"Sensei, do you know of a fence that can exchange the gold into actual yen notes?" I asked the staticky TV, but before he could answer, if he even would, Kuro spoke up.
"Actually, I may know of somebody who'd be able to help us." Zee was already walking away, no doubt hunting something or someplace to settle her stomach.
"Hmm, okay. While you call him, we need to discuss how much of the gold we'll need right now. I doubt that any fence would be capable of moving that much gold quickly, so we should probably divide it down into smaller amounts. Possibly an 'ante' so to speak to start with, just to see how well it goes." I mumbled aloud, only to receive no answers to my idea. Zozo had already made herself scarce, and Kuro had pulled a phone out from under the bar and was speaking into it.
"I may have a job for you... Okay, see you in half an hour." I was able to pick out before my transporter went silent, hanging up the phone.
"Let me guess, he'll be here in half an hour?" I said sarcastically, the black mist staring back at me silently in what may have been either annoyance or exhaustion.
I'd completely forgotten that Kurogiri didn't have a mouth, and so his range of emotion could only be portrayed via his tonal voice and his yellow eyes, neither of which were giving me any clues.
"Well, it's official, soon as I'm of age, I'm taking you to a casino. We'll make bank just from your poker face." I muttered as Kuro turned away, mixing a glass of something involving the four bottles he'd grabbed, and I could promise I saw a hint of pinkish red in his mist.
Seeing as how Kuro wasn't speaking to me right now, and Zozo was probably in her room getting sick, I sat down at a booth, pulling out my phone as I started making notations on my plan, namely the video game design I was hoping would be my chief source of income soon.
'Okay, I'll need a big draw to really get it out there to the masses. All Might would be perfect, but no way they would just let anyone use his image like that... Not to mention I'll have to rinse and repeat with almost any hero I incorporate. Who would be a good hero that wouldn't mind taking a chance on a relative no name video game?'
I spent the rest of my time running through all the heroes I could think of off the top of my head, but didn't make any real progress, and until I could get that first step out of the way, I would have problems with the following ones.
"Ahh, this was the man I was speaking of young Shigaraki." I heard Kurogiri say, and whether he'd reverted as a way of demonstrating his irritation with me, or because we were now including a relative unknown in our plans, I didn't know, nor could I ask.
"You mentioned you might have a job, Kurogiri?" The voice sounded familiar, but I didn't recognize the man from the back, not until he turned to look at me.
"Yes, Giran, we are in need of a fence who can move some stolen gold for us." Kurogiri said as I pulled myself free of the booth, walking over to the bar.
"Are you sure we can trust this guy Kuro?" I asked, already knowing the answer as the man took a drag from the lit cigarette in his mouth.
"Who's the kid?" Giran answered for me.
"'The kid' is the one requiring your services. We need about," I paused, considering an appropriate amount as a test run for whom I knew was a reputable middleman, despite the very nature of his job and clientele. "50 kilograms should be sufficient for any opening play, provided of course that Mr. Giran can do his job correctly." I shot a subtle dig; it was after all expected in this world.
Giran breathed a small plume of smoke before sighing, "Is that all kid?" I honestly couldn't tell if he was being facetious or bored.
"Well, technically speaking, that's out of a metric ton so no, but that's all we plan on moving at the moment. We just need some startup money to get us on our feet." I supplied, hoping that he didn't read into my willingness to share information at a first meeting. I was supposed to be a 15-year-old teenager, not the criminal mastermind I needed to become.
"Well in that case, I think we may have just the person in mind. I'll take 10% of the exchange for myself. It's just business after all." Giran said, not blinking as he stared at me. Was I supposed to react to that, honestly that sounded great to me, but people in this world had different values to mine.
"5%." I said out of habit, it seemed prudent that he'd start with an amount that favored him, but maybe he was giving me a great rate and I just couldn't realize it.
"Come on kid, I got to eat too you know." His easy grin should have sent a chill down my spine, but instead it just brought a mirrored one to my face.
"Good, you'll be more inclined to get the best possible deal then. But just to ease my guilty conscience so I can sleep tonight, we're just getting started, I'll have frequent need of your connections so consider it a 'sign on' bonus." I said steepling my fingers in what was supposed to be a smug manner, but I suspected it just made me look like a B-movie villain.
