NO. 6 - Let's Order Some Gyoza

[General POV]

Detective Tsukauchi Naomasa is a tall man with short black hair and rectangular black eyes. He wears his signature tan overcoat and matching hat. Underneath, he wears a black suit, a green tie, matching slacks, and dress shoes. His expression was calm as he stepped out of his private vehicle.

His gaze swept over the extensive crime scene that blocked off a large section of a once-busy street located within the heart of Hamamatsu. Several uniformed police officers and their cruisers stood as a barrier to stop curious civilians from entering the area. His black eyes then zeroed in on the large crater at the center of the road.

"Sansa," Tsukauchi said as he walked over to one of the officers standing near the crater with a small notepad. Lying still at the center was a white blanket covering a still body. What stood out the most from this officer was the large cat head on his shoulders. "What do we got?"

Sansa nodded his fluffy head and flipped through several pages in his notepad. "At around 7:30-7:46 pm tonight, a man by the name of Uchida Ryota, the now deceased, fell from the sky and landed in this crater with several stab wounds around his torso. The pro hero Edgeshot was the first on the scene and is currently on a four-block search for any potential suspects. Some witnesses say that he exploded out from that building and suddenly fell." Sansa said as he pointed at the building across the street. The building had a massive hole in its front wall on the third floor. Rubble and destruction could be seen poking out from the opening.

"Any other casualties? How many were injured?"

"Luckily, there were no other fatalities from the incident. However, several of the people from inside the building were injured when Uchida crashed through the building. They've been taken to Seirei Hamamatsu General Hospital." Sansa said, much to Tsukauchi's relief.

"Tell me more about Uchida Ryota," Tsukauchi said as he and Sansa walked away from the crater and towards the damaged building. "What was his quirk? Any criminal history?"

"Uchida's quirk is called Stone Constitution. His entire body is covered in a layer of thick stone that gave him a layer of defense." Sansa said as he and Tsukauchi now stood on the third floor, the Detective surveying the damage. "The man also did have a record. Three assaults in the past two years, and he was arrested for robbing a convenience store four years ago. He even assaulted several officers when they tried to arrest him."

"So, a repeat offender with a strong defensive quirk," Tsukauchi said as he turned his head to examine where the large trial of destruction seemingly entered from. "That doesn't explain how Uchida flew through this building and into the air. Does he have any ties with the yakuza or any of the local gangs?"

"We're currently looking deeper into his background, but so far, it doesn't seem to be gang-related."

Tsukauchi hummed and walked out of the building by the side door. Sansa followed behind him as they entered an alleyway full of officers and forensic investigators. There were several areas marked with tape and small yellow cones. Tsukauchi took his hat off and kneeled down next to a cone, his eyes focused on the two objects beside the cone.

"Marbles?"

Tsukauchi muttered with a raised eyebrow. Standing up, he turned to watch some of the members of the forensics team gather what seemed like blood. But from the looks of their disappointed faces. The blood might not be viable due to it mixing with the dirty alleyway water.

"It looks like the fight began here and somehow ended up on the street," Sansa said as he looked over at the damaged brick walls in the alley alongside the several ruined trash bins. "A deal gone wrong?"

"Perhaps," Tsukauchi said as he stared at the pile of ruined trash bins and boxes. Turning back, he saw the large hole in the building lined up where he stood. "Whoever Killed Ichida had enough power to send him through three stories of solid brick and steel."

"Could it have been a vigilante?" Sansa asked as he looked straight through the building where Ichida had crashed through from beside Tsukauchi.

"That's what we're going to find out."

x x x

[Shimizu Souta POV]

"Huh, an unfamiliar ceiling."

I blinked slowly in an attempt to remove the remnants of sleep from my eyes and turned my head to the side. That small action of mine caused a ripple of excruciating pain to shoot through my body, causing me to clench my teeth to stop the incoming yell of agony.

It was then that the memories from my fight flooded the forefront of my mind. Reminding me of the fact that I had killed a man with the use of Ryu. It didn't matter that I had done it in self-defense; it didn't change the fact that I had taken that man's life.

