ALL NOVEL Press Conference.
[Next Day, Danjuro's Apartment, 4 PM]
The scene inside the living room of Danjuro's Apartment is very lively. La Brava and Danjuro are lost in their world of talking where they are discussing what they will do with the 5M Yen they got as the Mission Rewards. Initially, they were reluctant on taking the money, but after an enlightening lecture on 'how money is important for Vigilantes', they accepted the money. It was 5M Yen each.
Knuckleduster will leave the city around 8 PM (Evening Rush Hour) and Shido will leave the city with Eri in a taxi. All were preparing and Eri was watching her new favorite show Tom and Jerry on the tablet. Eri's outfit is changed to a white dress shirt with a frilled collar and a plain red pinafore with two large, golden buttons on either side of her chest. Under this, she wears gray tights and a large set of tan boots, and a small dark red messenger bag with the strap sitting over her right shoulder, and a little floral pattern decorating one of its sides.
It was surprising that Eri was now quite open in front of the team, she was very open and friendly especially towards Danjuro and La Brava, as the two have a very outright personalities with a lot of happiness around them, making it attractive to children. It was surprising to see her adapt to her surrounding this easily, considering the fact she was rescued from a Yakuza less than a day ago.
Looking at her happily watching cartoons like any other normal kid, made a sense of satisfaction and fulfillment in Shido, as he was finally able to save the little girl, unlike the result he saw in his dream.
'I am an anti-hero vigilante, a mixture of good and evil. I have done various good things until now. Time for some evil. My first target will be you, little girl.'
Shido, then quickly took the tablet from Eri's hand and put it inside the Inventory. Eri took some time to register what happened, she tried to grasp where the laptop was in her hand, but she couldn't grasp anything. Tears started forming in the little girl's eyes, then she looked towards Shido, with a tearful face, the tears threatening to fall at any time.
'Jokes aside, I will have to consider how to raise her, I can't spoil her too much by fulfilling her every wish or she will become a spoiled brat in the future with daddy issues.'
Shido looked towards Eri, who had tears in her eyes, he steeled his heart and said.
"You have been watching cartoons for hours, It's harmful to your eyes."-Shido
Eri didn't say anything, just lowered her head and nodded. To which, Shido sighed and patted her head. She looked upwards, thought her tears changed the thoughts of the 'evil' man. But her hopes were crushed when the 'evil' man only patted her head and did nothing else.
After some time of patting, Shido stretched a clenched palm towards Eri. She looked at Shido, who didn't say anything.
"What is in it?"-Eri
"Who knows, why don't you see for yourself?"- Shido
Eri tapped on the clenched palm and the palm opened up, only to show an empty hand. Eri was silent then she looked up at Shido.
"It's empty."-Eri
"Are you sure about that?"-Shido
Eri then again looked at Shido's hand, only to find a Vanilla Pastry Cake with strawberries on a small plate. Eri's tears seem to vanish and a smile appeared on her face. Eri wanted to take the Cake but she asked
"Is it for me?"-Eri
Shido nodded. The little girl used her little hands to take the cake from Shido's hand and walked away from him, not wanting her cake to be taken away suddenly when she is enjoying the taste. While walking away, Eri turned
"Thank You"-Eri
Shido sighed and walked towards Knuckleduster who was watching TV. Knuckleduster has already made himself comfortable, sitting on the couch with only a black shirt, his wrap-around black mask, and jeans having a beer can in his hands, sipping beer from it occasionally while watching the TV.
"Aren't you a good role model for Kids, Uncle Knuckle? Drinking beer in the evening while a kid is present in the same apartment."-Shido
"I prefer to be open, which helps me to adapt to my surroundings which makes me feel comfortable, unlike you creep, who is wearing that costume since the start of the raid."-Knuckleduster
"Well... the suit is made of Sweat-Resistant and Sweat-Absorbing material and the suit has good aeration, so it's not that bad to wear the suit for a longer period of time."-Shido
"Why don't you admit it, you are a creep who likes to scare people in the darkness of night."-Knuckleduster
"When did I do that?"-Shido
"You just jumped in front of me in that dark alley when I defeated a villain."-Knuckleduster
Shido understood Knuckleduster was mentioning their first meeting. He was waiting for Knuckleduster to defeat a villain on a roof and when Knuckleduster defeated the villain, he jumped in front of him.
