December 24 - Day 12
Chitose, trembling fingers hovering over the keyboard, frantically ducked down and pulled out the pair of binoculars from the paper bag right next to her left foot. The distance between her real location and the fake location she gave out to Skeptic is relatively far away from each other and, for a peace of mind, she wants to confirm that the ice shard (that she missed when it entered) is somewhere near where she wants it to be.
Now while there's certainly a certain degree of awkwardness on using a pair of binoculars right in the middle of Cybersleuths, but her life is currently on the line and she doesn't care one bit if ever people saw her doing it – not that there's even any people left at this point, the ground floor is basically already empty except for four individuals, with her being one of them.
Chitose scanned the general area of the fake location she gave out, aiming to find the ice shard Izuku talked about. But now there's a problem: the ice shard is quite on the small side, only about the size of a pen. With the sheer amount of Christmas decorations about, where could it be? It could literally be anywhere!
Nervous and trembling, she put her binoculars down and turned her attention back towards her computer screen.
'Curious, I advise you to keep your attention locked to the floor. Geten will conjure a small ice spire and rotate it around, your job is to stay in the middle of the drawn sphere. Clear? As of this current moment, I received word from him that he's ready to tunnel directly under you.'
'Clear. I'm looking down now.' Chitose hurriedly typed in and immediately returned to scanning a particular area with her binoculars. Since Skeptic is, oddly enough, specifically instructing her to keep her attention down the floor, that could be a clue that the initial ice shard is located somewhere in a high place. But where could it be?!
'If I was Geten, where would I put my ice?' she repeatedly asked herself in her panicked mind. 'If water is my main ammo and the only thing my ice can detect, and I only snuck in a single shard here, that means to get more ammo I should find other sources of water, but where-AHA!' A nervous grin instantly appeared on her face upon spotting a small protruding ice shard (now with an odd broken tip), nestled among the Christmas garland, and pointing directly at the water pipes of Cybersleuths's fire sprinkler system - specifically the pipes located just right above the fake location she told them.
"Er, Kizuki? Should I do anything? Because uh… if I see you die right before my eyes I'm gonna be haunted by it forever. Also in case you forgot the escape routes they're-"
"Hang in there, Midoriya! They took the bait! Don't worry I'm gonna be just fine…" Chitose answered, her voice trembling, hoping that Izuku would just calm down. After taking one deep breath, she then repeated, "just hang in there, I'm gonna be fine." She suddenly paused for a brief while, somewhat feeling like she should say something more.
"Are you really gonna be fine?!"
"I'm fine… j-just… please don't leave me…" she lightly whimpered in response, only to realize too late what she just said. But instead of countering it with something, she just let it happen.
"Okay Kizuki I'll stay here with you! Just don't die okay?!" came a loud whispered response, voice also audibly trembling. "If I spot more ice stuff I'll let you know ASAP!"
Nodding instinctively, Chitose then did a quick glance with her binoculars towards the small ice shard embedded among the decorations, before putting it down again and turning her attention back to her computer screen. Apparently, there are now multiple strings of messages from Skeptic, progressively getting more and more irritated, with the latest one being, "CURIOUS! WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?! ANSWER NOW! GETEN'S ALREADY IN POSITION, DO YOU WANT TO GET BACK TO US OR NOT? IF SO, ARE YOU ALREADY IN POSITION OR WHAT?!'
'I'm in position,' Chitose typed in response, deliberately keeping it short, before once again hurriedly putting her binoculars on and looking towards the floor of her fake location. As with what Skeptic said earlier, there's indeed a small inconspicuous ice shard – that looked like it was the tip that was broken off from the first one she found, going around in a circular pattern around the potted plant.
She was about to turn her focus back to her computer when the bigger ice shard rapidly extended and pierced into the fire sprinkler pipe in front of it, all coincidentally at the same time a massive booming sound erupted from the ongoing villain battle just nearby. Not a second too soon, multiple small ice spires erupted from the water pipe, each one a meter long with the tips shaped like a spear's, and stabbed down into the hapless potted plant, with not a single one even affecting the two wooden cabinets beside it. Each one of the ice spears then rapidly injected the black fluid within them (that's somehow evenly distributed between the spears) into the soil, before quickly retracting back into the pipe and sealing it with ice.
Chitose, mouth agape, arms trembling, and utterly speechless, kept her gaze locked on towards the particular area. If she was sitting there, the spires would have gotten straight through her head and through her body.
…
"M-midoriya… they s-s-stabbed the plant… and then poisoned it…" she stammered into her mic as she kept her gaze locked onto the particular plant as she put her binoculars down. At this point it's very clear, it's an intentional assassination. As for the very few remaining people left, no one noticed anything due to the sounds completely masked by the ongoing villain battle outside. And as for the mysterious black fluid contained within the ice, the plant is strangely not even affected at all.
…
With a still-trembling hand, Chitose lifted up her binoculars once more and inspected the ice plugs Geten left in. As it appears they're now starting to melt, which can only mean one thing - he stopped controlling them. Geten must have left at this point.
She then slowly turned around to her computer screen. There's still her 'I'm in position' that she typed in earlier. And before she could even start to think what should she do with it, the chatbox automatically closed on its own, alongside the entire web page itself. A few seconds later, the mouse cursor started moving on its own. Chitose knew it has something to do with Skeptic (she'd seen him do this numerous times on various computers), but what could he be doing-?
Chitose's eyes widened upon realizing that Skeptic is about to attempt to open up the computer's webcam. In response, she hurriedly reached up and quickly disconnected her computer's webcam from the CPU. Afterwards, she went back and stared at the automatically-moving mouse cursor. It kept hovering over the button that should turn the webcam on, but of course it can't work anymore because of the disconnection. Skeptic then tried to troubleshoot it with various means, but just after a minute, the mouse cursor eventually stopped moving around. Skeptic gave up.
Chitose was about to let out a sigh of relief when she heard a loud crash nearby. But before she could even react, there's suddenly a second, much louder one, and then suddenly all the fire sprinkler pipes inside Cybersleuths began spewing out water from numerous holes that spontaneously formed along the pipe network across the ceiling. A few seconds later she then heard loud maniacal laughing from outside, followed closely by some more loud yelling about how the heroes will never get him alive, before running off in mad laughter. She deduced that it must be the 'villain' Skeptic used to bring everyone outside.
