Chapter 261 - 260: Known

Thirty days had passed since twenty-five chemical weapons vanished from the face of the earth in two minutes and fourteen seconds.

When All Might retired in Kamino a year earlier, a quiet fear had settled over the public, leaving citizens wondering who would hold the sky up when the next disaster struck.

That question no longer existed.

Across breakfast tables in Tokyo, subway platforms in London, and coffee shops in Cairo, a single name dominated every conversation about global security.

Hero X had become the new benchmark of the era.

Along with his rise, the X Agency and its commercial subsidiary, Canvas Construction, saw their public profile explode overnight.

--<>--

Location: Musutafu, Japan - Danjuro Tobita's Apartment

Time: Three Weeks Ago

CLINK.

Setting a porcelain teacup down on a stack of old books, Danjuro Tobita adjusted his posture and stared at the glowing computer monitor across the small room.

Sitting hunched over her custom keyboard in a pink hoodie, Manami Aiba tapped rapidly on the keys, her dark eye-bags heavy from pulling an all-nighter as eight different video feeds played across her dual screens.

"...My dear La Brava, play that transition between the Paris plaza and the Manhattan skyscraper one more time," Danjuro requested, resting a hand over his chest.

CLICK.

Manami hit the spacebar, rewinding the timeline of her editing software by four seconds.

On the monitor, a high-definition satellite clip showed Hero X dropping out of the French sky to snap a bomb into chalk art, cutting right on the snare drum beat to a New York lobby camera where he stepped out of a shattered window.

"...The rhythm is impeccable," Danjuro whispered, wiping a tiny tear from the corner of his eye with a folded handkerchief. "...For years, I dreamed of recording a video that would etched our names into history, yet look at this man, La Brava! He turned a global hostage crisis into a live music video!"

Swiveling around in her chair, Manami hugged her knees to her chest and looked up at him with wide, shining eyes.

"...He's the only Pro Hero in history with his own theme song, Gentle!" Manami gushed, pointing a finger back at the audio tracks on her monitor. "...When I scraped the WHA satellite servers last night, I found out the music wasn't added in post-production... he actually broadcasted the track straight out of the clouds across twenty-five countries!"

"...A true gentleman of the stage understands presentation," Danjuro declared, raising a finger toward the ceiling. "...Still, the television networks are ruining his artistry by chopping the clips up with boring news anchors talking over the chorus! Someone must assemble the complete two-minute and fourteen second performance for the public!"

"...I already pulled the street cam angles from Brazil, Singapore, Egypt, and Otheon!" Manami said, grinning from ear to ear as she turned back to her mouse. "...I synced every single finger snap to the bass drops and boosted the audio quality! Should I upload it to our channel right now?!"

Resting a gloved hand gently on her shoulder, Danjuro nodded with a warm smile.

"...Post it to the world, La Brava," Danjuro said softly. "...Forget breaking into convenience stores for views... if we want to run a real video channel, curating the legend of Hero X is a much finer way to drink our afternoon tea."

BEEP.

Manami clicked the upload button, titled the video [Hero X - Whole New Type of Hero (Full Global Sync)], and leaned back as the view counter jumped past a hundred thousand in the first ninety seconds.

By the end of the week, that single video had crossed eight hundred million views.

--<>--

Time: Present | Saturday, 11:30 AM

RUSTLE.

Carrying two paper grocery bags tucked against her hip, Makoto Tsukauchi walked down the sunlit sidewalk enjoying the cool weekend breeze.

Since it was Saturday morning, the local elementary schools were closed, and the small park on the corner of the block echoed with the shouting of neighborhood children.

"[We're that whole new type of hero, hero~]"

Hearing the familiar chorus playing from a portable speaker on a park bench, Makoto slowed her footsteps and glanced through the iron fence.

Five little boys around four and five years old were running around the sandbox, each of them wearing their fathers' oversized silk neckties clipped crookedly over their cartoon t-shirts.

Propped up against a juice box on the bench was a tablet playing Gentle and La Brava's viral video edit on loop.

"Wait, wait, you guys are doing the timing all wrong!" a five-year-old boy in a red necktie shouted, climbing on top of the plastic slide and striking a relaxed pose with one hand shoved into his shorts pocket. "Hero X doesn't yell when he beats the bad guys! He just smiles and does this!"

