Chapter Text
“That’s mean, Kacchan… Can’t you see he’s crying? If you keep hurting him, then I-I-I’ll stop you myself!” 4-year-old Midoriya Izuku exclaimed as tears swelled in his eyes.
With both feet firmly planted on the ground and trembling fists raised in the air, he was prepared to defend his classmate. In all honesty, Izuku didn’t know how it got this bad. It was supposed to just be a fun day at the playground. One moment they were all happily playing Heroes VS Villains, but then the next, everyone was ganging up on Teruichi. Sure him and Izuku were playing the villains, but that wasn’t an excuse to go as far as to make someone cry. Izuku briefly wondered if it was because the other three considered Teruichi to be weak like him. While his classmate wasn’t Quirkless, to others he might as well have been. Teruichi’s Quirk simply allowed him to glow in the dark. Izuku didn’t really get it, though… After all something like that would be really useful in situations where it’s really dark and no one has a source of light! He just wished Kacchan, Yuji, and Tsubasa could see that. However, they didn’t take that or his declaration seriously for a single second. Instead, they activated their Quirks.
“Even though you’re Quirkless…” Kacchan pounded his fist against his palm, setting off an explosion. “…You’re still pretending to be a hero, Deku?”
The three rushed him, and it didn’t take long for Izuku to lose. With the current circumstances he never stood a chance.
All men are not created equal. This was the truth Izuku learned about the world when he was still only in kindergarten. Back then, he had told himself that this was his first and last setback.
That was also the first lie Izuku ever told himself, and it would be far from the last.
⨷ ⨷ ⨷
Anything Goes! (TV-SIZE) by Ohguro Maki (with Rah-D)
Rider Analysis for the Future
My Hero Academia × Kamen Rider: World of Heroes AU
Episode 6: "The Masked Villain, a Hunt, and an Undead Desire"
⨷ ⨷ ⨷
Hino Eiji only managed to walk about half the journey to the helicopter before falling to his knees.
One of the men escorting him kneeled down to his level and said, “Eiji. You’ll be back in Japan soon. Let’s go.”
He didn’t care about that. Ruu should have been the one to see tomorrow, not Eiji. She had been right there! If only his entire body hadn’t felt like it was made of lead. He would have been able to move faster and get her to safety. But that didn’t happen. Instead, all Eiji was able to do was be the last person who saw Ruu alive. If he could trade places with her, he would do it in a heartbeat.
The man who had spoken grabbed onto his arm and pulled him up off the ground. Gathering what remained of his strength, Eiji broke free and started to run as fast as his feet would allow. He ignored all the shouts for him to come back. Eiji never planned to come back.
But his escape was soon stopped by a gaping ravine up ahead and Eiji skidded to a stop. Looking behind, the medical center seemed to be nowhere in sight. In fact, there wasn’t anything in sight aside from untouched wilderness. Good. At least he could relax a little now and Eiji peered over the ledge out of curiosity.
His breath hitched as instead of seeing dirt, trees, and rocks past the toe box of his brown boots, there was a paved road down below. Not a paved road you would find in rural areas or in the middle of nowhere. It was a paved road for a city with cars and people walking on the sidewalk that ran along it.
As Eiji continued to scan the scene, instead of once again seeing rock walls, he found them replaced with walls of windows. …Skyscrapers, those were skyscrapers among other buildings that made up this city. Wait, don’t tell him this is Tokyo. That’s the one place in Japan he swore to never go back to.
That’s when Eiji realized that he himself was no longer standing on dirt, but concrete. However, the thing that startled him most was that his brown boots had been replaced with bright red sneakers. The very same ones Deku had on yesterday.
Wait, yesterday?
Eiji stumbled back from the ledge and fell to the ground as he tripped over his own feet, hitting his head.
Eiji turned on his back and opened his eyes to see not the sky, but the wooden ceiling of the Cous Coussier. That had all been a dream? But then how was the pain he felt real? Sitting up, he rubbed the back of his head and looked around his bed. There, right next to him, was one of his shoes. A shoe which should be by the other one near the door. Eiji immediately looked up at where he knew Ankh would be, eating an ice pop up in his ‘nest’ as usual. He looked back at Eiji with a piercing look.
“Someone was being quite noisy.”
He felt his cheeks heat up. “Sorry. I had a nightmare.”
“As if I care,” Ankh replied, causing Eiji to sigh.
After getting dressed, he headed downstairs to see what work Chiyoko had for him for the day while Ankh remained in their room to do… well, whatever it was Ankh actually did up there when left by himself.
Last night, Midoriya Izuku had returned to that abandoned factory. Thankfully, it seemed to have remained untouched since the last time he was there, and that unfortunately was a great source of comfort to him. Then when morning came he set out with a mission: decide what to do about the Masked Villain once and for all. Izuku couldn’t afford to wait around anymore. With the information he managed to put together, there were three options laid before him and the first two were already off the table.
Option 1: Hino Eiji. A.K.A. OOO. That was the easiest one to take. From their interactions yesterday, Eiji seemed to be a good-natured hero. He immediately helped Izuku when told about the situation with Tadano. Except that didn’t mean Izuku was going to be believed and taken seriously if he brought up being isekai’d or the Masked Villain who accidentally brought him here. It was also important to remember that Eiji would have ended up helping either way as Tadano was in fact the host of the Yummy. Speaking of the Yummies, it wouldn’t be right for Izuku to distract Eiji from his mission either. The last time he distracted a hero, who in this case was All Might, a villain had managed to escape and cause more problems than they had originally. Despite only getting a glimpse of it, to Izuku, it was clear that this was something OOO couldn’t afford to fail. Something Izuku shouldn’t get in the way of.
