Standing, she is a peony; sitting, a tree peony; and walking, a lily in bloom.
A fragile, breathtaking, and peerless beauty who could topple nations with a single glance—the very embodiment of the word "exquisite." That's me: Futora Midoriya, fifteen years old, the high school girl everyone loves for being just too damn gorgeous.
Today was the big day for our exciting workplace experience—an out-of-town business trip! Our destination was Hosu City, a moderately bustling place that was about to get a whole lot more interesting.
Things started off well enough when we arrived in the old man's car, but then everything went sideways! It turns out Hosu is home to wild, exposed-brain creatures! And there were three of them!
Faced with the discovery of the century, I—the lovely Futora—began snapping photos like a paparazzo. I had to get these up on my blog immediately! The traffic would be insane! ...Wait. Now that I think about it, I never started a blog because it seemed like a massive pain in the neck.
...Ugh, whatever. I don't need these.
"Keep them just in case."
Shoto stopped me from deleting them in his usual understated way, so I decided to hang onto them. Maybe the police would pay top dollar for the intel. Man, he's smart. The elite really are built different.
"Could they be related to that monster that appeared at U.A. before?!"
The old man—Gran Torino—clicked his tongue as he stared at the brain-creatures outside the window. I wasn't sure how much he knew about how dangerous they were, but he looked like he'd gathered some kind of intel. I have to admit, for a bald guy, he's surprisingly good at his job.
Only at his job, though.
Ah, crap. He's glaring at me. They say the eyes speak as loud as the mouth, so I'd better look away.
"Your thoughts are leaking out, Midoriya."
"Oh! Really?"
"Quit the transparent act!"
After barking a sharp retort, the old man started barking orders at his sidekicks. The priority was evacuating civilians while attempting to capture the brain-monsters.
I thought the sidekick lady was going to stay with us, but the old man insisted he was enough on his own, so she was sent off to lead the evacuations. Her parting cry of "Shotoooo!" made it clear she was aiming for him rather than me. Based on the old man's expression, she's going to get a earful later.
Rest in peace, lady.
"Shoto! Futora Midoriya! Stay behind me! I'm going to show you a masterclass in heroics that'll put All Might to shame!"
I watched him head toward the monsters out of the corner of my eye while I fished a secret weapon out of my pocket—something I'd gotten from Mei Hatsume. I flicked the power on, and a small dot of light appeared on the monitor.
"Midoriya, what are you doing?"
Shoto must have noticed me messing around. I suppose I can let him in on the secret.
"This? It's Mei's 35th 'Baby': the Track-'em-and-Stack-'em Tracker Beta."
"Mei? You mean that girl from the Support Course during the Sports Festival?"
"Bingo. She's been helping me develop support items since the festival, and I've been field-testing her 'babies' for her. This is one of them."
My hero suit is based on the original design I was given, but almost all the gadgets attached to it now are Mei's handiwork. It's loaded with custom gear just for me.
"The name is... something else. I knew exactly what it did the moment you said it. So, who are you tracking?"
"Four-eyes. I had a feeling something like this might happen, so I asked Mei to help me plant a transmitter on him."
"You mean Iida?"
"Yep."
He had that look on his face like he was about to do something stupid, so I tucked a bug into his suit so I could go punch him the moment he tried anything reckless. With this, I can pinpoint his location even from a hundred kilometers away. Whether he's in the bathroom, at a club, or somewhere... less reputable, I'll find him instantly. It's the perfect tool for completely obliterating someone's privacy.
You've got nowhere to hide, Mr. Serious. I'm about to ruin your little outing.
"...Anyway, that's the deal. I'm going to follow my rules and 'retreat' now. Later!"
"Wait, what 'deal'?"
"The old man told us, didn't he? If we think things are dangerous, we should run. That's exactly what I'm doing."
"...And you just happened to decide to 'retreat' to exactly where Iida is. You really come up with these excuses on the fly, don't you? Does it have to be right now?"
Shoto had a point. In this situation, the brain-monsters in front of us should be the priority.
"I thought so too, honestly... but the direction Four-eyes is heading is the exact opposite of where the chaos is happening. And right now, his signal is jumping all over the place."
"What does that mean?"
"Who knows? But if he's avoiding the main fight in a situation like this, he's either helping with evacuations, doing a rescue... or he's engaged in a fight of his own."
"...!"
Looking at the way the signal was darting around a tiny, cramped area, it didn't look like evacuation or rescue work. It was far more likely he was in combat. And since there was no news of a disturbance from that direction, he wasn't fighting one of the flashy brain-monsters.
Which meant it was probably that.
"In the worst-case scenario, he's fighting the Hero Killer, 'States'..."
"Don't make Iida fight a sovereign nation. It's Stain. Stain."
"Pot-ay-to, pot-ah-to."
"It is not."
Shoto frowned, looking exasperated, then gave a single nod before calling out to the old man.
"Father! It looks like something's happened to a friend. I'm going with Midoriya to check it out. I'll send you the location data; once you're done here, or if there's a pro free, send backup!"
"Whaaaaaat?! Shoto, what the hell are you talking about?!"
"A friend might be in trouble! ...You should be able to handle this yourself in no time. Send backup!"
