{A/N: Sorry about the delay, it'll probably happen again because I've got a lot of assignments to get done, anyway enjoy the chapter and if possible give me some stones.}
August 12th, 2405 - Aichi Prefecture Academy for Excellent Students - Aichi Prefecture, Japan
The principal's footsteps thundered through the empty corridors as nervous energy coursed through his mind. He took the stairs two at a time, his heart hammering when the sound of commotion drifted from somewhere ahead.
'Shit, what has she done? I knew I shouldn't have hired her with her spotted past. Why did I hire her?'
The commotion ahead cut out with a final, bone-crunching noise that made his blood run cold. Huffing heavily, he sprinted down the corridor at full speed, skidding around the corner and grabbing the doorway to stop himself.
Sure enough, the scene before him matched exactly what the anonymous email had described. One of the first-year students lay unconscious on the ground, while fallen debris formed a barrier that concealed half the room from view.
Without hesitation, he charged straight through the debris. His quirk, Crash Dummy, absorbed the majority of the impact as chunks of concrete and metal bounced harmlessly off his enhanced body.
On the other side of the barrier, two figures came into focus. The first was a young boy—likely from one of the first-year classes—cradling some form of broken robot against his chest. The second figure made the principal's stomach lurch.
Ms. Umbritch, one of his least favourite teachers who handled the fourth-year English classes, lay sprawled on the floor. Blood pooled beneath her mouth, and what looked disturbingly like her severed tongue lay nearby on the concrete.
The principal rushed forward, checking on the boy first. "Child, are you okay? What happened here?"
The boy stood slowly, still cradling the broken robot. As he turned, the principal noticed a chipped dagger in his off-hand. Something about the way the boy's eyes analysed him—cold, calculating, unsettling—sent a chill down his spine.
"What happened," the boy said, his voice steady and matter-of-fact, "was that fat pig over there was trying to rape the girl on the other side of the room. I came across her by chance and couldn't let her continue—so I fought her."
The boy's gaze never wavered as he casually admitted to the attack. Without waiting for a response, he pushed past the principal.
"I'm going to check on the other girl. You deal with that pig."
*******************
Sage moved into the adjacent room, his eyes immediately falling on the unconscious girl collapsed on the ground. Kneeling beside her, he conducted a quick assessment. Apart from a small wound on her head, the only other evidence of what had transpired was her torn clothing.
A soft ping in his head drew his attention. He pulled up the familiar translucent panel, reading over the completed quest and its accompanying rewards.
[ Side Quest — Investigate the Noise]
Goal: You got distracted and wandered into a restricted area. As you were about to leave, you heard the sound of a faint sob. Investigate the noise — Completed.
Reward: 150xp, Immunity — Mind Control
[Immunity — Mind Control
This power gives the holder complete immunity to foreign mind control.]
'That's a very useful reward,' Sage thought, dismissing the panel. 'I should check on the girl some more—looks like she's waking up.'
The girl stirred with a soft groan, her hand moving instinctively toward her bleeding head. Sage crouched beside her and quickly used his ability to swap a small pebble for medical equipment he'd prepared earlier.
"Are you okay, miss? Hold still for a second—I need to bandage that wound."
She tried to reach for her injury, but Sage gently blocked her hand. Her hazy gaze drifted to him as he began carefully bandaging the wound, her thoughts clearly struggling through confusion and pain.
When he finished, Sage sat back on his heels and offered her a reassuring smile. "What do you remember?"
"Wha... what happened? My head is so cloudy." She scrunched her brow in concentration. "I think one of the English teachers wanted to talk to me about something. We went to her office, and I don't remember anything after that."
Sage's gaze drifted toward the other half of the room where the principal was still restraining the oversized unconscious woman. He made a quick decision—if she didn't remember much, telling her everything wouldn't help.
"The teacher used her quirk on you. I'm not entirely sure what she intended to do, but I got here in time." He kept his voice gentle but matter-of-fact. "By the way, what's your name?"
The girl's eyes widened as she looked toward the other room, her face paling. Sage waved his hand in front of her face to draw her focus back.
"Um... my name is Momo Yaoyorozu. I need to make a call."
Before Sage could respond, multiple sets of footsteps came stomping down the corridor toward the room. He quickly pulled out his phone and dialled his father's number.
"What's up, Sage? Do you need anything?" his father's familiar voice answered after a few rings.
Sage turned slightly to obstruct Hela from view, then activated Quick Swap. The damaged robot disappeared, replaced by a screwdriver in his hand.
"Look in your top drawer. Something came up at school and HLN-A got incredibly damaged. I have to go deal with the cops now, but I'll catch you up when I get home."
"Wait, wh—"
Sage hung up, not having the time or energy to explain everything over the phone.
Almost immediately, the remains of the door burst open as two officers rushed in, tasers already drawn as they surveyed the scene.
"Kid, we received an anonymous call," one of them said, his eyes locking onto Sage. "The caller said there was a fight and law enforcement was needed. Do you know who made the call?"
Sage sighed, figuring Hela had likely made the call before being damaged. "It's a good thing you're here. The attacker is in the other room with the principal—she's unconscious on the floor."
The first officer remained by the doorway while his partner moved into the other half of the room to assess the situation.
