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Ichiban Kasuga considered himself a pretty faithful stickler to the Yakuza traditions. Don’t beat up someone who wasn’t spoiling for a fight, don’t take money from old ladies, and always help kids who need help. That’s how his senpai did it, that’s how the Dragon of Dojima did it, and that’s certainly how Arakawa-san did it. And that was why he was standing in front of some punk ass Yakuza who was standing in front of him, as a small child in rags was cowering behind him.
“You wanna hand her over,” said the thug in the plague mask.
“No I don’t think I will,” replied Ichiban evenly, eyes narrowed.
The man in the plague mask narrowed his eyes, and Ichiban glanced at his lapel. The emblem on his pin made him frown and Ichiban looked at it. “You’re with the Shie Hassaikai. I thought that lot had cast in its pins when the old man passed away.”
The thug, who he hadn’t identified yet, scowled underneath his mask. “You’re well informed,” he almost snarled. “Who are you? Some kind of cop?”
“Hardly,” snorted Ichiban. “Do I look like an ex-cop to you? I’m Ichiban Kasuga, Tojo Clan.”
The man straightened up, almost respectfully. “Tojo huh? I thought all you loyalists were wiped out by the Omi by now. Who’s your patriarch?”
“Arakawa-san. But I’ve been behind bars for 19 years. Still, I have a good reason to hang onto his loyalty,” said Ichiban. “Now then, why is a Shie Hassaikai holding onto a kid like this? I thought the Yakuza were above menacing little kids?”
Said little kid clutched onto Ichiban’s pant leg and the girl whimpered. “Spill, or I’ll beat it the fuck right out of you,” stated Ichiban, gesturing at the unnamed man.
The man snorted before he straightened up. “If you’re really Arakawa’s man, then out of respect I’ll let you hold onto Eri. But if you’re lying, I’ll kill you.” And with that, he started walking away, but not before he paused and said, “Eri, that man will take care of you. He’s a good person, don’t let him out of your sight.”
And like that, time seemed to move once again as all the tension fell out of the bottom of Ichiban’s stance as he relaxed as Overhaul walked away. “Man, that guy was intense.” he grumbled as he turned to Eri. “It’s okay kid, he won’t hurt you.”
Eri looked at Ichiban, hands trembling. “Did he hurt you?” asked Ichiban quietly, kneeling down to the six year old. “I won’t let him hurt you. C’mon, let’s go get you cleaned up. I have a good friend who will get you something to eat.”
Eri shied away as Ichiban tried to put on a comforting face. “Hey now, I might be in the same job as he is, but I’m not a bad guy. Look, I’m not into making kids cry. You hungry?”
Eri nodded, once, and whispered, “I haven’t eaten… in a while.”
Ichiban smiled. “C’mon, I’ll take you to a place. Do you like burgers?” He was already fishing out his phone. “I know a place just down the road.” One hand was dialing up his party as he held out his rough, calloused other hand.
Eri bit her lip and placed her small hand in his. “That’s the spirit, c’mon let’s go get a bite to eat.”
He was hoping, at least, that he was doing the right thing by involving the party with the substory.
=====
“Aww, she’s so cute!” Exclaimed the two women in Ichiban’s party, Saeko and Eri as they fussed over cleaning up Eri who was taking hesitant bites of her overly large hamburger. Saeko was trying to tame Eri’s dirty locks and large Eri was cleaning up her messy face.
The boys, Nanba and Adachi were sitting in the next booth across from them as Nanba was nursing coffee and Adachi was already pouring something suspect into his own drink. “Where did you say you found her again, Ichiban?” asked Nanba.
“From another Yakuza in town, who was chasing her across the parkade up north,” said Ichiban. “He was wearing a plague doctor’s mask and wore a crest from the Shie Hassaikai.”
Adachi’s cup rattled in the dish. “The Shie Hassaikai, are you serious?” asked Adachi, disturbed by the statement. “What would a small family who supposedly got wiped out by the Omi Alliance be doing here in Ijincho? Right under the Big Three’s nose?”
