The alarm clock on the bedside table showed 4:11 AM.
A sharp intake of breath tore through the silence. Kuinn sat bolt upright in bed as if she'd been yanked out of her sleep by her hair. Her heart pounded, the sheets clung to her skin, and the room was thick with a heavy, alien stillness. Taiko stood by the door. Motionless. Just staring. There was no warmth in that gaze, none of the familiarity she had grown to rely on. No recognition.
She jumped up and bolted for the exit. Salvation felt tangible, the door only inches away, when the space between them collapsed. Taiko was before her in a heartbeat, as if the world had blinked and rearranged itself. His movements were jerky yet perfectly precise. The strength in his hands as they clamped around her wrists made her bones ache with a dull, sickening throb. It wasn't just a grip; it was a promise. He could break her as easily as dry kindling.
She screamed and lashed out, stabbing blindly: into his stomach, his side, anywhere it should hurt. The blade entered and exited; blood spurted, warm and dark. He recoiled but straightened almost instantly. The wound closed before her eyes, the edges knitting together as if an invisible hand were smoothing out the flesh. Kuinn froze. Something clicked in her mind. This wasn't human regeneration. This was something else. She remembered the silhouette in the yard—the motionless watcher. Now, it was gone.
He was smiling. Too wide. Too satisfied.
He touched his cheek where the blood had been a second ago and laughed—softly, sincerely, like a child discovering a new toy. He spoke her name, repeating it as he paced through the house, peering into rooms as if searching for a misplaced object. His voice tried to be gentle, familiar, but there was a thin, sticky falsehood to it. Kuinn pressed herself against the wall, hiding as he passed. The moment his footsteps receded, she bolted. On tiptoe, breathless, drenched in tears. The lock hesitated for a heartbeat. Time compressed into seconds. She slipped out and slammed the door right in his face.
The impact followed immediately. The metal groaned and buckled; the door flew inward, bearing a dent shaped like the fist of a god. He froze, examining his hand. There was no pain. The realization seemed to fascinate him.
Kuinn ran barefoot along the cold asphalt. Streetlights carved the empty road out of the darkness. The night was receding, the sky turning pale, but there wasn't a soul in sight. She pounded on doors, yanked at handles, screamed, but she fled every time before anyone could answer. He was in no hurry. His silhouette glided after her—calm, confident. He knew he would catch her. She slipped in an alley and shrieked as glass pierced her heel. The pain was sharp and treacherous. Blood flowed instantly. Leaning against the wall and leaving a scarlet streak behind her, she limped on, stifling her sobs. A rustle came from above. She ducked behind a dumpster, covering her mouth with her hand.
A shadow flashed overhead. Taiko leaped from rooftop to rooftop effortlessly, barely touching the surface. It wasn't an effort for him; it was nature. Kuinn shook. Her knees buckled, her clothes stained with blood and grime.
A hand covered her mouth. She jerked, ready to bite, but the grip was gentle. There was no pain. A man leaned close, a finger to his lips; his gaze was focused and sober. He gestured for her to follow. Kuinn nodded—she didn't trust him, but she had no choice. He supported her, helped her to the car, and thrust a rag into her hands. She pressed it to her wound, feeling the trembling give way to a hollow emptiness.
Meanwhile, Taiko entered the alley and stopped. His gaze fell on the blood. He followed the trail slowly, savoring the hunt. At the last moment, he saw a car pull away at the end of the street, vanishing into the gray morning. He froze. The smile vanished. He clenched his jaw, a hiss of fury escaping through his teeth.
—Little bitch. I should've fucked you today... —he spat to himself, his irritation boiling over more than the pain.
—Who exactly were you planning to fuck? Your own hand!?
Taiko didn't even have time to turn. A bandaged fist equipped with brass knuckles slammed into his ribs with a dull crunch. The blow drove the air from his lungs like a punctured lung-sac. Taiko's body was lifted off the ground and hurled backward. He flew several meters, crashing into a lamppost and bending the metal as if it were tinfoil.
