Fractured Wings

The evening air was heavy with the scent of smoke. There was a lot of smoke in the air of the city, something I had noticed once we had landed. 

Lanterns flickered along the narrow street, their light dancing on the uneven cobblestones. Nagant walked ahead of me, her strides purposeful yet lacking the tension I'd grown accustomed to. Tonight she carried only her thoughts, though they seemed more burdening than usual. 

"You know," she began, her voice slicing through the ambient hum of crickets and far-off engines. "Back when I was still chasing after yakuza and other minor gangs, there were men..." She trailed off, glancing at the cracked moon above. "Men I thought would outlive the worst of it. The kind who..." Her lips pressed into a thin line, her usual composure giving way to something raw. "Who'd face hell with a smile and spit in the devils eye." 

I stuffed my hand in my pockets, letting her words settle. "And?" I prompted. 

"And they're gone now," she said bluntly, "Dead. Scattered with the wind. The few foot soldiers that I did find are now working menial jobs, bowing to people that they certainly wouldn't have even given a glance to when they were still in that life." She laughed a sharp and humourless laugh. 

"Did you care for any of them?" It sounded like she did, maybe her past was there. Like a family member or something. 

She stayed silent for a moment before speaking again. 

"It's pathetic. I thought I'd feel some kind of closure seeing people like that gone. People I spent so much time playing cat and mouse with. Instead I just..." She stopped abruptly, kicking a loose pebble into the gutter. 

I think I understood it somewhat now. She probably felt some nostalgic or homely feeling when she thinks of her time then, just starting out as a hero working for the commission. Getting her first big job, back when she was naive and blind to the greyness of the world. Thinking that her career as a hero would always be like what it was then, chasing the "bad guys." 

And now that sense of familiarity and simpler times had been snuffed out. 

"Makes you realize how fragile it all was?" I offered, stepping beside her. She gave me a sidelong glance but didn't argue. 

"I just want this thing with Daigo over." she muttered. "Him, the Commission, all of it. I want it to be over and done with." 

Her frustration was growing, she was more erratic than usual. She was typically more calm and rigid, even if she were mad you wouldn't notice it from her motion, but now... 

"No need to rush," I said, my voice calm, deliberate. "The pieces will fall into place. All we have to do is fall in line." 

Nagant stopped walking, turning to face me fully. The light from the nearby lantern caught the edge of her jaw, casting her face in a light of sharp relief. "And after? What then, Kobe? You think this all ends with a bow? You think the commission will just... let me walk away?" 

I held her gaze, the weight of her question settling heavily between us. "That depends," I said finally. "What do you want to do after it's done?" 

Her eyes narrowed, the fire in them flaring. "Maybe I want to watch everything burn," she said, her voice laced with defiance. "Some societies only start thriving after they've been razed to the ground and forced to rebuild. Maybe that's what this one needs." 

I chuckled softly, shaking my head. "People with that kind of thinking are silly. They just stand at the edge of a slippery slope with a noose wrapped around their necks." 

She raised a brow, 

"Look I get it. There's a certain allure to starting fresh, to wiping the slate clean. But not every society needs fire to grow. Some manage to endure, to evolve without descending into chaos. Like the Mauryan Empire in ancient India. It thrived not through war but governance, creating laws that balanced power and protected people. Or the Tang Dynasty in China, a golden age of culture and trade that didn't rise from ashes, but through stability and innovation. These weren't societies that burned to build. They just... learned how to hold things together without losing themselves." 

She stared at me, her expression unreadable. For a moment, I thought she might dismiss it outright, but instead, she tilted her head, considering. "That's a hell of a stretch, comparing those to this," she muttered, her voice tinged with disbelief. "We're not exactly in a golden age here, Kobe. People are hanging by threads, choking on lies." 

"Yeah, that depends more so on perspective. And setting fire to the threads isn't going to help them climb out of the pit, either." I fired back. "You think a new society will rise and be all neat and perfect after the old one crumbles? It doesn't. What rises is chaos first—anarchy and suffering. We both haven't lived in an era where order collapses, and we should be happy for that." 

She didn't answer right away. Her lips pressed together, and her fingers flexed against the fabric of her jacket. Finally, she sighed, the sound heavy and resigned. 

"Maybe I want the chaos," she said, her voice low and almost wistful. "Maybe I want to see it all come crashing down, just to see if we can finally get it right next time. Is that so wrong?" 

"Of course dummy." I said shrugging. "Also playing with fire like that is always a gamble, and the house always wins." 

The silence between us deepened, the air charged with unspoken thoughts. She didn't look at me, her eyes fixed somewhere distant, lost in a world I couldn't reach. 

Then, out of nowhere, she pivoted. "What about the stuff you were saying to Arata, about some big mission for us all with the MLA?" she asked, her tone back to being the regular sharp as if she wasn't just crumbling beside me. "What were you talking about? I haven't heard of anything." 

I didn't answer right away. I took a moment to consider how much I could safely say, weighing each word carefully and checking our surroundings, I had a feeling Miku would be trying to keep tabs on me specifically, she has been really suspicious of me from the beginning. 

But she wasn't there. 

"I've just been hearing a few whispers. An attack on the heroes is coming. Something big. Only the higher ups in the MLA seem to know the full details—captains and leaders like Arata. Whatever it is, Destro's keeping it close to his chest." 

Her eyes narrowed. "And you don't know anything more specific?" 

"Not yet," I said, shaking my head. "And before you get any ideas about sneaking around to find out, don't. It'll only make things worse. Just... pay attention, casually. Keep your ears open, but don't make it obvious. The last thing I need is any more heat that I didn't call for." 

