Mind Games - Chapter 49

Kirishima blinked at his feed, staring at the phone in his hands with an open mouth, his jaw hanging free in disbelief.

“Why am I doing this? I'm a professional hero, I'm attending the most prestigious hero training academy in the country, and I regularly do talks on the occupational and philosophical quandaries of hero careers.”

It wasn't just the tone of his voice, that utterly uncharacteristic defeated whine in that familiar monotone drone. No, it was the image of his friend in his traditional streaming attire, mask and head-scarf and all, but topped with a blood-red apron dotted with small hearts.

A giggle came from off-screen.

“Boostrap-kun, you know why! You were very naughty and snuck out yesterday!”

The apron-clad hero's shoulder slumped and Kirishima had to smother a giggle as he pressed his lips tightly closed.

Ashido, sitting next to him and munching on her lunch, made a sound that was either repressed laughter or a dying animal's death throws as it was trapped in her throat.

“Carmilla, honey, I went to a conbini to buy a handful of korokke. I was trying to be considerate and not bother you to make me food.”

There was a noise of aggravation behind the camera. “Well you should have! That's what girlfriends are for! I'm not going to let my boyfriend eat konbini food when I could make him a nutritious meal!”

“This is amazing!” Ashido whispered next to him, utterly enthralled as the video continued.

“I know, right?” Kirishima giggled behind his hand.

Bootstrap – Hitoshi – hung his head and arms lifelessly as his normally-perfect posture sagged like a limp noodle. “I'd like it known to the general public that while I can make normal meals and feed myself, I – like most people – have moments of weakness where I decide to eat something that's empty calories, greasy, and objectively bad for me. Comfort food is an important and healthy part of human psychology. Bodily health and fitness dictates that you shouldn't let it control your eating habits, but every once and a while is okay.”

A much more good-tempered giggle was his reply. “But if you do, and your significant other is at your intended destination after your errand, make sure to bring them some, too! I like pork cutlets, just so you know, boyfriend!”

Hitoshi's dead-eyed stare bored into the camera. “I'll engrave that fact upon my very soul, babe.”

“So today, Bootstrap is doing a different kind of video! A stream covering how to eat healthy as a young hero on the go!” The female voice from off-screen rang out clearly.

The guy who'd handed Kirishima his ass multiple times in the sparring ring held up both hands and, sounding as though someone was pointing a gun at him just out of sight, waved them about in a mock-enthusiastic move. “Yaaa~aaay.”

Ashido lost it at that, rolling over onto the school roof in a fit of giggling laughter.

Kirishima wasn't far behind her.

“O-oh, that... that was incredible,” Mina stated, still giggling.

“The most insane thing is that the recipes work,” Kirishima grinned widely, showing off his teeth. “And ohmygods they're delicious. Like, I made one for my moms and the entire thing disappeared. Apparently, I'm on cooking duty now instead of doing the laundry.”

“Eeeee!” Mina squealed. “I know, right?! I tried that one with the miso paste and the grilled corn! Totes delish! And I swear I have more energy, even!”

“Hitoshi's probably going to be aggravated that he has to do more streams in the apron,” Kirishima snorted.

“He shouldn't be!” Mina asserted, crossing her arms and looking put out. “All the girls I've talked to have jumped him up, like... ten points because of that. There is basically no guy in this school who would put on an apron for his girlfriend. None.”

Kirishima cocked his head, wondering at his own response. On the one hand, it'd be super-manly to not care about what other people said...

...on the other, he was self-aware enough to know that taking the kind of verbal abuse he'd get from his classmates for doing something so 'girly' would be immense, should they ever find out about his part-time gig as Buster.

But...

'Just living a life with no regrets. That's what chivalry means to me!'

The words of Crimson Riot echoed in his mind.

Kirishima slapped his cheeks and manned the fuck up. “I'd do it! I'd wear a frilly apron for the person I loved!”

Mina blinked, staring up at her classmates as he took a heroic pose, holding one arm curled and showing off the bicep that was quite a bit bigger than it had been a few months ago. Raising her hands, she began clapping. “Woo! Go Kiri! Be the change you want to see!”