The street was beginning to wake up. A car passed, a bus groaned in the distance, an early jogger trotted by. None of them understood they were witnessing a meeting of two monsters. Neither of the monsters cared.
Taiko coughed, spitting thick clots of blood onto the asphalt. Broken ribs prodded against his skin from the inside; his breathing had turned into a wet wheeze.
—Cough... I... —he grinned, crooked and malicious. —I thought the Nomu squashed you like a bug.
TN stood before him. "My old body had a high pain tolerance. This is going to take a while," he sighed. He settled into a fighting stance, shoulders slightly hunched. His loose black trousers didn't restrict his movement. The white brass knuckles were stained with blood, and his muscles bulged unnaturally under the influence of the Sugar Rush. He was at his peak. In ten minutes, his body would begin to fail him. There was no time left.
—Maybe we should take this somewhere quieter? —TN nodded toward the park.
—Do you even give a shit?!
A staff appeared in Taiko's hand. Its mass shifted instantly, reaching dozens of kilograms. The strike came without warning. TN managed to get his arms up, but the force still sent him skidding across the asphalt. He rolled and sprang up, already moving toward the park. A weekday morning—there would be fewer people. For their own sake.
—It's for you, —he said calmly. —Brother.
The word hung between them.
—B-brother? —Taiko laughed as if it were the most ridiculous joke he'd ever heard. —Brothers don't abandon each other!
The staff shifted mass again. Now it weighed tens of tons. The force of the blow could have leveled a building. TN noticed a faint but distinct glow around Taiko's head. The mass manipulation was far more intense than before. His intuition shrieked: Do not take this hit.
He dodged at the last possible second. The staff sliced through the air, creating a vortex that uprooted bushes and stripped the leaves from the trees. As the swing ended, TN stepped in, intercepted Taiko's arm, and twisted it sharply, locking it in a brutal grip. Tendons strained at an unnatural angle.
—Don't you see? —he said quietly, sounding exhausted. —Kyudai used you to get to me. You're not a fighter, Nomura. Admit it.
Taiko flinched.
—I'll just tear your tendons, —TN continued, tightening the lock. —And you'll never be able to fight again.
—A-a-a-ah! —The scream turned into a howl. The pain in his ribs and shoulder washed over him in waves. He tried to break free, but his body wouldn't obey. The staff twitched beside them, still shifting mass like a living thing. Tears streamed down his face, his breath hitched, but it was useless. Against a jiu-jitsu master, an untrained brawler stood no chance.
TN felt that Taiko wasn't slowing down—he was crossing the line. He was ready to literally pulverize his own bones just to break free, and through the monstrous pain, he did it. With a sharp, wet snap, the joint left its socket. Taiko roared, not wasting a second. He surged upward, lifting TN with him as easily as if he were weightless. A moment later, TN was clinging to his neck in a death grip, driving his knees under Taiko's jaw. A few more seconds and Taiko would have blacked out, but instead of fighting for air, he simply leaped, putting the full explosive power of his legs into the jump.
In mid-air, he jerked and hurled TN aside with wild, clumsy strength. It was impossible to hang on; it was like trying to ride a bucking bull. Taiko was too strong, even now, with an unstable alien personality pulling the strings—someone who knew nothing of technique but had a terrifying talent for destruction. TN managed to tuck and roll. The ground met him with a dull thud against his chest, but his bones held. He scrambled up, only to see Taiko charging like a juggernaut. A living projectile of pure rage. The trajectory was primitive, and that was exactly what caught TN off guard—he hadn't expected the enemy to be so straightforward and blunt.
The impact was crushing, like being hit by a semi-truck. TN was thrown into the brush, his shoulder slamming into a tree trunk as a sharp branch pierced his skin, digging deep into the tissue. A second later, he crashed into the pond, scaring the fish right in front of an old man who had been peacefully crumbling bread.
—Where's that fucking Nomu when you need him?! —the fake Taiko screamed, staggering and clutching his side.
He approached the bench where the old man sat frozen in shock. Taiko winced, listening to his ribs creak back into place.
