[Uraraka and Sandarando]
Streets of Chinmoku
The fog seemed to sometimes...fluctuate.
It would get thicker...but then it would get thinner over time.
And then it would repeat that process...
It almost feels like the fog is reacting like a heartbeat...maybe even someone's breathing, like something was inhaling it and blowing it out again...
Uraraka felt a little uneasy in this kind of environment, the mist obscuring her vision. Sure, the streetlights were on, but it didn't make her feel any better. But thankfully, she's not alone in this trek around this abandoned town. With the help of this man known as Sandarando Jasei, who saved her from some kind of...monster, she felt a lot more safe...
Although, she doesn't know all that much about him, other than he's looking for his wife...
But still, she felt good about the man. He saved her, he's trying to find his wife, and this situation could very well be a job for a Hero-in-training like her!
With his metal pipe in his right hand, and his left-hand fingers showing the way thanks to his Quirk, Sandarando looked around the area they were in, the streets sounding a lot quieter than usual.
Uraraka also noticed that the streets didn't have any life to them...
...Well, for an abandoned town, of course it doesn't have any life in it...
...Or did it?
As they walked straight up the street they were on, both of them were very wary of their surroundings, the fog not helping their nerves.
Deciding to break the silence, Uraraka asked Sandarando, "Uh, excuse me, Mr. Sandarando?"
Sandarando glanced at the girl, "Uh, yeah?"
"Um...just to break the ice some more, but what town do you and your wife live in?"
"Oh...well...we live in a town called Shepazuguren."
"Oh! So you're nearby Chinmoku?"
"Um...I...I guess we are..." Sandarando paused in their walk.
Uraraka stopped as well, seeing the expression Sandarando was making. He looked like he was trying to figure out something as he gazed at the ground...
"Uh...Sandarando? Everything okay?" Uraraka asked him.
"Hm?" Sandarando looked up at Uraraka, "Oh, um, yeah...I was just...I mean, I felt like I remembered something."
"You do?" Uraraka blinked.
"Yeah...I felt like that crash hit me in the head harder than I thought...but, I remember that my wife was...well, she was sick."
"Sick?"
"Yeah...I was..." Sandarando grunted, trying to remember the details, "I was..." his eyes widened, "Oh right! I was trying to get her to a...a hospital."
"You were?" Uraraka asked, concerned for the well-being of this man's wife, "What happened?"
"My...My wife is...she's pretty ill...the doctors I went to back at Shepazuguren couldn't help..." Sandarando frowned, "They...They couldn't help...so I had to go to a different hospital...one that could actually help my wife."
"Oh..." Uraraka frowned, feeling more and more sympathetic for Sandarando, "Um...what does your wife have, if you don't mind me asking?"
Sandarando looked at Uraraka, "She...it's a pretty terminal illness...I don't know if I can pronounce it right now. It's like cancer, but it's a rare case and form of it...it deteriorates your skin."
Uraraka winced slightly, "Oh wow...I'm-I'm so sorry to hear that."
"Thank you...she...she didn't deserve having that...that illness," Sandarando's frown went deeper the more he thought about it. "...I hope she's okay. I...I don't think she can really physically walk because of the illness...which is why I think someone took her..."
Wow...this is more serious than I thought. Uraraka thinks as she now feels like she has a new purpose to help out Sandarando.
"Hey," Uraraka spoke up, "We'll find your wife. No worries. Wh-What's her name?"
"Her name? Oh, yeah, that's right. I didn't tell you her name," Sandarando looked embarrassed, "Uh, her name is Meri."
Uraraka nodded, her expression full of confidence as she said, "Then we will find your wife, Meri, and stop whoever is behind this! Whether it be the Hero Killer, or some other Villain! We will rescue her!"
Sandarando blinked and couldn't help but feel moved by this girl's dedication to helping him out. He smiled kindly and said, "Wow...thank you. I...I needed that."
"No problem! It's what a Hero-in-training would do!" Uraraka said as she raised her right fist up to her face in determination.
Chuckling at that, Sandarando said, "Well, you make a great Hero already."
Grinning brightly, Uraraka said, "Thanks! Now come on, we got to find your wife, Meri, and my friends!"
"Right," Sandarando nodded.
They both rushed through the street again, their belief in finding who they were looking for surely energizing them.
The fog was still surrounding them, but they kept going...
...The streetlights were still on, lighting their way forward...
...They went farther down the street for around three minutes, until they both reached...a dead end.
Uraraka and Sandarando stopped as they looked at the blockade in question.
It was just...a wall. A concrete wall.
A plain concrete wall that cut off the whole road...
Looking at this strange obstacle, Uraraka and Sandarando gazed at the wall in confusion.
"Um...well, this is a strange cut-off," Uraraka muttered to herself.
"Yeah..." Sandrando agreed. He used his left flashlight fingers to illuminate the path before him, wondering if there was some sort of opening or a door...
It was until he spotted something on the ground.
"Huh?" he walked over to where the item was.
"Hm?" Uraraka glanced at Sandarando and saw that he was approaching something...
As soon as he was near it, he knelt down and picked up the object. Uraraka went over to him, curious as to what it was.
Sandarando looked at the object...which was an envelope.
