I'm still too scared to watch the final act of Arcane season 2, but I'll work up the nerve to see how things fell apart in Act 2…eventually.
However, the time I would have spent watching that was used to write and finish this, the last chapter of the Path of Storms for the year. Of course, while this week will be when all my mainstream goes on break…well, most of them—there should be a couple of uploads here and there for the other stories I haven't touched in a while, but don't expect too much.
Chapter 43: Back on the Grind
The summer night was cloaked in an inky darkness, broken only by the distant glow of the crescent moon and the flicker of the stars above. These celestial bodies reflected off the calm waters of Toyama Bay. Stretching out into the water lay an old, worm pier. One made from brick and concrete had stood the rest of the time in the decades since it was built, but it wasn't pretty by any means. Covered in cracks, parts had already fallen into the dark waters of the pay. Barnacles cling stubbornly to its edges as the waves came and went.
The pier was eerily silent despite serving a small community well for all its years; at such a late hour, the only things present were the small fishing boats, but not a single angler as they were at home, resting. This silence was broken by the faint hum of an engine in the distance, but one that grew louder as it approached, but never to the point where it would disturb the slumber of most, as those who heard would have assumed nothing of it and gone back to bed.
Driving up the round to the tier, bright beams of light pieced through the darkness. Even when it pulled up, nothing about the vehicle would have stood out from any other someone could have seen on the streets and roads of Japan, as besides being more prominent than most, it was a modest, nondescript grey sedan. It stopped shy of the pier, but one couldn't see into it thanks to its tinted windows. Instead, the vehicle remained still, looking out over the waters of the bay, its headlights illuminating some of the bay but not much else.
A few minutes later, a silhouette could be made over the waters, a relatively large fishing ship meant to head out further out to sea than the practical dinghies that sat in the water. The ship sailed through the waters without making a sound, at least one that could be heard from shore. That was till the car's headlights flashed, turning on and off repeatedly; this wasn't a mechanical error or the driver having a little joke but Morse code. It was brief, more of a password than anything else, as they waited for a response.
That response came in the form of the ship's red light, one designed to give low-flying planes a means to see them. The sea around them flashed, sending back a different code to the one sent. With one last message sent from the car, the two had confirmed each other's identity as the ship slowly turned and made a beeline for the pier. The car's doors finally opened as it approached, and its occupants exited it.
"Right on time." Slice, with Koharu wrapped around her shoulders, smiled as she looked at her phone and saw that it was a little past midnight, just as Pyre said he would be once he had confirmed that he had safely landed in South Korea the previous night and would secure a ride across to Japan once he had a chance to rest from a 4-hour long flight out of Manila. It was good fortune that there was so much illicit trade between Korea and Japan that he found someone willing to smuggle him back home after only a few hours of looking.
"It would have been great if he waited for morning," Mummy complained as he yawned, as they had been up since morning, and their nearest safe-house was 3 hour's drive away.
"Oh yeah, so the entire town would have seen a wanted villain entering the country through illegal means." Slice rolled her eyes at her teammate.
"It would have been fun to see, though it's not like they would put up a fight. The place probably has half a dozen pros and a maximum. Anyone of us could handle that with a hand tied behind our backs. As Chimera reached into his pocket and pulled out a cigar, Mummy threw it back with a chuckle. Lighting it with his quirk, he took a slow, long drag at it before letting out a pleased puff.
"I don't know why I agreed to not smoke in the car," Chimera said.
"Because the rest of us prefer our lungs don't end up black and tumorous." Slice retorted, with Mummy nodding.
"Nah, it was probably something else." Chimera joked as he took another drag at his cigar, the trio falling into a comfortable silence as the ship approached the pier. A few minutes later, it made it, and they walked up to meet it. Pulling up between two smaller vessels, they saw that it had a small crew; one jumped off and was tying the ship to one of the mooring posts. Once that was done, the man called back to the vessel's captain in Korean.
A couple minutes later, Pyre appeared, climbing out from the depths of the vessel with some bags, others carried by some crew members. "Long time no see," Chimera called out when they saw him, with Pyre's eyes lighting up when he spotted them.
"Hi, guys! I have presents for everyone!" He waved at them, his other hand carrying a large spinner bag. The boy lifted up the spinner and gestured to the large backup he had on his back.
"We see that," Mummy chuckled as Pyre quickly got off the boat, rolling his spinner behind him as two crew members followed him, carrying luggage themselves. Once he got closer, the trio saw the changes to his appearance, namely the change in hairstyle and highlights. "We also see that you look different."
"I got it done in Manila. What do you think?" Pyre twirled for them to see the entire man, and the trio also spotted the nails.
