Wheel 1: Junior High arc — Rebel 5: The Bloodedge and the Rabbit

"..." Holding the piece of paper in one hand, the rabbit woman Rumi was holding an ice-cream in her free hand. There was a frown on her face until she smirked. "Top 5 huh? Congratulations kid!" She said as she gave the papers to Naoto.

Naoto grabbed the papers as he was eating an ice-cream too. "Still no name, huh?!" He said as he was currently seated on the sofa.

"Ahah! It's your duty to be a student, so I don't count this as respect points" Rumi laughed. "But with this I guess you earned a prize"

"Mh?" Naoto raised an eyebrow.

"The Hero Association invited me to join a gathering for Pro Heroes tomorrow evening" Rumi said. "I have the option to invite someone, so I wanted to bring you there, kid. Wanna go with me?"

Naoto shrugged. "Nah, thanks for the offer"

Rumi frowns. "Are you sure kid?"

"Yup. Besides I don't really "like" Heroes like the others kids"

When Naoto said it, Rumi mischievously smirked. "Oh? But then why do you always turn on the TV on the Heroes Anime Channel on Sunday morning?"

Naoto gulped as he turned his gaze to the window. "O-Oh, look! A bird!"

Touching the kid's head with a finger, Rumi continued. "You try to look cool and all, but you're still a kid inside~, ahahah!"

"Grrr- FIIINE! I'll go with you" Naoto sighed as Rumi stopped, still smirking.

"That's what I want to hear~" She said before she turned her head towards her phone's ring. Grabbing the device, Rumi accepted the call while she walked on the balcony. "Mirko here"

From his current position, Naoto couldn't hear Rumi's call, but from the frown present on her face he could understand what kind of call was: Job call. "Something happened?" He asked when, after a few seconds later, Rumi came back.

"A theft from a security van made by four Villains, and one of them possesses a Teleport Quirk" As she explained, the rabbit woman ran into her room. "I'm going to join the investigations with other Heroes too"

"You'll return for dinner?"

"Dunno"

"..." With his hands behind his head, Naoto was holding the stick of the ice-cream with his mouth. "...Rumi-san"

"What, kid?" Rumi came out from her room, wearing her Hero Costume.

"Even with all these unexpected events…do you like being a Hero?" Naoto asked.

"Why this sudden question? Do you want to become a Hero too?"

"Not a chance in hell" Naoto made a cross with his arms, but he then looked down "…but I just wanted to know why everyone desire to become a Hero so badly"

"..." Sighing, Rumi hid a small smile as she glanced at the kid. "Don't know for the others, but I do it because I want to do the right thing. I don't regret, and never will regret, my choices. Even if one day I will die, I will never stop to be a Hero"

"..."

"Does this answer satisfy you, kid?"

"Yeah yeah, it does" Naoto closed his eyes when Rumi started to walk towards the door. "...Rumi-san"

"What now?"

Naoto turned his head to her, smiling. "I'll cheer for you, so beat the hell out of them, Mirko the Hero!"

'This kid…' Smirking, Mirko gave a thumbs up to Naoto. "Later kid, and don't play video games all the time!" She said as she left.

After her footsteps vanished, Naoto smirked before he booted up his gaming console. Oooh, she gave an idea to him. Opening the console version of Xrd, Naoto smirked.

"Time to finally become a pro at this game. I'll demolish Nejire! Maybe I'll invite Rumi-san to play with me too next time"

Ironically, his main character was Sol.

'Why does this guy always remind me about Ragna…?'

Immersed in the bathtub, Naoto was gazing up at the ceiling as he held his right hand up, continually turning his Drive on and off.

He had been doing this type of training for a couple of days, and has since found that he can draw more blood than his fight with Kotetsu. Now constructs like spears and axes were possible again, but abilities like E.O.E. were still inaccessible. And talking about E.O.E.

How the hell does Edge of Eternity actually work?