I'm… a murderer.

"Easy there, kid. You shouldn't move around too much."

Despite the warning from the unknown voice, I quickly turned towards the direction the mysterious voice came from, causing another jolt of pain to course through me.

Sitting in a chair several feet away was a rather well-built man with blond hair and gray-blue eyes with no eyebrows. He seemed to be in his mid-twenties or so, and he had a large scar splitting his forehead. There were visible traces of facial hair over his mouth and at the bottom of his chin. The man's attire consisted of a blue-collared shirt over a white tank top and a standard pair of pants and boots.

This guy seems familiar… shit! My head's killing me.

"The hell are you! Where am I? What year is it?!" I grabbed my head to try and relieve the pain as I fired off several questions to the strange man.

Seeing my clearly distressed reaction, the man stood up quickly with his hands in front of him in a disarming fashion.

"Wow there, kid! Easy! I'm friendly!" The blond man said with a shaky smile. "I found you unconscious a block away! So I just, eh, brought you to... my apartment and... treated your wounds?"

Why is he saying that like a question?

[+20 SP]

Despite the pain, I pushed myself up to sit on the small bed and looked down at my body. My entire upper body was covered in decently well-placed bandages and other first aid care. I tentatively touched my torso, where my precious organs were, and found no traces of scars.

Phew, I still have my organs. That's a win in my book.

"The name's… Jin. Like I said, you're in my apartment, and the year is 2394?" Jin said with a confused look as he scratched his head. "I, uh, how are you feeling? I'm not the best with first aid, and I wasn't sure if calling an ambulance was the right call. I don't know your situation after all…"

Hold the phone. Jin? As in Bubabagawa-something Jin! It's Twice!

"I see... Thank you for your help, Jin." I said with a wince as a sharp pain pulsed from my stomach.

[+25 SP]

"Don't worry about it. I couldn't exactly leave a kid lying in the street like that." Jin said as he walked over to his small kitchen.

While he was gone, I took a quick look around. Beside me, I found my backpack that held my manuscript for my third book, Episode One of Star Wars. The apartment was rather run-down, with stains on the walls. There was minimal furniture and personal effects throughout the small apartment. Off in the corner were several empty beer or liquor bottles gathered together. The air was rich with the aroma of cigarettes, which made my nose twitch. After a few seconds, Jin came back with a bottle of water.

"Thanks."

I accepted the drink and took several thirsty gulps, suddenly aware of how dry my throat was. When my thirst was quenched, I looked back over to Jin and saw him look uncomfortable and unsure where he stood. His left hand was rubbing his head fiercely. "How long was I out?"

"I think two days?" Jin said as he retook his original seat. I nodded and rubbed my face to help calm myself.

"Two days? Well, that's not good." I said as I looked down at my bed and then at the lone sheet and pillow on the ground several feet away. He gave up his bed for me.

Despite knowing that Jin, or Twice, would one day be a villain part of the League of Villians. I couldn't help but be sympathetic to him after reading the original story. While he did a lot of bad things throughout the story, Jin was by no means evil. He was a character plagued with mental illness and loneliness. He was a person who truly cared for the few friends he had, and he had proven himself to be reliable by his found family in the League of Villains. Only to one day be killed by someone he believed to be his friend.

Then again, I'm not squeaky clean anymore. I did kill a man. So, in terms of heinous actions so far, I'm probably worse than Jin. Unless there's something, Horikoshi didn't share with the class for his backstory.

For a so-called future villain, instead of walking away and leaving my unconscious body wherever he found me. He decided to help me in my moment of need.

He was a real one for that.

"Thank you, Jin. Truly. I owe you for helping me." I softly said as I swung my legs off the bed. I ignored the pain and looked at the surprised man with a smile. "You wouldn't happen to have a phone? Would you?"

x x x

"Go on, Jin. Eat. Your food will get cold."

