"Everything good on your end?" Melissa asked as Midoriya adjusted the exoskeleton he now wore. He, Melissa, and Hatsume reside in one of the support course's testing facilities. It was a wide-open facility containing a massive obstacle course. Double-checking every strap and attachment one last time, he soon looked over at Melissa excitedly.
"All good," Midoriya replied, giving her a thumbs up. At the same time, he hopped in place, getting ready for the experiment to begin. Looking out at the obstacle course he mentally created a path leading to his objective, one that would hopefully get him there in one piece.
"Please don't break anything. Be it bones or another wall," Powerloader quietly begged, with Midoriya only able to reply with an embarrassed chuckle. He then turned to face Hatsume, the inventor holding onto Victoria's Idroid carefully.
"So, this should be simple enough. Run out, grab the flag, and run back," Hatsume told him, with Midoriya slowly nodding. A holographic stopwatch then appeared next to Victoria. Quickly, Midoriya got into a small starting position.
"And… go!" Victoria told him, just as she started the stopwatch. Midoriya ran out instantly, vaulting over a few platforms in front of him. It was exhilarating, as a smile crossed Midoriya's face. He leaped over a small gap between two obstacles, landing into a roll before getting up and continuing to run. It took a second to realize, but he was running faster than normal.
And even though he'd been running as fast as possible, he didn't feel winded at all. Midoriya could only wonder how everyone was back with the others. They had to be getting some kind of useful information out of this. But then Midoriya remembered, he had a few other things to test out. Lifting his right arm slightly, he pressed a button on the exo causing the grappling hook in the forearm to pop out.
Carefully Midoriya aimed it at a rather tall obstacle. Firing, the hook flew forward quickly, before embedding itself into the wall. Catching Midoriya off guard briefly, the grappling hook yanked him forward. Regaining control, he had the grappling hook's motor slow down, just enough that it didn't cause him to crash into the obstacle. When he reached the top, he climbed over the edge, unhooking the grappling hook from the wall.
Seeing there was nothing else for him to jump to though, Midoriya decided to test out the jetpack feature. Now retracting the grappling hook's cable, Midoriya lifted his left arm and pressed another button on the Exo. From here he realized they needed a more efficient control system. Quietly he wondered if Hatsume or Melissa could build an Idroid into the Exo. But he digressed, not wanting to waste any more time.
Running out he jumped off the obstacle he stood on, and fell toward the ground. In seconds the jetpack activated and began to slow his descent, just enough to land safely and keep running. Soon he saw the flag in reach and kept moving forward. That was until he came across a large pit blocking his way. Midoriya hadn't seen it before but stopped to ponder his next move. Going around would take too long, and he didn't see anything to grapple onto. There was, however, a long wall resting off to the side. Slowly Midoriya had an idea. He wasn't sure if he had enough fuel in the jetpack to fly over.
Of course, he didn't plan on flying. Sprinting, he jumped toward the wall while activating the jetpack. He was worried it wouldn't work at first, and that he would just collide into the wall. But instead, he found himself running along it. Once he was halfway over the pit, and realizing he was gradually losing momentum even with the jetpack, Midoriya jumped off the wall. Switching to the grappling hook, he aimed and fired it into the floor on the other side of the pit.
The device's motor pulled him in quickly, and Midoriya slid along the ground briefly, before standing back up and continuing to run. Finally, the flag was within reach and Midoriya grabbed it. The moment it was in his hand he darted back, sprinting over to the entrance. Before he realized it he was back at the entrance, coming to a stop. Only now did he begin to feel winded, as he took a quick breath.
Powerloader seeing his tiredness, tossed over a water bottle. Catching it, Midoriya slowly began to drink, while turning to face the others.
"So, how was it?" Midoriya asked, noticing the happy look Hatsume had.
"Perfect! All my babies worked flawlessly!" Hatsume exclaimed as she scoured over the data collected. Midoriya saw Victoria quietly giggle on the Idroid, finding the inventor's eccentrics rather funny. Melissa meanwhile walked over to him and began to examine the exo carefully.
"I'm surprised how fast you were going," she commented, looking for any dents or scaps on the machine.
"It couldn't have been that fast," Midoriya replied, thinking back to his run. Sure he assumed he was going faster than normal, but it couldn't have been by that much.
"By quirk standards, yeah. But by normal records, you clocked in at thirteen meters per second," Melissa replied, before looking back at Midoriya. Seeing the brief confusion Midoriya had as he attempted to mentally picture the speed Melissa added, "Thirty miles per hour."
