C14: A Pair Of Brother And Sister

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Jaku Hospital, deep beneath the location, 7:46 AM

In a large area filled with three floors with hundreds of vessels prepared for the growth of biological material inside. The number was split into batches of 10 per row, with pathway between each row and control panels in front of the vessels to let Doctor viewed the experiment inside. For the two floor below, purple masses of muscles and brains were growing, their erratic and spontaneous twitching confirmed their status as living being. From them, Mendel could make out the basic skeletal structure of wings growing from some specimen, in others the basic formation of ruminant stomach storing highly concentrated organic acids rather than bacteria and digestive microorganism. The sickly yellow of the nutrients-enriched fluids combined with the overtop lights installed in each vessels tainted the space in its putrid color, creating unease for any observer. The place was akin to a cradle for nature-defying machinations of building blocks upon blocks for replicable soldiers.

In that environment, Kyudai Garaki, was bringing with him Mendel, the girl whose eyes were looking at a specimen with multiple eyes and floating nerves looking back at her. Sensing the girl's curiosity, Kyudai decided on a whim to further explain the creation to her (he was looking for validation from his master's disciple). 

"Look here Mendel, this Nomu is made from the corpse of a multi-eyed quirk possessor. His eyes perform exceptionally well, outperforming the best record by a wide gap. I have modelled the body into that of a lurker with enhanced stealth and survivability. His eyes will be the cameras keeping watch of a location and his second quirk that I personally chosen, a data-transmission quirk will relay the sight into screens and monitors in another location. His skin is grafted with color cells similar to chameleons and his fingers are structured with the same grip as a gecko. He will serve his purpose when Master wakes up as portable cameras!!!"

Hyudai said, his tone clearly conveyed pride for his personal creation and his eyes filled with obsession for better improvements of his future experiements. Mendel was sure he had mistaken her eyes as that curiosity as the man spouted the entire paragraph spontaneously. He got it wrong though, what dwelled in her eyes was not a need to learn more of ... this abomination but rather pity and self-reflection. She still remembered that time as if it had just took place the day before.

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"Doctor, why don't I have a mommy?! The kids on the TV all have both a mommy and a daddy!"

A younger Mendel in a blue blouse asked in one of the study sessions under the doctor's care. Sitting on a metal table with its sharp corners grinded down to a smooth curve, the girl was curious about why the films she saw at Uncle Kurogiri's bar always showed a kid accompanying by 2 people, his mom and dad. Her brother had not cared enough to answer the question, his eyes averting from hers. He directed a pouting Mendel to the doctor, letting the man to talk about her birth. 

"Well you see, Mendel-chan, you do not have a mother in a dictionary definition. "

"What does that means Doctor-san? " 

The man, a younger Hyudai, was a great scientist. He had made a lot of discoveries in the field of Quirk Research and had been awarded a lot of medals and prizes for his contributions to the endeavor of finding an answer to Quirk appearance and their mechanism. But all had fallen apart when his theory, Quirk Singularity, entered the academic peer reviews. They discarded his paper as mere doomsday prediction, telling him that by publishing this theory, they were helping hand in ruining the newly founded peace after the costal war of 2168 against the Korean Revolutionary Army at the Tsushima Island.

He was not cruel enough to strip his peer off the peace to devote themselves to research, but he could not extinguish the ember of hatred for them. Why had his work been deemed in such a negative light? Why must it collect dust in the storage facility in Hiroshima, where the paper would not surface. That was the ignite agent for his later collab with AFO. He had dreamt of achieving greatness, and he had found it in serving AFO. So he found no problem to spoit the answer direcly with the tone of an academic, for her identity was high enough in his warped priority.

" Well, Mendel-chan, you are and artifical baby made using the genes of Master and another powerful female quirk user's egg. Your quirk has helped with my research and Master's improvement in health significantly. "

" What...???? I don't understand, can you explain it to me?"

Hyudai, realizing that he had spoiled the identity of the innocent girl without thinking, decided to stay shut despite countless attempts of pouting and emotionally driving him to spill the beans.

