A Laboratory

__________ POV Beru__________

It's unusual enough for Nezu to call me so early in the morning.

I mean, he's barely called me at all as of late. So this can only be about one thing really...

I answered the call with a sigh.

"Morning Nezu~ Glad to see you reach out to me~" No reason to greet him with any tone other than friendly.

"Indeed, sorry to bother you so early, Beru. But I think I managed to find what you were looking for..." Nezu's voice sounds somewhat tired, again.

This guy should really learn how to take a break from time to time, but I guess that as long as I don't insist on it, he also won't do it.

"That's nice and all~ But how much sleep did you get?~" I said with a bit of concern in my voice.

I only got a small chuckle as a response. That and "Well, I don't need a lot of time for rest. The last few weeks have been somewhat busy too."

At least he's responded.

"If you don't get a full night's sleep tonight I will knock you out for the entire day tomorow~" This is the best solution I can think of right now. I'll check on him in the morning, if he's tired then I'll put him to sleep forcefully.

"Haha... I hope you're joking... But anyway, I've found out where the Nomus were taken after the police raided Dr Kyudai's old hideout." He got to the point quickly. I guess he's got some stuff to do after this.

"They are currently being held and researched at Japan's greatest and most advanced laboratory. They are being personally overseen by a scientist called Goda Yori." Hmm, that name sounds somewhat familiar...

"You might know him since he's one of the people that used to be interested in you. Currently, it seems that he is still completely focused on the nomus." Nezu seems to have looked into this quite deeply.

I guess this Yori guy isn't really all that secretive an individual. Or maybe Nezu's information network is a lot better than I previously expected?

Regardless, at least now I have a location. That research institute is somewhere around Tokyo. Outside the main city, but still somewhat close.

"I see~ Well, I'll probably end up paying him a visit~," I said while twirling one of my antennas with my finger.

"Well... He's probably going to be expecting you. He's the one that gave me all of this information after realizing I was looking into him..." Nezu sounds a bit concerned...

With good reason, I guess. It seems this guy does actually care about his privacy. And it also seems that Nezu is recognized as my representation by the government.

This makes some things a bit difficult. I thought Nezu wouldn't be seen as such since I'm really great 'friends' with the Commission. But that farce probably didn't fool anybody in power.

"Sounds a bit shady~ What's the chances this is a trap?~" I don't really buy that his interest in me died down so suddenly.

If anything, him gaining Kyudai's research files on me should've made him even more interested in me.

"I'm afraid the chances of this being a trap are quite high... But I'm unsure as to what type of trap he could've prepared... How exactly would it be able to hold you..." I guess the only reason Nezu isn't as concerned as he's supposed to be is that I am strong enough to take care of myself.

"Sounds like a fun way to spend my after-noon~ Maybe he'll even bring out something that interests me~" My words seem to make Nezu quite nervous for some reason.

"Beru... Please try not to kill him... He is currently the brightest mind in the country, the government won't let you go this time... Don't give them more wood to put on the fire." I guess his concern is well placed.

One can only get away with murder so many times. It's pretty clear to everyone ever that I was the one to inquire about the location of the Nomus.

If this guy suddenly died it would 100% be blamed on either me or Nezu, even if not officially. And that would be a bit annoying...

Ah, politics, if only brute strength was the answer to everything.

Well, it might be, but it doesn't lead to a satisfactory outcome at all. Killing off an entire government won't really be beneficial to me in the long run.

I also just started living a seemingly normal life, throwing that away so quickly would be a bit of a shame.

So, I guess I should just seek him out for a conversation. Well, I doubt he'll do anything major during our first meeting.

"Don't worry~ I know how to hold back~ There's not much he can do to threaten me anyway~" My confident tone must've calmed down Nezu, at least slightly.

"Do be careful though... If things look bleak don't bother holding back at all..." Jeez, this guy is still concerned about me.

"Sure~ You should get some sleep while I go deal with that~," I said as I proceeded to hang up the call.

__________ POV Narration__________

Beru was quick to start heading for Goda Yori's laboratory right after the call had ended.

He warped himself in the middle of Tokyo and flew the rest of the way.

Yori's laboratory wasn't all that hidden. But that was because, unlike Kyudai, this one was completely legal.

Beru didn't really bother going through the entrance, he simply looked at the building for a bit and decided to warp himself where the doctor was.

And, he happened to be near on the main floor of the laboratory, surrounded by Nomus and other scientists.

