Seeing his stiff posture, the three men quickly realized what he was thinking.
"Young man, calm down. We don't mean any harm," All Might said, his voice a booming yet gentle rumble. "We just want to ask you some questions, that's all."
All Might raised his hands in a placating gesture, trying to soothe the boy. Adam looked at him warily. He didn't understand a single word of Japanese, but he could read the vibes, and the vibes were currently "interrogation."
Hawks leaned against the window frame, his wings twitching slightly as he watched with a frown. Why was this kid so terrified of the Symbol of Peace?
Could All Might's guess be right? Hawks wondered. Is he really the one behind the Quirk Incident? Is that why he's looking at us like we're about to imprison him? Hawks felt he was closing in on the truth, unaware that Adam was simply terrified of being a "ghost" in the system. To Adam, no legal ID + unauthorized quirk usage = a one-way ticket to a dark cell.
All Might is probably telling me to chill, Adam thought, forcing his breathing to slow.
'I'm overthinking this. If they really saw me as a villain, I'd be in chains, not a hospital bed with a view. Deep breaths, Adam. don't be suspicious, if you screwed it here, just forget Joining UA, Becoming A Hero and returning home!'
Adam nodded and spoke in careful, heavily Japanese accented English, so the communication can be clear.
It's easy, just change L to R, add O at the end of random words, and voila, Japanese accent acquired!
He put on his most helpful, serious face, squinting his eyes so he will look Asian, as if that would somehow assist his vocal cords.
"Herro," he began, his voice dropping into a rhythmic, staccato beat. "My namo… is Adam-sama. I no speak Japanizu. I no undah-stand."
He paused, brow furrowing as he searched for the words.
"Can you speak Engrish, prease?"
"..."
"..."
"..."
Silence.
A sacred, oppressive silence descended upon the room.
All Might, stared at Adam with eyes wide and unblinking, like an old action figure that had been left in the sun too long. His mouth hung open, trying to form words that refused to arrive.
Beside him, Detective Tsukauchi's stood paralyzed.
"…I see," he said gravely. "So this is what cultural whiplash feels like."
Even the morning breeze seemed to stop blowing through the window, as if the atmosphere itself was too embarrassed to move.
Then, the seal broke.
"Pffft—!"
Hawks almost fell from the window, he had been trying to maintain his "cool Pro-Hero" aura, but he simply couldn't resist laughing.
He clapped a hand over his mouth, his wings fluttering violently as if they were trying to fly away from the cringe.
"AH-HAHAHAHA!" Hawks erupted, pointing a gloved finger at Adam. He was laughing so hard he nearly tumbled off the window frame. he said hysterically : "'Herro' 'Japanizu'? 'Prease'?—!"
"PWAHAHAHAHA—!"
He wiped a tear from the corner of his eye.
"S-sorry, sorry— I know I'm not supposed to laugh, but—"
"Man really said that with a straight face!"
All Might finally blinked, his hollow eyes wide with a mix of pity and utter confusion. "Adam-shonen…" he said in clean english, his voice cracking. "I lived in USA for years. My English is… quite good. You don't have to… do that accent."
Tsukauchi rubbed his temples, looking like he'd aged a decade in five seconds. "Young man, please speak normally. That sounded like a very poorly dubbed B-movie from the eighties. It's… it's actually a little offensive. My ears are ringing."
Adam's "Serious MC" mask didn't just crack, it shattered into a million pieces.
A wave of heat rushed from his chest to his ears, turning his face a shade of red that would make a tomato look pale. The realization hit him like a Detroit Smash to the soul.
'Oh no…Oh no…Oh no…'
He felt his soul attempting to leave his body through his throat. He had tried to be "culturally sensitive" and instead, he had accidentally become a walking, talking racist caricature in front of the Number One and Number Three Heroes and a high-ranking detective.
