The media was in a bit of a panic. Phoenix had appeared in Kyoto for the first time ever and caused two major problems. The first was suddenly defending an injured girl from what seemed to be businessmen. The second was the healing process. You see, Teka had never actually been seen healing people. Which was why people often wrote her off as a fraud or a fake. This time, however, was different.
Because she was so focused on Mei’s condition at the time, she didn’t notice the security camera on the hospital pointing directly at them. Despite the slightly blurry footage, It caught the entire healing process. From the growing back of bones and flesh to the broken arm that cracked back into place to the jet that suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Her face was covered but from the bit of her hair flowing out of her hoodie, it was confirmed to be white.
“So, this means we know two things about Phoenix,” Tokyo Tv’s biggest newscasters, Chitose, also known as Curious, and Daichi were currently live on air from the Tokyo Sky Tree from one of Tokyo’s many districts. It had been a busy morning and they’d just managed to get on the air. “One, the myths that she can heal just about anything weren’t wrong and two. Their identity is a female probably in their late teens.”
“Also, we managed to get a piece of the pink-haired girl’s name. We can’t say it on air for security reasons but according to the police, nothing came up in their databases,” Daichi leaned closer to the camera with a smile on his face. The screen behind them changed to a zoomed-in image of Kage. “But there’s more to it! Last night, a recording from one of our sources caught a clip of the mysterious girl with those mysterious creatures. Except she wasn’t alone this time.”
The video clip played from beginning to end. It was shot from such an angle that you would’ve believed it was from a movie scene. The dozens of shadow soldiers, the cold red eyes of the girl, and the boy that suddenly appeared from a burst of glass and ribbons. Unlike Kage, Sora’s entire face was captured by the cameras.
“Unfortunately, our source couldn’t record it. But he managed to snag a few keywords from the short conversation,” Curious excitedly pulled out a small notepad. “ ‘Useless creatures to your army?’, ‘Looking for Erity’, ‘Aether’, and ‘Whichever one appears first is the one we’re taking back to the Aether. All I need to do is become King’.”
It was silent for a bit as both of them processed what they’d just read. Daichi quickly stepped in while Curious read the paper over and over again. Commercials started to roll as Curious held the paper in her hand. “Daichi…”
“Hm?”
“…Call me crazy, but I think this goes down far deeper than we think,” She turned towards him, causing him to flinch once he saw the flames in her eyes. “And I really want to figure all of this out.”
*
Naomasa Tsukauchi was widely known as one of the best detectives in the police force. There wasn’t a single case that he had that didn’t go unsolved. Which was so frustrating since he hadn’t been able to find any information on the Phoenix or the person assisting her.
He paused the video that was currently making its rounds across the internet. Phoenix’s mask just barely came off. But it wasn’t enough to identify who they were. With a groan, he finally stepped away from his computer for the first time in hours and looked at All Might, who was avoiding his gaze.
Tsukauchi was the first one to speak. “Toshinori… you seem to know something, right?”
“I’m not sure about it,” He sat upright and faced him. His expression turned serious. “But I felt something when I looked at Phoenix and those two kids.”
The detective took a seat across from him and drank his lukewarm soda. “Care to explain?”
“You know about One for All… about my master, Nana Shimura.” Tsukauchi nodded with a wary look. “I know this sounds ridiculous, but I believe those children are related to her in some way.”
“Ha?” He pinched the bridge of his nose and took in a deep breath. “Toshinori, she’s gone. She had no kids, so why’s that?”
“Well, I know it sounds weird… but it felt like there is more to their powers. Mine too. This might sound crazy, but I also don’t think they’re human.”
Tsukauchi groaned and opened the door of his office.
“All Might, I don’t what the hell is going on with your power… but you need to get it under control.” He slammed the door and stomped down the hall, leaving All Might to his own devices.
Dragons huh…
He still couldn’t get it out of his head. Why? Whenever he looked at the videos of the Phoenix, that’s all he could think about. He sighed, pulled out his phone, and dialed one of the few who knew about One for All. The skeleton of a man decided at that moment to find out what the Phoenix truly was.
*
> Access file FGSYJ-1982453-4352?
> Denied – No Administrator Access
> Access file FGSYJ-1982453-33245?
> Denied – No Administrator Access
>! Warning – System shutdown if Access is denied again.
> Access file FGSYJ-1982453-1987?
Summer had passed a long time ago. It was late November now and Mei had managed to get into a few government databases. There was something about what Teka said. Why would she mention dragons? It bothered her for a reason she couldn't put her finger on.
