23 Seeds Sowing.

"Come on. Move your ass. These faggots won't kill themselves."

"...don't… I have the right to breathe for a sec?"

"I agreed to shadow you here on a recon mission, but that doesn't mean your training stops, boy. I'm not going to sit here and waste my fucking time or take a piss in the corner of the room," Iwao said privately, helping Felix to get up. "Besides, don't forget why you're here. Whether you're tired or not, I don't give a single fuck."

"Alright, alright, calm down, haha!" Felix chuckled as he stretched. "Is my guard better than before, at least?"

"You're a fast learner, so yes… You've made good progress." He said, struggling to give a compliment. "Striking is good too. Your basic guard and peek-a-boo guard are beginning to take shape. When I started training you, you were just good at street-fighting. Now with all these technique combinations, you ought to be able to cope with most hand-to-hand combat. To be honest, most of the heroes don't even have the basics; they rely on their workouts and their quirks, but if they can't use their quirk in a one-on-one against someone who knows how to fight, they're out. So, for them, a fight is about punches thrown. Knee strikes. Me hitting head, me hitting stomach. I hit hard, so me win—Cro-Magnon fighting style. Yet, whether you generate fire, become a giant, or let out supersonic farts, one well-placed bullet or blade is enough to kill ya. If all these faggots villains learned how to use their brains, fists, and legs, heroes would be screwed."

"Do you have someone in mind?"

"Everyone… Even All Might. The dude is just straight-punching everything. Texas this, texas that. Wyoming this, Detroit that. Gosh… Nobody cares about America; stop yelling some random states name every punch you throw… They all look the same anyway… And what about using your goddamn legs, moron?"

"Yes, go on."

"Dude can make the rain fall with a single punch, but he doesn't try to investigate his power."

"Ah, indeed, you needed that to be out of your system."

Iwao was a very blunt, acerbic, and sharp man; it was even more evident when he came into contact with heroes; he became even more sarcastic and irritable. It was probably related to his former vigilante career, even if it was decades ago, now reaching his sixty, scars are scars.

He didn't hesitate to hit as hard as possible, even if it was only practice. After all, Felix participated in a boxing and kendo tournament that could lead to becoming a professional if the participants wanted to start a career. Still, the HPSC had suspicions that it was a recruitment point for the major Underground Masquerade fighters.

A part of the underground MMA talents came from there, according to an undercover who had already been working there for several months, Mr. Brave—who was also training Felix at kendo and tantojutsu. Tracking down the people who originally came from here would help the HPSC and heroes to understand what they could do to solve this problem.

—Yeah... That said, I'd instead think of a way to aggravate the situation, though... It's much more fun this way.

Felix had already won the three matches he had to play within this week, nothing too complicated or exciting, but that didn't stop Iwao from continuing to train him in the sports facility run by the family whose attention he had to lure. This evening, after the 7 p.m. training session, the reception room a hundred meters from the sports complex invited participants and coaches to meet contractors, sports bettors, and other people of interest, as well as the venue's managers.

—I'll start my plan tonight.

—Even if they asked me to wait before doing anything fishy, I don't care.~ They're just a bunch of cowards who can't even make a proper decision when it matters. At least it means I can give them the information I want since they won't know much about my deeds. They won't even worry about it since they think I'm nothing more than a puppet.

—That said, I wonder what our dear President thinks of that now, haha!~

"Felix, don't dawdle," Iwao interjected, looking at the clock. "We should get a little early so you can get your suit on and prepare the rest, but nothing fancy. Remember that."

"Sure."

"Are you sure you don't want to come?"

"I can't," the old man sighed, cracking his knuckles. "Mr. Brave is in charge of you here; I'm not considered a real coach by the facility."

"I mean, he's a cool guy, but I still barely know him."

"Don't worry about that; he won't interfere. He plays the role of the needle in the haystack. He knows how to blend in with the crowd."

"Well, then." Felix nodded.

—So even if this hero's here, it's like I'm gonna be alone tonight, huh?

He took a long hot shower in the individual changing rooms of the venue to pretend he was prepping his quirk. They all believed he needed time to prepare to use hormone cocktails. He took the opportunity to stack meta-hormones in his glands to use them as he wished without risking being noticed.

He recalled the file given to him by Mt. Lady. She had made it easy for him by giving him only concise information, unlike her mother, the commission President, who was prone to lengthy explanations.

—It was a pleasant surprise last time. A bit self-sabotaging for her to come on her own rather than sending an administrator, but I guess Mt. Lady is a mama's and daddy's girl.

