"Dabi!" Sato's eyes widened, his thoughts racing. Shoto's brother… that burned-face villain. But didn't he die during treatment?
Then his gaze dropped to the red robe the man wore. It clicked.
Of course. The cult.
Sato gritted his teeth. "So… you're one of them."
The man chuckled, voice raspy like crackling embers. "Hey there, duck lips. We've got an awesome name, y'know? Maybe try using it with a little respect."
Sato snorted, unamused. "Sorry, I've always had a terrible taste for names that sound like Saturday morning LARP groups."
The figure laughed again, the sound dry and broken. "Too bad. We are the Echoes of Liberation. And we're way out of your league, ducky."
He still hadn't shown his face, but Sato could feel the smug grin behind that hood.
Sato stepped forward, his coat fluttering with purpose. "So that's what you are, a bunch of delusional fanboys and basement-dwelling fanatics with nothing better to do."
He rolled his shoulders, sighing. "Well… as a detective, a hero, and someone who really hates melodrama,"
He dropped into his stance, eyes burning with resolve.
"I'm going to stop you right here."
He smirked to himself. Kinda old-fashioned, sure... but screw it.
"Villain… because I am here."
Meanwhile, somewhere far away…
Inside a bustling mall, a small bookstall stood out, not for its size, but for its booming voice.
A bear-faced heteromorph kid, fluffy and full of energy, stood on a crate waving a comic in the air.
"Limited paperback editions! Get your hands on Captain Comics issue #431, straight from the vault!" he shouted, tail wagging with excitement.
"431… huh. Neat reference," a passing teen mumbled, intrigued.[get it:)]
One of the curious onlookers, a guy in his twenties, stepped closer. "These look cool. How much?"
"450 yen!" the bear-kid beamed.
The customer blinked. "That cheap? What's the catch?"
'Aint no way these are this low on price' the guy thought to himself.
"Aha! Glad you asked!" the kid said, eyes twinkling. He ducked under the table and pulled out a hardcover book, crimson-red with worn edges. A decaying hand molded into the cover gripped the title in grim fingers:
"The Man Who Dreamt Destruction."
"Uhh... what's this? Are you bundling weird horror novels now?" the customer raised an eyebrow.
"No bundling, I promise!" the kid chuckled.
"It's a challenge. Pay 20% of the comic's price now, take this book home, and read it."
The man squinted at the title again. "Destruction-dream guy? Doesn't sound like bedtime reading."
"You just have to finish it in 30 days and send us a summary, easy, right? Think of it like a game! The more you read, the better the rewards!"
He held up a prize chart in front of the man.
"Finish 10 chapters? You get the comic for just 40 yen. Finish the whole thing? You win the full Captain Comics collector's merch set, valued at 800 dollars!"
The customer scratched his chin.
"Ten chapters in thirty days? I've binged worse."He nodded. "Alright, kid. You've got a deal."
'It's not like it's a sadistic fanfic for easy money or something'
"Thanks for playing!" the bear-kid grinned, waving as the man walked away with his new book.
As the crowd thinned, the bear-kid muttered under his breath, his smile fading just a little.
"Tenth one today…"
Meanwhile, the man glanced at the book cover again as he exited the mall.
"Weird title. The author's name is… Iguchi Shūichi?"He frowned. "Never heard of him..."
'the cover does make me feel itchy though'
With Mineta
"Well, it's obvious you're not going to beat me," Mineta said, his tone casual, though his hair had already begun to snake down and coil along the ground like living wire. "But I've got to ask, why the name? Himiko Toga? An alias, or are you trying to play ghost?"
The girl hissed in reply, her mutated body twisted, her nails curved like blades. She slithered a little closer, eyes gleaming with a strange hunger.
"Mineta-kun~ you don't know how to talk to a lady, do you? And look at you... Your quirks have changed. So many surprises~"She licked her lips. "I could just eat you up..."
Before she could finish, a wall of thick vines shot toward her, snapping like whips. She darted back, claws slashing at them, but they hardened mid-swing, sprouting thorns. She barely dodged, a scratch marking her cheek.
"Getting hard, are we~?" she cooed.
Mineta narrowed his eyes. He could swear he caught a trace of annoyance in her tone.
So she's faking the act… trying to mimic the real Toga, he thought.
She isn't a clone, that's for sure, so it's an obsession or something.
His vines grew bulbous tips, grape-like beads, which popped with a hiss, releasing a purplish gas into the air. He slid a gas mask from his belt and tossed another to Kota, who was slumped nearby, struggling to stay upright.
"Mask on. Don't breathe it in," Mineta muttered, his tone colder now.
As Kota barely managed to pull the mask over his face, Mineta kept his eyes on the girl.
Just a crazy fan? Or something worse…?
Well… only one way to find out…
With Sato
"Damn it... didn't think this guy would be this skilled."Sato gritted his teeth, pressed against a damp concrete wall, his coat, his only support gear, burned to ash. Flames licked the corners of the tunnel behind him, casting distorted shadows on the sewer walls.
He panted, chest heaving, smoke stinging his eyes. The bastard who claimed to be Dabi wasn't just strong, he was persistent. Too persistent.And something about his words…
"The society doesn't need guys like you, it needs someone like us who embraces the beauty that lies in the destruction." This very sentence was what stuck with him
Sato narrowed his eyes' He keeps repeating himself, same phrases, same rhythm… like a damn script.'
"Brainwashed," he muttered under his breath. "Or worse, conditioned, Groomed."
He fumbled into his belt pouch, pulling out a small, white capsule, a compressed sugar stimulant. He bit down hard, the bitter sweetness flooding his system. His muscles tensed, his focus sharpening.
"I'll have to end this quickly."
A voice echoed eerily from deeper in the tunnel
"Oooh heeero~ where'd you run off to?"
Sato clenched his fists.
Flames this hot shouldn't be possible from just brainwashing... Is he Dabi? Maybe a clone or something. It could be possible.
He peeked around the corner, just a flicker of red. Fire lapping at the air like a predator.
"I need a plan. And fast," he whispered to himself. His eyes darted, calculating. No coat, limited visibility, and no room to breathe in case of another fire burst.
"Hold on, Mineta. Don't die before I get there."
And with that, he inhaled sharply, eyes locked forward, mind racing through possibilities.