Ra sat quietly in his little room, observing camera feeds near U.A.
He was in an empty apartment building that has long been abandoned. It is a place most homeless, heroes and villains avoid due to its poor quality.
The room was his temporary base of operations.
The room was moldy, the windows were broken, the whole structure looked ready to collapse.
It was perfect for Ra. Nobody expects one to live in such an uncomfortable place. But for Ra and the Pale Hand, it's just shelter.
The broken windows were patched with wood and the holes in the walls were covered with tarps.
A generator was set up nearby to run electrical equipment. And all around the room were boxes full of weapons and ammo.
In the center of the room was a computer and monitor. It was hooked up to the generator and was operating just fine.
On the roof was an antenna that was able to give him a strong signal.
It's been a few weeks since he had confronted Samuel Suzuki.
Ever since then, Suzuki has been staying inside the school.
Only once did he leave and that was for a hero licensing exam.
Ra planned to confront him there, but the amount of heroes on the scene was less than ideal.
He planned to jump him when he followed the imposter girl, but decided not to. He was given strict orders not to interfere with the League of Villains.
Ra was trained by Wushan and was confident in his abilities. But after fighting Sam personally for a moment, he realized that he had underestimated the boy.
While their confrontation was more of a test on whether his skills degraded while here or not, it was eye-opening as Ra could see for himself the genius of Suzuki.
He heard tales of the Canvas.
The quirkless mercenary that could outsmart any opponent.
A cold-blooded killer, one who could destroy armies and not feel the slightest guilt.
But all of that was a lie.
After meeting him, Ra could see the legends were overexaggerated.
Suzuki was a child. A traumatized child.
He had viewed footage of his city rampage many times prior to their confrontation, and saw for himself that Suzuki was mentally unstable.
"If he is to be taken back, he will likely be washed… maybe even worse."
Ra recalled the process of "washing" soldiers.
It was a new beginning for soldiers who are deemed to be strong, but waste their potential on meaningless things like emotions and memories.
Washing them makes them a blank sheet that will obey its master's orders without hesitation.
But, it's not perfect. Samuel Suzuki was the best example.
He was able to regain his memories. Not all of them, but some.
He even began to remember emotions.
This should have been obvious, but he was skilled in deception, and he deceived everyone by acting like the cold-blooded killer he was known as.
It's not forbidden to feel emotions in the Pale Hand.
However, only productive emotions are allowed.
Many of the elite are cold and ruthless, yet also sadistic and evil.
Many elites of the Pale Hand who have controlled their emotions have become monsters.
Countless war crimes have been committed by the Pale Hand for the past few decades.
Many governments tried to bring the group down, but the leaders of those governments would soon find themselves without a leader.
Even the UN had no power. They were just a group of fools in the presence of Wushan.
He was the uncontested king of Africa.
Nobody could stop his rule.
Many tried to defy him, but he always paid back his debts.
But Samuel Suzuki. Canvas. Escaped from him.
The Pale Hand had no tolerance for traitors and deserters. Many mercenaries who tried to escape or betray the organization, would find themselves in hell.
The next day, after they were captured, all the mercenaries would be sent an image on their communication devices. A decapitated head. The face contorted in pure agony.
Branded onto the forehead was a hand, the symbol of the Pale Hand.
But this symbol was different. It was a hand with four fingers. Not five.
The symbolism was obvious. This was a useless finger and it was cut off.
Ra could only assume that when Samuel Suzuki is returned to Wushan, he would not have a pleasant fate.
Looking through the cameras he hacked into, he could find no trace of Suzuki.
However, he did come across someone coming to the school to visit every now and then.
Rumi Usagiyama. The Rabbit Hero: Mirko.
Samuel Suzuki's girlfriend. She stopped by the school many times to spend time with him.
It was quite the development. The notorious Canvas dating a hero.
The irony wasn't lost on Ra. Yet he couldn't help but feel something strange when he looked at her.
It was familiar.
She was familiar.
Ra was aware he was washed. He had no idea who he was once. He had no name, no identity, nothing.
All he knew, was that he was a weapon.
A weapon made to take down Canvas.
That was his purpose.
One he didn't intend to fail.
However, he underestimated the defense of U.A.
He tried hacking into their systems, but he couldn't break through no matter how hard he tried.
