"By yourself? You sure that's okay?"
Togata Mirio's battle suit looked a lot like All Might's, kind of like an American comic book superhero, but with goggles like a motorcycle helmet. He sounded surprised.
"I don't like group work. Besides, planting a bug is a small job. I can finish it instantly with The World."
Arthur turned and walked to the other side of the intersection.
Togata Mirio blinked, thought for a second, and didn't stop him. He called out, "Try not to engage!"
Arthur waved without looking back. Togata Mirio turned and walked toward the front of the intersection.
Half an hour later, at an outdoor coffee shop.
Arthur took small sips of the shop's signature coffee, legs crossed, muttering to himself, "Not here either."
From the corner of the coffee shop roof, Pet Shop's sharp eyes scanned the surroundings.
With eagle-like vision that could see for kilometers, Arthur didn't need to search for people himself.
But the city was pretty big, and this amount of time wasn't enough to find someone.
Just as Arthur was enjoying his coffee, a dark figure in the crowd behind him slowly pulled a pistol from his coat and aimed the barrel at Arthur's back.
The moment he pulled the trigger, an invisible bullet pierced through the crowd and flew toward the back of Arthur's neck.
Whizz! Whizz! Whizz! !
Just as the bullet got within a meter of Arthur's neck, a layer of ice shards suddenly rose from beside the chair leg, instantly forming an ice wall that blocked Arthur's back.
"What!?"
The dark figure's face went pale.
Noticing something was up, a bunch of pedestrians turned to look at Arthur with confused expressions.
What happened?
Arthur slowly turned his head, a faint smile on his lips.
This is bad!!!
The moment his eyes met Arthur's, the dark figure felt an endless chill well up inside him.
He grabbed two nearby pedestrians and threw them toward Arthur, then turned and ran, bumping into people as he went. Arthur stretched out his arm and blocked the two women who got thrown at him.
Meanwhile, Pet Shop, standing on the roof of the coffee shop, flapped his wings and instantly soared into the sky.
"Damn it! What's with that ice? Isn't his Quirk time stop?!"
The dark figure kept shoving pedestrians aside as he ran forward, drawing shouts and curses from people on the street.
Under his hood, his face was revealed.
A middle-aged guy nearly 1.9 meters tall, with spiky, messy hair.
Irinaka Joi, with the Quirk "Mimicry."
That was both his Quirk and his name.
He was a core member of the Shie Hassaikai.
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Just as Irinaka Joi ran into a residential area with fewer people around, several whooshing sounds suddenly came from behind.
Irinaka Joi's face changed. In a split second, he jumped forward violently and hit the ground.
Thud!
Bang!
Bang!
Thud!
Right as he lunged and fell, several explosive sounds erupted behind him.
Irinaka Joi turned his head, his pupils shrinking.
That was... ice!
The same ice that had blocked the bullet for Arthur earlier!
Caaaw! Caaaw!
A piercing bird cry rang out.
Irinaka Joi looked toward the sound.
He met the gaze of Pet Shop, who was standing on the wall of a nearby house.
"A bird!?"
Irinaka Joi was shocked again.
"Cawww! Caaaw! Caaw!"
Pet Shop shrieked even more sharply, spreading his wings as the surrounding air started to freeze.
"You were protecting Arthur just now!?"
Irinaka Joi yelled in disbelief.
But ice cones were already flying toward him.
Irinaka Joi turned and ran.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The ice cones smashed into the spot where he'd just been standing, causing another series of explosions.
"Damn it! The intel didn't say anything about him keeping something like this!"
Several dagger-sized ice cones emerged from within the blast.
Irinaka Joi cursed.
How could a human's speed compare to a bird's?
A dark shadow flashed in front of his eyes, and Irinaka Joi hit the brakes fast.
He focused and saw that Pet Shop had already flown ahead of him.
"So fast, this stupid bird!"
Irinaka Joi cursed internally.
Crack! Crack!
Ice cones condensed again, even bigger than before.
"Is this bird really raised by a U.A. student? its clearly trying to kill me."
Whoosh!
While Irinaka Joi was thinking, Pet Shop launched the ice cones.
"No choice, you bastard!"
At this life-or-death moment, Irinaka Joi, out of options, suddenly bent down and pressed his hands on the ground.
Instantly, half the street's ground started twisting.
Irinaka Joi's Quirk, "Mimicry" he could manipulate walls for quick movement and control them, using them for simple attacks or defense.
Because this Quirk drained too much stamina, he didn't usually use it, and his combat power wasn't that strong.
But once he did use it, it got really dangerous.
The concrete ground and walls surged like waves instantly, blocking Pet Shop's ice cones and continuously compressing inward, trying to crush Pet Shop inside.
"Die! You fking retard bird!"
Irinaka Joi roared.
He'd only used one move, and his face was already twisting from exhaustion.
The reason he'd climbed to department head wasn't because his Quirk was powerful, but because he was extremely cautious and careful in how he dealt with people.
Crash!
Under Irinaka Joi's control, the surrounding concrete ground and house walls pressed toward Pet Shop in the center.
Until they completely closed in.
"Haah... haah..."
Irinaka Joi barely stood up from the ground. "The second-in-command sent me on this mission specifically to guard against Arthur's time stop. It was a miscalculation, but at least I've dealt with a troublesome problem."
Irinaka Joi looked around. Because he'd used such a large-scale Quirk, quite a few residents had already noticed him.
Heroes and police would be checking out this area soon. He needed to leave fast.
Thinking that, Irinaka Joi turned and ran.
And in the center of the twisted, compressed walls, a giant ice block, condensed from freezing frost, filled most of the space.
Looking closer, Pet Shop had already summoned his Stand, Horus, using the ice to block the compressing walls.
But Irinaka Joi's earlier attack had also hit Pet Shop's left wing.
With strong killing intent flashing in his eyes, Pet Shop recalled Horus into his body, burst out of the compressed wall space, soared high into the air, and chased after Irinaka Joi.
...
Re@d adv@nce ch@pters on p@t
guilt_free_daoist
Jo!n d!sc0rd I!nk in synops!s.
GIVE ME YOU POWER STONES.