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This text: English
𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐞𝐱𝐭: 𝐉𝐚𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐞
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Chisaki bowed his head, his goons followed suit.
"𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐬."
(B/n) returned the kind gesture, "𝐋𝐚𝐝𝐲 (𝐋/𝐧) 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭. 𝐏𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐫𝐲."
He spoke directly in your direction, "𝐈 𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐬 𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐞."
You remained silent, unable to place the familiarity of this masked man.
(B/n) cleared his throat, "𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐥𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐒𝐢𝐫 (𝐔/𝐧), 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐮𝐬 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐭?"
"𝐇𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐡𝐢𝐞 𝐇𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐤𝐚𝐢 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐈 𝐭𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫. 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐨𝐬𝐬 𝐟𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐢𝐥𝐥, (𝐔/𝐧) 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐞'𝐝 𝐩𝐚𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲. 𝐈𝐧 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞, 𝐰𝐞 𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐉𝐚𝐩𝐚𝐧."
"𝐇𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧'𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐲, 𝐈 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐞?" (B/n) asked.
"𝐂𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭."
Seeing your negligence to offer anything, (B/n) reached into his pocket for the box. In a split second, you felt rapid, aggressive movement in the room. You slowly watched as Chisaki's two goons jumped towards your butler. One with a gun in hand, the other with a massive, bulked-up arm. They spoke as they jumped at (B/n).
"𝐁𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐩𝐮𝐧𝐤!!"
"𝐍𝐨 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐩𝐢𝐝 𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐬, 𝐨𝐤𝐚𝐲?"
Instinctively, you leaped in front of (B/n) and blocked the goons' attack. You held onto the black goon's bulked fist with your left hand, twisted and thrust his body onto the ground with your food shoved down on his throat. The white goon tried to place his gun against your butler's head. With your right hand, you knocked the gun out of his hand and into the air. You headbutted the white-hooded goon onto the ground, caught the gun mid-air, and pointed the gun at him.
"𝐆𝐞𝐭 𝐮𝐩." You huffed, "𝐈 𝐰𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐬𝐨 𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐢𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞."
The butler breathed heavily on your neck, who dumbfoundedly watched the entire incident unfold and felt utterly jarred. He looked down at your small figure. You weren't out of breath. How had you managed to act so swiftly?
The person in charge of the two then spoke.
"𝐂𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐨, 𝐌𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐜, 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐩 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲."
You lifted your foot off the black goon. Both men slowly got up and stepped back to their boss. You tossed the gun to the white-hooded goon.
"M-my Lady, a-are you alright?"
You sat back in the leather chair and pierced into the young Capo's golden irises. "𝐆𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐲 𝐈 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐧'𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝."
Chisaki returned the glare, "𝐈 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐨 𝐬𝐨."
You furiously furrowed your brows, "𝐀 𝐥𝐨𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐝. 𝐈'𝐦 𝐚 𝐛𝐢𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐞𝐝𝐠𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈'𝐦 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞."
"(𝐔/𝐧) 𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐬 𝐮𝐬. 𝐇𝐢𝐬 𝐝𝐞𝐛𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬."
Sensing an eerie aura from you, (B/n) cleared his throat. "𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐝?"
Chisaki broke his gaze and looked at your butler patiently. "$𝟓 𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧." (approximately 500 million JPY)
You placed your chin on your fist, "𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐢𝐞?"
Chisaki's pupils instantly dilated, eyes slightly widened.
You continued, "𝐈'𝐯𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐦𝐞𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐦. 𝐀𝐬 𝐚 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐭, 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐞𝐱𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞? 𝐈𝐟 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐲𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐤, 𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐦𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐝-𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐨𝐲."
(B/n) sensed danger from both sides. In an effort to deescalate the situation, he pulled the box you handed him before the funeral service out of his pocket and walked over to the Shie Hassaikai Capo.
"𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡, 𝐬𝐢𝐫."
Chisaki casually opened the box to reveal the rings of the old geezers and a contract.
The short black goon muttered, "𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡?"
