I frowned as I watched - from a distance the police force apprehend the broken body of the maniac I fought, strap him into a reinforced stretcher, cuff him for good measure and move him into the van that was - hopefully - going to transport him to jail.

I grimaced the moment my eyes landed on the covered body of the diseased hero, hidden by a white sheet.

Then my eyes met my hand that slowly closed into a fist.

I held back.

Of course, a full force frontal attack would've turned the so-called "Hero Killer" into a stain on the floor, but looking at the state of how I left him… it made me wonder if I had gone too far.

His words also stuck with me in a way I didn't appreciate.

The way he spoke of 'fake heroes', the way he considered them lesser than vermin.

Something in me saw the resemblance to how some people saw the homeless, the needy, the poor and the disabled.

It wouldn't surprise me if this is how the most radical part of society saw quirkless people too.

Quirkless people…

Like me.

Things in the way that need to be dealt with.

My frown deepened.

Then without any warning I jumped from the building where I was perched, kicking the air itself. With a sigh I directed a finger towards the device next to my ear and spoke.

"I was… too late. But the killer won't be a problem anymore." I let out a hum as I looked down below while increasing the speed and intensity of my kicks. "I'm going to do a light patrol on my way back. Get in touch with home base, I'm gonna need a replacement soon."

Right…

…

I grunted in response as I let my senses pick out every noise from the city below me while I flew across the skies. So far I could only discern the sounds of cars muffing the voices of the people.

I blinked as I heard Manami rapidly tapping the keys of her laptop, meaning she hadn't cut her side.

Before I could open my mouth and let her know she spoke.

There's a high speed chase in progress. Head to the highway.  They're one kilometer away from your position. Blue seda-… Let's just go with blue car. License plate-

"Any heroes I should take notice of?"

Team Idaten has been notified.

"Got it. Keep me updated"

My feet blurred.

An explosion of sound was heard before I felt the world around me blur as I directed my body towards my next destination.

---

"Uh? What' the-?" muttered Kazuho as she watched a man with a knock-off Smiley mask loudly speak towards a small congregation of people through a megaphone.

She was just passing through in her school uniform as she made her way home when she noticed the mask and as she began to listen to the man speak a pit began to form into her stomach

"-or far too long we've been ignored!! Set aside!! Oppressed!!" The man loudly ranted and raved as she noticed men and women from all ages were listening to the masked individual give his speech. "I was blind!! So, so blind to everything!! But Smiley showed me the light!!"

It had been a few days since Gurē confronted the hero killer.

As soon as he dealt with the problem he told her he was going to be training in the woods again so she was going to be stuck with Manami or the clones for a while. Something that would've made her feel mad in the past but as time moved on she began to understand Gurē's position more and more.

But since he was gone, it meant he wasn't present for the moment his fight with the hero killer went viral.

Smiley?

Breaking character?

And going so hard against a villain in a fit of rage?

It wasn't long before the video spread. Even if they tried to erase it, or show as little coverage on TV as possible. It was everywhere.

And now… Kazuho Haneyama was watching in real time the consequences of Gurē's anger.

"I hated heroes because of how the world treated them!!" The man began, the pop idol's head shot to the side as soon as she heard a few 'Yeah!' coming from the crowd. "But Smiley finally showed me how wrong I was for thinking like this!! And then yesterday I realized, if the heroes are not the problem, then who?! Who should I be mad at?! Who are the ones responsible for the inequality of this world?!"

Dread filled the pink haired girl as she tentatively took a step back. Her eyes went towards the people listening to this… This… This crazy person talk.

Total concentration.

She looked to the side and she distinguished a man of violet hair, whose skin was covered in green scales wearing a Smiley facemask that covered his mouth - cross his arms and nod along.

"The Elite!! The people at the top!! Those are the ones to blame, are they not?!"

YEAH!!!

The girl known as PopStep flinched as the congregation around her roared in approval, clapping loudly as the words of the man with the megaphone resonated with the crowd.

'This is bad… Very bad,' Kazuho thought as she began to speedwalk away from the growing sea of people that was starting to congest the street. 'I… I need to talk with… No, he's training… Ugh, Manami it is.'

