4

Hyu's pen was a blot on the paper and Sei's mouth dropped, Mt. Lady came out from behind the wall and saw the pen fly over the paper as Toshio removed the first page and slid the next one under it, and Hyu walked lightning fast. That speed...

"It has to be his quirk, right?" She asked.

"No. Sheer skill and technique, honed over the years and your distaste for editors." Botan replied, delighted as Sei began to collect the sketches the mangaka was drawing at a speed no human being can do... and of high quality too.

The front page was of a young Peter Parker standing next to a happy couple eating a birthday cake. Then Peter was looking at a man in armor. The costume had so much detail, every sparkle and every plate shown in all its magnificence.

A side effect of Araki Hyu's Quirk; Musememory, the more cherished the memory, the greater the detail.

A scrapped robot shattered at the boys' feet and, in the distance, a rotating sign read 'Stark Expo'.

That name again. Hard.

The final detail was a speech bubble over Iron Man's head.

" Good work. "

So it's Iron Man...

The next few pages of photos flashed by, but in equal if not greater detail. Peter, older now, laughing with a chubby boy as they worked on some kind of toy.

A strange spider biting a hand.

The vision of a coffin being lowered into the ground. 'Benjamin Parker' painted brightly on headstone. The sight of a woman crying beside her and a mass of mourners around her.

Peter looking down at a cheap imitation of the suit he wore now, made out of homemade things like a sweatshirt and a few store-bought items.

Creating a bathtub filled with a white substance.

Fighting some street level thugs. After all, he really is experienced.

Meeting a middle-aged man with a small beard and mustache, sitting with him on the bed. This was Tony Stark.

Another memory flashed, Peter, in a better suit, standing beside several heroes, the red and yellow steel hero from before with an individual in black cat armor and a black and steel armor hero looking at an equally diverse set. of opponents, including a man in a blue suit with a shield, a man with a metal arm, a man who can fly, and some... giants dressed in red?

Holding a raft torn in half by its web.

Speaking of that man again. Tony Stark in a skyscraper, and very stern and serious he was.

Battling a black and green villain with metal wings in the sky, Mr. Toomes was his name.

Seeing a girl leave with a sad look on her face.

Meeting a bored girl who was fun but still fascinating.

Looking up at a flying circular ship hovering over New York.

Battling villains… one monstrous brute wielding a hammer, the other lean and using telekinesis.

Flying past the atmosphere, seeing the blackness of space and falling... before landing on the alien ship.

Saving a guy in a red cape with scarred hands.

Tony Stark, Iron Man, looking like a king and making him a knight. " You are an Avenger now. " Said the text balloon.

Being held at gunpoint by a man with weapons beyond anything Botan had ever seen. Seeing people with unique characteristics, like dark skin with red tattoos, or glowing antennae with big black eyes... with the specter of some alien creature with a razor-sharp mouth coming out of its mouth looming behind it.

A different world, of skyscrapers, satellites and crumbling sinkholes.

He could hear Hyu toss the pens aside as he drew without ink, picking up new ones and drawing at lightning speed, his eyes bright but focused on the laser.

A giant bald man with a single gauntlet, holding him by the throat. "Little Bug!" was the text bubble.

Holding off that giant before a plainly dressed man slammed into the giant's face with his unique weapon, fury and desperation written on his, Tony's, and even the giant's faces.

Some... meteor shower, putting people in webbed lines and flying through the rubble as hell rained down around them.

Botan's mouth was open.

The men and women turning to dust!?

Peter, holding the man who gave him his suit, as Tony Stark wept, despair written all over him with "It's gonna be alright" bubbles above him as the world dissolved around him.

And then... a completely black page.

Followed by the Musutafu skyline, with the sight of that same villainous giant shark in the background.

"Boss?" Toshio asked, watching Botan go through the quick sketches, all detailed in ink and requiring no reworking. Perfect detail. "What the hell?"

"Hyu-sensei… what is the meaning of this?" he asked, as the old man dropped the last of his many pens as he leaned back, panting and sweating as his right hand shook from heavy use. Hyu looked at him, looking exhausted as a man his age should be, but he started to laugh, a wide smile on his face.

"What is it? What is it?!" Hyu messed with Peter's head, making the boy open his eyes confused by the act. "This! It's a gold mine! This." He took the papers from Botan's hands, going through them and inspecting them. "My gold mine!!…so much material! Finally! Something new and fresh! My muse! Ohhh yes, finally, I can feel them shaking in my head haha!" Hyu exclaimed giddily. Toshio and Botan looked at Hyu as if he had grown an additional head.

"Did something happen?" Mt. Lady asked incredulously.

"Something really amazing young lady! That will be good grades and material for my next manga!" He turned to Botan. "Well, you didn't let me down Fukuda. God, I feel like a new man! I need to get this home."

"We need them just in case, you old idiot!" Toshio barked.

"Oh, relax Fujiwara-chan." Hyu rolled his eyes. "I'll just scan copies." He patted the younger man's chest, Toshio frowning. "You need to live a little, stop being so serious." He turned to Botan.

"Your account will be charged when I noti-"

"Save Fukuda, you don't have to pay me. The sweeps from that?" He held all the sketches in his right hand. "Is payment more than enough." He let out a deep, relieved sigh, before looking at Peter, who was as confused as anyone.

