Daily Meme
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"A bite." Toga said, breathing heavily.
I frowned. "What."
"On your lip. Just a little one. Just enough for a taste~"
"The fuck kind of low-budget vampire fantasy are you running here?"
"The kind where I get what I want."
I scoffed. "Dream bigger."
"Ohhh, you are so mean," Toga pouted on the other end of the line. "Fine. How about this... you take me out on a date, and in return, I only bite you a little. That is a great deal, isn't it?"
"That is a terrible deal."
"You are so difficult."
"And you are a damn menace."
She giggled. "I know~"
I sighed. "Pick something else."
"Hmm…" She clicked her tongue, pretending to think. "Okay! Here's my final offer-"
I didn't trust it. "It better not involve teeth."
"No promises~"
"Toga."
She huffed. "Fine. I want a favor. No questions asked."
I frowned. "No details?"
"Nope!"
"Absolutely the fuck not."
She whined. "C'mon, Ryuu, don't you trust me?"
"Not even a little."
She pouted. "You are breaking my heart."
"Your heart is made of stab wounds and poor life choices. It will be fine."
She giggled. "You are so cute when you try to be mean~"
I pinched the bridge of my nose. "Final offer. I buy you food. That is it."
She gasped. "Are you trying to bribe me with snacks?"
"Yes."
She made an exaggerated thinking noise. "…Do I get to pick what kind of food?"
"Sure."
"Can I also pick dessert?"
"No."
"Ryuuuuu."
"Take it or leave it."
Toga sang through the phone, dragging out the words like she had all the time in the world. "I leave it."
Of course, she did. I should have known it wouldn't be that easy.
Toga's voice practically purred through the receiver. "A date. A bite on the lips, and perhaps a little taste of blood."
I squinted at my phone. "Lowest."
She giggled. "Fine, fine. A date. No blood."
I sighed. "Better."
"…But I get to pick where we go."
I already regretted this. "Nothing illegal."
She made a disappointed noise. "Then what is the point?"
"The point is not getting arrested."
"You are such a killjoy, Ryuu~."
I groaned. "I will be wearing a mask the whole time. No calling me by name."
She giggled, dragging out the sound just to be annoying. "I will just call you 'lover.' Or 'husband.' Or both."
I clenched my teeth. "No, you will not."
"You can't stop me," she sang.
"Watch me."
Toga let out a dramatic sigh. "Ugh, you are so difficult. Fine, I will behave. A little."
I exhaled. "Good. Now talk."
She hummed, dragging it out. "You know, it is kinda rude to just use me for information, Ryuu~. Maybe if you were a little nicer..."
"Toga."
She huffed. "Ugh, you are no fun. Fine. You owe me for this."
"I don't owe you shit."
"You will," she said, way too pleased with herself. "But okay, since you asked so nicely~"
I didn't say shit. Just waited.
She clicked her tongue. "Shie Hassaikai. Something is cooking in your area. Big drug operation. Big enough that Shigaraki's interested. He is meeting them soon. Some kinda merger."
That got my attention. "When?"
"Not sure yet," she admitted. "But soon. They are testing something new, though. Something stronger. And guess where?"
I was already piecing it together. "Here."
She laughed. "Ding ding ding! Smart boy. Yeah, they've got runners pushing the product, seeing how it holds up. Real hush-hush, but some of the lower guys are getting sloppy. A few little accidents here and there. Guess they didn't read the fine print on 'untested product.'"
Shit. "You keeping tabs on them?"
She gasped. "Ryuu, are you calling me reliable?"
"No, I am telling you to do your damn job."
She pouted. "So cold. But fiiine, I will keep you posted. For a price."
I already regretted this. "Lowest."
"A bite."
"No."
"A french."
"Still no."
She huffed. "Okay, okay. No blood, no biting, no illegal shit. Just a normal, boring kiss. Lowest."
I looked at the sky.
"I feel cheap."
Toga giggled through the phone. "You say that like it is a bad thing~"
I exhaled through my nose. "I hate you."
"Aww, you are such a sweet talker, Ryuu~."
I pulled the phone away from my ear and ended the call. A second later, another message popped up. A heart emoji. Then a knife. Then a drooling face. I sighed and shoved my phone back into my pocket.
Nejire peeked her head out of the agency's entrance. "You done flirting?"
I turned. "Nejire, I swear-"
--
When we got back inside, I looked at Ryukyu and Mirko. "What do you know about Shie Hassaikai?"
Ryukyu frowned. "Not much. I' heard Sir Nighteye is looking into them, but nothing beyond that."
Mirko crossed her arms. "Yakuza, right? Thought they were done for."
I exhaled. "Yeah, well, they are trying to crawl back."