—On the other hand, I can't help but wonder if she was willing to sacrifice her own daughter to achieve what she wanted. She told me to boost as many heroes as possible, so she knew there was a high probability that I would end up with her daughter, and she knew from the get-go what my methods were.

Ready to go, he put on a simple suit, roughly similar to a Japanese man's suit and tie. It wasn't to his taste, but he hadn't paid for it, so he wasn't going to complain. He rolled up the sleeves of his shirt and blazer, leaving the first button open. He left the tie off since it didn't match him and stepped outside the lockers to join Mr. Brave, who was waiting for him.

"You took your precious time."

"Hygiene is key," answered Felix by handshaking him.

The ex-con knew the man he had in front of him was a hero but never saw him in his costume even once. He was kinda good-looking, mainly thanks to his eyes and jaw shape, while his body was relatively athletic but on the short side. His hair, in relation to his quirk, was the most remarkable thing about him, as it is onyx black, dense, and disheveled.

"Have they given you a briefing for tonight?" Mr. Brave asked, taking a chewing gum and giving one to Felix.

"Thanks. Yeah, more or less. Monitor the comings and goings, don't make too many waves, and possibly gather some information here and there."

"Yeah, in a nutshell, that's it. I wasn't too keen on this recon mission, but I guess there's more to it than meets the eye; otherwise, the rookie team wouldn't be so hard on it."

"Aren't you a rookie, too, though?"

"I have been in the trade board for three years; Mt. Lady, Kamui Wood, and the others have only been on the scene for a short time, you know. Plus, you're a rookie too; you don't really have to speak," he concluded his sentence, believing that Felix was a hero due to document forgery.

"Yeah, but I'm not a contractee, unlike all of you."

"True, true. Anyway, we should just focus on our mission. I'll let you know if we need to go when we are in there, OK?"

"Sure," Felix affirmed, looking at the building in front of them.

The venue he needed to join was quite large; it was probably used for more than just hosting sports events—probably political speeches, CEO meetings, maybe some big fishes marriage. A long red carpet led to the lobby, which was equally lush.

From the ceiling hung a large chandelier with a staircase underneath that went up and split in two, all in marble, evoking a mixture of French Loire castles and Roman buildings.

The place was filled with many people, all more or less well-off, the men in suits, the women in dresses. Most of them were chatting with their own groups of friends and acquaintances, sometimes approached by contractors. He spotted Mr. Brave already in the corner of the room with a glass of champagne and chatting with a man who rubbed his hands together.

—Dude is wasting no time. Right to business.

Felix waited a bit to see if he saw the people he was interested in, but after a dozen minutes of wandering and eating petit four, he approached a group of women to find where he could find something to drink and maybe attract who he actually needed to lure.

"Excuse me." he started with a subtle smile. "Do you know where I can get some champagne?"

"Ah… So you're looking for a drink, huh." started the first lady. "I thought I had enticed a young man."

"Calm down, friend, look at you; you're not that pretty." said her friend with a smirk while rolling her eyes.

"You'd better get a face-lift instead of opening your trap."

"What did you just say?"

"I told you in a sophisticated way to shut up."

"And then you wonder why you don't have a husband."

"Pff! Don't be surprised when you'll learn your husband sees another woman because of your passive-aggressive bullshit."

"What did you just say?!"

—Errh... Classic women's moment.

"Here, just take a sip of my own." the third woman of the group voiced. She was around her mid-thirty, dressed in a simple black dress, and her frame was slender but mature. She had short raven-black hair with a large strand falling in front of one of her purple eyes while also wearing glasses. Most striking, however, was her quirk; her earlobes were earphone jacks.

"You sure? Don't feel obliged to hand me your drink, really."

"It's okay," she conceded with a smile. "Champagne isn't my favorite anyway. I rather enjoy a good whisky."

"If you insist, I won't say no then. Thank you."

"Are you one of the musicians? I mean, you've got a bit of a look."

"No, not at all; I'm just a guest." Felix smiled in turn, sipping the champagne. "I can play piano and guitar, but that's it. I'm not a performer or anything like that. I might be rusty, tho'."

"Pity. My two friends and I are a small group of performers. We're going to play for a bit later."

"I'll keep an ear out then," he declared, looking at her in the eyes. "Doing classical music?"

"Post-rock."

"You have good taste."

"Of course I have," she agreed with false pride, pretending to puff up her chest. "...hahaha! Sorry, I just can't take myself seriously."

