Chapter 6: Moving Forward
Sometimes, I wish I hadn't allowed my bitterness and envy to get the better of me. Life dealt me a bad hand, a bad hand that also affected my family, but I'd ultimately gotten what I wanted most of all. Real Power.
Some people say that I brought my misfortunes on myself, that my mother's previous depression was the result of me not being man enough to accept my fate and try to build a better life for us. I'm not the only one who was born Quirkless after all, and though we are a dying breed of human, our numbers are still considerably high across the world, and plenty among us are still living and making something of ourselves, still trying to be happy.
To that, I will say that they are right. I did bring some of the misery upon myself. Maybe if I had kept my mouth shut about my dreams, if I had been more careful on who saw me write my hero journals about the Heroes and Villains I've seen in action, kept my head down, focused more on becoming someone like David Shield, or had I agreed to my mother's wishes to transfer to another middle school, we might've had a healthier mindset. A better life.
But in the end, I just couldn't let any of it go. Bakugo. All Might. I focused so much on trying to earn their approval that I deluded myself into thinking that everything would magically be alright once they finally did acknowledge me.
And this was the result. Hiding behind a mask, crawling on walls and ceilings, swinging across cities by shooting webs from my body made of some otherworldly energy, on the run from the world that still rejects me despite having powers now.
I still can't wrap my head around it. It was a spider bite that transformed me into this. And whatever did happen to that Red Spider with the black tendrils? I only got a glimpse of it before it fled from my whole apartment during the night, and I was too confused and perplexed to realize what it actually was and what it had done to me.
The transformation was slow and gentle. I'm a hundred percent sure evolution is not supposed to be gentle. Slow? Certainly. But never gentle. A Villain made of sludge attacked me, tried to use my body as a meatsuit to hide from All Might, who was chasing him. Briefly lost him while using the sewers and thought I'd be the perfect disguise, but my Spider-Sense kicked in for the first time, and on instinct, I realized that I had become fast and agile. The Villain could not touch me, but I was so scared that I thought my evasion was because of adrenaline.
Even after All Might arrived and saved me, when he tried to take off with the Villain that he captured inside two bottles, I grabbed on to him, desperate to talk to him. Ask him if I could become a Hero without a Quirk. As we were up in the sky, the bottles containing the Sludge Villain were going to fall out of his pockets. I don't believe the near escape of the Sludge Villain would've been my fault. All Might was in a rush to ditch me because of his timer.
Regardless, my Spider-Sense kicked in and warned me of the danger, and with pure reflex, I caught the bottles, one with my left hand and the other with both my feet. Despite that, the revelation of my transformation did not kick in, even as my right hand had been stuck to All Might like a magnet. I have never experienced what it meant to have real power before, so my meager mind could not acknowledge it after so long being Quirkless.
And again, I wished the Spider had come to me sooner, maybe then the meeting with my Idol would have been so much better, but the damage was done.
I couldn't think straight. I couldn't take it anymore, so I wandered off that day, not returning home until the next morning, so consumed in self-pity that I ignored the need for sleep, until I found myself in Takoba Municipal Beach Park. I had finally snapped, attacking everything I saw, realizing once and for all that I had become something else. Something amazing.
I could finally join UA and show everyone I was not worthless. That I was anything but Deku. Sure, encountering Bakugo and All Might again would have been complicated, them knowing I was born Quirkless only to suddenly develop powers. Bakugo would have likely come up with another of his crazy delusions that I was hiding a Quirk all this time as a way to mock him, which doesn't make any sense. Who would willingly go through all that prejudice just to spite someone? Then again, he's always been as weak-minded as I was.
All Might would have been the biggest obstacle in more ways than his size, since he might've jumped to conclusions about being given a Quirk from All For One in exchange for being a Spy for the League of Villains. Looking at things with the benefit of hindsight, the problem wasn't All Might; it was the belief that I needed to attend UA to become a Pro-Hero when there were a dozen better options.
Not that it matters now, since me becoming a Hero in Training was not to be. I found a new calling. One that forced me to stand against the Law. Against Hero Society. I could not bear to look at it as I once did. I had to make a stand, no matter how many Pro-Heroes I had to trap in my Web.
But I couldn't do it alone anymore. I needed help, and there was only one person I could think of who could give me the aid and guidance to take the next step. I didn't want to get her involved, but I needed her as much as she needed me. Little did I realize that I would receive more help than I originally hoped, and by God did I need them for what was to come.
