The night in the house where Ryuushiro Genba had recently been living was drowning in semi-darkness, cut only by the flickering light of a lantern. Little Ryuushiro barely understood what was happening, but his heart already knew - evil can come from anywhere, at any moment, from where you least expect it.
His adoptive father burst into the house, trembling from alcohol and anger. It is unknown what he thought up or someone said to him, but it caused his anger in an alcoholic stupor. And all this anger will fall on the child. His steps were unsteady, and his voice was rough and inevitable. Ryuushiro remembers how his father threw his bottle, almost hitting him.
He had no idea what made him so angry. Maybe the boy screwed up somewhere? There was no time to think. When he was in the orphanage, they could hit him for no reason, but he always responded in kind. Now, there was someone stronger and bigger against him.
At the moment when his father raised his hand to strike, not just a flame but a damn burning inferno flared up in Ryuushiro's childhood memory. He already knew how unfair and cruel this world was, so he needed to show his strength. He was only a few years old, and his baby teeth, already looking more and more like fangs, stood out as an involuntary warning. A flash of reflex - and he grabbed his father's hand, leaving sharp, deeply embedded fang marks on the skin of the drunken aggressor.
But anger and resentment did not leave his father indifferent. In a rage, he turned his rage on little Ryuushiro, and a crushing blow to the wall made him hit the wall. Pain pierced every cell of his body, but even then, unbending confidence flashed in his eyes. It was not just fear, but a challenge to fate, born from the desire to protect himself.
That early encounter with violence was the first straw that would grow an unquenchable spark in his soul. As he lay there, battered and bruised, his soul had already begun to transform, like a dragon awakening from its slumber to one day soar into the skies. Little Ryuushiro understood that even in the deepest pain, there was a power to change fate.
That night was the starting point of a long journey. A journey that would transform him into Ryuushiro Genba, the Dragon of Japan.
The revenge on his enemies will be terrible.
...
A few hours after he had bitten the throat of that drunk and aggressive idiot, he was overcome with fear. The predatory reflexes of a dragon's nature forced him not to think, but to desperately defend himself. What would happen to him next? Ryuushiro ran without looking back from that damned house where no one was welcome. Again. Even the drunk who took him from the orphanage had already drowned in his own blood, and his body was disfigured by sharp claws. The blood flowed so profusely from his neck that Ryuushiro thought he would drown in it himself.
That day, he tasted human blood for the first time.
He ran through rice fields, through villages and forests along the roads, the boy ran as fast as he could and as far as he could. Until he found himself on the outskirts of Hiroshima. In this city, he was met by the police, who handed him over to the guardianship services, they tried to find out where he was from, but he did not say his name or surname. After so many hours of running, his appearance inspired fear. Obviously, something terrible had happened, and the child had witnessed it, so they did not interrogate him much.
...
A few hours after he bit the throat of that drunk and aggressive idiot, he was paralyzed by fear. The predatory reflexes of the dragon nature forced him not to think, but to desperately defend himself. What would happen to him next? Ryuushiro ran without looking back from that damned house where no one was happy to see him. Again. Even the drunk who took him from the orphanage was already drowning in his own blood, and his body was mutilated by sharp claws. Blood flowed so abundantly from his neck that Ryuushiro thought he himself would drown in it.
That day, he tasted human blood for the first time.
Running through rice fields, through villages and forests along the roads, the boy ran with all his might and as far as he could. Until he found himself on the outskirts of Hiroshima. In this city, he was met by the police, who handed him over to child protection services, who tried to find out where he was from, but he did not say his first or last name. After so many hours of running, his appearance was frightening. Obviously, something terrible had happened, and the child had witnessed it, so they did not interrogate him much.
...
A flash of sharp pain instantly brought him back to reality, as if someone had pulled his sleeve, forcing him to forget the dreams of the past. The streets of Hiroshima. In the middle of the night, the streetlights of a suburban village were visible not far away, right through the forest plantation.
«Why the hell did I remember thisshit?» he gritted his teeth, gulping air. The dampness of a gas station alley next to a trash can hit his nose.
