I fired a gun at Hawks, erasing every sound with [Silence].
The bullet punched a hole through his red wing. Blood spread.
Hawks went pale and swallowed back a scream.
"Wait! Normally you’d ask what I mean first!"
"Those guys probably had time for that. You don’t."
"Quit with the wordplay and explain it so I can understand."
Hawks clutched his forehead.
"The Quirk singularity is here."
"And you killed the only person who could cure it."
Quirk singularity. Another name for Quirk doomsday.
A conspiracy theory that sounded like a ghost story: as generations passed, Quirks mixed and grew stronger until, in the end, they devoured their owners.
"A yakuza cosplaying as an unlicensed doctor who experimented on children could fix that?"
"Haha... for now, yes? I was in a hurry, so I didn’t know about the human experiments."
I turned the gun toward his fingers with a look of disgust.
"Bullshit. Your wings hurt less, right? Maybe losing a pinky will wake you up."
Even under the threat, his eyes were serious.
"...I don’t believe it either, but it’s the truth."
I gave a cold order.
"Hands behind your head. Get back and kneel.
From here on, you answer only my questions."
Hawks sighed and obeyed.
I checked his Quirk through the status window.
[Strong Wings]
A pair of wings made of hard, resilient feathers.
Each feather can be controlled freely.
What a nasty Quirk. I couldn’t afford to give him any opening.
I summoned [Truth Extraction].
"Why were you tailing me, and what was your goal?"
"I didn’t come to see you.
I came to meet the only person in the world who possesses the [Overhaul] Quirk."
"But I got delayed because I just couldn’t get through that ‘black wall.’"
He hadn’t broken through my seal.
If I wanted, Hawks wasn’t getting out of here.
"You were planning to use my Quirk to activate [Overhaul]."
"Yeah. You catch on fast."
With that, the initiative in this negotiation was completely mine.
"What do I get? You’re really a hero, right?
Not just a lapdog for the people above you?"
Hawks gave an awkward smile.
"I was wondering when you’d ask. We’re being generous too.
We’ll pardon every crime you’ve committed through a plea bargain, and we’ll treat you as a hero under Public Safety."
"Of course, the moods of the big shots are fickle, so I can’t promise anything."
He paused. His face had gone deathly white.
As if sensing something wrong, he pressed his lips shut.
I laughed.
His expression was just too ridiculous.
"Your true feelings are leaking out all over the place. Isn’t that unfair?"
I aimed the muzzle right beside his knee and fired once. The floor burst open.
"There’s no right to remain silent here, so keep that in mind.
And since your information is wrong, let me correct it."
"You and your people are the ones on a leash."
Hawks lowered his head. His fingertips trembled faintly.
Hawks had to tell the truth, but I didn’t care whether I told the truth, mixed in lies, or both. I was going to wring as much out of him as I could.
"Looks like I wasn’t applying enough pressure."
I walked over to [Overhaul]’s corpse, cut off some hair, and swallowed it.
I summoned a [Decay] clone and had it turn the body to powder in front of Hawks.
Hawks’ pupils shook violently.
He was trembling so badly it almost felt strange.
Hawks grabbed the girl with her eyes shut and ran.
"Get back!"
What a shame that the talks had broken down. I’d take the Quirk from the corpse instead.
I lined up a shot at Hawks’ torso.
Just as I was about to pull the trigger, a monstrous shriek that wasn’t Hawks’ voice rang out.
"Kyeeeeeeeeeek!!!"
The thing that appeared was like a giant mountain in motion.
A body covered in concrete smashed through the ceiling and floor as it barreled forward.
It was that bastard from the maze. So he could do that too?
Hawks panicked and sent his feathers flying like cutters.
They screeched as they dug into the concrete.
That was as far as it went. He couldn’t stop it. For a Pro Hero, his firepower was pathetic.
The thing kept rampaging and hurled dozens of stones at Hawks.
Hawks moved quickly, dodging every single one without getting hit.
I’d better deal with the annoying one first.
I summoned [Overhaul], a white plague-doctor-like clone, and made it place a hand on the floor.
The floor was torn apart and transformed in an instant.
Hundreds of massive stone pillars, like stakes, shot toward the maze bastard.
