Welcome To Accra, Ghana

We had sex for a few hours and stopped when our stomachs started growling, and Ayaka snuck out to yoink the samsas into the shrine space to satiate our stomachs before starting again. Gang Orca had to loudly tell us that we needed to come out and buckle up for descent, so we had to rush to get clothed and come out into 3D. I look out the window and see a city like Tokyo, but with more trees scattered throughout. I see the ocean as well, and it seems to be a very thriving city. I took some pictures through the window for Dad. I ask Gang Orca, “What is the name of the place we are in?” He responds, “This is Accra, Ghana—a country in Africa. The main language they speak here is English. Are you kids fluent in English?” Both Ayaka and I shake our heads, and she says, “I can say basic phrases, but I wouldn’t be able to hold a conversation.” I nonverbally say ditto, and Ayaka says, “Though, because of Sekai’s eye, she can read all languages.”

Gang Orca says, while intrigued, “That is interesting. Crimson Cossack mentioned that you can read Russian, and I was a little surprised. Did you get that eye from a different world?” We nod. He says, “Well, don’t worry. Both the principal and I can speak English and can translate for you.” I shoot him a brief thumbs up to acknowledge his words and look back out the window. I have really been seeing a lot of new places since getting adopted by the Kubos. I went from never leaving Musutafu, Japan, to literally leaving this world. Sometimes it feels surreal. Like, maybe this is a dream, and I am lying in a hospital in a coma from having jumped off the building back when I was at my lowest.

Every moment with Ayaka feels like a dream.

I squeeze her hand that I am holding as I look out the window and tell her, “I love you, Aya-chan.” She echoes it back, “I love you, too, Kai-chan.” I ask Gang Orca, “So, does Principal Nezu have a friend here?” Gang Orca shakes his head, “Surprisingly, no. However, he did say that he has made arrangements to rent a private hangar to keep the jet while we visit.” It is hard to forget that the principal is so loaded when he throws around money like this. Though I guess with the access to Link’s world, we could be filthy rich, too. I smirk as I look out the window, and Ayaka asks, “What has you smirking, Kai-chan?” I chuckle, “I was just thinking about how we could have disposable income, too, since we have access to Link’s world. We can use that money to fund your mission to become the symbol for women.”

Ayaka says while turning my face towards hers, while biting her lip, “I am going to spoil you with that income, too. We can definitely do both.” She brings her lips to mine for a kiss, and the bounce on the runway makes her accidentally cut my lip with her teeth. She notices and examines it and says, “Shit, are you ok, Kai-chan?” I nod while touching it with care, “It is just another mark from you to prove that I am yours.” Ayaka purrs and raises an eyebrow slightly, flirtatiously, “Do you want another?” Gang Orca clears his throat as we separate and pout slightly from having our moment interrupted. I sigh as I look out the window, as Principal Nezu taxis the jet to the private hangar while my tongue plays with the tiny cut she left behind on my lip. When we park, Principal Nezu opens the door, and we are greeted by a black man speaking English, who says, “Follow me to our customs check-in. Since you provided us with ample payment for the VIP treatment, you will be bypassing the long lines.” Principal Nezu responds in English, “Thank you for the hospitality.”

Ayaka and I both missed what he said because we aren’t fluent enough, but Principal Nezu and Gang Orca understood, so we followed them. We understood that Principal Nezu was thanking the guy, since we had learned how to say thanks in English class. The airport employee walks us through several doors to a private area where they scan our luggage and have us walk through a large scanner to make sure we aren’t bringing in contraband… I mean, I would assume. They then provided us with hot tea while they asked Principal Nezu questions. I picked up “leisure”, “interns”, and “art” as keywords, but lost them in his sentences. Principal Nezu asks Ayaka, “Can you pull out your sketchbook?” She nods, and she pulls out the sketchbook with the different scenes she likes to draw. The guy flips through the pages, then hands it back, and Principal Nezu tells Ayaka, “He says that you are quite talented and hopes you get inspired by their art-filled capital.”

