Capítulo 55: Chapter 7: Coming to Terms
Yoshihara was in her room, i.e. the only place within the dorms where she could get some decent privacy. However, this time it wasn't for that. This time, it was where she had requested for Uraraka, Josefumi, and Izuku to meet her.
Considering that it was now well past supper—of which she had Katsudon that she had Izuku help her make, though she did most of the cooking this time around, and it turned out okay for the most part—she felt as if that now as the best time to do what she had been planning to do since she got home from her rather unorthodox meeting with Nijimura, seeing as everyone had eaten. The last thing she wanted to do was sully their appetite for what happened to her in the past.
She had disguised the meeting as a watch party to watch a few pre-Quirk era animes. Seeing as it was 7:30 PM, everyone had changed out of their school uniforms and wore casual clothing. Yoshihara was wearing a blue tank top, and a pair of light brown cargo shorts, Izuku was wearing one of his many yellow t-shirts that said "shirt" on the front with a pair of black sports shorts.
Josefumi was the oddball. It was 34 degrees outside, and the guy was wearing a hoodie and pants. Either he had used Soft & Wet to make it so he didn't feel the heat, or he was just insane. Then again, for as short of a time that she had been in America, specifically Florida, which was already humid and hot as it was, maybe he was just used to extremely hot temperatures. Either way, that didn't detract from the fact that he was insane.
Then there was Uraraka, who was wearing a pink blouse, with a pair of black shorts with hoops on either side of her pockets—almost like suspenders. Yoshihara had no idea why it was that those shorts had hoops, because they could get stuck on things rather easily, but then again, Yoshihara wasn't exactly a fashion person.
And speaking of Uraraka, Yoshihara had found out that the brunette was also a massive Soul Eater fan. Unfortunately, her favourite character was Blackstar, the one that she found to be the most annoying, but that was neither here nor there. What both of them could agree on was that the way they ended the anime sucked.
Regardless of that, and regardless of the watch party, the idea behind the meeting was so that she could finally get the garbage off of her chest that she had kept deep within herself for the last decade of her life.
Currently, they were just finishing an episode of That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime, specifically, the episode where Rimeru absorbed all of the 20,000 souls needed for their evolution to become a Demon Lord. As the ending song played, Yoshihara paused it, causing Josefumi to squint at her with disgust. "Do not tell me you're the kind of person who skips anime-ending songs."
Uraraka nodded in agreement, before looking over to Yoshihara with a disappointed frown. "Yeah, that just sucks!" The brunette quipped as Josefumi and her locked eyes, before high-fiving, as if they had pwned her or whatever. To that, Yoshihara rolled her eyes, before elbowing Izuku in the side of his stomach, which was his cue to get his arm out from the back of her neck—not that she didn't like it, but it was starting to get uncomfortable now.
"That's not it, but I felt as if we should end this here. Namely because… I have a lot of things I want to get off my chest. Some things I know that you guys might want to know, specifically around what was brought up this morning."
That had caught their attention. Izuku frowned, but not in a disapproving way. It was more in a concerned boyfriend manner. "Are you sure, Yoshihara? I mean… earlier today you…." He stopped as she entangled her fingers with his, giving him a gentle but firm squeeze of reassurance. He sighed, before relaxing. "Alright. If that's what you want."
"Kira-san?" Uraraka murmured, raising an eyebrow as Yoshihara closed her eyes. She wasn't about to get cold feet now. She wasn't going to overshare, at least, she would try not to. This whole idea felt… forced, but at the same time, she wanted to get it off her chest. She wanted to tell them, just so that they could understand her perspective a little bit more.
"First things first, just so I can get it out of the way," Yoshihara began, making sure that their attention was solely on her, which it was. When that was assured, she continued. "Six years ago, I was diagnosed as a Sociopath, which is often misconstrued into people thinking that someone who has Sociopathy cannot feel emotions, period. The truth behind the matter is that, while I can feel some emotions, they are heavily muted to the point where they might as well be nonexistent. Also, because of my Sociopathy, I have next to no empathy toward others, which is why I can come off as overly cruel and harsh to those around me. Sometimes, I'll encounter a situation, like Ida's death, where I cannot find the right way to react, so I'll just stay quiet and look as if I don't care. The reality of that situation is that I'm so emotionally overloaded, I cannot express my emotions. Does this make sense so far?"
Josefumi and Uraraka looked at one another, before nodding. "I take it that Midoriya already knows about this?" Josefumi asked as Yoshihara nodded.