"You certainly make it work," Chimera stated, letting out a muff from his cigar as he took the two bags from the smugglers, both nodding before quickly returning to their ship.
"It wouldn't have anything to do with those being colors close to All Might, would they be?" Slice asked, as blonde was obvious enough, but turquoise was still blue, though it was a shade with some Izuku green thrown in. In response, Pyre got slightly flustered but was still happy about the change.
"Well, it's summer, so why not change things up? I even got some new clothes for everyone." Pyre gestured towards the spinner, the largest of his bags. As he did so, Slice walked closer to give him a welcome home hug, one which he returned but also to transfer Koharu to her rightful human. The snake hissed and licked at his cheek as the boy smiled and laughed.
"I missed you too. If I could have taken you with me, I would have. You would have loved the sights." Pyre told his first, who accepted the explanation but hissed that they'd spend quality time together, which he didn't object to.
With their business concluded, they waved off the smugglers, whom Pyre had paid before the trip. The captain of the vessel nodded his head before he ordered that they leave before someone spots them. As the ship pulled out and turned to make its trip back to South Korea, Mummy looked the group over and said they should also get going, as while happy to see one of their missing members, he also wanted to sleep.
Chimere helped Pyre load the trunk with his luggage before they climbed into the car, and Pyre was pleasantly surprised when he did so. "It's so spacious in here." He smiled, as he had thought he would need to squeeze next to Chimera, but there was plenty of space.
Having extinguished his cigar before entering the car, Chimera snorted at the kid's statement. "That was part of the requirements of the commission, remember? Besides, it beats needing to hike or fly everywhere."
"With Nine still out of the country, we don't have much plan for the week, outside remaining on standby as All for One asked of us." Slice explained as Mummy started up the car and reversed it out of the pier before turning to drive off, leaving no trace they were over there, outside a burnt-out cigar bud, tire tracks, and show prints. Such things would hardly go noticed come morning and probably be gone before the next evening.
"By the way, you have what he wanted, right?" Mummy asked, to which Pyre gave a proud, smug smile as he lifted the cheap shirt he had been wearing, revealing that he was wearing a fanny pack over his shoulders—this one padded for shock adsorption and waterproof.
"Yup!" Pyre chirped as he unzipped it, pulled out one of the flash drives, and handed it to Chimera and another to Slice. "Nine was sure to hand them to me before I left and I've haven't let the bag leave my sight since while checking it every 30 minutes to make sure they'll all in here."
"To think, 10 million dollars for just a few flash drives." Chimera mused as he looked the thing over. Outside being labeled as 'No. 4,' there was nothing special about it; it was the sort of flash one could buy from any computer store.
"Typically, I wouldn't care as a payday a payday, but considering who we're dealing with, whatever is one of those flash drives is bound to be dangerous." Slice added that hers was labeled 'No. 6' as they were under no delusion that the former Underworld king would have designs for whatever data these flash drives contained, made all the more worrying considering it was the date that could have only been found on the formally most secure place on the planet.
"Doesn't really matter, does it? We'll contact All for One in the morning and arrange a meeting to give him the goods." Chimera shrugged as he handed Pyre the flash, the same as Slice, and the boy quickly returned to their bag, checking once more to ensure that all 13 were still in the bag and secured. Satisfied, closed up the bag.
"Good idea, it was a fun trip, and I got to see 2 countries and I-expo, but right now I just want some ice cream and to watch the Might Tales of All Might." Pyre yawned, as he had been awake for almost 24 hours now, and before long, he had dozed off in the air, Koharu wide awake as she snuggled close to her favorite human, Chimera, also joining him in the world of dreams.
"Guess we're the designated drivers," Slice said, looking over her shoulder to the back.
Mummy snorted. "Please, I can handle a few hours driving, but you're packing while I head straight to my bed."
The following evening, there was a knock on the door at the League of Villains bar hideout. Shigraraki, at his usual place at the counter, turned his head slightly to the closed door. "You're late, " he stated as the door opened and the Thunders, bar Nine, walked in.
Chimera, taking charge of things bit back. "We're 10 minutes late, it's not the end of the world."
"Welcome. Would any of you care for a drink?" Kurogiri offered before his master could start an argument; it wouldn't do for him to do that when they already had guests.
"You know what? Why not? I'll take a dry martini with extra lemon, " Mummy said as he sat at the counter, Chimera and Slice sitting next to him.
"I'll take a Manhattan," Slice asked.
"Just water for me, " Chimera said, to which Kurogiri nodded before he went about preparing their orders. Pyre was left stumped about why he wasn't even addressed and opened his mouth to ask about it.
