Chapter Forty-Four
~Kana's POV~
Kana hadn't been sure about going for this 'Hero study' with Ryuku the Dragon Hero, but she was glad she'd managed to get in with the Heroine. Not only was Kana around Nejire, the older girl who had helped Kira during their Parent's Day separation, but Uraraka and Tsu were also working alongside her. Admittedly it was a bit awkward as Kana was shy around other girls- her area of expertise happened to be older girls and boys as they were all she hung out with. It was a miracle that she and Kira were best friends, but Kana was motivated to get closer with Uraraka and Tsu.
"I hope we learn a lot." Uraraka had confessed to Kana and Tsu when they'd gotten into the changing room to get ready for their first day.
"This is Ryuku, the Dragon Heroine." Kana murmured. "If we don't learn anything I have to transfer agencies to Endeavor's agency."
"Why?" Tsu asked. Kana grimaced.
"I made a bet with James and Yuto last night after I'd inhaled too many star candies. I was hyper and we were trash talking while playing Mario Kart."
"You had a Mario Kart tournament?" Uraraka asked. Kana blinked at the enthusiasm from Uraraka.
"Uh yeah, we try and have a 'family game night' at least once a month. It's 'family training' or at least that's what my sister says. Keeps us close. Though I'm not sure how close since we get too competitive and after a couple cans of energy drinks, it feels more like we're gonna brawl more than anything."
"We should have game nights as a class." Tsu said.
"We should!" Uraraka agreed. "I should bring it up to Iida and Momo later. Anything to help our class with getting to know one another and work on our teamwork."
Kana had nodded along, not sure if she should encourage this as half of their class were demons when it came to 'competitive games'. Was she supposed to be supportive? Fearful of the consequences? Excited like Uraraka was? Calm and composed like Tsu? In the end, Uraraka took her silence as her answer. The three girls were soon joining Nejire and Ryuku for the 'orientation'.
"Good morning ladies." Ryuku greeted them as they entered the meeting room. "I'm glad to have you join me here at my agency. I'd like to welcome you all and introduce you to Nejire. Though I believe you have already met?"
"Yes ma'am." Kana stated in unison with Uraraka and Tsu. Ryuku smiled softly.
"No need to be so formal. I understand it is to be expected when we are walking among the civilians and other heroes, but here in my agency you don't need to address me so formally."
"We can call you Ryu?" Kana asked slowly.
"If you wish." Ryuku nodded. Kana instantly liked her. Ryuku gave her a maternal feeling with her demeanor and smile. Kana had a feeling she was going to like being here. No Endeavor thankfully!
They didn't stay in the agency for long as Ryuku informed them that they needed to learn what the patrol perimeters were for Ryuku's agency as well as what they were expected to do while on patrol.
"The goal of patrolling is to remind the civilians that we're here and they're protected. The civilians in my area tend to be older people so it's not too overbearing some days." Ryuku was saying as she walked ahead of the three students, Nejire by her side. "We will patrol together today and tomorrow we will split up to begin a patrol rotation. We will also be going over the administrative side to running an agency. I am hoping to have at least one of you doing administrative work by the end of the week so we can rotate."
"Is the administrative work difficult?" Uraraka asked. "I don't know about Tsu but Kana and I don't have any experience with that side of the agency expectations."
"I would be shocked if you did to be honest." Ryuku answered. "Not many heroes do show you the administrative side since you're usually only in your work studies for a week. That's usually not enough time to train you to do it and then expect you to remember a year later. But these are special circumstances."
"What do we do when we're patrolling, and we don't run into any villains or bad guys?" Kana asked.
"We can take it easy." Nejire smiled back at her. Kana blinked, that seemed way too easy.
"Do you ever join up with any other heroes or help out if a bad guy comes into your area?" Tsu asked as she hopped along.
"Yes if a villain comes into my territory I do try to catch them before they cause too much trouble." Ryuku answered serenely. "Just as Nejire said, we don't get too many villains in this area. It's quite calm most days."
"Will we have the opportunity to train and learn new skills?" Uraraka asked.
