(Kata POV – Cafè Near League of Villains Hideout)
The café is quiet.
Not exactly peaceful… just slightly tense.
A spoon rattles softly in my cup as I stir my coffee, accompanied by a rhythmic tap… tap… tap… almost syncing with the violent thudding of Rumi's foot against the floor.
She's glaring out the window at the building opposite us… which so happens to be the League's Hideout.
"Why are we still sitting here?" She snaps, ears twitching. "They're right there. I can hear them through the damn walls."
"I know." I reply calmly, taking a sip. "That's why we're waiting."
She turns on me. "For what? An invitation?"
"For Kurogiri to return." I reply.
She clicks her tongue and crosses her arms. The chair creaks as she leans back, muscles tense like a coiled spring. "So you're telling me we're ignoring the whole League just for their walking door?"
"He's the only one that matters." I say thoughtfully. "Beyond it preventing them escaping… he's the only one who knows where AFO, their boss, is."
Her foot pounds faster.
"Grr… you scheming types are the worst." She mutters. "Always gotta think instead of punch."
"Violence won't solve all your problems." I say exasperatedly.
"If violence doesn't solve everything… you're just not using enough of it!" She grins manically, before calming down a few seconds later, huffing as she begrudgingly waits.
'She's got a point.' I muse. 'But there's no way I'm telling her that.'
Through my radar, I sense all movement in the hideout.
'They're probably wondering where Shigaraki is.'
Dabi is sitting at the bar, bored.
Spinner's arguing with Me Compress.
Magne's drinking.
And Giran's pacing about.
'AFO used Twice's quirk against S&S, so he's either dead or a Nomu by now.' I analyse. 'Muscular, Mustard, and Moonfish probably haven't actually joined the league yet.'
'The moment Kurogiri appears, we'll attack.'
"You did something, right?" Rumi suddenly asks.
I raise an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"
She leans forward, chin in her hand, eyes narrowed suspiciously. "We're sitting in the open and nobody's freaking out. That's suspicious."
"Maybe you've lost your charm." I reply thoughtfully, my shield blocking a kick to the shin from her.
"If you're gonna say shit, at least make it believable." She laughs. "But seriously, I'm used to getting mobbed. Ain't no way it'd just stop."
"I'm disguising us by bending light." I answer simply. "To everyone else, we just look like regular civilians."
She blinks. "…You're kidding."
"I'm not." I say, followed by a long pause.
"…That's annoying." She grumbles. "Is there anything you can't do?"
"Do you really want a list?" I ask curiously.
Her ears perk. "Try me."
I consider it.
"Well, I can't manipulate time or control Black holes." I say jokingly in a light tone. "Looks like I'm still too weak, but I can't rush progress." I shrug and sigh helplessly.
Her eye twitches. "…You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?"
"I'm just being honest." I chuckle. "The list isn't very long."
"Then why haven't you used that crap on me?!" She slams her palms on the table. "Sparring would be even more fun!"
"I don't make a habit of killing my sparring partners." I look at her like she's crazy. "If you want me to go all out, you'd at least need to be able to hit me—"
My sentence cuts off as I sense something… wrong. Almost like I'm being watched, but not from any direction I'm aware of.
And yet, the feeling disappears just as suddenly as it appeared.
I focus intently, trying to identify the source, but I find nothing.
'That's… not normal.' I almost doubt whether I imagined it, but… 'It felt too weird.'
"Oi." Rumi narrows her eyes. "You good?"
"Yeah…" I say slowly. "I just felt like I was being watched."
She straightens. "I didn't feel anything, but it doesn't mean you're wrong."
"It's probably nothing." I sigh. "Thinking too deeply about it won't change anything."
"If you say so—" She nods, and at that moment, her phone vibrates.
She checks it, and immediately freezes.
"…Damn it." She stands up so fast her chair scrapes along the floor, ready to dash off, but before she can… the phone buzzes again.
Her jaw tightens as she stares at the screen.
Through Radar, I see it too.
'Sir NightEye… attacked by All For One.' Followed by a message that he has already fled.
Given how fast they arrived, it's likely communications were blocked.
My blood chills.
'Was that what I felt?' I wonder, pondering the chance Foresight was used on me, before dismissing the idea.
Even with New Order, Foresight has its limits.
'Could AFO make Foresight able to see my future whenever he wants? There should be no way.' I declare to myself, but can't shake off my lingering doubt.
Then, the sensation returns.
A feeling of being watched from a location I can't trace.
And once more, it's gone, almost instantly.
At the same time, a spatial distortion appears in the League's Hideout.
'Kurogiri's returning.' Cold intent coils through me.
'AFO…' I chant internally. 'The moment we meet…'
'Is the moment you'll die.'
(AFO POV – ???)
"If Sir Nighteye had used this Quirk properly…" I muse, striding through the corridor with my hands clasped behind my back. "I would never have been able to acquire it."
Kyudai scurries beside me, nearly vibrating with excitement. "Your power is unparalleled, Master! Even as a top hero, he was helpless."
"He was simply outclassed." I chuckle softly. "It's quite fortunate that he squandered this quirk's potential. Otherwise All Might might've succeeded in killing me."
We enter a room filled with whiteboards, markers, and various other equipment that hums quietly.
Everything is prepared.
"Are you ready?" I ask.
"Yes, Master!" Kyudai chirps, hopping in place and grabbing a marker. "I've already prepared a format for recording future events—"
"Excellent. Then let us begin."
I turn inward.
'New Order. Foresight will provide more detailed visions.'
'New Order. Foresight has no cooldown.'
The Rules activate, enhancing the quirks power.
'I just don't know how effective they'll be yet.' I think.
New Order has limitations to how much it can enhance anything. So while the Rules are powerful, they're unlikely to be fully effective.
