-Tzzzzzz-
The sound of oil sizzling against the meat filled the tiny kitchen with a savory aroma. Akuma Matsumoto moved with careful precision, flipping the contents in the pan as he prepared breakfast. The kitchen was narrow, barely enough room to stretch, but he navigated it like a ritual. The sizzling continued, a steady soundtrack to the early morning.
After thirty minutes, he served the food on a tray and walked toward the living room, where his grandmother sat hunched on an old couch. The cushions were worn, the springs nearly dead, but she never complained. Her body was frail, shrunken by time and illness.
"Oba, here, eat."
He spoke softly, his voice almost too calm for someone his age. He helped her bring the spoon to her lips. The act was practiced, gentle, reverent. She had been sick for over three years now. Some days, she could barely speak. But she was still here, still alive. That was enough.
Once she finished, he carefully cleaned her hands and lips, then stood and went to his room to change into his school uniform. The clothes were freshly ironed, neatly folded from the night before. Akuma always prepared ahead. Always.
He glanced around the apartment. Dishes washed. Floor clean. Medicine on the counter. Bills sorted on the table. Everything was in its place.
He stepped outside and locked the door behind him. The building had no elevator. It hadn't since long before he was born. He descended the concrete stairs quickly, the soles of his shoes slapping lightly with each step.
Once on the street, he looked around.
"Karma?"
A man stood silently by the edge of the road, dressed in a black suit and black tie. His face was mostly covered by a high collar and shaded glasses, but his build and presence were unmistakable. He didn't move until Akuma approached.
"You're not supposed to be here. Aren't you on duty?"
Karma shook his head in a slow, elegant motion.
"You have the day off? Then take me to school. I'm not in the mood for the metro."
The man nodded once, turned, and began walking toward the parking lot a few blocks down. He never looked back.
Akuma followed with a sigh, rubbing the back of his neck.
They arrived at a beat-up parking structure. Inside, under a broken lamp, stood a sleek black car.
"...Where the hell did you get this? Karma, I told you not to steal things."
He ran a hand along the car's smooth body. The paint was flawless. Shiny. It didn't belong in a neighborhood like theirs.
Karma opened the driver's side door and climbed in without answering. Akuma opened the passenger door, letting out a low whistle as he slid onto the leather seat.
"Damn... this smells new. You're seriously trying to spoil me."
Karma drove like a professional racer—agile, fast, and precise. The city blurred past the windows. Akuma checked his phone and smiled. A message from Momo Yaoyorozu lit up the screen.
They'd started texting after a few small conversations in class. She was interesting—kind, honest, and probably the smartest person he'd ever met. She wasn't his friend yet. Not really. But she was on the path.
He leaned back, then turned his head to the backseat.
Bags full of money. Stacks of it. Loose bills and sealed packs shoved into duffel bags. Alongside it was the vigilante costume Karma used: a full-body black suit, dark navy armor, a skull mask with hollow eyes, and a long hooded cloak that fluttered even when still.
The forums had dubbed him "The Ghost of Musutafu."
Akuma chuckled. Not bad for a name. He himself had designed the outfit—something between elegance and terror. Inspired by Taskmaster from the comics he used to read.
Karma dropped him off near U.A., not directly in front. They didn't want the staff or cameras catching anything suspicious. Akuma stepped out with a wave.
"Be careful. Don't get caught."
Karma nodded once, then vanished with the car.
Akuma reached school early. Only three students were inside: Shoto Todoroki, Momo Yaoyorozu, and Eijiro Kirishima. All three looked up when he entered.
"Good morning."
Shoto gave a silent nod and returned to staring at nothing. Momo smiled gently.
"Good morning, Akuma."
Kirishima, on the other hand, practically exploded with energy.
"Yo! Dude! You're here early! You ready for training after class?!"
"I promised, didn't I? Did you talk to the teacher?"
"Yeah, Aizawa said it's fine. But only for a few hours—we got the U.S.J. trip tomorrow!"
A chill ran down Akuma's spine. His heart skipped.
The U.S.J. attack. Tomorrow.
He couldn't say anything. It would raise too many questions.
"Hell yeah, man... then let's keep it light today. Just sparring. No quirks."
"Got it!"
Kirishima launched into a monologue about their past training sessions. Akuma listened absently, nodding where appropriate, while his mind raced. He had a lot to prepare.
---
Meanwhile, across town...
"RUN! HE'S STILL BEHIND US!"
Two masked men sprinted through a dirty alleyway. One carried a heavy bag overflowing with yen. They wore black jumpsuits and grotesque All Might masks—mocking, twisted smiles with painted blood tears.
Up above, silent as the moon, Karma followed, leaping rooftop to rooftop.
He dropped like a thunderbolt, landing directly on the faster one's back, sending him flying against a dumpster with a dull crunch.
The second thief spun, activating his quirk—a shockwave of invisible force aimed at Karma.
Karma raised an arm and tanked it, his body sliding back only slightly. He fired back with a short, controlled burst of energy from his index finger. The criminal slammed into a wall and collapsed.
Two cops turned the corner, guns raised.
"FREEZE!"
They recognized the skull mask instantly.
"...Oh. It's you."
Karma said nothing.
"Thanks. Just go before someone sees us. HQ would kill us if they knew we were cooperating."
