Allen returned to Nemuri's apartment, had dinner, and then decided to take a shower.
The woman tried to join him naturally, but Allen refused. That made her feel sad, but Allen didn't buy it. This woman had no clear sense of healthy boundaries when it came to the coexistence between a healthy young man and a beautiful woman who were not related by blood.
Nemuri was very beautiful. It was no coincidence that Midnight was one of the most popular heroines among men. On top of that, it seemed she hated wearing clothes at home, and in just the past couple of days, Allen had already seen her walking around the apartment in her underwear twice.
Because of all that, Allen felt it was better to set a boundary before his rationality began to fade.
The system, the chat, and the dolls mocked Allen and even placed bets on how long it would take the bastard to put his hands on the beauty.
"This is irrational. Why don't you want to shower with your big sister?" Nemuri said while pretending to shed crocodile tears, discreetly holding her phone in recording mode.
"You know that's illegal, right?" Allen said, snatching the phone from Nemuri.
"Ah, it's not like that! I just wanted to keep a record of your growth, it's important!"
"..." Allen narrowed his eyes.
With a pitiful and disappointed look, Nemuri withdrew for the day. However, her gaze clearly showed that she wouldn't give up so easily.
[I bet tomorrow she'll try to sleep in your bed.]
"What a shameless woman!" Jalter growled toward Nemuri. She justified herself by saying she was being a loving older sister, but unconsciously ignored that she was dangerously close to crossing lines that should never be crossed.
....
Night fell, and Allen lay in his bed reflecting on his encounter with Pop Step.
"I was careless..."
It was true that he usually wasn't very careful when it came to secret identities, but maybe he should be more cautious. It was a stupid mistake that someone had even taken a video of him without him noticing.
Before falling asleep, Allen received a notification. It was a sticker of a worried kitten.
Toru: Sorry to bother you so late :3
Allen: Don't worry, miss superheroine.
Toru: Stop it, that's embarrassing!
It was a message from Toru Hagakure, the invisible girl Allen had met. She had been quite considerate, sending Allen messages from time to time.
Allen: So, invisible girl, what do you need from me, or do you just want to chat?
Toru didn't reply immediately. She was too busy feeling embarrassed while realizing it might not be appropriate to message him so late.
Toru: I'm sorry...
Allen: Haha
Allen knew she was a girl who liked making friends, and even if there was some kind of insecurity behind that intention, he had no reason to reject her. So they both talked for half an hour before saying goodbye.
....
Toru turned off her phone with a smile on her face. Somehow, she had spent so much time talking with Allen. It was very strange, because even though she was quite sociable, there were rarely people who could keep up with her.
Besides, no matter how much they talked, they never ran out of conversation topics or got bored.
"Good night, Allen-kun~"
From the doorway, Toru's mother raised an eyebrow. Had her daughter just said a boy's name?
She closed the door and remained thoughtful.
There was a detail in this world that was rarely addressed, and that was discrimination. It wasn't very visible on the surface, but human beings were superficial creatures.
Among Quirks, some granted anthropomorphic traits or certain mutations that made a person look "different."
Of course, no one openly showed it, but honestly, what boy would want an invisible girl?
That meant that for her entire life, he wouldn't be able to see Toru's face. He wouldn't know what expressions she had. Even their children would have the possibility of being born with that quirk.
"..."
Toru's mother looked at her daughter once more. She was wearing pajamas, which made it easy to see how she tossed and turned in bed.
Seeing her so happy, she didn't want to interfere and could only pray that this new friendship of her daughter's wouldn't evolve any further.
....
The next day, which turned out to be Saturday, Allen sat on the couch watching the news, since he didn't have to go to school. More than that, it allowed him to postpone seeing Momo again, who would definitely be angry about what happened yesterday.
"Wait, it's not my fault at all..."
It was true that Allen had embarrassed Momo, but she was the one who threw a grenade at him and chased him. Doesn't that make him the victim in this case?
"Kihihi." Kurumi, who was sitting on Allen's lap, laughed mockingly. "Master, even with such a large harem, you don't understand that women are irrational beings. She may be at fault, and it may make no sense for her to be angry, but she will be. Even if it's just to hide her own embarrassment."
"So troublesome..." Allen looked up at the ceiling. "Well, that's future Allen's problem."
"Kihihihi, you say that, but tomorrow you'll complain about your past self~"
Hearing Kurumi's teasing, Allen ruffled her hair with his finger, making the girl escape with a small "Hmph."
Allen laughed and returned his attention to the television. The news channels were filled with videos of him transformed as Superman and Shazam.
– «According to official statements from the Hero Public Safety Commission, or 'HPSC,' there is no record of the heroes who appeared in the incidents involving the villains Giant and Sludge.» –
"That was to be expected..."