"We don't serve alcohol to minors," Kurogiri answered the question before it was asked, making Pyre stomp his foot.
"Of come on. What the heck?" They were all wanted criminals. His villain rank was listed as A, the second highest rank a villain could ever achieve, yet he couldn't even ask for a sip of sake?
"Oh, Pyre! It's good to see you again!" Himiko glumped into him, flashing her pearly whites as Pyre blushed slightly at the close contact but offered her a smile.
"It's good to see you too. I didn't know you'd be here," Pyre replied. They had organized the meeting that morning and had been told they could meet with the League that evening to do the hand-off. Typically, when he met with them, it was just them and their clients.
"Shigaraki wanted to have a little meeting, and a girl didn't have much to do tonight, so I decided why not?" Toga explained, puffing her cheeks as she pointed towards the other side of the bar at the booth she had been relaxing in. "See, Dabi's here too, but she's too cool to get up and greet."
The scarred woman hardly spared them a glance as she held her half-finished drink. "Sup." She gave them a peace sign, her eyes looking Pyre up and down, settling on his new hair before she smirked and returned to enjoying her drink.
"Oh, and we have three new faces you gotta meet. Come on, come on!" Toga pulled Pyre away from the bar and towards the three in question. The first was a man in a threat coat, a decorative mask that covered his entire face, and a top hat.
He bowed to the younger villain when he was led over. "Good evening, Pyre. My name is Mr. Compress. It's an honor to meet such an accomplished villain as yourself." His words were silky and smooth, mature, so he had to be older than him, maybe older than what he thought Dabi was, but there was something about him…Pyre didn't know what, but even Koharu picked up on it, as he wore a mask in the company of fellow villains. Was he afraid that they'd rat him out?
The second was different from the first. Whereas he seemed to be a slim showman, he seemed like a muscular casual man with reddish, shoulder-length hair, a square jaw with some facial hair, and triangular white-framed sunglasses, which seemed off as they were indoors, and it was 8 p.m. For clothing, it was a simple unbuttoned dark orange shirt that revealed their white V-neck, blue jeans, belt, and brown shoes.
"Oh, I am freaking out, I always hoped that I'll get to meet a celebrity like you and the rest of the Thunder while working for the League. Oh, but there's the cutie, Nine?" They asked, looking around for the missing member.
"He's busy with something," Pyre replied, as perhaps it wouldn't be best to reveal that he wasn't even in the country. He was still traveling with their ill-gotten goods and whatever funds he had gained from selling some of them on the Manila black market.
"Oh pooh, he was the hottest among you; where are my manners? The name is Magne, sweetie." Magne offered him a hand to shake.
"Pleasure to make your acquaintance, sir." Pyre took the offered hand, noting Magne had a firm grip.
"Mam." Magne corrected, to which Pyre got a little red at the mistake, but considering Magne wasn't too upset about it, he took the offered olive branch without complaint.
"Pleasure to make your acquaintance, mam." Magne gave him a smile at his correction as she stepped back and let the final person introduce themselves, and they might have been the most unique out of the new faces.
He was looking young, maybe around Shigaraki and Dabi's age, but definitely older than Pyre was. His hair was pretty long and swept backward, with it being a desaturated light purple or dark purple; Pyre couldn't be sure, though his eyes were a similar shake of red as Shigaraki's. What was unique about them, however, was the fact it seemed to be a reptilian heteromorph, with bright green scales covering his entire body and a face shaped like a lizard's.
The other thing about him that drew Pyre's attention, in particular, was the fact he was dressed just like him, or at least, his look was an incredibly detailed re-creation of what Pyre wore, down to the fact the older man even had a purple wreath like headpiece that resembled his own. The sole original piece on him was the fact that he carried an enormous sword on his back, which seemed to be made from many smaller blades welded or strapped together, making it less than a sword and more of a bludgeoning weapon.
"Oh? What's this." Pyre smiled as he looked his over, his eyes bright with curiosity. "Seems like you like what style; you got a lot of it right; it must have taken a while to do that."
"Oh my god, I…um, I am Spinner, Pyre; it's truly an honor to be in your presence!" Spinner quickly bowed to him, which got him confused. Slice and Mummy turned to look at the commotion, and Chimera pulled out a cigar to enjoy his drink.
"What?" Pyre asked, sharing a look with Koharu, who was just as lost as he was.
