Chapter 79: The Battle in the Alley
I'm going to die this time. Satomi Ishihara thought, closing her eyes in despair as the man lunged toward her. At this moment, she felt no hatred for the Vibrating Hero, only regret. Regret that she had never told that boy after the Sports Festival, "You're already amazing, and you've completely won this old lady over."
For some reason, perhaps because of her own experiences, Satomi felt a special connection to that boy. She felt that hidden beneath his polite smile was a deep pain, a wound that no one else could understand.
I wanted to help him. I wanted to get just a little bit closer to him...
But I guess there's no chance for that now.
Suddenly, Satomi felt someone grab the back of her collar. The feeling was incredibly familiar, exactly the same as when she had first come to U.A. trying to interview All Might.
A fist, shining with a golden light, suddenly appeared from behind her. It met the beak-faced man, who was in mid-lunge, striking him squarely in the face.
The surface of his face and the fist distorted on impact, his facial muscles spasming uncontrollably as he was sent spinning through the air.
"You said 'go die'? Who were you telling to die? Yourself?"
Hearing that calm voice, Satomi's heart stirred. She knew. Tears welled in her eyes as she turned her head. The person who had saved her was—Yoshikage Kira.
"Kira-kun! You saved me again!"
"We meet again, Ms. Ishihara," Kira replied evenly, his gaze shifting to the beak-faced man, who was now getting to his feet. "Who gave you the courage to commit a crime on the day of the Sports Festival? I doubt it was your common sense."
The beak-faced man—no, his mouth was now as swollen as two sausages; he should be called sausage-mouth man—spat out some garbled words, but he was still grinning sinisterly. "Well, look who it is, playing hero. Just a little kid. Didn't your mommy ever tell you not to stay out after school?"
Clearly, because of Kira's age, the man was underestimating him.
Kira sighed. He stepped out from behind Satomi, exposing his body to the light of the streetlamp. He dusted off his clothes, which had no dust on them, and said in a tone that was merely stating a fact, "A thug like you, who runs his mouth at a perfect stranger... you must be at the very bottom of society, right? Have you never heard the phrase 'don't judge a book by its cover'? Besides, I don't exactly look like an easy person to bully, do I?"
Only then did the man notice that Kira was wearing a U.A. uniform. A flicker of caution appeared in his eyes, but it was quickly replaced by fanaticism. "So what if you're a U.A. student!? You're just a pampered baby raised in a greenhouse! You're nothing compared to someone like me who's been through the wringer!"
Kira was surprised. Did this guy not pay attention to the news at all? By all accounts, Kira himself had been rather conspicuous today.
But it was plausible that he wouldn't be recognized. Although the U.A. Sports Festival was called a national event, much like the New Year's Eve song battle, it was doing well if even ten percent of the population watched it. More people would just see the highlights afterward from official reports or news magazines. Still, just by word of mouth, the names Bakugo and Todoroki were probably already famous throughout Tokyo by now.
Satomi Ishihara tugged on Kira's shirt, her voice worried. "Kira-kun, let's just get out of here. I've already sent the alert. A Pro Hero will be here soon."
Although she knew Kira's strength was comparable to that of a rookie Pro, she just didn't want him to fight. It wasn't a feeling of love... if she had to name it, it was something like... a maternal instinct. The instinct of not wanting her child to fight.
"Ah, I know," Kira said, meeting the charging sausage-mouth man. He parried his kick with his forearm, twisted, and drove an uppercut into his chest. "That's why I have to hold off this guy's counterattack."
Humans are creatures easily driven by emotion. Just like this man. The moment his brain was flooded with rage, he had completely disregarded the future consequences, caring only about killing the woman who had deceived him.
Normally, when a victim sees a good Samaritan come to their rescue, they will panic and try to flee. When the criminal loses their target, they will either transfer their hatred to the rescuer or curse their bad luck and run.
But Satomi Ishihara was still here. This gave the sausage-mouth man a target. With his eyes red, he kept trying to charge past Kira, only to be blocked every time.