"Of course." Ryuku answered. "We will finish patrol and afterwards I will take you to an area that most civilians leave unattended. There we can try and work on some new techniques. I know you three requested to join me and I accepted, I would like to know what your goals are."
"Goals?" Kana asked slightly alert.
"For the future." Ryuku stated. "It wouldn't be much of a learning curve if you were stagnant during this time would it?"
"You have a point." Tsu ribbet-ed. "I would like to increase my stamina as well as learn how I can incorporate my poison into my fighting style. Right now my poison would only severely harm someone if it got on them." Kana should ask Tsu if she could give her some of that poison, it would certainly improve her own arsenal of home made poisons back at the Ugly House. Course, she'd have to deal with Tsu potentially asking questions on what she's doing with that.
"Are you able to control the poison to your specifications?" Ryuku asked. Kana glanced to the side at the older civilians who waved at them. Nejire seemingly floated by waving and calling out a cheerful greeting as they walked past.
"Um no I've never tried to control it. It's poison."
"What I mean is, can you mix your poison with another substance to lower the lethality?"
"I suppose I could. I would need to study poisons and their chemistry." A light went on above Kana's head.
"I can help you with that if you want?" Kana offered.
"You're well versed in poisons?" Ryuku asked.
"Uh, chemistry. I study it as a hobby and I can help you if you need any assistance?" Tsu gave her a close eyed smile.
"Yes please."
"What about you Uraraka?" Nejire asked, hopping to a fro. Kana greatly admired the girls bubbly personality. "Do you have any skills you want to keep sharp?"
"I'm working on my own stamina." Uraraka answered happily. "Right now I'm able to keep myself and a few other heavy objects floating. I've been practicing by keeping myself floating during class."
"You will come far." Ryuku smiled at her. "Maybe some strength training just in case? With all the floating you'd be doing, your body would no doubt become used to this and cause your muscles to deteriorate."
"Like astronauts in space!" Nejire chirped.
"I'll keep that in mind." Uraraka nodded.
"What about you Kana?" Ryuku asked. Kana bit her bottom lip in thought. She already had excellent control over her portals, with the exception of creating unstable bombs by throwing one at the other. There wasn't much she could do in regards to her side effects as those were already handled medically. Her black holes were still a work in progress. She had managed to make a few small ones so far…
"I have another ability it seems to open up black holes but, I don't have much control over it." Kana admitted. "I can open a portal to anywhere I've seen in pictures or been physically without issue but, the black holes are fairly new to me. I can't control how to open them."
"Hmm… maybe it would be better to ask Thirteen for some pointers?" Ryuku murmured. "He is the only portal based Quirk user I know of."
"He's busy." Kana stated. She'd tried to get some advice from him previously but he hadn't answered or responded to her inquiry. "I suppose it's better I not try to practice it yet. I'm still trying to time my portals so they open quicker after all." Lies.
"I shall make some inquires of my own if you wish?" Ryuku asked Kana. Kana hesitated for a brief moment before she nodded.
"If it's not too much trouble ma'am." They continued patrol without any further delay. Ryuku and Nejire pointed out areas of the town that they were patrolling, giving tips in case the girls needed to either go to the bathroom in case of an emergency and which stores would provide any feminine supplies if needed. They also pointed out who had the best desserts, comfort food and if needed, technology. Kana found that last knowledge more useful but she also made sure to notate the stores and restaurants.
"We will use the last hour of our time each day to train and go over what we can improve on in the event we should run into any villains or if we're asked to aid another hero." Ryuku stated when the girls were back at the agency. "Nejire has told me she's given out her phone number and I want you to know, if you ever need to contact me regarding hero work and I can't reply fast enough, you can always ask Nejire. She's been my protégé the longest and I am looking forward to welcoming her on full time when she graduates UA."
"As you're so nice Mistress." Nejire smiled. "I mean I am looking forward to that day, but not too eagerly you know I do love my classwork but at the same time I am also looking forward to making my way in my life as a full fledged hero."
