Chapter 12: The Continuation of Greed
The diner's interior was a beautiful blend of modernity and nostalgia to Shinji Nishiya. He'd recall the many times he and his family would have come to this place when he was a child.
He sighed in relief as he took a sip of some coffee for the oncoming late-night patrol. Things were going to be mellow and boring since a lot of crime has gone down recently. No doubt it was due to the scares of the new Control Killer.
Nishiya hated the idea of a cowardly quirk-user that used their quirks like that for evil purposes. It's just not a humane thing to make someone take their lives away. He shook his head to get rid of that vile person from his mind, instead focusing on a band of youth coming his way.
Several children and their parents waved at him in adoration. Nishiya chuckled heartily as he gladly signed a few autographs here and there to the little tykes who beamed with joy at seeing him.
Many of them proudly declared that they'd take on the role of a hero one day, and the only thing he could do was just encourage them on their desired paths in life.
But Nishiya's moment of bliss of being a hero was swiftly stolen. His companion seated across from him at the red dining table, had various men and a few women drooling all over her.
Nishiya groaned in disappointment as Yu Takeyama, otherwise known as Mountain Lady to all, selfishly managed to get free deserts from her adoring fans.
"Why thank you all so much for the generous donations!" She flicked her hair dramatically and struck a pose that showed off her cleavage. Several of the fans swooned, and a few others fainted at the sight. Takeyama continued to bask in the praise and spoke with a purr in her voice. "Now, don't mind Kamui here, just focus all on me. And keep a few gifts coming! A hero needs her reprieve every now and then~" She gingerly took a large soda from another fan who squealed in delight at having their soda taken, not even aware of the sloth-like truth of this woman.
If only they met the real Takeyama…
Nishiya ignored everything of degenerate origin happening across from him and continued to sip at his coffee. He rolled his eyes and pulled out his phone and it immediately vibrated with emergency notifications like crazy.
Takeyama's went abuzz as well and she immediately took it out, going into a serious mode.
"Any and all available heroes in the Shinjuku Suburbs, please head there immediately!" The text said in all capital letters. Their phones sent off another loud buzz. "This message will repeat: Any and all available heroes make your way to Shinjuku Suburbs!"
The two heroes nodded at each other and dashed out of the diner, eager to see what is happening next.
"Any info on—" Takeyama was cut off as a police helicopter flew overhead with a spotlight. It's loud blades whirred into the distance of the night sky. Not long after, several armored vans sped by straight to the west of the city. "Well… I guess that means whatever's happening must be serious business."
"Indeed. Let's go!" Nishiya extended forward, using his branches for mobility while Takeyama began to grow exponentially.
Mirko wasted no time in wanting to deal with this issue as quickly as possible. She twisted her body to get the most energy transferred to her foot – to ensure that the impact was going to hurt and knock the woman out cold.
It connected so fast that even Mirko was proud of the kick herself. Her ears could hear the bones of this woman's ribs crack under the immense pressure as she sent the red head flying further into the Yakuza estate.
Her ears picked up the sounds of the remaining Yakuza fleeing the scene, and she scoffed. As much as she wanted to pick on the small fry, she had a bigger fish to catch.
She knew exactly what she was up against. The whole city was in uproars about some woman with the power to make people commit suicide. In her mind, this was the ultimate coward – a psychopath that deserved the full brunt of her strength.
So what if this messed-up woman comes out of this with a couple of broken bones? Mirko thought that she was doing the victims who died a little favor in her mind.
"Heh, all that confidence for that?" She jogged forward, ready to go and check what the damage was on this girl.
Piles of concrete debris, wooden splinters, and books were splayed out all over the pristine wood flooring of the main hall. She saw the woman picking herself up out of it without a scratch and with an indifferent smirk on her face.
Mirko narrowed her eyes at that; she was sure that should've at least crippled the woman.
"I could've died from that. Aren't you heroes all about saving lives and justice?" The Control Killer said with a nonchalant voice as she dusted off her white business shirt.
