Location: Musutafu, Japan – U.A. Academy Front Gates
Time: Morning
FLASH.
CLICK.
Camera shutters fired in rapid succession.
Mirio Togata, Tamaki Amajiki, and Nejire Hado walked down the main sidewalk toward the U.A. front gates.
They wore their UA school uniforms.
A massive crowd of journalists completely blocked the sidewalk.
Microphones attached to long boom poles hovered in the air. Cameramen jostled for position, stepping on each other's shoes to get a clear angle.
An NHA reporter shoved her way to the very front, thrusting a microphone directly into Mirio's face.
"Mirio Togata!" the reporter yelled over the loud crowd. "You took first place in the second-year tournament yesterday! Last year, you failed in the obstacle course and lost your clothes on live television! How do you explain this sudden jump in power?"
CLICK. CLICK.
Taneo Tokuda stood on the side of the mob. He didn't hold a traditional camera. Camera lenses sprouted directly out of his forearms and shoulders.
He snapped photos of the three students rapidly, printing the physical pictures out of his chest.
"Did U.A. hide your true abilities from the public?" Tokuda asked, holding a notepad. "Or did something happen during last year internship?"
"As far as our sources go. You guys changed so much after the 7 days internship." A reporter from Sato X news asked.
"..."
Tamaki stopped walking.
The cameras flashed right in his eyes. Dozens of strangers shouted questions at him at the exact same time.
His social anxiety spiked.
Tamaki pulled his collar up high over his face. He kept his eyes glued to the pavement.
Then his serious face like a brooding Uchiha shows again.
"Too loud," Tamaki mumbled quietly. "Too many people. Why are they looking at me?"
"Hey, the bug guy is talking!" a cameraman shouted. "Point the mic at him!"
"My name is Suneater," Tamaki looked at them.
Nejire floated two inches off the concrete. She spun around, completely unfazed by the cameras.
"Oh! Are those lenses growing out of your arms?" Nejire pointed directly at Tokuda. "That is so cool! Does it hurt when they pop out? Do you need to eat lots of glass to make them work?"
Tokuda blinked, totally caught off guard by the rapid-fire questions coming back at him.
"Uh, no, it's just my natural biology," Tokuda answered, lowering his notepad. "Back to the questions Miss Hado, you're already known as the UA Big Three now. What can you say about that?"
"Of course I'm happy... I already got a good resounding title hehe..." Nejire scratch her head.
Mirio stepped in front of Tamaki, acting as a physical shield against the aggressive reporters.
Mirio flashed his massive, confident smile.
"We didn't hide anything!" Mirio announced loudly. "We failed last year because we lacked control. But we spent our seven-day internship at the Sir Nighteye Agency."
The NHA reporter quickly pushed her microphone closer.
"Sir Nighteye?" she asked. "All Might's former sidekick trained you?"
"Yes!" Mirio nodded brightly. "He fixed our bad habits. And we owe our physical growth entirely to the Golden Manager. Mr. Kaito Arisaka wrote custom quirk development plans for all three of us."
"..."
The entire mob of journalists froze.
The microphones drooped slightly.
"Wait," the NHA reporter gasped, her eyes going wide. "Arisaka Consulting? The firm that charges millions of yen to top-ranking pro heroes?"
"He gave you a custom plan?!" Tokuda yelled, quickly scribbling on his notepad. "For free?!"
The crowd erupted into absolute chaos.
"How did you meet him?!"
"Is the Golden Manager taking on high school clients?!"
"Are you his secret apprentices?!"
The reporters surged forward, completely blocking the path to the school gates.
STOMP.
"GET BACK!"
A booming voice rattled the front gates.
Vlad King marched out of the U.A. security barrier. The large, muscular teacher looked absolutely furious.
He didn't politely ask the press to move. He shoved his massive arms forward, physically pushing three cameramen back onto the public sidewalk.
"This is school property!" Vlad King roared, glaring down at the NHA reporter. "Get those cameras out of my students' faces before I confiscate them!"
The journalists quickly backed up, intimidated by the giant pro hero.
"Hurry up and get inside," Vlad King told the Big 3, holding the mob back with his wide shoulders.
Mirio grabbed Tamaki's arm and pulled him through the gap. Nejire floated happily right behind them.
"Thank you, Vlad King-sensei!" Mirio yelled back.
SIGH.
Tamaki let out a massive sigh of relief as soon as they crossed the metal security barrier, finally safe from the cameras.
