My Hero Academia: Lion of Courage
Chapter 49: A Knight in Shining Armor
Disclaimer: I do not own My Hero Academia. All rights go to Kohei Horikoshi.
Lioness was now in her car on the way to Hosu City, having left her agency and her dog, Peter, in the care of Adcrocuta. She was no stranger to being away from home for periods of time, driving to and fro whenever she was needed outside the Shizuoka Prefecture, but this time...something gnawed at her thoughts as she drove. It wasn't about the villain she had been asked to help track down, but rather, it was about Takeo and his internship with Aquarius.
She hadn't seen Aquarius ever since she had lost her husband, Takeshi Jonetsu, to the Blade of Terror, Fukushu. Ever since her son brought up choosing Aquarius as his internship choice, memories had been flooding back into her head about the former #18 Hero, the man who had once been her husband.
"Here kitty, kitty," two racist students at U.A. taunted the young lioness as she walked through the halls of the prestigious high school. It was the second half of her first year and, thanks to her performance at the Sports Festival, she had now been moved up to the Hero Course in Class 1-B. All Nakano did was response was bare her fangs and snarl at the two students for their racial comment towards her.
"Ooooh, she's a feisty one," one of the students chuckled. "Maybe we should put a chain on her, huh?"
"Do not test me," Nakano snarled, her temper slowly starting to flare up. She was used to being discriminated against due to her mutant Quirk as a lioness, but that didn't make it any less infuriating for the leonine heroine. She was awfully tempted to protract her claws and slash at the two racists, but she knew doing so could get her kicked out of the Hero Course or even expelled from U.A. All she could do was walk away...before she felt a pain in her tail.
"Ow!" she yelped before looking at her lion tail and seeing it pulled by one of the racists, who laughed in response to her pain. She immediately pulled her tail away and swiped at the bully to scare him away.
"Do not touch my tail!" she snarled, her voice now becoming threatening.
"We'll do whatever we want, freak," the bully taunted before spitting in her face. She let out a yelp of disgust before wiping the spit away and then snarling loudly. She protracted her claws and glared at the two bullies with a razor-sharp gaze as she approached them.
"Hey!" a stern male voice barked before stepping between the bullies and Nakano. A young man of her age stood in front of her, his hair dark brown and having a broad, solid build; she couldn't see his eyes however due to him facing away from her and to the bullies.
"Well, well, if it isn't the so-called knight in shining armor," one of the bullies taunted. "What, come to protect some little animal?"
"Get away from her now," the young man sternly demanded. "If you want a problem, I can give you a problem!" The young man wouldn't back down, though Nakano was surprised to see that the bullies seemed to know him. However, they weren't intimidated by him and were prepared to fight both him and the lioness.
"I appreciate what you're doing," Nakano thanked the young man. "But I don't need protection."
"No," one of the bullies smirked. "You need to be put on a leash like a good kitty."
"Maybe if one of her parents had been on a leash, she would've been born normal," the other bully mocked.
"You bastards!" Nakano roared as she and the young man fought the two bullies.
That was the first time she met Takeshi Jonetsu, who would become the Pro Hero: Paladin. When the teachers came around, all four of them got into trouble and were sent to the Principal's office; though the bullies were the ones who escalated the situation, Nakano and Takeshi were the ones who started the fight. They were given detention for three weeks each, but the young lioness found herself constantly running into the young man.
She grew to admire him: his courage, his strength, his morality and his empathy for others. If anyone embodied the idea of a knight in shining armor, other than her friend, Nobu, it was Takeshi Jonetsu. It was only a matter of time before the two started dating in their second year at U.A. High School...
"That was such a wonderful dinner," Nakano giggled as she and Takeshi left Maribel's Steakhouse on their third date as a couple. The lioness could still taste the delicious meat she had eaten, the alluring smell of her dinner, the lively conversations she had with Takeshi...she smiled widely as she held onto Takeshi's arm and walked with him back to her house.
"I knew you'd enjoy Maribel's Steakhouse," Takeshi told his girlfriend. "You're quite the carnivore, aren't you?" He smiled as he let Nakano rest her head on his shoulder.
