Foreword:
A happy late Easter (or whichever holiday you prefer to celebrate, I'm late all the same)!
I wanted to say it took the two weeks I said it would, but it technically took a bit longer than two weeks. The chapter is slightly longer though, so I'll blame it on that instead of my habit to procrastinate.
As always, please leave a comment to tell me what you thought of it, and I hope you enjoy.
DISCLAIMER: I do not own any part of the One-Punch Man or the My Hero Academia franchises. All the credit goes to their respective authors and artists.
Chapter 6
Room 393 of the Takoba Central Hospital was silent, save for the beeping of the heart monitor and the rhythmic breathing of Midoriya.
Toshinori had made several calls in the last few minutes, mostly to people he thought might know something about the inner workings of One for All, but none of them had any idea how Midoriya could have ended up like this.
He'd run out of ideas, and now all he could do was wait for Midoriya to recover enough strength to allow Recovery Girl to work her magic.
One by one, several students had also come to see Midoriya, but none of them had said anything, not to him or the unconscious boy. They simply wished for his recovery in silence. If one had watched closely, they could have even found slight traces of sorrow on Bakugo's face.
Besides them, Eraserhead had briefly come in again, but only to announce his departure. His stoic expression unshaken to the untrained eye, but Toshinori knew that he too was worried about the boy's condition.
Throughout all of it, Toshinori had simply remained seated next to Midoriya, and now that everyone had left, it was rather late after all, he was, together with Midoriya of course, the only one left in the room.
But that did not last long.
If one could see every conceivable form of electromagnetic radiation and could measure the vibrations in the air accurately enough to pinpoint the exact path a fly had moved several minutes ago, they would still be unable to detect the machine moving down the hallway towards room 393.
Its appearance, if anyone would have been able to see it, was about as ordinary as one could expect in a world where quirks could make people look more heteromorphic than humanoid. It's black, though hints of grey could be seen in it, hair was slicked back and its face looked slightly wrinkled. Its dark brown eyes and serious expression gave it an aura of professionalism. Its metallic face was hardly worth mentioning.
Its clothes were nothing special either, a brown overcoat with a red shirt beneath it covered its body, and black-brown pants could be seen paired with a pair of neat brown boots below it.
But despite its male appearance, naming it any gender would be a strange thing indeed.
Without making a sound, the robot moved towards the room at the end of the hallway, and without any hesitation, it walked straight through the closed door, as if it didn't exist in the universe the machine was walking.
Walking past Toshinori, it looked down at the unconscious body of Midoriya and, without possessing something even remotely close to a respiratory system, sighed.
Severe damage to the thoracic nerves and the lumbosacral plexus, minor damage detected throughout the nervous system, cranial nerves appear to be intact.
Its mechanical brain was a work of art in its efficiency, and it couldn't be compared to anything less than a country-sized computing system. Accurately estimating the damage done to Midoriya with a quick, superficial scan was child's play.
Inherent energy storage detected, possibly the result of quirk mutation. Reservoir nearly empty, attempting to rectify.
The robot extended its hand towards Midoriya's chest and, still invisible to Toshinori, started to glow a faint blue.
When the hand was several centimetres above his chest, the skin of the machine's hand seemed to melt away, revealing an unbelievably complex system of what appeared to be blue, glowing strings, woven together to mimic the appearance of muscles.
The strings then untangled seamlessly and pierced Misoriya's chest as if it wasn't there, much like the door just moments ago.
Injecting compound 5028-Beta to stimulate nerve growth. Injecting compound AL84-Theta to stabilize cancer growth. Injecting compound 4587-Zèta to paralyze bodily interference. Estimated recovery time: 12 hours and 46 minutes.
The blue lines momentarily died a soft green before returning to their original colour.
The machinery connected to Midoriya through several pads and injections didn't make a sound besides its regular beeping, indicating nothing had been detected.
Energy storage type unknown, attempting to ascertain.
The blue lines suddenly started changing colours rapidly, from bright neon pink to muddy brown and every other colour it could find. After several seconds, the colourful lines seemed to have made their decision, and changed colour to something between light blue and radiant green.
Energy type recognized, estimated storage capacity: Intermediate. Estimated strength level: Low Dragon.
Strangely enough, the figure frowned at this, as though dissatisfied with its own estimation.
Calculating. . . Body not capable of withstanding internal strain, estimated maximum current power: Wolf. Not part of nerve damage, no adjustment needed.