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She still remembered asking Shigaraki what the Doctor had meant for her to ball her eyes out hearing that she got no real mom and that dad only viewed her as a tolerable existence. She had gotten past the trauma of realizing of how fake, or rather, how similar she had been to the ones inside these vessels in front of her. Her quirk, an achievement of biologial prediction and enginnering with better muscles growth and density, denser bones and tougher joints in addition to improved cognitive ability, she realized much later on how engineered she had bene created. Her skin could be inherited from the unseen mother (possibly dead) and her lifespan, the Doctore had predicted to be normal or even longer than sone. The Doctor could have, no, had long forgotten the conversation about her birth, what etched themselves into his mind were his research and AFO.

The pair walked upward to the first floor, where only a singular vessel was situated with countless mechanicals readers and sensors monitoring the presence inside of the tube.

" Master is going to take a long time to perfect himself for the coming fight against All Moght. I have work to do so I will leave you be for a few minites. "

Hyudai said before rushing to one of the vessels beneath Mendel's feet. She could hear the sound of his soles grating on the metal stairs, his putty body straining itself in each step. That made her notice how much time had passed since her early years. Contemplating how the flow of time had eased the pain of knowledge, Mendel sat down on the cold floor, her blue eyes stared at the floating AFO in the vessel. It had been countless times already yet she could still find more similarities between her and the one before her eyes. From the chin to the sharp glares, from the hair color to the dialect, she realized how similar the two were when pitted against one another.

"" Hey, you are dirtying the floor. Leave now!"

" Sorry Doctor..."

The Doctor returned, at his shoes a small Nomu the size of a basketball with eyes taking half the surface area of its head, he looked like a horror plushie made for kids. The man saw Mendel sitting, her legs brought closer to her torso by her arms, and began kicking her out of his laboratory. He pulled her to the drop-off area then called forth the little Johny at his feet to transport her back. Gray foam covered her from head to to, getting into her moith and nostrils. She held her breath and closed her eyes, feeling a squeezing sensation across her skin. Afterward the foam dissipated, leaving her back at the bar.

" So you are back? How was the trip?"

Shigaraki, who was lying on the shared sofa and playing a game of castle building, asked his sister. He had heard of her footsteps from behind, her form creating an elongated shadow over the mat.

" Ah Mendel, you are early today. Did something happen?"

Kurogiri asked, his tone laced with worry of a guardian.

" Nothing, I just feel like returning early. And is there anything to do for the day, any task needing a helping hand or something along that line?"

" No, unfortunately, Young Master has decided to take care of today's load for you. He claimed not wanting to put off today work for tomorrow. You are late to the hunt, don't be sad. How about you ..."

Rang! Rang! Rang! Rang! Ran . " Can you please answer your phone Kurogiri? It has been ringing for the last minute. "

The man reached his smoking hand into his pants pocket, pulling out a folded phone and putting it near the eyes.

" Hey Kurogiri, I am sending over the requested info, I am planning to take a more forceful approach for the Meta Liberation Army and the Demihuman Association later on but jow it is just paperwork. Only then can more information be dug up. Can you send someone over to help and witness the whole thing. Can you? Please please please send someone who knows how to do paperwork, my back is killing me. Bye!"

The call was shut from the other side. Kurogiri could see an eager Mendle ready to help. His Young Master would be too busy for the day so the foggy man could only give the girl a little tracker under her ears before sending her near Giran's location, he had chosen a desolate alley where no one would report illegal quirk usage.

Mendel stepped through the portal, her eyes took no time getting familar with the darkness as it was the same intensity as the bar. She took off toward the officed where she and Shigaraki had entered in a bloody manner.

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" She left, Young Master, are you really following that plan od yours?"

" Yea, I am. You do not have to choose a side yet, so just turn a blind eye and open the portal to this location."

