*Whoosh!*

  As the middle-aged man in the shabby suit ranted and struggled, Edgeshot wasted no time. Standing oree trunk, he extended his paper-thin arm, effortlessly ing the man in long, reinforced strips of his Quirk.

  "Uh…" Kaminari followed Edgeshot to the ground, watg the se unfold. He couldn't help but mutter to himself, "Sometimes it doesn't feel like his Quirk is paper more like rubber or something."

  "What are you doing?! Let me go!" the man yelled, thrashing uselessly against the restraints. "You're Heroes, right?! You have nht to stop me! It's my personal right to it suicide! Do you hear me?!"

  The man's outburst only grew louder and more i. By the time he'd given up struggling, his breath was ragged, and he unched into a tirade of insults, shing out at his captors.

  "You're pathetic! Just like the rest of this system! Don't act like you care! You have no idea what it's like—none!"

  Edgeshot, however, remained unfazed, calmly walking up to the restrained man. He spoke softly to Kaminari without even gng at the furious figure.

  "From a legal standpoint, her the right to it suicide nor the obligation to prevent suicide is explicitly defined. However," Edgeshot paused, letting the words hang in the air before tinuing, "from the perspective of natural human rights, a person does have autonomy over their own life. By that logic, he might teically have a 'right' to end it."

  Kaminari frowned, gng between Edgeshot and the man. "So… you agree with him? That he has the right to… end things?"

  Edgeshot turned slightly, fixing Kaminari with a calm but firm look. "In theory, yes. But as Heroes, we ot allow it."

  Edgeshot gestured toward the restrained man. "Our duty is to protect lives, no matter the circumstahat's the responsibility we've taken on as professional Heroes. If a person who clearly be saved dies in front of us, that is a grave dereli of duty."

  Kaminari fell silent, digesting the weight of Edgeshot's words. He repeated them softly to himself: 'Human rights and responsibilities…'

  His thoughts were interrupted by the sudden absence of noise. He looked over at the man, only to find him gring silently. It didn't take long to figure out why.

  A strip of Edgeshot's paper had firmly sealed the man's mouth shut.

  Edgeshot turo Kaminari, his voice as steady as ever. "Keeping him quiet will help him calm down faster."

  Kaminari sighed but nodded. "Got it."

  "Now, pick up the papers on the ground and put them bato his briefcase. We're taking him with us."

  Without further protest, Kaminari crouched down and began gathering the scattered dots. Most of the pages were covered in teical jargon and figures he didn't uand. Ohey were ly stacked and secured in the briefcase, he stood up.

  "Let's go."

  Edgeshot leaped bato the tree trunks, moving swiftly toward the camp while carrying the man with his extended paper limb. His speed had slowed slightly due to the added weight, but his movements were as precise as ever.

  ---

  As Kaminari followed closely behind, activating his high-speed movement to keep pace, his curiosity got the better of him.

  "Why would someone e all the way out here to it suicide?" he asked, gng at the restrained man.

  Edgeshot responded without looking back, his voice steady. "This pce is known as the Aokigahara Forest, or more famously, the 'Suicide Forest.' Every year, hundreds of people e here to take their own lives."

  "Hundreds?!" Kaminari excimed, shocked.

  Edgeshot tinued, his tone measured. "It all started in the 1950s with a novel called The Sea of Trees, written by Matsumoto Seicho. Iory, the protagonists choose this forest as the pce to end their lives. The novel became wildly popur, and ever sihis location has drawn people with simir iions."

  Kaminari fell silent, stunned by the revetion. A single book had caused su enduring cultural phenomenon?

  Edgeshot added, "My primary responsibility in this area is to patrol the forest. Sometimes it's about saving those who attempt suicide. Other times…" He paused briefly. "It's about rec the remains of those we couldn't rea time."

  Kaminari grimaced. He had known Hero work could be grim, but hearing it id out like this was different.

  "How many Heroes patrol the forest?" he asked after a moment.

  "There are four of us. Each patrols oion—north, south, east, a. I hahe west," Edgeshot replied.

  Kaminari furrowed his brow. "That's it? Only four Heroes for such a massive forest? Why doesn't the gover send more help? Couldn't the police take over some of the patrol duties, at least for colleg bodies?"

  As they reached the e of the camp, Edgeshot came to a stop on a tree trunk. He surveyed the area ahead as he calmly addressed Kaminari's question.

  "The gover request Heroes to assist in emergencies, but they ot force Heroes to take perma posts iain locations. Uhe military or police, Heroes have more autonomy.

  "Most Heroes avoid this pce because of the harsh ditions. There's no running water or stable electricity, and the forest is filled with is, wild animals, and other dangers. For many, it's not worth the effort."

  Edgeshot leaped down into the camp, his nding precise and effortless. Kaminari followed shortly after, his mind still rag with questions.

  ---

  Onside, Edgeshot set the middle-aged man down on the ground. By now, the man seemed to have lost all his earlier fire. He sat silently, his head bowed and his shoulders slumped.

  "As for why the police 't patrol here…" Edgeshot began, turning his gaze toward Kaminari. "This forest is unlike most others. The trees are so dehat sunlight barely pees the opy, making navigation difficult.

  "passes don't work here due to magialies caused by the volic soil. And GPS signals? They're unreliable at best."

  Kaminari tilted his head in disbelief. "So, anyone who es in here without proper experience would just… get lost?"

  "Precisely," Edgeshot firmed.

  With that, he began walking toward the camp's small kit, the fish taiill in hand. He didn't gnce back as he spoke over his shoulder.

  "Don't worry about him," he said, referring to the restrained man. "People who've failed a suicide attempt rarely have the ce tain—at least nht away."

  Kaminari stared after him, then looked at the middle-aged man sitting on the ground. "Still…"

  He sighed and scratched the back of his head. "Well, he's ly going anywhere. No doors to run out of here, anyway."

  As he g the camp's t wooden walls, the realization hit him.

  "Wait… so that's why there's no door?" he muttered, half amused. "I thought it was just your ninja aesthetibsp;

  Turning back to the man, Kaminari crouched down and spoke softly, "Have you eaten anything today? We don't have much, but there's miso soup, rice, and some pickles to go around."

  He paused, then added, "Though… you might want tet about the fish. Those are definitely ours."