Chapter 29 - Workers

"Hm, hm, hm, hmm, hmmm, hm, hm, hm, hmm, hmmm, hmm, hmm," Ai Senju, that was the name of the girl wearing a yellow kimono with wide sleeves and a fox mask, patrolling Naruhata in the middle of the day. It wasn't that she was a Hero, quite the opposite; she was a Vigilante.

The societal structure of this world was divided between Heroes and villains and ordinary citizens. Eighty percent of them had Quirks, and Twenty were Quirkless. Of these eighty percent, some got the Hero License, but most used it to work. Even in them, there was one percenter that worked as Heroes. The ones tasked with maintaining the safety of everyone from the villains, humans who would use their Quirk to hurt others.

And then there were people like her, the Vigilantes, who just wanted to help people. That was why it was nice that she hopped from one window to the next, got a good view, and watched everyone peacefully going about their lives.

"Oh, I feel hungry," Ai glanced at a silver mask in the mirror and tapped on the mirror of this ten-floor high building, which rippled, and a few more masks appeared.

She put her hand inside the mirror, which rippled like water, and took out a mask, peering at her. She broke the mask, and a lunch box appeared in her hand, "Let's eat."

Ah, her Quirk. Technically she used to be Quirkless, and she wanted to reach a higher level even if it meant dying, but then, her father's blood couldn't hold back, awakening a Quirk. Once, her father told her that he was her father and would never crush her precious feelings.

But that day? That was what she felt, her feeling, her determination, her Will being crushed, and an embarrassment; she decided to leave this line of work and opened a restaurant and worked on mastering her Quirk.

But that was an anomaly; she was always supposed to have another Quirk that the System would create for her. She managed to create many mixed ones and a few Singularity Quirks, but it wasn't until recently that she realized she needed a strong Quirk. One of those Singularity Quirk was intense but uncontrollable, and the other was weak. So she decided or was forced to use her father's blood as a catalyst and ended with Mirror in the Mask.

This Quirk had three levels from what she knew; level one of the Quirk was Reflection. She could store things into reflections and masks.

Now, one would think that she stored something in this window, or the items moved with her, but that wasn't true. The reflection she stored these Masks in were her eyes.

Stage Two of the Quirk was Mask, which created a boundary made of mirrors so strong that even a villain made of rocks couldn't crack them and so sharp that they would go in his body, or she could trap him in the reflections of those mirrors.

As for Stage Three, she could completely trap someone when she enclosed the boundary, trapping someone or something in it. It could be used as storage like she was doing now or store a person with a Quirk, and when she put that on her face, she could use that person's Quirk.

Now, one would ask why not store food in the reflection of your eyes, and why store it in the mask first?

'It seems weird…storing food in your eye…but storing food in the mask, and then storing that mask in your eye. That's fine. Why do you think that is, System?'

[Calculating.]

"Never mind," Ai took the last bite of the sandwich and noticed there was a monster in the public area. It looked like one of those Next Level Villain they were calling now. His body had the physical characteristics of a Mantis. At the same time, his chest remains humanoid primarily. Although with insectoid characteristics, the lower part of his body has a mantis abdomen and four legs similar to the said insect. His arms were scythes-like limbs, and he had chitinous protuberances and a pair of antennae.

"Another one of those," Ai jumped down, and her body started free falling towards the Mantis when she saw Crawler (Koichi) in front of it, and when she was a few meters away, she ordered, "Mask."

The boundary spread outwards and closed in one moment, and a mask dropped in her hand, "Mantis Villain. Captured."

"Oh, Aaaaaaaaaa….I know you! You are the Foxy Lady!"

"Excuse me?" Ai raised her eyebrows, "Can't I get a better name?"

"I get called Cruller," Koichi shrugged.

"Deserve it."

"Hahaha, Good afternoon people of Naruhata…? What happened to the villain."

Ai puffed her breasts, grinning, "I got his first."

"You! It's you! You are always getting in my way," Captain Celebrity looked at Ai with an intense rivalry, "I should capture you on the spot!"

Ai threw the mask at him, and when he was about to catch it, she teleported on top of it, "Maybe next time. One hour!"