Raising his tiny right hand, the boy tried his hardest to snap his fingers, producing a soft, clumsy smack of his thumb against his palm.

"Snap!" the boy yelled out anyway, pointing down at his friends. "Boom! You're all sidewalk drawings now! No unpaid overtime!"

"Aww, no fair, Kenji! It's my turn to be Hero X!" another kid whined, tugging on his blue clip-on tie as the group burst into giggles.

Standing outside the fence, Makoto couldn't stop a warm, fond smile from spreading across her face.

'Back when we were kids, every little boy on the playground used to puff out his chest and yell "I am here" like All Might,' Makoto thought, adjusting her grip on the grocery bags. 'Now they're wearing neckties and practicing finger snaps.'

Watching the children copy her boyfriend's casual posture, she felt a quiet wave of pride settle into her chest.

In the original reality where she and Kaito were born, Hero X had been an untouchable urban legend for over a decade while Kaito worked his daytime job as a civilian Golden Manager.

When they travel to this reality two months ago, she had been the one to suggest that to spread the legend of Hero X here.

'Though if Kaito had actually gone to hero school and debuted as a pro back in our original world, our lives would've gone in completely different directions,' Makoto mused, starting back down the sidewalk as her heels clicked against the pavement. 'He wouldn't have taken that consulting gig and live in Naruhata, and I never would've bumped into him while I was looking for Naruhata Vigilante.'

Thinking about how their paths had crossed because of his love for a consultation made her grin even wider.

She loved the history they built in their old world, and watching him inspire a brand-new generation in the sunlight here felt like getting the best of both lifetimes.

Peeking down into her paper bag at the fresh vegetables and pork cutlets she'd bought for lunch, Makoto let out a tiny, playful sigh.

'The only downside to this timeline is that Kaito hasn't opened up a Golden Bites chain yet,' Makoto complained to herself, missing the crispy fried chicken from his fast-food empire. 'Still, considering how crazy Canvas Construction has been since the Humarise raid, recreating the business model is a bit redundant...'

As the glass skyscraper of the X Agency came into view three blocks ahead, her mind drifted back to the corporate storm that had hit their office two weeks ago.

--<>--

Location: The X Agency, Tokyo - Conference Room

Time: Two Weeks Ago

SLIDE.

Pushing a stack of gold-embossed partnership contracts back across the polished conference table, Makoto folded her hands neatly over her blazer and smiled at the twelve corporate executives sitting across from her.

"Thank you all for coming down from Mitsubishi, Sumitomo, and the European trade board today," Makoto said smoothly, her voice carrying the seasoned authority of a woman who had managed the Number Four Hero O'Clock and worked beside Kaito for years. "However, as I mentioned in my email yesterday, Canvas Construction isn't selling equity shares or going public on the Tokyo Stock Exchange."

Sitting near the center of the table, an older conglomerate director wiped his forehead with a silk pocket square and leaned forward.

"...Miss Manager, please reconsider!" the director urged, gesturing toward the financial charts on the wall. "...We're offering five hundred million dollars for just a three-percent stake! Once the world saw Hero X materialize entire structures with a snap of his fingers, every construction and aerospace stock on the market plummeted unless they were tied to your office!"

"Which is why we're more than happy to take your building commissions directly," Makoto replied without missing a beat, tapping her pen against a blue folder. "Hero X left all corporate structuring in my hands, and our policy is simple... Canvas Construction stays one hundred percent privately owned, and we only accept upfront service contracts for large-scale infrastructure, shipyards, and experimental facilities."

Seeing that the young woman across the table couldn't be intimidated or bought out, the twelve executives exchanged helpless glances before pulling out their fountain pens to sign the standard client agreements instead.

Two days after the conglomerate heads left, an even louder group of visitors arrived on the agency's rooftop helipad.

THUD.

Stepping through the double doors of the top-floor reception room in her red, white, and blue cape, America's Number One Hero, Cathleen Bate; Star and Stripe looked around the office with a wide, booming grin while Commander Agpar and four uniformed US Air Force fighter pilots walked in behind her.

"Aha! So this is the famous Tokyo nest where the music comes from!" Cathleen laughed, resting her muscular hands on her hips as her eight-foot frame towered over the leather couches.

