Chapter 40

[Man, for a moment there I actually thought I was going to be arrested. It would be really bad if that happened. I don't think that they get Shounen Jump in prison. Seems a bit overly cruel to me.]

Kumagawa was walking down the street as he headed for the convenience store on his way home to pick up some dinner and a copy of Shounen Jump. The sun was descending on the horizon, the tall towers in the distance blocking out what little light was still illuminating the city and cast a shadow on the district that Kumagawa was making his way through.

"Sir! Please, help me!" came a voice from across the street.

The Minus turned and saw a girl who looked to be around 8 years of age waving him over. Which was quite strange seeing how late it was and she had no guardian to be found.

Kumagawa crossed the empty street and approached the little girl. [What seems to be the problem?]

The girl did her best to hold back her sniffles and was failing to do so. "M-my puppy ran into that dark alley and won't come back out! I'd go in there and get him myself, but I'm s-s-scared of the dark! Can you h-help me onii-chan?"

[Of course!] Kumagawa responded as he flashed the girl a smile and gave a thumbs up. [Just leave it to onii-chan here to chase away all the spooky monsters hiding in the dark!]

The girls face seemed to pale. "T-there's m-monsters in the d-dark too?!"

[... Whoops! Guess you were only afraid of the dark and not the idea that there might be monsters in it.] the teen said sheepishly as he scratched the back of his head. [But don't you worry! This Hero in training will protect you!] he said as he jabbed a thumb at his chest.

"Wow! You're a Hero?!" the girl asked as her eyes started to sparkle.

[Well, technically I'm still just a student at U.A., but I plan on graduating and becoming a real Pro-Hero!] he said as he turned to face the dark alley. [And now as my first unofficial task as a Hero, I'm gonna help you find your dog!]

"Thanks onii-chan!" the girl beamed as she followed Kumagawa into the alley.

[Alright, now what does your dog look like?]

"He's a real friendly shiba-inu. Momma let me name him Ketsueki." the answered as she trailed close behind Kumagawa.

[That's quite a strange name for a dog. Why exactly did you pick that?]

Suddenly Kumagawa felt a sharp pain in his back. Looking down at his chest, he saw a knife blade protruding from his right pectoral.

"'Cause the reds are so beautiful~." answered the girl as she pulled the knife from Kumagawa's back.

As soon as the teen turned to face his attacker, she stabbed the knife into his left eye and tackled him to the ground. Once he was down, she proceeded to repeatedly stab him in the chest and face.

"Ahh~. It's amazing just how much blood is inside the human body. Such a shame that it's hidden beneath the skin. Makes it hard for me to appreciate it outside of these 'sessions'." the young girls appearance began to melt and transform as she continued to stab the already dead Kumagawa. "And to think, I actually got to kill a U.A. student! What luck I have!"