Midoriya opened his eyes to see that he was back home. He felt incredibly tired as he slowly turned his head to his right to see Usagiyama. She wasn't wearing her hero costume or any workout clothing for once. Instead, the woman wore a white button-up dress shirt which was tucked into high waisted brown formal pants secured by an extremely expensive looking leather belt. The green haired man couldn't help but stare at her- did she always look this good? Or was he hallucinating?
"Hiya." The rabbit woman gave Midoriya a soft smile, "You doin' alright?"
"Did… Did you always look this good?" Delirium set into his mind as he spoke.
"I-Whoa. Alright." Usagiyama was clearly confused yet oddly intrigued, "I guess I do always look this good. Here, I'll get ya some water."
Before leaving the room, the woman stopped at the doorway and spoke, the words causing the man's eyes to widen.
"I heard you were quirkless."
He knew what was coming. Just like everyone else, she was going to berate him and then abandon him for being abnormal. Midoriya knew that it was just fate as tears started to form in his eyes. Being quirkless goes against her personality, afterall, the stronger the quirk, the stronger the person.
"I can't believe that you've been fighting without a quirk." She continued and took a deep breath, "Just remember, the quirk someone has isn't what makes them strong. It's who they are that makes them strong."
Midoriya held his breath for a moment, his heart felt as if it was on fire.
"If you've been fighting people with quirks this whole time- If you were quirkless this whole time…" Usagiyama gripped the door frame, "Then you must be one of the strongest- if not the strongest person I know."
Not all heroes were bad, there were just those who had the capacity to be heroes and those who don't. The Symbol of Peace could never amount to what Midoriya saw or heard today, although being the Number 1, All Might- perhaps that was all he was anyways. Might- the embodiment of physical strength and mental fortitude. However, from this day on, the green haired man knew that despite people believing that All Might was the undisputed Number 1, Rumi "Mirko" Usagiyama was Midoriya's light- his own Number 1. Out of all the heroes he knows, she was the only one he could accept. Afterall, she was the only one that reached out to him when he needed it most.
Midoriya closed his eyes and tried to rest once again. For the first time in a very long time, the green haired man felt like he could sleep soundly. Actually, he knew couldn't. For unrelated reasons, the green haired man was actually a little nervous that Usagiyama was in his house- from what he can remember, it's littered with beer cans and he hasn't cleaned out his ashtray. Walking back into the room, Usagiyama looked down at the man and her face melded into confusion.
"I'm not sure how I'm supposed to have ya drink water." The rabbit woman stared at him, "You want me to waterfall it into your mouth or somethin'?"
"Uh… No, I can just hold the glass." Midoriya shuffled around and erected himself on the bed, grasping the glass of water and taking a sip from it, "I...I'm really sorry."
Usagiyama looked at him confused.
"Why?"
"I...I just…" The green haired man felt a frog in his throat, his face an image of disgrace, "I… judged you like you were a demon… as if you were the same as all the other heroes I've met…"
"Hey." The rabbit woman smiled, "You're fine. I've dealt with worse, you just had some trouble, so just count on me, Mirko."
Silence went by as Midoriya felt a serenity he's never felt before for the first time in his life, slowly taking sips of the cold water as he recollected himself. Usagiyama simply pulled up a chair and leaned back into it, closing her tired eyes to listen to the birds chirping. After a few passing moments, the woman decided to speak.
"You never answered me, way back when." Usagiyama still had her eyes closed, "Why did ya become a police officer?"
The green haired man was quiet for a moment.
"I dreamed of being a hero. You know, what kids normally want to be." Usagiyama opened her eyes to see Midoriya staring down at the bedsheets, a sorrowful expression across his face as he spoke, "Unfortunate for me, I was born without a quirk."
Midoriya started to chuckle, soft yet filled with an unnerving melancholy.
"I never stopped trying- I remember staying up days and nights learning about heroes and what they are. They were the pinnacle of courage… Perhaps my drive." His throat was struggling to stay strong as it felt like he was suffocating, "I even remember asking number 1 himself if I could become a hero- knowing him, I probably could. Afterall, the strongest hero must know how I could redeem myself as a person."
