Chapter 5: Meowy
The next morning, immediately after preparing breakfast for himself and Power, Takumi led the girl through an alleyway into an empty, unpurchased lot situated near his apartment complex.
"Creepy human, isn't it about time you explain yourself?" Takumi hadn't given her any clues, simply ordering her to follow him here once she was done with her food.
"Explain the nature of your quirk. I've already concluded that you specialize in hyper-regeneration, but there's a 83% chance that's a byproduct of your quirk's primary function." His quirk had already run a scan on the horns poking out of her scalp, noticing that they didn't seem to facilitate nor assist her hyper regeneration in way, shape, or form. Instead, they appeared to be biological constructs composed from a coagulated blood matrix.
Power snarled at him. "Oi! I'm the one who asked you to explain yourself first! Where do you get off turning the tables on me like that—!"
"This is for Meowy's sake. If you want your cat back, you will do as I say." He adjusted his glasses.
"...For Meowy?" Without a hitch, Power's demeanor did a complete 180°, her mind interpreting Takumi's words as genuine in an instant. "I can create blood."
She opened her palm, drops of sanguine-red liquid clustering in the air before hardening into the shape of a lethal spear. It wasn't a particularly flashy display, but it was all Takumi's internal algorithm needed to make a complete analysis of the quirk.
'Quirk classification: biological manipulation. Control medium: blood (self-generated). Range estimate: 0-5 meters Potential forms: blades, spikes, projectiles, restraints.'
'Blood loss detected. Current hemoglobin estimate: decreasing. Sustained combat duration: limited. Risk of fainting: moderate.'
'Blood spike formation speed: high. Projectile lethality: severe. Close-range combat rating: A-tier. Defensive capability: moderate.'
"Heh. Pretty impressive, isn't it?" Power rubbed her upper lip.
"I see." Takumi gave a low, contemplative hum. "Attack me."
She tilted her head. "What for?"
"For Meowy's sake."
With her blood-spear still firmly clasped, Power rushed him down. Performing an amateurish thrusting motion towards Takumi's chest.
'Optimal evasion path: step right 32 cm. Energy expenditure: minimal. Counter opportunity: available.'
"You're overcommitting." Effortlessly, he side-stepped Power's attempt and raised his elbow high into the air, measuring the perfect distance and speed before slamming it down right in the middle of the girl's iron-infused, snapping it clean in two. "No wonder you were bested by a group of bottom-feeding grunts despite your quirk."
"You dare insult my unrivaled prowess—!"
Mid sentence, Takumi's knuckles clipped her on the chin, rattling her skull and inducing an acute loss of balance.
"You fall for childish provocation easily, too. A group of thugs would have a feel day with a person somehow more feeble-minded than themselves."
"Damn you—!"
Again, Power's attempted retaliation was shut down like a light, Takumi's foot hooking her ankle and sweeping her onto the cold concrete back-first.
"In one move and three sentences you demonstrated a complete loss of composure. Physically speaking, I'm no different than your average joe, yet I'm able to render you this helpless. Reika Shiranui's a top-class tiger mutant, how do you think she'll fare against you?" He couldn't help but sigh. Originally, he had considered one of the many plans his quirk had created, one which included Power as an asset to his overall strength.
Evidently, that plan had lost all value. Power was completely useless as a combatant, and Takumi wasn't interested in investing time in training her.
His goal was simple. Retrieve the cat, and send the girl on her merry way.
"You say that like your chances would be any better!" Power growled, propping herself upwards and glaring at her benefactor with indignation.
'How dare you humiliate an esteemed existence such as mineself like that! I'll have twenty generations of your family cursed for your insolence!'
"I'm not suicidal." He scoffed. "The objective is to retrieve your cat, not test my mettle against a yakuza boss. Tonight, I'll sneak into the building when I believe the conditions are optimal for me to do so and nab your feline. While I'm doing that, you'll wait for me in a specified location to act as my backup if I'm chased down."
He wouldn't say it aloud, but after their short exchange just now, his quirk marked her down as an 'effective meat shield'.