"He knows about this, but nothing else. I've deliberately kept my past a secret because, up until now, I didn't want to talk about it. But after recent events in my life, I've decided to… I guess the term is to "come clean" about what happened. All I ask is that this information doesn't leave this room," Yoshihara said as Uraraka, Josefumi, and Izuku nodded. The blonde could feel her heart beating faster than normal, although it quickly calmed after Yoshihara took a deep breath.
It was now or never. She might as well get it over and done with.
"Now, I don't remember much from when I was younger. All I can really remember is Yoshikawa, and even then most of what I do remember is patchy at best. Up until recently, I blocked out all of my memories of my biological mother, and dredging them back up doesn't exactly make things easier for me. It all just melts into one singular memory, because in reality, that's what I have left of my mother, as awful as that sounds. But, for the sake of clarity, I'll try and make this as cohesive as I possibly can.
"Some background first, though. My father, whom you all know as Sugimoto Yoshimura, worked at the Chinese Branch of The Speedwagon Foundation. And, because of China's work laws, he was barely if not ever able to come home. I maybe saw him once as a newborn, and once as a toddler. Any other time I saw him, it was on a video call. He was pronounced dead when I was 3 years old due to a work accident, but obviously, that was not the case, as he's here today. And while he most likely faked his death for a good reason, by doing so, it set in motion how the rest of my life would go from then on out.
"Before my father "died", my mother had been just that, a mother. Someone who cared for their child. But after my father "died", something changed. I remember her having these psychotic fits that, at the time, I had no idea what they were about. She would break down and scream, breaking anything that she could get her hands on. When I was four… that was the first time that she had ever physically hit me. It was during one of her psychotic breaks. I only recently found out that she had Bi-Polar Disorder, meaning she had uncontrollable mood shifts.
"In these states, she would say and do things that I assume she never meant to say or do. Not that it excuses any of the horrible shit she did to me. She'd hit me, beat me, cut me—she was completely insane. By the time I was five years old, that was when I began to shut myself out from the world. I never went to school for a single day in my life, and that only changed when I finally got out of her clutches, but that's for later.
"Eventually, it got to the point where my mother started doing things that I… probably shouldn't have seen. And, a month after my fifth birthday, she made me sleep in a closet rather than my room… and, when that happened… everything went from bad to worse. She started doing drugs and began to drink heavily… one time she smashed a bottle over my head…. I… I remember that after that day… things got worse…. She brought someone over, and… and she paid them to… have sex with her…. And then… she paid them to… paid them to…."
She stopped. Why did she stop? Was it because her voice was becoming shaky? Maybe, but perhaps it was also because of what she saw on everyone's faces.
Uraraka looked mortified, Josefumi looked angry beyond any reasonable doubt, and considering her hand felt as if it was being squeezed by a boa constrictor, Izuku wasn't exactly too happy with how this story was going.
"Yoshihara?" Izuku spoke up, gaining her attention. He looked concerned, no, beyond concerned, he looked worried. And also, there was a gleam in his eyes that suggested he was pissed off, but he wasn't letting it show. "You're getting pale. Are you okay? You really don't have to do this. Seriously, you don't have to," Izuku said, and it was only then that she realised that her hands had been shaking. She had noticed her voice getting shaky, and now that she noticed it, she had been gripping the bed sheets like a lifeline. "Look, I understand that it takes a lot of courage to share this with us. But… you're only hurting yourself by doing this."
"No," Yoshihara replied. "I… I have to do this. I have to—"
"You don't have to do or say anything, Yoshihara," this time it was Josefumi who said that, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Seriously, clearly you're not comfortable, regardless of how you feel. I mean, look at yourself. You're literally shaking. You have nothing to prove to us. I'm your cousin, for Pete's sake, Izuku's your boyfriend, and Uraraka's your friend. The last thing we want to hear is that you truly did suffer when you were younger. And besides… I think we already know where this is going, and… quite frankly, I don't want to hear about it. If it's going where I think it's going, and you're already reacting like this… the last thing I want is to make you relive that…."
"Yeah, Fumi-kun's right, Kira-san," Uraraka spoke up, a forced smile on her face. "If all this is going to do is make it so you relive your trauma, then I don't want to hear about it. Don't get me wrong, I'm curious about what happened to you, but… I don't want to hear about it if all it's going to do is make you hurt."
