Wild One
"Mrrow."
"Yeah, I got it," Yuusei replied to the pet swatting at his face, waking him from sleep. Turning to the side and rubbing his eyes, the young man left the comfort of his percale weave blanket and petted the siamese cat on the head.
Two more ravenous beasts were waiting for him once he left his room, clinging to each of his shins as he moved to the kitchen. After turning on their automatic feeding machine, he went through his morning routine, cleaning himself, doing some light stretches, and eating a moderate breakfast.
The young man turned on his cell phone and scratched one of his pets behind the ear, checking for any notifications.
Student gets serious injury during Ketsubutsu entrance exam.
Night Parade steals priceless relics from Kyoto National Museum.
New heroine stops rampaging villain over a railway: Mt. Lady makes her debut!
Nothing unusual. Karma's latest caper happened a few hours ago, so he wouldn't have any luck finding her by looking into it now. Beyond that, he had no messages from the Hero Network, nor was he working on any official cases.
Just a patrol day, then.
Yuusei sent a message to Takeyama-senpai, wishing congratulations on her debut, pocketed his phone, and left his duplex. The walk to his destination was uneventful, which was preferable. Finding any crisis outside his hero costume would mean he had to transform without it, and his current set of clothes wasn't tailored for the increase in muscle mass.
The Seiryu Agency didn't have any decorations or embellishments. It was a simple 2 story office building with his hero costume and case files, perfect for an underground hero like him.
It was getting a bit dusty, though. Between the graduation ceremony, taking the professional hero license exam, and overseeing the agency's construction, Yuusei didn't have time to scout for sidekicks or staff to keep the place tidy.
He rose to the second floor, navigating between the unopened boxes of office supplies, and opened his locker. After a quick trip to the changing room, Seiryu walked to his desk in full costume, fixing his mask. He turned on his computer, checked the response status on his latest patrol report, and then put the machine in sleep mode once he saw it had been registered.
The dragon hero left through his agency's window, gliding over the streets of Kyoto. His crimson eyes scanned everything from above, looking for any trace of villain activity.
...And he wasn't finding anything.
It was a rare occurrence, but even heroes had their boring days. Sometimes there weren't any villains in your area, and the ones you did spot were already fighting someone capable.
Seiryu did not mind those days. When he was a student in his work studies, it had been annoying to follow the pros and watch them do everything without any influence. But after his internship, he realized that was a disturbing way of thinking. A hero shouldn't long for hardship to sate his desire for justice. He would patrol. He would expect trouble because it was his duty to react to it. But if nothing happened, he would not feel bad about it.
Plus, it's not like he was stuck here. Unlike many heroes, he had enough mobility to expand his patrol radius at a whim, as long as he kept the time limit of his quirk in mind. And if Kyoto's neighboring cities were also mystically peaceful, then he could go back to his agency and work on tracking Karma's next move—
"Grahhh!"
A shout filled with pure fury, followed by people screaming in panic.
Seiryu shook his head. His timing for being optimistic was still faulty. The young hero swooped down, grabbing a civilian away from a rampaging villain swinging... a giant chainsaw?
"Hah!" A wounded hero charged into the frenzied criminal, swinging a blade made from his hardened hair. Seiryu took the opening to move the immediate victims away, transforming into his hybrid form and carrying multiple people under his arms. He could afford to be reckless with his movement since they weren't seriously injured.
He landed with the innocents 2 streets away and returned to the battle site, leaving a cloud of dust in his wake. His morphed eyes scanned the villain as he charged her. Medium stature. Blue hair. Violet eyes. Fangs, horns, scales, tail. Costume offered little to no protection. Wielding 2 chainsaws almost as tall as her body.
He recognized her at that moment. The Apex Predator Villain, Feral.
Feral broke through her opponent's creations almost casually, creating a cacophony of buzzing steel and shredded fiber. The hero trying to face her was stuck playing a dangerous game of defense, pulling his hair out to keep his life. His hand tugged on the black mane once more, but the blade's reach was shorter. He'd exhausted his quirk too quickly and could not avert the incoming attack.
Not without help, at least.
Feral turned to Seiryu with wild eyes, swinging one massive weapon to catch his assault. He shrunk mid-air, tucking his wings and dismissing everything else draconic, avoiding the chainsaw by flying under it. Below the villain and parallel to the ground, he regrew his right claw, grabbing his fellow hero by the jumpsuit right before the spinning steel weapon met flesh.
Diving away from the villain, they later rose outside her range. Seiryu lifted his comrade to eye level, wrapping a claw around his waist.
"Are you okay?" he asked, eyes darting between enemy and ally. Feral glared at him from below, stomping on the ground like a caged beast waiting for release.
The black-haired hero, Mr. Brave, gasped for breath, eyes dizzy from his brush with death and sudden movement. "Y-Yeah... thanks for the save."
