I stepped through the portal and flinched a few seconds later, when I heard a soft pop reminiscent of bubble-wrap. I spun around and, yup, the portal had closed without the slightest bit of input on my part. It's not that I cared about being cut off from my world, especially since I was confident I could open a portal back to it (in 24 hours, of course), but I had just assumed it would stay up until I chose to close it.
Guess not.
My eyes scanned my surroundings, a quiet street with only two people in sight that paid me no mind. I supposed it wasn't impossible for someone to appear out of a portal in this world, but it would definitely be rare. Like, extremely rare, and technically illegal? It was strange for them to just... not even spare me a glance.
The eyes of the man on the other side of the street flickered to me, but flickered away just as quick. He must have seen me exit the portal, but he gave off zero indications that he did...
More important than incorrect reactions, however, was that my target was nowhere in sight. I looked up and down the road; I was sure the portal would take me where I wanted to go, and I wanted to go to my target. But he wasn't here.
No, wait. Across the street from me was an authentic, Japanese cat cafe, and inside were a few customers sitting down, one of which had a mess of deep, blue-purple hair atop his head. I couldn't see his face as he was turned away from the window, but I just knew he would have deep bags under his tired eyes. Maybe an decent resting bitch face, too.
Perfect.
Hitoshi Shinso, from My Hero Academia. Or, "Boku No" Hero Academia if one were to be especially weeby. I was almost worried this world would be too "out of reach" for my portal ability, but it clearly wasn't the case. It made me wonder what determined which universes I could access; I didn't have a list in my head, just a restrictive feeling when I thought about where to go. Dragon Ball was out of the question, I knew, as was Reverend Insanity... But I don't think it would've been a good idea to go to either of those, if I could, regardless of the potential power I could gain. I was simply too squishy.
It didn't matter right now, where I could go. I had 23.99 hours left before I could go to another universe...
The real concern now was, how should I do this?
I could go in gun's blazing so-to-speak, but I couldn't leave run from this world like I did with Mike, and if I wanted to, I could stay even longer to grab some extra goodies. Although, if I were to go after a specific quirk, I'd have to find that person manually. Which, if I were being honest, I didn't know how to do. I didn't even speak or read Japanese; how could I get around, even if I did know where any good targets were? From what I remembered, Hitoshi's ability left its targets in a zombie-like state, meaning they wouldn't be able to answer questions, even if they happened to speak English.
Wait. I'm being a dumbass. I could just take someone's capability for Japanese. That should allow me to read and speak the language, so I could get around.
Still, that meant if I wanted to take some other good powers, I'd still have to figure out where people with good quirks were. U.A. would be findable, and I'm sure every Pro-Hero's agency was findable, though that was just an assumption on my part. Either would be impossible to assault without being stronger, even with Hitoshi's quirk. I'd have to drink several people for their strength, or get lucky with random people's quirks.
Maybe if I took someone's capability for physical performance, that'd be a more all-round boost? Or would it be diluted, being so general? Taking someone's capability for moving fast could synergize with the strength-boost I already had...
Regardless, I'd have to aim for more favorable, one-on-one odds, where I could use Hitoshi's quirk. Shit, I'm already jumping the gun, planning on how to use a tool I hadn't even stolen yet.
I could spend the whole day strategizing, which wouldn't be a bad idea, but I had been standing here for too long by now. My only choice was to get moving.
I crossed the street and entered the cat cafe, where I was hit with a more pleasant smell than I expected, considering all the fuckin' cats around. Speaking of which, they were all very cute, but I couldn't waste time with them. Even though I really wanted to. Hitoshi could leave at any moment, so it was better to get this over and done with.
Besides, I could really go for a drink.
That being said, I still didn't know if I was going to walk up to Hitoshi and bite him as hard as I could, or if I was going to play it cautiously so I didn't have to deal with being a known criminal for my entire time here. Ideally, he'd just go and use the restroom, and I'd assault him in there, as one does in public restrooms, but I couldn't count on him needing to make piss before he left.
As I considered the correct way to handle getting Hitoshi's blood, I approached the counter where a cute girl waited patiently behind the register. When she said something in Japanese, I realized I had already forgotten I was in Japan, and thus needed to speak Japanese. I hesitated, and coughed out one of the only bits of Japanese I knew, "Sumimasen," and walked away without looking back.
Flawless human interaction.
With my plan of getting a hot drink foiled by my short attention span, I went and sat down in a table close to the entrance, placing me a good distance away from Hitoshi, who was playing with an adorable American Shorthair. He looked my way, and I diverted my gaze a second slower than I would have liked.
Fuck, that wasn't slick at all.
After a moment of looking anywhere but Hitoshi, I glanced back, thankful to find his attention back on the cat.
Then I closed my eyes.