"Do any of you ladies have any questions?" Ryuku asked before Nejire could go off on her tangent. Kana shared a look with Tsu and Uraraka who all shook their heads. "In that case I want to make sure we run through a few emergency protocols in the event of a natural disaster. I know you've all run through some simulations from UA however, it's a bit different when your in the field and I don't want you girls to panic or get injured in the event of an earthquake or worse." Kana and the girls paid attention as Ryuku and Nejire ran through their emergency protocols and where they were to meet up in the event that they were separated.
"I really like miss Ryuku." Uraraka stated as they were changing.
"She's not like Gunhead." Kana added in slowly. "She's more thorough. Kinda reminds me of my sister. Her back ups have back ups."
"It wouldn't hurt to be that prepared." Tsu said. "Given our class history, maybe we should take some recommendations back to the class and formulate our own strategies."
"It would help in the event the League of Villains try and kidnap one of us, or worse." Uraraka murmured. Kana didn't say anything as she finished changing. The League hadn't talked about kidnapping anyone else, or at least she hadn't been informed of any plans for another kidnapping. Still, Shigaraki may be plotting. It wouldn't be the first time he tried to attack without telling Shina anything."
"Do you think we're ready to face the League again?" Kana asked before she could stop herself. "They had ample opportunity to kill us during the camping trip."
"We may not be ready yet, but every day we're getting stronger." Uraraka faced Kana. Kana saw the determination in her eyes and admired it but at the same time, she wondered, how brave would she be once Shigaraki ordered her and her brothers to hurt the UA students.
It had been plaguing Kana's mind the more she'd thought on it. Shigaraki was certainly evil enough, at least in her opinion to order her and her brothers to hurt the students. It was partially why she didn't want to get too friendly with them in the beginning. It was why she still wasn't sure about getting too close to the students now. (In all honesty, it was a lost cause at this point, some of the students were friends and other's, well others Kana had a soft spot for.)
Thoughts like these were starting to drive Kana into a confused state that she did not want to be in but, every day that Shina didn't have a plan for getting out from the League's thumb, the more these thoughts continued to plague her. It was to the point where Kana was once again, isolating herself. Once she and the other two girls got back to the dorms Kana headed straight for her room to change into something comfortable.
A shower and pajamas later, Kana was staring at her ceiling trying to think of something to distract herself with. Her homework was done- surprisingly enough, she didn't have the urge to draw or paint anything. Music would just make her thoughts worse. Instead Kana stared up at the ceiling for what felt like an eternity before she clicked her phone on.
'No new text messages.'
Kana stared at the display screen of her cell phone before she tossed it aside. She turned onto her side, her back to the door to look at her plushies on her bed. Her eye caught on the shark that had a small gray heart on it's under belly. A thought started to form in Kana's mind. A wonderful and slightly terrifying thought. What if she left her potentially villainous/definitely thieving life to become an actual hero? She could see it clearly. She'd be able to 'turn hero' if she gave up her family. She could bargain for that life. It was a fantasy only. She'd never do that to her brothers and sisters. Still, the fantasy played with her thoughts about how that life would go. She'd be a hero for a few years until she possibly ended up leaving it because of her side effects worsening. By that time, who knows, maybe she'd have an alternative civilian lifestyle already set up or she may just end up being a mom.
A mother… that was laughable. What man would be willing to put up with her and her crazy family? None that she could think of.
Well that wasn't entirely true. The thought hit her before she realized she was even thinking it. The only person she could see by her side was…
'No, nope we are not thinking that.' Kana sat up immediately, her face burning. 'I meant what I told Kiri, I'm not looking for someone in a romantic sense. Plus he doesn't even like me that way!'
'Are you sure about that?' Kira's voice whispered in the back of her mind.
'Oh not you.' It said something about her mental state that she was even able to have conversations with Kira in her head.
'You know you like him. You told me so yourself.'
"It's truly sad how you're in my head and yet I can't ever win an argument with you." Kana stated aloud. 'But I don't-'
'You just admitted to yourself that the only person that you could see putting up with the family is Bakugou Katsuki! Don't try and run from that now sis.'
'I- I don't…'
'Unless you want to be like Shina and hop from one guy to the other.'
'No thanks.' Kana mentally apologized for thinking this of her sister but, well it was the truth. Guess this meant she needed to face her feelings… or she could stay in denial, it was such a lovely river filled with carnivorous animals.
