I felt like a kid in a candy shop with a no limit black card. The possibilities were endless, and I was almost left frozen from choice paralysis. In a way it was almost lucky that Rumi and Asami had helped point the way for me. Letting me go in a new and exciting direction. In a way, it was me returning to my roots. Revisiting the meticulous planning that had gone into my ascension as the crime lord of New York, giving me all the pieces that I needed to make the world tremble.
Subtlety. Intrigue. Influence. It was a whole new game with completely new rules.
"Sato n' Law's Wonderful Emporium of Wonders," I haggle, putting Asami's name first on the potential company name. Across from me, Asami was pinching the bridge of her nose, already exhausted with my antics. I really had no clue how she planned to deal with me for the entirety of the three months if this was how well she was holding up on day one. Not off to a great start there. "Or how about, Sato and Law's Industrial Industries."
"I should have expected this level of naming sense from someone who called his gang 'the Eight.'" Asami acknowledged with a long suffering sigh while I kicked my feet up. We found a little shop in the upper city, which was named Piltover. A little on the nose, but I had no right to be throwing stones there. "This company- our company, isn't a law firm. Our names don't need to be in the name. Let's just reuse Future Industries."
"But that's lame," I replied, watching people go about their day from the balcony that we were on. The owner of the little… I suppose it was a tea shop based on the selection. Well, he was certainly giving me some stink eye. Us, really. We didn't fit in like a square peg in a round hole. We weren't locals, that much was clear, but they couldn't seem to decide if we were just tourists or denizens of the nameless Undercity.
"It's practical," Asami argued.
"It's boring," I refuted, taking a sip of my tea before scrunching my nose up. Bitter. "If I'm going to be the co-owner of a company that's going to take this world by storm, then I want something with a little more pizazz. Something catchy. Memorable. Something like…" My lips twitched into a smile and Asami already looked like she didn't like it. "Vought."
"Now you have to be kidding," Asami said, giving me a flat look. "You, personally, destroyed that company. Now you want to borrow their name?"
"I'm paying homage to my homeworld, Asami," I replied teasingly. It was just an idea, but I was rapidly warming up to it. I hated Vought a year ago. They were corporate stooges that completely ruined my fantasies - I couldn't fight true paragons of justice when everything was fake. Vought wasn't a hero company, they were an entertainment company, and I would never forgive them for that.
But a year was enough time for the hate to mellow out, and now I was curious. What would it be like to play the part of Stan Edgar? Ruthlessly and efficiently pushing the bottom line, with nothing being off limits if it raised the stock price.
It was an amusing thought, I decided, looking up at the tower that was still under construction. I had no idea what they were even building it for, but it was already larger than any skyscraper I had ever seen and twice as thick. There seemed to be a lot of excitement about it and, in particular, around the mind behind its construction.
"You aren't going to let this go, are you?" Asami asked and I merely cocked an eyebrow, not even signifying that with a response. "Fine. Vought Industries. Good enough. Now, can we move on to the actual issues at hand?"
"You mean how we're going to establish a company with no base of operations and no start up capital?" I ventured and her lips thinned when I offered a lazy smile. "Could go a couple of ways, honestly. Sukuna and Yoruichi are checking the Undercity out now for a place to set up shop."
Asami's eyes narrowed ever so slightly, "How exactly?" She questioned lightly, but her gaze was sharp. "I do hope you aren't already breaching the agreement that we made," she added, a warning in her tone.
This was going to be fun, I could already tell. The balancing act felt like stepping onto a tightrope with people on each side trying to pull me down. "Nah, the ganglord thing is an old hat for me at this point. I don't have much interest in another performance of the same act," I admitted with a small shrug. That was mostly true, even. Just not entirely true. "They're scoping out the gangs down there. See what we're dealing with. With the right fit, we could probably get the backing of a gang and base ourselves in the Undercity. Do a true blue rags to riches story."
