Disclaimer: I own nothing but my original characters and works; all other characters and worlds belong to their respective owners. I'm just playing with them.
Betad by Priapus, Marethyu, Malcolm Tent, Beans
The Guild of Gamers: The Tamer
Chapter 19: Awakening
– Nana Shimura –
She was alive.
Frankly, that was strange enough by itself.
She'd given her life in the fight against All for One, a fight where she, Gran Torino, and All Might had unfortunately deeply underestimated All for One's power. She'd given her life to get Toshinori out of the unwinnable battle she'd placed him in, to give him a chance to grow and defeat All for One.
She didn't remember much beyond that. Glimpses of Toshinori's life, his growth to the Symbol of Peace. She could remember feeling immense pride in him, but things were blurry from her time within One for All. In truth, she wasn't even sure she was Nana Shimura as Nezu had bluntly confirmed that her body was still in its final resting place.
She had her memories, and perhaps her soul, though she was not an overly spiritual person. Perhaps that would have to be enough. Still, she could only feel joy at her return, a chance to see the man Toshinori had become, beyond the glimpses she remembered, and to see…
As she tried to get her laughter under control, Sorahiko stared back at her with a bemused look.
"I'm glad you find this so funny," Sorahiko sighed, rubbing his beard as she got her laughter under control for just long enough to take a look at her oldest friend. Then, she burst out laughing again.
The mighty Gran Torino, a three-foot-tall old goat with a walking stick.
After the revelations she'd found since her return, she needed this. Her saviour, Kaito, was probably the son of All for One. The dungeon problem that had only been around for a few years when she'd lost her life had accelerated to the point where Nezu had bluntly admitted that humanity was on course for extinction should nothing change. Toshinori had been crippled, though it seemed Kaito had solved that problem as well, reigniting the embers of One for All within him.
She herself had no trace of One for All, just her original quirk, Float. Without One for All, she was massively weakened and Izumi, the latest host, had offered it back to her. Much like Toshinori, she'd refused the offer. Her time had passed, and while she was thankful for the chance to keep living, it was up to the next generation to carry the flames of One for All now. Besides, she could feel her Quirk was stronger now, presumably thanks to the Quirk-modifying Kaito.
She'd always been proficient in her Quirk, using it to fly as fast as Gran Torino, the fastest hero of their generation. Now, she could feel the way she could levitate other people alongside her, which she tested with Toshinori and Sorahiko, flying them all around U.A. with ease. The fact that Kaito had casually upgraded her Quirk while extracting her from One for All had seemed bizarre to her but Nezu had just shrugged and said it made as much sense as anything else Kaito did.
It hadn't taken much prodding to get the story of Kaito upgrading the Quirk of the person he'd been fighting to make things more fair, getting blown up in the process. All for One had been her nemesis since En had told her about him, so to find out that his probable son was so different had been a shock. Was All for One truly trying to save the world from the monsters? It seemed so unbelievable, but even All for One didn't want to destroy the world. The monsters were as much a threat to him as they were to every other human, if the bastard could even be called human anymore.
Shaking off the dark thoughts, she looked back at Sorahiko, and the laughter began all over again as he sighed. Surely he knew he was doing the heroic thing and helping her relax after a very stressful day? Shouldn't the old man be grateful that he could still bring a smile to people's faces?
After what she'd learnt about her son and his family, she needed all the humour she could get. She'd been the one to order Sorahiko and Toshinori to avoid any contact with her son, wanting to keep him safe by distancing herself from him after her husband's death. Learning that he'd died regardless, along with almost his entire family, had hurt a lot. The only one that wasn't confirmed dead was her grandson, Tenko, and he was missing. She was somehow not surprised, and yet pleased, that Nezu had been the one to flat-out ignore her orders to leave her son alone.
"I don't suppose it's too late to stuff you back in One for All?" Sorahiko asked with a grumble, muttering about the unfairness of it all.
"Sorry, sorry," Nana said, composing herself. She'd needed the laugh, because with her current mindset, it was either laugh or cry, and she didn't want to make a fool of herself in front of Toshinori.
"What are you planning to do now, Nana?" Nezu asked, cutting to the point with his usual bluntness. "I doubt I need to tell you the dangers of All for One learning of your revival."