After looking at the stage on which the current musicians were playing, she turned back to Felix and pointed to his slightly bruised fists with her index finger.

"You're punching stuff with these hands. Are you one of the athletes who have been invited by any chance?"

"No, no, I'm not an athlete, I just do it for fun, but yes, I was invited."

"I know who to turn to if I have a problem with someone tonight, then."

"Oi! We're not bothering you too much, Mika?" interposed one of her friends with vexation.

"W-What? You are the one who encourages me to liberate myself a little from my marriage, and when I try doing so by meeting new people, you stare daggers at me…"

"Tsk!"

"Whatever." barked the second woman.

—Talk about friends.

"What about a dance?" asked Felix.

"H-Huh?!"

"I can pretty much dance salsa and tango," he admitted, remembering all the time his mom forced him to learn this stuff he hated back then, cause you know: "You have to please the ladies, son." Doing that kind of dancing with your mom was something else. Well, in any case, it's not the closest thing they've done together. "So, want to dance for a sec? The music lends itself to this, and it may not be so for a while."

"Well… I don't think my husband would like that, so… I'm sorry."

"Well, if you don't mind, Mr. Tremblay, I'm all yours if you offer me a dance, too." purred a sultry voice behind him.

"Hm?"

A buxom woman stood next to him and looked at Felix with a piercing meekness.

Almost as tall as Felix, she could look down at all the women present. Her flashy pink irises were accompanied by long black lashes and let an almost chilling aura as if when you gazed into her eyes, she gazed back into you.

She wore a glossy, dark red lipstick that highlighted her fair skin while her pale pink hair curled on either side of her face, stopping below her shoulders. She was wearing a thin and dark navy blue dress that hugged her frame, even her legs, so much so that her navel could be seen through the fabric, while the top of her garment stopped just halfway down her bulging breasts, almost to the point of having her nipples slip out of it. If it wasn't magic that held her boobs in place, the fabric might actually be made of adamantium or mithril. Underneath her dress, she wore a long-sleeved black silk bolero that clung to her body as much as her dress and reached up to her neck. Finally, she also wore a small engagement ring and discreet crescent moon earrings.

She knew, for sure, how to catch guys' interest and women's envy.

"Ara, did I surprise you, perhaps?♪"

"A little. I didn't expect to be approached by a woman this evening, but it's a pleasant surprise."

This was the one.

It was the woman whose picture he saw in the file duplicate handed to him by Mt. Lady:

Daphne Utsushimi. Born of mixed parentage in Japan. She married a surgeon named Haruo Ustushimi and had a child with him. Two years ago, she still was a general practitioner, but she unexpectedly stopped working overnight; her former colleagues thought it was a pity because she was excellent at her job and that even her quirk [Healing Voice] was suited to that profession, but more than that, it didn't raise any eyebrows. Still, upon investigation, after two years, there was probably something fishy going on. She also probably lied about her quirk because there was no written record of anything and no proof of her voice actually soothing people. On her pediatric records, after the doctor found out when she was little that she had a quirk, he wrote: [Unable to draw a definite inference as it is undetectable.].

In this respect, she and Felix had a lot in common. If it's undetectable, you never know what to expect.

That said, she had come to him on her own after recognizing him from the other end of the lobby, which meant their whole plan about winning matches, training every day for 10 hours to be sure he was being seen, always looking good, and giving them a false report about his powerful, but nonetheless, false quirk worked quite well to lure them, or at least, her.

Obviously, he knew she probably was interested in more than just himself, so he was willing to go along for the ride and see where that would lead him since he wasn't apprehensive about his well-being.

"Would you take my hand and lead me?" She demanded with a smile.

"Sure thing," He said, waving to the three ladies he was talking with before taking the woman's fingers in his hand, leading the way to the middle of the lobby where a few couples of people were already dancing. "Salsa or tango?"

"No matter, no matter.~ I'm going to be just as awful at both! Fufu.~ I haven't danced in years, and wearing stilettos isn't going to help."

"Well, I'll guide you. I might be rusty too, so no mockery between us, alright." He joked, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Hand-in-hand?" she asked, approaching him as they stepped where the other couples were dancing.

"Yeah," he replied after taking her other hand, slipping his fingers between hers as any good salsa dancer must do before putting one of his hands back on her hip to get her to start moving. "Tell me if you're not comfortable."

"I'm all okay. ♪" she replied, starting to follow the slow movement of her partner.