Based on how her nose was crinkling, the idea didn't appeal to her. "Or," I continued, "We find a patron in the city itself for a percentage of the company. Personally, I'm not a fan of that one. Too many cooks in the kitchen," I said, draping an arm over the back of my chair as I tilted it back so it was standing on two legs.
"Not necessarily," Asami said, presenting a newspaper to me, like it was a smoking bullet. On the front day was an announcement - Progress Day. A day where inventors from all over the city, the world even, could put forth some contraption to sell. And, if they were lucky, catch the eye of investors. "It's in two weeks. We use that time to produce a machine of note, sell it for starter capital, then launch the company with it using our initial connections."
Could do. But… "Seems like a waste of time to me," I said, picking up the paper and looking at one of the pictures. There were two faces on them - one a human in his late twenties to early thirties, handsome with a stylish rich guy haircut. Next to him was what looked like a yorkshire terrier, but humanoid. A Yordle, as I learned they were called from the article.
Jayce Talis and Heimerdinger. Jayce was declared the 'Man of Tomorrow' while Heimerdinger was the founder of the city, some centuries ago.
"Be better to hit the ground running," I said, making Asami's lips thinned.
"I refuse to entertain you building a criminal empire, Law," she stated, eyes hard. To that, I merely tilted my head and met her gaze head on.
"Aren't you being a little too greedy?" I asked her, my tone light but there was an unmistakable warning in my voice. "The bet was I wouldn't get my hands dirty or brute force things by taking anyone's hearts. Now you want to start adding more conditions of what you won't let me do?"
There was a pregnant pause between us, the air growing thick with tension. Asami didn't visibly react to my words, and I knew this was one of those make it or break it moments. I would rather enjoy the game that we were playing now that there was no excess baggage weighing us down, but… just because I was willing to tie my hands behind my back, that didn't mean I was cool with a leash. I had to make that clear from the get go before Asami started calling foul.
She recovered by taking a sip of her tea, watching me from over the rim. "I would say that you're the one being too greedy. We will be running this company together. That'll require compromises from the two of us."
I hummed, acknowledging that point, and she continued. "If you can give me a well reasoned argument for your actions and decisions, in regards to the company, I can… tolerate them."
That almost got a laugh out of me, but I was willing to entertain the olive branch she was extending. "That's fair. On my end I got two issues. First and foremost - Sukuna. I'm trying to broaden his horizons. But, the guy is easily bored and when he gets bored, he gets murderous." I could handle Sukuna. Especially now that I had seen all the tricks he has up his sleeves. Other people, not so much. Yoruichi was the only one that I felt could handle the King of Curses.
"If you knew that, I do wonder why you would bring him in the first place," Asami remarked lightly.
"Because we're friends. That, and he hasn't been house trained yet. If I left him back in Fallout, I'd give it like an hour before he burnt the place down," I admitted. We were friends, but that didn't make me blind to what Sukuna was. "Not that he would have let himself be left behind in the first place. The guy follows his muse, and he wanted to come with."
Asami was silent for a moment, pondering that before speaking again, "And your second issue?"
"Because it's an inefficient use of time and opportunity," I said, jabbing a finger at the tower. "That thing is going to be completed by Progress Day. It's a basic marketing ploy, so I know you know that too. Your plan hinges on us standing out in the crowd enough that we find a patron to buy some of our stuff. Say, a Mr. Handy, for example. I'm betting we could get a chunk of change for one, maybe enough to cover all the expenses… but we would need more time to build up the manufacturing process and the end result is that we don't strike when the iron is hot."
That got a small wince out of her. She only ever saw my playful side, so Asami had been left unaware that I actually knew what I was doing. Even if I preferred not to most of the time. "I can acknowledge your points," she admitted, however reluctantly. "What exactly is your plan, then?"
