I don't own One Punch Man, nor do I own My Hero Academia. Each Franchise is owned by their respective owner..
...
The man stood in front of the bathroom, combing his unkempt, gray hair, his eyes glinting with anticipation. As he turned around to open the door to the bathroom, he was greeted by the sight of his customers sitting not very far from where he is.
When one of them tried to stand up and reach for a handshake, Arasaka held his hands up, "Please, I insist, sit." He gestured for the other man to sit back down, "You're looking a little too old to be moving around like that."
"Give it a rest, I'm not that old." Kitaru said, letting out a faint laugh.
Shigaraki Arasaka sat down by the opposite side of the old couple's sears, "So, gentlemen, did you think over about the offer?"
"Yes, and.." The old man paused for a little, then said, "Well, I wouldn't say that it was a walk on the park, but, we managed to convince our son to give the Meta Ability chip installation a shot."
"Are you aware of the additional fees that comes with it, then?" Arasaka smiled.
"Yes. I'm assuming that our newborn grandson will be receiving his due privileges as he grows?" Kitaru asked.
"Yes. Call it an 'investment'. Depending on how your grandson does, he will reap the benefits accordingly." Arasaka nodded, "Rest assured, your investation in our product will not be met with a gratuitious outcome. That, I will ensure."
"I'll take your word for it." Kitaru took a sip from his cup, before speaking again, "But I still have one concern."
"You can say it, I will make sure to give you a satisfactory answer." Arasaka implored him.
"Once our grandson enters the final stage of the mutation process, should he ever enter his adolescent phase, you don't think he's going to be...discriminated, don't you?"
Arasaka was taken aback by the question for a bit, before maintaining his composure, "While I certainly have my hands tied when it comes to school troubles, I will see to it that he will receive a counseling program should he ever sustain an unsavory setback."
"Is that so?"
"Yes. It is in our code to ensure that the future of our clients doesn't get compromised under any circumstances." Arasaka smiled, "You have nothing to worry about, Kitaru-san."
"Welp, you were right, that was a satisfactory answer. Though, you'll have a lot to prove in the future." Kitaru pointed at him as he said that.
"I most certainly do." Arasaka nodded.
Arasaka then picked something from his briefcase. Putting the folder on top of the table, he pulled out a paper and placed it in front of the old man, "Oh, I almost forgot, before we can proceed, please, sign this."
The word 'Non-Disclosure Agreement' was plastered all over the top of the paper.
"Oh, so, not a word? Not even to my peers?" Kitaru asked.
"Correct." Arasaka nodded, "At least, not until the government gives us the green light and disclose the information regarding our product. It's a confidential project for now."
"Got it." Kitaru signed at the bottom of the paper, "Done."
"Right." Arasaka placed the paper back in the folder, "We will get back at you once we're ready."
"Do you need a number for my pager?" Kitaru asked.
"Ah, no need, no need." Arasaka shook his head, "You've already given us that when you filled our forms, remember?"
"Right. I'm getting senile these days." Kitaru chuckled, earning a displeased look from his wife.
"Hon', say that again, I'll lodge your head against the next concrete I see."
"Oh, come off it, I'm just joking!"
Arasaka let out a guffaw, "You shouldn't be saying things like that in front of your endeared wife."
Kitaru stood up, "Hey, it's not like she doesn't do the same thing in front of me when something is eating away at her."
Before they could converse even further, something caught Arasaka's eyes. A kid with an ashen hair entered the entrance of the restaurant, looking around the area, as if he was specifically trying to find someone.
Ah.
"I believe our business is concluded here." Arasaka nodded, standing up as he offered them a handshake, each of them complying with the gesture, "We'll see you on next monday to discuss the payment."
"Thanks for the opportunity, Shigaraki-san." Kitaru smiled, before going on his way along with his wife.
Arasaka waited until they exited the restaurant, sitting back on his chair. When they did, he raised his hand, calling for the kid at the reception area.
The kid tilted his head towards him, giving him a look of acknowledgement; he approached him, seemingly forgetting to order his food, "Dad?"
"Hey. Fancy seeing you here, Hisashi." Arasaka greeted, as he gestured for him to sit, "Sit here, I'll order something for you." He then clapped his hands
A waiter came to their table, "Additional orders, sir?"
"Additional orders. Can I have a tempura along with a glass of iced tea? Sprinkle a little sugar on top of it."
The waiter nodded, writing on his notes, "Anything else?"
"No. My son here prefers his dishes plain and simple." Arasaka nodded.
As the waiter walked away, Hisashi sat beside his father, "Um, I didn't...expect to see you in here."
"Likewise. I was going to go on my way to find you once I finish discussing business with my clients." Arasaka said, "Long day at school?"
