Sitting at his desk looking over the reports in front of him, Naomasa Tsukauchi couldn't help but be worried. Ever since the very public attack on U.A., unrest had been stirring in the underworld. Criminals and villains were getting more bold, incident reports were on the rise, yet nothing major had happened. No major villains had appeared, their past actions earning them public renown and recognition. They all seemed to be laying low, as if waiting for something to happen. In fact, that seemed to be the general atmosphere right now, according to what the undercover investigators were reporting. The underworld was waiting to see what would happen, an air of anticipation was building yet the spark that would trigger it remained unknown.
Naomasa though feared he knew what they were waiting for; all of this had started with the League of Villains. They'd been the ones behind the attack on the Sports Festival and injure All Might on television, earning themselves global recognition in the process. They might have been routed, but they still showed what they could do. A one off victory of the type though could be dismissed as luck, meaning more successes were needed to prove that the League could repeat their accomplishments.
Speaking of accomplishments, Naomasa turned his gaze to the other files in front of him. After the U.A. attack, the police had been able to successfully arrest all but five of the villains involved. Tomura Shigaraki, the apparent leader of the League, had escaped using his right hand man, Kurogiri. Neither their names or Quirks were in the database, which made tracking them down near impossible, especially with Kurogiri's ability to teleport. The remains of E-Rank villain Tesla had also been identified, the man having been killed by one of the final escapees, 'Izu-kun'. Izu-kun was almost certainly short for a proper name, but it was very little to go off of, and the Quirk he displayed didn't match with any of the public ID names that started with or ended in 'Izu' on record. As for his companion, the one armed woman, with only a description and no name, it was a decent lead to start with, but one much harder to narrow down.
Which meant they'd had to turn their attention to the villains captured, though the majority were low level criminals eager to either be a part of something greater, or press ganged into joining through the liberal use of one of the Nomu to quell dissenters. They'd captured the three Nomu but questioning had been less than fruitful. They didn't speak nor react to outside stimuli, it was like they were toys; discarded and lifeless now that their owner had turned their focus to other things.
DNA tests had been more fruitful, allowing them to identify who the Nomu were, were being the key word. All three had once been petty criminals, but their mugshots depicted individuals completely different from the appearance of the Nomu. To make matters even more confusing, each of the Nomu had DNA from even more people as well.
Occam's Razor, the theory that the simplest explanation is usually correct. As a detective, Naomasa knew not to make things overly complicated, to thoroughly investigate, follow the trail of clues, and come to a logical conclusion. Not make mountains out of mole hills. Through drugs and chemicals, the Nomu's bodies had been bioengineered to withstand the strain of having multiple Quirks. Their low brain activity was simply the unfortunate result of the burden. Only an individual with a thorough understanding of both the human body and Quirks could have created such a creature, much less repeated their success across multiple individuals.
It was a lead, one Naomasa intended to pursue, but there was another larger and more pressing issue: the seeming permanence of the Nomu's Quirks. It wasn't well known amongst the general public, but taking in additional DNA could potentially grant an individual access to a person's Quirk, or at least aspects of it. The times it'd happened were rare, a literal one in millions occurrence, but that still meant it was technically possible, though the results were nearly always temporary, at most altering the natural Quirk of the person who'd taken in the DNA to grant them new abilities connected to the Quirk of the individual whose DNA they'd taken in. Furthermore, for the few occurrences that Naomasa was aware of, there'd been additional factors in play like the Quirks involved or the methods in which the DNA had been ingested.
The issue with the Nomu was the additional Quirks they held didn't seem to be temporary, nor were they an altered version of their innate Quirk. The modifications performed to the Nomu's bodies made it clear that whoever had altered them had expected the Quirks to be permanent. As such, Naomasa was forced to draw a singular, dark conclusion, one he intended to bring up with Yagi just as soon as the findings had been double checked. It was possible, nay, likely that rather than ingesting DNA there was another transference factor at play. Possibly even a Quirk that could bestow Quirks, a prospect eerily similar to the Quirk once belonging to the now dead demon lord.