"Sukuna and Yoruichi set up a gang in the Undercity," I started and Asami immediately tensed. "They provide the starter capital for us, as well as cleaning out a place for us to work. As a compromise, because I know how you are… the company will be dedicating itself to uplifting the quality of life down there."
Her jaw clenched and I swallowed a smile. I could almost see her mind turning over the proposal. It would appeal to her for several reasons, I knew. Most of all, because I was handing her a silver bullet to use against me in my schemes to rise to the top of this city. That was fine.
Asami was a rich girl. The kind who grew up with money. She was a good person that could sympathize with the downtrodden, but she couldn't really empathize with them. She was smart, smarter than anyone I had ever met. But she wasn't wise enough to understand the fact that the people who really mattered wouldn't care if we had gang connections.
"The company dedicates itself to charity efforts in the Undercity," she repeated, and I knew that was the sticking point for her.
"We sell to Piltover for a profit, then use the tech we got in Fallout to make the Undercity more habitable," I agreed, leaning forward so all four legs of my chair touched the ground. "Deal?" I asked, holding out a hand and Asami eyed it like a snake.
All the same, she clasped my hand.
"Deal."
…
Law sure knew how to pick 'em, Yoruichi thought as she watched Sukuna flick a finger as he severed the legs of some two bit gangster. The man fell in the back alley, blood spurting from his stumps just above the knee. The man howled, more in fear and horror than pain. The others scattered about in the alley all looked ill at the sight, any previous bluster they had gone like smoke in the wind.
"What's the point of entertaining this farce?" Sukuna questioned, his hands in his pockets as he cut another man down when he turned to flee. Diced him, starting at the legs and ending at the head. There was a whimper of fear as Sukuna strode forward into the dregs of the Undercity, thoroughly unimpressed by what he was seeing. "What are we gaining by jumping through that woman's hoops?"
Yoruichi simply chuckled, walking along the broken railing of a building that threatened to crumble under her steps. "That woman designed the Dias. Which makes her smarter than the both of us put together. Secondly, she's earned Law's respect, so he's willing to play her game with her rather than forcing her to play his." Yoruichi stated, flash-stepping across an alley as they made their way back to where they arrived.
Though Law had no intention of playing fair. Neither did Asami. It was just a question of who could cheat best.
"Plus, ain't this the opportunity you were griping about?" She added as Sukuna diced another wretch who tried to throw himself at Sukuna's feet and beg for his life. "You're still at half strength, right? Use this as a way to collect those tithes."
"I have standards," Sukuna said, approaching the last one. His face was misshapen, his veins glowing with a pinkish hue. Yoruichi could smell the fear on him, but he still took out a rusted knife and pointed it at Sukuna in a desperate attempt to ward him off. "They don't look particularly tasty or unique. The traces of cursed energy that they produce is pathetic." With every word his said, he took off a piece of the knife until there was nothing left of it. He stared down the man who wilted, dropping to his knees.
Sukuna sighed in disappointment, killing him before looking up at Yoruichi. "Law saying so might be reason enough for you, but it's not for me. I don't gain anything from this farce."
Law really did have a thing for strong, unwieldy personalities, Yoruichi thought with a chuckle. "That's what I'm saying - you gain 'cursed energy' through eating people and the cursed energy they direct towards you during a fight? Change what you collect as a tithe."
As she spoke, she flashed stepped once more to arrive at their destination. That destination being a small shipping container. It stood out amongst the rubble, but Law had chosen a good place for it when he made the switch. Asami was deliberately kept in the dark about it, as was Rumi.
It was a simple trick. Law had the container ready in advance. When the portal opened, he made the swap with some of the junk. He prevented everyone from hearing a reaction to it by altering the soundwaves with his Room. And, given that it was a rusted piece of junk in the dark in a world they didn't know much about, it was easy to miss when you didn't expect it to be there.
"Is that what this is, then? Petty manipulation?" Sukuna asked, an edge in his voice while Yoruichi undid the lock and swung the door open to reveal that the container was filled with boxes.
