Darkest Before Dawn - 112

Chapter 12

“I’m sorry, but I think we’ve been here too long. I just got a message from our guardians that we should get going,” Kazuki said to one of the small time support equipment companies that had approached his friends during the impromptu media session that had somehow happened. They had been there for a while and they really needed to get going. There was also the fact that he was rather tired himself and also the fact that many of the people approaching them seemed to just want to stick their names next to theirs in the press.

He rather doubted any of them would call them after that day, but if they did, he’d helped his friends get their names out there with the ones that seemed the most genuine. His Quirk came in handy for weeding out the opportunists, if nothing else. He’d had enough of that though and he could tell his friends were of the same mind, so he wasn’t too concerned with dismissing everyone that was still around.

Not like they could do much when he specifically brought up guardians. What were they going to do? Try to keep them from their parents or teachers or whatever? Yeah, Kazuki wanted to see them do that or try to cause a scene in any way with all the reporters around if they got offended. Even after the fact, they would have a hard time.

“It was a pleasure talking with you all, but we have to go,” he said, plastering his best smile before taking his friends away as fast as he could without looking bad. Which wasn’t nearly fast enough, in his opinion, but he’d have to make do, he supposed.

“You deal with that all the time?” Toru mumbled, walking right beside him, almost touching his arm. She was apparently drawing comfort from his presence, which was… nice, Kazuki thought. It filled him with a pleased, prideful warmth that he rather enjoyed.

“That was… plenty, even by my family’s standards,” Momo commented, the most composed of the bunch. She clearly was no expert though, probably having left most of that to her parents for the most part. Once the initial awkwardness wore off though, she’d been a great help at handling the media and everyone else. Actually…

“Still, thanks for the help, Momo. That’d have been a lot for just me, I imagine,” Kazuki didn’t waste any time saying, because it really did need to be said. There were a lot of them, so he’d have struggled something fierce to keep them all from getting eaten by the vultures.

“Don’t mention it, you did most of the work anyway,” Momo replied and he blinked at her when he saw her cheeks turn a little pink and felt some embarrassment bleeding out of her through his Quirk. Well, that was that on that front, Kazuki supposed. He wasn’t going to be making it that awkward for her if she didn’t want too much praise, he supposed.

“It was a productive session though, I gotta say. All of you got your name out there, so that’s neat. I’d look for counsel in case someone actually calls you about offers and such though. I’m sure UA can help with that, if you don’t know where to go,” he told his friends as they walked, noticing how a hero that was passing by nodded towards them. He nodded back, even though he didn’t recognize him. Maybe it was someone his friends had come across?

Then again, he might have been in the party with him, he hadn’t really taken a good look at everyone in the middle of the chaos.

“Neito and I gave the contact information of the club. The Management Team is much better equipped for this than we are,” Chikuchi replied and he nodded his approval of that plan. He really couldn’t see fault in that.

“Might want to give them a heads up then, just so that they can be prepared,” he commented, noticing some envy coming from his friends. Well, it was their own fault that they weren’t part of the club, really. “Now, I don’t know about you, guys, but I’m rather tired. I just wanted to check if you were all okay, honestly. So, if it’s all the same to you, I’ll go back to my room and be lazy for the rest of the day, yeah?”

“Sure thing, man,” Minoru answered, rubbing his neck wearily himself. Some of the others were a little annoyed though, Kazuki noticed. They probably wanted to hang out or something… but he didn’t have the social battery for that at the moment. The previous day had been a lot even without the terrorist attack. He’d also had to step in for his friends with the press and company representatives and what not and while he’d never regret that, it did take its own toll on him. So, he’d be selfish for a bit and just do what he wanted to do, and that was taking a break.

He thought he’d earned at least that much.

“Give us a call if you wanna hang out, alright?” Minoru continued and he nodded, even though he rather doubted he’d do that. “Or maybe tomorrow. If not, that’s fine too.”

‘I really need to do something for this guy,’ Kazuki thought to himself. He could have hugged Minoru, if it wouldn’t have been incredibly awkward for both of them. Still, he was definitely going through that promise to give him the girls’ numbers from the previous day. He didn’t remember all of them, but he did remember some and the numbers were literally written down for him. It was just a matter of matching those faces with reactions to Minoru.

Surely he could pull at least one from his memory, right?

As it was…

“See you around, yeah? Have fun and try not to get mobbed, heroes,” he commented, only half-joking, before stepping away and leaving with only a few more words. He did feel a little bad about ditching them, but not enough to not do it. They’d forgive him, he hoped.

“That was masterful,” a voice commented and he paused, turning and blinking at Hina. ‘When did she get here?’ he wondered curiously. He was also a little surprised that he wasn’t annoyed or frustrated, because now he had yet another social duty, this time in the shape of spending at least some time with the woman. Not that it was a chore, but he really just wanted to do nothing for at least the rest of the day, if he were honest.

