Chapter 19: Symbiosis

Leaving the Hospital's front doors couldn't be any more chaotic to Tsukauchi as he and Hayakawa took cover behind a parked ambulance truck that was under the building's portico - its covered entrance providing adequate space to hide behind with its pristine white structural columns.

Bullets whizzed by while more Yakuza grunts sprayed a hail of lead across the entrance with what looked to be sub-machine guns.

Beside him, Tsukauchi caught in the corner of his eye the crippled Rabbit Hero pushing off her stretcher and attempting to leap into the fray.

"Gah… Just let me at 'em and we'll be outta here in no time, Detective!" Mirko grumbled as she tried to stand up to get into a fighting stance.

He quickly followed after her towards the pillar for additional safety. His hand reached out to stop her with a firm grip to her wrist, tugging her back into cover. "Please… We need you alive and well for another interview. I need answers. Not a report on your death." He pleaded upon looking into Mirko's glare.

The crippled Pro weighed her options for a few seconds in silence. "Tch…" She clicked her tongue and reluctantly squatted back behind the pillar. "Suppose you got it handled; I'd have cleaned it up by now though, just sayin'."

Seeing that his main priority had hunkered down, he peaked over and winced as he'd barely dodged another bullet striking the pillar - scattering concrete debris across the ground. He ducked and looked to the left to find Hayakawa staring towards the crowd of black SUVs hauling into the foray of it all.

More yakuza poured out of their vehicles with a tenacious determination. It was likely a hit, Tsukauchi mused. An assassination gambit aimed at Mirko. Was there a score to settle or, like she had said earlier in her hospital room - to silence her. The latter seemed more likely.

"Their eyes… How did their eyes look?" He asked the Rabbit Hero and she hummed, closing her own to likely recollect the memory.

"Blank." Mirko did a half-hearted mimic of the expression. "Like the lights are on but nobody's home type of a stare." She said with a grimace. "Wait. They're reloading…" She held a hand up and tried to listen in. "No orders. No shabby insults or cocky words shared between any of 'em. This is her doing all right."

There was a rage burning in the woman's body - that much Tsukauchi could tell. He couldn't have her jumping off to her death like this. Nor would he approve of having her go on a vigilante-like mission to enact something as stupid as revenge.

"Mirko… Don't." He said gruffly, tightening his grip on her wrist. "We need you back at the station. You'd be of much more help solving this case with your testimony and knowledge."

Arguing with her wouldn't help the situation at all, so he switched back to what the Yakuza were under the effect of. "Was there a way to disable it? Any physical contact–"

Mirko seemed to have noticed the shift in topics and her tense shoulders eased a bit. She yanked her wrist out of his hand with an annoyed scoff. "You're asking me like I stayed around long enough to care when I fought those goons, Detective! I don't know!" She retorted, rolling her eyes.

"Fair enough." He couldn't keep his mind on it as he'd hunkered himself into a safe spot and looked back into the Hospital's main lobby. It'd be risky, but they'd have to hold out until Pro Heroes and additional police could come in for a rescue.

No… That'd put innocents and the doctors inside at risk. Think clearly, Tsukauchi!

The distraught Detective shook his head at the ridiculous plan. It wouldn't work nor would it be right to do.

The Yakuza closed in, one of them slowly driving a black SUV over to act as cover for his friends. Each one, just as Mirko described, looked empty. Like husks with the only task of shooting at them.

Their pillar cover wasn't going to last too long - soon they'd be pincushions.

"Oi… Look!" Mirko hissed out, asking him to peer over the cover to see a singular one - a lanky guy with thick sideburns and slicked back hair gasp and fall to the ground with heavy coughs.

The man was clearly saying something to himself, but Tsukauchi couldn't make anything out with the loud gunshots and car alarms going off. Sideburns' eyes widened as he looked around. He hid behind one of the cars and scrambled about. Not long after, the frightened Yakuza pulled one of the blank-faced men down behind a silver truck.

It was all Tsukauchi saw for a few seconds before the other man looked to have come to - shaking his head and yelling something to his friend. Behind the blank-faced firing squad, Mirko and Tsukauchi saw the two 'freed' men running with fear and confusion.

There is a limit… How did the other guy get his friend to free himself?

"Hayakawa - stay here with Mirko. I'm going after those two." His ruffled up partner looked pleased as she placed her hand onto the Rabbit Hero's shoulder.

"Understood. Ms. Rumi–"

Mirko shrugged her shoulder out of Hayakawa's grasp with a scoff. "Like hell I'm staying here like a sitting duck, Detective! I'm comin' with!"

