The first day of internships begins. A new hybrid is introduced. And a test is sprung on Suri. One that won't be easy.
Most, if not all, of Suri's classmates had turned in their intern signup sheets by the end of the day that they got them. To top it off, even when she got home, Grandma Kuroyashi had sidestepped the questions and feigned ignorance several times. She was convincing at it too. So much so that by the time the weekend came, Suri was beginning to question whether she had made a mistake by assuming that the older woman had put in an intern request.
She was retired and she had the wereleopards to lead if something happened, so why would she take up the mask again for a week? It didn't really make sense. So who was she really interning with? Did she make a mistake?
She had begun to panic as her and her classmates gathered at Musutafu Station with Mr. Aizawa, each of them with a small bag carrying a couple changes of clothes and their hero suit briefcases. The only exception to this was Yaoyoruzu who had a small dolley full of luggage bags. The girl didn't know the meaning of 'pack light' apparently. It was a nice distraction to Suri's nerves that not even Atiena or her two girlfriends, Tooru and Mina, could calm down. She was shaking nervously as they were dismissed by their teacher. Then she was headed towards the bullet train to take her to Shinjuku, a train ride she'd have to take alone.
Or not.
The door opened and the sight froze Suri as her eyes went wide at the person sitting in the seat nearest the door staring straight at her with a callus smirk. Gone were the loose robes and light comfy clothing and in their place was a tight fitting, armored bodysuit. The tights and the padded armor that plated the chest, legs, and arms were pitch black in color. In fact, other than the shoulder piece, waist length cape, the emblem across the breast, and the accents on the armor pieces, she was decked in pure black. The cape was light and silver grey in color that matched her hair and reminded her of the robes she frequently wore around the compound. The accent pieces and the emblem were an icy blue that matched her eyes and would probably glow when her eyes became blue fire. The emblem, most notably, was simple but it stood out in great detail as a large W scratched in bright blue like it had been carved with claws.
"Grandma?" Suri asked quietly.
"Holy crap, you look amazing!" Tooru exclaimed from behind Suri, making her jump.
"Wow! Granny-Yashi, you look super cool!" Mina added with eager excitement.
Suri turned to see her girlfriends standing there in just as much shock and awe as she was. She quickly shook her head and snapped out of her daze as she looked both of them over and began to panic for them.
"Ah! Guys, you're going to miss your train!"
"We couldn't leave without something first," Tooru whined.
"Yeah, we're not gonna see our girl for a week," Mina put on her best pouty face.
Suri grumbled and let a small smile curl over her lips before she turned back to her grandmother who shook her head, laughed, and waved her hand nonchalantly.
"Oh you girls," she gave the two of them a nod and then looked away with a smile as she stared down the inside of the train car.
Suri watched her grandmother and smiled before turning back to Tooru and Mina. It would still be a little taboo being in public but she didn't care who would see it. She pulled both girls into her, one arm around each of them as the three girls hugged tightly and squeezed into each other. They all made happy whines and giggles as they held each other for dear life before Suri leaned her head back. She then dipped down to her right, catching Tooru's lips in a soft kiss that radiated warmth and tenderness. Suri did nothing to hide the small happy growl that crept up her throat as she kissed her invisible girlfriend and Tooru did nothing to hide the soft moan in return. The two of them savored the quick moment before Suri pulled back, looked into Mina's shimmering eyes and leaned into her. The two caught their lips together and Suri let out a soft purr as she tasted the citrus flavor of Mina's soft flesh while the pinkette happily sighed into Suri's mouth. The long, warm and caring moment lasted just as long as it had with Tooru before she pulled back and laid her forehead against both girls.
"Take care, you two. I'll see you in a week," Suri said with a smile and began to pull away. There was a ding behind her and the door began to close. As she ran for the last couple steps through she turned and called back to both of them. "And if either of you get hurt, I'm kicking your butts!"
Suri got a wonderful going away sight as she stepped onto the train with those words and caught a quick gesture from both girls. When they turned to run for their train, they both looked back, flipped the back of their skirts and mooned Suri as her train began moving, leaving her staring at two perfectly round shapely rears that started becoming distant almost instantly. After the quick peek the two of them waved and ran for another train headed towards the south.
"Adorable little dorks," Suri laughed and turned around. She took a deep breath, refocused herself and let all of the happy-go-lucky sheen she had fade away. She stared back at the old woman cautiously and tilted her head. "So, I've got a few questions, but you're not gonna answer them are you?"
"Ah, well I suppose we have a long ride ahead," Grandma Kuroyashi tilted her head back and forth innocently. "Take a seat my dear and I'll tell you what I can before we get to Shinjuku."
"Fine," Suri grumbled and took the seat next to her grandma, shoving her briefcase and backpack under the chair before she laid back into it. She stared forward as she crossed her arms tightly. She was silent for a long moment before she took a deep breath and tried to calm herself down completely. "So, first, thanks for the opportunity… I guess?"
"It's the least I could do for you," she laughed in response and relaxed into her seat.
"The least?" Suri scoffed and shook her head with a crooked smile, "this is nothing compared to what you've done so far right? I mean, there was no reason to let me stay as long as you have. You didn't have to take me in that night, you could've just sent me home. Hell, I was expecting you to send me home the next morning but you didn't. You've given me food, a roof over my head, helped me with the enrollment papers to UA, helped me understand Atiena a little better, and now this. I just… why go to this much trouble for me?"
"My dear, the answer is so very simple. For how bright of a young woman you are, surely you know the answer to that. Then again," Grandma Kuroyashi paused and held her chin in her fingers in a pondering gesture. "It did take you a lot longer than I expected for you to realize young Hagakure and Ashido's advances towards you. Hagakure especially."
"Hey!" Suri pouted defensively. "I knew they liked me as friends. I just didn't think they'd go for a foreigner, ya know?"
Grandma sighed deeply and shook her head.
"That right there is what's holding you back, my dear."
"What?" Suri responded with an incredulous glare.
"You have such an old way of thinking and here I thought I was the old lady," she snickered. "It isn't so uncommon for young budding heroes to travel and live in various countries throughout their career. Look at our Toshi. Sure he grew up here in Japan but he got his big break in America, in fact, he's licensed in just about every country in the world and he's had tenures in several countries besides Japan and the US. Myself, I'm licensed in Japan, the US, Germany, Brazil, Mexico, the UK, and Australia. In my prime, I did hero work for at least a year in each of those countries and not once did I ever feel like I was a stranger in a strange land."
Suri watched her grandmother smile and lay her head back against her seat. She was looking off into the distance, reminiscing about when she was younger and watched her jump from memory to memory.
"Your grandfather and I met when we were both rookie heroes in Germany. He was one of the few Japanese men that I met there and one of the very few that never had any qualms about Asuka and I. Many heroes I worked with that found out my truth found it hard to trust me after too long. I know the worries you face, I've faced them myself, and one thing I've learned is that friends, true friends, won't give two shits about whether you're a foreigner or a monster."
Suri's eyes went a little wide and a huge grin crossed her lips.
"By the gods, you do swear," Suri snickered and watched the embarrassed smile grace her grandmother's lips.