Standing up from the sofa with two steaming mugs in his hands, Kaito walked straight over to her with a warm, familiar smile.

"Welcome to Tokyo, Star and Stripes," Kaito said easily, handing her an oversized mug of black coffee mixed with three shots of espresso and a dash of cinnamon before gesturing toward the couch. "And Commander Agpar, right? Make yourselves comfortable... I already told the building kitchen to bring up a platter of Texas-style brisket sandwiches for your flight crew."

Taking the mug automatically, Cathleen took a sip, blinked twice as the cinnamon hit her tongue, and stared down at Kaito with her blue eyes narrowing in sheer bewilderment.

"...Hold on a second, kid," Cathleen said, lowering the cup as Commander Agpar and the pilots froze behind her. "I never told your receptionist how I take my coffee, and how did you know the boys were craving brisket..."

"...because whenever Agpar flies across the Pacific, he complains about Japanese portion sizes for three days straight," Kaito finished smoothly, grinning as he sat down in the armchair across from her.

"...That's spooky as hell, man!" one of the fighter pilots blurted out, pointing a finger at Kaito while nudging Ethan ribs. "Cap, did you leak our cockpit chat logs to the Japanese commission?!"

"...I've never spoken to the man in my life!" Ethan Drive protested, rubbing his bald head.

Sitting down on the reinforced sofa, Cathleen leaned her elbows on her knees and squinted hard at Kaito's face.

'In my original timeline, Cathleen and her sister practically see me as their younger brother whenever I visited California,' Kaito thought fondly, taking a sip of his own tea. 'Seeing her completely healthy and full of energy here makes the trip worth it.'

"...Do we know each other from somewhere, Hero X?" Cathleen asked, scratching the back of her blonde curls with a puzzled laugh. "I swear I've never been to this office before, yet talking to you feels like bantering with an annoying little brother who raids my fridge every Sunday!"

"Maybe we just have compatible wavelengths, Star," Kaito chuckled, leaning back against the cushion. "So, did Washington send you all this way just to check if my Canvas Quirk has a limit, or did you bring some fun toys for me to build?"

Cathleen let out a hearty, booming laugh, slapping her knee so hard the coffee table rattled.

"Sharp as a tack!" Cathleen boomed, nodding toward Commander Agpar, who stepped forward and laid a heavy lockbox of digital blueprints onto the glass table. "Truth is, the Pentagon was in awe after watching you cure Salaam's Trigger poisoning in Cairo and jump twenty-five borders easily... they wanted me to shake your hand, make sure we're on friendly terms, and see if the rumors about your construction company are real."

Opening the lockbox, Agpar pulled out a wide schematic showing a fleet of sleek, next-generation stealth fighter jets designed specifically to fly in formation with Star and Stripe.

"...Our aerospace engineers designed the B-300 Valkyrie frame three years ago," Agpar explained, tapping the turbine diagrams. "...The problem is, machining the titanium-carbon alloy wings without microscopic weld seams takes four years per plane. Can your Quirk really pull a finished aircraft straight out of a blueprint?"

Kaito leaned forward, scanning the structural specifications on the blueprint for five seconds before raising his right hand.

"Your engineers overcomplicated the intake manifold on the left thruster, so I'll clean that up for you," Kaito said casually, lining up his thumb and middle finger. "Check the runway at Yokota Air Base when you fly back this afternoon... ten completed jets are parked outside Hangar Four right now."

SNAP.

At the crisp sound of his fingers, the blueprint sheet glowed faintly blue for a split second as the spatial coordinate linked directly to the American airbase on the edge of Tokyo.

Pulling out his military satellite phone, Commander Agpar dialed the base tower, listened to the frantic shouting on the other end for three seconds, and dropped his jaw so low his cigar nearly fell out of his mouth.

"...Ten planes... sitting on the tarmac with zero weld seams," Agpar whispered, staring at Kaito like he was looking at a ghost.

Grinning from ear to ear, Cathleen stood up and held out her massive right hand across the table.

"Alright, now I definitely want a friendly spar with you next time my schedule clears up!" Cathleen declared, gripping Kaito's hand in a firm shake. "Everyone in the States calls me Star and Stripes, though my real name's Cathleen Bate! Since we're gonna be working together, what do I call you off the clock?"