"Aaaw. I still wanted to answer some questions.." Nejire complained.
...
Location: Texas – Cow Lady Agency
Time: One Week Later
ZIP.
Kaito pulled the heavy zipper closed on his large black suitcase.
He lifted the bag off the guest bed and dragged it out into the main agency lobby.
Pam, Mark, Dave, Koichi, and Cow Lady stood around the front desk.
"You packed heavy," Mark laughed, pointing at the bulging suitcase.
"I have a lot of souvenirs to drop off in Japan," Kaito replied, setting the bag down near the double doors.
Kaito spent his final week in the United States tying up loose ends.
He visited the family home of Star and Stripe. He also stopped by Captain Celebrity's house. Christopher was busy filming episodes for 'America's Got Quirk' on the west coast, so Kaito spent a few hours catching up with Pamela and their cute son.
Cow Lady walked over and crossed her arms.
"The new patrol routes are working perfectly," Cow Lady said, a genuine smile on her face. "Our response times dropped by four minutes across the board. The local police department actually called to thank us this morning."
"The structural changes to the agency are solid," Kaito nodded. "Keep enforcing the new maintenance schedules. Your national hero ranking will definitely rise by the end of the year."
Cow Lady gave a firm nod.
Kaito turned to Koichi. The young vigilante-turned-hero stood near the desk with his hands in his pockets.
"You are staying here for a few more weeks," Kaito told him.
"Wait, really?" Koichi blinked, completely surprised. "I thought we were flying back to Naruhata together."
"You need to study how the American pro hero system operates," Kaito explained. "Look at their marketing, their public relations, and their collateral damage insurance. Learn the differences. You will need that knowledge when you officially open your own agency back in Japan."
Koichi straightened his posture and nodded. "Got it. I'll take notes on everything."
Dave leaned against the front desk and grinned.
"So, are you going to start fighting mercenaries full-time when you get back?" Dave joked. "That Space Expo video has fifty million views online. People are calling you the real Texas Smash."
Pam laughed and shoved Dave's shoulder.
"Normal managers don't throw heavy rifle magazines around concrete pillars by curving, Kaito," Mark added, shaking his head.
"You're move is very the same as Snipe in Japan?" another member of the agency joined in.
"Dude... You forgot Mr. Kaito almost contracted all famous pros in Japan. He should have thought that to them."
"If that's the case can we also learn that? Bending throws without any quirk is really cool."
"Keep dreaming." another one teased him back
"I have too many souvenirs to hand out right now," Kaito joked back to the agency personel, grabbing the handle of his suitcase. "No time for martial arts actions and training."
"We'll take that bag," Dave said, walking over and grabbing the handle.
"The vans are running out back," Pam smiled, holding the double doors open. "We are all riding to the airport. We're giving you a proper Texas send-off."
Kaito smiled. He followed the loud, joking crew out the back doors toward the parked agency vehicles.
...
Location: Unknown Dummy Hideout
Time: Night
HUMMM.
Heavy machinery sounded inside the dark, rusted warehouse.
CLANG. CLANG. CLANG.
A middle-aged man sat at a metal workbench. He wore a dirty white lab coat.
His hands shook violently as he soldered a thick bundle of red wires into the back of a heavy, metallic helmet.
He was the lead scientist from I-Island.
Wolfram stood directly behind him. The villain wore his dark red suit. He kept his arms crossed, watching the soldering iron closely.
"I... I finished it," the scientist stammered, dropping the soldering iron onto the bench.
He wiped sweat off his forehead with a trembling hand. "The Quirk Amplification Device is completely operational. Please. You promised you wouldn't hurt my family."
Wolfram didn't answer right away.
"My men are sitting outside your mother's house right now," Wolfram said, his voice cold and metallic behind his face mask. "They know exactly what school your daughter attends."
"It is true. I didn't sabotage it." The scientist swallowed hard, tears welling up in his eyes.
"You better be..." Wolfram turned away from the bench.
He pulled a secure satellite phone from his pocket and checked the screen.
No new messages.
Flect Turn still hadn't replied about the God Serum. The Humarise leader was dragging his feet on the deal.
Wolfram sneered.
Wolfram picked up the heavy metal helmet from the workbench.
He pulled it over his head. The thick wires connected to a battery pack strapped to his back.
CLICK.
Wolfram pressed the activation button on the side of the helmet.
VMMMM.
A bright red light glowed along the wiring.
