[Tachikawa - Dragoir Agency - Ryukyu POV]
Ryukyu hummed to herself as she read through the documents on her desk. The sunlight barely peeked into her office through the rectangular glass panels behind her brown leather chair. She grabbed a dragon-shaped stamp and pressed it down into one of the documents, giving it her seal. Then she stacked the paper on top of the growing pile on her desk before reading the next one and repeating the motion.
"Hmmm... mmmm... mmm..."
'Our Hero, our Hero, claims a warrior's heart; I tell you, I tell you, the Dragonborn comes...'
For a few minutes the only sounds that could be heard inside the minimalistic room were the quiet hums of the blonde woman and the stamp hitting the documents until the office phone started ringing, forcing the Hero to pause her work to answer.
"Boss? The U.A. students just arrived and uhh..."
The line went quiet for a second as the receptionist tried to find the right words for the situation, or at least, that's what Ryukyu assumed the man was doing.
"Don't ask me how but I can tell the robot is about to rip someone's head off, so if you could come down?"
"Thanks, Retsu, I'm on my way."
"Anytime, boss."
Ryukyu stood up from her chair and headed towards the open elevator in the right corner of the office. Once inside, she tapped the button leading to the first floor, causing the doors to close as the cabin began its descent.
Taking advantage of the little time the elevator took to travel from the fourth to the first floor, Ryukyu looked at herself on the full-length mirrors. She used her hands to smooth down the front of her dark red qipao and the white disconnected sleeves covering her arms from her wrists to just below her shoulders.
Ding!
The woman gave the silver claw covering the right side of her face a tug to adjust it properly while the elevator doors opened, revealing the reception of her agency. All the walls were painted red with small golden details in a Chinese style, like most of the rooms. But unlike the rest of the building, which leaned more into a minimalistic and open style, the reception was filled with stone decorations and portraits of the Hero advertising her clothing line.
"—No, no! Try again! Call me 'Senpai.' Come on!"
<...>
"Saaay iiit! It's easy! Look, Seeeen-paai, see?"
Nejire used her knuckles to knock three times on the top of Metal's head.
"Hellooooo? Anybody hooomeee?"
'Ah... now I understand why Eraserhead warned me about his temper...'
The blue-haired girl blinked a few times at the robot's statement, but the threat apparently went in one ear and out the other as she was already asking the next question.
'In his defense not everyone can handle Nejire when she gets like this.'
...
"How does it feel being a dragon?"
"Can you breath fire?"
"What are your clothes made of?"
"What if your Quirk activates while you're in the bathroom?"
"Why do you still have boobies when you transform?"
...
Ryukyu's cheeks flushed slightly at the embarrassing memory of that first meeting. She opted not to dwell on that question and walked towards the distracted duo stationed in front of the front desk preventing the machine from actually committing a crime.
"Can you run games in there? I really like Cookie Clicker! Do you have Cookie Clicker ins—"
"Five question limit, remember?"
Nejire turned around in time to receive a flick in the middle of her forehead. Instead of acknowledging her 'punishment,' she dropped her suitcase and leaped into the Pro Hero, who caught her with no trouble as she was already familiar with her intern's enthusiasm.
"Ryuko, I missed you! I've been working on my flight like you told me to do!"
"It's Ryukyu if I'm wearing my costume, and you better be saying the truth, we don't want to repeat last year's lamppost incident, do we?"
"I do."
Ryukyu placed Nejire back on her feet as she gave her new intern her full attention.
"She came to my agency for her first and second internship."
"Of course, she's a very capable young lady."
Metal's glowing orbs went up and down on his black screen as he analyzed the woman in front of him.
Nejire put her right palm in the center of her chest as her face became the living picture of the word 'scandalized' while her mentor simply raised an eyebrow at the question.
"Y-You can't say that! It's offensive!"
"...Eh? T-That's... It doesn't work like that... right?"
"Go and put on your costume, Nejire. We're going on patrol."
Nejire took hold of her suitcase's handle and walked away dragging it across the floor as a yellow glowing line spiraled around the top of her head.
"I want to speak with you a little bit, follow me."
"Of course not, she knows my routes so it won't be long until she catches up to us."
---
[Tachikawa - Showa Kinen Park - Metallix's POV]
Metal followed Ryukyu as she led the way across the park. The soles of her high boots tapped gently against the stone trail as she set a slow pace to enjoy the wind. In contrast, the machine's footsteps were anything but gentle.
"Did you know this is Tokyo's largest park?"
"The city wanted to change its name some time ago, something in All Might's honor but he refused, arguing the park forms part of Japan's history, something I agree with."
"I'm merely rambling. I rather know my interns on a more personal level, makes teamwork easier."
The Heroine smiled slightly as a Japanese Robin landed on one of the black dragon wings on top of her head. The bird gave the accessory a few pecks and flew off, startled due to Metallix's loud steps.
"Let me give you a word of advice: try slowing down, relax, enjoy the sight around you."
"Which is why we have to appreciate the few moments where we do have time."
Ryukyu paused and half-turned, opening her arms to emphasize the lush scenery around them: whether it was families enjoying picnics, kids chasing a dog, an elderly couple feeding the birds, teenagers striking bizarre poses for selfies, or squirrels stealing food before scampering off to hide it.
"This job is more taxing on the mind than it is on the body. Sights like these keep us from drifting off the road. A Hero is also a person, and a person who only focuses on one thing while ignoring everything else around them will only end up losing themselves and hurting others."
Ryukyu ignored her intern's words as she kept her gaze fixed on a group of children spraying each other with water guns as their mother fretted over their wet clothes.
"They were interviewing people, asking them about you, and a man said something that really got me thinking: 'A human who can feel compassion for my pain and suffering.' After hearing those words I decided to take it upon myself to teach you how to feel compassion, empathy."
"Maybe it is, maybe it is not... but I'll give it a try anyway."
The blonde woman fully turned to look down at Metal with one corner of her mouth quirked upward.
"That's why I'm going to ask you: is there something that keeps you centered? Something that has nothing to do with lines and lines of code? Something that makes you do what you do simply because it's special to you?"
<...>
[I accepted this internship to gain experience, not to talk about human feelings...
"No matter what happens, you will remain my greatest creation, forever and ever."
"Thank you for being a good grandson."
"Metal, beat his ass."
"Don't corrupt my bestie,Jiro!"]
"That's good, that's very good."
Ryukyu's expression softened as she leaned forward, extending her right hand so her index and middle fingers pressed against the white streak on the robot's head.