Almost immediately after the small event Chitose could hear the few people left groaning about their ruined computers, before leaving as well. Now she's completely alone on the ground floor.
"Midoriya! Hold on for a bit!" She yelled into her headphones as the water continued to pour in. But still, thinking that the sudden broken pipes may still be part of the assassination, she decided to just duck and hide underneath her computer table for the time being. She will be only truly safe once All Might is physically on the scene.
'I'm calling All Might-*!' came Izuku's loud panicked voice from the headphones before suddenly getting cut off due to water damage.
'All Might's arriving soon anyways…' Chitose thought as she tucked herself underneath her computer table, clutching her Memory purse tightly as the water from the busted pipes continue to pour down, ruining the computers all over (with some even emitting violent electrical noises). Meanwhile she could also hear a person loudly yelling from the second floor, she doesn't know who it could might be, but from that she deduced that the second floor is also affected. As for her, she just stayed put, lightly wondering as to why she can't feel the cold despite her already being drenched from head to toe. Was it because she just survived an assassination attempt from a person she knew for over 20 years? Was it the sheer nervousness instantly turning into relief? Was it something else? She doesn't know what's causing it, but the main point is that once All Might arrives, everything's done.
She'll be completely safe.
But as of the current time, especially with water everywhere – more than plenty enough for Geten to use if ever he decides to return. The best way to ensure her safety is to just stay hidden, even if it means cramping herself up in a small space. As long as she's out of sight, she'll be safe.
As she hid, her thoughts eventually drifted off to Skeptic. The thought of him alone made her instinctively grit her teeth as an overwhelming surge of anger, frustration, and confusion welled up inside her. It's one thing to just assassinate her as is, but using a Nomu and even Geten? Now that's something else entirely.
"That stupid backstabbing piece of sh-" Chitose abruptly paused as another wave of confused thoughts suddenly entered her mind, especially the over-complicated method of assassination. There's the black fluid contained within the ice, the impaling of the fire sprinklers, a villain suddenly going in and bursting the rest of the water pipes with holes that are coincidentally of similar size to the ones Geten poked in, Skeptic only attempting to turn on the webcam at the last moment, among other things…
She couldn't help but raise an eyebrow, so many things just doesn't make sense. Why make things so overly-complicated? Why can't the villain who burst the pipes just be the one to kill her? He's obviously Skeptic's lackey anyways and seemed fine with getting captured based on the looks of things. But the one thing that truly puzzled her, is why is Skeptic planning to kill her? Does he really want to stop the circulation of the MLW books? But those aren't really going to be needed anymore after the Revival Party anyway.
So many questions, but not a single answer to any of them…
Chitose stewed in her thoughts, utterly confused, before worry slowly took over, making her shift her mind towards the MLA. 'What happened to them?' she asked herself in her thoughts. 'Could Skeptic be the reason why the Liberation Army hasn't began Liberating yet…? What about Re-Destro? Could it be that Skeptic just won't let me talk to him because he's already dead? What about Trumpet? But if they're dead shouldn't they be reported on television too like I did…? So they're still alive then?'
The young woman blanked out, shivering but not from the cold.
'What happened to the MLA…?'
In the midst of her thoughts, Chitose slowly and carefully peeked outside. Almost immediately she felt a sigh of relief upon seeing numerous flashes coming from outside. That can only mean one thing – All Might has arrived and people are now taking pictures of him. She found the feeling odd – the presence of All Might is strangely comforting and giving her feelings of safety, very much unlike just earlier this day, where it's the complete opposite-
The entrance door suddenly slammed open, and amidst the downpour and the flood came Izuku running in, without his usual piled-up sweaters. "KIZUKI! WHERE ARE Y-YOU?!" he yelled at the top of his lungs as she reached the center of the ground floor, his voice sounding like he's freezing beyond belief. "ALL MIGHT IS H-HERE! Y-YOU'RE S-S-SAFE NOW!"
Chitose instinctively went back into her hiding spot, mind suddenly racing with thoughts. Is it now safe to reveal herself? But since Geten is clearly gone, and All Might is already here, and her legs are not aching for once, and most importantly Izuku is outright getting drenched in water despite his very low resistance to cold-
"AHA! THERE YOU ARE!"
Chitose was snapped out of her thoughts as Izuku is now suddenly in front of her hiding spot. The young man then wasted no time in pulling her out and leading her to the exit. "WE'RE S-S-SAFE!" he yelled, voice audibly cracking under the low temperature. "LET'S G-GO!"
"Wait!" Chitose suddenly yelled out after a second, remembering something. Even though All Might is already here, there's always a chance that there could still be Skeptic's lackeys just waiting outside to make sure she won't come out. In response to that, she quickly re-adjusted her hood, sunglasses, and face mask to make sure she's once again fully covered before gesturing for Izuku to continue moving out. Now while she's glad that her disguise jacket is stretchable enough to be easily zipped around her chest (having a light-colored dress definitely did NOT do well with being drenched), she soon found out that it doesn't reach low enough to cover her now-slightly-visible underwear. But still, it's far better to just let the public see what she's wearing underneath than reveal who she really is.
…
The outside of the building is, typical in a crime scene in modern Japan, filled with dozens upon dozens of people surrounding it, with costumed heroes and policemen being the only things keeping them off from getting a closer look. Chitose paid them no mind and instead quickly looked at the general direction where the villain who burst the pipes ran off to - and found another gathering of people, heroes, and police just some distance away. Whoever that villain is, he's likely caught now.
Instinctively nodding to herself, she turned her attention back to Izuku, who's very much drenched and intensely shivering under the cold weather. In response, she hastily began searching around on the thought that if Izuku just charged in without his piled-on sweaters, that means they should just be somewhere nearby – he obviously badly needed them back, and at the same time she could also use something to cover parts of her that are awkwardly showing to the crowd (Not that anyone is even noticing it considering All Might is currently on the scene).
