Chapter Text
When Toshinori came back Sunday evening, he found Usagi, Chibiusa, and Mamoru all asleep on the couch.
It had been a long day for him, he had to almost exceed his time limit, plus he helped with clean-up in his small form before the long trip home, but he had the feeling the kids' afternoon had been just as bad.
Luna confirmed this much in hushed tones as soon as he was back, so he merely draped the biggest blanket he could find on the three kids, sent a message to Midoriya-shonen to confirm he was fine and back home - or at least on his way there - then started the dinner.
A double gasp from the living room let him know the two older kids were awake and he stuck his head out the door.
«Hello sleepyheads»
«Papa!» Usagi exclaimed, almost falling from the couch in her rush to get up without disentangling from the cover. Chibiusa muttered something in her sleep at the blanket being ripped from her, at which Mamoru pulled it back in place.
«When did you come back?»
«Not long ago, half an hour top. Luna-san told me about the attack, are you alright?»
«Just tired» was the reply from the girl «Are you?»
He dismissed the concern with a wave of his hand «The usual. Dinner's almost ready, wake Chibiusa-shojo, you shouldn't skip meals at your age. You too, Chiba-shonen» he said and retired back in the kitchen.
«Again that dream» Usagi whispered, so only Mamoru could hear «And it's worse every time. The god of destruction and the Talismans»
«I know. We'll have to figure out soon what's going on» was his reply, just as worried.
The two nodded in understanding and gently coaxed their future daughter to get up. The gloom didn't leave them, but they didn't know what to do about it if not conceal it at the best they could.
«Was it a bad fight, Toshi-papa?» Chibiusa asked once at the table, still half-asleep.
«Not really, the worst part was the collateral damage. I had to stay behind for the assessment of it all or the agency won't be able to have a good esteem of reparations. Trusting insurance companies or lawyers with it is a bad idea, on average»
«So that's what you do when you act as your own secretary?» Usagi asked between morsels.
«More or less, yes» he shrugged then clapped his hands «Enough about me, you know you'll have to fill out your first intervention form, yes?»
«A what?»
«The paperwork Heroes have to share with each other and the police for their every intervention» he explained «It's only a handful of info: time, place, type of event, this kind of stuff. Even Provisionals have to do that»
«Sounds like a hassle»
«Bureaucracy always is, my girl. Perks of the civilized world. There were times when I was swamped with paperwork. Well, I still am at times» he laughed it off.
«How did you manage when you did more than a hundred interventions per day?» Mamoru wondered.
«A hundred?!» the two girls shouted in unison.
«Even rescuing a cat from a tree, or stopping a bag-snatcher requires a form to be filled» Toshinori sighed and added: «I had someone who filed most of them for me. After he left, Tsukauchi helped me. My time limit did its part too in the last few years»
«And yet you manage to fall behind anyway» Luna shook her head «I'll help you with the form, Usagi-chan, Artemis will deal with the others'. We saw how they have to be done»
«Thank you, Luna»
They finished eating in companionable silence, then Mamoru insisted on cleaning up and Chibiusa volunteered to help.
«Ah, before I forget, Tsukauchi said he'll drop by tomorrow, I guess it's either about the conference with the Heroes and police or about your exam» Toshinori said.
«Or both» Chibiusa mused.
«Or both» he conceded «Still, you'll have to be ready, it'll be your first official contact with the lawforce, and there will be a lot of work to do»
«Great» Usagi groaned.
On Monday, during lunch break, Luna was at Yuuei, in the small office next to the one of the headmaster, who had just ended a call.
«That bad?» Luna inquired when Nedzu strolled in, followed by All Might.
«Yes and no. Could you please put me in contact with your team, Luna-san?»
She nodded and called the girls on the communicators' non-emergency phone line. It took some of them a moment to answer, Makoto and Ami were the first, followed by Minako, then Usagi, and Rei for last. Luna, who knew the schools the girls attended had slightly different lunch hours, didn't comment on it but let Nedzu get to the point.
«I have good news and bad news» the principal said after his greetings.
«Uh, bad first?» Usagi said after an audible gulp.
«The HPSC forbade any kind of press conference or official statement to get to the public about the daimons»
«Can they?» Makoto wondered.
«Unfortunately, yes. They believe divulging publicly the nature of the daimons could cause unnecessary panic among the population, therefore they want only Heroes and police forces to be in the known»
«This may not be for the worst» Minako commented «What about the good one?»
«The good is that many Heroes accepted to nevertheless meet you to hear what you want to say. It seems that word of what you did in Hosu and at your exam spread in the circles, and many were impressed by your skills and will to put yourselves on the right track»
«So, when can it be?» Artemis asked from Minako's line.