"I'm not going to hide away, Nezu. I might not have One for All anymore, but I am a hero and the world needs all the help it can get," Nana said sternly, arms crossed as Nezu hummed.
"I am aware of that, yes," Nezu said dryly. "Which is why I was going to suggest you stay at U.A. and help train the next generation, including our young Midoriya."
Nana went to refuse, before the words died on her tongue. She wanted to say she was going back out there and fight Kaijus and villains alike. Then, she felt a pair of hands around her throat. She'd died with a confident smile, unwilling to show fear to All for One as he choked the life out of her, but the idea of dying again made her shudder, taking several deep breaths to steady herself.
"I'd like that. It'd be nice to meet my successor's successor," Nana agreed, forcibly calming herself as she put on her signature smile. Everyone in this room knew her well enough to see the slip, and none of them brought it up.
The conversation continued, onto something they all had to seriously consider. Did her resurrection weaken One for All? Sure, Toshinori had never used her Quirk before, but he was also said to be the strongest user of One for All in history, but if it was storing each user's Quirk, was it stockpiling power?
Essentially, would bringing back the other six decimate One for All? Not that there was a rush to do so, as the second Symbol couldn't awaken her without passing out, and hadn't woken up in the past day since her resurrection. He apparently knew about this downside with his 'Healing Wish' but had done it anyway, evidently just to prove to Nezu and Toshinori that he knew what he was talking about.
He was certainly a strange boy, wasn't he?
– Kaito –
Waking up, I stretch as I consider that I may have underestimated how tiring it would be to bring the most recent of the voices in Izumi's head out. Ah, well, so I missed a day or two of classes. Meh, I'm sure Momo has already made a list of what I missed and a plan to shove all that boring stuff back into my head.
Sitting up, I pause as I feel the lump beside me move as Himiko rises and blinks several times.
"You're awake!" Himiko says, making me nod as I pull the sheets off, seeing her curvy, naked body pressed against my side.
"Yup. Did I miss anything?" I ask, stroking her hair lazily as I lie back down. Still looks dark out, so I don't feel like getting out of bed.
"Nope. I went to class as you a few times, but it's so boring. The angry one shouted a lot, something about his mom, I wasn't listening and punched him," Himiko admits easily. "Momo knew it was me, but said that I could probably use a proper education anyway since I told her I kinda skipped a lot of classes. Still, you get away with a lot, huh?"
"Benefit of being me. How are my monsters?" I ask, cuddling her as I relax.
"Primeape punched me in the nose, I think he's stressed about you sleeping. Blue is… I don't know. He just kinda jiggles. Shaymin seemed fed up. Butterfree kept putting anyone who tried to get close to sleep until Melissa convinced her to relax," Himiko reports helpfully. "Eri has been sad, but she knew you'd be fine. Oh, and that Carol girl kept groping 'you' for some reason. I groped her back."
"Nice work," I praise, stroking her hair. "So, why are you naked?"
"Well, you like sex, and I didn't want you to get pent up. Not all of you was sleeping," Himiko helpfully explains. "We didn't have sex, but I can suck more than blood. Plus, you're like a big warm teddy bear. It got too hot with my clothes on."
"It's hotter with them off," I joke, giving her ass a squeeze as I check the time. A couple hours before I'd normally get up. I'm rested enough, but fuck getting out of bed so early. Shrugging, I pin Himiko down and kiss her neck, my hands roaming her body as she squeals excitedly.
Sounds like I owe her a few. I am many things, but I always get even, in bed or on the battlefield.
– Later –
"If I asked politely, would you consider stopping using Healing Wish so freely and knocking yourself out without warning?" Nezu asks, sipping his drink.
"Probably not," I admit, making him hum.
"I figured as much. Fortunately, word of your condition didn't spread. As the Symbol of Victory, people will panic if they hear you are wounded or out of commission. Himiko did a wonderful job helping us hide that fact," Nezu explains, making me grumble at the panicking civilians. "She was brash, disobedient, groped several girls and punched four people. All in all, it was like you never left."
I just snort at that. I'm glad she had fun.