"But–"

"But nothing, Detective! Do you think you're fast enough to catch those guys?" She asked incredulously, eying his form with a shake of her head. "Trust me; I may be missin' a couple of bits, but that doesn't make me any less capable of catchin' two goons with my speed. I'll get 'em."

Mirko crouched down low - taking a deep breath and pounced forward, hopping on one leg and using her remaining arm as support to crawl on all fours, like a dog. She took off in a blur - passing through the firing squad's hail of lead and zig-zagging through the parking lot behind them towards the fleeing men.

"Shall I go after her, Detective? She may need support." Hayakawa offered. "We can't lose her."

"No. She's too far gone for either of us to catch up." He replied wistfully. "I just pray she'll be alright." Tsukauchi said quickly, looking at the other officers who were alongside Hayakawa's entourage. "Let's make this work. Let's hold out until Endeavor comes."

Makima's eyes hid their disappointment when she watched the loose end tenaciously hop away to try and catch the failures of Shinso's awakened quirk. She didn't think Tsukauchi would even be here of all places; her mind had all but confirmed he would be too busy snooping around the implosion deaths around the city.

That man just couldn't be any more of a thorn in her side. But annoyances like him had to be put on a backburner for now. A bigger issue was coming along in blazing fury.

Her nose picked up the scent of a burnt, aged leather. Endeavor was close, dangerously so. She'd have to cut the assault early. Her hopes of dealing with Mirko quietly under the guise of 'escorting' her to safety had failed. As did the Yakuza sting that would've looked like a grudge match gone successful.

Like a trickling river of free will being given - more and more of the disposable Yakuza she'd handed to Shinso were coming to their senses. Coughing and falling to the ground in confusion and surrendering immediately upon the arrival of Endeavor who flew in like a meteor.

Once the remaining men were subdued, Tsukauchi power walked over and immediately began spouting about Endeavor notifying other heroes that Mirko had gone off to catch the runaways. The cover up was a bust. Another plan gone awry.

It would only be an even slippery slope from here on out. Her excuse to give to Tsukauchi later would no doubt draw scrutiny from the man. He'd snoop around where he wasn't wanted; ask things that shouldn't be asked; see stuff he wasn't supposed to.

Makima would simply just have to get her plan in motion faster than previously expected. Her attention slowly motioned back onto the back and forth between the Detective and the prideful Pro. Tsukauchi likely stating what Mirko had done.

"Of course she would." The fiery hero sneered. "I'll let my sidekick know and she might catch the hyper-rabbit before she does something idiotic to herself."

Tsukauchi deflated like a balloon and eyed her tiredly. "That's good. Have someone monitor her too. She's got information that may help with our Control Killer problem."

Endeavour could only ever scoff at his words, crossing his arms and burning a glare toward the city's bustling streets that Mirko ran off into. "Here's hoping she won't spout anything less prideful than she already has. The woman is clearly drunk on it."

It was like the pot calling the kettle black - except on a far worse scale. She'd liken Endeavor to a rustic pot that's long since outlived its heroic shine. Tsukauchi seemed to share her reaction to Endeavor's hypocrisy - the Detective struggling to not roll his eyes.

Endeavor is, however, a problem if she'd ever faced a direct fight with him. Enji Todoroki - the second strongest man in Japan. Built like a tall impervious wall of flame - his turquoise eyes roamed over her body with an astute gaze.

She'd read a bit about the half-and-half boy's father she met back in the USJ incident. Enji was too smart for his own good. Something she hadn't really expected from a hulking, moving mass of prideful muscle.

To see him here no less, so far from his own agency building, must mean he's taken a keen interest in the Control Killer. No doubt it would amplify his standing and boost his already-burning pride with hotter flames.

And that interest, she had to admit, was on par with Tsukauchi's. Endeavor wasn't a top hero for no reason. No, he's in the top two for having solved the most cases of crime and villainy. But the second strongest hero in Japan had his faults. Faults that could be exploited and taken advantage of given time.

The main fault lies with his prized son. That half-and-half one who somehow resisted her power during the USJ attack. Sheer willpower…? Or perhaps a burning hatred so raw and unfiltered that couldn't be snuffed out and cowed into submission?

Did the apple not fall too far from the tree she wondered?

Regardless, neither Tsukauchi nor Mirko wouldn't get too far with those two goons who ran off. So long as the only useful dinosaurs of this city proved their competence, Makima had no reason to worry.

