The crimson prison continued to rise in the middle of the avenue like an organic mass impossible to ignore. The congealed blood completely enveloped the mud-covered villain, compressing him beneath uneven layers that still pulsed slowly to the erratic rhythm of Reiji himself.
The contrast was striking against the shattered pavent, the black smoke, and the remnants of explosions that continued to smolder at various points along the street.
For several seconds, no one really moved.
Not the heroes.
Not the police.
Not even the civilians behind the makeshift periter.
Most were just finishing processing the fact that a civilian who looked like nothing more than a student had just burst into the middle of the disaster, pulled Katsuki Bakugo out of the center of the attack, and single-handedly neutralized a villain who had several professional heroes pinned down.
And as soon as the initial shock faded… The avenue erupted in noise.
"Did you see that?!"
"Did that kid take him down all by himself?!"
"He wasn't wearing a uniform!"
"Was he a high school student?!"
"Was that real blood?!"
Voices began to overlap rapidly as dozens of phones were raised, pointing directly toward the center of the chaos. So civilians tried to get closer for a better shot, others remained clearly terrified by the trapped villain, and several simply watched with that uncomfortable mix of fascination and fear that always surfaced when sothing too violent happened right in front of them.
It took the police only a few seconds to react.
"Step back!"
"No one cross the periter!"
"Move the caras away!"
Several officers began slowly pushing the crowd back as new patrol cars blocked the side streets. The constant sound of police radios began to fill the air, mixing with the sirens of ambulances and ergency vehicles that kept arriving at the scene.
The paradics, for their part, practically ran toward Bakugo as soon as the creature stopped moving.
"We need oxygen here!"
"Rapid pulse!"
"Possible prolonged asphyxiation!"
One of them tried to grab Bakugo's shoulder to keep him still while they checked his vital signs, but the blond reacted imdiately, swatting the hand away with a violent slap.
"Don't fucking touch !"
His voice ca out raspy from lack of air, but it was still laced with his usual aggression. He coughed hard imdiately afterward, expelling the villain's viscous remains onto the pavent before trying to sit up on his own.
"Man, you need to stay seated!"
"I'm perfectly fine!"
"You literally almost died; your lungs were deprived of oxygen for a long ti."
"SHUT UP!"
Another doctor tried to bring him an oxygen mask, and Bakugo pushed it away again with obvious irritation while continuing to breathe heavily.
He was humiliated and furious, all too aware of everyone staring at him.
The heroes didn't seem much more comfortable either.
Death Arms watched the blood prison with a furrowed brow as he slowly caught his breath. Part of his suit was singed, and one of his arms was still trembling slightly from the earlier impacts.
Kamui Woods kept his gaze fixed on the reddish structure, analyzing every visible detail. Unlike several of the heroes present, he didn't exactly seem nervous, still focused on the reddish mass that enclosed the villain.
"Can you release him gradually?" Kamui finally asked, looking directly at Reiji. "I need to immobilize him before you lose complete control of the containnt."
Reiji barely looked up at him, his sense of sll detecting the tallic scent all around him, but he bit his lip instantly, trying to calm himself. His breathing was still sowhat heavy from the effort, but his voice ca out much steadier than he had expected.
"Yes, but you must enclose him imdiately. He's trying to escape even now."
"Understood."
Kamui imdiately extended several branches from his arms. The wooden structures began to slowly encircle the reddish prison as several heroes stepped back slightly to give him space.
It wasn't normal to collaborate with a civilian just like that, but containing the main threat was the priority.
"Everyone, stay alert!" Death Arms ordered, looking around. "If the villain breaks free, we'll contain him again imdiately!"
Two more heroes stepped forward, preparing to intervene if anything went wrong. The police pushed the civilians back even further, and several riot shields began to be raised near the periter as a simple precaution.
The tension rose again imdiately.
Reiji watched as Kamui's branches finished enveloping the entire prison before he finally loosened his grip just slightly.
The blood reacted imdiately, slowly dissolving his prison.
The relief was almost instantaneous.
Kamui tightened the branches the mont the villain tried to move again within the structure.
"Got him."
The villain roared imdiately upon feeling the pressure on his liquid body, trying to expand again, but Kamui reacted quickly, further reinforcing the layers of wood around him.
"Backdraft, keep the humidity constant!" he ordered without taking his eyes off the villain. "I don't want him to solidify again!"
"Roger that!"
Several jets of water imdiately struck the hardened branches as other heroes finally began moving with greater coordination around the area. The pure chaos of combat was slowly turning into a real containnt operation.
The police finished blocking off the side streets. More ambulances arrived at the scene. dical teams rushed among injured civilians, and several special agents were already deploying tal barriers to push the reporters even further back.
Bakugo, for his part, had finally been cald down by a dic and was being treated in one of the ambulances that had arrived.
But even so… Attention kept constantly returning to Reiji.
It was inevitable.
The boy was still breathing heavier than normal while his body looked quite stiff, even without using his Quirk. The constant strain of controlling such a massive amount of blood had left clear marks on his body.
