The five Kami gathered in the Honden once more, and are discussing the various developments that have recently occurred in their territory for the past hour or so and are debating which direction should they go advance in. Moments of debate chiseled their focus and swelled their ever-present apathy that their discussion eventually mellowed to closer resemblance of casual chatter.
"Hm..." A plain man tipped over a trinket from his side of the table, an antique tea-serving doll, spilling the drink as he thought to himself. "I suppose another excursion is needed."
"Better not incur a loss this time." Ishimaru, the green-skinned Kami, snided without looking. His remark lacked any heat as he continued to casually sip his tea.
"Oh, c'mon. Don't say that~" The plain man tried to act cute, wanted to pull a reaction. "Since when did my plans ever incur a loss?~"
"Gross." The figure fixed a glare at him from underneath their weathered cloak.
"Not cute at all." A girl covered in bandages physically gagged, myriad colours bleeding through her injuries. "And your plans have profit sure, but it also opened up so much work." She growled.
"Fortune does not come in pairs. Misfortune never arrives alone." The giant inverted head spoke, his voice deep and baritone reverting across the room. Despite so, the others didn't seem affected.
"What he said." Ishimaru calmly replied. "Karmic rebalancing isn't just a superstition, it's a genuine metaphysical phenomena. At least wait another week before doing anything."
"Finr, fine. I'll wait." The plain man conceded without much resistance when the votes became one against four. "Next topic then. The new guy, what do you think of him?"
"Has potential."
"I'd say he has more than that." Ishimaru retorted. "Too green, that one. At the very least, he's strong enough to take on a role on the same height as us."
"Haven't met him personally as of yet, but going by the report then as long as he's diligent enough to take over someone else's portion of chores then he's alright in my book." The bandages girl pointed a glance at the plain man. "He's the reason why I didn't come and strangle you for causing so much work."
"I see, I see." Before the figure could reply the same, the plain man unintentionally interjected first. "And how about you, little seven? You've already met the boy, haven't you? I can tell from the spike in energy a while back."
"Huh?" A silent pressure exuded from the figure and earqueling sounds of grating teeth came from beneath the cloak, to no suprise of the others. "So that was him? That brat, the one did that, he and the newbie are one and the same?!"
Much to the disbelief of the others present, the figure continued her tirade as the form hidden from the eyes squired and pulsated erratically. This was the first time since the figure's recruitment did they see her follow a train of thought for so long, let alone a coherent sentence.
Although no more than a curious stare or a raised eyebrow came from most of them, this development intrigued the plain man and spurred the curiosity he held. His willpower like a tight leash he has over his own impulses were tested against his intellectual appetite. Only when the figure's tantrum led to their exit did he finally regained his control.
"...Fascinating." The plain man spoke under his breath, a demented smile crept up his mundane features. Regardless of the volume, he was still heard by the others who only gave him dirty looks.
"Not this again." Said Ishimaru, voice dripping with frustration as he side-eyed the muttering plain man.
The giant inverted head said nothing, but a deep groan akin to boulders rubbing off of each reverberated across the room. Then, without fanfare, the Kami disappeared as if he was never there.
"I'm not dealing with him. Ishimaru, you two like to scheme together so he's your responsibility." The bandaged girl stood up and left for the door. "Just send me the report as usual." She said as her figure unraveled into clustered strings and faded from view.
Ishimaru, not even bothered enough to feign shame, also left. Less subtle than his colleagues, the kami's figure collapsed into bills and coins of varying currency as they noisily clattered on the ground.
The only resident of the room left, the plain man, was not offended by his colleagues actions. Rather, the smile never left his lips as he continued muttering even as he also eventually left the room simply by walking in unhurried paces.
Strangely, despite the average looking movements, his speed was staggering as he blurred through the halls, not pausing even as he tore through the limbs of believers whom he brushed past shoulders with.
~~~
"Been a while~ How are things on your end~" I ignored the slow trickle of memories as I greeted Kuroko.