Mirko didn't answer; she sprinted towards the villain with the intent of beating her down.
The Red-headed psycho chuckled. "Arrogant and absurdly quick to your feet." A bundle of chains pooled around her back and waist as they extended to the rooms of the hallway. The sounds of guns clicking and triggering put her instincts to the test as she bounced from wall to wall, to the ceiling and to the floor in a flurry of graceful dodges.
The prestigious hallway became a kill room as gunfire erupted from both sides. The damned psycho thought that she'd won with this trick, but Mirko was quicker as she spun like a circular saw with her foot extended out. She used the momentum to deal with the first hallway of gunmen under this woman's control. She burst through, dodging, hopping, and clinging onto the bodies of the Yakuza as springboards.
"Like that'd stop me!" She was smiling through it all – her blood pumping and boiling with adrenaline.
Mirko figured that once she got into proximity, the gunmen on the other side would stop, lest they shoot her and the Control Killer at the same time; something she doubt the psycho would do.
The blank faced Yakuza reloaded and turned towards the two at the end of the hallway.
Mirko widened her eyes as the gunmen took aim and sprayed a bullet storm their way. "The hell?!" She dashed away, but not without feeling two bullets lodge themselves into her left thigh. Mirko quickly leapt forward, charging into the mindless Yakuza, and delivering a flurry of axe kicks to the first three.
She brought her heel down into the top head of the first man with a piggish face; spittle and blood coming out of his mouth as he was struck into the ground. Reeling behind her, Mirko leapt up into the air and delivered a tooth-shattering reverse-axe kick into a scrawny Yakuza's jaw.
The third Yakuza stalked forward with no words, a blank expression on his face like all the others. He shoved his pistol into Mirko's abs and tried to shoot her point blank; she retaliated with a headbutt. More spit and blood came out of his mouth as she backed away before winding up a knee into his groin.
Mirko's ears picked up another one trying to get the surprise on her.
Her foot connected with the jaw of another blank-faced Yakuza and knocked him out cold, preventing him from firing at her with his sub-machine gun. She swept the feet out from the last one and thrusted a well-placed knee into his nose before sprinting off towards the Control Killer.
"You're quite the adrenaline junky, aren't you?" The Control Killer smiled, still at the very end of the hallway – a fine piece of calligraphy art behind her. "Can you hop through more of the hoops that I throw at you?" She raised her right hand and pointed her index finger at her.
Barely even a second went by did a swarm of chains spew out from the woman's waist like coiled snakes. They all stretched across the hallway in a flash, and Mirko ducked down fast, barely managing to evade the chains. She sprinted off down the hallway littered with unconscious Yakuza towards the Control Killer, dodging the many chains filling up the small room as they attempted to pierce her head.
Mirko smirked as she noticed the Control Killer lose her indifferent smug smile as it was replaced with an annoyed frown.
Good. Get mad. Get pissed off that I'm dodging your weak quirk!
Another hand of hers went up and did a finger-gun gesture this time just as Mirko was about to lunge at the freak.
Mirko's instincts screamed at her to jump away as soon as possible.
"Bang." One word was said and the sound of an invisible cannon of some sort came out of the woman's finger. The Rabbit Hero ducked down onto the floor with both hands and knees at the last second.
The loud boom that her sensitive ears picked up heard the condensed shockwave go over her head, leaving behind a giant gaping hole in the Estate's structure.
The Control Killer seemed surprised. "Huh… Usually most can't dodge that."
Mirko barked out a laugh, flashing another smile, completely trying to get the thought out of her head that she almost died - an absolute thrill to her, and the fact that this woman has more than one quirk. Things were getting more interesting by the minute!
