[43: Luís Alves de Lima e Silva, the Duke of Caxias]
(A/N: Let's go USA! We're winning it all this World Cup! 4-1! You'd think it's the 1860s the way Paraguay got beat this bad! Like a cat poster, we just have to believe! (AA/N: This person has to be delusional or something. USA will be lucky to make it to the round of 16.) Anyway, there will be 11 chapters released this week. After counting all the votes, Option 2 won by 1. I'll be honest, there were supposed to be a few more chapters, but the World Cup started, and I may or may not have gotten too distracted. Allegedly. I hope you enjoy. And one more thing. This fic has reached 500,000 views! Thank you so much!)
(The average word length for these 11 chapters, including this one, is 2785. The first three days, including this one, will have one chapter per day before switching to two chapters per day)
/\\//\\//\
The alarm bell rang in the hotel room. For seconds, it rang before it turned off. It was Momo who was up first. Ochaco woke up slowly next. They both didn't get the best sleep. Not only did they have to get used to sleeping in a new location, but they also had to get used to sleeping in daylight at times when it should've long been night. While Momo and Ochaco were struggling to get up, Eleanor was sleeping like a baby. She was tucked in, and her body sprawled out, clearly not having a care in the world.
"Should we wake her up?" Ochaco asked Momo.
"I think we should. She's the only one that knows this place and where to go," Momo got up and went to the sofabed where Eleanor was sleeping. Momo gently tapped Eleanor's shoulder.
A small groan escaped Eleanor's mouth as she lifted the sleep mask off her face. "What is it?"
"It's morning. We should get ready," Momo said.
"What are you two going to do?" Eleanor asked.
"We're going to do the regular morning routines," Momo said.
"Does that include any makeup or styling?" Eleanor asked.
"Styling for sure, and maybe a bit of makeup. It shouldn't take too long." Momo said.
"You two do not need makeup at all. You two are beautiful and attractive as you are. But, if you're going to, then I'll just go back to sleep." Eleanor put the sleep mask back on and relaxed back onto the bed and pillow.
"I said it won't take too long," Momo said.
"Yeah, sure. Just wake me up again when you two are done," Eleanor said before going back to sleep.
"I take it she's not a morning person?" Ochaco asked Momo after seeing their interaction.
"I guess not. We should get ready, Ochaco," Momo said.
(One hour later)
Eleanor woke up naturally. She took the sleep mask off and set it aside on the bed. She yawned and stretched her arms. She saw Momo and Ochaco still getting ready. "So, I don't want to be that kind of person, but I take it I was right?"
Momo sighed. "Yeah, I guess."
"Are you two almost done?" Eleanor asked.
"Yeah, almost," Momo said.
"Alright, cool." Eleanor got up and started her own routine. She brushed her teeth, ran a comb through her hair, and then started to pack a backpack for the things they would need today.
"Wait…you're not going to do more?" Ochaco asked.
"Nope. This is all I need. I already took a shower last night, and I am not going through the nonsense of a makeup routine. I don't mean to think highly of myself, but just look at my face. Do you really think I need some kind of makeup or anything?" Eleanor paused and turned to Momo and Ochaco. The sunlight from the window hit her face, highlighting the beauty.
"I…see now. Yeah. I think you'd make every single boy go crazy over you," Ochaco said.
Uh-huh, yeah. Boys. Sure," Eleanor muttered while packing the backpack. "Alright, I'm done. You ready to head out?"
"You only took less than ten minutes or something," Ochaco said.
"I know. While you two spent a lot of time getting ready, I got an extra hour of sleep. And I'm pretty sure sleep is more important in keeping 'good looks' than that artificial stuff," Eleanor said.
"You really don't like makeup. Got it," Ochaco said.
"Okay, maybe I was a bit harsh, but you get it," Eleanor said. She went to sit on a chair and played on her phone while Momo and Ochaco got ready. "I assume you two aren't doing much, right? We're not going to some fashion place or anything. We're going to walk around and explore the city."
"Just something light," Momo said.
"And it takes like an hour for all that?" Eleanor asked.
"It's a lot of steps, Eleanor," Ochaco said.
"Alright, so since it's not a lot of steps, I assume you two aren't going to use blush, bronze, contour, pencil, powder, gel, eyeshadow, eyeliner, or mascara? I assume you two will use concealer to hide the spots under your eyes, since you probably didn't get the best sleep last night, which means you may have already used moisturizer and primer to start the process before going on to the foundation using some kind of lotion, cream, or powder to even out the skin tone. I guess what you two have left is using setting spray or powder to the foundation and concealer to reduce the shine and prevent creases, and to keep it in place for the entire day. Oh, and maybe some lipstick, but I don't see you two as people who use lipstick," Eleanor said casually while playing on her phone.
