Wow. Thanks for making this my first story to reach 100 follows! Once again, I'm going to leave a bit of a longer author's note at the bottom for those that would like to read it. It's about the process I use to write the story, and not the story itself, so feel free to skip it if you're not interested in that.
Once again, no angst, but there is some edge. If the story starts to become too dark, please let me know so I can dial it back a bit.
That being said: as always, thank you for every review, favourite, and follow. If you feel any which way about this chapter (especially the… additions—you'll know them when you see them), feel free to leave your thoughts in the review section, or to PM me.
Chapter 6: Genjutsu, and Greater Villainy
The harsh and cold tranquillity of Obito's Kamui dimension was rudely interrupted as a man was ejected from one reality and into another. Screaming in terror, he landed awkwardly on his broken arm, tears of pain springing into his eyes. Slowly opening his eyes, and clenching his teeth to fight the pain, the man rolled over and onto his knees.
I'm… alive?
Where are the others?!
Hyperventilating, he fell backwards onto the smooth, hard floor. Frantically pawing at his face with his good arm, he tore his mask off. Desperately gasping for breath, the pain in his arm dulled as adrenaline did its duty. Pupils dilated, he skittishly took in his surroundings.
This place, this reality, was cold, dark, and bleak—sterile, as if he had been trapped inside a freshly cleaned refrigerator. It was as bright as a clear sky with a full moon—that is, there was scarcely enough light to see.
"H-hello?" he asked, softly crying out to the void, having calmed himself enough to speak.
There was no response.
Gulping, he asked again, this time more loudly.
"Kazuo? Come on now, guys, this isn't funny! Shijo? Tanaka? Senzo? Anybody?"
His breathing picked up once more. Alone and full of terror, he cried out one final time to the void.
"Where am I?"
This time, it answered.
"In my own personal dimension, of course," the man in the orange mask said, red eye swirling. He was reclining in his hammock across a small chasm on a smaller block of land, idly leafing through the pages of yet another quirk theory book. Between reading, he had paused to take a glance or two at his terrified guest.
"W-what do you want?" Kikuchi the gang leader asked, his voice naught above a whisper.
Obito looked up from his book, red eye focused on the pleading man. Despite his casual posture—he was still reclining in his hammock—his gaze was so heavy it pinned the man to the ground.
It's like he can see right through me!
"Not much," Obito answered calmly, "I'd just like to confirm a few things on my end, really. I do hope you'll be more useful than your friends."
"What did you do to them?" the man asked.
"To your friends? Nothing. My kunai on the other hand…" Obito trailed off with a suggestive shrug. He went back to reading his book.
"You-you—!" Kikuchi exclaimed, interrupting himself. Free from Obito's gaze, his primal fear transformed into a primal anger.
"Hm?" Obito hummed, not looking up.
Unable to speak, Kikuchi, in a rush of righteous anger, activated his quirk. Kikuchi's quirk, simply called Porcupine, allowed the man to control the growth of all forms of keratin—namely, hair and nails—on his body.
His hair grew and grew. Thickening and sharpening, his clothes tore, perforated by sharp quills. Covered in sharp quills, he became invincible to any melee attack. The nails on his left hand grew and combined into a single blade the length of his forearm. Staggering to his feet, he rushed at Obito, intent on skewering the evil man. High on adrenaline, no pain registered on his mind as his broken arm dragged behind him.
Obito, still reclining in his hammock, replied with a hail of shuriken. Leaping across the gap between their floating blocks of land, Kikuchi felt his victory draw near as each and every shuriken missed.
I've got you!
Raising his left arm to cleave the man in half, he quickly found himself completely ensnared, bound head to toe in razor-sharp steel wire.
What?
Too quick to avenge his friends, did not notice one crucial detail. Each shuriken may have missed, but every pair of shuriken was attached by more than a metre of razor wire, forming a net. A net that he had happily ran into.
Tumbling to the ground, he fell face first right at the foot of Obito's hammock. The wire dug into the gaps between his quills, and with every movement he only entangled himself further.
"W-what do you want? I'll give you anything! Anything at all! Just put me back!" Kikuchi, the gang leader half-demanded, half-pleaded.
Obito closed his book with a snap.
"Anything?"
"Yes!"
As a cat would stalk a mouse, so too did Obito slowly approach the bound and pleading man.
Obito released his grip on the man's chin, allowing him to fall to the floor with a thud. Standing up from his low squat, he continued his analysis.
That certainly was… enlightening, to say the least.
Ocular genjutsu hadn't worked, nor had any attempts at the more typical genjutsu that incorporated hand signs. Not even the few basic auditory illusions that Obito knew worked. His chakra had slid off the man, as though he was trying to spray water onto an object soaked in oil.
Obito's chakra simply had no way to enter the man—and thus, he could not manipulate his perceptions. Frustrated, he let the hold on his irritation loose.
The man—Kikuchi—who hadn't reacted to any level of chakra, tried to scramble away in fear.
Oh? Can he sense the chakra flowing from my tenkutsu?