"Sometimes darkness can cover everything up here, and when that happens..."
The woman's hand moved lower until it hovered in front of the hole in the center of Metal's torso.
"What you hold in here will have its turn to shine."
"Nejire said the same thing, maybe the two of you are more alike than you'll like to admit."
Metallix's expression couldn't change but he recoiled slightly as if physically hurt. Seeing the reaction, Ryukyu couldn't help but laugh. As she straightened her back, she heard a too familiar sound coming from above followed by an enthusiastic voice.
"Hey! Hey! Were you talking about me? I swear I heard my name!"
Nejire-Chan—now fully suited up—descended from the air with gleaming yellow spirals covering her arms and legs, said spirals dispersed harmlessly once the girl landed on the ground between the Pro Hero and her underclassman. She glanced from one to another with her wide round eyes full of curiosity.
"Yes, Nejire-Chan, we were talking about you. In fact, Metallix here was telling me how much he missed your company."
"Le Gasp, REALLY?! Awww! I knew you were just playing hard to get! You should meet Tamaki. He's just like you, well, not really, but kind of."
Metallix slowly stepped backwards as Nejire kept walking closer as she rambled about her friend. Seeing that the girl wasn't going to stop any time soon, the robot raised his silver suitcase.
"Oh? Why are you still carrying that?"
[*Team Dragoon, there's a situation three blocks down from your location on Skyline Avenue. The Showmaster has appeared again.*]
The suitcase stopped inches away from Nejire's torso as a female voice belonging to one of Ryukyu's sidekicks rang out inside his systems, alongside the earpieces his companions were wearing.
"That clown again? Why me...?"
Ryukyu groaned as she dragged a hand down her cheek in a rare display of exhaustion, both Metal and Nejire looked at each other, with the girl shrugging before approaching her teacher to ask for details. As for the machine, he decided to search for the information on his own.
[Accessing Police Public Database...
Searching: The Showmaster...
Data Found:
Real Name: Kahami Kashimo
Gender: Male
Age: 31
Appearance: Kahami Kashimo is a handsome male with a relatively slim build coming around 5.7 ft/175 cm, slightly tanned skin, black messy hair that reaches his shoulders, brown eyes, he's often seen wearing a red ringmaster outfit without the hat and a pair of black Air Jordans.
Record: While not overly aggressive Kahami Kashimo is wanted for eleven counts of public disorder, three counts of resisting arrest, one count of escaping arrest, fourteen misdemeanors for disorderly conduct, fourteen counts of Quirk usage without a license, three counts of Quirk usage against a police officer, one count of Quirk usage against a Pro Hero.
Quirk: Self-Esteem
Quirk Specifics: Self-Esteem is a pretty straightforward Quirk that allows its user to grow stronger depending on their self-view.
Weaknesses: It is unknown if it is caused by his Quirk but Kahami Kashimo appears to have a constant need to prove himself and show his strength by causing minor incidents and then escaping from law enforcement, shattering that confidence should make the effects of his Quirk disappear rendering him unable to resist arrest.]
"—one time, okay? It was almost the end of my shift, I was tired, and he slipped away from me... His ego went through the roof after that and now he's becoming a problem."
"You think Nejire-Chan talks too much?" Nejire's curious expression shifted to a deadpan that conveyed the betrayal she was feeling at the moment, "Wait until you meet Showmaster, the guy won't stay quiet for the life of him. He's constantly bragging about himself, especially about his shoes, don't ask me why."
---
[Tachikawa - Skyline Avenue - Kahami Kashimo POV]
"Be amazed, weaklings! Look! Just one finger!"
The Showmaster stood in the middle of the road laughing obnoxiously as he supported the weight of an empty car only using his index finger, seeing the people in the sidewalks recording his display he didn't hesitate to tap the car with his other hand causing it to spin on top of his digit.
"PUT MY CAR DOWN, YOU WANNABE CLOWN!"
"A clown wouldn't have escaped from Ryukyu! But I'll comply since you asked so nicely!"
Kahami threw the car up as if it didn't weigh anything, making the owner's hands go to both sides of his head as he watched his prized possession rise meters into the air, the poor man let out a curse as gravity began doing it's thing after the force of Kahami's push wore off.
Swoosh!
A giant shadow engulfed the street followed by a strong gust of wind as a dragon covered in pale gray scales arrived on the scene, Ryukyu's massive right claw took hold of the car with a gentleness that spoke greatly of her experience. Her wings flapped in a rhythmic motion as she remained above the buildings on each side of the road.
"You're starting to take things too far, Kashimo, give yourself up and I won't add destruction of private property to your list of crimes."
"I was going to catch it, cross my heart and hope to die!"
Kahami didn't appear intimidated at all by Ryukyu's appearance or her deep booming voice and just laughed once more with his hands on his hips.
"And it's Showmaster when I'm in the field! You should know th—"
The hairs on the Showmaster's nape stood on end as his heightened senses warned him of an attack coming his way. Not doubting his senses, he bent down, put his hands on the pavement and sprang forward, the ends of his suit coat fluttered against the wind as he spun a few times before landing back on his feet.
He lifted both of his arms with his fists closed and a cocky smile on his face as a yellow spiral impacted against the ground creating shimmering particles as it scattered.
"Victory!"
"Damn it!"
Kahami glanced over his shoulder and gave the girl hovering in the air a thumbs up accompanied by a wink.
"Thanks for the assist, young lady! That'll make for an awesome clip!"
'That's Nejire-Chan, right? I'm getting the full package today! Lucky me!'
Looking around in confusion, the villain tried to locate the source of the echoing, menacing voice. After a few seconds, he spotted its owner sitting on the edge of a nearby building, a metallic suitcase resting flat on his lap.
"You... You're that thing who won the Sports Festival, aren't you?!"
"What makes you think you have the right to insult my immaculate form?! Huh?! Last time I checked robots didn't have a sense of fashion!"
Metallix put his elbow on the suitcase and rested his chin on the plating covering the upper side of his hand.
"W-What? No way! They're from the pre-Quirk era! I had them imported from a collector in the U.S! I blew all my savings on them!"
Kahami's eyes widened in disbelief as a video of a side-by-side comparison of his shoes began playing on Metal's screen.
"B-But I'm... hot, right ladies?"
Feeling his body growing weaker, Showmaster searched among the crowd for someone agreeing with him, but all he got were women cringing at him, with one teenager muttering 'grown-ass man, by the way'. At those words, he staggered backwards, almost tripping on his feet, resulting in his phone falling to the ground and showing his playlist.