[They must be pretty desperate to find those two unknown superheroes.]
Unlicensed heroes, better known as Vigilantes, were hated by the government. Not only was their underground activity difficult to gather information about, but they were also an uncontrollable factor.
While searching online, Allen discovered that in the past, this world had been like his own or like DC's: a world where superheroes were independent. However, over time, they were regulated due to the many problems their existence caused.
– «Some top heroes, such as Endeavor and Best Jeanist, have spoken out. The number two hero, Endeavor, condemned unlicensed heroes, stating that they do not take responsibility for their actions or the destruction they may cause when facing villains. As for Best Jeanist, he expressed concern for civilians. While both mysterious heroes clearly protected civilians, he stated that he would prefer to speak with them to understand their intentions.» –
"How lazy..."
Unlicensed heroes were arrested if caught. Vigilantism was illegal in modern society. However, in every country, there were always people who did it, whether because of their own sense of justice or morality, or for reasons such as revenge or popularity.
"Wait, wasn't Koichi using his Quirk just to move around? In fact, I saw a lot of people using it in the streets. That seems strange to me."
Lucifer – I made sure to change that. I find it incredibly stupid to forbid a person who can fly from doing so. Of course, dangerous and powerful Quirks that can harm others, or are used with harmful intent, are still illegal.
Athena – I knew something didn't add up. So you altered that world to allow the public use of harmless Quirks?
Nikky – Isn't that a bit unfair?
Amanda – I don't think so. Imagine your power is to shoot acid. It's unthinkable to use it without the risk of hurting others. But if you can just turn your hand into a comb, who cares?
Magneto – I knew it couldn't be a utopia. Powers are a gift, a blessing to mutants. Forbidding their use is something only a selfish government would do.
Charles – No, Erik, you're mistaken. You're forgetting that in that world, the majority of people have Quirks. That means the government itself is mostly made up of people with Quirks. Even so, they prohibited it to prevent societal collapse.
Allen agreed with Charles.
"You say you want a utopia only for mutants, but you forget that mutants are still just humans with some kind of power or different trait. Even if you achieved that utopia, it wouldn't survive without rules."
Magneto – ...
"Just think about it. In a world where everyone is super, no one is."
Magneto – You're saying that in a world where only mutants remain, they would start acting like humans...
"They always have been, Erik." Allen smiled. "At least my cute students are just a bunch of ordinary, selfish brats."
Scott – What did you say?!
Rogue – That's not true!
Ruby (Jean Grey) – D:
....
Allen turned off the television just as Nemuri came out of her room. This time, she was dressed as Midnight, wearing a tight white-and-black suit and an eye mask.
"I guess this time it's hero work."
Allen's gaze swept over Midnight's outfit. It was no surprise she was a fantasy for her fans.
"Yeah, it's a joint mission. We have a job involving a troublesome villain who's distributing drugs..."
"I know I asked, but is it really okay for you to tell me that?"
Nemuri smiled and approached Allen, placing one knee between his legs as she leaned her face closer to his.
"It is, and that's why you must keep the secret, or I'll have to punish you~"
Another young man his age would have turned red with embarrassment and maybe felt uncomfortable, but Allen remained calm.
"That's fine."
"Tsk..."
Seeing that she failed to embarrass Allen, Midnight pulled away with a bit of disappointment. Was she losing her charm already, or was Allen simply too hard to fluster?
Nemuri chose to believe the latter. No beautiful woman wanted to lose her appeal so soon.
"I left dinner in the freezer. I might get back very late, or maybe not until tomorrow."
"Alright, see you, Nemuri."
Nemuri stopped and looked at Allen, puffing out her cheeks. "Call me big sister."
....
Once Allen was alone, he opened the system interface.
Allen had already spent three character templates. He still had several left, but the important one was the golden one.
"Since QG tells me how long a template lasts, what does the color mean?"
A tab opened, clearing up his doubt.
[QG represents how long the template lasts. As for the color, it indicates the number of uses.]
"Number of uses?"
[Gray ones are single-use. Even if you obtain a QG 10 card, if it's silver-gray, it can only be used once. After twenty-four hours, you will lose the template. A gold one, on the other hand, can be deactivated and reactivated. As for usage time, it is only consumed while it is active.]
"That's very useful."
Acting without a license already classified him as a Vigilante.
It was problematic if people knew that he was Superman and Shazam, so he wished he could have some kind of public Quirk and use complete transformations in special cases.
"Besides, I'd rather not use too many templates in front of other people."
The golden templates solved that issue. However, the one Allen had was only QG 5, so he opened another tab to check the exact duration.
