Location: Cairo International Airport – Egypt
Time: Afternoon | Next Day
FLASH.
FLASH.
A mob of reporters pushed against the barricades outside the airport terminal.
Camera shutters fired non-stop. Microphones were shoved into the air.
"Mr. Arisaka!" a reporter yelled in broken Japanese. "Is it true you tripled the Salaam Agency's lead over the Number Two hero?"
"You managed All Might and Captain Celebrity!" another journalist shouted over the noise. "Even Star and Stripe! Are you taking another international contract?"
Step.
Kaito stepped out of the black SUV. He wore a simple jacket and carried his backpack. He walked past the flashing lights.
Salaam stepped out after him.
The Number One Egyptian hero raised his hands and gave the cameras a wide, practiced smile. Gale and Nuubis flanked them. They pushed through the crowd to clear a path toward the VIP entrance together with the other sidekicks.
They passed the heavy glass doors and the security checkpoint.
The noise of the paparazzi completely vanished.
Huff.
Salaam dropped the camera smile and let out a long breath. He turned to Kaito and patted his shoulder.
"They really love you out there," Salaam laughed. "I think they care more about you leaving than me staying."
"They just want a headline," Kaito said.
They reached the private boarding gate for the first-class flights. Gale crossed his arms and grinned.
"It's going to be really quiet at the agency without you." Gale said.
"Just stick to the training schedules," Kaito replied.
Nuubis chuckled and adjusted his glasses. "We will stick to the plan. You gave us the exact blueprint. We won't mess it up."
"Good luck Manager!"
"Stay safe!"
"I will definitely perfect your quirk development plans!"
Countless other sidekicks behind also joined.
Salaam stepped forward and held out his hand.
Kaito took it. They shook hands firmly.
"Seriously," Salaam said, his voice warm and genuine. "You are always welcome here, Kaito. If you ever need anything, you just call me."
"I know," Kaito smiled. "Thanks for everything, Salaam. I'll definitely come back to visit."
"Have a safe flight, Manager," Gale waved.
Kaito waved back and walked down the boarding bridge.
*-*-*-*
Location: Dubai – Local Market
Time: Three Hours Later
WHOOSH.
The commercial flight from Cairo to Dubai was short.
Kaito had a twelve-hour layover before his connecting flight to Tokyo. He took a cab straight into the city and found a massive open-air market.
The smell of roasted meats and heavy spices filled the air.
People walked around haggling over prices. Stall owners yelled out their daily deals.
Kaito walked up to a large stall covered in colorful fabrics, handmade jewelry, and wooden carvings.
An older vendor with a thick beard and a friendly smile noticed him looking around.
"First time in Dubai?" the vendor asked, leaning against his counter.
"Just passing through," Kaito replied. "I need to pick up a few gifts before I head back to Japan."
"You came to the right place," the vendor said. "What are we looking for?"
"I need something elegant for an older woman," Kaito pointed. "What is that blue fabric over there?"
"Pure silk," the vendor pulled it down. "Hand-stitched with gold thread. My wife makes them."
"I'll take it," Kaito said. It was perfect for Grandma Saki. "I also need a thick pullover hoodie. Maybe with a local design. And a few pieces of silver jewelry."
The vendor showed him a dark red hoodie with intricate black desert patterns on the sleeves, along with a pair of silver bracelets embedded with small turquoise stones.
Kaito bought them all.
"Do you have anything heavy and practical?" Kaito asked. "Like wooden bowls?"
"Right here," the vendor pulled out a stack of bowls.
He ran his thumb over the rim, and his fingertips glowed slightly, sanding the wood down to a perfectly smooth finish with a minor Quirk.
"Very durable wood. Lasts a lifetime."
"I'll take a set," Kaito nodded, securing a gift for Iwao and his family. "And lastly, a ceramic tea set and a soft toy for a toddler."
The vendor packed up the tea set and a woven stuffed camel.
