Chapter 43: A Broken Family Reunited
"Hi mom."
Plans, words, emotions all went out the window the moment Kaina heard those words. Words that she thought for sure she would never be able to hear in person. All she had before were the shocked words of a scared young woman.
"Hi." Kaina whispered as she remained in the doorway, not trusting her legs.
Akina stared at her mother, her eyes a warring mix of hope, fear, and desperation. "We need to talk."
"W-we do." Kaina agreed as she took a stumbling step forward before a sense of determination came over her, steadying her as she made her way toward the desk next to Akina's bed. Reaching her destination, Kaina quickly pulled the chair out from under the desk and spun it around to face her daughter.
Claiming her seat, she leaned forward, her elbows resting on her knees, and looked at Kaishin and Akina in turn. "Where do you want to begin?"
"The beginning." Kaishin rumbled in response. "How did you and mother meet? Why have us? Why did you leave? Why did she tell us you were dead?"
Akina looked down at Kaishin for a moment before she slowly nodded her head as she refocused on Kaina. "Why were you in Tartarus?"
"So we're going to cover everything it seems…" Kaina closed her eyes as she let out a long sigh. "But you two deserve to know the truth." Tears had started to form when she opened her eyes once more. "And I hope you still want to talk with me once you know it."
The silence that greeted Kaina's statement only grew as she paused to gather her thoughts. Finally she took a deep breath and began.
"I always wanted to be a hero. Growing up things were… well they were difficult for me and my family and despite my dream I knew that my family couldn't afford to send me to a heroics university." Kaina gave a sarcastic snort. "Hell, any university for that matter. Just when I had started to give up on my dream, someone from the HPSC reached out and made my family an offer. An offer to cover all of my schooling expenses if I come work for them once I'm done."
"It was too good of an opportunity to pass up, so I accepted and next thing I knew I was enrolled and attending Ketsubutsu University." Kaina ran a hand through her hair, a small clump pulling away as she did so. Looking at it she started to absentmindedly mold it into a ball. "I remember… I remember being so hopeful for the future. So happy that I was going to be able to live out my dream. And with a job lined up the moment I graduated no less." A sarcastic laugh forced its way out of her. "How naive." She looked up and met Akina's gaze. "What do you know about the HPSC?"
"They're the government body that oversees heroes and deals with villains along with the fallout they cause." Akaina immediately replied despite the growing sense of worry that tingled in the back of her mind.
"That's a perfect dictionary definition." Kaina let out yet another sarcastic laugh. "In reality they are tasked by the government to enforce the status quo. What is that status quo? Well that's just for the HPSC to decide." She shook her head. "My years at university flew past and before I knew it I was a licensed hero walking into the HPSC for the first time. Going in I figured that they would assign me to a hero to work under, get experience and then move on to some posting under my own patrol. Instead the moment I arrived they shipped me off to a military training camp and called it a day."
"Is that where you met the others who saved us?" Kaishin quietly asked, both himself and Akina totally enraptured by the story unfolding in front of them.
A small smile played at the edge of Kaina's lips. "Yes. Though at first it was just Hisashi and I, Inko joined later, then Haruki, your other mother, and finally Yosai." Kaina's voice faltered as she said Yosai's name. "Between Hisashi's leadership, my skill with a rifle, Haruki's tactics, Yosai's penchant for demolition and Inko's medical knowledge we made one hell of a team. We were quick, we were quiet and most importantly we got results." She looked at Kaishin and then Akina. "We'd been working together as a black ops squad for just over a year when your mother and I… Well, we fell in love."
A wistful smile danced across Kaina's face. "Haruki and I had been dancing around each other for some time but it really wasn't until she took a bullet on a raid that we both realized we needed each other. We kept it under wraps but we started to make plans to get out and have a family." Her eyes grew distant. "We should have known better because once you start talking about the future. Well shit tends to go sideways." A single tear made its way down her cheek. "We were on an op in Nagasaki when we were ambushed by a zealous religious organization that wanted to kill all heteromorphs."
"Wait wasn't that-"
"Like the people who kidnapped you?" Kaina finished as she cut her daughter off. "The people we dealt with were part of the same group, the CRC or Creature Rejection Clan. We'd been fighting them for some time but this time… this time they knew we were coming." She shook her head as images of the past flashed before her eyes. "They took Yosai down before we even had a chance to react. It was a… a mess. Hisashi almost lost a leg and Haruki an eye all while Inko and I did our best to keep up a fighting retreat."
"How'd you get out?" Kaishin whispered, totally enthralled by the story.
"Luck." Kaina answered. "We got lucky. A hero happened to be passing by the alley where we were fighting and when they stepped in it turned the tide in our favor. Together we managed to take them down. Some of the CRC lived, some didn't but none of that mattered because Yosai was dead." She stared off into space. "We all took the hit differently but Hisashi, Inko and I all threw ourselves into avenging our colleague and friend. Haruki, on the other hand, decided to get out."
"I never blamed her for leaving." Kaina snorted. "Hell we were still living together and talking about a family but it was always one more mission, one more job. It was then that the HPSC started calling me in for solo jobs. Jobs that the SFHG didn't know about on targets that they claimed were causing issues."
"It took a year but between both organizations we managed to remove the CRC's leadership and the majority of its members in Japan. And just like that the squad was no more." Kaina took a deep breath to steady herself. "Inko retired and then got pregnant, Hisashi was moved to a different division and Haruki and I…" Her eyes focused once more as they settled on Akina and Kaishin. "We decided it was finally time to start our own family. So I got out as well and was getting ready to turn in my hero license so that we could raise you. So naturally that's when the HPSC came calling."
