“Luck is a fickle harlot, Hiro. You’re a fool for counting on it.”
“Language, Mister Cooper. There are women present.”
Miles ignored his assistant standing in the corner of the room as he set Hiro down as gently as he could. There were more important matters to deal with at the moment. A green tint covered his vision temporarily as the golden wings behind him folded into his jetpack.
The cooling air conditioning of his laboratory brushed against his skin as his artificial exoskeleton retreated. It had been years since he had flown at nearly the speed of sound, and it was a relief that g-suit protection in his hero outfit worked just as well as it did during his ‘glory days’.
“Why did you freeze just now?” His voice came out more accusatory than he intended. “You were lucky I brought my hero suit along just in case. If I were even one second slower, that assassin would’ve killed you!”
Hiro remained motionless. Miles softened his demeanour; the poor chap still must be in shock after everything.
“Sorry, son. That wasn’t fair of me. It’s my fault, too,” the man lowered his voice. “I should’ve warned you earlier about the alarm.”
The helmet retracted around Hiro’s head.
“No, no. I’m sorry you needed to save me. It’s just that…” His eyebrows were furrowed. “Kiko was my childhood friend. I still can’t believe what happened to her, and… why.”
Alarm rang through Miles as Hiro fell to one knee without warning. Heels clacked against polished concrete from behind before Miles could reach for his partner.
“Kazuma, Kazuma! Look at me. Are you alright?” Melissa Shield scurried to the vigilante, tilting his head up. “Gosh, your face is remarkably pale!”
Hiro shook his hand and pushed himself back to his feet.
The woman swung to Miles angrily. “You gave him Bjarkan mode, didn’t you? I thought I said it wasn’t ready to be deployed yet!
“Look, Melissa— You know what? It’s been a long night.” Miles rolled his eyes and released a loud exhale. “Can we just— can we not do this right now? Close the door on your way out. I have private business to discuss with Mister Kazuma here.”
Melissa glared at him before swiftly turning on her heel. “As you wish, Mister Cooper. Don’t hold your breath; I’ll be waiting.”
The door closed.
“How are you feeling, Hiro? Is Bjarkan mode too much for you?” Miles asked in a grim tone. “I’ll make some adjustments, maybe add some dampeners—”
“No, don’t. I can do this,” Hiro insisted. “Just let me get used to it.”
“I don’t think so.” The inventor shook his head with a loud sigh. “Perhaps Melissa is right. I really should stop taking so many risks—”
“I said I’m fine with it!”
A pregnant pause hung in the air.
“I’m nothing without your suit, alright?” Hiro was clenching his fists. “No quirk, no money, no license… I’ve failed everybody! They were all looking to me to save them, but I’m just so goddamn useless. Please… Please let me be a hero just this once. I need to show the world I can be a hero.”
Miles pursed his lips. He wanted to argue, to tell Hiro that he was wrong and that he wasn’t a zero without his help. But the vigilante wasn’t exactly wrong.
Besides, this was the only way Miles knew how to repay the debt to his parents.
“So you’re acquainted with Kiko Asahi.” He decided to focus back on the mission instead. “Who is she to you?”
“Kiko was my childhood friend. She was like me, shunned by everyone because of something she wasn’t born with. Or rather, something she was born with. Her quirk hurts everyone else who has a quirk, so obviously only quirkless people like me could interact with her.”
Miles’ brain worked, surreptitiously bringing up Kusanagi’s files on a nearby computer. Whatever Hiro said matched the data he had just gleaned from the research facility.
“But that wasn’t the only reason I stuck around her. She was brave, kind, strong… Everything I wanted to be. We both had dreams of becoming heroes one day, and we practised controlling her power every day. It was going rather well until…”
Hiro paused, creasing his eyebrows slightly. “Until her entire family was killed in a villain attack. And then she moved away so quickly. I didn’t even get to say goodbye. Dammit, Kiko… Where have you been all these years?”
“I think I have the answer right here.”
Miles swiped his hand as the huge computer screen switched to a convoluted infographic.
“What’s this?” Hiro asked curiously, staring at the small photograph on the top right side of the screen.
Miles looked at the photograph as well, taking in Kusanagi’s face for the first time. She looked surprisingly young— about sixteen when the photo was taken, which put her in her early twenties now. In other words, around Hiro’s age. It made chronological sense, anyway.
