I: The robbery

A lone boy walked through the school hallways. It was recess, a time to relax between his busy class schedule, and the boy decided to stretch his legs after sitting still for almost two hours of class.

The boy walked past several classrooms. His gray and light purple hair swayed with each step. His saturated purple eyes glanced inside the rooms at the students who played and chatted.

Walking through the school, he overheard most people discussing a specific topic.

"Did you hear? Thirteen rescued twenty-seven people from the accident in the blink of an eye!" exclaimed a kid enthusiastically from inside a classroom.

The night before, an accident had occurred in the middle of the city. A gas pipe had failed and exploded inside a building. The fire shook the structure, and some floors collapsed under the heat.

Amidst the chaos, a lone figure appeared. A woman dressed in white astronaut gear slowly walked toward the collapsing building, step by step.

She was Thirteen, a newly appointed professional hero for the city. She almost aimlessly ignored the flames, standing before the fire when it looked ready to incinerate her body and claim her as one of the victims.

Just before the wild blaze could touch her, she extended her hand, and immediately, like a vortex, her fingers seemed to…

Hearing the other kids speaking enthusiastically as he strolled through the school, Kaiden couldn't help but smile. He had also heard about what happened the night before, or as most kids called it, the "Big Rescue."

Suddenly, a sweet voice called his name from behind. "Kaiden, Kaiden!"

"Oh, Emi, what's up?" Kaiden smiled as he turned around. It was Shinomiya Emi, his classmate and one of his closest friends. Emi was small, around 146 cm, with yellow eyes and brown curly hair. Her pale skin made her red, chubby cheeks stand out.

"Hey, why did you leave the classroom? I wanted to talk about what happened yesterday. Did you hear? It was awesome. It is rare for a rescued specialist to stand out this much. I couldn't see it live yesterday, but I saw the recording. It was awesome," exclaimed the girl as she jumped around like a mini tennis ball. 

"HAHAHAHAHA, as energic as always, I wanted to walk a little, but that aside, yes I saw it, yesterday at dinner, it was incredible, I never thought the rescue heroes had such powerful Quirks." Kayden laughed at his friend nature. 

"Yes, I didn't think it was the case. There are always the battle heroes, the ones that stand out more, so it's incredible to see that. Ne ne, what are you going to do later? I invited Sora and Akira to my home. Mom is going to do pizza for everyone." Emi jumped happily around as she spoke, and Raiden could only smile at her enthusiasm. 

-"I could like it, but I need to buy some groceries at the shop and drop them at home first, I will go right after that, I will try to be fast"- Exclaimed Raiden with a thumb up.

Right in the middle of their conversation, the bell rang, and the kids returned to their classrooms. Silence filled the room until Raiden noticed Emi staring at his left arm, which prompted him to speak up. "Wanna know how my Quirk is going?"

Caught off guard, Emi felt a little flustered but nodded repeatedly, which made Raiden chuckle. He extended his left arm toward her. "Alright, prepare to be amazed—my Quirk is currently... the same as always." sighed the boy.

With those words, Raiden revealed his bare arm to Emi. A large, glowing "0" shone in blue on his forearm. This was Raiden's Quirk, and no one understood it—not even the doctors. All he could do was manifest a glowing zero on his forearm.

"So, nothing's changed, huh? What do you think about your Quirk? When it first appeared, wasn't it a different symbol, like an eye or something?" Emi wondered aloud.

"Well, whatever it was, it's just like a glowing tattoo. Nothing special. It's kind of like the first Quirks that appeared in the world, something strange but not really powerful." Raiden shrugged, then placed his hands behind his neck and strolled back toward the classroom, whistling.

After their chat, inside the classroom, Raiden kept staring at the glowing "0" on his forearm with slightly downcast eyes. Deep down, he felt frustrated. Everyone else in his class had some kind of power—everyone except him. Sure, his forearm glowed, but that was it: no super strength, no ability to fly. 

At thirteen years old, Raiden wished he had powers like everyone else. Even the weakest power in his class, held by Reika—a girl with night vision who could see in the dark like a military camera—seemed better than his. And he? He just had a glowing arm.

As Raiden looked at his arm, he heard someone muttering his name. He turned to see Rei, a boy with red eyes and black hair, whispering to another boy. Even though Raiden couldn't hear what they were saying, he knew it was about him. They always talked about him, calling him "Zero Arm" or "Bugged Quirk." But the name that stuck was "Quirk 404." Initially, it was "404 Quirk Not Found," but his classmates had shortened it to "Quirk 404."

