The air crashes against my body as I swing my feet over the abyss of a building. With my mask waiting at my side, I chew on a hamburger while staring at the ground. The taste is irrelevant. I don't feel it. My tissue isn't able to detect such artificial flavors. Why I chew it is simple: I just want to feel normal again. Consuming is quick, but most of the time it feels out of place. In these moments, when nobody's watching, it's better to do things more naturally.
It's been three days since I last saw my classmates. Honestly, I've always had the problem of forgetting to answer messages, and now nothing has changed. Momo and Kirishima are the ones who text me most often, but I rarely reply. I have more important things to do now.
Speaking of that, today I told Kamui I wouldn't be able to make it to training because I felt weak. That, obviously, is a lie. There are less than six hours left before Stain and Shigaraki make their move. This marks the second phase of the plan I've been building little by little. Of course it's not perfect. There are too many variables to follow a script and expect it to work. No, improvising is an important part of all this. And even though this encounter is partly planned, I have no idea how well it will turn out.
Once the burger is gone, I crumple the wrapper into a paper ball and store it inside my body, wiping my hands on my pants as I grab my mask and strap it against my chin. I look down, where subway tracks peek through, and the sound of a machine approaching echoes across the city. My watch says the same. The perfect time.
Without a hint of hesitation, I let my body fall backwards. As the building grows more distant, I feel the air rushing across me, my clothes snapping and whipping against themselves in a pleasant symphony. A thread shoots from my back and embeds into the bridge that carries the tracks. As I fall, I'm yanked forward, making a perfect arc under the bridge before being flung back upward by pure inertia.
An ordinary human would've died for sure. But I am far from being not only human, but ordinary.
With a soft thud I land on the machine, which stays indifferent to my weight as it continues on, unbothered.
It'll be a while before we reach the city, so I lie down on the roof of the subway, avoiding curious stares as I rest my head on both hands. Staring at the sky, it doesn't take long before I slip into nothingness, a single moment of peace.
It doesn't take long before my eyes close, and I fall into a deep sleep.
A bright light drags me back to consciousness. Almost instantly I leap up, snapping into a fighting stance at the sight of an unfamiliar place—only to sigh in agony once I realize where I am.
I'm in the white room. Right in front of me sits none other than the Wanderer, resting on a chair made of silver clouds. I look around. Everything is the same. A sterile space with no horizon. With little choice, I slowly step toward him.
"Michael Bianco, a pleasure to see you again."
His voice is exactly as I remember—playful, but with that sinister edge. That strange smile glows from his body of pure light. With his legs crossed, he leans toward me.
"You've entertained me a lot these days. An impressive performance, I must say. Excellent. Very satisfying to watch."
"Why did you call me here? You didn't show up after the Festival, so I thought you'd wait longer before speaking to me again. Did you change something here?"
"Answer me a question, Akuma Matsumoto."
I take a step back at hearing that name. Why the sudden shift? I can only play along as he continues.
"Have you enjoyed your time here?"
"What kind of question is that? Didn't you call me for your own satisfaction? Are you worried about me?"
"I don't think you understand things the way I see them. Do you still believe you're an intruder? Are you really here only for the money?"
I hesitate, trying to figure out how to respond, as he rises from his seat.
"I know everything about you. Every second of your life is as clear to me as glass. And still I can't understand why you don't see that this new life is exactly that—a new chance for you."
"You're not the emotionless machine you try to appear as, and you know it yourself. That invisible wall you put between you and your classmates is because you're afraid. Afraid to doubt. Afraid to get attached."
"You pretend to be different, but you're still the same kid who ran away from home hobbies because you feared commitment. Here there are no alter egos, no mystic aesthetics, no master plans. Here it's just you and me. So tell me—"
"Are you going to waste another life? Are you going to run away and hide in the deepest hole you find once again? Come on, Akuma Matsumoto. This is another opportunity. This is your own history. So live it.
What do you want from this world?"
The Wanderer's words are clear and sharp. The mocking tone vanishes, replaced by something serious. I stare at him before answering.
"I... I want to experience everything. Everything this world has to offer."
"Go on."
"I want to be a hero. I want to be a villain. I want to be part of something. I want to feel satisfied with my life. I don't want to be a nobody again. I don't want to go back to who I was. I don't want to be Michael Bianco."
The Wanderer's smile returns just before my body sinks into the familiar black mass. As I'm consumed, he whispers one last phrase:
"So be it."
In the white room, alone in the shining empty space, only a figure can be seen, a figure that is laughing, laughing at a job well done
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.- .-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
The sound of fire revolts around my head as my nose captures the smell of smoke, my vision blurs for a moment and it takes me a while to understand where am I
I adjust my helmet to see better, the city roars in different fights at the same time, I jump instantly, the train stopped at Hosu, I don't know why but the station and train are completely empty, I check my clock to see the time, considering the state of the city Stain probably is already fighting with my classmates, so I need to get going
Just as I'm about to jump toward where they must be, I hear it—a baby crying in the distance. It doesn't take long to find the source. In an alley away from the main streets, around 200 meters away from where I am, a family is cornered against the wall. The father, a mutant, shields his wife and child, who cries uncontrollably, while a Nomu threatens to strike.
I can see some heroes nearby, and I think about ignoring it. Trusting they heard the baby too. That's the smart move, my mind says. We need to reach Stain, and wasting time here could ruin the chance.
But—
My body moves on its own, almost like I'm possessed. Threads unravel from my hands, wrapping around the Nomu's body, restraining its movements just as it leaps at its prey. Before it can do more, the threads tighten at my command, blood bursting out as its limbs are torn apart. My body crashes against it, slamming it into the ground as I shout:
"RUN!"
