I am alive ! Bit of a rush at work, now back to writing. Editing too. This one might be rougher than usual.
There was always some kind of joy he gained from focusing on a single task at a time. Living with his Quirk made it so that he had to deal with a hundred bits of information, and parsing through them took its toll. Living with Mei gave him the closest thing to peace of mind that he had ever known, and the benefits that came with it. Or not quite.
"Pleeeaaasee," Mei begged as he stopped teasing her pussy with his tongue for the fifth time.
He hummed as he kissed her inner thigh. "Why would I?" he replied before raising his eyes over her mound to look at her, all the way across her naked body, until he finally met her eyes that looked down at him with a glint of despair in them. "You didn't hold up your end of the deal," he reminded her as he kissed her clit, making her entire body shudder. "And I think this will be a nice reminder of what happens when my gremlin of a girlfriend forgets to take care of herself."
Another kiss before he dove in with his tongue earned him a barely held-back shriek as Mei whimpered, her thoughts barely coherent, as she could only focus on the orgasm he had been denying her for the past twenty minutes. He felt her edging closer, so he stopped. Another whimper escaped her lips, which he savored like the most tasteful wine he had ever tasted. He was more of a beer and whiskey kind of guy.
"I won't do it again, please!" she begged him with another bout of energy born of a need he wasn't quite willing to sate yet.
Mei had gone so far off the deep end with her craft that Takuma had to put a stop to it, for the first time in their relationship. He had been queasy about stopping Mei's eighteen-hour work marathons the first time—she could go overboard from time to time. But after another bout of crafting-induced mania, he had to stop her after twenty hours straight. Then again, but this time, he had her promise not to overwork herself again.
She had broken her promise, so he had to be thorough with her punishment. Which he was rendering right now. And also, he was bang-your-head-against-the-wall horny since the day he had shared some of his past, which he couldn't understand why.
He bit her thigh, ripping a moan out of her. Her core twitched, so sensitive and close to release he could taste her lust seeping into his mind. He was seated on Mei's workshop chair. Mei was on top of her workbench, her coveralls and panties around only one leg, her tank top was on the ground with her bra. She was spread-eagle in front of him, which allowed him a view that would have blessed his dreams if he were able to remember them.
"Ah ah ah," he chuckled viciously. "I've heard this one before," he reminded her as another whimper left her lips.
Her fingers twitched in his own as they lay at her side, their fingers interlocked so as to stop her from burying his face in her cunt.
Her breath was ragged, with a sheen of sweat on her body as she looked down at him. "I-I'll be more careful next time!"
He raised an eyebrow as he met her eyes. "How about you tell me what you've been working on, and I'll see if that merits an earlier release or not, because let me remind you, we still have the entire day ahead."
The thrill she felt when he took charge like that wasn't missed on him as she fought back the building pleasure to try and think back on what she was doing before he acted on his earlier threat. With a safeword in place in case something went wrong, of course. Takuma wasn't a moron.
"I was finishing—Ahan—" a kiss "L-Lockluster's costume, sh-she needed pan—Ah—pants—fuck—" she cursed as he started to toy with her sensitive clit with his tongue. She tried to raise her pussy to feel it more, and he backed off, looking back at her with a quirked eyebrow. She took a ragged breath before continuing. "I made sure she had—ah—enough prot—Ahan—" her moan was in response to a quick barrage of kisses all over her pussy. "ection—fuck—I-I buil—built her a toolbelt so she could carry a lot more than what—fuck please—please," again he stopped just short of her release.
"Ah ahah," he denied with a vicious tone. "You're not done yet."
It took her longer to regain her composure as her hand started to fight him. He resisted, not enough so she could escape his grip if she really wanted, just enough to put up a fight. He was about to dive in again when his phone started to ring. He crossed Mei's eyes as his hand made its way to his pocket and grabbed his phone.
"Midoriya," he said out loud to warn her, then he grinned viciously. "Never a better time," he said before answering, to Mei's horror.
"Hello, what can I do for you?" he said into the smartphone before putting it on speaker and then on Mei's body, right above her pussy.
Her eyes were wide, and he let go of her hand to grab a better hold of her leg and steady the phone before he kissed her pussy again. Her hand flew to her own mouth to hide her moan.
"He-Hello, are you busy today?" the voice of his green-haired friend rang out for both of them to hear.
"No, I don't think I am," he replied with a vicious grin, much to Mei's dismay, before playing with her pussy again for a moment, making her core muscles twitch beautifully. "What do you need?" he then added.
"Erm, I'm not quite sure," the boy on the other side admitted as Takuma greedily sucked on Mei's clit. Her leg shook, and a barely restrained shriek failed to escape her hands. "Gran Torino wants me to learn more about some of the less protected parts of the country, and since most of those neighborhoods are mutant communities, I wanted to ask if you had a place to recommend?"
He dived deeper inside Mei with his tongue and hummed thoughtfully. The squeak that escaped her was a clear sign she was deeply enjoying the sensation, as if his Quirk wasn't already confirming it.
"It depends on what kind of mutant community you're aiming for. There are plenty in the more impoverished areas of town—any town, really," he replied to his friend between kisses on Mei's clit. Again, she shook after each one, closer than she'd ever been to cumming since he started. "But you can find those easily, which makes me think that's not what you're calling about," he added, stopping his teasing on Mei's pussy, much to her growing despair, as he moved to feel her breasts instead.
His fingers sank into her large chest, playing with them. He teased her nipples, which she loved, but it wasn't quite enough to push her over the edge, only heightening her need. When she realized it wouldn't be enough, she started begging him with her eyes. His grin only grew more wicked in response.
"I-I don't want to see... what everyone else sees. I want to understand how and why things are the way they are. And since you've worked with Etheromorphs for your P.I. job, I thought you might have a more... real understanding of their situation and could show it to me," Midoriya explained as Takuma rolled Mei's delightfully sensitive nipples between his fingers, savoring how much her body sang to him as he toyed with it.
"Sure, I can get to you in an hour," Takuma told Midoriya as Mei's entire body tightened, like a string pulled taut—a single touch would be enough to make her break. So, of course, he removed his hands from her breasts and took a step back, grabbing the phone as he leaned back into his chair. "Scratch that. Let's meet in half an hour. This won't be a boy scout excursion, so bring clothes that won't stand out. Something with a hood would be preferable in your case. I'll send you the coordinates; it'll be a quick walk from the train station, so don't worry."
"Alright, I'll see you there!" Midoriya replied quickly before ending the call. Takuma took a moment to type out a series of coordinates in a text.
If the bean wanted a glimpse of the underworld, Takuma—
A sharp pain struck him, and his vision blurred for a moment as he blinked back stars.
'Oh, memory, how I missed you,' he groaned internally as he digested the forgotten moment brought back to the surface. 'Spider-tits it is.'
—had just the right idea of how to do so. Then he raised his eyes to Mei, who lay limp, a sheen of sweat on her body, her gaze burning with desire.
"You... You're not going to leave me like this, right?" she asked in a small voice that was downright cute.
