The first thing that came to Allen's mind was pain. The second was sadness. The third was a purpose… one worth throwing everything away for.
Then came a scene that was familiar to him, one that repeated itself over and over again as a constant across countless universes.
That scene in an alley, where Batman was born from death…
There was resentment. There was hatred. There was cruelty. Batman's journey, half the time, was a journey of vengeance and self-destruction. The other half was conviction—the purpose of making sure that no one else would have to go through what he himself had endured.
It was a vow… to become that which would bring nightmares to villains, criminals, murderers, the corrupt, and the deranged.
It was a punishment… because that child chose the hardest path, one where he would create a monster within himself—a monster that could emerge the moment he broke his ideals and promises, the moment he stained his hands with blood.
A monster that was both himself and his greatest enemy.
"I see… being Batman is heavy…"
Allen had underestimated the burden of embodying the Dark Knight. For a moment, his mind filled with anger and vengeance. Still, he managed to restrain himself, remembering that even though Batman is dark, cold, and calculating, even though he distrusts everyone, even though he is willing to defeat his friends if necessary, despite all that, he is still a hero.
Once the weight was assimilated, Allen became worthy of being his own version of Batman.
....
When facing Knuckleduster, Allen's mind had already stabilized and was slowly returning to itself. He had almost paralyzed the punk for what he had done.
"Come on!"
Knuckleduster had mistaken Allen for a villain. Obviously, he couldn't really be blamed—Batman, regardless of the version, designed his suit to inspire fear. Of course, since Allen wasn't a specific Batman but rather his own version turned into Batman, he also had his differences. For starters, the bat emblem on his chest had replaced yellow with white.
"Come, vigilante," Allen invited, striking a combat stance.
Knuckleduster clenched his fist and charged.
Allen ducked, dodging by mere millimeters, and counterattacked with three strikes to vital points on Knuckleduster's body.
"Ugh!"
The man groaned but kept fighting, which surprised Allen, since Knuckleduster didn't seem to have a Quirk.
Allen pulled a small sphere from his belt and threw it to the ground, releasing a large amount of smoke.
"What is this?!" Knuckleduster shouted before being engulfed by the smoke.
Allen retreated outside the cloud while holding his breath. This smoke was a very potent sleeping gas. Unlike the punks, Allen had no reason to seriously hurt Knuckleduster.
"Haha!"
With a shrill laugh, Knuckleduster burst out of the smoke in front of Allen, his fist ready.
"...!"
Allen blocked the punch with his crossed arms but was sent flying out of the alley, crashing into a vehicle.
People on the streets were confused.
"What was that?"
"Is that a hero? No, he doesn't look like one… is he a villain?!"
"Quick, call the police!"
At that moment, Allen barely cared about drawing attention. He was speechless at what had just happened.
'Is this for real?'
He had Batman's strength, pushed to the limits of human development. On top of that, he had his own strength—superhuman—along with a body capable of fighting mutant zombies barehanded and armor that reduced impact and damage. And despite all that, he had still been sent flying.
"You're an incredible guy..." Allen said as he stood up.
At that moment, Knuckleduster had already closed the distance and attacked him again.
"But… don't underestimate me."
Allen dodged the punch and kicked Knuckleduster in the face. Without breaking rhythm, he struck his stomach, then drove his palm into the man's chin.
"ARGHH!"
Knuckleduster staggered back and dropped to one knee. He realized that Allen was incredibly strong—not only that, his combat skills were enormous, even greater than his own.
"It's absurd that someone with the dedication to reach that level would be a villain."
"I could say the same. Why are you a vigilante and risk getting arrested? You could be a hero even without a Quirk."
"...!"
Knuckleduster's eyes widened in surprise. He hadn't expected Allen to figure out his condition so easily.
"Haha, sorry, I shouldn't have brought words into our fight!" Knuckleduster stood up, his knees trembling—not just from the blows, but also from the sedative.
Allen smiled. "I don't hate hot-blooded idiots."