“Beats me, but they were holding Eri hostage, that’s for fucking sure,” said Ichiban, looking over at the kid who was being fussed over by their two female members. “I’d feel better if she hid out with some of our less than savory members for her own safety.”
“Like with the Geomijul, with Seong Hui,” said Nanba thoughtfully. “Do you think she’d help you shelter her?”
“I get it though. If a group like the Shie Hassaikai is trying to muscle in on Ijincho, the Geomijul probably know about it by now,” said Adachi. “That’s probably why our resident K-pop Assassin took off this morning, to discuss things with Seong Hui-san.”
“It figures as much.” grumbled Ichiban. “This town’s pretty low on the Hero population, leaving most of it to the Big Three and especially since Bleach Japan’s got such a huge presence here after all, it stands to reason that the local Heroes don’t have much work to do.”
“The most notable Hero in this area is Nighteye,” said Saeko, speaking up as she turned away from big Eri attending to the smaller girl for a moment. “Even though he’s got an office a few blocks up near the northern district of the town.”
“Who else has an office here?” asked Ichiban. “I’m not up to date on who’s who of Hero society right now.”
“Number 9 Ryukyu and Fat Gum is just a district away,” said Adachi. “I’ve worked with Fat Gum in the past when I was still a cop, he’s a pretty good guy. Can’t say anything bout Ryukyu but I heard she’s effective.”
“The internships for the hero schools should be starting up soon as well, so we’ll be seeing more kids around in costumes as well,” snorted Nanba. “I suppose we’ll be seeing a bunch of hopefuls around soon scrambling for the top.”
“Didn’t you ever dream of being a hero one day, Nanba?” asked Ichiban.
“Me? A grizzled old Quirkless man like myself? Hell, I was lucky enough to get into College as a nurse these days,” snorted Nanba. “You’re lucky that your Delusional Power somehow manages to give us all superpowers these days, Ichiban. Though I can’t tell if that’s just delusion, a Quirk, or sheer raw grit.”
“I still can’t tell if that beating that the Mad Dog gave us when he split into four people was a Quirk or just just the Mad Dog being the Mad Dog,” remarked Eri, rubbing her neck in memory. “Didn’t even Joon Gi Han say he couldn’t believe it?”
“I think we just all scrape by with guts and determination to be all honest,” said Saeko. “Ichiban’s fought so much bullshit that it rubbed off on us.”
“I don’t think anyone would believe that Quirkless people can do the kind of bullshit we pull off on a daily basis, especially over 40,” snorted Nanba.
“Speak for yourself, I’m still 30-ish,” retorted Saeko.
The door rattled in its hinges with the arrival of a newcomer as the entry bell rang, and in strode a man with slicked back silver-white hair dressed in black. He scanned the crowd for a moment before walking over and bowing slightly. “My apologies for not returning sooner, but Seong Hui wished to discuss the situation with me before I returned to the party.”
“Hey there’s our man,” said Ichiban. “Did she figure out what was going on before we did?”
“She has been informed of the unfortunate arrival but yes,” said Joon Gi Han as he looked over at small Eri who shied a little behind her burger. “Seong Hui wishes to place her in the care of the Geomijul, but certain complications arose.”
Ichiban raised an eyebrow. “Such as?”
“The destruction of our new home,” replied Joon Gi. “When news of the Shie Hassaikai reached us, and your timely rescue of Young Eri came to light a messenger from the Shie Hassaikai came to us.” His eyes flickered to Ichiban. “Do not shelter the girl, or we will destroy your home.”
“Can they do that?” Adachi asked, scowling.
“You are aware of the power of Quirks, yes?” said Joon Gi. “Their leader has a powerful Quirk that can level entire spaces, and their entire faction has similar Quirks at their disposal. We do not have the means to combat that many destructive Quirks on the same playing field. We have guns, but they have the means to destroy entire facilities in a single touch.”
“Damn, so what do we do?” asked Nanba as Saeko cradled the smaller Eri against her shoulder. “We can’t just hand over this kid to those whack jobs she looks like she’s been abused! I noticed surgical marks on her arms, they were cutting her open!”
“We will leave her to care for you, said Seong Hui who said it was their decision,” said Joon Gi with a smirk. “That was the decision by Seong Hui AND the Chairman.”
