My Hero Academia - Under Pressure - Season 2 - Episode 20 - Catching Up On Matters
"I really thought I saved him," Tonen said sadly.
Tonen was once again in the office of Principal Ayatsune within UA High. However, unlike last time, he wasn't in turmoil over what happened to himself, but rather, was in mourning over the loss of Mr. Ishii. Almost immediately after arriving back at UA he was told to go to Principal Ayatsune, and she told him in confidence that he had been killed by The Deck.
This rocked Tonen heavily, as he and his Pro-Hero mentor Sparky had done all they could to save him from the shedding woman, but apparently, it was not enough.
"I'm sorry, Tonen, I truly am," Principal Ayatsune said with her own sad expression. "I almost didn't tell you, but I knew you would hear about it eventually, and I wanted you to know it wasn't a freak accident like they're saying on the news, it was him, it was The Deck."
"Are they seriously buying that it was a gas leak that blew up his place?"
"You'd be surprised what people will believe when they need to. It was well known that Mr. Ishii had a fortress for a home, so the idea of it being an accident is almost...ironic, in its own way."
Tonen scoffed and his face molded into a scowl, "What card was it?"
Ayatsune let out a sharp hiss, "The Ace of Spades."
"Death card."
"Yeah, well, that was a message to us. More than likely to both of us."
"That we can't stop him?"
"More like we can't stop his contracts from being fulfilled. You said yourself that this Shed was supposed to be stealthy about killing Mr. Ishii, but failed. The Dealer was showing they can be loud when they need to, and that we won't know when he'll pull out his big guns for a target."
"Do we know the Ace of Spades villain?"
"I do, I've met him once, unfortunately. His Quirk is...complicated. But needless to say, when he touches something...it tends to blow up...rather spectacularly."
Tonen let out an even louder groan at this, frustrated at the ranks of The Deck and how versatile they were, "It hurts, you know? We saved him, Sparky and I, we saved him...and he took that away...with laughable ease."
"I hope now more than ever you understand my struggle, Tonen," Principal Ayatsune said with an almost pleading look. "I've been after The Dealer and his Deck for years, ever since what happened to my sister. I've only gotten close twice. One was when you were kidnapped. The other time...well, that's a story I'll tell you later. It didn't go well, though. I have multiple Top 10 Pro-Heroes on my task force to take them down, and they keep alluding us. Then they do moves like this and all we can do...is keep their secret all the more contained. Because if the public knew about this? It would be too much. Panic would be everywhere."
"I understand, and I promise won't reveal what happened to Mr. Ishii outside of what the news is saying. I need to tell Sparky though. She deserves to know."
"You have my permission once again to tell her. She might just prove helpful in our fight against them. They won't suspect us bringing in someone like her into the task force."
"Someone that low-ranking you mean?" Tonen asked with a knowing grin.
She laughed at this, "Something like that. Anyway, aside from that, I think we're good. Your classmates should almost be all back today. I recommend spending some quality time with them. Classes are back up tomorrow and final exams are almost here. Clear your head, and then get ready to be back in the game. School game that is."
"Understood."
He got up and headed to the door, but just as he grabbed the doorknob he flashed back to something Shed had said and he turned back to the Principal, "Why do they want me alive?"
"I'm sorry?"
"Shed, I told you that she said she couldn't kill me or Sparky. That doesn't make sense, she was sent to be an assassin, and even said she was going to kill Mr. Ishii's guards. So why only kill them and not us? Then, she knew my name, my real name. The only thing I can think of is The Dealer told The Deck to not kill me, or those close to me, if they came across me again. But why would he do that?"
He looked at Principal Ayatsune with eyes that were longing for answers. She hesitated to answer at all, but knew she had to say something, "If there's one thing I know for certain about The Dealer, is that he loves to plan many moves ahead. Even if it's for something small. If he wants you alive, it means he thinks you might be useful to him in the future. But as to how...I honestly can't say."
"Yeah...I figured you'd say something like that. Or perhaps he wants to know where his 'wild cards' are at all times...guess we'll find out."
Tonen walked out of the office, leaving Principal Ayatsune alone, and heavy with her own thoughts about what was happening around her, and to her student.
As Tonen walked through the hallways, he couldn't help but ponder for the meaning of it all.
"I kept the Joker card he gave me because I never wanted to forget that night. The intent was to use it as a motivator, as well as to keep it as proof that there are things hidden in the world that need to be fought. But after what happened with Mr. Ishii, how his life was taken after I saved it, I couldn't help but wonder...how can you fight something like The Deck? You take out one, you face another. Plus, knowing The Dealer, he had replacements in mind should he lose a card. How can one fight something that might potentially be truly endless? Those thoughts would not get off my mind for a very long time."