It took a few weeks of nothing before she decided to actually hack into a government center. She delayed all her projects and injected some of her bots to scour some of the databases that were too large for her to scan by herself.
The bot was pretty simple actually. Once it was deployed, it would replicate itself twice and start the scan. If it found what it was looking for, it would copy and upload it to a secure cloud server that only Mei had access to. If it didn’t, it would move and branch out.
After confirming they were working properly, she diverted her attention out the window to Teka. She was sitting on top of a drone that Mei had. Mei shut off her monitors and made her way outside.
About two weeks had passed since Teka left Musutafu. Summer had passed a long time ago. The cool November air had set in, causing a cold wave to wash over the base. Teka spent her free time exploring the surrounding areas.
“Shouldn’t you be going back?” Mei took a break and sat next to Kai on one of the drones next to her. Dark circles were visible under both of their eyes as they were both busy with their own problems. Teka managed to calm down and think about what happened rationally. Mei was busy finishing the rest of her moving procedures. Teka never questioned why Mei had too much stuff, but Mei was glad she didn’t.
“Yea. I was thinking about going back a while ago though.” She looked at the old hangers of the military base. “I’ll leave tonight. Have you found anything?”
Mei shook her head and pulled up a hologram that showed her bots spreading across the system. “I just deployed some bots on some servers. I’ll update you if they come back with anything interesting.”
Teka nodded silently while gazing over the airbase that was still bustling with machine activity. “Could you tell me about this base?”
“Heh, it’s not very interesting so I’m not sure you’ll like it.” She scratched her cheek while eyeing the city in the distance. Even though it was dark, she could still make out the individual lights if she zoomed in with her quirk.
“I’m down for a story of any kind.”
“Well, if you say so,” She turned and faced Teka, who was glowing with curiosity. Mei couldn’t help but smile as she began her story. “It was about a week after my seventh birthday. My parents had just left for the U.S, saying they had special business and they would be back in a few days. As you expect, they didn't come back. And I doubt they even wanted to. So, me being me, I naturally ran away.”
Her expression darkened a bit before she continued. “No one even looked my way. It was like that for a few months before I somehow ended up with a busted laptop and a weak internet connection. And when I touched it, it felt so natural.” She recalled the days when she took down a part of the hero network. Her yellow eyes brightened once she recalled it. “The way my fingers danced across the keyboard; it was amazing.”
“So… naturally you started selling your talents?”
Mei nodded.
“Yea. And it was amazing. I eventually got so good at it, that even villains started to seek me out. And I obliged… for the right price. So, I took down networks, crashed servers, hacked into anything I could get my hands on. Across the world and in Japan. It was like a drug… I got so addicted that I almost lost myself.”
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“…”
“But then, for the first time in a long time, someone spotted me,” She wrapped her arms around her legs and stared at Teka's sapphire eyes. “I don’t know who it was, but it snapped me out of what the hell I was doing.”
Teka nodded in response.
“I used all the money I had, wired it to different accounts, and used it to transport everything I had made to this spot, one of the most isolated places I could find. I even went a step further and erased any mention of this from most of the websites I could get my bots into. Even my Identity is gone. Erased the same day you came here."
Teka grabbed her hand and pulled her in for a hug. Mei didn’t resist it and hugged her back. "...So those guys in Kyoto?"
She felt Mei nod in her arms. "That night in Kyoto City, where I got into major trouble for saying that I quit doing some villain’s dirty work. If it wasn’t for you… I don’t even know.”
“Well, I’m glad I met you! Who knows what could have happened to me if you hadn’t saved me?” She yawned before laying down on the drone. It was a cold night and the stars were visible. Mei complained about the cold and said she’d go to bed. But Teka didn’t let that happened. She pulled her close and wrapped the two of them in bright blue flames. “I think I’ll stay for tonight so why you don’t stay with me?”
The flames repelled any thoughts of getting any more work done. She obliged with a smile on her face.
*
Where the fuck is, she?
It’d been nearly two weeks since Bakugo had found out about Teka’s secret and he had been frustrated as a result. She disappeared without a trace. Why the fuck am I worried about that damn Firecracker? Despite thinking that, he made her way over to her house early in the morning. Midoriya, for some reason, wasn’t worried but refused to tell him why. Bakugo almost blasted him but restrained himself.
So, for the past few days, he made his way over the house early in the morning, waited for an hour on the bench on the beach, and left for school if she didn’t show up. She ain’t even picking up her phone...
