Hello there!! Here is today's chapter.
Plus I can see we are getting near 700PS mark.
I will be going to sleep after uploading this chapter, so if the 700PS mark is done, i will upload after I wake up.
The next milestone after 700 will be 1200 PS, think we can get that?
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The small girl with blue hair stood in the center of the room, clutching her purse.
"Young Master Peng," she said, pointing a finger at the boy cowering in the chair, "was making fun of a waiter. He was kicking him and asked him to lick his shoes. Then... then the cat tried to help. It was just a small cat. It tried to defend the waiter."
She took a breath.
"Peng ordered his friend to leash it. To capture it like a wild animal. That's when the girl with the ponytail stepped in. She cut the rope. And then... the red-haired boy arrived."
"LIAR!" The Mayor roared, slamming his fist onto the security console. "SHE IS LYING! My son would never do something like that! He is a gentleman!"
The girl flinched, stepping back toward Jian for protection.
"He is a bully," she whispered.
"I WILL HAVE YOU ARRESTED FOR SLANDER!" the Mayor screamed. "THIS IS A BLOODY CONSPIRACY!"
Jian Li opened his mouth to intervene, but he was cut off.
"If my son wanted to hurt your boy," a cold voice interjected, "your son wouldn't be sitting in a chair holding an ice pack."
Everyone turned.
Honoka Shuzenji stepped forward. She wasn't shouting. She didn't need to.
"What Akira did," Honoka said, looking at the Mayor with burning eyes, "was lenient. Extremely lenient. Because I asked him not to make a mess tonight."
She looked at the boy.
"Trust me," she whispered. "After what your son tried to do to Nia... if Akira hadn't promised me to be good... your son wouldn't just have a sore arm. He would be missing it."
Jian flinched.
He looked at Honoka. He saw the certainty in her eyes.
So she does know, Jian realized. She knows about her son's dark side. She knows what he is capable of.
But then, he looked closer. He didn't see fear in Honoka's eyes. He saw acceptance and understanding.
He started re-evaluating the data from the Heart Roulette.
Mei has Red, he thought. Rage. Violence. She has killed people in the ring. But her Rage is selective. It is directed only at enemies. It protects the family.
He looked at the mental image of Akira's wheel. Pink (Love). Orange (Care). Blue (Heroism). Black (Malice).
Maybe, Jian mused, a weight lifted from his shoulders, maybe the Black isn't just corruption. Maybe it's a weapon. Maybe the Malice is reserved for those who hurt his family. That explains the Orange and Pink. And the Blue... the Heroism... that directs it.
He isn't a monster, Jian concluded, sighing in relief. He's more like a guard dog. A very, very vicious guard dog.
I am kind of glad this happened, he thought, almost smiling. Now I don't have to have that awkward conversation with Honoka. 'Hey, your son is evil.' That would have been a buzzkill.
Mayor Peng stared at Honoka. He recognized her now. Not just as a woman in a dress, but as the woman standing next to President Ming earlier. The woman who commanded respect from the strongest man in Asia. (I mean it👀👀)
He swallowed hard. If that monster in the lounge was her son... this was trouble. Real trouble.
"Evidence!" the Mayor sputtered, trying to salvage his dignity. "You have no evidence! It's her word against his!"
"I have proof!"
They turned to the girl. She was digging into her purse. She pulled out a phone with a glittery case.
"I recorded it," she said. "Most of it. I started recording when the waiter fell."
She tapped the screen and held it up.
The video played. The audio was crisp.
("DO YOU KNOW WHO MY FATHER IS?! I WILL HAVE YOU FIRED!")
("Leash this cat.")
("NOOOOOOOOO!")
("This might hurt a bit.")
They watched in silence. The cruelty of Peng Jr. was undeniable. The intervention of Akira was brutal, yes, but clearly provoked.
The Mayor went silent. His son shivered, watching his own humiliation replay in 4K.
But Honoka noticed something else.
As the video played, the camera frame was always Akira. It zoomed in on his face as he walked away. It stayed focused on him, adjusting his gloves, ignoring the chaos around him.
The video ended.
Honoka looked at the witness with her eyebrow raised.
"Why were you recording, dear?" Honoka asked gently.
The girl froze. Her face turned a bright red. She looked at her shoes.