A look of surprise struck Midoriya's face before he laughed slightly.
"Didn't feel like I was going that fast. Barely felt winded until I got back here," Midoriya commented, with Melissa thinking it over.
"Well, the exo should have provided enhanced stamina, not just speed and strength. Assuming the designs are correct," Melissa replied, before taking a small step back.
"Gotta say, I'm impressed with the tech here," Power Loader commented, "Suprised a mercenary outfit has something like this at their disposal. Makes me wonder why heroes don't have these."
"Well, they are MSF property for one," a new voice proclaimed, causing Midoriya to turn slightly pale. It drew the rest of the group's eyes to the facility's entrance, where Midoriya found Snake and Miller. And oh, they did not look happy.
"H-hey, Dad, Uncle Kaz," Midroiya said nervously, seeing both men look over angrily, "... I'm grounded aren't I?"
"Grounded doesn't even cover it," Snake replied slowly crossing his arms displeased.
"W-well, you must be Snake," Hatsume nervously said, as his attention quickly shifted to her.
"And I'm assuming you're the one who stole our exo," Snake commented, Hatsume shrinking back slightly.
"Uh… well… I uh… I wouldn't say stole… more… borrowed!" Hatsume replied, stepping back slightly, while Snake walked over to Midoriya. The mercenary looked over the exo briefly, before turning and grabbing the Idroid Hatsume had been holding.
"Impressive work," Snake quietly complimented, though his tone still sounded angry, "Decent improvements in flexibility, added maneuverability options, reinforced battery pack… What do you think of this?"
Snake tossed the Idroid over to Kaz, the other man looking over the data carefully.
"Not bad. Decent improvement over the stuff we have," Miller commented, before tossing the Idroid back. Snake brought a hand to his face for a second, before looking back at Hatsume slightly annoyed. She again shrunk back, her previous eccentricity gone.
"How much for a single unit?" Snake asked, catching Hatsume off guard. Slowly the pink-haired inventor brought her salesman smile up.
"And you said they would be mad," Hatsume comments.
"Oh no, we are," Snake corrects, "But watching Mikumo run through that course has me impressed. So, how much are these upgrades?"
"Now hold on!" Power Loader exclaimed, attempting to protest the action, "You can't seriously be considering their offer."
Hatsume seemed to stop for a second, thinking over Power Loader's words. She slowly looked over at Akatani, before bringing her gaze back to Snake and Miller.
"...Do you intend to blow up any innocent people?" Hatsume warily asked, eyeing both men carefully.
"No," Snake replied, a little surprised by the question.
"Works for me! Hatsume Mei at your service!" Hatsume very suddenly exclaimed, with an annoyed "oh fucking damn it" coming from Power Loader.
"They're buying equipment… from a student…" All Might muttered in surprise, while a few of the other teachers groaned annoyed.
"Can't you do anything about this? She is in your class after all," Vlad King pointed out, not noticing the bottle of whiskey underneath Power Loader's chair.
"It's an entirely private deal, legally I can't do anything about it. They're not selling weapons, and there's no contract they're signing. Just straight cash payments, for her to upgrade their stuff, and sell them the designs," Power Loader explained. Because honestly, he had examined every possible angle he could try to stop this. But he couldn't find anything.
"Great, so now they've convinced one of UA's top students to supply them with support equipment," Present Mic muttered, before turning to face All Might, "At least tell me there's something you and the detective found."
"We found… something, but I'm not sure what to make of it yet." All Might replied, unsure if he should share his discovery. It made little sense to even him, and he didn't want to show his coworkers the mangled body he'd discovered. However, they were persistent.
"And that something would be?" Snipe inquired curiously, causing All Might to bring out a case file from his bag. He tossed it out for the other teachers to see and watched as Snipe brought out a photo of the body.
"A mangled corpse hooked up to a massive life support machine," All Might told them, "That's all the info we managed to get though."
The entire thing was still an enigma. Why was the power plant destroyed? What did the MSF have to do with it? He didn't even have an answer for who the corpse was. The body had no teeth left to compare, its fingers weren't with the rest of its body, none of the DNA tests brought up anything, and the victim's face was entirely unrecognizable. There was nothing they could work with.
"So… yet again, we're back at square one," Vlad King groaned, with one of his hands rubbing his brow.
"I think it's time we stop beating around the bush then," Midnight stated, "We need to ask Snake what he knows."
"As if that villain will tell us anything," Vlad King countered tiredly.
