Chapter 393: (Back Home) |
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CHAPTER START---
"Ah! Be more gentle!" Ryuko whines as Monoma holds her bloody and fractured hand, pouring Panacea over it.
"You'd think for a former Pro Hero you'd know how to punch properly."
"I do. Her face is just harder than I expected."
Moments later Horizon warps into Matani Tower, NY, to see Ryuko sitting at the kitchen island with Monoma still treating her hand.
"What happened to you?"
'Shit,' was all he could think before she slams her hand into his chest.
Clearly seeing the anger and hurt on her face, he doesn't move, but instead releases his healing energy on his chest to catch her hand, taking her hit and healing her in the same instant.
He wraps his arms around her and pulls her to his chest, holding her as she tries to wriggle out of his grasp.
"Feeling better now?"
"Let go of me! I don't want to talk to you right now!" she says while hugging him tightly.
Horizon keeps holding her as she silently crys on his chest, then looks to Monoma who's leaning against the island.
"What happened to her hand?"
Momona smiles. "You should see Pantu's face. She almost rearranged it."
"I knew there was a reason I love you," Horizon squeezes her a bit tighter before letting go, allowing her to wipe her face. "Sorry about how things turned out, really didn't expect to get kicked in the face that hard…or have to fight the world."
"I didn't expect you to lose," she says. "You left me, for months."
"Well, if it makes you feel any better, I was connected to tubes and had hot poisonous metal flowing through my veins."
Ryuko and Monoma recoil at the thought, then she hugs him again. "How in the hell is that supposed to make me feel better?"
"We wondered how they kept you sealed up. Juzo assumed it was some kind of mental inhibition tech," Monoma says. "Honestly, we were getting impatient. Expected you to be out in a week, otherwise as soon as we got an idea of the layout we'd just come get you."
"And break the terms of your contract by doing so."
Monoma shrugs. "For a friend, yeah. Last time we didn't, our friend got locked up for four months…never again."
"How have things been since I left?"
As Monoma starts talking, Ryuko reaches up and removes Horizon's mask, since he's already left his visor with Mei.
She feels relieved, finally seeing his face, then wastes no time tiptoeing up and kissing him.
Her mouth is flooded with the taste of iron and mercury, but she keeps kissing him for a few seconds before pulling away. "You taste gross."
"Mercury, I should have warned you."
"I'll be fine," she says before Monoma does a loud fake cough, pulling their attention back to him.
"The basic rundown is simple. Both Mystery Class players got knocked off the board. Villains rampaged around the world non-stop. Japan blamed America for it all, said Star and Stripe invaded Japan and provoked the conflict, which lead to a mental breakdown in both of you, like the Gigantomachy.
After that, they took the USA to the international court and won. Now they've been getting billions in reparations since then. Oh, and your company pulled out of Japan after the Tokyo Chasm happened and you got imprisoned. There was a lot of panic about that and Japan's economy, so Pantu raised the Panacea price to compensate.
It was originally free and suddenly became super expensive, but she shifted the blame to Star and Stripe for everything and the world felt sorry for Japan. But we've also been super busy over here, too. Deku and Bakugo especially. Bakugo's pretty famous now, and Deku got the last hit in on you, so people really like him, like…a lot."
"Uraraka was still in Japan."
"Yeah, things got a bit complicated with them for a while. But they're good now and she'll be moving here after graduation. Mei too, and Mina."
"Yeah, they mentioned that before I left Japan."
Horizon feels a jab to the side of his ribs from Ryuko, then looks down to see her glaring at him. "You went to see them before me?"
Monoma wisely stays out of this and reaches for his earpiece.
Horizon tries to respond, but is thankfully saved when a purple warp gate is opened beside Monoma.
"Yes Mr. Secretary, I understand," Juzo says while walking out of the warp gate, holding a phone to his ear. "Yes, the security threat is absolutely my only focus at the moment…"
Horizon nods toward him, as if asking, 'what's going on?'
In response Juzo raises a finger, telling him to wait, and everyone is silent as the conversation continues and Midoriya walks out of the warp gate before it closes.
Juzo then turns to Horizon and responds to the Secretary of Defense. "Do I believe Horizon poses any risk to the United States as an act of retaliation for what Star and Stripe did?"
Horizon shakes his head.
"No sir," Juzo says. "If Horizon so much as enters the United States, I'll call you immediately."
A few seconds later Juzo ends the call, looking more exhausted than ever.
"Stressful few months?"
"Trust me when I say 'stressful' doesn't even begin to cover it." Juzo walks over to one of the couches and drops into the seat. "Please either tell me you're here to join us and stop this rampant global crime spree…or just kill me, so I don't have to deal with it anymore."
"Nope."
"To which one?"
"Both, I'm retired. Just a fancy Panacea factory now."
"So you aren't mad?" Midoriya asks, pulling Horizon's attention onto him, and earning a glare from Ryuko.
"Well, you kicked me in the face, really damn hard too."
"Sorry?" Midoriya asks meekly.
"Nah, it's what we signed up for." Horizon moves to sit on the couch opposite Juzo, and Ryuko happily reclaims the seat she's missed so much, right on his lap. "So, what's the situation in the Pentagon?"
"Everyone is stressed. You've been out for less than ten minutes, but the entire world is scared you'll retaliate for what happened."
