Mind Games - Chapter 34

I took another moment to make sure my cell was in incognito mode.

I stared at it, my fingers refusing to move.

There were better ways, I knew. Simpler, easier tactics to take at this point. But none that would ensure compliance from the hero I needed. Regrettably, Aizawa had refused Endeavor's invitation to put his agency through a remedial CQC course. If I'd had that time, I might have been able to work out a cleaner and more elegant solution to my problem. Instead, I was left with this.

This, being a phone call I needed to make.

I sighed and tapped the icon to engage the call, clearing my throat as I did so.

“Hello? You've reached the Principle of UA, Nezu! Interestingly enough, I can't seem to trace your call, so I've decided to answer it!”

“Oui!” I stated, my voice coming out in a different octave and with a terrible french accent to it. “I am – how do you say? Monsieur Permanent Marker.”

“Oh? From your intonations and pitch, I take it that you are attempting to inspire fear or intimidate me?” There was a sipping sound on the other side of the line. “If that's correct, I'm terribly sorry to say I've never heard of you.”

“That is... quite all right,” I replied graciously, hitting somewhere between Danjiro and Aoyama. “The Permanent Marker has not come for the raton laveur – the raccoon – today. Today, I come for my arch nemesis. The one you call... Eraserhead.”

There was another sip and a thoughtful hum as tiny furry digits hit keys on a keyboard. “I see. Am I to take it you wish to issue some sort of villainous declaration against my employee?”

“Oui,” I affirmed. “I do hope this is not a bad time...”

“Well, if the threat is sufficiently dire, I can assure you that Eraserhead will be in attendance,” Nezu replied formally. “I can take over his class for the day, even! What fun! But in the future, I will need to ask that you schedule these sorts of affairs in advance so that we have time to find a suitable substitute.”

Man, I feel bad for inflicting Nezu on those students, but... needs must when the devil drives.

“Ah, of course. I will ensure Eraserhead and I exchange contact information, should we need to schedule another ultimate showdown!” My grandiose assurances seemed to put the principal at ease.

“UA thanks the Permanent Marker for his consideration,” Nezu replied. “Now, for today's threat?”

“Ah, oui-oui!” I cleared my throat dramatically. “I have placed explosives underneath a cat cafe in Chofu to which I will momentarily provide the exact coordinates. It is my desire to entrap Eraserhead within the confines for the day, lest I detonate the bombs and cause quite the... cat-tastrophe! Hoh-ho!”

There was silence for a moment. “I see... well, that is certainly severe enough to warrant Eraserhead's attendance. May I ask what the conditions are under which you will allow the people within to go free?”

“I will arrive to have a pleasant verbal spar with Eraserhead, after which we will retire to a nearby deserted lot to do battle. Once that is concluded, I will either hand over the detonator as befits a defeated enemy or, gracious in my victory, allow the cat cafe to stand as a monument to my fallen nemesis,” I chortled loudly.

There seemed to be significantly less tension in the reply this time. “Thank you, Monsieur Permanent Marker. It's reassuring to see that you've planned to only sacrifice civilian life should your demands not be met. In that case, I think we can work with you. Hmm... when should Eraserhead expect you at the cafe?”

I inhaled and cleared my throat, pressuring myself to sound intensely awkward. “Ah... regrettably there has been something of a scheduling conflict. My internet services are malfunctioning and the repairman has given me a significant window of time in which I must attend my home. Perhaps I could call and alert you when he has finished his business and I am on my way?”

“If this is too much, perhaps we could reschedule?” Nezu asked leadingly.

“Noh! The Permanent Marker is very busy next week! It must be today!” I refused staunchly. “Eraserhead is free to make use of the cafe's services while he waits! He may put it on my tab, even!”

“Hmm... very well, but do know that all of the faculty under my employ are top notch heroes. I'll forgive this oversight this time, but in the future do be more careful with your calendar,” Nezu warned.

“You are too kind,” I breathed out a sigh of relief, not entirely faked, and detailed the exact location where I'd set the explosives.

Which, of course, didn't actually exist.