“Huh, no shit huh?” said Ichiban. “Well then, looks like we’ve got a mission then,” said Ichiban. “We’ll have to protect this kid, and take down a rival faction. Shouldn’t take more than uh, maybe a couple of weeks if not hours?”
“Well I guess it can’t be helped,” grumbled Adachi, as he swigged his coffee and set it down on the cup. “Who’ve we got to help otherwise?”
“Of course you won’t be doing this alone, we will be supporting you behind the scenes, and Zhao will be joining us,” said Joon Gi. “As usual.”
“Anything else in mind?” asked Saeko. “Any resources, equipment, stuff, money?”
“For the sake of driving out a rival group, we will be funding your resources this once and only time,” said Joon Gi, handing over a credit card to Ichiban who pocketed it. He smirked. “Don’t worry, it’s not made with fake bills this time.”
“I would imagine it’s legal tender,” snorted Ichiban. “Alright, let’s go get geared up and go bring the fight to them.”
“Wait, are we just… storming into their compound? As usual?” Asked Adachi.
“You got a better idea?” asked Nanba as they headed out, young Eri looking at the group wide-eyed for a moment as she trailed behind them, uncertain of where this was going. “This is a typical Tuesday for us.”
=====
“Sir!” Exclaimed a police officer, running into the bullpen as Nighteye straightened. “Terrible news, a group of people are headed towards the Shie Hassaikai compound, and there’s chaos in the streets! They’ve initiated combat with the guards and are beating them in the street!”
“On whose authority?” demanded the chief as Nighteye’s eyes widened. This was not part of the plan, at ALL. “Can you identify them?”
“Sir, it’s that CEO of the Ichiban Confections, Ichiban Kasuga and his Party!” Exclaimed the officer and the chief groaned loudly.
“Oh my fucking god!” Exclaimed the chief. “Mobile the men, we need every officer and every pro hero down here now! They’re jeopardizing months of work!”
“Who is Ichiban Kasuga?” asked Nighteye, confused. “I have never heard of him before?”
The Chief turned to him and said, “He was just a bum who got lucky and hired off the street and now he’s in the Fortune 500 as the top CEO of Ichiban Confections. Last I heard, he was in the good graces of the Ijin Three and now he’s busting his way into our delicate operations! Ichiban Kasuga, the craziest motherfucker who has ever walked this city.”
Nighteye stood there, bewildered as chaos reigned around the office as officers scrambled to deploy. “How did this even happen?” he asked himself, completely confused.
=====
“Thanks for calling Poundmates!” Exclaimed the burly man, his hands smoking as he stood over the fallen Rikiya Katsukame, his head cocked to one side and body twitching as Kasuga and his crew hefted their weapons. “Man, that guy was beef! That’ll be 10,000 Yen.”
Ichiban paid the Poundmates fee as they stepped around the fallen guard and twitching bodies of the beaten up Shie Hassaikai Members. “Man, boss fight right off the bat? They ain’t fucking around,” said Ichiban, hefting his newly armed Hero Bat, it’s golden polish gleaming in the sunlight. “Yo, everyone, okay? Five minute break?”
“We good,” Adachi said, wiping sweat off his brow. “Just need a sec to catch my breath. I’ll trade places with Zhao.”
“Hey hey, why do I have to trade places?” grumbled Zhao but he and Adachi changed formation as they went deeper into the complex. The man in the chef’s uniform pushed his hat up. “So, Kasuga-kun, what made you decide to destroy a rival Yakuza clan today hmm? Was it for the thrill of it?”
“Eh, they were mistreating children, and you know, I’m pretty old school. I don’t like that sort of thing.” said Ichiban as he smashed a wall to reveal a safe. “Ooh shiny!”
Zhao laughed. “Fair enough, Kasuga-kun! I wouldn’t let a Yakuza clan mistreat a precious little child like this either.” He patted Eri on the head and the kid relaxed a little. “Okay little one, hang close to Uncle Adachi, he’ll protect you.”
“Heh, I like the sound of that,” said Adachi as Eri patted back to Adachi. “Uncle Adachi. Man, I kinda wish I had kids but then I don’t.”
