7-8

Chapter 7: Tenet

In a second where there was silence, there was another where a rumbling clap could be heard as Shizune and Izuku arrived at their destination. Izuku hadn't realized just how bad the teleportation would be as it felt like he had eaten rotten food, seen his grandfather naked and ridden the world's most intense roller coaster all in the span of 5 seconds. "Oh, I think I'm going to be sick." Once his feet touched the grass, he was already sprinting to the nearest bush, which fortunately there were many as he threw his head into it, not caring for the leaves and sticks and lost his breakfast.

Shizune watched the kid throw up his food, having suspected that he'd have that reaction as they had been told that their teleportation was extremely jarring for human senses. "I told you to hold onto your stomach, human." They stated. "Honestly, what is so bad about that?" They never had any issues with it, they knew they were great but were humans just that weird?

Not rising to their bait, he let out the last of his vomit, hating how his mouth tasted like acid and bile as he wiped it away with his sleeve. "Okay…okay, I'm good now. So," He looked around, seeing that they were in a clearing of sorts. "Is this the place?" But it was certainly different. He knew that it couldn't be any later than maybe 6 but the place was covered in a thin but very notable mist, one that he suspected never truly left. The sun was up in the sky, with plenty of white fluffy clouds.

In the distance, he could make out other peaks which made him suspect that they were in the middle of a mountain range, but he couldn't place where on many of those peaks, he could see waterfalls, he could even hear water flowing in the distance, all around them in fact as the entire area was covered in streams and rivers. Looking around, he saw that the many plants that lived in the area were wild, lush and extremely beautiful, many of them taking from all sides of the rainbow with insects like ladybugs and butterflies all over the place.

From the thousands if not tens of thousands of flowers, shrubs, moss-covered trees and giant mushrooms that dotted the area, the scent of nature was nearly intoxicating, relaxing in ways he would sooner compare to drugs. If there was but one constant, it was the fact he could see and hear dozens of cats, some as small as typical house pets, others the size of jaguars.

Shizune seemed pleased with how enthralled he was with their home and couldn't help but boast. "Yup, welcome to Mt. Myōboku. My scared grounds, my scared mountain."

"Where is it?" No way this was close to the sanctuary, hell he didn't think it was anywhere in Honshu.

"Somewhere in the wide expanse of the universe." Shizune grinned, their face filled with shiny white teeth as he signed, he should have known he would get a non-answer from the youkai. For all he knew, this wasn't even on Earth anymore, but in a world which Youkai called home.

Trying to not think about the implications that could come from travelling to another world where no one but a supernatural creature could ever hope to bring him home, he decided to focus on something he could influence. "Well, where are we going to stay?"

"I stay wherever I please, you on the other hand," Shizune could sleep wherever they pleased, but since the human would need shelter, she gestured behind to a structure he hadn't noticed till now. "Over there."

That structure looked like a run-down old shed. Its door was barely holding onto the hinges, and its windows were little more than boards that could held closed by rope. It had been built by the 2nd fellow to attempt training and they hadn't seen the need to tear it down once they croaked.

Izuku wasn't expecting much, and so long as he didn't have to worry about freezing to death in the night, he would take it. "…Alright. Anything else I should know about? I am yours for the next 6 months." He asked as he walked towards his new dorm to leave his stuff, his teacher floating by his side.

"Not much, I thought I could give you the day to walk around and see all the splendor and glory that is my mountain before I ground you into the dirt." They casually stretched as they talked, with Izuku nodding along once he reached the dorm and opened the door, seeing that the interior was as bad as he suspected with the bed being little more than a pile of leaves and an old blanket, he'd have to gather more to replace them since most looked dead. There was a small spot in the corner with a chimney, a spot to warm himself and cook food, but he also noted the lack of pots and pans so he'd be eating fruits and anything he could stab on a stick to roast but with so many rivers, he was bound to find some fish.

And it was a mountain claimed by a cat spirit and inhabited by cats, there had to be fish in the rivers.

Setting his stuff down, he left the shed and closed the door as gently as he could, wincing at how its hinges creaked and moaned from that simple movement. He didn't know where he should start with the tour of the place, but he thought it would be best to try out the rivers as he'll need which ones he can draw drinkable water from and fish in, then he'll explore the forests for spots for wild berries and fruits which he could eat.

With a plan of sorts in mind, he turned to leave but was stopped by Shizune, who had curled up into a large fluffball not too far from him. "But before then, why don't we talk? I wish to gauge what is it you know about tenet, and what you believe Sage training is."

"Of course," Recalling that he didn't have much choice, he approached and sat on the grass, noting that it was still covered in dew and wet. "What is it you would like to know?"

"It's cute that you think you can teach me." Shizune giggled, not caring for his unimpressed look. "As for my question, I want you to explain to me what you think tenet is." He raised an eyebrow at that, he knew what it was, they knew what it was-why would they need him to explain it?

Still, that couldn't be the only thing to the question, was this a test perhaps? Did they wish to test his knowledge on it? Maybe, as if they taught the master, it stood to reason that there were perhaps things she hadn't taught him or didn't know herself. "Tenet is…" He stopped himself, thinking about the demand from Shizune. They didn't ask him to tell him what tenet was, but what he thought it was, so the best response would be his take on it.

"Tenet is the power that exists in all living things, it's born from a mix of spiritual and physical power, which is why different plants and animals have different amounts." He settled on something short, but straight to the point.

Shizune nodded. "Good, you're at least well taught as I can't stand dealing with humans who can barely explain such simple things." She had dealt with at least two others before him that were like that, the 6th wasn't good with words even if he could understand the basics well enough and the 3rd was just an insanely talented idiot.

'I'm not sure if they hate humans, or just love to mock us.' Izuku wondered to himself as he heard that reply.

"And what is tenet used for?" Shizune asked him, laying their head on their legs, calm and relaxed now that they were at home.

"A lot of things, primarily reinforcing from both internal and external damage. It can also be used to enhance and expand one's own five senses to superhuman levels comparable to that of a person with a sensory quirk." He thought about the 5 basic techniques of tenet, two of which he hadn't yet learned never mind mastered.

"And can all things use tenet?" Shizune asked him, getting him to shake his head.

"No, it requires training, years of it to be considered able to use it in any meaningful way." That was one of the first things he learned.

"That is your first false statement, human." Shizune smiled at his confusion as they decided in their infinite wisdom to grace him with the answer. "How can all things have it, yet not use it? You might as well say that all mammals can't use blood."

When they put it like that, he supposed it made sense, but that left questions of its own. "Like you said, all things have it, and its primary use is to reinforce the body," Shizune stated but quickly added. "That is how all humans and animals alike can develop quirks, how else would an otherwise normal be able to handle their newfound abilities? I don't know about you, but humans aren't meant to shine like the sun, or cover themselves in fire and walk around like that's normal."

