[The next day]
I woke up around lunchtime with Mei still sleeping in my arms. I quickly woke Mei up so we could plan our future actions for a while since this whole fiasco made it almost impossible to follow our original plan. Thanks to Nezu, I am not alone against the world for now, but I still need to iron out the details with him.
"So, Mei, do you have any idea on how to proceed from here?"
She just nodded and said: "Yes, my parents saved up enough money so we can live on rent in some apartment while the city repairs the buildings we live in. What about you? I highly doubt that your place can be rebuilt with this amount of damage done to it and the surrounding area."
"Nezu has it covered, I think. I managed to prove myself to be a valuable asset and future ally, so he will do almost anything in his power to help me, at least I think so," I answered her honestly.
"Do we still proceed with our plan?" Mei asked me, a bit scared that I would back down.
"Of course, but we will need to change some things up a bit. We were too compliant. I know that I was the one against it, but I think we should just get homeschooled after we finish Junior High. That gives us this and next year to prepare ourselves for the start of the plan, since we now need even more time to flesh out everything. Even though this catastrophe was truly horrific, it did show us which gear was up to standard or not. We should do an extensive review of our findings and change some things. For example, the bows were not performing badly, but they were relatively slow compared to everything else, so when I could, I quickly replaced them with guns from the enemy. Another shocking revelation was how truly effective the electromagnetic rifles were. I think we should tweak them a bit to make them more effective. We can even base other weapons around their concept, like a general pulse rifle for the Heavy units or just simple gas-powered SMGs that fire rubber bullets since now, thanks to Toxic Synthesis, we can generate concentrated CO2 gas for personal use."
She looked excited at the prospect of more experimentation, but we stopped our conversation for now since we still needed to concentrate on the present, not the future. When we stepped out of the tent, one of the Commanders was seemingly waiting for us. They informed us that every other Commander and unit had gathered here after they were no longer needed at the downtown relief site. The others are currently gathered around Nezu's large tent, which serves as the main Command Center of the destroyed Endor district of Musutafu. He is currently having a strategic debriefing with the remaining rescue heroes to search for bodies or potential survivors. He is being helped by my Elite Commander and Administrator, who, even without free will and general intelligence, are functionally brilliant and mechanically proficient, thanks to High Specs, in their own specific fields. The Commander excels in general and military strategy, while the Administrator is adept in resource and general management. They created a generalized rescue plan for this situation. Unfortunately, Nezu can't let any of my puppets physically help with it. Ever since the HPSC found out, most likely thanks to Hawks, that someone without a pro hero license was doing almost all the general work of heroes, they've been putting pressure on Nezu to even arrest me for it, since it's technically illegal quirk usage. Fortunately, he managed to outsmart them by doing the paperwork yesterday in his limited free time, giving me temporary permission to help the heroes under supervision. Three of UA's teachers signed it off, as well as Mirko and Best Jeanist. They left early in the morning and said I did an excellent job helping people, promising to help me stay out of trouble this one time. The HPSC agent was not happy that they couldn't get their hands on me, but in their pettiness, they revoked that license. So starting today, I can't use my quirk to help the heroes in their jobs physically. Nezu agreed to this without issue since it didn't prevent me from assisting with communication, planning, and coordination—tasks that don't technically require a quirk.
After receiving the debrief from my trusty commander, we made our way to Nezu so Mei could meet her family, and I could finally talk with him behind closed doors. In front of the tent were all my puppets, including the remaining Heavy, Scout, Elite Scout, Infiltrator, and Combat Engineers, whom I sent back to the vault since they were no longer needed here. I also sent back most of my new units, except for the Medics, since they could still help with basic first aid without using their quirks, thanks to my moderate knowledge of biology. I ordered the two Medics to find Recovery Girl and serve as nurses if she permitted. Inside the tent, the four Commanders were sitting around a long table, and soon our guide joined them as a fifth member and sat down in one of the empty seats. I noticed the bloody hat of the fallen Commander, which Mei had managed to recover on our way back, placed on an empty seat next to them. I wondered at times like this if the unnamed puppets truly had emotions or not, but it wasn't the time or place to ponder such things. I walked up to Nezu, who was sitting at the end of the table, conversing with my Administrator standing next to him about some minor logistical changes that I didn't care enough about to pay attention to. I also saw the Elite Commander standing at attention on his other side. When Nezu finally noticed my presence, he looked at me with genuine gratitude and gestured toward a chair, so Mei and I sat down.
