Late March,
Unknown Forest
teor rushed through the forest, carrying a briefcase and dread flashing across his black eyes.
He was bald and there were scars on his head, running down to his nose and cheeks. His yellow shirt and blue jeans were torn from here and there, getting hacked by the sharp branches. Trails of blood oozed from the fresh wounds, making him wince.
However, he couldn't stop running. Not now. Not ever.
Gritting his teeth, teor looked up and, through the dense canopy of trees, he saw a black silhouette shining silver against the full moon's light.
He could feel it —that thrice-damned crow looking for him…
He pressed the briefcase against his chest and jumped over a fallen tree, entering another layer of dense bushes.
Suddenly, when he rushed out of the bushes, he found himself in an open area. The moonlight had lit up a circular area uphill, a stream of water parting it into two halves.
teor stopped because… there was soone on the other side of the stream.
For a mont, teor's heart gave out. ALL FUCKING MIGHT?! What have you put against, Boss?!
But the more he looked, the more he realized it wasn't All Might, his heart booming against his chest regardless.
Whoever this person was, he looked like a tall and muscular young boy with short, blond hair and sharp, blue eyes.
He was wearing a long, black greatcoat with glossy fabric; long enough to feel like a cape as its lower half fluttered high and might against the wind.
Under the greatcoat, he was wearing a skintight black t-shirt.
Even from afar, his muscles stood out like tiny blocks of black ice.
Under the t-shirt, he was wearing what seed like stretchable cargo pants over black combat shoes.
Also, both his hands were in the pants pockets, his face up toward the sky.
teor's hand reached toward his back, his fingers wrapping around the gun's handle.
"I… wouldn't do that if I were you," the person said.
Slowly, taking a deep breath, the blond-haired person looked down, his entire blue gaze landing on him.
A chill ran down teor's spine.
There was sothing about that gaze that pricked his bones oddly.
It was like this entire moonlit space on the hill belonged to this person, and he shouldn't be here.
"Why?!" teor shouted. "Who are you?! I haven't done anything!"
The blue-eyed young man took his hands out of his pockets. They were gloved to the knuckles, showing another layer of blackness under his greatcoat's glossy sleeves.
"Put the briefcase down," the man said. "Turn around and sit down on your knees, with your hands over your head."
teor blankly stared at the person.
Now that he heard the man's voice again, he realized sothing.
"You…" teor let out a deranged smile, his grip tightening on the gun's handle. "… you are just a kid… AH!!!"
Within a mont, teor pointed the handgun at the boy and fired.
Bang-Bang-Bang…. Bang!!!
There was such madness on teor's mind that he emptied the entire handgun, laughing like a maniac.
When he realized he was vainly clicking the trigger, he let his hand fall.
teor's eyes widened, making him step back.
…
"Ouch-Ouch-Awooo!"
Luke made a weird noise, his face contorting as the bullets hit his back.
With one of the wealthiest n in the world as his father, he had decided against submitting a Hero Costu Design while registering for UA.
Of course, given how much value Reijirou put on Luke's safety, he had gone above and beyond when it ca to the costu itself.
The black greatcoat was made of special fibers that were not only light but could also neutralize common bullets.
It could even dampen bullets from higher caliber bullets fired through semi-automatic and automatic rifles, but not without tearing Luke's muscles under the impact.
As if the greatcoat wasn't enough, they had gone a notch higher with the inner skintight t-shirt.
It was fireproof and couldn't be penetrated by an object with a sharp point, no matter the force behind it.
Worst ca to worst, there were better chances of a pointy object going through Luke along with the t-shirt than the material giving out.
The cargo pants were also made of a special fiber that gave Luke enough stretchability, having many hidden pockets.
Then there were the knuckle gloves, containing pointy, hard alloy on the knuckles, a layer of elastic material cushioning the reaction force for Luke's hands.
Also, the gloves were open on the palm side as per the touch requirent of Bioalchemy.
All in all, it was a costu that had cost the Saionji Group millions of dollars.
So, basically, chump change.
Luke groaned, holding the sides of the greatcoat's hood to protect the back of his head.
When he heard the handgun running empty, he stood up, feeling the soreness settling in on his back muscles.