A series of quick knocking on her door sounded breaking Kana from her looney thoughts. She glanced at the clock to see it was 12:35pm. Everyone should have already been asleep in bed, which meant this was probably Bakugou. Kana looked to her bed and thought about pretending to be asleep but that thought was banished after another knock sounded that sounded more insistent and hurried.
Kana got up off her bed, navigating her way around her piles of clothes on the floor. The dim lighting from her pink string lights gave her enough light to see, unfortunately she still did stumble over one of her bigger plushies that were still on the floor that Denki had left for her to clean up after their last movie night.
"Sorry, almost tripped on the way to my own door! Garden tonight?" Kana murmured when she opened the door. The moment she met Bakugou's eyes she knew something was wrong. His eyes were wide open and it looked like he was panting. It almost reminded her of his face when the heroes rescued them from the bar. "Baku-?" Kana didn't have time to blurt out his full name as he grabbed her arm and yanked her into him in a tight hug. The alarm bells were at full blast in Kana's head at his behavior and his willingness to hug her. She took a moment to listen intently down the hall in case she had missed any sounds of an attack or ambush. It was still dark in the hall when she'd opened her door so no emergency lights had gone off.
"You're alive." Bakugou murmured in her hair. Kana narrowed her eyes at his head. Why wouldn't she- understanding crashed into Kana a moment later. Another nightmare. James' report about the fight between Midoriya and Bakugou came back to her. James had confessed to her after that meeting that Bakugou was possibly suffering from some PTSD. Kana jerked her head up out of his chest (curse her barely 5 feet height!) so she was able to breathe easier and also so he could hear her.
"I'm here Katsuki." Kana's arms came up to hold him just as tightly as he was holding her. Kana hated physical touch but, in this instance, she could rise above her discomfort to give her friend a hug when he was obviously hurting.
"I keep hearing you scream." He mumbled in her hair. Kana had never before felt the wave of guilt that crashed into her at that sentence. Her mouth opened to blurt everything out but she froze. If she did that, then everything, everything was lost. Instead Kana, closed her mouth and hugged him tighter.
"I'm sorry. I'm here." Was all she could say.
~Yuto's POV~
Yuto sighed as he watched Bakugou, Todoroki and James struggle in their joint training with the other students who hadn't gotten their Hero Licenses yet. He would have joined them, but none of the kids for this particular training would come near him. He smirked as he heard the nearest group of girls whispering about his ears and how they were cute but he looked 'dark and scary'. He honestly didn't mind the whispers so much as he leaned into their fear and bared his teeth at him. He didn't have fangs like James but apparently it was scary enough for them to run away screaming and giggling. He pulled out his phone, discreetly texting Tokoyami.
'How's the work study going?' He typed, making sure to look around to see if the teachers were watching him. So far the only ones watching, or taking any notes were Endeavor and All Might in the stands but they didn't say anything. Yuto looked back at his phone when he got a text back.
'It's fine. Hawks seems to be distracted so I'm with the other sidekicks. How's training?' Yuto smiled as he responded.
'I'm watching Todoroki and Bakugou try to handle children. James keeps being stroked by the girls because of his ears and tail. Apparently he's 'adorbs'.'
'No kids around you?' Yuto smirked as another group of boys tried coming up to him to 'bravely' interact and make him bow to them. Yuto elongated his shadow, making them rise up like tenacles as the boys turned away like the girls, nervously screaming for their teacher. Yuto chuckled.
'I am the personification of doom and gloom. One glance from my eyes and the children wilt like flowers in the desert sun. A few steps from me and all falls silent like a cemetery at midnight. Not even the bravest child is strong enough to withstand my dark aura.'
'Did you just text me a poem about your training?' Tokoyami's text had Yuto laughing. He quickly hid his phone when Gang Orca looked over at him. Yuto waved, looking the personification of 'innocent'. He pulled out his phone when Gang Orca looked away again.
'Yeah did you like it?' Tokoyami's reply was instant.
'Indeed.' Yuto grinned.
