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Moral Compass

Summary:

During one of Class 1-A's rescue exercises, a child is found in the ruined buildings of the USJ.

No one knows how he got there. There are no reports of a child with his description missing. And, no one is able to locate his parents.

However, all of that falls on the wayside once it's discovered what Quirk the child has:

Moral Compass.

The ability to turn heroes into villains and vice versa.

Soon enough, there are Pro Heroes causing chaos while criminals suddenly find themselves running toward danger.

Now, Fumikage Tokoyami, Reiko Yanagi, and Oboro Shirakumo find themselves in the center of this mystery.

Who is this child? Where did he come from? Why hasn't this Quirk been discovered before? But, most importantly, can the three of them fix all of the damage before a new Symbol of Evil can rise?

Notes:

I'M ALIVE!

Hello, everyone! For those of you who are new around here, this is my first real work in months. On an update, I talked about posting this special Halloween story and I'm glad the day has finally come that I can do that. This story is indeed set in the same shared universe for this series: "Kamen Riders: Plus Ultra", a crossover fic between Kamen Rider and My Hero Academia. Although this is the case, this story mainly deals with My Hero Academia elements so those of you who don't care too much about crossovers can still enjoy it. The only true exception to this is the fact that this story features Yanagi, a character that can transform into her hero suit that's now a bunch of armor designed specifically for her. Other than that, the rest of the story can be read entirely on its own so you don't need to be confused. Any elements that was carried over from the main story will be explained here.

For those of you who have been keeping up with this series, this story takes place during Halloween, which in-canon, takes place during the preparations for the School Festival arc of MHA. Now... as of this writing, the story that's supposed to recap the School Festival arc, "My Academia Climax!" hasn't reached this point yet. That story's current last chapter involved the aftermath of the Provisional Licensing Exam. Although this story is set after the Overhaul Arc that none of you have read yet, this story won't feature any major spoilers from that arc. No mention of Eri, no mention of Overhaul, and no mention of Sir Nighteye's fate. There are a few minor spoilers in here that I will address after the fact, but none of them will tell you the real story of the Overhaul Arc. If you want to wait until after that's updated, I understand, but I just really wanted to get this story out for Halloween.

I'll give an update to "My Academia Climax!" and how that's going once this story's finished, but for now, I hope you enjoy!

Chapter 1: In Each of Our Hearts

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

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This was his destiny.

The image had been burning in his mind for many years.

“I’m leaving the rest to you.”

The ruined city around him. A red sky. Black bolts of lightning. Purple light highlighting Nana as she said her final goodbye to Toshinori.

“I’m counting on you.”

Toshinori’s hand reaching out, tearfully screaming, “MASTER!” And then Gran Torino’s whole body hit him in the gut as they zoomed away from the scene. But, the physical pain was nothing compared to the real pain he was feeling right then.

“All Might.”

Toshinori shouted over and over for her, but he was not strong enough to force his teacher off him. Why? Why couldn’t he have been strong enough to?

Nana Shimura gave up everything for Toshinori to live and fulfill his dream of becoming a Symbol of Peace. She was a true hero, through and through. He even thought of her as his own mother.

So, for years and years, Toshinori put everything into training One for All, preparing for the day that he would confront All for One and defeat him once and for all.

And, now was the moment he would do so.

It was All Might, all alone, against All for One.

The Symbol of Peace was heaving, trying to ignore the physical pain All for One had inflicted on him. He felt like his stomach could explode at any moment, desperately trying to get out of him.

But, still, All Might fought with everything he had.

All for One floated right above him. The villain had the audacity to smile in spite of all of All Might’s damage.

“I must say...” the villain drawled. “You’ve been entertaining so far.”

“It’s over.” All Might declared. “Your reign of Japan will end today.”

“Ah, yes. Japan will sleep safely tonight...” All for One glanced left and right. “From the threat most of them don’t even know truly exists. I’m sure that’s why there are no cameras or witnesses to this little showdown of ours.”

The blonde snarled, “The world should never know evil like yours exist.”

“Oh, really? And, what would the world think if they saw you right now?”

“They...” All Might paused before smiling just like Nana would. “They would know that I’ll always be here to protect them!”

All Might launched forward, fist drawn, but All for One flicked his wrist. A sudden gust of wind pressure blew right into the hero, sending him crumbling through the ground.

“Really? I’m sure Nana Shimura said the same thing.”

Fear gripped All Might's heart as he looked back at the villain, knowing exactly where this conversation was going. The hero pulled himself up to his feet, confronting the villain once again. “You don’t get to speak of her!”

“Oh, wait, I never heard her say that” All for One said, ignoring All Might’s command. “The last sounds she made were a pathetic cry. It was far more than entertaining for me. A good bit of comed-”

That was the last thing All for One said before All Might leapt faster than the villain thought was possible.

SMASH!

His right fist drove a punch right to All for One’s face that no one could have ever seen coming. The strength behind it, fueled by the power of One for All, obliterated the villain’s head entirely, spewing blood out at a high speed.

All for One’s arms fell limp as his body fell, sprawled along the ground.

THUD!

All Might dropped straight down, landing into a stumble. He felt like his insides were completely done and they were about to be thrown up. But, he did it.

“Nana... it’s over. I avenged you...”

The Symbol of Peace turned away from the gruesome scene. There was more work to be done before he could fully rest. But, it was over. One for All’s purpose, Toshinori’s duty, it was all over...

“MWA HA HA HA HA HA HA!”

All Might spun around, looking right up. The sight that awaited him was more than he could bear.

It was All for One alive and well! How was that even possible?!

Toshinori leapt forward and threw a punch, but – Wait! He wasn’t All Might anymore!

He fell to the ground, practically being buried in the dirt underneath him. He looked down to see his skeletal body, his frail and bony limbs. His costume sagging all over him.

How?! How was this possible?!

The blonde looked up. Littering the ground like common trash, there were the corpses of everyone he knew. Police officers, detectives, pro heroes, teachers, students...

Toshinori stumbled back, freezing from the sight of it all.

There was no more power in him! No Quirk! No One for All!

What was happening?!

“Where’s that smile of yours?” All for One was suddenly right over him. Toshinori couldn’t move. He was powerless. He was worthless to do anything now! “You feel that despair now? How futile your fight had been. I’m still alive. You failed everyone.”

It’s true. He failed Nana. He couldn’t avenge her. He couldn’t save anyone anymore...

“If it’s any consolation, there is something that came as a result of your actions...”

All for One laughed, summoning something from behind and showing it for the world to see.

Toshinori shook his head, backing away from it, “No. No. No!”

In All for One’s hands, there was a small wooden plaque. And, Fumikage Tokoyami’s severed head was fixed to the center of it.

“I have a lovely decoration to look at,” All for One laughed, throwing his head back.

“NO!”

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Toshinori Yagi suddenly yelled out, waking up in a cold sweat. He choked back his sobs as he gripped his blanket, reminding him of where he was.

The battle with All for One happened a long time ago. Everything that happened after Toshinori delivered his smash didn’t happen like that.

He was a teacher at UA. He was essentially Quirkless again after the Kamino incident. But, he already entrusted One for All to Fumikage Tokoyami, a student who he knew had accomplished great things with One for All already. Despite his penchant for darkness, Young Tokoyami was kind and gentle and had learned to use the Quirk far better than he ever did, manifesting it into Holy One, the mirror opposite of Tokoyami’s original Quirk, Dark Shadow.

All for One was in Tartarus now. He was locked up in Japan’s most advanced prison complex. Toshinori had visited him shortly after to make sure any doubts he had were unfounded. The villain wasn’t going to ever escape.

Young Tokoyami, all of his students, everyone would be safe from him.

Nothing would happen...

Toshinori threw his blanket away, getting up from his bed. This was just another nightmare among countless lately that he had to deal with. And, he knew that there was no way he was going to go to sleep any time soon.

He didn’t even bother looking at his phone to see the time before he changed out of his pajamas and got into some running clothes.

The retired hero quietly left the teacher’s dorm. Again, Toshinori didn’t know the actual time, but knew that it was dreadfully early based on the dark sky with only a flicker of light on the horizon. The air was cool and damp which worked out for Toshinori because it helped him breathe as he jogged along the path for the dorms.

It’s quiet. A relaxing time for Toshinori to get his thoughts together needed for the school day. Though, there were some that he just couldn’t shake off.

“Running away... Is that all I can really do now?”

When Toshinori reached a spot close to Class 1-A's dorms, he stopped. Blue eyes started to drift up from the entrance toward the floor where his successor was sleeping.

A small part of him wanted to go into the dorm and check in on Young Tokoyami, but he knew that it wasn’t the best thing to do.

“I’m starting to think like an overprotective mother...” Toshinori sighed, shaking his head. “Besides, I know that Young Tokoyami really prefers his beauty sleep.”

The young raven called it his time of dwelling, but both Toshinori and Dark Shadow knew what it was. Besides, ever since Toshinori got Tokoyami permission to sleep in a coffin (long story there), he knew that Tokoyami absolutely loved it, despite not saying a word.

Eventually, Toshinori finished his rounds of the campus and started to head back to the teacher dorms, waving hello to Vlad King on patrol and then to Power Loader when passing through.

“Huh. I must have missed an update with the patrol schedule. Didn’t know that we were doubling up again.”

Of course, the doubling up on patrols was only when Toshinori had volunteered to patrol. His colleagues had all tried to hide it through jokes and banter, but Toshinori knew the reason why. They didn’t want him to be alone if something actually dangerous happened...

Soon enough, Toshinori was inside of the dorms, making a stop at his bedroom for his toothbrush, towel and other toiletries. He’d be earlier than most of his other teachers, with the sole exception of Aizawa who seemingly never sleeps, but, he should do this fast to let the other teacher-

“Okay, that grab was good, but you gotta extend a little more with your kicks.”

A pause. “Like this?”

“Yep. It’s all about technique.”

Toshinori hadn’t meant to overhear, but he did. He glanced toward the door on his left, toward the spare room of their dormitories.

“This is Shirakumo’s room, I believe.”

Oboro Shirakumo. The newest teacher’s assistant for the staff. But, he was also the teenager that tragically died during his work study and resurrected by All for One to become Kurogiri, the loyal servant to him and Tenko Shimura AKA Tomura Shigaraki.

More people that All Might wasn’t able to help...

The only reason that Shirakumo was here now was because Young Midoriya somehow figured out the man’s identity ahead of time and discovered technology that was able to reverse the brainwashing done on Shirakumo and bring his original personality back.

Now, Shirakumo had the Warp Gate Quirk instead of his original Cloud Quirk. But, the police and officials have already placed a collar to nullify the Quirk and essentially keep him on house arrest on campus.

It’s unfortunate, but it’s the best they could do at the moment.

Toshinori knocked on the door. “Hello, Shirakumo. Is someone in there with you?”

“Ack!”

The blonde tilted his head curiously. He knew that part of Shirakumo’s arrangement at UA was that he wasn’t allowed to be alone with any of the UA students without supervision. But, Toshinori believed he heard a teenager’s voice in there so...

“Hey, All Might! What’s up?”

Shirakumo’s door opened fully, letting Toshinori see the room completely. Even though it looked messy, pillows and blankets strewn about, there was no sign of anyone else from what he could see.

“Well, I heard you were awake and wanted to greet you,” the teacher said. “Are you usually up this early?”

The head covered in blue fog scoffed waved that off, leaning on the doorframe, “Pfft! Yeah, totally! I’m almost always awake. Where did you think Shota got his whole sleeping thing from? Man, I could beat him in sleep... in my sleep!”

Toshinori hummed, trying to process that answer. He decided to answer his other question instead.

“I thought I heard someone’s voice in here.”

“Uh...” Shirakumo stammered before he could smile mockingly. “Yeah, you like it? I’ve been thinking of entertaining the students and breaking the ice a bit more by doing impressions of them.”

The skeleton echoed, “Impressions?”

“Yeah, you want to see them? Here’s my Aoyama.” Shirakumo paused before pulling off a dramatic pose. “Zeef!”

“I don’t believe that’s French.”

“Who said I was trying to speak French?”

Toshinori narrowed his eyes at that exchange, awkwardly excusing himself back to his original destination. He decided not to focus on Shirakumo’s behavior that much. He knew that Shirakumo was a good person and Toshinori already had a few misunderstandings with others based on a few assumptions. Shirakumo was still adjusting after all. Best not to think anything negative of the sort.

About ten minutes later, Toshinori had returned to his room, changing from his workout sweats into his suit for teaching.

“A VIDEO CALL IS HERE! A VIDEO CALL IS HERE!”

Toshinori made sure he was properly dressed before sitting down at his desk and answering the call on his laptop. He smiled as a window popped open, showing Melissa Shield on screen waving hello.

“Hey, Uncle Might!” the girl greeted.

“Hello, Melissa.”

“I was wondering if it was too late to talk. I know that time zones can be tricky for us so I tried to compensate for that.”

Toshinori reassured, “Not at all. I can always make time for you. Besides, I have about an hour before I need to get to work anyhow.”

Work as in his teaching. Not as All Might.

“Ok, thanks!” Melissa exclaimed.

Toshinori asked, “How’s your father doing?”

Melissa smiled, though her expression was sadder than she intended. “He’s still in trouble for what happened at the Expo. But, he’s doing alright.”

David Shield. A trusted ally to Toshinori during his years in America training to fully utilize One for All. He provided Toshinori with his very own hero suits and was always the go-to person if Toshinori ever needed support gear.

