20/08/2024

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The Emperor's Dragon
Dragon 44 - Sales Pitch

Once in the building, Shunin led them to his office, before gesturing for her to take a seat on the other side of his desk. Mei looked around. It was an interesting office. The view was extensive, and along the other wall there was a shelf full of leather bound books. It was old fashioned but Shunin's desk was clean and orderly.

He took his seat and looked over at her for a few moments. "You are a remarkably gifted young lady, Miss Hatsume," Shunin told her.

"I like making my babies!" Mei agreed. Power Loader would be cringing. He'd explained to the class, mostly for her benefit, that while using slang terms was okay for school, more formal language would be expected in business. She understood the implications but the lecture had taken up valuable inventing time and if people couldn't handle her terminology, then that was their problem. They'd still want her babies because they were so great.

"You did make the helmet used by Izuku's father?" Shunin didn't seem perturbed by her slang.

"Not that one," Mei corrected. "But I designed it."

He nodded. "Good," he breathed.

"Why?"

"I do not know if you will be called to the stand," he explained. "But I do not need to learn there that you had help with the design."

"Izuku paid for the design and for an old, clapped out respirator for me to study," Mei said. "And I did buy a whole heap of agar kits for sanitation tests. Do they count?"

"That sort of assistance is fine," he dismissed those concerned. "I want to be sure that no one else aided in the design."

"Someone put armor on it," she pointed out.

Shunin shook his head. "The armor isn't in the patent application."

"Oh."

They sat for a few minutes in silence before Shunin looked at her again. "You seem quite calm to find out your friend could be classified as a villain," he observed.

Mei understood a fishing sentence when she heard it and thought about her answer. Technically Shunin should be on her side but in reality, she knew that everyone was on their own sides. But he was also a lawyer, and about to go up against the HPSC and while that might just be money, she didn't think so. Most people stayed away from the HPSC if they could avoid it.

"Let's look at it a different way," Mei invited. "The hero system has been in place for a while, yes?" she asked.

The lawyer nodded.

The system had changed, and evolved a bit but had been in place long enough for dedicated high schools on quirk usage, heroics and the supporting industries to be established and have retired alumni. It was not something that had been around for a few years.

"In that time, the number of villains has not reduced. It's actually gone up," she pointed out. "That's partially because quirks have become more useful in daily life, and are therefore used more, both by private citizens and villains, which of course, increases the number of villains by definition," she said. She didn't need to explain to a lawyer that the use of a quirk during an assault changed the definition of the person from criminal to villain. "But even allowing for that, the number of villains, proportionally, has gone up."

Shunin said nothing but Mei got the impression she wasn't saying anything that was new to him.

"I'm not saying that the hero industry is solely responsible for the increase in villain numbers but, it is contributing. And it seems to me that if a system is contributing to society's problems, then it should be changed."

"A very mature answer," Shunin said, but the smile on his face said more. She hadn't actually answered his question but Mei knew he understood her position.

"Besides, support equipment should be for those who need it, not just the heroes. My babies will make more money that way!"

That startled a chuckle from him. "Business is such a cutthroat industry," he murmured.

"It's a simple equation. More sales equals more profit equals more babies I can make," Mei said. She'd told Izuku that truth and he'd agreed. "Besides, if I can't make profit, how else will I keep score?"

"Indeed," Shunin agreed with an amicable smile. "I'm heartened to know that Izuku appears to have chosen his business partners with the same care as his father."

"You know Izuku's father?" Mei blurted the question.

"By reputation," Shunin told her. "He did not often require the services of a court lawyer," he added. "Now, if you think of anything relevant to the case, please let me know at any time. If it does go to court, then I will see you before then to go over likely questions," he said, in a voice that was all business.

Mei nodded. She was not giving her baby to the Commission, not even for the good of people. She wasn't a hero. She'd sell her invention and in this case… it might be a cheap sale but she wanted some money for it.

"Will you let my driver take you home?" Shunin asked.

"Your driver?" She'd heard the explanation of why JBQC sent a car for him but if he had a driver, then why did they do it?

Shunin winked at her. "It's actually your driver," he admitted. "I asked JBQC's driver to stay to take you home," he explained.

