Chương 2336: 78
Chapter 78: Fog
A/N: And here we go with Chapter 78! The real mission starts here. What will Izuku and co. discover on their little field trip? Well…
Mei jerked her head from left to right, her eyes zooming along as she eyed the nighttime streets. "What gives? Where's she at? I want to test out my babies already!"
Izuku shrugged his shoulders. "Uh… Give her a second?" He reached out to the bugs within his vicinity to catch wind of Kaniko's car, finding it barreling down the road just two blocks away. "She's… nearly here."
Kaniko's car promptly skidded down the street, having the free reign of the essentially empty road in front of UA. Her car slowed down as it approached, parking itself on the curb. It wasn't long until Kaniko herself got out of the car, her hurried expression turning a bit apprehensive as she eyed the small group before her.
"Hey Midoriya!" Kaniko waved as she approached the group. "Your friends seeing you off or something?"
Setsuna jabbed Izuku in the ribs. "You didn't tell her?!"
Izuku rubbed the back of his neck. "She said that she wanted to figure it out herself the day of?"
Kaniko blinked, the implications of Izuku's words slowly ingraining themselves into her mind.
In a way eerily similar to what Mei was doing moments before, Kaniko jerked around her head in watch for potential listeners. She inched forward, leaning closer and lowering her voice to a harsh whisper. "This is a horribly reckless thing that you're planning on doing Midoriya!"
"That's what I tried telling them," Izuku muttered, pointing backwards towards his friends.
Kaniko either ignored or didn't hear Izuku's comment, deciding to back away and straighten herself back up.
"Your judgement must be off," she grumbled. "How can we fix this…?"
After a few seconds, she bopped herself in the head in revelation. "Aha! We should go cocooning again! That should take the stress off of ya, you know? Bring you back to logically thinking order!"
Momo blinked, turning a questioning gaze towards Izuku. "Cocooning...?"
Izuku sighed. "Long story… Another one, that is." He tilted his head towards Kaniko. "And I'm in fine thinking order, for your information!"
"Izuku! No!" Kaniko suddenly exclaimed. "This is a horrible idea! I'm serious! Why are all of your friends here in the first place?!"
"Well… um…" Izuku drew up a half-smile. "They know everything about my secret double life now?"
"They do!" Kaniko cheered, her face losing all of its worry. "That's great! You really should have done it sooner though! Why'd you wait for so long!?"
Izuku grimaced. "It wasn't really… my choice."
"So they figured it out themselves." Kaniko crossed her arms in her assumption, smugness clear in her eyes. "Knew that it would have happened eventually."
Suddenly, her demeanor changed, less smiley and more conflicted. And then she bonked Izuku straight on the head. "That doesn't mean that they should be accompanying you on your vig—" she jerked her head around once more, "—nightly stuff thingies!"
Izuku stifled a laugh. "They insisted Kaniko. They wouldn't take no for an answer."
Kaniko took a proper look at the other four kids behind Izuku, her eyes darting to each one in a calculating glance, before refocusing back onto her ward. "I don't doubt you on that." She bonked him on the head again. "Good friends you have here, even if I do think that all of you are making a mistake."
Izuku rubbed his head in response. "Please stop. I get enough of that from Mei."
"Lies!" an indignant yelp from the pink haired inventor came.
"Right," Izuku muttered as he looked at Kaniko. "But seriously, it's just a scouting mission! Nothing bad is going to happen, promise!"
Kaniko sighed, looking over the group of five again. "Fine," she whined. "But if— Gah!"
A flash of light popped up in between the group of students and Kaniko just then. Before any of them could react, the phenomenon ended, signified by the telltale sound of rushing air and the appearance of none other than Traveler himself.
"Heyo!" The teleporter said, looking over the group. "Oh look at all of you! Familiar faces and strangers!" Seeing two fresh souls to enlighten, he immediately rushed to crowd both Todoroki and Mei with his pictures of his wife and kid.
All the while, Izuku — and Setsuna as well, since neither were exactly happy with the man's sudden appearance — both turned accusatory glares at Momo.
