12/11/2024
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The Emperor's Dragon
Dragon 68 - Both Sides of the Line
Izuku looked over at the woman on the other side of the table. She was formidable yet seemed warm. After he'd spoken to the Doctor, Kurogiri had told him he needed to speak to her, but Izuku still wasn't quite sure why and he'd been more concerned with the Doctor… Garaki seemed to be confident that while the Heroes would know his identity from the raid, he would be able to explain his presence at the warehouse. To the Doctor, this sort of thing was just an operational hazard and unless the Heroes had proof, which they didn't, then there was nothing they could do. They could hold him for a while, but not indefinitely.
He wasn't so certain, but Kurogiri had accepted the Doctor's reassurances and so Izuku had let the matter go, turning his attention towards this meeting. He'd had Unten drive him here, because he wanted Kurogiri free to assist Kyudai if anything further went wrong, even if the Doctor said that he had everything in hand.
The woman had greeted him in the underground carpark of JBQC and had immediately taken him upstairs to an office that was near the top of the building. It looked vaguely familiar; in that it looked like his dad's office that he'd visited many years ago, but it couldn't be the same one.
They took a seat at the couch setting and Izuku looked over at the lady. She was dressed sharply in what was obviously a tailored suit, but she had chosen her accessories to match it perfectly. It gave the impression of professionalism, yet you knew she wasn't going to be a push over. She gave him a smile.
"It is nice to finally meet you," she said.
Izuku remained silent. Kurogiri had told him the woman's name was Janee Pieruce but that meant nothing to him.
"I worked for your father, when he was the head of JBQC, and since the sale, have been working to keep the company running smoothly," she didn't sound offended that he hadn't replied to anything she'd said yet.
"Do you know what an Executive Officer is?" Janee asked him.
"You helped keep dad's appointments?" Izuku hazarded.
"No," Janee gave him a smile that told him she'd heard that response before. "That was his Executive Assistant. The Officer reads much of the paperwork before he did and ensures that the important points were highlighted. I ensured that he saw the correct paperwork, in the correct order, often prioritising work to ensure it was done in the smoothest manner. In addition to that, I provided strategic advice on decisions for the company. Not from a legal standpoint, but from an internal worker view as well as an 'everyday' check," she explained.
Izuku nodded at that. It made sense. "Did you know about-" he paused, not sure how to phrase the question but Janee seemed to understand what he was asking, when she held up one perfectly manicured hand.
"I did not, and do not know anything about that," she said solemnly. "I am employed to see to the running of JBQC," Janee added.
There was no judgement in her tone at the reply and from that, Izuku got the impression that while Janee might prefer her boss was simply a powerful businessman, she wasn't going to question and did not question his out of office activities.
If that was really the case, then she was a good employee.
"So why did you ask to talk to me?" Izuku asked.
Janee gave him a bit of a look, as if to say he should know some of the answers to his own question. "JBQC has been without executive guidance for quite some time," she told him. "We've been running quite smoothly but executive input is required for a company to grow and develop." She gave him an ironic smile.
Izuku could see the joke but nodded. "So, what decisions do you need?" He was nervous about this, but also calm. He had been discussing business with his father for as long as he could remember and while the decisions, he made would have consequences, so long as they were for the greater good of the company, they should be able to ride out those consequences to achieve the gains he envisaged.
He hoped.
"While you are not an executive of JBQC, as the joint owner of Mi Enterprises, your input will be treated, for the moment, as the executive function."
"There are two owners of Mi Enterprises," Izuku pointed out.
"We have already spoken with Miss Hatsume," Janee indicated. "But there are some complications there."
At that, Izuku jerked and fixed her with a stare that demanded explanation.
Janee smiled. "You are so like your father," she murmured but was thankfully quick to come back to the point. "The complications are being dealt with. They are to do with ownership of the support item your father was using," the Executive Officer added the explanation.
"I own that," Izuku said firmly. He had paid Mei for the design.
"And Ms Hatsume owns the component designs," Janee gave him information he already knew to illustrate how much she knew.
He nodded.
