Capítulo 17: The Adventures of Oni and Shadow
Izuku's tongue stuck out between his teeth as he worked at the pair of pants in his scaled hands. The material was pulled taut as he maneuvered his hands around. One quick motion, and a clawed nail was poking through the material, creating a hole just beneath the waistband.
Dropping his claw quirk and pulling on the article, he inspected the placement of the new impromptu tailoring job in the mirror. Satisfied with his handiwork, he pulled on a quirk he'd stolen the day before. As he did, warmth spread down to his tailbone, and an instant later a tail sprouted through the new hole in his pants.
He reached a hand around behind himself to feel along its length, watching his reflection. It was almost pitch black and felt leathery beneath his fingers. It looked to be about as long as he was tall.
Letting it go, he watched as it floated in the space behind him. Focusing on it, he gave an experimental twitch to what he thought were the right muscles and was pleased when he saw it move in response. It wasn't perfect, and would take practice until he'd be able to move it with any sort of dexterity, but it was a start. It was a good thing he had his wings and snake tail; he already had experience dealing with an extra appendage that a human probably wasn't meant to have.
Satisfied for now, he exited the bathroom to finish getting dressed. He had an appointment with Shadow he intended to keep.
Halfway through tying his tie, Izuku heard a soft knock at the door, followed a moment later by an equally soft "It's Rei."
He paused, hands hovering over the cloth. That was definitely something that would take time to get used to; the need to identify themselves instead of just automatically knowing that it was the only other person that lived in the apartment.
Shrugging to himself and resuming where he'd paused, he called out in response. "Come in."
The door slid open immediately and she moved inside, maneuvering her tail in behind her quickly so that the door could close.
She stared at him for a few long moments as he adjusted his tie to where he wanted it, taking in a sight that she so rarely got to see. It wasn't often that she saw him as Oni. Partly because the vast majority of the time he spends as Oni is spent patrolling the city and because he leaves as soon as he becomes Oni and changes back as soon as he gets home.
Eventually, once he'd started staring at her in return, she spoke up.
"I wanted to talk to you about Uraraka." She asked. "What's the plan?"
He cocked an eyebrow. "The plan is exactly the same as what was discussed at dinner."
The three of them had-had a long conversation over dinner – reclining in the living room as they didn't have any proper chairs for Uraraka to use at the kitchen table. Something he'd need to correct before long – regarding the circumstances of her living with them.
Izuku had stressed more than once that it was entirely up to her how long she lived there. She could, at any point, choose to take one of the other options he'd given her – to go to Nezu for assistance or for Izuku to simply give her money – or if she wanted to, she was more than welcome to stay until graduation or longer.
He'd also emphasized that she wasn't just a guest there either, but just as much of a member of the household as he and Rei were. Uraraka had just as much free reign as either of them. Her room was hers, and hers alone; she had every right to invite them in or leave it locked to everyone but herself. She had access to any and all food and could eat whenever she desired, though he would continue to cook meals at the same times he always had. She even had access to the money he brought in.
He had no idea what her living situation was like with her parents, but he wanted to make sure that she knew that she wasn't limited, and that this was her home now.
Aside from that, Izuku had told her that he intended for either himself or Rei to take her out shopping to make sure she had a full wardrobe of clothing and had everything she wanted or needed for her room, from curtains, to bedding, to any decorations or furniture she could think of.
That last bit may have been a bit too much for her first night though, as she seemed somewhat dazed for the rest of the night, until she'd retired back to her room.
Rei huffed at him. "Not what I was talking about. I meant what's your plan as far as this." She gestured at him "And for 'Deku' as well."
"I want to keep Oni a secret from her for the foreseeable future." He responded, moving to retrieve his vest. "I can't think of any reason that I'd want her to know, and the fewer people that know about this, the better. Especially concerning people that have regular contact with Eraserhead. Though, obviously there's going to be some difficulty with that since my balcony is connected to hers and your office is right next to her room."
"It's a good thing that just about every non-glass surface in this apartment is built for soundproofing." He added as he buttoned up his vest.
"As far as Deku. That's a bit less of a concern, as there's nothing illegal about it, and the only real reason to not reveal it is my pride in keeping that secret for so long. She'll no doubt become suspicious in some way since I'll be in my office for hours at a time after we return from Yueii. If she decides to ask, I might just tell her the truth, since it's also my source of income and otherwise she might have another reason to be suspicious since you don't work and we don't have parents."
As he spoke, he sat down to put his boots on, lacing up the heavy black articles and pulling his pants legs down around them.
"So it sounds like, no matter what, everything will remain a secret until she asks about it or finds out herself." Rei concluded.
"That's basically it." He responded as he stood back up, bouncing lightly on his toes to test the fit of the boots. He rolled his shoulders, choosing that moment to also pull on his horn quirk, ignoring the slight itching sensation as they sprouted through his hair.