Ever since she and Takeshi started dating, Nakano had enjoyed every moment with him, whether it was schoolwork, sparring, leisure time or simply hanging out. In truth, he was one of the few people Nakano believed was a great example of the ideals of heroism. Unlike many of their classmates who only cared about fame, ego and fortune, like Enji Todoroki, Takeshi Jonetsu was motivated by kindness, a desire to protect others, to be a pillar of justice and honor. He truly was a knight in shining armor.
"Hey, put your pet on a leash!" a voice taunted, coming from a group of young men sitting at a park table. Takeshi merely glared at them while Nakano let out a small snarl as the two kept walking in the direction of her house.
"Here, kitty kitty!" another guy catcalled rudely. "Why not come on over and purr for us~?"
"How about I come over there and tear your face off?" Nakano growled, baring her lion-like teeth to the young men. "Leave us alone!"
"You guys need to back off, NOW!" Takeshi stated firmly. "We have Provisional Licenses now and you can't fall back on the 'they attacked us first' excuse. Now back off!" The smug smiles across the group faded away and turned to anger as they slowly approached the couple.
"You don't tell us what to do, Boy Scout," the leader responded before looking over at Nakano. "Now come on over and purr for us, baby~"
Bam. The leader went tumbling back, having been punched in the face by Takeshi. Just as the leader recovered, the Arsenal wielder summoned his spear and pointed it at the gang while Nakano protracted her claws with her teeth bared.
"Last warning: leave us alone," Takeshi warned.
"Get them!" the leader shouted as they attacked.
Lioness chuckled at that memory as she and her boyfriend made complete fools of that gang, beating them with ease; she had faced robots in U.A. tougher than them. But after they graduated, their relationship was put on hold as Lioness went to America for Pro Hero work with a family member while Takeshi traveled around Europe to hone his skills as a warrior. They wouldn't see each other for ten years until they met again in Germany and traveled back to Japan.
Lioness reunited with her best friend, Nobu Yamashita, while Takeshi reunited with Aquarius and Inoshishi. She would go on to found her own agency while Takeshi would join Aquarius and Inoshishi in their agency. Time would go on, the two fell much more in love and eventually...
"I now pronounce you husband and wife," a Catholic priest announced the newlywed couple, Takeshi and Nakano Raionhato, the former having taken his wife's surname. "You may kiss the bride." Without hesitation, Takeshi dipped his newlywed wife and planted his lips onto hers while the whole church burst into cheer.
The reception afterwards, which they had at Maribel's Steakhouse, was lively and fun. Takeshi and Nakano were inseparable during that time, either dancing, eating, laughing or having fun together. The two of them couldn't keep their eyes off of each other during that whole time...or their hands afterwards on their honeymoon, leading to the conceiving of their child.
About a year after Nakano and Takeshi were wed, Takeo was born. She never forgot the look on her husband's face when he saw their newborn son: joy, surprise, gladness...once he had his infant son in his arms, Takeshi couldn't put him down.
After Takeo was born, Babari arrived to pick them up along with their newborn son from the hospital and take them home. Takeshi sat in the front while Nakano sat in the back with Takeo in his carseat, rubbing her forehead against his as Takeo reached out and touched his mother's face. The Arsenal wielder's heart melted at the sight of his newborn son, cooing as his wife gently caressed his face.
"He's so beautiful," Nakano spoke as she gazed at her son.
"The whole family will want to meet the new cub," Babari brought up. "Several of our relatives are arriving in Japan soon."
"New cub?" Takeshi chuckled as he looked back once more at Takeo. He wished he could reach on over and hold his son, but he had to stay secure in his carseat.
"Think he'll purr like you, Nakano~?" Takeshi teased with a big smile.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," Nakano denied. Just as she was playing with her son, Nakano felt a sensation on the back of her head and she began to purr cutely. She did this for several moments before she realized what was happening and shooed her husband's hand away with an annoyed glance.
"Stop that," she demanded, but received a playful smile from her husband in return.
Indeed, Takeo filled her life and her husband's with such joy and happiness, watching as he grew up. While he didn't inherit his mother's Quirk, he did inherit some of her traits, such as his love for head scratches, being a passionate carnivore and a...appreciation for catnip. She remembered the fond memories of her young son playfully trying to get her tail whenever he could, which Takeshi would help him catch.
But all that joy made the memories much more bitter now.