"It's… not like we have any better ideas," Present Mic hesitantly pointed out, "All our leads end up with nothing but dead ends."
"If we ask Snake, he may just give us lies," Vlad King retorted, causing Snipe to groan annoyed.
"Then bring Tsukauchi along, unless Snake knows what his quirk is then he won't be able to get away with anything," Snipe told him, only for All Might to step in.
"Except we don't even know what Snake's quirk is," All Might replied, "For all we know it could be… truth manipulation or something."
"Truth Manipulation," Midnight stated dryly, giving All Might a deadpan look.
"You get what I'm trying to say. For all we know his quirk, or Commander Miller's quirk, could help negate Tsukauchi's," All Might told them, only for Midnight to rub her brow carefully.
"So were banking all of this on an unknown," Midnight muttered, with Power Loader now stepping in.
"Midnight, everything about them is unknown. Hell, we don't even where they came from," Power Loader countered, to which everyone quietly agreed. They had nothing on the MSF. Nothing on Snake's real identity, on how many people the MSF had, or anything else that would even remotely matter.
"Still, we're basing this all on the off chance that they have the exact quirk needed to counter Tsukauchi's?" Midnight inquired, only for All Might to shake his head no.
"We're still going to bring him along, and we're still going to talk with Snake. All I'm saying is that we can't believe everything he says," All Might told her, with everyone quietly accepting what he said. Snake lying was always a possibility. Whether Tsukauchi's quirk works on him or not, would be a different story.
"So, we're going to pressure Nezu into a staff meeting then. Have him bring Snake in for questioning?" Snipe inquired, only for All Might to again shake his head no.
"Not sure we can pressure Nezu to do anything. Even then, what day do we talk with Snake?" All Might asked because it was a genuinely valid question. The Sports Festival was causing everyone's schedule to be a mess. There were classes, detailing patrols for heroes assigned to the events, basic organization, and at least a dozen other things that had to be completed on time. It was clear the discussion would have to be after the festival, but when?
Uraraka ducked under Akatani's strike, before holding up her arm to block his kick. Weeks of preparation had gone into making sure she was ready for the festival, and yet that still didn't seem like enough. Quickly Uraraka grabbed Akatani's still-extended leg, before pulling him forward. It tripped the boy up, causing him to fall onto the sand below. With the opportunity Uraraka tackled him, trying to pin him to the ground.
Instead, she let go, to quickly block the cloud of sand Akatani threw at her face. It was a brief distraction, but one that Akatani took advantage of. Very suddenly Uraraka was flipped around and now found her face in the sand, as Akatani held Uraraka's arms behind her back. She struggled for a minute, looking around for anything she could use to help her. Uraraka found nothing and surrendered. Swiftly Akatani got off her and held out a hand to help her up.
She was thankful for the gesture, but elected to stay on the floor, tired out from the day's exercise. Akatani was always so helpful though, Uraraka thought. He always tried to help someone in some way. It was nice, but in a way, Uraraka felt ashamed of it. He was the son of a mercenary, and yet all he wanted to do was help people. Akatani continually gave her advice during their training together or she spotted him helping random people on the street.
His helpful nature was what Uraraka liked about him, but it felt as if she was taking advantage of it. Especially when he… no, that worry was already disproven. Akatani wasn't being abused… and yet the thought still lingered in Uraraka's mind. Then she remembered his reaction when he saw the Elemental's memorial. Or how shook he seemed when he saw Nagai. Now that Uraraka remembered that event, she decided to look at Akatani.
Everything seemed normal with the teen. He acted calm and collected, taking a few sips from a bottle of water he had. But Uraraka quickly noticed how often Akatani's eyes darted around. They constantly examined the area every few seconds, searching for anything. His eyes never stood still for a second, constantly moving around. Meanwhile, his free hand rested above the holster on his thigh.
"Hey, are you good?" Uraraka asked, while she slowly picked herself up off the ground. Akatani looked at her confused, as if she hadn't seen his paranoia.
"Yeah, why?" Akatani asked, watching as Uraraka wiped some sand off of her.
"It's just… well you have your hand by your gun again," Uraraka pointed out, causing Akatani to look down at his thigh. He gave a small nervous chuckle before bringing his hand to his neck.
"Ah, it's just a training habit. Spent a lot of time practicing quick draws for fun," Akatani explained, silently hoping Uraraka would buy it.
"But you did the same thing when we met the commission's Vice President," Uraraka replied. Akatani's breathing sped up a little, enough for Uraraka to notice it. But Akatani quickly got it back under control, before giving her a nervous look.
