Canon Fodder

CHAPTER 295 JUST IN TIME

“Have fun at work,” Aiko said as she watched TV from the couch. 

“What? No kiss?” I asked.

“My stomach is full of your cum. That’s kiss enough,” she said. She had me there. 

“Don’t forget to patrol,” I told Setsuko. Leaning over to kiss her cheek she turned her head to meet my lips. 

“Love you,” she said. 

“Love you,” I said. Kissing Jun on the forehead she pouted until I planted one on her lips. 

“Bye bye,” Jun said but went back to her handheld game. I headed out the door like a normal person this time. Wearing my MHA Hero costume it was good to be seen now and then. Especially at the apartment. I had only had to stop a few domestic disputes, which was sadly refreshing. In MHA I had been warned not to help with anything. But as long as I had a hero license in OPM world they didn’t care if I stepped in. 

This was the kind of place I wanted MHA to be. Superpowers welcomed. Then again I didn’t want the disaster of OPM to come to My Hero Academia for that to happen. When your existence could be wiped out with the wave of a monster’s hand at any moment, debating how you help someone seems less important. 

I went down to the lobby, waving at a few kids or other tenants as they walked by. Everyone in the area knew who I was. Patrolling daily a simple hello there or making sure I was seen was enough to get word around. After I stopped a gang of motorcycle men my reputation had soared. I don’t mean bikers either. I mean a gang of people that rode motorcycles but a vat of radioactive material fell on them in a car accident and they fused with their rides. OPM was as random as ever with the villains and monsters that showed up. 

Walking down the street I had plenty of time to kill so I figured I might as well get my patrol done. Things with Kowarenai had kind of fizzled out. I had gone there expecting a fight, but Shiori instead offered me a job. Her school was expected to open up in 6 months, so I had that kind of time to figure out what I wanted to do. 

On one hand I could be potentially having sex with more girls. I was sure there was a way to awaken chakra in other ways since Toga got it, but I wasn’t interested in finding those ways out. I would be able to spread chakra around and potentially become a big leader in the One Punch Man World. 

That sort of thing was impossible in Naruto World, since everyone had chakra, and One Piece it would be useless as well because everyone lived in their own little world on their islands. But some of the other worlds, starting my own ninja clan was a legitimate option. Why not do it? I would gain strength in the world. Have fun. And I would be able to limit knowledge so that no one could use chakra against me. 

That sounded too much like a dictatorship. Me at the top, holding the power that people wanted, only letting the little knowledge I knew trickle down to my subordinates. I really needed to do a deeper dive into Naruto World. Understand chakra more, learn more jutsus. If I could learn the hand seals, ways to train the elements, then things would go a hell of a lot more quickly. There were no Tailed Beasts in this world, except for Nibi of course, and no huge powers like Madara. The plan had a lot of potential to actually work. 

There were so many people in this world that were scared. The majority of heroes didn’t have superpowers. Simply normal people that were stronger than others. There was no secret power system, unless you counted the evil god that was trying to destroy everything, or however Saitama awoke his impossible strength. Chakra could be a way to help people fight back. 

I decided to think more about it. Leave it alone for now since I was keeping my Empathic Link to the girls. It was still dangerous to come to OPM unless I had a higher psychic resistance or was able to turn the link off and on. 

After leaving Kowarenai I finished my quest. Receiving 3 Weakness Eliminators I couldn’t help but wonder if they were some sort of test since the quest was so easy. Did the powers that be want me to use them on myself, eliminating my need to watch when I came to the world, or use them on the girls to eliminate their Emotional Episodes. Or was the quest giver simply leading me to Kowarenai, pushing me to do what she asked? 

It was a lot to think about and the only solution I came up with was to be like Luffy. Ignore the problem. I used the Weakness Eliminators on the girls and they hadn’t had an episode since. Their personalities hadn’t changed at all either. Aiko was still horny all the time, Setsuko still laughed at stupid stuff, and Jun needed her alone time with her games. We were one big happy family. 

Near the outskirts of town I hadn’t seen anything out of the ordinary so I pooled some water and jumped on. Flying through the air was more of a struggle since I was wearing my 500 pound arms and leg weights. 

After running away from Goku/Kakarot I needed to get back to training myself physically. I had slowed down because I expected to jump to a new hall soon, and the strength wouldn’t transfer anyway. Opting to practice my other skills rather than my body it was the wrong move. I had to remember that when I came back to this hall my body should bulk back up. And since my body in DBZ World had Ki the amount available to me should depend on my body’s strength as well. I still wanted to go to other halls to learn more skills. Get more challenger slots from hopefully easy worlds, then come back to kick his ass, but for now I had to keep training my body. 