A smile found its way onto Rei's face as she watched this.
"Off to go help Shadow with his gang problem?"
He grinned, grabbing his gloves to don them. "Yep. I can't wait. Groups tend to be more dangerous the worse the crime is that they're committing, and the same is true the larger a group is. And this is a very large group of quirk traffickers, one of the worst types of organized crime out there."
"So what do you say?" He continued. "Are you ready to pick a fight with a crime syndicate?"
Rei gave a soft laugh at that. "I doubt I'll ever be ready for half the stuff you decide to do, but I'm always ready to help you however I can."
She reached out to him, cupping his cheek in one hand and letting the other rest in his hair, just at the base of one of his horns.
"Be careful." She said, her thumb caressing just next to his cheekbone.
His own hand came to rest on hers, and his smile softened. "Always."
With that, the two separated, and he went to where his mask sat on his dresser. Picking it up, he secured it to his head as he walked over to the sliding glass doors that would lead him to the balcony. Stepping outside, he hopped up onto the railing. He took a moment to stare up at the night sky, breathing in the chilled air that blew around him. Closing his eyes, he allowed himself to begin slipping into the Oni persona, sorting through his quirks and picking out the ones he would need tonight.
With a smirk on his face, one that wasn't nearly as soft or friendly as the one he wore just moments ago, he tipped over the edge, flaring his wings and soaring off into the night.
---
"This is the place?" Oni questioned as he looked down at the building Shadow had led him to.
It looked like a rundown auto repair shop, and a small one at that. It had a larger section with two garage-style doors and another smaller one with normal doors that was probably smaller than his apartment.
"Don't let it's size fool you." Came Shadow's response. "It's basically just camouflage. There's a large underground system hidden directly underneath."
Oni's eyes widened ever so slightly at that. "Oh? Isn't that interesting. What else can you tell me?"
"I've been watching this place for about a week, and as far as I've been able to tell, this is a transit location. Other, larger facilities, whenever they transport people, pass them through locations like this on the way to the real destination. As far as I can tell, people usually end up sitting here for randomized amounts of time before moving out again. I'm guessing that it's to keep better track of who goes where, and to throw off anyone that might be trying to track specific shipments. Most transports are utility vans, but I've seen a semi-truck or two pass through."
"So what I'm hearing from all of that," Oni said, taking a step forwards and perching on the edge of the rooftop they were standing on, a grin appearing on his face. "Is that you found us the perfect location to start with. This place is bound to keep records of the origins and final destinations of every load of people that passes through."
"You're probably right." The other vigilante agreed. "But with an organization like this, I wouldn't be surprised if they destroy their records on a regular basis."
Oni shook his head. "In my experience, the bigger or more organized a group is, and the more successful they are, the more confident they become, to the point of arrogance. They'll have near-perfection from each of their members in terms of loyalty and performance. They might outstrip every other rival gang around them. They might even have their hands in a nearby police precinct or some minor local politician. But one thing they never do is destroy records. Usually, the more volatile said records are, the more likely they are to hoard them together into one spot."
"Besides, even if they do destroy their records, they'd still have to maintain them for a certain amount of time. If what you've discovered is correct, then they're handling constant deliveries of high-value product. Destroying anything pertaining to a delivery that hasn't been fulfilled is a recipe for disaster."
"I definitely can't argue with that logic." Shadow cut in.
"But I'd almost be willing to bet that whoever has been left in charge of this location has a safe or vault with a nice big book, or several, with everything for the past year or more. Something to ensure that he doesn't get killed by his higher-ups over someone else's screw up, or to serve as insurance for if he ever gets taken in. Handing over all of that information as a bargaining chip to save their sorry ass."
"Shall we go get it then?" Shadow asked.
Oni just hummed in response, before putting a finger to his ear.
"Phantom?" He asked. "How're things looking on your end?"
"Just about ready to go." Came her response. "I'm in the system. Currently working on the cameras. At the very least, I can confirm that this location does practically nothing digitally. Everything you're looking for would exist physically."
"All the better. That just makes things easier on us."
Reaching into his pocket, Oni pulled out a device that was identical to the one in his ear. He tossed it over to the other vigilante, who snatched it out of the air.
"So we can talk to each other." He explained as Shadow inspected the device. "And, more importantly, so Phantom can talk to us. Phantom is our eye in the sky. She sees just about everything, and will be watching through the cameras in there. If she tells you something, listen, because she��ll be the only one able to see the entire picture."
Shadow nodded, wordlessly inserting the device into his ear.
"Hello Shadow." He heard Rei greet. "It's good to finally meet you."
He nodded again. "Likewise. I've been wondering who the brain is behind Oni's bullshit. I'm guessing that must be you."