"But that's just their quirk at work," Izuku replied, he had studied quirks for years, leaned about them the same as everyone and there wasn't anything that could hint to tenet…but then again, he could still recall that damned trip to the doctor, the man stated that even then, decades since quirks had appeared that there was still much, they didn't understand. Was part of that because no one thought of tenet?

"If that is the case, why does it take up till their 4th birthday for them to develop one?" They asked him, getting no response as he wanted to say it was because the body needed time, but if the quirk was a part of you, wouldn't it appear at birth as it did with some cases? Present Mic frequently talked about how much he loved his parents who loved him even after he nearly deafened them when he was born.

If time was the issue, wouldn't it make more sense for quirks to present themselves in one's teenage years when puberty was already making radical changes to them? He never stopped to think why it was 4 that became the norm.

Shizune could see the gears shifting in his head and nodded, pleased that he was capable of such thought. "I'll tell you why, it's because they spend the first 4 years subconsciously building up enough tenet so that when they first use their quirk, they don't kill themselves."

"If that is the case, why don't more people know about it? Why did I only find out about tenet when I met the master?" He couldn't help but ask as this could change everyone. If tenet became much more known, it could answer so many questions and open so many doors!

"Because most don't realize what just happened. And it's not uniform as some people do the process of gathering tenet in the womb, or perhaps their mother unknowingly shares some of their own with them, hence why some humans are born with their quirks active right out the human oven." Shizune explained as they didn't spend too much time watching humans, but they had done it enough over the centuries to make educated guesses, which as far as she knew, had been proven accurate with how humans and these…quirks worked.

"But I'm quirkless."

"One needs tenet to use a quirk without dying, but one doesn't need a quirk to have tenet." Shizune yawned, having thought such a fact would be obvious. "But I digress, training one's tenet through physical activity and experience is why quirks gain in strength, as they increase the strength of their container that is the human body, which means they can hold more tenet. Izuku nodded, that part he knew.

"Of course, there are exceptions as while tenet can improve the body, these changes aren't permanent. Hence genetics come into play as you might know." Shizune continued to explain the relationship between tenet and quirks, but there was another issue Izuku was seeing with it.

"But that is all subconsciously, it's less thought and more instinct, right?" He asked, waiting for them to nod before he continued. "Then could they train their tenet directly to further increase their power?" All Might's body was crippled by that injury of his, but if he learned to use tenet, couldn't he enhance it to decrease that limit? He wouldn't regain the lost limbs, but he'll be in better shape overall, he could see his time limit pushed by to 5, maybe 6 hours because of it. If not his body, then couldn't he further increase his already demi-God-like power?

What if weaker heroes did so, would someone like Ingenium be capable of casually running over water and up buildings without needing to push themselves? Would someone with a minor telekinesis quirk like Inko be capable of pulling entire cars towards her? Would Hisashi be able to breathe out hot enough flames in great enough quantities to compete with flame heroes like Endeavour?

"Yes and no," Shizune wiggled their head. "Sure, like some of those humans you know, they could train in it, but their quirks serve as a block to any meaningful development." He cocked an eyebrow at that.

"How does that work?" There were plenty of quirk users in the sanctuary that used tenet just fine. Just thinking of one name, Kyūfune was great at using one form of tenet which he didn't.

"Like I just said, they subconsciously use their tenet just to maintain their bodies thanks to the effects of their quirks, in many cases it fuels it." They started as they waved a paw in the air. "Imagine someone that can expel water from their hands, where does the water come from?" They asked him, with Izuku's mind jumping to Singapore's top hero and rumored close friend to All Might, Big Red Dot. Despite the fact he looked like a humanoid lion, his quirk was related to water and allowed him to produce vast quantities of it from his mouth, with enough force to even knock trucks into their side.

"Their bodies." He wasn't surprised when Shizune shook their head, he wasn't all that confident in his answer.

"And where, pray tell," They learned in a bit closer. "Would a human body store that kind of water?" When he didn't answer, they continued.

"Here is another example, what does a human that creates and controls fire use to fuel that?" He thought of Endeavour, and while largely unapproachable, he couldn't help but respect his drive. But when it came to his quirk, he couldn't answer as perhaps it was his will that allowed him to control his flames, but fire worked on three basic things: Oxygen, fuel and heat. The human body could perhaps provide two of those things, as insane as that was, what was he burning as fuel?

In a flash, he realized that that was. "Tenet."

Shizune nodded, pleased that he was starting to understand what they were trying to say. "That's right. They're already using all the tenet they'll ever have access to just to use those quirks of theirs, which comes on top of mutating and protecting them from the quirk's effects."

"But that doesn't answer the question, why can't they train it?" He asked, as that didn't explain why they couldn't train in tenet, only why they couldn't use it like he could.

"Tenet might exist in all things, but it's unique to all of them. quirkless like yourself are blank sheets, so tenet can serve multiple purposes with you, which is why you can train it far more effectively." If they could give an example, it would be an all-purpose container. You could put anything you wanted in it, so long as it could fit.

"For someone with a quirk, it's different as their tenet is always used in just one way, it takes on 1-maybe 2 forms. For them to gain the same advancement you'll have in perhaps a month, they'll have to train for 16." In contrast, those with quirks were specially made-containers meant to hold certain things. Because of that, they were great at what they were designed for, and subpar at anything else.

"So, they can train in it, it'll just take too long to make any use of it?" If Shizune was right in her estimation, then for someone like Hawks to become as proficient as he was after a single year, he'll have to dedicate 16 years, even if he started now, he would only be as good as Izuku by his early 40s. And that didn't take into account that Izuku had 4 years' worth of training under his belt when it came to tenet.

"Yup, if you flimsy humans had longer lifespans, then we can take but since it takes mastering sage mode to slow down the ageing process to begin with, you can see the dilemma so many of your kind face." Shizune bemoaned how short a human lifespan was on average. Sure, older folk tended to be a riot to either mess with, or speak with, but they were far from their prime and couldn't entertain them in ways a younger one could.

"Slowed ageing?" He knew about that part, at least partially as he was taught early on that even just a novice who achieved a gold belt was at the stage where their bodies would naturally be tougher for longer. But he didn't think that it slowed down the ageing process itself.

"Yes, tenet users typically enjoy a passive ability of cell rejuvenation. You can't regrow limbs and you can still die, but you'll find that the aging process is decreased." They waved that off, much to his surprise.

"And this is taken to new levels with sage mode?" He asked, seeing another reason that people before him would have sought out this power.

"Yup," Shizune nodded. "Once you reach your peak, which I'm told is 30-35, you'll find yourself staying for decades. Just look at the girl you call master, how old do does she appear to you?" They asked him, putting him on the spot as he stopped to think about it. She didn't look like a spring chicken, that was for sure, but she was far from an old hen either.