Yoshihara was confused. This… wasn't what she had expected to happen. This wasn't how she envisioned this to go down. She expected them to just… listen. Then again, she also didn't realise that she was on the verge of a mental breakdown. The fact that Izuku noticed it first before she did….
A small smile appeared on the blonde's face. "Thank you, guys… I… I'm sorry, I just—"
"You wanted to get it off your chest, but didn't realise that it was going to hurt you doing so," Izuku said in her stead. Yoshihara nodded silently. "Do you want to be left alone? We can leave if that's what you want?"
"Those two can leave…. I just want to be with you," Yoshihara said as Izuku nodded. Josefumi and Uraraka left the room, but not before wishing her goodnight. When they left, Yoshihara turned to Izuku and kissed him.
The green-haired teen didn't see it coming, which to be fair to him, no one would see it coming either after that whole ordeal. Regardless, he reciprocated the action just as passionately as she had, if not a tad bit confused as to why this was happening. When the two of them separated from each other, seeing as they were already on the bed, she pushed him down before getting atop of him.
Okay, now this was just… weird.
"Uh… Yoshihara, are you sure about this, right now? After that?" Izuku asked as the blonde collapsed atop him, positioning herself to where her head lined up with his chest, before laying on her side with her hand draped over his hand. She could tell he was sighing internally with how he had closed his eyes. "Okay… this is more like it. I was a little worried you were going to, you know…"
"I just want to stay like this…." Yoshihara murmured, her voice soft. She was tired, and just wanted to sleep. "I'm sorry if I sent mixed signals… I just want to be with you. If you don't mind, that is…"
Yoshihara glanced at Izuku, who was staring up at the ceiling. She cracked a grin at how peaceful he looked. A few months ago, this would've sent him in a loop. Now he was perfectly fine with it. His confidence skyrocketed and because of that, it was almost like he was a completely different person.
She smirked. "Besides, I'm not really in the mood for that tonight…" Yoshihara replied, resting her head on his chest. She glanced at him with a small gleam in her eyes, before speaking. "Unless of course you're going to be gentle, unlike two nights ago, jerk…." When she said that, Izuku's face reddened like a tomato.
"Hey! I tried, don't blame me! You were the one who kept telling me to go faster. That's your fault, not mine," Izuku joked as the blonde smiled.
"Touche, Izuku, touche…."
The two stayed like that for about an hour. This wasn't going to be a common occurrence due to dorm policies. But, maybe, just maybe she could get away with being in the same room as her boyfriend for one night.
Eventually, before the two knew it, they had completely fallen asleep with the light on.
xxXXxxXXxx
Josefumi was sitting on the couch, legs spread out, along with his arms draped over the back of the couch as he watched the news. Across from him was Momo Yaoyorozu, who was also watching the news. She was dressed in a rather basic black shirt and tight jeans combo. He could tell that they were tight thanks to how the knees were strained. The ravenette shot him a glance, before going back to the television. The Joestar raised an eyebrow, before catching on. He quickly straightened himself out, earning a small smile from the Yaoyorozu heir.
There was a thick blanket of silence draped over them. Everyone else was in their rooms, most likely studying as they should. Josefumi had caught up with everything already and was beyond confident in himself. Yaoyorozu, on the other hand, seemed a little nervous if her tense posture was anything to go by.
"You good over there, Yaoyorozu-san?" Josefumi spoke up, getting the ravenette's attention.
"What do you mean by that?" The girl asked as the purple-haired teen gave her the "are you serious?" expression.
"You're tense. Your shoulders aren't relaxed, your back is overly stiff, and the way you're sitting gives it away. What's bothering you?" Josefumi replied as Yaoyorozu's eyes widened for a split second, almost taken aback that he was able to notice that, before actually relaxing and gaining a sombre expression.
"I've thought about Ida's death… and how it could've been avoided…." Yaoyorozu began, as she started playing with one of her bangs. "I've thought about how that could've been any one of us. What would happen if another one of us runs into one of those creatures that your father showed us at the assembly? Something so… against everything that we hold dear to our hearts on a biological level. Something that doesn't think like us, act like us, or… even eat like us, but looks like us. If Ida was killed by something like that, then what's stopping us from dying at the hands of those beasts?"
Josefumi frowned. He could understand where she was coming from. When he first heard about Vampires, he thought the same thing. The thing separating him and Yaoyorozu was that he had a Stand that could keep him at distance between himself and a Vampire. Yaoyorozu had a Quirk that could only produce things that could help her, things that a Vampire could easily break and regenerate wounds from.