Kaina slowly shook her head as she sat upright in her chair, a scowl forming. "They told me that the years I was working with the SFHG didn't count as working with the HPSC and that I had just been on loan. So I owed them my services. I owed them my loyalty and skills to make sure that the world was a safe place. And… well I believed them."
"What did you do?" Akina quietly asked as she continued to watch her mother in an attempt to discern the answer before she gave it.
"They would give me a list of names and I would take care of them." Kaina's voice was soft but strained. "They would tell me what they did, or supposedly did, and that I needed to eliminate them in order for society to still function." She let out a shaky breath, tears forming in her eyes once more. "Most were villains but some were… some were labeled as corrupt heroes but regardless of who it was, my job was to find them and make sure that they never hurt anyone ever again."
"It was over a year before I realized what I had become. What I had let my grief lead me to do. You were already born, my precious little peanut and her ferocious kitten." She let out a watery chuckle. "It was just after your first birthday when it hit me. I was looking down the scope at my next target when the door to his office opened and a little boy toddled in to hug him. And suddenly all I could see was Haruki and yourself instead of a faceless target." By now the tears ran freely down Kaina's cheeks. "I recalled Rifle and walked away determined to figure out what this man had done that had earned him a death sentence without trial."
"Do you know what I found?" Almost immediately Kaina's tears dried up and a cold fury took their place as she continued before either Kaishin or Akina could respond. "I found out that he was nothing more than a businessman who refused to sell products to the HPSC because the current president refused to reveal his personal investments when he took office. He was a man who didn't want to be party to insider trading even by proxy."
Kaina clasped her hands together as they started to shake. "Then I kept digging and found out that I wasn't in the HPSC database as a hero let alone a hero on their payroll. That my missions were being assigned by the president and his immediate circle with no oversight."
"Is that how you ended up in Tartarus? Because you found out?" Akina asked, her voice wavering as her own tears left streaks down her face.
"No, I ended up in Tartarus because I killed every last one of the bastards that had been using me for their own ends." Kaina spat before she took a deep breath in an attempt to steady herself once more. "I went to Tartarus because I didn't think and just acted. I left a trail for them to follow and that led them back to me."
Akina and Kaishin stared at Kaina for a long moment before the latter of the two carefully padded over and placed his head in her lap. "Why did mother tell us you died?"
"I didn't know that was the case until I got out. According to Nezu the HPSC said I died so that nobody would ever come looking for me. So nobody would ask questions." Absentmindedly Kaina started to run her hands through Kaishin's fur as she spoke, her breath slowly settling once more. "I never expected to get out anyway."
Total silence dominated the room as Akina and Kaishin processed their mother's story while Kaina patiently waited for their judgment.
Finally Akina spoke. "How are you here then?"
"I don't know." Kaina answered as she continued to pet Kaishin. "I know that someone broke me out and that they were using me for something but I don't have memory of my escape or of certain evenings."
"So someone is still using you…" Kaishin growled, the rumble in his chest sending vibrations through Kaina. "We just got you back. We're not going to let this continue."
"I'm meeting someone on Friday who's Quirk should be able to return my memories." Kaina replied as she looked up at Akina. "I hope you can forgive me for not being there. Forgive me for-"
Kaina didn't get any further as Akina launched herself off her bed and at her mother, pulling her into a bone crushing hug. Shocked, it took a second before Kaina returned the gesture, her face lost among Akain's long white and purple locks.
"H-how?" Kaina croaked as she held her daughter.
"Because you're my mom. Because they used you and stole you from me. Because mother all but abandoned us years ago." Akina whispered, her own voice cracking. "Because if you're a good person and a killer that means I can be too."
Kaina felt her heart go cold and her body stiffen as she pulled away from Akina, holding her daughter at arms length. "You're not a killer! You defended yourself and-"
"And took a life." Akina cut Kaina off, tears still flowing down her face. "I defended myself and killed a man in the process. But if you're still…" Her words failed as Kaina pulled her back into a hug while Kaishin shifted so that his head was resting on both of their shoulders.
Silence dominated the room once more as the reunited family held each other.
++++++++++++++++++++
"Good." Dannon gave Emily a tight nod as he assessed the kevlar pad covered dummy she had been aiming for. "Your control is getting better but still needs improvement." He pointed at the dummy's arm as the pair approached. "You burnt through the padding and into the wood here."
Looking over Dannon's shoulder, Emily nodded along as she fought her urge to wince. "My concentration kinda slipped a little." She gave into the urge as Dannon pulled away the pad to reveal a section of charcoal black wood. "Or a lot…"
"All part of the learning curve." Dannon pulled out a backup kevlar pad and placed it on the arm of the dummy. "Think of it this way. You didn't burn through the dummy this time."
"Thanks…" Emily huffed as she crossed her arms over her chest, her gauntleted left arm on top. "So what should I do?"
"Practice." Dannon responded as he stood from his crouch and looked down at his intern. "Since this isn't your Quirk's natural state you need to think of control in a different manner."
"What do you mean that it isn't my Quirk's natural state?" Emily cocked her head to the side. "It's just channeling the light differently so my Quirk produces a laser."
Dannon nodded his head a few times. "Show me what happens when you just activate your Quirk? No thinking. No concentration. Just a simple Quirk activation."
Raising a hand, Emily pointed her palm toward her target and activated Light Arrows causing a first sized ball of light to shoot forward and slam into the dummy's chest.
"See that is your Quirk's natural state." Dannon motioned toward Emily. "You may find other options or ways to utilize your hard light creations but at the end of the day your Quirk creates orbs of light." He turned toward the target and half a second later a beam of light burned a hole through the dummy's head before leaving a dark mark on the back wall. "And that's the natural state of Laser."
