The briefing between the middle-aged man and the Heroes finished after half an hour of sharing information about the criminals concerned.
They did not get far off as to why they stopped their usual crimes around the same time.
Maybe the middle-aged man was thinking too hard and created illusory ideas. Some Heroes actually believed that there was a conspiracy behind all of these strange events.
However, the majority still think that the middle-aged man was rambling unnecessary details. In the process, he was trying to form a logical explanation and create a situation by himself.
That is what it felt like. An old man's babbling.
Nevertheless, they could not say anything because he was high ranking officer in the Hero Organization.
Their mouths were zipped and did not let out any kind of objections.
In the end, they would all not give too much attention to this case.
Well, not all of them.
The female Hero that talked to Trista during the briefing, was looking for the Hero concerned after they exited the room.
She lost her when the middle-aged man dismissed the meeting and everyone got in her way before making contact with her.
After she walked out of the room, she scanned her surroundings and saw a female Hero with all white clothing. She smirked and approached her.
"Yo, Trista."
Trista glanced on her shoulder and saw the female Hero grinning at her.
Similar to Trista's clothing, she was equipped with combat boots, slim pants and a half mask that covered her eyes till above the nose, which was all red.
Even her small cape that was attached to her shoulders were red. Her height was tall, in comparison to Trista she was a bit taller, and her body was well proportioned.
You could not see her muscles with her red outfit on but what's inside is definitely something that should not be messed with.
"Aka, What's up?"
"I was getting bored with that old man's gibberish so I came to take care of my boredom."
The red female Hero named Aka did not have anything else to do so she thought about spending her time with one of her close colleagues, Trista.
"Gibberish? Don't you think you should take this seriously?"
They walked side by side as they passed through the spacious corridors, filled with beautiful light blue paint.
"Oh come on, don't tell me that you actually believe that these coincidences are linked?"
"In this line of job, we should assume everything, even the worst of the worst possible scenarios."
"There you go again with that serious Hero mode. Relax. You should be a bit more like me."
Aka proudly puffed her chest and pointed at herself.
".....I would rather be a little toddler."
"So mean!! And what does that even mean!!?"
Aka pouted with extreme cuteness exuding from her. She tantalized the surrounding with her gleeful air. Aka was really the polar opposite of Trista.
"I will leave that imagination to yourself."
"That is going to wear me down. I am going to be so frustrated if I don't know the real reason. As expected, it was a good move to talk to you. Now I won't get bored."
".....Are you a masochist?"
"How so!?"
Her loud but cheerful voice indicated her enjoyment with a good company next to her.
At one point, Aka changed the subject to the one that she was curious about. It was bugging her during the briefing.
"Hey Trista, why are you interested in Gello?"
"....."
She pried further but she was still careful with her words.
"Did something happen?"
Her tone was comprised of worries.
Trista slowly came to a stop which made Aka concerned. Did she overstep her bounds?
Behind her stoic mask, Aka did not know what kind of expression Trista was making.
In the Hero Organization, concealing one's identity is mandatory.
The reason being is that the risk of having one's identity revealed to the world can give the villains the advantage of threatening not only the Heroes' lives but also their relatives and friends.
So to avoid endangering innocent lives, hiding their face is a must for Heroes. It is also one of the most important conditions when registering to become a Hero.
Real names are also prohibited and thus they are called by their short nicknames.
"What's wrong?"
Trista gently leaned her back against the wall and said,
"Someone I know.....was a victim of Gello."
Aka stopped and approached Trista. She listened to Trista's story attentively.
"This criminal is despicable. A monster that has no feeling. Only targeting children that have not known the world too well. To extinguish such a light...., that is the work of a demon."
Aka already knows about the atrocities of Gello. Still, every time she heard it, all that she felt was hatred towards Gello and pity for his victims.
The end result of a gory and twisted torture is not pretty. They did not know that humans can be so heartless.
No.
Gello was not a human. As Trista said, he is a monster, a demon, a heartless beast....
Now she got to know that Gello indirectly hurt Trista because of one of his victims he tortured was close to her.
Aka's reassuring smile overtook her visage and she gently grabbed Trista's shoulder.
"Do not worry, Trista. Good always prevail. That is why we Heroes are here, aren't we?"
Trista's solemn voice emerged and agreed with Aka.
".....Yes. I want to. I want to catch him as soon as possible."
"Then why don't I help you with that?"
Aka brightened her grin and faced the stoic silver mask. Trista thought about denying her aid to not trouble her with something like this but she gave up knowing her personality.
"Even if I said no, you will still help me..... I can't help it now."
Her tone elevated and sounded relieved at Aka. Noticing that small change in her voice, Aka further lifted the mood by giving words of success.
"Together, we will catch that demon and save the children, the hope of our country!"
"...Yes."
Trista felt happy that she gained a companion to alleviate the burden that she held. They would catch Gello and punish him for his crime.
"Can I come with you two then?"