«If it's alright for you, in two days. I could speed it up and have it tomorrow if you prefer, but some people may need to clear their schedules and so forth, so I daresay two days from now will be optimal to convey both the urgency of the matter and the will to meet the needs of your counterparts»
There was a moment of silent debate, then Artemis replied: «Two days is fine»
«Very well, I'll make the necessary preparations. I assume you'd prefer it in the late afternoon»
«That would be perfect, Nedzu-sensei, thank you» Ami replied.
«It's my pleasure. I'll send Luna-san the details to forward to you as soon as I have them finalized»
Detective Tsukauchi arrived in the late afternoon, with a pendrive, a stack of papers, and the request to be put in contact with the rest of the Sailor Senshi.
He too had been updated on the soon-to-be press conference, which he approved of, and he also congratulated Usagi and Chibiusa on their passing the Provisional License Exam.
Izuku, who was there as well, was pulled into the conversation as soon as Toshinori mentioned the boy had been present at the last attack of the Death Busters and, therefore not allowed to leave until he too contributed to the talk.
«I have what you asked me» Tsukauchi slid the pendrive to Toshinori while they waited for all the girls to connect to their safeline.
Usagi looked at her father as if to ask what the detective meant.
«I wanted the recordings of your exam. Given a Villain attack happened during it, the police were allowed to share it with me» which wasn't a total lie, the drive contained the video of the whole thing, but also other information related to other cases, nothing he wanted the kids to worry about.
«Unfortunately, there isn't much,» Tsukauchi said «As usual, your faces are blurred, your voices are altered or covered, and this goes for the Villain as well»
«The Witch too?»
The detective nodded «We gathered the statements of the examiners since it would have taken too long to question all of the examinees as well, but the accounts are all the same»
Soon enough, Artemis announced they were all connected.
«Do you happen to have been able to gather some clues about the Death Busters' identities and organization?» Tsukauchi asked.
The one to answer was, expectedly, Ami: «Very little. It seems like they have some kind of internal level system when it comes to their hierarchy. The Witches, who evoke and control the daimons, above them, someone called Magus, and one they say is their Master, at least that's what I could gather from Eudial and Viluy's speeches»
«You understood this much from two lines? Amazing as always!» Usagi cooed.
«Ah!» Izuku exclaimed, «The one yesterday said she wanted to take me to Magus Kaolinite, if it can be of help...»
«She wanted to kidnap you?» Toshinori almost jumped up.
«I guess? Because I'm resistant or something» the boy trailed off, unsure of the actual motives.
«That's worrisome, my boy!»
«But it didn't happen, so it's fine. And I don't think the Villain had time to report to his superiors about me since she's, uh...»
Toshinori shook his head «This is the second time someone tries to abduct you, my boy. I'm starting to think we should put a tracker on you, just in case»
«Please, All Might, don't joke about that!» the boy whined.
Usagi shook her head «I'm not sure he was joking, Izukun»
«Back to topic, please» Tsukauchi called them back to order «What you said indicates the line of command is short. That's a good thing, usually»
«How so?»
«The more articulate the chain is, the harder is it to identify the big fishes, so to speak»
«Perhaps there are ramifications we don't know of, though» Rei reasoned.
«We also have to be prepared for the eventuality the two Witches we defeated will be replaced» Ami added.
«Is it possible?»
«Hard to say, not knowing what those "levels" they speak of mean and how many underlings they may have. Not to mention...»
«Yes?»
Ami shook her head «I don't have any kind of proof to support this theory at the moment, if and when I'll be able to prove it, I'll let you know, for the moment being I'd rather not speak of it»
«If it can be of help for the investigations-»
«I don't think we'll need it in the immediate future, Tsukauchi-san, I'm going to share everything that could be useful, but working on a baseless suspicion could throw us off»
Tsukauchi frowned a bit, but had to acknowledge the girl may have a point, he too had seen investigations getting led astray by the wrong base assumption and he let the topic drop, for the moment being «About that, do you have an established date for the conference yet?»
«Yes, Nedzu-san helped us set it in two days» Usagi informed him.
«That's good. Then I have to go, I'll try to be there» he got up, ready to leave.
«Ah, Tsukauchi, could you give a lift to Midoriya-shonen up to the train station?» Toshinori asked.
The other man nodded «Of course, I'm going in that direction anyway»
«T-there is no need, really...»
