4th September, 22:19
Shigure stood at the airport with a trolley and a bag on his shoulders.
His thumb idly scrolled his phone.
'The MC… weirdly compelling.'
"What are you reading?" Shigure looked up and saw Hawks in his informal outfit and luggage similar to his own.
"A web novel." He briefly replied.
"Which one?" Shigure always hated this part.
'Still don't know why it bothers me so much.'
"Infin*te Mage."
"Hmm." Hawks hummed, moving in a particular direction. Shigure followed him.
"Is it worth reading?" "Depends."
They walked in silence before Hawks asked another question. "Doesn't reading novels... feel boring? I feel hesitant just reading a manga."
'Oh...so we are going to have that conversation.' Shigure, for some reason, felt deja vu.
At some point, he was in the same position as Hawks is today.
"Reading novels is not a choice, but an inevitability."
Hawks tilted his head. "Huh?"
"When you reach my level, you will feel like most of the new anime releases are boring. Initially, people read manga because they want to see what happens in the story when they can't wait a few years for the next season of anime to come out."
Hawks nodded at that.
"And the same things repeat with manga. When you are caught up, the only thing you can do to know what happens next is to read the novel."
"I guess."
"Doing that for a while, you would realise an inevitable truth. The quantity of novels is higher than the other two. Same for manga when compared to anime. Not all good stories get an adaptation. In fact, very few stories get adapted. This brings me the point that you have a lot of options in lower levels, which brings me to an—"
"I get it. I get it." Hawks stopped Shigure from yapping any further.
"Cool. Many people are ignorant about it. So, you can stand proud, for you are knowledgeable now."
Keigo's lips twitched. "We might need to proudly run now."
"Wdym?"
"Huh?" Keigo blinked.
"I meant, what do you mean?"
"Why are you talking in abbreviations?" Keigo asked, baffled.
"Ahem. You ignited my keyboard warrior instincts with that discussion. It seems to be a side-effect as I tend to speak unnecessarily long, which might be—"
"I get it. I get it. Just turn off your instincts. It's getting annoying. Also, look around."
Shigure glanced up—phones pointed, eyes locked on them. Some were also approaching them.
He instantly realised why.
Fans.
"Nigeru," he muttered, bolting alongside Keigo.
However, they were not the only ones who ran.
"He must be Hawks. Oh my god, he looks so hot in his casual wear."
"Who is the kid beside him? Maybe a relative?"
"I must get his autograph. He will soon be in the top 5, if not number 1. It's going to sell so well."
The fans started chasing the duo, seeing their running as confirmation that they were chasing the right person.
"Your fans are so rabid. Also, why are most of them ladies?" Shigure cursed. Multiple fans were blocking the gate in front.
"Haha. Jealous?" Keigo teased.
"Nah. All teenagers. Except that hot onee-san in the back." Shigure honestly answered.
"...Right." Wings came out from openings present in his jacket. He flapped his wings and in the next instant, he left the ground.
Shigure and the luggage also found themselves in the air with the help of feathers.
Seconds later, the mob flooded the spot they'd just left.
"Ahem."
Multiple shouts could be heard, silenced after Keigo cleared his throat.
"Guys, my heart melts seeing your unwavering support, even in an unexpected place."
Shigure snorted. In the next instant, he found himself under glares from below.
Hawks ignored that and continued. "As much as I want to interact with you, unfortunately, I have a flight to take. So, I would have to leave." He started waving his hand.
A lot of boos could be heard from the crowd.
"Are you leaving Japan? Did you get poached by some other country?"
"Please give me your autograph."
"Please have my babies."
Hawks paused, seeing the person who said that from the corner of his eyes, before flapping his wings and disappearing.
---
Shigure slumped into the leather-lined cabin seat.
"Woah, which plane are we taking? I didn't know private cabins were this luxurious, even if we are on an international flight."
"Private jet."
"..." Shigure froze completely.
"I didn't know that you earn that much. I could expect this from All Might or Endeavour, but this is a bit too ridiculous for you, who has been a hero for a few months only." He said a few moments later.
