I'm on patrol in the streets this afternoon on my own. It's been half a month since All Might retired after the fight in Kamino Ward. On TV and on the internet, they've just been letting loose idle gossip meant to stir up people's unease day after day. I drown out the bustle of the busy streets around me. I stop in front of a large screen on a building where news reporters are speaking with the headline: Special: Where is hero society heading?
"However, there haven't been many big changes to our lives, right?" the newscaster asks. "I believe we should investigate how they'll change in a practical way and consider countermeasures."
"Please tell us about how you think hero society will change in the future," the newswoman asks.
"It's really just that the presence of All Might got too big. So big that we couldn't see it anymore."
I stare up at the screen for a bit longer before continuing my way down the street. Now that Enji is the number one hero, a lot of the unease is because of him. I know he's not really the kind of guy that everyone likes. His temper doesn't help him either. Despite seeing him at his darkest times, I still am willing to see the good in him. In anyone. It's just who I am.
'I only hope the gossip doesn't get to him…' I think of Enji.
A sudden sound of agonizing screams comes from an alley down the block. I immediately run in that direction. Once I reach the alley, all I can see are blue flames lighting up the darkness. What appear to be bodies on the ground are smoldering in the left over blue flames.
'Those flames…' I think to myself. 'Are they the same ones that saved me from that Nomu?'
A movement catches my attention at the opposite end of the dark alley. The shadow of a person standing at the end is all I can see. I narrow my eyes at the person, trying to get a better look. I can feel them staring right back at me. The person soon completely disappears out of sight. I pull out my phone and dial emergency services.
"Yes, I need an ambulance and police," I tell the operator.
Once I give the operator the details, I hang up. I look down at the smoldering black bodies, the blue flames now completely out.
'There's no doubt they didn't survive,' I think.
My eyes turn back to the spot where I saw the mysterious person who burned these people.
I'm sitting on a chair across from Enji's desk in his office at his agency.
"A group of petty criminals who went by the name Team Reservoir Dogs was found dismembered and merged into their own truck," Enji says. "It's still not sure who did it."
"It's interesting how criminals are turning against each other like that," I say.
"But who could've killed them? In the middle of the day?"
"Criminals wandering in search of a place to belong. It looks like the crazy ones have started to make their own place to belong. Both the hero side and villain side have started changing sordidly."
"I know how the media is stirring up gossip about me...I can't help but think I'm partly causing this unease."
"I guess the only thing you can work on is to not make them uneasy," I lightly laugh.
"Easier said than done," he pouts. "Any leads regarding the League of Villains?"
"Not at the moment. I didn't find anything directly related to them. But as you've seen with Team Reservoir Dogs, the League is having an effect on some criminals. Other than that, there's been no activity by them since All Might's last fight."
"The League is probably scattered in different areas to get investigation off them."
"That's where it gets scary. This gives them time to find recruits. The League is the darling of the idiots right now as guys who've formed factions and started moving in a systematic way have started to come into the spotlight."
"Any other activity that we should be aware of?"
"In the past week or two, there's been a surge in the black market for suits and items. Demand is growing exponentially."
"That's not good."
"The sooner we put a stop to the League the better."
Enji keeps his arms crossed as he thinks.
"You learned your research skills at the Commission," he says. "I'm...glad to have your skills here at my agency."
My brows rise a bit at his words.
"I know it's not by choice," Enji continues. "But you're a great asset nonetheless."
"I'd rather be here than at any other agency," I reassure him.
Enji gives me a small smile.
"How is your quirk?" he asks. "Where are you at in control?"
"So far, I can reach up to 70% before I begin to lose control," I reply.
"I understand that your quirk is why the Commission has you under restrictions."
"I will admit it was with their help that I learned to control it to where I am now… I could have killed myself and many others a long time ago."
"Your quirk awakened when you were four."
"Yeah… Although the Commission helped me gain better control of it, it wasn't without rigorous training… I damn near blew myself and the whole Commission building up when I first started using it. They had to be careful not to trigger my quirk, especially when I underwent a great amount of distress. Being an orphan under the Commission, it wasn't easy. You know about it all..."
"I do….What helped you cope?"
"Many times...it was you and Touya."
Enji's brows rise a bit at the mention of his son's name.
"Touya's presence alone would just...soothe me," I continue.
Enji gazes down in guilt.
"I'm...sorry…" he says. "I know I caused you and Touya a great amount of distress...especially him."
I lower my eyes at his words.
