Chapter 130: Where to Find Fantastic Beasts
"You can go take a look backstage. That should clear up your questions," Uwabami replied to Itsuka Kendo with a smile.
Aoi Hana stammered, "Snake Sis, is it really okay to let them know? You..."
Uwabami patted Aoi's head. "Don't worry," she said with a gentle smile. "They're cute girls, just like you. They won't go spreading it around."
She placed an index finger on her cheek, tilted her head, and smiled. "What you're about to see... you have to keep it a secret, okay?"
Does this circus have some kind of secret? Momo Yaoyorozu and Itsuka Kendo exchanged a look and nodded solemnly.
"This is it." Aoi Hana led them to the front of the smaller tent. "You two... try not to be too scared."
"We're students from the Hero Course. What haven't we seen?" Itsuka Kendo said, confidently stepping into the tent. Momo followed close behind.
The tent was completely sealed. As they entered, a single light switched on, and in the darkness, dozens of glittering eyes turned toward the light source in unison.
The moment she stepped inside, Momo was hit by the unique, musky smell of animals. While she had noticed a faint scent on Kira, it hadn't been this strong. The sudden smell, combined with the shock of what she was seeing, made her heart skip a beat. She clutched her chest and began to cough violently.
"Hello, miss. Is there something wrong with your heart?" a voice suddenly came from a pair of eyes in the lower-left corner. "I'm very sorry, but we don't have a doctor here. Because we never get sick."
Another voice retorted from behind the first pair of eyes. "No, someone has gotten sick, right? The Director said that one time Takami got rabies after Okami bit him! He was molting all over the place, completely bald!"
"That was seasonal molting! It had nothing to do with rabies! And besides, Okami is a wolf," a pair of eyes from up high said slowly. "I was wondering why you were all keeping your distance from Okami back then. So you were afraid of getting infected."
"You're such an idiot, Kongo! You actually believed what the Director said? No wonder you're always getting teased! Hahaha!" another voice laughed.
The owners of the eyes were bickering like a comedy duo, completely forgetting the two ladies standing in front of them.
"My apologies, ladies. They tend to get off-topic." A pair of eyes, black and shining, spoke from a spot closest to Momo. The voice was slow and gentlemanly. "Since you have entered this room, it must mean you have the approval of the Director or the zookeeper. We are very happy to meet new humans."
"Humans? Then you all are..." Momo Yaoyorozu began to understand, her voice hesitant.
Just then, someone else lifted the tent flap and walked in. It was Aoi Hana and Uwabami. Seeing that the two girls had been inside for a while without making a sound, they had come in to check on them.
Aoi Hana pulled the main light switch and casually finished Momo's sentence. "They, of course, are the animals. The main stars of tonight's show."
Under the bright lights, the owners of the eyes were revealed. A gorilla, an eagle, an ostrich, a rhinoceros, and an elephant that took up nearly a quarter of the entire room—all of them, locked in cages, were now reflected in Momo and Kendo's eyes.
"Are you serious? The animals can actually talk?" Kendo said, unsure if she was shocked or just amazed. "Don't tell me... you all have Quirks?"
No one answered her. All the animals' attention was now focused on Uwabami. Excited voices began to call out:
"Snake Sis, you're back!" "How's life on the outside? Is it fun?" "Are you here to see our show this time?" "Is the food out there good? Do they have any imported bananas?"
The last question was from the dazed-looking gorilla. After he said it, the room fell silent for a moment, and then a chorus of angry voices descended upon him. "You idiot! What are you talking about!?" "Just eat your banana! If you don't know how to talk, then don't!"
Shishido the lion, who had been lying in the center of the room, couldn't take it anymore. He opened his half-closed eyes and said, annoyed, "All of you bastards, shut up! Do you want me to beat you all until you can't speak!?"
Instantly, everyone went silent. Shishido lifted his head in satisfaction, and his gaze fell on Uwabami. He raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Hey. Why are you back? Wasn't life on the outside treating you well? Did you have to deal with the casting couch, or did you just get too old and washed-up?"
A vein throbbed on Uwabami's forehead. "I heard you were going to be performing, so I came back specifically to see you make a fool of yourself. Is that a problem?"
"Don't you worry your old head about me."
All this time, in Momo's mind, Uwabami had been the epitome of elegance. But now, seeing her bickering with a lion in a cage, her worldview was a little shaken.
"Are you two going to start fighting the moment you're back?" a slow, deliberate voice came from a corner by the door. "Don't forget, we have two unfamiliar guests watching."
Momo turned her head and saw the one who had spoken at two critical moments—no, the animal who had spoken. It was a seal, currently floating in a small, inflatable pool. Its skin shone with a dark luster, and a black bow tie was fastened around its neck.
"More than two," Yoshikage Kira's voice came from outside. He lifted the tent flap and walked in, gesturing for the people behind him. "Come on in. You'll like this."
Behind him, Makoto Hibikiya, Jodo Chenjie, and the others filed in.
After seeing the animals with their various human-like characteristics, Jodo said with amazement, "I can't believe it, Kira! You weren't joking! There really are this many mutated animals!"
"Stop watching so many sci-fi movies. It's obviously because of their Quirks. It has nothing to do with 'mutation'," Kansou Eruto said, lightly tapping Jodo on the head. He smiled and greeted the animals. "Hello, everyone! It's a pleasure to meet you! I hope we can all work together happily!"
"Hmph. Finally, someone with some manners," Shishido snorted, then lay back down and didn't move again.
"He has no manners at all, and he doesn't need them!" Uwabami said indignantly. She then turned, her expression instantly changing back to a smile. "Let's go outside. I think you'll need an explanation to understand the situation."
Everyone nodded and left the tent. Even if they were curious about the animals, the smell in the tent was quite strong. While the animals didn't seem to notice, Momo and the others couldn't get used to it. A breath of fresh air would be good.
After they left, the animals quieted down. The cages weren't locked. The gorilla pushed open his cage, walked to the corner where the fruit was stored, and got another banana. The floor of his cage was already littered with banana peels.
When Kira had invited the 'soul' band, he had gotten the Director's permission to tell them about his Quirk and the existence of the "fantastic beasts." But Kira hadn't wanted to reveal such a private matter himself, so he had just vaguely told them that "the animals can talk," which was one of the reasons he had been able to entice them to come and perform.
Uwabami, without any hesitation, explained the Director's Quirk and the fact that she had once been a member of this zoo. After finishing her story, she smiled and winked. "You have to keep it a secret."
"So Uwabami-san later awakened her own, true Quirk, which allowed her to maintain her human form and leave the zoo... I never would have thought," Kira said, stroking his chin in surprise. "Does that mean the Director's Quirk also has the ability to catalyze the awakening of Quirks in animals...? That clears up one of my questions."
The Director's explanations were often confusing. He had never told Kira the full extent of his Quirk. No, it was more likely that he himself didn't know, or simply didn't care, what his abilities were.
The most important factor in an animal awakening a Quirk was sapience. The Director's Quirk was essentially allowing the animals to experience the power of having a Quirk ahead of time, which could push them to develop in that direction. As expected, Kira thought, this Quirk is totally broken.
Kira noticed one thing and suddenly asked, "By the way... where is the Director?"
(End of Chapter)
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