"Hehehe... HAHAHA."
Wolfram felt a massive, immediate surge of power flood his veins.
His quirk didn't just feel stronger; it felt completely unrestrained.
He raised his right hand and pointed at a thick steel support beam holding up the warehouse ceiling thirty feet away.
Wolfram just twisted his wrist slightly.
SCREECH. CRACK.
The massive steel beam groaned loudly. It violently twisted into a tight knot of crushed metal, completely warping the structural integrity of the warehouse roof.
Swordkil and Daigo stood near the back wall.
"Shiit."
"Boss is so strong now!"
They watched the steel beam crush itself. Their eyes went wide.
"Boss," Daigo stepped forward, looking completely amazed. "The output is insane. You didn't even try."
Wolfram lowered his hand. He breathed steadily. The helmet worked flawlessly.
"With this," Wolfram stated coldly. "We can do things much more easily."
Daigo looked at Swordkil, then looked back at Wolfram.
"If the device is ready, Boss," Daigo asked carefully. "Are we going to hit the prison? Are we getting Nobu and the others back?"
Wolfram looked at Daigo.
"Nobu is weak," Wolfram said bluntly. "He lost to a manager in a polo shirt. I don't care what happens to him."
Daigo frowned, looking down at the concrete floor.
"However," Wolfram added, walking past the trembling scientist. "That prison penitentiary is a reinforced, maximum-security government facility. It is heavily guarded by armed military police and pro heroes."
"So that's it..." Swordkil mumbled and grinned, catching on to the plan.
"It is the perfect live-fire test," Wolfram decided, looking at his metal-plated hands.
...
Location: Kashiwa Ward, Japan – Arisaka Consulting Building
Time: Morning
DING.
The elevator doors slid open on the top floor.
Kaito walked down the quiet hallway and pushed the glass doors to his office open.
He had already spent the last two days traveling across the city.
He handed out souvenirs to Grandma Saki. He dropped off gifts for Kimiko, Kenji, and their little daughter, Emmy, at the Golden Bites headquarters.
He met up with Makoto, Kazuho, Soga, Rapt and Moyuro in Naruhata, and finally gave the last few items to the Iwao and his family.
Right now...
He was finally back at work.
Kaito walked over to his large desk and sat down in his leather chair.
The computer monitors on his desk booted up automatically.
[Welcome back, Boss,] Eve greeted him. The AI's calm voice played through the hidden office speakers.
"Morning, Eve," Kaito said, logging into the secure network. "What does the backlog look like?"
[You have three hundred and forty-two pending requests for consultation,] Eve reported instantly. [Seventy percent are generic agency overhaul requests. However, I flagged one specific priority email from a private client.]
Kaito leaned back in his chair. "Who is the client?"
[The Yaoyorozu family,] Eve answered. [They sent the email directly through the encrypted portal. They are requesting a full, dedicated Quirk Development Plan for their daughter, Momo Yaoyorozu.]
Kaito rubbed his chin.
The timeline shifts were getting massive.
Kaito's reputation was too strong. First Endeavor reached out. Then the Iida family. Now the Yaoyorozu family wanted to secure his services years early.
"Did they list a budget for the contract?" Kaito asked.
[They did not list a number,] Eve replied. [They attached a digitally signed blank check to the file. They stated money is completely irrelevant. They want the absolute best optimization for her quirk.]
Kaito thought about Momo's quirk.
Creation was arguably one of the most broken abilities in the entire world, but it required an insane amount of active memorization.
She had to know the exact atomic structure and chemical makeup of whatever she wanted to build.
More importantly, she needed to burn through her body's lipid cells to generate the mass.
If she ran out of fat, she couldn't create anything.
"She needs a strict dietary plan for rapid lipid conversion," Kaito muttered to himself, already visualizing the biological blueprints.
[Shall I decline the contract?] Eve asked.
"No," Kaito smiled. "Accept it. Send them a reply. Tell them I will take the contract."
[Reply sent,] Eve confirmed a second later.
Kaito cracked his knuckles. He rested his hands on the keyboard.
"Eve," Kaito said. "Update the main website portal. Officially mark Arisaka Consulting as open for business."
[Updating server status,] Eve noted.
"And open the ten online slots for the monthly contracts," Kaito added.
[The ten slots are now live on the public dashboard,] Eve confirmed.
Kaito smiled, looking at the glowing monitors. He was back in Japan.
...
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(9 Advanced Chapters)