Ignited Spark - Chapter 44 - 3PeopleInACoat - 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia (2024)

Chapter Text

For a long minute, the entire warehouse was silent as the two villain groups sized each other up.

Standing on one side of the giant abandoned workplace, Chisaki and Teko were quiet, their eyes continuing to sweep along the large group of villains before them as Teko's eyes narrowed into a glare, and Chisaki looked dull and uncaring. Teko, for his part, made sure to begin memorizing the faces of everyone standing there, his eyes sweeping along the random villains assorted there. Chisaki, meanwhile, leaned back on his heels, his eyes never moving away from the clear leader of the group as he breathed through his plague mask wrapped around his nose and mouth.

On the other side of the warehouse, the members of the Villain Consortium also studied the two yakuza for a long moment; the Wild Villains, on one hand, were merely scowling, with Curator keeping his hands in his pockets, Bearhead growling lowly under his breath, and Zookeeper stoic and silent. Then there were the Volcano Thieves, looking utterly bored, with Volcano glaring a bit wildly and the other two partners quiet, and beside them, Moonfish let out a low groan as he remained slumped on the floor, his face pressed against the concrete as his arms were chained to his back and attached to the wall. Camie, Inasa and Shishikura, meanwhile, were likewise looking Chisaki and Teko up and down with uninterested expressions, and then the main four of the Consortium, with Mummy looking at Chisaki with disdain, Chimera with a glower, Slice with a bored expression, and Nine staring blankly, keeping the quietest of the group.

After another tension filled minute, Nine finally let out a small breath through the technological mask he was wearing around his mouth.

"So," He moved to lean against the large box behind him, keeping his hands in the ratty coat pockets of the long coat he was wearing, "you wanted to discuss a potential alliance."

Teko blinked, and looked around at Chisaki with a sharp look as the younger yakuza ignored him and stepped forward.

"That I did," Chisaki nodded slowly as he put his own gloved hands in his pockets, and looked up and down Nine while Teko continued to quietly fume behind him, "although I have to say, you couldn't have chosen a dirtier place for this meeting? It reeks of filth and dust in here."

"Well, we can't exactly afford to stay in high rise hotels at the current moment - at least, not without the heroes there to breathe down our necks."

"Ugh. I feel like I'm gonna get sick here."

"Well, ya get whatcha get," Chimera huffed, puffing on his cigar before turning to where Mummy was standing above them on another box, "but I gotta say, Mummy, it's surprisin' to see that you've had a big fish in yer pocket this whole time."

"A big fish, huh?" The yakuza scoffed under his breath. "That's ironic … and here I was believing the rumors that all of you were the next big thing on the block."

"Huh?" Camie hummed, looking around curiously at Nine and pointing at Chisaki. "Is this guy supposed to be a big deal or something?"

"You don't know?" Shishikura hissed at her. "Seriously, Camie, they explained it on the way over! How stupid are you?!"

"Ah, c'mon, don't be like that!" Inasa quickly jumped to her defense, ignoring how both Nine and Chisaki slowly turned to look dully at the three of them. "Camie just wasn't interested! Can't blame her for that, the briefing was boring!"

"Oh, Inasa!"

Chisaki merely glared at the three yammering teenagers, while Nine rolled his eyes.

"Ignore them," He shook his head, "all three of them have a few screws loose."

"I wasn't aware that you were running a preschool on the side."

"They have powerful quirks," Nine shook his head as he sighed, "and they're useful."

"Hey, man, thanks!" Inasa threw a large, enthusiastic thumbs up at the villain leader, who continued to try ignoring him.

"Seriously, though," Slice turned to give the three teenagers a sharp look while Shishikura gritted his teeth at being lumped in with his two partners, "listen when we tell you something. We aren't interested in repeating ourselves."

"Anyway," Nine's eyes turned back to Chisaki, his eyes briefly flickering yellow, "you two come alone?"

"That we did," Chisaki smoothly lied, while Teko continued to remain silent behind him, "I didn't want to waste potential manpower in case this goes south. I, and my mentor over here, can handle ourselves."

There was a moment's pause, in which Nine's eyes subtly swept around the warehouse's walls while a yellow flicker appeared. And then he let out a huff.

"Sure. So," He leaned a bit firmer against the wall, "Kai Chisaki. Overhaul. A part of a dying breed."

"For now," Chisaki shook his head as he folded his hands behind his back, pacing up and down in front of the group, "but I have my own plans. That's why I wanted to meet you all tonight - to see if a potential alliance between our groups could be formed."

"Hmph," Teko narrowed his eyes.

"Well, we are in the interest of recruitin'," Chimera puffed on his cigar again while his yellow eyes turned to where the old man was standing, "but there's a trial that you'll have to go through first."

"A trial?" Chisaki repeated, scoffing. "You think I'm interested in playing 'impress the crime boss'?"

"Well, like I said," Nine shrugged, "you yakuza are part of a dying breed. As Mummy here told me, after All Might's debut, the yakuza all but went extinct."

"Ah, yes," Chisaki's yellow eyes trailed over to where Mummy was resting on top of a cargo box, "I had thought that I recognized your name from before, Makihara - I remember when the boss would meet with your father. And here I thought that the Abegawa Tenchu Kai had been completely wiped out."

"Not yet," Mummy scowled, "and don't think I've forgotten the clan who brought mine to ruin."

"Yes, well," The yakuza boss rolled his eyes a bit as he turned back to the leader of the Consortium, "that'll be a confrontation for later. Now, you didn't tell me why I should be bothered to try impressing you lot? As far as I can tell, I have nothing to prove to any of you."

"Well," Slice crossed her arms as she glared at him, "you are pretty much a nobody to us. Quite honestly, if Mummy hadn't thought to bring you up, I wouldn't have even known you existed. We made everyone else go through a trial to join us, what makes you so special?"

That, of course, caused Chisaki's eyes to narrow and his brow to twitch. Before he could respond, however, the red-haired woman turned to Teko standing silently behind him, and she frowned.

"And you didn't mention who this was," She scowled, "we weren't aware that you needed daddy to bring you to the super scary villain hideout."

"This isn't my father," Chisaki made clear at once, "this is the Ghost."

That, of course, didn't really leave an impression on the clear newbie villains, with Volcano furrowing his brow and Camie shrugging nonchalantly, but other villains like Nine and Chimera raised their eyebrows. Mummy, on the other hand, had a very noticeable reaction, straightening up where he was sitting on the cargo box and feeling his eyes go wide as he whipped around to stare at Teko with sudden fury.

"Eh?" Dusty Ash looked around at the other recruits around her. "The Ghost? Who's that?"

"A vigilante," Curator explained to her where he was standing off to the side, "who used to serve the Shie Hassaikai. Apparently, he killed quite a few villains and other yakuza clans back in the day, until he turned against his masters and vanished. Still, I had simply thought that they had killed him and unpersoned him - I had no idea that they just stashed him in a closet somewhere to be used when they saw fit."

"Watch your tone, young man," Teko growled in warning.

"Well," Nine huffed as he put his hands back in his pockets and got off the wall he was leaning on, "I suppose it's nice to see that you're willing to bust out the old relics to use every once in a while. But if you're not here to negotiate with us, what is it, exactly, you want to discuss with us?"

Chisaki allowed that question to hang in the air for a moment so that he could soak in the attention from the other villains. While Mummy continued to glare wildly at Teko, the yakuza was still satisfied with Nine unblinkingly staring at him, and let out a small sigh as he brought his hands out from his pockets, and showed the group a tiny red cylinder in between his index fingers and his thumb.

"Do you know what this is?" He said in a cool voice. "I've been having them made for the last three years."

"Never seen them before," Nine tilted his head, "what is it, a candle for insects?"

Chisaki chose to ignore that mockery.

"Five years ago," He began his explanation in a short voice, "rumors started going around that All For One had died."

At the sound of that name, Teko tensed, and Nine raised his eyebrow.

"Of course, the old boss that used to run the Shie Hassaikai had his doubts," The young yakuza head carried on, "All For One was a mystery, even to us. No one knew who he was, what he looked like, any of that. We only knew that he was the undisputed king of the underworld, and lots of top villain groups were looking to get in his good graces. But when I heard that there'd been rumors that he'd been killed by All Might himself, I decided to start wondering how we, the yakuza, could potentially fit in with the new world that we had found ourselves in."

Beginning to slowly pace back and forth, his eyes swept along the group.

"And then we began hearing rumors," He said in an intrigued voice, "that one of you has multiple quirks."

"You heard correctly," Nine nodded curtly.

"Well," He chuckled, "I know the way the winds have been changing. There's been new rumblings in the criminal underworld that All For One is planning something big - big enough that there's going to be a space where he used to be. Villains all over Japan, and even some coming in from other countries, are going to see that there's a vacant spot open for the next king, and they're all going to be willing to fight for it. There's a power vacuum coming … and I intend to be on the top."

Nine paused - and then he huffed.

"Ah," He said in a low voice, "I see what this is."

"You all have a reputation," Chisaki raised his eyebrow, "but I have a plan. I didn't come here tonight because I was interested in becoming another lackey. In order to execute my plan, I'll need a lot of money. There isn't anyone willing to invest in some obsolete small-time yakuza, but with you all … with your increasing name recognition, it would be different."

He then reached out with a gloved hand.

"So, put yourselves under me. I'll show you how well I can use you. And then, I will become the Future King."

The warehouse was silent for a long moment. And then Nine snorted.

"You? The Future King?" He scoffed, tilting his head and coming off the wall while the rest of the Consortium gave the yakuza judgmental looks. "How odd. And here I was trying to remember what accomplishments you have under your belt. As far as I'm concerned, Mummy here only alerted me to your existence a few years ago when we were having drinks -"

For some reason, Chisaki's eyes grew cold.

"- and only recently thought that you may be of some use to us. But you, as the leader?"

"I have my own resources," He stated while Teko frowned at the young man before them, "I'll need to get one of my assets back, but that's an inevitability. Once I've gotten the source of my quirk bullets back, people will begin looking to me."

"Quirk bullets?"

"Something I've been developing," He tossed the tiny red capsule up and down as it landed in his palm, "I've created a weapon that can temporarily erase quirks - and I'm working on a version that will make sure it's permanent."

Ignoring how Teko snapped his gaze to him from behind, and watching as Nine fell silent before him, the yakuza leader took a step forward.

"You might have multiple quirks on your side," He said in a low voice, "but I have the ability to take them away from you. It's clear, between the two of us, who has the real power here."

For a moment, they were quiet.

"Was that a threat?" Nine said in a quiet, cold voice.

"Hmph," Teko huffed a bit, "glad that you seem to have finally caught up to that."

Slowly, Nine's eyes turned to Teko again, seeing the way that the old man was glaring at him. Raising his eyebrow, he then turned back to Chisaki.

"Well … you've made your threat," He put his hands back in his pockets, "so allow me to counter with my own. Let's make one thing clear - in terms of real power? You're insignificant. A mere monkey approaching a lion thinking that he can beat him to death with your fists. You can go on and on about your … ah … 'asset', but from what you just implied, you lost it. So really, you have nothing to offer me to make me think that you're a threat."

"Losing my asset is a mere setback," Chisaki smoothly said, "once I get my hands on that orange-haired girl …"

That, of course, got Teko to blink a bit, looking back around at his former student in confusion and caution. And that got Nine to look at the older man again, raising his eyebrow before his gaze flickered back to Chisaki.

"Either way, I get the impression that your 'temporary' quirk bullets are all you have," Nine decided to go on, "just a way for you to seem strong. In reality, you have nothing that I really am interested in - I thought the possibility of an alliance may be beneficial to us both, but it's clear that's not what you're looking for. You're looking for more lackeys, and you want to use our name to get yourself some attention. So, well … the answer, obviously, will be no. You won't be the Future King - the one who is strongest should rule."

"And that's you?"

At the dojo master speaking up yet again, Nine rolled his eyes and finally turned his attention fully to Teko. He was giving him a look of utter scorn, eyes narrowed and arms folded across his chest.

"I'm sorry," Nine's voice came out sardonic and sarcastic, "do you have something meaningful to add to this conversation besides scoffs, old man?"

"I'm simply scoffing at your ideas of strength meaning that you should be the leader," Teko shook his head, "it's clear that you have a very immature idea of what true strength is, young man."

"Oh? Well then, educate me."

"If I am to understand your little metaphor, you call Kai here a monkey, and compare yourself to a lion," Teko's eyebrow raised, "but you seem to miss the fact that lions are not the most powerful animal in the animal kingdom. Elephants, hippopotamus - they can easily kill or scare off a lion. You give me the sense that you merely believe yourself to be the strongest, and yet, from what the news reported, you were scared off and defeated by a group of teenagers. That's not something I believe would make you strong. In fact, I would consider it to be the actions of a man who is weak, and wants everyone to think he's strong."

The warehouse, once again, fell silent, with Slice and Chimera slowly turning to give the old man a pair of death glares. The others looked to Nine for his reaction to that insult, seeing him staring blankly at Teko for a long moment, and they tensed when they saw Nine's hand slowly begin curling into a fist -

- and then it relaxed, and the coldness in Nine's eyes faded into curiosity and amusem*nt.

"Hm. I get the sense that you don't quite like me, old man." He pointed out the obvious. "But this level of vitrol seems … personal. Have we met, Ghost?"

"No," Teko set his jaw, "but trust me, young man - you have given me plenty of reasons to want you dead."

"Ah … so if I didn't do anything to you … hm," Nine thought for a moment, "maybe I did something to someone you care about? Tell me, then - this is going to be bothering me all night if I don't know."

"Nine …" Slice furrowed her brow, sensing immediate conflict on the horizon.

"No, no, Slice, let me think for a second," Nine hummed as he turned away, continuing to ponder, "I've killed plenty of people, but … well, I don't think you would be able to tell if those were my kills. A relative of someone from the Humarise group, perhaps? No, they were mostly foreigners. Then … the only alternative way you would've known about me would be …"

He thought for another moment. And then he blinked.

"Ah," He looked back over at Teko, the way his face moved behind the mask showing that he was beginning to smile, "in that case, from your age … was one of the brats from UA yours? A grandson, perhaps? A granddaughter?"

They were silent for a moment.

And then Teko was moving before any of them could even blink, his shoulders loosening as he threw a fist back. But before he could reach Nine and thrust the fist forward, wanting to take Nine's head off his shoulders, a red cloth suddenly wrapped around the old man's wrist and yanked him off balance, causing Teko to stumble.