A man's voice from behind caught the 2 female Heroes off guard. The man wore a futuristic blue outfit. With a glance, Trista knew who it was.
"Haze-kun?"
"Good afternoon, Trista-senpai."
"Good afternoon..."
Aka saw the two of them and leaned near Trista to inquire about who Haze was.
"Who?"
"...A junior."
"And also her disciple," Haze added.
Even Trista was confused.
"I don't remember taking you in as my student."
"Don't say that, Trista-senpai. You don't recall the time you gave me advice?"
"I do but all I gave was an advice."
"That is plenty to make me your disciple. Nowadays, there are a few people who are willing to help anyone. You are one of them, Senpai."
Aka was surprised and impressed.
"Hooo~ You talk like a mature person even though you sound like a brat."
"Hahaha. Thank you."
He bowed a little to Aka and took the compliment.
"Respectful too. Hey Trista, you got yourself a good and well-mannered student."
"As I said, he is not my student."
Haze interrupted Trista and persistently went with this master and student relationship.
"Anything you say will not change my belief in you as a teacher, Trista-senpai."
"....Both you and Aka are the same."
She was having a headache as she put a hand on her head. Trista is easily swayed by those types of personalities so she could not help but get drowned by the flow.
"I get it. Unless all I do is give advice, then, I will accept being your teacher or whatever."
"Hooray!"
"You are energetic..."
Haze was blatantly glad that he got an amazing mentor. The Untouchable Dame as his teacher is a huge plus in his hero career.
He is young and having a guide will propel his potential beyond his expected limits.
"Before I say anything further, I just want to know something."
"Yes?" Haze listened carefully.
"What do you mean by what you said earlier? About joining me and Aka, in hunting Gello."
"Ah, that....."
"Do you have something with that monster? Revenge, perhaps?"
".....No, it is nothing of that sort."
Trista was relieved when Haze said revenge was not involved.
If it did then Trista would have immediately deny any of his help. It is because revenge is accompanied by intense hate and negative emotions.
Those emotions are the cause that would blind his judgement and it may result in a negative outcome. Maybe even death.
That is why she cannot risk Haze's life in this hunt.
They do not know what Gello is. Is he a Magic-User or a 'normal' criminal? Short or tall? Strong or weak? Is he part of a gang or does he work alone?
Heck, they don't even know if Gello is a boy or a girl. They refer to Gello as 'he' just like that.
Only by the way of his torture and the fact that he has not been captured for 8 years made him ranked as a C-class criminal.
"It is just that.....I have someone really close to me.....that is the same age as Gello's victims."
Aka realized and became worried.
"I am afraid that one day, Gello would... take away that person from me... That is why..."
"That is enough."
Haze looked up to Trista's stoic mask. She had decided whether to keep him or not. Haze gulped and waited for her reply.
"I understand, you can help us. I will be counting on you, Haze-kun."
Haze glowed up and replied enthusiastically.
"Yes! Same to you!"
He bowed 90° so fast that it made Aka jump out of fright.
"How scary! Your energy is scary!"
"Hahaha. Sorry~"
They hit it off surprisingly well as they both got into a good chat. Trista got swept into their conversation whether she liked it or not. A pushover between those two.
She really did not like it but still, she liked it.
........
The drama club members had their own practices going on. With Harue as a new addition, though it is a very small role, fit in with the others perfectly.
Kagome was still reluctant on letting Rina be in this club but due to the Club President, Paro, she was persisting and believing in Rina's potential.
Everything else was riding smoothly.
What about the Karate club though?
What was happening right now was that the seniors, sophomores and the first-year members of that club were spectating a match of 2 freshmen.
To be precise, it was a practice fight amongst the first years that captivated all members.
*Bam!* *Bam!*
Although those 2 did not intend on having a match, it ended up becoming one in everyone's eyes.
*Whoosh!* *Bam!*
The coach and the captain, Jirou Takumi were observing the 'match' displayed by them.
"Hey....I have been wondering....for a.....while....."
Eiji was exchanging blows with Kana but at the same time, casually asked a question.
"Don't know....ask them....yourself....."
She said as she blocked a high kick from Eiji.
The intense sparing overwhelmed the audience. The first one that had noticed the level of the bout between Kana and Eiji was the freshmen practising near them.
They were in awe so they spectated. Sophomores wondered why they were slacking so they found out about Eiji and Kana. They too got mesmerized.
Then seniors came and became interested in the potential of those two freshmen.
Jirou Takumi slid a thought to the coach.
"What do you think about Eiji-kun? His growth is splendid."
"I think so too. It is abnormal."
From the previous tournament he participated in, he lost but was motivated even more to become strong. So he never missed one day of training.
That too with Kana.
And the result?
Really really good.
"Not to mention that Kana is not someone to ignore. She is stronger than most of the boys, even the seniors."
"I agree."
The coach put a hand on his chin and smirked at a flow of ecstasy ran through her head.
"Looks like we got 2 gems."