"Fukuda." Hyu coughed in his throat, picking up his cane and walking over to him as he started to whisper to him. "This boy here, Peter Benjamin Parker, is innocent of anything and everything." He stated with a solemn look in his eyes. "The only thing this boy is guilty of is ignorance of the laws of our world, and that is no crime."

" Our world?" Botan raised an arched eyebrow. Hyu nodded.

"You won't believe this... This kid... comes from a world where the majority of the population has no quirks. Just a handful of individuals." He reached into his folder, pulling out selected pages. Standing in line and facing the shield man and the red giant. The aliens. The Wizard. The greenish-black winged villain. "They have skills that could be called that, but they are still uncommon, except for a few."

"What are you talking about. Are you saying... Parker is..."

"From another world. Another Earth, but not ours. Another dimension perhaps. Or a time, I don't know. What is certain, he was not born on this Earth, on this... plane of existence. He came... from another. And this... monster." Hyu held out a page of a man's mocking monster with the single gauntlet, saying 'Little Bug' to the reader. "It's the culprit. And he did... so much damage. So much that... I could glimpse death for the first time."

Botan was anxious. Hyu can be a grumbler. A grumpy one. Unpleasant. Irritable. But a liar he was not. He felt a pit form in his stomach.

"What else about this world?"

"What his world lacks in Quirks... it makes up for in technology. The things there... are just the advancements that our society, no, our whole world can dream of! It's like magic! And the existence of- "

"Yes, Mr. Parker?" Botan asked. This boy... the costume... his lack of knowledge... all of it... combined with the sketches Hyu made...

Could it be true? It could just be amnesia. Or some villain with a gauntlet like that, but… even when he was a young rookie and met Hyu in his youth… He never saw Hyu manage to put the image of death in his drawings.

That completely black page that took up two whole pens.

The empty. Nothing.

So... there was no afterlife. And that… that scared the shit out of him.

Peter had died.

An innocent young teenager, wanting to do the right thing, died.

And he came back to life.

Botan did everything in her power to keep a straight face.

"Ummm…can I get something to eat?"

"Oh yes of course." Botan smiled for the first time, forced as it was. "What would you like? Me and Hyu-sensei here are almost done, so we can get you something to eat and then we can have our interview."

"Uh…anything really, I guess."

"He died Fukuda." Hyu whispered. "The alien titan in my drawings, Thanos, somehow murdered him. Yet he wakes up in our world and rushes to save others with no regard for his own well-being." The old man gained Botan's gaze. "He's a hero through and through. He deserves more than a diner if you ask me."

Botan took a deep breath, following the old mangaka's advice. "I tell you, do you have any... favorite foods?" He asked. Peter raised an eyebrow.

"My favorite? Well... usually cherry pie made by my aunt, but..." his face fell. "I can go get a pizza."

"Fujiwara-chan." Hyu barked. "Get him a pizza. I got pizza there at the end." He said in Japanese.

"What? Why do I have to do this!"

"Favorite coverage?" Botan asked, ignoring the fight between the two.

"Ummm...just pepperoni is fine." Peter replied, his voice soft. "When will we hear from the Embassy?"

"When we do, you'll be the first to know." Botan walked over to Peter, placing a hand on his shoulder and giving him a reassuring squeeze. "I promise." He looked at Toshio and snapped his fingers. "Toshio-kun. Pepperoni pizza. Just go to the pizzeria across the street and collect at the station. Go. And give it to Hanaz-"

"I'll give Hanazawa-san the sketches to scan." Hyu said. "Then I'll take the originals and be on my way." He patted the chief of police on the shoulder. "You were good today, Fukuda. When I finish my pilot, I'll make a character with your name and drink on me." He had a wide smile on his face. Botan hadn't seen Hyu like this... radiant for years. However, he was solemn about details about Parker.

Toshio sighed. "Tch." And he left the ward. Botan gave a small smile.

"I'll be looking forward to it. And thank you so much for coming." He bowed slightly. "We are truly grateful, Hyu-sensei."

"Save, I'm the one who should be thanking you." Hyu smiled as he picked up his cane and started limping past Mt. Confused and bewildered Lady, who remained silent and out of Peter's sight.

"What was that?" She asked.

"This case... just got a lot more fascinating and-"

"Who is it? That voice sounds familiar." Peter asked, getting up from his bed. Sei made hand gestures, and the invisible wall rose again.

"Is he asking for me?" Mt. Lady whispered, leaving as Peter's eyes lifted.

"You are the giant lady I threw myself at!" The blonde superhero smiled.

"That's Mt. Lady for you, young man." She stated in English before turning to Botan. "Looks like you could take five. Let me have a word with the kid."

"I appreciate it. Kimihito-kun, stand guard." Sei greeted as Botan left the professional to speak with the vigilante. He can hear Hyu giggling like a kid in a candy store as his papers are scanned. He saw Toshio outside walking along the sidewalk.

He was here to give a foreign boy a simple warning and send him back to the States. This was what he had planned half an hour ago.

He never would have guessed this would happen. Aliens. Worlds without quirks. Technology that is like quirks. Literal death. Alternative dimensions.

It was too much to take in. Hyu's sketches never lie. Man would never compromise his integrity for some wild fancy. The sketches combined with Par-No. Peter's reaction, they were starting to connect.

Botan let out a sigh. He promised he would give up. His wife practically made him do it.

When he stepped out into the fresh air, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a cigarette, lighting it and taking a drag.

Because damn, he needs the buzz right now.

"Just what the fuck did I get myself into?"