"Now then." Oni said, ignoring Shadow's words and Rei's laughter. "Let's see what sort of fun we're going to start tonight out with."
His vision changed with a blink, and he looked down at the unassuming building. He spotted two people standing on the roof. A quick glance at the surrounding buildings revealed no one else.
Interesting. Smart enough to have lookouts, and to have them close together, and subtle enough to not have a veritable army watching over outside, so as to not draw too much attention.
"Alright." He announced. "Two exterior guards on the rooftop, with no others visible. Cameras?"
"A few exterior cameras, mainly focused on the entrances, but none on the roof. You're good to go."
He tilted his head over at the other vigilante with a smirk. "That's our cue."
With that, he launched himself towards the building, all but silent as he sliced through the air.
As he drew closer, he could just barely make out the shadows beneath one of the guards beginning to grow darker and writhe slightly. He adjusted his course to aim for the other.
With a pull on 'Cushion' to slow his fall, he twisted in air as he reached them, his boot connecting with their head before he even touched the rooftop. Looking over, he saw that Shadow had incapacitated his target just as quickly.
"That's step one down." He said, spotting a skylight and moving over to peer down through it. "What's the inside looking like, Phantom?"
"About ten opponents on the surface level." Rei started off. "They appear to be loading a transport van. Six victims in it, and a driver, who's one of the ten. The entrance to the first lower level is a staircase on the northwest side. From there, there's another staircase on the opposite side that connects all the lower levels, four in total. I'm seeing approximately forty opponents spread out through them. All of the victims seem to be in holding cells on the lowest level. I can't quite make out how many. Most of the cells are dark."
Oni nodded along as she explained. "Sounds simple enough."
He mulled over their options for a moment, committing her description to memory.
"Alright, here's the plan. Shadow. Your main objective is to take care of the victims. Disable the van when we get in there and then get to the others as quickly as possible. The last thing we want is for them to attempt to use the victims as leverage. I'll be handling the bulk of the fighting to cover you."
He saw Shadow raise an eyebrow at him. "You want to handle fifty-odd criminals with unknown quirks by yourself? What's your strategy?"
"Rather bold of you to presume I need any strategy other than 'throw the room into chaos and don't stop fighting until there's no one to fight.' I'm much more suited to direct combat than you are, Shadow, which is why we're doing it this way."
This time, Shadow's face twisted with something akin to disapproval. "That's hardly a strategy at all. With a group like this, you ought to have a thoroughly thought-out plan of action. It's bad enough that we don't know the exact layout of this place, we shouldn't make it worse by not planning."
Oni started laughing at the vigilante's words, low and quiet and carrying a sense of danger as it sounded out across the rooftop. Still laughing, he reached down and started undoing the laces of his boots, kicking them off a moment later. His socks quickly followed.
"Oh Shadow." He said, pulling on a quirk that had his teeth sharpening in his mouth, and baring them for the other vigilante to see, enjoying their reaction. "You understand so very little."
He pulled on one more, and felt his legs grow warm in response. The new warmth began at his waist and started to travel down his legs. As it did, he felt the odd sensation that usually accompanied his scaled claw quirk. Once it reached his ankles, he felt his bones shift and rearrange themselves, lengthening and changing. Moments later, where his feet had been, were two gross approximations of the appendages. His legs were completely covered in scales and decorated with razor sharp claws on the ends of his new toes. They were also digitigrade, raising his height by a good bit. Where before Shadow had been a few inches taller than him, Oni now reversed that, standing taller than Shadow.
"I live for close quarters fighting. More than you can ever know." Oni said, moving on to his arms, pulling off his gloves and rolling up his sleeves as Shadow watched on with a bewildered expression. "A good portion of my life, and certainly most, if not all, of my career as Oni has been defined by fighting. And at this point, I feel that it wouldn't be too out of line to say that I've become quite proficient at it."
"And in all of the fights that I've won, and in the very, very few that I've lost, one thing has made itself abundantly clear."
His claw quirk flashed across his arms for the second time that night, sprouting scales that matched those decorating his legs.
"The more chaotic and confusing a situation is, whatever the cause of that might be, the quicker your opponents descend into fear, panic, and desperation. It makes it harder for them to focus on you, makes it more difficult for them to plan farther ahead than their immediate next action, and makes them easier to predict and manipulate. In short, the more chaotic a situation, the easier it is to control to your whim."
"So that's why I said what I said, Shadow." Oni continued. "I don't need a specific strategy, because chaos is my strategy."
He stood up straight, flaring his wings behind him. "When I fight, I go in fast and with overwhelming force. And the moment a room is thrown into chaos, it becomes mine to command."
