When the storm that had swept through the clearing faded along with the vanished rift, silence fell.
It lasted only a moment before Midoriya shattered it with a raw cry that was somewhere between a scream and a roar.
Kirishima released [Demon Form] and stared at the spot where the rift had been, his face frozen hard.
It was the first defeat he had experienced in this life.
He himself had not lost, but in the end, the enemy had gotten what they wanted, and his side had lost something precious.
Faced with a defeat he could not excuse away, his sharp teeth ground together with a brittle crack.
He placed a hand on Midoriya’s shoulder as the boy lay collapsed on the ground.
"Does it piss you off?"
Midoriya slowly turned his head.
His endlessly trembling eyes met a pair of eyes that burned in quiet silence.
"I’m furious too. Not somewhere else, but right where I was, they kidnapped our friend. I’m not going to feed you nonsense about calming down right this second. But if you can, pull yourself together. Your mind and your body, both of them, and fast."
He could have said it more gently, more carefully.
But he did not.
Nothing was over yet.
Only two things had become certain.
They had let the Villains escape, and Bakugo had been taken.
His red eyes no longer gave off any glow, yet they still seemed to shine with a chilling light.
"No one’s dead yet. Not you, not me, and Bakugo’s probably still alive too. They don’t have some personal grudge against him, and if they meant to kill him, they would’ve done it already. So we prepare. We get ready to crush the bastards who dared snatch our friend right in front of me, and take him back. I told you, didn’t I? Until you die, nothing is over."
At that voice, thick with malice like a growling beast, Midoriya slowly pushed himself up.
Kirishima was right.
Nothing was over yet.
He gave a slow, heavy nod.
Kirishima gathered the remaining kids, along with Uraraka and Tsuyu, who had arrived late, and headed back.
By the time they reached the facility, ambulances and fire trucks had already arrived, probably called in by Blood King.
Once the responders quickly assessed the damage and began emergency treatment, the results of the attack became clear.
Out of forty students, fifteen were unconscious and in critical condition from the gas, eleven had suffered moderate to serious injuries, and thirteen were unharmed.
And one was missing.
Among the Pro Heroes, one had been struck in the head and left unconscious in critical condition, while another had vanished after leaving behind a large amount of blood.
And in exchange, all they had gained was the capture of three Villains and the elimination of one Nomu.
It was a result that did not balance the scales in the slightest.
Watching Midoriya being loaded into an ambulance, Kirishima felt the need to completely revise the plan he had laid out with relative patience.
If the other side was going to come at them like this, then his side no longer had the luxury of staying shackled and taking it slow.
Even if it meant pushing things, it was time to break loose into the wild.
With the bitter taste of defeat lingering, the night came to an end.
"The mastermind behind the forest training camp attack identified themselves as the League of Villains, Vanguard Action Squad. The League of Villains, previously mentioned in both the U.A. High School USJ attack and the Hosu City incident, has moved once again. Among the victims of the forest training camp attack was the child of the Pro Hero Water Hose, who was murdered by Muscular..."
"At this point, it’s hard not to say there are serious problems with U.A. High School’s management system."
"It’s not exactly wrong, but they sure do love running their mouths."
The next day, riding in Haruto’s car and checking the public reaction on his phone, Kirishima clicked his tongue.
Depending on how you looked at it, there really was a problem.
Setting Hosu aside, this was already the second attack this year.
Given that U.A. was, by nature, a place that trained combat personnel, there was no choice but to think they had been underestimated.
But looked at another way, that also made the situation unfair.
U.A. was still, in the end, a school that trained people for Hero-related work.
Heroes were fighters, yes, but they also maintained public order and carried out rescues. Their role was broader than simple combat.
Because of that, U.A.’s culture was far removed from that of a military facility.
For just one school to move forty kids around with six Pro Heroes as escort was, in truth, already an overwhelming amount of force.
"In the end, people judge everything by the result. If no attack had happened and the number of personnel had come out later, they might’ve called it overkill instead."
"Tch. You’re losing your affection for humanity."
"Don’t lie."
Haruto let out a short laugh at Kirishima’s reply.
