A Certain Flying Head in MHA

It is the morning after I have arrived safely back in Academy City. Although this place has also been hit with the booster pandemic, it was a welcome suprise to know that not many streets were closed for ongoing repairs.

It's almost funny to see how fast people act like nothing happened as soon as the attacks are over.

I certainly enjoyed subdued academic atmosphere that befell this city. And I am most certainly also excited to spend my remaining vacation.

But with that said, I still have responsibilities to take care of. Which brings me back at the 177th Judgment branch office. After not seeing this place for a while, I was getting a tad bit nostalgic. I even brought back some snacks that I've acquired during my travels but all excitement faded as soon as I opened the door.

Paperwork.

Lots of it. Piled up high. Again.

I let out a sigh which grabbed the attention of the people inside. "I was barely gone for two weeks... How come there's this much stockpile already?"

Konori, who was the nearest person to the door at the time, was the one who responded first. "Ah... well, You see, There has been a spike in villain activity along with the recent trend of using [Trigger], which is a fast-acting quirk booster." She said while scratching her cheek. "In addition, there seems to be a influx of delinquency."

"In any case, it's good to have you back Shuzenji-san." Said Uiharu, who despite looking up from the screen, still continues to type.

"Right..." I said while looking around the office. "And Kuroko? I brought snacks for everyone."

"She doing her rounds as usual." Konori said as I handed her the snacks. "These look expensive, you really shouldn't have bought so much."

"It's fine." Scratching Nebi, the cat, behind the ears, I noticed the appearances of my friends and co-workers. The prim and proper way they handled themselves have taken a slight turn for the worse. Fatigue evident on their visage from their duties, no doubt.

"Right." I nod as a multitude of heads appear. "You girls take a break and enjoy yourselves. Me, myself and I, will handle all of these."

"But-" Uiharu tried to say something but I cut her off with a glare.

"No 'Buts'. Don't make me force either of you." I said while giving some of my heads pens for writing or chopsticks to type with. "It's clear that you girls haven't rested well, and we all know that I am legally allowed to force you to take a break so it would be in your best interests to do so. Am I clear?"

"Well... Alright." Konori sighed as she grabbed Uiharu by the shoulders and gently nudged her to the kitchenette. "You heard the healer, let's go indulge ourselves a bit, shall we?"

Smiling a bit, I started to work with a huff.

'They can be overenthusiastic at times.' I shrug while thinking about the last member of the 177th branch. 'Yanagisako-senpai is usually the one to reign them in when they drown themselves in their work but she's currently busy with her personal matters.'

It wasn't long after I started to work that someone came in amidst the flurry of heads.

"Perfect timing." I said, turning to Kuroko. "Write in a draft and I'll finish your report for you. Uiharu and Konori-senpai are taking a break in the kitchenette and I insist you do the same." I turned back to my work.

I wasn't taking no for an answer. One look and I can tell that she's been pushing herself just as much as the other two.

She didn't speak but I heard her move to a one of the chairs behind me, and now I hear the typing of the keyboard.

Truth be told, I still haven't gave her an explanation for the previous incident. And I may have forgotten about it as well. Fortunately, It didn't sour our current relationship, or at least, that's what I think... Things have been awkward.

There is little to explain in what had transpired. But it is also equally as difficult to come up with a plausible excuse to fool someone who is technically smarter than me. While I may have an army of heads at my beck and call, that does not equate to heightened intelligence.

I was shaken out of my musings by the nudge from a head of mine holding what I could only assume was the draft I requested. I took it and when back to work.