"Now then, explain to me what your 'Meowy' looks like in detail, and make sure you don't omit any details. Even if I get the wrong cat, I'm not going in there twice."
///
.
Night blanketed Kurogane Street, the area seemed dim and quiet on the surface, yet, it somehow evoked the feeling that things were still going on after dark, just out of sight from the public eye.
Flickering, unmaintained street lights cast a faded, amber glow over the pavement, leaving shadow patches between the street's run-down buildings. The neon signs of local, failing businesses emitting a faint, pathetic shine against the darkness.
"Is that where they're keeping Meowy?" Power pointed at the aged building labeled 'Kurogane Urban Renewal'.
Takumi, wearing a face-mask with his windbreaker hoodie put all the way up, squinted at the building. Almost everyone in his area knew this is where the Shiranui-kai's headquarters were, but virtually none were stupid enough to actually try doing anything about it.
Especially those being directly pressured by the organization's 'protection-fees'. Or even the police who were more likely than not on their payroll, a revelation that wouldn't surprise a single resident of Naruhata.
Corruption was the norm here.
"On the third floor, it would seem." Takumi's quirk had just completed a thorough sound and visual pattern recognition analysis on the structure, capturing tiny acoustic singles very few could ever hope to notice.
'Sound analysis: faint meowing echoing through ventilation shafts, scratching sounds against wood or posts, multiple overlapping sound signatures. Sound origin triangulation suggests elevation between 8-11 meters. Estimated location: third floor.'
'Visual pattern: windows slightly cracked for ventilation purposes, scratched and frayed curtains, small silhouette captured crossing lit window. Probability: 73% chance of feline presence on the third floor. No humanoid presence detected. Clear for entry.'
Takumi flicked his watch.
'2:47 AM.'
Human fatigue peaked between 02:30-03:30 AM. His quirk had calculated the time where guard alertness would be the lowest, and where the urban noise cover would be minimal but stable.
"Excellent! Now all we have to do is beat them senseless and go get Meowy ba—!" Before she could move so much as an inch, Takumi grabbed her by the collar and held her in place.
"You're not going anywhere." He pointed to a rear alley near the building, his quirk's chosen entry and exit route. "You'll wait for me there. If I detect that you're anywhere but that alley, I'm calling off the retrieval and leaving your fate up to pure chance."
"Fine, fine. There's no need to get so uppity about it." Power grumbled, rolling her eyes. "But how do you plan on getting up there? Don't tell me you plan on storming through the building on your own?"
"Of course not. You're going to use your quirk to create a ladder for me to reach the third floor on." Coagulated blood was a lot more sound-suppressant than metal.
"Oh, that makes sense."
Once in position, Takumi gave her the directions on how and where he wanted the ladder placed. His quirk ensured the bloody construct couldn't be seen out of any windows other than the ones on the third floor, where he would enter from.
His steps against the ladder's rungs produced no sound, his hands gripping one of the third floor windows as his quirk limited his opening speed to 15%, preventing the sound of a metal click or glass rattling from altering anyone else.
Quietly, Takumi stepped through the window, his eyes darting all over the feline sanctuary while making sure not to alert the cats more than necessary. Depending on how things went, one startled cat could wake the entire building.
'Feline count estimate: 20-30. Sleep probability: 82%. Noise triggers: sudden movement, unfamiliar scent, loud footsteps.'
"Hm?" His eyes widened. Contrary to his expectations, finding the cat Power had described proved to be much easier than expected.
Why?
Because among the entire selection, there was only one specimen that looked like it was in dire need of exercise and a heavily reduced diet. And as his benefactee had described, the cat had a distinct dark spot on its head, and a black tip on its tail.
'Cat handling recommendation. Approach speed: slow. Hand placement: under chest and hind legs. Body support: full. Slow blinking advised to display non-threatening behaviour. Rub hand on ladder to mimic original owner's scent.'
