Last week, I didn't have as much time to write this chapter; and I gotta say this is on the smaller side cause I took out a scene that I found irrelevant to the rest of the book.
Thank you for y'all continuous support! Enjoy reading!
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The drive to the city was static. Katsuki laced his gloved hand in hers the whole way to the agency. It was exceptionally warmer, almost scalding to the point Hina could feel her sweat bead at her fingertips.
Her quirk was another concern she had. It had changed. Evolved. It had gotten stronger and more complex.
She wanted to start training for it as soon as she could. She just didn't know when to bring it up to Katsuki.
Probably after learning the full extent of the agency would be good.
Katsuki turned into the parking lot, parking his car on the fourth floor, the parking spot reserved for him. Getting inside was quick too; she was scanned and screened in the elevator that took her two floors higher until reaching the heroes' main entrance of their agency.
She remembered a rough idea of the sixth floor's layout; she knew where Deku's temporary office was and where the main meeting hall was. Still, the last time she was here, she was more worried about Katsuki's well-being than actually absorbing the brilliant simplicity of the place.
Plain dark walls decorated with bright oranges and reds with dull greens reflected Katsuki's hero suit. Pops of reds and blues were framed in gold and almost always had the letters "UA" embedded in them in some way.
Hina didn't know why they were sprinkled in every corner in such saturation, but it was safe to say that the logo had a big hand in Katsuki's success.
He guided her through the main hall, introducing both familiar and unfamiliar faces from the raid to save her. Denki a.k.a. Chargebolt, the hero who brought her back to life. Mirio a.k.a. Lemillion, the hero who helped capture Lupa on the island. Kyoka a.k.a. Earphone Jack, the hero who coordinated the attack in perfect execution.
She even met the girl he saved on the news two months ago, Toka Hibana. She was an intern in his agency, shadowing him whenever he went out for patrol and then shadowing Mina when inside the building.
That was until before the attack. Mina was in the hospital beside Eijiro the entire time. He was still recovering.
It was thanks to him they captured Xerox and three of the villains that guarded his office with everything they had. The most peculiar thing was that all of their records were wiped. Everything was unknown. All except their quirks and where their loyalties lie.
Hina found all this out as she observed Katsuki's crazy wall in his office; the last room down the hall and the biggest one she'd seen besides the meeting hall. Since Katsuki was just called into a meeting two rooms over, he told her to wait for her inside here. The one place he knew no one who he didn't trust would never dare barge in.
And just like his home, it was plain simple walls with sleek decorations sparsely kept in the room. All except his award showcase in the corner close to the in-office sofa and the evidence-filled wall perpendicular to the door.
Reds and yellows tangled in a simple web, a list of things were scribbled on the clear board standing next to her, packets taped beside each item.
She read through the pyramid structure speculations, the pins that signified rank and status in the NVA. She read through Dabi's final words, read through the reports of how other NVA members were disposed of; how they were killed the moment they were useless. She read through Xerox's report: his quirk, his motivation, his role in the villain organization. She noticed Nakamura Enterprises' treachery and alliance with the NVA, something the heroes' could never stop without hurting their own resources. She glanced through the note of a possible web of spies among the heroes, that Aoi was just the first name among many; a thought she threw to the back of her mind.
But what caught her eye was the final thing on the list. The report on Torii Kin a.k.a. Caper.
She sifted through the pages, noticing how the heroes knew little to nothing on the man and his superiors. Something she found terribly disturbing.
With a deep sigh, she taped the packets back, finding her way in front of the cork boarded wall and noticed the many unanswered questions they still had.
All joined to a canary yellow sticky note at the center, and written on it in red was the person at the center of it all.
Nee-sama.
Seeing the name made her eyes widen, dusted memories in the experimentation room clear for a moment. Flashes of red and dirty blond fill her vision, a deep voice echoes in her mind too.
Suddenly, warmth cocooned her from behind, gloved hands and a lingering scent of sandalwood embraced her.