"Well, then, I better get going. I'll let you know when I find a fence able to move that much merchandise." Giran said, taking a glass on the bar and draining it as he turned to leave, the same easy smile still on his face.
I waited a few minutes to make sure he was gone before sitting myself at the bar. "Why do I feel like he's laughing at me behind my back?" I said as Kurogiri poured something into my proffered glass. It was a weird yellowish liquid, and I didn't question more than that as I sipped it, an acrid taste covering my tongue as it rolled down my throat.
"Do not worry, young Tomura... He is trustworthy." Kuro assured me as I swirled the remainder of my drink.
"Ironic, given his apparent connections and profession." I said shortly, forgoing a sip as I took the rest of the drink like a shot, sliding off the chair and heading to my room.
I needn't have worried, Giran's reputation was well deserved, both in canon and now as he brought back a substantial amount, more than I had expected. I had a small crisis of conscience that I might be funding terrorism or some such, but ultimately pushed down my objections since I couldn't verify who was buying pure gold. I also had a moment of humor where I considered the possibility of the government buying the gold to replace what was stolen, simply so they could cover up the theft since knowledge of the stolen gold would only 'engolden' other thieves.
Pun intended...
1/18th of a ton of gold and we made 275 million yen in profit. My inner OCD was pleased by the nice even amount. Technically speaking, there was 275 million and 60 thousand in profit, but I set that aside right away. This also finally settled my fears that I was making a mountain out a molehill with regards to asking Giran if he could find a fence for us. The sheer idea that we still had such a massive pile of gold we were sitting on sent me into hysteric giggles, which also made Zozo chuckle at my childishness.
Now though, I had to enact the next step of our plan which is why I found myself standing before the orphanage three months after that night, even now I could see the pronounced effect Ms. Gaol's disappearance had had on the place.
Shaking my head as I walked through the front doors, I also noticed the diminished number of children running around, although ironically the kids that remained certainly looked happier.
"Hello, can I help you?" I heard a young man say as he approached me, only recognizing me as a young teenager as he got close. "Oh, I'm sorry, are you one of our new residents?" He added as I smirked, placing the briefcase at my side on the ground as I extended a gloved hand.
"Not quite, I heard this place had changed hands after an 'incident' recently and thought I would relive my old memories. May I speak to the new..." I only realized I didn't know if a man or woman had taken over Ms. Gaol's position. For that matter, I didn't even know what to refer to a man in that position, a woman was obviously the matron, but a man would be... a patron, that didn't seem right.
"Oh, you mean Mrs. Pashti, I'll see if she's available, would you mind waiting here." The youth said as he turned and jogged off, allowing me to look around from my place at the entrance.
When he didn't return within ten minutes, I pulled out my phone and began adding to my slowly growing notes.
'Okay, I have to divide the playable characters into various designations, but how do I want to divide them. The normal way would be by role such as: Tank, Support, Assassin. But do I want to further split ranged characters, or maybe I could adopt a system similar to strategy games: Offence, Defense, Support. I haven't found any other games like this, so really, I/ we'd be setting the standard so I could just get super technically and parse them via D&D style builds: ATK, CON, DEX, INT, and WIS. That irks me though if you have a character that could fall into multiple categories... not to mention that DEX is ambiguous, maybe adding AGL would help, but having that many choices seems overly specific." I thought before noticing a boy in front of me.
He wasn't the one that left to get Mrs. Pashti, the new matron, and honestly, he freaked me out bad! He looked like his face was misarranged, one of his eyes was on his cheek, he had a nostril protruding from his chin, and his eyes were even different colors. He looked like the poster child from a radioactive mutant.
"Hi, are you new here. Do you want to be my friend, they have Mario Kart 66 set up in the den, but all the other kids won't play with me." He sounded nice enough, but I noticed halfway through that his voice changed completely: tone, sound, everything.
"Sorry, I'm just here to see the new matron, I used to live here until I found my new home. I'd love to play with you though, sorry." I didn't care how he looked, not playing with him because he looked so strange, especially in this world was just mean.
