Chapter 83

"Are you planning to have an agency set up by the time we graduate, Boss?" Neito asked.

And it was a valid question, Kazuki supposed.

Still though, he could only grin wryly as he stood there, with the Management students behind him and his team in front. Chikuchi looked curious and Neito looked… confused, which was more along the lines of how Kazuki felt, really. He was still processing the fact that the trio had wanted to take part in his whole team's thing instead of just his situation.

Then there was Mei, but she was tinkering away like nothing was going on.

"Even I don't know, man," he replied, drawing a snort from Chikuchi. "Did we have anything planned for today?" he asked, running his fingers through his hair as he considered how to proceed now. Because his team was a little off and the less was said about the Management kids… For people that had come up with that, they were acting remarkably out of sorts.

Fortunately, he'd used the time it took him to accept – temporarily, since he had to check with everyone – and take the trio with him to the Support workshop to consider how to approach things. Not that it had helped much, but he'd received enough improvisation and people skills lessons to at least try to navigate that. Granted, the formers were for interviews and the latters for crowd control, but same thing, right?

"I want to keep working on the voice commands for your drone, Boss," Mei answered his question, entirely unaffected by the new arrivals. If anything, Kazuki wondered if she'd even registered them, actually. She'd greeted them and introduced herself, but she was either flowing with things very well or she'd done so on autopilot.

"Drone?" Nagashira asked, perking up and his gaze honing in on Mei.

"Chikuchi was telling me about a costume design change too," the tinker continued, like she hadn't even heard the Management student. Kazuki was starting to notice something that was sounding remarkably like a headache for him to deal with.

"Costume design?" Nagashira asked, looking even more excited and not at all bothered by the Support student's dismissal.

"I noticed that Boss and Neito had particular styles and I… thought it'd be better if I matched them. I don't know how that'll work though, since I need water reserves and that doesn't mix well with… Well, formal clothing," Chikuchi commented, evidently a little frustrated. As the person the most on board with the team thing, Kazuki imagined that made sense.

"I'm considering the idea of placing a lot of small tubes hidden in the clothes to store water in. It won't be much, but it should allow her to use her Quirk if she doesn't have anything in her surroundings," Mei started explaining excitedly, proudly presenting a blueprint that probably only she could read. He caught some illustrations about the tubes that made sense, hidden in the seams and such, but he imagined that'd give Chikuchi very few attacks.

"How about a purse?" Nagashira asked, drawing a rather intense stare from Mei that made him shift where he stood. To his credit though, the boy soldiered on. "A purse would go well with a formal clothing style design, and you can fill it with water for you to use. It'd help if you can also carry things in it, but if you have to push it, you can just go full water container," the boy explained, growing increasingly more unsure as the tinker looked at him with unblinking eyes.

"Boss…" Mei said, not taking her eyes off a slightly unnerved Nagashira. "You brought someone with great ideas! You are the best!"

"Happy to help," he replied blandly, but there was a smile on his face. "Well, that's one good impression given, I guess," he added, watching as Nagashira approached Mei and they started brainstorming, with Chikuchi soon joining. There went some of his plans to get things moving, but it was as expected of Mei. He wasn't complaining, that was for sure.

"Nagashira's focus is on appearances," Masu commented, moving to stand beside him. "Costumes and equipment are what he likes the most. Loves to look at heroes and think of new versions for their stuff." Masu looked fairly proud of the other Management student.

"What about you two?" Neito asked, eyebrow raised as he approached them.

"Keage likes the business side," Masu answered for the other student in their trio. "Advertisement, promotions, merch, pricing and all that. If you want to sell something, he's the guy to ask," was the explanation that followed, getting a simple nod from Keage himself.

"Huh, good to know," Kazuki commented, turning to look at the guy. Both him and Nagashira sounded like they could help him present a better image of himself. After all, it might sound bad, but business – money, more specifically – could be a huge, if not the biggest, factor when it came to public opinions.

