True to her word, Miyuki stuck around another three months before truly leaving in favor of pursuing a career in education. We wished her the best, threw her a small going away party, and business was back to normal the next day.

It was around a month afterwards that problems started arising. Deadlines were having to be pushed back, people kept calling in sick, I even found one guy who'd apparently been sleeping in the break room, which was little more than a closet with an armchair and a coffeemaker.

It finally came to a head when Sasuke knocked on my door on one of my rare office hours where I went through the small stack of paperwork, contemplating hiring a new secretary to help out, and writing down notes for the game development.

We had a bi-monthly meeting where me and Sasuke exchanged notes to get a feel if we were unable to find time to talk. Apparently, whatever he had to say couldn't wait until the end of the week.

"We have a problem." He announced, keeping it simple, one of the things I liked about him.

"What's that?" I said, not yet looking up as I finished balancing our finances, something I'd hoped to never have to do again.

"This isn't going to work." Once again, concise and straightforward, not that that gave me any comfort.

"Come again?" I asked, looking up as he met my somewhat steely gaze.

"There's no way we're going to be able to make the showcase deadline." He said, taking a seat in the other sole chair in the room without being prompted.

"And why not? What seems to be the problem?" I inquired, adjusting my 'glasses' as they slid down my nose. I didn't need them, they just made me feel more official when doing paperwork at my desk.

"We're at a standstill. We're just not making enough progress to reach the finish line in time!" He asserted as I sighed, running a hand through my messy hair.

"Okay," I answered, taking a breath as I tried to come up with a workable gameplan, "Okay, is this a quality or quantity problem?" I finally inquired for clarification.

"Whatcha mean?" Sometimes I wondered if Sasuke was really as smart as he seemed, this was one of those times.

"I mean, are you, the team, capable of getting the work done if I push the deadline back, or do you need some more practice getting some of the things I've requested to work properly? Do you need more manpower or is the technical side too complex currently?" I stated slowly, hoping he would get what I was asking since he still looked as confused as before.

"I mean, having more guys would certainly help, but I don't know how to do some of the stuff, and I'm the best guy we've got." He replied, a forlorn tone to his voice.

"Okay then, that's okay. I've got a friend who's pretty good with computers, I'll see if he can drop by later. Thing is, he's really shy so it'll probably be after work tonight, so I'll just stay late and see what we can get done." I said confidently, hoping that I could actually pull off what I wanted to.

"I suppose my next question is which parts are too complex? I'm not expecting the full game to be ready by the showcase." I said, surely they knew this, but apparently not by Sasuke's surprised expression.

"You're not, then what's the point?" He shouted.

"The game was always intended to have numerous, scheduled updates, adding more content to the game. What I wanted ready in time is the basic premise of the game, for that I just need 12 heroes coded in, three for each class, at least two maps, and preferably optimization for multiplayer, even if only on a LAN line for the moment." I explained as Sasuke calmed down, hopefully understanding what I was saying.

"Sorry boss, we're not used to that kind of progressive thinking. Usually when we turn in our work, that's the finished product, give or take a few bug and glitch fixes." He said, sheepishly looking away from me as I rounded my desk.

"That's okay, I assumed it was a given that this game's potential would be wasted with just the things we have planned right now, but I guess the entire point is that no one really knows how far we can take this thing, huh?" I patted Sasuke on the back as I pushed him out the door, a strange relationship considering I was a middling teenager while also his boss.

"Look, give me an hour, and get the team together. I've got to make an announcement, well two of them, really." I ordered as Sasuke gave a short nod, walking back to his station as I shut the door, swearing under my breath as I tore off the top page of notes, placing it to the side as I started working on something new to occupy my team's time.

And so, I did, I managed to get a rough outline of what I was looking for, hoping that it wasn't once again too complex for our current skill level. Talk about player brain overtaking character skill.

While I fiddled, I pulled out my phone, knowing the respective number by heart as I shot a text out into the intraweb, receiving a reply in seconds.

Now that that was taken care of, I moved on to step 3 of my plan, which was initially step 1 since I'd been working on it when Sasuke had dropped the news on me.

Standing in front of my twelve main team of coders, programmers, and animation 'experts' was scary at first, but now I was used to the off-rhythm beat of my heart in these situations as I took a deep breath, all eyes on me.

"I've been informed that the current project might be a bit out of our current reach. So, I'm bringing in someone who hopefully can help pick up the slack. In the meantime, I'm not just going to let you guys sit around doing nothing or playing Flappy Bird on your phones! The only reasonable course of action is, of course, give you various jobs to get you up to par. So, I've spent the past hour working on a new game for you guys to work on to help get your abilities leveled up!" I announced to mixed applause, mostly because they figured they had to, or so I guessed.

