Chapter 58: A trade

Hawks may be one of the top heroes in Japan, but he certainly does not like act like one would assume he would. And while Midorya and Tokoyami handle the challenge of figuring him out, other forces grow restless since being upstaged.

“Text” – Normal speech

‘Text’ – Thought

“Text” – Quirk Spirit speaking in the human world

“Text” - Attack

“Text” – Radio/Communication lines

“Text” – None Japanese speech

(text) – Subtext/meaning behind a spoken word

Chapter 58: A trade

Kyushu wasn’t the biggest of Japan’s main islands, but as many locals would say, it was perhaps the liveliest. Its capital was a picture of this ideal. Being a compact coastal city, its gleaming seaside skyline drew eyes and tourists from all around. Neighbors were open and friendly, with ramen and bustling yatai stalls easy to find. Parks and benches are within easy reach for those who wish to rest or enjoy the non-urban sights.

Its nightlife was a particular draw, but as with any large city, crime was still a thing. Most were smaller offenses, petty thefts like pickpockets, scam artists, and a mugging or two. But it was a city that could rest easy because of its protector, its biggest hero, a man who had risen through the ranks so fast it was like speed running a game he had already completed dozens of times.

One such criminal would learn that the hard way as he rushed out of the back of a jewellery store. His face was hidden by a hockey mask, but in his hands, he held a briefcase. As he ran down the alley towards the street, he couldn't help but open the case and look inside again in glee.

It wasn't money, but something much more valuable, particularly on the black market, as his case was filled close to bursting with clear, clean diamonds. Some are as small as those found on cheap wedding rings, and others are larger and better suited to the necklaces of the elite. “Natural diamonds, not that synthetic stuff. I can easily get 300 mill-wha!”

He would never see that payday. Out of nowhere, a red feather flew in and snagged the case. Before he could even try to grab it, a second feather snatched him and the case, lifting them well above the street to where Hawks stood atop a phone pole.

"Thanks, I'll take these," Hawks casually stated, focusing on something in the distance as he used his feather to hold the case to one side and the captured thief to the other.

“Oh crap, Hawks!” The thief tried to fight it, but he was so far off the ground that he quickly realized his chances of walking away with just a sprained ankle were slim to say the least. As he made that realisation, Hawks' two sidekicks managed to catch up with him.

Seeing them, he willed his feathers to hand them both the case and the captured criminal. “Come on, team, you’re too slow! The morning unit managed to at least keep up half the time.” His sidekicks hardly reacted to words, but he saw his interns catch up. Tokoyami looked like he had been out running for a while, breathing heavily and sweating through those feathers of his, while Midoriya, using his base form, wasn't only a little sweaty.

It's a shame he couldn't give them time to catch their breath. "There's a fight in a bar in Kantina, so I'm flying there next. You handle booking this guy, kay?" He said nothing else, as with an easygoing smile, he took off, flying over the buildings and clearing distances that would make it hard to follow him, but it wouldn't stop the younger members of the group from trying.

“Tsukuyomi, EV, we should take this guy in. It’s our job as sidekicks.” One of the sidekicks called out, having pulled out restraints and placed the criminal's hands behind his back, the other one holding onto the briefcase.

“Only because Hawks is too fast.”

“You have to admit, it’s an efficient system.”

Midoriya didn't care if it was effective or not. All they've been doing because of it is chasing after Hawks' shadow. After two hours of this frustrating game, this was the first time they've even seen him. “How the hell are we supposed to learn anything if he’s always running ahead?”

“We…we should start moving now, else we won’t catch up.” Tokoyami looked a lot worse than him, and his cap, with its colour and the time of year, was no doubt not much help, but he nevertheless took off in the direction Hawks did.

“Right!” Midoriya nodded and took off after him, easily catching up with and keeping pace with Tokoyami. The sidekicks seemed surprised by this, but they didn’t give chase.

However, this wouldn't get them anywhere. Midoriya wasn't so confident that he could catch up with the Winged Hero, as aside from Ingenium, Hawks was known for his speed; he built his brand off it. But he knew he would have better luck if he didn't hold himself back, but that would mean leaving Tokoyami, which he didn't wish to do.

But he had an idea. “Toko-Tsukuyomi, I can give you boast!”

“Much appreciated…!” Tokoyami was a pretty strong-willed person. Even as he gasped for air, he didn't slow down and kept some decorum in his response.

He pointed his palm towards his classmate, who started to glow in a fusion of greens and yellows. Tokoyami felt the same aura envelop him, for lack of a better word.

