"It's all right now! I am here!"
All Might's powerful voice echoed through the damaged structure of USJ, vibrating through the debris like thunder.
"All Might!!!"
The students shouted in unison. Some cried with relief, others sank to their knees without strength after the tension. For them, that person meant everything had truly ended.
But in practice, it had already been over even before the Number One Hero arrived.
Even so, with All Might's arrival and Aizawa still on his feet, even if another Nomu appeared, the battle was already decided. No villain had any chance left.
Keiji kept his reiatsu expanded just enough to crush any remaining resistance.
One by one, the villains who still tried to stay conscious collapsed, the spiritual weight pressing them to the ground as if they were mere insects.
Even Shigaraki himself, who until now wore a face twisted with hatred, was trembling, the skin under the hands scratching compulsively while he ground his teeth.
"Those… damn…"
The students who witnessed Keiji were the ones who explained to All Might that the entire fight had already ended when he stood there with a face full of confusion at seeing all the villains sprawled on the floor.
So he stopped in front of Keiji, and Aizawa came up beside Keiji, hands on his hips with that unbeatable smile that inspired crowds.
"Young man, I thank you immensely for the help! Your intervention saved lives today. Are you, by any chance, a pro hero from another country?"
Keiji twirled the zanpakutō naturally, wiping the Nomu's blood from the blade before sliding it back into the sheath.
"My name is Ayano Keiji. I am a Shinigami."
Aizawa narrowed his eyes, already expecting the confusion.
But Sora whispered in his mind.
{This guy… even if he should not have any spiritual power, his soul is so bright it is blinding.}
'Not only that, his very physical presence is strong.'
At the very least, All Might was someone who inspired the same sense of greatness as the Captains of the Gotei 13 themselves.
The students looked at each other, understanding nothing. Midoriya, already sweating with nerves, could not hold back his curiosity.
"Shinigami… is that your hero name? I have never heard of you before! Where did you use to operate?!"
Keiji arched an eyebrow, letting a small, crooked smile slip.
"If you want more details, ask Aizawa-san. He knows how to explain it better than I do."
He did not hesitate for a moment to dump all the problems on Aizawa. After all, he was the one who created the mission, so it was his job to deal with the explanations.
Aizawa, now much better after the Kaidō treatment, let out a deep sigh.
"It's complicated."
He could already imagine the headaches he would have to justify the "Shinigami's" presence to the other teachers and the principal.
While the students' curiosity grew and All Might looked at him with genuine interest, Keiji shifted his gaze to the empty air in front of him.
The holographic screen appeared, clear to his eyes alone.
– – –
『Mission Completed』
Requester: Aizawa Shota
Reward: [Quirk] / [Random Reward]
– – –
Keiji let out a light "yare yare~," relaxing his shoulders.
According to the system, he could choose only one of the rewards. The first option was a Quirk, which was derived from the villains he defeated. The second was a random reward, which could be anything.
His eyes drifted to Aizawa, who was already making a point of checking on each of the students, even without being fully recovered.
'Maybe he can explain it to me.'
At the very least, he should know how to identify the owner of each Quirk that appeared for him to choose.
Keiji stayed beside Aizawa and All Might while the other Pro Heroes finally arrived at USJ. They were the reinforcements summoned by U.A, accompanied by police units.
Sirens echoed outside, and the quick movement showed that the entire school had gone on alert.
Right behind them came Ida Tenya, out of breath after running back to the school to get help. The boy kept an upright, formal posture, but it was clear he was exhausted.
"I managed to complete my mission! Teachers, the reinforcements have arrived!"
All Might leaned slightly and gave the boy a firm pat on the shoulder.
"Good work, young Ida. Thanks to you, we arrived in time."
Meanwhile, heroes and police spread through the central hall. They began arresting the downed villains, most of them still unconscious under the effect of Keiji's reiatsu.
Special restraint cuffs were used, designed to restrict the use of simpler Quirks.
Keiji watched the work for a few seconds and then spoke calmly, his hand resting on the zanpakutō's sheath.
"Remember that one of them has a space-related Quirk. If you are not careful, he can escape."
