Chapter 12: Give It Your All, Iida!
Thirteen called out. "Bakugo, get back!"
Tenya watched as Kurogiri laughed, the villain's misty body swelling in size.
"Begone, hero brats."
The purple mist engulfed the students, blinding them. Tenya made his decision, looking to his side, seeing where Midoriya stood.
Class Representative, the class needs you.
Lurching forwards, Tenya activated his engines, slamming into Midoriya and Sato and sending them flying, clear of the villain's mist.
"Writhe in torment, until you breathe your last."
Tenya was falling.
Flaming buildings surrounded him, the oppressive heat making him sweat.
Igniting his engines, Iida bent his legs and boosted into one of the buildings, sliding down it to land on the ruined street below.
"The Conflagration Zone, that villain must have warped us all to different parts of the USJ to make us easier to defeat."
"Seems that way." Ojiro landed on a lamppost, his tail cushioning him.
"Ojiro, I am glad to see you safe." Tenya nodded to his classmate.
"What about me?"
Hatsume skidded to a halt on the road, the large case still on her back, wearing chest armor with two grapples and carrying a very pale Aoyama in her arms, bridal style.
Aoyama dropped out of Hatsume's arms onto all fours, his breathing shallow.
"I thought I was going to die." Aoyama looked up at Tenya, his eyes wide and haunted.
Hatsume laughed. "Oh calm down, Frenchie, it was only a few backflips."
"Sixteen." Aoyama weakly pushed himself to his feet. "It was sixteen backflips."
Ojiro jumped down from the lamppost. "We have company."
The four teens looked around themselves, six villains were approaching from one side, seven from the other.
"Ojiro, you take that direction." Tenya pointed to the six villains on one side. "I will take the other. Aoyama, protect Hatsume."
Ojiro nodded in agreement, using his tail to launch himself at the nearest villain, a blue-haired woman with fists covered in needles.
Hatsume laughed, dropping her case to the ground, a gauntlet similar to Mikumo's on each arm.
"There's no chance I'm sitting on the sidelines when I can use this as an opportunity to test my babies."
Firing off her grapples, Hatsume shot into the air, flipping as she did, before pulling on the side of a building, punching a fifteen foot tall villain in his face.
Tenya processed the change of situation, before looking at Aoyama. "The plan has changed, help Ojiro instead."
"O-Oui ." Aoyama struck a shaky pose.
Charging up his engines, Tenya burst into motion, heading for the same gigantic villain as Hatsume, before delivering a kick to the inside of the villain's knee, shattering it.
With an almighty crash the villain slammed down on the ground, on top of two other villains, holding his knee as he screamed in pain. Another villain, an older man with green skin, came for Tenya, flicking his arm and releasing a stream of green acid at the hero-in-training.
Raising his arm to intercept the acid, Tenya jumped into the air and fired his left engine. Tenya span, allowing him to deliver an engine-powered kick to the green acid villain across the temple, dropping him immediately.
Tenya landed, unclipping his acid-covered gauntlet and letting it fall to the ground, slowly melting. He readied himself to engage the next villain, a woman with hair of fire, when Hatsume suddenly grabbed one of his arms.
"Your quirk is super interesting, I wonder, maybe arm booster to increase maneuverability?" Hatsume examined Tenya's arm.
Tenya pulled it free in a single chopping motion. "Hatsume, I do believe this is not the time for such a conversation."
A villain sprinted at Hatsume's back, Tenya ignited his engines in response, ready to defend her.
Before Tenya could act, Hatsume raised her right arm, the cuff of the gauntlet rotating to reveal a blue-tipped nozzle on the top of the wrist.
Hatsume smiled. "Do you mind testing this out for me?"
Blue liquid shot out of the nozzle, splashing onto the ground.
"I call it Anti-Friction Fluid, AFF for short, enjoy!"
The villain's eyes widened comically as he completely lost traction with the ground, sliding off and smashing into the lamppost.
Hatsume fired one of her grapples, hitting her case and pulling it, sliding across the tarmac and coming to a halt at her feet. Kicking it open, Hatsume retrieved a single metal glove, the same silver colour as the rest of the SHTR gear.
"Here, try this out. This is the SHTR Liquid Arm, Model Alpha-I." Hatsume pushed Tenya's left arm, bare from the acid villain's attack, into the glove.
The glove lit up, unfolding and armouring almost up to his elbow.
"Thank you, Hatsume." Tenya nodded. "Is this safe?"
Hatsume shrugged. "Probably, watch this."
Grabbing the cuff, Hatsume rotated it, revealing a nozzle similar to her own gauntlet, this one with a red tip.
"Make a fist and aim at a villain, press the button on the outside of the middle finger with your thumb to fire."
Tenya paused, before slowly nodding and raising his fist at the fire hair villain, firing the gauntlet. Extinguisher foam fired from the nozzle, covering the flame hair villain and killing the fire.
"Rotate the cuff clockwise, two notches." Hatsume fired off a grapple and disconnected it, wrapping up a villain, securing him tightly.
"I will, Hatsume!"
Tenya followed the pink-haired girl's instruction, the extinguisher nozzle retracting, replaced by one with a white tip.
"Fire!"
White foam shot from the nozzle, covering the flame villain up to her neck, before it expanded and hardened, encasing her entirely.
"That's the immobilisation foam, useful for capturing villains and rescuing civilians!" Hatsume dodged a villain's energy-covered fist by firing one of her grapples, pulling herself away.
Landing, Hatsume turned as the villain fired black energy from his bare feet, blasting him towards the pink-haired girl.
"Hatsume, watch out!"
Tenya wasn't fast enough, there was no way he could reach her in time.
Hatsume raised her left arm, the panels retracting to allow a large, diamond shaped shield, in the same metal as the gauntlet, to unfold. The villain's fist hit the shield, reflecting his own energy back on himself.
Dropping the shield, Hatsume switched to the immobilisation foam on her right arm and fired it at the energy villain, point blank range.
His body was covered in rapidly hardening foam, the villain gave a muffled yell before pitching backwards, unable to stop himself as he slowly rolled away.
Taking care to make sure each of the seven villains were defeated, Tenya turned to aid Ojiro, finding the boy fighting three villains at once in hand-to-hand combat, Aoyama nowhere to be found.
Before Tenya could move to help Ojiro, the ground shook.
And then it shook again.
"The Nomu! L-Let's get outta here!" One of the villains fighting Ojiro pointed behind the teens, before all three bolted in the opposite direction, each dragging a comrade.