Many people had begun recording and broadcasting the encounter. Knuckleduster was known as a vigilante—he had stopped several criminals—but he was hunted by the police due to his violent methods and lack of a hero license.
On the other hand, a man dressed in black had appeared, with a bat symbol on his chest. He wore a suit with protective plates and a black cape that seemed to absorb light.
Neither of them gave the impression of being a hero, yet there they were, facing each other.
Knuckleduster stomped the ground and launched himself at Allen. Allen did the same, clenching his fist, intending to meet him head-on.
The collision—despite neither of them having incredible powers—stole the breath from more than a few onlookers. However, just as they were about to clash, Pop Step dropped in between them.
"Stop!"
"...!"
The girl's entrance was far too sudden. Knuckleduster couldn't stop himself. Allen, with his enhanced senses and greater experience in unexpected situations, shifted his stance, grabbed Pop Step by the waist, and pulled her out of the way.
Pop Step realized too late how reckless she had been. She looked up to see Allen holding her.
"You..."
"You're always such a reckless girl."
"...!"
Just an inch from Allen's face was Knuckleduster's massive fist—he had managed to stop at the very last second.
"It seems… I made a mistake," Knuckleduster said as he pulled his fist back.
"About time you noticed," Allen mocked. "Judging someone by their appearance isn't a good look for you..."
Knuckleduster growled in embarrassment. It was true—he had assumed Allen was the culprit without considering any other possibility.
"He saved me from a group of punks. He's not the villain!" Pop Step exclaimed.
At that moment, Koichi approached as well, dragging the punk along.
"They're the ones who attacked us!"
Knuckleduster looked at Koichi and the criminal, then at Pop Step, before smiling.
"Yeah, I can see that now. You were even ready to take a hit for that girl. I like your guts!"
*Sirens*
The police were approaching, and with them, some hero. Allen released Pop and stepped back, pulling out his grappling gun and firing it at a building.
"I recommend you leave too," he said before ascending, leaving behind a silhouette in the distance that burned itself into the retinas of Knuckleduster, Koichi, Pop Step, and many others who had been watching.
Without realizing it, Allen had crossed paths with the main cast of My Hero Academia: Vigilantes. Had he realized it, he would have been surprised, since this story—happening in parallel to the main canon—was supposed to take place five or six years earlier.
Allen landed on a building and made sure no one saw him this time.
It was just in time, because the suit began to break apart and disappear.
"One-minute templates are so uncomfortable..."
[Host, you have obtained three more slot machine pulls. Would you like to use them? You might get lucky.]
"Don't mention luck around me, it just depresses me. Wait—didn't I defeat those punks before? Why am I getting a reward again?"
"Hm? Well, the system is programmed to give you points every time you defeat a villain. As you already saw with Giant, who went from being worth 2 to 5, the reward can increase or decrease, but it doesn't stop being valid if you defeat them again."
Wednesday appeared with a thoughtful look. "Does that mean that if you capture a villain, you could use them to farm templates?"
"Don't say terrifying things. I'm not going to do that."
Lucifer was certainly a bastard. He had left that apparent loophole in the wager, but it was a trap—if Allen started doing something like that, Lucifer's objective would be fulfilled by warping his personality.
....
Allen returned to Nemuri's apartment. Hours passed until the woman arrived, exhausted, close to eleven at night.
As soon as she stepped inside, she was greeted by a delicious aroma. She quickly went to the kitchen and saw Allen preparing dinner.
Allen smiled at her. "It's a bit late, but you must be hungry. Go change and come have dinner."
Nemuri remained silent for a moment before dropping to her knees and pinching her own cheek.
"Ouch!"
Allen raised an eyebrow. "Are you okay?"
"I'm not dreaming!" Nemuri smiled with tears in her eyes. "I'm so happy~"
Allen felt guilty seeing Nemuri react like that. He wondered what kind of cold bastard he must have been for this woman to be so deeply affected just by his being kind.
