With his arms and legs flailing in the air, the man continued to plummet. He expelled as much smoke as he could to push himself towards the clock tower; a desperate attempt to cushion and slow his fall with the nearby scaffolding.
CRASH!
He cried out as he slammed into the metal framework surrounding the tower’s roof; bouncing off the wooden planks and tumbling down. As he continued to fall, his arms reached to grab something, anything he could hold on to. But he failed to grasp the steel bars to stop his fall, continuing to nosedive halfway down the tower.
But a rope of wires whipped in his direction, as the mouse-like Hero rushed to bring the cords to his side. Fumbling, the man’s fingers grazed the cables, until he was able to wrap his hands around the wires. He yelled as the sudden stop yanked his arms; the angle implying that they were out of place.
Panting heavily, his legs dangled in the air as he gripped the electric cables as tightly as he could. The Pro Hero tried to help, pulling the cords to lift him to the platform. But judging his frame, there was only so much strength in his small body.
The masked man tried to climb; using his dislocated arms to pull himself up. But he couldn’t. He remained dangling from the wires. His adrenaline and desperation were the only things that superseded his fatigue and stopped him from letting go. But there was only so long he could hold on for, before his exhaustion got the better of him.
Yet those few seconds were crucial, buying Scarlett enough time to try and reach them.
She continued to race towards them, darting past the debris and construction material that littered the ground. Her gaze flickered upwards. The collapsed scaffolding was going to be a problem. But maybe there was a way around it.
She took a deep breath, expanding her lungs until they were almost bursting. Heat began to emanate from her skin as her Quirk, Blood and Bone, was activated. Without her usual tools at her disposal, Scarlett bit down on her hand as hard as she could. Despite the numerous nerves in her hand, the pain was negligible; a result from intensive training with her Quirk.
Steam poured from the wound, while blood pooled between her fingers. But it never dripped onto the floor, as she willed it to remain in her hand. She forced the blood to create interlocking rings that were larger than her face, fashioning a liquid crimson chain.
While she continued to lengthen the blood chain, she suppressed her displeasure and yanked out the only bones she had access to—the molars in her mouth. She always hated using fresh bones. But she didn’t have a lot of options, considering she never thought she would need to carry extra bones with her to use her Quirk today.
With blood in one hand, and her teeth in the other, Scarlett willed them to change their form. A torrent of scalding steam erupted from her palms. Her teeth merged, shimmering as they crystallised into a jagged bone hook with three claws, while her blood solidified into a similar crystal-like substance.
She connected the two, forming a crystal grappling hook with a chain instead of a rope. The weight of the crystallised blood and bone was familiar as she swung it above her head; her body remembering the previous times she had performed this as she built momentum. It allowed her to release the chain without much thought, causing the hook to affix itself onto the scaffolding railing a few metres above her.
Taking another deep breath, she willed the large links of the blood chain to shrink. For a brief moment, the chain returned to its liquid form, before rapidly decreasing in size. With steam swirling around, the chain grew smaller and smaller, becoming condensed and compacted, before immediately crystallising and pulling Scarlett towards the higher platform.
Her heart hammered in her chest, while blood rushed past her ears. The wind and heat whipped at her face as she ascended. She rolled as she landed on the wooden planks, before continuing her sprint upwards. As she ran, she readied her hook and chain once again, enlarging the links before swinging it above her head and launching herself upwards. She repeated the process again, and again, and again; careful to pass over the fallen metal bars as she climbed.
Black spots appeared in her vision. Her body was sticky with cold sweat. Her muscles screamed at her, throbbing as she continued to push herself. It had been a long time since she had used her Quirk multiple times in a day, never mind several times in a row. And it would demand its payment soon. But until then, she should try and help those in need.
She leapt over the railings, tumbling as she arrived by the Hero’s side. His face had turned red, while the sleeves of his white dress shirt were rolled up. His arms and legs were shaking as he gripped the cord tightly; a struggling attempt to lift the man up. Scarlett tossed her chained grappling hook to the side, and grabbed the wires that were closer to the edge. Using her adrenaline to ignore her growing fatigue, she pulled the cable. Together with the mouse-like Hero, they dragged the masked man to the safety of the platform.
Breathing heavily, the man collapsed onto the wooden plank; his body exhausted from the ordeal. Scarlett followed suit, dropping to her knees as she tried to catch her breath, while the increased pressure at her temples threatened her with vertigo. The only one who refused to take a breather was the small Hero by her side.
“Thank you.” He panted. Scarlett nodded her acknowledgement, continuing to take deep breaths to compose herself.
The Hero turned and made his way to the Scarecrow to assess him and his injuries. Judging the way they were interacting, they didn’t seem to be too severe. Once satisfied with his observation, he shuffled through his pockets and took out a couple of zip ties that he must have scavenged nearby. Minding the state of his arms, he carefully bound the Villain to the railings, stopping him from escaping. The masked man had no energy to resist, simply accepting his fate as he laid there.
He then seated himself next to Scarlett, glancing down at the world below. “You know,” he said, still a little out of breath, “this is the second time you’ve helped me today. I don’t think I can ever thank you enough.”
Scarlett barely registered his words, as the edges of her vision darkened. She readjusted her sitting position, placing her head between her knees, and took plenty of deep breaths. The headache from overexerting herself continued to throb, forcing her to wince.
“Oh, dear.” He shared a concerned look. “What’s wrong?”
“It’s nothing,” she said. “I just used my Quirk too much. I’ll be fine in a few hours.” Maybe.
The Hero looked worried. “Your Quirk?”