Turning back, he gave Emily a sympathetic smile. "I'm not saying that you're wrong to try and push your Quirk to it's limits or to try and find unique ways to use it but with emitter Quirks like ours there is a natural state and a controlled state for when we exert our control over it."
"Ok but wha-"
Emily flinched as a beam of light shot from Dannon's eye, hitting her elbow. A numbness spread down her arm as if it had just fallen asleep. Looking back up she shot a glare at her mentor. "What the fuck was that for?"
"A demonstration of control." Dannon impassively replied as he tapped a finger under his right eye. "I can control the laser I emit." He motioned toward Emily. "You can control your arrows." He pointed at the target. "But your laser is not your arrows. You are twisting your Quirk into something new and that requires patience, practice and a new way of thinking."
Emily stared at Dannon for a long moment before she slowly nodded her head. "And how do I do that?"
"Hmm." Dannon rubbed his chin. "What do you think about when you change the size of your arrows?"
"I think about what size I want them to be." Emily immediately replied.
"So when you think about the size do you think 'I want this to be seventy centimeters' or 'I want a basketball'?"
"A basketball."
Dannon let out a contemplative hum as he nodded his head. "So when you want a laser I'm guessing you are thinking that you want a laser?"
"...yes?" Emily's tone made it unclear as to how she should answer. "Mostly I think about Light Arrows coming out as a beam and not as a ball." She sighed. "So yeah I guess I just think about wanting a laser."
"And now we know the issue." Dannon stared at Emily. "So we just need to find a different analog for each level of laser you want."
"Ok…" Emily's brow scrunched up for a second before her eyes lit up and a smile broke out across her face. "I have an idea."
"Shoot."
Emily's smile only grew. "Have you ever seen Star Wars?"
++++++++++++++++++++
"And where's the rhino?"
Kashiko's right lens was a riot of color before it settled on a small stream with a large rhino made of dirt standing next to it.
"By the steam to the north."
"How far is it?" Shino prompted as she watched Kashiko.
Kashiko paused for a second as she observed the terrain around the dirt monster. "About half a kilometer away?"
Shino folded her arms across her chest while raising an eyebrow. "Are you asking or telling me?
"Asking."
Nodding, Shino sent a quick message through Telepathy. How far are you Pixie?
"Half a kilometer from base. How's the kitten doing?" Ryuko responded via her radio
Better. Shino answered before she looked back at Kashiko. "Well you got the distance correct." She motioned toward the lens where Chart was active. "You didn't seem sure of the answer though. Doesn't Chart tell you?"
"No." Kashiko sighed as her shoulders slumped. "I can't seem to get it to give me distance to target."
Shino nodded her head a few times. "Then how did you know?"
"Tiger took me near that stream yesterday to work on my hand to hand combat. I knew we did a full kilometer run between there and back so I just guessed that it was half a kilometer each way." Kashiko shook her head sadly. "So it was just a lucky guess."
"I see. We may have hit a limit to Chart." Shino looked toward Tomoko. "Thoughts Ragdoll?"
Tomoko's face scrunched up in thought. "I don't think we have but it's possible. Chart shows so much information about the target that I find it hard to believe that something like the distance between Recon and her target is too much." She gave Kashiko a winning smile. "What about its weak spot?"
A beat of sweat formed on Kashiko's brow as she focused on Chart, willing the Quirk to provide her with the information she wanted. A long second passed before a small targeting reticles appeared on each of the rhino's knees and one in the middle of its back.
Kashiko sighed as she let out a breath she hadn't been aware she had been holding. "Got it!"
"Where are they?" Tomoko prompted as she looked down at her notes.
Kashiko's eyes darted around the image one last time before she responded. "Back of the knees and a spot about the size of an orange along the spine."
"Great!" Tomoko giggled as she threw her hands in the air in celebration. "That's a new record! It only took you ten seconds to find them."
Still too slow. Kashiko brutally crushed the stray thought before she met Tomoko's smile with one of her own. "I just need more practice."
"And maybe that's the same thing for distance." Shino scratched at her cheek as she mulled over an idea. "What if we try having Ragdoll track myself and the rest of the group. She can tell you the distances and maybe by knowing the information we can force Chart to track it?"
"Maybe?" Kashiko quickly swapped Chart to her wristguard. "We did have to force it to show me the weak points but since I already knew how healthy someone was it wasn't too far of a stretch."
"But we could force it." Tomoko bounced over to stand next to Kashiko. Leaning over she stared at Chart on her intern's arm. "Can you pan it over to Pixie… great. Ok so we can see how healthy she is, her Quirk, her name and now her weak points." She giggled once more as she spotted the reticle on Ryuko's left shin. "Looks like little Kota packed a bigger punch than we thought."
"Kota?" Kashiko asked as she dismissed Chart and turned to face Tomoko.
"Mandalay's nephew." Tomoko jogged a thumb at Shino who simply raised an eyebrow in response.
"What did Kota do?"
"Pixie's left shin is apparently her weak spot." Tomoko giggled once more as Shino's eyes went wide.
"She said she had it looked at." Pinching the bridge of her nose, Shino reached out to Ryuko. I thought you said that your left leg was fine.
"IT IS!" Ryuko hissed into the radio. "I RECOVERED FROM IT IN A DAY LIKE ALWAYS!"
Confused, Kashiko looked between the two older women, an unspoken question clear on her face.
"Pixie tried to flirt with little Kota for fun and he kicked her in the shin and since we're not getting any younger…" Tomoko explained through her laughter.