And the worst part was that the relief of letting go of the prison hadn't really solved the problem.
The tallic sll still completely perated the avenue. Blood from open wounds, minor cuts, superficial burns, and debris from the battle floated mixed with the hot smoke from the fire.
Too many people.
Too many pulses.
Too much blood.
His throat burned imdiately.
The urge returned, stronger than before.
His gaze dropped slightly to the ground as he forced his breathing to remain steady. His entire body was still functioning properly, but his mind was slowly beginning to focus too much on small details.
Death Arms finally advanced until he was just a few ters away from him. His expression was no longer just tension. Now there was genuine annoyance mixed with disbelief.
"Do you have any idea what you just did?" he asked bluntly. "You went up against an urban-level villain alone, without backup, without authorization, and without even really knowing what was going on!"
"Death Arms…" Kamui murmured without taking his eyes completely off the villain.
"No, let finish." The hero looked back at Reiji. "What if that monster had exploded? What if you'd lost control of your Quirk? What if the boy had died anyway and we ended up with two dead students in the middle of the avenue?"
The voice didn't sound cruel.
It sounded frustrated.
Like soone genuinely annoyed at seeing a teenager do sothing so irresponsible.
Reiji held his gaze for a few seconds, calming his rising impulses before responding.
"You're right, I'm sorry..."
The response caused several heroes to exchange awkward glances; the boy had been the star, he'd contained the villain without a problem and saved the day, but he was still a teenager.
They expected him not to understand his actions, or simply to snap back, yet his imdiate response seed quite sincere, throwing Death Arm off a bit.
One of the officers ended up approaching as well, still holding the electronic notepad in his hand and his vest partially covered in dust.
"We'll need your ID and a full statent when this is over," he said, trying to keep a professional tone. "The public use of Quirks without a license remains a serious regulatory violation, even in an ergency context."
"Serious?" snorted one of the civilians behind the barriers. "The kid saved soone!"
"Leave him alone!"
"Where were you guys five minutes ago?!"
The police reacted imdiately.
"Step back!"
"Keep your distance!"
The situation threatened to turn tense again when so civilians began directly berating the heroes. Several continued filming constantly, taking advantage of every argunt to hold their phones closer.
"Last warning, do not cross the periter!" the police replied again, trying to maintain control of the situation.
Bakugo, anwhile, continued to argue heatedly with the paradics.
"I'm fine, damn it!"
"You need dical observation!"
"I don't need anything!"
"You almost suffocated!"
"BUT IT DIDN'T HAPPEN!"
"I'm perfectly fine, damn it!"
"He's not," replied one of the paradics, clearly irritated. "You almost suffocated!"
"But it didn't happen!"
"Because they saved you!"
"I DIDN'T NEED HELP!"
Another dic tried to bring an oxygen mask closer to him again, and Bakugo literally swatted his hand away before attempting to stand up completely on his own, failing after a few seconds.
anwhile, several heroes continued to watch Reiji out of the corner of their eyes.
Not exactly in a hostile way.
But cautiously.
Because even without actively using his Quirk, there was sothing strange about him right now.
His breathing was still too heavy. His fingers tense. His jaw clenched constantly as if he were concentrating on staying still by sheer willpower.
And the problem was that it kept getting worse.
Every breath dragged that tallic sll right down his throat.
And his body reacted worse and worse.
Then, finally, Shinso managed to break through the periter.
Not gracefully.
Not calmly.
He literally forced his way through using his Quirk.
"Back off, kid!" one of the cops blocking his path shouted at him.
Shinso didn't even slow down.
"Are you going to let through?"
The officer opened his mouth to reply.
And froze completely.
His eyes lost focus as soon as the Brainwashing took effect.
"Move."
The cop obeyed automatically, stepping away from the entrance to the periter while another officer looked at him, completely confused.
"What the hell are you doing, Nakamura?!"
Shinso had already moved forward.
One of the supporting heroes tried to stop him imdiately afterward.
"You can't co in here!"
Shinso barely turned his head toward him.
"Can't you make an exception?"
The hero froze instantly.
"..."
And he simply stopped speaking. Due to the constant commotion from the civilians and the reporters who were finally beginning to arrive at the scene, Shinso had a clear path to keep moving forward.
He finally reached the center of the avenue, panting slightly after pushing through half the crowd and using Brainwashing practically as an improvised master key.
And as soon as he saw Reiji up close… He imdiately understood that sothing was still wrong.
He didn't look injured.
Nor exhausted.
He seed to be actively holding himself back.
Like soone making a monstrous effort just to stay still.
"What's wrong with you?" he asked, moving in quickly.
Reiji barely looked up at him.
And Shinso felt an uncomfortable chill run down his spine.
The blood was still barely reacting around Reiji's feet, moving almost imperceptibly across the pavent every ti an injured person passed too close.
"Don't get too close," Reiji muttered, clenching his jaw.
Shinso imdiately frowned.
"What the hell does that an?"
Reiji didn't answer.
Because just then, one of the paradics passed too close, clutching several blood-soaked bandages in his gloved hands. The tallic scent hit him right in the nose, and the urge returned imdiately.