Shigaraki wrote on a page inside the shabby notebook on the coffe table in front of the sofa, then brought it onto the bar, showing Kurogiri. The latter sighed, his two glowing yellow eyes, always shifting due to turbelence, squinted and held the piece for a period of time. He sighed then opened up a portal to place. Oh how daring of his Young Master, he really tried to ursurp AFO, the gall, would need correction. But Kurogiri's role was that of a servant, the Young Master was lenient enough to not force him to choose which one to side with ( he doubted he could confidently make the choice).

Shigaraki thanked the bartender before leaving through the vortex, donning on himself a jacket covering his knifes and phone , leaving the bar alone with Kurogiri. The man began making himself a glass of gin tonic. Shaving ice into a ball with his dexterous hands, measuring the volume out of experience and mixing with a stainless steel spoon, he completed the drink in no time. Setting the final decoration, a slice of lime stucked on the side of the glass, Kurogiri thought to himself that he still had some more in him to make drinks, a hobby he had taken joy in regardless of the outcome.

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Shigaraki landed in Tokyo Metropolitian area in a secluded corner away from prying eyes. He looked around and was surprised to see a man, presumptively in his forties, in a trench coat unfitting for the heat this summer. The man, sensing his gaze, quickly approached him, standing directly in front of him, his size dwarfed Shigaraki's.

" Are you Shigaraki?"

"Yes, and you are unfamilar. What's your name? "

" Veritas, it is my name in the field. And about yours, I am curious whether or not you are from the place, or you have a quirk related to clay or pottery. "

The joke about the name stunned Shigaraki, he was not expecting this kind of atmosphere from a member of the yakuzas.

" Follow me then, Boss is waiting for your arrival. The trip is quite far"

Veritas guided the way, Shigaraki following after. The pair made their way onto a subway, the tickets bought by Veritas. Shigaraki appreciated this level of hoapitality for a client. The long journey, he could see the purpose of testing as checking whether or not the client truly wanted to have a conversation with the Boss and misdirecting any tails. The pair made their trip across Tokyo, visiting various shops and buying multiple items, Shigaraki could smell the signature of gunpowder mixed with glycerin when the packets were delivered in carry-away handbag before they were kept inside the all-biody trench coat.

" Thanks for keeping up with me in my shopping trip."

Veritas rubbed the back of his head, his simple face a small smile. Shigaraki was being taught a lot of things and he had no complaints for the knowledge. He silently took photos of the shops in the watching eyes of the security outside. It seemed Veritas was a regular customer with enough credibility to cover for him.

The man and the boy continued for another 15 minutes before reaching a shabby restaurant tucked in an inconspicuous location away from the main roads. The sun was already high above their heads, heating the air up to a barely bearable temperature.

" A hearty meal is a good place for a talk. Isn't it right Shigaraki-san?"

Veritas said, guiding the boy deeper inside the restaurant. Inside was the opposite of the place's appearance, neat, clean to the point of sterilization. What awaited the pair was a receptionist, her face plastered with a business smile.

" What can I help you with?"

" Room 469, we have got an arramgememt."

" Please head to the toilets and turn left, it is still the same. "

" Thanks. Here's the tip."

Veritas threw a stack of coins onto the desk, their designs different from the normal issued versions. After that, he took Shigaraki to a wall on the left of the toilets, his hand searching the wall for something. Finding the position, he tapped on the wall in a pattern he recognized was movements on a number pad. A silent moment passed before the door swung sideways akin to those in the pre-Quirk spy films. The two entered the space behind the wall to reach an elevator after passing through a maze.

" The signs are always there, you just need to learn them."

" Where are we?"

Shigaraki asked after they had settled inside the elevator. It was going downard, the music of a pop song played in the background.

" Have you ever visited the black markets here in Japan?"

" There are several?! Well, Father has only sent us to the European sites, he calls the markets here are akin to sewers where rats and rodents stay."

" Hahahaha... That's some what true. Well then, you are visiting the sewers now. Welcome ... to the Underbelly!"

The elevator doors opened to a wide area filled with production plants and shops with many people shopping and purchasing various legally questionable items. The atmosphere was peaceful, a strange thing in the villain world.

