It wasn't supposed to turn out this way.
From the start, Reiji had operated under a relatively simple premise: as long as he didn't interfere too much with the main events, he would still have enough ti. Ti to grow stronger, ti to establish himself, ti to protect Himiko, and ti to take advantage of the Commission as long as it continued to view him as a useful investnt rather than a problem.
Because that had really been his strategy from the start. Once they forced him to join them, he would have to make the most of them.
The Heroes Commission wasn't a clean organization; he already knew that. Manipulation, covert assassinations, information control, training agents from childhood… none of that really surprised him. But even an organization like that still had sothing important: interests.
As long as Reiji remained useful, as long as he continued to function as the "scholarship prodigy" they themselves had helped create publicly, he had a certain margin of safety. If anything happened to him, there would be questions. His family was too closely tied to the narrative constructed by the Commission. Hawks had personally recomnded him. There were records, evaluations, teachers, classmates, and an entire life fabricated around him.
He was a valuable asset, and not soone to be disposed of on a re whim.
But All For One…
All For One didn't operate that way.
That was the real difference.
He had no public image to protect. He was accountable to no one. He didn't need to justify anything. If tomorrow he decided to kidnap, experint on, or kill a hundred people simply because he could gain sothing useful from it, he would do so without hesitation. There was no real political, moral, or strategic balance surrounding him.
Only results.
And now Reiji had just discovered that for months he'd been ddling directly in the plans of soone like that.
'Ugh…'
The exhalation ca out heavy as he walked alone through the streets of Musutafu after completely losing track of Giran and Kurogiri.
'Why did I have to be born in Japan...?'
The question ca out more as weariness than as a genuine complaint. Because honestly, if this followed the logic of the original story, then he was barely scratching the surface of sothing much, much bigger.
The Nomus—this was probably the natural sequence of events leading to their creation. In any case, before their final form, the lives of many people served as re test subjects for experinting on Quirks and their evolution.
The thought caused his expression to harden slightly.
Because there was sothing even worse: his initial conjecture was a theory with no solid foundation.
The original story never really showed a plot involving the artificial evolution of Quirks through external drugs, nor did the Nomus seem capable of doing that. There were awakenings, yes. Himiko herself ended up developing hers alongside other important characters, but that happened naturally, driven by extre emotions, stress, and the individual's genuine adaptation to their own Quirk.
This was different.
This was forced.
Violent.
Artificial.
And dangerously effective.
That fire-wielding subject hadn't simply lost control. His body was mutating under impossible pressure, trying to evolve by force. And if that was still an early version…
Then he didn't want to imagine what kind of monsters might appear once they perfected the process.
Or worse yet…
what would happen if All For One ended up applying it to himself.
His Quirk was already absurd even under normal conditions. Stealing abilities, storing them, combining them, and distributing them freely already made him a living aberration within the world of heroes.
But if he could also evolve them…
Then the Nomus were probably not the ultimate goal.
They were rely a byproduct.
Reiji felt an uncomfortable chill slowly run down his spine as he continued walking through the streets.
Because he had just realized sothing even more troubling.
By trying to use the Commission to obtain resources to strengthen himself… He had ended up right in the lion's den.
And now he needed to start making an important decision.
Because as long as he continued acting solely as an agent of the Commission, he would eventually end up colliding head-on with All For One long before he was ready for it. And that was practically a death sentence.
The smart thing would be to distance himself.
To gradually disengage from the deeper investigations, or specifically, from the drug case.
To let real heroes handle that, just as Aizawa had suggested.
…But then the other problem arose.
The experints were still happening.
People were still dying.
And if he managed to ruin this operation prematurely…
Then there was a real possibility of completely altering AFO's future strength.
The thought left him silent for a few seconds.
Because even though he didn't want to admit it, that did matter.
A lot.
It was right in the middle of that train of thought that he heard sothing.
A sharp clang against tal.
Then a voice.
Reiji frowned slightly and automatically turned toward the source of the sound. At the end of a side alley, partially covered by an old, rusty tal awning, a large teenager had a much smaller figure pinned against the wall.
It was just a boy; his face was covered, but Reiji could tell he was about his age, maybe even a little younger given his height.
Reiji honestly had no real intention of getting involved.
Especially after everything he'd just discovered.
But then the attacker shoved the other boy against the wall again, harder this ti, as he snatched sothing from his hands.
And just as Reiji passed by the entrance to the alley… the hooded boy tried to step aside clumsily.
Ending up bumping right into him.
The notebooks imdiately fell to the ground.
"S-sorry…" The nervous voice ca out automatically as the boy tried to quickly crouch down to pick everything up.
And then the other teenager let out a mocking laugh from the back.
"Look at that," he said contemptuously. "Now he's even looking for help."
Reiji slowly closed his eyes for just a second.
'Perfect.'
He really didn't want to do this right now.
But he was already in it, and besides, he couldn't deny that seeing people bully others struck a nerve.
When he opened his eyes again, he simply took a few steps further into the alley while the big guy watched him with obvious annoyance.
"What do you want?"
Reiji just approached slowly, thinking about how to end the situation as quickly as possible and without any fuss.
"Get out of here."
The teenager let out a nasal laugh.