She eventually spotted the pile just on the sidewalk right up front. She made a mad dash towards it and grabbed the pile, and was about to return beside Izuku to give them back when she heard a loud yell from someone nearby.
"A VILLAIN!"
She immediately turned to see what it is, yet all she could see is All Might's backside - he apparently spontaneously stood between her and the hero about to attack her, and blocked the hit without even flinching. As the Number One started lecturing the offending hero about the concept of knowing if someone is truly a threat first before attacking, Chitose just walked off to return to Izuku (as well as rolled her eyes on All Might's hypocritical speech), but not before delivering a threatening glare at the still-profusely-apologizing hero, whose fist now seemed to be hurting a lot from accidentally delivering a punch straight into All Might's chest.
"HA ha ha… w-w-w-w-we're s-s-s-s-s-safe!" Izuku stammered as he thankfully took some of his sweaters back from the pile given to him. Although he's shivering too much and most just fell to the ground.
"I'll take my original jacket back, I'm a little too exposed somewhere…" Chitose whispered loudly as she took her jacket and hurriedly began tying it around her waist. Izuku, on the other hand, just responded in the form of a very fast nodding, before immediately crouching down afterwards to pick up the rest of his sweaters. "You shouldn't have gone there…" she added, her voice trailing off as she noticed some of the people within the crowd are giving her odd stares. She froze a bit, nervousness slowly welling up. By all means they could be more of Skeptic's troops, just barely recognizing her through her elaborate disguise…
Or maybe they're just staring because of her elaborate (and arguably villain-looking) disguise.
…
Whatever the real reason, she hoped it's no more of Skeptic's troops. But then again All Might is already here, so there should be nothing left. But still, what about Skeptic's radar? Chitose turned her attention skywards. While she knew Skeptic's radar has no ability to zoom in with the magnitude to see the streets clearly, but something is just making her-
"TO ALL THE GOOD PEOPLE GATHERED HERE TONIGHT, I WISH YOU ALL A MERRY CHRISTMAS!" came in the sudden booming voice of All Might, who just suddenly began spinning in place for some reason for a whole second, before spontaneously moving at such speed towards the two drenched people who exited Cybersleuths last that he almost seemed like he teleported. After one quick nod to them, he immediately crouched down to their level and wrapped his huge arms around them.
"AND AWAY WE GOOOOOO!"
Almost in an instant, the moment she felt a sudden burst of speed, Chitose quickly and instinctively held onto her chest. She expected the trip to once again take long, as All Might could be possibly planning to return them back to the Midoriya apartment. But despite her expectations, the trip is actually just very short and only lasted seconds.
"MISS KIZUKI, SMALL WORLD WE LIVE IN, HUH?" All might suddenly spoke out before the young woman he's carrying could even process what happened, and where exactly they even landed. "NOT A FEW DAYS LATER AND YOU'RE ALREADY GETTING YOURSELF INTO TROUBLE AGAIN?" he added, before whispering rapidly that he's referring to the Takoba Beach Nomu attack just in case she didn't understand what 'trouble' he's referring to.
Chitose did a quick look around, and was about to ask where did All Might put them upon seeing some air-conditioning units placed in neat rows on the floor with some light fixtures scattered among them, when the Number One quickly set her down and did a strange sudden gesture which looked like he swatted something in mid-air right in front of him, sending a gust of wind towards her. Almost immediately after that, Chitose felt her clothes quickly dry up, like she was never even soaked in the first place. Looking towards Izuku just to her right, she noticed it's the same case with him as well (although he's still visibly shivering). She then turned her attention back to All Might. "Uh…" she stammered, fidgeting with her fingers and trying to find a good answer to his question. "I-uh… it just happens-!"
"It w-w-w-w-as an ASSASSIN-nationnnnn!" Izuku suddenly blurted out amidst his shivering. "S-s-s-someone went in for the k-k-k-k-kill!"
"Midoriya that's-"
"I-i-it happened the s-s-second time already, K-Kizuki! Whoever they are, they're t-t-trying to k-kill y-y-you!" Izuku then wobbled over to All Might, his shivering intensifying as if he's freezing over despite already being dry. "Y-y-you have to help us All Might! Some p-people are t-trying to kill HER!"
"Midoriya-" Chitose was about to speak again, but Izuku quickly countered her by raising up a trembling hand before proceeding to tell All Might about an assassin that was supposedly trying to kill her, and about how it could be the same people who sent a Nomu after her in the first place. She was about to butt in, mind racing with thoughts that Izuku might get the whole MLA in trouble, but she soon realized that the way he's wording out the events to All Might is somehow incomplete – and instead of just saying outright that a 'Skeptic' person is trying to kill her and is the cause of all her issues, he just kept saying over and over about a mysterious assassin that's somehow targeting her for some reason.
"HMMM MY MIGHT SENSES ARE TINGLING, YOUNG MIDORIYA! THAT IS DEFINITELY SOME SERIOUS BUSINESS!" All Might spoke as he did an exaggerated pose like he's insanely interested in what Izuku is saying. He then quickly turned to Chitose. "MISS KIZUKI, CARE TO TELL ME SOME DETAILS AS TO WHY SOMEONE WOULD TRY TO KILL YOU? DID YOU DO SOME VILLAIN-LIKE THINGS ONE TIME? AND NOW SOMEONE IS OUT FOR REVENGE?"
"I uh… I once accidentally stepped on a lawn with a 'Don't Step On The Grass' sign on it…" Chitose nervously giggled afterwards.
"HMMM THAT PERSON MUST TAKE LAWN CARE VERY SERIOUSLY-!"
"A-a-a-all Might…?" Izuku interrupted, rapidly tapping All Might's shoulder. "Y-y-you know witnessing-an-assassination's-not-very-good-and-uuuuhhhh… I-I-I don't think I'm gonna sleep well t-t-tonight and uh…-
"OH! I GET IT YOUNG MIDORIYA! YOU WANT TO SPEND THE NIGHT IN SAFETY! DON'T FRET! ALL MIGHT'S GOT YOU TWO COVERED!"