Before he could recover, Mummy leapt off the box he had been sitting on, his eyes wild as he aimed his sight on the old man.

"I should've known," He growled as he yanked the cloth back to him, nearly pulling Teko off his feet, "I should've known that we would meet again, Ghost!"

"Ergh!" Teko grunted as he almost fell to the floor.

"You don't recognize me, do you?!" Mummy landed on the ground and immediately pulled out the katana from his back sheath, making sure that Teko's arm was yanked out of the way as he charged. "But I recognize you! Killer of my family! The one who denied my family the glory they deserved! I am Hoyo Makihara, and you took what was rightfully mine!"

As Mummy continued to rant, however, Nine's gaze had flickered immediately back to Chisaki - and the yakuza, rather than make a move to assist his subordinate, simply stood back. The way his mouth quirked behind the mask told Nine that …

… he was smirking.

"Mummy!" The villain quickly whirled around. "Don't -!"

But it was too late. As the katana's point streaked towards Teko's face, the old dojo master moved his head to the side at the last possible second, allowing Mummy's arm to sail past his head and causing the younger man to stumble. And the arm that wasn't currently wrapped up in red cloth shot back as his shoulder loosened, Teko activating his quirk.

And before any of them could blink, Teko's fist snapped upwards, meeting Mummy's face - and with a sickening CRUNCH, Mummy's neck snapped, and the tear of flesh was the only warning they got as the force of Teko's blow ripped Mummy's head messily from his neck, sending it flying away with a burst of blood.

The members of the Villain Consortium flinched back, many of their eyes going wide in shock as Mummy's decapitated head smacked against the warehouse wall with a sickening wet crunch, before it slid down and disappeared behind some boxes. Mummy's body trembled for a brief second, taking a small step forward, before it then collapsed in a heap on the floor, Teko continuing to glare forward as a splash of blood clung to the side of his face, and the red cloth loosened around his wrist and fell to the floor.

"Mummy!" Chimera barked, his dark eyes wide with shock and outrage.

"Well," Chisaki chuckled from where he was still standing before them, "we made the first move, so I guess we can't blame your man for reacting."

There was a brief pause.

And then Nine whipped back around, his eyes glowing bright yellow, and he sent a yellow shield of air straight towards Chisaki, intending to slam him straight off his feet. At the same time, Slice's hair sharped, and several long strands shot towards Teko.

Quickly, both members of the yakuza reacted, Chisaki barely leaping out of the way in time as the yellow energy slammed into the ground where he had been. Teko, meanwhile, moved faster than they anticipated an old man like him could, swiftly dodging underneath the red blades and even punching one aside. Unfortunately for him, however, Inasa jumped up, laughing bombastically, and threw his hand out to unleash a gust of powerful wind, which caused Teko to grunt as he was shoved back by the force and stumbled.

Chimera let out a loud bellow as he leapt up into the air, and Teko quickly regained his balance and dodged underneath the reptilian tail that slashed at where he had been a moment earlier. While Chisaki quickly tried to get down to the floor, Inasa grinned happily as he waved his hand over to him, blowing another gust of wind at him, and the yakuza head grunted as he was knocked back as well.

As both men stumbled and collided into each other, Chisaki let out a growl as Teko accidentally rubbed against him, flinching back as some blood got on his coat.

"Agh, that's filthy … this is why I hate stuff like this!"

And that was when, from behind both of the other villains, the wall exploded. And Nine's eyes narrowed.

"I knew it," He growled as he threw up another shield, "I knew that you would bring backup."

Just as the barrier was raised, Rappa emerged quickly from the dust gathered from the collapsed wall, his fist slamming so hard into the shield it caused Nine to stumble back and hit the cargo box he had previously been leaning on. Luckily for him, though, before Rappa could begin hammering at the shield, Bearhead jumped in from the side to his defense, letting out a growl of fury as one of his metal gauntlets slammed into Rappa's stomach and shoved him back. As the heteromorph ran after him, Nine's gaze flickered to the right, seeing some flicker catching his eye, and he was quick to throw up another shield as he saw something small and red impact against the barrier, sliding to the ground.

"Hey, now!" Rappa laughed in delight as he brought his arms up, Bearhead continuing to hammer away at him as the wrestler gauged his strength. "You can hit hard, huh? Think you can go a few rounds with me?!"

"I know I can!" Bearhead bellowed in rage as he leapt after him.

"Awesome! In that case, let's -!"

Before Rappa could enthusiastically begin to fight back, cheered on by Inasa and Camie over in the corner while Shishikura growled and prepared to leap into battle, a yellow barrier suddenly wrapped around Rappa, and Bearhead's fist crashed against it instead of the wrestler's face.

"Oi!" Bearhead barked back at Nine. "What the hell are you doing?!"

"That's not me," Nine shook his head with a scowl, "they must have someone who has a similar quirk to Air Wall."

"Tengai!" Rappa wheeled around to shout at the blonde yakuza standing behind him. "What the hell, this was about to get good!"

"The master does not want us to throw our lives away unnecessarily," Tengai reminded him in a stern voice, "especially as this group will not let us collect your remains to bring you back later."

"Screw that! If I die here, it's the death that I deserve! Drop the barrier!"

"I will not. We are expendable, yes, but we are not to be spent here."

Bearhead let out another roar of rage as the two yakuza argued, slamming his fists against the yellow barrier as he snarled - and then there was the sound of a gunshot, and he flinched as something small and hard slammed into his upper arm, making him bite back a curse as blood splattered out over his fur. Wildly whipping around to see the source of the gunshot, his eyes found Chisaki as the beaked villain retreated behind another larger plague-masked thug as he charged at Nine.

Dark eyes widening in rage, Bearhead acted at once, racing towards the yakuza leader and grabbing him hard by the throat. Chisaki choked, his eyes snapping to the heteromorph villain, and Bearhead felt the distinct feeling of hives erupting on the young man's skin.

But before he could act, he felt a hand snap down to his knee.

"Don't touch me!"

And then, with a sickening crunching noise, Bearhead's knee exploded in a spray of blood.

Bearhead's screams of pain filled the entire warehouse. As Moonfish, still chained in the corner, dragged himself along the floor and moaned in want, Bearhead fell onto his back and clutched at the bloody stump where his knee used to be, as the Volcano Thieves, who had been watching in entertainment rather than helping, all blinked a bit in surprise, and Chimera, Zookeeper and Curator, who had stepped in to guard Nine, all looked around at once where Bearhead had collapsed, Chimera and Curator's eyes widening, and they ran towards their fallen comrade.

Now that Nine was alone, however, Rikiya saw his chance, jumping up in the air as he let out a low growl of glee as his large fists moved down to slam the other villain leader into paste -

- only for Nine to throw his hands up in the air, and an Air Wall materialized right above the leaping yakuza, and slammed down hard onto his shoulders and neck.

The loud crash that the large man made as he was slammed into the concrete ground caused the brawl to quickly pause, Slice hesitating in her attempts to stab at Teko. The yakuza quickly took advantage of their hesitation to regroup, with Chisaki pointing at Teko to have him pulled back, the old man looking positively rage-filled as Rappa shook his head and headed over to grab his father's shoulder, pulling him back and grabbing at one of his arms.

"C'mon, old man," He grumped, "fight's over. sh*t, and it was just gettin' good, too."

"That was close, Overhaul," Chronostasis quickly moved in between his leader and the other villain groups, his mask moving around a bit to keep them all in his line of sight, "I didn't expect one of them to grab you."

"You're late." Chisaki said in an uncaring tone.

"I missed a shot," He grumbled as he lifted the gun up for his childhood friend to see, "I aimed at the leader, but he just managed to block the bullet with that shield of his. Luckily, I managed to get the freak before he attacked you."

"Just don't go wasting all the bullets we have now, we're still missing the asset."

With that sharp instruction, the leader of the Shie Hassaikai turned back to the rest of the Villain Consortium as the other villains glared them down. Rikiya continued to struggle to get out from where Nine's shield had completely wrapped around him and shoved him harder against the floor, but the white-haired villain did not relent, instead increasing the force he used to push him into the ground and keep him there while continuing to amplify the pressure.

For another long minute, the two groups of villains faced off, while Nine continued to press the large man against the floor, blood leaking out from him and across the ground as his bones and innards were crushed. As Rikiya's snarls and threats slowly became replaced by pleads for him to stop, his dedication to die for his master slowly turning to pain and terror from how he was dying, Nine's glare never left Chisaki's face, even under the muffled and pain filled screams of the yakuza.

Chisaki, for his part, looked like he didn't give a damn as he stared dully at the other villain leader for a moment - and then he let out a low huff.

"Well," He said in a light voice, "that's that."

"'That's that', you little bastard?!" Chimera barked at him as he held Bearhead up, Zookeeper automatically moving down to inspect the stump that his right leg had become. "You killed Mummy!"

"Well, I can clearly see that he meant a great deal to you," The man in the plague mask turned away as he gestured to the headless body laying on the floor, "but you're also killing my own man right now. From how I see it, we've both killed members of our groups. That makes us even."

"No. It doesn't."

Raising his eyebrow, Chisaki turned back to Nine as the villain spoke quietly, finally moving his hand away and removing the yellow shield. At this point, it was too late to even think of saving the muscle of the Shie Hassaikai, with him completely flattened and laying in a heap of blood on the floor, but despite that, both leaders didn't even bother to look down at him.

"Let me correct you," Nine glared at him, "I've killed a mere minion of yours. You killed a friend of mine. As far as I see it, we aren't anywhere close to being even."

Chisaki, for his part, didn't look like he quite cared about that difference. Instead, he turned to the busted down door while the rest of the yakuza, with Teko throwing Nine one more sharp glare as he was somewhat dragged by his son to follow the retreating yakuza. Once he was at the door, Chisaki pulled something small out of his pocket, and absently tossed it behind him.

"This is my card," He said aimlessly, "call me when you get over yourselves, and are ready to get to work. Or you don't, and you continue to waste the hype you have."

"Wait, you bastard!" Chimera bellowed after him as the yakuza boss sauntered his way out of the warehouse, looking like he was about to jump up and go after him, but a hand laying on his shoulder caused him to whip around and bare his teeth at whoever was daring to try stopping him.

"Chimera," Slice said in a surprisingly gentle voice, looking down at Bearhead as the heteromorph writhed in Chimera's arms, "he needs medical treatment. Let them go."

Chimera tensed, looking back around at where the men in plague masks were still strolling off into the night - and then he shook his head and growled, and glanced up at where Curator was staring down at his friend in shock.

"Oi, give me your coat," He demanded, "we need to wrap up his leg before he bleeds out."

As Curator started and then quickly began dragging off his coat, Slice straightened back up, and looked around at the rest of their group. Her father, a gag covering his mouth, was still moaning about flesh as he stared in longing at the remains of Bearhead's leg, while the other three teenagers were staring silently at Mummy's corpse on the floor. Inasa, for his part, looked a bit put off; Shishikura was scowling; and Camie looked weirdly curious, as though she were about to bend down and poke it.

With a small sigh, Slice reached over and lightly tapped her knuckles against the side of Camie's head, drawing her attention.

"Okay, you guys get out of here," She said in a quiet but still gentle voice, looking over at where the Volcano Thieves were also staring down at Bearhead's writhing body, "we're done."

With that, the three teenagers all shrugged, and headed off. The Volcano Thieves began making movements towards the doors as well - or at least, Volcano and Gast Boy did, what with Dusty Ash pausing for a moment, and then letting out a shuddering breath as she moved down to help Chimera and Curator with Bearhead.

Pausing at the body of the yakuza thug, Volcano let out a huff.

"Seems like getting drugs from you people is more trouble than it's worth," He turned to snap at Slice, "at this point, I'm tempted to just go and join them. At least it sounds like they have a plan."

"You wanna try it, go ahead," Slice challenged him, her eyes narrowing as her hair sharpened threateningly, "just don't be surprised if you get a knife to the head."

Fortunately, Volcano apparently didn't feel up to responding to that not-very-much implied challenge, merely scoffing and heading out of the warehouse. Watching him go, she let out a small huff, and then turned back to where Nine had moved to bend down to his knees over Mummy's body. As half of his face was still covered by the mask, she couldn't fully tell what he was feeling, but she could see the anger in his eyes.

"Nine? Are you alright?"

"Mm."

Shaking his head, Nine looked around at the small card that Chisaki had thrown on the floor, scooping it up and staring at the phone number for a long moment. After a few seconds of glaring at the card, he let out a low sigh and pocketed it before standing up.

Turning away from her, Slice watched as Nine began to walk away, pulling his phone from his coat pocket.

"Nine, are you -"

"Slice," Nine turned to give her a cold look over his shoulder, "not right now."

Letting his right-hand woman fall silent as he left her behind, Nine turned back to his phone, unlocking it and dialing in the number. Before he pressed the green button, he stopped by where Chimera was kneeling, and moved to rest his hand on his shoulder.

"Kon," He said in a rough, but still quiet voice, "once Bearhead is stable, leave him with the Wild Villains, and take Mummy back to the house and bury him. He'd want to be put to rest there."

"Yeah," Chimera's rough voice cracked a bit, "yeah."

"And when you're done, be sure to come straight back. We're going to be moving quickly."

With that, he straightened back up, leaving behind the members of the Consortium to deal with the unexpected casualties that they were forced to deal with. Outside the warehouse, he stopped, looking around the empty parking lot briefly before he tapped on the phone number on the phone in his hand, and lifted it to his ear.

He had made sure to get the number before he had left her place last week, of course, being able to listen in on her now if he needed to. But the fire currently flaring in his stomach and the hatred in his heart was doing the thinking for him as he heard the line connect.

"Curious here."

"It's me," He said in a low voice, continuing to walk, "I want you to do me a favor."

"Oh?" Curious's voice became light and flirty. "You mean, besides writing up scandals about teenage boys you hate?"

"No. Right now, I don't need Ms. Curious. Right now, I need the Meta Liberation Army."

There was a pause.

"I'm listening," Her voice became more sultry.

"I just met with some yakuza punk named Kai Chisaki," Nine huffed, "who acted like I was supposed to know who he was. So, I want to know more about him."

"Alright … and using the Army?"

"He's in the interest of creating a black market race for quirk erasing bullets. I want you to have Trumpet start leaning on him."

"Oho … and what do you get out of that?"