Kaito paid the man and thanked him for his time. He shoved the items into his backpack and carried the rest in two large paper bags.
Kimiko, Kenji, and their daughter would love them.
He caught a cab back to the airport.
*-*-*-*
Location: Dubai International Airport – VIP Lounge
Time: Evening
CLACK.
Kaito set his laptop on the table in the quiet corner of the VIP lounge.
He bought a black coffee and sat down on the leather sofa.
He opened his files.
Out of the ten online consulting slots he had, he had already finished eight while living in Egypt.
He only had two left.
These agencies paid four million dollars for a slot.
They sent Kaito thousands of pages of internal data.
Financial records, sidekick Quirk registries, patrol routes, crime statistics, and combat footage.
Kaito read every single page.
He completely overhauled their entire operation to make it worth the massive price tag.
He opened the file for Slot Nine.
Target: Top 19 Pro Hero in China.
Hero Name: Great Wall.
Real Name: Bao.
Quirk: Jade Skin.
Bao's Quirk turned his skin into an unbreakable jade stone.
He was literally invincible.
The Quirk made his body weight triple. He was way too heavy and way too slow. Villains just ran away from him. His agency was losing public approval because he couldn't catch anyone.
Kaito opened a blank document and started typing out the exact plan.
He gave him a completely new fighting style based on a few formulas he designed in his head.
[Bao, your weight is your best weapon,] Kaito typed. [Drop into a tight tuck and roll. Use forward momentum to crush targets.]
He added four more quirk developments and the exact training needed.
Then next.
Kaito quickly sketched a blueprint for kinetic-burst boots and attached it to the file.
[Have your support company build these. They store the kinetic energy from your heavy footsteps and release it like a cannon blast to launch you forward. When in close range, utilize pure gravity and mass for palm strikes. For heavy punches, drive the power up from your legs and transfer the weight through your back. The arms are just the delivery method.]
Next, Kaito moved to the agency's patrol routes.
He deleted all of Bao's patrols in open plazas and wide streets.
He redrew the map, placing Bao exclusively in tight alleyways and narrow choke-points.
He looked at the sidekicks. Three of them had speed Quirks.
[Assign your speed sidekicks to act as herders,] Kaito typed. [They will flank the villains and force them into the narrow alleyways where you are waiting.]
[Sidekick Quirk Developments....]
He saved a hundred pages massive file and sent it to China.
One left.
Kaito opened Slot Ten.
Target: Top 30 Pro Hero in Russia.
Real Name: Ivan.
Hero Name: Major Moroz.
Quirk: Shatter Freeze.
Ivan could freeze the moisture in the air instantly.
The cold was so extreme and uncontrolled that it shattered concrete roads, snapped light poles, and broke windows.
The agency was millions of dollars in debt because the city kept suing them for property damage.
Ivan's sidekicks were useless because they couldn't get close to the fights without freezing to death.
Kaito started typing his solutions.
[Ivan, you need structural discipline] Kaito wrote bluntly. [Focus the cold into specific shapes like cages or walls.]
[This five is your quirk development and trainings....]
Then next.
Kaito attached a schematic for thermal-regulator gauntlets.
The gear would force the ice out of small vents, turning the area-of-effect Quirk into a precision tool.
[For large attacks, create a bounded vertical cylinder of ice. Everything inside the circle freezes. Everything outside the circle remains completely safe. This containment eliminates property damage. On the other hand...]
Then, Kaito fixed the debt problem.
[Sign contracts with the city's demolition companies. Use your ice to freeze old, condemned buildings so they shatter safely and cleanly. This revenue will clear your agency's debt in two months.....]
Finally, the sidekicks. Kaito found a sidekick in the roster with a 'Wind Gust' Quirk.
[Your sidekicks need to combo with you. The wind sidekick will stand behind you. When you create an ice cage, the sidekick uses wind to launch it through the air directly onto the villain.....]
Kaito reviewed the massive document. He made sure all the financial charts and training regimens were perfect.
He hit send.
