Chương 60: Chapter 57: The Perfect Stand-In

The midday sun beat down mercilessly upon the grand, open-air plaza of Kuo Kuana. The air was thick with the scent of sea salt and the palpable, suffocating tension of thousands of gathered Faunus. The citizens of Menagerie stood shoulder-to-shoulder, a sprawling sea of anxious faces, twitching ears, and shifting tails, all looking upward toward the raised wooden platform erected just outside the Chieftain's estate. Ghira Belladonna stood at the podium, his massive frame casting a long, imposing shadow.

His golden eyes swept over his people, carrying the heavy, agonizing burden of a leader forced to deliver a nightmare. Beside him stood Kali, her hands clasped tightly together, radiating a quiet, unyielding strength. Just a few paces behind them, Blake Belladonna and Sun Wukong watched the crowd, their postures rigidly disciplined, though Sun occasionally winced, his hand hovering near the thick white bandages wrapping his left shoulder.

"People of Menagerie!" Ghira's deep, rumbling voice boomed across the plaza, amplified by the crystalline acoustics of the square. The low murmurs of the crowd instantly died away. Ghira gripped the edges of the wooden podium, his knuckles turning pale.

"For years, the White Fang has stood as a symbol of our struggle. It was born of a desire for equality, for a world where our children could walk without fear. But today, I stand before you with a heavy heart. The organization we built has been poisoned from within." A ripple of uneasy whispers swept through the front rows. Blake's breath caught in her throat as she watched the sheer disbelief washing over the faces of her people.

"We have intercepted encrypted, indisputable communications from the continent of Anima," Ghira continued, his voice rising, vibrating with a fierce, sorrowful anger.

"High Leader Sienna Khan has been assassinated!" Gasps of horror erupted across the plaza. Several Faunus covered their mouths, while others shouted in sudden, panicked confusion.

"Her murderer was not a human!" Ghira roared, cutting through the rising panic.

"She was struck down by Adam Taurus! He has orchestrated a violent coup, usurping control of the White Fang and silencing anyone who stood for peace. He is radicalizing our brothers and sisters, twisting our fight for equality into a blind, bloodthirsty crusade!" The crowd was reeling, the foundational truths of their society shattering in real-time.

"We must reclaim our identity!" Ghira pleaded, extending a massive hand toward the sea of faces.

"The White Fang must be a force for peace once more! We cannot let Adam's hatred define the Faunus! But to do this, we must act. Adam is not merely consolidating power here. He is mobilizing a massive, splintered armada to launch a devastating attack on Haven Academy in Mistral!" The shock in the plaza suddenly curdled. The terrified gasps morphed into low, defensive grumbles. Ghira sensed the shift immediately, his golden eyes narrowing in desperate urgency.

"We cannot stand by! I am asking you, the proud citizens of Menagerie, to take up arms not for vengeance, but for protection! We must sail to Mistral! We must stand with humanity to defend Haven Academy and prove that we are not the monsters Adam wants us to be!"

"Defend Haven?!" a harsh voice yelled from the middle of the crowd.

"Why should we bleed for them?!"

"The humans put us on this rock!" another citizen shouted, his fists clenched.

"Let their academies burn!" Blake stepped forward, her heart hammering against her ribs. The fear and resentment in the crowd were palpable, a thick, toxic fog that Adam had expertly cultivated. She opened her mouth to speak, to step up to the podium and beg them to see reason.

"Traitors!" The shrill, furious accusation sliced through the air like a cracking whip. From the edge of a nearby rooftop overlooking the plaza, the camouflage of the terracotta tiles suddenly rippled and dissolved. Ilia Amitola stepped into the harsh sunlight, her skin shifted into aggressive hues of angry red and yellow. She glared down at the podium, her eyes burning with tears of absolute, radicalized betrayal.

"Do not listen to them!" Ilia screamed, pointing an accusing finger directly at Ghira and Blake. Her voice echoed over the plaza, catching the immediate attention of every Faunus below.

"The Belladonnas are cowards! They abandoned the White Fang when the fight became difficult, and now they want us to sacrifice our lives to protect the very humans who keep us in cages!"

"Ilia, stop!" Blake shouted, stepping out from behind her father, her amber eyes wide with heartbreak.

"Adam is fighting for our future!" Ilia yelled to the crowd, completely ignoring Blake, her voice cracking with desperate fanaticism.

"He is the only one willing to do what is necessary to ensure the Faunus are never subjugated again! Join him! Join the true White Fang, and we will finally take what is ours!"