His heart which was inspired a few moments ago felt as if it was going to burst, not from an enveloping sorrow but instead a vicious rage. The bloom of emotion was written all over his face as well, Usagiyama piecing the information together and understanding more and more of his internal struggle. Eventually, a loud crash was heard and Midoriya was snapped out of his trance- a methodical pair of thumping following suit which then turned into the green haired man's room being invaded by none other than Okiyama and Shirai.
"Captain!" The male operative yelled, tears pouring from his eyes as he lunged onto the bed, "Don't die captain, I love you man!"
"W-Whoa shit-" Midoriya fell back against the bed as his comrade's weight pressed against him, "Hey… Sport."
"We dropped everything to come see you." Shirai stood beside Usagiyama, "I'm glad you're doing a lot better."
The green haired man couldn't help but smile. During his lament, he seemed to forget all about these two. Perhaps it was selfish to take himself to the next world- maybe he was stopped because he was supposed to be here, with Ren and Nozomi. Afterall, what would they do without him- they were like his kids. His dumb, nice, and all so happy kids. Midoriya couldn't stop himself from crying again, but at least this was due to a silent peacefulness. The day ended nicely with no real issue around any corner.
Horizon walked down the dark alleyway, his armor dirty to the point it didn't reflect the moon, his hand holding an extremely unique weapon: a KRISS Vector Submachine gun. Stopping at a rusted metal side door, he waited. The door was eventually opened after a minute of waiting, and Horizon acted instantly, grabbing the man's neck and drawing him out into the alleyway. The visor gleamed as it determined the figure in front of him.
"Ryu "Melta" Hakisho, age 22." The armored man spoke through his helmet, "Arson, Murder, and Quirk Abuse."
The man in Horizon's grasp was a pale and tall figure wearing normal clothing, but upon hearing his own name and his crimes, he reacted by opening the palm to his hand and wrapping it around his restrainer's wrist. A sizzling sensation was heard yet nothing seemed to be occurring. Fear took over the man's eyes as he attempted to scream but couldn't- he was suffocating under the pressure against his neck.
"Your quirk generates a liquid similar to acid that melts through everything and it sticks very close to your body. What a waste." Horizon whispered and angled his submachine gun at the figure's abdomen, pulling the trigger and firing multiple rounds and letting the newly created corpse drop to the ground.
"Next." The armored man turned and approached the now open doorway and entered, the emerald gleam of his helmet becoming a dim nothingness as it re-corrected to the environment with bright green night vision
The area around Horizon was a dimly lit room that seemed to go down a floor similar to a bunker. Making his way down, the man found himself approaching another rust door. Gripping the handle, he pushed it open and stared deep into the verdant hues, preparing for any movement. Taking steps deeper and deeper into the room, he felt a presence appear behind him.
"I didn't expect a meeting like this." A blond winged hero spoke, "Thought you would lay low especially with your other attack happening two days ago."
Horizon didn't speak, he simply turned and gazed at the man. All yellow baggy clothing, black armored boots, gloved hands tucked into his pants and dark red wings. Pro Hero Hawks.
"Keigo "Hawks" Takami, age 23. Professional Hero." The armored man looked towards the blond, his hand hovering over a pistol strapped to his side.
"I've been tracking you for a while, Horizon." Hawks seemed to be extremely relaxed as he spoke, "Learned a lot. The contacts you know, the deeds you've done, all the people you massacred."
"I even know your secrets."
The armored man was more intent on grasping his pistol which prompted Hawks to smile as the area around Horizon seemed to become a black fog- a pair of yellow glowing eyes emitting from them.
"You can't run, Horizon." The blond's expression became more serious, "Why do you do this… Vigilantism? It's the only thing I haven't figured out about you."
Horizon didn't respond.
"Come on, you think of this… Like a new friendship. Yes." Immediately, Hawks had a devious smile once again, "You could at least tell me your quirk, a sign of trust."
"You want to know my quirk?" The armored man started to laugh, "Then I can show you."