—How the hell... do you do that... —he muttered, glancing at his dislocated arm. —Hey, old man. Help me pop this back in?
The old man shook his head so hard he nearly gave himself whiplash.
—Then fuck off.
The old man didn't need a second invitation—he practically ran down the path. TN, meanwhile, emerged from the water, soaked to the bone. His clothes had turned to lead, clinging to his body and making every movement a chore. The water in his boots slowed his pace, but in that moment, TN realized: Taiko had made a fatal mistake. In the heat of the assault, he had forgotten his staff. He could only summon it once a day, and now the artifact lay far out of reach. Adrenaline has a way of erasing details, and TN knew that better than anyone. Battlefield control and a cool head take years to learn. Taiko was just smashing the world around him. That would be his undoing.
A dull ache in his shoulder made it hard to focus. TN didn't wait for his opponent to recover. He dragged Taiko back into the viscous water of the pond, where inertia and density favored calculation over brute force. There, Taiko bogged down, his movements becoming slow and sweeping, like a nightmare. He managed to land two crushing knees to TN's torso—sharp flashes of pain erupted in his ribs—but TN didn't yield. Instead, he used the momentum to close the gap. Digging his fingers into the fresh wound on Taiko's shoulder, he made the man howl. Taiko tried to drown him, throwing his entire weight on top, but TN had already locked his legs around Taiko's neck. The chokehold tightened. The shock of the pain paralyzed Taiko's regeneration, and the cold water filled his lungs, draining his last reserves. It was a war of attrition, and TN's will proved harder than stone.
When the resistance finally stopped, TN, nearly losing consciousness himself, dragged his brother's limp body onto the bank. They collapsed on the grass—two beings pushed to the absolute limit. TN hadn't slept in twenty-four hours, and the Sugar Rush was fading fast, leaving a scorched wasteland in its wake.
Taiko didn't wake up immediately.
—You... you actually beat me, even in a body this strong, —he croaked, his voice suddenly cracking. He began to sob—bitterly, like a child.
TN forced himself to stand. His knees shook, but he straightened his back.
—Nomura, you have to understand, —he said without anger, only endless exhaustion. —I'm not your enemy. You're my brother. My family.
He placed a heavy, wet hand on Nomura's head. In that moment, the Will of Oneself allowed their essences to touch. Taiko's body and Nomura's consciousness began to merge into a single whole.
—Forgive me... forgive me... —Nomura whispered, drifting off under the weight of a thousand memories. Taiko's life swam before his eyes—the entire journey, from the very beginning to this moment.
—You've really made a mess of things, little brother. You'll have to apologize to Kuinn, —TN breathed quietly, watching him sleep. —But it's okay. I won't let anyone hurt you.
TN sat beside him, unable to plan or analyze anymore. He had simply done what his heart demanded—he had given his past life to his brother. He had "given" him Kuinn, and though the word felt blasphemous, it was the reality: he had erased himself from the equation. He was TN now—a new entity without a name. A single tear, held back for too long, rolled down his cheek. It held everything: the regret of losing Kuinn, the lost future at UA. But the mistakes of the past demanded payment. With a brief, forceful effort, TN ripped the BodySwap quirk from his brother's being. It wasn't revenge; it was a guarantee that the new Taiko would never commit such evil again.
«In the end, you just needed a family. Just like me.»
The screech of brakes cut through the silence—Kaito had brought a terrified, wounded Kuinn. TN, barely able to stand, screamed:
—Kaito! I told you to take her to the hospital!
He looked monstrous: tattered bandages, forearms bloodied from his brother's struggle.
—She insisted, Nomura-kun! She jumped out of the moving car! I had no choice... and it looks like you won.
Kaito surveyed the wreckage and the wound in TN's shoulder. Blood spurted onto the wet fabric.
—Nomura-san, you need a hospital immediately!
—It can wait, —TN snapped.
The pain cleared his mind for a fleeting second. He stepped toward Kuinn, searching her eyes with desperate hope. He prayed she would see the truth behind this "rich, handsome" Nomura mask. That she would recognize her Taiko. But he wilted the moment their eyes met. There was only polite gratitude there.
