***
Deep Grey clouds suffocated the skies over Shizuoka Prefecture while heavy rain battered its empty streets. The lockdown sealed every residents in their home, turning fourteen days into an eternity. Two weeks had passed since the catastrophe that had paralyzed Japan, even the world. An overbearing silence smothered the town. Then the streets detonated.
Boom
Glass shattered as men in black masks stumbled out of the bank.
"Are you an idiot?!" The taller man barked, shoving his partner. "Did you have to use that much C4?!"
"Chill out, man." The stocky one waved a gloved hand dismissively, adjusting the bag of cash on his shoulder. "Worth it though." he snickered as he tapped the swollen duffel bag.
"Unbelievable." The taller man muttered, shaking his head. He brushed roughly past him. "Move your feet before the Heroes get here!"
"What Heroes?" the stocky man snorted, striding after his partner. "They're still chasing after a ghost…" he trailed off as a figure emerged from the rain. A kid casually walking straight towards them. He glanced at his associate, who looked just as bewildered.
"Heyoo kid, you lost or something?" he called out.
Max glanced up at them. "Can you tell me about the ghost?"
"What?" the man muttered. "You crazy kid? Scram before you get hurt."
Max didn't move. "Do you know where I can find him?"
"Look kid—"
"What are you doing?!" His partner berated from the getaway van. "If the kid ain't moving, just gun him down. You don't wanna waste the boss's time."
The man sighed, leveling his gun straight at Max's chest. "Don't say I didn't warn ya, kid."
Bang. A deafening crack shattered the air as he pulled the trigger.
CLANG!
The bullet bounced off Max's shield. The man froze, his associate in the van gasped.
"Seems you don't have the information." Max muttered, his brows furrowing in annoyance. He dashed forward.
"Gun him down!" The taller robber shouted, his voice laced with panic.
The stocky man nodded frantically, unleashing a volley of bullets towards Max.
Max continued his dash, shield high in front of him tanking the brunt of the barrage. Suddenly, hot fire seared his left shoulder; a stray bullet grazed his shoulder, spraying blood. He grunted in pain but he forced his legs to continue.
Closing the distance, Max knocked the gun from the robber's hand. Before the man could react, Max planted a heavy kick in his gut. The man folded over, wheezing. Max brought the edge of his shield down on the back of his head, knocking him out.
"Argh!" Max gritted his teeth, pressing his arm against the fresh bullet wound. He snapped his gaze toward the getaway car.
Outside, the second robber stood, smoke trailing from the raised gun.
"Stay back, kid!" he shouted.
Gritting his teeth, Max dashed forward. The man frantically fired another shot, not expecting Max to get back up so quickly. But the bullet bounced harmlessly against the solid metal shield. Max wound back his left arm, ignoring the pain, smashing the shield against the gun to knock it free, followed up with a heavy back hand to the robber's face, knocking him out.
Max stood over the unconscious robbers, his breathing laboured. He flinched, looking down at his bleeding arms. "Dammit," he spat, frustrated by the pain. But more annoyed that he hadn't yet found any info on him.
Sirens wailed in the distance, prompting him to leave.
Max collapsed down onto a wooden crate in an abandoned warehouse. The place was spacious enough for him, it wasn't like Max was going for comfort.
He grunted as he pulled a makeshift bandage tight over his wounds. He sighed, leaning back as the events played over him. It had been 2 days since…since he left and he still hadn't found information on him whatsoever. Every small time crook he'd beaten up was as clueless as the last.
"Dammit, this is a waste of time." he said. He couldn't just keep asking every low-level thug he fought; at that rate, it would take forever to find him. But what could he do, he didn't have a better plan.
His eyes drifted down to the bracelet wrapped around his right wrist, the anger melting away replaced by a hollow guilt. He wondered how she would be, how she would take on the news of him leaving. The pain in her voice. The betrayal—
He shook his head, forcing the thoughts away. No, I can't go back.
"I'll just keep asking, I will find him." he whispered to the empty warehouse.
***
"Nothing on my end," Aizawa's tired voice spoke over the comms. It was a report that had become monotonous throughout this lockdown. One that frustrated All Might to no end.
"Here as well." Keito added
"Keep searching." Another voice cut in, more authoritative, sharp and uncompromising. Kaneshiro Atsushi , the President of the Heroes Public Safety Commission, HPSC. A man best described as putting the safety of Japan over everything else.
All Might leaped across the gloomy atmosphere as rain poured over him, memory after memory poured through his mind. Ever since the devastating 'Hand of Kami' incident, President Atsushi had convened an emergency assembly of all the top-tier heroes. The directive was singular: find the culprits. Heroes had been dispatched all over Japan after that. A group capable of unleashing such devastation could not be allowed to roam free at all costs, there was no telling where they would strike next.
What frustrated All Might was the total lack of…anything. No leads, no suspects, no evidence. It was like the people who were responsible just vanished into thin air.
He touched down on the streets below. The streets were dead and ghostly, citizens hunkered indoors until the lockdown was lifted. Even street-level thugs rarely dared any crimes, though a few desperate fiends still looked to use this time to wreak chaos.
He stood frozen in the quiet street, overwhelmed by a sense of helplessness. He was the Number One Hero, The Symbol of Peace, someone who saved everyone with a smile. All Might clenched his fists tight. Now, that title only felt like a bitter mockery to him. If he couldn't even find the monsters who committed these heinous crimes, if he couldn't bring closure to all the victims…to that young boy. Did he even deserve to be called a Hero?
***
Police sirens wailed in the distance as cruisers pulled to the scene, having been drawn by te sounds of explosion.
"D-Dammit…Boss isn't going to be happy about this." A voice muttered from atop a roof a distance away. His hands twitched around his elongated, scope-like eye, as he peered at the cops.
A faint shimmer near an alleyway a few metres from the getaway vehicle caught his attention. Pulling his gaze away from the cops, he noticed trails on the pavement. The man's eyes widened, "Blood?" he whispered, zooming in for a closer look.
He snapped back, his face darkening. "Boss needs to hear about this immediately."
Without another word, he turned and melted back into the shadows of the skyline.