"Ah, should I?" he mused aloud as he stood and leaned over her until they were eye-to-eye. "Methinks if I let you cum right now, you wouldn't learn your lesson."
"I did!" she insisted, her hands roaming over his shoulders and arms, feeling him up.
"No, you didn't. I asked you not to overwork yourself, and you still did. You even stayed an extra hour just so I'd do this to you, like I promised," he reminded her, enjoying her look of horror at being caught. "I wasn't born yesterday, young lady. You're clean, your workstation is covered, and the A.C. is set higher than normal—as if someone wanted to be comfortable even naked." He kissed her jaw and began working his way lower, kissing and nibbling on her skin, drawing moans and shudders from her pent-up body until he reached her clit... and stopped. "So, we'll have to see tonight if you've learned your lesson," he told her with a sadistic grin as she flopped back on the table.
"Noooo," she moaned pitifully as he helped her sit up. "Please?"
"Nope," he replied, kissing her on the nose. "Want me to carry you back inside?"
"Yes?" she answered as she jumped into his arms, using the opportunity to grope his ass to her heart's content. "One day, I'm going to take a bite out of this thing."
"If you earn it," he laughed at his girlfriend's antics. "Midoriya called; go get showered. Food's ready, and you'd better sleep, or your next punishment is going to be a thousand times worse," he warned cheekily, making her shudder.
"Please, never again," she pouted, frustration dripping from her voice. "You'll pay for teasing me like that," she playfully threatened.
"I can't wait," he replied, setting her down on the bathroom floor. "Have fun. I've got a bean to show the dark side of the Force or something."
"Have fun. Don't traumatize him... too much," she called back, stepping into the shower with one last hopeful look in his direction before realizing nothing else would happen for now.
"No promises," he chuckled as he closed the door behind him.
"I'm going to die," came a groan from the bathroom as Mei began washing away the sweat his teasing had built up.
He chuckled at her antics, knowing full well he'd pay for this later in the day. He couldn't wait.
A quick change and clean-up later, Takuma was walking down the street where he was supposed to meet Midoriya. The train ride had been uneventful, save for Kamui Woods catching a pickpocket right next to the station and milking the event for some easy recognition.
He was dressed in sweatpants and a dark blue hoodie, a simple combo—nothing flashy or attention-grabbing that would violate the unwritten rules of where they were headed. His sharp eyes caught sight of his green-haired friend waiting exactly where Takuma had told him to go. He gave Izuku a quick once-over, taking note of his outfit: pants and a front-zip hoodie, a darker shade of green than his hair.
Not great, not terrible, Takuma thought.
"Takuma, how are you?" Midoriya greeted him with that same genuine smile Takuma still wasn't used to.
"Pretty good. You?"
"Nervous. Gran Torino asked me to take a look around different communities to familiarize myself with other perspectives, so... here I am," the bean said with a nervous chuckle.
It was a pretty open-ended task. Takuma could see why Midoriya had reached out to him for help. "Heh, the Etheromorph community isn't the most welcoming at first, so you'd have had some trouble getting anything meaningful out of a walk through the slums," he told him as they started heading toward a shop named Linda's Delight.
"Sooo, what did you ha-have in mind?" Izuku asked, his voice betraying his uncertainty.
"We're going to bypass years of trust-building and go straight to the heart of the mutant community in Japan," Takuma replied. Izuku's confusion was evident, and understandably so. "From now on, you keep your mouth shut and your eyes open. Stay close to me, and don't make any movements that could be misconstrued as a threat. And for the love of everything, don't use your Quirk," he added, fixing the boy with a serious look.
"A-Alright, I-I won't," the boy stammered, nodding stiffly.
"Good. Follow me close, and let me do the talking," Takuma instructed as they stepped into the empty shop. He headed straight for the counter without hesitation.
Behind it was a young boy, likely in his mid-teens, lazily pretending to work. Takuma knew better. Linda's Delight was nothing more than a front for an organization he'd worked with in the past. The boy at the counter didn't show any obvious mutations, which was intentional—better to hide what the establishment was really about. The kid was probably making easy money fending off curious customers while doing the bare minimum. A cozy gig for the lazy but cautious.
"Good evening. We're about to close," the boy droned, barely glancing up.
"I'm here for Linda's Gift," Takuma said, matching the toneless delivery. The boy's eyes widened ever so slightly as he straightened in his seat, his earlier apathy vanishing.
"Uh... yes, sir. Do you... uh, have a membership?" the boy stammered, trying to keep it together.
"No. I lost my membership card, but I'm sure you'll find it under the name Casta," Takuma replied evenly. The boy dove into a thick file, his hands trembling as he sifted through the pages.
Takuma felt the stirrings of curiosity form in Midoriya's mind. Turning to him, he raised a finger to his lips, shaking his head in warning. Midoriya got the message and said nothing.
A few seconds later, a potent mix of awe, fear, and shock crossed the boy's face. Clearly, he'd found the name.
"Si-Sir, I-I didn't realize—yo-you can fo-follow me to the ba-back!" the boy stuttered, his voice nearly cracking. Takuma couldn't help but wonder if this kid had ever dealt with any of Linda's true clientele. "P-Please, right this way," the boy added, practically stumbling over himself as he led them to the back.
Takuma followed, with Midoriya staying close behind.
The back room was bare, little more than a wide, windowless space with a single desk and a flickering overhead light. The boy darted to the desk, fumbling for a card and a pair of paint bottles.
"Y-You need to—"
"I know the drill," Takuma cut him off, taking the bottles of paint from the boy's hands. One was red, the other green.
"Close your eyes," Takuma said to Midoriya. The boy hesitated briefly but complied.
Once Midoriya's eyes were shut, Takuma dipped his fingers into the green paint and applied a line from the top of his hairline down to the tip of his nose. Next, he did the same with the red paint, crossing the green line on his forehead before continuing the single red stripe down to the tip of his nose.
Finished, he handed the bottles back to the boy and extended his hand for the card.
"Ha-Have a safe journey," the boy stammered, quickly retreating from the room like he couldn't get away fast enough.
"Stand in the center of the room," Takuma instructed Midoriya, who complied without hesitation. "Close your eyes and count to ten. Don't open them early, or you'll lose your sight."
The uncertainty on Midoriya's face deepened, but he followed the command, tightly shutting his eyes.
The second his friend's eyes closed, Takuma threw the card to the floor. A blinding flash of white light exploded behind his own eyelids. Then came the warmth of sunlight on his skin, the rustle of the wind, and the sound of children playing.
"Welcome to Jinerva," he drawled, opening his eyes to take in the town he hadn't seen in years.
Izuku choked on air as he opened his eyes, looking wildly around before freezing, mouth agape. He stared, utterly overwhelmed.
"Etheromorphs. Mutants. To some, a stain upon the world. To others, just... people," Takuma said with a small grin. "Here, that's exactly what they are—people."
Izuku's jaw practically hit the literal floor, and all that came out of him were squeaks and gasps as he struggled to form words. Finally, he managed, "H-Ho-How?"