“Don’t get too comfy, you might start owing people money again.” Remarked Saeko, bringing up the rear.
Adachi sputtered. “I would never! Wait, who told you?”
The walls around them twisted into weird shapes as Joon Gi Han said, “Quirk.”
“Very astute,” said the Quirk user. “I didn’t think someone would walk willingly right into our trap. Now give us back Eri and we’ll let you go.”
“You’re very confident in that statement,” said Zhao, standing up in the dim light and the walls trembled. “Ah, I see you recognize me.”
“Y-you! You’re Tianyou Zhao, of the Yokohama Liumang!” Exclaimed the Quirk user. “What the fuck are you doing here?”
“I came to speak with your boss,” said Zhao almost lazily, twirling a ladle in his hands. “Now, let us pass, or I might be lenient. Otherwise I’ll dice you into a million pieces and serve you up as rice.”
The walls trembled a little, weighing his options. Inwardly, Ichiban was sweating. Take the bluff, take the bluff. It was clear the Quirk user didn’t realize Zhao had stepped down, but Zhao’s nasty smirk was clear he was willing, and spoiling for a fight. Slowly, the walls receded and a lone man stood there. “He’s downstairs,” said Mimic, heaving a sigh. “Just don’t hurt me.”
“That’s a good boy,” said Zhao, tapping him on the shoulder. “Now best run along before me and my associates slaughter you.”
“Yes sir!” As Mimic ran away, Ichiban whistled. “Holy fuck Zhao, I think we got EXP from that.”
“Oh look, keycard,” said Nanba, picking it up. “He even left us a parting gift.”
“Should we check the side rooms for loot since we didn’t blow everything up?” asked Eri curiously and the group looked at each other.
“... why the fuck not, we’re here anyhow,” said Adachi. “Split up, we’ll meet back here in 10 minutes.”
=====
Mimic ran out into a crowd of police and was cuffed before he knew it. Outside, in the crowd of police and Pro Heroes, Nighteye was pacing. What was going on in there that people were running away scared spitless?
“What happened in there?” demanded Nighteye of the terrified man.
“Z-zhao,” stammered Mimic. “Tianyou Zhao’s down there!”
The Chief of Police startled as they led Mimic away. “Tianyou Zhao? The leader of the Liumang? What on earth is going on?”
“First Kasuga, now Zhao, the local gangs are so interested in our little sting operation so quickly, it must have been something that catapulted them into action. But why? They never were interested in the distribution of drugs before…” said Nighteye, scowling.
“I’ll tell you why,” said a voice from behind and Nighteye whirled to see a tall Korean woman, as Seong Hui smirked at him. She doffed her sunglasses and said, “It’s because Ichiban Kasuga is a hero. And he can’t stand by when he sees someone in trouble.”
“A… hero?” repeated Nighteye, looking into the compound as more Yakuza came running out of the compound, bruised and beaten, sometimes carrying semi-conscious allies.
“A hero, so stay out of his way, lest you get hurt,” said Seong Hui, turning and melting into the crowd before Nighteye could stop her.
For all of his powers of precognition, Nighteye was certain he had, for once, lost complete and utter control of the future.
=====
“HAVE SOME OF THIS!” Exclaimed Ichiban, smashing a man with a fat stack of cash, literally sending him into the wall with the force of the blow. Across the way, a gushing stream of ice cold champagne sent another man careening backwards into Nanba’s tornado of flames.
“HEY I’M A COP!” Words beatboxed against ears like drums and blind fury flared up as Adachi held out his riot shield, letting angry men crash against him. He held fast, pushing back against human and Quirk augmented strength alike as Joon Gi Han tazed each one of them equally and with good measure.
“And one and two and one two three!” The clang of a Wok reverberated across the field as the last man went down and Zhao flipped it around his hand, and a man went howling into the distance, covered in thumbtacks as Eri stood over her mini protectively, box cutter held offensively like a ninja would. “You okay?” she asked the little one and Eri nodded.
“So cool,” said little Eri and Eri grinned.
