It had been a few months since the fall of the old Ebusa and the start of construction for a new one. The location was now a clothing shop where a labratory in another tunnel system beneath the place was hastily built and slowly perfected later. The store faced directly against the now-abandoned agency of Nighteye, whose doors were red-taped and a bountique of flower placed in front of it.
Seeing the daily bountiques of mourning flowers, Overhaul felt a sprang of pain. The pain originated from her acceptance to go along with Shigaraki's plan to send a message, elevatong Nighteye into the status of a matyr. She should have just killed him and disposed the corpse immediately, not showcasing the execution to the public. It was a shame that getting chemical and equipment would be much cheaper if others knew of your infamy. And oh such a shame it was that the entire Hassakai had been turned into the primary target of any inspiring heroes seeking fame and achievements.
Sipping her cup of home-brew coffe ( Overhaul wished for home-grown coffee but the space had to make do with lab equipments), she was looking through the excretion data of the chimeric blob of flesh. The quantity was barely enough to make another quirk-erasing bullet, something she had let Shigaraki took control. The boy was ... more lenient than she thought, letting her control the production of both Trigger and Null and paying the group unforeseeable wages. Letting allies controlling weapons was a bad idea in Overhaul's book. If it had been her, she would installed henchmen or surveilance systems to control every seconds.
Overhaul was sitting outside in one of the benches outside the store. No one had any clue about a young woman sitting outside of a clothing shop so they did not bother to interact with her. Scoffing at the stupidity and naiveity of the common people, Overhaul walked away from the store and entered the lab through the sewer system. Calling it sewer would be untruthful as the proximity had been cleaned up to her standared and masked with high-quality disguise.
" How is it Deidoro? Any news of counterfeit or reverse engineering?"
" Various, Boss! The black market has seen inferior products but the big players are catching on. They are reverse engineering Trigger whereas Null remains in our controll."
" Send Rappa to attack the bigger plants. He will enjoy tackling the security measures. Remaining personel should handle the small producers, bringing them into our system or killing them is your choice."
" Will you continue working on the drugs, boss?"
" Yes. A bottleneck has been reached and I cannot pay the mistake for any moments of lost concentration. Dealing with the boy will be left to Kurogiri. He has experience."
With the trademark raven mask, Overhaul ordered every capable men of the Hassaikai to destroy or ally with competitors. She still needed to developed something for quick interrogation, a commission from Shigaraki. With her specialty in chemistry and biological engineering, she had concocted a weak neurotoxin aiming at the hypocamus.
Perusing psychological books and research paper into consciousness and brain structure had been her past time for most of the time here. It was interesting to read about the difference between human and mutanf's brains and spine, the latter's quickly changed to fit the suddeness of quirk manifeststion. But the data ... only showed a shred of connection to the possibility of brainwashing. Who would research chemical-based method for the task when protection against mind-influencing quirks yielded more money? Yeah, she was the one. Stepping down to the test chamber, Overhaul was prepared to test the lastest version. Only muffled screams could be heard if you listened carefully enough, accompanied by the sound of pencil lead on paper.
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" Kage-san, I an happy to announce that your information is viewed positively by Master and Young Master. The pay is ready."
" Thank you, Kurogiri-san. And where is Shiragaki-san? I haven't seen him around."
" He is working to expand the organization. And what about you, Kage-san? Must you bring her here again? You young couple..."
" You mean Himiko? "
"Huh? Did you call me Kage?!"
Himiko was watching the news playing on the old television. Her sailor moon uniform was the only thing formal enough to crash at the bar and on her thigh were knives strapped tightly to the stockings by straps. Her hair was smoother to the touch than before but the years of unhygienic life had rendered the parchness unremovavle. She was switching channels. Something about another hero had saved some innocent people, commercials for products and services, most commonly cosmetics advertised by the hero Uwabami, political news... then she stopped at a modern history chanel. The program also dived into a discussion of the Tokyo Sky Egg incident. Toga was drawn into the concise yet detailed conversation about a hero called Captain Celebrity when her name was mentioned. Nimblr as a cat, she approached the bar and sat beside Kage. Her eyes showed curiousity and her arms reached to her beloved weapons.
" Where are you going next, Kage-san? I will open a portal for you and Toga-san. Consider it my consideration for you two."
" I am heading back home. I have been a bit resty by switching from part-time to commission."
" Despite being a student, you have dabbled in things most adults would not even dare to look at, have heard things normal human deemed vile and repulsive. You have even taken on protecting Toga-san. From your disclosure I have grasped her personality. Quite a troublesome dependant girl?
" More than I would like to admit. And I love her for it. And about work. Giran-san will take care of the added workload like a champ. He is a good partner to abuse for your personal wellbeing. I have heard of Mendel-san helping him with security."
" Yes, maybe she views him as an essential asset. I am not good at figuring out a young girl's emotion. But don't speak ill of him like that. I am the frontier against his drunk barrage. Will you be going now?"
"Yes, Kurogiri-san."
" Bye Kurogiri-san."
The two of them left, leaving the place to its natural environment. Kurogiri could now homeschool the young master of the Hassaikai. He had plenty to learn, both of them.
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" Kid, I know we have been working together for quite some time and I know that you are connected to All For One but ... who is the mother?"
The two of them, Mendel and Giran, were doing the sorting for all the information they had gathered. From market trends to attacks back and forth between groups of interests", the list went on and on. Quite bored with the current situation, Giran had decided to ask a question even Mendel had no answer for.
" I don't know."
" Huh...Forget what I just asked. And how is Koichi-san?"