Just as the man was growing more frantic, his attacks becoming sloppier, a powerful voice boomed from the distance. "VIBRATING HERO, SHINDO, HAS ARRIVED! CRIMINAL, PREPARE TO SURRENDER!"
With a loud clattering sound, a man in a costume that looked like it was from a Tokusatsu show, like Kamen Rider, came speeding around the corner on a bicycle. He was steering with one hand and holding an ancient flip phone to his ear with the other, talking to someone.
The sausage-mouth man's expression changed instantly. He shot a hateful glare at Kira and Satomi, his mind already made up: If I can just escape from here today, I'll get my brothers and find this woman. I'll show her my strengths aren't just limited to my legs!
Satomi, seeing him about to run, felt a wave of relief. But suddenly, her expression changed to one of terror. "Kira-kun!" she shouted. "My wallet is still in his hand!"
Satomi had understood the meaning of his last glare. A chill ran down her spine. If he escaped, he could use the personal information in her wallet to easily find her address.
Kira blocked his path. "Sir," he said coolly, "if you're planning on leaving, would you mind leaving the wallet behind? If you leave the wallet, I certainly won't stop you."
The government had a rule: ordinary citizens were not allowed to use their Quirks in public.
In broad daylight, it was fine. Everyone would follow the rules under the supervision of others. But in a dark alley like this, who would bother to follow a rule that had no real enforcement?
That being said, if one was reported, there would still be consequences. A first offense would get you taken in by the police for a lecture and a 5,000 yen fine. The more you were reported, the more severe the punishment.
Of course, using a Quirk for self-defense was considered justifiable and would not be penalized. But if that defense was deemed excessive, the situation would become much more serious.
Kira was worried that if he went all out, he might cripple the man, which is why he hadn't been attacking, only passively defending while waiting for a Pro Hero to arrive.
After all, he was just a student. He didn't have a hero license.
But it seemed the first hero to arrive was a bit... unreliable. He was shouting his name from a mile away, as if he was afraid the criminal wouldn't know he was coming.
"You'd better move, kid! I've still got one last ace up my sleeve!" the sausage-mouth man said grimly. He was risking arrest by robbing people; if he went home empty-handed, he'd be ridiculed by his "brothers."
Even now, he was still worried about his own non-existent pride.
"You can try," Kira said, still calm.
"Then don't blame me for what happens!"
The sausage-mouth man roared and charged at Kira. While running, he suddenly leaped, launching himself into the air from a standing position. He twisted his body, executing a spinning, whirlwind-like kick.
Kira decided it was probably best not to take that hit. He decisively stepped aside, clearing the path for him.
Kira was only helping Satomi because he happened to be passing by. It wasn't worth getting injured over.
Seeing his opponent move out of the way, the sausage-mouth man let out a loud laugh. He managed to stop his rotation in mid-air, brought his feet together, and viciously kicked both of his wide-soled feet into Yoshikage Kira's back, using the recoil to launch himself onto the alley wall.
"Haha! Didn't expect that, did you, kid!? This is my escape route!"
This was his ultimate move. On the surface, it looked like a mutual-destruction attack. But in reality, he was using that unstoppable momentum to make his opponent hesitate and move aside. As he passed, he would viciously kick them in the back, not only preventing them from giving chase but also giving him a chance to mock them.
This was the secret technique he had perfected through countless battles. He called it—the Nine Heavens Thunderous Twin-Foot Kick!
To be honest, the kick wasn't that heavy. But Kira, caught off guard, was slammed in the back and stumbled forward a few steps. Due to the inertia, something in the inner pocket of his jacket suddenly slipped out. It flew in a high arc and landed right at Satomi Ishihara's feet.
Satomi, who had been watching Kira the whole time, saw something fly from his chest and instinctively looked down.
In the dim light of the alley, Satomi could see it clearly. It was a hand.
A ghastly white, severed hand.
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