The sky above Kyushu was overcast, thick gray clouds rolling like turbulent waves across the sky. The wind swept over the rooftops with a biting chill, and far below, the city pulsed with the quiet rhythm of normal life. On top of Hawks' agency tower, Reiji stood at the edge, arms crossed, golden eyes fixed on the open sky ahead of him. His coat rippled behind him in the breeze, the air carrying with it the scent of rain and smoke from distant traffic. Every instinct told him to leap. Not out of recklessness—but from the hunger to dominate the skies.
"You're not scared of heights, are you?" Hawks asked lazily from behind, his voice carried by the wind. He leaned against a metal railing like he hadn't a care in the world, a familiar smug grin playing at the corners of his mouth. His crimson wings ruffled lightly with the breeze.
Reiji didn't bother turning around. "Tch. I've faced down villains who could melt steel with a glance. What's a few hundred feet in the air?"
Hawks whistled. "Confident. Good. You'll need it. Today's all about aerial movement. You don't need wings—you just need control."
Reiji turned, unimpressed. "Control doesn't stop gravity."
"Control lets you cheat gravity just long enough," Hawks replied, stepping away from the railing and strolling toward him. His expression shifted from casual to calculating. "I'm not asking you to fly—I'm going to throw you, and you're going to learn how to land."
Reiji blinked. "You're serious."
"Deadly."
Before Reiji could curse, Hawks grabbed him by the collar. With a single powerful flap of his wings, they shot off the rooftop in a blur of red and black, the sudden rush of air slapping against Reiji's face.
"Welcome to flight training."
Then Hawks let go.
The world dropped away in an instant. Wind screamed past Reiji's ears, his stomach twisted in freefall as the ground raced to meet him. His brain screamed at him to panic, but his body had already moved.
He twisted midair, coating his arms and legs with golden Hellfire to create resistance, slowing the fall just enough to think. The familiar flicker of his system interface came to life in the corner of his vision.
[WARNING: Altitude falling rapidly. Initiating support module.]
A shadow clone appeared below him, mimicking his panicked posture mid-fall. Just before impact, the clone exploded into a dome of dark energy, absorbing the momentum and slowing his descent by a crucial second.
He hit the rooftop hard, rolling over gravel and concrete until he came to a painful stop near the edge. Pain shot through his ribs, but he was breathing.
"Damn it," he muttered, spitting dust. "Okay… maybe I wasn't ready for that."
Above, Hawks hovered effortlessly, arms crossed, watching like a hawk eyeing prey.
"Not bad for your first drop," he called. "Could've been worse. You could've died."
Reiji pushed himself up, groaning. "Do I get a parachute next time?"
Hawks grinned. "Your clone was the parachute. And you used it smart. That's good instinct. Now let's do it again."
Over the next hour, Reiji was dropped, flung, and even spun midair like a training dummy. Each time, he was forced to adapt—using Hellfire for stability, clones for softening impact, and positioning his body to reduce injury. Each bruise taught him a lesson. Each fall honed his reflexes.
He hit walls. He missed rooftops. He landed in trash bins. Once, he bounced off a signboard and splashed into a water tank. The pain was real—but so was the growth.
By the sixth drop, he didn't crash.
By the eighth, he was flipping and correcting midair.
By the tenth, he rode his clone mid-fall like a platform, landing on his feet with a skid and smirk.
Hawks finally called it, landing beside him as Reiji dropped to the rooftop, drenched in sweat. His breathing was heavy, but steady. His gaze still sharp.
"You're starting to look like a bird," Hawks said with amusement. "Still a rookie, but a promising one."
Reiji lay flat on his back, panting. "Tch. At this rate, I'll grow feathers."
A soft chime echoed in his head as the system interface shimmered to life.
[Progress Update: Aerial Movement – 82% Complete]
[Skill Evolution Path Unlocked – Shadow Wings (Prototype)]
His eyes widened slightly. A set of translucent, smoky wings made of condensed shadow briefly flickered behind him before vanishing.
"Wings?" he whispered.
Just as he reached for the new option, Hawks' earpiece buzzed with a static burst. The pro hero's expression shifted immediately, the smile vanishing.
Reiji noticed and sat up. "What is it?"
Hawks tapped the side of his headset, his eyes narrowing. "A Pro Hero just forwarded us a tip. It's from Nighteye's agency."
Reiji's expression sharpened. "A villain?"
Hawks nodded slowly. "Not just any villain. Name's Overhaul. Yakuza leader. Dangerous. And there's a kid involved."
Reiji clenched his fists, his mind flashing back to the lessons of the past hour. "They targeting U.A.?"
"Possibly. Or worse—they're using someone connected to it. Either way, this isn't a drill."
Reiji pushed himself to his feet, golden flames flickering around his shoulders. The training session had shifted into something far more serious.
"Then let's not waste time."
Hawks launched into the sky with practiced ease, wings cutting through the air.
"Suit up, Kurobane. We're heading into real hero work now."
Reiji followed without hesitation, leaping off the rooftop with a trail of fire behind him. The system interface glowed faintly in the corner of his eye, the mission logs updating with their next destination.
And somewhere in the city below, a red-eyed girl with a horn was being pulled deeper into darkness.
Fate was already beginning to unravel.
End of Chapter 53
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