Location: Tokyo – Evacuation Dome Number 4
Time: Midnight
The massive indoor stadium was incredibly loud.
The bright overhead lights glared down on thousands of people packed onto small cots and thin blankets.
The air was thick. It smelled like sweat, instant ramen, and stale coffee.
Nobody was sleeping. The noise level was just a constant roar of overlapping conversations.
"Hey! When can we go home?!"
A middle-aged man waved his arms angrily at a local police officer near the bleachers.
"I need to check if my roof caved in, man!"
The police officer wiped sweat off his forehead and raised a red megaphone to his mouth.
BEEP.
"Please be patient!" the officer yelled through the speaker. "I understand you want to go home! But the magnitude nine earthquake heavily damaged the city highways! There is still falling debris everywhere! You have to stay inside until the HPSC gives the all-clear!"
The man groaned loudly and stomped back to his cot.
The fear from yesterday was mostly gone.
Now, people just had cabin fever. They survived the end of the world, and now they just wanted their own beds.
All across the floor, teenagers were huddled around their phones, gossiping about the live broadcast.
"Did you see the size of that tsunami?" a kid said, holding his hands far apart. "Hero X just waved his hand and the whole ocean stopped! And then he slapped the dirt! He just slapped the ground and the earthquake died!"
Sitting on a cluster of green cots in the middle of the dome, Kyoka Jiro was staring hard at her smartphone.
Her father, Kyotoku, groaned loudly as he tried to stretch his back.
POP.
"My spine is going to snap if we sleep on these canvas beds for another night," Kyotoku complained, rubbing his neck.
"Stop complaining, dear," Mika, Kyoka's mother, smiled tiredly while opening a small water bottle. "We are safe, and the roof didn't fall on us. That is all that matters."
"Mom. Dad. Look," Kyoka said suddenly, tapping her screen. "O'Clock Studio just uploaded a new video."
Kyotoku blinked. He leaned over to look at his daughter's screen.
"Wait, the Number Four hero's music label?" Kyotoku asked, raising an eyebrow. "Didn't those guys just fight in an apocalyptic war yesterday? How do they even have the energy to drop a track right now?"
"The comments are already going crazy," Kyoka said, her earjacks twitching slightly.
She tapped the play button.
A faint, tinny drum beat came out of her phone speaker, but the massive crowd noise instantly drowned it out.
"I can't hear anything," Kyoka frowned, holding the phone closer to her ear.
Sip.
Up in the higher bleacher seats, away from the dense crowd, Danjiro Tobita took a slow sip from a small paper cup.
Bleh.
He immediately grimaced and stuck his tongue out in disgust.
"This instant green tea is an absolute tragedy," Danjiro sighed dramatically, setting the cup down on the concrete step. "It tastes like boiled grass."
Sitting right next to him, cross-legged with a thick laptop resting on her knees, was Manami Aiba.
[ Danjiro Tobita! Quirk: Elasticity! He can bestow elasticity to anything he touches, even the air itself! ]
[ Manami Aiba! Quirk: Love! She can grant a massive power boost to whoever she loves the most for a short time! ]
Because they were surrounded by police and civilians, they weren't wearing their flashy coats or using their vigilante codenames.
They were just dressed in casual civilian clothes.
Danjiro looked down at the restless crowd on the stadium floor.
"Such chaotic energy," Danjiro said, resting his chin on his hand. "Hero X saved their lives, but their spirits are still trapped in this stuffy room. They need something beautiful to look at, Manami."
"I think they are already trying to look at something, Danjiro," Manami said, pointing at her laptop screen. "A new music video just went viral on the local dome network. Half the teenagers down there are trying to play it on their phones, but the stadium is too loud."
Danjiro gasped softly. He placed a hand over his heart.
"Listening to true art on cheap cell phone speakers?" Danjiro said, deeply offended. "That is a crime against culture! Manami, we cannot allow this!"
"Say no more!" Manami grinned brightly.
Her fingers flew across the keyboard.
CLICK. CLACK. CLICK.
"The security on this stadium's public address system is a joke," Manami whispered excitedly. "I just bypassed the local firewall. I'm routing the video feed to the main jumbotron screens and plugging the audio directly into the concert PA system... right... now."
TAP.
Manami slammed the enter key.
BZZZT.
The bright overhead stadium lights suddenly dimmed down.
The thousands of people on the floor went completely quiet. They looked around in confusion.
"What's happening?"
"Is it an emergency broadcast from the government?"
