MHA: SHADOWS IN UA

Kenji's boots pounded against the pavement as he weaved through the dark alleyways, the silhouette of his target flickering just ahead.

The suspect moved fast—faster than Kenji had anticipated for someone with such a scrawny build but Kenji's instincts screamed that this was their guy.

He hadn't seen the face clearly, just the silhouette and the way he moved, but it matched the uneasy feeling in his gut. He gritted his teeth, forcing his aching legs to push harder.

The radio on his shoulder crackled to life, but he ignored it, too focused on the chase.

He knew Ruki and the others were still holding down the scene, trying to control the chaos caused by the Trigger-enhanced villains.

The suspect glanced over his shoulder, eyes wide with panic, and cut sharply to the right.

Kenji cursed under his breath and followed, sliding around the corner just in time to see the guy vault over a chain-link fence.

Without missing a beat, Kenji gathered momentum and leapt, catching the top of the fence and swinging himself over in one fluid motion.

Landing hard, he spotted the guy darting into an abandoned warehouse at the end of the alley.

Kenji slowed, assessing his surroundings, his instincts on high alert. Something about this didn't feel right.

He pressed a hand to his side, wincing as pain flared from a bruise forming under his ribs. He must've taken more hits earlier than he thought.

He moved cautiously to the warehouse entrance, slipping inside through a broken side door.

The place was a maze of crates and rusted machinery, with shadows stretching long in the dim moonlight filtering through shattered windows. Kenji strained his ears, listening for any hint of movement.

Then he heard it—the rapid, shallow breathing of someone trying to stay quiet. He crept forward, pushing past stacks of wooden pallets. When he rounded the corner, the suspect lunged at him with a rusty pipe, swinging wildly.

Kenji ducked under the first swing and stepped in, grabbing the man's wrist and twisting it behind his back. The pipe clattered to the floor.

"Gotcha" Kenji grunted, trying to cuff him.

But the man bucked violently, throwing his head backward and catching Kenji in the chin.

Stunned, Kenji stumbled, and the suspect broke free, whirling around and slamming a desperate punch into Kenji's gut.

The impact knocked the wind out of him, but he recovered fast, blocking the next blow and driving his knee into the guy's ribs.

The suspect dropped to one knee, wheezing, but didn't stay down for long. His hand shot into his jacket pocket, and before Kenji could react, he pulled out a vial of Trigger.

"Don't!" Kenji shouted, but the man had already injected himself, his eyes going bloodshot as his veins bulged grotesquely.

Kenji barely had time to brace before the guy roared and lashed out with his hand, sending a concussive wave that blasted Kenji off his feet.

He crashed into a pile of crates, wood splintering around him. Groaning, he struggled to push himself up, but the villain was already charging, his hands glowing with a crimson aura.

"So... you had a quirk after all," Kenji muttered, wiping blood from his mouth. "Guess you were hiding it before, huh?"

The villain grinned, his eyes wild and unfocused. "Pathetic quirk that just made little bursts of air... But now...now I might level buildings!"

Kenji steadied himself, raising his fists. "Enhanced or not, you're not getting out of here."

The villain snarled, slamming his fists into the ground and sending a shockwave that made the floor buckle.

Kenji leapt to the side, narrowly avoiding being crushed as the concrete erupted.

Using his momentum, Kenji darted forward, every step faster than the last. Kinetic Step—his quirk was kicking in, the familiar rush of speed coursing through his legs.

He moved in a blur, closing the gap and driving his fist toward the villain's jaw. The blow landed, snapping the man's head to the side, but he barely flinched.

The villain grinned, swiping his arm in a wide arc. Kenji ducked under it, his senses heightened as he weaved around another concussive strike that splintered the floorboards.

He danced around the attacks, circling the villain and striking at weak points—kidneys, jaw, the side of the neck—but it was like hitting a concrete wall.

"C'mon, that all you got?!" the villain taunted, slamming both hands down to unleash a shockwave that cracked the floor.

Kenji sprang back, the force barely missing him, but it sent dust and debris flying everywhere.

Kinetic Step kept building, his movements getting smoother, faster. Kenji used the increased momentum to leap onto a pile of crates, springboarding off and spinning in midair to deliver a kick to the side of the villain's head.

The impact made the man stagger, and Kenji landed on his feet, sliding back into a ready stance.

The villain glared, wiping a trickle of blood from his mouth. "You little gnat... You think you're tough just 'cause you're fast?"

Kenji didn't answer, focusing instead on maintaining his momentum. He zigzagged around the villain, forcing him to swing and miss repeatedly, tiring him out.

But the villain snarled and unleashed another concussive blast, this time spreading it in a wide arc that caught Kenji's side and sent him crashing into a stack of metal pipes.

Groaning, he pushed himself to his knees, only to see the villain stalk toward him, the aura around his hands growing denser.

The guy was getting better at controlling it, focusing the concussive force like compressed bursts.

Kenji couldn't afford to slow down. He kicked off the ground again, building momentum as he circled the warehouse, bouncing off walls and weaving between obstacles.

The villain kept unleashing blast after blast, but Kenji stayed just ahead of them, his body thrumming with built-up speed.