Or, it could push a better public opinion. If someone made a lot of money for the right people, agendas would be pushed in their favor. It was a very bleak view of things, but it was how it went and Kazuki wasn't above using that to his advantage.

"Masu's good at everything," Keage pointed out, taking over the conversation. "They are better than average at most subjects," he added and Kazuki blinked. 'They, huh?' he mused, noticing spikes of emotion coming from them, even Nagashira. 'Loyal bunch, it seems.'

"So, Jack of All Trades? That's great," Kazuki replied, turning to address Masu. "You wanna be head of the management department of our growing agency?"

"Not even calling it a team anymore, eh?" Neito commented dryly, to which Kazuki gave him a half-smile.

"I mean, I'm not as good as Nagashira and Keage," Masu answered, nervously rubbing the back of their neck.

"But you cover more bases, don't you? You don't need to be better, but if you are good at everything, you can help where they can't. They are specialists, so they'll excel in their own job. Yours is to cover for their weaknesses and to know when they are needed and where they'll be the most helpful," Kazuki argued, pulling on some half-forgotten pieces he'd learned in regards to Uwabami's agency during his internship. Those hadn't been his focus at the time, but he had paid attention.

And he was now very grateful for that.

He'd make a point to check on his notes regarding that later.

"Well, I mean…" Masu started, looking around as if trying to find someone that would be on their side. They found no such support though. Well, it was nice to be able to push a position on someone when he'd been pushed into the Boss one himself. "Are we sure-?"

"Welcome to the team," Kazuki interrupted, moving to stand beside them and wrapping a hand around their shoulders. "Now, let's all get to work, yeah? Plenty of stuff to work on, I think."

"That's right, Boss!" Mei readily agreed, dependable – read, overeager – tinker that she was.

[}-o-{]

"They sound like a nice bunch," Hina commented after he called her and informed her of the new development. "Are you trying to set up an agency during your school years though? Because it looks that way," she added, more teasing than anything.

"It's not like I'm trying. I just… Things seem to be going that way anyway," he answered with a helpless shrug that she couldn't see. "I really don't know how this happened," he added, leaning back on his chair and taking a deep breath in. He'd been going over his notes on Hina's agency while they talked, but chatting and studying at the same time was kind of hard. "I guess it's like… practical training?" he commented idly.

"Could be," Hina answered before giggling. "You might get used to each other though, and then it'll be hard to work with other people or on your own. I could be wrong though. Either way, I think it's adorable," she told him, sounding very amused.

"Well, Chikuchi did say she actually wanted to be my sidekick," he replied, thinking about that. Maybe Hina would have something to say about that? He could use some advice, because it was… sort of awkward and sort of nerve wracking. Although, it sounded like a bigger deal than it was when said like that.

Kazuki was just a little nervous about being responsible for someone else. He had enough trouble taking care of himself without that. It was nice that Chikuchi thought so highly of him and to know that he'd helped her and all but… Yeah, it was a little much. He didn't want to tell her that though, since it wasn't that bad and he didn't want to make her feel bad.

"Oho~?" He almost cursed as he heard that. It seemed Hina had taken his statement in the worst way possible, romantically. Why did she find his non-existent love life so interesting anyway? "I knew you were breaking hearts without telling me."

"As if," he all but scoffed.

"Keep thinking like that, Kazuki. It just makes it more fun to watch," Hina told him, making his expression fall into an unimpressed one, even if she couldn't see it. "Do be wary though. Someone might take advantage of your dense skull."

"I have no idea what you are talking about," he replied flatly. "Nobody's going to want to be with a mess like me," he added for good measure, in case her optimistic self had forgotten who she was talking to. "Besides, take advantage for what, exactly? I'm less than nobody, considering all the baggage."

"That…" he heard. Just going by the sound of her voice, Kazuki could almost feel her pity bleeding out of her. "Kazuki, any girl would be lucky to have you in their lives, let alone as a boyfriend. You're a catch, and not only because I trained you."

