NOVEL WEB Issue #6: Black Tongues Part 1
Dressed in one of his most stylish gears, Tsunagu Hakamada, aka Best Jeanist, arrives on the scene. His agency received the call of a rampant villain with a metal type quirk close to the premises and after leaving his sidekicks to take care of the place he managed to find his way to the location given in the report.
He hums as he watches from the sidelines what appears to be the end of a confrontation. 'Smiley' the vigilante taking down the villain by himself.
'Smiley's arms are trembling,' he mused, observing every detail of the scene. No casualties so far as his eyes can see, just property damage. 'It seems like our roles were reversed this time Mr. Smiley' he thinks, approaching the vigilante, reminiscing of their first encounter.
It was another day on the job. A call of emergency. No heroes available.
A bad matchup for him.
A liquid type quirk, making any of his attempts on restraining the villain almost impossible. Until he arrived at the scene, found the weak point of the quirk and in a quick coordinated attack they managed to capture the villain, in a crystal jar. They exchanged names and that was it, he was gone before he could say anything else.
Along with his wallet. Must've dropped it during the confrontation.
He saw the reports of the smiling vigilante. A history of brutal encounters that became more controlled and less violent as the time went on. So far the only active hero that keeps updating on his actions and whereabouts seems to be Eraserhead. Some from personal encounters and the others from what he could find on the internet.
From what they gathered, Smiley is a popular 'Hero' with teens and kids, even if his mask makes him look unsettling, especially at night. His videos of rescues and villain capturing reach up to 40k views each on an average day. His most viewed video being the rescue of twins from a burning building. 249k views. There are even fan pages dedicated to follow and register his exploits.
The more I learn of this Smiley guy the less sense he makes.
Eraserhead words still linger in Best Jeanist mind.
Super strength, super speed, keen senses, I swear the guy can hear me as soon as I get close.
During a meeting between heroes and the police, they had to discuss the increment in villain activity in their respective territories. As the discussion kept going, they noticed a pattern. Nobody said anything about him until it was time for Eraserhead's report. But it seemed that almost everyone on the table had heard of him at one point, and a few had personally met him in some form. Himself included.
That's not all. From the early reports it appears that his quirk gave him the ability to hop or jump in the air, increasing his speed in the process. But his recent report contradicts that first assumption. What's more, my quirk Erasure doesn't even work on him.
A mutation quirk. Or at least that's the less chilling theory of why Eraserhead couldn't erase Smiley's quirk.
I have yet to disprove this theory, but there's a possibility of Smiley having more than one quirk. I've seen it only once in my life.
The other theory I had at the beginning… was already disproven, but at my first encounter, I thought Smiley was quirkless.
That statement won a few laughs from his colleagues. But Tsunagu could see Eraserhead's expression and he didn't look amused at all. It was an expression of pure frustration. It felt like he didn't really discard the possibility of a quirkless person able to do what a hero can, and in some cases, better than them.
Once he's a few steps away from the vigilante. Jeanist notices Smiley freeze up, then turns his gaze towards him.
"Ah… the Janice guy!"
"The name is Best Jeanist. And don't you forget it, Mr. Smiley," he replied, opening his right hand and closing it in an overly dramatic motion to point directly at him with his index finger. He gestured with his left hand and the fibers of his sleeve moved as he willed them to restrain the downed villain. "Once again I'm humbled by your acts of heroism, the hero who smiles, Smiley."
"Heh! I would've appreciated the help a little earlier, Jeanist, sir. But! Heroes are known to always arrive at the nick of time, aren't they?"
"Indeed," the hero responded. Moving his right hand elegantly, he started to stroke his hair without taking his eyes off of him. "I wish there was a way to repay your continuous support. I admire your tenacity."
Smiley started to rub his neck in embarrassment.
"Ah shucks. Maybe we can eat ramen, I know a good pla-"
"But," Best Jeanist said, changing his pose and adopting a more refined one. Then, in a blink of an eye his right hand tenses and every fiber of Smiley's coat becomes a tangled mess, transforming the coat into a straight jacket, limiting the vigilante's movements. "I cannot ignore your misdeeds. Years of continuous vigilantism, repeated unauthorized use of quirk in public and brutal assaults against villains."
The vigilante falls down and groans in pain as his jacket transforms, constricting his sore muscles and reducing his coverage.
"Heh-Heh! Not one of my finest moments I'll admit," he said from the ground, slowly standing upright. Best Jeanist took note of Smiley's smaller form now that his coat decreased in size, no longer hiding his features. Developed muscles all over his body, dressed in black… short limbs.
Tsunagu's eyes narrowed after roaming his entire frame.
If he wasn't so wary of Smiley's abilities. He could've mistaken the vigilante for a child.
"Can we talk this through over a cup of coffee?"
"I'm afraid that won't be possible, Mr Smiley. It brings me great shame to be the hero to bring you in. Even after all the help you provided me and my colleagues on countless occasions. But, that's the burden we, Pro Heroes, must endure!" the hero replied, striking another dramatic pose.