Tenya turned.
The white monster with claws lumbered towards them, the ground shaking with every step, its eyes wild, like an animal.
"Ojiro, the villains!" Tenya leapt into act, firing his engines, scooping up the energy and flame villain, one on each shoulder.
"On it!"
Ojiro sprang forward with a flick of his tail, quickly collecting the bound and acid villains, leaving only the fifteen foot villain and the two trapped under him.
Dropping the energy and flame villains at Hatsume's feet, Tenya fired his engines to launch himself back into the fray.
The Clawed Nomu stopped as it reached the massive villain, grabbing him by the neck and lifting him up.
The two villains who had been squashed under the massive villain desperately filled their lungs before scrambling to their feet and running down the street as fast as they could.
Bringing his clawed hand back, light glinting off the metal, before plunging them into the massive villain's stomach. With a bored grunt, the Clawed Nomu dropped the injured villain, who shrank down to a normal size as he fell.
Tenya caught the villain before he could hit the ground, firing his engines and returning to his classmates.
"Lay him down." Hatsume said, her tone suddenly authoritative.
Tenya did as he was told, watching as the Clawed Nomu slowly lumbered towards them.
Hatsume rotated her cuff, switching to a green-tipped nozzle, spraying a viscous liquid on the villain's wound.
"This will stabilise him, but he'll need serious medical treatment and fast."
Aoyama came running out of one of the buildings. "Run for your lives!"
Ojiro grabbed Aoyama's cape, holding him back. "Aoyama, look after Hatsume. Iida, let's go."
Tenya nodded, standing. "We have to stop this monster here, if we let it go it could kill our fellow students, as well as the villains."
"Right." Ojiro joined Tenya.
Hatsume and Aoyama took shelter in a building, the former dragging the injured with her.
"You have a plan, Vice Rep?"
Tenya clenched a fist.
What would Tensei do?
"Ojiro, use the lamppost, attack its head as a distraction."
Ojiro nodded, using his tail to fly into the air and spring off the side of the lamppost, spinning in the air.
Charging up his engine, Tenya pushed them past anything he'd ever dared to try before.
"Engine Boost!"
Tenya's armored leg slammed into the Clawed Nomu's gut.
His attack was turned back against him, sending him flying away, Ojiro alongside him, both of them crashing into the ground.
Ojiro grunted. "It must have some kind of impact reflection quirk, the claws must just be graphed on to its hands, not its quirk."
The navy-haired teen looked up, watching the injuries to the Nomu's gut and cheek healed at a rapid pace.
"It's healing, it has two quirks, at least."
Tenya started to push himself back up when a massive hand grabbed him around the waist and lifted.
"Iida!" Ojiro forced himself to his feet, slamming his tail into the ground, shooting him towards the Nomu with a kick.
The Clawed Nomu lashed out, grabbing Ojiro's leg and tightening its grip.
Ojiro's leg snapped, the blond teen crying out in pain as the Nomu continued to squeeze harder.
Grabbing blindly at the cuff of his SHTR gauntlet, Tenya rotated it, looking for the immobilisation foam.
Ojiro's screams amplified.
Tenya threw caution to the wind, raising his gauntlet and firing.
A stream of water shot from the ice-blue nozzle, suddenly freezing and impaling the Nomu in its exposed brain.
Roaring in pain, the Nomu dropped both Tenya and Ojiro, scrabbling to pull the ice spike from its brain.
Tenya fired his engines, kicking off the Nomu's chest, catching Ojiro and landing on the road.
"Hatsume!"
The pink-haired girl took Ojiro into her own arms, surprising Tenya with her strength and the ease she carried the blond boy.
"I-Iida, we need to run." Ojiro grunted as Hatsume set him down.
Tenya shook his head. "No, we have to stop it, others will die if we don't."
What would Midoriya do? What would Tensei do?
"I know what to do." Tenya's glasses glinted under the harsh light and flames. "Hatsume, do you have any more gauntlets?"
Hatsume nodded. "Just one, the match to the Shield Arm I have."
Tenya moved over to Hatsume's equipment case, opening it, taking the last Shield Arm. Unclipping his right arm guard, Tenya replaced it with the Shield gauntlet, undeployed.
"I hope you have a plan." Hatsume commented.
Tenya pushed his glasses up his nose. "I do. Follow my instructions please."
Hatsume examined Tenya for a few seconds, before nodding in agreement.
"Aoyama." Tenya looked at the shaking teen. "I need your help. You want to be a hero, don't you?"
Something inside Aoyama hardened.
"I'll help you, mon amie."
"Good." Tenya watched as the Clawed Nomu pulled the ice spike from its brain with a roar, regaining its agency, its exposed brain matter quickly healing. "Hatsume, stand next to the lamppost, get ready to launch me with your shield, Aoyama, you go further back, get ready to fire."
Tenya charged up his engines, his exhaust ports flickering blue inside the orange flames.
"Maximum Turbo Boost!"
Racing towards Hatsume, Tenya watched as she lowered her shield, allowing him to plant a boot on it, the pink-haired girl launching him into the air. Igniting his engines, Tenya shot out of the way of the Clawed Nomu's fist.
Deploying the shield in his arm, Tenya angled it towards Aoyama.
"Aoyama, fire your laser at me!"
"Oui!"
The sparkly blue laser hit Tenya's shield, reflecting and hitting the Nomu in the face, stunning it.
Firing his engines, Tenya clenched his left fist and slammed it into the Nomu's exposed brain, his arm sinking almost up to his elbow.
Pressing his thumb to the fire button, Tenya discharged immobilisation foam directly into the Nomu's brain, encasing the Nomu's head, sealing the gauntlet in place.
"Monster, this is your finish line."
Tenya released his arm from the gauntlet, planting his feet on the Nomu's chest and kicking away.
Landing on the ground, Tenya looked up, watching as the Nomu fell backwards, hitting the road with a massive crash, cracking the tarmac.
"Nice work, Iida!" Hatsume approached Tenya, giving him a thumbs up. "You'll make a great hero."
"T-Thank you, Hatsume."
Aoyama stepped forwards. "Is it dead?"
"No." Hatsume said. "That monster can heal itself, at an accelerated rate, Iida sealed the gauntlet into its brain so it cannot heal itself."
Tenya nodded. "We should tend to Ojiro and the injured villain, then head towards the main entr-"
A blast of wind shot through the Conflagration Zone, extinguishing the fires, leaving behind a pile of villains, a mixture of those the teens had defeated and those that had run away from the Nomu.