"Wait-wha-?" Chitose was about to ask where is that particular 'safe' place All Might just said when the Number One hero quickly lunged in and wrapped his arms around them again and then quickly launched himself up exactly like what he did just a while ago. And just like last time, Chitose once again instinctively held onto her chest. It was also only then that she realized that they're apparently just on the rooftop of the highschool just right across the street of Cybersleuths all that time.
The trip was comparatively longer than both the previous trips, or so what Chitose thought even though it only took around two minutes for All Might to eventually stop at a specific spot.
The young woman immediately raised an eyebrow upon seeing the place All Might took them as she was gently put down on the wooden floor. Overall it's a relatively small room, a little too brightly lit for her liking, and unusually furnished to such an extent that as a whole it looked like it was some high-class hotel room. She was about to ask if her guess is correct when All Might quickly explained that he brought them into a VIP room (or so what he thinks of it) in UA.
'Out of all places I could end up again…' Chitose rolled her eyes. But still, despite her annoyance, with an assassination event just a few moments ago, this is theoretically the safest place to be in right now. And with Izuku deliberately not saying the whole story to All Might, all is well. As for Skeptic, his time will come, but for now at least the MLA won't get found out (Hopefully Skeptic hasn't done anything to them yet).
Taking a deep breath and sighing, all while making sure the Memory Purse is still there with her, Chitose slowly shuffled towards the bed and leaned on its nightstand, removing her sunglasses, face mask, and two jackets afterwards and placing them just beside her, before putting her Memory Purse right on top of the pile. As of now Izuku is currently in the middle of talking nonstop to All Might, continuing the story at the same time telling him all about how he'll be a good secret agent, and about what his codename should be, among other things amidst his intense shivering. And during all that she noticed that he's still deliberately not telling anything that could link back to the MLA - exactly the way she likes it.
"My m-m-mom's on a Christmas party and she w-w-wwon't be h-home-until-10-in-the-evening!"
"DULY NOTED," All Might spoke, making a salute gesture to Izuku as he crouched in front of him, "MIKUMO AKATANI…"
"…" Izuku was left speechless, his mouth slowly hanging open.
The Number One slowly stood up, in a manner that is quite exaggerated. "I'D LIKE TO STAY AND CHAT BUT DUTY CALLS AND I MUST ANSWER!" He turned his attention to Chitose just quietly minding her own business in one corner of the room. "WE SHOULD TALK TOMORROW!" He was about to leave when he immediately went back to face her, "I PROMISE YOU THERE WOULD BE NO MORE SLUGS THIS TIME!" he added, before dashing through the large open balcony window - the same spot he entered from.
And then there was relative silence, apart from Izuku's incessant muttering as he lay on the floor in the center of the room, still intensely shivering.
"Hey…" Chitose softly called out towards him, noticing him now starting to pull his nearby sweaters and putting them over him like a blanket. But as for the call, Izuku didn't react at all, and just continued to spout incoherent messes of connected words, but among all that she could clearly make out a few sentences about how All Might acknowledged his made-up codename, and how he treated him like a secret agent like he wished he would, as well as other All Might related things, but mostly just All Might related things. "Hey-"
"CHISATO KIZUKI! HE SAID IT!" Izuku yelled out as he suddenly sat upright. He also somehow said his words perfectly despite his intense shivering. "HE CALLED ME MIKUMO AKATANI! ALL MIGHT CALLED ME BY MY CODENAME!" He then fell on the floor, laughing and shivering at the same time. "I feel like I'm on top of the world right now! Merry Christmas indeed!" He then giggled some more.
Chitose slowly nodded in response as she leaned back on the nightstand. "Well as for me I survived an assassination just a while ago. I guess that's good enough for a Christmas gift to me-!"
"LOOK AT YOU! YOU'RE ALIVE! I D-D-DID MY M-M-MISSION RIGHT! I got to be a secret agent for ALL MIGHT AAAAND I actually-technically-basically-theoretically S-S-SAVED SOMEONE!" Izuku sat up, still intensely shivering, all while tears of joy begin welling up from his eyes. "I m-m-managed to be a hero ALL without having a license! HA HA HAAAA!" he exclaimed before falling on the floor again and immediately rolling over to Chitose, ending up with him looking like a caterpillar from being tied up by his own sweaters. "K-KIZUKI! I H-HAVE ACHIEVED G-G-GREATNESSSS!" he excitedly yelled as he tried (and failed) to sit up straight again. He was about to continue bragging about being called 'Mikumo Akatani' by All Might when they heard a series of knocks on the door.
By its rhythm it sounded like All Might's secret knock, just a tiny bit off. Izuku was about to start untangling himself when Chitose stood up. "I'll get it," she whispered loudly as she stood up to walk over and open the door. Behind it is Toshinori Yagi in an awkward heroic pose, wearing an All Might costume that's clearly several sizes bigger than him. The man took one step back, planted both hands on his hips, took one deep breath in and went, "I AM HERE! CASUALLY VISITING-!" he didn't get to finish as he started coughing uncontrollably for a good ten seconds, grasping his throat in the process as if impersonating the All Might voice is too much for his vocal cords.
"Wait what?!" Toshinori immediately stopped coughing and went on to stare at his outfit with a very confused look on his face for the next few seconds. "I'm still wearing this-? Oh nevermind, well hello there Miss Kizuki! Fancy meeting you here again!" He quickly straightened up his posture, formally clasping his hands in front of him in the process. To his side, just floating by his left shoulder, is his VECTRE phone.
"Yeah… I'm back here again…" Chitose nervously replied, scratching the side of her head.
"How are your legs?"
"Well luckily they stopped aching for quite some time now."
Toshinori peeked into the room, seeing Izuku on the floor all tied up. "What happened to him?"
"He rolled over his sweaters, nothing too serious."
"Anyways…" Toshinori nodded and took a step back, giving Chitose a good view of the hallways just outside. Much like how the room is presented, the hallways are also furnished akin to that of a high-class hotel. But one thing stood out, and that is the eerie silence, which she found odd considering that there at least should be other people-
"You might be wondering about the lack of other tenants here, Miss Kizuki? Well it's Christmas Vacation and all and uh… you get the idea."