The ringing of his desk phone distracted Naomasa, though he quickly answered with a simple, "Tsukauchi speaking."
"Detective Tsukauchi," the voice on the other end of the line began. "This is Officer Inui of the Naruhata Precinct. I'm calling because we had a recent development in a case you're listed as the lead investigator in. It's concerning the Villain Factory."
Naomasa sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose as he closed his eyes. Of course there was a development in one of his cold cases now of all times. "Thank you for informing me Officer Inui, but I'm currently working another case right now, one more time sensitive and pressing." Naomasa took a minute to run through a list of names in his head. "Is Detective Tanuma still working at your precinct?"
"Yes sir."
"Okay, take whatever information you were going to give me as well as any case related files you have and take them to Tanuma. Tell him that he'll be in charge of the investigation for now until either it's reassigned or I can free myself up. Chief Tsuragamae will back me up on this, and I'll send him an official case transfer request tonight. Understood?"
"Yes, sir. Sorry to bother you."
"It's no problem, we're all just doing what we can. Have a good day."
"You too, sir."
Hanging up his phone, Naomasa turned his attention back to the files in front of him. There had to be a lead somewhere in here, a clue he could pursue. At the very least, he had to make All Might aware of the situation. If someone out there had All For One or developed a procedure to give others additional Quirks, the #1 Hero needed to be made aware of it. Sending a quick text to the man in question asking to meet, Naomasa picked up the nearest paper and started reading. There was a lot of work to be done, but in the end, the villains would fall before the forces of justice just like they always did. It was only a matter of time.
"Huh? What do you mean Tsukauchi gave me the case!"
"I'm sorry sir, but I'm just following his orders."
Sighing, Eizo Tanuma waved the scared officer off as he took a puff of his cigarette, a hand coming up to scratch at the scars peeking out over the collar of his suit. "The villain factory, huh? Is this some kind of retirement present, Tsukauchi, or is this your revenge for trickin' ya into handling Yagi's paperwork?" He smiled fondly, "Still, it was nice to see you two learned to trust one another while I was nappin."
Though the days before his 'nap' were hazy, Eizo could still remember the moments leading up to it clearly even now, years later. Trauma, burned into his mind like the flames that had burned his body. He'd been digging through old case files, trying to connect the Instant and Next-Level Villains that'd been popping up in Naruhata to an old Osaka case O'Clock and he had investigated concerning an underground fighting ring known as the Underground Masquerade.
There didn't seem to be many similarities between the incidents at first, but though he wasn't aware of the finer details, Eizo knew that the investigation into the fighting ring had led to All Might fighting a villain, one so bad that he was neither named nor identified, with the fight itself being covered up as if it didn't happen, even though an entire island had disappeared within a single day. The only explanation given was a brief press statement blaming a series of irregular but completely ordinary natural disasters.
The lie was quickly proven false by anyone with more than a passing knowledge of natural weather events, but though the conspiracy theorists went wild the government seemed fine with moving on and leaving the matter to speculation.
Still, even though it'd been years since the Underground Masquerade, Eizo had gotten deja vu from the similarities between it and the rise of instant villains. Before the police could raid the building, the fighters had fled the building and begun to rampage. They'd been quickly subdued by All Might, but them acting out like that, it'd been strange then, but now with the instant villains, people turned into villains and forced to rampage against their will. Eizo hoped he was reading too much into it, seeing links where there were none, but his gut told him otherwise.
Things in Naruhata had only gotten worse, some of the instant villains had been abducted, modified, and then rereleased as next-level villains. The Sky Egg attack, the bombings by Bee Pop, it all felt connected. As if there was a mastermind behind it all. An apprentice? An organization? Or perhaps even the same mastermind as the one from all those years ago?
"Tanuma, sir?" A demure voice had distracted Eizo, and as he looked up, he'd found himself looking at a seemingly ordinary office worker: plain face, button up white shirt, everything about him made him nondescript and generic.
"Uh, sorry, who are you again?"