The moment she was away from the street and made sure there was no police force in the vicinity she jumped into the air, landing on a street lamp before she jumped towards a bigger one and onto the roof of a building.

She needed to see Manami.

---

Heroes of Today Forum!

Home ► Heroes ► Vigilantes ► Smiley

►Discussions!

Spirit-G (Original Poster)

► Not so Smiley [Thread Closed]

Posted by Spirit-G, yesterday at 16:24pm:

So… are we going to talk about Smiley's fight against the hero killer?

Did anyone notice how off he seemed during the fight?

I'm not going to be posting the links to his fight because the threads keep getting deleted by the mods, but there should be no problem discussing it as long as nobody posts the links or repeats what he said word for word, right?

Page 1 of 6 [Thread Closed]

Titanium Bod

Replied yesterday at 16:24pm:

Yeah… I'm a fan of Smiley and all, but there was something weird about the way he spoke. I never saw him mad now that I think about it…

Degree-In-Nothing

Replied yesterday at 16:24pm:

Don't care. Let's bet on how much time this thread is going to last before it gets closed by the mods lol

abyss_walker

Replied yesterday at 16:24pm:

until page 2 more or less

[edit: page 4 and going, damn…]

KaMiSoRi

Replied yesterday at 16:24pm:

It was so out of character. I'm so used to seeing him act as a goofy hero that I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the video.

and… page 5

bidness-77

Replied yesterday at 16:25pm:

i think we finally saw Smiley's true colors…

Sweating Dude

Replied yesterday at 16:25pm:

►RE: bidness-77

What do you mean by that?

bidness-77

Replied yesterday at 16:25pm:

►RE: Sweating Dude

i mean, Smiley's goofy attitude is just an act, a facade, a mask. the dude is mad at the people at the top and he's been repressing his anger while using his goofy personality to hide it.

it wouldn't surprise me if he was waiting for an opportunity like this to finally get out what he felt off of his chest

Thinkering13

Replied yesterday at 16:26pm:

►RE: bidness-77

That's an interesting theory, but I think the Hero Killer pressed Smiley's buttons. Everyone has a breaking point, right? We have to remember he was late to save the hero Compass Kid.

Compass Kid [User was banned for this post]

Replied yesterday at 16:26pm:

[DELETED]

abyss_walker

Replied yesterday at 16:26pm:

didn't last five seconds.

also, changing your username to Compass Kid is diabolical

Siesta_24hr

Replied yesterday at 16:27pm:

It's a bit concerning that a hero who is known for being a hit with children to have such radical thoughts.

End of page 1 of 6 [Thread Closed]

…

*Click*

…

Page 2 of 15 [Thread Closed]

ArcQuirk

Replied yesterday at 16:27pm:

►RE: Siesta_24hr

Radical??? He's literally right though???

deepthoughtsonly

Replied yesterday at 16:28pm:

►RE: Siesta_24hr

Radical thoughts such as landlords being evil and 'fake' heroes being human beings? Don't tell me you took the hero killer's side?

Dude was crazy.

Unlimited_Powah

Replied yesterday at 16:28pm:

Careful guys, the mods are already monitoring the thread as we speak

Mando Smaggins [User was banned for this post]

Replied yesterday at 16:29pm:

Does that mean we should all stay quiet every time something slightly shakes the people at the top? And why are the mods so adamant in deleting every single video regarding Smiley's fight with the hero killer? Are the mods landlords?

Order66

Replied yesterday at 16:29pm:

►RE: Mando Smaggings

Man, it's not that deep

[edit: holy shit]

Saberwolf

Replied yesterday at 16:29pm:

So they're starting to ban people who share the same values as Smiley or what?

Lord_of_Cinder

Replied yesterday at 16:30pm:

►RE: Saberwolf

It seems so

Kage [User was banned for this post]

Replied yesterday at 16:30pm:

►RE: Lord_of_Cinder

If that's the case you can ban me as well! Smiley is right! Corrupt politicians who push us down and people at the top who let it happen are the true villains! Something needs to be done!