Scarlett gestured to the crystallised grappling hook to her side. The mouse-like Hero reached for it, inspecting its structure as a glint of recognition flickered in his eyes. But Scarlett paid little attention to him, flexing her arms and making fists in order to raise her blood pressure. The last thing she wanted to do was pass out on top of a tall building.
“This is your Quirk?” he asked when the colour slowly returned to Scarlett’s face.
“Yeah.” Scarlett nodded. “My Quirk isn’t regeneration. It’s crystallising my blood and bones. I only regenerate because I can’t absorb it back.”
Her words sparked curiosity in him, prompting him to question the design and applications of her ability. Scarlett did her best to explain the grappling hook and how shortening the chains allowed her to quickly arrive by his side. A hyperfocused look settled on his face as he studied the crystal chain; silently noting down details that were invisible to the young girl. A part of Scarlett wasn’t sure if he was even listening to her until she finished talking. But at least the conversation helped ground her a little more, allowing her some time to replenish her blood and regrow her missing teeth.
“That’s an impressive Quirk,” he commented. “But only because you’re so innovative with it.”
An uncomfortable prick tugged Scarlett's chest, but she forced a half-smile at the compliment. She had heard those empty words multiple times. But she now knew better than to fall for them. “Thank you,” she mustered, unable to look him in the eye as she tried to rack her brain for another conversation topic.
A moment of silence passed. The Hero continued to stare at the grappling hook, seemingly arguing with himself the longer he looked. Until he shook his head slightly and sighed, clearly unsatisfied with the outcome of his internal exchange.
“You know, as grateful as I am for your help today, using Quirks in public is not allowed, especially without a proper licence.”
Scarlett flinched, pressing her lips into a slight grimace. She knew that. Everyone knew that. But most people didn’t enforce it, especially from what she learnt about in Japan. Quirks were such an innate part of an individual that it would be exhausting to try and regulate the use of them. The general notion was that as long as you didn’t harm anyone, most would look the other way. Or so she thought when she and her sisters were preparing for their trip.
The only ones she knew who were uncompromising with using Quirks in public were the police force in the UK. But that was only because of the new regulations placed in the last year or so. Even if she wasn’t actively thinking about it when she ran up here, the severity of those laws didn’t exist here in Japan. But was she wrong?
“And even though most argue that Quirks used for self-defence could be the exception, that doesn’t apply here since you weren’t in danger. And he wouldn’t be considered a random civilian that was being unlawfully attacked and needed to be saved.” He gestured to the Villain, who remained dazed and did not respond to their voices at all.
A sour taste coated Scarlett’s tongue. She didn’t like where this was going.
“Do you know why we don’t allow Quirks in public?” continued the Pro Hero. “It’s because they can be used as weapons, but not every weapon would be the same.” He paused for a moment, ensuring the information had time to sink in before elaborating further. “Some Quirks can easily overpower people, while others can only be used in specific situations. Things could take a turn for the worse, if people decided to use their abilities. They could hurt themselves as well as each other, just like they did in the past. But these laws help everyone remain as equals without the threat of constant violence.”
Scarlett’s throat began to dry up. In other words, he was telling her there were going to be consequences for her actions. Was she going to be convicted? What would that mean for her sisters? How would it affect their investigation? Had she ruined everything for them? Scarlett did not like the answers she was coming up with.
He held a pensive expression as he continued to stare at the chained grappling hook. “Some people are not going to be happy about this.” He spoke more to himself than to Scarlett, returning to quietly thinking to himself. The silence was overwhelming.
Scarlett wasn’t sure what to do, as he sat there debating to himself once again. She tried to scan his face to ascertain what he was thinking, but all she could tell from the furrow in his brows was that he was worried. That wasn’t a good sign.
But his ears perked up, as he arrived at a sudden conclusion. “But maybe no one has to know about this.” He turned to face Scarlett. His face was a little more determined than it was a few seconds ago.
“W-what do you mean?"
“I’m saying that I’ll keep this a secret between us.”
Scarlett’s eyes widened. “I— what…why?”
“Well,” he gestured to the jagged hooks, “although this could be used as a weapon, technically you didn’t hurt anyone with your Quirk. And I don’t know the specifics, but since you can regenerate to some degree, you didn’t seem like you were putting yourself in danger either.” He shared a reassuring smile. “If anything, you’ll probably get a slap on the wrist because of the outcome of the situation—you did help save a life, you know?
“And anyway, if you do get into trouble, I will help and bear the responsibility, because it was for my own selfish reasons that you were here in the first place.” Despite smiling, his eyes were apologetic.
Scarlett rapidly blinked a few times. This was too much to process. “But…I was the one who suggested to come here.”
“Yes, but I also agreed to it, so I guess we’re both culpable.” His smile widened into an uplifting grin. But Scarlett wasn’t comforted.
“What about him?” She pointed to the Villain. “I don’t think he’ll keep this a secret.”
The Pro Hero shifted his attention to him, speaking briefly in Japanese. The man only grunted in return, making Scarlett question whether his injuries were more severe than what she originally thought. But the mouse-like individual was unfazed.
“He doesn’t speak English, so it’s unlikely he understands what we’re saying. And I doubt he’ll complain after you helped save him.”
Scarlett took a moment to digest what was happening, but the feeling of unease refused to step aside. Her careless actions almost cost her and her family everything. But now this individual had decided to look the other way. It was too good to be true.
But the sound of an electronic device buzzing reverberated in the air, directing her wariness away from him. Scarlett reached for her pocket to where the noise was coming from. The tablet was pinging off notifications, while the golden emblem on the map continuously flashed. She handed the device back to the Hero, who accepted it gratefully before scrolling through the screen.
“Well, I guess we’re out of time to think of anything else.” He swiped away the notification. “The Pro Heroes will be arriving any moment now.”
