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Darkest Before Dawn - 62
🕑 Added 2024-05-30 17:22:07 +0000 UTCChapter 62
The difference between their experience at USJ and the Nomu – or whatever those three were called – being in the presence of actual heroes was… noticeable. They had gotten their ass kicked by a single one, even if it had been accompanied by other people, such as the guy with the hands and a small army of shit tier villains. Ultimately, Nomu had kicked Aizawa’s and Kazuki’s asses, among others. They had required All Might to save them from that single villain or creature or whatever.
Endeavor and the other heroes of Hosu, however?
The battle was over so fast that Kazuki didn’t know if he could even call it that, really. If the whole thing had lasted a full minute after Endeavor went at it, he’d be surprised. He supposed he was the Number Two for a reason, even if he was also a shit father. ‘Doesn’t excuse anything, but credit where credit is due,’ Kazuki thought as he kept the perimeter even after the fight was over.
The three Nomus, or whatever, still needed to be taken care of properly. They needed to be subdued and sent to Tartarus or any other hole. Kazuki wasn’t too knowledgeable with that process. Not as much as he was the one for minors, that was for sure. Idly, as he waited though, he kept an eye on every Grimm that he had out. He had his operational ones and the one Puppy Beowolf he’d left with the kid. His control was holding on pretty well, despite the clear fear and worry that bleed from the people around the area.
If he had to guess, he’d have said that it was because he didn’t have much to do and neither did his Grimm. He was basically just standing there and keeping an eye out for anyone trying to sneak in. Hell, he was hardly even doing that, considering the heroes were the ones to dissuade anyone trying to approach him. Kazuki – and his summons – were basically just bodies to outline the perimeter.
So, there was little to do in the sense of controlling them, he supposed.
With that in mind, he decided to be a little bold.
Letting his shadow extend backwards, he made a Baby Imp and directed it – almost manually moving it – towards where he’d found the kid and started searching. ‘Might as well try to find Fluffy, am I right?’ he thought to himself. If need be, he’d let the Grimm crumble, just like he would the Puppy Beowolf with the kid.
As it was, it was rather doubtful that things would really get to that level. After all, there was no way he was going to get involved in anything serious other than more rescue and more standing around supporting everyone else. Not only because he was just a student, but also because he was there while interning under Uwabami, who was also more of a support type hero.
That was fine by him, really. He’d helped find people. He’d helped save people. He’d helped people, basically, both civilians and heroes. So, Kazuki was feeling rather accomplished, in all honesty. Sure, he hadn’t kicked ass, but knowing that there were a bunch of people whose shitty day he’d helped make less shitty was enough for him.
At that very moment, he felt like the day could be perfect if he just got to find the kid’s stuffed toy and return it to him. Sure, it wouldn’t be much in the grand scheme of things. However, he could feel the child’s distress and he was in a position to try and help him. That was exactly what he’d set out to do when he decided to give being a hero a try.
“Things are almost done. I don’t know what you are doing with that Grimm, Beacon, but do hurry up. You still don’t have permission to use your Quirk without supervision,” Uwabami spoke in his ear, making him grimace. Maybe he should have brought that up before getting to it.
“I’m… looking for a kid’s stuffed toy,” he admitted hesitantly. He knew it was stupid. He knew the hero would tell him to not be an idiot. They were in the middle of a serious situation and, as she said, he was just an intern without a license of any kind. So, as he waited for her to say something, Kazuki prepared himself to dissolve the Grimm that he had rummaging through the rubble.
“You just love making my job easier, don’t you?” Uwabami replied with, sounding pleased and amused… which kind of caught him off guard. “It’s a wonder that you have bad PR at all. Do go on, but keep me informed if anything happens,” his mentor told him.
“Of course,” he replied, redoubling his efforts.
“Anything else we should know?” Kendo asked afterwards curiously.
“Well, normally I’d say no,” Uwabami answered and he could almost hear the pursed lips she was likely sporting at the moment. “However… Well, Beacon is here,” she said and he grimaced again. He appreciated his mentor’s blunt and direct approach, but alas… the truth could also be ugly. “I wouldn’t be surprised if we had to deal with reporters before leaving here. I’ll try to do that myself, but I’d prepare for that if I were you two.”
“... Anything else we should know about that?” Kendo asked this time and Kazuki heard Uwabami chuckling hollowly through the comms.