Fluff-Puff [User was banned for this post]

Replied yesterday at 16:30pm:

at first i thought the landlord jokes were the reason why people are getting banned, but i'm starting to believe the government is monitoring these threats. there's probably a poor sod looking through every single post we do and reporting us or maybe even taking notes of our online presence…

hello officer

All Smiles [User was banned for this post]

Replied yesterday at 16:31pm:

y'know what i think? i think he has a point: people at the top will find a way to squeeze us out off our money and leave us to live on the street if we don't have a way to afford it.

something needs to change.

ScionBoy

Replied yesterday at 16:31pm:

It's really scary, I've seen Smiley up close up to three times now and this is the first time I've seen lose his temper, but that doesn't mean he's wrong though.

Please don't ban me, I really like posting here!

End of page 2 of 6 [Thread Closed]

Manami looked at her monitor with growing concern as the most recent, non-deleted, Smiley thread slowly began to poison itself with negativity and conspiracy theories followed by users getting banned left and right.

It has been a few hours since Kazuho left her apartment and went home and the news she left her with was hard to come to terms with.

A man in the streets was using Gurē's words as a way to push his own agenda. A quick search through the cameras confirmed her fears. The congregation the pink haired girl saw became large enough that the police force had to get involved, arrests were made but the man who started it all slipped through.

After the pop idol decided it was time for her to go, Manami decided to do her own investigation while also helping one of her beloved's clones clean the streets. She could clearly see how poorly the mods of the forums, owner of websites and even TV broadcasters were treating the situation - leading to more unrest, more conspiracy theories forming, and anger rising among the masses.

It was a matter of time before it could slowly lead to chaos…

And the red haired young adult wasn't sure what she should do.

---

Her left ear twitched as she kept doing her squat reps. She wasn't going for a max lift or anything, but that didn't make the weights any lighter.

In other news, another protest turns violent as the police force are called to the scene…

She grunted after performing another squat and her gaze went directly towards the TV installed to the wall. Her eyes widened as the familiar yellow mask was showcased, but then she narrowed her visage as the person wearing it was a total nobody and not her target.

The footage on TV changed to a mass of people running away as the police retaliated with pepper-spray projectiles making her growl.

'Tch, so Smiley inspired some nutjobs into getting in trouble… figures,' she thought before she decided she spent too much time distracted and resumed her reps.

She went up in the polls even though her appearances have been declining and they're probably going to keep going down… unless something major happens that catches her attention enough to investigate.

After discovering Smiley's trick to fly, she had been training her legs relentlessly adding more strain to them so that one day she wouldn't need to kick the air more than once for it to work. Rumi decided to stop using it during her public appearances. She wanted it to become a surprise, something that would shock the vigilante before she kicked his teeth in.

Her expression became a bit manic as she imagined herself besting the vigilante in combat, having him at her powerful feet and…

And…

And then what?

She blinked as more sweat poured from her brow. Her smile subsided and her brows knit together as she thought on what would happen once she finally destroyed that asshole in combat.

She never… Thought about it until now.

Oh, she could imagine the battle, the way it would go, how it would affect not only her, but her opponent and the fame that it would come after, even if she had to share it with two nobodies.

She could imagine her legs meeting his hands, her kicks against his fist, noticing the fist crack in one of his arms as he finally starts to take her seriously. How his quips will start to disappear as they become evenly matched until finally… She… She wins.

And then…

And then…

Her expression darkens.

She grunted once more, lifting the weight over her shoulders and started to jump in place while kicking the air as many times as she could. But to no avail. It just didn't work while she carried that amount of weight, but she kept trying.

Smiley losing…

She thought about it before, many many times now, but she had never thought of what would come next. Smiley was not only her prey, he was her objective, her goal, the only one besides All Might who could match her.

…

He would be taken away by the police and she would be thanked by her peers and the big wigs who would feel happy that the vigilante was no longer operating on the streets.

Rumi Usagiyama tsked and looked to the side.

She should feel eager, but for some reason, now she felt anxious.

