Chapter 221 - 220: Waiting

Location: Kashiya Ward - Arisaka Consulting Building

Time: Morning

A large holographic screen floated above the black desk.

The video on the screen showed a pro hero in a red and blue suit swinging between buildings in Queens, New York.

The hero placed a thick white web to a brick chimney.

CRASH.

The chimney shattered. The hero lost his swing and slammed face-first into a billboard.

Kaito took a sip of his coffee. He sat in his leather chair, watching the combat drone footage.

Five days had passed since he agreed to become a guest lecturer at U.A. High School.

He didn't have any physical clients scheduled this week. He was catching up on his ten global online contracts.

"Didn't expect another knock-off marvel hero existed here," Kaito said.

Eve stood on the corner of the desk. She projected as a chibi figure.

[According to your uploaded pop-culture archives, he lacks the necessary 'spider-sense' to pull off a blind pendulum swing,] Chibi Eve said, looking at the paused video. [His core strength is also too low. If he tries a classic inverted dive, he will dislocate both of his shoulders.]

Kaito laughed and set his mug down. "Hehe. Let's help him."

He cracked his knuckles and pulled his wireless keyboard closer. The client was a mutant-type hero named Weaver.

He currently sat at Rank 72 on the American Billboard.

CLACK. CLACK. CLACK.

Kaito started typing furiously.

[Quirk Development Path: Weaver...]

[Stop relying on standard pendulum swings. Shift to Kinetic Slingshot maneuvers...]

[Anchor webbing to two reinforced steel points, step back to build tension, and launch forward at bullet speeds for high-impact physical strikes against heavy-type villains...]

Kaito looked up from the screen. "Eve. What is the burst-pressure of his biological spinnerets?"

[Three hundred PSI at maximum exertion,] Chibi Eve answered instantly.

Kaito nodded. He went right back to typing.

[Support Gear Restructuring...]

[Install high-pressure pneumatic bracers over the wrists...]

[Compress the biological web fluid output to create blunt-force impact rounds for mid-range combat...]

Kaito paused and rubbed his chin. "His property damage bills are insane."

[He destroys a brick chimney or a television antenna every time he swings through a residential neighborhood,] Chibi Eve pointed out. [His agency is bordering on bankruptcy from local lawsuits.]

CLACK. CLACK. CLACK.

[Agency Financial Routing...]

[Divide Queens patrol sectors strictly by structural height...]

[Ban all aerial transit in low-rise residential neighborhoods. Route all rapid-transit patrols through the downtown commercial grid...]

"What is the chemical breakdown of his webbing?" Kaito asked.

[It dissolves entirely after two hours and holds ten tons of static weight,] Chibi Eve replied, pulling up the lab data.

"Good." Kaito smirked.

[Patent the dissolving chemical formula of the webbing...]

[Establish a secondary holding company. Sell the compound to New York construction firms as temporary, ultra-strong scaffolding...]

[Reallocate thirty percent of the scaffolding profits into a dedicated civilian property damage fund...]

[This will offset all local lawsuits and create a steady passive income stream...]

Eve looked over at the master document on the monitor.

[Boss, you just gave him the path for greatness,] Chibi Eve noted.

"After all with great power comes great responsibili~... I mean he paid for a complete upgrade for his career," Kaito said. "Let's finish his team."

[Sidekick Combat Integration...]

[Reassign all four sidekicks to ground-level crowd control. Do not let them attempt aerial combat...]

[Establish physical hand signs. Sidekicks will clear civilian foot traffic from designated swing-paths before Weaver initiates a kinetic launch...]

Kaito scrolled down to the bottom of the document.

He added the budget breakdown for the pneumatic bracers and the scaffolding patents.

He checked the final page count. Two hundred and fifteen pages.

CLICK.

Kaito hit the send button.

"That should push him into the Top Twenty," Kaito said. He stretched his arms over his head and leaned back. "I think two hundred pages covers the four million dollar price tag."

...

Location: Tokyo - Gunhead Martial Arts Dojo

Time: Saturday Afternoon

CHATTER.

The public self-defense class was over.

A dozen normal civilians, office workers, college students, and middle-aged women grabbed their water bottles and towels from the benches.

"Great work today, everyone!" Gunhead called out, waving his thick, armored hands. He held up his hands and formed a small heart shape with his fingers. "Make sure to stretch your hamstrings tonight!"

The civilians bowed and headed for the locker rooms.

Katsuki Bakugo didn't move toward the exit.

He stood dead center on the blue tatami mats. He wore gray sweatpants, a soaked black tank top, and heavy Detnerat compression gloves.