"I'm from archives. There was an issue with the paperwork you submitted when you signed out those documents. Could I please check over what you removed? I promise it'll only be a minute, I just need to confirm the correct documents were taken."
"Sure thing," Eizo replied as he put the papers back into their folder. "I'm gonna need these files a little longer. I'm trying to connect the outbreak of villains in Naruhata to that old Underground Masquerade case from Osaka."
"Is this everything?" The archivist asked, flicking through the papers.
"Yep," Eizo confirmed, reclining in his chair to crack his back. "Should be everything I took out."
"Thanks, I'll process them right now." A small explosion erupted from the man's hand, destroying the files he was holding. "This isn't personal," he smiled, as a scar appeared across his face, "It'd just be an issue for me if you were able to connect everything together. Too many cobwebs in the attic, you know?"
"Who are you?!" Eizo yelled, jumping to his feet.
The villain merely grinned before his torso swelled and his mouth moved, but Eizo didn't hear his answer as the villain's body erupted and a wall of flames, pressure, and sound slammed into the detective.
That was the last thing he remembered, he'd woken up from a coma almost two years later in a hospital bed. Tsukauchi had been the one to debrief him. Though the case was still technically open, it had grown cold after a blackout in Naruhata that saw the city attacked by a giant plasma villain. Many considered the matter all but closed since after the blackout and disappearance of the plasma villain, the instant and next-level villain cases stopped altogether.
Now though, it seemed like they were back at square one. A black tongue and a single incident wasn't enough to prove anything, but Eizo knew coincidences were rarely just that. As if to prove his point, an officer rushed up to him, "Sir, we just got reports of another instant villain appearing by Naruhata Women's College. A student's rampaging."
"Let's go," Eizo ordered, standing up and throwing his trench coat on. He smirked; if Tsukauchi wanted to give him a present, who was he to deny it? He'd figure out what was going on, solve the case, and celebrate on some tropical beach sipping from a coconut with a pretty woman across his lap as he enjoyed the bliss of retirement.
Minutes Earlier
Standing on the roof of a general store looking down on the street below her, Candi smiled a sharp toothed grin as she observed the four young adults talking amongst themselves. Flashes of memories gave her the names of three of them, but Candi only had eyes for the girl amongst them, her former host Tamao Oguro. To be honest, she hadn't been sure if the girl would even still be here. Naruhata was her home, yes, but it was also full of bad memories, be it her home life or her time as a villain.
Last night though, when Candi saw Knuckleduster, she knew that Tamao had to be nearby. The vigilante was sentimental and there was no way he was going to let his daughter out of his sight, especially after what happened to her. He might still be dressing up in his costume and playing hero, but Tamao would be his first priority. If he was still in Naruhata, she would be too.
It'd taken her bees a while, but they'd eventually managed to track her down, finding her attending class at Naruhata Women's College. Once her class ended, the bees tracked her as she left, meeting up with three punks waiting just off campus property that seemed to be her friends. Surprisingly, it wasn't Tamao's memories that provided their names, but Bee Pop's. Their leader was the spiky haired Soga Kugisaki, who was accompanied like always by his friends, the lizard mutant Rapt Tokage and golem-like Moyuru Tochi, bald save for the fiery wisp sprouting from the top of his head.
She'd looked on from above as the four just walked around talking and joking with one another, but through it all she kept watching Tamao, conflicted. She was the key to her revenge against Knuckleduster. The man would do anything for his daughter, to protect her. Endangering her would be a challenge to him, and serve as a way to hurt the vigilante. Yet Tamao's memories flowed through her head. They were distant and somewhat vague, but they were still her memories. Just looking at the college student was jarring, like she was looking upon herself through a third-person POV, even as she stood here in a new body.
Soga said something and Tamao laughed, her hand idly coming up to brush her hair aside revealing, for only a moment, an eyepatch covering her left eye. Candi stilled, her own empty socket throbbing in sympathy. That eyepatch, it covered the hole where her former self had lived for years. Lived until that man had forced her out! Anger bubbled within her and Candi's resolve solidified. She and Tamao were different people. She wasn't Kuin anymore. She was Candi Baal, and revenge would be hers. Mentally, she directed her bees towards a girl playing on her phone. As they struck, injecting the Trigger nestled within their abdomen Candi smiled.
