"You people annoy the heck out of me," Dabi said, leaning against the wall, looking least bothered.
"What?!" Toga retorted.
"You sure like overreacting." He commented.
Twice chuckled nervously, "Hey, hey, we're all here for the same thing, right? To see the hero society burn down? We can't be fighting over petty shit. We're villains, have some dignity." He suggested.
An awkward pause.
"That doesn't even make sense, twice!" Toga shouted.
Dabi smirked at that, finally peeling himself off the wall. His boots thudded against the floor as he walked past Toga without so much as a glance. "She's right. You don't make sense. But then again, when have you ever?"
Twice jabbed a finger at him, my voice cracking in frustration. "Hey! I make perfect sense! I make more sense than you, crispy boy!"
"Watch it. You'll end up more burnt than me." Dabi warned.
Twice broke a sweat. "I make complete sense. You two shouldn't be fighting, and instead do something like... I don't know, get a battle plan or something!"
Toga let out a laugh that was half-giggle, half-scream, spinning her knife in her fingers. "A battle plan? Since when do we plan, Twice? That's, like, so… hero."
"No, it isn't! Haven't you all those villain masterminds in the TV Shows?! All they do is plan!" He retorted.
Shigaraki just sat on his chair, scratching his neck. He slowly turned to Kurogiri. "That's the plan.... that's it? We just have to wait for the day?"
Kurogiri looked at him and paused for a second before answering. "Yes, I suppose. Master's orders, Shigaraki." He said.
Shigaraki banged the table hard. "This is so frustrating, can't we do something?!"
"Just waiting?!"
The room went still. Toga froze mid-spin of her knife, eyes wide with excitement. Dabi arched an eyebrow, a flicker of interest breaking through his usual lazy expression.
"The day's tomorrow, Shigaraki. You must be patient." Kurogiri said.
Shigaraki stared at him for a few seconds before calming down.
TAP
TAP
TAP
---------------------------------
WHOOSH!
Kentaro Suzuki burst from the alley beside his office building, fumbling with his tie. His briefcase swung wildly as he navigated through the morning crowd, muttering apologies to every human he nearly bulldozed.
FIFTY MISSED CALLS FROM KAEDE HARAKAWA
"Sheesh, she's going to boil me alive!" he grumbled before speeding up.
As he rounded the corner, his reflection in a shop window caught his eye. Tie crooked. Shirt untucked on one side. Hair is a mess. Perfect look for a guy about to beg for forgiveness.
He reached his office, panting, though he wouldn't. It was a massive skyscraper, as tall as skyscrapers could. Built by the finest architects and engineers in Japan. It was an international organisation after all.
As he was walking to the elevator, the receptionist gave a cautionary look to Ken that basically said, 'You're dead.'
Ken broke a sweat as he entered it, pressing the button for the 20th floor.
BEEP!
The door opened, cinematically slow. A woman on the right side of Ken was talking to someone, holding papers.
His eyes widened as soon as he saw her. Her blonde hair and short body made her a bit easily recognizable.
"Kentaro Suzuki." Kaede's voice made him break a sweat. "You're late. Third time this week."
His spine turned to jelly. He wasn't taught all this by his parents. "Kaede! Good morning. Beautiful day, isn't it? Love what you've done with your-"
"Don't." She turned toward him. "Don't you dare try to charm your way out of this."
"What?" Ken attempted his most innocent expression. "I have no idea what you're talking about."
"You know what I mean. I've gotten you this great of a job, and the least you could do is not be late." She scolded.
Ken raised both hands like a suspect caught red-handed. "Kaede, come on, you make it sound like I waltzed in at noon with a smoothie and sunglasses."
"You might as well have." She shoved a thick stack of papers into his arms. "Meeting. Five minutes. Top brass from three countries. And guess who's presenting the Shibuya analysis?"
"You?" He asked.
"NO!" She retorted, giving him a light slap on the top of his head. "You!" She said.
"What? About what?" He asked.
"You didn't see my messages, did you?" She asked.
"I-I did, Kaede. Of course I did."
Kaede crossed her arms, tapping her foot. "Oh, really? Then what's the meeting about, genius?"
...
"The meeting's about your recent report on that building in Shibuya!"
Ken sighed in relief, "Oh, then, that's easy. Chillax, Kaede. I've got it," he said.
Ken plastered on his most confident smile. "Piece of cake. I'll just wing it."
Kaede's eyebrow shot up so hard it could have hit orbit. "Wing it? Ken, this is a boardroom full of executives who eat underprepared people for breakfast. Do you know what they had for lunch yesterday?"
Ken blinked. "How would I know what they like? I mean, everyone's got their taste, rig-"
"They had someone's career." She jabbed a manicured finger at his chest. "Yours is on the menu if you screw this up."
He swallowed hard. "Noted."
"Well, take your report and scoot over there." She said, handing out a copy of my report.
"Relax," he muttered to himself. "You've faced collapsing buildings, villain shockwaves, and-" He glanced at Kaede. "Okay, maybe this is worse."
"Did you just say something?" Kaede asked without looking at him.