The reason was obvious. Nezu. The smartest being in the world.
Wushan warned of the little Chimera. A being Wushan hated with all his being. A weak creature that used tricks to take what it wants.
He recalled the malice in his voice when Wushan mentioned it.
The faculty roster was also not to be underestimated.
Ra was confident he could take down most heroes. Even Endeavor. Heroes were predictable to the mercenaries of Pale Hand.
They were trained ruthlessly and had to fight to stay alive almost every day in Africa. Yet the heroes live lives of comfort.
Wushan always reminded them of his belief.
Victory is the greatest defeat.
Wushan was one of the strongest men in the world. But he always made it clear that allowing arrogance to get into your head was suicide.
Heroes lived luxuriously. The villains they fought were small fry and every victory weakened them.
With that in mind, Ra didn't find them threatening.
However, he wouldn't let arrogance control him. If he is outnumbered, he would be in trouble.
That's why he had to proceed with caution.
"HQ to Ra. Do you copy?"
A voice suddenly erupted from a communicator on the table next to the monitor Ra was using.
Turning his masked face to the communicator, he reached out his hand to it and picked it up.
"Ra to HQ. Roger that. Currently in the FOB, observing the target. Unable to bypass the enemy stronghold. Waiting for further opportunities. Over."
His digitized voice echoed in the room.
He waited a moment for a reply.
"Copy that. Any movement from the blue falcon? Over."
The voice asked.
"That's a negative. The target has locked himself in the school. Accessing the cameras in the school is proving to be impossible. All I can do is watch the surroundings of the school for any possible sightings."
The voice sighed.
"Ra. The leader won't be pleased. The blue falcon must be retrieved. No matter the cost."
Ra hesitated to reply.
"Ra. Will I need to send in some back-up?"
Ra clenched his fist.
"No, sir. I just need an opportunity to get him out of that school."
Suddenly, the voice laughed a bit.
Ra was confused but waited for an explanation.
"I hope for your sake that you succeed, Ra. The leader invested a lot of time and money into your creation. It'd be wise to complete this sooner rather than later."
The voice threatened.
Ra stayed silent.
"Other than that, what's the situation with this so-called 'League of Villains?'"
The voice asked.
Ra sighed and pulled up info that was compiled through reconnaissance.
"I observed them slightly, hoping to get a plan in place to capture Suzuki by using them. So far, they have proven to be disappointing. They did meet with the leader of the Yakuza. Shie Hassaikai."
The voice could be heard gasping after hearing that—something Ra caught.
"Sir. Do you have any intel on the Shie Hassaikai?"
Ra asked.
"Hah. I sure do. What a small world. Ra. Do you know how we got so many quirkless kids for the Canvas project?"
Ra clenched his fist.
"Trafficking."
"Yeah. I never understood what made the boss so fascinated with making a Quirkless soldier, but orders are orders. As one of the fingers, I had to find some potentially valuable kids. I returned to my homeland and ended up finding him."
Ra's eyes widened.
"Sir, are you saying that you…"
The voice smirked—Ra could tell even though he couldn't see it.
"Yeah… I bought Suzuki. It was me."
Ra suddenly began to think about this, if he bought Suzuki, that should mean….
"So it was the Shie Hassaikai who sold you him?"
Ra asked for confirmation.
"Obviously."
Just like that, Ra finally felt a plan brewing.
"Homura."
"You dare speak informally to-"
"Homura. I will disconnect now. Ra, over and out."
"Wai-"
Click!
Before Ra could get chewed out by the newly revealed Homura, he disconnected.
He sat down on the computer and immediately looked into the Shie Hassaikai.
He read the most recent reports and learned that they were beginning their reemergence now that All For One and All Might are gone.
Ra wasn't impressed by their lacking concealment. But was grateful considering it was their carelessness that allowed him to formulate a plan.
On the screen was a still image of CCTV footage.
In the footage was a little girl running away from a masked man.
Ra stared the screen before pulling up the info on Samuel Suzuki.
"He was sold by the Shie Hassaiki, more specifically, he was sold by him. Kai Chisaki. And Chisaki seems to be using a child to further the Yakuza. I can use this."
Ra clenched his gloved fists as his masked face kept its eyes on the image of Sam.
"The time for our second meeting is coming, Canvas. I'll be ready for you."
End of Arc 6