“Hmmm…! These buns are wonderful. The cinnamon was an unexpected touch, however. May I ask for the recipe?”

Lawrence’s mouth twitched just a little. He was making use of every sliver of self-control on him not to stuff his mouth with the damn buns. They were cute. And delicious. Sadly for him, he had a gentleman-ish charade to keep up, and sinking your head in a tray full of sweets wasn’t exactly the most gentlemanly thing to do.

“I made these of a bunch of broccoli.”

Lawrence paused.

Well, this definitively doesn’t taste like a broccoli bunch.

Miangela’s power did explain a lot. Knowing its humble origins didn’t make this cinnamon bun any less however. So he kept chewing on it as dignifiedly as possible.

Now…

Lawrence looked around.

After pranking the baker sisters and letting Mika know he was there, Lawrence had decided staying in the same hideout as before wasn’t the wisest thing to do. He had managed to get himself and the others out of danger. For now. Hiding for their lives was, fortunately, no longer a necessity.

Even so, he didn’t consider an abandoned house a proper site for serious conversations. And… that missing toilet still didn’t inspire him trust.

But where could he go? The only place he knew was his house. And he couldn’t bring the sisters to his house. For more than a reason. The main one being, hiding his identity with the extravagant outfit (and the ridiculous domino mask. Really, what exactly did those thing serve for? It’s not like wearing one makes your head invisible or something!) would lose its point if he literally started showing people where he lived.

Yep, I’m definitively looking for a hideout later.

Holy fuck, I haven’t thought that since I was twelve.

If Dean found out, he would laugh himself to death.

That would serve him right.

So the only choice left was… the Cloudsweet.

And so there they were. The soon-to-be mastermind, its shady minion (quite literally so), and the sisters: a cute girl with OCD and a baking Hero.

Nooo! This isn’t weird at all! Yep, just your normal everyday thing.

I… I have to get my head checked someday.

“So, mister…?”

Miangela was handling the conversation, for now. Emma was fixing the position of the jars in the counter sweeping the dust and double-checking the money in the cashier. Definitely not a compulsion.

“You may call me whatever you wish” Lawrence waved his hand. After all, he wasn’t giving them his name. And he didn’t have a Villain name. Not that the sisters had to know he was a Villain, for that matter. Mia herself was a Hero. How would she react if she found out?

I don’t want a barrage of meteor cookies raining upon me, thank you.

Though he had saved her. And her sister. Maybe he could use that as a bargain chip?

I’ll have to give it a thought later.

“You don’t have a… work name? Since you’re a Hero and all.”

Lawrence’s smile twitched, hidden by his skills. Thanks God for them, once again.

“I started very recently, you see.” As a Villain, you know? A Villain.

“That’s still weird” she said. “New Heroes usually get a lot of attention, both from the public and the Heroes Union…”

“I’m a bit of a lone wolf, myself.” That part was actually true. Lawrence hated bosses. Of every kind. It was the main reason why he had become a freelancer, in the first place. Even if Lawrence had turned into a Hero…

What would have happened then? He asked himself.

But that was for another occasion.

“Then I will go ahead and call you Mr. Chief, since that’s what Mika seems to be calling you.”

“Mika?” They sure look like they’re in good terms, for people who met less than a day ago.

Also, “Chief”? Really?

It was cringy. But alas, he had no name to call himself. It was yet another thing that had to be thoroughly considered later on.

“Chief it will be them.”

“Well, Mr. Chief, I’ll get straight to the point.” Mia shifted in her hair and her eyes looked a lot more serious now.

Oh, here it comes. “I want you get away from me and my sister!” Or something like that. As expected, no one in their sane mind would-

“Thank you very much for rescuing me and my sister!” She pressed her hands together as she bowed to him.

…uh?

“Come again?”

“This had happened some times before! Me being a Hero isn’t an airtight secret, so some villains find out from time to time and it gets really messy… I’m usually enough to handle it, but it looks like this time it was above me. I even involved your sidekick. I’m sorry for that!”

…Oh.

…Oooooohhhhh…

She thinks it’s her fault!

Well…

I feel bad for her but…

I can’t really tell her it’s my fault can I?

Nope. I thought so.

…Jesus. What do I do now?