"All things considered, quite well." My beloved's voice was a much needed respite, a brief sanctuary among the experimentations. "A bit dull for the most part. The clear division of labor left me with little to do which is the opposite of what I expected from interning under one of the largest hero agencies."
"Really? Do you not go on patrols?"
"We do, actually. There is the occasional emergency deployment as well but again, the division of labor as well as my status as a student intern meant there isn't really much of anything I'm allowed to do outside of being a glorified transportation service." She sighed. "Despite our capabilities and achievements in Academy City, due to the difference in legalises, they are hardly even recognised in an official capacity outside of its borders."
"Mm. So things didn't become hectic at least." I replied thoughtfully. "I thought for sure something would have happened immediately."
Kuroko caught on quickly but that is hardly a suprise, especially since it was the mainstream news for a while now.
"It is." She nodded. "Technically, since the new legislation has passed, there was a noticeable trend of smaller accidents, the kind that you'd normally find during first awakenings. However, because of how the new law works, those sort of incidents became the responsibility of the police force, not the heroes. As it is, the men in blue are running ragged."
"I suppose our alumnus was better in that regard then. Makes you wonder if the government was too petty to copy their systematic structure."
"Perhaps so." She agreed. "But you also forgot to factor in the fact that our Alumnus was better equipped to handle such incidents. In addition to two specialised task forces and handling methods, there are also the handful of specially built infrastructure to either hold, detain or cultivate the users."
"Ah, right... Subconscious bias?" Kuroko giggled at my admission. She's right though. Academy City really did have at least a few of those buildings in every district while everywhere else had a quirk gym nearby if they were lucky. Most of quirk training happened behind close doors of private homes or in somewhat hidden areas like forest outskirts or empty lots. "Still, be careful when you're out and about. You never really know what quirk someone has hidden up their sleeves."
"Even if I did get hurt, I'm sure you'll pamper me back to health~" She's not wrong. Still, Kuroko straightened her tone almost immediately. "If anyone should be careful, shouldn't it be you? I may not know anything about your current projects but neither of us are unfamiliar with shady research centers causing problems."
"Don't worry, I'm not doing anything dangerous." It feels nice having someone fret over me, but I should placate her worries first. "And even if some problem did crop up, it'll all be handled swiftly. At least this place has better protocols than the ones we cleaned up back then."
"Truly?... Even so, make sure to contact me if someone unexpected did happen. I'll pick you up like usual~"
"I'll hold on that." I smiled. "Talk to you later, peko~"
"Nyaa~"
The call ended and along with it the warmth and fuzzy feelings that ran through my being. Putting my phone back in my pocket, I plunged myself once more into the familiar coldness and cynicism need for any clinical setting.
"Break's over." I muttered to nobody in particular as I step foot out of the small break room and back into the observatory room.
There, my numerous heads were being injected with experimental drugs derived from the TS-Virus. I didn't avert my eyes to the inhumane treatment they dispelled moments away from agonizing death as there was no use. The memory came to back to me in the end.
I know not if I, a Rokurokubi, can truly provide them with the data they needed in these trials. I suppose it wouldn't make much of a difference since both Heavun-sensei and granny didn't notice anything that divided me from humans biologically.
Still, my true purpose wasn't to actually aid in their endeavours for the Reroll serum. My true objective in doing so was to give whomever place a took a short respite, whoever or whatever they are.
...At least, until I can devise something.
Actually, I'm not even sure if they already began human trials before myself. Despite being informed of details that a casual employee wouldn't be allowed anywhere near of, I'm not particularly privy to the more sensitive details of the project.
As such, even when the core component of the serum, the TS-Virus, is primarily harvested here, the industrial chain involved meant that only certain steps would be complete locally and that it would, under discrete and heavy security, be eventually shipped off in another facility or at least another department and so on to complete the entire process.
This would take a long time and is very cumbersome for everyone involved but they aren't pulling back any stops for something of this calibere.
Still, I have to do my best to at least not leave empty handed.