"Now then, I know I've been pushing you guys pretty hard with the original game, I wasn't aware it was this bad, but regardless... I've looked through the records and it seems most of you guys have been here for a while so thanks for your hard work." I smiled, letting the compliment hang for just a second before delivering the good news.

"I've given everybody a 2% raise." I finished, this time to uproarious clapping and cheers. It took several minutes of waving my hands to quiet everyone back down.

"Now then, on top of the raise, I'm offering a potential 3 to 5% raise on the proviso that we can get this new game out by the deadline, understand. 3% if we can get it out on time, 5% if we can get recommended for some award. I'd love to aim for Game of the Year, but I don't know if indie games even count for that, so... do your best guys." I smiled, making sure to close my eyes since it always looked creepy otherwise.

This time the applause was more subdued, most likely due to the requirements placed on it, but all the guys still went back to work, new notes in hand as I saw them get to work.

Later that night, after everybody had left, I stayed behind, sitting and thinking on how my life was progressing so far. I'd set out with a goal, one that had changed and morphed along the way, experiencing speedbumps and potholes like life dictated, but I was making it.

Realizing that I'd gotten lost in my thoughts, I headed out, flagging down a taxi as I sped to the orphanage to pick up my hopeful helper.

I need not have worried; Glitch was waiting outside the gates when I rolled up. How he got out, I don't know, nor did I ask, I was just happy for the assist as we drove back to the office. It was on the way that I realized I would be turning 16 soon, and as far as I knew, that entitled me to test for a driver's license. It was so utterly mundane in comparison to robbing the Bank of Japan, running an indie game company, and molding myself into the next leader of the League that I couldn't help but chuckle at the absurdity of it all.

"Whatcha laughing at, I know my face is pretty messy tonight, but I don't think it's that bad." Glitch muttered next to me, I hadn't even noticed how he looked yet honestly, although once I got a good look, I couldn't help but snort, trying to hold the laughter back.

All in all, he looked utterly... normal, if he was a girl. His hair had grown out to chest length, his eyelashes were pronounced, exactly like a female cartoon character, and I thought I saw a hint of his chest, which gave me a weird feeling.

Apparently leaning into the joke, I felt Glitch lean against me, placing a hand softly on my chest. "I'm scared Sempai, you'll protect me, won't you?" I didn't know if the shudder was a good or bad sign, but Glitch's next words clinched it for me. "It's a trap, Sempai!" I shoved him off of me, my face no doubt ruby red as he cackled on his side of the backseat, holding his gut.

"Screw you." I snarled as he laughed harder.

"If you want the truth, I was thinking that despite how crazy my life has been, I'm looking forward to something normal like getting my drivers license." I inserted as Glitch tried to hold his cackles down.

"Aw man yeah, that's so cool. I've still got two years 'til I can get mine!" He finally got out between outbursts.

"You're 14?" I asked as he nodded.

"Wow, it's hard to tell with all your..." I trailed off as he got a solemn look on his face.

"With all my glitching, yeah, I get that a lot. I think I'm starting to get some control over it though. It still fires off at random, but if I focus really hard, sometimes it goes the way I want, so I got that going for me." Glitch said.

"And more, Glitch, you have so much more going for you." That was the last thing said, the rest of the ride spent in silence

...

...

...

I was roused from my slumber by a hand shaking me awake at my desk, a small drool pond inches from running over the edge.

"Hey kid, why didn't you tell me you had a freakin' prodigy on your paycheck!?" I vaguely recognized Sasuke's voice as I blearily opened my eyes, sunlight streaming through a window as I rubbed at my face, displacing my askew glasses as they clattered on to the desktop.

"Huh, what are you talking about" I grunted out, already searching for a cup of coffee, preferably iced with cream but I'd take it hot and black at the moment.

"That guy you brought in, I was the first one in this morning, and he was still going after all night. I didn't understand most of the things he was doing, but I saw him walking around the office with a headset on, mumbling to himself.

"Oh God, did he see you?" I asked, energy flooding my veins as I clambered to my feet, running out of my office to find... a man, nearly twice my age if I had to guess with a headset on, surrounded by my worker bees.

"Glitch, that you?" I said, loud enough to be heard, but not like I was shouting over the din of people at work.

"Oh yeah, remember I was telling you about it last night, but uhh, it's really hard to focus on this and the code so..." He answered as I nodded, gesturing him into my office where Sasuke was still standing.

