Hey everyone! My motivation came back. Thank you for all of the support so far! I'll try to get another chapter out soon. This is my first time writing a fight scene, so sorry if it's bad. Enjoy the chapter!
Kuboro was fighting back every hero instinct he had to run into the fight. It wouldn't do any good. He didn't know any of the villain's quirks and didn't have a plan, yet all of the screams fueled it more. The three villains (criminals? arsonists? he couldn't tell) were still standing in the middle of it all. They were now walking towards different stores and shops.
The former hero-in-training focus shifted over to all of the screaming civilians. There were small pieces of rubble falling as a result of the fires. It almost pulled him into a flashback, but he didn't have time for that. People were in danger.
The villains were now out of his line of sight, so maybe he could help people evacuate. He tried to shake off the thought once again. He wasn't a provisional hero anymore. Instead, he's an ordinary civilian who doesn't have any identification and who's legally supposed to be dead. Okay, not a normal one, but he shouldn't break the law.
He might already have a criminal record because of that time at the hero agency. Other than that, only a few people have seen him use his quirk. Those people most likely didn't care about going to the cops about it. Not all cops are bad, but the ones in this area were corrupt. They never believe the person with a "villain" quirk over someone with a "hero" one.
Oboro never had to witness horrible things like this, but Kuboro had to. Every single day. Would the police even care if he stepped in? He tried to shake off that train of thought. This time, he failed. There was no way he'd stand by like a coward while innocent people were getting hurt. He didn't have to fight the villains; all he needed to do was get people to safety.
With that, his hero instincts skyrocketed. He was so in tune with them he jumped off the balcony expecting clouds to catch him. He quickly realized his mistake and panicked for a split second before summoning a portal. It landed him in a crumbling department store.
Without thinking, Kuboro pulled a cloak off a disfigured mannequin. Some people at this mall knew his appearance, so he needed another disguise. The one he uses daily is only sunglasses and a hat. He grabbed a blue sweatshirt and a ski mask. If he was going to break the law, there was no way he's get caught.
As he ran out, he briefly stopped by the mirrors. Nemuri would call him a fashion disaster, but it hid everything well. Screaming still filled the air as he left the store. Fire danced around the area while panicked civilians scattered. The former hero student took a deep breath and mentally went through his rescue training.
Someone screamed nearby. Immediately, Kuboro looked over to see a woman and her baby. They were inside another store, and the ceiling was giving out. (It distantly reminded him of the children's screams before he shielded them with a cloud. He didn't know the rubble was also falling toward him-) He concentrated as he created a warpgate under them and another at the exit. As much as he wanted to comfort them, they could give the police a better description.
He continued this process. Find someone, create a portal, and get them to safety. He almost had forgotten how amazing it felt to help people. It made him rejoice when he saw a relieved smile in the distance. It's why Oboro wanted to be a hero: to get people to smile and be safe. Kuboro still wanted to do that. It might not be legal, but it could maybe work.
The thought got cut off when he thought about Hitoshi and Asui. Mainly Hitoshi. How would the kid (his son) react if he got hurt? Only Asui would be there to take care of him, but she already had a lot on her plate. There was no way he was letting Hitoshi go into the foster care system either. He's never personally experienced it, but Shouta and Hizashi did. All the stories of what they went through made him downright murderous.
Becoming some kind of vigilante was off the table for now. He needed to take care of Hitoshi instead. Just being a hero at this moment is all that matters. After the mist man finished getting people out of this area, he moved on to another. He thought it would be a steady rhythm from here, but it went much differently. (He sometimes can't stop being optimistic, okay? It's a part of who he is.)
At first glance, it was like the first area: fire and screaming. Kuboro was going to start getting more citizens out, but then he heard glass shattering. The three villains had broken the window to the jewelry store. The owner cowered inside.
"Pl-Please don't take anything," the man pleaded, "I can't afford another shipment!"
"No can do, sir!" the red-cloaked man declared, "The Trinity needs funding for their schemes. A mall raid is such a perfect way to do it!"
The newly named Trinity collectively cackled. Kuboro was very close to stepping in, but he stopped himself. He needed more information before stepping in.
The villain in the center's pointer finger lit on fire.
"Give us what we want, or you'll face the consequences!" the criminal in the back yelled.
As the group moved forward, Kuboro inched closer. His mind frantically attempted to form a semblance of a plan, but he couldn't think of anything! All he could think about was how there was someone in danger. Screw logic; he needed to do something! With only the bare bones of a plan, the mist man created a portal under a good amount of rubble outside the store. He had intended for it to land on top of the villains.
Right before he opened the second portal, he hesitated. The debris could potentially give the criminals significant injuries, and the shop owner was too close for comfort. It looks like he was going in with no plan whatsoever. When the fire villain got too close to the civilian, Kuboro dumped the rubble in another location and made another portal under the villain's feet. (A portal opened at the police station and confused all of the officers on duty. Luckily, someone was nearby with quirk suppressant cuffs.)
Kuboro didn't give the villains another moment to rest. Quirk fatigue was slowly getting to him, yet he still created another portal, and it swallowed up the second villain. (Another portal opened up at the same police station. A certain detective was already chugging down an entire coffee pot.)
As the mist man made a third warpgate, his quirk drawbacks finally got to him. The splitting migraine he got caused him to miss the third criminal completely. He hasn't overused this quirk in so long. The pain caused him to stumble to the ground, alerting the villain of his presence.
The world was a swirl of yellows and blues for a few seconds. The pain temporarily numbed out after that, and his vision refocused. The cloaked criminal was now right in front of him.
"Not so tough now, aye?" the criminal chuckled, "When you mess with the Trinity, you mess with me, Batman!"
