The Emperor's Dragon II

Establishment

Izuku looked around the bar Kurogiri had found for them to move into. He gave the misty man a rather ironic smile. It seemed familiar. "You like bars," he commented.

"They are useful spaces," the warp gate defended.

Izuku laughed. "It's fine," he dismissed the need to be defensive. "Is there enough space here?"

"It used to be a hostel, so there is room upstairs," Kurogiri told him, pointing to a very narrow set of stairs coming off from a corner. They disappeared into darkness.

"Then let's set up here," he decided.

They'd been living in a warehouse for the last few weeks. It was one where Yakuni appeared to be copying quirks. Warehouses had some advantages when you were hiding from the authorities. There were lots of them being one of the key advantages, but they had some really big disadvantages when people couldn't go anywhere. There was no privacy. Facilities were rudimentary and being large, open spaces, they were freezing in winter, and stiflingly hot in summer. The cold could be dealt with by extra blankets but they were not comfortable. This would be much better. Each of his companions, the villains who had been gathered to aid Tomura, could have their own space, but they would still be living together and hopefully learning to work together.

He was going to have to make sure that was something they practised.

But that was an issue for tomorrow.

First, they had to move in and then plan.

"I will need stock," Kurogiri announced, walking to the bar. There were a few, very dusty glasses, on the wall behind it but no alcohol.

"Hm?" Izuku asked.

Yellow eyes turned to him. "The main risk with the warehouse is people coming and going when people are not meant to be there. It is the same here. We will need customers to ensure that we blend," he explained.

Izuku nodded. That made sense. He'd never thought about it growing up but it made a lot of sense. "Will there be enough passing traffic?" he asked.

The misty man nodded. "This is not the best neighbourhood," he observed.

At that, Izuku snorted lightly. There were so many conclusions that could be drawn from that statement but the one that was important to him was firmly rooted in the socio-economic class of the neighbourhood. Upmarket neighbourhoods tended to get more hero activity. The central business district and shopping areas were awash with heroes, especially during times when the public was present. They had a reasonable amount of hero presence in the down times too. But neighbourhoods like this one didn't see as much activity. They might see new heroes or underground heroes. That could be their biggest threat actually. Underground heroes tended to actually want to be heroes and... It had been a threat all his life, Izuku realised. He'd have to deal with it when something materialised.

He looked around. "Would it damage anything if I blow the dust out?" he asked.

Kurogiri gave him an odd look before he understood what he was asking. He then moved behind the bar, took the non-broken glasses down, and secured them, before moving to a side door. From the angle, Izuku knew it went into an alleyway. It was probably the emergency fire exit. Then Kurogiri moved to stand next to him.

"It should be okay now," he indicated unnecessarily.

Izuku grinned and focused. Caeli Imperium wasn't actually a wind quirk but he could give that impression. It allowed him to manipulate nitrogen. He couldn't change the chemical composition, so he couldn't change the nitrogen in the air into ammonia or something like that. But he could make the nitrogen in the air act as a physical barrier. That was often good enough for his purposes. So now, he concentrated on brushing the nitrogen in the air over the bar surfaces, picking up the dust, and throwing it out the door. It took a few minutes but already the place looked cleaner, even if it now smelt extra musty.