'Thanks to you and Kana's 'education' on poems, I'm learning something.' Yuto looked up when the ground started to thump. Gang Orca was coming. 'Oh crud, Gang Orca's coming. See ya later!' Yuto put his phone away and stood straight as the orca approached.
"You are supposed to be in training with the children." Yuto indicated his entire body.
"Apparently I'm too 'scary'."
"You don't seem to mind their fear." Yuto grinned brightly at the mild accusation.
"Nope. It's like watching kids go up to a haunted house and then run away. Plus, they're having fun testing their limits. So long as I just manage to look scary enough, I am playing with them." Gang Orca huffed.
"That's not the point of the exercise." Yuto blinked at him.
"Would you rather I was trying to launch them into the air like Bakugou is? Or be pet like James is?" Yuto glanced at Todoroki and snorted. "Todoroki's effort is admirable but it's in vain."
"Give it a try." Gang Orca stated. Yuto sighed as he walked back to the others with the orca by his side.
"Okay~." Yuto stated slowly. As soon as he approached, the kids ran from Bakugou, Todoroki and James in fear, going back to their teacher. Yuto felt a small thrill at scaring the kids as he used his shadows to rise up, like waving tentacles as the lights flickered above. He narrowed his eyes at the kids. "Behave yourselves or I will find you."
The whimpering and nods from the kids as they cowered had him looking at Orca.
"I did not mean scare them." Gang Orca sighed.
"Do I look cuddly like James?" Yuto asked rhetorically.
"Oi!" James hissed.
"I'm not handsome like Todoroki or as abrasive as Bakugou. I really don't think I'm like the others here either." Yuto indicated the other students he hadn't bothered to get to know. "My expertise is shadows and looking scary. You're not gonna force the kids to be near me while they're obviously in fear are you? Cause I'm sure their parents will complain. I would." Gang Orca sighed.
"Fine, we'll end this training session short on account of the kids being too scared to come close." Gang Orca announced.
"Good job Yu." James popped up, wrapping his arm around Yuto's shoulders as he grinned at his brother. "You were able to help us."
"You didn't look like you needed help furry." Yuto stated as he walked to the changing rooms.
"Children are… difficult." Todoroki stated.
"They're kids." James said. "They're ruled by basic instincts and knowledge like 'look at that shiny thing' or 'I'm hungry I want nuggets'. They're not really self-aware enough to understand what they're saying, especially this group. They're like mini terrorists with Quirks… Oh I'm never having kids." Yuto snorted a laugh.
Yuto stood in front of Jiro's bedroom door as he once again knocked, trying to work out how this was going to go or if she wasn't in. He'd already put this off longer than he had intended. The door opened and Jirou peeked out before opening her door wider with a smile.
"Hi Yuto."
"Hey Jirou, uh mind if we talk?" Jirou nodded happily opening her door.
"Sorry about the mess, I've been trying to set up a new drum set I got." Yuto noted the boxes and the tools all around the room.
"Sure, uh, I'll just stay over here." Yuto coughed. "Jirou uh," He sighed as he stared at her head on. "There's no easy way to say this but, I'm sorry I didn't realize when you asked me to go get dinner at the store last week, that that was supposed to be a date. I just thought you were asking as a friend because that's what we are, right? And I'm sorry I made you think that I wanted to date, right now, I just want to focus on school and enjoying the friends I've made here. Can you forgive me?" Yuto asked, bowing his head in apology. Jirou's face turned so soft and understanding Yuto blinked.
"Oh I'm so sorry Yuto I didn't realize." She averted her eyes as a small blush rose on her face. She took a gulp and met his eyes. "I had been wondering why you didn't seem to be as nervous and I guess I should have been more clear in my feelings and intentions."
"So… no hard feelings? Because you're still an awesome girl to have as a friend and I would hate to lose your friendship over this." Yuto smiled slightly. Jirou smiled, nodding at him.
"I understand Yuto and yeah I think we can keep being friends." Yuto breathed a sigh of relief.
"Oh thank god! I've been trying to figure out how I could do this the last few days." Yuto scratched the back of his head as he looked down. "My uh, siblings had to talk about it in details about the signs and cues I missed. It was a bit embarrassing." Jirou chuckled.
"I can imagine especially if James had to go over that with you." Yuto nodded, smiling.