I want to die, Adam thought, his eyes darting around the room for a hole to crawl into. Forget Becoming a hero. Forget the UA. Just let me use Negation on my own existence right now. Delete. Delete! DELETE!
"I-I—" he stammered. "I just… I thought… Japanese people speak Engrish like this?"
Adam unconsciously forgot to remove the accent.
Hawks slapped the wall "NO, NO, STOP." He wheezed. "Please stop before I pass out."
All Might let out a soft, wheezing chuckle, reaching out to pat Adam's shaking shoulder. "It's alright, young man. Your heart was in the right place… even if your phonetics were in a very, very dark place."
"Adam-kun. Please, sit. You must be exhausted after what happened yesterday."
Adam nodded his head stiffly, and walked like a rusted robot with a reddish face and a gloomy depressed aura surrounded him, he sank into the couch.
A small glass table sat between them, reflecting the fluorescent lights. Hawks stayed by the window, wiping his tears, while All Might and Detective Tsukauchi pulled up chairs directly across from him.
When Tsukauchi produced a notebook and a pen, Adam's woke up from his embarrassment, his stomach did a somersault. He wanted to blurt out that he had the right to remain silent until he got a lawyer, but he knew he was a nobody here. In his head, he was already bracing for the "standard procedure" back home.
Ya Latif, he thought, back home, even if you're just a witness, the cops act like they're starring in a Hollywood thriller. One minute you're walking by, the next you're getting 'the treatment'—slaps, cold floors, no food, and 24 hours of 'convincing' you to confess to something your great-grandfather did. These guys look nice, but a notebook is still a dangerous sign, i must carefully weight every word before i say it, or it will be used against me.
Seeing the sweat on Adam's brow, All Might spoke up quickly.
"Young man, first, I must thank you. What you did yesterday was heroic. You saved that boy from a terrible villain. You did good."
Adam felt a flush of shyness and relief, fortunately All Might still held him in high position even after that embarrassing thing he did. Before he could humble-brag that it was nothing and make his Shonen protagonist speech to pay the aura debt, the detective tapped his pen and looked at All Might with a stern edge.
"Toshinori-san! You are encouraging illegal quirk usage. That is not how the Symbol of Peace should conduct himself."
He turned his sharp gaze to Adam, switching to English. "Listen, young man. I appreciate your heart. There were no Pro-Heroes suited for the rescue, and your sacrifice deserves respect. However," his voice grew heavier, "you must not use your power for trivial reasons. This society has only recently regained its order. If everyone acted on impulse, it would be chaos. Do you understand?"
All Might rubbed the back of his neck, looking sheepish. "I'm sorry, Tsukauchi. I didn't mean it like that... but the boy has the spirit of a Hero. I hope one day he can use that power legally to do great things."
Adam's anxiety suddenly crystallized into a cold, sharp focus.
This is it. My chance to redeem my 'Serious MC' moment. He thought of Luffy, always grinning, always eating, always dumb, but when the dream was on the line, his eyes went sharp. Channel the protagonist energy, Adam. Make them believe i'm not an idiot!
He cleared his dry throat, his expression shifting into a mask of solemn determination.
pfffftt
the sudden shift in his expression made Hawks recall the previous scene and unconsciously laugh.
Adam's mouth twitched, All Might and the detective turned back to the playful number 3 hero and scolded him.
"Hawks-san, this isn't time to laugh." All Might said in a serious voice, but his body was shaking and his lips twitching trying hard to prevent the laugh from escaping.
The Detective was the one taking things seriously, after giving hawk a glance to not interrupt the interrogation process again and turned back to Adam.
Adam cleared his dry throat, his expression shifting into his normal face, He doesn't want to be mocked by hawks again or else he won't resist Negating Him.
"do not worry," Adam said, his voice steady. "My goal is to become a hero. I do not wish to break rules or cause danger. But at that moment... I saw the heroes waiting. I saw the green-haired boy run in when no one else would. I could not stay a spectator. My power was the only thing that could help. I am sorry for the law, but if I must choose between a rule and a life... I will choose the life."