(B/n) shook his head, "𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐝𝐞𝐛𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥. 𝐈𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐭𝐨 𝐢𝐧𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐫𝐞, 𝐈 𝐛𝐢𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭."
"𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮." Chisaki slightly bowed toward your butler, "𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐦𝐲 𝐦𝐞𝐧. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬."
"𝐖𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐠𝐞, 𝐬𝐢𝐫."
The goons made their leave with their astute leader trailing behind them. As he stepped into the hallway, his eyes peered into yours. You avoided his cold stare. (B/n) firmly shut the door closed.
"My Lady, are you alright?"
"Why did you do that?"
"Do what?"
"You just handed him properties and jewelry worth five times more than what he insisted he was owed."
"My Lady-"
You sat up from the chair, both hands crossed behind your back. "A check would have sufficed, had he been honest about his intentions."
"Are you doubting a sick man? Would you deny him that help?"
"Their former leader is in a coma. Japan has free healthcare. What was that money going to serve?"
"Perhaps Sir (U/n) only wanted to help out the Yakuza financially. Used that story as a front to spare a few blushes."
Your eyes trailed to the leather seat. The image (U/n)'s bloody vomit flashed into your mind. "Not only was my sanity compromised today, but it seems as though my morality has also dwindled...I find myself rather lost at the moment."
"May I suggest a vacation?"
You shook your head, "The workload isn't worth the temporary comfort."
"If I may interject, (H/n) always did take up-"
"Do not start."
He heaved a heavy sigh, "The (L/n) Z8X project is at its most tenuous. I would advise against participating in further heroic acts."
You scoffed, "The more I think we've moved on from the subject, the less optimistic I am about this turnabout."
"My Lady-"
"Why doubt me?"
"It's not that I do, it's that I only see you as the little girl I vowed to protect with my life." He smiled sweetly, "This trivial hero dream you had since infancy subsided when you dedicated yourself to your studies. I was fine with it. I was there. Then you grew up. (H/n) came into the picture and I feared the worst. I couldn't be seen with her, it'd reveal your identity. With each time that (H/n) left, I prayed to whatever god may make it possible to bring you back to me safely. I have worked tirelessly to make this double life of yours work thus far. But this? The life of a mobster? When will this end? What will you do when I'm gone?"
You slowly lowered your arms to your side.
He sighed, "If you are to become a Capo, I must demand that I do it in your stead."
"Do you seriously think I can't do these things myself?"
"...No."
Your expression softened.
"I was always against the idea of you going to a hero school. It was never a good career choice. So many inspired young adults venture into that dream, only to end up bankrupt and devoid of hope. Why do you think villains are so prevalent? Because at the end of the day, if you're not either famous or rich, heroism doesn't pay the bills. Don't even get me started on the income. All Might himself could never in his lifetime garner what (F/n) makes in one day. Had I allowed you to attend such a distasteful school, your gift of intelligence would've been wasted. My dear, you're beyond talented. The very image of inventive brilliance. You've inspired millions of Quirkless individuals. But, oh gosh. The mere thought of your intelligence being wasted as (H/n)... I could never live with myself. Despite all that you've accomplished so far, you'd throw it all away to play dress-up. And you're now willing to risk destroying your legacy for a measly title of a Mafioso? After your parent's sacrifice? No. Not while I'm still here."
You tossed the diamond ring at his chest, "Take it. If you think I can't handle a little responsibility, by all means, (B/n), have it all!"
He picked up the small trinket, "(F/n)-"
You stormed out of the room. (B/n)'s voice became faint as you smoothly sailed through the enormous crowd of partygoers. Eventually, you came to your car parked outside.
(B/n) teleported behind the vehicle and stepped in front of you. "Where are you going?"
You unlocked the car and jumped in the driver's seat.
"I meant what I said in good heart."
You rolled up the windows and locked the car. "(A.I/n), get me out of here."
"𝚆𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚝𝚘, 𝚖𝚊'𝚊𝚖?"
"Anywhere. Just drive."
"𝚈𝚎𝚜, 𝚖𝚊'𝚊𝚖."