Tenya turned to watch as the wind tore away from them.
"All Might, he's here."
Landslide Zone
Shoto stared at the eight villains, frozen in a circle around him, an apathetic look on his face.
"How pathetic." Shoto's tone was dull. "You all lost to a student in his first week in an instant."
None of the villains spoke, quietly shivering.
"So none of you are willing to talk?" Shoto stepped forward. "So the plan was divide and conquer?"
Still no response.
Shoto started walking down the landslide, through the middle of the frozen villains.
"I hate to say, but you guys are just a bunch of idiots with quirks they don't know how to use properly."
"T-This ki-kid, he f-froze us all im-mmediately, the second w-we warped here." A villain with grey skin spoke.
Finally, they're talking.
"Is he really just a kid?" A pink-skinned villain bemoaned, trying and failing to move. "He's like a Pro Hero already."
A beast-like villain moaned pitifully.
"At first I thought that pale man had gathered his elite to kill All Might." Shoto said. "But looking at you sorry lot makes it clear that's not the case."
Another villain charged out from behind a crop of ice-covered rocks, a green band of skin across the eyes the only unusual aspect to him, a large knife clutched in one hand.
"Hey, fuck you, kid!"
Shoto turned his head, before slamming his foot down and encasing the villain with a stripe of green across his eyes in ice.
Without looking away, Shoto dodged a metal staff thrust at his head from behind, grabbing it with his right hand, freezing both it and its wielder, a hawk-like man, solid.
Shoto sighed. "You're just a ragtag bunch of thugs."
Thickening the ice covering the hawk villain to protect him from shattering, Shoto pulled the staff free, letting the villain fall to the ground, rocking gently.
"From what I saw, there were only six or seven truly dangerous villains in that plaza."
Shoto looked up.
"Therefore, the next step I must take is simple…"
Turning back towards the green stripe villain, Shoto raised his right arm, his hand hovering over the villain's face.
"At this rate your cells will slowly wither and die." Shoto paused. "I want to be a Pro Hero, so I don't really want to do something so cruel, so tell me."
Icy air floated from Shoto's palm.
"On what basis do you think you can kill All Might?"
The green stripe villain shivered, from the ice or fear, Shoto didn't know.
He didn't particularly care either.
"I-It's a-a-a mo-monster-"
"Die, brat!"
Shoto turned his head, a blond-haired villain was charging at him, fist drawn back.
A villain that Shoto had already frozen.
Shoto stamped his right foot, creating an ice barrier between himself and the villain.
The villain smashed thought it with ease, but found only empty air.
"Where did he go?" The villain looked around himself, seeing no trace of Shoto.
"You have a strength-based quirk." A freezing hand suddenly touched the villain's back. "Don't worry, I can counter that."
Layer after layer of ice covered the villain, encasing him entirely in thick sheets of ice.
Shoto lowered his arm.
He could have sworn the amount of ice he'd used on the villain earlier had been enough to immobilise him.
And yet he had somehow broken free, allowing him to attack Shoto.
"Are you not going to use your fire, Sho-chan?"
Shoto stilled, the breath catching in his throat.
"Toya."
Turning, Shoto was face-to-face with a doppleganger of his brother, his hair white instead of its natural red.
His brother who had died eleven years ago.
Standing in front of him, whole and healthy, casually dressed in jeans and a white turtleneck.
"You can't be here." Shoto shook his head.
Toya had to be the result of some villain's quirk, he was unburned, still the same age he was when he died, eighteen, just months from graduating from U.A. High.
"You're not real, you're dead." Shoto paused, his voice had lost its usual dullness. "I saw you die."
Toya's eyes hardened. "You didn't see me die, you saw our father try and murder me."
"Murder you?"
Toya rolled up the sleeves of his turtleneck, revealing extensive burn scars. "The flames that burnt me weren't my own, they belonged to Endeavor."
Shoto shook his head. "I saw it, I saw it, the flames were blue, they were yours, I couldn't save you, my ice wasn't strong enough, my quirk had only just manifested."
Toya returned his sleeves to their normal position, and looked around at the frozen villains. "It certainly is now, last time I saw you all you could make were ice cubes."
"I'm sorry, I tried-."
"Don't be." Toya interrupted. "Endeavor tried to kill me, but in the end he lit the path to my salvation."
"Salvation?"
"The paramedics that took me to the hospital." Toya lit blue flames in the palm of his hand. "I arrested on the way, declared dead on arrival, they couldn't save me."
Toya extinguished the flames.
"But he could."
"He?"
Toya nodded. "Mr. Tachibana, he used his power to bring me back, placed me in a stasis, it's taken all this time to heal my body."
"His power?" Shoto took a half-step towards his brother. "You mean his quirk?"
Toya rolled his blue eyes. "Power and quirk are not the same thing. Power can be so much more, it can be property, influence, authority."
The white-haired boy paused.
"Domination."
Shoto raised an eyebrow. "So this Tachibana is a villain."
Toya shrugged. "I guess that's one interpretation."
"What's the other interpretation?"
"Mr. Tachibana was my savior, he granted me new power." Toya looked his brother directly in the eyes. "The government says Endeavor is a hero, we both know that isn't true. How many more heroes are given a free pass to hurt their families just because of their jobs?"
Relighting the blue flames in his palm, Toya took a step back.
"I'll use Tachibana's power to burn this corrupt hero society down!"
Toya slammed the palm of flames down on the ground, an intense wave of heat washing over the area, melting all of Shoto's ice.
"Don't fight me, Shoto." Toya walked towards his younger brother. "These thugs won't hurt you, I'll make sure of that. You can join me, we'll stop Endeavor together."
The ten villains Shoto had frozen earlier were free, advancing towards the teen.
Shoto paused, his right hand slowly covering with ice. "How many innocent people will die? For revenge?"
"Don't you want revenge?" Toya looked angry now. "Revenge for what he's taken from you, what he's done to you. It doesn't take a genius to figure out where you got that burn from."
Shoto breathing quickened. "You don't know, do you?"
Toya stopped in his tracks. "Don't know what?"
Reaching up to touch the scar over his left eye, Shoto replied. "Endeavor didn't give me this scar, our mother did."
Toya's face flushed red. "Don't you dare lie about this! You're covering for that monster, he's made you say this."
"She used boiling water, from the kettle." Shoto paused. "She scalded that side of my face, because it looked like his face, Endeavor's. The only reason I didn't lose my sight in that eye is because the water had cooled slightly."