"Early, maybe mid-30s." If he had to compare her, she looked like she could have known people like Present Mic and Midnight, or at least attended high school a couple of years before they did.

"And how old do you think she is, and no," Shizune asked, raising a paw to stop him before he could respond. "No nonsense about it being rude to think about a woman's age." Closing his mouth, he thought about the question.

Sure, she looked to be in her 30s, but that wouldn't line up with what he had seen in his time under her tutelage. Not only was she referred to as the founder of the sanctuary, an institution that was 50 years old, but she had students far older them him, people in their late 30s who spoke of her as if she raised them, or was someone who was in their lives since childhood. There was how she walked, how she moved in most spaces as he had seen Bakugo enough to know when someone walked as if they believed they owned whatever room they were in. But with her, he saw what it looked like when someone did own the room, not just through power, but experience and wisdom that could only come from age.

Then there were the times when she would reference events and people from decades ago, such as when she mentioned a hero who had retired over 30 years ago or a celebrity that hadn't been considered 'dream boat' material for the better part of a quarter century. She preferred to watch older entertainment, stuff that couldn't even be found on TV and needed to be brought on niche websites, saw modern games as 'boring' whenever brought up and enjoyed 'classics', stuff so old that one needed to play them on PC as no console made in the past 40 years could support it.

"You're going to do that a lot, aren't you?" Shizune spoke up, interrupting his mutter storm he blushed, looking away as he couldn't believe he did that before a youkai. "No answer the question."

After another moment of thought, he said his answer. "Late 60s."

"Wrong, if I'm remembering things right, that little girl is around 95." His eyes almost fell out of his head at that, that couldn't be right, even if tenet, he knew users in the sanctuary in their mid-80s who very much looked to be in their late 40s.

"9-9-95?!"

"Yes, little human. She's quite old enough to be your great-grandmother. Hope you weren't thinking about asking her out on a date." Shizune poked fun at him as they might not be human, but they knew enough about them to know that their little student was quite the catch, the cat-like features only made it all the better.

Izuku didn't fall for that though, even as he collected himself after learning that detail about her age which he swore to never bring up he ran the risk of losing his head. "I wasn't."

"How boring," Shizune pouted, they'll have to try harder to make him flounder, how else were they supposed to get their entertainment from him in between brutal training sessions? "But anyway, you can see how mastering the sage arts has helped her then."

"Yes, but how does this relate to actual sage training?" Izuku asked.

"To answer that, you need to know what sage mode is." Shizune started to explain as they drew what looked to be a human body in the dirt, one that had a little box shape in its chest.

"Normally, whether you have a quirk or not, you create your tenet energy as a living being. Training such as the one you've been through can be used to increase one's standard amount, increase the size of the container, and strengthen the body to allow it to use greater amounts of tenet without injury." They tapped the box, seeing that he was following along well enough.

"Sage mode is taking tenet from your surroundings and mixing that with your own, giving you access to power that no single person could ever hope to create on their own." They added to the drawings squiggly lines moving towards the container, which now looked to be both larger and filled to the brim.

"It's taking from the creatures and lifeforms around you?" Izuku didn't know how he felt about that, essentially stealing the life force of others to empower one's self was the most villainous thing he could think of. He wished to achieve his goals and make a better world, but he didn't want to stoop to such levels to do it, he refused to.

"In a way, all things naturally leak out tenet, unless they're trained like yourself and most of the other humans under the girl's care, it will always leak out of you. Same with plants and animals. To use Sage is to access that wasted tenet and pull it into your own body." Shizune informed him, lessening his concerns about the ethical ramifications of it.

"Of course, this is heavily dependent on what life can be found around you as while it can linger and even travel in the air, areas with increased life like forests and cities were the best place to gather," Shizune added, to which he nodded as he made sense that a technique that drew on life needed life to function. However, the odds of him finding himself somewhere with none at all were slim to non-existent as what would a hero be doing in such a location.

"Is that why we're training here, because of the abundance of life?" That would make sense, but Shizune didn't immediately confirm it.

"Yes and no," He looked back at them, eager to hear their reasoning. "There are plenty of living things here, sure, but it's also easier to learn Sage mode in the spirit world as you humans call it. If I were to train you in the human world, it could take us easily 4 times as long and I don't feel like using over 2 years of my time for humans that almost always fail to become sages."

"I don't have 2 years to use to train." He decided to focus on what he could understand, and focus on the spirit world stuff later.

"Then we're on the same page, human." Shizune wasn't in the mood to explain it to him. If he wanted to learn, he could do it on his own time with one of the other cats that lived here. "As for the training that goes into sage mode, it builds on the ideas that created the five training levels of tenet itself." They wiped away their drawing in the dirt, their eyes turning to him.

"Why don't you explain what those are and how you understand them in this new context." They didn't ask, they ordered. Knowing that this was another test of his knowledge, he wouldn't back down even if he was concerned that he might get some stuff wrong.

"Because everything is always leaking out tenet, and it takes time for it to reform even with training, the first thing we're taught is Mōfu. This allows us to open all 261 tenet points on the body to allow for even and quick distribution of tenet which would otherwise leak out randomly." He explained, with Shizune nodding as he went along but he couldn't be sure if that was due to them agreeing with him or just pushing him to continue.

"The next part is learning how to control the flow of your tenet and keep it around yourself for your use, this is what causes those who train with it to be able to maintain healthy cells and promote accelerated cell growth. Granting increased healing and stamina even if you're older." He knew that a lot of people stopped there, as while they couldn't do nearly as much, the boost to their immune system, stamina and physical appearance was enough.

"The next would be Osaeru," He began, trying to word it as well as he could. "While learning how to control the flow of your tenet is all fine and good. That doesn't eliminate the fact that it's still traceable. It might be a bit harder, but it can be done which is why learning how to stop the flow of your tenet entirely can mean the difference between victory and defeat. It also has the added benefit of increasing fatigue recovery and healing." That was why it could be a challenge to even notice that a tenet user was in a room.

It had its downsides as they'll still be seen. And if someone was already tracking you, they'll notice you vanishing and just get more alert to try and find you again. It also meant that you couldn't use or detect tenet which left you a sitting duck. "I see it like how in some games, the player character just needs to stop taking damage and find somewhere to rest for a big to regain stamina and health."

"Weird way to put it, but not inaccurate." Shizune chuckled at that but otherwise didn't stop him.

"The third training form would be Shūchū," Izuku continued, thinking of those days when he reached it. "When you get to this level, you take what you learned in the first two and expand on it, learning how to more accurately direct and control your tenet energy. Not just stopping its flow, or keeping it around yourself as an invisible blanket." The master compared it to learning how to stand, and then how to walk, with the 3rd step being how to run, even on uneven surfaces.

