Chapter 42
Blackout
Fed By Comments
- Location
- Who knows?
"Are you... alright?"
I cracked open my eyes and looked down at Pony, her hands behind her back and a hesitantly worried expression on her face.
"Yes." I replied gruffly.
"Because you look kind of tired."
"How exactly does a dragon look tired?"
"...Well you were resting your eyes for a while there." She said, wringing her hands. "Have you been sleeping well?"
"Yes." I lied.
"But-"
"Let's not argue, guys." Itsuka supplied from the sidelines. "If she says she's fine then I believe her."
I grunted in agreement as I stood up to my full height, shaking my neck before looking around. It was a sunny summer day, a warm breeze in the air, birds singing, people going about their business, coming in and out of Musutafu Central Railway Station over on the other side of the street from us. It should have been a good day.
"Hi guys." Tokage said as she approached us at a brisk definitely-not-hurrying pace. "We waiting on anyone?"
"Just you." I supplied.
Tokage gave me a glance, but Itsuka quickly interjected, clapping her hands together.
"With everyone here, we can get moving towards the shopping center." She announced, producing a sheet of paper from her pocket. "Everyone got your copy of the to-pack list for the summer training camp?"
Itsuka had finally found and seized upon an opportunity to get the five of us all together on that shopping trip she'd been talking about for a while, under the pretense of grabbing anything we were missing from the list Vlad King had handed out to us after the finals.
"Man, I'm excited to see what the teachers have in store for us." Tokage said with a smile, stretching her hands behind her back as we walked. "It's almost felt boring for the last few weeks."
"I was hoping to have had more time to visit home…" Pony said with a slightly downtrodden expression.
"Speaking of which, how did your trip go?" Itsuka asked. "You still managed to squeeze in a week-long trip, right?"
"Yep. It was nice." Pony smiled, perking up a little. "I got to spend time with my family and eat some home-made american apple pie."
"You mean our baking skills weren't able to satisfy you?" Tokage exclaimed with mock hurt, holding her hands over her heart.
"That's not what I meant and you know it!" Pony exclaimed in reply, puffing up her cheeks.
"Yeah yeah, just messing with you."
"Ryuuzaki, you said that you had some business to take care of at your internship agency?" Itsuka asked as we turned the corner to another street, a familiar building visible across the street.
"Yeah. I need to pop into the Endeavour Agency for a minute." I said, nodding my head at it. "You guys can go ahead without me, it's fine."
"No, no, we can wait." She replied with a shake of her head and a smile. "We came here to go to the mall as a group, and that's what we're going to do."
"All right." I took in a breath. "I'll be back soon."
Endeavour Hero Agency was as I remembered it, dozens of people bustling across the lobby area as I entered through the main doors, sidekicks, staff and guests coming and going on various business. The only real change were the updated posters, advertising Endeavour's big comeback after his leave of absence.
I slowly made my way up to one of the reception desks, mindful of my size in the crowd, the secretary perking up and looking up at me.
"How can I help you?"
"I have an appointment with Endeavour."
"Ah, Ryuju, right? He's in a meeting right now but you can-"
Before she could finish the pager on her desk buzzed, just as the doors of the elevator dinged open and the room fell silent as a very pissed-off looking Shoto stormed out, jaw clenched and hands curled into fists. Uncaring of the stares he was receiving the boy marched across the lobby, people giving him a wide berth. When he caught sight of me his body language loosened slightly and he gave me a curt but not unfriendly nod as he passed by, which I returned.
"Nevermind that then, you're up. I assume you know the way?"
"Yes." I grunted. "Thank you."
A few moments later I found myself in Endeavour's office, stepping over a spot of slowly-melting frost on the carpet- no prizes for guessing what happened there.
Sitting there behind his desk, I could see that Endeavour's costume had undergone slight changes, armor plates added here and there, just enough to be distinct from his previous appearance. What I couldn't help but focus upon was his right hand, which I'd last seen lying severed in a pool of his own blood. At first glance it would have perhaps otherwise passed my attention, but upon a closer look I could see that he wasn't wearing a gauntlet- the sleek blue metal was his hand, a top-of-the-line combat prosthetic.
"Endeavour." I said, raising my gaze to meet his, wreathed in his ever-present mask of flames.
"Ryuju." He nodded in what I supposed was probably approval. "I was glad to hear from you, after the abrupt end to your internship. I wanted to commend you for your conduct during the battle; the ability to function like that under pressure is exactly what is needed from a Pro-Hero."
"Mmm."
"You should be on summer break at the moment, no? I presume you passed your finals."
"Yes. School has been fine." I muttered, before clearing my throat. "At the Broken Circle safehouse, you asked me to memorize a number of scent samples and to tell you immediately if I recognized them again."
"Yes." The frown that had appeared on his features cleared and he leaned forward, all business. "Given the timeframe, I have to assume this happened during the I-Expo."
How- no, he's Todoroki's father and the Number Two Hero besides, of course he knows.
"Yes. During that event I encountered Rikiya Yotsubashi, President and CEO of Detnerat Company. He was one of the samples."
"Yotsubashi?" Endeavour frowned, a hand running through his flaming beard. "I've met him before on official functions. But he's not a Mutant-type, so what's his connection to the Broken Circle? Which sample was it?"
"I don't know, I didn't memorize the order. All I know is that he was one of them."
"That is disappointing." He said with a look of reproval, and I bristled. "It means we have no idea whether he was a member or just a guest, only suspicions. Direct evidence might have at least yielded a search warrant. In the future, you should aim to be more meticulous."
"How was I supposed to know?" I snapped back. "They weren't labeled."
"Then take this as a learning experience. In this agency I expect initiative and carefulness, qualities that are critical in this line of work."
"I'm not a member of this agency." I bit out, his manner getting on my nerves. "I'm not your intern anymore."
"Not at the moment. But once you acquire your provisional license-"
"I can come back to be used as a prop for your feud against your son? So you can teach me techniques to try to make him jealous?"
The momentary flicker of his flames and the look of shock on his face told me he hadn't been expecting that response.
"I hear more than you think." I said pointedly. "I came here as a courtesy, not because I plan on coming back. I know you're probably more used to dealing with people desperate to be here but I don't need you. And I don't especially enjoy being led on and lied to."
Endeavour's normal expression reasserted itself as he sat back down, putting his hands on the table, fingers steepled.
"Very well. If that is your choice."
"It is." I said as I turned around to leave.
----
"Tatsuma?"
I paused in the middle of the lobby, my ears perking up as I craned my neck around towards the source of the voice, and found Strikethrough standing there in his Hero costume, his goggles pulled up and a folder held under his arm.
"Or isn't it Ryuju nowadays?" He smiled up at me as he stepped closer. "It's good to see you."
"Yeah. You too."
"You really saved all of our behinds at Kashyyyk, you know. I wanted to thank you. If it wasn't for you I would have hid underneath that table while people were in danger."
"It's nothing. It's like you said, I am invulnerable. Of the two of us, you were the brave one."
"Hey, don't sell yourself short. You stood against Stain when everyone else was down. If it wasn't for you Boss would be dead and I'd be out of a job."
"I was terrified. I couldn't move." I admitted. "But an inn- someone who didn't deserve to die would have been killed. My body moved on its own."
Strikethrough gave me a knowing smile before looking back towards the elevators. "So, you coming back to the Agency? I noticed you coming out of Boss's office, and we could really use you."
"No. I only came here to pass off some information related to the Broken Circle investigation. I am not coming back."
"What? Why?" He exclaimed. "I mean I know you didn't like Endeavour, but I thought you were doing fine?"
"He used me." I spat out. "He only invited me to serve as a tool in his feud against his son. He made it seem like he thought I had potential, when he was just teaching me fire moves to try to push Shoto into using them."
"That's… not possible."
"He admitted to it, when he thought I wasn't listening." I growled.
"I'm not saying he didn't do it. It does sound like him." He shook his head. "But… he was already interested in you since the Entrance Exams, before the Sports Festival. Before you first used your flame breath. That was what got your uncle kicked out of the Agency, remember? So how could he only be interested in you for your fire abilities, before anyone knew you had it?"
"So that makes it alright then?" I snorted. "The manipulation? The lies?"
"Not trying to invalidate your feelings here." Strikethrough said as he backed up, raising his hand in a gesture of surrender. "Or that you should forgive him. I just thought you deserved to know that maybe it wasn't the only reason he offered you an internship."
"Hrrrm."
-----
"Did you get your business sorted?"
"Yes." I replied sourly as I rejoined the others on the sidewalk, continuing on towards the mall. "I did."
