Canon Fodder

CHAPTER 195 ESPERS

The quest popped up as we flew through the air. Me on my puddle of water, Fubuki with her psychic wind or whatever it was. We headed for A-City where the Hero Association was. All the while I couldn’t help but wonder why I was getting so many quests with such good rewards. 

In the beginning I had received plenty of quests. Each reward was generally tailored to the world. Some worlds I would get more or less quests depending on the canon. One Punch Man was tougher. The foes could be a lot harder. And the canon was focused on the main protagonist, Saitama. I hadn’t met up with him yet, not that I could help him much anyway. And the foes he fought were honestly probably too much for me. 

But I was still getting quests. I wondered how I could use that in my favor for the future. Could I manipulate the story to my advantage for more quests? There was the House of Evolution I knew of. Also some other minor side bad guys I could try to steal, potentially giving me more quests and rewards like this one. Psychic Resistance sounded really useful, and now I really wanted to keep it for my challenge. 

It worried me what other world’s people had challenged. What if someone went to Mob Psycho 100? Could they have gotten psychic powers? Would I need to watch for that in the coming challenge? It was too much to think about for now. Too many variables. One thing I was upset about was why hadn’t I received a Poison or Venom Resistance back when I took the Kage Killer poison. 

“My sister and I are Espers,” Fubuki said, breaking the silence. 

“Hm what’s that?” I asked, breaking away from my thoughts. 

“Psychics,” she said. “People usually call them Espers, though. Those are our powers.”

“Right,” I said. “What about Tsukuyomi?”

“They study Espers,” she said. “Back when my sister was young they took her to do tests on her psychic powers. Tsukuyomi did experiments on her. But she escaped.” That sounded familiar. I thought Bang or someone saved her. Worried about psychics, it sounded familiar to what had been done to the girls and I. I took out my phone, but between cities I had no reception.

“Let’s hurry up,” I said. Moving the water faster, Fubuki matched my speed as we flew toward A-City. It didn’t take too long to reach the Hero Association. I sent a text to the girls to not open the door for anyone and they text back worriedly. I told them I would be a little late but would make it up to them. I really hoped Jun didn’t have an episode while I was gone, but we had to be able to get past that. 

“Some members of the Blizzard Group are here,” Fubuki said, getting off her phone as we walked into the large building. “They said my sister is in a meeting with the higher ups.” 

“Then let’s go,” I said. Flashing our badges we met up with a few members of her team. They were all in suits and ties. 

“Where is she?” I asked. 

“Uh she was headed up the elevator,” one of them said. He pointed to the large elevator at the center of the building.

“Thanks,” I said, turning but was stopped as someone said my name. 

“Weston!” An excited voice yelled. I turned to see Mizuki running up to me. She wore a little more clothes than last time, but not much. Her clothes tight, she appeared ready for a beach volley ball game to break out. Not that I was complaining. Her orange hair jumping with each stride she closed the distance to me.

“Hey Mizuki, what’s up?” I asked. 

“I just made it to B-Class,” she said. 

“Congratulations,” I said. “I heard you’ve been beating up a lot of people lately.” 

“What can I say? They are slow,” she said. “How have you been?”

“Good, busy. Sorry I haven’t called,” I admitted. I noticed the others in the Blizzard Group eyeing her. “Be careful around these guys. They like to force people into their group.” 

“We do not force,” Fubuki said, her nose flaring. “But we do offer assistance to up and coming heroes.” The businesswoman handed a card to Mizuki. “Let us know if you are interested in strengthening your ties in B-Class.” 

“Uh sure,” Mizuki said, confused.

“Should we get dinner again sometime? Catch up?” I asked. 

“Sure,” she said with a smile. “Maybe you could meet my family this time.”

“Sounds good to me. Sorry, busy now. It was good seeing you,” I said as I turned to head to the elevator. 

“Bye,” she said and happily walked off. 

Again she was someone I was interested in but the girls took precedence. I doubted I had to worry about her too much. She was plenty strong and focused. I wasn’t exactly sure of my end goal in this world. But surrounding myself with beautiful women was always a good idea. 

Fubuki and her team followed me into the elevator. I hoped to be able to talk to the assistant assigned to me during the Hero test. He worked on the 20th floor. Pushing the button we headed up in almost silence. 

“She was a little young, don’t you think?” Fubuki asked. 

“Mizuki?” I asked. “She’s like 20.”

“Exactly,” Fubuki said. 

“I’m 18!” I said. 

“What?!” She asked in surprise. I had been at my Epitome skill to change my body for a while. But I didn’t think I looked that old. “I thought you were older.”

“Nope. Why? Interested?” I asked, giving her a wide smile. “You’re very beautiful, Fubuki. We could have some fun together.” She blushed deeply as one of the member’s of her crew snickered. 

The bell dinged and we stepped out only to be met by Fubuki’s sister. She was short. Much shorter than I imagined. She was only in the 4 foot range. The older sister wore a long black dress and had short green hair. 

“Fubuki, what are you doing here?” She asked, annoyed. One of the Hero Association personnel beside her he eyed all of us. 

“My new member had a run in with Tsukuyomi,” Fubuki said. 

“Member? You’re joining our group?” The female member of the Blizzard Team whispered excitedly. I regretted agreeing now. The air grew colder as we stood there. Fubuki’s sister’s clothes began to bellow as her psychic powers kicked in. But I ignored her. A distinct change had happened in one of the Blizzard members as the Tsukuyomi name was mentioned. Their heart rate sped up. 