“That’s the last of em,” said Kasuga, bashing the last man with the brunt of his Hero Sword. “I think we’re getting close to the final boss.”
“Getting pretty close, yeah, we’ve gone pretty deep into their compound and found a lot of stuff,” said Nanba. He opened another door, expecting to be attacked but instead found a small lab. His expression turned dark as he went over and started examining the contents. “What the shit is all this…”
“A medical lab?” asked Saeko, as she walked in, and Eri clutched to Adachi’s leg. “Eri?”
“This is…” Eri swallowed and she shook, burying her face in Adachi’s pants as Adachi made soothing noises.
“It’s a chemical lab of some sorts,” said Eri, looking around as she switched on the lights. “Let’s see…”
“Ah,” said Joon Gi Han. “A Trigger facility.”
“Trigger?” asked Ichiban, turning towards him and Zhao. “You know something about this?”
“Don’t look surprised, Kasuga-kun, the Ijin Three tried very hard to keep this shit off the streets of Yokohama. But here we are, in a lab for Trigger.” Zhao snorted. “Fucking hell.”
“Even I’ve heard of Trigger,” said Nanba. “Take a dose of it, and your average Quirk user becomes supercharged. We dealt with overdose cases of it in the hospital where I worked, during the olden days when I was employed. Never thought I’d be in one of the labs until now.”
“Yeah, the Ijin Three’s got a little distaste for drugs of this kind, of most drugs really. We were more of the counterfeiting kind of people, you understand,” said Zhao, scowling down at the chemicals. “Honor among thieves and all that and we take in all kinds of survivors, Quirked and Quirkless alike who have nowhere to go. But it looks like, from a glance, this Trigger was modified somehow.”
“Modified how?” asked Adachi. “Trigger’s bad enough, I’ve seen it on the force plenty of times. How bad is it now?”
“From the look of the notes, it uses a biological compound to suppress Quirks, if not outright Erase them.” said Joon Gi, reading the directions.
Eri gasped. “Can they do that? I’m the only Quirked person here and even mine is just a memory one for long-term memory retention. If they erased mine, I’d forget half my life in an instant.”
“Worse, it looks like they were using the small child to make it,” said Joon Gi distastefully, eliciting a curse from Nanba.
“That’s why I found some medical directions in the equipment,” said Nanba. “Those sick assholes.”
“What do we do? We can’t let this information get out into the public. People already suffer because of Trigger and Instant Villains. If people’s Quirks can be Erased…!” Said Saeko.
“We take the notes with us, and lock them away in Geomijul,” said Zhao. “Right, Kasuga-kun? It’s the safest place for them. Someone with a long-term memory could have committed them to memory by now. So we hunt them down, take out the big boss, and secure the notes.”
“I hate to admit it, but Zhao’s right,” said Kasuga. “We have to seal this info away, and protect the kid no matter the cost. Let’s take a moment to loot this place, and then set a charge. Didn’t we pick up some grenades from that old lady at the hidden vendor? We could use those to rig a charge.”
“A remote detonator? Sounds like an idea,” said Zhao. “Thinking smart. I’ll take those grenades and set a charge. Adachi-san, I’ll need your help building the bomb.”
“I will assist,” said Joon Gi Han. “In the meantime, everyone else should see to clearing out the room of lootable items.”
=====
Overhaul was pacing. He didn’t do pacing, but he was getting reports that a party of individuals had entered the compound, and one by one, were taking out his men, ransacking the building, and had penetrated the lowest levels of the facility. Useless, all of them! Why wouldn’t people see that his ideas were right? Well then, maybe when these failures of heroes would walk into their doom they would see that–
The door was kicked open and Overhaul’s eyes widened. “You!”
“Well well, so you’re the big boss huh? Your Patriarch would be ashamed of you and your direction,” said Ichiban Kasuga, walking into the room, eyes narrowed, his golden bat gleaming in the light.
“You made several mistakes when you met me, Overhaul,” said Ichiban, raising the bat as he walked towards the man who was angrily twitching. “First, you used a child in your experiments. That’s a huge fuck off right there. Second, you underestimated me, a Quirkless man. Third, you disgraced the legacy of the Yakuza, by dishonoring everything we stand for!”
