HPSC
What does this abbreviation mean? Hero Public Safety Commission. They are headed by a serious woman - Madam President. There are many rumors about them, and their activities covered a fairly wide range of different duties and directives. They are a law enforcement agency responsible for managing the interaction between Heroes and society as a whole, as well as investigating the most dangerous cases of crime. It would not be a mistake to call them the Security Department.
And now their representative is sitting opposite Ryuushiro, and on the table lies a folder. It is unknown what is in it, but the guy already guessed. The representative was some kind of agent or operative, an unremarkable Japanese, well-groomed appearance. The room turned out to be a real interrogation room with gray walls, just like in detective series.
«And now they will probably start playing good cop/bad cop.» - thought Ryuushiro, hiding his excitement, while the operative walked behind him, increasing the tension.
- Do you know why you're here, boy? - he asked after a minute of walking around, and then sat down opposite.
- I don't understand at all why I'm here, - Ryuushiro began, - I should be home now. - he began to openly mock the facts, which made the operative smile almost imperceptibly. It seems he likes this kind of game.
Chuckling, the operative continued, almost in a whisper, - We have a lot on you. Petty hooliganism, excessive use of a quirk without permission, the rest are minor, and, perhaps most importantly, - the man waited for a dramatic pause, trying to calculate the dragon's facial expressions, - Causing moderate and serious bodily harm, even if they were the scum of society: marginals, vandals, thieves and other scum, but there is something to cling to.
Leafing through a folder with all sorts of photos of various locations around the city where this vigilante's activities were noticed. "It looks like they've been digging into me for a long time, some of the photos are already several years old, when I was just starting out."
The operative continued, - And as the icing on the cake, we get this video recording... - the man turns on the wall projector, judging by the look of it, it's one of the cameras that unsuccessfully filmed the roof from which Ryuushiro took off last time, without thinking much about the consequences, - ... where a guy with a VERY similar appearance to you, with a quirk similar to YOURS, heads towards the bridge.
This is a complete defeat. There is no way to make excuses anymore. If everything up to the bridge was done under a mask and the identity was not established, then now he was caught due to his own carelessness and haste. Now he was caught like a night cat who stole the last sausage from the refrigerator.
- Ah... hot dragon blood, you know. - Ryuushiro looked away from the operative in defeat, towards the one-way glass, where some important people were probably currently located. As he knew, the HPSC did not interfere in ordinary cases without reason.
- What, you won't even call a lawyer? We have one ready to defend your interests...
«Seriously? Who is this crazy guy?»
The operative's tone changed to a calmer side, the tension eased
-...You won't need him. We are not your enemies, and you are not here for nothing. No one will press charges, considering your contribution to society as a vigilante. We have long been convinced that you do not pose a threat to society, but will you want to help society under our protectorate?
«Wow, what kind of joke is this... Are they recruiting me???» - leaving a puzzled and thoughtful Ryuushiro, the operative simply left the room abruptly.
«Damn. What have I gotten myself into this time?» - Ryuushiro grabbed his head.
...
To his surprise, the operative returned, bringing a plate with a full dinner of Peking duck with rice and salad, which had been making his mouth water since the moment he opened the door.
-I hope you didn't put this plate here to tease my appetite.
Another step of trust was shown by the agent. The man unfastened the handcuffs and held the plate closer.
-We know that you lived in dysfunctional families. Mr. Kazuhiro-san, the policeman who detained you, told us about your situation and wanted to make sure of your safety.
-Thank you, - Ryuushiro bowed his head, for which he received a couple of non-existent karma points, and began to eat.
Ryuushi may not have shown his weakness outwardly, but fear and anxiety were seething inside him like magma in the center of a volcano. A huge amount of mental energy was spent on restraining and controlling his own body and mind. Stopping his leg twitching from nerves, keeping his hands in a visible place, not avoiding eye contact, and generally holding on tight.
It was good that now the pressure had eased and the tension had subsided, moving the conversation from passive-aggression to goodwill. As if the operative was talking to a neighbor who had lived across the street for at least ten years. However, the operative's piercing gaze remained, and it seemed that nothing was left without attention. The slightest shadow of doubt in his eyes was detected and used in the interests of the HPSC and Japanese society.
The operative continued to use a cunning game of words to achieve their goal and push their line further. Before the proposal itself, they also discussed small nuances and details until they got to the most important thing.
- Let's move on to the main proposal. Dude, your potential is valuable and some interested parties have already expressed their desire to invite you under our banners. They offer you opportunities, means and knowledge to develop the skills needed for the safety of our society. They think so, but don't expect it to be easy. It's worse than the army, it's worse than the police and much worse than a heroic profession. You won't sit around your salary in a cozy office, but will work for the good of society.
Throwing dust in the eyes, the operative noticed the still existing interest in Ryuushiro's eyes. He chuckled and continued,
- And now to the benefits. Full medical coverage including prosthetics. Favorable mortgage. You will never need money again. You will have the opportunity to study various crafts inaccessible to society completely free of charge. Hone your combat skills, theory, weapons. However, if you agree, you will be transferred to the full care of the state and must follow all orders without question.
At first, Ryuushiro had an unreadable expression on his face, but now his eyes began to play with excitement. It seems that this is exactly what he lacked in life: Development, Goal, Recognition and most importantly - battles, and these guys turned out to be not a timid ten and made even him, the Proud Dragon, tense up!