"Hey, Moyuru? How's your job going?" Tamao asked the most intimidating, yet sweetest member of their little group, towering nearly two feet above them.
"Great, I love bartending." The man blushed, the flame on his head flickering to show his embarrassment. "I think I might actually try to stick with it. My boss is nice, and while it's busy at times, I find it kind of relaxing. May even look into opening my own place eventually."
"Good for you man, gotta admit I'm thinkin of leaving Hopper's. It's a nice place and all, but I don't think I want to work in a cat cafe the rest of my life. What about you, Soga? Still doin' odd jobs, or are you finally looking for something more stable?"
"Why should I tell you idiots?"
"Because we're curious man? And don't you wanna impress your girlfriend?" Rapt questioned, gesturing to the eyepatch-wearing girl who bent forward at the waist to look up at the turquoise haired tough guy.
"Yeah Soga, don't you wanna impress me?" She hummed.
"It doesn't matter," he grunted, "I will say I'm looking at my options. Remember how Master told Koichi and Pop that he worked for a non-profit patrolling the streets? I did some research, and it turns out that what he was talking about is an actual job. Hero agencies and the HPSC actually pay people to just walk the streets in big cities and report any crimes or disturbances they see. It's not big money and most people only work for one or the other on their downtime, but if you work both parties and utilize some benefits and tax breaks they offer, it could theoretically be enough to make a living on."
Silence met him after he finished his explanation. "It's just a thought!" He claimed quickly, cheeks red.
"Yeah man, one you clearly put a lot of thought into." Rapt replied, putting his hands behind his head, "But still, if you think you can make a living off it, I might need to check it out. No office or uniform, just walking around and getting paid for it. Gotta admit that doesn't sound too bad."
"You said people do it during their free time, so maybe when I'm off from the bar, we could patrol together."
"I could join you when I'm not in class."
"It was just an idea," Soga grumbled, "But it might be fun. We'd need-"
A scream shattered their peaceful afternoon. Looking towards the source of the noise, the four watched as a girl fell to her knees, hands clutching her stomach while her phone fell discarded to the wayside. Panting, skin slick with sweat, she groaned before she toppled over onto her side, the few people near her quickly huddling around, watching. Someone claimed they called an ambulance, another asked where the heroes were, but the majority of the individuals seemed content to stand by, murmuring quietly to one another as they looked on impassively. Conversing quietly, the sound of ripping cloth signaled the outbreak of chaos, screams breaking out as the crowd scattered, revealing the girl who'd fallen.
Only she wasn't such a girl anymore. From her sides, four large spikes had erupted, tearing through her shirt. Two on each side, the spikes extended stretching further and further, bending at first one joint then another to pierce into the ground and lift the girl into the air. Her arms and legs were changing too, with her shoes not so much splitting as they disintegrated into the barest of components to reveal her feet having morphed into spikes of their own. Her hands too changed, although their transformation was more visible; her fingers pressing against one another, the space separating them slowly disappearing as they fused into a single black digit. The color racing up her limbs to her shoulders as they changed into two more spikes, or rather legs, two of eight.
Her growing body borne aloft by her eight legs, the girl let out a rage filled scream as she lifted her head and bared her face. Shifting black hair revealed a pale visage dotted with numerous red eyes, drool dripping from her maw now adorned with two broad mandibles. Above her ears, a pair of oversized horns curved upwards into sharpened points. The ending results of her supercharged transformation revealed itself in its horrific glory; a house-sized spider-like creature with curved horns the size of mammoth tusks jutting from atop her head. Mandibles the size of car seats jutted from her mouth like tusks and as she roared in challenge she revealed a mouth full of sharpened fangs dripping with venom.
