Ritsuka's POV
Nick Fury was many things, but a patient man he was not. Without asking, he pulled out a chair from the round table in the middle of the room and sat down as though he owned the place.
"You're a hard man to find," Fury said, his single eye fixed on me like a hawk. "Or should I say you were, before you decided to run with the X-Men."
Romani let out a sheepish chuckle. "Well, lucky for us we found him first."
Fury didn't even spare him a glance.
"Please, take your seats," Coulson said softly, the calm voice of reason in the room. The others and I complied, though I kept my gaze on Fury.
He leaned back in his chair. "I've seen aliens before. Some are dumb as rocks, waving technology they don't understand, crashing into our world like drunks at a bar. That's what I expected when I heard about you people. But I was wrong." He gestured at us. "You're different. Real deal. And none of you belong to this world."
His words stung because they weren't wrong. I clenched my fists under the table. "What does S.H.I.E.L.D. want with us?"
"Nothing...for now." Fury poured himself a glass of wine, casual as if we weren't standing on a powder keg. "But I'd like to know why you attacked a factory in Texas. Not worried about making my organization your enemy?"
"The factory wasn't just a factory," I said quietly. My eyes didn't leave his. "It was a Hydra base."
The bottle hit the table with a sharp clink. Fury froze, his single eye narrowing. Coulson's usual calm faltered for a moment.
"…You expect me to believe that?" Fury's voice lowered into a growl. "Hydra is dead. Buried."
"Ritsuka isn't lying," Castoria said, her voice firm, though her cheeks were pink.
Fury's eye flicked toward her, unimpressed. "You cosplaying as a fairy-tale princess? You won't win anyone's vote dressed like that."
Castoria flushed, shrinking back in embarrassment. Her gaze darted to Morgan...already dressed neatly in a modern office suit, sipping her magic tea like she'd been born in this century. Castoria slumped further in her chair, wishing she could vanish.
I didn't flinch. From my shadow, I pulled out a stack of files and placed them on the table between us. "Here. Proof of Hydra. Documents I collected after killing their agents."
Romani, Da Vinci, and Moriarty each picked up a file. One by one, the color drained from their faces.
Da Vinci's bright eyes dulled, her lips pressed into a thin line. "Human experimentation… crude, disgraceful work." Her voice trembled—not with fear, but with fury. "To think technology could be used in this way… this is an insult to invention itself. But I already expected something like this."
Romani sighed heavily, his kind expression twisting with quiet sorrow. "I wanted to believe this world had moved past such horrors. But perhaps… I was naïve."
Even Moriarty, usually quick with a mocking smile, frowned as he scanned the details. "Hydra, Hydra, Hydra… always the same rot beneath the surface."
But the man most shaken wasn't one of ours.
Nick Fury sat frozen, his wine untouched. His jaw clenched, and his single eye lingered on the pages like they were ghosts of the past.
"…If this is true," he said slowly, "then Hydra isn't just some corpse in the ground. It's been festering in the dark all this time."
He didn't say more. He didn't need to. The weight in his voice told me everything—this revelation cut deeper for him than for anyone else in the room.
Grabbing a whole bottle, Fury downed a heavy drink, his face tightening as the burn settled in his chest. He needed something strong to ground himself after hearing Hydra's persistence. Slamming the glass down, he fixed me with a glare sharp enough to cut steel.
"Why the hell does Hydra still exist? How the fuck could they hide from us? All these years?"
I didn't answer immediately. Instead, I glanced at Moriarty. The young man's smirk widened as he rhythmically tapped his fingers on the table.
"What do you think, James?" I asked, my tone deliberate. "You can guess the answer, right?"
Moriarty chuckled softly, the sound cold and smug. "But of course. The answer is elementary." His eyes gleamed. "Hydra already exists in SHIELD."
Fury froze mid-breath. His good eye sharpened like a blade, his knuckles tightening around the file in his hand.
"Rewind, motherfucker," he snapped, flipping through the photos in disbelief. "Hydra is where?"
"In SHIELD," I repeated, my voice steady. "They've been there for years. Hidden. Burrowed into the walls while you thought you were cleaning house."
For a moment, Fury said nothing. The silence was heavy, suffocating. Then, his voice came low and deadly serious.
"You sure about that, kid?"
"Yes," I confirmed without hesitation.
Hakuno, who had been quietly listening, finally spoke up with a calm nod. "And we've already destroyed one of their bases. That's why they're after us now. We've become their enemy."
Fury's gaze snapped toward her. His tone was sharp. "Wait—Texas. You mean the goddamn attack in Texas?"
"That's right," I answered, a wry smile tugging at my lips. "I destroyed it. Left them a warning. And they made it very clear in return—they'll destroy me, no matter what it takes. I took something from them. Something important."
"They tried?" Fury pressed, leaning forward. He tried to know what I stolen from hydra.
"Yes." I met his gaze without flinching. "And they'll try again. But I'm still standing." And I didn't say a word about what I stolen.
The room went cold. Morgan's eyes glowed faintly, her voice like sharpened steel. "If they dare to harm my husband… then Hydra will see death itself descend upon them."
Fury blinked, his expression flickering between shock and something dangerously close to amusement. He finally leaned back with a groan, muttering, "I'm in my sixties and still single."
Da Vinci burst out laughing, elbowing Hakuno, who smirked at the jab. Neither missed the chance to tease, but Fury waved them off with a scowl, pretending he didn't hear.