By the time Webjack had arrived at his destination, the moon had risen into the sky. Losing the cops and six Pros took longer than he feared, and it's only a matter of time before his mother calls him out of worry, so he has to act quickly.
He stands on a rooftop staring at a skyscraper hotel in Musutafu that's been abandoned for almost a decade. It is scheduled for demolition sometime this year. He imagined that a lot of criminals used it as a place to hide out.
He himself also hid here once from Pros, so he understands why the city would want to get rid of it. The fewer hiding spots for villains, the better.
Webjack is certain that his target is at the penthouse, but the thought of going straight up there and getting shot at made him hesitate and decide to take the long route by starting at the bottom and making his way upwards. He's in a hurry, but he knows better than to be reckless. Especially when it comes to her.
Cautiously, Webjack made his way through the decrepit skyscraper, and each floor told a story of neglect and decay. Dust coated the floors, and cobwebs hung in corners, undisturbed by human presence for years.
The air was thick with the musty smell of abandonment, and the occasional creak of floorboards beneath his feet echoed through the empty halls.
Webjack's senses were on high alert as he scanned each room and corridor for any signs of danger. Every flickering shadow seemed to hold a hidden threat, and every creaking sound set his heart pounding in his chest.
He moved with the stealth of a vigilante of his caliber, his movements fluid and silent as he navigated the labyrinthine interior of the building.
Despite his best efforts to remain calm and focused, his mind couldn't help but conjure images of traps lying in wait around every corner. His imagination ran wild with scenarios of tripwires and hidden pitfalls, each more elaborate and deadly than the last.
But with each empty room he passed and each uneventful hallway he traversed, his anxiety only seemed to grow.
The dim light filtering through broken windows cast eerie shadows across the dilapidated walls, adding to the sense of unease that permeated the air. Every rusted pipe and crumbling pillar seemed to whisper tales of the building's former glory, now lost to the ravages of time and neglect.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity of tense exploration, Webjack reached the stairwell leading up to the desolated penthouse. With a deep breath to steady his nerves, he began the final ascent, his senses sharp and his muscles tensed for any sign of danger. As he emerged onto the rooftop, the moon hung low in the sky, casting its silvery light over the abandoned cityscape below.
But as Webjack scanned the rooftop for his elusive target, he found only silence and emptiness, the only sound the distant hum of the city below. Despite his overcautious approach and the lack of any real danger, Webjack couldn't shake the feeling of unease that lingered in the back of his mind. It was a reminder that in the dangerous world he inhabited, vigilance was always necessary, even in the quietest of moments.
'Quiet as I expected. Still, I've never gone this long without my Spider-Sense kicking in,' Webjack thought nervously.
He's had many scenarios where stealthy heroes and villains tried to take him out sneakily, only surviving because they weren't as competent as Edgeshot. Granted, Webjack has yet to go off against the Ninja Hero, and he is certain that, like with Best Jeanist, it wouldn't end well for him. He has to keep avoiding the top ten until he is better equipped.
Since his sixth sense isn't reacting to anything, he will have to rely on his five other enhanced senses, like his super hearing, for any noises. When his powers started manifesting, it was bit by bit. First it was his speed and reflexes, then the wallcrawling, his strength got higher and higher, knives couldn't penetrate his skin unless the one using it also had super strength, his nose could smell what his neighbors were eating, he could see in the dark more clearly but could not stand bright lights for weeks so his firsts acts of vigilantism were done at night, he could feel all sorts of vibrations from his feet, and he could hear anything happening in his whole apartment building. EVERYTHING!
Why else did he develop a womanizing persona after being woken up so many times because of someone having sex? His mastery of equilibrium grants him immunity to vertigo. It prevents blood from rushing too much to one part of his body, so he can't blush ever again, but he is still a hormonal young man and virgin with anxiety problems, so being subjected to something like that frequently was traumatic.
He had to take so many cold showers every morning to calm any possible urges that he got hypothermia four times. As such, he spent many days learning how to suppress the enhancements of his five senses using online methods taught by others with super senses. It was difficult since he had no experience with mental fortitude and concentration, but he's managed to subconsciously "turn the switch off"with any of his powers for the sake of his sanity.
This came at the consequence of becoming over-reliant on his Spider-Sense, making him self-conscious about whether or not he could handle himself in a crisis without it, and a bit scared of swinging around and accidentally aiming at someone and pulling them out of a window, thirty stories high.