"I hope you can forgive me one day," Enji says.
"Thank you, Enji," I give him a soft smile. "Your words mean a lot."
I see he still can't help but feel guilt. Seeing as I don't want to get into this topic, I decide to leave.
"I'm gonna get going," I stand. "It's been a long day."
"It has been," Enji nods. "Get some rest this weekend."
"I'll try," I lightly laugh.
I head out of his office, already changed out of my hero suit and ready for a Friday night out at the bar.
I'm sitting at the bar counter, now having finished my third cocktail. I rest my arms on the counter as I hold my drink in one hand.
'Enji is making an effort to atone for his past…' I think to myself. 'But I will admit it will be difficult to forgive him for how he treated Touya and the rest of his family.'
I take a sip from my drink. The sound of the bells on the door ring as a group of drunks walks in. I ignore them.
'I'm glad Enji is making an effort to atone for his actions,' I think. 'But it's not just me who he'll have to atone to…'
"Hey, pretty lady," a drunk man leans on the counter next to me. "You seem like you need company."
"No thanks," I don't even look at him.
"Aw, come on. I'll buy you a drink."
"I'm not interested."
"You haven't even considered it…" he caresses my hand.
'This drunk idiot must not know who I am…' I think to myself. 'Either way, he's really pissing me off.'
"She said she's not interested," a man grabs the drunk's hand and shoves it away from mine.
I look up to see the man in the hooded black jacket wearing the black sunglasses. He's come between me and the drunk idiot. Despite not being able to see his eyes, it's obvious he's glaring at the drunk man.
"Alright, alright," the drunk idiot backs off. "I didn't know she wasn't alone."
The drunk turns and leaves. Before I can even thank the hooded man, he heads for the door. I quickly take cash out, place it on the counter and rush after him.
"Hey!" I call after him.
He doesn't listen and continues to walk into the alley.
"Wait up!" I catch up to him.
I take a hold of his hand, taking him by surprise.
"You can at least give me your name," I say.
I hadn't noticed his height until now. He stands at about six feet, taller than my height of five feet-six inches.
"So can I get a name?" I ask again.
"You don't need to know it," he pulls his hand out of mine.
He keeps walking down the alley. I stare after him wondering why he's so urgent to leave.
"Well...if it means anything," I say. "Thank you...for intervening with that drunk idiot."
The man stops walking, his back still facing me.
"Can I at least buy you something to drink or eat as thanks?" I ask.
"As long as you're alright, that's all the thanks I need," he replies.
'Just who is this man and why is he so kind to me?' I think to myself. 'His kindness...it feels...all too familiar.'
The man then continues walking down the alley. I can't resist this urge to know who this man is.
"Wait!" I run after him.
I reach my hand out to him, but I suddenly trip on a crack in the ground. Losing my balance, I fall forward into the man from behind. He too loses his balance as we fall and I land on top of him. I push myself up using the ground at his sides.
"Damn it! I really…" I look up at him.
Due to the fall, his glasses fell off his face, landing next to him. I find myself staring into his turquoise eyes through the dark.
'Those eyes…' I stare in awe.
The man winces and reaches for his side.
"Are you hurt?" I ask.
"I am…" he reaches for the sunglasses. "But it ain't because of you."
After putting the sunglasses back on, he unzips his jacket from the bottom zipper, revealing a white shirt. It's soaked in blood at the bottom at his stomach.
"You're bleeding," I'm worried.
"It's nothing…" he winces.
"Come to my place. I can patch you up there."
"No, I said I'm fine," he quickly gets to his feet.
He quickly walks down the dark alley, leaving me on the ground. I stare after him in wonder.
'Those eyes of his…' I think. 'They remind me of…'
I dismiss the idea as I shake my head. Snapping out of it, I get to my feet and dust myself off. Seeing that the man has disappeared, I decide to head home. My place is some blocks away, and I reach the first level of apartments to my door. I unlock it and head inside, closing it after me.
'Why was he kind enough to intervene when that persistent drunk reached for my hand?' I think as I drop my purse on my dining table. 'And those eyes of his.'
I pull out a chair from my dining table and sit, letting out a sigh.
"I sure hope he'll be alright…" I say.
There's a sudden knock at my back window behind me. I perk up and am surprised to see it's the same hooded man standing outside my window on the fire escape. I rush to open the window and he leans on the sill.
"Is your offer to help still available?" He winces in pain.
"Come in," I help him enter.