"That's okay, it won't take very long for me to beat you." The boy said smugly, and I felt the competitive fire flare up as I looked around for any sight of the young man who'd left earlier.
"Fine, I can't pass up a chance to crush some noob's spirits." I shot back as the boy laughed, a staticky sound as I followed him to the den, which they'd apparently added recently given I'd never even knew the place had a den.
He was right, it didn't take long for him to utterly destroy me in the game, not that it was a fair fight since as soon as he had the controller in his hand his body started twitching. I thought he was having a seizure at first, until I saw the wide grin on his face.
"I take it that's why no one will play with you?" I guessed as he sheepish rubbed the back of his head.
"Yeah, everyone around here just calls me Glitch since that's what my Quirk's called, the doctor that diagnosed me said something about my code being in binary rather than quadrary... uhm 1s and 0s instead of ATGC I think he said. It means I can talk to machines really well, the heavier the coding the easier, but it means my body is all mixed up..." He trailed off, half of his mouth drooping in what I assumed was sadness.
"Did your family leave you here?" I cautiously asked, not wanting to upset the kid.
"Not really, they got arrested..." I noticed a trail of brackish tears start leaking out. "It was all my fault, I did really bad on a test, but I didn't want them to find out, so I just changed my scores in the teacher's computer. But apparently, I messed up everything, and the police tracked it back to me. My dad said he forced me to do it, that he said 'If I was stupid and ugly then what purpose did I have. But that was a lie! He never said that he loved me, both him and my mom, but the cops didn't believe me, called it Stocken Syndrome or something. They locked him up, and my mom... she couldn't take it... she's still alive but she's in the hospital, an asylum. I just want to grow up already so I can get my dad out, and then Mom will be okay, and we can go back to being a family again!" Glitch said, somehow never taking a breath when I noticed a second mouth on the back of his neck, breathing heavily, I didn't even understand most genetics and biology and I knew this was crazy weird.
"I'm sorry to hear that. Listen Glitch, if my family is okay with it, I can see if they'll let you move in with us, or maybe something. You seem like a really cool guy." I offered and was taken aback at Glitch's pouting look.
"I'm not a guy, dumbass, I'm a girl!" He, she said as I was sent reeling in shock.
"Haha, you should see you face! I thought I looked funny, but that's hilarious! I'm just messing with you. That's a really cool offer, but I don't know... I'm not looking for a family, I don't think anyone will adopt me from here, certainly not with my looks. Can I think about it?" He, really this time, although given his twitchy genetics I don't know if that's a stable pronoun.
I tried not to point out that after I left, I was unlikely I would ever come back by, but before I could break the news to him, I heard someone clear their throat.
I looked over my shoulder to see a young woman with darkened skin, most likely Indian given the complexion and name, chances were this was Mrs. Pashti. "I heard someone wanted to see me, but I didn't expect it was a child, I hope you aren't trying to waste my time." She said sternly.
Before I could answer, she turned on her heel heading back the way she came, expecting me to follow her probably. I gave a quick fist bump to Glitch and ran after her, my briefcase firmly in hand as we traversed the stairs.
Once we were in her office, a cluttered space with numerous papers barely on the desk, she sat down, looking at me in what was most likely a tern look, but it lacked the necessary heat to be effective.
"I would like to ask what purpose you have here?" Pasti inquired, keeping her eyes on me rather than returning to her paperwork.
"Hmm, I just felt like dropping by. I was here a few months ago, and the place has a totally different air than back then. It looks... more lived in. Scuff marks where children got a bit too rowdy playing, the slight lingering scent of dirt, and I never once heard the dejected sounds of children not wanting to stop when Ms. Gaol was the matron here." I said, placing my briefcase carefully in a chair, so as not to disturb the small pile of papers there.
"Are you suggesting the previous matron abused the children?" Mrs. Pashti, despite her stiff tone, shifted at the possibility, a concerned softness coming over her face.
"Not in such a way. It's much more likely she was simply very authoritative with the children, timeouts, you know. But the children look much happier now, what few I've seen while I was waiting..." I trailed off, only just thinking how I didn't see many kids, even if they were all outside playing the noise should've been more prominent.
