Chapter Text
Flect Turn, leader of Humanrise, walked through the streets of Japan, surveying the city with calculating eyes. His steps were calm, his bearing impeccable, but his mind was wrapped in thoughts of his mission. The ideal of a Quirk-free society kept him in a perpetual state of analysis, studying every corner, every hero he passed by, as if evaluating the pieces on a chessboard that wasn't yet fully set up.
The heroes had built a society based on inequality, where those with Quirks dominated those without. That was his guiding thought, the core of Humanrise. And as his eyes scanned the city, pondering his future plan, something caught his attention.
In a nearby park, muffled screams and cruel laughter could be heard. As he detoured toward the park, his cold eyes fell upon a group of children surrounding another, younger boy. The three bullies shoved him and laughed as he tried to get up. The unmistakable explosions of one of the children's Quirk quickly revealed his identity: Katsuki Bakugou. Beside him were his henchmen, following his lead as they beat the boy with a cruelty that seemed almost routine.
The boy on the ground, despite being injured, wasn't fighting back. His green hair was in disarray, and tears were streaming from his eyes. It was Izuku Midoriya, a Quirkless boy.
Flect Turn approached calmly, his footsteps echoing softly on the pavement. His tall, elegant figure cast a long shadow, and when the children noticed him, their laughter faded. Bakugou was the first to look at him, raising an eyebrow in defiance.
"What do you want, old man?" Bakugou snapped, still releasing small explosions from his hands.
Flect didn't lose his composure. His face remained calm as he watched the children, his presence radiating authority. He didn't need to raise his voice to make himself known.
"Go away," he said simply, his tone low but firm.
The other kids looked at each other, uncertain. There was something about Flect that made them hesitate. He wasn't a hero, but his sharp gaze and determined stance disarmed them. Bakugou, despite his defiant attitude, took a step back, frowning.
"Tsk! We don't need your help, old man," Bakugou growled, but he still backed away, pulling his friends with him. "Come on, it's not worth it anymore."
The three of them walked away, though Bakugou continued to glare at Flect and the boy on the ground. Once they were gone, Flect turned his attention to Izuku, who had remained on the ground, watching his savior with trembling eyes.
"Are you okay?" Flect asked, his tone softer now that the bullies had left.
Izuku, still in shock, nodded slowly. He wiped his tears with his sleeve, but the pain was still visible in his expression. Flect crouched down, getting down to his level, and with surprising gentleness, examined his wounds. They were superficial, but the emotional damage was clear.
"You shouldn't let them treat you like this," Flect commented, disturbingly calm as he took a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped the blood from Izuku's knee.
Izuku looked at him in amazement, unsure how to respond. He wasn't used to adults intervening. Often, they simply ignored him or saw him as a weak child with no future.
"They... they have Quirks," Izuku murmured, as if that were justification enough. "I... don't have one."
Flect put the handkerchief away and looked him straight in the eyes, his expression intense.
"So what?" he replied calmly. "Not having a Quirk doesn't make you any less valuable." Those who rely on their powers... are blinded. Someday you'll understand.
Izuku looked at him more closely, his green eyes shining with a mixture of confusion and admiration. No one had ever spoken to him like that before. No one had ever suggested that not having a Quirk wasn't the end of everything.
Flect stood up slowly, gazing toward the horizon before turning his gaze back to Izuku.
"Take care of yourself. This world is full of challenges, but you don't need a Quirk to face them."
With those words, Flect turned and began walking back down the street, his figure disappearing into the crowd, while Izuku stood there, his wounds superficially healed, but his thoughts profoundly changing.
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Since arriving in Japan, the leader of Humanrise had dedicated himself to meticulously observing how hero agencies were organized, how patrols were distributed, and how the seemingly prosperous society hid deep divisions beneath the surface. For Flect, this trip was just another in his long journey toward creating a Quirk-free world. He had seen this structure before, in other countries: heroes elevated as symbols while ordinary people, especially those without Quirks, were relegated to the shadows.
His days began early, walking the avenues of Tokyo, a vibrant place but, in his eyes, clearly flawed. He walked past the offices of the major hero agencies, taking mental notes on the areas they patrolled, the frequency of incidents, and how the different agencies behaved. He was a man of precision, and every detail he absorbed was part of his grand plan for Humanrise. Despite the apparent calm of his movements, his mind was always racing, searching for cracks in the system that could be exploited.
After his morning observations, Flect usually ended his run in a park. It was no coincidence that it was the same park where he had found Izuku Midoriya, the boy beaten by three others. That encounter had remained in his mind, though in a way that Flect saw it more as a symbol than a coincidence: the Quirkless boy, the constant victim in a society that glorified powers above all else. Seeing him there, on the ground, had stirred something in Flect, though he wouldn't call it empathy. Rather, it was confirmation of what he already knew: humanity had gone too far in its worship of Quirks.
However, since that day, the atmosphere in the park had changed slightly. Izuku's bullies, Bakugou, and his friends, seemed to stay at bay when Flect was present, though they would never admit it. Perhaps it was his commanding presence, or the way his authority radiated without violence or threats. However, since then, Izuku hadn't been beaten as often.
It was subtle at first, but Flect noticed how, whenever he returned to the park, the boy's green eyes would follow him, often from afar. For the first few days, Izuku would sit silently somewhere, glancing at him out of the corner of his eye while pretending to be busy. But then, slowly, the distance between them began to close. Flect didn't ignore it, but he didn't directly encourage it either. He simply allowed it to happen.
One day, as Flect sat on a bench, watching the heroes patrolling in the distance, he noticed Izuku standing closer than usual. The boy hadn't spoken to him directly, but was sitting a few feet away, drawing in the dirt with a stick. Flect didn't comment on it, but deep down, he sensed the boy's curiosity. He felt watched, but not in the uncomfortable way adults often perceived. This was a look of genuine curiosity, almost admiration.
One day, while Izuku was absorbed in his task of building a small earth castle, Flect briefly observed him. The other adults in the park ignored him, as was their custom. No hero stopped to ask about the boy, who clearly spent much of his time alone. Flect noticed Izuku's loneliness, and for a brief moment, something in his expression changed, though he himself wasn't aware of it.
"Why do you keep coming here?" he asked suddenly, his voice cutting through the silence.
Izuku, surprised by the direct question, lifted his head from his earth castle. He blinked several times, as if unsure if Flect was actually speaking to him.
"Uh... it's just... I feel... safe here," Izuku replied in a shy tone. Then he shifted his gaze to the castle he was building. "Besides... sometimes I don't know where else to go."
Flect watched him silently for a few seconds before answering.
"This park is no different from any other place. The same problems you see here exist everywhere." His tone was neutral, but his words carried a weight that young Izuku couldn't quite grasp.
"Yeah, but... when you're here... Kacchan and the others don't bother me as much," Izuku admitted with a shy smile as he returned to working on his castle.
Flect didn't respond immediately. In his mind, that confession was revealing. The boy saw him as a kind of protector, even though he had no personal interest in protecting him. But perhaps, in a way, Flect represented something Izuku longed for: security, an order that hero society couldn't provide.
"You're right to protect yourself," Flect said finally, watching the boy continue with his ephemeral creation on Earth. "But don't forget that this world, with or without Quirks, will always be a hostile place for those left behind."
Izuku looked at him. For him, Flect's words were difficult to decipher, but somehow, they made sense. However, what caught his attention most wasn't the words themselves, but that someone like Flect, an adult who wasn't a hero, nor even an apparent villain, would take the time to talk to him.
And so, while Flect continued with his daily observations and plans, Izuku kept going to the park, getting closer and closer, more and more intrigued by that man.