Author's Notes: Chapter edited and corrected by Scott Fellman.
Izumi Pov.
Kanae Tawata is one of the few S-rank hunters in Japan. She has Long black hair, blood-red eyes, and purple lipstick. Her Toned physique and numerous tattoos all over her body stood out against her baggy dark pink jacket that exposed her abdomen and a sports bra along with baggy black pants. At her waist on the left side were two katanas hanging.
"Well, you're finally here," Tawata said simply, staring at me appraisingly. I raised an eyebrow at her.
"I am," I said simply. Tawata looked at me for a few seconds before sighing angrily.
"Let's get this over with. I'm Kanae Tawata, and since I lost the draw with the other idiots, I'll be in charge of you for the rest of the week. Just do as I say and stay out of my way." She said simply, and I snorted in amusement. At least she was honest.
"Izumi Miyamura." I simply introduced myself, and she clicked her tongue.
"All right, let's go. An A-rank gate opened nearby. We'll see how you do in a live test." Tawata said simply. I was about to start walking when she stopped and looked me up and down. "Change into your costume immediately, and do it quickly. We don't have all day." She said, almost irritated. I smiled broadly at her.
I didn't even move from my spot, but I still dropped my suitcase and backpack to the floor before taking off the gray blazer of my UA uniform in one motion. I could feel everyone in the building still and stare at me. I smiled widely. I removed my tie with the same ease before starting to unbutton my shirt. Once all the buttons were undone, Tawata finally reacted.
"W-what are you doing!" Tawata hissed, her face completely flushed. She had grabbed the sides of my shirt and zipped it up tightly. "Have some modesty, man! What were you thinking! " she exclaimed loudly again. I raised an amused eyebrow in her direction.
"You told me to change immediately," I said innocently. I could see her eye twitch.
"Yeah! But not to have you changeing in the middle of the liv-" Tawata blinked at my chest as if she'd discovered some kind of scandalous secret, her blush deepening further "Aren't you wearing a bra?!" Tawata squealed and let go of my shirt as if it was burning her.
"Don't you want to find out?" I asked playfully as I began to open my shirt once more. Tawata moved once more and closed my shirt tightly again.
"Stop playing around! Go to the bathroom and change! " Tawata exclaimed embarrassed as she pointed in one direction. "And you guys keep moving!" She roared in the direction of all the other people present, making them all jump. They practically ran while tripping over their own feet. I chuckled.
"Of course, mistress." I said almost in a growl as I began to button my shirt once more. Tawata took a step back, her face completely red.
This is so funny! If she was going to act like my presence was a nuisance even though they requested the internship, I'd certainly have fun at her expense.
I didn't let Tawata answer, I simply grabbed my things and walked towards the bathroom, luckily, it was in sight so it wasn't a problem getting there. I quickly changed into my kimono, tied my hair and placed my katanas on my waist, Wado Ichimonji, Enma and Sendai Kitetsu, before leaving the bathroom and following Tawata's trail with my haki.
Tawata's blush had receded several degrees, and she looked at me once more. She sighed in relief when she saw me fully dressed before looking at my costume. Her eyes fell almost immediately on the three swords at my waist. Then they followed the rest of my costume. I cleared my throat after a couple of minutes.
Tawata jumped in surprise before looking away.
"Let's go. There's a car waiting for us outside. Leave your things with the receptionist, she'll take them to your room," she said quickly before walking toward the exit. I laughed in amusement before doing exactly what she said. I left my things with the receptionist with a smile and quickly followed Tawata, who was already getting into the back of a vehicle.
I lazily followed her in and placed my three swords on my lap. Tawata practically ignored me for the first few minutes, staring out the window before looking at me, though her gaze immediately fell on my swords.
"So, that's Enma," she said with a certain reverence. I nodded.
"And this is Sendai Kitetsu and Wado Ichimonji." I said honestly. Tawata hummed lightly, ignoring me before stopping.
"You said… Wado Ichimonji?" she muttered in disbelief, her gaze immediately fixed on the white katana, she paled slightly as her eyes widened. "Another Great Grade Sword." She muttered in disbelief, "Who the hell are you and how did you get two Great Grade swords? " Tawata asked as she looked at me in complete disbelief.
"Now, now, a man's gotta have his secrets." I said amusedly, she grimaced before snorting and looking away.
"And your swords? Do they have names? " I asked as I looked at the two Katanas. Tawata looked at them for a few moments.
" The Path a Hero Must Take," she said simply, and I raised an eyebrow and wanted to point out that it was more of a phrase than a name, but Wado Ichimonji literally meant 'Straight Line through the Path of Harmony/Harmony Path Beeline' and Sendai Kitetsu meant 'Third Generation Ogre/Oni Piercer', so I couldn't really fault her name.
"Good name," I said simply, she nodded, "By the way, doesn't Draw Sword have a uniform?" I asked curiously as I looked at Tawata's casual clothes. Tawata sighed and looked at me once more.
"It's an A-rank gate, I don't need something like armor," Tawata said tersely, almost offended by the implications of my question. I shrugged.
"I was just curious," I said simply, Tawata snorted and looked back towards the window.
Armor, it wasn't something many heroes used. It was almost exclusively for hunters who were just hunters.
