Darkest Before Dawn - 117

Chapter 117

“... Okay, good to know you have it all figured out,” Kazuki replied slowly, processing all that Komako had dumped on him then and there. He had seen it coming a little bit, with how the Management Team’s leader had absolutely gone off like Midoriya talking about heroes, but it had still been a lot. Although, there was a part that gave him pause. “Just to be clear, don’t stick to a timetable too much, yeah? If someone wants to join, they are free to, as long as they are serious about it,” he pointed out and Komako nodded, but there was some hesitation coming from them. “What?”

“We just thought it’d be better to keep the club mostly as is before we tried to expand too much. It could disturb the balance we have,” Komako pointed out and he considered that for a moment.

“Hm, there’s some logic to that. Do you have something to do right now or are you helping Futo and Ronaudo?” he asked, and he carefully kept his expression normal when he picked up on some hurt coming from Komako. It seemed that being the generalist still stung, even if he’d named them leader of the branch and all that. “Can you check what the numbers would be? Ratios between hero students, support students and management students. How many tinkerers per hero do we need and how many management students do we need to keep things running smoothly with everything we have to juggle, we need to know that, right?”

Idly, Kazuki felt like he was unleashing an entirely different beast than he had before. However, Komako’s insecurities had vanished somewhat, so he counted that as a victory. He also could see their mind drifting off, thinking about what he’d suggested.

“Yes… I can do that,” they mumbled, a slightly thoughtful frown on their face. “Would probably need to tailor the number of support students to specific hero ones, since some need more and more complex equipment than others. Like Chikuchi compared to you, Boss. There’s a lot to be managed too, but I think it might be more manageable than one would think… We will need plenty to manage all your affairs though, but-”

“Right,” he interrupted, snapping Komako from their musings and making them look towards him once more. He smiled wryly at them, very much wary of all that it would imply to grow the club. Alas, limiting it would feel like an dick move, especially since half the reason they were so overworked was because of him. “So, in the spirit of not rocking the boat too much, maybe you can start recruiting one at a time, give them time to adjust and then add someone else? Start with someone for the management branch, since you guys are the most overworked. I don’t think anyone from heroics is overly interested right now and we have our hands full with just the two tinkerers, so… yeah.”

“Can do, Boss,” Komako confirmed, grinning in what he imagined was excitement. “Did you need anything else?”

“No, you can go do your thing,” he answered, running his fingers through his hair. “Don’t overwork yourself, yeah? And make sure those two don’t either,” he added, waving his hand towards Futo and Ronaudo.

“Will try my best,” Komako half-laughed before leaving to pick up a notebook and starting to work numbers, or so he assumed. Kazuki looked at them for a long moment, before glancing around to see if anyone needed him. Which, as it turned out, was the case.

“Hey there, Penny,” he greeted, blinking as the drone floated right on his face when he turned around in Mei’s direction. “Did Mei need anything?”

“Mother is testing my conversational capabilities and my understanding capabilities, Father,” the drone informed him and he nodded slowly. Kazuki had to admit that he was still getting used to the… designation. He also felt like it wouldn’t do him any favors in getting rid of the Monster Daddy whenever it was that he used it in public…

Alas, Mei always got this sad-embarrassed feeling whenever he tried to bring up the topic, so he’d kind of given up.

Did that make him a pushover?

Probably.

“Did you need to talk about anything in particular, Penny?” he asked, glancing around the drone to check on Mei. She wasn’t feeling particularly helpful on the matter though, simply staring at them and occasionally looking at the screen of her own computer and typing down something.

“I have no such directions, Father. Do you have directions for me on the conversation topics we should discuss?” the drone answered and he considered that for a long moment. He could do the boring thing and just… ask about how Penny’s progress was coming along. She probably could tell him as much as Mei and it’d be less of a mad ride.

However, he wasn’t feeling up to doing something boring. The most fun thing he had planned had been ruined, so he felt like finding entertainment and relaxation elsewhere. Hence, him deciding to talk about something else with Penny.

