Heroes.
The concept of them sounded childish. Big, strong, powerful individuals who's sole goal was to protect the innocent and nothing more. Pure idealism that ignored the complex reality of humanity. So, instead of directly addressing it, they brandished smiles, spewed slogans, and developed brands in order to keep up the guise.
Everywhere you looked, there was always something talking about heroes.
Heroes this, heroes that.
If one wasn't born into a society had been so hero obsessed, that individual would lose their ever-loving mind. Government churned out slop meant to do the job that many generations ago would've been handled by the police.
But sometimes, the big wig heroes like All Might, Endeavour, Best Jeanist, Crust, and Wash couldn't help due to either being busy or by simply way of not being on duty—of course there were other heroes besides the ones that had been listed, but they would take too long to list.
So, when the big name Heroes weren't around to help the everyday populous, a different kind of hero would take a step into the limelight—even if they weren't chosen by the government for that kind of thing. Even if their version of heroism wasn't exactly the same kind that was taught.
They were "heroes". Just the illegal kind of heroes. Which, while sounding oxymoronic, was true.
The "heroes" of Naruhata City, weren't really heroes at all. They were vigilantes—illegal heroes, labelled as villains due to their activities being, well, illegal.
But that never stopped them. After all, having a fancy license and being given permission to do the right thing was antithetical.
Of course, there were times where that label was misapplied to those who were villains, who simply used the guise of being a vigilante to do their nefarious things. Which made distinguishing vigilantes and villains harder and harder by the day.
Izuku wasn't particularly bothered by being labelled a villain. While Izuku had never killed someone before—truly, he didn't want to, but if he was forced to make a choice, he would—he had seen articles labeling Moonscent a villain.
It made sense. Vigilantes and villains were seen in the same light by the public. Only on very few occasions is a distinction made.
Vigilantes also worked in groups. Typically, anyway. There was one particular group known as The Naruhata Vigilantes that Izuku had done some research on, and had found that they, along with the help of Eraserhead, took down a massive villain with multiple arms handing out trigger to the populous.
But what was Trigger? Well, Trigger was a Quirk-Enhancing Drug. It did exactly as it said on the tin: Enhanced Quirks. However, depending on the variant, it could have multiple different side effects. One of those side effects was loosing ones sense of reason, and also lessening the blood-flow in an individuals body.
Over-doses on Trigger happen by the thousands every day across the world; which sounds like a lot—and it was—but in comparison to the global 15 Billion Human population, it wasn't all that much.
While stopping the flow of Trigger wasn't on Izuku's to-do list for tonight, it was something he always tried to keep an eye out for.
No, his real reason for being in Naruhata was because he was hunting down a fellow Vigilante. Someone who was going by the name of Stendhal. His reason for hunting down Stendhal was because of his tendency to kill the villains he faced. While it was typically a trait that Izuku didn't care much to hyperfocus on, Stendhal killed any villain, even those who were simply robbing a store for food.
That, to Izuku, was unacceptable.
Yes, killing villains who want to harm those for the sake of doing so, Izuku viewed as normal. Even if society at large disavowed heroes doing it, that's what vigilantes were for. To help the public in less than legal ways, without breaking the major laws.
But Stendhal… Stendhal was something else.
Stendhal killed for the sake of killing. He was no better than your average serial killer, and Izuku was not a fan of that.
To use the title of vigilante to simply kill those who didn't follow the law to a T was beyond unforgivable. In Izuku's eyes, Stendhal was nothing more than a villain—a true example of someone who the public and police at large would make as the perfect example.
Standing atop one of the many high-rises within Naruhata, Izuku stood, hands covered by the larger sleeves of his Yukata. The evening chill had finally come to embrace the villain encrusted city with building lights shining to make up for the lack of natural sunlight. It was times like these that Izuku was glad that he had night vision due to his Quirk.
Izuku Midoriya's Quirk. A topic that a lot of people, primarily his classmates, had a vested interest in, primarily because it was all over the place. Regeneration, Night vision, enhanced reflexes, increased physical strength, speed, and durability—all of it powered by the consumption of blood, never to dwindle, although his classmates weren't aware of that part.
