Ultra Responsibility (My Hero Academia X Spider-Man Reader)

Issue 32 - Breaking News Part 2

Hosu City looked like it never slept, just blinked.

Neon bled across wet pavements. Sirens stitched themselves into the air in the distance, then vanished like someone had muted the world for a second. From up here, perched on the lip of a high-rise, the streets were a living circuit board. Cars flowed. People pulsed. Lights flickered in rhythms that made my brain itch.

And somewhere down there, in all that noise, was a man who hunted heroes like it was a religion.

Stain.

I'd heard the stories, of course. Everyone had. You couldn't be in Japan and not know the whispered tally: names, bodies, careers ended in the dark. The Hero Killer wasn't just a criminal, he was a headline with teeth.

I'd always told myself that if I ever crossed paths with him, I'd stop him.

Not because I wanted glory. Not because I wanted to be the guy who did it. Just... because someone had to.

And now Kraven had practically gift-wrapped the opportunity and shoved it into my hands.

Which would've been funny if it didn't also make my stomach feel like it was trying to crawl out of my throat.

I shifted my weight on the building edge, boots scraping grit, and forced my breathing to slow. The brown suit Kraven gave me hugged tight under my hoodie, all light armour and hunter styling. It moved like it wanted to be used. Like it was eager.

I wasn't.

This wasn't my mission. Not really.

This was me walking a tightrope with two different lunatics holding the ends of the rope, and if I slipped, the people I loved would be the ones hitting the ground.

My phone buzzed.

I stared at it for half a second like it might bite, then answered and flicked the call straight into the little earpiece tucked under my mask.

"Alright," I murmured, keeping my voice low. "Shoot your shots."

Peni's voice came through, crisp and annoyed in the way only family could manage. "How's the situation going?"

I scanned the rooftops, the fire escapes, the empty alleys. Every shadow suddenly looked like it could be listening. "I'm not... I'm not saying much out loud," I admitted. "I don't know if Kraven's tapped into my phone. But I've got my first hunt."

There was a beat of silence. Then Peni, instantly worst-case scenario: "Please tell me your first hunt isn't a high-ranking politician. Or someone running for mayor. Or... I don't know, Wilson Fisk."

I almost laughed, but it came out as a dry breath. "Relax. It's actually right down my street." I swallowed, then said it anyway. "What do we have on Stain?"

Peni went quiet again, the kind of quiet where you could hear her frowning through the speaker. "You're really going after the Hero Killer?"

"Yep."

"Y/N," she said, and my name sounded like a warning label. "That isn't some run-of-the-mill serial killer. Stain has an agenda. He hates pros. He's killed good ones."

"Well," I muttered, hopping down to a lower ledge and crouching, "good thing I'm an illegal vigilante and not on the government payroll."

"That is not the comforting argument you think it is."

I peered over the edge at the street. A couple walked past, laughing, unaware. A taxi honked. A kid waved a sparkler-like toy that left little trails of light. Hosu felt normal until you remembered it wasn't.