Eventually, Tonen made it back to the main area of the Class 1-B dorm. As Principal Ayatsune predicted, many of the students were back. And not surprisingly, they were all talking about their internships.
Kuroda was leading the charge, and she waved him over when he arrived, "Tonen! Welcome back, we're just chatting about our adventures with our Pro-Heroes. Come on and join us!"
Tonen hesitated for a moment, but he remembered the words of the principal, and didn't want to worry the others, so he shrugged and said, "Sure, why not, I definitely have stories to tell."
"Don't we all? Eri and Wasuke were just about to tell us about how their heroes focused on their combat training."
"You didn't want to go out into the field?"
"I did at the end," admitted Eri, "but the reason I picked Contro was that his fighting style was unique. It was unlike anything I saw before. Then after I learned it, he showed me ways of mixing my styles that I had never considered. In short, I had more of a desire to learn than to put them into practice in the field. Especially since they're very combat specific, and I'd get more use of that here."
An agreeing noise came from Wasuke after this, "Indeed, and mine was the same way for the most part. I don't mind being a defensive-style hero, not unlike Armed Guard is. But if our own accounts are any proof, we need to know both sides of the coin. My Pro-Hero taught me various ways to utilize my shields for offensive and defensive attacks. Something that will be useful down the line."
"Was your Pro-Hero more of a field worker, Tonen?" asked Hana, curious.
"Yeah," he said with a nod. "We were in the field day one. Just going around helping people. It was nice. Sparky has a real connection with her community, I'd like to have that myself one day."
"I'm still kind of shocked you went with Sparky over someone like Mythical or Interface," noted Anno in his regular shark form.
"Kind of...shocked?"
"Oh, sorry, not trying to be Fenella. But the point stands."
"Like I told you guys before, this isn't about ranking, it's about what you can learn from the hero. I learned a lot from Sparky, she's good people. She even invited me to come back to her agency when the next opportunity arises. I'd be a fool not to accept."
The group all made murmurs of understanding, Kuroda being the biggest of all, "Same with me and Royal Knight. He's actually going to help grow my hero abilities in a fun way. If I get a package soon, bring it to me immediately, understood?"
"Yes," they said in unison.
"Good, it's very important, and very cool, and not necessarily in that order."
"Nice to see your priorities in order, K-Rep," teased Tonen before looking at the rest. "Let's talk about our internships in another way. Who here thinks they had the best overall moment? As in an action you did. For example, on my first day? I saved people from a fire, and then stopped a bullet in its tracks with my Air Wall."
The group reacted in surprise at this story.
Anno flexed one of his arms, "Well I stopped a ship from sinking with only my shark hands!"
Again, the group was impressed.
"I had a rooftop chase with a bandit that I stopped with one of my metal rods," put out Kuroda.
"Thanks to the area I was in, I was able to transform into a living mound of snow!" Hana said happily.
Doza wiggled his fingers, "I learned a new technique that allowed me to shake objects apart without completely destroying them. Helped me clear some people out of a car pileup."
Ikaim stood up proudly, "I had to get to the roof of a building, and used my ink to blast me up there in seconds flat."
"I'm not standing up," Eri said bluntly, "but I will say that in one of my few days in the field, I was able to disarm an armed robber with such speed and accuracy he didn't even realize what I did even after I did it."
"Yeah, this is why I'm never going to fight you again, Copycat," joked Tonen.
"Something we all can say with confidence, no doubt," added Wasuke with a nudge to Eri.
The others joined in the laugh, but Tonen's eye caught that someone wasn't joining in, it was Chuya. She had stayed mostly quiet since he arrived, and something about her demeanor felt off to him, especially as they told their stories. It was almost as if with every story, she got more stiff, more tense.
"Soldier? What about you? What was your favorite moment of your time with your Pro-Hero?"
Chuya was briefly stunned by being called on, but quickly recovered and showed no emotion as she said, "My Pro-Hero trained a large group of interns. I was the top of the class, and repeatedly beat my compatriots without having to use my Quirk at all."
"That is honestly very impressive," acknowledged Eri, which surprised Chuya slightly. "Was it against the rules to use your Quirk?"
"In some exercises yes, in others I just chose not to use it because I knew I could beat them without it."
"As I said, impressive."
The others acknowledged this as well, but Tonen's eyes were still locked on Chuya, examining her posture and expression. As the others looked away, her tense state returned.