"What ya thinkin'?" Katsuki planted his chin on her head.
"Nothing," She melted into his chest. "Just looking around."
"Ya know that shit's confidential." She could hear his frown; it probably deepened further when she gripped his wrist above her collar bone.
"Hm," She pointed to his web of confusion. "I know more than what you've written on here."
"Like?"
"Nee-sama. She has three main "commanders" who do her dirty work," She felt his body tense and his musk get heavier. "Haven't seen their faces but heard their voices when they spoke with the doctor."
The pause was tense. Within their link, she could feel how he flitted between shock, despair, and fear. Somewhere twisted in between was also heartache.
"Why didn't you say anything before?"
"I couldn't think straight in the hospital." She said, "Being there always-"
Her sudden halt in her words was enough. He was quiet for two more breaths; until he pressed her closer to him, rubbing a comforting thumb on her shoulder and sighed.
I know. " He kissed her temple. "It's 'kay. You don't have to-"
"One of them had red hair." She interrupted, turning around to face him; if she didn't tell him now, she'd never forgive herself for it. "Another had pinkish blond hair. I couldn't see the third but their voice was deeper than the others. Deeper than Shoto-kun's and smoother than yours." Her exhale shuddered. Gooseflesh erupted up her arms and down her spine. "It was chilling."
Katsuki's anxiety skyrocketed. Three more people in the fold. Three commanders.
"You remember what they were asking?"
"A possible next target. My progress and..." Her brows pinched with concentration, trying to remember.
She'd seen a glimpse of them when she woke up from one of the pain-inducing sessions.
One teenager with long dusty blond hair and gemstone eyes faced the door. She was talking to a red-haired woman eclipsing the yellow light leaking through the doorway.
"Any instructions from Nee-sama?" The blonde had asked.
The red-haired person- a woman Hina'd assumed, leaned against the doorframe. "She wants you both to stay on stand-by. Caper will send you to your next target soon."
"Oh splendid. I miss my jewels."
"How is progress with the woman?" The redhead's thumb pointed to Hina, not bothering to turn around.
Hina was grateful for it. She was already frozen in shock from the pain.
"You mean the sapphire inside?" The blonde tilted her head, her glinting eyes meeting Hina's. It was a taunt, a cynical glee tied in her tone. If Hina had the strength then, she would've fought in her restraint and shouted at her. "On schedule. I believe she'll be harvested at dawn."
A deep voice rumbled out of Hina's view. It sounded like a scoff. It could've been a grunt. "You have a strange way of saying things."
The redhead sighed, "How's Caper's universe?"
"Universe?" The deep voice chuckled. They had an accent that Hina couldn't place. Spanish? Italian? "That's cute."
"Don't care what you think, big guy." The blonde pouted, looking upward to her right. They were behind the wall.
"Why are you so cold?" They taunted, a glimpse of curled black hair peeped from the corner of the doorway.
"Maybe 'cause I love my jewels more than people." She teased.
"Enough both of you." The redhead stood straighter, her arms crossed over her torso. "Answer the question."
"His universe is safe." They huffed, "Don't worry."
And by then, Hina's vision started to blur. The last thing she recalled was a red translucent wall blocking the doorway when the red-head turned around. She had red eyes too.
"Firework?"
She looked up, Katsuki's softened scowl contorting into a passive expression.
To others he looked pissed. However, she felt his true emotions. He was worried. To the extent that his heart was in his throat and the strain in his chest was tightening with every breath.
She held his hand, squeezing it thrice. An 'I love you' and an 'I am okay' conveyed in the gesture.
He visibly melted, tense muscles and scrunched shoulders released with her touch.
"They mentioned Caper's universe," She raised a brow, her voice growing quiet in confusion. "That they're safe?"
Katsuki's eyes widened and he grabbed a marker on the rim of his board.
Hina watched silently, reading his additional note--question--beneath Caper's name with peeled, shocked eyes.
This changed everything.
Is Caper's "universe" a person?