Shoto followed me as I turned the corner, following the tracker's signal. I was surprised he came along, but even more surprised that he took the heat that was supposed to be mine. I didn't think he was the type to do that.
"Wait! I'll send a sidekick—Shotoooooo!!"
"You sure about this? He's still screaming."
"Leave him. More importantly, where is the signal?"
Ignoring the old man's voice echoing behind us, I looked down at the monitor. If the signal was right, it would take me less than five minutes to get there.
"Keep heading east. Cross the second intersection and head into the alleyway right there."
"Got it. Let's hurry."
"You don't have to tell me—actually, I'm going on ahead!"
I shoved the monitor into Shoto's hands and used my Pull Quirk to launch myself onto the roof of a low building. After some intense training, I've finally stabilized my output even when targeting things like the ground or walls. Now I can pull off stunts like this!
God, I'm amazing.
"Midoriya!! Don't go alone!!"
I gave Shoto a thumbs-up as if to say "Leave it to me!" and activated my Quirk again, flying toward Iida's location.
I was going to give that idiot a slap across the face he'd never forget.
+++
A blade flashed past the tip of my nose.
A blood-red scarf danced through the air.
The movements were elusive, as if I were fighting the wind itself.
"Hmph... Pathetic. It's almost laughable to call you an opponent."
Those words, spat out with a sigh, added fuel to the fire smoldering inside me.
"Laughable?! What the hell is laughable about this?! You criminal!!"
I dove under the blade and threw a kick, but I felt no resistance. He'd dodged again.
"Ingenium... Hmph. A brother, then...?"
My brain felt like it was on fire at the sound of his voice. I couldn't stand the thought of someone like him even saying that name.
"Don't you... Don't you dare speak his name!!"
I looked up just in time to see Stain's metal-plated boot entering my field of vision. The downward swing seemed to move in slow motion.
"I let the other one live so he could spread the word. You... you aren't even worth that much."
A dull impact and a piercing pain shot through my arm. My eyes drifted from Stain for a split second, and my stance collapsed. Immediately after, a heavy blow struck the back of my head.
"Weak."
The next thing I knew, I was slammed into the ground. A blade was driven through my other arm—the one that had been uninjured until now. The pain was so intense I felt like I might black out, but the rage boiling inside me kept me conscious.
"You are weak, just like your brother... because you are both fakes."
My brain, already hot with anger, began to boil.
"Shut up, you villain...!!"
What did he know?
"He has a spinal injury... he's paralyzed from the waist down! They said... they said he can never be a hero again!!"
I couldn't forget the image of my brother smiling at me from that hospital bed. How did he feel, forcing himself to smile like that? Just thinking about it made me feel like I was going insane.
"My brother saved and led so many people! He was a magnificent hero!!"
I'd always watched him. I'd always cheered for him. I knew how hard he worked for the sake of others.
"You had no right to crush him...!"
He was someone who could smile and say he was happy to be of use to others. That was the kind of person he was.
"He's my hero... he's the one who gave me my dream! He was a magnificent hero!!!"
And you... you took that away!!
"I'll kill you...!!"
"You should focus on saving him first."
Stain's sudden words jolted me, reminding me of the hero I'd forgotten. The one who had been fighting Stain first—the one who had been defeated before I even arrived.
"Save others without regard for yourself. Do not wield power for your own sake."
My brother's face flashed through my mind. My brother, who worked so hard for others.
"To be consumed by the hatred before your eyes and seek to satisfy your own desires... that is the act furthest from being a hero. Hmph."
My brother, who was happy to help.
"That is why you will die."
A chill ran down my spine, and suddenly, my body wouldn't move. I didn't know why, but seeing the hero who was still paralyzed on the ground, it was likely Stain's Quirk.
If that was the case, there was nothing left I could do. Even with my enemy right in front of me, I'd let him say those things to me, and now I—
"Farewell. You are a sacrifice for a more righteous society."
Don't give me that. A sacrifice? A righteous society?
"Shut up... just shut up!! No matter what you say, you're just a criminal who hurt my brother!!"
The blade swung down—
"...?! What?!"
Suddenly, the blade flew into the air, as if it had been yanked up by an invisible string.
The sight was familiar. A specific face flashed through my mind—the face of the girl who had told me she was worried about me.
Stain's face contorted as a fist slammed into him from directly above. Without missing a beat, she followed up with a roundhouse kick that buried itself into his jaw.
The force of the kick sent Stain skidding across the ground. She turned toward him and flipped him the bird.
"What the hell do you think you're doing to my Follower Number One, huh?!"
Her words were anything but heroic. Even in a moment like this, she was exactly the same. A delinquent, a slacker, and a total troublemaker. The biggest problem child in Class A.
And yet, looking at her back, I felt like I saw a shadow of my brother—the brother who felt so far away now.
She looked back at me and grinned. It was her usual, carefree smile.
"Yo. Four-eyes, you still alive...? Wait, Four-eyes?!"
I tried to answer, but she had already dropped to her knees in front of my shattered glasses lying on the ground. She pounded the dirt in frustration.
"Was I too late...?!"
"How can you make a joke at a time like this?!"
I don't think anyone can blame me for snapping at her.
***
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