"So mysterious~" Tokage teased.
"I mean I'm genuinely not allowed to talk about it." I shrugged. "It's related to an actual, ongoing criminal investigation."
"That sounds so cool." Pony said with a wistful sigh. "All we got to do was patrol and catch one burglar. I wish-"
She was about to say more, only for Yui to elbow her in the side, interrupting her. When Pony turned to look at the other girl she pointed towards me. At the pinkish scar running along the length of my wing membrane.
"Oh. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-"
I suppressed a sigh.
"It's fine, you don't need to walk on eggshells around it. What happened, happened." I looked down at her, taking a breath to try to swallow down my bad mood. It wasn't her I wasn angry at. "I do get what you mean. But trust me, you don't want to have been there. And even besides what happened, well, I wouldn't recommend Endeavour's agency. He's… kind of an asshole."
Pony made a scandalized noise, but Tokage grunted in agreement.
"That's not much of a surprise. It's not exactly as if he got his position by the weight of his popularity."
"He is good at what he does, I'll give him that." I shook my head. "So I learned what I needed and got out."
"My internship wasn't anything special either." Itsuka said, naturally filling up the lull in conversation that followed my statement. "Though you could say that I got acquainted with the business side of things. Yui, what did you end up doing anyway?"
"I interned with my parents' company."
"I didn't know your parents were Pro-Heroes?" I asked in surprise.
"I didn't say they were."
"Wait, you were friends for seven years and never mentioned what Yui's parents did for a living?"
"It didn't come up." "She didn't ask."
We answered in unison.
"You two are the worst at communicating." Itsuka said, rubbing her face with her palm. "Absolutely hopeless."
"...Well?" Tokage asked, looking at Yui.
"My parents are businessmen who own a private security firm that employs several Pro-Heroes."
"When she says that she means they're some of the richest people in Japan and the company dominates the industry in Honshu with a bigger yearly revenue than the economy of some countries." Itsuka explained smugly.
"That's an exaggeration. I told you to stop telling people that."
"Well, if you count some of the pacific island nations..."
"Then the comparison stops being impressive and loses meaning."
"Wait, is that why you don't know the difference between an apple and a citrus?" I asked, still bewildered.
"It's not my fault I don't often see them unpeeled." Yui huffed a little, crossing her arms over her chest.
The back and forth conversation died down as we approached the mall, it's entrance towering over the five of us. "Nevarro Mall- Everything For Everyone" was engraved above the huge glass doors. Not unlike the ones where I'd slaughtered a Nomu in front of witnesses.
It suddenly occurred to me that this was the first time I'd been to a place like this since then.
The others were already almost at the doors, not having seen my hesitation. I'd already told them it was no big deal. So I pushed my apprehension to the back of my mind.
I would be fine.
Within, Nevarro Mall was much like any other of it's like, a vast, expansive transit area ringed with smaller shops, restaurants and boutiques. Though unlike Kashyyyk where it had been arranged into one grand boulevard this was a more traditional block arrangement.
The others were already pushing up the first flight of stairs and I hurried to follow.
"We'll head to the clothing section first since we all need stuff from there." Itsuka was explaining excitedly. "Then lunch, and after that we split up to get all the miscellaneous stuff we're missing, like camping ge-"
She was interrupted when she collided with a figure descending down the stairs, the two of them toppling to the ground in a heap.
"Hey, watch where you're going!" Tokage yelled at the person, wearing an oversized hoodie, who scrambled to her feet in a hurry and kept going, mumbling a quick apology as they went.
"Tch, some people…" Tokage muttered after her as she pulled Itsuka up, and I couldn't help but notice a particular smell entering my nostrils.
"Itsuka, you're bleeding."
"Hm?" She turned her hand around, showing the side of her palm stained with blood. "Oh, I must've cut it on the edge of the stairs. Yui, could you…?"
Yui nodded, fishing a tiny object from her pocket which rapidly enlarged into a small first aid kit. She popped it open and handed Itsuka a piece of gauze who began cleaning the wound.
"Isn't that, you know, illegal here?" Pony asked nervously as she looked at Yui, wringing her hands.
"So is jaywalking." Yui retorted with a roll of her eyes as she gave Itsuka a band-aid. "The other option is that she bleeds all over her clothing while we wander around trying to find a WC."
That silenced Pony, and in a few moments Itsuka was cleaned up and we continued on our way. The crowds were getting thicker, forcing me to watch my steps carefully.
"I thought the Quirk laws were more relaxed in America?" Tokage asked as we waded through the masses of people.
"Yeah, that's why I was concerned." Pony said sheepishly. "I'm still not… always sure about where the line is."
"It's technically always illegal in public without a specific license, but as long as you're not being disruptive or endangering anyone most people don't care." Tokage explained. "I'm curious though, how do they do it in the US?"
"It's complicated. Instead of a blanket ban with exceptions, the starting assumption is that it's free unless otherwise specified. The issue is that there's just so many Quirks, and new ones are being discovered all the time. So the laws are often open to interpretation and abuse. And then you add how the rules can vary by state, county or even city…"
"Sounds chaotic." Yui said.
"It isn't perfect." Pony shrugged her shoulders. "But it also doesn't rely on the law enforcement looking between their fingers if you need to use your Quirk to patch up your friend after they fall down some stairs."
Yui had no retort to that, and so we continued on our way across the mall, Itsuka continuing to lead the way. After a few more minutes of walking we reached what seemed to be our destination, a large clothing store of some sort.
"That'll be our first stop." Itsuka announced, hands on her hips as she peered over the shoulders of the crowd into the store. "They've got great outdoors clothing options."
I followed the others into the store, getting annoyed looks as people were forced to move aside to let me through. The ceiling of the store was high enough for me to stand, though I had to be careful to keep my horns away from light fixtures or other ornaments. There was just enough room for me to maneuver between the clothing racks, though the obvious question sprang to the fore.
"I know you probably don't have anything you need from a clothing store." Itsuka said apologetically, looking up at me as she rubbed her arm. "But you can still come with us and look around!"
"Mmm."
We ventured deeper into the store, and I was left feeling more and more awkward by the moment, watching the others look around for outdoors clothing. What was I even doing here?
While Yui and Pony were searching for backpacks Tokage was looking between several pairs of hiking boots.
"Ryuuzaki, what do you think?" Itsuka asked, turning towards me.
"I don't know. I guess it would depend on what other clothing you're pairing them with?"
"Oh?" Tokage said. "I always pegged you for a practical sort, rather than going for appearance."
I literally haven't worn clothing for the last three years so I have no idea why you think I'd be an expert on the subject.
That was what I wanted to snap back with. But I bit my tongue.
These are your friends. They just want to spend time with you. Don't bite anyone's head off.
"Well-"
However, before I could get more than a single word out, there was the distinct sound of something, or a number of somethings, toppling over behind me and crashing to the floor. I whipped my head around, narrowly missing an advertisement banner hanging from the ceiling with my horn, to see that my tail had, in my agitation and distraction, knocked over one of the clothing racks on to the floor. Worse, another customer, a portly middle-aged man, had had to dive out of the way,
I'd- I'd barely even noticed it. The thick scales deadened my sense of touch, and compared to what my tail could do with a single swing toppling even a large piece of furniture was nothing.
The next few moments passed by in a blur as Itsuka helped the man up and Tokage righted the clothing rack, whilst I sat there awkwardly trying to apologize and not get in anyone's way. He simply gave me a dirty look as he walked off.
That set the tone for our foray into the store. I tried to stay out of the way as much as I could, but it wasn't made any easier by how often Itsuka would drag me into the conversation and ask for my opinion on something or another. I got it, she wanted to include me, but it meant that unless I wanted to yell at them across the store I had to follow them around. Which meant maneuvering through an environment decidedly not designed to take into account elephant-sized winged reptiles. Which in turn meant a lot of close calls, stumbles and near-collisions. Which meant a lot of angry looks and comments probably not intended to reach my ears.
"We are sympathetic to your situation." The store employee explained with an impassive yet stern voice as we were leaving the store. "But in the interests of the safety and comfort of our other customers, we are going to have to ask you not to come back, especially if you are not going to buy anything. Please and thank you."
"What a… hmph." Tokage muttered under her breath as we were walking away.
"She's just doing her job." I said, squirming uncomfortably.
"At least they let us finish shopping before banning us." Pony said optimistically, holding up her bag.
"Me." I corrected her. "They banned me. There's no reason you shou-"
"Nope!" Tokage cut me off, popping the p. "You ban one of us, you ban all of us. Right?"