That was why Izuku had opted to call his Quirk: Blood Boost. At least, on paper. For those who didn't read his documents, his Quirk and its nature were purposely vague. After all, his mother told him to keep it a secret, especially due to how stigmatized blood-related Quirks were.
While Izuku never really cared much for being a hero, it wasn't because he believed that heroism itself was bad. More rather, it was because he viewed the system as flawed. Looking out into the city proved that point. Most heroes were dubbed "Lime Light Heroes", meaning they only worked during the day.
They were fakes.
False heroes who refused to do any of the dirty work, only doing it when they knew people would be watching. Meanwhile, at night, people suffered.
Granted, not all of them were fakes. Heroes like The Wild Wild Pussycats were normal. So was Team Idaten, and various others that Izuku didn't care to mention. But there were also a lot of fakes. He counted Endeavour as one of those fakes, but Izuku was nowhere near the level of power to even stand a chance against someone like Endeavour.
Tangent aside, as Izuku overlooked Naruhata, a sigh escaped his lips. Tonight seemed relatively calm.
"Now, where is my contact? I thought that I had—"
"Yo! Moonscent!" A voice, high pitched, called out as Izuku sighed. Looking over his shoulder, he was met with a rather interesting looking individual. They were a girl, just a little older than himself. Over her eyes was a black mask, painted on, and her hair was tied up in a pair of puffy pig-tails. She was dressed in a devilish black and pink themed one-piece leotard alongside a black super mini-skirt, with a tiny heart shaped opening in the center of its chest, and a smaller one located on the small of her back, above which were two tiny bat wings.
She also wore a reddish-pink bow tie around her neck, a pair of silver pearl earrings, black elbow-length gloves, and on the belt portion of the super mini-skirt were three hearts that sat in the center. Alongside that, also wore a pair of black knee-high boots, and to complete her get-up, she had pink lipstick on to match her hair.
"Hello," Izuku began, turning to face the girl, who had a smile on her face. "Pop Step, correct?"
"Yup~! Gotta admit, when I was contacted by someone claiming to be the Moonscent, I didn't believe it—you're kinda a legend here, ya know?" Pop Step began as Izuku blinked.
"A legend?"
"Uh-huh!" A cheeky grin took up her visage, "personally, I don't see it. I mean, from what is known about you, you're just a kid, right?"
"So are you," Izuku retorted, prompting Pop Step to pout.
"Lies!"
"I saw you at school the other day," Izuku stated as Pop Step blinked.
"Eh? W-Wait, wha—"
"Pink hair, blue eyes—except your eyes are pink right now, my guess is due to contacts, and you're voice is the exact same," Izuku noted, a small smirk behind his mask as Pop Step's shoulders sagged.
"Darn…" Pop Step huffed, before blinking, realization gleaming in her eyes. "Wait, oh my God I go to school with the Moonscent!" Pop Step practically squeeled—Why? Was Izuku really that popular as Moonscent?
As Moonscent, he had been responsible for capturing upwards to ten villains, over two dozen thugs, and prevented several robberies across Japan. He had started when he was only ten years old—around the same time he began his Manga—so he had assumed that while he gained some street credit, he didn't exactly think he'd be known in Naruhata.
"I don't understand. Why are you excited about meeting me? I only contacted you because I heard you knew your way around Naruhata. I wasn't even expecting you to be someone from my school—I simply recognized you due to your hair," Izuku said as Pop Step brushed the comment off.
"Forget about me for a second—wait, actually don't forget, I, grrr! Nevermind," Pop Step said, clearly frustrated. "I didn't know you were this dull!"
"Dull?"
"And dense, apparently!" Pop Step pointed out, jabbing him lightly with her pointer finger. "You've got motion, dude! People respect the hell out of you here. Even mentioning your name causes some of the regular crooks to freeze up! You've got a tanto, right? I've heard rumours you've cut out someone's throat with it once!" Pop Step said, miming a thin line across her neck as Izuku recoiled.
"No. I've never killed, and I don't plan to."
