Meetings According to Nighteye

Hello all and Happy Thanksgiving! First, a quick apology on getting this chapter out late but with the holidays comes a lot of get-to-togethers to attend. But it's here now and seeing as there appear to be no guest reviews this time around we can all jump right into the story! enjoy.

U.A. Heights Alliance: Night Time

It had been a few days since the beginning of Clay and Slade's work study with Gang Orca and so far the pair had only been called in one other time where they managed to help catch a small group of thugs with the same quirk enhancement drug they'd gotten off of the bird-masked midget. They'd come to learn his name was apparently Mimic and his quirk, mimicry, was the reason his costume was empty when they'd examined it. What was more alarming, however, was something the both of them had heard from Midoriya. The leader of the Shie Hassaikai, Kai Chisaki, had a daughter he'd run into while out on patrol with Mirio.

From what he'd been told, the little blue-haired girl with a horn on her head was trembling and had bandages wrapped around her arms. The sight of it had been bothering Izuku for days which made Clay and Slade a lot less willing to tell him what they'd both come to conclude: The girl was the source of either the anti-quirk bullet, the quirk enhancement drug, or both. In fact, the reason Clay was currently having trouble concentrating on the keyboard was because he was trying to think of whether or not he should actually tell Midoriya this fact. "Hey Clay, are you okay in there?"

"Huh," said the cloud user as he stopped playing and looked up.

"You were starting to rush your notes quite a bit," said Jirou from her position on the bench next to him, "You usually only do that when something's bothering you?"

"I guess it would be obvious when one lets their emotions flow into their music," said Clay as he rubbed his head for a moment, "but how do you know that rushing notes is my way of saying something's wrong? Maybe I'm really excited and can't contain myself."

"You tend to play a bit more upbeat when you're excited," countered Jirou, "and by that I mean you put more emphasis on certain notes while also having a better flow. But your playing starts to get choppy and slowly picks up speed when you're focused on something else."

"You really did grow up with music your whole life if you can spot that," said Clay, mildly impressed, "though it does make me wonder how closely you're paying attention to me to notice such a minute detail."

"Oh I'm not paying that close of attention," said Jirou as she looked away with a slight blush while her earphone jacks pressed together in the same manner as a person's fingers, "I just happened to notice because, ya know, my quirk is good with hearing things and I've got a musical ear and-."

"Relax I'm just teasing," said Clay, "but you are right I've got a couple things on my mind from the work studies."

"You know you can tell me stuff right," said Jirou, "after all I kinda know at least one of your current dirty secrets already."

"What would you say if I said I went back to that shady little villain's bar," asked Clay.

"Well given that this is just hypothetical, I'd say you're still crazy for going back to a place that we only got out of because Slade's a good pool player," replied Jirou. She would've laughed a little too until she noticed that Clay was being serious. "You didn't-?" Her door burst open then as Momo came dragging Slade in behind her.

"Jirou, I think we need to have a talk with these too," said Momo with a stern look on her face.

"You led with the bar too didn't you," Clay asked as his friend simply nodded.

"You both went back to that place," whispered Jirou fiercely, remembering at the last second to keep her voice down as she closed and locked her door.

"Well as I was saying before Momo drug me all the way here," explained Slade, "we went there before business hours so it was just Eight Ball and some employees."

"But you still went back to a bar where villains are known to hang out," said Momo, "After what happened last time how could you even think it was a good idea risking expulsion for a second time! What possible reason could you have for that?!"

"To learn where a type of quirk enhancement drugs are being made," said Clay, "that was the original intent. We wound up learning much more than that."

"Like what?" Questioned Jirou with her arms crossed.

"The Yakuza group known as the Shie Hassaikai are also producing anti-quirk bullets," said Slade, "and now we believe their source for all of it, is a little girl." This gave their two classmates pause as the both of them digested this information.