"You'll also be pleased to know that your… spy hunting strategy has paid off, though not with the spy themselves. Miss Hagakure's Bidoofs caught someone with a stealth-based Quirk attempting to bypass the security and get access to the Monster Research Building. It turned out to be an American spy, not the infiltrator we are looking for, but it proves that your plan has merit. If for no other reason than because watching a professional spy be chased by a dozen angry beavers was highly amusing," Nezu admits shamelessly. "Naturally, they denied being a foreign agent, but I have my ways. Watching the American representative sweat was most enjoyable after all the trouble they've given me in their attempts to claim you."
"Is there a video? For Bidoof research, you know," I ask, making him nod.
"There is. I will send it to you," Nezu agrees. "Now, while you have been sleeping off your stupidity, I have taken the liberty to arrange a few things. You expressed an interest in sending Primeape to Endeavour's sidekick Agency, yes?"
"Yeah. My boy is getting all worked up while I'm sitting around in class, and I figured having somewhere to work off his steam would help," I explain, making Nezu nod.
"Endeavour has expressed his willingness to have Primeape work as a temp, and the Monster Research Association are willing to handle the transfer from U.A. to Endeavour's agency, and to have a researcher remain with Primeape during his time there to help monitor how he handles being a long distance from you without being leashed to another hero. While Arbok has remained loyal and obedient to Midnight, we've never seen the effects of you letting a monster wander without first attaching them to another person," Nezu explains, making me nod. Makes sense that they wanna make sure this works. "Naturally, the reports and videos of Primeape's time with the agency would be available to you."
"Yeah, that works. Primeape isn't happy sitting around waiting for me to get out of classes, and he bothers Mel too much while she's working otherwise," I agree. I'm not worried about Primeape. Honestly, I'm more worried about everyone but Primeape, but as angry as he is, he's never seriously hurt an ally before, even in training. I should know, I'm normally the one he's punching.
"Secondly, you expressed an interest in feeding Blue 'weird stuff'. I decided that this could be used for the sake of PR, and have arranged several trips to major landfills where Blue will be free to eat essentially everything. It will be good for the environment, feed Blue an excess of things that have been dumped there, and send a positive message about your monsters and yourself," Nezu continues. See, this is why I like the little guy. He's good at this shit and that means I don't have to be. "I didn't set up any dates as we weren't sure when you would wake up, and I don't want Blue to be sent without you there. I understand that he is docile, but he's also the monster who ate a Kaiju and his presence makes people nervous."
"Nervous? About Blue?" I ask, looking down at my water bottle and opening the lid. Blue extends a tiny blue tentacle and wiggles it at me, before it slips back into the bottle and he closes the lid. "Man, they really are pussies."
"Quite," Nezu agrees. "Much like Quirks were feared when they first appeared, it will take time for people to accept monsters among us. Only, the monsters have spent several decades attacking us by this point, so their reputation is even worse."
"Eh, they'll get over it," I say with a shrug. "Or they won't, and they'll bitch at me and then I'll ignore them."
Or they'll attack, and then Primeape gets a new way to work off his energy. I don't have the time or patience to listen to the endless whining of bitches. My monsters are fighting on their behalf, doing more for the world than any of the bitching idiots, so why should I give a damn that they feel 'uncomfortable'. They'll feel more uncomfortable with my foot up their ass.
"Life will be simpler if we can push for more acceptance. I understand that you don't overly care, but I'd like to make my own job easier. Assignments such as Blue's trips to the landfills will aid with that," Nezu continues.
"Well, it's not like I don't approve of cleaning up the environment. The modern world makes such a fucking mess of everything," I grunt.
"If it helps, I'll arrange the sessions during times you would otherwise be in lessons such as mathematics," Nezu offers, making me pause. I knew I liked him for a reason. His smug little smile tells me that he knows he's got me. "Finally, I have found a way for you to maximise your dungeon time without panicking the endlessly-worrying bureaucrats."
"...consider me intrigued," I say, making Nezu let out a triumphant sound.
"How would you feel about some transfer work? U.A. may be the finest hero school in Japan, and I would say the world, but it is far from the only hero academy in Japan," Nezu explains, seeing me sit up slightly. "After the destruction of Shiketsu High during a disastrous Kaiju attack, the schools of Japan have begun to put aside their rivalries and work together, aiming to prevent any such attack from happening again."
