Recap

Tanuma, after hearing the chief voice, continued, "With this, I’ve narrowed it down to about 4 individuals in our database, who are under 5ft and have a quirk that's similar to this one. The most prime suspect, however, is Dante Tanaka. "

The chief's eyes grew wide for a moment as he remembered an acquaintance who passed away, a couple of months ago.

"He fits the profile stunningly well, his quirk is extremely similar, if not identical, but the kicker is that he disappeared nearly the same time that this masked crusader appeared."

__________________________________________________________________________________________

The same as the police station, somewhere else.

A lone figure could be seen dangling their legs on top of a building. Their hair was lit ablaze with azure flames, but such a thing didn’t seem to bother the person. Instead, it seemed to be a normal occurrence since their attention was solely focused on the phone in their hands.

*Azure Pov*

*Sigh*

Looking through "my" phone that was "gifted" to me, I can’t help but say thanks to the kind villain.

But, thinking back to my current dilemma, I can’t help but sigh again. I ran a hand through my hair as I thought.

‘Even though I work mainly at night, even though not many see me, even though I haven't appeared in the media once, why are there still many accounts discussing me.’

Looking down, I scroll through my phone and find many accounts all with nearly the same title.

 //New Vigilante: Azure protecting the streets//

'They even gave me the same name that I had chosen. And how the hell did they get these high-depth photos of me? They even made a video of me shooting flames out of my hands! ’

Deciding to forget that for a moment, silence ensues. And this silence makes me think back to something that's been bugging me for the past 6 months.

‘You should try being a hero, it would suit you more.’ I keep thinking about what he said while also remembering that bastard's angry face.

His words can’t help but make me think.

‘A hero huh?’

Shaking my head, I decided to clear my head by doing my usual ‘work.’ I put my cold facade back on my face and put my phone in my pocket.

A gust of wind breezes past me as I take my hands out of my jacket. Feeling the cold, I mutter, "I guess winter is nearing."

After I light myself ablaze. ‘That's better.’

Putting my hand on the metal edge of the building I sat on, I gazed below me upon the streets and cars speeding by. I put a slight strength into my fingers and then give myself a slight "push".

As I tilted forward, facing the dozens of street lamps illuminating the night, the cars flowed through the street like a river. And the countless buildings, some with lights on inside and some completely dark. 

I think to myself, ‘This never gets old.’

Then, as I feel myself falling, I move my body so my heads are facing forward, and I spread my limbs out like a starfish.

‘Partial Transform.’

My legs become talons and my arms become wings, both ablaze with azure flames. I flap my wings once*, twice*, and three times*.

Once I’m familiar with the movement, I fly high above in the sky, making sure no normal eyes on the street wandering above can see me. With that worry gone, I looked for my next victim.

*Timskip 2 hours*

I looked upon the dead charred corpse that lay at my feet. I couldn’t help but curse in my mind, ‘The hell did these organizations do to get such loyal followers.

At first, I thought it was just one guy, so the last couple of villains I hunted all got the same deal. If you tell me the location of your base, I’ll kill you with one swift stroke of a heated-up blade. A relatively painless death.

Or they can remain silent and I can burn various parts of their bodies until they eventually die. They could choose the other option whenever they wanted, but who knew that they all chose the second option and they never switched, but instead they all died!

As I’m grumbling about my loss of information, I hear a noise coming from the beginning of the alleyway, slowly getting louder.

*Step*

*Step*

*Step*

*Step*

*Step*

Then the noise stops abruptly just a few feet away from me. I pull my head away from looking at the corpse and instead look at this mysterious man.

A few feet away stood a man who, if described in one sentence, was ready to kill.

From his posture, which says he’s ready to jump at a moment's notice, to his hand, which is near the pocket knives on his pants.

The man's long black hair was in a straightened ponytail, and he wore a mask that covered the entirety of his face. He also wore black and red clothing that looked similar to bulletproof clothing.

The man had six small folding knives on his legs, three on the right side and three on the left, but his most striking feature was his blade, which was sheathed on his back. Coincidentally, his other hand was also in the optimal position to grab the blade.

*3rd Pov*

Azure was thinking that this man seemed familiar and wanted to ask the man about his identity.

However, before Azure could even get a word out, the man acted. He quickly placed his hands on his knives. Azure, in instinct, placed his hands in front of him.

The man took two of the knives and threw them both at Azure, aiming for his chest. Azure projected flames through his hands, melting the knives in the heat of the fire. 

Azure raised his awareness of the man, treating him as an enemy. After the flames cleared, Azure looked forward, trying to find the man, but all he saw was empty space.

*Whosh*

Azure felt the wind change above him, and as he looked up, a knife was heading straight towards him. Azure then jumped back, dodging the knife that embedded itself into the ground where he had previously stood. 

However, behind Azure was the masked man. He took a knife and grazed Azure’s arm, causing blood to cover the tip of the knife. 

The man paid no mind to it and kicked Azure back, making him crash into a wall. The man's vision was clouded by dust, and when it cleared, instead of him seeing Azure, he saw a torrent of flames heading towards him, engulfing everything in its path.

The man jumped up and caught hold of a metal pipe hanging off of one of the two buildings. The two then began to stare at each other.

Azure opened his mouth as he willed his flames to cover his wounds, causing them to quickly heal up.

"Who are you?"

Azure was truly confused. There were many people who were after him. The police and heroes would want to capture him. The villains would want to kill him. Not to mention the fact that he recently learned that he even had a bounty on his head.

There were too many people with a motive to kill him, so he decided to be frank and just ask the man which category he belonged to, so he could pay a visit to the person behind this masked assailant.

The man slowly opened his mouth behind the mask, and his words made Azure’s pupils shake slightly.

"I am Stendhal."