Chapter 123: Shie Hassaikai Arc (3)
~Third POV~
[Next Day, Around Nighteye Agency, Tokyo, Japan]
Pain. All Eri knew was pain and fear ever since her birth.
Ever since her mother disowned her after she accidentally made her father disappear with her Quirk [Rewind], Eri had been subjected to dozens of experiments by their cruel leader, Kai Chisaki known as Overhaul.
Her body had been sliced and ripped apart so many times that she no longer knew the total number. But what she did know was the deep, intense pain she felt every time she was brought into that torture room.
Even as she sat in her large dark room, Eri was terrified. The toys Overhaul's men bought for her were strewn all around, ignored by her. There was no joy to be found in them. Only fear.
In a moment when no one was around, she managed to escape the room. Once again, she attempted to escape from Kai, running down an alley, mentally chanting she had enough of her treatment and wishing someone would save her…
*Slap*
"Hahh!"
*Slap*
"Hahh!"
She kept on running till she bumped into someone. The person revealed to be Ren wearing his Hero Costume, this time sporting a Green Power Ranger costume, looking to be armored as he kneels, grabbing her softly in a comforting tone, "I'm sorry. Did I hurt you, miss?"
Eri twitched, moving back with Mirio nearby as they heard Kai's voice in a cold tone, "Shame on you, causing trouble for this nice hero. Let's go home, Eri."
Kai comes closer but puts on a fake expression, trying to be friendly as he says, "Sorry for any trouble my daughter caused, hero. She tends to get excited while playing and hurts herself. It's a real problem."
Mirio intervenes, making some excuses, with Ren holding onto Eri as she clenches her eyes, frightened in fear. Holding onto Eri, Kai asked, "If we're done here, I would like my daughter – "
*SMASH*
*KRACK*
Before any of the two could respond, Ren immediately used [Full Cowl] + [Transmission], slamming his fist in Kai's face. At that moment, he opened a portal using [Wormhole], sending him back to his building as the sickening crunch was of Kai's skull cracking at the moment of impact.
*Swf*
The portal closed as Mirio stood there shocked, processing till he gripped Ren by his Hero Costume, showing a genuine angry expression as he held Eri tightly, "Power Ranger?! Why did you jeopardize – "
*Thud*
Shoving Mirio off, holding Eri tightly, using [Create] to place a necklace for her, using [Negation] to negate her quirk, he finally spoke in a calm tone, "I'm not about to let that villain harm her ever again. She's being rescued here and now. I'll meet everyone at the hero office taken into protective custody."
*Swf*
Opening a portal with his [Wormhole] holding Eri tightly, Ren knew he had just escalated the situation instead of waiting. But he knew letting her get tortured any longer wouldn't have been wiser when he knew it would take too long.
Mirio looked conflicted as he opened his phone, calling Sir Nighteye, addressing a major issue in a serious tone, "Sir Nighteye… we have a major issue. The situation just escalated greatly."
/////
[Later, Nighteye Agency, Tokyo, Japan]
Immediately returning to the Hero Agency building Sir Nighteye held a serious expression noticing Ren holding Eri as she fell asleep safely in his arms. Mirio and Bubble Girl exchanged nervous glances.
Nighteye, on the other hand, looked angry but kept his cool as he asked in a stern tone, "I'll ask first. Why did you provoke Overhaul to save the girl?"
Ren, without his helmet with a calm expression, replied bluntly, holding Eri, "I saved her from being his lab rat. They used her blood to create Anti-Quirk Bullets ."
His eyes narrowed quickly, touching Eri asleep as he used his Quirk [Foresight] as Mirio and Bubble Girl froze at his claims. Nighteye comes back, confirming his words through his vision in a calm tone, "I see… good work. I've seen her future a bit. At the time, she'd tell this story. But since she was young, she'd forget anyway. We'd had to wait several days for the raid, but…"
Expressing a sly grin despite the dangerous situation increasing, Ren handed Nighteye a video of Eri's confession calmly, "I managed to get a confession with her consent. From the production of the Quirk Anti-Bullets and her explaining her torture in the flash drive. All I ask is I want in."
Nighteye took the flash drive, nodding in understanding in a serious tone, and said to him, "I appreciate the help. Also, call in your contacts they'll be more than willing to help. After all, you had your clones prepared for this occasion, no?"
Ren slyly smiled underneath his helmet as Nighteye adjusted his glasses, both understanding each other, clearly foreseeing this outcome respectively. Mirio looked down guilty, thinking that saving Eri later would've been the right call, but it only made him feel guilty not saving her immediately as Ren did.
/////
[Evening, Nighteye Agency, Tokyo, Japan]
That evening, everyone attended the meeting with all the hero agencies concerned with the investigation, as well as the police force, namely, Lady Nagant, Rocklock, Mirko, Eraser Head, Ryukyu, and lesser Heroes.
Along with them were their work studies sidekicks in the making of Ochaco, Tsuyu, Nejire, Ren, Shinso, and Mirio. All eyes were on the table, with Ren holding Eri asleep, gaining some eyes on him.
With everyone present, Sir Nighteye began the meeting in a calm tone, "Now then, let's get started."
Everyone taking their seats, Bubble Girl began the conversation, exchanging information in a serious tone, "For the past few days here at the Nighteye Agency… we have been uh… conducting an independent investigation of the designated villain group known as Shie Hassaikai!!"
One of the lesser heroes, Kesagiri Man, asked curiously of the situation, "What started all this?"
Listening to his question, Bubble Girl began to explain how their investigation originated, "An incident involving a band of thieves called the Reservoir Dogs. The police wrote it off as a mere accident, but there were a few inconsistencies that prompted our investigation."