Toya didn't speak, he couldn't.
"She was arrested, she got ten years in a mental facility, I haven't seen her since then." Shoto stopped speaking, staring at Toya.
He was crying.
"You're not fake." Shoto realised. "This isn't just an illusion."
Toya didn't hear him.
"Oi, Juichigata!" A villain with a fish head poked Toya's shoulder. "You there, blue boy?"
"You're just trying to trick me." Toya said, his arm's lighting on fire, his clothes resisting the flames. "Endeavor gave you that scar, I know it, and he framed mom for it! I'll make you admit it!"
Igniting his palms in a similar manner to Bakugo, Toya blasted himself towards his brother, as the ten villains closed in on Shoto as well.
Before any of them could react, a blast of wind blew through the Landslide Zone, slamming into each of the villains, as well as Toya.
Shoto took a step back. "All Might, he's here."
"Fucking hell." One of the villains stumbled back to his feet, before looking around. "Heh heh, All Might must have though he'd knocked me out."
Reaching out to touch Toya, his skin glowing, waking the white-haired boy.
Shoto charged forwards, the villain was healing the others, undoing All Might's work.
A column of blue fire forced Shoto off target, he brought up an ice wall to protect himself from immolation.
Landing beyond the villains, Shoto turned to see the healing villain was restoring a fourth villain. Slamming his right foot down, Shoto sent a wave of ice at the healing villain.
Blue fire melted it before it could even get halfway.
"That won't work, Sho-chan." Toya's eyes flicked, his expression furious.
"That was just the distraction."
A block of ice sailed through the air, appearing from the steam cloud of the ice wall's destruction, hitting the healing villain in the forehead, knocking him out cold.
"Endeavor trained you well." Toya set his left arm ablaze. "But he trained me just as well, better even. I don't want to hurt you Sho-chan, but what I have to do is bigger than both you and me."
A wave of blue fire shot at Shoto, forcing him to dodge, creating an ice slide to skate around Toya, slamming his hand into the chest of the grey-skinned villain, refreezing him immediately.
Another ice slide, Shoto came to a halt a short distance away. Before he fully negated his velocity, Shoto watched as Toya melted the grey-skinned villain free.
Shoto sighed. "This is going to be a problem."
He would need to alter his fighting style, he needed to get close to Toya and knock him out physically, otherwise he'd just keep freeing the other villains.
Using an ice column, Shoto launched himself at his brother faster than the white-haired teen could react, driving a fist into his gut.
Toya sighed, grabbing Shoto's wrist as he straightened up, before slamming his palm into his brother's chest.
Shoto was flung back, hitting the ground and rolling, slamming his hand down to create an ice slide to carry himself away.
"Not bad, you'll make a powerful hero." Toya sighed. "Once I've torn this corrupt system down it'll be up to you rebuild it, better than before."
Shoto didn't reply.
"But there is something in the way." Toya paused. "You need to use all of your quirk, not just your ice."
"I'll never use his fire." Shoto encased his right arm in ice, dropping into a fighting stance.
"It's your power, Shoto. Use it."
"That fire will never be my power, all I see is him every time I use it."
Toya sighed again. "If you want to be a great hero you can't just handicap yourself. Slyce, show him the errors of his argument."
One of the villains nodded, holding his hands together and pulling them apart, forming a blade of condensed air.
Slyce burst into motion, moving at unnatural speed towards Shoto.
Slamming his right foot down on the ground, Shoto created a wall of ice in between, using his right hand to form a blade of ice, readying himself to fight Slyce.
The air blade cut through the ice wall like a hot knife through butter, the top half sliding away to reveal empty space. Hearing a noise behind him, Shoto twisted around, bringing his ice blade up to block Slyce's.
Slyce smiled. "That won't work on me."
The air blade cut through the ice without resistance, carrying on and slicing through Shoto's arm.
He felt no pain.
Shoto blinked, staring down at the stump where his left arm had been, just below the elbow, the end was covered in smooth and clear skin, not a drop of blood to be seen.
"My arm?"
His arm was on the ground, yet he could still feel it, even the sensation of his palm touching the ground.
Shoto commanded his left hand to form a fist.
The arm on the ground clenched its hand into a fist.
Slyce shrugged, a smug look on his face. "My quirk, it allows me to cut things with a blade I form myself, without harming them. Don't worry, your arm will be back to normal in an hour or so."
"You won't always be able to use your ice, Shoto." Toya nodded to Slyce, the villain walking back towards his ally. "Consider this a lesson. You three, attack him."
The three remaining villains charged into action, racing at Shoto.
Shoto stared down at his detached arm, a plan forming in his mind.
"Forcing me to fight with just fire." Shoto picked up his detached arm with his other arm. "You really have turned into our father."
Toya physically recoiled. Shoto had his opening.
Throwing his detached arm down on the ground, Shoto activated his quirk, ice forming from where his palm made contact, engulfing the three villains entirely.
Using an ice column under his right foot, Shoto launched himself at Slyce and Toya. Landing, more ice bloomed from under his foot, encasing both of the villains. Shoto slammed his elbow into his brother's temple with his momentum, before Toya could melt the ice.
"You brat!" Slyce formed an air blade in one hand, breaking it through the ice as he did.
Before he could free himself, Shoto lashed out with a back fist, sending Slyce to join Toya in unconsciousness.
Shuddering, Shoto looked down to see his right arm had returned to its normal position, even the sleeve of his costume was repaired and whole.
Taking stock of the situation, Shoto made sure each of the villains, including his brother, were restrained or unconscious. With one last look at his brother, Shoto turned and set off for the main plaza, the last place he had seen those three monsters.
Reaching the edge of the Landslide Zone, Shoto turned, running towards the main plaza.
A sudden blast of air shot up from the center of the USJ, smashing a massive hole in the roof and blowing Shoto clean off his feet. Using another ice slide to negate his momentum, Shoto glided to a halt, staring up at the sky though USJ's newest skylight.
"What was that?" Shoto wondered.
One of the monsters from before slammed down not far from Shoto, out cold, the bark covering its body broken and shattered, revealing the pale skin below.
A booming voice echoed through the USJ, rattling the remaining glass in the facility.
"IT'S FINE NOW! BECAUSE I AM HERE!"
Chapter 13: Shatter, And Be Remade
Thirteen called out. "Bakugo, get back!"
Mikumo activated the UV mode of his visor, searching for the ring of UV lights on Hagakure's glove. There was every chance the pale man would dispose of her now he'd gotten what he wanted, breaking into USJ.