“Betterment!” At Midoriya's command, the aura seemed to stick to him for a moment before fading, but Tokoyami could feel the difference. He felt much stronger, and so did Dark Shadow despite it being the middle of a sunny day.

"It's not as much of a speed boost as I imagined," Tokoyami noted, not as breathless as before, but it wasn't as if he had been restored to what he had been like when they set off.

"It's mainly a strength one, but it should mean your legs are stronger so you can get more out of them," Midoriya explained, as Tsukuyomi could certainly feel each step being stronger, his strides growing longer and stronger as his feet could launch his body further without the strain that would typically accompany that.

“What about you?” He asked as he started to pull ahead of Midoriya.

EV smiled as he easily regained the lead and started running even faster. Tsukuyomi rolled his eyes at it, but he could feel himself smiling. It was a welcome thing to have something to suffer with, but that didn't mean he would let him lead him here, and thus, he started pushing himself to run faster.

Line Break

“Well, I would say I learned a lot today," Hawks nonchalantly stated as he relaxed on a sofa back in his office.

Behind him, his new interns were exhausted and recovering from their afternoon out chasing after him.

EV had some choice words for the Winged Hero, but he was more confused than angry. Taking a big gulp of water, he wiped the sweat off his face before stating. “I thought we were the ones who were meant to learn.”

"I can't really train you if I don't know much about you," Hawks replied, further straining Tsukuyomi’s nerves.

First they found no-one waiting for them, then they got to the agency and found Hawks wasn’t even in, and now after 5 hours of legwork, with the sun starting to set, all they had to their names was chasing after Hawks, spotting him twice at a incident scene, before they would need to remain to handle clean-up and some work with the police and other first responders, which only dug into their arrival time at the next place Hawks would fly to and without fail, solve before they could even get there to see it, much less help.

“Didn’t you get our files from U.A.?” Tsukuyomi, like his fellow student, didn't choose the Bakugo route and yell, instead trying to get their hero mentor to take this more seriously.

"I prefer to see things play out with my eyes, and you two are something else." Hawks turned to them, putting down the feather he had been playing with.

“How so?” Tsukuyomi asked as Hawks turned to face them directly, the man looking as roguishly handsome as he always did despite his full seven-hour high-speed shift.

"The fact that you didn't give up. I have around a dozen sidekicks, pretty good, not gonna lie, but they gave up trying to catch me before the first day was out." One of those sidekicks was present, working on a report on a laptop. The man didn't even raise his head at being called out; it was just a fact. “But you two didn’t, and kept at it, even when I kept finishing things up and heading to the next incident.”

Hawks’s smile shifted, enough to tell them he wasn’t just lazing back, but neither could tell what he was thinking. Hawks was a master at presenting attractive and eye-catching nothingness when he wanted to. “That is a mark of an incredibly hard worker, or just a needlessly stubborn person, but I've seen how those 2 groups tend to share a lot of traits."

“So, we impressed you? Enough that you’ll slow down and actually teach us something?” EV asked, as it was a good workout, but they could get that done back at school.

Hawks didn't inspire much hope with his response. "Impress me? Yes. Slow down? No. You'll need to keep up with me if you want to learn."

“Couldn’t you slow down for us? We’re not sidekicks, we’re still students.” Tsukuyomi reminded him, hoping the man would realize that if even his sidekicks gave up, expecting them to keep chasing his shadow for a week would be unfair.

Hawks shrugged, slumping a little onto the seat’s backrest. "Sorry about that, but crime doesn't slow down for anyone, so I can't either. Simply as that." EV tried to take it as Hawks being sincere about his job, that he didn't seem the least bit sorry about leaving them in the dirt when someone could need a hero.

After all, they had seen him save a child who tripped and would have fallen down some stairs, and there was the distracted woman on her phone who didn't notice the lights were still red, who stepped out into traffic. Hawks saved both without a moment's delay, and if he even waited a minute or so for them, they wouldn't have caught up, and those 2 would be in the hospital if they were lucky.

However, while he could give the number 3 hero this level of grace, it still left questions, and Tsukuyomi asked, “Then why did you reach out to us if you would have left them in your wake?”

"Well, because we're birds of a feather." Hawks pointed at them, which left the two even more confused as they glanced at each other, before looking back at Hawks.

“Is…that a joke?” Tsukuyomi had heard stuff like this before, though often phrased more demeaningly or dressed as backhanded compliments. He might have been inclined to take it as a compliment from the number 3, but Hawks was what those people would consider the best sort of heteromorph. Tokoyami did not enjoy that sort of view from the world, and that didn't even consider Midoriya, who, while an oddity, didn't have some bird or feathery form.

If Hawks noticed how Tsukuyomi twitched at his comment, or how his red eyes narrowed, he didn’t mention it as he continued. "Nope, I'm 20% serious. Half of the reason I wanted an intern this year was because I wanted to talk to one of you first years. I'm interested in the League of Villains, and you all have prime first-hand experience dealing with it.”

At that, Tsukuyomi started to simmer. He couldn't believe it; he had believed he had impressed the hero and was chosen for his potential and talent. Instead, his so-called fellow 'birds of the feather' saw him as a mere messenger pigeon. No wonder he wasn't truly teaching them; the lazy pro never intended to teach them anything more than to be critical of such offers in the future.

"Then imagine my surprise when, after your stuff got attacked, I got a call with some unusual info about what caused it, and that I'll be taking on the son of our foremost expert in combination with my intern pick." Hawks pulled his phone out, showing them a picture of the roof where a certain new sensor array had been set up, rigged up to a radio tower he already had.

“You’ve already installed it?” EV asked, barely surprised that they raided their lockers for them. The pro seemed more interested in what they could do for him, not vice versa.

"More like my people did, they'll explain the details later. I was told this would be a sensory suite?" EV narrowed his gaze as he couldn't figure out what game Hawks was playing. Sensory suite? He should know what it was for. Did he not read the files U.A. had to send out? Or was he testing them?

Or maybe, as a small part of him suspected, he was just messing with them because he was bored.

"That's correct, though I can't give you more," EV admitted. "My mother has been incredibly busy since the incident. I didn't even know she had been in talks with the government about our knowledge or this nationwide push to monitor for the next attack.”

“You seem to care for her a lot.” Hawk's question broached topics that had nothing to do with him, and maybe Midoriya would have been more than happy to answer with a smile, but his patience was already frayed.

“Should I not?” He challenged, to which the hero laughed off the blunt and hostile counter.

“Relax, I’m not gonna judge you for being a momma’s boy. Besides, for what it’s worth, she seems like an all-right woman. Kinda wish she came forward sooner, but well, we can’t change the past.” EV wished to remind him that his mother's coming forward would have led to her arrest and her research being confiscated and destroyed. Hell, if not for the mass attack, she would have never done so.

"Now, let's head inside, and you can fill me in on that USJ attack." Hawks changed things to the other factor that led them here, but before Tsukuyomi could answer, his classmate stopped him.

“Would you consider giving us some training? One which won’t just be a game of catch-up?” EV bargained, as they had been told to be polite and follow instructions. Still, they could argue that the USJ had nothing to do with their internship, and that a hero based as far away from it as Kyushu had even less reason to get answers from them.

Hawks was quick on the uptake, his smile never fading. “Oh, bargaining, aren’t we?”

Tsukuyomi caught what EV was trying and stood with him on it.

"We came here to learn, to become better heroes. If we can't do that, then we're wasting our time. I might be compelled to be here, but that doesn't mean I must answer all your questions." EV replied, but Hawks didn't look upset; he didn't look surprised.

He looked amused.

"Oh, I think I'm going to love this week," Hawks noted as he got up and walked to face them, offering a hand to the two to shake. “All right, you have yourselves a deal.”

Line Break

Across Japan, as the afternoon raced towards evening, the streets remained as busy as ever. For many, it was time to head home from work, from clubs at school, or just about time to head out to start their night out early—that was if you were the sort who enjoyed a party on a Monday.

However, even in the bustling major cities like Tokyo, the people hadn’t stopped discussing what was turning into the biggest news story of the year.

“Have they announced who was behind it yet?” A salaryman asked his colleague as they walked towards their favourite bar.

"Nothing, so I bet they don't know who it was, " the second man replied, as they read through the afternoon paper, which hardly had any information on it.

"It was insane. My friend watched and analysed the news for fun and couldn't find anything in the footage." A housewife discussed the news with a friend in a small store.

"Do you think it's related to Stain?" a teen sitting on a basketball court asked his friend group, eliciting shakes and scoffs from the rest.

“What, no way! Stain’s like this super predator. Musutafu was just chaos.”

“You think it was a gang of mutants? Their kind love wanton and meaningless violence like that.” A construction worker suggested to his fellow workers as they handled road repairs.

“No clue, but I’ve been packing a stun gun everywhere I go.” One of them, a smaller woman, replied. It was scary enough walking home at night.

“The heroes are gonna handle things, you head the stories. They had people like Endeavour on the scene. If anyone’s going to find evidence of the culprit, it’s him!” Some kids yelled while waiting for their parents to pick them up from the playground.

"Yeah, All Might's must be helping. Can you imagine it? The top two heroes on the same case?" Another agreed. As they didn't know the details, his dad shut the TV off when the special report came up, but he heard the adults talking about it, and it seemed pretty bad.

"Those monsters have it coming. My boyfriend was nearly killed by them; he just missed the train and decided to watch things with me, but his sister and nephew both died." A lady working as a bar tender told one of her regulars, having heard someone say that when they caught the bastards, they could get lynched.

It wasn't just in the streets that the incident was being talked about; the news hadn't stopped its coverage of the event and anything related to it since. “According to the police media representative, they've acquired evidence of possible perpetrators. However, they have made several arrests of looters who took advantage of the situation to rob and vandalise homes and businesses.”

Next to the news anchor was his co-host, who continued, “The clean-up has been completed, and rebuilding is well on its way. Speaking to the press earlier today, Dean Nezu of U.A. expressed his condolences to the victims and their families, calling the incident a tragedy, one that needed to happen, and that those who carried it out would be brought to justice. He went on to lend U.A. resources to feed and shelter people in conjunction with local city officials.”

The announcement was followed by a photo taken by their journalist at that press conference. The dean, smartly dressed as always, addressed the media with Inversal and Present Mic

.

"Surprising news: Detnerat has announced that it will be shipping lifestyle support items and custom furniture to Musutafu at a 70% discount or for free. This move was explained by their company president and CEO, Yotsubashi Rikiya, an hour ago during a press conference in Deika City.”

The feed changed to a clip from the press meeting, where the world could see the familiar face of Yotsubashi, cameras flashing him. Still, he didn't flinch or stutter as he delivered his statement. “This company was founded on the promise that no matter your quirk or mutation, you should be able to live your best life as much as anyone else. It was because of that belief that the board and I could not and will not stand by as the lives of hundreds were thrown into chaos by the actions of selfish and destructive hooligans.”

He continued, having captured the world's attention: “We have already contacted city officials to help us get the necessary information to ensure that people can regain even just a portion of the normalcy robbed from them. We hope our efforts to lend aid will help lessen the burden on the heroes and police so they may throw all they have into solving this incident and ensure this tragedy can never repeat. Those responsible face the full might of the law and the people.”

As he finished, the room was filled with calls and requests from many reporters, big and small, names and firms, all eager to get answers from the CEO.

“Mr. Yotsubashi!” One such managed to draw the man’s eye as he pointed towards him.

“Yes, you there?" Seeing that he picked someone, the rest went silent so the reporter could speak.

“You say this was a move to lend aid, but U.A, who are much closer and have deeper ties to the community, have already offered support. Do you think that is insufficient?” They asked what came off as a somewhat insulting question towards U.A.

Yotsubashi seemed to think it was so, as he frowned, but he didn't call the man out for it, being quick to respond, “Not at all. I greatly respect an institution like U.A., its current staff, leadership, and students. All of whom we knew stepped up during the crisis and undoubtedly saved many lives, but it would be shameful to leave them to handle things.”

The question settled, another reporter was quick to stand, and Yotsubashi turned to them to hear what they had to say. “Do you think that the attack was some means to undermine U.A.? Similar to the attack on their disaster training facility?”

Yotsubashi shook his head, but the observant could catch that he smirked at the question, as if the notion that the League of Villains could accomplish such a thing was funny. But the smirk vanished a moment later. “I doubt it. U.A. proved itself more than ready for any mishap and handled the safety of the tens of thousands on campus for the Sports festival. And to be honest, I highly doubt that the hoodlums that got lucky with the USJ had any part in this latest incident.”

Line Break

Kurogiri turned the TV off, leaving the bar near silence, as Shigaraki seemed close to losing it. He had wished to watch the news, convinced that the USJ would be mentioned, perhaps as the prelude, or maybe they'll bring up what their Nomu mutated into.

But instead, it was the same as it had been since Musutafu started burning. “Hoodlums...?” Shigaraki seethed, as he didn’t miss that smirk, he didn’t miss how little that boring office boss thought they were. "He calls us hoodlums, like entry-level grunts only good as target practice for shitty B-ranked kit…"

“Not just him, it’s all they talk about. It’s all they care about. It’s like our USJ attack meant nothing!” Shigaraki grabbed a coaster, decaying it to dust, but he wasn't satisfied. He decayed the seat next to him, and seconds later, it was just a pile of dust. “We got sidelined by some faceless bastards who won’t even reveal what they call themselves, like we’re just the joke characters.” He yelled as he got up and just started breaking things.

Kurogiri, well adapted to his master's anger, hardly twitched at knowing he would need to clean up and order replacements. “It can be frustrating; however, we know more than the average citizen." He reminded him that those news choppers might have left the scene, but the police ones, who unknowingly broadcast their feeds to them, remained.

Shigaraki turned from the table he was near, which had completely decayed. Oh, he recalled it; he saw it playing out wide and fucking clear. "It was those two, but also others! I don't know how, but…they are at the centre of this!" It wasn't just those two, but he saw two others present. They seemed to do much more damage than the rest, who sometimes would hit air, and it seemed to do something.

They had to have some sort of special effect items; it was the only way he could explain how some nobody could do what All Might couldn't.

“I couldn't agree more. I have yet to learn much, but I have it on good authority after the incident that the police and commission met up with U.A., which recently brought in Professor Midoriya, who was a staff member.” The second TV, which was always on, spoke.

“Do we have any leads on this?” Kurogiri asked, fully turning his attention towards the screen through which his second and first master spoke to them.

“Very little, it seems, whatever it is, they're being careful about who knows and how they transfer messengers.” He replied, but like with the initial attack, he hardly sounded upset that he couldn't learn the details. If Kurogiri were bolder, he would claim his mysterious master was gleeful about it. “Which is telling, as they would only do something like this for something incredibly important. Secrets they would kill to keep as such.”

“I was able to confirm some things, namely having to do with the Midoriya you encountered.” The doctor added.

“And?” The master asked, curious about this little snippet.

“I looked into it and confirmed that the two were the same. Digging deeper, I got my hands on a copy of Midoriya's medical records, claiming he gained a quirk at age 10.” At the doctor's words, Kurogiri and Shigaraki immediately felt that it couldn't be right. Neither were they expected, but people always developed their quirks by 4; some developed as early as when they're born, but the latest was 6 in incredibly rare cases, the sort which made local news.

"10, you say? That seems quite odd." Kurogiri phrased it as politely as he could; otherwise, Shigaraki would just say something that could insult the doctor.

The doctor scoffed, but they could hear the smile in his voice. “It would just be that, but his friend and a family associate of my old student also gained their quirk on the same day, within the same week.” The doctor paused, presumably turning towards the master, and the smug tone became more subservient. “Master, I wish not to insult, but did you perhaps…”

The master laughed. “No offense is taken, doctor. It is a valid question, but I didn't give them a quirk. I didn't give out any quirks around that time.” He was wounded, but he wasn’t senile. And he rarely parted with a quirk without remembering the name and face of the recipient. Even then, he had never held quirks quite like those two. “But that doesn't mean it's the only way to gain such power.”

“Then we need to capture those two and make them talk! They found a way to get quirks, and fucking broken ones at that.” Shigaraki demanded, his eyes glowing with desire as if he didn't think it was possible. He believed the master was unique, but he wanted it if there was someone else like him, or maybe some other way to gain quirks you weren't born with. It would be like the ultimate cheat, and he got to kill those two for ruining his USJ plans and turning them into embarrassments!

“That would be wise, particularly because law enforcement and the commission are in the know. I would hate for them to also gain access to this mysterious golden goose.” The master was just as greedy for this new source, but he didn't think it was as simple as a quirk similar to his own.

“The students should be out for internships,” Kurogiri said. The warp user seemed just as surprised as they were by this, but he didn't stop. They'll be spread out across the country. We should be able to track them via social media to discover where they went and who they're interning under."

“How’d you know that?” Shigaraki asked, as that sure as hell wasn’t in their stolen plans for the school.

Kurogiri moved to respond, but paused. His yellow eyes narrowing in concentration. “I…don’t quite know. Perhaps I read it somewhere.” It was the best explanation he could give for his odd info, but Shigaraki just brushed it aside, more focused on the info than the why he had it.

"Master, I will make them talk, and then I'll turn them to dust," Shigaraki affirmed, his master letting out another chuckle—a bone-chilling, malevolent sound.

“When you need my help, rest assured, I will be here.”

Line Break

Okay, some stuff came up last week, which took longer than I thought, but I got it all done. However, that meant that I could only start this Monday, so yeah, the chapter came out shorter than normal, but I tried to keep things interesting as we had the students getting hero names. Some changes are being reflected, such as Iida being chill without his brother's injury. However, in contrast, Shoto is very much still in his anti-fire phase, which only the teachers really know about, and even then, not the reasons.

As you can guess, that's going to be really 'fun' to play with. Fun for us, not so much for Shoto, but we'll get to him.