For the moment, he would have to make it up to her and her sister. Since he intended to keep coming to the Cloudsweet, he couldn’t really leave everything as it was…

And then, a brilliant idea popped up on his head.

“Oh, it was no problem at all, certainly. However, if you feel so in debt… Perhaps you could do me a little favor?”

Mia sighed in relief. “Sure. What can I do?”

“You see, Sha- Mikaella is in a bit of a tough spot. I scouted her from an orphanage and…”

Mia’s eyes were tearing up. What the hell?!

Meanwhile, in Mia’s head:

Awwww! He rescued her from an orphanage? That’s so… heroic! That explains her behavior. Of course she looks up to him so much! He saved her! Her weird personality suddenly makes sense… This one is, without a doubt, a true Hero! I had my reserves on him before, but alas… I can give Emma my blessing now!

“…and I am trying to integrate her in… society as a whole. Sadly, it seems that we never have the time to educate her properly. Perhaps, she could come once in a while and you and your sister would look after her?”

It was a genius idea, if he said so himself. Not only would Lawrence get some time to rest, and get Mika… somewhat educated, she could keep an eye on the sisters to make sure nothing bad happened to them!

I feel like there’s a catch, somewhere…

Nah, it’s got to be my imagination.

“I would be glad to! I take it you won’t come with her?”

Lawrence considered it. “I will come by and leave her here. I will also come to take here home. You and your sister will have nothing to worry about. I feel like I would be a trouble, but…”

“Oh no no no, not at all!” Not when I’ll see you and my sis spending as much time together as possible…

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“Very well, then.”

Lawrence tipped his hat and bowed to Mia, leaning on his jet-black cane.

“I hope ours will be a long-lasting relationship.”

* ••••

Jhonny downed the glass of whiskey on his deck. His bodyguard internally thought: No, that’s not how you’re supposed to do this kind of thing! Which brought him a vague sense of déjà vu.

Meanwhile, Jhonny pondered.

About his conversation with the Ghost.

* ••••

“I surrender.”

He was shocked, to say the least. He was sure it was a lie. Some kind of trick, at least. This man had shown an uncanny ability to pull up new cards on his sleeve. And now, he was surrendering?

Jhonny stared at him dead in the eye. The gleaming amethysts seemed to reflect his gaze and stare into his very soul. The man never stopped smiling. It made him feel like something was off.

Yet, he wasn’t moving.

Still, Jhonny didn’t want to buy it.

“Why?” he asked. There was no reason why this person should capitulate. Yet there he was, hands up in the air, staring at him like he wanted to pierce a hole on his head. And, all things considered, that wasn’t completely out of hand.

“Because I want to talk. From man to man. Alone. And I am certain you will not accept a one-to-one talk with me, unless we are both in a silver-contained room where I have absolutely no way to escape.”

Somehow, Jhonny was sure this… Ghost, had the skills to overcome even his silver alloy. But… It was’t wrong. He wouldn’t feel relatively safe unless they were both restricted from using their abilities. Because, yes, he was sure he was a Meta. Just like him. But he didn’t feel like a Hero. Another Villain, then…?

But it didn’t feel exactly like that, either.

He wanted to run away from all of this, really.

But Jhonathan Chase was no coward. No sir.

This person in front of him was still an enemy, though. At least until he proved otherwise.

Jhonny pondered. What to do? The man who had given him so much trouble was now in front of him, hands up in the air. Blowing his head wouldn’t be that hard, unless he had another trick hidden up his sleeve which…

Which all things considered, wasn’t that much of a crazy idea.

On the other hand, listening to whatever he had to say could or could not prove beneficial to him.

It really wasn’t that hard to decide, was it?

“Alright, I’ll hear you up” Jhonny said. The ghost siged, smiled and nodded. “Very well then” he said. “A temporary truce, then. I take it you wouldn’t be so kind as to unsummon your hammer, would you?”

“Not a chance in hell.”

* ••••

Jhonny downed the glass of whiskey on his deck. Lawrence internally thought: No, that’s not how you’re supposed to do this kind of thing! Which brought him a vague sense of déjà vu.

Which brought him an ever stronger sense of déjà vu.

Funny. I thought I’ve heard it before, somewhere…

“Do something funny with my office and your fancy hat will end up as shark accessories.”

“Worry not. I’ve come in peace… temporarily.”

