" Hatsume-san, I am buying your forearm grappling hook. The last one broke due to impacts during a fight. Can I ask for more modifications?"
" Sure sure just ... let ... me ... get it ... out! Ah here it is. The house has been messy since my little girl began following in my footsteps."
" I wish her the best on the journey. Returning to the hook, can I ask for it to be further reinforced and have more powerful rotors? The mass should be around 2 kg and it can pull at least 100kg vertically up. "
" ... A-san, that will be quite hard. If your requirement for battery life is still the same as previously then most of the mass will be for battery and that leaves almost nothing for a heavier motora and armor. The previous version is already pushing the limit of how many things I can cramp inside that space."
" I need slots for the battery, I will inset them in myself instead of a rigid battery inside."
" Oh so you want modular energy system. That will ease the load a lot. Maybe I will add in rechargable batteries for you."
" I will pay more."
" Of course, I am going to do that. Now we must discuss the armor plating here."
" Sure..."
The man was so focused in their conversation that he had not heard the sound of the office door opening. The handmade wooden door was silent, probally very well-oiled, and the outside was dark. The living room lighting had not been turned on. Mei Hatsume, a girl with pink messy hair, drops of industrial oil on her cheek and crosshairs for eyes, was eavesdropping on her father. She knew her father had been taking orders online but something in her heart told her that everything was not as simple as that. She was not saying that his job was wrong or anything. She was only worried for his wellbeing seeing how much time he had spent without eating and only focused on his projects.
Even if her mother often told Mei that the girl was a nut for engineering gears, that enthusiasm paled in comparison against her father's. And most of the time, the matriarch of the Hatsume household would go on and on about her experience dealing with the tendencies of Mei's father. The daughter had grown exhausted with the matter and decided to not involve herself in anything romantics except for her creation, her 'babies'.
Her father seemd to have a custom order so Mei was expecting a luxurious outing in the near future. The amount of payment was still as high as usual and the order seemed to not be too difficult for him. Thinking about how her father knew customers that were so willing to pay for his items, Mei returned to her bedroom/test room.
On a table top filled with countless nuts, screws and components stood a suitcase. A rectangular opening, hid beneath a layer of commercialy cheap leather and could be noticed by the indents, opened up and a barrel came out following Mei's finger snap. The hidden core inside the suitcase lighted up, its blue halo escaped the leathery cage. After a few seconds, Mei pulled the two handholding straps to different tension, her eyes never left the light escaping from the barrel.
'The portable lighting cannon is functional. Maybe upgrading the energy capacity or efficiency should be my target."
Both the daughter and father shared the night to their inventions, the former sleeping before the latter.
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Afternoon
" What do porcelain boy need from us ' rats'?"
" Stop reminding me of my blubber, old man. I am here for the informants in Tokyo Underbelly. Mine is busy looking for the Meta Liberation Army leftovers and Church of Mutants. He is already half a foot in the coffin from overworking so I, a generous boss, will seek others to pester with my request."
" ... Tell your informant to stop looking into the MLA or else vadbad things will happen to the guy. And for the Church of Mutants you can freely hunt these lunatics down. We will gladly provide ample supports and rewards."
'Personal vendetta?', Shigaraki thought sensing some malice in the smile the bald boss of the area was sending toward him. Thinking about two timing both sides to get manpower and resources, Shigaraki turned against the idea. Not now, he reasoned as there was not yet a challenge demanding resources like that.
" I am curious about a man, Hatsume-san to be exact. I need his information: location, relationships, habits"
" Hah... Ask your question."
" You seems to be used to this. I suppose since seeing how he filmed his process and published it all over the Internet that the man is good in his craft but lackluster in social aspects. I do not even know how the censorship against weapons or gears making has not touched him. "
The probbing eyes of Shigaraki met the defience in the old man's eyes. It seemed the answer behind who had helped the man was clear, Shigaraki thought.
" I want to convince him to join my group. May I have his location?"
" Personal?"
" Of course not, convincing someone talented but unrecognized by most major players is much simpler than forcing those already in their crosshairs."