"What the fuck!" Rapt screamed stumbling backwards, the crowd that had been watching running past the four. "Let's get out of here!" The screaming seemed to anger the spider-woman, a leg swipe cleaving the side of a nearby building as she swung wildly.
"Shit, that's fucking Cuel." Tamao cursed her eyes wide.
"You know her?" Soga asked, turning to look at her quickly before turning his attention to the rampaging creature.
"Yeah, we share a major and a couple classes. We were partnered for Musen's group project. Her Quirk's called Gyuki, but it's only supposed to be able to give her cow horns and small spider legs on her side, not turn her into that." Her wild gesture at Cuel more than communicated what 'that' encompassed.
"She's not doing this intentionally?"
"No way, Cuel can be a little standoffish at times, but she's not someone who would let her Quirk loose and go berserk."
"Guys." Moyuru called.
"So something's causing her to do this."
"Obviously," Tamao rolled her eyes. "We have to do something, she's not in her right mind. If we leave her to the heroes, they'll treat her like a villain."
"Guys."
"Well can you blame them? I mean, she's not really putting her best leg- legs forward, is she?"
"Guys!"
"WHAT?!" The two yelled in sync, rounding on Moyuru who stood trembling, Rapt fearfully clutching his side. The friendly giant audibly gulped, a finger slowly rising to point behind them. Turning Soga and Tamao found themselves face to face with the furious visage of Cuel. A moment of silence fell across the trio as they looked into each other's eyes then Cuel's mandibles rose as she roared, revealing her needle-sharp fangs and pitch black tongue. Tamao screamed while Soga reacted, instinctively slamming a fist into Cuel's face, making her reel more from shock than any real damage inflicted. Grabbing Tamao's hand, Soga took off running, chasing after Moyuru and Rapt who were fleeing ahead of them.
"You didn't hit her with your Quirk, did you?" Tamao yelled at Soga, tearing her hand away from his grip to run alongside him.
"Of course not! You said she's not doing this intentionally! I didn't want to hurt her!"
Soga Kugisaki
Quirk: Spike
He can grow spikes from his hands and feet.
"Where are the heroes?" Rapt yelled from ahead of them.
"They have to be nearby! Moyuru answered, casting a look behind him. "Soga, you made her mad!"
"Huh?"
"She's chasing us!" Indeed, risking a glance backwards Soga made eye contact with Cuel, her numerous red eyes seemingly affixed to the turquoise haired boy, orbs blazing with fury. Cuel screeched as she chased after the four, her sharp dagger-like legs piercing holes in the ground with every step taken. As Soga watched, the beast seemed to gag, her mandibles parting to expose her mouth, and from the darkness within, a sickly purple orb launched itself out.
As the orb flew through the air, Soga shouted a quick, "Look out!" knocking his friends aside as the orb landed just in front of them, splattering across the ground. The puddle of mystery liquid hissed and bubbled, melting the concrete and asphalt, yet growing smaller as it burned itself out.
"She has acid spit?!" Rapt screamed.
"Over here," Moyuru ordered, grabbing the lizard boy and steering him towards an alleyway nearby. Tamao and Soga followed the four, racing inside before they stopped to catch their breath, eyes locked onto the narrow entrance as Cuel approached it.
The spider-woman screeched as her large body slammed into the buildings on either side of the alley entrance. The walls groaned and crumbled under her weight as she tried to force her way into the too small opening, but the alley was simply too narrow to accommodate her enlarged body. "She can't fit," Rapt grinned. "She can't fit!" He chuckled, though it quickly turned into mad laughter that sent the lizard man sprawling across the ground.
"She's still targeting us," Soga warned.
"No, she's after you. Me and the boys are innocent," Tamao denied.
"Get down!" Moyuru interrupted, grabbing the two and pulling them down to the dirty ground of the alley. A blob of acid flew over their heads to splatter on the ground behind them where it hissed menacingly.
"Shit, we're sitting ducks here." Soga frowned, "She might not be able to get in, but if she keeps shooting her acid at us, she's gonna hit us eventually. There's nowhere in here to hide."