Now is a good time as any to start using the rest of his senses a bit more, "turning on" his Hyperacusia to try and hear something, and what he hears first is a heartbeat. Someone was hiding somewhere, and it was coming from below, but doubts that the source was in the lower floor, having checked out every inch of it.
A trapdoor, perhaps? Odd to have one installed in a penthouse, but if the rumors he's heard about who last lived here before the hotel closed down are true, he shouldn't be surprised.
He crept closer to the source of the heartbeat as carefully as possible, his senses heightened to their fullest extent. Every nerve in his body was on edge, his muscles tense and ready to spring into action at a moment's notice. The rhythmic thud of his own heart echoed in his ears, a constant reminder of the adrenaline coursing through his veins.
With each step, the tension in the air grew thicker, suffocating him in its grasp. His eyes darted around the dimly lit room, searching for any sign of movement. Shadows danced along the walls, casting sinister shapes that seemed to lurk in every corner.
Then, just as he reached the spot where the heartbeat was strongest, a sudden movement caught his eye. A figure emerged from the darkness, a glint of steel flashing in the moonlight as a knife materialized in their hand.
Instinct took over as Webjack reacted in a blur of motion, narrowly dodging the blade as it sliced through the air where his head had been just moments before. Adrenaline surged through his veins, his senses heightened to a fever pitch as he spun to face his attacker.
The figure lunged forward, their movements swift and precise as they aimed for Webjack's throat. But her movements were slow and predictable to the vigilante, and instinct kicked in, and he deftly sidestepped the attack, his own movements fluid and precise as he countered with a swift kick to their stomach.
The figure stumbled backward, caught off guard by Webjack's speed and agility. But they quickly recovered, their eyes narrowing into slits of malice as they prepared to launch another assault, only to be forced back to the ground as Webjack rushed in, landing on top of her and restraining her limbs with his own, his strength regulated and precise enough that he would only cause her mild discomfort while restraining her.
"How about we chat before continuing this dance of ours?" He suggested to the pinned-down woman.
The woman is tall with a curvy body. Shoulder-length, indigo-colored hair with numerous scattered pink streaks and two strands of hair framing her face. Her eyes are purple with a mauve shade, with dark, blue-colored, angled eyebrows. She wears a purple sleeveless dress with gold piping around the hem, white zip-up boots with black lines on the front extending to the bottoms and heels, and a metallic utility belt.
Kaina Tsutsumi, also known as the former Pro-Hero, Lady Nagant.
"If this is how you got Mount Lady and Mirko to lust after you, consider me unimpressed," She said half-heartedly.
"Not what I meant by having a chat before continuing our dance, but you do, you," Webjack muttered. "Anyway, can you cut the charade already?"
"A little hard to do anything when you're asserting your dominance against my will," She scoffed.
"Not what I meant, Toga," Webjack said, surprising the woman. "Your shapeshifting is as impressive as ever, especially when you can mimic another's voice and behavior like a seasoned actress, but I'd recognize your skill with a knife a thousand miles away. Plus, you don't always mimic a person's scent all that well, and you know that my nose is also psychically charged."
"Aww, poo," The woman pouted over being found out, and before Webjack's eyes, a gray viscous liquid started to envelop Kaina, evaporating her clothing and changing her face and form, now assuming the appearance of a younger girl, close to Webjack's height and age, with fairer skin, who is prone to blushing. She has inward-tilting yellow eyes with thin slit-like irises, somewhat resembling those of a cat, and her wide mouth is also rather feline, as her canines are pointed and longer than the rest of her teeth, giving her a vampiric appearance. Her hair is a pale, ash-blonde color and is styled into two messy buns, with numerous wild strands sticking out, a straight fringe, and two chin-length side bangs framing her face.
"You know it's no fun when my playmates figure me out too quickly."
"Don't play with unfair players," Webjack countered, while doing his best not to look at her due to her being currently naked. While her Quirk can mimic the clothing of those she transforms into, her own set of clothes makes things complicated. She really needs a Geno-Fiber Costume.
He gets off her, releasing Himiko Toga, while also taking her knife as a precaution.
"When I asked Tsutsumi to look after you, I never intended for you to be her hit-lady," He said, while looking the other way from the girl.
"Come on, working for Nagy is so much fun. She's always pointing me at one baddy after another for me to get stabby, so every day is so much fun," Himiko said with a huge grin. "And before you start to get all judgy, no, we haven't killed anyone. Yet."
"That's a load off my back," Webjack let out a sigh he's been holding in since he saw her true face. "So where's Tsutsumi?"