«My boy, I wasn't joking when I said I'm concerned. It's late and you had a tiring day with today's training, I'd rather you not be alone if it can be avoided»
«Oh, uh... thank you, then» he quickly packed his things, a bit worried about his mentor's stance. Was All Might really convinced someone could kidnap him, or even want to? Sure, his face was made public during the Sports Festival, but wasn't that a reason for more safety since everyone knew he was a Yuuei student? Common Villains surely wouldn't attempt to go against the top Hero school of Japan and high-level ones wouldn't be stopped by a single police officer.
But then again, perhaps it was more to make All Might less antsy than actually needed. In the same way, his mother always asked him to keep her updated on where he was when he wasn't at school.
It was a nice feeling, one that greatly surpassed any worry, so, even if he still felt undeserving of such attentions, he took them in stride.
On the day of the press conference-turned-meeting, Usagi, Chibiusa, and Makoto took the train back to Tokyo as soon as school was over, along with Toshinori who had some business at the Might Tower, or so he said.
«My girls, are you sure you don't want me to be present?» he asked before they got to the station.
Usagi shook her head «If you come with us, someone may connect All Might and the Sailor Senshi and start asking questions we don't want to answer. One thing is a joined intervention like last month, another is to show up together»
«Besides, it's not like you need to come, no? This is only to spread awareness to the ones who don't know anything about it» Makoto noted.
«Nedzu-san won't attend either» Luna added «And I think it's better that way, the girls need to gain a reputation on their own, away from any possibility of being accused of nepotism or sketchy cover ups»
He hesitated. The thing was: he knew his colleagues and he could guess that, while some of them would be willing to accept any help, several others were too proud to listen or had a bias against Vigilantes - Endeavor, for instance, checked both boxes - and All Might's open support could smooth down things. Well, maybe not with Endeavor, who was, for some reason, always hostile towards All Might, but the Symbol of Peace had a good bit of influence on the others, on average.
Nevertheless, the girls insisted there was no need for him to be present, so off they went without him.
Well, without All Might in his full glory, because Toshinori was going. Even if he had to be there as sickly secretary Yagi, hiding on the sidelines.
The meeting room they were going to use belonged to Tokyo's police forces, in a building that hosted offices and other venues, as to render the gathering as inconspicuous as possible, in a crowded enough area of the city on top of it.
Minako knew Sakurada had been the one to sign for its use as soon as she heard Nedzu ask for it because the two had had a brief but meaningful phone call the very evening the request was approved:
Among the other things, «I won't be able to attend but I'll send Wakagi» Sakurada had said, her voice almost drowned by the chaos in the background. Wherever she was, it had to be a busy place «And as soon as I have a minute, the two of us will have to meet on our own. I'm dying to meet the others too! It was so heartless of you not to introduce us yet!»
«S-sorry Natsuna-san» Minako stuttered a bit, laughing inwardly at the known antics she was sure her old friend was pulling, like dramatically draping on a chair or fanning herself to chase fake irritation.
«You sure should be!» at this, Minako could have sworn she heard her friend's trusted fan be slapped closed «And I expect you to tell me why you ghosted me for so long! But now I have to go, good job with what you did until now and good luck with those pesky pros,» the woman said.
«Thank you...»
«And, Minako-chan,» Sakurada added, her voice more serious «Eyes and ears open, stay on your toes, I know some of them will be there only to catch you one way or another, make sure they won't be able to»
Minako never saw that side of Natsuna, who even in the worst scenario was able to keep up her upbeat nature in front of the younger girl, so she made sure to convey how serious she was as well: «I will. Thank you again»
«Anytime, dear» the older assured.
That meant the Senshi did have more than one powerful ally on their corner, but also many enemies that weren't supernatural. They knew it even before Natsuna's warning, yet the sudden seriousness made Minako more focused than ever on preventing any risk to her team.
They had no way of knowing which of the Heroes would be on their side, partly or fully, who would pretend to agree just to get closer and damage them, who would keep quiet just to make them lower their guard. In this regard, openly antagonistic stances would be something to be relieved of, at least those would be genuine.
Nevertheless, the support was needed, which required the right approach. To this aim, Artemis and Luna agreed Mercury would lead the explanations for the technical side, Mars and Venus the tactical side, and the others would intervene only to close the gaps or to add their testimonies.
As Sakurada promised, Wakagi was near the building to lead them in through a side door in advance, and he helped them set the stage, so to speak.
«When did you have the time to make a presentation?» Venus asked at the sight of the ready-to-start slideshow.
«It's been half-ready for weeks, I put the finishing touches this morning. I woke up at five» Mercury added.
«Nervous much for the spotlight?» Venus winked.