The seventeen-year-old boy with the dragon spirit woke up in a dark alley, his clothes were soaked in blood, and every movement caused unbearable pain. Time was running out, but at the moment he just had to force himself to get up. The blows and cuts of the yakuza had left noticeable marks on his body, and he felt the weight of each of them, as if stones had fallen on his shoulders. Every muscle, every bone creaked under the load, but, fortunately, they did not break. Dragon bones are stronger!
God, he could not even count how many blows his body could have received. Dozens, if not hundreds. But the bandits were exhausted and then they had a very hard time. He fought again, and he was beaten. The bandits ran away, and he even managed to protect someone. But who? In his memory, only the very prominent rabbit ears.
«I think they will not climb here again,» he groaned through the pain. The bitter taste of the realization of the lost money did not give him peace.
Rising to his feet with difficulty, his hands were shaking, and he noticed how blood continued to flow from his nose, turning it into a terrible sight.
«It's strange, but it seems that whoever I was trying to protect, this someone did not particularly need my help. Apparently, it was in vain that I only came out into the open. If only I had set up an ambush for them in the alley, I could have laid them out and gotten all the money.»
In the middle of the night Hiroshima, Ryuushiro glanced at the puddle for a moment. A predatory and provocative look, for which he constantly received excessive attention from all sorts of marginal individuals. Sharp fangs instead of teeth. Gold-colored hair, stained with dirt and blood.
Golden hair, stained with dirt and blood.
Seventeen-year-old Ryuushiro was once again trying to contribute to society, but, as always, not without harm to himself. Although he did knock down a few older men with unpleasant quirks, but because he did not like to defend himself and was always looking for trouble, he ended up getting the worst of it. Although this time he simply had to protect someone, which added to the difficulty.
Ryuushiro spent a lot of time going to the gym and boxing for this dirty work. Beating up a couple of idiots who bother ordinary people for tens of thousands of yen? Of course.
Thanks to this, he became stronger, more resilient, and also learned to fight well, but in a world where superpowers rule, this alone will not be enough. His quirk always seemed special to him and stood out from the ordinary ones. Transformation into the form of a dragon. It seemed that with this form any enemy is nothing, but not everything is so simple.
He walked into the gas station, the cashier was horrified by his appearance. -S-excuse me, are you okay? Should I call an ambulance? - she worried.
-No, everything is fine. - He took a pack of ice from the freezer and put it to his face. Putting his hand in his pocket, he did not find any pocket money. His life was always spent in poverty. Whether he was in foster care or not.
-Damn... idiots.
Realizing the situation, the cashier good-naturedly bought a pack of ice for Ryuushi. He wandered home.
«Living near Hiroshima in a one-room apartment allocated from state subsidies for orphans is not so bad. At least better than in foster families, where everyone has their own cockroaches. Not once did he come across a good and decent family.»
He was interested in seeing Tokyo and other large cities. All the youth from all over the country flock there in an effort to become famous and rich heroes - guardians of order. But he prefers nature in its original form. There is little land in Japan where such a thing has been preserved.
During the long time he was rushing around the streets in a mask, he became a local celebrity. He could summon small wings with his quirk, but he was still a lousy flyer, having little experience in this, since flying around the city is prohibited without a quirk permit. On the one hand, who would actually catch him? On the other hand, if some hero capable of flying caught him, it would be hard. Besides, why would he need it if he already knew all the places in the area.
Nevertheless, he compensated for his flight training with hand-to-hand combat training. Due to frequent fights, his dragon scales, summoned by his quirk, became very strong, and in his form he almost did not feel pain from ordinary blows. However, this did not save some street scum from using their rather dangerous quirks.
...
The bar was smoky, smelled of cheap alcohol and fatigue. Ryuushiro Genba stumbled inside in his usual manner - confidently and silently. His gaze immediately found the right table in the corner. There sat a man in crumpled business clothes, with a face that had recently become accustomed to being afraid.
-Where's my money?- Ryuushiro asked without unnecessary introductions.
The employer tore himself away from his glass and winced, as if the boy had ruined his evening.
-You only laid out five.- He took an envelope out of his pocket and put it on the table. -So you'll get it for five.
-They were the strongest,- Ryuushiro said coldly. -The rest ran away on their own.
-Not my problem. This gang was giving me a lot of trouble. You did half the work and you get half the pay.