"Phew, that's a relief," Pop Step murmured. "Whelp, I'd give you a tour, but I've got one of my shows to go do! If you want, I can take ya there," Pop Step said, a twinkle in her eyes as Izuku frowned underneath his mask.
"Naïve, fame obsessed, and annoying. My least favourite combo," Izuku thought, frowning. "No thanks. I'm not a fan of pop music." With that, Izuku turned and leapt off the roof of the building. Pop Step, both shocked and a little mortified, ran to the edge of the roof. She looked down below, and saw Moonscent as fit as a fiddle. No injuries or anything.
A sigh of relief followed suit—the last thing she wanted to witness was someone killing themselves, doubly so just before a show. As Moonscent ran off into the night, Pop Step had to wonder what exactly it was that he had wanted. One simply didn't contact her out of nowhere just to ask for a tour. There had to have been another reason.
Or, maybe she was just over thinking things.
Although, she had to wonder, how did Moonscent get her contact information? Did he guess? Or did someone else hand it over to him?
Confusion quickly took over her thoughts as she scratched the side of her head. It didn't make a lick of sense. "Oh well, he's just a kid, so it doesn't really matter. Although, I should probably make sure my phone isn't tapped…"
Leaping off elsewhere, Pop Step hummed to herself. Going from building to building, she couldn't help but get the feeling that someone was off about Moonscent. She didn't know what it was, but just being near him gave her the shivers.
"I should probably let the geezer and Crawler know… I don't know why, but I get the feeling that we'll run into him again…"
[XXXX]
"C'mon, just give us what we want, damnit!" A bulky looking man snarled, staring down a young woman who looked to be in her twenties. She had dark brown hair, matching brown eyes and cream coloured skin. She was dressed in a white shirt and black leggings—just casual attire, and nothing more. She had just left home to get groceries and a few things for her boss. Just her luck to get ambushed by a drunkard…
"I don't have what you want!" The woman snapped back, sneering as the burly man scowled.
"Oh, but ya do, little lady. But you do, hehehe…" The burly man spat, reaching out to grab the woman by the neck. The woman recoiled and was about to reach into her back pocket for some pepper spray, when suddenly, without warning, a hand grabbed the burly man's wrist, preventing it from moving as the burly, drunken man grumbled in confusion.
"Excuse me…" A calm, yet young sounding voice spoke out, as the woman looked to her right and saw quite the peculiar sight. The person in question was small—probably only standing around four feet tall, wearing a pale blue Oni mask with their hair done up in chignon. They also wore a black yukata with various floral patterns, and were seemingly wearing white gloves. On their hip was what appeared to be a sheath for a tanto, and from the looks of things, they seemed very restrained. "I believe that lady told you to leave her alone, did she not?"
"Let go of me, ya little shit," the burly drunken man growled, trying to yank his hand out of the individuals grip, but it didn't budge. "Eh?"
"That is quite rude. Perhaps you would like to try again?"
"I said, let got of me, ya little shit!" The burly drunken man slurred, slinging a punch at the individuals face, only for them to tilt their head to the left and completely dodge the punch. They then grabbed the drunken man by the other wrist, and effortlessly flipped him over themselves, the landing being rough enough to make the man gasp and pass out from shock.
"Hmm… Some people just don't have manners. Quite disappointing…" The individual said, before looking over to the woman, their expression covered by their mask. "Are you alright, ma'am?"
"Y-yeah! I'm fine. He didn't touch me or anything like that. I was actually gonna spray him with some pepper spray before you came along!" The woman said as the individual hummed.
"I see. Tell me, what is your name?"
"Tsukauchi Makoto! A pleasure to meet you…?"
"Moonscent. You may call me Moonscent."
"Ah, I've never heard of a hero going by that name," Makoto said, tapping her chin as Moonscent chuckled.
"That's because I am not a hero. I am a vigilante," Moonscent replied as Makoto did a double take.
"You're a vigilante! Oh, that makes more sense! Although… aren't you a little young to be running around like that?"