The Senshi of Wisdom didn't reply to the joke, but her hands weren't as steady as usual. That wasn't a mere school test, there was much more at stake than her grades or reputation. The fact she caught sight of a very familiar face in the gathering crowd didn't ease her nerves.
Once the room was reasonably full, Wakagi looked at them to make sure they were ready and, at their assent, opened the meeting.
«I suppose all of you know why we're here» Wakagi started «This meeting was strongly wanted by the office of the Superintendent General in the light of the attacks of unclear nature that happened in different areas of the region. This is the map of the confirmed attacks of the same nature»
He showed his own file, just a map of the area with some dots indicating the events, correlated with the scarce photos they had for each.
«As you may know, the team who dealt with and solved most of those incidents is known as the Sailor Senshi, who are here today...»
«What about All Might? Shouldn't he be here too?» Endeavor interrupted from his first-row seat.
Wakagi raised a brow but didn't miss a beat «We have an official statement from the Might Tower that he offers his support to the Sailor Senshi for this case, now-»
«Just like him, supporting vigilantism again»
Wakagi scowled at the new interruption «The heroic profession has its roots in vigilantism, Endeavor. Discarding the well-meaning help of the individuals would be the same as encouraging people to leave all to Heroes and stop caring»
«It would mean self-justice»
«We agree to disagree» Wakagi replied coldly «In any case, the Sailor Senshi are not Vigilantes any longer-»
«Superintendent Sakurada is back with her agenda, uh? Legalizing Vigilantes and so o-»
«Superintendent Sakurada is on the front lines, working for the betterment of society as a whole, including investigating the issues of the gratuitous violence, the purposeful lengthening of fights in cities to the sole goal to make public shows of Villain captures, not to mention the abuses of power shielded by the HPSC, which all ties...»
«Wakagi-san,» Venus called «We're not here to meddle in politics, but to save lives»
The officer opened and closed his mouth, then regained his composure «Right, this is beyond the point. Perhaps it will be better if you speak for yourselves»
«Thank you» Venus replied and took the word: «We're Provisional Heroes now, yet where we come from we've been fully active for a longer time. We're not after popularity, nor do we work on any kind of personal grudge or gain and never did. Our only goal is for people to be safe from those monsters and their creators. We had no other choice but to act the way we did to keep doing so, even if you call it vigilantism, we did what we had to in order to protect people from harm»
«We didn't realize we needed Japanese Hero Licenses to act here, so we took the Provisional Exam at the earliest chance. Our position is regular, ascertained by a State exam we passed according to the current laws and regulations» Mercury added.
«Sure they did, I was there»
They recognized, not without relief, the Hero in charge of the second part of the exam, Jogfalls.
«And with what happened that day, thank the kamis they were there. Many people would have been hurt if any of you had been there instead of them» he added to his colleagues «It's not an experience I'd like to repeat. And I don't think any of us would actually be happy with having to kill a colleague, let alone a civilian, especially if it can be avoided. We're Heroes, our job, no, our call in life is to save with everything we've got. Against those things, we've got them and what they know» and pointed at the Senshi «The least we can do is listen»
A murmur ran in the room, somebody repeating the "kill a colleague or civilian" part with confusion.
Slightly reassured by the Hero's speech, Mercury got ready to start the slideshow.
«We aren't here to ask for help as much as to raise awareness and share our knowledge on how to deal with it. We've been fighting the daimons for over three months already, collected data, and so on, but the organization behind this all extended its action more than we expected, so we need you to follow our ins...»
Endeavour got up «I've had enough! I won't be lectured by little girls on how to do my job!» he turned his back to the rest to storm out of the room in heavy steps.
Before he could go too far, the flames on his costume and face dissipated, leaving the Hero's astonished bare face in plain sight.
Mars had a pointed look aimed at the Number Two Hero «You refuse to understand. It isn't necessary to kill the host to destroy the daimon and we made sure for this to be known in advance by as many Heroes as possible by leaking the information to Nedzu-san. The fact you decided to ignore it means the responsibility of that life's loss in Hosu is yours, so the bare minimum you could do is hear what we have to say»
«What have you done?!» the man turned, looking at his empty hands and lack of firepower. It wasn't that his quirk was blocked or else, it simply refused to answer him, bowing to an external will that he knew was that of the girl.
«What have you done, Endeavor?» Mars replied «What kind of Hero kills? What kind of Hero refuses to listen and hear out ways to save lives?»
A murmur followed. They knew the outstanding results of the Number Two were filled with property damage and injuries to bystanders during his fights, where Endeavour was always more focused on capturing the Villains than on protecting the civilians and avoiding messy situations, but the implications brought up by the girl were more serious than that, as most of them remembered the Hosu mess far too clearly. Plus, the simple fact she was, single-handedly, blocking his quirk with her own, if not outright controlling it from the outside, spoke of a much larger, intimidating power.