- Don't rush to rejoice so much, boy. - the operative looked at him sadly. - What you are being offered is a very big responsibility, but also great authority. If you are not ready for this, you will simply die and at the same time people will suffer. I'm not kidding. From now on, jokes and simple street fights with punks will end. A real battle for survival will begin.
These words greatly dampened Ryuushiro's ardor, his face again returned to a thoughtful look with a hint of barely noticeable excitement.
-But there is also another choice. If you refuse, your life will return to normal, and the choice of your future will depend on you. I understand that it is not easy to give an answer to the most fateful decision in your life. We will give you a couple of days, come to your senses after everything. Think it over. We will contact you ourselves on Friday. - the operative thought, exhaled slightly and relaxed, leaving the interrogation room with Ryuushiro. -I hope you are smart enough not to tell anyone anything.
-Of course. By the way, what is your name?
-Forgot to introduce yourself? My mistake, Major Doran. Agent of the Ministry of Internal Security.
...
After the interrogation, the operative entered a room with strong one-way glass overlooking the interrogation room. There was the secretary of Madam President herself, he sent a video of the interrogation on his smartphone and, apparently, attached his report on it. Taking Ryuushiro under her wing turned out to be entirely her initiative.
Having left the interrogation room, the operative loudly and tiredly fell onto a chair to attract attention.
- Why are you sitting down so loudly? Are you tired? - said one fat representative, with a perpetually dissatisfied face, not from the HPSC, but having influence on them. Politician. Tsubasa. Always sniffing around, although it is not his jurisdiction here. If the Major had his way, he would have conducted a search of that house.
- Mister Tsubasa, try to conduct an interrogation for several hours without breaks, then we will talk. And now, please forgive me. - the operative did not show it, but his blood pressure clearly jumped. Maintaining steady eye contact with those scary, predatory reptilian eyes required an incredible amount of willpower. He had interrogated more people in his career, but this one was one of the most difficult.
«He's like a small, barely controllable thermonuclear bomb. Madam President will have a hard time getting him under control. It's obvious that the guy doesn't like being pushed around.» Even though personal information was always confidential and neither place of residence, nor real names, nor details about family members were disclosed, this was not a problem for the HPSC. The department had all the information it needed to maintain security.
«I constantly had the feeling that I was looking into the mouth of an ever-vigilant lion and laying claim to its prey. What the hell! The cunning Madam President managed to find some kind of monster for her team...» - The operative had no doubt that the guy would accept the offer, but, on the other hand, Director Nezu also intended to accept him into the ranks of heroes.
...
They dropped him off at the same gas station where they detained him a couple of hours ago.
-Damn... - the dragon collapsed tiredly onto the bench.
"The major is something else. If all HPSC is like this, then my respects. They made me shake, as if they scolded a puppy for a pile of shit in his shoe. It's not surprising, after the collapse of the bridge, everyone is probably on edge. Such a big bridge was destroyed. An important logistics hub, after all. So they decided to play all the trump cards against me that they had been collecting for years. Like, it's not right to fly around here like that and save everyone in a row. You either decide or shut up."
Now it's 13:18, Wednesday.
He needed to distract himself somehow, and deep down his dragon essence had already given a positive answer to this fateful decision.
...
The next morning the guy was already lying in his bed, at least some comfort, cleanliness and tidiness had finally caught up with Ryuushiro. The doorbell rang at his apartment. A courier had arrived, delivering letters.
-Are you Ryuushiro Genba?
-That's right. - he said more confidently, which made the courier believe him and hand over many letters. The guy said goodbye to the courier and thanked him for his work. He looked closely at the seal of one of the letters...
-WHAT!? U.A.?! - he barked with such force that even a small flame appeared from his mouth, which he did not notice. A white envelope with the UA coat of arms was in his palm. On the title page, just below, his name and address are printed in small print, and below that, "Letter of Recommendation," is written in a pleasant Times New Roman font with a gold sheen.
Calming down, the dragon, looking at the letter, clenched his fists, his knuckles turning white.
«Are they forcing me to choose between two?»
Although after the incident on the bridge and receiving attention from the HPSC, it is not surprising that some academies are interested in the promising young man. This is proven by the fact that among these academies there are connections in politics and the police." It remains only to check the contents.
"Dear Mr. Ryuushiro Genba, on behalf of the Principal of the U.A. Elite Hero School Academy in Musutafu City, I express my gratitude for your contribution to public safety and saving 26 people during the recent incident at the Hiroshima Bridge. The public is grateful to you. Your identity is known only to the police, myself, and perhaps a few other academy directors whose letters you have most likely already received, so you do not have to worry about privacy. Your actions were easily matched thanks to the CCTV footage from your school, and the police confirmed this without considering the data as a violation of privacy..."
Now after the proposal from HPSC, even though it is the most prestigious academy that is promoted and popularized by All Might himself, it has not attracted much interest. Who cares about becoming a cool hero! He has already seen enough of the "cool" heroes on the bridge, and there is no way to get into the major league. There is incredible competition there. Behind the pretty wrapper is the bitter truth.
«And so, thanks to HPSC there will be...What will actually happen? Who will I become? Major Doran did not give me a clear picture.»
"...It will be my honor to invite you to study at our educational institution next year due to your distinctive heroic qualities and significant skills. Since this is a letter of recommendation, you do not need to take the entrance exam! You can also apply for a scholarship and other social benefits. Thank you again for your contribution.
Sincerely, Director Nezu."
-Haaa...So what should I think now?" he began to sort through many sheets of paper from other not so prestigious academies with similar content.
«On the one hand, it is useless for me, I am going to work for HPSC, and for now this can only be a backup option.»