26.06.2023
It is I, the Absolute Madman and I'm back with your weekly dose of Evil Within! And since there are no comments to respond to we can get right into the chapter!
Enjoy!:
The third day of the internship started off quite intensely, all thanks to the sparring and training sessions that Monk'ai decided to hold first thing in the morning. To his surprise, Izuku actually managed to make some significant progress with his new ability, forming smaller and more durable barriers. They might've shattered after a single hit, but that was still an attack nullified that would otherwise cause much damage. Monk'ai wasn't really going all out when testing the durability, but poking the shield no longer caused it to fade so that was a definite upgrade over the previous tries. Izuku was so motivated because of this unexpected development that he wanted to stay longer and train even more, but his mentor was quick to remind him that overdoing things will only lead to burnout and diminishing returns coupled with a general lack of progress. Slow and steady wins the race after all.
Izuku was a bit bummed by that, especially with the prospect of gains dangling tantalizingly in front of him, but respected his mentor's order nonetheless. To help him cope with that, Monk'ai disclosed the next step of the training - incorporating attacks into the defense. How can you attack whilst defending puzzled Izuku greatly, but Monk'ai was quick to explain everything.
"When you read about grand medieval battles you usually have that depiction of an infantry line marching forward as the enemy force constantly bombard them with a rain of arrows, bolts and various siege engines, right?" The white-haired man began, hoping to better convey his ideas with an example. "The infantrymen, royal knights and levied peasants alike, would put their shields up and continue closing the distance, hoping not to get shot in the knee or something like that. So, they were protecting themselves from the arrows with their shields whilst charging the enemy line, basically defending and attacking at the same time."
"In line with the 'the greatest defense is a good offense' motto?" Izuku chimed in, starting to put two and two together though he was still getting fives for some reason.
"Exactly!" Monk'ai bellowed out, drawing the attention of some early birds that also wanted to get a workout in before starting their days. "If they stood back with their shields up then the enemy would eventually run out of ammunition, that's obvious, but they'd surely suffer more casualties. The more aggressive approach allows them to force the skirmishers to hold fire either by charging them or engaging the enemy front line in melee. That's what I believe you should train to achieve - create a move or a tactic that would allow you to close the distance to the enemy without leaving yourself open."
"I suppose I shouldn't be just charging my opponent, right?" Izuku observed thoughtfully.
"That's also true. There are a few things you can draw inspiration from. I'm not expecting you to rush in with inhuman speed like the Bulletproof Samurai. You may very well end up doing just that, once your control over your barrier and your coordination allow it that is, but for now you should just focus on becoming a walking tank, one that might protect itself from projectile attacks whilst constantly advancing towards your opponent." Monk'ai concluded the explanation.
"Bulletproof Samurai?" Izuku asked curiously, eliciting a laugh from his mentor.
"I sure hope this isn't the only thing you're going to remember from my explanation!" Monk'ai joked and wiped a stray tear from the corner of his eye. "It's another one of my mother's stories. Long story short, there supposedly was this guy right at the dawn of quirks, third, maybe fourth generation tops, who was a vigilante all the way north in Akita who donned a samurai armor complete with a blue oni mask and even a katana. Criminals at that point in time were only just transitioning from guns to quirks so firearms were quite common in the back alleys. And yet, legends say that bullets would simply bounce off of the man as if made of sponge!" Being able to tell another one of his mother's stories seemed to excite Monk'ai, but he quickly regained his composure for one last sentence. "Now I guess you know why he was called the Bulletproof Samurai?"
"Well, I'm not entirely sure, but I get the picture." Izuku responded with a smile.
"That's all I can ask for!" Monk'ai exclaimed whilst patting his student on the back rather forcefully. "Alright, go grab a shower, maybe something to eat and change into your suit, we'll be going on a patrol today." Monk'ai ordered and the two left to prepare themselves for the day ahead of them.
Izuku should've expected his mentor to have a sneaky plan up his sleeve, especially with all the flags popping up during the short trek.
First they turned left whilst exiting the agency, heading directly towards the Yanaka Graveyard. This wasn't that suspicious since Monk'ai could've been leading them towards a local crime hotspot or something along those lines or simply wanted them to talk on the move, but neither of those things came to be. Instead Izuku found himself retracing the exact same path he walked with Shiozaki just a few days ago.
This could've been a coincidence of course, so Izuku didn't think much of it and simply kept following Monk'ai as they made some insignificant small talk along the way.
Only once they arrived in front of the Nippori Station did Izuku realize what was on today's agenda - they were going on a trip outside of Yanaka! That was unexpected, but also quite exhilarating in its own right. Although it would certainly be much better without the dread.
