The following day, mid-morning, 10:00 AM.
Adam was dragged through a long, endless nightmare. He dreamt of being chased by the Sludge Villain, who was screaming and shouting angrily in Japanese, threatening to swallow him whole. Adam ran for his life, but the villain was faster, capturing him, and beginning to pour its viscous body inside his mouth, and into every orifice. Adam felt breathless, suffocated, and shamefully helpless. He tried activating his Negation power, but it wouldn't work.
It wasn't until he screamed with all his might, the sound ripping from his very soul.
"ALLAH'U AKBAR!!!"
that the dream shattered, and he awoke, slick with sweat and profoundly frightened.
Adam shot upright in the hospital bed, his heart hammering against his ribs at an intense speed. His breathing was heavy and ragged.
Where am I? Hospital? No, I have to run. If the police come and find out I'm a ghost in the system, they will detain me!
He quickly scanned his surroundings. It was indeed a hospital room. On his wrist, a clear serum tube was taped, His right hand felt perfectly fine; the bone fracture he received had miraculously healed. Someone with a Healing Quirk must have treated him.
Adam felt a rush of gratitude mixed with mounting panic. He was thankful for the healer, but escaping was paramount. He had no money for the bill, and the threat of police investigation loomed large.
He quickly peeled off the tape, tossed the tube aside, and jumped out of the bed. He tiptoed toward the door, trying to make his escape silent and swift. Just as he reached the knob, the door opened inward, silently, on its own.
Adam froze, terror seizing his limbs. Pretend to be asleep! Get back in bed! His mind screamed commands, but his body, weakened and operating on below-average fuel, couldn't keep up.
He stood helplessly, paralyzed, until the door was fully open. The first thing he saw was someone even thinner than him: a tall, blond, hunched, skeletal man with piercing blue eyes.
"You finally woke up, young man." The man spoke, his deep voice carrying a strange, gentle rumble.
All Might was clearly delighted to see the young man standing upright.
Adam didn't understand the words, except perhaps the underlying tone. He stared at the familiar person he had never met directly. Even with the transformation from 2D design to realistic 3D, he couldn't be mistaken. This man, without a doubt, was…
"ALL MIGHT!!!" Adam blurted out, the name escaping him unconsciously. He instantly realized his catastrophic slip.
"Huh?! No! Young Man, I'm not All Might!!" All Might let out a genuinely surprised sound, quickly waving his thin hands in a panicked, vigorous denial.
But Adam just stared at him blankly, the Japanese words lost on him. From the man's frantic body language, however, he could clearly infer that he was denying the name "All Might."
'I don't know how to explain how I know he is All Might. Can I just say I feel he is familiar to All Might? Too weak. Need an excuse.' Adam's mind scrambled for a defense.
"Toshinori-san, there is no use in denying it. From his instinctive body gestures, it shows he doesn't have a hint of doubt. Interesting. How did he recognize you?"
Adam heard another voice. All Might shifted reluctantly to the side as the person behind him entered. A tall man with short, black hair and somewhat rectangular, keen black eyes. He wore a tan overcoat and a matching hat, beneath which was a black suit, a green tie, and crisp white gloves.
"Tsukauchi-san! Even if he knows, we should pretend he is wrong! What if it was just a mistake? Now you have confirmed it for him!" All Might complained to his friend, his shoulders slumping further. The detective just smiled faintly, then motioned for All Might to look at the dumbfounded Adam.
"He doesn't look like he understands Japanese, so don't worry…"
"Huh?" All Might looked at Adam and saw the genuine ignorance and puzzled confusion in the young man's eyes. He let out a deep sigh of relief.
But Tsukauchi continued, his voice calm. "He still believes you are All Might, 100%."
All Might looked like he might cough blood again. He turned to his friend. "How can you be sure? Your Lie Detection Quirk only works upon skin contact, doesn't it?"
"I told you, I can read body language," Tsukauchi replied with a slight tilt of his head. "And also, Toshinori-san, you don't have to worry about being recognized. In the follow-up questions, for his safety, we will have to tell him about that person, and there is no one more suitable than the Symbol of Peace to convince him and extract information. After all, you are a trustworthy person."
All Might let out a tired, defeated sigh. He hated letting an ordinary person know about his injury; he needed to keep his image as the undefeated Symbol of Peace intact, so people could live in peace without worry.
'Isn't he that detective friend of All Might? That means they checked my background and found nothing. They are here to interrogate me. But why All Might? Shouldn't he be with Midoriya? Did I cause a butterfly effect? No, it doesn't matter. What's important now is to figure out how to fool the police. Amnesia? No, wait. This detective comes from a family known for their lie-detecting Quirks. Lying won't work. That's it—I won't lie, but I won't say what shouldn't be said.'
"In fact, I had always wanted to mention this to All Might, His hair, eyes, even in this form, are very similar to the muscular All Might. Though most people wouldn't connect the two because of the difference in size and power. How did this young man confirm it so quickly?"
Suddenly, a playful, unexpected voice appeared right behind him.
"What Da—!!" Adam yelped, leaping back in fright and almost teleporting next to the Symbol of Peace. He was terrified to hear a voice suddenly materialize behind him.
He saw another familiar character sitting casually on the windowsill, gazing lazily inward. A slim, average-height young man with messy, ash-blond hair swept back in soft arcs. Golden-brown, sharply angled eyes gave him a birdlike look, the small black markings around them only adding to the effect. Behind him, a wide pair of bright red wings rose even when folded. He wore a tan, fur-lined jacket cut to fit around his wings, a patterned black shirt beneath it, dark gloves, and a yellow visor resting over his eyes. His piercings were mostly hidden under bulky yellow headphones.
He was smirking playfully at Adam's frightened, undignified reaction.
"Sorry, sorry. I didn't mean to scare you," Hawks chirped, raising his hands in mock surrender. "But there's no choice. I had to secretly enter through the window, or else I'd attract attention. Who made me the Number 3 Hero so famous? Alas, the tax of being famous."
'Hawks?! Why is he also here?! Damn! Don't tell me I'm being targeted by the Hero Organization! Did they think my 'Quirk' is dangerous after seeing what it did to that Sludge Villain? And because I'm of unknown origin, I'm being treated as a threat. That's why they specifically sent All Might, Hawks, and this detective to interrogate me!'
Adam's paranoia kicked in immediately. He couldn't help it; being alone and adrift in this strange, dangerous world made him feel completely insecure. He automatically speculated the worst from these people. Even if they were familiar, good characters, to them, he was just a stranger who appeared out of nowhere with a powerful, dangerous Quirk.
Adam unconsciously distanced himself from All Might, his body language communicating clear fear and mistrust as he warily eyed the three powerful figures who effectively blocked his only escape route.
(to be continued)
...
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