Demon's Charity Time! (Open)

Isamu grumbled a little to himself, adjusting his tie—okay, fidgeting with his tie—for the umpteenth time. He hated getting dressed up like this. His U.A. school uniform was tolerable, because it had the status of the hero school to go with it, and his status as a potential hero. The plain black slacks and suit jacket, and the white shirt, on the other hand… He looked ridiculous. And he’d look ridiculous when sitting at the table at the charity dinner watching his parents bid on… whatever it was they were going to bid on. He had glanced at the website but nothing there had particularly interested him. So that meant an entire night of trying to be polite and civil while ignoring whispers (that he could hear perfectly well) of how cute he was, dodging attempts to be pet, and pointedly not scowling when people commented on his hero parents bringing their pet to the auction.

Of course, he wouldn’t even be going to this thing in the first place if it hadn’t been for his parents. Of course, they normally concerned themselves with matters in Osaka, but had made a trip to Musutafu for business reasons. Of course they had brought his younger sister along, as well, and since four of the five family members were going to be in the same area together, they had leaned on his older brother for a small family get together.

Isamu could have done without seeing Kenichi, but was more than happy to see how Kimiko was getting along. He didn’t think of himself as an overly sappy person, but he did have to admit—privately, to nobody but himself—that he did miss his family a little. Osaka was just far enough away by train to make a single day trip not too feasible, and even a weekend trip was a little tight. And he had skipped returning home on a break or two in order to study or train, so in all fairness he was overdue to see them again. He did keep in touch via e-mail and phone calls, but it just wasn’t the same. He didn’t think of himself as an overly sappy person, but he had to admit—privately, and to himself, where nobody else could hear—that he did miss them somewhat. Except for Kenichi.

Well, maybe Kenichi a little bit.

They weren’t an easy sight to miss as they walked into the auction—well, save for Isamu, who far too easily fell below waist level of almost anyone else around save for children. His father, the animal hero Beast King, probably towered over most others at the auction, his Lion quirk granting him far enhanced stature and musculature, such that even his tailored suit still looked like he was stuffed into it. His mother, the hero Tiger Lily, was only just shorter than her husband but no less fearsome for her Tiger quirk, currently wearing a red one-shoulder dress. His older brother, Kenichi, inherited both of his parents’ quirks as the still-impressive Liger quirk, showing a blend of their appearances but still possessing the same brawny build they did. He hadn’t quite caught up to them in raw strength and power, but he was well on his way. He, too, was stuffed into a suit.

His little sister Kimiko had inherited their mothers’ Tiger quirk full stop. She was in middle school, and while she didn’t have the raw muscle her mother did, at least not yet, she still towered at least a few heads above most of her classmates, enough to invite the occasional comments and gossip. And, of course, it meant she towered over Isamu, too, though she showed great deference to her older brother. She was wearing a simple green dress.

Of the five of them, his parents were probably the most recognizeable. They had worked as a husband-and-wife pro hero team for quite a long time now, though Kenichi was starting to make a name for himself.

The group made their donations for the meal, then found their way inside to find a table, order dinner, and start to catch up while they waited for their meals to arrive and the auction to start.

Isamu’s plate was easy to identify out of the five, at least for anyone familiar with the feline-like student. Three plates were extra large helpings, one was normal sized, and the last… was smaller, and consisted solely of meat.

At the table, Isamu unexpectedly found himself enjoying being the center of attention for once, regaling his family with a description of the events of the Sports Festival from the ground, starting with the hectic free-for-all of the first round. Trying to help ensure the maximum amount of success, scouting for ‘civilians’ to rescue, keeping an eye out for enemy robots, trying to call out targets for his classmates to keep everyone going. He was much more animated than his usual stoic self, gesturing with his hands and even smiling a bit as he regaled his story to his enthusiastic audience.

“… and this massive robot just came crashing down into the alley—” Isamu thumped the table gently for extra emphasis, “—completely blocking it off while we were trying to escape out the back. There were robots in the warehouse, so we couldn’t retreat or we’d be in event more trouble.”

His little sister Kimiko leaned forward, ears perked, eyes open wide in concern. “Oh no! What did you do next?”