"I know," he said, trying his best to sound genuine even as he felt his expression turn dismissive. Good thing it wasn't a video call. "Can we move on though?" he asked, camouflaging his emotions by feigning awkwardness. Which wasn't difficult, since there was definitely some of that there too.

"... I taught you how to act, Kazuki," Hina told him and he grimaced. "I can tell even just by hearing you… I'll let this be though," she added and he didn't even try to hide the relieved sigh that escaped him. "So, did you check the script I sent you?"

"Huh? Oh, no. I haven't checked my mail yet," he said, a little caught off guard. "Give me a bit." Setting his phone on speaker, he looked for the mail that, sure enough, he'd gotten from Hina a few hours prior. "Let me see…"

"Well, I took the liberty to check it and it looked good to me," she said, sounding like someone that knew a secret. Which was no wonder, really, considering she hadn't deigned to tell him what the movie was about or what his role was. "What I sent you is just what they can give you to prepare for the audition though, so it's not much."

"Hm, give me a second to check this," he mumbled, starting to go over the text.

Lots of interactions, from what he could see. With a male character that sounded like a friend. With a female character that seemed like someone he was just meeting but on friendly terms. Then there was an argument with someone else. Interestingly, there was an entire scene with very few lines from him, but it seemed to be full of emotions.

"Is this a romcom?" he asked. He wasn't a movie expert, but he had looked into things after hearing what Hina had offered him and especially after it had become a possibility. "Feels a little heavy for that though," he mused thoughtfully.

"Romantic drama," Hina answered and he grimaced a little. He wasn't sure what he'd have liked to act in, but that was a bit… "I thought you wouldn't like a comedy, so I looked for something a little more serious. There was one action movie that had a spot too, but that was a villain role and I didn't think you'd like that, especially for a debut. I didn't think it was a good idea either and neither did my people."

"Well… I'll trust your judgment on that, and yeah, good calls on both things. Comedies… I don't like comedies." Those had always struck him as silly and most of the time he just felt uncomfortable and like he'd die of secondhand embarrassment. "And the villain role is a pass too," he added. That didn't appeal to him at all, for the same reason that leaning on a villainous persona and look for his hero career didn't. It was just… too much risk for too little reward or so he felt.

"I know. I'm great," Hina boasted exaggeratedly, making him smile as he continued looking over the scenes, this time trying to get a better feel of his character. "Does it bother you that it's a romance movie?"

"Not really?" he replied, shrugging indifferently. Romance wasn't something that concerned him a whole lot. It felt like an alien concept, really. Might as well ask him how he felt about casting magic in a movie. Although… "I'm not involved in that a lot, am I?" he asked, suddenly wary.

It wasn't that he didn't think he could act close to someone, but it'd certainly feel awkward. Especially if he had to act really close to someone. He'd try, but he didn't think he'd do a great job at it.

"Not in this movie, no," Hina answered, to which he sighed. "Maybe the sequel though."

"Sequel?" he asked, more surprised that the movie had a sequel already being talked about. That is, until the other part registered, making him gulp. "And I don't know how I feel about that."

"Don't worry too much about those parts. There's tricks the director can use to spare you the awkwardness if you don't feel up to something," Hina reassured him. "I'll pull more strings if I have to, since this is kind of on me. And the sequel kind of depends on this movie doing well."

At that, Kazuki was torn between being grateful that she'd go that far and guilty that she was doing even more for him.

"What do you think about the role though?" Hina asked as he processed that new information.

"Well…" he went to start, refocusing on the present and checking the text once more. "Didn't you say it was just going to be part of it? Feels like it's a lot," he commented, reaching for his cup of tea before it cooled down too much. Honestly, what he'd been given was more or less the extent of what he'd expected to get to do. Kazuki was an unknown in the industry, after all, nevermind the entire… everything regarding him.

"Did you think I'd get you an extra role? For shame, Kazuki," Hina replied like she was deeply insulted. "It's a shame the villain role was a no. That one was a main villain," she said, almost making him choke on his tea. "This one's not so bad for a debut. It's a secondary character." Now he definitely choked. "The main character's best friend. Plenty of scenes to show off for my boy."