Kashiko shared a look with Shino before shaking her head and calling up Chart once more. "Can you tell Pixie-Bob that I want to try again with the distance?"
"Of course." Shino gave the younger woman a quick smile before reaching out to Ryuko. Do you have the mouse in position?
There was a lengthy pause before Ryuko responded. "Yep! The little guy is in place."
Thank you. Shino turned and gave Kashiko a nod. "The next target is in place. It's a bit smaller than what we've done before so it might take some concentration."
Kashiko gave Shino a nod before turning her attention to Chart. So I've found the rhino, the monster, the dog and the fox which leaves the mouse. Now knowing her target the terrain flashed across her lens as Chart took off. A couple seconds passed before Chart settled, revealing a mouse sitting in a flower.
"Ok that's adorable." Kashiko muttered as she focused on the mouse.
"How far is it?" Shino prompted as she continued to watch Kashiko.
"I'm not…" Kashiko trailed off as she felt Chart shift under her gaze, the 'screen' jumping slightly. "I think it's… I don't know what's happening."
Sweat started to form on her brow once more as she closed her left eye and turned her whole focus onto Chart and the mouse it was showing. A second turned into ten which turned into a minute before the 'screen' jumped once more. As it settled a new line appeared under the mouse's information.
"Sixty centimeters?" Kashiko's left eye flew open as she realized what she was reading. "SIXTY CENTIMETERS!" She spun around to see Shino and Tomoko's excited faces.
"Good job kitten." Shino laughed as she reached down and picked up the small dirt mouse. "Now do it again."
++++++++++++++++++++
"Can either of you tell me what the most important part of patrolling is?" Taishiro asked without turning to look at either Momo or Eijiro.
"To help people." Eijiro answered immediately, a massive grin on his face.
"Close." Taishiro replied as he turned his head slightly toward Momo. "What do you think Creati?"
"Going on patrol is to reassure people that we are here to help if they need us." Momo responded as she looked past Taishiro and toward the civilians walking along the sidewalk.
Taishiro's body shook as he let out a booming laugh. "I couldn't have said it better myself." He paused to look at each of his interns in turn. "Too many people see us as larger than life figures. Just look at the hero merchandise market, the leaderboards or better yet All Might."
Eijiro gave Taishiro a shocked look "All Might? Everyone knows you can approach All Might."
"Can they?" Taishiro asked as he nodded at a civilian who waved at the trio. "Everyone can approach All Might after a rescue or during a special event but every day? Would someone approach him to, say, ask him to help catch their dog that slipped its leash?"
"I…" Eijiro's mouth opened and closed a few times as he processed Taishiro's words. "But he's so manly and the number one hero!"
Taishiro nodded his head as Eijiro spoke. "He is and he deserves the number one spot for all the work he does but All Might is not an approachable hero. He is a personable one but he is a larger than life figure that people don't wish to 'bother' with their problems."
"So All Might is too successful?" Momo asked as she looked up at Taishiro. "If people can't approach him I mean."
"His success is part of the issue." Taishiro pulled out a stick of dango and quickly devoured it before continuing. "All Might has been on top for forty years and that is a success story that is unreplicated anywhere, not just in Japan. While it makes people trust him it also makes him intimidating to approach. Think about what the average person sees All Might doing? He shows up during the worst events or ends conflicts in a single punch."
"So they only ever see him when we need him." Eijiro muttered under his breath as he nodded along. "And because he doesn't patrol, everyone just sees a pillar of society and not a person.
"Exactly." Taishiro grinned as he patted Eijiro on the back. "Compare him to Hawks. He's the number three hero but despite having been in that position for a few years he still patrols. The average person still sees him as just an everyday hero and doesn't treat him as if he is a god among mortals like they do All Might." He held up a hand to stop Momo who had begun to respond. "I am in no way implying that All Might sees himself in that light but you can't argue that some people do."
Momo's jaw closed before she gave a nod of acquiescence.
"I never really thought of patrolling that way." Eijiro commented as the trio rounded the final turn toward Taishiro's agency. "I always just figured we did it to help people."
"And that's already better than some heroes." Taishiro whispered to himself before shaking his head and focusing on his two interns. "So patrol is done for the day. Why don't we get lunch and then work on your Quirks."
"What did you have in mind sensei?" Momo asked as the trio entered the agency's lobby.
"Red Riot." Eijiro grinned as Taishiro said his name. "You're going to work on increasing the duration of Hardening. I've already asked Suneater to eat the proper foods to truly test your limits."
"Sir!" Eijiro gave Taishiro an excited salute, causing the older man to chuckle before he turned his focus toward Momo.
"As for you Creati, we're going to work on making you faster and more decisive with your creations. We've made good progress but we aren't quite there yet."
Momo bowed her head. "I apologize sensei that I haven't been able to master this yet."
Taishiro gave her a sympathetic smile. "We've only been working together for a few days so I'm not expecting perfection." He placed a calming hand on Momo's shoulder. "Given that we are essentially attempting to retool your way of thinking I say you've made amazing progress already. That you keep trying your best is all I ask."
Momo stared up at Taishiro before giving him a stiff bow. "Thank you sensei and I will continue to strive to do my best."
"I'm sure you will. Now." Taishiro clapped his hands together as he started toward the expansive cafeteria. "Why don't we see what Scrap has cooked up for us today!"
++++++++++++++++++++
Rumi didn't even try to hide her smile as she threw the warehouse's bay door open. "Alright kits. We're going to be sparring here from now on since the dojo owner banned us."