Suddenly, the four massive jumbotron screens hanging from the center of the dome flickered to life.
CRACK.
The stadium's massive concert speakers popped.
A fast, incredibly lively drum beat dropped instantly. It was so loud and crisp that the bass actually vibrated the floorboards.
On the massive screens, Kazuho was standing in a small music studio, holding an acoustic guitar. She had a massive, bright smile on her face.
She started strumming the guitar hard. It wasn't a sad song about the disaster. It wasn't a news warning. It was a high-energy, incredibly hopeful anthem.
"Kimi he no omoi ga takanatte
Kagiri naki chikara umareru
Motomeru naraba doko made mo
Kawaranu kizuna furikazasou!
WE ARE HOPE!"
[We will raise up our feelings for you
We will rise up with our boundless strength
No matter where we are, we will obtain it
We will move with our unchanged bonds
WE ARE HOPE!]
Down on the floor, Kyotoku's jaw dropped.
"Whoa!" Kyotoku yelled over the music, his musician instincts instantly kicking in. "That acoustic arrangement is amazing! They didn't overproduce it. It's just raw, driving energy! That drum tempo is crazy!"
"The vocals are so clear," Mika smiled warmly, placing a hand on Kyoka's shoulder. "She isn't just singing the notes. She is actually smiling through the words. You can hear the joy in her voice."
Kyoka pulled her knees up to her chest. She stared up at the massive screen, completely mesmerized.
The heavy, sick feeling of cabin fever and anxiety in her stomach was completely melting away.
The driving bass and the hopeful lyrics were pushing the fear right out of her head.
"Aoku hiroi sekai no hate ni
Kimi to mezashita ibasho ga aru
Susumi yuku kouronara
Tooi mukashi mou kimete ita!"
[Through the end of this wide blue world
You will reach out your place
It was a moving route
We made this up a long time ago]
All across the stadium, the mood completely flipped.
Teenagers pulled out their cell phones, turned on their flashlights, and started waving them in the air like concert glow sticks.
The annoyed adults stopped complaining and started clapping along to the fast beat.
The crying children wiped their eyes and stared at the bright screens in awe.
Up in the bleachers, Danjiro stood up.
He stared at the screen, large anime tears streaming down his face.
"Beautiful!" Danjiro cried out, striking a highly dramatic pose with his hands reaching toward the ceiling. "Absolutely beautiful! This is true art! It pierces right through the darkness!"
"The view count on the main site is already hitting ten million, Danjiro!" Manami cheered, watching the numbers spin on her laptop.
"Manami, look at them!" Danjiro pointed down at the massive crowd waving their phone lights.
The crushing despair and annoyance in the room were completely gone. Thousands of strangers were smiling and singing along.
"This is the power of true passion," Danjiro said, wiping a tear from his eye with a white handkerchief. "And it all started with Hero X. That man didn't ask for permission from the HPSC. He didn't wait for a camera crew to set up the perfect lighting. He just stepped right out of the shadows, saved the entire planet, and vanished back into the night."
Danjiro looked down at Manami, his eyes burning with absolute determination.
"He is the absolute peak of vigilantism," Danjiro declared passionately, clenching his fist. "Manami! We are changing our plans! We are not doing any more petty crimes. We are not raiding stores and exposing corrupt owners swapping expiration dates on grocery store puddings just to get some cheap views on the internet anymore!"
Manami blinked, tilting her head. "We aren't?"
"No!" Danjiro smiled brightly. "We are going to spread this exact feeling! We will make videos about hope and true heroism! We will follow the glorious path Hero X created for us!"
"Yes, Danjiro!" Manami cheered loudly, her eyes sparkling.
The upbeat anthem kept playing through the massive speakers, washing the fear away from thousands of people.
*-*-*-*
Location: Shizuoka Prefecture – Grandma Saki's House
Time: The Next Morning
SIZZLE.
POP.
The kitchen was loud, chaotic, and smelled absolutely incredible.
Kaito was standing at the stove. He completely dropped the quiet, elegant cooking style from last night.
Right now, he was cooking fast, loose, diner-style.
CLANG.
He flipped a heavy cast-iron skillet, searing two thick breakfast steaks.
Right next to it, he was rapidly rolling a massive, fluffy Japanese omelet in a square pan.
The whole house was buzzing with life.
Down on the floor mat, Makoto was holding up a small stuffed toy. Baby Emi reached out with her tiny hands, giggling loudly.