When Kirishima looked at him with a puzzled expression, he thought that a grown man who understood everything and still acted smug about it was exactly the kind of person he wanted to punch.
He stopped at the thought, though. If he actually tried, he would probably be the one getting beaten up instead.
"You never had much affection for humanity to begin with. Don’t talk like you were ever some saint overflowing with love for mankind."
"I really hate adults who are quick on the uptake like you."
With a fresh smile, Kirishima shot Haruto a sidelong glare and turned off his phone.
Crossing his left leg over his right, he looked straight ahead and asked, "What did the boss say?"
"Said it wouldn’t be easy. After that, it’s just what you already know. He told you to come talk in person first, didn’t he?"
"Hmm. Yeah? Well, we’re here anyway. Then I’ll go hear it from him directly. I’m heading up first. See you in a bit."
Kirishima got out in front of a modest five-story building, waved to Haruto, and headed upstairs.
When he reached the top floor and opened the office door, he saw familiar faces.
"Yo, you made it? Been a while, hasn’t it?"
"Kirishima. Any trouble on the way here?"
One was Rumi, with fluffy white ears rising proudly from her head, and the other was the company president he had met before.
Kirishima sat down in front of her and answered, "No. I was just riding in a car. What kind of trouble would there be?"
"You say that, but you also just went to a training camp and trouble found you there."
The sharp jab in that remark made Kirishima bare his teeth in a grin.
"That wasn’t my fault. Maybe there’s a walking plague in our class or something."
"That’s funny. If there really is one, I’d like to keep them close."
Watching Kirishima grin back at Rumi with a look that matched her aggressive smile perfectly, the president pressed a hand to his forehead.
These two were undeniably exceptional talents, but their temperaments were the problem.
Both of them loved fighting enough to go wild for it, and if a strong opponent appeared, they only got more excited. Every day, he worried about when they would cause a disaster.
Rumi had at least calmed down a little with age, and Kirishima, despite looking like a thoughtless battle maniac, had a surprisingly political side to him.
The problem was that he always looked like he might explode at any moment.
To be fair, what Kirishima had requested was also a problem.
"Whew. Don’t smile like that in front of me. It feels like it shaves years off my life."
"Didn’t expect you to be so timid."
"Seriously. I think you need to work on your nerve, boss."
"It’s not that my nerve is weak. You two are the ones who go too far. Anyway, I passed along what you asked for, but I can’t say how it’ll turn out. Getting a full license as fast as possible instead of just a provisional one... there is precedent for it, but honestly, even that’s pushing it."
He tapped the desk with his fingers and continued.
"And on top of that, you want to take part in an operation to rescue a kidnapped student? You do realize that makes no sense, right?"
"That’s only because they’re old-fashioned idiots. Let’s think about this rationally. I’m unquestionably upper-tier Top 10 material. In pure destructive power, I’m not that far behind Endeavor, and in defense, I’m the strongest alive aside from All Might. My body can even deflect artillery shells. Honestly, I might even be tougher than All Might."
"That part is true. You are strong. But Kirishima, the people on the other side have their own position to consider. They’re already being torn apart from all directions because they failed to protect a student. And now they’re supposed to take another student along? What do you think people would say to that?"
Kirishima’s expression hardened.
"Boss. No, Mr. Kimura Shusuke. That’s the kind of thing you say when you’ve got time to spare. We don’t have time, and we don’t have the luxury of properly gathering our forces either. It’s not like they can just call in all of the Top 10 and steamroll the place. At best they’ll get four or five. If one more joins, they should be grateful."
"No, ah... fine. Fine, you’re right about all of it. You never give an inch, do you? Anyway, I clung on for dear life and managed to get a rough answer out of them."
"Oh? From the sound of it, that means it wasn’t a flat rejection?"
At Kimura’s words, Rumi licked her lips.
Her face was beautiful and her body was stunning, but there was something chilling about her that overwhelmed any sensuality. Shaking his head, he answered, "Right. They said they’ll issue a temporary license on the condition that you go with Rumi and obey operational orders completely. But officially, Kirishima, the records will show that you were never there."