"We have already spoken with Ms Hatsume and JBQC is funding her defence case," Janee informed him. "Her lawyer says that the HPSC is being stubborn but does not have an actual case, so while she may end up in court, it will be resolved in her favour."
"There's no chance the HPSC would … ensure the outcome is in their favour?" Izuku asked delicately.
It actually gave him some peace of mind when Janee considered the question, rather than just denying it. "It is possible," she allowed. "But while Ms Hatsume displays no leanings towards your other activities, I believe they may let the chips fall. It would look bad for them to be stealing the work of a minor, who shows great promise and made a very good medical device while that young. It has been demonstrated that she had no idea of your father's alternate activities," Janee clarified for him.
At that, Izuku gave a small laugh but accepted the explanation. He'd have to look out for the court case. He wouldn't interfere but he'd look out for it.
"We are already seeing what we can do to provide opportunities for Ms Hatsume's designs to be used."
At that Izuku frowned. "I didn't think JBQC did Support Items," he murmured, running his mind through what he knew his fath- his company did. From what he remembered, they were mostly large, national level, maintenance contracts and construction work.
"We don't, but-" Janee gave a small sigh. "It will help Ms Hatsume's case if she is already marketing her ideas and putting them into the public sphere for the greater good. It makes it harder to then have the HPSC pull them back for their monopoly."
That made sense but it did seem as if it wasn't something JBQC would have much experience in. "Would an acquisition help?" he asked. Hiding out with the League, he'd watched far more television than he ever had before… and that included advertisement. He remembered that one of the lifestyle support companies had been expanding into Hero support. He wasn't sure how large they were, but they already had the experience, and the network in delivering support items to the public so, if JBQC could leverage their expertise, that would make the job easier… and it might be worth buying them anyway for their longer term profits.
"Do you have a company in mind?" Janee returned her own question. "There is no dedicated medical support company," she added for clarification.
"I wasn't thinking about that," Izuku shook his head. "Mei makes helpful civilian items and is moving into Hero support items. The medical support was a commission," he elaborated.
"Ah…" Janee's expression became thoughtful. "It is funny you mention that then, I have been approached by a support company," she told him. "Quite a large one, actually."
"Detnerat," Izuku huffed the name. The way his luck worked; it would be the same company.
"Indeed," she smiled.
"Can JBQC buy them?"
"Probably not," Janee told him. "We would be able to raise the capital to do it but Detnerat is one of those companies that is in a stable alliance with others."
"An alliance?" Izuku asked. He knew what the word meant but not in the business sense.
His dad's Executive Officer thought about the question for a moment before she answered. "There are economies of scale that come with larger corporations but there are also risks too. One of the main risks is over investment and carrying too many staff. And large companies tend to attract more government attention," she explained.
Izuku nodded. That was true. After the unrest caused by the emergence of quirks, many so called 'social media' companies had been looked at carefully and then governments around the world legislated to ensure that their pre-quirk operating models were outlawed. They had allowed too much misinformation to flourish for too long. So now, while companies that offered similar services did exist, they were expected and legislated to push a more balanced news feed to their users. The algorithms that had focused on ensuring engagement were outlawed and the algorithm for suggesting content was assessed regularly to ensure it was promoting a genuinely cohesive social message.
They didn't always, of course, and everyone knew there were sub-algorithms that the companies used to ensure engagement, but they were far less blatant.
"So, to avoid that, many companies chose to remain as mid-sized and form alliances with other, similar sized companies that offer complementary products or services. They all benefit from the arrangement."
"Detnerat is in an alliance?"
"They are," Janee indicated. "And JBQC actually provides some services, but we are not part of that alliance," she said.
"Who's in their alliance?" Izuku was curious. The concept made sense, but it did seem like a roundabout way of doing things.
"They are allied with Shoowaysha Publishing and Feel Good Incorporated. I believe there may be other, smaller companies in that alliance as well but those are their main two partners," Janee told him. "However, it's not so much who is allied with them, but the fact that they would help Detnerat resist any takeover by JBQC."
That made sense and Izuku thought about it for a few more moments. "How about a partnership? Mei has made lots of small devices that could be useful as lifestyle assistants," he mused. "They already have an established market for that, and I think better advertising. So her gear could be sold easily."