All Might and Tsukauchi shared a look. The sincerity in the boy's voice was palpable. It wasn't the talk of a wannabe hero, it was the conviction of a person with genuine righteous kind heart.
"You have a fascinating power," Hawks said, hopping down from the window and strolling closer. "We're all dying of curiosity. What does it actually do?"
All Might leaned in, his piercing blue eyes searching Adam's. "Adam-kun, if you don't mind... could you explain your Quirk? This is why we are here. And please, be at ease, this stays between us."
They think I'm a nuke, Adam realized.
The black aura of Negation looks like something out of a villain's origin story. I need to 'halal-ify' this. Make it sound like a gift, not a curse.
Adam took a deep breath, his face still tingling from the "engrish" disaster. He needed a win. He needed to rebrand. In his head, "Negation" sounded like something a final boss uses to delete the universe. It was too dark, too edgy, too shaitan-adjacent.
I need to give it a name that sounds like a blessing, Adam thought desperately. Something that says 'I am a gift from the heavens' and not 'I am a walking cosmic eraser.' I need to put some baraka on this quirk.
He straightened his back, his expression shifting into something unnervingly solemn. He clasped his hands together and looked toward the hospital window, the morning sunlight catching his eyes to create a perfectly timed, dramatic glimmer.
"Actually," Adam began, his voice dropping into a resonant, sacred tone, his English now perfectly clear and overly formal, the voice of a man with a divine mission.
"My power is a blessing for all humanity. It is not merely a tool for battle, but a sanctuary for the weary. its true name is..."
The Celestial Radiance of Absolute Evil Nullification and the Sacred Cleansing of Worldly Impurities."
He let the words hang in the air, a "savior" half-smile playing on his lips. He felt like a Shonen protagonist in the middle of a two-page spread. Surely, they were moved. Surely, they saw the nur (light) radiating from his very soul.
The room didn't just go quiet, it went subterranean.
All Might, in his skeletal form, stared at Adam with a look of profound, soul-deep pity.
Poor lad, Toshinori thought, a single tear almost forming in his sunken eyes.
He must had suffered a trauma in the past, he's retreated into a fantasy world to cope with the pain. he needs a very, very long hug and a therapist.
Hawks was a different story. His lips were twitching so violently they looked like they were having a seizure. He squeezed his eyes shut, his entire body vibrating as he mustered every ounce of Pro-Hero willpower to keep from howling. His wings were puffed out, feathers rustling in a frantic, stifled rhythm. Radiance of what? Hawks screamed internally. This kid is hilarious!
Detective Tsukauchi, however, didn't laugh or cry. He simply sighed, the sound of a man who had seen too many teenagers watch too much late-night television. He looked down at his notebook, his pen scratching across the paper with clinical precision.
Subject: Adam
Observation: Likely suffering from severe Chunibyo (Eighth-Grade Syndrome). Delusions of grandeur and divine mission.
Quirk (Official): Unnamed quirk that probably allows him to nullify certain things, need further information.
"hmm," Tsukauchi muttered, ignoring the 'Celestial' part entirely. " so Based on his description of 'cleansing impurities' and 'nullification,' it's likely a Conceptual Eraser or a high-level Cancellation-type quirk. It doesn't just destroy, it removes the properties of matter entirely."
"It's a high-level erasing-class ability, like Eraser Head's quirk but Plus ultra version" All Might added, nodding seriously to the Detective.
"Basically, a 'No-U' button for reality," Hawks added, his expression turned serious and heavy.
Adam's "savior" smile faltered. He looked from the Detective to All Might, then to Hawks. No one was using the word 'Celestial.' No one was talking about 'Sacred Cleansing.' They were talking about 'Nullification' and 'Erasers', All means 'Danger.'
"Wait, the 'Sacred Cleansing' part..." Adam whispered, his face turning a fresh shade of red. "Doesn't that sound better?"