This is the last one, Luke rembered. Sand must be watching, but he wouldn't interfere.
Not only would Sand not interfere, he had forbidden Luke to use his Quirk for this one, making even Nyx watch it all from the sky.
The mont the target, nad teor, realized Luke was surviving all the bullets, he threw open the briefcase and held a strange-looking object in his hands.
That's a teor… Luke confird as he stared at the rock.
Realizing what was going on, he lunged over the stream toward the target.
Unfortunately, teor didn't need even an instant. In a fraction of a mont, the teor in his hand beca dust.
Simultaneously, he grew a size, his black-glowing skin ripping off his torn shirt and jeans.
"Haha!" teor laughed, going crazy as a drawback of gaining strength through his teor-absorbing Quirk.
He punched, air sizzling around his blackening fist.
Luke bent his knees, effortlessly gliding under teor's arm.
He spun around like a cloaked, black wraith, hitting teor's wrist with the tip of his combat boots, simultaneously taking a asure of the target's strength.
With a mad grunt, teor kicked, his other foot burying an inch deep into the earth.
Luke put a hand on the incoming kick and jumped, landing on the other side. Then, grabbing the target's ankle, he brought his alloy-knuckled fist down on his knee.
Crunch!
"Ahhhhhh!" teor let out an agonizing scream.
As the teor fell, Luke followed with another punch, his knuckles eting the target's throat.
A squelching sound drowned out the agonizing scream.
Luke wasn't finished, though.
Sand had buried such lessons within his soul, making them instincts.
With his free hand, Luke made another fist and punched, his knuckles landing on teor's ear.
It was like a hamr had struck a steel plate. Regardless of teor's enhanced strength, blood showered from his ear.
With his eyes rolling back, teor suddenly fell, barely dodging Luke's last and final punch to his other ear.
Luke panted as he eyed the downed target.
From the bushes, Sand walked out with a blank expression on his face. From the sky, Nyx fluttered down and landed on Luke's shoulder.
As Luke tried to catch his breath, Sand threw a knife at him.
Shocked, Luke snatched it from the air.
"Kill him," Sand said.
Luke looked at the knife and then at teor.
This was a norm, he knew. No target had ever survived Sand's assassinations. It didn't matter how it happened. They were all dead.
"The people who would co after you won't care for your morals, Luke," Sand said slowly. "Kill him."
Luke matched Sand's gaze. "It… is not about morals…"
If it were about morals, then wouldn't he have decided to burn the entire world?
Surely, in that way, whoever was behind his family's death would have died, too, no?
But Luke couldn't do it.
He was already dreading facing his Momo because of all the things he had already done… all the manipulations… putting innocents in danger…
If he killed soone whom he didn't even know, without a just reason, then he wouldn't be able to even look into her eyes; may it be after death in so distant realm or dreams.
Luke shook his head, throwing the knife back at Sand. "I am… sorry. Not today."
He looked at the target, waiting for Sand to finish the job.
That's the least he could do, Luke thought.
However, shocking the living breath out of Luke, Sand hit the fallen man with his shoe. "Get up," he said.
teor let out a grunt and got up, cracking his neck. "Ah… my ear, boss… I barely dodged the last punch… You could have warned he was a kid — I almost killed him…"
Luke and Nyx stared at Sand and teor, their mouths open.
"Oh!" Sand looked over his shoulder. "teor. One of the new recruits among your father's bodyguards."
He was just playing with … Luke realized. "What if… What if I'd… killed him when you…"
Sand shrugged. "You didn't, right? Also, your father needed to see how much you have progressed."
Father's watching?! Luke licked his lips. "What if I had failed to take him down…"
Sand looked at Luke as if he was saying — Are you seriously asking that question?
Luke clenched his fingers into fists, feeling the heavy feeling from the punches. He could barely believe it. In one year, he had co far.
But was it enough?
A hand landed on Luke's shoulder.
"Hold your head high…" Sand said, smiling. "You are ready. Hero or Villain or Killer… just go along with your guts."
My guts… Luke nodded, rembering that March had all but ended.
Next Monday, he would be joining UA!
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