Option 2: Kamen Rider in Fuuto. According to Moogle Maps, that city was only one train away from Yumemi Town. So if Izuku could scrounge around for money, taking a train wasn’t impossible. At worst, he would have to either walk or hitch hike. However, going to this other person for help presented the same main issue as OOO, but with Dopants instead of Yummies. Plus, there was the added disadvantage of straight up having to navigate a whole new place and not even knowing where to find Kamen Rider if Izuku did go. Then, there was also the whole ‘coming off as a crazy person’ thing to worry about once again. At least Eiji knew Izuku somewhat to better his chances on that end.
Option 3: Force the Masked Villain to take him home himself. For obvious reasons, this would be incredibly difficult. They apparently had a dimension hopping Quirk and Izuku… Izuku was just Deku. Still though, it was the most appealing option to him because of the major deterrents with the first two. And while it was definitely irrational now, Izuku still couldn’t shake the feeling that OOO and the Masked Villain were related somehow. Sadly, that extended to Kamen Rider as well despite the name relation entirely being a fault on his part. ‘Masked Villain’ was definitely not the name they did their villainy by. Was he just making excuses, because he’s too afraid to ask for help? Izuku could probably figure out something by himself to avoid going to either of the two heroes. Maybe he can find a weapon or set up an elaborate trap? If Izuku were to do the latter, he’d need bait.
So the first step would be going to the place he had entered this world and see if any security cameras were around. If there were, then Izuku would pray that the feed from that day hadn’t been deleted yet and that it offered insight on where the Masked Villain went or even their true identity. That way, even if Izuku failed to find a way to bring them in, he would have undeniable proof that they existed to show OOO or Kamen Rider, just in case he had to go to them after all. The single location he had gotten from the month of research was the place likely to be where he first appeared. Izuku had been lucky enough to deduce it a few days prior to the bombing incidents. It was the only good thing he got aside from the name, ‘Kamen Rider.’
The map he had printed out fixed one of the major problems Izuku had. That being his phone turning into a glorified brick. Even by getting around the ‘cell provider not existing’ by connecting to free Wi-Fi, there was still the issue of every application on his phone not working because the servers to support them doesn’t exist either. He hasn’t even found a compatible charger yet, forcing him to keep it shut down to try to preserve what little battery he had left. Izuku knew he should have brought his power brick with him that morning, but nope! That’s why having access to this world’s technology was important. Something Izuku can’t currently have when walking out and about. Fortunately, he had the foresight to prepare for it when he had the chance. Now it’s only a matter of walking there.
Yes, this was a solid plan! No, no it wasn’t! So off he went.
Turns out the work for the day started with handing out flyers. Shortly after heading down to the dining room, Chiyoko handed him and Hina each a stack and asked that they hand them out to advertise the new theme the Cous Coussier had for the rest of the week. Following the end of Halloween, the theme chosen this time around was based on California. Its popular beaches and, most famously, Hollywood.
Now, doing this task wasn’t difficult at all. But as time went on and the stack of flyers got thinner and thinner, Hino Eiji became increasingly distracted and lost in thought. His mind constantly winding back to Deku. Eiji wanted to find him and make sure he was okay. Confirm that what his mind was imagining was completely unfounded. How though? Deku had said he was staying at Tadano’s; however, it was stupid to think he would still be there after everything that happened. What was that name mentioned before? Misumi… Itsuo? Deku said that if that person asked, Tadano was his brother. So it may be safe to say that those two aren’t exactly on good terms if Deku had to lie at some point. Still it was the only lead he had…
“Eiji, are you sure you’re okay?” asked Hina, startling Eiji a bit.
He didn’t blame her for being so concerned. After everything he told her, the fact that he has continued to act distant despite the situation being over wasn’t a good sign from any perspective. However, his behavior wasn’t caused by that anymore.
“Hina, do you know any middle schools around here that use the classic black gakuran as their uniform?”
“A few.” She cocked her head. “Why?”
“I’m just concerned about Deku,” Eiji admitted.
“That boy from yesterday?”
He nodded. “There was this man yesterday, who I originally thought the Yummy came from. He said something concerning. That it’s easy to tell that Deku soon will reach the conclusion of his life. At first, I thought he was talking about Deku dying during one of the bomb experiments, but after thinking on it more, I’m no longer sure that’s the case. I’m afraid that…”
Eiji didn’t want to say it, and thankfully, he didn’t have to.
“…You’re afraid Deku’s going to hurt himself?”
“Maybe. I could be projecting, but…”
“Eiji…”
“That’s why I want to talk to him at least one more time. But I don’t know where I could possibly find him,” he said. Eiji had considered using the Taka Candroids to locate Deku, but he knew Ankh would give him an earful about ‘wasting Cell Medals’ if he found out. Eiji was already relegated to once again rely on Ankh for Core Medals to transform into OOO; he doesn’t want that to become the case for Cell Medals as well. But if it came down to it… He had bought one on the way here, just in case. “The only thing I have is possibly finding his middle school or seeing if Officer Misumi knows where he is.”
“Then let’s go to the police station now,” said Hina firmly.
“But with what Deku said, it sounded like–”
“No ‘but!’” she exclaimed. “That’s the best chance we have.”
