Alleyway
Chiba, Japan
"I am not surprised with the two of you, but I can't help but feel disappointed."
Izuku and Kirishima lower their head in shame as Gang Orca towers over them, his arms crossed, and his red eyes stare right at their soul. Both boys sweat profusely, scared to even stare back. Meanwhile, the paramedics heal Izuku's and Kirishima's wounds.
"I understand the desire to stop these two, but what you did is inexcusable." Gang Orca said. "I told them specifically to not engage them, no matter what. Yet, not only do you gain their attention, you also decide to face them head-on."
"Sir, please don't be mad at Kirishima. I-I was the one who dragged him with me!" Izuku exclaims as Kirishima widens his eyes and stops his partner from speaking but is stopped by Gang Orca.
"Even so, he should've done more to stop you. Given how he merely goes along with your entire plan means that he agrees with you." Gang Orca points out as both boys flinched and looked down.
"I know you kids want to be a hero, but there are reasons behind why there are schools where they teach you all about heroes. You haven't got the training required to do so. One mistake could lead to the death of many. Like those prisoners." Gang Orca hates to say it, but he has to make them see reasons.
"...I understand, sir..." Izuku sighs in shame. He let his heroic nature take over and didn't care that there might be consequences for doing so. "I'm willing to take whatever punishment you gave me. But...please don't give harsh punishments to Kirishima."
"...I can't." Gang Orca says. "You two are partners-in-crimes. This will be a lesson, the decision you made for your team affects them as well." He left along with the paramedics.
"...sorry, Kiri. I got you in trouble." Izuku mutters.
"Don't be, Izu-bro," Kirishima said with a grin. "Besides, Gang Orca was right. I did do all of that without any complaints, so I was in the wrong as well."
"...Kiri, did you not complain because...I save your life?" Izuku asked as Kirishima widened his eyes before shaking his head.
"W-what!? No!!" Kirishima waves his hand in denial. "Don't think I did this because I owe you my life! I want to be a hero like you do, remember? And sometimes, heroes choose the decision to prevent more deaths in the future! If I don't agree with you, I-I can't imagine what kind of dark future I had to deal with..."
"...Dark future is a bit of an exaggeration," Izuku said with a sweatdrop as Kirishima blushed in embarrassment.
"Y-you know what I mean! I-I...I rather not see more news about people getting murdered on television..." Kirishima mutters. "I don't want Kousuke to feel unsafe...he has to deal with enough things..."
"...yeah, I understand..." Izuku said while patting his back. "By the way, my offer to buy you yakiniku also extends to your brother. I think he deserves to enjoy life as much as possible."
"B-bro..." Kirishima said with teary eyes before he hugged Izuku and wailed. Everyone chuckles at the scene as Izuku awkwardly patting his back.
"um..." Kirishima lets go and wipes his tears, still giving Izuku a wide grin. Izuku merely returns the grin awkwardly.
"By the way, have you see the drop rewards?" Izuku widens his eyes and decided to open his status window. He looks at it before pulling it out of his inventory.
"R-Rune Stone?" Izuku mutters as he looks at the stats.
[Rune Stone - Slime]
[Item Type: Rune Stones]
[You can learn the skill [Slime] by breaking the Rune Stones]
"Slime?" Izuku mutters as he looks at the rock. It is a smooth-surfaced stone with rune carved on it. The smooth texture reminds Izuku of slime. He shrugs before shatters it and he gains a notification, causing him to widen his eyes.
[Skill: Slime - LVL 1]
[User allows to summon slimes from their body and uses it to attack or defend]
[Attack Increases - 15%]
[Damage Reduction - 15%]
[Shock Absorption - 20%]
[MP Costs: 160 per 5 seconds]
"...to think a skill named [Slime] would be this useful," Izuku mutters as he activates [Slime] and a green slimy substance starts to emerge out of his skin and starts moving around Izuku's palm.
"...is that your new skill?" Kirishima asked with a hint of disappointment in his tone.
"Don't diss my skill, Kiri," Izuku said in a deadpan manner before he looked at his inventory and grabbed another runestone.
"Another one!?" Kirishima asked in disbelief.
"I got it...as a mission reward for crippling Agent Hail," Izuku says as Kirishima raises his eyebrow.
"It did?" Kirishima asked.
"I...get another emergency mission..." Izuku said as Kirishima widen his eyes. "I...manage to ignore the mission, but...the system changes the mission and still gave me a reward." Izuku rubs his chin. "I have a feeling...this system wants me to get stronger...no matter what..."
"...well, all you got to do is to get so strong that they can't do anything about it." Kirishima exclaims as Izuku looks at his partner before shaking his head.
"You're too optimistic, Kiri-bro." Izuku said as Kirishima widens his smile.
"So, I finally got an upgrade from Kiri to Kiri-bro?" Izuku blinks.
"What...are you talking about?" Izuku asked.