Kiko wasn’t the prettiest girl he had seen, but she was a long way from hideous. It was probably just the dead look in her eyes that made her look like a zombie.
“Kiko Asahi, otherwise known as Kusanagi.” Miles read the words off the screen and pulled out more documents. “It seems that she has been Yamato’s bodyguard for about three years. She has had extensive training with multiple villain organisations all around the world for two years after she was released from Tartarus.”
“She was imprisoned in Tartarus?!” There was an incredulous look on Hiro’s face. “For what?”
“For killing her whole family,” Miles said grimly. “We have medical reports here. Seems she killed them by corrupting their quirk cells, causing multiple organs to shut down at the same time.”
“That’s impossible. Didn’t the news report that it was a homicidal villain?” Hiro breathed. “And we trained hard together. She should’ve been able to control her quirk by then!”
“Accidents happen. Even I still cause house-wide blackouts from time to time in my sleep.” Miles’ expression darkened. “The reports here say her quirk is tied to her limbic system, which means it turns on whenever she experiences strong emotions such as sadness or anger. Perhaps she happened to get over-emotional that day and lost control of her power.”
“Kiko… I should’ve been there for you.” Hiro’s eyes were glistening. “Why didn’t anyone else know about this?”
“Likely because it was covered up.” Miles pulled up a bunch of contracts this time. “A certain third party used his considerable influence to make sure all those involved kept their mouth shut or risk being fired. Plus, Kiko was a minor at that time. All the more reason to keep her identity under wraps.”
Hiro squinted at the name signed on the bottom of the page. “Tamayo Mouga— Wow. He isn’t even trying to hide it, is he?”
“It’s a good enough disguise, sloppy as that alias is. All he needs to do is not use his real name, even if it’s exceedingly obvious who he is.” Miles shrugged. “This man is a lot more powerful than I thought. I didn’t know he already had his reach in the political world even back then. He’s really going for full control here.”
Something clicked in Miles’ mind.
“Hey, do you remember the Tartarus breakout five years ago?” The screen flashed like an epileptic glow stick as the technopath scrolled through some deleted documents. Where was it—
There.
“I knew it.” Miles punched his palm as he restored the report. “Look, Tatarus managed to recover all the escaped prisoners except for one: Kiko Asahi. They couldn’t find her, but the authorities kept quiet to prevent a public uproar. Here!”
He zoomed in on a fuzzy photograph. “That’s Yamato Gouma on the scene. It says here that all the security measures malfunctioned after being struck by some sort of EMP, except for some cameras that operated separately from the prison’s main power source. It has to be Yamato; he’s the master of electromagnetism. Dammit, that bastard already had his sights set on her back then. That must be why he broke her out.”
“Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s submit this to the police already!” Hiro exclaimed. “Prison break, coercion… That’ll destroy his credibility, and he’d have to step down as a Prime Minister candidate.”
Miles raised a placating hand. “Don’t be rash. If this was enough to implicate Yamato, don’t you think the Tartarus guards would’ve given this to the police long ago? Submitting this ‘evidence’ only proves that we are doing illegal sleuthing. I have a lot at stake; I can’t let anyone else know I’m doing this. Besides, that man is powerful enough to have a sizable amount of the police force as well as the whole underworld in his pocket. Anything that comes up against him will just be snuffed out like a candle.”
Hiro slumped into a metallic chair. “So what now? We can raid bases all day long, but shouldn’t there be an end to this?”
“I’ll have to continue this thread. This is just one file he erased from the records; I’m sure there are plenty more. Besides, the data is unusually organised, almost as though someone had arranged it beforehand,” Miles mused out loud. “It might be time for some cyber espionage on my side. Thanks for everything, Hiro. I’ll be in touch soon. Those upgrades are yours to keep, by the way.”
“When will you contact me?”
“Soon,” Miles repeated himself with a hint of insistence. “Take a break, Hiro. You deserve it. I’ll send you back.”
“There’s no need, Mister Cooper.” Hiro glanced out of the building for a moment. “Looks pretty windy tonight; there should be plenty of updrafts I can catch with my wingsuit.”
Miles effected a small, proud smile. This kid had guts.
