The agency was different that day.
Louder. More energy. People moving faster through the hallways. Sidekicks she'd never seen before checking credentials at the elevator. The operations floor had been cleared—only essential personnel.
Something big was happening.
She knew what it was. The briefing. The raid. But knowing and seeing were different things.
The conference room was on the third floor. She'd never been inside. Didn't even know it existed until Hana had sent her the message this morning: Briefing 2 PM. Conference room 3-A. Don't be late.
She wasn't late.
She was ten minutes early.
Standing outside the door. Listening to voices inside.
Deep voices. Authoritative. The kind that commanded rooms without trying.
She opened the door.
And stopped.
The room was packed.
Twenty people. Maybe more. Half of them in hero costumes. Half in suits.
And not just any heroes.
Best Jeanist was near the head of the table. Older now. Hair still perfect. That ridiculous high collar. He'd retired from active duty three years ago. Took a position with the Hero Public Safety Commission. Strategy and operations. Everyone said he was the reason the commission had stopped being corrupt. Mostly stopped, anyway.
Edgeshot was next to him. Quieter. Leaner. He'd stepped back after the war too. Some injury that never fully healed. Now he consulted. Trained. Showed up when things were serious.
Hawks was by the window. Arms crossed. No wings anymore—lost them in the final battle. But he still stood like he could fly. Still had that sharp look in his eyes. He'd taken over as President of the HPSC two years ago. Youngest person to ever hold the position. The hero community either loved him or hated him. No in-between.
Police were there too. Detectives in suits. The serious kind. Organized crime division, probably.
And then the active heroes.
Red Riot was leaning against the wall. Grinning at something Suneater was saying. Tamaki looked uncomfortable. He always looked uncomfortable. Ranked in the top 15 now but still acted like he wanted to disappear.
Shoto was sitting at the table. Calm. Expressionless. He'd cut his hair recently. Shorter on the sides. It made the scar more visible. He didn't seem to care.
And Bakugo.
Dynamight.
Standing at the head of the table. Arms crossed. Scowling at a tablet someone had handed him. He was in full costume. Gauntlets and all. Like he'd just come from a fight. Or was about to start one.
Amaya stepped inside.
Nobody noticed.
Or maybe they did and didn't care.
She found a seat near the back. Next to some police officer she didn't recognize. Tried to make herself small.
Her heart was pounding.
This was insane.
She was rank 108. She didn't belong in rooms like this. Rooms with people who'd fought in the war. People who'd saved the country. People whose names everyone knew.
Kamiko was here too. Sitting closer to the front. A few other sidekicks from the agency. But most of the faces were unfamiliar. Other agencies. Other jurisdictions.
The door closed.
Hawks pushed off from the window. Walked to the front.
"Alright. Let's get started."
His voice cut through the noise. Everyone shut up immediately.
"Thanks for coming," Hawks said. "I know this is short notice. But we've got a situation that needs handling now, not next week."
He nodded to someone near the projector.
The lights dimmed.
A map appeared on the screen. Hosu City. Red markers scattered across the industrial district.
"Three months ago, we started getting reports of missing persons," Hawks said. "Mostly young adults. Quirks ranging from low-level emitter types to some heavy hitters. No pattern we could track. Different neighborhoods. Different backgrounds. Different agencies handling the cases."
He clicked to the next slide.
Photos. Missing people. Twenty of them. Maybe more.
"Two weeks ago, one of them turned up." Hawks's voice was flat now. Colder. "Alive. Barely. Quirk suppressed. Physically intact but mentally... not great. She gave us a location before she stopped talking."
The map zoomed in. A warehouse complex on the eastern edge of Hosu.
"Trafficking ring," Hawks said. "We don't know how big. We don't know who's running it. What we do know is they've got at least fifteen hostages in that building. And they've got backing."
"Backing?" someone asked. One of the detectives.
"Yakuza remnants," Best Jeanist said. He stood. Moved to the front. "The Shie Hassaikai is gone. Overhaul is in Tartarus. But the infrastructure didn't disappear. It fractured. Smaller groups. Independent operators. This is one of them."
"How many hostiles are we expecting?" Edgeshot asked.
"Estimate is thirty to forty," Jeanist said. "Mix of quirk users and support personnel. Armed. Organized. They've got defensive positions set up. Cameras. Patrols. They know heroes might come eventually."
"Eventually's now," Bakugo said.
Everyone looked at him.
He was still scowling at the tablet.
"We hit them tomorrow night," he continued. "Late. Three AM. They'll have skeleton crew on watch. Most of them asleep."
"Coordinated entry," Jeanist said. "Four teams. Alpha takes the north entrance. Beta the south. Gamma secures the perimeter. Delta is hostage extraction."
Hawks pulled up another slide.
Team assignments.
