Cherreads

Chapter 72 - Chapter 72

[72: All Ghillied Up]

(A/N: Rule of cool comes first before everything else. I know this isn't realistic and there are better ways to do it, but it's cool, so therefore this is the best way to do it. Flawless logic.)

⁂

(Earlier, Nighttime)

Two figures moved across the outskirts of Deika City. Though actually being able to see them would be a challenge. Despite it being the outskirts of Deika City, there were still signs of people. It was mostly suburbs being developed and a mix of some agricultural areas, so the population wasn't too high, which was perfect.

They kept moving, blending into the environment. They wore layers. The outer layer completely broke the human shape and silhouette and blended into the environment around them. Specifically, the agricultural parts of the outskirts. The layers they were wearing blended into the farmland and the crops of the fields.

Slowly, they moved deeper into the city, which meant they would stand out more and more.

"Eleanor, where exactly are we going?"

"That one building over there. We'll be able to witness the meeting from up there." She pointed to a building in the distance. It was far, but they would reach it.

The two of them were Eleanor and Lady Nagant.

"I know all this sneaking around is tedious, but this whole city is basically MLA, Kaina. If you see someone here, they're a part of the MLA," Eleanor said.

"Alright."

The two of them kept moving. Once they reached a certain point, they took off another layer. They now wore an outfit less suited for camouflage, but that wouldn't last long. Lady Nagant and Eleanor started attaching things to themselves. Plastic bags, cardboard, cans, and other pieces one would consider garbage.

"Will this really work?" Lady Nagant asked.

"Yes, it will. People naturally and easily spot shapes and straight lines. All this stuff breaks up our human outline with an irregular mess, and quite literally, too. We're literally going to blend into garbage," Eleanor said.

"Alright. It's not the worst part of doing this. The worst part is going to be how hot and clumsy it's going to be to move in this thing." Lady Nagant said.

The two of them finally entered the city from the outskirts. They stuck to alleys and the more rundown parts of the city. Along the way, they picked up additional pieces of garbage from the city and put them on as well. They were truly blending into their specific environment.

As they were about to move out of an alley, they heard footsteps. They quickly lay low; Eleanor lay down on a few bags of garbage, and Lady Nagant sat down against a wall.

The footsteps became louder before a group of people appeared. They talked amongst themselves. Some of them started to throw away trash. And seeing "piles of garbage" already there, a can was thrown carelessly, hitting Eleanor on the head before bouncing off. The group continued walking.

Eleanor and Lady Nagant waited for a few minutes before they started moving again.

"So, Eleanor—" Lady Nagant was stopped by Eleanor.

"Not a word, Kaina. Come on, let's keep moving."

Lady Nagant smirked, and they continued. They made the most of the night cover as much as they could. It was a slow and slightly miserable time getting to the target building.

Every time they had to hide, something unfortunate happened to them. It seemed like a cruel joke at times.

Eleanor and Lady Nagant were still, blending into another alley. Once again, they were blending into trash. They were so close to the target building, but a few people just had to come close again.

"What's with all this trash? I know the alleys aren't exactly clean, but come on."

"Maybe it's overflowing. It's a large city, after all. Not everything can be caught. But don't worry about it too much. Let the city handle it. We'll dump some stuff here."

Two people, carrying a few bags of trash, entered the alley. One of them threw a bag, landing directly on top of where Eleanor was. The bag broke, letting mystery trash juices leak and soak onto Eleanor. The other was thrown directly where Lady Nagant was, but luckily it didn't break.

"Alright, let's leave."

The two people left. Lady Nagant and Eleanor once again moved after a few minutes had passed. Eleanor and Lady Nagant pushed away the bags of trash.

Eleanor winced at the smell. "That sucks. Whatever, let's keep moving." Eleanor slowly got up. It was too late to change what happened, so she could keep moving forward.

As they kept moving, it was starting to get brighter and brighter. The sun was starting to rise.

"We have to speed up," Eleanor said, starting to walk briskly between the alleys. Lady Nagant kept up.

Finally, they reached their destination. Lady Nagant and Eleanor started to remove some of the pieces of trash from their suits. "We're gonna have to go up some stairs and climb a ladder. And it's really high up. So, let's get started."