Aizawa furrowed his brow, immediately recognizing who it was.
"You mean the fog guy, Kurogiri? We'll separate him from the others. That way, if he manages to get away, he won't carry anyone with him."
The police and Pro Heroes nodded and began moving Kurogiri to an isolated area, putting double surveillance on him.
Keiji, however, let out a remark that chilled the air for an instant.
"It would be easier to eliminate the problem now."
Aizawa's gaze narrowed, heavy with seriousness.
"That's not how we do things here. Even villains have to answer to the law. The only exception is when there is no other choice."
All Might, always wearing a confident look, added:
"A hero does not take lives, young Keiji. Our role is to save and protect."
Keiji shrugged and let out a low "yare yare~", not arguing further. He had already learned from the chat conversations with Aizawa that the "heroes" of this world operated completely differently from Shinigami.
In the Soul Society, orders were orders, and eliminating the enemy was often the only acceptable option.
Here, no. Here, even the worst criminals needed to face a trial — and they would not be condemned to the death penalty for lesser crimes.
So there was not much Keiji could do about that.
If Kurogiri escaped and another incident like USJ happened… it would just be one more opportunity for Aizawa to send another mission.
And, in that case, Keiji would have another chance to intervene and earn a reward for it.
[——]
After all the chaos at USJ, Aizawa finally got a few moments of forced rest.
His body was still wrapped in bandages after Recovery Girl's evaluation, but it was nowhere near as bad as it would have been without Keiji's initial help and his Kaidō.
At the very least he could walk on his own without anyone needing to watch every step he took.
He went to one of the quietest rooms in the school, where Keiji was waiting for him. The Shinigami was sitting lazily on the ledge of an open window, letting the night breeze in.
The moonlight lit part of the black shihakushō, and the zanpakutō rested propped against the wall beside him.
Aizawa let out a deep sigh, the dark circles under his eyes more pronounced than ever.
"You really gave me a headache. Since early on, everyone's talking about you."
Keiji raised an eyebrow, turning his face with a crooked smile.
"Oh? And what are they saying?"
"Healing. High-speed movement. Several types of attacks. Barrier. Superhuman strength…"
Aizawa rubbed the back of his neck, visibly bothered.
"Basically, they want to know how many damn Quirks you have."
Keiji let out a short laugh, not bothering to show any solidarity with Aizawa's situation.
"That was just the basics."
Aizawa's gaze narrowed.
"Are all Shinigami like that?"
Keiji shook his head slowly, tapping his fingertips against the window.
"The versatility, yes. Any Shinigami learns kidō, zanjutsu, hakuda, and hohō at the Academy long before joining the Gotei 13. But the level I used… only Captains could show something similar. And even then, that's only the beginning. The Captains are still much, much stronger."
Aizawa crossed his arms, his expression extremely serious.
"Your world sounds… terrifying."
"Maybe it is."
Keiji answered calmly, unfazed. Then he looked at Aizawa with a half-smile.
"But that guy All Might… he's strong. As long as you have him around, things should be all right."
Aizawa let out a tired sigh, but he did not disagree. He shifted in the chair, still a bit uncomfortable from the bandages.
"So, why did you call me here?"
Keiji snapped his fingers and, in front of the two of them, a holographic screen appeared. The letters glowed in light blue.
"Reward."
Aizawa blinked in surprise.
"Reward?"
"That's right. For the mission I accepted in the system, I received a reward. I can choose a Quirk."
Aizawa's eyebrows shot up in shock.
"You're telling me you can… get a Quirk like it's a prize?"
"Impressive, isn't it~?"
Keiji chuckled softly, letting his eyes slide down the list on the screen. He began reading them out loud.
"These are the ones that showed up: Decay, Warp Gate, Shock Absorption, and Super Regeneration."
Aizawa did not need to think long to recognize them.
"Decay must be Shigaraki Tomura's. Warp Gate is Kurogiri's, and the Nomu had Shock Absorption and Super Regeneration."
Keiji tilted his head, curious.
"So that was it… I guessed the others, but I still wasn't sure about this 'Decay.'"
'Shigaraki is the guy with the hand fetish?'