Murmurs begin to creep through the silence. Cellphones in the air recording what would be the last public appearance of the smiling vigilante.
"That's a shame," he said, standing on his two feet, still shaking from the aftermath of his fight. "I really thought we could've been friends…"
"Bye then! Heh-Heh!" Smiley laughed, his form vanishing in a flash.
Eyes widening, Best Jeanist tilts his stare upwards just in time to see the laughing vigilante jumping away in the air even with a great part of his extremities held tight by the fibers of his own coat.
Before the hero can give chase, the groans of the now very awake captured villain stops him in his tracks. He can't in good conscience leave the wrongdoer behind, not with all the civilians around. There's also the issue of someone needing to report the capture to the proper authorities.
"Clever. Very clever, Mr. Smiley. Stalling for the villain to regain consciousness and make your escape, knowing I, Best Jeanist, wouldn't leave the premises until I was sure everyone was safe and sound," the stylish hero reflects, tightening the restraints of the downed bronze villain.
Striking another pose, Best Jeanist sighs "One step ahead of me again. This is my loss."
Unknown to him… that was just a coincidence.
"He's really hurt this time… " "That's the hero's life for ya." "He's been doing this for a long time, isn't this enough?" "That's none of our business, we should be glad he's even alive." "Who's going to cook for us now?" "Shut the fuck up, you idiot!"
This is awkward. I can hear everything they're saying.
"Don't move kid" Salt said while cleaning my wounds with clear water and then covering them with clean bandages. The first-aid kit I purchased at the beginning of the year doesn't feel like a waste now.
"I didn't know you were a doctor, old man. Should I start calling you doc from now on?" I ask him, trying to lighten the mood, but Salt remains silent and I feel the bandages of my left arm tightening. I wince trying to hold the pain in check. Moving the position of the ice pack Emiko gave me earlier to my left side I let out a sigh I didn't know I was holding.
That was really close.
I should've distracted that Hulk knock-off instead of going for a frontal assault. If I knew 'Storm Leg' or 'Whirlwind Storm' were effective against his skin and kept my distance, I wouldn't be in this mess. It was only a matter of time before a hero arrived on the scene, but I panicked and my body acted on its own… again.
There was also a small part of my brain that really wanted to test my strength against solid metal. My fists are able to crack and destroy solid rocks now, so I felt confident in my capabilities to advance to the next stage.
A hard look at the knuckles of my left hand made me realize something.
I have a long way to go.
"My wife was a nurse, she taught me a few things while we were married" he finally responded. I couldn't see his expression but this is the first time I hear a voice so serious coming from Salt's mouth.
"I wish I had met her, to thank her," I tell him, a small smile on my face. Memories of my mom play in my head clouding my vision. Gosh I miss her so much.
Next time I will keep my mouth shut.
"You can, she works in Naruhata's hospital," he says back, making me let out a long and tired sigh.
'Of course she's alive. Can't even feel sad for the guy without getting mad,' I think, already wanting this to be over with.
I breathe in and out in long and controlled intervals as I feel the last of my wounds tightly wrapped under bandages. I don't know if breathing in this world has any healing properties like in other anime, but I know proper breathing helps with the blood flow and relaxes my muscles, something that helps me whenever I go through the motion of 'Paper Arts' or 'Water Flow'. And to be completely honest I need all the help available if I want to go back to the streets soon.
Talking about anime… would eating a large amount of good food help me recover faster? Almost every anime protagonist I know of, would get their energy back after stuffing their bellies full with their favorite meals.
Now I really want to try that.
"What are you going to do now, brat? You aren't really considering going out like that again, right?"
"Don't think so," I said looking at what's left of my 'super suit'. Letting out the air of my lungs I begin the process again. "The suit got tears all over and my coat got wasted by that Jean guy. I don't really have a replacement right now."
"I wasn't talking about your pajamas," he tiredly sighs, sitting in one of the stools we found in the trash after we fixed it and gave it a coat of paint "You need to take it easy, brat. People need you in the streets, but so do we."
"You just want someone to cook dinner, you old fart," I pointed out, getting a few chuckles from our small audience.
"Ghk! Kids these days don't have any respect for their elders! I swear to god… "
"There he goes again." "No wonder his wife kicked him out." "Hey Gurē! Just tell me what to do and I'll cook for us!" "You can't even hold a knife, I'll do it." "So noisy… "
'I'm going to regret staying here to recover aren't I?'
I can't believe it actually worked.
While in bed for a few days in the shelter I dabbled on methods to speed up the recovery process. The breathing techniques I developed don't really help me unless I only concentrate on healing, but even then I'm not exactly sure if it's the breathing doing the heavy lifting or the incomplete 'Life Return' technique just responding to my signals of 'Get Better, Now'.
It wasn't until I was getting restless and tired of eating Emiko and Cream soup sludge that I decided to go out and have an 'All you can eat buffet' to see if my food recovery theory would work. It even took some time to convince everyone that I can go there by myself.
And what do you know? It did work.
Well, sorta.