"Perhaps to some, but I've managed this much for over two years. I'm perfectly fine," Moonscent replied, dusting themselves off. "Before I let you go, however, I have to ask. Have you heard of anyone going by the name of Stendhal?"
"Sorry, kiddo. I don't anything about anyone going by that name," Makoto replied, bowing her head as Moonscent sighed, seemingly disappointed.
"Very well. I understand. Have a safe night," and with, Moonscent leapt away up to a nearby rooftop. Makoto had to admit, for someone seemingly so young, they had quite a lot of power if they were able to leap from the street to the roof of a ten story tall building. Although, she had to wonder what parent would allow their child to run around dressed up as a vigilante….
Then again, they were probably unaware of such activities.
"Eh, nothing for me to worry about. Now, what was it that Captain wanted…?"
[XXXX]
"Moonscent's here?" Knuckleduster grumbled, seemingly annoyed. "Great. Another psycho…"
Knuckleduster; what was there to say about him. He was a tall, extremely muscular man, with a bodybuilder physique. He was dressed in a long hunter green trenchcoat with a simple wrap around black mask. Underneath the trenchcoat, he wore a tight-fitting black muscle shirt and a pair of khaki jeans, black boots, black gloves, and a pair silver knuckledusters—hence the codename.
"He seemed fine to me," Pop Step said as Knuckleduster scoffed.
"Yeah, up until he tries to stab ya with that tanto of his for thinkin' yer a thug who wants to beat up on people." Knuckleduster grumbled, rolling his shoulder. "Guys got a few screws loose—pretty sure he's a kid, too, which ain't a good thing," Knuckleduster said, crossing his arms. "I've fought him once, too. He's slippery. Fast, too. We're about even playing field in that regard, but I'm physically stronger."
"Wait, you've fought this Moonscent guy?" A boy with short black, dressed in an All Might hoodie with biker protective gear on his arms and legs, alongside a pair of red lace-up sneakers, asked, tiling his head with confusion written all over his face. "Who even is he?"
Currently, the group of three were stationed in a nearby alleyway, with Pop Step and the boy standing next to one another, whereas Knuckleduster stood across from them. They were taking a bit of a breather from their patrol around Naruhata when Pop Step showed up and mentioned she had news about the contact, mentioning who it was.
He had never seen Knuckleduster's expression twist to annoyance like that before. "Whoever this Moonscent guy, Master doesn't seem to like him much… Wonder why? Is it really just because he ran away from a fight?" The boy thought as Knuckleduster huffed.
"No one knows. He showed up two years ago, started kicking ass and taking names, and declared that he was going to clean up the streets of Japan online. Sounds like he's way over his head, if ya ask me—a good idea, but not enough power to do it. Met a lot of people who were like him, and all of 'em ended up being deranged or die young. Sad to see, honestly," Knuckleduster said, huffing. "But, if he's here, he's gotta have a reason."
"What kind of reason? Like, the bad kind?" Pop Step asked, a hint of concern in her voice as Knuckleduster frowned.
"Dunno. But wherever he goes, there tends to be bloodshed. While he hasn't killed people before, at least as far as the public is aware, he isn't exactly reluctant to use his tanto to fight. Coupled with his strength, speed, and reflexes, he's not a fun guy to fight. So, if ya encounter him, do so with caution, and only engage if I'm nearby. Don't want you kids to get hurt, 'cause he doesn't discriminate," Knuckleduster commanded, his tone leaving no room for an argument.
"But, if he's a kid, wouldn't it be easy to just knock him down and tie him up?" The boy asked, scratching the back of his neck underneath the hood as Knuckleduster shook his head.
"Don't underestimate people just 'cause their young, Koichi. That's how you get killed. If there's one thing that I learned in this type of business, it's that kids are cruel. Especially ones who think themselves unbeatable," Knuckleduster stated, his tone serious. "Now then, you two can go back out if you want. I've got some business to take care of. Just don't get too in over yer heads, kay?"
"Gotcha!" Both Pop Step and Koichi exclaimed.
Koichi had to admit that being a vigilante, while stressful, was fun. He had a hobby, a few new friends, and life was starting to look up for him.