They seemed to be testing the reactions of some of the more powerful Nomus. Since they were separated from anyone that would give them orders, they weren't quite as responsive as Yori would've liked.

Yet, he couldn't bring himself to feel disappointed as of now. Why? Because something much better than all of the nomus was currently making its way to him.

He didn't really know when Beru would arrive. But he knew one thing.

'Research will be much easier with him.'

Yori was currently looking into what Kyudai was before his death. 'Creating a body capable of taking in as much quirk factor as possible' and he believed Beru to be the biggest asset to his research.

At least he hoped so. He knew that not even the brilliant Kyudai Garaki managed to crack what exactly made Beru's body so special.

But he hoped that he would be able to, using more modern technology.

You can imagine his elation when Beru appeared in front of him.

The rest of the scientists that were gathered on the main floor were scared at the sight of an intruder.

Yori on the other hand... "All of you! Fuck off!" He quickly shooed them away, ignoring the fact that there were many respectable figures among the world in that crowd.

Yori was never the type to care about politics. No, he only cared about one thing, advancing the human race. And, in his eyes, Beru was the key to that.

"Damn~ I kinda like that attitude not gonna lie~" Beru's first words to him were already to his liking. Yori was by far, one of the more eccentric people of higher standing in the Japanese government.

"Well, I can't let their stupidity spoil our very first meeting! I've been looking forward to finally meeting you..." Yori immediately shook Beru's hand with a burst of energy.

It weirded Beru out a bit, but he didn't complain. Yori didn't show any hostility to the insectoid, so there was no reason to antagonize him...

"Yea~ That would be a bit of a bummer~," Beru said as he took his hand back and stared around the laboratory.

He could see that the Nomus were all unresponsive and staring into the void.

"Not much progress in fixing them huh?~" His question somewhat shocked the scientist.

"Well, that's true. But that's because I'm afraid that doing so is impossible..." Yori's words immediately made Beru's head snap at him.

"What?~" Beru's voice was calm, it didn't express the amount of anger that was inside him.

Beru could control himself, but that was just because this was the expected outcome to him.

"I have made a few experiments until now..." Yori started walking, signalling Beru to follow him.

"Even after stripping them of their quirks, they seem to be the same. Even if their bodies somehow recover, their minds are lost." Yori's answer was plain, it was emotionless.

But that wasn't out of a lack of care. No, the scientist did his best to undo what was done to the Nomus. But it was simply not feasible.

A very specific quirk was needed to repair mental damage, one that simply was not spotted in Japan to this point.

And looking for it in the entire world would consume resources that the Japanese government was otherwise unwilling to spend.

Yori's hands were basically tied in that aspect. He could no longer progress with the undoing of the Nomus.

The two of them walked all the way to a more secluded zone of the laboratory, there could be seen a few Nomus that looked slightly different from the rest.

They had somewhat regained their human appearances, at least in some places, but they were much the same mentally. Staring into the void, lacking any conscious thought.

"This... Is the result of my research." Yori looked at the room with shame, a failure was not something that he enjoyed showcasing.

But it happened nonetheless.

"How did you even manage to take away their quirks?~" Beru's question made the scientist smile.

"Oh, I'm glad you're taking an interest in this! It's actually quite simple really. If you'd follow me once more." He gestured for Beru to follow him once more.

This time, they walked a bit more, entering an underground section of the laboratory, otherwise hidden by a trap door.

That hidden section was made out of only one room at the end of a small corridor...

Inside that room was something very familiar to Beru. In a glass filled with a strange concoction of liquids, supported by a strange mechanism, was the body of none other than All for One.

Beru was shocked to see it, but the shock didn't last long as the excited scientist started explaining things once more.

"You see, with Kyudai's notes, I learned how to copy quirk factor through DNA. Something I had thought inconceivable before." Yori looked at the body of All for One with a smile.

"This part of my research has been kept as a bit of a secret from the government... I don't really like them snooping in on my business." Yori said as he looked at Beru with a smile.

Beru didn't really know how to respond to that. He didn't really care for All for One's quirk being passed around, but it seemed that the doctor wasn't planning on arming the Japanese government with said quirk.

"What's your objective?~" That was the only thing Beru could say after being given that small tour of Yori's laboratory.

"Well... Have you ever heard of 'Quirk Singularity'?" The scientists face became serious, as this topic came up.

Beru was about to learn a few interesting things.

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Hope you liked the chapter!

Eyy, can you guess what's gonna happen with Yori perhaps?

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