Glitch didn't even wait for me to close the doors all the way before he started twitching like a crack-addicted chihuahua, his eyes literally bulging out of his skull as he made a dry heaving sound, his body contorting into the amalgamation he usually resembled, this time with florescent pink hair and what looked like wooden doll's eyes, not to mention his distinct shark teeth as Sasuke tripped over a chair trying to get away.

"Sasuke, this is Glitch. He's the guy I was telling you about. He's essentially a walking computer program, with all the problems that comes with." I explained as his eyes never left Glitch's, he had a cat-ate-the-canary look as he crouched down in front of Sasuke, opened his mouth and...

What was the 100% accurate sound of a dial-up connection assaulted my ears as Sasuke, looked moments from either passing out with foam coming from his mouth or testing his luck against my window to see if he would spontaneously sprout wings, which made me wonder if Glitch could do that.

"Alright then, I'll just get back to work. Let me know if you need anything boss?" He finally said, crawling out of the office while staring intensely at the floor as if Glitch was the live-action version of the Blair Witch.

"Sorry about that Glitch. I better get you back to the orphanage before Mrs. Pashti notices you're gone." I said, already pulling my phone out to text a taxi over when a message appeared on the screen.

I took care of her, I mentioned how you wanted my help, and she got this chalky look on her face. LOL, it was ridiculous, I thought only I could look like that. Anyways, I'm here as long as you need me.

"Okay, since when could you do that?" I asked as he started to open his mouth, only for the dial-up noise to return as he clamped shut, a secondary ding on my phone alerting me to a new communique.

Since always really. I'm attached to the whole of technology at all times, although technically I need a phone to send the message, and input, but other than that I'm good to go. Now then, if you'll excuse me, I have some rubber ducking to do.

I didn't know what that meant, but I didn't stop him as I fell back into my chair, a hand covering my face as I took a deep breath and sighed. When did my life get so strange?

Four months after my 16th birthday, The Game came out to mixed reviews.

We'd mostly accomplished what I was aiming for with the initial product, with a few extras thanks to Glitch's effortless work.

We'd established marketing via a tried-and-true system.

Flashback

"You want to make the game free-to-play? How are we supposed to make any money off of it then. And don't tell me it's just for publicity, you wouldn't fire off a cannon like this just for the publicity!" The newest member of the newly christened Hexagem Games, Vanessa Drakos shouted, most likely regretting her choice to come to work here.

It hadn't been her first choice, nor anywhere on the list. Vanessa was born to Venus, a model after a fling with a photographer, or a fan, or some guy who was really very important, or so her mother had reported. Venus had pushed hard for Vanessa to follow in her footsteps, and Vanessa had, up to her first show where a photographer or stagehand, or maybe it was just some guy, Vanessa didn't care to focus on that part of her life. Anyways, he'd asked that she wear a wig to cover up her hair since it was constantly clashing with her outfit.

You see, Vanessa Drakos was born for the model life, or so her mother had told her, with a Quirk that changed the color of her hair depending on her emotions, while it rested in a neutral white thanks to her mood suppressants. This had earned her the nickname of 'Vanilla' because she always had such a blasé look on her face.

She hadn't been allowed to take her suppressants while modeling, something about frequent drug tests, it didn't make a whole lot of sense to Vanilla, but her mother was the expert, so she believed her. It was the last time she'd listened to her mother.

After that day, she wanted nothing to do with the modeling world, and she'd worked hard to put herself through school, and get a degree in Accounting, yet another bland choice in the life of Vanilla.

More problems had arisen when she'd moved to Japan, where she had family that she was staying with until she got her own apartment. She'd thought it would be easy enough to find a job within her chosen field, but she hadn't expected that apparently her suppressants were in fact, illegal, or at least in the context that she didn't need them medically, and so she wasn't allowed to use them and work at most serous companies.

She tried going off of them, the side effects weren't bad, she simply had to deal with her kaleidoscopic hair, which made her look like everything she hated about herself. No one took her seriously as an accountant when she looked like some pop idol, or anime character.

And then she'd found a job offering at a place called Hexagem Games, she'd assumed since she'd never heard of them, that they were some small startup company, and would go bankrupt within a year. Honestly it would probably look bad on her resume, the fact that they'd ran out of money under her supervision, not to mention it was a video game company, but she was desperate, she hated mooching off her family, especially when they didn't complain at all.

Which is how she found herself in a shouting match with her technically new boss, Tomura (no last name given).

"It's just so people will play the game." I'd answered, how did she even know this wasn't a great idea. I assumed she was an accountant, but apparently marketing director or financial advisor all fell under the same heading for her.

