. I know I'll be safe in certain places, including my home, and this office right here. It's when I'm in transition that I'm vulnerable. I want your protection for then, and when I'm in a safe location, I'll happily release you so you can save others, I promise."

"This could take a while, though," pointed out Tonen to Sparky, "and I head back to UA tomorrow morning, I don't want to abandon you with this task. Especially with a potential assassin out there."

She patted him on the shoulder, "Good answer, but don't think that far ahead. Focus on right now, if we don't get them today, I'll call in a friend to help me tomorrow. Mr. Ishii, you have a couple of Pro-Heroes helping you out. So what do we do first?"

Mr. Ishii sighed in relief then went around his desk to pull out a piece of paper and handed it to Sparky, "I have several meetings today I must attend, hence the urgency of my call. Ride with me to them, and then once I'm done I'll head home for the rest of the day so that you two can do what you need to. Will that be satisfactory?"

"For now. Let's go, the quicker we get you to all your meetings, the sooner we can get you to a truly safe spot."

With a motion to the elevator, the three headed in and down to the ground floor once more, where a fancy limo awaited them. They got in and were whisked away down the street.

Unbeknownst to them, the stalker was just out of sight in an alleyway, looking none too pleased at the change in routine, "So much for stealth...guess we'll have to do this loud..."

The limo eventually reached the first planned destination for Mr. Ishii. Sparky and Tonen stayed outside the main doors and constantly surveyed the area so that they would spot the stalker should they appear. But they didn't.

Eventually, Mr. Ishii came back and they went to his second meeting, and then his third. Each time eerily playing out like before. Both Sparky and Tonen could tell something was going to happen, they just didn't know what, or when, and most importantly, by whom.

After the third meeting ended and Mr. Ishii was brought back into the limo, he gave another sigh of relief, "It's hard enough doing these meetings, but knowing the threat of death is looming above you? That puts extra pressure to get things done, and done right."

"You're very brave for handling this like you are, Mr. Ishii," Tonen said honestly.

"Well young man, I worked very hard to get where I am, and I believe in getting rewarded for hard work. I'm not going to let some foolish competitor take everything from me just because they are angry that I'm doing well. Am I afraid? Of course I am. But that doesn't mean I can't do something to mitigate it."

"We'll protect you as best we can, you have our word," put out Sparky.

"I have no doubt."

Content, the three went on to enjoy the car ride. But the driver was not as calm, because someone ran into the road right in front of them. The driver slammed on the brakes, but hit the person, sending them flying forward onto the road and rolling on the ground.

"What happened, driver?" demanded Mr. Ishii.

"Sir, this woman just ran right in front of us! I tried to avoid her, but I couldn't..."

Sparky motioned to Tonen to get out, "Stay here, we'll see if she's ok."

The two got out of the limo and rushed towards the hit person. People were noticing the incident and already starting to film it on their phones. Tonen got to them first and noticed she was a woman in her 30s with choppy white-blonde hair. She had a very simple get-up on, and appeared to be unconscious.

"How does she look, Pressure Wave?" asked Sparky when she caught up to him.

"She's alive," commented Tonen as he continued to examine her. "She got very lucky though."

"How so? She got hit by a car."

"Yeah, but look at her, the impact and rolling on the ground should've done more damage to her, but she seems fine. Almost like...oh, she's waking up."

Sure enough, the woman's eyes opened up and saw Tonen, "Am I in heaven? Cause I might be seeing an angel."

Tonen laughed, "And here I thought guys were the ones with terrible pick-up lines."

"They are, trust me," Sparky joked before extending a hand to the woman. "I'm Sparky, give me your hand, let's see if you can get up on your feet."

The woman grabbed her hand and got up. Though she struggled, she eventually made it up, "Thank you two so much. I thought I could make it across, guess not. Oh well, your help is appreciated Sparky, as is yours, Tonen."

Tonen tensed up immediately, "I never told you my name..."

"No, she did. When she came over."

Sparky took a step back, face tensing up as well, "No, I called him Pressure Wave, so how did you know his real one?"

They gazed intensely at the woman, who at first seemed rather scared at what was being said about her. But then, her face melted into an evil smile and she sighed, "You know...despite what my boss thinks...I'm really not good at stealth ops. Oh well."