"Yeah." Hisashi nodded, "And a couple of shortcomings, but, nothing that I can't handle."
"Right." Arasaka took another sip from his coffee, before saying, "Well, I could always go and transfer you into a far more suitable environment."
"No need for that." Hisashi shook his head.
"Clearly, it's being a bad influence both on you and that thick head of yours." Arasaka scoffed, "Taking and giving meta abilities, hm? You take after your mother's teachings so profoundly."
"It's...it just felt right to me."
"What does?"
"Helping the people, I guess."
"They're not giving you the slightest hint of gratitude for it, though. Why bother at all?" Arasaka inquired.
Hisashi didn't utter a single word for a several seconds, his eyes glazing over at the edge of the table. Arasaka broke the silence, "Hisashi?"
"Dad." He suddenly opened his mouth, "I think we both know that you have ulterior motives in starting this conversation."
"Hm?"
"So tell me. What is it?" Hisashi pressed for answers, turning his body around to face his father.
A long while passed before Arasaka decided to reply, "It has come to my attention that you've been conducting business that may prove to be a hindrance to my company's road to success."
"Dad?"
"This whole 'work volunteer' business that you got going on," Arasaka said with an edge on his tone, "Seems to me that you're blatantly replicating the functionality of my products, albeit, with no additional fees."
Hisashi stayed silent, his body unmoving.
"One segment requires payment, and the other doesn't. Which one of these do you think that the people would choose?"
"...the one that doesn't require payment." Hisashi responded, his hands quivering a little, "You knew..?"
"Hisashi, please, I have men all over the goddamn country." Arasaka chuckled, "Now before you get agitated, I can give you one more chance. Abolish any of the practices that you've been doing for the past few years, and you will be granted compensation, seeing that you're my son and all. I would even give you a place in my company! We could use someone like you, especially with your Meta Ability."
"Dad, with all due respect-"
"No, no, no, come on, don't give me that crap." Arasaka placed his hand on Hisashi's shoulder, gripping it tenderly, "Look, listen, I know that you have a big heart, but being benevolent doesn't get you anywhere in this world."
"Dad-"
"Don't take my words for granted. I'm not trying to persuade you for my own benefits. I'm doing this for you too. Don't let people take advantage of you or garner leverage that they can use against you." Arasaka said gently.
"And this is coming from the man that takes advantage of newborn babies just to expand his range of business?" Hisashi dropped the bomb, not sure how he managed to say that without trembling or fidgeting.
Arasaka's expression dropped, "I beg your pardon?"
"I know about your clients, about their grandson. Performing surgery on a child that can't give consent, are you sure that's ethical in any way?" Hisashi asked again.
"Surely you understand the intention behind that." Arasaka exclaimed, "The country is in dire need-"
"The interests of the state doesn't excuse the obvious exploitation of those kids. Unconsenting kids, at that!"
"Hisashi.."
"You should re-evaluate the policies of your company if this is how you do business. I consider it as malpractice." Hisashi boldly stated.
"Malpractice! Oh, the audacity."
"It's the truth!" Hisashi gripped the table hard enough for his nails to dig itself into the sides, "You know what the kids I met at work would say to me? That their parents would have them strapped on the surgery room, to have that chip coerced into their veins, forcing their bodies to mutate itself at an accelerated rate? Not everyone wants to possess something as extraordinary as that!"
Hisashi then continued, "And don't get me started on the extortion part! Every single one of your clients, they're required to pay you a large sum of money every year in order to retain your services, is that correct? In other words, in every second of their day, they have to squander their money around while not having the chance to spend it on something else that they actually need. Imagine! For the remainder of your life, you have to be constantly reminded that you're under a continous debt every passing year! Pay for that, pay for this, do you realise how insane that sounds?! You may call it investment, but I call it extortion."
"You don't know what you're talking about," Arasaka said, clenching his teeth, "Those freeloaders, they don't know what we're providing for them. This is a chance of liberation!"
"Liberation from what?!"
"From the boundaries of a normal existence." Arasaka explained, "To have something extraordinary injected into their veins, can you imagine what countless wonders that they can produce with it? These meta abilities, they're the future for our race, and it's my duty to realise that."
"You can't expect everyone to be on board with your vision."
"But it's the ideal vision for this world. Any approach, no matter how vile or cruel, is imperative in order to enforce said vision." Arasaka exclaimed.
"I'm sorry, dad, but I strongly disagree." Hisashi stood up, "Thanks for the offer, but I won't abolish any of my practices. There are still people out there that needs me, and I won't abandon them. Not under your whims, I won't."
His son's defiant attitude didn't sit well with him. He slammed the table hard enough to halt Hisashi in his tracks, "You wait just for a minute!!"
Hisashi slightly tilted his head to the side.
