Chapter 13: The Hero Killer
After lunch at school and a few simple theory classes, it was already 5:30 in the afternoon.
It was February, still winter, so even though it wasn't yet six o'clock, the sky had already grown quite dark.
"Want to walk home together?" Yaoyorozu Momo asked with a smile as she finished packing up her things and walked over to Izuna.
"No, you can go ahead," Izuna replied while putting his books into his bag. "I'm running low on ingredients at home, so I'm going to buy some groceries."
"Oh… I see."
A faint trace of disappointment flashed across Momo's face, but since it was Izuna's decision, she didn't press further.
"Then I'll head back first. See you tomorrow."
"Yeah, see you tomorrow."
As Momo walked away, Kirishima Eijiro approached Izuna and lightly bumped his shoulder.
"Hey, hey. A beautiful girl wants to walk home with you and you turn her down? Are you even a man?"
"You're overthinking it," Izuna replied with a small laugh as he picked up his schoolbag. "She's just my neighbor. We're on the same route."
"See you tomorrow."
"Yeah… see you tomorrow."
Kirishima watched him leave with a mischievous grin.
Neighbors?
What a liar.
"Hey! Pink eyes!"
As Izuna passed by, Bakugo Katsuki shouted another provocation.
"I'll kill you tomorrow!"
"Alright, I'll be waiting for you… Ba-ku-go Ka-tsu-ki," Izuna replied slowly.
To be honest, he could tolerate Bakugo's provocations once or twice.
But hearing it repeatedly was starting to become irritating.
His patience had almost run out.
Izuna's eyes instantly turned scarlet, the three tomoe spinning rapidly.
Across from him, Bakugo suddenly felt dizzy. Before he even realized what was happening, his body collapsed to the ground.
He lost consciousness instantly.
"Bakugo!"
"Kacchan!"
Tenya Iida and Izuku Midoriya shouted at the same time as they rushed forward to check on him.
"Uchiha! How could you use your Quirk on Bakugo?!" Iida demanded angrily as he confronted Izuna.
"Using Quirks on classmates is forbidden!"
"I didn't do anything," Izuna replied calmly as he walked past Iida.
"I just made him sleep for a while."
"And if you noticed, he was the one provoking me. More than once."
"Uchiha Izuna!" Iida shouted as he tried to step forward again.
But the rest of the class quickly stopped him.
"Let's wait for the teacher to deal with this," Asui Tsuyu said while gently pulling Iida's sleeve.
"Honestly… both Izuna and Bakugo are partly responsible."
"…You're right, Asui," Iida said after taking a deep breath and calming himself down.
"Just call me Tsuyu-chan," she replied with a smile, sticking out her tongue playfully.
"Beef… vegetables… soy products… that should be enough."
Later that evening, Izuna walked through the streets carrying several bags filled with groceries.
"Oh… if only the system could cook for me," he sighed to himself.
Ever since the system had claimed it needed to repair itself, it had gone completely silent.
It hadn't appeared again.
Although he could easily have groceries delivered with a phone call, Izuna preferred buying them himself.
It felt more reliable that way.
"Time to head home."
He slung the bags over his shoulder and started walking toward his villa.
The sky had grown completely dark, and the streetlights illuminated the city.
But as Izuna walked along the street—
He suddenly stopped.
A strong smell of blood drifted into his nose.
The source of the smell came from an alley nearby.
Izuna frowned slightly as his eyes turned scarlet once again.
With the Sharingan, the dark surroundings instantly became crystal clear.
Inside the alley, a man wrapped in bandages and dressed like a ronin slowly approached a wounded figure lying in the corner.
A sword gleamed in his hand.
A terrifying killing intent radiated from his body.
"…Stain."
Izuna muttered subconsciously.
"The Hero Killer."
"Hm?"
The blade Stain was about to swing suddenly stopped midair as he noticed Izuna standing there.
"You know me?" Stain asked.
When he turned slightly, Izuna could clearly see the figure lying in the corner—
It was Death Arms, the hero he had encountered before.
But now, the once-confident hero was covered in wounds. His body was battered, and the bridge of his nose was bruised and swollen.
"This isn't a place you should be!" Death Arms shouted urgently when he saw Izuna.
"Hurry and leave!"
The opponent in front of him was someone who hunted professional heroes.
And Izuna was just a student.