"Well…"
"Is it about the Elementals? You did zone out looking at their memorial," Uraraka recalled, causing Akatani to shake his head no quickly.
"N-no, it's not that," he replied, though he regretted his words.
"Is it something to do with heroes then?" Uraraka asked worriedly, as she noticed Akatani's hands begin to shake.
"It's nothing, I'm fine," Akatani protested, taking a small step away from Uraraka. Uraraka, in turn, looked at him concerned and stepped forward. Akatani tried to step back again, but Uraraka grabbed his wrist, stopping him.
"Akatani, please, I can see you're shaking," Uraraka pleaded, "I just want to help."
"Nothing is wrong… I'm… I'm fine…" Akatani attempted to tell her, but he quickly felt something wet run down his face. He turned away quickly, but Uraraka had already seen the tears.
"Please, I'm your friend, you can tell me," Uraraka begged, desperate. She knew he wanted to turn away again, but she just couldn't let him. Silently her mind went back to the possibilities she dreaded. Maybe Snake had been abusing him, trying to turn him against heroes. Maybe Grizzly and the other soldiers Yaoyorozu had introduced her to were lying. But that didn't feel like the answer. It couldn't be, Uraraka thought.
Akatani stopped for a second, before slowly turning back to face her. His sheer hesitance only served to worry Uraraka more.
"It… it was years ago," Akatani told her, hesitancy clear in his voice, "and… the Vice President… he reminded me of someone."
"Who did he remind you of?" Uraraka asked carefully, knowing to tread carefully.
"A villain," Akatani replied, immediately surprising Uraraka. The Vice President didn't seem all that bad. He was a bit off-putting, maybe a bit creepy, but to remind someone of a villain?
"I used to live here in Japan… when I was six," Akatani explained, again surprising Uraraka, "I… I lived here in Musutafu actually, in a small apartment… with my Mom. And my Dad… he… he worked overseas…"
This only brought more worrying questions. But Uraraka couldn't help but notice the vagueness Akatani had when he said his Dad worked overseas. The teen was well trained, meaning he knew his Dad was a mercenary for years and had been involved for a while. So why the vagueness?
"But then one day… late at night… I woke up hearing some noise. When I went to investigate I… I… found my Mom dead," Akatani paused after he told her, shuddering slightly.
"Some group broke in and… they killed her. Next thing I knew, they… they grabbed me and whisked me away to… to some black site," Akatani continued, his hand slowly moving toward his gun. Uraraka was quick to stop him, grabbing his wrist and pulling him to look at her. If only to ground him in the present. It worked a little, though Uraraka quickly noticed a set of freckles on Akatani's face. Freckles that were not there before.
"They experimented on me for months. Everyday I… I begged for someone to come help me. Instead, that… villain would drag me away for another experiment," Akatani told her as Uraraka quietly pitied him.
"And, Nagai, he reminded you of that villain," Uraraka said, as she remembered what he said previously.
"He did. They both sounded the same and looked the same, the only difference I remember, was the villain being bald," Akatani replied, leaving Uraraka a little more worried. It could be a coincidence that Nagai looked like a villain Akatani knew, but something about it seemed off.
"What happened to him then? Was he ever caught?" Uraraka asked worried, only for Akatani to hesitate to reply.
"No," was his answer though, leaving Uraraka even more worried. However, it soon raised a few questions, as Uraraka thought it over. If the villain was never caught, and no one stopped him, then how did Akatani escape? How was he trembling before her? Uraraka wanted to ask about that but quickly realized something else instead. It made all the more sense as she thought over it. It told her why Akatani always has a gun on hand, why DD accompanies him almost everywhere he goes, and why his eyes constantly darted around.
"You're worried he's after you," Uraraka realized, her eyes falling back on Akatani's face with a gasp, "That's why you didn't have freckles before."
The last part was an unintentional mutter, but Akatani heard it regardless. His eyes widened briefly as he looked away, ripping his hands free from her grasp.
"Wha- No! No, no, no, no, no!" he exclaimed, quickly covering his face, putting Uraraka into a panic.
"Wait! Wait, it's fine! I won't tell anyone!" Uraraka tried to tell him, yet Akatani still kept his face hidden.
"If anyone asks I saw nothing, just… look at me, please? We're friends, I won't say a word about your… disguise to anyone," Uraraka attempted to reassure him, but Akatani still hadn't turned to face her again.