"Thanks to Eight Ball we know almost for a fact that they're the ones behind it all," Clay explained further, "but it was Midoriya who discovered the little girl. The decision we've been wrestling with this whole time, is whether or not we should tell him our conclusions about her." Neither one of the girls spoke as Momo covered her mouth in shock while Jirou clenched one of her fists, realizing what it was they were implying.

"Someone is using a little girl, to make drugs and specialized bullets," repeated Momo, "Why would someone do such a thing?"

"The same reason villains always do something like that," said Slade, "because they believe it'll give them power. What's more, the League of Villains may be working with the Shie Hassaikai."

"Bastards," said Jirou, "even with their boss out of commission they still want to start trouble."

"But if they're working together, wouldn't that make the both of you targets?" Momo pointed out. "You were supposed to be on a list of people the league wanted killed on sight Clay."

"There's no solid evidence to link the two yet," said Clay, "but even if there wasn't, I won't be backing down from this case."

"But if the League is working with this Yakuza group then you two might be targeted for helping with the investigation," said Jirou, "what if they come after you directly?"

"It would be no different than if we were actual pros," said Slade with his arms crossed, "maybe you've forgotten but we are training to be heroes and, despite everything the teachers have done to insure our safety there still remains one undeniable fact. If we're serious about becoming heroes then we have to be willing to risk our lives at some point." Jirou and Momo both wanted to argue this point but instead they sighed upon realizing the two of them were right. The 1A students had already risked their lives multiple times due to the circumstances, but in truth, that was the life all of them were eventually going to lead if they managed to graduate.

"But this is all beside the point," said Clay, "like I said earlier, the real thing that's bothering me and Slade is whether or not we should tell Izuku about the girl. He's already pretty beat up about letting her go in the first place."

"But, he still has a chance to save her, right?" Asked Momo, somewhat quietly at first.

"If what we suspect is true then the girl is being held captive for her quirk," said Slade with a hand to his chin, "which means yes, there is a chance to save her."

"Then tell him that much at least," said Jirou, "You guys are friends after all. I don't know Midoriya very well, but I know you two have always been there to help him out when you could. And I know you both meant well going back to that place even if it could've gotten you in trouble. Just, please be careful when you do finally move in to save that girl." Clay and Slade nodded at their friend's request as Momo clapped her hands together.

"Well then, we still have some studying and some music playing to get too," Momo said happily, "why don't we pick up where we left off and have a jam session." A cheer was her answer as the four friends spent the rest of the time alternating between different instruments, happy that they were able to come to an understanding.

Nighteye's Agency: The Next Day

The U.A. students received a call to their work studies that morning and were currently on the train to the requested location. What was rather odd this time around, however, was the presence of a few more of their classmates. Midoriya, Kirishima, Uraraka and Tsuyu were all aboard and heading to the same station. It made for a much more pleasant trip to their destination but it struck everyone as strange, especially when they exited the train and all headed in the same direction.

No one commented much on the strangeness of the route at first. But as the group continued to walk with none of the students breaking off or deviating from the path being taken, Slade finally put two and two together and decided to speak up about it. "So we're all going to the same place then aren't we?" He said.

"Now there's no proof of that just yet," said Kirishima, "I mean sure we got on the same train, went to the same stop and have been walking basically the same route the whole way-." The red-haired teen trailed off as he realized what he was saying.

"I've actually been this way before," said Clay, "I came up here with Midoriya and Mirio for the work study interview with Sir Nighteye. This would be where his agency is located."

"But why would we all be meeting at the same agency," asked Uraraka.

"Maybe they know," said Tsuyu as she pointed at said agency building were U.A.'s big three were currently gathered.

"No way," said Midoriya as their group followed them inside where they were greeted by a rather amazing, and unnerving sight, "what's going on?" The agency lobby was currently filled to the brim with pro heroes, both major and minor, all standing around chatting. Some of them were quite well-known to the students there, including a certain night-walking teacher.

"So this is what you were called in at the last minute for," said Clay as he approached Aizawa, who was currently talking with Gran Torino and Bubble Girl.

