"You've moved up in the world, Mr. Wayne."
Her wry comment won her a smirk as Bruce stepped out of the cab, suitcase in hand.
And that was it.
That was all he had on him.
It was completely surreal, knowing that the man literally could fit all his clothes in a suitcase. But was now rockin a house on a hill.
It was a nice house, a little more isolated than she would like. On the city's outskirts, surrounded by deep forests and a single road that led into it, cradled in the green boughs.
Two stories, plenty of space, a blend of western and modern Japanese architecture, at least to her ammateur eye.
It suited him.
Bruce smiled "Oh I don't know. I think I might miss the couch. Especially if the lady burns it."
"Oh Ha-Ha." She rolled her eyes.
Bruce paid the cab driver, offering a bow and thanks before turning round the entryway circle to head towards the house..
She marched after him, Bruce opened the door with the rattle of keys before opening it for her.
"Your house." She said. "You should be the first to step inside."
He looked like he wanted to protest but acquiesced anyway, stepping in and making way as he rolled the suitcase to press it against the wall.
Must be one of those "Alfred teachings" of gentlemanly conduct cropping up again.
No furniture to speak of, not yet, but the inside had a dark hardwood floor and a kitchen that put hers to shame.
"You do have a bed right?" She decided to ask. Bruce seemed like the kinda guy that would sleep on the floor if he had to.
He'd been homeless for a bit, so that made sense.
"I do. The rest of the furniture will arrive in around a weeks time or so." He said. "Right now, the main things I have are my bed, and a computer setup for work."
"Oh. Where's the computer room?" She asked, half curious to see just what kind of toys Bruce could buy with his newfound cash.
Maybe he had some new inventions in there too.
Bruce shrugged, gesturing for her to follow, leading her down the hall, to a door just behind and below the main stairs. The room was dark, the windows high, when Bruce flicked on the light Nana blinked for a moment.
She let out a low whistle.
"Boys and their toys." She muttered.
She wasn't an expert by any means but the computer Bruce had looked like it could eat her little desktop alive, spit it out and then eat three of its cousins for good measure.
It was a beastly thing, three monitors, two desks and a… really damn big keyboard honestly. Did Bruce have a disability he hadn't told her about? Why were the keys so huge?
"It does the job." He shot back smirking her way before he turned serious. "In truth, I got it to help with my designs, but also our little… project."
It took her a moment to make the connection.
Frankly, All for One was too massive a figure in her life and in her mind to ever label him as something as… insignificant as a project; something to get done over the weekend.
Either ignorant or ignoring her disquiet at his choice of words, Bruce stepped forward.
With a click, the screen lit up.
Gesturing towards it, Bruce said, "This is everything you've given me so far on the villain you're after. Based on this, the profile indicates a few things you can hopefully use to get an advantage over him."
She took a breath, stepping away from her place by the door to look into the monitor. "Like what?"
Bruce sat down and began typing, "Psychology can be used in a variety of ways. You told me about your plan to hit his bases. It's a start, but can you use that creatively?
"How?"
"Your villain's profile says one thing, the man is likely bored."
She looked to Bruce raising an incredulous eyebrow.
"Bored?"
He nodded. "Think about it. He's lived for centuries, no challenge, no sport, every time someone comes along it's not long before he crushes them like he has others, likely easily. This gives you an opening.
"What kind of opening."
"He won't hit you with everything at once, not yet. He'll want to drag it out, have fun with it. With you. So he'll send lieutenants, enforcers. People he knows you can beat and beat easily.
"So how do I use that against him?"
"Simple," Burce shrugged, " Struggle."
She blinked. "Struggle?"
"When he sends people after you, make it seem closer than it really is, make it seem like you're only just scraping by your wins."
She stared at him. "So that when he comes after me… he'll think I'm weaker than I am."
Her friend nodded once. "From everything you described, you'll need every advantage you can get. Your villain's personal methods will hold true right next to how he commands his men and allocates resources. He'll start slow, stay on 'your level'.
"And before He can ramp up to flatten me… I bulldoze right over him."
Bruce nodded. "It won't work if you don't sell the performance though. Injuries, long fights, medical treatments, That kinda thing. Best if seen publicly, caught on video as well."
She looked at the computer, All for One's file staring back at her. Though, Bruce's title still had the rather generic title of "Nana's Villain" seeing as how she hadn't told him All for One's name, for his safety.
A thought occurred to her. "Quick question."
"Hmm?"
"What if I want to piss him off. And I mean really get under his skin. How do I do that?"