Nighteye Agency sidekick Centipeder began to speak up in a professional tone, continuing the explanation, "Nighteye Agency sidekick Centipeder. Under Nighteye's orders, I've been following some of the leads. According to my findings, the organization has been making extensive contact with outsiders and underworld dealers throughout the past year. Their goals seem to be the expansion and accumulation of funds. And shortly after, we began investigating…"
*Humm*
Turning on the projector showing slideshow videos, Centipeder continued his explanation in a serious tone, "They contacted a member of the League of Villains. Rock, who goes by the villain name No.6. They were all very wary of being tailed, so we couldn't pursue them then, but the police provided further assistance. Their findings confirm some sort of deal between the two groups."
Seeing No.6 face, Ren, face frowned, listening correctly as he thought, 'Made a deal? That can't be good…'
Lady Nagant crossed her arms, expressing a frown, muttering in a serious tone, "Something to do with the League, huh…?"
It was when Bubble Girl discussed the HN that made Ochaco confused as Nejire explained cheerfully, "It's a web service for licensed heroes. You can check out what heroes all over the country are doing and even put in requests to heroes with Quirks that might come in handy for whatever you're working on!"
Pointing this out, Rocklock couldn't help but ask stoically about the UA students in a conflicted tone, "UA students or not, what're these kids even doing here? They're just slowing us down. The sun's gonna set before we even get to talking about the bad guys' grand plan."
It was at that moment that Nighteye spoke up, adjusting his glasses in a serious tone, "I wouldn't doubt them if I were you, Rocklock. It was thanks to Power Ranger here that we were able to make our raid go swiftly into action quickly. He made this meeting happen by collecting info that I couldn't in months."
All eyes were on Ren playing with Eri's hair, with Mirko smirking as she thought, 'What did that crazy bastard do this time? And how dare he hold out on me being All Might's successor that bastard!!'
Detective Tsukauchi sighed mentally, eyeing Ren being the cause, shaking his head, 'Sigh… what did the kid do this time?'
Returning to the conversation, detective Naomasa Tsukauchi read out loud in a serious tone, gaining attention, "As you all know, we've been on the lookout for any opportunities to take down the Shie Hasseikai ever since they started their war for territory with other gangs. Now, while we didn't have any evidence on the leader, Kai Chisaki, we do have probable cause with his understanding. One of Mirko's associates during the Underground Masquerade a few years back was able to confirm the identity of the illegal underground fighter, Rappa."
Listening to her rabbit ear flickered as she grinned widely, recalling the incident in a surprised tone, "Oh, that guy! It's been a while since I saw him. He used to be a regular in my jurisdiction until a couple of months back when he suddenly dropped off the radar. I was wondering what took him!"
Detective Naomasa nodded his head, agreeing as Nighteye cut in a serious tone with his arms crossed, "Correct, Mirko. Originally, we had planned to use you while we capture Overhaul. But that changed with Eri into the equation. Their lab rat used to create Anti-Quirk destroying drugs."
"Destroys Quirks?!"
Everyone listening was startled by the news as Nighteye asked Eraser Head, giving him the news of the item, "On that point, I turn to Eraser Head. Have you read the report sent to you in advance?"
Aizawa nodded his head as he explained in a serious tone, glaring in a cold voice as he explained, "It seems a bit different than my [Erasure]… because I'm not attacking a person's Quirk itself. What we call Quirks are special additions to an ordinary body or the Plus Alpha Elements. Everything included within the plus alpha is what we call Quirk Factors. What I do is temporarily stop those Quirk Factors from activating. I can't actually cause any damage."
Understanding Aizawa's explanation to everyone, Nighteye then dropped a bombshell in a serious tone, gaining some startled expressions, "Thankfully, we managed to get a sample from a bullet thanks to Fat Gum, who couldn't be here on short notice but gave me a detailed explanation. The vial can damage a person's Quirk Factor thanks to analysis of the substance inside revealed human cells and blood. Not just anyone's but Eri, the girl sleeping with us today."
There was a collective shiver running down their spins as Ochaco uttered, "Huhh…?!"
Even Tsuyu looked at Eri with sympathy and concern, "Sounds kind of unreal…"
The heroes looked unnerved as Nighteye continued showing the photo of Overhaul in a serious tone, "Their young leader is Chisaki, and his Quirk is [Overhaul]. The ability to both dismantle and restore. Dismantle is a quirk that can destroy and then heal. Then we have bullets that destroy Quirks matching Eri's DNA."
Mirko responded with a growl escaping her lips, "That bastard…"
Ryukyu was equally repulsed by the idea in a disgusted tone, "No… it's too repulsive to imagine…"
Lady Nagant had a cold expression on her face, fist clenched. Many other heroes showed their disgust at Overhaul as Nighteye smirked in a calm tone, "Fortunately though, we can salvage the situation. If it wasn't for Power Ranger saving the kid, albeit reckless, brash action decking the villain in the face and then teleporting him away, his actions would have halted Overhaul time to finalize his Quirk Destroying Drugs."
Listening to Ren's rash actions, he shrugged with Mirko smirking with a nod, "Heh. Nice one, brat."
Bubble Girl and Centipeder begin to hand files of the enemy as Nighteye continues explaining, "And not only that… We also have details of the Yakuza member's Quirks. And their elite squad, the Eight Bullets. Make sure to be aware that your foes, ready for tomorrow, will raid their hideout. My sidekicks will be passing out these detailed case files to each of you…"
Everything soon began to move, with everyone being informed of what to do next Ren held onto Eri as he thought with a kind smile, 'No worries, kiddo. That sick fuck won't harm anyone, not as long as I'm alive.'
Caressing her hair, Ochaco, Tsuyu, and Nejire all thought, stunned, 'He's so good with kids! How cute!'