"Make room, boys," Grandma Saki said, walking around the long dining table and setting down a stack of ceramic plates and chopsticks.
Sitting at the table, Kenji and Iwao were drinking their morning coffee and having a completely normal, grounded conversation.
"I still can't believe how fast they are moving," Iwao said, shaking his head. "I just saw the news. Those Detnerat construction trucks already cleared the massive debris on Route 4."
"It's practical," Kenji nodded in agreement. "I heard their quick-dry concrete sets in less than an hour. We are lucky they stepped up."
At the far end of the table, the entire O'Clock studio crew was completely ignoring the news.
They were glued to their phones.
Kazuho stared at her screen, her mouth hanging wide open.
"Fifteen million," Kazuho whispered. "Guys. It hasn't even been ten hours yet. We hit fifteen million views."
"Let me see that!" Koichi yelled, leaning over her shoulder. His eyes almost popped out of his head. "Holy crap! We are trending at number one nationwide!"
"I told you the guitar track was the secret weapon," Tamao smirked, crossing her arms proudly.
"The comments are insane," Soga laughed, scrolling quickly down his phone screen. "Listen to this one. Someone wrote: 'I thought the world was ending yesterday, but this song just made me want to punch a mountain.' People absolutely love it."
"Alright, put the phones down. Food is ready," Kaito called out.
He walked over and set the massive plates down on the table.
It was a wild, heavy combination.
A thick, juicy, savory breakfast steak sitting right on top of a delicate, incredibly fluffy rolled omelet, all completely smothered in a rich, dark, spiced gravy.
Kimiko picked up her fork. She cut a piece of the steak and the egg together and put it in her mouth.
She stopped chewing.
"Kaito," Kimiko said, looking at him with a dead serious expression.
"Yeah?" Kaito asked, sitting down in his chair and picking up his coffee mug.
"You need to open a restaurant franchise today," Kimiko declared loudly. "I am not joking with you. I will quit my job right now and be your general manager. We will be billionaires by next year."
Kenji burst out laughing and took a huge bite of his own food. "She is totally right. I would easily pay ten thousand yen for this plate alone."
Kaito just laughed casually, taking a sip of his coffee.
Makoto bounced baby Emi on her knee and smiled at the group.
"He definitely has the startup money for it," Makoto chimed in. "Did you guys know Kaito secretly owns twenty-one commercial buildings in Naruhata?"
"....."
Koichi and Kazuho froze with their forks halfway to their mouths.
Makoto grinned, dropping the final bombshell.
"Yeah. That includes the apartment building we live in. He has secretly been our landlord this entire time."
Kazuho just stared at Kaito, feeling completely betrayed. She didn't know.
Koichi slowly lowered his fork. He narrowed his eyes at Kaito.
"Hold on a minute," Koichi said, his voice going flat. "One time... my rent randomly went up by fifty percent! I had to eat nothing but plain toast for two straight weeks! And if I remember correctly, it was 2nd month you moved in."
Kaito didn't even blink. He took another slow sip of his coffee, keeping his face totally deadpan.
"Yeah," Kaito nodded casually. "That was the noise complaint tax."
"Noise complaint?!" Koichi yelled in disbelief.
"Your bed was squeaking loudly every single night at two in the morning," Kaito explained simply. "It was really annoying. So I punished you and raised your rent just for a month."
The entire dining table went dead silent.
"....."
Shoko Haimawari slowly turned her head.
She looked at her son with a terrifying, piercing glare. She completely misunderstood the situation.
"Koichi Haimawari," Shoko whispered, her voice laced with absolute motherly fury. "What exact girl were you sneaking into your room at two in the morning?"
Koichi's face instantly turned bright red. He started sweating bullets.
"Mom! No! I swear!" Koichi panicked, waving his hands frantically in front of his chest. "I wasn't bringing any girls home! I was doing midnight squats! I was practicing my quirk! I was just jumping around the room!"
"Jumping around the room in bed?" Shoko asked, raising a severe eyebrow.
"Yes!" Koichi cried out. He looked desperately across the table. "Kazuho! Back me up here! Tell her I was just practicing my moves!"
Kazuho just laughed out loud and ate a piece of her steak.
"Don't look at me," Kazuho grinned. "I don't know what you do with girls in your room at night."
"Kazuho!" Koichi yelled, completely betrayed by his best friend.
The entire table erupted into loud, echoing laughter.
Shoko reached out and grabbed Koichi tightly by the ear.
