Chapter 119: Help From the Enemy
Several minutes earlier, Kurogiri stood behind Tomura Shigaraki. "Tomura Shigaraki," he asked, "are you not going down to fight?"
"Give me a break. I'm injured," Shigaraki said, stopping his laughter and turning his head away. "You've been awfully quiet. What's wrong?"
Kurogiri bowed his head slightly. "My apologies. Master has given me an order. I am currently searching for coordinates."
Kurogiri's Warp Gate Quirk allowed him to construct a map in his mind. He needed to find a specific coordinate on that map before he could leave. Normally, he would have already confirmed his destination and could open a gate directly. This situation clearly meant he had been given a sudden, new destination.
"You're leaving?" Shigaraki was taken aback. "If you leave, I'll be a sitting duck here. It'll be easy for some Pro Hero to spot me."
Shigaraki dared to stand in such a conspicuous place watching the Nomu rampage only because he had Kurogiri as his safety net. He knew that as long as Kurogiri was here, he could retreat at any time. But now, Kurogiri was leaving?
"My apologies. This was a sudden order from Master. I can move you to a safe location," Kurogiri said, his head still bowed.
"It's a shame I won't get to see the Nomu destroy this city with my own eyes, but if it's Teacher's orders, it can't be helped." Shigaraki scratched his neck, accepting this reality. He then broke into a neurotic smile. "Send me somewhere near Stain. I'd like to see just how our 'great senior' plans to achieve his goals."
Kurogiri took a step back, his body dissolving into a misty, oval-shaped portal. Shigaraki gave one last look at the Nomu that was ravaging the city, then turned and stepped through the gate.
Oma City.
"Kira-kun, I can't believe you're so skilled at this whole process! It's amazing..." Aoi Hana said with a surprised yawn.
In just a few hours, Yoshikage Kira had already obtained all the necessary permits from the city government building, getting the manager of Oma Park to obediently sign off on their request.
"It's nothing special. You get experience after you've done it once," Kira said, waving his hand. "Besides, the Director provided his hero license. With special circumstances, the government still grants some privileges to heroes."
The government recognized and strongly supported Pro Heroes taking on side businesses. Just like Makoto Hibikiya back in the day; when he was a Pro Hero, his band had concerts every month and could easily get gigs. After he retired, one of the reasons Jodo Chenjie had left was because the band had gone a long time without a single performance, just sitting idle.
Kira had used the Director's hero license to make the local government take the matter seriously. They had waived the usual rule of needing to file a request a month in advance for a performance, and had stamped their approval in a single afternoon.
For the local government, it had been a long time since they had hosted such a large-scale event. Not only was it being organized by a Pro Hero, but it would also boost the citizens' morale and raise the government's profile. Therefore, they were paying extra special attention to this event.
The local administration had assigned a civil servant to take Kira and Aoi to rent the necessary items from various shops—tents, cages, chairs, and other essentials for setting up a circus. They had also contacted TV stations and some magazines to run promotions, ensuring that by Friday, most of the city would know that a circus was coming to town.
Since the local officials didn't know which animals would be performing, Aoi, who had been at the zoo for several years, went with the civil servant to help with the poster design. Yoshikage Kira was left waiting for her on a bench in Oma Park.
Night had fallen. Kira bought a half-priced bento from a convenience store and brought it to the park, eating while scrolling through his phone. Although Camie had given him a lot of money after the concert, Kira was as frugal as ever. Good steel should be used on the blade's edge; that money was naturally being saved for his figurines.
Suddenly, he received a text message from Midoriya. He opened it and saw that it was just a location pin. The location was...
Hosu City? Midoriya wasn't in Shizuoka Prefecture? Why would he go to Hosu? Wasn't that where Iida was doing his work-study? And wasn't it also—the place where the Hero Killer had appeared?
Don't tell me Midoriya ran into the Hero Killer...
The thought instantly flashed through Kira's mind. He knew that Iida might go after the Hero Killer for revenge for his brother. But if Midoriya was there too, it was very likely that both of them were in danger.
Kira opened a news site and quickly found numerous comments about a villain attack in Hosu City, with the number of comments being updated in real-time. He made a quick call to the police, then took a deep breath. Right now, he was in Oma City, thousands of miles from Hosu. All he could do was pray that they were okay.
A black portal silently opened in front of him, swirling like a dark eye. Kira casually tossed his empty bento box into the hole, then instantly leaped back two steps, his eyes fixed warily on the portal.
It was the enemy from the USJ incident, Kurogiri. His Quirk was Warp Gate. Why is he here? Is he trying to kill me?
His Quirk was just teleportation. He couldn't have found his location directly, unless... someone else with a tracking Quirk was helping him pinpoint his position.
Kira glanced around. Oma Park at night, just as its name suggested, was menacing. The lush trees that had looked so verdant in the morning now looked like grasping, claw-like traps, as if a monster could leap out at any moment.
Kurogiri spoke first. "Kira-kun, there is no need to be so cautious. I am not here to fight you this time. I am here to help you."
"Help me? I don't need it." Kira's arm was wreathed in a golden ripple of Hamon as he stared coldly at Kurogiri. "Where are your other teammates? Call them out. And don't worry, I don't have any backup coming either."
Kurogiri probably had an ambush hidden in the woods. If Aoi came looking for him now, as a Quirkless person, she would likely be killed by the enemy.
"I am alone. Kira-kun, you may not know this, but your friend is currently in grave danger," Kurogiri said.
Kira scoffed. "Of course I know. Hosu City is full of Pro Heroes. Last time, it took nearly a hundred of you to deal with just two of our teachers, and you were still completely wiped out. I'm actually quite impressed you have the courage to show your faces again."
"And what if I told you that the Pro Heroes have been tied up by the Nomu, and that your friend is currently facing the Hero Killer... alone?"
Kira's heart tightened. While Kurogiri could be lying, the address Midoriya had suddenly sent him suggested that his words were true. Otherwise, he would have called a Pro Hero for help, not his classmates who were scattered all over the country.
"I can help you." Seeing Kira's silence, Kurogiri said something that completely surprised him. "You can use my warp gate to go to Hosu City and help your friend."
"Use your warp gate? Are you kidding me?" Kira found his words utterly absurd. He remembered that their ultimate move against All Might was to get him inside Kurogiri's warp gate and then sever his body. Now he wanted him to step inside? Even an idiot wouldn't fall for that.
"The incident in Hosu City was started by your League of Villains, wasn't it? Why are you coming to me?"
Kurogiri dropped another bombshell. "Because my Master has taken an interest in you. He hopes you will join the League of Villains."
"Kurogiri, have you lost your mind? I'm a student at U.A." On the surface, Kira was mocking him, but inside, he was stunned. Kurogiri has a 'Master' behind him? That person definitely isn't Shigaraki. That means the one Kurogiri calls 'Master' is the true leader of the League of Villains!
"Not right now. Master merely wishes to lend you a hand. After all... you don't want to just stand by and watch your friend get killed, do you?" Kurogiri said in a steady voice.
"Why should I believe you?"
"The fact that I am here is the best proof," Kurogiri replied. "This time, Master does not believe this attack will have any effect. He wants Shigaraki to learn a lesson, to recognize his own shortcomings."
"Interesting. So your League of Villains' leader, Shigaraki, is just a little brat who still needs to be motivated by failure?" Kira said with a cold laugh.
The warp gate began to grow fainter. "That is none of your concern. Choose. Step through this gate now and go to Hosu City... or stand by and watch your partner lose his life."
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