It was barely 2:24 PM, but Reiji had already arrived home. As expected, there was no one waiting for him. He had come with Shinso and Camie on the train, until they parted ways at their respective stations.
"Today's cooking time..." He thought aloud with a sigh. His life was feeling very... normal. But he had that anxiety that at any moment, his phone would vibrate again and his duties as an agent would resume. After all, his break was only until he entered U.A. Once inside, he'd have to get back to work.
He dropped his backpack on the chair and headed to the kitchen. The refrigerator was half empty, but sufficient: rice, egg, some tofu, and a bag of chopped vegetables. He turned on the rice cooker and opened a window to let in the cool evening air.
As the water began to boil, he leaned against the counter with his arms crossed. 'Aoyama doesn't exist as a student in this world, in this reality... That means AFO doesn't have a spy within UA... Either that, or someone else is now the spy,' he thought with a frown. That changed a lot of things. He wasn't sure AFO knew what was going on at UA, and with that, all the events of the original story changed dramatically.
Anyway, if Aoyama wasn't a spy, the villain league's way of acting would already change radically. A sigh escaped his mouth, and then he moved to his room to put his things away.
While he was changing clothes, the rattling of a hidden drawer under his desk caught his attention.
Slowly, he knelt down and moved the false bottom of the drawer with a small push of his fingers. There it was: the sealed cell phone from the Public Safety Commission, right next to the notebook that chronicled all the events Reiji remembered about the plot.
'They didn't wait a day...' He leaned closer and read the message, a confirmation from an underground fighting ring in a forgotten parking lot in a distant district. He had to act today at midnight. A smile escaped his lips.
He wouldn't admit it, but it was really exciting to do these things. In his previous life, he'd suffered in an experimental cage 24/7, and now, his job was to go out and explore corners of cities he'd normally never see. Clearly, there was a substantial difference between his two existences, but the conditions were the same; he was still a tool for someone else.
'Not everything is forever, right?'
He closed the message, turned off his cell phone, and left it on his bed. He still had plenty of hours before things started.
***
11:52 PM – Udagawa District
The cold of the night wasn't the problem. Reiji was already used to it.
What did bother him was the smell: stagnant humidity, old tobacco, spilled alcohol, rust. A viscous mixture that reminded him of the clandestine laboratories where he used to be used as a guinea pig.
The underground parking garage was so abandoned that even car thieves didn't bother going down there. It was three levels deep. Access was blocked above ground by a "structural hazard" sign, but with the right signal and a loose bill, a side gate would magically open.
Reiji descended the stairs soundlessly. The further he went, the sound became quieter and darker, as if absolutely nothing was happening there.
'A barrier-type Quirk. Perception or blocking?' Reiji looked at the footprints, the scrap metal around it, and even a few drops of dried blood on the walls, along with the graffiti and everything. It was clear this place wasn't abandoned. Not as abandoned as it was made out to be.
As he reached the third level, the air changed. It was denser. More real. And there they were. The lights, the muffled voices, the subterranean roar of a contained crowd.
A rectangular opening in the concrete, covered with black tarps and metal pipes, served as a side entrance. Reiji approached. They let him in without speaking. He didn't have to show identification: his silence and the way he walked were enough to prevent him from being mistaken for a civilian.
As he crossed the threshold, the world reconfigured itself.
The structure opened into a wide, damp space, partially lit by hanging lamps and portable generators.
Old cars formed a barrier around an improvised fighting circle. About eighty people, of different ages, watched, shouted, and bet.
And in the center, two figures were mercilessly destroying each other. One was using a sonic explosion Quirk. The other, a skin that hardened every time he took damage.
There were no judges. There were no rules.
Reiji slipped into the crowd. No one noticed. No one wanted to notice.
'The one with the skin already won...' He thought quickly, noticing how the attacks didn't affect him at all as his skin hardened, while the other guy suffered with each of his opponent's blows.
His gaze moved quickly. He identified small cameras camouflaged among the tubes. Observers with tablets. Some were taking notes. Others were simply analyzing the fights like someone choosing meat at the market.
This was just getting started; the blood was still fresh on the ground, and everyone seemed to be analyzing more than betting. It was barely midnight, it was logical to think that.
"New?" The voice was soft, feminine. But direct.
Reiji barely turned his head.
A woman with pale gray hair and lined eyes was looking at him with interest. Tight clothing, a body covered in tattoos, a confident smile, and parted lips.
She wasn't looking at him as if she were a stranger. She was looking at him as if she already knew what kind of animal he was.
"You don't look like one of those who gamble. Nor one of those who fight... Analyst? Recruiter?"
Reiji didn't respond.
"Silent? Interesting."
She took a step closer, crossing her arms behind her back. Not with the intention of fighting, but to study. As if she considered him part of her inventory.
"Perhaps... You want something more," she said, leaning slightly, showing off her assets.