As the light of the blue lines started to dim, the figure moved its 'hand' away from Midoriya's chest, retracting the lines connecting it to his nervous system.
Refilling energy reserves to acceptable levels, powering up the internal core. . .
With a slow, rhythmic beating sound that couldn't be heard by a soul, the dim light surrounding the machine started to pulsate. Its hand had reformed itself, now it simply looked as though its hand didn't possess any skin, although its 'muscles' were still glowing blue.
Attempting injection.
It laid its hand flat onto Midoriya's chest, the pulsing becoming more frequent as the seconds passed until it was a low humming and the light surrounding the machine had grown into a continuous glow.
Rele-
Suddenly the machine stopped and, within the microsecond of time it had to notice what was wrong, attempted to stop the energy transfer.
Alas, it was too late, and the room froze.
Everything was dark.
This wasn't regular darkness though, the kind you'd see in dark alleyways at night or in deep caverns on moonless nights.
This was the darkness inherent to the mind.
Midoriya couldn't see anything, which would have been scary had he also not been able to feel, hear, smell, taste, or think.
Then, as though he was jolted awake, his eyes shot open, and surrounding him was nothing at all.
His first instinct was to panic, as the feeling of helplessness invaded his consciousness relentlessly. With no way to see or hear, the world he thought he knew seemed far away, as if he had been kicked out of the play and the first act had now already begun.
Then, as if to save his mind from falling into madness, a sound could be heard in an otherwise completely silent plane.
The sound was on the edge of his hearing, just too far away to hear with complete clarity, but in a world where there was nothing, anything could be a lifesaving beacon.
He strained his non-existent ears and focused on the sound.
The voice spoke words and phrases he couldn't quite hear, and what he could catch he simply couldn't understand.
But then, it spoke a word that was much clearer than anything it had said before. Which, in reality, was only half a word.
Rele-
Midoriya didn't have the time to mull over its meaning because his senses, stretched to the limit to hear what was said in the darkness of his own mind, were suddenly overwhelmed by an explosion of blue-greenish light.
The light lasted less than a microsecond before Midoriya's mind froze.
Technically, there was a party going on in the dorms of class 1-A of U.A., but to call the atmosphere gloomy would be an understatement.
The drinks had barely been touched, the food laid bare on the tables couldn't fix the loss of appetite everyone appeared to be suffering from.
Some had started conversations, but it all looped back to the same story they'd told each other over and over again already.
"Do you think Midoriya will be okay?" Jiro asked the girl sitting across from her.
"Yes, I'm sure he will be. He's been hit with more right?" Ashido answered, whose spirited reply was more meant as an answer to her own doubts than those of Jiro.
"Yeah, of course." Jiro said, and although her eyes looked slightly less shaky, her mind was still in disarray at the thought of having lost a fellow student over something that should have been a joyous occasion for all.
Similar words were being exchanged all throughout the room, and because it would take the group that had stayed with Midoriya several minutes more to return, all they could do was wait for news.
It went unnoticed by all (how could any of them notice something happening in a fraction of a second?), but just as Ashido was getting up, Shoji was reaching for a drink for the first time this evening, and Sato was giving Kaminari a pat on the back, something swept over the room, and the building, and the city.
The city froze.
Yokumiru, slightly agitated, had been waiting for half an hour when Blast turned the corner again, carrying a plastic bag filled with everyday groceries.
It looked almost comical, a hero in full outfit with enough muscles to shoulder a truck and enough charisma to swoon any lady (or even the occasional guy) was carrying a bag with groceries that looked mundane enough to be put in a sitcom. It even had celery sticking out from the top.
In Yokumiru's eyes, it was comedy gold, but he had very little time to appreciate the humour thrown his way.
The officials surrounding him gave him a short nod, and with a sigh, he stepped forward to greet Blast.
"Are you finished?" He asked, trying to keep any hint of annoyance out of his voice.
"Yep, thanks for waiting, I've got all the time in the world now." Blast responded with a nod.
"So where would you want me to answer your questions? I assume it won't be out here on the streets."
"Haha no indeed, would you mind accompanying us to the bureau? It's a short, ten-minute drive away." The announcer said, pointing at two black cars and a black van parked several meters away.
"No problem, lead the way." Blast said, a smile still on his face.
Yokumiru simply nodded and turned to head towards the cars. Blast followed closely behind and the officials behind him still.
As Yokumiru looked over his shoulder when he approached the van he was appalled at what he saw, although he didn't let it show on his face.