But, then, only a few months ago, David Shield tried to commit a crime and ruined his good name all so that he could obtain a machine that would have tried to provide All Might his dwindling strength back.

If All Might had trusted him with the secret of One for All and his chosen successor, that wouldn’t have happened.

Another person’s life affected by worrying too much about Toshinori. All because Toshinori wasn’t strong enough to keep the facade up a little longer...

“Anyway, I was just wondering what you thought of my delivery. I wasn’t sure if it actually works.”

“Ah, yes. That.”

A few days ago, an important package had been sent to UA addressed to Toshinori himself. Toshinori opened it in private, not wanting any of the teachers or students to see him. But, to test it fully, he had to go to Ground Beta in the middle of the night. Just like his successor Tokoyami did.

Needless to say, when Principal Nezu made a brief comment about teachers needing to reserve testing grounds beforehand, Toshinori hoped that no one knew it was actually him.

“It was very thoughtful,” Toshinori replied sincerely. “And, I do love all of the thought that was put into it. But, you know, even after putting it on, I must admit, it doesn’t feel right for me.”

“I can adjust it if needed.”

“It’s not that. I thought I would feel different if I put it on, but it’s... It’s just not for me.”

“Oh, of course,” Melissa said, her expression dropping slightly.

The retired hero leaned forward. “Do not fret. This is a ‘me thing’, I believe it’s called. I still plan on keeping it.”

"Yeah. It’s supposed to only be for emergencies, right?

Toshinori nodded. “Exactly. The work you put into that support gear is phenomenal. You’re so talented, Melissa.”

The girl tried to hide her blush that appeared across her cheeks. “Have you shown it to Tokoyami yet? What’s his opinion on it?”

“I... haven’t shown him it yet,” Toshinori admitted. “Young Tokoyami can be a bit... critical of my fashion.”

Translation: Toshinori didn’t want to risk having his successor be embarrassed by him. Of course, the retired hero loved the design Melissa chose. However, Young Tokoyami would most likely see the design and state that it’s not ‘dark enough’. Toshinori could hear it now.

“It could be darker to show the vengeance you now have. Give Dark Shadow and I a few moments and we could fix this for you.”

Besides, Toshinori still felt like he was overcompensating with the support item. If he wore it, he would be admitting to everyone that he had a weakness. And he really didn’t want to show the world that. Even now, they still grieve for All Might and his retirement...

Young Tokoyami would one day, be the strong protector that the world needs.

Toshinori would just get in the way of that.

Melissa stared at the screen, reading her uncle’s sad yet thoughtful expression. Instead of poking around that more, she decided to change the subject.

“Hey, uh, I heard that Tokoyami’s birthday is in a few days. Is that correct?”

“Oh, of course!”

“Cool,” Melissa nodded. “So, do you think he would like it if I sent something to him?”

“Actually... I believe you shouldn’t,” Toshinori admitted awkwardly. “Although I’m sure he would appreciate the thought, Young Tokoyami is rather not fond of celebrating his birthday.”

Melissa knit her brow in confusion. “What? Why?”

“I remember when I tried to celebrate it with him last year before he got into UA while I was in training him…”

The old man sighed fondly as he leaned forward, recounting the incident from only a year prior.

“This is unacceptable!” Tokoyami screamed in agony. “You've made an absolute mockery of me. This is pure betrayal! Betrayal!” The raven clenched his fists, shaking them with pure rage and anger. “Do you have any idea what heinous crime you have committed?”

Toshinori froze up, barely able to speak. All the mighty hero could muster was him holding up the cake-sized box in his hands. But, that didn’t seem to satisfy the beast. “I... I thought when you said you didn’t want to celebrate your birthday, that it was just an expression.”

“You think I’m one for bold expressions?! To say something that I don’t really mean?!”

The man shrunk down from the harsh volume of his successor.

“I warned you specifically of this and you contravened it. You have brought disgrace and dishonor to myself and Dark Shadow!"

It soon quieted down to a tense silence. Toshinori opened the box, revealing the treat that was inside. “It has apples in it.”

...

...

...

“Very well. Your offering is acknowledged. All is forgiven for now.”

Tokoyami snatched the cake away and averted his gaze, turning away from him. As the raven set it down for later, Toshinori threw up his hands, approaching him.

“Young Tokoyami, I still don’t understand. Why wouldn’t you want to celebrate your birthday?”

Even All Might, the great Symbol of Peace, celebrated his birthday! (By trying to beat his personal record of good deeds performed in a day.)

The raven stood straight. With his back toward the man, Tokoyami looked up toward the sky.

“You know of the date of my birth, All Might,” Tokoyami started, creating an ominous tone between them with no other sound except a small gust of wind blowing by. “But, are you aware of the exact hour?”

“No... should I?” Toshinori questioned, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.

“According to the doctors, I was born at precisely 11:56 PM!” Tokoyami exclaimed. He hung his head low, filled with shame. “If my mother was only a bit stronger... if fate wasn’t so cruel and hadn’t already cast judgment upon me, I would have been born on Hallows Eve! The most sacred day of the year! It could have been glorious!”

Toshinori blinked. This was too dramatic to be upset over. And, that’s coming from him.

“Well, Young Tokoyami...” The hero put his hands up as he tried to reassure the student. “If you really want to celebrate your birthday on Halloween, I’m sure that can be arranged. I mean, all things considered, it’s still pretty close.”

“Close is not enough!” Tokoyami snapped. The raven’s blood was boiling at the thought of it all. He looked over his shoulder, glaring at the pure audacity. “Hallows Eve is too important of a day for me to force a false change. It’s the day where all of our mortal vessels can transcend the boundaries between life and death, communicating with spirits from beyond our sights and senses. The day that we obtain the power to show the world that anyone is capable of transforming into their ideal self without fear of rejection. The day that we confront what we fear the most and channel those fears into becoming something that stands alongside the evils of the world!”

When Tokoyami closed his eyes, he let out a small breath. “When you see it all together, it’s a tapestry of beautiful darkness. I shall not tarnish it by making the day a celebration in only my name and going against what fate has decided for me.”

Melissa had listened to Toshinori’s story with rapture. When Toshinori had finished, she commented, “Wow. That’s actually thoughtful of him.”

“It is...” Toshinori sighed, a smile taking over his expression. “Just like how you are doing, I’m proud to see him grow as well. I know he is capable of great things.”

It was true. No matter what fears Toshinori had about himself or the future, he knew that his chosen successor would fight with all of his power and skills to make this world one where people wouldn’t have to fear the darkness.

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“Fumi, I’m scared!”

“Silence!”

Today’s hero training for Class 1-A was at the infamous USJ, a cursed site in Fumikage’s unbiased opinion. It was not only the site where he and his friends were attacked by the League of Villains in their infancy, but it contained many dangers that targeted him in particular.

For example, Class 1-A was taking part in an evacuation exercise. Each student was placed into random spots in the six different areas of the facility where they were tasked with finding all of the civilians in their area and taking them to the evacuation point.

Fumikage got placed in the Conflagration Zone, a place of eternal hellfire. One where he wouldn’t be able to use Dark Shadow.

As he said, it was ridiculously unfair to him.

At least he had Holy One. Although, it still meant that he had to do it on his own without so much as a hand from Dark Shadow.

While Fumikage was avoiding flames, in the USJ courtyard, the teachers were exchanging notes on what they observed so far.

Toshinori commented, “I must say. I am worried. Splitting the class up among these zones does feel somewhat reminiscent of what happened at the start of the year.”

Thirteen nodded, somewhat agreeing with the blonde’s words. Nevertheless, she explained, “I can see where you’re coming from. We usually keep the class together in one spot so that they can all be easily managed. However, this is them learning from that experience. Shigaraki’s big mistake back then was having Kurogiri randomly teleport the kids to different spots. It was pure luck on our part. This way, we can have the students go at their own pace while dealing with their own weaknesses and shortcomings.”

“I am aware. I just hope they have enough endurance for it.”

Toshinori couldn't help but look over at the burning city nearby. There were only two students inside. Young Tokoyami and Young Asui. Both of their Quirks made them very susceptible to the high temperatures. He just had to hope that they don’t overexert themselves too much.

Out of the corner of his eye, Aizawa approached the two teachers. Right next to him, a stretcher being moved by robots carried an unconscious Izuku Midoriya. The greenette’s body was mainly covered up by a blanket on top.

As the robots moved toward the entrance, Toshinori asked, “What happened? Was the Typhoon Zone too much for him?”

Aizawa explained, his face in his usual tired expression, “Apparently, in the Typhoon Zone, the Problem Child had gotten pulled out of his transformation and the winds were so strong it blew his clothes off. Hagakure accidentally knocked him out after she got angry at him for ‘stealing her gimmick’.”

That would have surprised Toshinori and Thirteen at the start of the year. Now, it was exactly what they expected with Izuku Midoriya’s infamous bad luck.

The tired man looked around, narrowing his eyes. “More importantly, where is Oboro? I left him here with the both of you.”

Thirteen explained, “Oh, we were short on training dummies for everyone so Oboro volunteered to help out as one of them in the Conflagration zone.”

“What?” Aizawa snarled, his accusing glare becoming even more enhanced thanks to Erasure. “You left a man with no access to his Quirk in a burning city?”

“It’s fine,” the Rescue Hero reassured. “We put him in a spot where he’ll stay safe, but ready for either Asui or Tokoyami to pick him up.”

Aizawa argued, “But, he hasn’t prepared for this at all! He doesn’t even know basic safety protocol. Or how the USJ fully works now. It’s different than when he was in school.”

“I already prepped him on the USJ when we were doing this exercise for Class 1-B earlier. And, I’ve done this before in other rescue exercises with the other classes. He’ll be fine. I trust him.”

The homeroom teacher reaffirmed, “He’s still not ready. I’ll go get him and I’ll take his place instead. He can come back here.”

Before Toshinori or Thirteen could argue, the Erasure Hero turned around, already stomping toward the city of flames.

Speaking of Oboro, at that moment, he was in the middle of thinking the ‘perfect’ pose for someone to save him when Fumikage had swooped in and pulling the larger man over his shoulder as he rescued him from the ring of flames.

Landing in the center of the street, Fumikage released his grip on Oboro, powering down his Quirk at the moment. The foggy man walked a few steps forward and then turned around, interlocking his hands together and looking at Fumikage with affectionate hands.

“Oh, my big strong hero! How can I ever repay you?”

Fumikage stared at him with a blank expression before admitting, “This is the kind of behavior I would expect from Midnight.”

Oboro froze, blinking at that statement, before he snorted, laughing it off. “Ha! Yeah, I guess!” He rubbed the back of his neck with a wide smile. “Maybe I could mix it up a bit.”

The raven asked, “Do you need any assistance returning to the entrance?”

“I think you’re supposed to drop me off at the evacuation point like I am a lifeless dummy so...”

“Understood,” Fumikage nodded.

The raven took a step forward, hands stretched out, but Oboro held up his hands, backing away from him.

“Wait just a sec!” Oboro exclaimed. Fumikage paused, his arms dropping underneath his cloak. The cloudy man pointed at the teenager. “Since we have a moment, I wanna ask how that new move of yours is coming along.”

“Ah, yes, I have been working on it in my spare time,” Fumikage reported. “I found much inspiration from your tales of how you used your original Quirk back when you were a UA student.” Even though Fumikage would silently admit that some of Oboro’s stories seemed greatly exaggerated. “I am still unsure of how I can use it effectively, but I believe it will serve a useful addition to my arsenal.”

“Glad to hear I’m getting better at this teaching thing,” Oboro chuckled. “But, you know, I would have thought if you were going to go to anyone for move inspiration for, it would have been All Might.”

Fumikage questioned, keeping a cool expression on his face, “All Might?”

The cloudy man shrugged. “Yeah, dude. All Might talks about you a lot in the dorms. All of the staff knows that he’s your favorite.”

The raven let out a quiet sigh. His eyebrow twitched a bit, realizing again how his relationship with his predecessor was so easily outed. He needed to have another discussion with All Might on the subject of discretion. it was a wonder how One for All was as secret as it was…

After a moment to calm down, Fumikage admitted, looking up at Oboro, “All Might and I have trained together in the past before UA. We have grown together as student and pupil. I have learned much from him.”

Oboro hummed, nodding along. “I get it. Are you planning on doing that whole Symbol of Peace shtick like he is?”

“Of course not,” the hero student cut that line of thought down. “Dark Shadow and I have already discussed this subject at length with All Might. We are heroes of the darkness. There is no peace to be found. Only chaos and destruction which we shall combat. We have no interest in emulating our mentor fully, only to use his lessons to save those who find themselves lost in the darkness.”

A whistle left the teaching assistant’s mouth. “Wow, you are totally cool. I can see what All Might sees in you.” He threw his head back leisurely, resting his hands on his hips as he arched his body backwards. “So, what kind of Symbol do you want to be?”

Fumikage was thrown off from the sudden question. The raven blinked. “What do you mean?”

Oboro explained, “Well, I get it. You don’t want to be a Symbol of Peace. It clashes with your image and it carries immense responsibility. I definitely couldn’t handle it. But, you can be a symbol of something else. The really iconic heroes are known for more than just their Quirks and strengths. They can exude a quality about them they want others to believe in or at the very least, an image that they want to share to the people they save.”

