Break the Glass

Life spent split between two worlds had the effects that anyone could assume that it would on a person’s time; with whatever time was spent in one, a commensurate amount time was lost in the other. A life, lived in the service even of a profession such as the one to which Minoru had dedicated himself so fully, could never feel complete on its own again. Instead, it was only fulfilling in halves. With each breath drawn, each minute dragging by, and each hair split in search of whatever and whoever he had been set to uncover, he found his thoughts similarly split to the work that he would set himself to in the nighttime. That work was so much more filling. Minoru hungered for it.

His vision returned to focus on the apple that he held in hand. The corner store had always only sold theirs fresh from its owner’s garden, making it produce of much higher quality than one could find at whichever nearby supermarket they tried for, but it was not what Minoru wanted. He had not even realised that he had picked it up. He set the fruit down and turned to walk down the aisle. He had come to the store maybe a dozen times in the last two months alone and, having lived in Musutafu for a number of years, could easily have found almost anything he might have needed from the vendor even while blindfolded. All the same, he slowly paced along the aisle, letting his eyes wander over the shelves and displays.

In the store with him were three men that he knew would be doing the same. Unlike Minoru, the three were like as not to think that they were the only ones casing the store. He had been in it longer than they had, and would look unassuming to them without his coat or a sidearm. After all, some thin man in a suit, especially looking as frail as he did, was not a likely candidate for an interloper in whatever misdeeds they sought to commit. They were the last of a network of petty criminals that had been pushing drugs around the city's back-alleys, even if  no substantial evidence lay to prove that they were.

He had been shadowing the group for some period of time. He knew where they had been and who they had talked to, even if any searches of them or their homes had failed to reveal any contraband. No warrant would restrict his intuition, nor would the lack of one prevent him from being present when the few that had eluded him the longest finally ran out of luck and patience. The lot were doubtless growing desperate, as a good portion of those with whom they had previously done business had either been apprehended or gone missing. Taking the meaning of this change, the three had done their best to be mindful of their actions in the eyes of the law.

Unfortunately for them, Minoru was one of the few who understood that starvation was a stronger motivator than fear. Sooner rather than later, they’d break. They’d steal from the corner store, they’d meet an impressionable youth out behind it to pass off some illicit substance, or they’d hold some person as they made their way out with their groceries. They would trip up, and he would be there to stop them.

It had been a fairly good day thus far. Hideo had managed to earn a little extra money helping a classmate pass a test, and he'd learned he'd have the house to himself that evening, so he could have whatever he wanted for dinner. That, of course, meant nothing nutritious, but some of his favorite foods were instant - and they couldn't complain about the waste if he spent his own money. He smiled as he made his way down the street, the unassuming kid dodging between the foot traffic as he tried to imagine just what he would buy. He really enjoyed the instant ramen cups when he could mix the heat and eat curry in, and he felt he had enough for that and a lychee drink. His parents wouldn't think much of it, since they generally made a decent wage and even owned a small house, but these cheap meals were fun and easy and let him exercise a decent amount of independence.

The edge of the door tapped the string of bells hung up by the store owner as he opened it, giving a small wave at the counter while turning in to his left and taking a quick scan of the store. A few more people were here; a group of individuals milling about and making the occasional joke with one another, and an older individual, who seemed like he was actually browsing. Something felt a little strange, suddenly, and Hideo almost decided to turn and leave, so strongly did his sixth sense strike him then. Still, he'd been taking some self defense classes, and didn't have anything that anyone might want, anyway. Probably nothing to fear. Still, he decided to allow the lone male nearby his space, going down the next aisle and back up the end of the little corner store to find his desire - first, the packaged items.

Were he not consciously putting effort towards appearing unassuming, Minoru would have grimaced when, after turning to take note of the chime of the bells above the door, a boy walked through. There was nothing he could do to keep others out of the way directly, and he had already taken the store’s owner into account as acceptable risk in the event that he was made to apprehend the three on his own. The introduction of another variable into the mix was something that he accepted only begrudgingly. He looked back to the pile of carrots in the display as the kid made his way across to the aisle beside him.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw one of the three slap another on the shoulder, after exchanging a few quick words with him, before making his way over to the counter. The owner, who was either unconcerned or at least doing his best to look unconcerned, put a last pack of cigarettes onto a rack before turning to the man as he approached. He gave a wan smile and asked the man something that he probably asked every customer that came to his counter just before they paid on the way out. The man’s response he could hear clearly.

"Naw, I don’t think I have it on me. You don’t mind, do you though? Hey, kid, mind helping me out? I left my wallet back at home and I don't think the old man’ll let me open up a tab."

He turned again from the produce to look to see which of the three had finally decided to make a move, but found his vision blocked by another who had moved without a sound to stand behind him. He was the shortest of the trio and stood with his arms crossed, staring straight into Minoru’s eyes.

"How’s about you mind your own business?" he asked, with not even hint of sincerity in his voice to put to the question. Having not seen him move, Minoru couldn’t tell if it was his Quirk that had allowed him to close the distance between them without an audible cue or if it had been the boy’s entrance that had distracted him. Besides the mystery of his approach, he did not seem otherwise threatening, but the look in his eyes was serious.

Even as Hideo hoped for the best, that he could just get his things and go, he realized he couldn't avoid being confronted. He could see it playing out ahead of time, the movement toward the counter, the way they'd eyed each other, the storekeeper, and the boy himself. Watching it unfold like an inevitability, the boy could only sigh under his breath and tell himself that he didn't have to give his money to these guys. There were other adults here. Still, at least one of those had been effectively neutralized by a menacing compatriot of the initial instigator. The boy's muscles flexed slightly, as though testing them out before a practical use. That's when the call came, words innocent enough but with an undercurrent of threat. It was likely suspected that he would give in, hand over whatever little bit he had and just go on his way. People like this rarely thought to be defied - the threat of violence, especially since the advent of Quirks, was a powerful motivator.