Sweat dripped off his chin. He spent the last two hours flattening the adult attendees during the grappling drills, and he didn't spark a single explosion to do it.

Gunhead walked over. The pro hero crossed his arms.

"That makes eight weekends in a row, Bakugo," Gunhead noted. "You burned through your prepaid classes."

"I will bring the cash for the next block on Monday," Bakugo answered. He kept his hands raised in a tight guard. "We have twenty minutes before you close the floor. Spar with me."

Gunhead tilted his head. Under the terrifying combat helmet, his voice was calm and friendly.

"You have a lot of stamina for a middle schooler," Gunhead said. He stepped onto the center mat and dropped into a loose stance. "Come on then. Show me what you learned."

SWISH.

Bakugo stepped in fast. He threw a tight, disciplined left hook. He kept his right hand glued to his chin to protect his face.

Gunhead didn't try to block the punch.

The pro hero stepped inside the strike. He grabbed Bakugo's wrist, pivoted his hips, and pulled.

Gunhead used Bakugo's own forward momentum against him, sweeping his lead leg at the exact same time.

BAM.

Bakugo hit the mat hard.

Gunhead looked down at him.

"Your punch was fast," Gunhead said. "Your center of gravity was just way too high. You committed your entire upper body to the strike and left your base completely empty. You are still thinking easily."

Bakugo gritted his teeth. He didn't yell.

He slapped the mat, pushed himself up, and walked over to his duffel bag near the wall.

ZIP.

He opened the bag, pulled out a sports drink, and twisted the cap off.

GLUG. GLUG.

Gunhead watched him drink.

"Why are you taking this so seriously?" Gunhead asked casually. "Most kids your age just want to learn how to throw a flashy attacks. You are paying for civilian classes with your own allowance just to practice fall-breaks and joint locks."

Bakugo lowered the bottle. He stared at the black fabric of his gloves.

"I fought a guy," Bakugo said. His voice was flat. "He just had years of actual street combat experience. I can't beat him at all even if I gave it my all."

Bakugo squeezed the plastic bottle.

"Raw power doesn't mean anything if I can't hurt him," Bakugo looked at the pro hero. "I am applying to U.A. High School. I am going to be the Number One pro hero. I can't do that if a guy without quirk was even better than me."

"..."

Gunhead stood quietly for a moment.

He realized the kid wasn't a hobbyist trying to act tough.

Gunhead dropped the friendly, civilian-instructor tone. He stood up a little straighter. 'With this kid combat IQ, he was still defeated by his peers without a quirk at that? This is interesting...'

"Your quirk produces explosions from your hands," Gunhead said, his voice turning serious. "When you finally unleash a maximum output attack, the recoil is going to travel straight down your shoulders and into your spine. If you don't know how to distribute that physical weight, you will tear your own ligaments."

Bakugo nodded once.

"I will teach you how to properly manage your weight," Gunhead told him. "I will show you how to redirect force so your body can actually handle your own quirk."

Bakugo tossed his plastic bottle into the trash bin.

He walked straight back to the center of the blue mat. He dropped his hips low and raised his heavy gloves.

"Show me the counter to that hip throw," Bakugo said.

Gunhead stepped forward.

...

Location: Kashiya Ward - Arisaka Consulting Building

Time: Two Days Later

Kaito looked at the main monitor on his desk.

The screen displayed a complex CAD blueprint of his black car.

"The rear chassis has enough empty space," Kaito said, pointing at the screen with his digital pen. "We can integrate a scaled-down Arc Reactor right behind the back axle."

[The reactor will provide stable power,] Eve agreed. [We need to reroute the exhaust vents to handle the vertical thrust. The car will be able to hover and fly without looking suspicious from the outside.]

BEEP.

[Boss,] Eve said, turning her head toward the lobby. [You have a walk-in client.]

The glass doors slid open.

CLANK. CLANK.

A pro hero walked into the reception area. He wore a massive, bulky costume shaped exactly like a front-loading washing machine.

A white helmet covered his head.

It was the Laundry Hero, Wash.

Wash walked up to the reception desk. He pulled a wrapped wet wipe from a compartment on his side.

"Hello!" Wash said cheerfully. He held the wet wipe out to Eve.

His bulky glove phased right through her hand.

The blue hard-light flickered around the thick fabric.

"..."

Wash stopped. He looked at the wet wipe, then looked at Eve's face.

"Oh," Wash said, stepping back quickly. "I am so sorry. I thought you were a real person."

Eve pointed toward Kaito's office.

[The manager is available,] Eve said.

Wash bowed slightly to the hologram. He walked into Kaito's office.