While it didn't completely heal my still bruised knuckles, my leg feels much better before eating and so does both of my arms. I don't want to jinx myself, but I feel I can go back to training in no time. Something I never actually stopped, but it was only on improving the breathing exercises and using 'Life Return', trying to control the speed of growth of my fingernails. Not much progress has been made in my eyes though.
Would the effects work again if I eat the same amounts of food tomorrow? I'm not sure, but I'm going to try again either way.
I let out a content sigh as I exited a market store with a sign of 'Open 24/7' while holding the groceries in paper bags. I didn't put the idea of recovering by eating to the test until today. At the time I found it pretty ridiculous, especially after eating homemade soup sludge day and night by those girls. The thought of regaining your strength and improving your health almost instantly by eating feels like a joke.
Well, it doesn't really matter now.
The time I spent in bed left everyone yearning for my food, even the old fart himself, which is why after putting my anime food theory to the test, I decided to take a quick detour from home and stock up on groceries so I can cook for everyone again.
"Fried rice would do nicely" I mutter, giving one last look at the paper bags in my hands. The streets are pretty barren considering it isn't past ten. Just a few people walking by.
"Hnrg… ah… s-shit," I hear a person mutter, walking in the opposite direction as me trying to hug the wall while holding a bottle of wine in his right hand. Unkempt pale blonde hair, plain and dirty clothes… massive vertical scar across his face, looks recently healed too. "I-I feel great! N-No… I'm feeling… terrible."
A strange man that keeps muttering to himself in the middle of the street, while holding a wine bottle, would've been terrible news for my old and sheltered self.
Thing is, I'm not that person anymore.
"Hey man, are you feeling ok?" I ask, carefully approaching him. One of the first things this world had taught me in the early days of my 'awakening' is to never approach anyone unless I know what their 'quirk' does, always remain on a safe distance. That's how I remained alive for so long. But that never stopped me from helping people before.
The man drops his bottle, spilling the wine on the floor. He curses and tries to pick the bottle up but gives up after it falls again
"Yes! N-No! Agh… Shut up!" he 'responds', raising both of his hands to his head, holding it tightly.
This is the first time I've encountered a situation like this. Is he talking to someone else?
"Are you… asking me to shut up?"
"Agh! N-No… no… "
"Do you need something to eat? Bread? Maybe a water bottle?"
"... nng… I'm splitting up… " he said, hiding his face behind his hands now, "I-I need to… ugh… cover myself up!"
'I don't really know what the hell is going on, but he wants to cover himself up… is that it, right?' I think, taking off one of the double paper bags holding my groceries. Unsure I offer the bag to him.
"Here, does this help?"
He takes the paper bag from my hands and rapidly puts it on. And like a switch getting flipped, his personality did a complete 180º.
"Yes! Thank you man! Not like I needed help or anything, idiot!" he immediately said, crossing his arms forming a cross, then one of his fists formed into a thumbs up.
"Uh… glad to hear… Are you feeling better now? Need anything else?" I have never seen someone recover from alcohol induced delusions so fast. Not that I've seen that many cases to begin with. "Something to eat maybe?"
The man under the paper bag strikes a thinking pose for a few seconds then shrugs and lets out a sigh.
"I'm fine! I haven't eaten in days!"
I let out a sigh as well. I guess he's still under the influence. Better take him in before he tries to do something to endanger himself or the people from the streets.
"Follow me. I know a good place where they serve the best Ramen I've ever eaten. You like Ramen, right?" I said to him with a small smile slowly moving in the direction towards the general direction of the stand. Somehow the paper bag man follows me even though he shouldn't be able to see with the bag obscuring his view.
"Love it! No! Hate it!" he loudly proclaims, giving me a thumbs up, then a thumbs down.
'It's like talking to Daisuke and Emiko at the same time,' I think, guiding my companion to my favorite food stand. It's not like he's in a hurry or anything 'I hope he feels better after eating. I have enough headaches with those two. I don't think I could bear with another one.'
"By the way! I'm Twice, but my friends call me Jin!" he says, pointing at his bagged face and walking perfectly with his face covered, making me question if all of this is even real, for all I know I'm still in my bed after eating soup sludge. "Not like you're my friend or anything idiot!"
And now people are looking at us. I sigh again.
Once in our stools I breathe in and out keeping myself calm. The poor dude ain't that bad, he just needs a friend. We ate together, sharing a few anecdotes here and there, cracking jokes and just overall having a good time, well as good as one can get while hanging out with someone with multiple personality disorder. I remember hearing about it in highschool and a few tv shows. Most of them are violent cases, murders or overall crazy people.
I guess those misconceptions rubbed a little on me going by my previous reaction, but as we kept talking and sharing with each other, those previous concerns and views started to disappear.
"So… you've been living alone all this time? Don't you have friends or family?" I asked, concerned. It's been an hour since our first meeting in the streets. A stack of bowls and empty glasses littering the counter. My initial goal of feeding him and leaving him at the hands of his caretaker are long forgotten.