"Simple," Nine smirked as he turned to look up at the starless sky, "either he proves himself to other villains by eventually killing Trumpet … or Trumpet gets rid of him. Either way, I get to remove a pawn from the board."

"Ah, I see," Curious sounded amuse, "so you want us to risk starting a gang war if this yakuza thinks he's too big for his britches."

"Exactly, my dear. Get it done."

With that, he hung up, putting his phone in his pocket. He felt his smirk fall as he looked back to the warehouse, curling his hand into a fist as he breathed through his mouth. He wasn't lying when he had told Chimera that they would have to move fast - Mummy's death so fresh in his mind was making his blood boil, the utter disrespect that Chisaki showed him tonight made Nine want to summon a lightning storm and take his aggression out on the city.

And yet … instead … his mind kept going back to what the yakuza had muttered earlier.

"A mere setback, once I get my hands on that orange-haired girl …"

And Nine's mind began racing - thinking back to the USJ, with him holding his hand up to activate Air Wall, and blocking the punches of an enraged girl … one with an orange ponytail.

The girl who, from his Scanning quirk, looked as though she had two quirks. And then his conversation with All For One …

"It was one of those brats, he - he got me as I was trying to finish off All Might. It was those … it was those three brats that interfered with my plan the most today. If it hadn't been for him … and that little floating girl … and the girl that looked like she had two quirks … I would've been able to kill All Might!"

"You're frustrated, and you have regrets. But this was not a futile endeavor - we've learned many things. And I am a man of my word, Nine - I will figure out a way for you to overcome your illness, and take my throne when the time comes. As long as our plans coincide, I'll honor my end of the bargain. For now, recover - go into hiding and begin building your forces. The heroes will be looking for you four now, and our partnership never mentioned anything about me having to shelter you - although I don't see how you would want such pity. Recover from that wound, and we will reach back out to you when we are ready to continue working on the duplicate All For One quirk I gave you. But before that … tell me about the girl with two quirks."

Slowly, Nine felt himself smile behind the mechanical mask wrapped around his mouth.

"Orange-haired girl, huh …?"

… oh no.

Oh no.

Oh no oh no oh no oh no oh no oh no.

Where …

… where was the second bed?

"Oooooooooh!" Nejire let out a small squeal, immediately leaping onto the large bed with a small bounce, and began to roll around and giggle to herself while Izuku went pale and stared down at the single bed in the room as though it had grown fangs. "This bed is so big! I mean, it's not, like, super big, like I assume beds would be if people with big quirks came to sleep in them. You know, like heteromorph quirks that make you super tall, because it would make sense for … um … wait, what was I talking about?"

"U-uh - uh -"

"… oh! Wait, yeah! The bed is not so big!" Nejire threw her hands up. "Which I don't think really matters, because it's big enough!"

"And …" Izuku gulped, "… there's … only … one."

Quickly and nervously, he looked around at the door - almost as though he had been locked inside, and knew that there was nothing that he could do now that he was screwed. They had just gotten into the hotel room that they were going to be sharing for a week - a thought that already made him feel flustered - and he also knew that Ryukyu and Miruko were already gone for the evening. They had both left them in the meeting room a few minutes ago after explaining that they were going to go out and do a bit of patrolling, and wouldn't be back for … for … for a long time.

Which meant … oh god …

"Okey-dokey!" Nejire sat back up on the bed, smiling happily up at him, "I guess in this case, we should start getting ready for bed! Y'know, if we have to have an early start tomorrow. So I'm gonna get changed into my pjs!"

With that, she pushed some of her long blue hair aside from her back, humming quietly to herself as she reached backwards. Izuku remained frozen for a moment, and then, at the sound of a zipper suddenly being pulled down, he let out a loud squeak of terror, his eyes wide and his face quickly going red. Nejire, meanwhile, blinked and paused her attempts to get out of her hero costume, looking around at him in confusion.

"U-uh … excuse me for just a second," He said in a hurried voice as he quickly spun around to face the opposite wall, "I have to go, uh … uh … straighten my socks."

With that very lame excuse, he quickly bent down to fish out a t-shirt and shorts from his backpack, and all but ran into the bathroom, leaving Nejire behind on the big bed to look after him in confusion.

Once he was safely inside the smaller room, he quickly pulled his phone out from his pocket and began typing panickingly into the group chat that he shared with his girlfriends, beginning to pace up and down beside the tub as he caught sight of his face in the mirror and groaned at how red he had become.

YOU

PROLEM

BIG POBLEM

THERE'S ONY 1 BED

With that hurried text sent off, he continued to pace up and down next to the bathtub, almost on the verge of hyperventilating when he saw that there was no immediate response from either of his girlfriends.

And then a thought suddenly occurred to him, making him stop his pacing.

YOU

… you're both asleep rn, aren't you

oh gosh this is bad

Letting out a small whine of terror, Izuku moved to sit down on the edge of the tub, feeling himself begin to shake as he put his phone down and then hid his face in his hands. So not only were Ryukyu and Miruko gone and wouldn't be back until later in the morning, Itsuka and Ochako were probably passed out right now and wouldn't be able to help him. So that meant that he was on his own, trying to figure out what to do in a hotel room with no couch for him to sleep on and a girl happily bouncing around on the only bed, and making it clear that she … expected him to get in with her.

With a shaking breath, Izuku tried to give himself a light smack to the face with both hands, and he stood up to at least begin taking off his hero costume, needing to take his mind off of the sudden panic attack that was threatening to overcome him as he began changing into something more comfortable.

"Okay …" He muttered to himself as he worked his boots off, "… okay, it's - it's not gonna be so bad. It's just … one night with her, and then tomorrow I'll ask Ryukyu to get us a new room. So that we're not … staying in the same room. With one bed. With her being … very pretty … and …"

That, however, was when he stopped that line of thought, his face burning even hotter than before.

"… oh, god, I can't do this," He groaned, shaking his head as he started taking off his top and grabbing the t-shirt from the side, "I can't … I can't … oh, no, no, why - why does she have to be so beautiful?! What am I thinking?!"

Indeed, as Izuku continued to tremble and bemoan his current state of affairs, it was hard not to think of how Nejire was … currently in the other room right now, and probably … getting out of her hero costume.

…

…

… oh, god, had she been planning to get out of her costume in front of him?! She hadn't even waited until he was out of the room before she had started unzipping her -

Quickly, Izuku's hand flew up and smacked himself in the face, trying to dislodge the thought of Nejire getting out of that firm … tight … form-fitting costume at once. He couldn't couldn't go down that path, or he'd be forced to hold a pillow over his crotch all night long.

But I've seen Itsuka without a shirt, so -

No! The rational part of his brain screamed. Stop it! Stop thinking about your stupid sexy girlfriend! And stop thinking about stupid sexy Nejire! And just to be safe, don't think about stupid sexy Occhan!

Shaking his head, he tried to focus on getting changed. He just had to - he just had to treat this like the beach, he tried to rationalize to himself as he continued getting out of his hero costume and into his pajamas. He had to treat this situation like he had on the 'date' at the beach, where - where he was only about seventy percent certain that she didn't mean anything provocative that she had been doing. He had to convince himself that anything from her he thought 'hey, that sounds kinda flirty' was just him overthinking, and he would be fine for the night.

… while … consciously trying to ignore the lengthy discussions he had with his girlfriends that really, really implied that Nejire didn't feel platonic stuff for him.

Pausing while putting his t-shirt over his head, Izuku stared at the mirror on the wall for a moment, seeing his face fall. Letting out a small sigh, he went and sat back down on the edge of the tub, staring down at his bare feet now that they were out of the red shoes unceremoniously kicked off to the side.

As much as Ochako and Itsuka may doubt it, he wasn't … well … entirely dense when it came to their conversations about Nejire. He talked about his rather … uncertain feelings for Nejire, and Itsuka tried her best to pretend not to know anything, but … but he could tell that she was hiding something from him. And he could guess that … on some level … there was a lot more going on between him and Nejire than he knew. The very thought made his face burn bright red, making him want to crawl into a hole and die, but - but he had tried his best not to think too hard about it, because if he had, he wouldn't be able to even face Nejire, let alone talk to her.

And he guessed … well, this opportunity wasn't something that he should ignore. He was alone with her, now, and Ochako and Itsuka had made it clear that they were going to be romancing Nejire, too. So maybe … talking to her about their feelings for each other would … it would do them good. And … staying in the same bed would be … good.

Even if it was just … going out there and going to sleep, Izuku thought as his hands folded together tightly. Just laying in the same bed, going to sleep, and waking up in the morning, that … that would be good, wouldn't it? It would be harmless. He knew that Nejire wouldn't put much thought into it, and his girlfriends would be okay with it - honestly, if they were both in the same room, he had no doubts that they would probably be cuddling right now in the same bed. It would be fine.

He could do it.

It was just …

… there was this uncomfortable heaviness in his gut, when he thought about going out there and doing something romantic with Nejire. Almost as though … as though it made him feel terribly guilty about something he wasn't quite sure of.

Furrowing his brow a bit at the feeling he couldn't quite put a finger on, Izuku let out another small sigh as he shook his head, and reached over for the pajama bottoms to put on. He figured that he had already been in the bathroom for an embarrassingly long time already, so it was at least time to face the music. And all else fails, he could just convince her to let him sleep on the floor, as uncomfortable as it looked.

And … also depending on whether or not she would fight him on it. Which … to be honest, Nejire probably would.

Finally, he stepped out of the bathroom, frowning as he rounded the corner, and glanced over to see Nejire getting comfortable under the covers of one side of the bed as she gave him a cheery wave. Nodding back at her, he turned to look back around at the balcony outside the tall glass windows -

- and then he blinked as he suddenly registered what was amiss, and whirled around to stare at the blue-haired girl in shock and terror as she smiled giddily to herself, laying so low in the bed that her head was the only thing visible, and she quickly turned back to him with a smile.

"H-Hadou?" He squeaked, his face going red. "You're - you're already -?"

"Well, Ryukyu said that she was gonna be out for a while, right?" She pointed out helpfully as she rolled somewhat onto her side. "And we have no idea when she'll be back! Might be in ten minutes, might be an hour! Or two! Or three! And I'm …" She paused, and then yawned, "… I'm really tired, so … I'm gonna catch some shut eye, okay?"

"I - b-but -"

"And hey," She smiled dozily at him, her eyes slowly closing, "don't be afraid to get in here with me, okay? I know that you can be a bit silly about it, but it's … it's not like we haven't slept in the same bed before! Except, y'know … it was the Naptime Room then, and I was on … one side of the room, and you were … you were on the other … but what I'm saying is that it'll be okay if you wanna sleep in the bed. The floor's uncomfy, and … you deserve … to be able to rest, too … so …"

As Nejire trailed off, Izuku watched in terror as she got more and more comfortable, her eyes closing, and soon, the events of the day caught up with her. Nejire's eyes shut, her face relaxing, and she passed out, letting out several low breaths as she rolled onto her side and began sleeping.

"Oh, no, no, no …" Izuku whimpered more than a little pathetically, raising his hand to hold his forehead, and he let out a small groan as he looked around in panic. Well, first things first - there was no way that he was going to be getting into that bed with her. No way in hell!

Even if … the sight of Nejire slowly curling in on herself while snoring … was surprisingly … adorable …

… oh, god, why was she so cute?!

Izuku gulped a bit, going red as he glanced away from the bed and then hesitantly looked back. Nejire was, indeed, looking absolutely adorable, with her long blue hair somewhat wrapped around her like a blanket under the covers, and most of it fell out from the other side of the bed and draped there like a large blue blanket. Seeing Nejire look so calm and relaxed for once made Izuku's heart backflip in his chest, but he was quick to shake his head and quickly look around on the floor, wincing at how hard the porcelain looked, but knowing that he had no choice.

Well, he did, but … the terror of what might happen if he got into that bed with the sleeping girl told him he didn't.

Eventually deciding to rest near the desk, Izuku let out a quiet sigh as he opened the closet and brought out another blanket, laying it down on the floor and grabbing the spare pillow from the bed (and flinching when Nejire let out a sleepy hum and blindly reached out for him, as though trying to pull him down into the bed for him) and laid it down on the floor. Flipping off the light and heading over to his makeshift bed, and sitting and laying down on the blanket, Izuku grumbled at how hard the floor felt on his back, but tried to ignore it as he closed his eyes and laid on his back. Grumbling quietly at how uncomfortable it was, Izuku buried the back of his head into the pillow as he tried to lull himself to sleep.

Honestly, at this point, he had no idea how tonight was going to get any more -

"Oi."

Izuku nearly shrieked, his eyes snapping open at the sound of a voice that definitely didn't belong to Nejire - but before he could even think of shouting, a hand slammed down over his mouth, muffling him.

His eyes widened, he moved his head about an inch to look at the silhouette of the person kneeling above him, and it only took a second for his eyes to readjust to the low lighting. So it was to his shock to see none other than Lady Nagant bent over and covering his mouth with her hand, changed out of that purple dress into a black t-shirt and jeans, and the distant city lights shining in through the large windows showed him that she wasn't looking all too happy at the moment.

"I'm going to move my hand away from your mouth," She said in a quiet voice, "and if you scream, nobody will find your body."

Izuku let out a muffled noise at that very much not-implied threat. But thankfully, as Nagant slowly moved her hand away from his mouth, Izuku had recovered enough from the surprise to not say anything at first, letting out a small sputter as he leaned up with his elbows on the floor, and let Nejire continue to sleep.

"I - L-Lady Nagant?" He blinked, wondering for a moment if he had fallen asleep and was dreaming as the woman stood back up. "What are you - how did you get in here -?"

"I parkoured," She said in a short voice, as though that explained everything, "now c'mon - come join me out on the balcony."

"But - but why?"

"… really? Seriously?" She huffed. "Are you just like my daughter, who requires an explanation for every little thing before I do it? Just come on, this won't take too long. I've gotta get back to my room before Agent Asshat decides to check on me."

Feeling himself blink rapidly, Izuku sat up and stared in surprise as Nagant made her way over to the door that led to the balcony, opening it and then looking around at him with a sharp look. Still, at the realization that she was actually there, and not really giving him a choice to try going back to sleep, he managed to shake himself out of his surprise, and got up to walk over and join her on the veranda, careful to mind his footsteps in case Nejire woke up and wondered why one of the heroes they were interning with was taking him out onto the balcony.

Once they were both out on the veranda, the cool air blowing his hair around a bit, Izuku gulped as Nagant shut the door sharply behind him.

"Sit down." Nagant said. It didn't sound like a request.