"Truth be told, I was as much of a foul mouthed and hormonal woman as you are now, and about as wild and rambunctious as that Bakugou in your class."
Suri's face shifted, as if she had seen a ghost or was looking at a two headed person, because there was no way that could be true of the sweet old lady she knew. She knew Grandma could have a mean streak and she knew that she was powerful enough to keep the pard in line for decades but… Grandma acting like Bakugou? No way. The look lasted for what seemed like ages until Grandma Kuroyashi began laughing almost hysterically.
"Oh, my dear, the look on your face."
Then Suri had a second thought that began to boggle her and make her head hurt. If Grandma used to be like Bakugou, what would Bakugou be like as a soft spoken and noble old man? It just did not compute in her brain.
"Now, to answer your original question, why would I do all of this for you? What do you think the answer is?"
"I dunno," Suri shrugged and grumbled. "I guess cause I'm your granddaughter? I thought mom and dad put you up to it, honestly."
"No, they never put me up to it but, yes, it's simply that. You're my granddaughter. You're my family. And, most importantly of all, because I love you. Isn't that the best reason to do anything? Because of love?"
Suri stared for a moment more and then blinked to shake herself out of the daze and look at the older woman in front of her. She felt stupid for how easy of an answer it was, and even dumber for thinking that there was some ulterior motive.
"Y-yeah. I guess you're right."
"Love makes us do many things, my dear. My love of fighting and proving that a girl could be just as strong as any guy put me on the hero's path in the beginning. My love of helping people and making a difference in my community is what made me first want to become a pro hero. My love for my friends is what made me strive to become a great hero. My love for Takashi is what made me consider making a family. And it was because of losing several people that I loved so very dearly," Grandma's eyes threatened to let tears fall with a thought or memory. "That I decided to retire and raise your mother outside of being a pro hero and made me decide to become Hyo-Ra of the Musutafu wereleopards."
"Was grandpa one of them?"
"That, my dear, is a story for another day."
A long moment of silence filled the air. Not awkward but one where everyone has to take a minute for everything to realign and wait for the building sadness and sorrow to dissipate. It was after a long moment as the sorrow melted from her grandmother that Suri finally broke the silence.
"Okay, so I know you retired a long time ago and… for good reason it sounds like. So I guess my next question is; why come back? And did you know that my dad put in an intern offer through his first agency?"
"I did," she answered matter of factly. "He told me he was going to that night in the hospital after the festival. I told him you would not accept but ignored me. I knew you would take an offer out of spite. It's what I would have done in your situation."
"So you came out of retirement just cause you knew I was going to be a brat about it?"
"More or less," she chuckled. "Not that the other heroes you were considering wouldn't have valuable lessons to teach you. I saw it as an opportunity to actually work with you and Atiena sooner rather than later."
"Makes sense," Suri thought out loud. She thought of something again and then looked a question at her grandmother. "Though, if that were it, we'd be staying home. That's something that's been bugging me since the internship list came in. What's in Shinjuku?"
"Why, my hero agency of course," Grandma Kuroyashi said with a grin and left it at that for the rest of the train ride.
Outside of answering anything else that came up at random like tea, the weather, movies, and her grandmother wanting her to talk about her girlfriends, she never answered. She was leaving everything to come up at their destination or during the week. She was keeping things a mystery and Suri didn't know whether she liked it. She knew grandma could be cryptic and mysterious but this was on a whole new level.
What secret could she be hiding?
Did Suri have a secret aunt or uncle? Uncle Issie wasn't actually blood related since Suri's mother, Maon, was the only child that grandma had conceived to her knowledge. Maybe she and Takashi had a second or third kid before he passed and they'd been living in Tokyo this entire time? A secret lover from her past? Eh, wereanimals were all non-monogamous and had practically zero hangups about sex so it wouldn't be a secret or surprise to know grandma had more than a few lovers. Maybe she was still an active hero and no one knew? Possible, but she was at the compound more than anything else so she wouldn't be that active. And even when she was in Shinjuku it had been for lycanthrope business, meeting with the Lupa and Hyo-Gu of Shinjuku. So what could it be? Did she really have an agency?
Suri's brain rattled and mulled over the possibilities long after they arrived at Shinjuku Station and made the two block walk to the north. She had somehow managed to keep a conversation going here and there but the questions hanging in the air made it hard to focus. She absentmindedly knew the area they were headed and she recognized the building they passed. She knew the secret to what was underneath the quaint little corner coffee shop known as the Starry Night Cafe. It was the den for the Shinjuku Ookami Clan. It was also home to some of the best coffee in Japan.
Coffee sounded fantastic right about now.
With coffee on her mind it brought her out of her daze a little bit to notice that her grandmother led them to a large building next door. The white, modern looking structure both stood out and blended into its surroundings and looked more or less like any other hero agency building she'd seen before. It was a far cry from something as fancy as her dad had back in Salt Lake because he went out of his way to make it look like a modern pantheon with a giant bronze wolf statue out front. This was more nondescript except for one thing.
Suri stopped dead in her tracks and stared up at the building's main sign; a giant black and ice blue logo over the main entrance. A logo that was a W made of claw marks. The same logo emblazoned on her grandmother's chest.
"Lady Whiplash, good afternoon."
"Nice to see you again, Lady Whiplash. It's been a while."
Suri's ears began to fill with the sounds of greetings and her eyes fell to several pro heroes, greeting the older woman as she waited at the front door. She greeted them in return before they went along their way, some coming in and out of the building, others just walking down the street. Apparently grandma was as popular and well respected here as she was at home.
Good to know.
She then took a deep breath, held it, and released it slowly to calm her nerves and senses again. There was too much new information to compute and it was frying her brain so she decided to do the best thing she could. She'd take everything one thing at a time and come in with as clear of a head as she could get. Once she was settled, at least to a normal amount, she strode up the steps towards the entrance and the enigma that was her grandmother.
The matriarch simply smiled and turned to walk through the front door as Suri fell into step with her. The old woman's smirk grew to one of the very few times Grandma Kuroyashi ever showed her fangs. She enjoyed throwing the younger girl through a loop. Apparently this was entertaining. Suri just stared wide eyed at her surroundings as she followed her grandmother to the front desk.
"Ah, good afternoon, Lady Whiplash," the secretary behind the desk spoke up with a smile. "The others arrived about a minute ago. I sent them through to the gym instead of having them wait here in the lobby. I hope you don't mind."
"That is quite all right, Saya. We'll go on so we don't keep them waiting too long," Grandma Kuroyashi smiled and bowed her head in greeting.
"Ah, is this her then?" the secretary, Saya, asked with enthusiasm.
"Yes, this is my granddaughter, Suri Kuroyashi," Grandma Kuroyashi answered and then motioned from Suri to the short, thin woman. "This is my assistant director, Saya."
"Oh! It's Wild Eyes," Suri quickly interjected and quickly bowed her head towards her grandmother. "Mr. Aizawa said, we're supposed to start going by the hero names we chose earlier this week. Sorry, gra- Lady… Whiplash."
"Ah! Well it's a pleasure to meet you, Wild Eyes," Saya answered back.
