Chapter 113: A Workout Plan
Midoriya did not like lying to Victoria. He knew that the moment she asked about the mission, he should have told her the truth. And yet, he didn't. Vicky had already been in pretty bad shape for a few days, so Midoriya didn't want to put her through any more trouble. Tell her later, he reasoned, once she was better… at least, that's the reason he told himself. In truth, there had also been something else on his mind. It was something that Midoriya… didn't want to think about.
So instead, to more easily ignore the thought that haunted him, he did what he always did: he pushed himself to work harder. Which is why Midoriya did everything he could to focus on pushing up the barbell in his grasp. Behind him, Uraraka stood ready to help in case he started to struggle. At the moment, she wore rather basic workout clothes, consisting of a plain pink t-shirt and a pair of black gym shorts.
A small improvement to UA's gym clothes, at least in Uraraka's eyes. At the same time, Midoriya wore his usual plain attire. A pair of black gym shorts and a white t-shirt. To spice things up, though, the shirt now had the word hat printed on it. Fancy, I know.
"Thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen," Midoriya counted aloud, constantly pushing the bar back up and down. A bead of sweat began to form along his forehead, which he quietly ignored. Right now, he was stuck benching about two hundred and five pounds, around twenty pounds more than normal. By the time he reached his twentieth rep, every muscle in his arms felt like they were on fire. But he ignored it. He needed to keep going; he needed to keep pushing.
"Twenty-one, twenty-two, twenty-three, twenty-four, twenty-five," Midoriya continued to count, ignoring the growing weakness of his arms. He needed to keep going; he needed to keep pushing. Eventually, he noticed Uraraka looking down on him, and the girl quickly saw his movements slow down.
"I think that's good," she commented, standing ready to rack the bar. Instead, Midoriya brought it back down to his chest.
"Twenty-six, twenty-seven, twenty-eight, twenty-nine, thirty," he went on, pressing further as his arms ached. He needed to keep going: he needed to keep pushing.
"Akatani, I think that's good," Uraraka told him, while Midoriya continued to lift the bar up and down.
"Thirty-one, thirty-two, thirty-three, thirty-four, thirty-five, thirty-six, thirty-seven, thirty-eight, thirty-nine, forty," Midoriya counted, determined to press on just a tad bit farther, "Forty-one, forty-two, forty-three, forty-four… forty-five…"
Of course, as determined as he may have been, his body had other plans. The forty-fifth rep was a struggle to get through, and by the time the bar touched his chest again for the forty-sixth, Midoriya found it wouldn't go back up. With the last of his strength, he desperately tried to force it up, to no avail. Rather swiftly, Uraraka touched the bar and floated it back to its rack.
Sitting up, Midoriya took a moment to wipe the sweat from his brow with the bottom of his shirt.
"What happened to not pushing ourselves too far?" Uraraka questioned, pointing out Midoriya's own hypocrisy. To which Midoriya slowly chuckled.
"That's on me. Got too overconfident and I thought I could do it," Midoriya told her, quietly lying about the true reason in his mind. It sufficed for Uraraka, though, the girl slowly shaking her head in playful annoyance. As she did this, though, she soon spotted the clock on the gym's wall. Her eyes shot open the moment she saw it, and quickly, Uraraka began removing a thirty-five-pound plate from the barbell.
"Oh! We gotta hurry this up real quick," Uraraka told him, causing Midoriya to raise a brow. Standing up from the bench, he swiftly pulled off the other thirty-five plates from the opposite side of the bar. While he did this, Uraraka slid on a pair of ten-pound weights.
"Something up?" he asked as he pulled the bench out of the way. Uraraka merely nodded her head as she got into position. At the same time, Midoriya got behind her, near the barbell.
"I've got plans for later," Uraraka replied, causing Midoriya to nod in understanding. Rather quickly, the brunette grabbed the barbell, soon raising it off the rack and resting it onto her rear deltoids. Normally, their schedule of exercises was a bit more varied. But today, all they'd done so far was bench press, and now what was likely going to be a very rushed set of squats.
Wordlessly, Uraraka started moving, descending slowly with the bar. Midoriya quietly followed along, keeping pace to ensure any slip-up could be dealt with quickly.
"One," Uraraka called out, before swiftly going back down. Quietly, Midoriya couldn't help but be impressed, as a small smile formed on his face. To think these sessions started out on a trash-covered beach… You know, we really need to finish cleaning that, Midoriya thought to himself. But genuinely, Uraraka had improved remarkably fast. If Midoriya remembered right, she'd started training back in April, when UA first started up. It was now mid-June.
In that short amount of time, Uraraka had gone from squatting eighty-eight pounds to the one hundred and fifty-five pounds she was squatting now. Helping her family's business meant she was no slouch before, but just looking her over now… She was… she is… mentally Midoriya struggled to find the words. Months of work had given her a rather lean but strong build, something Midoriya quietly admired.
As Uraraka continued her exercise, things went on rather smoothly. Well… I say smoothly. That was until Midoriya remembered his conversation with Vicky. For whatever reason, only one line came to his mind.
"You totally have a crush on her! Don't deny it! You were calling her cute, dare I say you were one word away from calling her s-e-x-y," he remembered the AI tease. But quietly, Midoriya did his best to stamp out the thought and hide the small blush forming on his face. He shouldn't, wouldn't, couldn't think that of her. It just… it was wrong. She was just a friend, and you don't think that way about friends. Slowly but surely, Uraraka completed her last squat, and Midoriya couldn't be more grateful.
When she fully stood back up, he quickly helped rack the bar and silently sighed. Stretching, Uraraka took a few steps forward, as a large smile covered her face.
"That was great," she commented, before grabbing her water bottle from the floor. Turning toward the exit, she gave Midoriya a quick glance and waved.
"See you later," Uraraka told him, as Midoriya returned the wave.
"See you later," Midoriya replied, watching as Uraraka left the gym. With that, he now stood alone. The only noise littering the room was that of the AC cooling the room down. Standing around, Midoriya wasn't fully sure what to do now. He quickly cleaned the equipment he and Uraraka used before setting everything back in its place. But once that was done, he just kept standing. Slowly looking around, Midoriya found his eyes returning to the wall of mirrors.
He wasn't sure why he did, but Midoriya began walking toward the mirror. Looking himself over, his conversation with Victoria came back to the forefront. The reason he lied came to mind. Because when the AI had said, "All you ever do is train," it stuck with him. The mission, the firefight, nearly dying… Hesitantly, Midoriya rolled up his right sleeve a little before quietly flexing in the mirror.
His biceps were akin to small cantaloupes, his calves as well. His pectorals were as big as dinner plates, a pair of honeydew melons were where his thighs should be, and through his sweat-covered shirt, Midoriya could see his six-pack abs. He wasn't massively bulky by any means; his entire form was, in fact, relatively lean yet packed with muscle. Somehow, he still looked kinda small, a tad bit unassuming. Midoriya blamed his height for that. But he'd spent years training, building up his current strength and skills. All that work, for what the mirror showed him now.
And yet, as Midoriya recalled the mission's end, it hadn't been enough. That giant cultist… Midoriya had thrown everything he had at him, and it hadn't been enough. It was something he expected to happen eventually; he was quirkless after all. He was never going to out-punch All Might, out-run Iida, out-last Kirishima, or out-smart Nezu. Midoriya knew that already. All that meant was that he'd just have to work harder, push himself further. He couldn't out-punch, so he out-hid. He couldn't outrun, so he out-ranged. He couldn't outlast, so he out-fought. He couldn't outsmart, so he out-maneuvered.
There was always room for him to improve. The issue was… how? He'd been doing this for years; what hadn't he tried yet? All that was truly left was just to wait. To just keep training and see what the next few years bring. But that seemed too far away. With that thought, Midoriya shook his head and quietly walked out of the gym. He was still young, and five foot five of all things, so granted, there was still some growing left to do. Midoriya was sure that wasn't going to do much, though. So distracted in thought, Midoriya forgot he was walking. Worse yet, he didn't realize he was coming up to an intersection in the hallway.
Midoriya was only snapped out of his thoughts when he accidentally slammed into All Might. The skeletal hero in his yellow pinstriped suit, busy carrying a stack of papers, didn't have time to react. In seconds, All Might dropped the stack of papers, the entire pile scattering across the floor.
"Ah crap," All Might muttered to himself, right as Midoriya released what happened. Rather quickly, both of them began picking up everything, trying to keep it all organized.