Kurogiri laughed, before swelling in size.
There!
"Begone, hero brats."
Mikumo surged forwards, reaching out for Hagakure.
The purple mist engulfed the students, swallowing them up.
"Writhe in torment, until you breathe your last."
The ground vanished out from underneath Mikumo.
Wind and rain whipped around Mikumo as he fell towards the ground. Activating his repulsor soles, Mikumo slowed himself, hitting the surface of the road hard enough to crack it.
Mikumo looked around himself, the rain obscuring his vision. "Hagakure, are you here?"
No reply.
"Hagakure!"
"She isn't here."
Mikumo turned, activating the enhanced sight of his visor to see through the torrential rain. A man in his twenties stood in the middle of the road, his long, white hair tied back.
"Mr. Aizawa?"
The man snorted. "Not exactly, my name is Sangata."
"How do you look like him?"
Sangata shrugged. "Would you believe me if I said Eraserhead started very early?"
Mikumo stared at Sangata, nonplussed.
Sangata rolled his neck. "Yeah, didn't think you would."
"You're with those villains, aren't you?" Mikumo questioned, watching the man warily. "The pale man."
"You mean the brat, Shigaraki." Sangata shrugged again. "Pretty much, father said I should."
"Father?"
Sangata's eyes narrowed, examining Mikumo.
"Our father, you know, All For One?"
"All For One?" Mikumo replied, confused. "My father?"
"Yeah, All For One's love child, one of the ones he didn't grow in a vat, lucky brat." Sangata paused. "I guess your mother never told you your father was the greatest supervillain the world has ever seen then, Izuku?"
Mikumo started. "I-Izuku?"
"Surprised I know your name, Izuku Midoriya?" Sangata smiled, the warmth never reaching his eyes. "I know a lot more as well, like the fact you were bullied as a child for being thought quirkless."
The dark-haired boy flinched, being reminded of his own childhood.
"Sucks, doesn't it." Sangata continued. "I know how it feels, I was quirkless too, the only one in my batch, the only one of the perfect clones of All For One to fail to manifest his quirk, or a variation thereof."
Mikumo let him talk, giving more time for help to hopefully arrive.
"Cloning is illegal, has been for over a century." Mikumo commented.
"And you think someone like All For One cares about the law?"
Mikumo frowned. "Good point."
Sangata smiled. "I've got plenty more where they came from. So where was I again?"
This guy is pretty air-headed for a maniacal villain.
Sangata pulled a set of cue cards out of a pocket, flipping through them. "Oh yeah, I remember now. I was created quirkless, but All For One recognised potential in me, in my mind, he gave me a quirk, made me strong. Reiteration, the ability to copy the quirk of anyone I can see, until I blink again."
Raising an eyebrow, Mikumo watched Sangata recite the pre-prepared speech, the casual disinterest clearly written on his face.
"It's a quirk similar to yours, but yours is so much more. The ability to copy the quirks of those you touch, you could copy All For One's quirk."
"You said it before, who the hell is All For One? And why would I care about his quirk?"
Sangata rolled his eyes at the interruption. "All For One, you know, The Merchant of Quirks? The First Demon?"
"That's just an urban legend."
And Mikumo didn't believe in legends.
"An urban legend that can give and take quirks at will. A quirk you can have as well, all you need to do is to copy it, you could be a god. Join us, Midoriya."
Mikumo sighed. "I'm not Midoriya."
Sangata looked taken aback. "What do you mean, you're not Midoriya? You look just like the picture, except the hair dye."
"Class 1-A is going to find this hilarious." Mikumo groaned. "I'm not Midoriya, we just look similar."
Sangata rolled his eyes. "Dammit, Kurogiri. So, considering your appearance you must be another of father's bastards, right?"
"Never met my parents."
"So, yeah, you are one of them." Sangata tucked the cue cards back into his pocket. "That's okay, that's okay, I'm sure father would like to have another of his children rejoin him."
Mikumo's eyes darkened. "He isn't my father, and I'll never join him or you. I am going to be a hero."
Sangata sighed. "Fine, another failure, remember at least make it interesting while I kill you."
Mikumo charged up the repulsors of his gauntlets, ready to fight. Sangata's eyes glowed red, his white hair floating around his head.
"Why can't I copy your quirk?"
Mikumo smiled. "Simple, because I don't have one."
Sangata looked put out. "Pity, I was looking forward to seeing what kind of crazy quirk you might have got from our father."
Igniting his repulsor soles, Mikumo launched a kick at Sangata, but found it passed through empty air. Tilting his head, Mikumo watched as Sangata threw a punch at the back of his head.
Firing the repulsor in the palm of his right hand, Mikumo twisted out of the way, flipping into the air and using a grapple to move out of Sangata's range.
"That suit won't save you." Sangata said, looking to where Mikumo stood. "I may not have a quirk I can copy, that doesn't mean Father didn't design this body to be stronger and faster than a normal person."
Sangata burst towards Mikumo at a near inhuman speed, his fist outstretched.
"That's where you're wrong. ASPECT, activate Accel Mode."
"Of course, pilot Yamikumo, may I recommend 15% power?"
"Do it."
Suddenly, Mikumo was a blur, bouncing from wall to wall with his repulsor soles, his speed dwarfing Sangata's.
"This suit isn't a crutch because I don't have a quirk." Mikumo delivered a kick to Sangata's chest, slamming him against a wall. "This suit is my quirk! I am Shatterproof!"
Shatterproof's speed increased, reduced to little more than a blur of orange, the lights from the repulsors forming it.
Two punches hit Sangata in quick succession, driving him to the ground.
"I'll never give up again!"
A final kick slammed into Sangata's crossed arms, twin cracks sounding before the villain was flung back the length of the road, tumbling over and over.
Coming to a halt, Sangata weakly struggled to climb to his feet, his arms hanging limply by his sides.
In a swish of air, Mikumo was holding Sangata in the air with one hand, his other formed in a fist.
"ASPECT, initialise capture scenario zero-zero-nine."
"Affirmative, pilot Yamikumo."
Driving his free fist into Sangata's chest, part of the gauntlet attached itself to the villain as he was slammed against the wall behind. Unfolding, the device spewed cable in every direction, snaking around Sangata's body and securing themselves to the wall.
"This won't hold me, Quirkless!"
Mikumo frowned. "No, it won't, but this will."
Electricity surged through the cables, originating from the device on the villain's chest.