A power that could put to shame the second most powerful Hero of Japan within a girl a third his size.
It elicited a bit of awe, if not outright respect.
«We may have been Vigilantes, but it was you, a pro Hero, a top one according to your scale, who killed the daimon and his host in Hosu. The least you can do is listen so this won't happen again» she concluded.
From the pros it came a mismatched choir of "They're right and you know it" and "Sit back and listen, for once in your life", with some milder "There's no harm in hearing them out".
Endeavor sat back, scowling but in silence, with a faint tremble of his hands, either out of rage or fear, it was hard to say. His flames came back a moment later, when Sailor Mars stopped looking his way and nodded at Mercury to continue.
«The event Mars was talking about is this:» she showed the clip of the final part of Hosu's mess, which she had downloaded before it could be canceled from the net, then paused at a precise instant «Here you can see the outline of the individual is changing from the daimon to a human shape. If stopped at the right moment, that person could have been saved, just like the other four that night» she pushed a button to show the police's data about the incident and the four people in particular, two regular teens, one social worker, and a janitor. Perfectly regular people with no allegation with any criminal group or even memory of how they got in that situation, to begin with.
The victim had been identified too, a recently retired security guard, just as normal as the others.
«We don't want this to happen again. If you encounter another daimon, you have to contain it and we will come to help the host revert back to normal. That's everything we ask of you, this and that you spread the news to other pros»
One of the Heroes raised his hand «What are we fighting against, exactly?»
«As you may have gathered, those things are called daimons» she showed a clip of her own footage, then explained the common characteristics of the creatures and the most efficient ways they knew to capture them.
«So those aren't the same things as the ones that attacked the Yuuei students at USJ and in Hosu?» someone else asked.
As if expecting the question, Mercury shook her head «Albeit they could seem similar at first sight, daimons and noumus are completely different. We don't know much about noumus, but we are aware the processes from where the two kinds emerge are different, one is reversible, while the other isn't. Moreover, the outcome is the opposite: daimons are the result of a regression, following which the individual loses quirk, sense of identity, and physical shape, in this order, but once the process is nullified the victim goes back to the exact same status it was in originally. We were informed, instead, noumus are the unnatural result of multiple DNAs fused in a single person, which ends up deforming mind and body permanently, but that's all we know since their identification didn't pertain to our case»
«And those daimon things?»
«According to our data,» Mercury showed her clearest footage of the egg leaving a daimon and dissolving «It appears the daimons are parasitic or symbiotic in nature, causing a major physical alteration while feeding on the target's life energy. Larger daimons absorb the energy of people around them as well. So far, the latter case was scarce, we only have data of five cases where the energy draining was extended to a wide number of people»
«Define "wide"»
«Gatherings of over a hundred people. We know of three separate occasions in which pro Heroes were involved as well and couldn't intervene due to having been victims of the draining themselves»
«There had been more than that,» one of the pros intervened, much to everyone's surprise «One of my sidekicks saw you in Hosu that night, and in their report there were the same info you gave us today, well, it seems you know more, but the drill's the same. I started an investigation of my own and we came to the conclusion the cases that match the larger scale you mention are at least seven, including the Provisional License Exam you partook in, of course»
«Could you tell us what was the first, according to your data?»
«It was in the area of Mugenzu, shortly before the inauguration of the new buildings. It was buried up so the opening could go on, there are quite some money thrown in the reclamation of the bay and no one wanted to postpone»
«It's the first time we hear about this,» Mercury admitted «Our first contact was in Azabu-Juuban, but we can't exclude there could have been more hidden up, either by the ones who control them or by other interests, as it seems to be the case here» she reasoned.
«Do you have any idea of what the goal in all this could be? Drug deals? Hidden fighting rings? Who may be behind such a thing?»
«Our guess is that there's some sort of wide-scale experiment, but their final intentions are hazy at best, we can only guess-»
«Whatever they're doing, it's hidden well» Venus interrupted «They betrayed themselves, a few weeks ago, during a students' gathering away from the city, and something similar happened to a public event a few days ago»
«The Hanyu Mimi concert incident, our reports about this had been already submitted to the police,» Mars precised «And the lesser known accident during the annual Mugen Camp, neither were daimon attacks but, we believe, preparation for new ones»
A confused murmur crossed the crowd, the mention was too pointed and yet vague to reach conclusions.