The four million dollar contract was fulfilled.
BEEP. BEEP.
The airport intercom chimed above him.
"Passenger boarding for flight 402 to Tokyo, Japan, is now beginning at Gate B."
Kaito closed his laptop and put it in his backpack.
*-*-*-
Location: Tokyo – Shoowaysha Publishing Headquarters
SLAM.
Chitose Kizuki tossed a thick folder onto the glass conference table.
She crossed her arms and stared at the five writers sitting across from her.
"Are you guys serious right now?" Chitose asked. Her voice was flat.
The writers looked down at their laptops.
"Chief," a man with glasses started to say. "We take rising pro heroes who specializes in food sector and put them in a cooking competition. It has real potential."
"It is boring," Chitose cut him off. "We already did a hero competition. Project Hero: The Runway made us a massive amount of money because we had Best Jeanist. We had actual stakes. Season two is completely dead because Jeanist is busy with hero work. I have a huge prime-time TV slot open next month and zero ideas to fill it."
The room went quiet. Chitose rubbed her temples.
Just the other week, someone sent her company encrypted USB drive. Her subordinate opened it. It was dashcam footage of the vigilante Stendhal slaughtering Hero Public Safety Commission guards in a tunnel.
She really didn't care about this boring politics or to whitewash a vigilante turned villain.
Right now, she was running a public entertainment company.
She needed to make money. Depressing political news didn't pay the good money.
"Everyone get out," Chitose waved her hand. "Go back to your desks. Don't come back until you have something good."
The executives quickly packed their things and left the boardroom.
Sigh.
Chitose sighed, "I still needed another idea from Kaito again."
She pulled out her phone and scrolled through her contacts.
She stopped on Kaito's name. She hit the call button.
Bring. Bring. Bring.
*-*-*-*
Location: Shizuoka Prefecture – Grandma Saki's House
THUD.
Kaito dropped his heavy backpack onto the wooden floor of his bedroom.
He completely skipped going to his apartment in Naruhata. He took the bullet train straight from Tokyo to Shizuoka to visit Grandma Saki.
Downstairs, Saki was currently wearing the new blue silk scarf he brought back from Dubai.
"Mmm. Mmm."
She loved it.
Kaito sat on the edge of his bed.
"Finally home."
He stretched his arms and let out a long breath. The ten-hour flight was finally catching up to his body.
RING.
RING.
His phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out and looked at the screen.
It was Chitose.
He swiped to answer.
"Hello?" Kaito answered.
"Hey, Kaito," Chitose said. She sounded tired. "Are you still in the desert?"
"No, I just got back," Kaito replied. "I'm sitting in my bedroom in Shizuoka right now. What's wrong? You sound annoyed."
Chitose laughed a little. "Haha. I am annoyed. My writers are giving me garbage. The fashion show is canceled. Best Jeanist is out. I have a massive TV slot open next month and nothing to fill it with."
"Just make something new," Kaito said.
"Like what?" Chitose asked. "Another hero show? The market is too saturated. Everyone makes shows about Pro Heroes."
"...."
"Then don't use heroes," Kaito said.
Chitose paused. "What do you mean?"
"I mean the civilians," Kaito explained. "Eighty percent of the world has a Quirk. Most of them just work normal office jobs. Some guy out there can probably shoot colorful sparks from his nose. Another guy can change the color of paint by touching it. Give them a stage."
Chitose sat up straight in her chair.
"A civilian talent show," she whispered.
"Yeah," Kaito continued. "Call it Japan's Got Quirks. Hold open auditions across the country. Anyone can show up. Dancers using light Quirks. Singers with acoustic Quirks. You put three famous Pro Heroes on the judge's panel to react to them. They hit a buzzer if they like it. Give the winner a hundred million yen."
Chitose grabbed a pen and started writing on a notepad.
"The public would go crazy for that," Chitose said. Her voice was getting excited. "They always watch heroes fight. They never get to see regular people do cool stuff. We can get Present Mic to host it. He is perfect for that. Other pros could be a judge."
