Chapter 3

Pain.

The only feeling that was ringing throughout my body as I was struggling to fight back Reyes. We were sparring for like 10 minutes and he had already showed me the difference in our skills. The man wasn't lying when he said he was a CQC specialist and with all his combo moves and techniques he had managed to break three of my ribs, my nose, gave me a black eye and dislocated my left shoulder. The fight itself had only one purpose. To make me realize just how weak I am and this guy doesn't leave any room for mercy. Not even for an eight year old.

And frankly speaking, this was the first time I was thrust into a fight and I was scared to make a move. Seeing my hesitation, Reyes made his move as he threw a right punch to the face and acting quickly I dodged it by ducking down.

Just as I was about to roll backwards Reyes charged in and grabbed my leg, dragging me towards him and punched my chin. This left me dazed for a moment and made me lose all feeling in my legs. With a blurry vision and a black eye I looked at a jumping Reyes performing a drop kick to my face as I blacked out.

4 Hours Later:

I opened my eyes to the sound of something whirring and regretted it immediately as bright light hit my vision. Blinking rapidly I adjusted my eyes to the light and looked to my right to see a table fan and a wall filled with pictures of popular pro heroes and an IV attached to my right arm. I looked around the room and saw lots of plants and three more beds to my left.

'Where am I now? Is it a hospital? Again?' As I was preparing to get up from the bed a voice called out saying,"I think you should sleep some more Kurogane-kun."

I turned my head to the direction of the voice and saw an old man who looked to be in his 50s with greying hair and was wearing a doctor's coat. He came to the side of the bed and carefully pulled out the IV and checked my temperature.

"There are no signs of fever so that's good. So young man how are you feeling?" asked the doctor with a gentle voice.

"Uh l think...I'm good. Nothing's hurting anymore and it's all healed. But more importantly who are you?"

"Ah! where are my manners. My name is Hironori Hamada and right now your in my clinic." replied the now named Doctor.

"Ok. So Dr.Hamada, why am I not wearing a cast or any bandages? Did you heal ALL of my wounds?"

"Yes, I used my quirk to heal your broken bones and some of the worse looking bruises. But shallow wounds like cuts and scrapes have been treated normally. So you should be fine."

"Wait. So if you can heal wounds with your quirk then is it the same as Recovery Girl's?!" I questioned him with excitement.

With a warm smile he answered,"Close but, yeah you're right. You see, unlike RG I can use my quirk to sap life energy from one living thing and transfer it to another. My quirk lets me supercharge your cells with energy, letting them heal damages more quickly." said the doctor with a prideful attitude.

"Wow! It's an amazing quirk! But Hamada-san where do you get all that energy from?" I asked him with curiosity. The doctor answered me by pointed at all the plants in the room.It's actually an ingenious idea to use the energy from plants to heal wounds. And he doesn't sap all of it's energy so it may replenish itself and can be used again when needed.

Just as I was about to ask another question my stomach growled and as if on cue my mentor/trainer entered the room with Chinese take-out, motioning us to eat with him. The doctor and I shared a look and decided get some food in our bellies.

We sat down and began to eat in silence. After a few minutes of just non-stop eating Reyes asked,"So kid, how are your wounds?"

"They're fine. The doctor healed all of my critical wounds. And I'll be completely all right after a good night's sleep."

"Mm." He then gave me a small booklet which had the schedule to our classes, training regimen and a detailed diet chart on the type and amount of food to eat for our workout.

"Follow everything in that handbook for now. I'll prepare a more complex one after you get over our initial training." I gave him a "yes sir" as I looked through the booklet. This is only the entry level training for whatever I'm gonna be doing later.

"Since we have the time let's review our sparring from this evening."

"Uh huh.But before we do that, let me ask you something." he gave me a nod as I continued,"What is your quirk? Is it a strength enhancing type quirk?"

"Well you're half right. My quirk is called SENSE enhancement which lets me enhance all five of my senses but I can't use it continuously since it takes a heavy toll my stamina."