Hanging up, I sighed and looked skyward to the Apartment's ceiling and momentarily reassessed my entire life.

“What the fuck am I even doing?” I asked blankly.

Then the moment of self-reflection passed and I got up to move.

I shifted to my female – vigilante – form and switched into Perspicacious Mauve Avenger's outfit. At some point, I'd have to get an actual costume/uniform-esque thing for this ID, but I'd never been too enthused with the idea of an elaborate mass of clothing. My Bootstrap stuff was basically just Eraserhead 2.0, even, because his shit boiled down to a once-piece jumpsuit that could be pre-loaded with all his gear and that weird combat-scarf capture weapon he wielded. The only thing the man actually needed to put on or take off was a pair of shoes.

I'd bet that he slept in the thing, but I didn't need to because I knew he did.

What I would put money on, though, would be his response if asked about it.

“It's only logical.”

Rolling my eyes at the mocking lilt of my voice, I passed through the door to the Apartment, something which I'd positioned with the help of Himiko to drop me off roughly a block away from my target.

The building was one of the old-school constructions that dotted Tokyo's landscape. Not legitimately old like some of the shrines or the Old Capital, but built in the same style of traditional construction that had been in practice in Japan for centuries. I hadn't looked into every detail of it, but one of the Shie Hassaikai's previous heads had commissioned it after the initial burst of destruction caused by the onset of the Dark Age, after the emergence of quirks.

Land was cheap.

The yakuza had prospered.

It was an age of violence, after all.

But that violence had been as much a crime by the yakuza as it had been against them.

As much as many in the criminal community 'blamed' heroes for the downfall of the traditional crime syndicates, that wasn't precisely true. Rather, it had been the emergence of organized quirk-empowered gangs – the first 'villains' – that had spelled their doom. Yakuza were organized hierarchies, organizations, that relied on complex financial markets, law, and social order in order to create the very people who would feel disenfranchised enough to join them.

If society took a major hit, criminals had enough room to climb the ladders and become legitimate.

The death of the yakuza wasn't a result of increased pressure by law enforcement.

The yakuza had become law enforcement.

Empowered by a failing government in desperate need of military force, they'd been armed and used against quirk rights advocacy groups to put down 'riots.' In quelling the chaos in the streets, the government had allowed them to rebrand, slowly being subsumed by the structure of the police and military as they now faced a common enemy in the destabilizing force of those who could breathe fire or stomp earthquakes into existence.

In the modern era, the violence of those times was swept under the rug to focus on the narrative that the yakuza of the time were collective security groups formed around neighborhoods and communities. They even called them 'Ninkyo Dantai,' or 'Chivalrous Organizations.' The fact that such a term had always been the preferred title of the yakuza themselves went unremarked upon.

Most societies were good at overlooking the worst parts of their history.

The less said of the resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan in the United States, the better.

It had been more than a century since all this, though, and that legacy was diluted to the point of irrelevance at this stage. The Boryokudan – 'Violence Groups' – that had resisted being turned into law enforcement had been out-competed by villains working in smaller, more flexible cells... which, now that I thought about it, was probably an effort by All for One to consolidate underworld power by eliminating the old yakuza-style fiefdoms, in retrospect. I didn't need to fall into the trap of blaming the old bastard for everything wrong with the world, but that was at least a plausible hypothesis I'd need to investigate.

Regardless of all that, though, the building before me was a classic Japanese construction of wood and rice paper nestled amid the towering concrete, steel, and glass that surrounded it.

I released a sigh and extended the very periphery of my power.

It was a lesser aura than my memories told me I would have once my growth was complete, but that would be decades, possibly centuries, from now.

Exaltations were not a power that yielded fast rewards.

My eyes opened as I looked upon the world below me properly, seeing through the mundane veil of reality.

As expected of the home of the oyabun of a crime syndicate, this was not a place with many happy memories attached to it, and it showed. Things that I could ignore or bypass in normal walks of life were thick here, roaming the grounds aimlessly as they looked for satisfaction for their grudges. It felt almost as bad as the basement of Endeavor's tower, likely for many of the same reasons.

