Chapter 33: On the Bloody Knife's Edge
"Well, that's that." Izuku commented to himself as he ended his call with the police. He threw the phone off the rooftop next, knowing he no longer needed it due to it belonging to a certain snake-headed thug he had just beat. The teen then pulled out his notebook again, taking out a small flashlight as he shined a tiny light on it.
'Hmm...didn't figure out any new moves there. Guess it was too fast of a fight.' he thought to himself as he reviewed the pages before closing the notebook, 'Maybe I can-'
Danger!
Spider sense buzzed at him at this, making him quickly put away his notebook before leaping backward. And as he did this, he saw a tiny shining knife almost strike him in the dark of the night, the sound of footsteps just now ringing out on the rooftop. The teen glanced up at the knife's owner, only for the light of the moon to shine down on her, showing half of her body while the night shadowed the rest.
The knife's owner had golden hair that was tied up into two messy buns, pale skin with a big, fanged grin and feral cat-like eyes. She was wearing a schoolgirl-like outfit, her hand going up to her face as she put her knife up to her mouth, licking it for a second. "Hello Spider-Man..." she giggled, a red blush appearing on her face.
"Uh...hi?" Izuku muttered out, feeling himself now backpedal as the girl pointed the knife at him. "Who are you?"
"I gotta say, you look really good in dark green there..." She responded, ignoring his question.
"Oh, um...thank you?" Izuku replied, his spider sense slightly tingling now.
The girl shined an even bigger grin as she fiddled with a knife in her hand before slowly switching to a charging stance, "But I think you'd look better covered in blood!" She exclaimed as she leapt at him. Izuku's spider sense screamed at him, making the teen quickly backpedal as he dodged a landing downward knife swipe. This was followed by her thrusting her knife right at his face, Izuku's head shifting left, the blade almost nicking him.
Izuku then pointed his wrist at her, pushing the triggers as webbing shot out at the girl. But just as the webbing came out, she hopped back...and disappeared into the dark of the night. The webbing completely missed as it flew off the rooftop. "Huh?" Izuku muttered out, his eyes darting back and forth. 'What the heck?! Where'd she go?!'
Danger!
"Uh-oh." Izuku whispered before spinning around, only to see the girl now thrusting her knife right at his face again. Izuku began to backpedal again, reflexively pointing his wrist at her, only for her to disappear again. "What?!" He yelped as he rested his fingers on the web shooter trigger, this time not firing any webbing. He motioned his wrist around, his eyes darting around again. "Where did she-"
Danger!
Izuku didn't spin around this time, instead leaping forward as heard a swishing noise behind him. He then rolled on the roof's floor before shifting onto his knee, spinning around after this while pointing his wrist...only to find she had disappeared again. 'Darn it, she's gone again! How is she doing that?!' He kept his wrist pointed out, his eyes glancing around, 'Wait...why is she attacking me?! Why-'
Danger!
Izuku began to roll forward again, not even looking back as the girl thrusted a knife downward, the blade almost hitting the roof floor. She then charged at him again, Izuku glancing back at her and pointing his wrist. But as he pressed the trigger, he saw the girl side-step to the left...only to disappear again. The sight made him go wide-eyed, only to glance down at the floor, seeing that part of the roof was lit up while the rest was in the darkness of the night.
Blinking for a split second, he looked up at the sky, seeing a slightly cloudy sky over a half-moon. 'The light from the moon...she keeps hiding from it! That's how she keeps disappearing!'
But as this revelation hit him, the teen's spider sense rang out again. Feeling this, Izuku turned his head and leapt off the roof's side. He heard a "Huh?" from the girl as he began to descend, his eyes now staring at the street below before firing a web line, yanking himself upward and onto a rooftop just a building over. And as he landed, he glanced back at the previous roof he had been on, only to see that the girl was gone again.