"What did I just say!" She yelled, her hair turning a muted red, as if I needed another clue she was pissed.

"Listen, making the base game free-to-play encourages people to play it. Then once they like the game, we can actually start charging them money." I explained, why was I explaining basic marketing to her anyways, wasn't that her job?

"I feel like your loyal fans won't be so loyal if you suddenly start charging them for things they used to get for free." Vanilla snarked, her hair dying back down to its normal color.

"Who said anything about suddenly charging them?" I asked, and despite her silent fuming, her hair's sudden shift told me she was getting irritated again. "Look, just let me start at the beginning, and explain the whole thing." I said as she took a deep breath and nodded once. "You fricking tsun." I muttered under my breath.

"To start with, I want to make the base game F2P, or free-to-play, okay. Beyond that, there are plans to have an in-game currency, maybe we'll call them gold coins for now. Anyways, players earn gold coins by completing daily challenges such as win a match, or getting a triple kill, right? They can spend these in-game gold coins on things like new skins, voice lines, or hopefully in time, buying other characters to play as. Where the charging comes in is that in this world, there are always people who want to take shortcuts to get where they're going, incentivizing off of this desire is important. It's referred to in the game world as P2W, or pay-to-win, basically, by allowing people to spend real world money, they can get more in-game gold coins, which in turn they can spend freely without having to spend possibly hours completing tasks for gold coins." I explained as Vanilla looked at me expectantly, her legs crossed.

"Is that all, how stupid do people have to be for that model to work effectively. Never mind that the costs of getting big name heroes like All Might or Endevour will bankrupt us, and at current none of the playable characters would people be willing to spend real world money to have some fancy inverted color skin!" Vanessa snarled as I sheepishly rubbed the back of my head.

"Look, the cost-profit-volume analysis of this is so heavily skewed against you that it's not a matter of if, but when you go under. You need to either have a better draw, whether that's some big-name hero or by your own reputation that people would be willing to spend money for your product." She explained as I started to lose my temper in turn.

"If you're just going to tell me what I'm doing wrong, I don't need you for that! I'm fully aware that I'm balancing everything on a razor's edge, that's why I hired you." I shouted back as her hair turned a weird, muted purple.

She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself before continuing her likely lecture, "Look, what you've managed to do so far has been amazing, but at this point I think you need to accept defeat. You've locked yourself in a vicious, never-ending cycle as far as I can tell. In order for you to really make money off of this game, you need a bigger name recognition. Since your reputation is essentially zero, and you don't have time to build up to a level of status, your only other option is having a big-name hero to draw in potential clients, er customers. In turn, without making money off this game, you can't afford to get a Pro Hero on board, or at least not a huge draw." She said, her hair actually fluttering between lavender and a rosy color.

"That's not technically accurate." I refuted, managing to get my own temper under control.

"Hmm, what do you mean?" Vanesa asked, cocking her head to the side in a way that was cute, not that I would tell her that.

"Money isn't exactly the problem. I've got a significant amount of capitol I can draw on, but I would prefer not to do that since it involves selling precious metals, and that would have diminishing returns. The problem is really in my name recognition... I can't even get a meeting with some big names because they've not only never heard of me, but having themselves associated with a potential flop is just bad for business, or at least that's what I've guessed so far." I replied as Vanilla contemplated something for a minute.

"Okay, is it possible that the level of product is currently enough to entice people via word of mouth?" She finally asked simply as I didn't even have to think of my answer.

"As in, is it a good enough game for people are willing to stick with it until it really turns into a recursive money flow? Absolutely not, that was the entire point. I wanted to get the base game out so people could see what it's about, a proof of concept so to speak. One of the first problems we ran into is that my team couldn't do most of the things I wanted done. That isn't to say that my team is bad, nor that my requests were some cutting edge stuff, it was more like I was asking a taxi driver to drive a race car. I ultimately had to bring in some outside talent, off the books because he's fourteen, well fifteen now, which may have been illegal, but he was a personal friend so it's a legal grey area, but that doesn't matter." I started rambling, being brought back on course by her steely glare.

"Anyways, I had him do most of the complex stuff with some oversight by me to really make sure it came out like I wanted. Meanwhile, I gave the rest of my team a different game to work on, the NightTerror series, I think the second installment just dropped last week, we've actually been charging for those but not by much like 5 dollars..." I paused at her incredulous look.

"You call that charging, a stick of gum is more expensive than that!" She hissed.