She scoffed, the sound half amusement, half annoyance. "Casual, huh? I'll keep that in mind." 

I gave her a lopsided grin, leaning back slightly. "Good. I knew you were smart enough to handle it." 

She rolled her eyes but didn't argue. 

We walked in silence for a while after that, the faint sound of our footsteps the only noise cutting through the evening stillness. Finally, she broke it, her voice cutting in. "What about the Himemiya family? Any progress on that?" 

"Nope. I haven't even started searching honestly." I admitted gauging her reaction. 

She stopped dead in her tracks again, turning to glare at me. "You haven't tried?" 

"Not yet," I said, raising my hands defensively. "There's been a lot going on. Too much on my mind." 

Her glare didn't soften. That told me she still cared for the general public, even after her little monologue about watching the society burn and turn to chaos. She still cares for the weak that can do nothing for themselves. 

"And what's your excuse now? How are you going to start when the rest of us are way ahead of you? You'll just end up doubling on where we have already been." 

"Well considering the thoughts you've been having, there's a chance they've slowed you down, so it may not be such a bad idea." She glared at me again, I raised my hand and smiled to tell her it was just a joke. 

A piece of white paper formed in my hand. Her expression shifted to confusion as I held it between my fingers, letting my quirk play out. The paper shimmered, folding and twisting in intricate patterns until it shaped itself into a bird. With a flick of my wrist, it sprang to life, fluttering it's wings and taking off into the night sky. 

"My quirk," I said simply, watching the paper bird fly off into the darkness. "It's probably the best for scouting amongst us. Makes me doubt Arata's team leading skills since he didn't come to me any sooner but it was for the best. I'm going to have a bunch of these scour the city, starting with the outskirts. If the Himemiya family's being kept in some forest bungalow like that memory that girl showed us, I'll find them." 

Nagant blinked, clearly torn between annoyance and a begrudging sort of admiration. "You could've done that when we landed." 

"Could've," I admitted with a shrug. "But didn't. And who cares? I'm doing it now." 

She let out a sigh, shaking her head. "Unbelievable," she muttered. 

"Hey," I said with a smirk, "better late than never, right?" 

She didn't bother responding, but I caught the tug of a smile tugging at the corner of her lips as we continued walking. 

___

The air was heavy with the harbor's salty tang and the flair of city life, barely muted by the late hour. As the heroes and their teams began to gather on the rooftop of an old building overlooking the bay of Yokohama. 

Sir Nighteye stood at the edge, he was wearing a long coat over his suit, it was whipping in the silent breeze. His sharp gaze spanned the horizon as though he could will the city to reveal its secrets. 

Kamui Woods, standing tall and composed, was the first to break the silence. "So, we're clear on the objective? Locate the Himemiya family and extreact them safely. No unnecessary risks." 

Ryukyu in her human form, nodded. "If Proxy or anyone he may have persuaded into his forces are anywhere near, we'll need to be prepared for resistance. Nighteye, how solid is your lead?" 

Nighteye turned, his glasses glinting under the dim rooftop lights. His expression was sharper than usual, his typical air of cool detachment replaced by something harder, more urgent. "The lead is solid." he said curtly. "A reliable source pinpointed a secluded bungalow on the city outskirts, heavily fitting the description that we were able to get from Lyra Himemiya before we lost her." 

Edgeshot, ever composed, folded his arms and regarded Nighteye with his piercing gaze. "You seem tense," he noted. "More than usual. Is there something we're not being told?! 

Nighteye's jaw tightened imperceptibly. He had seen the vision earlier—Soryu was here, somewhere in Yokohama. The former Yakuza enforcer was close. The other's wouldn't need to know that though. Not yet. 

"The only thing you need to concern yourself with is sticking to the plan," Nighteye said, his tone clipped. "The family is the priority. Everything else is secondary." 

Ryukyu frowned slightly but didn't press further. 

Nighteye turned to Edgeshot. "I'll need you in a different location," he said abruptly. 

Edgeshot raised an eyebrow. "Different location? You're diverting me from the main operation?" 

The two of them were away from the rest now. Nighteye couldn't have them hearing why, Nighteye was part of the special team that he had involved himself with back in the commission building, the one tasked with capturing Soryu. 

Nighteye knew that the rest of them would want to focus more so on the family, for right reason, but Nighteye thought grimly, there was a chance that they were already a lost cause, already dead. So it was better to pick a win elsewhere, or at least take the chance. 

"I have reason to believe that Soryu is in this city." 

Edgeshot sighed and tilted his head down, he sounded disappointed, Nighteye carried on anyway. 

"I don't intend to waste this opportunity. Edgeshot, you and Centipeder will position yourselves closer to the warehouse district on the west side of the city. It isn't far from the outskirts there where I believe we will find the Himemiya family." 

"And what of Soryu?" Edgeshot asked. "If he is here, there is a chance he is here to find that family too, and it is highly likely he is not alone." 

"Ryukyu, and Kamui woods and their sidekicks that came today will be the one's focusing on the extraction of the family." 

"And what if Proxy himself is here?" Edgeshot asked. 

"Proxy is not in Yokohama. I would have known" Nighteye replied flatly. 

Edgeshot still wanted greater confirmation. 

"You will be the one taking down Soryu because of your speed and efficiency. Your quirk would make it much easier than anyone else here. Centipeder will just be backup." 

"And if this goes sideways?" Edgeshot pressed. 

Nighteye's gaze hardened, his voice dropping a degree colder. "Then we adapt. That's what we're trained for. But this mission doesn't fail. Not tonight." 

There was a moment of silence, the weight of his words settling over the two, until Edgeshot finally relented. 

"Fine. Let's hope the chase with Soryu can end today and not be prolonged."