Yui and Pony made enthusiastic nods of agreement, and though Itsuka looked a little downcast at the turn of events she joined in as well.
I sighed in defeat, shaking my head.
"Where to next?"
"Well, the plan was to grab lunch since everyone's probably getting hungry at this point." Itsuka explained. "I searched online and found this place called Koichiro's Meat Palace nearby."
Well, I couldn't fault that logic. I'd eaten a hefty breakfast in preparation for the trip but my mouth was already watering at the thought of something to eat.
"Meat Palace, huh." Pony said pointedly.
Itsuka froze mid-step. "You're not vegan, are you? I mean you're…?" She trailed off, eyes darting between Pony's tail, hooves and horns.
Pony drew in a breath, scrunching up her nose in outrage.
Then the line of her mouth wobbled and she couldn't hold it in anymore, breaking down in giggles and holding her stomach.
"Sorry. Sorry. It's just- I got asked that so often in America it became an inside joke." She explained as she composed, rubbing her side. "No, I'm not vegan. I just couldn't resist."
"Oh good." Itsuka breathed in relief. "I thought I'd committed some sort of faux pas I wasn't aware of."
"What animal is your Quirk based on?" Tokage asked curiously. "I always thought it was a horse but now that I think about it..."
"Horses don't have horns." Pony finished for her.
"Yeah." Tokage nodded. "...But your name is Pony?"
"My father's side of the family had bovine Quirks and my mother's equine. So you have me, a hybrid!" She explained simply with a skip of her step, pointing her thumbs at herself.
There was a moment of pause.
"And no, it's not cannibalism if I eat beef or horse meat." She added.
"You know I always wondered about that." I said. "My family is all rhinos and dragons, and obviously you can't exactly get either of those from the grocery store."
"Some people do it, some people don't." Tokage mentioned. "I had iguana meat once on a vacation to Mexico. I couldn't do it." She shrugged. "It's a matter of pref-"
Several things happened in a very quick succession. A beam of crimson energy shot out into the air from up ahead, it's source out of view. It left a deep gouge in the stone ceiling as it swept across them until it hit a sky window, sending a cascade of broken glass raining towards us.
The next thing that happened was that Tokage walked face-first into my leg as I stepped in front of the others. I wasn't entirely sure when I'd started moving but I was glad that I had as I spread my wings wide, catching the spray falling glass shards before it could hit anyone. I winced as one of the shards caught the scar Stain had given me and drew blood, but even the softest part of my body was tough and leathery, and so most of the falling glass gave me little more than scratches.
And then the world exploded into a storm of yelling and screaming as everyone else caught up to what was happening.
The others were saying something but there was a buzzing in my ears and my heart seemed to want to vacate my chest cavity as I scanned the direction of the beam for threats.
It arrived in the form of a… human body?
It sailed through the air as if thrown with great force, back towards us, landing roughly on the floor maybe a hundred meters away from us. The screaming intensified as crowds tried to get away as fast as they could. A second later another shape followed on a more controlled flight path, landing next to the fallen figure with a heavy thump that cracked the stone flooring.
It was a large, burly man wearing a sleeveless shirt that left his massive arms uncovered, seemingly made out of some kind of rock-like material.
"Stay down if ya know what's good for ya, shrimp."
"I'll kill you, you bastard!" The man on the floor screamed, beams of energy lancing out from his eyes at the other man, who simply casually raised one hand to shield himself, the beam glancing off of the hardened skin and carving a groove in another wall as he continued to walk closer.
"You'll try. And you'll fail" He announced as he brought one massive fist down at the smaller man, who rolled out of the way in the nick of time, cracks radiating outward from where the blow struck the floor. Unperturbed, the rock-arms man simply swept his arm sideways and picked the other guy by the face, lifting him into the air, bits of red energy leaking out from between his fingers.
"This 'ere is our territory now. So 'm gonna break every limb ya have, and then when your pals find ya you can tell them that."
The response he received was another scream and a slash across the chest with the switchblade the other man, his hands still free, had pulled out from his pocket. All the while, the crowds were fighting to get away, on the verge of a stampede.
"We have to do something!" I heard Pony yelling, but it sounded muffled, as if underwater. I tried to speak but my mouth was suddenly dry and no words came out.
"You can't!" Yui said, holding the other girl back.
Tokage opened her mouth to say something, but whatever it was was lost on me as a whistling noise brought my attention to the ceiling, just in time to catch a pair of blurs bursting in through the broken window. They were small and moving too fast for the naked eye to track, catching the two men completely by surprise as they slipped under their shirts and lifted them into the air, as if being pulled away by an invisible giant.
"Is that-"
Another figure had arrived through the window, descending onto the floor a pair of large, feathery wings sprouting out of his back. A young man in his early twenties, wild blonde hair and slight stubble, golden eyes beneath a yellow-tinted visor and wearing a tan-colored jacket lined with fur.
Hawks, the Number Three Hero of Japan according to the latest rankings.
"Well well well, what have we here?" He intoned jovially as his feet touched the ground, looking around at a sea of slack-jawed faces staring back at him. "Oh, don't worry about these guys, they-" Several feathers detached from his wings and spun the smaller man around so that the beam he tried to fire at the winged hero was directed out into the sky through the broken window. "-have been dealt with."
The other villain was still trying to struggle, but suspended mid-air without any leverage all he managed to do was wiggle comically. The entire situation had begun and been resolved so quickly it made my head spin.
"You girls doing all right there?" He asked, suddenly in front of me, having walked up to us while everyone's brains were still playing catch-up. "Looking a little glassy there."
"Oh. Yeah." I nodded dumbly, shaking the glass shards off of my wings and pulling them close. "I'm fine. Just a scratch."
"Glad to hear it. That was some quick thinking there. I was doing my rounds and, well, the lightshow was hard to miss." Just then a group of haggard-looking heroes wearing masks styled after birds burst into the scene, pushing through the crowds towards the two villains just as they dropped into the ground, the feathers zipping back to Hawks' wings while he began rising into the air once more. "Well then. Take care, ladies."
Most people had still yet to finish picking their jaws off the floor by the time he was already gone the way he came.
"What the heck was that." Pony said, putting it to words better than I could.
-----
Whilst two of the sidekicks had secured the villains for handover to the police the third had gotten statements from the five of us, though there wasn't much to tell given we hadn't seen the fight start. Apparently some sort of turf fight. After giving out our contact information and showing that the cut on my wing had already stopped bleeding we were free to go, and soon on our way again, more than a little bit shell-shocked. Pony still seemed incensed about being held back and was glowering towards Yui, an expression that seemed wholly unlike her.
"If I hadn't stopped you, you would be in serious trouble." Yui stated evenly. "Unsanctioned vigilantism can end a Hero career before it's started."
"Is that what this is about for you?" Pony threw back. "Preserving careers?"
"No, it's about following the rules that we as a society have agreed to follow." Yui retorted. "Villains should be left to the Pros and unlicensed civilians should only use their Quirks in self-defence. As you saw, Hawks had it well in hand. You would have only gotten in the way."
"And what if he hadn't happened to be nearby?"
"But he was."
"This time."
"Guys!" Itsuka said, stepping between the two smaller girls, gently pushing them apart. "I understand you both feel strongly about this, but let's maybe shelve the argument for the moment? Emotions are running high and everyone's hungry, so I'm sure we can all agree that now's not the time to be having a debate on the merits of vigilantism, right?"
"Fine."
The two were still glaring at each other past Itsuka, but nodded in begrudging agreement at her point.
And then-
"Someone's starving." Tokage grinned at the deep gurgle emanating from my stomach. "Are you sure you're a rhino-dragon and not a goat-dragon?"
"I have a high metabolism." I replied evenly, trying to clear my head.
"Whatever you say~"
I suppressed a sigh. I could appreciate her trying to lighten the mood after what just happened, but I just felt exhausted. And hungry.
"Here it is." Itsuka said as we rounded the last corner, gesturing towards the entrance. "Koichiro's Meat Palace."
The doors were not made for someone of my size, and I had to execute an undignified belly wiggle to fit through without causing damage. Inside the place was quite a large dining room with circular tables spread evenly across it and a counter built into the wall that separated it from the kitchen. There were quite a few customers already seated and we got a lot of stares as we entered, but my mind wasn't on that, for once. What drew my attention was the smell.
Roasted beef, chicken, lamb, I could even make out reindeer in there somewhere. The pang in my stomach was almost tangible.
A short, rotund man wearing an apron emerged from the kitchen and walked behind the cash counter, pulling open a fresh page on a notebook.