The officials were surrounding Blast like he was arrested, two in front of him, two behind him, and one to each of his sides. Their hostility was hidden underneath nothing but a thin sheet of professionalism, and if Yokumiru had noticed it, Blast would have done so too.
Luckily, it seemed he didn't mind, but Yokumiru was more than well aware this was going to be one of his most stressful nights yet.
Well, who needs sleep anyway?
That was a little soon, although to be expected I suppose.
Blast thought, sitting on a metal chair in a blank grey room, with only a table and what was clearly a one-way mirror at the wall opposite to him.
He hadn't eaten anything yet, although he probably should have when he was rushing to get groceries he didn't need, and his stomach had voiced its complaints several times already.
The metal chair was also a tad small for his frame, and sitting in it for thirty minutes while waiting for these 'questions' to come hadn't done his rear muscles any good.
Finally, after waiting another ten minutes, the only door to the room opened, and two men in black suits walked in.
One of them was the announcer he'd met already, Yokumiru, but the other was a tad different.
To be blunt, he was a dog, standing on his hind legs as any human would.
The two sat down on the only other seats in the room, opposite to Blast, and the one which had the appearance of a Beagle seemed to take the lead.
"Hello Blast, my name is Kenji Tsuragamae, I am the chief of the police force. I'll be conducting the interview together with Yokumiru who you've already met."
He didn't extend a hand towards Blast, and in turn, Blast didn't bother to raise his.
"I'm Blast but you seem to know that already, you can also call me Sitch if you want." He responded.
"Blast is fine, shall we begin the interview then?" Tsuragamae asked, not wasting any time on pleasantries.
"Of course, ask away."
Tsuragamae nodded and, while opening a file he had brought with him into the room, asked the first question.
"This morning, you participated in the Provisional Hero Exam held in Takoba, where you passed with a score of 100, correct?"
"That's right."
"And during the course of this event, a fight between you and a mock villain escalated, which resulted in the severe injury of the villain, the injury of another participant, and the destruction of a part of the Takoba National Stadium, correct?"
"That is also correct." Blast said, his smile dimming at the mention of the injured participant.
"Then could you tell us exactly what led up to the incident, and what your involvement was?"
Blast nodded and started to recount the story as he knew it.
The story he told lined up almost perfectly with the accounts of other witnesses, including that of the officials on the stand. However, when it came to the most interesting bit of the whole tale, that of the explosion, Blast got slightly vague.
"Then, knowing I was in a bit of a pickle, I decided it was best to bet everything on one big attack. So I started to absorb the surrounding electronic energy, sorry about that by the way." Blast said, interrupting his story to nod at Yokumiru.
"It is not a problem, please continue."
"Yes of course, so I was absorbing energy, getting ready to hopefully blast Gang Orca unconscious, or at least put him out of commission long enough to finish the exam, when suddenly I noticed a massive flare in my peripheral vision."
"A flare?" Tsuragamae asks, interrupting Blast for the first time since he began his story.
"Yeah, it's something like a spike, as if someone suddenly dropped a coal plant worth of electricity two meters behind me." Blast says.
"So before I could help it, I was absorbing that energy too, and it was too much for me to handle unprepared, so it exploded." He finishes with a frown.
Although Tsuragamae wanted to say something, Blast was ahead of him.
"I didn't intend to harm the kid, and I wasn't aware of Gang Orca's inherent weakness to heat, otherwise I would have never gathered so much energy to begin with." He says, hints of sorrow visible on his face as he pleads his case.
Tsuragamae's expression remains stoic and he merely nods while Yokumiru writes in the notebook he brought with him into the room.
"I see, could you explain the workings of your quirk again?"
Blast sighs, having already been asked this by four officials on his way to the room and before that by three more in the hospital, but continues anyway.
"As I said, I can absorb all sorts of energy and turn it into other forms of energy, like taking electricity and turning it into kinetic energy to fly, or absorbing sunlight to fire concentrated beams of heat from my eyes."
Tsuragamae lifts an eyebrow at his explanation.
"Why flight and laser eyes specifically?"
"It is unbelievably difficult to control the flow of energy, it's inherently chaotic. I can fly almost subconsciously now after much training, and using my 'laser eyes' still takes some concentration." He answers.
Tsuragamae nods again and writes another note, before turning back to Blast.
"And this heat ability, is it usually this explosive or was that solely caused by this 'flare'?"