But little did he know, that tonight, things were going to take a drastic shift for the worse….
[XXXX]
"ACK!" A strangled voice cried out as a lean man with spikes coming out of his back fell to the ground, blood dripping down his nose as a bruise began to form. Izuku had to admit, out of the two people he had to deal with today, this guy was the most annoying.
Behind him, there were several spikes that were shot out at the wall, cracking the brick work. Had any of those hit Izuku, it would've ruined his Yukata—and it cost him quite a lot of money to get, so if it got damaged in any way, he wouldn't be a happy camper.
Izuku looked down at the spiked man, the man's tongue lulling out from the side of his mouth. It was tipped black. "Trigger. That explains the spikes…" Izuku thought, frowning under his mask. Izuku stared at the tongue, scowling. "Scoundrel," as Izuku said that, he went to reach for his tanto, but stopped. "No… Don't do that. Severing the tongue would cause a fatal bleed out. Just because he threatened to damage my yukata doesn't mean I have the right to kill him…"
That was one of Izuku's major problems. His lack of inhibition toward killing others, especially when he was out at night as Moonscent.
He didn't know why, but there was something about hunting people that made him want to kill—like an instinct that was getting harder and harder to ignore by the day. Especially when it came to those who did misdeeds.
Looking over his shoulder, he glanced at the unconscious man behind him—the spiked-man's victim. He wasn't dead, but he was injured. Reaching into the pocket he had stitched into the interior of the yukata, Izuku dialed 119 and reported the two unconscious individuals, gave the address of the neighbouring building, and specified the left alleyway, before hanging up and leaving.
He had to admit. Most nights weren't this active. Typically, in any other city, he wouldn't have to worry about several villains showing up in a night. But Naruhata was different. "Well, I guess it wasn't called The City of Villains for no reason."
As he leapt from building to building, Izuku caught a glimpse of something in the distance. It was a fight between a massive, rocky-looking villain, and some guy wearing an All Might-themed hoodie. The man was dodging from place to place, narrowing avoiding getting hit several times.
"He's losing…" Izuku thought, as he looked over to the sidelines. Pop Step was also there. "Are they a team?" Izuku narrowed his eyes as the crawling, sliding guy got caught in a pot-hole, and was seconds away from getting pummeled into the dirt, when suddenly, a man with a blue-tinted katana showed up, blocking the punch and protecting the other man.
His hair was styled in a ponytail, and he wore a red mask over his face. He was dressed in a red and black tracksuit, with a bullet proof vest over his chest, alongside bullet proof knee-pads and elbow pads. Attached to the front of his vest were six switchblades, three on the left side and three on the right.
As soon as he came into view, Izuku instantly recognized who he was.
"Stendhal… I've finally found you," Izuku thought, sneering underneath his mask. However, looking at his current situation, with there being multiple people, and two of which who would back him up if he needed it… "And it happens to be in a very precarious situation for me if I were to engage…" Izuku thought, landing just near the scene of the action, and from this distance, he could hear just about everything, deciding t o observe for now.
Down at a parking lot where the battle was taking place, Stendhal had to admit, of all the places to witness a villain attack, a basketball court was not the first thing that came to mind. But then again, most villains tended not to care where they attacked.
Which was precisely why he utterly loathed all forms of villainy.
It was why all villains would one day learn to fear the bite of his blade.
However, his main reason for engaging the villain wasn't because of the villain. No, more rather, it was because someone needed to be protected—fellow meddler, much like himself. The way he saw it, anyone who willingly went out of their way, license or no, to protect the citizens of Japan was a true hero in his eyes.
Therefore, it only made sense to aid his fellow cohorts in case they needed aid. He would except the same from them, too, should the need arise.
"Quite tough, aren't you?" Stendhal mused, switching his stances with his blade as he set himself into a wider stance, his muscles seeming to bulge slightly, before he unleashed several slashing attacks toward the rock-skinned man in various angles, from left, to right, to up, and horizontal up to eight times, in the same repeating pattern. "Blood Breathing – First Form: Hack n' Slash." Stendhal calmly announced, overwhelming the villain.