Instincts that weren't wholly mine whispered the solution to a place like this.

But while a cleansing flame might remove the stain, I wouldn't be committing arson today.

...though, with the evil this dense, I might have to make a return trip when this is all said and done.

I didn't want to imagine what would happen to someone who tried to make a home for their family here.

Putting a potential future felony out of my mind, I pulled out my phone and double-checked the Shie Hassaikai monitoring script I'd fed into their network, then took a look at the All Might fansite that cataloged sightings. I'd felt the thrumming of Fate, but making absolutely sure... yes, he was moving towards the headquarters of the organization right now, taking the surveillance path I'd recommended to ensure the leadership was there.

I took a breath-

-took a step-

-and moved.

The leap took me far enough that I was able to catch myself on a fire escape, practically bouncing off the structure to continue harnessing my momentum towards the outer wall of the compound. Beyond the things lurking inside, there were guards and staff patrolling as well. Given their affiliation, I had to assume each and every one of them was a combatant

Drop into the courtyard, keep moving...

One of the patrolling men, taken out quietly, put under with the same trick I'd used on Kazuho.

Part of me worried about using my quirk on this operation at all, even in the deniable way I was doing so by 'choking people unconscious,' but given the ghosts infesting this place, I was loath to use anything supernatural. The risk was minimal, though, and I wanted to make sure the guards were taken out before they could raise the alarm.

Another one down by the east gate, dragged into the bushes.

A man I recognized from Nighteye's files, a known non-combat quirk, was standing at the edge of the outer walk. I took him in a flying leap and punched him twice in the head, landing softly on the carefully-cultivated moss of the garden.

More men fell to my careful sweep.

I made it inside, one of the last guards stuffed into a futon cupboard after being knocked out.

Now it was the staff's turn.

My saving grace for keeping things this quiet was that these weren't their front-line troops. They weren't bad by any means, but you didn't waste enforcers or lieutenants with guard duty on a secure compound that didn't have any active operations within it. These men were the trusted ones. The true believers. The ones that would die for the cause as a delaying action so that the main force could arrive and brutally murder anyone who dared assault the family compound of the Boss of the Shie Hassaikai.

I slipped into a disused study and pulled out my phone.

[GTG?]

She took a moment to reply.

[RGR]

I nodded and opened my side of the Apartment's portal. Immediately, another me stepped through, this one wearing a playful smile. I glanced over her once and nodded. “Remember what we talked about. No snacks, no deaths. You've got the equipment?”

My face shifted into a slightly petulant pout and nodded back at me. “Mou~ Hiroko-chan, it wouldn't be very cute if I forgot the zip-ties, gags, and drugs.”

“Just remember that this isn't a game, Jabberwocky,” I reiterated. “You wanted to help, you've got a deadline to meet, get it done and don't open your own door back to the Apartment unless it's an emergency.”

The slight smile faded and my face nodded back to me again, as blank and serious as my own. “Roger, moving out now.”

My own portal would stay here, in this room, centrally-located for Himiko to move things back through. That way her own wouldn't dislodge from her school's infirmary. I'd been against this idea from the start, but... relationships were built on compromise, and Himiko needed real experience under her belt, even with all the training I'd been giving her on the side. That, and it would help to have someone playing the role of dedicated thief.

Without further prompting, Himiko-In-My-Body began to grab the most valuable things in the study and cart them through the portal, leaving me to continue my work.

The maids were the last on my list, having been busy in the laundry room when I came in. Now they were moving fresh sheets back to the master bedroom.

Catching a glimpse of them, they were clearly on-edge. Even an idiot could tell that the entire property was too quiet by this point. The line of trees kept enough of the city's noise out that it truly felt like a secluded island cut off from the rest of the world. Even if they were unnerved yet, I counted it as a win that they hadn't sounded the alarm just yet. Neither likely wanted to be responsible for disturbing the 'Young Master' of the yakuza group given his short temper.

One of the many failings of Chisaki's type. When underlings feared to bring you bad news, all you would receive were embellishments of achievements and outright lies.

