I enter my room, plate in hand, and was greeted with the sight of Kuroko still dozing peacefully. Just hearing her soft breathing was enough to put Komori's words out of my mind.
I placed the tray of food on the side table and got closed to my sleeping beauty. It would have been nice to sleep in for once, but the two of us have a busy day ahead of ourselves.
"Hey~ It's morning~" I whispered softly into her ear as I gently roused her from sleep. "Time to wake up, peko~"
"Unn... Just another minute, mister Rabbit?... I'm sure the dragon can wait for princess, Zzzz..."
Cute. "No~ way~ The food will get cold, peko~"
"Hnm?" She blearily opened her eyes.
"I made them with love, you know?" Holding her by the shoulders, I slowly sat her up. "C'mon, I'll brush your hair while you eat."
After setting the tray in front of her, I took a seat by her side with a hairbrush on hand. For a while, it was just the sounds of me brushing her hair and the occasional clinking of the cutlery from a sleepy Kuroko filling the room. There is no one else here but us, no dangers that require immediate attention, nor were there matters that necessitate instant response.
It was just me and Kuroko, sharing the morning.
A brief period to relax and unwind, It was moments like these that I've come to treasure so much.
And as if mocking me for the jinx, it was at that moment that my phone abruptly buzzed to life.
After the last incident, it wasn't unusual to have our friends call and see if we were faring well. Even our Senpai's checked in on us at least once because of how public the whole debacle was.
"Hnn?"
"It was mine. Sorry." I reached out a hand to pickup my phone and saw that it was a brief message. "It's the principal. Wants to meet up in two hours, it seems."
Oh! Kuroko's pouting! Cute!
She wasn't always like this. Misaka-Senpai said that she's super alert from the get-go so seeing her hidden side like this now is adorable! Everyone likes to be pampered every now and then after all!
I couldn't help but poke a cheek. "I know, I know. But we both know he wouldn't summon me without a reason to." I pulled her in for a hug and kiss. "Let's go on a date when things calm down, yeah? You choose where and what."
She pouted for a second longer before relenting with a small sigh. "Alright. I'll hold you onto that then."
For the next hour and a half, we just laid in bed for a while, scrolling through our phones. When that got stale, we played a game together or shared funny videos. Simply put, we took our sweet time basking in each others presence.
The wonderful moment didn't last indefinitely however, as we now have a prior arrangement though one-sidedly set up. The last thirty minutes was when we had to go our separate ways to clean ourselves. As tempting it is to bathe together, we still live in separate dormitories, let alone the fact that the shower area is communal on the ground floor.
Twenty five minutes later, I was fresh and clean, standing in front of the rat's office. Before I even had a chance to knock, the door opened with a click and a squeaky voice saying "Come in."
Sending a side glance at a nearby security camera, I entered the rodent's den.
"Welcome, young man! Please, have a seat." He smiled, gesturing towards a couch with Manga already seated and gave me a wave. "Anything I can offer you? Coffee? Tea? Water? My special blend?"
"Special blend?"
"Special blend it is, then!"
"Wai-" And a cup found it's way into my hands. I'm a bit annoyed at myself for falling for that. Sighing, I looked up from the cup in my hands to find other people sitting on the couch across from me. "...?"
"( ╹▽╹ ) Alright, funny coincidence but this guy over here is a hundred percent mundane." He started as I kept my eyes on the increasingly nervous person infront of me. "Told me his quirk lets him talk to animals and one thing lead to another, he's in the know now, you know?"
Even when seated, you can tell that he is quite a tall man. With broad muscular shoulders and peach-coloured skin, along with a head taking the form of a rock-like appearance and a square-shaped jaw. You'd think that he's a delinquent of sorts, not the shivering leaf that he is now.
The person in sitting in front of me is Koji Kouda of Class 1-A, Kuroko's classmate.
"Doesn't seem like much of a talker..."
"╮(＾▽＾)╭ I know a few words in sign language and we made so with charades for anything else. No Biggie."
The principal popped up with a teapot and placed it on the table between us. "Now that you're all introduced to each other, let's get to the main point shall we?"
I turned my gaze from the quivering rock and onto the chimera, the other two doing the same. "I'd like to call in a favour from the three of you. We need information on the new threat and knowing the true nature of what is involved, I ask that you investigate the matter to the full extent of your capabilities."
"(＾∇＾)ﾉ♪ Cool! So what do we get?"
"Other than gratitude, I presume?"
"(✿^∇^) Yup!"
Ugh. Just get it over with, you two dramatic chuunis. Stop imagining sparks coming off of your gazes and start throwing terms. The sooner we get started, the sooner this can end.
"Hmm." He calmly sipped his tea. "Then for you, how about I sponsor your artistic materials for the rest of the year?"
"(눈.눈) Just me? Ignoring the other now, are you?" Stop goading him, you bubble brain! He's luring you for a trap or something!