"...Did you...drop something, Uraraka?" he asked her.
Blinking at that question in confusion, Uraraka answered, "Uh...no?"
"Well...I think this envelope is for you," Sandarando told her as he gave it to her.
"Huh?" Uraraka looked at the envelope and saw that it was written down on the front thanks to Sandarando's flashlight fingers.
It read...Uraraka Ochako.
Blinking again in surprise, Uraraka took the envelope from Sandarando and looked at it. She felt the envelope to see if anything was actually in there...and it felt like there was. A thick stack of paper and...a hard small object inside it. She turned it around to open it at the back, tearing the envelope open. Getting out the contents that were inside, she realized that they were...
...a big stack of money...and a key with a key chain on it.
Eyes widening at this, Uraraka looked at the money in her hands first and foremost, the key in her right hand. Sandarando also looked shocked to see this.
"Wh-What!?" Uraraka gasped. She started to count the yen bills in her hands. Thanks to Sandarando's fingers, they gave her some ounce of light, so she could read what kind of yen bills they were...and each of the bills was worth 10,000 yen.
She kept counting...
...There were a lot of them.
Uraraka barely finished counting the fat stack of money halfway (and she's a fast counter) when she stopped counting around thirty 10,000 yen bills. And there was still more to count.
This...This is a LOT of yen! And they're all 10,000 bills! There's probably like...I don't know, I counted thirty, and there's more, so...maybe seventy, eighty, ninety 10,000 yen bills in total?
...She was in awe.
"...Whoa..." Uraraka muttered in shock.
Sandarando looked at the stack of money and couldn't help but be amazed as well.
"Wow..." he mumbled, "Um...did you help someone, or...?"
"...I...I don't know..." Uraraka said, her eyes still wide. She then noticed a folded piece of paper behind the last yen bill, "Huh?" she got it out and opened up the piece of paper...
...A note was on it.
It said in black font words...
Deposit the money at the bank.
"...What?" Uraraka blinked, "Deposit the money at the...bank?"
"Huh?" Sandarando also glanced at the note. "...Do you...happen to know who wrote it?"
"Um..." Uraraka looked at the back of the letter and observed the front of it, but saw no signature. "...No. I don't know who would send this to me."
Sandarando looked around the area they were in and spotted a building that was a little ways behind him.
"...Uh, Uraraka?" Sandarando said to her.
"Huh? Yeah?" Uraraka looked up at him.
"...There's a bank over there."
"...Wha?" Uraraka looked over where Sandarando was gazing at. There was a building on the street's right, and like Sandarando said, there was a bank across from them.
The name of the bank was First Chinmoku Bank.
"...Oh..." Uraraka looked at the establishment, which looked like an old historical building. It had a 1960s feel to it, and it looked to have two floors inside the bank. "...W-Well...I..." she glanced down at the money in her hands. Her gaze also went to the key that was in her right hand. She observed the key and could make out the writing on the key chain.
It read First Chinmoku Bank.
"..." She frowned, "Um..."
Well...I don't want to just...take the money. I mean, I'm becoming a Hero! No matter what my parents' circumstances are, I can't just...well...
"Uraraka?"
Shaking her head, Uraraka looked up at Sandarando and said, "S-Sandarando, I don't...really know what's happening, but...I...I think we need to go to that...bank?"
Blinking at the suggestion, Sandarando turned back to glance at the bank, "I...I guess so," he turned back to Uraraka, "Um...well, we should probably...go in?"
Looking at the key in her hand, Uraraka stared at it for a few seconds, before answering, "Yeah..."
And so, they made their way toward the bank...
Upon reaching the door to the bank, Sandarando was the first to open the door for them...but as he reached for the knob and turned it, he learned that it was locked.
"Oh...it's locked," he said.
Uraraka looked at the key in her hand and put two and two together. "...I think this key opens the door of this bank."
Getting the key ready in her hand, she approached the door to the bank and inserted the key into the doorknob. Twisting the key, she heard a 'click' from the door. She tried the door this time, twisting the knob...and it opened.
"...Okay..." Uraraka still was wondering what this all entailed with the money in her hand, but she realized that this could be a sign to move forward, so she might as well take it.
At least Sandarando is with me...I don't have to feel like I'm doing this alone.
Speaking of, he said to Uraraka, "Let me go in first, just in case anything is waiting inside. Also, um..." he raised his hands, the light glowing from his fingertips. "Well, I can light the way."
"Oh! Um, of course!" Uraraka nodded with a smile.
Nodding back at her with a smile as well, Sandarando went inside, with Uraraka behind him.
They entered the bank, the lights turned off as they walked in the darkness. Sandarando lights their way inside, which is the lobby of the bank. There were closed-up teller booths up ahead, a total of three, a door next to the booths, probably to enter the teller booths area, and a pair of stairs next to the door, while there was an elevator next to the stairs. Lastly, there was a huge safe door to the left of the building. The inside of the bank looked pretty formal, with art deco-style chairs and tables to fill up the right side of the lobby, marble flooring along with the teller booths being made of marble, and dusty chandeliers hanging from the ceiling.
Seeing that nobody was inside, they kept walking further inside the bank. Uraraka and Sandarando went to the teller booths to see if anything would let them move forward, but so far she found nothing.