It was precisely that which made Jhonny’s hair stand on his neck.

“Now give me a good reason why I shouldn’t send you to sleep with the fishes. And your friend, while at it”

“I would advise you against it. I am confident Shade is currently impossible to catch, unless in particular situations such as the one you caught her in. Using civilians as hostages isn’t very cute from your part, however.”

“Civilians, my ass. That Hero lady took down half of my squad.”

“The point stands.”

“Listen, I don’t give a fuck about any of that. I’m losing my goddamn patience so unless you start giving me reasons…”

Lawrence’s eyes gleamed.

“You’ll do what? I’ll answer for you: nothing. You can do nothing. And, as much as I’m sorry to admit, I can do nothing with you either. See our problem, Mr. Chase? We are two enemies unable to do anything against each other. Trying to hunt me and Shade down would be akin to drinking tea with a toothpick. And us going against you, on the other hand, is like using said toothpick against a concrete wall. Oh, don’t get me wrong. We could try. And probably not fail. But the point is: we wouldn’t win either. I’m sure you see my point.”

Jhonathan sighed. As much as he hated to admit, he couldn’t have explained the situation any better. They were in a stalemate. And… This man… if he was… He was nothing but a side concern. Right now, he couldn’t afford to put his assets on anything but fighting the Yakuza.

And that was exactly what Lawrence was counting on.

“You cannot afford to engage in an endless battle of attrition against me. Especially not so when you are too busy handling the Yakuza.”

“Get to the fucking point” Jhonny was getting tired from all of this.

“I propose a temporal alliance.”

The whiskey got stuck somewhere in his digestive tube, suddenly deciding going back and swimming in Jhonny’s lungs just to screw with him was a much better option than to turn into urine.

Jhonny disagreed.

He hit his chest a couple of times, coughing.

“Come again?”

“Think of it. Why getting stuck in a triangular battle when it can be two versus one instead? Oh, I’m sure you are handling the Yakuza pretty well. Your empire still standing relatively strong is a telltale. Yet, isn’t that and this the same situation? You aren’t damaging them too much, truth being said. Are you willing to wage this battle untili there is nothing left in this city for you to reign?”

Jhonathan’s blood was getting to the boil point. Every single word coming out form this man’s mouth was a true that stung like an iron maiden’s spike.

“…”

“You may not like it. For all I know, you are the prodigy man who built one of the largest, more important construction companies and trafficking organizations in Worne YK, maybe all of the States Union... alone. Oh, I can imagine. Trust is a liability. Aliances are temporal. You can count on nothing but yourself. Isn’t that what you think?”

It was. It was so real it hurt. But Jhonathan was not weak. He would not let it show, nor would he let his anger cloud his judgment. So, he considered the proposal from a bystander’s point of view…

And, in reality, it was an offer he simply couldn’t refuse.

But.

But!

Showing any weakness meant the end for him. He would not, could not accept defeat. At least, not externally. He would say yes, that… that was already set. But not just yet.

Nah. He would push this to the very limit.

“What do I get from this whole alliance thing?”

“My help. You know, from experience, that I have quite a capable force on my side.” Not that there was any need to point out that capable force was made of Mika, and nothing else. “You also know, from experience, how good I am at playing the guerrilla warfare. And also, you get my word that I will not attack you in any way… Until our alliance is over, that is.”

“And what do you get from it?”

“A little peace. A powerful ally. Hopefully a new Feature. And last but not least, it would get me one step closer to my goal.”

Jhonathan sighed. A goal? Money, probably. Or fame. That’s what all these hags were after, wasn’t it? Himself included.

“And what is your goal.”

Lawrence grinned.

“None of your business, at least not for the time being. And well? What do you say?”

…

There was a heavy silence. Jhonathan spoke not a single word. Lawrence started to get nervous, even if it couldn’t show externally. Had he failed? What would happen next? Would he attack him again? Would-?

“Agh, fuck it. I’m getting one hell of a headache from all of this. Just… go home, whever that is. I’ll text you later when I’ve decided what to do. Don’t get your hopes high.” He reached for a burner on his deck and tossed it to Lawrence. “Use that to communicate with me, for now. If anything related to the Yakuza happens, text me asap. Now get the fuck out of here before I change my mind.”