It was always better to come up with contingencies for something as unstable as Shinso's quirk. Though, that man would likely want to demand more from her concerning his little project as a favor.

"Hmmph, and who's this? Never seen you before." Endeavour's attention finally shifting downward, finally acknowledging her presence."

"Ah, she's my partner. Been a bit absent for a bit, so it's probably why you've not seen her. Hayakawa, meet Enji Todoroki - Japan's–"

"Second strongest hero - just a tad bit behind All-Might. A pleasure." She extended her hand out with a smile.

The mention of All-Might seemed to make Endeavour's eye twitch. He didn't shake her hand and opted for a curt nod. "Tch. Repeated absences would've had you fired and blacklisted from any agency if you were my partner, Ms ..." He looked at her badge with thinly veiled disdain. "Hayakawa."

"I probably should've told you that Endeavor's personally joining our investigation. He's lending a lot of resources to crack down on finding the Control Killer."

The fiery hero scoffed and grabbed the hair of one of the captured Yakuza who had been freed from Shinso's quirk. "Either our cowardly prey has gotten too cocky with their quirk's reach, or…" He paused, clicking his tongue and prying open their irises. "Something foul is at play."

She sighed and walked away to her police car, keeping an eye out to ensure Tsukauchi was too busy giving details to Endeavor and taking note of the detained Yakuza they'd caught. Once she figured it was clear her fingers were tapping away, dialing in the number of a burner phone he'd given her a while back.

Shinso fell forward with a mind-numbing migraine that made his ears ring. Bunching up his hands into his pants, he took deep shaky breaths, but it wasn't any use. Too many connections were being severed. It was as if he had multiple ethernet cables connected to the back of his head and someone had tripped over them, effectively yanking them out incorrectly.

The young man slammed his back against the bathroom's tiled wall - shaking the stall along with it as he convulsed on top of the toilet seat. Blood seeped from his nose as he wiped it away with the back of his hand

Shinso tried to steady himself and relax, but the tremors and black dots in his vision weren't going away yet. His face was covered in sweat as he panted and gasped.

But none of his current physical symptoms really mattered to him, though. No, they were just minor side effects of overusing his awakened quirk. Makima had assured him he'd be fine after a few minutes.

His physical health wasn't important though; Shinso was more worried that he screwed up Makima's trust today. He told her he could handle it! He… He can't disappoint her. Not again.

Shinso straightened out his posture on the toilet and tried to will his power back into their brains, but to no effect. He'd lost them. They were likely experiencing similar symptoms as he'd had - coughing, migraines, dotted vision.

He flushed the toilet under him to make it look like he'd used it as he hastily tried to fix up his school uniform and hair. Turning on the sink in front of him, he cupped some cool water and splashed it onto his face. Soothing water helped ease his nerves. He had an alibi. He was okay. Nobody would find out.

He snorted, tasting some iron in his throat, and blew out any remaining blood that remained in his nose as he took one last look in the mirror before heading out.

"Excuse me." He muttered, squeezing past a muscular student with four arms as he'd found himself back into the busy hallways of U.A. Lunch hour was booming as everyone clamored like a herd of buffalo - talking amongst themselves or hurrying off to the next destination in their daily lives.

The room was quiet save for the occasional tick of the clockwork tower sitting in the corner of the office.

Annoyances like smoke never dared to encroach the cleanliness of which this office radiated. Not a speck of dust; a flake of skin cells; nor even a droplet of sweat was seen in the pristine office that had been cleaned to its utmost level.

The only smell he'd picked up was the lemon-scent of bleach and alcohol that lingered onto the maplewood of his desk, no, rather it belonged to The Boss. However such immaculate cleanliness was immediately ruined with the loud ringing tone of his burner phone.

Thin eyes with irises the shade of a brilliant gold narrowed at the unknown caller ID.

Great. It was her. Asking for another favor already? Hadn't he given her enough?

"Tch… It's her again, boss. Do you want me to tell her to buzz off?" Irinaka, his general manager spat out. "She's getting too close to comfort with us lately. I mean it's a lost cause helping her mess with the stadium–"

Kai Chisaki raised his hand to stop him, picking up the phone and answering it. "Speaking."

The voice of his devilish benefactor sounded out into his ear. Kai abhorred how her words felt like a slithering slug violating its way into his eardrums. "I have an issue that needs handling. Immediately if at all possible."

"And if I told you that the heat was too much to go wandering around Musutafu right now?"

"Then I'd say your little project will go back to being a runaway again." She said curtly. "I mean, I could always remove my control from her. Let her sink back into being an irresponsible munchkin that could cause so many problems down the line."