"Oh…" Chitose's voice trailed off. "So what brings you here?" she asked afterwards.
"All Might informed me about the assassination attempt just a while ago, or so what Young Midoriya over there told him," Toshinori spoke, giving a quick glance towards a still-tied-up Izuku on the floor, whom responded with an awkward smile. "He said something about this being the second assassination attempt already."
"Y-yes…?" Chitose replied.
Toshinori nodded. " While it's obvious that assassination has nothing to do with you stepping on a lawn with a 'Keep Off The Grass' sign one time, but what it is, is an obvious hint of something bigger. Would you mind if you stay a while and tell us the whole story so we can help out?" he paused a bit. "By all accounts there could be a third assassination attempt waiting out there, with the whole thing being tied to your sudden age-regression." Toshinori paused again. "We also once again deeply apologize for all the things that happened to you this morning."
Chitose froze, not knowing what to respond. On one hand, there could be yet another 'Psychedelic Slug situation' as to which it will once again do more harm than good. While on the other hand the investigation (even though Izuku deliberately omitted basically every single crucial information in the story he told All Might) could eventually lead to the MLA being found out. What now? What should she answer-?
"Hold it, miss Kizuki." Toshinori raised both hands. "I understand. You're still shaken up from the assassination attempt. Let's just talk this out tomorrow morning? What do you say to that?"
"Uh…"
"Don't' worry you're right in the middle of UA grounds, you're completely safe here. This entire building alone is riddled with defensive Quirks prioritizing the safety, security, and privacy of all its tenants." Toshinori cleared his throat. "So do you two need anything? Dinner perhaps?" Toshinori asked, once again making one quick glance over Izuku, who still somehow can't get himself out from being tied up from his own sweaters. "What about you, Young Midoriya?"
"Actually I'm not really that hungry yet," he replied.
"Me too," Chitose added.
Toshinori nodded again. "Okay well that's settled. If you two need me I'll just be down the hall, at the very first room nearest to the elevator. And in case you're wondering, we're in the third floor." He was about to leave when he turned back again. "Oh and by the way, Inko Midoriya finishes her Christmas Party at 10 in the evening, yes?"
"Yeah," came the reply from Izuku still on the floor. "I already told All Might where she is."
"Good. And as for you, Miss Kizuki, does Shoowaysha already know about your current condition or are you uh… still technically '6-feet-under' to them?"
"I'm still dead to them, why?"
"Just asking, that's all." Toshinori took a step back. "I know I, and UA for that matter, aren't the most trustworthy entities for you right now, but with this second assassination, as with Young Midoriya over there said, I advise you to lay low for a while…" his voice trailed off as he took another step back. He opened his mouth again as if he's about to say something but backed off at the very last moment. In the end he just nodded back with a smile, before walking off (his VECTRE phone still hovering beside him), muttering once more that he'll just be by the first room nearest to the elevator as he does so.
And with that, Chitose stepped back and closed the door. Still in silence, she walked right up to Izuku and sat on the same spot on where she's sitting earlier, beside the nightstand.
"So uh…" Chitose muttered, placing her hands on her lap, mindful of her leg injuries. Thankfully they haven't been painful for quite some time now, and hopefully if she just leaves it alone it will just stay that way. "I survived the assassination…" she added, her voice trailing off as she slowly glanced up towards the ceiling, "or maybe not… I'm still alive, am I?" Chitose asked as she pinched her right arm. And surely she felt pain. She pinched it a second time, and still felt pain.
Izuku rolled closer, still very much trying to disentangle himself from his sweaters. "Yeah you're very much alive," he said as he rolled around some more, only stopping after a few seconds. "And as for me, I've b-been s-stuck over here-fo- minutes now and I n-need-a-hand."
"You know…" Chitose leaned over and quickly untied the sweaters tied around Izuku, in which he then hurriedly slung them over himself once again akin to that of a blanket as he sat up. "Thanks for uh… thanks for… thanks for playing along…" she mumbled, immediately remembering the exact same words she said just this morning. "Sticking through the assassination and covering up the whole story? That's uh… that's… that's…" she leaned back on the nightstand, almost immediately wiping off the tears that automatically formed in her eyes amidst her smile. "Thank you," she mumbled once more.
"Don't worry, Kizuki, I'll always b-be h-here for you!" Izuku said as he shuffled closer to her and gave her one pat on the head. "Although I have to say I'm g-getting really concerned about h-how you so easily cry everytime s-someone had your back. You really d-don't experience it much, do you huh?
Chitose sighed. "It's just that... the level of what you did for me just a while ago? I never even expected something of that magnitude to ever happen… I feel like I'm…"
"L-Like you're i-important?"
Chitose took a while before she eventually responded with a smile. "Yes… like I'm… important." She sighed once more as she placed one hand on Izuku's head and gave him one pat as well. "You know what? Your one analogy back at Luke's Lunchbox with Admiral Agbar is really eye-opening, as much as how you think it's just cringe. Actually I uh… I'm gonna be honest with you… I've never been treated that way in all my years within the organization…"
"And now that S-Skeptical Guy wants you d-d-dead! K-Kizuki, I think the only one who t-thinks they're your family, is y-yourself."
Chitose opened her mouth, and was about to speak when she backed off at the very last moment, her head suddenly in thought. What Izuku said really got her thinking, is she really the only one who even thinks that way? Is it because of her lonely past and insecure young self way back then that caused her to eventually think the MLA is real family?
…
"You look t-troubled. D-Do you want a hug? I'm always a-a-available for h-hugs!"
"You know what?" Chitose immediately lunged in and wrapped her arms around Izuku and pulled him in, sweaters and all, before leaning back onto the nightstand. Almost in an instant she felt a very nice heartwarming feeling, exactly as she was expecting from it, making her tighten her hug even further and close her eyes to savor the moment. A few seconds later she felt Izuku lightly adjusted his head and turned it sideways.