I moved up on them, plucked a throwing knife out of my belt and hurled it at one of the two women.

The butt of the hilt hit her in the back of the head, hard, and she went down like a sack of potatoes.

The other was already moving, dropping the sheets and reaching-

I punched her in the chest, sending her to the ground as she gasped for air. I put my hands on her neck and her eyes widened. “Going to need you to take a nap for a bit.”

She tried to reach for the gun in the hollow of her back again, but I moved a knee to pin the arm. She choked something defiant back at me.

That was enough.

“Just go to sleep,” I ordered, my eyes meeting hers, instantly slipping into unconsciousness. Holding still for another moment, I eased up on my already too-light grip on her neck and stood, continuing my way towards the room they'd been heading for.

That should have been all of them, but even the best laid plans ran into problems.

Plus the roofies she would be giving the downed personnel would make it deeply unlikely they'd remember anything even with me 'choking them out.'

Taking out the date-rape drug dealer really was the gift that kept on giving.

Opening the sliding door, I beheld my target, one of the primary objectives of this plan.

Kunikida Naburo, the oyabun of the Shie Hassaikai.

He made for a pathetic figure, having aged past his prime and then been left to rot by the very man he'd raised as his own son. That said, his body was clean, the bed was well-kept, and there was hardly a speck of dust on any of the surfaces in the bedroom. My eyes lingered on the face that had been twisted by Overhaul's quirk, warped into a near-unrecognizable state.

Just like the last time I'd visited.

A week ago.

I'd been able to slip in between the shifts of the maid-nurses and wrap a collar around his neck before making my way back out with only seconds to spare.

I slid my phone out and, noting the time again, dropped into the chair next to the bed.

Chisaki Kai's very own confessional, where he came to enumerate the sins and grievances he'd accumulated in the name of annihilating quirks and restoring the bygone era of gangsters.

Three, two, one...

The binding finished and, instantly, the man before me had his years rolled back to his prime.

More than that, his face untwisted, righting itself from the manipulation that Overhaul had wrought a second before his eyes snapped open, wide and aware for the first time in three months. Part of me wondered if I'd been more active, more willing to bend the world to my will instead of abiding by the society of rules I'd agreed to dwell within... could I have spared Eri that pain?

Or was what I'd become now, treating her like a piece on a board, any better?

I put that aside and sank my psychic fingers into the man's mind, forming a tenuous connection that gave me information, but didn't allow me control-

“Hello there, have a nice nap?” I asked, cocking my head cutely.

Naburo jerked, sitting up in bed with an ease that belied the time he'd spent – functionally – in a coma. “Who are-”

My quirk finished locking in with his response.

A bit of mild experimentation with Himiko, which she'd willingly undertaken, had showed me that applying my quirk to someone bound enhanced the results... substantially.

“You will obey me. You will endeavor to understand the intent of my commands to the best of your ability and follow through with them,” I ordered him mercilessly. “You will not attempt to find loopholes, escape clauses, or deliberately subvert my commands. You will not attempt to disobey me, delay fulfillment of my commands, or fulfill the letter of my commands while violating the spirit of them. You will always speak the truth to me and complete any task I set you to, to the best of your ability.”

I paused, feeling the orders seep into his psyche.

“Do you understand?”

“Yes,” he replied tonelessly. “I understand.”

“You will not physically attack me or my allies, nor will you use your quirk to do so. Do you understand this order?” I pressed further.

“Yes, I understand,” Naburo replied again.

Then, because I had a point I wanted to make, I allowed the connection between us to snap. Immediately, the light returned to his eyes and he regained focus. “-who are you?! Wait, what was I...”

I snapped my fingers to get his attention. “You will remain in bed and not attempt to get up. You will keep your tone level and refrain from yelling. No one will hear you anyway.”

The man twitched, obviously attempting – and failing – to activate his quirk. Given that he hadn't attempted to make contact with me to activate Life Drain, it seemed my orders were working. “Who are you and what are you doing in my home?!”

It was the voice of someone who expected to be obeyed, who had become accustomed to it, and I cared nothing for it. “Tell me where you keep your valuables. I know it's a cliché, but you seem the type to have a wall safe or floor safe.”