"Promise me you won't tell anyone," Akatani told her, which Uraraka found a tad bit annoying and confusing. She had just said she wouldn't tell anyone twice. But he was her friend.
"I won't-"
"No, I mean anyone, anyone. Not even heroes," Akatani interrupted, shocking Uraraka. She wanted to ask him why. Why couldn't she tell the heroes? Surely they could do something to help him? All Might could help somehow, the two of them did seem to get along after all. But he was insistent on it, for a reason Uraraka didn't understand. She wanted to, and the only way she could was by agreeing. Quietly Uraraka hated the idea, but if it brought her friend some kind of peace, then she'd do it.
"I promise, I won't tell anyone. Even a hero," Uraraka replied, slowly putting a hand on his shoulder. Finally, Akatani turned to face her again, pulling his hands away from his face. It gave her a better look at the teen, as she spotted small tears ruining Akatani's makeup. It displayed a diamond pattern set of freckles on both his checks. It was cute- woah! Nope, nuh uh!
Where did that come from, Uraraka internally panicked, trying her best not to blush. Just focus on the task at hand, that's all she needed to do. Not noticing Uraraka's internal embarrassment, Akatani tried to give her a reassuring smile.
"I'm uh… I won't have to bribe you with food again, right?" Akatani attempted to joke, giving Uraraka the brief distraction she needed.
"Depends how much you have," Uraraka replied with a cheeky smile, bringing a small laugh from Akatani. But she could still see him shaking slightly, his eyes continuing to dart around the area.
"Let's sit down for a moment, ok?" Uraraka said while pulling Akatani to the ground. He resisted a little, his paranoia and worry becoming present. But with a reassuring smile from Uraraka, he sat down.
"I'm not normally this… afraid," Akatani explained, before digging his shaking hands into the sand.
"I get it. But, if you're worried this villain will find you, then why are you here? Why not stay at home, probably surrounded by an army?" Uraraka asked, before those same worrying thoughts came back, "You're Dad's not forcing you to be here, is he?"
"Heh, I wish he was. He actually wants to send me back home," Akatani replied, surprising Uraraka. What did he mean, he wished?
"I'm here because… well…" Akatani trailed off nervously, thinking over his answer.
"You can tell me. Or is it something embarrassing?" Uraraka teased, attempting to lighten the mood more.
"Nah, I… I wanted some more experience doing fieldwork," Akatani answered, with a small smile.
"Like mercenary stuff?" Uraraka asked confused.
"I mean, kinda. My Dad won't let me go on any solo missions yet. And the missions I do go on are mostly animal preservation work," Akatani explained, a kind of disappointment in his tone as he talked.
"Oh, it's like an internship for you," Uraraka realized, as she snapped her fingers.
"That's one way of putting it, yeah," Akatani agreed, slowly digging his hands out of the sand, "Really though, I… I just want to follow my Dad's footsteps."
The proclamation made Uraraka slightly worried again. As one would expect when their friend says they want to become a mercenary like their parents. But then Akatani kept talking.
"I wanted to be a hero like All Might when I was younger, but… well… you know what happened," Akatani said, trailing off lightly. And slowly Uraraka remembered his previous words. Every day he was experimented on he begged for someone to come help him. But no hero ever came. It's why he didn't want her to tell any heroes, Akatani doesn't trust them. He looks up to All Might sure, but even then he's voiced his doubts about the Symbol of Peace's strength before.
Heroes failed to save him. That wouldn't make sense though, someone had to have helped him. Otherwise, he wouldn't be standing… here…
"Snake saved you," Uraraka muttered quietly. Snake saved him all those years ago, and became his Dad.
"Yeah. He saved me. I… I lost everything and he… he gave me a home," Akatani replied, "He saved a lot of people actually, more than I can count."
"He sounds like a hero," Uraraka said, finding it hard to believe. Some random mercenary had saved a child when no hero had. Said mercenary also gave that child a home, a caring one if Akatani's tone was to be believed. Uraraka never expected this of all things to come from vil- mercenaries.
"He is in my eyes, though he'll never admit it," Akatani agreed with a small smile. He didn't say anything after it, instead turning to face Uraraka. Subconsciously his hands tapped on the sand.
"...Thanks for this," Akatani told her, smiling slightly as he dug his hands into the sand again.
"Well, what are friends for," Uraraka replied, giving him a smile of her own. The two just looked at each other for a second, before a small awkwardness began to set in. Slowly they both looked away, trying to think of something else to discuss. Akatani almost got up to see if Uraraka wanted to spar again. But instead, Uraraka gave him a curious gaze, as her eyes fell on his freckles.
