"This is it. The Hero Association branch on I-Island!"
Melissa jumped in front of Arthur and pointed at the skyscraper ahead.
"Wait here."
He glanced at her and walked past.
"Okay, be careful."
Melissa stood on the steps below the entrance, smiling. She had a totally different vibe from Momo Yaoyorozu.
"Arthur from U.A., right? Follow me."
After Arthur showed his ID, the security guard gave him a surprised look, then turned to lead the way.
They took the elevator to a conference room on the top floor.
The room was huge, like a basketball court, with a row of wooden tables lined up by the windows.
A bunch of middle-aged guys in suits sat there. Arthur didn't recognize any of them.
"U.A. High School student Arthur. Quirk: Stand: The World. Can stop time for about one to two seconds. Currently a first-year."
"Skip the introductions,"
Arthur cut off the slick-haired guy in the middle who was reading his file. "Get to the point."
"The point?"
Some of the Hero Association execs looked annoyed.
"Is that how you talk to us during a mission request?" the slick-haired guy said, clearly unhappy.
"If it weren't for some boring stuff back home, I wouldn't have flown all the way here just to meet you. So just tell me what you want."
Arthur was getting visibly impatient. He didn't care about these people.
The execs didn't push it. One of them pulled a file from a drawer and flicked it like a dart toward Arthur.
Guess he wasn't just some office worker. He had a Quirk too.
Arthur caught it easily. The file showed a middle-aged guy with slicked-back red hair, a strand hanging over his forehead, kind of like All Might's style. He had rough features and a big build.
The name next to the photo: Wolfram.
"This is Wolfram. International mercenary. His Quirk is Metal Manipulation. He ranks in the top ten of Japan's hero charts."
The exec continued, "Recently, he and his crew got onto I-Island somehow. We haven't found them yet. There might be someone on the inside helping them."
He gritted his teeth. "We wanted to give this to a pro hero, but that might tip them off. So we're asking you, a student, to catch him."
Arthur glanced at Wolfram's info, then looked back at the execs. "If things get messy… is that okay?"
They exchanged looks, thought for a second, then nodded. "If there's no other choice, you're authorized."
"Nice. Guess this place actually lets people use their Quirks. Not like the old-fashioned Hero Association back in Japan."
Arthur waved and turned to leave.
As soon as he stepped outside, Melissa rushed over. "How'd it go? Was it serious?"
"Just a small job. I'll handle it quick."
Arthur smiled.
Top ten? At his level, he probably needed someone in the top five to make The World evolve more.
Honestly, Arthur wasn't worried about this mercenary. The only issue was finding him.
He snapped his fingers, and Pet Shop swooped down fast, landing on his shoulder. Melissa flinched, then stared curiously at the peregrine falcon wearing a helmet and a scarf.
"Find him."
Arthur held Wolfram's file in front of Pet Shop for a moment.
The bird spread its wings and shot into the sky, disappearing fast. If those mercenaries showed themselves, Pet Shop would spot them.
"Um…" Melissa wanted to ask something.
But Arthur grabbed her hand first. "Aren't you going to show me around? Let's go."
"Huh? Oh!"
She was surprised, then nodded excitedly.
Arthur hated explaining stuff like that.
'Speaking of which, today's the last day of the work study, right?'
He pushed the thought aside. With a pretty girl next to him, the day flew by.
In the evening, Melissa had to go back to her dorm. She apologized a bunch of times, then disappeared through the school gate.
On the way back to the hotel, Pet Shop slowly descended and landed on Arthur's shoulder.
"Didn't find them? Figures. These guys only come out at night."
Arthur grabbed a coffee from a street shop and walked deeper into the night. "Alright. Time to actually work."
Around 4 AM, I-Island docks, inside a warehouse.
A passenger boat slowly sailed in through the waterway.
A few armed mercenaries jumped off and said to a big guy in an iron mask standing on the dock, "Boss, are we doing this today?"
"Yeah,"
The man's build and slicked-back red hair gave him away, even with the mask.
He laughed. "David Shield's an idiot. Giving up something that good. Once we get our hands on it, forget the Hero Association, even All Might won't be a problem."
But the mercenaries hadn't noticed that on a high window more than ten meters above them,
Arthur sat on the ledge, one leg swinging, Pet Shop on his shoulder with cold eyes.
"Heard something interesting… Alright. You get to live another twenty hours."
...
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.