With no other choice, Allen turned off the stove, took off his apron, and knelt. "I'm sorry. I feel like I haven't been grateful enough to you for taking care of me all these years."
She was never bothered by Allen's coldness in the past—honestly, it had been part of his charm—but seeing a sincere apology and genuine concern in the eyes of the person she considered her only family made the tears spill down her face.
"Don't worry!"
Allen wiped her tears and lifted her, carrying her to the couch.
"For now, rest. From now on, you can trust me and rely on me more. I won't get angry about it, Nemuri."
Nemuri Kayama smiled beautifully before nodding. "Call me big sister, not Nemuri~"
Allen shrugged and returned to the kitchen, unaware of the affectionate gaze Nemuri was watching him with.
Wednesday, who was sitting atop a wall clock, narrowed her eyes. "This is still sibling love, right?"
During dinner, with a calmer Nemuri, Allen told her that he had decided to enroll in U.A. High School.
There were simply too many benefits to attending that school.
Upon hearing this, Nemuri fell silent, looking somewhat dejected and worried. She knew Allen's journey was about to begin—a path filled with danger and hardship—but she also understood that it was inevitable. Allen had been born with too many things that would place him at the center of a hurricane.
Besides, it was the best option. Nemuri didn't want Allen to become a vigilante and use his powers in secrecy.
Of course, Allen didn't tell Nemuri that he planned to live a double life—as both a hero student and a vigilante—because students weren't allowed to fight villains, and if Allen wanted to keep obtaining templates, he had to defeat villains.
After dinner, Allen went to his room while Nemuri made several calls. Among them, she informed Nezu that Allen would be entering U.A.
Nezu: "I'm glad Allen-kun made this decision."
Nemuri: "..."
Nezu: "Miss Kayama, I know you don't like the idea, but trust me. I'll do everything in my power to keep Allen-kun safe until he becomes proficient with his abilities."
Nemuri: "You'd better."
Nemuri's tone was cold—cold enough to surprise even Nezu.
Nemuri: "If anything happens to him, I won't be responsible for what I might do..."
Nemuri hung up and leaned against the wall. She had seen the dark side of the world. She knew that despite the peace All Might brought, there was still a great deal of cruelty beneath the surface.
How many years have passed?
She remembered when she met Allen—it had been five years ago. Allen barely spoke back then; in fact, she had even thought he might be mute.
Nezu told Nemuri that Allen had spent five years under the care of a retired superheroine, but she had passed away. Nezu had then considered placing him under the care of several heroines with great potential.
This was because if Allen's powers were to manifest, it would require both skill and strength to contain them.
Nemuri had just begun her career as a superhero, and she neither felt the desire nor the capability to take care of a child, but she accepted it as a special favor to her sensei.
Fortunately, it wouldn't be permanent. Allen had three other guardians besides Nemuri, so she only had to take care of him for three months each year.
From the start, Nemuri felt out of place. She wasn't good at being a caretaker—much like Natasha in that regard.
Luckily, despite being quiet, Allen was very independent. He cooked, did laundry, and cleaned on his own. Sometimes, Nemuri felt like she was the one being taken care of by him.
Little by little, Nemuri's concern for Allen grew. She started coming home earlier, spent more time keeping her apartment clean, and the days she used to go out drinking with friends became days she took Allen to parks, zoos, aquariums, and movie theaters—all in search of some kind of reaction from him. But he only accompanied her in silence.
Even though she didn't see immediate results, she didn't give up. And just before Allen went to live with another heroine, he spoke his first words to her.
"Thank you for everything, big sister."
Nemuri was stunned for quite a while. When she finally reacted, she was so happy that she couldn't sleep that night.
However, the next morning, just as she was preparing breakfast, she forgot that Allen was no longer with her. Seeing the empty seat where that prickly child had been for months made her feel a terrible emptiness.
She never said it. She never revealed it. But she understood just how much she had grown accustomed to Allen's presence.