After checking the last and third teller booth that was on the left, Uraraka turned to Sandarando and just shrugged, "I mean, I don't know how to deposit the money if there's no one working here...which I think is unlikely, since...well, you know..."
"Hmm..." Sandaradno put up his metal pipe in his jacket and directed his left hand to light up the safe door next to them. "..." he went over to the safe door and grabbed the metal wheel, trying to turn it, but it wouldn't budge. Grunting as he tried, he gave up and stood back, directing his right hand to shine at a touchpad next to the safe door, where there were numbers on the buttons. "...Hm," Looking behind him as he directed his right hand at the right side of the building, where the lobby is. "...Follow me."
Uraraka followed Sandarando as they went over to the door where they entered the teller booths. When they neared it, Sandarando tried to open the door, but it wouldn't open also.
"...Hm..." Sandarando looked to his right as his fingers lit up the stairs next to the door. Turning to Uraraka, he said, "Hey, Uraraka. Maybe we can go to the second floor and see if there is some kind of key here?"
"Oh, uh, sure!" Uraraka nodded.
So they went up the stairs as Sandarando lit their way up while climbing them. As soon as they reached the second floor, there was a hall with four doors, each side of the hall having two doors.
Not knowing which one to go in first, Sandarando decided to go to the first door to the left, with Uraraka following close behind. There was a nameplate on the side of the door, which it didn't have a name displayed.
When he reached for the doorknob and twisted it...it opened.
Surprised that it was even opened to begin with, both of them paused for a moment.
"...Get behind me, Uraraka," Sandarando told her.
Doing as she was told, Uraraka got behind him, a little fearful of what they might find.
Sandarando placed his flashlight-tipped fingers on the doorknob...and opened the door slowly.
Once he opened it, he shined his other hand to let his fingers light up the office space.
...There was but a chair...and a medium-sized safe on the chair.
Curious, Sandarando went forward to the safe, with Uraraka following him. She too was a little puzzled by the safe on the chair.
As he went closer to the safe, he noticed something scratched on top of the safe.
Letting his fingers get close to the markings, he read them in its light...
"...Huh?" he uttered.
"Huh? What happened, Sandarando?" Uraraka asked him.
"...There's...some kind of...date...inscribed on the top of this safe?"
Uraraka blinked, "A date? Like the day, month, and year?"
"Yeah..." Sandarando then kneeled at the safe's level, reaching for the knob of it, and started to fiddle with it, turning it around as he was somehow trying to open it.
Uraraka watched Sandarando fiddle with the lock for a while, and soon, she heard a 'click'.
Surprised, Sandarando paused for a bit, until he proceeded to open the safe...
...Inside of it...was a key.
Blinking at this, Sandarando picked up the key with his fingers and looked at it up close.
Looking over his shoulder, Uraraka sees the key, and asks him, "Uh...is that our way forward?"
"...I...think so..." Sandarando muttered.
Uraraka looked at the key in his fingers...it was then she realized something that puzzled her a bit.
"Wait...Sandarando, how did you know the combination of the safe?" she asked.
The man glanced back at Uraraka and returned to look at the key. "...The combination lock...I...use it on a safe back at home..."
Eyes widened and blinking at that, Uraraka said, "Really?"
"Yeah...except the safe contained an heirloom of my wife's."
"Oh...wh-what was it, if you don't mind me asking?"
Sandarando smiled slightly. "An antique brooch...it's a beautiful piece of jewelry...it...it would look great on her whenever she would wear it..."
"Oh, well..." Uraraka looked behind her, and back at Sandarando, "I think we should try that key on the door downstairs?"
Sandarando stood up and turned to Uraraka, nodding as he said, "Right."
As they walked back downstairs, Uraraka also remembered and asked something else to Sandarando, "Oh, uh, Sandarando? What, uh...what was the code, if I could ask?"
"Oh...um...it was...my wife and...mine's wedding anniversary," Sandarando revealed.
As they reached the first floor, Uraraka paused in her walk and looked at Sandarando in surprise. "Huh? You and your wife's wedding anniversary? But...how...?"
"Hm?" Sandarando stopped and looked at Uraraka in confusion.
"I mean...how can anyone setting this up know about your wedding anniversary? That seems...a little personal." Uraraka wondered.
Blinking at that, Sandarando thought about that too. "Huh...that is...strange..."
Uraraka took a moment to think up any reason as to who and why anyone would know Sandarando's wedding date. She also looked down at the money stack in her left hand.
...Does this person...know who we are?
"...Actually," Sandarando spoke, "I do work as a bank teller."
"Eh?" Uraraka looked up at the man in surprise, "Wait, you do?"
"Oh, uh, yeah...I...well, I work as a bank teller back at Shepazuguren."
"Oh..." Uraraka felt like...she was onto something about what she thought before.
Wait a second...do they...do they really happen to know us?
Sandarando glanced at the key that he was carrying in his right hand. Quiet for a moment, he pursed his lips in thought as he muttered, "You might be onto something, Uraraka."
With that said, he went over to the door that led to the teller booths and inserted the key into the doorknob, turning it and opening the door.
"Well, that worked..." Sandarando mumbled.