"What can I get y-" He began as he looked up at us, and then up, and up, until he met my eyes, his eyes widening slightly before his expression soured. "Hn. We don't serve portions in your size here."
"Wait, what?" Itsuka asked, taken aback. "Why not?"
"We'll pay for multiple portions, then." Tokage said, watching as a waiter emerged from the kitchen with a large tray of food and began distributing it to various tables.
"One meal per customer. Standard policy."
"That's ridiculous." Tokage said with a snarl, flashing her teeth.
"It's alright…" I tried, but that was an obvious lie. One regular-sized serving would only make me even hungrier.
"I'm not going to debate the rules I run my restaurant by with a bunch of teenagers." He said, looking down his nose at her. "I was going to say that the rest of you are welcome to stay but if you're just going to argue you can leave too."
"As if we'd stay in a place that treats customers like this." Tokage replied. "Right?"
"...Yeah." Itsuka said, sighing in defeat as she turned to walk back towards the entrance. "We'll find somewhere else, guys."
I gave one last, forlorn look towards the kitchen before following her.
-----
"I just don't get it."
Itsuka continued, as she set down her bento box. We'd found a lunch stall some distance away and the others were sitting on a bench, eating, while I sat on the floor besides them.
"I mean, money is money. Sure we'd take up more space but we'd also pay for our meals. You'd think he'd be happy to receive such a big order." She said, gesturing towards the pile of empty boxes at my feet which Tokage was helping me sweep into a grocery bag she'd liberated from who knows where.
"Maybe he just didn't want to go through the hassle." Yui suggested. "Or he was worried about running out."
"I guess. But why did he have to be so…" Itsuka made a waving motion. "Like that about it."
Tokage made a face at that. I wasn't going to say anything, but Itsuka had clearly also noticed.
"Do you have an idea?"
She sighed. "Did you notice anything odd about that place?"
"...Other than the owner, no, not really?"
"According to the most recent census about thirty percent of the population have Mutant-type Quirks. If you add in Passive Quirks like me-" She opened her mouth to show off her sharp, reptilian teeth. "-that's approaching fifty. Now, I counted fifty-three people in that lunch restaurant including the owner and staff. Did anyone notice how many of those people had either a Mutant-type or Passive Quirk?"
"I didn't count but from where you're going I assume that the number is low." I muttered.
"Three. And let's be generous and say that equally as many could pass as unmutated humans." Tokage said, counting off her fingers. "Six, out of fifty-three. Eleven percent."
"You're saying he kicked us out because you guys are-" Itsuka said, her eyes rapidly darting between Tokage, Pony and myself before hardening in outrage. "That's illegal!"
"Discrimination is illegal." Tokage replied. "Latching on to any excuse to drive away people you don't want around isn't."
"That's an awfully quick judgement based on a window of less than five minutes." Yui pointed out.
"Believe whatever you want." Tokage shrugged. "That's how they get away with it, even in this day and age. They don't wear flags advertising what they are. But believe me, I know that look in someone's eye when I see it. Reptilian Quirks run in my family."
An uncomfortable silence reigned for a moment, before Itsuka spoke up.
"Well in any case, we still have a task to finish. Ryuuzaki, why don't we start off by finding something for you?"
"I don't really need anything."
"It's fine, everyone else got something from the last store so-"
"No, I meant that literally."
"Wait, you didn't need anything from the packing list?"
"I mean, what kind of camping equipment is a dragon going to need? A sleeping bag? Shoes? Backpack?" I shook my head. "Vlad King gave me an exception."
"So you only came with us to- oh. Oh." Itsuka said quietly. "Well, you can still come and spend time with us!"
"No, it's all right. I'll just wait here." I said, sitting down on the floor, curling my tail to my side to make sure nobody tripped on it. "I'd just… knock stuff over and get you guys banned from another store. I'm not going to do that."
"But-"
"I've made my decision."
Itsuka visibly deflated, but accepted my words with a nod. "We'll be quick about it then. Yui and I need sleeping bags and I think you guys wanted to look to find flashlights?"
"Yep, we'll go together." Tokage said, putting a hand on Pony's shoulder.
"Right. And afterwards we can all go to- well, we'll figure something out."
"It's fine."
It wasn't fine.
I just sat there as the others walked away, feeling abjectly miserable.
Itsuka had been so excited for this trip, ever since Tokage and I had made up. All of her friends, finally together. She'd talked about and planned it for weeks on end.
And here I was, ruining it.
All because- because I was too much of a coward to turn back into a human.
That was the rub, wasn't it? It was all in my head. Every inconvenience, expense and accommodation people had had to go through for my sake was because I couldn't just get over myself. And yet, when I tried to- when I tried to do it-
I watched the crowds bustling around the mall, just… going about their business. Did they not realize there had been a villain attack not twenty minutes ago? If it had been anyone else- if I wasn't a-
I tried to imagine myself as one of them. A fragile little human whose life could come to an end at any moment. I could slip on the pavement and split my skull open. Fall down the stairs and break my neck. Collide with a motor vehicle and be turned into mush. Be caught in the middle of a villain battle. A-anger the wrong person and be- be shot without warning.
I screwed my eyes shut and just waited for my breathing to even out. In and out. The only lesson my mother had ever given me on my Quirk was that the mental image was the key. That I should picture the transformation in my head, that my human body was like a container, a bottle, which my dragon form flowed into.
And yet every time I tried to imagine it, all it brought to my mind was a wave of revulsion that made me want to throw up.
Vulnerable. Powerless. Helpless. Weak.
I looked down at my hands. Forelimbs. Strong, clawed, armoured. And shaking. Tiny, persistent little tremors that wouldn't go away.
Dr. Shield had been exactly right. I wanted to be human, but on some level, selfishly, I didn't want to. Not enough.
How did they do it? Live their normal lives, knowing how fragile their bodies were, how easily they could be hurt? What did they have that I didn't? Why did I have to be like this?
"Tatsuma!"
As these questions kept bouncing around my head, I spotted Itsuka making her way through the crowd towards me. I took a shaky breath and forced myself to stand, outwardly steeling myself as she approached, giving me a wave.
"Hi!"
"Did you not find what you were looking for?" I asked, noticing that she had returned empty-handed.
"Nope, I might need to go to a different store later." Itsuka replied casually. "So I thought I'd come and keep you company while the others get their stuff."
"All right." I said, wondering if it was inappropriate to thank her. I eventually settled on a grateful nod.
For a moment we were silent, just watching people come and go.
"It must be hard."
"What do you mean?"
"Being in a place like this again, after what happened."
I let out a breath. "...Yeah."
"I can't imagine what it must have been like, to be there. When Stain and the monsters arrived. Sometimes I wish I had."
"I wouldn't." I sighed. She wasn't the first to have told that to me. "It's not an experience I'd wish on anyone."
"I saw the video of you and the Nomu. And I heard about what you did to Stain." She spoke, her tone almost whimsical. "What was it like?"
"It's… not something I want to talk about."
"What did it feel like, to tear that thing apart? To eat Stain's arm?" She asked again, ignoring my response. "Did it feel… good?"
"I did what I had to do." I replied, full of confusion and distress at the way she was acting. "What's going on?"
"It didn't feel like… fulfillment?" God, she sounded disappointed, of all things.
"What are you talking about?"
"What did it taste like, I wonder?" She said, wistfully. "Stain's flesh, I mean."
"Please, Itsuka. Why are you asking about this all of sudden?" I asked, rising to my feet in a sudden motion. "This isn't like you."
She seemed to snap back into reality at that, her head jolting back a little before she looked up at me.
"Sorry, I think we're out of time. I'll talk more to you later." Itsuka said with a cheerful, happy smile, skipping back a step and running off.
"But- what are you-" I spluttered, starting after her, only to have to come to a halt as she weaved through the crowds, my size leaving me unable to follow unless I wanted to literally bulldoze people aside. Completely and utterly bewildered I watched her disappear into the bustle of the mall, vanishing from view in a matter of seconds.
No more than twenty seconds had passed before, I saw her again, walking towards me along with Yui.
"What was that?" I asked Itsuka as they got close.
"What was what?" She blinked up at me, confusion writ large across her face.
"Why did you leave and then come back?"
"...What do you mean?" She asked, confused. "Of course we came back? We found the stuff we needed."
"No, I mean, you said that you hadn't found it and started talking about weird stuff before just leaving again, moments ago."
Itsuka looked at Yui, exchanging confused glances, before her next words sent a trembling chill running down through my spine.