"It's a spear, not a club," Takeshi told Takeo while they were training in the backyard of their house. The five-year-old Takeo Raionhato was swinging his wooden spear around wildly and without much control. As his father said, it looked more like he was swinging a club than wielding a spear. Takeshi was caught between stopping his son and laughing at how ridiculous he looked. After long enough, Takeshi grabbed the wooden spear, stopping his son.
"Why'd you stop me, Daddy?" Takeo asked, unsure of why his dad had stopped him.
"This is a spear, not a club," Takeshi brought up before letting go and taking a stance with his own spear.
"A spear is a long range weapon built for thrusting. See how I hold my spear? I hold one hand near the end of the shaft and another closer to the middle. Now watch as I thrust."
Takeshi proceeded to thrust his spear several times, each one fierce and strong, thrusts that looked powerful enough to tear through a metal wall. Takeo took up the same stance as his father and thrusted a few times as well, but his spear attacks looked weak compared to Takeshi's, which started to upset the young boy.
"Hey, come on now," Takeshi gently told his son, patting his back to make him feel better. "It takes years of experience to get good with a weapon. Maybe one day, your spear skills will be better than mine."
Takeo hadn't touched a spear ever since he had lost his father, instead choosing a sword as his primary weapon. Thanks to his deceased mentor, Forge, the Inventory user now had a blade capable of enduring the test of time for as long as possible. Every time he looked at Lion Saber, there were no signs of damage, no signs of wear, no signs of degrading in quality. It continued to serve him well...just as his father's weapon had always served him well when he was around.
To Takeo at that young age, his parents were the perfect heroes, fighting for justice, honor, truth and disdaining Pros who only cared about vanity and ego. They may not have been among the Top Ten Heroes of Japan, but they were still remarkable all the same in his eyes and the eyes of many others. Nagami Kiyama was proof of that, given her admiration of his mother.
Whenever he could, the young warrior would watch his parents fight villains on TV, rooting for them with great enthusiasm and cheer for them when they inevitably defeated the criminals. It was always so amazing to watch their fights, but one...one fight on TV was not a fond memory for the Inventory wielder...
"We're now here in downtown Shizuoka, where the Weaponry Hero: Paladin, has engaged with the villain, T-Wrecks," a news reporter on the ground spoke, the camera focused on the knightly hero fighting against a villain that appeared as a humanoid Tyrannosaurus. Fighting with his razor-sharp teeth and long, strong tail, T-Wrecks was giving Paladin a hard fight as the Weaponry Hero constantly switched between his spear and a chain with a handle on the end. Aquarius focused on getting civilians to safety while Inoshishi fought against the Anklyosaurus villain, Death Tail.
Takeo watched on his TV after he had gotten home from school was Nakano was preparing dinner. The young six-year-old boy watched as his father struggled against the colossal lizard, despite him keeping his distance from T-Wrecks. Unlike before, Takeo was scared for his dad as he watched the fight unfold; whereas Paladin had easily won against villains before, it was very clear that Paladin was now truly fighting for his life.
"Come on, Daddy," Takeo quietly pleaded, which his mother heard. Seeing her son's concern for his father, her husband, she stopped working on dinner and walked on over to hold Takeo as the fight continued to unfold. Paladin landed hit after hit on T-Wrecks, but it didn't seem to slow the behemoth down.
"Can Paladin defeat T-Wrecks?" the news reporter questioned, sharing the same feeling that Takeo had. The Weaponry Hero changed a spear and shield to his battle gauntlets and landed punch after punch on T-Wrecks's face, seeming to daze the dinosaur villain. But one attack from T-Wrecks's tail caused Paladin to be thrown into the side of a nearby building. Before Paladin could recover, T-Wrecks charged over to the knightly hero and bit down savagely on his right shoulder.
"DADDY!" Takeo screamed in terror as he watched the event unfold.
"Look out!" the news reporter cried out as Death Tail swung at the camera crew, causing the feed to go down and a static screen to appear.
"DADDY!" Takeo cried out as he touched the screen, all the while Lioness felt terror grasp her own heart at the sight of her husband last being seen with T-Wrecks biting down on his shoulder. What had happened? Was Paladin dead? Had T-Wrecks been too much for the Weaponry Hero to take on?