"Mmm yes, after that dreadful affair with the previous lady, the city stopped placing children here so often. We currently only have about a third of the previous numbers. None of this, however, truly explains what you're doing here." She pointed out as I sighed.
"Mrs. Pashti, right, you are married, do you have any children?" I asked, reaching down as I fumbled with the clasp on the briefcase.
"I don't see that's any of your business Mr.-" She paused, perhaps now realized I hadn't introduced myself yet.
"I'm only asking because it's rare that a married woman would desire this job, certainly not one with children. I think it's a maternal thing, they have no children of their own, so the orphans function as surrogates. Regardless, the children seem to prefer your leadership to Ms. Gaol's and I, as one of the previous residents here, would like you to stay." I said, finally getting the darned clasp open, that's what I get for not buying quality.
Mrs. Pashti looked strangely at the 60 thousand yen sitting inside. "I'm willing to make quarterly donations of 1.25 million yen to the orphanage." I supplied as she boggled at the amount.
Not one to be deterred however, she still looked at the paltry sum before her with confusion. "And what is this for?"
I decided to simply bite the bullet. "That is a bribe." I answered, trying to hold in my chuckle at her shocked expression. "I want to clear from the beginning that I don't care if you skim off the top however much you please. Just so long as you're aware that should any harm befall the orphans as a result of you embezzling the money that is supposed to help take care of them and maintain this place, the fate that the previous woman who sat behind that desk will also befall you, only unlike her you have a husband." I said, still repressing my emotions as I awaited her reaction.
Only a small whispered, "Wife." came out as an eyebrow raised.
"Well, my point stands. As I stated, I want it clear from the outset that I'm willing to provide money for both you and yours, as well as the upkeep of this orphanage." I stated as I placed the paltry amount on her desk, her eyes glued to it as if looking at me would end with her death.
"But I still don't understand... why only 60 thousand? Why the massive donations? Why me?!" She said, her eyes looking up like a scolded child as she realized that despite my diminished age, I held all the power in the room.
"It's only 60 thousand because if you turned out not to be as corruptible as I hoped, the police would hardly be concerned about such a small amount, I could easily deny it. After all, it's hardly an appropriate amount to bribe someone, hmm? As for the massive donations, as I said, I used to be a resident here under Ms. Gaol, it was... unpleasant. I want to make sure the circumstances I endured are not shared with these children. As for why you... you happened to be sitting behind the desk when I arrived." I stated, redoing the clasp on my briefcase only for it to fall open again as I lost my temper for a second, angrily throwing the thing down in a huff.
"But, why the bribe, you could've just donated the money without any knowledge of the illegality being known?" She said, tears forming in her eyes. It was then I realized, I'd essentially walked in and made her complacent if she accepted the following donations.
"Sorry, ma'am, I knew I forgot something." I apologized, scooping the briefcase and flipping it open, rifling through the top compartment. before finding what, I was searching for.
"I would like you to file these documents within your archives." I said simply, holding the short stack of papers out as Mrs. Pashti slowly took them as if she were accepting a venomous snake.
"If that will be all, I'll take my leave. I'll be back sometime next week with the 1.25 million yen, okay?" I was of course rhetorical, I would return next week, if the police happened to be waiting for me, I would know my cover was blown and return at a later date to exact my revenge... maybe not.
One month later, I stood in an elevator headed to the 11th floor of an office building, my target picked out as I moved to strike decisively.
Bing. The door opened, allowing me entrance into what seemed on the surface like a lazy day at the office. But I knew, these guys had given up hope, that was why I was here to breathe new life into their doldrum lives. No doubt they'd faced some criticism when they'd chosen this career path, but they'd been young, impressionable, and hopeful that they would never have a bad day working for a video game company.
They were wrong, the evidence laid bare before me as I walked past, straightening my coat and pulling my too white gloves tighter on my hands as I paused outside the 'Boss's door as his secretary leaned in, announcing my presence.
I hadn't made an appointment but judging from the lack of concern around the place, no one cared enough to question it. It took less than five seconds before I was waved in, the CEO? President of the company? I was unsure of his exact position in the hierarchy of Stain Inc.
Regardless, my purpose here was the same.