Quickly and timidly nodding, he looked around for a brief moment in confusion - seeing as there weren't any kind of chairs to sit on out here - and finally decided to just up and sit down on the floor of the balcony, sitting cross legged as he watched Nagant slowly walk over to one of the railings and lean against it, closing her eyes.

And then she moved her right arm up, and with a small popping noise, the barrel of a rifle suddenly slid out of her elbow and onto the ground, the metal tapping against the balcony's floor just a foot beside Izuku's leg.

"… uh." Izuku blinked, looking up at the older heroine in confusion. Before he could ask, however, Nagant spoke.

"Do you think my daughter's pretty?"

There was a short pause. And then Izuku felt confusion continue to build inside him, but this time, he got the feeling that he … may be in danger at the moment.

"H-huh? W-what do you -"

"My daughter," Nagant opened her eyes and turned to look at him coldly, "Ochako Uraraka."

He quickly zipped his mouth closed.

"Judging by you looking just plain confused instead of surprised tells me that you already knew that," She pointed out, "I mean, you're friends with her, right? I sure as sh*t hope so, seeing as you two shared a podium back at the sports festival. Did you know that I was in the stands, with the rest of the Commission? I got to see all the teamwork that you got up to that day."

"Er …" Izuku felt himself begin to sweat nervously.

"Yeah … you two work well together," She said, her tone making it clear that she didn't mean that as a compliment, "you knew each other's moves … worked together flawlessly … apparently got a lot of banter, as far as I could see when you two were planning with that Kendou chick … it just seems to be that you two are close."

Now Izuku could tell that there was something very wrong here, and from the way the older woman's voice was turning lower and colder made him tempted to try running inside again. Of course, it wasn't like Nagant would let him go, seeing as her cold eyes hadn't left his face from the moment they stepped out onto the balcony together, and the end of her rifle continued to tap on the floor of the balcony right beside Izuku's knee.

"Now," She gave him a sharp glare, "you didn't answer my question. My daughter. You think she's pretty?"

"Uh -"

"Yes or no."

"I -" He hesitated, and then pointed weakly at the rifle not far from his leg, "- I think I would feel better answering this question without the gun?"

"Well, I feel better asking the question with the gun," Nagant immediately shot that down while shrugging, "now stop dodging the question. Is my daughter pretty?"

"I …" Izuku gulped, knowing that question might be a bit … bad for his health if he answered truthfully. But remembering the way Ochako had looked so down on herself on the beach when she admitted her body issues to him …

… well, he shook his head. He already knew the obvious answer.

"… y-yes, of - of course I think she's pretty," He nodded stiffly, "she's beautiful."

"Beautiful, huh?" Nagant tilted her head at the answer …

… and then her eyes hardened again.

"More beautiful than that Kendou girl? And the Hadou girl in there?"

… okay, yes, Izuku gulped loudly, now he knew he was in serious danger right now.

"I … I think they're all beautiful," He cringed as Nagant's eyes narrowed a fraction at that answer, "I - I mean, they are! Occhan is - she's beautiful, and so is Itsuka, and Hadou -"

"'Itsuka'." Nagant suddenly interrupted him, her voice growing more menacing and making Izuku freeze in his tracks. "That's what I thought I heard a few times today. A bit … intimate, isn't it? To call a girl by her first name, and have a nickname for another. And if I remember right … Kendou called you by your first name too, didn't she? And Ochako called you 'Deku'."

"- adfhehfkejfhef."

"And then there was the fact that you were oh, so nervous, sleeping in the same bed as her," Nagant gestured with her head into the hotel room, making Izuku shrink in on himself as he realized that Nagant had apparently saw everything, "and she seemed okay with you sharing a bed with you. Lucky guy, aren't you … getting to stay in the same bed as a pretty girl … getting to call another pretty girl by her first name … and then there's your best friend … who I found with a hickey …"

"Oooooooooh, no," Izuku quietly winced.

Uncrossing her legs and straightening up, Nagant leaned forward, her eyes boring into his as Izuku began praying to all of his ancestors.

"So," She slowly tilted her head, "I'm gonna ask you another question, Midoriya. And you better answer it correctly."

"O-okay?"

"Who." She clenched her one hand against the railing. "Gave my daughter. That hickey?"

There was another pause.

And then Izuku, in a grand moment of stupidity, automatically asked, "Which one?"

The moment those two words left his lips, Izuku's current status went from 'in danger' to 'on the verge of assassination'. He watched with widened, horrified eyes as Nagant very physically paused, her eyes widening a fraction before they narrowed back to slits, and she immediately came off the railing to wheel around at him. Izuku let out a small squeak of terror as he quickly climbed to his feet, his eyes on the rifle still dragging along the floor menacingly towards him as he quickly raised a hand as though that would be enough to stop her.

"I - I mean -" He continued to dig himself even deeper, "- I - I was referring to the -"

"To the what?" Nagant growled darkly. "The one you left on her neck? Her shoulder? Her breast? Her thigh? Huh? Speak up!"

There was a long, tense moment where Izuku seriously considered his chances of jumping over the railing to avoid the woman who was clearly getting ready to push him over, Izuku glancing inside and cringing when he saw Nejire was still fast asleep and wouldn't be able to help him out of this one. However, after a moment of debating his options, he glanced back over at the ridiculously angry look on Nagant's face, and … for some reason, he felt the fear inside of him fade.

He remembered … that this was the woman who caused Ochako utter angst and heartbreak. Not just Ochako, but Taiyo and Miwa too. And Izuku felt his face fall, and whatever leftover fear that was inside him was turned into defiance as he slowly straightened up.

"I …" He said in a quiet voice, "… I gave Occhan the hickey on her neck. I did that."

"Uh-huh," Nagant said coldly. "And the other one?"

"That one …" Izuku hesitated - knowing that he was kind of crossing a line here - but the hate-filled look on Nagant's face made him scowl as he turned to her. "… the one on her stomach. Itsuka gave her that one."

And from there, there was silence.

Nagant, who had been looking like she had been weighing the pros and cons of just shoving him over the balcony's railing, stopped, her eyes suddenly widening from the slits they had been glaring at him with, and zipped her mouth closed. Izuku let out a low breath as he felt some of the malevolence radiating towards him fade into confusion, and he shook his head as he straightened his back, looking up at the pro heroine with determination.

"I'm … I'm dating your daughter," He explained in a short voice, "and so is Itsuka. And I'm dating her, too. We're in a polycule. Just like …" He took a deep breath, "… just like you, Taiyo and Miwa had been in."

That, of course, caused Nagant to flinch a little. And then the glare from before returned.

"How do you know about that?" She said in a cold voice.

"Occhan told me. And I was in the room when she called you."

"…"

"…"

"… figures," Nagant let out a low sigh, and finally, the rifle slipped back into her elbow with a wet crunch, a bit of steam rising from her arm.

Moving her arm back down now that the gun was safely put away, Nagant let out a long groan as she moved to lean against the railing of the balcony again with both hands, letting Izuku stand there and grimace a bit awkwardly. After another moment, Nagant slumped her shoulders.

"So," She said in a quiet voice, "you know Taiyo and Miwa."

"I - of course I do," He nodded stiffly, "they've been my neighbors for - for years. Since I was five."

"Since you were five … which means that you've known Ochako for … well, for most of your life."

"That's right."

"And … how long have you … had feelings for her?"

Izuku paused, feeling his cheeks burn.

"I … I don't really know," He admitted quietly, wincing when she glanced up at him skeptically, "I only really … realized it a few weeks ago, but … but I think it's been for a long time."

"Huh …" Nagant turned back to stare off into the skyline, "… and this Kendou chick? How does she fit into it?"

"We - we met her last year," Izuku went a bit redder, "and we trained with her for the entrance exam. And we both … kinda … fell for her at the same time. We - we recently agreed to - yeah."

Nagant remained quiet for a moment.

"And you're … ready for the consequences of that?"

"H-huh?" Izuku blinked, and looked around at her in confusion. "What - what do you mean?"

"Kid," She leaned a bit firmer against the ceiling, "if you know about me, then you know that I was in your shoes a long time ago. I was in a polyamorous relationship. The only real difference between you and me, though, is that you're just starting. And I'm … I'm the natural conclusion to this kind of relationship."

He paused, and then realized what she was talking about. Izuku felt his stomach lurch when he realized what she was implying, but just as quickly, he shook his head.

"No," He said defiantly, "no, we're - we're gonna make it work."

"Yeah, well," Nagant frowned, "you can certainly hope that, and it probably seems like sunshine and rainbows now. But trust me - hero work is hard enough on a relationship with two people, let alone three. I read up about that Water Hose couple - ended up biting the dust a while ago, leaving their kid orphaned. Did you know that?"

"I …" He faltered. "… I heard that they died. I … I didn't know that they had a kid."

"Yeah, well, that's the kind of stress you have to deal with as a hero. Knowing that you got someone who needs you at home when you're off doing the dirty work, and you might not make it back."

"And …" Izuku frowned, remembering his conversation with Ochako weeks ago and feeling himself scowl, "… and is that why you left your family? Because you couldn't handle the stress?"

Nagant paused. And then she scowled as well.

"No," She said shortly, "but I don't have to bear my heart out to you. Mind your own business."

"Occhan is my business," He shot back, "so anything that could hurt her is something I need to know about."

"Kid," Nagant turned to give him a sharp look, her fist curling on the railing, "you've already pushed your luck enough tonight. Don't test me."

There was a short pause as Nagant glared at him, and Izuku glared back -

- and then he glanced down at her lower face, and he felt himself blink in surprise.

"W-wait," He felt his jaw drop, "… you - you have the Danger Pout?"

"Huh?" Nagant snapped out of her glaring at him, crinkling her brow in confusion and a bit of frustration. "The danger what?"

"T-the Danger Pout," He explained, pointing at how her cheeks had been puffed out, "Occhan gets like that when she starts pouting. You - you two pout the exact same way."

"No, I don't," Nagant snapped at him, "and I'm not pouting. I'm scowling."

"T-that looks an awful lot like a pout."

"It's a scowl."

"It looks like a pout."

"Kid, I just decided that I wasn't going to shoot you. Do you want me to change my mind?"

"N-no, ma'am!"

"Good." Nagant huffed, crossing her arms as she looked away, definitely not puffing her cheeks. "Danger pout … I don't f*cking pout."

Nodding slowly, and slowly conceding her earlier point that he had already pressed his luck enough tonight, Izuku then glanced back at the door leading into the hotel room.

"So, um …" He gestured weakly at the door.

"No, not yet. I'm not done with you yet. Just give me a minute to - I don't know, get over the audacity."

Izuku tried his hardest not to snort at that as Nagant turned to look out at the skyline again for a few seconds. After they both lapsed into silence, she turned to look at him with … well, there was still the same coldness in her eyes, but it definitely didn't seem like she was going to be shooting at him.

"So," She crossed her foot over the other as she kept her violet eyes boring into his, "you're my daughter's boyfriend."

"Uh …" Izuku swallowed loudly, "… y-yes, ma'am."

"Hm. Well, I plan to interrogate Kendou later, so don't feel like you're being too signaled out," Nagant rolled her neck, grunting when she heard a crack, "I'm just gonna start with you due to the obvious fact."

"Er - and that is?"

"The fact that you're probably the only person who's dating my daughter who has a penis, for one."

… he probably didn't know any better, Izuku blushed a bit brighter, but that definitely sounded like he was definitely getting signaled out.

"Now," Nagant sighed as she crossed her arms under her chest and tapped her foot against the balcony's floor, "I'm well aware that I don't really have much say here in who my daughter should date, but … well, you know what I'm about to tell you, right?"

"Yes, ma'am!" Izuku quickly raised his hand to his forehead to salute her. "I'll protect her with my life! I'll lay it down for her if I had to!"

"… I mean," Nagant raised her eyebrow, "I was thinking more along the lines of 'don't knock her up', but sure, you do you."

Izuku stopped at that. And then he choked on his spit.

"I - I - w-what?!"

"Yeah, you heard me," She shook her head as she took a step back, her gaze lifting up to the balcony above them, "don't get my daughter pregnant. And don't get Kendou pregnant, either. Just don't do it, kid. Condoms, or don't do it. Anyway, that's that. You passed the test. You can date my daughter without me trying to put a bullet in you. But just so you know, kid," She turned to give him a sharp look again, "I will make you disappear if you ever think of hurting her."

"Of course!" Izuku saluted her again, trying to sort that 'knock Ochako up' comment into the back of his mind so he would never think of it again lest he die of embarrassment. "You won't have to do anything, because if I ever hurt her, I'd punish myself!"

"That's what I thought. Now go the hell to sleep."

With that, she jumped up with a grunt, grabbing the edge of the balcony above them, and hoisted herself up. When her feet were up on the railing, Izuku felt himself hesitate -

- and then he called, "W-wait a second!"

Thankfully, Nagant paused her attempts to swing her way up onto the balcony above them, and looked down at him. Izuku paused for a moment, not entirely sure what to say now that he had her attention - and then he let out a small sigh.

"I … look, Occhan, she - she doesn't really know how to feel about you yet." He decided to put it bluntly, trying to push past whatever reservations he might have about the whole situation. "But she wants to get to know you. She doesn't even know what's going to happen after this week ends, and - and I know her. I know that she's scared that you'll disappear from her life, and not look back. I just … I just want her to be happy, and she wants to know if she'll be happy if - if you're in her life."

For a few seconds, Nagant was quiet, letting Izuku's words sink in. Just as he wondered if she was going to respond, she let out a small, quiet sigh, and turned to look down at her feet.

"There's a lot about me that I don't want her to know, kid." She admitted.

Izuku slowly nodded, and then sighed.

"Oh. So …" He turned away, staring off at the city, "… I guess … you'd rather have your privacy than have your daughter's trust?"

It took him about ten seconds of silence to realize that last little comment … probably wasn't the thing he should be saying to a woman who was pretty open about threatening to shoot him about five minutes ago. But by the time he quickly looked back to where Nagant had been standing on the railing, she was gone.

Blinking a bit as he realized he was alone on the balcony, Izuku let out a small sigh as he shook his head, and finally moved to walk back into the hotel room, closing the door on the way. Instead of walking to his small makeshift bed on the floor, however, Izuku walked over stiffly towards the main bed, where Nejire was still sleeping soundly with light snores as she rolled onto her side away from him.