"And what do they get out of it?" Janee asked but Izuku could tell she wasn't dismissing the idea.
"More sales," Izuku replied immediately. "And since Mei is a Support Student, currently interning with Kunshu," he added. "That will give them instant credibility for their Hero Support Line and potential future customers."
Janee nodded her agreement. "I will speak to them about a partnership, but JBQC will remain separate," she insisted.
"Definitely," Izuku nodded. "Now what other guidance does JBQC require?" He asked before a new thought occurred to him. "If you need a guiding principle, go with keep Mei happy and…" Ochaco wasn't out of the hospital yet but she should be soon and he'd promised Hitoshi and Mei that he would make sure she was okay.
"And?" Janee prompted after making a note on her tablet.
"Do you know the name Ochaco Uraraka?" He asked.
"Your friend who was expelled from UA," came the instant reply.
"Yes, her. Is there any way JBQC can offer her an apprenticeship or something?" he asked. He'd like to just give Ochaco support but knew she wouldn't take it. An apprenticeship or internship or something would let her earn the money she needed to live and for the moment, that would be good enough. He could make sure she got something more suited to her later.
"We already put work towards her parent's construction company so that shouldn't be too difficult," Janee told him.
"We do?" Izuku asked. It was the first he'd heard of it.
"Their company is small but is one of the best companies for complex builds," Janee told him. "They make sure they get things done right and when building a processing plant for-" she shrugged. "Anything, making sure all the pipes, and wires are connected right, the first time saves us a great deal of time and gives JBQC a much stronger reputation."
Izuku smiled at that. "Good, then make sure Ochaco gets some sort of opportunity, even if it's through her parent's company," he instructed. "Now, what else is there?"
Janee made a few more notes and then smiled at him. Izuku braced. The next problems probably weren't going to be as easily resolved…
But it was his responsibility.
-ted-
Unten Shu was nervous. He wasn't usually nervous when he drove Izuku. The kid was pretty laid back as a boss and the work was pretty cushy for reasonable pay. Plus, the kid had given him a quirk so yeah… He enjoyed working for Izuku, no matter what the rest of the world thought.
But today was the first time he was going to have to use his gifted quirk, and he was nervous. Unten might have been quirkless but he'd never been a criminal. You couldn't be a villain unless you had a quirk. Today… he was going to go straight past criminal to villain, and he wasn't sure what he thought of that.
He was going to do it. He had signed up for this but… he was pretty sure he wasn't going to like himself in the morning. "Mr Juuyoude?" The receptionist called. That was his name for today. Unten got up from his seat and nodded at the woman as she gestured towards the corridor.
Izuku followed him, behaving for all the world like his teenage son… who didn't want to be here. He was going to do the work today but if something went wrong, then Izuku would take over.
"Ryouhou Kuse will see you now," the receptionist said needlessly as they passed.
At the end of the corridor was a neat door, leading to a small office. Unten lead the way and took a seat in front of the Doctor. Izuku slouched beside him.
"It's good to meet you, Mr Juuyoude," Ryouhou greeted him.
"You too," Unten replied. He kind of felt sick but couldn't back out now.
"How can I help you today?" Doctor Kuse asked after glancing at the scant information that was on file.
"I've come to offer you a job," Unten told him, activating his quirk.
"I already have a job," Ryouhou replied.
"An out of hours job. Several nights work, using your quirk, for ample remuneration. Are you interested?"
The psychologist blinked at him and Unten waited for an answer. He could force him to speak but for the moment he'd prefer to keep that under wraps.
"No," the Doctor replied.
"Really?" Izuku asked, and from the corner of his eye, Unten watched the way the teen let his hair colour change. It had been the same shade as his. While Izuku couldn't shift his features, he could change his hair and eye colour and had in an attempt to pass as his son. People didn't usually look that close, so it was almost comical to see the Doctor's eyes fix on the changing colour.
"Would you reconsider?" Unten asked. He couldn't force the Doctor to answer Izuku's question.
"What is this?" Ryouhou replied. "Who are you?"
"You know who he is, don't you?" Unten asked quickly and extended his quirk.
