Location: US Airspace – Military Jet
Date: Monday | 11:00 AM (EST)
RUMBLE.
The steady vibration of the jet engines hummed through the cabin.
Kaito sat in the wide leather seat, looking out the reinforced window.
The deep blue of the Atlantic Ocean was finally breaking apart, giving way to the grey coastline of the United States.
He didn't have his usual spreadsheets open on his tablet today.
Kaito was looking at a thick digital file Ethan had sent him.
BZZZT.
"We're crossing into US airspace, Arisaka," Ethan's voice crackled over the intercom speaker above the seat. "About twenty minutes out from the base. You didn't sleep for the whole twelve hours. You really are a machine, aren't you?"
Kaito tapped the screen, scrolling past a black-and-white photograph of a ruined city.
"I was reviewing the historical files you sent over," Kaito said.
"The origin of the Hero System?" Ethan chuckled over the radio. "That's high school history class stuff. Just a bunch of old dates and dead politicians."
"It is the diagnostic history of your current problem, Ethan," Kaito replied.
He looked at the timeline on his screen.
The first Quirk appeared in Qing Qing City, China. A glowing baby. Then the powers spread.
But reading the actual, unedited historical documents painted a much uglier picture.
When Quirks first appeared, society didn't just panic.
It completely fractured. Superhuman abilities tore right through the normal justice system.
The police couldn't stop them. The military was too slow. The world entered a violent, chaotic period.
"Your country was the first to pull itself out of the mud," Kaito noted, leaning closer to the intercom mic. "While the rest of the world was burning, the United States made a desperate move. Rhode Island. The first state to legalize state-sanctioned vigilantism."
"Yeah," Ethan's voice came back, sounding a bit more serious now. "They created the first 'Pro Heroes'. It was a brutal, trial-by-fire system. People with strong Quirks were basically given a badge and told to go wild to keep the peace. It worked. Kept the country from tearing itself apart."
"And Japan, Europe, and the rest of the world eventually copied that American blueprint to save their own countries," Kaito finished.
"So what's your point, Manager?"
"My point is that you wrote the original rules," Kaito said. "But because your system is the oldest, it also carries the most dead weight. In Japan, a hero agency operates like a private firm. They have too much freedom. But America did the opposite."
Kaito swiped to the next page, showing a dense web of military chain-of-command flowcharts.
"You integrated your heroes directly into the military structure to survive the early days," Kaito continued. "And you never separated them. Now, you have a bloated, ancient bureaucracy. You force your top heroes to act like soldiers instead of independent operators."
SIGH.
Ethan let out a dry, heavy sigh over the radio.
"You hit the nail right on the head, Arisaka. The Pentagon treats our squadron like a sub-branch of the Air Force. Cassie is the Number Two Hero in the country, but she spends more time arguing with generals for permission to engage than she does actually fighting villains."
"Because they don't see her as a hero," Kaito stated bluntly. "They see her Quirk as a weapon of mass destruction. And weapons require launch codes."
"Exactly," Ethan said. "That's why we flew to Japan to get you. We need someone who isn't afraid to cut the red tape. If Cassie has to fill out one more requisition form just to use her power on the ground, she's going to lose her mind."
Kaito turned his tablet off and slipped it into his black briefcase.
He understood the assignment now. He wasn't just coming here to fix a local agency's patrol routes.
He was walking into the birthplace of the global hero society. He had to audit the original blueprint.
VOOOOM.
The military jet banked slightly to the left, beginning its final descent toward New York.
_-_-_-_-_
Location: Singapore – Lion City Hero Agency
Date: Tuesday | 12:00 AM (SGT)
CLACK.
The glass door to the main office slid open. A tired-looking intelligence analyst walked in, holding a digital tablet.
Big Red Dot, the massive, lion-headed Pro Hero, sat behind his mahogany desk.
He was looking out at the bright city lights of Singapore, holding a heavy mug of black coffee.