“Now?” Eiji looked down at the flyers still in their hands.
“Yes, don’t worry about the flyers either. I’m sure Chiyoko will understand.”
“You’re right,” he said. All the times before they had to ditch work unexpectedly, Chiyoko was always understanding that sometimes things just happen. And there’s no way she wouldn’t mind them choosing Deku as priority over handing out flyers. Unlike some people Eiji knows. “Let’s go.”
With that, the two made their way to the police station.
The walk through Yumemi Town to his destination was uneventful so far. With the hat Midoriya Izuku had accidentally got from that blond man, he was able to hide a lot of his green hair. It was great not getting as many side-eyes as he used to. Though, if he does encounter that man again, Izuku will definitely take the chance to return the hat. Even if he was a jerk. But for now, Izuku would just enjoy the walk before the inevitable stress of searching the location for clues.
It took only a few more minutes for that plan to be immediately thrown out the window.
Izuku had finished walking up the stairs of a pedestrian overpass. If he had been following the map correctly, he should be getting close. Looking up ahead, Izuku saw no one around except… His eyes felt as if they nearly bulged out of his skull. It wasn’t his imagination, right?
The Masked Villain.
Izuku would recognize that suit anywhere. That bright color with the black and white. Those green lenses that caused the irrational connection to OOO. All that looking. All that planning. All that aching from the prospect of never seeing them again, leaving his mom to wonder what happened to him… And the Masked Villain was just there. Standing on the other side of the pedestrian overpass.
“You’re…” As weird as it was, for a moment Izuku wanted to say, ‘you’re real.’ However, Izuku quickly shut his mouth. He needed to think. What’s the plan? Talk? Surprise attack? There was nothing on him that he could use to fight, unless he threw his backpack again, but that was a dumb idea. Guess talking might be the way after–“Hey, wait a minute!” The Masked Villain had begun to walk down the stairs. Despite staring at Izuku this entire time, they had done nothing else that acknowledged his presence. No attack and no monologue. “Wait a moment!” Heart racing, Izuku ran across to see that they had already made it to the bottom, now standing a few feet away from the staircase. The fact that they stopped instead of continuing to walk away meant that they probably were here for Izuku, but whether that’s a good or bad thing depended on just what type of villain they were exactly. Guess he was about to find out. “Please! Please take–” Izuku wasn’t able to finish his sentence. The Masked Villain had started to walk away again and went down one of the many alleyways of Yumemi. An eerie reflection of the previous events that had sent him to this world.
It continued to go on like this for who knows how long. The Masked Villain would sometimes disappear and immediately reappear someplace else where Izuku could see. He would eventually make it to the new location, only for the chase to start all over again. Izuku had quickly given up on trying to talk. He was now fully prepared to simply tackle the villain as he had little choice even if it was dumb.
He needed to go home. He wanted his mom.
Izuku felt bile coming up his throat again as he pushed himself to the absolute limit. Then he ran out of the maze of narrow passages, out into the open where he saw them go and… nothing.
The Masked Villain was just gone again.
He spun around trying to catch any sight of that bright suit. “No! No! Please!”
Not there. Not there. Not there. Not there! Not–A piece of paper with red text was taped to a nearby pole.
Izuku didn’t understand why, but it felt as if there was a magnetic pulse drawing him to it. Stuffing the map into one of his pants pockets and keeping an ear out for the Masked Villain, he slowly made his way over to take a closer look. Soon, the red text became crystal clear and Izuku forgot how to breathe. Trembling hands ripped it off the pole.
{ MISSING! PLEASE HELP US LOOK!
Full Name: Midoriya Izuku (緑谷 出久)
Born: 2221/7/15 (14-years-old)
Height: 166cm
Hair Color: Green
Eye Color: Green
Quirk: None
Last Seen: 2236/4/6 }
Tears fell, wetting the paper as Izuku read the details the maker of this poster had provided about his disappearance. How he had made a phone call to the police about a woman being attacked, how he seemingly ran after the villain responsible, then finally how he was never seen or heard from again afterward. Below this was information on who to contact if someone had any leads on where Izuku could be currently. Then, finally, a letter from his mom.
{ Dear Izuku,
If you’re reading this, please come home safe! If you ran away of your own volition then I’m sorry you didn’t feel safe at home. I’m sorry that I wasn’t able to be the mother you needed. Even so, please come home. I promise I’ll do better; I’ll be better. But if you didn’t disappear on your own accord, then I promise I’ll never stop searching for you. I’ll never give up until your back home again. I’ve been making katsudon for dinner every night so you can eat your favorite dish as soon as you walk through the door. I’ve also made sure your collection has remained taken care of, so you don’t have to worry about anything besides getting home. Please, stay safe.
P.S. To this ‘Masked Villain,’ if you are indeed responsible, I promise that I won’t press any charges if you return Izuku home safe and sound. I just want my son back.
Sincerely, Mom }
Izuku barely felt the pain blossoming on his knees as he dropped to the floor.
“Please! I promise I won’t tell anyone about what you did!” What a disgusting thing for him to proclaim. Izuku still had no idea what exactly the villain had done to that woman, only that she was still alive. Though surely the heroes would be able to swiftly stop them even without his cooperation! Right? “Just please take me home! I want my mom! I want to go back to my mom! Please, she’s worried about me!” He could only imagine what was left unsaid in that letter. After what happened to his dad, it was just him and her in that apartment. If she were to lose him as well… Hot tears were streaming down his cheeks, puffing up the flesh. “My mom needs me! Please!”