"Isn't an important role more difficult to get?" he asked, rubbing the back of his neck.

"They are," Hina answered before he could voice a second question that had just popped up in his mind. "But you are good at what you do, Kazuki. Furthermore, you've got some tricks up your sleeve, don't you?"

"I mean, yeah," he mumbled, his eyes going over the scenes. Now that he had the thing at hand, he couldn't stop going over it and wondering how he should approach the scenes. "I see some parts where I could use my sensing to help me out," he added thoughtfully. "And I've been training to better harness the emotions, so I guess this'll work as an exercise of sorts."

"That's the spirit," Hina told him and he could almost see her beaming at him. "Are you going to get started on that now?"

"Probably? I have time and I'll probably use the weekend to do homework and such. A friend is coming over to study, so might as well leave stuff to do and go over then," he told her, carefully not mentioning that it was Toru because-

"Is it a girl?" Hina asked and Kazuki could feel her inquisitive stare even through the phone. "Is it? It is, I'm sure."

"Then why are you asking?" he mumbled, genuinely confused.

"I can feel it," she answered, as if that made any sense at all. "Tell me, tell me. Is she cute?"

"Back to the acting," Kazuki said, switching gears as best he could and decided that ignoring the topic altogether was the best course of action. Or, at least, the best he could come up with, because it was obviously not a good one.

Evidenced by Hina's reaction.

"Oh, you are embarrassed~! This is…" Kazuki was very surprised when she trailed off then instead of continuing. He'd already seen at least five minutes of questions and teasing at the very least. "Ok, I think that's enough," Hina said, her tone much more subdued for some reason, which caught him off guard. "I hope you have fun with your friend."

"Everything ok?" he asked, wondering if something had happened.

"Yes, it's all fine. Now, I would ask you for a video call so we can get some practice in, but I have stuff to do now. Maybe next time?"

"Sure, next time sounds great," he answered, still trying to catch up.

"In the meantime, let me tell you some tips. You have your trusty notebook at hand?"

"Yup," he replied, reaching for a pencil and looking for an empty page. "I'm all ears."

[}-o-{]

'Phone, keys, wallet,' he thought, checking his pockets and trying to shake off that feeling he got whenever he was leaving his place that he was forgetting something. Idly, Kazuki wondered if his Quirk also pushed him towards those kinds of inane worries through his day that sometimes made him think he had some kind of OCD or similar. 'I probably have experienced any and all kinds of anxieties. It's a wonder I don't have bigger issues with… everything, really,' he thought to himself.

Then again, maybe it was the change in location that had messed with him a little extra?

He looked around the new apartment he'd gotten after Distressed disappeared. It wasn't all that different from the previous one in terms of space, but the distribution was almost entirely different, no matter how much he tried to arrange things similarly. In the end, it was a different place and it would take some getting used to, as with all things.

'Don't wanna be late,' he told himself, shaking his head and checking his appearance and his pockets once more. Clothes were fine, hair was fine and he had all the things that he needed to take with himself. 'Let's go before I go on another spiral,' he decided with a firm nod, opening the door and getting out.

…

Only to turn back and double check if he'd closed the door.

It was annoying, but better safe than sorry, he supposed. Might as well humor some of his worries or they'd all accumulate and eat at his mind. He didn't need that weighing on him when he was out trying to have a good time with a friend.

As he moved through the building, his mind busied itself with the fact that… nothing had really happened in the new building. No person had stood out emotion-wise and he hadn't really had any incidents with the few people he'd come across in the halls and the entrance. That suited him just fine, considering the pictures his mind had conjured, but he would admit to being a little disappointed that his hopes were dashed too.

'Better nothing than something bad, Kazuki. Let it go,' he told himself, taking a deep breath in as he stepped outside the building. It'd been a while since his face had started being plastered all over the news and also a while since he'd started walking outside without hiding, but he hadn't gotten used to it yet. Moving through the streets and feeling the spikes of emotions from people that recognized him was still… awkward, to say the least.