He watched as Kikuchi tried to flee despite his restraints.
No—he cannot sense my chakra. He is sensing the malevolent emotions directed at him within it. Not the chakra itself.
This idea was confirmed when Obito let his emotions run rampant but held back on his chakra.
Well, I suppose it's a good thing I've kept a hold on those for now. I wouldn't want to cause a panic in public, would I? Not to mention there might be some sort of emotion-sensing quirk.
That would be annoying.
Kikuchi couldn't handle the malevolence and passed out.
Obito stared at the drooling man, considering what he had learned.
Interesting. I wonder if this would also work on higher-level opponents?
Still, the information was useful, and his paranoia was justified. Without a proper understanding of each and every facet of this new place, he would have to tread carefully. Experimentations complete, he executed the man without a second's hesitation.
Shinobi were creatures of efficiency, after all. Not requiring any sleep, Obito went back to his reading.
That man had a quirk. Is a quirk required for immunity?
As always, with every answer, Obito stumbled on more and more questions.
Obito—henged as grumpy-civilian-man—waltzed into the library once more. He had been here enough times to become a familiar face with most of the staff.
Obviously I've only had cursory experience with heroes and villains.
The small taste of 'quirked' combat that he had several days prior wasn't that enlightening, either.
Any competent genin could have taken him out with any basic ninjutsu… but he was also most likely a low ranking villain.
That was something that was quite useful, once he had discovered it. According to one of the many books he had sealed, when quirks first emerged, the police force had to adapt. After the chaotic period following quirk emergence, a new ranking system had emerged.
It was simply another thing that this world held in common with his—when a person was suspected of a crime, the police would put out a notice. It was similar to a bingo-book from the Elemental Nations, but with villains instead of simple bounties on missing-nin or enemy shinobi. The notice covered things such as the reason they were wanted, their suspected crimes, and most interesting to Obito: it also gave a basic description of their quirk and ranked their threat level.
The threat level supposedly took many things into account: the type of crime committed, the ease of countering the quirk, the potential damage it could cause, and whether or not heroes would be needed to subdue them, and so on.
Walking past the front desk without a glance—something the staff had become accustomed to—he sat down at one of the empty computers, searching to see if he could find such a notice for the villain he had abducted.
Eventually, he found it.
Hiroji Kikuchi
Quirk Assisted Assault and Battery; Quirk Assisted Robbery
Quirk: Porcupine, allows the quirk user control of all keratin-based body parts made by the owner of the quirk. Transformation type. Deadly at close ranges.
Rank: F-tier
Alias(es): Hiroji Kikuchi
DESCRIPTION
Date of Birth: April 21, 2XXX
Hair: Light brown
Height: 160cm
Sex: Male
Nationality: Japanese
Place of Birth: Japan
Eyes: Green
Weight: 65kg
Race: Japanese
Language: Japanese
REMARKS
Hiroji Kikuchi has ties to or may reside in Musutafu, Japan.
CAUTION
Hiroji Kikuchi is wanted for his alleged involvement in the assault and robbery of a 54-year old female victim with illegal quirk usage on May 13, 2XXX in Musutafu, Japan; battery and robbery of a 33-year old male victim with illegal quirk usage on April 3, 2XXX, in Musutafu, Japan. In each instance the victims were allegedly ambushed and robbed. An arrest warrant for these charges was issued on June 24, 2XXX. Hiroji Kikuchi allegedly holds a leadership position in the Red Cobra gang within the Shibuya district of Musutafu.
SHOULD BE CONSIDERED ARMED AND DANGEROUS
If you have any information concerning this person, please call +81 XX-XXX-XXXX. You may also call or visit your local police station. Tips can also be provided online.
F-tier. Not the creme of the crop, then.
Looking at the other notices, they all told a similar story: an F or D-rank villain that went on some small crime spree. They were either at large as Kikuchi had been, or had already been apprehended by heroes. Interestingly, unlike the bingo book, there was no offer of a reward to anyone that had information on the perpetrators.
Either most villains are simply bottom-tier and not worth my time, or any higher ranking villains aren't listed out of fear of disturbing the populace.
Browsing further, another idea came to mind. Instead of browsing by name, he switched to browsing by rank. He was almost instantly rewarded with more interesting prospects.
Hero Killer: Stain
Quirk Assisted Multiple Homicide of Heroes; Quirk Assisted Battery of Heroes
Quirk: Unknown; most likely some sort of paralysis. Likely close range. Extremely dangerous.
Rank: A-tier
Alias(es): Hero Killer: Stain; Name is unknown.
DESCRIPTION
Date of Birth: Unknown
Hair: Black
Height: Unkown
Sex: Male
Nationality: Unkown
Place of Birth: Unkown
Eyes: Red
Weight: Unkown
Race: Unkown
Language: Japanese
REMARKS
Hero Killer: Stain has been sighted in Jaku; Naruhata, ward of Tokyo; and Fukuoka. Carries a minimum of one bladed weapon, likely carries many more. Favours execution by decapitation. No known affiliations.