"You were scared by that?"-Shido
"I was not, but if somebody else was there, they would've been scared. Seeing a man in a black full-body costume with katanas on his back in the middle of the night is not a good sight."-Knuckleduster explained but Shido's attention was not on the explaination.
"You were scared right?"-Shido
"No, I was not!!"-Knuckleduster
"Yeah, you were scared by me. Why don't you admit it? Every person has something they fear, no need to be ashamed of it."-Shido
"NO, I WAS NOT!!! and even I'm scared of something, you are not one of them."-Knuckleduster.
Shido wanted to piss Knuckleduster more, but they were interrupted by the announcement on the TV.
:: The HPSC has decided to hold a press conference about the two explosion incidents that happened in Hosu city. The press conference will start at 4:30 PM. Watch NHA news for further updates on the conference. ::
Knuckleduster and Shido looked at each other, then called La Brava who was eating cake with Eri, and Danjuro who was further improving his tea-making skills. Eri was sent to another room with the tablet.
After waiting for half an hour, the press conference finally started. Team Night Raid was present on the couch in front of the TV, to watch the press conference. On the screen, four people sitting in formal black suits were about to start the conference.
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:: First, I would like to thank all the news reporters who responded to our sudden invitation for today's press conference, but we had to respond to the public's questions as soon as possible::- HPSC official
:: I will brief what we know of the incidents from the investigations first. In the First Incident, it was a fight between a Yakuza clan and a criminal gang as there was a dispute of territory distribution. The Hive gang attacked the Shie Hassaikai base and the explosion was a part of the attack. The perpetrators used explosives with a detonator to blow the base when the heroes and police reached the scene in record time. Both sides of the fight have suffered huge losses, as found in the investigation::-HPSC Officer
He paused to let the reporters present digest the given information. After some time, he continued
:: In the second event, The explosion was a result of a fight between a Villain and the Vigilante Night Slash::-HPSC Officer
As soon as the sentence left his mouth, the order in reporters went haywire, as they started talking amidst themselves. Fights between villains and heroes are a hot topic even if it happens quite frequently. And the Vigilante Night Slash had created sensations, when he hunted high-level Villains in various cities, for 7 days continuously. The incident is popularly known as 'Villain-Slaughter Week'. Very little is known about the Vigilante as he hunts during nights and only witness sketches are available to describe his appearance.
The HPSC officer coughed twice, to garner the attention of the reporters back to him.
:: When the police reached, the fight was over and the Vigilante had escaped but an officer was able to record him in his Body Cam. Here is a picture of him. ::-HPSC Officer
The lights of the venue dimmed down and a picture of Night Slash was projected on the screen. The cameramen present quickly took pictures. After some time, the lights of the venue brightened up again.
:: After the investigation, we conclude that the villain had taken a contraband drug which made his quirk unstable, and transformed him into a monster-looking figure. The fight ended with the defeat of the villain, the villain after died due to the combined effect of the extreme enlargement of his body beyond his limits and blood thickening, the side effect of the drug which slowed down his blood circulation, which ultimately stopped the blood to be transported to various parts of his body::-HPSC Officer
:: After the incident, it has shown that various Yakuza clans and criminal gangs have started to cause more crimes than before, so the police, Pro-Heroes association, and the HPSC have decided to set up a combined force to arrest the mentioned gangs and their associates. It is illegal to use your quirk in public places without any license from the Commission, which the Vigilante Night Slash has done several times. He also killed several high-level villains without trial, by taking the law into his own hands. The Joint force will also look for the Vigilante and arrest him::-HPSC Officer
After the briefing was over, the HPSC officer stood up and bowed a little towards the reporters, and left with his colleagues, without even listening to the questions of the reporters. The Press conference thus ended.
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In the apartment, Knuckleduster, Danjuro, and La Brava were looking at Shido, who was looking at the TV.
'Not only they didn't antagonize me for killing Overhaul but also revealed that I defeated the Villain, which indirectly means them saying I saved people.' Shido thought
'What the hell!!??'