"Sorry, All Might," Midoriya apologized, only for All Might to wave him off.
"It's fine, Young Akatani," All Might told him, as he slowly started stacking the papers back up, "If anything, that's on me. I should have paid better attention to where I was going."
Quietly, Midoriya disagreed. It had been his fault entirely. But he didn't say this out loud, because he slowly began to notice something. Every paper on the floor was detailing an individual UA student. He spotted Kaminari, Yaoyorozu, Koda, Mineta, Tokoyami, a couple of support course students, some Gen Ed students, and even a couple of third-year hero students' records. All were present in the pile, and slowly, Midoriya began to raise a brow.
"What's this?" Midoriya asked as All Might glanced toward him.
"Student records. Principal Nezu suggested I review them," All Might explained, before grabbing the papers detailing Iida, and someone named Monoma. As he put them onto the stack, Midoriya couldn't help but be confused.
"What for?" Midoriya inquired, finding it a tad odd. Last he heard, there wasn't an exam or anything coming up. Finals were still a few weeks away and wouldn't start until July fourth. Internships were canceled, so what was up? All Might seemed to slow in response, the hero now taking a moment to stack the papers more carefully.
"It's… complicated," All Might replied, placing the last paper onto the stack. Looking up, All Might stood up with the stack now in hand. But instead of walking away, he paused. Looking down at Midoriya, All Might quietly thought to himself.
"You can keep a secret, right?" All Might asked, the hero looking around them cautiously.
"I can," Midoriya replied with a nod. For a second, All Might stayed quiet, thinking over Midoriya's response. Eventually, he shrugged and slowly started walking again.
"Well, truth be told, part of the reason I became a teacher here was to… find a successor," All Might hesitantly explained, while Midoriya quickly followed alongside him.
"On account of the injury-" Midoriya began to say, while All Might nodded his head.
"On account of the injury, yes," All Might confirmed with a slight chuckle, "...I've spent the last five years looking for an heir. Thought my alma mater would have the perfect candidate. And don't get me wrong, there are a lot of great choices… but…"
Soon, the hero spotted a lone bench sitting in the hall. Walking toward it, he set the papers down to the right of him and sat down. Slowly, Midoriya sat down as well on All Might's right. For a minute, All Might just thought to himself, a slow sigh escaping his lips.
"Call me crazy, but I don't think anyone should succeed me," All Might told him, the hero soon rubbing his brow.
"With… everything going on in the world, and… well, everything my symbol has created, I believe it's time for a change," All Might went on, as Midoriya looked toward him quietly, "The world can't rely on a sole pillar to hold it up again."
The lesson of a lifetime, Midoriya thought to himself. He didn't miss the quick, regretful glance All Might gave him. It was his symbol that gave the HPSC so much money, power, and influence. It was his symbol that allowed them to do such horrid crimes. And it was clear All Might blamed himself for everything, even if it wasn't his doing. Yet the hero soon laughed it off.
"And now I'm rambling," All Might chuckled to himself.
"Happens to the best of us," Midoriya told him with a smile. All Might simply nodded. Slowly, the hero's laughter stopped as he looked back down at Midoriya.
"What about you? You seemed rather out of it earlier. What's got you troubled?" All Might asked, causing Midoriya to freeze.
"Me? Well, I uh… You see…" Midoriya began to say, trying to think up a good lie. He didn't need to bug All Might, of all people, with his problems. But… then again…
"I… don't feel I'm pushing myself hard enough," Midoriya cautiously told him, causing All Might to snort.
"Story of my life," All Might joked, earning a slight smile from Midoriya. Quietly, he motioned for Midoriya to continue.
"I know I'll never be as strong as you or most others… But I know I can go further than where I am now," Midoriya clarified, while All Might slowly nodded in understanding, "I just… I don't know what else I could do."
The very thought taunted him. There was some peak he knew he could reach. But that required time, something Midoriya did not feel he had. Then again, Midoirya thought to himself, this could just be a patience problem. It was the desire for improvement immediately, rather than taking his time. Midoriya wasn't sure what case it would be. Then All Might hummed to himself.
"Perhaps I could be of help?" All Might inquired, earning a surprised look from Midoriya.
"You can help?" Midoriya asked, causing All Might to laugh.
"Of course!" All Might loudly boasted, before his body puffed up to his muscle form, "I am the bona fide master of muscle after all!"
For added theatrics, All Might gave a quick flex and posed, all while laughing proudly.
"Workouts are my specialty. With my help, you will go beyond! Plus Ultra!" All Might proclaimed, before returning to his skeletal form. Rather quickly, he grabbed one of the papers from his stack and flipped it over. Pulling a pen from his jacket pocket, All Might soon began scribbling onto the paper. It wasn't the wisest decision, but the records were just paper copies. Everything was already stored digitally, so a little ink didn't hurt much.
"Let's just get this started real quick," All Might commented, giving Midoriya more surprise.
"Wait, now?" Midoriya questioned, as All Might shrugged.
"No time like the present. Besides, all I'm really putting down is a title," All Might told him, making Midoriya curious. Looking down at the paper All Might had written on, he swiftly found the title All Might had written. In bright red ink, it read "The Go Beyond: American Dream Plan".
As hopeful as it had been to believe that something good could have come from the Musutafu Massacre, Uraraka knew it was an impossible dream. While she had hoped her parents could get one of the many contracts being sent out to rebuild the city, it had taunted her for days; it just hadn't happened. And to her, it was no real surprise. It was the same problem Uraraka Construction always had: they were just too small.
The fight to earn those new government contracts required a team of top lawyers that they just didn't have. Ignoring the lawyers, all the larger companies would just undercut them at every turn. In the end, the price would be too low for Uraraka Construction to match, else the entire company would go bankrupt. They could afford better equipment, had more manpower, had greater legal teams, had long-lasting political connections, and could take on a dozen different contracts at the same time.
An entire city needed to be rebuilt, and not one contract could be acquired. But again, to Uraraka, this was no surprise. So, she had a different plan in mind. For the last few days, she'd been job hunting. Most of her credentials were… nonexistent, but she didn't need a large multimillion-dollar position. Uraraka was just looking for something to ease her parents' burden, by at the very least, bringing in money for food.
Uraraka had found a job, one that should pay well. Bad news, the boss left Japan days ago. Good news, he was just getting back. Because while Uraraka desperately tried to calm her nerves, she spotted Snake's plane touch down on UA's airfield. Watching the plane come to a slow stop, Uraraka took a few final deep breaths.
"It'll be fine," Uraraka told herself, as the ground crew brought up the stair truck for the plane, "Just ask him for a job. No more, no less."
Soon, everything was put into place. The plane's door opened, and the small entourage of personnel the MSF had sent began to disembark. Slowly, the people filtered out until Uraraka spotted Snake walking out of the plane, dressed in his usual olive drab fatigues. Miller followed alongside him as the two moved down the stairs. However, they eventually split, as the second-in-command went off to do something else. That left Snake alone, the man now walking toward the airfield's open gate.
It was a good few feet away from Uraraka, but the distance seemed farther. At the same time, a lone M1280 JLTV sat parked along a concrete pathway. Knowing Snake was heading toward the vehicle and getting closer by the second, Uraraka decided to make her move.
"Here goes nothing," she muttered to herself, before slowly walking forward. Seeing the mercenary get closer, Uraraka took a final deep breath and waved Snake down.
"Excuse me! Snake! Er, Mr. Snake… Big Boss?" Uraraka called out, immediately regretting her choice of words. She spoke no more than eight words, and already felt like this was going poorly. Snake, now seeing her, curiously raised his brow. For a moment, he said nothing and simply looked at Uraraka, unsure.
"Uraraka, right?" Snake asked, the man quietly hoping he'd gotten the name right. Uraraka didn't blame him for that. Snake had only really interacted with Class 1A two or three times at most.
"I… uh, yes, that's me," Uraraka replied, cautiously nodding her head, "I was hoping to ask you something… sir."
Snake, who'd now gotten much closer to his vehicle, stopped moving for a moment.
"What is it?" Snake inquired, the man slowly turning away from the JLTV. It was here that Uraraka mentally froze. Asking seemed easy before… now it felt like she was under a ceiling light in an interrogation room. Quietly gulping, Uraraka tried to force the words out of her mouth.
