27/07/2024
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The Emperor's Dragon
Dragon 40 - Business Before Pain
Rikiya, better known in certain circles as Re-Destro, liked coming to Koukyou. It wasn't just that the restaurant had a world class menu, it was also the fact that Honsho and her staff were, if not members of the MLA, at least sympathetic to the cause. Those who were sympathetic were undergoing assessment before they would be introduced to the cause properly. As such, the environment at Koukyou was relaxed and he enjoyed that. It was also secure, which gave him the opportunity to speak with members openly. Detnerat headquarters were secure but Honsho didn't cater there.
He was having dinner with Chitose, Koku and Tomoyasu, which, to anyone watching was a normal occurrence for him. Detnerat had advertising contracts with Shoowaysha Publishing and was a major donor to the Hearts and Minds Party. In business terms the biggest question of the night would be who's turn it was to take the bill as a corporate expense.
Tomoyasu would join them shortly.
"It appears the upstarts are still at it," Chitose murmured.
Koku sighed and rolled his eyes. "You would think they'd have the good taste to go down with their Boss," he said.
"What are they doing now?" Rikiya asked. He knew but hearing the reports from his Commanders allowed him to assess how much they knew. They had discussed All For One's heirs previously. The first time after what was rather grandiosely named the USJ. The second was after the younger boy stole all those quirks.
The first incident had been considered too childish to pose a threat to the Meta Liberation Army. Attacking a school? Really, how low did you have to be? Tomura Shagariki or whatever his name was had been dismissed as one of those flash in the pan villains who had some power, but no sense. The second incident, actually taking quirks was more serious but… still limited. The boy hadn't done anything with them. He'd just disappeared.
Tomoyasu had thought it was because the boy would be subordinate to Tomura but they weren't sure. There had been silence from the so called League of Villains. Until now.
The youngest of All For One's heirs had apparently destroyed the Shie Hassaikai. Apart from the notoriety it would bring him, Rikiya could privately admit that the boy had done the underworld a favour. The Shie Hassaikai had been becoming obnoxious. They hadn't done anything yet but it was obvious they would be trying something. The boy had prevented that.
"They destroyed some Yakuza group," Tomoyasu said as he joined them. He sat down, and took one of the still warm rolls from the bread basket.
"I would promise to destroy them but the Heroes have been keeping a lid on the publicity," Chitose observed.
"Why?" Koku asked.
She shrugged. "I think they are hopeful they can still capture the youngest one at least," she gave the assessment.
"That is perhaps one of his most ill conceived actions," Rikiya noted. "But what do you expect of a sixteen year old?"
The three commanders of the MLA nodded. Izuku Midoriya, as he was now known, appeared to have a copy of his father's quirk, which gave him the ability to take other quirks and use them for himself. He had taken six quirks from various Hero Course students in UA as his debut into villainy. As a debut went, it did make a statement but it brought a lot of attention to his inexperienced self. A softer entry into the world of villainy would have been wiser.
Rikiya assumed that All For One's advisors were taking care of the teen now since he hadn't been captured. Though with the destruction of the Shie Hassaikai maybe he'd slipped the leash.
"There may be some disagreement between them," Tomoyasu suggested.
"Between who?" Koku asked.
"That Tomura and Izuku," Skeptic clarified with a shrug. "It would explain why they've been quiet until now."
That was possible. "Tomura wasn't seen on that raid. There's not even a mention of him," Chitose pointed out.
"More proof for the disagreement," Tomoyasu insisted. "The teen might be having to prove he's got what it takes," he explained.
"Or they could have split and the kid was ready to move sooner," Koku offered an alternative.
"Maybe," Tomoyasu agreed but Rikiya could tell he wasn't interested.
"If they get much more publicity, I will take them out," he said, nodding firmly before the conversation stopped as Honsho came out from the kitchen.
"Rikiya!" she greeted him warmly, giving the other MLA executives a welcoming nod. "What do you wish tonight?" she asked.
That was the other good thing about coming to Koukyou. Honsho would see that they got what they wanted, which sometimes corresponded to the menu and sometimes didn't. The restaurant was always experimenting with creating new dishes so they always had odd ingredients with which they could make something off menu.
"The special," Rikiya replied, giving her a smile. He could get something different but tonight, the special smelt particularly tasty.
Honsho beamed at him and he knew she'd make his dish personally. She looked at the MLA's leaders, waiting to take their orders. They didn't have to order drinks. Honsho would pair their meals appropriately.
"The special," Chitose ordered.
"The nasturtium with the Kobe beef," Koku told her.
"The wattle dahl with fennel," came the last order from Tomoyasu.
Honsho waited another moment for any further orders but no one needed anything else. She gave them another nod and returned to the kitchen.
"Now, to business," Rikiya said.
"How is the roll out of the hero support gear coming?" Chitose asked.
"Slower than we might like," he had to admit. "But I'm sure it will come together," Rikiya added. It would take time to establish that new line.
"I had a thought, based on a rumour I have heard lately," Tomoyasu said slowly, still thinking about what he'd heard.
This was new information to Rikiya. "Oh?"