"This is Law helping," Yoruichi corrected. "That's why he put you on gang boss duty. It's a way to empower yourself once more and get you invested in how things go." She didn't bother to hide the truth, cracking open one of the boxes to reveal containers filled with Joy. Glancing at Sukuna, she saw him crossing his arms, visibly annoyed.
Law gave them their mission. By now, he understood how these things worked. The only change was he was trying his hand at subtlety and finesse. Yoruichi resisted the urge to snort - the idea of Law trying to be suave was way funnier than it had any right to be.
In the meantime, Sukuna was at least pondering what she said. Which was more than Yoruichi expected, honestly. Sukuna reminded her of those old geezers in the Central 46 that were stuck in their ways, so it was their way or the highway. The fact that he wasn't dismissing it out of hand really spoke to how much Law had won Sukuna over. That roguish charm of his worked again.
"I can do that," Sukuna admitted after a moment of thought. "It'd just take amending a binding vow. At worst, it'll cost me some power."
"Why would it cost you some power?" Yoruichi asked, genuinely curious. Cursed energy wasn't spiritual energy, but they had enough in common to rouse her interest. Their worlds seemed to be akin to one another with some pointed parallels - cursed spirits sounded a lot like Hollows, even if they were different in nature.
"Breaking a binding vow with yourself comes with the cost of what was gained from the vow," Sukuna answered easily.
That made her narrow her eyes, recalling Law animatedly recounting their fight. "Didn't you do the same thing against Law? Amend a binding vow?"
"I broke one with my Domain Expansion by closing the domain before using Fuga," Sukuna explained with a sharp smirk. "I altered Cleave and Dismantle during the fight too, empowering them to require hand signs to use." He said, his smile growing a fraction when Yoruichi pointedly looked to his hands, then to the bloody corpses that were strewn about.
She pointedly cocked an eyebrow, and Sukuna humored her. "I lost the power behind the techniques upon breaking the vow. At least until I recreated them a second later."
… Yeah, Law really knew how to pick them. What a monster. And she meant that with the highest of praise.
His mastery of cursed energy was so perfect that even when he suffered the cost of breaking a binding vow, he just recreated the same technique with no issue. That was like if Yoruichi forgot how to Flash Step then immediately mastered it again with no training required. He wasn't the strongest she had ever met, and Yoruichi was certain she herself could defeat him fairly easily. But even still, that level of mastery was something else entirely.
If he ever empowered himself enough so they were playing on an even playing field?
"Suppose that's why Law keeps you around. He needs someone to keep him sharp," Yoruichi remarked before tossing Sukuna the Joy pills. He caught it and gave it a rather unimpressed look. "We start with distribution of this stuff. There's not a lot of joy to be found in this place, so I imagine we're going to get plenty of takers."
"Wouldn't surprise me," Sukuna acknowledged while Yoruichi moved on to see what other goodies Law had packed away for them. "Trash often takes refuge in mindless bliss. I understand my part in this - build an organization, use their worship to empower myself, support Law from the shadows. Blah, blah, blah. I'm more curious what your part is in this."
She was Sukuna's minder, in practice. "It'd be easier to show you," Yoruichi admitted as she set one of the boxes to the side to find what looked to be parts. Yoruichi wouldn't have recognized what they were if it wasn't for a rather helpful note stuck on the surface of a quarter disk looking thing.
'Synth creating machine. Institute made an instruction guide for assembly.'
Maybe she shouldn't have laughed so hard at the idea of Law being sneaky. She had only found him once he put the pedal to the metal and it was full steam ahead. He did seem rather cunning when he wanted to be. Long term plans just weren't his preferred method of getting things done, but he did seem more than capable of them.
Closing the door, she smirked at Sukuna before she vanished from his sight. He offered a brief flicker of alarm to pass over his features before he schooled them. The entire thing only took a moment - there were plenty of curious scavengers in the dark that watched them, either out of desire to take what they had or wanting to keep an eye on them to make sure their paths didn't cross.