Momo and Ochaco looked at each other before looking at Eleanor. "I thought you hated makeup," Ochaco said.
"Just 'cause I hate it doesn't mean I don't know about it. I know makeup, but the process is way too long and tedious for the result produced, in my opinion. Anyway, just let me know when you're finished," Eleanor said.
Some time later, Momo and Ochaco were finally finished.
"Finally, we can start the day. Now, we can have breakfast here in the hotel, or we can go to a diner. Your choice," Eleanor said.
"Let's go to a diner! I want to see what the city is like!" Ochaco said.
"Alright, cool. I'll show you the actual good places. Not the overpriced hipster 'two guys with a crazy idea,' or an 'every burger has a story' type of place," Eleanor got up and headed out.
/\\//\\//\
'Man. The more things seem to change, the more they stay the same,' Eleanor thought to herself as she looked around the city. The 22nd century was so different, yet some stuff looked similar. Enough to still know her way.
Momo and Ochaco looked around the city. Overhead, there was almost a constant sound of planes. Momo looked up and saw a small plane flying.
"Is that common around here?" Momo asked Eleanor.
Eleanor looked up at the plane. "Oh, that? Yeah, it's very common. You'll see a bunch of different planes flying all the time around here."
"Why so many?" Momo asked.
"Well, you have cargo planes and air taxis," Eleanor explained as they walked through the city.
"Wait…air taxis? Are you saying it's like the name sounds? Like…taxi companies, but for air?" Ochaco said.
"Yeah, pretty much. That's how we're going to go to Juneau and Skagway. We'll take an air taxi to and from. Oh, and it'll be a private flight. I'm not going commercial for those. But we will have to go commercial for the trip to Ketchikan," Eleanor explained.
"So people just fly casually like that?" Ochaco muttered to herself. The idea of air taxis was new to her. "That's kind of amazing."
"Hey, Eleanor, what's that?" Momo pointed to a certain building in the city. It was labeled the "Alaskan Office of Public Defense." Eleanor raised an eyebrow before a small grin formed on her face as she saw the building. She may not have seen this building before, but the name was a clear giveaway of a concept she had heard of before.
"That place is where U.S. citizens and residents of Alaska go to 'receive' weapons. Specifically, machine guns, automatic weapons, 'destructive devices,' and whatever else is in there," Eleanor explained.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa…what?" Momo said, shocked at the absurdity of what she was hearing from Eleanor.
"I'm being serious," Eleanor said.
"Uh…no, surely you're lying," Momo said.
"I'm not. The process is quite simple, really. So, a U.S. citizen and resident of Alaska enters the place. They look around and browse for what weapons there are. They pick one out, and the workers inside will retrieve it. Now, here are the small details. All the weapons in there are owned by the state, in this case, the government of Alaska. What happens is that the state will transfer ownership of the weapon to the person receiving it. Of course, after getting run through a criminal database and being cleared, the person receiving the weapon fills out a bunch of paperwork, and then pays a transfer fee. Once that is done, they walk out as the owner of a new weapon. So, they're not 'buying' a weapon, it's just a 'transfer of ownership.' Very big difference," Eleanor explained.
"And…and that's legal?" Momo asked.
"Of course it is. The second amendment says so," Eleanor said.
Momo and Ochaco chuckled a bit in disbelief. "W-why would the government allow that?" Momo asked.
"Let's think about it. Momo, you can create whatever weapon you want. Let's look at our other classmates. Bakugo can blow things up with his hands. Todoroki can control fire and ice with his hands. Kaminari can produce electricity from his body and hands. Mina can produce acid from her hands and body. Midoriya can…well, he can cause a lot of damage with his hands. Basically, what I'm saying is that people don't even need guns to commit crimes. And when you think of the people that don't have quirks, how are they going to defend themselves or their property from a criminal or villain using their quirk to cause damage? That's where guns come in. Look at Snipe; he uses a revolver, and it works well for him. And while their quirks may be strong, they're not bullet proof and they can't react fast enough to a bullet," Eleanor explained.
"What if someone like Eijiro, who has a defensive or hardening kind of quirk? They're bulletproof, right?" Momo said..
"Nope. Just use a bigger caliber. I'd say a .30-06 round is enough to put anyone down permanently," Eleanor said.
"Is that strong?" Momo asked.
"Remember the moose we saw yesterday? Yeah, the .30-06 round is enough to put one of those down with good shot placement. To give you an idea. If a .30-06 round was used on a human, let's say a shot in the neck, the entire head would…just imagine a watermelon exploding. It would paint a gruesome scene around them, and it would penetrate whatever was behind the person as well. It'd be an ugly sight," Eleanor said. (A/N: That's a bit specific, isn't it? What is she saying?)
