This whole event felt odd. It was the first time a Hero Billboard had unfolded like this, both as regards its atmosphere and the heroes' demeanours. It was plain for anyone to see, although nobody had the nerve to address it seriously.
Besides the Hawks' allegations, there'd been a growing frustration with the government and the HPSC's constant lack of transparency. Whether it was the Commission President, the Prime Minister, or even the Japanese Emperor himself, every statement felt like a carefully measured snippet rather than the full truth.
"They're shooting themssselves in the foot…"
Something was amiss, but for someone like her, distanced from the media hype and closer to the fashion world, she couldn't quite put her finger on it.
Not that it mattered. These high-profile events never felt like her scene anyway. She was popular, ranked ninth, and yet none of that ever helped her feel like she belonged.
"Too much drinking… but ssstill not drunk…"
It happened every time. She'd drink in hopes of loosening up, but her dragon metabolism shrugged it all off. Instead of unwinding, she only stressed herself even more into nausea, stomach pain, and the… unfortunate chain reaction that followed.
After finally calming down and washing her hands, she glanced in the mirror and sneered.
"I'm disgusting..."
She'd hardly lasted on stage, and even Mirko, who was acting and talking weirdly, had stuck around, but she couldn't.
She absolutely had to go to the shitter.
"No wonder they're not attracted…"
With a bitter smile, she sighed, refitted her qipao, and threw open the bathroom door with her eyes closed and stepped forw—
"—! You made me jump, don't fling the door open like that…"
Leaning against the wall in front of her as if to clear his mind, stood a relatively tall chap in his early twenties, with blond-grey hair, bright yellow irises, and a mischievous air about him. The aura he gave off was rather… foxy.
That was what her dragon's instinct told her.
But… she already met him, right?
But… When? How? Ah yes…
"You are… Tremblay-san…"
Turning toward her with a tired expression, the man raised an eyebrow with an amused smile.
"How long are you gonna stand in front of the crapper's door…?"
"…Ah!" Realizing this and that she had been staring at him blankly for several seconds, she blushed a tad. "And why are you ssstalling outside the women's bathroom?"
"Well…" Straightening up, he stretched. "Waiting on the men's bathroom to reopen. Wanted to take a leak but…"
"…But there's water damage." Ryukyu nodded, looking at the slip hazard warning sign placed just outside the men's toilet door. "Perhapsss you've had too much to drink?"
"Too many beers…"
A bit wary, she turned toward one of the guards at the other end of the corridor, waiting for a sign to validate Felix's words… to which the guard nodded to tell her that it's all true.
"Well then…" She muttered, sympathizing against her will. "Just go into the women's bathroom… Nobody's going to show up now since they're giving the prize to the top 5 heroes."
"I ain't going in there. What if someone thinks I'm a—"
"I'll keep watch. No one will get the wrong idea. Go."
"Thanks, Miss Ryukyu~."
"Miss…?"
She was used to being called Ryukyu-san or Ryuk-dono, but not at all to being called Miss. It was something that came from across the Pacific, a Western way of addressing others. Weirdly enough, Miss sounded… old, hence she hated it.
And anyway, who does this boy think he is? She's probably only five years older than him, so he should simply call her Ryukyu-san, or even better: Ryukyu-senpai.
Young people today have little regard for the proper use of monikers!
Absolutely outrageo—
"You're spacing out again, Miss Ryukyu."
"Ah…?! Did you finish already…?"
"Two-minute piss, twenty-second hand wash. Pretty standard if you ask me."
"No need to explain…"
"By the way, did you crap some kind of nuclear warhead in the loo or something? Because damn—"
"M-Mind your manners!"
"Haha! The stench is going to draw flies from within a 40-kilometer radius."
"I-It was a grave missstake to speak t-to you!"
"Hey, hey." Felix laughed, putting a hand on her naked shoulder. "Don't rush off like that, I'm just messing with you."
Flustered, she turned away, cheeks heating, and stepped forward sharply to shake his hand off.