Takuma smirked but didn't comment. His first reaction to this place hadn't been much different.
Etheromorphs—far more divergent than the average human mutant. Tentacles, spider eyes, even beings with the body of a horse and the upper half of a man. The variations were endless, too many to ever catalog in a lifetime.
"You don't see Etheromorphs like this in the cities for a reason. Some of them can't even enter a city," Takuma explained, slapping Izuku lightly on the back to snap him out of his shock. "Jinerva is one of the few places where they can live in peace. This city was built with their unique morphologies in mind. As you can see, these aren't your run-of-the-mill mutants."
The streets were unlike anything Izuku had ever seen: impossibly wide and bustling with beings that defied every norm of human anatomy. Children the size of houses played with glee. A man with the lower half of a car rolled effortlessly through the crowd. Women with skin that gleamed like carved marble or living stone walked gracefully, their forms something Michelangelo himself might envy. Everywhere, Etheromorphs thrived in ways they couldn't in a world designed for ordinary humans.
"Where... where are we?" Izuku asked, his voice barely above a whisper.
"Jinerva," Takuma replied, his tone matter-of-fact. "A city made for mutants who don't fit humanity's narrow standards."
"Are we still in Japan?" Izuku asked, scanning the area for some clue to ground himself.
Takuma shrugged. "Honestly? I'm not sure we're anywhere. My pet theory is that this place exists in some kind of demi-plane." He waved a hand at the vibrant cityscape. "As you can imagine, the people who built this place aren't too eager to share how it works."
Izuku blinked, processing the sheer scale of the place. "The card—what was—"
"The card is your way in, yes. How it works? No clue."
"And the paint?" Izuku asked, rubbing his fingers over his face where the paint had been applied.
Takuma ran his own hand over the red streak on his forehead, which had now settled into his skin like a faded tattoo. "Red is for a trusted member of the community. Green is for a Trustee—someone who's been vouched for. I crossed your green with red to show you're with me."
Izuku looked at his own face, wiping at it instinctively. To his surprise, his fingers came away clean. "How long will this stay on me?"
Takuma smirked. "Until it fades or when we leave. Usually a couple of hours—maybe a day at most. It's harmless, but it'll stop anyone from asking too many questions while we're here."
Izuku nodded slowly, still glancing around with wide eyes. "This is... incredible."
"It is," Takuma said, his voice softer than usual. For a moment, his eyes drifted across the sprawling streets, a flicker of something almost wistful crossing his face. "Now keep your head on straight. We're not here to gawk. Let's get moving."
He turned and started walking toward the city center, leaving Izuku scrambling to keep up.
"Until we leave this place," Takuma replied as they approached a busier part of the city. The streets widened, and the murmur of voices filled the air. "Quick-fire rules: when children are near, you stand still. Don't move, and keep your hands where everyone can see them. No Quirk use, no raising your voice. Got it?"
"I—why do we need to stop when we're around children?" Izuku asked hesitantly, clearly confused.
"Because we're human—or at least, we look it. No apparent mutations," Takuma explained bluntly. "The red paint on me shows I know the rules and can abide by them. Green means you're new and learning, but don't think for a second the guards here will hesitate to turn you into a corpse if they think you're a threat to kids—or anyone else, really."
Izuku swallowed hard and nodded as they entered the bustling city center, drawing a few curious glances from the mutants around them. Among the vibrant and varied Etheromorphs, their plain, human forms stood out like sore thumbs.
"Keep your hands to yourself, and everything will go smoothly. People here see us as a threat, and not all of that fear is unwarranted," Takuma added.
"I will," Izuku promised, then slipped a pen between his teeth, clamping it in place.
"What's the pen for?" Takuma asked with a raised brow.
"It stops me from mumbling my thoughts," Izuku explained, his words muffled by the pen. "Nedzu thinks it might hurt me in a fight if I keep doing it."
Takuma snorted. "Leave it to the rat. That's smart. Should've thought of that myself."
They continued walking for about ten minutes. Takuma kept a careful eye on Izuku, whose wide-eyed gawking made it seem like his brain was struggling to process what he was seeing. To be fair, the Etheromorphs were a lot to take in. Some were as massive as trucks, while others had forms so abstract that the mind had to work overtime to comprehend them. Takuma had been just as overwhelmed the first time he'd come here, but his Quirk had forced him to adjust quickly.
At the end of the day, if they could feel emotions, they weren't all that different from anyone else.
"Well, well, well. Isn't this my favorite customer," a voice chimed, its tone both gravelly and light, like rocks grinding together.
Takuma turned toward the source, immediately recognizing the figure. A man made entirely of crystal floated a few feet off the ground. From head to torso, he shimmered like polished quartz, with no lower body in sight. Pale lights danced where his eyes should have been, glowing faintly.
"And if it isn't my least-liked information broker," Takuma shot back, his hand gripping the back of Midoriya's shirt like a leash. "How are things, Tashibana?"
"Fine, as fine as usual," the crystal man replied, his glowing eyes flaring faintly as he floated higher, radiating excitement. "And you've brought a Trustee? Now that's something I don't see every day."
"I'm branching out," Takuma replied casually. "How's the lady?"
"Great. Still a pain in my ass, as always," Tashibana said with a chuckle-like grinding noise. His crystalline form glinted in the light. "So... care to explain where you've been these past few years? You don't just disappear without reason."
"None that you need to know," Takuma deflected smoothly. "I was gone. Now I'm back."
Tashibana hummed, clearly amused. "Fair enough. I'm glad to see you're still kicking. Heading to Linda's, huh? Don't let me keep you from the lady."
"Glad you're doing well, Tashibana," Takuma replied, loosening his grip on Izuku's shirt. "I'll stop by your shop if I need work."
"I'll be waiting," Tashibana said with a shimmering wave of one crystalline appendage. "Take care, old friend. And don't be a stranger."
With that, Takuma turned, ushering Izuku along with him. "C'mon," he said quietly. "Let's keep moving."
Barely two steps later, Midoriya took the pen out from between his teeth. "Who was that?" he whispered as they took a left, away from the main square and toward one of the less well-traveled roads.
"An information broker, one of the nicer ones," he told his shorter friend. "A real snake, but if you're in need of information—whatever kind—he's the guy that can get it for you."
"Alright, can you let go now?" Midoriya asked, tapping lightly on the hand that held his hoodie in a death grip.
"No. We're there, and I'm not taking the risk of having to scoop you up in a bucket," he replied as he pulled him behind him into the equivalent of a dirty back alley, which for Jinerva was more like a wide road that could still hold a few buses side by side. "Wait for me to make the introduction."
And he knocked on a black door, the only one that led into the windowless building.
He knew there were only three people in the building: one who would kill Midoriya just for breathing, one who wouldn't care, and the last who he knew would care just enough for this little excursion to be worth their time.
The one that came to answer was the first one. The door slammed open, revealing a man in his mid-fifties, human-looking if not for the very wide jaw and threatening shark teeth that made him look half-insane and half-terrifying. He was both.
"You," he spat before looking at Midoriya.