"Nice to meet you again, Cathleen," Kaito smiled, looking straight into her eyes. "My name's [BLEEP!]."

BZZT!

Right as Kaito's lips formed the words Kaito Arisaka, a loud, sharp burst of static echoed inside the ears of Cathleen, Commander Agpar, the four pilots, and even Mirai and Tsunagu standing by the back wall.

Cathleen blinked, tilting her head to the side as she tapped her ear with her free hand.

"...Wait, what was that?" Cathleen asked, looking back at her pilots. "Did somebody just blow an air horn, or did his name sound like radio static to you guys too?"

"It sounded like a television censor bleep, Cathy," Ethan said, rubbing his ears in total bewilderment. "Try saying it again..."

"Sure, it's [BLEEP!]," Kaito repeated cheerfully, his Quirk's passive cognitive rule automatically scrubbing the sound waves before they could register in anyone's brain except Makoto's.

When Cathleen and her pilots stared at him with wide, baffled eyes, Kaito just shrugged his shoulders with an easy, playful grin.

"What can I say? It's a superhero thing... gotta keep the secret identity anonymous," Kaito joked lightly.

Cathleen stared at him for two seconds before throwing her head back and roaring with laughter.

"Hahaha! Fair enough, Hero X! Keep your secrets, little bro!"

--<>--

Location: The X Agency, Tokyo - Front Lobby & Top Floor Office

Time: Present | Saturday, 12:05 PM

DING.

Stepping out of the private elevator on the top floor with her grocery bags, Makoto smiled as she looked down through the interior glass atrium at the bustling Canvas Construction lobby below.

Dozens of foreign contractors and ministry clerks were waiting politely at the reception counters on the second floor.

Even though Canvas Construction was pulling in massive aerospace, shipyard, and skyscraper contracts from all over the world, Makoto and Kaito had put a strict floor on their pricing model from day one.

They refused to bid on any domestic project under a hundred million dollars, leaving all local roads, residential apartments, and municipal repairs to regular Japanese builders.

Because the global conglomerates were pouring so much money into Tokyo to work with the X Agency, smaller family-owned businesses across the country like the local construction company run by Ochaco Uraraka's parents hadn't lost a single client and were actually booming with subcontracting work.

Pushing open the heavy oak door to the back office, Makoto walked inside just as a familiar crisp sound echoed near the bookcase.

SNAP.

Stepping smoothly out of the flat oil painting hanging on the wall, Kaito brushed a tiny speck of sea salt off his white sleeve and loosened his dark necktie by an inch.

"Welcome back," Makoto called out, setting the grocery bags down on the side counter. "How was the suspension bridge project in Norway?"

"Cold, windy, and done in forty seconds," Kaito replied, smiling warmly as he walked over to help her unpack the lunch containers. "The Norwegian transport minister tried to invite me to a three-hour banquet, so I left a cardboard cutout of myself at the ribbon-cutting ceremony and ducked out early."

Standing over by the main tracking desk with two digital ledgers in their hands, Mirai Sasaki and Tsunagu Hakamada hadn't moved an inch since Kaito stepped out of the painting.

Both veteran heroes were staring down at the green financial numbers glowing on their tablets with completely blank, dazed expressions.

"...Hey, Kudo, Tanaka, lunch is ready if you guys want pork cutlets," Kaito said, waving a pair of chopsticks toward them. "...Are the tablets frozen again?"

"...They aren't frozen, X," Mirai said slowly, his voice sounding like a man who had just forgotten how basic math worked as he turned the screen toward Kaito. "...Tanaka and I just finished reconciling the first month's wire transfers from the European shipping conglomerates, the Saudi desalination plants, and the United States Department of Defense."

Swallowing hard behind his high denim collar, Tsunagu pointed at the bottom line of the spreadsheet.

"...Because every foreign client paid upfront in US dollars, and because your Quirk doesn't require us to buy steel, pour concrete, or hire ten thousand construction workers... our overhead cost for the past thirty days was zero," Tsunagu murmured, his eyes wide above his mask. "...Do you have any idea what our net profit is for this month alone?"

"Enough to pay the electric bill?" Kaito joked lightly, popping a piece of pickled radish into his mouth.

"...Four point eight billion dollars," Mirai stated flatly, adjusting his glasses with two fingers as his hand shook slightly. "...Not yen, X. Four billion, eight hundred million US dollars... sitting in our corporate clearing account after taxes."