"I… would like a job… please," Uraraka hesitantly told him, while cautiously looking up at the merc. Snake simply stayed quiet for a second before breathing in and out.
"...You want a job… with the MSF," Snake commented slowly, as Uraraka nodded in response.
"Yes," Uraraka replied confidently. Now she didn't want to enlist… maybe… she wasn't sure. All she wanted was to possibly complete a few contracts. After all, Akatani, by the legal framework of the MSF, was not enlisted. He wore their patches, used their guns, and rode in their vehicles, but he was not a member. Yet he still did contract work, almost like a freelancer. If Uraraka could get that, then she would be fine. Of course, as Uraraka thought this, she soon saw Snake begin to grumble.
Now rubbing his brow, Snake slowly drew a cigar from his back.
"I'm sorry, but I'm not sending students out on contract work," Snake said, while popping the cigar into his mouth and lighting it. At the same time, Uraraka began to quietly panic. The entire reason she thought the MSF was the best option was because her job hunt had been… well, let's just say the nearest open position was a small cat cafe, which by train, was forty-five minutes away. That was assuming they'd gotten the trains in Musutafu working again. So in reality, it could be a two to three-hour walk. That, very clearly, was not going to work. The MSF was quite literally the only place hiring people in Musutafu.
It would probably stay that way for a good few months, which Uraraka viewed as too far away. Not to mention, she'd be doing something worthwhile and could even help better her skills.
"I-It doesn't have to be anything big!" Uraraka protested quickly, "There… there are some jobs you have here that need doing right? And Akatani said you guys accept animal preservation contracts, I could help with one of those. It… shouldn't involve combat… much."
A dozen different jobs came to her mind. The MSF had refugees it was still tending to, and she could help out there. Her quirk made transporting supplies easy, so that could help a lot. Or… or she could help their medics out, like back during the Massacre. There were loads of things Uraraka could do. Yet Snake merely sighed tiredly.
"We have enough personnel to handle things right now, so I'm afraid there isn't much work available here," Snake pointed out, now taking a puff from his cigar, "As for the contracts… I don't even let Mikumo go alone on those."
Oh… that's right. Uraraka had forgotten about that part. That… likely would have made this entire conversation pointless… great, Uraraka mentally muttered.
"It sounds easy, but it is dangerous work. If the poachers don't kill you, the animals will," Snake continued, with Uraraka slowly becoming downtrodden.
"Oh…" Uraraka muttered, before looking back apologetically, "Sorry for bothering you then."
Rather quickly, she turned to leave, while trying to think up a new plan. But before she could get far, she heard Snake grumble under his breath.
"...Wait," he told her calmly, Uraraka now turning back around, "If you're desperate for money, you can ask UA staff for assistance."
"Are you sure? I… wouldn't want to be a burden to the school. I know they have a lot more going on," Uraraka replied cautiously, though this caused Snake to raise a brow.
"Funny, would have figured a teen would jump at the notion of free money," Snake pointed out, before taking another puff from his cigar.
"Well, I mean it… I do want the money, but I just…" Uraraka began to say. Though mentally, she began lambasting herself for it. It would be so easy to just say yes. To just have UA help her out with assistance programs. But Uraraka didn't want it to be easy. She wanted to earn the money.
"I… it doesn't feel right to take it," Urarake told him nervously, "I don't want to be some kind of leech to… to anyone really."
Quietly, Snake pondered this for a moment. He took another puff from his cigar and slowly hummed to himself.
"You want to prove your worth," Snake noted, causing Uraraka to nod, "To accomplish something to show you have value."
"Yeah…" Uraraka replied. She knew she wasn't worthless, and she wanted to show that. For a moment, Snake groaned to himself. Tiredly, he began to rub his brow, as he thought over everything said.
"...This is not a guarantee of anything, but I will see what I can do," Snake reluctantly told her. It was good enough, though, as the second Uraraka heard him, her face lit up.
"T-Thank you!" Uraraka quickly replied, as Snake slowly nodded. With that decided, Snake gave Uraraka a quick wave, got into his JLTV, and drove off. Letting Uraraka book it back to the school.
"For years, these fickle liberals, progressives, and capitalists littering our beloved country promised nothing but prosperity and wealth for all. But where is it? Where is the prosperity they promised us? Right now, it is littering the ruins of Fánróng," the news anchor, assuming they could be called that, yelled, "Their promises are nothing more than lies! Meant to lull the people into a false sense of hope, so that the masses sit by content with how things are!"
Officer An, a member of the Shanghai Public Security Police, could only roll his eyes the more the anchor went on. He could have changed his squad car's radio an hour ago, but he didn't. If only because An wanted to hear what this fool genuinely believed.
"Our farmers' fields are empty! Caused by a drought brought along by their debaucherous policies!" the anchor continued to yell, "Constantly handing out contracts to foreigners for pools and luxury resorts! All while we desperately need water! Now we find ourselves stuck depending on outsiders for food. All of their posturing and idiotic policies are why President Li was elected in the first place."
An could only scoff. None of this was the GHDP's or any other liberal party's fault. Because this anchor "conveniently" forgot that Fánróng was funded by CCP money, built by a CCP company, located in a CCP-run city, and inside a CCP-run province. The empty fields were due to the CCP demanding that they place restrictions on any imported water, claiming it was a security risk ripe for tampering, even though the country was dangerously low on water.
Then when the GHDP inevitably had to enact water rationing along with mass purchases of foreign food stuffs, the CCP accused them of screwing over domestic farmers. This wasn't even the first time crap like this had happened. It was becoming annoyingly common, of the CCP screwing over the medical, digital, financial, agricultural, or any number of industries, and then blaming everyone else.
At this point, An was sure the CCP was doing it on purpose. Because while he knew this was the CCP's fault, the CCP's followers just didn't listen. The party was the first to bring about heroes, and heroes were big business. Just one had mountains of influence on the youth and an unparalleled reputation with the media. So, of course, everytime the CCP pulled this crap, they would get away scot free. Eventually, An couldn't stand to listen to the anchor anymore and switched it off.
"Communist pig," he muttered under his breath, while slightly turning to his right, "Li should have lost the last election."
Next to him, his partner Kàn just nodded, while trying to stifle a yawn.
"Yeah, well, he didn't. Nothing you or I can do about that," Kàn muttered, causing An to turn forward. Looking up, he could see the night sky, but was ultimately disappointed by the view. Shanghai's massive buildings eclipsed everything around him, and the city's lights blocked out the stars. It was annoying, but that was just how it was in a city.
"You know, he tried to get a new bill passed banning outside media," An commented offhand, earning a tired glance from Kàn.
"Again?" Kàn questioned, before grumbling, "Gotta be shitting me. What was his justification this time?"
"Claimed western media was radicalizing the youth. That it was inspiring them to become villains and degenerates," An replied, hearing Kàn's brief but annoyed chuckle.
"Of course he did," Kàn muttered, the officer slowly shaking his head.
"Got shockingly close to passing to," An stated, now trying to stifle his own yawn.
"How the hell haven't I heard of this?" Kàn asked aloud, with An shrugging.
"Not sure. It was big news, should have popped up on your YouTube feed weeks ago," An explained calmly, before looking around them. Seeing nobody around, he decided to roll the car's window down, just a smidge. Through the open crack, An began to feel a small breeze filter in, and sighed.
"All my feed had was clips of the massacre in Japan," Kàn muttered, while slowly beginning to cross his arms, "Haven't had any other news."
"The government could be putting up protections again," An pointed out, earning another humorless chuckle from Kàn.
"Should have gotten that law repealed," Kàn grumbled, with An nodding. Again, the officer had to stifle a yawn before tiredly looking around. For as big of a city as Shanghai was, the streets were practically empty at this time. Then again, that should be expected. Only the insane were up at such an ungodly hour. It was just too early for this crap, but An was given the night shift.
Should probably get a coffee or just… something caffeine heavy, An tiredly thought to himself. Has to be some place still open. Right as he thought this, though, the car's police radio crackled to life.
"Unit ten-ten, we've received reports of suspicious activity at the Port of Shanghai. Security on sight has requested assistance. Expect a possible break-in," dispatch would tell them, earning a tired sigh from Kàn. The officer grabbed the radio swiftly, as An got the car started.
"Loud and clear, dispatch, moving to check it out," Kàn swiftly replied, while An started driving forward.
"Think it's those teens again?" An inquired, with Kàn simply shrugging in response.
