Japanese schools let out fairly early, so there was usually plenty of time before dinner.
Shigaraki had fallen into a simple routine.
First, he would walk Himiko to the station. After that, he would wander around the city and see if any stray "villains" were kind enough to offer themselves up as Evolution Points. Around dinnertime, he would head to Toga's house and shamelessly mooch another meal.
Today should have been the same.
But right after seeing Himiko off, just as he was about to begin his usual hunt, he spotted someone familiar in the crowd.
Very familiar.
All Might.
More accurately, All Might in his deflated, hollow-cheeked form.
The moment Shigaraki saw him in N City again, his eyes narrowed.
Then, without saying a word, he slipped into the crowd and followed.
Half an hour earlier, at N City Police Headquarters.
"All Might. Is this your idea of a guarantee?"
Tsukauchi Naomasa slammed a thick stack of files onto the desk, glaring so hard that it looked like sparks might fly from behind his glasses.
Across from him, All Might sat upright on the sofa in his gaunt, weakened form, wearing an expression that could only be described as guilty.
Strictly speaking, his visit to N City today really had been a coincidence.
The villain he had been tracking happened to flee into the area. After subduing the criminal, he happened to run into Tsukauchi nearby.
Then he was "invited" to the station.
Well, dragged here was probably more accurate.
As for why Tsukauchi had practically hauled him inside, the answer was right there on the desk.
A pile of files.
And on the front of the case file was a codename.
Dark Knight.
It wasn't the name of an incident.
It was the name given to a person.
Someone who walked in darkness while serving the light.
The case had begun at the start of the month.
Since then, N City police had been receiving strange reports one after another.
Every few days, someone would call in saying a person had been found unconscious in a dark alley or deserted street. Tied up. Beaten bloody. Sometimes barely alive.
At first, the police thought a new criminal was active in the city.
But after checking the identities of the victims, they discovered something strange.
Every single one of them had a criminal record.
Some were pickpockets, robbers, or muggers.
Some were wanted fugitives with multiple deaths attached to their names.
In total, there had already been more than a dozen cases this month.
The strangest part was that once these criminals woke up, none of them could clearly explain what had happened.
Some did not even remember being attacked.
Their stories were almost identical.
They had been going about their business, then felt a sharp pain at the back of the head.
After that, nothing.
A few with defensive Quirks had managed to stay conscious for a few seconds and tried to resist.
It hadn't helped.
They still went down.
Not one of them had seen the attacker's face.
It was as if the person had no body at all.
And the attacker did not treat every target the same.
Petty criminals were injured, tied up, and left for the police.
But repeat murderers were treated much worse.
Tendons cut.
Bones broken.
Bodies carved open and left hanging on the edge of death.
Judging from the wounds, the pattern, and the repeated method, the police were almost certain all of this was the work of one person.
Whether it counted as justice was something people could argue about.
But legally?
It was a crime.
Premeditated.
Systematic.
Deliberate.
In that sense, it was uncomfortably similar to the recently active Hero Killer, Stain.
Once the number of cases grew large enough to attract attention, the higher-ups began treating the matter seriously.
Unfortunately, the culprit was skilled.
And cautious.
Far too cautious.
No useful evidence had been left behind.
Security cameras near the scenes were always destroyed.
No witnesses had seen the attacker clearly.
Even the weapon was difficult to identify. The police could only confirm that some kind of blade had been used during the punishments.
Beyond that, nothing.
They didn't even know if the culprit was male or female.
The police were frustrated.
The public, however, reacted very differently.
Instead of being afraid, civilians and online communities had practically started worshipping the unknown attacker.
To them, this person was not a criminal.
This was a hidden hero.
A shadowy avenger.
Someone punishing the criminals that the system failed to deal with.
And that was how the nickname spread.
Dark Knight.
A mysterious figure with overwhelming strength.
Punishing evil.
Asking for nothing.
Never showing their face.
Striking only from the shadows and vanishing before anyone arrived.
It was exactly the kind of story people loved.
So while the police were working themselves half to death trying to catch the culprit, the public kept begging them to leave the "hero" alone.
At that point, the officers didn't even know whether to laugh or collapse.
Ordinary police had no idea who was behind it.
But Tsukauchi Naomasa knew a little more than most.
And because All Might had once told him certain things, one name appeared in his mind almost immediately.
Shimura Tenko.
The blue-haired boy All Might had specifically asked him to investigate.
There was no proof.
Not one piece of hard evidence.
But Tsukauchi's instincts kept pointing in the same direction.
The overlap was too obvious.
Shimura Tenko was in N City.
The Dark Knight operated in N City.
All Might had personally said that the boy possessed frightening strength.
The attacker worked from the shadows.
The attacks on criminals were harsh, almost brutal, but rarely careless.
There were too many similarities.
Too many to ignore.
So when the case file crossed his desk, Tsukauchi found it very difficult not to suspect that boy.
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