Izuku doesn’t know how long he sat there on his knees crying like an idiot, but he didn’t care anymore. He had spent weeks trying to suppress these feelings, to remain calm and focus on the task at hand, but yesterday’s events broke the dam and let everything come gushing out all at once. The Masked Villain appearing today simply made sure it would never be rebuilt. So Izuku continued to cry until he couldn’t anymore. Leaving him with a flushed face, a snotty nose, and a hoarse throat.
Step. Step. Step.
Someone was behind him.
Heart rate picking up, Izuku turned his head to look. Through his blurred vision, he barely made out the silhouette of man wearing a bright green jacket. He couldn’t be the Masked Villain, right? Would this villain give away their identity so easily? After everything, he highly doubted it. Izuku was being a sobbing mess in the middle of a public area. It’s not impossible to think someone would be concerned.
After wiping his eyes, he repeated a motion he had done hundreds of times at this point, Izuku took off his backpack and pulled out the notebook. He flipped to a page that had a full illustration of the Masked Villain and held it up for the man behind him to see.
“Have you…” A sob. “Have you seen this person around here? I just saw them a few minutes ago, but I lost track of them. Maybe you’ve seen a glimpse or something? If not, that’s fine. It’s just I… I thought I’d ask just in case.”
“No,” he heard the man say.
Izuku sighed. “Okay. Thanks anyway.”
The man spoke again as Izuku put the notebook back in his backpack. “Is that person important to you?”
“Yes. I’ve been searching for them for over a month now. They’re my only chance of returning home. I finally saw them again today, but now… Now I’m back where I started. They know I’m here, so what is their endgame?” As Izuku began to ponder what the Masked Villain could be playing at, he felt a strange sensation begin to permeate on the back of his head which soon spread to his whole backside. “What the–” Gone. It was now gone. The strange sensation left as quickly as it came. Touching around his backside, Izuku felt nothing there. “Okay, that was weird.” He zipped up his backpack.
By the time Izuku got up off the ground, the man in the bright green jacket had disappeared. He hadn’t even heard him leave, despite being able to hear him earlier. Was people disappearing in the blink of an eye normal or something? Had Izuku just never noticed? He knew some Quirks make it possible but come on!
Maybe he should just bite the bullet and ask Eiji for help. Finally seeing the Masked Villain again erased every desperate idea centered around doing it himself. The worst thing that could happen was a ‘no’ or a complete belief that he was out of his mind. It’s not like Eiji would be the first. Let’s just get the inevitable ‘no’ over with. Izuku could stop being dumb and take solace in the fact that he at least tried. Then maybe go to Fuuto and scratch Kamen Rider off the list too.
No matter what though, he needed to find a way home to his mom. He needed to find a way home. Needed to.
He took the map out of his pocket and uncrumpled it. Looking back and forth between the map and his surroundings, Izuku tried to compare the two to figure out where he was and how he could continue onward to the destination he originally set out for. Izuku still wanted to secure proof before he tried to locate that restaurant and talked to Eiji. But his heart began to beat heavily against his chest when he finally managed to figure out where he was. His memory of ‘Area Zero’ was a bit foggy, but as he observed the buildings around him, Izuku knew that this was the right place.
Had the Masked Villain led him here on purpose? A purpose other than to torment Izuku with his own missing person poster? There was a lot to consider.
Eventually, his eyes landed on a convenience store called, ‘Convenience 8,’ and right outside its doors was a… security camera! With any luck, the footage from that day could still be there and may have recorded the Masked Villain! This was the break he needed!
Stuffing the map back into his pocket, he began to run.
Where? Where?
The Shiro Yummy wandered the streets trying to find OOO. The Masked Villain was here, and the host desperately wanted Eiji’s help with this. With the quick search through its host’s memories, the likely place to go was that restaurant. Unfortunately, it had no idea where that was. The name and location had not been paid attention to. It had to rely on other options. This OOO was acting like a Pro-Hero to Yumemi Town… Based on everything it knew, the best course of action would be to create chaos so OOO would come to it. Where though, that was the question.
Thinking on it further, usually if a Pro-Hero failed to show up to a villain attack for one reason or another, the police would send out a call to the hero network. Even though something like that probably didn’t exist here, attacking a police station would no doubt draw a lot of attention.
Then soon OOO would come running.
“I’m going to save the world,” a young Goto Shintaro stated while looking intensely at the television screen. He heard his mother, who was in the kitchen located directly behind the living room, stop washing the dishes.
“Save the world?”
“That’s right.” Currently the only thing the news seemed to talk about was the deaths happening around the Tokyo area and beyond as well as the Unidentified Lifeforms who were apparently responsible. All of this felt like something out of the Henshin Hero manga he likes to read. Kaijin come out of the woodworks to take over the world but are soon thwarted by a hero. If that was what was happening here, then Goto would step up to the plate.
He turned around and told his mother as such, but his words only caused a light laugh. It carried the tone of ‘that’s nice, dear.’ As if Goto was just a child with an overactive imagination. Well, while he may be a child, this was no overactive imagination. Goto was serious about this. She must have realized it too as he hadn’t said anything and simply continued to stare at her.
Sighing, his mother finished drying off a plate and said to him, “Shintaro, if you’re worried about what’s going on, don’t be. It’s the police’s job to take care of that sort of thing.”
“The police’s job?”
“That’s right.”
