[UP FOR ADOPTION] Nozomu (A My Hero Academia fanfic)

Chapter 25: Capture

The silence was the most terrifying part. Not the intense stares that drilled into their souls, neither was it the imminent events that were bound to come after, instead it was the lack of any physical movement that petrified them. Of course, this was their internal expression for on their exterior was painted calm confidence. They were indeed the two most elusive vigilantes for a reason after all. Being able to withstand and adapt to any situation was essential quality.

The spiraling tension was for a mere moment interrupted by a wretched squawk, indicating that one of those vile creatures had somehow survived and was now making a mad dive in an attempt to latch its bloodied talons onto another victim. Fortunately for those present, the coarse critter was swiftly thwarted by a thick rope lashing its already disfigured features and successfully bounding it. This abrupt action was courtesy of Nozomu himself, utilising one of his signature grappling-hooks to restrain the abomination.

"Why are you all standing around in a group?"
Both the heroes and vigilantes cocked their heads towards the open street, instantly recognizing the fiery-tempered voice.
"The villain should've escaped this way-"
The mild agitation evaporated from his eyes, glossed over with unadulterated rage, inciting memories of the many humiliations the duo had made of him. Mercy had long rid itself from his mind. To him, they were criminals deserving of whatever punishment he dealt to them.

"Endeavor," another hero stressed, not too keen on witnessing what usually came next. They were too late for he was already charging up his quirk, notably to quite a degree higher than what was considered acceptable.  The flames grew hot and fueled his fist with their wrath and fury. They refused to be contained, condemned to die into ashes, a tame fire. Never. The fire sparked, sending showers of red onto the concrete. The fire grew more intense, it blazed until it's flames became fiery imps and danced right out of the arm and onto the floor. Then, with flaming footsteps, they rampaged their way towards Nozomu and Minarai, ready to consume them whole.

In what could only be assumed as instinct, Nozomu lurched forward, clutching with one hand the writhing carcass for dear life as he dragged it in front of him for it to hopefully take most of the impact. With the other hand he pulled his companion closer, effectively shielding both from the seething inferno that charged their way. It was not enough to stop it entirely. The beast was practically vaporized by the end of it, burned to a crisp par from the occasional rotting tarp of flesh. The now unconscious duo who took shelter behind the thing were significantly more fortunate yet still were riddled with injuries varying from minor scratches to outright 3rd degree burns, the most obvious of which was a harsh scar that ripped it's way across Nozomu's upper torso. In fact, it had appeared that he had taken the majority of the larger lacerations of the duo, with the other thankfully only having minor scrapes to show for it.

"What the hell?!" Manual, a fellow pro-hero exclaimed, horror and disgust in equal measure evident in his voice. Silence followed, none other than he dared speak up after what had just occurred. It was as if silence itself was strangling each of them, binding their throats in guilt. Any one of them could have prevented this outcome but none chose to even question Endeavor's actions directly; they were all at fault. "Well then? Call an ambulance or something!" Manual yelled impatiently.

The room was every shade of grey, from washed out concrete to almost steel-blue. Every line was straight, every corner sharp, and the chairs looking as comfortable as a train station bench. This was the sight Nozomu awoke to, wrists cuffed together and importantly, his hood removed. His breathing began to speed up as the realisation dawned on him: his identity was out in the open. Everyone now knew who he was behind the visage, and he was absolutely terrified.

Soon enough, his panicked muttering was muted when three figures entered the room. The first was a plain man wearing a tan overcoat and matching hat; there was not much else to say about him. The second was whom he recognised as the underground hero Eraserhead, one of the few Pros he actually respected, for he did not seek acclaim and other luxuries like so many of his kind. The third figure was that of his apprentice, also unmasked and cuffed like himself, who was guided to a seat next to him, opposite to the former two.

"My name is Detective Tsukauchi, I will be reading out a series of statements, to which you may either confirm if true or deny if untrue. Remember that my quirk can detect whether or nor not what you answer is the truth. With that I shall now begin," The detective spoke, his voice simultaneously cold and comforting. "Name: Midoriya Izuku. Alias: Nozomu. Age: 15 years old. Quirk-" he paused at that. The detective's eyes darted across the file once more, confirming what he was indeed reading was not some fallacy. "None" he finished, looking to the former for confirmation, to which he slowly but surely nodded. He then turned his attention to the purple haired teen. "Name: Shinso Hitoshi. Alias: Minarai. Age: 15 years old. Quirk: Brainwashing," Tsukauchi stated, the aforementioned teen nodding to confirm it.

Finally it was Eraserhead's turn to speak, noticeable by his audible sigh. "I am incredibly disappointed, especially in you Shinso. You worked your way into the hero course, you could finally be a hero you set out to be, but you start doing this? It is absolutely illogical." He was about to continue when the door swung open once more, a fourth figure making his appearance known. 

'Why in the world was Nezu here?'

Were Midoriya's thoughts visible they would be an inverse explosion, crazy chaotic turns and twists, spinning in a way that appears without design or logic, inwardly debating all which could or would happen as a result. Nevertheless, the figure went on to introduce himself (despite everyone present already knowing their identity). "That's right. It's me, Nezu, the one who could be a dog or a mouse or a bear, but more importantly... I'm the principal! Anyways, we have matters to discuss: under normal circumstances you two would be arrested and sent off to prison for Vigilantism. However, given that you both are under 16 and never once used your quirk during your time as vigilantes, you have two choices: either you're sent off to prison regardless, serving a life sentence, or you are to attend UA, specifically class 1-A under close supervision." Nezu spoke.

"Wait a minute!" Midoriya questioned, agitation underlying his voice. "But what about the Quirkless laws? I can't attend, remember?!" His question was matched in turn with another calm question from the principal. "Did you know those laws had a fine print? 'Unless in exceptional circumstances' it says, and correct me if I'm wrong, but I think it's safe to say that you are indeed an exceptional circumstance."

**End of Act 2: Vigilante Days**

Hello again, Xavier here!

Well there you have it! Act 2 is finally finished! What awaits Midoriya and Shinso as they continue their journey at UA? How will people react to the ex-vigilante's quirklessness? Will Ochako restore her friendship with Izuku? Maybe even something more? Stay tuned to find out in Act 3: A Change of Pace!

In other news, 53k reads?! That's 53 thousand of you guys taking the time out of your day to read this book! That's awesome! I can't thank y'all enough for that achievement, but thank you so much anyway😅. Speaking of achievements, there is the upcoming Boku No Hero Academia Awards ( https://my.w.tt/bz5J7Hkoq5 ) so even if you're not voting for this book in particular, it's still a great way to get your favourite BNHA fanfics noticed by the wider community! In addition, for the next month as I plan out the next Act's events, this story will be on a brief break but that does not mean there will be no updates, as I will be completely rewriting Act 1 in its entirety to bring it up to the standard of current chapters, at the same weekly time I would usually update. So look forward to that!

It's been a wonderful ride writing Nozomu thus far, interacting with you readers as often as possible, meeting some amazing people as a result. I hope yall will continue to enjoy this book in the future just as much as I love writing it! And until next time, it's your author Xavier, signing out!