"Banned you, you mean." Izuku muttered under his breath, fully aware that Rumi would still hear it.
"How is it my fault? You failed to block my kick that sent you through the back wall?" Rumi countered with a scoff as she strode into the empty and decrepit space. "Besides I think this will work out better for us." She turned her grin toward Ochako. "Since a certain someone keeps trying to hold back."
"I never should have told you about One for All." Ochako grumbled as she came to a stop next to Izuku, the pair casting wary glances toward the rusted I-beams that held the building together.
"And hide your true potential?" Rumi shook her head as she fixed Ochako with a fierce glare. "I don't train failures or those who want an easy path to success." She aggressively pointed toward the younger woman. "Use Blood Dragon for fucks sake." Her grin turned predatory. "I know you've been getting the required nutrients."
The couple shared a quick look before quickly gaining a matching set of blushes.
How are they still this easy to tease three days in? Rumi chuckled internally before she let her glare drop and a slightly softer look took over. "Look Uraraka, I'm not asking you to go full out and break your limbs but you've been playing it safe and you can't tell me you haven't."
Ochako stared at Rumi for a long moment before her shoulders sagged and she let out a tired sigh. "I'm just…" She shook her head. "What if I can't control it?"
Rumi raised an eyebrow as she gave Ochako an incredulous look. "That's what training is for."
"And why I'm here." Touma added from the back of her mind. "You keep forgetting that you're not going into this alone."
"Right…" Ochako mentally replied before she refocused on Rumi. "Alright I'll give it a try."
"I don't want trying, I want doing." Rumi barked as she moved away from the pair, leaving a three meter space between them. "I've seen hints of it but I want the real fucking thing this time." Rumi's eyes narrowed as she focused on Izuku. "And you better not be holding back either."
"Of course not." Izuku replied while swinging his staff into a ready position. He glanced at Ochako who met his look with a determined grin.
"Ready Chako?"
"Ready Izu."
Rumi looked back and forth between the two as she watched their exchange. Then without any sort of warning.
"Begin!"
The moment the word hit the air all three participants were off like a shot. Rumi lunged across the gap that she had generously provided while Izuku activated his battle boots and quickly jumped into the air. Ochako, on the other hand, let One for All spiral out across her body as she brought her Celestial Shroud to the surface and charged forward to meet Rumi head-on.
Meeting in the air, Ochako blocked Rumi's lightning fast axe kick with her left forearm before retaliating with an open palm strike using her right hand. Her attack only hit air as Rumi had already twisted out of the way.
Rumi's ear twitched as she rolled her landing, quickly turning the intended recovery into a handstand. "Luna Ring!" Rumi grunted as she lashed out with both legs, turning Izuku's controlled fall into a tumble and Ochako's follow up attack into a hastily thrown defense.
Izuku's boots flared as he righted himself, the sensors in the heels stopping him from crashing feet first into a nearby wall. Horizontally balanced, he twisted the center of his staff and, with the taser now active, hurled it as hard as he could toward Rumi.
"Giving away your weapon already? I expected better from you kit." Rumi laughed as she took a pivoted step to the side, allowing the staff to sail past her. Her ear twitched once more causing the pro hero to duck as Ochako passed through the air where she had been just a second before.
"Good." Rumi felt a grin start to tug at her features as she tracked Ochako's movement. "Now-"
"SOLAR ARC!" Izuku shouted as he brought his right leg down in a vicious axe kick, the vent on the back of his battle boots flared yellow as it added additional power to the attack. Quickly throwing her arms together in an X, Rumi blocked the kick only to be sent reeling as Izuku's left boot activated, pushing the pair apart as he kicked off her chest.
"Stealing my moves?" Rumi chuckled as she felt her battlelust call to her. Suppressing the urge, she rolled her shoulders and jumped to the side to once more dodge Ochako's attack. "Come on Uravity. You're not even trying." Rumi's smirk only grew as she spotted the growing look of frustration on Ochako's face. "I told you to use your gods damn Quirk." She lunged forward, her left leg shooting out.
Despite Ochako's best attempt to dodge, Rumi's toes still connected with her chest and the younger woman was sent tumbling through the air, only coming to a stop as she slammed into an I-beam.
A gonging sound filled the empty space before it was replaced by a wordless shout from Izuku. Rumi deftly stepped to the side as Izuku's heel slammed into the concrete, cracking it, before she knocked him back with a well timed kick.
Rumi watched as Izuku sailed through the air and slammed into a wall. A momentary flash of concern washed over her before she saw Izuku shakily get to his feet. Turning, she saw that Ochako was in a similar position. Both were clearly dazed but not done, a fire burning in their eyes.
Time to add some fuel. Rumi threw her head back and laughed. "Come on kits, is that it? Where the fuck is that fire I saw during the festival? Where's the passion." She fixed Ochako with a look. "Where the hell is Blood Dragon?" She slowly shook her head before she waved a hand in the air and started toward the exit. "Such disappointments. I think I'll call it a day."
Three.
Rumi heard Izuku's breathing increase in speed.
Two.
Her ear twitched as Ochako ground her teeth.
One.
There was the hum of hover technology on her right while the faint sound of someone brushing a hand across fabric came from her left.
Go!
The thought had barely passed through her head as a pair of wordless battlecries rang through the air as Ochako and Izuku launched themselves back into the fight. With one ear tracking each of her students, Rumi knew what was coming.
A hop to the left saw Izuku's lunging kick miss by centimeters, only to have his boots activate, stopping his momentum, and both legs to swing in an arc around him.
"SOLAR RING!"