“…If I become a police officer, can I save the world?” Goto asked carefully.
“As many times as you want.”
Looking back it now, over ten years later, his mother was clearly trying to get him to drop the subject by humoring him a little. It worked though. After that, Goto had focused on the goal of becoming a police officer, even after the situation with the Unidentified Lifeforms had long passed. However, soon after getting the job, Goto decided to quit. Kougami had come into his life and offered him a real chance to the save the world.
But now that OOO had…
“Oh, and about ‘saving the world’… I don’t know exactly what’s going on, but whatever it is and from what I’ve seen, I know you can do it!”
Goto didn’t know why the words from the teenager kept echoing in his head every now and again. Maybe it was because there were very few people who told him things like that…
Someone darted across the road and forced Goto to immediately push down on the brakes of the Ridevendor. Thankfully, he hadn’t hit them.
With his heart racing against his chest, Goto looked to see that the someone was actually that very teenager from a month ago. Of all the timing! Goto watched as the teenager entered a convenience store with a certain pep in his step. Why was he seemingly excited enough to pay no attention to his surroundings? It almost felt like a sharp contrast to the awareness he showed when Goto met him during that Yummy encounter.
For a moment, Goto swore he saw something pink moving from the corner of his eye, but when he turned his head to take a closer look, it was gone. Was that just his adrenaline-fueled imagination? Goto nodded his head. Yes, he was just startled, that’s all and he needed to focus on what he had set out to do.
The convenience store the teenager went in was a Convenience 8, and Goto was currently out on lunch. Since he was already here, it wouldn’t hurt to grab something to eat from this place. He knew they had some decent food.
After parking the Ridevendor on the side of the road, Goto went in as well.
While all that was happening, in a different part of Yumemi Town that wasn’t actually too far away, Hino Eiji and Hina arrived at the police station. On the way there Hina had revealed she actually knew Misumi Itsuo. Since her brother worked there, she had come to this place quite a few times. Mainly when Shingo accidentally left his lunch at home or he had to work late and Hina decided to bring him something for dinner. She had come to known quite a few faces there and Misumi was just one of them. So, upon entering the through the main entrance, Hina immediately walked up to the front desk and asked the person there a simple question.
“Do you know where Officer Misumi Itsuo is? We need to talk to him.”
Without much fanfare, the person turned to face the direction of a guy with short black hair. “Misumi! These two need to talk to you!”
‘Misumi,’ who was currently conversing with another coworker, looked over and his face morphed into an expression of confusion when his eyes landed on Eiji and Hina. The person who called out to him had already returned to what they were doing before. Misumi turned back to his coworker and bid them goodbye before walking over to the two.
In what felt like no time at all, Eiji was face to face with the officer Deku had talked about.
“Is there something I can help you with?” he asked.
“Um…” Here goes nothing. Eiji answered, “I was wondering if you knew where we could find someone named Deku. We saw him yesterday and he didn’t look like he was doing well. I’m worried something might happen to him.”
Misumi’s eyebrows creased. “I’m sorry, but who is ‘Deku?’”
“Eh?” Did Deku never tell Misumi his name? Or perhaps Deku had actually… “He’s a 14-year-old boy with green eyes and hair.”
“Oh! Him!” Misumi’s eyes lit up with recognition. “Sorry, but I’ve only met him two times out in public. I wouldn’t be able to help you find him even if I wanted to.”
“I see,” Eiji responded. “Then… could you at least tell us where it was you met him?”
“Depends. What’s your relationship with Deku? Family? Friends?”
“Neither. Hina and I had each ran into him once before but only got formerly introduced during our second meeting yesterday.”
“Then I’m sorry, I cannot help you any further,” Misumi said. “I have no idea if what you said is true, therefore I cannot know your true intentions.”
“But–!”
“Of course, I’ll still keep an eye out for him the next time I do patrol.”
“Misumi,” interjected an exasperated sounding Hina. “You know my brother and you’ve met me a few times before. Surely that’s enough to clear some doubt.”
“Yes, I know your brother. However, while he is an excellent detective, that doesn’t mean I know you,” Misumi responded. “If he were here to vouch for your character then I would reconsider. But as of present, he is still on his ‘surprise’ cruise around the world, correct?”
Hina looked down and nodded her head. “Correct.”
“I’ll take my leave now.”
Eiji and Hina proceeded to exit the police station with heavy hearts. The one good lead was a dead end. After finding a place to sit nearby, Eiji slumped forward with his gaze fixed at the ground.
“Eiji, I’m so sorry. I–”
“I just have no choice,” he said. Eiji reached into his pocket to bring out the Taka Candroid when a scream stopped him in his tracks.
“What is that!?” someone yelled.
The two turned their attention toward the direction of the commotion to see a… Shiro Yummy!?
“Hina, head back to the Cous Coussier!” Eiji said.
“But!”
“Please!” he exclaimed, turning to her.
Maybe it was the look in his eyes, because when Hina looked back at him, something in her expression shifted. What initially sounded like her being desperate to stay to support him devolved into a tone of melancholy. “…I understand.”
With that she was off, leaving him to take care of the Yummy.
When Eiji turned back, the Shiro Yummy was walking toward the doors of the police station. He ran up to it as fast as he could and grabbed onto its shoulder. “No! Stop!”
In one swift movement, the Shiro Yummy took hold of his arm and flipped him over its shoulder. Eiji yelled out in pain as his back hit the hard ground. He had been caught completely off guard. However, this dreadful feeling of surprise was only made worse with the words the Shiro Yummy said once it let go of his arm.