'Of course now that I'm starting to reach you I get cold feet,' she thought, furious, as her kicks sped up, but still, no dice. 'It doesn't matter, I agreed to capture you by any means necessary. If you're too weak to even weave around those other nobodies during our fight then you never deserved my attention to begin with.'

---

Tensei Iida let out a tired sigh as he felt the cold water hit his naked body.

Another day of training not only his body, but his team too, and for the first time since he formed Team Idaten, he felt completely exhausted, not only physically but mentally as well.

He had experience coordinating a capture squad, but when your opponent outspeeds the entire group by a mile then it becomes a logistical nightmare. Calculations based on his speed and reaction time, not even counting if he decides to play along or go on the offensive. They ran through scenario after scenario on top of training, both physical and for the team's quirks.

The dark blue haired man closes his eyes before letting out a hum.

He managed a way to safely run on a wall so far, the only problem was that he would have to take into account the infrastructure of the buildings he was going to run across. So the next course of action was jumping from building to building, he hoped it wouldn't put too much of a strain into his thrusters.

His eyes opened the moment his hand found the faucet of the shower and turned it.

'Maybe I need to invest into a new high speed suit?' He thought while he reached for the towel. 'I'll discuss it with the board and see if we can manage with the funds available. I need more power if I want to match his speed.'

Once outside the bathroom, dressed in comfortable pajamas very similar to the ones his little brother normally wore, a white t-shirt and blue shorts, Tensei made his way towards the kitchen for a glass of water.

As he began to fill it in his ear caught the sound of the TV from the living room.

'Tenya must be watching the news again,' he thought with a smile before drinking the contents of the glass in his hand. 'Always so serious, let's see if I can scare him.'

He made his way towards his little brother who had his back to him as he watched from the comfort of the sofa. But before Tensei could try to scare him he stopped the moment his eyes landed on the TV.

A protest turned violent.

Inspired by Smiley.

His eyes went back towards his brother who was watching the news with a frown.

"What are you watching Tenya?" he asked, walking around the living room and finding a seat that had the perfect view of his brother and the TV.

"Ah! Older brother!" his little brother exclaimed as he moved his hand up and down as if he was doing a karate chop, a tick he was used to by now. "I'm watching the news! A hero in training must be well informed of all channels of communication!"

A wry smile found its way into his face at his little brother's reply.

"Oh? And what do you think? Anything interesting I should know about?" He teased him, trying to keep himself calm as his eyes went back towards the TV that was showcasing the same clips of the protest and the police retaliating as the reporter spoke with the newsreader.

It seemed there was no hero in the vicinity by the time the protest went violent. It wouldn't surprise him. A hero participating in a protest - regardless of the side they took - would be a PR nightmare.

"There was a protest organized by a man wearing Smiley's mask, whatever his quirk is must be very strong to convince so many to turn violent," Tensei's sibling said, making him give a double take at his brother's words. "That would explain why the news doesn't want to show the clips of that man or Smiley's speech."

Tensei grimaced as he listened to his brother come up with the wildest theory regarding why people retaliated when they saw the police making their way to stop the protest.

But regardless he gave his brother a comfortable smile.

"That's most likely, Tenya!" he said before standing up and motioning to his brother to do the same. "Come on, turn off the TV, today I'm feeling generous, let's order some pizzas, my treat."

"Really?"

"Yeah, let's go!"

---

"Have you heard?" "Yeah, I saw it last night!" "I managed to watch the video before it got deleted," "Which one?" "The speech Smiley gave to the Hero Killer,"

His left eye slowly opened as he paid more attention to what his students were talking about.

Shota Aizawa was embraced by his sleeping bag as he let the class do whatever they wanted while he had some shut eye, but it seemed that he no longer had the will to go back to sleep.

"Why do they keep deleting it?" "Beats me," "Maybe there's a conspiracy going on?" "Wouldn't surprise me," "Uh? Why so?" "Haven't you seen the news lately?"

The man known as Eraserhead let out a small grunt of disapproval. He knew exactly what his student was referring to.