Alpha Team: Dynamight (Lead), Red Riot, Cellophane, Amethyst, three others she didn't recognize.
Her name was there.
On screen.
Next to Bakugo's.
Her breath caught.
"Alpha team is breach and suppress," Hawks said. "You go in loud. Draw attention. Keep the hostiles focused on you while Delta moves in from the east side to pull the hostages."
"Beta team is containment," Jeanist added. "Anyone tries to run, you stop them. Non-lethal if possible. Lethal if necessary."
"Gamma is overwatch," Edgeshot said. "You're watching the perimeter. Drones. Thermal imaging. If something moves that we didn't plan for, you call it in."
Shoto was on Beta. Suneater on Gamma.
"Delta is me," Hawks said. "And a small extraction unit. We get in quiet. Get the hostages out. You'll have ten minutes from breach to evac. Any longer and the whole thing turns into a siege."
"What about quirk suppressors?" someone asked.
"Assume they have them," Jeanist said. "The victim we recovered had suppressor cuffs on. Military-grade. If you get caught, you're fighting quirkless."
Silence.
"Questions?" Hawks asked.
Kirishima raised his hand. "What's the ROE if they start using hostages as shields?"
"Prioritize civilian safety," Jeanist said. "But don't let that paralyze you. These people are professionals. They'll exploit hesitation."
"Rules of engagement are simple," Bakugo said. "Don't kill anyone unless they're about to kill you or a civilian. Otherwise, put them down hard enough they stay down."
"Bakugo," Hawks said. Tired. Like they'd had this conversation before.
"What? You want me to lie?"
"I want you to sound less like you're planning a murder."
"I'm planning a raid. Murder's just a possibility."
A few people laughed.
Not many.
Hawks sighed. "Anything else?"
Amaya's hand moved before her brain caught up.
She raised it.
Hawks looked at her. "Yeah?"
Her mouth was dry.
"What's the fallback plan if Alpha team gets pinned down?"
Good question. Smart question.
Hawks nodded. "Beta team moves up. Gamma provides suppression fire. Delta aborts extraction and regroups with Alpha."
"And if Beta's engaged?" she asked.
"Then we're fucked," Bakugo said.
"Then we adapt," Hawks corrected. Glared at Bakugo. "Police backup is staged two blocks out. They move in if we call for it. But the goal is to not need them."
Amaya nodded.
Lowered her hand.
Felt everyone's eyes on her for a second.
Then they moved on.
"Gear check is tomorrow. 1400 hours," Jeanist said. "Make sure your comms are synced. Make sure your costumes are prepped. Make sure you've slept."
"Dismissed," Hawks said.
Chairs scraped.
People stood.
Conversations started immediately. Low. Serious.
Amaya stayed in her seat.
Watched the room empty.
Kirishima was talking to Bakugo. Something about entry points. Bakugo was listening. Actually listening. Not just waiting to yell.
Shoto walked past her. Didn't look at her. Just left.
Suneater followed him. Still looked miserable.
The police filtered out. Then the support staff.
Kamiko stopped by her chair. "You ready for this?"
Amaya looked up.
"Yeah."
"Good. Stick close to Bakugo. He's aggressive but he knows what he's doing. Don't try to be a hero. Just do your job."
Don't try to be a hero.
Weird thing to say to a hero.
But Amaya nodded anyway.
Kamiko left.
The room was almost empty now.
Just her.
And Bakugo.
And Kirishima.
They were still talking. Near the front. Bakugo was pointing at something on the map. Kirishima was nodding.
She stood.
Started to leave.
"Tsukino."
She stopped.
Turned.
Bakugo was looking at her.
"You asked a good question," he said.
That was—
That was a compliment.
Right?
"Thanks."
"Don't let it go to your head." He turned back to the map. "Go home. Get rest. Tomorrow's gonna be long."
"Understood."
She left.
Walked down the hallway.
Down the stairs.
Out of the building.
Her hands were shaking.
Not from fear.
From adrenaline.
From the fact that she was going on a raid.
A real raid.
With Bakugo.
And he'd said she asked a good question.
...
She was not going to survive this.
Not the raid.
The proximity.
Being on his team. Following his orders. Watching him work up close.
She pulled out her phone.
Opened her notes.
Updated the list.
Things to prepare for the raid:
Review close-quarters combat techniques ✓Practice sustained crystal formations ✓Check gear for damageSleep more than 4 hours the night beforeDon't embarrass yourselfDon't dieDon't stare at BakugoSeriously don't stareRemember how to breathe when he talks to you
She stared at the last item.
Deleted it.
...
Left it deleted.
She wasn't going to need a reminder.
She was going to be professional.
Focused.
Competent.
She was going to do the job.
And she was absolutely, definitely, not going to think about the way his voice had sounded when he'd said her name.
Not at all.
...
Fuck.