Did I really want to act like this? The power to traverse entire universes and gain strength greater than any mortal lay at my fingertips. Did I really want to be such a coward? Worried about every potential consequence, overthinking at each step, keeping my distance and waiting for a perfect opportunity to plop its ass in front of me? I would love if opportunity plopped it's juicy rear in front of me, but that was unrealistic. When I was thirsty for Mike's juices, I didn't wait for him to knock on my door; I went over to him, pissed in his toilet, and drank his blood without hesitation.
I may have been spurred on by a supernatural lust of blood, but the point stands.
So, did I want to waste time optimizing, or did I want to take what I fuckin' desired, whenever I wanted?
I stood up before I could answer my own question. The answer was obvious, I was just too used to a cautious lifestyle, always worrying about what may happen if I made the wrong choice. It was a habit that kept me safe...
But it drained me, to constantly restrain myself, restricting and ignoring the animal that slept at the core of my being.
No more.
Hitoshi looked up at me as I approached, the slight smile on his face, put there by the happy cat before him, morphed into a frown. He said something I couldn't understand, but I didn't care about conversation. I smiled and acted like I about to start speaking, but as my mouth opened, my fist flew across his chin, causing his head to snap to the side and a bit of spit to fly out.
The hit dazed him enough for me to follow up with a blow from my other hand, this time hitting square on his nose. His head snapped back, but I didn't wait for a reaction, or to see if he would be knocked out by my enhanced strength; I followed up with another punch, then another, and another.
I rained down blow after blow as he let out dazed grunts of pain; on his face, the side of his head, his jaw, until patches of skin began to bruise and blooden, and he couldn't hold himself up anymore.
Gravity demanded his descent, so I let him fall. His head slammed against the wooden floor with a nasty thump, and he laid there not moving, maybe even not breathing, but I didn't check. Instead, just for good measure, and because a hefty amount of adrenaline and endorphins were flooding my entire body, I stomped on his neck as hard as I could.
There was an audible pop, and I was confident in assuming that he was down and out, and probably dead. Or about to be.
The cat he had been playing with had fled as soon as I had thrown my first blow, and I was sure I had heard a few shouts during the beatdown; a cursory look around showed that the two other customers were standing up and watching me, shock clearly written on their expressions. The barista behind the counter had a phone in hand, held against her ear, but her eyes weren't on me; she stared at Hitoshi with wide eyes and an open mouth, like a moment frozen in time.
It felt exciting, to have an audience, but also a bit embarrassing as I was sure my punches were all amateurish, and I was certain I had a weird look on my face the whole time. I hurried to bend down and scoop up a spot of blood off Hitoshi's well-beaten face, but then I paused. If I was going to drink blood in front of an audience, I may as well do it properly.
I grabbed Hitoshi's neck in one hand and pulled his limp body up. Without giving myself any time to think twice, I dipped down and sunk my teeth into the side of his neck, the flesh parting easier than Mike's had.
My eyes almost rolled back into my head the second I tasted his blood. It was like busting a nut, but satisfying. I wasn't hungry before, having drank blood barely five minutes ago, but just the taste of Hitoshi's blood left me feeling extra-comfortable and satiated. I didn't want the feeling to end, I just wanted more.
Fuck, only two little tastes, and I was already getting addicted to it.
Then I felt the countless possibilities, and I knew exactly which one I wanted. It found me as much as I found it, pulled in by the strings of my heart:
His capability for controlling minds.
The initial rush faded. His quirk burned it's way through my body in a flash, carving itself upon each and every strand of my DNA, and then I was back, three terrified onlookers watching me drink this poor teenager's blood like a vampire.
I didn't have to keep drinking, but I did. The blood tasted good, and it felt good, even without the initial nut-busting rush. Besides, I couldn't deny it anymore.
I'm a real fucking vampire.
Thus I continued drinking for several seconds, the blood becoming harder and harder to drain, before I realized I had just committed a major crime, and the barista likely called the police, which put me on an unknown timer.
I dropped Hitoshi's corpse and ran--
But not for the entrance.
The closest customer turned to run from my unexpected charge, which was her second biggest mistake (the first being, of course, her just standing there while I beat the fuck out of Hitoshi and drank his blood). I pounced on her, knocking her to the ground with a heavy thump, pinning her there with my entire body, and went straight for the jugular.
Or rather, somewhere around it. Blood didn't squirt out like it would from a big vein, but nonetheless I pierced skin enough for my power to kick in as my tongue met blood. My body subconsciously grinded against her as the rush of pleasure hit me, before I was faced with the choice of which capability to take. There wasn't time to think about what I wanted to take; I hadn't thought about it before hand, but my heart seemed to reach out for her capability for moving fast. Maybe because she had tried to run?
I didn't waste any more time with her; the moment I came too, a mere second after biting her, I leapt off her and dashed straight for the remaining customer, a middle-aged man that raised his fists even as he looked ready to cry. This time, I vaguely thought of which capability I wanted to take.