"I don't have enough for that," he replied, glancing about to keep track of where all the young men were. "Sorry," he stated in a tone that did not seem very apologetic.

The whir of his Quirk’s activation was not something that Minoru could hear, but it was something that he could imagine as the man’s eyes swirled and changed colours. Like the shift of the rotating lenses of a kaleidoscope, See-Through’s tell fell on the more obvious end of the spectrum. He could clearly anything he wanted to within a certain distance of him. It was the kind of power that made a man confident. Self-assured and secure in his sense of absolute knowledge about the things around him.

Unlike their names, Minoru had memorised the faces and Quirks of the members of the group long in advance, when many more than the remaining three had been at large. The danger of those left to him was posed mostly by the one closest to him, who has managed to slip through the most thorough means of identification available to Minoru. If his Quirk was registered, or if he even had one in the first place, he had taken measures to ensure that the name he used and the face he wore could not be traced to it.

After his eyes ran up and down the boy, the man with See-Through turned them on Minoru. They seemed to lock on his pocket for a second before their colour drained from them in another swirl. No longer the curious red and black pattern, they were a dull and scared blue. He still couldn’t hear the man, standing as he was on practically the other side of the store, but he could read the man’s lips. It was not hard to guess what he said, knowing that he was inside the Quirk’s range.

"Badge," he mouthed, before sharply looking over to the one of his group that hadn’t moved. Praying Mantis was a decently dangerous Quirk at close range, which gave Minoru cause to tense when See-Through’s user gave a curt nod towards the boy. The level of coordination between small time criminals, even ones who had worked together for an extended period of time, was not typically one that was hard to read from outside. As he noted their intentions, so too did the one closest to him, who was perceptive enough to note his fists clench. Without so much as a flick of the wrist, a wicked-looking serrated knife was in his hand by the time that Minoru had the time to look back at him.

"Wrong move, old man." The cast of the unknown variable’s own eyes had turned from serious to lethal, and he showed no sign whatsoever that he intended to let Minoru move to interpose himself between the man with Praying Mantis and the boy. For at least half a moment, he’d have to fend for himself.

The hairs on Hideo's neck began to stick up as he caught movement in one of the mirrors near the corner of the store, and realized that it wasn't just the threat of violence about to be visited upon him.  "Hey guys, really, are you going to hurt someone over 800 Yen?" he stated with a chuckle, raising his hands slowly as he turned to put the aisle at his back.  He was still trying to click into place what the man with the strange eyes had mouthed to his ally.  Was it 'badge'?  Why did he say that?  Whatever the reason, a knife had been produced, and that escalated the danger of the situation immensely.  While it wasn't being held at him, the boy knew that it was likely only a matter of time before something went wrong.  He felt conflicted; if he'd just given in, would they have drawn down on the older guy?  Were they thinking of robbing him, now, too?  Those kinds of doubts, his sensei would say, were what one needed to leave behind before defending oneself.  A violent man will look to do violence in any situation.  Fearing to act because of the consequences is the same as acting with ill intent.

Whatever his name was, Minoru did not know the man with Praying Mantis to be a particularly smart or well-spoken individual. All the same, he took the criminal to be a serious threat and therefore assumed him to be a serious person. For that reason, he was surprised when the man opened his mouth for the first time since he had entered the store.

"I’m only gonna hurt someone if ya don’t c’mere, kid." He was grimacing, and his dull voice did not mesh well with either his backwoods accent or his line that could have come straight out of a comic book. As he stepped towards the boy, he reached out to put a hand on his shoulder. Minoru did not want to negotiate the three down from a hostage.

Stepping forward towards the one that hid behind his knife, a hand that had idled at his side moved out in the same motion, rising up in a savage uppercut aimed at the lowlife’s stomach. Though he hoped to simply catch the man off-guard, or to move fast enough that any anticipation or forethought put to a fight simply would not matter, his true goal was not to drop the unknown in a single blow. Instead, whether his fist caught flesh or not, he continued to move towards the rack separating the aisle that he occupied from the one where the boy stood to face Praying Mantis alone.

As his left foot fell for the second time since he had started moving, Minoru noticed that his strike had met nothing but air. Again, outside of his notice, the knife-wielder simply vanished from sight. His opposite hand gripped the rack and he vaulted over it, only to find a stabbing pain erupt in his shoulder. From just outside the corner of his vision, he had seen a blur of grey metal shimmer through the air towards him, but he had put it to some glint in one of the mirror’s that adorned the building’s high corners.

As his feet met ground, his hand went to the cut that had been left by the knife that had passed just over his collarbone. It was shallow, but uncomfortably close to his neck. He grimaced as he turned quickly to glance over each shoulder, in part to test the range of motion that would yield the least amount of pain and in part to find the man again. He found him standing on the opposite side of the aisle from See-Through.

"I warned you."

The situation had gone from bad to worse, and Hideo frowned as he analyzed the conditions inside the small corner store, glancing at the store owner. An adult should have more initiative in protecting his own customers! His only potential ally tensed subtly, and the boy realized that at least one of the defenders did not intend on sitting idly by while he was robbed. The exchange was likely to not be exactly in the older man's favor, but he had to concentrate more on his own problems - namely, the man reaching for him. A subtle shift had him sliding further back, away from the counter and into the aisle. "Nuh-uh, I don't swing that way," he replied as he tossed his book bag at the man's outstretched arm, ducking away from potential danger by reading the thug's intent. His steps were practiced, obviously trained to keep himself in balance as he repositioned. Sneakers gripped tile as his hands came up in a guard designed to protect the head, one fist slightly in front of the other.