“Yes, a lot. Some of it you learned, or should have learned, already,” their mentor answered and there was no mistaking the guilt and regret that spiked from roughly where he knew Kendo was. Not that Kazuki blamed her. It was what it was. “I’ll go over what I can though,” Uwabami continued.
Kazuki almost wished he had a notebook to take notes on as the woman started speaking. Alas, he had no such things. On top of that, he also had to keep an eye on his Grimm, especially the Baby Imp searching through the rubble still.
He wouldn’t stop though.
No way.
[}-o-{]
It didn’t take long for the villains to be set up inside containing vehicles to be taken in.
Once that was done, there wasn’t as much need for them to hold the perimeter anymore. Especially because by then the police could do that on their own. With the whole mess over, there were less chances of people being quite as insistent as before. Nobody was likely to cause trouble for the officers anymore.
“I… probably need to be taught that too,” Midoriya commented, hunched over and rubbing the back of his neck as they moved to meet with their mentors again. “Speeches and just… talking with people is not my-my strong suit, I guess.”
“Wouldn’t hurt, no,” Kazuki replied, taking a page out of Uwabami’s books and being brutally honest. “Something to work on, right? Maybe your mentor can help you with that while you are training.”
“Maybe,” the green-haired teenager agreed with a nod.
“Nothing for you to worry too much for the moment anyway,” Kazuki added, because that was the truth. Midoriya was a little bit of a nervous wreck, sure, but many heroes didn’t have much of a public image, really. People focused a lot more on what they did and how “cool” they were, really. Only super fans and such would check interviews and the like and they likely wouldn’t have to worry about that for quite some time.
Kazuki’s case was just, once more, different from the average U.A. student.
“Well, hope things go well for you, buddy. Your mentor’s over there,” Kazuki commented pointing towards the short old man off to one side talking with another hero. He didn’t know what hero that one was, but then again, he didn’t recognize any of the ones present other than Endeavor and Uwabami. “See you around,” he added.
“Good luck, Endo,” Midoriya said with a shy smile and a wave of his hand. Kazuki was really having trouble imagining the guy getting in trouble with the public. He was like a puppy, really.
“Now, where are you, Uwaba… mi?” he started before seeing something that distracted him. His eyebrows went up and he blinked. “Unexpected,” he mumbled as he started walking. Just in case though, he decided to tell Uwabami before going too far. “I’m seeing a few classmates. Do you mind if I take a minute? Do I need to do something?”
“A minute is fine. Don’t take too long though. You need to be with me if I’m to deal with the press and such,” Uwabami told him and he didn’t need to be told twice. God knew he wasn’t ready yet.
“You saw him?” Kendo asked, and he’d have been confused if it were for the fact that…
“Yeah, I saw him,” he answered, his lips pulling into a smile. “Hey, guys. Fancy seeing you here.”
“Endo,” Todoroki greeted with a nod. “You knew I was with my father though.”
“It’s an expression,” he commented, amused.
“Ah.”
“And he’d mean me anyway, wouldn’t you, Boss?” Monoma asked, puffing his chest proudly. “Surprised I got an invite by the Number Two hero?”
“Not really, you did get number two at the Sports Festival,” Kazuki replied. He’d meant that as a statement of fact, but it seemed to annoy the 1-B student. It seemed that he was still a little salty about his loss. Oh well… “It’s no wonder you got an offer from someone so high up. I’d have been surprised if you didn’t.”
“I know. I’m awesome,” Monoma said, unnecessarily adjusting his hair with his hand. He’d probably fit right in with Uwabami, if only because of his theatrics, Kazuki thought. He decided to keep that opinion to himself though. “Where did you end up anyway? I half expected to see you with Endeavor too.”
“I did get an offer, but I went with Uwabami instead,” he replied, preparing himself to have to explain his choice once more. However, instead of the shock and incredulity that he expected, he only got mild confusion mixed with some other emotions as Monoma frowned thoughtfully for a moment.
“PR, huh? I guess that’s… a choice, certainly,” the blonde said then, and it was Kazuki’s turn to be surprised, it seemed. “Well, hope that works for you.”
“Thanks,” he replied, honestly grateful and pleased with the response.
“Doesn’t mean I’ll hold back though. I’ll keep getting better. Next Sports Festival is mine,” Monoma added then, shooting him with a smirk that he could only grin back at.