The muscles on his jaw flexed and twisted with effort, but his mouth opened regardless. “It's there, behind the bookcase. The middle section swings out when you press the switch concealed under the largest book on that shelf.”

I hummed and followed the instructions, opening up the bookcase and revealing the hidden vault. Before he could gather his wits, I asked again, “Combination?”

His face purpled with the effort of denying me, but he quickly rattled off a series of numbers and letters for the keypad. Tapping it in, I smiled as the stash of gold, foreign currency, stock certificates, and other stores of wealth was revealed.

“Is that what you want? Is that what this is all about? Robbing me? You're just a fool who-”

“Stop talking,” I ordered, the contents of the vault quickly disappearing into my Pocket. “If you're about to threaten retaliation, you should know that I've arranged for All Might to dismantle the Shie Hassaikai as an organization. Not that you should care, given Chisaki was the one who used his quirk on you three months ago to assume control of the organization.”

His eyes widened and, even as he'd been commanded to remain silent, his head snapped over to a small calendar on his bedside table, one that had been set to the proper date, either by Kai himself or one of the maids.

Distantly, I felt the energy building in the fates I had aligned myself with, a mounting crescendo of energy threatening to spill over.

It was close.

“You may speak,” I told him.

“Is that why you're doing this? The boy, Chisaki?” Naburo asked, swallowing as he tried to take in all of the information I was feeding him rapid-fire.

“Also no,” I stated, looking through the various nicknacks on the shelves – and Pocketing a few - before moving on to the desktop computer and sighing as I pulled open the keyboard tray to see a sticky note with a password on it. “Abysmal security. Tell me, is this the real password or the trip of a virus that will wipe the drives? And if so, what is the real one?”

“It is a trap,” he begrudgingly informed me. “The real password is-”

I nodded, entering the code he gave me and then plugged a device in to mirror the drives. “To answer your question, I'm doing this to get to you, specifically. Putting your idiot adopted sons behind bars where they belong after they tortured your granddaughter with a fate worse than death... well, that's just a cherry on top of everything else I'm accomplishing.”

Truthfully, I'd entertained the idea of keeping Overhaul around. He had a useful quirk and, with enough brainwashing, could be forced into compliance.

But he was more useful in the wild, for the moment.

Eventually, though...

“Me? What do you want with an old fossil of a gangster?” Naburo growled, narrowing his gaze. The man really was rattled if he hadn't noticed his sudden bout of youth yet. “And what's that about my granddaughter being tortured? What did that brat Kai do?”

“Oh, you're underselling yourself,” I chuckled, beginning to rifle through his private papers and picking out ones of particular importance. I'd clean out a few of his accounts, but leave enough in a select set to see how the police reacted... to see how All Might reacted. I wanted to know what the bank's excuses would be, for future reference.

“You've been the last remaining real oyabun for what, thirty years? I mean, there's the Abegawa Tenchu-kai, but they don't have the storied history the Shie Hassaikai does. No lineage. Really just a group of villains clinging to the image of the yakuza for legitimacy,” I explained. “But you? You've been around for a good fifty years. You know where the bodies are buried, who gets the bribes, which heroes are dirty... you're a wealth of information that I intend to mine dry... Naburo of the Withering Touch.”

“I'll show you a withering touch...” The formerly-old man growled, then paused. “My granddaughter. What about her?”

“Oh, you care about your family now?” I asked, affecting a surprised tone as I picked through the small library he had. Quite a few first editions, even one of the now-forbidden Meta Liberation War. No way I was leaving that for an evidence locker. “I find that hard to believe after you lost your eldest daughters to an overdose and suicide respectively. They couldn't handle being loaned out to your peers to ensure your rise to the top continued, I guess. Though... maybe you've mellowed in the last few years.”

Rage and shame warred on his face.

Finding those particular tidbits hadn't been all that hard. I hadn't found Eri's mother, though given what I now knew, I suspected the woman had ended it all after dropping her daughter off with her her father.