*******************
Time seemed to blur after that. The police arrested Ms. Umbritch, then more officers arrived to take statements and gather evidence. What they discovered during their investigation painted a horrifying picture that extended far beyond this single incident.
They found extensive evidence of her previous actions—videos and images dating back years, even before she was hired at the school. The evidence revealed a pattern of manipulation spanning years, with every one of her victims having their minds wiped clean through carefully worded commands.
Most shocking of all, they discovered she had manipulated the principal himself, using her power to plant the idea of hiring her directly into his head.
The school closed for the day as police secured the scene and worried parents came to collect their children.
After spending time talking with Momo, her chauffeur eventually arrived at roughly the same time as Sage's own driver.
"Hey, Dave," Sage said, walking up to his chauffeur and waving goodbye to Momo. "Can you take me home? Thanks."
He climbed into the back of the car and settled in, watching the city pass by outside the window while his mind replayed the day's events. To pass the time, he pulled up his quest menu to review his current objectives.
[Side Quest — The Pursuit of Knowledge Part 3
Goal: Spend 1540/3000 hours studying general knowledge.
Reward: 400xp, Skill — Eidetic Memory]
[Side Quest — The Need for Speed
Goal: Beat the pre-quirk era 100-meter world record.
Reward: 200xp, Quirk — Speed Enhancement]
[Side Quest — Sword Mastery Part 1
Goal: You've started down the path of the sword. Learn five different sword-type weapons to an intermediate level, 1/5.
Reward: 250xp, Skill — Slash]
[Side Quest — Lower Body Martial Arts Part 2
Goal: You've started to practice martial arts—ensure you maintain a strong balance between your upper and lower body. Learn two lower body based martial arts to an advanced level.
Reward: 250xp, Skill — Balance]
[Side Quest — Upper Body Martial Arts Part 1 — Completed
Goal: Sometimes a blade won't cut it. Learn two upper body based martial arts to an advanced level.
Reward: 250xp, Skill — Parry]
Sage closed the panels and gazed back out at the expansive forest that had overtaken the suburbs.
'I should try to work through some of these quests. Maybe I should start with beating the old world record—I'm closest to that one anyway. If I remember correctly, my last time was 9.72 seconds. The record to beat is 9.58 seconds. At my current rate of improvement, I might be able to beat it in a few weeks.'
They finally arrived home, and Sage jumped out of the car, landing on the ground in a small cloud of steam. Instantly, her knees buckled as pain arced through her body. Wincing, she collapsed to the ground.
Dave quickly jumped out and rushed around to check on her. Groaning through the pain, Sage activated her quirk, bathing herself in a soft green glow.
She sat on the ground for several minutes, feeling her stamina continuously drain as her quirk worked to stitch her torn muscles back together. Finally, she managed to get back to her feet and stretched to work out the stiffness before turning to her concerned driver.
"Thanks for your concern, Dave. My injuries should be healed for now, but I'll get them checked out after I find my parents."
"Still, young miss, I shouldn't leave you alone just yet."
Sage waved off her concerns and stumbled toward the door, eager to find her father and check on her robotic companion. Reluctantly, Dave got back in the car and drove off to park it.
*********************
Walking into the house, Sage looked around before heading down the hallway. As she walked, she maintained her quirk's faint glow washed across her entire body, continuing to repair her weakened muscles.
After searching through a few rooms and getting briefly distracted, she eventually arrived at her father's workshop. Knocking on the door she waited a few seconds, then pushed it open.
Inside, Marcel was hunched over his workbench, surrounded by various pieces of equipment. A large screen displayed a zoomed-in image of circuitry, and Sage could see it was showing a close-up of HLN-A's damaged internal components.
Marcel carefully soldered a wire connection, then slowly exhaled before setting down his tools and turning to face his child. His expression was stern, his gaze seemingly able to pierce straight through to Sage's soul.
"You have a lot of explaining to do, young lady," Marcel said, his voice carrying the weight of parental concern and frustration. "First, you call me acting all cryptic without explaining anything. Then I find out the police shut down the school for the day. Finally, I check the drawer like you said and find HLN-A barely functional with a cut through her armour. So tell me—what happened?"
Sage sheepishly avoided eye contact, desperately looking for a distraction. "So... do you know where Mom is?"
Marcel's face hardened, his expression making it clear he wasn't in the mood for deflection. "Your mother is at work, which you already know. Now answer my question."
Sage sighed and fidgeted while staring at her feet. "I got distracted on my way to class and eventually ended up outside a closed room..."
As Sage recounted the entire story, Marcel's expression shifted through a complex range of emotions—concern, anger, fear, and finally relief. When she finished, he was quiet for a long moment before pulling her into a tight hug.
"I'm so sorry you had to experience something like that," he said softly. "I'm glad you're okay, and I wish there was more I could do to protect you from these situations. I'm just grateful you're safe and reasonably unharmed." He pulled back slightly to look at her. "Now, how about we get you checked for any other injuries?"
Tears welled in Sage's eyes as she hugged her father back, nodding against his chest. Her mind was a whirlwind of emotions that she struggled to process, but eventually, she managed to find her voice.
"Yeah... let's go do that, Dad."