"Probably. Wonder what commie crap they spraypainted this time," Kàn replied with An groaning. After a few minutes of driving, An found the port's gate slowly getting closer. Yet when he finally stopped the car, he noticed something was off. For the past week, a group of teens kept sneaking into the Port of Shanghai. Every night, they'd spray paint some shipping containers or ships docked in the area. And every night, the port's local security would catch them and call the cops to deal with them.
So on most nights, they'd show up at the front gate, near the security booth, and find the punks already rounded up. Instead, there was nothing. The booth was empty, void of any guards or disheveled teens. But the gate was wide open. Slowly, An opened his door and cautiously stepped out of the car.
"Odd," he muttered, as he heard Kàn's door open soon after. With a radio in hand, Kàn took a moment to look around.
"Dispatch, this is unit ten-ten. We've arrived at the port's main gate, no sign of security staff," Kàn reported into the radio, while An began walking toward the booth. Looking in, he couldn't spot anything off with the room. The power was still on, nothing had been broken, hell, the room was spotless. It was here, though, that An noticed something. Turning back toward Kàn, both officers quietly waited for a worryingly long reply.
"...Dispatch?" Kàn inquired, only for the radio to stay silent. Now thoroughly concerned, An began to reach for his QSZ-92 sidearm. Looking around the empty space, he took a few cautious steps forward, hoping to spot anything out of the ordinary. That was, until he saw the glint of something in the distance. It was hard to notice, with it being packed between mountains of shipping containers, but he noticed something.
An didn't have time to figure out what it was, before he heard something start walking toward him. Kàn heard it too, and both officers rapidly turned to see what was coming. Slowly, An went pale. Behind him, dressed head to toe in a mix of blacks, purples, silvers, and greys, were over a dozen men.
"Grab them!" someone shouted, as An rapidly moved to unholster his gun. Kàn tried to do the same, but neither officer had the time. As unnoticed by both of them, more people began coming in from the port proper. Slinking out of shipping containers, dipping out of the shadows. Before An could even fire a shot, he found one villain grabbing him into a chokehold and slamming him into his squad car.
In seconds he was disarmed, and a thug with a rifle soon struck him with the butt of his gun. From there, An blacked out for a moment. Listlessly, his eyes opened up, to realize he was being dragged along the floor. Blood dripped from his forehead as he tiredly glanced around. Looking over the thugs dragging him… they reminded him of that cult from Japan. But something seemed… off. What were they doing in Shanghai? It didn't make sense.
So An looked over everything more carefully, entirely unsure what was off. They wore the colors of the cult, they had the numbers of the cult, they had the… guns… Quietly, An began to look over the cult members again. All had firearms present, just like the cult. But only half of them had Japanese equipment. The rest were very clearly not. An was by no means a gun expert, but he'd been to enough crime scenes to recognize what some of them were.
There were South Korean K2 assault rifles, K3 light machine guns, a couple of K14 snipers spread about, and a dozen different K5 pistols being carried around as sidearms. There were Indian JVPCs, 1B1 Insas assault rifles, and Vidhwansak anti-material rifles. And finally, there were Taiwanese T91 assault rifles and Type 77 submachine guns. As far as An remembered, none of these guns had appeared during the massacre.
That only served to make him more suspicious, before he realized the person dragging him had stopped moving.
"What do we have here?" he heard the voice ask. Struggling slightly, An tried to glance behind him. There, he spotted one "cultist" standing about with his arms crossed, and a K5 resting in his hand.
"Found a couple of officers snooping around. Seems we missed a security guard," the villain, dragging An, replied, earning an annoyed scoff from the other guy.
"Are comms jammed?" the new villain inquired, as An's handler nodded.
"They are now," the first villain replied, causing the second to wave him off.
"Then it shouldn't matter. The job remains the same," the second villain pointed out. At the same time, the first villain glanced back down at An. Seeing he was up, the villain wasted no time shoving the stock of his gun into An's face again.
"What do we do with these two then?" the first villain asked, ignoring An's brief cry of pain. The second villain paused for a moment, and looked at both his compatriot and An over.
"Boss said to make this look like the cult's doing," the second villain began to murmur, now slowly looking at An's face. His words only confirmed An's suspicions; this wasn't the Ninth Circle.
"Crucify them," the villain ordered, and instantly An went pale. They weren't serious, were they?
"If you say so," the first villain replied, bringing more panic to An. Rather desperately, he tried to struggle out of his captor's grasp, but that resulted in getting struck again. Through his panic, An began searching for any nearby solution. Instead, all he found was death. He hadn't noticed it before, but the entire area was littered with bodies. The missing guards were spread out across the dockyard, all bleeding out on the floor.
A few were purposely chopped up and mounted on pikes to imitate the cult's usual calling cards. There were cultist bodies around as well… or An assumed they were cultists. They had the same colors as their compatriots, but… something about it bugged him. Again, An tried to struggle, his eyes rapidly looking around for help. Instead, he saw the second villain pull out a phone as he got a call. As he answered it, the villain smirked.
"Papa bear, to what do I owe the honor?" the villain asked with a chuckle.
"Is the job done?" someone on the other end demanded.
"Almost," the villain replied, "Most of the staff are dead, as you requested. They're bodies are being put into position as we speak."
"And the camera footage?" the unknown man asked.
"Gone, took out the cameras for good measure," the villain answered.
"Efficient work," the other end noted.
"Well, can always count on the Gold Coast," the villain boasted, just as An felt himself get hoisted up. He continued to struggle against them, kicking his legs out, hoping to hit any of these villains.
"Let me go!" An demanded, momentarily getting one of his arms free. There he turned and slugged the nearest villain, managing to knock him back a bit. However, another quickly grabbed his arm. Rapidly, An found himself being placed onto a makeshift cross, made out of random bits of wood the villains could scrounge together.
"Damn it, hold him still!" a villain ordered, as An found one of them bring over three large nails. Panicking, An kept struggling, quietly pleading that someone would arrive to help. That dispatch had gotten their call for backup up and the cavalry would arrive any minute. Instead, all he felt was searing pain as a nail was shoved through his right hand. An yelled, louder than he ever had before. His captors ignored his anguished wails as they put another nail through his left hand, then one through both his feet.
Still moaning in pain, An loudly begged for this to end. Slowly, he found the villains began pulling their makeshift cross up. Now upright, An had full view of the chaos around him. He couldn't see Kàn anywhere, but he could hear his pained moans. Below him, the villains continued to work, dragging around bodies and placing them in different spots. It… it was difficult to breathe, An soon noted. His lungs cried out for air, yet it became so difficult to breathe.
And as this feeling began to set in for An, he saw a bright light. He had hoped it was the end of this cruel fate. He'd assumed he'd died, but that couldn't have been true. An could still feel the nails in his hand. The light was not from some heavenly force, but from the fireball now eclipsing half of the Port of Shanghai.
All for One was the greatest threat the world had ever seen. He knew this, All Might knew this, and assuming the HPSC even remembered him, they knew this was well. Yet as time went on, and as All for One's annoyance grew, he felt there was one group that just wouldn't get the message. Because as he sat in his chair, hooked up to a whole mess of tubes, unable to see a thing, All for One listened to the news.
"Come again? Is… is this true?" the female anchor inquired, before clearing her throat, "Well, I'm now being told that we've got breaking news. Now confirmed by Chinese authorities, the Port of Shanghai has been bombed. While the investigation is still underway, and information is sparse, current reports suggest the Ninth Circle was the attack's perpetrator. Local authorities are still searching for survivors; however, only one has so far been located-"
"Always this cult," All for One grumbled angrily. The longer time went on, the more this cult went about trying to overshadow him. They never could, yet they kept trying to. They kept bombing something or causing a shootout every week. The League's attack on the MSF had been ground-breaking news for three days before the cult attacked another government building in Hiroshima.
It was getting annoying. If All for One was going to remind the world to fear him, then the skulls couldn't keep hogging the spotlight. So something would have to be done. Quietly, All for One began to think up a plan. And without a second thought, he began to summon his pupil. An odd grey goop appeared in the air for a moment, soon followed by the lock choking noise of Shigaraki trying to breathe. With a quick gasp for air, Shigaraki looked up.
"Sensei?" Shigaraki asked, confused about why he'd been summoned.
"Tomura, I trust things are going well?" All for One calmly greeted, soon spinning his chair around to face his pupil.