"But… I was with Yui at the store the whole time."
I cracked open my eyes and looked down at Pony, her hands behind her back and a hesitantly worried expression on her face.
"Yes." I replied gruffly.
"Because you look kind of tired."
"How exactly does a dragon look tired?"
"...Well you were resting your eyes for a while there." She said, wringing her hands. "Have you been sleeping well?"
"Yes." I lied.
"But-"
"Let's not argue, guys." Itsuka supplied from the sidelines. "If she says she's fine then I believe her."
I grunted in agreement as I stood up to my full height, shaking my neck before looking around. It was a sunny summer day, a warm breeze in the air, birds singing, people going about their business, coming in and out of Musutafu Central Railway Station over on the other side of the street from us. It should have been a good day.
"Hi guys." Tokage said as she approached us at a brisk definitely-not-hurrying pace. "We waiting on anyone?"
"Just you." I supplied.
Tokage gave me a glance, but Itsuka quickly interjected, clapping her hands together.
"With everyone here, we can get moving towards the shopping center." She announced, producing a sheet of paper from her pocket. "Everyone got your copy of the to-pack list for the summer training camp?"
Itsuka had finally found and seized upon an opportunity to get the five of us all together on that shopping trip she'd been talking about for a while, under the pretense of grabbing anything we were missing from the list Vlad King had handed out to us after the finals.
"Man, I'm excited to see what the teachers have in store for us." Tokage said with a smile, stretching her hands behind her back as we walked. "It's almost felt boring for the last few weeks."
"I was hoping to have had more time to visit home…" Pony said with a slightly downtrodden expression.
"Speaking of which, how did your trip go?" Itsuka asked. "You still managed to squeeze in a week-long trip, right?"
"Yep. It was nice." Pony smiled, perking up a little. "I got to spend time with my family and eat some home-made american apple pie."
"You mean our baking skills weren't able to satisfy you?" Tokage exclaimed with mock hurt, holding her hands over her heart.
"That's not what I meant and you know it!" Pony exclaimed in reply, puffing up her cheeks.
"Yeah yeah, just messing with you."
"Ryuuzaki, you said that you had some business to take care of at your internship agency?" Itsuka asked as we turned the corner to another street, a familiar building visible across the street.
"Yeah. I need to pop into the Endeavour Agency for a minute." I said, nodding my head at it. "You guys can go ahead without me, it's fine."
"No, no, we can wait." She replied with a shake of her head and a smile. "We came here to go to the mall as a group, and that's what we're going to do."
"All right." I took in a breath. "I'll be back soon."
Endeavour Hero Agency was as I remembered it, dozens of people bustling across the lobby area as I entered through the main doors, sidekicks, staff and guests coming and going on various business. The only real change were the updated posters, advertising Endeavour's big comeback after his leave of absence.
I slowly made my way up to one of the reception desks, mindful of my size in the crowd, the secretary perking up and looking up at me.
"How can I help you?"
"I have an appointment with Endeavour."
"Ah, Ryuju, right? He's in a meeting right now but you can-"
Before she could finish the pager on her desk buzzed, just as the doors of the elevator dinged open and the room fell silent as a very pissed-off looking Shoto stormed out, jaw clenched and hands curled into fists. Uncaring of the stares he was receiving the boy marched across the lobby, people giving him a wide berth. When he caught sight of me his body language loosened slightly and he gave me a curt but not unfriendly nod as he passed by, which I returned.
"Nevermind that then, you're up. I assume you know the way?"
"Yes." I grunted. "Thank you."
A few moments later I found myself in Endeavour's office, stepping over a spot of slowly-melting frost on the carpet- no prizes for guessing what happened there.
Sitting there behind his desk, I could see that Endeavour's costume had undergone slight changes, armor plates added here and there, just enough to be distinct from his previous appearance. What I couldn't help but focus upon was his right hand, which I'd last seen lying severed in a pool of his own blood. At first glance it would have perhaps otherwise passed my attention, but upon a closer look I could see that he wasn't wearing a gauntlet- the sleek blue metal was his hand, a top-of-the-line combat prosthetic.
"Endeavour." I said, raising my gaze to meet his, wreathed in his ever-present mask of flames.
"Ryuju." He nodded in what I supposed was probably approval. "I was glad to hear from you, after the abrupt end to your internship. I wanted to commend you for your conduct during the battle; the ability to function like that under pressure is exactly what is needed from a Pro-Hero."
"Mmm."
"You should be on summer break at the moment, no? I presume you passed your finals."
"Yes. School has been fine." I muttered, before clearing my throat. "At the Broken Circle safehouse, you asked me to memorize a number of scent samples and to tell you immediately if I recognized them again."
"Yes." The frown that had appeared on his features cleared and he leaned forward, all business. "Given the timeframe, I have to assume this happened during the I-Expo."
How- no, he's Todoroki's father and the Number Two Hero besides, of course he knows.
"Yes. During that event I encountered Rikiya Yotsubashi, President and CEO of Detnerat Company. He was one of the samples."
"Yotsubashi?" Endeavour frowned, a hand running through his flaming beard. "I've met him before on official functions. But he's not a Mutant-type, so what's his connection to the Broken Circle? Which sample was it?"
"I don't know, I didn't memorize the order. All I know is that he was one of them."
"That is disappointing." He said with a look of reproval, and I bristled. "It means we have no idea whether he was a member or just a guest, only suspicions. Direct evidence might have at least yielded a search warrant. In the future, you should aim to be more meticulous."
"How was I supposed to know?" I snapped back. "They weren't labeled."
"Then take this as a learning experience. In this agency I expect initiative and carefulness, qualities that are critical in this line of work."
"I'm not a member of this agency." I bit out, his manner getting on my nerves. "I'm not your intern anymore."
"Not at the moment. But once you acquire your provisional license-"
"I can come back to be used as a prop for your feud against your son? So you can teach me techniques to try to make him jealous?"
The momentary flicker of his flames and the look of shock on his face told me he hadn't been expecting that response.
"I hear more than you think." I said pointedly. "I came here as a courtesy, not because I plan on coming back. I know you're probably more used to dealing with people desperate to be here but I don't need you. And I don't especially enjoy being led on and lied to."
Endeavour's normal expression reasserted itself as he sat back down, putting his hands on the table, fingers steepled.
"Very well. If that is your choice."
"It is." I said as I turned around to leave.
----
"Tatsuma?"
I paused in the middle of the lobby, my ears perking up as I craned my neck around towards the source of the voice, and found Strikethrough standing there in his Hero costume, his goggles pulled up and a folder held under his arm.
"Or isn't it Ryuju nowadays?" He smiled up at me as he stepped closer. "It's good to see you."
"Yeah. You too."
"You really saved all of our behinds at Kashyyyk, you know. I wanted to thank you. If it wasn't for you I would have hid underneath that table while people were in danger."
"It's nothing. It's like you said, I am invulnerable. Of the two of us, you were the brave one."
"Hey, don't sell yourself short. You stood against Stain when everyone else was down. If it wasn't for you Boss would be dead and I'd be out of a job."
"I was terrified. I couldn't move." I admitted. "But an inn- someone who didn't deserve to die would have been killed. My body moved on its own."
Strikethrough gave me a knowing smile before looking back towards the elevators. "So, you coming back to the Agency? I noticed you coming out of Boss's office, and we could really use you."
"No. I only came here to pass off some information related to the Broken Circle investigation. I am not coming back."
"What? Why?" He exclaimed. "I mean I know you didn't like Endeavour, but I thought you were doing fine?"
"He used me." I spat out. "He only invited me to serve as a tool in his feud against his son. He made it seem like he thought I had potential, when he was just teaching me fire moves to try to push Shoto into using them."
"That's… not possible."
"He admitted to it, when he thought I wasn't listening." I growled.
"I'm not saying he didn't do it. It does sound like him." He shook his head. "But… he was already interested in you since the Entrance Exams, before the Sports Festival. Before you first used your flame breath. That was what got your uncle kicked out of the Agency, remember? So how could he only be interested in you for your fire abilities, before anyone knew you had it?"
"So that makes it alright then?" I snorted. "The manipulation? The lies?"
"Not trying to invalidate your feelings here." Strikethrough said as he backed up, raising his hand in a gesture of surrender. "Or that you should forgive him. I just thought you deserved to know that maybe it wasn't the only reason he offered you an internship."
"Hrrrm."
-----
"Did you get your business sorted?"
"Yes." I replied sourly as I rejoined the others on the sidewalk, continuing on towards the mall. "I did."