'Think Izuku, think!' he thought as he stared at the rooftop, 'She's really fast, maybe faster than Stain. If that's the case, I have to use my webbing to slow her down.' his eyes slightly closing as he took a deep breath, 'Calm down. I need to-'
Danger!
Izuku went wide-eyed for a second before spinning around, the girl appearing again as she thrust her knife at him. And as the blade came down, Izuku leaned back, the knife just nicking his chest. It cut the strands, about to reach flesh before Izuku pointed his wrist at her feet.
Thwip!
Webbing instantly struck her, sticking her to the rooftop as she let out a: "Huh?!" She glanced down and slashed the webs with her knife, only for Izuku to fire some more webbing. "Hey!" She yelped as the webbing hit her arms, Izuku then firing webbing at her feet again before shooting out more. Webbing covered her from chest to toe in the next few seconds, only her head remaining as she kept trying to get free.
"Grr...urgh..." She growled as she squirmed, "No...let me go!"
"Uh...no." Izuku retorted in a snappier motion than he expected. He almost flinched at his words, the teen muttering out, "Er...sorry."
"Urgh...rgh..." moaned the girl as she kept squirming for a minute, only to let out a sigh before glaring at Izuku, "Let me go!"
Izuku opened his mouth to reply, only to see the girl start squirming again. No words would come out at this, the teen just staring and waiting as she kept trying to get free. And after a minute, she seemed to give up as she slumped over. Seeing this, Izuku muttered out, "Um..."
She glared back at him, "Let me go! Now!"
Izuku bit his lip at this, "But...if I do that, you'll attack me again."
"Well of course I will! I want to cover you in blood!" She barked back, making the teen blink.
'That's the second time she's said that. Does she have some thing for blood? Maybe its related to her quirk? I don't think I saw her use it...' He thought before asking, "Say, um...what's your name?"
She blinked at him for a second before replying, "I'm Himiko Toga."
"Right. So, uh...listen, Miss Toga. It's not nice to attack people with a knife."
"But if I don't, they won't be covered in blood!" She instantly responded before her face showed a big frown and puppy dog eyes, "The red would look so good on you!"
"Um...and if they don't want that?" Izuku replied before pointing at himself, "I mean, I like my dark green. I don't think red would go well with it. It uh...clashes a bit too much."
"But...but..." She stuttered out, Izuku now seeing her mumble as it looked like her brain was now rapidly turning.
Seeing her now slightly calm down, Izuku's mind went back to a thinking montage, 'Okay, take a second here Izuku. She suddenly attacked you and seems to be obsessed with blood. Does she have a blood quirk? That could explain it...but now that I can see her, she looks really pale. Is she low on blood? But if that's the-' He shook his head at this, 'Focus Izuku, focus! Don't get distracted! She just attacked you, so she's obviously a villain, but...'
That last thought made him stare back at her, remembering what he had declared he would do earlier. He continued to stare at her, seeing the tired look on her face as she squirmed, but also showed she was slightly out of breath. And as the moon shone down on her more, he saw she was quite dirty compared to the usual thugs he would fight. 'I need more information.'
"Um...Miss Toga?" She blinked at him, getting her attention as he added, "If you don't mind, can I ask you some questions?"
Her expression turned into a glare as she replied, "Why?! Why you'd you stop me?! Are you gonna ask me why I'm not normal, or why I'm a monster?!"
'That's not what I was expecting.' he thought before responding, "Uh...no. I was gonna ask why you're here." Her glare softened at this as he continued, "I mean, you suddenly attacked me, and I wanted to know why."
Himiko bit her lip at this, "Well...you beat Stainy." Izuku went wide-eyed at this, only for her to add, "I wanted to be like Mister Stainy, and when you beat him, I wanted to see you." Her cat-like eyes tensed up as she began to blush, a look of lust seemingly trying to appear on her face, "I want to become you. I wanna be you."
"I...see." Izuku muttered out, his brain slightly shorting at this, 'Okay. So she's here because she's a follower of Stain. That explains her fighting style...but what do I do now? She says she's a monster, keeps talking about blood, and wants to become me...'