Stone collided with stone, sending sparks flying around them.
The maze bastard transformed his body and hammered out repeated blows with stone fists the size of houses.
I used [Carapace] and [Barrier] and didn’t dodge.
Boom!!!
My body was sent flying. [Carapace] and [Barrier] were on the verge of shattering.
My body slammed through a wall and got embedded in it.
It took only an instant for the thing’s roar to turn into a scream.
As I was sent flying, [Overhaul]’s hand had touched him.
From his fingers to the back of his hand, the arm of the massive body where the maze bastard was hiding had been transformed.
His left arm had become like an anchor sunk deep into the floor.
"W-why did you use the young master’s Quirk?! You bastard!"
Realizing I’d killed [Overhaul], he started panting even harder.
I walked forward. I could walk. He couldn’t.
A fist-shaped shadow covered my head. He was trying to bring it down on me.
I summoned [Strong Arms]. The clone’s two arms trembled as it raised its fist.
It caught [Overhaul]’s hand.
The more I gripped the thing’s lumpy surface, the more that surface turned into sharp spikes.
"Aagh!! Aagh!!!"
The scream was less a roar than the sound of someone having their throat ripped out.
I made the spikes drive in from the inside first.
Just then, the ceiling collapsed, and the thing was buried under a pile of rubble, finally going quiet.
I brushed the dust off my body.
The girl was trembling as she clamped her hands over her ears even tighter than before and squeezed her eyes shut.
Hawks backed away while holding the girl’s hand.
He was terrified. This could be the best negotiation of all.
I held back my smile and approached Hawks.
"I’m sick of heroes."
"The one you couldn’t even scratch got taken out in one shot.
I doubt you think heroes get special treatment, do you?"
Hawks clenched his teeth.
"...You’re planning to make enemies of the heroes and All Might too?"
All Might, the number one hero known as the Symbol of Peace.
I still didn’t know his Quirk.
The surest lie was one mixed with truth, wasn’t it?
"All Might is weaker than me."
"If I touch him, All Might dies to me.
If he touches me, I won’t die. Easy to understand."
I made a show of reaching for Hawks and stepped closer.
He sharpened his wings, but still shrank back.
"Want to verify it and see?"
"...What do you want?"
I couldn’t hold back my laughter and ended up grinning with my teeth showing.
"There’s plenty I want. School is probably just an excuse to keep an eye on me and leash me.
I’ll let that slide. If I can use the school, that works out for me too."
Hawks swallowed hard.
The pressure was enough for now. I needed to ask something more important.
"The Public Safety people know about someone called All For One, right?"
"...Yeah. Not much, but we do."
"Hand over everything you know about All For One."
"I’ll be the one to kill All For One."
"Ow!"
A small groan broke the silence.
"S-sorry! I’m sorry!!!
My legs were shaking so much I fell over... I’ll close my eyes again!"
The girl’s voice had grown even smaller.
She must have seen the whole thing.
Hawks forced a smile and looked at her.
"Haha, it’s okay, little lady. Your name is... ?"
"...Eri."
"Eri, don’t worry. Once this is over, I’ll take you somewhere safe."
"R-really...?"
Eri’s desperate eyes turned to Hawks.
He was only helping on the side, and yet he sure knew how to talk.
I ignored Hawks and turned to Eri.
I lowered my voice as calmly as I could.
"Eri, keep your eyes shut and your ears covered a little longer. This will be over soon."
Eri nodded and closed her eyes again.
I turned back to Hawks and continued my demands.
"I’m taking Eri with me. You just provide a safe house.
I’m more trustworthy than the higher-ups who want to send an incompetent, weak hero or a murderer to middle school."
Hawks looked exhausted.
"Fine. Let’s just end this here, please."
That was not happening. I would eliminate every variable for sure.
"One last thing. Your hair. No, your Quirk. Hand it over."
"Your [Strong Wings] lets each feather move like a part of your body, right? It’s perfect for surveillance."
"Just like you tried to keep tabs on me, I’ll keep tabs on you."
Hawks stood up. The tremor in his eyes stopped.
"That’s not happening. We need some leverage too.
Push any harder and the negotiation’s off. I’m prepared for that much."