"Hello, my name is Tomura, and I am here... to make a proposal that I hope will be mutually beneficial." I stated, making sure to hold eye contact and stand up straight all the things well-mannered boys did according to my mother, who I thought was wrong... Thanks Mom.
"Hmm, and what would that be kid?" The man said, he had a scruffy look to him, an overgrown, undergroomed mustache and the beginnings of five o'clock shadow.
"I'm in need of your company." I said clearly, only for the man to laugh in my face, prompting me to glare at him.
"Oh, that's a good one kid, did Tsugame put you up to this?" I should've been offended, but honestly this was close to the reaction I expected, and so I plowed on through his laughter.
"You've made some decent games in the past, even got nominated for a Top Ten spot once upon a time, but in recent years you're about as big a name as French's Filth Filchers." I stated, bringing my new valise, it was a briefcase I didn't care what the salesman said, in front of me, setting it on his desk as his laughter quieted, his beady eyes trying to see through tears what I was doing.
"I have 100 million yen and an idea for a video game. I want to use your reputation and team to get it done." I said simply as the laughter died, a shocked silence pervading the room as the man stared back and forth between the open briefcase of money and the teenager standing across from him.
"Maybe it would be more accurate to say, I would like to buy out the controlling stake of his company, hmm?" I said, trying to use a bored tone, as if I did this every third Friday.
"Hey kid, are you being for real? You're not pulling something on me?" The man asked, apparently in disbelief why a random kid walked in off the street and offered to buy out his company.
"Not in so many words. Like I said, I have an idea, but I lack any of the basic skills to create games. That's why I'm proposing we combine our resources. I have the money and ideas, and you have a company with a capable development team. If it helps any, I don't have a clue how to run a company either, so you can keep doing what you're doing, and I'll just work with the coders out there." I continued, hoping that he was taking this all in rather than stunned staring at me like I was manna sent from heaven.
"Ha, that shows what you know kid. This ain't even a company, we started out just me and a couple of buddies in a basement, and when our game did good, we sprung for some office space, and for a while it worked out, but as you can see, we kinda hit the dirt now. It don't take much to run this place, really just a pen and some checks. You pay the light, water, and rent bills, you run the place. You sign the paychecks, and you run the place!" He shouted happily.
"You mean..." I trailed off as he did what I hoped was a happy dance and not a seizure.
"Yep, I'll send you the papers, I'm leaving, have fun kid!" He grabbed as much of the money as he could squeeze in his pockets, and sprinted out of the office, the widest grin I'd ever seen on his face.
I leaned out the door, looking at the confused secretary and twelve guys all on computers, who all turned to look back at me. "Apparently, I'm your new boss, so let's do good guys." I said uncertainly as they blinked, before going back to whatever they were doing.
I was 100% sure I'd missed something here, and unfortunately, I had no clue what it was, but apparently, I was in charge of a maybe indie video game company?
A momentary panic attack later, and I strode out of the office with a confident look on my face.
"Ms. Secretary." I said affirmatively.
"My name is Miyuki." Was all she said in response.
"Ahh, I don't suppose you can explain to me what I've just gotten myself into." I asked, as she sighed.
"I should probably start by saying that despite having me here, I'm only a figurehead. Mr. Leon hired me so as to make his office seem more important. I don't actually do anything." She said in a monotonous voice, maybe Mr. Leon's antics had sapped her of energy?
"Well, it seems to have worked..." I said somewhat dejectedly. How ironic that I would fall victim to not knowing the difference between an indie company and an actual video game company. "He said all I have to do is pay the bills around here, is that accurate enough?" I added after my momentary depression.
"Sure, although I wouldn't exactly recommend it. Mr. Leon was horribly frivolous with money; in case you couldn't tell from hiring a secretary for an office space with no visitors. I'm pretty sure he had no clue what he was doing by the time he got here, which is also probably why his partner sold him his half of the company and just retired from making games." Miyuki stated as I hung my head in shame.
"So not much will change then..." I mumbled, running a hand through my hair. "I don't have the first clue about running a company! I just had some money and some ideas. I planned on just paying Mr. Leon to work for me. I'd give him money, and his team would help me create my dream." I lamented as Mikyuki stared at me for a few silent seconds before awkwardly patting me on the back.