“OOO, you’ll… help return home.” A wave of satisfaction appeared to take over it. Eiji could only watch as it’s form morphed into completion. Everything that had originally made it appear like a standard mummy was replaced with dragonfly-like features. Its body was now an iridescent green color with black accents. The Yummy’s face sported goggle eyes, and a pair of wings had grown on its back.
Why had it matured just now? Eiji thought it was trying to… And what it had said…
“Home?” Eiji questioned, using his arms to prop himself up. “What do you mean?”
“Capture the Masked Villain… Return home!” It then lunged down and picked Eiji up by the throat before he could even react. “Now, henshin!” The Tonbo Yummy threw him a few feet away and Eiji landed roughly on the ground once again. “Or are you allied with the Masked Villain after all?”
Recovering from the fall, Eiji stood up with shaky feet. “I don’t know what you’re talking about! …What’s going on with this Yummy? And where’s Ankh when you need him!?
Well, speak of the devil and he shall appear.
Ankh soon drove onto the scene on a Ridevendor, and he must have saw a little of what had happened because he did not sound amused. “Eiji, what are you doing?” he yelled out, bringing the Ridevendor to a stop.
“Ankh! Hurry up and give me the Medals! The Yummy is saying some strange things!” Eiji responded with his hand stretched out.
Then, as if wanting to prove his point, it shouted, “Mom, waiting. Henshin. Capture the Masked Villain. Then finally return home!”
“Looks like Uva’s back at it again,” Ankh said as he took off his helmet, paying the ramblings no mind. In an instant, he summoned three Core Medals from his hand. “Eiji!”
At his name being called out, Eiji looked to see the Medals being thrown at him and he managed to catch them effortlessly like usual. Then with his other hand, Eiji reached into another pocket and brought out the OOO Driver. After it secured itself around his waist, he inserted the Core Medals and used the scanner to activate them.
“Taka! Tora! Batta! Ta-To-Ba, TaToBa, Ta-To-Ba~!”
Finally transformed into OOO, the Tonbo Yummy appeared to be delighted as it said, “Now, all that’s left is the Masked Villain…”
Midoriya Izuku was bouncing on his heels as he waited for the cashier to return. He could hear them doing something in the back until finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the employee walked back to their place behind the counter. He opened his mouth to ask the only question on his mind when he stopped. The cashier was staring at him in the eyes. His whole body froze. Can he really just go up and ask about something as sensitive as security camera footage? No. It was irrational to think the answer would ever be a ‘yes.’ He should walk out and–No! Izuku had waited long enough. He needed to get home to his mom.
“Excuse me, sorry to bother you, but can I take a look at your store’s security camera footage? There was an… um… incident that occurred in this area a month ago and I believe your cameras may have filmed some crucial evidence.”
The cashier continued to stare. “Did you file a police report?”
“No, but–”
“Then I can’t help you.”
“Please…” Izuku’s eyes went to the cashier’s name tag and what was on it caused him to pause again. The family name written in hiragana was unmistakable. “…Midoriya. What’s on those tapes could make or break my future! Please!”
“Listen kid–” “ –I’m 14.” “–and I’m 20, so you are a kid. Point is that I can’t just give you access because you asked for it. I’m going through a lot of crap already. I’m not about to add ‘getting fired from my job’ to the list. Beat it, kid.”
No. No. No.
“I’m sorry, but I can’t do that. I need that footage.”
“Either buy something or leave.”
“No!”
No!
“Security camera footage…” The Tanbo Yummy looked in the direction where it felt its host was. So far, it had successfully managed to lead OOO all this way. If the Masked Villain had shown up to mess with its host before, then it’s only likely a matter of time before they show up again. However, the Tanbo Yummy would make sure OOO was there next time.
Originally, it had tried to talk to OOO, but nothing the Tanbo Yummy said would get him to listen. Most likely OOO was trying to end this as soon as possible, because something else was hogging his attention. No matter. As long as it was here, that wouldn’t be a problem.
But all of that got tossed out the window as a new priority took hold. So, without a second thought, it flew up into the sky and headed toward the Convenience 8.
“Hey! Wait!” Hino Eiji watched in dismay as the Tanbo Yummy jetted off. It was only by a stroke of luck that there was a Ridevendor nearby.
Hurriedly, he jogged over to it and inserted a Cell Medal to transform it into a motorcycle. Then taking out the Taka Candroid he already had on hand, he instructed it to follow after the Yummy.
Goto Shintaro truly just wanted to get a nice simple lunch. Pick up one of the pre-made lunches, pay for it and then get out. Seeing the teenager from a month ago about to fight a cashier was the last thing Goto expected to see. But here he was, doing exactly that. Honestly, Goto didn’t know whether it would be best to intervene or hang back. After all, the teenager hadn’t actually done anything yet and–Never mind. The teenager had started to try and climb over the counter.
Goto quickly ran over and wrapped his arms around the teenager’s waist to pry him away. Words were exchanged, but it was all so loud and chaotic that he could barely understand what was being said. After an ongoing back and forth struggle, Goto eventually managed to get the teenager out of the store. Hopefully the cashier wouldn’t contact the police. Once they were outside he forced the teenager to sit down on a bench that was located nearby.
“You… What were you doing?” Goto asked him. Even though they had only met once, everything about this felt totally out of character.