The result was by the time Sukuna turned around, she had gathered up six wretches. One of which was hurling at the sudden burst of speed. "Back in my world, I ran the Onmitsukidō for the Soul Society," she started, popping the container of Joy before shoving it into the mouth of the first wretch. He was missing most of his teeth, so it went down easy. "A clan of assassins. Anyone got too inconvenient, the higher ups gave me a name and I made sure it got crossed out."
The dopey eyed look was familiar to Yoruichi. "My assassins were mostly third rate trash, honestly. The talentless. The ones that just didn't have that spark of potential that could take them to greatness. But, that's what I was looking for. I'm a pretty talented gal, you see, and one of my talents is turning talentless losers into ruthless murderers." She explained, shoving the pills down the second mans throat but by the third, when they saw how happy the ones before were, they simply swallowed obediently.
Yeah, this was the kind of weak willed scum that she looked for. They didn't know it yet, but they were diamonds in the rough. A lit spit, a little polish, and some elbow grease - that's all they needed to become the kind of killers that wouldn't hesitate to kill the target even as their best friend was being slaughtered before their eyes.
Sukuna chuckled, stepping forward, "I see. You train the disposable soldiers while I nurture the talent," he deduced with a laugh in his voice.
"Exactly," Yoruichi grinned. "With Joy, they'll be coming to us. From there, we shake the tree a bit to see what comes loose. Learn who the players are and decide who gets to stay and who ends up dead." There would be more to it, naturally. But, in the end, this was just a piece that Law was setting in motion. It could pay off, or it could just be a feint. It entirely depended on what the circumstances were when it came time for Law to make his next move.
Sukuna hummed, thinking about it for just a moment. A thought must have struck him because a nasty sharp grin curled at his lips.
"Sounds like fun."
Yeah… yeah, Law really knew how to pick 'em.
…
Asami only had so many ways to keep me in check, and she couldn't do so without cost. The bet we made gave some hard rules - I couldn't get violent and I couldn't steal hearts on my way to the top. Asami, for her part, wielded a lot more soft power than the bet implied.
She was brilliant. The kind of smart that I couldn't even be jealous of. When it came to inventing things - the Dias, the drones, and everything else, there was no one that could do it better than her as far as I was aware. More than anything else, that was the leverage she had over me.
The company hadn't even been established yet, and we were already wrestling for control over it. I would be the face - the one that weaseled his way up the class ladder until I reached the very top. Asami would be the brains - the one that created everything. The one that made the business decisions. She was good at that. She already proved that much with Future Industries when she essentially took over the business world. But, that was another one of her soft checks on me.
I couldn't force her to tinker. If I wanted to do something, she could refuse by withholding a design or something. For me to succeed, I would have to toe the lines she drew. Just as she had to be wary of pushing me too far because she knew my favorite part of games like these was flipping the board over.
Which is why I found myself approaching a grand building located in the very heart of the city. I was greeted with a titanic golden statue of an already familiar face - Hemindiger, who stood at the front of three others. I had no idea who they were, but if I had to guess, they helped found the city or something. The building itself was something else. It inspired that same kind of awe you felt when you saw one of those old cathedrals that took something like six hundred years to complete.
It was a long and tall structure that seemed like it was made of several buildings that slowly grew over time until they all meshed together. All of it made out of white marble, brass highlights, and glass. The central square that I approached was filled with other people - some younger than me, some older by a couple of decades.
"Piltover University," I remarked, swallowing a smirk. "I never thought I'd go to college, but here we are. Mom and Dad would be rolling in their graves if they could see me now," I said with a laugh. With a shake of my head, I joined the flow of traffic.
I had adopted the local attire - tight fitting pants, dress shoes, a white button down, and a vest. The clothes didn't feel like they suited me, but it was a necessary sacrifice if I wanted to blend in. Now I was just another face making use of the universities offered resources for Progress Day.