The sound of the door opening got their attention, and the rest of their class poured in, with Fenella out front with the biggest greeting, "Did ya miss us?"
Most of the group got up to see the others, but Tonen stayed back along with Chuya. He got real close to her and gazed right into her eyes, "Soldier? Did everything go ok with your Pro-Hero?"
"Commander is a great teacher," she replied without looking at him, "his use of training exercises was very thorough. Many of my co-interns were better because of them."
"Chuya..."
Using her real name got her attention, and she saw immediately the sympathy he gazed upon her with, "Look at me and tell me everything was fine with Commander."
She held her gaze at him, but chose her words correctly, "He is a great trainer, and I was lucky to learn from him."
Tonen knew something was off, but he couldn't tell what exactly, so he just nodded and slowly stepped back, "If you say so. I just hope he does more than train you next time. You deserve that."
He turned and left to greet the others, leaving Chuya alone, and once again she went back to her very tense state.
As Tonen said hello to the others, a pair of bodies was able to squeeze through the mob and finally get into the room, it was Iha and Azujima.
"Thought we'd never get in!" Azujima said as he caught his breath.
"Better doors than windows," barbed Iha.
"You said it. Oh, TK!"
Azujima waved to TK, who happily went over to his friends and greeted them both, "Hey you two. How was your internship with Brazen?"
Iha put on a sly smile, "You mean your uncle?"
"Ha, ha, ha, yes, my uncle. I hope you two didn't mind what I did."
"At first."
"What she means to say..." corrected Azujima, "is that we didn't understand why you didn't just tell us what you did. But your mom and uncle made it pretty clear why, so thank you for what you did."
Tonen shrugged, "What can I say? I knew you two were special, and that your abilities could help. I'm glad mom and Uncle Brazen could guide you on your way. So, tell me what happened, I'm all ears..."
For the next few hours, their now reunited group talked at length about what had happened on their internships. To many of their surprise, they all had mostly unique adventures that honestly couldn't be replicated by the others. Even ones that were similar like Eri and Wasuke focusing on training had their own branching paths that made it clear why these internships were indeed needed.
What's more, only one or two of them appeared to have experiences that were...less than desirable.
"So Cloud Nine was a jerk, huh Quake?" asked Tonen.
"Don't get me wrong, he did teach me things, including how to use my earth control in ways I hadn't tried out before. But when it came to his goals in saving people? It was...off."
"Off?" wondered The Twins.
"He would do the deed, but then gloat about it afterward. And when the reporters came, he would only talk to the female ones because apparently they dote on him a lot. I know it's mean to say, but I wish I had a hero that was more selfless and not focused on the perks of the job, after all, isn't the point of being a hero trying to save people and not wonder about...about..."
He paused and looked at them all, pretty much were looking at him with a smile.
"Why didn't you stop me? You always stop me."
"You needed to vent," pointed out Kuroda, "we were happy to let you."
"Thanks guys."
Tonen reached over and patted him on the back, "We got your back, Quake. And honestly, that's why I didn't choose certain heroes that asked for me. Like Interface. Sure, he's the No.2 hero, but remember the Sports Festival? He was supposed to be talking to me 1-on-1...and instead...he streamed the whole thing. I don't have the face for streaming."
Many of them snickered as they could tell Tonen was being serious, Fenella especially was struggling to keep a straight face, "Oh I don't know about that boyo, I'm sure you could get plenty of people to subscribe to you. Especially if you do what you did at the sports festival."
"What, show my Quirk off?"
"No, take off your shirt."
Tonen hanged his head in embarrassment while the others very much roared in laughter.
"And here I hoped you all would forget that."
"Some things are hard to forget, my six-pack boyo."
The group again roared in laughter, while Tonen grimaced at her, "If this some veiled attempt to ask me out? You're failing."
"Oh..." Fenella retorted with a sound of curiosity. "And what would you say if I asked you out?"
"Ask me and find out..."
"Oooo..." started some of the class as the two started a staredown.
Fenella was the first to break, "I'll pass."
"Good to know," Tonen said as he stuck out his tongue teasingly.
Kuroda waved them down, "Alright you two, enough with the fake romance stuff. Let's get back to stuff we actually care about."
"Such as?" wondered Ueno with his wobble in full effect.
"Upgrades!" answered The Twins with incredible energy.
"Well aren't you two excited?" said Tonen with a chuckle.
"Of course we are! We've only told you some of the things Cybernetic did for us. We got some upgrades that we can't wait to show in the field."
"Such as?"
"New weapons for my robot form," started Ryu.
"And new tech for me to control while I'm on my own," finished Ryo.