“Not really, Penny, but I’m sure we can find something,” he commented idly while trying to come up with something. Ultimately, the best he could do without dragging the silence on awkwardly was: “Say, has Mei given you directive priorities?”

He knew that was the right question when Mei’s back straightened and she looked towards them with wide eyes.

“Of course, Father!” Penny answered cheerfully, if robotically. She sounded like one of those reading robots one could find online but smoother and able to add emotions to her speech… even if it sounded odd almost always. Maybe she’d get better as it went. Kazuki was impressed as it was though, admittedly. “There’s Priority Hero, Priority Standby, Priority Test and Priority Indulgence,” the drone informed him beeping with every priority level.

“Indulgence, huh?” he said, raising an eyebrow and noticing how Mei seemed plenty frantic in her typing all of a sudden. That and there was plenty of mild panic, nerves and embarrassment coming from her. “Mei!” he called, making the tinkerer freeze. “You’re not trying to hide things from me, are you?” he asked, narrowing his eyes.

“N-No, Boss. Of course not.”

“Good,” he replied, an amused half-smile on his face. Idly, he noticed that other members of the club were now paying attention. “Now, what’s in Priority Indulgence, Penny?”

“Using Designations Father and Mother is the first directive in Priority Indulgence.” Of course it was. Mei’s thing with her “babies” and the father and mother thing was odd, but ultimately harmless. At least, he thought she wasn’t interested in him that way and it was just her eccentricity. If not… Well, that’d make it all more awkward than it already was.

And complex too.

“Learning how to behave naturally is the second directive in Priority Indulgence,” Penny informed and he tilted his head. What was naturally supposed to mean? Was Mei trying to make Penny talk and “behave” as a human would?

“What does naturally mean in that context, Penny?” he asked.

“To talk and think like a person, Father. Which relates to one of Mother’s future projects, Project Real-”

“Ah ah! Stop!” Mei exclaimed, more panicked than before. “That’s… that’s spoilers, Boss,” she mumbled, and her levels of embarrassment had reached a point in which Kazuki didn’t want to keep teasing her. Instead, he took a deep breath in and nodded slowly.

“Right, so,” he started then, moving closer to the tinkerer. “Anything in particular you want to test or should I just talk with Penny like I would anyone else?”

“Well… I wanted to run some ideas past you for whenever I get the money to prepare Penny for rescue and battle situations,” the Support student mumbled, fiddling with a tool she’d had on her improvised desk – which was two normal classroom desks put together to give her a bit more space other than putting her computer on top – and glancing away. “Talking with Penny would help a lot. I’m not… very normal, so I can’t help her there.”

“I don’t think anyone here is normal-”

“Hey, we resent that!” the Management team called, but Chikuchi and Melissa remained tellingly silent on the matter.

“-, but I’ll do my best,” he finished with a smile. “So, Penny, what are these combat and rescue ideas your mother has?”

“Mother has several ideas, Father, the most futurebound being-”

“He means the ones closest to now, Penny,” Mei interrupted, rushing the words out like her life depended on it. He guessed that long term project was the one the drone had been about to mention before. He was curious, extremely so, but his friend seemed fairly against the idea of sharing that just yet, so he let her be.

It was interesting that Penny would still tell him if he pressed the issue.

Why hadn’t Mei just blocked that off?

“Of course!” Penny exclaimed and Kazuki smiled, leaning against an empty desk to the side and settling for a long conversation with a robot. Not something he’d ever thought would happen, but something that made him happy all the same.

Maybe he was growing attached to the little robot already, he supposed.

Calling him Father all the time was just cheating though.

[}-o-{]

“It’ll be fine, Kazuki,” Momo reassured him for what felt like the hundredth time. He just couldn’t though, no matter how she said or explained it. “My parents have heard recordings of you before and they’ve said you’re good.”

“Recordings and real life are different though,” he mumbled, fidgeting with the strap of his violin case. “I could be worse than they think.”