"The heroes have to be on their way." Moyuru added, "If we can just make it until they get here, we should be safe."
"Guys, she's up to something!" Rapt warned, sitting up as he pointed to the alley entrance. Cuel did indeed appear to be up to something, she was no longer pressing herself against the alleyway trying to force herself in. Instead as the quartet watched she scuttled slightly backwards before standing up on her rear four legs, pressing her front four against the damaged buildings bordering the alley. Then she began to climb.
"What's she doing?" Soga wondered.
"I don't know, but something tells me it's not good." Moyuru answered.
"Should we run for it?" Rapt questioned, looking between the others. "Once she's high enough, we could make a break for it. She'd have to come all the way back down to chase us and we'd have a head start."
"Good plan," Tamao said, "Unfortunately it looks like that isn't an option."
"Huh?" Rapt responded. Tamao merely gestured to the entrance of the alley, an entrance now obscured by thick white webs.
"She's sealing us in." Tamao said thoughtfully.
"And if she's climbing the buildings then…" Soga trailed off as he looked up to the open sky above them. "We have to get out of here now! Moyuru, try burning the webs."
"On it." Soga and Moyuru rushed to the webbing, Soga sprouting spikes between his knuckles that he used to try and cut through the thick threads while Moyuru took a deep breath before exhaling a slow but steady burst of flames.
Moyuru Tochi
Quirk: Ignition
Moyuru has a permanent flame burning atop his head and can exhale fire from his mouth like a dragon. The flame atop his head varies in size with his health and mood.
"Any effect!" Tamao called out as she looked around the alley for a door, a fire escape, anything that would let them escape the trap they were now in.
"No, the webs are too tough for my spikes to pierce!"
"I think I can burn them with my flames, but it won't be fast enough." Moyuru warned. A howl from above told the four they were out of time as they looked up to see Cuel's massive spider body crouched above them, her multiple eyes staring down balefully. Her mandibles rose as her maw opened, the beginning of an acid ball visible as it formed inside. The four friends braced themselves, knowing that they could do nothing as they faced down the spider, trapped like flies in a web.
However, before Cuel could fire her deadly projectile, a white piece of cloth wrapped around her mandibles. Once tightened, a great heave pulled the mandibles, and by extension Cuel's mouth, closed with an audible snap. Cuel howled, a mix of both fury and pain as acid dripped from her mouth, melting holes in the cloth which tore completely when she forced her mandibles up, overpowering the cloth's user.
Before she could act though, Cuel suddenly stumbled. Right in front of the disbelieving eyes of the four trapped flies, her body seemed to rapidly shrink, legs and horns receding back into her body while her other four split back into fingers and toes. Without her long legs to carry her, Cuel fell, her unconscious body tumbling into the alley she'd been standing atop in all its naked glory.
Soga and Tamao moved, rushing to catch the falling girl, but before they could the cloth appeared once more, wrapping around Cuel and bringing her fall to a stop. Standing atop the rooftop, his feet braced against the edge, was a figure clad in black, the white cloth wrapped around his neck forming a sort of makeshift scarf. Yellow goggles covered his eyes while his long black hair formed a sort of dark halo behind his head. "I have a week away from my problem students and decided to visit Hoppers to get a drink. I wanted one day without anything happening. Just. One. Day." The hero sighed, "Now does anyone want to explain to me what the hell is going on?"
"Eraserhead." Soga murmured. It'd been a while, but he still recognized the underground hero. Koichi had run into him a few times as had Master, but despite their own confrontations with him, they had nothing but positives to say about the man. In the darkness, Soga nearly missed it, his attention only returning to Cuel as something seemed to move beneath the cloth that bound her. As he watched, a large insect seemed to pull itself free of the bindings, buzzing into the air where it quickly vanished into the night. Soga felt sweat break across his brow as a memory returned to him from when he'd punched the rampaging Cuel in the face. She'd roared at him, mandibles open to reveal a mouth full of needle-like fangs and a black tongue.