"Yeah he's not very good at seeing what's obvious but when it comes to everyone else, then he's front and center." Yuto looked past Jirou at the drum set she was trying to assemble. "Do you mind if I help you put the set together?" He asked before he backed up. "This is in no way a date or a backtrack on what I just said. I just want to help you as a friend."
"Sure Yuto you can help. Have you ever put a set together before?"
"No but I'm good at building robots, how hard can it be?" Yuto asked, glad for once that something like this wasn't as complicated as he'd been fearing.
~James POV~
Lounging in the boys living area was always relaxing and comforting as James didn't have to worry about the girls asking him about his diet or trying to pet his tail. Not that he minded, he often sought out who he thought was the best headscratcher or tail petter among his classmates. But right now, he just wanted to be lazy as he laid on the floor stretched out on his stomach as he watched the carpet and listened to his fellow male classmates talk.
"Man I'm sore from training. You'd think they were preparing us for war the way we're being trained." Sero groaned from his spot behind James. James tail flicked at the words.
"It may not be war but hero work is kind of like it." Denki stated opposite Sero. "We'll be fighting against villains and occasionally saving the day."
"Yeah I guess." Sero stated.
"You guys should be lucky you don't have such a close range quirk." Kirishima stated. "I don't see how I'm going to be a good hero."
"Eh?" James huffed from his spot on the floor at Kirishima's voice. He'd never really liked Kirishima, so he didn't bother to argue his logic. Having a quirk like Hardening was a stupid quirk, it wasn't anything useful when it came to a life of thieving or assassining like his family did.
"Dude don't put yourself down like that!" Denki cried out.
"'Forget the parlor tricks, work with your hardening and plow through like a bulldozer.' That's what All Might said. When I think about it, I've got no fancy moves like you guys do." James mentally scoffed. Kirishima's mental weakness was lower than he thought if he was taking All Might's words to heart. He'd seen the 'How to be a great teacher 101' book All Might had on him the last few days. James would rather take advice from someone cooler like Aizawa than listen to All Might.
"Huh?" James flicked his ear at Bakugou's voice. Guess boom boom boy's attention was grabbed.
"You've all got mid- to long-range attacks and boosted mobility and stuff. Well except Kaminari. Not me though!"
"That is true." Sero muttered. James quietly snorted as his eyes closed. It wasn't like anything Kirishima said was wrong though. He opened his eyes thinking how Kirishima would survive in his darker world. Other than being a possibly proficient killer with his quirk, James really wasn't sure if stealth was Kirishima's thing. Of course Kana would probably argue something else and maybe Shina would see something else in the guy.
"See if I ever agree to charge your phone again!" Denki called.
"What's the solution?" Tokoyami asked.
"I'm just a mess of weaknesses at this point. Everyone's looking forward to going Pro but I'm back here wondering how to keep up."
"Don't be a wimp, this isn't like you." Sero stated.
"I ain't whining, just thinking! Thinking!" Kirishima argued back. James yawned as he rolled onto his side.
"You wanna talk about keeping up?" Bakugou asked, making James ear twitch again. "Remember when you were my 'unbreakable horse'? Just like All Might at the end in Kamino just being able to keep standing through anything makes you crazy strong."
"You think?" Kirishima asked.
"Hey J, any thoughts?" Denki called to him. James picked at his ear, disinterestedly.
"Not really. I mean I wouldn't take anything All Might said to heart when it comes to training. Guy's got a book on how to be a teacher. I'd rather ask someone who has experience teaching and take their advice." James flicked his tail.
"You're no help dude."
"Didn't say I was going to help." James retorted back.
"Such a lazy cat." Sero teased as James felt his hand thump on his head. James growled low as he swiped at Sero.
"Don't touch me you taped up abomination. You ripped out some fur last time!" James yowled as he got up. Sero laughed as he held up his hands.
"Sorry, sorry!" James huffed as he crossed his arms and looked at Kirishima.
"You want to be a good hero than stick with Bakugou. Guys probably gonna make it to number 2 before anyone." He smirked. "Unless Deku beats him to it."