Izuku stared down at her for a long moment in hesitation as Nejire nuzzled comfortably into her pillow - the stress and worry of Nagant shooting him earlier still fresh in his mind - and then he sighed, and shook his head.

"Oh, screw it," He muttered, reaching down to grab the pillow on the floor with one hand, and grabbing the covers and drawing them back with the other.

After kicking off his socks, he crawled into the bed before he could second guess himself, settling back and bringing the covers up to his chin. Rolling onto his side away from Nejire, Izuku settled back and closed his eyes, trying to ignore how red his face was becoming as he tried to lull himself off to sleep.

Which was … a bit difficult as Nejire almost immediately rolled over and sleepily wrapped her arm around his waist, but it was too late to complain at this point.

"Stop."

Skidding a bit against the concrete floor of the alleyway that they had just entered, Tenya almost tripped over himself before he regained his balance, and quickly whirled around, his eyes wide behind his helmet as he panted. Landing hard on a nearby fire escape above them, Stendhal grunted as he put his hands on the railing, and flipped down as he grabbed the ladder.

The rattling noise of the metallic ladder descending filled the alley until his internship mentor flipped down onto the ground, grunting as he straightened up. Once he was up, he turned to Tenya and brought out a bottle of water from behind his belt, holding it out to Tenya.

"Here," He said gruffly, "drink."

"I …" Tenya hesitated for a moment, and then shook his head and looked around the dark alley, "… no. I can keep going."

"Do not be foolish." Stendhal snapped at him. "The Hero Killer waits in secret for those isolated and tired so that they will serve as easy prey. We lurk in the darkness now - in their territory - so we must be careful. Drink, and then we will continue."

Tenya seemed like he did not quite agree with that logic, but at Stendhal's mask tilting a bit to look as though he were staring at him judgmentally, he let out a reluctant sigh as his engines slowly sputtered out and died, and he straightened up, still panting as he took the water bottle from the pro hero. Taking off his helmet and putting it under his arm, Tenya tilted his head back and took a deep drink of water, gulping it down a bit too greedily, to his disappointment, while Stendhal moved to the side and leaned against the wall, taking out a knife from a sheath along his leg and beginning to sharpen it against the guard on his arm.

As Tenya panted and lowered the bottle from his mouth, he looked around at the man in red and black.

"We've been working non-stop for the entire day," He pointed out, "are we any closer to finding the Hero Killer?"

"Soon," Stendhal nodded slowly, "the places we've been examining all day prove to me that the Hero Killer is not yet finished in Hosu. They still search for the blood of impure heroes. All we require is the right bait that will allow us to hide in wait, and then we can strike."

Tenya found himself pausing at that, turning to look down at his feet.

"Bait," He said in a quiet voice, "you've been … mentioning possible bait. What exactly would we use as bait?"

Stendhal didn't answer at first, instead sheathing the dagger back into the scabbard on his leg, and then he let out a low sigh.

"It would be a … last resort," He said slowly, "but many heroes are to be gathered in Hosu in two days time to join Endeavor's search party - one that we are also attending. Many of them would fill the Hero Killer's desire for a hero that does not live up to their standards - if we can figure out who would best fit the Hero Killer's needs …"

Tenya felt himself freeze, a chill going up his spine as he felt some of the churning anger from the last few weeks fade.

"You're … suggesting that we would purposefully use a hero as bait to lure the Hero Killer out?"

"As I said," He grunted, "it is a last resort. Only in true desperation would we think to do it."

"But … but that would not be what a hero does."

Stendhal turned to look at him.

"Oh?" He said in a cold voice. "I seem to recall that you were not such a stickler for the rules when you approached me in the hospital to ask for an internship. Make no mistake, boy - I know what you desire. You seek vengeance for the damage done to your brother."

Tenya flinched a bit at that, especially at the unsympathetic tone in Stendhal's voice.

"Such weakness is why he is in the hospital in the first place. He acted too rashly, and I chose to follow him into that alley. And what was our reward? Your brother, with several holes in him, and I with a concussion. The Hero Killer is not an enemy to take lightly, and you will only get yourself killed if you approach them as such."

"That is not -"

"The way you are speaking," Stendhal interrupted him coldly, "is not the way a true hero would speak. I have allowed you on this internship to test your resolve - be aware that the Hero Killer would not take it easy on you because you are a mere child. If they find out that you are wandering down a selfish path … and are becoming impure …"

His hand gripped on the handle of his dagger.

"… then you may not be spared their wrath. And you may find yourself in the same hospital bed as your brother is in now."

He then turned away from Tenya, aware of the boy gritting his teeth and glaring at the ground.

"One last thing," He said over his shoulder, "when we passed by that one hero with the fish-fin on his head - there was a girl in red and white staring at you. Who is she?"

"H-huh?" Tenya blinked, looking up at him. "That - that is just Kodai. One of my classmates. She's … she's concerned about me. I - I think she followed me to Hosu -"

"To stop you from doing anything stupid?" He finished for him, scoffing. "Well, that will be my job, my apprentice. For now, only concern yourself with the hunt, not the satisfaction that you will get out of it. But this … Manual …" His eyes narrowed behind his mask, "… he's the one with all those commercials, is he not?"

"Er … I believe so? For a brand of sneakers."

"Yes …" Stendhal glared forward, "… him. We'll keep an eye out for him."

With that, he began running down the alleyway again, their break apparently over. Tenya blinked a bit confusedly at the abrupt way that they ended that, but he was quick to put his helmet back on and charge up his legs, taking off after his internship provider as he felt his eyes narrow behind his helmet.

It was true, he winced, that Stendhal had him pretty much figured out. He was not here for some form of justice - he was here for vengeance, as his internship mentor had guessed when he had arrived. He had a conversation with Stendhal in the hospital, that Sunday after his family had gotten Tensei's diagnosis and his mother had practically collapsed in the hallway, only supported by his aghast father. His brother was in a coma the doctors didn't know if he would wake up from, and from the damage done to his body, even if he did … he would not be walking ever again.

The hero Ingenium was no more.

And Stendhal … the hero had been there when Tensei had been attacked, had stayed by his side, had called an ambulance for him. Tenya had seeked him out in the hospital to get his version of what happened. And then … when Stendhal made it clear that he was going after the Hero Killer again …

… Tenya had asked him to take him on as a student.

Right now, it did not matter what Stendhal thought of him, however. It did not matter what Yui was thinking right now, or her trying to stay close by in case he needed to be stopped. Because he would not be stopped. The memory of his brother lying prone on the bed, still as death, was fresh on Tenya's mind as he gritted his teeth.

Wherever the Hero Killer was right now, they would not be leaving Hosu without facing the consequences of their actions. Even if he had to leave UA behind forever in order to make them pay for what they did.

WHAM

BAM

SMACK

CRACK

Landing hard against the ropes of the ring, Itsuka winced at the sharp pain in her ribcage, but still fought through it to throw up her large hand, just in time for Miruko's foot to snap up and slam against it. Being thrown off balance again, Itsuka stumbled, and Miruko let out a growl as she quickly flipped over Itsuka's bent over back, grabbing the younger girl by her shoulder and roughly throwing her back into the center of the ring, lifting her entire body weight with one arm easily as Itsuka bounced against the mat hard, and quickly scrambled back to her feet.

"Oh, c'mon, kid!" She barked at her intern as Itsuka quickly shrank back down her hands again, and barely managed to duck underneath another kick aimed at her head. "We've been doing this all f*cking day, and you're still not getting it! Let the monster inside out! Try to punch my head off!"

"I - ow!" Itsuka winced as Miruko's foot came up and slammed against her upper arm.

"Are you kiddin'?!" She growled through her gritted teeth as she reached out for the unbalanced Itsuka, grabbing her by the front of her t-shirt and reaching down to grab her leg. "What, are you planning to let the villains use you as a punching bag, too?!"

With a loud grunt, she hoisted Itsuka up over her head, the orange-haired girl letting out an alarmed yelp as she flailed helplessly in the air.

"And you're still …" Miruko snarled as she stomped over to the edge of the ring, "… so … f*cking … sloppy!"

And with that, she chucked Itsuka straight out of the ring, the orange-haired girl letting out a cry of panic as she flailed through the air, until she came crashing down on her unfortunate victim. Both of them let out grunts of surprise and pain as they came down hard onto the ground, Itsuka laying on his back and him falling straight on his face, with the mat under his feet being their only comfort as they both laid there, prone, against the floor.

"Hi, baby," Itsuka wheezed through the pain, slowly rolling off him, "sorry. We should stop meeting like this."

"Is this just gonna be an everyday thing?" Izuku groaned as he flopped over onto his back.

Thankfully for both of them, as Miruko leaned against the ropes of the boxing ring above them and sneered down at Itsuka, they were both interrupted by the sound of a loud clap.

"Alright!" Ryukyu called throughout the quirk gym as she lowered her hands. "That's that, everyone, it's five o'clock! So let's calm everything down! Miruko, I'm specifically talking to you."

"Ah, maaaan …" Miruko whined, pouting and lowering her fists as Itsuka rolled onto her side and rubbed gingerly at the bruise on her upper arm, "… and things were about to get good, too! I could feel it, she was getting pissed!"

"Well, she can get pissed off tomorrow, after she's had a night's rest. Now, if you kids didn't hear me, training is done for today! We'll be heading upstairs for supper soon!"

With that, the second day of the 'Revengers Agency Internship', as Nejire and Miruko called it, came to a brutal, bruising end. Both Izuku and Itsuka remained on the floor, sprawled out and groaning a bit, while Ochako limped over to help them up, wincing and minding some of the bruises left under her workout tank top and shorts. On the other side of the room, Nagant slammed the discs back into the console with a scowl, walking back over to where Agent Iguchi was waiting with a seriously pissed off frown, tapping his foot impatiently against the floor. Nejire, meanwhile, rubbed her forehead in pain from all the migraines that she'd probably given herself throughout the day, but still looked satisfied at the coffee cups that she had managed to lift with her quirk - even if she had to walk carefully around all the other shattered cups surrounding her feet.

Indeed, today had been quite chaotic, at least for two reasons - one, Ryukyu had returned from her and Miruko's patrol at some point early in the morning and only realized that they mixed up the rooms when she had stepped into the hotel room across the hall and saw the two beds waiting for them there, panickingly knocking on their door to earnestly apologize. Izuku and Nejire had woken up being more than a little … 'tangled' (and by that, it meant that Izuku had been choked a bit when he found himself with Nejire's long blue hair wrapped around his head, with Nejire waking up confusedly wondering what was going on as he struggled to free himself), and they had both blushed at breakfast as Ryukyu repeatedly apologized for her slip up. Miruko, of course, had found the whole thing hilarious, teasing Izuku about maybe using the condoms in the bedside table, which made Izuku go bright red and crawl under the table, Nejire awkwardly giggle while staring pointedly out the window, Itsuka slowly munch on her cereal as she was still half-asleep with her bedhead wild, and Ryukyu smack Miruko upside the head, which caused the bunny woman to half-heartedly struggle with her best friend at the table.

The second reason everything had been so chaotic that morning, meanwhile, was because they could hear, even through the hotel's somewhat thick walls, the sound of Agent Iguchi shouting his lungs out at Nagant for an apparent 'breach of trust'. Apparently, Ochako had somehow ended up inside Nagant's room at some point that night, and the agent apparently had an aneurysm that morning when both she and Nagant exited the hotel room, and he had gone off on Nagant while Ochako sheepishly left for breakfast. The sniper had been in a foul mood all morning long, bringing Ochako down to train without question as she fumed (although thankfully for Izuku and Itsuka, Ochako had reported during lunch that the training she was doing wasn't any worse than yesterday, meaning that the sniper wasn't taking her frustration out on her), and they all tried to ignore how Iguchi was glaring daggers at Nagant all day long as the hero trained her daughter.

So today … well … had been pretty rough. Pretty much for everyone involved.

As Miruko hopped out of the ring and landed on the floor below, Ryukyu approached them as they all gathered up into a small group, Nagant standing a bit further away from the gathering while rolling her eyes at Iguchi's eyes on her back.

"Alright," The blonde woman sighed as she took off her metal mask and fixed her hair as everyone looked at her, "that'll be all for today. We'll have a bit of training to do tomorrow until lunch, and then I want us to focus on the mission tomorrow night. I'll be going over another debriefing with you all then to determine our roles, but for now, you guys have the night off. Midoriya, Hadou, just so you know, before you two go to bed tonight, I'm going to be double checking your room."

"Oh, my god," Miruko rolled her eyes.

"I'm not going to be making this mistake again, Rumi. Now, you guys are excused - I'm going to go get changed, and I'll be in the meeting room if you need anything."

"I have a meeting," Nagant frowned, and then turned to give Ochako a pointed look, "so no one better bother me."

Ochako, for her part, pretended to look innocent as she turned and whistled, while her mother definitely didn't pout at her, because, according to Nagant, she definitely didn't pout.

With that, the group broke up for the evening to start heading upstairs to get changed out of their exercise gear. Nejire, who had been rubbing her forehead and shielding her eyes from the light, waved at them as she started heading upstairs to get some pills for her headache, being followed by Ryukyu as she quietly spoke to her intern. Miruko sauntered after them both as she flipped her long white hair behind her shoulder, and Nagant and Iguchi were quick to follow behind them, the lizard man glaring at Nagant's back as she stomped off.

That, of course, left Izuku, Ochako and Itsuka alone in the quirk gym, both girls collapsing on the bench near the large windows while Izuku bent over to grab some ice from the mini-fridge for them all, grumbling as he rubbed his back where Itsuka had landed on him.

"Again, I'm really sorry, Izuku," Itsuka sighed in defeat as she leaned back and winced, reaching out blindly to rub Izuku's side in apology, "I have no idea why she keeps throwing me at you."

"It's okay," Izuku shut the mini-fridge and returned with ice, handing one pack to Ochako and the other to Itsuka as he sat down between them, and Ochako reached over him to place her ice pack against Itsuka's eye, "I mean, it's not like you ask Miruko to randomly throw you out of the ring, right?"

"Yeah," Itsuka pouted as she put her own ice pack on Izuku's back, "I'm pretty sure she thinks I'm not getting something, but … well, it's kind of hard to figure out what exactly she wants me to do when I have the most muscular leg in the f*cking world snapping up to give me a concussion."

"Yeah," Ochako smiled a bit weakly as Izuku carefully applied his ice pack to the bruise on her ribcage, "but still, Deku, you should probably stop trying to do your training with your back to the ring. Miruko's probably gonna throw Itsuka at you again tomorrow."