"What? What kind of bullshit is that? They need the kid’s strength badly enough to borrow it, and then they’re going to erase the record? Those bastards really—"
"It’s fine, so calm down, Rumi."
It was exactly what he had expected.
Even if their available strength was cutting it close, the Public Safety Commission would never want to shoulder the political burden.
Though from what had been relayed, it sounded like they were not even considering the possibility of lacking manpower at all.
He grinned.
"It doesn’t matter. Once this is over, I’ll get my full license anyway. I’m only fifteen now, so if I retire at around fifty, I’ve still got thirty-five years left. I don’t care about credit. I’ll have more of that than I can stand in the future. What matters is my wounded pride."
His eyes, gleaming with savage light, turned to Kimura.
Without him even realizing it, the hardness had risen, and his eyes shone like red jewels, filled with vicious malice.
Kimura swallowed hard, feeling as though he had just stuck his neck into the jaws of a beast.
"They laid a hand on my friend in a place where I was standing? That’s a declaration of war. It means we fight until one side dies. And I’m not a nice little kid who can take that and sit quietly. I’m the kind who’ll smash those smug faces however I have to, then look down at them and make them understand exactly whose friend they dared touch."
"That’s it! That’s how a man should be!"
Rumi slammed the desk and shouted.
The more she saw this kid, the more she liked him.
The world was full of people getting drunk on popularity and money, floating through life with empty smiles.
There were exceptions now and then, but even those were rarely the bold, open sort.
Most of them were more like uptight judges.
But this one had never lost the fierce wildness he’d been born with.
And she liked that he had no intention of hiding that side of himself from her, the side like a savage beast that bit through throats, drank blood, and roared in triumph.
"They said all you had to do was go with me, right? Fine. Then I’ll go with you. Rampage as much as you want. It’s been a while since I got to really cut loose too."
A vicious aura filled the not-so-large office.
Looking up at the face of the boy who was a full forty centimeters taller than her, Rumi grinned.
Yeah. He really was her kind of person.
He was handsome too, and made good money.
There was no need to even question his diligence.
No lazy bastard could ever become that strong at his age.
More than anything, they understood each other.
"Thank you. Thanks to you, I’ll get to crush those bastards legally."
Feeling as if that handsome face somehow looked like a devil’s, Kimura pulled out a handkerchief and wiped his forehead.
A chill ran down his spine.
'Did I make a mistake? Should I have just stopped this?'
He had a bad feeling something terrifying was about to happen.
Still, what was done was done, so he moved on to explain the rest.
"Then our company will be sending both of you. For now, since it would be a problem if either of you were exposed publicly, you’ll be assigned to a separate detachment. So there’s a chance you won’t see any fighting at all. I’m warning you now so you don’t come complaining to me later. If you don’t like it, take it up with the Public Safety Commission."
"Huh? Still, there’s no way we’ll just end up sitting around doing nothing, right?"
Rumi sounded visibly deflated at Kimura’s words, and Kirishima spoke up.
"I doubt that. There’ll probably be a pretty flashy fight. The fact that they’re mobilizing this much Top 10-level strength already means the other side isn’t going to be easy. Same with the fact that they attached all sorts of conditions and still ended up allowing me to join."
"Right? Good. Very good!"
Rumi smiled brightly, like a child.
Watching her, Kirishima quietly rose from his seat.
"Then it sounds like things are more or less decided, so I’ll be going now."
"Huh? Where are you going? Weren’t you staying with us until the operation?"
"Ah, if possible, sure. But first I’m going to stop by the hospital. My friend’s been admitted, so I should at least show my face. I already feel bad that I couldn’t protect him. It’d be a little much to skip visiting him too."
"That’s true. All right. Have a good trip."
Kirishima accepted Rumi’s farewell and left the office.
The moment he closed the door and turned away, the smile vanished from his face.
He had pushed a little too hard, but everything he had built up until now had still carried enough weight to win approval.
His wounded pride burned hot, as if seared, at the thought of the battlefield drawing near.
The League of Villains would learn.
What becomes of those who lay hands on a real devil.
Comments (0)
Please log in to leave a comment. Login or Register