Ryuushiro restrained himself. It was fair and just, even if he got a good beating for all five of them. He silently took the envelope, checked the amount, nodded and left. The problem was that even with the "dirty" money it was little. Or rather, one order was a good profit, but such are rare. And you have to live on something. Such is the life of an orphan without a stable and strong family behind you, who are always ready to support you.
He turned the corner and headed to the next point. There was still a little left until he was eighteen, so he could work full-time somewhere in a good permanent job. In the meantime, part-time jobs were his daily routine: unloading, courier work, sometimes strange "orders" like the one he had today.
He finished school with difficulty. The only things he could do well were English and mathematics. As for the rest, he could hardly even remember the teachers' faces. After graduation, there were no special prospects, and Ryuushiro went out on the streets. Over time, he made the necessary connections. Someone offered a job, someone - information. All this was put together in a network, where he now maneuvered like a shark in shallow water.
But for now - the day had just begun, and he was already tired.
And again, too little money.
Every day he saw the faces of happy people without such problems as his. They were not given to understand this. How lucky they were to live without such a burden of loneliness.
- But on some level, I like living like this. No one knows me, and I don't cause problems for anyone. Well, except for the yakuza, perhaps.
It's not that fighting is his first and only means of self-expression, but something inside him always responded pleasantly when he fought and overcame.
In samurai literature, this was often mentioned. Miyamoto Musashi, a legendary swordsman in Japanese history and a philosopher of the way of the sword, is an example of this.
Apparently, it was the innate nature of the dragon that called Ryuushi to adventures and battles, and he also loved money. Innate belligerence and greed. Hot blood. Just one look from him finds trouble. And so, he was never the first to initiate a fight, or at least tried not to do so. Often, seeing an impudent target (prey), behaving defiantly and inappropriately, he purposefully brings the prey to the point of intensity only with words, until this powder keg of tension explodes, provoking the enemy. And then you can disassemble the opponent into atoms.
It happened that he spent the night in the police station, and more than once because of all sorts of adventures on his ass. Unlucky enough to get caught by the police a couple of times.
...
Ryuushiro saw this column of smoke or dust from afar while delivering orders on his bicycle.
A black column of smoke rose in the distance, above the water. At first it seemed like it was just a fire. Another accident on the highway. But then the ground shook with such force as if an earthquake had started, which is not uncommon in Japan. The people nearby panicked.
-What...what happened? -someone in the crowd got cocky
-An earthquake? Again?!
-Watch the news!
Everyone followed this advice. The first local news feeds were live.
- Some villain again!? How cool. It's been a long time since they had such a strong quirk!
Poor quality footage flashed on the phone screen - drones, reports, wild angles from TV cameras. Several young heroes in unique and colorful, sometimes grotesque and even absurd costumes surrounded the figure - a tall, thin man. His ability causes vibrations. Only police officers in strict uniforms and equipment scurried around in the background, trying to hold back the crowd of curious people.
- They let him get too close. He's hitting the foundation of the bridge because of these idiots! If it cracks, that's it. - some random man spread his hands.
What did Ryuushiro think about this?
«Armchair analysts, assessing the situation from a safe place and far from trouble. It's easier to think with a dry head,» he chuckled. «But they're right. These heroes are good too. It's not like these local city upstarts from Hiroshima have any experience against serious destructive opponents.»
Ryuushiro was silent. With each strong push, it became clear that the bridge might not withstand such a number of tremors. The force of the tremors could be felt even three kilometers away from the bridge. With each blow, his heart fluttered more and more in anticipation. The battle was truly astounding in its scale, and Ryuushiro even thought that the villain had several quirks, which was impossible. This was definitely the major league. Only some top hero could handle this.
The Hiroshima Bridge swayed, the metal creaked, as if the air itself was shaking. The noise did not reach, but it was clear that something was wrong. The foundation cracked, and the reinforced concrete structure could not withstand it, stretching several steel cables to the limit. Every second counted. Finally, the reporters paid attention to the consequences of the battle. The bridge began to fall on one side. All the cars remaining on the bridge began to move away from the collapse to the other end, which bought them a little time, but a traffic jam formed. Panicked clashes between drivers began.
Everyone who remained on the other side of the bridge - the eastern entrance - was able to leave on foot, abandoning their cars because of the same traffic jam. But now those who were closest to the rapidly developing cliff at the western entrance were trapped and would not have had time to run to the other side of the bridge even on foot. Dozens of people, families and children.