"Me," Takuma replied, feeling for any intent to harm. Unlikely as it was, he hadn't been here in years, and he preferred to be safe than sorry. "He's with me. I'm here to see Lindy."
"You do not call her that, thing," the man stated with a feral look in his eyes before he spat on Takuma's face.
It was disgusting and slimy. Midoriya tensed next to him, so he held him back. "Your mistress won't be happy to hear about that."
"She has better things to do than waste her time with your kind, pet. Now go away." The shark mutant took a step back and went to close the door, but Takuma put his foot in the way.
The growl that left the man's lipless mouth made Izuku flinch.
"WHO—"
"Takuma," said a voice from behind him as another male stepped into the light. The newcomer had a stocky, short build like a dwarf, with obsidian skin crackled with red lines from which fire occasionally burst. "The lady has been informed of your arrival. You are expected."
"Thank you, Kaserdieth," Takuma drawled simply, still waiting for the shark mutant's next move.
"Krossius, go in the back and start dealing with the lady's next shipment, if you would," Kaserdieth commanded. The shark mutant let out a long hiss before turning and stomping away.
Takuma heaved a long sigh as he wiped the now lukewarm saliva off his face. "Thanks for the help, Kas."
"My pleasure. Do make sure to sufficiently warn the lady of your arrival. She is upstairs," the fiery mutant informed him with a polite smile before returning to his task. Takuma entered and led Izuku upstairs.
Only then, with Krossius far away, did he feel comfortable enough to let go of Midoriya.
"He doesn't like you very much," Midoriya said matter-of-factly.
Takuma chuckled lightly. "Understatement of the century. Krossius is a mutant supremacist. He's always difficult to deal with, but with you in the mix, he tried to goad you into doing something stupid so he'd have an alibi to kill both of us."
"Oh," Izuku said lamely. "Are there other mutant... supremacists in Jinerva?"
"Many. You wouldn't have survived a minute here without me to play intermediary," he revealed with a shrug. "You don't get access to places like this without a lot of work beforehand."
Midoriya nodded, his head a firework of thoughts and questions he was fighting himself not to ask. "And the lady— is she... a supremacist?"
"No, she's a friend," Takuma said as he neared a wide black door. The purple carpet under his feet was nostalgic, as was the golden doorknob in front of him. "She's good people, so please don't be... afraid."
"Why would I—"
Takuma pushed the door open, and Midoriya had his answer.
Mutants came in all shapes and sizes. Some were big. Linda was in that category, as the room—which was in fact made from the broken-down floor and ceiling of the upper level—was just enough space for her to be comfortable. Burning fires of purple and gold lit the room as webs of silver reflected the light into every corner. In the center of it, a twelve-meter-tall mutant sat, her spider-like limbs retracted around her as she hummed lightly to herself. The upper part of her body, from her hips up, was human. From so far away, he knew Midoriya couldn't see her face, hidden under a dark blue hood that covered her shoulders, arms, and back. She turned slowly, her body language screaming control and power.
Takuma took a step forward toward the woman, and Izuku followed closely behind him.
"Who dares disturb the peace of the Lady of the Night?" Her voice rang, melodic and strong, as she rose from her seated position.
Now she towered over both of them, and they had to crane their necks high to look at the eyes peeking out from under her hood. On her feet, she was seventeen meters tall and half as wide.
"I do, my lady," Takuma replied, taking a step forward before kneeling.
Midoriya did the same a second later.
"You dare?" she asked again in a whisper as she moved in their direction without a sound. "And you bring me a friend, or my next meal?"
"Whatever will please my lady will be so," Takuma stated as he took something from his pocket. "But I believe my lady will enjoy my gift more than any meat."
Midoriya was quietly freaking out next to him, One For All thrumming under his skin. Even though he knew using a Quirk would be stupid, he couldn't help but prepare himself as the building-sized spider woman looked at him like he might be her next meal.
"Oh? And what is it? Tell me. What is the gift that will spare both of your lives?" she demanded, leaning closer. Her face was as tall as he was, and she was lowering herself to the ground to look at him.
"One used condom and a boop on the nose," he stated proudly and mightily as he did just that—. "Boop."
Linda stilled as Midoriya choked on air. Then came a sound—something between a choking parrot and a dying squeaky toy—as Linda snorted in a way Takuma doubted he could ever describe. Then she laughed, like a giggling schoolgirl. As one might expect, it didn't sit well with the air of mystery she had been building until now.
"Heh?" was all Midoriya managed to say as webs shot out from Linda's hand and grabbed them both, pulling them high to a platform more suited to her level.
"Takuma, you absolute bitch, where the fuck were you?!" The now-uncovered and far less regal Linda asked, her hood falling back to reveal the face of a woman in her mid-twenties with long brown hair and soft features.
"Busy," he replied, much to her dismay, as she booped him on the nose—a gesture that ended up feeling more like being punched in the face. "Ow."
"Shit, sorry," she said, forcing herself to calm down as she removed her hand from him. "Do you know how hard you have to hide to stay out of my information network?" she demanded, glaring down at him.
"I'll explain, but first," he told her as he turned toward his shorter friend. "This is Midoriya. Midoriya, this is Linda."
"Hello," Linda waved with a pleased smile toward Midoriya, who was still reeling from the sudden change in tone. "Damn, it only took you eight years to bring one of your friends here."
"He's a recent addition," Takuma said, revealing in the same breath that Midoriya wasn't quite trusted yet—not to their level at least—which Linda confirmed with a barely perceptible nod.
"G-Good af-afternoon, ma'am," Izuku stammered out awkwardly.
"Good job, you broke him," Takuma snickered as Linda rolled her eyes.
"You were the one who told me to go with the 'Queen of the Underworld' act, may I remind you," his friend shot back without any heat. "Do you have any idea how little purple light actually lights this place? I had to put my web everywhere just to read shit."
"Poor you. Maybe don't keep the charade up when you're alone in your office, then," he shot back with a smile.
"But the big-tiddy goth spider queen shtick really suits me, you know," she replied with a heavy sigh that would have knocked someone unprepared off their feet—not that either of them reacted, he noticed, as Midoriya was still on his feet.
"Big tiddy?" he asked with an inquisitive eyebrow.
"May I remind you my tits are the size of a small car," she hissed with a challenging glare.
"Must be a really flat car, then," he shot back before snorting.
Linda laughed, and he followed soon after. A few seconds later, they calmed down enough for the behemoth of a woman he called a friend to open a door on the right, which was at her head level and the fourth floor for Midoriya and him.
"Go and grab a seat, you shit, while I grab myself a drink," Linda invited them both as she turned to retrieve an oversized glass bottle.
"Come on, you don't have to follow the rules I gave you earlier while we're in here," Takuma told Izuku as he opened the door and entered a well-lit and comfortable living room Linda kept strictly for friends.
"Do I really know nothing about heteromorphs in general, or is this place just crazy?" Midoriya asked, staring at Takuma for an answer.