"That's the one where the heroes 'won', right?" I ask, making Nezu scoff. I did my research after people said that Teostra was the second slain Kaiju.
"I understand the government's need to show the public victories, but that was not a victory for anyone," Nezu explains with a scowl. "Yes, the heroes damaged the boulder-like Kaiju, but when it self-destructed, the fatality rate amongst attending heroes, civilians and students still in the area was almost 100%. To call the loss of over fifty heroes and several thousand non-combatants a 'victory' is an insult to everyone involved. Especially given your own, mostly accepted, theory that monsters respawn. The Kaiju is likely recovering in a dungeon somewhere, or has 'devolved' like we saw with Snorlax. To this day, there is nothing but a crater where Shiketsu High, one of the finest institutes for training heroes in Japan, once stood."
"If that's what they call a victory, no wonder they were in a rush to slap the Symbol title on me," I grunt, making Nezu nod grimly.
"Indeed," Nezu agrees. "But onto my point. Seiai Academy has suggested a joint venture, a dungeon delve in a lower-danger dungeon with some of their students. They have their own 'training dungeon' similar to us, and are hoping that you can defeat the dungeon boss and claim it to ensure that it is truly safe. The revelation that we had Shaymin, a very dangerous monster, hiding in our dungeon has sent waves through many of the places that hold their own 'safe' dungeon."
"Man, we're lucky Shaymin is such a nice girl or me and Midnight would be fucking dead," I agree, making Nezu nod.
"As would the many students we've sent into the dungeon over the years. The hope is that we can turn that dungeon into a source of monsters for both U.A. and Seiai, while removing the threat it poses," Nezu explains.
"Hey, you don't have to say more than 'Look Kaito, a dungeon you can go into'. I was down when you said dungeon delve," I say, making Nezu chuckle.
"I expected as much. I did have a few other methods to persuade you, including the fact that Seiai is an all-girls school," Nezu admits shamelessly.
"Wait, are you pimping me out to other schools?" I ask, making him pause and sip his drink.
"Don't be ridiculous. I plan to pimp you out to far more than just other schools," Nezu explains, making me snort. "But yes, I am essentially trading access to you to the other schools to ensure that our alliance remains strong and they can be relied upon should things become problematic."
"Neat," I say, unbothered by his casual admittance. "So, when do I get to go to their dungeon?"
"This weekend. I've arranged for a second-year student to join you, along with a professional hero to ensure that you remain safe during the exploration. They have been told to stand back somewhat and let you take charge of the delve unless they believe you are in danger. Officially, this is simply a standard dungeon delve. Unofficially, you are to search for the Dungeon Boss and identify how strong it is. Do not fight it unless you are sure you can win, as we can return with a stronger hunting party at a later date should it prove too dangerous," Nezu explains bluntly, making me nod reluctantly.
Why does he sound like my mom? She used to scold me for the same shit, running off to fight monsters outside my weight class without waiting for a hunting party. It's not like I ever lost, and she could always reattach any limbs I misplaced in the process.
"Excellent. If the dungeon boss is tamed in one expedition, we'll be able to prove that your actions in the last dungeon can be replicated, getting a second dungeon under control. In truth, it's a drop in the bucket, as there are over a hundred in Japan alone, but repetition will show that my plan has true potential. Which will lead to more funding, easier access to other dungeons across the world, and more," Nezu explains, pressing his fingers together as he chuckles in a menacing way, and I barely pick up his words as he mumbles something about politicians.
He had me at 'easier access to dungeons', so I don't care what he's scheming, especially if it is at the cost of the bureaucrats who are trying to control me. Little dude is great, he just points me at what he already knows I want to do, I don't care if he profits from it afterwards.
Besides, if there are a hundred dungeons in Japan, that just means a hundred dungeon bosses I can tame. I might not be the best at maths, but each one means one per cent less dungeon breaks and Kaiju attacks, so everyone wins. Especially me.
"I believe Miss Shield wishes to talk to you before you leave for this dungeon," Nezu continues, making me nod easily. I'm always happy to see Mel. "Do try not to put yourself in a coma in the next two days."
"I'll try my best. How is the chick I brought back?" I ask, making Nezu chuckle.
"Mildly traumatised and extremely confused," Nezu admits with a shrug. "Death is not so easily shaken off, even for someone like Nana."