"Pshh, I have lots of friends! Not true, I'm all alone!" After that statement his demeanor shifts and becomes completely silent for a few minutes. Until he awkwardly clears his throat and begins to speak again, a lot quiet this time "It's… been just me for a while. I have no relatives, or friends. Just… me… and even then… I… " he fell silent after that.
I don't even know how to respond to that. I'm the last person to offer any advice to someone who feels alone in the world. I've been alone for as long as I remember…
No. Wait.
I was alone. But I'm not anymore.
Even if we don't get along, we help each other like families do. Right? God I hope I don't make a fool of myself. I just need to channel the 'anime protagonist's friendship speech' energy.
"I feel," I began trying to figure out what I should say next. It's so weird speaking with someone when I can't even see them face to face, but at the same time it calms my nerves, letting the words flow from my mouth "We're never truly alone in this world. The world or society might have given us a bad hand and put hardships in front of us… but I feel there's so many good things to live for. To fight for," even though I'm smiling through my little speech, It doesn't really feel like the smile of a happy person "I believe one day… you'll meet people that will truly care and enjoy your company. And I hope… I'm there to cheer for you."
Huh. My vision is a little misty.
Somehow, it felt like that speech wasn't entirely aimed at Jin. I clean my eyes with a napkin from the counter and I let out a sigh. Well, I hope It worked. Shifting my glance to the paper bag man I'm surprised to see two wet spots where his eyes should be.
"Um… a-are you crying?"
"Shaddup! I-I'm not cwying, stuepid! Guhh～" he responds between sobs.
I… didn't really think it would work, and so fast too. I'm used to people challenging my ideas and arguments back home. They barely heard what I had to say and moved on to the next topic. It feels so weird to be heard.
Suppressing a yawn, I tiredly sigh and offer a small smile to my companion.
"Hey Twi- no. Jin. Since you told me you're in search of a place to 'crash on', why don't you hang with us for a while?" I offered him. It wasn't part of my original plan but I changed my mind. The guy is pretty cool, besides, he isn't Salt's level of annoying. He'll fit right in. "At least until you can land on your feet. What do you say?"
"Guhh… I… sniff…. I'd love tooo～ … L-Like hell I would do that you b-bastard～!" he said, hiding his covered face behind his hands.
That's a yes.
I think.
"Keep the change, old man. Sorry for the trouble!" I say, paying for both of our meals. Taking all of my groceries from the ground, I begin the trek back home, Jin following me in tow.
"Follow me, it's not that far ahead," I tell him, still wondering how he can walk normally with a bag on his head "Don't worry, you'll fit right in."
I didn't know it yet.
But that meeting changed my life, for the better or worse.
"Hm… another one" I mutter to myself, looking at the black tongue of a downed rampaging quirk user. This time it's a smaller version of american version of Godzilla. I thought it was going to be a challenge when I saw him, but ended up pretty quickly, going down after a few hits in the snout.
Ever since that encounter against the hulking bronze man, I've been frequently running into people going on a rampage, the funny thing is that they all share similarities that are really hard to ignore. Black tongue, aggressiveness, lack of common sense and a faint smell. I don't even know how but almost every single quirk users with black tongues had a peculiar smell that I can't quite put my finger on.
At times like these, it makes me wish I had my old phone with me so I could take pictures of the 'crime scenes', if I can even call them that. That way I could've something to show if I encounter any Pro Hero, like Eraserhead.
In normal circumstances I wouldn't work with the police or pro heroes for that matter, considering their insistence in capturing me for 'illegal' activity, whatever that means. But recently it has come to my attention another important detail. I'm still unsure if they're related, but people from low income areas have been disappearing as well. The fact that it's happening in my 'territory' pisses me off.
Taking out some rope from my suit's pocket I tie the godzilla guy to a pole close by. I hop back and wave at the curious pedestrians, then I jump and take off to the skies.
While jumping through the air I reminisce of my first encounter with the black tongue guy and the many events following that encounter. Such as meeting Jin inviting him to our shelter after learning of his housing situation, the 'expansion' towards another warehouse after a lead brought me to a drug dealership, and a deal with one of our 'residents' about building working bathrooms and showers after an hour of complaining about Salt's smell.
Looking down at the newly crafted suit through the holes of my mask I smile. Memories of the 'deal' flooding my mind.
I can mend your suit… but you gotta make working bathrooms in this dump in return, got it!?
How do you plan to do that? You only have a few needles and thread
Hmph, don't underestimate my abilities, boyo. I used to work in clothing design before you were even born! Now make yourself useful and build us something to clean ourselves. I'm tired of smelling like shit!
Thinking nothing would come up from it I decided to put up effort and do it anyway. A private space so our people can keep themselves healthy and clean was too good of an idea to pass up. With the combined efforts of Jin, Salt, Kon and me, we managed to have one ready in less than two month, but only on a smaller scale considering the space we had to work with.
And a deal was a deal. At first, I thought Ena was going to tell me to buy a new coat and that was that, taking in consideration she only complains and goes back and forth with Salt on small issues, but true to her words she sat upright from her bed in the corner of the warehouse and began to work.