"Uh… Kizuki? I hate to ruin this tender moment but I would like to remind you that I'm down here, getting uh… I'm getting smothered by your wide shoulders," he awkwardly whispered, his shivering now completely absent. "I'm not complaining but uh, I'm just giving you a heads up…"
Chitose's eyes instantly shot open. It was only then she realized that she's actually resting her chin on Izuku's head, and that she's once again hugging him to her chest, because she didn't calculate the clear height difference between them when she pulled him in. Immediately she felt a tinge of annoyance, but just eventually let out a joking sigh. In the end, as awkward as it is, she's already far too comfortable to let go. "Hey uh, Midoriya? Once again, thank you for playing along…" she whispered as she buried her face onto Izuku's hair. "Actually, thank you for everything..."
"Kizuki, in my humble opinion I think it's time we set some limits on this whole 'playing along' thing. There's been two assassination attempts on you now. While yes All Might himself is protecting us at this moment and we're practically invincible right now, but sooner or later you really have to tell the heroes what's REALLY going on. I can't just keep playing along forever." Izuku wrapped his arms around Chitose's back, reciprocating the hug. "You gotta think on that 'family' of yours. You're risking yourself too much."
"I don't know-" Chitose abruptly stopped as Izuku lightly adjusted himself on her chest and briefly tightened the hug in the same manner as just this morning. And just like this morning, it once again felt very nice. "It's just that… It's just that I've been there for two decades. I've put effort there for that long. I can't just abandon everything I've ever worked for!"
"But Kizuki… you just admitted it yourself you felt way more special and appreciated with us than you've been in two decades in your organization. They're not your family, and by your story I can tell they're just treating you like a workmate, or maybe even less since as you said yourself you barely get any recognition there. Kizuki, no offense, but I think it's time to open your eyes and really ask yourself: Do they care about you the same way you care about them?" Izuku paused a bit. "And now there's an assassination…" his voice trailed off, followed by another tightened hug.
"Midoriya, stop lumping the organization as one, they're not all bad guys, okay? It's only Skeptic and the Ice Guy…" Chitose's voice trailed off as she tightened her own hug over Izuku. "Everyone else is a good guy."
"Kizuki, about that, I just remembered something you said back in Takoba some nights ago. Especially the way you said you willingly joined an unruly club just to feel important, and how it's at least it's you who joined them and not someone with an actual future-"
"Midoriya I-"
"I think you're already fully aware the entire 'club' is no good, not just Skeptic and his Ice Guy. You're just denying it and convincing yourself and defending them because they're mildly nice to you all this time. Am I right?"
"I uh-it's… uh…" Chitose stammered for a bit before going silent. While her adult self is definitely already too deep into the MLA and willing to go in any direction it wanted, her younger self is the farthest thing from that. And now that she's currently in that younger state, and more and more of her younger memories are starting to resurface and become clearer, she could now fully remember that indeed, despite how many times she told herself it's a VERY BAD idea to join a terrorist group, she still willingly joined the MLA – all because they're mildly nice to her and she would like to give back for Re-Destro getting her into Shoowaysha.
…
Izuku is definitely right in lumping everyone. Everyone in the MLA is a bad guy. Including her.
"As much as you like to keep saying I shouldn't listen to your 'younger self' talking, but that person is the one clearly making sense here. The more and more things happen to you, the more and more I think that club of yours is really something else." Izuku paused a bit and lightly cleared his throat. "So you said Skeptic's the IT Guy right? A real tech genius with the satellites and all? That organization of yours must be really organized then, huh?"
"…"
"That person must also be high up in the rank ladder. And if such a person has literally no problem sending his lackeys to straight-up assassinate you, I have to say that the organization you're part truly is an unruly club, exactly what your 'young self' told me." Izuku paused yet again. "A top ranking member with no problem of killing people? And only people with no future should be part of it? Kizuki, did you just willingly get yourself into a villain organization…?"
Chitose froze, her fingers immediately trembling. How does Izuku just keep figuring things out?! She made sure to not blurt out too much that could directly be tied to the MLA, but how come he just keeps on getting closer and closer to figuring things out? How is he doing this? Does he have a hidden Metapower or is she just horrible at hiding things-?
Her thoughts suddenly stopped as she felt Izuku's hug tighten some more. He held on in silence for the next 10 seconds before whispering, "it's okay, your secret's safe with me…"
"Wha-?" Chitose stopped, utterly confused to Izuku's response. She was about to deny it – and she already has tons of excuses ready, but eventually decided to just go silent instead after realizing that her heart suddenly racing after being questioned if she willingly joined a villain organization, and Izuku clearly hearing it – with her hugging him directly on her chest and all, basically already told him everything. There's no point in covering it further with lies anymore. "B-but they're not…"
"Kizuki, back in Cybersleuths, you went in GlobalConnect to voice chat with me, right?"
"Y-yes…?"
"Supposedly your group knew you're not dead, right? Did anyone else try to contact you?"
"N-no…" Chitose whispered back. Although she's not sure if Skeptic even told anyone about her. But she does know one thing, and that is Re-Destro himself saw her message, but didn't even bother to respond.
"Looks like they really don't care about you at all, not to mention it's a villain organization… Technically speaking it should be easy enough to decide whether you should still keep on risking yourself just to return to them. I many not be the correct person to tell you this but uh… uh… it's… they're not worth it."
"Midoriya… I…" Chitose's voice trailed off, unsure of whether it's right to continue. By all means she's part of the MLA, and is the main reason why it had so many members in the first place. Her just casually selling them out while getting a free pass through everything is just going to make her feel extremely guilty – in fact she's not even close to doing it and yet she can already feel the guilt rising within her mind. Many of the MLA members are just regular people, for every one hundred, there's technically only one power-crazed bastard hellbent on taking himself to the top, like Geten.