"Jinerva is a one-of-a-kind place," Takuma reassured his friend, noticing the furrowed brow and near shell-shocked expression on Midoriya's face. Clearly, this had been a bit too much of a world-breaking change to how he viewed things. "Feel free to ask any questions you have in mind. We're here for that anyway."
"And I can't write anything in my notebook," Izuku realized as he took a seat in a comfy chair. "This is hell."
Takuma rolled his eyes just as Linda returned with a fridge-sized beer.
"So, before I grill you about vanishing into the dark like some kind of ghost, what did you come here for?" she asked, taking a sip. "And you better have a fucking good explanation for me."
"A lot happened, but right now, I'm kind of doing a favor for Mister Green over here," Takuma said, pointing at Midoriya with his thumb. "Do you mind giving him the Linda Special for friends and family?"
"Sure. Debt or favor?" Linda questioned as she looked over at the shorter green-haired boy, who was entranced by the sight of the titanic mutant in front of him.
"Favor," Takuma confirmed, nodding. "And give him everything—for someone not quite my level, but not too low on the totem pole either."
Linda gave a slight shrug. "Alright. So, what do you want to know?" she asked, waiting for Midoriya to speak.
While Izuku struggled with a bad case of too many questions all at once—his mind racing but his mouth unable to keep up—Takuma grabbed a bottle of brandy and poured himself a cup. He tasted it and winced a little at the flavor. It wasn't great, but it would do.
"Where-are-we? How-did-we-get-here? How-tall-are-you? How-much-do-you-eat-in-a-day? What-kind-of-spider-are-you? Or-are-you-a-generalized-version? What-do-you-do? How-do-you-do-it—"
Linda turned to Takuma, who simply shrugged. "He gets excited."
"Alright, alright, calm down," Linda chuckled, moving the platform they stood on down a level so she could sit on the ground. "One question at a time, jeez."
Midoriya fumbled for another second before settling on the one he wanted to ask. "How are you?"
Linda blinked. "Fine. Could be better, could be... worse?"
Takuma laughed loudly at that. "Midoriya, remember why we're here."
"Right!" Midoriya exclaimed, jumping to his feet as if he couldn't sit still anymore. He began pacing furiously in front of the large opening that led to the main room—a four-story drop below. "Can you please tell me everything you can about the mutant community in Japan?"
Linda hummed between sips of her beer. "Most mutant communities in Japan are spread evenly throughout the country, with many smaller pockets in the countryside. As you may know, the majority of mutants live in the slums of big cities due to various reasons—ranging from hate to logistical issues, like the fact that being a seventeen-meter-tall spider isn't exactly convenient. The communities in the countryside are more spread out, but there are some notable groups that gather for protection around small villages and towns based on their mutations. Some can only live in specific environments—you'll find many aquatic mutants in Port City, for example.
"Discrimination is a fact of life. The sun goes up and down, and a mutant will always manage to get the short end of the stick—be it from a corporate office or a bunch of teenagers jumping you in the street after an eight-hour shift."
She spoke with an almost whimsical tone, but Takuma could tell the nearly casual recounting of everyday suffering struck a nerve with Midoriya. It hit close to home, mirroring what he himself had endured.
"What is the biggest threat to the mutant community?" Izuku asked next. Takuma stilled, finishing his drink in a single gulp.
He already knew the answer to this one.
"The Creature Rejection Clan," Linda hissed. "Those bastards have been a thorn in our sides for centuries."
"All Might... didn't his presence help?" Izuku asked slowly, his tone cautious, as if afraid to push too far.
"Of course he did," Linda confirmed, and Midoriya let out a sigh of relief. "If he hadn't, there'd be far fewer of us left. All Might doesn't discriminate, and his existence has been a blessing for more than one mutant community. But you have to keep in mind, the C.R.C. isn't run by some run-of-the-mill morons who don't mind getting into a fight. The organization strikes at our weakest—families, entire households wiped out in a single night. All Might can't be everywhere to stop that. It happens enough that we've learned to live with it."
"How?" Izuku asked, his tone a thin line between horror and righteous fury.
"Templars," Takuma simply said as he sampled a bottle of whiskey, only to grimace at its taste again.
Linda growled before taking a deep breath. Midoriya stopped pacing, slowly turning to face her.
"For every organization, there's the rank and file, the managers, and the leaders. And then there are the experts—think of them as the villain equivalent within their group. These are the ones trained specifically to kill us. While a dumbass kid might punch one of us and accidentally kill us, a Templar could take out hundreds in a single night."
Midoriya froze, either unwilling or unable to process the weight of what he'd just learned. "And why aren't the heroes doing anything?" he asked, his voice tight.
Takuma blinked, surprised by the question.
'Going straight for the reason why, rather than wasting time bemoaning the state of things... He's matured a lot, Takuma realized. His mentors have been doing good work.'
"They are, but it's a bloody thing. Not many heroes are willing to stick their necks out when there's no prize in the game. You're not fighting in the middle of the street for the fans, looking good while doing it. You're down in the muck, fighting bastards who won't hesitate to kill, but more importantly, won't actually stay and fight if a real opponent shows up. If there's a hero willing to do just that, then they can expect a game of cat and mouse until the day they either lose interest or get killed," Linda revealed, a hint of sadness in her voice for the first time. "That's why we have our own to protect us. Some are heroes, yes, but most are just people willing to make the Templars' day that much worse. Like Takuma over here."
Takuma tipped his glass toward Midoriya, finishing the last drop of the revolting bottle of whiskey.
"So... you've been fighting them a long time?" Midoriya asked, his anxiety buzzing beneath the surface as he wasn't sure how Takuma would respond.
"On and off for years now. My fighting skills didn't come from a cereal box, you know," Takuma replied, dipping some absinthe into his glass. "Being able to feel people's intent through concrete is a great tool when you're trying to stop a family of five from being murdered."
Midoriya's frown deepened as Linda raised a quizzical eyebrow at him.
"Besides a few mutants who are in a category of their own—and by that, I mean actual heroes—Takuma is one of the single most experienced experts we have on hand to deal with them. His intelligence-gathering ability was the only reason we managed to catch enough of them to make them decide to disappear into the wild these last few years. There hasn't been an Acolyte in the last two years, as far as we're aware."
"What's an Acolyte?" Izuku asked, sitting back down in his chair, the gravity of the discussion finally catching up with him.
"To become a Templar, you first need to be trusted in the organization," Takuma informed him, as Linda forced herself to take a deep breath, trying to steady her nerves. "Then, you need to take a hundred lives in a single night."
Midoriya blinked, looking slightly stunned. "Oh," he said, so quietly it was almost inaudible. "And what happens if they fail?"
"Then they try again, and again, and again, until they succeed," Linda sighed, holding her beer with both hands to steady herself.
"But how... how can they do all of that without it being known? I've never heard of it, and I'm constantly scrounging for any information about heroes I can find. I don't understand how this can happen and not be on the news the next day," Midoriya stated, the first note of anger entering his tone.