"... Go to this secondary school. Your lead will be there."
" Will the man be angry if you share his daughter's location?"
" Will you bypass my control to seek her out on your own?"
" Thank you. As the price for the information, here, take this as a defense tool."
Three bullets fell out of Shugaraki's hand and landed onto the old boss's hand. At first glance they seemed to be totally normal, basic 12mm bullet for pistol usage, but the gift was what inside the metal containers.
" Of course whether or not to use it is your choice. Goodbye."
Mist piled up beneath Shigaraki's feet and swallowed him whole, sending him back to the bar. And seeing that the menace had gotten away, the old boss called his men stationed outside.
" Yatsume, crack a bullet."
" Yes Boss!"
Thud! A single punch downward broke the one thrown toward the burly man. From the site of the wreckage was translucent reddish liquid hugging the shrapnels.
' No one puts chemical in bullets. So this must be something special.'
" Bring these to the scientists. Tell them that this old man needs some investigation done."
" Yes!"
Sending away another man, the boss could only look at the mess on the floor, his mind swirling around the possible effects the liquid could have on humans and the possibiliry of mass producing these ... gifts.
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Tinkering had always been Mei's obsession. Considering how that was one past time she shared with her father then the reason for her hardwork was clear as crystal. But spending so much time and effort into gears making had left her as a loner in her class. Mei did not hate the loneliness as that opened up more free time for her babies but she hated how unenthusiastic everyone had been (except her parents) toward her passion.
But that did not meant she enjoyed the situation she was in. Someone was following her, skillfully at that. She only noticed when she used the installed mirrors for car safety at the end of the road to view someone trailing behind her. Some may say how ridiculous but her quirk allowed her to zoom in so no redundant information could be processed. Two blocks behind, hiding behind a propped-up sign was a man, white hair and pale skin in black T-shirt.
It had already been the third time. Once on the bus, once at the DIY shop when she was picking up o-rings for sealing up pipe connections and just now. Despite changing the directions mimicking a usual path of students consisting of video game stores and snack stores, the man kept tailing her.
" What did my dad do this time around?"
Mei thought back on how little her presence on any social media was and that most of the problems regarding social interactions stemmed from her father, a trouble magnet. His invention was good, durable and innocently cheap for the quality offered so many coveted him. But then ... it was not like she could not outrun the tail.
Touching her glasses by the side allowed for a map of the surorunding area to appear on the top of the glasses. Others thought that she was not fit but they never knew the speed she had reached for special sales of grocery and components. Contacting the police chief of the station near her house, she informed them that she was being stalked. The connection built on specialized protection gears for a group of forgotten social workers would be useful this time around.
Now she just needed to remain calm.
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Seeing the GPS installed on his daughter's shoes moving unsually was not something on the list of Kitore Hatsume. The time was late and Mei had stopped at various sites she would never have entered: deserts shop, clothing stores, malls, games centers, .... She was being followed. But by who?
The answer was important for the future but not now. Removing himself from the rotor he had just bought from Germany, he sat down in front of an ancient desktop computer. Of course the inside had already been fitted with the best possible components but the outside remained scratchye due to sentimental values. He believed in his daughter's inventions and connections. He had seen them all and decided to put faith in her tactics. Some calls to friends in the police would still need to be made. A safety net was better than nothing.
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"Pick your gears up, our benefactor's daughter is being stalked. "
The match of poker stopped immediately when the captain voiced his order. With familiarized speed, the team got up and prepared everything in less than 10 seconds. A shock pistol, durable tapes for capture mission, light armor plating effective against a direct collision from a car and tactical gears for stealth and open firing. Some may say that the gear was too overwhelming for the situation but most forgot how dangerous quirks actually were. Some could kill hundreds in seconds and others could broke the fabric of reality as they knew it. So to prepare for low to medium level of engagement, these gears were necessary and were usually hidden beneatht the hopeful blue of the police uniform. Now everyone were dressed not so recognizable for the mission concerned the power play inside the police force.
