Hiro found himself passed out on a comfortable bed just after noon. The daylight streaming through the small window felt harsher than usual, and even the birds were hiding from the heat. He pushed the duvet covers off his body and sat up straight, looking around the quaint-looking house.
He felt like a zombie. Probably looked like one, too— if the full-length mirror across him was any indication. His suit was still on his body, although the helmet had retracted from his head. Mentally, he checked himself for any signs of injury. His body still felt a little sore, but no new pains stabbed at him.
Hiro stepped on the wooden floor gingerly. What happened?
Something moved in the corner of his vision as the memories flooded back to him. Right, he had barely managed to escape hundreds of assassins in that building. His final act had definitely gotten rid of their leader as well, unless that villain could somehow survive being in a tank when it exploded. But Hiro still hadn’t figured out why the Liberty Brigade was after him.
There was a soft click as the door at the end of the room swung open.
Hiro’s helmet covered his face immediately as he raised his hands in a fighting stance. Dammit, he just couldn’t catch a break—
“Oh, you’re finally awake.” A familiar dry voice drifted into the room as the vigilante put his hands down slowly. “You’ve been out cold for a day.”
“Eraserhead?” Hiro breathed in confusion, retracting his helmet. “What’s going on? Where am I?”
“The short answer is you’re in Fukuoka.” Aizawa walked into the room. “The long answer is: I picked you up after you fell from the sky like a meteor. I won’t even bother asking you how that happened. But whatever you did, it drew lots of attention to you, especially since you landed right in the middle of a street. You were unconscious by the time the commotion brought me to you, so I took you in.”
Hiro almost couldn’t believe his ears. Eraserhead wasn’t known to be the friendliest of heroes; taking in a stray guy who dropped from the sky was certainly out of character for him.
“Thank you, Eraserhead—” He began to sink into a deep bow.
The hero grunted and flicked his hands as though chasing away a fly. “My name is Shota Aizawa, if you don’t already know. I don’t particularly like being called by my hero name.”
“Thank you, Aizawa.” Hiro clenched and unclenched his fists, feeling the suit respond to his body well enough. “I won’t forget this. I guess I’ll make a move—”
“I wouldn’t if I were you, Takehiro Kazuma.”
Alarm rang through Hiro’s head as he stared at Aizawa. “How did you know my name?”
“The whole of Japan does, by now.” Aizawa shrugged and showed him a news article on his phone. “Guess you aren’t aware that you’re a wanted criminal yet. A few days ago, the HPSC declared your vigilantism a threat to the order in society and called for your capture. Just yesterday, a tabloid leaked your identity online. Heroes and police are all on the alert for you.”
By the Heavens, this was just what he needed— more people out to get him.
“How the fuck did that happen?” Hiro snarled a little more aggressively than intended, dropping his body back on the bed. “Why are they treating me like a criminal all of a sudden?”
“For murdering politicians, apparently.” Aizawa switched to the tabloid article. “Says here that you were responsible for several missing politicians. Their bodies have just been uncovered.”
“Isn’t that just convenient?” Hiro’s teeth were still clenched. “I was set up to take the blame, dammit! What a cheap trick.”
“I think that part is obvious enough.” Aizawa’s voice dropped considerably. “You’re no criminal; I wouldn’t have taken you in if I thought you were. The question is, what are you going to do now?”
Hiro put his head in his hands. It was all wrong. First, Miles makes use of him, and now the government wants to incriminate him. The world really was out to get him, wasn’t it? Resentment bubbled in his gut; there truly wasn’t a place for the weak to survive.
“I don’t know,” he muttered. “Go back and fight, I suppose. You can’t ask me to hide here forever.”
“Don’t you want to clear your name?”
“How? All of them want me gone. I have no chance of winning; I never did!” Hiro slammed a fist on the bed. “This is bullshit. They’re all ganging up on me because I don’t have a quirk. They want me gone because I actually prove that you don’t need a quirk to be a hero, and they hate it! Nobody is on my side; nobody was ever on my side! The weak are just stepping stones for the strong!”
Aizawa kept his expression neutral at the outburst.
“Do you truly think you have no fault in this?” he asked quietly.
Hiro glared at the man. “You think it’s my own fault that I lost? Enlighten me.”
“Tell me, Kazuma. When you started as a nameless vigilante, you spent most of your time helping out those that the heroes and police had missed out on. That’s how you started to grow in popularity. People loved you for being the helpful stranger they could always count on. So why did you stop?”
“I…” His voice ebbed as his hesitation grew. “I had other things to focus on. Look. You probably won’t believe me, but Senator Yamato Gouma is a criminal who already controls the entire underworld. I’ve heard a hero’s firsthand encounter with him, in which she almost lost her life. Hell, I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s the one who set me up in the first place. I’ve been busy looking for evidence to nail his crimes. There hasn’t been much time to patrol the city.”
“And you’ve been doing that by illegally breaking into places,” Aizawa said. “Japan isn’t some lawless wild west. As I’ve said before, nothing will protect you if you don’t have the law on your side.”
“Congratulations, you’re a prophet,” Hiro cut in sarcastically.
“I’m not finished,” Aizawa said sternly, as though he were reprimanding a student. “Why did you really put on a suit and patrol the city? Was it because you just like fighting? Was it because you have something to prove?”
The vigilante lowered his head as the memories of his past came back to him. His promise to his mother when his father left, his promise to Kiko when he met her, his promise to himself when he stepped onto the streets as ‘Zero Hero’ for the first time…
“Because I wanted to help people,” he mumbled. “I didn’t want people to suffer as I had.”