"Trauma is for children. She died, now she's back. One was bad, the other is good, so it evens out. What's so complicated about it?" I say, making Nezu shrug again.
"Alas, humans are rarely so simple. Even with my Quirk, I find the deeper intricacies of human behaviour baffling at best. Nana is strong, I have faith she will overcome this," Nezu replies. "I'm sure she'll want to speak to you in time."
I pause, remembering the amazing bosom I passed out into, before nodding.
"I'd be happy to," I say sincerely. Nezu's stare tells me that he knows exactly what I'm thinking, but he proves my decision to stick with him correct as he merely moves on, chatting about the upcoming dungeon plans for a little while longer before he unceremoniously kicks me out with an order to not cause him more work, and the grim understanding that I'm probably not going to listen.
– Later –
Watching Primeape jump away from Mel, desperately messing up the fur that she was combing, I resist the urge to laugh at him. Poorly, given the way he throws a bin at my head, but I resist all the same.
"Heya, Mel. Thanks for babysitting the big, dumb, ugly ape-pig while I was sleeping-"
Mel sighs as my words are cut off by a fist and angry squealing as Primeape punches me in the face, resulting in a short but fun tussle. As always, nobody wins, and Shaymin ties us up with vines to pull us apart, sharing a commiserating look with Melissa.
"You're welcome, Kaito. Primeape has been a gem, at least once he stopped trying to punch Recovery Girl," Melissa replies, as if nothing had happened. "I'm glad to see you up on your feet again."
"It was just a little nap, don't know why anyone made a big deal over it. Anyway, the rat said you wanted to talk to me about the next dungeon dive?" I say, making her nod as she gestures for me to follow her into another room. Taking a moment to throw a ball of paper at Primeape, I move through the door and close it before he can return the favour, marking this down as a victory for me.
As she leads me into what I think is some kind of garage, I pause as I look at the weird pod thing that's in the middle of the room.
"So, I learnt something important during our delve into the forest dungeon," Mel starts, turning to me with a rueful smile. "I don't like danger."
"You are soft and squishy," I say after a moment, making her laugh. We had some people in the tribe who had their roles inside the camp, and while a part of me wants to force her onto an exercise plan and maybe throw her into a dungeon to train, I get it under control.
"Exactly. I'm not a fighter, and it was naive of me to go into the dungeon on the belief that Mt Lady would keep me safe. I was a net negative during that fight, and I could have easily died. We all could have. My presence made things more complicated, since you had to worry about a defenceless civilian on top of everything else," Mel continues. "But that doesn't change the fact that I want to research the dungeons and the monsters within more, and I want to do it in person since working through a third-party or records can make you miss things."
"Okay, I'm following so far," I say, making her smile as she gestures to the pod, making it hover in the air.
"Which is where this comes in. It was actually Mei's idea, and she helped with a lot of the more mechanical parts," Mel explains, making me nod again. Makes sense, Mei is definitely having fun because she said that the money people just accept whatever request she puts in without even questioning what she wants it for. "My father helped design it as well, once he heard what I was working on."
"So you made a floating egg?" I ask, making her blink, before giggling.
"A hovercraft. I originally planned for it to have treads, but Mei pointed out that the terrain in many dungeons is far too uneven for that," Mel explains. "It has multiple cameras, scanners and other research equipment, and the idea is that it could, eventually, be used by squishy researchers like me to protect us from the dangers while allowing us to accompany a hero team."
She opens it up, showing the seat inside and all the controls that I definitely don't understand. I still think it kinda looks like an egg, with half of the oval being made from some special glass and the rest being metal, painted cream with a yellow trim in between. Mel is clearly proud of it, showing off the various features, including the ability to spray the various dusts we've been harvesting from Butterfree as a defence mechanism. There are some monsters that put out gases or noises that drive away even other monsters, and she's hoping to upgrade it more as we get more options.
Speaking of monster parts. Midnight learnt how to use [Material Extraction] on Arbok while I was asleep, and it spread throughout the various trainers. My guess is that it was some system fuckery, but it works out since it means I won't have to individually harvest every monster I send out.
Apparently, a new system was set up where the parts are studied and given a value based on how useful they are, and the trainers can sell them to the MRA and other approved organisations. Arbok produces venom and scales, for example. The scales are useful, but it's the paralytic venom that is the most valuable.
