It took us until nearly dawn before we could finally stop.
Last night’s intimacy was like a mad storm that swept away every rational barrier I had carefully built.
It began from the suffocating pressures I had suppressed for weeks, then was ignited by Himiko’s wild and reckless fire, burning brilliantly like a torch that never went out and consuming this dark, cramped, moldy room.
The gripping hands.
The deep kisses thick with the rusty scent of blood.
The dazed, intoxicated look in her eyes.
All of it pulled me into another dimension where every emotion and every scrap of reason melted together into a tangled mess that could not be unraveled.
I did not even understand why my mind was so completely empty this time.
No calculations.
No plans.
No thoughts of the plot, of Stain, of death, or of the future.
Perfectly empty.
When the storm faded, the faint light of dawn had already begun to slip through the gaps in the filthy curtains.
I pushed myself up with my arms.
Damn it.
My body right now was no different from a real battlefield.
Bite marks and dried blood.
Bloody scratches running down my back.
Bruised patches of skin.
The energy bar in my body was exactly zero.
The combination of four days of continuously detoxifying KCN and one night of being completely drained by Himiko made every muscle scream with each movement.
I dragged myself into the tiny bathroom and turned on the shower.
Ice-cold water slammed down on the top of my head, washing away the sticky sweat and the distinctive scent of lust.
The sharp cold forced my neurons to start working again.
After drying off, I began putting on my hero costume.
Tactical trousers, shirt, bulletproof layer, gloves.
I decided not to bring the half-face Oni mask or the bulletproof tuxedo.
It looked too flashy and did not fit a city that currently needed peace like Hosu.
Stepping out of the bathroom, I looked toward the tattered mattress.
Himiko was now deeply asleep.
The blanket was wrapped around half her body, revealing a slender bare shoulder and satin-white skin dotted with purple-red marks and my own bite marks.
Looking at the strangely peaceful face of one of Japan’s most heavily wanted criminals, I could not help but sigh.
I took out my wallet, removed half the cash I had, and carefully placed it on the rotting wooden table beside the bed.
This girl cooked terribly, if not catastrophically.
This little money would at least be enough for her to order delivery or buy a few bentos from a convenience store.
It was the least I could do as… her boyfriend.
In any case, I could not stay any longer.
The sun was already up.
…
Stepping out of the dilapidated hotel door, I took a deep breath.
The early morning air of Hosu City carried a light chill of mist that hit my face and scattered some of the exhaustion that had sunk deep into my bones.
The city was beginning to stir.
Even though the clock only pointed to 5:30 a.m., early workers had already started appearing sparsely on the streets.
Traffic was still thin.
A few 24/7 convenience stores cast pale white light, and roadside breakfast stalls had begun to send up rising steam.
A peaceful scene so perfect it felt fake.
I stuffed both hands into my pockets and walked slowly along the sidewalk.
My mind once again began fast-forwarding through the upcoming scenarios.
Stain was somewhere in this city.
The League of Villains would soon drop the Nomu here.
This clean air would, in just a few days, be dyed red with blood and fire.
When I pushed open the door to Manual’s hero office, the inside was completely empty.
That made sense.
Most professional heroes who did not have night shifts would still be sleeping at this hour, or at least yawning while brushing their teeth.
Manual was probably just crawling out of bed or already on his way.
But not everyone was ordinary like that.
Right in the middle of the main hall, a figure in pure white armor with a helmet fitted with engines stood tall and rigid, straight-backed like a statue carved from the mold of discipline.
Iida Tenya.
Hearing my footsteps, he spun around.
The face behind the reinforced glass radiated an almost extreme seriousness, yet still tried to sprinkle a bit of awkward friendliness from a classmate.
“You arrived really early, Onodera-kun!
I thought you would sleep in a little after yesterday’s trip.”
I curled my lips, skillfully hiding the exhaustion gnawing at my joints.
“I’ve gotten used to waking up early because of insomnia.
You prepared quickly too.
Where’s Manual?”
“He texted that he would arrive at six, but I think as interns, arriving early to prepare equipment and study the terrain is a smart and necessary move!” Iida answered loudly, every word full of determination.
I nodded.
Still the same Iida Tenya as always.
Living, breathing, and operating with the precision of a mechanical clock.
Standing in front of him right now, I felt pathetic.
I was gritting my teeth and using willpower just to keep my eyelids from dropping, while he was overflowing with energy as if plugged directly into 110 volts.
If I could borrow that energy source from him for even one day, everything would be half as difficult.
