『ARC ONE: EXAMS AND MISHAPS』

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"Tomo! What's happening?!" Sumiko's worried and rushed tone flooded into Tomohiro's ear from the earpiece.

It was the same day as Akihiko and Tanami's entrance exams, just later in the day. Tomohiro had been called out during the night and to be honest, he was in no mood to work as a part of him had a sneaking suspicion that one of his kids would get hurt and he wanted to be at least nearby. However, he was a Hero and it was his job. The mission itself was due to a lead concerning a villainous group that appeared three years after the fall of the League of Villains. Unlike the LoV, the group Seraph worked quietly and stayed hidden, only striking when deemed necessary. They were constantly compared to rats, sneaky and silent as they skittered in the underground world.

In fact, the only reason Inscribe's agency was given this assignment six years ago was due to the mysterious disappearance of Heroes here and there. The frustrating thing about this was that no one could track the missing Heroes nor the members of Seraph. They could not even figure out what their plan was. They only knew that there were a total of eight and all of them wore bells. Only one was identified and that was from pure luck that Chargebolt ran into him and managed to get his name, Villain name, and Quirk.

The agency had gained intel about three locations where a Seraph could be located. On one hand, it could be a trick, on the other hand, they had no choice but to investigate. Inscribe had informed his team that Phantom and Puppeteer would go to one spot, Charm in another, and him in the last. It was risky not bringing any sidekicks or informing another team agency, but losing one hero instead of a group seemed easier to stomach. They hoped it did not come to that.

Currently, Tomohiro was inspecting a dilapidated and abandoned warehouse when he was suddenly ambushed by a barrage of gunners. He was lucky that he had pulled out his notebook and created a wall of ink to shield himself before finding better coverage.

Teeth clenched together in frustration as beads of sweat collected on the fabric of the midnight gloves Tomohiro wore. His back was pressed against a flipped over metal table that he was using as a source of cover. The soles of his onyx boots rested on the dirty cement floor he sat on. He took a daring glance over the table before he ducked due to the fact that a bullet almost pierced his skull. Taking cover once more, his white eyes watched as Shishi paddled over.

The shiba inu was wagging its tail angrily, eyes slightly narrowed as small, fury filled yelps exited his snout. If the dog had teeth, it would gladly tear off anyone's limbs who dared to try and hurt its owner. However, with no command given, Shishi frustratingly scratched at the cement. Dirt stuck to its ink paws.

"Make sure they stay relatively far away, Shishi." Inscribe instructed with a soft tone. His attention was torn away from the people who wanted to fill his body with holes and instead focused on sketching a few things on a blank notepad.

Shishi barked eagerly, a smile on its muzzle. The dog leaped over the table and all Tomohiro could hear were the confused noises produced by the gunners. Seriously who uses guns anymore? They lived in a society where almost everyone in the world had a Quirk. Why bother trying to mow someone down via bullets when you could probably just electrocute them? Unless they had prototypes of Overhaul's old Quirk Rewind bullets, but the chances of that are closer to zero than one.

"Tomo! Hey Tomo! Answer me!"

Pressing two fingers to the earpiece, Tomohiro said, "yes, how may I be of assistance?"

"Oh my gosh-! Tomo I will leave you to die in there if you manage to get fifty bullets lodged in your sternum." Sumiko threatened.

"Do you not do that already?" Inscribe commented. He tapped the sheet with his calligraphy pen and an inky rat with a strap wrapped around its torso materialized next to him. Setting the pad down, the Hero shoved his hand into one of the holders attached to his grey belt and fished out a tiny rectangular camera. He hastily attached it to the small ink strap.

The rodent squeaked quietly, beady white eyes gazing up at Tomohiro expectantly. Its small nose wiggled as it sniffed the grime decorating the ground. It then spat and stuck out its midnight tongue. Its reaction caused Inscribe to chuckle. His laughter was cut short by the sound of gargling and the halt of bangs ringing through the air. He is just going to assume that Shishi managed to tackle someone.

"Go and find the person who is hiding or what they are hiding. They have to be covering something up if they are doing this. They want to keep us away."