The raven was stunned in silence for a moment before he admitted in a blunt fashion. “Huh. I wouldn’t have thought you were so wise.”

Oboro shrugged off the compliment. “Yeah, well, when you listen to the same lectures over and over again, you start to pick up on some things.”

Fumikage had never even thought of it. The idea was so simple. A point of contention between him and All Might was that Fumikage didn’t believe in becoming a new Symbol of Peace. But, he never considered becoming a symbol of something else. The true image of the hero he wanted to be.

If the peace All Might created came from him shining in the light, what symbol could be found in the darkness?

“You have given myself and Dark Shadow much to ponder…” Fumikage bowed his head. “I thank you for your words. I shall need a fortnight to contemplate-

Fumikage suddenly stopped mid-sentence. The raven was starting to feel a small buzzing inside of his mind. Holy One’s voice spoke to him.

“Danger...”

The emo teenager looked toward the side. Fumikage’s beak hung open, his eyes widening in surprise. Oboro noted the boy’s silence, following his gaze. And, like Fumikage, he was also just as shocked.

Trying to hide behind a small pillar underneath a building, there was a child.

A group of villains breaking into the USJ, although regrettable and cruel to happen, was something the two of them could wrap their heads around. But, a single child managing to break in just boggled their mind. UA’s security should have been improved after the USJ incident, not somehow get worse!

Fumikage thought, “How is something like this even possible?”

Oboro stammered, “What the-? How the-? What?” He then glanced at Fumikage. “I swear I had nothing to do with this one!”

At the sound of Oboro’s outburst, the child’s eyes met with Fumikage’s.

Suddenly, the boy started sprinting away, turning the corner of the block they were on.

“Wait!” Fumikage yelled. Holy One’s light wrapped around his arms, providing him with strength and energy. He leapt forward with super speed, giving chase as he rounded the corner.

But, there was no one in sight. In fact, the only thing in front were unruly orange flames.

Fumikage slammed the palms of his hands together, generating a large gust of wind that blew them out.

WHOOSH!

It left nothing but ash. And, not even a trace of the child.

Fumikage looked all around him, but there was nothing. Even Holy One was telling him that something was wrong.

Oboro was slow, his chest heaving. He was more used to riding a cloud around than doing anything with cardio. (Plus, he was woefully out of shape.)

He hadn’t reached Fumikage yet, but then he noticed something among the hellscape he was in out of the corner of his eye.

The boy was in an alleyway now, climbing up the fire escape. Oboro chased after him, wondering, “Wait, I thought this kid was on the other side of this building. How did he get here that fast?”

The teaching assistant yelled, running up the stairs after him, “Wait!”

Oboro reached the third platform, seeing the boy stop on the next platform. The man reached to grab him, but then, the boy phased through the platform, going straight down. Oboro heard a THUD! from below. The man looked over the railing to see the boy untuck his legs as he sprung up from the ground and made a beeline for the sidewalk.

“Is that his Quirk?”

Right as the boy made it out of the alley, Fumikage sprung up from above right in front of the boy. He spread his arms wide, blocking the child’s path. The kid stopped himself in his path.

“It is alright,” Fumikage reassured, kneeling down to meet him at eye level. “We are not your enemies.”

Now that he stopped running, Fumikage could see the child even closer. It was a boy about 10 years old with heterochromatic eyes, similar to Fumikage’s classmate, Todoroki. The left eye was white while the other was black. But, other than that, there was nothing unusual about him in casual clothing and a messy set of black hair.

So, how’d he get in here?

The boy looked over his shoulder to see Oboro right behind him, the man still panting from the exertion of it all.

Oboro wagged a finger before holding onto his knees. “You... that was your Quirk you used back there? Some kind of phasing?”

The child’s face was undiscernible before he gave a slow nod.

“That... must be how you got in here, right?”

“I... I think so,” the child began hesitantly. He averted his gaze, not ready to make eye contact with them yet. “I... my memories are a little fuzzy. I’m not sure what I should be doing.”

“What you should be doing?”

Fumikage took note of that before asking in a calm tone, “My name is Tsukuyomi. What is your name?”

The child hesitated for a moment, still not looking at right at them. “Shu.”

“Ok, Shu. Would you accompany us out of here toward the entrance?” the raven asked. “This is not an ideal location for a conversation.”

A moment of silence passed between them before Shu agreed. “Ok, but can I walk there by myself? I don’t want to fly like how I saw you.”

Fumikage responded with a nod, “Of course, we shall escort you there.”

The raven held out his hand for the boy to grab, but the child flinched when it was in reach.  Fumikage glanced at Oboro for confirmation. Both of them knew that their appearances made others hesitant to approach them. Part of Shu’s behavior could have explained that, but the other was something else. More than just general fear of strangers...

Still, Oboro led the way toward the entrance in front of Fumikage walking side-by-side with Shu next to him. Fumikage tried to take the time to discern more of Shu’s condition and appearance.

“There are no notable injuries from what I have observed... Shu’s Quirk is some sort of phasing capability. Which would serve as a reasonable explanation for how he got inside. But, even so, wouldn’t have the security cameras been alerted to this?”

Oboro suddenly stopped moving. Fumikage turned his attention away from Shu, looking up at the street.

A line of green robots blocked their path. Fumikage recognized them from the UA entrance exam, being easily used as cannon fodder to test their initial abilities with their Quirks.

But, still...

Fumikage asked, “Shirakumo, I believe this exercise was just for rescue and not combat. What are they doing here?”

“Not sure,” Oboro admitted before taking a step forward and addressing the robots with a wave. “Hey, uh, robo-dudes, there’s been some kind of mix-up. There’s no combat exercise today.”

One of the robots responded, “Power Loader gave us instructions to complete our tasks, no matter who tells us otherwise.”

Fumikage echoed, “Power Loader?”

Oboro shook his head. “Well, I'm telling you different. Return to the main entrance and inform Eraserhead and the other teachers that we have a child here named Shu that’s going to need medical attention by Recovery Girl when we get back.”

“Shu is the name of our target,” the robot responded.

Both Fumikage and Oboro said at once, “Target?!”

Shu froze, both of his legs shaking from the fear. He took a step back.

All of a sudden, the robots raised their appendages in the air. “ATTACK!”

The robots’ red eyes locked onto Oboro, aiming their gun-like appendages onto the foggy man. Their barrels started spinning, firing off rounds of rubber bullets.

BABABABABABABABABABABANG!

Oboro instinctively whipped around and picked up Shu to shield him from harm.

“LUNAR WHIP!”

Fumikage moved quickly, sliding in front of Oboro. From underneath his cloak, Holy One’s bird-like form reshaped becoming one of the Vestiges instead.

Banjo Daigoro. Fifth User. His original Quirk, Blackwhip, shot out from underneath Fumikage’s cloak.

Whips of energy extended outwards, acting as if it was alive. It shot out in an entangled flurry, slapping the bullets down with fury and speed and protecting all three of them from harm.

As the first barrage of bullets ended, Holy One returned to its original shape, covering its master’s head, beak, and arms with their light. The raven looked back to the others.

“Shirakumo, get the two of you to safety now!”

Energized, Fumikage dove into the fray, flying down the street at high speed and sinking his wicked talons right into the robot’s metal exterior.

SKKKKT!

Oboro held the shivering boy close as his head darted left and right, sprinting for a safe spot.

“Not a lot of safe places when everything is on fire...” Oboro thought. “The last thing this kid needs is-” He suddenly paused, looking down at Shu. “Wait a minute. This feeling in my fingers... that shouldn’t make sense...”

Fumikage had ripped apart the top half of a humanoid robot, standing on top of its discarded wheels while dodging an attack. The raven jumped down and punched it with all of his might.

Sparks flew as the metal scraped the ground, knocking down a robotic scorpion’s legs and making it drop straight down. More robots were coming for him. Fumikage moved in a blur as he punched straight to the robot’s gut before ducking underneath another’s arms and throwing his fist at another.

An entire group of robots tried to circle him. With Holy One, Fumikage’s muscles launched him high into the air before he turned around, diving out with his fist.

“SALEM SMASH!”

His fist ruptured the ground, sending a shockwave of raw power throughout the area. The earth shattered, taking the robots down. And, yet more were coming...

Oboro, with Shu in his arms, crouched down, hiding behind a fake car that was burning in flames. But, then, he noticed the shadow overhead as a robot went directly for him.

FWIPPP!

Suddenly, a long tongue lashed out, wrapping around the robot’s waist. With a hard yank, the robot was forced to the ground with Tsuyu Asui landing on top of her ‘kill’.

Oboro exclaimed, “Tsuyu! Good timing!”

“Oboro, what’s going on?” the frog girl asked. “Is it another attack from the League? Ribbit?”

“Not sure, but we could use the help right now.”

“Oboro!”

The teaching assistant’s head turned toward the closest alley. Eraserhead’s capture weapon swung him out of it, knocking down the nearest robot with a swift kick.

“Shota!” Oboro exclaimed. “Glad to see you join the party!”

The teacher said, running up to him, “Oboro, you shouldn’t be here!”

“But-”

“But nothing! Stay close to me! You’ll explain this to me later!”

While Aizawa and Tsuyu defended Oboro, Fumikage looked behind him, noticing how much slower Tsuyu’s hopping was then. He turned his attention toward the large swarm of robots taking to the streets.

“We can’t delay this any longer. Tsuyu is starting to get overwhelmed from the heat... My new finisher should end this swiftly.”

Fumikage stood his ground. “It is time to meet your demise!”

The raven closed his eyes and steadied his breath. Holy One retreated underneath his cloak. The bird shape of the Quirk changed to a male with short spiky hair and a large scar across his face.

The second user of One for All. Kudo.

The projection of Kudo touched Fumikage’s back as the boy got into a running stance, widening his arms. Gearshift had been activated, changing Fumikage’s speed. It would only last a few moments as ‘Kudo’ changed back to Holy One, hovering across Fumikage’s arms. Holy One’s wings extended, spreading so wide its wingspan filled the streets.

“ICARUS’S FLIGHT!”

ZOOM!

Gearshift launched Fumikage across the street, speeding the raven right through the robots. Fumikage’s arms covered by Holy One’s light acted like swords, slicing through what was close to him. The rest were destroyed by the shockwave that followed Fumikage’s intense speed. Shards of glass were destroyed in its wake.

The teachers in the courtyard saw shards of glass crashing out with a stray robot getting dug into the dirt.

The students couldn’t help but notice what was going on. Sero commented, “Woah, what the heck?”

Toshinori and Thirteen ran up to the city right as Fumikage was in their sights, breathing heavily.

“Young Tokoyami! Are you alright?” Toshinori asked.

The raven looked back to see the others quickly following him. Aizawa was carrying Shu in his arms. There were a few scrapes and scratches, but everything had come to a still right then.

“I am alright and it seems the danger has passed...” Fumikage paused, giving a grave expression as he stared at his mentor. “However, there is something sinister brewing...”

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“How could the USJ incident happen again?” The thought had been repeating again and again in Toshinori’s mind the whole time Aizawa had dropped off the child personally at Recovery Girl. He normally would have given it to the robots, but with everything that went down, it wasn’t the wisest decision.

The only comfort that it was nowhere close to the original USJ incident. There were robots that were seen in all of the zones, but the only ones that attacked were the ones in Conflagration Zone and they only started attacking once Shu’s name was mentioned.

School was basically over at that point. The sun had started to set, bathing the empty hallways with orange light.

Toshinori waited outside in the hallway, fidgeting with his hands nervously. A desperate part of him wanted to peek inside the private meeting room, but he knew that he had to let his friend work.

Right next to him, Oboro reassured, “Don’t worry. I’m sure he’ll be done any minute now.”

“He better.”

It was then that Aizawa approached both of them, an annoyed scowl with his hands stuffed in his pockets.

“I’m not dealing with another kid causing trouble for everyone, especially after the Training Camp,” Aizawa said. “Find out what we need from that kid before we get them out of here.”

Oboro arched an eyebrow. “Shota, that’s pretty harsh to say.”

The tired man crossed his arms. “Why should I care? That brat’s not any of my students.”

Underneath his fog, Oboro frowned at that. He knew that Shota didn’t like to show off his emotions, wanting to act cruel to enforce his students to do better or fight in the field. But, he was a big softie at heart.

There was no reason to say any of that.

Before Oboro could question him on that, all three of them snapped their heads toward the sound of a door creaking open.

Detective Tsukauchi walked out, closing the door behind him.

Toshinori asked, “So, how’d it go?”

“We’re definitely dealing with a case of memory loss,” the detective informed them, reviewing his notes. “Shu can’t remember much about his life or anything. All that I managed to get out of him was that he felt like he was in danger and so he tried to go to the heroes for help. That’s why he came here.” He shrugged impassively. “In terms of how he got here is still a mystery.”

Oboro nudged, “Is it his Quirk?”

“Right... His Quirk...” The detective turned to the next page, tapping at it with his pen. “I didn’t get a straight answer on that, but even he’s not sure on what it is exactly or how to activate it.”

Toshinori asked, “He’s a late bloomer?”

“It’s possible. I've seen many cases where someone’s confused because the activation of their Quirks can be very specific,” Tsukauchi sighed. “Let’s face it. I’m sure you’re all aware of cases like these. Midoriya being an especially good example.”

Aizawa informed, “The rat’s combing through security videos now to find any trace of the brat coming inside the USJ. What did you get from Maijima’s testimony?”