Living in a world filled with people with overly specific superpowers, to this day it still makes me feel like a fish out of water whenever I see a new quirk. I still remember looking astonished as Ena, the old woman, transformed a leftover metal sheet we had lying around from the construction of the food stand, into fabric. Her quirk resembles the power from the legend of King Midas, a king who could transform everything he touched into gold, the difference here is that everything the old woman touches transforms into fabric, keeping some of the properties.
While working in my new suit she told me brief stories about her time in the field. In her youth she worked in a company designing clothes for people with unique quirks and then later on costumes for heroes, but then her work became obsolete with the automation by big corporations. She lost her job and once she scraped all her funds to pay for her expensive lifestyle she ended up in the streets after selling her house to pay the bills.
Even in the anime world you can't escape debt, huh?
While she took my measurements I noticed I finally hit a growth spurt, something I've been waiting for. I was getting tired of Salt calling me shrimp, not that it makes much of a difference considering I'm still smaller than any of the adults in the camp, meaning I must be a teenager, so that puts my age to 13, closing in to 14.
I won't lie. I'm missing my old costume. It felt classy yet dangerous. But at the end of the day it was impractical. My old suit was crafted by things I borrowed from stores or the trash. I'm surprised it lasted for so long.
Black and White. That's my new motif.
A classy formal suit consisting of a half black and half white jacket, a long sleeved black turtleneck shirt, dress pants with the same colors, black conductor gloves and mismatched white and black shoes. All of them, made from metal sheets. The design reminds me of a chessboard. Ena insisted on the look, it reminded her of the trends of her golden days, so I didn't say anything further on the subject.
Bzzh!
'Hm?' quickly picking up a walkie talkie we bought for emergencies I bring it to my ear.
Kshh… Kon here. A werewolf guy is causing trouble in the Saitama shopping district, should we engage or-
Is that the boss? Hi boss! Oh yeah, over!
'What are they doing there? Did Kon convince Jin to accompany him on a patrol?' I mull, asking myself. 'How did they cover so much ground so quickly? Kon and the kids are still learning the basics of self defense, they ain't ready for patrols.'
"Negative. You and Cream just started training a month ago. Besides you don't have a costume," I reply, changing directions in the air and rushing towards them, hoping they didn't bring the kids with them "I'm going to be there in a minute. Twice if you could use your quirk I'd really appreciate it, but you don't really have to-"
Make clones of the boss, got it! Make them yourself asshole!-
Twice, wait. Kshh….
Hm… that didn't sound good at all.
Panicking, my jumping became running as I sped through the air towards Saitama before those two could put themselves in danger.
Again.
"Woah… so cool," a red haired teen said, watching the video feed from her phone. The video showed the known yellow masked vigilante teaming up with a newcomer vigilante of gray hair and mustache dressed in fancy clothes, both jumping in the air helping people evacuate in the middle of a disaster "His new suit looks so dashing too."
Once the video was over the girl clicked another, this time of a girl of plus size with glasses, purple hair, dressed in white and black and sporting a yellow facemask with a smile design similar to the masked vigilante. She paid close attention to the girl sharing her theories of the smiling vigilante's quirk. After noticing the video was from three months ago when she scrolled down, she decided to move to a different one, ignoring the amateurish music video of a young girl of pink hair with 4k views in the recommended videos.
She clicked on a video with the title of 'Smiley's Quirk Revealed?', the illustration of the vigilante in the thumbnail catching her attention instead of the content.
Manami Aiba smiled as she kept watching clips or theory videos of the charismatic vigilante, while walking aimlessly through the streets after classes, not really caring if she missed the exit to the next station.
At the beginning she didn't hold any interest in the smiling hero. To her, he was one hero in a dozen among others, all doing the same thing. That was until a few of her classmates were watching one of the vigilante's videos in the middle of lunch break. 'Smiley' the vigilante, escaping completely unharmed from one of the top ten heroes.
Just like that, a spark of interest rose within her. Who was he? Why was he running away? Was he really a hero? How did he do it?
That interest led her into a rabbit hole of video searching after school, using her free time to satiate her hunger for knowledge. It started with a simple video of who he was, then his most viewed video online, then his rescues, then his fights, then his escapes, then his interactions with the people in the streets, then theories about him, fanclubs, speedpaints, animatics. Her favorite video it's of the 'hero' helping an old lady cross the street while holding her bags, both disappearing after crossing another street while chatting animatedly.
In two weeks she managed to gather a lot of information about her new hyperfixation, still growing to this day.
Smiley, young adult. Age between 18 and 22yro. No license or affiliation with the Pros. Been a 'hero' for 6 years with no signs of stopping. Takes almost every situation with humor and puts the lives of the people before his own. Likes to grab tokens from villains. Quirk… not sure. There's theories online, but nobody seems to agree on it. Some say it's a combination of more than two quirks, others say it's a really powerful one but they never completely explain the full set of abilities Smiley has at his disposal.