"Who do you think you are?"
"My bad, my bad. Won't happen again."
"Good."
"Hm~. Yes, Ma'am."
"I can hear the sarcasm."
"Yeah? The smell was still awful, you kn—!"
Elbowing him, she started walking faster and left him all alone in the corridor with the guards still on either side of the long corridor.
Well… "guards." When he got here half an hour ago, he had noticed that these "guards" were odd. And now that he walked close to one of them to get back to the big hall where the event was being held, he felt that same sense of unease again.
The way they breathed, moved, and spoke was a bit mechanical, like some high-end robots.
If this was indeed the case, it meant that Chitose Kizuki had anticipated the entire situation and planned everything to this extent. No witnesses, no traces… assuming she cleaned up the floor she had drenched, and no CCTV cameras or hidden microphones, thanks to him.
She had also entered the men's bathroom via the women's, so it was impossible to find her trail, especially since a clone of her was apparently still on the balcony.
She has a good alibi. She seems to have good allies. And she has influence…
—She probably already managed to go back on the balcony thanks to whatever allies she has… Whatever. I should also get a move on.
He'd missed most of the event, and even though Kaoruko wasn't gonna get too angry, she'd ask questions later. He'd said he was going for a piss, but in the end he'd spent half an hour doing his bits and bobs.
That said, he wasn't wary of her, but of Nighteye. Although he was ostensibly an ally, Kaoruko had warned him to be cautious around him and not to look him in the eyes if he ever touched him.
Thanks to her, the sidekick whom the HPSC thought was insignificant, the sidekick whom they thought they'd sacrificed to Felix for their plan, he now knew the nature, workings, and conditions for activating Nighteye's quirk.
—Actual top-secret info, huh. Too bad I know about it now.
This was not information Kaoruko had received from Nighteye or Centipeder, but from Mirio, who was very close to Nighteye and still in high school, and therefore didn't understand how risky it could be to divulge such information, even if it was to a close and trusted ally.
As a result, even the HPSC had no idea that neither Kaoruko nor Felix knew about Nighteye's quirk.
That said, even with this information, it was clear that Nighteye was the most threatening force to Felix. Even though the hero was reluctant to use his quirk, if the HPSC ever managed to convince him to do so, he was intelligent enough to take Felix by surprise and activate his quirk.
If it happened, Nighteye would see everything Felix might do in the future.
That's a nuh-uh.
Perhaps he'd need to get rid of his very first coach… Or maybe he could find a way to blind him…
"Here you are!" Kaoruko came to him, arms folded over her chest. "You promised to be here with me, but you've spent the highlight of the event in the shitter! In the end, I did all the networking by myself, geez…"
"Well…"
"You have no excuses, right?"
"Absolutely none."
"Two nights in a hotel. Just us."
"You're paying, then?"
"Shut it." She rolled her eyes. "That's your apology."
"Sorry."
"That's not how it works."
"You making the rules now?"
"Just today."
"Eh… You just want me for yourself."
"And to have sex."
"Damn."
She'd changed a lot in almost seven months. From a self-conscious and diffident girl to a woman taking charge, building a better future for herself by learning to love her quirk, and finally opening herself up to the power play between him and her.
"Besides," Kaoruko sighed, tugging at his sleeve. "Look at Mirko... Seriously, you're an asshole sometimes."
"You're not wrong."
"No, take this seriously, dummy." She smiled despite herself. "Look at the poor creature… Honestly, I feel sorry for her. She could keel over in a heartbeat."
"The poor creature?"
"A nickname of endearment."
"Endearment, huh? But, yeah… she doesn't look too good." He nodded to himself, taking the device in his hand. "Probably because I haven't turned off the vibrator yet. Maybe I should crank it to max for a bit—"
"Are you serious?!" Kaoruko grumbled, snatching it from him and putting an end to Mirko's suffering. "That's enough, don't you think?"
"No fun… But I guess that wasn't too kind of me." Looking at the Rabbit Hero, Felix met her gaze. "Oh dear. She just looked right at me for a sec."