"Daddy!" Takeo wept, his eyes burning red with tears running down his cheeks. Lioness was shaken out of her terror by her son's cries, prompting her to immediately kneel down and hold Takeo to comfort him.
"Dear Lord," she silently prayed as she rocked her crying son. "Please let Takeshi be fine. Please let Takeshi be fine."
Two hours passed and now Takeo and Nakano were silent, the lioness mutant quietly rocking her son as he had cried enough. Those two hours were agonizing, as if their hearts were slowly being torn out by hot wires. The feed for the fight between Paladin and T-Wrecks hadn't recovered and no news had been yet reported on what happened. Their minds were left filled with the potential scenario that Paladin had perished at T-Wrecks's hands.
Suddenly, the phone went off. As quick as an illusion, Lioness rushed over and picked it up.
"Hello!?" she gasped, hoping for news of her husband. Takeo couldn't hear what was said on the line, but in the span of a few short moments, Nakano put the phone on speaker and faced it towards Takeo.
"Hey, buddy." The voice of Takeshi filled the room.
"DADDY!"
That was the most frightening time of Takeo's life, those two hours the embodiment of slow-drawn agony for him as he waited for news of his father's condition. To his relief, Paladin had defeated T-Wrecks despite his right arm being badly injured and sent to the hospital for surgery to heal his wounds. As soon as he was able, Takeo hurried over (more like his mother drove him) and went to see his father, who had recovered from his injuries.
To this day, his father's fight against T-Wrecks was considered his greatest victory, but Takeo had never watched it. The image of the Tyrannosaurus villain biting into Paladin's shoulder just before the camera went dead filled him with dread and sorrow, especially when he viewed the Weaponry Hero as being invincible like Uncle Nobu.
When he saw Paladin in that hospital bed, his right arm was in a cast and sling and his shoulder was wrapped in bandages; it was the first time he had ever seen his dad in such a vulnerable state. But luckily, he recovered and spent a week healing from his injuries before returning to the field.
But those fond memories also filled Takeo with an immense sadness and bitterness. Paladin was his greatest hero, someone he had aspired to be like ever since his Quirk manifested. He was brave, kind, caring, heroic, strong...he was truly a knight in shining armor. But Paladin was gone, taken from him by the Blade of Terror: Fukushu.
Takeo was broken out of his thoughts when the train arrived at the Tsuyama Station, where he picked up his belongings and walked off the train. Now he just needed to find his way to Aquarius's agency, but he didn't know the address of where he was. The Inventory wielder was about to take out his phone and check for the agency's address before he looked over and saw someone with a sign reading in Japanese kanjis 'Takeo Raionhato'.
"Excuse me?" Takeo addressed the woman about his height with sky blue hair, grey eyes and a hero costume that resembled Ancient Greek armor.
"You must be Takeo Raionhato," the woman deduced. "I'm Skyburst, a sidekick of Aquarius. I'll take you to the agency." Skyburst then led Takeo out of the train station and down the streets of Tsuyama to Aquarius's agency.
Even now, Takeo found himself weighed down with the thoughts of the questions he had ever since he had lost Paladin. What did Aquarius know that he didn't? What answers would he receive and what would only bring about more questions?
Aquarius paced his office from wall to wall, waiting for Invulnerastone to return with Takeo Raionhato. For nearly seven years, the Water Body Hero hadn't spoken to the son of his dearest friend, Takeshi Jonetsu, not ever since he had been lost to Fukushu. He knew Takeo had a lot of questions and he would answer them to the best of his abilities, even if it hurt; Takeshi's son deserved that much as well as his wife.
As he paced, Aquarius stopped and looked at a picture on the counter of his desk. He slowly picked it up, despite having seen it every single day: a picture of him, Takeshi and Yasei when they graduated from U.A. High School and went on to become Pro Heroes. Those days at U.A. were some of the most memorable of his life...
"I can't believe it!" Takeshi cheered after he and his two close friends had received their diplomas from U.A.'s Principal. "We graduated from U.A. High School! We're now fully fledged Pro Heroes!"
"Yeah!" Yasei Aianhaido joined in cheering, picking up his two best friends and swinging them around like rag dolls as he was caught up in their celebratory moment. Sen'in and Takeshi initially laughed with Yasei, but then struggled to break free before they were successful in escaping Inoshishi's solid grasp.