Rumi's eyes widened as she saw the blow coming. Dipping further to the left, the power behind the missed strike caused her hair to flutter slightly as she attempted to find her footing.
"COSMIC HAMMER!"
Having been focused on avoiding Izuku's unexpected follow up, Rumi missed Ochako's lack of approach until the shockwave from her punch sent her flying through the air. Well honed instincts took over the moment she started tumbling and the haphazard flight was immediately turned into a tight roll.
Rumi couldn't stop a feral smile from taking over as her feet connected with the wall and she pushed off, launching herself toward her interns. "THERE IT IS!" She shouted as she rocketed through the air, spotting the gleam in the couple's eye as they stood shoulder to shoulder. Perfect!
Twisting in the air, Rumi turned her head first charge into a proper attack as she lashed out with her legs, only to have to twist out of the way as a draconic visage arced over Ochako's shoulder and intercepted her. Blood Dragon's jaws snapped shut on air as Rumi brought a foot down, forcing herself into a sudden landing.
Refusing to give her time to recover, Izuku was already ducking under Blood Dragon by the time she landed. Still crouching, his right leg swept the area in front of him, knocking Rumi off her feet.
Arching her back as she fell, the pro hero shifted into a handstand and, with a flick of her wrists, she redirected the momentum back toward Izuku. His emerald eyes blew wide as both of Rumi's feet connected squarely with his chest, sending him flying.
One down now… Rumi's thoughts stopped as she was forced to roll away from Ochako's incoming attack, the palm strike narrowly missing. Popping out of her roll, Rumi braced for the follow up from Blood Dragon only to sense a strike coming from behind. A step to the right saw her, once again, avoid a heel-first strike from Izuku.
How the hell? Rumi shook her head slightly as she ducked under Blood Dragon. Playtime's over. Focusing on Ochako, Rumi bunched her legs underneath herself and jumped forward. The blood Quirk moved to intercept but instead of avoiding it Rumi leaned in toward the attack.
Arms outstretched, she literally grabbed the dragon by the horns and with a grunt of exertion swung herself up and over the Quirk.
And directly on top of Ochako.
"LUNA FALL!" Rumi shouted as she brought her heel down on top of Ochako's head, pulling back the power behind the kick at the last second. Turning a skull fracture into a dazing blow.
She didn't stop to watch as Blood Dragon retreated back into Ochako. Instead she spun on her heel and swiped Izuku out of the air as he attempted to attack her from behind, her axe kick taking the young man in the chest.
Izuku folded at the midsection around Rumi's foot and, with a gasp of exhaled air, he collapsed to the ground at her feet.
Panting, she stared down at her two fallen interns before a joyous laugh forced itself out, causing her to throw her head back. "Damn kits! You two gave me one hell of a time." She smirked down at Izuku as he was still recovering his breath. "Solar huh?"
"M-m… my boots gl- glow yellow when I increase output." Izuku gasped in reply as he slowly regained control over his lungs. Reaching into one of his pouches he produced a trio of gummies. He popped one into his mouth before he offered the other two to Rumi.
"Gummies?" Rumi asked as she took them from Izuku's hand. She gave them a tentative sniff before it occurred to her. "Oh damn Recovery Girl's gummies?" She took the second of the three before forcing the last one into Ochako's mouth, causing her to stir from her daze.
Rumi watched Ochako for a second as the younger woman slowly came to before she turned to look at Izuku. "Where did you get these?"
"My classmates gave them to me." Izuku grunted as he forced himself back to his feet. "They had a feeling that training with you would be brutal." He chuckled. "I'm just shocked it took until day four to need them during training."
"How do you think we've been recovering at night?" Ochako added as she shook her head, her eyes focusing once more. Still sitting, she locked onto Rumi. "How'd we do that time?"
"You're getting closer." Rumi answered as she offered the younger woman a hand up, one which she gladly accepted. Looking at the pair yet another smile broke out on Rumi's face. "You two felt what I've been talking about? The pull?"
"I think so." Izuku answered as he stared at Rumi. "There was something about you walking away from us that just… I don't know…"
"Lit a fire." Ochako finished for him as she too stared at Rumi. "It made me want to make you regret turning your back."
"Good." Rumi nodded her head a few times as she crossed her arms across her chest and raised an eyebrow at Ochako. "What percent were you using?"
"At the start?" Ochako asked while Rumi nodded. "I'd say roughly five."
"And at the end?"
"I was um…" Ochako's natural blush darkened slightly. "I was too focused on Blood Dragon and my Celestial Shroud kinda…" She paused. "Well it kinda dropped."
"Then that's what we'll work on next." Rumi grunted as she stared up at Ochako. "You told me that you used both during the festival so we know it's possible. We just need to figure out how to make it work." She turned to address Izuku. "How the hell did you get behind me near the end?"
Izuku and Ochako shared a quick look. "Chako caught me with Blood Dragon and I pushed off it to get around you."
"Smart." Rumi grinned as she gave Izuku a quick look of appraisal. "You fought well but you need to vary your attacks like how you did with your," She let out a snort. "Solar Ring."
"So I was too predictable?"
"Just a little." Rumi answered with a nod. "Also stop throwing your fucking staff." She motioned toward where the weapon lay discarded on the ground. "You see an opening and toss the damn thing like a javelin but you don't have a good way to recover it."
"I knew I needed to end it quickly and thought I could do it." Izuku muttered under his breath though he did look properly chastised.
"You might have but you're still losing a weapon." Rumi thumped her foot on the ground. "Look kit you're going to give a lot of people hell one day but you need every advantage you can get. So either figure out how to recall your staff after you throw it or stop fucking throwing it away."
