19: Lust & Vanity.

Lust & Vanity.

A colorful place. White, purple, and orange, yet inhabited by a certain coldness. The lack of staff had something to do with it; if it didn't have some sidekicks, Mt. Lady's agency was already working quite well thanks to the people's donations. Her accountants were already starting to see four-digit numbers appear on their PC monitor. That said, knowing her quirk, she probably had to give a lot of that money to repair the damage she was causing to the roads, etc.

To be honest, what shocked Felix the most here was the size of the agency and the different rooms designed for an impressive amount of diverse and varied staff, from a maintenance room to a training room and even a bank withdrawal point at the entrance; not something a rookie could afford so easily. Despite the information he got from Kaoruko, data about Mt. Lady was rare; apart from her last name, it was nothingness.

People's attention and recognition played a significant role for the giant heroine. Since Felix witnessed with his very eyes how she acted on the first day of her work, he had no doubt about it. This manifested itself in a shameless, opportunistic, ambitious, and vain attitude that significantly reduced her popularity with women but increased her popularity with men.

However, citizen's safety seemed to be another of her priorities, considering that in only a few weeks, she managed by herself at least twenty incidents and villains and about ten with the help of another rookie named Kamui Wood and other heroes, but they also seemed to work hard on another mission, but nobody knew about that. It might seem contradictory, but Felix thought she was more selfless than she let on, despite her obvious miserliness.

—So, all this vain ambition serves a purpose, probably something like climbing the ladder for fame and all, or proving to someone that she's more valuable and desirable than this person was thinking. Her parents, late friends, ex-boyfriend? Or maybe she's trying to prove to herself that she's worth something, like… a bullied child struggling to keep up.

Putting the pieces together to find a clue that might allow him to come to an arrangement without too much was simple for him. Still, at the same time, laborious because of the only few information he had, so every little idea could be useful to him, especially since before sending him this letter, Mt. Lady did the same for him, giving the letter to Nighteye's agency to prevent Felix from ignoring it.

—A sophisticated agency, security guards at the entrance, several accountants, large quantities of equipment, a bank withdrawal point... Maybe some kind of sponsorship… But... What is she doing… She's already 20 minutes late.

He wasn't going to complain too much either, since this extra time allowed him to think about what he would say to defend himself if needed, but coming from someone professional and who's convoked him, a delay was ironic. The hostess simply asked him to sit in a small room opposite the exit; although he felt like they attempted to trap him inside, he complied, and the door was locked behind him—a wooden door. A simple kick would be enough to get out, but it was probably a test to see how he behaved, or the giant heroine was simply careless and woke up late.

"Mr. Fortier?" asked the hostess coming from another door at the other end of the room. "Please come, Mt. Lady waiting for you. Sorry for the delay."

"No problem."

"I don't know why she wanted to see you. But... the protocol she followed for talking to you makes me understand that you are a potentially dangerous person. What do you have to say for yourself?"

"I'm a potentially dangerous person, like everyone," he replied with a sigh. "Even if I know why I'm here, I didn't do anything that would put anyone in danger."

"If you say so," the hostess said with a neutral look by bringing him in front of a room. "I just hope for you this is true. You don't want to mess with her mother, believe me."

She closed the door after pushing Felix inside it; it was quite a large room but more deteriorated than the rest of the building and separated in two by a thick PVC window, built-in microphones in the tables allowed exchanges between the two sides to avoid any contact, like in his late prison, probably to prevent him from using his quirk.

—That's smart. As Kaoruko said, talking some sense into her is the only solution.

This place didn't bring him good memories; he imagined his mother on the other side of the glass, looking at him with her enthusiastic eyes despite his son being incarcerated... but he just sighed and advanced towards one of the chairs where a silhouette took shape in the backlight. The visiting room smelled like dust and old paper as the sun's thin ray passed between the blinds, drawing lines of light thanks to the surrounding dust, which crossed the entire room.

He sat on the chair as the woman on the other side of the PVC window closed the blind even more for him to see her better and then pulled the chair loudly to slumped over it, letting her head fall backward to stretch as her long creamy blond hair cascaded down the backrest.