"It's not that hard to keep it under wraps," Takuma sighed as his friend turned to look at him. "Take a corpse, call the cops. The cops investigate the crime, reporters hear about it through their contacts in the police force or on the street. Now add discrimination into the mix and the lack of interest for news coming from low-income areas, and you've got the perfect recipe for the information to either be lost in the wind or simply deemed irrelevant when the next big fight on the main roads shows up."
"Even then, a hundred corpses in a single night isn't something anyone can cover up!" Izuku shot back.
"They don't kill us all in the same place," Linda said, her voice low as she set her beer down. "The C.R.C. has access to a teleporter. A hundred deaths in a single night in one location might be hard to keep under wraps, but spread it all over Japan, and it's harder to connect the dots."
"And that's without taking into account the few silent voices who have an active interest in keeping things out of the news cycle," Takuma added, raising another glass to his lips, disliking the taste even more. "A file goes missing here, information gets lost in the rush of the day. You only need one corrupt cop or journalist to ensure the news never gets picked up. We're talking about deep-rooted hatred here. You've got to keep in mind not everyone can be trusted."
"We're at war," Linda whispered, her voice barely audible. "Or we used to be. For years, we were getting slaughtered—thousands of us each night. Then others joined the fight. Takuma, Skitter, and many others," she listed with a warm smile toward Takuma, who raised his glass with a wink. "Hell, I wouldn't even be here if it weren't for him," she added, raising two of her eight legs, cut halfway up. "Many people are fighting a war that nobody even knows about, or if they do, they choose not to see it because it's so removed from the world of heroes and villains that it's too much for most to handle."
"I want in," Izuku stated without missing a beat. "I want to help."
"Hold your horses, we're not here to get you to sign up for a war no sane person would want to join," Takuma countered quickly. "And don't think you know even a single percent of what's going on in the Eteromorphic community. The C.R.C. is a big part, yeah, but there are others that would give them a run for their money with the same kind of barbaric tendencies. Nothing is black and white."
"And it's not like they've been very active in the last five years," Linda added, sounding somewhat relieved. "Aside from a few moves here and there, we're far removed from the constant murders that went on for decades."
"Yeah, I met some a few months back. I don't know what's going on with them, but those guys were sloppy, like you wouldn't believe." Takuma offered, catching Linda's attention. "No Templars, but still."
"Most of our people who catch wind of their movements end up saying the same thing. The organization might be breaking down from the inside," Linda mused. "It'd be a blessing if it could fall apart long enough for them to stop being a credible threat."
"Here's hoping," Takuma agreed.
"Could I ask about your Quirk?" Midoriya asked, stepping closer to the ledge.
"My Quirk's called Half-Spider. It gives me the lower half of a spider, and I can make webbing straight from my abdomen," Linda replied, glossing over the obvious detail of her Quirk.
"But what about—"
Takuma could already tell Izuku wasn't sure if mentioning her size was appropriate. "Your humongous girth," he cut him off as Linda snorted, nearly bowling Midoriya over with the force of it.
"Dick," she muttered.
Takuma tipped his now-empty glass and reached for a vodka bottle.
"The size part of my Quirk is... bizarre," Linda explained, grabbing the beer she had set down earlier. "I was born to normal parents, with small spider-like mutations like silk for hair and multiple eyes—nothing that would lead me to end up like this. So here I was, born at the humongous size of five centimeters."
Takuma wondered if the sheer excitement vibrating off Midoriya could be harnessed into a power plant; he could easily see it powering half of Japan.
"That means your growth is exponential! You weren't always so big!" Izuku nearly shouted as he returned to pacing, a stream of words rushing out that Takuma didn't even try to follow. "How much do you grow in a year?" he finally asked, looking up at Linda expectantly.
Linda smiled, more used to the horror and terror of a building-sized spider-woman being seen as a threat. "In the beginning, about ten centimeters a year. After I hit my teens, I've been growing about a meter every year."
"And the granny's twenty-five, if you can believe it. If we needed proof that dinosaurs existed, here she is," Takuma quipped, finishing his vodka.
"Ah, Takuma. Always a joy to have you around," Linda chuckled, her tone playful as she glared at him.
"I've never seen anyone your size before. Besides Mount Lady, are there many mutants like you around?" Izuku asked.
"Titanic-sized mutants aren't very common," Linda answered between sips of her beer. "You can find a lot of us in Greece or Italy, but in Japan, there must be like four of us." She raised her two stumped legs. "As you can see..." she continued, "it's better for us to stay hidden—or to come to Jinerva for safety."
Midoriya looked at her appendages, and Takuma could feel the righteous fury emanating from him, clear as day. "How did it happen?" he asked.
Linda let out a sad chuckle. "I was going home one night after school. Even then, I couldn't really use public transport. A Templar saw me and decided to make sure my existence wouldn't plague the earth any longer. The bigger we are, the juicier the target. I tried to run, but a teenage girl against a grown man, Quirk or no Quirk—it wasn't much of a fight."
"I'm sorry," Izuku whispered, his face full of regret.
"Don't be," Linda shot back with a small smile. "Takuma over here made him plenty sorry."
"I was on the roof when he attacked her, jumped, and landed both feet first on him, snapped his neck," Takuma recalled with a small grin. "He ended up paralyzed from the neck down, and he has lived every second since that night in a nice little hospital run mostly by mutants."
"That's... pretty grim," Midoriya commented on his virulent approach. "I guess you didn't have much of a choice," he added, Takuma felt like it was more wishful thinking from his shorter friend than anything.
"That would have been fun, a teenager and a ten-year-old against a hardened killer," Linda recalled with a tone full of disbelief. "Takuma was the one to lead me to a more accepting part of the mutant community, and then I made my way to Jinerva."
"...Ten?" Izuku asked in a whisper as he looked at him in horror.
"We all can't have it easy," Takuma told him with a shrug.
"Speaking of easy," Linda then said as she moved her face closer to him. "Where the fuck were you?!" she demanded with an aggravated tone. "You were on a job and then you fucking vanished. You better have a great fucking explanation, or I'll swear I will find a way to tan your hide!"
"Ahah, about that..." Takuma chuckled dryly as he let off the alcohol for a bit to walk closer to his building-sized friend. "You know my usual suspect?"
"Yes," Linda replied quickly.
He didn't fail to notice Izuku's interest in the conversation.
"Well, about two years ago, I lost a fight, a big one I think, and it kind of fucked me up in a big way," he revealed. "My memory is fucked, and most of that time is lost to me, and to be honest, I entirely forgot you existed until Midoriya here asked about the mutant community and you kind of came back in my mind starting from there."
Linda blinked owlishly. "Shit. I knew you were fucking weird, I should have done something."
Takuma wasn't exactly expecting this reaction. "What do you mean?"
"I saw you like a year ago. You took up some work for one of my clients. You never came back to get paid, you shit!" she finished her sentence with a half-shout of pure frustration. "I'm calling Kaserdieth to check up on you, and don't even think about jumping from the window again. I had that exit sealed."
"That won't be necessary," he cut her off gently. "One of the many reasons I'm starting to gain back some of my memories is because—"
"Oh, so that explains it. He's your boyfriend," Linda cut him off as she then looked at Midoriya. "You look like a bottom."