Suri was flustered and grumbling at how out of her element she was. Atiena, for her part, was shaking her head and rolling her eyes watching everything unfold. Not to say that she wasn't overwhelmed either, she was just bottling it better.
"Clam yourself, deary," Grandma Kuroyashi laughed and placed her hand on Suri's head, ruffling her fingers through the younger girl's mohawk. "The week's just begun, right Saya?"
"Yes, ma'am. Will you and your interns be doing patrols?"
Interns.
Plural.
That caught Suri's attention and made her look at them both with surprise.
"I don't think we will today. We will tomorrow, if time permits it."
"Understood, ma'am," Saya replied happily. "It was good to meet you, Wild Eyes. If you ever need anything, just come ask me, okay?"
"Yes, ma'am," Suri replied and let a smile curl on her lips.
With that the two of them continued into a small hallway with a bay of elevators. Grandma Kuroyashi, or rather, Lady Whiplash hit the down button on one of the walls between elevator doors and within a couple seconds there was a ding and an elevator waiting for them. The two stepped inside and without much of a word or sound, the matriarch hit a button that read B1. The elevator was quick, giving Suri a floating feeling when it first began to descend towards their destination and even though it was a quick ride, Suri swore it felt they went more than a few floors down.
Her hunch was correct.
When the doors opened, it revealed an open space that was easily three stories in height and contained a small indoor mountain on one of the far walls, and the face of a two story building against the wall directly perpendicular to it. Suri took one look and assumed they were situational training scenarios, like a mini version of the USJ. The rest of the space was occupied with a fully stocked gym with dozens of weight training machines, bikes, treadmills, ellipticals, an indoor track, wrestling mats, a caged octagonal ring, and a basketball court. Her eyes then transfixed on three people standing not far from the elevators in front of them.
Then came the shiver that coursed through her body.
It was a mix of heat and an electric spark of pleasure that surged up along her spine and then outward. It made her hiss and bite her lower lip as her head rolled in a small circle, eyes fluttering closed, before opening lazily. Her eyelids took their time opening but once they did, her eyes became utterly sharp and focused. The energy in the room was thick, heated, and would be choking with the weight of power behind it if it hadn't triggered her own beastly energy to rise. Her power rolled from inside her core, letting the electric fire dance along her skin and then radiate around her like she was a living flame.
When her eyes refocused, they had rolled to beast, the white of her eyes now pitch black surrounding chartreuse irises. She looked around to see the others had as well, first seeing the icy blue moons of her grandmother. Then she looked to the others to see golden amber suns, fiery crimson stars, and then finally two pools of deep jade.
The golden amber eyes were unmistakable and said plain as day; wolf. Their owner was a tall, muscular woman with long, silky forest green hair that framed a sharp jawline. Her long legs and wide hips were fitted in hip hugging jeans, while her torso was covered in nothing more than a black leather vest that had a massive mane of dark golden fur around the neck. The woman gave off almost as much power and energy as Grandma Kuroyashi, and for good reason. Suri knew the woman as Rukia Kurogami, the Lupa of the Shinjuku Ookami Clan. The wolf queen.
Next to her was a man that Suri didn't know, but from his tanned complexion and slick black hair she guessed South American or Middle Eastern descent. His jet black hair was peppered with streaks of gold and blonde that matched the three piece suit he wore. It was well tailored and showed that underneath the black slacks, jacket, and golden sand shirt was a wall of lean muscle. It was the same body Izuku would have if his chest and shoulders became a little broader. Why was she thinking of Deku at a time like this? She didn't know who he was but she could taste his energy on her tongue, it had a similar flavor and feel to it like her grandmother, Dai, and Ryo. He was leopard. And the amount of power flowing from him Suri guessed she was staring at the Hyo-Gu of the Shinjuku Pantera Clan. The leopard king.
Finally Suri came to stare at the last person, a girl her same age with shoulder length forest green hair that had several streaks of gold in it. Her hair was naturally wavy and had enough of it that if she straightened her hair it would probably fall around the small of her back. She was slender, nearly as thin as Jirou with maybe a little wider hips that resembled Kurogami's. Just like Suri, she was carrying a metal briefcase, most likely a hero costume, and a backpack with clothes for the week. And where Suri was clad in her UA school uniform, with the pleated skirt and green jacket, hers was a simple black skirt and a grey polo shirt that hugged her lithe form. It was a school uniform but Suri couldn't think of which school the uniform belonged to. That meant she was in a hero course just like Suri was and then there was something else that made it almost like looking in a mirror. The power and energy that rolled off of the girl was nearly identical to her own, from the taste and feel to the level in power. It tasted of both wolf and leopard. Suri was staring at another hybrid.
"So you're a mutt like me, huh?" the girl spoke in a bored tone.
She really hated that word.
"I prefer hybrid," Suri replied in a cold tone.
"Tch, whatever," she scoffed.
"Girls," both Whiplash and Kurogami growled, letting their power sting against the two teens.
They both hissed as they were bit with power and looked to the older women with sour expressions. The looks they received back made them catch their breath and straighten their stance quickly.
"Shall we try introductions again," the man spoke in a calm, sort of suave tone. His accent confirmed something Suri had guessed; he was South American, most likely Brazilian. "My name is Tiago Vaz. I am Hyo-Gu of the Shinjuku Pantera Clan. You already know my wife here."
Vaz motioned towards Kurogami who gave him a happy smirk, a wink, and pursed her lips as pointed a kiss his way.
Wait... Wife?!
The all mighty wolf queen that was a strong independent woman and didn't need no man… had a man?
"I am Rukia Kurogami, Lupa and acting Ulfric of the Shinjuku Ookami Clan. And this," she motioned towards the girl, "is our daughter Yukari."
Well, this was news to Suri. She hadn't known about the girl or had seen the girl the last time she'd come to Shinjuku with Grandma. In fact, she'd never even mentioned or traveled to the agency. Why was that?
"Hey," she said in a dry, bored tone, with a face that was bored and annoyed. Her attitude was split and reminded her of both Mr. Aizawa and Bakugou.
Rukia just sighed and let out a deep breath before she formed a crooked line in her lips. She simply swiped an open palm at the back of the girl's head which earned her a glare from her daughter. The Shinjuku's Lupa gave her an equally sour scowl and shook her head.
"C'mon YuYu, you know better than that. You're looking at one of the most powerful wereleopards in the world. You know how you're supposed to greet and treat other leaders from the wereanimal clans."
Suri knew that, hell she'd been taught that and had that attitude towards other leaders, save from her dad, purged by the time she was eight years old. And she was a little shit back then.
"And I'm going to be the most powerful werewolf and wereleopard hybrid in the world. I'm going to surpass the two of you, grandma here, and All Might. I'm going to be the best and this is just a waste of my time."
Suri's eyes went wide and she just stared at the other girl.
"Jesus, and I thought Bakugou was an ass," Suri muttered as she stared.
"And you, I dunno who you are, but you're a nobody compared to me."
"Yeah," Suri started to snicker and shake her head. "You and Bakugou would be perfect for each other with how much pride you're packing. I'd say go fuck yourself but you'd probably do it."