"That's right," said his Uncle, "and I imagine like me you've got a pretty rough idea as to why we're all here at the moment."

"You could say that," replied Slade as another hero came walking up to them. She was a woman with short blond hair wearing a type of head band with a bony mask that covered her right eye and was also decorated with small dragon wings that seemed to pop out of the back of her head. She wore a type of red, Japanese style dress with a dragon design running along the edges. This was the dragon hero Ryukyu.

"I believe you girls should also recall me mentioning that you'd be helping out in a new case," said the dragon woman. Realization seemed to cross both Tsuyu and Uraraka's faces as they realized what she was talking about. The woman then turned to a familiar man in a white business suit. "Everyone's here and accounted for Nighteye, we're ready to begin."

"First off," said All Might's former sidekick as he walked to the center of the room, "I'd like to thank all of you for the information you've provided thus far. With it we've been able to break quite a bit of ground on our investigation. You've all been invited here today so that we can compare the information we have on the Yakuza group, Shie Hassaikai, and what they might be planning." The tension in the room rose a bit for many people, save for Kirishima who had to be brought up to speed on who they were talking about.

Shortly after Nighteye's declaration, the large group of pros and students moved into the meeting room which had a rather large table and a projector screen at the far end. Nighteye himself sat at the head of the table as Bubble Girl began the explanation as to what led to the current investigation. "Now starting from the beginning," she said while reading off of some notes from a clipboard, "a group known as the Reservoir Dogs had a car accident involving the Shie Hassaikai. But a number of details didn't really add up, so Centipeder here began tailing them."

It was at this point that a man wearing what resembled a butler's uniform with a centipede head took over the explanation, with a surprisingly high-pitched voice. "I started following a number of leads and my investigation has found that over the past year, Shie Hassaikai has been increasing its contact with other organizations, including groups with less than reputable business dealings. Their aim seems to be expansion of their organization and increasing its commerce. Something else worthy of note, they made contact with a member of the League of Villains: Jin Bubaigawara, better known as the villain Twice. At this point they became wary of being tailed which made it too difficult for me to follow them, but with help from the police we managed to determine that some kind of altercation had taken place between the groups."

As he was speaking, the projector was switching between slides with the latest being the sight of a building with a hole that had apparently been blasted open. "It was also at about that point that they decided to reach out to me and Tsukauchi given our familiarity with the League of Villains. He's currently following up with eyewitnesses which is why he ain't here at the moment," said Gran Torino before directing his next comment towards Izuku, "and sorry to say kid but I got a feeling that things are about to turn ugly."

"I don't care I still want to help," said Midoriya before turning to Mirio to explain how he knew Gran Torino.

"Now then," said Bubble Girl, "After this was brought to our attention we posted a notice on the HN-."

"I don't think we need to mention that part," Centipeder pointed out, causing Bubble Girl to stutter a bit as she looked through her notes for the next important point.

"What exactly is the HN," asked Uraraka for both her and Tsuyu.

"Oh that, it's short for Hero Network," explained Nejire, "An online service used only by Pro heroes that lets them see what the other heroes are up too, and it can be used to ask for help from people whose quirks might come in handy."

"Someone mind explaining to me why a bunch of high school kids are at this meeting," said a dark-skinned hero with a yellow scarf and domino mask named Rock Lock, "I don't care that they're U.A. kids, we'll never get to the actual plan if we have to stop and explain everything."

"Says the guy who is literally stopping this whole thing for an explanation which was given at the beginning of the meeting," Clay pointed out with a hint of annoyance, "we're 'all' here because we have something to contribute to this case."

"He's right!" Said a large man round man in a yellow suit that covered even his head as he indicated Kirishima and Amajiki, "Both of my work studies here have important information on this case! Oh and for the newer heroes around here I'm Fat Gum!"

"And he is here due to his history of stopping drug dealers," explained Nighteye, "We suspect one of the sources of Shie Hassaikai's income is illegal drug sales."

