-Present-
Aizawa placed the two cases on the enormous desk in front of Monterio, the head of the Hassaskai. The middle-aged man shook his head and laughed. "You brought back the money and the drugs?" He covered his mouth while a cough escaped with laughter. "How did you pull it off this time?"
As Aizawa relayed the events to Monterio, his eyes softened with amazement. "You amaze me." He said as he opened both cases briefly to inspect their contents. He stepped around the desk. "Kage," He added, placing a hand on Aizawa's shoulder. "Well done. And to think you did it all without a quirk. You never cease to amaze me." He walked to the window and considered the rain that pattered against the window. "I want to talk to you about a possible job." The older man adjusted his suit lapel in the reflection of the glass and turned to face Aizawa. "It's confidential. No one must know about this."
"Understood sir." Aizawa nodded.
"It's going to be dangerous as well, so I want you to consider this very carefully before..."
A brief knock sounded at the office door, and Omori strolled through the heavy wooden door, her silver hair tumbling down her shoulders. "Father, I wanted to talk to you about-" She turned her head then noticed Aizawa and stopped short, her cheeks colored. And as usual she made a clumsy attempt to amend her rash actions. "I'm sorry, I didn't know you had a meeting with- I can come back later. It's not that important." She said she would leave, but she remained frozen in her steps. Aizawa stiffened.
Monterio looked from his daughter to Kage. Kage, the tall, dark, devilishly handsome but quirkless boy who had walked into his life and completely changed the game. Kage was a ghost, never seen at a scene, and undetectable and was practically undefeated in combat. He was exceptional. With his mission planning and observation skills, he did not only get the job done, but either he'd come home with more than what was agreed upon or take out the competition entirely. And tonight was no exemption.
He smiled to himself and watched Kage watch his daughter. "Omori, what can I do for you? You should be at home. It's late."
Omori swallowed hard and snapped her gaze to her father. "Yes of course. I lost track of the time. I'll just talk to you at home then." She turned to leave.
"It's pouring, and besides, it's too dangerous for you to go home alone. I'll have Yuno bring the car around." He walked towards his daughter and rested a hand on her head.
"It's fine father, Yuno is driving Kai tonight." She dropped her gaze. "I can always wait till you're finished here."
"Nonsense. Kage can take you."
Both Aizawa and Omori stiffened.
"Please wait outside my dear." He kissed her forehead. Kage will be right out.
She nodded quickly and left the room, shutting the door behind her with a soft click.
"We will discuss the particulars of this job tomorrow. You better get Omori home before she tries to go herself." Monterio returned to his desk.
Kage nodded and made his way to the door. "I'll keep her safe sir." He reached for the doorknob.
"Thank you."
Kage nodded silently once more and stepped outside into the hallway.
"Oh, and Kage!" He called to him, summoning him back inside the office. "You are one of the most honorable men I've ever had in the Hassaikai. You know what lines can and cannot be crossed. I trust you with anything. That includes my daughter."
With a final nod, Aizawa slipped out the door and down the hallway. He could see the elevator already going down. It'd be faster if he took the stairs.
He ran to the stairs and peered down the 30 odd flights of stairs. He threw his binding cloths around the rail and descended the stairwell. Straight down he went, passing floors by the seconds.
"Crazy monkey!" a man he had startled shouted at him. But Aizawa kept descending.
Once he reached the ground floor he rushed to the elevator. Hm. It's at the 3rd floor. I must do better.
The bell sounded, the door opened, and Omori rolled her eyes at Aizawa. "Don't you ever get tired of that little trick?"
He blinked slowly and shook his head ever so slightly. He then titled his head and motioned to the garage door. "This way if you please."
- - -
They rode in silence until they got within view to the Mei Estate gate. Omori sniffed.
Aizawa looked over and tears were streaming down her face. "Miss Mei? Are you alright?"
"Oh, I'm fine." She scoffed. I cry like this just because I like too." She wiped her eyes with her sleeve. "You know I hate when you ask ridiculous questions Kage."
He scanned the road and drove right past the gate. "Then talk to me." He looked at her, quirking one eyebrow. "Talk to me Omori." He shouldn't have done that. He knew better than to use her first name.
"He wouldn't listen." She sighed deeply. "He wouldn't even meet him over video chat."
Aizawa groaned inside. It's about Alex again. But he couldn't blame her. Alex Taylor really was a gem. He was everything Omori needed. No, he's everything she deserves.
-Past-
Aizawa placed two large cases of weapons on the table in front of him. "Here." He shoved them toward Setsuno and turned to leave.
The skinny little man laughed. "Boss said you'd be bringing these by." He opened the case and began to examine the weapons. "Nice stuff."
"Sure, I guess." Aizawa shook his head. "I don't like guns. Too loud. Too messy."
Setsuno laughed. "Well, they're effective. Not all of us are like you Kage." He took the guns out of the case and laid them out on various tables around the armory. "You do good work." He chewed his gum loudly.
"Must you?" Aizawa glared at Setsuno and his gum.
"We all got our thing. Katsukame punches, I chew gum, you scowl!" He blew a bubble and cackled.
Aizawa turned to leave.
"Wait, so what job you are doing next?"
Aizawa didn't look back and stepped through the door. "You know."
Setsuno could fear the chill of Kage's voice. "Yeah, but I wanted to hear you say it." He stifled a laugh.
Aizawa left without another word.
- - -
What a joke. Training the boss's daughter. This is a test. It has to be. Why else would he make me train a girl with an unstable quirk. I haven't failed a single job in the last 4 months. Why?