"Sorry for the delay; I was signing autographs for my fans." Mt. Lady yawned without greeting him by pressing the button that activated the microphone, her purple eyes looking at him.

"Your fans…?" he spouted with a grin. "I don't know if this is the right word to describe this type of guy."

"We aren't here to talk about me, you know. I'm pretty happy that you came, I thought you would have tried to leave the country, but apparently, you plan to stay here." Mt. Lady explained by crossing her arm. "I know it's maybe too much, but at least in this room, your quirk can't 'touch' me or approach me in some way."

"What a smart girl you are."

"Keep your sarcasm for yourself, will you?" she said with a devilish smirk; she paused and sighed before looking at her phone. "I don't want to throw you to the Hero Commission; the one thing you did to me doesn't deserve this kind of punishment. Plus, the kiss wasn't that bad, but to be honest, I'm not interested in you."

"So why am I here today?"

"I don't know how your quirk works, but I got some clue thanks to Mirko and her behavior. You can make people feel good or bad without touching someone, I don't know how, but you can. This quirk of yours can come in handy for a lot of things."

"Oh? I already heard this from a few women back in the days. You want revenge on a man or a woman, or more fame, right?"

Mt. Lady slightly widened her eyes and straightened up on her chair. Of course, she anticipated that her plan wouldn't go exactly as planned but that her plan being partially uncovered in just a minute was something else. She hadn't told anyone about what had happened to her in this alley with Felix to avoid passing for a nympho, kissing a stranger even though under the influence of a quirk would have been considered shameful for most Japanese people.

In other words, only she knew why Felix had come, and very few people knew that he was even here. She had neither legally declared this interrogation nor prepared the paperwork necessary to take legal action against him if it all turned against her; without evidence, there was no pressure to subdue Felix. Even though he would be in trouble if she made a complaint because he's a foreigner, her instinct told her that the only way to put pressure on him was through a financial threat. Her mother could do that; as a banker, freezing his bank account or lowering his payment cap would be a problem for him, and it was easy to hide this kind of shenanigans.

She had to remain in control of the situation; if he was the one to take advantage of the situation, it would be a double defeat. Losing to someone she thought she had a handle on was intolerable for her; it would plunge her back into the disgraceful meanders of envy and jealousy; she knew that, so as a matter of fact, the heroine simply smiled and hid her worries.

"It's not just for something so childish." she sighed by closing one eyelid. "If you don't want me to put you in debt, you will have to work for me."

"In debt, huh?" he whispered, thinking of what the hostess said to him. "Your mom will help you to do that. Did she really know about what you do? She will be disappointed with what her daughter has become."

"...She... would help me for sure."

"Yeah, that makes sense. I guess she's the one who paid to renovate this old police station into a hero agency. You already have money, but that's not enough, so you want fame. That's quite greedy.~"

"And using your quirk to subdue me wasn't greedy in a way?"

"Between kissing a sexy heroine to please and charm her and acting only out of ego for your own selfish person, there is a difference." Felix smiled and then looked at her straight in the eyes, but contrary to Kaoruko, Mt. Lady just fixed him without unease. "So? I'm all ears now."

"Lust versus vanity, that's what you're trying to say." the giant heroine mumbled as she turned her phone back on; she closed her eyelid and resumed to what this meeting was all for. "This girl, and this dude…" she said by showing him the screen of her phone through the glass. "We investigate as discreetly as possible all their deeds and gestures since my beginnings with Kamui Wood and other heroes. The woman is a doctor, the man a surgeon; they're married and are suspected of organ trafficking. Maybe worse. I need you to integrate their little club and make them suffer."

"Why that?"

"It's none of your business." Mt. Lady bitterly said while dropping her phone on the table. "Your quirk is invisible, so it would be easy, but believe me, when you're gonna see how fucked up they are, making them suffer will be almost enjoyable. They are even suspected of being friends with Toxic Chainsaw. Or at least in the past."

"You're talking gibberish to me; I don't know Toxic Chainsaw. I'm not from here as a reminder."

"Yeah… That was a villain able to fight against All Might. But enough of that. The only way for you to come in contact with them would be to join the kendo and sword training center they founded, only there you will be able to meet them."

