"Hic!"
Amano Sora staggered out of the cafeteria, clutching his stomach with both hands, his face filled with undeniable satisfaction.
"Ahhh… that felt amazing," he sighed blissfully as he stood at the entrance.
Behind him, the restaurant manager nearly burst into tears.
Who was this monster?
Even their biggest regulars couldn't eat as much as this kid!
The waiters stared at Sora's retreating back with hollow eyes, completely unaware that Sora himself was suffering just as much.
Moments ago, while running, an overwhelming wave of hunger had slammed into him without warning. His legs had gone weak, his vision blurred, and he'd nearly collapsed on the spot.
Only by sheer luck had he stumbled across this cafeteria in time.
"So this is the downside of the Speed Force…" Sora muttered, rubbing his stomach as the fullness slowly faded, replaced by dread.
He finally understood.
Along with super speed came super consumption.
"…If this keeps up, I'll go bankrupt before I become a hero."
His face darkened as he calculated silently.
"One meal just now was about five hundred yen… but I ate nearly a hundred times the normal amount…"
That meant fifty thousand yen per meal.
Three meals a day.
One hundred and fifty thousand yen per day.
Sora's expression collapsed.
"This isn't a superpower… this is a money-burning ability!"
He nearly screamed.
In this world, Quirks came in all shapes and forms, and entire industries had adapted to them. But there was one unspoken rule—anyone with an absurdly destructive or costly Quirk would quickly be blacklisted by entire business sectors.
Cafeterias especially.
Once a big eater like him showed up, word would spread instantly.
"No cafeteria would ever let me in again…"
Sora shuddered.
"So the only way out…" He clenched his fists, eyes burning with determination.
"I have to become a professional Hero."
Only a Hero could earn enough money to support this kind of consumption.
Business? Impossible.
He wasn't some genius entrepreneur.
Manga or novel plagiarism? Forget it.
He barely remembered plotlines, and even if he did, he couldn't draw.
At fifteen years old, he didn't even have legal independence.
The answer was obvious.
"To eat… I must become a Hero!"
Sora nodded fiercely.
This was no longer about ideals.
This was survival.
With renewed determination, he turned to head home—
Then froze.
"…Wait."
He stared blankly at the unfamiliar street in front of him.
"Did I… come from that direction?"
His face went pale.
In his excitement earlier, he'd run randomly without paying attention to direction, and afterward wandered aimlessly until he found food.
Now that he thought about it…
He had absolutely no idea where he was.
"…Meow?"
A gust of wind blew past.
Sora slowly raised his head, eyes empty.
Calling his aunt?
Absolutely not.
He could already imagine Takeyama Yū laughing so hard she'd turn into a giant and shake the entire neighborhood.
"No. Never."
He sighed deeply.
"…I'll just ask for directions."
He straightened up, ready to ask a passerby where the Hero residential district was—
Then paused.
"…Which one?"
There were eight Hero residential zones in this city.
Eight.
Even taxis wouldn't know which one he meant without a specific address.
Sora squatted down on the sidewalk, drawing circles on the ground in despair.
"Why didn't I memorize the address…"
Tears welled up in his eyes.
Then—
A voice suddenly came from behind him.
"Hey, kid. Looks like you could use some help."
Sora stiffened.
"Eh?"
He turned around sharply.
And froze.
Two messy golden bangs hung over a gaunt face.
A skinny body hidden beneath oversized sportswear.
Sunken cheeks.
Yet beneath the exhaustion—
Those eyes.
Bright blue.
Sharp.
Unmistakable.
"…All Might?"
Sora's soul nearly left his body.
This was the weakened All Might.
The one he had seen countless times in the anime.
The symbol of peace… in his frail, true form.
"I—uh—sorry!" the man said hurriedly, wiping blood from the corner of his mouth. "Did I scare you?"
Blood.
He was literally spitting blood while apologizing.
Sora took an involuntary step back.
"S-Sir… maybe you should… stop bleeding first?"
"Haha! It's fine, it's fine!" All Might waved it off, though more blood dripped from his lips. "See? It stopped!"
Sora stared in disbelief.
No it didn't.
But he held his tongue.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Then All Might tilted his head curiously.
"You looked lost. Need directions?"
Sora swallowed.
Of all people…
Of all times…
He had just run into the Symbol of Peace.
"…Y-Yeah," he said weakly. "I'm trying to get back to the Hero residential district."
All Might smiled warmly.
"Ah. Then you're in luck."
And just like that—
Fate quietly turned its gears.