Silence.
“Got anything to say?”
Overhaul exhaled. “Go… to fucking hell!” He struck the ground and the ground exploded around Ichiban, the ground ripping itself around him. There was an explosion, and for a moment, Overhaul thought he had him.
But then, Ichiban stood there, body glistening as his jacket and shirt were flying to the side, the Dragonfish tattoo in all its glory.
“FOURTHLY, and this is important!” Ichiban’s muscles rippled as he pointed at him. “Get your fucking shirt off you halfwit, we’re going to war!”
Overhaul howled angrily and tore his jacket off, revealing a bare skinned back as he lunged at Ichiban. “SHUT UP SHUT UP!”
===================
KAI CHISAKI
SHIE HASSAIKAI
===================
OST - Kuze’s Theme
Ichiban blocked the first attack as he swung back, the second and third strikes followed up by blasts that tore up the area. He smirked fiercely as Overhaul was in a blind rage now, power flowing off him. “Holy shit you’re mad, look at this guy you guys!”
“Ichiban you provoked him right into rage!” Exclaimed Saeko as she, Adachi and Nanba, the front-liners ran in as planned to flank him.
Overhaul had a moment of a surprise when Adachi rushed him, grabbing him by the ankles and with a startled yell, was whirled around in a literal lariat before hurled in a spinning twister before thrown into the wall where he slammed into. Snarling, he scrambled to his feet, blinded by his rage. “You pathetic!” He slammed his hands to the ground, buckling the arena and forcing Adachi to shield himself as Saeko brought up her hands and buffed his defense. “What the fuck is this?”
“It’s called teamwork, buster!” Exclaimed Saeko as a fiery aura engulfed the group as Ichiban raised their courage. High above, their “mage” had completed his attack, and Nanba breathed in.
A plume of flames engulfed the man and Overhaul scrambled for cover as the Pyro Breath flared around where he stood. Overhaul was forced to create a barrier to withstand the flaming, gnarly alcoholic rage as the flames flickered.
“Had enough?” demanded Ichiban as Overhaul burst free from the cocoon of flames howling angrily. “I guess he wants more.”
“He’s not going to go down easy. All in favor of a team attack?” said Nanba.
“AYE!”
=====
“Are they going to be okay?” asked Eri of her bigger “sister” as Eri nodded.
“Don’t worry, they’ve fought bigger before. One time, they fought a wrecking ball.” reassured Eri.
“Wow…” Suddenly, the sound of pattering feet drew their attention as the group charged up the hallway and Saeko paused to pick up Eri. “Time to go, everyone!”
“We haven’t finished setting the charges!” Exclaimed Zhao.
“Pull the fucking pin and go!” Exclaimed Nanba breathlessly as the hallway buckled dangerously. “We need to go! Ichiban’s holding him off!”
“Whelp,” said Zhao. “Go on Joon Gi, I’m right behind you.”
Making their escape, the dangerous whine of something high above could be heard and Eri paled. “Oh god oh god oh god!” She yelled as the Satellite Cannon fired.
=====
“It’s too quiet,” said the police captain. “We need to…”
And then, like that, the clouds parted as a Satellite Beam lanced down from the skies and struck deep into the ground. “GET BACK!” Howled the Pro Heroes as a group of people spilled out of the building, carrying a small child.
There was a deathly howl deep in the building, and then silence as the whine of the orbital bombardment could be heard, and then it stopped. Quietly, Eri walked over to the edge and yelled, “ICHIBAN?”
There was a small male voice from deep within the crater, and a cough but it was faint. “I got em!” Called out Ichiban. “Fucking bastard almost gave me the slip but I got em!”
Nighteye pushed his glasses up, trying to compose himself as Ichiban Kasuga walked up, dragging the unconscious Overhaul behind him and tossed him down in front of the police. “Fucking hell I need a nap,” he groaned, picking up a miraculously non-shredded shirt and jacket.
“Ichiban Kasuga,” said the police chief, as his men took away Overhaul. “I presume.”
“Depends who’s talking?” asked the man in red.