The trust and patience she shows is admirable to say the least, but non-physical confrontation has never been my forte. Someone else would typically cover for me in that department but this is something that I should do myself. The question is: how do to it and how much longer do I have left until her patience runs dry?

~~~~~~~~~~

'I ran away once more.'

To flee from the problem when left with no plan or excuse has been a habit ingrained from my first life.

'A born coward.'

Sighing, I put down my brush and simply continued to stare at the blank canvas. I had hoped to clam my nerves with paint but no image has come to mind.

'Procrastinating again?'

I think back to my talk with Nanna and remember the familiar face from within the cloud of smoke.

'Busying myself with something else is also an excuse, isn't it?'

I check my memories to try and remember when I saw it.

'I gonna lose them ag-' *Slap*

"It's a nice night. I'll go for a walk." Ignoring the stinging pain on my cheek and palm, I left my room in a hurry.

A few minutes of simply running in any direction, and jumping from platform to platform. It didn't matter where I'm headed so long as I kept moving. My steps eventually started to slow into an actual walk as I began to reprocess my thoughts.

It was when I landed on one of the building tops that I saw a bright light in the distance. It went away as quickly as it came.

When I extended my senses, I noticed that the burst of light was magical in nature. I wasn't in the mood or mental capacity to take care of it, but luckily enough, my senses caught a pair of other supernaturals that were already on their way.

'Yeah, not my problem.' I thought as I look up at the few stars in the sky. The light pollution making it harder for their light to shine through, as even the brightest ones are dimmed.

"Pssst~ Why so glum, Kii-kun?~" A mellow voice was heard beside me.

Looking over to my side, there didn't appear to be anyone. However, this voice was all too familiar to me.

"Nothing much." I shrug. "Just the same as usual. What brings you here, Mugi-chan?" I asked the silhouette.

Mugi-chan is a part of Hii-chan's group. Playful and likes to tease, she'd fit in on the alluring Nee-chan troupe. She appears to be an adolescent in shape and size wearing what she says to be a highschool uniform. With what she swears to be blonde hair in twin braids on both sides of her head and blue cyan eyes.

I only had her word for it, as Mugi-chan is a [Kage Onna]. She is, quite literally, a living shadow.

"There was a big light over there, right?~" She said in her usual sultry voice. "I was just taking a little stroll when I saw it~ Curious as I was, I wanted to take a tiny peek~ But then, but then~ I saw Kii-kun look all broody for a while now~ I went a little closer to check and then here we are~"

I look over at where her eyes should be. "You snuck out again, didn't you?" She turned her head and started whistling. "Didn't you?" I said once more in a slightly colder tone.

After a few seconds of increasingly colder staring, she cracked. "It was mission after mission!" She whined. "I wanna take a break too! I wanna go explore nicer places! Not just gaudy rooms and bloodstained walls, I wanna relax somewhere cuter! I wanna-" Complaint after complaint came out.

I understand how she feels. Healers are in high demand just as much as any good scout. After all, you would not have any need for a healer to help with injuries if you simply never get them in the first place.

Because of her nature, being a shadow and all, she can scout most places completely undetected and almost without any risk.

Even I am unable to sense her. She is a sentient shadow, her body is the shadow. What we see is akin to a reflection of her true self that lies within the realm of the lightless. In other words, we might be in the same stack of papers but we're in different layers. We can still interact with each other because shadows are a part of reality itself.

"You could've asked for a day off."

"..." She --I can only assume-- owlishly blinks at me. "Kii-kun, you're a genius!!"

I could only roll my eyes at her. "Stop acting. I know you're smart enough to do something like that." If she was that dumb, she would not be able to scout for traps and ambushes properly.

I can feel a grin form in her silhouette as she wraps one of her arms around my shadow's shoulder. Even if it was my shadow, I somehow felt a very, very light weight on my own shoulder. "Don't be such a strickler, Kii-kun~ How would you find yourself a girl if you're being so boring?~" She laughed. "Besides, look! You're smiling a bit now, see?~ All that glum and gloom, gone in the wind~"

"You're still gonna get scolded by Reiko-nee." I chuckled a bit as I waved her arms off.

"Boo~ Don't be such a boring spoilsport~" She visibly pouted before she seemingly remembered something. "Speaking of boring, I found one of those suspicious science-y places. It was around XXXXXXXX. I didn't look into it since I was just passing by during a hunt. I didn't sense anything that bad so it probably isn't too important~"

"Noted. I check it out later, then." I nod. "Does anyone else know about it?"

"Yup!~ Since it wasn't magic, Rei-chan said to inform you instead~" She gives me a grin? And a peace sign from her fingers. "I'll go continue my walk~ See you around, Kii-kun~" She said before speeding off, not giving me a chance to wave her goodbye.

"Free spirited as always..." I mutter as I continue my previous thoughts.

'Yeah, totally seen that priestess somewhere...' Scratching my head in confusion, I kept walking. 'Priestess... Priestess... A priestess... Neo-Shintoism... Shinto? A shrine!'

I froze as I finally recalled where I've seen it.

'It was from the shrine!' Realization dawned on me. 'The old pictures from the shrine in Kyoto. No wonder I almost forgot, it's been years since I last saw those. Anyway, I probably have them stored in my old house so I should check them out. Maybe there's a clue that can lead me to them... Or an explanat-'

*Vrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr- Click*

My thoughts were interrupted by my buzzing phone. One glance from the caller ID and I immediately answered it.

"Sure, on my way." I hung up before conjuring and leaping onto a head and taking off.

The one that call me was Hevun-sensei. He directly went to the point instead of exchanging pleasantries which meant that it was an emergency. Apparently, a patient was being transported over.

Normally, with his skill and expertise, he wouldn't require my help but the patient had suffered a severe form of direct brain damage and needed immediate attention.

Healing this sort of injury required gentle and gradual healing from technology and time, one of which was severely lacking.

'Brain damage... Why does that seem familiar for some reason?'