He pushed the door, with Uraraka following him, and they both entered the teller booths.
However, as they were on the other side of the booths, something peculiar was under each one of them.
There were three large safes underneath the booths and three rectangle slots next to the safe doors.
But that's not all...each of the three safes had words on the front of the door latches.
Sandarando used the fingers of his hands to light up what they said.
The first one on the safe door was: For your expenses.
The second safe said: For your parents.
The last one said: For charity.
There was also a message on the marble counter that's above the safes...
The message was painted in red.
Which one are you willing to give?
Uraraka also looked at the oddities that were displayed...she blinked, feeling...a little disturbed by what this was all implying...
Sandarando, though, wondered what this all could mean.
"Um...Uraraka? Are...some of these safes...I mean, is this all related to you somehow?" he asked, turning to her.
"...I..." she looked at the money in her hand, "...I...I don't know..."
Looking back at the message and the safes, Sandarando, read each one of them...one of the safes piqued a question. "Uh, what happened to your parents?"
"Huh?" Uraraka turned her attention to Sandarando, "Oh, well...they have a construction company, and...well, they're not doing so well with it. I actually...um, I'm actually becoming a Hero to help out with their business."
"Oh..."
Thinking him being silent was a way of him judging her, she felt a little ashamed, lowering her head as she muttered, "Yeah, I know...it sounds kind of selfish, but-"
"Huh? Oh no, it's not selfish!" Sandarando says, reassuring her, "I was just...well, I didn't know you had a lot of stuff going on at your end. But...I don't think it's selfish to want to help out your parents. If anything, it shows you care about them and you understand the value of someone's livelihood. That kind of aligns with being a Hero, so...yeah."
Uraraka looked up at Sandarando and smiled appreciatively. "Thanks, Sandarando."
"No problem...but...does this person happen to know you? This also seems a little...personal," Sandarando asked, scratching his head in confusion.
Uraraka looked back at the safes and wondered that herself.
"...I really don't know, but..." she narrowed her eyes at one of the safes, the second one. "...I think whoever is doing this wants me to be...tested?"
But why?
Glancing at each of the safes, she looked down at the money stack in her hand, piecing the puzzle together...
...I...have to donate the money...in one of these safes?
She directed her gaze back at the second safe...
...I...want to try to give money to mom and dad...but...
Glancing at the first safe, she pondered...
I mean, I do want to like, pay for food and supplies, but...
...She turned to the third safe.
...I...
...
...No. I'm...I'm becoming a Hero first and foremost...besides, this money might be fake anyway. Counterfeit and whatnot...
So, with that, Uraraka walked over to the third safe, the charity one.
She got the money in her hand and put all the yen bills into the slot, putting each small stack to use up the amount she was carrying.
Once she placed the last stack of money into the safe, she waited for anything to happen with the choice she made...
Sandarando blinked as Uraraka chose the 'charity' safe.
Wow...she's very generous...that, or she really is well-educated in Heroics.
...They waited...
"...Well, I deposit the money..." Uraraka said with a frown, "So...what no-?"
CLICK! CLICK! CLICK!
Startled by the three 'clicks', Uraraka and Sandarando directed their gazes at the safes.
The safe doors, all at the same time...opened.
Blinking at this occurrence, Uraraka, who stood in front of the third safe, went forward to see what was inside.
Sandarando, snapping out of his shock, went forward as well, directing his lit-up fingers at the second and third safe, the latter one so he could let Uraraka see what was inside.
As Uraraka had some light on the subject, she thanked Sandarando and looked into the safe...
...It was just a piece of paper.
"Huh?" Uraraka, a little confused, reached her hand in the safe and grabbed the piece of paper. From the light, she read it:
204863
"...A...code?" Uraraka wondered.
"Um...Uraraka?" Sandarando said, breaking her from her thoughts.
"Uh, yeah, Sandarando?" Uraraka looked at the man.
The man in question...looked a little bothered. He was staring at the second opened safe.
"Hm? What's...wrong?" Uraraka asked. She went where Sandaradno was and saw what was inside the second safe.
Her eyes widened in surprise.
Inside the second safe...was a handgun...with cases full of bullets.
"...What? A...A-A gun?" Uraraka said softly.
Even Sandarando was a little disturbed by this kind of weapon being here...
"..." Sandarando glanced at the first safe and walked over to where it was. His lit fingers lighted the inside of the safe, and in it he saw...
...another handgun, with cases of bullets.
His eyes now went wide in surprise. "There's...There's another gun in here."
Uraraka glanced at Sandarando, shocked to hear that another gun was in the other safe.
"What? Really?" she asked.
"Yeah..." Sandarando reached inside to get the gun. He checked to see if the gun had any bullets in it... which it did.
Seeing that, Sandarando looked a little bothered by that.
"...Uraraka. I think these guns are for us," he said in certainty.
"Wh-What!? Really!?" Uraraka looked back at the safe in front of her and stared at the gun, along with its case of bullets. "But...But our country's laws..."
"I don't think this matters at this point," Sandarando said, as he grabbed the cases of bullets and stuffed them in his jacket. "Someone wants us to defend ourselves from whatever is around here."