The girl's blush disappeared as she saw Spider-Man just stand there, making her growl, "Let me guess, you think I'm some monster now, don't you?!"
"Huh?" Izuku muttered out, still lost in his thoughts.
"You do, don't you?!" She hissed, the girl now squirming even more, "You're just like the others! You all think I'm a monster cuz I'm not normal!"
Izuku just blinked at her, though Toga couldn't see it. "I...never said that. And I don't think that. I'm just uh...confused." Toga raised her eyebrows at that, Izuku's mind racing again, 'What do I say now? What do I do?' He then saw her slightly squirm again, the sight reminding him of someone else, 'I wonder...is she like Spinner?'
That thought made him go back to the past few days, and how he had fought Mister Negative and Spinner, both in situations where he felt he could have do more. Instead, all he did for them was get them arrested, even if he gave Spinner advice. That alone made a big frown form on his face, only for a new thought to enter his head. 'I...I can't just get her arrested. I wanna help her.'
"Um...Miss Toga?" The girl stopped squirming at this, soon glaring back at the vigilante. The teen gave her a small wave, "So uh...here's the deal. You told me that you attacked me because I beat Stain, right?" The girl blinked at him before nodding, "Okay. So, are you a follower of Stain or something?"
"Uh-huh." Toga replied while nodding again, "He's right about all those fake heroes and how society is all messed up!" She raised her head slightly as she shined a small smile, "I totally agree with him! Life is hard and all those fake heroes make it harder! They push us down and make us suffer all because of who we are!"
Izuku didn't respond to that. He couldn't feel a word form as he just stared at her. And as he did this, the girl's face started to go red again, blushing as she added, "And then there's you." Her tongue stuck out at this, licking her lips, "You beat Stain, and you're not a hero! You're not a fake like all the others!"
"I...see." Izuku responded, his words almost coming out as a whisper, only for him to tilt her head at her, "But...if you admire me now, why'd you attack me?"
"Cuz you'd look good covered in blood!" She instantly exclaimed.
Izuku almost flinched at this, 'There's that thing about blood again.' The teen took a deep breath before asking, "Um, can I ask you another question?"
Her blush started to fade as she responded, "Sure."
"Are you...okay? Like, you're really pale." Toga went wide-eyed at this, her eyes darting away.
"Um...I'm okay. I'm not hungry or anything." She muttered out.
Izuku opened his mouth to respond, only to close it. 'I think I'm right. She has a blood quirk.' He reached into his hoodie and pulled out his phone, 'I need some help.'
In an undisclosed location...
The sounds of sparks flying out of a welding torch rang out across the room as its user glared through a purple glowing mask. The individual had been working on the device in front of them for hours now, grumbling and sighing as the work continued. And as another hour passed, a long sigh left the person's breath before the torch went silent. The individual's mask disappeared a second later, another sigh escaping their breath as they leaned back in their seat.
"Finally..." moaned a low, slightly groaning voice.
"It is finished?" asked a new voice, the one at the desk turning to the voice's owner. They now found themselves staring at a man in a certain long scaly green jumpsuit, complete with a purple cape and what looked like an upside down fishbowl for a helmet.
"Do you seriously have to be here in that outfit?"
The helmeted man fake gasped at this, "Of course I do! I am Mysterio, Master of the Arcane Arts!"
"Suuuure you are."
"Do not get cocky with me, Tinkerer!" Mysterio barked back as he pointed at the individual at the desk. "Now, it is finished?"
"Do you have the money?"
"Of course I do!" Mysterio repeated, "I had it before I asked you to do this for me!"
"Yeah yeah..." Tinkerer sighed as they got up from their seat, showing their full form. The Tinkerer was a girl just shy of seventeen years of age with an ivory complexion, a brown-haired ponytail and a long frown on her face. Her clothes were a black jacket over a purple hoodie, which had a black sweater underneath it. Mysterio still didn't know how she was never hot under all that, but she seemed to move with ease with it on.