"The master had us train with it by placing a seed on our foreheads and instructing that we concentrate on sending our tenet into it. Too fast and the seed dies, too slow and the flower that forms will be deformed and small. The key is in control, finding the right amount and learning how to keep it there." He smiled as he recalled when he went through it. a sunflower growing on his forehead was one of the funniest things he'd ever seen.

After that, she told him and those who were training with him to continue to do it, while carrying out tasks such as chores and answering random questions, teaching them parrilla processing as they couldn't take the time to constantly focus on it, it had to be something near instinctual much like running as no-one does it while thinking about how they'll move their muscles and retain balance.

"The last of the four basics would be Senren, which is when we…I was trained to increase the output of my tenet energy to explosive levels, greatly amplifying base strength and durability. It also serves as training to increase how much tenet one can generate and hold." If the others were considered to be blanket, this was a sword as while it boasted defense, it was better used in offence as he did when he ripped out that villain's eye, as he allowed him to pierce through its murky, slime body and effortlessly snatch its organ.

"Those are the basics, things that anyone that wishes to train in tenet needs to learn and eventually master." Shizune nodded, pleased that he managed to understand all four steps. As they observed him again, they could tell that he was well versed in that, as his tenet wrapped around his entire body like a blanket, without any conscious thought from him. He also had far more than most humans did, if they had to rate it, she'd say at this stage, the boy had a High C-category.

It wasn't the highest they had worked with, being below the average, but considering all those before him as people in their mid to late 20s, it was quite impressive.

"However, because sage mode at the end of the day, is an augmentation to what you already know, it means nothing to someone who isn't proficient in the 5 basic skills of tenet." They didn't want him to have any delusions of what Sage mode was. At its core, it was a bower buff.

Izuku thought they'd be more, and looking at Shizune's grin, he suspected that there was but they simply weren't telling him. But as he couldn't force them to talk even if he wanted to, he just went along with it. "I can only use 3 of them at the moment, but I was learning from a friend how to use the 4th."

"Those being?"

"Nezumito, Hyōjutsu and Yukitora." Izuku answered with his three strongest in no particular order but developed a little red on his cheeks when he recalled the 4th. "My skills with Feline purr are…below subpar at the moment." Kyūfune was helping him with that, as while she wasn't the best, she had the most in-depth understanding of it, which he supposed made sense as she wished to be a doctor.

Shizune nodded, taking in what he said and while they would have liked for him to be proficient in all 5, 3 wasn't bad. With Nezumito, it was a boast to his 3 senses of sight, smell and hearing along with the bonus of a 6th sense which among other things, measured their strength from a distance, could detect the presence of others, pick up on emotions and core natures of people and even detect intention. Of course, that was all things that needed to be gained through hard work and training but she knew enough about the boy to know he could track presence, emotions and strength. They also know that he could use the more advanced form of Húxū which was necessary for him to have reached the belt he now had.

Hyōjutsu was simply, the art of using tenet to augment one's speed, acrobatics and agility to be more like a cat's, the superior if you asked them. It could be used to flood their muscles, veins and bones with tenet for a momentary increase in speed to cover short distances so fast one could assume you teleported, which worked best when avoiding an attack; another use would be when the user focuses a fixed amount of tenet to the bottom of their feet, or any other body part really and stick to practical any surface they wish, from walls to even ceilings. They liked that one the most as screwing with humans by appearing upside never stopped being amusing; the third use come from using what the second did, but to another level and walking on water, making it so that no stream, river or lake could keep you from your pray; the last one would be flooding their entire bodies with a controlled, continued flow of tenet to boast their speed, reaction time, reflexes and acrobatic ability to superhuman levels.

The third one, Yukitora was the most direct one for combat, even if with other two helped as that was the skill of coating parts of, the entire body or objects in your procession with tenet to augment their durability and power. It was also the only one that was 'visible' to others who could interact with tenet, with the color being entirely dependent on the person. It was also the skill that took the idea of Senren and applied that to others, mainly inanimate objects, which could be used to cause tremendous internal damage, or just cause the object's structural integrity to utterly fail and…well, explode.

"But with what you said about the training methods, they'll all be correct and crucial to learning Sage mode," Izuku asked.

"As we established, tenet is typically made inside the body, but Sage mode draws on tenet from outside the body." They tapped his belly with her claw, which they had extended before he could even realize it.

"So, training must first begin with the container, your body as we need to both increase its capacity and strength, else you'll just leak out all that excess tenet at best." He didn't like how that sounded.

"And at worst?" Shizune merely smiled at his discomfort.

"You'll die a very painful death." They had seen it once before, with the 4th trainee if they were recalling things right. They had tried to force it early when they weren't paying attention and by the time Shizune had arrived to help, they were already convulsing on the floor as their body tried and failed to handle the influx of tenet before they died. A shame really, Shizune liked their jokes.

"What will this training include then?" Izuku gulped.

"First, I'm going to place a seal on you, which will block your use of tenet. Then I'll train your body into the ground, breaking you down and building you back up so that physically, you can handle the power." Shizune waved her paw about, and in it, appeared a small paper seal with the kanji for 'seal' written on it but they didn't do anything else with it.

Waving their paw again, the seal vanished. "If you survive that part, we'll move on to the next which will take what you learned in Senren and crack it up a notch. Increasing the 'size' of your tenet points, your body's tolerance for it, and the size of your tenet container."

"That…doesn't sound too bad," Izuku stated, to which they smiled at him like he was a naïve child about to be humbled in the worst possible way.

"That's what they all say, and just like them, you'll curse my name before pleading for even the smallest mercy in less than a month," They got up and walked closer to him, looking down at him in a way that blocked the sun, casting him in their shadow where he could only focus on their eyes. "That I can promise you"

Chapter 8: Lingering Burns

Toshinori sighed as he relaxed into his seat, alone for the first time that day as he sat inside his apartment that wasn't too far from Might Tower. Despite being the number one and earning millions a month from hero work and sponsorships, he neither lived in one of those high-end lofts that celebrities and big-time CEOs lived in nor was his place filled with furniture and fine arts where just one piece cost more than the average person made in a year. Granted, the rent was 450,000 a month, but that was more for the location and he could accept that if it meant he was close to work.

All in all, the home of the top hero in the country, and the Symbol of Peace…was remarkably average, which on some levels he supposed spoke to just how little time he spent there as other than sleeping and breakfast and dinner, he was almost ways out, so why bother hiring a decorator?

Still, it was a change from his old apartment which while much the same in terms of furniture and style, was even closer to work and people knew he lived there, which in his early days, he didn't mind. The building security kept the press and fans at bay, and it was always nice to wake up before a shift and see how many people he was helping, seeing how happy and safe they felt just by his presence.