Following my Search Quirk I moved through the air quickly. When I felt she was close I dropped down. The neighborhood wasn’t too bad. Mainly houses packed in together I noticed that the one I was heading toward had some roof damage. A hole in the roof there was cloudy plastic covering it. My eye drawn to the damage as the wind blew the plastic around I wondered what caused it. 

Knocking on the front door I heard plenty of yelling inside. A small girl cracked the door after I knocked again. “Hello, is Mizuki here?” I asked, bending down to her height. 

She nodded shyly then turned around and screeched, “Mizuki!” She shut the door, continuing to yell for her sister. It took a bit but Mizuki came to the door holding a toddler on her hip. 

“What?!” She yelled, surprising me, but as she recognized me she blushed. Pushing her orange hair behind an ear she set the toddler down. “Weston, sorry, kind of a madhouse in here.” 

“No problem,” I said, picking up the small kid that struggled to walk over to me. Setting him on the side of my hip the 3 year old didn’t seem to care who was holding him. “Just wanted to stop by and see how you were doing.” 

“Uh better,” she said, blushing. “I go back to work here in a few days.” 

“Which is why I decided to stop by. Got time for a break?” I asked. 

“S-sure,” she said. Reaching out the kid on my hip grabbed her. She set him down inside and toddled off. “I could use a break.” 

“I bet, jeez how many kids you got in there?” 

“8,” she said with a sigh. “5 are my moms and the older kids had friends over.” We walked beside each other as we headed down the sidewalk.

“Quite stressful. I know you said you were becoming a hero because they offered scholarships for school. Are you going to be able to go to school, do hero work, and take care of kids?” I asked. 

“I’ll figure it out,” she said with a shrug. 

“I’m sure you will.” I turned back to her house. “What’s with the hole in the roof? One of the kids fire off a rocket?”

“Uh no,” she laughed nervously. “Few blocks away a monster attacked a building. A huge chunk of it landed on our house. Been working with insurance to get them to pay for it, but they keep fighting it.”

“That sucks,” I said, letting out a sigh. I had been where she was. Not near as bad, but struggling to keep your head above water was a rite of passage for most any adult. I just hated that she was so young and having to deal with it. 

“I’m not much for beating around the bush,” I decided as we turned a corner. “I wanted to talk about what the girls told you when they dropped you off after the…incident.” 

“Yeah, quite the news,” she said. Her Spiritual Energy leaked worry. 

“I really don’t feel comfortable letting people in on some of our secrets. So I appreciate your discretion. But I wanted to let you know that the offer was still out there. I like you Mizuki. I know I would feel more comfortable if you weren’t patrolling alone. The suit they offered you would make you stronger as well. I know that you’re strong already, but it would defend you and be more helpful than patrolling in your track and field outfit.”

She was quiet as we walked. I left her to it. Simply walking around the block I waved to a few people as they recognized me. Some said hello to Mizuki since she didn’t really have a secret identity either. 

“And the other thing?” She whispered. 

“You’ll have to be more clear. Aiko doesn’t have a filter, but the others were vague about what they said to you,” I admitted. 

“Yeah, that one girl is…something else,” Mizuki said. “She talked about that chakra stuff.” 

“Yes it’s powerful, eventually. Makes you stronger, allows you to do special things. But it takes training. And to awaken it is rather…unorthodox. But to be honest, I want to leave that out of the equation,” I said. I stopped walking and turned to her. Looking into her eyes as I thought about what to sa. She was as beautiful as ever. Bright orange hair, muscular frame, and a face that belonged on a model it was hard to not want her. 

“I like you Mizuki,” I admitted. “You’re driven, work hard, and beautiful. I could help you get stronger, but I don’t think I’m interested in you if you just want that. I would prefer a more permanent situation.” 

“You like me?” She asked, smiling slightly. I could feel her energy bloom with joy. 

“Of course,” I said, walking again. “I thought that was obvious.”

“Yeah, but…you have those other girls.” 

“And I love them,” I said. “I can’t help it. Whatever was done to us is probably there to stay. I was mostly surprised that they were okay with offering to help you. I asked them about it after they dropped you off. Do you know what they said?” I asked. She shook her head. “It sucks being normal.” 

“That’s what we were before all this. Normal people. Jobs, school, living our lives. Hoping and praying that some villain or monster didn’t happen upon us. We were kidnapped and experimented on. No way to fight it. And when the girls saw what happened to you with those thugs, they wanted to help you too. Not become a victim, but the hero that helps save the victims. If you are happy where you are at, that is completely fine. But we have been those victims. We want to make sure that we can save all of them.” 