The teenager looked around with a glazed look in his eyes that seem to fade bit by bit until eventually he looked down at his hands and muttered, “I don’t know.”
Goto sighed and sat down next to him.
What was he doing? Goto didn’t know how to handle this type of stuff. He already had trouble connecting with people his age, trying to do so with someone who looked to be around 10 years his junior seemed impossible. Thankfully, an ‘in’ presented itself as the teenager pulled out a notebook from his backpack. Though Goto was initially taken aback by its deplorable state. Scorch marks were present in various places, as if someone had set the notebook on fire. Goto highly doubted the teenager would do it himself. Then there was what was written on the front cover. Hero Analysis for the Future. As the pages were flipped through, Goto managed to catch glimpses of sketches and various notes about what he could only assume to be superheroes based on the title.
So without hesitation, Goto asked him, “Do you like heroes?”
The teenager paused. “…Yes. More than anything in the world.”
“Why?”
“Well, ever since I was a kid, I thought saving people was the coolest thing someone could do and heroes do that every day. Reach out to people in trouble with a smile on their face. For the longest time, that was the type of person I…” Whatever the teenager had left to say on the topic went unheard by Goto. With a shaky smile, the teenager looked up at him and asked, “Can I ask you a hypothetical question?” Goto simply nodded. “Say one night you were just… taking a stroll around town when you hear a woman crying out for help. You run over to help, only to see that she had been attacked by this villain in a suit of armor. Some disorienting moments later, you’re chasing after the villain and then, the next thing you know, you’ve been teleported to a completely different world. A totally different Earth, with some similarities to your own, but still wrong overall. Then to make matters worse, you find out it’s currently over 200 years behind your Earth’s timeline and the only way back home seems to be the villain who brought you here in the first place. You really don’t want to actually bargain with the villain because they’re evil, but you know if you tried to ask anyone else for help, there is a good chance you won’t be believed about your situation. It’s just hard to get help no matter what you do. So tell me… what would you do?”
‘That is oddly specific,’ Goto thought. If he were to get stranded in an alternate version of late 1700s or early 1800s Japan, Goto doesn’t think there would be much he could do on his own. However, it doesn’t take much to see that describing the world as it was today would no doubt sound crazy to someone from back then. “I don’t know.”
“Yeah, I figured as much.” The teenager laughed and to Goto it sounded hollow. “But be honest, if someone came up to you saying all that, would you believe them? Would you help them?”
“I… I don’t know,” he said again. Why was this so difficult? “I guess it would depend on how I perceive the person who’s saying it.”
“I guess that makes sense and you don’t even know me outside of… But…” Was there something this teenager couldn’t talk about? Something so unbelievable like the thing he just described? It couldn’t be that he was actually talking about himself, right? Goto was about to ask him when the teenager spoke up again. “Why do you want to save the world?”
“Huh?”
“I remember when we first met, you were talking to yourself about saving the world. Can you tell me why?” Silence. Then Goto told the teenager about the declaration he made as a child after watching the news that fateful day. He didn’t know what kind of response he expected. Maybe a laugh about how an adult was still following his own childish dream, or maybe a somewhat mutual understanding given the admiration of heroes. However, instead, the teenager said, “And what is your ‘superpower?’ As rare as it appears to be, people with some type of Quirk equivalent do exist. If you’re trying to be someone who saves the world then you must be one of those people, right? Amazing.”
“I don’t have any,” Goto replied, and the teenager proceeded to stare at him as if he had grown three heads.
“Then how… How can you become a hero when you don’t have a Quirk? You’ll just get in other peoples’ way or get yourself killed. You’d be useless!”
Goto’s eyes widened. What was happening? He had lost track of where this conversation was going so fast. Nothing this teenager said made any sense to him. Superpower? Quirk? He guessed that most superheroes in stories did have some sort of power to help them stop the villains, however there were also those without any at all and managed just fine. Like that tech genius with a titanium-gold alloy suit or that detective who dressed like a bat and fought alongside his numerous sidekicks. By all definitions, those were ‘superheroes’ who weren’t ‘super.’
So with that in mind, “Because… because even if I don’t have a superpower, there are still things I can do. I don’t need superpowers to try and save the world.”
Now it was the teenager’s turn to look at Goto with wide eyes. He went to speak, but they both heard something fly down and land a few feet away before a word could be uttered. Their attention snapped in its direction and Goto’s blood turned cold as that something stood up straight to reveal itself as…
“What?”
“A Yummy?” Goto questioned as it began to walk toward the entrance of the Convenience 8. He quickly turned to the teenager who appeared to be just as shocked. Mirroring their first meeting, Goto told him to leave the area.
“But what about you?”
“I’m going to save the world.”
After making sure the teenager left, presumably for real this time, Goto ran over to his Ridevendor and wasted no time grabbing his gun. Opening fire upon the Tanbo Yummy, it stumbled forward as the bullets hit its back. Unfortunately, as soon as it recovered, it used its power of flight and great speed to knock him over in no time at all. For once, Goto was glad for OOO’s presence as it was then that he came driving in on the action.
“Goto!”
“You’re late!” Though Hino really wasn’t.
As OOO engaged the Tanbo Yummy in combat, Midoriya Izuku had returned and began to watch from behind a light pole with his mouth wide open. It was not a good place to hide for cover, but he couldn’t find it in himself to care. Too many questions on his mind.