Mei chuckled and nodded. It would make the trip home so much easier and… It would let her think of babies! That was a twofer! "Please," she acknowledged.

The lawyer tapped his computer a little and Mei figured he was sending a message to have the car brought around. He looked back at her. "It has been very nice to make your acquaintance, Miss Hatsume," he told her.

"Likewise," Mei said. If her babies were going to be stolen by others, then she needed a good relationship with a lawyer and Shunin, in his agreement to go up against the HPSC seemed as if he'd be vicious at the role. She liked that.

In as much as she'd like this to be the only time she had to fight for her patents… Her work experience with Tissu had shown her that even large companies had to be careful, so, it was better to set her reputation now. Hopefully it would mean less wasted time in the future. And maybe Izuku could do something about that… in the way he wanted to change society.

She could hope.

-ted-

"Yakuni, wait!"

There was a note of urgency in the cry that caused Yakuni to pause. He turned slowly and saw the speaker. He knew her. Kachi.

The last time he'd seen her was for Michita's funeral, and she'd been angling to take his job. He knew he shouldn't feel angry about that. It was what the quirkless did, what they had to do but Michita had been her friend, she could have waited at least a day.

Except… if she'd waited then the job would have been filled and he knew what that was like. And it was far worse for young quirkless women than it was for men. Most men didn't care about the quirk status of the woman they slept with, just so long as- She didn't even have to be willing.

He pushed that thought from his mind and told himself again that she'd only done what was necessary. And it was entirely possible, one of the people he'd just spent the last half hour talking to had told her to get the job. It wasn't her fault. Just as it wasn't her fault that the 'talking to' had been more 'bashing his head against the wall of their ignorance' but he'd told Dragon it would be like that, and it had.

"Kachi," Yakuni greeted his friend. "How have you been?" he asked.

"Better since-" She gave him a look and shrugged. He knew what that meant.

He sighed. He knew what that meant and suddenly he felt terrible for even thinking she'd done the wrong thing at all. "I'm glad it's better," he said instead of anything else. Saying he was sorry or that she should have come to him would be just insulting. "What am I waiting for though?" he continued.

Kachi shook her head. Her hair was long, and jet black, and her skin was white. She was classically beautiful. "You always did go straight to the point," Kachi said with a chuckle.

"Well, they made it pretty clear they want me gone," he told her, gesturing to the house he had been in.

"They don't want you gone that much," she reassured him. "They're just-" Kachi sighed, and looked down the road.

"They don't want to believe," Yakuni finished for her.

"Would you?" she demanded.

Yakuni huffed. "Yeah, fair," he allowed and then turned back down the road before he began walking again. Kachi fell into step beside him. "So what about you?" he asked curiously.

She shook her head again, sending her hair rippling and for a while she didn't answer. They walked together, going past other houses and turning towards the train station. "The olds are proud, even when you know it should have been ground out of them a long time ago."

Yakuni chuckled. 'The olds' is not how he'd refer to the quasi leaders of several quirkless communities around here. He'd managed to get them together to listen to him and he was considering that a win. But Kachi was right. They were proud. These were the leaders and they were proud of their quirklessness, even if the world said they should disappear. "Proud doesn't put food on the table," he told her.

"I know that," Kachi said. "You know that… and they know that," she finished. There was a note in her voice that made him wonder.

"How close is it?" He asked. The quirkless lived in communities. They shared what they had and that way they survived. When all you were after was the bare basics, you could stretch, even a small pay cheque quite a long way.

"There's no reserves," Kachi told him matter of factly.

You could stretch a pay cheque but eventually something came up and- He knew where that led. Kachi knew where that led. "And they still won't-?" He didn't finish the question. They still wouldn't consider working for Dragon.

"They still won't," Kachi shrugged. "But, I'm not the olds."

The admission was so obvious, and so quick that it took him by surprise.

"What do you mean?" Yakuni demanded.

Kachi grinned at him. There was a mischievous streak in her. "I'm not the olds," she repeated.

Yakuni frowned. Did that mean what he thought it meant? He didn't want to read too much into it.

She laughed, obviously aware of his conflict. Kachi reached out and took his arm, looping her elbow around his as she moved closer. "So, you can use your nice shiny pay cheque to buy me a coffee, and we'll talk," she told him.

"I think I can probably stretch to dinner," he said.

