章 132: Chapter 131: Missing Youmei
Finally, under the watchful eyes and murmurs of countless onlookers, the burly man was shoved into a police car by the officers, the vehicle disappearing down the road as everyone looked on.
As for Kaminari, Kyoka, Midnight, and the others, they accompanied the severely injured reporter and the young girl, who had lost a lot of blood, to Saitama Municipal General Hospital via a late-arriving ambulance.
They hadn't needed to follow along, but Kaminari insisted on seeing the girl through her hospitalization. The others decided to tag along without protest.
When they reached the hospital, the doctors and nurses, who had been waiting anxiously at the emergency entrance, rushed to the ambulance as soon as the doors swung open. They quickly helped move the injured onto hospital beds.
Fortunately, the girl's condition had stabilized somewhat. Thanks to the emergency doctor's timely intervention, a blood transfusion had been administered en route.
The reporter, however, wasn't as lucky. With multiple fractures and a destroyed SLR camera, his situation could only be described as unfortunate.
"That man mentioned Room 605, right?" Kyoka tilted her head slightly, her tone curious.
"Yeah, that's what he said. It should be on the sixth floor," Kaminari replied with a nod. Just then, Midnight, walking alongside them, suddenly asked, "So, what exactly are you planning to say when you see her?"
Kaminari froze at the question, falling silent.
"Yeah… what am I supposed to say?" he muttered under his breath. "What could I possibly tell her? That I've taken away her only pillar of support?"
"Ding!"
The elevator arrived with a chime, the doors sliding open. But Kaminari didn't move.
Neither Midnight nor Kyoka urged him forward. They simply stood by silently, waiting. The elevator doors slowly slid shut again, but just before they could fully close, a slender hand stopped them.
"There's no point in overthinking it," Kaminari said suddenly, his voice firmer now. "I'll tell her the truth. All of it. And… I'll let her know that she had a good father."
Resolute now, he stepped into the elevator. Midnight and Kyoka exchanged a quick glance before following him inside with soft smiles.
"1…"
"2…"
"3…"
The elevator ascended, the chimes marking the passing floors.
"4… 5… 6."
"Ding!"
The doors opened once more. Kaminari and the others stepped out, glancing down the hallways to their left and right before heading toward the left, where Room 605 was located.
"Here goes…" Kaminari took a deep breath in front of the ward's door, his hand hesitating briefly before pushing it open.
"Whoosh!"
"...Huh?"
But the scene inside wasn't at all what Kaminari had expected. The small five-year-old girl was nowhere to be found.
Instead, the window was wide open, and the cool afternoon breeze swept freely into the empty room.
"Where is she?"
Midnight strode toward the hospital bed, scanning the business card attached to it. Her frown deepened as she took in the surroundings. "This is her room, it's got her name on it. Kyoka's right."
She quickly approached the open window. The faint marks of dirt on the windowsill immediately caught her attention, and a sinking feeling settled in her chest.
"Someone came in through here… and took her away."
"But why?" Kyoka's brow furrowed in confusion. "The big guy said she was just an ordinary orphan. Who would kidnap her?"
Suddenly, a faint ringtone broke the tense silence. The melody, a sultry English pop song, rang from Midnight's phone.
"Midnight here," she answered. Kaminari and Kyoka exchanged uneasy glances, waiting as Midnight's expression shifted to one of shock.
"Midnight! There's been an incident!" A frantic voice roared through the speaker. "The police car transporting the 'Stone Man' was attacked! All officers and the prisoner have been killed!!"
"What?!" Midnight's eyes widened in disbelief, her voice sharp with alarm. Kaminari and Kyoka froze, the color draining from their faces.
Meanwhile, chaos erupted on a highway outside Saitama City. A police car lay overturned on the side of the road, flames licking at its mangled frame. Smoke and fire blurred the scene, painting a grim picture of destruction.
Far above the carnage, on the rooftop of a nearby building, a tall figure stood watching the inferno below. His voice was low as he murmured to himself, "Don't worry… I'll take good care of your daughter."
