ᴍɪssɪɴɢ || ʙᴀᴋᴜɢᴏ x ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ 𝟺

The Hero President runs a stressed hand through his neatly trimmed, black hair. He begins to mumble to himself for a moment, pacing back and forth as if deep in thought. Toshinori watches, feeling anger starting to swell in his chest. What does he mean their top priority isn't finding you?

"I believe we should put more manpower into looking for her, Shuta. She's the No. 2 Hero for goodness sakes! We need her!" Toshinori exclaims, hitting his fist against the arm of his perfectly crafted chair. Shuta stops pacing, eyeing the man in front of him who used to be the Symbol of Peace.

But, no more.

"We can't let the public find out about the turmoil within Phantom's agency, it will only cause more panic for the people," Shuta concludes, seating himself once again at his desk and begins typing something into his computer.

Toshinori feels like he might rip his hair out. This man isn't listening to him. "Shuta-"

The man in question raises a single finger to stop him, picking up the automatic landline on his desk as the secretary on the other side of the door answers within the first ring.

"Mari, please get in contact with Hawks and have him come here...no...no, not until about four...oh and make sure to contact several news stations to come and watch...yes...thank you, Mari," The man says, hanging up once done. He folds his hands neatly atop his desk and looks Toshinori straight in the eye with the same cold and unwavering gaze.

"You were saying?"

Letting out a deep, frustrated sigh, Toshinori tries again, "We need an organized force to help find her. Once she's back, crime rates will go down again and her agency will go back to being functional. This is what's best for everyone."

"Not everyone," Shuta responds, running a hand through his always perfect hair.

"What do you mean?"

"What if she's dead?"

The Hero President maintains eye contact with Toshinori during his question, not letting him break that unwavering gaze. It's a simple question, really, one that has run through Toshinori's head multiple times a day since your disappearance. Toshinori freezes, gripping the arms of his chair as his mind goes to the worst case scenario, them being able to find nothing but your dead body. The man lets out a shaky breath, attempting to regain his composure but the businessman in front of him trudges on.

"If she's dead, the world will panic. First, the retirement of the No. 1 Hero, the Symbol of Peace. And only two years later, the new No. 2 Hero is found dead. Do you know what will happen to our system Toshinori? Do you have a plan for what happens next?"

"I-"

"Let me tell you what will happen. Pure chaos. It was bad enough when you retired, villains got brave and many old names came out of hiding. But, Phantom took over and set everything back in place within a couple of months. The villains are starting to get brave again, thinking she's gone and if we confirm that, they will rampage. But, I have a plan. I cannot cover for her and her agency this time. In the past I was able to overlook a fall in arrests because she was on an important mission for me, bust this is not my doing and not my problem-"

"What do you mean, not your problem!? If what you say is true then getting her back is the best way to stop all of this! We can't waste time if we want to find her alive!"

"I want that too Toshinori," Shuta tells him, reaching across the desk to pat his boney hand even though his words don't match his eyes. He has a funny way of pretending like he cares. "It is a great loss for me not to have her for missions. She was an amazing hero who I could put my full faith in. But, Phantom's title as No. 2 Hero will be revoked until further notice. Hawks will be taking her place in the ranks, and all subsequent heroes will rise one place in the ranks as well."