He climbs in and I close the window. I have him sit on the dining chair I was on and rush away to get my first aid kit. After gathering the supplies, I rush back to him and set everything on the dining table.
"You're gonna have to take the jacket off," I prepare hydrogen peroxide in a clean cloth.
"No, it stays on," he grits his teeth in pain.
"Fine then just hold your shirt up."
After unzipping his jacket from the bottom, he carefully holds his bloody white shirt up, revealing a fairly big gash at the bottom of his stomach. His skin is rough and purple towards the upper half of his torso.
"This is gonna sting," I say before pressing the cloth drenched in hydrogen peroxide.
I press it gently over the wound, slowly wiping away at the blood around it. I finish cleaning the wound and prepare a stitching needle.
"This is where it'll really hurt," I warn.
He just nods to give me the okay. I begin to stitch his wound. The man hisses through the high collar of his jacket in pain.
"Luckily the wound isn't too deep," I say. "It'll make a good recovery."
After some minutes, I finally finish stitching him up. I clean his wound one last time and patch it up with a sticky gauze pad.
"There," I say. "You'll be fine."
"Thanks..." he lowers his shirt.
"No problem," I give him a friendly smile.
The man stares at my kind, smiling face.
"I'll fix you something to eat," I walk to the fridge.
"You don't have to," he tries to deny.
"Nonsense! You'll need to take antibiotics in order to prevent infection of your wound. You need food to help you digest the medicine."
The man doesn't object and just sits, watching as I prepare some food for him.
"You're not a picky eater, are you?" I heat up a small pot on the stove.
"I don't like fish," he replies.
"Hm. At least you're straight forward."
I pour premade soup into the pot. It consists of mixed vegetables, chunks of chicken, and some noodles.
'Touya also didn't like fish…' I think to myself.
I shake the thought of Touya out of my head. After a few minutes, the soup heats up enough. I pour some into a porcelain bowl and place it in front of the hooded man.
"Make sure you eat it all," I give him a bottle of water.
The man stares at the food for a moment and then at me. I'm confused at why he's not eating.
"What's wrong?" I ask.
"Can you...gimme a minute to eat on my own?" He asks. "I'm not...comfortable eating around people."
"Oh! Sorry!" I head to the bathroom. "I'll prepare the antibiotics."
I leave him at the dining table and head into the bathroom. I open my tall cabinet and scan the shelves of medicine. Being a pro hero, you've got to make sure you have the appropriate medicine whenever you find yourself with an injury. I learned that the hard way while under the Commission. After about a minute of scanning the medicines, I finally find the appropriate antibiotic.
"Got it!" I hold the large pill bottle.
Forgetting that the man wants his privacy while he eats, I make my way back out to the kitchen.
"Found the medicine," I twist the cap off. "Just one of these, and you'll be fine for the…"
My eyes look at the man who's not wearing his hood anymore. His jacket is unzipped all the way, revealing the rest of his features. He's a pale young man of a slim but tall build. He has black hair that spikes up around his head, hanging low over his lidded turquoise eyes. His most striking features are the patches of wrinkled, purple skin that cover much of his lower face and neck, all the way down past his collarbone and below his eyes. He sees that I'm staring at him and his eyes widen a bit. Upon looking further into his eyes, my eyes widen in shock as I drop the medicine bottle.
"Damn it…" he mutters. "I knew I shouldn't have come."
"Touya," I'm still in shock.
The man stares back at me, shocked that I'm able to recognize him. I feel my legs go weak a bit as I walk forward, falling on my knees in front of him.
"Is it really you?" My eyes stare into his.
He can't bear to look me in the eyes. I reach for his face with my hands, lifting it up to see him clearly.
"Akira…" he says. "I know...it must be hard to look at me...because of my skin..."
"It really is you!" I pull him into a hug.
Touya is surprised at my sudden embrace.
"I must be dreaming…" my eyes tear up. "If I'm dreaming, I don't wanna wake up. Please don't let me wake up."
"Akira...it's really me," Touya responds.
I pull away for a moment, holding his face inches from mine as I gaze into his eyes. There is no doubt that it's him. Tears flood my eyes as they run down my face. I begin to caress his hair as I look at his scars.
"Touya…" my eyes are teary.
I know his body isn't fit for his quirk. He's been burning himself since we were kids whenever he used it.
"I know this probably isn't how you'd imagined me…" Touya looks away.
"I don't care," I shake my head. "As long as you're here…alive."
I continue to cry softly. Touya gently pulls me into his chest, holding me close.