He's so… different. Not only appears during the day, but also at night and sometimes in the morning, and he's been spotted in multiple cities too. It almost feels like the only thing he does is fight crime and save lives 24/7. A few negative videos she stumbled upon brung up the argument of creating impossible expectations 'Pro Heroes' could never meet.
Sighing, she stops the theory video. They're basically the same theories she saw in the Smiley thread in the 'Heroes of Today' forum the other day. Closing the video she updates her feed, hoping for one of her subscriptions to upload new content.
"Oh, someone is doing a livestream!"
Her smile drops as soon as she enters the stream. A shaky video feed of a giant villain walking close by the apartment of the person recording while the chat is going crazy in the background, comments practically screaming at people to get off certain streets and asking questions at such fast-pace that she can barely keep track of them.
*thump*
The recorder stops shaking and the feed shows a hand opening a window and recording the giant man walking away.
*Thump*
Her breath hitches when she recognizes the street the giant villain is walking on. She takes off her earphones and notices people running away while screaming in panic. Slowly, Manami directs her eyes to a large shadow eclipsing the sun.
*THUMP* *CRASH*
"GROOAAHHHHH!" an ear shattering scream jolts her and other pedestrians. The sound is so strong it breaks all the windows in close proximity. The giant keeps pushing forward until his body smashes against a building stopping his path.
"RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!" "MOMMY!" "SOMEBODY CALL FOR A HERO!"
She stood there frozen like a deer caught by the headlights. Her body shook in fear as the building in front of her began to crumble against the weight of the villain.
Slowly, she took a step back, then another and another, until she started to jog and then running away with the rest of the people. But as she kept on running, the lack of exercise by skipping PE at school and her petite form played against her as she watched people run past her, leaving her behind.
Even so, she kept on running, even if her legs were burning by exertion, not daring to look back. Tears formed in the corner of her eyes as the people began to disappear from her field vision.
'I don't want to die!' She thought, running away as fast as her legs could take her, gasping for air, lungs burning.
A small piece of debris hit her back, abruptly stopping her momentum and throwing her at the floor. She cried in pain once she hit the floor. Struggling, she tried to get up but pain flooded her senses making her flich and drop back down. More tears fell from her eyes as her body spasmed at her attempts to get up and run.
'I don't want to die, I don't want to die, I don't want to die, I don't want to die!' She desperately thinks, slowly moving her body but her movements stop as a massive shadow is cast over her entire body. She whimpered pathetically, fresh tears falling from her cheeks. Lips quivering. Frozen in complete fear.
"P-Please… Somebody… " she cried. Face red, snot slowly dripping from her nose. "Anybody… SOMEONE HELP ME PLEASE! I DON'T WANT TO DIE!"
*thump*
She silently cried as the sounds of the giant kept coming closer and closer. She shivered in fear as more tears kept falling. She was going to die.
*Thump*
Memories of her life flashed through her eyes. A life filled with regrets and disappointments. No friends, no love interests, no goals, no motivation. Even her hyperfixations were another thing keeping her away from contemplating suicide.
*Thump*
She didn't want to die. But was there even a reason for her to keep on living?
She gritted her teeth, eyes closed shut.
… I didn't even say two words to her and sent me a love letter… she's been following me around like a creep… she wrote out dozens of pages of that crap…
… that's so scary! It sounds like a stalker!
*THUMP*
'No, no, no, no… ' she thought, trying not to scream in frustration as she kept crying. 'I don't want that to be the last thing I remember!'
*CRASH*
It happened in less than a second. A strong arm scooped her from the ground and she was positioned in a princess carry. Wind blowing against her face, scrunched in pain as it flared once again by the position she was in, but to a lesser extent than when she was still on the ground.
"I heard you," a soft voice said. Making her slowly open her eyes to see the smiling face of a teen with silver hair with yellow but intense eyes, scars adorning his face. "Don't worry, I'm right here. Are you feeling ok?" he gently asked, buildings blurring by.
New tears began to form in the corner of her eyes. She hiccuped, shaking in his arms. Her left moved on its own and held on to his hoodie like her life depended on it.
"Oh… I'm sorry I couldn't be there for you faster… Can you walk?" She barely registered what he said at the beginning but she understood the last question and nodded while hiding her face in his soft chest. "That's a relief. I'll take you close to the next station. I gotta go back and check if I missed anyone."
Please don't leave me behind. It's what she wanted to say, but words wouldn't leave her mouth as she bawled her eyes out on his chest.
Once they moved a few blocks away from the giant villain her savior gently placed her on her two feet, she wobbled a little still feeling discomfort from where she was hit. He dropped down until they were face to face and fished out a roll of toilet paper and gave it to her with a warm smile.
"Here, you need this more than me," standing straight he gave a look behind his back before he returned his gaze towards her. After cleaning her face with the toilet paper and giving the rest to her savior she finally took note of his appearance. Dressed in cheap gray and black clothes. Gray hoodie, black harem pants and dirty-looking white sneakers. "Please take care of yourself. Go straight home, ok?"
She didn't say anything, still looking at his face, trying to sear the image of the person who saved her in her mind.