"So mysterious~" Tokage teased.
"I mean I'm genuinely not allowed to talk about it." I shrugged. "It's related to an actual, ongoing criminal investigation."
"That sounds so cool." Pony said with a wistful sigh. "All we got to do was patrol and catch one burglar. I wish-"
She was about to say more, only for Yui to elbow her in the side, interrupting her. When Pony turned to look at the other girl she pointed towards me. At the pinkish scar running along the length of my wing membrane.
"Oh. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-"
I suppressed a sigh.
"It's fine, you don't need to walk on eggshells around it. What happened, happened." I looked down at her, taking a breath to try to swallow down my bad mood. It wasn't her I wasn angry at. "I do get what you mean. But trust me, you don't want to have been there. And even besides what happened, well, I wouldn't recommend Endeavour's agency. He's… kind of an asshole."
Pony made a scandalized noise, but Tokage grunted in agreement.
"That's not much of a surprise. It's not exactly as if he got his position by the weight of his popularity."
"He is good at what he does, I'll give him that." I shook my head. "So I learned what I needed and got out."
"My internship wasn't anything special either." Itsuka said, naturally filling up the lull in conversation that followed my statement. "Though you could say that I got acquainted with the business side of things. Yui, what did you end up doing anyway?"
"I interned with my parents' company."
"I didn't know your parents were Pro-Heroes?" I asked in surprise.
"I didn't say they were."
"Wait, you were friends for seven years and never mentioned what Yui's parents did for a living?"
"It didn't come up." "She didn't ask."
We answered in unison.
"You two are the worst at communicating." Itsuka said, rubbing her face with her palm. "Absolutely hopeless."
"...Well?" Tokage asked, looking at Yui.
"My parents are businessmen who own a private security firm that employs several Pro-Heroes."
"When she says that she means they're some of the richest people in Japan and the company dominates the industry in Honshu with a bigger yearly revenue than the economy of some countries." Itsuka explained smugly.
"That's an exaggeration. I told you to stop telling people that."
"Well, if you count some of the pacific island nations..."
"Then the comparison stops being impressive and loses meaning."
"Wait, is that why you don't know the difference between an apple and a citrus?" I asked, still bewildered.
"It's not my fault I don't often see them unpeeled." Yui huffed a little, crossing her arms over her chest.
The back and forth conversation died down as we approached the mall, it's entrance towering over the five of us. "Nevarro Mall- Everything For Everyone" was engraved above the huge glass doors. Not unlike the ones where I'd slaughtered a Nomu in front of witnesses.
It suddenly occurred to me that this was the first time I'd been to a place like this since then.
The others were already almost at the doors, not having seen my hesitation. I'd already told them it was no big deal. So I pushed my apprehension to the back of my mind.
I would be fine.
Within, Nevarro Mall was much like any other of it's like, a vast, expansive transit area ringed with smaller shops, restaurants and boutiques. Though unlike Kashyyyk where it had been arranged into one grand boulevard this was a more traditional block arrangement.
The others were already pushing up the first flight of stairs and I hurried to follow.
"We'll head to the clothing section first since we all need stuff from there." Itsuka was explaining excitedly. "Then lunch, and after that we split up to get all the miscellaneous stuff we're missing, like camping ge-"
She was interrupted when she collided with a figure descending down the stairs, the two of them toppling to the ground in a heap.
"Hey, watch where you're going!" Tokage yelled at the person, wearing an oversized hoodie, who scrambled to her feet in a hurry and kept going, mumbling a quick apology as they went.
"Tch, some people…" Tokage muttered after her as she pulled Itsuka up, and I couldn't help but notice a particular smell entering my nostrils.
"Itsuka, you're bleeding."
"Hm?" She turned her hand around, showing the side of her palm stained with blood. "Oh, I must've cut it on the edge of the stairs. Yui, could you…?"
Yui nodded, fishing a tiny object from her pocket which rapidly enlarged into a small first aid kit. She popped it open and handed Itsuka a piece of gauze who began cleaning the wound.
"Isn't that, you know, illegal here?" Pony asked nervously as she looked at Yui, wringing her hands.
"So is jaywalking." Yui retorted with a roll of her eyes as she gave Itsuka a band-aid. "The other option is that she bleeds all over her clothing while we wander around trying to find a WC."
That silenced Pony, and in a few moments Itsuka was cleaned up and we continued on our way. The crowds were getting thicker, forcing me to watch my steps carefully.
"I thought the Quirk laws were more relaxed in America?" Tokage asked as we waded through the masses of people.
"Yeah, that's why I was concerned." Pony said sheepishly. "I'm still not… always sure about where the line is."
"It's technically always illegal in public without a specific license, but as long as you're not being disruptive or endangering anyone most people don't care." Tokage explained. "I'm curious though, how do they do it in the US?"
"It's complicated. Instead of a blanket ban with exceptions, the starting assumption is that it's free unless otherwise specified. The issue is that there's just so many Quirks, and new ones are being discovered all the time. So the laws are often open to interpretation and abuse. And then you add how the rules can vary by state, county or even city…"
"Sounds chaotic." Yui said.
"It isn't perfect." Pony shrugged her shoulders. "But it also doesn't rely on the law enforcement looking between their fingers if you need to use your Quirk to patch up your friend after they fall down some stairs."
Yui had no retort to that, and so we continued on our way across the mall, Itsuka continuing to lead the way. After a few more minutes of walking we reached what seemed to be our destination, a large clothing store of some sort.
"That'll be our first stop." Itsuka announced, hands on her hips as she peered over the shoulders of the crowd into the store. "They've got great outdoors clothing options."
I followed the others into the store, getting annoyed looks as people were forced to move aside to let me through. The ceiling of the store was high enough for me to stand, though I had to be careful to keep my horns away from light fixtures or other ornaments. There was just enough room for me to maneuver between the clothing racks, though the obvious question sprang to the fore.
"I know you probably don't have anything you need from a clothing store." Itsuka said apologetically, looking up at me as she rubbed her arm. "But you can still come with us and look around!"
"Mmm."
We ventured deeper into the store, and I was left feeling more and more awkward by the moment, watching the others look around for outdoors clothing. What was I even doing here?
While Yui and Pony were searching for backpacks Tokage was looking between several pairs of hiking boots.
"Ryuuzaki, what do you think?" Itsuka asked, turning towards me.
"I don't know. I guess it would depend on what other clothing you're pairing them with?"
"Oh?" Tokage said. "I always pegged you for a practical sort, rather than going for appearance."
I literally haven't worn clothing for the last three years so I have no idea why you think I'd be an expert on the subject.
That was what I wanted to snap back with. But I bit my tongue.
These are your friends. They just want to spend time with you. Don't bite anyone's head off.
"Well-"
However, before I could get more than a single word out, there was the distinct sound of something, or a number of somethings, toppling over behind me and crashing to the floor. I whipped my head around, narrowly missing an advertisement banner hanging from the ceiling with my horn, to see that my tail had, in my agitation and distraction, knocked over one of the clothing racks on to the floor. Worse, another customer, a portly middle-aged man, had had to dive out of the way,
I'd- I'd barely even noticed it. The thick scales deadened my sense of touch, and compared to what my tail could do with a single swing toppling even a large piece of furniture was nothing.
The next few moments passed by in a blur as Itsuka helped the man up and Tokage righted the clothing rack, whilst I sat there awkwardly trying to apologize and not get in anyone's way. He simply gave me a dirty look as he walked off.
That set the tone for our foray into the store. I tried to stay out of the way as much as I could, but it wasn't made any easier by how often Itsuka would drag me into the conversation and ask for my opinion on something or another. I got it, she wanted to include me, but it meant that unless I wanted to yell at them across the store I had to follow them around. Which meant maneuvering through an environment decidedly not designed to take into account elephant-sized winged reptiles. Which in turn meant a lot of close calls, stumbles and near-collisions. Which meant a lot of angry looks and comments probably not intended to reach my ears.
"We are sympathetic to your situation." The store employee explained with an impassive yet stern voice as we were leaving the store. "But in the interests of the safety and comfort of our other customers, we are going to have to ask you not to come back, especially if you are not going to buy anything. Please and thank you."
"What a… hmph." Tokage muttered under her breath as we were walking away.
"She's just doing her job." I said, squirming uncomfortably.
"At least they let us finish shopping before banning us." Pony said optimistically, holding up her bag.
"Me." I corrected her. "They banned me. There's no reason you shou-"
"Nope!" Tokage cut me off, popping the p. "You ban one of us, you ban all of us. Right?"