"It will be slower to set up and establish, but we could start hiring support students," he pointed out. "When they graduate, they can move into Detnerat's Hero support gear arm, and at least a few of them will have relationships with the newly graduated heroes."
That was an interesting consideration, especially since the support students tended to make the support gear the hero students used while they were in training, which gave them practical experience and would give them relationships with the new heroes. It was a good idea, though… "How does that relate to the rumour you heard?" Rikiya asked.
"There's a rumour going around that the mask All For One was wearing is already patented," Skeptic replied and paused to let that information settle in.
Already patented meant that it either belonged to a company or an individual… And since that was, when all was said and done, a brilliant piece of support gear, that individual or company would have a bright future… though for Tomoyasu to bring it up, it most likely belonged to an individual.
"And?" Koku prompted, knowing there was more information to come.
"The rumour is that a student made it," Tomoyasu finished. "The HPSC will be initiating proceedings against them to take control of the designs."
"You're not suggesting we back them?" Chitose was horrified. They could but that would bring unwanted attention to them.
"Of course not," Tomoyasu shook his head. "But the idea of going to a student now has some faculty," he said.
"It does, and the situation is an interesting one," Rikiya admitted. "I think Detnerat's Graduate intake this year should include a special stream for support students," he decided. And while they would have graduated, it would give the MLA a view into that part of society.
"I'll keep an ear out," Skeptic promised. "If the student signs over the plans then there won't be a problem," he added.
"Yes, I think such a talented student has great potential," Rikiya agreed. "And that may offer us an alternate way of dealing with Izuku Midoriya and Tomura Shagariki," he mused.
"Really?" Koku seemed surprised.
"They are children, playing with forces they do not understand," Rikiya said slowly. "And if they go too far, I will destroy them, but they should acknowledge the rightness of our cause," he noted.
The others thought about that for a moment before nodding. That was true. Other groups had.
"Maybe not the older one," Rikiya mused. The older one appeared… well, his debut was against High School students, and while technically the younger had debuted the same way, he was younger.
"I can check my contacts," Tomoyasu said. "They've gone silent on how to contact Tomura," he indicated.
"Interesting," Koku murmured. "Is that why you think they might have split?"
"One of the reasons," Skeptic acknowledged.
Rikiya nodded. "It would be best if we could bring one of them onboard," he said. The resources of All For One would be useful to the MLA. "How is your launch date?" he asked Tomoyasu. Feel Good Incorporated was expanding their communications and had done a number of cost benefit analyses. Their major cost was the hire of their network the phones ran on. They were limited with who they could hire from, and while their plans, paired with Detnerat phones were popular, they were not always providing great value for money for their clients. As a result, while it was a major investment for them, they were looking into launching their own satellites to carry the signal.
And… if they launched enough, then the MLA would have its very own satellite network as well. It was a long term plan but would be very useful if it came to fruition.
Skeptic did not look pleased with the question.
The leaders of the MLA knew what that meant. The launch window had been pushed back again.
"Why don't we just pay JBQC to give us priority signal?" Koku asked. "They do the maintenance on the network so it shouldn't be too hard to get them to add that coding," he said. "It doesn't even have to be official."
"I've already done that," Tomoyasu admitted.
"Officially?" Rikiya asked.
Skeptic shook his head.
That wasn't good. That was a liability. JBQC was a company associated with All For One but they did have many legitimate contracts. Poles and wires - electricity maintenance was one of their main ones, meaning they had access to the electricity grid all over the country. They also maintained the signal towers for most of the major telecommunications providers and while it was a simple thing to recruit or bribe one of the workers, it was not a good way to ensure continuity of service. They tended to move around a lot and what one worker did, another could undo, unless the work was company policy.
"I'll talk to Janee Pieruce," he said. She was near the top of JBQC and was at least sympathetic to them. He might be able to offer her something to make the internal policy required.
"I'll put out some bad press against SpaceY," Chitose said. They were the company responsible for the launch. "Not too bad, just disappointed," she clarified. Launches were delayed all the time so there was no point in being antagonistic.
"Thank you," Tomayasu said but before anyone else could speak, Honsho reappeared from the kitchen, carrying four plates, and expertly balancing several small jugs of sauce. The sommelier was following her, with another four people following him, each carrying two bottles of wine. It appeared to be an offering of a red or white wine for each of the dishes and ah… a pink and champagne.
"Just in time," Rikiya greeted her as the plates were expertly deposited in front of them. Honsho poured just the right amount of sauce on to each of the dishes and stepped back to allow her sommelier to offer them the matched wines.
"Enjoy!" she said, after they'd made their selection.
Rikiya had to admit the food smelled divine. "I'm sure we will," he told her, as a dismissal.
Honsho beamed and then retreated back to the kitchen, with the sommelier and his assistants also making themselves scarce after pouring.
That was the advantage of coming to Koukyou. The service was attentive but appropriately distant. He looked down at his meal and breathed deeply.
Ah yes… this was the life.