Kuinn didn't just walk up to him—she fell into the mud beside Taiko, cradling his head to her chest. There was something fanatical, almost frightening, in the gesture. She didn't notice her own bruises; she didn't care that Taiko had nearly leveled the park. She whispered his name as if it were her only salvation. From the outside, it looked painful, even repulsive: a morbid obsession, a total blindness to the monster he had been just moments ago.
TN took a step toward her. His hand habitually reached out to brush a stray hair from her face. But Kuinn instinctively flinched and pulled away. She looked up at him with the distant respect one gives a high-ranking stranger.
—Y-you're Nomura-san, right? —her voice trembled with gratitude for a stranger. —Thank you... thank you so much for not hurting him badly. I don't know what came over him.
TN froze. His hand dropped, limp. Every word, every "Nomura-san," cut deeper than any blade. He stood in the biting wind, feeling the icy pond water trickle down his back while Kuinn gave all her warmth to Taiko. He had committed the perfect crime: he had killed the Taiko within himself so thoroughly that even the person closest to him didn't notice the swap.
—Taiko was under the influence of a quirk... he wasn't himself, —he said, looking at the ground. —It's over now. You can take him home.
TN decided to play the part. Watching her cling to his brother, he felt a wave of physical nausea at the fragility of the lie. She loved the image, the shell, and he had just cemented that illusion, becoming an eternal shield and an eternal stranger for them both. His life was no longer his. No past, no Kuinn, no UA. Just the empty acronym TN and the cold dawn, which he met in utter solitude, watching Kaito help the girl lift "her" Taiko.
Here is the translation into English, preserving the rhythm, the physical intensity of the fight, and the emotional weight of the finale.
The alarm clock on the bedside table showed 4:11 AM.
A sharp intake of breath tore through the silence. Kuinn sat bolt upright in bed as if she'd been yanked out of her sleep by her hair. Her heart pounded, the sheets clung to her skin, and the room was thick with a heavy, alien stillness. Taiko stood by the door. Motionless. Just staring. There was no warmth in that gaze, none of the familiarity she had grown to rely on. No recognition.
She jumped up and bolted for the exit. Salvation felt tangible, the door only inches away, when the space between them collapsed. Taiko was before her in a heartbeat, as if the world had blinked and rearranged itself. His movements were jerky yet perfectly precise. The strength in his hands as they clamped around her wrists made her bones ache with a dull, sickening throb. It wasn't just a grip; it was a promise. He could break her as easily as dry kindling.
She screamed and lashed out, stabbing blindly—into his stomach, his side, anywhere it should hurt. The blade entered and exited; blood spurted, warm and dark. He recoiled but straightened almost instantly. The wound closed before her eyes, the edges knitting together as if an invisible hand were smoothing out the flesh. Kuinn froze. Something clicked in her mind. This wasn't human regeneration. This was something else. She remembered the silhouette in the yard—the motionless watcher. Now, it was gone.
He was smiling. Too wide. Too satisfied.
He touched his cheek where the blood had been a second ago and laughed—softly, sincerely, like a child discovering a new toy. He spoke her name, repeating it as he paced through the house, peering into rooms as if searching for a misplaced object. His voice tried to be gentle, familiar, but there was a thin, sticky falsehood to it. Kuinn pressed herself against the wall, hiding as he passed. The moment his footsteps receded, she bolted. On tiptoe, breathless, drenched in tears. The lock hesitated for a heartbeat. Time compressed into seconds. She slipped out and slammed the door right in his face.
The impact followed immediately. The metal groaned and buckled; the door flew inward, bearing a dent shaped like the fist of a god. He froze, examining his hand. There was no pain. The realization seemed to fascinate him.
Kuinn ran barefoot along the cold asphalt. Streetlights carved the empty road out of the darkness. The night was receding, the sky turning pale, but there wasn't a soul in sight. She pounded on doors, yanked at handles, screamed, but she fled every time before anyone could answer. He was in no hurry. His silhouette glided after her—calm, confident. He knew he would catch her. She slipped in an alley and shrieked as glass pierced her heel. The pain was sharp and treacherous. Blood flowed instantly. Leaning against the wall and leaving a scarlet streak behind her, she limped on, stifling her sobs. A rustle came from above. She ducked behind a dumpster, covering her mouth with her hand.