"Got something to say?" Raiden asked, raising an eyebrow at them.

"Nope," they replied with smirks, looking back at the board.

"What are you doing? You shouldn't get into trouble again. Last time, you ended up suspended for two days," Emi whispered to Raiden.

"Heh. But what am I supposed to do? The other option is to let them mock me—or worse. You already know that the only reason they haven't started outright bullying me is because I don't let them have the chance. You know how it is for people without Quirks—they're almost always bullied," Raiden replied with a cheerful tone, a stark contrast to his harsh words.

"But you're not Quirkless..." Emi replied, trying to refute him.

"Essentially, I am—or at least, that's how most people see it." Emi wanted to argue back, but she knew he was right. If Raiden hadn't fought off those who tried to ridicule him for his Quirk, things could be a lot harder for him at school.

Just as Emi was about to speak again, the teacher ended the class just before the ring bell again, Raiden immediately stood up and patted Emi's head, -"Don't worry, I don't mind about anything, see you later"

Right after, Raiden walked out of the school toward the market, it took the boy twenty minutes to arrive, it was a market close to his house, only five minutes from there, it was a small place, with only two cashiers and around teen stands. 

Raiden picked up a basket and strolled around the shop looking for bread among other things, Just as the boy strolled to the cashier, a sharp sound rumbled outside the shop. 

Raiden and the other customers turned to see a massive, four-armed man breaking down the door as he forced his way inside. He was so large he barely fit through the entryway. Another person quickly followed him—a smaller figure dressed in black sportswear and a mask, with a long, bony tail extending from his back that ended in a spear-like tip.

The two intruders immediately started yelling and smashing objects in the store. "GET DOWN! THIS IS A ROBBERY! EMPTY YOUR POCKETS AND HAND OVER THE MONEY, NOW! WE'RE NOT WAITING!"

Everyone, including Raiden, dropped to the floor and emptied their pockets. It wasn't worth trying to fight back; these people were categorized as Type II villains—criminals who used their Quirks illegally to commit violent crimes, from theft to intimidation.

Villains are classified into four categories. Type I is considered harmless—these are people who use their Quirks for personal gain without posing significant risks to public safety. For example, someone with an electric Quirk might alter a store's price display to pay less, or a student might use their Quirk to cheat on a university entrance exam. Crimes in this category involve minor infractions without causing harm to others.

Type II includes those who use their Quirks to commit serious crimes, such as assault or robbery involving intimidation or violence—just like the two villains who entered the store.

Type III villains are among the worst, encompassing individuals who commit heinous crimes, including murder, assault, drug trafficking, or acts that cause irreversible harm to others.

Finally, Type IV is like Type III but with one distinction: organization. This category includes organized crime networks, human trafficking rings, and serial killers with no regard for society. This classification is based not on individual power but on the severity and nature of the crime, as well as the legal response required. Although initially a judicial categorization, these terms have become widely known and used by the general public.

Raiden lay low on the floor, keeping his eyes locked on the villains. He had already emptied his pockets of any money; he knew he had almost zero chance to fight back and win, and that was true for most of the people present. While almost everyone had a Quirk, not everyone had an offensive one, and even fewer knew how to fight. Ironically, in a society full of superpowers, not everyone knew how to use them.

As the two villains began taking money from the cashier and the people, the smaller one, with a bone-like tail, noticed a girl close to Raiden. Although the man had his head covered, the girl and Raiden were close enough to see the man smirk behind his mask.

"Eh? You're pretty cute," the masked man exclaimed, closing the distance toward the girl. She, a young woman in her twenties, was indeed cute, with red hair tipped in orange, orange eyes, pale skin, and a curvy body. Hearing the man speak, she trembled, her body shaking in fear, and immediately, tears started to flow down her cheeks.

"Hehe, don't worry, you're going to enjoy it," the man said as he closed the distance, grabbing her chest and pushing her to the floor. He ripped her clothes off with his tail while placing the sharp end of the tail against her throat.

The girl, not moving, only pleaded, "Please, don't... don't..." Sadly, her pleas fell on deaf ears, and the man continued to rip her clothes. Meanwhile, the huge red man scoffed and yelled, "DON'T LAST LONG, OUR DISTRACTION WILL ONLY GIVE US THIRTY MINUTES, HAHAHA!" The red man walked outside, heading toward the ATMs, ripping them from the ground and moving them toward their black pickup truck parked across the street at the gas station.