"It is? Oh, sorry, 5 American dollars, not yen notes. I'm still not used to the exchange rate yet, it would be 50,000 yen, I think is right. Anyways, that was supposed to help them get more in tuned to not only my style but level up their skills so they could get back to The Game and help out. Ironic given that the trickle of money from the NightTerror games is also going to help keep us afloat until The Game really takes off." I corrected, giving a wry chuckle at my joke, not that she seemed to appreciate the humor.

"Okay, that's a much more standard cost-profit analysis..." She paused again, and although her face didn't betray any emotions, her hair did as it flickered between a virulent green and a pinkish color that reminded me of blush. "There are of course other ways than having a big draw like... have you considered fanservice?" She whispered, so quietly that for a second I thought I had imagined it, but her refusal to meet my gaze told me I hadn't.

"I mean, it was brought up a couple of times, but given how we were just trying to get off the ground, I didn't want to test our abilities to not get sued given we don't have a legal department. Also, I'm pretty sure my hormones would've screwed something up in translation, and I have zero clue how to do male fanservice and apparently Mamako's tastes run a bit, sorry, very redlight/ XXX, so that was not a good idea." I explained as Vanessa seemed to continue to wrestle with something.

"Look, I can see you have an idea, but I don't want to make you uncomfortable. I bought and built everything here as a way of expressing my wish to make other kids happy. Kinda like a painter who sees a beautiful sunset so they paint it so other can see it too, I wanted to share the joy I had playing games growing up. If anything, here makes someone uncomfortable, that goes against what I'm trying to establish, okay. Look, obviously I wasn't as prepared for this as I thought I was as evident by the looming economic disaster, I know you only took this job as I way of getting yourself established as well, so I don't want it to look bad if you cite me as a future reference." I said, reaching behind me as I looked for my checkbook, it was really starting to get thin, but it appeared I wouldn't have to worry about that much longer.

"Consider this your severance pay, I've fired you, now if anyone looks us up just say that we serve as an example of thinking we could manage without your skills." I said, handing her a check with the remnants of the company funds, which wasn't as much as my resources would imply. This would require me to dip into my 3/18th of the gold but I wanted a clean break, and this seemed like a way to help someone on the way out the door.

"What about all the workers, are you going to give them severance pay as well, even though they didn't manage to achieve the result you wanted?" She said, seemingly stunned by the check in her hand.

"I mean, not in some many words... they did the best they could so I can't blame them. That'd be like a king blaming the farmers, and bakers, and even the candlestick makers if a neighboring country invaded them, if anyone's to blame it was me, it was my idea after all." I said with as much cheer as I could manage, but some of my depression must have slipped through as I saw Vanilla look at me with a pitying look, turning on her heel to leave.

"People like you are what makes my job so difficult." I heard, looking up I noticed right before the door shut behind her that her hair had shifted into a beautiful shade of cerulean blue.

Flashback End

Vanilla had come through in a big way. I hadn't expected her to stick up for me honestly given that she seemed the type to hate me on principle, as a video game designer, as a hormone-struck teenage male, who know maybe even my reckless attitude towards running this company.

Whatever problems she'd had with me, however, were put away when she shown up a few days later, surprising me in my office with her 'friend', her cousin.

Flashback

I only faintly heard the soft sound of rapping on the door before it swung inwards, letting whoever was requiring my attention into the room.

It was Vanesa, and she had a reluctant look on her face.

"Hey Vanilla, whatcha doing here? I gave you your pay, so you didn't need to come back in." I inquired, getting up as she gestured to someone outside the door.

"I umm, I don't accept it. I reject you firing me!" She said sharply.

"Okay, I suppose it would be too much to ask for the money back then?" I said with a chuckle, making sure she knew I was only teasing.

"Yeah Boss, I kinda spent it already. Umm, I mentioned to my cousin about you, and she wanted to meet you." Vanessa said, her mood very down in contrast to her usual fiery demeanor.

I didn't get to ask any further questions when the door creaked open to admit a second occupant, this one I did recognize.

"My cousin is being overly dramatic. She gave me her money as compensation for meeting with you, whether I agree to anything remains to be seen." The Pro Hero Uwabami said, pushing a perfectly coifed curl of blonde hair behind her ear.

"Okay then, and I suppose this is that meeting?" At the silent nod, I sighed. "Okay, let me see about find a second chair for you girls." Only to be stalled by a raised hand.

"I'll stand, I doubt this meeting will take very long." Uwabami stated with crossed arms.

"Okay then, perhaps I can start by asking Vanessa what her idea was since she brought you here." I said, looking over to the ex-model in the room.

"Oh, I didn't really have a plan per say, but 'bami is an expert on promoting things. I thought maybe you could talk with her, and it could help you out." She explained.

