It had been six months since the chief of the Hero Public Safety Commission held the press conference that shook the country to its core.
Yamato Gouma’s corruption was fully exposed thanks to the data seized in his office, along with the quirk data that Miles Cooper had successfully copied from the man himself to decrypt it. But although the villain was dead, investigations had barely made any headway, thanks to how deep his connections were.
The obvious ones, like the remaining members of Spectre Squad, as well as a huge portion of the Yakuza, were taken into custody fairly quickly. Others, like the various illegal researchers in his bases and the Liberty Brigade, required multiple operations to track them down, especially since they scattered themselves upon the announcement of Yamato’s incrimination.
But those in the shadows, such as the corrupt heroes, the police in Yamato’s pockets, and even the missing Kusanagi, remained elusive to the HPSC. After all, it would take a lot more time to investigate these people on a case-by-case basis.
As for our heroes of the day, Takehiro Kazuma’s name was cleared upon the reveal of the true culprits behind the several assassinations, much to the relief of the public and several heroes. Nobody really believed he was guilty to begin with, anyway.
Miles Cooper’s actions were largely played down to the public, thanks to Hawks. But he came clean about everything he had done to the authorities, fully ready to accept the consequences of his actions. Thankfully, any ‘punishment’ he received was only on paper. After all, the law enforcers were grateful for his actions and petitioned the legal team for a lenient sentence.
The public, on the other hand, had divided reactions to everything that had happened.
Some were glad that the Hero Public Safety Commission had managed to expose such a large crime group and act so quickly. Some grew even more concerned about whether they could even trust anyone anymore. Others, with the benefit of hindsight, even claimed to have found things fishy all along.
As for the election, the majority who supported Yamato became jaded overnight. Some took to the Internet forums to demand a more thorough investigation of every politician’s background, while others used it to denounce politics as a whole and opt for a hero-controlled country instead. Of course, the government refused to even entertain such a ridiculous notion and proceeded with the elections as usual.
Despite all the public unrest online, the streets remained relatively normal. The Japanese citizens went about their day-to-day life as normal, and the crime rate neither went up nor down. For better or for worse, everyone took the alarming news in their stride, refusing to let those politics shake their peaceful life.
For once in a long time, the streets of Japan were finally safe.
~ ~ ~
A long shadow crept slowly over the deserted dirt road. Rows of manicured bushes lined the edges of the street, where a yowling pack of stray cats slunk around lazily. A tortoiseshell tomcat twitched its ears and vanished into the bushes as a pair of work boots crunched on a dead leaf.
The woman was draped in a long-sleeved, button-down work shirt, along with a pair of simple jeans. A wide-brimmed hat sat squarely on her head, while a trench coat went over everything else below her chin.
Kiko Asahi made her way past a row of closed shops with colourful banners that almost formed a neat chain across all of them, proclaiming their various Christmas sales. It was barely in the middle of November.
It wasn’t obvious to the casual observer, but her feet were sore from working in the fields the whole day.
After all, it had barely been half a year since she moved back to the quiet countryside of Fukuoka and settled in a farm as an assistant. Thankfully, a few older folks remembered who she was and welcomed her back with open arms, none the wiser to her past. It was a boring life, but she wouldn’t have it any other way.
Her mind flitted back to Hiro as she approached the old weatherboard villa sitting at the end of the town. She wasn’t ready to see him again. Hell, she’d probably never be ready to see him in her whole life. Their life paths had strayed too far apart for them to ever see eye to eye again.
But it didn’t change the fact that she still loved him as much as the day he lost her. And it didn’t change the fact that she missed him dearly.
Kiko opened the solid wooden door and flipped open a light switch. It was just past ten in the evening, just in time for her to check the news for any more mention of the new upstart, Zero Hero.
“Help! Somebody help!”
The woman’s ears pricked up at the source of the sound, and she looked outside her still-open door. It didn’t come from too far away. Two silhouettes were struggling under the cover of darkness, and it was obvious what was going on. Someone was being mugged.
Kiko pursed her lips, slipped on a dark face mask, and ran towards the commotion.