“And yet you jumped on the opportunity to show everyone up. You could’ve worked with the heroes or even the police, but you insisted on going at it on your own. You weren’t acting like yourself; all you wanted to do was show off your new upgrades. And by doing so, you planted a huge target on your back. Is it any wonder that the people you’ve crossed have managed to pull the rug from under you?”
“I lost sight of my goal…” Hiro murmured.
Aizawa was right. He had been so caught up in making a name for himself that his eyes had been clouded by his own insecurities. Zero Hero was meant to be the guy who helped people just like him. It didn’t matter what kind of upgrades he had or what situation he faced. Helping people was why he started doing this in the first place.
And now he was chasing success and power like the very person he had been trying to take down.
“I know, but hiding forever is exactly what he wants me to do.” The vigilante’s breaths steadied. “That man has gotten rid of anyone who opposed him, even forced Jelly Girl into hiding. Nobody dares to stand up to him. Hell, those who did were all killed off. No, I can’t let it end like this.”
He turned to the veteran hero. “You’re right, Aizawa. I became so obsessed with proving that even someone like me could be a hero that I forgot why I started out in the first place. I’m a damn fool for letting it all go straight to my head.”
Aizawa leaned back with a small smile.
“I’m done letting my pride poison my ideals. I know what I need to do. I need to find Miles, swallow my pride and apologise to him. It was Gouma’s plan all along to sow discord between us. And I was such a naive, stupid guy to let myself be fooled by his false evidence. I can’t clear my name alone. If Gouma can do this to me, Miles is in grave danger too. My partner needs my help now more than anything else.”
“You’re strong-willed, Kazuma. And a pretty damn fast learner too,” Aizawa chuckled. “You remind me of another quirkless student I once had. Still, this won’t be easy. The heroes will go easy on you, if I’m right about most of their characters. But they’ll still be trying to take you to the HPSC, where you will be kept until the chief is done with his investigation.”
“Investigation…?”
“Do you think you’re the only one who knows that Yamato Gouma is a shadow villain?” the veteran hero said. “Chief Keigo Takami has been trying to gather evidence on him as well. That’s why I’m here in Fukuoka.”
Hiro stared at him blankly. “You lost me.”
The room door opened again, and a middle-aged woman poked her head in. Her thick, dullish copper-coloured hair draped to her shoulders. Her eyes were sunken, grey-blue, and two similar-looking eyeballs floated around her feathery hair.
“Shota, there you are. I’ve prepared lots for dinner!” she remarked in a brittle voice. “Oh, the young man is awake as well! Would you like to join us?”
“This is Tomie Takami, Hawks’ mother.” Aizawa gestured. “Madam Takami, this is Takehiro Kazuma. I’ll be with you soon for dinner. Go ahead and enjoy yourself.”
The woman gave a friendly wave before leaving the room.
“Hawks instructed me to take care of his mother until this whole thing blows over,” Aizawa said. “It’s the school holidays, so I won’t need to be at U.A. High. Besides, this is a nice, quiet place to get some paperwork done.”
Hiro hid his surprise. So, even the esteemed HPSC Chief shared his hometown.
“Why isn’t she in the city with him?” Hiro asked. “Surely that’s a better way of protecting his mother instead of sending someone else to do that in his stead?”
“Madam Takami has a criminal past, and that has been used against Hawks time and time again. She chose to distance herself from him and spend her days in her hometown to avoid any further implications,” Aizawa said. “Understandably so, too. She had almost gotten him killed many times after dragging him into her crimes. Keigo probably would’ve turned out a criminal as well, if he hadn’t been picked by the HPSC for his potential.”
Hiro’s childhood flashed in his mind again. It was almost as if the Heavens were reminding him that he wasn’t the only one with a troubled past.
Aizawa must’ve picked up something in his silence, because he broke it by tapping Hiro on the shoulder lightly.
“Hey. Don’t go around babbling about that, alright?” he warned. “Especially not in front of Madam Takami. She’s turned over a new leaf for many years now, and she’d rather leave her past buried so deep that not even a map would unearth it. That is, of course, if you’re joining us for dinner.”
The man flashed what he probably thought was a friendly smile, although it looked more like a grimace instead. Shota Aizawa must not have enough practice smiling at people.
Map…
Something clicked in Hiro’s mind as his eyes unfocused. He racked his memories. Someone mentioned a map. Somebody… not too long ago. And yet— When did that happen…?
Yamato… Gouma. Check the map in his… office…
“Kazuma?”
“Tell Madam Takami that I’m sorry, but I won’t be joining her for dinner.” Revelation energised Hiro’s body. “I just recalled something that might help me clear my name.”
Aizawa raised an eyebrow, but he did not stop him. “Are you going back to Musutafu City? That place is crawling with heroes and men in Gouma’s pocket, you know?”
“I have to; it’s my only lead. I just recalled something important.” Hiro stared grimly into the distance. “Besides, I’m willing to bet they think I’m still in the city. They’ll be expecting me to leave the city, not enter it. So I should be able to get back by train without much trouble. Thank you for the hospitality, Aizawa. Stay safe.”
Eraserhead chuckled lightly. “That’s my line. Very well, since you’re sure about this. Godspeed—”
Hiro gave the hero a grateful nod.
“—And good luck, Zero Hero."197Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJap5ocFuK0
and then Add to home screen.