Midoriya then choked on his saliva. "I—no. He has a girlfriend, we—we're not like that!"
"I always thought he had pleasure top energy, but what do I know?" Takuma offered as his friend turned beet red. "Besides, she's been good to me and the single reason I'm still alive today, so there's that."
"I'm happy for you, or more so that you're still alive because I've been holding on to your last request for a while now, and I was wondering if I would have to send it back," Linda stated as she made a grab for one of the open-top containers in the room next to hers and grabbed a bag, one of the go-bags he prized for their durability. "Here you go, half of the things in there aren't your usual tech, you were pretty weird last time you came here, now I know why."
The heavy bag landed on the table right behind Midoriya, and Takuma went to check it. There were some things that Linda was the sole provider of, and besides that, he didn't have much of a clue about the weird part of his last request. He opened it and realized he indeed must have been off his rocker the last time he came here.
"Is that an... assault rifle?" Izuku asked next to him as he peeked into the bag.
"Looks like it," Takuma commented as he checked the magazine and cleared the gun for safety's sake before putting it down on the table. "Why the hell did I ask for an assault rifle?"
"Beat me, you weren't very talkative. Even more than usual," Linda offered with a shrug of uncertainty. "It's good to see you with some life in you for once."
A quick check revealed some ammunition. "And a handgun, now I'm kind of scared to know what the hell I was working on," he stated, a bit shocked at the artillery inside the bag. "Wait, are those bullet Quirk-made?"
"Yes, you requested stun and shriek-fire rounds," Linda recalled. "Again, no idea why."
"And there's like three med-kits with what I assume is off-the-shelf morphine and other painkillers," Takuma listed, one of his more usual requests. "Is that... Ayahuasca and cocaine? What the fuck was I on?"
Sure, he was fond of Ayahuasca, but the cocaine was a big no-no for a good fucking reason. That shit had ruined more lives than he could name.
"You're dealing in drugs?" Izuku asked tentatively.
"Not really, I only bought those because he was the one asking for them, but I don't usually touch that stuff. I'm more of an information broker kind of woman. And drugs are nasty," she replied to his friend, who seemed relieved at the news.
One by one, Takuma took the items out of the bag: only one pack of ammunition for the rifle, two packs of Quirk-made stun rounds, and one pack of shriek-fire rounds. Drugs: cocaine, heroin, and one of those he actually used in the Ayahuasca. A handgun, multiple med-kits with painkillers that would have him arrested for even looking at them, body armor, and a few grenades. The same explosives Mei could make, but the markings revealed they were coming straight from a J.S.D.F stockpile.
"What the hell was I planning to need that much first aid and explosives for?" Takuma asked himself. "And wait, what job did I do and not get paid for?"
Linda sighed. "You worry me, you know," she said before grabbing a file and putting it next to the bag. "You worked on a case for me. Some Eteromorph noticed an uptick in hostile behavior from the locals, and I sent you there because we believed it was coming from someone wielding a mental Quirk, which is kind of your bread and butter."
"Why is it?" Izuku asked, his attention more focused on Takuma now than the titanic-sized spider woman.
"Because I can feel Quirks, Midoriya, and if someone is wielding a mental Quirk, it's even easier for me to flush them out," Takuma explained to his friend.
"That would make sense. Do you usually take those kinds of jobs?"
"I'm more of a reconnaissance asset," he told his friend. "My skills are wasted in a fight. I can flush out every creature under the sun as long as they have a working nervous system."
"And you can imagine how useful that can be," Linda agreed. "Takuma is an expert at finding people, lost or taken."
"So how much do you owe me for that job?" Takuma asked, not quite sure where they were in terms of liquidity.
"Around two million yen, if I recall correctly. Let me check."
"Tw-Two million?!" his shorter friend gasped.
"Don't get too excited. The contents of that bag are around one million yen," he said to stop Izuku in his tracks. "Unless you want to get paid cash, which isn't recommended if you don't want the cops bursting down your door to talk about taxes. Most people use the payment from their job for assets and tech. The smart ones, at least. And there are only a few people like me who deal deep in the underworld to get access to those kinds of jobs. I wouldn't even have access to those if it wasn't for my prior meeting with Linda. She's been my gateway into this type of job since she established herself here."
"Are all jobs paid like that?"
"Not really, but the price ranges from a few hundred thousand yen to a few billion," Takuma said as he started packing the bag. "The higher the stakes, the higher the risk. And so is the reward. You also have to keep in mind criminal organizations need to pay a premium to keep their experts on call. That's why the pay is so high. Take me for example, I'm an expert in reconnaissance and Mental Quirks. Those types of jobs aren't the most common, but I'm the only one in Linda's list of operatives who can do them. So when she comes across one, there's only one person to call. And you can imagine she wants to keep me on her roll-call just for my expertise alone."
"I didn't think criminals were so... organized," Izuku let out, a bit overwhelmed from the flow of information and another change in perspective for the day.
"You have to keep in mind this system has been put in place after All Might's beginning as The Symbol of Peace," Takuma reminded his friend as he zipped up the bag and turned to look at Midoriya. "Criminals are going to exist, whether the system likes it or not. And criminals, smart ones, aren't going to do crimes that can get them the attention of Heroes—not when All Might can just appear from a corner and turn every weapon at their disposal into children's toys. They're going to change and morph into something that can coexist with the Number One Hero. So they did. You have armies of gutterpunks and thugs between them and the Heroes. The more well-established crime syndicates know how to work within the rules to keep as much of the Hero community disinterested in their operations. Entire parts of their organization can be cut off from the main body the second a Hero is believed to be sniffing around. It's what the power in the underworld do to survive and thrive, even under All Might."
"In that case, why are there so many villain attacks?" Izuku asked, now deep in thought. "Shouldn't the different organizations work to lessen the amount of villain attacks and try to fade into the background?"
"They do. You wouldn't believe the amount of villains that never make it into the news cycle because the local gangs don't want them to bring too much attention to them. The key to survival is to be unnoticed, and as you know, villains bring a lot of attention. But it's hard when the H.S.P.C. itself is responsible for some of them."
"I... Nedzu doesn't like them very much," Midoriya stated. "He told me some of the things they're responsible for."
"Like lowering the threshold for jail, for petty crimes, drug possession, to keep the flow of thugs in the criminal underworld going, and limiting access to mental health professionals and healthcare while also working in the background to prop up Heroes working for them who somehow always end up making it into the top two hundred without so much as an itch," Takuma listed to Izuku's growing dismay.
"I didn't quite know that much. You don't like them very much," the bean stated the obvious.
"Ask your teacher about Pro-Hero Hawks," Takuma offered to his green-haired friend. "After you do, I'm sure you'll get why I despise their very existence."
