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CHAPTER START---
KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!
Pantu doesn't even wait for a second after knocking to push open the door, leaving her security agents on the other side of it to confront her current problem.
She enters the conference room to immediately lock eyes with Ryukyu, who was clearly disheveled and had flushed cheeks.
Pantu stepped inside and looked around the room, seeing Horizon sitting on one of the chairs with his feet up on the conference table, already fully dressed.
Meanwhile, Ryukyu was hastily adjusting her Hero Costume, nervously glancing at Pantu the entire time.
"Uh, Lady Pan---"
She cuts off Ryukyu, "out, now, I need to talk to your boyfriend."Ryukyu's words and excuses die in her throat before she rushes out of the room.
Pantu waits a moment to hear the door close behind her, and still maintains her icy façade the entire time.
"Shouldn't you be downstairs getting ready to announce the Top 10 Pro Heroes?" Horizon asks, now scrolling through his phone as if nothing was wrong.
Pantu simply walks over to him, giving him an unamused stare.
"You and Ryukyu, you said it was just a rumor," she says.
"It is, just a rumor, we aren't seriously dating or anything," Horizon shrugs.
Pantu doesn't detect any lies in his words, "and does she know that?"
"Eh, she's a big girl, if she doesn't already know then she'll figure it out."
Pantu doesn't say anything and simply takes a seat close to him, keeping her hands in her lap.
Normally she'd sit across from him, but now she was within arms reach, it made her nervous, but she didn't show a bit of that.
"What did you do to Hawks?" Pantu asks.
"Nothing, well, at least that's what any doctor would say. Medically he's perfectly healthy, healthier than he woke up this morning actually."
Pantu doesn't detect any lies, which raises serious concerns. "He's unresponsive."
"Oh, yeah well, the human brain can only handle that much trauma," Horizon takes his feet off the desk and put his phone away, looking directly at her. "I mean can you imagine it, being held down and watching me rip your guts out and tear apart your organs, all while keeping you alive and awake for the whole thing...can't be fun."
"Do you realize what you just did to a Hero?"
"Oh, 'Hero', well I'm one of those too, so the word doesn't really mean much, does it?"
"How long will it take him to recover?"
"Depends on how well his birdbrain can handle it, but if he takes too long just give me the info you have on the league, and I'll handle them for you."
"And what ever happened to not seeking revenge."
"Well, even I have limits, not to mention I'm 16 so, sometimes I just can't control my emotions," Horizon's tone was playful, betraying how serious this matter was. "I just had to remind him that the worst of the monsters is still free, and that'll never change."
"I see, and do I need to be concerned about more of these outbursts? I've already covered up Overhaul, and Wolfram, but I will draw the line at Pro Heroes dying."
"I'm not stupid," Horizon says. "I knew you'd understand Hawks was out of line, so it'd be fine, but you really don't have to worry. I mean the only reason I'd ever kill any of them, at least intentionally is, well, you know..."
With that Horizon gets up, and Pantu moves to do the same, only for him to raise his hand and rest it on her shoulder.
Her entire body becomes tense, looking directly ahead at his chest, not even daring to look up at the visor.
"Is there a problem?" Pantu asks, focusing her Quirk internally, as her life does depend on it.
Horizon gently moves his hand across her shoulder toward her neck, then just barely holds onto her neck. His large hand is easily able to wrap around her neck, and with his thumb of the same hand, he raises her chin, forcing her to look at him.
"Look me in the eyes woman," his voice was cold, in a way she's never heard him before. This was anything but the cocky young man she's had to deal with until now.
This was the thing Arsenal and The Heart Thief raised.
As she looks up she has to actively keep herself from reacting, internally or otherwise.
Horizon's visor was warped away for a moment, revealing the ski mask portion of his body glove.
But both his eyes were glowing bright blue, energy vapor pouring out of them and into the air heavily.
'He has so much power its literally leaking out of him...' Pantu realized.
As if he was a demon staring through her.
"Wha---" With a simple movement of his thumb he pushes against her jaw and forced her mouth shut.
"Shhh," Horizon tilts his head slightly, getting a proper look at her features, but he didn't see any changes in them. "You know, day by day the idea of walking away like my parents wanted gets less painful to me."
He applies just a bit more pressure with his thumb, and Pantu knows exactly how badly this can go for her.
"But I'm determined to see this through till the end, so let's both just do our jobs," he applies more pressure and Pantu feels her jaw bone almost creaking. "But honestly, I don't know what I'd do if you betrayed me.