"Apologies," Momo sheepishly laughed. "I called him while Miss Kaniyashki and you were having your debate, Izuku."
Izuku sighed, but otherwise didn't make much fuss over the sudden surprise. And so, he turned back towards Kaniko, who had a rather bewildered expression on her face.
"You hired the Traveler?!" she asked.
Izuku nodded. "Yeah… we kind of have to go kind of far tonight." His eyes darted to the parked car. "I hope it's not too much trouble leaving your car here? I mean, I'm sure that Nezu would be inadvertently watching it so—"
"I don't care about my car!" Kaniko interrupted. She pointed a finger at Traveler, who was completely oblivious to the gesture. "The guy's like, super expensive! How'd you afford him!?"
"That'd be me." Momo raised her hand.
"What you've done is completely irresponsible!" Kaniko scolded. "What are your parents going to do when they discover that you've spent hundreds of thousands of yen in one night!?"
"Umm…" Momo averted her gaze, her sudden grip on her sleeves tightening by the second. "They won't?"
Kaniko blinked. "What?"
"I mean, they won't find out?" Momo corrected.
Kaniko's eyes bulged. "How would they not!?"
"She's loaded!" Setsuna cut in. "Like, really, really loaded. It's barely a dent in her account. If she wanted, she could splurge on VIP club access like nothing!"
Momo looked scandalized. "Why do you have to put it like that?"
"It's not like I'm wrong," Setsuna muttered, her grin betraying her thoughts.
All the while, Kaniko was near frozen in shock. Eventually, she brought a hand up to her face and very promptly smacked herself with it.
"Right. So, let me get this straight. Tonight I'm supervising a zealous vigilante—"
"Hey! I am not a zealot!"
"I don't know Izuku," Setsuna said, her toothy grin showing. "That's fairly debatable, dontcha' think?"
"—the vigilante's girlfriend who isn't actually his girlfriend but then again I'm still have my doubts on the matter—"
"Heck yeah! You hear that, Izuku?"
"Setsuna!"
Kaniko trudged on. "— an innocent rich girl, the girl who made Midoriya's flightpack if her hair is anything to go by, and…" She trailed off, her eyes and mind finally catching up to her. "And Endeavor's youngest kid. Really."
She glared at Izuku. "Why is your friend group like this?"
Izuku rose to defend himself. "I—"
An armless hand found its way over his mouth. "Shush! Can't we just go already? We're burning daylight!"
"But, it's already nighttime?" Momo asked.
Setsuna groaned. "You know what I mean."
Izuku pried the idle hand away from his mouth. "Fine, fine. Let's go, I suppose we've spent enough time here. You ready Kaniko?"
The police officer sighed. "As ready as I'll ever be."
"Okay!" Momo exclaimed. "Traveler! We're ready for our trip!"
The cacophony of noise from where Traveler was entertaining his new listeners ended. The teleporter promptly turned in a flourish, an exaggerated nod subsequently following the movement. "But of course, Miss Yaoyorozu! In that case, everyone should gather up!"
The group did as told, Kaniko doing so after going back to her car and locking it up. Once she gathered with the group, however, she piped out a question. "Wait, where are we going?"
"A fine question, esteemed lady of the law!" Traveler cheered. "Onwards to, Shimane!"
"Wait! Shi—"
And with a flash and a whoosh, the group of seven had arrived almost seven hundred kilometers to the west from their initial position.
"—mane?!"
"And here we are!" Traveler said. "Shimane Prefecture, in all its glory!"
Momo nodded towards the teleporter with a huge smile on her face. "Thanks again, Traveler."
"Always a pleasure, Miss Yaoyorozu!" Traveler cheered with a mock salute.
"I'll call you for pickup later tonight, okay?" Momo asked. "Just remember that the schedule will be a bit… loose."
"Of course! No worries!" Traveler said. "You can count on me! Till then!"
And then he was gone. And Izuku didn't waste any time to begin his debriefing.
"Okay everyone. We're here in Shimane. We all know what that means—" His eyes widened. "Oh shoot!"
And then he turned to face Todoroki and Mei who — quite unlike what he was expecting — weren't vomiting all over the place.