She can't just sell them out… she just can't… There has to be a better way. Yes the MLA's a terrorist group planning on tearing down the country but… but she's been there for a long time now and… and…
…
"Once again, if you need emotional support. I'm uh... I'm just down here. You're just fine with me being down here, right? I don't need to move or something? Because technically speaking my left cheek is pressed up onto your-"
Chitose quickly placed her hands onto Izuku's head, completely silencing him. Mind still in shambles, she closed her eyes and took one deep breath and slowly exhaled, opening her eyes again. "Actually, if you don't mind, can you stay there for a bit…?" she buried her face into the young man's head, adjusting her arms and wrapping them around the general are of his neck, which is surrounded by piled-on sweaters. "I uh… I need… I just need someone with me right now…"
"Don't worry, Chisato, I'm uh… I'll just be down here. Take all the time you need, we ain't going anywhere anyway. We're completely safe here now…" Izuku's voice trailed off as he adjusted his hug. "Although I wish I could have gotten All Might's autograph… dammit…"
Chitose just smiled to herself and lightly chuckled. She was about to say something about it when she noticed that Izuku somehow hasn't been shivering for quite some time now. "I noticed you're not shivering anymore," she whispered.
"Well there's reasons for that and I'm pretty sure you already know why!" Izuku replied, his voice a little too loud as if embarrassed. In response, Chitose nodded before resting her chin back on his head. She doesn't need to ask him to elaborate anymore, she already knew why.
"Still, are you seriously that vulnerable to the cold? You got it even worse than the Ice Guy somehow. All Might already dried us up on that rooftop, but even after we got here you're still shivering."
"Yeah, I'm just that affected by the cold. It's just how my Quirk does. It gave me full immunity to heat, but gave nothing about the cold. Bummer, really… but at least it does great during summer."
"But if you're really that susceptible to cold, then why even bother buying ice cream earlier?"
"Kizuki, I may be a simple young man, but let me tell you this: Some things are just worth freezing for," Izuku slowly said, emphasizing every word, and ending his sentence with one very tight hug that lasted for a good 5 seconds before loosening up again.
Chitose sighed in response, feeling her face drastically heat up with Izuku's words making her remember the events just a while ago. Despite his extreme lack of resistance against the cold, Izuku still barged through the downpour within Cybersleuths and eventually into the freezing winter evening outside, all just for her. Never before has anything similar happened to her, in and out of the MLA. "Thank you. I'll never forget that."
"I really hope you get that thing with your organization sorted out real soon. I think you're just risking too much on a group that never cared about you in the first place. Your young self has a clear point, you can't just discard her opinions, listen for what she has to say." Izuku yawned a bit and slightly adjusted his head on her chest. "By the way I mean that figuratively, and not literally…" Izuku muttered more but they're too soft to be even be comprehensible.
"I'll think about it." Chitose patted Izuku's head. "Tomorrow morning I'm going to have a chat with both All Might and Mr. Yagi anyway. Although I will have to mix things up a bit or else I'll feel a whole lot guilty if I – nevermind…"
There was relative silence for a bit.
"Kizuki your heart is beating so fast, holy crap."
Chitose lightly chuckled and jokingly rolled her eyes in response. "Hmmm… it's… it's uh…" she placed a hand onto Izuku's head and slowly ran her fingers through his hair. She couldn't help but smile on the situation, noticing her heart is apparently still not done processing the young man's words about how some things are just worth freezing for, and is still absolutely racing. "It's just very thankful for being saved from two assassination attempts already. You did very good, Midoriya, the only reason it's still pumping tonight, is because of you. Remember that."
"Aww Kizuki, now you're making me cry! That may be a cringe drama-show-worthy line but you can't just drop that on me just like that!" Izuku exclaimed, despite his voice sounding like he's just joking, but there's an audible crack to it like he did just tear up on his words. "Well the second assassination is more of a combined team effort from both of us, you know?"
"While yes you could say that, but think about it like this, if we never met, I would have literally died on the first assassination attempt to even require a second. Face it, the ticker's only still ticking just because of you..." Chitose whispered as she once again buried her face on Izuku's hair and tightened her hug on him, just barely holding on from giggling from how cringeworthy she thinks her own words are.
"Well that's a very corny line. A very accurate one in terms of what really happened, but certainly very corny. Let me guess, you got those from a drama show?"
"Where else would I get them?"
Izuku lightly chuckled before yawning. "Well, drama show or not, at least we're safe now, it can now continue ticking away in peace, and quiet. Just don't do anything else stupid anymore, okay? Don't endanger it any longer, it's too precious!" He paused a bit and took one deep breath as if preparing to drop a line. "Kizuki, in my very very very humble opinion… you have the most adorable heartbeat I have ever heard…" he whispered in an exaggerated tone, followed closely by one very tight hug. "Please try to keep it safe from now on, okay? I know it sorta self-repairs but that's not an excuse to just keep putting it in danger. It's just so cute dammit!"
Chitose jokingly sighed and rolled her eyes, instantly finding flaws in Izuku's words. After all, has he heard lots of other heartbeats before to make that statement? Of course not! In fact she could still remember what he said just this morning about how heartbeats normally creep him out. He's obviously lying and just saying that as some sort of metaphor to keep herself safe from any further harm. But still, she found her face immediately re-igniting and her pulse rate skyrocketing until her heart is once again ferociously pounding inside her chest. "Okay Midoriya that's enough corny lines. I'd like to have some peace and quiet now. I need to think."
"So do I have to move away now? Or do I still have to be here and doing some 'emotional supporting'?"
"Nah, you can stay." Chitose giggled a bit on Izuku's silly emphasis on 'emotional support'. "You're a very huggable person."
"But of course I am!" Izuku replied, chuckling a little. "By the way I can hear strange swooshing noises here, is that supposed to be normal? Because this is the same case as just this afternoon."
Chitose gave Izuku two pats on the back before hugging him back again. "That's just blood going around. That's completely normal."
"Blood…? Oh great… now I just lost my appetite…" Izuku jokingly said. "What time is it anyway?"
Chitose looked around to see if there's a wall clock she can check the time on. Realizing there is, but it's behind some furniture and she can barely see the time from her location, she just checked her Curious Flattener wristwatch instead. "It's just around 7:45. You seriously not hungry anymore or are you just joking?"
"Nah I'm just not hungry yet. It must be because of the adrenaline still going around me ever since that assassination attempt." Izuku yawned for a brief while. "I think I'll just be here for a while, listening to the adorable heartbeat of the person I saved two times already." He giggled softly, muttering something about corny drama show lines afterwards, followed by yet another giggle. "Well at least she's super safe now." He muttered again afterwards, but this time it's too weak to even be comprehensible.