Quick as a flash she lashed out and struck both Sparky and Tonen quickly in the throat, stunning them. She then went to the limo and started knocking on it with her hand.

"Oh Mr. Ishii...I need to talk with you..."

Inside the limo, he locked the doors and hoped that would be enough to hold her outside. Instead, her hand punched through the window and grabbed onto him.

"There you are!" she said menacingly, "Come outside, the weather is nice out here."

"Hands off!" came a voice.

She turned to see Tonen recovered and he yelled. A burst of air shot right at her and hit her square. But to his surprise, she didn't move, only her clothes were ruffled a bit.

"I'm sorry, was that supposed to hurt?"

"If that doesn't, this will," came another voice.

She turned once more to see Sparky staring at her from the other side of the car.

"Capture Move: Spark Field!"

Not unlike her first day with Tonen, she released an electric ball at the villain, and sparks surrounded her. Sparky snapped her fingers and the woman was zapped, and as promised, it did appear to hurt, as she screamed at the jolt. Even going so far as to lower her head onto the car.

But unlike the first time, she didn't go down, rather, she just started breathing heavily. Then she started to laugh. Lowly at first, then it picked up volume.

As she lifted up her head to look at both Sparky and Tonen, both of them were shocked. The jolt of electricity had knocked skin off of her face. But right under it wasn't flesh and muscle, but rather, another layer of skin, one of a different color.

"You heroes...always thinking that we villains go down so dang easily," the woman said with venom in her voice. "Well guess what? I got a thick skin for this kind of thing. That's why I was picked to kill this guy. So do you really think you'll be able to stop me?"

"Shed. Quirk: Layered Skin. She has a multi-layered skin that is incredibly durable on its own. However, it can literally shed off if enough damage is done to it. But the catch is that she has so many layers of this skin it doesn't typically matter. So hurting her is hard, keeping her down from physical damage is near impossible."

Shed wasted no time in going back after Mr. Ishii. But Sparky reacted just as quickly by sparking the opposite door open and pulling him out.

"We gotta move, we're only a couple blocks from your building, come on!"

With a shove, she got him to run, but Shed wasn't giving up that easily and raced after them. Tonen burst ahead of her and did another air blast to try and slow her down, but it only gave a slight stutter in her step.

"You'll have to do better than that, pretty boy!"

"You're not my type!" bit back Tonen with another set of air blasts.

"Maybe, but that businessman is my type...the type I like to kill!"

She reached behind her and pulled out some small devices and flung them ahead of the three. When they landed on the ground, they exploded. A violent outpouring of fire almost engulfed them had Tonen not reacted in time and put up his air wall to stop it.

But by doing so, Shed was able to catch up to them, and resumed her attempt to kill Mr. Ishii. Both Tonen and Sparky teamed up to try and stop her, using both hand-to-hand combat as well as their Quirks to try and get the advantage. However, Shed was extremely competent with her own fighting ability, and was able to hold her own. As well as withstand their attacks enough to counter when they thought she was going to be held down for a bit. Her skin allowed her to absorb all sorts of abuse and keep on going.

Mr. Ishii just sat and watched in horror at what was going on before him. He was completely frozen in place, and as Sparky noticed this, she realized that they had to get him to safety soon, or else.

"Pressure Wave, we have to get him clear of this!" she called out mid-fight.

"Good luck with that," mocked Shed as she stopped Sparky from trying to break away, "don't know if you can tell, I'm doing pretty well, and I ain't tiring anytime soon."

"Then we'll get creative!" shouted Tonen as he used his air pressure to fly up and over the fight and get to Mr. Ishii. "Come on, let's get back to your office, you'll be safe there, right?"

"Yes," he replied as he got to his feet with Tonen's help. "I have a panic room I can go into."

"You'll never make it there!" Shed said enraged as she pulled out another set of explosives and tossed it at Tonen and Ishii.

Tonen was able to block them once again, but this time the force pushed both of them back. Sparky tried to hold her back, but to no real avail. Realizing the situation, Tonen knew they had to improvise. He looked around and saw a building that was under heavy construction. In there at least, they wouldn't be putting civilian lives in danger from their fight.

"Come on, Mr. Ishii," Tonen said as he pulled Ishii back to his feet, "we have to move now!"

"You just don't learn, pretty boy!"