"You..you don't want to do this. We can settle this the easy way." Arasaka said, almost as if he was pleading, "It's not worth it. The repercussions that will follow out of this scuffle would be far too severe."
"On your end or mine?"
"For all the parties that are involved. You, me, our country's military asset..Do you know how humiliating it is for people like us to be controlled by the Allies powers, of all things? This is necessary. For us, for you, for me!" Arasaka thumped on his chest with his right hand, "With this technology, we will push those westerner dogs away from our country!"
Clicking his tongue, Hisashi turned away, "I can't."
Arasaka beckoned himself to shout, to pull him back to his side, to beat some sense into that impenetrable barrier around his head. But he couldn't. He couldn't bring himself to stretch the conflict even further.
After a long while, the waiter from before returned with the order, "One plate of tempura-"
Gripping the plate by it's edges, he clenched his fingers against it; as a result, it shattered into multiple shards.
Baffled, the waiter uttered, "Sir-?!"
"I'll pay for the plate. And the food," Arasaka tossed the remaining fragments away, "Bill it to my office. You know where it is," after that, he stormed out of the restaurant, leaving the waiter none-the-wiser.
...
Garou's head ached from the fluctuating pain as the vision passed over, "What the hell..."
"Something the matter?" Izuku asked.
"Head's feeling a bit..." Garou stopped short, his hands feeling limp, "I don't know, it just feels like I'm being hammered by a truckload of anvils."
Izuku tightened his grip around Garou, "Almost there. Hold on tight."
"Almost where?"
"The hospital."
Garou stopped moving along with Izuku, prompting him to stop as well, "The hospital?"
"Yes. The hospital. If you have a complaint, save it in the gurney." Izuku blurted, trying to pull the older man along with him, "Come on, move it!"
"This would've been a viable option if the dorms aren't in danger as we speak." Garou urged, though his voice came out frail, "We oughta return or I'll fucking go there myself."
"Garou-"
"Are you telling me that helping out your classmates is off the table because, what, that I have a bad case of fatigue?" Garou yelled, "I'll pull through, you'll see-" Pain pulsated throughout his head before he could speak, his knees giving in, using both of his hands to prevent himself from falling face first, "Shit!"
"So much for 'pulling through'."
"Fine, fine! The hospital!" Garou coughed as the headache began to worsen, "Shit!"
Izuku swiftly hoisted the man to his shoulder, holding him apart by his armpits.
"What about you, though? Aren't you injured as well?"
"I can still move." Izuku replied, "As for you, that quirk of yours had quite the drawback."
"...hypocrite." Garou muttered under his breath.
As they reached the front gates of a hospital, many bypassers came to their aid, assisting Garou to the hospital's reception area. The nurses began to rush the former Hero Hunter into his designated patient room, while Izuku left him to his own devices, heading to the 1-A dorms.
He was eager to settle the score with that villain from before, and maybe skewer a couple of lackeys or two from the Commission.
...
Todoroki could feel the blood draining out of his scruff, swimming downwards delicately. He can feel the warmth of the liquid washing him over, accompanied by the painful pressure applied by the monster that had him by his neck. The claws in it's hands began to gradually skewer his skin, piercing through it at a leisurely pace.
Immunity...against Ice-based projectiles. Todoroki thought.
"DIE!" Bakugo advanced forward, directing his volatile explosion into the direction of the monster, staggering it back, loosening it's grip on Todoroki.
However, the attack itself posed little to no significant danger to the monster. In fact, it seemed as if the monster was amused by the futile effort.
"I told you, you're a dead weight. Can't even handle a bitch with a cream soaked face like that without almost getting yourself killed," Bakugo sneered.
Panting, Todoroki replied, "You're no better yourself either."
"You want to talk about being better? Let's talk about being-" Before he could finish his chattering, the monster catapulted itself into their direction, a trail of dust flew backwards as his feet left the ground.
Bakugo took the initiative to evade the attack using his explosion to propel himself into the left, the ground shattered into pieces as the monster landed on the ground.
However, a gargantuan, octopus-like monster shot it's tendrils from Bakugo's back, and before it could wrap itself around Bakugo's waist, he swiftly spin around, rapidly increasing his explosion rate as the tendrils were severed, creating a fountain of blood.
"STUN GRENADE!" A blinding flash of light shot outwardly, covering every direction as the monster was temporarily disrupted vision-wise. He used this leverage to his advantage, as he moved forward to pummel the monster with a compressed explosion in his fist, sending it propelling away across the dormitory grounds, "HAH! Take that!"
Three monsters with grotesque features followed, and, much to the hot-headed boy's chagrin, they were too fast for him to react against.
Three sharp points of ice sprang forward from the ground, each impaling the monsters in their abdomens, causing their intestinal matters to drape loosely from the gaping hole in their stomach.