But then I noticed that Iida’s eyes were no longer looking straight into mine.
His gaze dropped, moved around the area of my neck, and then stopped.
Damn it.
The collar of my shirt had not been buttoned yet.
“By the way…” Iida’s voice suddenly dropped, mixed with curiosity and a bit of worry.
“What happened to your neck, Onodera-kun?”
His question felt like a needle stabbing straight into my reflex nerve.
I flinched and instinctively brought a hand up to cover my neck.
And boom.
The memory of Himiko’s “artistic works” from last night slammed into my brain.
Bleeding bite marks.
Vivid red and purple hickeys that still stood out clearly, proudly, and conspicuously on my pale skin, not faded in the slightest.
“Shit…” I cursed under my breath.
A U.A.
student showing up for a hero internship with a neck full of kiss marks?
Stupid.
Blatant.
And extremely risky.
“As I already told your group last time…” I lowered my voice and forced out an awkward, pale smile mixed with a little resignation.
Before Iida could open his mouth to ask anything else, I cut him off with a long, drawn-out sigh.
“The ‘reason’ I booked that separate hotel room… is also the ’cause’ of these marks.
You know… I cannot leave someone with serious psychological problems alone.
You can lecture me later if you want, Iida, but at least give me a few minutes to go into the bathroom and cover these marks first.”
Without needing to guess, the look the Class 1-A representative gave me right then was the same look one would give the most pitiful mess of adolescence.
It was a mixture of disappointment, confusion, and a bit of pity that I thoroughly hated.
“If what you said is true… then isn’t she alone right now?” Tenya frowned and asked as he watched me awkwardly pull a roll of medical gauze from my gear bag.
I paused for a beat, looking in the mirror while sticking adhesive bandages on my neck, then shrugged.
“After what she ‘put me through’ last night, I am willing to bet she will sleep like the dead until this afternoon.
Besides… she already knows I will be gone until evening, Iida.
If something happens, like a break-in, the one who would need an ambulance would not be her…”
Tenya fell silent after hearing that.
He pushed up his glasses, as if the brain of a serious male student was refusing to process the overly “adult” amount of information I had just dropped.
Exactly ten minutes later, the office door swung open.
Hero Manual stepped in, bringing a bright, approachable smile and a relaxed demeanor that stood in complete contrast to the oppression Iida was creating.
“Good morning, you two!
Arrived early, huh?
All ready?”
Iida immediately turned, clicked his heels together, and raised his hand in a perfect military-style salute.
“Yes, Manual-sensei!
We are ready to receive any instructions!”
I only stood to the side, forced a polite smile, and nodded slightly.
I could never imitate that excessive enthusiasm of Iida’s.
It was best to stay quiet, conserve energy, and simply do my duty.
Actions always carried more weight than empty slogans.
“Great!
Let’s go!” Manual waved his hand and led the way out the door.
And so the three of us began the morning patrol.
Hosu in the early morning was strangely peaceful.
We wove through the main streets, then turned into small alleys.
The sun began to climb higher, dyeing the rooftops and advertising signs golden.
Manual walked ahead, explaining in detail how he managed this area as we went.
“See that intersection over there?
It always gets jammed during rush hour.
Sometimes our job is just standing there directing traffic.
Or that street corner over there, where elderly people often get lost…”
He spoke with passion.
There were no world-shaking battles.
No supervillains threatening the world.
Manual was the embodiment of the “local heroes” who handled minor tasks, resolved small disputes, and helped the community.
Those were the jobs usually ignored by the media, that brought neither dazzling fame nor fat advertising contracts.
But Manual’s dedication and sincerity were respectable enough to make even me feel admiration.
He was the kind of glue that kept this society from cracking apart from the smallest things.
Even Tenya, despite the flames of revenge still boiling in his heart, had to nod and continuously take notes in his small notebook.
“Patrol is not just walking around and sightseeing, you two,” Manual suddenly stopped at a busy intersection.
His voice dropped and became much more serious.
“Let your guard down for even a second and you will miss the seeds of crime that are sprouting.
Look around.
Do you see anything unusual?”
Tenya and I immediately scanned the area with our eyes.
Traffic was starting to get denser.
Office workers hurriedly carried briefcases as they rushed toward the train station.
A few workers were repairing a section of uneven sidewalk across the street.
An ordinary day like any other.
Everything seemed perfectly normal.
But the experience from sleepless nights hunting Himiko and the sharpened criminal-analysis thinking in my head spoke up.
The left corner of the street.