The recent protests by some lunatic who took Smiley's words too personally.

In fact, it wouldn't surprise him if the protests were being orchestrated by a group instead of just one person.

Aizawa let them speak about Smiley so he could get the full picture of what he missed since he washed his hands clean from the mess the vigilante caused.

Turns out not much.

Some agreement. Some disagreement. Some wondering if Smiley is behind all of this.

It got to a point that it just became annoying background noise.

Aizawa opened his mouth.

But then closed it.

It wasn't worth it.

He shut his eyes once again and tried to drown out the voices until he fell asleep once again.

---

'Another one…' Shino, the leader of the Wild Wild Pussycats, as she watched the TV from the comfort of her home while she was taking care of her nephew, Kota. A dark pit formed into her stomach the longer she watched. 'This is the third one this week.'

The more time passed, the more she regrets not handing the teen to the authorities.

Of course, she knew this wasn't Smiley's fault. Not completely, at least. After all, she and the entire team knew of his housing situation. He practically took care of a homeless shelter by himself.

She understood his anger towards the system that won't help him and the people he provided for.

But not because she understood it - it meant she would look to the other side if the teen does something that would require her to contact her colleagues.

But this…

The TV showcased muted clips of a man wearing a Smiley mask speaking to a crowd, then footage of the police making a wall against the protesters.

'How do you deal with something like this?' the brown haired woman thought, making a pained face. 'Oh Tomoko… Why did you stop me that day?'

---

…while there's no sight of the leader who started it all, the Smile movement as it was coined on social media, has gained…

…protest turn violent as…

…aftermath of…

"Ha… Haha… Hahaha… HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!! Cough, cough," laughed a scarred, eyeless man who was connected to multiple cables and a tube strapped directly to his throat. "Cough… Ahh… How wonderful… To think a passionate speech about the injustices of the world could cause so much chaos in such a small amount of time."

The man who once fought the symbol of peace and 'lost' saw with child-like wonder as the media tried and failed to show what they could of Smiley's fight with the so-called 'Hero Killer' and the protests inspired by the vigilante's speech.

One would wonder why put all that effort into covering something that's clearly going to be censored or outright suppressed by the people in charge, but the answer was quite simple:

More engagement. More views. More revenue.

It was that simple.

As he saw more and more his amusement only grew.

"Kyudai," the man known as All for One rasped, his voice still sore after that little moment of joy. "How much time before the prototypes are ready?"

In the shadows the figure of an old and slightly overweight man wearing goggles and a doctor's coat gave him a nod as he began to quickly tap into his pad then direct his attention back to him.

"Six months for both of them. Three if you want me to concentrate on just one," he rasped, the light of the monitors reflected in his goggles, obscuring his eyes. "But, before you decide my lord… I must inform you of a certain piece of information that could prove beneficial. A gift, from one of my sources from the hero side."

The lips of the scarred man curved upwards and they grew and grew until the smile became predatory.

"Do tell…"

---

My hand stiffly parried the high speed fist of a clone and redirected it towards another clone that was approaching me from behind. I deflected another clone missile while standing put and refusing to use 'Water Flow', instead, I only stiffened my muscles and forced them to move so I could defend myself against my copies.

I let out a long breath as my lungs burned. I've been doing this exercise ever since last night, meaning I haven't eaten or slept since then.

I was hungry and tired, but even so I kept going.

Another missile came from the side and I changed its direction with my shoulder.

I was completely covered in sweat and from time to time I would shake out of exertion but the moment I noticed it happening I would immediately tense my muscles and retain my breathing pattern.

My body moved slightly to the side as my hand shot up and redirected another copy away from me.

It's just been what, four or five days since I captured the serial killer?

After that encounter I decided to change with a clone and clear my head while I trained.

It didn't help that I still haven't approached Kazuho about her feelings about me.

In fact I didn't know how to approach Manami regarding her own feelings as well. She made sure to let me know that she didn't want me to reciprocate her feelings immediately, that she would speak with Kazuho and we would talk about it at a later date.

But isn't the job of the boy to do all that?

'Girls are so confusing… ' I thought with a frown.