"Once again, I can't thank you enough for everything you've done to help us. I know that you've already stated what you want, but do you need anything else? Unfortunately, with this event, you are now directly in the line of sight of the HPSC. I feel terrible about putting you in such a difficult situation after all the help you've provided and continue to provide," he said, gesturing to my units in the tent.
"I really don't know if I need anything right now, but I do have plans for the future with Mei, so I would appreciate your opinion or help if you have any. But first, I would like to clarify some things about your help from yesterday." He just nodded and motioned for me to continue.
"How exactly will you help me with my housing problem? I don't really want to be sent into the foster system, even if you could help me by placing me with someone you trust. I also don't want to burden any of my friends' families by taking me in, even if UA can provide them with sufficient funds to help. I don't want them to be in the HPSC's crosshairs either. I can live on my own somewhat with sufficient funds, but I don't know if it's even allowed for me to be without a legal guardian."
Nezu pondered for a moment, then answered: "I'll be completely honest with you. I didn't think it through fully when I accepted the responsibility since UA shouldn't have any problems with it, but that was before the HPSC tried to intervene. I think the best course of action would be for you to move into the UA dorms once they're completed in a year or two, so I could better protect you from the influence of the HPSC. Until then, I will try to ask around trusted friends of mine to take you in temporarily, not as an adoption. And to show you my actions are genuine, I'll confirm your suspicions: yes, I am trying to keep an eye on you. To be frank, you're already very powerful, and I don't want you to be steered down the slippery path of villainy."
I nodded, understanding how peculiar my situation was. I also didn't blame Nezu for wanting to keep an eye on me—I was simply too unpredictable and unique to be left alone.
"I understand, and thank you for telling me. I think I should also share some of my future plans with you, as I mentioned, so you don't have to guess and can directly confirm them." Nezu seemed pleased that I didn't flip out on him.
"My dream in life is to be a true hero—the kind this country and world need. It's funny because I planned to go to UA when I turned 18. After school, I also plan to start a support company with my girlfriend, Mei." I said, pointing to Mei, who sat next to me in silence.
Nezu, pleased by the news, exclaimed: "Great! To think our plans aligned so perfectly! I'm really happy! Now I have an idea. You said that you want to start a company and be a hero at the same time, right?" I nodded.
"Then how about me taking over your studies when you finish middle school? Since you'll already be living in the dorms, I could quickly teach you all of your high school curriculum and more. Hell, I could even teach your friend here with the help of Power Loader!" I hadn't seen him this excited before, not even when I explained the capabilities of the Elite Commander and Administrator.
I chuckled and said: "I have no problem with that. I was already planning to do homeschooling during my high school years. What about you, Mei?" She had large stars in her eyes at the prospect of learning under Power Loader.
She shouted: "I accept!" without hesitation.
"Well, that's splendid. After we're done retrieving all the bodies and cleaning up the area of the heavier damage, I'll talk to my trusted friends about taking you in, John, if one of them can accept you," Nezu said. I bowed in thanks and left the tent with Mei.
"Well, that was something. Did you manage to contact your family, Mei?" She was still dazed, obviously not listening, just mumbling to herself about all the things she wanted to make, how bad it was that time was moving so slow, and how excited she was to finally work with me in a bigger-budget setting.
I just shook my head and leaned in to kiss her to snap her out of this state. Thankfully, it worked, and now she was just embarrassed that I did that in front of strangers. "Don't feel embarrassed, Mei. You are my beautiful girlfriend, and I want to prove it to everyone that we're together. But that's beside the point—my question was, did you manage to contact your family? They must be worried sick."
She looked down, trying to hide her blushing face, and then she answered: "Yes, I texted them during your meeting with Nezu. They're fine and staying in a motel until my dad finds a good place to rent for a while. I even told them I'm staying here to help you if you need anything. Dad wasn't happy, but he agreed when I told him what happened to your mom. He then wrote that they're sending their deepest condolences to you, and that you can ask them for help anytime."
I teared up a bit because of their kindness, even when they were in a tough situation themselves. Mei just hugged me, and after a while, we went to look for some early dinner for the two of us.