«The only thing those two events had in common was that they were exclusive for Mugen students» Mercury moved to the next point «Mugen Academy is famous for being attended to by celebrities in many fields, most notably performative arts and science. While the scientists that work at Mugen are likely to be at work on the production of the parasite, willingly or not, the performers spread them at their public events, exploiting the crowds»
«Like a virus?»
«Not quite» for that part she used the footage from their Provisional License Exam to point out the methods, as it was the best recording there was of the moment of an infection «There's no such thing as a contagion, strictly speaking, not as far as we can say. It's more likely the eggs are planted onto people intentionally»
Two stills taken from the same footage showed the moment of the infection and the moment immediately after, underlining there was no external difference in the individual to spot.
«It's nearly impossible to know how many hosties are there around and, even if we knew, the daimons don't activate casually, only when prompted by the head members of the Death Busters»
«Dormant cells?»
«It's the closest thing we can compare them to so far, yes» she then showed two different daimons, as it could be seen by the surroundings, and the respective hosts, one human one not, and explained: «There had been a few cases of animals infected by daimons too, they're usually weaker than the human-based ones, but they are otherwise nearly impossible to distinguish until the parasite is taken out, we advise caution in any case»
«All of that spiel for this?» one of the most annoyed pros snorted.
Venus took the word this time: «This is our only interest, and our utmost priority, to save the ones infected and prevent their demonization or death. All people who were turned into daimons we encountered were restored to normalcy. We saved them»
«And we intend to do the same with the ones who were captured and are currently contained by the police forces» Sailor Moon added, feeling it was important to say it ever since she heard there were any.
«That can and will be arranged» Wakagi assured «There are only two in our custody, at the moment, they aren't hard to contain. One more had died while in detention, although we aren't sure of the reason. We can talk about it later, though»
The girls nodded, hoping the worst had passed.
Of course, there was more the pros wanted to know.
«What about the perpetrators? Those things must come from somewhere. You mentioned Mugen Academy and if the incidents started from there it must be tied somehow, what about it?»
«We don't know if it's the school's plan or if the Death Busters are using its resources for their plan, our investigations are ongoing still»
«Why don't go into the school and see it, then?»
«It's not like we didn't try!» Sailor Moon sprung up, only to be discretely pulled down by a warning look from Mars.
«Until we figure out who exactly is behind this and how to stop them, we need more eyes on the outside to keep in check the situation, should more daimons be released. We already have insight into the school...»
«Inside the school, as in what, a spy? How old are you, exactly?»
«Are we discussing age now? Not cool» Hawks forced out a yawn, his large wings spreading behind him as if he was stretching «Been there, done that. Let's skip the old people underestimating the young and get to the point, can we? What can we do and why did you call for us to help, you fair ladies?»
Despite the relaxed tone of the Number Three Hero, his eyes were sharp and intense, just like those of the bird he took his name from. It wasn't unnerving, per se, but Artemis had warned them: Hawks worked directly for the HPSC and the two cats didn't quite trust the organization, even if it was just a hunch on their part until they banned their press conference. On top of it, while it was true the Commission allowed them to get the Licenses, Tomonaga-san's wariness alerted them to be on guard, which included being mindful of how they dealt with Hawks.
«We only ask for your awareness in how to handle the daimons you may meet, for you to submit all the info you may gather to the police, and let us do the rest,» Jupiter said «We can handle it»
«Our investigation will need some more time and collaboration is more than welcome» Mercury took back the reins «This is all we can divulge so far, but we'll keep in contact with the police to share if we'll have more and we hope you can do the same. The scale of the potential spread of the infection doesn't allow us to underestimate this matter, otherwise, we wouldn't have bothered you with this»
«We thank you for your presence here today, All the files are already open for consultation in both the Hero Network and police files...» Wakagi took the word once again, putting a close to the meeting with due professionality by sharing all the leftover info before dismissing the crowd and marking the end of the very stressful meeting, at least as far as the girls were concerned.
Endeavor was the first to storm out, ignoring everyone else, and most of the pros left as well, some chattering with colleagues, some minding their own business.
A few, though, stayed behind to speak with them some more. There were questions and people curious, so the girls had to reply to some of them, although they would have preferred not to.
One in particular, though, they expected.
«May I have a word with you?» Hawks approached among the others, a bright smile on his face and more patience in waiting for his turn than anyone would have guessed given his fame as "man who is a little too fast".
Why he chose Sailor Moon, Venus, and Mars to speak with was no real puzzlement as they were the ones free, most had gone to Mercury who was still handling most of the technical questions, with Jupiter and Chibi-Moon by her side.
Hawks was young and, useless to deny it, handsome, with a smart yet carefree look that betrayed little of his actual capabilities.