Isamu grinned a bit wider, drawing out the pause in his story for just a few moments, for maximum suspense. “Well… There was a fire escape. I jumped up to it, and from there leapt onto the robot’s head, confusing its sensors and distracting it so that the other students could knock it off balance, and then I kept distracting it so they could get out of the alleyway with the civilians. It even took out two other robots while it was trying to get to me. Once everyone else was clear I made a break for it myself.”

Beast King laughed, perhaps a bit too loudly for the setting. “That’s my boy! You’re smarter than any robot.”

“You’re certainly more clever,” added Tiger Lily.

Isamu glanced away, ears splaying just a little, “Welll, I wouldn’t want to discount the hard work of the U.A. staff…” He cleared his throat a little, falling silent as Kyou’s fathers arrived, the two pros rising to shake their hands and offer them a seat. Isamu fell silent, taking on his more normal, reserved demeanor. He remained silent, watching the adults converse as Kyou leaned in to place his plate down.

Isamu looked up, opening his mouth to speak. “Thank you—” He froze in mid-sentence, sniffing at the air a second, and then a third time. His ears perked up and forward before the forced them back to their regular position. “I’m sorry…. The food smells delicious. Thank you.” Isamu was hard to read at the best of times, but it didn’t take too much familiarity to see that something had startled him, and he was covering for it—badly. However, the attention of the rest of his family was on the adults at the moment, leaving Kyou likely the only one to notice the reaction.

Of all of the… Here, of all places? Seriously?!

Of course, there were definitely other plausible explanations for that scent. He could have been only someone who had close contact with Akuma, for instance. Or sharing the same articles of clothing for… some implausible reason.

Then again, Occam’s razor really only provided for a singular, simple explanation.

He didn’t know whether to laugh at the simple absurdity of running into Akuma in his civilian identity or to be mad that he had seen fit to flaunt that fact by delivering his meal personally.

His hackles flared for a moment as he turned his attention to his plate, and he forced himself to take a deep breath and calm down. “Excuse me, I need to find the restroom. I’ll be right back.” He slipped out of his chair and disappeared in between the sea of tables, chairs, and guests.

The bathrooms weren’t hard to find, and, thankfully, momentarily unoccupied. He leapt up to the sink and ran some cold water, splashing himself in the face. “Okay. Be rational about this,” he said to his reflection. The cat staring back at him was anything but calm, but not many would be able to read all the signs correctly. “First, there’s no way he could have known you would be arriving tonight. There were no reservations, and we paid at the door. Unless he’s been spying on you…” He actually considered that thought for a moment. “Unlikely. Between all of us someone should have noticed if there was a tail. Second, even assuming he had advance knowledge of my arrival, that would have been limited to my family’s arrival in Mustafu, or their departure for the event. Not enough time to do or plan anything sophisticated. And I doubt he would have prepared a sophisticated poison ahead of time to do something at the event to put his identity at risk. Especially with his parents here. Third, if he did something unsophisticated, it would be detectable. And fourth… he gains nothing by antagonizing me, especially when my parents are here.”

Though… in reality their ‘agreement’ worked out better for Akuma than it did for him, but that was because he hadn’t had any proof of his identity… until now.

Though detecting Akuma’s scent was tenuous evidence, at best. Especially in this setting, with his parents present… It was like he had said before. He’d have to be caught red-handed, in the act, for anything to stick. And even if they tried to take Akuma out today, without taking out Oni as well, it may all be for naught.

Isamu narrowed his eyes and glanced in the direction of the main dining hall. The number one and his right hand man, they had gotten both gotten out together, they were both here in their civilian identities… could he be present at the event as well? Could, possibly, there be other members of his gang in attendance? He doubted it, since Akuma guarded his identity so jealously, but for all he knew there could be more allies close enough to be in his inner circle of trust. Acting without information would just be reckless.

But that didn’t mean he couldn’t try to snoop for more clues.

But he would have to do it without tipping off Akuma, Oni, if he was present, or anybody else that may be present. And without tipping off his own family.

Isamu rubbed at his face as he weighed the options. Trying to keep his family from getting suspicious would be difficult. They knew him better than most, and even now he’d been gone for far too long. Snooping might have to wait for another day. But if the right opportunity presented itself… he should be ready.

Taking a deep breath in, and slowly letting it out, he looked at his reflection in the mirror. Calm, stoic, collected. Good. He dried his face off and headed back to his table, digging into his meal while keeping his eyes open for any opportunities or anything out of place.