-ted-
Izuku looked down at his scale covered arm. He was reinforcing them with hardening so they were not the shiny, almost iridescent green they could be but they were stronger… and he thought they were getting stronger. So today, he was going to run an experiment with Gigantomachia. He'd had Yakuni supply him with a host of nutrient drinks so that he wouldn't pass out from … well, stupidity since he could anticipate that he'd need to use Regeneration a lot today.
They were in one of the warehouses that Yakuni wasn't using at the moment. It was mostly empty, except for some boxes.
"Little Lord?" Gigantomachia asked softly, sounding concerned.
Izuku looked up and gave the huge man a smile. "I need your help," he told him.
Gigantomachia just looked back at him.
Izuku held up his forearm. "I can make scales, and they give me some protection but they aren't that strong," he explained, letting hardening fade so that the scales went back to their shiny green colour. "Then I can activate another quirk to make them stronger," he said, and used hardening. His scales lost their shine but he could feel them sort of tighten up as the quirk made the scales harder. "But I think they've been becoming stronger, and I want to test that," he said.
Gigantomachia said nothing.
"I need you to break them," Izuku announced. "Then I'll heal and we can see if they get stronger." There was probably a better way of doing this, like if he got Yakuni to actually measure their hardness but… If what he thought was happening was true, then… Yakuni could measure his scale's hardness and other properties but Gigantomachia could help him make them super strong.
Gigantomachia still said nothing and Izuku could tell he was reluctant to do this. The huge man didn't mind sparring with Izuku, in fact he quite enjoyed that, and the harder they sparred, the more he liked it but this was different, this was deliberately hurting him.
"If they are getting stronger, every time they are broken then, if you can break them for me now, then I will get much much stronger and better protected," Izuku reminded Gigantomachia. If he put it in terms that made it clear this would benefit him later, then the huge man would probably do it.
Gigantomachia huffed but nodded. Izuku could tell he was still reluctant but he acknowledged the necessity to find this out.
Izuku shifted his arm so that it was easy for Gigantomachia to swing at. "Do it," he said, bracing for the swing, and, in as much as he could, he pulled Shock Absorption away from his limb.
Gigantomachia formed a fist and before he could think further on it, brought his arm down over Izuku's. The force of the blow drove his arm down but Izuku could hear several scales breaking. Not his bones thankfully, just the scales, but if he wanted to get this done properly, it may be necessary to have his bones broken. It might be necessary to give someone Shock Absorption too… at least temporarily.
He let hardening fade as he ran his other hand over the damaged scales, and pulled the broken ones out. New ones formed almost immediately, thanks to regeneration. They didn't feel any stronger but that was the point of this experiment. And to help him out, Izuku lay down, putting his arm out on the concrete floor.
"Again," he instructed, looking up at Gigantomachia as he pulled Shock Absorption away.
The huge man did not look happy but complied, this time bringing his foot down on Izuku's arm.
"Urg!" Izuku couldn't help the cry but was proud he didn't scream. This time his bones definitely broke. He could feel them knitting up as regeneration took effect and could feel the energy flowing from him. Even with the energy quirks Yakuni had found, regeneration had a high requirement. With his free arm, he reached out and grabbed one of the drinks. They didn't taste good but they were super charged with energy, and nutrients so that he shouldn't lose much from today.
Again, Izuku picked out the broken scales before forming new ones. He took a deep breath and looked back at Gigantomachia. "Again," he ordered as he braced himself.
If anything, Gigantomachia looked even more upset but he obeyed.
The pain wasn't any better this time. Izuku stood up though, and after taking another swig from the bottle he held out his arm, forming scales again. "The same as the first time, please," he instructed, gulping.
This might be necessary, but that didn't mean he enjoyed being in pain.
The huge man huffed but complied. Again, the force of the blow pushed Izuku's arm down but this time, without the concrete there, it didn't break his bones and… Izuku gave Gigantomachia a small smile. It hadn't broken any scales. He held up his arm for the huge man to look at. "That was the same as the first time?" Izuku asked for the confirmation. It had felt the same to him but Gigantomachia would know.
He nodded.
The small smile stretched wider. "It worked," Izuku said softly. "They didn't break," he explained. And then he took several deep breaths, bringing his arm back down as he looked at it. The scales were intact, though one seemed to be cracked. It was an improvement.
Izuku gulped and looked up at Gigantomachia again. The man was eyeing his arm and Izuku could tell he could see the difference. He nodded. "Yeah, this is gonna suck," he admitted.
Gigantomachia huffed but he smiled slightly.
"But, it will be worth it," Izuku continued, before he sighed again. "So other arm?" he asked, holding it out. He really didn't want to do this but…
If he could get his scales strong enough then… That was going to be very very useful and he knew, going up against All Might… There was no such thing as too strong.
The large man nodded and Izuku braced again.
This really was going to suck.
-ted-
Izuku is getting stronger, even if Gigantomachia doesn't really like doing it. But this is necessary.
And the MLA are introduced! At dinner, because I like to have people doing normal every day things :D
Discord is on this code: TcBnRN7aDn FFN will remove links but you should be able to figure that out. There's a heap of other authors there, so come along and chat to us all! Not just about MHA.
Current system - shorter, but more frequent updates - was favoured, but not by much.
-ted-
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