Late April,
Nighteye Agency
Sir Nighteye hung up the call, an unsettling expression flashing across his eyes.
He put down his elbows on the table in his office and crossed his hands in front of his mouth, entering into a deep contemplative state.
… What was going on?!
Sir Nighteye couldn't help but notice his loudly beating heart.
On his crossed fingers, he sensed a touch of wetness, sweat trickling down his head despite the cool temperature in his office.
All he wanted to do at this moment was to close his eyes and think…
But, Sir Nighteye, the man who could see the future with his Quirk, dared not close his eyes. Not anymore. Because every time he did that, a shadowy being flashed across his mind, resurrecting the trauma of that day.
Sir Nighteye acutely knew just what kind of condition he was suffering from.
Panic. Dread. Terror of an unknown mystery…
It was a miracle that he was managing to sleep these days.
But that, too, was with the help of sleeping pills.
As if that wasn't shameful enough, all those sleeping pills were clouding his judgment during the day, actively impeding his Hero work.
Just like now, when he was supposed to contemplate the dooming call rather than think of how to sleep better.
Letting out a sigh, Sir Nighteye pressed the buzzer on his table.
If he couldn't think it over by himself, then he had no choice but to do that with the help of others.
Nothing. Absolutely nothing should, and could, prevent him from doing his Hero work.
Because every moment wasted by him meant someone, somewhere would suffer the consequences of his egotistical decisions.
"Yes, Sir?" Bubble Girl's voice echoed from the speaker.
"Call everyone to my office in ten minutes," Sir Nighteye ordered. "… and bring a cup of coffee, too."
…
By the time Mirio entered Sir Nighteye's office, Centipeder and Bubble Girl were already standing in front of the table, the leader himself pacing left and right with a cup of coffee in his hand.
The small, amusing smile on Lemillion's face instantly vanished.
This was… not how Sir Nighteye usually, and even unusually, behaved.
The last time he had seen the leader so unsettled was in the hospital, watching the clip of Dr. Blessed's miraculous declaration related to All Might.
"Everything alright, Sir?" Mirio asked, joining his colleagues.
Sir Nighteye, finishing his coffee, put down the cup and looked at the three of them.
"Lemillion," he asked, looking at Mirio, "brief me on your investigation related to the Quirk-Destroying Drug."
The Sidekick frowned but did as he was asked.
"Still nothing…" Mirio replied, thinking about how the matter was related to the Yakuza. "I had been following the trail that led to the Yakuza Organization, Shie Hassaikai. But, a week before UA's Sports Festival, that trail went cold. Ever since then, I have heard absolutely nothing on either the drug or the Yakuza… or any incident related to them. It's like…"
"It's like they have vanished…" Sir Nighteye finished, unable to hide the tremor in his voice.
Things became even more disastrous given the fact that it had been weeks since the UA's Sports Festival ended, and they still had not heard anything.
Villains like them didn't experience a change of heart all of a sudden.
Especially when such Villains had a drug on their hands that could cause mass panic.
And, no matter how much Sir Nighteye admired All Might, he refused to believe that the retired Symbol of Peace's smirk had scared those goons, either.
"Sir…" Centipeder, the oldest of the Sidekicks, asked, "… what is troubling you?"
Sir Nighteye sat down in his chair, realizing how bad he must look for even his subordinates to worry about him.
"I got a call," he told them. "From the USA."
That made all of the Sidekicks raise their brows.
Even Mirio, who had become dead sure Sir Nighteye was troubled because of the Yakuza's sudden, ominous practice of inaction, was shocked to hear America's name.
"It was Skycrawler from the CC Agency," Sir Nighteye said. "He contacted me after finding out from the Hero Public Safety Commission that it was us who were investigating a drug that supposedly destroys Quirks."
So… it was related, Mirio confirmed, a nervous feeling bubbling in his heart as well.
As the Agency had failed to get its hands on solid proof related to the Quirk-Destroying Drug, its presence in the Yakuza's hands was only a theory for now. It was their duty to prove that theory and raid the organization, apprehending all criminals once and for all.
Who would have thought that the underground organization would go even deeper into the blackness, erasing all trails?
"Skycrawler was the one who came with Captain Celebrity around the Kamino Incident, right, Sir?" Bubble Girl asked.
Sir Nighteye nodded.
He could see the question written on his Sidekicks' faces.
That was good, because reading their faces let him think without the fear of falling asleep and seeing the shadow of a demon, seated majestically above the gray fog.
"Skycrawler's Agency is also investigating a drug," Sir Nighteye told them. "Compound Monocle, they are calling it. The mysterious organization behind the drug treats humanity as a disease. It preaches that to attain true freedom from this false humanity's shackles, they must lose their Quirks first and then discard their humanity by consuming Compound Monocle."
"…" Bubble Girl and Centipeder exchanged glances.
"Who would believe such lunacy, Sir?" Centipeder asked.
Mirio thought otherwise. He instantly related the matter to Sir Nighteye's troubled face and his mention of the Yakuza beforehand, coming to a shocking, dooming conclusion. But, to make sure, he asked it anyway.
"What does the Compound Monocle do?" Lemillion asked.
Sir Nighteye looked right into Mirio's eyes and… sighed.
"Compound Monocle is the exact opposite of the Quirk-Destroying Drug," he told them, making their faces pale. "It bestows some strange powers… forcing people to pray to some… God? Demon? Who knows…"
"And?" Mirio asked, knowing there must be more—something more serious than what was already shared with them.
Sir Nighteye closed his eyes.
"A shipment of Compound Monocle has just left the USA two weeks ago," he confirmed, "… for Japan."