{That's him.}
Keiji had not seen him use his Quirk, but it seemed like it was Decay that caused the damage to Aizawa's elbow, which Keiji healed.
"And what do you plan to choose?"
Aizawa asked, still trying to absorb that information.
The four looked like particularly powerful Quirks, and each would be a problem on its own.
Now giving a Quirk of that level to someone naturally versatile and even stronger was a nightmare from Aizawa's point of view.
Keiji rested his hand on the sword and smiled.
"I admit I'm torn. Regeneration would be useful… but that Warp Gate looks more interesting."
Mainly because space-type Kidō were considered forbidden by Central 46.
Sora's voice sounded in his mind.
{With Shikai active and Kaidō, we can replicate a similar level of regeneration. As for space… Bankai has something similar, but it's a power with limited access. Warp Gate would be much more convenient to use.}
Keiji sighed, acknowledging the point.
'Sora's right. Then let's go with Warp Gate.'
At that very moment, the screen flashed and another message appeared.
– – –
[Reward received: Quirk – Warp Gate]
[You will be sent back to your world in 1 hour.]
– – –
Keiji closed the screen with a gesture and stood up slowly, adjusting the shihakushō.
"Looks like it's time to go. I'll leave you to deal with all the problems my visit caused around here, Aizawa-san."
Aizawa let out a deep sigh. He wanted to complain, but in the end he just accepted it, knowing he had brought this on himself.
"Thanks for the help. If you hadn't shown up, I would have died."
Keiji smiled, adjusting the sword's sash.
"Then try to get stronger. Next time, I might not show up to save you."
Aizawa gave a dry laugh, rubbing his messy hair.
"Yeah… I think I'm going to start accepting those missions too."
Keiji raised his hand in a wave, a black mist spreading over his body.
"See you later, Aizawa-san~"
And without saying anything else, he stepped through the Warp Gate, disappearing right in front of Aizawa's eyes.
But Aizawa stayed in the room for a few more minutes, sitting in silence, until the door slowly opened.
The first to enter was Nezu, U.A's principal. Small in size, but impossible to ignore. His body looked like a rat mixed with other animals, immaculate white fur and sharp eyes that always carried calculating intelligence.
He wore a small tailored suit, which only made his appearance stranger.
Right behind him came All Might, still carrying the overwhelming presence that made any room feel lighter just by his entrance.
"Did he go back to the 'home' you mentioned, Aizawa-kun?"
Nezu spoke with that polite tone, but it always carried second intentions.
Aizawa crossed his arms, his look even more serious.
"Yes. He is not here anymore."
It was true in part. Aizawa knew Keiji should still have a few minutes left in this world, but he chose to keep the answer simple.
If the principal did not worry about it, better.
Nezu nodded calmly, eyes half-lidded as if he were thinking about something bigger.
"I see. And what did you think of the… 'Shinigami'?"
All Might stepped forward, his broad arms crossing over his chest. His heroic smile did not fade even a little, but his voice was serious.
"From what they described to me, he is incredibly strong. Even I would have trouble against that Nomu. It is no exaggeration to say he saved everyone here."
Aizawa frowned.
"He showed a lot… but I still suspect Ayano held back more things."
He had said what he showed was only the "basics" for Captains, but it was Keiji who also talked about beating the Twelve Captains and the Captain-Commander at the same time.
That terrifying level of power should be only the beginning.
Nezu shook his head slowly, as if he had already expected that answer.
"At least that eliminates the worry that he was one of 'his' men. But even so, we cannot rely on someone who looks at the world with a… let's say, military mindset. That is not what we want to teach our students."
Silence hung for a moment. Aizawa knew Nezu meant the way Keiji talked about killing enemies without hesitation.
He drew in a slow breath, but answered in his straightforward way.
"In the end, it only means we are going to have to solve our own problems. The same way we already did before."
All Might clenched his fist, confident.
"And we will solve them!"
Aizawa did not smile, but deep down he knew that experience had changed something.
Before, he saw himself only as the hero who "erases" — useful for neutralizing Quirks and street missions, but fragile against monsters like the Nomu.
Now, with the system, he saw a real chance to be more than that.