Author's Notes: Chapter edited and corrected by Vongrak.
Taylor's POV - September 29
I took a deep breath. Today was my last day of my internship in Brockton Bay. It had been a pretty hectic last week in Brockton Bay, or rather, in general, it had been a pretty crazy internship.
Starting with Lung and the ABB at the beginning, and now ending with the whole Empire and Sophia problem, it was a complete disaster. Last week we had to deal with the retaliation from the few remaining Empire members who were left without a leader after Kaiserin and Purity were arrested and most of their high-ranking members were killed by Sophia.
There were a few who had not yet come to light, such as Hookwolf, according to the thinkers of the PRT it was very likely that she had already left Brockton Bay, even so, the few members and normal villains practically despaired and began to attack almost every night.
Luckily, most of its members had already been arrested, so the problems had lessened considerably. Fortunately, my job only involved catching villains and gang members, and I didn't have to get involved in the government investigation into all of the Empire's assets.
There was a huge problem with Medhall; its assets were frozen while the PRT and the government investigated everything, and I could see Armsmistress pacing back and forth, getting more and more annoyed as the days went by.
I simply offered my condolences, a thermos of Izumi's coffee, and went on my way. Yes, I felt sorry for her, but not enough to offer any help, even if I knew she'd refuse. I wasn't that crazy.
"Strider, hello." I greeted Strider with a smile as I approached.
"Miyamura. Ready for your last day? " Strider asked with a smile. I smiled sadly.
"Unfortunately and thankfully, yes." I sighed wearily, smiling. I must say, these past few weeks weren't as bad as I expected. The PRT and the Protectorate had done their part, and neither Director Piggot nor any other PRT member had really bothered me during my internship, so I hadn't had any problems on that front.
I just had to focus on my work, which was really enjoyable. I'd formed a friendship mainly with Missy, Vicky, and Amy, and a sort of camaraderie with some of the other heroines; I would miss them all.
"Then, let's go to Brockton Bay." I said to Strider with a smile; she froze slightly and smiled shakily.
"Oh, yes, before that... here." Strider said shyly and nervously, then pulled out a letter. I blinked and looked at it; it was a black envelope. I examined it curiously before turning it over, my eyes widening in surprise.
Federal Bureau of Hunters. It was written in stylized letters on the edge of the letter.
"Who gave you this?" I asked Strider coldly; she grimaced.
"I think... you know who it was," Strider said, almost looking away. I narrowed my eyes even more, but she didn't say anything. My gaze returned to the envelope, and I turned it over in my fingers. We were still at UA; I could refuse to open it and take it to Nezu.
After considering it for a few seconds, my fingers broke the wax seal and I opened the envelope. I took out the small letter and read it quickly; after all, there wasn't much to read. It was a formal invitation with a signature underneath.
Michelle Connor, Deputy Director of the Federal Bureau of Hunters.
The message didn't say so, but it was more than obvious that it was a mandatory call, not a meeting request I could refuse. Or at least, not without consequences.
I sighed heavily and without hesitation pulled out my scroll, I called Nezu.
"Mrs. Miyamura ?" I heard Nezu's voice.
"The Federal Bureau of Hunters wants to meet with me; they sent Strider as a messenger," I said without hesitation.
"Hey, no, wait!" Strider said, almost panicking.
"I see," Nezu said coldly. "What do you plan to do? We can cancel the last day, Miss Miyamura." Nezu said immediately, and I smiled at his words.
"I know, but I'll go see them," I said simply. Nezu remained silent.
"You don't have to do it," Nezu said again. I chuckled.
"I know," I repeated gently to myself. "But I want to do it, even if it's to refuse outright." I told Nezu, who remained silent before laughing joyfully.
"It seems her husband is infecting you more than it appears," Nezu said, laughing slightly. I smiled slightly.
"Yes, that's what he does. He grows like a hallucinogenic mushroom inside you and makes you do crazy things," I said dryly. Nezu laughed once more.
"Take care, Mrs. Miyamura. If you don't return or send a message within the next few hours, then we'll come looking for you." Nezu said with a firmness that wouldn't allow for a refusal. I laughed slightly.
"Understood, Director Nezu, I'll see you when I get back." I said easily before ending the call, then looked at Strider pouting.
"Did you have to tell him I gave you the letter? I was just the messenger!" Strider complained. I raised an eyebrow.
"The messenger always dies first, Strider." I said dryly, she just looked at me with disgust, then we laughed slightly.
"I hope you're happy, this surely ends all my future contracts with UA." Strider said, sounding exasperated but not at all worried. I sighed.
