x
Twice as many voices could be heard coming from the main room of the base. Rena was feeling fantastic, as if she had never been stabbed by a poisoned blade. Between Law and Wendy, she was back to her old self, mostly. Physically she was feeling great, but mentally she was a mess. Having lost all her memories for a while to have them all suddenly flowing back was a lot to handle, especially since more memories than she would have liked came back. Memories she had tucked away, pushed away, hidden in the depths of her mind came to the surface. The boxes she had put those memories in, crushed. She hated it. To top it all off, she had a sinking feeling in her gut that Sy was not Sy.
Something was definitely off about her. One could chalk it up to being worried sick for four months not knowing if her friend was alive or dead, but Rena knew better. Sy had the gift of clairvoyance, so she had to have some idea that Rena wasn’t dead. Adding that to her behavior, something was definitely wrong.
Rena walked back into the main room and let a smile spread across her face. She saw people who she had come to see as friends mingling together. People from different worlds, different lives, different experiences, mingling together and having fun. It warmed her heart and she pushed her worries to the side. She could worry about that later.
“Mystic!” Asta shouted as he noticed her come into the room.
“Well, hello Asta. I wasn’t expecting to see the Black Bulls today. Aren’t we just full of surprises, huh Sy?” Rena turned towards Sy, who was sitting at her computer, not glancing up at Rena.
“I signaled everyone to come into base as soon as they could. I had to let them know the search is over because you’ve been found!” Sy replied.
“Right.” Rena turned, scanning the room for a certain polar bear. “Ah, Bepo!” she shouted, walking over towards the fluffy mink. She smiled softly, pointing her thumb back towards the infirmary. “You should go join your captain for a while.”
“Is the captain alright?” Bepo asked, worried. He knew his captain had not been in a good spot since they lost their crew.
“Go see for yourself. Oh, and Bepo?”
“Yes, Miss Rena?”
Rena closed the gap and gave Bepo a big hug. “You stay strong for your captain. He’s lucky to have you as his first mate.”
Bepo smiled, holding back tears. “No, I’m lucky to have him as my captain.” He released the hug and headed to the infirmary.
Rena then turned around, taking in everyone that was in the room. Pirates, Fairies, Bulls—man, if this were under better circumstances, this would make quite the party. Just as she was about to speak, another portal opened as a small group of people walked through. A boy with dark green hair and a bright smile, a blonde with a permanently pissed-off face, a boy with two-toned hair sporting red and white, and a tall blonde man with crimson wings.
“Ah, and now the heroes are here,” Rena whispered a bit too sarcastically, but they still heard her.
“Aww, kid, you don’t sound happy to see me?” the tall man with wings said with a devious smirk.
Suddenly, Rena’s eyes went wide and she grabbed her weapon. She held it, then flicked her hand up towards the heroes, sending a beam of light right past them. They all stood in shock before they turned to see someone else had come through the portal.
“Well, Hawks… seems you’re playing with the Mystic Bitch again. The league was curious why you missed the last meeting, so I thought I’d come check on you. Looks like you’d rather spend your time elsewhere, huh… ” A man with jet black hair, teal eyes, and a body covered in burns snarled with intense hatred. “Oh, and you even have little Shoto with you.”
He lifted his hand and blue flames started to come from them before Rena sent a ball of light that hovered right in front of the man and caused all of his movements to slow down.
“Dabi,” Rena sneered. “How about you FUCK OFF.”
Dabi just gave a menacing grin as he stopped his fire and backed up. “Have fun playing with your little friends. We’ll just have to have our own fun when you come back to the League… Keigo Takami.” And he disappeared back through the portal. Hawks’ face went pale and his wings dropped.
“How… how does he know my name?” Hawks whispered out loud.
Meanwhile, a very angry pomeranian boy started to create sparks in his hands as he turned towards the man. “Hey, Bird for Brains… Why would the league be looking for you? What did he mean you were missing the meeting? Don’t tell me you’re working for the League?” The boy was fuming with rage.
“Kacchan, calm down. I’m sure Hawks has a good explanation,” the green-haired boy said, trying to calm his friend down. Said friend just turned towards him and snarled, “Shut up, nerd! He needs to answer the question.”
Hawks was still just standing there in shock. No one was supposed to know his true identity. The commission stripped him of that name, so how did Dabi get that information?
Hawks was snapped out of his trance when Rena placed a hand on his shoulder. He looked up at the three boys standing in front of him, waiting for an answer. “Oh, um, well it’s sort of confidential,” he said, nervously rubbing the back of his neck. The boys just stared at him.
Rena sighed and answered for Hawks. “He means he’s working undercover in the LOV.”
“Hey! Don’t tell them that!” Hawks jumped.
“Hawks, they aren’t such naive little kids and they have the right to know considering their past with the league,” Rena reassured him. “Anyway… Keigo… Cute name.” Rena teased, trying to lighten the mood.
“Yeah… Thanks…” Hawks said shyly, still bothered by the fact Dabi knew his real name.
“If it’s any consolation, they know my real name as well. So much for a code name,” Rena grumbled. She turned to walk away but was stopped by Hawks grabbing her shoulder and turning her around.
He stared down at her with a glare, causing a shiver to go down her spine. She’d never seen him look like that. “Haw–”
He pulled her into a tight hug. “You broke your promise."
"What?" she mumbled.
"You got hurt. You promised me you’d be OK, that you’d be careful.” He answered quietly.
“Sorry,” she whispered.
He leaned back a little to look down at her. “What happened?”
She could see the worry in his eyes. “It was Ryker. He managed to get the best of me. He stabbed me in the stomach with a poisoned knife.”
“WHAT!? I swear I’m going to–” she interrupted him before he could finish.
She let out a sigh and whispered low enough so only he could hear, “Hawks, wait. We have a problem. That isn’t Sy. Someone is posing as her.”
Hawks glanced towards Sy with a serious look on his face. “What do you mean?” he asked as he started to analyze her.
She raised a finger to her lips in a shush motion. Speaking back at a normal volume, she turned back towards Sy. “Anyway. Looks like more introductions are in order now. Sy… are we expecting ANYONE else?”
“Um, no. That should be everyone now,” Sy replied dryly.
ns 15.158.61.48da2