"She didn't seem particularly chuffed."
"Even so, she won't hit me."
"You sure about that?"
"Her violent behavior is what got her in this mess. I think she learned her lesson. She won't do it again."
"Hopeful, aren't you?" She smiled proudly, her eyes shut. "That's a sight to behold."
"Hope springs eternal."
"If you're so sure, go ahead. Provoke her."
"You want me to provoke her?"
"Why not?"
"And I'm the asshole?"
"Hehe~."
Squeezing his eyes shut, Felix sighed. Truth be told, he'd previously planned something to ensure that the rest of his scheme would proceed... After all, this very evening was a once-in-a-year opportunity, so Kaoruko was onto something without even realizing it. Yeah, he will provoke her, and not half-heartedly.
Initially, he'd planned to provoke Mt. Lady and Kamui Wood until he caused a big enough scene to get himself kicked out, which is why he tried to annoy them earlier, but now that he had a "less" risky option, he was game.
He needed something outrageous. Enough to ensure security tossed him.
—Got it.
Something devious, of course.
He was sure she was going to "hate" him even more right then and there, but it would be a good test to see if her forced sexual abstinence worked as intended, while at the same time getting himself kicked out.
Approaching the group of fans that was talking to her about how they liked her style, her costume, and how she treated villains, he slowly slid between them, hiding, taking his time to not be seen by her.
—Alright... Here goes nothing.
Walking up behind her, where people were waiting patiently, talking to each other while drinking, he suddenly stepped forward, then, with one swift motion, he delivered a hard, resounding smack across her ass.
Hard enough to make even her ass muscles jiggle, not just her meat.
"Whaghh—!"
She muffled her reaction well, but the slight movement of her hips and thighs told him everything. He knew her body well now.
She'd climaxed.
However…
The spanking sound had been loud enough to be heard by a large number of people who stood close enough, and, more importantly, Rumi had already turned back towards him. Her face was strained, her pupils were full of lust, a grimace between a forced smile and pure hatred etched across her features, and just like her lips, her eyebrows were twitching.
He could even sense the alarm and sexual pheromones emanating from her skin.
"Oh man…"
"F-Feeliiiix…!"
She was on the verge of snapping.
Seeing this, a few other heroes and simps came, asking if there was any issue or if she needed help, even pushing Felix and trying to shove him down, but Rumi simply balled her fists as hard as she could, her nails digging into her palms till blood started to drip.
And yet, she didn't hit him. She refrained. Well, well, well…
Given her nature, this was an impressive feat.
"Good job, Miss Mirko." Felix clapped. "You've got your shit together."
"W-Whad'yathinkyarefuckindoingyafuckinwasteofspermi'llkillya!"
"Love you too."
Seeing how Mirko was struggling to control herself, another hero from the top 10 came to help, the only one around. There was no aggressiveness in his voice or behavior, but he was still trying to be a good colleague.
Felix couldn't be mad at that. He was just doing his job.
"Sir, this behaviour is unacceptable. You're aware, right? It's nothing less than sexual harassment. So... kindly follow me."
"W-Wait… Crust…" Mirko called, putting a hand to her now reddening ass. "Don't send him to the police office… H-He's, uh, um… uuh…"
"…He's what?"
"She means that she's my girlfriend."
"What?! Haha!"
It was just Crust's surprised yelp, but everyone's. Mirko, the half-crazed Rabbit Hero, has a boyfriend? Is any of this even real, or is this just a gig for this Hero Billboard to ease the atmosphere a bit?
This had to be it, right?
Well, nobody could tell for sure, and since the President had retired to speak with reporters about the Hawks' allegations, nobody was here to confirm.
"So," Crust looked bewildered. "This guy is your…?"
"Y-Yah, yah…" She whispered, her face as red as a lobster, something that nobody, even Felix, had seen before. "He is…"
Everyone was speechless. Only Kaoruko, who had told Felix to try to provoke her, was laughing to herself.
