NO. 28 - A Glimpse

[General POV]

Several of Japan's pro heroes were gathering together in a large meeting room. Among them were Eraser Head, Crust, Midnight, Edgeshot, Best Jeanist, Mirko, and finally, Ingenium. These heroes were seated around a long table as two dozen police officers stood in front of the room's walls.

"Great, now that we're all here, we can begin." Detective Tsukauchi Naomasa said as he walked up to the large projector screen in the front of the room. "I gathered you all here due to the urgency of the matter at hand."

Naomasa pointed the small remote in his hand towards the projector screen. With a push, the projector came to life and displayed a blurry image of a hooded individual jumping from the rooftops of an undisclosed city.

Eraser Head eyed the elusive figure he had spent the last year trying to track. "Sukuna."

"That cheating bastard!" Mirko yelled with her arms crossed as she glared over at the image. "Just wait until our rematch! I'll kick your ass."

"Easy there, Mirko." Midnight teased as she leaned back on her chair. "It's just a picture."

"I know that, damn it!"

"Yes, as some of you are already aware. The individual in this picture is the Villain known by many as Sukuna, The King of Curses." Naomasa said as he clicked his remote again.

The image changed to another image of Sukuna but from a different angle. It was zoomed in to show off the bottom half of Sukuna's tattooed face, but due to the distance this picture was shot, the image was extremely blurry.

Naomasa looked away from the image and addressed the assembled heroes. "What we initially thought was a lone Vigilante has quickly changed to become a dangerous murderer. He is now a suspect in several murders and assaults, making him a person of high interest to law enforcement. It appears that wherever Sukuna goes, violence and bloodshed follow. In just a short year, he has caused multiple deaths and has hospitalized those he chooses to spare. My sources indicate that the entire underworld of Japan does their best to avoid him."

"I don't understand." Ingenium, otherwise known as Ida Tensei, said. "What is his goal? There must be a reason why Sukuna is doing all this. Do the police have any leads as to why?"

"At the moment, Sukuna's actions are unknown. There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason for his violent actions." Naomasa said with a troubled look. "That makes him unpredictable and extremely dangerous."

"Indeed." Crust nodded his head before turning to an annoyed Mirko. "However, what bothers me about Sukuna is the fact that Mirko here fought and lost to him. I would have thought that such a killer like him would have ended her life or even injured her to the point of retirement."

"He got a lucky shot, that's it!" Mirko shot up to her feet with an angry look. "The only reason I lost to that damn bastard was due to that cheap trick at the end."

"Regardless, Sukuna could defeat a pro hero of Mirko's caliber." Best Jeanist said as he brushed his hair to the side. "That makes him extremely dangerous. He's no longer some small-time vigilante, criminal, or thug. He is a lethal villain. Tell us, Mirko, about your fight with him. What quirk does Sukuna have?"

Everyone turned to the bunny-themed heroine as she sat back down with a thoughtful expression.

"That's the thing," Mirko said as she crossed her arms under her chest. "I'm not sure. During our fight, he mainly stuck to using that super durable staff. From our fight, Sukuna has incredible strength, speed, reflexes, and martial arts skills that let him keep up with me. But in the end, he made this odd hand motion, and I suddenly felt my instincts yell at me to run. And before I could get away, something grabbed me."

"What do you mean by 'something'?" Edgeshot asked as he looked over at Mirko with curiosity.

"It's hard to describe," Mirko said, rubbing her hair in frustration. "It felt like an invisible force grabbed me and held me in place. My instincts were screaming that I was in extreme danger as if I were trapped in the jaws of a powerful predator. But before I could even attempt to escape, Sukuna charged at me and... knocked me out with one punch." Mirko finished her account, feeling a mix of shame and anger.

"So we have a highly skilled killer with an unknown quirk that can freeze someone in place." Eraser Head said with a sigh. "We're not in a good spot."

"Indeed." Naomasa nodded as he looked out at everyone in the room. "Despite that, we can't continue to let Sukuna do as he pleases. We have to bring him to justice."

"While I hate to admit this." Midnight said, gaining everyone's attention. "Despite his methods, Sukuna's actions have caused the crime rate to drop 15% over the last year to today. Now, I'm not saying what he's doing is okay. No, he's a killer, and he needs to be stopped. But at the same time, his mere presence is becoming a deterrent for criminals and villains alike."

"That's because the criminal underworld knows that Sukuna won't hesitate to kill them. That's not a deterrent. That's fear. And fear shouldn't be what stops evil or crime from occurring." Best Jeanist said as he leaned forward on the table. "Sukuna must be stopped and charged for his heinous crimes. There will be no exceptions."

"Still..." Eraser Head said with a sigh. "Sukuna is also a large part of why several dozen kidnapped children have been able to go home. His motivations make no sense."