"Why not just call the police?" Ochaco said.
"Yes, good idea, Ochaco. Let's call the police. They'll take minutes to arrive at a scenario where seconds matter," Eleanor said.
"So…is it safe to assume that…everyone here has a gun?" Momo asked.
"Yeah, pretty much. Kind of makes you think, doesn't it? If you were a criminal or villain and wanted to do something, you'd probably want to think twice when almost all the people around you are armed with lethal weapons and are not afraid to use them," Eleanor said.
"That's crazy," Ochaco said.
"Anyway, come on, we're almost at a diner. After we eat, we can go shopping for souvenirs and a bunch of other stuff. And we can visit a museum as well. This day is just to get you used to the palace and unwinding," Eleanor said.
/\\//\\//\
Eleanor and the girls arrived at a diner. As soon as they entered, there were a few hushes and whispers. A waitress went up and greeted them before guiding them to a booth.
Eleanor let out a sigh of relief. "I thought we wouldn't be able to eat in peace for a second," Eleanor said as she picked up a menu.
"Welcome. What can I get you started with today? Any drinks or appetizers?" The waitress said.
"Yeah, I'll have a soda. And for an appetizer the nachos without jalapeños, please." Eleeanor ordered her food.
"And for you two ladies?" The waitress asked Momo and Ochaco.
"Just water," Momo said.
"Water for me too, please," Ochaco said.
"Alright, I'll be back with your drinks and appetizer," The waitress said before leaving.
"So, what do you recommend here, Eleanor?" Ochaco asked.
"Well, there are a few things. I recommend the seafood, obviously. The salmon, halibut, and king crab. There's also reindeer hot dogs. Though, depending on how it is, it might be 'reindeer' sausage."
"What's the difference?" Momo asked.
"So, 'reindeer' sausage isn't one-hundred percent reindeer. It's a mix of other meat, mostly beef and pork, and a bit of actual reindeer. But it's still good. Trust me. Oh, and the elk burger is good too. Ah, we'll just get everything," Eleanor said.
"Everything? Uh…I don't think we can eat that much food," Ochaco said.
"You got me here, so it's alright," Eleanor said.
Some time later, the appetizer and drinks arrived. Eleanor placed the order for everyone at the table. After a bit more time, all the food started to arrive.
"Alright, now this is what I'm talking about. Finally, some good food. Alright, we're going to share all this. So, let's dig in," Eleanor said as she picked up one of the reindeer hot dogs and ate it.
"Uh…will we have enough drinks for this?" Ochaco said. "And it's going to cost extra."
"Hmm? Oh, that. No, the refills are free. Drink as much as you want. I forgot to tell you that. I can't believe I forgot. That's one thing I don't like about Japan. It's why I exclusively eat from the school."
"Free?" Ochaco was intrigued. "Alright, let's do this!" Ochaco picked the plate with the elk burger and started to eat it. "Whoa! This is really good!"
"I guess I'll eat the crab," Momo said. As Momo ate the crab, a succulent, rich, and sweet flavor filled her mouth. "Whoa…this is really good. Way better than what I've tasted before."
"See? I told you. This place is a good one," Eleanor said.
"How much does all this cost, though?" Ochaco asked.
"Don't worry about it, Ochaco. We're on vacation. We worry about the costs after the vacation ends," Eleanor said.
"That…that doesn't sound financially responsible," Ochaco said.
"Don't worry, be happy," Eleanor said.
/\\//\\//\
The entire day went by in a blur. After eating at the diner and paying. The three of them went around the city. Eleanor showed them different landmarks and popular spots, and they went shopping for souvenirs and other items. They visited a museum in the city and had dinner at another diner before they returned to the hotel.
"That was fun! It's so different from Japan." Ochaco said as she jumped onto the bed in the hotel room. Multiple shopping bags were near her, a variety of souvenirs and clothes in them.
"The items were kind of nice and cute as well. That sweater with a cute moose head on it was nice," Momo set down her own bags as she sat down on the edge of her bed.
"Just wait until we visit the other cities and towns. You'll buy a lot of more stuff," Eleanor said. Compared to them, Eleanor only bought a few items.
"Oh, right, the air taxi thing, right? I wonder how that feels.," Ochaco said.
"It feels nice. I'm going to book the flight for our next spot, so we have to make sure to be ready and on time," Eleanor said.
"What city are we going to?" Ochaco asked.
"We're going to the capital. Juneau. Be ready for some physical activity. And get your rain jackets ready as well," Eleanor said.
"Physical? How physical?" Ochaco asked.
Eleanor grinned as she looked at Ochaco. "We're going hiking."