Takumi followed his quirk's directions to the letter. He reached out the window and rubbed his hand against the construct made from Power's blood, holding that same hand out in the direction of Meowy, one of the few cats still awake at this hour.
"Mreow?"
As he had hoped, Meowy jumped off from the table it was loafing on and approached Takumi all on her own, eliminating the need for him to walk towards her through the room and risk waking up the others. Gently, he scooped the feline up into his arms and positioned her body so it was supported against his chest.
He sighed in relief. "Off we go." Takumi wasted no time exiting out the window while using one hand to balance himself on the ladder, and the other to keep the cat stable.
"Meowy!" Power cheered, her eyes alight with childlike glee as she snagged her cat right out of Takumi's arms, propping her high up in the air as she celebrated the successful retrieval.
"Stop dawdling, we're still in enemy territory." He pushed Power forwards, pointing down the rear alley as he led the way.
Takumi kept his and Power's pace moderate, there was a chance running would alert someone via the noise, and as long as they avoided the already scarce light sources in the area, they'd be able to stroll their way out of Kurogane just fine.
"Hmph. You're needlessly bossy, you know that? But since you managed to get Meowy back, I'll do you the honor of forgiving your insolence just this—"
"Power." His voice startled her stiff, his demeanour undergoing an unnoticeable shift. "You can leave without me."
She blinked in confusion. "Huh? Why?"
"I have something to do here, wait for me back at the apartment."
Power scratched her head, unable to make anything out from Takumi's stone-faced expression.
"If you say so," she shrugged. "Just don't take too long, I want Meowy to sample one of your offerings."
He breathed a deep, begrudging exhale as he watched Power's back fade into the distance.
Three minutes into their walk from the Shiranui-kai's headquarters, Takumi's quirk had given him an update.
It had halted its calculations for the optimal route to return to his apartment, and switched into its threat analysis mode. The implication of which was glaringly obvious.
"Interesting." A womanly voice called out to him.
Takumi turned around, noticing the figure standing behind him under a flicking streetlight, his quirk observing their silhouette and attempting to put a name to the observer.
'Reika Shiranui: 93%.'
"You had the nerve to sneak into a yakuza building, merely for the sake of taking a single cat?" Step by step, she neared Takumi. His quirk doing a complete analysis of her posture to determine what the woman's next move would be.
'Posture: relaxed, hands loosely at sides. No weapon drawn. Attention drawn to distant subject 'Meowy'. Prediction: primary concern: feline safety, not theft.'
"Normally people are after money, drugs, or information." She continued, her tone half-amused half-suspicious. "But not you, eh? You just wanted a cat, which from the looks of things, I'm assuming belonged to the girl you sent on her way? Quite noble if you ask me." Her words suggested praise, but her tone suggested mocking.
With each foot of ground the woman covered, the chance of her being Reika Shiranui went up by 1%, and once her white tiger-like features became visible, the confirmation was absolute.
"You wouldn't happen to be some kind of wannabe vigilante, would you? If that's the case then I highly recommend improving your get-up, you look like you're about to molest some poor girl on the train." Reika chuckled, her tail swaying idly in the faint breeze. "Honestly, you might as well take it off, I've already got your scent down."
Takumi sighed. He took his face mask off but kept the hoodie up, the top half of his face shrouded in darkness. If things escalated into a battle, he couldn't afford to let the covering impede his oxygen flow.
'It would seem luck isn't on my side.'
His quirk had correctly checked that Reika Shiranui wasn't in the building, however, that didn't necessarily mean she wasn't present in Kurogane itself. A calculation which his quirk couldn't account for unless he got on a helicopter or used a drone to get a view of the entire street at once.
There was also the option of wandering the entire street first before carrying out the operation, but if he ended up stumbling on a place where Reika was present, the mutant's keen senses would probably have caught onto him at the same time. All it would have accomplished was a guaranteed encounter between Reika and two suspicious teenagers wandering yakuza territory at midnight.
"I didn't think you'd be awake at this hour."
"Clearly," she chuckled. "Now then, what am I to do with such a fascinating slice of prey?"
///
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