Oni could imagine how he looked in that moment. Standing close to seven feet tall; nearly gargantuan in comparison to average heights in Japan, with scales covering most of his exposed flesh. Razor-sharp claws decorating his hands and feet; which didn't look human in any sense. Razor-sharp teeth filling his mouth. Ridged horns sweeping over his head. A pitch-black tail that twitched in time with his growing excitement, and a massive set of leathery wings stretched out behind him that made him look that much larger.
He probably looked decidedly demonic, or draconic. Either one worked well enough for him.
Combine that with the dangerous excitement beginning to roll off of him in waves and he imagined that he appeared downright terrifying.
Good.
He wanted them to be afraid. Criminals in this city hadn't been allowed to experience true fear yet. Simply because they were lucky enough to exist just far enough away that Oni didn't pursue them. But he would be sure to rectify that. Starting here.
Taking a breath, he pulled from the bundle in his chest one more time, suffusing his limbs in the warmth of strength and speed quirks.
It likely wasn't exactly necessary for him to do this much, but this was his first encounter with this crime syndicate, that supposedly had a presence across the entire country. He didn't want to be caught off guard. And he'd use this as a benchmark of sorts, to set the standard for the rest of this endeavor.
He spared one last look over at Shadow, who was watching him with a visible amount of fear in his eyes. "Let's get this party started, shall we?"
Without waiting for a response, he took a step towards the skylight, fist rearing back. The night seemed to freeze as his fist hung in the air, dragging the fraction of a second out. Holding a breath in anticipation for the fight to kick off. It was the calm before the storm, and he relished it.
His fist struck the skylight, shattering it and sending glass raining to the floor below.
The criminals inside all froze to stare up at the window in varying degrees of shock or surprise. But by the time the first one was able to turn their eyes to it, Oni was gone.
On the other side of the room, one of Oni's hands wrapped around a criminal's throat, lifting him into the air. An instant later they were soaring across the room to collide with another, sending them both collapsing to the floor.
From there, he darted forwards, planting a knee into the chest of one who'd just managed to turn towards him. Another right next to them fell when he landed a fist to the side of their head.
From the corner of his eye, he noticed Shadow coalescing out of the darkness close to the van. A flick of the other vigilante's wrist, and two knives embedded themselves into the van's tires. Another movement of his other hand, and the shadows inside the van started to twist and writhe before wrapping around the driver's neck, slamming his head into the door window with enough force to shatter it.
Satisfied that the victims in the van wouldn't be going anywhere soon, Oni returned all of his attention to the five remaining criminals. As expected, they all practically radiated fear as they looked at the intruder before them. He could just about feel the desperation in the air.
After another moment of staring each other down though, they seemed to gather their nerves. He watched their expressions harden and, as one, they charged at him, a grim determination in their eyes.
'Loyalty to the gang.' He thought to himself. 'They're prepared to put their lives on the line.'
His smile stretched wider as he watched their charge, quirks at the ready. A blade quirk, arms that seemed to be made of dirt, or mud, electricity, a drawn back fist where the arm it was attached to was condensing into itself like a spring, and claws; in that order from right to left. All close quarters, nothing concerning.
The floor beneath him cracked as he launched forwards to meet them. Faster than they could react, he was in front of Knife Quirk. He grabbed their arm, taking pleasure in the feeling of the bones shattering under his grip, and swung them around. He directed their hand, and the blade that was emerging from the center of its palm, into the shoulder of Mud Arms. He enjoyed the split second that their screams rang out before they cut off as he slammed them both into the ground. He grabbed Electric Quirk by the neck, lifting them into the air before slamming them down just like the other two.
By that point, Spring Arms had-had just enough time to stop and turn towards him. The fist was thrown at him, its speed boosted by the tension in the arm behind it. Oni caught it in his hand. He smiled at the offending criminal before he clamped down on their fist, crushing the bones. Just as they started to scream, he pulled them closer, bringing up a scaled foot at the same time to rest on their chest.
With a quick flex of his leg, Spring Arms was launched into Claw Quirk, and the two of them flew across the room, right into the rear doors of the van, denting them.
With the immediate threats dealt with, he looked up at Shadow, who was perched up in the rafters, watching the fight.
"What're you doing all the way up there?" He questioned. "All the fun's down here."
"With how you fight, I feel like it's better to stay out your way as much as possible. After less than a minute of watching you, it's clear that you hold up to your claim of being proficient in close quarters, and you have a tendency to throw people around."
"See?" Oni asked, spreading his arms out. "I know what I'm talking about, Shadow. You might be older than me by over a decade, but I have leagues more experience when it comes to fighting."
He was going to say something else when Rei spoke up, interrupting the conversation.
"You two need to move. Now. The rest of the building knows you're there. They're scrambling."
They complied immediately, heading for where she'd told them the staircase would be. It was secured behind a sturdy metal door, but it didn't stand a chance against Oni's boosted strength.
He'd gotten a taste of the fight now. Nothing would be able to get in his way to keep him from the rest.
