"All done. Our baby is ready!"
Mei cheered cheerfully, spinning around my workshop which also served as a hideout and a small amateur chemistry lab, holding the aforementioned "baby" in her hands. I, on the other hand, watched my upgraded headphones with the absolute apathy of a hopeless fatalist. I did not even have the energy to ask her to stop calling them "babies."
Now this "baby," in addition to its primary function of bringing peace and happiness to my dark soul, had a metal plate surface capable of withstanding small caliber bullets and ordinary shrapnel. It could also intercept various frequencies, including police channels.
She had wanted to add more features, but I was against turning the headphones into something like a helmet or making them too heavy. I had already had to contact some factories to have the plates custom made and designed in a way that made them somewhat comfortable to wear.
To be honest, I did not understand how things had escalated this far. I had suspected that her Quirk was affecting my mind. But no. It was just me being whipped. Damn.
Or maybe it was her enthusiasm and persistence, which could match ten ordinary people. If the same Melissa, whom I often talked to over video calls or text messages, was more like a light, refreshing breeze that made you smile involuntarily, then Hatsume was like a hurricane that could carry you far away if you hesitated for even a moment.
As a result of our interaction, I was now looking at a "monster" of engineering thought, whose specifications could include a plus fifteen to attracting attention.
"Ken, you are going to wear them, right? We need to test their functionality. Besides, they were upgraded for you, these babies."
I stared at her without blinking.
"Come on, come on. Put them on. We made them together."
I kept staring.
She stared back with eyes burning with enthusiasm, with crosshairs in the middle of their irises.
Damn.
I am whipped.
"Fine. But if they actually explode on my head, I will haunt your nightmares after I die."
I put them on and connected them to my phone to tune to some frequency. I heard a commercial. Well, they did not explode, and the sound was clear. Thank Kami. After several explosions in the workshop that, according to my predictions, should not have happened at all, I was fully convinced of her talent as a natural born pyrotechnician. I bought another fire extinguisher, just in case. Good thing I had improved the soundproofing, otherwise the neighbors might have had questions. I am not Bakugo, who can be heard all over the street.
Speaking of which, I had not visited him in a while. That was not right. Our previous chases with jokes and his incoherent shouting, the entire meaning of which boiled down to "die," had been fun.
After talking some more with Mei, I saw her out. Then I began to think about what to do next.
No information about Haijima had been found. All that was left for me was to gather strength and study. The question of education was quite pressing. If things had gone well with elementary and middle school, and I had managed to pass all the exams without any issues, then with high school, things were not so rosy.
The options were either graduating from an insignificant high school, which would severely limit my future job prospects, or taking general education or hero academy support course prep classes. Cheating or bribing someone to get a diploma would not work. Taking exams as an external student, I was not sure I could handle it, and besides, I would still need to attend some classes.
I needed the diploma so that when I became an adult, I could found some company without any suspicion, use it to launder some of my stolen money, and also have an additional source of income. I was leaning more toward enrolling in U.A.'s support course. After studying at that institution, many doors in professional circles could open for me.
So, the question of education was settled. That left the most important question: the question of developing my power.
Lately, I had started to realize that I was lacking serious battles. And fighting weaklings would not make me stronger. Training steadily increased my strength, but not my skills or abilities. I needed experience fighting stronger villains. They were quite hard to find.
My gaze shifted to my phone. But I thought that Giran could help me with that, for a hefty fee.
*
*
*
[ Daichi Kobayashi'S Pov]
Rain fell over one of the cities in Kyoto Prefecture. The weather was not welcoming to passersby, so many of them wanted to get home to their warm, cozy houses as quickly as possible. But more than anyone, a middle manager named Daichi Kobayashi wanted to get home.
Leaning against the dirty wall of an alley, his leg broken, his eyes tightly shut, he tried to cover his ears to block out the most disgusting sound of his life. The sound of chewing.
The image of the hero's body was still before his eyes. Where his arm should have been, there was only a stump. The concrete was stained with blood. The arm itself was in the hands of a rather thin man, and it was slowly getting smaller.
Chew. It got smaller.
Chew. It got smaller.
Chew. It got smaller.
Chew. It got smaller.
Daichi clenched his teeth so hard he thought they would break, trying not to scream in despair. He had already called for help. And the result was a dead hero. This monster said that if anyone else came running, it would replace that person and eat Daichi alive. For now, it would only break his neck and then later devour his body parts. So Kobayashi stayed quiet. He stayed quiet, listening to the disgusting sound. He had thrown up his entire lunch, so he also had the unpleasant taste of vomit in his mouth. His mind was blank. Only all consuming despair filled him.
He heard footsteps.
Kobayashi was about to scream for whoever it was to run away, but he stopped when he saw a silhouette in a black mask with a red smile.
A blond man with earrings in his ears and a black, blood stained tank top tossed aside the piece of what used to be an arm. His eyes widened in recognition, and he grinned a toothy smile.
"Well, well, if it is not the famous Ticci Micc himself. The elusive thief and the one who caused the massacre at the Tokyo police station. Did you come to join my meal?"
The figure in the mask spoke in a metallic voice.
"The A class villain, the Cannibal, Hotaka Murakami. I did not come to join your meal."
Hotaka, who had been approaching, only smiled wider.
"That is great. More for me. So why are you here?"
The silhouette calmly answered:
"I need to check something and take something."
The spark of madness in Murakami's eyes blazed brighter.
"You know, I also want to check something. I want to taste YOUR flesh."
The blond man's right hand suddenly swelled up, increasing in volume, and struck forward in a fast motion. His claws, transformed from his fingernails, sent up a shower of sparks. Not feeling the tearing of flesh, the Cannibal looked at his opponent in confusion.
The masked man's hands were covered in some gray substance that looked like metal. A voice came from behind the mask.
"I came to test a new ability and to take…"
The masked man's legs bent.
"…your life."
He finished the sentence, then launched himself toward Murakami with a crack of flying stone fragments from under his feet. Unable to dodge in time, the Cannibal expanded his body and struck Ticci Micc's fist directly. Unexpectedly, the man in the mask won the clash of their strikes. The Cannibal's body was thrown back.
Hotaka quickly got to his feet, his mind lost to rage, and lunged at his opponent. A quick dodge followed by a kick sent him flying back again. Already snarling with fury, the villain with bloodshot eyes kept throwing himself at the dark figure. Ticci dodged his attempts to grab him, and when he threw direct punches, he blocked them with his arms and struck back. The villain, feeling the pain from the blows, only grew more enraged and attacked mindlessly. Until the man in the mask grabbed his arm and, with a quick, sharp motion, broke it.
Over the next few seconds, all of the villain's limbs were broken, and the Cannibal groaned in pain in a pool of blood and water.
Ignoring his wet clothes, Daichi watched the fight in fascination until he flinched when the man in the mask appeared right in front of him. Ticci Micc leaned over and patted Kobayashi's cheek with one hand. Startled by this action, he did not notice the blow to his temple that sent him into the world of sleep.
[End Pov Daichi Kobayashi]