Chapter Text
☀ ATSUSHI POV ☀
Musutafu, Japan
Friday, September 14th
My eyes scanned the bustling crowd of people below me and the building I resided in. “This place is so bright...No, colorful? And way more lively then back home. Don't ya'think? It also seems like they have a pretty well made support system. Well...as well made as it can be.” I commented to the other man in the room with me, pressing my palms to the large curtain wall ─My breath fogging it up as I breathed─ in the living room of the modern esqe-penthouse that I was now supposed to live in… Though, I hadn't paid for it and would never pay for me. The one who's name was on the contract then spoke up.
“Of course, Jinko. Musutafu is a hero filled city and they tend to wear bright colours to stand out for the media. All due to their their own idiotic ranking system on who the strongest and flashiest are. Though it really just is a popularity competition. That is common knowledge, even to the people of Yokohama.” a dueled, mainly dark haired man spoke up, with short micro bangs, with his hair grown out longer to the sides of his face framing his sharp features with white adding accents to the tips.
Akutagawa Ryuunosuke, My work partner.
I look Ryuunosuke over. He was out of his dark dress coat which was handed over to him by Dazai and his ruffled collared dress shirt. He was now wearing a simple white-T and black ripped jeans, the casual clothing he had worn on our trip here to Musutafu. Nothing else was really worth noting about his appearance.
I just scoff and roll my eyes at his blunt response, why did I have to be stuck here with Ryuunosuke of all people? And why, again? Sure, we had gotten closer after the Fyodor incident and ability war, but I doubt he considers us friends just yet.
A better question, why couldn't he have gone himself? I knew he was more than capable and I'll probably just slow him down. Besides that, Byakko has been yelling in my ear since I got this mission. I know why; we're away from home, the agency and Lucy whom she and I consider family. But most of all, she was worried about her 'streak'1, Kyoka. it had been almost a year and a half since I've started living with the now 15 year old. And-!....And I was divulging from my first thought.
The black haired man had tried to kill me on multiple occasions, the only reason he stopped being due to our promise in the damn shipping container! Which had long since ended, so there was no stopping him now and I'm pretty sure he's just itching to tear another one of my limbs off... Though when I looked over at the other for the second time he looked much younger and much more ill then he did before. It's not like I was faring any better, as in my present state, I would have still been in the orphanage and they rarely let me eat much less cared about my health. Hopefully we'd both be able to put on some weight to not stand out so much. We had used Teruko's ability for this mission, as we had to infiltrate U.A high, the most prominent hero school in Japan. And while either of us could pass as a teen even with our older bodies - though we might have been too tall - we couldn't have the risk of someone having a quirk able to see someone's age or...something like that.
Unfortunately, my mouth runs faster than my brain.
“Y'know, you look kinda... weird…” I said to the older as I sat beside the him on the couch. Okay, I definitely could have worded that better (Or just kept my mouth shut).. Oh well I guess.
I start waving my hands in front of my face, trying to explain myself. "N-Not like that! I just mean-...um...Y-You look sicker then before and you already looked half dead- I mean-!...Never mind! Never mind! Forget what I said!..." I accepted my fate, ready for the blood shed, but all I heard in reply was a sigh and the shuffling of fabric.
"Jinko, you don't look any better yourself, I really shouldn't be hearing that from you of all people. You're practically the runt of the litter compared to me." Ryuunosuke retorted.
Okay, true, but ouch? And it didn't help that my stomach was killing me...it seemed even if I was technically eating good, my body still craved more in this form (Age?), and Byakko was almost always hungry, so with an awkward and shaky voice, I tried to move away from the previous topic while stating my hunger. "Man...I'm freaking starving...what, we stopped to grab ramen hours ago...like what? Around 7 in the morning before we left?...It's 4 in the evening now?" I comment while checking the time on my phone. It was a new one, so that I wouldn't have to worry about people looking through text that involved my mission. But of course, every group chat that wasn't considered work related had been recreated to still keep Ryuunosuke and I in the Yokohama loop. Getting back up on my feet and heading towards the kitchen, I start to go looking through the fridge and pantry.
The sounds of me opening cupboards and drawers filled the quiet, before I spoke up again.
“Uhhh, do we need to go shopping for anything…? We should probably go grocery shopping, no? Plus we can get to know the area better…? And our fridge is like, uhhh...empty, so are our cupboards...” I said, gazing over at the older man. Honestly, who in the world moved in for us? I already knew that the PM had moved in for us a few days prior to our arrival...so why the hell were our cupboards and fridge empty? Annoying.
“I suppose that is a good point and it does seem that we should eat something before retiring for the night.. And we should try to eat more, or else people may start getting suspicious if we look as frail as we do... Fine, let us go Jinko.” Ryuunosuke stands up, moving to the coat rack near the doorway and pulling on a black jean jacket with a white inside and hood before looking me over. I look down at myself, I was wearing a now to big white T-shirt that Dazai had gotten me as a joke, with cat paws around the collar, sleeves, and bottom, which I actually loved, along with plain black shorts. Though, the shirt now hung off my torso very loosely and the shorts had been pulled tightly by the draw strings and tied into a bow to even fit properly.
“Dammit… 'Kay, just gimme a sec to change…” I rushed out of the kitchen and to my room, rummaging through my dressers looking for something presentable to wear out of my minimal selection.
In the end, I walked out of my room with a white hoodie with a dark blue tiger wrapped around the side, coming from the top of the back, ending close to the bottom right corner of the front, my black fingerless gloves which now were a few sizes too big and dark navy ripped jeans.
I grabbed my phone, keys, and wallet.. (..okay, Ryuunosuke's wallet..)