“Right,” Toshinori nodded. “The other teachers found him in his room asleep. Did he know anything?”

The detective shook his head, rubbing his forehead. “No. His testimony didn’t reveal anything. All he remembers is working late last night and then him waking up in his room only an hour ago.”

“No way, that’s impossible,” Toshinori whispered, wearing a grim expression on his face. “I saw him this morning when I was out jogging.”

Oboro added, “Plus, I saw him managing his class and then in the teacher’s lounge.”

“I don’t know what to tell you,” Tsukauchi replied. “Power Loader has no knowledge of any of this. He didn’t even recognize Shu’s name.”

Oboro and Toshinori were both shaken by the fact. Those two and Aizawa did not like the picture that was being painted for them.

This couldn’t be explained by something normal like Power Loader getting drunk and blacking out. There was too much time for that to happen and it still wouldn’t explain why the hero would know of a boy that he had no knowledge of prior.

It had to be a Quirk. The work of a heinous villain to go after a child.

But, the staff lived with each other at UA, knowing most of their comings and goings. Power Loader was a Support Hero, which meant he didn’t have a patrol schedule unlike many heroes. So, he hadn’t left campus in a while.

Was a student somehow responsible for this? Another traitor working for the villains?

The staff knew their students’ Quirks. The closest match that this could have been was Hitoshi Shinsou’s Quirk, Brainwashing. But, even then, they knew from Aizawa’s recounting of Shinsou’s private lessons that the Quirk was not powerful enough to erase someone’s memory nor would it explain how they knew about Shu.

Which meant, there was potentially a villain with a powerful Quirk to somehow control someone, a Pro Hero even, without even being in the same room as them.

And, that right there was downright terrifying.

Finally breaking the silence, Toshinori asked, “Tsukauchi, what comes next?”

“We’re investigating this fully. This doesn’t feel like the League of Villains. But, we can’t write them off yet until we know more,” the detective said, pocketing his notebook. “In the meantime, Shu can go into police custody.”

“I don’t think he should.”

Everyone looked down the hallway. Vlad King approached them with his palms close to his chest. Principal Nezu sat on his hands, swinging his legs.

“Kan?” Oboro asked. “Why do you believe that?”

Vlad King came to a stop, frowning, “We don’t know enough here. Whoever was behind this, they used Power Loader because they knew he has access to the school’s robots. It indicates that even though this person does have a powerful ability to control someone or manipulate them, they don’t have the firepower to actually breach the school themselves. Whereas if we actually take him out of the school, things might escalate. This person could potentially take control of any cop and get the child alone...”

He paused right there. The indication alone was enough for them.

Nezu put his paws together. “I agree with Kan’s assessment. It would be best for us not to rush into moving him until we learn more of the situation. If there really is a villain manipulating humans, it would be dangerous anywhere. At least here, we could look out for the boy.” He looked toward the detective. “But, what is your assessment?”

Tsukauchi sighed. He hung his hat, covering his eyes. “I think you’re right for now. At least until we can locate Shu’s parents. Besides...” He looked over at Toshinori with a small smile. “Shu is a good kid. But, he’s scared. Even with everything going on, I can tell he’ll feel a lot safer if the heroes are here with him.”

“Thank you, Naomasa,” Toshinori paused, turning toward the principal. “Nezu, would it be alright if I took Young Shu to the cafeteria and have Lunch Rush whip up something for him?”

“Of course. If Shu will be staying with us, it’s best not to make him feel like a prisoner.”

The skeleton nodded, going into the room and holding Shu’s hand as Toshinori led the boy to the cafeteria. Detective Tsukauchi soon left with Nezu (and Vlad King holding the rat). All three of them headed toward the principal’s office to sort out the details.

That left Oboro alone with Aizawa.

“Well, seems we got everything settled for now,” Oboro said nonchalantly. He placed his hands on the back of his metal collar, starting to walk down the hall. “That’s good to hear.”

“Good to hear?” Aizawa echoed in a harsh tone. “That’s all you have to say for yourself?”

Oboro paused in his step, looking back. “I’m sorry. I don’t have a song ready.”

“Just what the hell were you thinking?”

“I know. I really got to expand my modern playlist.”

“I’m not joking, Oboro.”

The cloudy man fully turned around as Aizawa stepped towards him. “I did my job in helping the others and the class with their exercises and providing any advice I can give. It was lucky that I was there when I was.”

“Lucky?!”

“Yeah, I protected Shu while Tokoyami, you, and Tsuyu were fighting those robots. If I wasn’t there, who knows what would have happened?”

“Of course, you don’t get it...” Aizawa snarled, his teeth grinding together. “I’ll tell you exactly what would have happened. We wouldn’t have to worry about another civilian getting in our way.”

“Civilian? In your way? That’s what you think?”

“Yes, you should have stayed with Toshinori and Thirteen. Exactly where I left you.”

Oboro defended, “It was no big deal! I told you. I was doing my job! That’s why I’m here, aren’t I?”

“No, you’re here because you failed at your last one!”

The cloudy man’s eyes widened with shock. Out of all of the people who could have said something like that, Oboro never expected it from one of his best friends. If anything, hearing that was like taking a rock to the heart

Oboro stammered, “You... you don’t mean that, do you?”

“I do,” Aizawa reaffirmed, his glare becoming enhanced for a moment with his Erasure Quirk. He pointed a finger right at the ground, “When you’re with me, you do exactly what I say. You stay exactly where you are. It doesn’t matter what is happening.”

The foggy man’s jaw dropped, completely in shock from the situation. “That’s not fair!”

“Life never is,” the hero said, his words cutting through Oboro’s argument like a knife. “Natural disasters, accidents, rampaging villains. It’s my job as a hero to enforce what’s fair and what’s not. If you plan on slacking off and being your usual self, you can forget it.” Aizawa leaned forward, getting right in Oboro’s face. He put on a mad grin. “You’re an idiot through and through. I'll wring you dry if you ever try anything like that again.”

Oboro focused on his best friend’s words, but Aizawa’s downright evil expression, his threats, the aura that he was exuding, reminded him of something else. His mind flashed back to an image buried deep inside.

One in a bar of a white-haired boy yelling at him...

The living corpse hung his head low, his hands becoming fists. He needed to remind himself that he was still in control.

“I’m not him. I’m not Kurogiri, you know.”

Aizawa snarled. “What?”

“I’m not some mindless puppet. Someone to do exactly what you want all the time, regardless how I feel.”

The hero yelled in anger, “Are you seriously comparing me to Shigaraki?”

“Yeah, I kinda am!” Oboro exclaimed, throwing up his hands in exasperation. He looked feverishly into Aizawa’s eyes covered by his hair. “Look, I get a lot of the restrictions that are put on me. The collar, the arrest. And, I’m fine with how it is now. I like helping Hizashi, Nemuri, and the others with their classes. I like watching and helping Izuku and all of the other kids. But, ever since I got here, you’ve been on my case, man!” He took a step back, swiping his hand. "I don’t know what needs to be done. Either you backing off or me getting some space. But, I’m not going to apologize for doing what I think is right, you got it?”

A silence began stewing. Aizawa took a slow breath before he turned away from Oboro.

“Fine, I got it alright,” the man said in a harsh tone. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and took a step forward. “Do whatever you want. But, stay the hell out of my class.”

“But-”

“Don’t get mad. I’m just doing what needs to be done.”

Aizawa walked away. Oboro held up a hand, but it soon dropped to his side. He stood there, staring down the hall until his best friend was completely out of sight.

Oboro... hated getting into fights like that. He never was one for confrontation. He always tried to look at the positive side of life and just accept what happened. But... this was different. It had to be done.

“Shota... you just need some time, right?”

As much as Oboro wanted to go to talk to some of his other friends about this, he actually had somewhere he needed to go then.

In another part of the school, Izuku Midoriya had finally recovered from his brief unlucky accident at the USJ. He had left Recovery Girl’s office (after hearing a mouthful that this was his fifth time that month!) and was about to open the door towards the dorms when he heard Oboro call out for him.

“Hey, Izuku! You got a minute?”

The Quirkless teen turned around, waiting for the teaching assistant to catch up to him. “Sure, I got some time.”

“Good, good,” Oboro gasped. “Because you missed quite a party.”

“Yeah, I overheard some of the details from Recovery Girl,” Izuku frowned, crossing his arms. “You guys really found a random boy in the USJ?”

The cloudy man nodded. “Yeah, the teachers don’t know how one just wandered in, but I trust Nezu to figure it all out.”

“That’s good to hear. I hope the boy will be alright.”

“He will. He will,” Oboro reassured, glancing left and right to make sure they were alone. “Listen, can I get a favor?”

“Of course, Oboro. Whatever you need.”

“Good,” Oboro looked back at the teenager in front of him. “Can you get me one of your patented Quirk Analyses?”

Izuku arched an eyebrow in confusion. “On who?”

“Shu.”

“The boy you and Tokoyami found?”

The man nodded. “That’s right. There’s something off about it.”

Izuku frowned. “What do you mean? Can I see him?”

“Yeah, he’s in the cafeteria now. Come on,” Oboro said before the two of them walked down the darkening hallway toward their destination.

During that time, Oboro filled Izuku on the rest of the details of their encounter with Shu at the USJ that Izuku missed as well as the brief moment where Shu showed off his power.

“... From how fast Shu was, it makes sense that he got here through phasing. But, there’s something that doesn’t add up.”

“What is it?” Izuku asked, his confusion now turning into curiosity.

“When I grabbed Shu to protect him...” Oboro looked down at his fingers. “He was completely cold.”

“Cold?”

“Yeah, we were in a fiery city. It’s blazing hot, flames all around,” Oboro gestured his hands wildly, imitating the fire. “But, when I held Shu, it felt like I was holding a piece of Todoroki’s ice.” He showed the palms of his fingers to Izuku. “My hands still feel numb after holding him for so long. That’s not normal, is it?”

“It’s... possible...” Izuku paused, cupping his chin in thought. He narrowed his eyes, trying to process that fact. “Temperature isn’t normally an associated factor with phasing powers. Mirio Togata is a really good example of that. And, even if it was, I would think it would be an extremely hot temperature since we all know that heat tends to reduce cohesion and tension. Whereas cold temperatures keep particles in place. When you touched him, he was solid, so the Quirk could potentially change his temperature when it’s activated. But, also, if it is temperature based, then it would also leave some trace of it. You would have mentioned it if you saw it. Of course, it could have been covered by the flames. We’d need a more objective test. Based on what you said on what he’s been through and his limited knowledge of his own Quirk, it’s probably too soon to ask Shu for a demonstration.”

Anyone else would have stopped Izuku from going through his mutterstorm completely. But, Oboro knew that Izuku’s mind was like a record and that he just needed to play through it fully.

Oboro laughed at the end of it, “That’s why I got you for this, Izuku. I’m better off in the funny idiot category.”

“Oboro, you’re not an idiot. You choose not to think so much. There’s a difference.”

“Hey, there they are.”

Both Oboro and Izuku stopped right as they got to the lunchroom. Besides a few scattered students between tables using the space for studying, it was barely empty.

At a table a few rows away from them, Shu and Toshinori sat side-by-side. Shu looked tense, constantly sending glances at the man next to him while playing with his food.

Oboro thought, “I wonder if Shu knows that’s All Might. He might feel less tense if he knew that was the Symbol of Peace.”

Even if Shu was told, it would have been hard to recognize him. Besides the lack of muscles and the suit, Toshinori wasn’t smiling either. Oboro would have thought the Symbol of Peace would love being friendly with children, but he looked downright annoyed at his food.

“If All Might is going for a Eraserhead impression, then it’s working.”

Before Izuku and Oboro had reached the table, the greenette suddenly put an arm out, stopping Oboro. He whispered, “Wait a minute.”

“What’s up?”

Izuku narrowed his eyes before looking at Oboro. “When you were describing Shu to me, you said his left eye was white and his right eye was black.”

“Right...”

“But...” Izuku’s attention slowly returned to Shu, pointing a finger at the table. “It’s the opposite.”

Oboro followed Izuku’s gaze, noting the difference. “Huh, you’re right. Maybe I just got confus-”

All of a sudden, the eyes flipped colors.

Both Izuku and Oboro’s eyes went wide, flinching from the shock.

“Okay, Oboro...” Izuku gulped. “I, um, think you’re on to something...”

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“We survived the USJ twice. It’s clear that it is a cursed place, Dark Shadow.”

“It is! But, we have more important things to worry about now.”

“Agreed. We must make preparations.”

Fumikage’s mind had already gotten used to an attack at his school. (As sad as a thing that could be said.) He did wonder about Shu and his wellbeing, but he knew it was best to leave it to the heroes for the moment.

Besides, a few days remained until Hallow’s Eve. This was Fumikage’s busiest time of the year.

In the common room of the Class 1-A dorms, Ochaco Uraraka was sitting at a table next to her boyfriend, Izuku Midoriya. The gravity girl peeked at Izuku’s notebook, both of them working on the same math homework.

“Hey, Ochaco, you know you can’t do that,” Izuku said, slowly sliding it away from her.

Uraraka argued, “I’m not. I’m just checking your answers with the ones I’m about to write down.”

“Oh, ok then,” Izuku said, moving the notebook back for her to see. But, he blinked, realizing fully what that meant.

Before he could say anything, Iida walked through the front door of the dorms and placed a large box in front of the two of them.

Uraraka looked inside the box, frowning at what’s inside. The girl asked, “Iida, what is all of this?”