"Oh he's very perceptive, that's why I like him," noted Sparky behind Shed.

Shed turned just in time for Sparky to unleash another attack, this time a blinding one that Shed's skin couldn't directly absorb. With her eyes temporarily short-circuited, Sparky rushed to join Tonen and Ishii as they ascended the building. Unfortunately for them, Shed recovered quickly enough and pursued them.

Once reunited in the building, Sparky ordered the two to go as high up in the building as possible. There were functional staircases with metal railings that they could use to go up safely. Sparky put little spark traps on the railings in the hopes of slowing Shed down a little, though she knew it would be delaying the inevitable fight to come.

As they went from floor to floor, they tried to find a place to stash Mr. Ishii so that they could keep him safe as they fought Shed. But the places they could find weren't the best, or even put him at risk if Shed got clever with her attacks.

Eventually, they ended up in a long hallway with doors on each side and at the end of it. They went from door to door and the only one unlocked was the door at the end.

Sparky quickly looked inside and saw a secure enough office space, so she lightly shoved Mr. Ishii in, "Hide under the desk after lock the door and don't come out under any circumstances unless we personally come get you out, understand?"

"But what about you?" asked Mr. Ishii, seriously concerned.

"We're Pro-Heroes, we have to go and fight the villain. You hide, we'll take care of the rest."

She shut the door and heard it lock behind her. Sparky let out a reluctant sigh before steeling herself and facing Tonen.

"You good?"

"Good enough," he said with his own face of confidence. "Can we really stop her? We were going all out and only barely hurt her first layer of skin."

"We were almost going all out," she corrected with a small smile. "We had to do what we could with civilians around us. Now we need to make sure that we finish the job. That woman does not get to this door, understand?"

"You got it, Sparky."

She mustered up another small smile to him, but it quickly faded as she heard the unmistakable sounds of her spark traps going off not far from them. Shed's noises of pain followed, but each one grew more and more in not just volume, but anger and frustration.

Eventually, she emerged on their floor, clothes and hair singed, and face full of rage, "That...sucked... Sparky...you and I have a problem."

Sparky gave a mock curtsy to her, "Happy to be of assistance."

"Laugh it up, I'll be the one doing it last once I get to my target."

"That's not happening," warned Tonen with a small gust of air to show he was serious.

"Pretty boy, I'd love nothing more than to kill both of you and be done with it. But frankly...I can't. So I'm just going to beat you senseless and be on my way. Now can we get this going? I'm honestly on the clock at this point."

She snickered and approached them slowly. The two looked at one another and nodded before joining her down the hallway. Sparky took point and electrified her fists and legs in order to do more damage to her rival. Tonen stayed back a bit and hit Shed with air blasts when she was open, or did an air wall to block some of her strikes on Sparky.

The problem was that her skin was so layered and durable that she was able to endure and counterattack just about everything. Plus, as she promised before, she wasn't tiring, while they were with every volley that happened.

At one point, Sparky mistimed an attack, and Shed grabbed her by the throat and slammed her into the wall repeatedly. Tonen tried to intervene but was kicked square in the chest for his troubles. Shed then threw Sparky all the way down the hall and into the door that Ishii was housed behind.

After securing that victory, Shed stomped on Tonen before he could get up, kicked him square in the chin, and then sent him flying back towards where Sparky was still lying.

"Well...that was fun," Shed boasted with an evil laugh, "I don't get to do these head-on battles anymore. I'm supposed to be the person that sneaks in and fights my way through whoever is guarding the target, then I snap their neck to make it look like a normal hit and not a Quirk-filled one...but hey! I'm enjoying myself for the first time in a while. So thank you for that. Now if you don't mind, I'm going through that door. Again, I'm on the clock."

Sparky tried to get up, but failed. Tonen had more success, but he knew he couldn't just do the same thing as before, he'd fail, and Mr. Ishii would die. As he looked right behind Shed, he noticed something he didn't before. A window on the other end of the hallway. He looked at the locked doors and then the hallway itself before an idea finally sprung in his mind.

"Sparky, I have an idea," he said in a low voice to his mentor. "Stay behind me, and don't move."

With an effort, he rose up once more and faced down the villain. Shed gave a mock clap at this, "Pretty boy, I really like your spunk, but I'm tired of this. Just step aside."