"And Kirishima here proved he could too when he stopped a bullet meant for Amajiki," said Fat Gum, "and in that bullet was a particular drug that has the nasty effect of destroying quirks." This got the rest of the Pro's attention as Mirio stood up from his seat in worry.

"But you're okay now right Tamaki," said a worried Mirio. The quiet member of the big three morphed his arm into something resembling a lamb's foot, showing that his quirk was indeed still active.

"Well the good news is this stuff doesn't destroy quirks permanently," said Rock Lock.

"I believe Eraser Head can explain the reason behind that," said Nighteye as he gave the floor to Aizawa.

"The drug seems to function differently from my own quirk," explained the Erasure Hero as he pointed to his eyes, "what I do doesn't actually attack the quirk. You see what we know as a quirk is an addition to an otherwise ordinary human body known as quirk genes. What I do is shield those genes and block their expression temporarily."

"But after Tamaki was shot the doctors at the hospital discovered that his quirk genes were actually damaged. Fortunately they've healed and his quirk is back to normal now," said Fat Gum. "We've also come to learn that only his quirk was attacked while the rest of his body was fine. The guy who did the shooting won't say a word but one of the bullets he shot bounced off of Kirishima's hardening quirk and thanks to that we have a viable sample."

"Seriously, I did that," said a confused Kirishima as Uraraka and Tsuyu congratulated him on a job well done.

"And upon analysis of it we found something that made me absolutely sick," said Fat Gum, "The bullet contained human blood as well as cells." Slade didn't miss the way Mirio and Izuku tensed up at hearing this information. The other U.A. students were also relatively unnerved hearing it. 'Well that pretty much confirms what we feared,' Clay and Slade thought.

"So it comes from a person then," said Ryukyu, "a quirk capable of destroying other quirks."

"But what connects all of this to Hassaikai?" Questioned a Pro in a type of skull mask.

"The man who had the anti-quirk bullet also had a quirk-enhancing drug," explained Fat Gum, "the distribution chains are complex for that kind of thing but we do know that one of the companies responsible for moving it has interacted with Hassaikai."

"Is that all we have to go on?" Asked the Skull-masked Pro.

"We also found an inferior drug was used recently in a fight between two individuals with gigantification quirks," said Ryukyu.

"The drug was distributed by the same intermediary companies used by Hassaikai," said Nighteye, "not to mention a number of other gang-related clashes recently which could be connected to the Shie Hassaikai if you try hard enough."

"The key word there is 'try' almost like you're 'trying' to make them look guilty," said the skull-masked pro, "do we really not have anything more concrete?"

"How about this," said Clay as he and Slade held up a couple of photos Gang Orca had given them, "The big guy in this photo is called Rikiya Katsukame, a member of the Eight Expendables who work under the Shie Hassaikai."

"And the midget in this photo is a rather high class member known as Mimic," Slade continued, "Clay and I had a run-in with the both of them during one of our patrols with Gang Orca's sidekick Seal. We got away obviously while also nabbing the same quirk enhancement drug used by the gang member Kirishima took down."

"And what's more," said Nighteye as he switched to a slide of the Hassaikai leader, "we managed to uncover some new information about their young head Kai Chisaki, quirk: overhaul. He possesses the power to disassemble and reassemble matter, much like the bullet that can tear apart quirks. It seems he has a daughter named Eri who has no records or details surrounding her birth. When Midoriya and Mirio encountered her they noted bandages wrapped around both her arms and legs."

"That man would really do something so horrific to his own daughter," said Ryukyu with a tone of horror in her voice.

"Unfortunately in a world of super humans, if you can dream it up then you can probably do it," said Gran Torino.

"What exactly do you mean by that?" Questioned Kirishima.

"And once again why are high school kids here," said Rock Lock, "I-."

"Apparently think we can't put two and two together," said an annoyed Slade, "do you really think we can't grasp that a man is extracting and selling bullets from his own daughter's body on the black market?!" The other U.A. student's eyes widened in realization at the horror of what he'd just said.