QG 10: (Gem Mint) 24 hours
QG 9: (Mint) 12 hours
QG 8: (Near Mint–Mint) 6 hours
QG 7: (Near Mint) 3 hours
QG 6: (Excellent–Mint) 2 hours
QG 5: (Excellent) 1 hour
QG 4: (Very Good–Excellent) 30 min
QG 3: (Very Good) 15 min
QG 2: (Good) 5 min
QG 1: (Poor) 1 min
"One hour, huh..."
McDragon – Hey, you still haven't shown us what kind of template it is.
"Ah, right."
Ding Dong
The doorbell rang, which surprised Allen. If it were Nemuri, she would have come in directly. Someone else was unlikely—Nemuri had already told him she didn't have anyone close enough to just show up at her place.
Allen stood up, sensing a suffocating presence on the other side of the door. Without hesitation, he took one of the templates between his fingers.
With a serious look, he approached the door and opened it. To his surprise, there stood a huge, muscular man with blond hair. It was none other than All Might!
"HAHAHA! HOW ARE YOU, YOUNG WALKER?!"
"Huh?"
....
On the rooftop of the building, Allen looked at All Might. However, that muscular giant had disappeared, leaving behind a thin, gaunt man who looked extremely tired.
"Just as I thought, you noticed, didn't you?" All Might smiled, then looked into the distance while leaning against the railing.
Recalling their past encounter, it really seemed like All Might knew Allen. He had appeared to recognize him the first time but avoided talking because of Midoriya and Momo's presence.
"It's been ten years..."
"Yeah.. " Allen remained silent, pretending to know what All Might was referring to.
All Might coughed and spat out blood.
"Are you okay?" Allen asked with a frown. Was his condition really that bad?
Despite the pain, All Might smiled as his gaze filled with seriousness. "Allen, are you going to enter U.A.?"
"I'm thinking about it..."
All Might's eyes widened as he placed his hands on Allen's shoulders.
"You're serious?!"
The Allen from the past was apathetic and avoided people. That Allen definitely wouldn't have entered U.A. to obtain a hero license.
"Originally, I planned to live discreetly, but it seems I'll need a license. Not just to avoid future problems when using my Quirk or Quirks, but also because it seems the center of this world has a lot to do with U.A."
All Might remained silent after hearing Allen's words. Then he reflected and realized it might not be such a crazy idea.
"My time is running out..." said the man whose real name was Toshinori Yagi.
[Toshinori Yagi – "All Might"
Quirk – One For All]
Allen was very confused. What kind of relationship did he have with All Might for him to come to his house and talk about his problems like this? Wasn't this guy supposed to be one of the most important people in this world?
"How did you get injured?"
Deciding to accept the situation, Allen asked as if he were speaking to an old acquaintance.
"Haha, ten years ago... Japan was plunged into terror due to a society collapsing under crime... at that time, I did everything I could to bring peace to the people... I fought and defeated many villains back then. However, there was one who became my nemesis. He possessed the most dangerous power of all—he could steal Quirks... his name is All For One."
"...!" Allen's eyes widened. In a world with billions of Quirks, that power was absolutely terrifying. It was like a free buffet for someone like that.
"In that battle, where I put my entire life on the line to defeat him, I was injured by him. Worst of all, I failed to capture him!" All Might clenched his teeth. "I never found him, and now that my body grows weaker day by day, I fear that when he returns, I won't be able to stop him..."
"Wait," Allen interrupted All Might with a frown. "I understand what you're saying, but why are you telling me this? You don't want me to defeat him, do you?"
At this point, Allen had assumed that All Might knew about his "multiple Quirks," just like Nemuri did.
All Might quickly shook his head. "No, no, it's not that, Allen. What I mean is that if you go to U.A. High School, you need to be careful. Someone like you would be a target for someone like him.. No matter what happens, All For One must not get your Quirks!"
Allen let out a sigh and shrugged. "I understand. I was also thinking about staying discreet as long as I don't transform."
"That would be great!"
"Toshinori, what are you planning to do?"
All Might didn't mind Allen using his name without honorifics. Instead, he smiled.
"I'm glad you've become more communicative. As for me, I'm already looking for a successor..."
All Might's gaze softened, as if he had found someone worthy. At the very least, that gave him one piece of good news despite his condition.
....
Once All Might left, Allen remained thoughtful. It seemed that, unlike HOTD, his background in this world was far more complex than he had initially thought. It even appeared that he had a friendly relationship with the number one hero.
Allen watched All Might leave from the window of his apartment.
"Toshinori Yagi... even in that condition, you're still a hero?"
Superman – He is a great man.
Thor – A great warrior. I would like to share a drink with him.
Captain A. – He is someone worthy of respect.
"It's true. At least he's not a fraud like Homelander. That's what worried me when I saw that heroes here depend on fame and popularity."
Allen smiled and prepared to head out.
There were still many things he didn't understand.