"Sorry for being curious, but when was the last time you danced?" he inquired, pulling his body closer to her as the dance moves accelerated a bit. "I mean… You're pretty capable for someone who wears such high heels."

"Hm… I guess it's already been almost ten years."

"With your husband, I suppose."

"Mhm, it was before he became a couch potato…" she stopped dead in her talking, realizing what she had just said. "Forget what I just said..."

"Relax, I know how marriages can sometimes turn out. It ain't a big deal."

—I mean, whether it's the lady with the earphone jack ears or you, you wouldn't have this problem with me.

"Ain't a big deal, eh. What a man would say..." she muttered, looking at the ground, but before she could mope anymore, Felix pinched her nose. "Whhaatt?"

"I'm going to pick up the pace. Stay focused," he explained, exchanging places with her and making her spin around, pressing against each other, her ample titties glued to his chest. "I'm sure you didn't offer me a dance to think even more about your problems."

"Indeed. Actually, I would like to ask you a question, Mr. Tremblay."

"Yes?"

"Would you be willing to come to my house sometime?"

This question came out of nowhere. Even Felix couldn't entirely hide his surprise at how straightforward the request was.

"...Sure, but what about your family? I don't want to be a bother."

"No, no, no.~ You won't bother anyone, believe me. This is just the three of us, Haruo, my daughter, and I. You won't be bothering anyone."

"In that case, I'm happy to accept."

"Perfect.♪" she hummed, closing her eyelid for a while, concentrating on her legs as she followed Felix's movements.

Felix continued to guide her while playing the lamb, looking into her eyes as he used the movements of the dance to bring his left hand down to her lumbar region, directly at the level of her womb.

He had already taken advantage of all this closeness and contact to release some of his hormones into her. Before attempting to do anything abrupt or that might cause her to be alarmed, he wanted to put her at ease first and heat her up a bit, though he knew she couldn't be alone. Even if her husband wasn't nearby at the moment, some guards were probably peering at them out of the corner of their eyes; it's even possible that some of the waitresses might be able to handle someone troublesome, so he was taking it step by step.

Luckily for him, apart from the stereotype of the perfect Japanese wife and mother, she seemed more of an outgoing and jovial person, perhaps a tad mischievous, but all the better for it.

As the music accelerated, announcing its impending end, Felix gently pressed his hand on her lower back.

—Here we go.

[▲▼▲▼▲▼▲▼▲]

[Oxytorgasm]

[■■□□□□□□□□]

[2 hours remaining.]

[▲▼▲▼▲▼▲▼▲]

His meta-eccrine sweats glands released the chemical compounds in a rapid and vigorous burst—it was as if he unleashed some kind of heat and energy wave from his hand that only he could feel. He rested his wrist on her hip and his hand on her lower back, and as the final musical note of the music echoed through the lobby, Felix moved his head slightly towards his partner's, placing his second hand behind her head to push her towards his.

"Mm…" she hummed quietly, putting her index finger on top of his lips, a bead of sweat running down her neck. "I believe I mentioned that I had a husband."

"Sorry… I got carried away…" Felix apologized, pretending to be embarrassed.

—Just because there's a goalkeeper doesn't mean you can't score a goal.

She stared at him with the same eyes as before, a warm smile on her face, though he could feel her body heating up a bit from both the dance and the hormones he had just sent into her. Shifting from their position as the music stopped, Mrs. Utsushimi removed her finger from his lips before smiling and pinching his nose just as Felix did to her earlier.

"I am flattered, really. Seldom do people have the boldness."

"Fortune favors the bold, right?"

"To dance like that with my woman in front of my eyes, you indeed are bold, little man."

Felix glanced back toward the source of the voice. A man just about a few centimeters taller than Felix—around 1m86, or 6 ft 1—and about ten years older than Mrs. Utsushimi, with messy, fawn-colored hair that looked almost like thorns, was looking at him with his dark brown eyes. The dark circles under his eyes were evidence of a lifestyle that probably lent itself to physical and maybe even mental exhaustion, but he still had that aura about him.

"Come on, Haruo, if you had offered me a dance, I would have come.~" responded Mrs. Utsushimi, still smiling and putting a hand on one of her cheeks. "It was just a dance, no need to get all territorial like a chimpanzee.~♪"

"What about the kiss he tried to take from you?"

"Did I let him go through with it, hm?~"

"...Whatever." he growled, revealing the bottle of whisky he had in hand before turning his back. "I'm not in the mood to argue tonight, but you better not be cheating on me."

