Capítulo 2028: 47
From: Kidnapper #1
We found Gravity Girl!
(Location Ping)
Let us know when she disappears again!
Call you with more info tonight!
Hitoshi stared at his phone in a mix of shock and relief. He really shouldn't be surprised that his kidnappers had managed to find his kidnapped friend, but it was still impressive that they'd found her in a matter of hours. Also, should he be concerned that they seemed to fully be expecting her to disappear again.
He shook his head and knocked on the door to Gunhead's office before pushing it open, "I just got a location for Uraraka, I'm going to go pick her up."
Gunhead almost dropped his coffee, "You found her?!"
" I didn't find her. My kidnappers did." Hitoshi shrugged. "Sorry, my friends in the support course. They tracked her down somehow. The important thing is that I know where she is and I'm going to go get her. I just wanted to let you know."
"Uh, right." Gunhead set his coffee down and stood up. "Let's go."
Mineta had actually finished the chores Mt. Lady had told him to do hours ago, but she was too absorbed in checking her social media to notice that. She was a new hero, and notoriously obsessed with her image, so it wasn't a hard choice when he needed to find someone to drool over that would still allow him time to keep tabs on all his other classmates.
He hadn't been expecting all that much to happen this week, honestly, except that Iida was most likely going to try to go off the rails, which Sensei would be delighted about if the hero he was interning under couldn't stop him in time, but today had been busier than expected. There was a distinct lack of UA in the media this morning, which meant that they were actively trying to stay out of it, which meant that they were hiding something. He hadn't been able to dig up what exactly it was yet, but he'd sent out a few feelers to the rest of his classmates, just asking them how they were doing. None of the girls had responded, which was irritating, but understandable considering his cover, and Shinso was the only guy to leave him on read, which meant that he was either involved in whatever they were trying to cover up, or he was just too close to the girls, either one. If the news didn't break, he'd look into it more tomorrow.
His main interest at the moment was I-Island. The notification that they had gone into lockdown this morning didn't seem like major news for Japan, but Sensei had asked him to keep an eye on the support course and it was odd enough that two of the first years had been asked to intern there. Add an island-wide lockdown to that and it was exactly the type of thing Sensei would want to know about. Maybe if they were lucky, those two had actually caused the lockdown and there might be some chance for recruitment. Maybe they could even help the league find this Cheat Code know-it-all who kept breathing down their necks.
"Grape Juice!" Mt. Lady called. "Can you be a babe and get me another soda from the fridge? I'll love you forever!"
"Anything for you, gorgeous!" Mineta read one final notification before putting away his phone and made a note to pass it along in his report.
@I-IslandOfficial
Sorry for any panic this morning's lockdown might have caused. Our experts have determined that a quirk accident was at fault for this morning's apparent security breach. The situation has been resolved and our security system has been updated to prevent a repeat of this morning's false alarm. No sensitive information was compromised.
Shouto walked a few steps behind Edgeshot, not really sure what he was supposed to be doing at the moment. With Endeavor, he was supposed to be learning from the best and projecting as much don't talk to me energy as he could, but did other heroes try to seem more likable to the media? Was he supposed to be looking for villains or would that count as getting in the way?
"I can hear you thinking from here." Edgeshot said.
"Oh, sorry." Shouto said quickly. "I'll stop."
Edgeshot stopped and looked at him strangely, "Stop? Why would I ask you to stop thinking? Intelligence is an essential part of being a hero. I just wanted to know what was on your mind."
"Sorry." Shouto apologized again. "I suppose I was just wondering what the purpose of this patrol is. Aren't you mostly a nocturnal hero?"
Edgeshot gave him an appraising look, "Yes, I am. But why do you think I would patrol during the day?"
"To catch criminals in the act." Shouto said. "And to be visible to the media."
Edgshot paused thoughtfully for a moment, "The media, yes, partially. The criminals, not so much. Most of my takes downs, like you said, are at night, so I'm content to leave everyday purse snatchers to lesser heroes, but the main reason I routinely patrol during the day is for the people."
