*Jaku City, Abandoned Warehouse (Last Night)

Ring-Ring-Ring

"Hello."

"Yes, I'll like to place a hit on Mrs. Plume?"

"Mrs. Plume, as in the Smoking Heroine, Mrs. Plume?"

"Definitely."

"A'right, we'll place the hit immediately. Does $40 million sound good to you?"

"Hmm… Not enough. How about $450 million?"

"That seems too high."

"Take it or leave it."

"Fine, fine, $450 million, it is. Can I get your name?"

"Can I leave it anonymous?"

"Of course, ma'am."

"Thank you."

Click!

"Men! We got a big one. Miya Todoroki, aka 'Mrs. Plume' is our target tomorrow. Be on watch, stay vigilant, and strike when she's present."

[All] "Yes, sir!"

Musutafu, Japan

Musutafu's Best Hotel Resort (5pm)

After Gloria suggested a hotel resort trip to 'Musutafu's Best Hotel Resort' last night, I agreed. Their mud baths were heaven in porcelain tubs, massages were delightful, and every staff acted nice. When I heard Gloria made two reservations, she asked which one we should pick. Musutafu or Jaku City? Since we were going to Musutafu, I passed the Jaku City tickets to Enji and the boys. They needed to bond, even more than Enji's reluctance to accept character development. Hopefully, it'll go well for them. We headed to the resort and enjoyed ourselves.

It was much more fun than expected. My favorite was the mud baths, their lukewarm touch, bubbling massages, and pleasant scent was wonderful. "Man, do I love resorts! It reminds me of the resort we stayed at during our time at the Underground Agency, Gloria. Do you think?"

"Yeah, it does. I wish we can return to America, live the best shit. Colbury, Maryland was my homeland. Leaving it felt devastating, but I wouldn't leave a friend behind. Besides, my sister and her family moved to Japan with me. There aren't bad feelings towards it."

We strode down the hallways, its dim golden yellow lights highlighting the red carpet rug, beige walls, and silver trims. This place was elegant and extravagant. Same applied for my brother's family house, but this resort was on another level. Our hotel room was on the fifth floor, so Rei and Fuyumi were safe. Just relaxing from a day of watching romance-comedy movies in the indoor theater.

"Hey, Miya?"

"What is it?" I folded hands behind my head, my palms feeling its spiky softness.

"There's a black van in the parking lot. I have a bad feeling that van is carrying some shitty people."

Her squinted eyes meant something was off. Peculiar in a terrible sense. "You are right; that van hasn't moved since three pm."

Was someone following us? I hope not. We made it to the fifth floor, entered our room, and saw Fuyumi skimming through documents. She was a daycare teacher, so reviewing their drawings was a priority. I'd told her not to prioritize work over relaxation, but she cared for those toddlers.

Rei talked to her husband on the phone, a smile too soft to ignore. Her treatment was paying off. She'd been ignoring Enji's expectations and focused her energy on herself. That brought a huge smile on my face, the red lipstick glistened from the lowering sunset. "Let's stay in our rooms. That van will leave and nothing outrageous happens."

"I'll cross my fingers, girl."

Ah, if you said, 'nothing bad will happen,' it happened. My words led to the craziest night in my life.

Five Hours Later (10pm)

I stood outside the patio, staring at the stars, lost in my thoughts. My heart told me to watch out for unexpected situations. Why? Because I'd been struggling with work lately. The reason I agreed to Gloria's suggestion was because of Kimi Sanamaki, the newest host. She'd been slandering behind my back, saying obscured shit I'd never did. Most of her clients agreed, yet some defended me. They said how honest and a good listener I was, which pissed off Kimi.

We'd never got along. Kimi was the queen of UA High, while I was a plain girl with no purpose. Gloria saved me from a dark corner of despair and showed me happiness, an emotion I abandoned. 'Her mouth keeps blabbering more nonsense. I guess she doesn't want me to have everything.'

The patio door opened, and Rei walked to me. "Are you okay, Miya?"

"I'm alright, but you should call me sis."

"Right, my bad." She stood beside me, her silver eyes catching the tinkling stars.

"How's your therapy sessions, Rei?"

"They'd been great. The people there understand my troubles and support me with advice. Without those tips, I would have been…" She lowered her head.

Her forearms leaned against the railing. The corner of my eyes noticed a teardrop attempting to leave Rei's socket. "You don't have to finish, Rei. Enji almost considered a mental institution, but I turned that down and recommended the therapy center."