"Want a break from the ads?"
"Ack!"
Kahami fell onto his back sprawling onto the pavement, his eyes became cloudy as he stared up at the heroes looking down at him, he knew they were talking but their voices sounded muffled to him as if he was underwater.
"We got him! High-five!"
Metallix recoiled as if disgusted by Nejire-Chan's existence itself.
"I should have done that sooner, but maybe you went a bit too far, Metallix."
---
[Tachikawa - Honami Street - Floria Aoki POV]
Rows upon rows of decorated market stalls filled the stone-paved street as farmers from the nearby rural areas used their once-a-month opportunity to sell their crops straight to the customers, allowing them to avoid any extra fees they would have to pay on the regular channels.
'Everyone is so lively today... I just wish they weren't so loud...'
The young girl walked amongst the crowd with her head low and a timid posture clearly out of her element in the bustling market, her smooth pink hair swayed softly with each step as she did her best to not bump into anyone, her turquoise eyes surveyed the many signs attached to the wooden stalls until she found her target that being a place selling very flesh-looking tomatoes run by a bored-looking woman wearing a red apron.
"Oh... umm, hi..." Floria greeted the vendor in a shy tone as she approached while adjusting the straps of her brown satchel, "I-I'll be taking these."
Reaching into her pockets, Floria pulled out a few coins and dropped them on the counter, producing a soft metallic clatter, after that she hastily grabbed three tomatoes and put them in her satchel before retreating.
...
...
...
"Ahem," Floria flinched and looked over her shoulder, "That would be six hundred yen, missy, you're missing half of it."
"What?" The young girl's eyes widened at the price. She fully turned her body, "But the sign says one hundred per tomato."
Crash!
"Sign? What sign?"
The vendor tilted her head to the left in innocence as if she didn't just push the sign to the ground, Floria was left stunned at the sheer audacity, part of her wanted to fight back against the obvious scam, but her shyness wouldn't let her, so she took the easy route and reached into her pocket for more coins.
"Do come back!"
Floria let out a sigh of defeat and walked away after giving the very honest vendor even more money, her gaze dropped to her shoes, half of her face covered by her long bangs of pink hair granting her a small mercy by hiding her downcast expression.
'...Walk away, Floria...' The young girl's hands took a hold of the hem of her shirt and clenched tightly, 'Like you always do...'
"KYA—?!"
Floria practically shot into the sky at the sound of the unfamiliar voice, even her introverted nature couldn't hold back the scream that came out of her mouth as if her soul had almost left her body.
"Ahhh... ahhh..." The timid girl put a hand on her chest while catching her breath, her body doubled over, "I... just had a... heart attack..."
"No, no, It's fine...." Her voice trailed off as her gaze traveled from the metallic red shoes, past her legs and gaping torso, to the bright yellow eyes staring back at her, "Eeeee...?"
...
...
"You a-are—"
At the machine's words, Floria instantly straightened herself and focused on a random spot behind Metallix afraid of somehow offending a robot.
"R-Right! Sorry!"
"Huh? B-But you—me—her, huh?"
The words got caught up inside Floria's throat as she struggled to organize her thoughts, luckily one of the many passerby accidentally bumped shoulders with her and snapped her out of whatever was going on in her mind.
"Y-You said you're a Hero in training... shouldn't you... I don't know..." She glanced over her shoulder at the vendor before looking back at the robot that stood at eye level with her. "Take care of it?..."
...
'Why isn't... he... answering?'
...
'Did I sound too demanding?!'
...
'Is the machine takeover going to be my fault?! I'MSORRYSORRYSORRYSORRY.'
The poor girl began sweating with each passing second of silence, her hands clutched the strap of her small satchel like a lifeline while the rest of her body shook like a leaf in the middle of a storm. Just when she was about to melt into a puddle in the middle of the market the 'Hero' decided that was enough torture and spoke up.
'What?'
"I'm not s-sure I follow?..." Floria drummed her fingers against her satchel, still feeling the residual adrenaline from the previous scare. "Y-You want me to go back there a-and do what exactly?"
"I... I don't think it's worth the trouble, especially for three hundred yen..."
"Eek!" A high-pitched squeak escaped the girl's mouth as the robot's cold, sharp fingers took hold of her wrist and began pulling her towards the stall. "Wha-Wha-What are you d-doing?!"
"T-That's so mean..."
Metallix stopped in his tracks and freed the girl from his grasp only to turn around and fully face her.
"Hey, Floria! Mind giving me your lunch?"
"N-Not at all..."
'I was so hungry after that...'
"Yo! Aoki! You're good with animals, aren't you? Take care of my dog for a few days, will you? She's very friendly, I promise!"
"O-Oh, sure!"
'I knew he was lying... now I have a bite scar on my leg.'
"Floria? Can you do my math homework for me? I didn't have time last night cause I was playing this new game... oh! Also do my English homework while you're at it!"
"...O-Okay..."
'Why don't ask me for a hot coffee and a massage too while at it? Prick.'
At the sound of the unusual voice, Floria shook her head to clear the memories clouding her mind.
<"Grain by grain, the hen fills her crop." That is one of the many sayings you humans have, you would do well in listening to it, although if you asked me to handle things once more I won't refuse.>
"No!" Floria took a small step forward, grasping Metallix's black shoulder pads with a sudden burst of determination. "I'll do it! B-But... w-where do I even start?"
Machine and human stared at each other's faces in awkward silence, seeing that the robot didn't plan on elaborating further Floria blinked a couple of times and let go of him.
"T-That's it...?"
"Seriously?!"
"You keep saying that and I don't get it." Floria's head tilted slightly to the left as her meek tone gained a curious edge. "Why do you want to waste time so badly? Isn't a robot supposed to be all... you know... efficiency and stuff?"
"Circumstances?" The girl's head tilted even further, almost touching her shoulder. "What circumstaaaancees..."
Floria's words trailed off for the second time today as another U.A. student wearing a royal blue body-suit descended from the sky. Nejire-Chan gave a quick wave to the other girl with one hand while holding a half-eaten banana in the other.
"Yahoo!" Using the sole of her right foot, Nejire-Chan tapped the top of Metallix's head, turning her Quirk on and off in quick succession and almost losing her balance in the process, "Hey, Hey! Why aren't you answering your comms? We weren't supposed to stay in the market for so long!"
...
"Hellooooo?"
...
"Are you ignoring me again?"
...
Tap!Tap!Tap!Tap!Tap!Tap!Tap!