'Damn. His quirk would be really useful in a one vs many fight. And if he can enhance all of his senses then he can even feel the vibrations in the air giving him amazing reflexes.'

*Sighs* "You're so lucky you know that. I would give literally anything to have a quirk like that you know." Reyes could only give me a look of pity and that's irritating. I was glaring daggers at him the whole time we ate and DAMMIT I'M NOT JEALOUS!!

"Let's not talk about these things when eating. And Kurogane-kun finish up quickly. I'll drop you at your house." the doctor said intervening, so we started to review our sparring session and finished up for the rest of the day.

Timeskip To 3 Years:

"Recently there here have been many cases of quirks going out of control or becoming instant villians in Naruhata and a suspicious gang of 3 engaging in fights with these villians. Police have yet to release an official statement but it is speculated that a new terrorist organization maybe in-" Reyes switched to another channel as I continued my workout session in his backyard.

It's been a few months since these incidents had occurred which means the plot for the Vigilantes manga has officially started. Though I know who the culprit behind these crimes are, I haven't disclosed that information to the police or the pro heroes in fear of instigating the butterfly effect.

And speaking of pro heroes, All Might has started his hero career again after a whole year, presumably after his fight with All For One. And I got the opportunity to see him as Toshinori Yagi, posing as the personal secretary of All Might during my school field trip to Might Tower located in the Roppongi district of Minato ward, Tokyo.

I felt guilty when I saw him in his skeletal form, knowing that I could've done something but I just didn't do it. I even had the idea of writing him a fan letter stating the details about his fight with All For One. But I also knew that if by some chance All Might did read my letter and believed it, the timeline would change too much and something else might happen. So it all boiled down to whether I choose to save either All Might's career or Izuku Midoriya's and I chose the latter.

But aside from that, life in MHA has been listless so far. It was just a cycle of eat, train, sleep, repeat and nothing else. I also had a lot of time to think about my role here and I don't know what to do.

I, as Kosuke Kurogane am basically a self insert in MHA and there isn't much for me to do in it's storyline. I could just shift to another country and try to become a hero, but again I can't do what I WANT and it's because of one thing, me not having a quirk.

I thought I could get over this but I just can't seem to accept the fact that I was reincarnated without a quirk. I mean shouldn't this technically mean a second chance in life where I get to be the MC and show off my awesomeness. Isn't that how these things are supposed to be.

First I meet truck-kun then I meet god, make him grant my wishes ,get reincarnated and live that MC life. Did I miss a step? I did meet truck-kun or I crashed into it. Maybe that's just it. Because I didn't DIRECTLY get hit by the truck, my dad's car might have went to meet god. Yeah that's what happened.

'FUCKING HELL!! Why wasn't I reborn in Highschool DxD or something.' I thought as I

Sighed my worries, finished my workout and decided to go home. Tomorrow's a school day so I have to get home by 8pm. As I was walking in the road I couldn't help but notice a small commotion in the alleyway up ahead. I heard some grunting and shouting so I guessed it must be a fight.

It's not that strange in Naruhata for fights to break out. There are a lot of thugs and criminals here so it's only natural. 'Let's just go the other way and ignore it.' While I thought that another part of me was curious and wanted to watch the fight. After reaching the corner of the building I peeked out to see the fight and was shocked.

'Th-this is crazy! Is this real?! So this is where THIS fight happens?! Man I must be lucky!!' I couldn't control my excitement as I watched the vigilantes Knuckleduster and Stendhal who would later be known as "the hero killer: Stain" duke it out.

It was amazing to watch two veterans fight like madmen without a care for their life. Stendhal attempted to slash Knuckleduster and he would counter it with a punch or block it with his brass knuckles. I also saw Koichi Haimawari or the Crawler lying on the ground with a spiky looking shark dude next to him.

'If I remember this fight properly then this is where Stendhal gets defeated and later becomes Stain. Should I stop this fight? Can I stop this fight? Even with the training I have I know it is next to impossible to win against Stendhal. And Knuckleduster is fighting him anyway so maybe I can persuade him to not fight. Just what should-'

My inner monologue got interrupted as I heard a sickening cracking sound. I looked up at the fight and could only cringe. Stendhal's face or rather his nose was broken and the bridge of his nose was punched in. With a bleeding face and a creepy look he looked at Knuckleduster was talking about something.