"And what would I earn?" Felix asked with a hint of malice. "I can make a complaint to the police because of that blackmailing you did. Same for this illegal attendance between the two of us. Since you don't have a lot of people following you now, it would be awful for you if all of this was broadcasted and supported by evidence on TV and social networks."

"You little shit-"

"You're the one who blackmailed me."

"And you're the one who assaulted me!" she shouted, trying to deny the incredible sensation this single kiss gave her. "Even if it's not that serious, you're the one who started this!"

"Assaulted you?" inquired Felix by raising an eyebrow. "I indeed used my quirk, but I didn't use it once for THIS purpose in years, even if the hormones were potent, I was hella rusty. If you really wanted to fight against it, judging your awful temperament, you could have shake it off easily."

"I asked for it but-!"

"Yeah?" smiled Felix.

"Asshole."

"I know, and I'm also the worse human being, for sure. So, now that your tantrum has ended, you're to find common ground, right? I don't mind doing what you tell me if I'm compensated with something in return."

"Tch! Fine! I can ask my mother to create a new bank account where the pay you receive from me would go. Simple but efficient. Okay with that!?" she growled, eyebrows furrowed and arms crossed.

"To be honest, that's exactly what I need," he smirked just to annoy her a little more.

"And for you to not blackmail me in return, I will add you to the helpers of this agency… I'm fucking pissed right now… This morning was starting so well!"

"Well, my morning ended well on the other hand."

"Shut the fuck up!"

"Nope," concluded Felix with a wave of the hand to shake off Mt. Lady yelling.

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How much time passed? They didn't know, but they both came to this arrangement: in exchange for Felix's help and risk, she would pay him $450 per week with a premium if he managed to find more clues about the strange network of doctors and surgeons involved in organ trafficking. If the mission is accomplished, but on top of that he made the couple suffer a lot, she would send him thanks to his mother between $5000 and $10,000; she made it clear that if he did that, her mother would be perfectly willing to give him this amount of money.

Since he too was willing to do anything to get that money to buy new pieces of equipment and to test his offensive powers again in parallel with his training with O'Clock, Rumi, and Nigheye, he agreed, adding that if his life was in danger, he wouldn't hesitate to kill or step back and call for backup.

Even if their fresh relationship was built on tension, they felt comfortable enough and continued to talk about these two medics. They apparently belonged to the groups giving money to keep the Underground Masquerade active; if this was the case, Felix should be careful, as they might recognize him. He was also amazed that the recent events almost only revolved around this MMA tournament, the enigma with this guy called Overhaul, this hand coming from a black mist during the end of their fight against Rappa, Rumi issues with the media and folks, and now he was asked to rub shoulders again, and from afar, with this underground world.

It's as if a shadow, a final boss, was running the whole thing from his perch, waiting for the opportune moment to show up.

They decided to end their talks and met without plastic glass between them to shake hands and seal their contract. Even though deep down Felix knew that this mission was ultimately only a secondary mission without any real difficulty, since he simply had to train in the traditional art of sword and katana handling and be among the best to attract the couple's attention, he wasn't too worried about fighting people like Rappa or Overhaul in the near future. He only has to go train during the late evening, as he could simultaneously work on other things and spend time with "friends."

Oh, and making them suffer from hormones? Oh yes, it's possible; it takes a little while, though, but how many people get cancer because of an overdose or lack of hormones? A lot of people. And curring this kind of shit when the body's cells fall apart faster than they can be regenerated despite treatment, it began painful and depressing after a few weeks. Of course, Felix can even kill with it, but that's not what Mt. Lady asked for.2

But this is going to be exhausting, more and more training.

—I wonder how tired I would be in a month or two…

"So, Felix, I will call you like that now." Mt. Lady said with a tired tone. "Welcome to the team."

"Thanks."

"Don't thank me. You're not welcome; it's only because you can be a nice ally. I don't need you that much anyway." she pestered by crossing her arm.

"So cold and distant. I'm gonna cry. But this is just vanity striking again. I could at least see that perfect ass more often to console me."

"Try to be discreet when you do so, then."

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