Ebririma was impressed by this, "That does sound cool. I guess we all have to improve our Quirks how we can."
"Indeed, Bubble Gum," jumped in Tonen, "On my last day I had to fight a bad guy who was...let's just say tough to move. We were in a hallway, and so I unleashed my air pressure in a way that allowed me to use the environment to my advantage."
"Did it work?"
"Yeah, I blew them out of a seven-story window."
Much of the group was surprised by the nonchalantness that Tonen spoke with. He realized what he said and frantically waved his hands.
"They were fine, trust me. They were incredibly durable. The point is, I never get to use my Quirk in such tight spaces. But now, I know I can get rid of people in front of me should I need to."
"Or if you were me, you could just move them without much effort," stated Goya with his typical arrogance.
Tonen rolled his eyes, "Breaking news, despite interning with a Pro-Hero, Goya is still a dick."
"And you're still not that clever. Glad to see some things never change."
"Enough," overrode Kuroda. "Don't sour the mood, either of you. Anyone else want to share a story of their week?"
Oshibu smirked and blitzed all around them before ending with a dramatic pose, "Allow me."
"I wondered when you would get to talking, it's not like you to hold back."
"Fair enough. The reason is simple, I did a lot of things...in record time."
"As I recall," started Eri with a look to her classmate. "You went to an agency that prioritizes fast reactions to calls for help."
"I did indeed. And while they basically sent me on pizza runs in the beginning, by the end I was answering legit calls for help. I swear I've never moved so fast. I definitely broke my top speed record."
"I'm sure even for my senses that would've been hard to keep up with," admitted Azujima.
"We'll have to test that out later! I wonder how my record speed looks to someone like you."
"As long as we start small, fine. I don't want to get hurt."
The class laughed at the fair admission, Kuroda noticed that Kanagita was happily joining in the laugh, "I noticed you've been very calm and joyous during our chat, Kanagitaa. Did you get what you wanted from your session?"
"Oh yes," she answered with a nod. "I didn't want to share much because there wasn't much to share. I spent all week working on understanding Brick Break's form and learning to control her better. I haven't felt this good with her...ever."
"A week well spent then."
"Like Ebirima said, we have to grow our Quirks in our own way," added Tonen with a smile to her.
Kanagita hid her face to not show the blush that grew from his compliment, "Thanks, that means a lot."
"Ok, next up? What we want to do next time we get one of these internships!" called out Kuroda with a clap of her hands. "Who wants to start?"
Immediately, the class went into a chatter about all they thought they could do, or hoped they would do, in their next ventures with the Pro-Heroes of the world.
By the end of the day, Principal Ayatsune was still in her office, going over papers and trying to get things in line for all that was to come at UA. But within her mind, all she could focus on was the enemy that was out there, and the danger he was already putting her students in.
Exhausted from it all, she laid her head on her desk to try and recover. As she did, the door opened, and a cat came through and went right to Ayatsune. It purred as it brushed against her head, causing Ayatsune to raise her head a bit to see what was going on.
"Why do you always come right to me?" asked Ayatsune as she petted the cat.
"Because a cat always goes to someone it likes," answered Abaru, who had her other cat perched on her shoulder.
"Abaru, always so insightful. Did we have a meeting tonight? I honestly don't recall."
"That would be because you have been working yourself too hard over the last few days. But no, we didn't have a meeting, I just wanted to check on you."
"I would tell you I'm fine, but I know you're too wise to believe that lie."
Ayatsune sighed and leaned back in her chair, which prompted the cat to rest on her now open lap. Abaru chuckled at this and went to the free chair opposite her, "This is about what happened to Tonen, isn't it?"
"You mean, what happened to Tonen again. But yes, it's weighing on me. I know our world is dangerous, Abaru, that's why I'm at this school, to help prepare them for what's out there, both known and unknown. These internships are supposed to be guiding lights, and instead, with Tonen, it just showed that the brighter the light...the easier it is for the shadows to hide."
"A very bleak way of looking at it, dear."
"Is it? Tonen getting kidnapped was one thing, but then him running into an assassin? One that had orders NOT to kill him under any circumstances? That terrifies me. Nochi...The Dealer wants him for something, and I don't know what, and he doesn't know what. How can I protect him from that? And what if The Dealer finds another one of our students is worth his attention? I've been after him for years Abaru! And even now, I'm no closer to stopping him, and no closer to giving him the justice he deserves for what he's done."
"Since you state I'm wise, allow me to give you some rather obvious wisdom. Yes, you're frustrated you haven't gotten him yet. But if you give up on your pursuit, doesn't that mean he wins?"
