Chapter 26 - We Meet Again

"Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop!!"

"Hehehe, hi guys!! Your Pop-Step is here! Thank you for coming to watch me!"

"Pop!!!!"

"She is getting popular," Ai said, cleaning the glasses and talking to Koichi, who was with her. Although Pop-Step liked to sing inside, outside on the road gave her the feel of a concert, which she was comfortable with. So one or the other day, she sang outside for her fans.

"She shouldn't be out there now that she is trying to go legit. She'll get in trouble."

"You sound like a berating mother," Ai curled her lips, "You kids should enjoy rather than worry about it all so much."

"Aren't you our age too? Ai?"

"Mm, maybe," Ai cleaned the glass; she barely stayed in that world for a year after leaving her own and a year in this one. It could be said; that she had crossed her eighteen-year-old mark. Though an experience like that changed what and how you felt about something, she could swear she gained a level of maturity.

At least, it felt like it since she didn't have the same excitement for things. Now that she had the time to relax and wasn't pulled into things, she chose to do what she could, keep herself busy while helping people.

"Maybe? Does that mean you are older than you look?"

"No…um…wait, that might be it," Ai tilted her head, "That is it. I am older than I look."

Koichi looked at her, tilting his head when chaotic sounds entered their ears.

"What is this?!"

"A slime?!"

*SLITTTTHHHEERRRR!!!!!!!*

"KYYYYAAA!!!!!!!!"

"Pop!!!"

Koichi rushed forward, making Ai raise her eyebrows, "Those two…somehow they manage to attract trouble."

She breathed in, using Transparent World, and the world around her seemed to have stopped, 'A trigger? Again? Anyway….'

She turned her focus from that Koichi to his clothes and changed their molecular structure to an All Might hoody he usually wore.

She wondered if she should help them, but it wasn't a powerful villain, so she decided to watch. Although, by the time it ended, Pop was covered in what seemed to be slime's liquid.

"Pop?"

"Ai~~!!"

"Don't enter my shop, my house, or anywhere else until you have gotten rid of…whatever that it," Ai watched her with pity but strictly stopped her from taking a step forward.

"I'll use Koichi's bathroom…." Pop leaped up, taking another leap to go to the room.

"Why mine!" Koichi protested but for naught.

Knuckleduster and Koichi had to disappear since the police would be here soon, and they were.

"As usual, you will say they dropped him at your doorstep?"

"Mr. Naomasa, Mr. Eizo, I have freshly brewed coffee. Would you like some?" Ai put down two coffee cups, and Eizo Tanuma, the older man with a receding hairline and short beard, sat down gleefully to drink coffee.

"Now, look, Ai. You can't keep being in between for these Vigilantes. It's a dangerous job."

"Oh," Ai sat down to have coffee with Eizo, and they both exchanged a look as Ai whispered, "You are right. He is a bit…stringent."

"Haha, he's young," Eizo Tanuma laughed, "Anyway, the Villian?"

"He's ok. I healed him, and you can bring him for interrogation at any time," Ai smiled, pointing her finger up.

Naomasa sighed, "I'll pick him up."

"No coffee?" Naomasa blinked, looking towards the coffee cup; struggling, he finally held his hat, picking up his coffee cup in embarrassment, "Thank you."

Eizo and Ai snickered, causing Naomasa to rush off in embarrassment.

"Do tell me what comes of it?" Ai innocently requested.

"I'd say, Miss Ai. You shouldn't get involved in this."

"He's my patient. I am already involved," Ai smiled, "I'd like to know if he's in trouble."

"Usually, that depends on the intent…we'll see how it goes with this one."

"Then I am not worried."

"Not very smart?"

"Not the brightest."

"Then you have nothing to worry about…but we do," Eizo put down his coffee, sighing, "These Instant Villains are getting increasingly out of control."

"That's true, but I believe that you guys will find out who is behind it," Ai encouragingly smiled.

Eizo laughed, "Girl, if only I were twenty years younger."

"Hm," Ai scrutinized him, giving a flirtatious smile, "Make it 40 and with more hair, and I can think about it."

"Hahahahahaah," Eizo loudly laughed, getting up, "That hurts. But if only."

He put his hat on, bowing, "Till next time."

"Till next time," Ai waved her hand; she didn't think the next time would be so soon.

The one who turned into an eel-like creature, Terou Unagisawa, the one she treated, was taken into custody but realized the next day. Naomasa was hoping to see where he would lead them.

And it seemed he made friends with a few regulars of hers, Jose and Samazu. She found them familiar since she saw similar people in one of the comics in her father's Infinite Library. The girl he gave her when she was four. Now it made sense.