CAUTION
Hero Killer: Stain is wanted for the alleged murder of 13 professional heroes, and the hospitalization of 23. In each instance the victims were paralysed before their execution by decapitation, or paralysed beyond recovery. An arrest warrant for these charges was issued on November 29, 2XXX.
SHOULD BE CONSIDERED ARMED AND EXTREMELY DANGEROUS; FLEE ON SIGHT. MINIMUM 3 A-TIER HEROES RECOMMENDED
If you have any information concerning this person, please call +81 XX-XXX-XXXX. You may also call or visit your local police station. Tips can also be provided online.
A few sketches of the man accompanied the notice.
Hero Killer: Stain. A-tier.
Obito leaned back in his seat, tapping his chin. A single flash of his sharingan memorised the entire page as he contemplated the villain and how he could find him.
Well, it seems they do report on more dangerous villains.
According to these articles, the man is active in one city at a time before he changes his hunting grounds.
He has no known affiliations… and his quirk is something to do with paralysis, so he is most likely transporting himself to each city by civilian methods. All I need to know is which location he's killed in most recently and I can go from there.
A few searches later and Obito had a starting place: Esuha, Japan.
Omake—Codes (2)
Todoroki.
Todoroki.
Todoroki.
…
An elbow to the ribs—courtesy of her elderly co-worker—ejected her from her slumber. Wiping the drool from her mouth and straightening her glasses, she sat up expectantly.
"Todoroki."
"Yes? How can I help you?" she answered as though she hadn't been sleeping on the job.
"Your boyfriend needs your help," the older woman said, pointing in front of the counter to a dull looking, brown haired man. He had been waiting expectantly for a minute or two until the elderly woman woke her assistant up.
"He's not—! How many times do I have to tell you that!"
The old woman walked away with a teasing twinkle in her eye.
Obito coughed awkwardly.
Fuyumi sighed and looked at the bored-looking man.
"Just ignore her. What can I do for you?" she asked him eagerly.
Finally. A chance to help someone.
"I require your assistance in cracking a difficult code. I know not the reasoning behind it," he intoned elegantly.
Fuyumi brightened up at the prospect.
"Well, we have a section on crypto—"
"I have no need of such trivialities. I know every cryptogram known to mankind, and I have already studied your entire collection on the topic. I believe that this code is of a more… social nature."
Fuyumi frowned at the interruption. Looking at the table where the man had come from, a large pile of books could be seen.
Well, his stellar attitude hasn't gone anywhere.
"Well, why don't you show me, just in case?" she asked, once again ignoring the man's rudeness.
Obito discreetly unsealed the napkin that contained the code, and handed it to her. The two of them stared at it for several moments—Obito in contemplation at its meaning, and Fuyumi in an attempt not to laugh.
When Obito glanced up at her she lost it.
"It's-It's a phone number," she wheezed, "from a girl!"
Reigning in her laughter, she elaborated.
"You know? A phone number?"
Obito was still confused.
A phone number?
Fuyumi saw his clear confusion and felt bad for whoever had given him their phone number. Whoever they were, someone as technologically illiterate as the man in front of her stood no chance.
Chapter End
Pittbullbytes: Yeah, that's what I'm going for. The details are all still very, very fuzzy but I hope I can deliver something entertaining. Every time I start to write a chapter, I think I know what will happen, and then something else entirely morphs onto my screen.
Xedornox: At least for now, his paranoia seems justified.
rntobi: I saw some conflicting evidence online on this topic. Some sources say that no chakra is required in the target for genjutsu to work, others say that only kotoamatsukami has this ability, and the wiki says that chakra is injected into the frontal lobe to manipulate the opponent. I've interpreted it (so far) as genetic differences (specifically, the lack of proper chakra paths and tenkutsu) that grant the people of the MHA world immunity, mostly for plot reasons.
Guester: I'll have to look further into that, if this story ever gets that far. Thanks for the info!
candrariski155: I feel you. A lot of stories go that way, and while they can be fun, they don't really fit the motivations of everyone involved. Which is why I wrote this one, actually.
Monster King: Thank you!
killzombie74: I'll definitely be continuing this, it's a lot of fun to write! If the story deviates from being funny too much, feel free to let me know.
I've had a bit of an epiphany of sorts, which is funny, because I swear I've had this epiphany many times before. If I could schedule the time I spend writing, I'd actually get things done. Who knew? If I can write 1k words a day, that's a new chapter every week (alternating between my stories), and I'd be more efficient with other parts of my life.
This should resolve the longer waits between chapters (2+ weeks of no updates) and in the future, I may be able to scale the number of words up. This will also eliminate procrastination since most of my days are wasted due to lack of scheduling. Also: I've just now learned of the em and en dashes (basically longer hyphens), so I'm going to go back and update my previous chapters so that they are grammatically correct.
PS: wow, this site is limited on formatting. I had a much nicer format made for the police notices on villains, but the site wouldn't allow it.