Eijiro ducked his head, blushing at the praise, and brought a hand back to scratch at his hair. “A-ah... sorry, got a bit worked up there.”

Mina shook her head, pink hair flying back and forth. “No way! No way! Kiri's best when he's doing the hot blood thing! That's the you you want to be, right?”

The teenager chuckled awkwardly and smiled, a softer expression than his usual 'manly grin.' “Y-yeah... actually, could I get your thoughts on something?”

Ashido blinked, then shrugged. “Sure, what's up?”

Kirishima hummed nervously, settling back into his seat and picking at his lunch. “Umm... I've been thinking about dying my hair, actually. I talked to my moms and Hitoshi about it – but, like, they're biased and all that. Not that I think they'd lie to me or anything! Just...”

He reached up and fingered his short black hair with a frown.

“I wanted a second opinion, I guess?” Kirishima asked, then looked over to his classmate as she studied him intently. Her usual exuberance and energy melted down and reforged into a knife-like focus of fashion and style.

“What color?” Mina asked, tapping at her chin as she leaned back and forth, trying to get a more complete view of his head. “Cause... I'd be cool with it if you go for something brighter? Not too bright, not like – heh – neon pink or anything!”

Kirishima choked on his lunch as Mina grinned.

“N-nah, I was thinking, well...” Eijiro paused, then grabbed his phone again and thumbed over from Hitoshi's latest video. “Something like... this.”

Ashido leaned in, pursing her lips as she stared at the image. “Huh. The style too, or just the color?”

“N-not like the full pompadour spike or anything,” Kirishima waved her off, “b-but... maybe more normal spikes? Like, gel?”

He brushed his hands off and combed them through his hair, pulling it up so that it stood on end as Ashido nodded thoughtfully. “Go for it.”

Kirishima blinked, letting his hair drop. “R-really?”

A pink hand came up, one thumb shooting skyward. “Really-really.”

Kirishima began to grin, then stopped, eyeing Mina with suspicion. “You watched that movie with the ogre, didn't you? The one on Hitoshi's list that he posted about the best movies ever, didn't you?”

Mina grinned unabashedly. “No idea what you're talking about.”

“It's so weird that this movie from hundreds of years ago is going viral 'cause my bro decided to mention it on our live stream,” Kirishima shook his head and looked over the side of the building, down into the courtyard, where he could see a few green 'ear-tenna' headbands being worn even now.

“But it's so warm and fuzzy,” Mina whined, wrapping herself in a hug and twisting in place with a longing sigh. “And it's all about this guy who basically has a heteromorphic quirk that people hate him for, even if he turns out to be a really nice guy! And then he gets the girl because he's a good guy and the girl decides to be a heteromorph! It's such an amazing love story!”

Eijiro snorted, but felt himself smiling. Yeah, despite being two hundred years old, Shrek was great. It'd made a lot of people take a second look at pre-quirk media even, and start thinking about how it worked with the world as it was today.

The sharp-toothed teen paused thoughtfully.

“Something wrong?” Mina asked, catching onto his silence after a moment.

“Just... I was freaking out about it when we went viral after we did that movie list and a lot of heteromorphs wrote in about specific titles really boosting their self-esteem,” Kirishima replied slowly, thinking out loud.

“I don't see the problem,” Mina stated, raising an eyebrow.

“It's not a problem,” Kirishima shook his head. “If anything, it's super-manly how much people liked Hitoshi's retro picks. It's just... I brought it up to him and he kinda just... put his feet up and chuckled about it? And he had this smile on his face, like-”

“Like he knew what he was doing all along and was proud of you for finally catching on?” Mina asked, nodding her head knowingly.

“You noticed?” Kirishima asked, perking up.

“Yeah, he mostly does it with Himi-chan,” Mina pointed out. “Since she can be a bit odd now and then and have a hard time with social cues. So I noticed during the second karaoke thing we did that he... kinda' signals her, I guess?”

“Oh... huh,” Kirishima squinted. “Guess he does, now that I think about it. And... that's the same smile, too.”