"Help us out, you mean. How far do you want me to go?" I inquired back as Vanessa thought over her answer.

"As far as you dare." Her answer came from the other female, looking me over like a snake judging whether a mouse was worth the effort to eat. It was very unsettling to me, who'd only ever seen her in her hero capacity on the show.

"Okay, then step one would have to be asking you if you'd be okay being a part of the game. I don't know how much Vanilla has explained to you-" I started.

"Enough, I got the general idea. I'll withhold my judgement until I know what the other options are." Uwabami cut me off.

"Okay, being included in the game would most likely include things like recording voice lines, various skins, er outfits, which I imagine is why Vanilla asked you to meet with me. I hope you wouldn't take offence when I say you're fairly well-known and an aesthetical icon, it's likely that it would devolve into some fanservice, so I want you to be forewarned. Additionally, fighting is a part of the game, so in leau of an established style, we would use a basic combat style, normal punches and kicks." I said, pulling out my notepad as I started on notes in preparation.

"One of the problems we ran into early on was that adding support-based heroes created a problem in that they don't usually fight, we got around this problem by applying the logic that just because you choose not to fight doesn't mean you can't. Afterall, sometimes heroes have to enter an active combat zone to rescue civilians, or they could be attacked while on the job." I rambled as Vanessa came around the desk, tapping me on the head.

"Right sorry," Uwabami was just letting me ramble on, probably judging me, "Anyways, we'd end up having to work with you to create skills that were mostly true to form, just so we have it recognizable as you." You finished, sliding the notepad over the table for her to look at as I moved on.

"Honestly, I'm not expecting that much commitment from you, at least not at this point. Which is why plan B would be something like you mentioning our game to some of your Pro Hero associates. I'm not expecting you to bring in All Might of course, but even a couple more heroes would be helpful." I exclaimed, awaiting her response.

"Yeah, it's not that the heroes you have right now aren't great, but you got them all based on the fact that they're not big names and so if the game tanks, it won't really damage their reputations. By getting a big name to sign on, so to speak, it sends a message not only to the public that they don't mind being associated with our brand, but also to other Pro Heroes. Without being able to get some more playable characters, right, people will start to get bored with it over time." Vanessa supplied as I saw two of Uwabami's snakes turn to look at her.

"Yes, unfortunately, it can be a self-fulfilling prophecy that way. The worth of the game can spread via word-of-mouth, one guy letting all his friends know how fun the game is until it catches on, the problem then becomes players see how long it has been since a big update and may decide to not get attached to a supposedly dead game. Adding new heroes helps with this problem, although there are other ways of continually updating the game, adding new content, although they're stop-gap at best." I explained to Vanessa, although I noticed Uwabami's third snake had joined the party now.

"What do you mean, I thought we had to get more heroes for the players to increase demand?" Vanilla asked, genuinely curious.

"Well, really we do, it's more of showing our players that we haven't forgotten about the game. Mostly it would be by designing and adding new maps to play on or adding to the already existing characters. New voice lines or skins for instance. It was always planned that we would add 'Festive skins' around the holidays like Christmas and Halloween. One of the real problems I ran into in that regard is I generally prefer Halloween costumes; you know a Sea hero dressed up as a pirate. The problem becomes that for most heroes, they take those things into account when designing their costumes." I explained, not noticing that Uwabami's attention had shifted back to me, the notepad laying on my desk.

"Take Recovery Girl for instance, her Quirk revolves around healing, a doctor uniform would make a perfect Halloween costume, right?" I asked rhetorically.

"But she's already dressed in a nurse uniform as part of her hero costume." Vanilla answered me anyways.

"Correct, obviously some heroes don't do that because of other aspects. Uwabami, for instance, I would probably go for more of a Medusa-styled costume given the obvious motifs. Endevour would be a perfect Ifrit as a Halloween skin. The problem as I see it derives from the fact that some heroes see things like that as villainous, dressing up as a monster for one night is fine because of the societal norm associated with it, but having that be your image can be problematic. There is another method, but I've been really pushing against it..." I trailed off.

"Hehe, you made it sound like the kid was helpless around here, but it sounds to me like he may have some decent ideas. What is this idea you had that is so repugnant?" Uwabami teased, Vanessa blushing a cute shade of pink, her hair matching it moments later.

"I enjoy creating characters, coming up with ideas for Quirks, and matching an image to that Quirk... I could do something similar with the game, create fake characters for the player to be. The problem is that I've already used real-life heroes so a lot of people will see that as a step down in quality even if they're just as well coded and designed. I've also toyed with another idea, but I'm not having a lot of progress. Having your support would actually really serve to alleviate some concerns people have had with it." I stated as Uwabami motioned for me to continue.