"I was inspired by your battle and words on Hosu, how liberated you were as you preached your truth even when faced against heroes that would stand against you," Spinner explained, which made Pyre a little bashful but also happy. He had no clue that they had been videoed that night, but it had been a boom for them. Getting more clients, which meant more jobs. But more than that, he had seen the comments on some of the sites that held it on the dark web, and there were so many people who supported him, who saw the flaws in the world.
"Oh…well, thanks? Might I ask if you, too, have the flames in you?" Pyre asked him, though perhaps assuming that a reptile heteromorph would also have a flame-related quirk was a stretch.
Before Spinner could respond, Dabi let out a dismissive snort. "Not even. His quirk is shit." She turned her eye to him as Spinner got up from his bow to glare at the scarred woman.
"Dabi, if you ain't got anything to add to the conversation, keep your trap shut," Spinner growled at her, but Dabi only smirked at his anger.
"Sorry, lizard boy, but if I followed that rule, I'd be silent most of the day." She replied, which only made him angrier as it was like Dabi lived to instigate shit with others. She had already nearly gotten into a death match with Shigaraki twice today. She only stopped when she got a drink to distract her. Compress seemed immune to her acid tongue, which took it in stride and made it boring for her to converse with him.
"A blessing if you ask me, and I've only known you for a day," Spinner muttered as Toga patted his side. She liked them all, but Dabi definitely had moments that made her want to cut the woman, and not because she thought she was pretty.
Before another argument could break out between the two, Compress directed the conversation to another topic. "Oh, by the way, I was curious when I heard that your rankings were being updated, but I haven't heard of any new performances you might have given. Was there a reason for that?"
Now, that was a good question, as the other day, it broke in the underworld that the 5 Thunders, one of Japan's most prominent up-and-coming villain groups, would be reclassified as B-rank, the first group to get such a ranking in over 30 years as All Might led the crusade which saw the last one, a multi-century Yakuza family destroyed and its leaders arrested. Not only that, but Pyre and Nine were both made A-class villains.
It was telling to the assembled League members when the members of the Thunder gave one another silent looks, conversing without words about what to say. "We did a big heist, but it wasn't something the heroes would have lived to advertise," Chimera eventually admitted. Still, it was an answer that lacked details as they always did heists.
"I'll say, you two really pissed off a lot of people. Giran was laughing when he heard about it." Mummy noted, which only got the rest curious about things.
"Oh, that is a broker if I'm not mistaken. I would expect someone whose role is intelligence gathering to be in the know." Mr. Compress mused as Kurogiri coughed into his hand, drawing attention to himself.
"Forgive the secrecy, but they were handling a task given by the master. Speaking of you, you claimed that you acquired the goods?" Kurogiri asked, to which Pyre pulled out a small package and tossed it at the bartender, who caught it with ease and started to inspect its contents.
"I checked it this morning; all the data is there. Good thing, too, as it wasn't easy sneaking in, but not even I-island could keep my flames out." Pyre's smile only made heads turn as not even Dabi could keep her interest from rising at that, as there was no way he just claimed that; there was a mistake there…right?
"Bullshit, there is no way you guys attacked the I-island." Shigaraki was the first to call him on it. I-island was the most secure place on the planet; you'll have an easier time breaking into the damn White House than a literal man-made island that could travel wherever it damn well pleased.
Pyre wouldn't just stand there and be called a liar; he stuck to his guns. "Well, we didn't attack it; we just snuck in, and then some fights broke out. Either way, we got what we were sent to get…and some other goodies."
"That you did, Pyre. My thanks to you and Nine's efforts." All for One's voice cut through the room, and even though he had heard it many times before, had even been in the demon's presence, that voice could send a chill through him. It wasn't just him as sans Shigaraki and Kurogiri; everyone in the room was still, and the survival senses were on high alert. Both Magne and Spinner were already reaching for their weapons and needed to consciously stop themselves from it.
"I do apologize for interrupting, but I wish to offer my congratulations for that and the rise in your villain rank. It's not every day that you find yourselves ascending to A-rank. I was over the moon when I first did so, though the game has changed quite a bit since those early days." All for One chuckled, though he seemed to be the only one in a jovial mood as the rest of the bar was either the same or as tense as a compressed spring, Pyre feeling both a chill in his heart and heat in his belly, Slice's hair getting restless as it made blades before fell back to normal.
"However, there was another reason I asked them to attend, Tomura. Would you like to explain it?" All for One then ended his call with them.
"Sure," Shigaraki turned on his stool toward the rest of them. Listen up. We have another attack in the works, and I wanted to gather some elites."
"My mistake at the USJ was thinking that numbers would clear things, but that wasn't the case as low-level mooks are just cannon fodder, as it was just those two that did anything of worth." Shigaraki had to force himself to admit, gesturing towards Pyre and Slice.