You see, Monk'ai decided that taking baby steps was for losers and decided to throw Izuku off the deeper end - not quite the deepest, but far from shallow too - and chose the 'Manhattan of Tokyo' - Ginza - as their destination.
Ginza is home to many luxurious - and ludicrously expensive! - shops, drawing massive crowds on a daily basis and creating a heaven for skilled pick-pockets. The people of Ginza are not left to their own devices however as there are many hero agencies in the area, their overlapping jurisdiction leading to a huge amount of inter-agency team ups and great training ground for improving improvisation, teamwork and quick thinking.
Izuku wasn't very used to crowds - understandable since he spent the bigger part of his life in a secluded monastery - but he wasn't exactly nervous about having to navigate a crowd. His massive frame made that surprisingly easy already and so he certainly didn't have to worry about that with Monk'ai thrown into the mix. He wasn't a recluse either so even if many people would stop to have a chat he was prepared for that already. The thing that worried him was probably the realization that all those people going about their days en masse would count on him if something were to happen. He wasn't one to shy away from duty of course, but it was still quite the responsibility to carry. Thankfully he had wide shoulders to carry that burden!
As expected - the crowd was immense. Izuku didn't let those numbers phase him though and he continued tailing Monk'ai like a shadow, passing this abrupt initiation with flying colors. People in this part of Tokyo were vastly different from what Izuku got used to in Yanaka, that was to be expected now that he thought about it.
Yanaka was quite the peaceful neighborhood, an oasis surrounded by a bustling metropolis with millions of residents. And yet, Yanaka itself was quiet and calm. People had a lot of free time on their hands, always were eager to chit-chat and lived their lives at their own pace. The people in Ginza though - very different.
This shopping paradise was bustling with all sorts of individuals who wanted nothing more than to get on with their day, fulfilling tasks, checking stuff off of shopping lists or grabbing a quick - and overpriced - cup of coffee in between business meetings. They didn't have time to mingle carelessly. It was quite the culture shock at first, but Izuku quickly got used to the sudden change of pace. Even the calmest of days could suddenly turn into hectic ones in the blink of an eye, so this was a valuable experience!
"Why do I feel like this is some not-so-discrete foreshadowing?"
Once Izuku got used to the rhythm that Ginza ran on, the patrol continued almost exactly like the ones they'd done previously - lots of walking, smiling for the public and throwing a word or two to the more enthusiastic and relaxed members of the crowd. The one thing that Izuku hadn't experienced before was the presence of other heroes in the area. They'd bumped into three different duos in the span of an hour!
They mostly kept their distance from each other and greeted the fellow heroes with a simple nod before moving on with their routes, but there was one particular team that took this approach, picked it up, flipped it and the reversed it by basically attaching themselves to Izuku and Monk'ai and following them for a few minutes, completely abandoning their route, if they even had one to start with that is.
The two fellow pros introduced themselves as Blackout and Puppeteer, hailing from the local big hero agency belonging to Blackout himself. It sort of explained why they strayed away from their path, it's not like they'd have to explain it to someone upon their return if one of them was literally running the place.
Blackout was a man with - supposedly natural - neon-blue hair. His costume consisted of a jumpsuit with a tactical vest on the front and some touches of armor on his limbs. A set of matte black goggles resting on his head was the only support gear Izuku could spot, probably meaning that Blackout's quirk was quite versatile in combat. As it turned out - it really was, though it was also gimmicky as all hell. His quirk - Technopathy as he called it - allowed him to control all manners of electronics from the simplest wrist watches to the most complex flat-screen displays and home appliances. The fun part was - he could fuse things together and was a bit of an overly enthusiastic mad scientist. At least that's how his partner described him as.
Speaking of - Puppeteer was a woman with - once again supposedly natural - neon-pink hair that reached about halfway down her back and was held in place by a simple hairband. Her suit looked shockingly similar to her boss' but she had a lot more armored plates on her jumpsuit and wore some strange gadgets on her belt. Her quirk - Hostile Takeover - allowed her to forcefully activate other people's quirks by simply touching them with her hand. It sounded like it'd be very tricky to use and Puppeteer herself agreed with that assessment, stating that there were many times where she had to fall back on her martial arts as the villain's quirk was too destructive to turn it against them.
The topic of martial arts sparked a new conversation amongst the group, although Blackout was a bit left out of it since he was the only one out of the four that did not practice any martial arts whatsoever. He didn't seem to mind it that much since he was wholly infatuated with Izuku's case, or rather with the gear that allowed it to float in the air and follow them around.
"The design looks familiar, though he usually goes with black overalls and red details…" Izuku overheard the man musing to himself at one point.