"You're working late, Boss," the analyst said, walking over and setting the tablet directly on the desk.
"The maritime smuggling routes don't sleep," Big Red Dot grumbled. He turned his large chair around to face the desk. "What do you have for me?"
"The Japanese Hero Public Safety Commission just updated their international registry," the analyst explained. "We usually just skim the public filings, but a specific name got flagged by our automated filters."
Big Red Dot picked up the tablet. He squinted at the glowing screen.
"Arisaka Kaito," Big Red Dot read out loud. He rubbed his thick chin. "The civilian consultant. The one the Japanese media is calling the Golden Manager."
"Yes, sir," the analyst nodded. "The guy who completely overhauled the Best Jeanist and Endeavor agencies over the last six months. Our analysts have been studying his zero-collateral damage metrics."
"Did he sign with a European agency? Or cross over to South Korea?" Big Red Dot asked, taking a sip of his coffee.
"No," the analyst said, shaking his head. "He left Japan entirely. He signed with the United States. Specifically, with Cathleen Bate. Star and Stripe's military squadron."
Big Red Dot stopped chewing on the rim of his mug. He slowly lowered his coffee and stared at his analyst.
"America?" the lion hero asked. His deep voice was filled with absolute confusion.
"A three-month exclusive contract, according to the filing," the analyst confirmed.
Big Red Dot set the tablet down and leaned back in his heavy chair.
"America has the largest defense budget on the planet," Big Red Dot said, crossing his thick, muscular arms. "The Pentagon has thousands of military analysts and tactical supercomputers. They practically wrote the book on modern hero logistics."
"That's exactly what the team in the intel room said," the analyst agreed.
"So why in the world is their Number Two hero outsourcing her ground operations to a twenty-something kid from Musutafu?" Big Red Dot asked.
"Maybe they want a fresh perspective?" the analyst offered weakly.
"Military generals don't ask for fresh perspectives from foreign civilians," Big Red Dot replied flatly. "They hate outsiders touching their toys. Cathleen Bate must have forced this contract through the chain of command herself."
Big Red Dot picked up the tablet again, looking at the small ID photo of the young man in the grey vest.
It didn't make him scared of a looming conflict. It just made him incredibly curious.
"Keep an eye on the American hero rankings for the next three months," Big Red Dot ordered, handing the tablet back. "I want to see exactly what this Japanese kid does to a United States military base."
_-_-_-_-_-_
Location: Cairo, Egypt – Papyrus Agency Headquarters
Date: Monday | 06:00 PM (EGT)
BEEP.
A small notification popped up on the secondary monitor in the Papyrus Agency command center.
Pro Hero Salaam stood in the middle of the room. He turned sideways to squeeze between two crowded server racks, his two-dimensional, paper-thin body sliding through the narrow gap before turning flat toward the monitors again.
"Sir, take a look at this filing from the American sector," a senior analyst said, scratching his head. "It's a bit weird."
Salaam walked over and stood behind the analyst's chair. "What is it? A new hero exchange program?"
"No," the analyst replied, pointing at a digital form on the screen. "Star and Stripe's military squadron just filed a three-month foreign contractor pass. But it's not for a Pro Hero. It's for a Japanese civilian."
Salaam rubbed his chin, looking at the name on the document.
"Arisaka Kaito," Salaam read. "Who is that?"
The analyst clicked his mouse, pulling up a basic profile from the Japanese hero forums.
"He's a manager. He runs a private consulting firm in Minato Ward. Looks like he did some recent logistics work for Best Jeanist and Endeavor."
"A civilian manager," Salaam repeated, sounding genuinely puzzled. "Are you sure this isn't a typo?"
"The United States Department of Defense stamped it," the analyst said.
Salaam crossed his arms. He looked at the small ID photo of the young man in the grey vest.
"America has the largest military complex in the world," Salaam said, his voice full of confusion. "The Pentagon has thousands of tactical analysts and generals who specialize in hero deployment. Why in the world would Cathleen Bate outsource her base operations to a twenty-something kid from Japan?"