Chitose just jokingly shook her head in response to Izuku's cringeworthy (but nonetheless very flattering) words.
…
Now back in relative silence, Chitose leaned back her head, but still keeping her arms circled around Izuku's back. Taking one deep breath and slowly exhaling, she let her mind drift off for a while. Although she's still a bit riled up from Izuku's compliments earlier, her thoughts soon converged towards the major event that happened just half an hour ago. An assassination attempt, no doubt, and by Skeptic out of all people she knew. Once again she asked herself: Why would he do it? What would he accomplish?
Cut off the book distribution? But why? And another thing, why make her younger? For what? She asked herself more questions, all the way to the strange sequence of events that led towards the assassination, but seemingly still couldn't answer anything. All she could do are just random wild guesses. As of now she's still completely within the fog, unable to see what's lurking beyond, and that is only making her nervous about the entire scenario.
She took a deep breath again and slowly breathed out, her thoughts eventually setting over to the other side of the issue – the story she will eventually have to tell All Might, and Mr. Yagi by extension. How would she go by it? How should she go by it? Despite what Izuku is pushing her to just simply 'tell everything since they're all bad guys anyway', she obviously can't do that. She won't do it. It's simply not the right way to go. There has to be another thing she could-
'As much as you like to keep saying I shouldn't listen to your 'younger self' talking, but that person is the one clearly making sense here. The more and more things happen to you, the more and more I think that club of yours is really something else…'
The memory of Izuku's comment played over Chitose's head. It made her think deeply on the matter: Is the MLA worth it? Is it really worth saving them and only targeting a few specific people?
?
Chitose blanked out a bit, but her mind still deep in thought. Is the MLA really worth it? Is it really worth saving an entire villainous organization who never treated her the same way she treated them? She paused a bit as the thoughts swirled, but then one memory popped up and stood out from the rest – a random memory about how she barely meets up with the MLA nowadays. Before the events of the Deika City Revival Party, she could only recount meeting with them only quite a few times in the past few months. She's somehow not getting called into most big meetings anymore. And in those times where she's not present, she could recall receiving very few messages from them asking about her, and most of them are just from Re-Destro. While the Liberation Army members regularly approve of her posts on GlobalConnect, but in terms of actual interaction, she barely gets anything.
She's very lonely, despite being in an organization of over a hundred thousand. Izuku's right, they're not family, the only one thinks that way is her. Her younger self is definitely right, and she should listen to her…
…
Once more she asked herself: Is the MLA even worth saving at this point? It very well seems that they don't care about her at all. She paused again, recalling how Re-Destro somehow didn't even answer her GlobalConnect message despite reading them. But then again it could just be Skeptic messing with it…
…
Chitose sighed, feeling very conflicted on the matter. What to do now? In the midst of thinking, her gaze eventually landed onto Izuku, whom she's still hugging to her chest. Almost immediately, memories about her experience with the Midoriyas surfaced. For once she actually felt like a family member, a person who's actually important. She gets help, she gets support, and best of all: Izuku himself already saved her life twice, and even willing to go the extra mile to cover her entire story up just for her, among other things like running through the downpour at Cybersleuths. Within a short time with them, she actually felt special and wanted, like she actually mattered as a person and not just the publisher of the MLW books with a Landmine Meta Ability.
…
A small memory of Geten giving her a mocking salute before she plummeted down straight onto asphalt briefly flashed inside her mind.
…
Chitose once more took a deep breath and sighed, her attention eventually setting towards Izuku. It is only now she realized that his hands, which are tightly wrapped around her just a few moments ago, have now dropped to the floor. He's also not making any slight movements anymore, and his head is now just going along the now-steady rise and fall of her breathing.
"Midoriya, are you still awake?" she whispered softly.
There is no response. Izuku must have fallen asleep.
She couldn't help but smile at he sight. It was definitely heartwarming. A person actually trusted her enough to literally just fall asleep right on her chest. Raising her left hand and gently placing it onto Izuku's head, she slowly ran her fingers though his hair. But then, about halfway through, she abruptly stopped as an idea suddenly appeared inside her head.
'I got it! I'm just going to tell All Might that Skeptic did it! I'm just going to name him outright and tell them to wait for him at Feel Good Inc.! That should just make the capture very easy so there's no need for further investigation!The MLA would not be found out! YEAH! I'M A GENIUS! That should do nicely!'
Chitose nodded to herself, feeling very much accomplished. But the feeling faded almost as quickly as it came, and now there's a thought circling inside her head.
'What about the MLA…? Am I really just going to save a literal terrorist group…?'
Chitose's thoughts went silent. As much as the MLA barely cared about her, at least compared to what she got with the Midoriyas, but there's just that nagging feeling on the back of her head that she's as equally as guilty as them, and her just selling them out while getting away with no potential consequences is just going to make her feel incredibly guilty-
'Dammit! The MLA is clearly a terrorist group! But… I'm a part of them for years and… but they're TERRORISTS! Listen to your young self! She has valid points, Kizuki! THE MLA IS NOT WORTH IT! I REPEAT, THE MLA IS NOT WORTH IT! THROW THEM OUT!'
Her thoughts continued to fight among each other, just inadvertently making her a bit dizzy.
…
Chitose sighed. Maybe it's just best to just think about those for later. Turning her head to her right, she found the one only bed in the room. She was about to wonder as to why there is only one when she remembered Mr. Yagi told her earlier that if they need something they could just talk to him and he's just at the room nearest to the elevator. There are plenty of vacant rooms anyway, she figured that she could just ask for one of them. And as for safety concerns, she's right in the middle of UA (and in a very protected building no less), she's very much safe here, there's not much issue in sleeping in another room alone.
She raised her left hand and checked the time again. 8:15 pm. It would still be about two hours before Inko gets here.
But since that's still considerable time and she would just like to have some silence for a while, she re-wrapped her arms around Izuku and rested her chin on his head and closed her eyes to let her mind rest for a bit.
She quickly fell asleep.