"Except I ain't most people! Now c'mon, show me what else tricks you got up your sleeve!" Mirko charged forward again, getting off her hands and knees, her thighs flexing to a fuller proportion, preparing for a combo of attacks.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!" The Control Killer took aim and proceeded to unleash more of those air-bullets. Mirko ran to the left of the hallway, narrowly dodging each one as she felt the air pressurize behind her and leave a giant gaping hole like before.
Her heart was beating rapidly as the excitement was reaching its record peak. Mirko pounced at her, preparing a high-heel kick; she smirked as the red-head fell for the feint as she was about to shoot another air-bullet.
Mirko dropped down low, her palms on the ground as she went for a low spinning kick instead – knocking the Control Killer to the floor. Not wasting the opportunity, Mirko pushed off from her palms and brought her knee downwards like a sledgehammer, aiming directly at the woman's gut to knock the air outta her.
As she brought it down, the sound of something crack satisfied her a little. "Hah! How's that, huh?!" Mirko immediately straddled the incapacitated woman and gripped both of her wrists – pinning them above the Control Killer's head. She rested her entire weight onto the lithe woman's lap, her muscular thighs wrapped on either side of the red-head's sides.
Mirko leaned into the Control Killer's face with a smug grin, basking in the ever-present frown on the woman's face. "Stay still, or else I just might crack another rib of yours an' call it an accident."
Her ears picked up the tell-tale sounds of police sirens and she smirked victoriously. "Looks like your ride's almost here. Can't say that you didn't' give me a rush; I suppose I'll thank ya—"
The loud crack of a pistol rang out and she grunted as she felt the bullet hit her shoulder. Mirko reared her head back to see the unconscious Yakuza she beaten to an inch of their lives get back up with blank expressions. All of them reloading their guns and taking aim like a firing squad at both her and the Control Killer.
"Damn it! You're making this too much of a thrill for me, you know that?" Mirko smiled at the sight and prepared for some extreme dodging maneuvers.
There was no way in hell that she was going to let this Control Killer kill them both with this cheap trick!
Tsukauchi's grip on the wheel tightened and he glared at the road ahead of him, following closely behind the seven armored police vans that sped past traffic towards Shinjuku Suburbs.
It was a big response for what could be a shootout between rivaling Yakuza families. He knew about their attempts at trying to maintain their hold on the criminal underworld, but most of them have died out or defected to becoming law-abiding citizens.
The very notion of a Yakuza was dying out to the ever-growing presence of villains. There was too much of a power dynamic between the two, with quirks tipping the scales in favor of all sorts of vile villains.
But to have Yakuza suddenly slinking back to something like this? Something was fishy about it all. Tsukauchi had a hunch that they were connected to the USJ attack due to some members of a Yakuza family being present there. Though, all of them were dead of either suffocation by rats stuffed down their esophagus or by gaping holes in their stomachs.
Regardless of those disturbing facts, Tsukauchi kept his mind open to any possibilities as this case had kept spiraling into a deeper rabbit hole.
As soon as he and Sansa heard on the police scanner that a shootout was happening in the suburbs, they immediately jumped into their car and put the pedal to the metal.
"You get a hold of Hayakawa yet, sir?" Sansa inquired.
Tsukauchi sighed and shook his head. "No. I tried calling her several times and she isn't answering. She's not one to shy away from something like this… Can you try ringing her up?"
"On it, sir." The feline quickly pulled out his trusty-old flip phone, something that Tsukauchi momentarily chuckled at. It was an odd piece of tech, but something that the cat-officer insisted on, saying that it was a memento from his family.
The ringing on Sansa's phone buzzed for minutes until he eventually gave up. "I don't think she's answering, sir…"
"That's fine…. Maybe she's already on the scene and taking notes." He shook his head and kept driving. "I just hope that woman isn't doing a solo operation right now."
They were closing in on the location as some of the lesser-known heroes that were called in began to usher in the neighborhood citizens back into their homes for safety. Tsuakuchi and the rest of the armored Police Force began pulling into the driveway of a fancy estate.
He parked behind the armored cars and got out with a megaphone and addressed any more people who wanted to be nosey.