But, feeling the grievous injury on his side, he recalled that he moved to help keep his secret as people would suspect something if they saw both him in his hero form, and his weakened form coming and going. So, he said that he was moving house, but never said to where. Then a couple of days later, he signed a new lease and made sure that he was never seen as All Might anywhere close, which meant that Yagi Toshinori could come and go as he pleased. It helped that the area was still home to many other heroes who respected one another's privacy so no one talked with the press which was a Godsend.

"He was the one, a worthy successor." He thought aloud, as he recalled his first encounter with him. How passionate he sounded, and how offended he was with his words. He had wished that he could have said something better, but he had believed those words to be the right ones.

"If only things weren't so complicated." He groaned, covering his face with his bony hand, as the boy had made his feelings for him clear, which he couldn't fault him for. After the fire was also a terrible time to bring it up. He had some doubts that the boy was too…angry to take his quirk, not to say that he wasn't passionate about heroes, and what they meant. His passion reminded him of his own, that he didn't become a symbol just to pretend but to do actual good in the world.

But that also came with a deep-seated resentment, a fire that seemed to burn bright within him, and he feared it would burn anyone who got too close. Those concerns were lowered through conversations with the locals and survivors of the fire that painted a cruel, but also hopeful message for him. Hopeful in that by their word, which he was inclined to trust, young Izuku as they referred to him, came with the rest of the volunteers bi-weekly and helped out the best they could, distributing food and other supplies, offering free medical assistance and just doing all that they could to help, a notion that made the old pro smile as he couldn't think of a better example of true heroism at work.

That only became stronger as they were clear that they called the fire brigade first, and got less than acceptable results, which made the man frown, as they only called them back after the fact, to which they rushed back and managed to take control of the situation, organising a rescue effort while getting a fire suppression group started. Because of that, he was sure that many lives that would have been lost that day had been saved, including 4 of the perpetrators who would live to face justice for their crimes in court. Izuku had gone far and beyond even that and saved a child and several others even if that meant jumping out of a 4th floor, with his only concern upon landing being that the boy was safe.

But then he also recalled the cruelty of the situation. From how villains had managed to cause so much harm, to how the fire department had taken far too long to arrive, how others didn't bother to show up till they saw the number one racing towards the area like parasites. He remembered in shame how he only decided to head on over when he realized that others hadn't, which meant people perished and why he took a bath of all things. If he had only been more proactive if he had just…

He shouldn't think of that, Nezu had already been clear with him that he couldn't have known that other heroes, people whose job was protecting people and saving lives would be so dismissive of the lives of people for something as meaningless as their quirk status. But…he couldn't help but feel guilt. Was he so disconnected that he never noticed their bigotry? Or did they always hide it when he was around? He didn't know and was afraid of the answer.

He could only take some solace in the fact he gave a few of the heroes who had only arrived to mooch off his fame a very public dressing down. As far as he was concerned, if you couldn't work to serve everyone, then you didn't get to save anyone. If he could, he would have had their licenses suspected, but he wasn't the HPSC and they had been quiet about the whole thing. At the very least the fire chief had been sacked after the fact that that was something that Naomasa did something about.

But it all felt like hollow comfort as by the time he had managed to arrive, the blaze was well and truly raging and had been for some time. He managed to pull 40 people from it, but there were many more who were already gone, people he had failed. It was only after that experience that he saw Midoriya again, and just like when they last spoke, his eyes spoke of an anger, one born from a deep-seated betrayal, a wound that had never been allowed to properly heal. None of which he would blame him for, as almost a week since the fire, the numbers of casualties were grim.

Of the living, 128 were injured, necessitating that they be sent to several hospitals to get the treatment they needed, 26 more of those who failed had perished en route to the hospital, or while in hospital as was the extent of their injuries. Such would have been bad enough, but that nothing compared to those lost as 143 had been killed in the fire, of which 67 were children no older than, innocent souls that had their entire lives ahead…snuffed out, and he couldn't help but think back to Midoriya's words to him and feel like he was a hypocrite. He wasn't there for them, he wasn't there to save them, and his presence didn't inspire other heroes to act either and because of that, they all lost their lives.

Feeling the tears of guilt, anger and frustration form, he quickly wiped them away as he forced himself to continue, he wouldn't run from this, he didn't deserve to run from it.

Instead, he had remained as long as he could before he left, promising as much aid as he and his agency could provide. The next day, he was back to help, and the next day, the day after that. While he hated it, his continued trips and vocal defence led others to step in to help, or voice support while sending aide. The last person he expected to be on his side was the man who made his dislike of him clear, Endeavour. The flame hero was quick to send millions in aid, though if it was his personal finances or from his agency, he didn't know.

Hawks followed suit as while he didn't send truckloads of supplies, he was present with him after the first couple days, the rising star having flown from his usual stomping grounds in Kyushu to help and he was pretty good, better than him as while the locals were as weary of him as they were the police, Hawks was able to ingrain himself with them in ways he couldn't as if the young man could speak to them on the same wavelength.

With their backing, he had managed to convince the rest of the top ten to release a joint statement about the disaster, stating their support for the people, intentions to continue to supply aid, and making their feelings on the response from the local police, EMTs and fire-fighters clear and use them as an example to the rest of them to shape up…

At least, that was what they wanted to do, but they had been…dissuaded from this by the commission President who didn't want to 'ruffle too many feathers' or 'spread needless panic and concern by directing so much attention to a single tragedy'. It was all flowery language, and he hated it all the same. So, they had to come to a dissatisfying compromise. To avoid causing internal conflict, they only got to release a watered-down version of the original statement with just the first two statements summarized and numbers left off of it.

At the very least, even with their statement curtailed, he was proud to see that the other top ten heroes had been stepping up as they all agreed, spending time there themselves and helping, assigning their side-kicks to assist in keeping the peace which led to a lot of arrests from an area where villains had gotten comfortable operating in since heroes rarely ventured in. Those that couldn't for one reason or another stuck with donating money, food, water and other supplies.

'I would be better if the press wasn't so determined to get something to report.' He thought to himself as so many of the top ten being in the same place consistently drew attention, and while the press had been there once to talk about the disaster for a day or two before moving in, now they were there to stalk them, taking pictures and yelling questions or requests for interviews as if they had time for that! it didn't help that so many seemed less interested in why they were there, and more in who they were. As if the suffering of the victims didn't matter when one could talk about what Mirko or Crust were doing.

It got so bad after just a week that he was surprised that Mirko didn't send them flying, but she did have more self-control than most gave her credit for. It was Endeavour that he worried about as the man was rarely there, and when he was, they avoided him like the plague. All in all, in just 2 weeks, they had managed to get almost 115 million in aid and food. Far from enough to repair the shelter or replace most of what was lost, but it was a solid start.