"What the hell?! You killed-!"
"It was an instinctual move." Todoroki cut him off, shooting a look into the direction of the monster that they were struggling to beat before. An immense aura emitted out of it; it advanced forward with a snarl, it's dangling, wet tongue flailed around it's dry lips.
"One more hurdle to put down." Todoroki muttered. Then, he turned his head over to Bakugo, "What do you think?"
"What do you mean, 'what do I think'?!"
"Should I use it?" Todoroki asked, "My left side."
"Common sense points to yes." Bakugo sneered, getting the rough idea of what he meant.
After a long while of silence, Todoroki scoffed, "On second thought, no, I won't use it."
A set of explosion crackled above his palms, "You really want to die? Then be my guest. I'll be giving it my all."
Both of them prepared their stance, bracing themselves for the monster to make it's first move.
However, as they were about to fight, they can see a fist slowly piercing it's way through the monster's belly, causing it to halt and whimper, blood gushing out of the hole.
As the fist retracted itself back, the monster collapsed forward, revealing Midoriya Izuku standing behind the limp corpse.
"Deku?!"
...
The friction caused by the immense rotation of the tires began to wear down on the material covering the deeper layers of the tire, as the car began to lose it's manoeuvrability.
"Car's acting up, that's strange." Amai Mask said, as he struggled to keep the car on a straight path, "We're going there by foot. Chop chop, we have to be quick."
Isamu nodded, taking Rengoku by his hand as he exited the car. Amai Mask followed suit, as they sprinted into the direction where the dorms were located. They were receiving funny looks from the nearby pedestrians as they did so. The stares began to cease as they began to notice the identity of the one who was running in front of them.
"Is that Amai Mask?!"
"What's he doing here?!"
"Is he here to prepare for another concert!?"
"Oh my~~, I've always wondered how his voice sounded like."
"Eh, he sounds okay."
"Hate to burst your bubble, but that guy's all bark and no bite. External appearance's all he got."
Ignoring all the passing comments, Amai Mask focused on the road ahead. The safety of the UA students takes precedence over everything else.
Red cracks formed over his eyelids, extending from the upper side to the lower side, but Amai Mask was unaware of that, seeing how he was dead set on rescuing the students.
Then..
Something fell from above, hitting the ground instantenously, sending off debris into every direction. As the smoke cleared, a familiar face came out of the crater, "Am I interrupting?"
Amai Mask's feet slid across the ground as he sprint came into a halt. He took in the image of the person standing in front of him, "Muscular."
Rengoku cowered behind Isamu, shivering as he did.
One thing that he noticed about him is the dangling flesh hanging over the edge of his torso, "Had a few setbacks, but I was lucky that I got out of his hair as soon as I could."
"'His hair'?"
"Doesn't matter." Muscular chuckled, "You want to go to the dorms? You gotta get through me first."
"Don't be ridiculous, with the state that you're in, you'd be lucky to beat a kindergartener." Amai Mask laughed.
A fiber of muscle expanded from his body, the dangling flesh expended from the rest, "Is that right?"
Amai Mask clenched his fists, "If you want to dance, then a dance you shall get. Isamu!"
Isamu nodded, as he took Rengoku by his hand, running into the other direction, taking the shortcut on the left.
Amai Mask noticed a slight movement on Muscular's part, as he disappeared into the blur, intercepting his intervention before it could even happen, thrusting his fist forward; the force alone sent Muscular tumbling into the ground.
Smoke was emitted out of the blue-haired hero's fist, "You're not going anywhere, big guy."
Muscular returned to his feet, a smirk etched at each edge of his lips, "Is that right?"
He charged towards Amai Mask with every intent to kill him, "Change of plans! I'll kill you, then I'll kill that kid, then I'll kill that other kid, then I'll kill the rest of those students back at the UA!"
Amai Mask simply raised his knee to stop Muscular from advancing even further, however, this action alone proved to be ineffective, as his sturdy chest began to push against the full force of the hero's knee strike; he grabbed him by the neck, before ramming him through the ground ardently.
Muscular ended the streak by throwing him against the wall of a building. As he collided against the concrete wall, Muscular was already in front of him with his fist cocked back.
He could feel the force of his knuckle pushing against his nose, cracking his skull as Muscular thrusted him even further into the interiors of the building, then back into the other side of the street, "The real deal, you say?" Muscular scorned, as he grabbed Amai Mask by his foot, spinning him in the air; he then slammed him into the ground by his calve. Amai Mask's eyes deflated, as consciousness began to drift away from him.
This wasn't how it was supposed to go.
As the darkness began to overtake him, the last thing he saw was the look of disdain on Muscular's face, "See you in hell, pretty boy."
...
Ah, I should've done a make-over first. What a relapse.