"I wish I could bring some words of comfort, Yaoyorozu-san. But… the truth of the matter is that if you cross paths with one, the only option is to run," Josefumi said, crossing his arms. "I'm not saying that as a way to belittle your skill—far from it. Even my father turns his tail at the sight of a Vampire. He doesn't have the means to kill them. He has the means to stall them, break them, and destroy their bodies temporarily. But he doesn't have the means to outright get rid of them. Luckily, they're extremely rare, and I'm fairly certain most of them are kept locked up in a secret location the SWF has somewhere."
Yaoyorozu breathed a sigh of relief, but her demeanour did not change. "And what about the one that's on the loose? The one that killed Ida?"
Josefumi said nothing. Because if he did, it would only make the situation worse. Yaoyorozu seemingly understood that and looked away. The silence was deafening. He had no potential for Hamon, unfortunately, and while he had potential in The Spin, that was about it. He was able to use it, but it wasn't the same thing as Hamon.
The Spin could hurt a Vampire, but Hamon is the only thing that could kill them, outside of direct UV light exposure. Either that or something that completely obliterated the creature's body, something similar to Yoshihara's Killer Queen. And even then, that was if The Vampire himself wasn't a Stand user—which Josefumi was assuming they were.
The idea was difficult on its own. But, at the very least, no one would be in the dark anymore. At least, in the U.A., anyway. "You know what, Yaoyorozu," Josefumi began, as he stood up from the couch. "Let's not think about it, yeah? The chances of us running into that particular vampire are next to none. But, I cannot say with certainty that no one else will die. Fate is like a constant Flow that has two paths, Calamity and Prosperity and holding it all together is Gravity. If Fate deemed it Ida's time to die, then it was Ida's time to die. And if it deems that is your time to die, then it's better that you accept it, than fight it." As Josefumi said that, a frown weaselled its way onto his face as he walked away, his back facing her.
For her part, Yaoyorozu stared at him in disbelief. Was he trying to cheer her up? Or was he trying to make her feel worse? Honestly, she didn't know. But, just before he left, Kujo said something that resonated with her for all the wrong reasons.
"Take it from someone who is already ready to die, accepting one's fate is better than fighting against it."
There was something in his voice, the finality to it, that made Momo feel a little bit uncomfortable. It sounded like he had nothing left to lose. It was as if, from that sentence alone, should he die the next day, he'd die with no regrets.
Momo knew the Joestars were heroic to a fault and were willing to lay down their lives for what they thought was right. However, when she looked at someone like Yoshihara Kira, someone who was openly willing to kill someone for what she thought was right, a part of her saw it as a perversion of what the Joestars did. That they were willing to lay down their life for what they thought was right, Kira, on the other hand, was willing to kill as many people as she believed necessary to get to her own goal.
That was one of the major reasons why she believed that Kira didn't belong here. Tsuyu also held that sentiment, as did Ojiro, and so did Sero before he was pulled out. She was pretty sure Todoroki also believed it.
"You okay there, Yaoyorozu?" Uraraka's sudden interruption of her thoughts made Momo jump.
"A-Ah! Uraraka-san! Um… yes, I'm fine," Yaoyorozu replied, before sitting back down on the couch. The brunette sat next to her, a small smile on her face. Yaoyorozu couldn't help but do the same. The brunette's smile was so infectious, and she couldn't help but feel happy around her. Momo didn't know what it was, but she fully believed that Uraraka was a beacon of joy—in fact, it was kind of similar to when she was around someone like Midoriya. He too radiated a beacon of joy, but, for some reason, Uraraka was… different.
She couldn't explain it, but there was something… more there that Yaoyorozu couldn't pinpoint. Clearing her mind of those thoughts, there was something that Yaoyorozu wanted to ask Uraraka, seeing as she was friends with Kira. "Uraraka-san, I have a question for you."
The brunette raised an eyebrow. "Hmm? Oh, sure, what is it?"
The ravenette needed to think about this carefully. The last thing she wanted to do was offend Uraraka. So, with that in mind, she spoke. "Do you truly believe someone like Kira, who has killed a villain, should become a hero?" Before Uraraka could answer, as Momo could see the instant defence in her eyes, Yaoyorozu elaborated. "I know that other heroes have killed villains before, that's not what I meant. I meant that… most people only do it if they have no other choice. But, every attack that I've seen Kira do has either been to maim or, as we saw on the news, to kill. Not a single attack of hers has ever been to take down or disarm. It's always brutality before morality. That is what I mean. How can someone be a hero if they can't hold themselves back?"