Sangata cried out in pain and shock, before lapsing into unconsciousness.
Silence fell, broken only by Mikumo's heavy breathing.
Mikumo poked Sangata in the cheek, confirming he was out for the count.
"Oh, thank heavens."
Releasing a sigh, Mikumo collapsed to his knees, using Accel Mode had taken a serious toll on his stamina.
The computerised voice spoke again.
"Pilot Yamikumo, the internal monitoring systems are showing an elevated heart rate and breathing beyond what was expected, it appears Accel Mode requires some refinement."
Mikumo nodded, before realising his mistake. "Y-Yeah, it does. Run an analysis on the data once your connection to the main server is restored, the unit in the suit doesn't have the processing power for it."
"Of course, would you like me to guide you to where the tracker in Miss Hagakure's gauntlet is indicating?"
"Yeah." Mikumo took a deep breath, before forcing himself back to his feet. "That pale man could be on the hunt to dispose of her."
Following ASPECT's instructions, Mikumo trudged through the simulated wind and rain.
ASPECT had been his first invention, he'd known he wouldn't be able to handle all the complex processes a system like STHR would have manually. She was fairly rudimentary, capable of running the suit and simple pattern recognition, but Mikumo still considered the AI his greatest creation.
Although she had developed the habit of calling him that nickname all by herself.
"Ungrateful bitch!"
Mikumo tensed, he knew that tone of voice, he had heard whenever his old foster parents talked about or to him.
A slap echoed, Mikumo peered around the corner of a building, finding an empty street.
"I-I'm sorry."
Something in Mikumo's chest clenched.
That was Hagakure.
"You've been very bad, Toru." This voice was masculine, as opposed to the previous one which had been feminine.
"I-I b-be better, I promise."
The woman spoke again. "We are very disappointed in you, Toru. First you cut part of your hair, which you know you're not allowed to do, for stupid costume and now you refuse to join us."
"You owe us this." The man this time. "You belong to us, Toru. You will do as we say."
Mikumo's stomach sank as he made the realisation, remembering the interaction between Hagakure and the pale man the day before.
Hagakure was holding a folder, in front of her was a pale, blue-haired man, his voice monotone.
"I'm sure you parents will be glad to hear you made the right choice." The pale man scratched his neck, his dry skin flaking. "For their sake."
That man hadn't been threatening to hurt Hagakure's parents if she hadn't gotten that folder.
He had been threatening that Hagakure's parents would hurt her if she hadn't gotten that folder.
Hagakure's parents were villains, and they were forcing her to become one as well, against her will.
I'm sorry, Mikumo, without a quirk you just can't be a hero. Maybe you should think about policing instead?
Heroes can't be quirkless, you idiot!
Why don't just become a stupid villain, Akatani, everyone knows that's all quirkless losers are good for, so heroes can look good when they take you down in one hit.
Mikumo's feet moved before he could think, ASPECT activating the visor's thermal mode as he launched himself at Hagakure's father, the invisible man's hand coming down for another strike.
Hagakure closed her eyes, bracing herself for the coming slap.
It never came.
"You fucking brat!"
Opening her eyes, Hagakure took in the sight of Mikumo standing in front of her, his armour reflecting a simulated lightning bolt, fist outstretched.
"I'm sorry, Hagakure, I should have got here sooner." Mikumo looked back, shooting her a small smile.
"What hell do think you're doing, you stupid kid?"
Hagakure could see the translucent outline of her father, an outline that only other's with invisibility quirks could see, he was visibly vibrating with anger.
"This is a family matter."
Mikumo's face hardened, suddenly looking a lot older than fifteen. "You're not going to touch her, in fact, you're never going to touch her again."
Hagakure's mother spoke. "Toru, I order you to get away from that boy."
Hagakure looked down. "I-I don't want to."
"Don't want to?" Hagakure's father roared. "We are your parents, you will do as we say!"
Mikumo spoke before Hagakure could. "You know, I can't remember what my parents were like, I don't know what having parents is like."
Igniting his soles, Mikumo rocketed forwards.
"But I know this isn't it!"
A punch nailed Hagakure's father in the chest, an invisible look of shock on his equally invisible face.
"You can see us?" Hagakure's father wheezed, bent over, trying to suck the air back into his lungs.
Mikumo smirked, tapping his visor. "Thermal vision. Not bad for a quirkless kid, right?"
"Quirkless?" Hagakure's mother repeated. "Well then, it won't be hard to beat a useless child, even if he can see us."
"Quirkless, not useless." Mikumo said, his tone resolute. "There's a big difference."
Hagakure's parents didn't reply.
"Do you know what the difference is?" Mikumo paused. "The difference is, I'm going to beat you, without a quirk."
Hagakure watched in disbelief, until now she'd assumed Mikumo had some kind of intelligence or technopathy quirk.
"And more than that. I will be a hero, and a quirkless hero at that."
Hagakure's mother launched herself at Mikumo, only to find her arm gripped in the teen's hand. Mikumo pivoted and sent her flying with a throw, slamming her back down on the unforgiving concrete. Her invisibility failed, revealing a brown haired woman in her late thirties, dressed in a form-fitting red jumpsuit.
"Yoko!" Hagakure's father charged at Mikumo, only to find empty air.
Turning, Mikumo met Hagakure's father in a brutal melee, a series of punches and kicks thrown with increasing speed.
Yoko Hagakure coughed as she rolled over, her back a mass of pain, looking to her daughter.
"Help your father, dear, he cares about you in his own way." She coughed again. "All we do, we do it for you. A world without heroes, a world we can use our quirks freely, isn't that what you what?"
Hagakure curled in on herself. "I want to be a hero."
Her mother smiled. "You can be, you can be our hero, okay?"
Hagakure shakily got to her feet as her mother did the same.
Yoko Hagakure smiled as she took Hakagure's hand. "We can be together, a family Toru, happy and free."
Pausing, Hagakure shook as her mother brushed away her tears with her thumb, before reactivating her invisibility.
"You're my light, Toru, I'll be so proud of you."
Hagakure nodded, fresh tears replacing those that had been wiped away.
Toshiaki Hagakure grunted in pain as he was knocked away, hitting the ground hard enough to force the air out of his lungs.
Mikumo turned, seeing Hagakure and her mother ready to fight him.
"Hagakure, you don't have to do this." Mikumo pleaded, taking a step forward.
"I have to, I have to!" Hagakure shouted, unable to stop her tears. "What other choice do I have?"
"You have a choice, right here, right now." Mikumo said. "A choice between what is expected of you, and of what you know it is right to do."