"They are," Shigaraki replied, still thoroughly confused, "The League's gained more members than anticipated."
"Good. All will be needed," All for One told him, his plan already coming to mind. It was a simple plan, one likely to strike at the very heart of society's greatest hero.
"I believe it is again time for the League to strike," All for One stated calmly. The moment he uttered the words, he expected Shigaraki to be excited by the proposition. Finally, he'd once again be allowed to lash out at this pitiful world. Instead, the man stayed quiet. Though he couldn't see him, All for One could soon sense Shigaraki's growing confusion and nervousness.
His heart beat just a tad bit faster, the faint scent of sweat began to form, his breathing sped up a hair or two, and the unmistakable noise of nails scratching skin echoed in the room.
"You seemed troubled, Tomura," All for One noted, while slowly clasping his hands together. Shigaraki, still scratching the back of his neck, stayed quiet for a second longer.
"I… don't think attacking again so soon would be wise," Shigaraki replied cautiously, causing All for One to raise a brow he didn't have.
"Oh?" All for One inquired, a tinge of shock hidden in his tone. This was a first. Shigaraki had always been his loyal pupil. His quiet yes man, who was always eager to kill or destroy something. Whenever he wasn't a yes-man, it was because he was impatient and wanted to act immediately. But here he was, telling All for One they should wait. All for One found it… intriguing.
"The MSF and heroes here are bad enough, but now we've got American heroes coming in," Shigaraki explained hesitantly, not wanting to displease his master, "Our party is still severely underleveled."
Mirthlessly, All for One chuckled to himself.
"You put too much faith in our enemies," All for One told him, "As of right now, their focus is on the Ninth Circle, leaving them vulnerable."
"But now they're getting outside help. Their attention may be on the skulls, but they have the resources to crush us both at the same time," Shigaraki soon countered, leaving All for One quiet. Slowly, he unclasped his hands and placed both arms on the chair's armrests. Methodically, his fingers tapped away, as if All for One was playing a piano.
"Do you doubt my power, Tomura?" All for One inquired calmly, "Do you doubt my strength or my cunning?"
"...N-no, Sensei," Shigaraki quickly answered, "I just believe our new members are unready."
"Then we will get them ready," All for One decided, "You have three weeks to train up the League. I will even have Garaki prepare you more nomu for the attack."
Of course, that was assuming Garaki wouldn't protest the plan. With the LOV so desperately needing numbers, and the nomu filling up most of their ranks, it meant most of the Doctor's work had been dedicated to mass production. Which, of course, Garaki did not like. Most of his more powerful experiments were being heavily delayed, as nomu production dragged away more and more of his time. But he'd just have to make do.
With where the League stood now, a million cheap nomu would suit them better than five good ones. And in the end, did it matter? When compared to the greatness of himself and these monsters, what could the world do against them?
"This cult, the government, the MSF, the Americans, and All Might are all just stepping stones," All for One stated, a tinge of annoyance leaking into his tone, "Remember that Tomura."
Chapter 114: Another Meeting
It had taken some time for everyone to get assembled once Snake got back. But now, UA's top staff, the MSF's highest-ranking commanders in Japan, Miller, Ocelot, and Detective Tsukauchi, were all present in the school's conference room. As of right now, there was only one topic on everyone's mind. Tiredly, Snake was beginning to get sick of meetings; this week had been practically nothing but meetings for him. But this one was far too important to ignore.
"So, shall we begin?" Snake inquired, watching as a dozen heads slowly began to nod. All eyes fell on Tsukauchi then, the detective taking a quick breath.
"Right," Tsukauchi stated. For the purposes of this meeting, UA staff had elected to have a holo-table placed in the room. Rather cautiously, Tsukauchi drifted his hand over the table's hologram and watched as it shifted to the first set of files.
"Now, on April 13th, a man by the name of Shigaraki Tomura broke into UA. During the break in he stole a class schedule, which was unknown at the time. On April 20th, Shigaraki would break in again, this time attacking the USJ with a crew of around seventy villains," Tsukauchi began, as Snake quietly noted the photos popping up in front of him. It showed the decayed hole in UA's wall, the footage of Ocelot's chase, the body cams of the Ocelot Unit's fight in the USJ, and other photos of evidence.
"He would also bring along, what we now believe to be, a manufactured bio weapon by the name of nomu," Tsukauchi continued, right as the table switched to the beast in question. The thing was nothing short of ugly.
"The aftermath of the attack would end with Shigaraki Tomura and an associate by the name of Kurogiri, both being arrested," Tsukauchi quickly noted, "However, a few days later, an unknown party would break them out of jail."
Just then, photos of the police station where the pair were held were shown. The entire place had been seemingly torn apart, yet no hard evidence had been collected of any attackers. The police didn't know how many there were, who they were, or where they went. It was an unfortunate dead end.
"They wouldn't be seen again for a few weeks, up until the Musutafu Massacre," Tsukauchi calmly continued, "Reports suggested they began gathering up villains caught in the battle and taking them to an unknown area. By all appearances, most of the villains the League took in were soon recruited into their ranks."
"We have a list of names?" Vlad King asked, only for Tsukauchi to shake his head.
"Not yet. Figuring out who now works for the LOV has become rather difficult. Analysts I'd normally have on hand are now unavailable for… obvious reasons…" Tsukauchi replied, somberly stopping as everyone got the picture. Quickly, Tsukauchi shook his head and turned toward Ocelot.
"What about on your side?" Tsukauchi asked, while Ocelot carefully spun his revolvers.
"Same issue, unfortunately," Ocelot answered with a brief groan, "I did, however, catch a rumor from the underground. Says the League recruited some group by the name of the Volcano Thieves."
"Of course they did," Midnight muttered, but she didn't divulge anything else. Must be another local group, Snake thought to himself. The Volcano Thieves never popped up on his radar before, so he'd need more domestic intelligence.
"Anyone else?" Miller asked, causing Ocelot to shrug.
"Just a few no-namers here and there," Ocelot replied, before pulling out his Idroid. With a quick flick, the cowboy sent over a set of files. Popping up on the table, Snake looked over everything curiously. It wasn't the most concrete evidence, so far it was all just rumors the HPSC had dug up from the underworld, but it was something. They were all truly no-namers, though. Random murderers, thieves, muggers, and whoever else the League could find.
With nothing else, though, Tsukauchi soon spoke back up.
"Alright, now, after the Massacre, the League continued recruitment efforts for a good few days, before their raid on the CS Kopfgeld. Along with thousands of dollars worth of military arms, the League reportedly stole medical equipment, foodstuffs, clothing, and other equipment. Which leads us to now," Tsukauchi finished, and brought up the ship's manifest for everyone to see.
Quietly noting everything, Snake still found it all… odd. Thinking back to the monsters the LOV had, something about them just worried him. And Snake didn't know why.
"The things that attacked the docs, the nomu, what are they?" Snake asked, watching as Tsukauchi turned toward him. At the very least, Snake knew they were people, or that they used to be. But the specifics of it all still eluded him.
"From what current intel suggests, some of these monsters are made from the corpses of one or several different people," Tsukauchi explained cautiously, "How exactly they're made is still unknown. However, each has been genetically modified to possess more than one quirk."
At the same time as he spoke, Tsukauchi pulled up reports of the bodies the police had recovered. Somehow, these monsters were more freakish than the first. But there was an odd mix to them. They were paler greys, greens, purples. Some had tails, wings, and arms larger than their torso. They weren't carbon copies of the same thing; instead, they had freakish variety. And then Snake noticed the rest of the report, and his eye slowly went wide.
One of the nomu was a member of the MSF. A Private First Class, Raging Hippo. The creature didn't even resemble the private anymore. But that thing was one of theirs. That was one of his men, and the League had turned his corpse into that. Snake felt sick looking at it. What's more, he felt furious. They'd done the same to a dozen other soldiers, all people the MSF had listed as MIA.
Yet as Snake lingered on that line of thought, something else stuck out to him.
"...More than one quirk…" Snake muttered to himself, the familiarity of the concept sticking out to him.
"Something the matter?" Tsukauchi asked, the detective noticing Snake's change of tone. Cautiously tapping his finger on the table, Snake slowly grumbled to himself.
"We encountered something similar a few years back," Snake swiftly replied, and looked over everyone present, "Do any of you remember the Showstoppers?"