"Have you asked for backup?"
"Not... Not really. I was just helping this old lady get to a shop, then I heard chainsaws revving... it was all downhill from there."
Seiryu descended and released Mr. Brave. Stepping forward, he stared down the charging villain and said, "Call the police and start evacuating. I'll take her on."
Mr. Brave's eyes widened. "You'll take—Are you crazy?! That's an S-Rank villain you'll be facing. Alone!"
"And? You were doing the same. We can't let her reach a more populated area."
That was all the time they got to talk. Feral was already two steps from reaching them. Seiryu lunged to match her, sidestepping a chainsaw and flicking a claw toward her overextended arm. The ferocious girl screamed in frustration as the cable for one of her weapons was sliced away from the power pack attached to her back, then grunted as a transformed fist sent her sliding across the pavement.
Mr. Brave dialed his phone, watching the battle. Yes, he had engaged Feral, but only in self-defense. Anything else would be detrimental in the long run, considering her quirk would strengthen her as the battle went on. The dragon hero needed to bring her down quickly, or else he would make a bigger problem for any hero who appeared to offer support.
"Hiromi Hitomi, Villain Name: Feral. I will give you one chance to submit," Seiryu announced as the villain jumped to her feet.
"Make me!" She taunted, tail whipping the ground and sending pieces of pavement flying.
Seiryu held back a sigh. He couldn't remember the last time a villain actually surrendered when told to. But it was still a question worth asking.
"...Very well."
They dashed into each other again, cracking the already damaged streets. One of Feral's chainsaws had its power cable sliced, but it also had a backup battery, so both blades were still spinning. Seiryu leaned back to avoid a cut to his chest and sprouted his tail to trip her up, but she reacted in time and hopped over it. Not enough. It still wrapped around her ankle before she landed.
Seiryu transformed his lower body, swinging his hips and throwing Feral into the air. He took off a moment later, darting to the side to avoid a clumsy swing, flying around her falling body and kicking her in the back. The villain crashed on her stomach with a resounding thump, chainsaws sparking against the ground and sending debris all over her body.
Feral shrugged off the damage and asphalt, leaping back to dodge his follow-up stomp. Her muscles were more defined, scales covered more of her body, and her expression seemed even more unhinged.
Losing reasoning to gain more power. How tragic. Was the girl even aware of her actions right now? Or was she merely acting as her body's impulses commanded?
"If you can still understand me, know that I'll try to make this as quick as possible."
His opponent growled in response. Seiryu could not hold back a sigh this time.
He dismissed everything brought by his quirk except for one draconic arm and tested Feral's defenses with a few jabs. He sidestepped a chainsaw coming overhead and feinted with his right, making his opponent bring her other weapon to block. With both metal contraptions overextended, Feral was left with an awkward stance and no chance of dodging the ensuing kick to her midsection and uppercut to her jaw. She got her bearings quickly, but he was already out of her range before she could retaliate.
Seiryu could defeat her; he was sure of it now. Although her senses were sharp and her strength was growing, she didn't have the technique to outmaneuver him, and her awareness would only degrade with time. It was only a matter of landing a finishing blow before her power began to eclipse his.
Feral leaped into the air and reached him in a fraction of a second, forcing him to sprout wings to soar away. Still, her newfound leg strength allowed her to land a glancing slash across his chest. Seiryu skidded to a stop, shifting into his hybrid form, leaving him almost twice as tall as his opponent. He crouched slightly and put one hand on the ground, flaring his wings.
In response to his transformation, his enemy only ran faster at him. Seiryu was unsure if the expression on her face was supposed to be a sneer or a smile. He flapped his wings, sending a burst of wind her way and taking to the air.
After gaining enough height, he dove towards her, wings tucked and arms parallel to his torso. The wind screamed behind him, shattering nearby windows.
'Garyou Tensei!'
One positive of being an underground hero: he didn't have to scream his super moves out to the public and his enemy. Although the latter didn't matter as much now. Announcing his attack or not, Feral would not back down from his charge. Her devolving mental state left her acting like a frenzied beast that had been set free. With a roar, the villain thrust both chainsaws at him, seeking to skewer his shoulders.
Meeting her halfway, Seiryu spun and struck the flat of one weapon with his tail, knocking one chainsaw into the other and making them stall themselves. His momentum did not stop, and he finished his spin, crashing into Feral with claws to her chest and throat, running her into the pavement and then dragging her through it. She screamed and kicked him repeatedly, cracking a few of his ribs even through his protections, but it wasn't enough to make him let go. He continued to flap his wings, picking up more and more speed.
Seiryu grunted, blood rushing from his mouth as the villain smashed her knee into his gut again. He headbutted her in response and dug his claws deeper into her body.
After two seconds of scrapping over the road, he crashed into a street ledge, knocking her skull into the concrete.