"Normally I can focus it to something the width or a bullet or even iron wire, but this time I couldn't stop it from overflowing."
Blast leans back in his chair as he waves his arms around.
"It's- It's like trying to fill a glass of water with another glass of water, you see? You have exactly enough water in one glass to fill the other, and as you're carefully pouring, making sure not to spill something, that glass of water you're holding is suddenly transformed into a full bucket of water, which then crashes over the glass and hydrates the carpet below the table." He explains, making the motions as he goes.
"I see, so you claim to be in possession of only one quirk?"
"Yes, just this one." Blast answers.
Tsuragamae nods again and closes the file in front of him, before turning to Blast.
"I will be frank with you, although your actions can only be considered heroic, the higher-ups aren't sure of your allegiance. Your actions at the stadium may be described as 'exemplary' by the members of the H.U.C., but your fight with Gang Orca and the fact that you're using what appears to be multiple quirks puts us in an awkward position."
Blast looked surprised.
"Allegiance? Is there a war going on I'm not aw- Oh.." Blast suddenly said, as if realisation dawned on him.
His understanding face then made eye contact with Tsuragamae and he sighed.
"The League of Villains and All for One, you think I'm in cahoots with them, right?"
Tsuragamae simply nodded.
"Because my quirk makes it look like I can use two quirks at once you immediately connect me with All for One, who is known worldwide to be the only one that can transfer and move quirks, which allows him and his subordinates to have multiple of them... " Blast said, more to himself than to the two people sitting across the table.
"This explains a lot." He finally says, before turning back to Tsuragamae and Yokumiru, who only waited for him to realise.
"As you understand now, your quirk combined with this… situation made it impossible for us to ignore the possibility." Tsuragamae said.
"Yeah I understand, but I really do not have anything to do with them. Think about it, if I was one of them, why would I participate in a provisional hero exam of all things?" Blast reasoned, but his voice was getting slightly tense.
"While that might be true, we cannot know if you are telling the truth or not. With a pro-hero critically injured and All-Might retired, I'm sorry to say we cannot take unnecessary risks." Tsuragamae says, his eyes as calm as a lake and his face showing no sign of any emotion.
"The HPSC has decided to retract your provisional hero license until the investigation has come to a close. I am sorry, but for now, you cannot be a hero." Tsuragamae says, startling Yokumiru, who almost got up in disbelief as he spoke up as well.
"Wait hold on! That hadn't been decided yet just moments ago."
"The call came through several minutes ago, there is nothing to be done." Tsuragamae responded while turning to him.
"But you are here as an observer, and only an observer, understood? I don't want to hear another word." Tsuragamae said, a frown on his face as he stares at Yokumiru.
He knew Yokumiru had been on Blast's side since the beginning, but orders were orders. Several government agencies had already contacted him regarding this new possible hero, and all of them spoke of caution and care. If Yokumiru wanted to change something about this order he'd need to go much higher up.
Besides that, he was getting a strange feeling from the man sitting on the opposite end of the table, as if Blast could see straight through him. His sixth sense was telling him to tread carefully, but as the chief of police he couldn't simply back down from an order because of a hunch.
Yokumiru wanted to retort, but seeing the chief's face he decided against it, only to be interrupted in his musing by a voice coming from the other side of the table.
Blast had suddenly spoken up.
"Alright, that's it, we'll take two and pick it back up from just before this alright?"
He said, with tones that, while casual, send a shiver down the spines of the two other inhabitants of the room with how out of place those words felt.
His voice had so far always carried with it a warm feeling, as if the one that spoke those words was on a long holiday, while simultaneously standing guard against all the evil the world could throw at him. Even during the incident, his tone had still conveyed that strangely calming feeling.
But now that was gone, replaced by a voice that felt unshakable, as if it carried enough power to crumble mountains.
Before either Yokumiru or Tsuragamae could respond, Blast lifted his right hand from below the table. While it moved, a glowing circle appeared on the back of it, dyeing the room a dim blue.
He lifted it past his left shoulder and, without saying another word or moving from his chair in the slightest, made a casual sweeping motion with his hand. As if he hit a fly.
Neither Yokumiru nor Tsuragamae could react.
The world froze.
"Wait hold on! That hadn't been decided yet just moments ago."
"The call came through several minutes ago, there is nothing to be done." Tsuragamae responded while turning to him.
"But you are here as an observer, and only an observer, understood? I don't want to hear another word." Tsuragamae said, a frown on his face as he stares at Yokumiru.