Reiji looked at her, without tension. He spoke only one word, without emotion:
"Stay back."
It wasn't a threat. Not a warning. It was a statement. An instruction impossible to argue with.
The woman held him for a second longer. Then she smiled, resigned.
"Too bad. With that face, you could have made a lot of money here."
And she disappeared into the crowd.
Reiji looked back at the fight. The man with the hardened Quirk had just broken the other's jaw with a single sharp blow. The body fell, and no one screamed. There were only murmurs. An exchange of glances.
A trader waved his hand. Two men dragged the loser out of the circle like he was an old piece of furniture.
He was dead, but no one cared. Only the few who had lost money were complaining.
"I'll stay a while longer. If I leave now... They might suspect something." He glanced at a couple of men watching him. They had clearly seen him arrive and knew he was new. They wouldn't let him leave just like that.
It might have seemed clandestine in an improvised way, but in Musutafu, one of the cities with the most hero activity. Nothing was that simple...
Reiji kept his gaze lowered, like another spectator. His posture was relaxed, his expression neutral, but every muscle in his body was gauging the exits, the cameras, the familiar faces... and the unfamiliar ones.
A new fight was announced with a loud clap in the air.
"Next round!" a deep voice shouted from the corner, amplified by an old microphone connected to makeshift speakers.
The overhead lights flickered. A red beam illuminated the center of the fighting circle.
The murmurs rose like waves. This time, the bet was on. You could tell by the swish of bills, the sound of heavy coins falling into metal trays, and the covetous glances.
'Now... this is what you've been waiting for.'
From the left side, a tall man entered, his torso covered only by bandages. He had a crooked smile and several scars on his arms. The sparks escaping his fingers gave him away: Electric Quirk.
"Go 'Spark Wolf'! Ratio 3 to 1!" shouted an operator with a tablet.
From the right side, a shorter man appeared, covered in a threadbare cloak that trailed behind him. He walked barefoot, and each step he took left a small, wet mark on the ground. He was blindfolded.
"And against him, 'Chemical Blind'! 4 to 1! We pay double if he wins before the minute is up!"
Shouts erupted. Bills raised. Names shouted. Bets crossed.
Reiji didn't move a finger. He just watched.
The fight began without warning. Sparks. A small explosion. The electric-type leaped toward his enemy with a fist wrapped in volts.
But the blind man was no longer there.
A strong smell of metal filled the air. The blind man's Quirk activated: toxic fumes erupted from his pores, creating a greenish mist that enveloped his opponent.
The crowd screamed. Some with excitement. Others, covering their mouths.
The electric-type fell to his knees. He coughed. His skin blistered.
Spark Wolf tried to get up, launched a blast at his opponent's diffuse body... But it was useless.
A precise blow. Silent. And Spark fell.
"Winner: Chemical Blind! Triple pay!" They shouted to applause.
The crowd howled. The atmosphere changed completely. Now heat, adrenaline, and the smell of money dominated the underground.
Reiji faked a slight smile and applauded along with everyone else, maintaining his disguise. But his eyes continued to study everything.
"That's..." His eyes narrowed as he noticed a skinny, hooded figure with one hand covering most of its face. It was intently observing the fight, along with many other people around it.
No one was looking at it. No one seemed to notice its presence, and that was precisely the most alarming aspect. Either they ignored it out of fear, or they simply didn't know who it was. Both options were bad.
Reiji lowered his hands after a couple more slow claps and turned his body slightly. Not enough to flee, but enough to plot an escape route if necessary.
Before he could analyze further, a dull noise a few feet away made him spin slightly.
"I told you it was two against one, asshole!!" a man shouted, pushing a makeshift table where several had been betting.
A glass fell and shattered. The spilled alcohol on the floor created a sour stench, as two men began shoving each other. Other spectators moved aside, some laughing, others tensing.
Reiji wasn't fazed. A brawl between gamblers wasn't a problem... unless it escalated.
Reiji took the opportunity to move slightly through the crowd, positioning himself at a different angle. He looked back at where he had seen the figure before.
It was gone.
Only the space remained. Empty. The air there seemed slightly drier. On the ground where he'd leaned, a grayish, dusty stain. Five irregular footprints. As if five fingers had pressed down... and disintegrated whatever they touched.
"...Shit," Reiji whispered, emotionless. If only he could have stopped him... Even killed him in that instant! All his problems, or most of them, would have been easily solved.
"Was he looking for recruits...?"
The fight ended. The lights changed color. A pause. A "round adjustment" announcement.
He looked back at the riot; it was still going on, but it had stopped. Now was the time to leave quietly without raising too much suspicion. He walked through the crowd to lose himself and calmly exited through the front door.
His mission had been completed, and in the process, he'd gotten his first glimpse of Tomura Shigaraki. It wasn't much, but if he managed to catch him before he got too strong...
"My whole life is solved..."
===
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