"Yes sensei." Izuku replied as he bowed his head.
"Again with the sensei crap." Rumi muttered under her breath before she turned her focus toward both of them. "Look. You two work together like a well oiled machine but you need to start every fight that way." She waved a hand in the air. "In the beginning you two were fighting together but not with each other." Seeing their confusion she shook her head. "When we started it was Analyst attacking and then Uravity and then Analyst again."
Rumi motioned toward the pair. "But after I walked away you two started working in tandem with each other. Blood Dragon covering space for Analyst to sneak in a blow or using it to catch and reposition each other." She let out a laugh. "Hell, the combination of your Solar Ring and…" She turned to look at Ochako. "What did you call that shockwave attack?"
"Cosmic Hammer." Ochako answered with a faint blush.
"Yeah that. You two led me right into that combo because you worked WITH each other." Rumi gave the pair a grin. "So keep doing that because unless I'm mistaken you two are going to be fighting shoulder to shoulder for some time."
Izuku and Ochako shared a quick look before they both nodded.
"So then you need to train like you are going to be fighting together." Rumi gave the pair a fleeting smile. "I'm not going to have all the answers for how to do that." She snorted. "Shit I'm not going to have any answers, I'm a solo act and I fucking like it that way. So we're going to keep at it until the two of you are always in sync." A smirk formed on her lips as she raised an eyebrow.
"Ready?"
The couple shared a look once more before they turned back toward Rumi, slightly feral smiles already forming as they responded at the same time.
"Ready."
++++++++++++++++++++
Tensei held a hand up to cover his eyes as he descended down the gangway. "I didn't expect it to be this warm."
"The island is currently hovering over the middle of the Pacific at the same latitude as Japan." Tenya adjusted his glasses as he followed after his brother. "It only makes sense that it would be a comparable temperature to what we have back home."
Tensei shook his head and sighed. "I'm just trying to talk about something other than what we've spent the last six hours."
"Brother it only makes sense for us to debate on the reasons why we were suddenly asked to come to I-Island." Tenya's arm came down in an aggressive chop. "We still need to fully discuss the merits of accepting this assignment."
"Tenya…" Tensei groaned as the pair came to a stop near the terminal. "There's debating why Nezu asked me to come here and there's arguing ad nauseam why we don't have more mission details."
"Sensei we're losing out on almost a full day of training." Tenya lamented as he came to a stop next to his brother. "We need to have a full picture before we dedicate this much time to an unknown objective."
"Sensei?" Tenya's sighing was becoming habitual. He wasn't this bad before he went to uni… Right? "Look, Overdrive, sometimes you get a mission and you can't or won't be able to have all of the details." He gave his brother his best winning smile. "So think of this as a lesson in learning to adapt on the fly."
"Adapting on the fly…" Tenya muttered to himself before nodding his head a few times. "Ok I will make plans so that I can carry them out when I need to adapt on the fly."
"Gods above…" Tensi whispered under his breath as a black sports car pulled up in front of them. The two brothers watched in silence as a wizened man with spiky blonde hair got out and made his way over. "Ah Yagi! I wasn't expecting to see you here."
Toshinori raised his hand in greeting. "Good to see you as well Iida. I was surprised to learn that you joined our little family of teachers. Congratulations by the way." He stuck his hand out.
"Between Nemuri and Nezu I was given an offer that I couldn't refuse." Tensei chuckled as he grasped Toshinori's hand and shook it. "When did you get here?"
"I came in with the students of 1-H at the start of the week." Toshinori casually answered as he led the Iida brothers toward his car. "I had some personal matters to take care of here and Nezu was kind enough to save me from booking my own flight."
"For a price I'm sure." Tensei smiled.
"For a price." Toshinori laughed as he climbed in on the driver's side. "He had me place a request for All Might's jet to take myself and the students."
"Ah, a small price." Tensei chuckled as he claimed the passenger seat, leaving Tenya to the back. "I thought you were retired from his agency?"
"Technically I am." Toshinori started to chuckle but was interrupted by a coughing fit. Wiping a hand across his face he winced at the speckles of blood. "But All Might still asks me to run some errands for him every now and then so he felt that I had more than earned the right to use his plane."
"I see…" Tensei replied, growing quiet for a moment before he focused on Toshinori once more. "I must admit I'm confused then. Nezu said that he had a mission for me here, the implication was some kind of package retrieval, but you're already here."
"And so is 1-H." Tenya added, his tone apologetic for making his own opinion known.
"I see Nezu is up to his old tricks again." Toshinori smirked as he turned the car onto the main thoroughfare. "Well since he went through all that effort I won't mention anything either." He held up his nondominant hand to cut off the Iida brothers, glancing at Tensei out of the corner of his eye. "That having been said, I will say that this package can only be picked up by you Iida and no one else."
"Really?" Tensei's eyebrows shot up as he continued to stare at Toshinori. "And you won't tell me what it is?"
"I won't." Toshinori's smile only grew as he continued to drive. "I'll leave that as a surprise in the lab when we get there."
"Sure…" Tensei shared a confused and concerned look with Tenya before settling in for the duration of the ride.
I can see why Nezu does this. Toshinori chuckled to himself.
++++++++++++++++++++
"My apologies for being late." Rikiya let out a tired sigh as he sank into his seat at the head of the table. "I take it you all began without me?"
"Only the day-to-day issues." Chitose answered as she shifted in her seat to better look at Rikiya. "Trumpet, the darling that he is, was just telling us about how successful the university's internship week was."
"Oh?" Rikiya turned toward the man in question. "And how successful was it?"