"Sheesh, Yasei," Sen'in groaned. "Can you not swing us around like that please?"
"Sorry," Yasei apologized. "I'm just so happy we made it! We're now Pro Heroes!"
While the celebratory moment was completely joyful for Sen'in and Yasei, the Water Body wielder knew that this was a bittersweet moment for his friend, Takeshi. His girlfriend, Nakano Raionhato, was leaving for America for Pro Hero work and he didn't know when she'd come back to Japan. Maybe she would, maybe she wouldn't, but the feeling of joy for Takeshi was outweighed by the sense of longing to be with the young woman he had fallen for.
"I'm not staying in Japan," Takeshi informed his friends.
"What?" Yasei asked. "What do you mean?"
"Exactly what he means, Yasei," Aquarius stated. "He's leaving Japan...are you going after Nakano?" Takeshi shook his head.
"I'm going to Europe. I'm going to go there and train to hone my skills as a warrior. I...I don't know when I'll be back, but I'll make sure to keep in contact when I can."
As Takeshi said he would, he left Japan the week after graduating and flew to Europe, landing in Norway where he'd begin his extensive training on weapons-based combat. As for Aquarius and Yasei, they began their own agency that initially started with just the two of them, but eventually managed to hire several sidekicks. Though they didn't earn renown like Rebound or Endeavor, they were still well off while Takeshi travelled Europe and Nakano travelled America. Ten years, the two friends waited...until...
"Come on!" Yasei told Sen'in as he carried him to the airport where Takeshi had arrived. After ten years of only seeing each other over computers and through cell phones, the three friends would finally be reunited. They wondered how Takeshi had grown since then, though they knew he had grown a beard in the past ten years.
Thanks to Yasei's great speed, he and Sen'in quickly reached the airport and began looking for Takeshi. They didn't know if he had gotten off his flight yet, but he hadn't responded to any of their calls ever since he told them that he was flying back to Japan this morning. Yasei checked the left wing of the airport while Sen'in checked the right, both of them keeping an eye out for their close friend.
Sen'in was the one who'd find Takeshi walking out of the terminal...with Nakano by his side. The past ten years had clearly been used productively by both the Weaponry Hero and the Razor Claw Hero. Takeshi's dark brown hair had grown out a bit and his face was now covered by a thick beard while Nakano's dirty blonde hair had grown long, which was now worn in a loose braid that reached her waist.
"Sen'in!" Takeshi happily called out after he caught sight of his best friend. The two friends hurried up to each other and embrace one another while Nakano smiled at her now-boyfriend's reunion with Sen'in Nepuchun.
"You didn't tell me you were coming back with Nakano," Sen'in brought up.
"Oh, I didn't?" Takeshi questioned. "She and I met up in Germany seven months ago and we began doing Pro Hero work together. We decided to come back to Japan together."
"It's great to see you again, Sen'in," Nakano greeted the Water Body Hero. "If you'll excuse me, I need to go see Rebound, see how he's doing." The two young men gestured for her to go and see her best friend, to which she responded by pecking Takeshi's cheek and leaving the airport.
"Let's go find Yasei," Sen'in told Takeshi. "He's anxious to see you again."
For what felt like hours, the three friends sat down at a restaurant and caught up on how their lives had been since their graduation. Aquarius and Inoshishi's agency had been doing well and immediately offered to let Takeshi join, to which he immediately agreed while Nakano began her own agency. In time, Takeshi became the leader of the agency and their heroics earned them renown, especially Paladin.
In their thirties, Takeshi and Nakano were wed and joined the same agency while Sen'in and Yasei stayed in theirs. It wasn't long before young Takeo was born, possessing his father's Quirk and becoming good friends with Rebound's daughter, Anzu Yamashita. Despite being in different agencies, Paladin often worked with his two best friends a lot...which unfortunately exposed Aquarius to a dark side of Paladin's personality...
"You evil monster!" Paladin roared as he viciously grabbed a Quirk trafficker by their shirt who had abducted children and young teenagers with powerful Quirks. "Kidnapping innocent children, tearing them from their homes for the sake of your selfish greed!"
"I do what I have to do get by," the trafficker shamelessly replied. "I got to make money somehow."
"And that justifies what you've done!?" Paladin snarled. "That justifies you subjecting these children to hell!?"