"I need everyone to stay back. This is a Police investigation. Go back into your homes—" A loud burst of gunfire sounded off and the crowd of people screamed and began to run. Tsukauchi and Sansa both ducked out of reflex as they look behind them to see the various police officers dodging for cover.
"Sir!" An officer with a bulletproof vest on asked. "We've got reports that the shooting is going on inside the building!"
"Good, and be sure—"
"We will assist as well, detective!" A familiar voice said behind him. Tsuakuchi turned around and smiled, "Kamui Woods. Good to have you here. We'll need your quirk to detain whoever's in that building."
"On it sir! Make way!"
"Aww, what about me, detective? Can't I have a scoop of the fun?" A woman's voice whined, and Tsukauchi sighed.
"Of course, Ms. Takeyama. Can you be our additional lookout? I don't want anyone leaving that building unless they're a civilian or another officer!"
Takeyama, in all her glee, did a mocking salute and grew exponentially and peered over the giant estate as if it were a doll house.
"Thankfully we have heroes on the side, right, sir?" Sansa asked, walking alongside Tsukauchi as they got into cover.
Kamui Woods was determined to do his part to help the neighborhood. He crept forward to the estate that crackled with gunfire. He extended his quirk Arbor into a binding shape, ready to detain whoever is firing off in this building.
The hero winced as more loud cracks of pistols and the occasional sub-machine gun burst went off loudly. Amping up his courage, Kamui Woods wrenched open the door and extended his branches to the nearest gunshot, ready to wrap up some villain or criminal in its clutches.
But it never came.
All he caught was a whimpering and scrawny brunette woman with tears going down her face. She was huddled up in a corner next to a box of plastic-looking canisters. She threw another one with a shaky hand and it crackled and shook, emitting sounds like a gun.
Decoy grenades… Was this the wrong house? Where's the shooters? The criminals?
"P-please… T-they made me do it. I-If I didn't, they'd…" The woman sobbed between words. "They'd kill my daughter! P-please… I-I didn't mean for this." She crawled over on her hands and knees to him.
"It's alright, ma'am. We have this handled…" Kamui's eyes widened at the intricate looking vest duct-taped to the woman's chest. Four bundles of what he only assumed were bombs were shoddily jury-rigged together and were currently stuck to this poor woman.
He gazed around to see more of those bombs attached to the beams and walls of this building. They littered the place like immobile termites.
Her hands gripped the shoulders of Kamui Woods with fear and she looked up to him with snot coming down her nose. "P-please! H-help me! I-I need help…." She latched onto his chest, nuzzling her face into it and began pleading with all her might.
Kamui Woods patted her head gently. "Don't worry, ma'am. Just stay calm. Allow me to get the authorities, they're right outside." He assured her while gently trying to pry her off him. However, that was no longer possible as the ticking sound buzzed loudly.
"NOOOOO!" The woman screeched and clutched at her hair as the timer on her vest went from an easy-going hour and thirty minutes to an immediate zero. "PLEASE—"
The last thing Kamui Woods saw before he encased himself into a wooden cage was a bright flash.
Mirko heard a loud boom resound and the sinking feeling that the police weren't coming was forming in the bottom of her stomach.
It didn't help that those sirens she heard earlier were heading the wrong way….
Pah! Like I need their help anyway!
Mirko began to pummel her fists into the woman's chest. The many sounds of her fists pounding into the lithe frame of this lady had her go into a frenzy! Mirko was grinning from ear to ear and she used that barrage of blows to ease into a different position.
The Rabbit Hero used her immense strength to flip the Control Killer over onto her stomach and wrapped her left arm around the side of the pale woman's neck and locked her right one behind the red-head's noggin.
Mirko began to test her bicep's strength against this woman's twig of a neck. She was sure that this would work!
Her left foot had caught a bullet and every time she put some weight on it, that alone hurt like hell. But she didn't care. It was just another motivator to keep pushing forward. Mirko was adamant on defeating this woman.