(B/n) tapped the window. You faced him. He saw it. The pain in those innocent eyes. How it dwelled there, trapped in the confusion you liked to drown in occasionally. He saw it. The love in those broken eyes. Shattered into dust. You weren't perfect.
Yet, he loved you.
There was so much of your life that was hell, but why couldn't you see that he only wanted to protect you from its engulfing flames? How he wished to share your anguish. To feel the same torture you bear daily. Only then would he find the way to bring you home.
Why won't you let him?
You raised the tint on the windows. (B/n) saw his reflection. He watched as your car hastily sped away. What a precocious and incorrigible person you were.
But he loved you all the more.
His brows sunk, his face of concern turned defeated. Was it so wrong for him to not want to let go? He clenched the ring in his palm and sighed.
'She's just a kid...'
...
"𝚈𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚌𝚘𝚛𝚝𝚒𝚜𝚘𝚕 𝚕𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚕𝚜 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚍𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚜𝚕𝚢 𝚑𝚒𝚐𝚑, 𝚖𝚊'𝚊𝚖. 𝙳𝚘 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚒𝚜𝚑 𝚝𝚘 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚊𝚌𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚍𝚘𝚌𝚝𝚘𝚛?"
You curled up into a ball, "I'm just sad, (A.I/n)."
"𝙳𝚘 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚒𝚜𝚑 𝚝𝚘 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚊𝚌𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚊𝚙𝚒𝚜𝚝?"
"No." You sniffled, "Any updates I should be aware of?"
"𝚈𝚘𝚞 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚝𝚠𝚘 𝚙𝚎𝚗𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚟𝚘𝚒𝚌𝚎𝚖𝚊𝚒𝚕𝚜. 𝙳𝚘 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚒𝚜𝚑 𝚝𝚘 𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚛 𝚒𝚝?"
"Go ahead."
"'Hi, this is Elon. I've gone over the (L/n) Z8X project outline and am interested to join. I would like to go over a few things with you in person sometime. Do let me know when you are available.' 𝙳𝚘 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚒𝚜𝚑 𝚝𝚘 𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚙𝚘𝚗𝚍?"
"Maybe later. Next voicemail."
"'𝐍𝐞𝐳𝐮 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞! 𝐒𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐭 𝐚 𝐛𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞. 𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐬𝐥𝐨𝐭 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐠𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝟏𝟎𝟏 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐡𝐦𝐞𝐧. 𝐃𝐨 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐦𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐦𝐞 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰.' 𝙳𝚘 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚒𝚜𝚑 𝚝𝚘 𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚙𝚘𝚗𝚍?"
'The principal? Maybe he'll understand... Someone has to... Someone else must know the truth... I can't hold it anymore. I can't be alone... I need...'
You lifted your head from your knees, "Call him."
"𝙾𝚗 𝚒𝚝, 𝚖𝚊'𝚊𝚖."
"𝐇𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐨?"
"𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐚𝐥 𝐍𝐞𝐳𝐮? 𝐈𝐭'𝐬 (𝐇/𝐧)."
"(𝐇/𝐧)? 𝐀𝐦 𝐈 𝐬𝐨 𝐠𝐥𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐲𝐨𝐮! 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐦𝐲 𝐧𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫?"
"𝐆𝐨𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐚 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝."
"𝐌𝐲, 𝐦𝐲. 𝐓𝐨 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨 𝐈 𝐨𝐰𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞?"
"𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐰𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐞𝐭? 𝐀𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞."
"𝐖𝐞𝐥𝐥, 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐛𝐲 𝐦𝐲 𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐰 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐞'𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐤."
"𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬... 𝐈'𝐦 𝐚𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐢𝐭. 𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭."
"𝐈𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭?"
You remained silent.
He hummed, "𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥. 𝐈'𝐥𝐥 𝐦𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐞."
"𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮."
"(A.I/n), take me to U.A. High."
"𝚈𝚎𝚜, 𝚖𝚊'𝚊𝚖."
...