"Oooh! I'm surprised, but glad you've finally got a partner in your life, but…" Crust shook his head before chortling. "Can't let it slide, buddy. This is disorderly conduct, so you'll have to fo—"
"Sorry… I didn't think, really. Dunno what's gotten into me, I guess I drank too much… but it kinda looked like she loved tha—"
"S-SECURITY!" Rumi screeched, her face still red. "W-We got us a damn perv' here!"
"Haha! Come on—"
"Shaddup and go away!" She grumbled, before her following words became nothing but a mutter, then a whisper to a murmur. "IhateyaIdon'twantyadothatherewhydon'tyajustgimmewhatIwantwhenIfuckinaskyayadamnsobgoddamnfuckergoddamnyaIfuckinghateyacan'tstandyawon'teverdoanythinwithyaanymoregoawayfilthyassholemoron...!"
"Looks like you cut short your relationship with her by doing that, man."
"Hm, I don't think so…"
"Anyway, you're gonna get kicked out, that's the least we have to do. Sayonara."
"Ah…"
Before Felix could add a word, two guards slightly taller than him grabbed him by the arms and dragged him away.
And just like that, his little stunt was over.
He was glad phones were prohibited in this kind of event in Japan, or else he would not have tried that. Having definitive proof of him committing such an act could have been a real issue for him being accepted as a medic at UA next year.
At least, he had waited for the perfect moment, so not that many people actually saw his face, something like fewer than a few heroes, but probably no citizens, since he was instantly pushed against a wall. Plus, he could always pretend nothing happened if he had Rumi's help…
That aside, the point he'd conveyed to Rumi was quite straightforward: domination. It was a simple matter, but if she wanted to be shagged, she'd have to accept Felix was the dominant one, and for that to be clear, she had to be humiliated like that, even if it was in front of her fans.
It was the only idea he came up with that could both get him kicked out and get her to fully grasp the situation she's in.
—I hit her poor ass really hard… And she still cummed, though… but she didn't hit me.
Seems like he was right. She had learnt her lesson, but given her expression, behavior, and following words, he still had some work to do to make her docile to him.
Of course, you can't do that in a matter of months, so that's why he took his time instead of brute-forcing.
Nevertheless, he couldn't really enjoy this notion for long, as he was promptly dumped outside in a rain downpour.
"Ah, well…" He murmured to himself. "If I were like Dad, I would say it's the perfect time to smoke a cigarette…"
Outside, farther away, a few people coming from a big TV channel lounged around, smoking under their umbrellas. The city lights reflected off the puddles, and the sound of cars driving through the water on the other side of the parking lot wall was drowned out by the clatter of raindrops hitting the pavement.
With no umbrella, he looked for a spot where the wall extended out enough to shelter him from the rain, but—
"What the fuck did you do to get kicked out, dumbass?"
Blocking the next step of his plan and standing there next to the wall with an umbrella was Mt. Lady, wearing a coat on top of her hero costume. She looked at him with a deadpan expression, heaving a sigh.
"I did something a bit overboard."
"Color me surprised."
"Can I shelter under your umbrella, or are you going to tell me to fuck off?"
"…Not if you're the one holding it."
"Eh, I'm gonna hold it, then."
"What a good dog."
"I'm gonna break the damn umbrella, you know."
"…"
"…"
"Why are you even outside in the rain?" Felix asked, leaning his head forward as if to look at something. "Doesn't a prissy girl like you like it better when she's dry?"
"…I'm gonna ignore the sexual innuendo, pervert."
"Haha!"
"…I just had enough fans meeting… Enough networking. I do that all the time already. It loses its appeal over time."
"Just so you know, you talk like a menopausal fifty-something."
"Shut up."
"Nuh-uh."
"Fucker."
"So," Ignoring her insult, Felix continued. "You just want some calm?"
"With what's happening these days, yeah." She closed her eyes, sighing once again. "And I liked the rain… It's soothing… You just stop thinking and let yourself get drenched both in body and mind. Everything gets waterlogged like you're underwater. It's… nice…"
"Why not walk in the rain, then? Could be nice."