A shadow flashed overhead. Taiko leaped from rooftop to rooftop effortlessly, barely touching the surface. It wasn't an effort for him; it was nature. Kuinn shook. Her knees buckled, her clothes stained with blood and grime.
A hand covered her mouth. She jerked, ready to bite, but the grip was gentle. There was no pain. A man leaned close, a finger to his lips; his gaze was focused and sober. He gestured for her to follow. Kuinn nodded—she didn't trust him, but she had no choice. He supported her, helped her to the car, and thrust a rag into her hands. She pressed it to her wound, feeling the trembling give way to a hollow emptiness.
Meanwhile, Taiko entered the alley and stopped. His gaze fell on the blood. He followed the trail slowly, savoring the hunt. At the last moment, he saw a car pull away at the end of the street, vanishing into the gray morning. He froze. The smile vanished. He clenched his jaw, a hiss of fury escaping through his teeth.
—Little bitch. I should've fucked you today... —he spat to himself, his irritation boiling over more than the pain.
—Who exactly were you planning to fuck? Your own hand?
Taiko didn't even have time to turn. A bandaged fist equipped with brass knuckles slammed into his ribs with a dull crunch. The blow drove the air from his lungs like a punctured lung-sac. Taiko's body was lifted off the ground and hurled backward. He flew several meters, crashing into a lamppost and bending the metal as if it were tinfoil.
The street was beginning to wake up. A car passed, a bus groaned in the distance, an early jogger trotted by. None of them understood they were witnessing a meeting of two monsters. Neither of the monsters cared.
Taiko coughed, spitting thick clots of blood onto the asphalt. Broken ribs prodded against his skin from the inside; his breathing had turned into a wet wheeze.
—Cough... I... —he grinned, crooked and malicious. —I thought the Nomu squashed you like a bug.
TN stood before him. "My old body had a high pain tolerance. This is going to take a while," he sighed. He settled into a fighting stance, shoulders slightly hunched. His loose black trousers didn't restrict his movement. The white brass knuckles were stained with blood, and his muscles bulged unnaturally under the influence of the Sugar Rush. He was at his peak. In ten minutes, his body would begin to fail him. There was no time left.
—Maybe we should take this somewhere quieter? —TN nodded toward the park.
—Do you even give a shit?!
A staff appeared in Taiko's hand. Its mass shifted instantly, reaching dozens of kilograms. The strike came without warning. TN managed to get his arms up, but the force still sent him skidding across the asphalt. He rolled and sprang up, already moving toward the park. A weekday morning—there would be fewer people. For their own sake.
—It's for you, —he said calmly. —Brother.
The word hung between them.
—B-brother? —Taiko laughed as if it were the most ridiculous joke he'd ever heard. —Brothers don't abandon each other!
The staff shifted mass again. Now it weighed tens of tons. The force of the blow could have leveled a building. TN noticed a faint but distinct glow around Taiko's head. The mass manipulation was far more intense than before. His intuition shrieked: Do not take this hit.
He dodged at the last possible second. The staff sliced through the air, creating a vortex that uprooted bushes and stripped the leaves from the trees. As the swing ended, TN stepped in, intercepted Taiko's arm, and twisted it sharply, locking it in a brutal grip. Tendons strained at an unnatural angle.
—Don't you see? —he said quietly, sounding exhausted. —Kyudai used you to get to me. You're not a fighter, Nomura. Admit it.
Taiko flinched.
—I'll just tear your tendons, —TN continued, tightening the lock. —And you'll never be able to fight again.
—A-a-a-ah! —The scream turned into a howl. The pain in his ribs and shoulder washed over him in waves. He tried to break free, but his body wouldn't obey. The staff twitched beside them, still shifting mass like a living thing. Tears streamed down his face, his breath hitched, but it was useless. Against a jiu-jitsu master, an untrained brawler stood no chance.