Within seconds, Horizon exposed a moderately sized sack of what seemed to be powder and expended it around the room into a white cloud. Hawks sniffed the air and instantly knew: Flour. He didn't understand why yet the blond knew something was going to happen and quickly started to fire off feathers. In Horizon's left hand, he revealed a black lighter with a gold dragon engraved on its casing, flicking the device and watching as every single particle of flour spontaneously combusted. Hawks fell down onto the floor, barely protecting himself and his comrade from the explosion. Hearing the armored man approach, he tried to recollect himself but stopped when he felt the barrel of a gun touch him.
"Unfortunately for me, I like you Keigo Takami.."
"You got lucky, big boy..." Hawks coughed as Horizon angled his submachine gun away from the hero.
The armored man opened a panel at the side of his right thigh and flicked three levers- a gas expelling noise similar to hydraulic cylinders being filled with liquids, emanating from the back of his legs.
"Don't continue your hunt for me." Horizon spoke, his visor glowing a soft green once again, "Next time, one of us will die."
"I will continue my work and you will continue yours." The armored man brought himself into a stance, "If we do not collide, we will keep doing our work."
The crackling sensation of clasping machinery filled the room as Horizon pulsed out of the bunker and past the alleyway- leaving Hawks and his friend behind in the darkness. Throwing a rope from his hand, its end was hooked and grappled onto the side of a building, the armored man checking its integrity. Looking towards the entrance of the bunker, he threw down an array of spiked caltrops and proceeded to scale the building- with his now enhanced legs, it was no issue. Reaching the top and staring at the moon, Horizon's visor lost all color as he proceeded to move from rooftop to rooftop, hidden under the guise of the night.
Midoriya knocked on Usagiyama's door which was quickly answered. He seemed to be dressed in his combat gear- which caused the rabbit woman to laugh. She walked into her abode and invited him in- to which he waddled and spotted a table covered in plastic ammunition boxes.
"What the fuck…" Midoriya whispered to himself as he spotted the array, even calibers he didn't have access to.
"From today and onwards, when you're with me, ya won't be shooting people to kill them- especially not yourself." She seemed to have a very relaxed tone when talking about people being shot, but that tends to happen when you struggle to filter yourself, "I don't know what bullets ya needed so I got a lot of everything."
"Well, the caliber I use will most definitely be in this pile." The green haired man took steps towards it and started to poke around, "Yep."
"Well before you start messing with stuff-" The rabbit woman put her hand on Midoriya's shoulder and turned him towards her, "-are you really alright? If you need more time to rest, I won't stop you."
"I'll be alright." The SAT captain smiled and started to exchange his ammunition.
Waiting for the operative to finish, Usagiyama sat inside her office and looked over the documents revolving around Horizon. There were too many missing pieces. Oftentimes, Vigilantes tend to be known by the general populace- or at least the ones that aren't troublesome. Yet the Pro Hero Association, hell even the Hero Public Safety Commission doesn't know much about him- much like the all elusive Hero Killer. Furthermore, all of the people that Horizon targets are criminals with felonies. Most databases are open to the public, but the fact that the vigilante targets people so accurately and still dodges radars is unnerving, even questionable. With about ten minutes passing, Midoriya knocked on the office door which caused her to look up.
"Are we going to go or?" The green haired man spoke beyond the wooden door, "I'll wait if I have to."
Taking a deep breath, Usagiyama put down the manila folder and exited the room.
"Get on."
"Seriously?"
"Yes."
Midoriya wasn't content with being held like a newlywed yet when thinking about the height of the building and the fact that if he fell- he would die, the green haired man decided to leave his pride behind. Letting Mirko lift up his larger frame, Midoriya tried to compact himself a bit as she walked over to the balcony and leaped off the railing.
"S-So. Where are we going today?" Midoriya was careful not to touch anything.
"Patrollin'." The rabbit woman started to grow her signature smile, which only meant that something horrible was about to occur. To a villain.