"You sure you can handle these two for a week," Vaz asked, shaking his own head as he looked from the two teens to the resident leopard queen.
Grandma let a wicked grin cross her lips.
"Neither of them will be the same woman when I'm done with them," and it was Asuka's voice that had risen. Gone was the gentle caring tone that Grandma Kuroyashi had and it was replaced with a husky, growling tone that had a reverberating layer mixed with it.
It made both girls stare at the older woman. Kurogami's eyes were wide and then narrowed in defiance as she looked at the old pro. Suri's were a joyous mix of adoration, respecting the power she knew her grandmother contained, and anticipation, excited for the promise of challenge that tone held.
Rukia Kurogami shrugged and smirked before taking her husband's hand and began heading for the elevators. They dipped their heads in respect as they passed by Grandma Kuroyashi and hit the button to go back up.
"Where do you two think you're going?" Yukari asked.
"Your mother and I are going to have a nice dinner and night to ourselves. You, gatinho pequeno," Vaz purred with a cocky smirk. "You're going to put your money where your mouth is and prove yourself to her."
Vaz pointed towards the old pro hero.
"Tch, whatever," she rolled her eyes.
"I'm sure she will prove something," Grandma Kuroyashi spoke up. "Her and Suri both."
"Ah, sorry to make our time short but it was good meeting you, Suri Kuroyashi," he gave a small bow of his head and a half saluting gesture.
"You too. And good to see you again, Rukia," Suri smiled towards the couple. Rukia simply did the same gesture as her husband. The elevator doors opened with a ding and the two of them went to take a step inside and back towards the surface.
"Oh, Vaz, dear, did you bring what I had asked for?" the older woman quickly said before they entered the elevators.
"Whoops, almost forgot there," he laughed and fished something out of his suit pocket before tossing it towards the older woman. The throw was fast. So fast, in fact, that Suri didn't even see what he threw and simply watched her grandmother catch the unknown object and then slip it back behind her back. With that, the elevator doors closed and it went up, leaving the three women alone in the massive underground training facility.
"All right, my dears, shall we get started?" Grandma Kuroyashi, or rather Asuka, said in a low purring tone. Her eyes peered at both of them and even though they were still human eyes, her irises all but glowed and made the blue in her eyes striking. The look alone made both girls' beasts shudder with cautious anticipation.
For Suri, her vision filled in the sudden energy that poured and radiated from her grandmother with an image of a great cat standing behind the older woman. The energy created an afterimage of blue light outlining the beast like it was a glowing line drawing of a massive leopard. The creature was powerful, majestic, and calmly sitting on its haunches while its tail swayed back and forth lazily, eyeing the two girls with curiosity. The rise in that skin prickling energy created a chain reaction with the two younger girls and Suri felt the heat of her own power begin to rise and pour from her skin with electric fire. And with the same vision that her grandmother had somehow created, she felt Atiena behind her and it made Suri turn to look over her shoulder and see her other half standing there in her own glowing chartreuse outline. Atiena was standing on all fours, tail swaying equally lazy, more curious of the rise in power than anything. And then finally, the two of them together looked at the girl beside them. Her fists were balled, shaking in a growing rage, as her own power and energy whipped and danced around her. Where Atiena was a leopard with a wolf's head, and wolven features, Kurogami's beast looked to be a wolf with a leopard's head. The bright jade outline that matched Yukari's ocean colored eyes paced back and forth behind the girl, like it was stalking behind the wall of a cage. Its wolven tail was tucked low, letting everyone know it was looking for a fight and was going to strike at any second.
"How are you doing this," Kurogami growled with a snarl that was echoed by the pacing creature behind her.
"So you can see them too, huh?" Suri replied, looking back and forth between the creatures standing behind each of them. "I've sort of seen this once before, but I've never understood what it is."
"It's something unique to my bloodline," Asuka's voice replied. "Our power is of the moon goddess herself. I can bring beasts both physically and spiritually without the need of the full moon, which is what you see now. I can see how young, weak, and naive you both are."
Both Yukari and her beast focused a seething look towards Grandma Kuroyashi and Asuka followed by a snarling growl that reverberated around all of them. She hated being called weak and naive, much like anyone would, but she, like Bakugou, only became more enraged with the thought of being second fiddle to anyone.
"You don't know anything about me, old lady. You're a washed up pro and you're a pushover when it comes to being a Hyo-Ra. And you," she turned towards Suri and glared death into her eyes, "stop looking at me like you're my equal. You're just a side character compared to me."
So this really was what Bakugou would be like if he was a lycanthrope and had tits. Good to know. And with that thought Suri just rolled her eyes and shook her head. This girl was really beginning to drive her nuts with how much she reminded her of the worst parts of Bakugou. He was just a bully most of the time, this girl, she was just a straight up bitch.
"You are quite the comedian, little one, and a crude one at that. But I didn't choose the two of you for your superb sense of humor, in fact, I chose you two because you both did something recently that piqued my interest."
"She did something interesting," Suri and Yukari asked in unison before giving each other sour glares and scowls.
"You both declared yourselves as 'little queens' by staking claims in your own small groups," Asuka snickered. "You're more similar than either of you will realize."
"Tch, little queen," Yukari scoffed and then smirked towards Suri. "Like you're worthy to be a queen at all."
And that was it. Suri simply let a smile cross her lips, one that didn't reach her eyes, and she strode the few steps towards the other girl. Within seconds, Suri and the ghost of Atiena were toe to toe with Yukari, the taller and more voluptuous of the two, letting her size push the other back a step. Their chests mashed together and Suri stared down those two shorter inches into Kurogami's eyes, two blazing moons of golden green baring down on the shorter girl.
"You know, your mouth keeps writing checks, but I've gotta wonder," Suri smirked as she leaned into the shorter girl more. "Can your ass cash them? I don't usually hit people I've just met, but you're getting real close to getting the bitch smacked straight out of you."
"That's enough, you two," Asuka growled, the reverberated growl that accompanied it made both girls shiver and look back towards the older woman. "You both will find out just how powerful you are in just a moment."
The old woman finally revealed her hand from behind her back and it produced a small silver ball. As it moved, it rang softly with a high pitched chime and the two girls made the realization that it was a small bell. It was one that you'd find on a cat's collar. The two of them just stared at the bell and then watched the woman let a cheshire grin cross her lips. It was down right evil.
"I don't suppose you two ever watched that old ninja anime from back when I was young did you? The one with the loud blonde boy who housed a beast much like we do?"
Both girls shook their heads in response.
"No? Then I guess this is something new to you two but it's a very simple way for me to gauge what we have to work with. The objective is simple…"
Suri heard her say that it would be simple but the smile on her grandmother's face said it would be anything but simple. No, this was going to suck.
A lot.
"Take the bell from me."
"Tch, this is stupid. All we have to do is catch you and take the bell?" Yukari lowered herself much like Suri normally did into a crouched position. Her power flared and her eyes glowed with white fire. "Too easy!"
