In The Wrong Hood? (IV)

~~Two Years Later~~

*beep* *beep* *beep* *beep* 

With a groan, I turned off the alarm and climbed out of the bed while rubbing my face. I slowly walked up to the window and removed the blinds to reveal that the sun was barely rising. I hated getting up so early, but some sacrifices were necessary if you were aiming big.

My sleep and comfort were those sacrifices… After finishing my morning rituals, I made my way towards the indoor gym. My adoptive parents were pretty rich so it was kind of understandable that we had a fully functional gym in our house.

"Good morning, Reo" Ren greeted me when I entered the gym. He was already there doing some stretching. Ren was a fitness model, so it was necessary for him to stay in shape.

"Good morning, Ren" I greeted him back as I placed my towel and water bottle on the rack. Ren and Mai were good people, but they were not good parents at all. The two of them were rarely home, which was a good thing since I didn't have anyone hovering around me and I could do whatever I wanted.

Even though it has been two years since the two of them adopted me, I never thought of them as parents and from their attitude, it was pretty obvious that they did not want me to. That was why I called them Ren and Mai and they were completely fine with that. That was the same reason they called me by my name without any terms of endearment.

And while it was true that Mai was incapable of having a child, they were completely fine with it since they didn't want to have a child in the first place. They were way too busy with their own lives to take care of a child and Mai being incapable of giving birth was one of the reasons why the two of them got married in the first place.

If they never wanted a child, then why did they adopt me in the first place? Maybe it had something to do with their image and reputation? Agh! I don't know for real, but since Ren and Mai never treated me badly, I tried not to think much about it… The only thing they wanted from me was for me to keep developing my Quirk for whatever reason and do good at school.

Since I wanted to become a Hero, in the first place, I had no problems with their demands…

"By the way, you remember about tonight's gathering, right?" Ren asked, but before I could answer, he decided to continue. "This is a very important gathering, we cannot miss it" Ren reminded me with a stern look on his face.

"I remember, don't worry" I answered as I climbed on the treadmill. To be honest, I didn't like any of their gatherings or parties. All of them were way too classy and boring for my liking, but it wasn't like I could skip them. Maybe, when I get older, but until then, I will have to keep attending those parties.

"Good" Ren nodded his head in approval and decided to leave me alone and concentrate on his own workout…

A couple of hours later, I found myself sitting in the back of a car. I stared out the window and found myself leaving Deika City. We lived in Deika City and I was certain that there was something wrong in the city… Even after two years, I never saw any Quirkless person in the city and that wasn't the only oddity though. 

Quirk usage was banned without the Hero License, but it was completely different in Deika City. People would use Quirks out in the open and even in front of the cops, but cops never tried to arrest any of them or warn them to begin with. In fact, the cops acted like nothing was out of the ordinary.

The whole thing confused me to no end, but I was no close to an answer…

The time passed with me staring out the window and I didn't even notice that we were at school until the driver pointed it out. "Sir, we are here" The driver called out before the car finally came to a stop. 

"Thank you" I thanked the driver as I climbed out of the car. 

"I will be waiting for you at the usual spot" The driver reminded me, earning a nod from me before he finally drove off. I took a deep breath and stared at the school in front of me. I was in my second year of elementary school, which meant that I had to endure this place for 4 more years. 

I may not remember much from my past life, but I was certain that I was not a kid, so it was annoying to spend my day surrounded by a bunch of kids… Even though there were bullies in the school none of them bothered me, which was a really good thing since I don't think I was beyond beating up a few kids to get them off my back, but I didn't want to get involved in the first place.

The school was boring as usual and just like in the orphanage, I ignored everyone until someone talked to me. The teachers liked to think that I might have a problem getting along with others and they had tried to talk with my parents regarding this issue, but they simply shrugged it off since my grades were good and I was working hard to improve my Quirk.

After returning home, I noticed that Ren and Mai were already there, getting ready for the upcoming gathering, so instead of visiting the training room like the other days, I quickly took a shower and got ready for the gathering. I wasn't sure how high class the gathering was going to be so I decided to wear a tux as a tux would go along with any high class gathering. 

"Reo, you need to wear this" Mai said as she handed me a half-face mask.

"A masquerade?" I asked, looking at the mask in interest.

"Yes, you look dashing" Mai complimented as she fixed my bow tie. "Tonight, you are going to meet a lot of important people, so you need to be on your best behavior. Keep that in mind" Mai explained while looking straight into my eyes.