"Idealistic brat." Hagakure's father grasped one of Mikumo's feet from where he lay. "Toru, now!"
Hagakure paused, before shakily nodding.
"Light Refraction!"
Hagakure's body suddenly flashed brightly, blinding Mikumo.
Stumbling back, Mikumo tripped, one of his legs still held in place. As he hit the ground, Mikumo heard a smashing sound, dreading what it meant.
Opening his eyes, Mikumo blinked rapidly as his sight slowly came back. His visor was smashed, blue plexiglass scattered on the road surface, one fragment buried below Mikumo's left eye.
Hagakure and her parents were gone, without his visor he couldn't see them.
A set of hands grabbed his arms, holding them behind his back with surprising strength.
"Excellent work, darling." Mikumo tilted his head at the sound of Toshiaki Hagakure's voice, the direction making it clear he wasn't the one restraining him.
"I knew that Super Move was ready, you need to stop doubting yourself so much, dear."
That was Hagakure's mother, the voice coming from behind him. So she was the one holding his arms in place then.
The sound of a knife being unsheathed reached Mikumo's ears, watching as a knife seemed to appear from thin air.
"Toru, it seems only fitting you should do the honors." The knife was held out, another invisible hand took it, this one shaking. "Your first kill to mark the start of your new life, your awakening."
Mikumo took a deep breath, before looking to where he now knew Hagakure was standing. "You don't need to do this. This isn't you."
Hagakure's hand shook more violently, taken aback by the way Mikumo was somehow able to look her in the eyes without being able to see her.
"How? How could you possibly know that?" Hagakure's voice was shaky. "You've only known me a day!"
Mikumo chuckled, without any mirth. "I grew up in a series of foster homes and orphanages, a quirkless freak everyone wished would just go away. Even the ones who pretended to be nice were just doing it to hurt me."
"So?"
"I learnt to read people pretty quickly, it didn't take me long to work out what kind of person you are." Mikumo gave a small smile. "You have a good heart, you care about people. I saw that yesterday, you made sure to pick a classroom out of the way, so that pale guy wouldn't decide to dust anyone he came across on the way."
The knife was shaking even more now, Hagakure was barely even holding it.
Mikumo's smile widened. "That's why I know, Hagakure."
"I know you can be a hero."
The knife clattered to the ground.
Mikumo felt something brush past his shoulder, before his arms were suddenly free, followed by the sound of two bodies hitting the road.
"Toru, you ungrateful bitch!"
Hagakure's father went to charge at his daughter, only to be stopped by Mikumo grabbing his leg, tripping him.
Yoko Hagakure's hand went to slap her daughter.
It never came.
Hagakure's grip tightened around her mother's wrist. "I won't be controlled by you two again."
"How dare you speak to me that way, I'm your-"
Toru struck her mother with the back of her hand.
"You're nothing to me! Not anymore!"
Yoko Hagakure recoiled.
"All my life you controlled me, you only allowed me to try out for U.A. to be a mole, a traitor!" Toru activated the repulsors in her glove, punching her mother hard enough to send her flying backwards. "From now on, I'll make my own path!"
Nearby, Mikumo stood in the middle of the road, slowly looking around himself.
He'd lost track of Hagakure's father, and now the invisible man was stalking him.
"Give up, Quirkless." Toshiaki Hagakure taunted. "I'll make your death painless, well I lie, it will be very painful, but that's besides the point."
Mikumo didn't reply, a punch suddenly struck him in the face, driving the plexiglass fragment deeper into his skin and sending him stumbling.
"Pathetic, without that fancy eyewear of yours you really are useless." Mikumo could hear the sneer in the man's voice. "Worthless. I'll kill you for twisting my daughter's mind. Actually, you know, I torture you first, then have her kill you. Then she can never be a hero."
Mikumo's fists clenched, before another punch came, this one to his gut.
The invisible man was playing with him. Arrogant, believing his invisibility made him invulnerable.
"And still you won't give up." Toshiaki Hagakure kicked the boy in the shin. "How can you fight what you can't see?"
Another blow struck Mikumo across the face.
Hagakure's father laughed. "Your eyes can deceive you."
A fist buried itself in Mikumo's gut, just below his chestplate.
How can you fight what you can't see?
Your eyes can deceive you.
Mikumo's demeanour suddenly changed, his posture relaxing, his eyes closing.
Hakagure's father snorted. "Idiot."
Launching a punch at the dark-haired boy's face, Toshiaki Hagakure cried out in shock as Mikumo knocked his arm to the side and delivered an open-palm strike to his chest, his eyes still closed.
"How the hell?" Hagakure's father slowly regained his balance, retreating away from the armoured boy.
Mikumo smirked. "All my life I've had people out for me, to punish me for daring to be quirkless. I guess I got pretty good at hearing threats before I could see them."
The invisible man changed his angle of attack, sending a kick at Mikumo's back.
Before it could land, Mikumo twisted it and caught it, holding it in place.
"You've hurt Hagakure, forced her to undermine her dream." Mikumo charged up his repulsors, before bringing his gauntlet-covered fist down.
Toshiaki Hagakure's leg snapped, making the man yell out in pain.
"ASPECT, capture scenario zero-zero-seven."
"Understood, pilot Yamikumo."
The grapple fired from the side of the chest armor, wrapping around the invisible man and restraining him.
"You'll never hurt her again." Mikumo stood tall over the captured villain.
"We'll see about that." Toshiaki drawled. "You may have won the battle, but you've already lost the war. All Might will die, hero society will fall, I will stand in it's ashe-"
Mikumo silenced the villain with a punch to the face, leaving him unconscious.
Turning, Mikumo prepared to go to help Hagakure.
"A-Akatani?"
Mikumo turned, Hagakure was wearing the boots and gloves of her normal costume again.
"H-Hi, are you okay?"
Hagakure's hands gathered into fists. "How can you be so nice to me?! I hurt you!"
Mikumo took a step forward, a soothing smile on his face. "It's okay."
"It's not, it can't be, I'm a villain, all of this is my fault." Hagakure's arms dropped to her sides. "I didn't want to get hurt again, so I did what my parents and Shigaraki told me to do."
Mikumo took Hagakure's hand, she pulled away.
"You're not a villain, a villain doesn't care about others like you do." Mikumo nodded reassuringly. "If this is your fault, then we'll set it right, together."
Mikumo held out an armoured hand.
Looking up, Hagakure hesitated, before slowly taking the hand offered to her.
