7 Request 2 [7]

[A Quest has been created!]

[A Woman in Distress: Suki's Plight]

[Suki Kagaku has revealed the truth about her reasoning behind wanting to create Instant Heroes. Her daughter's been kidnapped, and she cannot go to the police nor the Pro-Heroes, for the dastardly villains have the locations under lock and key. Retrieve the young woman and bring her back to her mother.]

[Time Limit: 30 days.]

[Completion Reward: 1,000,000 EXP, Gigantic Increase in Closeness with Suki Kagaku, Massive Increase in Closeness with Faustian Inc., Personalized Favor from Suki Kagaku.]

[Failure Penalty: Death*, ???, ???]

[*Depending on the Time of Failure.]

I felt like a million different thoughts wanted to explode from inside my head. So much so that I felt like I had no idea what was even happening.

However, one stood out to me the most.

"What if I fail? If I fail, there's a good chance those villains won't just stop offing me, you'll be next. And that's assuming they keep your daughter alive after an attempt to steal her away," I began, before shaking my head. "Actually, more than that, there are probably smarter ways to handle this. Now I know about the danger, and while you can't tell the police, I can. I could just go ahead and just tell the police myself, I'll even advise them to keep it on the down-low, tell them it's a hostage situation."

Suki shook her head, "There's a chance the police have already been compromised. It's not unheard of, as that occurred only a few years ago."

I sighed. "Well, I have a personal connection to a Pro-Hero and she —"

"Invulnerable Jack, right? She's your mother," Suki mentioned, nodding.

I shrugged, not trying to hide it. I was never worried about my mother's safety, since she'd always been known as a strong Pro-Hero. Suki's comment didn't seem like a threat or anything either, just a simplistic observation.

It wasn't hard to imagine Suki getting information from another pharmaceutical company, all she'd have to do is flash her position around and she'd get what she wanted. So, she'd known who my mother was before she'd proposed this to me. That probably means….

"Do you want me to bring my mother into this?" I asked, but Suki fervently shook her head, looking appalled.

"No, no, of course not! Your mother is a Pro-Hero, yes, and she's an incredible one, but I've got no desire to bring her into this all."

"Then why ask me?"

"Well, there are several reasons. With the small amount of time we have, I believe you have the best shot at actually helping out. Someone who could find the location of the villains, infiltrate them, and save my daughter. All while keeping themselves alive, and I truly believe you can do that. So, in a sense, it's just necessity." Suki met my eyes and kept her gaze steady.

"Secondly, your ability to learn quickly makes you an incredibly competent force on your own. After all, with more people, there's higher chances of something going awry," she spun her hand around in a circle. "And that leads to the third reason, which is that you're likable and trustworthy."

I was caught off-guard and pulled back. I could tell my face was probably tinted pink, but I tried to ignore it, looking away for a moment. "And how does that change anything?"

I looked back towards her to see a small, kind smile on her face. "Well, it'll be difficult for you to do this on your own. However, with your natural charisma, I don't doubt your ability to rally allies for this task. Even more so, I believe you'll choose proper allies who can have your back."

I scratched the side of my neck, not knowing exactly what to say.

"But more than any other reason, I think you'll actually do it. I can't say I know you too well, but you're easily one of the only people who I know who'd be willing to help a stranger for no other reason than because you could. That stands true for when you saved me, and when you helped Kamui Woods. You had so little to gain from it, but you helped anyway."

My first thought was to refute her words. I shook my head and hands. "As far as your last point goes, you're wrong. My Quirk… it… stimulates growth through intense conditions. I grew a lot because I helped out with Mario. So, I had a lot to gain from it."

Suki shook her head, reaching out and taking my hands into her own. "And yet, there were probably safer ways to grow, weren't there? But at that moment, you decided to help, for whatever reason. Maybe you see that as taking advantage of the situation, but I see it as a good person helping others."

I looked away, feeling my face get hotter. She squeezed my hands in her own. "But I have to stress this to you, more than anything else. This is not your responsibility. I'll try to find another way, but you shouldn't feel forced to do this."

I pulled my hands away, putting them on my face before rubbing my temples. I glared at the Quest screen.