The fact that he didn’t feel bad at the realization that she was there was a good thing though, even if it was odd.

“I just dropped by to say hi and because I saw you on the news,” Hina told him and he could see the metaphorical placating hands raised even though all she did was smile softly at him. “I heard that last part, so don’t worry about it, alright? I just wanted to tell you that you did great out there,” she told him, her expression turning into… pride. 

Kazuki tried not to think too much about it.

“I can do plenty of networking with what you’ve given me, so feel free to take a break, yeah? You deserve it, after everything,” she continued and it was a good thing that she wasn’t letting him speak, because he found himself quite tongue tied all of a sudden. She looked like she was going to say something else, but a wild Katelyn interrupted her draping herself over Hina’s shoulders.

“You better believe that too. Hina here can’t shut up about her new son,” the American hero said and Kazuki had to pull all his acting skills not to flinch. ‘Don’t think about it, don’t think about it,’ he chanted in his mind, very grateful that Katelyn kept on speaking.

He also made absolutely sure not to pay attention to the twinge of emotions that he felt from Hina.

Things were bad enough as they were.

“So, let the proud new mom do her thing and you enjoy yourself, yeah?” the woman continued and suddenly Kazuki wasn’t very grateful for her continued ability to speak. “It’s I-Island, after all, I-Expo even! Bad business aside, this is a great time to be a kid like you. Don’t stay holed up in your room, yeah?”

He’d she even know what he planned on doing?

“I’ll try my best,” he replied dryly, wanting nothing more than to get away from those two at that very moment. “Don’t work too hard, yeah. You should enjoy yourself too,” he added towards Hina, trying not to sound or look odd when he turned to face her. “We’ve done plenty between yesterday and today, don’t you think?” he asked her with a slight shrug.

“Hm, you’re not wrong. I’ll just talk to a few people we missed yesterday,” Hina answered and he nodded… before realizing that her emotions were giving her away. When he gave her a narrow-eyed look, the woman just grinned. Evidently, she knew he caught the lie, but was challenging him to call her bluff.

For a moment, he considered doing just that, before deciding that it was too much effort. If Hina wanted to, then he’d let her. It wasn’t like he was forcing her or anything. The opposite, really. He knew she wasn’t doing it out of pity or some other thing, like feeling obligated to do so. He’d have picked up on some emotion that’d have clued him in if that were the case.

Thus, Kazuki simply sighed. Hina, for her part, had no business looking so insufferably smug about being let win. ‘Eh, whatever,’ he grumbled internally. He was definitely going to make her work for it more the next time. Even Katelyn knew what was going on, if her giggles were anything to go by. That alone almost convinced him to change his mind.

Almost, but not quite.

“Have fun with that, then,” was all he said.

“You too, alright?” Hina told him softly and he tried not to think too much about how warm her smile was. It was a terrible time for her to look at him like that. “I know you’re probably tired, but if you could enjoy yourself a little, that’d be great,” she added, patting his arm. “I guess that’s enough of me holding you here though. Go along and give me a call if you miss my beautiful face, will you?”

He chuckled at that, happy with the more laidback tone there at the end. Better that than… anything else. He was even happier to notice that whatever negative emotions had sprung up before had disappeared already. That was a great relief, for sure.

“I’ll try not to miss you too much. You see enough of my ugly face as is,” he replied and with little else, he walked away once more. With any luck, nobody else would interrupt his swift – escape – retreat back to his hotel room.

Alas, he wasn’t so lucky, but whatever people he came across that wanted to talk to him, random tourists, reporters or just curious people, he was able to shake off rather easily. Other than that, the only delay was caused by Kazuki himself when he stopped to get a smoothie on the way. Fortunately, the latter made the former’s more manageable. He’d found that having something tasty dulled emotions quite a bit, be it for his Quirk or in general.

‘Or maybe I just have a sweet tooth,’ he thought to himself idly as he walked through the halls of the hotel. Finally at peace, he allowed himself to deflate a little, especially once he walked inside his room. There, he moved to the sofa, not even making it to the bed, and dropped face first on it. ‘A nap sounds heavenly.’

“Hina here can’t shut up about her new son.”

‘... Stupid Katelyn.’

He really shouldn’t be entertaining any thoughts on the matter. What was even the point? It wouldn’t go anywhere. He was just a student that Hina had taken a liking to and was helping a little extra. They’d barely known each other for a few months. His emotionally stunted ass shouldn’t be thinking anything of the sort.

And yet…

He groaned into the cushion and resigned himself to having a very much not relaxing hour or two.

[}-o-{]

Kazuki was woken up by knocking on his door, which by itself confused him for a good few seconds while his mind shook off the remnants of the dream world. Blinking blearily, he stretched, pulling himself to a sitting position and then to a standing one. By then, the knocks were repeated and he was awake enough to try and pick up any emotions from whoever was on the other side.