"To be perfectly clear we're not certain they're in the process of fully marketing them yet," said Nighteye, "it's very likely they're still testing at this point and giving out samples to other groups to rally more people to his cause. While we don't have anything concrete yet it is clear Shie Hassaikai is gathering funds and allies from across the nation and should this drug be perfected to the point of fully annihilating someone's quirk, the devastation will be horrendous."

"So what are we waiting for," said Fat Gum with a clenched fists, "let's get out there and take 'em down!"

"We could've avoided a lot of trouble if these two amateurs had just-," Rock Lock started to say before a fist slamming on the table stopped him.

"DON'T PUT THIS ON THEM!" Clay yelled, "All you've done this entire meeting is slow things down by complaining about us being here and now you apparently think the two of them would've stood a chance against the head of a Yakuza group who could've easily had half a dozen guards shadowing him! And here I thought you were a pro."

"What'd you just say punk?!" Said Rock Lock as he moved to stand up.

"Enough," said Nighteye, "Mr. Cero is right in this case, the blame lies with me and not with them. Both acted in their own way to save the girl with Mirio deciding that it was best to wait for a better opportunity to save her which is precisely what we've come here to discuss." Izuku and Mirio shot to their feet, determination and frustration clear in their movements.

"We'll get her back next time," said Mirio with a clenched fist.

"We'll definitely save her!" declared Midoriya.

"Great that you're talking big and all," said Rock Lock, "but if the implications are all true, that girl is at the center of Hassaikai's whole drug operation and given that she was seen by a couple of heroes there's no way he's gonna keep her at home. If we go in looking for her and Chisaki catches on we can kiss any chance we have of finding the girl good bye."

"Do you have a plan for that Nighteye," asked Ryukyu.

"It's a conundrum, no doubt," he said as a map of Japan appeared on the projector with several marked locations, "the success of our initial strike is crucial, which is why we've compiled a list of groups connected to Hassaikai as well as properties owned by the organization. This will serve as our starting point. What I would like is for each of you to investigate the locations shown here." 'Well that explains why there's pros of all ranks here,' thought Clay as he looked around, 'each one of these heroes patrols the area around the location and would know it better than anyone else.'

"I'm surprised someone who worked with All Might for so long is such a cautious planner," said Fat Gum, "Why can't we just go take 'em down! Every minute we waste is another minute that girl is having to suffer!"

"We cannot do this like All Might would," said Nighteye, "we must be meticulous and find the correct moment to strike."

"Hate to say it but he's right," said Gran Torino, "If we rush in too soon and fail to rescue her it'll be nothing but fuel to the fire, like how capturing Stain only seemed to encourage villains. It wouldn't surprise me if it wound up making quirk destroying weapons more popular."

"You're overthinking this!" Said Fat Gum, "We won't get anything done if we just keep sitting here talking about it."

"There is one question I happen to have," said Aizawa with a raise of his hand, "I'm not familiar with the specifics of your quirk so forgive me if I get something wrong. But from what I hear your quirk foresight gives you the ability to see into someone's future, so why not simply use it on us to determine what'll happen?"

"I'm afraid it's not as simple as that," said Knighteye somewhat gloomily, "my foresight is more limited than you think. I have to wait twenty four hours between each activation before I can use it again, which means I could only look at one of you a day. In addition, what I'm seeing is played in my mind as more of a flashback like a filmstrip detailing a person's life. But it's a very tight viewing and makes it difficult for me to determine context."

"It would still be a fair amount of information," Aizawa pointed out, "and you haven't answered the part about why you specifically 'can't' do it."

"Let me pose a question then," said Nighteye as he adjusted his glasses, "what if I saw very imminent death in your near future? Or even worse, a cruel and merciless end? I believe my quirk should only be employed after we've determined the highest likelihood of success so that it can help insure our victory. It's not something that should be relied upon when there are still this many uncertainties."

"Wait a minute," said Rock Lock, "possible death is still information and if we know what's coming we can figure out how not to get killed."