"Oh." Izuku's worry faded away from his face. "The trip wasn't… nauseous or anything?" he asked the two.
"I'm used to similar movements." Todoroki admitted.
Mei raised a questioning eye. "That was supposed to be nauseating?"
Izuku blinked, promptly refocusing himself. "Right. Anyways, Game plan. We split up since we'll be able to cover more ground. Two groups preferably, three if we really want to stretch ourselves—"
"Split up?" Kaniko asked.
"Yes," Izuku reaffirmed. "Because it's a scouting / reconnaissance mission. Nothing's going to happen."
"Based on your luck, something's going to happen," Setsuna muttered. Izuku decided to ignore it.
"Anyways," Izuku continued, "we split up. As we planned earlier: Todoroki and Mei with drones and Setsuna supplementing them. Myself with my bugs and Momo with a drone and… oh."
Izuku looked sheepishly at Kaniko. "We don't have enough drones, sorry. So… supervision?"
"Midori—"
"You'll be watching the group that only has one recommendation student instead of two! The others know how to take care of themselves!''
Kaniko's half lidded eyes were telltale enough. "I wasn't going to mention anything about recommendation students, Midoriya."
"Oh."
Kaniko spared a glance back at the stoic Todoroki, the frivolously tinkering Mei, and Setsuna, who hesitantly waved back.
"And somehow, I doubt that." Kaniko crossed her arms, giving Izuku the stink eye.
Izuku shuffled his feet around, but otherwise reciprocated with a pleading look back.
"Fine," she eventually relented. "On one condition though."
Izuku nodded along.
Kaniko pointed at his back. "That's your flightpack, ain't it?"
Izuku blinked, his hand subconsciously reaching for his back. "Erm…"
Slowly, the camo capabilities kicked in, changing the yellow bag into a much more inconspicuous black and grey. "No...?"
Kaniko smirked in victory. "Give it. I'm not having you flying off somewhere I can't follow."
Izuku grumbled, but nonetheless followed through and handed over the flightpack. "I wasn't planning to."
"But you would if the situation called for it," Kaniko added, her eyes raising. "And I don't want that."
"Yeah," Izuku said. "I know. So, are we good to head out?"
"How are you guys going to communicate?" Kaniko continued.
Izuku blinked. "Huh?"
"You know, since you're splitting up. Communication?"
"I didn't think about that," Izuku admitted.
"Oh come on!" Mei whined. "I could've made something up if you had asked, Izuku!"
"I'm still getting used to the group dynamic, okay? Izuku pleaded. "Getting communicators weren't something that came to mind."
Momo raised one of her hands. "I can make some right now. I'll just—"
"No need!" Kaniko interrupted. "I have a spare walkie-talkie on me!"
Again, Izuku blinked in surprise. "You do?"
"Well, I was originally going to leave it in my car," Kaniko said. "But knowing you… Well, looks like I was right on the dot!"
"Okay. I get it," Izuku said.
"Plus, this one's already in tune with that earpiece I gave ya a while back! You still have it, don't you?"
Izuku nodded. "Had Mei integrate it into my mask."
Kaniko gave a nod of approval. "Well, now I suppose you're all ready."
Izuku nodded in turn. "Okay! Let's go!"
"I'm really being lenient with you here, you know?" Kaniko said. "And it's only because you now have your friends in the loop. I don't feel like bringing the mood down."
She, Izuku, and Momo had been walking down the street for the past hour. The former was merely walking with her hands behind her head, the latter with her eyes stuck to the display the controller in her hands provided. And Izuku, as was expected, was scouring the landscape with his bugs in search of their prey.
"That's a very considerate thing for you to do, Miss Kaniyashiki," Momo praised, her eyes never leaving the screen in her hands. "I can see why Izuku likes you being her handler."
"I already told you, Yaoyorozu! I mean, look! My name's too long; call me Kaniko!"
"The same could be said with my own name," Momo countered.
"Do you have a nickname?"
"It's Yaomomo," Izuku muttered in between his searching with his bugs. "Some of the girls in our class made it up."