Taken aback by the simple yet blunt statement, Principal Ayatsune didn't respond at first, instead just petting the cat that remained in her lap. Eventually though, a small smile emerged, "You always knew how to talk to me."
"That's why you confide in me," Abaru said with her own smile.
"I'm pretty sure that's because you were a great teacher when I was a student, and are a great teacher now, of course."
"Of course. So I shouldn't have to tell you that you're not the only one dealing with loss, grief, or the desire to overcome something from your past. Need I remind you what happened to Hirota's arm? Or the pain that Tsuru still feels after what happened in this very school when she was a student? An event you too endured?"
Ayatsune flashed back to her own time at UA, when a situation occurred that rocked her and her friends to their core. She lingered on an image of her consoling a young Tsuru, who was crying in her arms.
"No, you don't need to remind me."
"Good. I know this hurts you more than that because you weren't directly affected in that attack, and because of your sister, but just like then, you need to focus and push through. You working yourself to death only makes you, and your students, more vulnerable to what might happen with The Deck later on. Heaven forbid they try something at this school like what happened before, but you never know."
"So I should prepare them for all out war? Or a siege?" remarked Ayatsune with a look of disgust.
Abaru shook her head like a parent to a child, "Of course not. But, you have the ability, not to mention the position, to guide them in ways that will prepare them for what might come. What's more, you can do it in ways that'll promote their growth and ensure that if nothing else, they have the skills to overcome. You might even say there's a time approaching that would be good for that..."
"Ah, the final exams."
"Yes. We've always tried to do unique ways to push the students while keeping things fresh so that they don't know what to expect. We don't have a definitive plan for it right now. So why not flip the script and do something that could prepare them for what's coming? In our own way, of course."
The two gazed at one another, as if trying to transfer knowledge between them, Principal Ayatsune got another small smile on her lips from this, "This could be very fun."
"And if nothing else, entertaining. Yes, we are here to help these young children. But just like I with you and yours, we're not here to coddle them, or patronize them. These final exams could be a true catalyst for their growth if we do it right. So...let's do it right."
"I like it. Send a message to the other teachers, we're going to have a nice long talk tomorrow morning before classes about what these final exams will be."
"My pleasure."
Abaru gave a small whistle and the cat on Ayatsune's lap leapt off and rejoined her master. As she left, Ayatsune basked in the silence for a bit. But unlike before, she didn't collapse under the weight of all that was on her mind. Instead, she gained a look of determination, and pushed on with her work. She would not let him beat her, or at the very least, not let him beat her like this.
Far away, in the lair of The Dealer, Nochi was looking through footage of various places within Japan, contemplating certain things that only he needed to know. His attention was drawn away though when one of his aides appeared.
"Yes?" he asked simply.
"Another contract has come, sir," answered the aide.
"Send it to me, I'll look over it soon enough."
"Forgive me, sir, but this one is honestly...rather different."
This peaked The Dealer's interest, he turned to focus on the aide intently, "Oh? Go on."
"The person in question is not just a person who needs a killer, or a handle in handling things. He's asking for...more. Much more in fact."
"Indeed? Can this person afford such...abundance?"
The aide showed a slight nervousness at the question, "Yes sir, I can tell you that with absolute certainty. You might say he's famous on...our side of the coin."
"Well...even more intriguing. I will be sure to look at this contract with great interest."
He nodded to signal that the aide could leave and picked up his previous work. To his surprise, the aide did not leave.
"Was there...something else?"
"Yes, sir," the aide said, more nervous than before.
"Well then, spit it out..."
"He doesn't wish to communicate via the usual methods."
"You mean to say..."
"He wants to meet you, personally. Face to face."
The Dealer leaned back in his chair. There were rules for dealing with The Deck, and an in-person meeting was almost unheard of. Almost. He didn't risk such things because he knew it could be a trap in various ways. But something about this one felt...different. In a good way...potentially.
"I see. Well then, we'll have to take more steps than usual. Do you have the contract?"
"Yes sir, he did send that in."
"Good, send it to me and I'll look over it. Then..."
He waved his hand over the deck and it shuffled. Then he drew three cards and showed it to the aide.
"Send these three to look into this person with everything they have. Financials, history, and make sure there's nothing...untoward. If they feel he's all he says he is...then we'll talk."
The aide bowed, "Yes sir, right away."
He left, and The Dealer was alone. But not unlike his rival, a look of determination was on his face, an expression that got mixed with a very Cheshire grin.
"Things are going to get very interesting...oh yes...they are..."
*credits*