"You misunderstand," said Nighteye, "It's very likely what I see is an unavoidable fate."

"That's the excuse you're going with!" exclaimed Rock Lock as he stood up, "Just use it on me then and I'll prove to you right now I can beat-huh?!" The pro hero was interrupted midsentence by a grey bullet shooting across the room and stopping just next to his head.

"Death one, Loud Lock zero," said Clay as the bullet-shaped cloud reverted back to its more vaporous state and returned to its wielder, circling around his hand until it became a small skull and crossbones. "The future is an ever-changing thing. Consider for a moment that the event he sees might actually be because he told you about impending death in the first place? Or better yet, consider that he didn't see death in your future at all and then you let your guard down and die anyway because you assumed you were golden."

"Geez alright," said Rock Lock as he sat back down. Truth be told neither Clay nor Slade were certain of the reason for Nighteye not using his quirk, but they figured it was complicated.

"Clay, I've told you there's a time and a place to employ intimidation," said Aizawa, "Save it for the villains."

"Yeah I got carried away," said Clay, "Slade here just gave me a lecture about the dynamics of shaping the future yesterday so it kind of slipped out."

"Whatever the case we need to remember there's a child in trouble," said Ryukyu with a sigh, "So we'd best get started."

"Indeed," said Nighteye as he regained his composure and stood up, "Our top priority is to confirm the girl's location and take her into our custody as quickly as possible using the most accurate data we can ascertain. I am counting on the help of all of you in this room." The gathered pros and students were dismissed then as Clay and Slade went to a table outside of the room and sat down with the rest of their friends. It was obvious what was weighing on Izuku and Mirio's mind.

"If I had just rescued her then," said Midoriya with his head hung low, "even if Chisaki had resorted to force at least she would've been safe."

"You mean that's why you've been so distracted lately," said Kirishima, "I, that's just damn frustrating."

"We all know you tried Deku," consoled Uraraka from her seat at the table.

"I still agree with what Clay said," Slade chimed in, "maybe you could've gotten her away but it's just as if not more likely that you both would've died in the attempt and then who would've saved her?" no one was sure if this had any positive effect as the elevator to the lobby opened and Aizawa stepped out.

"Is there some kind of funeral I don't know about," said the Erasure Hero as he approached his students.

"Oh hello Mr. Aizawa sir," said Tsuyu politely for the rest of them.

"Just call me Eraser Head outside of school," said their sensei as he stopped in front of them, "anyway I suppose it's just my luck you all got involved in this. I was actually going to recommend a suspension of your work studies before all this."

"WHAT!" Said most of the gathered students at the table before Kirishima spoke up, "But why sir?"

"I take it you did hear the part about the League of Villains being involved right?" Replied Aizawa, "That changes more than a few things." The pro hero sighed before continuing. "My big concern is you, Midoriya. You haven't fully earned my trust again, but I'm positive that if I tried to stop you now you'd only take matters into your own hands again and do something reckless. So instead I've decided I'll watch you and make sure you do this the right way, with your head. Can you do at least that, problem child?" He made his point with a light punch to where Izuku's heart was

Midoriya nodded in understanding, knowing full well what he was asking. "And one more thing, just to give you some peace of mind. Even if you didn't save her before, you still may have managed to give her hope. So eyes up and keep looking forward."

"I will!" declared Izukuk as Uraraka was actually sniffling a bit at the moving scene before her.

"That's right," said Mirio as he pulled himself out of his own funk and stood up, "we'll definitely save her next time Midoriya!"

"We will, no matter what!" agreed Midoriya as he looked at all of his friends, "We'll save her together!"

And so the plot moves forward! Our heroes now have a clear goal and once all the pieces fall into place they'll move in with the rest of the heroes. In the meantime, I hope you all enjoyed this latest chapter and as always feel free to leave a comment or review about what you liked/disliked or if you've got any neat ideas for future chapters. Be sure to stop in next time as preparations complete and the raid on the hideout begins! 'Til next time.