“Suit yourself, Zero Hero. The roof is just a staircase up. I’ll be in touch soon.”
Melissa Shield walked back into the room just as Hiro left. Miles suppressed another sigh; this was going to be troublesome.
“I chose to work for you because I thought you cared about heroes, sir.” The woman’s arms were folded tightly across her chest. “Is Takehiro Kazuma not considered a hero to you?”
“You’re wrong. I care very much about him. Give me a break, Melissa—”
“No! No, I will not!” she exclaimed. “This isn’t the same as Gale Force, Mister Cooper. This invention is wildly imperfect. We’re not talking about a simple scrambling of the nervous system here. This artificial One-For-All can cause death if the user isn’t careful. Deku trusted me with his DNA because I trusted you. We will not be the reason for someone’s funeral!”
“And you think I want to be that reason?” Miles swung around. “You have no idea how important Hiro Kazuma is to me. But if he wants to evolve, certain risks must be taken. Without taking risks, he won’t stand a chance against the world. That kid’s just a quirkless cripple—”
“With all due respect, Mister Cooper, please watch your words,” Melissa hissed. “I’m quirkless too.”
“You understand nothing.” The man squeezed his fists tightly. “I am trying to help him fulfil his dream.”
“Bullshit. You just met him a few weeks ago; you’re using him for your personal grudges.”
“I’m compartmentalising. I’m trying to do both. Besides, I owe him a debt—”
“What debt?”
Miles clenched his jaw, keeping his silence.
“You’re a liar, Mister Cooper. First Kai Chisaki’s quirk destroyer, and now Deku’s DNA…” Melissa stepped away from the man. “I should’ve known you’re just a shrewd businessman like all the others. I don’t think I should continue working here anymore—”
“I’m the reason his parents got discharged as heroes, okay?!”
Tension hung in the air as the woman stared at him in confusion and disbelief.
“I… Dammit, I was supposed to put this behind me.” Miles lowered his voice, but his heart couldn’t be racing faster. “It’s all my fault. I obtained Chisaki’s Quirk Destroyer by purchasing it through Hiro’s parents. They got caught because they abused their authority in the black market, but they only did it because I paid them to do so. If it weren’t for greedy foolishness back then, they would never have had a reason to go corrupt.”
“How long have you known?” Melissa asked.
“I found Hiro’s surname familiar after my chance encounter with him. It only took me a few minutes to scour the deep web and find out what happened to the Kazuma family.” The man hung his head. “His father left the family, and his mother ended up dead after attempting to rob a bank. I can’t make reparations to them, only to their son. Hiro wants to do good in this society as a hero, and I will help him achieve that dream. This is the only way I know how to apologise to his family.”
“And if he dies in the process?”
“He won’t. I’ll make sure to keep him safe,” Miles insisted. “I’ll make sure he…”
His voice trailed away. The reality of his conundrum was becoming painfully obvious. It was true that he wanted to help Hiro, but he also wanted just as much to put Yamato Gouma in jail. Dammit, dammit! He was supposed to do both at the same time, not choose one by sacrificing the other.
“Do you intend to tell him?” Melissa asked.
Miles looked away. “No, he won’t be able to take it. This partnership can continue without him knowing everything.”
“No. It can’t, Mister Cooper.” Melissa shook her head. “Anyone close enough to you can see that. You have a chip on your shoulder, but you’re letting others carry that burden for you. You don’t get to decide what people want for themselves by keeping secrets from them. And as long as you keep up that arrogant ethic, you will never be able to keep heroes safe. It’s only a matter of time before something bad happens again.”
Miles sighed. He didn’t have any more energy to put up with this.
“Point taken, Miss Shield.” He dropped his body into a chair. “Do you have anything else for me?”
“Actually, I do.” She passed him a letter. “I came here to submit a notice of absence. An important friend of mine needs help starting her business, so I’ll be helping out in her store.”
“For how long?”
“For as long as she needs. This will be unpaid leave, sir. So don’t worry about me.”
Miles sat up. “This doesn’t have anything to do with…”
“It’s nothing personal, Mister Cooper.” Melissa turned to leave. “I sincerely wish you good luck with your project.”
Miles slumped back on his chair as the woman headed for the doors. A shadow flitted from behind the doorway.265Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlxUDDBZw0S
and then Add to home screen.