—Little does he know.

Fortunately, most people looked at the stage since the music band on stage just changed. At the same time, a blue-skinned woman with long lilac-colored hair interviewed the pianist, who didn't seem to really enjoy the attention he was getting from the reporter, especially since she was being somewhat intrusive and loud.

Mrs. Utsushimi and Felix looked at them, then at her husband, who went to sit on one of the sofas, rubbing his temples. He was certainly well-dressed, but he looked and felt out of place being here, like a pickle in a box of corn. He looked more like a lab rat, but to tell the truth, he was a rather handsome and tall man on top of that. Even in the state he was in, he attracted the eyes of the women around him.

"Mm…~ I apologize for that. I guess he had a bad day at the OR."

"It's my fault. I shouldn't have done all this." Felix apologized again, trying to appear as polite as possible. "What about drinking some more, just like your husband does?"

"Sure, but let me present you to a few of my acquaintances then.~♪" she brightened up as she waved at a group of people, squirming a bit in her dress. "Some of them were interested in your fighting skills. It would be a shame to deprive yourself of a potential business partnership by only hanging out with me, isn't it?~"

Felix accepted her offer even though he didn't particularly want to hang out with sharks. By the end of the evening, the weight of business cards in his pocket was beginning to annoy him. That said, he was more focused on the results of his efforts with the Utsushimi family in the near future. Where she and her husband had seen attempted kissing, he had mainly planned to access information about who she was.

[▲▼▲▼▲▼▲▼▲]

[Perks Analyser → Daphne Utsushimi]

[STR ▪ 26]

[DEX ▪ 28] — [AGI ▪ 39]

[END ▪ 46] — [RES ▪ 46]

[▲▼▲▼▲▼▲▼▲]

[Hot & Bothered] ▪ [-8% to all stats ■ Body feels hot as blood pressure, heart rate, and breathing goes up ■ Nipples, labia, and clitoris fill with blood and become more sensitive ■ Vagina gets progressively wet and expands.] ▪ [+]

[▲▼▲▼▲▼▲▼▲]

—Her stats are pretty much that of a quirkless person… That said, I don't have access to all her info. I guess I have to become intimate with her or shag her if I want to see everything.

"His something on my face?" The lady asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Ah, sorry, I spaced out."

"So… Mr. Tremblay, I wanted to present you one last person."

She voiced, noticing that he was fed up with all this. She sighed and pointed out the man dressed in a purple suit who was smoking a cigarette in the middle of the room, paying absolutely no mind to the other people around him as he crushed one of his previous cigarettes on the marble tiles with his shoes. He was old enough to be his dad, so probably at least 50 yo, maybe more; it was hard to grasp. He had short grey hair and purple eyes that exuded a kind of slyness.

"Okuto-san… Please behave yourself... I didn't invite you to ruin the place. It's expensive enough to maintain."

"The floor is no dirtier outside than inside, Miss."

"I'll tell that to the cleaning crew and see what they think."

"Eheh! Just a joke. No need to be like that," he chortled, shrugging. "I can clearly see you just wanna leave, just like me, Mr. Tremblay. So here, just take my card. If you ever need anything unusual or borderline, don't hesitate to call me. I'm a master at that kinda thing."

"I'll remember that," Felix uttered, taking his business card.

"The name's Giran."

"Felix."

"Alright. I'm on my way then." muttered the businessman, his cigarette still in hand, while at the other end of the room, he saw Mr. Brave indicating they needed to leave.

—I guess it's time to retreat.

"I think I will do the same as he did. I'm getting tired." he declared to Mrs. Utsushimi. "I'm-"

"In this case, Mr. Tremblay." Mrs. Utsushimi cut him off.

"Yeah?"

"I can give you a ride back home. I have my car."

"Oh… Well, I'm sorry, I can't. My trainer is waiting for me. There's a few other boxing matches coming up during the week, so he already proposed to give me a ride back home to save my energy."

"I... No, forget it. I must have had too much to drink." she mumbled. "Take care on the way home, Mr. Tremblay. And good luck with your matches. I will call you when the time is right."

"Alright, until next time, then."

Felix turned and walked towards the exit, glancing behind him at the woman still looking at him. She quickly averted her gaze and finally sat on the sofa, resting her head on an armrest with a bewildered gaze.

A subtle smile emerged across Felix's face.

—Reminds me of the good old days. First, the body and then the mind. That's how to sow the seeds.~