The Tinkerer then reached for the device she had been working on, which looked like a small camera. "I gave it the modifications you want." She put the gadget into a bag, "They're all the same...but in exchange, I need the cash and the tech you promised me."
"I know." Mysterio replied before snapping his fingers. A puff of smoke came out of his palm next, which then revealed a duffel bag full of money. "Here."
The girl took the bag and glanced down, blinking at the sight before looking back up at him, "This better not be one of your illusions. If it is, I'll rip you in half."
"Nonsense! I would never do such a thing!" Mysterio instantly responded, only to see the girl's glare increase, making him wave his hands, "Seriously! Its not an illusion, Phineas!"
"Yeah yeah...and call me Tinkerer. Don't use my real name." Phineas grumbled as she put the bag of money down before handing him the drone. "Anyways, I want that tech you promised me by the end of the week. I need it for my operation."
"You're seriously still considering that?" Mysterio asked, only to shake his head despite no one able to see it due to his helmet, "That is a fool's errand. Same with your beef with...him."
"And yours over your 'revenge against Spider-Man' isn't?"
"He humiliated me!" Mysterio barked as he pointed at her, "No one humiliates Mysterio!"
Phineas rolled her eyes, "You don't have to try when you dress like that."
"You..." Mysterio growled before taking the drone out of her hands, "You're lucky you're so smart! Otherwise, I would destroy you with my Arcane Arts!"
The Tinkerer let out a snort, "Sure you will. Now leave me alone."
Mysterio glanced down at the bag of cameras before smoke covered it, making it instantly vanish. He then looked back up at her, "I'm serious Phineas. Don't do it. You'll just be throwing your life away."
Phineas closed her eyes at this, glancing away as she growled, "I don't have a choice. Now get out."
A long sigh exhaled itself from Mysterio before he raised both hands upward, "Very well! I shall return with the gear you want shortly, and then...Spider-Man shall pay tenfold! Farewell, O Tinkerer! May we meet again soon!"
And with a giant puff of smoke, he was gone. The sight made Phineas roll her eyes before sitting back down. A glowing purple mask covered her face again, the girl biting her lip before she turned on the welding torch. "Whatever. Just get back here with the gear and we'll call it even." The torch began to spark against a rod of metal at this, "Just need to finish this up."
Meanwhile...
"So let me get this straight." Inko said in a low, slightly deadpan like voice over the phone, "While I went to FEAST today, which we still need to talk about later, you went and stopped a drug deal, only to get attacked by a girl that looks like your age that seems to worship that hero killer you fought a few days ago, and she's obsessed with blood?"
"Yeah. And she's like...really pale." Izuku replied as he glanced back at Toga, the girl still trying to get out of the webbing covering her arms and feet, "I think she has a blood quirk and...she seems pretty starved."
"Okay..." Inko quietly sighed, "Well, what do you want to do with her?"
"I mean, I don't really know if she's a villain or a criminal. She just attacked me with a knife, and I fought back. Heck, she seems more confused than anything...I think."
"You think?"
"I'm not good at reading people."
Inko let out a hum at this, "True. Still, what do you want to do?"
"I'm...not sure. I want to help her, but I don't know how. I mean, when I was talking to her, she seems to be obsessed with me...but she's also obsessed with hating being 'normal' and..." Izuku began to scratch the side of his mask as he added, "I don't know. It sounded like she's been hurting for a long time." There was a beat of silence at this before he added, "I don't know what to do, so I was thinking maybe I can do the obvious part first. She seems to be starving, and I thought you could help me with the blood quirk part of that. Do they have something for that kind of problem at the hospital?"
"Err...not exactly. More like, regulations than anything. I could pick up some stuff she could eat that is designed for blood quirks." There was a small pause at this, "But if I do that, you'll have to bring her here, and she'll probably figure out who you are."
"I know."
