Chapter 17: NO. 17 - Playing Hero

Chapter 17: NO. 17 - Playing Hero

AN: Thanks for the 1k PS! What Chads you all are.

As thanks, here are two new Chapters!

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[General POV]

The old loading dock stood as a testament to years of bustling activity, its weathered wooden beams telling stories of countless shipments and deliveries. A faded sign hung above, its once-bright letters now peeling and barely legible, hinting at the dock's long-past glory days.

Rusting metal fittings and heavy chains lay scattered around, remnants of the machinery that had once clattered with life. The air was thick with the scent of salt and aged wood, mingled with the faint aroma of oil and the ghosts of cargo that had been stacked high. Moonlight filtered through the gaps in the corrugated roof, casting streaks of light across the dark, cracked concrete floor.

Pockmarked walls bore evidence of time's relentless march, with streaks of moss creeping in where rainwater had seeped through. A few scattered crates, long forgotten, sat in the corners, their once-bright colors dulled by the passage of time.

"Hoho! Not bad!" A large, pot-bellied man grinned as he looked inside one of the parked vans beside one of the loading bays. Sitting within the van were ten young children with their limbs tied together with rope; their mouths were covered with tape while their eyes were covered with blindfolds. "A very nice group tonight. Great work, as usual, Okuma-san."

Okuma, a woman dressed in a two-piece business suit with long black hair and green eyes, smirked as she walked over to the other van. "I aim to please, Satoshi-san. There are so many desperate parents in a rush to begin their kid's hero careers that they'll more than be happy to hand them over to a hero recruiter." Okuma nodded to the two men standing beside the back doors of the other van.

One of the men nodded and opened the back door to reveal another group of bound, scared children. Seeing this, Satoshi laughed and stepped inside the van to inspect the children.

The bound children were all shaking in fear as they sniffed and cried underneath their bindings. Satoshi stepped in front of a young brown-haired boy with dove-like wings on his back. The man then brushed the boy's wings slowly with a malicious grin.

"Yes, very nice. I think I'll give this one a run before we turn them in." Satoshi said lecherously, causing Okuma to look away in discomfort.

"Remember that these kids bring in more profit if they're pure," Okuma said nonchalantly.

"Yeah, yeah. It's fine. It's been a while since my last one, so I'll eat the pay cut." Satoshi said as he licked his lips. With a chuckle, he stepped out of the van and closed the doors behind him. "Alright. I'll take it from here."

Satoshi pulled out his phone and tapped its screen. A soft ding pinged from Okuma's phone as she watched a large amount of money be deposited into her secured bank account.

"I'll let you know when the next batch is ready." Okuma said as she turned away to begin walking over to her parked Handa across the street.

"All right, boys! Let's get moving. I want to get to Hokkaido before morning!" Satoshi said as he turned to look at his two men, only to find them missing. In an instant, all the surrounding street lights that illuminated the area exploded. "What the hell? Where the fuck-"

Crack!

Satoshi jumped back in fright as Okuma's body fell directly in front of him from above, causing her to yell in pain as her right leg was snapped to the side. The woman screamed as she lifted herself up to look over to Satoshi.

"Ah! H-help m-"

"Piercing blood."

Satoshi's mouth opened in a silent scream as Okuma's head burst into a gory mess as an impossibly fast line of blood pierced through her skull. Satoshi took several steps back but then froze when the two thumps echoed behind him. The pot-bellied man, against his better judgment, turned to look behind him.

There, lying on the ground with their bodies ripped to shreds as if they were mauled by a pack of dogs, were his men.

"How many?" A low, dispassionate voice said from behind Satoshi, causing the man to jump. Satoshi watched in fear as a dark, hooded figure slowly emerged from the shadows. "How many kids have you taken?"

"I... I-I don't..."

Satoshi struggled to say before the hooded figure swiped his arm up. Two incredibly swift lines of blood flew through the air and stabbed through Satoshi's knees. Causing the man to yell in pain and fall to the ground. The hooded figure then pulled his arm back, and the two lines of blood retracted into his jacket sleeve.

"Whatever. It doesn't matter." The hooded figure said as he walked over to the bleeding Satoshi. The figure reached down and took Satoshi's phone. The pot-bellied man pushed himself up as the hooded figure nodded over at... nothing? Satoshi blinked in confusion and looked back at his attacker.

"What's your hero name, Mister?"

"Okay, okay." I held my hands in front of me in an attempt to calm them all down. "Take it easy. My hero name? Well, I don't really have a hero name. But you kids can call me... Sukuna. How's that?"

[3 x 19 = +57 SP]

"Such a cool name!" A boy with short, grey hair and an All Might shirt said as he jumped up and down. "How did you find us, Sukuna?"

They all grew quiet and waited for me to answer with smiles. Haru had walked closer and grabbed my left hand with a curious expression.

Might as well play the part. At least until the police get here.

"You see! I was patrolling the streets in a nearby city and heard your cries for help!" I said in a boisterous voice, similar to All Might. "I ran straight here in a flash and took down the evil villains. They all ran away crying at the sight of my power!"

My claims caused everyone to cheer and yell in excitement. They showered me with praise and asked questions about what my quirk was or if I knew any other pro heroes. I laughed and indulged in their little questions for several minutes before the sounds of approaching police sirens could be heard. We all looked over to see flashing red and blue lights glow behind the loading dock's main building.

"Okay, kids." I stood up and brushed some of their heads gently. "You all have to wait here for the nice police officers to take you all home, okay?"

"Huh? Aren't you going to stay?" A young boy with brown hair and dove wings, his name was Oki Katsu, said with sadness, causing everyone to whine and plead with me to stay. "Please stay, Mister Sukuna!"

"I want to. I really do. But the policemen and women will take good care of you all. Besides, I think I hear more cries for help. You all want me to go save them like I saved you, right?" I said gently, causing the children to pout.

Thankfully, they understood what I said and parted the way for me to leave. As I began to walk away, I turned back and looked at Haru.

"Haru, keep an eye on them for me, okay?" I said with a thumbs up, causing the little girl to nod and return the gesture.

[+5 SP]

"I will! Now go save the day, Mister Sukuna!"

I smiled behind my mask and made a show of powering up before leaping onto the roof of one of the vans before jumping onto the rooftops of the loading bay's main building. All the kids waved goodbye as several police cars and ambulances came to a stop several feet away.

Dozens of officers poured out and approached the children with worry. Quickly and carefully, they guided the children to the paramedics to be checked and treated.

I watched all this go down from the shadows on the rooftop; my divine dogs and crows were beside me as we peered down. I then pulled out the phone I took from the ugly, pot-bellied man and glared at the list of contacts on his phone. My eyes focused on the contact named "Boss Man."

It wasn't my intention to play hero tonight.

Running into these kids had been a coincidence from my usual nightly training routine. From what Crow Nobara found, I thought this was a simple drug deal for me to bust. But it turned out to be so much more.

Human trafficking. Kidnapping. And other horrible crimes against children were something I detested now and in my previous life.

So when I saw that these vans held several tied-up children, I acted and executed all these rabid dogs without mercy.

My actions tonight had stopped Haru, Katsu, and all the other kids from tonight from disappearing and falling into the darkness of human evil due to the agendas of money-hungry degenerates.

But seeing this long list of contacts on the corpse's phone, I knew that this wasn't the end of their operation. No, this was just the tip of the iceberg.

I was no hero, and I knew that.

But that fact just made what I was going to do next even easier.

"Let's go hunting."