"It sounds like a detergent brand, kid." Hawks snickered.
Adam slumped back into the couch, his head in his hands. He looked like he wanted to use his quirk to negate his own existence. The "halal-ification" project was a total disaster. He had tried to be a saint and ended up making a fool of himself again!
"Fine," Adam muttered through his fingers, his voice dripping with disappointment. "Fine. Just call it Negation. It's fine. Everything is fine."
"Negation. Simple. Efficient," Tsukauchi said, finally writing it down in bold letters. "I like it."
I hate it here, Adam thought. I really, really hate it here. This is not My Hero Acadmia, it's my Hell Academia!
"Interesting," Hawks hummed. "So you cancel things?"
"Cancelation is just a manifestation of it's usage, it's Denying the existence of things." Adam explained, leaning forward. "I can negate physical or biological properties as long as I can perceive them. Quirks, I don't fully understand yet, but I can cancel their effects. With the sludge villain, I simply negated the 'cohesion' of his liquid body. He couldn't hold himself together anymore... wait." Adam paused, his eyes widening. "He is... still alive, right? I have never used it on a person before. I did not mean to kill him!"
'just kidding, that 'weld l-hram' (son of a sin, bastard) deserve to be negated from existence for trying to kill a kid' ,he added mentally.
Hawks let out a long, low whistle. "You're a walking Bug in The Matrix, Adam-kun."
All Might and the Detective exchanged a heavy glance. The same thought mirrored in both their minds: We cannot let a power like this fall into the hands of All For One.
"Young man," All Might said, his tone turning fatherly but firm. "It is an incredible gift. Do not worry, the villain survived, But you must be careful. Using this on an ordinary person could have severe consequences."
"Alhamdulillah," Adam muttered under his breath, pretending to sigh in relief.
Then, the atmosphere shifted. The air in the room felt like it dropped five degrees as Detective Tsukauchi slowly began to peel off his gloves. Adam's heart skipped a beat. Here comes the 'Boss Battle' of the conversation.
"Young man, I have some final, vital questions. Please answer them honestly. They concern your future... and perhaps the fate of this country."
Adam felt a bead of sweat roll down his neck.
'yooo Calm down! Why is this escalating so fast?! One minute we were discussing my heroic power, i did everything to show you i mean no harm and i want to be a hero, the next I'm a 'country-level threat'? If you keep pushing me, I'll have a 'villain awakening' just out of spite!
Despite his internal screaming, he managed a polite, innocent smile. "Ask whatever you wish, sir. I will answer what I can."
Tsukauchi reached out his hand. "My Quirk allows me to detect lies through physical contact. Please, hold my hand. This is a formal investigation." He held up a document Adam couldn't read.
really nika? it can be a bill or somethin', how am i supposed to read Japanese?! , Adam thought bitterly. But fine. Let's play.
He placed his palm against the detective's. The contact felt cold.
"First question: Your full name, age, and place of birth."
"Adam Al Hantakour. Fifteen. From Morocco."
Tsukauchi's brow furrowed, not with suspicion, but with genuine confusion. "Morocco? All Might, does that ring a bell?"
"I... I can't say it does," All Might admitted, his voice tinged with uncertainty.
"A small island nation, maybe?" Hawks chimed in, leaning back with a shrug.
Adam felt a familiar spark of irritation. Of course they don't know it, he thought. In this world, if it isn't Japan or the States, it might as well be on the moon. Typical Japanese anime stuff.
"Morocco is in North Africa," Adam clarified, his tone flat. "Just across the water from Spain. As for how I got here... I don't know. I just woke up on a beach surrounded by mountains of trash."
"Africa?" Hawks blinked, his golden eyes scanning Adam's features. "Then why aren't you... well, black?"
Adam didn't even bother with a verbal response. He just leveled Hawks with a look so deadpan it would have made Shota Aizawa proud.