"The week itself was a success. Our members applied the proper pressure where needed and interest in the Quirk Prowess club is now up." A nervous bead of sweat formed on Koku's forehead. "But after the week was over we had a bit of an… well an incident."
Rikiya folded his hands on top of the desk as he shot Kuko a withering glare. "What sort of incident? And why wasn't I informed when it happened?"
"One of our students has gone missing." Kuko answered as he pulled up Akina's profile on his tablet. He motioned to the screen as he slid the device toward Rikiya. "She sent us notice that she wished to leave the heroics program and the university as well. Our clerical staff didn't think too much about it, as we are still within the withdrawal window, and given her different last name they failed to tie her to Athena."
"I see…" Rikiya's eyes scanned the profile in front of him. "I will need to talk to Athena about her daughter's withdrawal from our program. It is a black mark."
"Well you see sir. We," Koku paused as he sent a pleading glance toward Tomoyasu.
"We don't think she left under her own volition." Tomoyasu filled in as he called up a video on the conference room projector. "At first we were in agreement with the clerical staff but then one student found an organic puddle of some kind." The screen showed a picture of a black tar-like puddle. "Testing confirmed that this substance was once a human but through some kind of chemical reaction their body was reduced to this sludge."
"And this is our missing student?" Rikiya asked, shock and disgust clear in his tone.
"No, this was someone who kidnapped our missing student." Tomoyasu gently corrected as he brought up a video depicting Akina and Kaishin walking past the previous area and toward a gym. "We have video of her walking across campus and entering the gym but our feeds for the rest of the night were corrupted somehow." He paused to ensure that his information was processed before pressing on.
"Additionally I was able to track our student's withdrawal request and it came from an outside source with a digital signature that I can't trace." Tomoyasu scowled. "There is no reason for a student who is wishing to withdraw to hide her tracks like this."
"So she was taken… And I wasn't aware because?" Rikiya hissed at his subordinates.
"Because we discovered all of this this morning." Chitose smoothly answered, pulling her two colleagues out of the fire as Rikiya turned to face her. "And even with this new information the girl has been missing for three days now and any lead will have gone cold."
"And due to obvious reasons we can't involve the authorities in this either." Koku shook his head. "It is a regrettable loss but unless she turns up on her own we don't really have an option."
"Especially with the operation at site alpha occurring tomorrow." Tomoyasu finished as all three carefully watched their Grand Commander.
Silence dominated the conference room as Rikiya mulled over the information his subordinates had provided him with.
More accurately the lack of information.
Finally Rikiya sighed and shook his head. "The loss of a prospect such as her is regrettable but as all of you have said there is little we can do now." He turned to face Koku. "You will be the one to inform Athena about her daughter's disappearance and apologize for the lapse in security on our campus."
Koku bowed his head. "I will take care of it as soon as we are finished here."
"No." Rikiya's tone forced Koku to look back up, clearly confused. "You won't inform Athena about this until after the operation tomorrow." Rikiya paused as a thought occurred to him. "In fact, why don't we change the situation behind her disappearance."
The other three people in the room shared a look before Tomoyasu spoke. "What do you mean sir?"
"I mean we don't pin her disappearance on a breach in our security." Rikiya pushed his chair back and made his way toward the towering windows that dominated one wall. "Skeptic, I want you to create travel information for our missing student. Invent some reason for her to be visiting site alpha."
"Sir!" Tomoyasu nodded his head.
"Trumpet, you are going to claim to know nothing about this trip but tonight you are to make an announcement banning students from leaving campus for the next few days." Rikiya waved a hand in the air. "Make up an excuse but make it clear that no one is to leave."
Koku stared at Rikiya for a moment before he bowed his head. "Sir."
"Curious I'm loath to add more to your already busy plans but I need you to stay by Athena's side tomorrow." Rikiya moved away from the window to retake his seat at the table. He glanced down at the map they had spread out before his arrival. "Correct me if I'm wrong but there is a fire based Nomu in her assigned district?"
"There is." Tomoyasu answered as he pointed at the map. "Athena is in charge of the north-western zone and there are three Nomu with fire based Quirks there."
"Perfect." Rikiya refocused on Chitose. "I want you to be by her side when she finds out that her daughter was caught up in the attack. We can then use one of the charred bodies as 'proof'."
"Cementing her daughter's death as her fault and not ours." Chitose's face split with a cruel smile. "Ensuring her loyalty to the cause in a desperate attempt to make her loss worth it."
"Exactly." A manic glee danced in Rikiya's eyes as he continued to stare at the map. "Now that we have resolved this issue I want an update on our plans."
"I received confirmation earlier today that all of the Nomu were successfully put in place without any outside observers spotting our movements." Tomoyasu replied as he pulled out his laptop. "There was an incident where one of the restraint harnesses broke but, fortunately, the sedatives were still active at the time."
"What about our people?" Rikiya's eyes danced across the map in front of him, noting and re-noting every marker.
"Those that can be trusted were told as little as possible and are in position so that they may act when the time comes." Koku quickly consulted a list next to him. "We should have forty 'civilians' ready to move in defense alongside ten of our heroes. Anyone who we couldn't trust or those with families have been moved."
"The justification?"
Chitose shared a quick nod with Koku before she picked up where he left off. "Vacations, family business, and unexpected business trips cover the majority. Everyone else will just be able to chalk it up to being out of town at the right time."
"Excellent." Rikiya nodded his head before turning away from the map and giving Chitose his full attention. "And the activation mechanisms?"
"The construction crews have finished their tasks and everything is in place." She bowed her head. "All that is needed now is your word."
"Good." Rikiya stared at the sprawling city depicted before him. "Very good."