An angry pout was his first response from Toga. "Did you come all this way just for her? Am I the one girl you don't want to get frisky with?!"
"If I wanted to play with you, Toga, trust me, we'd be playing." He could not help himself when he opened his mouth. "But I've been hitting rock bottom as of late, and I could really use her expertise."
"That's not how I heard it. First, you take on Stainy, interrupt that stupid festival, then you make that lame Pomeranian, whom I just want to stab and rip limb from limb every time I look at his stupid face, a bigger loser, and you made the so-called heroes look dumber than they already were," Toga giggled. "If you ask me, you're Japan's new Symbol. The Symbol of Awesomeness!"
"Okay, okay. I'll admit that I've been rocking it hard lately, but—"
"—Not so fast! You want to keep talking, you have to look me in the eye and body," Toga demanded.
"Will you put on some clothes first?" He pleaded.
"Nope," She grinned again.
"Well, I tried to be a gentleman," Webjack sighed, turning around to face the shameless girl before him, who couldn't tell what his expression was behind his mask. He tried to focus solely on her face but failed miserably. "As I was saying… things aren't as good as they seem, Himiko. The League of Villains who forced me into all that made things personal, and I need help taking them down for good, and who better to help me than a professional like Lady Nagant."
"Ooh, so are you going to start a bloodbath of your own?" Toga said with increased intrigue.
"Metaphorically speaking, without ever crossing the bounds of reality, yes,"
"Can I join?" She pleaded.
"Saying no to you is like a long game of cat and mouse with no end in sight since the mouse is forever drawn to the cat's claws because it likes the feeling of being eaten," Webjack sighed.
"You know me so well, Jackie," Himiko smiled, delighted to be invited. "Though I would much rather be the cat."
"You are the cat," Webjack muttered, because he is a glutton for punishment, and going so long without Bakugo exploding in his face literally felt surreal for a long time, so that a part of him is worried that he might be a masochist, and considering what he is getting himself into by letting Toga join, he most certainly is. "So will you take me to Tsutsumi?"
"Oh, Jackie, you know I'd do anything for you," She began, walking closer to Webjack until they were inches from each other. "And I mean… ANYTHING."
"Never really asked for this scenario, but okay." Never before has Webjack been grateful to have a mask to hide his face because the close proximity with the naked Vampiress is challenging the parts of himself he's been trying to hide in, and she can see his struggle.
"But sadly, we ladies don't like to work for free." Toga changed her tune, still sounding playful, but remained more resolute while turning her back on Webjack. "Besides, Nagy already helped you by interrogating those two villains for you to get information about the attack at UA."
"And I'm grateful for her aid, though I do wonder what happened to those two."
"Not sure myself. Do you really want to know what Nagy does to baddies who are little more than baggage?"
"I want to, but all my instincts are telling me to let it slide," Webjack muttered with great reluctance. Not like he wasn't aware of what he was getting himself into.
"Anyway, if you want our help again, you have to do something for us this time."
"Nagant made you her liaison then?" Webjack questioned, not troubled by this predicament since he was expecting it.
"Nagy makes me do lots of stuff. Some of them I mind, while some I don't mind; either way, I'm happy with my life now. And just because you gave it to me and I love you for it, doesn't mean I'm going to risk it all by helping you unless you prove yourself further," Toga deemed. "A girl's got to make sure her man doesn't slack off at work."
"Ignoring the slacking off part, I agree with what you're getting at, Himiko. But we both know what Kaina's endgame is, and if she does decide to go through with it, you're going to lose what you have all the same," Webjack warned.
"There's no need to fear because YOU ARE HERE!" She cheered, coming in fast and forcing Webjack into a bear hug. "You'll never let anything bad happen to your kitty kat, would you? Especially since it was Nagy who opened your eyes to the truth of this ugly world we're stuck in."
"I would… be really sad if we didn't get to play anymore," Webjack tried to be serious about not wanting Toga to come to harm, but it was hard when she was driving him crazy with her embrace.
"I know you will be," She whispered seductively into his ear.
'This was a mistake,' He thought bitterly, and thankfully, Toga let go of him.
"To begin with, you have to rectify your mistake after getting all those CRC clowns arrested. Nagy was not happy when you started hunting them," Toga began.
"Why would she even want to team up with lowlifes like those guys?" Webjack questioned now more sternly.
"We have big plans in store, and we need a lot of manpower," She shrugged. "But you've proven to make up for more than three hundred able bodies, so it's not a loss in my opinion, but that said, we need to find new recruits; otherwise, Nagy might as well call off the whole operation, and you get no help either."