With a wag of its stringy white tail, it chirped diligently before scuttling off into the darkness. If he listened close enough, he could hear the quiet pitter patter of its paws.

"I'm literally going to leave you to die. I don't care if you're my boss and you give me my paycheck." Sumiko's voice rang with seriousness.

"So what you are saying is that you do not want to be paid? Anyway, you let that happen and you are going to have to deal with an angry Shishi and two sad children." he replied swiftly. "Check your screen. I connected a camera to a rat."

"I'm checking, I'm checking," Sumiko grumbled underneath her breath. The sound of fingers swiftly taping keys entered his ear.

Tomohiro picked up his sketchbook and quickly sketched out a detailed semi-automatic handgun and a few bullets. He took a second to hear the chaos happening behind him before determining it was perfectly fine to carry out what he wanted to do. Although he was criticizing guns beforehand, he will admit that when modified correctly, they can be useful. Taking the bullets out of the handgun, Inscribe fished out a small container filled with liquid anesthesia and a syringe from his belt compartments.

Concerning this type of medicine, it was created in a way that it would cancel out of the effects of ink poisoning and still administer a strong dosage of anesthesia. After injecting the medicine, the ink bullets faded into a cloudy white. Placing a few inside the canister and the rest in his pocket, Inscribe waited five seconds until the sound of bullets piercing the air seized to exist. Shishi's happy yips followed soon after.

Standing abruptly, the Illustration Hero scanned the area around him. Multiple bodies littered the floor and were unconscious. Their chests rose and fell so that signaled that they were still very much alive. They were covered in ink, courtesy of Shishi. The shiba inu trotted over to Tomohiro and pushed its head into his black pants. The dog shook his tail excitedly and barked in excitement. Nudging his dog with his leg, Tomohiro gestured for Shishi to trail behind him. The shiba inu happily complied.

Carefully running down the now vacant hallway, the duo swiftly checked the status of the rooms. Peeking into the doorways, they were greeted with the sight of dirty yet empty rooms. No furniture decorated the plain rooms and the only light provided was from the dying light bulbs attached to the ceiling. Tomohiro clicked his tongue, tugging the end of his grey cape that reached the beginning of his hip away from the rusty door. His thumb lightly trailed down the smoothness of the ink handle of the gun. It felt weird because of the roughness of his glove.

A few more minutes of scouring the area and both the Hero and the ink dog turned up with nothing. Shishi whined and hid his face behind his paws in shame that they could not find anything. Sighing, the white-eyed male silently pet his dog's head before hastily walking down another corridor. He had a feeling that this would be a dead end, but the thought of that did not sit well with him. He had to keep searching. Something made him keep searching.

Inscribe pressed a finger to his ear piece, his other hand still gripping the handgun firmly. His finger lingered on the trigger as he already pulled the hammer down on the back of the weapon to release the safety. If something did happen to show itself, he would put it or them to sleep. Or Shishi can just engulf them in a pile of ink. Either one would work. He did not care which came first.

"Hey Sumiko, anything on your end? Everything is empty here."

Static buzzed on Sumiko's end. Raising a brow, Tomohiro slowed his pace. That sounded off. "Sumiko?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm here. Phantom and Puppeteer ran into a dead end in their location and mine was a waste of time. Yours is the only one left. If we can't find anything here, that means that any leads we had about Seraph is going to go down the drain... again."

Inscribe's nose scrunched up as frustration painted over his features. He bit his lip and dashed down the hallway. Shishi was quick to follow. "What about the rat I sent out? Any luck with it?"

A low hum entered his eardrum. "Ahh... it is still scurrying around the vents and it hasn't found anything. It is determined to search the entire area like you wanted it to."

He was about to say something but clamped his jaw shut instead.

The male forced his heels to dig into the ground. In front of him stood a door that presented itself as proudly as it could. It appeared to be an elevator door that was painted a deep purple with a yellow symbol of a circle weaved with silver lines that crossed over each other. Roman numbers surrounded it and small triangles pointed at them. The symbol itself was odd, but it matched the same one that belonged to the villainous group. He gripped the handgun tighter.

