Chapter 49 test and meetings and offers
Morning light filtered in through the narrow blinds, cutting thin lines across a plain, uniform room.
Two beds had been set up against opposite walls, the kind of standard issue setup that looked like it belonged more to a barracks than a guest space. One of them was still perfectly made. The other was a mess of tangled sheets and limbs tangled together.
Cid slowly woke first.
For a moment he just lay there, staring at the ceiling, the unfamiliar noise of a military base operating around them. Then he looked down and smiled.
Yui was still asleep against his chest, one hand resting loosely over his side, her breathing slow and even. Her hair was a little messy from sleep, and the oversized shirt that she basically owned at this point, had slipped slightly off one shoulder.
'I liked that shirt a lot too' he internally grumbled.
He watched her for a few seconds. then raised his hand to rest on her lower back rubbing in a circular motion, as his thoughts drifted to their talk from last night.
---
The room had been quiet except for the low hum of the air system. The two of them were laying in bed ready to go to sleep, when Yui suddenly voiced a question.
"Cid, Are you okay?" she asked as her hands linked with his.
Cid had stared up at the ceiling for a while before answering.
"…Yeah. It's just…" He exhaled through his nose. "Star's story was so close to mine, but so far from it at the same time. Like they were the inverse of each other. It got to me a little more than I expected."
He groaned quietly and dragged a hand down his face, then pressed his arm over his eyes in embarrassment.
"And then I went and said all of that stuff. Sorry. I didn't really want you to see that side of me."
Yui shook her head and shifted upwards, wrapping her arms around his head without hesitation wrapping around him.
"I decided before your training even started that I was going to support you," she said softly. "I know I'm not as strong as you. I probably never will be. But that's okay. I'm fine with being just as good as I can be." Her hand ran gently through his hair. "I want to help you achieve your goals. Whether they stay the same or change… I want to be there for them."
Cid eyes widened slightly at that, not used to her being so open like this.
Then the tension in his shoulders eased, and a small, genuine smile pulled at his mouth. He leaned up and kissed her softly.
"…Thank you, Yui, I mean it."
---
Back in the present
Yui shifted against him as a quiet yawn escaped her lips, then slowly blinked awake. For a second she just looked up at him, still half-asleep, before a soft smile spread across her face.
She glanced toward the clock on the wall, then back at him. A small, mischievous glint entered her eyes.
Leaning up, she started pressing light kisses against his jaw and neck, grinning at him.
"Morning."
Cid huffed a quiet breath and kissed her back. "Morning."
"We should get up," she said. "We still have a little time before we have anywhere to be~."
He made a low, reluctant sound and didn't move, not wanting to get out of bed.
Yui's grin widened. She slipped out of bed and walked towards the bathroom, glancing back over her shoulder while stretching purposely making it ride up.
"Oh well. I guess I'll just have to shower on my own then. What a shame~."
The bathroom door had barely started to swing shut behind her when the air faintly distorted.
Cid was there behind her.
He reached past her and shut the door firmly and pinned her there with one arm beside her head.
Yui turned, giving him a flat look as he stood there like this was the most serious thing he would do all day.
"…Did you really just use your Quirk for that?"
Cid nodded without any shame.
"It's a very important mission. I'm not going to be late for it."
"Well I agree this is pretty important~" she said leaning forward to kiss him.
Later that morning, Cid and Yui walked alongside Stars through one of the base's main administrative buildings that handled hero related work. The building was clean, utilitarian, and clearly designed more for function than comfort like most things on the base. A few personnel passed them with all of them stopping and saluting toward Stars out of respect which she returned with a grin.
She had already gone over the basic dos and don'ts of hero work in America with them on the way — nothing overly complicated, but enough to make the differences from Japan clear.
When they reached the testing area, Stars stopped and glanced between them.
"You'll be taking your tests in separate rooms," she said. "Nothing too hard. Just don't overthink it."
Cid and Yui gave small nods.
They were directed into different rooms a moment later.
30 minutes after he went in, Cid walked out not even slightly bothered by the test.
The written portion was straightforward, and the practical checks didn't take long either. When he stepped back out into the hall, one of the staff members was already waiting for him.
"Mr. Kageno, please follow me this way sir."
Instead of being led back toward the main waiting area, he was taken down a quieter hallway and shown into a different room entirely. It was noticeably more comfortable than the rest of the building. It had soft lighting, a low table, and 2 large couches set facing each other. It was clearly a meeting room.
Two people were already there.
One was an older woman in a formal suit, posture composed, expression unreadable but not unfriendly. The other was a man with turquoise skin, an elongated bald head, and bushy whiskers that gave him a distinctly unusual appearance. Even seated, he carried a calm, authoritative presence.