"Yes." Shouto nodded. "To protect them."
Edgeshot looked ahead, "That's part of it, but it's actually not what I was referring to. Shouto, do you know why people become villains?"
Shouto got the idea that this was like one of Aizawa's logical ruses, but didnt' know what the trick was, "Because they put their own desires over what's good."
"Sometimes." Edgeshot nodded. "Or they simply don't trust that the law is good. A lot of people struggle in this world and if a hero is out and about during the day, they know that someone is there to save them if ever they need it. We can't save everyone, unfortunately, but even just being visible can keep some from falling into despair and taking matters into their own hands."
"So a hero's job isn't just to protect the defenseless from villains?" Shouto frowned. "Interesting…"
Edgeshot didn't seem like he was expecting anything else from the conversation, so Shouto followed along in silence for a few more minutes. He paid attention to how people looked at them. If he was with Endeavor, he'd be getting both awed and terrified looks, and maybe a few angry, which didn't seem like it would help bring people hope like Edgeshot was describing. The civilians they passed didn't look at Edgeshot with as much obvious admiration as they did Endeavor, but it almost seemed like they trusted him, which was hard to wrap his head around.
Shouto heard a familiar yowl and turned to see Epurr weaving in and out of people's legs as she rushed toward him. Shouto couldn't be bothered to hold back a smile as he crouched down. Seeing a hero student petting a cat on patrol would be reassuring, right? It would piss off his father at the very least.
"Oh wonderful, it's the devil cat." Edgeshot muttered. "Careful. She may look cute, but don't…get too close?"
Edgeshot trailed off as Epurr butted up against Shouto's hand and made him scratch her between the ears. She always went for his left side first, which Shouto thought was hilarious. His father spent so much effort and planning to get a child with the perfect duel quirk and he used it to attract cats. It was beautifully ironic.
"Devil cat? Yeah, that describes her pretty well." Shouto said fondly, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly as she purred and headbutted him again. "Epurr can be pretty mean when she doesn't get her way."
When Edgshot didn't respond, Shouto looked up to see him staring at them in shock, "She...Did she really let you name her?!"
Shouto shrugged and stood up, "Is that weird?"
Edgeshot shook his head in disbelief, "You realize that every hero that patrols near here has tried to pet that cat, right? She's scratched at every single one. Anytime anyone tries to give her a name, even some of the shop owners that feed her, she hisses and refuses to respond to it. That's why we call her the devil cat. She's way more likely to attack you than let her pet you."
He started walking and Shouto followed behind, Epurr ran alongside them, hopping up onto a nearby fence, "Maybe she wasn't in the mood to be pet? From what I've seen she has ways of getting whatever she wants...No, Epurr, not...ok."
Epurr had launched herself off the fence and onto Shouto's shoulder and almost immediately settled in and started grooming him. He reached to grab her and make her go back to the ground, but she simply swatted at him with a hiss and kept working. Shouto pouted and felt his face heat up as he turned to Edgeshot and gave a small bow, careful not to knock Epurr loose, "My apologies sir, but I'm afraid that she never lets me stop her when she gets like this, so unfortunately, this predicament might last a while. I understand that patrolling with a stray cat on my shoulder is highly unprofessional, so if you would like me to return to the agency until the situation is resolved, I…."
He trailed off and straightened up as he realized that Edgeshot was laughing at him. Sure, it wasn't loud, but his shoulders were shaking and his eyes were starting to tear up as he held a hand over his mouth, "Ah, this makes much more sense."
"What?" Shouto absentmindedly reached up to pet Epurr, who purred and flicked him with her tail. "I'm deeply…"
"I had thought you managed to tame her." Edgeshot chuckled. "But nope. I guess it's just a rule of the universe that the devil cat can't be tamed."
"I wasn't trying to tame her." Shouto insisted. "I was just sitting down once and she came and sat on my lap because I have a fire quirk and it makes me warm."