"Even better. Now let's go."

-ted-

Kachi had led him to a small restaurant and had taken him through the regular guest area, through to the back, up some stairs and into a small room that was there. There was a couch at the back and a table with several plush chairs around it. He flicked his eyes around. It looked like someone's gambling room and the couch could be used for-

"Sit down," Kachi said, noticing the way he was eyeing the couch. "And get your mind to the gutter level at least, not below," she added.

Yakuni snorted softly and took a seat. The chair was as plush as it seemed with the bottom cushion being light and pillowy. Kachi took the seat opposite him and rested her elbows on the table with her chin on her hands. She looked intent. "What exactly does your boss want?" she asked pointedly.

"For now, or the future?" Yakuni countered.

"Let's start with now," Kachi told him.

"A couple of people who are willing to go public with the fact that they are late bloomers," Yakuni said with a mocking edge. It wasn't towards the people, it was towards the phrase 'late bloomers'.

Kachi picked up on it and snorted slightly. "They'll have to give up the community," she pointed out.

"They will have a quirk," Yakuni countered.

"A quirk that very publicly belongs to someone else," she noted.

He didn't deny it. As far as he knew, Dragon wanted to give the UA quirks away. "Come on," he said, shaking his head slightly. "You know as well as I do there's a couple who would love to waltz away from the community and wouldn't give a proverbial about having someone else's quirk."

Kachi thought about that for a few moments. "There's not that many," she said, holding up one hand. "There's a lot who say that, but when push comes to shove, they don't mean it."

"Then for this, the boss only wants those few," Yakuni allowed.

"You're determined," she sighed.

"As predictable as it is for me to be saying this, he's a good guy. He wants to help and if you make a deal, then he'll stick to it."

"So why haven't you returned to the community with a lot of cash?" Kachi challenged.

"That's not the deal I made," Yakuni told her but didn't elaborate further.

Kachi looked interested but knew better than to pry. "I can probably find a couple who would be happy to go public with getting a quirk," she told him. "But they'd want assurances that he isn't going to take the quirk away again."

At that, Yakuni laughed. "I don't know the full price he wants for giving them back, but I know some of it. They aren't gonna pay it."

"And if they do?" she pressed.

"I'll make sure he gives them another quirk," Yakuni said instantly.

"You?" Kachi questioned. He could hear the extra words telling him not to get uppity in her tone.

"Me," Yakuni agreed but he knew why she doubted. Why would Dragon listen to his quirkless loyalist? He sighed. "If he doesn't, all my income goes to the community," he offered the deal.

Kachi looked at him sharply. "You are that sure?"

"I'm that sure they won't pay, yes," he agreed before he nodded solemnly. "I'm that sure."

"All right, I can work with that. I'll find some," she agreed. "Now what else?"

"You?" it was his turn to question. Did she have the authority to speak for others?

"Me," Kachi replied, echoing his statement. "I told you, I'm not the olds," she explained.

That was true and he gave her a nod to acknowledge the statement. He would have said something but the door opened and a young woman walked in, balancing several dishes on her arms. He hadn't ordered but knew better than to object.

The teen put the dishes down, and went to a small cupboard that was actually fitted in the arm of the couch. She pulled out cutlery and napkins for them and laid them out as well. Then she went to the second arm and pulled out some small plates and a few bowls. They were laid on the table before she looked at Kachi expectantly.

"That's fine," his friend said. The teen nodded and left. The door closed heavily behind her.

Yakuni gave Kachi a look that demanded an explanation.

"So I've been here before," she said.

He let his expression shift, telling her wordlessly that the explanation wasn't enough.

Kachi sighed. "I've been here before, a lot," she said, looking down. "Guy's sometimes wanted entertainment and this place-"

Yakuni nodded. This place probably employed the quirkless and would give her some protection. "Food's good?" he asked instead.

Kachi took a moment to compose herself before she gave him a smile. "Food's good," she confirmed and picked up her utensils to serve herself. He followed suit and picked up several of the small morsels that were made for the smaller dishes. This was a meal meant to be shared.

They ate in silence but before they were finished Kachi prompted him again. "What else?" she asked.

Yakuni paused, swallowing the mouthful he had been chewing. "What does anyone want, man power," he told her.