"So if that's makeup, what do you really look like?" Uraraka asked, looking over the smeared makeup dotting his freckles. She hoped he would tell her, but knew he probably wouldn't. But then Akatani surprised her.
"I mean… for one my hair's not brown," Akatani hesitantly answered, dragging Uraraka's eyes to his hair.
"Really? It looks so natural though," Uraraka replied, noting the odd fluffiness of his hair.
"It took a lot of hair dye to make it that way. Tried to make it the same color as my Dad's." Akatani told her calmly.
"Oh! I can see it now, the shade's a bit lighter than his though. But if it's not brown, then what's your actual hair color?"
"It's… green,"
Ashido looked up from her cards, pausing for a second. Her shipper instincts were going off like crazy, and she couldn't help but feel she missed something big. Whatever it was, had to be important, but she couldn't place what. Of course, she was quickly dragged out of this thought by Hagakure shaking her.
"Ashido!" Hagakure exclaimed, before letting her friend go. Ashido looked around the group embarrassed, before laughing a little. Looking over she found Hagakure had laid out her cards, displaying she had nothing of value. No one else had gone so it was clear they were waiting on her.
"Ah, right sorry, one pair," Ashido muttered, placing her cards down.
"[Nothing,]" Grizzly replied, placing his as well.
"[Zilch,]" Ape muttered, setting his cards down.
"[Two pair,]" Gecko said, a bit hopeful his hand would win. Then Eagle quickly interjected.
"[Ha ha! Flush! I'll take that if you don't mind-]" Eagle bragged, about to take the money in front of them before Yaoyorozu placed her cards.
"[Royale flush,]" Yaoyorozu said, before staying quiet for a second and looking around unsure, "[I win, right?]"
It immediately sent the soldiers laughing as Eagle sat back grumbling.
"[It's bullshit is what it is,]" Eagle muttered, watching as Ape assembled the cards, and handed them to Yaoyorozu. At the same time, Yaoyorozu pulled the small pile of cash toward her, a nervous smile on her face.
"[Please, you're the one who shuffled the deck,]" Grizzly countered still laughing, before starting a new pile in the center. Eagle simply snorted, while Yaoyorozu shuffled the cards, and passed them out. There they began the game again.
Mt. Lady internally groaned as the meeting went on. This was taking far longer than she had originally thought. See the Sports Festival was almost upon them, and she was asked to assist UA as added security. She accepted the offer but was now stuck sitting in a conference room with a dozen other heroes. Meanwhile, UA's principal stood at the front of the room, discussing how everything was going to work.
"Patrols will cover the stadium and the grounds surrounding the stadium only. Anything involving the campus, or other school facilities, will default to the MSF," Nezu told them, as he stood on top of a large elevated platform. A cup of tea was in his hand, which the stoat quietly drank from.
"And if those villains you've got try anything?" a hero asked, somewhat grumpily.
"If it is anything to warrant arrest, then you may act. If not, then ignore them," Nezu replied, causing a few annoyed groans in the crowd. Mt Lady couldn't blame them. This job would have them surrounded by villains on all sides, and for once in their careers they couldn't do anything about it.
"Can't believe we have to work with these monsters," one hero muttered in the back, Mt. Lady not hearing the discussion.
"It's bad enough this school let muties in, now they had to let in villains," another hero added, Mt Lady still unaware. Of course, little did the hero know Nezu had heard them. He angrily clenched his paws around the teacup he held, before looking at the specific hero.
"Well if that is a problem, then you can leave," Nezu replied, quickly gesturing to the door. It left a few heroes confused as to what the other one had said. But the hero in question made no move to leave, instead averting the rodent's gaze.
"As I thought," Nezu muttered before one hero stood up in the crowd. A hero Mt. Lady quickly recognized.
"Question," Kamui Woods began, "Is there anything in particular we should be on the lookout for?"
"At the moment, no," Nezu replied, quietly calming himself down. The response did confuse a few heroes in the room, while a few others scoffed.
"What about the League of Villains that attacked your school?" Death Arms suddenly interjected, a few others murmuring in agreement, Mt Lady being one of them. The LOV was out there somewhere, and by all reports the HPSC had, were dangerous. Especially the reports on whatever that Nomu thing was. But Nezu looked undeterred, instead taking another sip from his tea.
"They're a minor threat at the moment. Honestly, your job for the festival is simple. Keep an eye out for anything suspicious, and if it's a threat, deal with it," Nezu told them, before slowly looking over the crowd of heroes.