"Maybe he's a highly specific specialist?" the analyst offered. "Japan's domestic rankings have shifted a lot lately."
"Even so, the US military hates outsiders touching their operations," Salaam noted. "Especially a foreign civilian without a hero license. It doesn't make any sense."
"Should I flag it as a priority?" the analyst asked.
"No, just log it," Salaam decided, turning away from the monitor. "It's probably just some weird bureaucratic experiment. But keep an eye on their squad's clearance rates for the next few weeks. I want to know what this kid is actually doing over there."
_-_-_-_-_-_
Location: Star and Stripe Military Installation
SCREEECH.
The jet tires hit the concrete runway. The plane taxied toward a massive cluster of hangars and came to a stop.
Kaito grabbed his single black suitcase and walked down the steps onto the tarmac.
The wind was strong. It smelled heavily of jet fuel and salt from the nearby coast.
The base was enormous.
Rows of advanced X-66 fighter jets were parked in neat lines.
Hundreds of military personnel in fatigues moved cargo, drove tugs, and ran maintenance checks.
Ethan walked down the steps right behind Kaito, carrying his duffel bag.
"Welcome to New York, Arisaka," Ethan grinned. He pointed toward a group of people waiting near a pair of military jeeps. "Come meet the Bros."
Kaito walked over. It wasn't just two people waiting.
It was a crew of about eight pilots in dark green flight suits. They were leaning against the vehicles, holding coffee cups, and talking loudly. It was a full fleet vanguard, and they clearly had a tight, brotherly bond.
They stopped talking and turned to look at Kaito as he approached.
A tall, lanky man with glasses stepped forward first. He had a serious look on his face, but he offered a firm handshake.
"Timothy," he said simply. "I handle the radar arrays and the data links for the squadron."
"Kaito Arisaka," Kaito replied, shaking his hand.
Next to Timothy was a woman with short dark hair and a sharp, observant gaze. She leaned against the jeep and gave Kaito a friendly smirk.
"Kashiko," she introduced herself. "Lead wingman on the left flank. Wow, you're fluent in English."
Kaito said. "It's all right, I just practiced it in my free time"
Kashiko laughed. "Humble. I like it."
A heavily built pilot in the back with a thick beard raised his coffee cup. "If you can get the brass to approve our new thruster upgrades, we'll buy your drinks for the next three months."
"Don't scare him off on day one, Jackson," Ethan laughed, clapping the big pilot on the shoulder.
Step. Step. Step.
The casual, brotherly atmosphere completely died.
A tall, older man with grey hair and a chest full of military medals marched toward them.
He wore a crisp Air Force uniform. Two armed military aides walked right behind him.
Ethan, Timothy, Kashiko, and the rest of the pilots immediately stood up straight. They put their coffee cups down on the hoods of the jeeps.
"Admiral Agpar," Ethan greeted, giving a short salute.
The Admiral didn't look at Ethan. He stopped directly in front of Kaito. He looked Kaito up and down, clearly unimpressed by the civilian grey suit and the single suitcase.
"So. This is the kid Cassie dragged across the ocean," Admiral Agpar said. His voice was gravelly and stern. "Let me make something clear right now, Mr. Arisaka. You might play games with the flashy pro over in Japan, but this is a United States military installation. We don't do PR stunts here. We do national defense."
"...."
Agpar stepped a little closer, trying to use his height and his rank to intimidate Kaito.
"If you get in the way of my pilots, or if you disrupt the chain of command, I will put you on the next cargo plane back to Tokyo. Understood?"
"...."
Kaito didn't flinch.
He just looked past the Admiral's shoulder toward the runway.
"Admiral Agpar," Kaito said, his voice completely level. "Your fueling trucks are parked on the eastern grid line."
Agpar frowned, confused by the sudden change in topic. "What?"
Kaito pointed a finger at a row of heavy green fuel trucks parked near the hangars.