"I really prefer dogs over rabbits." The red head spoke with a calm tone despite being a chokehold. She continued with her monologue. "They're more inclined to actually remember their training when compared to one another. I hear it isn't as tedious either to instill an obedient mindset into them." The Control Killer said as she pressed her finger into Mirko's thigh directly and suddenly spoke with that same dumb word like before. "Bang."
Immense pain shot up her leg and thigh as it disappeared into a bloody stump. Mirko had no choice but to let go of the grapple she had on the woman and leapt away with a grimace and a fierce glare.
She was sure that this would've been the end of it.
Tch, she just won't let up.
The Control Killer sat up from where Mirko had straddled her on the wooden flooring and relaxing her back onto the wall for support. She began gently massaging her neck and letting out a few small coughs. Those yellow eyes of her shifting from the floor back up to gaze at Mirko.
"I was hoping that you'd be able to shrug that off, but that doesn't seem to be the case. No matter how much you hide your pain behind that façade of a smile, it all but proves you're of no use to me. A shame. You're no All-Might, that's for sure."
"Oh yeah?" Mirko hopped around on one leg while her right was barely held together by a thin strand of tendon. "What are you, his fangirl?"
"In a manner of speaking, I suppose so. But that won't matter much to you soon. I've no need for a rabbit, after all." She pointed her finger-gun at Mirko once more with a smile.
Can't stand that weird quirk of hers. Is it air-pressure manipulation? There has got be a limit to how many she could shoot.
Mirko thought heavily on how this secondary quirk works. It keeps her at bay from another grapple and she was sure that this woman was using that to her advantage. However, the question remained: Why wasn't she being controlled yet?
Mirko was a little bit hesitant at first, but she was beginning to come up with a few theories.
Again, she leapt from the wall and to the floor on all fours, though minus a leg, and pranced around the room – narrowly dodging the air bullets.
It has to do with her chains. No… that can't be it. Maybe some internal process of some sort? She's been trying to get one of those things to go into my forehead, but if that's the case, how come it didn't apply for those goons outside and her previous victims?
The gears in Mirko's head began to turn and crank out various hypothetical situations.
There had to be some sort of prerequisite involved in order for her control to take over. That's the only thing she could come up with right now, and her not being turned into a suicidal victim yet is proof of that.
If only she had a bit more time to analyze it. However, time wasn't on her side. Her red eyes peered down at her missing leg. It was a substantial amount of blood being lost on her part, sooner or later she'll have to call it quits.
"Wherever will you go, Hero? There's only so much room that you can jump to. And even if you manage to keep this up, you might just pass out from the blood loss instead."
She's not wrong… Shit. I'm feeling a little bit light-headed. Must be the blood loss. Pah! This alone won't stop me. I'm not coming out of this dead or anything! Screw it, all or nothing, Rumi!
Mirko let out a roar and lunged at the Control Killer, bracing her self for the pain that's about to come.
"Bang!"
She put her left arm up to take the brunt of it and, like her leg, it disappeared into nothingness. The pain was over-whelming and combined with the blood loss, Mirko was close to fainting.
Not yet! Not now, not ever, Rumi!
The crippled Rabbit Hero managed to tackle the Control Killer down and she immediately slammed her right fist into the woman's face, smashing her nose in.
Keep going! Keep at it, Rumi! Don't faint now!
"Rargh!" She screamed and kept up the assault.
The Control Killer tried to take aim, but Mirko slapped the offending finger aside and jerked her wrist to an odd angle, snapping it.
Before she could deliver a blow to the woman's pharynx, a loud noise erupted from across the room. It was high-pitched and Mirko fell to the ground, clutching her albino ears with a bloody stump and her only remaining hand.
"Gah! Damn it…. The hell's that noise!?" She looked to see the Control Killer in a daze. The blows to her jaw no doubt sent her consciousness into a brief reeling episode. Nobody could withstand her tiger punches.
