"Mmmm! This is perfect!" Nejire held her cheeks and smiled, a light blush spreading over her cheeks.
Mirio, Nejire, and Tamaki were sitting at the family-sized table, while Kyle and Sakura were sitting opposite them.
They all glanced at Nejire before Kyle turned his attention to Mirio. "So what is it you wanted to discuss?"
A few seconds ago, he had nearly mistook them for some sort of junior investigators, but after Nejire showed her apparent craving for their snack, Kyle knew that they were here for another business.
Mirio smiled before he began speaking. "Have you heard of the U.A. Sports Festival?"
Kyle nodded. It would be weird if he did not know since everyone in the city must have watched it at least once in their lives.
"Yeah, but what does this have to do with it?"
Mirio turned to Tamaki and stretched out his hand. The latter didn't need any other instructions; he placed a stack of flyers in Mirio's hands before looking away.
Mirio picked up a flyer and handed it to Kyle, who looked it over before passing it to Sakura.
"This year, we were put in charge of getting a café to sell refreshments at the festival. We are also meant to distribute all these flyers."
Kyle stole a glance at the stack; there were at least 100 flyers there. Distributing them by hand would take quite some time.
Although the thought of U.A. handing out flyers was weird, it was another thing that caught his attention—what Mirio had said first.
"A café to sell refreshments…" He placed his elbows on the table and leaned in a little bit. "Tell me more!"
As Mirio spoke, all Kyle was hearing was money, money, money mixed in with a little whisper of more money!
Tsumi would be visiting the café very soon, and one of the lies Kyle had told was that he was working on a brand deal.
He had already boosted the café's sales, so his earlier lie would be covered easily. The brand deal was the harder part…
But that was not all.
Kyle had already been planning to visit the festival, maybe to build some connections with the students or staff. He was already going to get a ticket, which had its limitations.
But if he was working as an official staff member at the festival, then he would have far better access…
After Mirio finished speaking, Kyle nodded slightly, keeping his expression firm. "Is that all?"
Nejire had finished her snack, so this time she spoke before Mirio could answer. "We also need you to help us pass out these flyers if it's not too much to ask."
"Mmm… that's not a problem if we come to an agreement."
His stance was clear: if there was no deal, then he would not help them with the flyers. It was just a tiny way of adding a little pressure to their deal.
Nejire beamed. "That sounds great!"
She then went over a few other details about the job, such as the duration of the work, the time they were meant to arrive, and a few other minor details.
Then she smiled. "So, do we have a deal?"
Kyle raised a hand to stop her. "I'll have to discuss it with my second in command first…"
He cleared his throat and then leaned towards Sakura.
Sakura, who had been quiet throughout the conversation, raised her hand to cover her mouth and began whispering into his ear.
"Hmmm… mhmmm… yes…" Kyle nodded his head as she spoke, and then they broke off.
He folded his hands on the table. "Will U.A. be paying us upfront?"
Nejire happily nodded. "Of course, you will get half the payment before the date."
Kyle leaned towards Sakura again.
"I see… mhmmm… ahh, that's true."
When they broke off, Kyle cleared his throat and smiled.
"How much are you guys offering?"
Mirio ripped a piece of paper from his notepad, then took out his pen and began writing.
"I don't know how much cafés charge, but I think this should be fair."
He slid the paper to Kyle—
"?!"
The moment Kyle read it, he nearly lost his composure.
'What did I expect from a school as rich as U.A.?'
The price was many times greater than what it should have normally cost, even when considering all the raw materials they would need.
Once again, he leaned towards Sakura.
This time, the whispers were sharper, and all he did was nod his head as she spoke.
As they conversed, the Big Three were curiously watching them. 'So that cute girl is his second in command?' Mirio thought.
He could remember how much she kept trying to convince Tamaki to sit down for the meeting, only managing to succeed after a long time.
She was so humble and quiet that they initially thought she was just another employee.
The whispers finally ended, and Kyle stared at them, his eyes narrowed.
Mirio smiled. 'I hope he accepts…'
They had been to many cafés already, and Nejire liked this one far more than the rest.
Since she had a taste for good things, Mirio had decided to let her pick out the place—plus, he wanted to be finally done with this so that he could get back to training.
A few seconds later, Kyle smiled and offered them his hand. Mirio took it in a firm handshake.
"We have a deal!"
Nejire clapped joyfully while Mirio raised his hand in celebration.
"Oh, and the cream puffs are on the house."
•••
The Big Three had left the restaurant when Kyle picked up one of the flyers and read through it.
— The U.A. Sports Festival!
The place where talents shine and Quirks bloom!
'Why are they going out of their way to advertise the festival?'
Normally, Kyle would have expected them to tighten security and possibly even reduce the audience size, considering what had been happening.
Yet, U.A. was charging toward the festival full speed ahead.
'Are they trying to say they were unaffected by everything?'
Kyle glanced at the paper one more time. '…or are they planning something different?'
"Is there a problem?" Sakura asked as she walked past him, dropping a stack of papers on the counter.
"Nah, I was just studying the designs." He placed the flyer on the pile and began walking toward his office, only to stop at the door.
"By the way, Sakura, I'm a bit parched…"
Sakura adjusted her apron. "Oh, alright, I'll make you something to drink right now."
Kyle sighed and raised a brow. "Really?"
A few seconds passed…
"Ohh! You mean—"
She paused and glanced at Akiko to make sure she didn't hear her before quickly adding:
"I'll bring a cup of coffee to your office. It should only take five minutes."
Kyle smiled, feeling his fangs pushing against his lips. "Thank you."
•••
By 7:30, the café was closed for the day, and after warning them to be careful, Kyle waved his workers goodbye.
Then he adjusted his coat and began walking in the other direction. After two minutes, he diverted, entering an alley.
"Have you found the place?" Kyle asked, speaking to the darkness.
Out of the shadows came a man in medieval drabs, his red eyes gleaming under the moon's eerie light. "Come with me."