He seemed to be gambling on preserving what little pride he had left.
"Fine. You’re right. I changed my mind."
"Haha. Good, then—"
"Not just your Quirk, but the Quirks of every hero you can get your hands on too."
"That’s a funny joke. I already told you that’s impossible."
"You have until one week after I enter middle school to prepare it.
Think about which side has more to lose."
Hawks fell silent with a strained expression.
"Maybe today the number 3 hero will disappear without a body, or maybe only the red wings will be ‘reassembled’ and attached to someone else’s body."
Sweat poured down Hawks’ face like rain.
He wiped his damp face and only then pulled out a handful of yellow feathers, holding them out to me.
"I was joking, joking. Fine. Could you lower the gun now? You’re a greedy one, aren’t you?"
I took the feathers without lowering the gun and swallowed them.
Behind my back, a clone with red wings spread out and moved at my will.
"There’s no reason not to use a gun when you have so many Quirks."
Hawks let out a dry, incredulous laugh.
Before long, Rappa appeared, limping.
"What, I came to see whether Overhaul or you won, and why is a hero here? Why did you get younger again?"
I might as well take one errand boy with me.
"This is a bonus. I’m taking him to middle school too."
Hawks scratched his head.
"Am I the only one who doesn’t understand middle schoolers these days?
That look, or what? Don’t tell me he’s one too?"
"Correct. Rappa, come here and I’ll fix your leg."
Rappa came over immediately without asking questions.
I summoned [Rewind] and healed Rappa’s leg.
As the golden light wrapped around him, Rappa’s height shrank slightly, just like mine had earlier.
Hawks spoke before I could react.
"What? What changed? Did he really get younger?"
Aside from getting a little shorter, nothing had changed.
For now, biologically speaking, he was middle school age.
"Anyway, Rappa’s coming to middle school with me too. I’ll turn him back to normal later."
Rappa nodded vigorously.
"Got it! If I’m with you, I feel like I’ll get to fight a ton.
My stubborn parents are gone now too, so I might as well take over the school."
"Avoid making a huge scene. If you’re going to do it, do it at another school, and don’t act like you know me."
"That’s the best part! I’ll beat up the old fogeys at another school first!"
I glanced at Rappa once, then said to Hawks, "Handle the cleanup yourself. I’m busy."
I had no more business with Hawks.
"Eri, open your eyes. From now on, you’re living with me and Rappa.
You can even go to a kindergarten with kids your own age."
Raising a girl was a hassle.
I’d keep her in kindergarten for as long as possible.
I could handle the surveillance with [Strong Wings].
Eri blinked and looked up at me.
"Kids my own age...?"
Hope seeped faintly into her voice.
"Yeah. You don’t have to come back here anymore."
Eri bit her lip and nodded.
Then she carefully stepped closer and asked, "I don’t know the way. Can I walk a little closer to you?
If you don’t like it, I’ll move away."
I took her small hand.
"Follow me. We’re going home."
Eri’s hand twitched for a moment, but at the word "home," she tightened her grip again.
I didn’t feel attached to her.
Still, I needed to show at least a minimum of performative attachment.
Otherwise, this kid might cause trouble or run away.
Rappa asked, "Hey, what’s your name? Can I keep calling you ‘bro’?"
Eri also looked up at me and said quietly, "Can I ask your name? I’m Eri."
I thought for a moment about who I was, then answered.
"Tenma Kuroo."
Starting with Tenma and ending with Kuroo.
I would put an end to my bad blood with All For One under this name.
"Tenma... mister."
Eri slowly repeated my name.
Holding Eri’s hand, I walked forward.
A month later, Hawks had quickly prepared the safe house and forged identities as requested.
Right now, I was a third-year student at Orudera Middle School named Tenma Kuroo.
He’d fabricated a family registry listing Rappa as my cousin and Eri as my younger sister, though the setup had gotten a little complicated.
Rappa seemed to be following my instructions in his own strange way, only picking fights outside school.
That wasn’t my problem.
Before long, a familiar and irritating noise reached my ears.
"Hey! Deku! I told you not to mutter gloomily while looking at that notebook, you creep!!"
"S-sorry, Kacchan... I’ll put it away right now."
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