After all, if he was a model for several jewelry and fashion firms at the same time as his quick rising as the Number Three Hero, he had to have both charm and ability in spades.
It was a surprise that Minako wasn't openly drooling, but her Venus persona was perfectly controlled. Usagi expected a screaming session later that night, knowing her friend.
But wary of Sakurada's warning, Minako knew she couldn't let out anything more than what was strictly necessary, as her friend's support could protect her and the others only up to a certain point.
Therefore, Venus smiled just a little and replied with a neutral «Of course»
Hawks didn't seem perturbed by the somewhat cold stance and started right away: «I won't deny I'm curious about you. For some reason, finding your whereabouts is quite the ordeal»
«As it should be. We value the privacy of our civilian identities» Mars replied.
His smile didn't falter «Without clarity it's hard to build trust»
«Then you may understand why we don't trust the Commission, who ordered for all our findings not to be divulged to the public despite the risks, with our personal info»
«Ah, touchè» he replied with a cheer that was more than a bit out of place «But they know your documents to get the License aren't entirely genuine, they'll figure out who you are, sooner or later. Why not make it easier?»
«Easier for you, maybe» Mars all but sneered.
Venus had to intervene: «Listen, we have no ill intentions. We're playing by the rules and we only want to save people and stop the enemy, that's it. We'll be out the Commission's radar as soon as this is over»
«Ah, retirement this young?»
«What makes you think we're that young?»
«A gentleman should always assume a lady is younger than she appears» he winked.
Fortunately, Minako was still in "leader Venus" mode and wasn't swayed by the charm of the young Number Three Hero.
«Well, since I gather you don't want to tell me more, I'd better leave» he unexpectedly gave it with a rather fake pout, soon wiped away by another boyish wink «We'll see each other around, kouhai»
And at that, he left, leaving the girls in puzzlement as to why he gave in so soon. Unless he was simply testing the ground and he'd be back to bother them later on, which was likely.
Mercury had been steeling herself ever since she saw her father approach the table, waiting for the impending confrontation.
While Sasaki Mirai had always been a little cold and stiff even with his own family, Ami had never seen him in his professional mood, and by the looks of it, he seemed to be among the ones with a certain hostility towards the Sailor Senshi.
«I must say your investigation piqued my interest, although your methods and background are questionable» he started, a swift attack barely even polite.
Mercury stiffened ever so slightly «Is that why you sent your sidekick to spy on us the day of the exam?»
Nighteye frowned «How...?»
She shrugged, feigning to be uncaring as she made her mini-computer disappear into her fuku: «Bubble Girl is less inconspicuous than you may think, even if she was supporting Jogfalls' team for the exam, she stood out when she followed us outside after it was over»
Ami couldn't say it, but Bubble Girl was also one of her favorite sidekicks in the business ever since she started to work for her father - although she'd have suggestions on her Hero outfit -, so she spotted her with a bit more ease than she would have noticed someone else. That was why she suggested using the teleport in the first place, which was untraceable by human means, quirks included.
But it had wounded her a bit, knowing her father was out to catch her and her friends as if they were on the same level as the Villains he worked against. Sure, he couldn't know who was behind the Senshi of Wisdom, but she had more trust in his ability to judge character prior to that and had hoped he of all people would have at least given them the benefit of the doubt.
Clearly, she had been wrong.
Sir Nighteye fixed his glasses, his golden gaze cold and, possibly, a bit angered «As I said, your background is unclear, in the wake of fake heroism and emulators, it's obvious to question the true aims of newcomers such as you»
«Is our ethic that worries you or the divergence between our methods and yours?»
«Both» was the somewhat honest reply «While it's admirable that you felt compelled to step up to help people, you must be aware that's not how Heroes must proceed. I'd ask you to keep civilians out of your troubles-»
«This is exactly what we're trying to do» Jupiter huffed.
He fixed his glasses «Rude. I'll explain myself better, then. I know you enrolled the aid of civilians, including minors, in your ordeals. While the goal you pursue is noble, you shouldn't involve those who cannot deal with the possible outcomes»
Ami riled up at that. What was it? With his brilliant mind, he applied himself to find clues and got to all the wrong conclusions, didn't he?
«Although this is of no interest to you, I can assure you that the people who help us are all aware of the risks and their involvement is voluntary»
«Minors may not have the ability to recognize the correctness of their choices, or ponder the consequences»
«Therefore you are going to reject the very possibility an individual is capable of making their own decisions on the sole basis of age?»