We bow in respect to the airport employee since he understands how travel can inspire art. Mom always said inspiration lies everywhere. Art might not be our primary focus, but it never hurts to appreciate the sights while we are here. The airport employee hands us a pamphlet in English that highlights the art exhibits here. Both Ayaka and I perk up and thumb through it excitedly. They have all kinds of art galleries here, from paintings and sculptures to primitive and architectural art—so many beautiful things. The airport employee says to us as he escorts us, “I have a driver arranged for you during your visit. It is currently late afternoon, and there is time to enjoy some sights if you would like. If not, I can have them take you to your lodgings to rest for the evening. Whatever you prefer.”

Principal Nezu says while adjusting his tie as we walk in English, “That sounds lovely, and we would gladly take you up on your offer to enjoy some sights. What would you recommend a first-time tourist see first?” The airport employee says, “If you like history, I would recommend our National Museum of Ghana. It is one of our top tourist attractions. Though since your interns are artists, they may enjoy going to our local art galleries like Gallery 1957, which is near the coast.” Principal Nezu smiles and says in English, “That sounds delightful. Let me ask the children.” He turns to us and asks us in Japanese which one we prefer, and we shrug, and Ayaka says, “Why don’t we just do both? We will have time here, right?” Principal Nezu nods and tells the airport employee, “If you could make arrangements for the museum, I would appreciate it.” Principal Nezu translates for us, and we nod and follow the airport employee until we exit the airport and are greeted by some lush green scenery from their gorgeous landscaping. There is a black SUV here, and our guide opens the door. We bow in respect to the employee, and I help him lift the principal and his luggage inside.

The driver and the airport employee talk in an African dialect, smiling, and the airport employee smacks the SUV in a friendly manner when we are loaded up, and the driver starts driving. I take pictures out of the window for Dad. Ayaka pulls out the radar, and it seems like we are heading straight for the dragon ball. We stop at this very charming, large one-story white building whose sign reads, “National Museum of Ghana.” The dragon ball appears to be inside, and we all nod, and Ayaka closes her sketchbook, hiding the page containing the radar, then puts her sketchbook back inside her luggage. I really wasn’t expecting to find the Dragon Ball so soon. Though, since it is shown to be in a museum, they probably think it is some artifact. WHICH COMPLICATES THINGS. The others have already put this together, it seems, so now I guess we are just doing recon. What better excuse to take pictures than being tourists enjoying the exhibits? They won’t blink twice at us for taking photos of the Dragon Ball since we are tourists. Though we probably need to take pictures of the other artifacts to keep our cover. I’ll send those to Dad. He would enjoy them.

This place really is fascinating. I actually find myself enjoying looking around and actually wanting to take pictures. Every artifact they have is behind protective glass. According to the English inscription on the glass, it is a protective measure against quirks to preserve the artifacts. I can only imagine all of the quirks out there that could ruin these. No wonder they put them all behind glass. It won’t affect us when the time comes to retrieve the ball because of Ayaka’s quirk. Most things here are culturally significant to them. We get to the dragon ball, and it seems to be an exhibit of a ceremonial staff that is a few centuries old. The 2-star Dragon Ball is at the top of the staff. I took five bajillion pictures from every angle before we left this exhibit.

We continued walking around until nightfall, and we went back outside to the driver, who was playing on his phone while parked. Principal Nezu says to him in English, “Can you take us to suitable lodgings? Somewhere with a view, preferably.” The driver nods and takes us to a beautiful, tall building that seems beautifully split in two, and the sign says ‘ACCRA MARRIOT HOTEL’. We bow to the driver, take our luggage, and go inside where the principal secures our rooms. He bows to the dark-skinned woman behind the counter as she reaches over the counter and down to hand him our room keys, and he adorably reaches up to meet her. He meets us and hands us a key while saying, “I booked us the two penthouse suites. You children, will get one suite to yourselves while we will take the other one. Now, before you go and run off, we need to talk.”

We go up to our penthouse suite, and we are amazed by the view. It takes up the whole floor, and most of the walls are glass, leaving a breathtaking view. Their suite must be in the other tower. There are also curtains for privacy. Thank fuck. The whole room is very open and swanky, and there is an indoor waterfall along part of the wall that isn’t glass, decorated with beautiful stones and indoor plants that frame it beautifully. The edge of the tiny pond with fish in it has a cushioned bench for leisure lounging. The floor is all white, which makes the decor colors pop more. We sat down on some swanky green sofas. Principal Nezu goes to the fridge, comes back with a bottle of ‘Akpeteshie’, which appears to be a local liquor, and two glasses, and says, while pouring himself and Gang Orca a glass, “I will need a little liquid courage.”