“I made mistakes,” Naburo admitted, taking a hissing breath as he tried to control his temper. “It's why I wanted the yakuza to die with me. I told Kai as much. I wanted him... to be better than I was. To find a life of peace caring for a child that I'd destroyed any right to raise.”

I opened my mouth to reply, but felt it at that instant.

Holding up one hand, I gestured for the man to be silent as I pulled out my phone and hit the number I needed. After two rings, it went through. “Hello? Nekomimi Mode Cat Cafe!”

“Yes. There's a man wearing a black set of pajamas who looks like an unkempt hobo sitting in your cafe. He's the pro-hero Eraserhead. Could you please put him on for me? I need to speak to him,” I stated.

Then I covered the receiver and turned to look at Naburo. “I'm sorry, this will be quick. I just have to make a short call. Be quite until I'm finished.”

His face going purple again at the unilateral order, he worked his mouth with no sound coming out.

“Who is this? Permanent Marker?”

“Ah, I'm afraid not. The bomb threat was a hoax to put you in position to help out,” I chuckled. “You've no doubt noticed the ongoing incident a few blocks away. All Might is currently engaged with the leader of the Shie Hassaikai yakuza group, a man styling himself Overhaul. Now, he should be nearly victorious by this point, but I'd like you to head over there as fast as you can. All Might will be carrying a girl who's quirk is currently going out of control and you're needed to shut it down before she hurts anyone. Tell Nezu that Perspicacious Mauve Avenger owes both you and him a favor.”

Then I hung up before he could respond.

“Now where we?” I asked Naburo rhetorically, then snapped my fingers. “Right, that's your granddaughter. Chisaki tortured her by taking her apart and putting her back together again using his quirk, all so he could harvest her quirk factor to make quirk-killing bullets to return the world back to an age where the yakuza could survive.”

“Th-that boy... how could he have...” Naburo choked on his rage, trying to scream, trying to cry, but unable to properly raise his voice as the emotions welled up inside him.

“He learned by example,” I informed Naburo mercilessly. “You adopted a child into a world of brutal underground violence that doesn't value women except for their role in the bedroom or kitchen and you're somehow shocked that he turned into someone willing to repeatedly take apart a young girl to ensure the survival of the only family he's ever known, do I have that correct?”

And, yes, I still blamed Kai. I also blamed Kurono Hari, Kai's 'brother' whom Naburo had also adopted at the same time, the now-villain Chronostasis. Both of them were grown adults capable of making their own decisions. Their youth as surrogate children of an oyabun trying to make up for participating in the long tradition of putting his female relatives into gangland prostitution was a tragedy, but it was one that was long-past.

Eri's was current and ongoing until today.

But there was more than enough blame to go around for the Boss to receive his fair share as well.

As Naburo attempted to formulate a response, I seized on the moment. “And speaking of adopted children... I'd like to know where that orphanage was. The one where you picked up Kai.”

The former oyabun jerked as if I'd struck him, seeming to come back to himself momentarily as he stared at me. “The orphanage, why would you want to know about that?

I raised an eyebrow. “Why, because of who ran it, of course. It's not an official one or I would have found it by now, but that's to be expected given the fact it was used for storing volatile and useful quirks... albeit in the shape of children.”

His eyes widened, skin paling, as his jaw dropped open with horror. “No, he'll kill me – you too! All of us!”

“Ah, I do so enjoy being right,” I smiled slowly, darkly. “No... you're going to tell me everything I need to get my investigation started. Then you're going to forget we ever had this conversation and take a little nap.”

Halfway through our little chat, there was a tremendous blast of cacophonous force, the likes of which I'd never felt before in this life. It had all the feeling of a hurricane punching the city with how the winds outside howled and rattled the windows of buildings small and large. I leaned back in smug satisfaction and no little awe as the battering force of a mere echo of such a powerful blow swept over the building.

I chuckled and shook my head, mild disbelief in the sound as Naburo stared out a window. “What was that?”

“That?” I grinned, satisfaction coursing through my veins as I felt fate and destiny realign. I couldn't see where these new tracks led, but I could tell they were pointed in a very different direction. “That was the Symbol of Peace, as he was meant to be.”