"I'm not in the mood for that, just going to handle the source."
"They'll be happy to hear that, won't completely believe it though."
"That's not my problem."
"Also, what's with the lady who appeared in my apartment?" Juzo asks. "Tokage really wasn't fond of that."
"Lady Nagant, former Pro Hero. It's complicated, but she's a good operator for you and has some intel I want."
"Right, and, about us?"
Ryuko frowns and leans back against his chest, and Horizon wraps his arms around her, feeling the tension in her body.
He knows she'd never understand or agree with it, but to him…
"You were just doing your job, as I said. Nothing to hold a grudge about. Besides, Star and Stripe. Killing her was the first time I ever felt anything, at least while killing someone. Because she was my friend, truly. I'd like to never feel that again, even if it's not by my hands. I'd rather not see my friends die in such a way."
"You say that, but the Pentagon won't believe so easily."
"Then I'll just go talk to President Skyline. Is he at the Whitehouse?"
"No, he's at some secret Norad facility. Only the secret service knows, even I don't have that clearance."
"Mhm…" Horizon gives him an unamused look.
Juzo sighs. "Fine, I'll get the address for you."
"Thanks. I'd rather not have to search the entire country."
Juzo grumbles as he begins making a few calls.
While he does that, Midoriya awkwardly stands around, not sure of what to say. And much to his horror, Horizon speaks to him.
"How is floaty?"
"Floaty? Oh, Ochaco, she's great. Busy, but great."
"Won't be great for much longer. Get her out of Japan, now."
"Huh, why's that?"
"All For One escaped." Both Juzo and Midoriya go wide eyed at that. "He actually broke me out. And I'm guessing since he's not an idiot, he knows you have that Quirk."
"Oh…" Midoriya falls into deep thought at that.
"Quirk?" Juzo asks. "Why would All For One want Super Power? Is that not your Quirk, Midoriya?"
"It's a bit complicated."
Juzo turns to Horizon before his call connects and pulls his attention away, but he knows Horizon wouldn't reveal Midoriya's secrets without permission.
"All For One will target floaty. Your relationship isn't very private. Get her out of Japan, now."
Midoriya nods and takes out his phone, walking into the other room to speak to his girlfriend.
While both Juzo and Midoriya are on their phones, Ryuko gets more comfortable, facing Horizon and draping her arms over his shoulders.
"That woman you mentioned, Lady Nagant, is that the same Pro Hero that had a mental breakdown when I was a rookie?" she asks.
"Yeah, the government broke her mind from all the dirty crap she had to do."
"And she still wants to be a Pro Hero?"
"Apparently. But I figured she'd be better with Juzo's team, or as your bodyguard."
"Sure, 'my bodyguard', right," she says sarcastically.
"What?"
"Is that the best excuse you could come up with?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about…"
"I got it," Juzo says, walking back into the room. "Shinso says Montana. Doesn't seem like he cares that much about staying safe."
"Well, not like it would matter," Horizon turns to Ryuko and gives her a long kiss before pulling away. "We'll talk more about this later," he says before warping away.
---Minutes Later…
Sitting in a rocking chair outside his cabin, President Skyline listens to his wife, daughters, and grandchildren play inside as he sips his coffee and stares out at the forest below this mountain.
Wearing comfortable clothes and appreciating the scenery, he is completely unbothered.
Even when he looks to his right, and sees Horizon in the rocking chair beside him, also enjoying the view.
He was already in full Hero Costume, with his replacement sword, Rend. Which was almost identical to Sunder, but with strange grooves in the blade.
The blade, which was visible as the scabbard had transparent sides to show off the craftsmanship, so Mei's creation would always be on display.
They sit in silence for a minute, taking in the tranquility of it all, and President Skyline soon hears the panic of Secret Service agents buzzing in his ear.
He scrunches his face and removes his earpiece, tossing it away before taking another sip of his coffee.
"Want a drink?" President Skyline asks, breaking the silence.
"Everything tastes like Mercury, even though I know I got rid of it all."
"Well, that's a new one. Permanent?"
"No, I'll get over it."
"Mhm," President Skyline takes another sip. "Nice place, right?"
"Shitty place for a last stand," Horizon says. "Not bad for a hiding spot, though."
"Figured hiding wouldn't work from you, and it wouldn't be much of a last stand, either."
"But you brought your family here, anyway."
"I'd like to believe you wouldn't let your rage control you…again."
Horizon smiles. "Yeah, I'm retired and just trying to enjoy it. Can I do that in your country?"
President Skyline looks over to Horizon. "Really? You want to keep the agreement?"
"Once I don't have to play hero anymore but can just make Panacea, sure."
"We'd like to sell Panacea instead of giving it all away."
"Not my problem. It's yours to deal with."
"And we'd like you on emergency reserve."
"No."
"Normally I wouldn't ask, but we find ourselves lacking a Mystery Class Pro Hero recently."
Horizon sighs. "For the record, that day was just…the worst. And that was before the fight."
"If it's all the same to you, I'd like to just forget that ever happened. Lord knows I'm not getting elected again. Had to wring the budget just to afford the next round of reparations for Japan."
"Cancel that payment. I've got one loose end in Japan that will clear up everything."
"Now that, is some good damn news…"
END CHAPTER---
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