"Oh, that's an inevitability at this point. He'll probably move his training further down the gym, and Miruko'll still throw me at him."

"I mean," Izuku shrugged, going a bit red as both girls glanced at him, "I … don't think I should be complaining about … y'know … finding you on top of me."

Both Ochako and Itsuka paused, raising their eyebrows as Izuku went redder, probably realizing too late how flirty that response could be taken. Alas, it was too late to try downplaying it, as Itsuka slowly leaned back and gave him a flirty smirk, while Ochako merely giggled and continued to tend to her wounds.

"So," She crossed her legs, "Izuku Midoriya. Speaking of you being in compromising positions with girls -"

"Oh, boy," He mumbled while blushing harder.

"- I don't think we talked about you and Nejire having a bit of an adventure this morning, did we?"

"Oh, boy," Ochako repeated after Izuku, this time with a chortle.

"I - oh, god," Izuku groaned in defeat as he raised his hands to cover his face, and Ochako let out another giggle as she glanced at her boyfriend's face while blushing mildly as well.

"Anyway, sorry that I wasn't able to help you out last night," Itsuka grimaced a bit, "I pretty much laid down on the bed and … yeah, I was out like a light."

"Me too," Ochako sighed, "and … you know, I had my whole Nagant thing going on, and … ugh. I'm really sorry that she freaking parkoured over to interrogate you, Deku."

"I mean, I - I can't really blame you for that, Occhan," He assured her - they had, of course, gone over Izuku's late night chat with Nagant during lunch, with Ochako's head having been buried in her arms when she had learned that her other mother had given Izuku the shovel talk of his life, "yesterday was … yeah. As long as you guys are good with Nagant knowing … you know … about us."

"Well, not exactly how I pictured one of our parents finding out," Itsuka shrugged, "but now I wait with terrified breath for when Nagant decides it's my turn to be on the chopping block."

"Yeah, well … anyway," Izuku shook his head, "at least we know that tomorrow won't be as bad as yesterday or today, since we're supposed to be helping with the operation after lunch. We just have to deal with … y'know, that stress."

"I guess so. Anyway, no promises that I'm not gonna be passing out again the moment I sit on my bed today either," Itsuka smiled, "so if you end up running into more problems with Nejire, sorry, either call Ochako or you're on your own."

"Y-yeah," Ochako chuckled a bit, "sorry, Deku, but … yeah, you might be on your own either way, I think I'm gonna pass out the moment my head hits the pillow."

"Ah," Itsuka suddenly turned her teasing gaze to her girlfriend, who blinked and went red, "well, that's a shame - and here I was thinking of giving you your girlfriend points."

"G-girlfriend points?"

"Yeah," She giggled, while Izuku's face fell and he turned to look down at his knees as he thought quietly, "girlfriend points. I mean, you grabbed ice and immediately put it on my face. I adore you so much right now, I'm giving you the reward your points gave you the moment we're in the hotel room."

"O-oh," Ochako went redder, "and, uh … what'll the … girlfriend points … be giving me?"

"Hm …" Itsuka made a show of thinking it over, smirking while Ochako nervously stared at her - but before she could continue to tease her girlfriend, Izuku let out a small sigh.

"Uh … hey, guys?"

Both girls hummed a bit, turning their heads slightly to look down at him. Izuku's face was still red from Itsuka's teasing, but there was a thoughtful look there that made them both blink.

"Deku?" Ochako tilted her head a bit. "What's up?"

"Nothing much. Just, uh … if …" He hesitated again, his eyes going down to his knees, "… if … something does happen with Hadou and I tonight - what would you guys say about that?"

Both Itsuka and Ochako blinked at that question, feeling their brows furrow, and then they moved their heads up to stare at each other. After a moment, in which Ochako's face fell but she still gave her girlfriend a small shrug, Itsuka turned back to look at their boyfriend between them.

"I mean …" She hesitated, trying to find her words, "… I'd say … good luck. And - you know, tell us all about it tomorrow, so we can … yeah."

"Yeah," Ochako nodded awkwardly as well, "good luck."

The three of them were quiet for a moment.

"No," Izuku shook his head, looking between them with a sad frown, "I'm … I'm not gonna do anything if you two aren't okay with it."

Ochako and Itsuka stayed silent for another few seconds, and then Itsuka let out a soft sigh. Slowly standing up, she moved to stand in front of them, and reached down to take both their hands.

"C'mon, you two," She said with a small smile, "time for a talk. Let's go get some fresh air."

Both of them nodded, and together, the three of them moved to follow their girlfriend across the quirk gym and out onto the balcony. It was a nice, private place, with a great view of the city and wind gently blowing their hair back as they all moved past some of the benches towards the railing, which they all leaned against as they stared out at the setting sun in the distance.

Once they were all relaxed, Itsuka let out a small breath as she tucked some of her hair behind her ear.

"Okay," She said in a gentler voice, "so let's … well, let's get it out of the way. What's up, Izuku?"

Izuku frowned, and let out a soft sigh as he looked at both of them.

"I just …" He shook his head, "… look, I know what I just asked you two. And … and I know how screwed up it can sound. I'm pretty much asking my girlfriends if - if I have permission to let Hadou come onto me."

"I mean, we already talked about this, Deku," Ochako pointed out in a quiet voice, "we … we want Hadou to join us."

"Yeah, I know. It's just …"

He paused, unsure of how to even begin voicing his thoughts - but thankfully, Itsuka seemed to know what was going on, reaching out to take his hand.

"But doing something with Hadou by yourself," She guessed, "without me or Ochako - it feels wrong, doesn't it?"

Izuku bit his lip, but still nodded.

"It just …" He muttered, "… feels like if I did something with Hadou without you two … it would be like I'm - I'm cheating on you both."

Letting out another shuddering sigh, he turned back to both girls as they gave him twin sympathetic looks.

"Look, I - I know that I'm being dumb," He shook his head and frowned, "I know that we agreed to do this with Hadou, and … and this is the opportunity that we've been waiting for. If we want to romance Hadou, then - then me staying in the same hotel room with her might be our chance to take the next step. And I … there's a part of me that wants to. It's just …"

He looked down at his feet, feeling tears in his eyes.

"… I imagine kissing Hadou, and I feel like I'd be - I'd be betraying you both." He admitted quietly. "I know that it doesn't make any sense, since you've already kissed Hadou, Itsuka -"

"Before we started dating," Itsuka gently interrupted him, "Izuku, I - I get it. It would probably feel a whole lot different doing something with someone you aren't in a relationship with."

She moved around Ochako as the brown-haired girl took Izuku's hand, and Itsuka cupped Izuku's cheeks to gently bring his head up. When he looked up at her, she leaned in, and Izuku simply closed his eyes as she gave him a soft kiss before moving back.

"Listen, baby," She assured him quietly as she smiled at him, "we know that we said that we were all aboard the whole 'Seducing Nejire' plan, but we don't want you to feel like you have to do something you're not comfortable with."

"I know," Izuku grimaced, shaking his head, "but … but I don't know if Hadou's expecting something to happen, and … and I don't want to hurt her, either."

"I know. So … well …"

She faltered a bit as she tried to find her words again, furrowing her brow - and then she nodded.

"Okay," She straightened up, and took a step back from both of them, "okay. If that's how it's gonna be, then that's how it's gonna be."

"H-huh?" Ochako blinked, looking around at their girlfriend in confusion. "How … uh … how what's gonna be?"

"If you don't think that you can be alone in the same room as Nejire when romantic stuff happens," Itsuka put her hands on her hips, "then I guess Ochako and I will have to be there."

"…"

"…"

"… and, uh …" Izuku felt himself glance between both girls, going bright red, "… when you say that, you mean …?"

"You'll see," Itsuka winked at him, "now, Ochako, I'm gonna go run and take a shower in the changing room, so if you wanna shower in our room, I'll see you there. Izuku, I'm not gonna be pressuring you to do anything with Nejire tonight - not if you think you're not ready - but I'll be figuring out something that all of us can do at the end of the week, okay? You shouldn't feel pressured to do anything - well," She stopped, and then gave him a flirty look that made Izuku straighten up, "unless it's you coming to give us two lonely girls a surprise visit in the middle of the night. In that case, please, feel very pressured to do so."

With that, she spun on her heel and sauntered her way back into the quirk gym, being sure to purposefully swing her hips a bit as she smiled teasingly at them both behind her shoulder. Both Izuku and Ochako paused for a moment, staring at how Itsuka's track pants clung to her curves as she made her way inside - having decided to just wear a pair of black pants and a tank top that showed off her muscular arms today for training - and then they both slowly turned to look at each other, flushed bright red.

"So, uh …" Ochako swallowed audibly, "… you're still as down bad for her as I am, right?"

"Oh, a hundred percent," Izuku shivered, "honestly, I still can't believe we scored someone so hot, Occhan."

"Tell me about it," She groaned as she flopped against him a bit, resting her head on his shoulder, "she's so freaking hot and she likes us staring at her butt. We got so freaking lucky."

"Are you kidding?" Izuku was unable to resist chuckling, wrapping his arm around her shoulders as they walked into the gym and watched as Itsuka skipped her way into the changing room. "I'm the luckiest guy in Japan - I get the two hottest girls in my class as girlfriends!"

Ochako snorted a bit, flushing from the compliment and looking away from him for a moment before she shook her head and rested her head firmer against his shoulder.

"Hey, Deku," She said quietly, "I … really am sorry that I didn't think to cover up the hickey last night. I imagine that Kaina got a bit … you know …"

"Scary?" Izuku guessed, chuckling as Ochako sighed. "Well, uh … I'm not gonna deny that - you know - there were times I thought she was gonna shoot me."

"Well, yeah."

"But, uh … I think it ended well, anyway" He shrugged, "she's not gonna try to kill me or Itsuka, at least. And I … well, I think it's good that she - you know - apparently cares enough about you that she threatened to push me over the edge of a balcony."

"I guess," Ochako's face fell, "I just … wish that she'd open up to me a little, at least. I have no idea what's going on with her because she - gah, she just insists on keeping me at arms length, and I just wanna talk to her!"

"I know," He felt his smile fade as he let her rest her head on his shoulder, "I … yeah, I know. I, uh - I tried to convince her to maybe start opening up to you, but … I don't know if it really worked."

"Yeah … well," Ochako shook her head, "that's enough about my issues. How are you feeling about training, Deku? Still, uh …?"

"Yep," Izuku began pouting as he got reminded of the lack of progress that continued on today, "still sucks. I'm standing here and doing nothing all day long while you guys get beat up. I just … I don't know what's going on, or if it's even going to work, and … gaaaaah."

"Well," Ochako looked up at him with a small smile as she took a step back, "maybe there's something I can do to help? I know that Ryukyu said that we were done for the day, but maybe we can do a little more training together right now, if you want."

"R-really?" He looked around at her in surprise. "Are you sure? You've been going all day long - I don't want to pressure you to keep training if you're tired."

"No way!" Ochako clenched her hands into fists as she grinned excitedly at him. "A chance to train with my boyfriend? No way in hell that I'm not gonna take this up!"

Izuku blinked - but her infectious Uraraka energy got to him, and he beamed back as he clenched his fists.

"Okay!" He nodded enthusiastically. "Then let's train, one on one!"

"Whooo!" Ochako threw her hand up, and Izuku happily high-fived her as they both got pumped up and ran over to the mat where Izuku had been standing all day long, with Izuku now unable to stop his happy grin as Ochako hopped up and down and grinned back at him

"Okay!" She moved her hair out from her shoulders to start tying it back into a ponytail. "So, Mr. Midoriya - what exactly is the problem, and how can your charming sensei assist you?"

"W-well," He chuckled at Ochako's mischievous look and decided to play along, "I'm trying to see if I can use my quirk on other parts of my body, Occhan-sensei, but my stupid body isn't really getting with the program. Got any advice?"

"Well …" Ochako took a moment to think, finishing tying her hair back as she paced up and down before him, "… I'm trying to think back to when we were training on the beach - we know that you had a few struggles with using it when we started, so … what exactly did All Might do to help you out?"

"Huh," Izuku thought for a moment, looking down at his hands, "well, he took me to go see Tenko-sensei, and he gave me … well …"

After a moment, he felt himself stop, blinking as he turned off to the side. Now that he was thinking about the teaching assistant, he couldn't help but feel himself falter, remembering their conversation from nearly a year ago now, when Izuku had been struggling with using his quirk.

"There's no way you can make it to save Occhan. There's no way you'll make it in time. But there is one thing you can do. All you can do - is raise your hand and fire off a blast of lightning."

"… he told me …" He said out loud, "to visualize saving you from something. That - that the only way I could save you was if I used my quirk."

Ochako blinked a little bit at that, her cheeks turning warm as Izuku turned away to think. However, she tried to push down the sudden fluster that, apparently, she was the catalyst of him using his quirk (something to smash her face into a pillow and scream about later, maybe), and an idea suddenly came to her mind.

She remembered … well, it was hard to remember, but she thought of when she had been nearly crushed by that hooded man, and Izuku woke up and immediately went on the offensive at the USJ. She remembered watching the recordings of their match at the sports festival, after Bakugou had blasted her out of the ring, and Izuku had let go of his hesitation to go all out on making him pay. So … it made sense that apparently, Izuku's trigger for using his quirk was … her.

So …

"Okay," She said simply, "then … save me."

"Huh?" Izuku looked back around at her in confusion, but before he could ask, she reached down to press all five of her fingers to her thigh, and her feet left the floor. Izuku could only blink in surprise and confusion as his girlfriend began floating up to the ceiling, watching as she soared up for about thirty seconds until her back met the ceiling, and she quickly used the gauntlets still strapped to her wrists - making her look a bit weird, wearing a pair of high tech gauntlets along with her old ratty tank top and gym pants - to shoot out a wire that would send her over to the other side of the gym.

"I - Occhan, what are you doing?" Izuku asked again, still confused as Ochako took a deep breath, and brought the wire back to her gauntlet.

"I said …" Her eyes met his, "… save me."

And with that, she moved to press her fingers together, with them only being an inch apart before Izuku suddenly understood what she was about to do, and felt his eyes widen.

"H-hey, hold on a second!" He panickingly shouted, and thankfully, Ochako's fingers hesitated before they could press together, causing her to quickly look back down at him as he threw his arms up. "I - what are you doing?!"

"I mean -" Ochako glanced around unsurely, "- I was … kinda gonna drop?"