"That's enough!" Sun Wukong growled. Ignoring the burning pain in his shoulder, Sun vaulted over the wooden railing of the platform, launching himself toward the adjacent rooftop. His golden tail whipped through the air, his hands reaching out to tackle the chameleon Faunus before she could incite a full-blown riot. But as Sun extended his arms, his left shoulder, the exact spot where Ilia's electrified whip had carved into his flesh the night before, flared with a sudden, agonizing spike of blinding pain.

"Gah!" Sun grunted mid-air, his left arm giving out entirely. His momentum faltered, his trajectory shifting just enough to throw him off balance. He crashed clumsily onto the edge of the rooftop, missing Ilia by mere inches. Ilia didn't hesitate. Seizing the opening, she spun on her heel, her skin instantly shifting to match the slate-grey of the surrounding chimneys.

"Cowards!" she spat one last time before vaulting over the opposite side of the roof, disappearing into the dense, vertical labyrinth of Kuo Kuana.

"After her! Do not let her escape!" Ghira roared, pointing toward the rooftops. Dozens of Menagerie guards instantly broke formation, drawing their weapons and scrambling up the sides of the buildings, shouting orders as they gave chase through the city blocks. If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

Blake ran to the edge of the platform, her hands gripping the railing as she looked down at Sun, who was currently gritting his teeth and clutching his bleeding shoulder. She looked past him, staring at the empty rooftop where her former friend had vanished, a heavy, suffocating dread settling in her stomach. The crowd below was buzzing with a renewed, toxic uncertainty. The seeds of doubt had been perfectly sown.

Meanwhile, thousands of miles across the ocean, the bustling, sun-drenched commercial district of Vale was completely devoid of political tension, though it harbored its own brand of mundane despair. Inside a sleek, sterile corporate high-rise, the atmosphere was suffocatingly professional.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Darwin. But we are looking for a candidate with a bit more... dynamic presence." Darwin sat on the very edge of a stiff plastic chair, his knees pressed tightly together. He was a man of completely average height and build, wearing a cheap, slightly ill-fitting beige business suit. His head was immaculately, flawlessly bald, catching the fluorescent lights of the office. But unlike a certain invincible hero, Darwin's face was an open book of sheer, unadulterated anxiety.

His large, highly expressive brown eyes darted nervously around the room, his brow furrowed with deep worry lines, and a noticeable sheen of sweat beaded on his shiny scalp. He fidgeted with the frayed edge of his tie, his hands trembling slightly.

"I--I understand, sir. It's just, I'm a very hard worker! I can file papers incredibly fast, and I make excellent coffee..." The hiring manager offered a polite, strained smile.

"Thank you for your time. The exit is down the hall."

"R-Right. Thank you. Sorry to bother you," Darwin stammered, his voice cracking. He hastily stood up, bowing so fast he nearly headbutted the desk, his cheap briefcase knocking loudly against his knee as he stumbled backward out of the office. Ten minutes later, Darwin was walking down the busy cobblestone sidewalks of Vale. The vibrant city was alive around him, merchants shouting, cars hovering past, Huntsmen striding confidently. But Darwin existed in a localized bubble of absolute, frantic depression.

He clutched his briefcase to his chest like a shield, his face twisted into a deeply tragic, highly emotional grimace. He bit his lower lip, letting out a long, shaky sigh that made his shoulders slump.

"Why is it so hard to get a job?" Darwin mumbled, his expressive eyes welling up with dramatic, unshed tears as he watched his reflection in a passing storefront window.

"That's the fifteenth rejection this month! Am I just too clumsy? Too nervous? The rent is due next week, and I'm going to end up sleeping in a cardboard box at this rate!" Two blocks away, marching down the exact same sidewalk from the opposite direction, a significantly more panicked group was currently having a crisis of their own.

"My arms are going to fall off," Toby whined, clutching two massive, overstuffed brown paper bags to his chest. A giant head of premium cabbage peeked out from the top.

"Stop complaining, Toby, and keep your head down!" Marcus hissed, furiously adjusting his glasses as he checked his scroll, his other hand carrying a bulk box of green tea.

"We have exactly twelve minutes to get these groceries back to the Beacon dorms before the afternoon shift changes." Chloe was practically hyperventilating, walking so fast she was almost jogging.

"Guys, I don't know how much longer we can keep this up! People in the lower districts are starting to ask questions! The baker down the street literally asked me why the 'Hero of Vale' needs a three-week paid vacation!"

"What are we supposed to tell them?!" Lyra groaned, her spotted feline ears pinned flat against her head in sheer anxiety as she carried the bags of discounted marbled beef.

