At 6 AM, Tokyo's streets remained mostly empty, except for the early birds preparing for another day. Shop owners started rolling up their shutters while delivery workers and part timers delivered the newspapers, their headlines already buzzing with the previous night's events.
Kazama Raiden walks these streets with careful strides, heading towards Tokyo Super High—the number one school in Japan for individuals known as The Awakened. In this world, everyone was born powerless. But roughly 30% of the population carried a dormant gene that activated around age nine, granting them unique abilities. The origins of this phenomenon remained a mystery to this day. Some say its evolution, some say its a gift from a higher being.
Out of those Awakened, only 10% bore a strange, glowing mark somewhere on their body. Those marked were known to have access to a legendary one-time power: The Ultimate Ability. But the cost? Once used, their powers began to fade until they were gone entirely.
My name is Kazama Raiden. First-year super student at Tokyo Super High by day and a relentless vigilante by night.
My power is electricity manipulation. But despite what I'm capable of, I still walk to school like everyone else. That's because power use is tightly regulated, especially for those underage.
Students are required to wear power-dampening bracelets, standard protocol across all institutions. They suppress our abilities during school hours unless activated under supervision during tests or some exercise.
Outside school grounds, it's even more restrictive. Only those with a proper Hero License are permitted to use their powers freely. A way to get one is attending schools like Tokyo Super High.
For others, powers must remain contained. There are exceptions like self-defense, or preventing imminent harm but anything outside that is punishable. The rules are clear.
I've studied the city for about 2 years. I know where the rules are light… and where it's absolute. It's the only way I can move at night without drawing attention.
And as to why I am a vigilante by night is a story for another day.
Glancing at his watch, Kazama realized something unusual.
I have some time today before I make it to school. I am usually late because of my late night expeditions. But after last night's showdown, for some reason I couldn't catch any sleep.
This vigilante work is starting to wear me down. It sharpens my instincts, gives me real experience no classroom can offer, brings the best out of my abilities but it comes at a cost. Sleep is rare. And keeping up with school… becomes harder each day.
As he continued walking, TVs in shop windows caught his attention. The morning news displayed headlines about the previous night's incident: "Rogue showdown in an alley." Another screen showed a different story: "Shirai Takeru saves 15 from a collapsing building."
Kazama looked at the headlines and walked through.
Not the first time my actions made it to the morning headlines. Still it might be worth checking the area again. Could be something I missed. The place'll probably be under surveillance but this early in the day, security might be thin. The place is a bit far. He looked around. And I can't use my powers. But that wouldn't stop me.
Kazama tightened his bag straps, adjusted his shoes and uniform, and slipped into an alleyway. He began jumping over walls and executing short sprints in parkour style toward the area of last night's showdown.
Somewhere across the streets, a girl walked lost in her own thoughts, the prettiest in her grade and the most curious, Tachibana Takemi exhaled deeply.
Oh God, I couldn't sleep at all last night. And the day was so exhausting as well. It's so hard trying to keep up with everything. And today I have club duties as well. She exhaled again.
She noticed the same headlines on the sidelines about last night's incident.
Thinking about it. It's not very far from here. And I have got some time. But I don't think it's a good idea to check it out. I mean the authorities are probably already handling it and...
Her thoughts were interrupted when she spotted a group of people, including an elderly woman, about to cross the road as a careless biker came speeding toward them.
Shit the light is about to go red and I need to deliver this package to my boss or else I will miss the deadline again. I guess if I speed up a bit more I can make it in time, the biker thought to himself.
The biker fully twists the accelerator with no intention of stopping.
He is not stopping. He might hit those pedestrians.
Takemi's eyes glowed white as she slowly raised her right hand, controlling her force fields to stop the biker. The invisible barriers put pressure on the brakes and tires, making the bike perform a stoppie just before the zebra crossing as the pedestrians began to cross. The biker falls forward in a comedic manner.
"What the fuck? Ah shit. I didn't see these people from afar. But how did my bike stop suddenly?" The biker got off and started checking his bike.
"Phew. That was close." As Takemi lowered her arm and her eyes returned to normal, she noticed a gust of wind as someone in a school uniform ran behind her.
She was alarmed and turned to look back.
That's… someone with our school's uniform. And he is not heading towards the school? With such urgency? Could be some part time job. A really important job it seems.
She began walking away, thinking it was nothing. But then she stopped and reconsidered.
But wait. In that direction, is that last night's incident. I mean it could mean anything. But I want to be sure. Like who is he and more importantly why is someone from our school going to that area?
She turned back and looked on.
Kazama jumped over a couple of walls again, his parkour moves were fluid and practiced. As he landed in a narrow street, a small spotted cat darted out from between shops directly into the path of an oncoming cyclist. The rider takes a hard right to avoid the animal, his front wheel catching the edge of a pothole. The bike wobbled violently, sending him towards a barrier for a collision.
Without breaking stride, Kazama caught the cyclist's shoulder and steadied the handlebars, helping him regain control. The man looked back with appreciation but Kazama had already disappeared around the corner, continuing his sprint toward the incident site.
The cat, meanwhile, sat calmly on the sidewalk, grooming its paw as if nothing had happened.
Kazama reaches the spot. He looks around and starts to wonder.
There is not much going on here which is weird. Thought this area would have some policemen and some barriers at least. Guess the police didn't find anything then.
He quickly checked around, trying to look for any clues. Something shiny caught his attention from across the street.
As he attempted to cross, he ran into a hero wearing a black jacket, someone who looked at him for a second and then gave a creepy smile. Kazama's expression turned annoyed, knowing this could be a problem.
The hero's jacket displayed a ranking emblem: 47. Kujou Tanaka, the 47th-ranked hero in all of Japan.
The morning air seemed to grow tense as the two faced each other both with their own set of agendas.
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