"But - but why?!" Izuku grabbed at his hair, completely aghast at what his girlfriend was going to do as he quickly tried to run over to where she was floating above him. "That drop would break every bone in your legs! Why are you - I - no! No, I - I'm not doing this! Get down from there!"

Ochako paused for a long moment slowly rotating in the air as Izuku stared incredulously up at her - and then she turned her head as she spun away, looking over him.

"You … want me to get down?" She asked carefully. "Are you sure?"

Izuku hesitated, hearing the undertone in that comment - and then he realized how his comment could be interpreted, his eyes widening as he immediately pointed up at her.

"No!" He barked. "No, no dropping! No! Stop that! Bad Occhan!"

"Pffft -!" Ochako was unable to stop herself from sputtering. "You sound like you're telling off Gūdo! Deku, I'm not our dog."

"I - okay, I'm gonna put that 'our dog' comment aside for now," Izuku went a bit red at the implications of that, and shook his head as he scowled up at his girlfriend, "what are you thinking, Occhan? You can't just - if I can't get to you in time, you might break something!"

"Deku," Ochako turned to give him a deadpan look, "look at me. Do you think that I would be stupid enough to fall long enough and break something? I would catch myself if I thought you weren't gonna get to me in time."

"I - okay," He pouted up at her, "the validity of that comment and me being dumb aside, I - what are you hoping to accomplish here, exactly? I don't - why are you putting yourself at risk?"

Ochako was quiet for a moment, and then she let out a small sigh. Moving so that she could grab one of the bars above the gym, she hoisted herself up, grunting as she sat down on the metal railing, and pressed her fingers together to restore her weight. Feeling her stomach churn at the action - she had to float herself a few times this afternoon to avoid Nagant's discs - she still sat down as her weight was restored, and then looked down at her boyfriend as he craned his neck up to look at her.

"Look, Deku," She sighed as she called down to him, "we both see the pattern here, right? Something happens to me, you throw caution to the wind and do it. It's happened … god, it's happened ever since we met, now that I'm thinking about it. You freaking manifested your quirk for the first time because Bakugou was picking on me."

"I … well," Izuku scratched his face sheepishly, "of course I did, how he treated you was uncalled for."

"Yeah, 'uncalled for'," Ochako snorted a bit, "but anyway, you literally just said that the thought of me in trouble is what motivates you to use your quirk. It happened when we were kids, when I was in trouble at the USJ, when Bakugou hit me at the sports festival. My pain is … you know … your gain. And I trust you to make sure I don't get hurt, so … well, maybe this is it? Maybe I need to get hurt for you to - to think."

Izuku found himself stopping at that, staring up at Ochako for a long moment -

- and then he shook his head.

"No," He disagreed, "no, I - I don't want you to put yourself at risk to make sure I do better. Occhan, can you - can you please come down here? I want to talk to you face to face instead of … you know, you being up there and me down here."

Ochako faltered at his sad voice, and then she sighed and nodded. Carefully, she floated herself again, and pushed off from the ceiling to send herself flying back towards the ground. As she neared it, Izuku quickly moved beneath her, opening his arms, and she was unable to stop herself from smiling gently as she pressed her fingers and dropped the short amount of the way, grunting when she landed safely in her boyfriend's arms - even if she went a bit red at how she landed, what with her legs somewhat wrapped around his waist and Izuku's arms tucked under her butt.

Still, Izuku's small, sad frown made her push down whatever embarrassment she felt, adjusting herself so that she could lower herself down a bit more, and she wrapped both her arms and her legs around him, with Izuku holding one arm around her waist and the other hand under her leg as he lowered her down enough that they could be face to face.

"Deku?" She asked in a soft voice as she allowed him to hold her up. "What is it?"

"It's just …" He sighed, looking away with a small sigh, "… I - I get your point, Occhan. When you're in trouble, I tend to go from zero to a hundred real fast. It's just … I don't like it. I don't like the thought of you having to get hurt so that I'll do something. And - and I don't know what's going on with my quirk, and that frustrates me, but I'm not gonna risk you getting yourself hurt so that I can learn how to use it properly."

Ochako slowly nodded along with him, her face falling as Izuku turned to look away from her. Still, she didn't hesitate to reach out and gently take his cheek in her palm, turning his face back to her as she gave him an apologetic smile.

"I'm sorry, Deku," She softly said, "I just … I wanted to help."

"I know," He hurriedly assured her, squeezing her waist gently, "and it's - it's okay. I just would rather you not get hurt for my development, y'know? Your pain is not actually my gain."

"Yeah," Ochako rolled her eyes, "because we have such a good track record of that now. It's not like we're currently, like - four to zero on you using your quirk when I get damsel-in-distress'd."

"You know what I mean," He chuckled, "I just … let's not put you at risk in order to get my quirk working, okay? And, you know - you're not my damsel-in-distress. You're my partner."

Ochako paused for a moment, feeling her cheeks go red as Izuku smiled gently at her -

- and then, with a mischievous smirk, she laid her hand down on his shoulder with all five fingers, while touching her leg with her other five fingers at the same time. With a small yelp, Izuku felt his feet leave the ground as they began floating up, turning to look back at the giggling Ochako slightly exasperatedly as they both began spinning up in the air.

"I - what are you -?"

"I mean," Ochako snorted while chortling, "sorry, Deku, but I can't believe you skipped out on the opportunity for me to fall for you. Honestly, for shame - Itsuka would've fallen for that hook, line and sinker."

Izuku sputtered at the lame pun, while Ochako continued to laugh in his arms.

"You …" He shook his head while Ochako continued to giggle in his arms - and then he snorted, and instead of dignifying her lame joke with a response, instead reached his hand up to the back of her head and drew her in. Ochako only briefly squeaked as their lips smashed together, but it only took her a second before her eyes rolled closed, and she let out a pleasured hum as they began floating back up to the ceiling.

As Izuku's back lightly met the metal roof, he didn't let that deter him from continuing to kiss his childhood friend, instead pushing with one free hand to lightly float them towards the center of the quirk gym. Ochako let out another hum as she sucked on his lower lip, keeping her eyes shut and enjoying how warm her cheeks felt as their mouths opened and their tongues lightly moved out to meet in the middle, wrapping around each other as Izuku's hands rubbed her back up and down, and Ochako, not having to worry about touching him with all five fingers, eagerly pushed her hands up his t-shirt to rub up and down his muscles.

When Izuku's back met the roof again, this time Ochako pushed herself up, pinning him against it as their mouths snapped away from each other, panting lightly before Ochako angled her head so that her lips could meet his neck. Izuku let out an embarrassing moan as her tongue lapped and swiped at his throat, but he got a bit of vengeance as his hands went down to squeeze both her buttocks, making her whine in need as his fingers dug in, and her mouth quickly moved up to kiss at his chin, his jaw, and then back to his lips -

TAP TAP

- but then, at the sound of something lightly tapping against glass, both Ochako and Izuku gasped as their lips quickly moved away, and moved to look around in confusion and alarm. They had not noticed that their little floating make out had floated them over towards a large window that led to the upper rooms of the hotel - and standing behind the glass, her face red but smirking in entertainment, was Itsuka.

Blinking, both Izuku and Ochako squeaked and went bright red as they realized the compromising position they had been caught in - and how they had been making out pretty hardcore in a very public place - but Itsuka merely rolled her eyes at both of them, with them not being able to make out what she was saying behind the glass but seeing her turn to glance down the hallway to check if she was alone - and if anyone else was currently voyeuring - before she turned back to them both, and leaned forward.

Before the two of them could wonder what she was going to do, Itsuka smirked as she pulled at the top of her t-shirt, and pulled it down enough to expose her cleavage, along with the hint of a blue bra. Both Izuku and Ochako snapped their mouths shut, faces going even redder as their girlfriend teasingly brushed her finger along the bra before letting go of the t-shirt, letting it snap back up to her chest. She then moved towards the window, raising her hand to kiss her palm, and then moved it to press against the window where they were both close to.

They saw Itsuka laugh a bit as she backed up, blowing them another kiss before she spun around, her hair twirling in the air, as she began skipping her way towards the common room that they would have dinner in, being sure to add in an extra amount of teases as she rubbed her hand up her butt as she went. As she vanished from view, Izuku and Ochako floated there for a moment, before slowly turning to look at each other, both bright red with Izuku's hands still firmly clasping his girlfriend's butt while her hands were underneath his shirt.

"…"

"…"

"… she's never gonna let this one go," Izuku whimpered.

"Nope," Ochako slowly shook her head, "she won't."

"We're never gonna hear the end of this."

"She's probably gonna tease us about it for weeks."

"…"

"…"

"… she's lucky we're so down bad for her."

"Oh my god. We are so f*cking whipped."

"Mm-hm."

"Alright," Iguchi pushed the door to the hotel room open while scowling at the heroine, "the president is on the line. Don't do anything stupid."

Glaring back even harder, Nagant sat up on the bed as the agent approached her, not making any movements to actually get up and forcing her handler to actually come into the room. She was, of course, still pretty pissed off about this asshole thinking that he had the authority to scream at her this morning due to Ochako coming out of her room, bellowing at her like she was some rookie that had screwed up. The only reason why he wasn't currently slumped over with a brain injury in some closet was because she knew that there were more HPSC agents watching her in the building, so one of them disappearing while her daughter was in the building was the only reason why her elbow hadn't slammed against his stupid face and knocked him the f*ck out.

Only once he had gotten to the bed did she bother to get up, snatching the phone out of his clawed hands as he glared at her.

"The moment that your conversation is done," He threatened her, "you will bring the phone back to me so that the president can give the go-ahead to sign off. Any attempts to sneak around me again -"

"Will get you screaming like a little bitch," Nagant rolled her eyes, "I get it already."

With that, she spun around to give herself some privacy, walking away from Iguchi towards the balcony to push the doors open. She was also going to ignore how she could feel rather than see how the agent's eyes had flickered down to her ass - a habit that she had noticed he would occasionally indulge in when he thought that she wasn't looking - and merely rolled her eyes as she strolled out into the evening air, leaning against the railing and raising the phone to her ear.

"What."

"Good evening to you too, Nagant!" Kanshi's smug, happy tone immediately sent Nagant's already plummeting mood straight down to the gutters, making her glare out at the dark city. "How has your internship week been going so far? How is Ochako doing?"

"Shut the f*ck up, and just tell me what you want."

"Now, now," Kanshi's voice remained honeyed, but there was a slight edge of coldness that entered her tone, "that's not very polite, Nagant. I'm just trying to ask you how your week has been going! Now, let's try that again. How's your week been?"

"…"

"Nagant. Now."

"Good," She said through gritted teeth, "it's been fine."

"Oh, that's good to hear," Kanshi's cold voice returned to being conversational, "I myself have been having a great time with my brother. He's so enthusiastic to tell me all about UA, and all of his classmates."

"Yeah, and I imagine you enjoy that for totally non-scheming purposes."

"Now, now, don't be that way - I'm just being a good older sister, listening to what he wants to tell me. Now then, to get to the point of this call - I'm hearing that tomorrow night, Ryukyu's operation will commence. How exciting!"

"Yeah. Now, stop wasting my time and tell me about how I'm not gonna actually help."

"That's a good girl," Kanshi's voice remained smug, "now, while Ryukyu has you in a support role, you'll actually be heading out into the city to take care of Stendhal. I've gotten confirmation that he will be scoping out the alleyways of the city while the rest of Endeavor's task force searches the other side of the city, so that will give you a good amount of time to set up the assassination. I've already arranged for Bullet and Hydra to be in Hosu so that they can infiltrate the search party."

"Right."

"Sol, Bullet and Hydra will be making sure the other heroes stay away from Stendhal while you work. Wolfram and his mercenaries, meanwhile, are going to be looking for any possible vigilante interference, as I told you all earlier, and make sure that none of those airport simpletons interfere."

"Airport simpletons?" Nagant repeated, her brow furrowing. "You mean the group that the Beros bitch failed to kill."

"Indeed. They're apparently called the 'League of Vigilantes' as the one idiot who made the clones shouted at us at the airport." She heard Kanshi scoff, "just another group of wannabe heroes. Anyway, speaking of Beros, we'll be having her flying around the skies in a helicopter. If you fail to kill Stendhal, she'll be the one to step in."

"Oh. Joy."

"That's right! Now then, as for the consequences of what may happen to you should you fail to kill Stendhal," Kanshi's voice remained light, but some of the coldness from earlier returned, "whether it be Beros assassinating him rather than you, or if he gets away, or even worse - if you choose to let him go."

Nagant felt her lips thin.

"Of course, should you fail to assassinate Stendhal, we will simply throw you back into Tartarus. And this time, depending on the reasons you fail, I'll be making sure that you have no further chances of parole. Succeed, however, and your parole will be increased, and you will be sent to rejoin the Urarakas."

There was a pause. And then Nagant blinked.

"What?" She leaned against the railing, her brow furrowing. "What are you talking about?"

"Ah, I thought it was quite obvious." Kanshi replied in a smug voice. "We've put in some thought about how exactly we'll be getting Ochako to join the HPSC, and we believe that you acting as a positive mother figure in her life would be best. So we'll be letting you go back home! Or, if you'd like, we can move you and the Urarakas to a more secure apartment. Honestly, I think that's the direction we should lean towards. Anyway, you'll be able to personally train Ochako to become part of the HPSC, and we'll be expecting you to also rekindle your relationship with the parents to make the transition easier."

"'The transition'." Nagant repeated after her dully.

"Precisely! Now then, that's enough talk about the far future for now - bring the phone back to Iguchi. I have orders for the both of you."

Numbly, Nagant straightened up from the balcony, her stomach churning, and she silently headed back into the hotel room. Near the wall, Iguchi quickly snapped his eyes back up to the phone in Nagant's hand, and he quickly strolled forward to snatch the phone from her and pressed a button on the screen.

"Speaker's on, ma'am."

"Good. You two will be working in Hosu tomorrow night," Kanshi informed them both, "as I told Nagant, I've given her plenty of room to work. Iguchi, I want you to make sure that Nagant has a tracker bracelet around her ankle before she heads out, just so she doesn't get any bright ideas. In the meantime, you will be assisting the other agents with tracking Stendhal's movements, so you can point her to wherever the target will be going while Sol tells you where he'll be diverting the heroes."

"Yes, ma'am." Iguchi nodded like a good little toady.