"Ah, well, alright…"

[+10 SP]

I smiled at the man and grabbed another handful of noodles with my chopsticks. On Jin's head was a hood, and the medical mask he had worn earlier was in his jacket pocket. I slurped my ramen hungrily and loudly, showing my appreciation for the chef's delicious food.

Jin sniffed the alluring aroma of his food and finally began to eat. Immediately, a small smile grew on his face from the taste, and he immediately dug in hungrily as well.

The particular ramen stand we were at was relatively busy at this time of day. Despite the high traffic, the wait was worth it for a bowl of their delicious ramen. As one could imagine, not eating for two days had made me extremely hungry.

So, after getting dressed in my now-washed clothes, I invited Jin to join me in eating as a way of thanks for helping me. He tried to refuse initially, but I wouldn't take no for an answer.

I was a persistent and persuasive guy.

One look at his kitchen told me all I needed to know. The man didn't look like he'd had a decent meal in a long time, so buying him dinner was the least I could do. I did have some decent money after selling my first book, after all.

"You sure you don't have to hurry home? Ain't your parents worried about you?"

"Don't get any, so it's fine. You want some gyoza?"

My straightforward answer stumped Jin momentarily, leaving him confused and unsure of what to say. Despite his silence, he looked at me with an expression of understanding. In the end, he just nodded, and I placed an order for some gyoza.

[+15 SP]

While I didn't worry too much about the Orphanage's reaction to my disappearance, I was more concerned with how the Hatsumes' would react to my disappearance.

My excuse for the orphanage director was that I had stayed at a friend's house and that it completely slipped my mind to tell them I would be gone for a few days. By her angry voice and overreaction, it was to say she was worried about me. How nice of her.

Things got dicey when I called Minato. Safe to say, I got chewed out by the man due to leaving him in the dark for so long. I had given him the excuse that I had gotten in trouble at the Orphanage, and I ended up being grounded with no phone privileges. I was lucky to have woken up when I did because Minato told me he was about to head to the Orphanage, where I stayed for answers. If that had happened, things would have gotten more complicated.

When Minato handed me the phone to speak to Mei, I wasn't able to give her an excuse before she called me a "Big idiot" and hung up the phone. Her reaction caught me off guard, and I was left stumped, causing Jin to stare at me with confusion while I gazed into nothing like an idiot.

"You know, you didn't have to do this." Jin suddenly said as I placed some gyoza in my mouth. His face was downcast and hidden by his hood. His eyes stared deeply into his empty ramen bowl. His right hand pressed against his head, and his left foot began to tap repeatedly on the floor. "I should be the one buying you food. You're a kid, after all."

"It's fine. Really." I waved his concerns away as I lifted my arm up to show off my now clean but lightly damaged hoodie. "You gave me your bed and even washed my clothes, and you even treated my wounds. Buying some food for my new friend isn't a big deal. It's the least I can do."

Sorry, wallet, you're taking one for the team.

"…friend?" Jin whispered as he slowly turned to me, his eyes wide and unbelieving. "Me?"

[+25 SP]

"Well, yeah," I said honestly.

Despite my future knowledge of the man, I wouldn't hold what he has yet to do against him. I could only judge him for what he has done. And what he had done was help me during my moment of need. Who knows what would have happened if someone else with much darker intentions found me instead?

In my eyes, Twice was a bro.

"Unless you think being friends with an 11-year-old is weird. If you do, I don't blame you. It is odd now that I think about it."

[+50 SP]

"Are you sure?" Jin looked at me, his eyes shaky and fearful. "That you want to be friends… with someone like me?"

"Someone like you?" I asked. "Why not you?"

"Because I'm… I'm…" Jin whispered, each word causing his head to droop lower and lower.

"You're Jin, right?" I interrupted, causing his head to snap back up. "You're the guy who saved my bacon. That makes you a hero in my eyes. So I don't see a problem with us being friends. Do you?"

[+100 SP]

Jin's eyes grew wide and wet at my words. His mouth opened and closed like a gaping fish. His mind struggled to find a response. Ultimately, he gave me a small smile and a nod. Seemingly not trusting his voice.