As I moved to the right and used the back of my hand to push another missile away I heard a voice shout.

"Okay, that's enough!" A clone shouted, making me move my gaze towards where it came from, only to notice three large piles of rocks at its feet. The clone in question held a rock in his hand, threw it then catched it. "You're getting better at staying still and changing our course with relative success, but now comes faster projectiles. You have been able to dodge bullets before, but we can throw faster than regular guns."

My body began to shake but I tensed my muscles once more and slowly changed positions until I was facing the clone with the piles of rocks. My eyes narrowed as more and more clones began to take rocks and take position.

"Behind you there's a tree," another copy said as he tested the rock between his fingers. "Protect it from harm."

My expression remained stony as for a fraction of a second the tree was replaced with the image of Manami dressed in pajamas looking at me the same way she looked after we stopped kissing that day…

I grunted.

I shook my head before putting my hands behind my back and then positioned them in front of me, palms open.

"So you're using Water Flow after all, huh?"

"You never said it was prohibited for this exercise," was my swift response.

…

"Very well then,"

Once all my copies had a rock in their hands they took positions and we stood in complete silence for an entire minute. It felt like an eternity, but I knew they were testing my patience.

Breathe in…

Breathe out…

Then the projectiles rained in.

My hands flew forwards.

---

I hissed in pain as Manami gently changed my bandages for cleaner ones and wrapped them around my body.

After the tree exercise - in which my clones took notice that throwing a lot of projectiles at the same time was a bad idea -  they started with two at once, then three and so on and so forth until I could protect the tree without my body receiving the gashes that now riddled my form.

My hands were the worst of them all. They were the ones intercepting and redirecting the rock-bullets at high speed after all. When the exercise was over they looked like little more than a mangled mess.

I let out a hum as I felt the red haired young woman put more pressure with one of the bandages and then apply a neat bow.

Once she was finished she meekly snaked her arms around my neck and kissed it.

I kissed her head in turn before chuckling.

"I'm sorry," I said, slowly caressing her long red hair.

"For what?" Was her muffed response as she let out a content sigh.

I smiled, before looking directly at her lamp, finding the gentle glow it gave to her humble apartment very interesting.

"For always ending up like this… I know it must be hard watching the person you like end up getting hurt," my eyes drifted back towards the loving eyes of Manami who separated from me just to look at me. "I don't know how I would feel if the roles were reversed… N-Not that I'm saying I don't like you… Mmm… You understand what I mean, right?"

Her preoccupied expression softened before she gave me a beautiful smile.

"Yeah. I think I understand," she giggled before hugging me once more.

I let out a huff before I joined her. I tried not to wince as I felt one of my wounds slightly open up due to my laughter.

We stood in a comfortable silence, enjoying each other's company. I could smell Manami's shampoo, the scent of strawberries assaulted my senses as I closed my eyes.

But after a few minutes of silence I started to feel slightly nervous.

I did tell Manami that I would try my hardest to love her back if we could resolve the deal with Kazuho… but after a lengthy conversation about how I didn't need to return her feelings and she would find a way to solve the problem herself she hasn't brought it up.

Quite frankly I didn't know how to deal with the feelings I had in my chest either.

After a lot of reflection I learned that I felt a certain amount of affection not only for Manami, but Kazuho too…

And it pissed me off that I began to feel a small amount of attraction towards Himiko as well.

At first I thought it was because of the hormones, but as time passed, my mind strayed towards her more and more, the same way as Manami and Kazuho.

My arms, that were holding onto the red haired young woman, tightened.

My gaze landed on my partner who has been helping me ever since our first meeting all those years ago.

"Gur-?" That was as far as Manami could go before my lips pressed against hers making her eyes go wide. Her hand landed on my scalp as her eyes slowly closed. "Mhm! Mm. Mmmm…"

Her quiet moans only made me want to keep going, but I immediately stopped when her arms untangled from my neck and tried to push me away.