CLANK. CLANK.

Wash walked into the office and sat down in the leather guest chair. The bulky washing machine armor took up most of the space.

Kaito set his digital pen down. He looked at the pro hero.

Wash reached up with both hands.

CLICK. HISS.

He unlocked the white helmet and pulled it off. He set the helmet on the floor next to the chair.

Wash revealed his actual face. He had short dark hair and a very tired, serious expression.

The cheerful mascot persona was completely gone.

"Arisaka-san," the man said. "My name is Susugu Mitarai."

"Nice to meet you, Susugu," Kaito replied. "What can I do for you?"

Susugu leaned forward. The armor creaked slightly.

"This is it for me," Susugu stated flatly. "I am finished at Rank 16 on the Billboard Charts."

Kaito pulled up the live hero rankings on his monitor. He looked at the numbers.

"Your approval ratings are actually up," Kaito noted. "You didn't drop in performance."

"I didn't get pushed down," Susugu agreed. "The finish line remained impenetrable. O'Clock, Gang Orca, Endeavor Selkie, Ryukyu and the others. All the pros who contracted with you in the past can't be moved at all."

Susugu looked Kaito right in the eyes.

"I grind every single day," Susugu continued. "I pull people out of car wrecks and floods. I keep my public image spotless. But hard work isn't enough to break into the Top 10 anymore. Not when your clients had already got the Golden Manager Standards."

Susugu gripped the armrests of his chair.

"I refuse to be left behind," Susugu said.

Kaito listened quietly.

He didn't just stare at the screen and read data. He stood up from his desk and walked over to the small coffee maker in the corner of the room.

He grabbed a clean mug, poured a fresh cup of hot coffee, and walked back over. He handed the mug to Susugu.

"I read your files right now." Kaito said, leaning against the edge of his desk. "Your civilian rescue numbers are actually higher than rank 13, 14 and 15 of the current Top 15 heroes. You are a great hero, Susugu."

Susugu took the mug. "Thank you."

"But you lack raw destructive impact," Kaito pointed out directly. "You can float a falling civilian, but you can't punch your way out if you meet physically stronger villains. That is what holds your ranking back."

Susugu took a drink of the coffee.

"My bubbles are just soapy water and surface tension," Susugu admitted. "They trap low-level villains just fine. They pop the second they hit those A rank villains."

Kaito crossed his arms. "What happens if you don't let the bubble expand?"

Susugu lowered the mug. "What do you mean?"

"Water physics," Kaito explained. "You blow the soapy water out of your arms and head, and it expands into a sphere. What if you compress that output? What if you force that exact same volume of water through a millimeter-thin opening at maximum pressure?"

Susugu stared at him. He blinked.

"You want me to shoot it like a laser," Susugu said slowly.

"Industrial water-cutting," Kaito nodded. "Factories use high-pressure water streams to cut through solid titanium. If we focus your quirk output instead of letting it expand, you stop blowing harmless bubbles. You generate a localized water blade that slices through a steel bank vault in three seconds."

"..."

Susugu sat completely still. The coffee in his mug trembled slightly.

Kaito just figured out how to turn a kid-friendly mascot quirk into a lethal, industrial-grade breaching tool.

"That covers your combat impact," Kaito said. He walked back around his desk and tapped his keyboard.

A 3D model of a standard Detnerat aerial drone popped up on the monitor.

"Next is your agency scope," Kaito told him.

Susugu leaned forward again, looking at the screen.

"We can for example mass-produce your specific bubble solution," Kaito said. "Load it into a fleet of automated drones. The next time a fifty-story office building catches fire, you deploy the drones."

"..."

Susugu looked at the drone projection. He looked back at Kaito.

He saw the exact path to the Top 10.

Susugu set his coffee mug on the edge of the desk. He reached down and picked up his white helmet.

"I want a three-month physical contract," Susugu said. His voice was dead serious.

Kaito checked his calendar.

"Sure... my schedule is completely open right now," Kaito told him. "Eve will send the invoice to your agency today. We start next week.."

"Thank you, Arisaka-san," Susugu said.

He placed the helmet over his head.

CLICK. HISS.

The helmet locked into place.

CLANK. CLANK.

Wash turned around and walked out of the office.

His heavy boots hit the floor with every step. The glass doors slid shut behind him.

Kaito watched him leave. He sat back down in his chair and picked up his digital pen to finish his car blueprints.

"Eve... update our website right now. Officially contracting Pro Hero, Wash..."

[Updating portal now, boss.]

...

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JJK: I'm a Normal Kamo Extra but I Refused to Die and Became Immortal