Lady Nagant and Eleanor started climbing up the stairs of the building. There was some scaffolding around the building. It was currently under construction. Once they reached a certain height, there was a ladder. Even though the multiple flights of stairs were exhausting, they couldn't stop. They started to climb the ladder.

Eventually, they reached the top. When they reached the top of the building, Eleanor let out a quick breath. "My legs are feeling kind of sore."

Lady Nagant followed. When she reached the top, she immediately hunched over, hands on her knees and breathing hard. "How…are you not…breathing hard?" Lady Nagant was panting hard. Under her suit, she was drenched in sweat. She took out a bottle of water and gulped it down quickly.

"Part of my quirk. Come on, we have to go down a flight of stairs this time. It shouldn't be so tiring this time." Eleanor walked to a door to the roof access. Lady Nagant followed. They went down the flight of stairs until they reached the place Eleanor picked out.

When they entered, it was an empty room, not even the smallest amount of furniture. It was still mostly gray concrete and stone. A few panes of glass were installed, but there was one spot empty.

"This is the spot, Kaina. We'll set up here."

"Finally. These parts are the worst." Lady Nagant took off the pieces of trash clinging to her suit. Though it was still bulky, at least it wasn't so much anymore. At least she could be a little cooler and not burn up. And besides, she was thankful that she wasn't the one carrying what Eleanor was carrying.

Eleanor also took off part of her suit, so she could access the case she was carrying. She crouched down and opened it up. In it were two large receivers, the upper and lower, of an anti-material rifle. Along with the receivers, there was a magazine, scope, bipod, and camouflage coating. And besides the rifle, there was another piece of equipment: her helmet.

Eleanor quickly assembled all the parts and loaded the rifle.

"Alright, Kaina, it's ready."

Lady Nagant sighed. "Now for the boring part. Waiting."

⁂

(Present)

Hours passed. Morning came. The entire time, Eleanor and Lady Nagant were prone. Lady Nagant and Eleanor took turns looking through the scope of the rifle. For hours, they had to stay vigilant, with very little opportunity for rest. It was mind-numbingly boring, but necessary. They had a high vantage point, looking down.

It was late afternoon when they finally saw them.

"Eleanor, I see them." Lady Nagant was fully focused this time. She was currently on the rifle.

Eleanor finally put on her helmet and turned it on. The visor instantly lit up. She zoomed in, seeing it clearly. Shigaraki. But also Kurogiri. Those were her main targets.

"Shigaraki, was it? He looks like he's seen better days. He doesn't even look capable of holding a conversation," Lady Nagant muttered as she looked through the scope.

"Well, probably stress and a lot of pressure. I wouldn't be surprised if he did anything drastic during this time," Eleanor said.

"And what about the other side? That guy with the sharp nose, that blue-skinned woman with pale purple hair. Do we ignore them?" Lady Nagant asked.

"We can ignore them. Our main target is Shigaraki. Although…" Eleanor stopped talking and started to think. She thought about it. Assassinating Shigaraki was the priority, but Kurogiri was perhaps just as important. His quirk held immense strategic value. But the problem was how hard a shot that would be. Hitting Kurogiri where he was weak from this distance was a large ask. It was better to go for the human target.

"Although what, Eleanor?"

"Let me think for a bit, Kaina."

"You better think fast because this probably won't happen again."

"I know."

Through the scope, Lady Nagant saw the initial meeting take place. She could see Shigaraki talking to Re-Destro at the foot of a building after they got out of a car. One thing she noticed was that one of his arms looked off compared to the other one. Whether things were going well didn't matter to her.

"Eleanor, they're going to enter soon," Lady Nagant said.

"Kaina, you see Kurogiri? Do you think you could hit that shiny piece of metal on him?"

Lady Nagant responded instantly. "Way too hard. We only have one chance at this, and it's too risky. I'd rather go for the human target."

Eleanor's visor lit up. Multiple trajectories were projected, but they were all based on confidence percentages. The projections for Kurogiri were way too low. Shigaraki had a much higher chance.

Eleanor clenched her fist before calming down. "Go for Shigaraki. Take into account the conditions. There are choppy wind gusts and variable humidity; make sure to take into account the Coriolis effect as well. Use the flag near the entrance to help guide you with the wind speed and direction."

Eleanor relayed as much information as she could to Lady Nagant from her visor. Everything possible to ensure the highest chance of killing Shigaraki.

"Take the shot whenever, Kaina."

More Chapters