There was a moment of silence between them.

“So... you think he might've used a stream about your favorite movies to go viral and help reach out to a bunch of people with difficult quirks?” Mina asked eventually.

“I mean... when you say it like that...” Kirishima replied, rubbing at his chin. “But, would you put it past him?”

Mina scrunched up her face in thought, then tilted her head to the side. “Maaaa~aaaan, this is going to bug me now! Ugh, there's no way, though, right? I mean, Hitoshi's smart, but he's not, like... crazy shadow-government conspiracy smart.”

Another pregnant pause passed by.

“Right?” Mina asked, then frowned. “You know what? I'll ask his girl, she'll know!”

Kirishima blinked as his friend pulled out her phone and began to text. “Who, you and Toga got close quick, huh?”

Mina jerked, then blushed as she looked up from her phone. “A-ah... yeah. She's...”

Eijiro waited as Mina uncharacteristically groped for words, then something clicked and he chuckled, almost hunching over with laughter. “Oh! Oh, Hitoshi told me about his... we were kickin' it one day after a stream and just talking about stuff and he mentioned Toga was trying to set him up with, like, a mistress or something!”

Ashido ducked her head and blushed, releasing a long embarrassed huff of air. “Ahhh! It's weird, right?! Tell me it's weird so I can stop thinking about it!”

Kirishima snickered, shaking his head. “Man, Hitoshi's girlfriend must have really got under your skin if it's bothering you that much. Want me to ask him to call her off?”

The pink pinkette sighed explosively. “No, it's... it's okay. Hitoshi called her off on his own, apparently. Toga said he was lining up a girl on his own and she had to 'vet her' now.”

Kirishima frowned, popping more of his lunch into his mouth. “You know... I think I kind of dodged a bullet.”

“What, crushing on Shinso like you were?” Ashido asked, taking a moment to eat a bit of her own food.

“Ack-wha!?” Eijiro coughed, pounding his chest as his face flushed. “Wh-what?! I mean – what?!”

Ashido blinked, staring at the boy blankly, then released an 'ah' of realization. “Oooh... honey... you thought no one knew?”

“Eep!” Kirishima squeaked, the sound imminently manly and proud, his face not at all going nuclear.

“Sweetie,” Mina shook her head, putting a comforting hand on her friend's shoulder. “I'm sorry... but you were kind of obvious.”

Kirishima groaned, dropping his head into his hands. “Dammit.”

“But... yeah, kind of agree with you? Probably dodged a bullet,” Mina nodded. “I mean, don't get me wrong... Shinso and Toga are like... super cute together. But it's this kind of weird cute where it's like... 'I'm totes glad they found each other, because at least one of them was going to go psycho and leave a body count without the other.'”

Eijiro snorted, chuckling as the statement set in. “Heh... which one, you think?”

Ashido hummed thoughtfully, then shrugged and waggled a hand. “Fifty-fifty. Himi-chan's got those crazy eyes, but I'm not sure Shinso's expression would change if he crushed a man's head into pulp under his boot, you know?”

“Okay, so... funny, but totally not manly,” Kirishima replied.

“Just calling it as I see it,” Ashido replied bluntly, then softened. “Though, it was sweet of him to try and set us up together.”

“Yeah... I mean, no offense, but...” Kirishima looked away awkwardly.

“We're better as friends,” Mina nodded, “which is actually super cool because I have zero guy-friends who don't hit on me besides you.”

“Oh, uhh... I mean, I get it. You're really attractive,” Kirishima stated blushingly, “but it's not manly at all to try and get with someone who doesn't want to.”

“Thanks, you're sweet,” Ashido giggled, sighing as she ate the last bit of her lunch. “But honestly? Flirting's fun. It just gets on my nerves when guys expect that something will definitely – one-hundred-percent – come after the flirting and stop putting any effort into the conversation or the date or whatevs. And then, if a girl does put out, it's like that guy and all their friends think she's a sure thing the second time around, too! Ugh!”

“Whoa... that sucks,” Kirishima stated, blinking, before shaking himself and stuffing the last bit of his own lunch in his mouth.