Uraraka paused in her thoughts, before clasping her chin in thought. After a few seconds of silence, Uraraka responded with something that Momo hadn't seen coming. "She's not the only one who's killed a villain. Fumi-kun has, I have. I'm pretty sure that if Deku-kun had the chance, he would if the situation arose. Petty criminals are harmless and can be thrown in prison, but those like at the USJ, those who would try and kill you… I believe that if someone is trying to do bad things to you, it gives you the right to defend yourself with equal force."
Uraraka stopped, looking down at the floor, turning away from Yaoyorozu. "I think back to that villain I killed at the USJ… He must've had a family, someone who cared about him. But… he didn't think about that when it came to me. He was trying to kill me. So, why should I give other villains who want to kill me the courtesy of mercy? I think that's what Kira believes as well. Every villain is out there to hurt innocent people. As much as it is a hero's duty to help those in need, a hero also must stop the bad guys. And… as much as I used to believe that putting those bad guys in jail would be more beneficial so that they could become rehabilitated, functioning members of society… people like those at the USJ… they're beyond help. Not every villain, but villains like those people."
Yaoyorozu frowned. That wasn't the kind of response she had been anticipating getting. "So even if that villain has a family to feed at home, and is only doing it to try and help them, are they still worth killing?"
Uraraka narrowed her eyes. "If they were to put innocent civilians at risk by doing so, and if there was no other option left, then yes. Did you not hear what I just said?" Uraraka asked, before shaking her head with a disappointed gleam in her eyes. "Look, Yaoyorozu, I… I understand that it might be hard to accept. But, judging people based on one thing they did is not right. That's like if I judged you for harassing Kira when the story of her killing that.. monster was released to the public. I'm her friend, so by every right, I should. But I'm not, because I know you're better than that. Kira already feels as if she doesn't belong here. So maybe change your attitude about it and look at it from her perspective?"
A small shudder went through Uraraka as she reclined on the couch. But why? Why did she shudder? Was it because of what she had said? From Kira's perspective? How bad could it possibly be to earn a shiver from Uraraka? Whatever the case might've been, and whatever it was about, the brunette seemed to move past it in a hurry as she sighed, before glancing at Yaoyorozu, the beginnings of a small smile forming on her face. "Maybe try talking to her about it? That might help you get a better grasp of the situation."
"Then where is she now?" Momo questioned as Uraraka laughed awkwardly to herself.
"Having alone time with Deku-kun…" for some reason, Uraraka's face flushed red, before she shook her head, which seemingly got rid of what she could only assume was an embarrassment.
"I'm sure they won't mind if I—"
"No!" Uraraka interrupted, making the ravenette blink. Once again, she laughed awkwardly. "Hehe, I mean… um. Okay, so… I don't think you get what I mean. Kira and Deku-kun, who are dating, are having alone time…."
Yaoyorozu gave her an unimpressed look. "As I said, they won't mind if I take Kira away to talk with her."
This made Uraraka face-palm. "Look, Yaoyorozu, I know I can be dense sometimes, but… you have to be kidding me. Have your parents ever sat you down to have "the talk"?" Now it was Yaoyorozu's turn to blush with embarrassment, holding back a gasp. There was no way, right? There was no way such indecent acts were being done on school property, right?!
"B-But! No, that's not—How could they do that?! W-We might be sleeping here, b-but this is still school property!" Yaoyorozu exclaimed as Uraraka shook her head.
"It's not like we're allowed to leave without adult supervision. I guess they're just bolder than most. They're comfortable here, and they trust that no one is going to barge in on them. That takes a lot of confidence, something I distinctly remember Deku-kun lacking before he got together with Kira-san," Uraraka replied. "I was a little jealous when Kira said she would be dating Deku-kun because I had a crush on him… I don't know why I did. But I've moved on… I'm happy for Deku-kun, really I am. But I can't help but feel a little… jealous every time I see them together."
That took a turn that Yaoyorozu was not expecting, but she was glad for the topic change. However, in the morning, as Class 1-A's new Class President, she was going to lay out some rules, and banning all kinds of those activities was going to be rule number one. That was not appropriate for school grounds, living quarters or otherwise.