"Great. Now then, how about another order of gyoza?"

"…sounds good."

"Another order of gyoza for me and my friend here!"

[+200 SP]

x x x

I closed the door to my small room and threw my book bag onto my small bed. I shimmied my way around my few belongings and took a seat on my chair beside my small desk. Did I tell you my room was small? Because it is.

After a few years of not being adopted, the room I had shared with three other kids began to grow bigger and bigger as each one of them got adopted. The caretakers and director all looked at me with sympathy alongside a hint of fear. Over time, my CE began making them uncomfortable around me. I didn't blame them; I practically radiated negativity.

Anyway, they had decided to move me to a private room so I could have some more privacy due to my unexpectedly extended stay at the Orphanage. This pretty much meant that they didn't expect me to get adopted, and they were hiding me away in order not to scare future hopeful parents from adopting the other kids. Harsh but understandable. At least I got my own room now, even if it was the size of a utility closet.

I leaned back on my old, creaky chair and winced as its wooden backrest dug into my sore back. "Man… I got my ass kicked." I lifted up my shirt and peeled back some of my bandages to look at the massive purple bruise on my stomach. "Yikes."

When I finally got back to the Orphanage, I was greeted by a furious but surprisingly concerned director. The older woman must have asked me dozens of questions until she was finally satisfied. Thankfully, my ability to create excuses was unparalleled.

Unfortunately, I ended up actually being grounded for a month.

I sat on my chair for several minutes, my expression pensive and frustrated as I rested my weary body.

I almost died. I only managed to win through the skin of my teeth.

I should be happy that I am still alive. Not many 11-year-olds could boast they managed to beat a grown-ass man. But then again, how many 11-year-olds have killed someone as well… knowing that, why is it that I'm so… disappointed in myself?

After having a couple of hours to think things through from the moment I woke up today, the fact that I had killed that man in the alleyway no longer bothered me as much as before. It was either him or me. And I chose me. I couldn't let that bring me down.

I wonder if there was something wrong with me in the head or if I was just mad coping.

"What would have happened if I was with Mei? Would I have been able to protect her? I was barely able to protect myself." I whispered and felt an unreasonable swell of anger rise in me.

Despite being alive for 11 years, I've only really had two people I considered friends, three when you counted Jin.

My first friend was Keiko, a sweet girl who was also orphaned alongside me during the Iwata incident that took our parents. She now lived happily with her new family in Masutafu. I was happy for her.

My second friend, the wacky but brilliant Mei. If you looked past her crazy and obsessive behavior towards her inventions, she was actually pretty funny and fun to be with. Causing her to dig a place in my heart despite my initial intentions of using her like a point farm.

I had tried making more friends in middle school to ease away the loneliness I felt, but having a constant flow of negative energy trickle out of me made it a challenging task. Add in my quirkless status, and my ability to make friends gets worse.

So, not much luck there.

So the idea of either Keiko or Mei, the very few friends I did have, getting hurt or killed because I lacked the strength to defeat anyone who wanted to hurt them caused me to grow angry.

Angry at myself for being so weak.

That fight was a wake-up call... I see that now.

"I didn't win because I was strong. I won because I got lucky." I muttered and summoned my gacha system. The floating gacha machine pulsed with power as the plastic prizes inside glowed with energy. Looking over to the floating screen beside the machine, I saw that I had accumulated 5100 SP to spend. "It's time I changed that. I can't let what happened two days ago happen again. I need strength. I need to get stronger. I have to become the strongest."

An image of Gojo and Sukuna flashed in my mind.

I reached over and spun the dial on the gacha machine while using 1500 SP. I waited and listened as the prizes danced in the machine until one of them popped out of the lid.

The Diamond tier reward pull only had a 35% chance of pulling a reward befitting the point cost. Meaning my chances of getting a legendary reward were low. However, the prize's bright blue glow erased any doubts of this one being a dud. Grabbing the prize ball, I snapped open the lid and grinned.

[You have pulled: Jogo's Fire Manipulation! Rank: Diamond]

-

AN:

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