Well, I know what I'd do to you, there are sooo many things I'd do to you. But Japan, the thing you care more about than anything else, oh that's how I'd really hurt you. And make you live with your failure, just as I'd have to live with mine. But I can't quite think of something painful enough to match what losing my parents would feel like."
Horizon presses a bit harder, and Pantu feels her gums and teeth begin to shift and twist, her mouth already getting blood.
"So, tell me, should I just do that now? Or are we still alright?"
Horizon releases some of the pressure, allowing Pantu to speak, "your parents are alive and well, but out of your reach..."
Neither of them moves for over a minute as Horizon performs Scan multiple times, then he lets go of her.
"Good to know, but don't get any ideas," Horizon leans down slightly to whisper in her ear. "Because I know about more than just little Keigo -Hawks-, but it's kind of fun watching you desperately flail around. Forming all these useless plans that don't have a chance of working. Plus I will admit, some of what you do really is just entertaining..."
Horizon shoves her backward, releasing her so she falls back into her chair.
"Anyway, you've got a presentation to do, and I need to go get a good seat."
As Horizon walks past her his visor warps back onto his head, and Pantu doesn't even breathe until the door is shut behind him.
Pantu feels a headache already setting in as she struggles to catch her breath, the strain of having to use her Quirk like that is affecting her more at this age.
Especially since she hasn't had to use it in such a manner for decades.
'Damn monster, but at least my Quirk works against him, so he isn't some omnipotent god. If that went badly, with all the top Pros here Japan would have been plunged into ruin. Him killing everyone here would pave the way for Shigaraki and his League of Villains to take over in days.'
Pantu takes a few deep breaths, then looks at the table she was leaning against, where she presumed Ryukyu gave into her carnal desires.
'He isn't dumb, so no way he showed her his face. But I should at least ask, and warn her about exactly what she's just gotten into. And I've already tried finding his civilian identity via blood from his battle with All For One, but Nezu hid it far too well. I'll just have to wait and see how things play out...'
Eventually, Ryukyu was able to compose herself, after yelling at Horizon a bit for the impromptu experience in such an inappropriate venue.
And Pantu got ready and presented the Top 10 Pro Heroes.
The new ranking was not quite what the people expected, but they certainly weren't unhappy with the results.
Wash, a rescue and capture-focused Pro hero who was dressed like a washing machine with arms and legs was now the #10 Pro hero.
His Quirk allows him to make bubbles that clean anything they touch and are durable enough to capture villains or float civilians and even pieces of buildings to safety.
Kamui Woods was able to climb all the way to the #9 spot after his recent fame via Edgeshot and team Lurkers, and his involvement in a few incidents beside Horizon. His girlfriend Mt. Lady was #16 and a bit sad she didn't make it into the top ten, but also happy for him.
Gang Orca now secured the #8 spot, a one-seat move upward due to recent events. He's mostly had a normal year aside from a very select few events, but he's always been a favorite of the people.
Ryukyu now sat at #7, her self-proclaimed undeserved promotion from the #10 spot. Although the public could understand why she was promoted due to all the work she did this year, she knew it was due to Pantu and Horizon.
The unchanged #6 spot is still held by Crust, the Shield Hero. Juzo's mentor and a surprisingly capable Pro Hero, considering his Quirk only allows him to make scales on his body and expand them into shields. He wore a simple green, white, and black gladiator-style outfit, with a cape.
Mirko was now promoted to her new spot at #5, and she seemed somewhat annoyed during the entire event, although she did cheer up when the reporter mentioned this is the highest rank a woman has ever been in Japan's Hero Billboard Chart Rankings.
Edgeshot also enjoyed a promotion due to All Might retiring, bumping him up to the #4 spot.
Best Jeanist, another favorite of the people also moved up, now holding the #3 spot with ease.
The only Pro Hero who wasn't present to give a speech was Hawks, the new #2 Pro Hero. It was mentioned that there was an emergency in his city so he had to run off and deal with that, so nobody bothered to question it.
And then that left the new #1 Pro Hero. Endeavor, the Flame Hero.
As he walked onto the stage everyone notice the new Hero Costume, with metal components on the shoulder and arms, as well as a new belt and overall design to the pattern of his costume.
He now looked much more functional and intimidating, and unlike most people, Horizon knew the mental support equipment on his Hero Costume was there to help focus the heat and pressure from his flames.
He was serious about doing anything he can to fill All Might's shoes, at least until Horizon can take over.
And when a reporter asked him about that very subject, if he could possibly do enough to report the people's faith in their Pro Heroes.
If he could win their trust in him as the #1 Pro Hero.
His only response was three simple words, "Just watch me..."
END CHAPTER---