He knew Yokumiru had been on Blast's side since the beginning, but orders were orders.
Blast stood up from his chair, annoyance clear as day on his face.
"You're kicking me out before I even get in, solely on baseless accusations? What kind of system is this?" He says, looking down at the two people opposite him.
Tsuragamae also got up and looked Blast dead in the eye. Pushing the uneasiness he felt by standing up to a hero of considerable strength to the back of his mind.
"We are in very turbulent times right now, we cannot let rumours of this incident spread and cause more distrust among the populace." He retorts.
"I absolutely agree that there is indeed a lot of distrust going around, wouldn't want to add to that now would we?" Blast responds again with mockery in his voice.
"I think I should be allowed to be a hero, even if it's just provisional." He spoke resolutely.
Yokumiru didn't have the strength nor the time to get a word in as the discussion heated up, seemingly on its way to an explosive climax, when suddenly Tsuragamae puts an end to it.
"The decision has been made by the HPSC in accordance with the guidelines put forth by the government, what you think has no bearing on this decision." Tsuragamae says with finality.
He puts his chair back against the table as he motions Yokumiru to get up.
"The interview is hereby concluded. Would you please leave the premises?" Tsuragamae says to Blast, his eyes signalling the end of the conversation more so than even his words.
Blast looks in disbelief for a moment as annoyance almost takes him for another ride.
But the next moment he shakes his head and his expression softens. His head looks heavy and he says his last words with a sigh.
"Well, that lasted a good few minutes."
He says before he leaves the room with several police officers, who had still been stationed outside of the room just a moment ago, following close behind.
Yokumiru sits in silence in the office of Tsuragamae.
The two hadn't exchanged a word since they left the room, but Yokumiru didn't intend to stay silent.
"I cannot agree with the decisions made by the HPSC this time." He says just loud enough for Tsuragamae to hear.
"I know, but it isn't your decision to make."
"Still, what were they thinking? This guy packs enough of a punch to knock out Gang Orca in a single move, is fast enough to outpace any fast heroes currently on record, and on top of that, he has the charisma to lead teams of heroes if he put his mind to it." Yokumiru retorts, agitated by the treatment of a possible future top 10 hero.
"Now all that is thrown into the dumpster, you realize that right?" Yokumiru added with a frown.
"I know." Tsuragamae says with a sigh.
"But if he's a real hero he'll accept the decision and wait out the remainder of the investigation."
"Because he might be a real hero is precisely why I think we lost him here." Yokumiru says.
"Oh? You think he'll turn vigilante on the same day as he did his provisional exam?" Tsuragamae says as he raises one of his eyebrows.
"I think he won't hesitate to save someone if they're in danger, regardless of the consequences." Yokumiru responds, a bitter smile on his face.
"You seem to think you know him well."
"I don't at all, but his type isn't one you forget easily. He'll save people regardless of what people think of him."
"You honestly believe him to be that kind of hero?"
"Yes, which is why I think this was one of the dumbest decisions I've ever seen the HPSC make." Yokumiru concluded before he rubs his eyes again.
The sky had long turned dark and the city lights had taken over as the primary source of illumination. Yokumiru just wanted to sleep, but the lingering embers of passion for his work refused to allow him rest.
Japan needed heroes, now more than ever, and if the upper echelons weren't going to admit it at least he would. He knew they couldn't afford to lose a hero like this, they needed people with this much charisma and power.
For god's sake, HPSC had been discussing allowing students to take the official exam, and despite turning to such desperate measures they still refuse to at least give this kind of hero a shot?
"I'm going to file an official complaint about this."
Tsuragamae's eyes widened for a moment before he shook his head.
"Before you do that... I want you to meet someone first." He says as he presses a button on the side of his desk.
"Please send her in." He says to the microphone, causing Yokumiru to look at him with a questioning gaze.
The door to the office opened and a young girl entered the room.
Her long, black hair reached down to her waist and her small stature and soft features made it clear she didn't only look like a young girl, she was simply that young. Her conventional Japanese clothing was probably picked by her parents, and her timid attitude seemed out of place in the evening office of a police chief.
Yokumiru stared at her for several seconds without saying a word, baffled by her sudden appearance, before he was knocked out of his trance by Tsuragamae.
"This is Ume, Masuda Ume, she's been helping the police for a few weeks now."
Says Tsuragamae as he gets up from behind his desk and walks over to Ume, before explaining the situation.