"I found an elevator. I'm going to need you, Phantom, and Puppeteer to get down here. If one of the eight Seraph are down there, it would be better for all four of us to go in there than just Shishi and I." Tomohiro explained as he leaned onto the nearby wall. "Shishi, go explore the other places. Get back here if something is off."

Shishi wagged his tail and nodded before taking off in a mad dash. A few minutes ticked by slowly. Inscribe's tight grip never loosened as a bead of sweat rolled down his jaw. The air around him felt suffocating, the atmosphere made him more nervous than he wanted to be. It has been a long time since he felt this pressure. The hairs on the back of his neck suddenly spiked up.

Spinning around on his heel, his arm jerked forward and positioned the handgun in front of him. Without a second thought, he pressed down on the trigger. With a loud boom, the modified bullet slipped out of the muzzle and soared through the air. Tomohiro's jaw tightened at the sight and he hastily jumped back to create space between himself and his opponent.

In front of him stood a male who seemed to be in his mid-twenties. A confident smirk slipped into his lips. His smug green eyes stood out against his dark colored skin. He ran a hand through his short pink and blue hair while the other hand held a puddle of white in his palm.

"Well, well, well, lookie here! What a wondrous surprise, Mr. Inscribe! My, oh, my, how have I been blessed to be graced with your presence!" the male explained with such a haughty voice that Tomohiro physically had to stop himself from gagging. He kept his mouth shut.

"Ah! What a tragedy! You won't answer me?! What have I done in order to be treated this way?"

Narrowing his white eyes, Tomohiro replied swiftly. "Danuja Fujihiro, better known as Ario. Quirk: Break Down. The ability to break any substance that is not human apart when touching it, but becomes useless when an object is much too sturdy and big. Constantly compared to the now deceased Tomura Shigaraki Quirk wise in the Hero and Villain communities, although you do not seem to be frazzled by it. One of the eight Seraph and the only one to reveal himself after an encounter with the Hero, Chargebolt, near the center of the city."

"Wow!" Ario exclaimed. He spread his arms out, the bracelets made of bells on both of his wrists jingling a dreary tune. "You actually know who I am! The Inscribe knows who I am!"

While the male in front of him blabbered off about who knows what, the ink Hero observed the Villain. It would be a waste of time to shoot Ario since the bullets would just turn into useless medicine filled ink. The pink-and-blue-haired man was shorter than him by a foot and seemed to be weak and lanky in the tight fitting white dress shirt, pink vest, red bow with a bell, and black pants with brown dress shoes. Tomohiro could take him without the dangers of injury since his Quirk was useless against humans or animals.

Tossing the ink handgun behind him, Inscribe moved forward. Kicking off his toes, Tomohiro repositioned himself to jab his right leg forward. The flat of his boot connected with Ario's abdomen, the grey cape that hung over his shoulders fluttered around his arms and back. The Villain skittered back but did not lose his balance completely like the white-eyed male wanted. The gun hit the ground with a splat.

A fruitful laugh escaped Ario's mouth. "Woah! That really hurt! Are you trying to damage my intestines? Are you?"

"Should I aim for the head instead? Perhaps a knock on your skull will tie you down to reality."

"Huh?" the green-eyed male cradled his stomach. "Head? There's nothing wrong with me? Why would I need to get hit in the head?"

"The fact that you imply that I need to explain it is proof enough."

Ario laughed hysterically. "Aren't you a charmer? Are you speaking in riddles or in code because I don't understand a word you're spewing!"

"Am I?" Tomohiro placed a hand on his hip and cocked a brow upward. A drop of ink hit the floor. "I am certain I am speaking my language perfectly fine. Are you the one not understanding? Because I am certain that whoever is pulling the strings in Seraph is listening to me at this very moment since you are trying to stall correct? Since I am talking and you are just listening, am I speaking to a ghost of a human? Or maybe I am already trapped and I have run out of luck, right?"

Ario blinked at him in confusion, clearly baffled by the words spoken. "Are... are you trying to speak in riddles now?"

The Hero shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe I am, maybe I am not. Figure it out."

Not a second later did Ario's body grow as stiff as a ruler. His arms were glued to his sides and his feet were touching together. His face was blank but confusion lingered in his green irises. "Huh...? What...?"