"We'll face this together, okay?" Mikumo smiled. "You didn't have a choice before, that pale man would just have killed you if you'd refused to give him that folder, but right now, we'll stop them."
Hagakure nodded, finding her resolve.
"Then let's go."
"Together."
Setting off together, Mikumo and Hagakure quickly encountered their first crowd of villains, they looked like they'd been beaten once already.
The two teens made short work of them, the only one of villains, with a very minor shock absorption quirk, had posed any threat at all, forcing Mikumo to briefly use 5% Accel to overpower his resistance.
"The main plaza is this way." Mikumo boosted his strength and slammed into the main doors of the Downpour Zone, breaking them open.
"Stop right there."
Mikumo turned, Hagakure was being restrained by an equally invisible person.
"Sangata, you escaped." Mikumo looked to the empty air behind Hagakure's gloves and boots.
"I told you that you couldn't hold me." Sangata sneered. "Until now I was just doing as Father asked, but you've royally pissed me off."
The knife at Hagakure's throat tightened, threatening to cut.
"But I am feeling a little generous." Sangata faded back into view, he had blinked. "Give me the suit and all your plans, and I'll let little Toru live. Can't say I'll do the same for you."
"Why do you want the suit?"
"Simple, you proved today I'm pretty much useless when fighting a quirkless. With your suit I could level the playing field."
Hagakure called out. "Don't give it to him! We all have a choice, right, Akatani?"
Mikumo hesitated, his eyes drifting behind Sangata and Hagakure for a few seconds.
Sangata drew a few drops of blood. "I'll kill her."
"No, you won't." Hagakure fired her palm repulsor, tearing the glove covering it to shreds, directly in Sangata's groin area.
Sangata doubled over, dropping the knife and releasing Hagakure.
"Taste my spirit of vengeance, foul villain."
Tokoyami dropped from a building, Dark Shadow slamming into Sangata and pinning him to the ground.
"Are you okay, Hagakure?" Mikumo queried, approaching the invisible girl as Tokoyami and Koda restrained the quirk-copying villain.
Hagakure nodded, regaining her usual cheer and giving Mikumo a thumbs up. "Yeah, I'm a-ok."
Mikumo placed a hand on her transparent shoulder. "It's okay to not be okay, you know that, right?"
Hagakure paused, before speaking quietly, so only Mikumo could hear. "You're right, I'm not okay, but right now, I just have to be."
With a small smile, Mikumo replied. "Okay then. Then let's be okay for now."
Hagakure matched his expression, before turning to her classmates. "Thanks for the help, Tokoyami, Koda!"
"You are most welcome, Hagakure." Both Tokoyami and Dark Shadow bobbed their heads in acknowledgement.
Koda mumbled a response, too quiet for Mikumo to hear.
"We should return to the entrance, it is the logical place to meet." Tokoyami looked to his fellow teens, Dark Shadow picking up the unconscious Sangata.
Mikumo nodded. "Let's-"
A blast of wind suddenly tore through the area, forcing Mikumo to fire both his grapples into the ground and grab Hagakure's wrist to stop themselves from being blown away.
Koda crouched down, his bulk and frame allowing him to weather the blast, while Dark Shadow dropped Sangata to secure both Tokoyami and itself to one of the zone's main doors.
"What was that?" Hagakure questioned as the wind died down, landing on her feet.
Mikumo released his tethers, the wind had taken Sangata's motionless form with it. "I think that was-"
"IT'S FINE NOW! BECAUSE I AM HERE!"
"All Might!"
Ten Minutes Earlier
Toshinori cleared his throat awkwardly. "I didn't realise you would be coming today, Mirai."
"No point waiting around." Nighteye adjusted his glasses.
Toshinori noted his former partner was noticeably more muscular than he was the last time they had been face-to-face. Then again, Nighteye wasn't his sidekick anymore, as a Pro Hero is his own right he couldn't rely on the strength of others.
"You look, well." Toshinori offered a genial smile.
"You look like crap."
"Still straight to the point, aren't you, Mirai." Nedzu patted Nighteye on the knee.
"There's no point wasting time with niceties at times like this." Nighteye looked to Toshinori. "I want to do this and leave as quickly as possible."
Toshinori sighed. "Mirai-"
"Don't, Toshinori." Nighteye interrupted. "If we get into that argument we'll be here all day, and I'm not willing to spend anymore time with a man throwing his life away for any longer than I have to."
Nedzu dropped from the sofa. "I'll leave you two to talk."
Toshinori shot Nedzu a pleading look, hoping he would stay.
Nedzu left.
An uncomfortable silence fell over the two men.
"Mirai, I understand you are upset I didn't pass One For All on to Young Togata."
"Upset? Absolutely not." Nighteye paused. "Disappointed? Very."
Toshinori sighed. "Mirai-"
"I recommended Mirio as your successor, a student I had been training for nearly a year at that time."
Toshinori sighed. "Mirai-"
"Instead, you chose a random, quirkless boy, with no physical training, off the street, without ever even bothering to meet Mirio."
"Mirai!" Toshinori's tone was clipped. "You said back then I should find a successor who embodies the same ideals as I do. I didn't choose Izuku Midoriya because I thought he could be like me."
Toshinori paused.
"I chose him because I know he can be better than me. Besides, Izuku is far from quirkless."
"Something that was only discovered after you had already passed One For All onto the boy." Nighteye sighed.
"That isn't the point, whether Izuku had a quirk or not is irrespective of why I chose him."
"His parentage is the point." Nighteye steeped his fingers, the annoyance clear on his face. "How did you manage to just so pick the son of All For One as your successor."
"I'll admit, I dismissed the idea of Izuku being the son of that man, despite the resemblance, for one reason. All For One would kill any quirkless child of his."
"But he isn't quirkless." Nighteye looked at Toshinori over the top of his glasses. "And now that is known, All For One will be coming for his son, to have him join him."
"Izuku would never become a villain, that's something I'm sure of. Just because he's the son of a villain doesn't mean he's destined to become one himself."
"All For One is a villain. He's the villain. The First Demon."
"That doesn't matter, Izuku has the heart of a hero."
"Well then, lead the way, I'll see if that's true. After all, that's why you asked me to come."
Toshinori stood, collecting his suit jacket.
"This way then."
Toshinori and Mirai set off side-by-side, heading for the USJ.
Just for a second, Toshinori could believe that they were All Might and Sir Nighteye, partners in crime-fighting.
But times change.
What has been done could not be undone.