Keigo smirked, tired. "It's not mine. Just a person I saved once. He gave me a free pass as a gift, which I can use to travel."
"I want to become a hero," Shigure muttered, deadpan. 'Preferably one that saves billionaires.'
Keigo deadpanned. "What a burning motivation."
"Anyway. So, Hawks—"
"Keigo." Keigo interrupted him.
Shigure blinked. Twice.
"Right. So, Keigo... I forgot what I was going to say."
"Must not have been important." Keigo shrugged. "Speaking about money, shouldn't you be rich? You created that efficient training method a few years back. Right?"
Shigure's grin flickered into place. "Technically, I would have been if I had cooperated with a big corporation or something. But I sold it to the association directly. So, the money I made is quite meagre compared to what I could have."
"But, why did you do that?" Hawks tilted his head.
"I wasn't stable at that time and didn't trust myself to do some proper negotiations with any company at that time." Something unreadable crossed his face—gone in a blink.
"Anyway, another reason was that I wanted to earn some brownie points with the association for the future and public image in general for what I will do later."
Keigo nodded. "Also, you said your next project was related to architecture or something. Why isn't it mentioned in your fundraising for it?" He took out his phone and showed the webpage.
The only description written was that it was money for his next project.
No details on the project. No deadline. No expected time. As if he didn't care if you donated money or not.
The total money accumulated was at the top of the page.
939 Million Yen.
Below that, the top contributors to the page could be seen.
1. Yaoyorozu Corporations: 669 Million
2. Nezu: 200 Million
3...
"Intentional. Only the top bidders get the product."
Keigo scratched his chin, eyes narrowing. "That does make sense, though quite an unorthodox method. But, aren't you worried that I would tell that to the association, and they are also gonna participate in this?"
Shigure paused. He looked at Keigo in surprise. He let out a quiet laugh.
"That might be the funniest thing you've said all night."
Keigo raised a brow. "Seriously?"
"Hmm. There are 3 reasons for that." Shigure held out three of his fingers.
"Oh?"
"The first one is that it's unlikely that you are gonna do that. Let's say my instincts are acting up."
Hawks frowned, but didn't say anything. 'From what I have observed, he shouldn't be the kind of guy who relies on his instinct. Has he analysed me this much or does he know something that I don't?' His mind went into overdrive.
'Then again. Knowing him, he might have said that to mess with me.' Keigo stopped thinking when he saw a smirk on Shigure's face.
"The second reason is that even if you said to them, they won't spend that much money. Why? Well, the answer is simple." Shigure took Keigo's phone and scrolled down a bit before giving the phone back to Hawks.
Association- 2 Million Yen.
Keigo cringed as the pathetic figure lit up the screen.
'I am pretty sure they have earned at least a thousand times from Shigure's invention. Yet, they dared to donate this much. May as well, hadn't donated.'
He didn't need to guess why. Multiple groups present in association, wanting their piece of the pie.
"Third reason." Hawks looked at Shigure's grin. "I have a feeling that even if the Association decides to compete seriously, the other two would also compete, and the top 2 won't change. The only one profiting would be me."
"Wait, really?" Hawks asked, surprised. What Shigure was saying was not a light statement.
"Yup. Initially, those two had competed, though soon, Principal Nezu decided to exit that battle." Shigure said in a sad tone.
If they had competed longer, Shigure would be richer than he is today.
"I see." 'It seems the situation is not as simple as I thought.'
Shigure's eyes lit up, a grin blooming. "I just remembered what I was going to say earlier. Do you remember what one of your fans said when we were leaving?"
Suddenly, Hawks had a bad feeling.
Shigure pitched his voice high, mocking, "I want your babies.".
A tickmark appeared on Keigo's forehead.
"Did you see her? She was a freaking lady in 50s— a granny. Hahaha. I wonder if she's gone through menopause or not....pfft." Shigure uncontrollably laughed.
Every time he imagined Keigo and the lady together... It was too funny.
Keigo's temple pulsed. Again.
Before Shigure knew it, he got bonked.
"Ow—hey!"
***
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