"Burnin' has a fire quirk too, and she's never been able to get close to the little devil." Even with his mask, Shouto could tell that Edgeshot was smiling. "Nope, I can't believe that...what did you call her? Epurr? I'm pretty sure she thinks you're her kitten."
"What?" Shouto blinked. "I'm sorry, but you're mistaken. I'm much larger than a kitten."
Edgeshot rolled his eyes, "Yes, I'm aware of that. But adoption is pretty common in cats, actually, and they'll even adopt babies from other species if the real parents aren't around. To her, she may not have given birth to you, but she's acting like she just woke up one day and decided to be your mother. So I'm sorry to break it to you, Shouto, but you're adopted."
Shouto huffed softly, "Well, Epurr just needs to give me a good scratch and I'll have scars from both my moms."
Edgeshot frowned, "What was that? Sorry, you were muttering and I didn't quite catch it."
"Oh nothing." Shouto shook his head. "Wait a minute...are those people taking pictures?!"
Edgeshot chuckled again, "Are you kidding? Kid, this is why we go on patrol. You're going to be trending by the time school lets out."
"Oh." Shouto took a deep breath and Epurr's presence on his shoulder was oddly steadying considering that this was all her fault. "Ok. That's a good thing, right?"
"Yes." Edgeshot shook his head in amusement. "Yes, Shouto. That's a very good thing."
Hitoshi looked down at his phone again, then up at the park, "Well, according to Izuku and Mei, she should be somewhere around here, hopefully. They did warn me that she might disappear again though, so I guess I could text and ask if they know anything?"
Gunhead nodded, "Yes, that would probably be best."
Hitoshi was halfway through a text when a yell from the playground caught his attention, "No! Get away from there! You don't know what kinds of diseases that thing has!"
A little girl was trying to tug herschel free as her mother pulled her away, "It's not a thing, it's a person! What if they need to go to the hospital?!" She caught sight of Hitoshi and Gunhead and immediately started waving them over with her whole arm, "Are you guys heroes! We need your help!"
They shared a glance before Gunhead put on a happier voice and bounced over, "Of course. We can't say long, we're looking for someone you see, but I'm sure we can get someone to help out with whatever the issue is."
"It's not an issue." The mother groaned. "It's just a drunk who decided that the playground was a good place to sleep after a mid-morning bender. I looked up from my phone and there she was, a raggedy thing puking in the trashcan before crawling in the tunnel and passing out. Disgusting. I mean, she wasn't even wearing any shoes! I don't want my daughter being around those kinds of influences, I'm sure you understand."
"She was puking?" Shinso blinked, "Where did you say she went?"
"Over there in the play tunnel!" The little girl slipped out of her mom's grip and grabbed Hitoshi's hand, "Here! I'll take you to her!"
"Aia! Get back here right this instant!"
Aia didn't listen as she dragged Hitoshi to the playground and tugged him to the ground outside the tunnel, "Look! There! Can you help her?"
"I am so sorry." Aia's mother grabbed her by the shoulder as Hitoshi knelt down to look inside the tunnel. "You need to apologize to the heroes! You can't just go grabbing them, they have important things to do!"
"But, Mom…!" Aia started to protest, but stopped when she saw Hitoshi's face. "Mr. Hero? What is it? What's wrong?"
"Nothing." Hitoshi tried to smile reassuringly, but he had a feeling it fell flat. "I just need to yell at my friends to make sure they give me all the information next time they send me to find someone. Gunhead! Over here! I found her!"
The sunset was beautiful and Kurogiri wished he could pay it the attention it deserved, but young Tomura was enjoying the view for a very different reason. He grinned as he scratched at his neck, the three Nomu that Sensei had given him standing dead-eyed and at the ready, waiting for their orders. Even if he should be used to it by now, it was still creepy enough to send a shiver down Kurogiri's spine.
"I'll show him!" Shigaraki grinned. "Let's see who's in the news tomorrow, hero killer!"
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