Naoto frowned, the lower part of his face under the water, making bubbles. Excluding the Blood Manipulation, actually a bunch of his Drive's abilities didn't make complete sense, yet he knew how to use them. But how he got them and how he unconsciously knew how to use them was a mystery. Like the fog that came out from his body and became his limbs after Spinner cutted them. Could that happen again? Or even Edge of Eternity, the blood scythe he created and used against his showdown with Spinner. It worked like a normal scythe...but Naoto has a feeling that E.O.E. hides a dark secret behind, but what is that secret? Its real ability?

Another question he had no answer to was Divine Reaper, or so he called that technique. That monster that he knew how to summon but never met once in his life…

"Your presence…the same as the Dark One?"

What the hell did that masked man, Hakumen, mean by "same" as "Dark One"? Naoto understand that somehow Ragna's existence and Naoto's existence are similar, but if that's not the only reason? Only one thing was sure, both of them are "Bloodedge" in a way or another…

"My brain is melting..." Naoto muttered as he decided to get out of the bathtub. There were too many questions, and almost no answers for now. After drying himself, Naoto put on a pair of pajamas that Rumi bought for him weeks before and then left the bathroom. Walking in the lounge, Naoto turned on the TV. Rumi was probably in the news. And talking about the devil—

"Ah, Rumi-san" Naoto said as he turned his head towards the door, seeing the Pro Hero closing it…but nothing was roses and flowers. "—Oh shit! RUMI!" The Bloodedge Drive user ran towards the rabbit woman when she suddenly fell.

Grabbing her in time before her head could hit the ground, Naoto looked at her with growing concern when he noticed she fainted. Now that he could see her better, the woman was full of wounds and bruises but most of all she was panting.

"She's hot…!" He gasped when he felt an incredible heat from her forehead. 'She got a helluva fever!' Gritting his teeth, the boy had to drag Rumi to her room before laying her on the bed.

"First thing, cold water, a towel and the first aid kit" Starting to make a list in his head, Naoto rushed towards the bathroom, where at the same time the woman kept a first aid kit.

Grabbing all the things he needed, the boy returned to Rumi's room. Placing the wet towel on her forehead, Naoto opened the med kit. Grabbing the disinfectant, plasters and bandages, he noticed that there was nothing close for cut the bandages—

"Bloodedge" Murmuring the name of his ability, Naoto created a small knife of blood. It's time to act now. As he began to disinfect the wounds he could see, Naoto noticed the TV was on, allowing him to hear the current news.

"—Look! Even if it's a desperate fight, Mirko isn't backing down! No, she's grinning towards the Villain!"

Glancing at the screen before he returned to observe his work, Naoto frowned.

Why did she fight that battle if this was the result…?

"Mark my words! One hundred, one thousand—I don't give a damn! No one will stop Mirko the Hero from doing the right thing!"

Widening his eyes, Naoto stopped to move his hands. His mind clicked when he recognized how Rumi called herself: Mirko the Hero. He said that to her before…

"...Don't die on me, Rumi-san!"

Pain. Just pain.

Opening her eyes, Rumi might compare what she is feeling to a huge hangover. Holding her head in pain, the rabbit woman looked around.

'My…room?'

Indeed, she was under the sheets of her bed. Trying to get up, her gaze went on her barely clothed body full of bandages and plasters. Who did it?

Walking towards the wardrobe in the room, Rumi managed to wear a proper outfit for use at home—

Bam

Her ears twitched. 'What was that?'

Bam! Bam!

Definitely is not a dream. Trying to walk towards the place where that sound came, she saw the door of the inner gym open.

Bam bam bam bam bam!

'It comes from that…' Stepping inside the room, the woman finally obtained the answer— "Kid…?"

Before her, the kid was punching every kind of bag he could use, showing an incredible ability in the martial arts for someone of his age. Noticing that he didn't see her coming, Rumi remained silent as she continued to observe the kid.

She continued to remain silent until Naoto leaped before kicking the bag with a front-flipping backwards kick. When he landed, Rumi sighed, shaking her head. "That's not you should do that kick''

"Woah!" Jumping for the jumpscare, the boy turned his head towards Rumi before he stepped towards her. "Rumi-san! Are you okay?"

"Huh? Of course I'm okay, kid! No way that weak Villain could end Mirko!" With a quick movement of her left leg, Rumi stomped her foot against Naoto's face, stopping him as he grunted in pain.