"Well…" Yaoyorozu said, before clearing her throat. "I don't have any social experience like that. But… my mother did once say that letting go is the hardest thing to do. Jealousy is a natural feeling, especially if it's your first crush, right?"
Uraraka blinked, before covering her mouth. "Oops! I said that out loud, didn't I?" Uraraka asked, before deflating in her seat. "Darn… Um, can we not talk about this? I'm not comfortable with it…" Uraraka said as Yaoyorozu nodded, glancing at the time. It was almost 8 PM, and she needed some rest. If tomorrow was going to be as hectic as she thought it would be, then she needed to get some sleep.
"Well, it was good talking to you, Uraraka-san. But, I must go to bed. See you in the morning," Yaoyorozu stated before turning and leaving the living room. Although, when she looked back to see Uraraka waving at her goodnight, she felt a strange sensation in her stomach. Why? What was this feeling? She had felt earlier in their conversation, but why again? She cleared away any thoughts or feelings and went upstairs to go get some sleep.
Maybe it would go away in the morning.
Yeah… it would go away in the morning.
xxXXxxXXxx
The room was quiet and secluded, just as it was asked to be by the person Yoshimura was going to meet. The dealings that would be going on within this room were to be kept at "for your ears only" status. It was confidential on a level to which not even Johnny could be privy to the knowledge of the happenings within this room, namely because the person who had asked to see him trusted Yoshimura and not Johnny.
To be completely fair to them, Yoshimura couldn't blame them. This whole thing was beyond Johnny, and if he knew what was going to come from it, then it would jeopardise everything that would result from this endeavour.
They already had problems with the HSPC trying to stick their nose into the Japanese Branch of The Speedwagon Foundation's business when their presence isn't needed or wanted. Having Johnny breathing down his neck, especially after everything that happened at the Chinese Branch, was something that Yoshimura did not want.
This was something that Yoshimura had been working on in private for the better half of five years, prior to his untimely comatose state. Now that he was back, he had several things he needed to do, to make up for any lost time that had spurred on because of what happened to him. A decade of his life was stolen from him, and he wasn't getting any younger. He already had one of the Higashikata's helping him on this endeavour, with the others being completely unaware of the little pet project he had entrusted with their eldest son, Jobin and Norisuke's ex-wife Kaato.
It was the least he could do for the person who had helped him recover, and for the friend he had made. Beyond that, it was an evolutionary breakthrough. Modern medicine would be uplifted thanks to this new and revolutionary product.
If only he could get it out of its testing phase….
You see, there was a reason why Yoshimura took up this job at U.A., and not just because he was going to get the chance to warn the future generation of the dangers of Stands, and the existence of vampires and other supernatural creatures—that was definitely a driving factor for his decisions—but it also gave him a chance to speak to someone who he had been meaning to keep in contact with ever since his coma, and ever since his recovery began.
After all, without him… he probably would've died. So he owed damn near everything to this man.
And said man was sitting right in front of him.
"It's good to see that your recovery went smoothly, Sugimoto-san. I was starting to get worried," Tooru said as he adjusted himself in the seat across from Yoshimura, his cerulean blue eyes staring into Yoshimura's own. The blond Stand User nodded, taking a sip of tea from his cup before placing it back down in front of him.
"And I'm sorry for worrying you, Tooru-kun. Although, I do have to wonder… why?" Yoshimura asked as Tooru raised an eyebrow. The blonde sighed, closing his eyes as he looked down at the floor, his hands clasped together as he chewed his inner lip. "Don't get me wrong, Tooru. I'm glad we've come to be business partners, but… I don't really understand it. Why me? Your dealings in the underground stem far and wide, placing you in the top three of the criminal underground. You could've picked anyone else but me, someone who has no experience with the criminal underground, yet you did. I have a feeling there's something I have that you want. Aside from connections."
Tooru smirked with a knowing gleam in his eyes. It was true, Tooru was a head doctor second, and a criminal overlord first. Not only that but his detachment from the human race as a Rock Human made him twice as, if not more of a danger to hero society than All For One. That wasn't even mentioning Wonder of U. That Stand, in the wrong hands… it was beyond terrifying.
"You'd be right about that, Sugimoto-san. But, you don't have to worry about it. Not yet, anyway. One of these days, I'll reveal your role in all of this—although a part of me wonders if you're playing stupid, and already know what that role is. But, I digress. Until then, keep to yourself, and don't let anyone be aware of our little secret business relationship. The last thing I want is eyes on me. I've done my best to keep up this persona of mine, so don't ruin it for me," Tooru said, the tone of the room shifting as Yoshimura felt a bead of sweat slide down the side of his face.