TN felt that Taiko wasn't slowing down—he was crossing the line. He was ready to literally pulverize his own bones just to break free, and through the monstrous pain, he did it. With a sharp, wet snap, the joint left its socket. Taiko roared, not wasting a second. He surged upward, lifting TN with him as easily as if he were weightless. A moment later, TN was clinging to his neck in a death grip, driving his knees under Taiko's jaw. A few more seconds and Taiko would have blacked out, but instead of fighting for air, he simply leaped, putting the full explosive power of his legs into the jump.
In mid-air, he jerked and hurled TN aside with wild, clumsy strength. It was impossible to hang on; it was like trying to ride a bucking bull. Taiko was too strong, even now, with an unstable alien personality pulling the strings—someone who knew nothing of technique but had a terrifying talent for destruction. TN managed to tuck and roll. The ground met him with a dull thud against his chest, but his bones held. He scrambled up, only to see Taiko charging like a juggernaut. A living projectile of pure rage. The trajectory was primitive, and that was exactly what caught TN off guard—he hadn't expected the enemy to be so straightforward and blunt.
The impact was crushing, like being hit by a semi-truck. TN was thrown into the brush, his shoulder slamming into a tree trunk as a sharp branch pierced his skin, digging deep into the tissue. A second later, he crashed into the pond, scaring the fish right in front of an old man who had been peacefully crumbling bread.
—Where's that fucking Nomu when you need him?! —the fake Taiko screamed, staggering and clutching his side.
He approached the bench where the old man sat frozen in shock. Taiko winced, listening to his ribs creak back into place.
—How the hell... do you do that... —he muttered, glancing at his dislocated arm. —Hey, old man. Help me pop this back in?
The old man shook his head so hard he nearly gave himself whiplash.
—Then fuck off.
The old man didn't need a second invitation—he practically ran down the path. TN, meanwhile, emerged from the water, soaked to the bone. His clothes had turned to lead, clinging to his body and making every movement a chore. The water in his boots slowed his pace, but in that moment, TN realized: Taiko had made a fatal mistake. In the heat of the assault, he had forgotten his staff. He could only summon it once a day, and now the artifact lay far out of reach. Adrenaline has a way of erasing details, and TN knew that better than anyone. Battlefield control and a cool head take years to learn. Taiko was just smashing the world around him. That would be his undoing.
A dull ache in his shoulder made it hard to focus. TN didn't wait for his opponent to recover. He dragged Taiko back into the viscous water of the pond, where inertia and density favored calculation over brute force. There, Taiko bogged down, his movements becoming slow and sweeping, like a nightmare. He managed to land two crushing knees to TN's torso—sharp flashes of pain erupted in his ribs—but TN didn't yield. Instead, he used the momentum to close the gap. Digging his fingers into the fresh wound on Taiko's shoulder, he made the man howl. Taiko tried to drown him, throwing his entire weight on top, but TN had already locked his legs around Taiko's neck. The chokehold tightened. The shock of the pain paralyzed Taiko's regeneration, and the cold water filled his lungs, draining his last reserves. It was a war of attrition, and TN's will proved harder than stone.
When the resistance finally stopped, TN, nearly losing consciousness himself, dragged his brother's limp body onto the bank. They collapsed on the grass—two beings pushed to the absolute limit. TN hadn't slept in twenty-four hours, and the Sugar Rush was fading fast, leaving a scorched wasteland in its wake.
Taiko didn't wake up immediately.
—You... you actually beat me, even in a body this strong, —he croaked, his voice suddenly cracking. He began to sob—bitterly, like a child.
TN forced himself to stand. His knees shook, but he straightened his back.
—Nomura, you have to understand, —he said without anger, only endless exhaustion. —I'm not your enemy. You're my brother. We was born in one place, by one blood. Your are my family.
He placed a heavy, wet hand on Nomura's head. In that moment, the Will of Oneself allowed their essences to touch. Taiko's body and Nomura's consciousness began to merge into a single whole. Taiko's eyes reflected every color of emotion he was experiencing at that moment. The anger and envy that had previously flowed in his eyes had turned to despair.