As Cid fully entered, the man stood.
"Cid Kageno," he said while walking over and extending his hand for a hand shake which Cid accepted. "I'm Commander Timothy Agpar. Thank you for coming and I apologize for not informing you of this prior, this meeting was rather…. Sudden for me as well."
He gestured lightly toward the older woman beside him.
"This is a representative from the American Hero Association. She's the one who'll be speaking with you primarily. I'm mostly here to sit in as this is my base and Cathleen has spoken highly of you so I wished to meet you as well."
Commander Agpar then gestured toward the couches and walked back to take his seat. Cid sat across from them, his posture was relaxed and casual, one arm resting along the back of the couch.
"I'll keep this brief," Agpar said. "We asked you here because there's an offer the Association wanted placed in front of you early during your stay. I'm mainly here to facilitate and because this is my base." He paused, giving Cid a moment.
Cid didn't say anything. He simply leaned back a little further, expression neither interested nor dismissive, and waited for them to continue.
Agpar gave a small nod and looked toward the woman beside him.
The representative folded her hands neatly in her lap and spoke in a calm, measured tone.
"On behalf of the United States government and the American Hero Association, I've been tasked with delivering a recruitment offer to you, Mr. Kageno." She met his eyes evenly. "I understand this is sudden. For that, I apologize. We felt it was better to put the offer on the table early on in your stay so you could consider it with a clear head during your time here, rather than springing it on you near the end of your stay."
"I also want to be transparent about something else. Before authorizing an offer of this level, a thorough review of your background was conducted. That review included parts of your past that are not publicly available as well as personal details that were private. I won't pretend that it wasn't intrusive, It was. but given the scale of what we knew of you and what we're prepared to offer, we needed to know exactly who we were dealing with. For that as well, I apologize."
Cid's expression didn't change much, other than a slight frown making its way on his face that disappeared quickly.
The representative reached into a slim folder beside her and slid a plain black card across the low table toward him.
"As a practical apology for the short notice of this meeting, all expenses during your stay here will be covered. This is available for your use while you're in the country only."
Cid looked down at the card for a moment, then reached out and took it.
'Well… if they're offering this I'll take it, I'm sure Yui will definitely put it to use.'
A faint, dry flicker of amusement passed through him before he slipped the card away and returned his attention to her.
"Now, as for the offer itself…"
She began laying out: the compensation package, which sat at a level normally reserved for top-10 heroes only, along with a substantial signing bonus that made even cid blink in surprise at the number. From there she moved through the additional support structures and benefits he would receive, then addressed the restrictions, making a point to highlight where they were prepared to give him more leeway than was typically allowed.
She did not rush, and she did not soften the less convenient parts either. She made sure to detail everything so as not to hide anything.
When she finished, the room settled into silence for a minute as Cid thought it over.
"Why me specifically?" he asked. His tone was flat. "And why be this upfront about everything?" He glanced between them. "Was Stars in on this?"
Agpar answered that last one immediately.
"No," he said firmly. "Cathleen had no idea this meeting was happening. This was a government decision. I want to make that clear, I don't want it affecting your relationship with her."
The representative picked up from there.
"You first caught our attention during the attack on Osaka. After that, we looked deeper. The idea of making an offer was discussed, but we had no interest in doing it remotely or while you were still on Japanese soil. That would have been poor form." She folded her hands again. "Your fight with Ms. Bate, followed by your arrival here, created a proper opportunity to place the offer in front of you directly."
She met his eyes.
"As for why we were upfront… we are aware of your history with the HSPC. Recruiting someone with that kind of past only to have them discover later that key details were withheld would be counterproductive. There is little point in acquiring talent if the first thing you do is give them a reason to resent you."
Cid was quiet for a few seconds, then gave a small nod, accepting they were telling the truth.
"I'll think about the offer," he said. "But even if I did consider it, I wouldn't be going anywhere without Yui."
"We accounted for that as well," the representative replied without hesitation. "We are prepared to extend a generous offer to her as well, and to provide full citizenship for you, her, and her family should you ever choose to accept."
Cid rubbed the back of his neck, exhaling through his nose.
"…Damn. You guys really did think of everything." He let his hand drop. "I'll think about it. But it's probably a no, to be honest."
The representative didn't look surprised or disappointed.
"That's perfectly fine. This was always intended as an open invitation. So long as you don't do anything extreme enough to force us to recede the offer, it will remain on the table."
Both of them rose. Agpar gave Cid a short, respectful nod.
"Thank you for your time, Mr. Kageno."
Cid stood as well and returned the nod. A moment later they left the room, the door closing quietly behind them.