"Nngh—!" She whined one last time before losing consciousness. After waiting a few seconds to assert she wasn't faking it, he released her body and his quirk, rising to his feet at his regular height.
Around him, he heard cheering. Beyond the perimeter placed by the police, there would always be a few hero fans watching the action. As a child, he also enjoyed such things. But after going through hero school and having hundreds of safety measures drilled into his head, all of it seemed reckless. But it was important all the same. They needed to see heroes winning, to be inspired. Just like he had been, once upon a time.
Mr. Brave approached him with police officers, and a lady trailed behind them. Probably a journalist.
"Wow, you really took her down. Nice job, man," His fellow hero said, patting him on the shoulder. Seiryu nodded, wiping blood from his chin and stepping outside the crater he made with Feral's body.
He turned to the policemen. "She will likely wake up in a few minutes. Did you bring the restraining devices?"
One of the officers shook his head. "They will be here soon. We only had time to set up a perimeter."
The young man raised an eyebrow, then nodded again. "Best of luck to you." With that, he stepped away from the 2 officers, waving to Mr. Brave and making his way to the edge of the battle site.
"Hey, wait up!"
Oh, right. The press. Seiryu turned to her and raised his hand, stopping her from bowling into him. She was a blue-haired young woman whose head couldn't reach his shoulders, even aided by heels.
"Mayuru Kuriyagawa. Columnist for the Hero Herald. Can you tell me about your latest battle, err... ?"
"Spring Dragon Hero: Seiryu. I'm afraid you've come to me in vain, Kuriyagawa-san. I won't be doing interviews or taking credit for the arrest."
Mayuru's rabbit ears twitched before she pocketed her recorder. She briefly gestured to a cameraman recording outside the perimeter to stop and turned to Seiryu with a small smile.
"You're one of those underground types, huh? I can respect it."
Seiryu crossed the barricade, and the reporter followed him. He turned to her with a confused expression but kept his pace, moving through the people taking pictures of his costumed self.
"Speaking off the record, why did you decide to take that route? I'm not going to publish anything about you. I'm just curious as a hero geek."
Seiryu paused.
"There's something I must do as a hero before I can go public. Until then, I won't accept any fame for my actions." his gaze was not on the reporter, the crowd, or the city itself. It was on a distant opponent and the item she held.
Blinking away that vision, Seiryu summoned his wings, briefly startling Mayuru.
"Farewell, Kuriyagawa-san."
Feral escapes arrest after a battle in Sakyo Ward!
Seiryu groaned as he closed the tab with the latest Hero Herald piece and continued to type his report with his agency's contributions in the latest battle.
In the end, Feral woke up before the authorities managed to restrain her. She didn't maim anyone but got away all the same. Seiryu got the news when he was halfway across the city, continuing his patrol. He did try to go back and track her using his enhanced sense of smell, but her scent was all over the place when he arrived in the area.
It was a troublesome situation, but he was sure she wouldn't show up any time soon to cause more damage. Unless she suddenly developed regeneration abilities.
The phone on his desk rang.
"Good afternoon. Who am I speaking to?"
From the other end, a soft voice spoke, "Good afternoon, Seiryu-san. I'm Chisame Okahiro, speaking as a representative for the Sakrin Auction House."
click click
The young hero held the phone with one hand and typed his file with the other. "I see. I assume you need my help with a potential case."
"Indeed. We'll be holding an annual charity auction a few weeks from now to support some small businesses that want to obtain insurance plans for hero battles. The items we'll display will be worth up to millions of yen."
"Then you wish for me to visit the auction and protect it from villains. To call me —an underground hero who hasn't been in service for even half a year—can only mean one thing. You already suspect a specific villain to raid your event."
The representative chuckled. "You're perceptive. Yes, we believe Karma will try to take our most valuable item: the Gold Standard Hero, Emblaze's gauntlet."
Seiryu hummed. "It is in character for her."
"So, you'll help us—"
"However. You should not be able to know about my interest in Karma. My battles never made the news; only her escapes did. Shiketsu and my family helped to cover our first clash from the media, even though I asked them not to."
"Don't get me wrong, I will help you. The cause for your auction seems noble, and capturing Karma means a lot to me. But I want a meeting with Sakrin. And I want to know how he came across the information that led to this call. Do we have an agreement?"
"... Yes."
"Good. I'll come to the auction house tomorrow."
Seiryu finished the call and his report, sending it a second later. Outside, the sun was already setting. He would have a quick meal, make a night patrol, and look up the Sakrin Auction House after putting his costume in the locker and going home.
Maybe he should also look into getting some backup for the upcoming mission; to safeguard Karma's most likely invasion routes. But who would accept a sudden team-up with a new, unknown hero? Leaving his agency for the second time that day, the young man mentally searched for a temporary ally that fit his needs.