"Before I can even think about accepting, there are so many different problems with this," I sighed. "To begin, if I somehow even succeed, my identity would probably be seen by at least one of these villains, so —"

Suki interrupted me by simply pointing to the book that was now sitting between us. "If you can learn quickly, I'll easily provide whatever you need. It doesn't matter whether it's expensive or not."

I huffed, "Okay. Then we have to worry about the reality of it all. In two weeks, I'll need to get stronger, find allies, learn the Quirks of the villains, find your daughter, find a safe way to get her out, and then actually do it."

Suki nodded. "I don't know what I could do to help with that, but I could use some connections to get you some information."

I was quiet for a moment before continuing. "And how do we know that they won't just abduct some other child after your daughter is free?"

It was Suki's turn to be quiet before she hesitantly spoke. Her hesitance wasn't the most reassuring thing to encounter. "I believe they kidnapped my daughter because of her Quirk. While I'm Quirkless, she inherited a Quirk from her father's side of the family. But I couldn't say what they wanted her Quirk for specifically."

I ground my teeth, "And — despite feeling like I'm about to regret this — what is her Quirk?"

"Teleportation. Of herself and of others," Suki noted. I tried not to hold back a sigh.

"To what extent?" I asked, feeling regret make it way into my heart.

"She can mass-teleport, teleport mass into mass, and she can teleport beyond sight. Her biggest limitation is the distance, which is restricted to what she can touch. But when even she can teleport…." Suki's expression darkened. "I don't know what they're doing to her."

I let that information sink in and once it did, I realized this situation was possibly worse than I thought.

"So, on top of these villains just being menacing in general, they also have access to something that won't let your daughter from escaping. Fun. That means it probably won't be an easy time for me to get inside this facility, wherever it is."

Suki nodded solemnly.

"Well, what about —"

"Mineta," Suki grabbed both sides of my face and made eye contact with me, maintaining it for a few seconds too long to be normal. She didn't lose eye contact as she spoke. "You don't have to do this. I think you want to, and for that I'm grateful, but you don't have to."

Her thumb softly brushed the side of my face.

Genuinely, I could've fallen in love and never gotten back up right there. However, I calmed abruptly. Of course, Suki was gorgeous and within kissing distance, but that wasn't what this conversation was about, no matter how much I wanted it to be.

This was dangerous, undeniably so.

That million EXP prize was the perfect show for that. And trust me, that personalized favor was so attractive I'd accept several other Quests on that alone, since I'm a horny scumbag.

But this one was different. The stakes were high, and if the personalized favor was just a hug or something, I'd—

"Mineta, for my daughter, I'll give you anything. A lifetime of free goods from Faustian Incorporated, money for years to come, anything. I'm getting older and I'm not as attractive anymore, but if you wanted my body, it'd be yours. Anything for Usohime."

I had to physically restrain myself from clicking yes on the Quest screen. Because damn, that deal sounded good as hell.

But this wasn't the kind of thing I should make a decision about so quickly. It was dangerous, and if I failed, Usohime's life would be at risk. There's a good chance that just getting Pro-Heroes or police on this would be smarter.

But if the police were already compromised, I'd be shooting Suki in the foot by going to them for help. That just left Pro-Heroes. And yeah, I believe my Mom would come flying in at a moment's notice to come save me, but that wasn't necessarily what I needed here.

This wasn't my mother's problem. And she's… not the most responsible Hero I'd ever seen. Not when it comes to me, at least.

She was the type that would throw herself headfirst into this if she thought it meant keeping me safe. That would be awesome if I needed that, but… well, I didn't.

Subtly would be required for this.

So, I'd have to find some allies that could be subtle. Or I'd have to get skills to make allies subtle. And in that case, what kind of allies would be proper to get? If I could make my mom subtle, would she be the best option for this? Should I even bring her into this at all?

I managed to stifle a sigh. I softly grabbed Suki's hands and pulled them away from my face. I let them go and then looked at my own hands.

I hadn't even noticed, but they were bigger than before. That only made since, because every other part of my body had grown, but when I looked at my hands, a flash of indescribable emotion shot through me.

Could these hands save a life?

I…

"I need to think. This is important, and if I screwed this up, my and Usohime's lives may be forfeited. Can I just…." I trailed off, but Suki nodded softly.