I finished up with Naburo, ordering him to forget our meeting, then laying the groundwork for what he would do when he woke from his 'coma' in three days.

After that, I looked at my phone and confirmed it was time to go.

Meeting the mysterious Mimic Vigilante Jabberwocky in the hallway, I raised an eyebrow at the stack of bedsheets and pillowcases she had in her hands. I cocked my head and looked them over. “Valuable?”

She nodded with a flash of a toothy smile. “These are the sheets I always saw in the really expensive catalogs Mother liked to look at. High thread count pure silk imports.”

I shrugged. “Sure, why not? It's time to go anyway, so that's the last load.”

Himiko nodded and walked quickly towards the still-open portal to the Apartment. Her leaving first and then me as I closed it behind myself. Safely inside the extradimensional space that was now crowded with expensive paintings, ancient pottery and vases, more than a few pieces of fancy furniture, valuable electronics, and the contents of every safe on the yakuza boss' property. Something caught my eye and I cocked my head up to stare at the assortment of cookware strewn about the kitchen hanging above us.

“You stole his pots and pans?” I asked Himiko in mild disbelief as she shed my form.

“Those are super-expensive too! And they don't make them anymore!” Himiko informed me pointedly as she wiped herself down. “They have this super-cute bunny maker's mark!”

Distantly, I recalled that some cookware could be particularly pricey, edging into the thousands of dollars if it was name brand stuff that had been discontinued. It wasn't something I'd have thought to steal, but as long as Himiko had cleared out the safes first, no harm no foul.

“I have to get back to the infirmary now, Dear! Let me know if we made enough to earn the upgrade to the house!” Himiko said, telegraphing the movement of leaning over and kissing me. “I'll open my door near the side of the school, just like we planned.”

“Sounds great, I need to make a call or two to finishing things up,” I told her, reaching out in an equally telegraphed way to wrap her in a brief hug-

-earning myself a happy squeal from the blond, who practically skipped back to her open doorway.

A moment later, I dropped myself bonelessly onto the only empty space on the couch. The rest of it was taken up by an assortment of jewelry boxes, a cabinet full of watches, and a few very nice looking instruments. For a moment, I wondered who in that family had played the electric guitar... or if it was just a show piece...

“Man, Himiko really stole everything that wasn't bolted down... and then went back with the bolt cutters,” I muttered, shaking my head.

My phone came out again and I hit a newer number.

“Avenger?”

“Yes, Detective Tsukauchi,” I replied. “I trust Eraserhead arrived in time to finish things off?”

“...I get the feeling all of this was deliberately planned on your part.”

I couldn't help the giggle that rose up. “Ah... maybe, maybe. I'll let you know that the personal estate of one Kunikida Naburo, oyabun of the Shie Hassaikai, has been neutralized. If you hit the area in the next two hours, I can guarantee that you'll face little resistance, if any at all.”

“Fatalities?”

The man's voice was harsh. “You underestimate my abilities, Detective. Though, I'm afraid vigilantism doesn't pay particularly well. I did have to liberate a few items of value in the name of putting a roof over my head.”

No Rest for the Wicked: That's what most criminals would have you believe, anyway. The truth is, they sleep quite well and quite often given the majority don't have to keep to a standard workday schedule. Steal at least [100 Million Yen] of money and/or goods from criminal enterprises over the course of a thirty-day period and you, too, will be able to sleep like a bandit in your luxurious Sweet Home (One Purchase).

“Of course. I suppose I shouldn't be all that surprised there's a catch to this.”

“A catch?” I asked, chuckling. “Oh, that's not the catch. That's payment for services rendered, and I do believe you'd agree that I've done quite a good job in our brief association.”

There was silence on the other end of the line for a long moment.

“Part of me still can't believe any of this was on purpose.”

“I suppose you're right. It could have all been a happy accident,” I shrugged, not really caring either way if I got 'credit' for all of this. In fact, part of me would be absolutely giddy if everyone just wrote this all off as a massive coincidence. I hadn't quite been able to mask my hand entirely due to how rushed things had been, but... overall, I was happy with how things turned out. “Though, there is just one little thing...”