In any other situation, Kuboro would've laughed. What kind of villain names themself after a pre-quirk superhero? But he was sprawled out on the ground, and another headache was building up. The rip-off villain pressed a button on his boots, and they grew spikes. He was so doomed.
"Hey, we can talk this out," Kuboro rasped as he stumbled back onto his feet.
Batman only grunted as he sent a kick right for the mist man's chest. Due to all of the quirkless sparring he did with Shouta, he instinctively dodged. The boot grazed his sweatshirt, but it didn't cut too deep.
"Is that all you got?" Kuboro snorted. Internally, he was slightly panicking. When he deals with AFO's thugs, he either runs or uses his quirk. It has been so long since he's fought quirkless.
It turns out that laughing at the criminal was a mistake. He summoned two boomerangs (they looked exactly like the ones from the comic, so unoriginal) and threw them at Kuboro's chest.
The former hero student fell back into a pattern of dodging. The adrenaline temporarily muted his migraine, so his evasion was more fluid. Some of "Batman's" gadgets tore up his sweatshirt, but that wasn't the main problem.
The issue was the fight was at a stalemate. Kuboro tries to get close, but "Batman" throws another random gadget. Where the heck was he getting all of them? The mist man wanted to use his quirk, but his headache came when Kuboro tried. He needed to end this fight before pro heroes arrived.
The criminal once again threw his boomerang. Though, this time, he missed. Maybe he was finally getting tired. Kuboro hoped so. He wanted to go home and see Hitoshi. It was only a matter of time before he'd get enough money to get those fake IDs. Then, the two of them would be a family.
Before he got distracted, he focused back in on the fight. The boomerang ricocheted so hard it opened the door, and the former provisional hero saw a few broken broomsticks. They looked so similar to his old bo-staff! He quickly dashed for the closet to grab one.
"Hiding in the closet now?" "Batman" scoffed, "Pfft, coward!"
The criminal opened the closet door, not expecting to get a bloody nose from a broom. Kuboro walked out of that very closet with a grin on his face. Kuboro grinned as the villain clutched his nose in fear. Back in UA, he'd always be the person falling down the stairs or running into doors. It was like a curse was placed on him to have a damaged nose til the end of time. Seeing someone else have an injured nose, a criminal nonetheless, felt weirdly accomplishing.
"Who's the coward now?" Kuboro quipped.
"Batman" growled in anger, then pulled out some trashy bomb and chucked it with terrible accuracy. It landed in the corner of the room and weakly exploded.
"D*nm heroes!" he screamed.
"I'm just a concerned citizen," Kuboro stated. Shortly afterward, he whacked the already dazed villain on the head for good measure. He took a minute to catch his breath before teleporting the last of the trio to the police station. (The officers weren't even surprised when a third villain dropped in. The detective dejectedly sighed as he tied the criminal up. There wasn't enough coffee in the world.)
The mist man winced as he surveyed the store. All of "Batman's" gadgets did so much damage to the store. Some of the expensive jewelry lay broken on the ground. He knew the damage was mainly the criminals' fault, but his heroic heart kept telling him otherwise. He summoned another portal to retrieve his wallet and pull out a few hundred yen. It wouldn't cover most of the destruction. There wasn't much more he could offer due to his tight budget.
Before he could do anything more, he heard footsteps outside the shop. Flashes of bright colors caught the corners of his eyes. The pro heroes arrived! Without thinking, he opened a warp gate back to the bookstore.
The adrenaline faded when he got back, and the pain surged back to his head. The teleporter fell into the nearest chair. It's been so long since he last had quirk side effects. Back when he created clouds, he needed enough water in his body to make them. Overusing it meant he fainted from dehydration. Oboro only had to carry water bottles around, but headaches and migraines didn't have the same solution. Sometimes water helped with headaches, but only expensive medicine stopped it completely.
Kuboro put medicine on the long list of things he needed to buy when he had the money. Some items were close to finally getting off that list due to his new job. He needed to give Asui a better thank you soon. She helped him so much in such a short amount of time. Nothing could fully express how thankful he was.
For now, all he could do was help run her bookstore. It didn't fulfill his endless desire to help, especially after today. He had almost forgotten why Oboro wanted to be a hero. Kuboro saw a cruel side of the world compared to his past self, but after today, he remembered so many people needed saving. He also knew now that there weren't enough heroes to save everyone.
As much as he wanted to be a full-time vigilante, some of his logic decided against it. He didn't want to be on the run all the time. What if one of his friends got assigned to his case? That was a terrifying thought. All for One would surely target them then.
Shaking off the fear, he looked at the condition of the shop. It looked considerably better than the jewelry store, but some things must've gotten knocked over in the panic. He pulled off his disguise and cleaned up fallen books and broken glass. Surprisingly, it helped him calm down his raging thoughts. Once he finished, the mist man decided to go home for the rest of the day. The villain attack would close down the mall for a few days anyways.
After today, it was clear Kuboro wouldn't pursue crimes. But if someone needed help, he'd step in without hesitation. (Blue and white wisps gathered at the side of the portal as it closed)
Meanwhile, at the Musutafu Police Department, a very tired and confused Naomasa Tsukaichi sat in his office. Three wanted thieves appeared out of a portal this morning with seemingly no explanation. The first two had no injuries, while the third had a bloody nose and a minor concussion.
Of course, the chief decided to assign his best detective to the case, Tsukaichi. It could hardly be called a case due to the lack of information. The quirk registry had no warp quirks like the one used, and they had no physical description. The only lead he had was this happened at a mall in Okinawa. All civilians claimed portals teleported them outside the mall.
The pro heroes on the scene also found a destroyed jewelry store with money sitting on the counter. It would be unusual for the villain to leave money out, so this was the portal user.
Naomasa sighed. This case was shaping up to be another vigilante case. He was going to lose so much sleep until this mess was over.