"Call for Uwabami again," Kaito suggested. "She loves the camera."
"Yes!" Chitose grinned. "But wait. Public Quirk usage is strictly illegal. The HPSC will shut the production down before we even film the first audition."
"They won't," Kaito said calmly. "You just have to play their game."
"How?" Chitose asked.
"First, you legally classify the studio stage as a 'Controlled Quirk Assessment Facility.' The law allows Quirks to be used inside assessment facilities," Kaito explained. "Second, you hire HPSC approved Pro Heroes to act as the venue security guards. The HPSC loves that because it gives their heroes easy, high-paying jobs, and it puts their own eyes inside your building."
Chitose wrote everything down fast. "Okay. What else?"
"The bribe," Kaito said. "You offer the HPSC a five percent cut of the broadcasting revenue. You frame it on paper as a 'Quirk Safety Education Tax.' The HPSC gets free millions just for stamping a paper. And they get to show the public that they support safe, artistic Quirk use. It fixes their bad PR."
Chitose stopped writing. She stared at the notepad.
The plan was completely bulletproof.
The HPSC got money, security control, and good press. They would sign the permit instantly.
"And if the show blows up," Kaito added casually over the phone. "You own the trademark. You can sell the format to America, Korea, and Britain. You just sit back and collect the franchise fees."
Chitose started laughing. A loud, genuine laugh.
"Haha. You just landed in the country and you already handed me a gold mine," Chitose smiled. "I owe you dinner, Kaito. A really expensive one."
"I'll hold you to that," Kaito chuckled. "I'm going to get some sleep. Talk to you later."
"Get some rest. Bye," Chitose said.
CLICK.
The call ended.
Chitose stood up and hit the intercom button on the table.
"Get the writers back in here right now," Chitose ordered. "We are going to make a talent show."
*-*-*-*
Step.
Step.
Kaito walked down the wooden stairs. Saki stood in the living room.
She had the blue silk scarf wrapped around her neck. She looked in the hallway mirror and adjusted the fabric.
"It fits perfectly," Saki said.
"Told you," Kaito walked into the kitchen. He placed the glass spice jars from Dubai on the counter. "Sit down, Grandma. I'm cooking dinner tonight."
Saki followed him into the kitchen and grabbed her apron off the hook. "I am not going to just sit there and watch you work. What are we making?"
Kaito smiled.
He opened the fridge and pulled out chicken thighs and fresh vegetables.
"Sumac-spiced chicken," Kaito pointed to the dark red powder in the jar. "And we are putting it over dashi pilaf. A mix of both."
"I'll handle the dashi," Saki nodded. She went straight to the sink to wash the rice. She pulled a pot out and started boiling the kombu and bonito flakes.
The warm, rich smell of the Japanese broth quickly filled the kitchen.
Kaito grabbed his chef's knife.
CHOP.
CHOP.
His hands moved with intense speed. He cut the chicken and vegetables into completely even pieces in seconds.
He grabbed a heavy iron skillet and turned the stove dial to the maximum heat.
SIZZLE.
He threw the chicken into the pan. He dumped a heavy pinch of sumac, garlic, and cumin over the meat.
He grabbed the handle and jerked the pan back.
The chicken flew into the air, caught the open flames for a split second, and landed right back in the skillet.
WHOOSH.
The sharp, tangy smoke from the Middle Eastern spices blended perfectly with the deep, savory scent of Saki's dashi broth.
Saki watched him flip the pan again. "You move too fast in the kitchen, Kaito."
"You just have to keep the heat high," Kaito poured her finished dashi broth straight into the rice cooker.
Ten minutes later, Kaito placed two large bowls on the dining table.
Steaming dashi rice sat on the bottom, seared red chicken rested on top, and charred vegetables covered the side.
They sat down.
Saki picked up her chopsticks and took a bite of the chicken and rice together.