As the remains of the door clattered along the ground where he'd thrown it behind him, he could make out the beginnings of shouting coming up the stairs. The stairwell was completely shrouded in darkness, but he could feel people moving around beneath him. It was like they'd disturbed an ant hill.
"And so, the real fun begins." He said quietly, almost to himself.
"Don't fall behind, Shadow." He said over his shoulder as they watched the doorway. "This is where the real fight starts. Stay close, provide support where you can, if you want. And do your best not to die."
Just as those words left his mouth, a figure launched themselves out of the darkness at them. Not even moving from where he was standing, Oni threw a leg up in a kick, connecting with the side of their head and sending them off to the side.
"Yes. Fight like your lives are on the line. It makes it all the more interesting."
Blinking the thermal vision back into his eyes once more, he darted forwards when it revealed the next criminal about to charge them. His hand clamped over their forehead, slamming them back into the wall behind them, and sending them collapsing to the floor.
Smartly, no one else tried to ambush them in the cramped space of the stairwell. They paused once they reached the bottom. Oni could feel a number of opponents on the other side of the door. He could feel his excitement growing exponentially at what was about to happen. He allowed his bloodlust to flare in response. It thickened the air around them, and he could see the shadows start to writhe around him as the other vigilante reacted to it.
Taking a deep breath, he stepped forwards and kicked the door clean off its hinges. Before it even landed, he was in through the doorway, taking in the crowd around him. Smirking, he brought his hands together in front of him with every bit of force his augmented muscles could produce. The clap rang out through the room, only intensified by how small the space was. He could see where most of the criminals were recoiling from the harsh noise and took that opportunity to get things started in earnest.
He leapt at the nearest criminal, a deep booming laugh echoing from his chest as he closed in on them.
---
The next several minutes passed in a blur of screaming, broken bones, rushing wind as he darted around, and a number of superficial injuries – little more than paper cuts and bruises – as Oni and Shadow worked through the underground facility.
After the initial crowd that met them when the left the stairwell, the rest of the criminals were largely spread out, scrambling to respond to the intruders. Most of them fell before they even knew what was happening, with Oni taking them down as soon as they came into view. Occasionally they came across a larger group. When they did, Oni would charge them just the same, but he would usually find them immobilized by the shadows at their feet, holding them in place and making it that much easier to put them down.
As they passed through the first and second layers, their quick searches through the rooms revealed nothing of importance. Most of what they came across was storage space for food, clothing, or other miscellaneous supplies that didn't matter. Oni came to the conclusion that this facility must've been more than just a simple transit location. Maybe it served to process victims as well, given the number of medical examination rooms they also found. Despite those rooms though, they still didn't find anything of value beyond a scant few basic medical charts. Anywhere that might've had anything of value looked like it had been cleared out just before, which they likely had.
They were retrieving any records to be carried in before Oni or Shadow could get their hands on them. Whether their intent was to destroy, or to simply hoard and keep away from them, it was too early to tell.
When they reached the third layer, there was a noticeable increase in intensity. There were more criminals waiting for them at the stairs than there were on the first layer, and they all had a much more noticeable desperation in their eyes as they fought.
They all fell, just the same. And he reveled in their pain and panic.
This layer also had rooms filled with beds, as well as a small cafeteria. Residential space for the criminals. They still didn't find anything useful.
Finally, the two of them stood outside a decidedly more ornate looking door. It wasn't anything especially fancy, but compared to the bland concrete and steel that seemed to make up the rest of the facility, it was quite the difference. It wasn't hard to figure out that this would be where the boss was.
Rei confirmed his guess a moment later.
"There's one more on the other side of that door." She announced. "There's also two more on the layer beneath you with all the victims."
Oni hummed in response as he stepped closer to the door. Thrusting his hand forwards, his clawed fingers sunk into it. A quick tug, and the door pulled free and was tossed behind him.
He stepped into the room, only to freeze as his instincts reacted for him.
His hand darted up to catch the knife that had been thrown at him, closing around the blade just as it touched his chest. He could feel the tip poking through the material of his clothes, a hairsbreadth away from breaking skin and sinking into his heart.
The offending criminal was sitting at a desk at the end of the room, big, bald, and very angry. The desk was almost annoyingly large and there was an enormous landscape painting taking up half the wall behind him. Oni found himself looking forward to what he was about to do. This criminal very obviously had an overinflated sense of his own self-importance, as if he wasn't the boss of some random transit location.
He had an expression on his face that said that he'd very much like to stab Oni, but otherwise there was no indication that he'd thrown the knife.
"Shadow." He said, crushing the blade in his hand and tossing it away. "Be a dear and go take care of the two downstairs, and secure the victims. I think I need to have a chat with the boss."
