Season Four, Episode VLIV

A Return to Normal...

Or Anything But?

. . .

Kaiji Adachi

. . .

I'd like to say I put up a valiant struggle, and overcame the Overmind's counter attack.

But the truth is...

"You're quite an impressive child," The puppet Chimera chuckled, lumbering over me as he prepared to attack. "Someone like you, could grow into a real thorn in my side... So I'll have to get rid of you now."

The truth is, the fight was already over.

"I'd like to see you try!" I barked back at him, clenching my one fist tightly.

"What rotten luck." Everything came to a halt as an unfamiliar voice rang out, making both me and the Overmind look towards it. "Of course I get here after all the fighting is over." I recognized her immediately, the stature, the athletic build, the rabbit ears and hero costume. Flanked by a large squad of armed soldiers, it was the Number Five Pro Hero, Miruko! "Oh well, guess I'm here for clean up."

The Overmind growled lowly, turning to face her. "Then you can die first." He started to open his bleeding maw, a faint glow forming but it began to sputter and release nothing but smoke as he lurched forward. Coughing roughly, the wounds I'd inflicted on Chojuro were too much for him after all! "It seems I've lost yet again... How annoying." Shooting me a sideways glance, "You'll come to regret getting in my way, boy."

"EYES ON ME DUMBASS!" I hadn't even noticed her move, she was so fast. Miruko crossed the distance between herself and the Chimera in a split second, jumping into the air. Her leg was already cocked back, "Bye bye Mr. Monster!" Slamming it right in the side of his neck, displaying raw power that sent him crashing into the nearest building wall. He smashed clean through, getting buried in the rubble while the Rabbit Hero landed gracefully before me. "Ha! What a lightweight!" Wearing a confident grin.

I released a breath I didn't realize I'd been holding, almost collapsing to my knees. "You've got... Great timing..."

"I've got great everything," She scoffed, eyes scanning the streets. "So whats the deal? I thought there was supposed to be like five of these guys."

"The rest have already been dealt with," I answered as coastguard members moved by me, two checking my injuries while others marched into the building to check on everyone. "A-Are you the only hero they sent?"

"Nah," She waved me off, "But clearly I should have been... The others are landing in other parts of the island to do a clean sweep..." Before she finally looked back to me, while my struggled to stay on my feet. The adrenaline had completely worn off, the aches and pains, the exhaustion, it was all hitting me. "Damn, you lost an entire arm? That's pretty hardcore... I heard there was some kid here fighting the villains by himself but I didn't expect... What's your name?"

"Kai-" I hesitated for a moment, realizing I had a better answer to that question. Before giving more firm, less formal response. "Rizado." Straightening up, despite my injuries and standing tall.

Miruko smirked, nodding her head. "Well, excellent work, Rizado... You let the medical boys take care of you while we clean up."

I nodded, feeling a growing sense of pride. "Thanks..."

. . .

Many Hours Later...

"We've done what we can for you," The doctor explained, as he finished putting some soothing salve and bandages around my shoulder stump. "But you've still got a few bone fractures, and the arm... Well, there isn't anything we can do about that."

"We were able to recover it," Chimed in another doctor, "But it was far too damaged to attempt reattachment."

I nodded my head, "It's okay I understand, there's a pretty okay chance that it'll regrow on its own." I assured with a faint smile, "Lizard, and all that... Might take awhile though."

"I hope you can recover fully," The doctor said with a sad sigh, "I wish we could do more..."

My mother was sitting beside my bed, leaning back. "You've done plenty, thank you."

As they cleared out, I leaned back in my bed. It was nearly evening, the day had gone by slow. The villains were gathered, and carted off by the Heroes and Coast Guard. I was amazed at how many big name pros had been dispatched, not only was Miruko here but Ryukyu and Hawks had been sent as well! I hadn't gotten a chance to meet them though, thanks to my injuries. I had been laid up most of the day, but the doctors worked tirelessly on me, Kento stepping in with his cell activation to relieve the worst of it.