"But..." Uraraka looked at the gun, unsure if she could even pick it up.
I...I mean...I never used a gun before...
When stuffing the last case of bullets in his jacket, Sandarando looked at Uraraka, seeing that she was uncertain. "Hey, Uraraka, don't worry. I mean..." he scratched the side of his face sheepishly, "Well, I can't technically use a gun either."
Uraraka looked back at Sandarando, "You haven't used one?"
"I mean...well, my dad was a cop, so I know the ins and outs of a gun, but...I never shot anything before." Sandarando clarifies.
"Oh..." Uraraka looked back at the gun...
...Cautiously reaching out for it, Uraraka grabbed the gun from the handle. It felt a little heavy, but not too much for her to raise it up to fire.
"...Um...could you check and see if there are any bullets in this gun?" she asked.
Sandarando nodded with a smile. "Sure."
She gave him the gun to see if there were bullets inside it. Seeing that there were, he gave it back to Uraraka, which made her pause a moment in hesitation, until warily she got the gun back.
Seeing that Uraraka is nervous about handling a gun, Sandarando says to her, "Hey, no worries. We'll learn one at a time."
"...Right..." Uraraka muttered.
"Um, how about I hold onto those cases of bullets? I can hold them for you?" Sandarando suggested.
"Oh, uh, yeah. That would be helpful," Uraraka nodded with an unsure smile.
As soon as they got everything, Uraraka looked at the piece of paper that had the code on it.
"...204683?" Uraraka wondered.
Sandarando looked at the code as well with his lit fingers. "Hm..." he directed his gaze to where the larger safe might be. "...Maybe we can try it on that larger safe."
"Huh?" Uraraka then remembered, "Oh yeah! But...why would whoever is doing this let us even...well, do this?"
"...I don't know. But I think we're going to find out," Sandarando said, feeling a little determined.
Uraraka was feeling that herself...
So, they exited the teller booths and went over to the far left of the bank to the large safe door. Sandarando placed his gun in his jacket, while Uraraka hesitantly was carrying her in her hand.
Sandarando went to the touchpad, raising a glowing finger as he asked Uraraka, "Okay, what's the code again?"
"Um, it's 204863."
Doing as he was told, Sandarando punched in the code.
BEEEEP!
And then, the large safe door began to open outwardly to the left...gradually it was opening...
When it opened fully, Sandarando shined his flashlight fingers at the open doorway. Uraraka went by his side to check what was inside also.
...The inside didn't look like what could be a room full of slots filled with money...
...It was...a hallway...
A dark...hallway...
Uraraka blinked at this, as did Sandarando.
"...A hallway?" Uraraka muttered in confusion.
"..." Sandarando began to walk up to the room, telling Uraraka, "Stay behind me."
"Huh?" she asked.
"This could be our only way through...I think..." Sandarando turned to Uraraka, "Just get your gun ready whenever a monster comes at us."
Gulping at that, Uraraka got her hands ready to grasp the handle of her gun. She was certainly nervous, but Sandarando was right, this could be their only way forward.
"O-Okay..." Uraraka looked down at the dark foreboding hallway. "Well...l-let's do this, I guess."
Sandarando nodded and went in first, with Uraraka close behind.
They entered the safe room...and then the hallway...
They walked through it, with Sandarando's fingers lighting the way...
...Further, they go down the path...
...
...Further down...
...
...This was their course...
...
...And there was no turning back.
[Asui]
Streets of Chinmoku
It was quiet...
Tsuyu rushed through the fog, knife in her left pocket and Uraraka's phone in her right pocket. The map was in her left hand while the turned-off flashlight was in her right hand. The street was almost visible and devoid of any monsters coming through, thankfully. The street lights were also still on, illuminating her path as she tried to find her destination.
Everything was once again quiet...
...Tsuyu doesn't like this quiet one bit.
Come on, don't think about it. Just find this McDonald's...
She stopped for just a moment to look down at the map.
...I'm a little close. Just need to pass one block and take a right.
Memorizing the way to go, she pocketed the map into her left back short pocket and kept going.
So far, the air was turning super ominous...she hoped this feeling would all come to pass...however, she really doubted that.
As soon as she saw the street sign of where she needed to go, she took a right...
...And right there, further down the right side of the road, was a McDonalds.
There it is!
She rushed to the fast-food restaurant, going onto the right sidewalk. Once she reached it, she was about to approach the double doors to go inside, when she noticed something...
...The lights to this McDonald's were on...
...And someone was inside the restaurant.
"Huh?" Tsuyu blinked at this surprise.
Peering from where she stood outside, she observed who was inside the McDonald's through the glass windows, the lights being able to illuminate the inside.
Sitting in a booth to the restaurant's left, with his back facing the doors, there was a big, maybe obese-looking guy...eating what looked like a Big Mac in his hands...
...What? Someone's...in there? Tsuyu thought perplexed. ...Wait...what's this person doing here even? In this...abandoned town?
Curious, but also cautious, she began to make her way to the doors to the restaurant...however, when she almost reached for the door handles, she paused.
...Oh man. Okay...this is your destination...but...there's someone inside...
...She glanced at the man inside the establishment through the windows, wondering if he was friendly.
...The man appeared only to pay attention to his meal...