"I'm good. Besides, I just realized something."

"Oh?"

"You see, when I use my Quirk, my air pressure, I'm always in a space where it's open. Outside, in a big gym area, or an arena, that kind of thing. I have to focus my attacks so that I can do maximum damage and push. But right now...we're in a hallway. Which means for once... the terrain can do the focusing for me."

He let out a shout and a big burst of air came forth and hit Shed enough to knock her back a bit. Even she was impressed by this, "Not bad. But not good enough."

"Don't worry, I'm just getting started," he said with a smirk, "that was just the test, now we go full-tilt. You saw one of Sparky's special moves earlier, now let me show you the debut of mine!"

He started a yell, not unlike the one he did against Goya in the Sports Festival. It started out low, and then rose in pitch as Tonen let loose more and more air pressure.

Shed at first was unmoved by it, but as the intensity grew, even she started to get pushed back by it. This kept going as Tonen's yell got even louder.

"You know what happens when an irresistible force meets an immovable object? One of them has to flinch! And today? That's you! Special Move: AIR PRESSURE HURRICANE!"

With as much emphasis as he could manage, he shouted his loudest and let loose all the remaining air pressure within him. Gusts of air blasted forth and hit Shed so powerfully that it knocked her off her feet. So much so that the currents of air carried her right through the window and out of the building.

Shed hung in the air for a bit before crashing to the ground. She quickly got up, no worse for wear and started towards the building once again. But the sounds of police sirens got her attention and she let out a noise of frustration, "Dang it. The boss is going to kill me..."

She darted away down a nearby alley just as the police cars arrived.

Inside the hallway, Tonen held his position, breathing heavily as that attack took everything he had. He fell to his knees in exhaustion and did everything he could to stay conscious.

"Tonen?" called out Sparky from behind him. "You ok?"

"Yeah...I'm fine, I just...won't be much help for the rest of the day," he said with a light laugh.

"That's more than fine. Can I note something though?"

"Sure, go ahead."

"I'm totally setting you up with my sister now."

Tonen looked at her in confusion, to which she just smiled and shrugged. Then, Tonen laughed. First lightly, then loudly, to the point where he fell to the ground and rolled in laughter at the insanity of it all. Sparky joined in a bit before finally going and checking on Mr. Ishii himself.

Minutes later, the three emerged from the building and were immediately checked on by the cops. Sparky took point and told them all what happened, Mr. Ishii was tended to by his security personnel, and Tonen just rested against the wall so that he could recover.

As he did, the conversation from the nearby cops caught his ears, "...they found it in the crater that woman left when she crashed into the street."

"Hmm, Jack of Spades, odd. What villain keeps a playing card on them?" asked one of the officers.

Adrenaline shot through Tonen as he heard this, and he raced over to the cops, "Did you say that woman had a playing card on her?"

"Uh, yes, why?"

"Let me see it, now!"

The officer hesitantly showed him the card, and Tonen's eyes went wide as he saw the familiar pattern of The Deck's calling card.

"Dang it...how many people have seen this?"

"Just us, we were about to alert our boss of it."

"Good, tell no one else but your Chief, understand? Tell him specifically that this is part of 'The Deck', he should know what it means. Tell no one else of it. Especially not the media. Do you understand?"

"Why do-"

"I'm serious! This is a high-level matter, do you want to be held responsible for this going south? Then do what I say, tell your Chief about this now, and tell no one else. Go!"

He glared at the two, and they reluctantly left. Tonen rubbed his face in frustration and anger as he knew what this meant. The Deck wanted Ishii dead. But for what reason...he could not say.

"Pressure Wave," came the familiar voice of Sparky, "what was that about?"

"A lot...and I can't tell you right now. But let me make a phone call and I promise I will once we get back to the agency. Please," he said with clear intent in his eyes.

"Ok, I trust you. I'll settle everything else here, make your call.'

Tonen nodded and headed to a nearby spot to be alone, he quickly dialed up a number and waited for it to be answered, "Principal Ayatsune? It's Tonen...you're not going to believe what just happened..."

In the lair of The Dealer, Shed was on her knees breathing heavily before his desk, "If you'll let me explain..."

A fist came forth from the shadows and clocked her in the head. It was the mammoth Brute, and he chuckled as she got back up, "I always liked that you could take a hit."