"Oi, oi, oi." A gruff voice called out. "Y'know, that's our prize yer jerkin' 'round." The sight of a man dressed in a black and golden trimmed two-piece suit approached. He was smoking a cigarette and had a smug grin on his face. "Drop the broad an' we don't gotta make this any harder than it needs to be." He had a small gadget in his hand and turned the dial up and that offensive, high-pitched noise came from it again.
Mirko winced at the irritating noise and barked out a laugh. "And then what?! Damn…" She tried to stand, but her body was beginning to reach its limits. The sides of her peripheral vision fading to black. "You think I'd let you extinct Dinosaurs go free with one of the most dangerous villains this city's ever seen? Over my dead body!" She jerked around the dazed Control Killer in her grasp.
The man chuckled darkly and took one last drag of his cigarette before flicking it away. "That can be arranged, toots. This broad's Yakuza business, and I suggest ya scram before it gets ugly." He clicked his fingers and one of his lackeys shoved a young brunette girl into his arms.
He pulled out a katana from his back and pressed it against the girl's throat. "Maybe ya need some encouragement, little rabbit?"
Mirko snarled at the man and gave him a deadly stare. The hostage gave her a second wind and she was ready to risk it all and pounce on him. "COWARD!"
"Oi, oi. I'm just a lowly man who ain't got quirks for shit. In a way, this is fair game. So, what's it gonna be? This little shit's life, or are ya gonna hand over the red-headed broad?" He pressed the golden blade against the young girl's throat enough so to draw blood. She let out a whimper and looked at Mirko with helpless brown eyes.
Mirko continued to simmer with rage and was almost going to drop the Control Killer and go straight for the Yakuza's throat.
She roared and lunged at him, ready to snap his neck in two with her bare hand. However, as she pounced, Mirko felt something sharp pinprick her arm and she peered at it to see a dart. Further below, the same had occurred to the Control Killer who got a similar dart straight to the thigh.
The infuriating Yakuza laughed. "And just like that, yer gonna take a nice, super long overdue nap! Nighty-night, itty-bitty rabbit." He swaggered on over to Mirko's lethargic body as she collapsed onto the ground. "And by the way, thanks fer weakenin' up our prize for us." He patted and tugged on her ears. "Couldn't have done it without ya!" He sauntered over and ordered his men to come and pry the sleeping red-head from her arm.
Her eyes grew heavy with fatigue as the last thing she saw was men in black with masks pick up the unconscious Control Killer and carry her off to an unmarked black van.
Kazuma's heart was pumping with adrenaline. He didn't wanna admit to his boys n' gals that he was so close to shitting his pants when he came face to face with Mirko the Rabbit Hero. The man was extremely worried that the hero wasn't gonna fall for the hostage situation he had for a second.
It didn't help that the Chiyo Family's goons all fell to the ground like their strings were cut when Makima finally went to sleep. Her quirk was so damn freaky now that he saw it in person.
And I got the most dangerous woman in the van with me…. Fuck my life.
He shakily put another cigarette into his mouth and lit it aflame to calm his nerves. He had very little faith in Akiyama's meticulously crafted plan and to actually see it sort of working is astounding to him.
They had the entire police force and a majority of the heroes all charging up on an abandoned estate with a bomb and some decoy grenades. No doubt that'll keep them occupied for an hour or two. It was enough to quickly extract the sleeping dragon that was Makima out of the Chiyo Family's ruined estate and into a van.
They had several similar ones which all drove off in differing directions in case Mirko somehow managed to shake off that tranquilizer dart. But he doubted very much that someone like her could do that. Still, he worried and occasionally peered out the passenger window, just in case he saw the rabbit woman following closely behind.
There were tons of horror stories of how she's able to shrug off most debilitating injuries and keep pushing on, and Kazuma hoped that this wouldn't be the case.