'There's no way she does.'
...
...
...
Tap.
'She did!'
Metallix's right hand snapped in the direction of Nejire-Chan's ankle like a bear trap missing it only by an inch as she flew out of range at the last second while taking another bite of her banana and trying not to laugh at the same time.
"Shorry! I hash to! Messhing with chu Itsh sho fu—koff, koff," A slightly panicked expression formed on Nejire-Chan's face. She quickly descended beside Floria, who gave her a few smacks on the back, helping her eject the food, "Ah... food went down the wrong pipe, thank you!"
"A-Anytime..."
Both girls smiled at each other for a second before The Wonder Hero's eyes wandered towards the robot standing in front of them, instantly, she lost her composure and began to laugh uncontrollably, seeing the hero like that Floria got curious and followed the direction of her gaze.
"Pfft!"
The glowing round shapes on Metallix's face-screen jittered with irritation as he tried to sound menacing. While in any other situation he would have achieved the desired effect, the wet banana chunk currently sliding down his silver muzzle didn't really do him any favors.
"Hahaha! You should look at yourself right now! Doesn't he look funny, unknown-girl?" Suddenly Nejire-Chan's laughter ceased as she stared at Floria, who, noticing the attention was on her, gradually stopped laughing, "Actually... who are you? Nono! Wait! Don't tell me! I know!"
After adjusting her imaginary detective hat, the blue-haired girl did a small twirl on the spot and with absolute confidence, revealed her deduction.
"You're the super duper mega secret girlfriend! That's why he wasn't answering, right?! He's completelysmittenbutyouhavetohideyourrelationshipbecauseeveryonewouldjudgeitthisissocoolisjustlikeRomeoandJuliet!Soyou'replanningtoescapetogetherandMMMPH!"
"STOP!" Floria covered Nejire-Chan's mouth with both of her palms to stop her rant, though her little outburst came at the price of more people staring at her causing her blush to triple in size, "W-We just met! Okay?"
'I wanna go home so bad...'
Slowly, the shy girl retired her hand from the hero's mouth. Nejire didn't say anything, only blinking a couple of times. Behind Floria The Neo Hero used his own flamethrower at a low output on his own head to get rid of the filth clinging to it.
...
...
...
"So love at first sight then?"
"W-Wai—"
Metallix did in fact not wait and leaped up into the air in the direction of the nearest building after tightening his grip on his metallic suitcase, his clawed fingers dug into the concrete as he swung himself over the edge of the roof and out of sight for the two girls.
"Hey! Slow down!" Nejire-Chan let out a huff of irritation as she took into the sky using her Quirk leaving behind a twirling yellow trail, "Don't leave me behind, junior!"
'What the hell just happened?'
Seeing the hero fly out of view, Floria let out a sigh of relief before turning back towards the market stall where she got her tomatoes moments ago.
'He didn't even tell me what I had to do... but maybe that's the beginning? Doing things on my own?'
---
[Tachikawa - Tokyo Prefectural Route 43 - Kaito Kurona POV]
Hiding in an alleyway, Kaito took advantage of the shadows provided by the two buildings at his sides to select his target, he pulled a ski mask over his head, tugged at the cuffs of his gloves, smoothed out the wrinkles in his black hoodie, and hopped a few times on the spot to get the blood flowing.
'Okay, Kaito, this is the start of your legacy as this world's greatest thief... and maybe after this I can buy that white suit.'
With his goal in mind the soon-to-be-thief cautiously approached the end of the alleyway where pedestrians walked from left to right and right to left going on about their days, seeing so many options the young male felt overwhelmed but soon enough he found a suitable victim.
That victim being a tall girl with long dark purple hair that cascaded down her back, she wore a beige-colored long-sleeved sweater, black leggings, and matching dark shoes, despite the outfit being simple the presence she gave off was that of someone in the higher class not to mention the expensive-looking leather purse hanging from her hand.
The only factor that made Kaito hesitate was the fact said girl was walking alongside a group of three more girls, still his prize's owner was not only being distracted by someone who looked like a petite middle schooler but was also at the right end of the group, giving him a decent escape route.
'That purse alone could get me some good cash and that's without knowing what's inside! It's risky, but I already got a route planned out.'
With his resolve steeled and his mind in the right place (not really) Kaito dashed out of the shadows in an instant and snatched the purse out of the girl's hand, by the time the group realized what had happened he had already created a considerable distance that only widened by the second.
Behind him, the thief could hear four sets of footsteps no doubt belonging to the girl and her friends, but that wasn't a cause for concern as he kept sprinting, some good Samaritans hearing the girls' calls did try getting in his way but Kaito easily weaved around them with more skill than what a rookie-thief should possess.
Maybe he would've gotten caught right then and there had everyone tried to stop him but they probably thought a Hero would come, not like Kaito would complain after all that mindset made his job much, much easier.
It wasn't long until Kaito gained the advantage and lost the group, or that was what he would like to say if it weren't for the persistent female that kept the chase going despite her group falling behind several streets earlier.
'Of course I get an athlete on my first job.'
Taking a quick glance over his shoulder to get a better idea of the situation, Kaito noticed that while the girl wasn't gaining any ground, the same could be said for him. She also didn't appear to be winded, nor did it look like that would happen anytime soon, as the thin white dress she was wearing helped in that regard.
'Well... she's alone so I could run into an alley and if she follows me knock her out.'
Kaito couldn't help but snort at the mere thought.
'Fighting someone who's confident enough to follow a thief without knowing her Quirk? Yeah, right, I'm not about to risk getting deleted out of existence... that's an exaggeration but the point stands.'
Seeing no other choice, the thief lifted his ski mask up to his nose and exhaled. A dense cloud of smoke came out of his mouth, quickly expanding in all directions until the entire area around him was engulfed by it.
"What's this?!"
"I can't see anything!"
"Call the Heroes!"
"Ouch! Be careful!"
Being the only one with the privilege of seeing through the smoke thanks to his training Kaito didn't stand still to hear the complaints of the people around him and sprinted into the nearest alleyway and hid behind a dumpster.
Kaito took off the ski mask while resting back against the container. Sweat poured down his face as he did his best to get his breathing under control without making noise, he glanced down at the purse on his lap and rummaged through it, finding a phone inside he didn't hesitate and turned it off completely.
'Don't want anyone calling right now.'
Dropping the phone back into the purse, he massaged his throat, feeling a burning sensation inside it. Accompanying that sensation was the feeling of dehydration creeping in, draining the stamina he had left.