Tsuyu glanced back at the door handles...
...I've come this far. I got to save my siblings...I...I can't let this stop me.
...Taking a deep breath, Tsuyu trudged forward, grabbing one of the door handles and pulling the door. She walked inside, entering the brightly lit restaurant...
Once inside, she looked to her left at the large man sitting in the booth. He kept eating his meal, unaware of Tsuyu coming in...
He sounded like he was enjoying it, his delighted hums and snorts as he took bites of his Big Mac.
She decided to walk cautiously closer to this person...ready to use the blunt flashlight stick as a weapon if he was hostile.
Upon doing so, she can get a closer look at this man. He seemed to be wearing a striped-blue polo shirt, some brown shorts, brown shin socks, and white shoes. He has short blonde hair and his skin is pink, his features looking somewhat like...a pig...
The man also looked like he had more food on his table, there being two large orders of fries, chicken McNuggets, another burger(a quarter-pounder burger), and a milkshake.
Blinking at the amount of food that there was, Tsuyu couldn't help but feel a little...hungry...
...I mean, I did eat, but not much. Besides, I've been running away from a lot of monsters, so that kind of got my appetite going.
As the pig man swallowed his food, he was about to take another bite of his Big Mac, when his peripheral caught the form of Tsuyu.
"Huh?" the pig man turned his gaze at the frog girl.
Tsuyu tensed as she'd been spotted, holding the flashlight tightly in her right hand.
...They stared at each other...
...It wasn't until then the pig-man finally said, "Uh...hey?"
"...Uh...hi..." Tsuyu said, a little wary.
"Um...this...this food was already here when I...got here..." the man told her.
Tsuyu nodded, "Yeah. I see that..."
But that led to another question...
Wait...why is there food here? This place is...abandoned, right?
"Um..." Tsuyu continued, "How did you get all that...food?"
"Wha?" the pig-man looked at the display of fast food, "I, uh...well, I just came inside, and there was a tray full of food on one of the counters."
"Really?" Tsuyu blinked, "Is there someone working at the back?"
"Uh...no...I mean, I don't think so..." the man looked a little confused as he turned his attention to the Big Mac in his hands, "...Actually, I was so hungry, I didn't even notice that."
Tsuyu glanced at the food, "That's...a lot of food."
The pig-man also glanced at the food on the table and tray, "Um...yeah..." he turned his head to Tsuyu with a slightly panicked look on his face, "I-uh, I wasn't going to eat everything on here! I mean...okay, m-maybe I was, but...I'm already kind of...uh, getting full..." he sighed and turned his attention back at the Big Mac, "...Sorry. You probably think this is really gross, huh?"
Tsuyu looked at the pig-man and stared at his sad frown, his whole expression looking downcast.
"...I mean, hey, it might be a little unhealthy to eat a whole lot of this food, but...if you can't help yourself, then that's not gross. I mean, from what I see, your Quirk is like some kind of pig, right?" Feeling like that didn't make things better, she winced and said, "Uh, I mean, I wasn't implying, uh...y-you know, I wasn't calling you a pig, I was just saying you're a...a pig-man, and...you're...being who you...are..." she raised her left hand to scratch the left side of her face with her index finger. "Uh, yeah, I-I'm sorry, I was just...I mean, I'm kind of a blunt person. I didn't mean anything bad in what I was saying, I was just...well...I was just observing, and..." Now Tsuyu sighed, "I mean, look, I hope I didn't offend you. That wasn't my intention."
"..." The pig-man turned his head to Tsuyu with what looked like an appreciative expression, "Well...if you didn't think I was being gross by trying to eat all of this, then...yeah, thanks for reassuring me."
Giving out a mental sigh of relief, Tsuyu smiled, "Oh, yeah, I don't think it's gross. In fact, I respect people who can eat more than they can bargain."
The pig-man chuckled, as well as Tsuyu. Soon, the frog-girl introduced herself, "Um, my name is Asui Tsuyu. But really, call me Tsu."
"Oh, uh, okay...um, Tsu," the pig-man said with a blink, "Uh...you're not like...hitting on me right now, are you?"
"Hm?" Tsuyu tilted her head, "Why ask that?"
"Oh! I-uh, it's kind of personal to say the first name first, right? That's only when you're close to someone!" the pig-man told her, a little nervous.
"Oh. Nah, I let everyone call me Tsu. My classmates, that is, and family."
"Oh...well, why am I calling you Tsu?"
Tsuyu shrugged, "I don't know, you seem like a nice enough guy...and...well, you're..." she looked out the window to see the fog outside. "...Actually, have you seen any..." she turned her attention back to the man, "Have you seen any monsters lately?"
"Monsters?" the man's eyes widened, "Uh...I...actually have seen some...I mean, I ran in here because I felt like it was safe...that and...well, I was, uh, getting hungry."
"You've seen some?" Tsuyu felt a little alert.
Damn. This place is a lot more dangerous than I thought!
"Yeah...I don't know if they're related to that Stain guy, but...they were freaky."
"Huh? Stain?" Tsuyu blinked, "Wait, where did you hear about Stain being here?"
"Oh, I mean, I don't know for certain if that Stain guy is here, but...well, I encountered two kids in this town, and they were looking for their friend who might've seen the Hero Killer."