Mendel was considering telling the truth but finally refrained from doing so blatantly in case Giran drew the ire of Koichi, All For One's substitute name.
" He is recovering."
That as enough for Giran to make the connection. All Might and All For One, the last chaotic era of the hero structure and the aftermath. He knew he needed a date.
" How long more?"
The information was not something drastic enough to change the coming tide. The date meant nothing if the location was not disclosed. With that thinking, the young girl answered.
" ...around three weeks."
"..."
' The information is the truth. All For One is actually returning. Quick, I have to transfer my asset to the Swizz.'
That single thought pushed Giran to work faster to the amazement of Mendel. His hands amd head were blurring in her vision, raising respect for the hustle from Mendel.
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" Kage, where are we going? "
He was leading both of them to Nagatori, a ciry known for its large middle-class populations and an unofficial free zone where villains and heroes maintained a somewhat cooperative stance against the opponent. Heading to the train ticket booth, Kage took out enough money for one ticket before finding an opportunity to hide into Toga's shadow. She read the information printed, learning of the destination. She could not ynderstand how Kage could be such a cheap person, to stowaway and not paying for the ticket...
Toga had absolute trust in Kage so she played along, boarding the train and leaning against the seat. The time was lunch so some people were on the train but not as much as rush hours. This opened up the space and let the two of them conversed.
" We are heading to Nagatori to meet your teacher. I have noticed the way you handle the knives. It is very impressive."
" Heh heh... thanks for the compliments, Kage."
" And I want to nurturr that talent of yours. So we are going to ask a rising star to teach you."
" A rising star in the villain world ... do you mean Dabi or Orochi?"
" No, I am refering to Hero Hunter Stain, or Stendal-san as you know it. "
" Oh! It's him... How did you track his information down?"
" I am the one selling him details about problematic heroes. I have his contact and he is still owning me some favors. He will not reject a disciple as cute and talented as you."
Toga was not really mentally fine with the idea of being a student again as that would cut in her time for Kage. But if that was what he wanted...
" I'm... fine with it. And are we going to go around the city to find the man?"
" Yes and no, Toga. We are going to go around the city, but not to find Stain. We are just going to enjoy ourself. A date, if you will."
Badump. Badump. Badump
Toga could feel her hear beating faster and blood rushing to her face as the idea of a date was mentioned. Hiding her smile beneath hands, she began to fantasize. They had a whole afternoon for themselves ahead and she could not wait to try out couple things: karaoke, amusement park, lunching together .... anywhere if she could remain with Kage... and that too. The hotel would be fine if Kage was good with the idea...
" The train has reached its destination Nagatori. Please check if your luggage is with you and then depart orderly."
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" Young Master, you have come back. Kage-san came over and asked about your wellbeing. He even brought a girl with him. "
" Himiko Toga. She has been kicked out of her family and is living at his place. Kage has always been a person whose goodwill is unexpected. "
" ... You did your research then. Are you including her in your plan?"
" Maybe or maybe not, who knows? Besides... that will be dependent on our number and her skills."
" From your tone, it seems the main uncertainty is our number. What did Kage-san request?"
" Something quite simple actually. Just a diplomatic mission for the shadow informant."
" Where are you going next, Young Master?"
" Checking on Overhaul. I will need that."
A portal was silently opened in front of the main door. Thanking Kurogiri with a nod, Shigaraki stepped into the purple mist and entered the lab.
" You should not be teleporting into the lab. The measures have gone haywire!"
Deidoro said, his concern more about the results than the ten turrets pointing at Shigaraki. Impressive, he thought as facing the barrels pointing toward him. It seemed that Overhaul had seperated the energy signature of Kurogiri's quirk to detect any portal from the misty man.
" Isn't this the guest room? And I have already informed Overhaul that I would be teleporting in and out of this place. But nevertheless they are quite impressive as security measure, aren't they? Did you smuggle them in parts?"
" Ya. Straight from Tokyo to here. These bad boys are quite easy to repair with the help of Kurogiri-san."
" Why are you here?"
It was Overhaul stepping out of the real lab below. She was donning a white lab coat, and her hair in a bun beneath a layer of plastic. She was just finishing up the data overview when Deidoro's signal reached her.
" I am just here for Null. Any progress?"
" ...Trigger 2.0 is in experimental state. Null production is growing but at a slow pace and your truth serum is not yet ready. The latter still allows those with stronger control of their will, ie those having quirks relating to mental aspects and something-kinesis."
" But are they useful against normal grunts?"
" Obviously yes. The simpler the thinking pattern and habbits, the easier it will be. But the issue remains that "
" The truth serum is progressing much faster than I expected. But now I need concentrated Null, one liter."
Overhaul gave Shigaraki a cold look before going back inside and pulled out a bucket. The content is a bluish liquid sloshing around from the previous agitation. The density and thickness was a mixed between honey and water, packed with the thing that nullified quirk factor in someone's body. Seeing the fluid, Shigaraki knew he needed to hire a machinist to make gears to utilize the liquid. Hurting All For One's recovery would be impossible with constant surveilance from Doctor but later injection? That would be wonderful.
Buying was possible but reliance on the market was not. And he had just found someone sharing their support gears on the Internet. Getting to him was already done but Shigaraki needed a chain to hold him down. The man was talented, sure, but lacking in terms of social interactions. Still thinking of ways after returning to the bar, Shigaraki was intereupted by the news featuring villain attack killing a ... family.
The man had a family!
Shigaraki knew where to go next and what the plan would be. Of course not forgetting to remind Kurogiri to inform him if All For One returned.