Something stirred in his chest. Another whim. To climb where he shouldn't, but it would be a challenge to his courage, his strength and speed.
«Nobody is going there,» he said quietly, so the people gathered around did not hear him. «Nobody will do anything. They are all busy fighting, and the rescuers won't have time.»
He stood up. His hand clenched. The veins on his forearms tensed. And at that moment - just for a second - a barely noticeable scaly shadow ran across his skin, as if something ancient was looking from the inside out. Amidst the general loud discussion, he ran into the depths of the alley and rushed to the roof via the fire escape.
To say that Ryuushi was not afraid of anything would be the biggest exaggeration in life. He is probably even more afraid than all the others put together, it's just that his fear manifests itself in an unusual way. In action. Of course, you can do stupid things out of stupidity, but often these impulses and sudden urges are caused by his primitive reflexes. Therefore, it seems as if his actions are conscious. However, with each time, with each battle and adventure, the fear retreated, because now he had experience in this. There was no uncertainty and ignorance. Wisdom was formed.
An ardent and courageous heart always made him throw himself headlong into danger for the sake of...for the sake of what? For the sake of the very fact of the challenge! Put aside philosophy and introspection!
During the time he hid behind the mask, he became a local legend, but this does not make him some kind of superhuman or special. He is the same person made of blood and flesh.
Ryuushiro could summon wings, but his flights left much to be desired. And the laws forbade using abilities without permission.
But in such moments, there were no prohibitions. He understood that if he restrained himself, he would never become the best version of himself. Ryuushiro would never become like his adoptive father, whom he killed! Self-pitying, enslaved by hatred for others. Weakling.
Running onto the roof of the school, he activated his quirk. His skin thickened with black-coal scales, he swung his black scaly tail, and he spread his wide wings. The dragon jumped from the school as if he forgot about fear in order to gain altitude. His wings twitched and tried to level out. For a moment, fear gripped his body, and his wings twitched in an attempt to find balance, but it just didn't work.
It would seem that that's it, he's played with his mother fate!
Just before the collision with the ground from the five-story school, Ryuushiro suddenly noticed a crow or a seagull flying in the sky and paid attention to the movement of the wings. The bird dived, and then sweepingly and synchronously controlled its wings as if it were its shoulders. His shoulders suddenly leveled out and relaxed, giving in to the flow of air.
A second later, he was flying like he had never flown before, rapidly gaining altitude. The crowns of the trees now seemed easily accessible from the height of the flight, you just had to reach out and comb through the leaves. Roads and cars, people. Everything is so insignificant up here.
There was no time to admire the views.
Three kilometers flew by quickly. The panicked crowd of people at the eastern entrance to the bridge blocked by rescuers and police, abandoning their cars on the collapsing bridge greeted our dragon. In the distance, on the other side of the bridge, at the western entrance, the unfolding battle with the villain was still visible.
These sad faces of people were imprinted in his memory forever. The atmosphere was oppressive.
Having flown onto the collapsed bridge, there, amidst the chaos, he picked up people one after another, pulled them out of the mangled cars. It was difficult to fly, but having seated them on the coast, Ryuushiro immediately returned to the shore. Even one of the brave children found his own way to calm down so as not to cry, curiously touched Ryuushiro's scaly wings. This calmed the child.
Debris fell around with a roar, one of them flew straight at the car. The dragon accelerated and dived down, crashing into the car, tearing the doors off their hinges and carrying the only driver away. For a moment, it seemed to him as if the wind itself was carrying him forward. He couldn't possibly have picked up such speed!
All this took no more than a couple of moments. Every movement was painful, his muscles were screaming from overexertion, but he didn't stop. Now the guy was giving it his all at 200%.
Only at the very end did he forget that he was without a mask. The local police were accepting all the victims and conducting an inspection. Only now did rescue boats appear in the distance, you never know, Ryuushi could have missed someone. He minimized the number of casualties and acted wisely, not interfering in the fight with the villain. To everyone's joy, All Might arrived and the fight moved somewhere to another location, accompanied by destruction. A very powerful villain, if he could compete with a top-one hero.
The power of the Symbol of Peace deserves a special mention. This man is truly strong, like a God. His speed and strength simply cannot be compared to anyone else in the world.