He could see the way the Doctor fought it but with a gasp he answered. "I do."
"So will you reconsider the work?"
The Doctor was silent for quite some time. Unten could force an answer, but he knew what the man was thinking. Or at least he could figure it out. Ryouhou was intelligent. He'd be weighing the options and given that he'd recognised Izuku, he'd know that the loss of his quirk was one of the outcomes. He was no doubt trying to figure out how large a possibility that was.
"I'll reconsider," he replied. That was the truth.
"Izuku simply wants you to use your quirk for a few nights. You will be well paid but will be expected to provide client confidentiality. Can you do all that?" Unten asked.
They'd gone over likely scenarios earlier, so that he knew how to word his questions to close most of the loopholes.
"If the person isn't completely aware of the memory I'm trying to remove, then I can't do it," the Doctor replied.
That wasn't in the script. Unten glanced at Izuku, to see that the boss was frowning.
"You specialise in old memories?" Izuku asked quickly.
"Do you?" Unten put in so that he could assess the answer.
"Yes. Mostly childhood trauma, or villain encounters," Ryouhou told them.
"Can you erase the short-term memory?" Izuku asked another question before the Doctor finished talking.
"Can you?" Unten interrupted but gave a nod to Izuku to indicate he recognised where the boss was going with his questions.
"I can," came the answer. It was even the truth.
"And there are no conditions on that?" Unten pressed.
If the Doctor couldn't do what they wanted, then Izuku was planning on grabbing the Doctor's quirk and doing his best with it to muddy the waters, before he gave it back and they left. That had been the plan anyway.
"There's no conditions but it's tiring," the Doctor confirmed.
Beside him, Unten heard Izuku blow out a sigh of relief. It had been somewhat painful to find someone with a memory quirk, though Twice had suggested this therapist.
"So will you do it?"
"Yes," Ryouhou answered.
"And not report it?" Unten asked for the additional confirmation, and he felt his quirk activate. Ryouhou didn't want to answer that one.
"Not on the first night," came the reply. "I'll report you on the second night."
The Doctor looked horrified at the words he'd said.
Izuku simply laughed. They'd expected this.
"What would be your price not to talk?" Unten asked. Everyone had a price. It was just a matter of finding it, and then judging if you thought they were worth that price. "Keep in mind, Izuku could do this another way," he added the not very subtle hint.
Again the Doctor looked horrified, and stared at Izuku. The teen had practised looking nonchalant and simply gazed back. It was enough to convince Ryouhou that it wasn't an idle threat… though the removal of the quirks from the UA students would be enough for most to realise that.
"Will it lead back to me?" Ryouhou asked.
"Not if you erase their memories properly," Unten reassured him.
The Doctor nodded.
"So, how much?" Unten prompted and prepared to force the answer. Before he did though, the Doctor replied.
"Two million yen a night, and my quirk stays with me," he replied. "You don't take it for any reason," he said, glaring at Izuku.
Unten heard truth in the reply but had to check. "And you don't report us?" he asked.
"And I don't report you," the Doctor confirmed, truthfully.
"Excellent," Izuku said, with a broad grin. His hair flashed back to its previous colour. "I'll have someone collect you in a couple of nights," he added.
The Doctor gulped and nodded before he sighed.
Izuku looked at him. "You might think this is bad now, Doctor, but it would have been worse if I took your quirk," he told him truthfully.
Unten could agree with that but… in some way, it might have been kinder.
"Just go," Ryouhou said sadly, gesturing towards the door. "Please?" his voice was small.
Izuku nodded and got up and let himself out. Unten followed.
What else could he do?
-ted-
重要でない - Jūyōdenai - Unimportant
Izuku is back to focusing on his Tartarus planning. Garaki is hoping to just get away with being the good innocent Doctor but behind the scenes, the heroes are moving. Izuku though, as you can see, is also moving. He's gotten the quirks he needs to question people, so now, time for some interrogations.
Discord is on this code: TcBnRN7aDn FFN will remove links but you should be able to figure that out. There's a heap of other authors there, so come along and chat to us all! Not just about MHA.
-ted-
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