"Okay, let's stop drifting off topic. Since you know what a ninja is, this is easier. Think of me as a ninja who can use the Force."
The moment President Maya finished saying it, her hands flew through nine seals. With a soft pop, a Shadow Clone wearing an Akatsuki cloak appeared next to her.
Even though Matt was blind and couldn't see, Maya still dressed the Shadow Clone—that Akatsuki cloak was currently the only outfit she could make it wear.
"How about it? Do you feel anything?" Maya asked.
Matt looked puzzled. "What do you mean? I don't feel any change."
"How about now?" This time the speaker was the Shadow Clone—and she simultaneously started a proper heartbeat.
"This—this—two people! And both of them are you, President! What is going on?!"
Matt was genuinely rocked. He was only fifteen, after all. He hadn't lived through the superpowered incidents the future would bring.
"That's my ninjutsu—specifically, clone technique. Creates a Shadow Clone. This clone has the same thoughts as me, and when she dispels, she sends her memories back to me. Day to day, I use these clones to gather intel. And I can do more than that. Think Star Wars and Japanese ninjas. It's not exactly accurate, but you can basically consider my ability the sum of those two."
"This is unbelievable. This is magic!" Matt mumbled.
"You should remember Magneto—Erik—and the New York battle a few years ago. If there were ten of us combined, do you think we'd be enough to take him?" Maya asked what seemed like an unrelated question.
Matt caught her drift. Their abilities might be remarkable, but out there in the wider world were much stronger and much weirder things.
"President, why are you telling me this now?" Matt had recovered his composure.
Maya didn't answer. She formed seals and dispelled the Shadow Clone first.
"Matt. Earlier I laid out the current Manhattan situation. From the moment you voluntarily told me about classmates carrying guns, I knew you had a good heart!"
Maya noticed with satisfaction that Matt's face turned instantly red, and she continued: "I want to build a private organization that can respond to this deteriorating situation. How should I put it…"
Maya tapped her pen on the desk, searching for the right phrasing. "The organization's core purpose would be to help people—including our own family, friends, and classmates, but also innocent people across New York in general. You're the first person I'm evaluating and inviting. Go home. Take a few days to think about it before giving me your answer. Whether you decide to join or not doesn't change anything—I trust you'll keep my secret either way. Right?"
This time Matt didn't answer immediately. He spent a good ten minutes thinking in complete silence before saying: "President Hansen, I don't need to think. I accept—right now."
Maya was taken aback. In her head, Matt was a mature, considered thinker—he shouldn't be hotheaded and overdramatic like this!
"Take a few more days. Don't act on impulse. I've made my decision to build this organization and I've set the basic doctrine. I'm not going to just talk—I'm going to do. Which means there will be real danger down the line."
The President's face went serious. She really did think highly of Matt, and she really did want him to join. But she didn't want him making an impulsive decision he'd regret later.
"I've thought it through. Leaving aside the fact that I couldn't handle the uncertain situation ahead on my own—a person should live with a goal. A direction. Help others. Abet evil. Drift with the current. Every one of those is a choice fate gives you. I choose good. I choose to help others."
Maya put a hand to her forehead, genuinely pained. "Matt, I'm starting to regret inviting you. What you said sounded great—lots of idealism—but it's got some hot-blooded impulsiveness in it. Even the delinquents at school wouldn't say out loud they want to 'abet evil.' Ninety-nine percent of them would pick the same answer you did."
"Doesn't that prove my choice is correct? What's wrong with choosing universal values? I hear what you're saying, and yes, there's some heat in me. Some impulse. But it's still my heart speaking!" Matt shot back loudly.
For fuck's sake. Matt, you're really going to pull talk-no-jutsu on me? Fine—you win. You're right. Your logic is airtight.
"Okay. Everything you said is valid. But please—at least take a few days to think."
The President felt the conversation drifting in a very strange direction. She'd invited Matt, yet here she was trying to talk him out of it, and he was doubling down on immediate acceptance.
"No more thinking needed. The same way you evaluated me, I've evaluated you," Matt said firmly.
The President got curious. Had Matt been planning to build a super-powered team of his own, and was he evaluating her for it? No, that didn't fit either—he'd only learned today that she was a ninja.
Matt seemed to sense her confusion and added immediately: "I mean: you've spent years demonstrating who you are. It's enough to make anyone trust you."
Well, well. Matt, look at you—sharp as ever. Your eyes may be gone, but your heart is bright as day, the shameless President thought smugly.
"You've run the school well, President. The atmosphere here has changed for the better. You care about your students. My eyes. Classmates carrying guns. Every one of those situations shows you're a responsible, kind, good President. And… and…"
Seeing Matt hesitating, Maya couldn't resist asking: "And what?"
Matt's expression turned complicated. "And you have real nerve. You're decisive—ruthless when necessary."
"What does that mean?"
"Since you've told me you're a ninja, you've basically confirmed you're the one who killed the eight people on Mary-889?" Matt framed it as a question, but the tone was certain.
"Give me your reasoning."
"Simple. I heard that all eight were killed by a ninja," Matt said directly.
The President shook her head. "Bad grade on your deduction—even though your conclusion is right. I did kill them, but I'm not the only ninja around!"
Matt ignored the bad grade. Hesitantly, he pressed: "President, can I ask—what was your mindset? When you were doing it, you seemed…"
Before Matt could fully get the question out, President Maya laughed. "Are you wondering how I flipped into it so easily? Because I believed every one of them deserved it. Because I felt no guilt. You've read Batman comics, right? Batman believes that only the law should decide a person's life or death. That no one has the right to take another's life. What do you think, Matt?"
"I, I haven't thought about it. I don't know."
Matt said it absently. The President's calm confession to killing eight people had shaken him hard. In his mind, President Hansen had always been a touch reserved, but adorable. Responsible. Kind. Considerate. Always putting others first.
Killing should have seemed far removed from someone like her. Yet here she was, flatly admitting eight kills without blinking.