My Hero Academia: The Dragon's Quirk

Night fell on the small town at the foot of the mountain, blanketing it in a deceptive tranquility. However, inside a private room at the back of a dimly lit bar, a small storm was brewing. Thick cigar smoke hung in the air, mixed with the smell of cheap alcohol and human greed. In the center of the room, under a single hanging lamp, a high-stakes poker game was reaching its climax.

Leone, in her disguise as a wealthy gambler from the city, smiled charmingly as she pushed a stack of chips into the center of the table. "I raise," she said in a casual voice, her eyes, hidden behind stylish sunglasses, glancing across the table.

There sat Commander Kageyama. His face was flushed with alcohol and excitement. He had been successfully lured out of his nest, enticed by the rumor of a legendary game spread by Leone's network. He felt invincible, having won several large hands—a streak of luck that had, of course, been carefully arranged by Leone and the other players who were her allies.

"I'll see you and raise you again!" Kageyama growled, pushing nearly all of his chips forward. He was sure he had the best hand.

Leone chuckled softly. "You're very brave, Commander." She casually matched his bet.

When the final cards were revealed, Kageyama's face fell. Leone's royal flush beat his full house. All the chips on the table shifted to Leone's side. Kageyama slammed his fist on the table in frustration, but he couldn't stop. His greed had completely consumed him. He would be there all night, trying to win back his losses, unaware that he had been completely neutralized from the real battlefield.

Outside the bar, Leone discreetly touched her earring. "The fox is in the trap and isn't going anywhere," she whispered. "The main stage is yours, Dragon Boy, Akame."

Deep in the darkness of the Aokigahara Forest, Tatsumi waited. He was perched on the branch of a tall pine tree, his body still as a statue, his Incursio armor blending with the shadows. He had been there for almost two hours, in total silence, waiting for his signal.

Then, he saw it. Two points of light from the headlights of a windowless van moving slowly on the dirt path below. It was the 04:00 AM supply shuttle. His heart began to beat faster, not from fear, but from pure adrenaline.

He waited until the van was directly beneath him. This was his moment. He let go of the branch, free-falling in silence. Just before reaching the van's roof, his dragon wings flapped once—not to fly, but to kill his falling momentum and propel him forward. He landed on the moving van's roof with a muffled metallic thud, magnetic pads on his palms and feet instantly clamping on tight. He flattened his body, becoming part of the vehicle itself.

The journey to the main gate was the most nerve-wracking part. He could see the light from the guard post getting closer. He saw the guards, their weapons at the ready. He held his breath, praying their disguise was perfect. As expected, the guards, knowing their commander was "off-duty," simply waved the familiar van through. The gate opened.

The van drove in, and the gate closed behind it. Tatsumi was in.

He remained stuck to the roof as the van maneuvered inside the complex, heading for a loading dock behind a large, windowless concrete building. The laboratory. As the van slowed to make a turn, Tatsumi released his grip, rolling silently into the shadow of a large generator unit. He was now in the heart of the enemy's nest.

His comms crackled softly. Akame's voice, a whisper. "I'm in position. 50 meters to your west, on the roof of the storage building. The inner perimeter looks clear for now. What's your status?"

"I'm inside, near the loading dock," Tatsumi replied. "I'm going to find an entry point into the main building."

The laboratory was like a fortress. Thick concrete walls, no windows, and only one heavily guarded main entrance. But no fortress was perfect. Tatsumi scanned the building's facade with his visor, and he found it. An industrial ventilation shaft on the roof, large enough to fit through.

Using small claws on his fingertips and the magnetic grip of his armor, he began to climb the vertical wall. He moved slowly, from one shadow to the next, avoiding the gaze of the security cameras that rotated in a rhythm he had already memorized.

He reached the roof and carefully pried open the heavy ventilation cover. The air inside was cold and smelled of chemicals. He slipped into the narrow darkness, crawling through the dusty metal ducts. He could hear the constant hum of machinery and the faint voices of scientists working below.

He found a ventilation grate that looked directly down onto the main laboratory floor. He peered below.

The sight that greeted him made his blood run cold.

This was worse than they had imagined. This was a monster factory. On one side, several giant glass tubes contained half-formed Nomu, their deformed bodies twitching as green fluid was injected into them. At workbenches, scientists in lab coats bearing both PLF and Humarise logos worked side-by-side, assembling devices Tatsumi recognized all too well: the trigger bombs from the Otheon incident.

But the most horrifying thing was what was in the center of the room. Inside a large energy containment field, a body was floating in a transparent gel, connected to hundreds of wires and monitors. The face was unclear, but from the posture, it was a woman. The scientists around her seemed intensely focused on her, studying the data appearing on their screens. They weren't building her; they were studying her, as if she were an ancient artifact.

Tatsumi's helmet recorded everything, every horrifying detail of this PLF-Humarise alliance. He had the proof they needed.

Suddenly, a leading scientist below looked at one of his consoles with a frown. "Strange. There's an unscheduled minor energy fluctuation in the Sector 3 ventilation system. Probably just a glitch, but send a security drone to check it out."

Tatsumi's heart stopped. He saw a panel in the ceiling open and a spider-sized drone shot into the ventilation system, its red light blinking, closing in on his position.

There was no more time. He had to get out.

He turned and crawled back at full speed. The drone pursued him, its movements fast and agile. Just as Tatsumi was about to reach the exit on the roof, the drone fired a small laser beam. The laser missed him but hit the ventilation cover in front of him.

CLANG!

The metal cover fell from the roof, hitting the concrete ground below with a deafening sound in the dead of night.

Instantly, the entire facility came alive. Sirens blared, splitting the night. Red emergency lights flashed, turning the once-quiet complex into an alert hellscape.

Tatsumi leaped out onto the roof, standing under a sky now illuminated by sweeping searchlights. His mission to remain a ghost had failed completely.

In his ear, Akame's voice came through, sharp and urgent. "Tatsumi, get out of there! I'll make a path for you!"

The infiltration was over. The desperate escape had just begun.