The adrenaline junky was missing an arm and leg for crying out loud, and somehow, she was still kickin'. Even at death's door, Mirko the infamous Rabbit Hero was almost beating in the Control Killer's face in, and he was so close to just letting her do just that.
But he couldn't without having the entire nest of Yakuza stab him in the back for such heresy.
His fellow Yakuza peers had a much more stupid plan instead of his…
Oh yeah, let's just nab the most vile and psychotic killer that Musutafu's ever seen and pray to God that she'll consider working with us. The fuck do we have to offer in exchange for that?! Undying loyalty and a free pass to use our services?! God damn it, Akiyama, we all know that won't work.
Kazuma took a deep, long drag of his cigarette. He stared ahead at the road.
Sucking off the Prime Minister seems more likely to happen than whatever Akiyama's cookin….
He got a call on his phone, and he answered it quietly. Kazuma feared for his own life if he ever woke up this monster sitting in the back of his van. Hell, even the four men seated in the back didn't wanna touch the broad. They had their guns at the ready.
"Hah, scared you'll wake her, old man?" Asuka's annoying voice came out and he, as well as his men, almost shit themselves from how loud her voice was.
The idiotic brat didn't' take the threat seriously and laughed at their scared faces. "Don't even bother turning the volume down. That bitch is out colder than a hibernating bear at the moment, so don't have your panties in a twist. Be loud as you want." She laughed. "Anyways, Akiyama wants her back at his estate. Be sure to tell your boys to strap her to gurney and double tape her mouth and eyes shut!"
"Fuckin' hell, I got it, I got it. Sheesh, ya sure this ain't gonna backfire—"
Asuka cut him off with a sharp tone. "Nope! This plan's supposed to be foolproof! Just do what I told you and we'll be smooth sailing from here on out!"
The call hung up and he looked to his boys, handing them five rolls of the heavy-duty Orangutan duct-tape that was in the glove box. "One of ya idiots has to do it, and it ain't gonna be me."
Akiyama, when this is all said an' done, I'mma push your old shit in, I swear it.
"I need to be absolutely sure that you're not ever gonna mention me ever. You got that?" Giran's worried voice whined and whined over the phone.
Asuka could only sigh and scratch her head on what to do with this man. He wasn't acting so high and mighty whenever this Makima woman was involved. She must've really gotten his balls in a tight grip to have him act this way.
She was sort of hoping he'd not call her while she was gaming in her room. With the funding she got from the old fart's savings account, Asuka had managed to upgrade a lot of things in her humble apartment in downtown Musutafu.
The LED lights were in perfect array on the corners of the off-white wall; the RGB keyboard shone brilliantly; a cute pink wireless mouse with quiet clicking was pairing with the custom-built desktop; and a curved monitor to boot! Life was gonna be so good.
She had a nice setup and everything! Asuka intended to take full advantage of the wifi hot-spot she snatched off some loser on I-Island a few weeks ago. It was her time to unwind, and this info goober had to go and muck it all up with a call…
"I heard you the first time, Giran. Have some faith." Asuka winced as the voice suddenly screeched into her ear.
"Faith?! You think faith's gonna win over whatever that monster's got up her sleeve?! You guys didn't tell me you were gonna act out this plan so soon! I was told you were putting in through the works still."
Asuka shrugged and rolled around in her leather gaming chair she personally and proudly assembled all by herself. It even had a custom embroidered emblem!
Asuka shifted her focus back onto the program she had loaded up. The Gadget Dragon needed her own break every now and then, and she'd be damned if this out-of-date bastard was gonna ruin it.
Nonchalantly, she unzipped her fly and shifted aside her underwear for some…. Personal tuning, she liked to call it. She grunted and let out a few pleased sighs as she played her favorite hentai game which mainly involved a ton of pixel-art heroes scantily clad in iron armor.
"Are you seriously doing that while you're talking to me about this?!"