The other vigilante didn't respond, but Oni heard his footsteps as he ran off.
"Now then." Oni started off, darting across the room faster than the eye could follow and perching on the desk. "Let's have some fun."
The criminal blinked in surprise for a moment at Oni's speed, before his expression hardened once more. In an instant, another knife materialized in his hand out of thin air and was thrust at Oni's head.
Oni's hand darted out once more. Only this time, instead of destroying the blade, he snatched it out of their grip. Then, in one deft movement, he spun it around and stabbed it through the back of their outstretched hand. His smile stretched wider as the man bit back a scream, letting out little more than a grunt at the pain. Good. The ones with high pain tolerances were always the most fun.
"Who the fuck are you!?" The criminal grunted out, cradling their bleeding hand.
"As cliché as it is to say." Oni responded. "I'm your worst nightmare."
He ignored Rei's quiet snickering in his ear and Shadow's annoyed sigh.
"I recently discovered the existence of your gang, The Triad, and have decided that you aren't allowed to exist anymore. I've come here, because you're the first one to fall, and because you're going to give us information about other locations."
"I'm not telling you shit!" The all but roared in his face, before punching at him with their uninjured fist.
Oni let out a quiet laugh as he gently caught the offending hand by the wrist. "You misunderstand. I don't expect you to give me anything. It's painfully obvious that the obnoxiously large painting behind you is hiding a vault of some sort. I have a feeling that what we need is in there."
"No. What I expect from you is to scream for me."
Confusion flashed across the criminal's face for an instant, before Oni's grip tightened around their wrist, bending it back unnaturally far and snapping it. They still didn't scream, which Oni found equal parts exciting and disappointing. So he bent it in the opposite direction, eliciting more harsh crunches from the appendage and finally a deep guttural scream of pain.
"Ah~ there it is." Oni sing-songed. "It just took a little bit of work."
"Fuck you!"
Oni's other hand flashed out, impacting the criminal's nose and snapping their head back. When they lifted it again, blood was already starting pour down their face.
"Now now. There's no need to be rude. We're just having a little fun."
He reached over and snatched up their other arm – the knife had since vanished, leaving the wound to bleed freely. The bones crunched just as the others did as he gripped it. More screams sounded out as the criminal lost the fight to regain his composure.
Oh how Oni wished he could take their quirk. Not necessarily for the quirk itself, manifesting knives was interesting, but not very useful to him. No, he just wanted to for the pure act of causing the man pain.
He was a criminal. More than that though, he was one that actively took part in and directed quirk trafficking, treating humans as cattle for their quirks. He deserved it more than anyone else Oni had fought tonight.
The only reason he didn't was because he wasn't sure if he really wanted to waste the time to do so. That, and he didn't want to put Shadow's sensibilities to the test by going that far. He could already just about feel the man's disapproval over what he was doing, and didn't want to push it farther than he needed to. No sense in breaking apart their partnership over a few minutes of entertainment.
Instead, he settled for lifting the criminal up by his broken arms. Standing up on the desk, he suspended the man up off the floor. Twisting in place, he brought a foot up to the man's ribs, kicking him off to the side. He dropped to the floor unconscious below where he'd hit the wall.
Hopping off the desk, he turned his attention to the massive painting. Blinking, his vision washed out as it switched to x-ray. He could see that there was definitely a vault door of sorts on the other side, but couldn't see anything past it. The metal was either thick enough to block it, or contained some amount of lead.
Pulling at one edge of the painting, it swung open on a hinge, revealing the door. He could see a keypad set into its center. Password protected then.
"Phantom. I don't suppose this door is something you can open from your end?" He asked as he inspected it.
A few moments passed as he waited for her answer. Then, "Doesn't look like it. Whatever sort of system it is, it's completely separate from the rest of the building. It probably has its own power source too."
He considered his options as he continued to stare at the door. Sorting through the quirks in his chest, he couldn't think of anything that would be able to get the door open. Well, he could if the door were iron, but it wasn't so that didn't change anything. That left him with two options, try to guess the correct code, which he had no interest in attempting – even if it were a simple four-digit code, which he greatly doubted, that was still ten thousand combinations – or he could attempt to brute force the door open.
Or… He could try to brute force something else?
Humming to himself, he exited the office, moving to an adjacent room. He kept x-ray going as he did, keeping an eye on the vault through the regular walls. He smiled as he laid a hand on the concrete wall that covered the metal of the vault.
Vault doors would always be the strongest part of the structure, as it was the only part that should be visible, and therefore the only part that people would attempt to force their way through. So if he went through one of the slightly weaker walls…
He clenched a fist in front of him as he pulled on 'Metallum,' the transformation moving over him and adding weight to his limbs. Once it was in place, he brought his fists together, enjoying the clang of metal that rang through the room. At the same time, he pulled on the rest of his strength quirks that had thus far gone untouched since the night began.