He spotted an opening and lunged forward, using his momentum to slide under a wild swing and deliver a low kick to the villain's knee, forcing him off balance.

Capitalizing on the moment, Kenji spun around and struck the guy's ribs with a rapid flurry of punches, each hit packing more force thanks to his increased speed.

The villain grunted, staggering back, but then his lips twisted into a crazed grin. "Not bad... But not good enough!"

Before Kenji could react, the guy pulled out another vial of Trigger from his jacket and jammed it into his neck.

Kenji's eyes widened as the villain convulsed, his veins bulging even more grotesquely. His muscles swelled, and his aura deepened to a sickly red hue, pulsing with energy.

"Two doses? You're gonna kill yourself!" Kenji shouted, but the villain didn't seem to hear, his mind completely drowned in power and madness.

The villain screamed, slamming his fists into the ground, and the warehouse floor erupted, sending jagged chunks of concrete flying. Kenji tried to dash back, but the force clipped his leg, throwing him to the side.

He barely had time to roll before a massive blast shattered the support beam above him, raining debris.

Kenji forced himself to his feet, his breathing ragged and his vision swimming. His momentum had drained from the impact, and his legs ached with bruises.

He tried to kick off the ground again, but the villain was on him in an instant, grabbing his arm and crushing it in an iron grip.

"Agh—!" Kenji gritted his teeth, but the pain was overwhelming. The villain pulled him closer, laughing as he squeezed harder. "

"Pathetic... Think you can outrun power like this?"

Kenji gathered his strength and kicked at the guy's ribs, but the villain barely reacted, yanking him off his feet and slamming him into the floor. Stars danced in Kenji's vision as he coughed up blood, his arm twisted at a brutal angle.

The villain loomed over him, raising his fist, his aura gathering for a final, skull-crushing blow. Kenji couldn't move, his limbs too battered to respond. He could only watch as the fist came down.

The villain's fist came crashing down, but Kenji barely managed to jerk his head to the side, the ground splintering where his skull had been.

He twisted his body to roll away, but the villain grabbed his ankle and swung him like a ragdoll, smashing him into a pile of crates.

Kenji coughed up blood, his vision swimming as he tried to crawl away. He couldn't feel his left arm, and pain shot through his ribs with every breath.

His Kinetic Step had worn off, leaving his movements sluggish and unsteady.

"Where's all that speed now?" the villain sneered, stomping toward him. "You cops think you're so tough... always looking down on us. But look at you now, pathetic!"

Kenji braced himself against a crate, using his good arm to push himself up. His legs trembled, but he forced himself to stand.

The villain didn't even wait for him to get his balance, lunging forward and slamming his shoulder into Kenji's chest.

The impact knocked the wind out of him, sending him sprawling backward into a metal support beam.

Before he could recover, the villain was on him again, grabbing his collar and lifting him off the ground.

Kenji tried to pry the man's hands off, but his strength was gone—his fingers weak and trembling.

"You're nothing without your fancy footwork," the villain spat. "Thought you could just dance around me, huh? You're gonna pay for that."

Kenji couldn't stop himself from coughing more blood onto the villain's arm, his mind hazy from pain and exhaustion.

His thoughts wandered to memories of his old life, of the days before everything became so complicated.

"Damn it," he rasped, his vision dimming. "Still... got a job to do..."

The villain sneered and pulled a jagged metal pipe from the debris, twisting it in his hand with a wicked grin. "Let's see how fast you move with a hole in your gut!"

Before Kenji could react, the villain drove the pipe straight through his abdomen, pinning him to the metal beam.

Agonizing pain erupted through his body, and Kenji's scream echoed through the night. Blood gushed from the wound, staining his uniform and pooling at his feet.

The villain leaned in close, eyes wild and manic. "That's more like it... now you're not so cocky."

Kenji's hands weakly gripped the pipe, his vision swimming in and out of focus. His breaths came out as wet, rattling gasps, and his strength was fading fast. The villain pulled back, watching him with a satisfied smirk.

"Gonna bleed out soon," the villain taunted. "Guess I'll go find the rest of your buddies. Maybe they'll put up more of a fight than you did."

Kenji couldn't even lift his head as the villain turned away, his thoughts slipping into a hazy mess.

The pain was unbearable, but more than that—he hated the thought of dying like this. Weak. Helpless. Useless.

Just as his consciousness began to fade, a sudden gust of wind swept through the area, followed by a loud crash as the villain was sent flying into a wall.

Dust and debris scattered as the villain slumped to the ground, groaning in pain.

A low, rumbling hum filled the air—a sound that seemed to vibrate through the ground itself.

From the shadows, a figure stepped forward, bathed in the dim glow of the streetlamp.

He moved with a slow, deliberate grace, dark tendrils of energy coiling around his arms like living shadows. The air felt heavy, as if gravity itself had shifted in his presence.

Footsteps approached, but Kenji's vision was too blurry to make out the figure.

He managed a weak, breathless whisper. "W...who...?"

The figure knelt beside him, their voice low and calm. "Rest easy, old man. You did good but just hold on. I'm getting you out of here now."

Kenji couldn't even manage a response before his body went limp, his mind finally succumbing to darkness.

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