The woman introduced herself as Haruyama Kobayashi.
She said the Kurose family had saved her twice.
The first time was eleven years ago. Pro hero Kurose Haruto had pulled her back from the brink of death using his quirk. The second was during the recent incident, when Kurose Kuro used [Injury Replacement] to save her child.
Yes—she was the parent of one of the children involved.
"I'm grateful that All Might arrived in time," Kobayashi said. "But I won't forget what you did. If you hadn't acted when you did, none of those three children would have survived."
She bowed slightly, then held out a bank card.
"This is a small token of our thanks. Please accept it."
Kuro didn't take it.
"I'm sorry… about that… the hero who died…" His voice faltered. He couldn't bring himself to say "father," and using his name felt wrong.
Kobayashi didn't argue. Instead, she opened the package she had brought.
It was wrapped carefully, layer after layer of oil paper and cloth.
When the final layer came off, a pistol was revealed.
The weapon looked worn.
The metal surface was scratched, its faded paint chipped away in places. The grip and barrel bore marks from long use. Beside it sat a small box containing three bullets.
Kuro didn't recognize it.
But Nekoyama Fumiko and the U.A. treatment specialist immediately understood what it was.
A quirk-compatible weapon.
Part of a pro hero's combat gear.
Which raised a question.
Why had it ended up in the hands of a civilian?
Quirk weapons were strictly regulated. Every item was registered. If one was lost, it had to be reported immediately to prevent misuse.
For a professional hero, such equipment was essential. It would be maintained, replaced, but rarely abandoned.
Yet here it was.
"In truth, I found it by accident," Kobayashi explained. "I was still in middle school back then. After I was saved, I couldn't stop thinking about heroes. On my way home one day, I saw someone throw this away."
She paused.
"Later, I checked official records and realized what it was. This weapon… belonged to Kurose Haruto."
Kuro picked it up.
It was heavier than he expected.
Something had been built into it.
This was the first time he had ever held something his father had used as a hero.
But he felt nothing.
His father had never brought this part of his life home. Kuro had never even seen him wear his combat gear.
"I already wear that stuff all day," Haruto used to say. "Can't I relax at home?"
If he had carried it that day…
Would things have turned out differently?
Would he have lasted longer?
Would he have had a chance?
A weapon like this could have made a difference.
So why hadn't he brought it?
"Mr. Kurose?" Kobayashi called.
Kuro blinked. "Sorry. I got distracted."
Kobayashi bowed her head slightly. "If not for the recent incident, I might have kept this forever. But it belongs to your family. It should be returned."
In reality, most combat gear wasn't made by families. It was produced by specialized companies. Still, her decision made sense.
She had held onto it out of respect.
And perhaps something more.
Kuro nodded. "I understand. I won't keep it hidden."
In this society, unlicensed individuals weren't allowed to use quirks freely.
The same applied to hero equipment.
Possessing or using it without authorization could lead to punishment.
Kobayashi seemed relieved.
Before leaving, she handed Kuro a business card.
"I'll be moving to the United States within the week," she said. "If there's anything I can do to help, don't hesitate to reach out."
Kuro hesitated, then spoke.
"I want information about my family. About the heroes they were. Do you know where I could look?"
He felt embarrassed asking.
He had been too young when everything happened. He barely understood his own family's history.
Kobayashi immediately wrote down two addresses.
"One is the official hero registry site. Every licensed hero is listed there, along with basic information."
She wrote the second.
"This is a popular hero forum. People post analyses, case reports, discussions. If you want more detail, that's where you'll find it."
To make things easier, she arranged for a laptop to be brought in and even helped him register an account.
They searched together.
First, his family name.
Nothing.
Just scattered results, ads, irrelevant posts.
Then they tried another keyword.
"Fallen heroes."
Old threads appeared.
Most of them centered on the incident in Kita Bay City ten years ago.
"Maybe professional hero records update faster…" Kobayashi said, a little apologetic.
Public attention tended to focus on the strongest heroes.
Names like All Might and Endeavor dominated every discussion.
Healing-type heroes were different.
They worked in the background.
Rarely seen.
Rarely talked about.
Kobayashi tried a different search.
"Healing-type heroes."
This time, something came up.
A thread.
"Discussion: Healing-Type Heroes"
Inside, someone had compiled detailed information.
Four names.
Four quirks.
Kuro's family.
His great-grandfather's [Return to Soul].
His second great-grandfather's [Life Renewal].
His grandfather's [State Replacement].
And his father's [Blood Recovering Price].
Each entry listed strengths, weaknesses, notable events.
And how each of them died.
None of the endings were peaceful.
The images were blurred.
Censored.
Still enough to understand what had happened.
These were the heroes of the Kurose family.
Kuro read through everything.
Carefully.
Silently.
Then he began saving the images.
One by one.
The faces matched the people he had seen in his dream.
Exactly.
Borrowing quirks…?
That didn't make sense.
It was easier to believe something else.
That his parents had left something behind.
A way for him to understand them.
"Are you… okay?" Kobayashi asked.
"I'm fine."
She nodded.
Then she handed him the laptop.
"Your father was a good man," she said. "I believe you'll grow into someone just like him. A great healing-type hero."
"…Thank you."
A healing-type hero.
Was that really the path left for him?