"I had the idea from creating ideas for new skins. Chibi, but I'll get back to that... I've only included active-duty heroes so far, but there are numerous heroes that have retired or..." I left the explanation open-ended on purpose. "I toyed with the idea of including former heroes as well, and simply depict them in a younger age, like when they were active, the problem is that most retired heroes don't see the point. Meanwhile, those who've passed on I have to contact through their loved ones, and they're refusing for fear that I'll besmirch their dead relatives' memory, a reasonable fear. In time, I'm pretty sure the stigma will pass, and we'd have some progress in that area, but I would prefer not to gamble the future of my brainchild on some old guys deciding that video games were cool." I was glad both women at least smiled at my joke, it was feeling really tense in here.

"I want to go back to what you said first... Chibi?" Uwabami inquired, seemingly getting more into the discussion as time passed.

"Oh yeah it was this silly idea of imagining all the Pro Heroes as ten-year-old kids. Small Might, Manuel as a guppy, Mirko as a little kid with buckteeth, in your case we'd probably go with something like you wearing a poofy princess dress instead of an evening gown, but you get the point, it was supposed to be fun and add some light-heart humor to the game." I said as Uwabami 'hmm'ed and Vanessa silently watched us both.

"One more question, and then I'll let you know what I've decided. What are you aiming for with this game, money, fame, what has driven you to try so hard at getting this money sink off the ground?" Uwabami asked, all three snakes locking on to me as I looked back at her with a soft expression.

"Making a ton of money would be nice, and having my name recognized would be pretty cool too, but honestly, if everything went perfectly and turned out how I wanted... I want to know that I contributed to the next generation of Pro Heroes. Maybe I wouldn't be mentoring them on the streets like some heroes, or in a classroom like UA High, I probably wouldn't have my own trading cards and action figures, but to know that in the coming years that more kids were applying to become heroes, that I aided the rising tide, I think I could be content with that." I said with a smile that was a bit too forced, but hopefully she chalked that up to my youth and not my inner darkness. "Also, if the game took off, maybe I could help some burgeoning heroes' debut by helping to promote their image, ya know?" I said as Uwabami sighed, Vanilla letting out the breath she was holding in.

"Well, you certainly have a lot of big ideas, a young ingenu ready to change the world... but right now you're just flailing around in the sandbox and that's why I can't help you." Uwabami said, rising from her chair.

"Bami, what are you saying!?" Vanessa shouted as she looked confused that her cousin wouldn't help out.

Before an argument could break out, I stood, placing my hand on Vanilla's shoulder as she gave an angry huff, her hair turning muted red again. "I understand, like I said, it's a big chance to take. We'll find our way to the summit, even if we have to fall a few times and scrape our knees. Honestly, I thought maybe I was wrong with my idea, but seeing how hard Vanessa fought to help me inspired me, I'm not giving up yet!" I stated determinedly as Uwabami's eyes widened minutely for a second before she recomposed herself.

"I'm sorry I couldn't be more assistance. I'll mention your name to a few of my fellow heroes, but don't expect much... although I guess technically speaking, what I'm saying is... it's all up to you to forge your path forward." Those were the last words Uwabami said to me as she left, and though she didn't know it at the time, they gave me the drive to go forth with my insane plan not just here at Hexagem Games, but also at the League.

Flashback End

From there a few more heroes had shown up for discussions, and several even jumped into the proverbial ocean with us. I didn't recognize any of them, neither by name nor appearance so they weren't super gets in the years to come.

I contemplated drawing in heroes from other countries but didn't know how a Japanese-based audience might take that. It was one of the things I'd learned, unless they operated in the local country, people were rather inclusive towards heroes.

Of the ones with name recognition, we had Manuel. That was it...

(Elsewhere)

"I'm surprised that you've let young Tomura Shigaraki fritter away his potential like this, Master." The Doctor said, his curious tone accompanied by the rhythmic pulse of an EKG and breathing mask.

"He is still young and rebellious. I could break him, and bring him to our way of thinking, but he possesses a surprising amount of mental fortitude. No, it would be far more effective for him to learn this harsh lesson himself, and then I will be there to lift him up when he falls. That is a teacher's job, is it not, to aid their apprentice, not give them all the answers?" All-for-One answered, a dark smile on his face.

Flashback

It was only after many hours spent pacing in my office, lamenting the cruelty of the universe that I realized a crucial mistake I had made, or rather I had the mistake shoved in my face.