“I do believe I have chances of winning that too,” Todoroki rejoined the conversation with, stating a fact more than actively challenging the 1-B student’s claim.
“It’ll be an interesting event, that’s for sure,” Kazuki said, feeling fairly happy.
Kendo and Maeda were nice and all, but he appreciated having a moment to talk with friends… or, at least, he thought he could count Midoriya and Monoma as friends. Todoroki certainly fit that bill. Ultimately, he guessed he’d gotten used to dealing with having people around. Going from his fairly big circle of friends to just Kendo and Maeda had been a bit awkward.
“With that said, I have places to be, but it was good to see you, guys,” he continued then, glancing over his shoulder to where he caught Uwabami and Kendo. “I have to get going now. Good luck with your internships, yeah?”
“Same,” Todoroki replied simply, nodding at him.
“Do try to get some training done, yeah? I wouldn’t want to kick your ass too badly next time,” was what Monoma said, getting a chuckle out of him.
“You wish,” was his response, and he continued on his way, feeling fairly content with things.
Now if he could find that damn stuffed toy though, because even after adding some more Grimm to the search, he was having no luck. The Baby Imps were going to cause issues if they stayed around for long, he was sure. Soon, the efforts to start working on the small disaster zone would start and his Grimm would likely get in the way… ‘Maybe I can help with that though? With actual Grimm instead of the Baby series. I could also keep looking while I’m at it,’ he mused to himself idly.
Something to check with Uwabami, he supposed.
[}-o-{]
He was in luck, it seemed, because Endeavor’s presence meant that most of the media was focusing on him and leaving everyone else alone. The unfortunate part came in the shape of knowing that it was just a matter of time. According to Uwabami, after all, they couldn’t just leave while everyone else was distracted. That’d just make him look worse.
Instead, they needed to work on improving their image, all of them. Kazuki for obvious reasons and Maeda and Kendo because of their association with him. Thus, it was a good thing that they had a pretty disastrous area in dear need of some hands to help clear away rubble and put off fires. Civilian services were already at it, now that the area had been cleared of villains, even if some heroes remained around to keep an eye out just in case, between other things.
With that rather convenient option right there, they set out to give a hand.
Kazuki created as many Imps as he could control and started helping move around smaller pieces of rubble, with the exception of a Beowolf that was there just in case there was anyone buried in things that needed saving. Unlikely, considering the sweeping they’d done already, but it never hurt to be thorough.
Kendo, for her part, did much the same as his Imps. Her Quirk helped her move around bigger things though, which was what she focused on. Interestingly, she didn’t seem frustrated by the less than glorious job. Maybe he’d been too quick to classify her as a combat hero and little else. She was just to combat what he was to rescue. She preferred it, but she didn’t mind doing other things.
Good to know, he supposed.
Uwabami, for her part, did much the same as his Beowolf, but she also kept moving around, talking to workers, talking with nearby civilians out of the perimeter, talking with police officers and so on. She did a lot of talking, basically, and Kazuki made a mental note to ask what all was she talking with them. It looked simple enough, but, by then, he would almost bet that there was a purpose behind it.
Uwabami, it seemed, was a lot more than he’d thought.
Then there were the rest of the heroes and his fellow interns around. Monoma had seemingly copied some other hero’s Quirk to help around too, while Endeavor and Todoroki had to do it the Quirkless way. It was a bit odd, for Kazuki, to see the Number Two Hero and one of his strongest classmates work like that out in the open with other people using their powers, but… Well, nothing they could do with fire and ice, he supposed. At least after whatever remaining fires had been put off already.
“Beacon, I don’t know how long I can let you have that Grimm there,” Uwabami told him through the comms and he grimaced. Yeah, he knew that he couldn’t let the Beowolf Puppy be there forever, but still… Taking it away from the child without returning the stuffed animal felt very shitty.
Focusing, he looked for his mentor in his sense. It wasn’t easy, since he had to go by position alone, which he only knew roughly without actively looking. However, checking through the small gathering of heroes and public service people, he found her. She was feeling frustrated and… angry? He wasn’t very sure what it all meant, honestly. Other people’s emotions could be weird like that at times.
His guess was that they just thought differently from him.