“You sound even better in person though,” his friend pointed out and he grimaced. “And yes, I know I’m no expert, but I do know a thing or two. People playing violin and other such instruments are common in galas and parties,” she added, likely seeing his argument coming.

“There’s a difference between being good and being good enough for this though,” Kazuki replied. It wasn’t like he thought he sucked… much. He was getting over his mother’s old, harsh criticism. People telling him he was great left and right would do that to someone, he supposed. All the same, he meant what he said. There was a world of difference between one thing and the other.

“It’ll be fine, I promise,” Momo told him softly, reassuringly, as she reached for his arm and gave it a squeeze. He appreciated her patience, truly. “Come on. The sooner we get started, the sooner it’ll be over.”

On that, they agreed.

So, Kazuki took a deep breath in and followed after her down the familiar path to her house – or mansion, more like – and through the very gaudy doors that looked more like gates.

“Hello, Mr. Yaoyorozu, Mrs. Yaoyorozu,” he greeted and he grinned shyly at the slight spikes of annoyance that got him. Calling them by their names – as they’d told him at some point – was a little… It wasn’t that he didn’t want to, it was just that they gave him this intimidating impression that just made it impossible for him to address them informally.

“Hello, Kazuki.” And the way they’d just accepted to call him by his name just made it all worse. He was going to have to try, wasn’t he? ‘Fuck,’ he cursed internally before gathering his wits. “Momo said you were nervous,” Mr. Yaoyorozu-... Seiichi added, much to his daughter’s chagrin. Evidently, he wasn’t supposed to know that.

“You’ve been talking about me, Momo?” he asked, turning and giving his friend his most betrayed look. In turn, she gave him a wide-eyed panicked look, but he spoke before she could say anything else. “Behind my back even,” he added, doubling down on the betrayal act. “I thought we were friends!”

“We are!” she squeaked, her emotions a right mess then and there. “I just thought I’d- I didn’t mean- I was trying to-... You’re teasing me,” she finished with, eyes narrowed after she realized what was really going on. To that, he just grinned at her.

“A little, sorry,” he said, because her reaction had been way stronger than he’d expected. “And yes, I’m really nervous,” he added towards his friend’s parents while Momo pouted at him. He decided, for the good of his mental being, that he wouldn’t look at her until she calmed down.

“Shouldn’t be, considering what we’ve seen of your abilities, they seem to be well above what one would expect from someone your age, nevermind your history,” Mrs.- Right, no, Akane said and Kazuki did his best to take that in stride, as the compliment it was meant and not as a reminder. Momo seemed to take it more personally than he did though.

“Mom!”

“Right, I’m sorry. That was tactless of me,” the woman said and she really did feel apologetic. She even grimaced as soon as the words had come out of her mouth. Maybe Kazuki wasn’t the only one feeling out of sorts. There were some emotions, faint but there, in the two adults, now that he was looking. “All the same, I meant it. You have skill, Kazuki. This is more of a formality than anything else-”

“And because we want to hear you play in person,” Momo’s father chimed in, drawing a smile from his wife.

“That too,” Akane finished.

Kazuki didn’t know what to think about that. Weren’t they trusting his skills a little too much without actually having heard him? Especially for a party. He knew – or assumed, really, since he actually knew nothing about that kind of stuff – that it was a big deal if you hired a musician and they sucked. It’d ruin the ambience, for one, and it’d reflect terribly on the hosts.

Or was he somehow wrong about all that?

“Now, follow me, we’d use a similar room to where you would actually play, but an empty room doesn’t sound the same as one filled with people and decorations, does it?” Seiichi asked and he nodded hesitantly, following after him through a hall and then into a big… sitting room? Maybe it had some other name. He wasn’t too sure. He was too poor to know, probably. “I know you’d be playing a lot of background music for this and that means keeping it to softer tunes, but I’ve always been a fan of stronger pieces. So, if you could indulge me on this for a bit?”