Knock. Knock. "Hey Tomura, you have a visitor, she mentioned that 'bami mentioned you." Vanilla's voice came through, although she sounded uncertain of something.

"Okay, another perspective heroine? Send her in." I muttered, not looking up from my notepad. At this rate, I'd have to liquidate another portion of the gold just to see the release date, that wasn't even taking into account whether I needed to pay for a dedicated server once the game dropped. It would probably be okay during the early days, since player count would be down, but for my vision to come true, it would almost certainly become a necessity.

"Umm Boss, this is Rumi Usagiyama. She wanted to talk about your game." Vanilla called out as I realized I'd gotten lost in my own head. Why did that name sound familiar.

I realized why as I looked up, my eyes immediately locking on to the snow-white rabbit ears protruding from my visitor's head, her face a sharp contrast to the friendly image as she seemed to almost glare at me like a predator.

I'd gotten so caught up in the heroes as I knew them, during canon, I'd completely forgotten that we were still five years off, which meant some future big names were still in their debut phases, such as the heroine in front of me.

"Hello, your hero name is Mirko, right?" I said uncertainly. This was equal parts great and terrifying. If I could convince her to lend her name, image, reputation, whatever to Hero Force, it would definitely give us the star power to take off.

"Yeah, I heard word through the H.N. from Uwabami that you were looking for me?" She sounded exactly like I imagined her, confident and gruff.

"Umm, yeah, I suppose she mentioned what 'this' is?" I asked, trying not to stare. She nodded shortly.

"I'll be honest... I never expected you to come in, so I don't really have anything prepared. I don't suppose I could just give you a 5-million-yen payment?" I said, giving a carefree thumbs-up as Vanilla balked behind her, color draining from her face as Mirko just stared at me.

"You think you can just bribe me?" She finally said as I shook my head quickly.

"No no, think of it more like payment for allowing us to use your name, image, voice, it's perfectly normal." I assured her, hoping she couldn't see the sweat pouring down my face.

"I know what those are, what I don't understand is why it's so much?" Mirko said, her face somehow combining cocky with uncertainty.

"Well, really you would be a big addition for us. You cover a lot of important positions that we need to fill: female, you're pretty strong, and I'm betting that you'll be a big name soon, so it would be a lot more beneficial if we can get you today before it would literally bankrupt us trying to negotiate a price." I said eagerly.

"So, you're only excited because I'm a female." Mirko sounded disappointed, which was a strange look on her.

"Well, not necessarily in those words... it's more like we do need a female heroine that girls can look up to in our game, but we could fill that role with plenty of others. I specifically wanted you because of how you present yourself. With a Quirk like yours, it would've been really easy for you to create a cutesy image, but you went a much more difficult route by not following in the path established by most heroines. While a lot of heroines have cutesy or sexy personas as support and rescue heroes, you're a rough-and-tumble combat hero!" I exclaimed as Mirko looked at me uncertainly.

"Fine." She said simply as I near face faulted, only stopping for fear of hitting my desk.

"Great, Vanilla, can you draw up the paperwork really quick?" I requested as she gave a nervous nod.

Thirty minutes later the paperwork was signed, and I felt like my entire future was open.

"Okay, we'll get right on developing your character within the game, Mirko! Attacks, skills, we can handle, but we may need you to come back in so we can record you to make sure we got everything right, also to record some basic voice lines unless you want to give us permission to get some off the Internet if you're busy." I said as she looked at me, nodding shortly.

"Great, we'll try to send you a rough draft by the end of next week so you can look over it and let us know, kay?" Another short nod was my answer as the white rabbit left my office, a huge sigh of relief spilling out, a massive grin tearing my face open.

"Are you sure about this Tomura, we took a big chance with such a large settlement? I hope she's worth it." I heard Vanilla saying as she transferred the funds.

'Oh, she more than worth it Vanilla. And now that I've had my false way of thinking fixed, I want to see about some other up-and-coming heroes!'

Flashback End

And that was why, when the game dropped, I allowed my two worlds to cross paths, Kurogiri showing up with a bottle of champagne for the celebration.

Two years had passed since The Game had went public and it had periodically grown since then. A total of 26 more heroes had been added to the ranks, among them such names as Ingenium and Water Hose, which brought a strange feeling to my stomach. I'd assumed that I'd be too late for this event, but it seemed the universe had conspired to test me.

Also among the patches were four new maps, several bug fixes and glitch fixes, and countless new skins and voice lines that had to be recorded and/or cleared by the depicted personage.

'Another step closer. The wheels continue turning.'