"Why do I feel like you don't want to be here, young man?"
Koichi, walking next to Star and Stripe — USA's No. 1 Hero and, perhaps, the strongest Pro in the entire world after All Might's retirement — lost the rhythm of his pace upon hearing that question.
Then, he almost fell.
It was hard to get a hold of himself, especially while wearing the chunky astronaut suit.
Star reached down, towering like a skyscraper over Koichi's small figure, and grabbed the back of his suit, lifting him and gently placing him on his feet.
"Be careful," she said, smiling. "Falling before such a momentous event will be… bad luck."
Koichi smiled wryly.
"So—" Star asked once they resumed their journey to the spaceship, "—what's up?"
Koichi looked over his shoulder briefly and saw dozens of scientists and engineers following them, including some big names and personalities.
He drew near to Star, trusting not a single one of them anymore.
"It's Compound Monocle," Koichi admitted. "Only yesterday I found out that the drug is getting shipped internationally… on Government vessels. I reached out to reliable Hero Agencies in those nations, but…"
Star frowned instantly.
When she had heard of it, she had not thought much of it, if she was being honest with herself.
Just another psycho organization, trying to force its insane ideology over innocent people. The Quirk-bestowing drug? Maybe just a result of another Quirk itself, no? Like all organizations in the drug business, the organization behind the Compound Monocle must be looking to get people addicted to it, Star had believed.
But, no.
There was something different about Compound Monocle.
It was just… Star hadn't had the time or resources to put her finger on what.
If it weren't for the mission related to The Boundary, and given its overarching significance, she would have already dropped everything to direct her Agency toward the drug, too.
"… But?" Star asked, behaving as if the Compound Monocle hadn't troubled her. Sometimes, to give youngsters like Skycrawler hope and courage, it was necessary. "You wanted to chase the lead by yourself?"
Koichi looked up suddenly, surprised at the Pro reading his thoughts.
Then, taking a deep breath, he nodded. "I have full trust in various Pros of the CC Agency," he said, clarifying. "There are some overseas people whom I trust equally. But… Compound Monocle… there's something evil about it."
"Evil?" Star raised her brows.
This was the first time she had heard a Pro Hero describing this particular drug to her as such.
Koichi, though, put his head down, his face gaining a grave, pale color.
"Evil," he repeated, nodding. "From its nature, you would think that it bestows similar powers to everyone. But that's not the case. I have chased down the past of all those we managed to capture. There's no link between any of those consumers. Most of them had gained wildly different abilities, too. Nothing… No link. No similarity. Except…"
Koichi looked up and found Star looking back at him with a dead serious expression.
"Except?"
"Except…" Koichi told her. "… they all were praying to some God for bestowing them with those abilities."
This guy… Star realized, taking long strides. … is good.
"Dr. Blessed?" she asked, knowing well what Koichi was pointing at.
Koichi nodded several times. "Dr. Blessed is the only He… Villain," he said, breaking off, realizing that he had just called the International Criminal a Hero accidentally. He glanced at Star, but couldn't tell if she'd caught onto it or not. "He is the only Villain who has openly admitted to doing the bidding of a God."
"Mr. Fool," Star remembered.
"I began digging into the religious history of our planet after his public declaration," Koichi admitted. "Unlike today's times, religion was a big thing before Quirks. However, even then, a God's presence had remained publicly debatable, with absolutely no proof of any true, godly existence. Needless to say, there was no mention of Mr. Fool. I can understand if Dr. Blessed is trying to use this religious tactic to gather followers…"
Star scoffed. "A good tactic, given how well it is playing out…"
In the USA alone, hundreds of thousands of people openly prayed to Mr. Fool, asking for his benevolence everyday, according to Daily Times.
Just how many of such people would be in the entire world?
That's what happened when someone tied a miracle to the Symbol of Peace, though, Star knew.
"Yeah…" Koichi licked his lips. "… what I can't understand is why he is so fixated on Mr. Fool? Why not an old religion that existed in the past, and still continues? Also, why not start with an obscure place, instead of gathering international attention against him by associating himself with big names? It's almost like either he's totally a lunatic and fanatic, or…"
"Or…" Star narrowed her eyes, "… he is just a fanatic."
And that would make the presence of Mr. Fool realer than she had wanted it to be.
"Because," Koichi continued, wording Star's worst thoughts, "if Mr. Fool is real, then this evil God to whom all these drug-abusers pray…"
The last part, even he didn't dare say, in fear of it coming true.
Star looked ahead, the massive rocket getting bigger in her vision, people swarming the two of them from all sides.
"When we have returned," she told the Hero, "I will direct my Agency to give you its full assistance in bringing down this menace once and for all."
Koichi's eyes widened.
"…I …" he stuttered. Then, he sighed, smiling. "Thank you."
"Haha!" Star and Stripe let out a boisterous laugh, slamming the guy's back. "Now cheer up. Let's focus on the current job. I know they haven't told you our real mission. But, believe me when I say it, it is far more important than you imagine."
Koichi had a feeling that he saw a nervous twitch at the corner of Star's eyes.
But… that couldn't be true, right? Just what could make the strongest Pro on the planet nervous? Was it related to the mission to land on the moon? Had they lied to him that they needed his Quirk to push the rocket across the last stretch near the moon?
Or…
Koichi looked at the rocket through the blinding flashes of the camera.
… was the entire mission a lie, to begin with?!