Romani, however, placed a sympathetic hand over his chest and sighed. "I understand that feeling, Director. Truly."
Fury's lips twitched. For once, his gaze softened just enough to nod back. Two men who had seen too much, quietly acknowledging each other's loneliness. But sadly Fury doesn't know the Harem teacher of Ritsuka is him.
Fury pinched the bridge of his nose, staring hard at me. His single good eye narrowed like he was trying to figure out whether I was a lunatic or someone worth betting the world on.
"I don't know whether to believe you and admire you," he muttered, his voice heavy with irritation, "or doubt the hell outta you."
I shrugged, smiling faintly. "Fury, believe whatever you want. I know what I lived through. I know what I'll do. And I've already decided—I'm going to burn Hydra to the ground with every ounce of hate I've got for them."
Fury slammed his hand on the table, growling, "Motherfuckers.. I agree! Okay. Change of plans. All of you? You work for me."
Karna tilted his head, his golden eyes narrowing. There was no hostility, but his tone cut like steel. "Work for you?"
"Damn right," Fury snapped. "If what you say is true, and Hydra's already infected S.H.I.E.L.D., then it all makes sense. How they've managed to stay hidden in plain sight, how they've slipped under our radar. My own damn organization compromised right under my nose. Can you believe that shit?" He jabbed a finger at the files, the evidence of Hydra's infiltration spread across the table. "This… this makes me sick."
I leaned forward, voice calm but firm. "Then let's make this clear. I'll agree—our goals line up—but there are conditions."
Fury raised an eyebrow, folding his arms. "Figures. Alright, kid. Let's hear 'em."
"One," I began, holding up a finger, "don't interfere too much. Help us cover our movements when we strike Hydra bases, but let us fight our way. Two, I want fake identities for me and my team in New York. Documents, records, the works. Three...More of my friends will join me later. I want the same for them. Houses, normal lives. They're allowed to live freely. Don't drag them into something they don't want."
Fury's lips pressed into a thin line, but I didn't stop.
"Four—you don't force us into anything against our will. I'll work with you, but my friends and I make our own choices. Five—we'll need money. In exchange, I can give you pure gold and diamonds. No questions asked. And finally…" My tone softened, almost pleading, though I held his gaze.
It's good thing I had Both Edmond Dantès and Gilgamesh Golden Rule
"Erase our presence. Every record of what happened today, you give the credit to the X-Men. Let them be the public heroes. We'll stay in the shadows. We want normal lives, Fury. That's all I'm asking."
The room fell into silence. Fury just stared at me, dumbfounded for a moment, like he couldn't decide whether to laugh or cuss me out for trying to turn him into my errand boy.
"…So let me get this straight," he said finally, voice low and dangerous. "You want me to do the dirty cloak-and-dagger work while you run around smashing Hydra? And you're offering me—what? A couple bags of shiny rocks? Shit…" He leaned back in his chair, shaking his head. "Kid, you've got some balls. Asking me to do something while you get to play ghost."
Da Vinci chuckled, her eyes soft and proud. "He's growing faster than I expected. Ritsuka, you've really thought this through."
Romani blinked, still trying to catch up. "I can't believe it. You… you're negotiating with Nick Fury like it's second nature."
They started to act like proud parents.
Fury held my gaze for a long moment. His jaw tightened, but then he let out a slow, grudging sigh.
Fury's single eye narrowed as he folded his arms, looking at me like he'd just walked into a bad deal with devil himself.
"Y'know, kid," Fury muttered, his tone sharp as broken glass, "I feel like I'm makin' a deal with the damn devil rather than hirin' some workers. Anyway—you want me to get you citizenships under false names. Fine, I can make it happen. You're also indirectly tellin' me you don't wanna be my slave, huh?" He let out a dry laugh.
"Our goals line up. You're gonna deal with HYDRA, that's good enough for me. I'll use your group when shit gets serious. And let me make this crystal clear—I don't take 'no' for an answer from any of you."
Da Vinci leaned back in her chair, a catlike grin tugging at her lips. "Also, Director Fury, you should know—Romani and I are geniuses in our own right."
Romani gave a small shrug, adjusting his glasses. "She's not wrong. Though I'd rather not boast."
"Cute," Fury replied flatly, turning back to me. "Now, about your name. HYDRA—do they know it?"
I shook my head. "I don't know if they're aware of me. But you found us, so maybe…"
Coulson stepped in, calm as ever. "Director, I haven't told anyone outside this room about Ritsuka. My team is handpicked, and I trust every single one of them."
James Moriarty chuckled under his breath, his cane tapping lightly on the floor. "I rather think HYDRA hasn't caught wind of him yet. If they had, they'd be moving heaven and earth to seize Ritsuka for themselves."
Fury's jaw tightened. After a moment, he gave a sharp nod. "Fine. It's settled. I'll take this deal. I also have a few trusted people who can join you."
"My group will run the background checks," I said. "If they're like Coulson, I'll welcome them. If not, then forget it."
"Fair enough," Fury replied, voice low and dangerous. "Now, about money. If you're handin' me gold, diamonds, for-all-I-care—I'll move it into proper accounts. Keep it clean. Keep it off HYDRA's radar."
I couldn't help chuckling. "We'll discuss that later. Oh, and I almost forgot—we'll need bank accounts too. Don't forget to add that to the package."
Fury raised an eyebrow. "Damn, you sound like a Wall Street broker already. Fine. I'll make it happen. Now—tell me somethin'. "
"Who the hell are you people?"