"Ow! Ow! Mom!"
"Don't you try to change the subject, Koichi!" Shoko scolded fiercely, pulling his ear. "Give me a name right now!"
*-*-*-*
Location: Cairo, Egypt – Salaam Hero Agency
The desert sun was beating down hard on the massive city.
Inside the top floor of the agency, the Number 1 Egyptian Pro Hero, Salaam, was sitting at his large desk.
He looked completely exhausted.
His bright, flowing robes and golden pharaoh headdress were covered in thick dust and sand.
He had just spent the last remaining hours raiding hidden warehouses and fighting League of Villain goons.
But he wasn't sleeping. He was staring at a massive monitor on his office wall.
The screen was playing the classified satellite footage sent over by the WHA.
It showed All Might punching a massive shockwave into the sky, literally splitting the thick cloud cover all the way across the Asian continent.
Then, the video switched.
It showed a man in a white suit standing in Iceland. The man just slapped his hand against the dirt, and the planet's tectonic rotation completely stopped.
"Unbelievable," Salaam whispered, leaning closer to the screen.
CLICK.
His sidekick, a tall man with a jackal mutation named Nuubis, walked into the office holding a tablet. He looked just as tired as his boss.
"Boss, the cleanup crews just finished securing the last warehouse," Nuubis reported, wiping sand off his shoulder. "The local police have the surviving mafia guys in custody. That ghost-program Manager Arisaka gave us worked perfectly. We hit them before they even knew the global raid started."
Salaam didn't even look away from the screen.
"Nuubis, look at this power," Salaam said, pointing directly at the monitor. "All Might was strong when he visited me years ago, but he was never this strong."
"Yeah, the WHA report says his power spiked massively after he signed with that Japanese manager," Nuubis said, tapping his tablet. "Kaito Arisaka."
Salaam slowly stood up from his chair.
"It wasn't just a small spike, Nuubis," Salaam said, his voice dropping low. "When I went to Might Tower last time, I shook All Might's hand in the lobby. Do you know what it felt like?"
Anubis raised an eyebrow. "A strong grip?"
"It felt like I put my bare hand directly on the hull of an active nuclear submarine," Salaam said, shaking his head in pure disbelief. "The man was humming. He was running a full-power smash through his entire body just standing there, and he didn't even sweat. Arisaka turned him into a living weapon."
Salaam looked back at the screen, pointing at the man in the white suit.
"And now we find out Hero X is even stronger," Salaam said. "He saved the whole planet like it was a casual Tuesday."
Anubis looked down at his tablet. A breaking news alert popped up on his screen.
"Well, speaking of the Golden Manager," Anubis said, reading the headline. "The news just confirmed it. The villain leader is locked in a paper box, and Arisaka's management contract to Allmight was completely finished."
BAM.
Salaam slammed his hands down on his desk. All his exhaustion vanished instantly.
"Exactly!" Salaam yelled excitedly, a massive grin spreading across his face. "He is a free agent! And I am on his waiting list! I told him I would be ready when he took a new client!"
Salaam pointed a finger straight at Anubis.
"Call him," Salaam ordered loudly. "Call his office in Japan right now! Get me the Golden Manager on the phone. Tell him I will double whatever All Might paid him! Tell him I will give him a blank check! I need him to train me!"
"Right away, Boss!"
Anubis quickly pulled his smartphone out of his pocket.
He dialed the international number for the Arisaka Agency and put it on speaker so Salaam could hear.
Ring.
Ring.
Click.
[Hello! You have reached the Arisaka Management Agency.]
Salaam leaned over his desk, grinning widely. He was ready to negotiate.
[Please be advised,] the cold, automated AI voice continued through the speaker. [The Golden Manager, Kaito Arisaka, is currently out of the office on an extended vacation and is not accepting any new client contracts at this time. If this is an emergency, please hang up and call your local authorities. Have a great day.]
BEEP.
The line went completely dead.
Salaam just stood there. His excited, proud smile slowly slid right off his face.
THUD.
He dramatically dropped to his knees on the expensive office rug. He put his hands on his head, large anime tears streaming down his cheeks.
"Noooo!" Salaam cried out loudly, staring at the ceiling. "I missed my chance! I went to Japan! I was the first international hero to talk to him in person, and I still missed my chance!"
Nuubis just stood there, looking down at the Number One hero of Egypt crying on the floor.
Sigh.
Nuubis let out a long, heavy sigh and rubbed his temples.
