Chapter 80: The Serial Killer
Yoshikage Kira's face darkened. He walked over to Satomi Ishihara, crouched down, picked up the hand, and stuffed it back inside his jacket.
"Kira-kun, you..."
Satomi's face was chalk-white. She was about to say something, but before she could, her words were cut off by another voice.
"You two citizens, don't worry! I will take care of this criminal!" The Vibrating Hero, Yo Shindo, arrived in front of them with a stylish drift on his bicycle. He hadn't seen what Kira had just picked up. His gaze was fixed grimly on the criminal who was now running along the top of the wall.
"You dare to offend me, Yo Shindo, and still try to run!?"
Yo Shindo let out a great roar and slammed his fist into the alley wall. An imperceptible tremor shot through it, reaching the feet of the sausage-mouth man in an instant. The entire wall began to shake violently.
The man lost his balance and, with a yell, fell from the wall.
Kira shot a wary glance at Yo Shindo. His Quirk must be "Vibration," just like his hero name. If he tried to make a move against Satomi Ishihara now, he wasn't confident he could win a fight against this guy. And most importantly, he couldn't use that Quirk.
Fortunately, Shindo wasn't paying much attention to them. Seeing the enemy scramble to his feet, he let out an excited whoop and chased after him. As he left, he didn't forget to shout back, "You two citizens, please move to a safe location! I'll be right back!"
Yo Shindo disappeared into the distance, leaving only Satomi and Kira in the dimly lit alley, silently staring at each other.
Satomi Ishihara took a deep breath and summoned her courage. "Kira-kun... the thing that fell out of your pocket just now. Was that a hand? Or just some kind of toy?"
To be honest, while Kira looked perfectly calm on the outside, he was panicking internally. His fingernails began to slowly grow longer, and he felt a growing impatience. The thought of silencing her had already begun to form in his mind.
The severed hand in his jacket was a delivery he had received from Ibara Shiozaki's house after the Sports Festival. It was a fresh, newly-delivered hand. Which meant, for the moment, Kira was quite interested in it. It would be his "material" for the night.
On his way home, Kira had seen a pair of beautiful hands and had subconsciously begun to follow them, only to realize halfway through that it was the female reporter he knew. And behind her, another sleazy man had been following, apparently planning to attack her.
Watching Satomi gradually take control of the situation, Kira hadn't originally planned to step in. But Yo Shindo had ruined the atmosphere. Seeing the beak-faced man decide to kill her, Kira, operating under the principle of This is my prey, no one else is allowed to touch it, had stepped out from the corner and blocked his path.
Kira hadn't wanted to do anything. But of all the rotten luck, Satomi had seen the severed hand in his jacket. If it had been any other stranger, it would have been fine; Kira could have explained it. But Satomi was a reporter. If she wrote some wild story in a magazine, even if he explained to the authorities that it was just a silicone prop, and there was no misunderstanding, he would still be crucified by public opinion, leading to his own social death.
Kira's expression flickered, and he didn't answer. This gave Satomi a very bad feeling. Could it be? On the surface, Kira is an earnest, model student, but in secret... he's a remorseless serial killer?
I saw his secret. Is he going to silence me?
But for some reason, looking at Kira's face again, Satomi didn't find him terrifying at all. In fact, his conflicted expression was almost... amusing. What are you struggling with? If you're a serial killer, just kill me already. There's no one else here.
If I wasn't mistaken just now, judging by the slender fingers, the hand Kira was holding was a woman's. As a serial killer, why would he carry his victim's hand with him? Is it some kind of fetish? Or is it because of some kind of inner emptiness?
Satomi suddenly thought of the famous serial killer from centuries ago, Jack the Ripper. It was said that because of some special memory from his childhood, he only attacked specific people: prostitutes. He not only murdered them, but he brutally dismembered them in the alleys.