The group walked past the anti-tank rocket launcher mounted on the wall and the stack of ammo boxes beneath. They were briefed about the situation.
" The report came in at 4:57 near a small stairs leading down to the main road Nishiki. Mei Hatsume, daughter of Hatsume-san, is stalked. We need to get to her location using this signal and fight off the stalker if necessary. Copy?!"
" Copy!"
The other officers in the building soared them a glance vefore nodding their heads and moved out of the way. Soon the team reached a disguised vehicle in the outdoor garage and got the bulletproof tank. The roaring of an the engine coming alive was followed by the skit of rubbers across asphalt.
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" The fee for this sudden hiring is quite high, are you sure of your decision, Shigaraki-san?"
How grating and mocking was the sound coming from the earpiece, Shigaraki thought before answering.
"Yes, I do. Stop asking that, A-san. Or else something will be in front of your base at midnight and that will not be my fault."
" Is it your man, or something else? "
" ... You did some digging?"
" Of course, who am I to work with some one with as much resource as you, Tomura-san? Your connections run deep, even to the point that I cannot trace it. But I know one thing. One of the many locations under your villain team's management has extraordinary usage of electricity and water. The data does not lie. Either you are hosting living areas for your soldiers or the weapon production is going high as ever . "
" Why not keep the cards to yourself?"
" You are pleasant to work with and our business must be built on mutual trust. I show you my card, now it's your turn. What is your goal now?"
" Recruitment. If everything fails then blackmail. "
" So she is the daughter of the person you are trying to make contact. You know my principle. Minimal damage. And I hate to inform you something. She has already noticed your presence."
" I know... she has bene stopping at places she will never be usually. This urgent hire is for safety. Is there any heroes focussing on me?"
"Let me see... No heroes, but a police group is coming toward you, the underground kind."
" I will meet the daughter face to face now. Can you hack into her phone to message her or anything?"
Shigaraki asked as he maneuvored around the vendor signs.
"Oh Tomura-san, why must you diving head first into trouble? I know the girl. Stop."
No sooner had Shigaraki stopped in place when the girl stopped and turned back to take a look at him. Her scrutinizing eyes scanned him up and down, trying to identify any harms.
" Are you... A-san's recommendation?"
The doubt still needed to be removed. Throwing the earpiece toward the girl, Shigaraki let the person in question doing the explanation. The girl's complextion switched immediately into that of immense joy from the previous disapproving look. Checking his wallet for a coffee trip for peaceful negotiation, Shigaraki began.
" Hey ..."
" Mei. My name's Mei."
Equolence was the first step of success.
" Mei-san, I wish to talk with your father but I can only find information about you online. Hence please forgive me for my previous sudden appearance and scaring you. As a compensation, I will treat you to a drink. How about there?"
Pointing his finger at a vacant coffee shop, Shigaraki was rejected immediately.
" Eh! No time for that! I will bring you straight to my dad. I still have my babies back at home to work on!"
Mei came close and dragged Shigaraki forcefully. 'This girl is strong', Shigaraki thought seeing how easily she was running while maintaining a firm grip on his wrist. And her other hand was holding a phone, reporting that she had already cut the stalker off and that the police officers could return.
A car suddenly stopped beside them. The door opened to a group of men and a charming lady smiling at Mei.
" You dad told us to take care of you this time but... who may he be?"
" Touka-san, this is a new face and can possibly be a new customer! The previous call stemmed from a misunderstanding from my part. Can we ... take a ride back?"
" Sure sure, hop on Mei. It has been a long time since we last talked. Let's continue our conversation on the go. "
Shigaraki was pushed into the middle of the back row together with Mei. From his spot could he recognized the objects creasing the uniforms of these people and hidden in their inner pocket: light cerramic-plastic composite armor paired with high-duty shock pistol. Seeing how well-equiped the police were reminded him of something Kurogiri had said:
" Fear not the one in the spotlight but those in the shadow of society."
Keeping his mouth shut all the way to the target's house was the best option right now.