Yui and Pony made enthusiastic nods of agreement, and though Itsuka looked a little downcast at the turn of events she joined in as well.
I sighed in defeat, shaking my head.
"Where to next?"
"Well, the plan was to grab lunch since everyone's probably getting hungry at this point." Itsuka explained. "I searched online and found this place called Koichiro's Meat Palace nearby."
Well, I couldn't fault that logic. I'd eaten a hefty breakfast in preparation for the trip but my mouth was already watering at the thought of something to eat.
"Meat Palace, huh." Pony said pointedly.
Itsuka froze mid-step. "You're not vegan, are you? I mean you're…?" She trailed off, eyes darting between Pony's tail, hooves and horns.
Pony drew in a breath, scrunching up her nose in outrage.
Then the line of her mouth wobbled and she couldn't hold it in anymore, breaking down in giggles and holding her stomach.
"Sorry. Sorry. It's just- I got asked that so often in America it became an inside joke." She explained as she composed, rubbing her side. "No, I'm not vegan. I just couldn't resist."
"Oh good." Itsuka breathed in relief. "I thought I'd committed some sort of faux pas I wasn't aware of."
"What animal is your Quirk based on?" Tokage asked curiously. "I always thought it was a horse but now that I think about it..."
"Horses don't have horns." Pony finished for her.
"Yeah." Tokage nodded. "...But your name is Pony?"
"My father's side of the family had bovine Quirks and my mother's equine. So you have me, a hybrid!" She explained simply with a skip of her step, pointing her thumbs at herself.
There was a moment of pause.
"And no, it's not cannibalism if I eat beef or horse meat." She added.
"You know I always wondered about that." I said. "My family is all rhinos and dragons, and obviously you can't exactly get either of those from the grocery store."
"Some people do it, some people don't." Tokage mentioned. "I had iguana meat once on a vacation to Mexico. I couldn't do it." She shrugged. "It's a matter of pref-"
Several things happened in a very quick succession. A beam of crimson energy shot out into the air from up ahead, it's source out of view. It left a deep gouge in the stone ceiling as it swept across them until it hit a sky window, sending a cascade of broken glass raining towards us.
The next thing that happened was that Tokage walked face-first into my leg as I stepped in front of the others. I wasn't entirely sure when I'd started moving but I was glad that I had as I spread my wings wide, catching the spray falling glass shards before it could hit anyone. I winced as one of the shards caught the scar Stain had given me and drew blood, but even the softest part of my body was tough and leathery, and so most of the falling glass gave me little more than scratches.
And then the world exploded into a storm of yelling and screaming as everyone else caught up to what was happening.
The others were saying something but there was a buzzing in my ears and my heart seemed to want to vacate my chest cavity as I scanned the direction of the beam for threats.
It arrived in the form of a… human body?
It sailed through the air as if thrown with great force, back towards us, landing roughly on the floor maybe a hundred meters away from us. The screaming intensified as crowds tried to get away as fast as they could. A second later another shape followed on a more controlled flight path, landing next to the fallen figure with a heavy thump that cracked the stone flooring.
It was a large, burly man wearing a sleeveless shirt that left his massive arms uncovered, seemingly made out of some kind of rock-like material.
"Stay down if ya know what's good for ya, shrimp."
"I'll kill you, you bastard!" The man on the floor screamed, beams of energy lancing out from his eyes at the other man, who simply casually raised one hand to shield himself, the beam glancing off of the hardened skin and carving a groove in another wall as he continued to walk closer.
"You'll try. And you'll fail" He announced as he brought one massive fist down at the smaller man, who rolled out of the way in the nick of time, cracks radiating outward from where the blow struck the floor. Unperturbed, the rock-arms man simply swept his arm sideways and picked the other guy by the face, lifting him into the air, bits of red energy leaking out from between his fingers.
"This 'ere is our territory now. So 'm gonna break every limb ya have, and then when your pals find ya you can tell them that."
The response he received was another scream and a slash across the chest with the switchblade the other man, his hands still free, had pulled out from his pocket. All the while, the crowds were fighting to get away, on the verge of a stampede.
"We have to do something!" I heard Pony yelling, but it sounded muffled, as if underwater. I tried to speak but my mouth was suddenly dry and no words came out.
"You can't!" Yui said, holding the other girl back.
Tokage opened her mouth to say something, but whatever it was was lost on me as a whistling noise brought my attention to the ceiling, just in time to catch a pair of blurs bursting in through the broken window. They were small and moving too fast for the naked eye to track, catching the two men completely by surprise as they slipped under their shirts and lifted them into the air, as if being pulled away by an invisible giant.
"Is that-"
Another figure had arrived through the window, descending onto the floor a pair of large, feathery wings sprouting out of his back. A young man in his early twenties, wild blonde hair and slight stubble, golden eyes beneath a yellow-tinted visor and wearing a tan-colored jacket lined with fur.
Hawks, the Number Three Hero of Japan according to the latest rankings.
"Well well well, what have we here?" He intoned jovially as his feet touched the ground, looking around at a sea of slack-jawed faces staring back at him. "Oh, don't worry about these guys, they-" Several feathers detached from his wings and spun the smaller man around so that the beam he tried to fire at the winged hero was directed out into the sky through the broken window. "-have been dealt with."
The other villain was still trying to struggle, but suspended mid-air without any leverage all he managed to do was wiggle comically. The entire situation had begun and been resolved so quickly it made my head spin.
"You girls doing all right there?" He asked, suddenly in front of me, having walked up to us while everyone's brains were still playing catch-up. "Looking a little glassy there."
"Oh. Yeah." I nodded dumbly, shaking the glass shards off of my wings and pulling them close. "I'm fine. Just a scratch."
"Glad to hear it. That was some quick thinking there. I was doing my rounds and, well, the lightshow was hard to miss." Just then a group of haggard-looking heroes wearing masks styled after birds burst into the scene, pushing through the crowds towards the two villains just as they dropped into the ground, the feathers zipping back to Hawks' wings while he began rising into the air once more. "Well then. Take care, ladies."
Most people had still yet to finish picking their jaws off the floor by the time he was already gone the way he came.
"What the heck was that." Pony said, putting it to words better than I could.
-----
Whilst two of the sidekicks had secured the villains for handover to the police the third had gotten statements from the five of us, though there wasn't much to tell given we hadn't seen the fight start. Apparently some sort of turf fight. After giving out our contact information and showing that the cut on my wing had already stopped bleeding we were free to go, and soon on our way again, more than a little bit shell-shocked. Pony still seemed incensed about being held back and was glowering towards Yui, an expression that seemed wholly unlike her.
"If I hadn't stopped you, you would be in serious trouble." Yui stated evenly. "Unsanctioned vigilantism can end a Hero career before it's started."
"Is that what this is about for you?" Pony threw back. "Preserving careers?"
"No, it's about following the rules that we as a society have agreed to follow." Yui retorted. "Villains should be left to the Pros and unlicensed civilians should only use their Quirks in self-defence. As you saw, Hawks had it well in hand. You would have only gotten in the way."
"And what if he hadn't happened to be nearby?"
"But he was."
"This time."
"Guys!" Itsuka said, stepping between the two smaller girls, gently pushing them apart. "I understand you both feel strongly about this, but let's maybe shelve the argument for the moment? Emotions are running high and everyone's hungry, so I'm sure we can all agree that now's not the time to be having a debate on the merits of vigilantism, right?"
"Fine."
The two were still glaring at each other past Itsuka, but nodded in begrudging agreement at her point.
And then-
"Someone's starving." Tokage grinned at the deep gurgle emanating from my stomach. "Are you sure you're a rhino-dragon and not a goat-dragon?"
"I have a high metabolism." I replied evenly, trying to clear my head.
"Whatever you say~"
I suppressed a sigh. I could appreciate her trying to lighten the mood after what just happened, but I just felt exhausted. And hungry.
"Here it is." Itsuka said as we rounded the last corner, gesturing towards the entrance. "Koichiro's Meat Palace."
The doors were not made for someone of my size, and I had to execute an undignified belly wiggle to fit through without causing damage. Inside the place was quite a large dining room with circular tables spread evenly across it and a counter built into the wall that separated it from the kitchen. There were quite a few customers already seated and we got a lot of stares as we entered, but my mind wasn't on that, for once. What drew my attention was the smell.
Roasted beef, chicken, lamb, I could even make out reindeer in there somewhere. The pang in my stomach was almost tangible.
A short, rotund man wearing an apron emerged from the kitchen and walked behind the cash counter, pulling open a fresh page on a notebook.
