Chapter 33: 33. Witness Tampering.
Getting back to the class, I was met with a few concerned looks and more than a few admiring ones as I took my seat.
Deku scooted up, fidgeting a bit before he asked.
"Are you okay, Matsun?"
"Yeah, why?" I replied, raising an eyebrow.
"The...uh...." Deku mutered, gesturing at my eyes.
"Oh this? Yeah. Cried like a bitch when my bones were being reset into place." I said, chuckling, jiggling the sling.
"...I see." He said, awkwardly, "You can talk to me if you want, you know that right?"
"You're being weird right now, you know that right?" I teased, poking him in the side.
"So what happened after? Did the training continue? Did you kick some ass?" I asked, leaning back into the chair.
"No. The class was cancelled. Bakugo was taken to the hospital. I hear he is going to be suspended." Kirishima answered, looking at me with a conflicted expression.
"Uh huh?" I muttered, "Shame. I figured he would reform after....you know.
He has a great quirk too. But I guess I was wrong."
Looking at the clock, I gestured at Deku, who remained unmoved.
My eyebrows furrowed, as Kirishima put his hand on my shoulder.
"We need to talk." He said, decisively.
"Now, here?" I asked.
"No. Later. I'll call you." He answered, handing me his phone.
I added my number in before returning it to him with a nod, when the bell rang dismissing school for the day.
"Looks like the later is now, huh?
Let's go." I said, slinging my bag over the shoulder, as Deku and Kirishima followed.
Taking them to the cafe, I greeted the owner.
"Yo, old man! How you holding up?" I asked.
"Better than I deserve!" He replied, smiling.
"I see you have new friends?" He asked, "The usual?"
"Yup." I replied, taking the last table as always, facing the door.
"Do you come here often?" Kirishima asked, looking around.
"I didn't even know this place existed so close." Deku exclaimed.
"Yeah. I like it that way. It's like my own secret lair. With fruit snacks and hot chocolate." I replied, sipping at the namesake.
"So, what did you want to talk about?" I pushed, putting down my cup.
"Yes, about that....I may have....no, I did hear you and All Might talking." Kirishima said, hesitantly.
"Uh huh? And ?" I asked.
"Actually, I didn't think this far." He replied awkwardly, lending me to a chuckle.
"Oh boy." I laughed, "I'm sure you must have had something on your mind? Questions, opinions, anything?"
"Yeah. A few questions. But you don't have to answer them if you don't want to!"
Kirishima scratched his head and answered.
"Shoot." I said, encouraging him.
Kirishima leaned over the table, almost knocking over the coffee, and whispered.
"Are you really going to get his quirk?"
I looked at Kirishima oddly, before pushing him back across the table and into his seat.
"You can talk normally. I own the place and Deku already knows about it." I said, pointing at the boy sheepishly munching down on cookies.
"Yhuf." Deku replied, swallowing the mouthful before continuing, "All Might told me last year."
Kirishima looked at the boy, stunned.
"What exactly is your relationship with All Might?"
"Nothing much. We met him last year during the sludge villain incident.
He saw Matsun save Kacchan and was inspired by his bravery.
Later, he found us on the beach and asked Matsun to be his successor." Deku explained, nonchalantly.
"I refused of course, believing that he should choose someone better, worthier than me. In fact, I even scolded him for choosing me recklessly, based on one single meeting." I added, "But now, with my failure today....it made me realize something. I needed to be more powerful. And the rest is history, as you well know."
"This ... it sounds like it's straight out of a manga." He commented, and I had to hold back from snorting in laughter at how close he'd gotten to the truth of the matter.
"Well, that's that. Is that all you wanted to ask?" I said, finishing the choco, and called for the bill.
"Yes." Kirishima said, before muttering an 'oh', and continued, "Just one more thing. If it's not too much, can you tell me what All Might's quirk is?"
I gave him a headlong stare, acting as if I was considering something, before I sighed.
"Fine. I suppose it's better if you know the complete story." I said, seemingly relinquishing to his demands.
"All Might, you see, has a very special quirk." I explained, "It is a quirk that can be passed down to anyone, if the quirk holder desires to."
"Yes. I understood that much from what I heard." Kirishima interjected.
"I'm getting to it. Have patience.
The thing about his quirk, One For All, is that it is also one of the few quirks that cannot be copied or stolen without the express permission of the wielder. It also protects it's user from most forms of mind control and psychological manipulation. It is in no small terms, the perfect quirk for a hero. Incorruptible, Invulnerable, Invincible." I continued, to awed stares.
"That's so cool!" He muttered.
"Makes sense, given how much of a presence All Might is. I would expect nothing less from his quirk!"
"Yeah." I said, "But it has a weakness. It doesnt make the user immortal, or ageless. So inevitably, the users get old. All Might is in his 50s now. He won't be a hero for long. And so he is...was searching for a successor, someone to inherit his quirk."
"I see." Kirishima muttered, understandingly.
"Now" I said, "before we go, I'd like you to promise me something Kirishima."
"Keeping it a secret, right?" He said, catching on.
"Yes. No one can know. Lives depend on it." I said, emphasizing the gravity of the situation.
"Don't worry. My mouth is sealed. It's a promise, man to man!" He said, extending a handshake, one I reciprocated handily.
"Good. I knew you would understand." I praised, getting up from my seat.
"See you tomorrow?" Deku said, waving.
"Yeah, see you tomorrow. Both of you..." Kirishima answered, unsure of something.
Once we were out of sight, I checked his book, his last expression bothering me, only to find that it a trifling matter.
He was just uncomfortable with addressing the other part of what he'd seen, me crying, blaming myself.
He was agonizing over how to console and support me. And he was failing at it.
What an idiot!
But a kindhearted one.
I smiled, knowing my plans were bearing fruit, and began humming a merry tune as I made my way home, much to Deku's surprise.
In my hand, my phone buzzed with a reply to a message I'd sent earlier.
With a glance, I went over it's contents and my mood took a steep upturn once more.
Things were really going my way today!
And finally the second stage of my plans was ready to take place, with the capture of a certain underworld broker at the hands of the goofball duo.
It had been too long now. Too damn long.
As Deku climbed up the stairs to his home, I turned a corner and dialled a number.
"Darling~" Came a cheerful voice from the other end.
"Himiko, baby, it's time to initiate plan Filter Coffee."
"When?" She asked, in an eerily nuetral tone.
"End of the month." I replied.
"Understood." Came the, folowed by a familiar dial tone.
With that, I made my way to the abadoned warehouse that was the home to the Villain Factory chumps just months prior.
"Whatever you want, you ain't getting! Go on! Kill me, torture me, but you have my word, you ain't getting a peep outta me!" The man howled.
"That's a lot of peeping from the guy known for his tight lips, eh, Giran?" I said, grabbing him by the head, copying his quirk.
"We have a lot of chatting to do, buddy boy!" I smirked, grabbing a chair and pulling out my knife, "And you are going to bleat like a goat in heat when I'm done with you."
That day, a new urban legend wad born, the ghost a murdered goat terrorizing the abandoned lots of Naruhata.
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