"Why?"
"I'm working on this with… a friend. If shit hits the fan I'd rather All- err… The Villain come after me, not him. How do I make sure he leaves my friends alone and focuses on me?"
Bruce looked her dead in the eye and answered without a second's hesitation.
"Smile." He said. "And laugh at him."
(X)(X)(X)
Toshinori Yagi winced and flinched and twitched in all manner of ways as the bandage was peeled off of him.
"Oh don't be such a baby." Korutshi growled, ripping off the last bit of medical bandage.
"That really hurts." He complained, gingerly rubbing the still sore and discolored bruising.
"Yeah well don't go picking fights in alleys, idiot!" She shot back.
"His face all pretty yet?" Takeda, another classmate of his, asked, stepping out of the school.
"Lookin' more and more normal every day."
"So going back to ugly then, right- OW"
It said a lot that Yagi could hear Kurotshi's knuckle bone bounce off the shin from here.
"Be nice you ass."
"But you just called him a baby!"
"And I'm callin' you an ass!"
Yagi chuckled, eying his reflection in a nearby glass.
Mostly gone. He could still see some odd coloring, especially along the cheekbone, but, much better than the swollen purple mess he'd been on day one.
Stupid of him to get involved in a quirk fight.
He felt a tap at his shoulder. "Stop lookin' at yourself, it ain't gettin prettier. Lets go."
"So why do you get to call him ugly."
"I'm not. I'm sayin he ain't gettin prettier. Difference."
"Bullshit!"
The battered boy in question laughed. "Now, Takeda, why do you keep askin after my looks so much? Something you'd like to share?"
"Yeah sure." His friend drily answered, pulling out a stick of gum before offering some to him and Korutshi. "Every day I don't get to see your pretty face I lose sleep. I need that chizzled jaw back in my life." He answered in complete deadpan.
Yagi rolled his eyes
"Ahem."
The three stopped as they marched to the main avenue's sidewalk, stepping past the school perimeter. They turned at the voice and Yagi's eyes widened.
"Miss Shimura!" He practically snapped to attention as the heroine floated down from the sky above.
He'd seen her before, she'd called him and they'd chat sometimes, and she even visited, but this was the first time she'd come to school.
Miss Shimura smiled, eyes crinkling gently. "Hey kid." She looked to his friends. "Mind if I borrow this one for a bit?"
"Uhh…" Korutshi, usually so quick with words seemed to be struck dumb. He had the feeling she hadn't believed him fully when he told her what happened. She looked to Yagi, blinking in stupefied surprise as she stuttered out the words, almost asking him for permission.
"S-sure no problem."
"Great!" Yagi felt a grip on his wrist.
"Here we go!"
Wait… wha-
Nana suddenly shot into the air, so fast and so strong Yagi almost felt his shoe slip off.
He screamed.
No one would ever know that he didn't stop screaming, or clutching Nana's leg until a full ten seconds after they landed, too terrified to even open his eyes, and anyone who said he did was a lying liar who lies!
By the time he finally did open his eyes he found Nana struggling to hold back the laughs, tears leaking from the corners of her eyes.
"Y-you did that on purpose!" He shouted.
Her eyes clenched shut and trying to hold back the laughs seemed to be almost physically painful as she chortled out the words. "S-sorry. I'm sorry. But oh god! The look on your face! Haha!"
Yagi's frown of displeasure was a direct contrast to her barely restrained snickering.
"That's not how you treat people who hit strangling villains for you!"
She finally seemed to recover herself. "I am sorry. I just couldn't resist. In other news though, I think your day's gonna get a bit better. Probably. Maybe."
"You throwing me off the roof?" He asked drily.
Then he got nervous.
Did he just give her ideas?
"You volunteering?"
"NO!"
She laughed again.
"Alright alright." She said, taking a breath. "Serious face now."
She stopped laughing, but she was still smiling.
Then something shifted, in her gaze. A certain weight settled on them, and a kindness.
"I just have one question for you kid, and ya gotta give me an honest answer."
He blinked. "I… why wouldn't I?"
"I'm not saying you gotta give me the right answer kid. I'm saying ya gotta give me an honest one. An answer that comes from right here-" She poked him in the chest.
Yagi was confused, but hesitantly, he nodded. "Ummm… Okay.
She smiled, and straightened, looking down at him.
"If you had the power to become a Hero. What would you do with it?"
Yagi blinked. Staring at her.
He took a breath, the answer obvious. Save people.
Then he stopped.
Not the right answer… the honest one.
"I…"