"That human trafficking organization you fought?" All Might inquired, with Snake nodding in response. They'd never gone over the specifics of the event with UA's staff. It was a closed case file for the most part; there wasn't much else Snake thought was needed from it. Now it seemed he was wrong.
"The very same," Snake told him, "Their main hideout was an old Russian military base hidden in Siberia. The entire place was originally made to try and create genetically modified super soldiers. Instead, they created a serum that could seemingly bring back the dead."
That very quickly got All Might's attention, the hero now turning pale. A few others had the same reaction, as everyone, bar Nezu, Miller, and Ocelot, looked toward Snake, stunned.
"That's not where this story ends, though," Snake then revealed, "During the mission, a colleague of mine located a set of audio logs detailing the base's experiments. For whatever reason, they were all recorded in Japanese."
If they weren't shocked before, UA's staff was now. A puzzled look struck all of them as Snake's last words began to register. Thinking back on it, Snake had always found it odd.
"When… When were these experiments happening?" All Might asked, voicing the staff's current worry.
"At least a century ago," Snake replied, earning a brief sigh from everyone, "Whoever was running these experiments hopefully died years ago."
"Hopefully?" Midnight questioned, the woman slowly raising a brow.
"You'd be surprised how often the opposite is true," All Might muttered, before Snake had a chance to reply.
"Was there anything else in those audio logs?" Present Mic asked, with Snake slowly nodding.
"Last I recall, the person recording mentioned something about a man capable of giving and taking quirks," Snake told him. It was as he said this that all the color drained from All Might's face. Seeing this, Snake couldn't help but raise a brow.
"...All Might?" Snake asked, all eyes soon falling onto the hero. Hearing his name, the Symbol of Peace quickly snapped back to reality and shook his head.
"Sorry, I just… I know the man he's referring to," All Might explained, surprising Snake, Miller, and Ocelot in seconds. Tapping his hand along the table, All Might reluctantly sighed to himself.
"This… I believe this simply confirms my worst fear," All Might muttered, quickly confusing everyone.
"All for One is alive," All Might proclaimed somberly, the hero bringing a hand to his brow. Rapidly, the ramifications of the announcement hit everyone. Snake himself hadn't heard much of All Might's speech, but Miller had given him the Cliff Notes at the end. Truth be told, this All for One character had been terrifying to hear about. Snake wasn't sure the MSF had anything capable of killing him, bar a few nuclear or chemical weapons.
So to hear All Might say he was alive? It immediately put Snake into a DEFCON mindset.
"The villain who gave you your injury?" Present Mic asked, shocked, with All Might slowly nodding.
"He's the man who can give and take quirks?" Miller inquired, and All Might kept nodding.
"He is," All Might confirmed, now removing his hand from his brow. At the same time, Aizawa looked back at him with a calm glare, a million thoughts running through his mind.
"What do you mean alive? You said you killed him years ago," Aizawa pointed out, causing All Might to groan.
"Clearly, I was wrong," All Might replied, with Snake quietly wondering how. He never admitted how he killed the villain in his speech, but All Might seemed adamant that no one could have survived. The best guess Snake had was that he caved in All for One's skull. An oddly brutal way to go, but for a man as powerful as him, it may not have been enough.
"All Might, what makes you believe he is alive?" Nezu soon asked, voicing Snake's quiet concern.
"Well, you said that serum was capable of bringing back the dead," All Might quickly reasoned, his eyes turning toward Snake.
"It is, but it has a side effect. It would completely destroy the quirk factor of the corpse," Snake countered calmly, "Each corpse it brought back was just a lifeless husk, not whatever the hell these nomu things are."
"Yes, but that was over a century ago," All Might argued, soon pointing up a finger, "Who's to say this doctor hasn't improved with time?"
"That's assuming they're even still alive," Midnight stated, with Snake… well, not entirely disagreeing. There was a shocking number of immortals he'd met, be they through quirks or supernatural means. For all they knew, All for One could be a ghost.
"It's not entirely out of the question. All for One lived for centuries through stolen quirks. If he and this doctor had met, he could have kept him alive. Assuming this doctor didn't have his own quirk keeping him out of the grave," All Might swiftly reasoned, causing Snake to hum.
"Ok, so the doctor has been alive this entire time, and what? Brought All for One back to life?" Miller questioned, only for All Might to nod.
"Possibly yes," All Might answered, "When it comes to these nomus, the doctor has the means to bring dead bodies back to life, and All for One has the quirks to strengthen them."
And if this unknown doctor were alive, then give him another century to work, and he could have improved the serum's capabilities. It may not give them another quirk, but it could keep the quirk factor intact rather than completely destroying it. At the same time, the MSF didn't know what other improvements this doctor could have added to their skill set.
"That… is worrying," Snake grumbled, a hand now rubbing his chin.
"If this man is truly alive, and as strong as you claim he is… then we have a problem," Snake muttered, calmly voicing everyone's unheard opinion. The attack on the docks had already shown the beasts' current strength. How dangerous would they be years or even months from now? This League would be an unparalleled threat.
"You know him the best," Ocelot spoke up, as he looked toward All Might, "What would All for One's next move be?"
Hearing the words, All Might stayed quiet for a moment. The hero pondered the question carefully, but he seemed to struggle.
"I don't know," All Might replied hesitantly, a brief sigh escaping his lips.
"He's a cunning villain, willing to plan out something that could take years or hide in the shadows for decades. But he's very ego-driven as well. In a sense, he's a villain who's never keen on someone else taking his spotlight," All Might explained, as Snake quietly nodded along, "He wouldn't care about a gang of bank robbers or a serial killer. But if one villain group becomes too much of an annoyance to him, he'd wipe them from the board for stepping out of line."
At the moment, one such group immediately came to Snake's mind. By now, the Ninth Circle would have guaranteed All for One's ire. The longer they stayed in the spotlight, the longer All for One's ego would be bruised. But there was something Snake noticed: the League still wasn't in the spotlight. If they wanted to get back in the spotlight, All for One had two options. Attack the cult, or attack the MSF. Both choices put them back on the map.
Now they had attacked the MSF, but the raid on Musutafu Docks was more hit-and-run in nature. There was no overwhelming display of dominance to strike fear in everyone and stroke some madman's ego. Instead, it was a quick job. The League went in, grabbed what they could, and left.
"So in other words…" Snake began to realize.
"The attack on the docks may not have been his doing," All Might said, finishing Snake's sentence, "The LOV's raid that night was quick and no nonsense. They attacked, grabbed what they could, then disappeared. Moreover, it has been the only major attack from them in the last few days. Their moment in the spotlight has already disappeared."
"But I thought you were saying the League and All for One are linked?" Present Mic pointed out, causing All Might to rub the back of his head.
"They are. I'm just not sure if All for One is totally in charge," All Might replied quickly, with Snake nodding along.
"The raid on the docks might not have been him. It could have been Shigaraki's doing," All Might pointed out, earning a shocked look from everyone else.
"That manchild? You saw his performance at the USJ," Vlad King argued, causing Snake to turn toward the table. A momentary report of the unknown terrorist popped up, and Snake found the blood hero's words to be no exaggeration.
"Apparently, he's been learning," Ocelot muttered, annoyed, with Aizawa slowly nodding next to him.
"So, for all intents and purposes, we could be dealing with two separate leaders," Present Mic tiredly stated, his hands clasped together and over his mouth. From there, the room settled into an uneasy silence, as everyone thought over everything that had been said. A few heroes looked ready to speak up again, before a phone began to ring. After a few seconds, Ocelot drew the device from his pocket and stood up from his chair.
"I'll bring forward any more news," Ocelot swiftly told the room, the cowboy now walking toward the door.
"I'll try to do the same," Tsukauchi added, while giving the cowboy a quick wave. At the same time, Nezu slowly turned toward Snake.
"What about you? Does the MSF have a plan?" Nezu inquired, causing Snake to shrug.
"For right now, the best we can do is step up security in key areas," Snake replied, already thinking up what could be added. After all these nomus were particularly vicious, and needed serious heavy weaponry to kill. The weaker ones could maybe be dealt with by plain assault rifles, but the stronger ones would decimate whatever the MSF threw at them. The best course of action would likely be more autonomous weaponry, something to give the flesh-and-blood infantry a chance to book it out of the fight.
So likely more Battlegears, more THeMIS drones, more Ripsaws, more robotic soldiers, and more unmanned helicopters. The MBCVs could help out too. Had better mobility than a tank, more fluid movement, and could help out some infantrymen in the field. But overall, the biggest thing that came to Snake's mind was railguns. May need to start issuing more of them.