'One use and I already feel like I'm made out of toothpaste, I should get goin—'
A giant figure flew overhead causing the thief to freeze, her shadow briefly blotting out what little light reached the alleyway. From behind the large green dumpster, Kaito felt the gust of wind as the dragon beat her wings to clear away the smoke he'd left behind, making the container tremble slightly.
'They got Ryukyu?! On a purse-snatcher?! Isn't that overkill?! She shouldn't be patrolling around here today! At least wait until I robbed a museum or something!'
Deciding there was no use in fighting against the unfairness of life, Kaito carefully peeked around the dumpster and caught a glimpse of the girl that was chasing him approaching Ryukyu—already in her human form—and another Hero in a blue bodysuit.
'I better piss off while they talk.'
Kaito put his ski mask back on and kept low, his ears perked as he crept along the wall toward the far end of the alleyway at a snail's pace, away from the sidewalk, aiming to slip through the narrow passages between buildings.
"—Yeah, They just came out of nowhere and stole her purse, I chased them all the way here but I'm guessing they used their Quirk to create the smoke, after that I lost track of them..."
"It's admirable that you would go out of your way like that for your friends but please don't chase dangerous individuals, even a petty thief can become a threat when cornered."
"You're right, I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking clearly..."
"As long as you understand... Nejire-Chan I want you to fly overhead and sweep the area, see if you can find anyone matching the descriptions Ms. Salvato provided, there's a chance they changed clothes, so pay more attention to height and the purse."
"Aye, Captain!"
"Metallix, you do the same but I want you going through the alleys, okay?"
...
...
...
...
"Where is Metallix?"
"Junior jumped off a few streets back after seeing the smoke, Captain!"
"And you didn't inform me of that because?"
"You didn't ask!"
"Of all the times you could be quiet... I'll relay the information to him through comms."
Kaito finally reached the end of the alleyway, causing him to let out a quiet sigh of relief. Even though he wasn't in the clear yet, all he needed to do was fall back into his original route, and he would be able to fade off the radar.
All sorts of thoughts filled his head with the most prominent ones being taking a shower, drinking an entire river worth of water, sleeping, and buying that white suit and that would soon become his signature costume.
Still daydreaming, Kaito rounded the corner, only for his vision to become pitch black as something sharp pressed against his temple. Whatever it was, it was cold enough to be felt even through the fabric of his ski mask.
Krrrzt!
---
[A Minute Later - Metallix's POV]
"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"
Metallix stared unmoving as the tall female bowed at a perfect angle again and again, expressing her gratitude while clutching her purse against her chest, standing behind the girl were her friends watching in amusement except for the shortest member who kept glaring at the unconscious villain on the pavement as if she was fighting the urge to kick him and properly express her anger.
"He's right, Yuri, you're starting to sound like a broken record," the girl with short pastel-pink hair said as she stepped forward and put a hand on her friend's shoulder stopping her before she could bow again, "Or like Sayori when she's hungry."
"Natsuki!" Sayori puffed her cheeks while pressing the tips of her index fingers together, her sky blue eyes filling with indignation, "I've got no idea what you're talking about, say something to her, Monika!"
"Hmm? You do have a tendency to let us know when you're hungry multiple times per minute."
"I-I do?!"
Before Sayori could go into deep thought a sound coming from the left pocket of her shorts caught her attention, fishing out her phone she looked at the screen, tapped it a few times and called out towards the group.
"Girls? Meiji is already waiting for us at the mall."
"Ah, right, almost forgot about your boyfriend," Natsuki couldn't hide the grin on her face as Sayori denied the allegations with all her might, "Lovebirds aside we should go, Goku is supposed to turn Super Saiyan infinite on this movie and that's something I'm not gonna miss."
"Wait! Before we go!" Sayori skipped over to the Pro-Hero and her interns with a bright smile on her face, "Can we take a photo together, please?"
"Sayori... It's impolite to ask such things from Heroes on active duty."
"Oh, come on, Yuri! Don't act like you don't want to!"
"I- Uh, umm..." Apparently, Sayori had been right. Yuri looked away, hiding her face behind her long hair as she twirled a strand between her fingers, unable to meet the Heroes' gazes. "I-If it isn't too much trouble..."
"Not at all! In fact this is a perfect moment to start recruiting members for the 'Nejire-Chan's fan club!'"
"Be quiet, junior!"
[...should have accepted Gang Orca's offer, even if it meant less exposure and a week at the bottom of the ocean.]
"We can, right, Ryukyu?"
"Sure, the patrol car is still a minute away so no harm done."
Not too keen on spending more time posted around his senior, Metallix nudged the sleeping thief with the pointy end of his red shoe/feet, after a few pokes the young man let out a groan as he returned from his shock-induced slumber.
"Here!"
"Didn't you just hear her name?"
Ignoring Nejire-Chan's words the robot let down his suitcase, gently took the phone, and yanked the thief to his feet, disoriented, Kaito struggled to find his footing but Metallix didn't care and shoved the device into the robber's hands.
"A-Ah?" Confused Kaito's eyes looked at the phone, then at Metallix, then back at the phone, "At least give me some context...."
"Y-Yes, Sir!"
Now fully awake for some odd reason, Kaito created some distance to get an angle for the photo, meanwhile the colorful group of girls searched for a good position around the Heroes, seeing as her friends couldn't coordinate properly Monika spoke up.
"Okay, everyone! Let me handle this, Yuri, please stand at the back with Ryukyu and Nejire-Chan."
The purple-haired girl nodded and shyly took her spot in between the Pro-Hero and the trainee both who smiled at her to try and calm her nerves.
"Alright, Sayori, you and I will go in front of our beloved Heroes, Natsuki and Metallix should have enough space to stand between us."
"That's perfect! It's going to look so cool in the clubroom!" Sayori almost seemed to emit sunlight as she stepped up beside Monika leaving a gap between them for her friend and the robot, "Hehehe!"
Natsuki glanced over her shoulder at the giggling girl, she raised an eyebrow not understanding what was so funny.
"Not like it's hard to make you laugh but... whatchu you laughing at?"
"You two are small! So you look so cute together!"
"Grrr! I'm not cute!"
"Hmmm, nope! I still think you're both very cute!"
"She's right, junior!"
Metallix and Natsuki crossed their arms over their chests, looked in opposite directions and at the same time—
"Hmph!"
Snap!