The beast girl leapt forward with a massive amount of speed that kicked up a gust of wind as she took off. In a second flat she was where the older woman used to be. Emphasis on the used to. Suri watched the air in the space next to her shimmer and suddenly her grandmother was standing next to her. And then she was suddenly gone again as the impatient greenette rushed towards that position only to end up empty handed again.
The two of them heard the bell ring and turned to face the older woman with a happy grin as she shook the bell. It rang. And she taunted the two of them with just that simple gesture. The taunting made Suri want to get in on the action and a smirk crossed her lips as she eyed her grandmother like a waiting doe.
Suri lowered herself and let Atiena's power surge upwards from her core and let the energy dance on her skin as her eyes rolled to black and green gold fire. She rushed forward, making the few yard distance in no more than a second only to find the remnants of shimmering air. The sound of the bell made her ears twitch and she saw the old woman disappear once more just as Yukari rushed her position again. Suri whipped around and rushed forward, guessing where the old woman would be and was rewarded by something wrapped around her neck. The next thing she felt was the sensation of air rushing around her, feeling weightless, and the sight of the training facility below rushing away from her. She was flying. Flying towards a wall. And with a loud smack, she barrelled into the concrete, leaving a dent from where she impacted before she fell the few feet to the ground. Suri groaned as she picked herself up off the ground in time to see Yukari now next to her on the ground.
The two of them looked up and forward as the small cat bell rang again and Grandma Kuroyashi stood there with a warm, caring smile. The fact that she could pull the sweet old lady routine after throwing two teenage girls, was scary. The fact that she was wrapping the long, black and blue whip that she had used to throw them back around her waist was terrifying.
"You two have twenty four hours to take this from me."
And just like that, she was gone again.
It was becoming the longest 24 hours in the history of 24 hours.
Fourteen hours had passed and neither Suri or Yukari had laid so much as a finger on the pro hero known as Whiplash. They had learned why she had the name first hand and now they ached from head to toe from being whipped and thrown around like ragdolls. Thrown through every inch of the training facility, not to mention a few walls. Both of them were barely able to keep themselves upright and had resorted to using columns within one of the rescue training buildings as supports. Both of their chests heaved with heavy rise and falls of breath, and their uniforms, or what was left of them, clung uncomfortably to their skin from the sweat and grime they'd worked up.
It had been a grueling fourteen hours of hell so far.
Fourteen hours of non-stop punishment. Non-stop running around chasing the old pro like they were chasing their tails. Non-stop battle of getting so close… and yet reaching their goal seemed miles away. And while the two teens were exhausted and ached to their cores, Grandma Kuroyashi had hardly broken a sweat, in fact, she had as much energy, if not more than if there were two of each of the girls.
Wait.
"Atiena, I just had a thought," Suri panted.
"What's that?" came her inner beast's voice, not quite as labored.
"I know she's one of the old ones, and that comes with a power level all its own but-"
"Who are you talking to? Who's Atiena," Yukari asked, her eyebrow raised high as she looked at the other girl like she had grown a second head.
"I am Atiena," she answered with Atiena's voice. "I'm Suri's inner beast."
"We talk to each other all the time," Suri continued, now back in her own voice.
"Wow, you and the geezer are even more delusional than I thought," Yukari scoffed and rolled her eyes.
Suri and Atiena just stared at the girl for a long time.
Sure their bond had started to root less than two months ago but the more Suri had thought about it, Atiena really had been there in the shadows since she was six years old. It had always been that there were two sides, two people in one body. Once they had begun talking to each other more frequently it had been like meeting someone who had mutual friends, went to the same places, had the same adventures but you just never crossed paths. They realized how much they shared and now, it was impossible to be separate. They were one in the same, two halves of the same coin.
Now looking at Yukari it was just… sad.
"You've never talked to her?" Suri asked.
"Who?" Yukari answered with an even more confused expression.
"Her," Suri answered, pointing towards Kurogami's chest.
"Myself?" she looked around, still confused before huffing in annoyance. "Ugh, you Kuroyashi's are all insane. Who the hell talks to themselves like that? And the voice thing… it's creepy."
Suri just stared at the girl even longer.
"So," Suri said, breaking the silence after a long moment. "During Lupanars, you're in total control? You don't lose time?"
"Of course I do. Everyone loses time when we go to the other side," she scoffed in return.
"So nothing ever fills in and you don't end up remembering some of the night before?"
"No! Why would I want to remember that?"
The two girls shared an incredulous look with each other.
"Okay, lemme get this straight, you don't have any sort of relationship with your beast at all?"
"No wonder you're so much more exhausted than we are," Atiena added.
"What are you even talking about? And I said stop doing the voice thing!"
"Kurogami," Suri spoke softly and slowly walked towards the other girl. "Where do you think our powers come from? Where does your strength, your senses, everything, where does it come from? And don't say you don't know cause we all felt your energy, I saw a vision of your beast when my Grandma did whatever she did before this test started."
"Seriously, what are you going on about?" Yukari looked at Suri with a disgusted glance and moved back from the approaching girl.
"You didn't feel it? You didn't see the vision? I saw what's inside you, and girl, it's…"
Suri froze as she remembered the image. She remembered watching the giant mostly canine creature pacing back and forth behind the girl. At the time she thought it was pacing because it wanted to fight and wanted to go on the attack. She had read the vision wrong.
"What?" Yukari asked after a few long seconds of silence.
"She was pacing," Suri finally spoke. "Now I get why I thought of a caged animal when I saw the vision because you do, you have her caged. And…"
Suri paused again as she thought back to the vision and the image of her grandmother came to mind as she rethought the entire standoff. She had a thought earlier and now, it made even more sense.
"Atiena," Suri spoke and brought the beast's energy upwards from her core. "I had thought of something a couple minutes ago and I want your thoughts on it."
"You know we share body and mind but which thought are you referring to?" Atiena's voice came in response. It made Yukari visibly shudder.
"Okay so" Suri turned around and began pacing back and forth in thought, subconsciously doing her best Izuku impression. "Because of my lycanthropy, I naturally gain a lot from you like speed, strength, agility, stamina, sense of smell, eyesight, yada yada yada, right? And when we start shifting to beast, that increases and you start taking more control and it's in full beast mode that you're completely in control and we're at our peak, right?"
"That is mostly correct. You tend to have control over our body overall until our full transformation during the full moon or for instance last week when grandmother brought me."
"Okay, so here's something I thought of; does grandma shift during the Lupanar?"
Atiena paused, freezing Suri's body in place as she had a thought.
"The furthest I've seen her go is into leopardwoman form, I think."
And it suddenly clicked for the two of them. Looking back at the earlier vision, Grandma Kuroyashi wasn't standing in front of Asuka like they had originally thought. When they thought of the great cat sitting there they realized that the older woman was standing with the creature and Asuka's giant leopard paws had actually been in front.
"Her and Asuka are interchangeable," Atiena finally said. "She's outlasted us not just because she's stronger and more experienced, she's outlasted us because the two of them are sharing stamina. If by yourself, your stamina is double a normal human, and mine by myself is quadruple or more-"
"By fluidly being one constant being gives you, what, eight to ten times the stamina and strength a normal human could have?"
"Precisely."