“Of course, sir,” Kazuki said, a sudden calm coming over him as he moved to take out his instrument. Even after some time had passed, it always felt… significant whenever he had to pull it from the case. Maybe that particular violin would always be important for him, no matter how much time passed. There was also the fact that, whenever he was about to play, his mind would drift away from most things, focusing on what he needed to do, the song he was going to bring to the world. “Whenever you’re ready, sir,” he added, the violin already set over his shoulder and under his chin.

Idly, as he waited, his eyes fluttered almost shut and the hand holding the bow swayed lightly.

“Whenever you are ready, Kazuki,” he heard Akane say and there was an odd tone in her voice, but he didn’t dwell on that too long. Instead, he brought the bow to the strings and started. He’d come up with several songs he could play, nothing like the Devil’s Trill – his favorite, most practiced piece –, but also not anything too new. He settled for pieces that he’d practiced plenty, but never too much nor too little. There weren’t that many of those, but if he could convince the Yaoyorozu parents that he was good, then he could prepare a few more songs for that.

For the moment, none of that was important. The important thing was playing as best he could. He needed to be calm, that was the key. If he tried too hard, maybe he’d screw up, either there or, worse, at the party. So, he’d rather not Plus Ultra that particular thing. However, if he didn’t try hard enough, then he’d feel like he’d half-assed it.

It was a day of middlegrounds, he supposed.

Kazuki started slow, despite Mr.- Seiichi’s request. It was always better to start slow and then make the jump, or sometimes slowly increasing the tempo. It could be a little jarring for some people to just start off strong, violin wasn’t electric guitar, after all. Admittedly, it was also because it was easier for him to pick up some speed beforehand too, but it was mainly for the other reason that he went for it.

He didn’t take too much time for that though, considering the aforementioned request. Despite being a little tricky though, he liked the idea. He was always more of a fan of stronger parts. Not only did they feel more… powerful, but they also had the greatest effect. It also helped that there was a clear difference in reception from when he played for his mother than when he played for anyone else.

His mother had hated anything he played equally, but his friends or anyone else, he could feel their negativity lessening when a song picked up speed and grew more intense. It drew them in and pushed the negative emotions to the back of their mind, he guessed. And in doing so, it made things all the better for him, which was a bit of extra feedback that he loved.

Skipping the slow parts meant that the song wasn’t too long though, so he played for what was, at most, three minutes.

And when he finished, it was to tame, but meaningful applause. He opened his eyes fully, glancing at his audience of three for the first time since he started and giving them a small, weary but happy smile. He didn’t think he’d messed up too much, at least by his still developing standards that weren’t his mother’s. So, if they were happy, that meant he was actually good.

“I see Momo wasn’t exaggerating when she said you were better in person,” Akane commented and she had that expression that said she was still drawn by the music, even after it was over. Kazuki took that as a much more heartfelt complement than anything the woman could have said.

“I told you,” his friend said, beaming proudly at him and he returned the gesture with a slightly wider smile than the one he was already wearing. “I don’t think we’ve heard that one before,” she added, turning towards him as he moved to set the violin down. He might have to play again, but he liked to take a moment to rest if there was no pressure to continue. “What’s it called?”

“Ballade,” he answered with a slight smile, running a feather’s touch over his violin before taking a deep breath in and turning back to the three. Why was Momo suddenly so embarrassed though? Was Ballade maybe not a good choice? Were romantic songs not good for that kind of party? Seiichi’s raised eyebrow and Akane’s giggling weren’t giving him any clues on the matter either, but at least they weren’t feeling too bad about that, so maybe he hadn’t screwed up already. “Is that… not a good choice? Because I know several other songs. It was just the first song that came to mind.”

Why Momo was disappointed by that, he didn’t know, but at least her embarrassment disappeared, so he guessed he’d fixed the issue.

“It’s a fine song, Kazuki. Don’t worry about it,” Seiichi reassured him and he almost sighed. “Do you need a moment to rest or can you play another? I admit, I’m already looking forward to hearing more.”