With nothing more than a small hiss, she sent the fleeing mugger flying with a dropkick before landing smoothly on the floor. Kiko charged towards the man just as he stood up, sweeping his leg again and snatching the handbag back from him.
Panic gripped her for a moment as she felt her emotions threatening to lose control. She closed her eyes instinctively, anticipating the dreaded red glow to light up her irises again. And then she remembered she was already free from her quirk’s curse.
The masked woman took an intimidating step towards the mugger, and he took off running without hesitation. Kiko turned back to the victim.
“Oh, thank you so much, young one!” The old woman bowed profusely. “Bless you, hero. Bless you. I didn’t think there would be a hero in such a remote place as well. How do I address you, my saviour?”
Kiko froze for a moment, contemplating whether she should start explaining or simply leave without a word. Hiro surfaced in her mind again. She smiled behind her mask.
“You’re welcome, elder. Stay safe, alright?” Kiko Asahi patted the old lady gently. “As for who I am—”
The masked vigilante turned around and headed back to her house.
“You may call me Animus.”
~ ~ ~
Zero Hero sat on the top of a skyscraper, dangling his legs idly in the air as he mindlessly scrolled his phone. The pink evening sky was scattered with clouds. A constant breeze cut through the air, and he could feel the chill even through his dark grey, metallic suit.
His phone buzzed as a pop-up showed on the top of his screen.
“Hey, you near Tatooin Station?” the readout said.
Hiro glanced at the recognisable bullet train station in the distance before looking around him again. It was a windy enough day; he’d be able to glide there in no more than three minutes.
“Yeah,” he responded. “What’s up?”
“Got a hit-and-run situation. Might be gang-related. Ready to show the world a new hero?”
He smiled behind his helmet. Although he had passed the hero tests two weeks ago, Hiro had been too busy with a whirlwind of activities to patrol the streets properly.
Thanks to Hawks’ revamping of the hero admission criteria, the quirkless, such as Hiro, finally stood a decent chance at becoming a professional hero. Hiro signed up almost immediately upon its announcement and passed with flying colours, thanks to his upgraded suit and his wealth of fighting experience.
After more than ten years, Zero Hero was finally an official hero in the eyes of the law.
“Hell yeah, I’m ready,” he typed. “Where are you?”
“Look up.”
Hiro glanced up. There, just below the clouds, was a speck of golden armour, glinting in the sun. It looked almost motionless from this distance, but he could see its wings moving ever so slightly to maintain its balance in the air.
“Looking good, Golden Eagle. What’s the plan?”
“Jelly Girl is already on the site of the crash,” Miles replied. “She’s just finished getting all the victims out safely.”
Kanna received a promotion from Hawks upon her return to the Hero Public Safety Commission, who gave her permission to open a hero agency of her own. Hiro and Miles were recruited almost immediately, although Kanna was still holding tryouts for more heroes yearning to be part of a rescue/special ops team. They hadn’t even decided on a name for this new hero team yet.
The success of her dessert shop, on the other hand, was almost overwhelming. Thanks to the publications of her heroic deeds, more people were drawn to her business as well. With the help of Melissa and Miles, she opened a sizeable shop near the new Cooper Industries building, where it would be easily accessible to thousands of workers.
Hiro’s phone buzzed again. “Fantastic, the car is heading in our direction. Guess I won’t be needing to postpone the meeting with my investors.”
He smirked. “Calm down, man. Your new building isn’t even finished constructing yet. Besides, you’re a part-time hero now. Tell them to cut you some slack.”
“That’s not how a business works. We got about a twenty-second window to catch them. Race you there.”
Hiro had barely looked up from his phone when a streak of gold zoomed past him, diving to the ground. He grinned and leapt from the skyscraper with a performative twirl, opening up his wingsuit and gliding down as well.
Zero Hero swooped towards the fleeing vehicle like an avenging angel, his partner close behind him.
He was the stranger that a neighbour could count on. He was the hero that even the quirkless could look up to.
And he had work to do.
END156Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRY5vydCJpO
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