The majority of my injuries were from blunt force trauma. Bone fractures, internal bleeding, and those burns along my right side running from ribs to shoulder from the blasts I took. But for the most part, I got off easy by the end of the day. The accelerated healing they all provided left me in solid shape. I was still sore, and exhausted, but I was going to be okay.

Amari was laid up in a bed down the hall resting, both her arms were bound in casts the last time I saw her. Unfortunately, Kento wasn't able to heal her because she didn't have the right blood type for his quirk to activate her cells. Meanwhile, the Coast Guard had the island under lock and key. They were putting out fires, clearing the debris from ruined ships, and helping replace the damaged parts of the communication tower that had been jury-rigged to work.

Over all, I think everything turned out alright. The damage to the harbor, and those old ruins wasn't great but... Aside from myself, Mom and Amari, nobody had any serious injuries.

"Hey! Kaiji what are you doing!?" Mom freaked out the moment I swung my legs over the edge of the bed.

"Relax," I smiled faintly, rising on shaky legs. "I can walk... I just want to get some fresh air." I lied, fearing what she might say if I told her the truth. "And I'm gonna see how Amari's doing."

She narrowed her eyes at me, "Fine, go do your thing..." She sighed and waved me off, "I'll be here."

I left the room I'd been kept in for privacy, and stepped a little further down the hall. My body was still sore, legs felt so weak. But I could manage, there were things I needed to do, and say before this place got swarmed by reporters or I was taken to be questioned further. I came to a stop outside her door, knocking twice. "Amari? Are you awake?"

"Yeah, come on in." I was relieved to hear her so calm.

I pushed open the door, stepping inside. "Hey I-" Words catching as I saw both her parents sitting beside her bed. "H-Hey there, I don't think we've met." I chuckled nervously. Okay come on Kaiji, you just faced down a giant monster and won, you can handle talking to a girls parents right?

The mother had Kirai's eyes, but deep red hair. While the father's hair was short, slicked back and raven black. "No we haven't, but Kirai certainly has told us a lot about you." The father said while crossing his arms, causing his daughters face to flush red.

I knew this might be only chance to say it, so I took a deep breath and bowed my head to them both. "In case I don't get the chance again, I want to apologize to both of you."

"Adachi!" Kirai exclaimed.

"Wh-What for?" Her mother asked, sounding so confused.

"I asked for her help, and failed to protect her." I explained, keeping my head down. "Her injuries are my fault, because I wasn't strong enough to keep her safe, and I take full responsibility."

"W-Well that's..." The dad stammered a bit, I think I'd left him at a loss for words.

"Adachi, stand up you big dork." Kirai ordered with a heavy sigh, "Mom, Dad, can you give us a second?" The way she spoke, it was more casual than usual.

"Right, we'll go get you something to eat." Her mother nodded, as I stood up and the two filed out.

I blinked, looking back at her. "What? Did I do something wrong?"

She rolled her eyes, "Seriously, can you drop the super serious tone and just relax? You're way too intense, nobody cares about how or why," She scoffed, leaning back in her bed. "They're just happy everyone is alive."

Oh, right. "Heh, sorry about that." I chuckled, making my way over to a seat. "So how are you doing?"

"How are you doing?" Amari countered quickly, pointing her splint and bandaged arm at my right side. "You're missing an entire arm!"

"It'll regrow... Probably." I waved her off, "Either way, I'm used to this... This wasn't even as bad as the last time I fought someone." I pointed out, "That time I almost died."

"You are just too much," She groaned, lowering her arm and shaking her head. "You'd think three months on a calm tropical island would have curbed that... But I'm glad it didn't."