After moving from structure to structure, the two found themselves stopping on an open flat roof top and gazing out at the cityscape. Usagiyama was extremely vigilant against the roof's railing, Midoriya was fiddling with his rifle.
"I see ya got a different weapon." Mirko turned and leaned against the railing, her forearms drawn back and her ankles crossed, "Looks powerful."
"It's an L96. I thought I'd need it." Midoriya responded and took a glance down the mounted scope.
"You seem to keep bringing more and more firepower," The rabbit woman continued, "You sure that's necessary?"
"For someone like me, absolutely. Do you expect me to win on equal standing with people?"
"Well, you're already good at hand to hand combat- not as good as me though." She couldn't help herself, she just really wanted to brag.
"Is that a challenge?" Midoriya slowly turned his head towards her, a nervous smirk on his face, "I've learned a lot of how you fight."
Usagiyama pushed herself off the railing and held a wickedly wide grin. Slowly, she started to take menacing steps towards Midoriya- her hands just twitching to get a hold of him. The green haired man felt his heart stop as he quickly reacted and jumped off the ground, raising the sniper rifle at her.
"One touch." Her grin became a fiendish leer.
"Deal!" Midoriya swiftly responded, pulling the trigger and sending a plastic bullet in her direction.
The rabbit woman kicked off the ground and instantly closed the distance, landing behind him- the green haired man turning only to receive a finger on his nose.
"Fuck."
"That was pretty easy, ya loser."
Midoriya sighed and sat down once again, cycling the bolt of the rifle and watching an empty casing eject itself, landing beside him. He should've expected a loss because, after all, that was the difference in their combat prowess. The rabbit woman stretched her back and waddled back to the railing, peering out once again to check if anything was happening in the vast city.
"Found you!" Usagiyama turned and lunged at the SAT captain, picking him off his feet and starting to hop from building to building once more.
"W-Warning next time!" Midoriya held his rifle tightly, "S-So I assume you found a criminal?"
"Hell yeah!" Mirko dropped Midoriya into a tumble on a rooftop, the green haired man swiftly correcting himself and running towards the building's edge.
From what the SAT captain could see, he was dropped off right about their target- a massive figure with an incredible amount of bulk. It seems he was doing some petty theft, holding a lady's purse in his hands as he ran down a dark alleyway. Midoriya wasn't entirely sure if the plastic rounds he had would be effective, but it didn't hurt to try anyways- first he wanted to make sure the man was weakened so he started to move slowly but surely along the rooftops. It took an incredible amount of both athletic and acrobatic prowess to do this- one mistake might even mean death.
The rabbit hero was too occupied with her adrenaline rush as she pulsed down the alley and went into a jumping side kick against the muscular man- the force throwing him into the open street. Although her demeanor teeters on the edge of barbaric, she was oddly good at planning out her next attack. When a rat is caught in a corner, they feel no choice but to attack- this was a plan example as the burly figure roared out into the air and he proceeded to double in size, nearly three times Mirko's frame. As Midoriya made a final jump to the next rooftop, he pulled himself over the cement guard and ran towards the other side, placing his right leg on top of the elevated railing and aiming downwards at the man.
"Hero! Why must you get in the way of my work!" The large man yelled out.
Mirko seemed to smile even wider as the large man swung his right fist- the rabbit woman using both her hands to leapfrog upwards in a dodge. The smaller woman used her rabbit-strength to rush along the man's arm and deliver a devastating butterfly kick, upon reaching his shoulder, to his head- a two hit strike that echoed in power. At this point, the criminal used his left hand to punch the hero away- which connected upon her barely finishing her attack, leaving her to spin in the air and recover. Midoriya took this as an opening now that he couldn't cause any friendly fire.
"That's right! I'm the best! I'm the strongest!" The green haired man can recall hearing those words too many times from too many criminals.
Taking a deep breath and steadying his aim, the SAT captain clenched his teeth and fired a round- the sniper rifle blaring in his ears. The operative continued to concentrate however, watching the plastic round seemingly embed itself into the man's left wrist- which was misleading because these rounds were not meant to kill. From what Midoriya could tell, the man felt the sting- but it was more like a splinter in a finger than a bullet in his arm. As Usagiyama pulsed herself back into combat, the man started to slam his fists into the ground angrily, a drumlike sensation as the ground shook every time his fist made an impact.