My fist slammed into his gut as he tried to hit me with a sloppy punch; he doubled over with a sharp exhalation of pain. I didn't give him a single second to breathe as I clasped my hands together and swung them down on his back with all the power I could muster. He crashed against the floor, but I didn't go for his neck, as it looked a bit sweaty and old; I suppose even now, I had some standards. Instead, I grabbed his hand and sunk my teeth into his wrist. Once more, I was flooded with that familiar ball-tingling pleasure, followed by thousands of capabilities to choose from.
His capability for Japanese settled in my mind with a flash of intense pain, a migraine that only lasted for an instant, before I found myself back in the cafe, his wrist still in my mouth. I spat it out and stood up, stretching as I looked at the barista--
Ah, she was gone. That's a shame. I wanted to try taking her capability for navigation in the hopes that it would let me find my way around the area, but I would have to grab a random person off the street instead. Or break into someone's home. Regardless, I had to leave now, before the cops finally arrived and shot my ass. Or, more likely, arrested me.
Although... A prison wouldn't be the worst place to go with my power.
That would take too long, though. I'd have to go through all the legal bullshit before being released among the criminal populace, when it would only take 24 hours before I could find a fresh universe... Nah, fuck that.
I headed for the entrance, reached for the door, and paused before letting out a sigh.
I just got a quirk for mind control. Nobody knew I had it yet, and nobody knew of its specific trigger. It wouldn't go unknown forever, unless I kept my head down and used it carefully, without leaving witnesses. I didn't want to do that though; I wanted to use it, to feel the power such a quirk gave me. That left one option that aligned most with what I wanted to do. I turned away from the door and walked over to where Hitoshi had been sitting, his body cooling off right next to the chair, and sat down.
Then I stood up, as I realized I was about to leave two witnesses alive already.
Better take care of them before taking a seat...
It took an embarrassing amount of time for the cops to arrive; I had honestly hoped for a hero to arrive, but I did only use my fists with a normal level of force. Well, more than twice as much force as I was able to use half an hour ago, but they didn't know that, so it'd be unlikely they'd waste a hero's time with lil' old me. Still, it took the police far too long to arrive. Was I in the slums or some shit?
"Put your hands up!" The first officer shouted the second he slammed the cafe's door open, gun in hand and aimed at my skull.
"Dumbasssayswhat?" I responded under my breath as I slowly raised my hands.
"What?!"
"Ha!" I said, feeling my stolen quirk take hold. I pointed at him with finger guns, "Got 'em!"
The cop just stood there, unresponsive to my classic humor, his body relaxing as a blank look arose on his face.
His partner rushed in right behind him, gun trained on me, but he was distracted by the sudden change in the first officer's behavior.
"Hideo?" He called, confusion marring his face as he tried to understand why his buddy was just standing there, not moving.
"Shoot your partner." I commanded the moment he took his eyes off me.
The man under my control turned around, raising his gun towards his partner, and pulled the trigger. The second officer barely had time to move his own firearm, to try to take aim at the person who should have been on his side before a bullet ran through his stomach. He stumbled back, stunned as he clutched the wound, a painful noise leaving his mouth. His wide eyes darted from his partner to the blood seeping from his core, then to my smug grin, before I told my very first slave, "No, shoot him in the head. Dumbass."
A second shot rang out.
I clapped my hands a few times, "Ha! That was fucking awesome!" I paused for a moment as a thought crossed my mind, then stood up and sauntered over to the cop under my control. I stuffed my hands in my pocket and looked at his dead partner, who's blood had already formed a big pool beneath his corpse, "Ah, you're still aware in there, aren't you?"
I look back at my mind-controlled slave, staring into his eyes to see if I could see any awareness, but it was just a blank, empty look.
"Sorry, that's pretty fucked up of me. You shouldn't have to deal with such traumatic shit. Don't worry, we'll take care of that." I put a hand on his shoulder. "Blow your brains out."
A third and final shot rang out as he put his pistol under his chin, pointing upwards, and pulled the trigger. Blood sprayed up into the air and his body collapsed to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut. Some of the blood got on my face; a single finger guided some to my mouth, where I gave it a quick lick. That same pleasure echoed through me once more, not even the slightest bit dulled, and I was again presented with so many possibilities. Thankfully, I had plenty of time to think of what I wanted while waiting here.
His capability for strength descended upon my body, accompanied by that particular burning sensation across my entire form. Like the four times before, it all lasted only an instant before I found myself standing there, looking down at my, shit, sixth? Corpse of the day.
As I watched blood slowly pool around him, I couldn't help but wonder if my powers had warped my brain, or if I was always this... heartless? I knew my mind wasn't quite normal, but I had never truly believed I could kill someone and feel such...
Satisfaction.