The entire thing was quite the novelty to me, I thought as I entered the halls, my gaze bouncing around as people carried their inventions to and from wherever they were going. Young and old alike, there was that same jittery nervousness as they clutched their inventions or research to their chests, equally terrified that it would break, that someone would steal it, or that they would see someone that had a better idea than them.
I could see it all within my Room, which expanded across the entire university and beyond.
"Robin is going to love this place," I mused to myself, breaking off from one of the main halls. Asami would too, honestly. The hall that I walked down now was far less crowded than the rest of the university by virtue of what it was centered around.
History.
Paintings and statues lined the walls, each adorned with a name plate and the contributions that person made to Piltover's society. Most were human, but some weren't. And it was never not utterly fascinating that I was now in a world with a completely divorced history from everything I had ever known.
Such as this city. Piltover was founded first as a university, by Heimerdinger and a few others in the aftermath of some war. That university then became a town. Then a city. But, all these years later, it never lost its roots - Progress. Innovation.
All of it built on the back breaking labor, blood, sweat, tears, and lives of the poor saps stuck in the Undercity.
A younger me would have been furious. Determined to just rip it all down for the sake of it. Now, more mature and a little wiser, I just appreciate the irony of claiming to be making progress for the sake of everyone when you had people dying in the darkness, choking on poison gas for the sake of that progress.
My target revealed himself once I made my way up a couple of flights of stairs - walking by more statues and paintings of famous inventors. He was coming down as I stopped in front of one of the statues, looking down at the name plate with feigned interest.
Heimerdinger. Founder of the city, head of the council that led it, and dean of the university. Probably the single most important person in Piltover.
He was about three feet tall, and that was counting the fur that covered every inch of him but flared up on his head like hair. He really did look like a Yorkshire Terrier person, even as he looked up at me with bright blue eyes. He blinked once, then twice, then a third time before a smile brightened up his face. "Taken an interest in Alexander Veren, have you? One of my lesser known students, but his contributions to gearwork technology was nothing short of revolutionary!"
I adopted an expression as if I was surprised to see the Yordle, "Dean Heimerdinger?" I blurted, blinking at him. "Oh, yes, I was just paying my respects to one of the greats. I didn't expect to meet one on the flesh, though," I remarked.
Heimerdinger seemed pleased with the compliment, twirling his stylized mustache as he continued down the steps. "You flatter me, young man! Though I don't recognize your face, and I know all of my beloved pupils! I take it you're here for Progress Day?"
Huh. I was actually planning to pass myself off as a student, but I suppose that wouldn't work. It could have been a bluff, but I didn't sense any dishonesty from him. "I am," I admitted. "Just arrived, really. I always wanted to go to a university, but it never felt like it was in the cards. At least, not until now."
"Ah! A traveler in search of a scholarship!" Heimerdinger remarked, sounding genuinely delighted. That was part of the big deal about Progress Day - you impressed people, maybe someone would purchase the production rights to your invention. Maybe they'll grant you patronage. Or, maybe, you'll be granted a scholarship to an esteemed university. "You've come at a remarkable time. Just as dear Alexander paved the way for Gearwork technology, we have once more taken a step further with Hextech. The port is-"
At that, he abruptly cut himself, sending me an alarmed expression.
I offered a small smile, "A port?" I echoed, my gaze flickering to the window above the statue, which was half the reason I stopped in front of it.
The Yordle was pensive, "Well… it's supposed to be a secret…" He muttered and I tilted my head at him. He wasn't really what I expected, if I was being honest. He was centuries old, had his finger in just about every pie, and established a rather ruthless way of supporting the upper city of Piltover. I was expecting someone a little more… Machiavellian.
Instead, he seemed like a kid that had a secret that he really wanted to share.
"My lips are sealed," I replied, miming the action of zipping my lips shut and throwing away the key. Heimerdinger brightened immediately and the great secret came out in a rush.
