MHA - Ghostly Rise: Don’t Escape

That was unexpected in a way. Izuku had wanted to be completely detached from his old life to strike when nobody expected him.

But with a strange coincidence, Reaper had given him a new name that resembled his real name.

'Oh well, what could be done? I wouldn't ask for another one; it would be bad.'

Reaper hated picky customers.

Izuku looked at the picture of himself in his new identification documents and smiled. It resembled his current appearance without a single error.

In fact, if Izuku changed his appearance again for any reason, this picture was going to morph into his new appearance in real time.

'Reaper truly has an amazing quirk. With his helmet, many villains were unidentified even after being caught.'

The slums at night were more of a labyrinth made of shadows. Izuku left his house and moved through the darkness, listening to the distant murmurs and arguments. People at night weren't as peaceful as they were during the day.

They were freer, and their stomachs weren't as empty.

The young boy's footsteps were soft against the cracked pavement as he scanned the area. A group of three men stood huddled around a flickering streetlamp, each with a cigarette in their mouths.

One of them softly whispered, "The slums have been more dangerous. Should we go back to business?"

"Maybe," another shrugged. "We can't exchange anything this time. Finding enough food during the day is hard enough; going back to business doesn't seem bad."

The third one, a man with a shaved head and a scar across his right eye, scoffed at his companions.

"So? Just because you want to, you think we can be back? Our reputation is in ruins after failing the last mission. Who the fuck would trust us to protect them?"

Unable to say anything, the other two men could only groan. Life hadn't been easy for them lately. They needed to find someone who had no idea about their identity or reputation if they wanted to find a client.

'Perfect.'

Izuku adjusted his hood after watching them for a while. He covered his smile and put on an agitated and nervous expression, then approached them slowly.

"Hey," he called out while fiddling with his hoodie.

The men turned, their eyes narrowing as they sized him up. The one who appeared to be their leader growled at him, "What do you want, kid?"

Izuku 'hesitated' and shoved his hands deep into his pockets. "I'm looking for… protection."

Glancing at each other, the men couldn't help but smirk. The prey had come right to their door.

Seeing their eyes widen and their expressions brighten up, Izuku continued: "I've got some cash and thought you might help me out."

"Hand over the cash, and we'll take care of you."

Izuku nodded, stepping closer. His heart pounded in his chest as he stood in front of the man. The man patted his shoulder and was about to say something, but Izuku moved.

His hand shot out, and a glint of steel reflected the faint light from the moon as he drove the knife into the man's neck.

One slash was all it took.

Blood splattered on the ground as the leader's neck was slashed, his vocal cords and arteries cut beyond normal healing.

"You brat!"

The other two turned toward Izuku and lunged at him. One of them turned his hand into a sword and tried to attack Izuku, but the young boy deftly ducked under his range.

"Yo, brother, you know how to fight."

Izuku chuckled softly and cut the man's ankles.

"But it's useless if you can't move, right?"

After that, he swiftly cut the man's neck as well. The third thug retreated immediately and pointed his finger at Izuku in a pistol gesture. He was sweating, shivering, but he resolutely shot.

"Fire."

With his single word, a bullet shot out of his hand and aimed at Izuku's chest. Thankfully, the speed of the bullet and the aim were a mess. Thus, Izuku was able to evade it barely, letting it hit his shoulder instead.

Izuku whistled and activated his quirk.

In a battle of quirks, he couldn't be stingy. It was also good training. Purplish mist shot out from his palm and wrapped the thug's hand before solidifying and becoming shackles.

The man saw that and was too stunned to act; he froze in place, and Izuku didn't hesitate anymore. He closed the distance and drove the blade into the man's chest.

"Phew. That mist is quite strong."

As the bodies hit the ground, Izuku stepped back and appreciated his work. He noticed the slight trembling of his body but ignored it. This type of life was his new reality, and he had to get used to it.

After confirming the deaths of the three men, Izuku dragged them into a more secluded corner. He stretched out his hand, and the mist began to seep from between his fingers into the fallen men's bodies.

Izuku's eyes widened as he felt the first tug, like an invisible thread connecting him to the mist that invaded the bodies. The mist pulsed and then withdrew itself into his body again, leaving behind a transparent ghostly figure that resembled the man he had just killed.

"Ghostly Rise," he murmured, the name forming in his mind as if the quirk itself had whispered it to him.

By instinct, Izuku was able to understand his quirk fully. He had no idea if this was his quirk being unique or if it was a normal thing, but he didn't care much.

Ghostly Rise had two sides. The first was the control of the purplish mist, and the second was theft. Izuku was able to steal people's life force after killing them to strengthen his mist, but that wasn't the extent of it.

'I can use their quirks?'

Baffled, Izuku attempted to change his hand into a sword like what he had seen the other man do earlier. To his surprise, his hand truly morphed into a sword!

The size was visibly smaller, and the sharpness wasn't as good, but it was still an impressive feat.

Soon, however, Izuku felt a sharp pain shoot through his head. He staggered and clutched his head, a thin red thread trickling down from his nose.

"That's to be expected. This power is so strong, and this is my first time using it."

Izuku took a moment to steady himself, breathing deeply as he assessed his body's condition. Overusing Ghostly Rise would lead to severe consequences—nosebleeds, headaches, and possibly brain damage.

"Training more is certainly needed."