Looking at the charred remains of the people, I thought about how someone had beaten me to it. Sometimes I got bored, and robbing ordinary stores or rich people didn't give me a thrill or challenge my abilities. So I started robbing other villains. And the main thing was to do it not brutally, but discreetly. The expressions on their faces, with that almost childlike offense when they noticed their "loot" was missing, warmed my sadistic feelings in their own way. If the villains were strong, I would later engage them in combat for experience and to hone my skills. And for absorption.
Seeing these remains, I only felt mild annoyance that someone had gotten there first, and disgust at the smell of burnt flesh. Their deaths left me indifferent. If they had been strong enough, I would have fought them, and they would have died anyway.
It was time to leave before someone else noticed this place. Walking and twirling a knife between the fingers of my right hand, I tried to guess who it could be. Although there were plenty of villains with fire Quirks, someone with that much power would have no reason to kill these losers. So it was either a beginner, or these guys had crossed one of the more serious organizations.
Judging by the fact that the remains of the bodies weren't far apart, they were probably hit with a single blast of flame powerful enough to kill them instantly. And remembering several similar cases, it was likely a newbie with a powerful Quirk. It would be good to find him.
Lately, Giran had been looking for new people for some new villain group. He had even invited me to join, saying they had potential. But I refused. Joining a mysterious villain group with unclear goals and risking exposure of my official identity when I was planning to enroll in U.A.'s support course was stupid.
I wasn't worried about the broker. He wasn't the type to betray his own people. But ignoring this group was also dangerous. For my life. Behind them stood a certain "master" whom Giran was openly afraid of and respected at the same time. So I didn't turn down the request to look for promising newcomers passed on through the broker.
Finding the pyrotechnic would be difficult. There was no connection between all of his victims, except that they were all worthless small fry. So I had to search near the places where he operated, in case he hadn't moved far from his neighborhood. As a last resort, I could follow the police or hero investigation. That would be a test of my disguise and infiltration skills for secured buildings.
For now, I needed to think about my project, which was required for admission to my faculty. For admission to the hero course, you had to pass exams that varied between academies and often changed. For the support course, besides a written test, you had to bring a project for equipment that had practical use for heroes, and then build it within six hours. The complexity and usefulness of the equipment determined whether you got into the course.
The general studies faculty was easier. They just had to pass a written test. But the number of dropouts was higher there. U.A. had always been more demanding of its students and maintained healthy competition. That was what allowed them to remain first among all other academies.
If I thought about it, I could propose a set of protective gear. Mechanical gloves with a built in cable with a blunt end that could conduct electricity. The mechanism for launching the cable at an opponent was quite simple, though it required some skill from the user. It wasn't like Eraserhead's capture weapon. I didn't know what they were actually called, but after watching the rare videos that hero appeared in, it was clear to knowledgeable people how difficult they were to use in combat.
In addition to the gloves, I would add boots with good protective qualities and a jumpsuit. But the real feature of the resulting costume wasn't the simple taser, but the redistribution of blunt force damage across the surface of the costume, which was quite difficult to achieve. A similar feature was on my villain costume, but due to better materials and some tricks, the limit at which blunt force damage could be redistributed over a larger area was higher.
I often discussed the project with Mei. When it came to engineering and robotics, we had the most discussions, even incidentally bringing Melissa into the conversation. These conversations often made me feel the lack of my own knowledge, which I wanted to fill with the help of U.A.'s teachers.
Of course, it would be safer to do it at another educational institution or on my own by hiring some teacher. But the best teachers, with experience and effective teaching systems, mainly taught at hero academies. And I wanted to learn from the best professionals.
Not to mention the opportunity to get a diploma from the most prestigious educational institution in the country. A nice bonus was Hatsume's desire to enroll there too. She had decided to aim for an exoskeleton as her project.
And so, looking into her yellow eyes with crosshair pupils, I firmly said:
"No."
"Come on, Ken, I need to test this baby. According to my calculations, it can lift several tons. And I need a test subject. Don't worry, I calculated everything perfectly, so you should be fine."
She said this while pushing me from behind toward this creation of a mad genius. Okay, change of strategy.
"Why me? Don't you have any other friends?"
Mei stopped pushing me toward the "baby" for a second, then said in a cheerful tone:
"They all had other things to do, so they couldn't make it. I need to observe the operation of the power suit from the outside and find any flaws or problems. And as my true friend, you should help me with this."
Turning around, I looked into her eyes as she said this. Bright, pleading eyes stared back at me.
Damn.
I thought as the straps of the device were fastened around me. Someday, I would definitely be able to refuse her. And her look wouldn't work on me anymore!
Two hours later, after a ton of broken furniture, a nearly dislocated arm, and my silent, profanity laden thoughts, we finished. After telling Mei where I had problems with control and general shortcomings, we decided to go for a walk.
Walking through a park in one of the cities of Kyoto Prefecture, where the Hatsume family lived, I quietly rejoiced that I was still alive and relatively intact, while Mei talked about possible improvements to her "baby."
This atmosphere relaxed my mind, which was always expecting another attack. Commenting on the pink haired girl's suggestions, my gaze often lingered on her beautiful face. Thoughts far removed from our topic began to enter my head.
"Thank you for coming and helping me with my baby, Ken."
She said when we stopped near the station where the high speed trains departed.
"I was happy to help, although being a test subject for your babies wasn't in my plans."
She smiled widely.
"Don't worry, no one has ever died from my babies."
"I don't want to be the first."
I grumbled. She giggled, then hugged me.
I froze, staring at her with wide eyes. A smirk appeared on her face at my expression. She let me go, and I was about to say something, but she just kissed me on the cheek and ran off.
"See you later, Ken."
And I just stupidly watched her go. At that moment, I felt my inexperience in relationships more than ever. And my emotions. Because in her arms, I didn't feel any fear.