Alas, that was his life and he would have to get used to it…

Eventually…

Hopefully…

All the same, Kazuki soldiered on, because there was nothing else to do, really. Some might say what he did was impressive in some way, a show of will and determination or whatever. Truth was that it was anything but that. He did what he did because there were no other options. What else was he to do? Cower in his apartment? Give up his life to hide away, to run away?

That was no choice at all.

As if he even could get away from everything.

Taking a deep breath in, he gave himself a sharp stab of emotions to focus his mind. He was more distracted than usual, he supposed. Then again, lots of things were happening and Distressed's disappearance never stopped looming over him. 'I need to get it together,' he thought, letting out the air in his lungs in a long weary sigh.

"Sorry. Am I late?" he said as a way of greeting while he approached the table and pulled on a chair to sit down.

"Don't worry about it, man. The life of a celebrity must be a busy one."

"You have no idea, Io," Kazuki said, running his fingers through his hair and regarding the boy across the table. "You've been well yourself?"

"As well as I can be. Trying to stay out of trouble, following the great example of the just as great Beacon," his juvie friend of sorts commented, being deliberately dramatic and making Kazuki roll his eyes. "In seriousness, you really are going all out trying to make things better, huh?"

"For myself, yeah."

"So you say," Io commented, looking and sounding like a guy that knew more than others. "People are looking at rats like us differently now. I have an ear to the ground, you know? I hear things. Most of the time a less than good thing, but it's good to be informed."

"Your point being…?" Kazuki prodded before Io could go on one of his edgy bragging sprees. Which was saying something coming from Kazuki, personification of all things edgy that he was.

"The point is that I've been hearing things are getting better for people like us. Juvie kids and not so kids anymore," the other teen explained, making him blink. "Just the other day, a friend finally managed to get an actual stable job. And a kid younger than us managed her first friend. Stuff like that. You haven't revolutionized the world, Endo, but you've certainly done something. If nothing else, you're giving these people something to work towards, proof that they can get somewhere if they try. It's not just empty words anymore," his friend said, dramatic, passionate guy that he was and Kazuki had to hold back an awkward reaction.

Suddenly, he felt like he needed to put up his interview persona.

"You are giving me too much credit," he said humbly… before letting the mask fall again. This was a friend, or at least someone that could be a friend. No matter how awkward… He needed to be himself. "But that's the goal, so I'm glad it's working."

"More than working, Endo," Io told him, grinning. "On behalf of all the people I know that share the sentiment, thank you, man. You are awesome."

Io might never know how much those words meant to Kazuki, but he didn't need to. All that was necessary was that he knew, because it filled him with renewed energy and determination. Just like they were giving him proof that something could be achieved, that he was achieving something.

He thought it was a fair enough trade.

"Just getting started," Kazuki replied with a grin of his own.

[} Chapter End {]

Hey guys! How's it going?

The Management team of the agenc- I mean, the group gets properly introduced to everyone else and they are off to get started on their thing. Not sure where that's going, but it's going somewhere for sure. Can't wait to see what happens.

Then there's the movie plot line making an appearance again and… Can I just say? This story feels more off the rails than any of my other projects, and that's saying something. The lines that keep popping up are something, that's for sure.

And Io makes another appearance. Was it just because I felt like it'd been a while? Yes, yes it is, but sometimes there doesn't need to be a grand reason for a scene, or so I feel. Sometimes it's just about showing how things go, showing life with no plot involved. I think those scenes have their own kind of importance.

Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter.

As always, if you can't wait until next week for next chapter, or if you just feel like supporting my writing, there's up to three new chapters in my Pa tre on:

P a treon . com (slash) AdrianKing

Discord Link: discord .gg/UTDransjJZ

Random Question: Do you like comedy movies? I kind of copied my opinion for Kazuki. I always feel incredibly awkward when watching them and wither a little inside with every "funny" scene due to secondhand embarrassment. The same kind of extends to all kinds of comedy stories, I guess, but especially movies.

See you.