" After you then, Veritas-san"

Shigaraki said, his eyes observing the surreal scene in front of him. He was not ready for such a big surprise.

" Follow me then. Shigaraki-san"

Veritas said, bringing Shigaraki to the dwelling of organized crimes and contracts, a sewer full of rats and rodents hiding away from All Might.

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" Oi, a girl like you shouldn't be entering this building. Are yoh lost? The convenience store is over there!"

A bulky man stood in front of the doors outside the building Giran had bought entirely blocked Mendel's way, his index finger pointing at a 7-11 bear the crossroad a few houses away. The location was in close proximity to a few heros hero headquarters and police stations, following the motto " The most dangerous place is the safest place". The place had ample protection against any business opponents' attacks and the paper trail was clean, not informing anyone of the secret dealings inside. That worked extremely well the last time she broke into the place as seen from the lack of hero response to the bloodshed. Hearing the man's earnest guidance, she could not really fault the guy. His boss was an informant of the underworld, so a guest like her was unlikely.

" I come with a wine bottle, not a bullet."

The guard stepped aside hearing the password, his eyes wide opened at the fact that some girl managed to get the knowledge of it. From her expression of absolute neutrality, the guard knew he had stopped a client important to his boss's business. Seeing that the guard was about to bow down and apologise, Mendel spoke up first, her voice filled with understanding. "

" You don't need to apologise, my appearance is misleading, I know that so I am not that offended with your altitude."

Leaving the guard who was sighing in relief, Mendel walked up the stairs and along the hallway which had been a mess of blood and gore, now it was clean, professional with red carpet, mounted installations of statues and hanging paintings most people had not even heard the name of. She reached the oak door she had broken, pushed it open to enter a sea of paper stacks reaching a half of her knees. Carefully stepping around to avoid trambling on any important paper, she managed to weaved between the maze of paper stacks, finally reaching the desk. Giran was sprawling, his head faced down, leaving the grey hair for outsiders to poke at with their eyes.

" Giran-san, Kurogiri sent me, can you get up?"

Hearing the affirmation that the smoke man had sent reinforcement, Giran happily look up to see the girl who brought ruins to his previous arrangement. He was cursing at himself internally for not recognizing the voice but soothed himself arguing that it had been months since the heinous meeting. Seeing the silent Giran, Mendel decided to start apologizing for the ruin she had left behind.

" Giran-san, I am sorry ... for breaking into your place and hurting your men!"

She bowed down, her legs and back formed a 90 degrees angle. It seemed the apology worked as Giran got up and began asking her whether or not she was qualified. She replied, claiming that she had studied under a scientist to keep track of papers, doing grammar check and many more office works. Founding the resume strange but smart enough to shut up, he quickly brought back a chair for Mendel to sit beside him. He then picked up a stack from the floor then dropped it onto his desk.

" We needs to go through all of these. Your job is to read, categorize the information in each paper into uselesss data and helpful information and check for the authenticity of it. Let ... ME ... BRING ... IT! "

He pulled out a paper detailing the criteria of determining the value of information and its truthfulness, his experience and know-how concentrated down to a small notebook and the paper was copied from it.

Giran's eyes looked at the amount of stacks on the floors. He had just been sick for days from overworking for AFO and his assisstants had been missing for the whole week, so information had already piled up to this point. He began categorizing, reading and sorting them into different files and the rumors together with Mendel, a girl and a scary uncle doing the work for the entire morning with small discussion about some information falling into this or that category. The morning passed in relative peace, the floor had been cleaned off around a tenth of its papers and the two people were tired and hungry. The growling of Mendel's stomach protest stopped Giran's from continuing his portion of work. He looked at the wrist where a watch resided, 12:27 it read.

Giran's brain jolted with an inspiration that was worthy of his fame for knowing the right kinds of people.

" Hey kid, do you want to go and get lunch? I will pay for your portion as a thank you. It will not be taken away from the payment I signed with Kurogiri."