"Well?" Eraserhead's voice interrupted Soga's thoughts, "I'm waiting."
Flying through the evening Naruhata light, the yellow bee was difficult to make out against the sunset, yet Himiko made sure to keep her eye on it as she tracked the bee from rooftop to rooftop. When Izuku had returned to the warehouse last night to find Himiko, her uniform stained with Hina's blood, the blonde had been ready to tackle him to the ground and show him how she felt right then and there. It was only the fact that she knew Momochi shared her feelings that she had held off. She wanted Izuku to be happy, but if she claimed him, then Momochi would be sad, which would make Izuku sad. If she let Momochi have him, then she couldn't, which would make her sad and then Izuku would be sad.
"Ugh, why does love have to be so complicated now?" The vampire complained. Even if her life had been harder back before she met Izuku, if nothing else, her feelings had been easier to express. If she saw someone she liked, she would drain them. Now she had to think about how both Izuku and Momochi felt. It was difficult especially considering the lack of contact she had with the latter. Still, at least the solution was simple: if Momochi couldn't have Izuku without Himiko being sad and Himiko couldn't have him without making Momochi sad, then they just needed to share him. That way, they could both be happy.
"The only issue is getting them both on board." Himiko frowned. She knew that there were expectations for how relationships should go, but honestly, why should she follow them? Why should Izuku or Momochi? They were villains, they challenged society, its norms and expectations that sought to tell them how to live, tried to force them to conform to its rules. Screw that, Himiko would love whoever she wanted and express it however she wanted to. If anyone wanted to say otherwise, they could talk to her knives.
She loved Izuku, she would kill for him and do everything within her power to help him accomplish his dream. Momochi was beautiful, loyal, smart, and caring. She talked to Himiko like a person and trusted her to watch over Izuku in her absence. They accepted her for who she was, without the mask she'd been forced to wear most of her life. They deserved to be happy, and so did she.
Skidding to a stop, Himiko peered stealthily over the edge and watched as the bee she'd been following finally stopped as it landed on the body of its owner. And what a body it was. Just by looking, Himiko could feel her mouth begin to water. The woman had a clear bee or wasp mutation, a yellow and black abdomen tipped by a stinger jutting out from above her bubble butt. Antennae crowned her honey blonde hair and wings fluttered on her exposed back. Himiko had little doubt the woman's blood would be the sweetest she'd ever had. If Himiko had come across her in an alley or on a street, the blonde didn't know if she would have been able to control herself. But she was here on Izuku's orders. She'd been told to keep a lookout for instant villains appearing, and if she saw any bees fleeing the scene, she was to follow them and report what she found. This definitely qualified: a bee woman commanding bees that just happened to be in the area whenever an instant villain appeared? If that wasn't suspicious, Himiko didn't know what was.
"So, Knuckleduster didn't show up?" The woman hummed thoughtfully. "That's unfortunate, though I guess not unexpected, Tamao was hanging out with her friends, after all. Daddy dearest would be a creep if he stalked his daughter every time she tried to live her life." She smiled darkly, "Though after this, I doubt he'll stray far from her, at least in the near future. He wouldn't want to lose her again." She smiled, "Tomorrow, I'll end this all tomorrow. I'll get my revenge and Knuckleduster will die. Then I'll skip town and start anew." The woman looked up towards the sunset, studying it with her compound eye. "Tomorrow." Her wings began to flap, quickly picking up speed until they were little more than a blur. Rising into the air, the woman hovered over the side of the building, descending out of sight to the street below.
Himiko simply waited and only once she was sure the woman was gone did she allow herself to move. Standing up, she smiled to herself, fangs proudly on display. Well, that little self-talk had certainly been interesting, and Himiko had no doubt that Izuku would be just as interested in what the woman had said. As the sun disappeared below the horizon, Himiko turned and began to make her way back towards the warehouse serving as their base. She didn't know what would happen tomorrow, but Himiko was certain it would be entertaining if nothing else.
"You're certain?"
"As much as I can be." Silence from the other end of the phone, but Soga waited patiently for the man to speak.