"N-No… We c-can't," she said, moving her head to the side with her eyes closed, but moaned when I slowly began to kiss her neck. "G-Gurē, Ah… S-Stop…"

"But I don't want to…" I told her, reaching her lips once again. Our tongues met in the middle and interlaced but Manami retracted hers before pushing me away one more time, making me completely stop. "Is there something wrong?"

"Ah… Ah… Ah…" The red haired woman panted, before shaking her head from side to side before burying it on my shoulder. "I… I wasn't expecting that…"

"Oh… I'm sorry," was my immediate response, feeling instant remorse.

"D-Don't apologize! I… I really liked it…" She muttered while squirming in my arms. "I-I… I just… I haven't talked with K-Kazuho yet. T-That's it!"

"Kazuho? But… I thought…." I said out loud, trying to understand what she meant by that only to come up with a bleak scenario. "Manami… Please tell me you're not going to be mean to her."

She moved so our faces could meet and I noticed how red her delicate cheeks were.

"T-That's not it either!" was her response before her face went redder and looked to the side, unable to meet my eyes. "I… I just need to speak with her first."

I blinked, I clearly was missing something here, because I didn't understand a thing.

"Speak to her about what?" I asked.

"I-It's between us… Don't worry, I don't plan to start a fight." I didn't quite follow, but I just nodded and went along with whatever she wanted to do.

"As long as you both stay friends." I told her, gaining her attention. "Remember, we're a team first."

We hugged for a while - minutes probably, but it felt like an hour, before I untangled my arms from Manami and took a half step back from her.

"I think it's time for me to go on patrol," I announced while scratching the back of my neck, reaching for my discarded clothes on the floor. Only to be stopped by Manami. "Huh? What is it?"

The moment my eyes met her nervous gaze made me aware that something was troubling her.

"Gurē… I don't think you should go patrolling as Smiley for a while"

"Wait, what?"

---

"Make it look like an accident?" he muttered as he inspected the file of the target the commission had gotten so uptight about. "Now how do I do that with so many witnesses?"

A man of blond hair - dressed in a light brown aviator jacket and pants, yellow goggles, black and yellow turtleneck, dark brown boots and black gloves - who had red wings sprouting from his back kept reading the file the 'Public Hero Safety Commission' gave him with a hum before asking out loud.

"And why should I snuff someone who makes so many people smile?" Keigo Takami said., also known as Hawks, the upcoming hero who is rising in the ranks. Soon to become part of the top 10 one day or another. "Kind of a waste, isn't it?"

But as he read more and more of his target, his smile disappeared.

"A hero turned killer…" the blond muttered, feeling some sort of kinship… with the target. "Motive: Unknown."

His eyes narrowed as he reached the last page, followed by the info on his recorded abilities.

"And… A revolter. Ahh… Now I see why they want him gone."

He closed the file and let out a long breath before adopting a relaxed expression.

"Welp, what can you do?" Keigo said, shrugging while he made his way towards the door. It was time for a quick patrol. "Knowing Smiley, he's probably going to escape my grasp anyway. I'm not stupid enough to believe I can trap him without proper backup"

---

A/N: (Sep 22, 2025) Sup! I know I promised another chapter of The Healer Esper but ended up wanting to do another chapter of The One Who Could instead. Hopefully I can finish this soonish, let's wait and see.

(Oct 5, 2025) Sorry for the people who wanted a lot of action for this chapter. But I assure you, the capture arc is approaching. This was the transitionary chapter between the last one and the next. There's going to be a small time skip happening very soon. I think the capture fight is going to happen in the next two or three chapters. I want to resolve some issues regarding the romance… and the upcoming lewd. Because the moment the capture plan starts, there won't be a good moment to start a lewd until the UA arc and that will take a while to get to.

(Nov 1, 2025) Yeesh, I almost finished this before Halloween. If it wasn't because something surged during Manami's scene. As you noticed it almost led to the first lewd of the story, but then I realized. What if the first lewd is between Kazuho, Manami and Gurē? Which is the reason why I decided to make a poll about it.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter.

Anyway, here's my plug: 

: https://www..com/c/QtaroCujoh

Discord: https://discord.gg/6bE7gbKFbc