"Two kids?" Tsuyu perked up, "Do you happen to know their names?"
"Oh, uh, yeah. One of them is a guy, and the other is a girl...I think their names are Midoriya Izuku and Yaoyorozu Momo."
Eyes widened at this, Tsuyu exclaimed, "Those are my friends!"
"Huh? Your friends?" the pig-man asked in surprise.
"Yeah! They and four more of my classmates have been trying to look for our friend around here, so he won't do anything dumb and get hurt! I was with my...um, I was with my friend, but we had some...kind of misunderstanding and we split up."
Man, I really hope Uraraka is okay.
"Oh...wow...you and your friends must be really brave," the pig-man said, impressed, "I heard from your other friends, Midoriya and Yaoyorozu, that they're training to become Heroes."
"Oh, yeah. Our school is UA."
"UA!?" his eyes widened in shock, "Whoa! That's like...a really prestigious school! Wow...you and your friends are studying there?"
Rubbing the back of her head, Tsuyu looked a little sheepish as she mumbled, "I mean, yeah..."
"Wow...you guys must be really great at what you do!"
"Aw, we get by...did you, like, watch the year's Sports Festival?"
"Oh, um, well, I was...working that day..." he looked a little uncomfortable as he rubbed the back of his neck.
"Oh..." Tsuyu then realized something, "Oh! Uh, sorry, I didn't get your name! I told you mine, so what's yours?"
"Huh?" he turned his attention to Tsuyu, "Oh! Uh, yeah! I-uh, sorry about that! My name is Donburousuki Eda!"
"Donburousuki Eda, huh?" Tsuyu looked thoughtful, "Hmm...is it okay if I just call you Eda instead?"
Blinking at that, Eda looked flustered, "H-Huh!? U-Uh, w-well, I-uh, I-"
"Whoa, hold on there. No worries, man, I'm not trying to make advances on ya or anything. You're a little too old for me, anyway. It's just that Donborousuki is a long name, and I just want to use the shorter version of your real name."
"Oh...I mean, yeah, my surname is...pretty long and a mouthful." Eda said as he rubbed the back of her head. Chuckling, he then said, "Um, I mean, yeah, if you want to, then sure, you can use my real name."
"Cool! Then I'll call you by your name, Eda!" Tsuyu said with a smile.
"Heh, okay then," Eda then remembered something that Tsuyu said, "Uh, so...if I was your age, you would like...date me, then?"
"Well, yeah, I guess. I don't really care much about people's looks."
"Oh...uh...wow, thanks," Eda said with surprised wide eyes as he blushed a little bit.
"Hey, no problem," Tsuyu nodded with a sincere smile.
"Um, yeah..." he looked at the food in front of him. "Uh...I don't think I'll eat all of this, so...do you want some of this food here?"
Glancing at the food, Tsuyu looked at it, emitting a little growl in her stomach. "Uh...heh, if you don't mind."
"Oh, no, sure! I don't mind! Uh, pick whatever you want!"
"Nice! Thanks!" Tsuyu said with a grin. She walked over to the table where Eda was sitting, and sat in the booth seat across from him, placing her flashlight on the table as she went in for the quarter-pounder and chowed down.
"Ah, a quarter-pounder lover, huh?" Eda teased.
Swallowing her food, Tsuyu chuckled, "Yeah, I like a lot of meat."
Chuckling also, Eda directed his attention to the chicken McNuggets and pointed at them, saying, "What about lean meat?"
Seeing what he's pointing at, Tsuyu shrugged, "I mean, I'm not really a chicken McNugget girl. That usually goes to-"
...
"...Yeah, I just like the burgers."
Eda blinked at the sudden change in the sentence but thought nothing of it.
"Okay...uh, so you don't mind if I eat one?"
"Oh nah! Go on ahead!" Tsuyu said with a wave of her hand.
"Okay! Cool," Eda reached for the box of chicken nuggets and opened it...
He blinked as he looked confused. "Uh..."
Swallowing the bite of her burger, Tsuyu noticed Eda's expression and said, "Something wrong?"
"Uh...I think they put the toy in the wrong...order?"
"Huh?" confused by that response, Tsuyu grabbed the box of chicken nuggets and turned them around.
Her eyes widened in shock.
...It was a small dead toad.
"...Uh...h-hold on, Eda, I...I got to see that for a second."
Tsuyu then took the box of chicken nuggets, closed it, and went over to the ladies bathroom.
Eda sat there, a little puzzled.
As soon as she entered the bathroom, she put the food box on the counter where the sink was. Opening it, she gingerly got the toad out of the box. Reaching for the knife in her left pocket, she was about to do the deed, when she paused once again, to ready herself...
...She also reflected on where the toad was located...
...Chicken McNuggets...that's...her favorite meal from here...
...She carefully put the knife to the toad's chest...
...I'm...I'm a good friend...
...Tsuyu let the razor tip of the knife cut through the chest...
And soon...she was cutting the stomach of the toad...
Once she was done...she placed the knife on the counter and tried to get whatever was in the toad.
Taking a deep breath, Tsuyu dug her fingers inside the stomach of this dead little thing...