"Even so, Jeanist is correct. Sukuna is now one of our top priority targets," Naomasa stated as he accepted a stack of folders from one of his officers. He began passing the folders around to the gathered heroes. "These contain all the information my team and I have gathered on him. For now, I recommend that anyone who encounters Sukuna immediately call for backup. He is not an opponent to be faced alone. I believe our best chance for victory is through a coordinated attack involving many pro heroes working together."

Midnight leaned over to the rabbit-themed hero. "He's talking about you, Mirko."

"Shut up!"

"Enough." Eraser Head muttered as he received one of the folders. "We have a lot to cover. So let's get to work."

x x x

[Shimizu Souta POV]

In the tranquility of the early morning, I sat cross-legged on a worn mat in the center of my home's dojo. The air was still, carrying only the faint scent of sandalwood from the far-off burning incense. My eyes were gently closed, shielding me from the vibrant world beyond. I took a deep breath, feeling the cool air fill my lungs, then slowly exhaled, releasing any tension that clung to me.

Find it... find it. Find the core of cursed energy.

With each breath, I focused on the rhythm of my chest rising and falling, allowing thoughts to drift like leaves on a gentle stream. I acknowledged them without judgment, letting them come and go, inviting a sense of calm to envelop me. My mind slowly began to settle like dust after a storm.

Turn negative energy into positive energy.

As I sank deeper into the stillness, a wave of serenity washed over me, grounding me in the present moment. At the same time, waves of cursed energy danced around my body like roaring flames.

Time seemed to stretch, with each minute transforming into an eternity of peace. The sounds of the world outside faded away, replaced by the gentle rhythm of my heartbeat.

It was then that I finally saw it. It was a flicker, barely a second. But I finally saw it.

The core. The core of cursed energy!

But as fast as it came, it quickly disappeared just as I was about to reach out and grab it!

"Shit!" I fell back to my back and looked up at the star-filled night sky. "I was so close! It was right there! Damn it all!"

Still, despite my failure to grab the core of curse energy, I was still extremely happy to finally have gotten a glimpse of it after several months of meditation to reach it.

It was only a matter of time before I learned the reversed curse technique!

Sure, I could use Round Deer to heal myself, but I didn't want to rely on my Shikigami all the time. I needed to be able to heal my body on my own.

"Ah," I muttered as it finally hit me that I had meditated all day. "Not again."

"Sukuna-kun! You're finally done! I was getting worried for a second there."

I looked over to see Himiko dressed in her pajamas as she walked out of our house, a small smile on her face. In her hands was a bucket full of ice and water.

"...Himiko."

"Yes?"

"What's that bucket for?"

"Oh, I was worried you turned to stone, so I was going to dump this on you to check."

[+10 SP]

"…thanks?"

Himiko nodded and spun back to go back inside. "You're welcome! I put your dinner in the fridge, by the way. I'm going to bed now, goodnight!"

"Uh, yeah. Goodnight."

I nodded numbly at her as she closed the sliding door before standing up. I moved around and stretched my stuff joints with a nervous expression.

She had been in a lot better spirits after she had called Keiko, Izuku, and even Mei back to let them all know she was okay after running off that day. They had all accepted her apology rather quickly, causing Himiko to glow with glee, knowing that her new friends didn't hate her. She and Keiko were even in the talks of setting up some sort of get-together or sleepover with just the three girls.

The fools, good luck getting Mei to agree to come along.

"I need an alarm clock…" As I was finishing my stretches, I grinned and decided to check on my luck today. With a snap of my fingers, the gacha machine that's been the bane of my new gambling addiction popped into existence.

[Total SP: 12,710]

"It's not gambling night, but let's see what you got for me tonight, Gacha gods. I'm feeling lucky," I said as I used enough points to get a Platinum tier reward pull. Grabbing the glowing prize ball, I tossed it in the air with an amused smile before snapping it open. "Heh, maybe I'll get a special-grade cursed weapon? I wouldn't say no to the Split Soul Katana. It'll go well with Playful Cloud-"

[You have pulled: Gojo Satoru's Cursed Technique, Limitless! Rank: Platinum.]

I felt my breath leave me suddenly as I fell to my knees. The knowledge of how to use the Limitless filled my brain in an instant.

This was it.

I did it!

Before I could jump for joy and thank the benevolent gacha gods, my brain jerked to a stop when it sensed a missing qualification in order for me to use the Limitless technique.

The Six Eyes.

"…Crapbaskets."

-

AN:

I've been getting a lot of comments complaining about how I'm handling some aspects of the story. I can understand that some of you are expecting some Shakespeare levels of writing on something I do in my free time, but I'm mostly writing this for fun and to release some of my frustrations with the original MHA story.

Oh, and to read everyone's funny comments.

Keep that in mind as you read.

Anyways, I'll see you all on the next bonus chapter!

Until next time.