“What you did was illegal vigilant–” Zhao stepped in front of him and the police chief scowled. “You.”
“Now now, Kasuga-kun did nothing of the sort,” chuckled Zhao. “As medical records state, Kasuga-kun has no Quirk, and only access to highly explosive weaponry. And as such, he has been operating under the orders of the Ijin Three, which has also been operating under the express direction of a special peace-keeping force to keep Trigger out of our city for quite some time.”
The Police Chief’s scowl lightened a little. “Trigger? You did this all to prevent Trigger from being distributed in Yokohama?”
“A nasty little variant that would wipe out people’s Quirks, Chief,” said Adachi, walking up to the man. “Chief.”
“Adachi, I thought I retired you,” said the Chief before Adachi held up a bag of bullets. “What’s this?”
“Evidence. Bullets made from this young lady here,” he said, gesturing towards Eri who clung at his leg. “Manufactured from her bloodwork no less. Yu Nanba here is a nurse and can confirm the evidence.”
“I’m a former licensed nurse, I know my medical stuff,” said Nanba, standing up next to the men. “If you ask me, there was some serious black science going on in there. A lifetime in Meta Prison is too good for this guy and his associates.”
The Police Chief exhaled sharply and looked at Nighteye who nodded. “We will take them into arrest, and these bullets examined and then destroyed after the trial. We can’t have them falling into the wrong hands.”
Taking the other Yakuza away, Adachi groaned. “I forgot how much of a hardass that guy is.”
“So who’s the person you implied?” asked Saeko of Zhao.
“Hmm?” asked Zhao.
“You know, the peace-keeping force,” said Saeko.
“Oh that, I made that up, there is no peace keeping force,” said Zhao. “I just don’t like drugs. S’all.”
=====
“How’d it go?” asked Saeko as Adachi, Zhao and Ichiban came out of the police station hours later.
“Man, I haven’t seen the inside of a station for a long time since my cross-examination, but we got off scott free,” said Ichiban, rubbing his neck and stretching out with a groan. “I’m so hungry right now though.”
“Ichiban, you had us worried for a while, and all you can think about is food?” said Eri admonishing the older man.
“Now, now, we’ve been through a lot, and we could use something to eat right now,” said Zhao. “We’ll retire to Liumang Territory since we’re in the area and get something to eat at the HQ restaurant.”
“You sure we’ll be welcome there?” asked Nanba as he hefted Eri in his arms, the sleeping girl nodding against his ragged jacket. “Even though you’re not the Liumang boss anymore?”
“Don’t worry about it, my former boys aren’t going to stab me while I cook, besides, Seong Hui-san needs to know what’s going on.” said Zhao, nodding to Joon Gui who nodded back at him.
“Agreed. While we have eyes in the police headquarters, a first hand account would be preferable.” said Joon Gi Han. “Let us be off.”
“Okay, so it’s back to Liumang Territory then,” said Adachi.
=====
“Ah, I see. That’s how everything happened,” said Seong Hui who had invited herself and the Chairman along for the debriefing. The older Yakuza had indeed been interested in the distribution of Trigger, and had decided to invite himself for the discussion. “If only we had the means to stamp it out completely through our network, but Bleach Japan had stymied the effectiveness of our information. One would think that Ryo Aoki had planned this.”
“Knowing the Young Master, he probably had a hand in trying to get some kind of leverage into Yokohama, and destabilize this area knowing I was running for Mayor,” said Ichiban, scowling. “Do you think I’m going to be in trouble for my candidacy?”
“If anything, feats of heroism would make you popular,” said Hoshino, shaking his head. “The people of today look favorably towards heroism. And if your popularity as CEO of Ichiban Confections is any note, you have a certain charisma when persuading people.”
“You think?” asked Ichiban and the three heads, Zhao included, nodded. “Well if you’re sure, then thanks.”
“Regarding the child however, it seems she has a powerful Quirk,” said Seong Hui. “My Quirk Analysis tells me at a glance that it’s some kind of Stockpile Quirk, capable of enabling the Quirk deletion bullets. You didn’t give them all of them, did you?”