Raiden couldn't understand the villains' carefree attitude; they were going to get caught. The heroes always arrived, at most, ten minutes later, and here, there was even a hero agency nearby, so they should already have been dispatched.

However, Raiden and everyone else's hope shattered in an instant when a loud explosion rang out, visible in the opposite direction. In that precise moment, everyone understood what the villains meant by diversion—they had set off the explosion to rob this place.

The first to collapse was the girl. Seeing the explosion, her eyes lost their light. Seeing her like this, Raiden clenched his fists. No one was going to save them—not soon enough. It could have been nothing if they only wanted the money, but that wasn't all.

In this situation, no one would do anything. The gray-haired boy clenched his fists harder, and the zero on his arm glowed, but nothing more happened. He knew it; his Quirk was useless. He couldn't use it against the villain, who had good control over his Quirk, moving his tail around like an extra limb.

Raiden's eyes scanned the room. "If I don't do anything, this woman… she's going to be..." Guilt started creeping up Raiden's back, his body began to shake as he saw how everyone else ignored the scene and looked down. He couldn't—no, he didn't know if he could simply ignore it. What would happen to him afterward? Would he live with the guilt he was already feeling? Or even worse, would the villains actually let them go if they didn't oppose them?

Raiden looked around but couldn't find anything to at least land a hit on the villain's head until he noticed something from the corner of his eye—a bright fire extinguisher.

That was it. If he could grab it and strike the man in the head, it could give everyone enough time to run and save the girl.

Raiden just needed an opportunity and to control his trembling body. The boy focused on controlling his breath, steadily calming himself. Just as the man leaned toward the girl, using his tail to lower his pants, Raiden slowly rose and swiftly grabbed the fire extinguisher, smashing it into the man's face.

The hit landed directly in the center of his face, sending him stumbling back, blood pouring from his mouth and nose. The man immediately put his hands on his face in pain, but strangely enough, he didn't scream—he just growled from the pain. Everyone, including Raiden, froze for a moment.

Before Raiden could drop the extinguisher, a thought crossed his mind: the villain was still conscious, and at any moment, he could call for help. As that thought crossed Raiden's mind, the boy rushed toward the criminal, dodging the tail as best as he could, and struck him in the face again.

However, this time, something hit him in the chest. Raiden flew toward a shelf, coughing and groaning as he crashed into the shelves, causing a chain reaction that knocked over three more.

Raiden groaned on the floor, the villain did his best to stand up, his face bleeding like a river, and his eyes filled with blood. He focused on the culprit behind his wounds and staggered toward Raiden.

Seeing an opportunity, the rest of the people started to flee, leaving both of them alone in the store. The only one who stayed behind was the girl, shivering in the distance near the cashier.

Raiden, struggling to get back on his feet, panted heavily as he watched the approaching villain, who was barely standing. Yet, the tail behind him moved as if it were unaffected. "Shit," muttered Raiden, searching for something else to use against the villain. Quickly, the boy grabbed a can of beans and threw it.

The masked man, even with his vision impaired, used his tail to knock the can away and struck at Raiden. Raiden did his best to dodge the incoming attack.

Without wasting a second, Raiden ran toward a shelf of bottles, grabbed one of glass, and used his only advantage—speed. The hits to the villain's face had taken a toll on him, giving Raiden a slight edge. The boy began throwing bottles at the incoming man, one after another.

The villain blocked most of them, but a couple struck him in the face, causing more blood to spill. Enraged, the villain used the last of his strength to rush at Raiden.

The boy also rushed forward, bottle in hand. Just as the villain's tail came straight for his heart, Raiden dodged to the side, and the spear-like tail grazed the side of his arm. Raiden persevered, lifting his hand and smashing the bottle against the villain's head.

The villain collapsed to the floor, unconscious. Raiden couldn't believe it—he won. His body was on the verge of collapsing from fear and adrenaline, but he had won.

Suddenly, a voice from the door sent a chill down his spine.

"AAAH, I KNEW THIS FUCKER WAS GOING TO MESS UP THE MISSION ONE DAY, NOW I HAVE TO CLEAN UP THE MESS, AHHAHAHA! SORRY, BOY, THIS ISN'T PERSONAL."

It was the beginning of round two, a round Raiden wasn't prepared for… until he noticed the glow on his forearm had changed. The "0" had turned into a "1."

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Just in case someone like it or want simply help me, I will leave this here.

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