"I mean, I almost hurt Shoto. You pushed him away, yet I'd left marks. Shoto's right forearm and your left calf…"

I patted Rei's back and titled my neck. "It's all in the past. Shoto and I forgave you. We understood why you reacted like that."

She looked at me with tears streaking her cheeks. The moonlight glowed tear streams in a heavenly presence. It was beautiful but depressing. "A-Are you sure?"

"I'm sure, sis."

I'd hugged her, and Rei wrapped her arms around me. Then, I'd heard distant voices below the balcony. I leaned over the railing to see men leaving the black van. Shit, they'd haven't left the parking lot! "Rei, get Fuyumi."

I rushed inside the room and woke up Gloria. The van we saw earlier? Men scattered out, holding guns and quirk-enhanced support items. That can't be good. Gloria nodded and powered up in her crystalized suit. Glad I bought my suit with me, in case crime popped up.

"They'll be here in any minute. Once Rei and Fuyumi leave the room, they'll come charging in with weapons. I'd also saw them carrying support items."

"The illegal kind"

The League of Supa-Villains (don't get me started!) held various illegal support items. Q-Pills were their most dangerous items, giving users temporary quirks. "From what I saw, yeah."

"Dammit. We need to be careful around those."

"AHHHHH!"

"Fuyumi!"

We jogged outside the room and saw a muscular thug lift Fuyumi. She landed on his shoulder and they raced down the hallway. "Aw, god! Gloria! Stall the thugs downstairs! I'll get Fuyumi!"

I sprinted down the hallway, while Gloria went downstairs. Rei, terrified of watching her daughter get kidnapped, froze in one spot. "Get moving! We have to catch up!" Although getting my sister-in-law involved was horrible, I couldn't leave Rei alone. Not while Fuyumi screamed for dear life.

She shook off her fearful nerves and followed me. She had a quirk, so defending herself wasn't a problem. A few minutes later, the thug shoved Fuyumi in the back seat of a black Sudan. He drove away. "Ugh, where's the car?"

"It's close."

She pulled out her car keys and pressed an alarm system. A few feet away from us. We got in and Rei kick-started the engine. She drove faster than predicted, because come on! A big ass thug captured her daughter! I opened the car window and stuck my upper body out. With my hand extended, I concentrated a thin trail of dark gray smoke towards the vehicle. 'Smoky Vine' was my latching technique. It wouldn't grab people, but it'll help us stay close to the thug's vehicle. He noticed us, swayed aggressively to lose our track, but it failed.

The vine held onto the bumper, never letting go. Rei's eyes weren't carrying fear, they carried determination. And anger towards the bastard who has her adult daughter. My phone rang, and using my free hand, pulled it out and answered. "Gloria! Are you following us!?"

For a woman raised in the hood, Gloria kicked ass. "Hell yeah, I'm behind you! Look at your rear-view mirror." I'd peeked and saw Gloria riding her crystalized skateboard. She winked to let me know she was alright. I gave her a thumbs up and told her to keep following Rei's car.

I hung up and felt a tug from the smoky vine. The thug sped up, passing a couple red lights. "You know you'll get a driving ticket for passing under a red light, Rei."

"Enji or you will pay for the charges. I won't let my daughter get taken." Her hands turned the steering wheel into a frosty ice sculpture. There was no way of convincing her. We followed the thug, his car sped up and broke my smoky vine. Damn! Gloria rode to my side and leaned closer. "What should we do now!?"

"I don't know why they tried to kill us. Maybe someone put a hit on me?"

Unless, The League Of Supa-Villains were behind it. It made sense, but it wasn't. My phone rang, and it wasn't from Gloria. She was already skating alongside Rei's car. We caught up to the thug, who parked his car near a local park's lot. He dragged Fuyumi out and across the parking lot. "Who is it?"

"Oh, it worked. Hey, I don't know if we met, but I'm Hawks."

"Oh, the number three hero? Why are you calling me?"

Hawks and I exchanged numbers one late night, and that was it. He'd never explained why he wanted my number, but he said it would be important later. I guessed my niece getting kidnapped was that important moment. "Look up."

When me and Rei rushed out the car, I'd looked up, seeing a red dash heading towards the thug. Several feathers attacked the thug's back, pushing him forward, face first. Fuyumi fell off the thug and landed on her side. "Fuyumi!"