Aizawa leapt to the next house roof. Only 2 more houses. It was faster using his binding cloth and athleticism to get to the Mei Estate. It was a nice straight trip if he went via the rooftops.
Once at the gate, he made his presence known to the keeper, and launched himself to the pool house and then on to roof of the small dojo-gym adjoining the great house. He perched there for a while, looking down through the open skylight to the girl sitting inside. She looked just as frustrated as he felt. I don't have time for this.
She walked to the punching bag and landed a few well squared punches and a decent kick. Not too bad. Not too good either. She checked the clock on the wall and muttered something unrepeatable regarding his tardiness. Fine. Aizawa dropped through the skylight on to the dojo floor.
She whirled around. "Good." She said whipping the loose strands of silvery hair away from her face. "It's about time."
He walked toward the frail frame of a girl. "You punch with your arms." He motioned. "You have to punch with your whole body. No one would even take a scratch with the way you punch now." He demonstrated. "Do better."
"You-!" She threw a punch at his chest. Aizawa caught her hand and stopped her.
"Are you finished with your tantrum? Can the real work begin?" He released her hand. He turned his back to her, and she threw another punch, which Aizawa caught with his cloth along with her other arm and shoved her into the wall, with a hard thud.
"How dare you!?" She spat out as she regained her breath. Her hair lengthened and began to curl around her face and overtake her arms. Her teeth turned to fangs and she snapped, "I'm Omori Mei, the daughter of-"
"I know who you are. And I know your father wants you trained. Trained correctly." His voice lowered as he sauntered towards her. "And I know you have a quirk you can't control." He stopped and considered her. "Why do you think your father assigned me to train you?"
"How should I know?" She hissed like a feral cat. She really is one in this state.
If Aizawa had had a soft heart, her eyes would have burned into his soul. She's got potential. "You may not be able to control your quirk. And you may not be able to fight. But you're certainly not stupid, Miss Mei." He drug out the pronouncement of her name and held her gaze. "You know exactly why I'm here."
He didn't even flinch. My quirk didn't scare him at all. Omori turned her head at the realization. "Yeah. I do. Now would you let me go?"
"Can you control yourself?"
Omori sneered and the shaggy hair that covered her arms began to withdraw and her eyes turned back to their normal shade of pink.
Aizawa's bindings returned to him as she shrugged off the remainder of her hurt pride. "You're here. Because of that." She pointed to scraps of fabric settling around Aizawa's neck. "You're the only one who has a long-range attack and restrain combo that can keep my quirk at bay while I train." She looked at her talons, as they reformed back to fingers. "And besides that, I couldn't protect myself even without the quirk." She met his stern gaze. "Something only you can teach me."
He walked to the punching bag. "You'll start with upper body strengthening and combat."
After a long while, Aizawa motioned her to get a drink. "That will do, for now. We still have a long way to go."
"Then why are we stopping?" Omori glared.
"You need water." He retrieved his bottle. "And I need you to tell me about your quirk."
She punched the bag again with a sudden burst of anger. "You know about my quirk." She threw her left arm at the bag. "Everyone who works for my father knows." She furiously punched again and again. "Which is why everyone stays away from me!" She flashed a glare at Aizawa, her eyes were already yellow, and her fangs began to show.
"Enough!" Aizawa leapt to her and pushed her away from the bag and pinned her against the wall with his bare hands.
He didn't even flinch. He saw me turn, and he didn't even flinch. She held his gaze as he lowered his head to hers.
"Enough." His voice lay heavy on her face as he forced her to calm down.
She blinked several times till the yellow in eyes had vanished. "You can see for yourself." She hung her head in shame.
"No." He stepped away from her. "I need you to tell me about your quirk. Everything you know. Starting with how it activates."
She shook her head and the messy tangle of mane retreated and she ran her hands through her hair. "It's called Beast." She paused. "Basically, I turn into a hideous beast whenever I I'm angry or scared." She went on to explain that it even manifests at random times when she's not angry or scared, and how no amount of mediation, therapy or breathing could ever help her control it. "Sometimes I can control it enough that I don't get covered in hair. But the talons, and eyes... and fangs... and that animal instinct..." She slummed to the floor. "Everyone is terrified of me." She tried to hold back the tears but recounting the years of failure and trauma were all too fresh.
There was a long silence before Aizawa spoke. "Can you turn into specific beasts?"
Omori quickly turned looked up at him. "What kind of question is that?"
"Can you? Or can you not?"
She stared blankly at him. "I did once. Years ago, when my mom died."
"You never told your father?"
She shook her head. "He had enough on his mind. And besides, it was a one-time thing. I had been crying for days. And I just assumed I was too weak to actually manifest properly."
"What animal was it?" Aizawa studied the girl's face. She's obviously still in a lot of pain, emotionally and mentally after all these years.
"Don't laugh." She paused. "Just a dumb cat." She lowered her head again and sighed. "See what I mean? I was just weak."
Aizawa's mind raced as he thought of all the possibilities and uses for this quirk. But she has to control it. "Could it be said that your quirk activates anytime you feel out of control?"
She thought for a little while. "I guess so. I..." Omori hesitated.
"Yes or No? Think about the when it haphazardly manifests. Is it when you feel out of control?" He stared at her so intensely she could sworn she literally felt heat.
"Yes."
"Good, then I know where to start." He turned and spoke over his shoulder. "Get up. You have much to learn."