"This is Yokumiru, an official from HPSC. Could you explain why you're here today?"
She lifts up her eyes, which had so far only stared down at the ground, to meet those of Yokumiru who, upon seeing them, almost jumped out of his chair.
Her irises were dyed a beautiful shade of purple, one that was tainted with streaks of other, even more vibrant colours. Her eyes were truly mesmerizing, but not entirely because of their beauty. They were mesmerizing because the colours drew you in, like at the heart of that gaze lay a gorgeous secret that could not be left untold.
But what made Yokumiru jump was the freezing gaze with which her pupils looked at him. A look diametrically opposite to the radiant beauty of her eyes.
"They wanted me to see if he was lying." She says with a soft, high-pitched voice.
"And what did you discover?" Tsuragamae asks without bothering with the still slightly shocked Yokumiru.
"He lied."
"And when did he lie?"
"A lot."
Tsuragamae nodded and turned back to Yokumiru, who started to ask questions when he managed to disconnect himself from the paradoxical gaze of the girl.
"How did you find her without HPSC knowing about it? And how, and why, is she working for the police at such a young age?"
"HPSC knows but decided to keep it under wraps. Almost no one besides me and some of my most trusted men in this department know about her. As for the how and why, her story is a story for another time, and I don't think you even have the clearance to hear it." Tsuragamae says as he helps Ume get up on a chair beside Yokumiru before he himself sits back behind his desk.
"She's had a... difficult past, because of her quirk."
"Which is? The quirk I mean."
"It's been officially recognized as Liar, but what it does is quite the opposite from lying."
"I can tell when you're lying." Ume says with a small voice, her eyes focused on the edge of the wooden desk.
Yokumiru sighs as he rubs his eyes again.
The day grows more and more tiring as time goes by.
Sometimes he wondered if his quirk was 'Unlucky'.
He almost wanted to start cursing, but when he remembered there was a child in the room with him he stopped himself, and instead allowed the gears in his head to turn for another question.
"You said Blast lied, and a lot at that. What did he lie about?" Yokumiru asks as he faces Ume.
Ume looks up at his question, causing him to flinch ever so slightly. She looks at the chief and at Yokumiru with a strange look in her eyes, but then nods and starts talking.
"He lied when he said he was in trouble, he lied when he said it was too much to handle, he lied when he said something about energy, he lied when he said his quirk was difficult to control, a-and…"
As she spoke of lie after lie, Yokumiru started to frown more and more, until at the last sentence she stopped, and Tsuragamae frowned as well.
"And…?" He says, not having heard her stop or hesitate even once before when telling of someone's lies.
She was very direct when telling someone the truth, even if that truth could cause more harm than good.
But despite that, when she looks up at Tsuragamae, her gaze is different. Her usual cold eyes were replaced by eyes filled with uncertainty, as if what she was about to say might be a lie.
"He lied... he lied when he said it had been a few minutes…?"
The clock struck half-past eleven, and the streets of Musutafu were as desolate as they could be.
After All Might's retirement, quirk-related crime had steadily been on the rise, causing a growing sense of worry and uncertainty in the minds of the populace. No sane person wanted to be out at night during times like this, with the chance of getting mugged having skyrocketed.
There were exceptions, as there were to all things, because a figure could be seen walking the empty streets.
With battle-ready attire and a physique of a long-time army veteran, they were certain to be a hero going on patrol, or a vigilante wanting to keep the streets safe at a time when the police were less likely to annoy them.
However, the sound coming from the man walking the street was borderline creepy.
An upbeat whistle came from the figure as he trotted around a corner, completely at odds with the dark atmosphere.
What was even stranger was that the tunes were surprisingly pleasant to hear, which reinforced the slightly uncomfortable atmosphere all the more.
Suddenly, a second figure appeared beside the first, and a conversation ensued.
"The operation was only partially a success."
"Partially? What happened."
The second figure's metal brows frowned.
"You did sir, my space-time defences were not activated and I was caught in your vortex, which appeared to have affected the energy transfer."
"Side effects?"
"Uncertain sir, although due to the fact that his quirk is highly prone to mutation I suspect any side effects will be visible very quickly. I did not rectify this mistake due to needing repairs because of your… decision."
"No need to change anything, leave it as it is."
The machine frowns again and turns to Blast for the first time in their conversation.
"Excuse me sir, but wasn't the point to allow the child to have a healthy recovery?"