She teleported again, disappearing from their sight, to the following reflection in her sight, and then to the next, "Love the urban areas!"

"Damn it!" Captain Celebrity clenched his fist in annoyance, "One-hour time limit, huh."

He peered into the mask, "Which one was this?"

"Next Level One. We should take it to Ai. I heard she has been working on a cure for a while," Koichi barely spoke his idea when he realized Captain Celebrity had him by his waist and was flying through the sky, "Yes! Let's go see Miss Ai!"

Koichi rolled his eyes, "Right."

He was worried that they'd arrive too soon and Ai wouldn't happen to have the time to change, and when they did enter through the window, it didn't seem like anyone was there.

"Lady Ai?! Lady Ai! Where is she," Captain Celebrity opened the door to her office, expecting that no one was there, but there she was.

He blinked, lying back on the chair, wearing a yellow shirt under the white coat, through the first few buttons of her shirt was open, and cleavage was easily visible, making them gulp.

"No! Don't look!" Koichi covered Captain Celebrity's eyes, who threw him away, and he turned, getting stuck on the wall, "I am not looking!"

His hands moved towards her shirt, "I am…only going to…close the buttons."

"No, don't!" Koichi used repulsive force on the wall, his head hitting Captain Celebrity's face, but it didn't manage to stop him, "So closseee!!!"

His fingers were about to touch her shirt when she raised her hand, slapping away his, and a slight current passed through his arm and fingers, and the two palms stuck together, "Hello. Captain Creep."

"Captain…Creep?" CC felt an arrow through his heart, trying to free his hands, but they wouldn't.

"Don't even try. You are going to tear your skin apart," Ai sat up, taking her glasses from the table and wearing them.

She glanced towards Koichi, "Next time. Wake me up rather than trying to save me?"

"Uh….ummm…yeah," Koichi scratched his head in embarrassment.

Ai shook her at the two, "Now…what is it?"

"A Next Level Villain," Captain Celebrity looked serious for a moment, narrowing his eyes, "You said the last time to bring them since you might have a cure?"

"It's not a cure, more like reverse bio-engineering," She took the mask, putting it on the table, smashing down the paperweight.

"Uhh! You can't break it!" Koichi involuntarily said, realizing that, of course, she knew she couldn't break it. Even he got confused about this double identity thing.

"It will open in an hour," Captain Celebrity grinned, standing up, puffing his chest out.

"Ok…" Ai held the mask, "I'll deal with it…if you want food, then tell Terou. It'd be on the house."

Captain Celebrity blinked, his gaze following her, walking while wearing that tight black skirt, stockings, and heels.

"How about I follow? And make sure everything is all right," He walked with his hands still stuck together, and Ai looked over her shoulder, grinning, "Yeah. No thanks."

She was about to close the door when he screamed, "Wait, my hands, my hands!"

"Yeah," Ai snapped her fingers, and the bonds that tied his hands together broke, freeing him.

She went to the floor above her practice, which was different from the other. This one was made of the strongest alloy in this world and was thick enough to stop most villains.

She closed the heavy door shut and threw the mask on the floor before lying down on the ground, heaving a sigh. She opened a few more buttons of her shirt, getting rid of the hells, and rolled down the stockings, "Geez. How do they do it, wearing such tight clothes…hate them."

[The revealing clothes do an excellent job of distracting people from obvious clues.]

Ai created a mirror, looking at her reflection; though everything was the same, there was one thing different. The reflection's eye, the one not covered by her bangs, was scarlet, not green.

"I have no interest in that. And this double…triple identity thing is annoying. Even I am not sure what is what anymore."

The Ai, in reflection, sat up, unlike Ai, who was still lying down, "Your one identity is the Demon King. Till now, Demon King has been seen using swords and martial arts. So that is out of order. There have been clues left behind over what your Quirk is, so if you use it in front of others, there is a chance they could figure out sooner or later that you are the Demon King."

"The other identity is as the owner of this building, Ai Senju, the Doctor, and I have a healing Quirk, right?"

"Yes, and you also possess knowledge on various subjects to the point you could reverse the effects that made Next Level Villains what they are."

The reflection continued, "The third identity is of the Foxy Lady."

"Yeah, we are going to change that name for sure. Now I know how Cruller feels."