Ryukyu and Mirko both raised an eyebrow.
Ryukyu spoke first. "Is it serious?"
"Big drug operation," I said. "Friend who dabbles in the dark web tipped me off."
Mirko looked amused. "You got friends like that?"
I shrugged. "Not everyone is a model citizen."
Nejire rocked on her heels. "Aren't Izuku and Mirio interning with Nighteye? Maybe they can find something."
Ryukyu frowned, processing that. "How sure are you about this?"
"Enough that it is not just rumors."
Mirko cracked her knuckles. "So what, we wait for Nighteye to do his thing, or are we jumping in?"
–
We rolled up to Nighteye's office, and I could already tell this was gonna be a pain in the ass. Not because of Nighteye himself... I didn't know the guy well enough to hate him, but because of Izuku. Dude had that stressed-out, 'I want to make a good impression' energy cranked up to eleven, which meant he was gonna be extra.
Mirio led the way, all smiles, like we weren't about to meet the most uptight pro hero in the city. Nejire was bouncing next to me, completely unbothered. "Ooo, I wonder if he will let me look at his files. I bet he got so much cool info!"
I shrugged. "He got files on every major villain. Probably boring as hell."
She gasped. "No way! Imagine all the secrets! Maybe he even has a file on you."
Mirio laughed. "That would be something."
Izuku tensed. "I… don't think Sir keeps files on students."
I smirked. "You sure? You ever ask?"
Before he could spiral, the door opened. Bubble Girl was on the other side, arms crossed, looking unimpressed. "You are late."
Mirio grinned. "Technically, we are right on time!"
She sighed. "Sir is waiting."
We stepped in, and there he was... tall, sharp-eyed, looking like he judged everything the second it entered his line of sight. His gaze landed on Izuku first, then flicked to me.
"Sup," I said, nodding upward.
Izuku's eye twitched.
Nighteye didn't react immediately. Then, "You must be Ryuu Midoriya."
"The One and Only."
Mirio clapped me on the back. "He is great, isn't he?"
"Let's talk."
–
We left Nighteye's office and hit the streets. His turf, or his "area," or whatever the hell pros called it. At this point, hero agencies were feeling more like mafia fronts. They took protection money, ran districts, had people under them. The only real difference was that the government backed them. Wait, it is not different at all.
Not that it mattered. Work was work.
The sun was high, heat bouncing off the pavement. The place was busy... civilians going about their day, nothing out of the ordinary. Taking pictures of us. The usual.
I glanced at Nighteye. "Got a major drug operation from an informant. It is tied to the Shie Hassaikai. Ryukyu said you were investigating them."
Mirio stayed silent, letting Nighteye take the lead. Nejire walked beside me, waiting for a response.
Nighteye didn't even show surprise, "What is your source?"
"Someone with connections," I said.
He glanced at me. "Vague."
I shrugged. "Still useful."
He looked ahead again. "Details."
"They are testing something new. Pushing it in smaller circles before expanding. If it works the way they want, they are scaling up. League is interested."
Mirio frowned. "That is bad."
No shit.
Nighteye didn't react. He kept walking, weaving through foot traffic like this wasn't an issue worth stopping for. "Testing on who?"
I shook my head. "Not confirmed, but some of their runners are getting sloppy. I wouldn't be surprised if some junkies OD'd."
Nejire's nose wrinkled. "That is messed up."
Welcome to the world, sunshine.
Nighteye finally stopped at an intersection, scanning the area. "And you trust this source?"
"As much as I trust anyone in this business."
"Then they are unreliable."
I sighed. "The information checks out. Unless you already knew all this?"
He didn't answer immediately. Then, "We knew they were making moves. We didn't have specifics."
So this was new for him, too.
As we walked, a little girl, no older than five, latched onto my leg out of nowhere. Small, trembling hands gripped tight, knuckles white. I barely had time to react before I instinctively caught her, my hands steadying her as she clung to me, shaking.
Silver hair, messy. A single horn on the side of her head. Her clothes were worn down, practically hanging off her small frame. Gauze wrapped around her arms. Her breathing was fast, uneven, like she had been running on fear alone.
I felt her fingers tighten around the fabric of my pants, her body curling inward. When I glanced down, wide, terrified eyes stared up at me.
Behind her, a man walked up, his movements too casual. "I am sorry, Heroes. My daughter is a bit clumsy. Hopefully, she did not cause any trouble."
--
Morpheus extends two hands.
In one: The Power Stone.
In the other: The endless scroll of lurker shame.
"You take the scroll,
you wake up and believe you're just a reader.
You drop the stone…
and I show you how deep Ryuu's trauma goes."
Choose wisely.
Or Agent Bakugo will monologue your spinal column.
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