“Why, of course, it’s the snacks for our Halloween celebration!” Iida exclaimed. “I bought this in advance and will be storing them in a safe place so that Kaminari and Sero won’t be tempted to taste them before the party.”

“Yeah, um, I don’t think they’d be tempted...”

“Whatever do you mean?”

It was then Fumikage approached the table, eyeing the box with suspicion. “Hello, class rep. Did you obtain the items I requested?”

“Well, no. Your list consisted mostly of sugar and candy. I felt like as aspiring hero students, maintaining a healthy diet should be ideal.”

The raven’s eye twitched. “What are you implying?”

Iida adjusted his glasses. “Since Yaoyorozu was busy preparing for our soon-to-be School Festival performance, I have taken the lead as class representative to introduce to the class some healthy alternatives.”

Fumikage crossed his arms in defiance. “While I applaud the effort, I have already explained this to you when I gave you my list of treats,” the raven explained, gesturing as he went along. “The source of ‘trick-or-treating' as children would call it came from Catholics who chose to honor the dead with food. Soul cakes were distributed to beggars in exchange for prayers of the deceased. Now, the food that was distributed has taken many forms since then. However, the core value of our offerings should still be in place to connect us to the spirits that wander the Earth.” He held up a single finger, lecturing his uneducated classmate. “To put it simply, the food we consume should bring us all closer to death’s door.”

The class rep sighed, shaking his head. He dug his hand into his box of groceries. “I’m sure the offerings we serve here will be as satisfying.” He pulled out a bag of vegetables, displaying them proudly. “Like these freshly cut carrots.”

“Carrots?!”

Fumikage didn’t need to summon Dark Shadow. The Quirk of Darkness had already popped out of the raven’s chest, snatching the bag away from Iida. On her own, Dark Shadow extended toward the nearest trash can, opening it up and slamming the carrots into it.

“Bad carrots! Bad!”

Iida’s jaw fell to the floor as he looked from the trash can back to his fellow classmate.

The raven was shaking his head at Iida’s poor choices. “Are you not aware of what carrots will do to you? They can improve your vision and boost your immunity to harmful toxins.” He tsk’d his beak, closing his eyes. “Your concern for our long-term health and well-being is frankly appalling.”

Iida’s hands were chopping a mile a minute. “Tokoyami! Dark Shadow! That is so inconsiderate! Even if you rejected it, you could have saved it for another occasion for someone else! Think of your fellow students!”

“We shall replace them. On November 1st.”

“And, hold for a minute.” Iida chopped toward the large wooden box in the corner of the kitchen. “You brought in an entire crate of apples just the other day.”

“Yes, well, bobbing for apples has been a long-standing tradition for Halloween.”

Dark Shadow came to her master’s side, shrugging her talons, “Besides, in fairy tales, everyone knows about poisoned apples. Whoever heard of poisoned carrots?”

Uraraka stood from her seat, changing the subject, before it could escalate any further. “Well, even though the treats are important, there’s still more to Halloween, right?” She wrapped her arm around Izuku’s shoulder, pulling him close to her. “You two got your costumes ready? Izuku and I talked ahead. We are going to be matching with each other.”

“Yeah...” Izuku sheepishly laughed, brushing his shoulder with hers. “I really hope I can look just as good in my costume as I’m sure Ochaco will.”

The girl’s cheeks grew bright red as she tried to laugh that off, hiding her nervousness as well.

Silently trying not to judge the two’s awkwardness, Fumikage responded, “Yes. I already prepared my disguise weeks ago, with Midoriya’s assistance.”

Uraraka exclaimed, “Oh, wonderful! Can’t wait to see it.”

KNOCK! KNOCK!

The teenagers turned toward the front door of the dorms.

Iida was the first one at the door, gripping the handle as he swung the door open.

Reiko Yanagi was on the other side, standing on Class 1-A's porch with her hands pointed downwards as usual. Right next to her, a small box floated with a purple glow around it. The moonlight illuminated her from behind as if she was truly a spirit coming to visit them.

“Oh, hello, Yanagi!” Iida greeted, bowing in greeting toward the Class 1-B student. “What business do you have here?”

Yanagi explained, “Hallow’s Eve is almost upon us. As such as this is the time when most spirits and souls wander the Earth, I have decorated the Class 1-B dorm with charms and items to ward off any vengeful strays.” The box slid toward Iida and the engine teen was able to see the contents inside. “I would like to extend the offer to you as well.”

“Of course, thank you for that kind offer,” Iida suddenly paused, gasping very dramatically. “But, we haven’t made any plans to extend the courtesy to you or your class! How inconsiderate! We must take action!”

“It’s alright,” Yanagi stated, clearly not caring about Iida's distress at all. She let her head rest on her shoulder as she peeked over the class rep’s shoulder, making direct eye contact with Fumikage. “Tokoyami, would you please come outside to place the wards?”

“Why me?”

“You are a denizen of the night as well. You would be familiar with... certain sprits, wouldn’t you?”

Fumikage narrowed his eyes, searching for the emotion hidden underneath her blank expression. He knew from Yanagi’s words that this was more than just a joyous activity. There was an unspoken demand in the air.

Yanagi was one of the few people who knew of One for All and that Fumikage was the current holder of it. Based on her dialogue, she wanted to discuss something with the Quirk.

The raven tensed up, sparking a glance toward Dark Shadow. The Quirk looked more nervous than he was. But, nonetheless, Fumikage accepted, keeping as calm as possible. “Of course.”

Fumikage stepped past a worried Iida, closing the door behind them and walking down the steps next to her. He watched as Yanagi walked toward the side of the building with the box right next to her.

“Some of these are traditionally hung in windows,” Yanagi informed. “We should go toward the side of the dorm and hang these without disturbing anyone.”

“Of course.”

The two of them fell in silence as they walked around the building, hanging their charms up. Dark Shadow stretched far, reaching the windows that they couldn’t.

When they had almost finished circling the dorms, Fumikage asked, “Was there something you wished to discuss?”

“Indeed,” Yanagi paused, staring up at Dark Shadow near the roof of the building. “My class has been informed of the USJ incident earlier today.”

“Ah, is Monoma suffering from a case of mad delusion from the news?”

“Yes, that is to be expected, but that is not what I came to discuss with you.”

Dark Shadow had recoiled, floating near the two of them now. “Is it about Shu, the boy Fumi found?”

“No, but that is rather peculiar,” Yanagi remarked. She turned from Dark Shadow toward Fumikage. “No, some of your classmates have mentioned your rather devastating new finisher you demonstrated.”

Fumikage nodded slowly, crossing his arms. The raven explained, “Yes, Icarus’s Flight is an Ultimate Move of mine that utilizes Holy One’s speed and power to clear through our enemies quickly. It was inspired by Shirakumo’s previous cloud-based combat.” He hummed. “Our control over One for All has improved immensely.”

“Has it?” Yanagi paused. “Or is your power growing even faster than your mortal body can contain?”

The raw tension would have silenced anyone else, but not Fumikage.

The raven responded, “I grow in strength as my Quirks grow in strength. Side by side.”

Yanagi stared at him with a cold glare, “Tokoyami, I have already explained this to you. I have researched this far more than you have access to. My ancestor’s Quirk is too dangerous to be kept. ”

“Yes, I heed your warnings of Soul Leech with caution,” Fumikage informed her. “However, it is the basis of how One for All was created, the stockpile Quirk that merged with Yoichi’s Transfer centuries ago. It is how Holy One is to be now. And, I intend on using Holy One as his creator intends to. To save others and guide them through the darkness.”

The ghostly girl argued, “You won’t be able to if Soul Leech inadvertently destroys people’s souls, drawing its strength from other spirits leaving the dead with no more spirits in the afterlife. That power won’t bring anyone peace.”

“It will when it saves their lives. That is what we are tasked to save.”

The box filled with decorations was set down and a small metal eyeball-like object came zooming out, popping right into Yanagi’s hand.

“I have the Eyecon right here,” Yanagi stressed, holding the object in front of her. “I can contain and destroy One for All before it has the chance to cause irreparable damage.”

“You’re preparing for one unimaginable disaster by risking the threat of another,” Fumikage responded. He gestured out with his hand. “All for One is in Tartarus. But, there are more threats hidden with darkness that we aren’t prepared for. Ones where we may one day need One for All by our side. You stated before you would wait to observe whether or not I should keep the power. I have proven my strength.”

“Yes, you have. You are strong.” Yanagi paused, pointing at Dark Shadow. “But, you are strong with her. You don’t need more.”

Dark Shadow chimed in, “Hey, I don’t like the light either. And, I’ll always protect Fumi. But, the light gives us more of a chance to fight. Take today. We couldn’t help at all when Fumi was in the fire zone.” The Quirk of darkness hovered closer to Yanagi. “Fumi can handle this. All Might had One for All for decades and he saved a lot of people. Why can’t Fumi?”

“Because Soul Leech should have never existed.”

Fumikage sighed, shaking his head. “This argument is becoming too circular and completely futile. I choose to wield both light and darkness in my quest to become a hero.” He looked back at her. His common avian features made his face just as emotionless as the girl’s. “Until the moment in time where I fail my mentor in pursuing the path he had laid out, where I fail to save anyone who has accepted my shadow, I willingly refuse to destroy One for All.”

Silence followed Fumikage’s declaration. Yanagi’s face didn’t change, but he knew that it was over for now. She wouldn’t be easily deterred.

“Very well. But, know that there is something sinister here. Your power is an unnecessary problem we don’t need at the moment.”” Yanagi said, leaving promptly without another word. She took her box with her but clutched the Eyecon tightly in her hand.

Dark Shadow whispered, “I would have thought she’d get off our backs by now.”

“Understand, Dark Shadow. Yanagi is correct to be afraid that Soul Leech could potentially sacrifice souls for One for All’s power. However, with how relentless she is, I do believe there may be more in play here...”

“Whatever. We got our own problems, right?”

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CLANG!

In an alleyway, a man crashed into a trashcan. He quickly recovered, running away as fast as he could. But, he was badly injured. He had never taken a beating like that in his life.

The criminal glanced in fear as he saw the silhouette of the hero coming after him.

“Gotta get to the streets and find a busy club or something. I can blend in with the crowd.”

(It would be hard for him. After all, his Quirk made his head look like a giant ‘X’.)

A few feet ahead, a door to the alley rattled open. A man in a fast-food uniform stepped out, taking out the trash. Completely oblivious to what was going on, the fast-food worker was unprepared as the criminal spun him around and faced him toward the end of the alley, toward the attacker in the shadows. The criminal held a knife to his throat while with his free arm wrapped it around the civilian’s chest.

BEEP! BOOP! BOOP!

The criminal looked down in confusion. “What was that?”

“Oh, my Quirk makes me a human phone,” the worker explained. “I think you just hit the keypad on my chest. No worries.” He glanced at the man holding him at knifepoint. “You know, you got a weird head.”

“Yeah, old news, dude,” the criminal admitted, completely used to those comments. He then focused his attention back on the task at hand. “Listen here, hero! Stop right where you are or I will cut this fool!”

The hero stepped into the dim light of the alley, letting the civilian see their ‘savior’, Eraserhead. Only, to them, the man didn’t look like a hero. Not just from his plain looking clothes, but his eyes were covered up by yellow goggles and his smile looked more maniacal than comforting.

“So, do it.”

Both criminal and civilian were completely stunned by the hero’s response. The civilian couldn’t help but say, “Hobo say what?”

Eraserhead released his grip on his capture weapon. His composure looked somewhat annoyed. He lifted up his goggles, showing off a tired frown.

“What? I should be expected to care?” Eraserhead asked, his voice breaking through the silent alley like glass. “I don’t know him. Why should I save him?”

“Uh...” the villain hesitated. “Because you’re a hero?”

Eraserhead gave a curt laugh. “Heroes are meant to save lives, but that’s not what I am.” He took a step forward. “I’ve been trying for years to save people who I actually give a shit about. But they just won’t let me.” He took another step forward. “Problem children and problem staff. That’s all I have to look forward to, huh?” Another step. “Go ahead. Kill him. Stab him. Whatever you do, I’ll make sure you get it twice as worse.”

The ‘X’ villain darted his head left and right, not entirely sure what to do now. In a panic, he pushed the civilian right at Eraserhead. “Chinese Fire Drill!”

Eraserhead barely flinched as the civilian stumbled forward. When he got within his reach, Eraserhead gave a hard push, knocking out the civilian as his back hit the wall. The hero watched as the man had taken advantage of the momentary distraction, already reaching the other end of the alley.

But, Eraserhead didn’t bother to chase him yet. He liked to see them run...

Suddenly, a massive hand snatched the criminal, lifting him off the ground. With his mighty muscles, the figure slammed the criminal hard into the wall.

WHAM!

With the criminal’s eyes now showing as X’s, the figure sprayed blood that hardened as it kept the unconscious criminal in place.

Eraserhead let out a “Hrmph” as he approached the attacker.

“Kan, what are you doing here?” the teacher asked. “This isn’t your patrol route...” He paused. “Actually, wait, never mind. I really don’t care.”

“I was watching you back there,” Vlad King said, turning toward the man. “You didn’t relent at all with all of the criminals you fought tonight.”

Eraserhead arched an eyebrow. “You were? Your stealth is better than I thought.” He gripped his capture weapon. “But, I don’t like being followed. Not even from you. What do you want?”