"Then I'd say your 'little' project could be put on indefinite hold." Kai countered. "I could pull Irinaka and my contacts out of fixing that stupid festival of yours. We have been busy tending to it for a while now. Be a real shame if we decided to just cut ties there. Let it simmer and falter like the psychotic plan that it is. We've better things to do than painting a giant target on our backs."

"And if I told you I'm allowing you to keep your free will–"

"Then I'd eradicate my pawns. Gone. Deleted from your grasp. Forever out of your reach." He's long since known she was after Irinaka's quirk and possibly even Eri's. He wouldn't tell her he could bring them back, but the threat of losing out on valuable quirks like those seemed to spook the Control Killer.

He'd have to commend her though. That much was a given. The two seemed to have shared a similar goal that made him reluctantly partner up with her. The world needed to be fixed. Returned back to what it was before quirks. Her plan, however, seemed random. Out of the blue. He was told only so little of it.

There was silence on the line for a few minutes. He'd got her good there. "You need to understand that our cooperation relies heavily on ensuring neither of us get caught. So I need the freedom to act on what I think is beneficial. Your little stint on my old boss' rivals certainly raised a lot of eyebrows in case you haven't noticed."

Security has tightened its hold around the city of Musutafu. Brand new CCTV's being installed carefully by some hero agencies; police patrols doubling and getting more alert; heroes normally not seen in Musutafu setting up shop.

To him, all he saw is a congregation of the sickly that gurgle with their infections like ever-increasing boils on a body.

She may have the power of control, but there were obvious limits to it. She couldn't do her batshit crazy plan without external help.

"Very well. I suppose I'll just have to bear the brunt of it for now. How long do you suppose until your pawn has figured out the layout of the stadium?"

"He needs only a few more days." He cast a glance towards Irinaka who begrudgingly crossed his arms with quiet curses and insults.

"Hmm… Acceptable I suppose." Her voice didn't sound too happy with his answer and the call ended there.

"What'd she say? More breaking our asses for that stadium?" Irinaka grumbled when he saw his nod. "Do we really need her? The squirt's been fine without that control quirk she has on her."

"Thanks to that psychopath's quirk, I have Eri producing quadruple the amounts of the serum without her having to run off. It works to our benefit for now." Kai said in a drawl. "When the time comes, we'll cut ties."

"An Irish goodbye, eh?" Irinaka chuckled, satisfied with the abrupt way in which they'll end their partnership with the Control Killer. She was a means to an end. An end to the infestation that pervades this very world.

A world free of quirks and that heroic nonsense. He opened up the case of the newest batch of the serum - a bright red color infused with Eri's quirk.

He'd label these as Mk. II in terms of potency and effectiveness. Twice the dose yet twice the time it took to let the drug take effect.

Kai Chisaki wouldn't have ever agreed to that woman's insane plan. Never in a million worlds would he ever agree to it because of the sheer stupidity it would require for someone to attack one of Japan's most anticipated national events. Pros and retired heroes were in the dozens there.

Someone would have better luck being struck by a meteor than be able to stage a full-on terror attack there and make it out of there alive.

It was a true David vs. Goliath scenario of which David would most certainly lose. But… She offered him something he couldn't refuse.

A chance to test some hypotheses he'd been yearning to try with the Mk. II serum. Beside the bullet's pristine silver case, a set of four polaroids she'd given him with a serum casing next to them.

It was almost time to completely overhaul the stage. For the greater good of the world and for his Boss to whom he owes his life. If he had to become a necessary evil to give the man who saved him a world free of the infestation, then so be it.

AN:

I wonder if anybody's caught onto the very small (if it even counts as small) hint of Makima having already been in contact with the Shie Hassakai. If not, let's just say a certain mini dude may have been too vocal in his 'We're busy!' insult he spat out. LOL XD

Here's the 19th chapter of ATI! This chapter would've come out last week, but work got a bit hectic. Bleh. Oh well, it is here now! Makima's working hard to cover up the loose ends and setting things right with her latest pet project.

Of course, Tsukauchi is close too as he's gotten extra calvary with the gacha pull of, boom, ya guessed it, Endeavour! Dun dun dun! We're nearing the start of the Sports Festival Arc and I just can't wait to begin writing that and sharing the absolute wildest of things with you all. It'll be fun!

Will the heroes make it in time before this mysterious plan into motion?! Only time will tell _

Take care my fellow Makima connoisseurs! Until we see each other very soon for the next chapter! I luv you all! 3