"W-Well..." she stammered. "I wanted to make sure we had evidence! For the police! For justice!"
She looked up, her eyes wide and panicked.
"NOT BECAUSE I THOUGHT THE RED-HAIRED BOY WAS HOT OR ANYTHING! NO! DEFINITELY NOT! I WAS JUST... DOCUMENTING! HE HAS VERY SYMMETRICAL FEATURES! YUP, THAT'S ALL!"
Silence filled the room.
Then, Jian burst out laughing.
"HAHAHAHA!" he roared, slapping his knee. "See, Honoka? I told you! He is like me! The deadly combination! Even witnesses fall for the charm!"
Honoka rolled her eyes, though she was smiling. "Yeah, yeah, Mr. Love Guru. Keep your ego in check."
Jian wiped a tear from his eye. He turned to the Mayor.
"Mayor Peng," Jian said. "With this evidence, if we go to court... or if this leaks to the press... you are bound to lose. Your son will be disgraced, and your reelection chances will be zero."
The Mayor paled.
"So," Jian suggested, opening the door. "How about this? We just forget what happened. You take your son, you leave my tower, and you make sure he learns some manners. And in exchange... I don't destroy your career."
The Mayor didn't hesitate. He grabbed his son by the arm.
"We're leaving," he muttered.
They ran out of the room.
Jian closed the door. He looked at Honoka.
"Well," he said. "Crisis averted."
Honoka sighed, rubbing her temples. "Now... where is this lovely, trouble-magnet son of mine?"
***
Near a Vending Machine:
Far away from the office, down a quiet corridor on the lower levels, a boy and a girl sat on a bench.
They held soda cans, and a small black cat was curled up on the boy's lap, asleep and purring.
"So," Akira said, taking a sip of his drink. "You are telling me you can make any non-living thing? As long as you know the atomic structure and how it works?"
Momo Yaoyorozu nodded, holding her tea with both hands. "Yes. It consumes my lipids, so I have to eat a lot, but fundamentally... yes. I can create anything."
She looked down at her can. "I know it's nothing special like your quirk. Fire is so powerful. Healing is amazing. Creation is... well, it's utility."
Akira stared at her. Then slowly kept his drink down.
He reached out and flicked her forehead.
Thwack.
"OW!" Momo yelped, rubbing her forehead. "What was that for?"
Akira didn't answer. He ignited a tiny spark of blue flame on his finger and pressed it to the red spot on her head, instantly healing the small bruise.
"What kind of hero do you want to be, Momo?" he asked.
Momo blinked, surprised by the shift in topic. "I... I don't really know. Maybe someone who can save everyone? Someone versatile?"
Akira nodded. "Okay. So, how have you prepared for it? You have a quirk that can create anything. What's in your arsenal?"
"Well," she said proudly. "I have learned the molecular structure of at least twenty items. The scissors I used earlier. The taser. A first aid kit. A flashlight. Some ropes."
"Anything else?" he asked.
She thought for a while. "No. That's about it. I focused on memorizing the periodic table."
Akira sighed. And looked at the girl.
"Do you know what the first thing you should know is?" he asked.
"Follow the rules?" she guessed. "Understand the law?"
Thwack.
He flicked her forehead again. Harder this time.
"HEY!" she protested. "STOP DOING THAT!"
"Not my fault," Akira said, healing her again. "You keep saying dumb stuff. My hand moves on its own."
"Then what am I supposed to do?!"
"Learn to fight, duh," Akira said, leaning back. "Do you know how to throw a punch? Do you know how to grapple? What happens when you run out of fat? What happens when you can't create more things? Are you just a civilian in a costume?"
Momo opened her mouth, then closed it. She had no answers.
"Have you thought of learning how to use a weapon?" Akira pressed. "A staff? A sword? A gun?"
He gestured at her.
"Have you learned how to make gear? Not just flashlights. Complex machinery. Hydraulics. Circuitry. Something like an exoskeleton?"
His eyes lit up.
"Heck, you can literally be Iron Man with that quirk of yours! You could build a suit of armor around yourself in seconds! You could make cannons! You could make jet boots! You are a walking factory, and you're making scissors?"
Momo paused. She frowned.
"Who is Iron Man?" she asked.
Akira sighed. He pinched the bridge of his nose.