"If a scramble order comes in right now, your X-66 fighter jets cannot taxi straight to the runway. The pilots have to wait for the fuel trucks to manually reverse out of the safety lane," Kaito explained plainly. "I timed it from the air. That parking arrangement adds exactly ninety seconds to your emergency launch time."
Kaito looked directly into the Admiral's eyes.
"In an active villain crisis, ninety seconds means the villain travels another mile. It means a dozen more casualties. Your strict military chain of command is currently delaying your own pilots because someone was too lazy to paint a loading zone on the concrete."
"....."
"....."
The wind howled across the tarmac.
Admiral Agpar stood completely frozen.
He opened his mouth to yell, but nothing came out. He looked back at the fueling trucks.
"Is... is he right?" Agpar snapped at his aide.
The aide checked a tablet frantically, his face turning pale. "Uh. Yes, sir. The eastern grid blocks the primary taxi route."
Agpar looked back at Kaito. His face turned slightly red.
The big, bad military intimidation tactic had just been completely dismantled by basic logistics.
Pfft.
Kashiko covered her mouth, trying desperately to hide a laugh.
Timothy looked down at his boots, a massive grin breaking across his usually serious face. In the back, Jackson and the other pilots coughed loudly into their hands to hide their snickering. Ethan just cleared his throat loudly.
"Eheem!"
"Move the damn trucks," Agpar growled at his aide. He turned around and marched away without saying another word.
"Oh man," Ethan laughed out loud the second the Admiral was out of earshot. "You didn't even blink! He's been yelling at us about those trucks for a month, but he's the one who signed off on the parking grid!"
"You just made a whole fleet of new best friends, Arisaka," Kashiko smirked, slapping Kaito on the shoulder. "Come on. Cassie is waiting inside."
_-_-_-_-_-_
Location: Main Hangar – Sector B
CLANG.
The heavy side door of the hangar opened.
Kaito walked inside with the squad.
The interior was massive, filled with tools, spare jet engines, and diagnostic computers.
Standing in the center of the room, talking to a mechanic, was a woman who looked like she could bench-press a tank.
She wore a dark blue and red flight suit. Her blonde hair was tied back, and she stood well over six feet tall.
Cathleen Bate. Star and Stripe.
She turned around when she heard the door. A massive, bright smile completely took over her face.
"Hey! The flight made it!" Cathleen boomed. Her voice echoed off the metal walls.
She walked over with long, confident strides and grabbed Kaito's hand, giving it a firm, incredibly strong shake.
"Kaito Arisaka. It is great to finally meet you in person," Cathleen said. "I'm Cathleen. Welcome to the States."
"Thank you, Ms. Cathleen," Kaito said, pulling his hand back before he lost circulation. "The base is impressive."
"It's loud, it's messy, and it smells like oil, but it's home," Cathleen laughed.
She waved her hand, dismissing the squad. "Ethan, go get yourselves lunch. I'll show our guest around."
The Bros nodded and headed out, leaving Kaito and Cathleen alone in the massive hangar.
Cathleen started walking toward the back of the facility, gesturing for Kaito to follow.
"So," Cathleen said, shoving her hands into her pockets. "I know Christopher Skyline is probably crying right now because I stole his favorite manager."
"He called me from the runway," Kaito said honestly.
"Haha! I knew it," Cathleen laughed loud and hard. "Don't mind him. He's a problematic guy, he just likes the spotlight. I don't care about the cameras."
She looked at Kaito. Her smile faded a little, turning into a more grounded, serious expression.
"I hired you because I read the reports on what you did on the pro heroes on Japan, including Best Jeanist and Endeavor. You didn't just tell them to punch harder. You changed the way they think about the job."
"I optimized their environment so they could do their job without fighting their own agencies," Kaito corrected.
Cathleen nodded slowly. "Exactly. Japan puts its heroes on a pedestal. Here in America, the government treats us like soldiers. I have a military rank. I have to report to the Pentagon. Half the time, I can't even use my Quirk to save someone without getting clearance from a general first."