"Oi! Shut it furry!" James stuck out his tongue at Bakugou. "You wanna go?"
"Nah, you'd probably end up back on detention duty." James grinned ferally. Now this was more his speed. They spent the rest of the hour arguing about their quirks and what made a good hero as well as a very memorable and passionate speech from Bakugou about All Might's honor. James had snorted halfway through the speech and that started a small fight before they went to bed.
"Hey J?" Denki asked as James headed for the stairs. His Bad Luck just wasn't worth going through the elevator. James halted.
"Yeah?"
"Who would you get training advice from?"
"Aizawa." James stated promptly. "Dude's literally been mummified for us. He has my respect. He's also a cat."
"He's not a cat though?" Denki frowned in confusion. James spoke in a mysterious voice.
"I feel it in his soul."
~Kai's POV~
The moment the jet touched down Kai was up and texting his siblings.
'I'm back! In Japan that is.' Kai texted to the group chat. He grabbed his bagpack and throw it over his shoulder.
"Is there anything else we can help you with young sir?" The cute flight attendant asked as she bowed her head at him. Kai didn't bother to look at her as he answered.
"Thank you but no. Just get me off this plane."
"Of course." Kai flicked his eyes at her as she passed him. He's already memorized her and the rest of the staff's profiles as well as physical features. It was habit and at this point, would be such a hassel to break. His phone buzzed making him look down at the message from Kana.
'How was Brazil?' He frowned remembering the beginning of the trip. He didn't really like the Desturi twins of Brazil. They weren't much more violent than he was but they were creepy. Always smiling and giggling. He'd hesitated to even leave Kaito with them but he'd had to come back. Kaito hadn't been happy but Kai told him it was only for a little while. He hoped he hadn't lied to his little protégé.
'Warm.' Kai texted briefly before he closed his phone as he got off the plane and headed for the chauffeured car.
"Welcome back young sir." The butler, Jean-Claude stated stiffly.
"Thanks JC." Kai responded, still wary of the manners lesson that Jean-Claude had given him when he'd made the mistake of calling him 'Jeeves'.
'Did you see Desire and Mara? No issues?' Shina texted. Kai responded freely now that he was once again sitting down.
'Yeah actually, they sent some guards to check me out before I was even able to meet them. Kaito was a bit scared.' Kai stated bluntly.
'Was he scared when you left him?' Kana texted. Kai thought about it before he answered truthfully.
'I'm sure he was but there's no changing that this is still safer for him right? Because if you idiots have changed your minds you can use Kana.' He wasn't getting on another plane for a while. The long trip from Russia and then from Brazil was too much for him right now.
'No we haven't changed our minds. He's safer away from here.' Shina texted.
'So can you tell us if you've managed to think of a plan?' James texted.
'I have… but I need to talk with someone who can possibly help.' Shina answered. Kai felt his body relax slightly. Kaito would be back in their care soon then.
'What's stopping you from doing that right now?' Kai texted. 'What could be more important than hopefully potential murder?'
'Kai.' Kana texted and he could tell she was frowning at him. Kai frowned, Kira hadn't texted or joined yet. That was strange. He forgot his twin for a moment as he read Shina's reply.
'Revenge.'
'Well now, that trumps all.' Kai grinned, eager to get back to the house even more than before.
The moment the car stopped in front of the house Kai was out of the door and heading inside, too impatient to wait for JC to open the doors. He wasn't an invalid, he could do it himself. He stomped his way to the office where Shina was sitting looking at her phone. She glanced up at him and put her phone away.
"Good to see you again Kai."
"Yeah yeah, cut the chit chat. What are we doing and why is this revenge? Who died?" Was it Kira? Shina must have seen his look as she spoke sharply.
"Kira's on a mission right now. Not able to text. Right now we're working with the League to get revenge on the one who killed Mange. However, the situation is a bit delicate."
"How so?" Kai frowned.
"Shigaraki wants us to work with him." Kai frowned. Politics wasn't his thing, but he'd been under the assumption that when someone killed a member of their group, they were supposed to retaliate. Why were they working with the man who killed one of their guys?
"Why are we trying to work with the guy who killed Mange?" Kai asked in outrage. He wondered what Shina was thinking when she agreed to this.
