"The mayhem started a couple of years ago after it hit a breaking point; people's meta abilities went out of control in Japan, which led to growing paranoia and hate for meta humans, but they weren't going to sit down and take it, so they started fighting back. It's more complex than this, but it's just a brief overview." Kani finished.
"They think we're infected, bunch of idiots." Neko frowned.
"I think it's best if we head to the hospital before they wake up." Kani pointed at one of the group members who was slowly waking up.
They hurriedly left the industrial zone and got on the main street to hail a taxi with Diego as Kani asked him to follow them until they reached the hospital for safety. Neko was beside Kani while Diego had his arm over Kani, holding her up.
"Wow, this looks beautiful," Diego said in astonishment.
The street was lit up with neon colors and smelled like a myriad of different foods, which came from the still-open restaurants. Thousands of people packed like sardines walk the busy street at a fast pace with umbrellas by their side, while cars pass by.
None spared Kani a look, despite her injuries, as they didn't want to be involved with any troublesome situation, or they were getting distracted gawking at the shirtless Diego, who stood out like a sore thumb. His imposing height of six feet five and unreal beauty attracted all the attention.
"You're like a celebrity." Neko chuckled.
"I guess so, though I'm not too sure I like the unnecessary attention," Diego said, trying to avoid eye contact with dozens of people who passed by.
"I don't think we ever got your name," Kani added.
"It's Diego, what's your name?"
"I'm Kani, and that's Neko." Kani pointed to Neko, who gave a thumbs-up with a smile.
"Since were introducing ourselves, Kani and I were born and raised in Osaka, what about you?" Neko asked.
"Born and raised in California," Diego replied truthfully. He didn't know where this body originated from, so he came up with the next best thing.
"Ehh?!" Neko and Kani shouted out at the same time, drawing looks from people.
"You're American? I thought you were from Europe or something, you just have that look." Neko exclaimed.
'Wait, do I look like Dio Brando? I only have the golden hair to go off on, but on top of the physique, being a vampire, and now my apparent resemblance to Europeans, it can't all just be a coincidence. Could it be possible that I'll get his abilities later down the line? It would definitely help against All for One espeically if I get hypnosis and Space Ripper Stingy Eyes.'
"My great-grandparents could have been Europeans or something, I don't know." Diego shrugged his shoulders.
They eventually got to the edge of the street, and Neko raised her hand to signal a taxi that came within five minutes. The driver rolled down the window and asked warily what had happened.
"My friend got beaten up by a Anti Meta group. Could you take us to Tennoji Hospital, please? It's an emergency." Neko explained.
The driver nodded his head and unlocked the door. He drove pretty fast, and within five minutes, they had arrived at the hospital. Neko paid the fare, and the group said thank you to the driver as they got out.
"I expected the city to be, I don't know, less society-like?" Diego said.
"It hasn't really hit Osaka yet, thankfully. For now, we just have to deal with small-time Anti-Meta groups," Kani said gratefully.
"Yeah, but it won't be long before it does. I've read in the newspaper that the crime rate in Wakayama has increased by sixty percent." Neko said grimly.
"Sixty? Kani repeated, stunned. "That's too high. What are the police doing?"
"They're getting overwhelmed, not only do they have to deal with the rogue metas, but also the Yakuza," Neko answered.
"N-Neko, do you think were going to be okay when that time comes?" Kani said, her voice cracking slightly.
"Yes," Diego replied with certainty.
"Just what I was about to say, Diego, as long as we have Kami by our side, everything's going to be okay, Kani," Neko said, smiling gently.
They arrived at the door, and Kani switched positions to Neko.
"Well, this is goodbye. I have some business to attend to." Diego said.
Neko and Kani bowed slightly with a smile.
"I can't express how much were truly thankful for, especially me. I couldn't do anything." Kani said, looking down disappointedly.
"Don't beat yourself up over it, Kani. You were brave out there." Neko pulled her head up and hugged her.
"And you." She pointed at Diego. "Thank you again, but about your business, is it about participating in the war?"
"No, it has nothing to do with it, just some personal matter." Diego lied, not wanting to involve either Neko or Kani in it.
"Sure, sure, but if you ever wanted to visit, my address is [Redacted]. You never know, you might need a guide." Neko winked.
'I can already tell she's going to be troublesome.' Diego sighed inwardly.
"I'll think about it." He walked off, waving goodbye.
-----
'Oh yeah, I'm broke and homeless.'
Diego sat on the sidewalk a few blocks away from the hospital, lamenting his predicament.
'Maybe I should explore the city? Nah, too many stares, hmm, if I can't walk, then I should fly.'
Diego got up and started imagining himself turning into a bat, but a couple of minutes past yet nothing happened. Pedestrians who walked by held in their laughter as from their point of view it looked like Diego was holding in his shit.
Eventually, after ten minutes of trying to vividly imagine what transforming into a bat would look like, Diego's body went poof and visible smoke expel out of his body. He fully transformed into a Desmodus rotundus bat, granting him thermal sensing, flight, night vision, and echolocation.
'This feels so weird, it's like I'm out of my body but at the same time not.'
He flew up and noticed that his vision also changed, being able to only see in shades of gray and some blue and green, which Diego was disappointed by, missing out on seeing Osaka's neon light colors from the sky.
At first, while flying, he couldn't maneuver well at all and struggled to fly in a straight line and flipped around constantly, which got him dizzy, but after a while, he was able to get the hang of it.
During his sightseeing, he decided he might as well look for an abandoned building to hide in before the sun came out. He didn't know what effect the sun would have on him, but it was most likely not going to be good.
He then came across an abandoned parking lot that had the top floors destroyed, and was about to pass it before he looked down and saw dozens of torches that were lit up, which piqued his interest. He flew down, but not too low, so as not to get noticed.
What he saw made his stomach turn. In front of him was a black-haired boy whose head was flattened as he lay on the ground dead. There was a huge mutant, at least around nine feet, with four arms standing on top of him, with his fists covered in blood and a bloodied golden belt wrapped around his waist.
The Osaka Fight Club, also known as O.F.C. in the underworld, is an illegal deathmatch tournament that pits quirk users against each other for a cash prize of 200 million yen, which roughly equals one million dollars.
It was founded in 1985 by its current owner, Okane, who was a former ceo before his company went bankrupt. During the rise of quirks, he saw an opportunity, with how popular combat sports were and how much money they made, just imagine adding superpowers.
But he also had to spice things up due to his own twisted version of entertainment and added deathmatch despite the average age of the opponents being teens, as all quirk users were teens or young adults.
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100 ps- 1 bonus chapter
250 ps- 2 bonus chapters