Ryuushiro saved dozens of lives without coming into contact with any of the heroes or the police. His silhouette was shown on the news all over the country. His strength was recognized. The proud dragon spread his wings, stuck out his chest and felt like the center of the world!
Having landed somewhere in the bushes away from people's eyes, he headed to the nearest cafe. On the TV screen, he looked like a small, lightning-fast black bullet.
- I never thought that I would learn to fly so fast. Apparently, it's genetic, and I just put it off for too long. Damn! I'm late for the order!
He ran towards the abandoned bicycle to deliver the forgotten order.
...
Ryuushiro didn't come home for a couple of days to earn money. And then, completely unnoticed, his birthday arrived.
The dragon sat on an abandoned roof, having retired far away to another prefecture to hide from everything and immerse himself in his thoughts. Nature is the best way to calm his brave and hot heart. Having bought himself some meat for the road, a bottle of juice and plain water, he was going to spend a couple of days on the hike.
There was a choice to take sake and drink, but mental scars are well remembered even if they were received in deep childhood. An alcoholic father is the best example of what not to be. Deep in his soul, he forgave him long ago and let him go. Ryuushiro is grateful for the little he received from him and an important lesson in life.
He defended himself and killed him.
The Japanese outback attracted few people. They were visited only by pensioners and various excursions. There are not many truly dense and dense forests left. From the height of the flight, you can find many lakes, rivers and abandoned, remote buildings in which you can spend the night.
Thus passed his Eighteenth Birthday, a day usually celebrated with friends and family, but for him it became a time of solitude and reflection.
His birthday passed, leaving behind a sense of injustice and anger that he could not express out loud, but felt with every sigh of renunciation and thoughts of how much she meant to him.
«Here you are, 18 years old, Ryushi. For some, adulthood is just beginning. What awaits me ahead?»
A growling sound came from his stomach. It became clear that it would be difficult to satisfy such a hunger with ordinary food from the supermarket. This was the hunger of the dragon awakening. This had never happened before. Did his coming of age mark some new stage in his life and the beginning of a transformation?
With a deep breath of air, Ryuushiro rose from the branch of the tall pine tree where he had dozed off. He spread his wings, which in recent days had become a real extension of his Self, an extension of his dragon nature. A multitude of the most subtle lines of smells poured into his keen sense of smell as a predator. It would be difficult for an ordinary person to recognize anything from this whole tangle of smells. Just a jumble of smells.
But for the dragon guy, this smell meant a whole sea of different options around: humidity, the smell of pine needles, dirt, bushes, the smells of his body... and the smell of other animals. Birds, squirrels, and other creatures from small to large.
In front of him was a dense forest thicket. No, this was a hunting ground for himself. For the first time, such predatory instincts awakened in him and he felt uneasy from the desire to tear apart some prey. Before this, he had gotten by with a simple fight for the sake of interest, who would hit harder and who would be the first to kick the bucket.
No. Everything was much deeper here. Animal instincts awakened inside him. Ryuushiro understood this. Perhaps this was how his body reacted to life in the forest the last couple of days. Fighting against this desire is the same as fighting with yourself. It remains to accept this side of yourself, because resistance means losing the endless race of evolution and becoming prey for someone bigger.
His silhouette flashed and wings appeared already ten meters away on another branch. The predator began tracking its prey. Golden hair played in the wind, a sharp look of two red slits like a snake looked out for the smallest details and movements in the surroundings. Now this forest is his territory and lands.
Ryuushiro slowly emerged from the undergrowth, trying to step silently.
He turned off the path, where the smells were cleaner, the air thicker. He hid among the roots of an ancient tree, merging with the moss. The wind stirred the leaves, and in this rustle, steps were heard. He closed his eyes, exhaled - and smelled a small herd of boars.
It is not clear how he felt it. It was just clear that there was more than one smell, and the stench was like a pig farm, if not worse. One of them had strayed from the group and was at a distance. Young, enough for dinner. He did not hesitate. A jump - a crunch of a branch - a squeal that scared all the animals around. The last thing the boar saw was a lightning-fast black something flying at him, something hit him in the neck with something sharp. Blood rushed like a hot fountain onto the ground and grass.
Death came quickly.