"Time to see who would win in a fight." He announced out loud. "Me, or a giant metal wall."
"What the fuck?" He heard shadow exclaim, all while Rei laughed in his ear.
"If it doesn't work, I just want you to know that I'll be letting Eraserhead know that you lost to a wall. Complete with full video proof."
"Challenge accepted." He said with a grin.
A moment later, the grin faded away as he concentrated on the task at hand.
Taking a deep breath, he took a step towards the wall, putting as much weight into it as he could, and threw a metal fist at the wall.
As soon as it made contact, the concrete immediately under his hand pulverized instantly, and massive cracks spiderwebbed across the rest of wall. He stepped back as the normal wall crumbled and fell away, revealing the metal beneath, nearly pristine except for the hand-shaped dent right in the center. The one that caved in the metal around it slightly.
He flexed his hand as he stood there, shaking away the very dull throbbing that came from punching a several-inches-thick wall of metal, metal fists or no.
Satisfied with his handiwork and emboldened by the fact that he managed to damage the wall, he began in earnest. He rained blow after blow against the thick wall, shaking the room and sending vibrations across the rest of the facility with the force of them.
Eventually – less than a full minute after he'd started – a particularly harsh strike had his fist embedding through the wall entirely. He grinned at the sight.
Pulling his hand back through, he brought his other one up. He gripped at either side of the small opening and braced himself.
With a low growl working its way out of his throat, he attempted to pull his hands apart. It didn't give for several long seconds, until a harsh screech sounded out, and his hands started to separate ever so slightly. Slowly but surely, and with continuous screeching from the abused metal that made him want to claw at his ears, his hands pulled apart, dragging the metal with them.
Another few minutes later, and he'd finally created a hole large enough to fit through. Stepping back from the wall, he inspected his work. A hole, almost three feet wide and continuing halfway up the wall, had been torn into the metal. It looked like a supercharged wild animal had mauled it, which really wasn't too far off.
"Just in case anyone was wondering." He said. "The answer to that question is me. I win."
Then, "If you've finished securing everything down there, Shadow, I'm about to find out if they've left us anything of value in this vault."
"I have." Came the response. "I've been going around checking up on the victims. I've got one more cell and then I'll rejoin you."
"Sounds good."
Oni stepped towards the impromptu entrance he'd created, careful to avoid catching his wings on the jagged edges as he went through. Once he had, he found himself in a rectangular, twelve-by-sixteen room filled almost to the brim with filing cabinets and more than one safe. Most of them were spread haphazardly across the space. This must be where they took all of the records he and Shadow couldn't find. Surprisingly, he hadn't damaged anything in his attempt to breach the wall, aside from knocking a filing cabinet over on its side.
Righting it, he opened a drawer at random and skimmed through the papers held within. It seemed to be profiles of victims that had been transported through. Everything from information on their quirks to records of family members or anyone that might be related to them in some way or another. They even had notes of where they'd come from and where they were destined for. Unfortunately, the locations were all identified by numbers, not actual names or addresses.
Scanning through a few cabinets for the next several minutes didn't reveal much more than the sheer number of people that were shuffled through here on a regular basis. Eventually, he decided to try one of the safes. Compared to the trouble that the vault wall had given him, the minimal amount of effort it took to pry the safe door open was hardly even worth mentioning. In it, he finally found the leverage that he'd suspected the boss to have hidden away in case of a rainy day.
A master ledger, matching the identification numbers he'd seen in the victims' files to actual physical locations that he'd be able to track down. There were quite a few of them, retrieval locations, transit, processing, and even final buyer destinations.
He was equal parts pleased by what he'd stumbled upon – as it would make things easier moving forwards – and disgusted by just how wide-spread this operation was.
Just then, Shadow emerged from the hole he'd created, and scanned over the mess of files and documents.
"Quite the haul, huh?" Oni called from where he was sitting. "This ought to give us a good head start on taking down the rest."
"Have you found anything worthwhile?"
"Most of this stuff is just the records they've kept on the people that pass through here." He explained. "Useful, but not really what we need."
"This, however." He said, gesturing at the book in his hands. "Is very useful. It has a list of quite a few locations connected to this place. We'll be able to use this to select our next target."
"Alright. What's our next move then?"
"First, we're going to call in the police and let them come clean up the mess, including taking care of the victims downstairs. I'm not entirely convinced that the police in this city is trustworthy, who knows how far The Triad's reach is, but it'll at least interrupt their flow of deliveries. And no matter how thoroughly they might control things, they won't be able to take all of the victims back without raising some suspicion."
"We'll want to move on to the next location fairly soon. It usually isn't a very good idea to rush to get rid of a group, as they tend to pull back and start up again elsewhere. But the more we make them focus on us and dedicate time to hindering us, the less they'll be able to focus on normal operations. We need to push through and gather information as quickly as possible to learn the whereabouts of the higher-ups."