"I'm not gonna ruin the hair care I paid for this morning."
"What a pussy. Just do it."
"Tch! I know your little trick, you're just trying to get me mad." She grumbled, frowning. "Just like when you dared call me a cum dumpster…!"
"Was I wrong, though?"
Her only answer was spitting on his shoes.
"I guess that means no." Felix shrugged, letting the rain wash it away. "Don't waste your spit, though. I'm sure all the simps jacking off to you would be more than okay with buying it and drinking it later on."
"You're the most disgusting person I have ever met." Mt. Lady shook her head, took a box of chewing gum, took one for her, and gave one to Felix. "Here, take it, maybe it's gonna wash it enough that you're gonna stop saying shit."
"Mm, thanks, but no thanks."
"…"
"…"
"…"
"…"
"…"
"…"
Silence, once again. Only the rain. It was like an entirely different world, as if they were on a small cloud far away from the hubbub inside the hall where the Hero Billboard took place.
They stared ahead as the cars sprayed water onto the sidewalks after splashing through puddles.
"I'm ready to get a boost… like all the heroes you work with." She muttered, still looking ahead and not at him. "I have free time on Fridays."
"It won't be an issue? I mean, because of your mom…"
"I'm going to come directly to you at UA. I know you work there, and it's gonna be under Recovery Girl supervision. I asked Midnight if she could give me a free pass, and she agreed."
"Pretty risky, no?"
"Since I'm a UA alumnus and have worked with them for a while to… better control my gigantification, I… It wouldn't be weird if I came from time to time for check-ups with Recovery Girl."
"Eh… I'm surprised you even want to have anything to do with me, to be honest." He admitted, realizing once again she was smart: it would happen only thanks to Recovery Girl supervising him. "I'm almost touched."
"Bah!"
"You're wounding my poor heart."
"Deal with it."
Smiling, Felix nodded before turning toward her, which prompted her to look him in the eye.
"What?"
"You hate me, though, don't you?"
"…Yeah… but, now I know you're a hard worker."
"Pffft!"
"Tch! What are you scoffing at…?!"
"Oh, who knows…"
"…"
"…"
"…"
"…"
"…Anyway, you seem to be doing we—"
Before Mt. Lady could finish her sentence, Kamui Wood came out of the building and came toward them, seemingly angry. He only gave Felix a cold glance, indicated to Mt. Lady that they needed to go with a head bob, and started walking again without waiting for her.
And without saying another word to him, Mt. Lady took back her umbrella and left Felix in the rain.
Quite the goodbye.
—What a bitch, really… Well, both of them, to be fair.
Sighing, he waited right here for a short while until almost nobody was here anymore, looked at where he had looked back when he leaned forward just a few minutes ago, and triggered some hormone production.
[Bubble]
Making use of a quirk he had only used a few times before was always painful, especially if the quirk was an emitter type, but he had trained a bit with Kaoruko, so he knew the very basics.
Still, his skin was damaged, too, when he used it. Plus, Kaoruko can produce bubbles with every sebaceous gland in her body… So around 2,000,000 glands. He can never hope to come close to that. Around a thousand on one arm was more than enough for what he needed right now. Plus, replacing every sebaceous gland in his body really wasn't a good idea… if he did, it meant no more pheromones later on.
—Alright, I need to make them extra small…
Big bubbles would be an issue if spotted, but tiny ones actually blend with the rain.
So, after walking discreetly toward Kaoruko's car to pretend he was going into the car with his spare set of keys to retrieve something, he produced the smallest bubbles he could, hid behind her car parked next to the wall, and—
[Rabbit]
Rumi's hormones. With one single jump, he crossed the entire parking lot to arrive at the very opposite spot in an instant. If anyone had looked at him, it would have been as if he had disappeared after going behind the car, but with no one around, the rain, and the bubbles, he was basically out of everyone's radar.
