"Get away! Why don't you get out of the way!!"
Boom!
"Ahhhhh!"
With tears streaming down his rocky face, the large stone man charged forward, his immense strength smashing through the jewelry stall and sending the girl behind it flying.
"I'm sorry… I'm sorry… I can't stop, I can't slow down… My daughter… My daughter is waiting for me… I need to save her…" he cried out in anguish.
At that moment, one of the pursuing Heroes finally caught up.
"Rope Binding!"
Whoosh!
Thick ropes launched from the Hero's body like serpents, swiftly coiling around the stone man's legs and yanking him off balance. The impact sent him crashing to the ground with a loud thud.
The ropes didn't stop there, continuing to twist and wrap around the stone man's entire body until he was completely immobilized, resembling a giant, rocky mummy.
Boom.
Boom.
Boom.
The remaining two Heroes caught up moments later, surrounding the restrained stone man. Scattered across the ground were broken jewelry pieces, glinting under the sunlight.
"Everyone, please step back! We'll handle the situation!" the rope Hero called out to the crowd. Turning to one of his partners, he gave an order.
"Contact the police and have them come to pick him up."
"Understood!"
Watching from the side, Kaminari narrowed his eyes thoughtfully. "Ah, looks like they're from a pro Hero office," he muttered. "But I've never heard of this guy before... definitely not one of the top ten Heroes."
That wasn't surprising—aside from his teachers and the top-ranking Heroes, Kaminari wasn't too familiar with others in the field. Not that it mattered, someone nearby always seemed eager to share information.
"It's the Rope Hero, ROPE-MAN!" a man with glasses announced proudly to his girlfriend. "And the one next to him is his partner, Phantom. Not sure about the third one, maybe he's new?"
Kaminari's thoughts shifted as his eyes landed on the jewelry stall girl who had been knocked over earlier. She was lying on the ground, unconscious and worryingly still.
Something about the scene made his stomach churn. Was that… blood pooling beneath her?
"Hey…" Kaminari started to speak, intending to alert the Heroes, but before he could, the stone man on the ground began to move.
"Let… let me go!" the stone man bellowed, his voice filled with rage and desperation. The crowd instinctively backed away, fear etched on their faces.
"Tch." ROPE-MAN sneered, clearly unimpressed. "No one's ever broken free from my alloy ropes before. Stop struggling."
Crack.
The sound of splitting fibers cut through the air, wiping the smirk off ROPE-MAN's face.
"Impossible!" he shouted, wide-eyed.
"ROAR!!"
With a deafening yell, the stone man flexed his powerful body, shattering the ropes binding him as if they were nothing more than paper.
"My daughter is waiting for me!!" he cried, staggering to his feet. He reached down and, to everyone's horror, grabbed the unconscious jewelry stall girl with his left hand, lifting her off the ground.
"Ahhhh!"
A scream pierced the air, not from the girl he held, but from another young girl nearby, clutching her father tightly. Tears streamed down her face as she pointed at the scene.
Blood began dripping from the body of the unconscious girl, staining the ground beneath her. A dark red puddle marked the spot where she had been lying moments earlier.
The sight caused a collective gasp from the crowd. Even the Heroes froze momentarily in shock.
"What… what happened?!" the stone man stammered, staring at the blood trickling down his captive's body. His face twisted in disbelief. "I just bumped her! How is there so much blood?!"
"It's the jewelry," Kaminari said quietly, his tone grim. His sharp eyes caught the shards of crystal-like fragments glinting in the bloody puddle.
"You smashed the jewelry stall first, then knocked her down with too much force. The shards must have cut her when she hit the ground."
The realization settled over the crowd like a heavy blanket. The girl had been critically injured by the very merchandise she was trying to protect.
"Let her go!" ROPE-MAN barked, his voice more urgent now. "She needs immediate medical attention!"
"Ah? Yes, yes, I'll let her go…" The stone man's hands trembled, but then he froze, his expression hardening. "No! I can't let her go!"
The crowd gasped again, murmurs spreading like wildfire.
"I won't hurt her—I'll take her to the hospital myself!" the stone man declared, his voice frantic. "Don't try to stop me!"
"Impossible!" ROPE-MAN snapped. His expression hardened as he raised his ropes again. "You're a criminal. There's no way we can let you leave!"
"I know I broke the law!" the stone man shouted, his voice cracking under the weight of his emotions. "But I need this money for my daughter's surgery! Please, just let me save her!"
Tears streamed down his face as he cried, "I've tried everything! I begged the doctors, I pleaded with the police, I even went to the rich neighborhoods to ask for help! No one would lend me the money—no one!"
The raw pain in his voice silenced the crowd. Even Kaminari stood rooted in place, lost in thought. For a brief moment, he imagined himself in the stone man's shoes. What would he do if his parents were in danger and he had no other options?
"Please, Heroes, I'm begging you!" the stone man continued, his cries growing louder. "My daughter is in the city hospital right now. I swear I'll turn myself in after paying for her surgery! Just let me take this girl there—please!"
The girl in his hand was deathly pale, the blood loss clearly taking its toll.
"No!" ROPE-MAN shouted, cutting through the stone man's pleas. His tone was cold, unyielding. "Put her down and surrender now! That's your only option!"
"And let me remind you," he added, "the money you stole is considered illegal gains. The hospital won't accept it."
The stone man's face twisted in despair.
Kyoka's fists clenched at her sides. She glared at ROPE-MAN, her voice sharp with anger. "That girl's dying! Isn't it the Hero's job to save lives first?!"
She turned to the stone man, her voice softening. "Just let him take her to the hospital! He can't escape anyway, arrest him after she's safe!"
She could still hear Aizawa-sensei's voice in her mind: "The priority is to protect and rescue those in danger before dealing with the criminal."
"Stay out of this, kid!" ROPE-MAN barked, turning on Kyoka. "You don't know what you're talking about. A Hero's job is to arrest villains and maintain order!"
***
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