«On the basis of a lack of experience, which may be obtained only on the field»
«No one has experience in this particular case, as this event is unprecedented. Your experience is, in this regard, inferior to ours»
«How arrogant of you. Perhaps this event is, indeed, unprecedented, but it's preposterous to believe the practical experience of a pro who faced countless different situations is comparable to that of a group of vigilantes with no formal training and a mere handful of months of activity under their belt»
«You assume we never had support from more seasoned pros until now»
«Just because All Might fought with you once, or Nedzu planned today's conference, it doesn't mean they intend to support you on the long-term»
«You shouldn't assume what other people's intentions are»
«All Might would never...»
«Wouldn't he, Mirai?»
From behind his glasses, Sasaki Mirai's eyes went wide at the sight of the sickly man with wild golden hair and piercing blue eyes that just butted in the debate.
Nighteye was speechless for a moment, a short one but enough to betray a sense of unease. He recovered quickly, of course, but the air was tense as he greeted: «It's been a long time»
«It was» Toshinori agreed «I can see you haven't changed much»
«I wish I could say the same about you» was the stiff reply, some measure of regret seeping through his words «Is that why you're here? Is All Might really supporting this group?»
«It is» was the reply «The situation requires it, and they are brave young women who are trying to set right to a wrong in this world, working hard to improve and to correct their mistakes as they go. I daresay there's much to learn from them, so I hope you'll agree to work alongside them, should it come to it»
There were a thousand things that were left unspoken, but neither man seemed able to get them out.
Sir Nighteye fixed his glasses and lowered his head the slightest bit «I see, therefore there is little I can say» he tipped his head and left without another word.
The three girls were speechless for a long moment, trying to figure out what just happened. Ami had, so far, thought that Sir Nighteye had left the role as All Might's sidekick to establish his own agency, as most pro Heroes did, but by the looks of it there had to be a more complex story, one of a major rift between the two men.
«Yagi-san...» Jupiter tried to ask, but Mercury shook her head.
The man they'd come to see as their mentor, other than a trusted adult, wasn't showing any of his feelings in a way that was different from how he usually acted, clumsy and lively, his current rigid stance and the formal way he spoke in was a sign of a turmoil it'd be wrong to make him uncover, at least for the moment being.
«He doesn't have bad intentions, don't get him wrong,» Toshinori said at last, with a hint of his usual performative smile «He's just a bit stiff about protocols and his own ethics, don't take it to heart»
«You didn't have to intervene» Mercury pointed out, somewhat agreeing with his reading yet not approving of his interference when he had been asked not to be present at all at the meeting.
«Ah, but the Might Tower was requested to attend the meeting even if with a representative» was his more cheerful reply «As All Might's personal secretary, it was up to me»
Jupiter shook her head and Chibi Moon smiled mischievously.
«I'm afraid I have to go and report this all to the Might Tower, now. I hope you girls will have a nice trip back home» he said before he left the conference room.
Which was code for: "careful as you leave" with a bit of "see you at home"
«Thank you, Yagi-san» Mercury replied curtly, then looked to the side, where Hawks had just flamboyantly said goodbye to the other half of the team.
It was a pity she couldn't have listened to what he said too.
As if the pro felt the gaze on himself, he turned to wink her way, and Mercury restrained herself from showing her distrust.
«Let's go, now» Jupiter nudged, then nodded at the others, who seemed to agree.
It had been a heavy enough experience already, and they yet had to get home.
Fortunately, nothing else happened, at least that day.
In the dark room he met with the heads of the HPSC, Hawks bowed.
«I'm sorry, I lost them»
«How is it possible?»
«The feathers I attached to them were all destroyed before they left the building. Afterward, I couldn't identify them in the crowd» he explained.
«It seems like those Sailor Senshi are more resourceful than we thought»
A short discussion in hushed tones took place. Hawks could have listened, he had the means to, but he was taught better than to try.
Eventually, they reached a decision: «For now, let's wait for further developments. As long as they won't represent a problem, we'll only keep an eye on them when we can. Your orders are unchanged, Hawks»
Hawks was dismissed with that, but after bowing and leaving the room his frown deepened.
He wasn't certain he did the right thing. True, the spying feathers he hid on the six girls, concealed in their colourful ribbons, or between the folds of their skirts, on in their hair, were destroyed, all at once, before the girls meshed into the after-work rush outside the building, yet he was confident he would have been able to identify them, had he chosen so.
He just didn't try.
Because, what he didn't know, he wasn't obliged to tell the Commission.
And he wasn't sure what compelled him to be this negligent, to willingly turn to the other side. He just did it.
Somewhere, in a place of his soul the Commission didn't own, a comforting voice assured him he did the right thing.