Chapter 113

The wind in Japan felt colder than I remembered.

Or maybe that was just me.

Smoke curled into the broken skyline, the once-vibrant city reduced to shattered glass and burning streets. I stood atop a fallen billboard, cloaked in the shadows, the insignia of Dark Phantom barely visible beneath the black hood I wore.

Down below… it was chaos.

My classand class 1A—what was left of them—was locked in brutal combat. Riley hurled a wall of frost toward an incoming Nomu, while Marcus melted the ice into acid and launched it like a grenade. Eliza and Diamond were back-to-back, shielding a group of injured civilians with hardened walls and lightning-charged fists.

They were fighting like hell.

But they looked like they were losing.

Bakugo was collapsed under rubble, unconscious, his arm twisted unnaturally. Shoto was nearby, frozen flames flickering around him even as his body refused to move. And Izuku… he was nowhere to be found.

My little brother was gone.

And that terrified me more than anything.

I clenched my jaw, breathing slow. I wanted to dive in. To tear every Nomu limb from limb. But this wasn't the moment for emotion. Not yet. I had asked the vigilantes to stay hidden. To assist from the shadows, not draw attention.

And so, I watched.

Until I caught a flicker of movement in the ruins—green streaks and the shimmer of a light staff. Night Angel.

Kyu.

I moved silently across the wreckage and landed behind her, the shadows welcoming me like an old friend.

"Kyu," I whispered.

She turned, eyes wide for a heartbeat before relaxing. "Anos."

"You're still watching over them," I said.

"Of course," she replied. "You told us to. You didn't think we'd stop just because you vanished, did you?"

I didn't respond, just nodded, my gaze drifting back to the battlefield.

"We're doing what we can," Kyu continued. "But it's getting worse. The Nomu are changing. Stronger. Faster. They're not just weapons anymore. They're something else."

"I know," I murmured. "That's why I came back."

She placed a gentle hand on my arm. "You shouldn't go alone next time. We've lost enough already."

Her words dug deeper than she probably knew.

Later That Night – Vigilante Academy Hideout

The corridors of the Vigilante Academy were quiet—eerily so. Most of the students had been dispatched to help where they could. Only a few remained to keep the structure intact.

I found Shira alone in the briefing room, hunched over a map scattered with red pins and urgent notes. Her black suit clung to her frame like a second skin, and her red eyes narrowed as I stepped in.

She didn't even look up.

"You're an idiot," she said flatly.

I blinked. "Hello to you too."

"I said you're an idiot." This time she looked at me, and damn—her stare could cut steel. "Vanishing. Running off to poison yourself. Going through a chemical rebuild without a proper team. You're lucky you're still breathing."

"I did what I had to," I said.

She sighed and leaned back in the chair, tension radiating off her. "You could've told someone. You think we wouldn't have helped you? You think we wouldn't have followed you to the ends of the earth?"

I sat across from her, the silence between us heavier than before.

"I was scared," I admitted. "Not of the pain. Not of dying. I was scared that if I didn't do something—if I didn't change something—I'd keep watching the people I care about suffer. And I couldn't do that again."

Shira's gaze softened just a little. "You're still reckless. Still stubborn as hell. But I get it."

She stood and walked over to me, arms crossed.

"You survived," she said. "And now, you're going to fight. We all are."

I nodded, something flickering in my chest. Maybe not hope. Not yet.

But something close.