Kaniko snapped the fingers in one of her hands. "And there we have it! Yaomomo it is!"
Momo sent a smile the officer's way. "Then I suppose I'll extend the same courtesy to you, Kaniko."
"Yes!" Kaniko cheered. "Oh! And thanks; the thing you said earlier, that is! It's nice to know that Midoriya here actually does speak kindly of me! With his grumpiness it can be hard to tell sometimes!"
"I can appreciate the qualities that you have despite you being a police officer," Izuku admitted. "You're pretty laid back. And lax. And know when some rules have to be broken. The fact that you're allowing this is proof enough."
"A-yup! Guess so! When you put it that way, I guess I can see why I end up using my quirk on the job all the time despite not having a permit for it!"
"But isn't that a bad thing?" Momo asked. "Wouldn't you be getting in trouble fairly often?"
"Ehh, the guys at the station have gotten used to it! And I'm an effective officer!" Kaniko pounded her chest. "There's a reason Midoirya was assigned to me!"
"I would hope that you're qualified," Momo said. "After all, Izuku is quite a handful."
"What is that supposed to mean?" Izuku fussed.
Momo smiled. "I'm sure that you don't need any clarification."
"Yeah! For one, you must really actually be really grumpy all the time!" Kaniko said as she gestured to the flightpack she had taken from Izuku and placed on her own back. "I mean, this thing is just so comfortable! If you're cranky while wearing it, I can't imagine you without it!"
"Fine," Izuku huffed. "But just because—
The radio on Kaniko's hip and Izuku's earpiece crackled to life at the same time.
-Hey? Hey hello? This thing working? Hold up! I'm telling you it isn't! Seriously! This thing looks ancient! I could whip up something more efficient and durable in just a few minutes with just— Hey wait!-
-Give me that!- Setsuna's voice came to life. -You guys hear me?-
"We hear you," Izuku confirmed. "What's up? A hit on the target?"
-Yeah, Todoroki's just spotted Stain. He has a drone hot on his trail-
Izuku's demeanor tightened. "Which direction is he heading in?"
-East. And by the looks of it his path will likely go straight towards yours-
"Shoot!" Izuku began to panic. "We can't have him seeing us! If he does it's all over and—"
"Just keep your head down!" Momo chided. "He doesn't have a reason to place heavy scrutiny on some random civilians."
-We're on our way ourselves- Setsuna interjected. -Just make sure you keep an eye on him when he gets to you. He's faster than the drones at the moment, so we're steadily losing him-
Just then, something brushed against one of the bugs in the periphery of Izuku's range.
"Quiet! I think he's near! A minute tops!"
The three of them put their heads down and attempted to blend in, making themselves seem like a few people out on a late night stroll.
Momo parked her drone on a nearby rooftop and gave the controller over to Kaniko to store in the flightpack. Izuku, on the other hand, lessened the density of bugs in the surrounding area and let most of them free from his will.
They remained in this state for almost a minute, right until the moment one of Izuku's bugs felt a disturbance in the air. A figure, dashing over the rooftops across the street and to their left. With the speed the figure was going at, his shadow was near indiscernible from ground level, and it wasn't long until he was a mere blur in the distance.
"Alright!" Izuku muttered once Stain had gained a fair share of distance. He readied a small number of his bugs and sent them ahead to follow. "Try not to be too obvious that we're chasing him! Let's go!"
Izuku, Momo, and Kaniko took up a light jog, Izuku using his bugs and a Kaniko-led Momo dodging obstacles while using her reacquired drone to keep sight of the villain. However, despite their efforts, Stain was still growing steadily further.
"We might need to actually run," Izuku suggested. "The further ahead I am the further my reach encompasses him."
"No running ahead alone!" Kaniko rebuked.
"And that won't help with the drone," Momo huffed. "The speed won't increase just because we're running… Right?"
Izuku spoke into his earpiece. "Mei?"