Not feeling her stomach's noisy complaints as something serious, she was used to the feeling, Mendel was surprised hearing the offer. She quickly nodded her head, her hands dropping the current paper on a rumor of the new drug developed by Overhaul circulating around the market.

" Let me call the smoky guy first. "

Giran quickly dialed up the number saved as " Nightmare Portal" and the other side picked up immediately.

" What can I do for you Giran-san?"

" Well, I am going to take the helper you sent for lunch, is it fine?"

" It's good to let her go out and visit a restaurant. I will report back to him. Tell Mendel that it she wanted to return, crushed the locater and I will pick her up. "

" So that is a yes, what do you want to eat?"

" Udon... is it ok?"

" Udon huh .... I know a place near here, let's walk their together."

His plan had a sliver of chance to succeed, Giran thought. The pair took off after marking the ongoing paper, locking the door and sending everyone to a prolonged lunch break. They made it across crossing zebras and blocks, ending at a small shop located in the shadows of Shinjuku Mall's construction, on a desolate road. The old couple operating the place came to their table numbered 2, their expression brightened up seeing a familar face.

" Hello Ichigo, it has been so long since you last visited. The usual? And who is this child? "

" Yea, give me the spicy tempura udon, the spice should be enough to make me sweat. Oh, for this child of a coworker, just being her a beef udon. "

" Can I try the spicy one, the same thing he has?"

" You should know that the spiciness of the meal is even too much for adults. Are you sure?"

" Yes!"

The resolute confirmation from Mendel sent the old lady back into the kitchen, asking her husband to make two spicy temoura udon portion with one being less spicy and as red as usual. Before Giran and Mendel knew it, their respective bowls had been brought out, iced tea was on the house. The spiciness of the dish was something Giran enjoyed, he started to devour the food. Mendel was the same, she took gulps upon gulps of udon, her face clearly disappointed with the spice level. Seeing that, Giran decided to share some of the sauce to her, leading to a coughing fit from her due to the raging fire on her tongue. Giran laughed at the suffering of the girl, his gears turning to capitalise the moments of vulnerabality. He offered her a yogurt drink he bought to curry favor. He was slowly getting himself a bodyguard. The meal was over, leaving the pair walking back to the office to continue on the papers.

" How was the food? Is it too much for you to the point of coughing?"

" It was great and don't bring that up again."

An embarasssed Mendel said, punching Giran at the sides. The girl was packing some strength, he thought while feeling bruises started to form.

" Thank you for the meal!"

Mendel said to Giran, her face brimming with liveliness and childlike innocent. Giran suddenly thought of something, his face scrunced up a little before bringing his hand up her head and rubbing her hair. Unfamiliar with the sensation, Mendel akwardly stood silent, letting Giran pet her to his will. He woke up from the flood of memories assaulting his brain just moments ago, removing his hand from the girl's head before they continued walking in silence. They got back, get to work and stayed silent for the evening, the mood drenched in an akward silence. Giran bid the girl who reminded him of his dead daughter. He took the night easy, going to bed early to not think back about the accident.

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Underbelly: 10 AM

Veritas had led Shigaraki to various places in the Underbelly, acting as the tour guide for him. The man even handed him a booklet full with the basics of the place. From the man's heated presentation and the information from the things Shigaraki was holding in his hands, the Underbelly was a series of underground space connected via long tunnels in a prefecture, acting as a branch of a larger organization. The head of each place would be the leader of the yakuza organization maintaining the place. Many services were appropriately taxed, and seeing the Soaring Heights logo down here was not that surprising since the company was already suspected of delivering to villains.

Shigaraki was wondering what would happen if another gang appear and did a revolution when Veritas answered him. His face smiling at the homely feeling.

" If another gang appears and is powerful enough to kick the controlling one out, they will need to take over the management and preservation in combination with growth of the place. Or else the nuclear cores powering the underground complex will automatically explode. "

Threats were often the most effective ways, Shigaraki thought, to get the message across. The relative stability brought upon by the gangs were a welcoming thing, leading to various shops signing deals to work and sell their products to those following the gangs' rules.