A knowing smirk slipped on the Hero's lips. Inscribe stalked over to the Villain and clasped his hands together. "You see, I was speaking in code. My teammates arrived about five seconds before I kicked you and I just waited to signal for them to move. Chargebolt was right when he submitted your information. You do love to talk no matter what."

"Teammates? I didn't sense them come along though? Where are they exactly?" Ario questioned innocently.

"That's because of me." A wobbly voice announced above him. Fading into existence was a woman with wispy purple hair, dark blue eyes, and pale skin. A black cape curled around her figure in order to hide her body. She hovered above the two males, glancing away like she was ashamed. The end of her cape scratched the air.

Appearing behind Tomohiro was a man and woman. The male was trying to sink into Inscribe's shadow, trying to stay as concealed as possible. In his trembling grasp was a doll. The toy had buttons for eyes, a sown smile, black yarn that acted as hair, and small clothes that resembled the man's own clothing. The doll's arms and legs were forcibly pressed to its body and held there with needles that were jabbed into it. The only thing that was visible was the male's purple eyes, pale skin, and silky back hair.

The woman had an exasperated look on her face as she tugged on her blonde hair with her fingertips. Her blue eyes stared in annoyance at the Villain before taking an interest in the ends of her grey cape.

"Phantom over here can make someone invisible by touching them and can completely erase their existence from plain sight. You cannot move because Puppeteer will not let you." Tomohiro explained briefly.

"So this is Inscribe's agency! No wonder you're tied in second place with Metallic's Agency! Hey, hey, what are you going to do now, huh?"

"Does this guy ever shut up?" The blonde suddenly exclaimed before raising both hands to her ears.

"No, Su- Charm." the ink Hero stammered but fixed it at the end. Since he is in front of someone, he cannot call her by her first name.

"Well he better shut it before he loses any luck he has left." Charm, or Sumiko, announced with a huff. Crossing her arms across her chest, she mulled over a thought for a second.

Finally making up her mind, the blonde reached over and tapped the guy's shoulder. "Actually, you're out of luck. The chances of your escape has been reduced to zero."

"Who spit in your coffee?" Inscribe suddenly commented as he turned to Charm.

The Luck Hero rolled her eyes and chuckled half-heartedly. "Oh no, no, no. I'm just in a terrible mood because I get to speak to you on a daily basis."

Inscribe shook his head in disappointment. "See, this is the reason why you're single. Perhaps a partner will make your life less miserable."

"You're one to talk mister 'I don't need a spouse because of my work choices'."

"Shush now. You know my reasons."

"Inscribe, Charm, you can argue later. We have a job to complete." Puppeteer piped up while keeping his gaze on his doll. He was twirling another needle with his fingers like he wanted to prick both of his teammates. Phantom floated above them in irritation as she sat cross legged on air.

The Illustration Hero pressed a finger to his temple. "Right. Puppeteer, Phantom, take him. Charm, you're coming with me."

"Where are you going?" Phantom questioned. Her purple hair curled a bit in the air as she drew closer to the Villain.

Tomohiro jabbed his thumb behind him to the elevator. "In there."

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The ride down the elevator was one of trembling anxiety as the cramped area made it feel like there was a thousand pounds of weight on both Inscribe and Charm's shoulders. It felt like their feet were nailed to the ground as their limbs felt heavy with lead. The hairs on the back of their necks were standing on end. Fear clawed at their ankles as the elevator descended further and further. Shishi whined silently at Tomohiro's feet. The nervousness the dog felt was more than it was used to despite the fact that its been doing this for a little more than fourteen years. Inscribe tried to coax the shiba inu back into the notebook but it refused in order to stay by him.

"Damn, alright, didn't need my crippling anxiety to haunt me in my adulthood like it did in highschool." Charm muttered as she looked at the video feed from the camera still attached to the rat on her watch. She gnawed on her bottom lip, hand trembling as she touched the small screen.

The rat was still scuttering around in the vents. It would squeak every now and then before peeking into an opening before deciding it was not worth searching further. If Sumiko leaned in, she could hear the small scratches of ink claws dragging across the metal vent.