Near a small coffee shop with red-and-white striped awnings.
There was a man in a gray hoodie with the hood pulled tightly over his head.
He was standing still.
Far too still compared to the hurried rhythm of the people around him.
He was not looking at his phone, not waiting for a red light, and did not seem to be waiting for anyone.
His eyes were locked onto the luxury handbag carelessly left on the table of a middle-aged woman who was busy talking on the phone.
He was choosing the blind spot of the security cameras.
His center of gravity was shifted forward, heels slightly raised.
That was the posture of someone preparing to sprint.
I raised my index finger and flicked it lightly toward the coffee shop.
“The guy in the gray hoodie over there… looks pretty suspicious.”
Manual narrowed his eyes in the direction of my finger.
A satisfied smile crossed the professional hero’s lips.
“Good observation, Onodera.
What do you think, Iida?”
Iida immediately locked onto the target as his analytical brain began working.
“His eyes are completely focused on the bag.
His body language shows he is preparing to run.
High probability of a snatch-and-grab.”
“Exactly.” Manual nodded.
“In this job, small details decide everything.
Keep watching him.
Don’t act rashly yet.”
The three of us held our breath, kept our distance, and observed.
Tension began to seep into the air.
The hoodie guy edged forward step by step, pretending to walk past the table.
Five meters.
Three meters.
One meter.
And then… *Swish!*
His hand shot out like lightning and grabbed the strap of the handbag.
The woman startled and let out a sharp scream as her phone clattered to the ground.
The thief spun around and bolted headlong into the small alley beside the coffee shop.
“Move!” Manual shouted.
Without waiting for a second command, the exhaust pipes on Iida’s calves erupted with brilliant blue flames.
*Click… BOOM!*
The terrifying acceleration from his Engine Quirk launched Iida forward like a cannon shell.
He shot past me, leaving a strong wind that whipped the hem of my shirt.
Manual and I immediately sprinted after him, but the speed of a normal person (even with my bone-reinforcing Quirk) could not match those engine legs.
It took only three seconds.
The thief had not even run fifteen meters into the alley before Iida caught up.
He did not use violent attacks.
Instead, Iida slid across the ground and executed a perfect leg sweep.
The thief lost his balance, tumbled forward, and slammed face-first into the asphalt in pain.
The handbag flew far away.
“Stay down!
You are under arrest for theft of property!” Iida stood up straight, his sharp voice echoing through the alley.
A few seconds later, Manual and I arrived.
Manual quickly stepped forward, pulled handcuffs from his belt, locked the thief’s arms behind his back, and pinned him to the ground.
I slowed down, picked up the dusty handbag, and brushed it off lightly.
The middle-aged woman came running over, still crying and breathing hard.
I approached and held the bag out with both hands.
“Here is your bag.
Please check if anything is missing inside.”
The woman took the bag with trembling hands and hurriedly unzipped it.
When she saw that her wallet and documents were still there, she exhaled a long breath of relief as tears spilled out.
She bowed repeatedly, crying and thanking us at the same time.
“Thank you, boys!
Thank you, heroes!
I… I don’t know what I would have done if I had lost these important documents…”
Manual looked up and smiled gently and warmly.
“It’s nothing, ma’am.
That’s our job.
It’s good that you weren’t hurt.”
About ten minutes later, a police car arrived.
They took the report and led the thief away.
While speaking with the officer, Manual continuously praised my reflexes and Iida’s speed.
The police officer looked at the two first-year U.A.
students with respectful eyes and patted our shoulders in encouragement.
The matter was settled peacefully.
No casualties, no property damage.
A textbook perfect arrest of a thief.
We continued the patrol until the sunlight began to shift into the orange-red of evening.
“You both did great today!” Manual raised a thumbs-up and smiled brightly as we walked along the canal.
“Onodera’s sharp observation combined with Iida’s excellent speed.
If you two learn to coordinate and learn from each other’s strengths, you will become outstanding heroes in the future.”
Tenya bowed in thanks, pride shining on his face.
As for me?
I only smiled half-heartedly.
I fell half a step behind them, my eyes unconsciously looking far away toward the dark corners of the city that were gradually being swallowed by night.
The success of this petty theft arrest meant nothing at all.
This brilliant peaceful picture under the sunset was only the final mask before Hosu fell into hell.
I looked at Tenya’s back.
He had just saved someone, received praise, and lived up to the hero ideal.
But I knew clearly that the demon of revenge inside him was still clawing fiercely.
Only one more spark and that perfect shell would shatter.