"North Africa..." Tsukauchi muttered, his thumb flying across his phone screen. He turned the device around, displaying a digital map to the others.
"Whoa! That's over eleven thousand kilometers!" Hawks barked a laugh of pure disbelief. "How do you even cross that kind of distance? Teleportation? Kidnapped? Or..." He trailed off, his playful grin faltering as he considered the darker possibilities.
"Your parents must be worried sick," All Might added softly, his blue eyes filled with paternal concern.
Adam's gaze dropped to the glass table. For a split second, his stoic "Protagonist" mask slipped, revealing a hollow, genuine ache.
"I have no relatives in this world," he said quietly.
The room fell into an uncomfortable silence. The three heroes exchanged looks, their expressions softening. To them, the subtext was clear: a tragic orphan from a struggling nation who had risked everything to cross the globe for a fresh start.
"I am sorry, Adam-kun," All Might said, his voice thick with sincerity. "I did not mean to reopen such a painful wound."
Adam waved it off, letting the silence hang. He couldn't exactly explain the "multiverse" thing without sounding insane, so he let them settle on their own version of the truth. "It's... fine.
"You said you found yourself at a coast near junk?" Tsukauchi asked, his eyes narrowing.
"Takoba Municipal Beach Park?"
"Yes. i don't know it's name but it's mostly likely the one."
Tsukauchi didn't linger on the "how." He needed to hit the "what." He looked Adam dead in the eye, his grip on Adam's hand tightening slightly.
"According to our investigation, the first manifestation of a strange phenomenon happened right there, at Takoba Beach. Satellite data showed buildings... disappearing and reappearing. Like what happened to the mutation-type quirks holders being blinked out of existence."
"Too much of a coincidence," Hawks muttered.
What are they talking about? Adam's pulse quickened. What phenomenon?
"Young man..." Tsukauchi's voice was like lead. "Are you the one behind the 'Quirk Disappearance Incident'?"
Adam felt like the floor had dropped out from under him. "I... I don't know what you are talking about."
Tsukauchi stared at him. "Truth. He isn't lying. How strange..."
"Maybe it was unconscious?" All Might whispered.
"Sirs, please," Adam interrupted, his voice rising in a mix of confusion and genuine fear. "Don't 'throw the pot' on me! My power requires touch. I can't Negate something i didn't touch! I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time."
"Regardless," Tsukauchi said, putting his gloves back on. "You are our primary suspect. And because of that, you will be placed under strict supervision. For your safety... and the world's."
Adam started to panic. Supervision? That was just a pretty word for "prison" If he was locked up, he couldn't level up. If he couldn't level up, he'd never find a way home.
"Wait! Am I going to prison? just because i saved someone, I was helping!" Adam started getting anxious and irritated as he felt being treated unjustly.
"It's not like that," All Might intervened, his hand resting on Adam's shoulder. "The illegal quirk usage has been cleared, I've taken responsibility for it as your 'acting supervisor' for that moment. You won't be charged for the Sludge Villain incident."
Adam exhaled a breath he didn't know he was holding. Okay. All Might is a real one. He's not going to let them 'Guantanamo' me.
"But," All Might continued, "we are keeping the 'Disappearance' incident a secret from the government and the Commission for now. To protect you."
'hold on...if they aren't sent by the government because they think my quirk is dangerous then...'
Adam blinked. "Protect me? From who? I'm just a homeless kid with no ID, it hadn't even been few hours since i stepped into this 'Beautiful' country. i didn't offend anyone, except that villain. and why you keep repeating 'for the safety of the country' thing? I honestly believe i pose no danger to anyone, even though my quirk look dangerous, but i can control it as i wish...so what's going on?"
Hawks let out a sharp, joyless chuckle. "Kid, you're being targeted by people much worse than that thief. They've been sniffing around for the source of that 'incident' since the moment it happened."
"What? Who? when?" Adam's eyes pooped up from their sockets, this was unexpected.