Her eyes went wide. She covered her mouth.
"Kaito," Saki mumbled while chewing. She swallowed. "This is amazing. The sourness from the red spice completely balances out the heavy salt in the broth. It is perfect."
"Good," Kaito took a huge bite from his own bowl. "I wanted to make something healthy but strong."
Saki took another bite. "So tell me about Egypt. How were the heroes over there?"
"Hot," Kaito answered. "But the pro heroes work hard. A head sidekick named Nuubis. I made him run sprints through wet sand for two weeks straight. He hated it."
Saki laughed. "You are too strict."
"It kept them stronger during a sudden incidents and accidents," Kaito pointed out. "Salaam threw a massive party before I left. They rented out an entire hotel."
He deliberately skipped the part where Salaam offered him a private island.
"I'm glad you had fun," Saki smiled.
She set her chopsticks down on the table. She gently rubbed her right hand.
Kaito watched her hands.
She hid it well most days, but her body was still getting old. In the past Kaito had silently made Grandma Saki healthy but at that time his quirk can't stop aging yet.
Sip.
Kaito took a sip of water. He focused his mind completely on her.
Snap.
He silently activated his Quirk.
Kaito looked straight past her skin and bones. He looked directly at her cellular biology.
He saw the chromosomes inside her DNA. At the end of those chromosomes were telomeres.
They were like the plastic caps on the ends of shoelaces.
Every time her cells divided, those telomeres got shorter. When they got too short, the cells degraded.
That was aging.
Kaito targeted every single telomere in Grandma Saki's body.
He forced reality to change.
He artificially lengthened her telomeres back to the exact state of a healthy thirty-year-old. He permanently locked the cell division process.
Her cells would never degrade again. Her body would stay completely healthy forever.
Saki suddenly stopped rubbing her knuckles.
"Hmmm?" She blinked.
She opened and closed her right hand.
HUUUFF.
She sat up straight and she took a deep breath.
Her lungs felt completely clear.
"That is strange," Saki looked at her hands in confusion.
"What's wrong?" Kaito asked.
"Did you do something?" Saki looked at Kaito infront of her. "The pain in my hands just stopped."
Woohooot.
"I don't know what your talking about." Kaito replied and whistles. "It must have been the wind."
"....."
"....."
"Kaito, people grow old and die. That's part of the cycle of life." Saki picked up her chopsticks again and was pretty sure that Kaito had done something to her. After all, his grandson can even stop disasters with a simple snap of his fingers.
"Are you staying home tomorrow?"
"Yeah," Kaito replied and didn't listen about Grandma Saki's cycle of life or something. "I'm taking a week off."
*-*-*-*
Location: Tokyo – Sato X News Headquarters
CLICK.
Hideki Sato slammed his hand on his desk. He leaned close to his computer monitor. His eyes were wide open. He had a massive grin on his face.
"Boss," Nagi said nervously. He stood next to the desk, holding a digital tablet. "We really can't air this."
"Haha.. Why?" Sato laughed loudly. "It's the greatest thing I've seen in the past months. Ever since the return of Hero X months ago, this is a huge scoop I wanted!"
"Because the HPSC was doing their actual job," Nagi wiped sweat from his forehead. "Tartarus is compromised. The government is legally moving the worst villains to a new, secure facility. That transport was totally classified. If we broadcast this, the HPSC will come after our company."
Sato spun around in his chair. He didn't know who sent the intel in their company but this is a huge news.
"Who cares?" Sato yelled happily. "Look at the footage! A masked guy chopping up the worst monsters in the country. It is massive! It is pure entertainment!"
Nagi swallowed hard. "Boss, it's state secrets."
"I run a news empire, Nagi," Sato stood up and pointed at him. "I don't care about their rules. I care about the scoop. Put it on every single screen in Japan."
*-*-*-*
Location: Shizuoka Prefecture – Grandma Saki's House
BEEP.
BEEP.
The television in the living room suddenly cut away from the regular comedy show. The screen went completely black.