"But right this second, we need to figure out what to do with all of this." He said, gesturing around at the filing cabinets. "My first thought is to burn it all. We can't really carry it all out, and if we can clear it all out, then it's more likely to leave them in the dark as far as what we've found."
"I can take care of that." Shadow cut in.
"Oh? Do tell."
"It's similar to how I use shadows to move around. It's just a lot more tiring." He explained, moving to stand in the center of the room. "You'll want to not be in here when I do this. Unless you want to get taken."
Oni tucked the ledger under his arm, before moving over to one of the walls. Placing a foot on the vertical surface, his body shifted as he took another step, now parallel to the floor. A few steps more had him hanging from the ceiling.
"Or… Do that. I guess." Shadow said, before returning his attention to the task at hand.
Closing his eyes, he held his hands out to his sides, palms facing the floor. After a few long seconds of what looked to be intense concentration, the shadows in the room all coalesced together. They swirled around the space, and darkened until it was like staring into the void.
All at once, every loose item in the vault, every safe, filing cabinet, and sheet of paper, fell through the floor, disappearing into the lightless void.
Just as quickly as they'd arrived, the shadows faded away to reveal a completely clear floor. Shadow stood in place, panting in exertion. He looked about ready to collapse.
Oni dropped from the ceiling, righting himself as he fell and landing next to the other vigilante. He put a hand on the other's shoulder to steady them.
"That was a neat trick there." Oni said, genuinely impressed by the display, if maybe slightly dampened by how tired Shadow seemed to be. "Where'd you send it?"
Shadow took a few moments to catch his breath before answering. "I sent them back home. To the place I use as my vigilante 'hideout.' I'll be able to sort through it all later."
"Very nice." Oni responded. "Now then, I do believe that's everything we need to take care of here. Will you be accompanying me back to the surface, or are able to use the shadows to leave from here?"
"I can leave directly from here. I just need a minute to rest and I'll be good to go."
"Alrighty then. I'll see you around, Shadow."
"Wait. How should we get into contact for next time?" The other vigilante asked. "I doubt you want to keep meeting in that same alleyway every time we want to get something done."
"I've already taken care of that, Shadow." Rei's voice answered. "I've added Oni's phone number to your contact list, and vice versa. We shouldn't have any issue contacting one another."
"I-. alright." Shadow stuttered out. No doubt taken aback by her casual admission to hacking his phone, a dangerous situation for any vigilante that wasn't smart enough to have a separate phone dedicated to their illegal identity.
"Goodbye Shadow." He waved a hand over his shoulder as he walked away. "Let us know when you're ready to go so Phantom can call the police."
He didn't wait for a response before he took off back down the hallways, back to the staircase that would lead him up.
Soon enough, he was standing back on the roof of the building. He sighed as he released his grip on the quirk that had changed his legs, as well as the one that changed his hands, letting his bones shift back into place and letting the scales recede. Once his feet were feet again, he sat down to put his shoes back on.
As soon as the boots were tightly laced as they had been at the beginning of the night, he launched himself into the air.
A minute later, he heard Shadow announce that he was good to go, and Rei confirm that she was calling it in to the police. He also heard the distinct sound of Shadow removing the earpiece, followed by Rei saying that she also turned it off entirely.
"So what now?" Rei asked now that they were alone. "Do you have anything else planned for tonight?"
"I'm not sure." He responded. "I wasn't quite expecting that to go so quickly, it isn't even one o' clock yet. Maybe I'll just call it an early night and work through the analysis requests I missed by bringing Uraraka home."
"That sounds like a good idea." She said, a slight joking tone in her voice. "Let's leave it to one crime syndicate per night."
He laughed as he soared through the air. "Fair enough. I'll head home and take it easy."
They lapsed into a comfortable silence after that, and Oni continued to fly home, content with the results of the night.
---
The sun was beginning to rise above the horizon, and Izuku was working away at the stove, cooking up breakfast. The smell had already permeated through the entire apartment.
He was in a good mood after the successful raid and then burning through a few dozen analysis requests.
Just as he was putting the finishing touches on the meal and was getting ready to retrieve the two others to eat, Rei entered the kitchen with Uraraka in tow. Both of them looked tired and grumpy for completely opposite reasons; lack of sleep and just having been woken up.
His good mood seemed to be infectious though, because with the help of a well-cooked meal, both of them were smiling as they worked at the food, curled up once more on the cushions in the living room.
As they finished up, Rei going off to her room to sleep, Uraraka going to get ready for school, and Izuku cleaning up the aftermath of breakfast, he found himself looking forward to the day, even with the boredom that most of the classes would bring.
Actually, he might have a way to help with that…
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