A long sigh.

“I knew it. What's the catch?”

“Eri is going to need a guardian,” I informed him bluntly, “a little girl with her quirk? Her power? She'll have people lining up around the prefecture to take advantage of her, even moreso given how vulnerable she is emotionally after all this.”

“...All Might lives an incredibly dangerous lifestyle.”

“And so does that little girl, and not by her choice.” I replied. “If he protests, then tell him that the valuables I stole was payment for seeing to the destruction of the yakuza group. Him taking care of Eri is my price for what I did for him.”

I paused there, calculating the precise words to make the biggest impact.

“He’s the only one I would trust with this responsibility.”

Again, I cut the line before the other man could respond.

I sighed, relaxing against the couch, and grabbed the remote for the giant television I seldom used.  It was nice enough, but Himiko and I rarely had enough time for TV. Really, the only use we got out of it was the occasional horror movie for date nights. Kicking up my feet onto the coffee table - something that made Himiko’s eyes twitch if she saw me do it - I held the remote up and spoke into it.

“Remote Feed: Nighteye and Phantom Thief Spycams.”

The television flicked on, and I stared for a moment before groaning.

The cameras I’d set up in the combat zone were arrayed in a grid pattern, six ongoing viewpoints of the operation at hand.

They were all also covered in bees.

“Yeah, there’s the other shoe dropping,” I muttered, resting my elbow on the arm of the couch and propping my head up with my fist. “You were supposed to be in Nagano for the week, Tamaki. I even went to the trouble of finding out what you were doing over there to make sure you’d be gone for this.”

I clicked my tongue and considered my options.

Then a wave of fire began washing over the massive swarm.

My eyebrows rose. “Huh, Endeavor for the win. Way to go, boss.”

It was a suboptimal outcome, though, for one of my major goals.  I’d dragged Nighteye into this to keep him occupied with Mirio.  Even if he didn’t take the boy on to teach him to be All Might’s successor, the issue of Tamaki being possessed by Queen Bee would lure him into investing in a new case. Even if I thought the man was a nihilistic douche, he was still a good man and a hero at heart. Once he knew the details of the situation, he wouldn’t be able to help himself.

Sir Nighteye was also competent enough to resolve things, as well.

Which I’d hoped he would, because I didn’t have the time to spare.

“So, let’s see… regardless of my success or failure with the Mirio-Mirai match, the scheme to poison the city with trigger is defused.  Depending on if Tamaki escapes again, Nighteye will be looking into him, so that still accomplishes part fo the goal.  Hmm… All Might is healed, Eri is saved, the whole mess with the Shie Hassaikai is resolved.  I’ve got enough information to start on investigating the orphanages and I’ll be getting more in three or four days. That will lead me to a good start on ferreting out All for One’s trafficking networks. Kunikida Naburo’s information will start me on picking out the more corrupt officials with ties to him. Oh, and I stole enough for the first Sweet Home upgrade, the rest of which will give me financial leverage for the future.”

Those, at least, were the primary goals accomplished.

The secondary ones would still be in flux.

And the tertiary ones, well…

The enemy would get a vote, as well as my ‘allies.’

All Might would need to decide if he was going to take in Eri, after all. More than that, the implicit commitment raising a child would call for, which would be a long-term solution to the man’s larger issues.

All in all, not bad for my first little plot.

A buzzing noise caught my attention and I looked at the small screen of my phone.

I blinked.

Slowly, my head tilted to the side.

“Huh… let him cook for a bit too long.  Oops.”

~~~

It's here! The culmination of the scheme!

...and I'm curious who saw it coming and just didn't say anything.

But, have fun with the new chapter! I'll be working on... maybe an update for Where Your God Is next. Haven't done that one in a while. Look back in on Kirito and stuff.

In any event, enjoy the new chapter of Mind Games and know that content like this is only possible with your support. So thank you once again.

Next up is UA! And also some reaction content!

Cause Hitoshi certainly stirred the pot with all this.