1 A.M
U.A High School, Musutafu, Japan
(A.I/n) parked the car across the street from the school's entrance, on opposite ends of another car parked beside the gate. With the spare suit you had stored in the glove compartment, you awkwardly changed inside the vehicle.
You unsnapped your bracelet and paused, engaging in a moment of clarity.
'Wait... What am I doing?'
The thought of someone other than your butler and the United Nations knowing your identity seemed peculiar. It was that fear of uncertainty that caused you to second-guess your current choice. But the feeling of being alone with your own thoughts and not one single living soul able to hear your internal demise hurt all the more given the fact that those who knew the truth either resented or used you. And (B/n), the one person you thought could try to understand, never bothered.
This facade could not go on any longer.
Someone else must share that burden. Who else than a principal of a prestigious training school caring for hundreds of soon-to-be heroes? But could he handle the truth? Your identity could put him in grave danger. There came risks. Was he willing to pay the price?
You placed the dark shades over your eyes, "Lock the doors. Initiate security ascent, cipher BLUE. Warn me of any incoming individuals."
"𝙵𝚞𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚊𝚞𝚝𝚘𝚖𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚍. 𝙸𝚍𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚌𝚊𝚕 𝚏𝚒𝚐𝚞𝚛𝚎𝚜 𝚗𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚋𝚢 𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚔𝚎𝚍. 𝚂𝚊𝚏𝚎𝚝𝚢 𝚎𝚗𝚜𝚞𝚛𝚎𝚍, 𝚖𝚊'𝚊𝚖."
You stepped onto the concrete sidewalk and breathed in the night air. Without another word, you crossed the street and approached Nezu's car.
He looked to his left and smiled. "𝐀𝐬 𝐈 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞! 𝐈𝐭'𝐬 𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐦𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞-𝐭𝐨-𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞, (𝐇/𝐧)!"
"𝐏𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐦𝐲 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞. 𝐈 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞."
"𝐃𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐜𝐢𝐫𝐜𝐮𝐦𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬, 𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈'𝐦 𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝'𝐬 𝐭𝐨𝐩 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐞𝐬!"
"𝐈 𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐦𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐢𝐫𝐜𝐮𝐦𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐈'𝐦 𝐚𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐈 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐲𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐢𝐧 𝐝𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞."
"𝐎𝐡?"
You took a deep breath, "𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐰𝐞 𝐠𝐨 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐞?"
"𝐎𝐟 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞! 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐞, 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞. 𝐖𝐞'𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐤 𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐞."
The small creature climbed out of its car and locked it as he then headed toward the building. Following him inside the dark hallway, he remained quiet until you finally reached his comfortable abode.
"𝐓𝐞𝐚?"
"𝐍𝐨, 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮."
He marched toward one of two sofas placed in front of his escritoire with a low table adorned in between the two pieces of furniture. You sat on the opposite couch facing him.
"𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐦 𝐚 𝐛𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐈 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰, 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐥 𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝? 𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐃𝐮𝐛𝐚𝐢 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐓𝐨𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐨!"
You nervously looked to the side, "𝐈...𝐈 𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭."
"𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐟𝐚𝐬𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠."
"𝐈𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐞𝐢𝐫𝐝?"
"𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭?"
You slightly lowered your head, embarrassed. "𝐓𝐨 𝐦𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐛𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬?"
"𝐖𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐧'𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞'𝐬 𝐓𝐚𝐤𝐚𝐦𝐢."
Your face warmed up as endearing memories of the past resurfaced only to be pushed down once you responded to the principal. "...𝐈 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰...𝐇𝐚𝐰𝐤𝐬... 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐈 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐭, 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥, 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐦𝐞? 𝐀 𝐤𝐢𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐚 𝐥𝐨𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬𝐧'𝐭 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐢𝐠 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐠𝐮𝐞𝐬."
He smiled, "𝐍𝐨 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐚 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐬𝐚𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐝. 𝐈'𝐦 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐚 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐚 𝐠𝐥𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐞!"
You frowned, "𝐈𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬...𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐭."
"𝐈 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐮𝐛𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭."
"𝐈𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐬𝐨 𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐢𝐟 𝐈 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐬𝐤 𝐦𝐲𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐢𝐟 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐠𝐨𝐧𝐲?"
"𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐠𝐠𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐨. 𝐍𝐨 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐲."
"𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐬 𝐦𝐲 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬. 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞?"
"𝐖𝐞𝐥𝐥... 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞'𝐬 𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐯𝐚𝐫𝐲... 𝐈𝐭'𝐬 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐚𝐲. 𝐒𝐨 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐯𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐚 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞, 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝. 𝐈𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐛𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭. 𝐖𝐞'𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬. 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐣𝐨𝐛 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠."
You gently placed your head onto your palms and silently cried.
"(𝐇/𝐧)?"
"𝐈'𝐦 𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐲. 𝐈𝐭'𝐬 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭... 𝐈 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐭 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞. 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐈 𝐬𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐬 𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫? 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐞, 𝐛𝐮𝐭... 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭? 𝐈 𝐜𝐚𝐧'𝐭 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐲𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐢𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐈 𝐚𝐦. 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐥𝐨𝐚𝐝 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐦𝐲 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐲 𝐣𝐮𝐝𝐠𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭. 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐣𝐨𝐛... 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐦𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐲. 𝐖𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐈 𝐬𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬. 𝐁𝐮𝐭... 𝐧𝐨 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐬 𝐦𝐞. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐦𝐞. 𝐀𝐦 𝐈 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐛𝐢𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐈 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞?"
Nezu hopped off the futon and stood in front of you, both of his paws on your knees. "𝐍𝐨 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐭. 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐨 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐟𝐢𝐠𝐮𝐫𝐞. 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐣𝐨𝐛. 𝐈𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐨 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐲. 𝐈𝐭'𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭. 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝."
You slowly perked your head up, "...𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭."
"𝐍𝐨 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐲 𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭. 𝐌𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐛𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞. 𝐒𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐬. 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐚 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫, 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐛𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐞."
You took a deep breath, "𝐍𝐞𝐳𝐮. 𝐊𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐈 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐤, 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐲 𝐦𝐞."
'Here goes nothing...'
You slowly reached for the dark shades and revealed the hidden portion of your face. His eyes widened, astonished at what he was witnessing. Your puffy eyes bloomed in the dark, salty water blinded your sight as tears rolled down your red cheeks.
"(𝐇/𝐧), 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞..." He stared at your unveiled face, "(𝐋/𝐧)."
"𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐈 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩, 𝐍𝐞𝐳𝐮."
He noted the trembling tone of your voice and grew concerned. "𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐢𝐧 𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫?"
"𝐈𝐟 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲. 𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡. 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐚𝐝𝐞, 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐤. 𝐈...𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐚 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐨. 𝐀𝐦 𝐈 𝐬𝐨 𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬? 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐲?"
He reached for the bracelet and nudged it toward your face. You covered your face once more with the dark shades and shakily gasped for air.
"𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐧𝐨 𝐨𝐧𝐞."
He gave a heart-warming smile, "𝐈𝐭'𝐬 𝐨𝐤𝐚𝐲, (𝐇/𝐧). 𝐈 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝."
"𝐈 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝... 𝐈 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐲𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟. 𝐀 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤. 𝐀 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐬. 𝐀...𝐚 𝐯𝐚𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧."
"...𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭?"
You nodded.
"...𝐈'𝐥𝐥 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐚 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥."
You patiently waited, not wanting to eavesdrop, and watched as he momentarily left the office. After a while, he returned and gave a reassuring thumbs-up.
"𝐀 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐟𝐟 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐢𝐧. 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐥 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐯𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐨𝐮𝐭. 𝐇𝐞'𝐬 𝐫𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞, 𝐬𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐨 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐡𝐞'𝐬 𝐠𝐨𝐧𝐞."
"𝐃𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐡𝐞 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰?"
"𝐇𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐬 𝐡𝐞'𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 (𝐋/𝐧) 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐚𝐧 𝐮𝐧𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐩𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭."
You smiled, "𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭."
He patted your hand with his paw, "𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐦𝐞. 𝐈 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐮𝐢𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭."
"𝐀𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐠𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠-"
"𝐓𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞. 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥-𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞. 𝐈'𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧."