But it was those people from the… Kenmikoto Foundation if he was recalling things right, had been a far greater presence than he and the heroes combined and seemed to have an unending supply of food as they were the ones that managed to soup kitchens and always managed to serve hundreds of meals, 3 times a day. If the locals were weary, they were downright cagey and barely spoke with them. Not even the charismatic Hawks could get more of them than a respectful, but short conversation. He didn't like it, but he asked his friend to look into them as there weren't many groups that could be so hostile towards heroes unless they were connected to crimes.

Fortunately, from what Tsukauchi could find about them, it was all above board. They owned and operated a massive compound out of town, were largely self-sufficient and it was all owned by an eccentric multi-millionaire who also used the site to care for felines of all shapes and sizes.

Now, if only he could find the boy again as he hadn't seen him at all since the fire but according to a very tall woman he encountered, that was because he was out of town but the way she said it set off some alarm bells in his head. Still, he wanted to give the boy a chance and wait for him, but he knew he couldn't wait till the new school year started. He needed time to assess the physical readiness of his successor before giving them his quirk and preparing them if they weren't at that level yet. To that end, he had given himself a self-imposed time limit, if he wouldn't track the boy down in 4 months, which would leave him with 6 to handle training. If he can't do it by then, he'll hand it over to the young man that Nighteye recommended to him.

Bakugo was no stranger to anger; most days didn't go by without something triggering him. But most times it was small, nothing more than an annoyance, an event that he'd forget before he knew it. But as he went through his normal summer workout in the gym, striking a punching bag with as much force as he could muster, he could barely contain his fury as his red eyes burned, wishing to see the source of his ire be turned to dust, or more preferable, for him to get his hands on it and blow it to smithereens.

It might have been the middle of July, and summer break was on, but unlike those morons that wanted to waste time, he trained himself so that he could be in the best possible shape for the U.A. entrance exam. He knew he would get it, that was a foregone conclusion, but that didn't mean he didn't want to blow everyone out of the water. However, while he would normally be picturing himself breezing through whatever exam U.A. had, and leaving the awed extras praising his skills in his wake, all he could think about was that day, that mistake of a day!

As his fist slammed into the punching bag, he couldn't not see Deku, glaring at him after landing that fucking cheap shot! That was the only way he could have done that, no way a pebble-like Deku could have busted his nose otherwise. He didn't care that the weakling for suspended, that the rest of the extras couldn't stop making fun of him for it, all he could focus on was the humiliation of it all. He didn't need to hear the extras say it, he just knew in his bones they were laughing at him behind his back, whispering that he wasn't the greatest, lies!

All he wanted was to right such an inherent wrong by breaking every bone in Deku's fucking body, but with his suspension, he wasn't in school and when he went over to his house, the bastard was never there with his neighbours being as useless as him, saying that the moron was out from early morning to evening every day, leaving him no time to visit him and get his payback. But then when he finally thought he had an opening with the suspension up after 2 weeks, he waited outside the school gates for him…and waited…and waited.

His next strike hit even harder than others, followed by increasingly powerful blows that smacked into the dummy thanks to his ire-fueled state as he realized that the bastard had chickened out, he knew what was coming and decided to pull himself out of school. One of the extras asked why he wasn't there and apparently, his teacher called the school to inform them he wouldn't be attending school for a bit but didn't give a reason.

He knew the truth. Bastard knew he was screwed and decided to run! His fury increased as the days went by, turning into weeks with the semester ending with Deku never showing his face at school again. He got so sick of it that he left his house near dinner, ignoring the old hag yelling where he was going to teach the asshole a lesson in his own home. Imagine the surprise and rage when he gets there, to find no one. He didn't know where he was, he didn't know when he'd get back, he didn't even know the name of this teacher so he could demand they tell him. So he was stuck, unable to correct this cosmic injustice for who knew how long, knowing that bastard, he could have booked it just so that he could claim he was the first person to make him bleed and get away like the deceitful coward he was!

Going back to his apartment complex, he tried to question the rest of them for information and got nothing of value, one person told him that Deku hadn't been seen since close to the end of May, having packed a small bag and left. When pressed, the extra didn't just do what he said and despite being an old fucker who had to be in their 80s, either was too senile to understand his greatness or was as blind as they were old as they told him to get lost before he called the cops. All this only made him angrier as he now had reason to think that Deku wasn't sick at all and that he was up to something every time he was pulled from school, but on what, he didn't know.

His fury reached a fever pitch as he smacked the punching bag, hitting it with a powerful explosion that didn't so much send it off its hooks, but turned the dummy into a pile of burnt leather and filling. The door to the private room was ripped open after that.

"What the hell did I say about the explosions? If you're gonna keep breaking my shit, I'll ban you from my gym, you punk!" The owner of the gym, a dark-skinned dwarf of a man yelled at him.

"Whatever you old fart." He said over his shoulder as he went to the side of the room to collect one of the spare dummies he kept around.

"The hell you say for me? Just for that, I'll be charging you double for it!" The man yelled back at him before slamming the door shut.

"Bastard." He wouldn't have thought him serious if he hadn't already done that, which only made the old hag all the unbearable when she yelled about the charge against her card. If this wasn't the only gym in town that could handle him, he would have left. If that asshole of a gym leader was an Olympic power lifter that could pick up a car over his head and tear it two, he would have flipped the man off.

But like with Deku getting that cheap shot on him, the universe seemed to be in a mood to screw with him.

Finishing up his set, he showered and changed into his street clothes before leaving the place, the sun wasn't setting yet, but he had some studying to do as a well-trained body meant nothing if he wasn't the smartest one in U.A.'s upcoming freshmen class. Passing by the shopping district, he saw the news and to his disgust, they were still talking about that fire and how the fund set up by All Might and Endeavour had raised another 12 million for the survivors of it. The newscaster was way too happy about it but of course, Endeavour was involved, his agency always got involved when fire-related shit happens.

With All Might, he couldn't understand it as he would get more done chasing down villains. "Poor bastards." Someone close to him muttered, watching the news report much like he was.

"They should have seen it coming, you heard the news, that place was crawling with criminals." Another wrote them off, which he agreed with.

"Yeah, they should have moved when they had the chance. Now we have to worry about helping them rebuild. How do we know money isn't being stolen by villains?" A mother asked, her hand keeping her young brat close to her.

"Till they can prove it's not being used by invalids; they aren't seeing a dime of my money." Bakugo glanced at the man and figured that he didn't have the cash to give, but decided that he didn't have the energy or interest to speak so he just left. Hopefully, he wouldn't have to hear about that shitty fire again when he got home.

"They're what?" Kyūfune asked her friend, the two seated across from one another in the dinner hall of the sanctuary.

It was pretty late, close to the dinner ball but there were still a few dozen people inside, talking or just relaxing after a hard day's work in the summer sun. "The Hero Public Safety Commission is hosting a charity dinner, though it would be more fitting to call it a gala."