Without saying another word he waved at her and zip away making her jump in surprise. She managed to catch a glimpse of a gray form hiding in an alleyway a block away. Her legs began to move in the same direction without even noticing. Then determination flooded her as her jog became a sprint, hoping to at least show gratitude to her savior.
"W-Wait! Wait! I… I forgot to… say… th… thanks… " she said, finally arriving at the alleyway, just to see a yellow, black and white blur move upwards. She quickly directed her eyes upwards to see a person 'floating' in the sky. Mismatched black and white clothes and yellow mask where his face should be. Her mouth went slack. "Wha… ?"
He was here.
He was… He was…
"Eh?" she dumbly stared at the masked vigilante before he disappeared from sight in an explosion of sound.
She gaped.
'She saw me,' I thought while running in the air, gaining speed as I kept increasing the amount of kicks every second, muscles straining to keep up with my movements. 'A rookie mistake, but I don't think anyone would believe Smiley is a homeless teenager, so that means I'm safe.'
Buildings blurred below me while approaching the giant quirk user. One look at his face tells me everything I need to know.
Another Black Tongue.
"Over here you big dummy!" I scream, zooming towards the giant's exposed right side, hardening my entire body. My lungs are filled with air as I focus all of my strength in my hardened fists. "Razor, Double Iron Smash!"
In any situation I would keep my mouth shut and never disclose any of my techniques out loud. I found it idiotic and very embarrassing, specially because I kept naming them in my head. But I would later learn that I live in a world in which screaming your attacks do make them stronger… somehow. I was so distraught when I learned that tidbit during one of my training sessions.
How the fuck does that even work?!
I remember screaming at the top of my lungs after noticing it while comparing the strength of 'Iron Smash' against a rocky surface. To this day I still have questions regarding how it works. If it was a quirk related thing I don't think I would be able to use the 'power of shouting my techniques to make them stronger'. Unless I have a secret quirk which I don't believe I have.
The most compelling theory is that it's based on willpower, something equally stupid. But at the end of the day that's all I have.
*Crack*
I hum as I hear the cracking sound of one of the quirk user's ribs. My vision filled with pale flesh, muscle and a few droplets of blood. In a quick movement, I bounce back and use 'Moonwalk' to change directions and get away from a giant hand trying to swat me like a bug.
My arms are trembling with pain but to a lesser extent compared to my fight against the bronze hulk. Much later down the line, I learned that bronze has similar properties to Iron, so during one of my morning jogs I managed to borrow a few steel beams from a construction site with the intention of training my strength. Haven't got much luck in destroying them with my bare fists, though.
But as the pain in my fists began to fade, I can finally see the fruits of my labor taking effect.
A smile spread through my lips, almost resembling the one from my mask.
My body accelerated again moving upwards to gain altitude. Then I kicked the air in rapid succession with both legs towards the titan. I breathe in, filling my lungs with air as my vision blurs. Spinning while rapidly descending I use 'Storm Leg' creating spirals of cutting force against the skin of the giant man.
"Storm Leg, Blue Moon!" air blades in the form of a saw blade cut the skin and muscle of the massive figure drawing an enraged scream. My intention isn't really to kill the quirk user. I'm just going to keep chipping away his health until it falls unconscious.
My eyes shift to the incoming fist of the giant approaching in my direction.
Jumping in the air once, the massive fist misses my body completely and once my feet land on his hand I begin to rapidly use 'Shave' towards his face, filling my lungs with air one more time as I approach it. Somehow I feel nostalgic as I use the quirk user's momentum to guide my body to his face.
"Iron Body, Water Cannon!" hardening my entire body, I kick the titan's face using the same principle of 'Water Flow' on a greater scale by taking advantage of the momentum of the giant against him. The head of my opponent shoots away from my blow, spit and blood flying from his mouth, but as he redirects his unfocused eyes in my direction I now know it didn't do the trick.
Thinking of another technique to use next, I blink surprised when the giant starts to shrink in the middle of the air. Meaning his quirk was erased, meaning…
"He's here," I mutter, shooting forward and catch the normal sized man that almost destroys the city before he hits the ground. My nose twitches already catching the familiar odor of coffee, cheap food and dirty clothes.
Once grounded, I gently place the man with the gigantification quirk on the asphalt and look up just in time for Eraserhead to land a few feet away from me, looking directly at both of us.
"Heh… I guess the usual rope won't do for this fella. Mind taking care of him until the proper authorities arrive?" I ask, tilting my head to the side just in time for a metal gray scarf to pass me by, but I catch it while still in the air nonetheless. I sigh admiring the tired features of Eraserhead, he looks like he hasn't slept in days "You know that won't work on me. Are you stalling for reinforcements? Heh-Heh!"
He remains silent for a few seconds, not daring to move a muscle while looking at both of us, then he retreats his scarf as soon as I let it go. He chose to wrap the quirk user on it but still kept an eye in my unmoving form.
"You're still here," he observed, puzzled.
"I am."
"You often leave the premises as soon as a Pro appears, doesn't matter who. What changed?".