Tsunagu let out a long, hollow laugh, leaning his hip against the edge of the glass table.

"...I spent fifteen years in the Top Ten running one of the largest hero agencies in Japan with seventy sidekicks and a national clothing line," Tsunagu admitted, shaking his head in total defeat. "...Even if we combined every single yen of top ten heroes in japan earned for a month, it wouldn't equal what you just made in four weeks of snapping your fingers."

"...It really puts traditional hero stipends to shame," Mirai agreed dryly, closing his ledger and picking up two of the lunch boxes from the counter. "...Come on, Tanaka. Let's eat in the break corner while I figure out how to report this to the tax bureau without giving the auditor a heart attack."

Nodding in a daze, Tsunagu took his lunch box and followed Mirai over to the small dining table on the far side of the room, where the two veterans sat down and began chatting quietly over their rice, completely minding their own business.

Walking over to the floor-to-ceiling window overlooking the sunny Tokyo skyline, Makoto stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Kaito, holding up her own chopsticks with an amused sparkle in her eyes.

"...Four point eight billion dollars in thirty days," Makoto whispered softly so only Kaito could hear her. "...You know, back in our own reality, you were the most famous Golden Manager in the industry, and it still took you years of nonstop corporate grinding to hit your first billion."

Taking a sip of his cold green tea, Kaito let out a low, quiet laugh as he looked down at the tiny cars moving along the avenues below.

Well, the stolen money from All For One doesn't count.

"...Hey, it was never just about piling up numbers in a bank account," Kaito whispered back, leaning his shoulder gently against hers. "...It's about having fun with what we're doing. Back home, I genuinely loved being the Golden Manager. Coaching pros, fixing messy agencies, and keeping Hero X as a vigiliante on the side."

Turning his head, he looked down at Makoto with a soft, affectionate expression.

"...Here, we're trying a different flavor," Kaito added quietly.

Makoto rested her head briefly against his upper arm, looking out at a huge digital billboard across the district that was currently playing a clip of him waving to the crowd in Otheon.

"...Today marks two full months since we landed in this world," Makoto murmured, a gentle smile curving her lips. "...Walking past the park earlier, I saw a bunch of little kids wearing clip-on ties and snapping their fingers just like you. Seeing the light of Hero X carry over into this reality and make people feel safe... it makes me really happy, Kaito."

"...Yeah, well, when I was going through my chuunibyou phase as a kid, I used to practice in front of the bedroom mirror wishing I had cool background music," Kaito admitted with a sheepish grin. "...So I guess my six-year-old self is finally getting his money's worth."

Seeing no one was looking their way while Mirai and Tsunagu debated tax brackets over their miso soup in the corner, Kaito leaned down and pressed a soft, lingering kiss against Makoto's warm cheek.

Makoto's cheeks turned a faint pink, and she linked her pinky finger quietly with his against the windowsill, the two of them sharing their own private world high above the city.

DING-DONG!

Suddenly, the soft chime of the building's internal security system echoed from the ceiling speakers.

[Pardon the interruption, Boss, Miss Makoto,] the smooth, synthesized voice of the building's AI, Eve, announced through the office intercom. [Pro Hero Mirko has just arrived at the ground-floor entrance.]

Down on the first floor, the heavy reinforced glass doors of the lobby practically shook on their hinges as they were shoved wide open.

BANG!

[Yo, X! I'm here again] Mirko's booming voice echoed straight through the lobby microphones and up into the office speakers.

Over at the break table, Tsunagu nearly choked on his pork cutlet, while Mirai sighed and reached for the intercom mute button.

Standing by the window, Makoto burst into a quiet giggle, nudging Kaito's ribs with her elbow as she looked up at him with a teasing smirk.

"...You know, I'm starting to think it's a really good thing I confessed to you first" Makoto teased under her breath, glancing toward the ceiling speaker where Mirko was still yelling for a spar. "...lf I'd waited another month back home, the Mirko in our reality probably would've claimed you as her boyfriend. Or maybe Midnight, Ms Joke, Uwabami and others."

"..." Kaito didn't know what to say.

--<>--

Support the journey here:

patreon.com/Dr_Chad

(9 Advanced Chapters)