"Were the Protectorate notified that I'll be late?" I asked, changing the subject. Strider opened his mouth and then closed it before shrugging.
"Do you think I stopped to ask you anything? I'm independent for a reason. I really don't want anything to do with the Federal Bureau of Hunters, but I'm not stupid enough to refuse either. They'd be capable of making my job a lot harder," Strider asked dryly. I snorted and rolled my eyes. I pulled out my scroll and sent several messages.
The first one was for Armsmistress, explaining exactly why I would be late, and then some more vague ones for Missy and Vicky. Armsmistress replied almost immediately in agreement; I just sighed with relief, then took a deep breath.
I sent Izumi one last message and waited for his reply. Izumi had a lot to say, a lot of information that I'd mostly already memorized thanks to his persistence, but it was still welcome—information from several high-profile or important people. Information that Izumi obviously shouldn't have, so I just sighed, quickly memorized the information before saving the scroll.
"I'm ready, let's go." I told Strider. She finally nodded and placed her hand on my shoulder. Just as usual, the scenery changed as quickly as I expected, but instead of leading us to the usual landmarks, the last one brought us face to face with a huge building.
There was a woman in a suit in front of us, who immediately bowed.
"Mrs. Miyamura, thank you for coming. Please allow me to take you to the meeting room." The woman said without hesitation. I looked at Strider, who shrugged.
"I'm getting paid to wait for you. Go on, I'll be here when you come out, whatever you decide." Strider said casually as she walked away with her hand raised. I just watched her for a few moments before taking a deep breath and turning to the… secretary? Or whatever that woman was, and simply nodded.
"Come on, let's not keep them waiting," I said simply, attracting all the insects around me and starting to push all my reactions inside them; I really needed to keep my mind blank.
We trudged through the building. The woman in front of me seemed unfazed, but for me, each step grew heavier as we neared the meeting point. My insects were frantically gnawing at me as I pushed against the tension building with every step.
We both took the elevator to the top floor, and then continued walking. The woman approached a door and knocked gently before opening it.
"Ms. Andre, Ms. Connor, I brought Mrs. Miyamura," the woman said as she entered. I stopped for half a second in front of the door. She said… Andre? Almost begging that I was wrong, I gathered enough strength to take a step into the room.
My gaze immediately fell upon Thomasin Andre. Tall, muscular, with long blonde hair, she had a powerful and very intimidating figure, even though she was wearing a Hawaiian shirt and beach shorts, and even though she was sitting lazily at a table eating a steak, she hadn't even looked at me.
Thomasin Andre, a nationally ranked hunter, the one who held the top spot among all hunters in the world. A true monster.
This was not what I expected at all. I thought it would be someone important from the US Federal Bureau of Hunters, not the damn Scavenger Guild Master. This had escalated enormously. How the hell had I gotten that monster's attention? I gritted my teeth slightly.
Had they called her in to try and convince me? Which would be terribly effective; she wasn't someone I could easily deny anything to. I'm sure Izumi and Nezu would say otherwise, but the amount of trouble Thomasin Andre could create wasn't something I could ignore.
My body tensed even more as I stood before her. Then Thomasin Andre's red eyes turned toward me, and she stared intently, and my body trembled slightly. My real body trembled. The control I had over my body by pushing my reactions to my swarm shattered with just her gaze, and my body couldn't help but tremble in the presence of this monster.
Thomasin Andre remained silent as she chewed her food, then wiped her mouth with a napkin and finally stood up. I held my breath as Thomasin Andre stood up and walked toward me.
She was tall, I had to look up to keep looking into her eyes, something she also did, her gaze never moved from mine, I kept pushing my reactions over my insects which were practically chirping and waggling furiously outside the building.
Thomasin Andre was intimidating, very intimidating. I had met All Might, Ryuma Shimotsuki, and All For One, three people who were nationally ranked in strength.
The first one, All Might, had a comforting feeling, he practically radiated security and protection; the first thing you felt when you saw or heard All Might was that you were completely safe, unless you were a villain.
Ryuma, on the other hand, was barely distinguishable from a normal person. I spent a week with him and felt absolutely nothing special from him. Only when he fought AFO did I feel something from him, something terribly sharp, razor-sharp, like a sword.
And finally, AFO was the complete opposite. I couldn't feel anything but fear and dread in her presence. She was terribly overwhelming; I could barely move around her, and I didn't even want to think about fighting her.