Taiko's eyes reflected every color of emotion he was experiencing at that moment. The anger and envy that had previously flowed in his eyes had turned to despair. After TN placed his palms on his head, gently stroking his hair, everything suddenly became strangely clear. A purity of thought appeared in his eyes, a complete understanding of what was happening. And absolute resentment. Resentment at himself: why had he been so stupid. Pathetic. Envious. Just like AFO.
His head began to throb unpleasantly, but a lightness and clarity of thought emerged, as if I'd solved a riddle I'd long forgotten. And now, at this very moment, the realization dawned.
—I was wrong...Forgive me... forgive... —Nomura.?.. whispered, drifting off under the weight of a thousand memories. Taiko's life swam before his eyes—the entire journey, from the very beginning to this moment.
—You've really made a mess of things, little brother. You'll have to apologize to Kuinn, —TN breathed quietly, watching him sleep. —But it's okay. I won't let anyone hurt you.
TN sat beside him, unable to plan or analyze anymore. He had simply done what his heart demanded—he had given his past life to his brother. He had "given" him Kuinn, and though the word felt blasphemous, it was the reality: he had erased himself from the equation. He was TN now—a new entity without a name. A single tear, held back for too long, rolled down his cheek. It held everything: the regret of losing Kuinn, the lost future at UA. But the mistakes of the past demanded payment. With a brief, forceful effort, TN ripped the BodySwap quirk from his brother's being. It wasn't revenge; it was a guarantee that the new Taiko would never commit such evil again.
«In the end, you just needed a family. Just like me.»
The screech of brakes cut through the silence—Kaito had brought a terrified, wounded Kuinn. TN, barely able to stand, screamed:
—Kaito! I told you to take her to the hospital!
He looked monstrous: tattered bandages, forearms bloodied from his brother's struggle.
—She insisted, Nomura-kun! She jumped out of the moving car! I had no choice... and it looks like you won.
Kaito surveyed the wreckage and the wound in TN's shoulder. Blood spurted onto the wet fabric.
—Nomura-san, you need a hospital immediately!
—It can wait, —TN snapped.
The pain cleared his mind for a fleeting second. He stepped toward Kuinn, searching her eyes with desperate hope. He prayed she would see the truth behind this "rich, handsome" Nomura mask. That she would recognize her Taiko. But he wilted the moment their eyes met. There was only polite gratitude there.
Kuinn didn't just walk up to him—she fell into the mud beside Taiko, cradling his head to her chest. There was something fanatical, almost frightening, in the gesture. She didn't notice her own bruises; she didn't care that Taiko had nearly leveled the park. She whispered his name as if it were her only salvation. From the outside, it looked painful, even repulsive: a morbid obsession, a total blindness to the monster he had been just moments ago.
TN took a step toward her. His hand habitually reached out to brush a stray hair from her face. But Kuinn instinctively flinched and pulled away. She looked up at him with the distant respect one gives a high-ranking stranger.
—Y-you're Nomura-san, right? —her voice trembled with gratitude for a stranger. —Thank you... thank you so much for not hurting him badly. I don't know what came over him.
TN froze. His hand dropped, limp. Every word, every "Nomura-san," cut deeper than any blade. He stood in the biting wind, feeling the icy pond water trickle down his back while Kuinn gave all her warmth to Taiko. He had committed the perfect crime: he had killed the Taiko within himself so thoroughly that even the person closest to him didn't notice the swap.
—Taiko was under the influence of a quirk... he wasn't himself, —he said, looking at the ground. —It's over now. You can take him home.
TN decided to play the part. Watching her cling to his brother, he felt a wave of physical nausea at the fragility of the lie. She loved the image, the shell, and he had just cemented that illusion, becoming an eternal shield and an eternal stranger for them both. His life was no longer his. No past, no Kuinn, no UA. Just the empty acronym TN and the cold dawn, which he met in utter solitude, watching Kaito help the girl lift "her" Taiko.