"Seriously, you are creeping me out!" Yukari growled in utter annoyance, her balled fists shaking at her side. The annoyance gave way and let her energy rise, the electric wave of heat dancing outward from her.
"And you are a naive little brat!"
Suri and Atiena, through shared vision, stared at the girl and let their eyes go wide. Their eyes however, were not the ones that grew to the size of dinner plates and showed way too much white. Kurogami's jade eyes shrunk into the white around them and the girl reactively slapped a hand over her mouth. She was shaking like a leaf to top it all off.
The voice that had come out of Yukari's mouth had been deeper but it hadn't carried the sultry husk like Atiena's carried. It was still a higher register like Yukari's voice already was but it also held a hint of an accent that wasn't Japanese but wasn't Latino like her dad's either. The voice did what Atiena's did in giving the illusion of what Yukari would sound like into her early twenties. It was an attractive voice, even with the bitterness it held.
"Guess, this is your first time where she spoke through you without warning?" Suri asked with a smirk.
"No," Yukari swallowed hard and shook her head way too fast.
"To be fair to her, you weren't as prepared either," Atiena admitted, trying a comforting approach. "Though, you seemed to take it a little better."
"It's not the weirdest thing you had done," Suri shrugged and looked into Yukari's fearful eyes that were wavering back and forth between human and beast. "But now I get why Grandma signed you on for an intern. Hell, you were probably set up by your parents."
"At any rate, it is a pleasure to meet you," Atiena spoke, nodding towards the shocked girl but speaking towards the creature that lived inside her.
"And to you, Atiena, was it," Yukari's beast answered. It was an interesting sight to watch when the creature took control as she spoke, her face became more neutral with a small smirk. But when she relinquished back to her human side, Yukari went back to being a terrified little girl.
"You two," Suri now, pointed towards Yukari and smirked wide, "have a lot to go over and catch up on. I can tell you one thing, it's not so bad once you get used to it. You two are one and the same and the faster you understand that, the better off you'll be. That's why our grandma is such a powerful wereleopard, she's never been two minds in the same body. They're one."
"As we need to be," Atiena responded, letting a wide grin curl over hers and Suri's lips.
With a wide fanged smile, they turned back towards the open bays of windows that faced out towards the training facility. Energy and power rose up and poured outward as they walked, the electric fire dancing off skin and around their surroundings as they stepped into the open air. The energy gave way to a quick, fluid transformation as, with each step, the human Suri slipped away and her leopardwoman form took center stage. A short coat of fur poured from skin as her face became more feline-like in appearance with a pair of sharp wolven ears taking shape, while a lush feline tail fluidly emerged from behind her. Her claws and fangs were keenly sharpened, evenly tapping along the building floor as she walked. She wasted little time with the remains of her UA uniform as she discarded it behind her, leaving only a pair of black girl briefs and a grey bra on her form.
Suri had a mental image of her seeing through her eyes just like normal but with the forest clearing from inside her mind behind her and Atiena. Atiena, who rested against Suri's back with the wolpard's powerful arms, encasing the girl's shoulders. It was a close mirror image to how she had seen her grandmother and Asuka in the earlier vision. They had figured it out, why the old woman was just so damn good and so damn powerful; she never treated her beast like a light switch. Asuka was there at the front right alongside her host, they never had an exchanging of the body, they shared it fully and completely. There was no distinction between the two of them, Grandma Kuroyashi was Asuka and Asuka was Grandma Kuroyashi.
If they wanted a shot at beating the old woman, Suri had to stop just flipping on the switch when she wanted Atiena's power. Atiena needed to be flowing through Suri at all times. They needed to be two souls that resonated as one.
And with that thought, Suri's senses were wide open and flooded with all new sensations of touch, sight, smell, and hearing. Her eyes were a bright golden green fire as she looked out at the training facility and spotted their opponent simply standing and biding her time at the center of the gym. Suri dropped from her and Yukari's perch to the ground below, her feet landing solid on the ground while her entire body took the shockwave from the fall in a long bounce. She rose slowly from the crouched position and began striding forward, each step taking her faster.
Faster.
Even faster.
Faster still.
She was bounding across the training facility and within reach of Grandma Kuroyashi in a few short seconds. A few short seconds until she was leaping at the older woman, swiping claws at her and the bell only to bat at shimmering air. She could hear the bell ring like she had after every time Grandma had vanished but now it wasn't as delayed as it was before. The shimmering air behind her where she had missed on her attack showed a trail of after images leading to where the old woman was now. She skid on her feet to turn as she landed and then dug her claws into the ground as she lunged after the trail.
Each lunge missed but only just barely. She was almost fast enough each time, getting closer with each time she tried. She was still chasing her tail, sure, but now it didn't seem as impossible to reach her goal. Even more so when all of the fatigue that she had felt before, all of the aching pain seemed to be gone.
Grandma Kuroyashi smiled as she casually seemed to warp from place to place and then back and back, just keeping out of reach every time. She was so relaxed and confident in her movements. It did two things for Suri, one being that she wanted to have that same kind of confidence and control, and two it pissed her off how easily she was beating her. She knew that age and experience played a large role but it still annoyed her. Annoyed her that she wasn't good enough yet.
Or was she?
Suri pushed harder, forcing herself to go even faster until everything around her and Grandma Kuroyashi seemed to slow down. Her strides were long and powerful, propelling her as fast as she could possibly go. No longer was Grandma Kuroyashi seeming to just warp and teleport in a wake of after images, Suri could now see her legs moving. The two of them were running in blinding strides and the world seemed to shrink down to just those few feet that separated the two of them. Suri let out a feral scream and pushed herself faster, closing the distance before she leapt, lunging at her grandmother. Her finger brushed against something but still came up short as she realized she had gone past the older woman who had abruptly stopped.
Before she could recover she felt the familiar weight and tension around her neck as the long, thick cord of Grandma Kuroyashi's whip wrapped around her. Suri knew what was to come next and took a quick, reactive step that spun her around to face the other woman. She then wrapped the taught cord around her right arm, grabbed it and then planted her feet. To complete the counter Suri quickly grabbed the whip's cord with her left hand and kept the two of them in a stalemate. Instead of being thrown like she had been so many times before it was Suri's turn to try the move and pulled with every ounce of strength she had.
Nothing happened.
The cord went taught with the pull but nothing happened and Suri let out a ferocious snarl of a growl as she watched her Grandmother simply take the force and stayed in place. Suri knew she could bench press a car in this form, hell, she could bench press a cargo van in her full beast form with ease, so for her grandmother to act like nothing happened scared her. She knew her grandmother was terrifying to most of the wereleopards with just how powerful she was and she didn't underestimate that power. No, she had just expected… something.
Suri decided then that if she couldn't whip grandma towards her, then she'd just have to go to the old woman herself. So with the same force she had pulled to try and yank Grandma Kuroyashi towards her, Suri used the same power to take a hop step and catapulted herself towards the other woman. She came at her like a comet with claws and teeth and tried to pull off a surprise comet kick. She was within an inch of planting her feet square in her grandmother's chest before the air shimmered again.