"Yes, of course, I understand. I don't expect you to answer this now. But I really think you can do this, Mineta," Suki rose from her spot, and I extended her book towards her. She shook her head, pushing it back to me. "Think of that like a gift. No matter what your final decision is, listening to me is more than enough."

I tried to think of a rebuttal for that, but nothing came to mind. I nodded, setting the book back down on the bench. Suki patted down her clothes before giving me one last smile.

"I'll be back here tomorrow, at around the same time, and the day after. Don't feel forced, Mineta, this isn't your responsibility," Suki reassured me before turning away and beginning to walk away.

I called out to her, "Suki."

She turned back to me, looking somewhat confused. "W-What? Have you already gotten an answer? That was fast!"

I laughed softly, shaking my head. "No, not yet. But I wanted to say sorry for not messaging you yet. I…."

Didn't want to get drawn into things bigger than myself? Well, look where that brough me.

Suki smiled, "It's okay. We all have lives, no need to get too worried about it."

I let out a soft sigh and nodded, "Okay. Well, I guess I'll see you soon."

Suki nodded, then left. I had half a heart to just go back home, train endlessly, and never come back out. But I knew that wasn't realistic.

I wanted to help Suki and Usohime, yeah, but I also didn't really want to get into something that was bigger than myself. And, well, death as a failure seemed pretty big for me.

And a small part of me thought I could do it. With the right skills and information, with enough training and determination, I could probably do it.

Probably.

Maybe.

Probably not.

Definitely not.

Just as I was falling deeper into my slump, a familiar voice spoke from behind me. "How did it go?"

I nearly jumped out of my skin, but before my heart could leap from my throat, I calmed. God, I was doing that more lately. That was definitely connected to my Quirk, no way it wasn't. Whatever, I'll check it out later.

I spun on my heels to face Rikko, who was standing behind me, looking interested. She was clearly trying not to take up much room, with her shoulders rounded and her head ducked down. She was still taller than me though.

Huh. She's tall. I hadn't noticed that before.

"Ah, er, it was…." I trailed off, trying to figure out the right words. "Eventful."

I shrugged. It was hard to really say anything about the situation without bringing her into all that mess.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Rikko asked, and my eyes widened.

The amount of effort it must've taken her to ask me must've been pretty baffling. She definitely wasn't the type to get into someone else's business either, so this really was a special situation.

It wasn't like I had many people to talk to about this. I had some school acquaintances, but I wouldn't call them trustworthy friends, especially not about this.

I had my mom, but… well, if she suspected I was putting myself in danger, she probably wouldn't think about everything logically.

I wouldn't call Rikko a long running friend or anything, but I could probably talk about the situation vaguely without too many repercussions.

I sighed, "Yeah, I wouldn't mind talking about it. Are you busy?"

Rikko shook her softly. A small, almost unnoticeable smile was resting on her face.

I sighed, beginning to walk down the path. I took Suki's book and threw it into my Inventory, noticing Rikko's slightly raised eyebrows. She began walking alongside me.

It was about a minute before I spoke, thinking about what I should say.

"So, that woman from before wants my help. I may even be one of the only people who even can help," I glanced to Rikko and saw a brief nod of understanding. "And honestly, I'd like to help. But if I mess up here, well… it'll be bad."

Rikko and I were quiet for several more minutes, and I almost thought she wouldn't say anything.

"Would it be as bad as losing your King?"

Would it be as bad as a game over? Well, with my life on the line….

"Yeah, it would be game over for sure," I sighed.

Rikko nodded. "Do you have a Queen, or any Rooks?"

A close ally, huh? Or even reliable allies at all?

I sunk in my spot, "No, no one right now."

"Do you want one?"

I shrugged, "I mean, yeah. A Queen could be a gamechanger right now. Shoot, any piece, a Rook, a Knight, a Bishop, anything would be great."

"Would you do it if you had one?"

Would I?

I'd have better chances overall with allies. And I really do want to help. And if these villains get whatever they want out of such a powerful Quirk, well, they could do more damage in the long run, right?

I slowly, and very hesitantly nodded. "I… I think so, yeah."

Rikko softly grabbed my shoulder. "Then let me be your Queen."

Huh? What?

What? What? What?

I barely creaked my head towards Rikko. What I could see of her expression was a mix of nervousness and resolve. I Observed her, and her emotions were basically saying just that. She wanted to help me, but she wasn't sure I'd accept her help.