"So this is what you're used to dealing with then?" Midoriya let out with a pensive look, which then focused back on Takuma. "The layer of criminality, intrigue, the job for an... information broker that is in fact a seventeen-meter-tall spider-lady who is actually pretty nice, but also lives in a... pocket dimension? Or somewhere where mutants live in peace." He stated with a hint of hysteria gaining strength in his voice. "That's, that's insane... But I want to know more. I-I thought I had a pretty good idea of how the world works, but Nedzu warned me—and he was right. And you knew from the beginning, you lived it, you grew up in it. How much do you know? How much are you not telling me? Will you ever tell me everything you know? Or will I only get the bit you're willing to give? Like your memory loss, I didn't know about that. Does Mei know?!"
The last part of his sentence was bursting with frustration, shock, and some anger at being kept on such a tight leash. Takuma didn't really mind; he would have kneecapped Izuku and made him talk long ago if Izuku had been going at it the way Takuma was.
"She does, not everything, since I'm playing catch-up myself on a lot of subjects," he explained to the boy, who was growing incredibly frustrated with him. "But as much as I can, she has access to the truth, the whole truth. As much as I can manage without putting her in danger anyway."
"I want to know more. Of everything. How things work in this... place," Izuku stated with a voice brimming with determination. "I have to know more. I need to know more."
"Well, if you do, I might have something for you," Linda said with a whimsical tone as she came back from a lower level. "I may have a job that needs doing."
"Nope, I am not taking him on some random side quest," Takuma denied without missing a beat. "We're here so he can learn about the Eteromorph community, the one he will be dealing with soon at least."
"What kind of job?" Midoriya asked anyway, entirely ignoring him.
"The son of a local gang leader has been kidnapped. A ransom has been sent, but the perpetrators have a reputation for taking the money and killing their target. It doesn't help that they are from a supremacist gang, which lowers the likelihood of the kid still being alive—"
"I'll do it!" Midoriya decided without letting her finish.
"No, you don't," Takuma stated again, as Midoriya, for the first time since he knew him, didn't back down and actually took a step toward him with a challenging glare.
"Is there anyone else willing to do the job?" his pain-in-the-ass of a friend asked Linda without looking away.
"Not currently. Anyone else I could call on to do it is already out and about. I was hoping Takuma would be up for it," Linda added with a shadow of a grin. "Or someone else."
"Skitter can take care of it," Takuma growled, as Midoriya still held his gaze in an infuriating way.
"She's on a year-long job and won't be coming back anytime soon," Linda informed him with a wince. "I don't want to be an ass, Tak, but I wouldn't be asking if there was any other choice."
"So, what's it going to be, Takuma? Are you going to let that kid die?" Izuku asked.
Takuma was on him before he finished his sentence, a hand grabbing his hoodie and pulling the bean toward him. The emerald green eyes that stared back showed no fear. Somehow, it infuriated him even more. He had to replay every time his presence had made Mei's day just a little bit better, just to avoid slamming him into the ground and stomping his stupid face into a pancake. "You little shit," he seethed, as his blood sang to him. "You want to play the fucking Hero? Then welcome to the big leagues. Linda, make the job his initiation and add me as an add-on," he told his long-time friend, who grinned and started the paperwork. "You think you have what it takes, big boy?" he spat. "Then I guess we're going to learn that today. Hopefully, you won't let that kid die."
His expression was still set, but Takuma appreciated the first hint of fear he caught from his shorter friend. He was taking it seriously now.
Good.
"Give him the breakdown and drop us when you're done," Takuma ordered, turning around and emptying the contents of the bag.
He grabbed a fresh first-aid kit, opened the box of stun rounds, and started loading the magazine while Linda was explaining the situation to Midoriya.
"So, we have two gangs with their territories next to each other. They've been going at it for a while now. A few dead on either side, but Purity has taken it up a notch by raiding the house of the leader of Fanged Liberation. Both sides have supremacist tendencies, so be careful. The kid you're looking for is named Taylor. Small mutation all around, mostly human, except for his eyes, which have turned into light spots. He can vaporize people by concentrating the beam, so be careful about it when you find him," Linda listed, going over the file. "We have three possible places where they might be holding him. I'll drop you close so you can search for him, and you can call me as soon as you're finished so I can extract you from the area."
"Do we know anything about the gang members? Are there any known Quirks?" Izuku asked, focused in a way Takuma had only witnessed once or twice before.
'He's asking the right questions at least,' Takuma thought, as he loaded the magazine back into the handgun and checked the safety before hiding it under his hoodie in his waistband. 'Not that it matters. The kid is already dead.'
Takuma had been on enough rescue missions to know that children didn't last long in the hands of supremacists.
"The leader has a telekinetic Quirk. No Villain or Quirk name known, but he has a high body count," Linda stated as she peered through her file. "His lieutenants aren't known either, or the leader of Fanged Liberation didn't find it relevant to pass on the information."
"Alright, how are you going to drop us there?" Izuku asked as he started to pace around, limbering up as he did so.
Takuma shook his head. Unless there was a surprise during the job, they wouldn't be going in hard and fast. Search and rescue were usually more methodical jobs. A brute-force approach would do more harm than good.
"I have a contact close by. You won't see them since I'm just going to use their position as an all-around drop point. As soon as you're done, use this, and you'll teleport back here," the giant spider-woman informed them, handing Izuku a small card. "They're your in to Jinerva when the job is done or if you need a quick escape."
"How do they work exactly?" Izuku asked, holding the small business card Takuma had in his hand half an hour ago.
"No idea. The Jin doesn't give them out to everyone. Only a few are trusted enough to handle them, and pretty much everything about them is a guarded secret," his friend explained to his green-haired pain in the ass. "I have access to a certain amount due to how much work I do for them, but besides that, I don't know much about them or even how Jinerva works or came to life."
"So after my... initiation, will I get a membership card?" Izuku wondered.
Takuma chuckled lightly.
"Not even in your dreams. Membership cards are reserved for the few trusted enough by the Jin to receive them. I have one, and maybe three other people inside and outside of Jinerva have one," she explained, shaking her head. "They aren't so easily won, and only the Jin can give them out."
"Didn't you have one?" the bean asked him.
"I lost it."
"What did you do to earn one?"
"He caught wind of an attack against Jinerva and held the line long enough for us to get ready," Linda explained for him as he double-checked the medkit he had just grabbed. "Just because Jinerva is hard to get to, it doesn't stop some people from trying."
Takuma felt the bean's eyes bore a hole into the back of his head but stayed silent. He didn't deserve an explanation.
"I'm ready when you are," Takuma said as he finished checking the medkit for the essentials.
"We can go," Izuku immediately said. "Just give me a copy of the place to check and—"
"Here. Don't get lost. Good luck."
He knew the tone, the way she spoke. And before Izuku could say anything else, Linda cracked a business card and threw it at their feet. With a shit-eating grin from a building-sized mutant looking down on them, they were gone.
The first smell that hit him was rancid meat. Then he had to get accustomed to about a thousand people suddenly entering the range of his Quirk. It felt like a sledgehammer to his skull, but luckily, he was on top of his game and managed to deal with it in a minute or so.
"Wh-Where are we?" Izuku asked, already leaving the back alley next to the butcher shop they had appeared next to.
Takuma walked forward and looked around. "Welcome to Vegas."