So… here he was.
A place where only the cars of those staying for the night were parked. The place he was gonna wait until she came. It was risky, but as long as it didn't take more than a few minutes, it was okay. After all, he could use the excuse that he got drunk or got kicked out because of his behavior. The HPSC wouldn't be too surprised.
Backing himself against the building wall, he waited, watching the rain and recalling what Mt. Lady had said... and also what Chitose Kizuki had told him.
He never thought he'd ever meet a woman quite like his mother—
"…"
His phone buzzed… A message from Daphne, Camie's mother. At this hour? Why wou—
"Huh?"
Seeing something "weird" on his phone, he pressed the button to turn off the screen and used it to look at what was above him as if it were a mirror. And unsurprisingly, in the reflection of the screen, he saw a girl with an excited smile on her face.
"Hey, hey~…!" She whispered with a big smile. "Like I told you when you were in the toilet with the woman, I killed them~. No more spies for tonight~."
"The three of them…?"
"Yes, yes~! I led them astray, and then, stab! Only the chameleon-frog-man wasn't on duty tonight. He's with his family to watch the Hero Billboard! One of his daughters is really cute! Tsuyu, that's her name! Eheh~!"
"Good job… but don't stalk her… What if you get caught?"
"Won't happen~, but aren't you worried about Hawks, though?"
"He won't get close. Too many heroes. And rain weakens his quirk."
"Oooh, you really thought everything through, Felix-chan~... Oh, by the way, did the woman believe you when you showed her the photos?"
"Ah, yeah," He nodded with a faint smile. "She took the bait."
"Eeeh, it worked, nicu, nicu~!"
Speaking from above, Himiko Toga giggled, all bubbly. Wearing black clothes and hiding half her face behind a black surgical mask in such a dark spot made her practically invisible.
"What about the CCTV camera, hm~?"
"I fried them."
"Oooh~! With Mei-Mei's phone? The one she was working on the other day?"
"Yep, but come on, stop wasting time."
"Yessir~!"
Jumping from the building and landing like a cat, Toga smiled at him and puffed her chest like a proud lady.
"You're not wearing the wig I gave you…"
"You sound stressed, mhm~!"
"Of course I am. This is the cornerstone of the plan."
"I won't mess up~! I swear!" Still whispering, she managed to say that with a lot of eagerness, as if to hype herself up. "You can believe in me! B-But… If I do this, you really gonna gimme your blood and allow me to live rent-free in your house…?"
"I already said yes, didn't I?"
"Mhmhm~!"
Felix found her amusing, but she couldn't really share her bubbliness. The situation was a bit tense right now. She had killed all the spies in charge of tracking him down, so the HPSC probably knew something had happened, but not what. The President was interviewed by reporters, including Chitose Kizuki, so she likely didn't yet know that her spies had been murked. It was perfect timing.
So he needed to come back real quick so they wouldn't suspect him. Well, they would anyway, but it wouldn't make sense to anyone. No proof, nothing, and since he was now working with UA and other heroes, they couldn't keep him in a cell anymore without having other issues.
Plus, there was also heavy police activity around the place because of the event. The only way to go unnoticed is either to be as fast and agile as Toga or to use different quirks to slip through the heavy surveillance.
So dawdling here was already quite risky, but it was his only opportunity.
—She might get addicted to my blood, though…
Yeah, she might. After all, hormones move through the bloodstream, so drinking it is gonna make her consume his own meta-hormone, and this might not be the best for her, but welp…
He might as well use the crazy girl who wants to use him as a blood bank.
Plus, thanks to that, he was sure she wasn't going to go against him.
"Hey, Himiko…"
"Mmhm?"
"You ready?"
"Like I never was~!"
"Then… Here, take it."
Taking out a small pouch of blood from the hidden pocket inside his jacket, he handed it to her.
"You know what to do."
She nodded enthusiastically, a broad smile plastered across her face, blushing, before delicately taking the blood pouch in her palms and opening it.
"Ittadakimasu!"