Rei ran to her, but the thug crawled and grabbed her ankle.

"Get the hell off of her!" I kicked the thug's face as hard as possible. He let go and Rei helped Fuyumi off the blacktop. While they straddled away, me and Gloria circled the thug. He stared at us, growling and anger plastering his square face. Then, the feathers on his back yanked out at once. They returned to Hawks' wings, while he descended near us. "Did my number help?"

"Yeah, thanks for the exchange."

"I just called the police, so don't worry."

Now, we needed an interrogation. I lifted the thug's tank top collar and pulled him close. "Who sent you to kill me?"

"I-I won't tell."

"You better tell, otherwise I'll knock you 'til next week, prick!" Gloria cracked her knuckles, each pop echoed across the pavement.

"The police will arrest you and interrogate further into your group's actions. Speaking of your buddies, they're getting arrested after Glam stunned them unconscious."

The thug widened his eyes, the red mark I planted throbbed. He wasn't speaking, but a miracle came as a pissed off mother. Rei returned to us after putting Fuyumi in the back seat. Her smile showed a gentleness I'd familiarized myself in, but behind that was a dark side, one nobody dared to mess.

"Miya? Gloria? Mr. Hawks? May I?"

All three of us stepped away, letting Rei take the lead. The thug's face turned pale once he saw Rei's terrifying smile. She copied my movements, grabbing the thug's collar and pulling him close to her menacing face. "For harming my daughter and ruining our girls day-off, I'll make you pay."

We walked out the parking lot, while hearing the thug's girlish screams and Rei's quirk activating. She'd done this to a random stranger once when he tried luring Shoto away from his elementary school. His skin struggled to return to its room temperature for two hours. Ugh, just thinking about that incident made my skin shutter. An hour passed, and the police arrived to arrest the thug, whose skin was pale blue and shivering.

"Again, thanks for exchanging your number to me. Without that number, I don't know what would happen to my niece."

"Never fret, Mrs. Plume. I'd did the same for your older brother. I'll be pissed, but it's for his own good."

"You can say that again." I'd rolled my eyes, imagining my brother's reaction if Hawks called him.

He flew off, waved a goodbye gesture to me and the girls, and vanished within the clouds. It was nice to see a regular client. With the situation solved, we returned home. Gloria paid the hotel before catching up to us. We were okay mostly. A few minutes later, Enji and the boys returned, perplexed in our injuries. In a scene I couldn't describe, Enji held his wife's shoulders and asked about her well-being.

As we prepared ourselves for sleep, I'd checked on Enji. He sat on the front porch, muttering to himself. That trip finally opened his eyes. I'd almost asked, but then…

'Tomorrow's the best time to ask.'

I shut the door and strode down the hallway, thinking to the incident. Someone almost killed me, but who?

The Next Day

Todoroki Abode (7am)

"Bye, Mom." Shoto left the house after breakfast. All night, I'd pondered about my actions. How inconsiderate I was towards my wife. My children not respecting me anymore. It felt wrong to continue my absent-minded behavior. Natsuo was right; what does overthrowing All-Might prove? Nothing or something?

Miya sat next to me in the living room, a smile ready to mock. "How did Jaku City Resort go?"

"Better than expected. How goes the Musutafu Resort?"

She giggled and leaned against the couch's cushions. "Same, though we nearly died. I've been thinking about who wanted me dead."

"Now that you brought it up, those burglars weren't robbing the hotel or us. The police reported what their intentions were. Someone ordered them to assassinate me and the boys."

Miya's eyes widened and trembled, cold sweat dripped along her temples. "You don't think this person targeted a bounty on you. Do you?"

"I'm not sure, but my agency will look into it." I stood up, stretched my neck, and trudged out the living room. Miya followed, wanting to ask more questions about last night. I had no time, and she had business elsewhere. "Wait."

"What is it?"

"Uh, in a couple days, Shoto's birthday is coming up. Rei and I agreed to have a party here, invite his friends, and buy gifts. I was wondering if you can get Shoto a gift."

Oh, that's right. Shoto was turning twelve this year. My boy will become a man! I nodded, a smile stretching across my face. "Yes, I'll buy him the greatest gift. He'll respect me, if I do."

Miya, although skeptical of my decision, sighed and shrugged her shoulders. "Whatever, man. Thanks for hearing."

'What gift will satisfy Shoto on his special day?'