The two of them were introducing Terou to everyone, even Knuckleduster, and it worried her that Naomasa, who was following, would see them, so she went to meet them. Only.

"Ouch!"

"Kyahh!! What was that?!"

"???!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

"Uwaaaaaaaaahhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!"

"Villians!! A whole bunch of them!!"

When she reached the incident's location, her smartphone was already buzzing with the notification, "More than ten."

She was nervous and looked around at the chaotic streets and the man that became a fat giant, ten to fifteen meters tall with white lines over him.

She narrowed her eyes, using the Transparent World, and a few bees with injections entered her sight, 'Hm.'

"Cut…" She swiped her hands upward, slashing through the air and cutting down the bees in one go. Since there was too much chaos, she didn't plan to follow them.

This cutting was complicated to explain. It was because of her Quirk, the Empowerment Part. Ever since her strength, speed, reflexes, and other attributes stepped into Superhuman Levels, so did her Swordsmanship. She was on the verge of it during the fight against Humarise, but now, she had steadily reached that level.

She focused on these Instant Villains, about to act, when someone entered her senses.

"Hey, is that?" Ai asked the person next to her since Heroes were like Celebrities, most people knew of them.

"That's Airjet!!" The girl excitedly spoke, but her boyfriend pointed away, "No! Turbo Hero Ingenium's always the quickest!"

But soon, a bunch of Heroes came running, and a few of them she even knew, like Endeavor, the number two Hero.

But what caught her eyes was a force of nature, coming down from the sky and punching the red giant, "Smasshhh!!!"

Her eyes met with All Might's, who noticed her too, and memories of when she first came to this world poured in. She shook her head, turning away to prepare her clinic since she knew some of them might be brought over. But that didn't happen.

Since no one was coming, and things were calming down, she knew that customers would start coming in, excited after seeing so many Pro Heroes.

In this world, Villains were like a disease, a disease that could cause death if you were caught, but by now, people had learned to live with the disease, and Heroes who fought against them, tried their best to keep as many people alive as possible. By now, people had learned to live with it.

The ones that gave them hope to live in this world were the Pro Heroes, and the number one Hero somehow had found his way to her Bar Seat.

He had ordered a drink, but he was watching it, probably not a drinker, and he was in disguise or how he was.

"That injury of yours…there are so many signs of surgeries. Is that what made you look like a zombie?"

"Huh? No…I am Toshinori Yagi," Toshinori hastily said, only to see the girl he was worried about, the one he remembered from a year ago, lean forward on the bar table with a soft grin.

"I never asked you who you were," Ai grinned, "I already know who you are. Last we met…I saw the same injury. I was surprised you could maintain that form."

Toshinori, a.k.a. All Might, put his finger on his lips, panicking, "Please, do not talk about this here."

"Ok, meet me in my clinic, and I'd look at it for you? See if something could be done."

"Every doctor has seen this…this is the best they could do."

"Not me, Toshinori Yagi," Ai smiled, "Not me."

Toshinori let out a relieved smile, "I was worried about you…the first time we met…you were crying."

"Yeah, as long as you forget that and never mention it again. We could be friends," Ai grinned.

Toshinori laughed, coughing right after, nodding, "Then I'll see you in your office."

"Yes, give me a moment. My employee should be here any minute and turn the second sigh while leaving?"

"Second one?"

"Yeah. No Food since I will be a bit busy."

"Sorry about that. Maybe I should come later?"

"No need. That's how my business works," Ai winked.

Toshinori scratched his cheek, looking back as he walked away. Before leaving, he turned the Kitchen Closed/No Food sign and looked around a bit before going up the broad stairs.

Ai called Koichi, who was already on the way, just around the corner, "I have a patient. Take care of things for a while?"

"Sure!"

Ai stepped out of her Pub and went up to her Clinic. When she entered, the windows were open; the curtain was still moving as if somebody had just rushed in. She blinked, looking over to Toshinori, sitting on the bench, acting as if nothing had happened.

"Hm," Ai smiled, "Over here."

This place was as big as her restaurant since it took a whole floor of this broken building. It was clean, shiny new, and the visitor or waiting area took one-fourth of the building; the middle was a wide corridor and her office. At the same time, the other side was Operation Theater.

She took him to her office, picking up her white coat, wearing over her white top with black horizontal lines and blue jeans, "Although, I can already see …show me."

"Do you have a Sensory Quirk?"

"Yes, that is what I have," Ai pressed her lips, smiling. It was her Transparent World that she had registered as her Quirk; that was why not many thought this all was built through her Quirk.

Toshinori raised his t-shirt, but Ai raised her eyebrows, "Totally off."