Momo tried to explain it to me, since her super-rich family are involved in the whole trade. Something about supply and demand, prices changing as the rarity does. I kinda zoned out. She was talking about numbers, a lot. Then she caught me making faces with Eri because Eri giggled too loudly, and I got a minor lecture about responsibility since my fame means wealth is inevitable, and I should know these things.
The point is, if you have a monster and don't mind delaying its evolution, you can make money by selling extracted parts. Apparently, there's a mountain of rules, because monster parts are dangerous in the wrong hands, but I'm going to ignore that and just give my shit to Mel and Momo to handle.
I enjoy Mel's demonstration, partially because she does a lot of bending over to reach things, and her skirt is fairly tight. She definitely notices that my attention is elsewhere, but just gives me an amused look as she continues.
"It's also equipped with some slow-perishing food made by Lunch Rush, thanks to the ability he gained from Chansey. It has a first aid kit as well, of course, but the food is superior to our testing. Honestly, Chansey was an amazing find," Mel continues. I know Recovery Girl and Lunch Rush are still arguing about where Chansey should be, but the giant egg kinda just wanders around doing whatever she wants, and nobody seems in a rush to stop her. She can sense injured people and keeps arriving to heal them up before wandering off again. She's officially Lunch Rush's partner since it makes sense with his quirk and position as the school chef.
"Chansey is pretty cool, but her combat skills are kinda eh so she didn't fit on my team. She's like Shaymin, and we already filled our healer spot," I say, picking up Shaymin and playing with her for a moment as Mel nods.
"With her partner ability, Lunch Rush was the logical choice. Nobody can cook as fast as he can," Mel agrees. "Anyway. I'd like you to take my prototype with you on your Seiai field trip. I want to test how well it will maintain connection and will handle much of the driving remotely. It won't be as good as going myself, but it's still a safer choice. Feel free to leave it behind if it gets broken. Aside from the Butterfree dusts, the rest is replaceable, and the Dungeon will erase it as they always do foreign materials."
"...isn't that a bad thing?" I ask, making her blink.
"Well, it will be a little annoying to rebuild the hoverpod, but it's hardly a major setback," Mel admits.
"No, I mean leaving stuff for the dungeon," I continue, seeing the confusion on her face. "I mean, energy doesn't just go away, right? I remember that from my tutoring with Momo. If the dungeon is absorbing things left behind, then it's using that energy for something, right? Maybe new monsters, maybe feeding the dungeon boss, but energy is energy."
Mel goes silent for a long moment before her palm collides with her face with a groan.
"Damn it," Mel finally groans, taking a deep breath. "I… had not considered that. I should have. A lot of people should have. Energy cannot be created or destroyed; it just changes forms. If the dungeons are absorbing the things we leave behind, that energy has to go somewhere," Mel agrees, her mind clearly racing a million miles a minute. "America has a habit of building temporary structures in dungeons during their dives, to act as a base camp, as dungeons don't tend to change as long as someone is inside them. I'm going to have to make some calls, see if the dungeons that have had buildings made in them are more likely to have had dungeon breaks or be the suspected source of Kaiju attacks. That's not even mentioning the fact that bodies are equally consumed in the event that someone dies inside a dungeon. In the event of a death, most countries' policy is to leave the body as it is, not worth risking the lives of the rest of the team to recover. Damn it all, what if absorbing a body lets the dungeon network create monsters with a monster equivalent of that person's Quirk? The varieties in monster abilities has been seen to be increasing worldwide, and your claim of feeling a presence when you tamed Snorlax has furthered the theory of a greater presence behind the dungeons."
"Err, you okay, Mel?" I ask, making her take a deep breath and give me a small smile. I got some of that, but this is kinda outside my area of expertise. I just remember Momo saying something about energy levels in the universe not changing. I tried to disprove her by showing her my phone battery going down. Why is my phone not conserving energy, damn it?
"I'm fine. Besides the several hundred hours of work you just dropped on me," Mel jokes, giving me an excited smile. "It's a good thing, this is why I'm in this line of work. If we're lucky, I'm jumping to conclusions. Even if we aren't, knowledge is power. If nothing else, we'll be able to set up a new policy for dungeon delves to minimise the amount of energy we feed a dungeon."