"Well between you bugging me, the festival, and the storm its not like I had a lot of chances to mellow out." I joked, but... There was something still nagging me though, about her. "So... Are uh... You and Red okay?" I asked, noting the red streaks in her hair, and the orange mingling with the blue of her irises. Her behavior, manner of speaking, they'd both changed as well.

Amari tensed up a bit, before sinking into her bed a little. "Yeah... About that," Uh oh. "I wasn't sure if I should tell you... Because I'm pretty sure you're immediately going to blame yourself but... I think Red is gone."

I nearly fell out of my chair with how fast I shot up to my feet. "What?!"

"Don't freak out," She held up both arms as best she could. "Seriously, if you freak out I'm gonna start freaking out! Okay?" I did my best to contain my worry, simply motioning for her to continue. "She's... Gone, but not really? I mean, I can't talk to her, I can't feel her but... I feel, complete?" She seemed to have trouble finding the right words. "Like, I always... Lacked something that Red had, the aggression, the self confidence, the... Strength... When we combined, I think she filled in all the missing pieces."

I think I understood, "You mean, you're one person now."

Amari nodded her head, "Red always had problems with being calm, not panicking, controlling her emotions... Something I never had an issue with," She looked down at her body. "I think, this is who we were always supposed to be..."

I get what she meant before, I already felt like this was my fault. But, was Amari okay with this? "And... You're not sad, that she's gone?"

"Of course I am," She replied, breathing out and wearing a faint smile. "But, I know she's still with me... It's not like she died, we're just the same person now... Hell, it might be easier to say that Kirai is gone too, I'm not exactly the same person I was yesterday." Before she narrowed her eyes at me. "But no matter who is and isn't gone, neither of us want you to kick yourself over this, so don't!" Her voice raising suddenly, "You just saved an entire friggin island! Go celebrate, be praised and adored by the masses! Don't mope around here with me."

Yeah, she was definitely different now. "Yeah, I guess you're right..." Scratching the back of my neck with my only hand. "But... I did still have something else I wanted to talk to you about, with the whole... Me leaving, thing."

She blinked, her intensity fading away quickly. "Yeah, I sort of... Blew up at you before, sorry about that."

"Don't worry about it," I assured, holding up my only hand, "It's fine-"

"No it's not!" She cut me off quickly, glaring daggers. "I snapped at you, despite all the good you've done and... Even after the horrible things I said, you still put everything on the line for us." Amari scoffed after finishing, shaking her head. "I get it, you have to go back because the world needs more people like you, and you're so much bigger than our tiny little island." Her fingers twitched a little as she paused. "And... And I meant what I said before," Her cheeks flushing a little. "You're... Always gonna be my hero."

I was happy to see that she'd come around, even if saying goodbye was going to be hard. I knew we'd at least be parting as friends still. "That's... Thank you, Amari." I smiled sadly, "I promise I'll come back, I'll visit whenever I can." Before looking to the door. "I won't forget this place, or you."

Her eyes glimmering a bit as she looked up at me. Before realizing that she was staring, and quickly looked away. "Y-Yeah well... You'd better not, and don't think you're leaving without my number." She huffed, "I want to hear all about UA, and being a hero, all that stuff."

I nodded, flashing a toothy grin. "You've got it... I've gotta go do something, but I'll be back."

"Well it's not like I'm going anywhere..."

. . .

It didn't take me long to find one of the people I'd been looking for. In fact, as I stepped outside it seemed like he was waiting for me. Not exactly my first choice, but he did have a higher status so maybe he'd have more answers to all of my questions. Still, his timing was suspicious.

"Good to see you're up and about," The Winged Hero Hawks greeted, casually sitting at a bench just outside the shopping center. "But, shouldn't you be resting kid?"

"I've slept enough," I waved him off. "And I wanted to catch one of you heroes before you left, I have some questions about that villain."

Hawks quirked an eyebrow, "Big scary blue dog man?" Before casually leaning back and folding his arms behind his head. "He was a mercenary I guess, has a pretty big criminal record-"

"No," I cut him off sharply. "I want to know about the Overmind."

