Chapter 124: The Return Trip
Oma City, Oma Park.
Kira watched as Kurogiri's figure gradually disappeared. He silently turned and walked back toward the bench where he had been sitting.
Kurogiri probably hadn't realized it, but Kira had gleaned a great deal of information from the words he had let slip—
First, Stain was only a temporary collaborator. His life or death had nothing to do with the League of Villains.
Second, the League currently had very little combat strength of its own. The Nomu that were destroying the city had been created by his "Master" and had been handed over to Shigaraki for his use.
Third, Shigaraki held very little real authority. Kurogiri hadn't even told him that he was going to teleport Kira over.
And the last thing, which Kira was reluctant to admit: he seemed to have attracted the attention of the League's true leader. The reason was unknown.
Kira sighed. He replayed his own actions in front of Kurogiri. It seemed he had successfully disguised himself as a cold, anti-heroic personality. Well, actually... it wasn't entirely a disguise.
The moment Kurogiri had said his Master was interested in him, Kira had felt that something was very wrong. And so, he had flatly refused Kurogiri's proposal, saying he had no intention of going to Hosu to help. Seeing the look of shock on his face, Kira had realized: Kurogiri wanted him to go to Hosu, which meant there had to be a conspiracy. He could choose not to go, but he couldn't rule out the possibility that Midoriya and the others were in real danger.
And so, to prevent Kurogiri from pulling any tricks, Kira had directly subdued him and threatened him to open the warp gate. Kira had suspected that Kurogiri might try to send him to some remote location, so he had turned on the locator on another, "burner" phone he used for special clients, and had thrown it through the portal. Only after confirming that the other side was indeed Hosu had he dared to step through.
When Kira had arrived on the rooftop in the Hosu alley and saw that Midoriya and the others, while in danger, were still alive, he had immediately subdued Kurogiri again.
Kira had guessed that Kurogiri had lured him there so that he would see his friends in danger and be unable to stop himself from intervening. But after that, he would have surely left immediately, leaving Kira alone in front of Midoriya and the others. If that had happened, he would have been unable to explain to the Pro Heroes who arrived later why he was there.
He could predict that if he had stepped in, the result waiting for him would have been social death. And so, Kira had suppressed his蠢蠢欲动的 heart and had observed the development of the situation from above.
Shoto Todoroki was no longer rejecting his fire, but his use of it was still crude. The Hero Killer had completely predicted his attacks, dodging the seemingly fierce flames with his footwork.
Kira was even more surprised by the change in Midoriya. In just a few short days, he had become able to cover his entire body with his Quirk, and his body showed no signs of breaking down.
Before, everyone in Class 1-A had assumed that Midoriya's Quirk was just to release immense power, and that it was his weak constitution that caused him to injure himself. But now, the green arcs of electricity that wreathed his body looked remarkably similar to Kira's own Hamon. Is Midoriya using that power to enhance his physical abilities?
Just as Todoroki and Midoriya were in a life-or-death crisis under the attack of Stain and Shigaraki, Kira had already turned his phone into a bomb and was about to throw it, coated in Hamon. But then he saw the person lying on the ground twitch, and he had forced himself to stop.
Kira had seen him earlier. His name was Shosei Meisei. Kira had met him when he had gone to the hospital to visit Mr. Aizawa after the USJ incident. Aizawa had described him with words like "lazy" and "scoundrel." And now he was here?
But he had stood up at that moment. From Kira's vantage point, he had been able to clearly see the golden light erupting from his eyes, sending both Shigaraki and Stain flying. Mr. Aizawa, do you have a problem with him? He clearly has the makings of a hero.
Kira silently recalled the light that had completely blinded him and sighed again. He had done what Kira had not. He was worthy of the title of hero.
"Kira-kun! Are you here!?" Aoi Hana's shout echoed through the trees, interrupting Kira's memories.
It seemed she had finished her business. Kira stood up, just in time to come face-to-face with her as she ran over, panting.
"How did it go? Is the publicity all settled?" Kira asked, as if he had never left. To be fair, he had only been gone for a few minutes. Rounding down, it was as if he had never left at all.
"Yes! Everything the Director asked for is done!" Aoi Hana nodded vigorously, her voice excited. "The local TV station will be running a promotional ad every hour for the next two days! The magazines will be putting information about the circus on the front page! And the government will be putting up posters in all the most conspicuous places! Even the next city over will hear the news that our circus is coming!"
That kind of efficiency was unbelievable. Did being a Pro Hero really carry that much weight, or was there some special meaning to the name "Mad Rabbit"?
Kira didn't think about it any further. "It's getting late. Should we head back up the mountain now?"
The last bus had already left. If they wanted to go back, they would have to take a taxi. Although it would be expensive, for the current Kira, it was still affordable.
Aoi gave a mysterious smile. "We're going back tonight, and we'll be riding... the Takami-go!"
The moment she finished speaking, a strong gust of wind came from above the park. The shadow of a pair of giant wings covered Kira and Aoi.
"Takami is here! This time, I'm going to enjoy the feeling of riding the wind!"
Aoi looked up excitedly, waving at the giant eagle. But her gaze was met by a rabbit head peeking out from over the eagle's wings.
"Director! What are you doing here!?" Aoi shouted in surprise. "I only called for Takami! What are you doing here!?"
"Hehe," the Director said, placing a hand over his head as he surveyed Oma Park. "As the Director, I'm obviously here to investigate the site myself! It looks like you two did a good job! I'm very satisfied with this place!"
"Of course we did!" Aoi said, placing her hands on her hips proudly. "You think I'm an idiot like you who just acts on a whim?"
"Hehe," the Director didn't seem to get angry at her words, just continuing to laugh. "You said you wanted to enjoy the feeling of flying, right? Then, as a reward, I will grant your wish!"
"Don't tell me...!" Hearing this, Aoi's face went pale. She thought of a bad memory and immediately turned to run. "I'm not getting on that black cab of yours! I'll just take the morning bus tomorrow!"
"Objection overruled!" The Director pulled a rope from somewhere and, standing on the eagle's head like a cowboy, began to swing it around. He aimed and threw the rope at Aoi.
"You damn bastard! You're pulling this again!" Unsurprisingly, the rope looped directly around Aoi's waist. With a scream, she was yanked into the air by the Director.
"Kira! You said you wanted to train, right? Then try climbing up this rope!" The Director threw another rope down to Kira, then had Takami circle in the air, flying Aoi like a kite on the end of a string.
"I'm a Blue Star! Isn't this kind of thing a piece of cake for me?" Kira tied a slipknot in the rope, aimed, and accurately looped it around Takami's leg. He pulled it tight, wrapped the rope around his arm a few times, and shouted, "Director, we're ready for takeoff!"
"Then the Takami-go... is cleared for launch!" The giant eagle stopped circling and, with a few powerful flaps of its wings, shot upwards.
"This is the worst feeling ever!"
Under the moonlight, a giant eagle, accompanied by a piercing scream, flew toward a high mountain.
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