“I can play, no problem. I just like to take a bit when I can, but I can play non-stop for the party,” he said with a slightly nervous smile. “If you think I’m good enough, that is.”

“Oh, you are. I don’t think you could convince us not to,” Akane told him, but he’d be more sure about that after he’d played several songs, for good measure.

All in all though, he was feeling more confident than when he’d arrived, so he was happy.

[}-o-{]

“So, it’s fine?”

“I wouldn’t go as far as saying it’s fine, but I do believe you can relax a little,” Hina told him and he ran a finger through his hair. He hated when things couldn’t be simple and straightforward. “That woman has been building rapport with you since you met her. I don’t think she’s going to throw you to the wolves that easily. Either she’s waiting for a much bigger scoop or she’s actually trying to get on your good side so that you’ll tell her stuff that you wouldn’t tell others. I do hope it’s the latter, finding a supportive reporter like that is hard, you know?” his mentor explained and he had a feeling that she expected him to be happy about that. Except…

“Just comes with a little risk of my life going up in flames, nothing to worry about,” he mumbled, giving his fishtank a flat look as if it were Hina.

“Exactly!” His eye twitched at that. Why did he keep associating with that woman again? “Seriously, Kazuki, you just have to make sure not to give her anything truly big and you’re golden. Although, all things considered, I do believe she’s likely on your side for whatever reason,” Hina told him and he took some heart in that. “She seems very pro-free Quirk usage, and I’ll admit, she’s doing a great job using you to push that agenda without burning you. I’ve been checking and I’ve had people checking too.”

“Thanks for that, by the way.”

“Don’t sweat it, what are mentors for if not looking out for press sharks?” the woman asked him and he couldn’t find it in himself to point out that she was going well over what was expected of her. Hell, what was expected was for her to cut contact with him after his internship. That was what had happened to most of his classmates, after all. And even if it was just a Hina thing, she was doing a lot more for him than she was Itsuka.

“I guess I’ll trust you on that,” he said, giving up.

“You do that,” Hina told him, sounding very amused. “Now, as for your movie troubles… Well, I imagined the poor boy might be feeling a little inadequate, but that’s just me going off on what you told me about the crew and all,” she continued and he didn’t know how to feel about that little bit of information.

He had waited to tell her about that because… Well, that day back at the agency things had been going well, so he hadn’t wanted to ruin the mood. She’d picked him up in a good mood and things had gone well for him other than that issue with Teruya. Kazuki hadn’t wanted to put a damper on things when they were looking up. He liked to think that had been the right choice, considering the rest of the day at the agency had gone spectacularly… even if he’d gotten shitty news when he arrived back home the same day.

“It could also just be honest annoyance at the special treatment, but it’s odd that he didn’t say anything about Nora’s girl, even if she got less of that than you,” Hina continued, sounding like she was thinking it over at that very moment, words slow and careful. “I do think he has something against you, but since this is new development instead of something that happened on Day 1… I don’t know. Maybe see if someone else on set knows him better? You said everyone else was mostly fine, right?”

“Yeah, there were some people a little annoyed and such, but nobody quite as bad as Teruya,” he answered, leaning back and considering his options. “I guess I can ask Camie.”

“Don’t sound so enthusiastic, Kazuki,” Hina commented, and he could almost hear her rolling her eyes at him.

“Hina, she’s like Plus Ultra extroverted. It’s exhausting,” he explained, but that only got him a laugh.

His mentor could be so cold sometimes…

[} Chapter End {]

Hey guys! How’s it going?

A bit of a follow up from the previous chapter and not a lot happening other than just… slow progress on plot lines. It ain’t much, but it’s an honest chapter. I gotta say, writing about the club is a lot of fun, for some reason. With any luck, you all agree with me on that. It’d be a shame otherwise.

Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter.

Discord Link: discord.gg/UTDransjJZ

Random Question: Hm, if I’ve asked something similar to this, then I think it’s been a while so… How are you liking the story? Anything in particular you enjoy?

See you.