He sighed, taking off his t-shirt, allowing Ai to look at the grotesque scars of many injuries. She could see this through the t-shirt, but now her eyes were focused on the outer appearance.

He had lost his internal organs, and it was because of the high-level medical facilities that this world had that this man was even alive. Her mind was abuzz with problems and solutions, ways that she could heal him.

"It's ok; you don't have to worry about this. I know it's impossible to heal."

"Not…impossible," Ai closed her eyes, "It's easy…I could create new organs, but there is one little problem."

"Problem?" Toshinori froze. He already knew the problem and why his organs weren't replaced, but he couldn't help but wonder why she would say this.

"Yes, that Quirk of yours. It doesn't belong to you."

"What! No! Why would you think that?"

"Don't fluster," Ai sighed, "I can tell. That Quirk of yours…the base DNA, is different. Quite mixed, I must say, adaptable, evolving. Seven? Eight? About that many people have had this Quirk? Pretty sure about Six Sub-Quirks are sleeping inside."

"You…you can tell all that?"

"Yes," Ai narrowed her eyes, "Your organs, if I recreate them from your DNA, then they won't be able to handle the power of this Quirk and would be crushed, but I doubt I could recreate such a complicated DNA, let alone organs with that."

Ai chuckled, "It's ironic and sad …For you to live…The Hero in you must die. So I am not even going to ask you," Ai leaned back on her chair, watching Toshinori."

Toshinori wore his t-shirt, smiling, "Thank you for trying."

"Although I can't heal you," Ai crossed her legs, "I could make sure you are better. The least I can do is make sure you don't look like a zombie and maintain that transformation a bit longer. If you could give away this Quirk, its intensity would reduce, and I could help you live longer."

"Wait…you can give away this Quirk, right? Or does it pass from First Child to First Child?"

"I can give it away…but…it's not the time yet! I can do more! I can keep going!"

Ai watched his transform, rolling her eyes, "Ok. We'll see…give me some time, and I will think of something. Till then…."

[Warning! Seventy Years of Life Force is slipping from Users body.]

'I know what I am doing…you better be right about that Half-Immortality and Prime Form thing.'

[System has calculated that those Abilities have been Acquired through Bond Empowerment.]

'Good.'

Ai stood near Toshinori, placing her hand on his waist, filling his body with pure life force. His body started to restore, ever so slight; his cheeks filled out a little, and a layer of his muscles came, but he still looked weak.

"This…what is this…feeling?" Toshinori confusedly looked at her. He felt as good as he was in his prime, even better now.

"That's… one-time thing I can do for you," Ai looked up, whispering, "Though, it will slip away too, since it's not yours. But you can be as reckless as you want for a while and not have to worry about maintaining forms."

She pulled away, falling on the chair, taking a deep breath, "Do eat well, and you should be able to regain your muscles and health soon, but do come to see me once every week? However busy you might be?"

"Oh, oh, but…you…I know this feeling…why?"

Ai turned her chair, looking out of the window behind her, watching the last rays of the sun, "I like the sun…always have…but I love twilight and dawn even more. You are like that…you know…the light of hope, in the moment of darkness. I like…seeing you shine. So don't think of it as a favor."

She grinned, "This is me being selfish. So go out there and shine for me and be All Might."

Toshinori parted his lips, widening his eyes, taking a deep breath, bowing, "Thank you!"

Ai softly closed her eyes, "Remember to come back each week and eat well since I am going to check your weight, ok?"

Toshinori's mouth twitched, and he lightly slumped his shoulder, "Ok."

"If it's not too much, then you can come over. I serve Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner. Your tower is nearby, right? Roppongi District?"

"Huh…my food timings… are a bit messy," Toshinori scratched his cheek.

"Then come at any time…I'll cook for you," Ai smiled at him.

"Uh…uh…yeah! I think I hear someone calling for me!" Toshinori transformed, leaving the room and rushing out of the window.

"Hmph," Ai smiled, closing her eyes, 'System…I thought I would feel more than a bit drained. I did lose 70 years of my life force, but I don't feel anything. Does this Half-Immortality thing increases my Life Force?'

[No, it does not.]

'Then?'

[…?]

'I am starting to think that you can tell me nothing. Can you analyze and create organs that would help me replace Toshinori's? Once that could take a load of his organs?'

[The blood of previous holders will be required.]

'I doubt he'd agree to that, but I can always ask,' Ai closed her eyes, 'My blood…would it be possible?'

[User knows the answer to that.]

'Yeahhh…thought so…' Ai looked out the window, gazing at the sun that had disappeared in the horizon, "Sun is going to set after all…."