Gang Orca chuckles and takes a sip, “Ooooo. It is very smooth and sweet.” I help the principal sit on the sofa and hand him his glass of liquor, and he takes a sip and sighs with pleasure as he does with tea. After he relishes that sip, he types words into his notepad application on his phone to avoid saying them aloud in case of surveillance, “As someone who is the administrator of a school devoted to raising the next generation of heroes, it pains me to say these words. However, we are doing this for the greater good for the sake of heroes.” We nod, and he continues to type and shows us the phone, “We will have to steal the ball, but I think we can pull this off without them noticing anything. We need a few ‘artists’ who can make a convincing replica to take its place.” Ayaka types into her phone and shows it to them, “Ayame could help with the wood part of the staff, but I am at a loss for the Dragon Ball itself. That is a little out of my parents' wheelhouse of expertise.” Principal Nezu says with a smirk and responds using his notepad, “I actually know a guy in Japan who can help us. He has a quirk that allows him to create worthless raw gems from his body, which he uses as materials for his sculpting in Kyushu. I have bought a few commissions from him myself, and I am sure that he would be able to replicate this for us.”

I am a little worried, though I try not to let it show, and ask using my phone, “Will they ask questions?” Principal Nezu sips his booze and says, “Questions, or in this case, the lack thereof, can be bought with money.” Gang Orca asks, “So, how are we going to pull this off and not make the locals suspicious? That driver is keeping an eye on us.” Ayaka nods, “I felt his gaze often, though it doesn’t seem malicious at least.” Principal Nezu writes a novel and shows it to us, “I was thinking that you stay here, Kugo, while I go back to Japan with the children briefly tomorrow to make arrangements. If we leave tonight, it will be morning in Japan, and we will have several hours to get things moving, and hopefully we can come back before they are any wiser. Since we will probably be sleeping in tomorrow, you can tell the locals that the girls stayed up late drawing and maybe even other ‘extracurriculars’ if you will. I can order something local tonight, and you can say that it upset my stomach and I stayed up late on the toilet. In lieu of this, Miss Kubo, you will need to make some African-inspired art in case they want proof.”

Ayaka nods and pulls out a sketchpad to start working on it, then asks, typing on her phone, “What time were you wanting to leave?” Principal Nezu pulls out his phone and says, “Hmmmm. If we leave at 10 pm., we can get to Japan at 7 am.” We nod, and my stomach growls, since it has been a while since we ate the samsas. Principal Nezu then says with his words, not his phone, “How about we order room service? Take a look over the menu and order anything you would like.” We took a look at their menu, and it seems they have a lot of options. We decided to play it safe and order their shrimp fried rice so we wouldn’t risk upsetting our stomachs. I say ‘our’, but I mainly mean Ayaka, since she doesn’t have an iron stomach as I do. We can be more adventurous with the local cuisine tomorrow after we wake up. Sir Floof and Garlic did the same, ordering safe options they know they like.

We eat our room service, then Ayaka puts her full attention to drawing. Ayaka is making progress on a beautiful landscape piece of the skyline in front of her. I also took lots of pictures of the view here for Dad. As she draws by the window, Principal Nezu says, “It may be best if you girls went home in your disguises, since you are supposed to be out of the country right now. It probably wouldn’t hurt to get you some contacts, Miss Mochizuki, to make your left eye appear normal when we get back home. In the interim, continue to wear that mask.”

I nod and get up to put on my chest binder and fake chest, then start my wig preparation since I have a good feel for it now. I go out in the living room wearing a headband on the wig and a hoodie pulled up and zipped up... Just in case someone is watching us from beyond the glass. Ayaka is still drawing the skyline, so it would be impractical to shut the curtains right now. She pauses to put on her binder, fake torso, and prep the wig, and once she has the headband on, she returns to the open area of the penthouse to continue drawing the skyline, with her hoodie zipped up and hood up, hiding her now-black hair.