"Minions! Where are you!" The criminal started roaring into the air- not to mention the pounding which was causing Midoriya to lose his stability.
After the tremors and the clobbering of the ground ended, Usagiyama collected herself once again and hopped from one side of the street to the other- building momentum.
"Ya think that's gonna stop me!?" Adrenaline pulsed through her body as she lunged into a drop kick- the strike landing against the criminal's head.
Normally, a drop kick from someone her size wouldn't actually do too much to someone who was triple her size. Her quirk filled that gap- the amount of muscular density in her legs was far beyond an average person's and the force of this drop kick would possibly even kill an average person upon impact. The large man fell onto his side but continued to roll until he could recover and send a barrage of punches at the hero. Midoriya took this as a chance to prepare another round but the roof access doorway behind him creaked open and he heard multiple footsteps.
"Get back!" Midoriya got away from the edge and roared at the people with the assumption they were civilians- he was far from wrong.
Swiftly raising his rifle, he was met by three thugs. Two seemed to have knives and one with a pipe ripped straight out of Forge's dead repertoire. The three seemed to fan out around Midoriya, the green haired man's limited fire rate and shooting arc being disrupted. If it was up to him, these three would be dead from kinetic ammunition the moment they brandished them, but Miss Lola Bunny just had to tell him no. Giving it a bit more thought, she was probably right. Midoriya didn't want to be too hasty, first he wanted to gather more information. Target 1 was a blonde woman with a bandana and a knife and she had no discernable external quirk. Target 2 was a sort of rat person with the pipe which Midoriya believed had all the abilities of a rat- but with more rat capabilities, similar to Usagiyama. Target 3 was larger than the other two as well as the other knife wielder. No discernable quirk.
"Alright. Who the fuck are you three stooges?" Midoriya mentally prepared himself.
"We own this turf, bucko! You don't mess with Crusher and get away with it!" The large man pointed his dollar store knife at the operative.
"Fine." The SAT captain was a little glad that people grew up in such a cartoonish environment where they felt the need to do every villainous or heroic act dramatically.
Swiftly letting his rifle sling downwards, Midoriya drew his pistol at lightning speed and fired at the large man- the bullet striking him in the arm and dealing a lot more damage than the SAT captain expected, the figure stumbling and falling on the ground, holding his bleeding wound. He might have to talk to Mirko about the effectiveness of plastic bullets- which was a shame because she bought so much. The other two criminals seemed to falter for a moment, then they rushed at Midoriya. The rat man approached from his right and started with an overhand bludgeon while the blonde woman rushed in with a thrust. The SAT captain understood that if he dodged now, they would hit each other with friendly fire- which could possibly kill either of them. They wield lethal weapons afterall.
Taking a step back and pivoting, Midoriya attempted to guide the blonde woman to the ground with his right hand- only to remember his pistol was in his grasp. His heart sank as he dropped it and the two before him stumbled over each other and regained themselves. It was a stupid mistake- and he might suffer for it. The numerous clacks the weapon made ended when it landed at the hands of the larger man of the group. He picked it up with eyes filled with absolute rage- Midoriya taking a deep breath and preparing himself. Everyone makes mistakes- this one might kill the operative.
Usagiyama continued her brutal assault, sliding beneath one of the massive man's heavy and sluggish attacks- leaning back and pushing herself into the air, her feet bashing the underside of the man's chin. Now airborne, the rabbit woman used her incredible strength to redirect herself and beam towards the man who raised his left hand to block. Upon impact, the damage went extensive and he staggered as he was thrown back once again.
"Come on! Do better!" Mirko was smiling ear to ear- until her ears twitched and she understood the situation a bit more, people were coming out of the woodwork like termites, which meant more villains to kick in the ass.