Ryuushi looked at his transformed paw. It was a scaly black claw, covered in blood.
He dragged the carcass to an old fallen tree, where the ground was dry and the wind did not blow. The carcass was lighter than he thought. There he made a fire with matches from his backpack - he dug a hole, surrounded it with stones, collected dry branches, and lit a fire. The flames flared up, as if they were hungry too.
He cut up the boar's body with his tenacious claws. His pocket knife was not at all suitable for such a tough skin. He removed the skin carefully, but it did not help much. It was poorly preserved, difficult to use with claws. He threw the entrails away - let the foxes take them. The meat sizzled on a branch stretched over the fire, dripping juices into the coals. Dozens of kilograms of meat. The smell of fried flesh mingled with the burning and dampness of the forest.
«That much meat would be very expensive. It needs to be fried well.»
He sat, bent over, looking into the charming and even attractive fire, as if it was whispering something in his ear. And there was no regret in that look. Only fatigue and a burning, almost primal satisfaction. He ate slowly. The flesh stretched between his teeth, warm, oily. The world narrowed to the fire, the meat and the rustling behind him.
The hunt was over. Throughout the entire cooking process, he felt a strange presence. A strange gaze that he could not find. During the entire time he was cutting up the carcass, he tried to catch a glimpse of that silhouette hiding behind the bushes. But it never showed itself, often changing its location, but never leaving. During that time, the shadow did not attack, although Ryuushiro was quite open to attacks. Even showing his back did not provoke the shadow. The conclusion suggested itself.
So it was not hostile.
Having knocked out the boar's two front tusks, he would drill a hole in them and thread a piece of skin through them. It would be a kind of amulet. A symbol of the first hunt - the first victory not as a boy, not as a man... but as an animal that could survive. Live. Fight and take what was his.
Before what was growing in him with every drop of blood, with every bite, with every step along the fragile branches of this forest. Realizing how easy it was for him to take someone's life now, he began to fear losing control and attacking people, but quickly dismissed these terrible thoughts.
Ryuushiro was his own master, and how could he be at the top of the food chain if he could not control his body?
He had already selected the tendons, separating the strongest ones. Having hung one of the finished amulets on a branch, he decided to find out who was watching him.
The forest was still breathing, quietly, patiently. But it was different. The forest had renewed him, the hunt had hardened him. He had changed, but not radically. Rather, his worldview had expanded. A little patience and endurance had been born.
And the silhouette about fifty meters away had not retreated. To be honest, whoever it was, was not hiding its presence well. The movement of the bushes, or even the barely perceptible quiet sobs were alarming.
Finally, Ryushuiro stood up and headed towards the increasingly loud sobs.
-I'm scared... - a girl's voice was heard. She was crying. Ryuushiro realized who the observer had been all this time. A fragile seven-year-old girl with scuffed and scratched knees and arms. Her clothes were dirty. Apparently, she had gotten lost and tried to return, but ran even deeper into the forest. Ryuushiro regretted that he had not reacted earlier.
- Don't be afraid. I'll find your parents. Everything will be fine. - the dragon came closer and stroked her head, and then picked her up. The girl clung tightly to his hands, not wanting to let go of the hope of salvation.
- You ran so far. How nimble and brave you are. - Ryuushiro began to distract her and calm her down with conversation.
- A-and...how will we escape from the forest? - the girl gradually calmed down.
- I have wings. We will quickly fly to the nearest city and there they will help you find your parents. You can touch them. But just don't tell anyone about this. This will be our secret, okay? - going out to a more open area from the foliage for takeoff, Ryuushiro spread his wings, partially covering himself with scales. His claws could harm the girl in flight, so he held her with special care.
- Yes. - the girl touched the wings and quietly squealed when they twitched and both silhouettes soared into the air.
The dragon gained altitude and tried to fly as slowly as possible so as not to damage such a priceless cargo. In the distance, the outlines of the nearest city appeared. Probably, the girl had just gotten lost on that side. The girl was watching the scenery with interest all the time and tightly clutched her clawed strong hands, afraid of the heights. But the heights were so attractive.
On the border of the forest and the city, there were just a few entrances to the forest with wooden arches. There was a crowd of policemen and rescuers. They were already preparing to conduct a search and rescue operation. The dragon's wings flapped over the heads of the policemen and the girl's grief-stricken parents. There were also several civilians.