I place my hand on Kyudai's shoulder.
"Observe." I say warmly. "Henceforth, I shall dictate the future."
I smile.
'Soon,' I think. 'Not just All Might, but all of Japan will kneel before me.'
Foresight activates, and a stream of clear, vibrant images flash through my mind, starting from this moment, but…
Not more than a few seconds pass, before Kyudai's pen slips from his fingers as his face contorts in sudden fear.
And then, I watch myself explode.
My torso tears apart in a flash instantly, then burst into mists of blood. My skull shatters like glass, before my body is seemingly atomised, with not even dust remaining.
There is no time to scream.
I watch in the third person as Kyudai stumbles backward, screaming… and is erased just as brutally.
Then everything fades to darkness.
I gasp as the vision ends.
My lungs drag air in violently as my heart slams against my ribs while cold sweat soaks my back.
"…Impossible." I whisper.
My hand trembles.
Everything happened instantly.
There was no warning, no sign of the culprit… just instant, inevitable death.
"Kurogiri!" I roar, spinning toward him, right before he teleported away. "Teleport us. Now. Anywhere away from here!"
Kyudai flinches. "M-Master?! What did you—"
"NOW!"
For once, I do not mask my fear.
Kurogiri erupts into smoke, swallowing us whole—
We reappear on a barren island with wind howling over black rock and empty salt-stained sand.
Kyudai collapses to his knees.
"M-Master…" He pants, as dread overcomes him. "What did you see?"
I stare at the horizon, my heart yet to calm down.
"…Death." I answer slowly.
"Something that kills us instantly."
My fingers curl into fists.
"And it comes soon."
A heavy silence settles over us, thick and suffocating, broken only by the wind and waves.
For several seconds, none of us speak.
My pulse still hammers in my ears.
Then… I exhale.
Slowly and deeply.
'I panicked.' I acknowledge. 'That will not happen again.'
"I need to understand what caused this." I murmur.
Once more, I activate Foresight, still bound to Kyudai's future for the next hour.
The vision unfolds.
We remain on the island as minutes stretch into an hour… but nothing happens.
In the vision, I send Kurogiri back to our base, and… he later returns. We travel back to the hideout unharmed.
"…Interesting."
I reset.
Again, I have Kyudai document every decision. Every movement. Every word.
Time passes.
Nothing happens.
Then, I alter one variable… sending Kurogiri back to the League's Hideout, and…
'We die.' I think solemnly.
I cancel the vision.
My eyes narrow. 'Kurogiri's movement is the trigger.'
There is only one way to confirm it.
I invoke Foresight again, this time intending to summon Tomura to my side, and somehow, I fail.
I change approach, gathering information instead.
Kyudai documents the League's Hideout having been raided by a familiar pair.
Kata Okada and Mirko.
The League is destroyed, and Tomura is… gone.
I end the vision.
For a moment, I do nothing.
Then my jaw tightens.
"It would appear…" I say softly. "That Tomura is dead."
Kyudai and Kurogiri's eyes widen.
"…Dead?" Kyudai croaks.
"And the culprit," I continue calmly, "is almost certainly Kata Okada."
Kurogiri stiffens. "Master… he eliminated Tomura alone?"
"I just attempted to summon him." I say. "And it failed."
I turn slowly, my shoes crunching the sand.
"He must have traced your warp." I say to Kurogiri. "That's probably how he found us."
My lips curl upward.
"And judging by the speed of our projected deaths… this is not his first kill."
Tomura had already outlived his usefulness.
But—
"He was still my weapon." I say, irritation seeping into my voice. "A blade meant to hurt All Might."
"Kata Okada…" I repeat. "You have a remarkable habit of interfering with my plans."
My fingers curl.
"No one destroys my plans…" I continue softly, "And walks away unharmed."
The anger inside me is no longer hot.
It is cold.
Focused.
Refined.
"Prepare to return." I command.
"Yes, Master." Kyudai and Kurogiri reply in unison.
A portal blossoms open behind me.
Before stepping through, I glance once more at the empty horizon.
"Now I know what you are capable of." I murmur. "And now… every move I make will be certain."
I step into the swirling vortex.
'Soon…'
'Your life, and quirk, will be mine.'
********
A/N: Hello Everyone! How are you all? If you've enjoyed the chapter and book thus far, please consider leaving me some comments, reviews, or power stones. It really helps the book out.
So, lots of stuff happening this chapter. It was indeed a close call for AFO🤣. So, to explain some things... How exactly Foresight works... Idk. How NightEye thought the future couldn't change, as in it accounts for all your actions too? That I'm not sure, so this is what I'm gonna go with. I'd be assuming NightEye was mostly talking about important events, like All Might's death, as set in stone.
Then, the quirk is effective for 1 hour in reading someone's future, and as such, he can retry again and again. I might've misrepresented it, but to change stuff in the visions, he needs to start one with the conscious decision to carry out the actions he wants to test. So he can't be watching and changing his own actions as things progress.
And, even if it's viewed as me trying to extend his life, I'm just giving him a logical brain for his actions😭. Dude saw an atrocious death for himself. I'd be scared too. Him testing multiple visions to find the cause is smart. Even if he knows it's safe going back, why is it safe? He'd want to know, otherwise he'd be unable to sleep peacefully. And yes, I'll own up to it.
Him surviving was plot armour (kinda). He got lucky to have stopped Kurogiri in time😭. That was indeed plot saving him🤣. But I have plans. Can't have him die yet. So bash me for plot armour if you wish, but just know, if Kata had gotten there, not even plot armour could save him😭😭😭.
You can also read 10 chapters ahead and support me at [email protected]/AMV_WEAKLY
Anyway, that's all from me. I hope you all have a wonderful rest of your day/night 😁