That is her question? he thought.
"He is a character from a storybook I read a long time ago," Akira explained. "He is a hero without any quirk. He uses his genius to make a high-tech suit of armor and becomes the best hero in the world. He flies. He shoots lasers. He tanks missiles, and has a great sense of humor."
He looked at her intensely.
"You have a quirk that lets you build a suit instantly. You don't need a factory. You are the factory. Why did you never think of that?"
Momo's eyes widened. The gears in her head began to turn.
"Wait..." she whispered. "I can... I can totally do that. I just need to memorize the schematics for servos and micro-turbines. I need to understand the mechanics behind it."
She looked at her hands.
"Why did I never think of that?"
"No clue," Akira shrugged. "Probably because schools teach you to be a 'Rescue Hero' instead of a 'Combat Hero'. They put you in a box."
Momo went silent. She looked down at her lap, her expression falling.
"I wasted so much time," she murmured. "UA starts in a month. I'm so far behind."
Akira watched her. He felt a twinge of guilt.
Was I too harsh? he wondered. She's nice. She even saved Nia.
He opened his mouth to apologize.
But then, Momo jerked up. She stood up, startling Nia awake.
She looked at him. Her eyes weren't sad. They were burning with purpose.
"Akira!" she said.
"W-what?" he asked, leaning back nervously. "Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Teach me!" she demanded.
"What?"
"Teach me!" she repeated, stepping closer. "If you are telling me all this, you must have done it, right? You know how to fight. You know about gear. You critiqued the gadgets in the hallway like an engineer."
"I... yeah," Akira admitted. "I trained."
"And I guess you are going to U.A. too?"
"Yeah."
"Then how about you teach me?" she pleaded. "During the month before U.A. starts. Be my mentor! Help me become.... what was his name.... YEAH! Iron Man!"
Akira smiled wryly. "I don't even have the confirmation if I passed yet."
Momo gave him a deadpan look. "Please. The Recommendation Exam results are already out. I passed. And I saw what you did to those guys. There is no way you did not pass."
"I gave the normal exam," Akira corrected.
"Why?" she asked, confused. "With your family connections, you don't need to?"
"Because I needed to show the staff what they are going to have to deal with," Akira said, a dark smile playing on his lips. "I wanted to set the tone."
Momo stared at him. "That is so corny."
Akira coughed violently, choking on his own spit. He quickly took a puff from his pipe to recover his dignity.
"Okay, okay," he wheezed. "I will help you. At the end of the day, you did save Nia. So I kind of owe you."
He stood up slowly, cradling the sleeping cat so she didn't wake up again.
He extended his free hand.
"Guess we have a deal, Yaoyorozu."
"Deal," Momo said, gripping his hand firmly. "And call me Momo."
***
The Security Room:
On the wall of monitors, it showed the boy and the girl shaking hands.
Honoka Shuzenji stared at the screen. Her hand was over her mouth.
Slowly, she turned to Jian Li.
She grabbed him by the collar of his expensive suit.
"DO YOU SEE THAT?!" she screamed, shaking the CEO back and forth like a doll. "YOU SEE THAT, YOU FUCKER?! MY BABY MADE A FRIEND! A REAL FRIEND! AND HE IS GOING TO SPEND TIME WITH HER! IT'S A GIRL! A RICH GIRL! A SMART GIRL!"
"I see it! I see it!" Jian yelled, his head bobbing. "Stop shaking me! I'm getting motion sickness!"
"HAHAHAHAHA!" Honoka laughed maniacally, tears of joy streaming down her face. "HE'S NOT GOING TO DIE ALONE! HE HAS A SOCIAL LIFE!"
She let go of Jian, throwing him back into a rolling chair, which spun wildly across the room.
"I need to call Mom! This is history!"
She ran out of the room, pulling out her phone.
The tech staff and the guards stared at the spinning CEO.
Jian stopped the chair with his foot. He straightened his tie. He looked at his employees with absolute seriousness.
"You saw nothing," Jian said.
They all nodded frantically. "Nothing, sir."
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This will be the start of Momo and Akira's friendship. Let me know if it sounded natural, and not forced.
Plus if you want, you can read up to 10+ chapters and support me you can alway join my P@treaon. (Just search up Joe_Mama p@treon on google.)