Ryuushiro's landing was accompanied by a booming sound of wings. Among the silence of the trees, this is especially audible.
- It's her! - the happy mother shouted and ran up, hugging her girl. The dragon deactivated the quirk.
- Thank you very much! Thank you! - the father examined the girl, and having assessed her condition, shook Ryuushiro's hand. - We are in your debt!
- No debts. - he smiled and yawned tiredly.
A couple of officers approached Ryuushiro to sort things out. They visually examined him. The ambulance doctors began to examine the girl and her wounds. The search teams received an order from the officer standing next to Ryuushiro to cancel the search and rescue operation.
A girl with white hair with rare red strands also ran up to the girl. Having made sure of her satisfactory condition, the girl looked at the winged guy, who was surrounded by police officers.
Ryuushiro was already regretting not letting the girl go two hundred meters away from the police and running away. Numerous questions like: What were you doing in the deep forest so late at night?
- Picking mushrooms, - Ryuushiro answered the officer with a smile.
- We don't see any basket or mushrooms on you.
- So, how do you think I got the girl here and returned her to her parents?
- Your claws look scary and could have hurt the girl.
- I didn't hurt her. They'd be combing the forest until late at night instead of me. Hey, man, don't shine a flashlight in your face!
The officers continued to cause trouble and wanted to fine him for using his quirk without permission, but his parents and, as it turned out, his primary school teacher, who was giving her class a nature tour here, stood up for him. Still, the young teacher felt guilty about it.
-It's my fault, officers! I was responsible for the girl, and I didn't pay attention!
Ryuushiro smiled supportively at her when their eyes met. She froze for a second from his predatory eyes. In the end, he was taken to his city and dropped off at a gas station at his request. By this time, it was already early morning. Still, they made a semicircle around the prefecture, skirting these forests.
...
Rumi Usagiyama, the rabbit heroine, was patrolling a remote area of Nagoya, a city near Tokyo, that day. The reason was an increased demand from the hero association: they had increased the reward for patrolling, although in Tokyo it was still high. Mirko assumed that this was due to the increase in crime in the area, and decided that nothing could compare to an exciting battle. She really wanted to get to Nagoya to find adventures, and at the same time earn points - after all, in Tokyo, the competition between heroes is off the charts, and there is nothing to catch there.
The evening over Nagoya seemed surprisingly quiet - only the light buzzing of insects broke the viscous silence of the forest. The sun hung low, painting the leaves orange, and Mirko hid on the branch of an old tree, her white ears moving slightly, catching any sound. This city was better than Tokyo. Quieter and calmer. More nature and trees. Just what she needed.
She had been patrolling for three hours now, her pulse low, her breathing calm, but her muscles on constant alert. Here, on the outskirts of the city, where the wilderness meets the swelling suburbs, there were often rumors of smugglers and escaped criminals. But Mirko had not chosen this place for the sake of routine reports. Her instincts drew her here - predatory, sharp, unyielding.
And now - she felt it.
The wind moved the treetops - unnaturally sharply, and the next split second, a silhouette flashed over the crown of the forest, right above her. Black wings. Powerful, wide - no bird-like person had such a shape and speed. Confident, almost defiant.
Mirko instantly tore off. With one touch of a branch, she jumped down, and then on all fours at great speed rushed after him. As expected, the silhouette disappeared behind the peaks far beyond the hills of the wild nature, and now all that was left was to follow it in the same direction.
She slowed down and realized that she couldn't catch up with whoever it was!
The one she was chasing had already disappeared, and something inside her told her to go away.
As far as possible.
It was already night when Rumi Usagiyama's rabbit ears peeked out from the bushes. She had finally found something interesting after so many hours of searching. "That guy with wings didn't deviate much from the route, and all that was left was to move in the right direction."
At a large tree, she was met by: A pool of blood, scraps of skin, and a butchered boar, already partially eaten. And an abandoned boar's tusk, on which an "R" was scratched with a knife. As if especially for her. Rumi touched it and smelled the scent of hunting. It was as if she had touched someone else's prey. That's right, it was someone else's prey, but it looked like they left her this fang. Did the guy with the black wings know about her?