"Nothing! Just… psyching myself up." He forced a grin. "You know. Heroic inner monologue."
Kaede shot him a look. "This isn't an anime, Ken. You don't get a training arc."
The doors of the conference room swung open.
At the far end sat Chairman Hayato Takizawa.
Ken swallowed and stepped inside, clutching his report. Kaede walked off to the side, arms crossed.
"Mr. Suzuki," Takizawa said. "You're late."
Ken bowed slightly. "Apologies, Chairman."
"No worries, your report on the recent Shibuya incident was very interesting. I want a bit more clarity on that subject. Can you give me that?"
"Of course, Chairman. The Shibuya incident presented several... unusual characteristics that warrant discussion."
Takizawa leaned forward slightly. "Unusual how?"
Ken opened his report, though he could recite every word from memory. "The structural damage patterns were inconsistent with the villain's reported Quirk capabilities. Buildings that should have collapsed completely remained partially intact. Debris fields were contained in ways that defied physics."
"And your assessment?"
"There was external intervention during the attack. Someone with extraordinary strength was actively mitigating the damage while evacuations were taking place." Ken met Takizawa's gaze. "The mathematical models don't work otherwise."
"The apartment complex on Fifth Street. A forty-story structure rated for magnitude 7 earthquakes fell in a controlled manner that prevented it from damaging adjacent buildings. The debris pattern suggests someone caught and redirected its fall."
"Managed by someone strong enough to catch a falling skyscraper," Kaede added quietly from her position against the wall.
"Exactly." Ken advanced to the next slide. "Similar patterns appear at six other sites across the district."
Chairman Takizawa sat back in his chair. "Your conclusion?"
"Superman was there. He saved hundreds, possibly thousands of lives. And he did it while remaining completely undetected by our monitoring systems."
"That," Takizawa said slowly, "is both remarkable and terrifying."
Ken nodded. "Yes, sir. It is."
Takizawa returned to his seat. "Your report will be forwarded to the appropriate agencies. In the meantime, please continue to monitor for similar anomalies. If Superman is operating in our jurisdiction, we need to understand his patterns."
"Understood, sir."
"One more thing." Takizawa's eyes narrowed slightly. "Your assessment was in-depth for someone who arrived twelve hours after the incident. Almost as if you'd witnessed the events firsthand."
Ken felt his throat go dry. "I... had access to extensive documentation. Security footage, witness statements, and structural analysis from the first response teams."
"Of course." Takizawa's smile didn't reach his eyes. "Dismissed."
Ken bowed and headed for the door, Kaede falling into step beside him. As they walked down the hallway, she elbowed him gently.
"That went better than expected," she whispered.
"Did it?" Ken's voice was strained.
"You didn't pass out or spontaneously combust, so yes." She paused. "Though Takizawa's last question was weird. Why would he think you witnessed it firsthand?"
Ken stopped walking. "Eh, I don't know. I'm too good at my job, that's why," he replied.
...
SLAP ON THE HEAD!
Ken acted hurt.
"You don't have to be all smug about it." She said. She sighed. "You've gotten another work trip. United States Of America. The branch there requested you after seeing your track record."
"What?" He blurted out instantly.
He refused. "I don't wanna go again, I literally went to Russia the other week. I have some things to do."
She refused his refusal. "Nope, pretty big disaster, Ken. You know, that's kind of our whole deal. International and all."
Ken threw his head back dramatically. "America? Do you have any idea what that flight does to the human spine? I'm still recovering from the Moscow trip. My chiropractor says I have the posture of a question mark."
"Your spine will survive the trauma." She rolled her eyes. "The American branch wants you there immediately. Disaster management, field analysis, all that boring stuff you're allegedly brilliant at."
"Allegedly?" Ken clutched his chest. "I risk life and limb for this organization."
"You risk being late more than life and limb."
"That's... that's a devastating low blow, Kaede. Truly devastating."
She smirked with satisfaction. "Flight leaves tonight. I already booked your ticket."
His jaw hit the floor. "Without consulting me?!"
"You would have said no. This way, you only get to complain for eight hours straight across the Pacific." She pressed a boarding pass into his reluctant hands. "Direct to JFK. Try not to miss it."
Ken examined the ticket like it might bite him. "Well, it's your money."
"The company's money," Kaede corrected. "And you're going whether you like it or not."
"Hey, I wasn't refusing! Did you hear me refuse? Because I definitely didn't refuse."
"It was heavily implied."
"Absolutely not! Are you kidding me?"
"I am not kidding you. Maybe work on your poker face, because you're transparent as glass."
"Ha. Hilarious."
"I know, right?"
"Wait- are you actually playing along with my banter right now?"
"No shit, Sherlock."
"Language!" Ken looked genuinely scandalized.
"Oh, f-"
Ken's hand shot out, covering her mouth before she could finish. "Come on! The F-word? You know how I feel about gratuitous profanity!" He felt that using complex English words made him sound more serious.
muffled sounds of retaliation
"I'm going to remove my hand, but you have to promise- and I mean promise- not to say it."
Kaede nodded solemnly.
The instant his hand pulled away, "FUCK!"