“Got it,” he said simply, taking a deep breath in as he tried to keep his focus. Getting desperate wouldn’t help and, ultimately, it wasn’t the end of the world if he didn’t succeed. It was, after all, a rather small thing. Still though, to that kid, it could mean a lot more though, which was why he was still going.
He’d felt that boy’s emotions while he battled against Kazuki to go back for Fluffy. If nothing else, that gave him an understanding of the importance of the stuffed toy. For kids, such “small” things could mean a whole lot. God knew Kazuki would have appreciated a “small” thing at the very least when he was young. Maybe, just maybe, he’d been a “small” thing away from not causing the Black Rampage.
That was why he’d try to find the stuffed toy.
It was the least he could do.
Besides, working on that helped him ignore the spikes of emotions that occurred here and there with the people nearby. It hadn’t taken Kazuki long to figure out many of them happened when people looked at his Grimm. Most of them came from civilian workers that were helping deal with the aftermath of the incident, but some heroes happened to feel the same. Nobody had outright shown animosity though and whatever interactions he’d had with people that weren’t part of his internship had been professional, so he guessed it could be worse.
It sucked, but he’d take neutrality, thank you very much.
Much better than some of the things that he’d feared would happen after he had to act publicly. If nothing else, this small job had put some worries to rest. Kazuki had dreaded, after all, that even if he made it as a hero and all, that people would never let go and stop hating or fearing him all the same. If that outing with Uwabami was any indication, the future was looking a fair bit brighter than it had before.
He didn’t think he’d be a Top Hero, or anywhere close to that, but if he could do his job and help people…
Then what more could he ask for?
[}-o-{]
“Found it,” he said through the comms.
“Good, because I was a minute away from telling you… Eh, doesn’t matter,” Uwabami replied, sounding both exasperated and happy. “Go ahead, Mr. Her- Oh,” his mentor added, something clearly cutting her off midway through. It took him only a moment to realize why.
The boy, the owner of the stuffed dog one of his Imps had just retrieved from underneath a piece of rubble, was with his family, of course, but also with someone else. There was a reporter standing right there, talking with them. Kazuki stopped, his eyes fixed on the boy, who was sitting right there and still hugging his Beowolf Puppy.
“Do you want me to give the stuffed toy back, Beacon?” Uwabami asked, her voice sounding weird since he heard it in the comms but also then and there, since she was approaching him from the side. “Either way I’m going. I can’t let my cute intern go face the wolves by himself, can I?” she commented, coming to stand by him and giving him a smile that was both reassuring and encouraging.
“What do you think I should do?” he asked, not looking away from the child and being acutely aware of the toy dog in his hand. He truly didn’t know what to do. He’d barely gotten started in his preparation to face the media, but not going felt like… felt like it’d be a defeat.
He wanted to be a hero. What kind of hero would he be if he ran away like that? He had told that boy that he would get Fluffy back. Wouldn’t it be shitty to pawn that off on Uwabami? The boy was waiting for him.
“I think you should go yourself, if you feel up to it,” his mentor told him softly. “Emphasis on if you feel up to it though, Beacon. You know how it goes-”
“If you are going to stand in front of a camera, you need to show your best,” he quoted and his lips pulled up a little at the beaming smile Uwabami sent his way. Really, as if she didn’t get enough clues that he was, indeed, very much invested in learning what she taught.
“Don’t tell Battle Fist, but you are my favorite intern,” she whispered conspiratorially. Which kind of lost a lot of its traction when Kazuki could hear her voice through the comms too.
“I’ll try not to feel offended, Uwabami-sensei,” Kendo commented and he could almost hear the laughter in her voice.
“I really lucked out,” the hero commented with a wide smile. Kazuki wasn’t too sure about that, considering all the trouble she was going to have to deal with because of him. However, there was no denying the fact that it was… really nice, to think that someone felt lucky to have him around. “So, what do you say, Beacon?”
Now, that was the question, wasn’t it?
Ultimately, there was only one answer.
“... I’ll go,” he said, taking a deep breath in. Then he let it out, remembering all the little things he’d learned so far. How to stand, how to move, what expressions to make and how, how to talk, what to say and many more things crossed his mind. He didn’t think he had enough practice. He didn’t think he remembered it all.