"Maybe the weird old dudes in charge should put Momo on their council. She knows things," I say, making Mel giggle.
"I'll pass your suggestion along," Mel promises, rising to her tiptoes to place a kiss on my cheek. "I've got work to do, but I'll make sure the egg is ready for your trip to Seiai."
"Sure. So, when's our date?" I ask, making her blink and blush as she tilts her head. "You said I had to take you on a date first, before I claimed you as one of my girls. So, when's the date?"
Her mouth opens slightly at that, her cheeks burning red before she sighs and lets out a laugh.
"I did say that, didn't I?" Mel asks playfully. "Ask me again when you get back from Seiai, with my floating egg. I really don't want the dungeon to absorb the Butterfree dust now. I think Seiai's dungeon has a lot of insect-type monsters, if I remember correctly. Generally weak but they come in vast numbers. I don't think it makes Caterpies, Metapods or Butterfrees, but I can't say for sure. I certainly don't want to give it access to them. One Mega-Butterfree is enough."
"So, dungeon first, date later," I agree, making her flush at my blunt tone.
"Yes. Dungeon first, date later," Mel agrees with a soft grin. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to find which workshop Mei has locked herself in and get her to help me with a recall function to minimise the risks of the egg being left behind, feeding any monster parts to the dungeon."
Works for me.
— Bonus Scene — Camie Utsushimi
As Kaito wandered down the corridor, she approached him with her usual carefree smile. Some of her closest friends might have been able to tell that it wasn't quite as genuine as the one she'd worn before she watched Shiketsu High get turned into a crater, but Kaito wasn't one of them.
She'd survived because a teacher had given their life to protect her and a handful of other students. She was one of the 'lucky' ones. One of the Shiketsu Eighteen, the Eighteen students, most first-years at the time, who'd survived their school being blown up by a suicidal monster.
Shiketsu High had once rivalled U.A., which was why she'd chosen it as her school. It had had nearly six hundred students when she joined, due to the lessened restrictions and the push for more heroes to fight against the dungeon threat.
A part of her was just a little bitter that Kaito hadn't arrived a year or two earlier, the image of the crater where most of her friends had died flashing before her eyes. Would he have made a difference? Would he have done his magic tamer thing and seen that the monster was going to blow itself up? She didn't know, and that path was a slippery spiral that ended nowhere good.
It was like asking why Terrible Tornado hadn't shown up and thrown the monster into the sea? Or why hadn't All Might shown up and super-punched it in the face? Blaming someone for not having their powers early enough was totes not heroic at all.
"Yoooo! We've like never actually spoken before, but Nezzy says I'm going to Seiai with yous," Camie said, making Kaito pause. "But man, the pics do not do you justice, total himbo vibes. I love the wild man look you have."
If she looked closely enough, she could see his brain overheating, trying to translate her words.
"Oh, Em, Gee, is that the Shaymin? She's totes adorbs. I can't believe such a massive badass can look like such a cutie. Well, I can, there's loads of bombshell or cutie heroines, y'know?" Camie continued, not giving him time to recover. "I'm Camie, BTW. I don't know if you knew that. I tried to talk to you yesterday but you just totally copped a feel of my ass and wandered off, like supes rude dude. I mean, I get it, I've got some major booty, but you could at least like ask first before getting all grabby."
"Wha-"
"Nah, I'm fucking fucking with ya, I totes know it wasn't you. That Toga chick had way too much fun pretending to be you, huh? Not that I blame her, I'd love to rock that bod for a few days. Guess you get away with a lot as the Symbol of Victory, don'tcha?" Camie continued, rapid-firing at him. "Anyway, we're gonna be like, besties for this dungeon dive, y'know? I put my name down when Nezzy asked the upper-years for volunteers for field trips. I gotta do my part to make sure Seiai doesn't end up like Shiketsu, see?"
"Who-"
"I'm super hyped to team with you, you're like a total legend," Camie continued as if he hadn't spoken to begin with, hiding her amusement at the mental bluescreen she'd inflicted on the Symbol of Victory.
"I'm calling Momo," Kaito finally decided, making Camie grin, following him as he made his retreat.