From what she could sense, there were about seven new assailants, three were up by Green- which should be no problem. Four were starting to peek around corners- and due to smell, one was either smoking or could produce fire- or even both. At this point however, heroes and police started to arrive on scene. One of the heroes was a taller bulky man wearing what could only be described as a completely black cloak- immediately opening it to eject hundreds of shadow hands: Coffin Hero: Wraith. The abyssal hands seemed to wrap around one of the alleyway assailants which allowed Usagiyama to continue her relentless attacks against the man who can only be described as their ringleader. Rising from the ground beside the rabbit woman as she ran was a blonde student with cartoonishly blue eyes, seemingly phasing through the world. Mirko didn't care- she was looking to kick some more ass.
The man who was essentially glitching through the world found himself down a separate alleyway sending two punches with devastating power against two assailants and dragging them out accordingly. New to the hero scene: Lemillion- the closest person to reclaiming All Might's top 1.
Continuing her stride, Usagiyama pulsed off the ground and sent another devastating kick to the man who was struggling to stand. After this last powerful strike, the large figure's size started to shrink and he was effectively unconscious. Taking an uninspired and very disappointed deep breath, she stopped to realize that Midoriya's gunfire- had yet to continue. Turning towards his direction, she listened closely and prepared to jump towards the rooftop.
'Ah. Here we go.'
A pistol shot rang through the air as Midoriya was shot in the chest- the force throwing him over as he was attempting to prevent the rat man and the blonde woman from grappling him. A few of the things that he shares with this forsaken world was pain- the green haired man hated pain. Rising from the struggle, he grunted like an animal as he withstood the damage. Adrenaline was now coursing through his body- so whether he was hit and bleeding or not, he wouldn't know yet. Roaring out in pain Midoriya angled the rifle on his side and fired a round straight at the man who shot him. If the first pistol round didn't hurt like a bitch- the faux .338 Lapua that was implanted forcibly within the man's skull most definitely did.
The other two goons stopped struggling to catch Midoriya for a moment, stunned at their near guaranteed dead comrade. Midoriya felt as if his lungs were closing up as he heavily respired, kicking both of them and causing them to fall. This allowed time for the operative to stand up and return even more damage. Midoriya distanced himself and kicked the pistol away from the deadman, throwing his rifle on the ground. For some odd reason, he thinks Usagiyama's tendencies were rubbing off on him.
"Bring it, Villains." Midoriya's pupils were pinholes as he glared at the two with a violent bloom ripping through his system, "Kill me."
Taking cautious steps forward and then into a rush, the two went into a thrust at the operative, the green haired man pivoting right and countering the ratman, grasping at his snout and leg, gripping with his above average strength. Clenching his teeth and using as much of his strength as possible, he threw the mutant quirk at the steel roof access door, closing it and surely incapacitating the man. Before turning towards the blonde woman, Midoriya felt an incredible surge of pain in his lower back. The SAT captain hacked curses in pain as he spun around and kicked his assailant. Everything was becoming a lot harder to breathe now. The woman recovered and held her left hand forward, forcibly yanking the knife out of Midoriya and causing him to roar as the pain started to become even more agonizing.
The green haired man seemingly forgot about the now leaking wound on his body as he reached his second wind- instinct simply taking over his body. The blonde woman rushed forward into a running thrust, Midoriya pivoting and wrapping his right arm over her wrist, tucking her into his armpit. With his left, he pressed it over her face and used his left foot to kick her leg upwards essentially creating a spinning motion while disarming her. The criminal fell onto her back and heaved for air- Midoriya drawing his right arm back in absolute rage. The attack the operative was about to commit was one able to give the most powerful martial artists the ability to crush even concrete. Against a human's skull- it was lethal. To him, this was just self defence and another criminal that could be wiped off the street. Before he was able to even attempt to throw the punch, his partner landed beside him and placed her hand on his shoulder.
"Hiya Green, let's uh… How about ya not do that?" Usagiyama spoke, looking down to realize that he was bleeding heavily, "Oh shit! You needa get that patched up!"
In a state of delirium at this point, Midoriya wobbled and eventually collapsed on his feet.