"Good" Mai nodded in approval. "Let us get going then" Mai said with a smile as she started to lead me outside. Ren was already waiting by the car and is that a Rolls Royce? They have sent a Rolls Royce to pick us up? This is something new… I have never been inside a Rolls Royce even though Ren and Mai were pretty rich. They could probably afford one if they wanted.

"Call us mother and father at the party" Mai whispered into my ear as we climbed into the car. The party must be really important. So, I nodded my head in understanding as I sat down. The car was just as luxurious as I expected it to be. I started to wonder what kind of important people I was going to meet at the party… Not that I would be able to recognize anyone until they introduced themselves.

The seats were comfortable as fcuk… I might be able to convince Mai or Ren to buy one since they are rich enough to own one…

"Can we get one of these?" I asked in a childish tone. I wonder how they are going to react. Mai became thoughtful at my words while Ren simply shrugged before he looked at Mai.

"What do you think? This is a pretty nice car" Ren said as he ran his hand over the armrest. Mai still seemed to think for a bit. I could understand why she needed to think so much before making a choice. After all, a Rolls Royce was not a cheap car. After a tense minute, Mai finally nodded her head in approval.

"Alright, we can get one" Mai agreed as she poured herself a glass of champagne from the shelf. Ren smiled and raised his hand in my direction for a high-five. I grinned and high-fived him and Mai simply rolled her eyes at our display, and I could swear I heard her mutter 'Boys' under her breath. 

"Sir, we are here" The driver announced and I immediately stared out the window to see where we were. I have seen this place before, but I have never been here for a party until now. 

"Put on the mask" Mai announced and chugged down the drink in her glass. "Do you need my help?" Mai asked when I pulled out my mask. Instead of giving her a verbal answer, I simply turned around and put on the mask in front of my face. Mai quickly put a knot with the ties behind my head. It took only Ren and Mai to get their masks. The car finally stopped in front of the entrance.

"Thank you" Ren thanked the driver as one of the chauffeurs opened the door.

We climbed out of the car and without wasting any time, we made our way inside the hotel. I have to admit, this was the most impressive place I have ever been… I had to literally pick up my jaw when we finally arrived at the lobby where the party was being hosted. I couldn't even fathom the money they would have to spend to host a party at a place like this and I was certain that they were sparing no expenses.

Especially when they have had sent a Rolls Royce to pick us up…

I looked around to find people mingling around and all of them were wearing masks to hide their identities. Even the guards were wearing masks… Wait! Guards?! What the fuck?! I have never guards in a place like this… I quickly looked around and realized that the lobby was filled with guards. I started to wonder what kind of party needed this kind of security.

"Reo, why don't you go and mingle with someone of your age?" Mai suggested as she pointed her chin where the kids were playing. I immediately recognized a couple of the kids since their masks were unable to hide their mutations. I have seen them in other parties and at best, the other children were only acquaintances, not friends. 

"Okay, mother" I answered smoothly. Calling her mother felt weird, but I didn't mind. However, instead of approaching the kids, I decided to approach the starter table. I picked up jello from the table and took a bite… Hmm… So fucking good! The jello was really good and if it was possible to have foodgasms in real life or outside the Shokugeki world, then I would have had one right here.

That's how good the jello was… It was foodgasmic… I wanted to try the rest of the food right away, but I didn't want to embarrass myself and my parents…

Then all of a sudden someone clicked their glass with a spoon and I turned around to find a few people standing over at the balcony, looking down at the crowd. So, they are the ones who arranged this party. I have to admit, they have taste… I couldn't recognize any of them except for the sole woman in the group. Her face was covered just like everyone else, but her skin gave her away.

I started to wonder how it would feel for your own skin to betray you…

I have seen the woman on TV quite a few times. Chitose Kizuki, otherwise known as Curious, was the executive director of Shoowaysha Publishing…

"Welcome to the annual gathering of the Meta Liberation Army!" The man at the front, supposedly the leader of the group, announced proudly and I almost dropped my spoon in shock. Everyone started to clap and cheer at the declaration while I could only stare at the group dumbly. What the what army now? What the fuck?! Meta Liberation Army? Was there a thing like this in MHA?

This was already a Quirk-dominant society and there was still a supremacist group like this lurking around? I mean what the fuck? What the hell were they planning to liberate in the first place?

Now that I finally knew the truth about Deika City, I realized that my intuition was right and that was when I decided that I was in the wrong hood…