Asuka had a tinge of a blush on her cheeks as she continued playing the game with interest. "No…?"
"I can hear the sounds of a video game character moaning for crying out loud! I'm talking life and death situations over here and you're just flicking the bean as if this isn't a big deal!"
The Gadget Dragon of Musutafu sighed and closed out the tab. She spun around to check her camera feed on the vans approaching Akiyama's estate. "Just chill out, Giran! Jeez… We have it all under control. The plan went off without a hitch, see?"
The man's voice was silent for a few seconds as he was no doubt checking through her drones' camera footage. It mainly caught the altercation between Makima and her battle against the Chiyo Family, as well as the duel between her and Mirko.
"So, you guys actually have her….?"
Asuka rolled her eyes and sighed. "Yes, Giran. We have her. Man, you're acting so much like a little bitch. What would the others in the underworld think?"
"Just tell me when you're gonna kill her! Shoot her, decapitate her, tie some cinder blocks on her feet and toss her into the ocean. Anything that ensures she stays dead." Giran's voice sounded super desperate, enough to not be riled up by her insult.
Asuka chuckled nervously and checked the feeds to see Kazuma's men rolling in Makima's unconscious body on a gurney into Akiyama's illustrious mansion. "About that…."
"Y-you guys are gonna kill her, right? T-that's the whole reason why I gave you guys the info on where she lives!" The short stack that was the infamous Gadget Dragon slunk back into her chair with each word that Giran said. "Asuka, please, for the love of God, tell me you guys are going to kill her. You guys are the only reason why I gave you this because you all told me you were gonna kill her." When she didn't reply, Giran continued with a pleading tone. "I wanted you guys to remove her permanently. No prison could hold her; not even Tartarus could. I know that for a fact. So please, Asuka. Please tell me that you're gonna kill her soon."
"Look, dude, Akiyama promised all of us that we could really benefit from Makima's quirk. And I always wanted a taste of the glory days, I mean, you can't blame me for wanting to get a better opportunity-"
"You fool!" Giran's voice roared, and the sound of a desk being slammed down by a hand was heard. "What the hell are you thinking?! You and your lot think you could all control her?! For fuck sakes, Asuka, I thought you were the smart one!"
Asuka huffed. "I-I am! Akiyama assured us—"
"That old fuck has no idea what he's dealing with! Do you hear me, child?! He's dragging you all to hell with him. Get the fuck out of Musutafu if you know what's good for—"
"No! Fuck you, Giran!" Asuka scoffed and hung up on him before he could berate her further. His words made her feel like shit and she groaned at having this queasy feeling well up in her chest. Was it fear? Anxiety? Maybe both? She didn't know and she hated how it wasn't there until Giran brought up that type of scaredy-cat shit.
"Big Sis will handle her if she escapes, I know it!" Asuka said to herself as she hopped off her gaming chair and zipped up her jeans' fly and slipped on a wind-breaker jacket.
She didn't have to deal with that info broker's words. She's The Gadget Dragon, nothing could hurt her, not even some bitch with an overpowered quirk. People had their limits, and Asuka knew for sure that this Makima did too.
AN:
Guess who's back? Back again~
Tis I! Your fellow Makima connoisseur that shamelessly comes out of procrastination hell, lol. XD
Hope everybody's still surviving in this brand New Year we find ourselves in! Glad you're all so benevolently patient with me. Again, my deepest apologies for the delay. Writer's block is one hell of a thing.
But I bring good tidings and a late gift! I'm here with another chapter of A Twisted Influence! Yep, yep. Roll out the trumpets. It's here, lol.
I'm always happy with your comments and love for this piece of mine. I really can't express it enough that it brings me utter joy and sustenance to keep pushing forward!
I was originally planning on posting this on the story's anniversary on the 30th of December, but, as you all can see, that didn't happen. Damn you, procrastination!
And... As you may have noticed, Operation Oyasumi is in the name. Lord Akiyama, you sly old turtle you~ :)