"Still...are you sure about this? I know you said you want to help people, but you haven't done anything like this before." Izuku opened his mouth to reply, only for his mother to continue, "Is it because of Mister Li?"
Izuku could feel the words coming out of his mouth freeze in his throat. Hesitation consumed him for a few seconds before words began to form, "Yeah. That and...remember that gecko guy I beat a week or so back? You know, the bank robber?"
"I remember. What about him?"
"Its just...looking back at it, I think I could have done more. Instead, I just told him to go to jail and come to FEAST later." Izuku stared at Toga as he saw her continue to squirm, her face clenching up as she struggled, "I think...I think I should have done more. With him and Mister Li. I keep feeling like I don't do enough, and this is an opportunity to do more."
Izuku could feel his mother shaking her head as he heard her let out a small chuckle, "You truly have a wonderful heart, you know that?"
"Well I uh-"
"I know." Inko interrupted before the sound of her walking around began to quietly ring out through the phone, "Bring her here. I'm going to go get some stuff that will work with her blood quirk."
"Okay." Izuku barely replied before adding, "Thanks mom."
"Anything for you." She giggled, "Just be careful getting her over here, alright?"
"I will." Izuku responded before ending the call, glancing back at Toga. The girl was still squirming, only to look up at Izuku as he walked over to her. "Alright. We got a change of plans. I think I have a way to help you...or to begin helping you."
"What do you mean?!" She snapped back, only to see Izuku reach out to touch her, "Hey! What are you doing?!"
"Don't worry. I'm just...gonna knock you out for a bit."
"What?! But-"
Two fingers tapped her shoulder, a tiny bit of electricity coming out of them. Her eyes went wide-eyed before slumping over, the sight making Izuku flinch. "That...looked like it hurt a bit. I hope she doesn't hate me for that." He then grabbed the webbing covering her and lifted it, the end strands around her feet breaking from the roof while the rest kept her tied up. He made a web strand at this, attaching it to the girl's webbed up form before putting her on his back. The teen reloaded his webbing at this before leaping off the roof, quickly swinging through the city.
'Here's hoping no one sees me as I...webswing across the city with a webbed-up girl on my back.' He shook his head at this, 'That sounded so wrong. Glad I didn't say it out loud.'
And as he began to swing away, the sound of police sirens rang out in the distance. The teen glanced back for a split second at this, noticing they were going to the drug deal he had just stopped. It made him slightly smile, knowing that he had done some good tonight, and possibly more soon.
The next day...
Nezu's cigarette twirled in his hand, over half of it already gone. The stoat was currently riding in the passenger seat of Naomasa's car, the detective staring straight ahead as he drove down Tokyo's roads, his fingers tapping the wheel. Nezu glanced up at him at this, "Nervous, detective?"
"No." Naomasa replied, "Just...surprised. You don't usually come to crime scenes."
"Regularly, that is true. However, I must say, I am very interested in this case." Nezu chuckled, the detective trying to hide a grimace at this. He and Aizawa had a long discussion about Nezu after the hero commission had told him to join the investigation. This was followed by Aizawa telling Naomasa that if Nezu is on the case, it's best to let the stoat do whatever he wants and they follow, as it will probably lead to the conclusion that they're looking for. That notion made him glance back at Nezu for a second as the principal added, "Its been a long time since I've had a puzzle that actually stumped me."
"Is that why you're coming with me to the crime scene?"
"Oh yes." Nezu took a last smoke before putting the cig in a tiny ash tray he had brought with him. "I believe this particular endeavor me and you are about to do will definitely allow us to go leaps and bounds into the Spider-Man case."
The principal's wording made Naomasa almost shiver, now seeing the big smile on the stoat's face. Aizawa had warned him what happens with Nezu is happy, as the stoat very presence would make someone feel a shiver down their spine. The detective was now feeling it, the sight making him look back at the road, only to spin the wheel to the right as he commented, "We're here."