“Okay! Let’s get going!” I said happily as I made my way to the front door, slipping on my white pair of worn out running shoes, Ryuunosuke did the same with a pair of old converse that I'm pretty sure he dug out of his closet, then opened the door and locked it as we both stepped out of the penthouse.
We made our way to ground level by elevator, greeting the kind secretary working at the front desk and making our way to the revolving doors, leading outside.
It was already late into the afternoon, so as we stepped out, our faces got hit with fresh cool air. Sure, I was fine since the tiger also gave me better cold resistance, due to Byakko's 'fur', but Ryuunosuke was a different story, it was the beginning of autumn, so we had a good few months to prepare for the exams and touch up on our act, but it also meant we had to deal with the pre-winter cold before then.
Thankfully, the walk to the market was a fast one, meaning we barely had to endure the cold, as we lived in a well built area, close to the hill U.A was built on. It was surrounded in good grocery stores with quality food, restaurants that were good and at reasonable prices, pharmacies, and whatever else we needed, parks with large open fields (which were good for training), and cement paths winding around everything, making for a good morning jog.
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It didn’t take long until we got all we needed for our temporary home, our stash consisting of medical supplies (just in case), groceries, like eggs and any other protein that included a plethora of raw steaks to aid in Byakko's...certain cravings. Milk and yogurt, vegetables and fruits, among other verities of foods. Ryuunosuke had insisted buying me a 'better' wardrobe, so with him carrying the groceries and necessities, I was carrying all the new clothes we had bought, but we had barely made it half way around the block when I froze. The scent of fire. We heard explosions, and Byakko's sense's started acting up. That's when I knew something was up. Quickly, I rushed over to the sound, Ryuunosuke following close behind. I made it there first, though I was short having to squeeze past the crowd to see a blond boy with glowing red eyes, covered in a dark green gunk with eyes and teeth (?) trying to force it's way into his mouth.
It seemed the boy was being held hostage, and the explosions were from him but…did he not see that he was only making things worse…? Everything everywhere was on fire, buildings that could have been filled with people lit ablaze and started to crumble...Perhaps I was wrong about my statement the people were much smarter then...this. And look at everyone who's simply watching like this was some sort of circus...
Hero society was starting to disgust me. 'Well protected' my ass.
I was about to jump in and stop everything as Byakko's yelling was getting worse and so was my headache, only to be grounded by Ryuunosuke.
“We shouldn’t draw attention to ourselves…they have heroes…remember? If things get too bad, we’ll step in.” The older whispered to me, that didn't do much to calm my nerves. "The hero's aren't doing anything..." I whispered back only to receive an agreeing grunt from the other.
As I tried to calm myself, a kid with curly green hair ran in front of the crowd, clawing at the goo. How…reckless... my heart rate picked up. Is this what Kunikida felt like...? With my enhanced hearing I could sort of make out what the green-haired one was saying through the crackle of fire and the loud yelling of by-standers along with the police and heroes.
‘I-...Can’t just leave you like this!”
Huh…I mean…he was stupid, but he had morals I suppose...? That doesn't make it any less dangerous though.
Seconds pass, but it felt like hours, watching two boys fight for their lives and not being able to do anything, before a person (?) flew by from atop us and the crowd, gave one of the worst hero monologues I have ever heard and yelled something along the lines of "TEXAS SMASH". With a single punch not even touching it and with the wind force alone, the newcomer blew the sludge away. The gust of wind he had created spiralled up, creating a mini tornado. It had also some how changed the weather, getting rid of all the clouds and even putting out all the fires.
‘Hooo-ly shit…is this…the world of pro heroes?’ I thought, though, I recognized this as the number one hero in Japan All Might, but… he was wearing the American colors…? Weird…
I quickly let out a sign of relief as Byakko quieted and Ryuunosuke and I slipped away from the crowd unnoticed.
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“That…was not what I wanted to happen when we went out for groceries..” I said to the other man as we made the quick trip to our living space.
“Indeed, though, I think that might be helpful when assessing All Might, seeing him in action.” The black haired mafioso replied, “We should write a report on this.”
"You should include how Japan's number one is sporting American colors, ya'know, supporting another country?" I tried to joke, but it only makes the black haired man roll his eyes.
"No, this report will be formal, after all, we need all the information we can get" The mafioso said sternly as we headed back to the lobby and into the elevators, heading up to our floor.
I groaned. A report? After all this? Hell no. I’ll let Ryuunosuke do that…”Yeahhh, no. You can do that though! I’m going to sleep after putting all this away!” I exclaimed as Ryuunosuke unlocked the door, letting us in and closing it behind us as we slipped off our shoes.
“Jinko, you need to add your own inpu-”
I quickly made my way to the kitchen and started putting everything away, leaving Ryuunosuke at the door trying to untie his converse. I put the spices and snacks we had bought into the pantry. Vegetables, fruits, dairy and whatever else into the fridge, the steaks into the freezer, the new plates, bowls and bento boxes in the high up cupboard, the medical supplies in one of the lower cupboards that looked like apart of the counter but when pushed moved out on it's own. Then finally, I put the utensils in the drawers.
After I was done, I flashed a sly smile at Ryuunosuke, before grabbing the bags with all the new clothes and heading to my room.
As I made it to my room, I closed the door and locked it, setting the bags down. Sure, I was exhausted, but I also knew better then to sleep in dirty clothes, so I pulled off my hoodie, slipping on my white-T and black shorts after undoing my belt and pulling off my jeans along with my gloves, before promptly slumping down on my bed.
Sure, I hadn't eaten dinner, but it was whatever, I had snacked a bunch on our way back from that...sludge (?) attack earlier (Yeah, totally), so I decided to simply sleep the rest of the day.
I closed my eyes, pulling the warm and plush covers over my body, letting sleep consume me.