So, is Kira the same? Leaving a woman's body exposed to the elements, keeping only her hands as a memento? If he's going to attack me, does that mean... that I fulfill his inner needs?
Satomi also felt that she was being strange. Not only was she not afraid of this person who was a suspected serial killer, but she actually felt... a little happy. Happy that she could perhaps fill his empty heart. Maybe I'm just broken. But... I really do want to do something for you.
Suddenly, Satomi Ishihara did something that Yoshikage Kira never could have anticipated—
She reached out with both hands, pulled his head down, and buried his face in her chest. Like a mother who could forgive all of her child's flaws, or a sister who could tolerate her brother's worst behavior, she gently stroked his hair.
Kira was completely unprepared. In a daze, he just felt his face sink into something soft and resilient, as if just by being there, all his exhaustion could melt away. He was about to struggle when he heard Satomi's resolute, gentle voice.
"Kira-kun, I don't know what kind of pain you're in that would make you do these... killings. I can't understand it, and I probably never will. But I hope... if it's possible... that I can be the last person you ever kill."
Kira stopped struggling, listening quietly as she spoke.
"I don't care what happens to my body after I die. Whether you cut me into pieces or just kill me and leave me on the cold ground... I won't mind.
"But... not here. If you're going to do it, I hope it's in a quiet corner. More Pro Heroes will be here soon. If you run out covered in blood, you might get into trouble..."
Satomi's gentle voice was like a childhood lullaby, bringing him a sense of peace that he hadn't felt since coming to this world.
"Of course, if you want to kill me here, that's okay too. It's just... I'm a little afraid of pain. I'll try my best not to make a sound, but I hope you can cover my mouth..."
Yoshikage Kira felt something in his heart being touched. The "Yoshikage Kira" obsession with hands, like ice melting in snow, suddenly vanished without a trace.
Without any resistance, Kira easily lifted his head. He looked at Satomi Ishihara, who had closed her eyes and was preparing for death, and sighed softly. After she's said all this, how could I possibly harm her? Besides... I was never the serial killer she thinks I am.
Satomi, her eyes closed, had braced herself. Suddenly, she felt a hand on her head. Is he going to do it now? Although she was disappointed, she grit her teeth, hoping she wouldn't scream.
However—
"Gah!"
Satomi felt her hair being vigorously ruffled. She let out a yelp and opened her eyes in surprise. She saw Yoshikage Kira, a smile he couldn't hold back playing on his lips, ruffling her hair with his pale, outstretched hand.
He's... not going to kill me? Satomi blinked, stunned.
"Ms. Ishihara, do you have any idea what you're saying? If you call me a murderer, I could sue you for slander," Kira said with a gentle smile. He took the hand from his jacket and held it out to her. "This is what you saw. It's just a specimen I need for my lab classes."
Satomi numbly took the hand and turned it over and over. She saw now that it was just a silicone model. It was realistic, but it was still a far cry from a real human hand.
"As you know, the more I understand the human body, the more proficient I become with my Quirk. After the Sports Festival, I was frustrated with my performance, so I borrowed this model from the school to do some after-class research."
So that's all it was?
Satomi's face grew redder and redder. He was just dissatisfied with his results and wanted to improve himself. That's perfectly normal, isn't it?
But I mistook him for a serial killer! And I buried his head in my chest! Won't he think I'm some kind of delusional creep!?
Satomi took a step back and bowed a full ninety degrees to Kira, her face burning. "Kira-kun, I am so sorry! I misunderstood you! And you were amazing in the competition! Please don't worry about winning or losing!"
Looks like that excuse worked, Yoshikage Kira thought, relieved. He smiled. "You did nothing wrong. Don't worry about it."
If it hadn't been for that sausage-mouth man's kick, the hand in my jacket never would have fallen out, and Satomi wouldn't have misunderstood. So... it's time for that guy to pay the price.
Under Satomi Ishihara's confused gaze, Yoshikage Kira raised his right thumb, and then—
Pressed it down.
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