Her fellow mutant and close friend, Tauras Ayae repeated herself. "It's to commemorate the fact they've raised 186 million since the homes and lives of people were burned to the ground." Ayae was a black- and white-haired woman who kept her hair in a ponytail. She was tall, the second tallest woman in the sanctuary second only to her best friend as she came in at 2.31m. She was, however, the most muscular thanks to years of work in the fields and handling the larger cats like the lions.

Her mutant quick, called Bovine gave her the physical characteristics of a cow, more accurately a bull such as a large pair of horns, cow ears and tail, and altering her legs to resemble those of a cow, complete with hooves instead of feet and fur that went up to her mid-thighs. It also had the annoyance of giving her the largest bust of any of the girls since she was technically a cow, and cows were known for their milk which has led to her beating the snot of more than a few perverts who made comments about it as while she looked like a cow, she also had the strength of one. Under each eye, she had thick black stripes.

Her clothing consists of nothing but ripped overalls, a large black shirt underneath and a pair of workers gloves. She also wears a "cowbell" around her neck as to her, if she was gonna be a cow, she might as well enjoy it.

"How is that worth celebrating? I saw the quotes for labour and materials, even if chose the cheapest options for both, which I know we won't, that's not even a 7th of what we'll need to rebuild just the shelter." Kyūfune responded, offended that anyone would think such a low amount was worth celebrating to which, Ayae raised her hands in surrender.

"Hey, I'm not happy about it either, it's more for those on top to feel good about themselves. And frankly, getting over 100 million in donations for dregs of society like is an achievement." That knocked the wind out of Kyūfune's sails as she hated it, but understood it as people barely acknowledge them in the first place, no doubt most of those who donated were people who just wanted that good feeling and nothing else and had no intention of giving more than the bare minimum one time.

And after 2 months, most of those people had been filtered out as the donations slowed down and the heroes that had flocked to help all returned to their usual stuff. It wasn't even a week after Endeavour left that the news focused on his latest arrest, with their story being nearly forgotten. "I know, but…"

"Yeah." Ayae gave her a copy of the basic rundown of the monthly donations, separated into heroes and the general population. To her expectant dismay, she saw that pros and their donations had risen around 15% since last month, but with everyone else, they had gone down 40%. If this doesn't stop, they'll run dry on donations in just a couple of months.

Looking back to the cowgirl, she saw that while angry over it, she was resigned to it, as how could they have expected anything else from a world that saw them as freaks? In an attempt to hide how much she wanted to throw a boulder; she just shrugged her shoulders. "It was thanks to All Might that we had any goodwill with the sheep. But even he can't keep up in the spotlight forever."

No fire, no matter how bad, was going to change that most of those early donations were one-time things, less for them and more for the feeling it gave those who donated. Once they could think they weren't as shitty as some other guy, life moved on and they forgot about them.

"Is that why the master even agreed to this meet with them?" Kyūfune asked, referring to the commission representative who had arrived a short while ago and requested to speak with her. They would have normally turned him away, as they had no allegiance to the commission but the master had met with him and allowed him entry, as to why? None of them knew.

"I can bet you 20K that the pros will milk this for some additional good press, help get them up there in the rankings." Ayae waved her finger around.

"But why, she hates these kinds of pony shows as much as the rest of us?" The fox woman asked, as their master was not one for pointless actions, or dog and pony shows. Surely, she saw through this, why even entertain it?

Ayae shrugged. "You'll guess is as good as mine. Either way, I heard it'll be held in a week."

"I refuse."

"Ms. Kenmikoto, please take some time to think this through."

The three were in her office, the master of the sanctuary lounging on one of the sofas while her guest sat opposite her. His assistant standing behind the sofa with her back straight and arms behind her back. She seemed like a professional little girl, but Kenmikoto would trust her tigers over the little girl anyway. Both beasts at her side with one resting on the sofa with her, its head on her lap while the other lay at her feet.

"I don't need any more time than what I already wasted." She repeated, both bored and irritated by this conversation. "I don't even know why I even allowed you into my lands but I'll repeat it. I won't be attending your farce of a gala, nor will I be sending a representative of myself or my people." She told him, having heard the sleep-deprived man's sakes pitch and been as interested in that as she was in jumping off a cliff.

Mera Yokumiru didn't let up, he had been sent to ensure she would attend and he wouldn't fail, even if he had no clue why Madam President was so insistent a feline-loving recluse should be there. "But it would be a great opportunity for you to garner additional support."

She cut him off with a hand wave. Her eyes locked onto him, he felt as if his skin was burning under her amber gaze. "The support has died and been buried, don't insult my intelligence by saying otherwise, boy." Again with the boy, she barely looked older than him, when did she get off calling them like she was his grandmother?

"Besides," She reached for a drink, downing it in a single go before slamming the empty glass onto the table. "I know for a fact that the commission doesn't give a rat's ass for any of this, if they didn't, they wouldn't have been so quick to squash out attempts to bring attention to how inept the police and firefighters were."

That, he knew of and it had been part of the reason he told madam president that the woman would be less than thrilled to accept their invitation.

"You know that it wouldn't have helped anyone if you dragged their names through the mud," Mera replied say what you will about him, he wasn't going to threaten the peace with ultimately meaningless noise. Make no mistake, the Raxus fire was a tragedy, but one that didn't warrant further unrest and possible harm when it could handled quietly.

"I'll let you believe whatever lies you wish, I'm not your mother." She poured herself another drink, her patience for this man running thin as she mused sicking Ruby and Saphire on them…

No…it wouldn't be worth the paperwork.

Her careless tone finally got the man's assistant to act. "Show some respect, you're speaking to-!" Only for Ruby, the tiger on its master's lap to growl at her. Leaning back in his seat, Mera saw that the other beast was also up, its eyes focused on them in a way akin to a fat man's when they entered an all-you-can-eat buffet. Looking back at the woman, she barely seemed to care her massive predators were acting aggressively towards them.

He might not like her, but he didn't know enough about her to make any serious decision, only that whoever she was, she was important enough to be on Madam President's radar, which either meant she was a high-value asset or a dangerous piece that needed to be kept in check.

"Ruby, calm," Kenmikoto stated, with the tiger obeying without delay, returning to rest its head on her lap while the other one went back to rest. "Apologies for her, they can't help themselves you see, they just love snacking on rats between meals." Neither felt any real regret in her words.

Mera, calming himself tried to regain the initiative. "It's not wise to threaten government officials, that could see you imprisoned." Only to be met with a lazy smile as the woman took a sip of her drink, her guest not having touched their own.