You stood up, "𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮, 𝐍𝐞𝐳𝐮."
He bowed his head, "𝐈'𝐦 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐯𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬. 𝐈 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬𝐧'𝐭 𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐲."
"𝐀𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧, 𝐈'𝐦 𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐳𝐯𝐨𝐮𝐬."
"𝐀𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐚𝐥? 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐥𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐟𝐨𝐫."
You walked over to the door, "𝐈'𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐨𝐮𝐜𝐡."
"𝐃𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞𝐥𝐲."
As you left his office, he frowned. He feared what it was exactly that brought you to him. In a way, you reminded him of All Might, who had also revealed his identity to him. The key difference? Toshinori Yagi wasn't a despondent kid billionaire.
...
You stepped back inside your car and awkwardly changed back into your funeral attire.
"(A.I/n), take me to the location Nezu texted me."
"𝚈𝚎𝚜, 𝚖𝚊'𝚊𝚖."
You grabbed your hero suit and felt the fabric between your index finger and thumb.
"𝙸𝚗𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚌𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 (𝙱/𝚗). 𝙳𝚘 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚒𝚜𝚑 𝚝𝚘 𝚊𝚗𝚜𝚠𝚎𝚛 𝚒𝚝?"
"Let it go to voicemail."
"𝚈𝚎𝚜, 𝚖𝚊'𝚊𝚖."
A few minutes passed as you played with the hero outfit.
"𝚅𝚘𝚒𝚌𝚎𝚖𝚊𝚒𝚕. (𝙱/𝚗). 𝙳𝚘 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚒𝚜𝚑 𝚝𝚘 𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚛 𝚒𝚝?"
"Yes."
"'My Lady. Forgive me. I know I'm the last person you want to hear from right now, but I'm afraid I've committed a grave error. The box I handed over to that last fellow, it's the contract. I've received word from the lawyer. It cannot be certified without your legal printed name on it. The ring's seal would be your uncle's signature as that was what he used in all of his documents, but without your actual name on it, the contract is considered null. I'm sorry to leave you with this message. I will deal with the man should he return.' 𝙳𝚘 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚒𝚜𝚑 𝚝𝚘 𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚙𝚘𝚗𝚍?"
"No." You slowly placed the suit back in the glove compartment, "(A.I/n), check the cameras of this car. See if it caught anyone near it today."
"𝙾𝚗 𝚒𝚝, 𝚖𝚊'𝚊𝚖."
You double-tapped the center console and magnified the footage into a hologram. As you quickly scanned each picture taken through each scene, you then noticed a familiar figure standing near the rear end of the car.
"Amplify the person's face."
"𝚈𝚎𝚜, 𝚖𝚊'𝚊𝚖."
'Bingo...'
The masked white goon appeared as they entered the driver's seat of what seemed to be a limousine.
"Cut to the front camera. Can you find any clue as to the model of the vehicle?"
The footage changed abruptly. (A.I/n) paused at a stiff shot of the limousine and zoomed into the brand on the brim of the car.
"𝙸𝚝'𝚜 𝚊 (𝙻/𝚗) 𝙲𝚘𝚞𝚙𝚎 𝙼𝚘𝚍𝚎𝚕 𝙸𝚅, 𝚖𝚊'𝚊𝚖."
You raised your brows, surprised to know that one of a few rare vehicles you designed and released to the public was being driven by a mobster.
'Model IV... There are only ten of those... I shouldn't, but... What if that guy comes back to (B/n) once he finds out the contract is useless?... And I'm not there... I have to sign that darned piece of paper...'
"Track the location of all the (L/n)Coupé IV and name the ones that are in Japan."
"𝚂𝚌𝚊𝚗𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐... 𝙸𝚝 𝚊𝚙𝚙𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚒𝚜 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚘𝚗𝚎, 𝚖𝚊'𝚊𝚖."
"Take me to its location."
"𝚈𝚎𝚜, 𝚖𝚊'𝚊𝚖. 𝚁𝚎𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐."
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