"An intercontinental port! Oh, it is simply wonderful!" He blurted with evident excitement. He was practically bouncing in place. "With hextech and the mana crystals inlaid in the spire, airships can rapidly reach their destination! A trip that would have taken the better part of three months could see the travelers arrive at their destination in as little as three hours! It's a feat of engineering like no other! I think in my lifetime, I could very well see spires like it built in every major city across the world!"
Hmm.
Interesting.
My gaze flickered to the spire once more, looking at it in a new light. It sounded a bit like teleportation, but a lesser version. What was really interesting about it were these 'mana crystals'.
"But don't tell anyone that I told you, young man! I'll be in a spot of trouble!" Heimerdinger requested, still sounding excited.
"You have my word," I replied, my smile growing. This world was shaping up to be exactly what I wanted it to be. A strange land with an unknown history and a more uncertain future. "Though, I have to say, I really did show up at the most interesting of times."
"That you did, my boy," Heimerdinger readily agreed. "It's the start of a new era. But don't be discouraged by this change! This is merely the next big leap towards the future, but between every leap there are a thousand and one steps that need to be taken! Scientists and inventors such as yourself help pave the way for the next leap, if you don't make it yourselves." He swiftly encouraged with a friendly and honest smile.
The words felt genuine to me. I'd have to see him in action, but the whole vibe I was getting from him was a friendly grandfather figure. Just small. Not really what I expected, but that more than worked for me.
This city was how it was for a reason. If it wasn't by Heimerdinger's hand, then it was by someone else's. Maybe many peoples'.
"I think I'll aim for making a leap. Hextech is interesting, but I'm looking to jump down a different branch of the tech tree," I said and Heimerdinger chuckled warmly.
"Excellent! Wonderful! A branch… Yes, that is a wonderful analogy!" He nodded to himself more than me. "Hextech is merely a new budding branch that has grown strongly. There will be more branches that stem from it, but in the end, a branch is only a branch. One of many attached to a tree." He nodded again before there was a loud bell chime coming from somewhere in the school.
"Oh my, where does the time go?" Heimerdinger sighed before he offered an apologetic my way, "I'm afraid I must be off as I have classes to teach. I wish you luck in the days to come!" He said before he started to walk away, only to freeze. "I just realized I never asked for your name, young man! I hope you can forgive my rudeness."
All around me, I felt the university shift. Students were attending classes or retreating to their lairs to tinker with their projects. Others rushed through the halls in hopes of getting to class on time or securing resources before whatever store ran out.
There was a tension in the air. Thousands of people were here with a singular purpose and were in a competition with everyone around them.
"Trafalgar D. Water Law," I introduced myself with a genuine smile. I could feel those that were buckling down under the pressure and those that were crumbling under it. The latter were the ones I was looking for just as much as the former. And there were plenty of both. "But everyone just calls me Law."
"I hope to see what you create, Law. Have a wonderful evening," Heimerdinger said, offering a final smile as he departed with a sense of urgency. When a second bell rang, he yelped and abandoned all pretenses and started running down the stairs.
Asami was brilliant in ways that few people truly were, but this was a place where brilliance gathered. The best, the brightest, the most determined. All gathered up in one place.
"I think it will be," I said, reaching into my pocket and tapping the syringe that was there.
Asami's greatest weakness was that she didn't know what was in my bag of tricks, and my latest trick was the one that was going to undercut any leverage that she thought she had.
I could harvest the intelligence of gifted scientists that were cracking under the pressure and grant it to myself. I could steal away the knowledge of the brilliant and give it to the dull, but potentially loyal, then recruit them to my side of the company and slowly box Asami out, even as she thought she was pulling at my leash.
My smile consumed my face as I took in a deep breath, humming with anticipation.
She really should have been more specific, in the end.
After all, there was more than one way to steal a heart.
...
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