"Their parents can always have another," the trafficker spoke, his tone completely devoid of empathy. "But at least they're worth something."
That broke the camel's back; Paladin began viciously beating down the trafficker, punching him in the face over and over again with his armored gauntlets. The trafficker was helpless as he endured the Weaponry Hero's violent assault on his face before being thrown into the wall like a sack of potatoes.
"W-what the hell are you doing!?" the trafficker barked. "You can't...you can't do this! You're a Pro Hero!"
"And you're evil!" Paladin rebuked as he slammed the trafficker's head against the wall twice. Before Paladin could do it a third time, he felt something wet holding his arms back; when he looked, he realized that it was Aquarius's Quirk restraining him from violently beating down the Quirk trafficker.
"Paladin, what're you doing!?" he called out.
"This trafficker is a monster!" Paladin barked as he tried to break free from Aquarius's Quirk.
"You know killing is against Pro Hero law!" Aquarius argued. "It's only allowed in extreme circumstances and this is not an extreme circumstance. Now stand down."
Throughout Paladin's career, Aquarius saw instances of where the Weaponry Hero would get caught up in his passion and began acting much more violently against villains and criminals. Not only that, but Paladin's distrust towards the current Pro Hero system began to grow as more and more Pro Heroes valued popularity, egotism and wealth over protecting the people of Japan.
There were some instances where Aquarius should've started to report Paladin's behavior due to excessive force against criminals and villains, but out of loyalty to his best friend and knowing it'd break the hearts of his wife and son, Aquarius stayed quiet. He brought it to his friend's attention time and time again, but it felt his pleas fell on deaf ears.
"If I had done something...if I had stopped him..."
"Dammit!" Paladin roared after the death of the former HPSC Chairman. To his and Aquarius's disgust, they discovered that the former HPSC Chairman had neglected to build a case against Stargazer for his crimes, no doubt fueled by his belief of 'maintaining trust between heroes and the public'. Now the HPSC wouldn't build a case at all against the current #8 Hero, whose crimes would most likely go unpunished.
"That lying son of a bitch! He was never building a case against Stargazer!"
"Then it's up to us," Aquarius stated. "We need to gather evidence against him, irrefutable evidence."
"Would it even matter?" Paladin questioned angrily. "We told them, but because he's the #8 Hero, they won't take action against him just as they won't against Endeavor!"
Rei Todoroki, the wife of Enji Todoroki, being admitted into a mental hospital around four years ago after her son's death had become nationwide news. Endeavor always claimed when questioned that it was their son's death that led to her suffering an emotional breakdown, but Paladin was one of many who questioned the truth of Endeavor's words. What killed their son? Why did Endeavor shut down any investigation into his home life?
Sadly, the HPSC wouldn't investigate as Endeavor was the #2 Hero just as they wouldn't do so now for Stargazer. The HPSC may speak of maintaining trust between Pro Heroes and the public when in reality, but they only cared about sweeping potential scandals around Pros under the rug. It disgusted the Weaponry Hero; how can trust between Pro Heroes and the citizens of Japan be maintained on lies and turning a blind eye to when top heroes commit such heinous crimes?
"They won't once we start gathering irrefutable proof of Stargazer's crimes," Aquarius replied. "There were dozens of witnesses back at the town where we were; we can call on them to testify against Stargazer."
"If they're willing to," Paladin brought up. "But they could also be scared of testifying against the #8 Hero. If only Rebound were the #2 Hero, we could reach out to him for help."
If Rebound were still the #2 Hero, then he would undoubtedly provide his support in bringing down Stargazer and giving Yasei Aianhaido the justice he deserved. But ever since his daughter died barely a year ago, he had become a depressed, despondent man who relied on the bottle to forget the terrible tragedies in his life. Perhaps they could reach out to All Might or Best Jeanist, but without proof of Stargazer's atrocities, they couldn't act.
"I'm going to the village," Aquarius stated. "There has to be someone there who will testify against Stargazer."
Much to his luck, Aquarius had managed to convince a number of people to testify against Stargazer after he promised them protection. But tragically, none of that would matter; two weeks into his visit to the town, Aquarius received harrowing news. Stargazer's agency had been slaughtered, with Paladin gone with them, all destroyed by the Blade of Terror: Fukushu. Stargazer's crimes had given rise to the violent vigilante and cost Nakano her husband and Takeo his father.