The man's eyes glinted with satisfaction as he gazed into the distance. "I came here intending to meet that boy, but it seems I've stumbled upon an even greater treasure…"
"Boss." A shadowy figure, draped in a black robe, emerged from behind him, holding an unconscious young girl in his arms.
"Oh? You're back," the tall man said, turning to inspect the child. His gaze lingered, and his lips curved into an unsettling smile.
"Interesting," he mused. "This child… Even after everything, she still holds onto a spark. From despair to hope, only to be plunged into despair again. Such fertile ground for hatred to bloom."
He crouched slightly, brushing a strand of hair from the girl's face. "Unlike Tomura Shigaraki, who was born twisted from the start, this girl's hatred is pure. A flower born of both despair and shattered hope."
To him, Youmei—or Tomomi, as she was called was an exceptional find. He believed that under his guidance, she could grow into something extraordinary.
"But first," he muttered, "let's test her Quirk. If it's inadequate… well, I can always replace it with something more useful."
He straightened, his gaze shifting toward the direction of Saitama Municipal General Hospital.
"And as for you… Kaminari Denki. You've given me far more surprises than I ever expected."
After witnessing Kaminari's battle with Todoroki Shoto, the man had delved into the boy's background, uncovering every detail he could. From his entrance exam to his training sessions, Kaminari's actions had been thoroughly scrutinized.
Particularly, the psychological tactics Kaminari had employed against Todoroki in their first combat exercise stood out, marking him as someone with exceptional potential.
"A genius walking a razor-thin line," the man said softly. "One misstep to the left or right, and he'll plunge into the abyss. Unless…"
He smirked. "Unless he keeps moving forward, unwavering."
Today, the man had come to Saitama City intending to meet Kaminari face-to-face. Not to capture him, of course merely to give him a little… push.
He wanted to see how far Kaminari could walk on that narrow path before finally falling. And when he did, the man planned to be there, waiting to catch him.
Though, if the opportunity arose… he wouldn't mind shaking that precarious bridge himself.
"It seems our meeting will have to wait, Kaminari-kun. But don't worry…" His gaze fell back to the girl in his subordinate's arms. "As for Tomomi-chan… you'll see her again."
His smile grew darker. "I just wonder… will it be as a partner? Or as an enemy?"
***
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章 133: Chapter 132: The Single-Plank Bridge
"How… how could this happen?"
Kaminari, Kyoka, and Midnight stared in shock at the grotesque remains of the man who had once been the "Stone Man," now reduced to scattered, blackened chunks of molten rock on the cement highway.
"He was alive not even half an hour ago… and now this?"
The sight was hard to process. What was left of the man barely resembled anything human anymore, just steaming fragments of stone and ash littering the ground.
"But why? Why would someone attack him?" Kaminari muttered, struggling to make sense of it all. "He was just a homeless man! Even if someone hated him enough to kill him, why would they go this far?"
Kyoka stood quietly beside him, her expression heavy with sadness. "It's so cruel," she murmured. "For both him and his daughter… it's like fate never gave them a chance."
"Any leads?"
Midnight, her face uncharacteristically grim, turned to question a police officer standing nearby.
"None so far," the officer replied in frustration, shaking his head. "We checked the dashcam from the trailing car, but all we could see was some kind of invisible shockwave. It wiped out the police car in an instant. Then, the vehicle exploded."
"Show me the footage," Midnight demanded immediately.
"Understood."
The officer gave a quick nod and signaled to a subordinate, who brought over a laptop. Midnight leaned in to review the video.
"…That kind of power…"
Her pupils narrowed as she watched the scene unfold. Even without seeing the perpetrator, the sheer destructive force of the shockwave was undeniable. As a veteran Pro Hero, she could estimate just how devastating that level of attack was.
"A villain capable of this… and they're in Saitama City?"
Her heart sank. This wasn't a case of petty crime or random violence. This was the work of someone or something far more dangerous.
"We need to escalate this," she said sharply, turning back to the officer. "Send this footage to the Hero Public Safety Commission immediately. This is above our pay grade."
Then, she turned to Kaminari and Kyoka, who had been silently watching from behind. Midnight's expression softened slightly, though her tone remained firm.