“I kept half of them, just enough to give the rest to the Evidence Locker,” said Adachi, handing over a plastic bag and sliding them over to her. “Figured I’d only give them so much to go on, unless some Crooked Cop decided to snitch them.”
“Here’s the rest of the notes too,” said Nanba, pulling them out of the inside of his jacket. “Sorry they smell, they were next to my lighter and cigs.”
“That’s fine,” said Seong Hui, taking them both and looking them over. “Fascinating.”
“So what are you going to do with them?” asked Saeko.
“First, we’ll encode these notes into code, and then destroy these bullets once we’re done studying them so that we can make an antidote,” said Seong Hui, handing them over to a Geomijul Waitress nearby who whisked them deep into the complex. “After that, we’ll send spies out into the city to see if there’s any more Trigger and Bullets spread across the city and round the rest of it up. This legacy cannot be allowed to continue.”
“Kasuga-kun you must understand that Trigger is something we don’t want to get into Ijincho,” said Zhao, leaning forward across the table. “The balance of the Ijin Three has always been delicate, and with Quirks in the mix, drugs of that magnitude would always tip the favor on one side or another.”
“Which is why we’ve always outlawed contraband as such, to keep the peace,” said Hoshino. “This is probably as we suspect, one of Aoki’s schemes to promote in-fighting with a fourth party.”
“Mmm, the Young Master always was one to stir up trouble.” Ichiban nodded. “Thank you,” he said, bowing.
“And the girl, what’s she going to do with all of this?” said Adachi. “Most of us don’t have a fixed address.”
“I could take her in,” said Saeko. “My house has enough room.”
“You’ve got room, but you’re never home,” said Nanba. “Sa-chan, you’re out and about all the time, and then you’ve got your club to manage.”
Saeko’s face fell. “You’re right. I’m in no position to raise a little girl, and I can’t send her to Nanoha and dad. They’d freak out if I sent them a little kid that we rescued from a bunch of dangerous thugs.”
“You know, I could take her in,” said Eri, raising a hand. “My grandmother said she wanted something to do and now that Ichiban Confections has a lot of employees, she has more time on her hands. Almost too much time. I could probably see if grandma would be able to bring Eri home.”
“A pair of Eri’s huh?” said Nanba. “Well, I’m out of ideas, and I don’t like the idea of a kid like this going into foster care. Let’s give it a try.”
=====
“So we good?” said Ichiban as Eri came out of her home.
“Yeah, grandma said it’d be nice to take care of a new granddaughter, or great granddaughter as it were,” said Eri. “The adoption papers will go through as soon as possible, thanks to everyone here. She really wants to start helping out at Ichiban Confections as soon as she gets old enough.”
“That’s good to hear, do your best, Eri,” said Saeko.
Eri grinned. “To be honest, it’d be better than her tagging along with us, and Grandma wanted someone to look after, since I’m running around adventuring with everyone.”
“I suppose it’s for the best,” said Ichiban. “I suppose we can call this adventure officially done then.”
“For now!” Exclaimed Adachi. “I’m guessing this kid’s going to play a lot of new parts in your life later, Ichiban.”
“Oh I don’t doubt that.” said Ichiban. “There’s always something new around the horizon after all.”
“Ichi, a moment before you all go,” said Eri’s grandmother as she brought the young girl down. She was dressed in a tiny sundress as she looked up at the tall man. “Go on.”
Eri walked up to Ichiban and he knelt down. “Hey kiddo, you feeling better now?” She nodded. “Good. I need to go now, but Eri’s grandma is going to take good care of you while I’m away. I’ll be back to check on you often though.”
“What are you going to do?” asked Eri and the group shared a smile.
Saeko smiled and she leaned over, booping Eri’s nose. “Ichiban’s going to become a Hero, you can count on it, Eri.”
“Yeah, a Hero! Just like out of Dragon Quest! So get better, get healthy, and I’ll see you again! I promise!” Exclaimed Ichiban, ruffling her hair.
Eri’s smile blossomed wide and she nodded. “A hero!”
Ichiban’s smile could have lit up the sun as he laughed. “Well, it’s off to Part Time Hero, and take on the next job! Let’s go, Hero’s party!”
Substory 54: End