A heavy sigh escaped his mouth as he dialed her number again… no response. It just went straight to voicemail for the 20th time. The time quickly passed, and the sun began to rise behind him, signaling his cue to leave. So she really is the Phoenix. After the whole fight between Kori and Teka, he disappeared in a burst of ice. Leaving him and his family confused.
“You’ve been here for the past few days Bakugo,” Kori’s cold voice permeated his ears as he materialized next to him. Bakugo tried his best to hide his shock, but let a bit slip through. He sat on top of a part of the garbage pile while Bakugo looked over the ocean. “Or should I call you ‘Kacchan’?”
“So you’re really the Phoenix and the Ice Wolf, huh?” Ignoring the previous comment, his red eyes met his dull blue ones.
“What about it?” Holograms appeared around him and he began scrolling through them. “It’s not like the police will believe you.”
Bakugo asked the question that had been racking his mind for a while now. “How much?”
“You don't need to know that."
“Her memory damnit! How much did she lose?”
A blue dot could be seen approaching over the ocean. “Everything up until a few years ago. She lost it from people like you. They ‘bullied’ her so much that she was nearly shattered as a result,” His eyes glowed a bit, and stalagmites formed around Bakugo. “And you. You are no better than the beasts we ran away from.”
The ice exploded into millions of pieces. Kori disappeared just as the blue figure could be made out. Teka’s figure could be made approaching at a high speed. The hum of her thrusters got louder and louder until she pointed the ends towards Bakugo and slowed her speed dramatically.
After a few seconds, her feet touched down in front of Bakugo. Embers slowly rose off her body as they faced one another. She didn’t say anything. Instead, she pulled out her bag and fished out the hoodie he’d given her. “Thanks for your hospitality.”
It didn’t hold any malice or niceness. It was plain. She started to walk off as Bakugo looked down at the black hoodie. His eyes narrowed. Orange filled his hands as he ignited the hoodie in his palms. “Oi, Firecracker!”
“…?”
Teka didn’t get a chance to think as Bakugo fired a blast of orange in her direction. Blue flames sprouted from the soles of her feet. She compressed the flames into tiny balls and released them, trying to copy his explosions. It wasn’t nearly as powerful as his, but It was enough to blast him back into a rusting car.
No words were exchanged between the two, but they knew that neither would be attending school today.
They fought until the sunset. Beads of sweat poured down their faces. Their bodies ached and they both needed to rest but neither wanted to admit it. Thirty-five rounds. Thirty-five wins to Teka. Not a single one to Bakugo. But with every round, Bakugo got better at predicting her attack pattern and Teka got a better handle on how to use the explosions.
She was just about to launch another explosion from her aching arms when the smell of familiar smoke made her alert. Her flames dimmed down to wisps as she looked around the beach.
“Ha,” Bakugo held one of his palms and silently cursed at himself. “You giving up already firecracker?” He followed her gaze and finally peeked up on the catwalk. Midoriya sat on a nearby bench, scribbling in his notebook without care. “You gotta be fucking kidding me.” Bakugo started to walk over to him but Teka was faster by materializing next to Midoriya.
Midoriya looked up with a smile as the blue embers filled his vision. “Kori told me what happened,” He scratched his cheek a bit while looking at the approaching Bakugo. Out of habit, smoke rose out of his body as he came closer. “I um. I didn’t tell Kacchan because I didn’t want to tell anyone about your secret! Kori only told me yesterday that Kacchan knew…”
“Tch, even Deku knew before me?”
Teka nodded quietly as she took a seat next to Midoriya, letting her skin soak up the sunlight. It was a bit awkward, but Bakugo asked the question that was on both of their minds.
“Why do you do it?”
“Do what?”
“Answer the damn question.”
“Because why not?”
“What a shitty answer.”
Teka chuckled at that with a smile on her face.
“Could say the same about your personality.”
*
Kage’s shadows all had something in common. They wanted to continue living. When she came down from the Aether, she made a strict rule with herself that she would never force resurrect a human. But what she was seeing now was making her second guess her decision.
A black liquid dripped out of her eyes as she peeked into the world between life and death. Dozens of lost souls wandered the streets. They avoided her like the plague, moving out of the way when she even so much as gazed in their direction. The shadows in her void snickered as she walked the streets of the Tasomiya Ward.
Out of the corner of her eye, something caught her attention. Her red eyes gazed over a soul sitting on what seemed to be a cloud. The cat that she revived was sitting on its lap, enjoying the rubdown it was receiving. The soul was smiling, like it had been missing something from its endless existence.
This one is different. She walked up to the soul and got a better look at him. Disheveled clothes, a long pole by his side, and a pair of old goggles hung from his neck. Finally, he looked up once the kitten lept from his lap and curled up against Kage’s feet.