"WHY YOU HITTED ME?!" Naoto shouted as he held his nose with his hand.

"Couldn't guess alone? I'll show you why I hit you" Rumi said as she stepped towards the Punching Bag. Although she had a helluva headache, her pride as a fighter was telling her to do it— Raising her leg, Rumi delivers a powerful front-facing axe kick on the Bag, smashing it against the wall as she turns to see Naoto's surprised face. "Your kicking style, and I'll be blunt, is shit! This is how you should kick an enemy!"

"I…see?"

"Here" Rumi gestured with her hand to Naoto.

"Huuh?" Naoto made a confused, and stupid, expression.

"I'll teach you how to kick" Rumi explained, seeing that stupid expression on Naoto once again. "Now come here!"

"Y-Yes ma'am!" Naoto said as he walked towards her. When Naoto was close, Rumi glanced at him.

"Show me your stance"

With a nod, Naoto did what he was asked to do, assuming the battle stance he always used. He never saw the problems with that— "Are you touching my legs?!"

"I'm adjusting your stance, you idiot!" Rumi stated while touching the kid's limbs at certain points. "Don't know who taught you this stance, but it is not suited for kicks, especially the one you did before. That's more of a brawler and fists" With a sigh, the woman stepped back before assuming a stance. "Here, you're good. Now follow my movements"

Glancing at the woman, Naoto nodded, following Rumi's movements as she explained everything behind them. They continued for a while, taking a few breaks in the between too, and it was during one of them that Rumi asked—

"You healed my wounds, I guess?"

The kid glanced at the woman before he finished drinking the bottle of water. After a few seconds, the boy nodded. "You fell on the entrance. It was the only thing I could do for you at that moment"

"You could call an ambulance, duh?" Rumi stated. "Hell, even a Pro Hero, yet you healed me with your own abilities and all alone. Why?"

"..." Naoto sighed as he leaned on the ground, glancing at the ceiling. "I felt it was…the right thing to do, I guess? Dunno why I took the burden only on me but maybe it was because it was my way to say 'thank you' for everything?"

"..." With a sigh, the woman glanced at the boy. "Alright, break's over. We'll restart the training"

With a nod, Naoto stood up—

"But thank you. You saved me, Naoto"

"Nah, forget it—. . . " Naoto blinked a few times as the words were metabolized by his brain. "You…you called me with my name!" Naoto widened his eyes.

"What? Why surprised, you saved my life. You got enough respect points to be called with your name by me" Rumi stated, smirking to him.

"I…thanks, Rumi-san"

"Don't need your thanks. Now let's resume, Naoto. Are you ready?!"

"Yes, ma'am!"

The girl felt nothing. She couldn't feel anything. She couldn't feel the blood staining her hands, her body and her hair. She couldn't feel in her hands to hold the two parts that once joined were the body of an innocent Pro Hero.

The girl…just couldn't feel any kind of emotion…

Like a Beast…

"...Target's combat level declined. Result: Total victory" The girl said. Her tone of voice was cold and robotic…

Just like a machine…

"Guess this is the proof she's ready, my friend" A voice came from the inside of her inner right ear as a light came out from behind her, followed by footsteps.

"Yes. Indeed, she is ready. I had no doubts about her"

Turning her head, the girl glanced at the man with red eyes and white hair as she could only bow her head and greet him. "Architect..." She said as she suddenly received a headpat.

"That is not you should call me, my precious girl" The man said, hiding a strange smile on his face. "What's the name you have to call me?"

"Analyzing database…correct word: Found. The correct name I should use to call my Creator is 'Father'. Is that right?" She said, causing a burst of laughs from the man.

"Exactly, my daughter!" The man smiled at the girl. "I have a task for you—"

"Alright. Shall I start killing?"

"—That is the spirit, my daughter…Tau-19" The man said. He was already savoring the fruits of his plan, but he knew it would be short-lived…All Might is coming, after all.

It was time for the Symbol of Evil, after this fight, to retreat into the shadows once again.

The Wheel of Fate is Turning…