"What can I get y-" He began as he looked up at us, and then up, and up, until he met my eyes, his eyes widening slightly before his expression soured. "Hn. We don't serve portions in your size here."
"Wait, what?" Itsuka asked, taken aback. "Why not?"
"We'll pay for multiple portions, then." Tokage said, watching as a waiter emerged from the kitchen with a large tray of food and began distributing it to various tables.
"One meal per customer. Standard policy."
"That's ridiculous." Tokage said with a snarl, flashing her teeth.
"It's alright…" I tried, but that was an obvious lie. One regular-sized serving would only make me even hungrier.
"I'm not going to debate the rules I run my restaurant by with a bunch of teenagers." He said, looking down his nose at her. "I was going to say that the rest of you are welcome to stay but if you're just going to argue you can leave too."
"As if we'd stay in a place that treats customers like this." Tokage replied. "Right?"
"...Yeah." Itsuka said, sighing in defeat as she turned to walk back towards the entrance. "We'll find somewhere else, guys."
I gave one last, forlorn look towards the kitchen before following her.
-----
"I just don't get it."
Itsuka continued, as she set down her bento box. We'd found a lunch stall some distance away and the others were sitting on a bench, eating, while I sat on the floor besides them.
"I mean, money is money. Sure we'd take up more space but we'd also pay for our meals. You'd think he'd be happy to receive such a big order." She said, gesturing towards the pile of empty boxes at my feet which Tokage was helping me sweep into a grocery bag she'd liberated from who knows where.
"Maybe he just didn't want to go through the hassle." Yui suggested. "Or he was worried about running out."
"I guess. But why did he have to be so…" Itsuka made a waving motion. "Like that about it."
Tokage made a face at that. I wasn't going to say anything, but Itsuka had clearly also noticed.
"Do you have an idea?"
She sighed. "Did you notice anything odd about that place?"
"...Other than the owner, no, not really?"
"According to the most recent census about thirty percent of the population have Mutant-type Quirks. If you add in Passive Quirks like me-" She opened her mouth to show off her sharp, reptilian teeth. "-that's approaching fifty. Now, I counted fifty-three people in that lunch restaurant including the owner and staff. Did anyone notice how many of those people had either a Mutant-type or Passive Quirk?"
"I didn't count but from where you're going I assume that the number is low." I muttered.
"Three. And let's be generous and say that equally as many could pass as unmutated humans." Tokage said, counting off her fingers. "Six, out of fifty-three. Eleven percent."
"You're saying he kicked us out because you guys are-" Itsuka said, her eyes rapidly darting between Tokage, Pony and myself before hardening in outrage. "That's illegal!"
"Discrimination is illegal." Tokage replied. "Latching on to any excuse to drive away people you don't want around isn't."
"That's an awfully quick judgement based on a window of less than five minutes." Yui pointed out.
"Believe whatever you want." Tokage shrugged. "That's how they get away with it, even in this day and age. They don't wear flags advertising what they are. But believe me, I know that look in someone's eye when I see it. Reptilian Quirks run in my family."
An uncomfortable silence reigned for a moment, before Itsuka spoke up.
"Well in any case, we still have a task to finish. Ryuuzaki, why don't we start off by finding something for you?"
"I don't really need anything."
"It's fine, everyone else got something from the last store so-"
"No, I meant that literally."
"Wait, you didn't need anything from the packing list?"
"I mean, what kind of camping equipment is a dragon going to need? A sleeping bag? Shoes? Backpack?" I shook my head. "Vlad King gave me an exception."
"So you only came with us to- oh. Oh." Itsuka said quietly. "Well, you can still come and spend time with us!"
"No, it's all right. I'll just wait here." I said, sitting down on the floor, curling my tail to my side to make sure nobody tripped on it. "I'd just… knock stuff over and get you guys banned from another store. I'm not going to do that."
"But-"
"I've made my decision."
Itsuka visibly deflated, but accepted my words with a nod. "We'll be quick about it then. Yui and I need sleeping bags and I think you guys wanted to look to find flashlights?"
"Yep, we'll go together." Tokage said, putting a hand on Pony's shoulder.
"Right. And afterwards we can all go to- well, we'll figure something out."
"It's fine."
It wasn't fine.
I just sat there as the others walked away, feeling abjectly miserable.
Itsuka had been so excited for this trip, ever since Tokage and I had made up. All of her friends, finally together. She'd talked about and planned it for weeks on end.
And here I was, ruining it.
All because- because I was too much of a coward to turn back into a human.
That was the rub, wasn't it? It was all in my head. Every inconvenience, expense and accommodation people had had to go through for my sake was because I couldn't just get over myself. And yet, when I tried to- when I tried to do it-
I watched the crowds bustling around the mall, just… going about their business. Did they not realize there had been a villain attack not twenty minutes ago? If it had been anyone else- if I wasn't a-
I tried to imagine myself as one of them. A fragile little human whose life could come to an end at any moment. I could slip on the pavement and split my skull open. Fall down the stairs and break my neck. Collide with a motor vehicle and be turned into mush. Be caught in the middle of a villain battle. A-anger the wrong person and be- be shot without warning.
I screwed my eyes shut and just waited for my breathing to even out. In and out. The only lesson my mother had ever given me on my Quirk was that the mental image was the key. That I should picture the transformation in my head, that my human body was like a container, a bottle, which my dragon form flowed into.
And yet every time I tried to imagine it, all it brought to my mind was a wave of revulsion that made me want to throw up.
Vulnerable. Powerless. Helpless. Weak.
I looked down at my hands. Forelimbs. Strong, clawed, armoured. And shaking. Tiny, persistent little tremors that wouldn't go away.
Dr. Shield had been exactly right. I wanted to be human, but on some level, selfishly, I didn't want to. Not enough.
How did they do it? Live their normal lives, knowing how fragile their bodies were, how easily they could be hurt? What did they have that I didn't? Why did I have to be like this?
"Tatsuma!"
As these questions kept bouncing around my head, I spotted Itsuka making her way through the crowd towards me. I took a shaky breath and forced myself to stand, outwardly steeling myself as she approached, giving me a wave.
"Hi!"
"Did you not find what you were looking for?" I asked, noticing that she had returned empty-handed.
"Nope, I might need to go to a different store later." Itsuka replied casually. "So I thought I'd come and keep you company while the others get their stuff."
"All right." I said, wondering if it was inappropriate to thank her. I eventually settled on a grateful nod.
For a moment we were silent, just watching people come and go.
"It must be hard."
"What do you mean?"
"Being in a place like this again, after what happened."
I let out a breath. "...Yeah."
"I can't imagine what it must have been like, to be there. When Stain and the monsters arrived. Sometimes I wish I had."
"I wouldn't." I sighed. She wasn't the first to have told that to me. "It's not an experience I'd wish on anyone."
"I saw the video of you and the Nomu. And I heard about what you did to Stain." She spoke, her tone almost whimsical. "What was it like?"
"It's… not something I want to talk about."
"What did it feel like, to tear that thing apart? To eat Stain's arm?" She asked again, ignoring my response. "Did it feel… good?"
"I did what I had to do." I replied, full of confusion and distress at the way she was acting. "What's going on?"
"It didn't feel like… fulfillment?" God, she sounded disappointed, of all things.
"What are you talking about?"
"What did it taste like, I wonder?" She said, wistfully. "Stain's flesh, I mean."
"Please, Itsuka. Why are you asking about this all of sudden?" I asked, rising to my feet in a sudden motion. "This isn't like you."
She seemed to snap back into reality at that, her head jolting back a little before she looked up at me.
"Sorry, I think we're out of time. I'll talk more to you later." Itsuka said with a cheerful, happy smile, skipping back a step and running off.
"But- what are you-" I spluttered, starting after her, only to have to come to a halt as she weaved through the crowds, my size leaving me unable to follow unless I wanted to literally bulldoze people aside. Completely and utterly bewildered I watched her disappear into the bustle of the mall, vanishing from view in a matter of seconds.
No more than twenty seconds had passed before, I saw her again, walking towards me along with Yui.
"What was that?" I asked Itsuka as they got close.
"What was what?" She blinked up at me, confusion writ large across her face.
"Why did you leave and then come back?"
"...What do you mean?" She asked, confused. "Of course we came back? We found the stuff we needed."
"No, I mean, you said that you hadn't found it and started talking about weird stuff before just leaving again, moments ago."
Itsuka looked at Yui, exchanging confused glances, before her next words sent a trembling chill running down through my spine.
"But… I was with Yui at the store the whole time."
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