"Honestly kid, he didn't totally trick you. Paying the bills, signing paychecks, you really don't have to do much more than that at the current level. Technically speaking, you're in charge of marketing, if you want any, hiring and firing, as you choose, and even helping out with the design process if that's what you want. Honestly, I think you're overthinking this whole thing, as an indie game company, not a lot is expected of you. If you screw up, I'll try and help you while I'm still here." She said, a rare show of emotion breaking through her facade.
"While you're still here?" I inquired, this seemed like a bad dream, I accidently take over the place, and my secretary was already turning in her two weeks notice.
"Not that you could've known this, but like I said, I don't actually do much around here. I can help introduce you to the people, all thirteen of them, and maybe a few others on the other floors, but mostly I sit around here collecting a paycheck while I'm finishing my schooling online. Once I've got my degree, I'm out of here, sorry." She apologized, giving a short bow which caught me off-guard.
"Okay, well, let's see what we can get done today, and if I need to start looking for a new investment option to recoup some cash." I muttered, a soft snort catching my attention as I spotted Miyuki smirking at me.
"Okay, which one of the programmers, or whatever they are, has seniority?" I requested as I walked into the central area.
"That would be Sasuke, on the end." Miyuki said as I looked around the admittedly small space.
I finally spotted him, hopefully hard at work, idlily scratching at his short beard, a third eye in the middle of his forehead lazily drifting off to sleep.
"Hello, my name is Tomura. I'm apparently the new boss around here." I introduced myself as the older man stopped whatever he was doing to look at me with a raised eyebrow.
"It would appear that Mr. Leon wasn't totally upfront with the scope of Mr. Tomura's acquisition. He was looking for more of a collaborative relationship than boss and worker." Miyuki spoke from behind me as Sasuke nodded, contemplating the mysteries of the universe before smiling genially at me.
"Well, so long as I'm still getting paid, I suppose that's okay... I am still getting paid right?" He said, and I couldn't stop the chuckle that escape under my breath.
"Yes, although I suppose I should start at the beginning." I explained, "I was/ am looking for a helpful team of video game designers to help me. I have money to pay you, and I want you to help me make the idea I have a reality." I said as the man nodded along. I got the feeling he didn't really care, as he said so long as I kept signing the paycheck, he would gladly work for me.
"Seems simple enough, how about you pull up a chair and start walking me through it, boy." He said kindly as I reaffirmed my strict appearance before falling into a spinning desk chair, a childish smile on my face.
"Okay, well to start off..." I launched into my spiel, at least as much as I had prepared. as I'd stated, I only had idea, words on paper, I had no clue how intricate they would end up being, nor the breadth and depth of time they would take, but I was here now and I was going to give it my best shot.
I noticed as I kept talking, explaining my idea and laying the groundwork for what was to come, more of the coders, programmers, whatever they were, started listening in, various expressions showing on their faces.
Once I'd finally finished, I looked back expectantly at Sasuke, and the other worker bees awaiting to see their reactions.
"Wow." Was all that was said.
"Here I thought you were expecting us to create some flashy selfie and instead you expect us to be the next Hokusai!" Sasuke shouted as I looked expectantly back and forth between everyone. The metaphor had gone over my head, although the name sounded familiar.
"But can you do it?" I inquired.
"Kid, you're really overestimating our abilities here!" Sasuke argued as I thought of an appropriate response.
"Look, I'm not saying it has to be perfect, or even quite like I'm envisioning it in my head, but I have a dream and I'm going to do my best to see it brought to life!" I said, hardening my heart as I prepared my next words. "For those aiming for the summit, it's a matter of mindset, not skill. You know who said that?" I said as I looked to see if anyone had the answer, although I expected they didn't.
"It was All Might." I said simply, but that was all that needed to be said as I saw eyes widen, and even a few fists clench with what I hoped was determination.
"Well then boys," Sasuke said, turning to the rest of the workers, "I guess we better do the big man proud huh?" It was a rhetorical question, but the only answer that was needed was the invigorating roar of cheer.
I shouldn't have expected that it would be that easy. Even though Mr. Leon put up no fight when the papers arrived, I still had to develop some semblance of management skills going forward.