She finished her drawing before 10, and it is beautiful. She managed to capture the elegance of the view and the night sky. Gang Orca goes to the other penthouse suite while we stay here with the principal and close all the windows' curtains. He grabs his headphones and says, “Take us to the room in UA, please, children.” We nod and perform the ritual to go back to Japan while wrapping the principal’s wrist from under the locked door.

When we arrive back in Japan, Principal Nezu says, “I will be going to my associate, Kei Hojo’s shop in Kyushu, and will need your quirks to make good time. Be careful about using your quirk too much in the open and being seen. Oh, can you give me the Dragon Ball we got from Russia? Kei will need it for a reference.” We nod, and Ayaka goes inside the shrine drawing, removing the Dragon Ball, and hands it over. We teleport him to Kyushu quickly. He tells us as he adjusts his tie adorably, "If something comes up, be sure to call me, children. It would be wise not to text about these things." I nod in acknowledgement, then we go our separate ways.

Ayaka takes us to 5D and combines our quirks again so we can quickly get back to Musutafu. Our first stop is the cosplay shop to buy our contacts really quick. Once we are both fitted with contacts, me with bright blue and Ayaka with black, we put them in, and I remove my mask. We go back to the alley where Ayaka goes to 5D again, then I teleport us to the art gallery. We walk inside and put a finger to our lips when Dad sees us, and he says, while winking in acknowledgement, “Welcome to the Kubo Gallery. Is there something in particular you are looking for?”

Ayaka says in a masculine voice, “Yes, could we talk privately?” Dad nods and says, “Certainly, right this way.” He takes us to the back where Mom paints, and when he shuts the door, he hugs us and says, “It is so nice to see you kids. What prompts this visit in incognito?” Ayaka explains the situation and why we are here, and Dad calls over Mom and Ayame and gets them up to speed. I show Ayame the many pictures of the ceremonial staff, and she nods, “I can make something like that. It will take a lot of focus to make it appear aged like this, though.” Ayaka asks, “How long will it take you?” Ayame says, “Hmmmmm. For something this specific, at most an hour.” We sigh, and Ayaka says, “Oh, that is perfect. We will be counting on you.” Ayame takes my phone, uses the many photos as a reference, and uses the plot of soil to make a staff sticking out of the ground, slowly shaping it exactly like the ceremonial staff.

Near the end of her making the staff, we were getting particularly tired and nodding off. Mom had to wake us up with gentle strokes to our wig hair. We sleepily groan, and Mom says, while handing my phone back, “Ayame is done. I assume you need this concealed in some way, right?” We nod, and Mom says, “Give me one moment, I have longer tubes for the larger paintings that I think would work nicely.” She goes off and comes back with a large tube, and they carefully put the replica staff inside, then Ayaka puts the tube inside a piece of paper for safekeeping. We bow, and Ayaka says, “Thank you so much for your help, though if anyone asks, you didn’t make anything, ok?” Ayame nods, winks, and says, “Make what?” Ayaka gives her a thumbs up and a smile. Mom and Dad bring us in for a hug, and Dad says, “We are so proud of you kids. Though it would be nice if you finished your big, important mission quickly so I can have my baby girls back again.” Ayaka says, “We are going as fast as we can.” Mom says, “Good. Keep texting us like you have been, ok?” We nod.

We leave and combine our quirks to quickly go back to UA unseen and return to the room. We texted Principal Nezu a generic “All done. Gonna take a nap.” He responded with a thumbs up, and we lay down in the bed to take a nap since we had been up for a while. We get woken by Principal Nezu calling Ayaka's phone, and we groan and stretch. He says, “It will take him approximately a week to complete the replica. When he is done, he will set it in the staff for us. He said to hold off on the staff for now until he has made a passable Dragon Ball.” Ayaka says, “Got it. We are on the way, sir.”

We pick him up and bring him back to UA, and he says, “Let us return to Accra before our absence is noticed, children.” We nod, and he goes outside the UA ritual room, and I wrap around his wrist under the door like last time, and we do the ritual back to Accra and promptly return to sleep after removing our wigs, torsos, and binders.

***Current Inventory: 4 Dragon Balls. 3 Remaining.***