"Doesn't mean much from someone who can't really hit that hard."

Brute winded up for a second strike, but The Dealer's hand held him at bay, "Enough. You failed, Shed, why should I let him not punish you?"

"Because of why I failed. Two Pro-Heroes were there-"

"That shouldn't have mattered to someone like you, you're more than capable of handling a basic hero."

"Tonen Keitomo was one of them, and you told us not to kill him or anyone directly tied to him. Doesn't that still apply?"

The room went silent, and The Dealer made himself fully visible as he approached Shed so that he could look her directly in the eye, "Tell me again he was there."

"Tonen was there, he blasted me through the freaking window of a 7-story building with his air pressure!"

"Indeed...was that just luck...or fate that put him there? Curious. Both of you, leave me. Shed, you're benched for the next week until the heat off you dies down. But under the circumstances your punishment will end there. Do not fail me again though."

"Thank you, I won't," Shed said before leaving.

As they left, The Dealer again strummed his desk, a series of thoughts and questions going through his mind. Footsteps stopped them as his attendant came forward, "I'm sorry to ask sir, but what shall we do about the target? The contract is still open and our client is likely to ask questions."

"Indeed. Tell them that the contract will be completed in the next few hours, just not as tactfully as originally planned. He will get the results, assure him of that. As for how this will be done, we're taking no chances this time."

He waved his hand and shuffled his deck, and as he pulled off the top card, it was the Ace of Spades.

"Send him, now."

"As you wish, sir."

The attendant left, leaving The Dealer to his thoughts once more.

At the Lighting The Way Agency, Tonen told Sparky everything he knew about The Deck, including his interactions with them, his kidnapping, and how it was a very closely guarded secret.

Sparky was needless to say stunned about all of this, "I had no idea something like this existed out there."

"That was part of the point, on both sides of the equation," admitted Tonen sadly.

"So that line she said, about her not being able to kill us..."

"Probably because The Dealer wants me alive, and likely gave a pass to anyone close to me, for now at least."

"Why does he want you alive?"

His mind flashed back to the night of his kidnapping, and to the Joker card in his jacket that he found and kept, "I don't know...but it's likely not good.'

Sparky sighed heavily and put her face in her hands, "This is not how I expected this week to end. But...we do have to look on the bright side. We stopped The Deck from getting their target, exposed one of their members, and kept damage to a minimum. A job well done all around."

"Nice turnaround from somber to cheerful."

"Oh, trust me, I'm in turmoil on the inside, but let this be one last lesson I give you this week. Even on the worst of days, the ones that fill you with dread and despair, look for the good you did. Every little bit helps in our world."

Tonen saw the wisdom in that and nodded, "Thanks, Sparky."

She smiled back at him, "You're welcome. And as promised, I'm ready to deliver my verdict on you. It should be pretty obvious, but you passed on all fronts. In the future, UA is going to give you the chance to do more in-depth studies as you work at an agency. If you'll allow me, I'd love to continue mentoring you. We work well together, and I'd like to have you at my agency for as long as possible."

Sparky held out a hand to Tonen, who happily took it and smiled back at his mentor, "I'll be counting the days until I come back."

"Good answer. I'll start cooking dinner, you get some well-deserved rest. You leave early in the morning to get back to UA. I know you won't be able to tell all that we did together, but do mention some of the funner elements, ok?"

"With pleasure."

She patted his shoulder and departed. He sank back into a chair and just let the wave of emotions he was feeling wash over him. It was just as Sparky said, a lot had happened, but a lot of it was good because of how hard the two pushed to make it good. That would have to suffice, even if only for a little while.

Hours later, Principal Ayatsune sat alone in her office and typed on her computer. A notification popped up on her screen though and she quickly clicked on it.

A video clip played, and on it was a house on fire and blown to smithereens. As she read the marquis, her eyes went wide as she read that it was the house of Mr. Ishii that now laid in ruins, and that he was reportedly in it when it blew up.

She clenched her fists at this, as she knew what it really was, but then her eyes went wide a second time as the camera passed by a certain patch of rubble. She paused it and zoomed in, and this time she grimaced.

For on a piece of the rubble, placed perfectly upward for all to see...was the Ace of Spades.

*credits*