-I'm mad! You didn't tell me we were going to be running Izuku! And no, they won't!- The inventor's voice came through the feed. -Maybe I should work on something like that? Eh, nevermind! I should have made the drones faster!-
"Don't worry about that now, you can work on it later. But running? I said—"
-We're nearly there! Might even meet at a crossroads depending on his route! We have to run! Huh? What was that? Uhuh… Ice Boy said he's turning!-
"I noticed," Izuku muttered, seeing through his own bugs. "Makes it easier to catch up… Setsuna?"
-She only sent her eyes, don't worry! Nothing too big that might be noticed!-
-You got that right! Ow! Mei! Watch where you're leading me!-
"As long as she keeps a distance, we'll be fine. In fact," Izuku interrupted himself. "We might be nearing our destination. Industrial district — mostly abandoned from the looks of it."
Izuku continued on, his power taking over the minds of every bug within his range further ahead. There were quite a few bugs lingering around — more than in the well-traveled parts of the city — which made some sort of sense, he supposed.
Momo suddenly perked up, her eyes on the screen. "Zooming capabilities on the drone activated… He's entering a building, a warehouse... Seems a bit large for four villains, don't you think?"
"They are traveling from city to city," Izuku said. "Makes sense that they'd—"
His range continued onward with him, and it wasn't long until the building in question was within his radius. The bugs in the building were instantly added to his senses.
But he wasn't sure if he was happy having eyes within the building, however, considering what he saw.
Various drones lounging about, floating around or resting in various places, deactivated. A girl with fungal growths on her body. A man in white and blue armor. But the one who drew attention the most was the well dressed man in the center of it all.
"Izuku! Izuku!"
"Huh?" Izuku was shaken out of his thoughts by Momo, who was shaking his body rather roughly. His attention slowly came back and focused on Momo.
"What happened?" she asked. "Why did you stop all of a sudden?"
Izuku blinked, and then his eyes widened.
"Mei!" He spoke into his earpiece. "Or Todoroki! Or whoever! Abort! Don't send a drone in, and tell Setsuna not to send any of herseld in either!"
-Too late slowpoke! Todoroki's drone is already in Izuku, and it's turning tight corners rather smoothly. I don't see why… Oh. Huh-
"What?" Momo asked. "What is it?"
-Switch the camera feeds! The option's on the right upper corner! The circle shape with the square in it!-
-For fuck's sake!- Setsuna's voice crackled. -I'm withdrawing my eyes now! And I told you that something unexpected was going to happen Izuku!-
Kaniko peaked over Momo's shoulders and down at the new feed coming through the controller.
"Nope!" Kaniko exclaimed. "One look at that is enough for me to pull the plug!" She took a hold of her radio. "You three! Get out now! Retreat, and make sure that you're watching your surroundings!"
"We can't go yet!" Izuku interjected. "We need to know what's happening!"
"Midoriya—"
"The others can go! I have my bugs! This is important!"
Kaniko pressed her lips into a thin line. "Damnit!" She reached for her radio. "Inventor girl! Your drones have a recording feature?"
-Of course! They've been on this entire time!-
Kaniko sighed, shaking her head to herself. "Okay; leave the drone somewhere discreet to record what's happening. Retreat the furthest you can until the connection's still viable!"
She turned her attention towards Izuku. "Midoriya—"
"It might not catch everything. We need to make sure we can hear them."
Kaniko pinched her nose. "Fine. Just—"
"Quiet!" Izuku hissed. "Stain's in the room with them! Watch our surroundings for me, okay?"
"Izuku!"
Wha? Oh, not now! I'm busy!
Izuku focused every instance of his attention into what was happening in that warehouse.
…
..
.
Kentaro smiled, his eyes following the newcomer into his current hideout.
"Stain," Kentaro said, his voice elegant and deep. "A pleasure."
Stain himself narrowed his eyes, gazing at Kentaro and the other eight individuals within the room. He turned his sole focus back onto Kentaro, and gave a stiff nod.
"Kentaro. I hope our discussion won't be too long?"
Kentaro himself had his eyes wandering, gazing over the ceiling and darting among the walls. A brazen smirk appeared on his face. "Depends, really. How long is too long?"
