Earlier [Hosu City, Japan]
??? POV
*Dring* *Dring* *Dring*
"Arrgh."
My eyes flicker awake and I can feel my face contorting into a disgraceful frown. It's still dark in my apartment, which can only mean one thing. Fiddling with the phone on the tablestand next to me, I grasp it firmly and flip around onto my back.
The light of my phone blinds me as my eyes adjust to the sudden flash. A look at the blinds next to my bed tells me all I need to know—it's way too early to be getting a call. But at the same time, I know exactly who's calling.
I let out a rough cough to clear my throat before reluctantly pressing the bright green button.
"Hello?" I groan.
"Mr. Manual!" A voice answered with too much enthusiasm. "It's time to begin the day!"
God, he really sounds like his brother.
"When I agreed to your internship I didn't expect you to be waking me up so early. I'm just a regular guy, you know? Do kids your age usually have this much energy in the mornings?"
"But you lost the bet fair and square, Sir." Iida continued, ignoring my subtle jab while keeping his tone respectful.
"Yeah, I know." Swinging my feet off the bed, I press the speaker button before stretching out all the kinks in my body.
"The office doesn't have us scheduled for a couple hours." I remind, "But if you're so insistent on patrolling, we can begin in an hour once I'm ready."
"That's not what you agreed to," Iida argues and I can almost see his eyebrows furrowing at the injustice. "But an hour is fine. I'll see you soon." And with that, he finally hangs up.
A sigh escapes my body and all the stretching I've done catches up as my body falls limp.
You'd think the boy had enough patrolling experience just from yesterday when we essentially stalked the city for most of the day.
I guess guys like him never struggle to find the motivation to keep going.
My expression darkens when I think back to the first time I saw Iida's application in my emails.
"He's bound to have a lot of drive." I mutter. "Even if it's not coming from the best place."
Sighing, I push my thoughts aside and head to the shower. Maybe the rush of the water will clear my head.
—
Iida moves with great purpose, always on the lookout for any threats that might come our way. He's extremely attentive and keeps rigidly to the rules. It's something I can admire about the young boy.
Simultaneously, he takes time to greet the folk we've been monitoring the past couple of days and the kids that come up and say hello. They're bountiful and never seem to stop appearing but Iida takes it all with great stride.
Overall, he's a good hero-in-training and I can see him getting very far in his career.
At the same time, it's not as simple as it looks.
"You could've picked a better spot." I call out. It's already been a few hours and Iida doesn't seem to know when to call it quits.
"This patrol route is prime for experience, Sir. I've checked in with all the other staff prior to confirming our course." Iida replies firmly, staying on guard.
"That's not what I mean," I retort, walking at a brisk pace to catch up. "You could've picked a better internship."
He tilts his head at me and slows down just a bit, letting me catch up.
"I was sent videos of your performance during the festival," I note, following him down the street. "Hosu City Office is just another run of the mill agency compared to some of the others I'm sure you received offers from."
Iida keeps quiet and I know he understands the meaning hidden beneath my words. There's no chance that the young jet engine hadn't been contacted by the more renowned organizations, but an unseen weight held him back.
Noticing the way that Iida stiffens, I let out a begrudged sigh. "You're young, Iida. There's more to life than chasing after ghosts in the alleys."
"The Hero Killer will be dealt with by heroes much stronger than us." Patting Iida on the back, I urge him forward only to be stopped in my tracks.
"…Tensei was stronger than I was." Iida finally breaks his silence and his armor holds still, pausing to gaze down. "It's—it's like I can almost feel him, Manual, pushing me forward even if the path I'm on isn't the one Tensei would have followed."
His words are surprisingly mature for his age. But I can tell that he's still not thinking in the right mind, being weighed down my the guilt of his brother's death. Iida must have looked up to him his entire life. My expression steels and I remind myself that it's the duty of adults to guide the young toward better paths, just like now.
Looking up with resolve, my voice comes out harsher than I wanted. "Do you have a death wish, Tenya?"
"…No," Iida replies with a voice equally as dark as mine.
"Then you need to calm down and think—"
"I think I can win."
For a second, I swear there's a lingering, translucent figure hovering behind my junior. No one seems to notice, passersby walking around us without a care in the world.
"I have to win." Iida mutters under his breath, just loud enough for me to hear.
In a blink of an eye, it passes and all I see is a young man struggling to find his place in the world, all while drowning in grief.
"Don't act on a personal grudge, Iida." I scold. Even if he's adamant on finding Stain, what kind of person would I be if I encouraged that kind of reckless behavior. "Still, I'm sorry for bringing up such a sensitive topic."
"I appreciate the warning," is all the boy says, choosing to clench his fists and march on to finish our route.
I watch his fading figure for a moment before catching up once more. I'll need to keep a closer eye on him.
—
[I-Island]
"Are you excited, Renji?"
"Of course I am." I reply with a smile. "Say, why are you also visiting Ms. Feng anyways?"
Melissa's face lights up and she mimics my smile but in a much more appealing way. "Your bluntness is so refreshing, Renji. All my peers at the Academy think smarts is enough to let them cruise through life. Always so stuck up about everything."
"Sounds like torture."
"It's not all bad," she laughs, turning the corner. "My friends are much more understanding. It's just that the general skills needed to attend lead to quite a few inflated egos."
The way back is straightforward and before long we arrive at the base of the Central Tower where we begin our ascent. Meanwhile, Melissa explains to me that she's hoping to grab an apprenticeship with the Head Researcher after she finishes school at the Academy. She wants to build a good rapport as soon as she can and from what I can tell, it seems like the most common way forward for the students living on the Island.