"If the press demands a live interview and figures out Saitama is missing, Headmistress Glynda will literally turn us into target practice! We are living on borrowed time!" The four First-Year students were so entirely consumed by their administrative terror, and Darwin was so entirely blinded by his unemployment despair, that neither party was looking where they were going. At the exact intersection of Fifth and Main, the unstoppable force of anxiety met the highly expressive object of clumsiness. CRASH!

"Ah!"

"Waaah!" The collision was spectacular. Darwin and the four students slammed into each other, a chaotic tangle of limbs, cheap beige fabric, and Beacon uniforms. Groceries exploded into the air. Resumes and cover letters fluttered like snow. A pristine head of cabbage bounced off a lamppost and rolled lazily across the cobblestones, while premium radishes scattered into the gutter.

"Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry!" Toby yelped, scrambling to his knees to chase the runaway cabbage.

"Oh no, no, no! I'm so incredibly sorry! Please forgive me!" Darwin shrieked in absolute panic, dropping to the pavement. His face contorted in sheer horror, his wide eyes tracking the flying produce. He clumsily reached out, his trembling hands miraculously catching a carton of eggs just before they hit the ground, while simultaneously trying to pin his fluttering resumes under his knee.

"We weren't looking where we were going, please excuse us!" Chloe apologized rapidly, her face turning bright red as she helped gather the scattered papers, shoving them back into Darwin's cheap briefcase.

"Here, I've got the beef!" Lyra panted, scooping up the plastic bags while Marcus retrieved the green tea. Within a minute, the chaotic mess was mostly sorted. The groceries were restacked, the papers were recovered, and everyone was standing back up, dusting off their clothes. Darwin was practically vibrating with guilt, bowing deeply and repeatedly.

"I am so, so sorry, kids! I was completely lost in my own head! I just bombed my fifteenth job interview this month, and I'm a total nervous wreck. I wasn't watching where I was walking at all!" He offered them a deeply apologetic, highly expressive smile, sweat still gleaming on his smooth, perfectly round bald head. He awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck, laughing nervously.

"Guess I'm just too clumsy for the corporate world. Have a great day, and again, so sorry about the cabbage!" Darwin gave a quick, jittery wave, his face still twisted in a miserable, self-deprecating grimace as he turned his back on them and began to shuffle away down the street, his briefcase swinging haphazardly by his side. Toby, Marcus, Chloe, and Lyra stood frozen on the sidewalk. They clutched their grocery bags. They stared at the retreating back of the man in the beige suit.

They looked at his smooth, gleaming bald head. They looked at his height and his completely average build. The four First-Years slowly turned their heads to look at one another. A synchronized, terrifying, and absolutely brilliant epiphany struck them all at the exact same microsecond. Marcus's jaw slowly dropped. Chloe's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. Lyra's tail completely stopped twitching, sticking straight out behind her.

"Guys..." Toby whispered, his voice trembling with the sheer magnitude of the realization as he stared at the retreating bald man.

"Did you see his head? Did you see his build?"

"He's... he's a perfect match," Marcus breathed, pushing his glasses up his nose, the tactical gears in his brain grinding into overdrive.

"The public doesn't look at Saitama's face closely. They look for the shiny bald head and the suit."

"If we put him in a bright yellow jumpsuit..." Chloe muttered, a manic, desperate hope bleeding into her tone.

"... and give him a white cape, and just tell him to stand really far away and stop fidgeting," Lyra finished, her feline eyes wide with shock. The four students turned back toward the street simultaneously.

"HEY! MISTER!" Toby screamed at the top of his lungs, his voice echoing off the brick buildings. Fifty yards down the street, Darwin stopped shuffling. He spun around, his face instantly exploding into a mask of pure terror. He clutched his briefcase to his chest, his large eyes welling up with panicked tears, entirely convinced he had broken one of their eggs and they were calling the police.

"I-I'm sorry! I can pay for whatever I broke! Just give me a week!" Darwin stammered, shaking like a leaf. Marcus, Chloe, Lyra, and Toby sprinted toward him, completely ignoring the groceries bouncing in their arms. They surrounded the bewildered, terrified bald man, staring at him as if he were a literal savior sent from the Brother Gods themselves.

"Mister!" Marcus gasped, out of breath, a wild, desperate grin stretching across his face as he pushed his glasses up.

"You said you needed a job, right?!" Darwin blinked, utterly bewildered, taking a slight, nervous step back from the intense teenagers.

"Uh... y-yes? Why? Do you kids need someone to file your homework or something?" Toby grabbed Darwin's trembling hands, his eyes shining with tears of absolute salvation.

"How would you feel about a highly paid, extremely confidential acting gig? Free housing included!"