He paused briefly, his expression shifting slightly. "... And why would you want to know about him?" He asked curiously.

"He was behind this attack," I explained, he already knew that though right? "He's after something specific, his Quirk is unlike anything I've ever heard of... And he's got money, connections, appeared out of nowhere." I shook my head, "I know most focus is on the League of Villains but... Is anyone trying to track this guy down?" I questioned, "You're the Number Two Hero, I figured you might have some inside knowledge."

Hawks' head tilted back a bit, "Well, you're not wrong..." And he released a heavy sigh, leaning forward with elbows on his knees. "Everyone knows that whoever this guy is, he's a serious threat... But tracking him is damn near impossible, finding out who he's got attached to his network is impossible unless they're being actively controlled... And stopping him from jumping bodies, isn't possible."

Well that was all terrifying, "So... What is the Hero Public Safety Commission doing about it?" I questioned, "I mean, he's attacked before right? A few months ago..."

Hawks seemed to catch on to my concern, about that specific incident. "Hey, you're one of those Class 1-Z kids aren't you?" How did he- "Heroes have been buzzing about you guys, your friends have turned into some really promising young stars." He explained, seeming to shift topics. "And I'm sure your name will be making headlines by tomorrow morning once news of all this breaks." Did he know about my connection to Suru and Ryoko, the ones at the heart of the first Overmind attack?

Still, I didn't realize that the others were doing so well back on the mainland. "Yeah... I'll have to catch up with everyone once I go back." Before I clenched my fist in afterthought, "Don't try to handle me, or change the subject... What does the HPSC really know about the Overmind?" I demanded, seeing right through that casual smile of his. He knew something, not just about me but about this entire thing.

Hawks' smile faded slowly, he remained silent for a moment as his eyes drifted towards the evening sky. "Geez... You're way too intense for a teenager, you know that?" He scoffed, shaking his head. "I'd say leave this whole thing to the Pros... But that wouldn't settle you down, so I guess I've got no choice." He reached into his pocket, hand fishing around for something before he pulled out a small piece of paper. It was folded up, "This is what I was sent here to do after all..." Holding it out to me, "It turns out a certain branch of government has taken an interest in you, and your friend Suru..." He explained, as I accepted the paper. "You want the truth? Heroes are stretched thin right now, and its getting harder and harder to find out who we can trust even among our own people..."

I looked up from the paper to him, "What is that supposed to mean?"

"If you want answers," He ignored my question, "If you want to get tangled up in this whole mess... Call that number, and ask for Adam Fletcher."

My eyes widened for a moment, hearing that name. "Adam... Fletcher." Eyes landing on the paper once more.

Hawks must have realized that I recognized the name, "Tch, should have known... The old bastard always liked to target potentials early..." He sighed shaking his head, "Just understand kid, if you get involved in this... You're going to go through hell before its all over."

With that, he rose to his feet and started walking away. And I'm not sure I could stop him even though I wanted more answers. I watched Hawks go, a sudden sense of dread hanging over me as I realized what kind of weight he must be carrying on his shoulders. My eyes landed on the paper one final time, I clenched it between my fingers before thinking about everything that's happened to me since I applied to UA.

I narrowed my eyes sharply, and began to unfold the paper.

"I've already been through hell..."

And there you have it! The end of Season 4!

We've only got one more season left of this story, and things are only gonna get more wild before its over.

But before we hit Season 5, I'm preparing a special something that should come out in the next week or two. Think of it like... Our Movie, it'll be one chapter, probably somewhere between 10,000 - 15,000 words. And it'll cover the progress some of our other class 1-Z members have made since the group split up.

Like I said, probably 1-2 weeks from now, bank on being 2 because work has picked up again.

Also I've updated the title image! To our new, scarred Adachi~

As always, thanks for reading! I'll see you with that special premier in a while!