However, Kazuki was determined to do what he’d set out to do. So, he did his best anyway. There was no space for nerves or hesitation. He needed to be confident, unshakable. So, to pull ahead of those emotions, he relied on his Quirk. He focused on the anger, the desperation, the boredom and anything else that would help him go forward without double guessing. He formed a mix of emotions that kept his head cool while also allowing for enough to keep him from messing up some other way.
“Now, that’s a nice expression,” Uwabami told him from the side at about the same time that he felt ready to tackle things. “You got this, Beacon.”
He nodded, a smile forming on his face as he took the first step forward.
“Mr. Hero!” the kid cried out when he noticed their approach and his family and the reporter turned towards them. Kazuki did his best not to show anything towards this last fact. He could do it and Uwabami would, hopefully, be able to salvage things if he didn’t mess up too badly. Still though, he’d rather not need to be saved. He wouldn’t have her around for long, after all.
“Hey there,” he greeted with a smile. “Look who I found,” he added, bringing the stuffed dog up. “Would this happen to be-?” he started asking then, just to make sure that he hadn’t somehow found some other stuffed dog around the rubble.
“Fluffy!” Evidently, his worries had been for naught. “Look Wolfy, it’s Fluffy!” the boy exclaimed then, speaking to his Beowolf Puppy, which Kazuki controlled to turn his head towards the stuffed animal and bark. “I kept Wolfy from being alone, Mr. Hero! And he kept the monsters away, like you said!”
“So I see,” he replied, passing him the toy, which the boy quickly hugged against his chest after letting go of the Beowolf Puppy. “You did great. Wolfy was very happy with you.”
“And I was very happy with Wolfy, Mr. Hero.”
“I’m glad to hear that,” Kazuki said, still unable to keep the smile off his face. The child was just adorable, really. He did wonder though, if he should correct him about the name or something… Ultimately, he decided that it wasn’t important enough.
“Thank you. I know that’s just a toy but…” the woman by the boy, which Kazuki was assuming was his mother, started. She was feeling quite nervous and embarrassed, for whatever reason, but Kazuki was happy to see that she wasn’t fearful or angry. He’d half expected that, honestly. “But it’s really important for him. Thank you, Mr. Endo.”
‘So, she does know me, huh?’ he noted to himself.
“It’s Beacon right now,” he corrected with a smile, waving to himself and the heroes working around the place still. He might not want to correct the kid, but everyone else? That was a less complicated matter. “And it was no trouble. I want to be a hero and he needed someone to help him, so I did.”
“Thank you,” the man with them told him anyway, pulling his wife – Kazuki was still assuming, but he was fairly sure that’s how it went – into a one armed hug and giving him a grateful look. “For everything.”
“It’s what we do,” he replied, feeling fairly good about himself. Unfortunately, it probably wouldn’t last for long.
“Excuse me,” the reporter said, expectedly and proving his thoughts right. “If you could answer some questions?”
“That’d depend on the question, I guess,” Kazuki answered as smoothly as he could. He’d have rather continued talking with the boy and his family, but alas… He took some comfort in the fact that she looked almost as different as he did, what with her blue skin and her eyes had black sclerae like his did. Her case wasn’t as bad as his, admittedly, but it was something. Maybe he could get camaraderie benefits?
Maybe he could search her up on the internet and see if he could figure out how she made the look work.
“Great,” the woman said then, clearly pleased with his answer. Thus started his first interview, he supposed. He prayed to God that it wouldn’t go as badly as he feared, all the while keeping his act up. ‘Fake it till you make it, Kazuki.’ he told himself. “I’m Chitose Kizuki, from Shoowaysha Publishing.”
[} Chapter End {]
Hey guys! How’s it going?
It feels a little weird that there’s more about the aftermath of this mess than there’s about the event itself. Although, I guess that’s what happens when you aren’t in the thick of things. The battle just… happens, and then there’s just you doing your job.
Weird, but hopefully not a bad kind of weird, right?... Right?
Anyway, there’s also Kazuki meeting his first actual reporter that he’ll actually talk to, but I’m sure that’s going to be fine.
Hope you enjoyed the chapter, guys.
Discord Link: discord.gg/UTDransjJZ
Random Question: Are you playing any MMOs right now? I played some Warzone lately with friends, but I’m not sure if that even counts. A friend did ask around if someone was interested in some MMO to play together the other day but that’s not really going anywhere.
See you.
Comments
Umbral Star
Uh oh…