"Any other questions?" he asked, and when no one said anything, the rodent set his teacup aside and clapped his paws.
"Then that's all for today. I expect to see all of you here during the festival, and remember, so long as you leave the MSF alone, they will leave you alone," Nezu told them. Very quickly Mt Lady stood up, stretching a little as the rest of the heroes began to filter out of the room. She followed them once the majority were gone. Soon enough she was outside of the stadium UA had built for both the meeting and the upcoming festival.
From what Mt Lady could see, everything was nearing completion. Small stands for food and random games had been built up. Random decorations had been placed all over, decorated in the school's colors. Even the plants were trimmed and cut to specific designs. It was all very thorough, and Mt Lady couldn't help but wonder how much it cost.
"Of course, you're here," Kamui Woods muttered, causing Mt Lady to turn around.
"Aw, don't tell me you're still upset about that. It was a year ago," Mt Lady teased, with a slight smirk.
"I did most of the work and the public gave you the credit," Kamui retorted, shaking his head displeased.
"Well, that's just the way it is," Mt Lady replied, though she found it somewhat annoying. Don't get her wrong she enjoyed the fame and attention being a hero brought. Already her email was flooded with fan mail she still hadn't shifted through. But she was still relatively new, and popularity was what got you paid. It sucked, but that's how it was.
"So, what group are you in?" Mt Lady inquired, trying to lighten the mood a little as both heroes walked towards UA's exit.
"C, you?" Kamui replied, the tone of his voice clearly hoping for something.
"C as well. Seems we'll be working together, Woodsy," Mt lady replied, watching as Kamui's shoulders slumped forward. It gave her a brief laugh at the man's annoyance before she looked around at the campus some more. Things had changed a lot in such a short time, even before the festival. To think this school now had anti-aircraft weapons constantly pointed at the skies.
Not to mention the villains crawling over every corner of UA, with Mt Lady quickly spotting one group standing by the exit.
"Damn villains are everywhere," she muttered, her mood souring when she spotted the weird machines strapped to them, "Think they'll try anything during the festival?"
"I do. Sooner or later they'll show their true colors, all villains do," Kamui replied, as they both walked past the group and through the gate.
"[Mother fucker I am hungry, any idea on what we should get for lunch?]" one of the villains muttered while scratching his cheek.
"[Anything that isn't another cardboard MRE,]" another replied, "[Theres not enough water in the world to make that shit edible.]"
If only she could speak English, just to know what these villains were up to.
"Even if they try anything, I don't think they'll be a threat," Kamui told her, causing Mt Lady to nod her head slowly.
"True. Not much they can do with those guns," Mt Lady agreed. Because honestly, what would these villains do? She can turn into a giant, and practically crush buildings. Kamui could restrain them with his quirk in seconds. Death Arms could knock them out with a single punch. She was confident every hero assigned to security detail, could handle the MSF. Greater villains than them have tried and failed, and their quirks were far stronger than whatever gun the MSF had. Even then, they had All Might.
The room was cold. It was always cold. It was a boring dull grey room, with plain concrete walls. They provided no warmth for Eri, as she shivered in the corner of the room. She had a bed, but it hadn't been built yet, and none of her "caretakers" wanted to build it. So instead, she shivered on the concrete floor, in a dark empty room. There were footsteps outside though, with two voices talking loudly.
Eri couldn't help but be curious, mostly out of fear. What could they have been talking about? She silently begged it didn't involve her, that the torture she went through day after day would end. But she flinched back when walking over to her room's door, hearing the two men's words.
"Look, all I know is that the boss says we're moving locations," one of them muttered annoyed.
"Seriously? We just did that a week ago," another added, equally upset.
"Yeah well, heroes have been getting on our case again. Boss wants to bug out before shit hits the fan," the first guy explained, the footsteps slowly getting quieter the more they walked.
"At least tell me it's somewhere nice, like Okinawa," the second asked before Eri heard the sound of fabric moving. The other man most likely shrugging, and whatever he wore moved with him.
"Beats me. He said he'd send us the location once we were on the road," the first one replied. By then they had gotten too far for Eri to hear them. But it didn't matter. She was to be moved again, to a new facility. It was always another new facility, with another set of experiments. Another set of needles, another violent explosion of gore, another second seeing the other side, before being ripped back to the world. The pain would not end, a fact Eri already knew.