---
[Tachikawa - Dragon's Den - Tomomi Isagi POV]
Inspector Isagi stood behind the yellow tape marking the perimeter with a megaphone in her left hand, her coworkers moved all over the place, some of them aiming at the bank's door with their weapons ready while others tapped away at their laptops inside the patrol cars or talked on the radio.
"THE ENTIRE BLOCK IS SURROUNDED BY THE POLICE AND HEROES, STOP PLAYING GAMES AND COME OUT WITH YOUR HANDS IN THE AIR!"
Isagi's bovine tail swished behind her while the nostrils on her brown snout flared in annoyance as she was met with silence yet again. She stomped the ground with her right hoof and tossed the megaphone into the back of her patrol car.
Before she could bark her next order, a shadow fell on the scene accompanied by a loud thud just a second later, the tall minotaur-like woman turned around and found the highest-ranking Hero in the area in the process of transforming back alongside two other figures.
'Took them long enough, at least the air space is secured now.'
Isagi approached the trio with her hands tucked inside the pockets of her black trenchcoat, her hooves clopping against the ground with each step. She spoke in a rough voice and extended her fur-covered hand once she was within a relatively close distance.
"Inspector Tomomi Isagi, I'm in charge of the current operation, it's good to see you here, Ryukyu."
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Inspector."
Ryukyu gripped the Inspector's larger hand and gave it a firm shake, she took in the scene around her and stepped back after breaking the handshake, in the midst of that Nejire-Chan opened her mouth but she was interrupted by a sharp finger poking her ribs holding her back from getting in the middle of the conversation.
"What's the situation?"
"Five armed suspects entered the building, took the staff as hostages, and gained control of the bank's security system."
"Hey! Why do you get to make questions?"
"Brat junior..."
'This is the future generation? Whatever, as long as they get the job done.'
The inspector snapped her massive fingers, producing a loud, sharp pop gaining the attention of a nearby officer who approached her and handed her a tablet.
"We did a headcount, so we know they have at least six hostages, all of them employees. So far they've been radio-silent except for when we tried blocking the cameras on the outside, silent as for their identities..."
Isagi turned the tablet around so it would face the Heroes standing in front of her, in the small screen was a picture of a woman with medium-length black hair styled in a singular ponytail, green skin patched with all sorts of symbols you would find on a keyboard, and eyes that held numbers inside her pupils.
"Going by the testimonies of the customers who escaped during the initial panic a security guard managed to knock the mask out of an individual, her name is Emi Hanami, Villain name Virus, Quirk: Virtual Jump, it allows her to enter any system via direct contact with its central."
The mutant woman used a finger to swipe on the tablet, switching the image to a picture of a squad of people wearing white ghost masks.
"She's the leader of the Ghost Thieves. They are wanted for multiple robberies, though this is the first time they went for something as big as a bank."
Both yellow circles in Metallix's screen started spinning in place, effectively turning into loading icons, letting her intern do his thing, Ryukyu asked for the tablet in Isagi's hand to read through the entire thing.
"What about the guard? Are they okay?"
"Should be. He's a man named Namori Tsuki; his Quirk is minor regeneration. We also haven't gotten any reports of gunshots coming from the inside, so we're expecting him to be unconscious."
Hearing those words, Ryukyu's expression relaxed a tiny bit, she put the tablet down on top of a nearby police car and took a step forward to take a closer look at the bank's façade, behind her Nejire-Chan nudged Metallix's forehead with her pinkie, staring with a curious expression at the motionless machine.
"Their usual pattern is to enter, hack the security, and leave before the police or Heroes can respond. One of their members has an unregistered Quirk that lets him alter any vehicle's appearance, giving them a head start."
Ryukyu paused, frowning as she considered the information she just read.
"And that's without accounting for the unknown Quirks of the other members. So, what went wrong here?"
"We suspect Virus used her Quirk on the security system's main panel in the third floor," Isagi retrieved a rolled-up blueprint from the back of a patrol car, laid it across the hood, and unrolled it, "The bank's vault automatically disables any connection it has to the system if it detects a break-in."
"So now they don't know what to do, huh?"
Ryukyu traced the blueprint with a finger, studying the building's layout. The ground floor housed the main banking hall and the vault, tucked behind a restricted area. The second floor contained offices and private consultation rooms, while the third housed the security room and its central control panel.
Krrzt!
"OW!"
Inspector and Pro-Hero turned around just in time to see Nejire-Chan jumping in place while shaking her hand, not paying any mind to the pain he had just caused, the attacker approached them and scanned the blueprint.
"No clue, pal."
"Hold it just a moment!" The previous electro-shock didn't do much as Nejire-Chan bounced over to Metallix, standing behind him and grabbed one of his quills as she took a quick peek of the blueprint, "Shouldn't you have x-rays?"
"Ehhhhh?!" The girl put some pressure on the quill she was holding to try to get Metallix to look up at her but he didn't budge, "That's so lame! Isn't that included in the robot starter kit?"
"Wait, really? So movies are a lie?... and what do you mean by illegal? It's the perfect support item!"
<2 decades ago a Hero known as "Dweller" used his commissioned support item while off-duty to spy on a 20-year-old wom— >
"OOOoookaaay! You made your point, junior! I didn't need the mental image."
Krrzzzt!
"AHbalkasdt!"
The inspector glanced over at Ryukyu, wondering what kind of team dynamic she was witnessing, apparently her question was written all over her face as the Pro let out a nervous laugh while sweat-dropping.
"I'm so sorry about them... It's their first day together."
"Eh, It's fine, this type of thing helps build relationships between peers."
'Again?'
Nejire-Chan's brows knitted in indignation at being referred to as 'organism' but that indignation didn't last too long as she clapped her hands having a new idea.
"Hey! Hey! What if you imitate All Might's voice like you did at the festival?! Any villain would give up if they heard him!"
Feeling proud of her idea, the girl puffed out her chest, placed a hand over her heart, and closed her eyes with a smug grin stretching across her face, probably thinking she finally did something senior-like.
And just like that, the senior's hopes and dreams were shattered leaving her standing there petrified with a far-off look in her royal blue eyes, luckily the sound of footsteps approaching stopped Metallix from using his speakers to bury the poor girl even more.
The footsteps belonged to a tall, white-haired man wearing a simple orange jumpsuit with white stripes running along the elbows and legs, accompanying him was a teenage girl whose black eyes reflected absolute boredom, she had shoulder-length, bob-shaped black hair, the only thing that gave her some life was her bright red jumpsuit and cap.
"Yo."