She had a split second to go wide eyed and then the tension on her arm came back to haunt her. Her feet never touched the ground before she had the experience of flying. Again. She was hit with a rush of g-forces as Whiplash swung her around in massive circles. Suri knew what would happen next and prepared herself for the next flight as the whip unfurled from her arm and neck and she was sent careening towards a wall. Her eyes were shut to keep from getting nauseous and her hearing and touch made up for it, predicting the location of the wall, turning her body in mid air and planting her feet against the wall. She crouched against the wall, essentially landing on it perpendicular to the ground below, and then used her powerful legs like a pair of coils.
She launched herself like a missile once again, going for another swipe, completely expecting the following dodging movement her grandmother made before lunging again and again. She purposely missed her lunges to effectively corner the old woman in the circle created by her attacks. Suri kept her movements going, never stopping for more than a half second as she kept up the five-point star pattern. She would alter the pattern at random every few moments trying to catch her grandmother off guard, taking random swipes of her claws and teeth both at the woman and the bell that she had attached to her waist.
On one of her random attacks she got more than she bargained for as she got hit by what felt like a brick wall. She had a knee forced into her gut with incredible force as she hit solid at full speed. She rolled and doubled over, coughing for breath and forcing back the bile that had rushed up her throat. She was in the middle of fighting off throwing up when her ears piqued and she raised her forearms over her head in time to block a right tiger palm strike followed by a whirling left kick.
Suri hoped she could counter as Grandma Kuroyashi corrected herself and with all she had jumped upwards, trying to tackle her opponent. Her arms wrapped around the woman's waist and she yelled her frustration as she tried to take her down. The screams were cut off and she gritted her teeth as she was met with an elbow to the back of the head. She persevered and kept pushing even as a second and then third blow rocked the back of her head.
Then something happened. Suri felt her grandmother's weight give and she took the older woman to the ground. With another scream she rode her down and for a split second had her pinned before she was thrown violently. As she was thrown, she grabbed at anything she could and came away empty handed as she found herself flying upside down this time a few meters away. She skidded, empty handed from another failed attack as she hit the ground, rolling and skidding, violently tossed like an old toy doll. All that effort for nothing.
Or so she thought.
Her eyes fluttered as she tried to pull herself back into the fight. She now saw what had helped take her grandmother to the ground as she watched the old woman holding a half transformed Yukari in a rear chokehold. She stumbled getting to her feet to rescue the other teen when she heard it; a jingle of a bell.
Suri froze and realized there was a weight in her hand, the feel of smooth, cold metal and then another ring as she lifted her hand. There it was, a small silver cat's bell. She had done it and it was then that Grandma Kuroyashi realized her slip up. The old woman's eyes went wide and she released the chokehold as she quickly looked down, patted at her waist, and then looked back up. There was an animalistic rage in her eyes at first before they softened and a smile crossed the old woman's lips.
"It appears that I have been bested," she replied after taking a long, deep breath. "Congratulations, you two. Though I did expect this to happen a lot sooner."
Suri stumbled forward and carried the bell towards the two other women before she took an exhausted flop to lay on her back next to Yukari. The two of them caught their breaths and slowly let their human forms take back full control as they laid there, staring at the tall ceiling. The two of them would agree that it was a better sight laying down as opposed to when they had seen it dozens of times before being flung towards it. Yukari had been the most unfortunate one of the two, having hit the roof at least four times.
While the two girls laid on the ground trying to get any sort of rest and recovery that they could muster from the grueling exercise, Grandma Kuroyashi pulled a handkerchief from one of the pouches around her waist belt. The two watched as she nonchalantly wiped several small tracks of blood from her cheek and then stared at the crimson stained cloth with a smirk. The two girls shared a questioning glance before looking back up to the old woman.
"It's been years since anyone's drawn blood. They may have been lucky strikes on your parts, but," she crouched down closer to the girls and showed them the damage. The two got a closer look at the three long scratches along her left cheek, and two wider spread lines on her right and then tried guessing who's scratches were who's. "You two did what many have tried and failed time and time again to do for decades."
"Thanks… I guess," Yukari said cautiously.
"Have you always been this fast," Suri asked as her breathing finally started to become normal and slow.
"Heavens no," she laughed with a wide grin. "In fact, I've gotten slower over the last few years. Seems that age is finally catching up to this old lady."
The two girls blinked wide and just stared.
Did she just say she was slow?
"And Young Kurogami, I take it you've finally opened up to your beast, yes?"
Yukari blinked and then after a moment of silence she sat up and pulled her knees to her chest and cradled them tight. She was staring off into the distance before she swallowed and then looked up to Grandma Kuroyashi with a worried glance.
"I-I have. I… don't really know what to make of it yet."
"Eh," Suri shrugged and sat up, pulling one knee up to wrap her arms around and rest her chin upon. She gave a glance of solidarity to the other girl before she continued on. "You get used to it pretty quick. Just keep in mind that they can punish you if you piss them off."
Yukari went wide-eyed and scared which made Suri laugh and shake her head. She gave the girl a lazy wave to defend against her fearful look as she tried reassurance.
"Atiena always makes sure to remind me that, even when I'm not around my family, my friends and classmates, my girlfriends," Suri let a warm smile cross her lips as she thought about her Tooru and Mina, her thoughts lingering for a silent moment. Then she remembered she was talking. "When I feel like I'm alone, she reminds me that I'm not, and never will be. She made the entrance exams into UA an absolute bitch because I was feeling lonely and made her feel like I had forgotten about her. I had to do the whole thing as close to human as you can get. And we hadn't even started talking to each other yet."
"So you… two," she paused, still visibly confused by the prospect. "You've been talking for a while now?"
Suri tilted her head and thought about it.
"We've been in school for a month, give or take? We started speaking basically the first day of school but I've always known she's been there. I've always known where our powers come from so, like, I was shocked at first, but I wasn't? If that makes sense."
"Sort of."
"At any rate, you two have a lot of lost time to make up," Grandma Kuroyashi spoke up and held out a hand to each of the girls. The girls took a hand each and were hoisted with ease back onto their feet. "You and your beast are quite a ways behind Suri and Atiena. So this evening we'll do some exercises to help bond yourself to your inner self. After you two have gotten cleaned up and some food and sleep of course. I'll show you two to your quarters."
"We're staying here?" Suri and Yukari asked in unison.
"Of course," the old woman happily replied. "The apartment building next door is part of my hero agency for my newer sidekicks that are just starting out. I've got one open that's perfect for the two of you."
"We're rooming together?" Suri asked and looked at the other girl.
"Absolutely," she giggled and sounded a little like Nezu at that moment. Much too cheerful.
"Eh," Yukari shrugged. "Guess there's worse roommates than a glorified extra."
Yukari smirked at Suri and got a good scoff and eyeroll in return.
"And here I thought you weren't going to be a bitch for the rest of the week."
"Ladies, this way please," Grandma Kuroyashi rolled her eyes as well and shook her head before turning around and heading for the elevators. "I'm sure you want some sleep before four in the morning rolls around."
"Yes, ma'am," they answered in unison.