But Thomasin Andre was intimidating. Just…intimidating in general. Like standing face-to-face with a predator. Something I was terribly familiar with. Insects exhibit physiological and behavioral responses when they detect a predator, and that's what I was feeling right now, standing in front of her.
Even so… there was something I couldn't help but notice.
"You're... shorter than All Might," I muttered before I even realized it had left my mouth. Then I froze instantly. The room fell completely silent. I could see a woman staring at me incredulously, her mouth agape. Even the secretary had turned away, abandoning her professional demeanor to look at me in shock. Thomasin Andre stared at me, her eyes slightly wide. I felt the blood drain from my face, and I paled dramatically.
"Oh, Goddess, I'm sorry—" I tried to apologize immediately, almost panicking. Fuck, fuck, fuck. I only stopped when I felt a heavy hand on my shoulder. I swallowed audibly and trembled slightly.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!" Thomasin Andre burst into laughter as she punched my shoulder hard. I stared in disbelief, ignoring the blows that felt like they were going to dislocate my arm. "Are you brave or stupid? This is the first time anyone has ever compared my height to All Might! Ha! " Thomasin Andre laughed uproariously. I blushed deeply.
"I'm so sorry." I said quickly, Thomasin Andre just waved her hand.
"No problem, Miyamura! I'll let it slide. I haven't laughed like that in ages! " Thomasin Andre said with a dangerous smile. I bit the inside of my cheek as I nodded. "Let's get to the point. I only came because I was curious. You've been attracting a lot of attention lately."
"You've impressed me, so I'm offering you a place in the Scavenger Guild," Thomasin said, extending a hand and smiling arrogantly. "You can work as a hero in your spare time or whatever you want. You won't lack for anything: money, resources, men, whatever you desire, it's yours." Thomasin Andre said without hesitation, almost as if she hadn't even expected a rejection. I just stared at her hand before meeting her gaze.
"Thank you for the offer, Ms. Andre, but I must decline." I said firmly, luckily managing to control my body enough so my voice didn't tremble or break. I stood perfectly upright as I stared at her. Andre's smile widened and became more menacing.
"And... who said you had a choice?" Andre said dangerously as she lowered her hand. I tensed up and narrowed my eyes.
"What do you mean?" I asked slowly, Andre just smiled at me.
"We are on American soil, YOU ARE American, I'm sure the Japanese people and government will understand that you 'decided' to stay here after your month-long internship," Andre said dangerously.
"Are you going to force me to stay?" I asked solemnly.
"Do you think you can stop it?" Andre returned the question with an arrogant and dangerous smile. I narrowed my eyes.
"No, but I'd try if necessary." I said as I gripped the bag where I kept Shusui tightly. I felt like my stomach dropped several feet, but I held firm. Andre just smiled even wider.
"You would fail," Andre said arrogantly, without a trace of doubt in her voice. She let out a sliver of her aura, just enough to reveal what kind of monster she was, and my body began to tremble again without warning. Even so, I didn't back down; I just stared at her.
"Maybe, but that won't change the fact that I'll try, and that I'll keep trying." I said without backing down. "And even if I can't succeed... my husband will come looking for me, sooner or later." I said without any doubt.
"Oh? Ryuma's grandson, do you have faith in him? Do you believe he's capable of defeating me? " Andre asked as he leaned in and brought his face closer to mine.
"Faith? I don't need faith, I know he'll do it." I said confidently. Andre stared at me before bursting into laughter.
"I like you, Miyamura!" Andre shouted happily, laughing heartily. "I'll say it one more time, I'm offering you a place in Scavanger," Andre said cheerfully.
"And I must refuse once again," I said immediately. Adnre looked at me before shrugging.
"Oh well, I tried," Thomasin Andre said casually, then walked over to the table, sat down, and went back to eating her steak without a care in the world. "Even so, I'm really impressed. The conversation went exactly as you described, word for word. I'm impressed, Tammy," Andre said as she chewed. I blinked, confused.
She… had given up so easily? And who was I talking to?
"My name is Tamsin, Ms. Andre," a tired voice said from one of the rooms before the door opened, revealing a tall, thin woman and, behind her, a 12-year-old girl. "Mrs. Miyamura, my name is Tamsin Calvert, and this is Dinah Alcott. Shall we begin the meeting properly?" the woman asked with a broad smile, and I stared at them in disbelief.
She said… Calvert and Dinah Alcott?
A/N: If you liked the story, join my patreon, patreon.com/Camellya_Addams, there are up to 10 chapters in advance, thank you. Or you can also visit my Ko-Fi, ko-fi.com/camellya_addams.