"We aren't." Shina stated, sighing as she leaned back in her chair, golden eyes looking up at the ceiling. "Shiggy doesn't trust him and honestly I doubt the other guy, Overhaul, trusts him so much since he asked to meet Shiggy in his compound alone. Not that I'm going to let him." Kai frowned at the insinuation.
"You're okay with waltzing into a compound of Yakuza unarmed?" Shina gave him a look as if he was dumb.
"Kai, I've walked into a cartel den with nothing but my wits and my Quirk. I walked out just fine. Besides, I'm not going to walk in, I'm going to sneak in using my invisibility with Shiggy."
"Oh." He let out feeling dumb. He often forgot that Shina could take care of herself given she was usually in the role of thief and not the aggressive villain or hero that everyone else took on. "Whatever. I suppose you want me to come as well?"
"No." Kai blinked. Shock and irritation warring in his mind at Shina's firm rejection.
"No?"
"No."
"Have you lost your senses?" He blurted out. Shina snorted out loud as she got up off her chair to stretch.
"I was never sane to begin with. But in this case, I need you to check in on Kira. She messaged me day before yesterday saying she thinks she was identified by the Nara clan member she was following. I haven't heard from her since." Kai frowned. Why was he just hearing about this now if Shina was worried about Kira. But still, maybe it was just paranoia? Kai wasn't sure what a civilian could do.
"She's a trained assassin/spy, what civilian could get her off her guard?"
"One with telekinesis. Or a psychic quirk." Shina pointed out logically. Kai nodded once in understanding.
"Hmm, alright fine. You have her last coordinates?"
"Yoshi can text you that. Make sure you stay in contact, I don't want to lose contact with you as well." Shina ordered. Kai gave her an affronted look.
"Do I look like a newbie?" Shina's lips twisted into a mocking smile as she answered,
"No but there's a first time for everything."
"True. Alright, I'll head out in a couple hours." Kai stated as he stretched. He'd been travelling nonstop for the last day and wasn't looking forward to more travelling. "I need to get some food and a nap and I'll head out." Shina nodded at him.
"Good, make sure you also shower, you stink." Kai gave her the bird as he left the office, heading to him room on the third floor.
~Shina's POV~
She was glad that Kai was back. She needed another available person to help her aid the next few steps in stopping the League and freeing them from their contract. She breathed in deeply as she pulled out her cell phone and dialed a quick number.
"What Shina? I'm still working on the last three things you asked me look for." Yoshi stated, a hint of irritation in his voice as well as the sound of crunching of some kind of snack.
"Yoshi, you can stop looking for the blackmail information. And make sure you also stay off my phone, I need full blackout from you for the next hour." Typing sounds stopped from him as he paused his search.
"Are you insane?" He asked. "Have you finally gone off the deep end because I know you're right on the line at this point."
"Maybe but… I have a hunch you're never going to find it." I stated as I looked at the paperwork on my desk. A familiar signature on the forms as well as a photo from a security camera had a darkness growing in my chest. "Black out my phone now."
"Yes ma'am." Yoshi stated. "Do you need anything else?"
"Yes actually." I sighed. "Track Kira's last movements and send the info to Kai's phone. That'll be all for now."
"Alright." Yoshi stated before I hung up. I sighed before I got up, leaving my office as I walked across the entry way to the kitchen. I nodded to Wolfe as he was chopping and frying up dinner. I headed for my garage as that was the only place I was sure no one would try to spy on me. As soon as I entered the garage I called out to my AI.
"Kitana! Lock down my garage, heat signature and see if anyone is with me."
'Right away milady.' I waited as my doors and windows shuttered closed and a red light started to trace the room starting from the top to the bottom. It scanned multiple times before Kitana announced, 'You are alone milady.'
"Thank you. I need to make a call."
'Opening secured communication lines. Ready for call.'
"Call Hawks." I ordered.
'Yes milady.' I waited as the sound of a ringtone came. I really hoped he answered, but even if he didn't, well I understood given my previous text to him. But he was the only one I could trust among heroes and villains that wasn't my kids to hopefully help me with my insane plan.