"What if I don't want to?"
He was big.
Taller than Reiji.
And he clearly relied too much on that.
The problem was that he was also an idiot.
The guy advanced straight toward Reiji, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt in an attempt to intimidate him physically, but as soon as he did, Reiji reacted out of pure reflex. He gripped the wrist of the boy standing in front of him with unflappable calm, while small reddish fibers hardened around his fingers beneath the skin.
"This is my business now," he said in a completely flat voice, but his eyes hardened enough to unsettle the bully.
He slowly increased the pressure. The change in the aggressor's expression was imdiate.
The dull sound of the joint cracking made the boy automatically let go of Reiji's shirt as he tried to back away with a horrified expression, but even as he pulled with all his might, his wrist wouldn't budge an inch.
He didn't understand what was happening.
He only felt pain.
A lot of pain.
And the terrifying feeling that this smaller boy could easily break his wrist if he wanted to.
"Y-you're crazy!"
Reiji abruptly let go of his arm, causing the boy to fall hard to the ground.
"Don't ever touch him again," he said calmly. "Or anyone else. Be grateful I didn't break your wrist to make sure you don't do it again."
He didn't need to repeat it.
The teenager practically fled down the street, clutching his wrist while hurling nervous insults over his shoulder.
When he finally disappeared from sight, silence returned to the alley.
Reiji slowly exhaled the air he'd been holding in as he deactivated the blood fibers within his hand. The residual sensation of blood appeared for just an instant—faint, completely controllable.
Nothing important.
Then he turned toward the boy he'd protected.
Now he could see him better.
Small.
Skinny.
Way too nervous.
He was still crouched down, frantically gathering his things off the ground while clutching a notebook full of notes to his chest.
"Are you okay?" Reiji finally asked.
The boy nodded quickly several tis.
"Yeah... Thanks..."
Reiji watched as the boy quickly gathered his things from the ground. Reiji crouched down and picked up a pencil that was right next to his foot.
"I don't know what your situation is," Reiji remarked as he handed the pencil back. "But if you keep waiting for soone to always co and save you, sooner or later you're going to end up in trouble."
The boy barely looked up.
Confused.
Reiji continued speaking before giving it too much thought.
"I'm not going to give you so fancy speech," he said calmly. "Just… learn to be your own hero while you still can."
The silence that followed felt strange. Because the boy really seed to be processing those words with absolute seriousness.
"Be my own hero…" he murmured softly.
And it was right then… When Reiji finally looked up properly at the notebook in his hands.
"Analysis of Pro Heroes for the Future Vol. 11"
The world seed to stop for a second.
Green hair.
Freckled.
Shy.
Obsessed with heroes.
Socially isolated.
And that damn notebook.
'…I just made a mistake.'
The chill was imdiate.
Izuku Midoriya was standing right in front of him.
And that completely changed the situation.
Because there were certain things Reiji was willing to alter.
And others he wasn't.
Midoriya receiving One For All belonged exactly to the second group.
Not only because Izuku was the best possible carrier for that power, but because the entire future balance depended largely on it. Even All Might ended up being surpassed by what Midoriya could achieve with OFA thanks to his personality, adaptability, and absurd ability to connect with previous Quirks.
Had it not been for the short period during which he possessed OFA, he would have easily beco a much better hero than All Might—simply the perfect user.
Reiji himself had once considered the possibility of obtaining OFA. But he quickly dismissed the idea.
He had no intention of dying prematurely from the side effects, and unlocking the remaining Quirks of the previous holders wasn't a matter of talent either; he didn't know what the necessary factor was, and without those extra Quirks, he didn't know if it was worth being AFO's primary target.
That's why Midoriya needed to remain the successor. His strength would make him number one and the main force in the future; Reiji could continue operating in the shadows and from a safer vantage point.
But now he had just intervened directly in his life.
Reiji felt a twinge of irritation with himself—first AFO and now OFA; his day was going from bad to worse.
But then Midoriya spoke again.
"...Thank you," he said again, this ti much more firmly. "Really."
And that was when sothing inside Reiji shifted slightly.
Because looking at him closely…
Midoriya was still too broken at this point.
Too insecure.
Too ntally weak.
And if he was going to receive One For All eventually…
then maybe the worst thing wasn't having intervened.
Maybe the worst thing would have been to leave him as he was.
Because if Izuku were more ntally prepared by the ti he received OFA…
his chances of survival would increase trendously.
That was simply logical.
Although, of course…
there was also another possibility.
A much worse one.
That this ti, he might never end up becoming the Quirk user.
It was a 50/50 chance, and since he'd intervened, he might as well go all the way.
"Don't let people like that decide what you can do," he finally said as they finished picking up the last few things off the floor. "If you're going to admire heroes as much as it seems… then start by acting a little more like one."
Midoriya barely opened his eyes.
Surprised.
Confused.
And clearly stunned by the words.
'I hope this has the desired effect...'
"Well, I've got so things to do... Don't thank for what happened; just consider it fate."
Midoriya watched him in confusion, but Reiji was already walking away with a firm stride, avoiding any further eye contact.
As he turned the corner of the alley, he paused for a few seconds and let out a sigh.
"What a great day I'm having..." he muttered to himself.
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