Kage stepped back a bit and her eyes widened. His eyes were dull and lifeless. The smile on his face Normally, a soul would’ve disappeared if they ever looked like this. The souls she’s revived never looked like this. It was like he was alive, or something was anchoring him in this world.
They stared at each other before Kage spoke. “Can you speak?”
The shadow looked at her before giving a slight nod. “I… can.” It croaked out. He sounded like he hadn’t spoken for years. “Where… am I?”
Another thing that didn’t add up. He didn’t have his memories like other souls. Kage was once again taken aback and asked for his name. “Name?... I can’t remember actually.”
This conversation continued on and on. The soul was becoming more friendly with each passing second. She figured out that he indeed had no memory of his past life. The cloud he was sitting on was his quirk. Except, he didn’t know how to use it.
Eventually, Kage stuck out her hand. “How about you come with me?”
“With… you? Kage?”
She nodded. “I won’t force you. But it’ll be better if you see the world. Maybe you’ll remember something.”
The gears were turning in his head, but he made the answer that would change his life.
“Ortum.”
The same could be said for a certain somehow watching the entire scene taking place.
Curious’s hands were shaking as she held the camera. This is amazing. She snapped another photo with her other camera as she kept the main camera rolling. It captured almost everything. It captured Kage and the cat she revived walking down the Tasomiya Ward with no direction to her suddenly chatting with a wall for a few.
At first, Curious thought she was crazy. But when she stuck out her hand and said a word she couldn’t make out, it all made sense to her. A burst of smoke with red tips rose from the ground. A human with tattered clothes and a worn-out hoodie appeared.
Curious could feel her heart beating through her chest as she captured it all. Shadows appeared at Kage’s feet and they both disappeared in it, ending the clip that she captured. She slumped back onto a roof while clutching the cameras as her life depended on it.
“…What does it mean?” She thought about all the possibilities while replaying the video. Age-stopping quirks were extremely rare. So rare to the point that only a few were born each generation. People yearned to live longer lives. Especially the heroes who seemed to be dying more frequently these days. If it was possible to finally achieve that…
Another shiver ran over her body when she thought of it. She quickly gathered her things and began moving off the roof. It was a stroke of luck that she managed to even find her in a place like this. But, she didn’t get very far before white ribbons reached out and pulled her deep into an alleyway.
Before she could even say a word, a hand was clasped over her mouth and she was pushed against the wall. She tried to use her quirk, but the ribbons binding her arms seemed to stop it. Her green irises gazed into Hato’s pure white eyes. “Not a single word. Or else I’ll smash that camera of yours. Got it?”
She nodded quickly as Hato slowly removed his hand. He looked a bit different from the video Tokuda managed to snag, but it didn’t matter since they were in a cramped alleyway. That didn’t last for long though.
With a snap of his fingers, they appeared in his void. A sea of glassy trees and a golden sky spread out in all directions. In the center of it all though hovered a glassy orb with ribbons carefully floating around it.
Curious stood dumbfounded as Hato quickly formed a seat out of pure Ether. “Alright then human,” He didn’t bother to hide his dislike. Curious fell back onto a seat like his. “I need you to find a certain someone for me.”
She stared at him for a few seconds before slapping herself, which shocked Hato. “Ok! I’m not dreaming… where are we exactly?”
He sighed and decided he might as well explain it all. “My void.”
“And what exactly is that?”
“You don’t need to know that.” His eyes narrowed to a slit and a fear Curious had never felt before washed over her. It was only for a brief moment though. “I’m looking for someone. The Phoenix and the Ice Wolf. I heard from a little birdie that you can help with that.”
Curious was still confused at what she was hearing, but quickly put on a professional attitude. “I’m guessing that these two are important to you? A family perhaps?”
“…Phoenix is my sister, Teka Kai. The Ice Wolf goes by Kori Okami. I don’t really give a damn about Okami, but I need to find Teka by any means.”
“I need more information than that,” In reality, it was major to have even a name. She played dumb and probed for more information. “All I have are two names, but no other info. And I'll need a way to stay in touch!"
Hato sighed. Ribbons materialized around him and wrapped themselves around Curious’s wrist. It didn’t hurt at all; in fact, it felt like all the tiredness she’d accumulated from the past few days all disappeared. “If you need anything, tap three times. Don’t overdo it or else I’ll slice your hand off.”
He didn’t wait for a response and disappeared in a burst of glass, leaving Curious to digest all the information she’d just been given.