Inside the City Hospital, All Might rested on one of the more luxurious wards of the facility. With the salary he earned from the a.s.sociation, it wasn"t hard to afford such treatment.Laying on the bed with a hospital gown covering his muscled form, he smiled at his visitor and chortled.
"It"s quite rare for you to visit me, Ryōko-san."
His head bandaged while the bandages on his upper-body could he be seen through the loose neckline of the gown.
"Well, what can I say? You just got yourself hurt and as my privileged patient, I got to treat you."
Ryōko, still wearing Tearju"s turtleneck sweater and a pair of tight jeans that hugged her voluptuousness lower body, used her device to scan All Might"s body without batting an eye.
"All Might, I suggest that you undo your transformation. Your heart is still in a terrible condition and it can barely accommodate the pressure of the energy coursing through your body."
She wasn"t lying, while All Might was saved from that attack, his heart was quite damaged.
"I cannot. Not in here."
All Might flatly denied. His secret cannot be exposed, no matter what. While he may not be the strongest hero, he was definitely the most influential hero and his weakness would prove to be a terrible effect on the society.
"Well, even if your old injuries will get better over time, your heart may never be the same."
Ryōko spoke as she placed the cellphone-like device into her pocket.
"Is that it?"
All Might looked at Ryōko and asked out. His years of experience with media and opportunistic politicians would have been wasted if he couldn"t understand that his own health wasn"t Ryōko"s main concern of the visit.
With her thoughts getting exposed, Ryōko smiled beautifully and didn"t beat around the bush.
"Let me check on Rito."
"No."
Such an immediate reply did shock Ryōko but she simply continued.
"A simple "no" wouldn"t suffice. You either let me meet him or you tell me his current situation."
She crossed her legs and continued.
All Might shook his head once again.
"I am genuinely apologetic, but I can"t delve a.s.sociation"s secret."
"Hmm? So now Rito is one of your a.s.sociation"s big secret? Do you think I don"t know?"
Ryōko smiled as her eyes grew penetrative.
"While they are protecting him and hiding his information from many sources trying to find the truth, we all know that it isn"t possible to keep Rito as a secret for a long time.
So, their actions have two meanings. One, they would want to train Rito into an effective hero once he wakes up and I am sure that the directors have already made some plans.
Two, they require resources. And Rito"s existence would help them. Right now, for better or worse, Rito is being protected by the a.s.sociation, but it isn"t all out of their just heart, right?"
Only some of the heroes could understand the implications hidden in her words. Yes, she was right and All Might understood the a.s.sociation"s secret intentions.
They wanted more resources in the form of technology.
The ever-rising need for support equipments has opened the eyes of the world to a brand new field of quirk development— Technicians.
But the planet has clearly reached the bottleneck of the level of technology and whoever breaks through the status quo will be able to wield a high degree of power.
And that level of technology belonged to the cla.s.sification of Alien Tech.
And the a.s.sociation"s hidden purpose was none other than Layla.
Just Peke"s existence was enough for them to understand the true nature of Alien Technology. But neither the a.s.sociation or the Government made their move to try and approach her.
By now, the existence of Aliens wasn"t a secret among the higher levels of society but the existence of each and every alien lifeform in their country was a top-notch secret that couldn"t be spread.
So with the a.s.sociation as the natural restraint and the might and the utility of the aliens themselves, the government of the various countries allowed the aliens to reside on their planet.
But the existence of many aliens was hidden from the a.s.sociation by the government of various nations.
And besides maintaining the safety of their people, all the countries have been trying to push through their technological background.
And now, the a.s.sociation has a way to acc.u.mulate Alien Technology, too.
While their intentions towards Rito and Lala weren"t evil, their method of approach did leave a pretty displeasing taste on Ryōko.
And that"s why she decided to pay Rito a visit personally.
Hearing her words, All Might simply sighed.
"What can I do in this regard? If they wanted to harm young Rito, I wouldn"t be sitting here. But the a.s.sociation is the only inst.i.tution that actually cared for the rights of quirk users.
If they want to make Rito owe them a favour, I won"t step in."
Ryōko nodded and spoke out.
"But you are still hiding something, aren"t you? While I understand the need for a technological breakthrough, there is something more to this whole situation."
"You don"t have to worry about that."
"Well then, I will meet up with Rito. You will help me."
Ryōko stood up.
"Fine."
All Might finally gave in. If it wasn"t for Ryōko, he wouldn"t even be able to take part in the monster tide. This was the least he could do.
****
Entertainment District, B-City
Even though this place also suffered quite a damage, it wasn"t long before it was repaired and many stressed victims visited this location for a hearty drink.
In the corners of the district, a youth wearing dark clothes quickly entered an alley and knocked on the door at the end of the alley before pa.s.sing a slip through the gaps of the door.
Inside, a man with his face covered in an oval mask picked up the slip and opened it.
The interior was a well designed and cla.s.sical looking bar with luxurious wooden furniture as people of a variety of shapes... and elements sat around with grim expression.
"Oi... did you guys know that Rocket Hand is dead?"
"What? For real?"
"Yeah, apparently, he was killed during the monster tide."
"A monster?"
"No, a villain, supposedly."
The bar sunk into pressured silence once again.
"No matter. We will find him. Did you get the information on baldy?"
"Yes, this guy just appeared out of nowhere. While many surveillance cameras hold the recording of him destroying various monsters, he still killed Orochi in a single punch."
When these words rang out, the breaths of almost everyone stopped.
"Orochi... Monster King Orochi?"
"Who else?"
The grey-haired youth with a severed hand covering his face spoke up grimly.
"Either way, Master has called back the league... for further training."
His words stunned the entire group once again.