Hello everyone. I hope you enjoy this chapter (:
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Ryuji POV
"So...does this mean you're not mad at me?" I ask while still hugging Toru
"Oh no, I'm furious at you. I just wanted you to lower your guard" she says while letting go of me
"Wait, what?" I say
"Smack!"
Instead of a slap, she straight up just punches me in the face.
"Yup, I deserve that" I say while rubbing my cheek
"Before I begin yelling at you, do you have anything to say for yourself?" She asks in a scary sweet voice
"Uh...happy late Valentine's Day?" I awkwardly say
"Smack!"
She punches me again.
"Ouch...I had that one coming" I say
"You deserve a lot more than that! I should just leave you right here and now and save me a lot of heartache in the future!" She says
"I definitely deserve that as well. But please don't" I say
"Sigh...Common sense says I should, but I can't. I love you too much" she says
"Yes! Take that common sense!" I cheer to myself
"But I've gotta ask, why?" She asks
"Why what?" I ask
"Why did you disappear? You've been gone for over a week now. Why didn't you just come back? Before going off with your team or whatever it is" she asks
"I...I couldn't come back" I say
"Why?! Do you realize how close they were to just giving up your investigation and announcing you as dead?! The only reason they stopped investigating is because you're all over the news and social media!" She says
"Really?" I ask
"Yes! I would show you but my phone is broken" she says
I get out my phone and sure enough, there's a news clip of me diving into the portal with the missile.
"Huh, I didn't know that the news was there. They didn't even get my good side" I say while putting my phone away
"That's not the point! You better give me a damn good reason as to why you didn't come back right away" she says
"Sigh...I guess now is as good as a time as any. But before I tell you, do you think we could go somewhere that isn't your doorway?" I ask
"We can. We can go to my room" she says
She lets me in her house and I follow her to her room.
"It's been a while since I've been in here" I say
"Come on now. Out with it" she says while closing the door
"Straight to the point, huh? Well, I couldn't come back because I was...scared" I say
"Scared? Of what?" She asks
"Scared of being alone again" I say
"Why would you have to be scared of that? You've got me and everyone else who were worried sick about you!" She says
"Let me give you some context. During the raid, Arvin detected some villains hiding away in a hidden room. Since there was only two of them I decided to go and deal with them myself" I say
"Already off to a bad start" she says
"Hehe...Anyways, I make my way into the room and sure enough, there are two grunt villains hiding. So I take them down but when I try to leave, I can't." I say
"And then you called for help, right?" She asks
"Well the thing is, I couldn't, even if I wanted to. Someone had purposely made the room to solely trap me and kill me. And that someone...that someone was an old friend of mine" I say
"An old friend? You've never told me about this. You've only told me that you've always been alone" she says
"That's because I don't like thinking about him. His name is Minato. And at one point, he was my best friend. My only friend" I say
"What happened? If you two were so close then why did he try to kill you?" She asks
"I suppose I should start from the very beginning. Back all the way to before I went to U.A. Back when I was only 5 years old" I say
Flashback eleven years ago...
It had been only a little under a year since I was diagnosed as quirkless. The news absolutely devastated me since my only dream was to become a hero...but now that dream is ruined.
"Ryuji...please come out. Your father and I need to talk to you about something" my mother says from the other side of my door
I have basically just locked myself up in my room ever since I got my diagnosis.
"Leave me alone! I don't care anymore!" I say
"Ryuji. Come out here, now" my father says
"No! Just leave me alone again and go back to work! You do that all the time anyways!" I say
They don't say anything but I can hear their murmurs outside my door.
"Ryuji, we have someone we'd like you to meet" my mother says
"I don't care! They'll just make fun of me like everyone else..." I say
"Ryuji, this boy is just like you. He's also quirkless" she says
I pause and think for a moment...I then get off my bed and walk over to the door. I slowly open it and peek out. When I look along with my parents I see a big man with green hair and a kid, also with green hair, that looks about my age standing next to him.
"This is Botan and his son Minato. To put it simply, Botan here will be working for me. When he told me about his son, I couldn't help but think that he reminded me of you. So I thought that you two could interact so that you could make a friend" my father explains
"You're Ryuji, right?" Minato asks me
"Yeah...and you're quirkless too, right?" I ask
"I am. Although I'm not being as much as a baby about it as you are" he says
Wh-?! I am not being a baby about it!" I exclaim while fully opening the door
"Sure seems like you are. You locked yourself up in your room like a baby throwing a tantrum" he says
"Oh yeah?! W-Well I bet you can't even do 3rd grade math! I can and I'm only in kindergarten" I brag
"Wh-?! I-I can easily do 3rd grade math! I bet I could do more problems than you!" He says
"Oh yeah? Let's prove it then!" I say while going to get some hard math problems
Back to present times...