‘Nothing out of the ordinary,’ he noted, taking a deep breath in and cracking his neck. There were only the slight wisps of background emotions that denoted a conscious person if he looked hard enough, but he couldn’t tell more than that. Actually, there was a fair bit of pain too, but only on occasion. ‘An injury… Was any of my friends hurt like that?’ At that very moment, he didn’t really remember. ‘Do they even know where I’m staying? Is it Hina and someone else?’ he wondered, idly checking if he’d gotten any messages while he napped.

The answer was yes, but none of them made him think the person – ‘Actually, I think there’s two people.’ – outside was any of them. So, on his way to the door, Kazuki was very much awake by then. Not only that, but he was also very wary. Call him paranoid, but I-Island had been attacked as a whole just the night before. Kazuki had been right there in the middle of things too, which he thought warranted some healthy wariness on his part.

So, with his shadow extended at his back and Grimm ready to form out of it, he opened the door the smallest bit… And then his eyes widened at the same time as he opened the door more. Well, if he’d had to guess, these two weren’t the ones he’d thought he’d encounter on the other side. ‘That explains the pain, I guess,’ he noted, looking at the arm on a sling.

“Mr. Shield, Miss Shield,” he greeted, opening the door fully and taking the two in. Far as he’d learned, the man that had become the target of the previous night’s attack was not only one of the top scientists in the island, but also a close friend of All Might. As for the girl, well, she was the man’s daughter and also a friend of Midoriya’s… or so he gathered. He hadn’t had time to ask too many questions on the matter yet and he also wasn’t really inclined to.

“Mr. Endo,” the man said, but there was a hint of guilt starting to flow from him, which he didn’t know what to think about. Had the man done something to him? Because if he had, Kazuki didn’t have any idea. It was probably unrelated, he supposed. “May we come in? I promise this won’t take long.”

“... Of course,” he agreed after a moment of processing not only the question but also their presence there at all. Still, at least he managed to reply without making a fool of himself, so that was good. “Can I get you something? There’s some drinks in the mini-fridge, if you like.” Thank God Hina had said everything was paid for, otherwise it’d have been kind of awkward if he couldn’t offer them anything.

“Just water would be fine, thank you,” the man answered, and to Kazuki he sounded and felt subdued, like he’d rather be locked in his own room and brooding. He could relate to that, honestly.

“Do you have juice?” was the girl’s response, a little more animated, but not by much, really. She was feeling bad, all of a sudden, but he couldn’t quite place why. It was similar to her father’s guilt, but also very different. Something like worry mixed with disappointment and some shame? It was somewhere there, but a lot less prevalent than her father’s emotions.

“Sure thing,” he said, moving to pick up the drinks and wondering if they’d take long. Because he really didn’t have the energy to deal with a lot. Especially considering how heavy the two Shields felt. It didn’t sound to him like they’d have anything too cheerful to discuss. “So, what can I do for you?”

“We wanted to thank you, personally, for your help in protecting I-Island, its secrets and, most importantly, the people in it,” Shield senior said and it sounded incredibly rehearsed to Kazuki’s ears. He would know. All the same, he wasn’t too bothered. The man had probably searched all his friends before reaching him, considering his nap and all. “You’re not even a proper hero and you had to step in for the good of this island, we can’t thank you enough.”

“Isn’t that what heroes do though?” Kazuki couldn’t help but try and lighten the mood a little, pulling on his acting for a more relaxed, friendly approach. He was starting to think that maybe he acted entirely too much. “Meddling and all that, right?”

“Meddling when you don’t need to is the essence of being a hero,” Shield quoted All Might with ease, his lips pulling into a semblance of a smile and his emotions settling down the smallest bit. “I wouldn’t classify last night as a “don’t need to” kind of situation, however. Would you, Mr. Endo?”

“I guess that’s fair, but it’s still a hero’s job to help when needed, isn’t it? I don’t think it’s necessary to get a thank you this directly,” he commented, and it wasn’t only because he felt awkward about it. He didn’t think it was quite done, to go to someone’s place to thank them for the help. He didn’t think so, at least. Otherwise, he didn’t know how any hero got anything done, with everyone knocking on their doors.

“That’s because I’m not only here to offer my thanks,” Shield told him, shoulders squared and some steel in his eyes. “I owe you and the other students a lot, even those heroes that helped you do what you did. We’re making it a point to reach out to everyone and show our appreciation,” the man told him, taking a piece of paper from his pocket-

No, not a piece of paper.

A card.

A business card.

“If you need anything for your hero career, just give us a call. Equipment can sometimes be tricky, but we pride ourselves in being able to make anything for any hero,” Shield told him, some pride in his expression, but it was mixed with so much bitterness that it seemed like something else entirely. Kazuki was really wondering what was going on there, because he felt like he was missing something. “So, if there’s anything you might struggle to get from equipment companies, give us a call and we’ll do it.”