A sigh eventually came through; in his mind, Soga could see his mentor, his Master, exhaling as he took a puff of his cigarette. "So she's back."
"She's targeting us."
"No, she's targeting me," Knuckleduster corrected. "The Instant villain that appeared near me yesterday. The one that attacked you four today. This is a challenge from Kuin. She wants revenge for what happened to her."
"Should we tell Koichi and Pop? If Kuin's targeting those who were involved in her defeat, those two need to know about the situation."
"No."
Knuckleduster's order shocked Soga. "Huh?"
"I said no. I know your ears work fine so don't make me repeat myself. Koichi's in America, he's safe where he is. As for Pop, do you really want to get her involved after what happened to her?" Soga's silence was an answer all its own as he pictured the lively girl lying lifelessly in bed, comatose, hooked to a variety of machines while they waited protectively outside the hospital, guarding her when the police wouldn't. "Exactly. Thanks for the warning, but don't worry I'll handle it."
"Do you need my help?"
"No, I've dealt with her before, I can do it again. Call me paranoid, but I already have everything I need to solve our little bee problem. This time, I'll make sure that the queen and her hive burn down to the very last drone. No survivors."
Silence for a moment, "Okay," Soga sighed. "If you need me for anything, I'm here, and don't worry, I'll make sure to keep an eye on Tamao."
"I know you will, lover boy. If I thought you didn't trust me, our relationship would be very different." A click and the sound of a dead call told Soga that Knuckleduster had hung up. For a moment he sat there, thinking before, hesitantly, he dialed a number. One he'd rarely called the last few years.
The line rang, and for a moment, Soga wasn't sure if the person he'd called would pick up. He didn't know off the top of his head what the time difference was between Japan and New York City, but he knew that the 'Big Apple' was always bustling with activity. A click told him his call had been answered and the familiar upbeat voice of his bully-victim-turned-reluctant-friend filled his ear, "Soga? Is that you? How are you doing man? It's been a while since you last called, what's happening? How's Pop and Rapt and Moyuru doing? Have you spoken to Master recently? Is he okay? What about-"
"Koichi, listen to me," Soga cut him off, "We have a situation and we need your help."
When he next spoke, it wasn't the cheerful voice of Koichi Haimawari that answered, but the serious no-nonsense voice of The Skycrawler, sole sidekick of America's former #1 Hero Captain Celebrity who, last Soga checked, was now #4 in the rankings. "I'm listening, tell me everything." So Soga did.
Author's Note:
Welcome horrors of the night to the spookiest month of the year. For your offerings to me I give you not only this new chapter of Rival Heirs but also a new Harry Potter story with vampiric maids that you all should be dying to sink your teeth into. Muah ha ha! Did you all like my monstrous creation for this chapter? I will neither confirm nor deny that when I wrote this One Piece Goda may have revealed the powers of a planet from which I drew inspiration. In fact there's a new poll on my profile asking about One Piece that I hope at least some of you will vote in.
But moving on, the rest of this arc is written, edited, and up on P-atreon for those of you that want to read it now. The rest of you PARASITES can wait for the monthly updates. I have plans for a spooky Halloween surprise for you all so be on the lookout All Hallows Eve. It might not just be trick or treaters that come a knockin. Glitch seems to have the same idea, TADC ep 3 comes out in just 3 days which means by this weekend I'll have watched it around a half dozen times easy. Oh, woe is me.
As always leave a comment since it keeps me writing, follow and favorite. And until the night I get set free from my prison this is the being currently screwing the hot female monster under your bed signing off,
- D'yavol Lucifer 3:)
*PS* - Sorry about all the banging
Special thanks to my $5 demon level patrons:
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*IMPORTANT NOTICE*
All the cover art for my stories are ones I found online. I am really interested in using fanart provided by you the readers to replace them. If you're interested draw something up and pm me so I can send you the details on where to send it or pm me and I'll give you some details so you can draw one. As I say in my bio if I use it I may add you as an oc in one of my stories! Isn't that exciting!
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