She touched something...something that had a surface...it felt like plastic...
"Huh?" Tsuyu tried to get it out, but couldn't.
What is...
Then, with all her power to not vomit, she stretched the dissection to see what it was...
...It looked like...an ID card...
Blinking at this, Tsuyu wondered what this ID card was and who it belonged to...
...Gulping any sick feeling that she was getting, Tsuyu decided to do another alternative to get this card out.
With a shuddering breath, Tsuyu then used her thumbs and fingers to do the unthinkable...
She tried to push the card out of the toad's stomach to let it come out of its mouth.
The feeling of nausea was coming back...she closed her eyes as she felt the plastic under her thumbs as her fingers massaged the back of the toad, letting the card gradually slip out of its stomach and out of its mouth.
When she felt like she had done enough, she slowly opened her eyes and looked down...and saw the side end of the card poking out of its mouth.
Tsuyu tried so hard not to vomit. Seeing the now deformed toad, its bodily fluids coming out of its dissection, its eyes, and its mouth...she felt like this should be a law to not desecrate an already dead animal, especially if something resembles their Quirk.
Seeing the card poking out, she held back any disgust and shame and took the card out of the toad forcefully.
SQURIIIK!
Tsuyu tossed the dead toad in the sink, letting the card drop on the bathroom floor. It made a messy plop sound, and it was then, that she decided to go to the toilet in the stall, so she can let it all out.
She grasped the sides of the toilet and vomited.
BLAAARGH!
Throwing up into the toilet, Tsuyu felt the bile in her throat burn as she emptied her contents, especially the food that she'd eaten a while back.
BLAAARGH! BL-BLA-BLAAAARGH!
...She heaved breaths to relieve her stomach...
"Huff, huff, huff, huff...huuuff..."
...She got up from her kneeling position, flushing the toilet (she didn't know if this abandoned town had working water, but after what she went through, who cares at this point), and shakily stood back up.
"..."
Tsuyu turned around, but not before grabbing some toilet paper, wiping her mouth, and exiting out of the stall. The card was still on the bathroom tile floor and she stared down at it.
Her eyes were set on that card...she kneeled and picked it up with the toilet paper, not wanting to touch the disgusting body fluids that were left behind the toad.
She wiped away the gross substances off the card, and once she cleaned it, she tossed the used tissue paper at the sink. She then read the card...
...It was an ID card, but...it didn't have a picture of a person...
The card just had the name and words:
BURUKEN HOSPITAL
DR. XXX XXX
ENTRY CARD
"...Hospital?" Tsuyu muttered.
...I feel like I need to go to the hospital after this...
Then, Uraraka's phone rang.
Gasping in shock, Tsuyu got the phone out of her right pocket and answered it, knowing who this caller was.
The caller spoke.
"Well done! Although, you might need to freshen up after that. Sheesh, it took the third frog to let you throw up your contents?"
"Shut...up," Tsuyu said in a low threatening voice.
"Oh, whatever. Still, I have to give it to you, you held on. Good work on that! And you met a friend! Why, you and that Eda fellow seem to be hitting it off well! I'm jealous, hehehe!"
"...What is your game?"
"Whatever do you mean?"
Tsuyu gritted her teeth in frustration, "I mean, what is going on here? What are you trying to do? Are you trying to let me have a good time or something? Cause it's not working! You're sending me places like a restaurant, a bowling alley, and now a McDonalds! What does this have to do with me besides saving my siblings!? Why are you so bent on trying to make me suffer!? Why me!?"
"...You forgot one other question you should be asking me."
"What!?" Tsuyu exclaimed in aggravation, "What do you mean!? What could I possibly forget!?"
"...Look at the card."
Wondering what his game really was, Tsuyu looked down at the card in her hand.
"Now...the place you need to go is on that card...however...what do hospitals remind you of?"
...Tsuyu looked at the card...her eyes then widened...
...She...could hear them...
Everywhere...they were everywhere...
...She could hear the sirens.
"...How...what are you saying?"
"...Go and find out."
The call ended.
...Tsuyu stood there...
"...What...What is...does Shigaraki...?"
How...How does he...does he know...about...
...
...What is going on? He can't...he has to really know...he has to know me...to know about...that...
...
...Was he there at that time? When…
My dad is a restaurant chef! Don't worry, I can tell him you don't like the frog legs!
...and when...
Wow, you're the best, Tsu! Nice toss!
...and...when...
One order of Chicken McNuggets, please!
...
...How in the world does he know about...
Her?
Alrighty then! So...stopping there for now! Tell me how I did! It looks like things are getting a little interesting now, aren't they? We'll continue a little bit on Tsuyu's part, and then go back to maybe Ochako, and Izuku and Momo for a while! No worries, Shouto and Kyouka, as well as Tenya, will come soon! Sorry for postponing Iida's part, I just feel like I need to get back to this little arc of Ochako's and Tsuyu's. And who knows? Maybe we'll see a popular iconic (monster) character in SH that's coming back in a remake of a SH game in a future chapter! ;D
Still, I love to hear what you all think of this chapter! Tell me with a review, and give me a fave and a follow! :)
Thank you all for reading, and until next time, keep on rocking everybody! ;)
-TSP