“It's honestly why I usually hit up a girl if I want to make out or something,” Mina sighed, shaking her head. “But that's its own bag of issues.”

“Mmm... not really into that kind of thing,” Eijiro stated awkwardly. “I'm more... well, I want someone...”

“Commitment,” Mina stated with an evil grin. “C'mon, saaa~aaay it. I promise it won't hurt. You want someone who'll be there when you get home and you can cuddle on the couch with, not a hot date. Co-Mit-Ment!”

Kirishima inhaled deeply, nodding as he puffed himself up. “I-I want a committed relationship!”

“See, that wasn't so hard,” Mina grinned, crossing her arms over her chest. “But it's why we won't mesh. I like the variety pack, you want a romance for the ages.”

“I guess... though, is that why you're thinking about Toga's offer?” Kirishima asked curiously as he began to put away his bento. “N-not that it's my business or anything, but-”

“Nah, it's okay,” Mina shrugged, though her blush gave lie to at least part of her casual attitude. “Umm... kinda? I mean, Toga and Shinso are cute together and I do want me some of that, but... there's some other personal biz that makes it tempting.”

“Cool,” Kirishima nodded, then paused. “I'll probably wait until high school to start dating, all things considered. A lot of the stuff Hitoshi's talked about with hero-relationships and how busy things can get...”

“That boy is spooky good at giving relationship advice,” Ashido nodded, frowning slightly. “But, if you do decide that you want an emotionally-unhealthy hookup, you've got my number and I can find you someone who'd jump at the chance.”

Kirishima snorted. “Thanks, but... I'm starting to wonder how Hitoshi does it. I've just started at my internship and it already feels like I'm juggling a dozen plates. I've got like... no time to go on dates, even if I wanted to.”

“Any hotties around the office? I know Sir Nighteye – omgsojelly! – is just having you do paperwork right now, but you pick up any coworker numbers?” Mina asked.

“Well, the local staff is just Sir Nighteye, Centipeder, and Bubble Girl. She's the one that's been training me, actually. Awata-senpai is actually in her last year of UA and about to graduate to full-time sidekick for the agency, so she's been super-cool about helping me land on my feet with everything,” Kirishima stated proudly.

“One sec,” Mina stated, pulling out her phone again and hitting a few keys, then staring at the screen. “Okay, total baddie – would smash. Smash like All Might the other week when he hurricane-punched that yakuza guy.”

Kirishima blushed. “Ashido! That's my coworker! Don't say that! I'll never get it out of my head, now!”

Mina just cackled in response.

…

“And attempted kidnapping of a student from a hero feeder school is a serious matter,” General Adanai of the Japanese Army stated. “But I'm far more concerned with... you say this isn't just some heteromorph with an unfortunate quirk?”

“My analysts don't believe so, no,” Nezu shook his head over the video conference screen. “Most telling are the... visceral reactions of young Ingenium and Mirko.”

“Speaking of, I'd like to request the relevant parts be replayed so that they can be entered into the meeting's record,” Yotsubashi stated, clearing his throat.

“I'll second the motion,” Prime Minister Moku stated. “It will also serve to reinforce the nature of the revelations concerning the... particulars of the incident.”

“I think we'll skip the formalities and simply move forward with the viewing,” Director Mera stated, sighing tiredly as he queued up the footage.

The various officials of the Hero Public Safety Commission all watched as the clips began.

“-which is when I followed the vigilante Perspicacious Mauve Avenger onto the scene of the kidnapping in-progress.”

The interviewer hummed, nodding as they made notes from the hero's statement. “And your first reaction? You asked-”

“What is that thing?” Ingenium nodded, quoting himself. “Although it appears shameful to accuse a heteromorphic individual of being a 'thing,' in the heat of the moment... I felt an intense revulsion towards the crea-ah, being. I couldn't explain it in that instance, nor can I explain it now, but... it felt as if the whole of my being rejected its existence.”

“I see, then next we'll-”

There was a break, the screen cutting to black for a second.