"That we are." Nezu added as Naomasa drove up to a lot and parked in the nearest space. The stoat quickly hopped out of the car, shining a small grin as he walked around the car and looked up at the building before them. It was the one that Spider-Man had just been at a few days ago, the one where he had found out Martin Li was Mister Negative and ended up in a car chase with the villain, though the duo that had just arrived didn't have that knowledge on hand.
Instead, Naomasa turned to Nezu to ask, "I apologize for asking this, but what are we looking for? The police have already combed this place."
"I know." Nezu responded as he began to walk past the detective, "And I know they've probably checked every nook and cranny thanks to the chief of police telling them to due to being under pressure thanks to the commission. That's not why I wanted you to bring me here."
"Then why did you want me to bring you here?"
"Simple." Nezu glanced back at him before pulling out another cigarette, "I believe there is something you all overlooked."
Naomasa blinked at him for a second before replying, "Okay. What did we overlook?"
Nezu responded by taking out a lighter and lighting the stick in his mouth, exhaling a puff of smoke a second later, "Naomasa, when I first joined your investigation, what did I propose we do in terms of searching for Spider-Man?"
"You said we should look at it based on his psychological profile."
"Exactly." Nezu chucked as he tapped the cigarette in his hand, making a bit of ash drop onto the pavement. "When I gave you and Aizawa my profile of Spider-Man, I suggested he was a teen that has somehow been given power very recently, yet at the same time believes the world is against him. Now, that is a good starting point, but what is the other part I told you two about?"
Naomasa tilted his head at this, "You said he had true heroic qualities...and he's intelligent."
Nezu snapped his fingers at this, "Bingo. That is why I want to investigate this scene myself." He put the cigarette back in his mouth as he walked around the building, slowly striding up to several cars that were covered in yellow tape.
"You wanted to come to the crime scene because Spider-Man might be smart?" Naomasa asked as he followed Nezu, "I don't get it."
"Its simple, really. Tell me, how does a vigilante gain information compared to a hero?"
"Well...heroes work with the police, so they get most info from them." Naomasa replied before crossing his arms, closing his eyes for a second, "I'm guessing vigilantes probably do the underground hero route. That's trailing, observing, going into the darker alleyways and places in the city...those sort of things."
"Normally, I would agree, but I don't think that is Spider-Man's MO per-say. Instead, thanks to the footage I've reviewed that you and Aizawa gave me, I believe Spider-Man to be more...hands-on. In fact, I'm certain he could be more than just someone with multiple quirks." Nezu remarked as he walked up to one of the cars and pushed the tape away. "Let me ask you another question: How many quirks do you think Spider-Man has?"
Naomasa put a finger to his chin, "Um...I think he might have four."
"And what would those quirks be?"
Naomasa began to count on his fingers, "Well...he seems to have a mutant spider quirk, along with a bio-electricity quirk, an invisibility or camouflage quirk, and though I can't confirm it, I think he might have some kind of danger sensing quirk."
"I agree with those four." Nezu replied as he crossed his arms, "Now, if that's the case, and if you look at his history, Spider-Man has fought the Inner Demons multiple times, yet only now tracked down their leader. How did he do that?"
"I...don't know." Naomasa responded before shrugging, "I mean, we've found no evidence on how he did it."
Nezu snapped his paw, "Exactly. That means he doesn't have a quirk that lets him hunt down villains, but that also means he has to have something that would allow him to find his prey. As such, I believe that very thing will be at this crime scene."
"But we already checked everything. The guys looked through each car. How could there be anything else?"
"Oh, there is always a way to hide things, Naomasa. After all, ask yourself this: If the Lurkers fought Martin Li on a moving semi, how did Spider-Man track him down? The Lurkers claimed that Spider-Man had fought Martin Li before they encountered him and after, meaning he had some way to track him...and I believe that this is the true first step in finding Spider-Man."
And before Naomasa could ask what that meant, the stoat bent over and glanced under the car, hiding a certain grin now widening on his face.