"It really was a weird beginning to a friendship. And incase you're curious, we tied on who could do the most problems" I say
"It seems like such a wonderful friendship" Toru says
"It was...The two of us were pretty similar back then. Two smart quirkless kids who only wanted to prove themselves to the world. No matter what..." I say
"What went wrong? I mean right now I couldn't think of a reason as to why he'd want to kill you" she says
"Well...It was a disagreement on opinions really" I say
Flashback five years ago...
I had just sprinted home after my daily jog. I had stopped by a comic store and decided to go in and look around. That ended up being one of the best decisions I've never made because I've just came up with a way on how I could keep up with quirks.
"Minato! I need you to come down to my lab ASAP!" I says over the phone
"Why? I'm busy working on a project of mine" he says
"I've figured out a way on how we could become heroes!" I say
What?! How?!" He asks
"So I was on my daily jog, when I came across a comic store. And on a whim I decided to go in. I looked around and found this one comic called "The Tale of the Iron Man". It's set in a world without powers and it's about this guy who decided that he's had enough of all the bad in the world. So he spends years slowly building this big metal suit that can shoot rockets" I say
"Are you saying that we should make a giant suit for us?" He asks
"Not exactly, the suit he made has tons and tons of flaws and is always in need of repair. 'm thinking that we take that idea, and make something of our own. Something better" I say
"Hmmm...Something like that would need a pretty crazy power source" he say
"What about that idea we came up with the other day? That reactor idea. Whatever you call it" I suggest
"The Arc Reactor? Hmm...Something like that would work...I'll be over in a bit" he says and hangs up
I start coming up with ideas while I await for Minato to get here.
"Ryuji, I think you might actually be on to something with this mechanical suit idea" He says as he enters my lab
"I know, right?! It's not that crazy of an idea" I say
"I brought my blueprints for the arc reactor that I came up with" he says while opening his backpack
"And I came up with some ideas for our suits" I say while bringing over my paper
"Before we can even think about making a suit, we've gotta come up with this arc reactor for an energy source" he says
"You're right. Let's get to work" I say
"Before we start, I've gotta know. How's it going with that AI project of yours?" He asks
"Ugh...It's harder than it seems. But I'll get it eventually, it's been what, 4 years since I've started?" I say
"You'll get it. You've always been better at coding than me" he says
"I'm better at a lot of things than you" I joke
"Same could be said vice-versa" he says
"You got me there" I say
We laugh it off and get to work.
One year later...
It's been about one year since we've started our arc reactor project. We've made a lot of progress in it until one day, we actually completed it.
"Ryuji..." Minato says
"Minato..." I say
"I think we just created a prototype of a new energy source" he says
"I think we just did too" I say
"While it's only small, I've got blueprints for a giant one! One that could power a whole building!" He says
"Well before we get to the scale of buildings, let's just start with a suit. I've got some ideas we should look ov-" he cuts me off
"You're thinking to small, Ryuji! With this kind of technology, we could create a whole arsenal of weapons! Weapons that could put an end to it all and finally make peace in the world" he says
"Uh...I don't think that's how peace works" I say
"Just think about it! Imagine all the people we could save! Forget about becoming a hero! We could become so much more! " He says
"Minato, you're talking crazy. How about we call it a day, and get some rest. I'll see you back here tomorrow so that we could talk more about our future plans" I say
He looks at me for a moment.
"Y-You're right. I'll see you tomorrow" he says
He goes to grab the arc reactor but I grab it before him.
"I'll be keeping this here. I've got better security" I say
"R-Right...I'll see you tomorrow" he says
He leaves and I put the arc reactor in a secure safe.
The next day...
I wake up the next morning and head to my lab. As I'm walking over there, I'm pretty sure I hear someone working in my lab. I rush into my lab and see Minato working on something.
"Minato?! What are you doing here so early?" I ask
"Ryuji! This is perfect timing! I need your help with this weapon I'm making. I stayed up all night coming up with the idea and getting started on it" he says
"A weapon?! Why are you making a weapon?!" I ask
"To use the arc reactor for. What else?" He asks
"Okay, first off, I thought that we were making suits so that we could become heroes. Secondly, how did you get into my safe?" I ask
"I watched you put in the combination yesterday when you thought that I left" he says
"Minato! You can't do that!" I say
"Relax. I only grabbed the arc reactor" he says
"Relax? Relax?! How could I relax right now when my friend is talking nonsense about making a super weapon so that he could end all crime?!" I ask
"Not just me, so that we could end all crime! Didn't we both want to prove ourselves to the world?" He asks
"Yeah, but not by sending it into chaos! Do you know what would happen if we mass produce weapons like this? They will get stolen, and then villains will get ahold of them. Then so many innocents will die!" I say
"Minor casualties. There are always casualties on the path to progress" he says
"Minor casualties?! I thought we wanted to become the first quirkless heroes! Not the first quirkless super villains!" I say
"We will not be villains! We will be saviors!" He says
"What happened to you Minato? You've never said things like this" I say
"What happened to you? Since when did you get so soft? I talked it over with my father last night and he's fully on board with my plan" he says
I look at him in shock and disbelief.