For starters, what was going on? Was it normal for a Yummy to appear back-to-back? Sure villains did, but back at home they were simply a portion of the overall population. The villains of this world were sparse by comparison. Did those ‘Greeed’ mentioned yesterday never take a rest? Even villain groups in his world took down time. Who did this one belong to? The one he first encountered or the one who caused Tadano’s downward spiral? Or were there more than those two? Who created it and who was the host of this Tanbo Yummy?
“Find the Masked Villain. Capture and return home… Mom… waiting,” it said and unleashed a wing attack that sent OOO flying.
Huh!?
“What!? What did that Yummy just say!?” Izuku shouted. Why did it say those things? So many questions, that were unfortunately answered when that man wearing a green jacket from earlier walked up next to him.
“That is your desire.”
…
His head moved slowly to look at the man. “…My desire?”
“It will help you finally go home.”
Just like what happened with the man Izuku came to know as, ‘Gamel,’ the man in front of him transformed into some kind of insect mutant. The black and greens weren’t all too dissimilar to the Tanbo Yummy. The two horns that now protruded out of his head was reminiscent of a stag beetle’s, and the belt now around his waist was similar to Gamel’s along with the mummy wrappings around his legs. Don’t tell Izuku this man was a Greeed as well? What had he done?
“…What is a ‘Yummy’ anyway?”
“…Their monsters born from desire.”
If everything from that conversation with Eiji was true, and Izuku had no reason to doubt it wasn’t, that meant…
“Then that means this is all my fault!” he exclaimed as he watched this insect Greeed join the fight and aid the Tanbo Yummy.
Even in a world where people like him are the majority, all Izuku did was cause trouble for everyone. If he hadn’t been so desperate for an answer, the Sludge Villain wouldn’t have escaped and tried to kill Kacchan. If he hadn’t chased after the Masked Villain, then Izuku wouldn’t have been here to cause another Yummy for OOO to deal with. He wouldn’t have left his mom behind wondering what had happened to him.
If Izuku wasn’t born useless, then none of this would have ever happened.
“Because… because even if I don’t have a superpower, there are still things I can do.”
Why? Why was he thinking about those words now?
“I don’t need superpowers to try and save the world.”
It was like he was back in the classroom on that fateful day all over again.
“Forget the crappy Quirks!” Kacchan shouted at him. Izuku was on the ground with his back against the wall. “You’re totally Quirkless! And you think you can rub shoulders with me!?”
“Wa… Wait, no, Kacchan. I wasn’t saying I could compete with you! Not at all! I mean it! …It’s just… been my dream since I was little. And well there’s no harm in trying…”
Trying? Hasn’t he been doing that the whole time? And look what happened.
Still… If he knew all along he couldn’t be a hero then had he really tried? Goto was still trying, so maybe Izuku could also…
Unbeknownst to Izuku at the time, the fight between OOO and the two villains began to take a weird turn. The Tanbo Yummy had been feeling energy-sapping pangs in its chest, something which started during its flight to this location. Throughout the fight, it had continued to come every now and then. Something that only Ankh, who had shown up about a minute after OOO, seemed to take notice of as far as the Tanbo Yummy was aware. It was just a slight inconvenience. That’s what it told itself. But now it was coming at full force and the Tanbo Yummy could no longer ignore what was happening.
Something was taking form.
Midoriya Izuku’s mind swirled with thoughts.
If this was his fault, then doesn’t that mean it was his responsibility to fix it? Or was he just looking for an excuse to play hero?
It was obvious that with the current circumstances there was no way he could take any of the villains on in a physical fight. The only thing he had accomplished with the Sludge Villain was discovering that his eyes were his weakness. Since one of the villains was born from his desire, maybe he could figure out its weakness to help OOO. Because, even if he wanted to go home, he didn’t want to do it like this.
‘I want… No. I need to…’ Izuku took a step forward. Watching the fight continue on, he took some deep breaths and closed his eyes. It was his desire that was out of control, so maybe… Izuku gripped his notebook tightly. ‘Stop! While I want to go home, I don’t want to do it like this! This is how a villain acts, and that’s something I never want to be! I want to be a hero! So please!’
Behind Izuku’s closed lids, the Tanbo Yummy’s behavior had become erratic. Green light pulsed from its chest and finally having enough, Ankh called out to OOO, “Eiji! Keep on your guard! It’s acting strange!”
When Hino Eiji turned his attention to the Tanbo Yummy again, the green light only became brighter and brighter. Not even Uva could ignore it anymore.
“Get the security feed… Find the Masked Villain… Then…! Then!”
Everyone could only watch as something made of Cell Medals began to crawl out of the Tanbo Yummy’s chest. Once it was free, the Cell Medals took shape and solidified into something that could only be described as a cross between a cockroach and a zombie.
It let out a bellowing roar.
Eiji and Goto both gasped, while Ankh just stared at it like his whole world had been shattered.
“That’s impossible,” he said in a tone no one had heard him use before.
Uva was in a similar situation, as he could only shout, “What!?”
“I can’t become a hero. This is reality,” the new Yummy spoke, and a wave of confusion spread between the four onlookers. A hero? The original only spoke of ‘going home.’ How does that lead to the creation of another Yummy made from the desire to become a hero? Just what was the host’s true desire? “But still I…”
It turned to face the Yummy it sprung out of and that’s when things got even crazier.
…
The Kurogokiburi Yummy began to attack the Tanbo Yummy.
⨷ ⨷ ⨷
HEROES (TV-SIZE) by Brian the Sun
See you next entry…