I stopped again. Turning to her she had a few tears in her eyes, but tried to smile through them. Pulling out a stack of yen I handed it to her. “Whatever you decide. Take this.”

“No I-” 

“I insist,” I said. “I have been where you are at right now. Juggling a million things. One accident away from not being able to work. If something happens to you, your family would be hurt. I would prefer to know that they and you are taken care of. One less thing to worry about.” I put the money in her palm. A few million yen it was more than enough to take care of major bills.

Leaning forward I kissed her cheek. “I’ll be in touch,” I said, jumping on a puddle of water and floating away. 

I felt better having done that. Unlike Tatsumaki or Fubuki, Mizuki wasn’t overly strong. Above average she would gain a lot working with my girls. I doubted that it would lead to anything between she and I right away, but maybe someday. I knew I would feel better knowing she was working with others and staying safe. 

With that out of the way I headed off to my appointment. Getting to City A at the center of the huge island we lived on I landed in front of the Hero Association. After some directions from a receptionist I was escorted by one of the staff. Everyone there, including the women, wore a black suit and tie with a white undershirt. Very professional with all things it wasn’t long until I was let into the meeting room. 

4 people sat at a table in the middle of the room. 3 were employees for the Association, the other was 1 I hadn’t met but did recognize. He was an older man. Short white hair spiked up and a bushy white mustache he wore a simple black shirt and gray pants. His Spiritual Energy was over 3 times the strength of those next to him. 

“Hello Weston Watanabe, aka Blackheart,” one of the associates said. He was a middle aged bald man. “Please.” Pointing ahead of him I stood in front of a line of glass windows that looked out onto the city. 

A man in his early 30s spoke up. Black hair, I guessed I recognized him from the manga, but he must have been a side character. “We brought you here today to discuss your pending promotion.” 

“That’s what the letter said,” I said with a shrug. “Thinking of making me S-Class?”

“Yes,” the younger man said. “I am Busho. The first thing we want to review is your record. Says here you were experimented on by a scientist. Something about emotions.”

I gave them my whole spiel. Not mentioning the girls I talked about the research and connection to Tsukuyomi. Then they discussed the villains I had beaten on record. Mostly simple stuff the biggest monster was the beehive that was cleared out recently by the Association. Apparently over 5 dozen people had been killed before I got there. I had potentially saved hundreds of lives with very little interference from the Association. 

“What about your connection to King?” Busho asked. “When you first came here, King vouched for you. Said you were his disciple.” 

I let out a long sigh. “Yes, I trained with King. Learning what I could from him. But he and I do not share any techniques besides immense strength,” I lied. I didn’t see a point to out him. 

“Why do you want to move to S-Class?” Silver Fang asked as the conversation died down. The old man crouched forward in his seat. Eyeing me up as I spoke. 

“To do good,” I admitted. “I am a citizen just like the rest of you. I see how bad it is out there. I want to be in S-Class, because that is where I can help the most. Not sent on missions against small fries, but the real threats out there.” 

“And do you think you can handle those threats?” Silver Fang asked. 

“I doubt it,” I said truthfully. “There are so many monsters out there I am surprised we as a species have survived as long as we have. And the foes will only keep getting stronger. Thus we need to do the same. Push through beyond our limits. Most of all, we need to stick together.” 

I received a few appreciative nods. After some more minor questions Busho announced, “Normally we make sure the number 1 in the Class is fine with someone moving beyond. We have spoken to Sweet Mask, and he doesn’t want to challenge you for the number 1 spot in A-Class. Thus, Weston Watanabe, do you want to move up to S-Class?” 

I thought about it for a moment but nodded. “Good. You are now S-Class Rank-16.” He stamped a sheet of paper and I received a notification. 

I frowned. I had originally thought that the Bonus Slot was the only reward. I guessed either my actions to reach S-Class or something else had driven another Reward. I didn’t know what a Companion Link was, but it sounded important. 

After saying goodbye to the associates I spoke to Silver Fang. Asking for a spar the old man laughed and nodded. I knew he was strong and his student was important to the story later, so I should at least get to know him. 

Walking outside I sat down on one of the many benches. Watching people enter and exit the building many heroes wore crazy costumes. One dressed like a pineapple, another a dog, another simply rode his bike, a smile on his face as he headed in. There were so many interesting people in this world, and I wanted to help it. 

I wasn’t sure what my future plans were, but the girls would be a part of it. So many monsters out there it was a risk to let them fight. I had to remind myself I couldn’t control everything. The House of Evolution out there, a pending alien invasion, the Monster Association, god to deal with. There were plenty of things to keep me busy. It would take a lot of strength to end the canon, but I planned to. 

I sat there watching the sunset for a while. Simply working up my plans until I disappeared back into the red room.