"Not at all! I just started with you because you were the first to bring up compensation!" Your smile is turning feral, you know? You're scaring Kouda, you know?
"(╯_╰) More stuff to work with sounds fine and dandy and all, but you know what would be better?" He leaned forward, elbows resting on his knees. "How about you become my industry shoe-in for my debut?"
"That won't do. As you know, the Hero industry-"
"Don't play games with me, Rat. You know I wasn't talking about the Hero industry." And there goes his expressions. Just a blank face can be intimidating too, huh?
Nedzu chuckles. "Well, that depends on the quality of your work now, wouldn't it?"
I tried to gesture 'Can you believe these two?' to Kouda but he's purposely not meeting anyone's eyes and kept his gaze on the cup in his hands. Which, speaking of.
Ignoring the two that began to argue, I brought the cup to my lips. As soon as the first drop of the tea touched my tongue, I was hit with a strong bitter flavour along with overwhelming citrus tones. Astringent scents violated my throat and nasal cavity which took most of my willpower to not spit the drink out immediately.
Quietly, my desperate attempt to remain composed was a success as I resisted the urge to throw the cup at the rat's head and instead politely placed the cup back on the table.
"So how was it?" Nedzu voice brought me back to the present, his eyes twinkling.
"It was... Something..." Are they done negotiating? How long was I in a reverie? "It wasn't to my taste, however."
"Is that so? A shame, really. I already procured tea bags so anyone can prepare them at any moment." He slipped the bags... Somewhere? For a guy with paws, he's good at sleigh-of-hands. "Now, for your compensation, is there anything you'd like?"
"Not at the moment, no." I shook my head. "Would it be acceptable to put this off until I have something I need?"
"Of course! That wouldn't be a problem in the slightest!" Lastly, He turned to Kouda who flinched like a deer caught in headlights. "And what would you like?"
He began signing his words, apparently turning down the reward from what Nedzu was denying. In the end, it was decided that he'll get the resource perk for the rest of the year that Manga turned down. The only difference is that instead of art supplies, it's animal supplies.
Rock head that can talk to animals is also an animal charity case. Who knew? It wasn't like that was as obvious as someone with an explosion quirk to have an explosive personality.
As the negotiations have come to a conclusion, we 'finished' out tea and left his office.
Outside his door were other people, students, Senpai's even, going by the buttons on their shoulders.
None of them as strong as me or Manga, not even as strong as an average lower youkai. But nevertheless, all of them had the faint presence of either magic or spirit exuding from their being. Something small enough that I wouldn't notice if it weren't for the close proximity.
It was surprising that there were others that chose be here, and it was then I realised that we weren't the only ones Nedzu asked to Investigate this matter.
How many favours has he shelled out? How many more are there going to be on this mission? He asked of this from students now, did he also asked of this from U.A. Alumni?
Nedzu is angry, but he hasn't lost his composure.
"So..." I addressed Manga and Kouda. "Which place are you guys gonna start snooping around in?"
"(´ー｀) I'd pen a letter to the few friends I have. Other than that? Probably wander the streets of the Other Side and asking random folks some questions."
I didn't hide the look of distain that I sent his way. "And you were pretty fierce with the negotiations earlier... You just scammed our principal, have you no shame? Even a beast has more honor than you."
"(ﾟ∀ﾟ) Shame? Honor? What's that? Can you eat it?" He shrugged it off before his expression hardened to something similar to that of All Might's. "It is but a small price to pay for the sake of my dreams. PLUS ULTRA."
"..." I walked away. "If anyone asked, I don't know you."
"Hey, wait up!" He laughed before catching up. "Anyway, what about you, Kouda? Planning on going to the Other Side?"
The rock head charades a bird with his hands, then a phone to his ear and ending with an eating motion.
"(☉｡☉)! Oh! Lemme guess! It's... You trained birds to give you info in exchange for food?"
"Bird surveillance, connections and friends, and... Unused favours?" Not the best guess but eh.
He mimed 'fifty-fifty'. Or was that 'A little of both'? Either way, I was partially right.
Kouda pointed at me. "What about me?" He nodded.
I thought for a moment.
Reiko-nee and Cen might know something about them. They probably know a little bit about a lot of things considering that their long lives so far and their tendency to take missions abroad. Coupled with their wide range of connections, this broadly expands the range and scope. Though this would also limit how much they know about a specific topic.
Nanna informed me about them briefly years ago. As a merchant, not only does she have a variety of connections but she also has an extensive information network.
The only problem is that she has an image of being a 'neutral' party in the Other Side.
Most factions wouldn't cause her problem, and only some would do so when their is something big to gain. I could ask her to dig in to the matter for me, but even if she was willing to risk everything she has built over the years, it would be quite expensive, even by my standards.
Other than copying Manga, there is that one final card I could play.
A smile appeared on my lips. "I'll put to good use what my Nee-chan taught me."