" Tokyo is actually one of the most regulated branch of the idea. Due to Might Tower being in the center of the heroic culture, the activities needs to be checked quite intensively to not bring in bugs or other tails inside. You can make a registration card over there!".

Veritas after pointing at the most imposing building took Shigaraki to the place. He paid the application fee and handed the boy a metal card with his name on it and a series of number detailing the different information for verification on the system. After getting Shigaraki following the normal route, Veritas guided him to a classic Japanese house made from woods and veneers, the opposite of the metals making up most construction in the place.

" What bring you here, underling of All For One? Are your master asking for extortions? If so, take it and go away!"

The leader of the place, an old man in his seventies said after accepting Shigaraki's presence inside his adobe. He was not small nor weak, his body full of tattoos on bulging muscles that are revealing the scars of fights against foes. His bald head shone under the lamp, his eyes hid behind a pair of circular sunglasses. Aside from his insistence of wearing sunglasses indoor, he was crossing his arms opposite of Shigaraki.

" No, no, no, this matter is a bit more personal than All For One. I have heard of your fight against Red Demon and many more heroes, of your excellence in commanding and seeking talents and of your faction's strength. So I am here asking for your help... of course, I am willing to pay the price. "

Shigaraki threw onto the table separating the two an USB. He continued.

" The weakness of All For One, is it enough?"

The old man could not help but burst into laughter. O lh how life had turned when AFO's disciple was plotting to overthrow him. He could kill the boy right now with his henchmen and his speed, but the offer was tempting enough to make him think for a moment the disadvantages and advantages. Finally, he came to a conclusion.

" I will help you, but after a test. I need to see your determination and grit in results. I have an old friend leading a gang in Esuha City in Kansai and the last time he sent a message, he said that his gang was not doing so well. I want you to come there, help them rebuild into a significant enough player in the local field. Then I will extend my resources to you. "

Shigaraki knew he had to take this test because the one in front of him was pivotal in his plans.

" I will do it, your test. How do we stay connected?"

" Use this! Appreciate the laboratory here. When you arrive there, text me, then I will direct you on how to contact the gang."

A burner phone was thrown at the pale boy, a Detnerat phone with its OS replaced. He caught it with his extreme reflex, his hand gripping the phone. Before he left for the city in Kansai, he had to reveal another's presence during the conversation,

" Veritas... what a fitting name. So, truth quirk?"

A moment of silence passed.

" Yes, sorry for misleading you."

The answer could be heard from outside. Shigaraki walked out of the dining room to see Veritas leaning on the wall. The whole situation had been too straightforward as the people he met was strangely trusting of an outsider like him. They had nothing to fear, now he knew, as Veritas was keeping tab on him since the very beginning.

" Can I buy a souvenir before getting out?"

" Sure, after you say the item, I will go get it for you."

" I will just take me with you there. Some sake and other alcohols for Kurogiri "

" I see, sake we do have but others, I don't know."

" Fine...lead the way please."

The two took their time getting to the shop and picking a dew bottles, luckily there were some foreign alcohol in stoe. The man then led Shigaraki up to the surface to the entrance of the restaurant before turning back inside to give a report to his boss.

" Thanks for the tour guide. "

" Yours welcome."

Shigaraki stepped through the portal Kurogiri made, returning to the bar. He walked up to the man, handing him the sake bottles before sitting down on the sofa, his fingers doing tricks with the black phone given to him. He had thrown the pillow onto the bean bag Mendel loved to sleep in. P

" Hey Kurogiri, do you know Ebusa City in Kansai? I will need to go there for a small test."

" I see, Young Master. I can open up a series of portal to reach the place. When will you set off?"

"This night, I still have something to do now. "

Shigaraki quickly entered a game of Bloodborne 3, sending Kurogiri into a mad parent's moment and telling him to come down. The pair then made up and had curry rice for the second time that day, not complaining about the flavor.