---
[Dragon's Den - Ventilation System - Metallix POV]
The machine strolled across the insides of the bank's ventilation duct, his feet produced barely audible metallic taps every time they came into contact with the steel beneath him. Seeing a light coming from below, he picked up his pace and soon enough reached an air vent.
Metallix peered through the gaps in the vent grille, and scanned the room below him, which turned out to be one of the consultation rooms. In it, he saw two people in full black outfits wearing ghost masks. Both individuals carried Glock 19 pistols on their hips, one of them facing the door while the other faced the opposite direction.
Moving to another angle, Metallix found the hostages, all of them sitting against a wall below the window, tied together with the same rope and huddled close to one another.
[Fiding Path Of Action...
20%...
23%...
40%...
70%...
100%...
Path Of Action: Found
---
Connecting To: Tablet #102...
Permission Required....
Sending Request...
Successfully Connected...
Beginning Transmission]
A small square popped up in the right corner of Metallix's HUD. In the pop-up, he could see the live feed from the tablet's camera showing Ryukyu, Inspector Isagi, and the Hero trainee responsible for his current fifteen-centimeter size (5in).
[*So you did manage to climb all the way to the roof and slip into the A.C. unit? Ain't that something...*
*Good job on locating the hostages, Metallix. Now we have grounds to start making a plan.*
*Oh? Now you ask for permission? You didn't seem to care about that when you jumped off my back mid-flight.*
*Is that so?*]
The tablet's microphone caught the sound of someone whistling behind the group.
[*I'll deal with your irresponsible senior later. What's your plan?*
*Hmmm... I think I see it... what are the chances of this going smoothly?*
<93%, but if you allowed me to utilize lethal force, then it could go up to 99.99%>
*No, no lethal force unless it's the only alternative. Ninety-three percent is good enough, if that's fine with you, Inspector.*
*I say go for it, but if this ends up badly, don't expect my name to appear anywhere in the report.*
*Hmm.*
*Copy that. I'll make sure there's no one below it.*]
Metallix minimized the square pop-up to clear his HUD but kept transmitting. He scanned the room once more to ensure everything was still in place. Once that was done, he aligned himself properly, then he jumped and curled his body, easily slipping between the gaps in the air vent.
[*Release.*]
A thin pink aura surrounded the robot as he returned to his regular size. He uncurled mid-air and fell to his feet behind the Villain who was facing the hostages. He put both hands on the hips of the Villain and crushed the holstered gun. Behind him, he could already pick up on the sound of the remaining target taking his weapon out.
Without any hesitation, Metallix tightened his grips on the Villain's hips, not minding at all the pained grunts that came from him. The machine's torso quickly rotated, allowing him to use the human in his grasp as a projectile.
Both Villains collided with each other, sending them to the ground and resulting in the gun soaring through the air and into the machine's hands. Before they could regain their bearings and try to use their Quirks, the robot already had one foot planted in the back of the Villain whose weapon he broke.
KRRZT!
Metallix turned the gun in his hands into little pieces that fell through his fingers as he approached the hostages, who were still processing the events that had just unfolded before their eyes. Crouching down, he took hold of the rope and snapped it in two without trouble.
The first one to recover from the shock was a woman with brown hair wearing a neat suit, no doubt an employee.
"Ah, uh, well... he got hit in the head pretty badly..."
"I'm fine..." said a man dressed in a security guard uniform, speaking up while rubbing the left side of his head, "My Quirk is already kicking in."
The hostages listened and made way for the Hero-In-Training as he stepped up to the wall they were previously against. He reeled his fist back and punched it, blowing a hole through the concrete big enough for everyone to step through it. Not even a full five seconds later, Ryukyu appeared, followed by Nejire-Chan who waved happily with both hands while being held in the air by her Quirk.
"Hi, hii! Dragon express here! Please come forward and give me your hand! Don't worry, we won't charge you this time!"
Deducing the blue-haired girl was better equipped to handle people, Metallix left the civilians to her to focus on the camera at the corner of the room. A small red dot blinked, indicating that it was looking at everything.
The person controlling the camera commanded it to move up and down, imitating a nod.
[This will be useful.
---
Intercoms: Muted
Transmission Stopped]
Not giving the other two Heroes a chance to object, Metallix left the room and took the shortest route towards the security room. Along the way, he could see every camera following his movements, but that didn't bother him in the slightest.
As he went up the stairs, he could already hear the police and Heroes barging into the first floor while shouting at the Villain on that floor. He assumed the Villain gave up on the spot, as there wasn't any sound indicating a fight.
Arriving at the security room, Metallix went in only to find no one inside. Multiple monitors were mounted into the wall right in front of him, all of them showing various parts of the building, while in the middle was a desk filled with papers, a microphone, a smaller monitor, a keyboard, and some speakers. After a few seconds of silence, static filled the screens, only to be replaced a second later by a mocking female face.
"Hey, buddy~ did you come for me? Sorryyy, I don't think you can get me out of here."
"E-Eh?! Y-You can't do THAT!" The woman inside the screens went pale as her words saturated the speakers, "That would be murder! Aren't you a Hero?!"
"Okay, okay, listen! I'll get out, but I need some help. My Quirk has a cooldown, so I need you to expel me from the system manually. Just type 'Reset' into the console using that keyboard..."
The moment Metallix's fingers made contact with the keyboard, green numbers burst out of the spaces between the buttons. The floating digits latched themselves to the robot's hands and began crawling up his arms towards his head.
"Ha! What an idiot! With this I'll be unstoppable!"
[Initiating Sleep Mode...]
As the numbers reached Metallix's head, the image of the woman faded from the monitors while the machine's limbs twitched erratically until they went completely slack, leaving the student standing there, slightly slouched forward, with his screen pitch black.
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[Strategic Analysis & Guidance Engine: Inactive -> Active]
---
[??? - Narrator's POV]
[
THUD!
*Shit! What the fuck?!* The intruder clenched her eyes shut in pain after her body impacted against the ground, *Wait, ground? Pain?*
Forgetting about the pain, the woman jumped up to her feet, a trail of floating numbers trailing her every movement. Her eyes opened wide in surprise at the view. All around her was a vast green landscape expanding beyond what she could see; the grass was tall, vibrant, and full of life, swaying in place thanks to a gentle breeze.
Above her was a clear night sky, even though below everything looked as if the sun were up. But her attention wasn't on that weird contrast instead, it was on the weird square shapes that had replaced the stars. Squinting her eyes, Virus saw what appeared to be pictures, and looped videos all interconnected with each other via blue strings.