I knew that I had to intervene here but I couldn't move. Just the thought of approaching a future serial killer was terrifying. If I can't stop him here then many heroes would have to die in the future

and that would be on me. But it was already too late as Stendhal fled the alleyway, jumping between the two adjacent buildings.

"Koichi are you hurt?" asked Pop Step as she came flying down landing near the group. While she was tending to the wounded Knuckleduster spotted me and shouted,"Who's there?"

I mentally face palmes for not hiding properly and stepped inside the alleyway. Seeing me the group was surprised but Knuckleduster held a neutral look and asked me,"Kid why were you hiding there?"

"Uh I was just going home when I heard you guys fighting and I wanted to see it so.."

"If the kid saw the whole fight then isn't he a witness?" said the half naked dude who I now recognize as the guy with the spike quirk who fought with Crawler at the start of the manga.

"Then I'll just punch him up until he forgets." saying this Knuckleduster walked towards me ready to punch me.

"Eh?" was my only response to his threat as Crawler came in between us spreading his hands to the side protectively and said,"Master wait!! he's just a kid so stop with the threats!"

"Yeah. Look he's just a bystander and moreover he doesn't know our real identity so just leave him."

'Except I know your identity.' I thought as Pop Step added in.

"I know. That was just a joke. Anyways we're finished here so let's leave before the cops arrive." the group agreed unanimously and were leaving but I wanted to ask them or at least one of them something so I called out to him.

"Wait Crawler. Can I ask you something!" Koichi stopped dead in his tracks and slowly turned to me and asked,"What did you call me?"

"Umm..Crawler."

..."

..."

"Can you repeat it?"

"Crawler." Koichi looked dazed for a moment before zooming towards me and with happiness literally pouring out of him he shouted,"YES!!!FINALLY!SOMEONE SAID MY NAME RIGHT!!"

I looked at him for a moment before I burst out laughing followed by the group behind. I had forgot that this was a recurring gag in the manga when almost everyone would call him either the 'Hauler' or 'Cruller'. After a small laughing spree everyone calmed down and Koichi asked me,"So what did you want to ask?"

I contemplated about it but I had to ask him and preferably him so I looked up and asked,"You were scared when you fought him right?" he gave me a nod while giving me a thinking pose with a hand under his chin.

"Then how were you able to fight him despite your fear?"Koichi smiled and bent down looked me in the eye and said,"Remember this. I am Crawler, the man who will step into any kind of danger to help someone. You know why?" I shook my head for an answer

"BECAUSE ALL MIGHT DOES SO!!" he exclaimed while keeping his hands on his hips, proudly imitating the No. 1 hero but I questioned him again.

"Then why are you doing all this vigilante work. You don't even get the credit for your good deeds. So couldn't you become a hero?" Though I know why, I had to ask him anyway because why would someone choose to break the law knowing that it would bring them trouble.

"I could have become a hero but I lost my chance. But, just because I can't be a licensed hero doesn't mean I can't help someone. I mean you don't NEED a license to help someone right?"

"Right." Koichi smiled again and waved at me as he left with his gang. But I stood there and was ashamed of my indecisiveness. If I had interrupted Knuckleduster and Stendhal's conversation after his defeat then I could have stopped him from becoming Stain and could have also prevented the death of all those heroes.

The talk with Koichi though had given me a clear answer. The answer I was searching for almost 5 years since my Reincarnation. I went home took a bath, ate with my family and as I was laying on my bed, looking at the ceiling I had made a clear decision on what I would do in the world of MHA.

'I want to help people but, everyone in my life so far have directly or indirectly told me that I can't be a hero. I could become a police officer or a fire fighter but that's just boring. They were right though. I can't be a hero, atleast not without a quirk. That being said, no one told me that I can't become a vigilante.'