"Wait a minute, the data I stole from the CRC made several mentions about a heist. That was her idea?" Webjack asked.
"DING-DING-DING! You deserve a prize," She clapped her hands. "ME!"
'It's a good thing I haven't delivered everything I've gathered to Naomasa yet,; otherwise, things with Kaina might've gone even more south,' Webjack sighed. 'What comes next will be Hell.'
"Three hundred arrests in one day?" Toshinori repeated as he, along with Nezu, in the latter's office, were just informed by Detective Naomasa Tsukauchi of the latest situation with Webjack. "I'm more surprised that the CRC still has numbers in the hundreds, considering the several beatings I've given them in the past."
"They were as good as gone until three years ago during the Kuraudo Incident, when public opinion of Heteromorphs got… complicated and the less than rational folks turned to the old ways as a poor attempt to cope," Naomasa sighed from exhaustion.
The Symbol and Dean could tell that the famous detective had not had an easy few days and barely had a chance to rest, but still looked better off than Lockdown, so that's a plus.
"We've been following their trail for weeks and have pinpointed their bases of operations in Musutafu within six abandoned buildings, like the old Terror Asylum," Naomasa explained. "We meant to strike them sooner, but got delayed when it was discovered that a fellow cop might've been in league with the cult, but it was just a clever wild goose chase they came up with to buy time for them to leave town."
"But it was all for naught since Webjack ended up hunting them all down himself and left them dangling outside of the buildings for the citizens to see and leave no argument as to why they should be arrested," Nezu concluded.
"That's about it. Of course, as per protocol, because these guys were captured by a Vigilante, the authorities naturally can't be so quick to arrest them, and while yes, these cultists are bad news, they haven't truly done anything bad, and the operation was mainly to keep them more under surveillance."
"But then, just this morning, your precinct received some vital data anonymously with hard evidence that the CRC was in fact planning something big. One or three more, specifically, that would've been bad for a lot of innocence," Nezu finished for him.
"And again I wondered why I even bothered coming here to inform you about things," Naomasa mused. "It was a no-brainer that this anonymous tip came from Webjack. Accepting info from the likes of him would usually be frowned upon, but recent events have made it clear that it's best to wing it and take what you can get."
"Wing it? I know you're no stranger to working outside the box, but for you to even work in spirit with Webjack sounds like playing with a shark and hoping you don't get bitten," Toshinori muttered.
"As of two days ago, Webjack is no longer my problem. Thank God," Naomasa let out a deep groan. "Chasing this kid put a huge dent in my career. I would've quit the case sooner, but the Chief kept begging me not to, otherwise the Commission might've been more literal about breathing down the necks of everyone in my precinct."
Naomasa is the best detective in Japan, and a prime example of why the Police Force is just as important to the country's safety as the Pro-Heroes, so for him to express frustration and defeat in trying to unmask and capture a vigilante further emphasizes the gravity of Webjack's threat level.
"I've asked you many times if you needed my help, you know, maybe you should've said yes sooner," Toshinori reminded.
"Oh, I am well aware of your track record against invisible foes. No way was I going to take any chances accepting your help," Naomasa countered, making Toshinori flinch at the low blow to his pride, while Nezu made a small chuckle.
"To be fair, no one knew he could turn invisible until he rescued that student from 1-C," All Might said in his defense.
"That's exactly why I consider it a good call for saying no."
"As much as I enjoy your friendly chatter, I believe we are getting off topic, gentlemen," Nezu said. "While it's obvious enough that our Webhead won't ignore any wrongdoers, this new incident feels quite sudden, if not a bit reckless."
"You're not wrong. I get the feeling that he's known about our operation against the CRC for quite some time but likely chose not to interfere until he had a change of heart," Naomasa concurred.
"Does that mean that he figured out at the last minute that the CRC had something that he wanted and was desperate enough to cause a risky scene that could've turned out bad for him?" Toshinori wondered.
"He's never behaved so brazenly before. Normally, he's extra cautious when he plans on attacking a group of Villains, thinking more like an Underground Hero, as precise as possible with no room for error. And while he's made errors, A LOT that could've gotten him killed, he's just as good at improvising. But this. This seemed personal, and I don't think the CRC themselves were the cause of his distress," Naomasa said, now with concern.
