The Emperor's Dragon II

Above My Paygrade

The instant his friend, Hansou, came through the door of Misuborashi, Bokusen knew his time was up. He didn't stop to see who the hero following him was. Instead he vaulted over the bar, and rolled to go through the door to the small kitchen that was behind the bar. The heroes couldn't keep him safe! They hadn't kept the other's safe. Bokusen ignored the shout from behind him as he ran to the far door. If he could get out to the alleyway, then he could...

He wasn't really thinking beyond the moment. It was a surprise when he yanked open the back door and was confronted by green.

"Shit!"

It was only because, as Edge Dart, he was more than passingly fit that he avoided the grab that was made for him.

Bokusen had never seen the man before him but he knew who it was. Dragon.

He'd been a vigilante long enough to know that villains felt different from heroes. The guy at the back door felt like a villain.

Bokusen scrambled back and then realised he was trapped. He looked back and forth once, trying to think.

There really was no choice. One side would try to protect him while the other wanted him dead. He'd take the chance of life, even if he didn't think it was a good chance. Dragon had gotten to the others. He could only hope the Heroes had learned.

Bokusen barreled back through the kitchen door and slammed into the bar. It kept him upright and this time he got a look at the hero who'd come.

He froze. He thought he could be forgiven for freezing. No vigilante he'd ever heard of had All Might come after them. Bokusen almost didn't notice the door behind him crash open as Dragon raced after him and it was certainly no consolation that the pillar of the underworld seemed as surprised as he was.

The fact that All Might was surprised didn't even register. Bokusen threw himself down the bar, as his head snapped between the two. The other inhabitants in the bar raced for the door. Dragon and All Might ignored them but they became aware of each other at the same time.

There was an electric tension in the air that had nothing to do with quirks. As a vigilante Edge Dart could project his presence. He did when he took out villain support groups. It didn't always work but when it did, it gave him a longer time to use his quirk. But what he could do was nothing against the display he was feeling now.

Both Dragon and All Might projected the sense of their presence. Bokusen felt flattened and he thought All Might was a bit stronger but his presence was tinged with regret and Dragon wasn't backing down. It was only then that he realised how short Dragon was. All Might was over two metres tall. Dragon was a good half metre shorter than him but...

While he might feel slightly weaker, there was a grim determination to Dragon's presence.

"Young man, you don't-" All Might said, his voice full of regret.

"I just want him," Dragon replied confidently.

"It's not worth it, Young Man," All Might said firmly.

"Oh, and tell me what would have happened if I just left the others, if I just leave him to you?" There was a surprising note of challenge in his voice. And a sense that Dragon already knew the answer.

"They would have been charged with assault, just as he will be," the Number One Hero replied, except Bokusen could tell it was not the answer to the question Dragon had asked. Not really.

"As villains?"

That was a loaded question. There were two charges of assault. One was for villains, and the other was what was known as common assault. It was the older law, made before quirks, and it generally carried a far lesser punishment.