"I never once thought of it, Tooru-kun. But… what do you mean by persona?" Yoshimura asked as Tooru once again smirked.
"The persona of being a kind, caring, and helpful doctor, of course. I'm rather cutthroat, as you know. I have to be, otherwise, those under my thumb refuse to listen to me. While I may be a Rock Human, I am more Human than the rest of them." Tooru's expression changed, going from joyous, to annoyed. "They are all greedy, self-centred, disgusting, immoral bastards whom I hate to be associated with," Tooru spat, his eyes reflecting a burning hatred, unlike anything Yoshimura had bore witness to. "But, they are good at what they do, be they thugs at the best of times, or eco-terrorists at the worst. So long as they don't leave behind a paper trail, I don't care what they do."
Tooru's shift in tone made Yoshimura shuffle in his chair due to uneasiness. He forgot just how intimidating the man could be, even with the goofy hairstyle he had. That aside, Yoshimura cleared his throat. "Nevertheless, I just hope you understand that getting this deeply involved with All Might, even if what you say is true, might have some serious side effects… in fact, I wouldn't be surprised if Nedzu was already on to you."
Tooru sighed, reaching for his teacup, his demeanour lackadaisical rather than stressed as Yoshimura had expected. His laissez-faire body language showed that he was confident, and knew damn well that he was safe. If it was someone else, Yoshimura would've called them a fool. But seeing as this was Tooru "Tomioka" he was staring at, well… he had every reason to be this confident. And the way he sat there proved it.
The man smiled, taking a sip of his tea, before setting the cup down in front of him. "Oh, I'm fairly certain he's aware of what my true intentions are. But until he decides to do something about it, then I don't think I need to worry. Besides, even if he does, no one can touch me, metaphorically and literally speaking. While I care about the well-being of those who have the power known as One For All, I could care less about those before Nana Shimura. She was my cousin after all."
Yoshimura nodded, taking another sip of his tea, as did Tooru. The two remained in silence for a while, before Yoshimura spoke up again. He wanted to address this before continuing with the meeting. It was something that he knew there was a chance of happening. And, if he could stomp it out before anything serious happened, then he could at least protect his daughter from getting into something that she shouldn't. "I know you've been eyeing my daughter, Tooru. You needn't worry about her. She isn't a threat to you or your operation."
Tooru scoffed, giving the father a stern glare. "She better not be. Be she your daughter or not, my business is with you, not her. If she gets in the way…."
Yoshimura raised a placating, if not uneasy hand. "I know, and there's nothing I can do about it, you don't need to tell me that. All I can ask is that you spare her life. Knowing my daughter though, even if it is only a little bit, and knowing the fact that she has the blood of a Joestar, there will most likely be some form of overlap in the future. How far into the future, I don't quite know. What I do know, however, is that at the moment, you needn't worry about a thing. Just keep helping her, and she'll most likely turn to you as an ally, rather than an enemy."
Tooru cupped his chin in a thoughtful gesture. "You may be right. But, at the same time, she is already digging into The Stand Bullets. If she's already willing to risk her life to go against The Shie Hissaikai and Damnatio Ad Bestias, I know for sure that if she thinks that I or any of the other Rock Humans in Morioh are up to no good, then, from at least what I've seen, she'll throw herself into the fire before thinking twice."
As Tooru said that, he let go of his chin, placing both of his hands on his lap as he straightened out his posture and stared directly at Yoshimura. "Make no mistake, Yoshimura. I don't want to harm your daughter. As far as I am concerned, she should be protected as well due to her dating Izuku Midoriya, an inheritor of One For All. But if she, or the other Joestar, gets in my way, as much as it will pain me to do it…."
The room became deathly cold, as Yoshimura felt a chill claw down his spine. Tooru's expression was that of pure determination and cruelty. It meant that the next few words that came out of his mouth were absolute, and that, should anything happen because of those words, the result would be expected. A part of Yoshimura, deep down, regretted his choice to partner up with Tooru, but at the time, he really wasn't given a choice. And now, as the next four words came out of his mouth, now, more than ever, did he regret it.
"I will eliminate them."
And Yoshimura knew that he damn well meant it. And he was terrified because of it.
Status de energia semanal
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