She chuckled, "That's nice of you." Rumi smiled her perky smile for a second with undisguised curiosity, remembering how a guy like that had been in Hiroshima some time ago when she was returning to her family on the weekend. The hero work she had taken a year ago was very exhausting. She could have easily taken care of herself back then!
But still, the thought that someone had taken care of her did not leave her.
...
The dragon greeted the dawn.
-It's time to go home with renewed strength. - this kind of outdoor recreation served him well. And who cares if he broke a number of laws. No one caught him. Well, almost.
On the very roof of the gas station of his city. He felt dirty, uncouth and tired.
-Yeah, I flew a bit far, though. In the north, I think? - Ryuushiro recalled his little adventure.
The dragon sighed tiredly. Now it's not that flying bores him, it also takes a lot of strength. Good training for concentrating his quirk.
-Hey! What are you doing on the roof?! - a familiar voice suddenly sounded from somewhere below. Ryuushiro tried to hide, but it didn't work. - And don't you dare hide, I noticed you, come down.
-Oh, come on, Uncle Policeman. I just decided to take a rest here. - The guy dangled his legs playfully.
The familiar old man in the police uniform, who had caught Ryuushiro several times before during fights, sighed. -This could be dangerous, come on, get off.
Obeying Kazuhiro-san, Ryuushiro descended. He landed from a height of three meters onto the asphalt without any problems. His shabby appearance outraged the policeman. The shabby, slightly dirty, untucked white shirt, coupled with his menacing appearance, created the impression of a rebel.
The policeman sighed again and muttered under his breath something like "Youthful maximalism."
While Ryuushiro was putting on his shoes and tying his laces, the policeman entered the store. A cool autumn wind was blowing outside, and the dragon's thoughts were occupied with indignation. «Well, now he's going to start his moralizing again.»
Kazuhiro-san returned with a hot dog, his patrol police car was parked next to him, inside of which was the policeman's partner, talking to someone on his phone.
Ryuushi was suddenly brought out of his dull thoughts by an appetizing hot dog that was suddenly extended from the policeman's hands.
- Here.
It was not in his style to refuse something like that. Let him be a proud dragon, but he must not forget about his natural needs.
- Thank you. I've never tried a hot dog at this gas station, - Ryuushiro began to eat a grilled sausage wrapped in dough.
- And they taste the same at all gas stations, - the policeman answered.
- Seriously? - he was surprised. - I'm certainly flattered that you treated me, but why?...
- I want to congratulate you on your birthday in this way. Not strangers, after all.
Ryuushiro smiled a fanged grin. He was pleased to hear it.
- What kind of blue police stripe has been following me lately? Getting so much attention from the cops lately.
- You, don't get cocky, come on. - Uncle Kazuhiro-san smiled.
Their relationship was always strained, but never hostile. More like friendly. Once Ryuushiro assisted this policeman, in addition to all the times he ended up in a cell for a couple of days due to petty hooliganism. But in the person of a local vigilante, he made citizen's arrests many times, leaving unconscious petty criminals to the police.
Kazuhiro-san understood perfectly well who was behind the mask of this vigilante, and after the incident on the bridge, it became even easier to put two and two together. Those black wings are easy to recognize.
Now next to Kazuhiro, a simple policeman, sat a real hero, of which there are only a few in the whole country: unpretentious, not greedy, not striving for popularity. Why oppress such people and make their lives difficult? On the contrary, such people should be encouraged. But the system has its own plans.
Did the policeman understand that Ryuushiro used a quirk without permission? Yes, and he really wanted to detain him for it. But this is at the official level, which is maintained for the sake of control and social norms. Ryuushiro also felt this difficult attention from Kazuhiro-san.
-Did you come here to detain me? I broke the law, after all, - after he finished his hot dog, Ryuushiro began.
-I don't want to do this, but I have to. And if it were a simple law... - he said this part more quietly, then raised his voice again. - It's much more complicated here. Serious people are interested in you. It was a shame you didn't hide your face on the bridge like you usually did. I don't know if it would have saved you from this meeting or not...
With a sigh, Ryuushiro smoothly stood up, dusted himself off and stretched out his arms towards the policeman and humbly, with a hint of primal curiosity, the guy said, tilting his head to the side:
-Do your job, Kazuhiro-san.
In response, he was handcuffed and calmly led to the police car.