"Crawler."

"Oh, System. It's a joke," Ai waved her hand, "So, as the Phantom Mask? Yeah, let's go with that for now. As the Phantom Mask, I possess a Quirk related to Mirrors and Masks…you know. I am going to make this easy. I will tell everyone, even Captain Creep, that I am Phantom Mask, and then the only identity I'd have to hide would be Demon King. Sounds good?"

"If that's what you wish," The System, having taken the form of her reflection, lay down, and its eye turned green, allowing Ai to get rid of the mirror.

She closed her eyes, tired, "I need to get rid of these clothes so bad…what should I wear."

She created a mirror again, and this time system showed her numerous clothes she was wearing and changing. From a tight black dress that showed her figure to a summer dress, to even something like there were three straps of clothes hiding her private parts.

"Something casual! Not naked!"

She blinked, seeing the reflection of her wearing a tracksuit shaking her head, "I have to work too."

It changed to jeans and a t-shirt, and she shook her head again, "Nah…something looser."

The clothes changed to lingerie, and she rolled her eyes, "No."

It changed again into an oversized yellow hoody that reached the middle of her thighs, "Perfect."

"Show me the molecular structure," Ai grinned, getting up on her knees, and converting the molecular structure of her clothes to that one, and a yellow hoody appeared over her body. She rubbed her breasts which were being held up by the bra she removed, sighing, "Feels so much better."

She lay down, stretching the hoody over the knees, lying down for another 40 to 50 minutes. The only rest she was going to get, and then she realized the towering presence over her, '50 minutes should have been longer.'

She opened her eyes, seeing the Mantis staring down at her.

"Uwaaaaaa!!!" The mantis slammed down its scythe when everything solid around him turned to mirror; there, but glassy and sharp spikes came out, trapping him in place.

"No!! Don't kill me!!!"

"Not gonna kill you," Ai gently raised her body, sweetly smiling at him, "Now. I can help you out, but I'd have to keep you under observation."

"You want to trap me here! No way!!"

"Not a trap. Please work for me, and I'll get you the house to live in, your old body back. But in return, you can't tell anyone that I am the Mask!"

"Who?"

"The Mask?" Ai tilted her head, creating a mirror and pulling out the fox mask from the reflection of her eyes, "This one?"

"Oh, the Foxy Lady."

"Not that! That is not my name," Ai puffed out a long breath.

"The Mask?"

"What? I am trying a few names," Ai shook her head, "Anyway. Work for me."

"Ok."

"…"

"What?"

"You won't resist?"

"Why? I am getting a sweet deal. What do I have to do?"

"Demon Slayer Pub? Work there?"

"Ohhh!! You run that place!! You are Ai Senju!!! Will I get to eat?!"

"Yeah?"

"I'll work for free!! Please take me!"

"Huh…ok," Ai shrugged, taking out a syringe from the mirror and pushing it in the Mantis, and he reduced, becoming smaller, human, with sunken cheek.

She took out a blanket, putting it on him before the outer layer of the Mantis shell disappeared. But he didn't care about that; he joyfully watched his arms and legs, "What did you inject?"

"Something that reverses the effects of the experiment," Ai grinned, since, in truth, it was her Quirk – Bonds, but even if someone tried, she could say the two drugs neutralized themselves, so none showed.

"Can I eat?" The Man who turned Mantis and back to Man looked at her with hungry eyes.

"If you get dressed? Yes, you can," She chuckled, "Wait, here. Police will be here soon to get a statement and bring some clothes."

She just said when a bell rang, and she removed the mirror. She opened the door, finding Naomasa standing there with a few men, "All yours."

"So you succeeded?"

"Yes. Like usual. My Quirk, my blood, does wonder about making a counter agent," Ai smiled, walking out, "Now. I have an establishment to run. Be warned, though. I need to keep him under observation so he will be working for me."

"Really? You are fine with that?"

"Yeah. There is enough place to live in this building. I'll get it repaired, and I get a few more workers whom I can work to the bone," Ai grinned, but this time it sent a chill down their spine, "Why would I not love it?"

"Right…" Naomasa held his head, looking towards the Mantis Man with pity, "Then we'll make a statement."