It was here that the meeting came to a slow end. One by one, staff began to filter out as things came to a close. When almost everyone had left, Snake slowly began to remember something. Turning to his right, he found Miller still sitting down, the commander quietly reading over the rest of Tuskauchi's reports on his Idroid.
"Kaz?" Snake said, Miller soon glancing toward him.
"Yeah?" Miller inquired, the man still scrolling through the report.
"Do we have any unfilled positions?" Snake asked, with Miller pausing for a moment.
"What, like jobs? Not really," Miller replied, shrugging, "With how many people we brought from the homefront, I'm pretty sure half our guys have nothing to do."
"Excluding combat roles?" Snake inquired, which Miller quickly found odd. Switching off his Idroid, Miller fully turned toward Snake with his brow raised.
"...what brought this on?" Miller asked, and Snake merely grumbled in response.
"That Uraraka kid from 1A, you remember her?" Snake questioned, as Miller slowly nodded.
"Brown haired girl with the zero gravity quirk. The dare I say close confidant of Akatani," Miller replied, a slow smirk forming on his face.
"Yeah, her- close confidant?" Snake inquired suspiciously as Miller leaned back in his chair.
"They hang out a lot," Miller replied, his left hand then lowering his glasses down, "And I do mean a lot, Snake."
That… Ok, that was true. With MSF staff handling UA security, it meant that Snake got a weekly report about what was seen over the security cameras. Let's just say the words "Target Alpha was with Student U" came up a lot. Now, Snake had his suspicions, but as of yet, he hadn't said anything about it. That said, a closer eye might be needed.
"Anyway, you were saying?" Miller then asked, snapping Snake out of his thoughts.
"Right… well, she came to me asking for a job," Snake slowly explained, while watching as Miller's expression shifted to one of confusion.
"A job… with us?" Miller inquired, surprised, and Snake then nodded in response.
"That was my reaction. Now I'm just checking if there is anything she could do," Snake replied, as Miller leaned forward again. For a moment, the commander thought to himself. Seconds later, he flipped through his Idroid again and began going through MSF staffing records.
"I'm… not sure if there is," Miller eventually told him, "Aside from personnel filling up everything, does she have any experience?"
"Student's file said her parents own a construction company. Uraraka might have helped around here or there," Snake replied with a shrug, as Miller continued to scroll. It wasn't much, but the skills had to help out somewhere.
"We're not really building anything at the moment, even then Cementoss kinda makes the process short as hell," Miller then pointed out, causing Snake to grumble.
"Could maybe find something for her in logistics… no, that's pretty much handled. Don't want to put Uraraka somewhere only for her to spend a week doing nothing," Snake muttered, the man trying to think up some kind of option. The Medical Team already had enough people to keep everything in order. Adding any more people, especially someone without experience, might cause some issues.
Most of the Intel Department's work was classified, and while Snake didn't find Uraraka untrustworthy, she'd still have to go through weeks of security protocols. R was kinda swamped already, as they'd been… well drafted into helping out UA's support course. So they already had a million gremlins to keep in order. And then Snake remembered, the US was sending over backup.
While they wouldn't be working under the MSF, their capabilities would be added to the collaborative fold. So when they arrive, there will be even less available work than before.
"Yeah, I'm not sure if there is any work for her," Miller muttered, the man clicking his tongue.
"That's why I was checking," Snake stated with a sigh, now shaking his head. At the same time, Miller brought a hand to his chin, as a smirk came to his face.
"Actually, I could open up a Maxi Buns here," Miller muttered to himself, only to feel Snake's eye glare a hole into him. Now was not the time to be bringing over a burger chain.
"On second thought, maybe later," Miller conceded nervously before both men heard the sound of someone sipping.
"Truly quite the conundrum," Nezu commented, as both men's eyes shot to the floor. There they found the rodent listening in quietly, a cup of tea in his paws.
"Why do you do this?" Snake questioned, wondering just why this rodent always had to pop in all the time… on second thought, pot meets kettle.
"Because I find it funny," Nezu replied with a smug grin, before he took another sip. At the same time, All Might popped his head back into the conference room. The hero had stepped out, but stopped the moment he heard Snake's conversation.
"So what's this about Young Uraraka needing a job?" All Might inquired as he stepped back into the room.
"She came to me looking for work," Snake replied, causing All Might to raise his brow.
"How come?" All Might asked, with Snake soon shrugging.
"Money problems, if I had to guess," Snake told him.
"Well, I'm sure the school would be willing to help her out," All Might stated, before turning to look down at Nezu. Quietly, the principal simply nodded in agreement.
"I suggested that. She declined," Snake explained, "Actually… would the school have anything available?"
"For work? No," Nezu quickly replied, and took another sip of his tea, "Most of our manual labor is handled by robots."
"Could Uraraka be a teacher's assistant?" Miller questioned, as All Might shrugged.
"I'm… not sure she has the experience for that," All Might pointed out.
"To be a TA?" Snake asked, with All Might nodding.
"This is a hero school. There is a lot more to do than just passing out papers," All Might explained calmly, "If I'm right, then part of the reason Nezu accepted Akatani as a TA was due in part to years of training. Why else would we be paying him?"
As All Might said this, an odd silence began to settle in. For whatever reason, Nezu continued to sip on his tea. Slowly, all eyes fell onto the rodent, the longer the silence went on.
"...We are paying him… right?" All Might asked, concerned, as Nezu avoided eye contact.
"There were some cost-cutting measures… and Akatani made no complaint of it," Nezu replied, and Snake simply facepalmed.
"Unbelievable," Snake muttered aloud. He wasn't sure who to blame. Midoriya for being too good-natured to accept payment, or Nezu for taking advantage of it.
"What about you, then, All Might? You've got an agency at your disposal," Miller then asked, getting the conversation going again. With the click of his tongue, All Might thought it over before smiling bashfully.
"Ah… I'd like to say yes, but again, I don't think I have anything either," All Might replied, "Most open positions are a tad bit outside her qualifications. The rest that aren't are… well, they're outside the city."
Snake was pretty sure All Might could deal with the location issue, but then Snake thought it over. His agency was in Tokyo, likely hours away from here. They'd need a helicopter to go between two cities for who knows how long, just for one girl to work as a secretary… As much as Snake wanted to help, his kindness did have limits. Spending thousands on fuel crossed them a smidge. The math just was not in Uraraka's favor.
"So… the MSF has nothing for her, neither does the school, nor your agency," Snake muttered, as he slowly leaned back in his chair. As he said this, he found both All Might and Miller looking back at him regretfully. All the while, Nezu looked up with a faint knowing grin.
"There is one option," Nezu commented, causing Snake to groan.
"I've told you before, I'm not sending students alone on contract work," Snake stated tiredly, while shaking his head. As he said this, though, he spotted All Might get a contemplative look. Quietly, the hero thought over the idea, and Snake looked back, shocked.
"All Might, no," Snake stated. Hearing him, All Might held up his hands defensively.
"Just… hold on for five seconds," All Might told him cautiously, the hero taking a brief deep breath. Holding up one finger, he soon pointed toward Snake calmly.
"You said the MSF does animal conservation work," All Might pointed out, while Snake crossed his arms.
"Preservation groups hire us to go into hotspots around the globe to extract endangered animals," Snake told him, "Keyword being hotspots. These are active warzones, All Might."
"Do all of these contracts go to hotspots?" All Might inquired hopefully, as Snake groaned. Uncrossing his arms, Snake brought a hand to his brow.
"No," Snake replied. Not all of the contracts went to combat zones.
"Ok, then don't send her to one. Put her on something behind friendly lines," All Might reasoned with a shrug.
"That still runs its own risks," Miller said, deciding to pipe back up.
"Then let's cover them," All Might countered quickly, "You run a multi-billion dollar PMC and a nation state, surely you have the resources to watch over one teen."
…They did… but it was still the principle of the thing. Snake didn't like the idea of sending a teen on military work alone. Then again, preservation work didn't exactly count as military work… still wasn't entirely safe. Yet All Might pressed on.
"Here's what you can do, you find a small animal preservation contract behind the frontlines in… we'll say Outer Heaven," All Might swiftly reasoned, "You send her there with someone to accompany her, one of your men, or maybe a teacher can go with her."