Blast smiles ever so slightly as he responds.
"I got stripped of my provisional hero licence."
"I see." The machine responds professionally, but if it had skin it would be sweating bullets.
"Oh, I don't mind, although it did get me thinking..." Blast says with a thoughtful expression on his face.
"On my first day here, I joined the provisional hero license exam, got the highest possible score. During that exam, I beat the crap out of a rather weak hero, crippled a kid, got a drop of my blood stol-"
"What happened?" The robot's demeanour shifted 180 degrees as he interrupted Blast, its eyes turned a much darker shade of blue.
"I will immediately begin extraction of the offend-"
Blast waves his hand in the machine's general direction.
"No need to go through all that trouble, you don't need to do a thing."
"I'm sorry sir, but your unaltered blood cou-"
"Doesn't matter."
"I suggest immediate retri-"
"But what would be the fun in that?"
The robot froze at those words.
"I'm on vacation here old chap, relax a little and let it all happen." Blast says with a laugh, a laugh that could compete with Santa Claus for mirth.
The robot stayed silent as Blast continued.
"As I said, I got my blood stolen, my license was immediately taken again, and I was almost arrested. Then, my efforts to correct my mistake on crippling the kid and my growing annoyance at these people not following the script caused the crippled kid to mutate, and I still don't have a hero job!" Blast says, another smile on his face.
"I do not follow sir, your jovial mood appears to indicate this is good news despite all events being a disaster one way or another. Why are you... happy? Sir?"
"Because all this happened on day one, a single day! I had totally forgotten how incredible people could be, it's been years since I've had this much fun!" He turns another corner while trying to shake the face-wide smile off his face.
When a small apartment comes into view, he turns to the machine, still walking next to him in silence, and motions to the alley further down the street.
"You don't need to worry, I won't be asking anything anymore. Just go and enjoy your time here, because I most certainly will." Blast says, a noticeably more commanding tone hidden in his words, as he turns away from the machine that looked down to the ground.
Blast was about to open the apartment door when the machine spoke up.
"Will they die, sir?"
The silence that followed was utterly deafening, like the silence looped all the way around and met overpowering noise on the other end. The streetlight stopped flickering, and the noise of faraway cars driving on the highway disappeared without a trace.
Blast doesn't turn from the door when he answers.
"You've never asked that before."
Blast says in the same voice with which spoke in a time that never happened, a voice that could shake continents with nothing but words.
"I ask it now, sir."
"Why?"
"Because there is no one to stop you here, sir."
The second silence seems even more deafening than the first. The cold light of the streetlamps combined with the humid atmosphere might have turned the atmosphere heavy, had the ongoing conversation not already done that.
The machine was about to turn away in disappointment when Blast spoke up.
"Fine, I'll stick with this… this thing. Happy?" He said, sighing as he did. The thoroughly unpleasant atmosphere that had lingered around the two having suddenly lifted at Blast's words, and the machine turned around again.
The corners of the mouth of the machine curved upwards, displaying a warm smile that one hadn't thought could come from a face made entirely of metal.
"Quite sir, please enjoy your vacation."
Blast chuckled, the heavy atmosphere from moments ago fading like it never was.
"Of course, enjoy it yourself as well."
The two figures nod to each other, almost in sync, and each turn to leave.
The sound of raindrops hitting the ground drowned out the sound of faraway cars, and the flickering light of the street lanterns irregularly illuminated the street again.
The machine disappeared into the shadows of the alleyway, leaving behind nothing to even remotely hint that it had ever been there.
Blast put the groceries down in the small hall, and a smile formed on his face as he realized what strange things he'd bought in his hurry. Cheap meat, several questionable vegetables, a twelve-pack of instant noodles, and fresh celery.
He frowned slightly at the last item, he didn't even like celery.
As the clock struck a quarter past twelve, the door of an apartment down a regular old street in Musutafu closed with a thud.
And that, dear readers that made it to chapter six, was the first day. Some things changed, some things stayed the same, and some things are yet to be touched.
As a quick warning, expect me to diverge from canon more and more as the story progresses, as is natural when a powerful crossover character is involved.
Now to some quick questions:
"Did Blast travel from OPM to this one like dimension-hopping or is he from another world more like Boros?" - Spoilers.
"Wonder if he also loves discounts?" - You can never save too much after all.
That will be all for this week, and for the week after this one as well. I'll try to get another one ready in two weeks, but that is all I can get you