MHA: Dark Matter

[Togaru Masuda's Pov]

Togaru was a boring person.

No one had ever told him this or even hinted at it, but he considered himself one. He did not possess an outstanding intellect, a beautiful appearance, or the charm that attracts attention. His own Quirk was of little use anywhere. Weak manipulation of paper sheets, not even strong enough to restrain a child.

So he decided to simply go with the flow. Kindergarten, school, university, a job obtained thanks to relatives who held good positions in the Yaoyorozu conglomerate, an unremarkable and ordinary wife, children who had already started high school, a position as a department head.

One could say that his life had turned out well. And he would have agreed with that. But watching the countless heroes surrounded by fans, the businessmen and people who, thanks to their Quirks, earned more in a month than he could in a lifetime, the top managers of the conglomerate who could instantly get him fired if they wished, he felt envy and dissatisfaction.

His life seemed as gray as the jacket he wore to work. But he did not show it. He maintained the image of a model family man and an effective department head. And thanks to his relatives and accumulated experience, he had several useful connections.

Everything went as usual until one subordinate needed help. And she decided to pay in a very pleasant way. Togaru appreciated it and wanted more. Soon, he became quite adept at understanding the phenomenon of harassment. A word there, creating a problem here, brief touches, threats, and proposals.

The main thing was to choose the right targets and the right approach. And then Masuda could enjoy the female body. Those soft curves, the delicate skin of her thighs, her slightly plump lips. Failures happened, but the man was extremely cautious in his actions and knew when to back down.

And unfortunately for Togaru, he had made too grave a mistake with Yoshioka. The beautiful, lonely brunette with charming, slightly reddish eyes drove all the men in his department crazy. The woman's coldness and inaccessibility only fueled the desire to possess her. To enjoy the sight of her lustful little face and the sound of obscene moans from her mouth.

And he rushed, acted too roughly, miscalculated the pressure.

Now, sighing at the lost opportunity, he walked home. Despite his rather plain appearance and his wife's slightly plump figure, he highly valued her cooking, so he moved quickly toward their street, ignoring his surroundings. So he did not have time to register the sharp pain in his head, after which darkness fell.

The man woke up from the pain in his body, which was lying somewhere other than his bed, and from the cold. Before Masuda's eyes stood trees and the stars of the night sky, barely visible through their branches. Still feeling the pain in the back of his head, he looked around more carefully. Forest stretched all around him, with no sign of the city. A rising feeling of fear began to creep up from inside. Patting his pockets, an increasingly panicking Togaru could not find his phone.

"Isn't this what you're looking for?"

His smartphone fell in front of him, pierced straight through the middle by something. The invisible interlocutor's voice continued to reach him.

"You know, usually I don't care about people like you. People who use their position to satisfy their base desires and passions. I'm not a hero, and I have enough other problems. But it's because of your actions that my acquaintance got upset, which means I got upset too. I don't like being upset, and I like even less those who upset me and my acquaintance. So I wanted to play a little game with you…"

A voice with faint metallic echoes held the attention of the profusely sweating man. The invisible owner of this voice slowly circled Masuda before stopping in front of him.

"…The rules are simple. You have thirty minutes to escape from the forest. After thirty minutes, if you are still in the forest, you will receive a cut every minute. And each time, the cut will go deeper and deeper. So, you can run. Time has started."

A few days later, a group of tourists would find the dead body of the missing Togaru Masuda, abundantly covered in knife wounds. A medical examination would confirm that the victim had received mostly non fatal wounds but had died from massive blood loss.

[End Pov Togaru Masuda]

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I was in a great mood.

Mei and I had aced our trimester exams. Most of our subjects were in the exact sciences, so there were no problems. The most interesting exams, however, were for Midoriya's class. They had to face off against professional heroes who were also their teachers.

Out of curiosity, I even secretly copied the video of that exam from the school archive. Of course, it was stupid to risk it out of mere curiosity, but I had not had the opportunity before to see U.A.'s principal in action.

Principal Nezu's story was shrouded in mystery. He became known only after assuming the position of principal. His entire biography before that could be summed up in a few sentences. He was a rare example of an animal that had acquired a Quirk. He had previously been subjected to experiments. He was a professional hero. He had written and continued to write various scientific dissertations on education, management, and relationships in various collectives. That was it.

How did he become a professional hero? What did he do? Why did the government trust an animal that had been experimented on by humans enough to appoint him to the position of essentially the head of the number one hero academy, whose prestige and reputation had considerable influence not only in Japan but also in the world?

The uncertainty was unsettling. And it only grew after watching Nezu's fight with two first years, Mina Ashido and Denki Kaminari. A subtle, incredibly fast calculation of his actions, phenomenal memory allowing him to keep track of the layout of all objects on the Gamma field and effortlessly predict the first years' actions while allowing them to pass the test.

If an opponent like that learned about my abilities, it would be easy for him to come up with several plans to capture me. Opponents like him were the most inconvenient. And the most formidable, once they had information and time.

I looked at Melissa's message, brightly glowing on my smartphone screen. She was inviting me to visit I Island at the end of June. I had some plans for the summer break, but I didn't feel like refusing Melissa. And seeing the "Mecca" of all the world's scientists appealed to me.

It just so happened that an event was taking place on the island at that time, which would be attended by prominent scientists and delegations from many countries. I wasn't sure I could smuggle my villain costume in without any problems. But I wouldn't need it there. I wasn't stupid enough to commit crimes on an island whose security system rivaled Tartarus'.

I looked at the invitation again. I figured I could do everything I had planned and still fly to visit Melissa.

********A/N*******

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