"Minato...you need to go" I say
He looks at me.
"What did you just say?" He asks
"You need to go, now" I say
He looks at me before standing up.
"Fine" he says
"And leave the arc reactor and everything that you've worked on here. I'll contact you when you can come and get it back" I say
"Fine. I'll see you later" he says
He leaves and I make sure that he's actually gone before locking away the arc reactor and his working on the super weapon. I also make sure to change the lock so that he doesn't get into it again.
"I need to talk to my father" I say while getting out my phone
I dial my dad and wait for him to answer.
"What's up Ryuji? I'm just working on some hero support equipment" he says once he answers
"Dad, we need to talk. Can you come home for a bit?" I ask in a serious voice
He's quiet for a moment.
"I'll be right there" he says
I wait in the living room for my dad to come home. Once he does, he sees the serious look on my face and gets equally as serious as he sits across from me.
"What's the problem?" He asks
"It's about Minato and his father" I say
"What about them?" He asks
I tell him all about what Minato and I have made and what he and his father want to do with it.
"Hmm...Now that I think about it, I remember him telling me about an item that's in the works that could change everything. I assumed that he was just talking about a new support equipment idea but it's probably this super weapon you've told me about" he says
"It definitely is. And...I've got a request" I say
"A request? That's new" he says
"Minato and his father...both need to be let go and made sure that they aren't ever able to make weapons or anything again..." I say
"Ryuji...Are you sure about this? Botan and Minato have such promising careers ahead of them" he says
"Those careers will only lead the world to destruction. Just...make sure that they can't bring it to that. Destroy their lives if you have to..." I say
My father is silent for a moment.
"Alright then. Takashi Industries doesn't allow people with ill intentions to work here. I will be sure to make sure that they won't ever get the chance" he says
"Thank you..." I say
"But, you've gotta be the one to tell Minato that he's no longer needed. I'll tell Botan" he says
"I suppose that's fair" I say
"Good, now get going. It's better to do it sooner rather than later" he says
I stand up and go back to my lab. I then get out my phone and hover over Minato's number.
"I'm so sorry..." I say
I press his contact and it takes a few rings before he answers.
"What is it?" He asks
"Minato...You and your father are no longer needed, we at Takashi Industries will be taking everything alone for right now. This is goodbye" I say
"Excuse me?" He says
"I wish you luck in your future. But your future will no longer be here. Since you aren't technically an employee and your father works for us, we will be keeping all ideas and prototypes you've made and come up with" I say
"You can't do this! What ever happened to all those years we spent together?" He asks
"Whatever happened to the Minato I knew?" I ask
Before he says anything else, I hang up and wipe his contact info and every trace of him from our systems. Once I'm done, I look around at all the stuff we've made together.
"I'm sorry Minato...I'm so sorry..." I say as I start to cry
Back to present times...
"Ryuji...I'm so sorry that you had to do that to your best friend" Toru says
"He was the only one who could understand me...Until I met you of course" I say
"If you don't mind me asking...what happened afterwards?" She asks
"I never saw him again. Well, until he tired to kill me not that long ago. But I only got worse after that day. I became cold and distant. I trusted nobody, not even my own parents. And that led me to doing something that I now deeply regret" I say
"What did you do?" She asks
"I had a surprisingly big amount of influence on the company. So after I basically fired Minato...I fired so many employees that I thought had ill intentions or that I thought weren't needed. I might as well have destroyed their lives as well. Because if you got fired from our company for being seen as useless, then there's a low change that anyone else would hire you. I even went as far as to pay basically every social media and news channel to not bring my acts to light" I say
"Ryuji..." she says
"Worse part is, I didn't regret it back then. Hell, I even enjoyed it. I used it as a way to take out my anger and frustrations" I say
"Ryuji...You're a different person now. You're not the same man you once were" she says while giving me a hug
"I know...I know...It just hurts to think about. But, the past is the past. Nothing I can do to change it" I say while hugging her back
"It's okay to let it out. You don't need to hold in your sadness" she says
"Heh...It's okay. I got all my crying out for that long ago. Now all there is is just regret. And I can't get rid of that" I say
"So you were worried that we all would find out about your past and we'd all abandon you?" She asks
"Basically, yeah" I say
"Oh Ryuji...We all would never do that. We know that you aren't that person you once were. We all like your for who you are now. Even Bakugo. He won't admit it, but everyone knows that you and him are really close friends" she says
"I would think that we are. I even made the guy a suit of armor! Granted it was for an attempt to escape the League of Villains. But I still let him keep it!" I say
Toru giggles and looks into my eyes.
"Speaking of everyone, you really need to go and see everyone. Especially Bakugo, he needs you right now" she says
"I will. But first, I'm in need of some overdue love from my girlfriend" I smirk
"Oh get over here!" She says while pulling me by my shirt
With plans to go and see Bakugo and the others tomorrow, I spend a romantic night at Toru's house...
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That does it for this chapter. I hope you enjoyed it and I'll see you all in the next one (: