Chapter 102: A Class's Reaction
As Director Kurt Konig looked over the Italian Alps, he couldn't help but mentally panic. Running a hand through his short brown hair, Konig realized he had no idea what he was even doing. Before being appointed Director, he'd been an Oberst, equivalent to a colonel, in the Heer. That was it. He wasn't even a particularly experienced Oberst, only being thirty years old. By technicality, Konig needed fifteen years of experience to become an Oberst. He had five.
But, like with his appointment to Director, there was no one else available for the job. As it stood a massive chunk of Europe's command staff was under investigation. Leaving officers from the likes of Poland, Finland, the Baltics, and Sweden to begin taking up their positions. However, when talks of how the European Army would be designed were occurring, Western Europe had been oddly adamant about putting someone from one of their countries in charge. The main argument was that they couldn't solely rely on Eastern European officers, or else the West be left entirely inexperienced. Meaning the corrupt old guard that filled the First World's ranks would take forever to get replaced.
Of course, the Eastern European countries opposed this, fearing a corrupt officer would be put in charge of the new military. So as a compromise, they chose the most no-named unimportant officer they could find: Oberst Kurt Konig. Now the man tiredly brought a hand over his clean-shaven face, as he dreaded the future to come. Eventually though, one of his advisors, an older wolf mutant by the name of Grabowski, brought him out of his thoughts.
"Director," Grabowski said, with Konig quickly turning toward him, "They're about to begin."
"Right, thank you," Konig replied, before taking a few steps to the side. Quietly the wolfman followed alongside him, while the sound of gunfire echoed around them. Nearby Konig spotted a large seating area, filled to the brim with people. Most were businessmen from at least a hundred different companies. But there were also a lot of politicians present. World leaders, diplomats, generals, and admirals, all were present for what would be the first of many weapon demonstrations.
And it only served to make Konig more nervous. Whether Grabowski noticed this, Konig didn't know. Instead, the pole pulled out a bag of popcorn from somewhere and began snacking.
"Exciting isn't it? I can practically smell the gunpowder already," Grabowski commented, before sniffing the air. With his quirk, Konig didn't doubt that last part. But it caused the Director some small amount of annoyance.
"We are trying to get some work done, remember?" Konig pointed out, with Grabowski rolling his eyes behind him. It was horribly unprofessional, but there wasn't much Konig could do about it. He was a small fish in a very deep pond. And Grabowski, as disrespectful as he is, was a man with much-needed experience. At sixty years old Grabowski had a stacked record.
He'd been part of the Polish Land Forces for ten years, GROM for eight years, the Hussars hero team for five years, the Inspector of the Land Forces for four years, and the Chief of the General Staff for six years. And now, he was Advisor and Deputy Director to Konig.
"Rule one of this job, enjoy what you can," Grabowski countered, before tossing a piece of popcorn into his mouth, "The majority of your job is going to be paperwork. More so than your previous position."
Mentally Konig groaned at the idea. It was bad enough already, so he quietly heeded Grabowski's advice. Looking around, Konig spotted the area sectioned off for weapon demonstrations. The area was made up of mostly vacant hills and some occasional small trees. Out in the distance, the first of some IFVs began driving out toward the testing area. It made Konig grimace somewhat. He was beginning to despise weapon procurement.
Which to others, seemed odd. The job sounded easy. All he had to do was watch some explosions, see helicopters fly about, and choose what worked the best. However, with many things in life, there were politics involved. For example, when Konig had chosen the KF-51 Panther to be the European Army's new main battle tank, it had been a decision out of desperation. It would take months, possibly years to create a new working design. But low and behold, Rheinmetall had a ready design from before the dawn of quirks.
Yet with Konig being German, it appeared he was giving preferences to his home country. Especially when the French government was recommending the EMBT over the Panther. Not wanting to seem biased, the dispute ended with Airbus Helicopters getting a contract to design a new super-heavy lift and attack helicopter. Which in turn angered the United States, who'd been offering up a joint effort for two projects codenamed the Navajo and Hidatsa.
Hell, there had been a fuss over what the Army's logo would be. To keep things simple Belgium had proposed using the EU logo, but then Italy voiced opposition saying it would cause mix-ups between organizations. And then there was the issue of the UK who both did and did not want to join the European Army. In a sense they wanted the money and collaboration of the new military, but to keep their own armed force's autonomy.
Needless to say, everything was far too complicated for Konig's liking. Because as much as he despised the political nonsense, it was easier than the alternative. Said alternative being every European nation starting their own weapons program, and forcing the European Army to juggle a dozen different weapon systems. It was just easier to pool resources together and standardize everything by using one assault rifle or one tank.
Regardless, Konig soon spotted his seat. Not wanting to waste any more time he quickly sat down, with Grabowski sitting on his right. Once both men were sat down, Konig quietly looked over the surrounding area again. By now even more equipment had arrived for the display. He didn't recognize everything, but it all looked very impressive. Slowly he began patting down his pockets, about to pull out the event's itinerary. Only to stop when he couldn't find it.
"Shoot… what was up first again?" Konig asked, mentally swearing at his clumsiness. Grabowski for his part pulled out an extra itinerary and quietly passed it to him.
"If I remember correctly, fighter jets are up first," Grabowski replied, with Konig slowly nodding. Fighter jets… ok, sure. He could work with that. For the most part, the EU's air forces hadn't been stolen. Mainly because most criminals just didn't want fighter jets. It was difficult to adequately maintain a fleet of aircraft, especially when one lacked the pilots to use said aircraft. However, much of the aircraft Europe did have, was essentially rusted over. Or worse, were becoming outdated.
With Russia and China unveiling new, or rather older fighter jet designs, and the MSF rumored to have fully autonomous fighter drones, it was clear the European Army would need to modernize. The world was rapidly moving away from fifth-gen fighters to sixth-gen. A few moments after Grabowski spoke, twelve fighter jets flew past them overhead. The sound ripped through the air, and Konig quickly looked up at the jets.
For a few seconds, he watched the aircraft fly about performing aerial maneuvers. It was like an elegant dance as the planes moved. Eventually, though he looked back down at the itinerary, curious about what was on display.
"Let's see, the BAE Tempest, the Eurofighter Cyclone, the Lockheed Martin F-66 Brontornis, and the… Arkbird Design FQ-46 Teratorn…" he read off, before becoming somewhat confused. The itinerary listed off the other aircraft quite easily. The BAE Tempest was an aircraft submitted by BAE for the centuries-old Global Combat Air Programme before the program was abandoned centuries ago.
The Eurofighter Cyclone was part of the Future Combat Air System program, which was also abandoned centuries ago. And the F-66 was part of the US's newest modernization project. Actually, if Konig looked a bit closer, the F-66 looked rather similar to the jets Star and Stripe's agency uses. Strange… but not the point. Because of these jets, all had companies Konig recognized.
The FQ-46 did not.
"Strange, I don't recognize this one," Konig muttered, while Grabowski quickly looked over his shoulder.
"Hmm," Grabowski commented, before his eyes fell on the FQ-46, "Ooh, Teratorns. Wasn't expecting those."
His words surprised Konig, the director now looking back at the wolf man.
"You've seen this aircraft?" Konig asked, with Grabowski giving him a so-so gesture.
"Eh, once or twice," Grabowski calmly replied, before throwing another piece of popcorn into his mouth, "The Polish Airforce was thinking of buying a few a couple of years back."
That… Konig never knew that. It had never shown up in the news before.
"What exactly are they?" Konig inquired, looking over the jet's design quietly. It was smaller than most other aircraft present, with its dimensions being fourteen meters long, three meters high, and a ten-meter wingspan. Yet with its smaller size, there was still room for a 25mm rotary cannon, four internal missile hardpoints, and six external hardpoints. And the entire aircraft was shaped pretty much like a Dorito. It was flat, triangular, and didn't have vertical stabilizers.
"Drone fighters," Grabowski answered calmly, before looking over the itinerary again, "If I'm right Arkbird is an MSF company."
The MSF… Konig honestly wasn't that surprised. Europe needed lots of guns, and the MSF saw a business opportunity. Then again, the jet might just be for demonstration. Instead of a sale, this could be the MSF flexing its muscle to the world.
"So Arkbird is a subsidiary of the MSF?" Konig asked, with Grabowski shaking his head.
"Not really, no," Grabowski replied, the man pausing after he spoke, "It's not important."
The tone of his last words implied it was more of an order to drop it, than an offhanded comment. But Konig didn't want to risk anything so he said nothing. Looking back up he saw the jets come through for another set of maneuvers, before flying away. Minutes later he saw some people setting up targets in the sectioned-off area. They'd then immediately book it, as the jets quickly came in for an airstrike.
There they tested close-in weapons, they tested beyond visual range weapons, they tested guns, and the F-66s even showed off a ludicrously powerful directed energy weapon. Unfortunately, the itinerary said the laser wasn't on every F-66, as the damn thing was as expensive as it was powerful. Not to mention, it drained a massive amount of power unless on the lowest settings. It could still shoot down a missile with ease, but Konig knew not all fighter jets could be issued the weapon. Still, it gave Konig some ideas for the future.
The last of the aircraft flew away then, likely landing on an airfield nearby. And what replaced them, were a series of self-propelled howitzers, with the IFVs from before following closely. It was here Konig couldn't help but realize how long the day was going to be.
Looking up at the building in front of her, Uraraka couldn't help but feel overwhelming relief and giddiness. Why you may ask? Simple:
"This is your new dormitory," Mr. Aizawa announced tiredly, while Uraraka's classmates all stared at the building before them, "It is where all of you will reside for the rest of the school year."
Looking at the dorm building carefully, it wasn't exactly what Uraraka was expecting. Having been built by the MSF, the building was rather simple looking. In fact, it was a carbon copy of their barracks buildings across campus. But that said, the place was utterly massive to Uraraka. Through Nezu's special requests, the interior of the building had been customized to be more comforting to the student's needs.
Where the MSF's barracks had small quarters for their troops, with each room having only enough room for essentials, the dorms were much more wide open. Not overly large, but each room was practically a small studio apartment. Well… Uraraka said small, but they were bigger than her old apartment. They even had balconies! Her old apartment just had a single small window! When the class entered the building itself, the first thing they spotted was the large open common area.
The entire space was decked out, and Uraraka looked at everything shocked. The common room's TV was an 85-inch flatscreen and had two 3-foot speakers placed right next to it. The couches were as soft as cotton candy, and the size of Uraraka's old bedroom. The kitchen table was the same size as well and had twenty different seats. It was like looking at a table from an old medieval dining hall. Hell, the kitchen's fridge was four feet wide! There was even one of the MSF's holotables sitting by the couch. The more Uraraka looked around, the more light-headed she felt.
"It's like a mansion," she muttered nearly falling over before Iida quickly caught her. Standing back up, she quietly thanked him while Mr. Aizawa continued to speak.
"Boys rooms are on the left side, girls are on the right," Mr. Aizawa told them, with Uraraka nervously listening, "Your rooms have already been furnished, but if you want to bring in something from home arrangements can be made."
With that last statement, the teacher looked over the class tiredly. Uraraka couldn't help but gulp as his gaze passed over her. He of course noticed the action, his eyes now lingering on Uraraka a few seconds longer. It took all the will Uraraka had to keep herself from turning pale. Yet as she looked at Mr. Aizawa, she could see he was… off. The usual aggressive, uncaring, and authoritative stares he bore were notably missing.
Though most of his face was covered by his scarf and long hair, Uraraka could have sworn the man looked unsure of something. In fact, he looked… confused- no, worried, Uraraka realized. Mr. Aizawa looked worried, and she had no idea why. His gaze left her though, the hero taking a moment to clear his throat. It was here, that Mr. Aizawa cemented that something was wrong.
"If you have any questions, feel free to ask," Mr. Aizawa told them, before walking away. In seconds he left the building and left Uraraka dumbstruck. Looking around, she could see her classmates similarly surprised. Since when had Mr. Aizawa ever answered their questions? Since when had he ever offered assistance of any kind? Day one, and he'd done nothing but toss them off the deep end.
And then, Uraraka reflected on the words. Mr. Aizawa's tone had been nervous. He tried to hide it with his tired voice and uncaring attitude, but Uraraka had noticed it. His tone wasn't annoyed as if someone was forcing him to go through with it. No, his tone was nervous. Uraraka almost wanted to linger on that thought, but didn't. Instead, it was something for later.
"This… is sweet," Kaminari commented, the teen lightly chuckling as Uraraka watched him look at everything. Eventually, his gaze settled on the holo table in the room, and he rushed toward it quickly. At the same time, Uraraka spotted Sato and Yaoyorozu walking toward the kitchen. Both of them treated everything with care. Their actions made Uraraka examine the kitchen closer as well. She nearly fainted again because of it.
The kitchen was massive, and filled to the absolute brim with appliances. There were three different microwaves, four toasters, two sinks, two dishwashers, three blenders, and FIVE ovens. Five different ovens. Uraraka didn't know any man who owned five ovens before.
"Never seen a kitchen this big," Sato stated surprised, his hand brushing over the kitchen's counter, "Or a fridge that size for that matter."
His words earned a confused glance from Yaoyorozu, the girl looking back at the fridge a few times.
"...How is this big?" she asked confused, the girl now holding out her arms to measure the appliance, "My kitchen's fridge is bigger than this."
"If anything it's rather small," Iida added, the teen now walking over to join them too. It earned a shocked, and slightly jealous glance from Uraraka and Sato.
"Don't think your houses are the norm guys," Sato pointed out, which earned some embarrassed looks from both Iida and Yaoyorozu. Turning away from the kitchen, Uraraka again spotted Kaminari, only this time the teen was busy going through the holo table. He did so with surprising ease, switching through a dozen different settings in just a minute. A lot of the dorm's controls seemed to be linked to the table. So curious, Uraraka walked closer to the table.
In a split second Kaminari moved his hand in the air, and the table switched from AC controls, the news, the dorm's security systems, and the holotable's settings app. Uraraka couldn't help but wonder what else the table had in store. As if Kaminari could read her mind, he waved his hand again and stumbled onto the table's video games. The first thing it landed on was a rather odd game, displaying two factions.
One is made up entirely of fantasy beings and the other is a sci-fi-esque army.
"Tech vs Magik… never seen this game before," Kaminari muttered, before waving his hand again, and gasping, "Endwar 2, Titanfall Tactics, Command and Conquer Tiberium Liberation, Hearts of Iron Seven, Halo Fleet Command!"
Slowly the electric teen became more excited as he scrolled through games. Uraraka meanwhile just stood by watching. Not saying a word as Kaminari flipped through more games. She didn't know the majority of them, and slowly began feeling like a fish out of water. The sheer number of games being flipped through… honestly astounded her. Her parents had barely been able to afford a phone. Video games of all kinds were a luxury she'd never had. Eventually, Sero and Kirishima walked over, noticing Kaminari working with the holo table. Seeing the hundreds of games installed, Sero soon raised his brow surprised.
"Dude, were those already installed?" Sero asked, with Kaminari excitedly nodding in response.
"Yeah! There's like a hundred other games here too!" Kaminari replied, swiping through them all to let both of them see. It caused Kirishima to laugh excitedly before he sat down next to Kaminari.
"Oh sweet!" he commented, while Kaminari came to a stop on one game. It booted up in mere seconds, causing Kaminari to look on in surprise. There was no loading time or delays. No signal issues of any kind. Everything loaded seamlessly and in milliseconds. What Uraraka noted though, was that the game already had an account set up. Who's it was, Uraraka didn't know. All that was shown was the name Mighty45, and an All Might profile picture… on second thought, Uraraka knew exactly whose account this was.
Kaminari didn't seem to notice and instead opened up a guest account to play. Becoming somewhat disinterested, Uraraka stepped back and turned toward the rest of the class. Iida, Yaoyorozu, and Sato were still in the kitchen, with the three of them getting ready to cook something. Jiro, Ashido, and Hagakure fiddled with the common room's idiotically large TV, flipping through channels.
"-with monumental protests in Beijing today. Thousands have shown up demanding greater accountability from the government. The demonstrations come off the heels of the collapse of the Fánróng School House weeks ago-" a news anchor stated, recording some crowd outside a large government building. Only for Ashido to change the channel to some love show. Uraraka didn't entirely care enough, as she turned to look away. This didn't stop her ears from picking up small bits of the show.
"You said that you loved me!" a woman yelled loudly, sounding close to tears.
"I'm sorry, Gabriella, but I've found someone else," a man replied, the sound of a slap echoing through the TV's speakers.
"Who!?" the woman demanded, right as the sound of doors opening followed. The woman gasped, before yelling, "Mama!?"
That instantly got Uraraka's attention, but then Ashido changed the channel again. So Uraraka kept looking around the common room. By now Tokoyami, Shoji, Koda, Ojiro, and Aoyama had all left to check out their rooms. And with them gone, that left Asui. When Uraraka spotted the girl, she found her shivering slightly, her eyes drooping down. A yawn soon followed as Uraraka walked toward her.
"You ok Tsu?" Uraraka asked, the frog girl slowly stifling another yawn.
"I'm fine, just cold," Asui replied, with Uraraka nodding. The second Asui said it though, Uraraka felt a chill go down her spine. She hadn't noticed it before, but… why was it so cold? It wasn't freezing, but it was oddly chilly.
"I can go turn the heat up if you need it?" Uraraka asked, the cold not fully bothering her. Slowly Asui nodded, causing Uraraka to turn away.
"Thanks," she heard Asui say before Uraraka left. Looking back she found Kaminari, Sero, and Kirishima still using the holo table. Not wanting to disturb their game, she walked out hoping to find a thermostat of some kind. It took a few minutes to find, but Uraraka eventually stumbled upon one. Quickly she moved to turn the temperature up. Once it was done, Uraraka went back toward Asui. Yet five minutes after she adjusted the thermostat, the chill in the air remained. It was strange.
Ignoring the chill, Uraraka soon sat beside Asui, and the two were now watching TV. For whatever reason Ashido just couldn't choose a show, so the next half hour was spent flipping through different media. It brought Uraraka some annoyance, but it slowly made her realize something. One by one Uraraka counted the people present. Tokoyami, Shoji, Ojiro, Koda, and Aoyama had left to check out the rooms. Iida, Yaoyorozu, and Sato were in the kitchen. Ashido, Jiro, Hagakure, and Asui were watching TV. Kirishima, Kaminari, and Sero were messing with the holo table. And Todoroki, Mineta, and Bakugo were in the infirmary.
So… where was Akatani? Looking back on it, Uraraka found it a bit strange. With Mr. Aizawa showing them the dorms, Uraraka expected Akatani to be present. Sure he had his own quarters in one of the MSF's barracks, but he stayed with 1A over the weeks. They slept in the classroom, and he'd joined them. Maybe he's just busy, Uraraka reasoned. But… she felt unsure about that answer. It bugged her, but the sheer idea felt wrong.
As she thought about this, Uraraka heard the door to the dorm open up. Seconds later, All Might's ever-iconic laugh echoed through the room.
"Hello everyone, I am here!" All Might loudly proclaimed, instantly gaining everyone's attention. Walking into the room in his skeletal form, Uraraka was surprised to see All Might carrying a bag larger than himself. Setting the bag down, All Might quietly wiped his brow, before tearing the bag open.
"With gifts!" All Might exclaimed, before laughing again as his students swarmed him.
"So nice to see all of you again," All Might told them, "How have you all been?"
"Good, oh! We saw your speech yesterday," Kaminari quickly replied, while Ashido groaned annoyed next to him.
"It was so long!" Ashido loudly complained, earning some laughs from her classmates. It even caused All Might to chuckle.
"I admit, I could have gotten to the point a little quicker," All Might agreed, while Uraraka noticed Kirishima eyeing the bag All Might had brought.
"What's this?" Kirishima calmly asked, the rest of the class now remembering the gift.
"As I said, gifts!" All Might replied loudly, "Thought I'd bring all of you something nice."
That instantly set a murmur through the class, everyone now crowding up closer to get a better look at the bag.
"What's the occasion?" Iida asked confused, with All Might shrugging.
"Ah, no reason," All Might answered, though as Uraraka looked at the hero, he seemed overly happy. There clearly was something All Might wanted to celebrate, but what it was, he didn't seem willing to share. Uraraka said nothing though, and instead watched as All Might started pulling gifts from his bag. Each one was extremely well thought out. Kirishima was given a set of weights, how the hell All Might was carrying them and everything else, Uraraka didn't know.
Iida was given a rather massive book detailing the history of the democratic rule of law, something Iida quickly took interest in. Ashido was given an old 1980s-styled boombox, which she immediately started up. In literal seconds she'd begun a full break dance routine, leaving Uraraka in plain shock. Jiro was given a new guitar, personally signed by a band named Deep Dope. Kaminari was given a… book about gardening… did… first pottery, and now this.
Back on track though, Yaoyorozu also got a book, titled How to Make A Million and One Creations. Hagakure was given a stuffed emperor penguin that was the size of All Might in his muscle form. Sato got a small oven and Sero got an entire series of Spider-Man comics. And with the rest of her class not present, all that was left, was Uraraka's gift.
"And for Young Uraraka, I brought you this," All Might told her, slowly holding out a large box.
"Oh no, it's fine," Uraraka attempted to protest, only for All Might to wave her off.
"Nonsense!" All Might exclaimed laughing, "Got this one, especially for you. Besides, not like I can return it either."
That last part was more playfully muttered, but it did make Uraraka curious as to what he'd gotten her. Carefully she took the box and instantly felt how heavy its contents were. Cautiously she lifted the box's lid, and her eyes went wide. Inside nothing but mochi. Mochi as far as the eye could see. It was a supply that could last her weeks, maybe months. It was beautiful.
And almost instantly she felt regret for ever opening the box. To think the Symbol of Peace was giving a country bumpkin a present. Part of Uraraka wanted to say no to the gift. It just felt like too much, something she didn't think she deserved. The other part of her, however, was now very hungry beyond belief.
"Thank you!" Uraraka cried out, with All Might quickly laughing. In just three seconds flat Uraraka wolfed down the first piece of mochi should could find. Each bite tasted like heaven to her. When she eventually swallowed, she'd gotten ready to eat another one. But then she stopped, previous questions coming to mind. Turning around, she spotted All Might walking around as Iida gave him a tour of the common room.
The hero said nothing, but it was clear he already knew where everything was. Instead, he looked over everything with his usual smile, just listening as Iida talked.
"Uh… by the way, All Might, do you know where Akatani is?" Uraraka called out, quickly gaining the hero's attention, "I haven't seen him for a while."
To her surprise, All Might instantly froze. Worryingly he looked back at Uraraka nervous.
"Y-young Akatani?" All Might asked, seeming to want clarification. All this did was cause Uraraka to worry. She nodded her head yes, which made All Might click his tongue anxiously.
"Well… something happened last night," All Might told her, with Uraraka only becoming more worried.
"All Might, what happened?" Uraraka demanded, watching as All Might shifted in place. Mentally the hero debated whether telling her would be a good idea. And Uraraka could see this. All Might's face was conflicted as the idea ran through his mind. Eventually, he sighed and brought a hand to the back of his neck.
"He was shot last night," All Might replied, "Got into a large fight, and he almost died."
It was like a record scratched in the room. Everyone stopped what they were doing, as silence permeated throughout the room. No one said a word, as Uraraka looked at All Might shocked.
"He's fine, just resting up in the infirmary-" All Might began to clarify, but the rest of the words didn't register to anyone. The second Uraraka heard the word infirmary, she booked it toward the dorm's door. Iida quickly followed behind her, with Asui joining him. Then came Kaminari, and Yaoyorozu. Eventually, the entire class ran out the door, leaving All Might in the dust. When Uraraka reached the main school building, she found herself becoming infuriated with the place's maze-like hallways.
Winding through the halls, she soon spotted the infirmary. The door was closed shut, but she could hear talking on the other side.
"Is that really necessary?" she heard Akatani ask, with Bakugo scoffing in the room.
"Of course, it's fucking necessary!" Bakugo yelled back, as Uraraka got closer to the infirmary, "I'm not gonna fall behind the rest of those extras!"
"Not this again," Akatani then muttered, with Bakugo again scoffing. Only Uraraka heard a new voice speak up.
"Why are you such an asshole?" a young girl asked, her question deceptively innocent. At first, Bakugo sounded furious at the question, before the teen stopped. Slowly, the fact that what sounded like a six-year-old girl had called him an asshole began to register. Where once was fury, now shifted to laughter. The teen began almost cackling like mad, finding it all hilarious.
"Eri!?" Akatani yelled out shocked, nearly overshadowing Bakugo's laughter. Of course, Akatani's shock only made it funnier for Bakugo.
"But he is! He's a fucking asshole!" the now-named Eri exclaimed, causing Bakugo to laugh even more.
"And… and you said you were going to be a good big brother!" Bakugo exclaimed, gasping for air in his laughing fit, "Real great start you damn nerd!"
The comment made Akatani grumble to himself, while Bakugo's laughing fit came to an end.
"Volatile dumbass," Akatani muttered, with Bakugo scoffing.
"Powerless fuck," Bakugo replied, with Uraraka somehow knowing Akatain rolled his eyes.
"Cock sucker," Eri added, causing Bakugo to break out laughing again while Akatani loudly panicked.
"Wait, uh! No! Dam- dang it!" Akatani exclaimed, while Bakugo just kept laughing.
"You fucking suck at this!" Bakugo shouted, with Akatani seeming to mumble in agreement. By now Uraraka had reached the infirmary's door. Damn near kicking it open, Uraraka quickly spotted the three people in the room. Bakugo was out of his bed, desperately holding onto some pull-up bar with one arm. In a nearby chair was a little girl with white hair, a horn coming out of her forehead, and wearing a whole mess of tattered rags.
But only one person garnered her attention the most. Sitting in a hospital bed, bandaged from head to toe, was Akatani. He looked decent, but all Uraraka's eyes could see were the bandages. All Might said he'd been shot, he didn't say a thing about his limbs being in casts, his ribs being cracked, or practically anything else. Worry had taken complete control of her as she looked over her friend.
Yet that worry began to dissipate as questions arose. Because all of this was no simple gunshot wound. He looked like he'd been hit by a truck. Then Uraraka remembered, that All Might said Akatani had gotten into a fight. A fight, where people had actively shot at him. And where there was now an unknown child hanging out next to him. It took very little time for Uraraka to piece everything together. And with the worry gone, came fury.
He'd gone on a mission and hadn't told any of them. He'd gone on a mission, and hadn't told her! He could have died, and neither she nor any of his other friends would have learned until the next day! He didn't even say goodbye! He just… he left! Without a word! He… that firefight in Tokyo, Uraraka remembered. The one All Might and Star and Stripe stopped, Akatani was there! With all of these thoughts, Uraraka couldn't even try to stop herself, from slapping Akatani.
"I'm tellin' you, I know what I saw!" West exclaimed, while Texas slowly shook his head in disagreement.
"And I'm tellin' you, it was a late night, and Vicky had you all worried! It was just stress," Texas argued, ignoring Marston as he grumbled next to him.
"Can you both please shut up?" Marston muttered, a cubic fork in his hand as he took another bit of his waffle, "I swear, all I want is to eat my breakfast in peace."
"I'll say," Colt commented in agreement, with West simply sighing in response. After last night's events, the moment his brothers walked into his saloon he'd told them what had happened. Needless to say, things were not going well. Texas broke into a fit of laughter, Martson looked at him like he'd gone crazy, and Colt didn't seem to care. With Colt being an R AI, West had hoped he'd at least back him up.
Instead, his more rational brother seemed too tired to deal with anything. Which is why he carefully placed his third cup of coffee on the saloon's counter.
"Mind if I get a refill?" Colt calmly asked before Texas piped up again.
"Us too," Texas added, with West shaking his head slowly. But he relented, taking a few steps back toward his coffee maker. Only, he found the small machine empty. Not too worried, West turned and walked into his kitchen, now digging through random chests. After a while, he stopped his search and quietly grumbled.
"Sorry fellas, no refills," West told them as he returned to the bar, "Out of coffee beans."
This elicited a groan from all three of his brothers, with West sharing the sentiment.
"Come on, again?" Colt inquired with West nodding his head.
"Hey I've been meanin' to get more but… hell you know how it is," West commented, with all three AIs pausing. Before they began nodding in understanding. Most of the coffee beans West harvested were located on a chain of islands far from the mainland. When discovered the archipelago had been named the Mai'ai Islands. Now these islands were literal tropic paradises.
They were filled with wide open beaches, small jungles loaded with plants, and water as blue as the sky. It was like an odd mish-mash of Hawaii, Tahiti, and the Bahamas. Aside from the beauty though, was the mother load of goodies the AIs had found. Koa, milo, monkeypod, kamani, mango, lychee, ohia, sugi pine, cook pine, and sandalwood trees. Bananas, mangos, pineapples, avocados, coconuts, grapefruit, a hundred different species of fish, and of course coffee.
And while the mainland had the likes of sugarcane on the mainland, it and practically a dozen other foods grew five times faster on Mai'ai. There was, of course, one problem. The islands were filled with Illagers. They littered every single island in the archipelago, making all attempts to gather coffee beans rather difficult. Hell, they had a navy patrolling the area.
"More ships than normal?" Texas inquired, curiosity and excitement present in his tone.
"Yep," West replied, before moving to wipe up the bar, "Spotted some ironclads too."
The last comment caused Texas's eyes to widen in surprise. At the same time Marston froze, his fork mere inches from his mouth.
"Damn," Colt muttered shocked, "That's new."
It brought a small chuckle to West's mind. Because while the ironclads were new, they were definitely the least of their worries. In five years the NPCs had gone from crossbows and axes to rifles and cannons. If the pillagers were becoming sentient, then where would they be in another five years? Would they have tanks? Planes? An atomic bomb? It terrified West, the thought that someday his home might end up looking like the fields of Verdun.
"It's like I said, they're gettin' smarter," West told Colt, as he scrubbed away the counter. He chuckled then, the dread of the previous night coming back to him.
"For cryin' out loud, we still don't even know how they got guns!" West exclaimed with a nervous chuckle. That elicited some concerned looks from his brothers, with Texas clicking his tongue.
"Ok… thats…" Marston attempted to say, only to stop. He looked ready to argue but slowly seemed to understand what West had meant. It caused Texas to sight, and bring a hand to his brow.
"Assumin' it's real, what did this pillager look like again?" Texas asked, with West thinking back.
"Long black coat, large black hat, red bandana. The stereotypical bad guy of every Western," West quickly replied, watching as Texas stood up from his stool by the bar, "Had some serious firepower on him too. Had a Winchester, two Smith and Wesson Model 3s, and a double barrel shotgun."
Hearing the guns listed, Texas let out a small hmm, before drawing his Colt Single Action army. He looked it over calmly, ensuring every chamber was loaded.
"And when he left, which way'd he head?" Texas inquired, with West motioning out toward the window.
"Toward the west gate," West replied, and Texas nodded.
"Alright then," Texas replied and holstered his revolver. With a brief tip of his hat, Texas took a few steps back. Grabbing the back of Marston's shirt, he yanked his brother off his seat and began dragging him to the door.
"Wha- hey!" Marston protested, feeling his boots drag along the floor. Fork still in hand he tried to claw at the rest of his waffle before he was pulled out of range.
"Come on," was all Texas said, as he walked out the saloon.
"I'm not done eatin' yet!" Marston yelled in response before he was pulled out with him, "My food! Texas you ass!"
"Pick up the pace Marston!" Texas yelled back before both AIs were out of earshot. Patrons in the saloon all cackled at the sight, with Colt and West doing the same. Shaking his head in disapproval, even though there was a smile on his face, West quickly got back to work. At the same time, he noticed Colt eyeing Martson's leftovers. With the swiftness of a snake, he slithered onto Marston's seat and grabbed a clean fork.
"Well… if he's not going to eat it," Colt commented, chuckling lightly.
"Seriously?" West complained as he watched his brother prepare to dig in.
"What? Free food's free food," Colt replied, his fork stabbed into the waffle before him.
"You even have time?" West asked, watching as Colt waved him off. It wasn't the most comforting response. After all, Colt, a few other R AIs, and the Intel team were supposed to be going over the data Victoria stole from Night Owl today.
"Course I do," Colt replied, his eyes slowly going to a clock on the saloon's wall, "Meetin' with the Boss ain't startin' until- oh shoot never mind! No time!"
With that brief panic, Colt popped out of existence, leaving West to mutter to himself. Quietly he grabbed the leftover waffles and placed them off to the side. One of his brothers would come back for them. Though if it would be Colt or Marston he didn't know. It didn't ultimately matter in the end, as another AI sat down to order something.
As ironic as it was, Volkov hated the sounds of industry. He'd dedicated billions of dollars to building more weapons factories or expanding old shipyards. But he just never liked all the noise. Even now as he stood surrounded by ships at the Yantar Shipyard, all he could think of was getting some earplugs. The sound of welding and grinding tore into his ears, but he pressed on. This was a job that needed to be done.
Looking around for a second, he soon spotted his would-be target. A short, portly, old man with a large beard, was now quickly walking toward him. Instantly Volkov's face lit up as did the other man's. Both laughed before Volkov held out his arms.
"Arkadi, my friend! It is so good to see you," Volkov greeted, while Arkadi Smirnov, head of the Yantar Shipyard, grabbed him into a hug. With anyone else, Volkov would have had them executed for the action Arkadi had done. But Arkadi was possibly the only person Volkov considered a friend.
"Ivan, it's been too long," Arkadi commented, while Volkov chuckled. Both men quietly let go then, as Arkadi quickly led Volkov to his office. There Arkadi sat at his desk, and Volkov sat across from him. In seconds Arkadi had two glasses sitting on his desk, an open bottle of vodka soon joining them.
"So, what brings you here?" Arkadi asked while pouring himself a drink.
"Well, I'm here for a personal inspection," Volkov replied, leaning forward in his chair slightly. Hearing his words Arkadi scoffed and downed his glass of vodka.
"Of course, always business with you," Arkadi muttered, though there was no malice in his tone. Annoyance sure, but more amusement. He held out the bottle of vodka then, looking over Volkov quietly.
"Drink?" Arkadi asked, with Volkov chuckling.
"I mean, the glass is already out," Volkov pointed out, with Arkadi chuckling with him. Quickly he poured himself a drink, before giving himself another. Taking a quick swig, Volkov felt the drink burn for a second. There Volkov cleared his throat, as he looked around Arkadi's office.
"How are things?" he asked calmly, slowly noting Arkadi was oddly giddy.
"Good, very good!" Arkadi exclaimed, the man standing from his seat and rushing toward a nearby filing cabinet, "You wouldn't believe it, but everything is right on schedule."
Opening the filing cabinet, Arkadi fished through it quietly, before pulling out a set of files. Without a word, he carefully turned and handed them to Volkov. Opening up the file, Volkov's eyes slowly widened in surprise. Arkadi had been underestimating himself. They weren't on schedule, they were ahead of schedule. Over the following years, Volkov had spent billions modernizing the Russian Navy.
Which included building more ships and replacing old ones. So ever since Poland and the MSF's black op, they'd built Lider class destroyers, Super-Gorshkov class frigates, Borei class ballistic missile submarines, Yasen class nuclear attack submarines, and a hundred other ships of very types. The navy, which had originally been nothing more than a rusting joke, now had fangs. And with the US's navy having been in decline, Volkov was confident the waves would be under his control.
"Impressive, no?" Arkadi inquired with Volkov quietly nodding. But before the man could even utter a compliment, Arkadi rushed over and began pulling him out of his seat. Now standing, Volkov watched as Arkadi motioned toward the window.
"Here, come, come!" Arkadi told him, with Volkov complying. At first, Volkov wasn't sure what Arkadi wanted him to see. But the second he looked out the window, he realized exactly what it was. Two giant aircraft carriers were outside his office, sitting out a good bit away. Both were Schtorm class supercarriers, one of the many old projects Volkov had brought back from the dead. One of the carriers already appeared finished, while the second was near completion.
Another two carriers meanwhile, were situated south in the Black Sea, with both ships nearing completion as well. Like with the majority of the Russian Federation's old projects, the Schtorms had been drastically improved. As the last thing Volkov needed was another Admiral Kuznetsov. No, his military would be different from its predecessors. Different from the rabble of the 1990s, 2020s, 2070s, 2110s, and 2130s.
"Beautiful isn't it?" Arkadi commented, with a light chuckle reaching Volkov's lips.
"I'll say," Volkov agreed, while thoughtlessly cracking his knuckles, "We build any more ships, and we'll give the Americans a run for their money."
"So long as the money keeps coming, I'm sure I can make it happen," Arkadi told him with Volkov again chuckling. Arkadi had always been a man of his word. He was never one to bow to corruption, and always ensured his job got done. It was what Volkov needed if everything was going to go his way. After all, war was coming. And it was coming soon.