"Thanks for the praise." Slice lifted her drink towards him.
"Shut it," Shigaraki growled at her before returning to the matter. "This time around, we'll be using a smaller team, but one with high-level people and better stats. Though the target will be the same."
"U.A.?" Mr. Compress asked, and when Shigaraki nodded, he tapped his chin in thought. "I do have a question about that? Why target them out of all the available prey? Do you perhaps have a vendetta against the school?"
"The school, I could care less. What I want is to break people's faith in heroes. Those brats are the next generation of pros, people are watching them closely. Always ready to catch any news, whether that be good or bad. We've been hammering at them for a while, but U.A. has escaped with minor damage. I want to land a crit." Shigaraki explained.
"So what, you want us to beat the snot outta some kids?" Chimera asked, as sure they'd probably accept the job, but it sounded like it would be boring.
Shigaraki shook his head. "No, you can do whatever you want with them, but I need 2 things from this. The first would be the blood of at least 3 of them; it doesn't matter which. Also, I want 2 students captured, these two." He presented two pictures, both taken from the Sports festival. The first was on Bakugo, having been restrained so that he could receive his medal. The second was of Uraraka, taken as she had run through the finish line to the opening event.
Looking at the pictures, Dabi smirked as he tapped Bakugo's. "An ugly-looking bastard; you must want friends." Shigaraki snarled at her blatant disrespect.
"What a sight, and I just saw them." Pyre mused, picking up both images.
"Weren't you on I-island for a job?" Toga asked.
"We were; we just happened to run into the two targets and other U.A. students. I thought it was some sort of school trip," Pyre explained, as they had no other means to explain why so many class A students just happened to be on the island. In fact, after thinking about it, they and All Might really threw a wrench into their plans, as it was the students who retook the security and forced a battle.
"You need all of us for this?" Mummy asked. That seemed like overkill, as these kids were strong, but he and Pyre alone held back 2 of their heavy hitters without much issue.
"No, if Pyre here had just fought them, no point letting the enemy get used to how he handles things. This will be for Chimera and Slice, Along with others who haven't arrived yet." Shigaraki explained that it was lousy gaming to use the same tools and abilities in competitive matches. All you did was make it easier for others to plot counters and defenses.
As talks continued, Dabi drew attention to something that seemed to be lacking. "All right, since no one is asking, I'll do it: U.A.'s out for the summer, so how will we attack them? Find out where they live and hit them at home?"
To that, Shigaraki smiled, eager to see some destruction. "I have it on good authority that the first-year hero course will have a summer camp, far from school…and other heroes. Give it time, and I'll have a location as well."
'Again, he has info that shouldn't be easy to get. It has to have a spy in U.A., but who?' Pyre thought to himself as Shigaraki had sounded similar before their raid on the USJ, as he knew that class A would be there. He just hoped that he had learned from them and had plans to better fight against those students as Pyre, saying that they weren't idle; they were improving like them.
After the meeting, the two groups split, but not before a shy Spinner asked for an autograph, one that Pyre was more than happy to give. "Can you hand me your weapon?" Pyre asked.
"Oh, sure! But don't you need a pen?" Spinner quickly drew his weapon and handed it to Pyre, who grasped it with ease despite its weight. If he was honest, how unbalanced it was.
"Not for this," Pyre smiled before blowing a jet of green flames into the blade, making others jump back in fright bar the Thunder, used to Pyre just blasting off flames now and then. Kurogiri reached for the fire extinguisher as Pyre didn't cease till the meta was molten hot. "And now it's soft enough to write in." Humming as he worked, Pyre pressed a finger into the molten steel, and without a hint of pain as his flesh was cooked and then burned, he carefully started to write his villain's name into the metal.
When he finished, his finger was little more than a stump, but one that was rapidly healing as he held out the weapon for Spinner to take. "I hope you like it; it's the first time I've asked to do something like this."
"I'll cherish them, but…well, could you put it somewhere to cool off? I could burn my hand with it as his." Spinner gestured to the weapon as molten metal still flowed down it, burning the wooden floor when it fell off it.
"Oh, sure." Pyre turned to place it on the right side of one of the booth tables. It was still hot, but the metal should cool before any damage was done.
"You could have used a pen, you know," Kurogiri reminded him, as he would be the one to clean things after this. To his concern, Pyre only laughed.
"An autograph is meant to be special, so if I can improve it, why not?" he asked before he waved as the group left. Leaving the building, they stuck to the more minor roads, as while it was night, one could never be sure who saw them. They made their way to their vehicle to leave Kamino.
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