Months of loneliness followed, during which Nemuri threw herself into her work as a superhero so she wouldn't have to think about coming home to an empty apartment.
That effort helped her rise in the rankings, but it didn't bring her much satisfaction.
Then, months passed… and Allen returned.
When she saw him, Nemuri jumped on him and showered him with hugs. Her personality even changed, becoming clingy—something Allen at the time didn't like, so he tried to create distance, but nothing worked.
Years passed, and Nemuri had grown used to that version of Allen. However, seeing him show such concern for her, such warmth, made her already strong feelings grow disproportionately. Nemuri believed that if something were ever to happen to Allen, she might become a villain.
"What's wrong?"
Allen found Nemuri sitting on the floor. She didn't answer. Allen touched his own neck in dismay, then picked her up in his arms and carried her to her room, and laid her on the bed.
Before he could leave, Nemuri grabbed his hand.
Allen said nothing and simply lay down on the same bed as her, back to back.
A few minutes passed in silence before she spoke. "Promise me that if you're ever in danger or trouble, you'll come to me."
"I can't."
Nemuri clenched her teeth. "Why? Don't you think I'm reliable?"
"It's not that. You've taken care of me for years. Now that I've grown up, my goal is to protect you. So I won't bring you trouble."
Nemuri trembled and didn't reply. Allen thought she had fallen asleep, so he wished her good night and drifted off.
He didn't notice that Nemuri's face was completely red at that moment.
'Stupid brat… when did you get so good with words?' Nemuri felt frustrated, but at the same time, she felt a warmth in her chest like never before. All her worries slowly melted away.
Allen ended a satisfying day, while slowly touching the lives of the people of this world.
Elsewhere, Pop Step removed her makeup and looked out the window, remembering who had saved her.
There was also Momo, who was hitting her pillow, thinking it was Allen. She had lied about the problems because she had used a grenade, so she had been punished. She swore she would get revenge on Allen.
Finally, there was Toru, who was looking at his phone from time to time, checking his conversations with Allen.
However, not everything was peaceful. While some were having a good night, others were suffering in agony.
....
Elsewhere in the city, a man was crawling along the ground, his leg bleeding heavily.
"No! Don't come closer!"
A high school girl walked slowly toward him, holding a box cutter in her hand, its blade stained with blood.
"Hehe, why? Didn't you say you wanted to have a good time with me?!~" the girl said, wearing a wide smile that sent chills down the spine of the middle-aged pervert.
"No! No!"
At the man's screams, she smiled even wider, revealing her fangs, then proceeded to lick the blood off her cutter.
"Don't worry. I usually love those who love me, and if I love you, it's only natural that I'd want to become like you~"
The girl had amber-colored eyes that gleamed with a disturbing mix of madness and obsession.
She approached the man and stabbed him.
"Ahhhh!"
"Hahaha! This is love. Love is something wonderful!"
She kept stabbing the man until he stopped moving. After that, she fell silent—the previous euphoria vanished, leaving only a dead-fish stare in her eyes.
*Ring*
Her phone rang, and when she answered, a raspy voice came from the other end.
???: "Himiko Toga, stop playing around and come back to the hideout. Sensei has something to tell us."
"Yes~"
Himiko regained her cheerful mood, stood up, and began walking toward the exit of the factory. She had just joined the League of Villains—she couldn't disappoint them.
Before leaving, Himiko looked at what she had done in silence.
"Heroes don't help girls like me... Maybe this is all I was ever meant to be..."
It was a small voice—perhaps from a past time—a lament slowly being consumed by darkness. The girl was steadily walking down a path with no return, toward an ending destined for tragedy.
"But it's strange that the so-called boss wants to see us. Weren't we supposed to stay discreet until All Might retired?"
Himiko didn't understand, but she didn't think about it too much. She was happy to finally have companions—that alone was enough to make her forget everything else.
====
A/N: I never liked Toga's death, because there were other characters who should have died and didn't, but she...
PS: I hope everyone has a happy new year. 🥳
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