Now, whilst their interests varied greatly, their personalities didn't. The two would constantly bicker with each other and throw verbal jabs about insignificant things, ones that you'd have to try really hard to be hurt by. This continued for quite some time before Izuku eventually joked that the two bicker like siblings. The quip seemed funny to Izuku, but it stopped being a joke when the two confirmed that they were not just siblings but even twins! It would honestly explain the vibrant- neon-like color of their hair and matching outfits.
They continued patrolling as a group for half an hour or so before eventually breaking off and returning to their duties. This interaction, though completely random and unexpected, threw Izuku for a loop later that day. There was no way he could've met those two since this is his first time in Tokyo and they seemed to be in their late twenties, yet Izuku couldn't shake off this strange feeling of deja vu. Since he couldn't get rid of it he decided to suppress instead and carry on with his day.
Despite all the traffic that rolled through Ginza, Monk'ai and Izuku seemed to repel criminals and this day too ended up being quite uneventful. They did manage to stumble upon a crime scene - a robbery gone wrong when a hero who was returning home from work ended up being chosen as a victim. Suffice to say it was over quickly and they managed to catch the perpetrator being taken into custody by the police and the hero explaining what happened.
Using this scene as an example, Monk'ai decided to brief Izuku on how this usually worked, what to include in his reports and which parts can be omitted in a rush. You don't have to remember the exact number of times you had to punch someone in the face to knock them out or how many teeth flew out of their mouth after a vicious hook.
Once the day began giving way to the night and the shops started to close one by one, Monk'ai decided to conclude their patrol and return to the agency to potentially get some exercise in before calling it a day and heading to bed.
Unfortunately a villain attack in Akihabara had damaged the train tracks and so they were forced to take the long way around Tokyo to return to Yanaka.
The journey back was rather peaceful with Monk'ai recalling a few key things that Izuku should remember about in the future and recalling the most important stuff that he'd said throughout the day. Somewhere along the way however Izuku got a headache, one that came out of nowhere but thankfully wasn't that severe.
Monk'ai was quick to blame it on fatigue and simply concluded that they'd forego the evening training so that Izuku can properly rest for tomorrow. They had only three more days left and Monk'ai was determined to make the most of them, so having Izuku barely able to stand upright would do them no good. The headache however grew stronger and stronger with each station that the train stopped at. It was almost as if there was something out there causing it and they were getting closer and closer to the source.
"On your left!" The daemon suddenly exclaimed but before Izuku could react their train car was hit by something and derailed.
The next thing Izuku remembers was waking up to someone screaming his name.
"Wake up kiddo, we gotta move! Shit hit the fan I tell you!" Monk'ai yelled at the top of his lungs.
"What's going on?" Izuku asked as he regained consciousness and started getting his act together on the double.
"I'm not sure. Edgeshot ordered every available hero on- and off-duty to rush to Hosu and prepare for heavy fighting and rescue efforts. Apparently more of those things appeared there and are causing massive damage." Monk'ai quickly explained.
"What things-?" Izuku was about to question when he spotted the giant body laying just off to the side.
Beak? Check. Exposed brain? Check. Massive body devoid of hair but filled to the brim with muscle? Check. And the thing even had fuckin' wings!
"That's one, ugly motherfucker." The daemon expertly summed up.
"It's this thing again…" Izuku mumbled out just loud enough for Monk'ai to hear him.
"Have you seen those before?" The white-haired man asked.
"Yeah. The villains that attacked us on UA grounds had a monster like that one." Izuku explained, flashes of that horrible day appearing before him and fading away in an instant.
"Shit." The hero cursed as he examined the creature one last time. "Can you do it? Face them again?" He asked seriously before making the final call.
"It's not a matter of whether I can or can't." Izuku responded with equal seriousness in his voice. "There are people out there that need our help, right? I wouldn't be a good hero if I stopped helping people because I'm afraid." He said with confidence.
Monk'ai closely examined Izuku's expression, looking for any and all signs of ingenuity but was pleasantly surprised to find nothing but conviction and determination. He even allowed himself to smile at that.
"That's a very noble answer and an essence of what a hero should act like. I trust you'll be able to handle this. Let's move, we can't let others have all the fun." Monk'ai finally decided and extended a hand for Izuku to take.
After pulling his student back up to his feet, Monk'ai reported they were en route to the scene and would arrive shortly. One last look around the crash site to make sure no one needed their help here was all they did before sprinting off into the night, distant explosions deafening the usual soundtrack of Tokyo.
Shit's about to get real in Hosu! Let's hope everyone acts rationally and no one thinks about doing selfish things in the heat of the moment! *jinx* Oh, did, did I just jinx it? Oh well... Anyhow that's an issue for a future me and content for future you!
Also, if anyone recognized the hero twins - I salute to you, veterans of my insanity. I hope you'll stick around even longer than you already have.
For now have a great day and I'll catch y'all in the next update