"I'd imagined that what happened in Hosu affected him as it did the rest of us. The League did what it did to get to him after all. For what? We have no concrete answers," Toshinori said, now worried as well for the boy who is unknowingly his kindred spirit. "He must be looking for someone."
"Of that we are sure of," Naomasa said, revealing a folder with info and pictures that were taken of the crime scenes, including shots taken of Webjack during each of his riots. "I am sure that he didn't give us all of the data and kept the more interesting ones for himself. No way to track him with our standard methods, as usual, but I'm more interested in how he got the info. Several of these pics show Webjack using some kind of device, fittingly shaped like a spider that, once attached to a laptop or phone, easily decrypts all information on other devices, bypassing passcodes, ID scans, Firewalls, and absorbs all the data somewhere. And I believe he has a HUD installed in his mask, given the way he holds on to the right side of it when he is collecting data, like he's moving a mouse or something of the like."
"It's only very recently that he started using Support Gears, like a tracker that can be attached to a runaway target and a wrist shooter to launch said trackers at adequate velocity, and now this," Toshinori said, now getting nervous by how resourceful Webjack truly is. "Did he make this stuff himself, or is there a former employee of a Support Industry that went rogue?"
"No way of knowing, and honestly, I'd be disappointed if he isn't capable of making his own Support Gears," Naomasa muttered. "I bet on my lucky socks that he made all of this through dumpster diving, and… stealing from Villains in moments of weakness. Happens to the best of us."
"Fascinating. Truly fascinating," Nezu said, now possessing an ominous aura to him that made the men in front of the Dean shiver from his presence. "The longer he resists, the more unbeatable he seems."
"Unbeatable is stretching it by a lot," Toshinori objected, though he understood Nezu's true meaning. The Dean of UA has always had a hunger for raw talent, and Webjack checks everything on his list for a perfect student, except being law-abiding, but the Staff has already decided to let it slide.
"The real issue I see here, gentlemen, is that despite the public perception turning in his favor, it is most likely that the boy will not accept the Reclamation Initiative," Nezu continued.
"Yeah, because it is basically a lost cause here in Japan. He and all the other Vigilantes won't step out of the shadows and unmask themselves unless we prove that we do want to preserve their heroic spirits," Toshinori stated.
"Not really something worth doing when we're currently engaged in a silent war from the inside," Naomasa said, referring to the shattered trust the Pros have with the HPSC.
"I'm aware, which is why the first objective that we should take is to find a way to communicate with him," Nezu said. "We know for certain that he is not in contact with the other Vigilantes, as they're all acting independently from one another, so there's no community to keep track of. It's how they've survived for this long, and if one is caught, the rest aren't at any risk of meeting the same fate."
"Our best bet would be to discover his identity, but he's proven to be really good at hiding his tracks," Naomasa added with begrudging respect. "His patrol routes, timings, and the locations where he intervenes vary, preventing anyone from making a pattern, so we can't predict his timing. And as revealed by Lockdown, he has a voice modulator to further disguise himself, so no way of running into him in civilian clothes by chance and identifying him by voice alone either. Given his probable age, he should be attending a university."
"And there are only three in Musutafu, his main turf. No way he'd risk attending UA where he is likely to get caught in by so many Heroes," Toshinori continued.
"And our General Course doesn't do online classes since we're pretty strict about how we teach our students, but the other two do," Nezu concluded. "I'm amazed you didn't come to this conclusion sooner, Tsukauchi."
"I did, but a lot of things kept happening in the initial months of his debut. Criminal activity was in an all-time high, and it got worse when Toshinori had to return to Might Tower, something Webjack clearly exploited to avoid further investigation and slow us down," Naomasa muttered. "He's not malicious in any way that can be vilified, but he sure knows how to give himself a winning edge."
"And if we start to investigate every university student who does online classes, he is sure to try and come up with a plan to make sure we don't point fingers at him," Nezu said, growing more intrigued by the minute. "How he will try to evade suspicion is something I am looking forward to."
"I really wish you wouldn't treat this as some kind of game," Toshinori said, increasingly worried.
"How could I not treat this as a game? It's been so long since I found myself a puzzle that would be a challenge to solve, I only wish I had gotten involved sooner. Scratch that, if I had then it would not have been as amusing," Nezu became more ominous with his eyes now only showing darkness, now officially frightening the two men.
'How does Toshinori put up with this guy for a whole day?'Naomasa wishes he had never come here.
'Bear it a little longer, Naomasa. I do not want to be alone when he gets like this,' Toshinori pleaded with every fiber of his weary soul.