The bloody hero explained, “I wanted to talk to you. It’s about your fight with Shirakumo.”

Eraserhead’s eye twitched. “Of course, that idiot would tell that shit to anyone.” The man turned his back to his colleague. “I don’t need a lecture or some half-baked advice. If that’s all you came here for, we’re done.” He didn’t wait for Vlad King’s answer, already starting to return the way he came.

“On the contrary, I actually believe you’re in the right here.”

That sentence did make Eraserhead pause mid-step. “You do?”

Vlad King hummed. He put his hands behind his back, walking past Eraserhead as if he was in a lecture. It was an uncharacteristic move Eraserhead wouldn’t have thought the teacher would have done. Vlad King explained, “While I do believe in the value of freedom and using the abilities you’re gifted with, I have learned in my time that there are certain... individuals who need our guidance to understand the freedom they have.”

Eraserhead echoed, “Our?”

“Yes, I hope that you will join me,” Vlad King said. “As a hero, you have trained to stop injustice in the world. And, I intend on correcting a critical one. One that this hero society has failed to see as their own fault. One that this hero society caused from their own hubris.”

“And what could that be?”

“The imprisonment of every person who had been punished for the use of their power. Starting with the most secure institution of them all.”

“Tartarus?”

Vlad King confirmed, “Tartarus. Where All for One resides.”

Eraserhead’s full attention was on that detail. “All for One?”

“Yes, who else would be willing to overturn this society more than him?"

A moment of silence passed as Eraserhead put it all together. The man stated simply, “You’re the one after Shu.”

“Correct.” Vlad King replied, turning toward him, showing a strange calmness in his expression.

“You wanted to keep him at UA for a reason.”

Vlad King explained, “I don’t intend on hurting the boy. I chased after him because I wanted to show his gift to the world. I didn’t anticipate him going to UA of all places, but now that he was there, I figured it would be useful to us. After all...” He stared into Eraserhead’s eyes with a dangerous glint in his own. “Our liberation will need an army.”

Eraserhead stared at Vlad King, trying to discern all of what he had just said. His colleague had just admitted to wanting to commit a serious crime. And, not just any crime. One that involved All for One, the villain mastermind responsible for all of the attacks his class had suffered.

This wasn’t Vlad King. Eraserhead knew that in all of his years, he would never even think of something like this.

Whatever the man in front of Eraserhead was planning, it was dangerous and horrifying.

And, instead of immediately wrapping the man with his capture weapon and calling the police, Eraserhead let out a devilish grin. An unfamiliar warm feeling welled up in his chest as he tried to hide his smile under his capture weapon.

Vlad King smirked, “I know your mind and heart has been opened by the boy’s gift. I know you see that my goals align with yours.”

It was true. His mind was thinking of solutions that he had never considered before. There was a small voice in the back of the hero’s mind telling him that this was wrong, that doing this would label him a villain and defy everything that he had been teaching to his kids.

Except, there was still logic and reasoning to him. It was colder and more guided, more logical and rational than anything before.

“Oboro died back then all on his own... but All for One was the one who brought him back...”

His mind had formed a goal.

After all, Oboro was the one to compare him to Shigaraki...

If Eraserhead was acting like a villain... he might as well become one fully.

Vlad King held out a hand. “Would you be willing to join us?”

The voice inside Eraserhead was drowned out by the one that knew he was never meant to be a hero anyway.

Eraserhead shook it, ending the deal with words that he would have never said before.

“I’m in. Let’s free All for One.”

Notes:

Thank you all so much for reading! Hope you enjoyed!

Really glad to get back in the groove with writing. I missed you all! Love writing Tokoyami's dialogue, some of his new moves, and planning some of the drama yet to come. Especially All Might's nightmare at the beginning that was just too hilarious at the end! Like I said before, if you have any questions about potential elements here that you didn't know about before, I can answer anything. Just leave a comment down below.

This story is all ready to go so this story will be updated every Wednesday this October. Get ready! Catch you all next week!

Chapter 2: Tartarus

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

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For this current semester, Principal Nezu enjoyed spending time with one of his favorite students: Izuku Midoriya.

A child that contained a lot of mysteries surrounding his nature but also an exceptional mind and plenty of bad luck.

A recipe for chaos.

Excellent.

The mammal saw qualities within the first year that he felt he could nurture. And, so, he offered the student a chance to tutor him before his second year, wanting to make sure the boy was ready for the advanced second year class taught personally by the principal.

Today was one of those occasions.

At Class 1-A's lunchtime, Izuku had come into the principal’s office for tea and other treats. It was much livelier when the hero student had brought in a few snacks from his family’s cafe. Nezu had already made plans on visiting the cafe himself for some of their delicious tea and coffee.

It was a good time to talk about the current events in the news, picking each other’s brains.

Izuku was saying, between bites of his tiny sandwich, “... And, I can’t believe that Fenix got robbed last night! That organization has been saying that they are the next stage of how heroes operate, an alternative solution to distributing them across Japan. And, from what I heard, they got really some unique support gear in the works. But, still, the fact that they don’t have any leads is not a good look for them.”

“Ah, yes. It is unfortunate to hear,” Nezu said after sipping his tea. His tone dripped with an unintentional but uneasy tone.  “However, as I have recently been reminded, no matter how secure you can work on the security of your home, the very place you’ve sworn to protect, someone will rip away that safety and with it, the very essence of what makes me an educator to watch over young promising students.”

There was a long moment of awkward silence as Izuku had processed what he’d said, staring at the mammal until he finally broke the silence. “...Oh, right. I’m sorry. I didn’t realize what I was saying.”

“No, no, you are well within your limits,” Nezu said, putting down his cup. He leaned over, placing his paws together. “I am simply more than worried about the events of the USJ before.”

Izuku asked, “Does anyone else other than the people here know about it?”

“I am preparing a statement, but the public won’t be at all satisfied hearing that a teacher ordered an attack on a student. It’s even more frustrating when I haven’t even determined how it happened or how a child breached the school in the first place.”

Nezu took a remote from nearby, pointing it to a nearby set of screens. They all flashed on, showing feeds from various cameras around the school. Most of them were fuzzy.

“Much of my surveillance cameras’ footage has been tampered with. I have combed through it the whole night and I still haven’t found a single clue about our guest’s current situation.”

The teenager asked, “How is Shu doing?”

“All Might watched over him the majority of the night,” the mammal explained. “As well as much of the other staff. They apparently visited him during their patrol or when their classes were done for the day, from what I heard in the teacher’s lounge.”

Izuku nodded, “Well, that’s good to hear. I’d honestly love to meet with him soon...” He paused, pulling up out his notebook. Izuku flipped toward the latest entry and laid it flat on the table, moving it so that they both could see. “Oboro asked me if I could do a Quirk analysis on him.”

Nezu perked up at that. “Oh, and what have you found?”

“Honestly, a lot of questions,” Izuku admitted, pointing toward the list of observations that were noted. “I can see some aspects of his Quirk correlating with others, but not all of them together. I thought he might have an amalgamation of two Quirks like Todoroki, but even that route is still leaving me a bit confused.”

“Well, with situations such as this one, whenever you are frustrated with an issue, it is best to look at the problem from another perspective.”

Izuku nodded. “You’re right. Could I see Shu on the screen? I know that the recordings are corrupted, but what about the live footage?

The principal aimed his remote at the screen. “Well, the feed for them is still suffering from stuttering and interference. I’ve done my part in making sure they’re up to date. Let’s take a look.”

The screens flashed again, showing new angles around the school. Many of the live feeds were empty with most of the students either still in classrooms or all gathered in the lunchroom. But, for the most part, besides a few static screens of interference, it was crystal clear.

Izuku squinted, searching from screen to screen until he spotted what he was looking for. The familiar black feathered head of Fumikage Tokoyami.

The Quirkless teen craned his head forward, staring past the fuzzy interference as hard as he could.

The raven was sitting on the green couch inside of a small meeting room. On the table in front of him, there were various children’s toys, drawings and crayons scattered among the surface. Both Fumikage and Dark Shadow were staring at their right, speaking as if they were having a conversation with someone else.

However, there was no one else in the room besides the two of them. There were snippets of audio, but Izuku couldn’t make it out.

“Maybe... Shu went to the bathroom or something?”

His heart suddenly stopped. The picture was fuzzy, grainy, but there was no mistaking what had happened then.

A drawing floated off the table and into Fumikage’s lap.

Nezu hadn’t seen it with his vision, but Izuku sure did.

“Shu is in that room. He must be. But the cameras can’t pick him up. That might explain the interference, but even then, it’s not just that one screen...”

Izuku’s eyes narrowed, cupping his chin in thought. “That can’t be it. If a villain is really after him, a simple power to mess with security cameras isn’t enough to justify an attack. Now that I think about it, phasing isn’t that worth it either not with the ‘mind control’ apparently at play. His Quirk must be something else, but how else would you explain all of the-?”

The teenager’s mind suddenly came to a conclusion.

If Izuku had been involved in this situation a year prior, he wouldn’t have put it together. He would have been racking his mind before giving up. But a lot changed in a year. That teenager had been exposed to a lot of things he would have thought were impossible. He never encountered something exactly like this, but he was sure he was going down the right path.

Izuku quickly excused himself from the room, already sprinting toward the library from some peace and quiet. He slipped past someone going the opposite direction, someone who opened the door to the principal’s office without permission…

But Izuku didn’t notice it. He was already focusing on solving this mystery.

“The solution to this isn't focusing on the Quirk, it’s focusing on Shu...”

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A few minutes prior to this, Fumikage was, indeed, spending his lunch time playing with Shu in the meeting room. Since he was the one to encounter the young boy, the raven took it as his solemn duty to ensure that Shu was taken care of and protected personally.

Keeping Shu company, Fumikage ate a small snack while Dark Shadow and the strange boy played a card game. Five minutes after, Dark Shadow threw down her cards, slightly frustrated.

“Ugh! You won again?!”

Shu nodded, forcing a small smile. But the boy was still relatively silent. Fumikage knew the appeal of not saying much, but it was clear the boy was still scared.

Fumikage’s eyes glazed impassively over the table, searching for something else to take the boy’s mind off of it. He spotted a drawing in front of him.

“Shu,” Fumikage paused, waiting for the boy to acknowledge him before continuing. He jerked a nod towards the table. “You are quite artistic. It is magnificent.”

The picture itself was honestly nothing to write home about. It was a drawing of a large tower with a single door at the bottom and no windows. A giant star decorated the top.

Shu explained, taking the picture and placing it in Fumikage’s lap, “The policeman told me I should try and draw what I remember.”

“Ah, I understand...” Fumikage said, inspecting it closer.

Dark Shadow hovered near the drawing, asking, “Is it... a candle?”

“Dark Shadow, how foolish.”

“Hey! I could draw better than that.”

Fumikage shook his head in denial. “I hardly believe that. In my infancy, you couldn’t contain coloring inside the lines.”

The Quirk waved her talons. “Mommy said that made me artistic!”

“Mother was simply grateful that you chose not to focus your efforts on the ceiling.”

Dark Shadow crossed her arms and let out a small hrmph in response, pouting as she turned away from him. The edges of Fumikage’s beak slowly curved up into an amused smile. But it soon dropped when he saw out of the corner of his eye, tears began to form on Shu’s face.

Shu made no attempt to wipe them away.  “I miss my mommy.”

Dark Shadow hovered near him. “Don’t worry! The heroes and police are working on getting you reunited with them.”

Though Dark Shadow was sincere with her words, Shu was still filled with sadness and regret.

Fumikage reached out his hand to comfort him, but the boy flinched, moving away from him. The raven hesitated for a moment before he moved around the table, crouching as he looked up into Shu’s eyes.

“I understand. A situation such as this can be overwhelming for someone as young as yourself, but until you are reunited with her, you aren’t alone. Even though it feels like darkness is surrounding you, there’s always allies to be found.”

Shu stared at him, frowning, “I don’t know... I just... I don’t want to break anyone like my mom.”

The raven echoed, “Your mother?”

“She’s broken,” the boy said. “I remember now... It’s why I’m here. I want to fix her.”

Fumikage and Dark Shadow exchanged glances before they watched the boy with narrowed eyes.

The sentient Quirk thought, “Uh, Fumi? Does Shu look like the kid that can break bones?”

“First impressions can always be deceiving,” Fumikage thought. “But I am sure that’s not what he meant.”

The raven asked, “How do you believe you broke your mother? Is this related to your Quirk?”

“I don’t know... I can’t explain it...” Shu stuttered. “But I know that I shouldn’t be around anyone. I might hurt them and not even know it.”

Fumikage saw Shu’s expression of regret and understood it.

A tale as old as time.

There were many children that caused their parents harm because they couldn’t control their Quirks or they didn’t know how to activate them. Shu was sadly one for that count.

Most likely, Shu had activated his Quirk, whatever it was, on his mother. And, based on Shu’s responses now, Fumikage could conclude that in his fright, Shu ran away from home, not wanting to hurt her. However, Shu did say that he wanted to fix his mother. Even if the fault wasn’t his, it showed his morality to Fumikage, that he still wanted to help and atone for his past.

“Shu... it takes courage to get to where you are now,” the raven said to Shu. “Hold on to that spark. It will give you strength. Use that strength and your kindness to face what fate has for you.”

The boy stared at the raven for a long moment, processing what he had said.

Finally, he nodded, “Ok.”

“Tokoyami.”