Wow.

That was… That was a lot to take in for as few words as it involved. I-Island grade equipment was no joke. The stuff that was casually displayed in I-Expo could make a hero’s career. Shield didn’t joke when he said they definitely could make something that companies would consider difficult or outright impossible. And yet…

Kazuki didn’t hesitate.

“Thank you,” he said, taking the card even though he’d already made up his mind. It’d be rude not to, even if he knew he’d never call. He almost wanted to tell him that to his face, but he wasn’t that out of it. 

As it was though, Kazuki was absolutely sure he’d never call. He already had a tinkerer of his own, after all. Sure, Mei was no match when compared to I-Island. However, she was his friend, and that made up for any amount of competence. He didn’t need support equipment, after all. So, Mei could have been the worst Support course student in UA and Kazuki would have stuck with her all the same.

For one, because she hadn’t cared the smallest bit for who he was when she attached herself to him. For another, she was great to be around, since she barely seemed to feel any negative emotions at all. And lastly, the girl was not bad at all, at what she did. She was a student, but somehow Kazuki doubted many students were going around making drones controlled by an AI they’d made themselves.

So, even when she was nowhere near I-Island level, he’d still stick with Mei. No need to antagonize one of his friends, even if it was practical. And besides, he wasn’t even losing that much, really. Kazuki was sure Mei would reach incredible levels in the future. So, it wasn’t a terrible loss all the same.

“You’re not going to call,” the girl – Kazuki didn’t think he’d ever caught her name, but he could have just forgotten – pointed out rather perceptively. He didn’t think he’d been that obvious, but then again, it wasn’t like he’d put any effort into hiding that fact. In his defense though, he thought it wouldn’t even be noticeable. “If you were interested, you’d have shown it. Didn’t even blink at the offer,” she explained before he could so much as think to ask how she’d known.

‘Well, someone’s sharp,’ he thought wryly while the elder Shield looked between his daughter and Kazuki.

“Sorry, it’s just that I promised to get all my support equipment from my personal tinkerer,” he replied, seeing no reason to lie. That’d probably have been more offensive, right? Or so he figured. “She’d be very angry if I went to someone else,” he added with a shrug. Hell, Mei could be sad if he did that, and he thought that was a much worse option.

No, he’d rather not risk any friendships if he could help it.

“She must be good,” the girl commented, apparently very intrigued. Fortunately, it was just her that seemed interested, because the older Shield didn’t even seem surprised. If anything he seemed amused and… wistful? Kazuki thought he picked up some emotions there but he couldn’t quite make sense of them.

“Well, I won’t be one to get in the way of a rising hero and their equipment maker,” the man said, some amusement making its way to his expression. “Do keep us in mind, alright? And even if you don’t ask us for any equipment, we can provide resources for your associate,” he offered and that interested Kazuki a lot more.

What could Mei do with some of the rare things I-Island could likely provide her?

Probably something to blow up UA… and a chunk of Japan.

On second thought, he’d have to be very, very careful how he handled that situation.

“That I can do,” he replied with a grin. “... Please don’t feel like you need to do this though. I imagine things will be… complicated over here,” he added, a moment later after the possibility occurred to him. I-Island was very much famous, but the thing about being famous was that people tended to take your falls and make them twice as bad, at the very least. Hina had taught him that, at least, since he was more infamous than anything.

“It’s kind of you to worry about us, but we’ll be fine,” Shield dismissed with a wave of his hand. He didn’t explain further, but then again, Kazuki wasn’t the kind of person to talk about such things, he supposed. Just as well, it’d have probably all flown over his head. “Well, I have a few more people to talk to, preferably before the day ends. So I should be going. Still, thank you, again,” the man said.

Not long after that, he found himself at the door watching the man walk away…

Although, there was a slight issue…

“Do you mind telling me what this tinkerer has made for you?” the Shield girl asked, eyes shining in a way that reminded him of Midoriya talking about heroes.

Kazuki just sighed.

‘So much for taking a break, huh? Some god up there really hates me.’

[} Chapter End {]

Hey guys! How’s it going?

It’s not me that hates Kazuki, by the way. It’s the Muse. She really won’t let our boy have an easy time, ever, by the looks of it. I feel kind of bad about that. On the plus side though, I guess that prevents things from getting boring story-wise. Not a lot of action in this story, funnily enough, but at least there’s always something going on.

Or maybe that’s when compared to how I usually write and it’s still boring but just not as much?

I’ll pretend that question never popped up in my mind.

Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter.

Discord Link: discord.gg/UTDransjJZ

Random Question: I think I’ve asked this before, but do you prefer sweet things or savory things? I prefer savoury, but I like both.

See you.