"To do what?"

"Weren't you listening?" Yakuni asked. He didn't want to repeat everything he'd told the elders.

She gave him an odd smile. "Couldn't get that close," Kachi admitted. "But I knew they'd say no."

"Fair enough," he allowed. "It's gonna sound trite though," Yakuni added.

"As trite as Humarise?"

"Humarise?" Yakuni asked. The way she said it told him it was a group.

"Some twits who believe quirks are a disease," she explained with a shrug. "They are religious nutcases."

He frowned. That sounded awfully familiar. "Are they related to any Yakuza?" he couldn't help the question.

"I don't think so. They are based in Europe," Kachi told him. "Why?"

Yakuni shook his head. "Dragon just wiped out a Yakuza branch that believed quirks were a disease," he told her. "They were developing some sort of drug to remove quirks," he added. He knew exactly what they were doing but didn't really need to elaborate more. Kachi wouldn't care and it was now history.

She laughed. "Oh my god," Kachi sighed eventually. "Why do people with quirks never want them?" she asked bitterly.

He didn't reply to that. He knew exactly why she was asking. If there were really that many people who didn't want quirks, then why was it so hard for the quirkless just to exist?

"Dragon wants to help people. Genuinely wants to help people. The main thing he wants is to get rid of heroes," Yakuni explained after a few moments of silence. There was no point in hiding what the main push was. "He wants them gone because of the way they define society. For there to be a hero, there has to be a villain," Yakuni said.

Kachi nodded.

"And that automatically puts the emphasis on quirks," Yakuni continued. "That's why some quirks are seen as bad, and some as good. But if you just say there are quirks-" He shrugged. None of that mattered to the quirkless. "In the change of destroying heroes though, he wants people to go back to looking at people as people, not their quirk." That was the change that would make things better for the quirkless.

Kachi was silent for a few minutes before she shook her head. "That is trite," she agreed with his earlier statement. "People are prejudiced gits," she continued. "They always have been prejudiced gits, they always will be prejudiced gits. They just label it differently each time. Racism, sexism, ageism, classism, nationalism, chauvinism, quirkism." She sighed. "The list goes on and on and your boss thinks he can do something about it?"

It was kind of insulting to hear it like that but Yakuni knew what Kachi was saying. He gave her a sad smile. "He can but try," he acknowledged. Anything more would be idealistic, and they'd both had ideals ground out of them before they were five.

She thought about it for a few minutes. "We'll get paid?"

Yakuni nodded. "You'll get paid."

"Then I'll try," Kachi told him.

His expression asked the follow up.

"I'll try to find people who'll work for him," she elaborated. "For pay, I can get people. Even if it is just to be drug mules. For ideals-" she snorted. It told him that if those who worked for Dragon wanted to follow his ideals they could but the money came first. For the quirkess, the money always came first. Ideals were for those who weren't hungry. Ideals were for those who didn't remember Bloodline. Ideals were for those who knew they were secure… So pay…

That would be enough and trust wasn't built in a day. Pay first, trust later, then belief.

And all Dragon wanted really was the chance to try. Yakuni nodded his agreement.

Those who came to work for Dragon would trust and believe soon enough because when the world was against you, those few parts that worked with you, worked for you…

They became your life.

He was just going to be the first of Dragon's quirkless followers. Yakuni knew he wouldn't be the last.

-ted-

When Yakuni was first introduced, he had two quirkless friends - Kachi and Michita - and while Michita has chosen another path, Kachi is with the Community and is a contact for him. But he was correct in the assessment he gave to Izuku.

And now Shunin knows that Mei is ... well, if not completely on Izuku's side, at least sufficiently bought off for the moment. He can work with that since it's not like he's loyal to AFO personally. He is on his own side which mostly corresponds to those against the HPSC. And he is one of the people who have been lucky but would benefit from more acceptance of quirks. Shunin's, not often mentioned, quirk is that he is orange. Skin, hair, eyes, everything. It is just a cosmetic quirk but you can imagine it would be enough for some discrimination. Not as bad as other some other characters but he understands.

Discord is on this code: TcBnRN7aDn FFN will remove links but you should be able to figure that out. There's a heap of other authors there, so come along and chat to us all! Not just about MHA.

-ted-

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