The blade cut through the first layer of rocky, catching the villain off guard. "Grah!" The Villain exclaimed, as Stendhal continued his advance, never once letting up. He reached for two of his switch blades, clasping them between his pointer, middle, index, and pinky fingers, forcing the blades out, before throwing them toward the villains face.
The blades lodged themselves into his his exposed cheeks, although the villain effortlessly knocked them out, snarling before lunging at Stendhal. Stendhal, for his part, side-stepped the charge, glancing over his shoulder. "The boy!" Stendhal thought, only for his worries to be alleviated, seeing as he was nowhere to be seen…
Primarily because he had gotten underneath the villain, ramming into his legs hard enough to make him trip. However, just before Stendhal could strike down the villain, the sound of sirens echoed out.
"It's the cops!" A pink-haired girl called out as Stendhal sheathed his blade. How unfortunate. The villain took that as his queue to pick himself up and bolt, further frustrating Stendhal.
"No matter, I'll track him down later…"
"We'd better hightail it outta here, too," The pink-haired girl exclaimed as the boy in the hoodie looked over to Stendhal, rubbing the side of his head as he spoke.
"Um, thanks for the save, there. Who are you, exactly…?"
Stendhal smirked under his mask. "The name's Stendhal, another meddler like you," just as he said that, he leapt away, using one of the nearby signs to get atop an adjacent building. These skills that he had read about from his families old scrolls had come in handy once again. He had been training said skills for well over a decade, and had decided to use them to purge the streets of filth like that villain.
Although, as annoying as it was, finding the materials to restore the blade that was left behind by his ancestors was difficult. Thankfully, he had found some in an antique rock store. Finding the right tools, though, was even harder, and he had nearly given up, had he not run into a blacksmith during his out-of-city travels.
The town he had visited was called Nichibotsu Town, which literally meant Sunset Town. It was a tiny place, with very few homes. Although, it's main tourist location was a blacksmith ran by a man named Kokori, who was said to have lived there with his family for generations, with Kokori being the latest.
When Stendhal had approached him with the blade, the man was positively beaming, saying that "he had been waiting for this day" before taking the blade and the scarlet ore with him. Stendhal had no idea what he meant by that, but whatever the case might've been, the man agreed to repair the katana, and even did so free of charge.
The repairing process took well over a week due to how damaged the blade had been, and he had just barely enough material to fix it, but by the time the blade came back, it was sharper and was of better quality. The material, Scarlet Ore, according to the scrolls his ancestors left behind, was found on Mount Yoko, which was on the southern side of Japan.
"One of these days, I'm going to have to go there if I want repair my katana should it break," Stendhal thought as he leapt from building to building, keeping an eye out for the villain. Just as he landed on another building, he heard a tiny thud from behind him. Looking over his shoulder, Stendhal tilted his head to the left, confusion on his face.
Behind him was a small individual. They were dressed in a black, floral patterned Yukata, with a pale blue Oni-mask covering their face. Their dark green hair was done up in a chignon, and on their hip was a sheath for a tanto. They landed with precision and practiced style, which immediately indicated to Stendhal that they weren't someone to be taken lightly.
"Can I help you?" Stendhal questioned as the individual huffed. Not out of being out of breath, but seemingly out of annoyance.
That could mean either one of two things. They were a meddler like him, or, they were hunting him.
And if they were hunting him, he would make sure they would never live to regret that mistake.
"Stendhal… Killer of Villains, or better yet, notorious Serial Killer. Your Quirk, Blood Curdle allows you to paralyze those who's blood your tongue comes in contact with. You primarily fight using a katana and other bladed weapons. It took me a while to find you, but now that I have, I believe it's time that someone puts an end to your rampage," The individual stated matter-of-factly as Stendhal narrowed his eyes underneath his mask.
"Ah. I see. Yet another person who doesn't understand. Very well. For interrupting my hunt, I shall deliver upon you a quick death," Stendhal said, unsheathing his Katana as the individual unsheathed their tanto.
"Do not misunderstand the situation, Stendhal. It's you who will be dying tonight."