When they got to the elevator door the two of them found their hero suit briefcases and their backpacks neatly set against the wall. At least someone hadn't forgotten them. Once they were retrieved, they went to stand in the elevator and began to ride it up before the two girls made a realization of certain things.
"Wow, we look like shit," Suri chuckled. "You sure you want us walking around your agency like this?"
Yukari blinked for a long moment, then looked over Suri's half naked body and then looked down at herself and realized that other than the skirt somehow still intact, she was just as disheveled. Better yet was the fact that the two of them were covered in dried blood, scrapes and cuts, massive bruises, and sweat and grime. Suri was right, they looked like they had gotten the shit beat out of them.
Because they had.
"It's nothing new, most of the new sidekicks come up looking like this on their first day after we test them," Grandma Kuroyashi shrugged.
Suri made another realization. She'd said that her grandmother was one of the scariest women she had ever met but now she understood why she had thought that. She had known that the old woman was incredibly strong and she had always felt the immense amount of metaphysical energy that always surrounded her. It was the fact that she had always felt the weight of that power, terrifying levels of power hidden behind the face of a kind, soft spoken old woman. And in that moment, Suri pitied the idiot villain that would underestimate the woman just because she looked like a sweet old grandma.
She began to question once again how much she really knew about her sweet old grandmother as the woman led them through her agency building. She led them out of view of the main lobby, which looked to be quiet and mostly empty, to a large hallway full of offices behind the elevator hallway and then to a large set of wooden double doors. Those wooden doors opened into another lobby that looked like it was inside of a fancy, high-dollar hotel. It was decked in an assortment of paintings and artwork worthy of an upscale gallery along with luxurious and comfy looking furniture. It reminded Suri of the Kuroyashi Compound.
It felt like home.
She led them to a ground floor apartment that, again, reminded Suri of the compound with how upscale it seemed. It was comfortable and homey. And again, another realization, if the other apartments looked like this, the new heroes and sidekicks got spoiled. Then she remembered the greeting and warm welcome she had gotten when they arrived yesterday morning. They looked at her with the same love and adoration Suri had and it hit home.
This old woman really did everything she could to take care of so many people and Suri couldn't help but feel like she had taken advantage of the hospitality. She felt a sharp pang of guilt and she tightened her hands into fists. Suri was going to make damn sure she repaid her grandmother's kindness somehow. She was going to work her ass off and stop acting like such a freeloader. She was going to make Grandma Kuroyashi proud by becoming a hero and paying her back someday.
But first.
"This bathroom is huge!" Yukari exclaimed, drawing Suri's attention to the shower and bathtub, both of which could fit half a dozen people.
"Goodnight, young ladies, don't stay up too much longer," Grandma Kuroyashi smiled and went for the door to the apartment.
"Yeah, night," Yukari replied, still mostly focused on the size of the tub.
"Goodnight, grandma, and thank you. For everything."
"You are most welcome. I love you, Pupkit."
"Love you too," Suri smiled and gave a small bow to the old woman as the door shut.
Once the two girls were alone, Suri turned back, walked into the bathroom and began stripping before she even passed Yukari. She was nude before she reached the large glass door to the shower and heard the other girl eep at the sight.
"What do you think you are doing?" Yukari grumbled as she watched her new roommate. Suri looked over her shoulder and watched the girl's cheeks fill with red as she blushed. Hard.
"I'm getting showered and then I'm going to go pass the fuck out on one of the beds. What about you?"
"The same thing but I…"
Oh lord, this girl was something else.
"Honey, you're cute and all but you don't have to worry about me. This girl's already spoken for. Speaking of which," Suri stopped short of turning on the water and went back into the large bedroom, fished her phone out of her backpack and let the small screen wake to life. There were missed texts. Lots of them. "Wow."
"What?" Yukari asked as Suri came back into the bathroom.
"I… may have forgotten to tell my girlfriends I made it here and what was going on," Suri chuckled half heartedly and full of guilt. She showed the other girl the amount of messages which made her laugh.
"Wow is right," Yukari laughed and the fact that Suri was taken seemed to ease the tension in her and she too stripped. She giggled again as she got ready for the shower and heard Suri playing a video of said girlfriends all but sobbing as they desperately tried to reach her.
"Hey babes," Suri said in a heartfelt, apologetic tone as she recorded a quick video update to send to the two waiting girls. "I know I know I'm a jerk for not calling or texting when we got to Shinjuku but... we made it! Heh…"
Suri then quickly filled the bathroom with the sound of tapping as she explained the entire situation to Tooru and Mina. She filled them in about the agency her grandma apparently had this entire time. She told them about meeting the Lupa and Hyo-Gu of Shinjuku, meeting their daughter, and then instantly being thrown into training. She told them highlights about the entire grueling near fifteen hour experience and how they were just now getting to the apartment. She also reassured them that she wasn't going to have her way with Yukari.
Which she wasn't.
Honestly.
She would be a good girl!
Then to top everything off Suri held the camera out and positioned herself in front of the mirror in what should have been a sexy selfie. She loved sending those to the two of them. She also loved receiving them but that was a secret kept to her and her phone. The non-sexy selfie showed off all of the cuts and bruises she had gotten at the hands of Grandma Kuroyashi, and all of the grime and filth that had been collected over the fourteen and a half hour period. She even grabbed Yukari and pulled her to the mirror to snap a couple photos of her, much to her surprise, to show off all of the damage the two of them collected.
"And sent," Suri smiled and looked at her phone.
She really was crazy about the two of them wasn't she?
Her nose flared then and her face soured. Less swooning, more washy wash. Suri turned around to see Yukari already starting the hot water and sighing in delight as the warmth began to spray against her hand.
"You coming?" she asked as she turned back to look at Suri.
Suri looked at the other girl and smirked as she began to pad forward.
"Yup," she replied, trying to ignore the way Yukari involuntarily bit her lip as she made her way towards the shorter girl.
Suri would be a good girl.
And besides, she was far too tired and exhausted for what that lip bite was hoping would happen. Both of them were. This was just going to be two wereanimal girls getting a much needed shower that would rinse off all of the gunk, heat up and loosen sore muscles, and get them relaxed enough to sleep in the other room. And that's what Suri made sure happened, she made sure she didn't let her eyes linger and instead focused on the heat and the water. Focused on easing the stiff muscles all over her body, focused on feeling relaxed, and focused on how much better she felt afterwards.
Once her body and hair were lathered and washed she let out a deep sigh of a breath as she stepped out and dried off. She wrapped her towel on top of her head to help dry her hair and soak up all of the lingering moisture in it. She didn't even bother dressing as she randomly picked one of the two beds in the large bedroom and leapt onto it. She stretched and laid her body out, loving the way the cool, soft fabric rubbed against her bare skin. Her eyes began to feel heavy as she watched Yukari come out of the bathroom in the same fashion, flipping off the light to both the bathroom and bedroom before mimicking a cat in the same fashion, stretching and curling around on the sheets.
"Night, loser," she said in a playfully arrogant tone.
"Right back at you, jerk," Suri smirked and let her eyes weigh themselves closed.
And with that both of them did what they said they would do.
They passed the fuck out.