Quietly, Snake followed All Might's line of logic. It annoyingly made sense, and Snake didn't like it. If the contract was in friendly territory, then the risk of something going wrong dramatically fell.
"You give her a radio for constant contact, a tracking device, keep watch over her with drones, and possibly have a squad ready in case of emergencies," All Might then added, "If something goes wrong, the person accompanying her can handle the situation, you can talk to her, or you can dispatch back up in a few minutes."
It also had the added benefit of being close to local forces. Both civilian law enforcement and paramedics, and MSF reinforcements. So if one of them got injured, they could be flown to a hospital in a couple of minutes. Reluctantly, Snake groaned as he saw All Might's point.
"Besides, I doubt Uraraka would need a boatload of cash. This would probably just be a one-time thing," All Might then finished, causing Snake to nod. A single contract made even just a squad of soldiers big bucks. Snake wasn't sure about other PMCs, but the MSF's payment method was rather lucrative. For a mission with just Uraraka, a helicopter crew, some guys working a C-5 or C-17, and some intelligence officers to keep an eye on her, she'd net herself a very pretty penny.
Probably wouldn't need another contract.
"And if other students start asking for contracts?" Miller pointed out, only for All Might to shrug.
"Then for them you can say no," All Might reasoned calmly, "I'd call this a special case."
Snake hated the fact that he was coming around to the idea. It was, unfortunately, practical, yet it still felt wrong. The only good news was that Snake still had one saving grace.
"As nice an idea as this is, we don't have that kind of contract," Snake pointed out. The contract All Might was suggesting was horribly specific. It needed to be in Outer Heaven, it needed to be an animal rescue contract, it needed to pay well, and it needed to avoid any possible conflict. As far as Snake remembered, they didn't have that ultra-specific contract.
"Maybe you can find one," All Might argued.
"What do you think? A contract's just gonna appear out of the blue?" Snake inquired.
"And how are we doing today, Matilda?" Charles asked, his voice somewhat raspy and struggling to maintain his Kentuckian accent. Quietly, the old man watched as the Philippine crocodile poked its head out of the water. Now Charles found some difficulty lifting the small bucket of fish he'd grabbed while walking to the croc's pen. But his weak, wrinkled hands managed to hold it up. Grabbing one fish ever so carefully, Charles tossed it in and watched as Matilda snatched it out of the air.
Her teeth tore it apart in seconds.
"Oh ho! That's a good girl, beautiful as always," Charles commented, before tossing in a second fish. It was then he noticed the pen's second crocodile begin to swim closer, now seeing that food was being thrown in.
"Hello to you too, Bruce," Charles greeted, and tossed the second croc some fish of his own. With little else, Charles decided to simply dumb the rest of the bucket, and watched as the crocodiles devoured their meal. They were truly such magnificent creatures. Rather slowly, Charles set the bucket back down. With a wooden walking cane in hand, the old man began to walk away. Soon, he found himself walking by the rest of the facility's pens. Taking a momentary breather, he stopped to see the large ark set up in the distance.
For nearly fifty years, Charles had been the owner of the Kentucky Ark Zoo and Conservation Center. It was a property handed down to him from his father, who got it from his grandfather, and so on. It encompassed thousands of acres of land and was home to endangered species from around the globe. Said species were then cared for, nursed back to health, and when their habitats were safe again, they were shipped back home. It was all a very complex organisation, one Charles feared would get much more difficult in the coming days.
But that was a thought for later. Instead, Charles had Penguins he needed to meet. So, walking to the highly frigid environment that held the zoo's Antarctic species, which was built in a series of igloo-like domes, Charles soon spotted one of the zoo's handlers. Busily, Kris worked to lead a group of escaped penguins back to their pens. How they kept escaping, Charles wasn't sure. Eventually, Kris spotted Charles hobbling toward her and gave him a calm wave.
"Mr. Harrison," she greeted as Charles came to a stop outside the penguins' section.
"Good evening, Kris," Charles replied, giving her a quick glance, "Everything going well?"
"Everything's going fine, sir," Kris answered, before trying her best to keep the penguins from wandering off. Slowly, Charles chuckled, before holding out his cane to block one penguin's path. Rather angrily, the bird began to squawk at him.
"Heard April got a cavity," Charles commented, as Kris grabbed the penguin trying to peck his cane.
"So did I," Kris replied with a sad sigh, "Dr. Kirk should be back tomorrow to help her."
"Good. Wouldn't want the poor thing to suffer any more. Not with Lana gone," Charles muttered, quietly remembering the Pygmy hippos. Lana, the mother of April, had died just a few days prior. It was not a pretty event, and by the looks of it, April wasn't handling it well. Her getting a cavity now just made the entire situation worse. Still, Charles was hopeful she'd feel better tomorrow. At the same time, Kris looked back at Charles cautiously.
"If I may, sir, shouldn't you be resting at home?" Kris asked, only for Charles to wave her off.
"Oh, nonsense. I'm plenty healthy. Besides, who else would check up on everyone?" Charles asked in return, causing Kris to raise a brow.
"Isn't that what I'm paid for?" Kris replied, Charles now laughing in response.
"I guess that's true," Charles conceded, before watching the penguins finally return to their pens.
"Perry, Susan, as active as ever I see," Charles commented, as two penguins squawked back at him. At the same time, Charles heard the sound of footsteps rapidly coming up from behind him. Turning slightly, he spotted his aide Kenny running toward him with his phone in hand. Ever so carefully, he'd be shuffled by a pair of guests or employees moving by.
"Excuse me, pardon me, sorry!" Kenny would call out, before spotting Charles, "Mr. Harrison! Mr. Harrison!"
Coming to a stop nearby, Kenny gasped for air as he tried to catch his breath.
"Kenny, my boy, what's the rush?" Charles inquired as Kenny continued to gasp. He was never the most athletic of people.
"I… I'm s-sorry, sir," Kenny replied tiredly, "I… I've just got news."
Quickly, Kenny held out his phone for Charles to see, and the old man cautiously grabbed it.
"This came in from Nigeria," Kenny told him, just as Charles looked down at the phone. Slowly, the old man's eyes widened.
"Black rhinos… that… that can't be. They went extinct in that part of the world centuries ago," Charles muttered. Currently on display was a series of photos and maps. One was a photo of a group of rhinos moving through Nigeria. The issue was that the black rhino was no longer in Nigeria. It had been driven out of the area centuries ago, before the Dawn of Quirks even. Now, most of what remained was settled in parts of Southern Sub-Saharan Africa.
"They're moving in a herd, too," Kris noted aloud, the caretaker looking over Charles' shoulder. That was another oddity. The black rhinos were rather solitary creatures, but in the photo, there had to be at least ten of them all moving together. If Charles had to guess, constant hunting and war in the area had led to the animal slowly adapting over time. Give it a few centuries, and the animal may have become more social in nature, as numbers may have given the animal a higher chance of survival.
"I don't know what to tell you," Kenny told them, "A photographer in the area caught pictures a few days ago. Said they were still on the move."
"Where?" Charles inquired, his eyes now going over the map. For whatever reason, the herd had moved to North Sub-Saharan Africa, only recently entering Nigeria proper.
"Uh… A few miles away from some small town, Za-Ku-Na, I think," Kenny replied rapidly, as Charles passed him his phone.
"Well, best get the MSF on the phone again. Tell them we have another contract ready," Charles ordered, soon tapping his cane on the ground. The zoo had a rather… complex relationship with the MSF. Before they seemingly popped into existence, Charles had to make deals with heroes for almost all conservation efforts. This was… clearly expensive. And while posing for the cameras with a baby rhino made great publicity, it also wasn't fun work. Not many heroes wanted to trek through some jungle or the savannah for three weeks tracking down an elephant.
So Charles had few heroes willing to take up the efforts, which meant he'd had to take more unscrupulous options. A few black market deals here or there, a couple paramilitary hiresKenny, at the same time, nodded before slowly stepping back. Then the MSF showed up. At the time, they were pretty much willing to accept whatever contract that came their way. And it's how Charles managed to hire them for a job in Afghanistan. After that, the MSF had been unofficial business partners of sorts.
Charles would keep the whole Africa business quiet on his end, and the MSF would keep bringing him animals.
"Lowest offer is forty thousand per animal. And tell them we want the whole herd!" Charles soon told Kenny, as the aide began booking it back to the office. Should everything be in order, then those rhinos would be here in a matter of weeks.