"I could've stopped it..." Aquarius spoke solemnly.
"So his name is Scorcher," Fukushu told his apprentice, Shinogama, in their hideout in Tsuyama. "He's the one behind this Trigger trafficking ring; he and his goons have intimidated several small businesses into letting them use their restaurants for drug stash houses. Is that what you learned?"
"Yes, Master," Shinogama confirmed before speaking in another tone. "D-damn Fukushu! If he finds out about Scorcher, we're screwed! I need to warn the others- GYAH!" The thoughts of one of the trafficking members Shinogama and Fukushu had slaughtered recently in their hunt to destroy the Trigger trafficking ring. Shinogama then started speaking in another tone, mimicking someone else's thoughts he heard.
"Those kids really were more resilient than we thought. He he, who knew they'd make such great guinea pigs."
"Those bastards," Fukushu snarled. "Abducting innocent children and using them to experiment their drugs on. Where's their hideout?"
"Their main hideout is in an abandoned office near the docks," Shinogama informed. "But it's very heavy in security. We'll struggle with getting in." Shinogama then kept mumbling to himself, his mind overhearing the mental thoughts of countless people around him while Fukushu thought on what to do himself.
If they could get inside Scorcher's hideout, then he'd undoubtedly have all the information on their Trigger trafficking and child abducting ring. They'e need to scout the area first before committing to an attack to avoid endangering any children in the area.
"We'll scout out tonight," Fukushu stated. "We'll formulate a plan of attack and then proceed from there."
Once their plan of attack was formulated, Fukushu would do what he had always done: slaughter every last one of those traffickers like pigs, leaving no survivors in his wake. They preyed upon the innocent for the sake of their own greed and malice, actions which had robbed them of their right to plead for mercy. What mercy had they shown to these children whom they had abducted from their families and used them as guinea pigs for their Trigger drugs? They all deserved to die a gruesome death as many other criminals and villains had done since he became the Blade of Terror.
"Those scumbags," Shinogama spoke, mimicking his master's thoughts. "As soon as we find a way into their hideout, they'll all die like the swine they are."
"Yes, but it doesn't help that Shishido's on our trail," Fukushu spoke. "Have you been able to figure out what he knows?"
"He only knows that we're here, Master," Shinogama informed. "But if we hurry, we can kill these traffickers and get out of Tsuyama before Shishido and Aquarius-"
"Aquarius?" Fukushu interrupted, shocked to hear that name again.
"I wonder if Aquarius will be of much help," Shinogama spoke in Shishido's tone. "Especially since he has Takeo for his internship. He shouldn't be-"
"That's enough," Fukushu silenced. "We'll need to stay under the radar, so we only go out at night." Shinogama nodded his head.
The Blade of Terror remembered seeing Aquarius at the town where Stargazer's crimes had been carried out, from stealing from the townsfolk to attempting to force themselves onto the young women. Only Iron Boar was brave enough to step in, which unfortunately resulted in his death at the hands of Stargazer. Some of Stargazer's sidekicks even resorted to killing some of the citizens in 'retaliation' for not catering to their whims.
Blood needed to be spilled for such atrocities. Fukushu found their agency and slaughtered them all without mercy. He still remembered the sight of Stargazer begging for his life...
"Please, mercy!" Stargazer pleaded as blood seeped from the bullet wound in his torso. His entire agency laid dead, the place caked in the blood of his sidekicks. They didn't know what hit them; one moment, they were enjoying themselves all the while showing no remorse for their crimes...and then the next, the lights went out and the room was filled with screams of pain. Once the lights came back, they saw him...Fukushu, who had come to avenge the people they had wronged.
"Mercy?" Fukushu questioned. "After everything you did back at that town? You showed no mercy, no remorse, no shame for your crimes, so why should I spare your pathetic life?"
"Y-you can't do this!" Stargazer claimed. "I'm the #8 Hero! If you kill me, there'll be severe consequences! No one will ever forgive the killing of a Top Hero!"
"You speak as though you're a god," Fukushu mocked as he brought out an assault rifle and aimed it at Stargazer. "Let's see if you bleed, then."
Stargazer did indeed bleed profusely as Fukushu unloaded a whole magazine of bullets into him.