"Well, I did insist you call me by my first name, but it seems you refuse to do so and just shorten my last name." Izuku widens his eyes before he takes a deep breath.
"Ah, sorry, I...didn't notice..." Izuku sighs. "I...have gotten used to addressing people by their last name, thinking I never got another friend, so.."
"Hey, it's okay. I get it." Kirishima says while patting his shoulder. "You still trying to get used to it and bad habits die hard."
"I...don't think that counts as a bad habit, Kiri-bro," Izuku said with a sweatdrop.
"True, but thinking that you'll never get another friend is." Izuku flinches. "Izu-bro, let me make it very clear...you're my friend. My best friend. Remember that, okay?"
"...y-yeah," Izuku says while giving him a warm smile.
"Hehe! You should smile like that more often." Izuku blinks.
"Smile like what?" Kirishima shakes his head before looking at the runestone.
"Nah, don't think too much about it. Now, are you gonna find out what runestone you got!?" Izuku looks at the runestone, its surface is pale white with a hint of sky blue and a large rune carved on it.
[Rune Stone - Hazy Snow]
[Item Type: Rune Stones]
[You can learn the skill [Hazy Snow] by breaking the rune stone.]
"[H-Hazy Snow] !?" Izuku exclaims in shock as Kirishima snaps his head towards the runestone in disbelief. "T-this is so unexpected!"
"This is bullshit..." Kirishima mutters in disbelief. Izuku shrugs before breaking it as a notification window pops up in front of Izuku.
[Skill: Hazy Snow]
[User allows to summon powder snows to deals damage over time, slow enemies' movement and reduces enemies' Sense Stats. There's a chance to cause a [Frostbite] debuff]
[Agility Decreases: -30%]
[Senses Decreases: -40%]
[Frostbite: Enemies Damage Reduction: 20%]
"...I'm pretty sure the debuff didn't exist when Hail used on someone based on the report," Izuku mutters.
"What does it even do?" Kirishima asked as Izuku explains it and Kirishima looked confused. "I didn't feel any of those except my senses were disoriented."
"I think the system changes how it works for me," Izuku said as he summoned a cyclone of snow on his palm.
"I think so too. I mean, you're not an assassin." Kirishima said. "You're more of a fighter/mage. And from your description, it fits."
"Yeah..." Izuku mutters as he and Kirishima remain seated. Both boys sit in silence.
"...so, what now?" Izuku asked.
"Now, you two are coming with me." Both boys stiffened as they turned around and saw Godzillo looking at them while crossing his arms. "Gang Orca has told me everything and he let me choose what punishment I will give to you two."
Both boys sweat profusely as Godzillo grins toothily and starts cracking his knuckles.
"Now, come on, brats. Time...for my hell training. Oh, and Midoriya?" Godzillo calls Izuku as he starts shaking. "If you didn't get to level up your new skills faster, expect your training regime to double every time you fail to meet the deadline. Your current deadline is 4 days from now."
Izuku never imagined he would experience his soul leaving his body.
"Izu-bro!!"
HPSC HQ
???, Japan
"..." Madam President blankly stares at one of her agents as she listens to their reports. She takes a deep breath before looking at the agent with a cold and calculating look.
"So, let me get this straight. Not only did those two get caught, but Agent Hail also received severe injuries." The president said in a cold tone as the agent nodded shakily. "...leave."
The agent hastily walks out of the door as the president pinches the bridge of her nose in frustration, a vein visibly popping on her forehead. The only good news she has right now is that her other plans are successful without anyone noticing; even the sneaky vultures caught no wind about this, too focused on talking about heroes.
"It's about time." Madam President looks at the source of his voice in annoyance. "He's getting too arrogant. He didn't expect someone would recognize Nagant with that flimsy disguise."
"Unless you have anything important to say, I prefer if you remain silent." The president said.
"Oh, I do. " From the shadow, a short and overweight man with brown hair wearing a pair of glasses, a formal two-piece suit, and a white lab coat. He places down a tablet with an image of Izuku and Kirishima discussing in the middle of the street. "I found the culprit behind his death, something that the agents missed."
"..." Madam President looks at the images with narrowed eyes. "Did you have their identity?"
"Eijirou Kirishima, a civilian. His quirk is Hardening. Nothing special about him, no important family background, has broken several laws and was 'pardoned'." The man said. "And Izuku Midoriya, one of the rare quirkless civilians. There's one confusing thing. Mera and Hawks have tried to measure his strength but his results show he's barely reached the E-Rank."
"Any chance he experiences a re-awakening?" Madam President asked.
"Sadly, his medical records are very limited." The man scowls. "I can do so much from cameras and hacking. UEIS has shown that their cyber security isn't something to scoff at."
"...keep gathering more information." Madam President said as the man nodded. "I expect more results."
"Oh, don't worry. I didn't call myself Mastermind out of sheer arrogance."
To be continued