"Boss, please get up," Nuubis groaned. "You are embarrassing yourself. Mr. Arisaka just finished his contract with the Symbol of Peace. Having a vacation is perfectly normal."
*-*-*-*
Location: Tokyo – Abandoned Rooftop Hideout
SHINK.
SHINK.
Stendhal sat quietly in the dark. He dragged a heavy sharpening stone down the edge of his katana.
He didn't wear his broken mask right now. He just looked down at the cold steel.
During the global raid, before the HPSC announced that a hundred and fifty Tartarus escapees were dead and the other half was detained.
Stendhal knew the real numbers. He personally accounted for fifteen of those dead Tartarus villains.
During the raid, the pro heroes were running around trying to safely capture the targets.
They were trying to slice shoulders and put handcuffs on monsters.
It was pathetic.
So Stendhal moved in the shadows.
He executed the escapees right under the heroes' noses before the police escorts could even arrive.
"False heroes," Stendhal rasped, setting the sharpening stone down. "They panic, and they still try to play nice with the filth. They are too weak to do what is necessary."
BZZZT.
BZZZT.
His phone vibrated on the wooden crate next to him.
Stendhal frowned.
Nobody had this number.
He picked the cheap phone up and opened it. It was a heavily encrypted text message.
[The false heroes panicked when the world almost ended. Our Savior, Hero X, cleansed the filth. We are gathering the outcasts and true believers to form an underground vigilante organization in His name. Our goal is to build a network worthy of the God of Vigilantes, and crown him as our leader. Come to these coordinates. — Giran.]
Stendhal stared at the glowing screen.
Slowly, a wide, terrifying smile spread across his face. He grabbed his broken mask and pulled it over his eyes.
He finally had a crusade.
*-*-*-*
Location: Tokyo – Underground Warehouse
The warehouse was massive and heavily secured. The Yakuza money bought them a really nice place.
A few of Dabi's street subordinates were sitting on some heavy weapon crates, eating takeout noodles and talking loudly.
"I'm telling you, I thought I was a goner," a scarred member laughed, pointing his chopsticks in the air. "When the sirens went off for that mega-tsunami, I almost wet myself. I was ready to run. But the boss just sat there drinking a soda!"
"Yeah, man, it was crazy," another one agreed, shaking his head. "We really survived the end of the world."
Dabi was lounging comfortably on an expensive leather couch. He rested his heavy boots right on the coffee table.
He hadn't evacuated.
He didn't even flinch when the ground shook yesterday.
He had absolute, unconditional trust that Hero X would show up and fix the mess.
Right now, Dabi was staring at a laptop screen on his lap. He was watching the viral clips from the live broadcast on repeat.
He watched Hero X fold the massive tsunami exactly like a bedsheet.
CLICK.
He watched Hero X turn the volcanic magma into glowing butterflies.
CLICK.
He watched him slap the dirt in Iceland, completely stopping the earthquake in one second.
And finally, he watched Hero X casually crumple the Demon King into a piece of paper.
"Look at this guy," Dabi smirked, leaning back on the couch. "He doesn't scream his own name for the cameras. He doesn't strike a pose. He just walks in, disrespects the strongest guy on the planet, and leaves."
Dabi pulled his right hand out of his jacket pocket.
He pressed his thumb and middle finger together.
SNAP.
A pinpoint spark of bright blue fire ignited perfectly in the air. He killed the flame a split second later.
"That's exactly why I use this gesture," Dabi told his men, looking down at his hand. "No winding up. No flashy martial arts. Just a snap. I want that exact same effortless disrespect when I finally put my old man in the ground."
"It's a good look, boss," the scarred thug nodded.
BZZZT.
One of the phones sitting on a nearby crate went off.
A thug picked it up, read the screen, and walked over to the couch.
"Boss, it's from the underground brokers," the thug said, handing the phone to Dabi. "Giran and that crazy guy in the spandex."
Dabi took the phone and read the message.
It was the exact same vigilante manifesto Stendhal received.
Uniting the outcasts.
Crowning Hero X as the leader.
Dabi let out a dry, raspy laugh.
"Giran is a smart guy," Dabi smirked, tossing the phone onto the coffee table. "He knows nobody wants to follow a random street reject right now. But throw Hero X's name on the flag? Every crazy fanatic and outcast in Japan is going to join this group."
"Are we joining them?" the scarred thug asked, putting his noodles down.