Fumikage turned toward the doorway. Aizawa was there, levelling a stern glance at the raven.

“Your lunch is over. Get to class.”

The raven looked at his phone to check the time. “Lunch period is still not over for at least ten more minutes. Can’t I stay for a few moments longer?”

The teacher’s eyes flashed red, forcing Dark Shadow to return to her master. Aizawa’s voice cut through Fumikage’s confusion. “Don’t question me.”

A moment passed before Fumikage, already knowing the weight of his teacher’s threats, already walked briskly out of the room and headed straight down the hallway. However, before entering the classroom, Fumikage took one last look behind him, trying to decipher the feeling he and Holy One was feeling right then.

“Holy One...? This isn't danger you’re sensing. It’s... fear...”

In the meeting room, Shu asked, “What’s going on?”

“It’s simple, kid,” Aizawa said. “We’re going to go out soon...”

Shu eyed the pro hero cautiously, gulping. But, nonetheless, he realized this was his best option for now.

“I don’t want to stay in here forever. I’m not going to get anywhere in here. Besides, Tsukuyomi wants me to trust the heroes...”

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Reiko Yanagi wasn’t the most social student in her class, but even she could tell that there was darkness over the school, a chilling feeling that made the hairs stand up on her neck.

And that wasn’t made as clear as when she had sat down in her class after lunch for her heroics lesson.

Vlad King marched in, pushing in a cart with a stack of red books and then standing behind the podium. Reiko couldn’t decipher what, but her teacher had a dark aura to her. Even if her teacher looked the same, his movement and his words that followed were not the same as before.

“Alright, students, listen up,” Vlad King said. “Many of your teachers are leaving campus today so your ‘heroics’ class is cancelled.”

Reiko heard much of the class groan in annoyance and disappointment. Tetsutetsu yelled, a bit too loudly for Reiko’s comfort, “DANG IT!”

Shoda commented, “It figures. Many of the staff seemed distracted in their classes today.”

“It’s most likely the fault of Class 1-A,” Monoma said.

Kendo groaned, “Not this again.”

“Yes, this again!” the blonde exclaimed. “They had nothing noteworthy happen to them in over a year so they just had to try and recreate the incident that gained everyone’s attention.”

Awase commented, “Dude, the Training Camp happened like over two months ago.”

“Really? Man, it feels like so much longer.”

Much of the class let out a few murmurs of agreement at that.

“Anyway...” Vlad King said, grabbing everyone’s attention. “Instead, you all have homework.” He pushed the cart around the rows of students, placing the books on the desks. “I want you all to read it thoroughly and understand the ideas and principles behind it. If any of you know about it, feel free to discuss it amongst yourselves.”

When the cart had reached Reiko, the ghostly girl picked it up, inspecting the title above the small black drawing on the cover.

Tsuburaba read it out loud. “Meta Liberation War?”

Tsunotori asked, “Wait? A war actually happened? How long ago?”

Kuroiro leaned over his desk, flipping through it, “I read this tale long ago. It’s the story of a dark period in Japan’s history, one filled with horrors and injustice.”

Rin asked, “What’s with these black splotches underneath the title? Is it one of those Rorschach tests I’ve heard of?”

Shishida commented, “If it is, I’m seeing an elegant jar of mayonnaise.”

Komori said, “I see a mushroom.”

Fukidashi muttered, “That’s what you two always see.”

“That shape you see is the mask of the villain, Destro,” The entirely black teen explained, glancing toward all of the students not aware. Those in particular, leaned forward, wanting to know more. “When the government was starting legislation for pro heroes, Destro led a group of villains with ideals of his own called the Meta Liberation Army.”

Kamakiri chimed in, humming, “I recall this now. That war had a lot of casualties on both sides.”

“Indeed. It was a long-fought battle against the government, but ultimately, Destro and his army were defeated.” Kuroiro finished his explanation. He held up the book, displaying the cover to them all. “In his incarceration, Destro wrote an autobiographical novel for his reasonings and motivations. An hour after he finished the manuscript, he ended his life in his cell.” He closed his eyes, shaking his head. “Tragic... Tragic!”

Reiko couldn’t help but agree. Although Destro’s reasoning was flawed, Reiko could judge what Destro had done. The man clearly had a passion for his fight, wanting to ensure that even when he was defeated, Destro’s words would carry on to the next generation, hoping for them to continue it. He knew he couldn’t do it most likely which was why he ended his life.

The girl questioned whether the man would feel truly content at his decision, though.

Monoma scoffed, throwing the book down to his desk, “I heard about this from my parents. It’s just a bunch of propaganda trash from a crazed side character, not at all satisfied with his Quir-”

SLAM!

Every student in class suddenly jumped in fright. They all turned their heads toward the front of the room.

Vlad King seethed, clutching on to the podium for support. He glared daggers at Monoma as if the blonde was one step away from death. Reiko could see her classmate shaking with fear.

But then, the teacher smiled, letting out a small huff.

He asked, all too sweetly, “Do any of you know where that term comes from, huh? Quirks?”

It felt more like a demand than an actual question.

Shoda, Class 1-B's vice rep, answered, clearing his throat, “Well, the word Quirk originated from sometime in the 1500s, most likely Scotland-”

“Not that far back,” Vlad King snapped.

The boy immediately shut his mouth as the teacher began to lecture them.

“When Meta abilities were becoming more widespread, there was a single mother living through it with her son, Chikara. All of the violence, all of the hatred...” Vlad King explained, frowning. His look became more determined, more focused as he remembered what came next. “One day, she spoke out on TV, telling everyone that her child wasn’t a monster because of his powers. That it was just, and I quote, one of his ‘quirks’. She yelled, on the verge of begging, to make a world where her child and others with powers have the same rights and considerations as everyone else... Before her kind words got her killed.”

Reiko saw the flash of sorrow in the man’s eyes. She knew about this tale now.

‘The Mother of Quirks’.

Vlad King sighed, “Over time, the government tried to play nice, accepting Meta abilities when they had all of their ducks in a row. But they did more than try to restore order. They tried to put more and more restrictions on everyone, using a dead mother’s words to define what they thought was acceptable. They didn’t even fully understand what she was trying to say.”

“But...” Kendo started, before scooting forward in her seat. She started to raise her hand. “I mean, it’s gotten better since then, right? People aren’t so restricted anymore.”

“Ha!” Vlad King laughed, looking right at her. The girl’s hand slowly went down. “No, it’s not! Mutant-type discrimination, abuse against regular human beings, and needing a license to use your powers outside of your home. It’s like getting certified to walk across the street. It forces your life in a certain direction whether you want to or not. You want to tell me how that any of that is just and fair, heroes?”

Many of them actually felt that they could argue against him, but they were just more than stunned to hear these words come from a man they’ve come to admire, actually saying these things.

Before any of them could speak up, Vlad King had made his way to the doorway.

“As I said, read the material. Understand what’s being said and you’ll be ready for why the world will be changing soon.”

An awkward silence followed right after Vlad King closed the door behind him. It was Awase that broke the silence.

“Ooookkkayyyy then,” her classmate said, sliding out of his seat. “Now, I see why Vlad’s not our regular history teacher.”

Most of the students murmured in agreement, grabbing their books and walking out of the classroom to read in the dorms or goof off until it was time to work on their homework.

But not all of them.

Reiko roamed the halls as other classes started to pile out, all of them having the same red book Vlad King had just assigned them. That was strange…

She walked toward the entrance of the school, ducking when she got to the main doors, out of sight. She peeked through the doors, seeing in the distance Vlad King join Class 1-A's homeroom teacher along with a small nervous boy at his side.

“That’s the boy that Class 1-A found... What are they-?”

Reiko lost her train of thought. She had never seen Shu before but even from a distance, she saw something in him that not many saw...

All three of them went toward the gates, getting into a car parked out front. The car then zoomed away, changing lanes into traffic. Another car was right behind them and Reiko caught a glimpse of them. Reiko could recognize that she had seen the person around school, but she wasn’t sure who.

Reiko didn’t even question her decision before chasing after them, following the car.

If something spooky was occurring at her school, she would uncover it for herself.

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Snipe knew that this was something he wanted to do. Ever since spending time with the little young’un Class 1-A found, he felt... different. He didn’t want to spend time with anyone. He was cold with his students. It felt like he was back in medical school, all over again. He had grown since then with his friends. You wouldn’t have recognized him now from then, but he had changed.

And now he was back to how it should be.

Now that he knew exactly what was happening, what his fellow staff were planning, he only saw it as an end to the means. Not trying to stop them like a hero should.

But he really wished he was still a ‘hero’. Because if he was, he wouldn’t have to spend time with this yack again.

“AH, YOU’VE WANTED THE WISDOM OF YOUR GOD, NOW, HAVE YOU?!”

Snipe fought the urge to facepalm, staring down from behind the glass of the prison’s visiting room one of the most dangerous prisoners of Tartarus.

Also, one of the craziest sons of bitches the cowboy had ever met.

In the seat right next to Snipe, Ectoplasm whispered, “Who is this guy again?”

“Kuroto Dan,” the cowboy replied. His voice was being hidden by the maniacal and crazed fits of laughter coming from the other side of the glass. “Fancy rich boy. Villain called himself Genm after his gaming company.”

“Well, what did he do?”

In truth, Snipe had a complicated history with Kuroto Dan or Genm. In the past, Genm manipulated Snipe into fighting others, started a virus outbreak, ruined Christmas forever, died, got brought back to life due to his Quirk and then went looney tunes. And that was the simple version.

Snipe replied, “Bunch of dumb crap.”

“Ok, you certainly have a...” Ectoplasm paused. “Interesting rogue’s gallery.”

The cowboy scoffed, “You’re one to talk. I know about how ya lost yer leg.” Turning toward the glass, Snipe asked, leaning in his seat casually, “So, I know ya have been in solitary confinement this whole time. Has the sound of your voice finally started to irritate ya?”

“Ha! It would never! Although... I ALWAYS ACCOMPLISH THE IMPOSSIBLE!” Dan grinned wildly, trying to stand up from his seat, but couldn’t because of the straitjacket tying his arms to his chest. “I AM KURUTO DAN! I AM IMMORTAL! I WILL NEVER DIE!”

At that moment, Snipe wanted nothing more than to smash through the glass and choke Dan out with his bare hands.

A few minutes later, Dan quieted down a bit, trying to recompose himself. Dan then eyed Snipe’s hero outfit, looking at it up and down. “Did you come to beg for a job from me? Because I can so get you a Cowboy Gashat. You really embraced your wild side since last I saw you.”

“I will never work for you again,” Snipe growled. “For the past few years, I’ve already been dealing with an egomaniacal bucktooth creature.”

Tired of all of this, Ectoplasm chimed in, “Genm. We’re here so that you can make better use of your time instead of rotting away in here.”

Dan yelled, his laughter filling the room, “I HAVE ALL THE TIME IN THE WORLD! I WILL NEVER DIE!”

“We’ve heard of the game you started so long ago...” Ectoplasm showed off all of his teeth in a creepy smile. “Would you like to start it up again?”

That got the prisoner’s attention as he calmed down, looking at both heroes with amused intrigue. “You have your god’s interest...”

Snipe leaned back in his seat, taking note of the guards nearby. Ectoplasm started to talk a bunch of legal jargon about getting Genm’s sentence reduced. But that’s all it was: jargon.

Everyone involved in this little scheme just needed an excuse to get into Tartarus and that meant visiting a prisoner. They all couldn’t go at once so they wouldn’t immediately draw suspicion.

All the plan needed was the main guest of honor and then this place would become the real Wild West...

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Reiko followed the two cars as both of them went into a parking garage, out of sight. The girl drifted gently to the ground, pressing her back to the stone entrance. She peeked inside. There wasn’t a single parked car, not even a sign of tire tracks. But the architecture meant that the entire garage wasn’t in view.

The girl cautiously walked in, looking past the stone pillars.

Right when she got in the middle of the garage, Reiko felt a chill from behind her and the sound of a tire skidding to a stop.

The girl turned around, finding herself face-to-face with Vlad King. The man was only a few feet away from her, sending a cold glare at the teenager.

Reiko peeked around the side, seeing a small yellow car parked right in the entrance to the garage, blocking her exit. The door to the driver’s side opened as the blonde skeleton that was All Might stepped out.

The girl looked over her shoulder. An even crappier car was blocking the other exit, trapping her in. She noticed the abandoned child from before, pressing his face up on the glass.

“What... what’s going on?” Shu asked, turning toward Eraserhead in the driver’s seat. Though, the child couldn’t see the man’s expression at the moment. “Who is that?”

“Someone who might want to stop us,” the man replied. “It won’t take long...”

Shu didn’t ask for more, nervously looking back at the scene.

Vlad King put on a smile. “Yanagi, what are you doing here? I believe students aren’t allowed to leave the school without a teacher’s permission.”

“I would have asked beforehand, but there were none available...” Reiko’s hands naturally fell into their limp position, pointing down as she took a step forward. “You are not Mr. Kan at all, correct?”

The corner of the man’s lips curled as he narrowed his eyes at Yanagi. “And what would make you say a crazy thing like that?”

Reiko answered, “I studied my whole life about the nature of souls and spirits, seeing what life they exhibit. I know my teacher wouldn’t have thought of all of those provocations you spoke of earlier.” She glared daggers at him. “And you reek of death.”

The man’s face slowly turned into a smile, even giving a laugh of appreciation. “Children really show their initiative these days. Much more than my time.”