Kaito stopped eating his chicken. He looked over at the TV.
A red breaking news banner flashed across the bottom of the screen.
[EMERGENCY BROADCAST: SATO X EXCLUSIVE LEAK]
The screen showed raw, grainy video. It was a dashboard camera from an armored truck parked in a dark tunnel.
Saki set her chopsticks down on the table. "What is this?"
The video had no audio.
The back doors of the truck opened. Prisoners stepped out.
They were wearing heavy chains and quirk-suppressing cuffs.
A man with a red scarf and a sword dashed through the crowd. He killed them all in seconds.
The news anchor started speaking fast.
[We just received this leaked footage] the anchor said loudly. [The victims are the Tartarus Villains who was part of the League of Villains months ago. The HPSC was secretly transporting them. The vigilante Stendhal intercepted the convoy and executed the targets.]
Saki covered her mouth. "Oh my god. They were tied up. He just slaughtered them."
Kaito watched the screen silently. He saw the live internet comments scrolling rapidly on the side of the news broadcast.
[Finally! Someone actually finished the job!]
[Stendhal is a real hero. He protected us!]
[The government heroes are useless. Thank you Stendhal!]
[No, Killing an unarmed prisoners is wrong..]
[All life MATTERS]
[Shut up! A villain is a villain. It's better to be killed.]
[Pussy!]
[There's a reason why we have orders and laws. Guys above don't know shit!]
Some of the public completely ignored the fact that the HPSC had the villains secured.
They were deeply traumatized by the last doomsday attack. They just wanted the villains dead. Some also didn't like that a Vigilante was doing things selfishly.
*-*-*-*
Location: Gang Orca's Agency
CRASH.
Gang Orca smashed his massive fist straight through his wooden desk.
The thick wood splintered and collapsed onto the floor.
His sidekicks flinched and stepped back against the glass tanks.
Orca stared at the television on the wall.
He also read the thousands of internet comments on his computer praising Stendhal.
"They are cheering for a murderer," Orca growled. His sharp teeth ground together. "We risked our lives to capture those villains. The HPSC secured them. And now the public treats this crazy guy like a savior."
*-*-*-*
Location: Lion Shishido's Agency
THUD.
Lion Shishido dropped a heavy barbell onto the gym mat.
He grabbed a towel and wiped the heavy sweat off his hairy face. He stared at the news broadcast playing on his sidekick's phone.
"Stupid," Shishido grunted loudly. "He is just a rabid dog. You don't praise a rabid dog for biting a criminal. You put it down before it bites a normal person."
*-*-*-*
Location: Crust's Agency
WAAAAAAH.
Crust sat at his desk.
Huge tears poured down his face and soaked into his thick beard.
He grabbed his hair with both hands. He was incredibly frustrated.
"This is our fault!" Crust yelled at his sidekicks. "The public only supports him because we failed to make them feel safe! We have to train harder!"
*-*-*-*
Location: Yoroi Musha's Estate
CLINK.
Yoroi Musha gently set his teacup down on the wooden table.
The old samurai hero sat in his traditional living room. He watched the news footage on a flat screen.
He closed his eyes and slowly shook his head.
"No honor," Musha whispered. "Slaughtering bound men in the dark. The line between hero and villain is completely gone."
*-*-*-*
Location: Hawks' Agency
Hawks sat on his office couch. He had a bucket of fried chicken and protein shakes sitting on his lap.
Nom. Nom. Nom.
Slurp.
He chewed on a drumstick and drank the shake.
He watched the news report, his red wings twitching nervously behind him.
Sigh.
"Man," Hawks sighed. He tossed the bone into a trash can.
He rubbed his face.
Half of the public was officially siding with a killer over the government heroes. The HPSC authority was going to take massive damage from this broadcast.
"The President is going to have a stroke," Hawks groaned. "And besides how the hell did he got the exact location of the transport vehicle?"
...
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(9 Advanced Chapters)