Chapter 40: NO. 40 - It Never Ends

Chapter 40: NO. 40 - It Never Ends

[General POV]

"What a pain in the ass." Said a man wearing a thick pair of sunglasses despite the night sky. He had brushed back brown hair while he wore a pristine three-piece white suit.

The man was sitting in the back of a white SUV as it drove through the streets of Shinjuku. He looked beside him where a young little girl with black hair pulled up into twin tails cried loudly. Her once frilly pink dress was now stained red with blood. "Shut the hell up, you damn kid!"

"Mommy! I want my mommy!" The girl cried. Only to be silenced once the man smacked her on the cheek.

"You better learn to follow directions. Otherwise, you'll end up like your mommy." The man said mockingly. He then looked over to his driver. "How much longer?"

"Just another ten minutes, Takakura-san."

Nodding, Takakura looked down beside his leg, where a small paper bag containing a few thousand yen was sitting. "What a waste of time. That bitch didn't even have enough to cover the drive here, much less pay off her debts to us." He then looked over to the silently crying girl. "That means her debt is now yours to pay. You got that, you damn brat!"

The now orphaned girl said nothing as she tried to press her body against the car door in an attempt to get as far as she could from Takakura. Grinning in amusement, Takakura pulled out his phone and began to scroll through several images.

The images were of a middle-aged black-haired woman being punched, cut up, and kicked by two men in suits. The pictures scrolled one after another, each one showing the woman in a worse state than before. The last photo, a selfie of Takakura making a peace sign with the dead woman in the background, could be seen on the phone. Causing the man to chuckle in amusement.

"Huh?" The driver said as he squinted his eyes. "What's that-"

Kablam!

Without warning, the vehicle in front of them that held his underlings exploded in a ball of flames. Freaking out, Takakura's driver spun the wheel, but their SUV was suddenly launched into the air, spinning through the air before it fell roof down on the road. A loud screeching filled the inside of the vehicle as it slid across the pavement, muffled by the scared yells from within the car.

"Eguchi! You dumb bastard! What the hell did you do?!" Takakura yelled in anger as he picked himself up from the roof of the SUV. A large scratch stretched across his forehead to his left cheek, spilling blood down his face. He then looked off to the side and found that the little girl he took was no longer beside him. "What?"

The loud sound of glass shattering stole Takakura's attention as he watched his driver, Eguchi, be grabbed by an arm. With a mighty pull, Eguchi was pulled out of the SUV with a frightened scream. Takakura remained silent as a very bright flash of orange light and a wave of heat struck him.

"W-what is this? What's going on!"

It was then that a charred, smoking skeleton fell down in front of the broken windshield. Takakura looked on in silent horror as he noticed the lone gold tooth on the jaw's central incisor. Exactly where Eguchi had his own.

"...Eguchi?" Takakura muttered before the door beside him was ripped clean from its hinges. Before he could react, Takakura's left ankle was grabbed by a powerful vice grip. "Gah!" He yelled as he was dragged out of the vehicle, his face scraping along the ground where several shards of glass sat scattered.

Looking around wildly from his upside-down position, Takakura screamed until a martial arts shoe kicked his teeth in.

"Shut up," Sukuna muttered before looking down at a phone with a green case. On the case were a pair of bunny ears. Placing the phone in one of his pockets, Sukuna lifted Takakura up, only to drop him on his head. Causing the man to cry in pain. Crawling onto his back, Takakura was about to beg for his life when he finally noticed the tattoos on Sukuna's body.

"I-it's you..." Takakura muttered with dread.

Sukuna said nothing as he raised his hand, summoning a ball of fire in front of his palm. Takakura's eyes widened with terror, seeing the burning ball of death.

"Are you with the Shie Hassaikai?"

"Me? I-I'm not with those guys." Takakura said. Unfortunately, that was not the answer the King of Curses was looking for. "No, wait-"

Watching the now burning body with expressionless eyes, Sukuna walked away as the man's screams eventually died down. Stopping midstep, Sukuna looked around at the dozens of scared observers without a care.