“-don't care about your bullshit!” Mirko spat, looming over the sweating interviewer. “You see these ears? You think I don't know what it's like for people to think all I'm good for is one thing?! Well, cocksucker, guess what? I do, and that means I get to talk shit about this fucking thing-”

The metal table between the two individuals groaned as Mirko brought her fist down on the images of the assailant.

“So miss me with that shit about being 'sensitive to the terminology' or whatever. That thing that tried to take the kid wasn't human and the bitch on the motorcycle had the right idea shooting it full of lead to slow it down long enough for the big guns to arrive!”

Another moment of blackness before the various faces of the HPSC council flickered back into place.

“So both heroes are supportive of this vigilante's actions towards the... creature?” General Adanai asked, his tone neutral.

“Indeed,” Nezu nodded. “Despite the seeming recklessness she displayed towards discharging a very large caliber firearm in a civilian residential area, her impeccable aim and the nature of the threat lend to the idea that she knew exactly what she was dealing with.”

“And we don't,” Yotsubashi hummed thoughtfully, stroking his chin.

“Other than indications from the creature's blood and bone fragments left in the wake of its escape, no. We have no firm answers,” Mera replied, shaking his head.

“I think I speak for all of us when I say that's not acceptable,” a heretofore silent party spoke up as they leaned back and crossed their legs. His face was nondescript and bland, befitting the Metahuman Intelligence Agency's liaison officer. “Especially given that the evidence we do have points to a creature which possesses multiple quirks and is reminiscent of something coming out of the Korean Zone or the worst parts of the Second Chinese Civil War.”

A number of the attendees shifted uneasily at the reminder.

“So what does the agency suggest?” Nezu asked, one of the few who was completely unmoved by the mention of the events which had birthed him.

“We need to bring in this vigilante,” he replied bluntly. “This... Perspicacious Mauve Avenger. It's blatantly obvious she knows more than she's let on, especially with the information she's disclosed.”

“To clarify... are we speaking of a public-facing warrant, or...” Yotsubashi asked leadingly.

“Whatever gets the job done,” the intelligence agent replied bluntly. “We've just crawled out of the Dark Ages. I don't need that monster dragging us back into them. If she's willing to work with us for a clean slate, a hero license, and a penthouse apartment – fine. We go that route. If not, we put pressure on her.”

There were murmurs of both agreement and dissent.

“I'll put together a proposal,” Director Mera offered, “to be ratified by the full council. This will be a potential A-Rank intelligence asset underground hero we're trying to bring into the fold. As such, it will require a super-majority of approval on the heal-face protocol we're enacting.”

“And if she doesn't bite? How specifically will we move forward?” Adanai asked. “I can have Nagant and Sonae ready to go at a moment's notice.”

“I think that's a bit premature,” Nezu commented, drumming his paws on the desk in front of him. “As the member of the council who has had the most interaction with her, should our initial gambit prove unsuccessful, I'd like clearance to draw her in more subtly.”

A few frowns were exchanged as whispers of discontent made their rounds.

“I'll second that motion,” the Prime Minister stated, bringing a halt to the quiet discussion. “I'm giving you enough rope, Principal Nezu. We'll see what you're able to do with it.”

“I'll be sure to brush up on my knot-tying skills, then,” Nezu replied with a grin.

“Political games aside,” the intelligence agent interjected. “The highest priority is on putting her information and resources in our hands. We need to know what she knows, preferably as soon as possible. While we're still digesting this data, and it will take time for us to map out a course of action, the more we know the less likely we'll be to fall into another one of his traps.”

“I'll be sure she's made aware of the stakes at play,” Nezu nodded more seriously.

~~~

Not quite the Nezu Interlude some people wanted, but... this should cast some light on how things are going behind the scenes.

After, at least, you get past Mina and Kirishima being wholesome buddies.

I had... perhaps a bit too much fun with them just hanging out and vibing during a school lunch.

Hope everyone else enjoys it as much as I did, and thank you again for all your support! Especially going into the new year!

Next up is going to be Butler Boy, although I'm going to try and sneak in an extra bit to Ch. 47 of Mind Games with an expanded NSFW scene. I'll let people know to check that out if I manage it.