Tomohiro found himself rubbing his temples with his index and middle fingers. His ears were beginning to ring for some strange reason but he decided to try his best to ignore it. He had something more important to focus on. "I feel the same headache I got when Tanami and Akihiko almost burned down the house when they were eight."

"Yeah, that was so-"

The video playing on her watch suddenly spazzed out. It flickered a multitude of colors as static flooded out of the small device's speaker. Sumiko let out a quiet noise, lips quickly slipping into a frown. She tapped the small screen repeatedly, trying to reestablish the connection. "Come on, come on. What's up with this thing?"

Shifting his attention away from a distressed Shishi, Inscribe stepped over to her. He peered over her shoulder to see the screen glitching out. His eyebrows pointed downward as lines creased his forehead. He was about to question it when an unfamiliar voice flooded out of the speakers of the elevator and watch.

"Hello, hello, hello! Testing, testing, can y'all hear me?!"

The rat was squirming as a hand had picked it up. The ink animal was wriggling in the grasp and releasing distressed squeaks. Holding it up to her face, a woman in her twenties smiled exaggeratingly into the lens. Her olive green hair was tied into a side ponytail and braid and adorning her head was a red hat with yellow triangle designs and bells. Her blue and pink eyes shined with amusement as her plus and minus pupils stared at them. The only thing that was visible of her outfit was the red bow with a bell and red blazer with gold trimmings.

"Congratulations! Third times the charm ya know! I was wondering when one of ya was going to take a trip down our fabulous elevator! And now yer on yer way down! By the time ya arrive, I'll be gone because, well, getting caught by a Hero agency seem like a bit of a doozy now wouldn't ya think?!" the woman announced as if she was speaking to an audience. She was twirling a red and gold baton in her other hand.

"You think she can hear us?" Charm questioned but was immediately caught off.

The woman snapped her fingers. "Now, now, as yer announcer? Entertainer? Person who will provide ya meaningful entertainment and perfect announcements? Is there a word for that? Is there? Ah, who cares! I am a person who is known to take the stage and mouth off words like a perfectionist!"

Inscribe and Charm shared a befuddled look.

"Anyways, Darlings! I would like to congratulate ya once more on yer discovery! I would like to give ya a grand present for the feat ya performed today! What's that prize, ya say? What a great question, fellas! Now, now, since I am a generous person and I love to see the faces of those who witness my performance, I will give ya something worth yer while!" She clasped her hands and cackled while throwing her head back.

"And yer prize will be-!" The camera spun around in a frenzy before it landed on a cage. Inside the irons was a boy with messy and dirty hair, pale as white skin, and ragged clothes. The woman presented it like she was handing the two Heroes world peace. In fact, both Heroes tried to hide the shock on their face but failed to do so. Tomohiro's fist clenched at his side as he grounded his teeth together.

Grinning, the woman threw her free hand out after tossing the baton behind her. "Well would ya look at that! Fantastic isn't it?! Do ya like it?! Do ya, do ya, do ya?! Oh, of course ya do! Why am I asking so much? I have no idea! Just so ya know, the boy's Quirkless! I know! How could someone just take a Quirkless boy? Frankly, I have no clue! Our leader just tells us to do stuff and we do it! Are ya mad? Are ya mad, are ya mad, are ya mad?! Are ya?!"

Turning the camera to face her, she placed a hand on her chest. "However, yer journey to yer prize is far from over! Yer going to need to go through a series of traps lied in a maze! Ya have a total of sixty minutes to make it through! If ya make it in time, then congratulations, ya can take the boy!"

The screen began to flicker and the woman spoke once more. "Ta ta, Darlings! I hope ya enjoy yer prize! Oh, one more thing! Inscribe, if ya don't make it within the time limit, then I guess yer two kids are going to disappear just like the other Heroes! I hope that motivates ya to move faster!"

The elevator doors creaked open.

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Author's Note:

It's been a long time since I've updated this book. We're shifting momentarily away from Tanami and Akihiko to Tomohiro. Why? Because it's about time we introduce the Villains of this book.

Still haven't decided on an update schedule. Most likely will be twice a week maybe. I don't know yet.

Also, by now, an oc book should be published so you can read somewhat more in-depth as to how some of these ocs Quirks work.