The family obeys. I watch them go as a claw rips through the left side of my mask. I jump back as the Nomu rises again.
The Wanderer's words echo in my head. What do you want to be?
Maybe the best move for my plan would've been to let that family die. Maybe Michael Bianco would've done that. But he doesn't belong to this world. No. I am Akuma Matsumoto. I'm Mayhem And I'm sure that, this part of me...
Wants to be a hero.
There is no doubt anymore as I lean into the fight. The Nomu is quick, so I use my arm, converted into branches, to grab his body and send him flying back into the alley. If he is fast, I'm faster. My threads grab onto his leg. He falls, unaware of what happened, just as my tentacle appears out of my body, crossing his stomach without effort before he hits the ground.
This Nomu is slimmer than the two in the U.S.J. I can even see his rib cage, and his two eyes are popping out like they are about to explode. His tongue falls out of his jaws, and he can't even stand upright. With my intervention, his arms and legs are all injured beyond repair.
Even if this Nomu was a bunch of people before, I cannot let myself doubt. Therefore, from my chest, I make a large weapon; the blade imitates a butcher knife. I withdraw my tentacle as the Nomu steps forward. I cut at his eyes as he tries to attack me with a simple slash. He keeps moving more slowly toward me; I only stare at him as he gets close.
The corpse falls, making a disgusting noise as flesh touches the ground. This Nomu was weaker than I thought, but it's not over. In the U.S.J., there were two of them, so in this situation it may be more than the original. I need to hurry up, but first...
I take off my mask slowly, now broken beyond repair.
"Just for now, I'm not going to need it anymore."
My hands break the mask, shattering into pieces, as I begin to run toward my objective, which is around a kilometer away. The streets are empty as I dash through them. The other heroes seem to be having trouble with the Nomus, but nobody is in danger. The evacuation is seemingly going well, so I keep running to the only place I don't know how bad it is.
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The sound of a blade cutting the air fills the alley where Izuku Midoriya is trying to fight Stain, the hero killer.
Originally, he was only passing through Hosu with his master, Gran Torino, when he realized the city was under attack. Even if he disobeyed his master and decided to help, he never thought he would find someone like Stain here.
And, worse, his two classmates were unable to move. The Quirk of Stain was a dangerous one; even a drop of blood could end the fight and your life.
Todoroki and Iida were deeply injured. Even Midoriya, who was the only one standing, was having a lot of trouble keeping up with the maniac.
-I told you to run, hero! But here we are-
Another slash came. Deku was capable of backing away as quickly as his full cowl let him. The blade was so close that it made the student jump back one more time. Sweating and nervous, he could only pray his master would come to his aid.
That's when everyone, even the unknown hero who was the original victim of Stain, heard someone approaching quickly.
-DON'T GET DISTRACTED, KID!-
Stain said as he jumped directly at Izuku, who looked back in hopes of finding another hero. As the sword swung in the air, a "clack" rang a moment later. The sword of the hero killer followed its path without hitting the kid, because it was broken.
-Ahh... I almost didn't make it, goddamn... they made you a mess, Shoto...-
Izuku instantly recognized the voice as he saw a smiling Akuma approaching slowly. The next thing he felt was Akuma pulling him with a thread. He fell to the ground as a hand messed his hair.
-I'm sorry for being late. I will take it from here-
The three students looked confused. They had never heard Akuma so confident or happy. He was walking slowly as his hair danced with the wind.
-So you are the hero killer? A pleasure to be meeting you-
-AKUMA! HE'S NO JOKE!-
Iida screamed as Stain looked confused, drawing his secondary blade and pointing it at the ground as he prepared himself for another fight.
-Another one of you? And someone so confident. Makes me sick. Tell me... WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THIS?!-
A second later, a knife went flying directly toward Akuma's face. He only moved his head and lifted his arm, pointing in the direction the knife went flying, a thread grabbing it mid-flight; with a movement of said arm, he returned it.
-What do I think? Answer yourself.-
Unfortunately, Stain didn't stay still. He was already in front of Akuma, with his blade pointing at his center of mass as he lay low.
The hero killer knew Akuma would be able to escape if he continued the attack, so instead he changed course and aimed at the face. His prediction was correct, securing a cut as Akuma retreated.
As his blade pierced through Akuma's eye, he took out his tongue to taste the blood of his opponent. Instead, he received a hit from something similar to a whip, enough to send him flying in the air. Stain recovered his posture and landed safely. He watched as the kid lifted his head, his hand covering his eye. Stain sighed but changed his expression to a surprised one when he realized the eye he'd cut was still there, untouched, as Akuma withdrew his hand.
With a confident smile, Akuma talked as his tentacle danced from behind.
-Oh man, you know how difficult it is to regenerate my eye? A hassle. Oh, you were looking for my blood? That's a shame-
-As you can see... I don't have that-
Stain analyzed his options. He was at a clear disadvantage with an opponent like this. Also, the three other people and the hero behind him were only held by his Quirk; if that ceased, it would be over.
He stared into the newcomer's eyes. They were mostly empty, like an unpainted canvas, but deep in them there was a spark of life. But also, as Stain's judgment told, there was evil, buried deep within his conscience, and that was enough for the Hero Killer to judge him as unworthy.
As he took a step to prepare his attack, he noticed his whole body was covered in threads. As he tried to jump away, the threads lifted him and made him fly onto a nearby rooftop, where he landed forcefully, hurting his back.
-AKUMA, WAIT!-
The sound of another body landing on the roof made Stain put himself on high alert, but the voice of the kid and his soft face made him doubt whether to attack or not.
-Akaguro Chizome, can we talk?-