Stain scowled. "I'd rather not be here any longer than I have to be. Scum like you are what I detest. Killing aimlessly; and for what? Nothing long-lasting in the end."
"I'd say otherwise," Kenaro countered. He pulled out a knife and began swiping the air. "I'd say that my past actions have left some rather… earth-shattering results."
Stain growled in impatience. "Kentaro."
"Rude, much?" Kentaro questioned. Though he chuckled right afterwards. "You say you detest us, and yet you debase yourself to even bear the notion of talking to me. I wonder why?"
Stain crossed his arms. "It's the only plausible way I see my plan falling into place successfully. So, can you give me what I want, or what?"
Kentaro sent a look at Stain. "Getting right to the point now, are we? You've got balls, I'll tell you that… In fact, I think I rather like you. Ever fathom a spot with my group if one of us falls to a rather untimely death?"
Stain merely glared.
Kentaro smiled, and nodded. "If that's what you want. But remember where you are. I won't take much for me to wish you dead."
"I'm well aware," Stain responded. "As for what I want."
"Waypoint, right?" Kentaro gestured to the man in question. "You want his services. For what, I can only guess. But… I do have a rather clear idea for what, in my mind."
"I only—"
"Uh-uh!" Kentaro held up a finger. Spare me the details for now. We have virgin ears."
Stain narrowed his eyes. "... Virgin ears."
Kentaro nodded. "I suppose, if I want to be more specific, the walls have ears. Or rather, hundreds of little bugs scattered all across like a fresh splatter of blood."
Stain looked at his surroundings, an appraising look scanning far and wide. "You mean to say that Dragonfly is watching us?"
Kentaro held up a finger. "One moment." He cleared his throat and began speaking to the air. "And yes, Midoriya. 'Oh shit' indeed. Forgot about this little trick, did you? The heat of the moment got to you, perhaps? Though, you might as well stay around. Nothing else important or spoilery is going to be discussed tonight."
Stain merely watched on with restrained interest.
Kentaro chuckled. He then continued playing with his knife, flipping it a couple times in the air before looking back at Stain. "If I were to guess, he followed you here."
Stain blinked. "Huh. Admirable. Though, I shouldn't expect anything less from a boy with such a splendid and righteous character."
"Ah!" Kentaro snapped his fingers. "That's right! You have an interest in Midoriya too, don't you? Funny thing about that, because so do I!"
Stain drummed his fingers against his leg and slowly made their way to the sword on his hip. "Do you now?"
Kentaro nodded. "I'm running a little experiment with him. Trying to see what makes him tick. See if maybe — well, see if I can turn him into one of us." He spread his arms out as he said the last part, quite obviously referring to his group of villains.
Stain frowned. "You wish to turn him into a villain? An immoral, wandering vagrant with no sense of rhyme or reason?" A few seconds of silence reigned before Stain let out a full blown laugh.
"As if. His heroic spirit… it's simply much too powerful to cull. Your experiment is doomed to fail. You're a fool for trying."
Kentaro caught his knife, twirling it in his hands before holding it by the handle, looking at the reflection of himself in the blade.
"And yet again, you so blatantly disrespect me in my own home, however temporary it may be."
Kentaro laughed once more. "I really like you." He made a shooing motion with his hand. "But please, do go now. Before I actually do decide to cut you a little for that last remark. You'll get Waypoint when you need him. Just go."
"Gladly." And just like that, Stain disappeared in a blur, out of the building and into the night. Nobody made a move to follow.
Kentaro himself sighed, a wide smile on his face. "Juicy details, don't you think, Midoriya? Wonder what it all means, hmm?"
Kentaro chuckled. "Waypoint! Next on the list, please."
As his group of murderers began to gather their things up, Kentaro smiled once more, a gesture meant for the eavesdropper in their midst.
"I wonder if you'll be able to solve this one, Izuku. And don't worry, I'm not going back on my word."
He tipped his hat, doing a little twirl with his cane.
"After all, we won't be the one doing the killing."
And then, they were gone.
A/N: Slaughter surprise! More of Kentaro and his merry band of murderers. Their role in the story still stands, after all. Just what are they up to?
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