There were many things Victoria enjoyed in life or rather digital life. The feeling of the wind through her hair, the warmth of the cube-like sun on her skin, the smell of the flowers in a field, or for right now, the french toast she's having for breakfast. Right now she sat in one of the Oasis' realms many restaurants. This one, in particular, was a steampunk airship hovering over the town. It sold a variety of breakfast foods from dozens of different real-world cultures.
For Victoria, it was one of her favorite spots. And probably a lot of other AIs, if the fact the dining hall was bustling with people was anything to go by. Even with all the people it was oddly calm and cozy on the inside, having an almost Victorian-era style decor. Next to her was a large window she could look out of to admire the town below. Farther away in the airship was a small library, filled with books several Realmer AIs had written out of boredom. Victoria had read through a few previously and found them detailing a grand adventure exploring the still mostly unknown lands outside of town.
But aside from the library, was a large grand staircase leading up to the kitchen and another dining area. It was all so grandly built, and Victoria couldn't help but admire the craftsmanship. She did, however, admire the french toast more as she took a bite of her meal. The ai quietly relished in the first bite, before deciding to add a bit of powdered sugar. Just a tad, as she sprinkled it over the meal.
"Never thought I'd see ya up here of all places," a voice muttered, and Victoria quickly turned to see Texas walking over to her. The AI had a small smirk on his face, as his right hand took the cowboy hat off his head.
"What, I can be fancy," Victoria jokingly replied, as Texas, pulled up a chair and sat across from her.
"Well, fancy ain't how I would describe this place. More pretentious," Texas replied while setting his hat down on the table.
"Says the AI who does nothing but cook chili out in the wild," Victoria retorts, before taking another bite of her french toast.
"What can I say, I like the cowboy life," Texas told her, holding his arms out to the side. More like the idealized cowboy life, Victoria thought. Though she didn't particularly blame him. Most of Texas and Marston's days were spent camping out somewhere, doing whatever he pleased outside of town. He napped under the stars, rode his horse across the land, and even fought a couple of mobs in some grand wild western-like adventure.
Which now that Victoria thought about it, made him being here a bit odd. Whenever the combat AI did come to town, he was normally at West's bar drinking shots with Colt or tending to the small cattle farm Colt had set up. Texas was always doing something with one of his brothers.
"So what does bring you here? Reckoned you'd be busy with that big ol' sports festival everyone's on about," Texas said before Victoria could voice her thoughts.
"Got some time off. Intel says nothing's likely to happen, and everything is almost complete," Victoria replied, before stabbing a piece of toast onto her fork, "What about you? Got anything going on?"
"I wish. Finally, get to see some action in the field, and they yank us away to watch over a school," Texas muttered quietly, running a hand through his hair.
"Been… meanin' to talk to ya 'bout that," Texas hesitantly told her, deciding to get it out of the way, "Heard you wanted to… do some field work with Midoriya."
"Yeah. He'll be going on missions in a few years and I want to go with him. I mean it's just controlling a few drones," Victoria replied, eating the French toast she stabbed. The reply caused Texas to shake his head somberly before he leaned on the table.
"Ain't just a few drones Sis. You've got his life in your hands. It's… Are you sure you want to do this?" Texas asked warily, Victoria looking at him in disbelief. Of course, she wanted to! Midoriya needed help in the field controlling drones, and she was perfect for the task.
"Why wouldn't I? He's basically my cousin. He wants to help people and I want to help him," Victoria answered, Texas waving her answer off.
"I know that, but… I'm askin' if this is the life you want. To switch from bein' General Purpose to Combat," Texas told her, "Might sound like any ol' gig, but it isn't. I meant what I said Sis, his life will be in your hands out in the field. One slip-up could have him meeting his maker."
Victoria paused mid-bite, as Texas's words registered. The thought had never occurred to her before. That Midoriya would die in the field, due to a mistake she made. But he'd been there during her darkest moments. He was family to her. Victoria didn't want him to be going out alone.
"It… All I know is that I want to help him. I know it won't be easy, but I don't want to sit by safe filing reports while he's out there," Victoria replied, determined. If Midoriya was going out in the field, then she would as well. Texas looked like he wanted to protest, but could see he wouldn't convince her. So instead he sighed and leaned back in his chair.
"If you say so Sis… say, could ya spot me a few nuggets? Word 'round here is this joint's got some damn good hashbrowns," Texas told her, his eyes looking over the food in front of her.
"And I thought you said this place was pretentious," Victoria replied, with a small laugh, before tossing the cowboy a few gold nuggets.