Recap

While Koichi was dealing with the citizens, Azure went into the darkness and looked at the passed out ant. He would normally interrogate them for information, but this time that was unnecessary. 

He’s been hunting people in this district for a while, and he’s been following the news. From what he’s heard and noticed that whenever a person's tongue is black, it means that they've been turned into villains by taking some drug.

That's what he’s heard from the news. But from what he’s seen….He placed his hand across the ants forehead. 

*Smell*

‘As I thought.’ 

The words he shared with Knuckle Duster rang in his head. 

"~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~"

"What are you doing?" 

Pop crept up behind him and peeked over his shoulder.

"Inspecting."

 As Azure expected. The cold body, eyes closed, black tongue, and foam coming out of his mouth. The same symptoms he’s seen before.

"He’s dead."

__________________________________________________________________________________________

*Azure Pov*

I stood up from kneeling after I examined the corpse. I have to hand it to this organization. They are good at hiding their tracks. 

I took off my gloves and quickly engulfed them both in flames, and just as quickly, both the flame and the gloves disappeared. While my gloves were being devoured, I did a quick scan of the area with the residual embers.

No new person appeared, but a change in temperature was detected. Pop's temperature dropped significantly, her teeth were chattering, and she appeared to be about to vomit as she shifted her gaze side to side, trying not to look down.

'This is why the old man wanted me to avoid that.’

Her shaken self reminded me of how I was when I first saw death. That was a day I would always remember. 

*Step*

It seemed that Koichi was also walking into the alleyway. I looked for somewhere to put this body since there was no need to traumatize two people today. But I couldn’t find anywhere fast enough. 

"Hey, there you are."

Koichi had spotted us and started running towards us. When he arrived, he first noticed Pop's abnormal self. His face turned distressed as he looked around for the cause.

I prepared to have to deal with two traumatized people when someone/something appeared. A blanket to cover the corpse, and a burly man along with it.

My eyes automatically went towards him.

‘He averted my senses? How did he arrive so fast from such a distance?’

Naturally, my unasked questions were unanswered and the old man started speaking to the two.

"This guy here died due to some poison he took. He seems connected to an organization."

Koichi looked shocked as he stared at the blanket, trying to pierce through and see its contents underneath.

Pop, however, still looked unwell and was shaking. Koichi locked eyes with me. He turned his head towards Pop and then back to me, as if asking a question. 

I just stared back, not understanding what he wanted. He then did the same action, but this time before looking at me, he looked towards the blanket. 

'Oh... That's what he wants.’

I briefly nodded.

The old man then explains that he would take care of everything and that we deserved a day off.

He pushes us out of the alley and then left. We were standing out in the open, surrounded by rubble and the distant sound of sirens. I turn towards Koichi since the usually responsible-looking one is out of commission. 

"We’ll Hauler, got a place that we can go for the day."

His eyes twitched.

"Yeah, my apartment should work." 

"I-i think I’m g-going to go home." Pop started trying to take small steps while still shaking. It was clear she was in no condition to be alone.

"Really, I guess you could just go to your house. But then the limited addition of yogurt I just bought would go to waste."

*Timeskip 30 Minutes*

*Satisfaction*

I looked across the table as Pop finished her 5th cup of yogurt. Koichi was silently weeping as she had her eyes on the 6th and last of the yogurts. The limited edition title was placed on the cups, and so was the date on which they would be sold.

‘January 18th - February 11th.‘ (February 11th, is the current date.)

Ignoring the craving monster, who wasn’t downcast anymore, and the weeping boy, I looked around the apartment.

It was on top of a building and only took up less than a quarter of its space. The room we were in had a bed, kitchen, and a small table. There were two other rooms where laundry and a bathroom were.

‘Nice place to get for only ¥45,000 ($313.08,USD).’

Pop finished her meal and looked full. She put all six of the yogurt cups in the trash and then sat back down. 

Koichi looked around and then at me before sighing.

"Since you’ve already seen my place, I guess telling you my name shouldn’t be anything special. I'm Koichi Haimawari, a college student by day and vigilante…also by day."

I just gave him a blank stare since he told me this a few hours ago.

Pop also decided to speak up. "I’m  Kazuho Haneyama, a high schooler and neighborhood idol."

‘Guess I can reveal something.’

"Dante, a vigilante."

They just looked at me.

"Nothing else."

I shrugged.

Koichi then spoke. "If that's the case, let's share with each other why everyone became vigilante."

Po-Kazuho looked excited, and that got me thinking. 

‘Why did I become a vigilante.’

"I always dreamed of being a hero, but my quirk wasn’t that good. I applied to many schools' hero programs but wasn’t accepted. So I instead turned towards helping people with my quirk by myself. 

Whether it be picking up the trash, returning wallets, or helping someone carry their groceries. Helping others is what it means to be a hero, and I believe that I don’t need a license for that. "

‘Helping others.’

"While my intentions aren’t as pure as Koichi's, I enjoy helping others. I sing and have "concerts" because I enjoy singing and people around the neighborhood don’t mind being my audience. 

One day, I met Koichi and decided that I could help him around the neighborhood on my days off. So we just went around and helped others. "

"