They walked past a massive F-35 jet sitting on blocks.
"It's heavy," Cathleen admitted, her voice dropping lower. "The public thinks it's all laser beams and catching bad guys. They don't see the budget meetings. They don't see the red tape. I just want to help people, Kaito. But the rules of this base make it so damn hard to just do the right thing quickly."
Kaito looked at her.
He didn't see the Number Two Hero of America. He saw someone who was tired of fighting the very system that was supposed to support her.
"Both systems are flawed," Kaito said calmly. "Japan expects perfection from human beings. America expects military obedience from civilians. Both systems forget that you are just people trying to do a job."
Cathleen stopped walking. She looked down at the young man in the grey suit.
"...."
She had expected a cold, corporate calculator. She expected someone who just wanted to talk about money and stats.
But Kaito understood the actual, human weight of the industry.
A genuine, deeply respectful smile returned to her face.
"You get it," Cathleen said softly. "You really get it. That's exactly why I want you here. At first, I just wanted you to help me with my quirk and give me suggestions but I changed my mind and wanted you not only to look at my ground operations but also at how I use my Quirk, New Order. Tell me what I'm doing wrong. Tell me how to cut the red tape so my squad can just fly."
Kaito pulled a fresh notebook from his inside pocket. He clicked his pen.
"We start with your communications grid," Kaito said, stepping comfortably into his element. "The civilian police dispatch is currently separated from your military radar..."
Cathleen grinned.
She leaned against a toolbox, listening to him break down the base's flaws with surgical precision.
They clicked instantly. It felt like talking to an old friend who finally understood the specific struggles she faced every single day.
_-_-_-_-_-_
Location: The Runway
WEE-WOO. WEE-WOO.
The red emergency lights inside the hangar suddenly started spinning.
The loud, piercing wail of the air traffic alarms blared across the entire base.
"What the hell?" Cathleen frowned, pushing off the toolbox. "We don't have any scheduled drills today."
BOOOOOM.
A massive sonic boom rattled the metal walls of the hangar. Dust shook loose from the ceiling rafters.
Kaito didn't panic, but he did take a step back as the heavy hangar doors began to rattle on their tracks.
Outside on the runway, something had just landed with the force of a meteor.
"Did we just get attacked?" Cathleen asked, her muscles tensing up.
"No," Kaito sighed, closing his notebook. "Probably not"
The side door of the hangar burst open.
Ethan ran inside, looking completely bewildered. He pointed a thumb over his shoulder toward the runway.
"Boss! You're not going to believe this," Ethan panted. "Someone just crashed the airspace. He ignored FAA protocols completely."
Heavy, marching footsteps echoed from the outside.
Through the open door, a man wearing a bright blue and red hero suit stomped into the hangar.
His cape was torn, his hair was a mess from flying across the globe at top speed, and he looked incredibly annoyed.
Captain Celebrity.
Christopher Skyline marched right past Ethan, ignoring the blaring alarms. He stopped ten feet away from Cathleen and Kaito.
He pointed a dramatic, accusing finger directly at Kaito.
"I told you I was coming back!" Christopher yelled, panting heavily. "You didn't think I'd actually do it, did you?!"
"....."
Cathleen stared at Christopher. Then, she burst into loud, uncontrollable laughter. She slapped her knee, echoing through the hangar.
"Hahaha! Christopher! You flew all the way from Tokyo just to crash my runway?!" Cathleen laughed. "Are you that insecure about your ranking?"
"Shut up, Cassie!" Christopher snapped, his face turning red. He looked at Kaito. "I'm staying right here. You aren't giving her any secrets you didn't give me right?!"
"...."
Kaito just stared at the massive, pouting hero.
He rubbed the bridge of his nose, feeling a headache starting to form right behind his eyes.
He had just wanted a quiet, professional environment to fix some logistics.
"This is going to be a very long three months," Kaito muttered softly.
.....
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