“I will have it mind. Well then…”

Jhonathan blinked. He gulped and looked around. That fucker was nowhere to be seen? Where the hell had he gone?!

“Until we meet again!” A voice that seemed to come from nowhere and everywhere at the same time howled in the wind.

And just like that… the Ghost was gone.

Jhonathan sighed. He called over one of his errand monkeys.

“You there.”

“Yes, sir?”

“Go fetch me some heavy headache pills. The more the merrier.”

“…Sir?”

“You just go.”

“Copy that.”

He sighed again. If this kept going he would sigh himself to death…

If the headache to come didn’t kill him first.

* ••••

Ebonspine:

- Summon an unbreakable ebony cane. The cane serves as a sheath for a hidden stiletto that can cut through almost anything but makes killing impossible. The blade can still inflict shallow cuts on enmies.

(Don’t get your hopes high, sweetie, I’m still not letting you fight anyone)

- Semi-Passive Skill (permanent effect; switch effect, no cooldown)

- Boosted by the Conqueror’s Spark

“I don’t know if I should laugh or cry” Lawrence said. He was… resigned by now. Both to not get any truly offensive abilities, and to be mocked by the system. Getting used to it sooner would help ease out some of the pain… He hoped.

It was still an… interesting addition to his arsenal. Albeit now needing the exorbitating amount of 3125 Feature Points for his next attempt on getting a combat skill…

“I guess I’m stuck at the ‘hit and run’ for… more than I want.”

Growth was logarithmic for almost every Meta. There were some very, very rare Features that turned this growth in linear, or even exponential. But sadly, for most of them, past your sixth feature it was nearly impossible to grow. Some even got a seventh or eight. The seventh feature was especially a goal almost every Meta wished.

Even though the way the System assigned Features was almost random, there were two special exceptions. The seventh Feature, and the ninth feature.

The reason is that, no matter what, the basics of your Feature would be the same for every Meta.

The seventh Feature was almost always a Final Technique of sorts. Something that pushed the very limits of your themed Meta-Ability and turned it into something to be feared… For a monstrous cooldown that could vary from months to years… to once in a life time.

Some of the most powerful Final Techniques recorder in the history of Metas were, for examples, Date to Live’s Sealing Kiss, which allowed him to borough all of his summons’ powers for a limited amount of time and boosted it to unseen measures… via a kiss.

How convenient.

Another one, with a cooldown of once every month, was Spyglass & Tobacco’s Inverse Deduction, which allowed him to reconstruct any scene he wanted to the finest detail. It was thanks to this skill several serial killers like the Wandering Fool and the Arch Sovereign Necromancer had been caught.

Nevermind that they both easily escaped short after.

But the appreciation for Final Techniques reached its peak in the Battle of Dansk, when the mad ex-Hero This Side Up was finally put to rest by the currently pinnacle Hero, Justice Man, with his trademark move “And Justice For All”.

Lawrence couldn’t help but remember. He was still very, very young when the Power War finally ended. He had only seen it from the TV.

It had filled his heart with an indescribable feeling of admiration.

“For every person out there, for every soul that believes, there is a Light of Justice! I am but a Scale to judge your wicked acts! Begone, Evil! Let your actions be judged by humanity’s will!”

A power that boosted each and every of your other powers, for each person walking on Earth that supported you. That was… A god-like power.

Lawrence… wasn’t sure what to do next.

He had gotten all the troubles out of his back, for now.

What now?

…

He…

He though. Maybe, just maybe.

Maybe one day he would be that strong.

…

Lawrence shook his head. A phone beeped on his pocket.

He reached for Jhonny’s burner. The screen flashed as a new message came into the mailbox.

“Alright, I’m in. We’ll talk soon.”

He smiled.

Yeah, maybe one day.

Everything was going good so far.

* ••••

“We have grown lenient.”

She simply nodded at the Headmaster’s words. They were law, after all.

“The lion has grown strong and now believes they can take on the dragon.”

She did not know what to think. She needed not to. The clan had spoken. She would put her claws to use.

“You understand what this means, don’t you?”

She nodded.

“Very well then. Now go, Kurohyou.”

The howling winds brought a familiar smell. It was the smell of blood.

“Let all who stand against the Yakuza fear the name of the Dragon!”

A human shadow flew. And yet, all that there remained was…

A black cat.

The king of destruction.