"I don't care about worshipping anybody," Dabi said. He stood up from the couch and stretched his arms out. "But an entire nationwide organization of angry outcasts is exactly the weapon I need."
Dabi kicked the leg of the coffee table.
"Pack the vans and grab the new Yakuza gear," Dabi ordered, grabbing his black coat. "We're going to go meet our new coworkers."
*-*-*-*
Location: Shizuoka Prefecture – Grandma Saki's House
The house was finally quiet. The guests had all gone to their beds, and Grandma Saki was already asleep in her room.
Step. Step.
Kaito stepped out onto the back porch to get some fresh air.
The night was cool and breezy.
He leaned against the wooden railing, looking out at the dark neighborhood, just enjoying the silence.
BZZZT.
BZZZT.
His phone vibrated in his pocket.
Kaito pulled it out and checked the caller ID.
He raised an eyebrow.
He pressed accept and put the phone to his ear.
"Hello, Rikiya," Kaito said calmly.
"Kaito!"
Rikiya Yotsubashi's voice was so loud and full of raw hype that Kaito actually had to pull the phone an inch away from his ear.
"Did you see it?!" Rikiya yelled through the speaker. He sounded like he was pacing back and forth in his office, completely losing his mind. "Did you watch the broadcast? The slap? The tectonic anchor?!"
"I saw the news, yes," Kaito answered, keeping his voice level.
"He is the one!" Rikiya cried out passionately. "Hero X is the absolute peak! He is the God of the New World! Tomoyasu literally melted three of his mainframe computers trying to calculate the kinetic output of that slap! And Chitose is already writing a ten-page manifesto about him!"
Kaito stood on the porch in silence.
Standing there in the dark, listening to the CEO of a massive company and the leader of their shadow militia blindly worship him over the phone, made Kaito cringe incredibly hard on the inside.
But as the official Auditor and a Main Member of the Meta Liberation Army, he had to play the part. He couldn't just tell Rikiya to shut up about it.
"He is definitely... something," Kaito agreed, rubbing the bridge of his nose.
"He is a god!" Rikiya corrected him instantly. "He doesn't follow the government's pathetic rules! He doesn't hold a hero license! He uses his power with absolute freedom! He is the true embodiment of Destro's ideals! Did you see the way he just crumpled that villain? The swagger?"
"Yeah," Kaito forced himself to say, staring blankly at the moon. "He is truly a visionary. Very cool. His posture was... excellent."
"Exactly!" Rikiya cheered.
Puff.
Kaito let out a slow breath.
Then, Rikiya took a deep, heavy breath over the line.
His tone shifted, dropping the hyped fanboy act and turning incredibly serious.
"But seeing him made me realize something, Kaito," Rikiya said quietly. "I am weak. My Stress quirk is nothing compared to that. I am leading the Liberation Army, but I am not strong enough to stand in the world Hero X is creating."
Rikiya paused for a second.
"You managed All Might," Rikiya said. "I saw the satellite data from the WHA leak. I saw what All Might did in his bout to All For One. You trained him. You broke his limits."
"I gave him some advice and a training schedule," Kaito replied modestly.
"I need that advice," Rikiya demanded. He wasn't talking like a CEO anymore.
He was talking like a brother asking for a massive favor. "I need you to train me, Kaito. I don't care what it costs. Name your price. I want to be strong enough to even reach ten percent of Hero X's power. I want to be worthy of standing in his shadow."
Kaito looked up at the stars.
He thought about charging the CEO a ridiculous fee just to mess with him.
But in the end, he considered the MLA leadership to be close comrades in his long-term plans.
Keeping Rikiya strong and focused was exactly what the movement needed right now.
"There is no price, Rikiya," Kaito said smoothly. "We are comrades. I'll write up a brutal training regimen for your Stress quirk and send the data files over to Tomoyasu by tomorrow morning. But I warn you, it is going to hurt a lot."
"I welcome the pain!" Rikiya shouted, his voice cracking with pure joy. "Thank you, Kaito! Thank you! Long live the Liberation! Long live Hero X!"
Kaito sighed heavily.
"Yes... Long Live Hero X!"
BEEP.
He pulled the loud phone away from his ear, pressed the end call button, and slid it back into his pocket.
He leaned on the railing and rubbed his tired eyes.
Kaito just wanted a quiet week off.
"Well at least those guys below were slowly turning into office workers and lobbyists. Even Chitose, Tomoyasu, and Koku were very busy with the passion and work that I advised them to do."
...
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(9 Advanced Chapters)