"Where's the threat, I merely stated a fact that my tigers love rodents. Are any of you rodents?" His eyes narrowed at her, seeing her game for what it was. "If you see yourself as that, that is your interpretation of my words, nothing more." He had so many questions about her, who was she? Why did the president insist that she or something in her name attend? Why could she say such things without so much as flinching?

He didn't know it, but while his poker face was pretty good, it was useless against someone who could pick on emotions as Kenmikoto giggled, sensing his frustrations, confusion and fear of her. "Don't feel so bad, little by. I've been at this game long enough that I was a master of it when your parents were still in diapers." He looked at her like she was insane, but in a world of quirks, was it that impossible for a woman her age to still look as fine as she did?

"…What can I offer you to make you agree? If it's money, then we can work something out." He gave up, if he couldn't convince or coerce her to agree, then he'd just have to pay her.

"Oh, interesting…very interesting," Hearing that he would go so far, Kenmikoto sat on that for a moment as before, she believed that she was being asked to attend just for the PR, but she knew how the HPSC operated, they wouldn't go this far something as trivial as good PR. No, there was something else going on, something that the president needed her to something in her stead to be present for.

"Is your madam president upset? I can't imagine she would authorise this if she wasn't." Mera didn't answer, as he had already lost this battle, he could at the least minimise what she could get out of him, though he didn't know how she was.

"Oh, now you're silent, but that is an answer in of itself," Kenmikoto stated as flippantly as one would state the weather. "Still, money would be a boost to our efforts as my wealth alone, while vast, isn't infinite." She thought about it before reaching into her coat and pulling out a small notepad and pen. Opening it, she quickly wrote down something, tore the paper out, folded it and passed it to him.

"This much." He picked up the folded note and opened it, to which both Mera and his assistant's eyes nearly shot out of their heads at the number of zeroes she had put onto it.

"You're crazy, where the hell do you think we could find this kind of cash? The commission doesn't have such funds just lying around!" He yelled at her, nearly jumping to his feet if not for the ever-present threat of being mauled to death by a crazy cat lady's tigers.

Taking a snip of her drink, her smile made his chill rush down his back. "I'm sure that you'll be more than able to, after all the commission does keep assets aside for rainy days, doesn't it?"

Hearing that, he felt his heart skip a beat as he locked eyes with her. If this was anyone else, he would just assume they were referring to spare funds that agencies typically kept for emergencies, but that smile, those amber eyes that whispered that they knew something he didn't-they told him that she knew something that few others did. Not even his assistant was privy to such as she just looked on confused at his reaction.

"…You're playing a dangerous game, Kenmikoto Teitora." He muttered, beginning to understand why Madam President wanted to keep this woman inactive. It wasn't just her power and eccentric tastes, but she knew things that could destroy hero society.

At his warning, she laughed and leaned back into her seat, treating it as her throne. "I work and sleep in rooms that have two Siberian tigers in them at all times. The only times they aren't present is when I'm in the mood for some fun," Both blushed at the implication, but she didn't care as she was old, sure but that didn't mean she didn't have the same…need for scratches that they had. "Besides, remember what I said, I've been at this game longer than you've been on this earth. Danger is just another part of my life."

"You'll get your money, but you better keep your end of the deal," Mera told her as he got up, wanting to just leave with whatever dignity he still had left.

"In this world, what is a woman if not the strength of her word." She stated, enjoying her victory over him even if she had known this was a foregone conclusion from the moment he stepped into her office. "I'll be there, it'll be fun to see this president of yours up close for myself."

With the two walking off, she couldn't resist one last dig at them as she got up from her sofa to walk back to her desk. "Have a good evening now, children. Don't talk to strangers on the way home!"

Once more, this triggered the assistant who turned to yell at her. Whatever that was remained unsaid as at that moment, a house seemed to appear out of nowhere at her feet, hissing at the pant-suit-wearing villain which scared the hell out of her.

"What tha! How many cats are there?" She looked around, but her eyes went up to the ceiling where she and Mera made out at least half a dozen pairs of narrow, cat eyes watching them, the orbs reflecting the light at them.

"It's a sanctuary that cares for felines," Kenmikoto spoke up, her smile ominous. "They're everywhere, and they see and hear everything." With that, both quickly left, wanting to put as much distance between them and this cat-infested place as they could, even if that meant driving down that terrible mountain road that did his car no favours.

Turning to her pets as she took her seat at her desk, she asked them a question. "What do you boys think, is he upset that he hasn't got laid in a while?" Both seemed to find the question amusing that they could tell that man was overworked, maybe if he was more laid back…nay, not her type.

"And that was the meat of the meeting, we need the money, they'll willing to pay out the nose for us." Kenmikoto relayed all of this to her hands and Kyūfune whom she had summoned. Of course, she left out that last bit.

"But master," One of them, a small woman with a mutant-type quirk that turned her into a harpy, Ozama was her name asked her. "Who will you bring with you? You can't be thinking of attending by yourself." She hummed, turning the invitation that the commission agent had left hind in her hand.

"Oh relax, Ozawa. I already have someone in mind." She turned her attention to the tallest person in the room, which made a certain Somone blush.

"Me?!" Kyūfune squeaked out as Kenmikoto gave her an amused smile and nodded.

However, that smile faded into a stern frown. "You've been neglecting your studies, young lady. Been working in the fields far more than you're supposed to. This will do some good for you." Kyūfune looked a little ashamed by that, as the woman could admit that she had been helping them gather food and other supplies for Raxus far more than normal. Even if it was summer break, she still needed to study hard to ensure she maintained her grades else she could lose her spot at Tokyo U.

"I feel like you agreed for more than just one reason." Another of her hands, Stones was his name which fit his personality well enough. The man was built like a boulder and had a general attitude towards life of stubborn kindness.

She sighed, as she figured that at least one of them would catch onto what she wanted. "A part of me is hoping that they act out of line, so I can smack them down a peg." The group groaned at that, what? She needed entertainment too! It wasn't like she was the one starting the incident, merely finishing it.

"Also, the letter said I couldn't bring any of the bigger cats with me as they 'dangerous predators I have no control over' which is some horseshit if I haven't heard it." The invite had been clear on that front, and she felt like it was the president trying to get one over her. It would be an event with some of the best pros in the country, would two tigers be that out of place?

"What will I even wear? I have nothing for an event that fancy!" Kyūfune asked, as the 19-year-old's wardrobe was to be put politely, practical. She didn't own a single dress, and just one suit for crying out loud!

"That can be easily fixed. We'll head to Tokyo in the morning and pick you out the best damn dress and shoes we can get." She got up from her desk, already planning where to go, and who to see. Oh, there was that one dressmaker who wasn't a bigot or an idiot, he'll be great for her.

Turning to the fox woman, she walked over to her and grabbed her arm, pulling her along as only a mother could. "And no, I won't let you argue with me, you should let your mother spoil her little fox from time to time."

"Mom!"