"As well, Iguchi, we're going to send you more information about the Hosu project to the laptop you have at the hotel. Make sure to update it frequently, and put the end results on the flash drive I gave you when you bring Nagant back to headquarters at the end of the week."

"I will, ma'am."

With that, Iguchi finally hung up the phone, putting it back in his coat pocket. Scowling, he reached into his other pocket, and pulled out a thin black bracelet with a small screen on the side.

"I'm putting this on your ankle now," He snapped at her, making it clear he wasn't asking, "stay still."

"Or what?" Nagant huffed a thim. "You gonna scream at me again? Maybe your voice won't crack like a teenager going through puberty this time."

Iguchi merely let out a low growl, and instead of answering, dropped to his knee so that he could start roughly pushing up her black legging to get at her bare ankle.

"Seriously," He grumbled as he wrapped the bracelet around her leg tightly, "your open disloyalty to the Commission makes you seem even more foolish, Nagant. Just do as you're told exactly, and you're allowed to stay out of Tartarus. Why is that so difficult for you to do?"

Nagant merely glared down at the agent as he reprimanded her. However, when she felt his hand somewhat linger on her leg as he fastened the tracker on her ankle and locked it, she blinked as a sudden idea came to mind.

"There," Iguchi grunted as he stood back up, glaring down at her ankle as the slightly shorter woman slowly tilted her head, "it's on. If you try to take the tracker off, or leave this room without our permission, we will -"

And then, without warning, Nagant's hand shot out and grabbed at Iguchi's tie.

Before he could even think of trying to pull back or grab something to stop her, the older woman yanked him a bit closer, staring up at him in curiosity as she held him by the tie to prevent him from backing up. And, to her observation, Iguchi, who had been snarling and barking at her all day long, stuttered a bit, blinking as his cold face broke for a moment and he looked confused, panicked, and definitely flustered.

"I - what are you -?!"

"Hm," Nagant hummed a bit, staring up at him and leaning in slightly so that her face was close to his. As his cheeks went pink, she felt herself smirk a bit as she let go of his tie, and turned back to the bed.

"What -" Iguchi tried to regain his composure as she turned away, his voice cracking a little, "- what do you think you're doing, Tsutsumi?!"

"Just checking something," She chuckled.

"Checking - checking what?!"

"Just wanted to see if there was a sweet boy under all that bureaucracy." Nagant turned to smirk at him over her shoulder. "And apparently, there is. Good to know for later - I always did like 'em young, after all."

Iguchi sputtered a bit indignantly at her comment, shaking his head, and then he quickly managed to get control of himself. Straightening his tie, he quickly spun on his heel to make his way out of the room. As he left, Nagant watched his body language carefully, observing how quickly he hurried out of the room as he all but slammed the door behind him.

So … despite evidence to the contrary, Agent Iguchi, the resident hardass, could get flustered by a pretty lady giving him attention. That … was good to know.

And for the first time in so many years, Nagant began to think about her situation.

So … as of right now, things were pretty grim, she frowned as she moved to sit down on the bed and leaned back on her hands. No matter what she thought, it was a lose-lose situation either way. Either she failed to kill the Commission's scapegoat, and she gets tossed back into Tartarus (a thought that made her hands shake) while the HPSC corrupts Ochako to their side, just like they did to her - or she succeeds, and the HPSC forces the Urarakas to move in with her. And while Kanshi presented it as a choice, she had no doubt that the HPSC would move them by force, and use Nagant as the one who would corrupt her to their side.

And she knew that wherever they were moved, it would be filled to the brim with surveillance to make sure Nagant couldn't do anything. It would be a gilded cage, just like the hotel they had stuck her in the last few weeks, but this time Taiyo, Miwa and Ochako would be forced to suffer with her. So … right now, Nagant narrowed her eyes, she had a choice.

Stay with the Urarakas, and risk them getting indoctrinated by the HPSC, just like she had been. Or … even if it felt impossible to her right now … she could escape, and potentially leave them to Kanshi's mercy.

Like she thought … either way, it was a lose-lose situation.

And yet … for some reason, this time, the thought didn't drive Nagant to despair. This time, she kept thinking about what Kanshi had just said over the phone to Iguchi.

"As well, Iguchi, we're going to send you more information about the Hosu project to the laptop you have at the hotel. Make sure to update it frequently, and put the end results on the flash drive I gave you when you bring Nagant back to headquarters at the end of the week."

A flash drive … with information belonging to the HPSC. With information on it that may have to do with what they were going to be sneaking around and doing tomorrow night at Hosu. That … could be useful.

If she were to escape … that would mean that she would need to get the HPSC's attention entirely focused on her, and not her daughter to draw her back. And taking information from the Commission would be a way to make sure that Kanshi kept her eyes on her instead of her daughter.

It was risky, Nagant sighed as she laid back, and the odds were entirely stacked against her. It was hopeless. And yet … the thought of last night, of Ochako gently sleeping in this very same bed … looking so innocent as she stroked her cheek …

… Nagant narrowed her eyes. Kill Stendhal or not … she had to get out of the HPSC's grasp before the week was done.

And with that, for the first time in her life, she began to plan.

Hosu.

A shining, busy little ward. Located to the west of Musutafu, it didn't quite stand out in comparison to the cities around it, other than the massive amount of hero focus that it had gotten for the last few weeks. Below, several civilians walked home in fear, looking around at the various heroes strolling around on their guard, as though expecting an attack. Knowing that staying close to an alleyway on their own would be comparable to suicide at this point.

The Hero Killer had made this little ward his new hunting ground. And the heroes didn't know if whatever this freak was was still lurking around and waiting to make victims of them next.

Of course, he didn't quite care. He still had a better job to do.

Standing up on the water tower on the rooftop, hunched over and staring through the narrow mask he was wearing, Hood felt a bloodlusted grin stretch across his face. The black cloak he had chosen to wear blew through the wind as he tapped his fingers against the metal tower. He could feel his body stretching a little, aching from the stress of his transformations back to his regular form, but he didn't care. In fact, the pain gave him a nice burning sensation to remind himself that he was still alive.

And as his eyes scanned the city, his brain ached as he repeatedly wondered to himself …

Who's strong?

Who's the strongest down there?

Where are they?

Feeling his teeth grit from the intensity of his smile, he leaned forward, the holes that lined his mask allowing him to just barely see.

Honestly, would it be so bad if he started now? Just started slaughtering them to find someone worthy of being killed by him? He was strong before the procedure, when he was just Muscular, but now … now he was invincible. He had so many quirks to play with now, to see who would be worthy of going a few rounds with him. And with the power he now had … the only person who would be able to fight him would be someone of equal power.

And that … that could be …

Alas, before his thoughts could get him carried away, he heard the familiar swirl of wind and power behind him. Growling lowly at being interrupted, Hood slowly turned his head to see a black and purple mist swirling around into a circle, and soon, out came a man with his long white hair blowing around from the wind, wearing a dark brown long coat and similar gear to when he had first started the High-End experiments.

"Ah, there you are," Nine huffed as he exited the portal, shortly followed by Slice and Chimera, "and here I thought All For One was pulling my chain when he said that he had sent you early."

Hood merely grunted, and then turned back to glare down at the city. Walking to the edge to join him, Nine stared down at the little ward before them, while Chimera and Slice hung back to let the two cloaked men talk.

"So," The villain leader put his hands in his pockets, "this is where you went, Hood. I was wondering what had happened to you."

"Y-yeah, I'm - I'm good," Hood managed to get out, "just … just wondering if I s-should go slaughter 'em."

"Slaughter who? There's no one worthy of your time down there. Not yet, anyway."

"T-then why don't you go a few rounds with me?" He turned to challenge Nine. "Y-you got quirks, right? Not as m-much as I do, but - but enough."

"No," Nine sighed a bit dramatically, "I don't. That's something I'm hoping for tomorrow night - there'll be a bunch of heroes from all around Japan for me to pick through for two new quirks. Honestly, I'm nervous … I don't want to make some silly mistake based on how cool a quirk looks. Of course … that might not be entirely up to me."

Turning to look down at Hood, Nine tapped his head.

"You hear him in your head too, don't you?" He huffed. "Our dear benefactor. Took me a while to realize that the itch for more quirks didn't really belong to me - it belonged to him."

Hood chose not to entertain that question. Instead, he let out a low growl and stood up, glaring down at the city.

"I know that it seems tempting to head down there and start the slaughter a day early, but I meant it when I said that there's no one worthy of your time down there right now. Tomorrow night, though? That's a different story. From what Giran told me, Endeavor, Miruko and Ryukyu are going to be in town. And so is Sol, a couple other lower heroes, and a bunch of interns from UA. They're more worthy of your time."

However, at what Nine just said, Hood felt his muscles tense.

"UA interns?" He growled. "Y-you mean … you mean …"

"The boy with the lightning?" Nine guessed, chuckling when he saw Hood's hand clench. "You mean Izuku Midoriya. And I don't know - maybe he'll be there."

"I hope he is," Hood breathed excitedly through his mask, "he was strong, but - but so weak too … I wanna test my p-power against him again."

"Well, maybe you'll get your wish. But you just have to be patient for another twenty four hours."

Hood merely growled at that, his voice deepening briefly as he bent down to clench at the water tower's edge - and then, with a grunt, he leapt off the tower and away. The three other villains, with Kurogiri materializing behind them, watched as the giant man leapt through the skies before vanishing from their view, and Nine let out a low sigh.

"That was expected," He flipped some of his hair behind his face, "he actually gets the ability to talk in full sentences, and he's still a rude little bastard. Makes my eyes roll."

"So what're we doin' here?" Chimera asked in a low voice, his body still slumped over - not that Nine could blame him, what with Chimera only having returned from burying Mummy's body an hour ago. "The operation's tomorrow night."

"True. I just … needed some air," Nine sighed, reaching up to slide the mechanical mask down onto his neck, "and I wanted some time to think, as well."

"Okay …" Slice approached their leader carefully, laying her hand on his shoulder, "… about what?"

"Well," He sighed as he moved to sit down on the edge of the water tower, staring off into the city, "I was just … thinking of Mummy."

Both his lieutenants paused, looking at Nine as he looked off into the city, both his and Slice's hair blowing in the wind while Chimera closed his mouth and frowned.

"You know," Nine said softly, "I wasn't blind to his flaws. Mummy could be stubborn, a bit of an ass … but when you and I saved him from those yakuza thugs all those years back, Chimera, we saw a side of him that he doesn't just show anyone. Slice, you only joined up with us later, so … well, the nights that the three of us would just drink up on the rooftops and talk about life? Those were moments I cherished."

"Yeah," Chimera said gruffly, moving to kneel down beside him, "those were … those were good nights."

Slice was quiet for a moment, aware of Kurogiri watching silently behind them, but she sighed and moved to kneel down beside them. She then rested her hand on Nine's shoulder, looking out at the city with him.

"Shame," She smiled softly, "I never got to see that side of him. I imagine that … well, the times when he wasn't all that stressed were nice."

"They were," Nine turned to look up at the cloudless and starless sky, "and now … because a yakuza punk wanted to prove that he was better than us, we'll never have those kinds of times again."

Both Chimera and Slice were quiet, sensing a shift in Nine's mood.

"You know something?" He huffed. "These last few weeks, I realize that I've grown tired of everyone not taking us seriously. The heroes … the Meta Liberation Army … All For One … and now some upstart yakuza without a penny to his name? And not only that, we have a group of fire-themed bastards not pulling their weight when it comes time to do something. I heard what Volcano said when he left … considering jumping ship, is he?"

"Yeah," Chimera gritted his teeth, "yeah, that smug little …"

"Well," Nine put his hands on the edge, hoisting himself up, "he was unfortunate that he said that last part out loud, wasn't he? Because now, I know that I can't rely on him. So Chimera, when you get back to base, tell Volcano and Gast Boy that their time has come - it'll be time for them to prove themselves to the Consortium."

"Oh?" Chimera raised his eyebrow, "And how are they gonna do that?"

"Why, by giving them all the Trigger they want." Nine turned to look up at the heteromorph villain. "And Chimera? Make sure that it's enough that they won't be waking up after it wears off."

Chimera let out a small huff, and an evil grin spread across his face.

"Yeah," He nodded slowly, "yeah, I can do that. And, uh … Dusty Ash? Wha' about her?"

"She helped with Bearhead," Nine sighed, "so she can stay. The Wild Villains can as well - they proved that they were ready to jump into action to defend me, so they can sit this one out. We'll have Giran come to get Bearhead a new leg for his loyalty. Volcano and Gast Boy, though, I want them gone by tomorrow night."

"I gotcha, Nine."

With that, he turned back to Kurogiri, with the villain silently opening a portal for him to step through and vanish from sight.

Staying behind, Slice watched as Nine stood up tall, watching the city for a moment before he turned back to her and offered her his hand. Blinking, she took it, and let out a gasp as Nine pulled her towards him, their chests meeting, and she quickly got over her shock to laugh in surprise.

"W-what's this?"

"Well," Nine sighed, moving to glance off at the city for a moment, "losing Mummy last night just … put things in perspective for me, that's all. I think I'm tired of working under All For One's thumb - it's time that we actually got to work, and instead of doing the Inner Circle's dirty dealings, I want to make a statement of my own. I just hope that you'll be there with me. And then after this," He turned to brush some of her hair out of her face, tucking it behind her ear, "maybe you and I can go have a night to ourselves. I plan to go full gear after this, so … it'd be nice to just have a night that just has you and me."

Slice felt her heart swell at that, and her hair began slowly rolling around him, grabbing at his arms and legs. Nine smirked a bit, and grabbed the back of her head to draw her in for a kiss, both of them immediately beginning to sloppily make out while standing on the water tower, while Kurogiri finished opening the other portals, and they heard the sound of heavy footsteps walking on the metal surface.

Breaking apart, and allowing Slice to take off the mask from his neck so that she could eagerly kiss it, Nine looked around to the other party-goers that he had All For One and Garaki send this afternoon. Standing there, the three Nomu seemed strong enough, with one having the same black skin as the Nomu at the USJ except with the lack of a beak and eyes, the other with a pair of long wings, talons and a mask over its mouth, and the third with pale green skin and four eyes. All of them stood by and waited for their orders.

Smirking, Nine turned to look off at the city, smirking as he held Slice close.

"By this time tomorrow night," He promised, "this little ward will be nothing but a smoking crater. And after that, I'm going back to that lab to complete the procedure, and get all the quirk storage I was promised. Let's see if our dear Overhaul will think we're wasting our hype then."