He nodded and vanished up the walls.
"Is this really okay?" one cop muttered.
"...He's doing more good than half the Pros. I'm not stopping him."
---
Back at U.A. High...
"ACK!"
Mina Ashido flew across the gym floor, again. Her pink hair stuck to her forehead with sweat. Akuma stood calmly at the center of the mat.
"Six losses in a row. Getting sloppy."
"Ughhh... I'm trying, okay?"
Next came Denki. He rushed forward with messy punches. Akuma dodged, slipped behind, and tapped the base of his neck with two fingers.
Denki fell like a sack of potatoes.
"Ow! You didn't even touch me that hard!"
"You're overextending."
Kirishima jumped,with his arms over his head, using his entire body to punch Akuma in the head with both hands, though the hit did connect, Matsumoto easily recovered, putting some distance between them, both students looked at each other before dashing instantly, Eijiro was the first to attack, but it was easily avoided, instead, his head received the elbow of Akuma, making him do a whole cartwheel on the air
"Ugh...damn man"
The three students were laying on the ground, sweating, since this was the 6th time they lose against Akuma, and 2 hours after the classes ended, exhausted, they only could breath in silence
"Lets stop here, I promised Uraraka to train a little with her before heading home"
"Yeah.... let's....go....home...."
Denki said, having trouble to stand up, while helping Kirishima, Akuma instead helped Mina, who was almost sleeping, after a few little slaps in the cheek she said
"Mmhm...just five minutes, please?"
"No, we are already out of time, and you need to go home"
She smiled strangely before standing up, hitting my ribs with her elbow
"You better not try anything pervy with Ochako, got it?"
Akuma rolled his eyes.
"I don't know what are you talking about"
"Sure you don't."
She winked and left.
Akuma used this time to clean a little, his clothes were fine since he didn't sweat at all, so he smelled as good as always, after a while, the door opened again, showing a cute girl, dressed with a black lycra set, tank top and tight pants, especially for exercising, her intrigued look on her face and the short brown her only helped to her beauty, but Akuma didn't flich as Uraraka asked
-Did I get late?-
She asked shyly, doubting on enter to the gym
-Its okay, I already finishing preparing everything, let's get started shall we?-
In an abandoned building...
Knifes were throwed in any direction as two figures danced in violence inside of the abandoned warehouse, the sound of footsteps and things exploding covered all space
In the ground, three corpses were laying down, all of them died from a wound on the neck
"Hehehehe, Mr Vigilante, you were late, let me escape and I'm going to forget all about this"
The insanity inside the voice of the girl made Karma step back, he recognized immediately who that was, thanks of the memories of his creator
Himiko Toga
That girl...he can't intervine in the plan of his master, so what to do..?
"let's just hurt her and let her go, I can't do anything else without permission"
He thought before rushing to the blonde, who was already waiting, jumping out of the container she was stepping on as Karma made it explode from a shot
"So scary! Why don't you talk?! It's creepy! Creep creep!"
She laugh, throwing knifes that were dismantled from another shot, Karma used a container as impulse to close the distance between both of them, grabbing her clothes before roll with her
"HEY! GET OFF!"
She screamed as Karma throwed her to some wood boxes with enough force to break them, he didn't let her stand up before jumping and stepped on her stomach, leaving her out of air and helpless
He pointed his hand to the face of Toga, while she was trying to keep her awareness, small tears formed in the face of that killer, the skeleton mask was almost touching the skin of her before Karma stopped, kicking her one last time before walking away
Toga stayed laying there for quite some time, thinking of what just happened, for some reason, her hearth was pounding in excitement
"Its that....he forgived me? He was so cool, heh...he may be so handsome..... hehehehehe hehehehe"
The laugh of a crazy maniac was heard for quite some time, with only three dead people to hear that melody invade the place
Going back to Akuma....
Instead of a violent fight like with the others, Akuma was taking easily this spar, explaining to Uraraka the fundaments of a good fighter
-If you don't keep your guard up you are going to get knocked out easily, take care of your legs to-
He said before hitting the leg of Uraraka slowly, but with enough force to make her lose the balance
"Aw! That hurts!"
Uraraka said as she step again in the fight, thinking each advice seriously, changing her stance to a more safe one, bit by bit she was getting better
She throwed a punch, one after another combined with kicks, Akuma was just avoiding everything, but genuinely surprised for the advance the girl showed, it didn't take long before he noticed she leaved her left leg exposed, with a calculated hit he moved her leg behind her, making her fall
He, though, didn't expected for her to fall in him, pushing his out of guard body to the ground, and for a instant, Akuma looked directly to Uraraka's lips, just when it was about to happen, the young man moved his head, making Ochako almost kissed the ground
She reacted immediately, moving her body behind, and having a hard blush as she realized her full body was above Akuma's, her hands on his chest and everything, with a desperated jump, she made a distance between the both of them, her face full red and with an ashamed look
Akuma stop laying down, sitting on the ground with no expression in his face
"Lets end the day here, shall we?"
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Hello, author here!
I'm sorry for delaying this chapter, I was busy with a exam and I just got surgery, I'm going to keep writing though, so don't worry
I tried a different style for this chapter so let me now if you liked it
Bye!