And I wanted to get her help, but… I couldn't figure out what she gained from this. Really, she knew basically nothing about what I needed help with, but she was still willing to help me.

Then, I turned my eyes to her background. Maybe it was invasive, but I realized I didn't know much about the young chess master. Maybe her background would give me some answers.

[Background: Rikko has never been a horribly popular person, with her focus lying on chess rather than relationships. However, this clear lack of connection with her classmates and peers has grown into a desire to be useful to someone. With strong enough influence, her path could turn to villainy or heroism.]

She just wants… to be useful. And in a way, this was a way for her to get just that.

And I mean, to be, "my Queen" sounds a lot like….

Ahem.

I met her dark eyes steadily, trying to make sure she knew just what she was saying.

"Are you sure? This can be seriously dangerous, your life may be on the line for helping me with this, even if you're far away from any conflict," I warned her, but she shook her head at me.

She pulled her hands together, holding them in front of her chest. "I want to help you, Minoru. You're my, um, friend, if that's not too presumptuous to say."

It took a while for the gears in my head to finally click together and continue to move my thoughts forward after Rikko's audacity to be so cute.

I sighed, "Okay. Then, let me fill you in on the situation."

It wasn't the smoothest process, but I managed to tell Rikko about Suki and Usohime's situation. I mentioned the villains kidnapping Usohime and how we'd only have roughly a month before needing to go and save Usohime. And then we'd need to get away from the villains and succeed in stopping Usohime's Quirk for ruining our entire plans.

Rikko and I ended up walking to the edge of the park by the time my explanation was done, so we lingered there for a moment, sitting on a park bench.

"If we do this, we'll be vigilantes. Is that okay, Minoru?" Rikko asked, and I nodded easily.

"That's not a huge problem. If I can get the right skills with my Quirk, I could probably make it hard to trace this back to our normal lives," I answered.

After a long moment, Rikko nodded.

"You keep on mentioning your Quirk, but what is it?" Rikko asked, looking out at the passing cars with a generally blank expression. I've started to understand that she wasn't disinterested, but she often kept her face blank to not scare people off.

"My Quirk, it's called, 'The Gamer.' It awakened only a few weeks ago, after I… failed my Yuuei entrance exam. It allows me to get stronger with levels, and I can absorb books for skills," I began, but didn't stop there.

I explained what I knew of my Quirk, about levels, experience, and Quests. I even explained that I'd approached Rikko because of a Quest, however, I was very specific about that not being the only reason why I spoke to her.

Rikko nodded, "If your Quirk is based on video games, would you have monsters to fight?"

I very slowly shook my head, "I… well, I don't think so. My Quirk seems to accept any sort of conflict like something to grow from. So, there aren't any monsters, I don't think."

Rikko nodded, "Hm… I don't know much about games. But aren't a lot of games multiplayer?"

I… hadn't thought about that.

I just assumed it would be a single-player experience. I mean, it's not like I had a way to check that sort of thing, right?

Unless….

"Holy shit. Settings," I called, and I couldn't stop my mouth from falling open.

A screen of options appeared before me. There was Gameplay, Video, Sound, and more. There was more information to me seen in each of them once I clicked on them.

For example: in Sound, I could turn on subtitles.

Which was… intriguing.

There was also music, but it had already been turned off. I decided to keep it like that, since listening to the same music 24-7 didn't seem like such a good idea.

In Video, there were some options to increase my render distance or turn on the colorblind options, but I didn't mess with those much either. In the future, it would be good to keep them in mind, but for now, they weren't what I was focused on.

In gameplay, there was a party option. However, it wasn't accessible because it hadn't been formed. With that confirmation, I said, "Create Party."

[You have created a party. What would you like to name this party?]

"Minoru? What's wrong?" Rikko asked. "Is there something with your Quirk?"

I nodded. "I hadn't thought about it before, but my ability may have more ins-and-outs than I imagined. A party system that allows other people to be influenced by my Quirk makes a lot of sense, I think."

Rikko blinked. "Would that even work?"

I shrugged, "No idea. But how about you and I try to make the best Team of Vigilantes around?"

Rikko slowly nodded.

"Good, invite Rikko to the Party!"

Rikko jumped with an uncharacteristic squeak as a screen appeared before her.