"Why don't you just work with your father?" I raise the question. Although the answer appears to be clear, with what little time I've spent getting to know the young girl, I want to hear it from her directly.
Before she replies, Melissa taps against the button on the elevator while checking her phone to make sure we're on time.
She rubs her hand across her forearm nervously, mind caught up in what I can only assume are previous conversations detailing the exact same topic I just brought up. "It's not like that's not an option." She nods reluctantly. "But I don't my lineage to be the only reason why I get a stronger social standing here."
Her gaze lifts and I can see the unyielding look in her eyes that shine through the many times I'm sure she's been accused of nepotism. "I love my dad, there's no doubt there, but at the same time he's always pushed me to strive to be better than he is. I wouldn't get the experience I need to accomplish such a goal if I spend all my time relying on his position."
"At least you're appreciative." I note, stepping smoothly into the elevator once the doors swing open. "My own dad taught me a lot of things when he could. I owe my intelligence to him."
"How is your Dad anyways?" She asks with a smile, "If he's any smart as you are, I'm sure he'd be welcomed on the Island. We could even invite him to the Expo later!"
"He's dead." I reply bluntly. To my amusement, her expression immediately falls and her raised hand droops down like a wilting flower.
"Oh, I'm so sorry, Renji," Melissa immediately apologizes and bows her head down, her voice suddenly filled with sympathy, "I had no idea. I wouldn't have brought it up if I knew."
I can almost see the gears turning in her head and the way she curses not knowing sooner. I guess she hadn't gotten a full look at my dossier after all. And here I thought she knew more than she let on.
"Don't be," I wave my hand before things can get any more awkward. Maybe it was a mistake to bring him up in the first place. "It was a long time ago," I reassure her again, forcing her to raise her head while I flash her a grin. "Let's focus on the task at hand, shall we? I don't want to keep Ms. Feng waiting."
A couple stray tears form at the edge of Melissa's eyes which she quickly wipes away before turning her back to me and sniffling hard to control herself.
"Yeah…" She begins, shaking her head and snapping her head toward the elevator doors. "I can't be crying in front of Lily Feng of all people."
Despite my best efforts, an awkward silence falls between us as the elevator rises slowly to the 43rd Floor, a faint tune playing on the speakers around us. All the while, a creeping feeling squirms its way up my spine as the number ticks higher and higher.
*DING!*
At the sound of the chime, the elevator doors burst open and I instinctively shield my eyes at the brightness of the floor even if my eyes can easily handle the sudden changes in lighting. Unfortunately, Melissa isn't as fortunate and instantly squints her eyes.
Without a word, I grasp her shoulder steadily and guide her out of the elevator while looking at the floor around us.
Similar to the 80th Floor which boasts an incredible amount of space fitting numerous species of vegetation, the 43rd Floor incorporates a height that would otherwise be categorized as multiple different floors.
There's something akin to an artificial sun at the top of the ceiling, being the cause for my dear companion's temporary blindness. Besides the blinding light, the space isn't a typical floor with machinery or offices like the others. Instead, it's more like someone cut out a piece of the Gobi Desert and plastered it onto the deck.
The first thing I notice is that it's eerily quiet here. There really isn't any machinery, so there's no such noise from them. All that stands is a small oasis that takes up most of the floor fitted with palm trees, flowering plants, and a couple of birds. Well, that and the quaint cabin nestled right behind it, the door facing towards the entrance where Melissa and I stand.
The world freezes with a stretch of will and I let go of Melissa, being pushed off her automatically as with any conscious being when using my abilities. I stop for a second and watch her awkward figure leaning on a support that isn't even there. Letting out a chuckle, I walk toward the cabin and near the door. At the back of my mind, I remark that if my Quirk worked any differently, I would be able to watch her fall to her knees as her support suddenly vanished.
In any case, the feeling of being watched dulls as it does whenever I activate my Quirk. It seems that whatever—or whoever, considering that I can now pinpoint its origin—isn't able to perceive my dimension.
Standing before me in the kitchen of the compact cabin is a middle-aged woman with distinct Chinese features. Her hair is a deep raven black, swaying mid-air and reaching a length that stops at the middle of her back. It appears to devour the glow shining through the skylight on the ceiling like a ravenous void.
Lily Feng stands at a modest 5ft 5 inches and her eyes are a piercing green, much brighter than my own. Walking forward, I look around the cabin for anything that might be amiss but I quickly find nothing out of the ordinary. Seemingly, all she's doing is preparing for our arrival by brewing tea.
My lips purse as I stand as close as possible and examine her ears. They're oddly more funnel shaped than normal and the tops are sharper than most too, almost like an elf.
If it were any other person, I would dismiss the shape as being purely cosmetic, but this is Lily Feng we're talking about. Every attempt at finding out about her Quirk over the past few days have proven ineffective. All I could find out was that it most certainly has something to do with her ears.
My first thought is that it has something do with enhancing her hearing, a common development of Quirks, enhancing a localized trait. That's not always the case and while there are plenty of people who fit the description, I have a gut feeling that Ms. Feng has a much stronger Quirk then usual. It also helps that she lights up like a lightbulb.
Every being with a form of sapience has an almost protective film around them at all times. I can't push against it or I get a massive headache that lasts longer than I'd like to admit. The first time I tried to push past that barrier, I passed out for a few hours too.
So annoying. Guys with strong Quirks are even worse.
That's why I can tell Feng isn't some kind of pushover. The way her film beats like a lion's heart is the strongest I've seen since my brain started leaking, reacting to certain people.
Now the only thing left to do is talk to her and find out for myself.