There were only two types of people who wore armor. Or at least full suits of armor or something similar. In fact, it was the easiest way to identify one from the other. Heroes tended to wear more accessible clothing since they dealt with the public, so wearing a large, intimidating suit of armor was a big no-no.
Not to mention that at this point it was a cultural thing, something expected of the heroes themselves. Just look at All Might's outfits. Colorful and tight, heroic for lack of a better word. It was something most aspiring heroes wanted to emulate. And you certainly couldn't do it while wearing armor.
That's not to say they were completely unprotected, no. Most wore discreet armor, lightweight but protecting their weak points. then they used special fabrics, fabrics durable enough to protect them in critical moments. It certainly wasn't a great replacement for armor, but it was better than nothing.
then there were the hunters. There were different types of hunters when it came to using armor.
The first were complete novices who didn't know how to fight. They had no techniques, no skills, and no experience dealing with the gate monsters, so they used armor to avoid dying, which was almost always useless or interfered with their own abilities.
And the second, those with a more robust and slower constitution. Even those with experience and fighting skills, if the hunter was slow, then he wouldn't be able to dodge attacks, as simple as that. And no matter how robust they were, they would eventually run out of hits and end up dead. Hence, heavy, full body armor.
And finally, there were the experienced hunters. They could easily dodge most attacks from monsters at their level, so they didn't need much armor. In fact, armor was often worse to wear. Armor meant more weight, reduced movement speed, and a shorter range of movement.
So, most veterans wore little to no armor, perhaps something to protect vital points, like the neck or chest. But nothing too bulky for the most part. They almost always relied on being able to dodge or withstand the occasional blow with their aura. But that doesn't mean they didn't wear armor.
If they found themselves in the situation of knowing they were about to venture into a difficult dungeon, they weren't shy about using armor, after all, they knew better than anyone how dangerous it can be to go unprotected, even if they used aura to cover themselves, and most of them already had armor prepared for them. They were veterans, they had money, they could spend
"Here we are," Tawata said as the car came to a stop. She stepped out of the vehicle without hesitation, and I followed her once again. I whistled in amazement. It was truly the first time I'd seen a door up close. I could practically feel whatever the door was emitting on my skin thanks to my Observation Haki. It was somewhat disconcerting.
"What's the plan?" I asked, walking beside Tawata while ignoring the people around us. The area surrounding the gate was cordoned off by heroes, hunters, and police, so we had a clear path to the gate.
"Plan? We just go in, kill all the minor annoyances, and leave the dungeon boss for last. We'll leave another group to camp in front of the boss for a few days so the gatherers can get in without any trouble and take out everything they can. Before the breach can happen, the boss must be killed," Tawata said simply. I hummed softly in confirmation.
They were just farming gates at the moment. And I couldn't blame them; it was a very good way to gather resources. if they could, I'm sure they'd keep the gates open even when they were breached so they could continue to take whatever they could. But since it was truly prohibited and illegal, almost a crime against humanity, to allow gates to be breached for personal gain, it was something no one did, at least not in the middle of a city.
that was because the doors mutated when they were broken, while normally they allowed the monsters inside to leave the door, sometimes, something happened that mutated the door and generated something completely unpredictable, like an immense castle in the air or an underground tower that generated monsters, or worse, corrupted the land and allowed monsters to generate anywhere in the affected areas, like with the Grimms.
So yes, the doors must be closed regardless of whether it was completely looted or not, without exceptions.
I followed Tawata until we were standing in front of the door when a uniformed person approached.
"Thank you for coming, Miss Tawata." The person bowed slightly, Tawata nodded.
"Tell the harvesters to get ready," she said. The woman in uniform nodded, but Tawata was already entering the door. I ignored the woman as well and entered the dungeon.
My first dungeon, I had a smile on my face. I could feel my Haki warning me in every direction despite not feeling anything, as if simply being here was a warning. I looked around; it seemed like we were in some kind of ancient temple. Large, worn archways, huge, wide hallways.
"Stay close. I don't need you to get lost. When we find a monster, you'll go alone. Don't worry. I'll intervene if necessary." Tawata said tersely as she started walking. I nodded and began to follow her.
I continued looking around, truly impressed. This was incredible. Despite feeling like everything was dangerous with my Haki, I could still sense the presence of monsters with my Haki from a distance. Something I truly thought I couldn't do because, well, it's said that monsters don't have souls. But I could sense them. They were huge and dangerous, but what I felt most was the hatred and malice that I could feel the monsters emitting.
They felt like animals, or something a little more intelligent, but not like the presence of an intelligent being. I really wanted to know what they were. I'm pretty sure monarchs and rulers don't exist, so where the hell or how the hell did doors and monsters come to be? It was something I'd been wondering about since I came to this world. But I had nowhere to start, which was a shame.
"Three monsters are approaching, should I attack them?" I asked simply while looking at Tawata-ah.
I was alone.
I blinked several times before moaning loudly.
I hate you Zoro.
On the other hand… this was an opportunity. I could let loose all I wanted until I found Tawata; it was the best chance I could get. Alone in an A-rank dungeon, just me and the monsters. This was exciting. I could feel a smile growing on my face.
I pulled out Wado Ichimonji and held it tightly as I watched the monsters appear within my field of vision. My smile stretched from ear to ear.
I would thoroughly enjoy this.