Violent.
Instinctive.
Much worse than a few seconds ago.
His throat burned fiercely as sothing inside him reacted almost reflexively to the sll of fresh blood. His fingers tensed slightly, and a thin reddish line on the pavent trembled ever so slightly before going still again.
'Shit... if this keeps up...'
His breathing grew slightly heavier.
Not enough for the civilians to notice.
But enough for the heroes around him.
Kamui Woods was the first to realize it. The branches around the villain tensed slightly as the hero shifted just a fraction of his attention toward Reiji. Death Arms noticed it too. Even one of the nearest police officers took a half-step back upon seeing how small drops of blood on the concrete seed to vibrate slightly around him.
Then… a gust of wind finally swept across the entire avenue.
Red feathers descended from the sky as several caras automatically swiveled upward.
"HAWKS!"
Red feathers fell from the sky as a figure landed gracefully among patrol cars, ergency lights, and shattered concrete. The enormous scarlet wings partially unfolded behind him, slowing his descent with a smoothness almost absurd given the chaos around him.
And the mont he touched the ground…
the atmosphere shifted.
The reporters practically exploded.
"Hawks, over here!"
"Is this related to the incident?!"
"Do you know the student?!"
The police began moving even faster, trying to contain the dia now that the second hero had just appeared right in the middle of the scene.
Even several civilians started jostling each other just to get a better shot.
Hawks completely ignored all of that.
His eyes quickly scanned the avenue as soon as he landed. Hawks imdiately understood what was happening, especially when his gaze fell on Reiji.
"Well, well…" His relaxed voice cut through all the tension in the air as he adjusted his glasses slightly. "What an aggressive way to welco soone who just saved a life."
The reaction among the heroes was imdiate.
"Do you know him?" Death Arms asked almost instantly.
Kamui narrowed his eyes slightly.
"Let handle this," Hawks said as he walked straight toward them. His tone remained nonchalant, but beneath it lay a firmness too clear to ignore. "And if you're looking for soone to bla, maybe you should start with the giant monster that almost killed a student in front of half the city."
An awkward silence fell instantly.
One of the supporting heroes clicked his tongue in annoyance.
"The blood guy's still using his Quirk illegally."
Hawks turned his head slightly toward him.
"And were you authorized to just stand there and watch while a student was choking?"
The question hit like a direct punch.
There was no answer.
Not even Death Arms intervened this ti.
Because everyone there knew exactly how the situation had looked just minutes ago.
Hawks imdiately took advantage of that silence to finally approach Reiji.
Shinso tensed slightly out of reflex, but a quick glance from Hawks was enough for him to understand that he wasn't there to arrest or confront him.
The hero stared directly at Reiji for a few seconds.
The sll of blood kept hitting him constantly. Hawks could see it perfectly in how he avoided looking at certain wounds around him or how he kept his hands tense despite trying to appear calm.
Even the small drops of blood on the pavent reacted slightly whenever soone injured passed too close.
"Good job keeping it together, though you've made quite a ss..." Hawks finally murmured, looking toward Shinso.
The bald man swallowed.
He didn't really understand what he was seeing.
"It's weird…" Shinso admitted, lowering his voice slightly. "A mont ago it looked like he was going to—"
"No need to explain," Hawks interrupted him gently.
The partial loss of control.
He'd seen Reiji approach that state before.
Only never so exposed.
Hawks finally placed a firm hand on Reiji's shoulder, gently forcing him to focus his gaze on him.
"Hey," his tone lost so of its usual lightness. "Look at ."
Reiji barely lifted his gaze. And Hawks imdiately confird sothing important.
He was still thinking clearly.
That was good.
"Breathe slowly," Hawks continued without looking away. "Don't look at the wounded. Don't look at the blood. Focus on my voice."
Reiji clenched his jaw slightly.
"I overused my Quirk…" he finally muttered under his breath.
The impact of that exchange made Shinso finally understand what was happening, his gaze taking in all the wounded and the blood flooding the place.
"I saw it. At least you saved the boy. Now, let's focus on you not killing anyone, okay?"
Reiji let out a small sigh heavy with frustration.
"I understand…"
Hawks watched him for just a second before responding with complete nonchalance:
"Now relax. If you do sothing stupid... then I'm going to knock you out in front of all these people before you can carry out your plan."
And honestly… that helped more than expected.
Because the absolute confidence in Hawks' voice partially relieved the pressure inside his head.
Reiji slowly exhaled the air he'd been holding in while forcing his Quirk to stabilize once more.
The small ripples of blood on the pavent finally stopped.
Hawks then smiled slightly upon noticing the change.
"That's better," he murmured before finally turning toward the reporters.
The red wings opened partially behind him as he raised a hand toward the caras.
"The situation is now under control," he declared with complete calm despite the chaos around him. "The police and the heroes are continuing their work, so step back and make room for the dical teams before this turns into another accident."
The reporters kept trying to shout questions.
But Hawks' presence was enough to finally begin stabilizing the atmosphere.
***
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