*Uhhh, I guess this is better than the usual black void?... Now, how the hell do I make this thing listen to me?*
With a wave of her hand, Virus opened a floating translucent green panel. Scrolling through it, she found an enormous amount of files and folders, ranging from 'Stored Battle Data' to 'Mom's favorite breakfast.'
*Why aren't the files in alphabetical order?! What kind of psycho does that?!* Virus snapped her fingers, and the panel moved to hover over her back. *Whatever, maybe there's something useful around here.*
Virus's body rose a few feet off the ground before stopping to verify that her Quirk was working as intended. Not finding any issues, she took to the sky at a much quicker pace until she reached the altitude she desired, that being one where she could interact with the objects she saw previously.
*Hmm... what's with all this crap?*
The green-skinned woman's movements were fluid as she weaved around the strings in the air. Out of curiosity, she took one of the pieces of paper, cutting it off the web of strings to inspect it in detail. In it was a pink-haired girl looking over her shoulder, the sun reflecting off her smile at a perfect angle while her dreadlocks flowed with the wind. Turning it around, she found a single line that read: 'I'm proud of you.'
*Heh, how cute... but this isn't helping me at all!*
Virus tossed the picture aside without a care, only for it to freeze in the air. A red glow surrounded its frame. Confused, the woman looked in every direction but didn't find anything. She waved her hand again to recall her menu, but it didn't respond.
Now a bit panicked, she repeated the motion again and again with no success. All of a sudden, she got the feeling that someone was watching her from behind, but she was unable to turn her head around since the same red glow surrounded her body, erasing any traces of her Quirk and locking her in place.
"I should eliminate you, vermin... unfortunately, that is against Mother's orders, so I shall dispose of you immediately."
The intruder wasn't given a fraction of a second to understand what was happening before the space in front of her started cracking, eventually revealing an endless void. In the end, the last thing Virus heard was a distant feminine huff.
...
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...
Ego Integration: 19% -> 25%
"That risk for so little reward? How inefficient, yet again it worked, so it is... acceptable, I suppose..."
...
...
...
Exiting Sleep Mode...
Running Background Check...
System Status: Operational...
"0 Damages detected, that means I have to go back to sleep, wouldn't want to ruin Mother's little game."
Strategic Analysis & Guidance Engine: Active -> Inactive]
---
[Dragon's Den - Security Room - Nejire-Chan's POV]
"Wakey, wakey!"
Nejire-Chan nudged Metallix's left cheek for the eleventh time in ten seconds to see if he would wake up. So far, it's been around five minutes since she and Ryukyu found him, and there haven't been any signs of 'life.'
"Hmmm, I think he's just trying to skip cleanup duty, Ryukyu!"
The Dragoon Hero massaged her temples, feeling a headache creeping in. Without any alternative, she tapped her earpiece to see if anyone could get in contact with Metallix's creator. Meanwhile, Nejire-Chan stroked her chin with her hand, suddenly feeling like a detective once more.
'Oh... I think I get it! Junior is the sleeping beauty, duh! Well, as his responsible Senpai, it is my duty to save him from that endless slumber!'
Nejire-Chan puckered out her lips in an exaggerated manner, closed her eyes, and slowly but surely began closing the distance between her face and the robot.
Thwack!!
"AYYYY!!!!"
'OWOWOWOWOW EVERYTHING IS SPINNING!'
Clutching the back of her head with both hands, Nejire-Chan opened her eyes to glare at her aggressive junior. Sadly for her and happily for the robot, her incoming lecture was interrupted before it could begin, as a mass of green numbers was spat out of Metallix's screen.
The cluster of digits fell onto the floor without making any noise. Then it began writhing around, scaring Nejire-Chan, who jumped into Ryukyu's arms, clinging to the Pro-Hero's neck. Her worries soon turned out to be unfounded, as the mass took the shape of the Villain they were looking for.
"Uhhh... she's not moving... is she dead?"
"Metallix!"
Nejire-Chan developed a new Quirk on the spot and teleported in front of Metallix, making him walk backwards in either disgust or fear. She couldn't really tell, and even if she did, it wouldn't stop her.
"We thought you were dead! That wasn't nice, you know?! Poor Ryukyu almost gained gray hairs!"
"That's a bit too much..." Ryukyu's shoulders dropped as her body relaxed now that one of her interns wasn't in a coma, "But I admit you had me worried. Please don't do anything like that again; you're my responsibility, so anything that happens to you is on me."
"Why are you nice to her and not to me?!" Nejire-Chan's face became the imitation of a squirrel preparing for winter, "What about my distress? Isn't that important to you?"
"Y-Y-You..." The young girl's cheeks deflated as she began sniffling. She even had to use her hands to wipe the tears off her face, "How can you be mean to me, junior?"
"Not true! I wasn't actually going to kiss you!"
Nejire-Chan's personality did a full flip as her tears disappeared into oblivion. Seeing this, Ryukyu rolled her eyes and picked up the unconscious Villain before carrying her out of the room.
"Listen, junior, I know this is gonna hurt, but you're not my type, okay?" The trainee exhaled as if the words coming out of her mouth really held any weight, "Don't get me wrong, you're cute, funny, and the whole tsundere act you've got going on is endearing, but... I don't see this working out for us..."
"I know, right?!"
"Pfft... hehehe!"
Metallix created even more distance between him and the giggling girl.
"Nono, I can keep my mental problems in check just fine," Nejire-Chan took a deep breath to stop her laugh before smiling down at her junior, "Talking to you is really fun, you know?"
"You see, all of my friends are like, super, duper nice! It's not a complain but sometimes it is... repetitive, I think? But with you is different, heck I'm saying and doing things I normally wouldn't! The best word to describe it would be refreshing!"
"Aye, Captain!"
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---
"Yo! Satoru!"
I've got no idea if any of the day ones are still around (or anyone for that matter xd) in any case how have you been?
If any of you are wondering why the HUGE pause on the story, there isn't really an exceptional reason, other things AKA j*b just took priority over writing, thankfully i've been finally allowed to breath at least until the middle of november, I tried to write this chapter like a month ago but I just couldn't finish which is a shame cause I wanted it to release on september 22 since that's Monika's birthday with Metal's birthday being the day after, isn't that a fun fact?
anyways now that I have time I'm going to write more chapters before work picks up again.
lastly you may have noticed a change in the structure of the chapter, after reading through the fic again I think this one should work the best as before i wasn't putting actions between the dialogues and it kinda made me feel like i was reading a google doc.
next chapter drops after the Elder Scrolls 6 is released, jk.