Without saying a word, Sukuna leaped away from the scene. Leaving behind dozens of scared observers who would all quickly spread what they saw that night.

x x x

[Shimizu Souta POV]

Photo Manipulation, Hasaba Nanako's cursed technique.

It was one of the newly added techniques I gained a week ago during a gold tier pull. Not much was known about the technique due to its short appearance during the Shibuya arc in JJK.

Bang!

x x x

[General POV]

...a few weeks ago...

"It's all a sham."

"We have two heroes pushing civilians to commit crimes. Afterward, they turn them in to the police and collect rewards for capturing them." A blonde man wearing a suit said. His glasses reflected the small streams of light coming in from the small gaps between the shades within the large, dark office he was in, giving his spectacles an eerie glow.

This man was the Hero Public Safety Commission Chairman.

"It wouldn't do for us to bring any official charges against them. But they must be dealt with." The Chairman finished.

Standing across from the man was a woman. She had long hair wrapped into a ponytail and secured with a hair clip. She wore a hero costume, which consisted of a simple dark sleeveless turtleneck jumpsuit with two plates underneath her chest, a utility belt, and knee guards. She also wore white boots and a long scouter over her right eye, shaped like a lightning bolt.

The woman's name was Tsutsumi Kaina. Otherwise known by her fellow heroes as Lady Nagant.

"...you think that by killing them, society will be improved?" Kaina said, her eyes half-lidded. The Chairman frowned at her words but remained silent. "If we don't show people the bad side of things, that's brainwashing by omission."

"Nagant. Wouldn't you agree that the most important thing for us to do is to maintain the hope that public-facing heroes have brought into the world?" The Chairman said as he walked around the lone table within the room. Sitting down, he looked up at an unconvinced Kaina with cold, calculating eyes.

"If this is the only way... then what does the future hold for us?"

"Your duty is to follow orders." The Chairman said firmly. "This is not a job-"

Ring Ring!

A soft ringtone interrupted the Chairman. Pausing, he kept his eyes trained on Kaina before reaching over to his phone, which was resting on the corner of the desk beside a laptop. Lifting his phone to his face, his eyes narrowed before turning to Kaina. "Excuse me for a moment... Report, Hawks."

Kaina's right arm twitched as she looked away as the Chairman spoke on his phone. As the man talked, Kaina's mind swirled and fizzled as her thoughts threatened to drown her.

"...very well. We'll proceed with plan C then... Yes, we can't risk Sukua's existence reaching the public and disturbing the peace." The Chairman said before turning to Kaina with an expression that she'd never seen on the man before. "We're sending in Nagant."

Hanging up the phone, the Chairman crossed his fingers in front of him. "Change of target. You are to find the man known as Sukuna and eliminate him at all costs. This will be the most important job of your career. Is that clear?"

"Sukuna?" Kaina said with recognition. "I thought there was already a task force focused on him."

"There is," The Chairman nodded. "But after several months of nothing, we can't afford to wait on them to do their job any longer. Sukuna needs to be removed from society at once. You have full access to any and all resources you require to get this done. You are to begin immediately. Understood?"

Kaina looked down at her right arm before turning to the Chairman's head. Her eyes grew cold and lifeless before she closed them. Taking a deep breath, Kaina nodded and walked out of the office.

'After this... I'll stop this madness.' Kaina thought as she walked down the hall to prepare for her next and final mission for the Hero Public Safety Commission.

-

AN:

I know that the timeline between when Nagant was arrested was around 5-15 years before the start of canon or so. So, some of you might have an issue with me including her so late in this story's timeline. Regardless, I don't think moving her up on the timeline really affects the overall story for MHA, considering her role in the original canon.

Still, her character was a favorite of mine, and I wanted to use her throughout my story.

With that quick statement over, let me know your thoughts and comments!

Until next time!