The member was a shorter young man. The side of his head was shaved to show a long scar. I decided to keep my eye on him for now. 

“Tsukuyomi?” Fubuki’s sister asked. “When?” 

“Earlier today. Some hired thug was paid to try to kidnap me,” I said. “I was hoping you could tell me more about them. Maybe where they like to lay their heads?” 

“They are a secret society that studies Espers. Everytime I find them I try to stamp them out, but they always escape,” she said angrily. “What can you hope to do?”

“Ma’am,” the personnel said. “That’s Blackheart. He is the student of King.” 

“King?” She asked, intrigued. Thinking for a moment she shook her head. “Still, I wouldn’t know where to start. Tsukuyomi is elusive and smart. If they are after you, you can only hope they give up.” 

“I think I have an idea where to start,” I said, turning to the man whose heart rate elevated every time Tsukuyomi was brought up. It had been subtle but there. Pulling out my Chikyugi Necklace he glanced at it but it was enough. 

“What’s going on?” He asked desperately as he was shackled to the wall. He closed his eyes, as if trying to think really hard. I felt a tugging from him. Something I hadn’t felt before, as if he was attempting to break out. But to no avail.

“Tell me what you know about Tsukuyomi,” I ordered as I brought out my tools. I didn’t like to ask questions, but I was in a hurry. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” the man said. Thinking hard again I felt a stronger tug on the Makuramoto/torture room, but not near enough.

“Good,” I said, picking up a hand saw. “Keep trying. Let’s see who is stronger.” His eyes widened and the screams began. It didn’t take too long to break him. He was a blubbering mess as he spilled all of his secret. I pulled us out and he dropped to the floor as his eyes rolled to the back of his head. 

“What did you do there?” Fubuki’s sister asked. 

“Doesn’t matter,” I said. “That guy was a spy for Tsukuyomi,” I told Fubuki. “They have been keeping an eye on you. I got an idea where I need to go. Thanks for the help.” I turned around and walked back into the elevator. 

“Wait? What?!” Fubuki yelled as the door shut. I headed down thinking about what to do. The guy had been passing along information to Tsukuyomi for years. They offered him powers, hence the scar on the side of his head. Altering him slightly he could use a little Telekinesis. Since the surgery didn’t take well they simply paid him. He was tasked with keeping eyes on Fubuki and Tatsumaki if possible. Keeping the group aware of their locations whenever they went somewhere. 

He had a handler that he passed information along to. But he wanted to know where they did the surgery on him. It was a small place over on the outskirts of A-City. He had been blindfolded when going there, but he backtracked and was able to find it. I knew the general location and planned to go, but not today. I had been away too long from the girls. 

Getting off the elevator I walked out only to be stopped by Fubuki’s sister. Glass still raining down she had opted to break a window rather than wait. “Where do you think you’re going?” She asked angrily. 

“Home,” I said. “I’ll take care of this crap tomorrow.” 

“Tell me what you learned. I’ll take care of this,” she said as I jumped on my puddle of water. “Where do you think you’re going?!” 

“Home,” I said. “Just go away, dude. I don’t need the help of a child.” 

“Child! I will have you know I am 28!” She yelled, following me as she flew in the air. I sped up. “Don’t you try to run from me!” She yelled waving her hand I felt my body pulled toward her. I moved my chakra back, pushing the water in her body away.

“You’re an Esper too?!” She yelled. 

“No, goddamn it no wonder Saitama is annoyed by you,” I said as we faced one another. Her sister soon flew up to float beside her. “My friends and I were experimented on. I think it might have something to do with the Tsukuyomi group. Just leave me alone, alright. I need to get back to the others. They get worried if I’m gone too long.” 

“Tell me where they are, and I will handle Tsukuyomi,” Fubuki’s sister said, crossing her arms under her small chest as she stared at me angrily. 

“Dude, I don’t even remember your name. Your sister said you were experimented on by these guys. Good for you. I lost 6 months of my life and have some weird new power I am still trying to wrap my head around. My friends and I are trying to figure out what the hell to do. We get all messed up if we are too far away from each other for too long because of some weird psychic shit going on with us. So I will be going home. Then, tomorrow, I will head to where that guy was altered. Hopefully I will find something. If not, I will keep digging into this BS so that my friends and I can get some closure on how we were experimented on. If you would like to go with me tomorrow, that is fine. But right now, I need to get home.”

The girls frowned as I turned away. Flying as fast as I could I was getting a worse feeling in my gut as I headed to M-City. Something was wrong. I could feel it. The only sound I could hear was the roar of the wind in my ears as I pushed further. My anger was beginning to boil, which wasn’t good. The dumb green haired child pissing me off I needed to see the girls. I had to calm down, they always made me calmer. 

I landed on the balcony to find the apartment in shambles. A section of the wall had been torn apart. The sofa upturned, TV broken, coffee table missing a leg. My vision became blurry as I ran through the apartment. “Setsuko! Aiko! Jun!” I yelled running to each room. There was blood on the floor in Setsuko’s room. 

I felt the anger boil up in me. I barely held on to my rage as I felt strength course through my body. My fingers digging into my palms I thought quickly. Extending my Haki out I ran to the balcony passing my Fubuki and her sister as I jumped down to the road below. Landing easily I looked down each road. There were no obvious vans or some such vehicle that could hide them. I cursed, all the while my brain was telling me to kill everything in sight. 

I held on though. Keeping my sanity just barely as the girls landed behind me. “What happened?”

“Fucking gonna kill some stupid ass people, that’s what!” I barked as I raised into the air.