"Your part in this is over," she said. "Go home. And don't forget you're expected to be at school tomorrow, business as usual."
Kaminari and Kyoka exchanged glances. Midnight wasn't just being stern; she was worried about them. And given the scale of what they'd just seen, her concern was understandable.
"All right," Kaminari said, nodding.
"Got it," Kyoka added.
Though Kaminari felt an ache of regret over the Stone Man's tragic death and Tomomi's disappearance, he knew there was nothing more he could do right now. He wasn't about to recklessly chase after villains, especially ones capable of wiping out police cars with a single attack.
Even so, the frustration lingered. He'd done everything he could, but the helplessness of the situation gnawed at him.
---
Twenty minutes later, Kaminari and Kyoka stood at the entrance to the subway station closest to the highway.
This time, perhaps because of the events weighing on his mind, Kaminari didn't hesitate to follow Kyoka into the station. He stayed until her Shinkansen arrived, watching as she boarded and waved goodbye through the window.
Once her train disappeared into the distance, Kaminari turned and left, walking back toward his apartment.
---
As he made his way home, the day's events replayed in Kaminari's mind, a tangled mess of unanswered questions.
"The whole thing… it's too strange," he thought. "None of it makes sense. Could it be that the Stone Man and Tomomi weren't just some random homeless man and orphan?"
His brow furrowed.
"And the timing… The attack on the police car and Tomomi's abduction happened almost simultaneously. That means this wasn't the work of just one villain, but a whole group. A team strong enough to pull off both crimes without leaving any obvious traces."
He considered the level of skill involved.
"Whoever attacked the police car must've had overwhelming power. And the one who kidnapped Tomomi… They managed to slip past hospital cameras and patrol Heroes without a trace. Could they have some kind of teleportation Quirk?"
His thoughts drifted back to the USJ incident. Two villains with teleportation abilities had appeared back then. Could this be connected?
"The League of Villains…" Kaminari murmured, stopping in his tracks.
---
He had arrived outside his apartment building. Looking up, he saw the soft glow of the lights in his window.
"It's not just a coincidence," he thought grimly. "If I keep moving forward, I'll inevitably cross paths with these people again."
Clenching his fists, Kaminari made a silent vow.
"I need to get stronger. Stronger in every possible way. Only then can I protect myself and the people I care about."
---
The Speculations of both Nezu and All For One are correct.
As someone from another world, Kaminari had no innate respect for the rules and norms of this one. Hero society, its systems, and its ideals none of it truly resonated with him.
But what kept him grounded was the life he had built here. His parents, his home these were the things he cherished.
It was because he valued his family that he hoped for a stable, peaceful society. And it was because he had that hope that he dreamed of becoming someone great.
Nezu and All For One had speculated about whether Kaminari would eventually stray from the Hero's path. But they were missing the point.
The path he walked didn't matter. What mattered was the bridge itself, the support that kept him moving forward.
If that support were ever taken from him, if the "bridge" beneath him were to collapse… he wouldn't simply fall. He would plunge into the abyss without hesitation.
Because without that bridge, he would have nothing left to hold onto.
"Wonderful," he'd once said, describing the kind of life he wanted to live. But there were many ways to define "wonderful."
As long as his family was safe, he would seek the kind of "wonderful" life that came with peace and stability. But if that was ever taken away… A life of chaos, vengeance, and destruction might feel just as "wonderful" to him.
Right now, his family was his single-plank bridge. And for their sake, he would continue walking forward.
Kaminari took a deep breath, forcing himself to shake off the gloom clouding his thoughts.
"No point in dragging all this negativity inside," he muttered.
By the time he reached the elevator, a familiar smile had returned to his face a little forced, perhaps, but still undeniably Kaminari.
He rode the elevator up to the sixteenth floor, stopping in front of door 1604. Placing his finger on the electronic lock, he heard the cheerful sound effect he'd chosen for it.
"Pika-pika-Chuuu!"
That welcoming Pikachu cry had been his latest addition.
"I'm back," he called as he opened the door, stepping into the warm light of his home.
***
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