"Am I that predictable?" I ask, actually surprised. I mean I did exchange blows to test my speed and strength with heroes a few times. Four Kind and Death Arms came to mind, their names still fresh in my mind after making Salt read me the hero guide I bought a month ago to familiarize with the people I'm dealing with on a daily basis. That's something, right?
His lack of response only aggravates me. Well, whatever.
"In any other situation I wouldn't engage or cooperate with any of you guys. You guys suck and your dumb system barely helps people at the bottom," I said thinking of a few of the conversations I had with Salt and Ena on heroism, both of them having a lot to say about it. Such as the use of resources and who benefits from them. "But I'm not here to give you a lecture."
He looks annoyed but doesn't say anything.
"I don't think you've noticed it before, but almost every quirk related rampage in this sector had something in common. Unless you already know this and I'm wasting my time" I say, hearing the faint sound of sirens approaching in the distance. I give a quick look at my surroundings but I don't see anyone, making me believe someone might approach me from behind.
"Go on," he looks mildly interested while deactivating and activating his quirk after a few seconds.
"Every single rampaging quirk user in this sector in the last couple of months had similar 'patterns'. Such as bad temper, lack of common sense and a faint smell," I inform, pointing at my 'nose' to drive up my point, but the black haired hero doesn't look amused at all. Sighing, I continued, "Normally I wouldn't think too much about it, but after noticing the same patterns after the 4th guy, I could only see the similarities."
"So, what? You're telling me a family of villains is causing all of these attacks? Not logical" he responds, making me seethe with rage.
"No, you fuc- mm… hah… " I stop myself before I can lash out, the smug smile in his face is pissing me off even more. Breathing in, I count to 30 before I breathe out. I can hear the police securing the perimeter around us, not much time to inform Aizawa of my findings, another hero might be nearby but I can't smell him. I tense all my muscles just in case of a surprise attack from behind, "Let me finish."
"More than 17 cases, all of them have the same pattern. Pretty big for a family, don't you think? But there's more. I'm going to approach this guy, tell whoever is listening to this conversation to stay down" I tell him with all the seriousness I could muster. As serious as someone with a smile mask can be.
I wait for what feels like a minute, both of us unmoving. Until Eraserhead puts a hand to his ear and speaks.
"Stand back. Keep talking."
'Called it. Probably a snipper,' I think slowly approaching the downsized giant and crouching next to his face. Slowly I move his head upwards and open his mouth, a black tongue drops out.
"Every single encounter against rampaging quirk users I had in this city had black tongues. There's been a few cases in other cities as well, but not as frequent. Which makes me believe there's something bigger going on. I have a few theories but nothing concrete right now," the tired hero looks more serious now, even inspecting the features of the man I'm holding.
"When did these encounters begin?"
"Can't say for sure. I only took notice of them six months ago. Could've been longer. Have you had any similar encounters as well?"
"Negative. Is that everything you wanted to report to us?" he asked. I noticed his muscles tensing and I heard faint clicks from a distance.
I try to contain my anger as I stop crouching and stand up to my full height. These people are not even subtle. But I made a promise to Salt to inform someone if the encounters became too frequent to ignore. Which brings me to the other issue that made me push me into bringing it up to someone from the legal side.
"At first I thought it was just a coincidence, but it became so frequent that I'm beginning to think it's related and I should bring it up just in case," I say, preparing to run away as soon as I finish my piece, "People from low income areas with or without home have gone missing." I say trying to look distracted by a butterfly flying by, "Maybe it's just a coincidence, but maybe it isn't."
Once done talking I move forward by kicking the ground 30 times in a row in less than a second, cracking the asphalt and creating a small explosion of air, impulsing me away. Two holes appear where I previously was standing. As I keep jumping away I try to maintain a cool demeanor, but that meeting just left a sour taste in my mouth.
One of my usual patrons has gone missing. How long until one of my family disappears as well?
Can't let that happen. I won't.
And I need every help I can get.
A/N: I really wanted to post this chapter a lot earlier, like early June, earlier. But there were a lot of things I didn't get right or at least to the quality I wanted. Especially getting the personalities of Best Jeanist and Twice right. I struggled a lot trying to make them believable. At least to me, I hope I didn't butcher their personalities.
I know a lot of people wanted for me to speed up the plot and get to the good stuff but a lot of these small steps are necessary for the future timeline. A few of you noticed them already. Next chapter we're going to see an age that will stick for a while.
What did you think of Ena? It's a small nod to my favorite character from The Incredibles, Edna Mode. This might be the last named OC in a while, this and the next few chapters will reveal why. (Besides I don't want to fill this fic with OC when I could use characters from the anime/manga).
And we finally revealed someone I wanted to integrate to the fic since I started writing it. Manami Aiba, aka La Brava. Her vigilante name might be completely different considering her change of interest thanks to the actions of Gurē. On that note, I hope you guys catched the small cameo I planted of a certain individual during Manami's introduction (Any suggestion on her future 'Vigilante' name?)
Hope I can write another chapter before the month ends. I love writing but it can be so hard sometimes.