“Who are you?” Reiko demanded. “What is the meaning of this?”

“To make a world a better place.”

The words that ‘Vlad King’ had said would have looked good on paper, but the cold way he had said it made Reiko knew he was not to be trusted.

The girl ordered, “That is frankly not your concern. Remove whatever curse you have inflicted on UA and depart from Vlad King’s body at once.”

“Oh, it’s not my concern?” Vlad King echoed, holding up a gloved hand. Staring at it for a moment, he flexed them out, aiming it directly at Reiko. “Well, if you plan on interfering, it’s certainly yours.”

Blood suddenly poured down the tubes of Vlad King’s costume, going right into his gloves before they formed into small projectiles like bullets, flying right towards Reiko. They began to glow pitch black...

The hero student didn’t hesitate, holding out her palm. Her hand glowed purple as she summoned multiple blank Eyecons and shot them toward the blood. Upon impact, both the blood bullets and the metal eyeballs erupted into an explosion of black flames.

FA-BOOM!

‘Vlad King’ shielded his eyes to it, but Reiko stared it down, already analyzing the situation.

The girl thought, “I’ve only seen Mr. Kan in battle a few times before, but I know he isn’t capable of an attack like that. The spirit possessing him must hold a greater power than him.” She reached into her back pocket, pulling out her own Eyecon. “Which means I must combat it with my own power.”

Reiko knew many secrets of ghosts, how they are formed, how they operate, and what they are capable of. Along with a few companions that had the same connection with her, she fought any spirits that would dare to cause trouble for the land of the living.

The Eyecons were created to help with this. There was more to the advanced technology than the ability to store ghosts like the One for All Vestiges or the ability to be the perfect projectiles for Yanagi’s Quirk. They had another purpose as well.

Yanagi pressed the button on the side. The Eyecon glowed as Yanagi’s waist glowed orange. That glow solidified into a semi-transparent holder with the only thing visible was a single black eye and two rows of metal teeth with a large orange and black lever on the side. It locked onto her waist, a strap wrapping around her waist.

“Ghost Driver!”

Yanagi opened the holder and placed the Eyecon where the black eye was on the belt.

“WATCH THIS! WATCH THIS!”

To the sound of the belt’s loud jingle, a pale purple hooded jacket appeared, flying out of the belt. Reiko ran behind the jacket, using it as cover.

The jacket had a white, furred collar around its hood. The lapels in the front on both sides had three black stripes with white between them. The outer lining of the jacket, the hood and the cuffs were all black as well. As if the sight of a floating jacket was odd enough, there were two pale, purple eyes that were attached to nothing, floating in the hood as if there was an actual being inside of it.

Reiko yelled, “Henshin!”

Armor appeared over the girl’s body. An armored helmet with a blank face plate on front and a slanted silver wavy horn over the forehead. A pale purple undersuit that appeared at the same time. The undersuit had translucent padding over the torso and the front of the legs. A black outline of an eye could be seen on the girl’s chest and small thin lines went down her arms and legs, resembling the pattern of a skeleton’s bones.

The floating jacket shot towards Vlad King, the possessed hero knocking it backwards. Sparks flew from the impact, but the jacket’s path didn’t falter as it draped itself over Yanagi’s body.

Yanagi closed the lever, opening the metallic eye again.

“KAIGAN! EMILY!”

The jacket placed itself over the ghostly girl’s body, fusing with the rest of the armor. It fit perfectly over the girl as she ripped the hood from her helmet. The faceplate on the helmet now had black from the bridge of her nose down to the bottom and silver going up from her nose to her forehead. Large angular blue eyes pointed at a glare divided both sections of the helmet.

“SACRIFICED! EXORCISED! HEROIC POLTERGEIST!”

Kamen Rider Emily

Now in her hero persona, Emily’s body glowed purple as her feet levitated off the ground without a single noise. She glided forward, wind rushing past her. When Emily was within arms’ reach, ‘Vlad King’ directed his left fist at her. But the teenager blocked the punch with her armored arm, sending a side kick to the man’s gut. The attack pushed him back, but he immediately recovered, swinging a fist at her.

Emily’s body contorted, bending at unnatural angles as she dodged the attack. She swiftly moved underneath, turning around and then locking his arm in place. Another kick to the back of her enemy’s knees and ‘Vlad King’ fell to his knees.

“Stand down now,” Emily demanded. “Release your hold over Mr. Kan before I have to inflict more pain.”

Vlad King replied, not at all bothered, “You are strong. Not just physically. But strong of will.” He shook his head, grumbling, “It’s still frustrating that you’re on this side. The younger generation should be shepherding the flock, guiding everyone, not leading them to oppression.”

Emily asked, “Who are you? Why do you speak of this?”

“Seriously? You wouldn’t need to question any of this, you wouldn’t need to be here, if you simply followed instructions and read my story.”

“Your story?” Emily echoed only to stop with realization. The hero looked at Vlad King’s face with clarity. “You’re the soul of the original Destro.”

“Yes, I am,” he stated with full conviction.

Of course. Emily knew that someone as passionate as him for his cause wouldn’t have found peace in death. He had surrendered to the society that rejected his ideals, but he wouldn’t feel satisfied leaving the problem to others. His book was to inspire more people to take action, but he wanted to see it through to the end.

Emily asked, “Why are you performing this deceitful act with these pro heroes?”

Destro explained, “The Meta Liberation Army that I had created before is slowly being reformed. My successor is assembling more and more forces together. But, even still, they’re sloppy. They will get caught and then our ideals of freedom will be dismissed, be seen as nothing more than the thoughts of madmen.” His fists clenched, struggling more to get out of Emily’s grasp. “I can’t let that happen again...”

“So, you’re using some form of corruption on these heroes to gain allies for your army?” Reiko asked. “For a man that spoke so highly of freedom, you seem to be its enemy.”

“You speak of corruption as if it’s inherently evil,” The villain growled. “And you’re wrong on another account...” He glanced back at the hero’s helmet, showing his fanged teeth in a smile. “I’m not the one giving these heroes their freedom back...”

Emily tilted her head, unsure of what the ghost was implying, but her head slowly turned around, locking eyes with Shu staring back at her.

“That boy... he’s the key to this, isn’t he? Destro’s soul is simply taking advantage of him.”

Taking advantage of the confusion, Vlad King snapped his fingers.

SNAP!

To Emily’s left side, a large eye made up of black flames appeared, floating above her. The eye fired three shots from its retina. Emily snapped her head towards it to fight back, but the barrage of fireballs pushed her back, letting sparks fly from her chest. She stumbled back in pain, losing her grip of Destro. The villain’s foot rapidly spun around, rising to meet Emily’s chest. The hero lost her footing, rolling to a stop a few feet away.

Emily held to her side in pain as she looked back at her opponent.

Destro had a single fist out. He swirled it in a circular direction. The energy of the dark eye from behind him flowed toward it like a gust of wind, letting his hand glow black.

The teenager pulled herself up to her feet. Her eyes widened, seeing a glowing black circle form around her feet. A shadow fell over her. Emily strained to move, but it felt like her limbs were tied by invisible bonds. No matter how much she tried to move, her body wouldn’t respond.

“Doom Geyser!”

The possessed body thrusted his fist forward. From the circle around Emily’s feet, an otherworldly force pushed the hero girl off the ground, launching her up at high velocity. Her back slammed on the ceiling of the parking garage, practically breaking her spine. Emily gritted her teeth and glided forward, aiming a punch at Destro.

But Destro met her fist with his meaty one. The hero was too weak as Destro pushed back his arm before punching her with all of his might. His fist glowed black as it knocked Emily far back. The girl collided with a stone pillar. Her body became limp. She couldn’t take any more punishment.

“AAHHHHH!”

Emily collapsed on the ground, completely unconscious. Her armor glowed purple as the girl couldn’t hold her transformation any longer, transforming back from an armored hero into a regular teenager.

Destro pulled back his fist right as Toshinori approached him, hands stuffed in his pockets. The skeleton came to the man’s side, facing the unconscious girl.

If this was any day before, Toshinori would have hurriedly come to the girl’s side, checking her for injuries before attempting to get her to safety. But, today, he simply stared at her, frowning.

Toshinori asked, “So, this is the power you wield?”

“Yes...” Destro stared down at Vlad King’s hands. Not his hands, but his own power. “I learned of valuable resources, secrets that not many know of, that I give me the strength to fight even when I’m a ghost.” His hands started to glow black as he admired his power. “I don’t believe I even need Vlad King’s body to fight. But I’ll still use it for the time being.”

“And I heard what you told her,” Toshinori paused before sending a cold glare toward the ghost. A glare that wouldn’t have been on a Symbol of Peace before. “This is your plan? To free All for One and everyone in Tartarus and have them join this Meta Liberation Army?”

Destro craned his head to the side, narrowing his eyes at the retired pro. “Do you have a problem with that?”

Toshinori stared him down, both of them now facing each other. “I don’t care about your army. If they haven’t tried anything yet, that means that they don’t feel confident that they can win. My problem is with your plan. Even if you succeed in infiltrating Tartarus and gaining control of the prison, you won’t be able to gain allies in there.” He gritted his teeth. Flashes of prisoners, of past fights, played in his mind. “I have fought a good portion of the inmates in there. All of them are psychopathic and self-centered, only focused on their interests. You won’t be able to reason with them, no matter how persuasive you think you are.”

“I assure you I can gain allies in there,” Destro cupped his chin thoughtfully, resting his arm on his other palm. “Persuasion would bring the more reasonable ones to my side. While others will see the freedom that I offer them and realize that it’s a better alternative to the world that threw them away. It’s all about listening and understanding the masses’ needs. It’s a trait that a leader must have.” He paused, lifting his head to make eye contact with Toshinori again. “A trait that you lack.”

The skeleton’s face contorted with anger. “You better not be implying what I think you’re implying.”

The ghost explained, “You were All Might. You were the Symbol of Peace for decades. There was not a soul alive that hadn’t heard of your name. And you did nothing with it.”

“I saved lives!” Toshinori yelled. “I helped people! I helped!”

Destro stepped forward, getting right in the man’s face. “Any idiot with power could have saved lives.” He held up his hand, clenching a shaking fist. “You had power. Power to change the world, to make everyone have equal rights. And all you did was flash a smile! If you really wanted to be a symbol, then you’re a failure!”

“SHUT UP! SHUT THE FUCK UP!”

Toshinori let out a loud cry of rage as he drew back his fist. He put all of his weight behind the attack, using all of his momentum on the hit. His fist landed directly on the man’s cheek.

But, Vlad King, or Destro for that matter, didn’t even flinch.

It wasn’t that the ghost was strong. It was that Toshinori was weak. The former Symbol of Peace might as well have tried to hit him with a piece of paper.

Destro immediately retaliated, aiming a punch at Toshinori’s gut. It hit right in his gut, the spot where he was almost fatally injured.

“GAAHHHH!” Toshinori groaned as he fell to his knees, clutching his chest in pain.

The long dead villain spoke in a chilling voice, “That’s what I thought. I offered you a place to help because I noticed you had been freed by the boy’s gift and could be convinced like the others to see the right path. But, even so, you can’t. It's clear you can’t help anyone anymore...” He turned his back toward the hero, walking away. “Goodbye, All Might. If you need me or your fellow staff, we’ll be undoing your failings...”

Toshinori didn’t have a response to that. And, even if he did, he couldn’t say anything, spitting up blood and attempting to control his breathing. That was all he did until Destro got into Aizawa’s car and the three of them sped away, most likely to Tartarus.

Everything the ghost had said was all things the retired hero already had told himself. He was weak. He was pathetic. It was the same as when he was Quirkless. Now years later, it’s all the same again.

Toshinori had spent a considerable amount of time with Shu last night. He was doing his best to cheer the boy from his traumatic experience. But the longer he spent with him, the more he began to resent himself. A confused boy had ended up in Toshinori’s place of work, in the exact same building and Toshinori didn’t even know about the danger until it already had passed. It was one example of the thousands of people, maybe millions, that used to depend on All Might for safety. But he can’t do anything.

And now, the ghost of Destro – Toshinori still couldn’t believe that was a thing – is doing something with his fellow teachers. Toshinori saw the looks of pity from each of them after he retired. He knew he had lost their respect. Destro had it. Whatever he did to them (after Shu’s involvement) made sure of that.

The worst thing of all? If Destro’s plan succeeded, All for One would walk free from Tartarus. Everything that Toshinori had done as All Might would have been for nothing. Just like all of the other holders of One for All who had died to the heinous villain.

Like Nana...

Every death would be in vain.

The previous holders of One for All fought to the death to try and defeat him. And Toshinori couldn’t even do that right. He’s stuck as an old relic, a constant reminder that he had to suffer, to live and watch his chosen successor fight instead.

“If I had One for All again, I could fight in Young Tokoyami’s place, do exactly what I should have done. But Young Tokoyami is fierce. I could never get the Quirk back from him by simply asking...”

Toshinori’s blue eyes slowly drifted to the unconscious teenager on the ground.

“Perhaps I can take advantage of this...”

The skeleton pulled out his phone, dialing a familiar number.

“Naomasa, I need a favor.”

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When Shu had gotten out of the car and stepped into the high-tech prison before him, both Vlad King and Eraserhead made one thing clear to him. He had to shake everyone’s hand.

He didn’t know why. He was still confused by so much. But he had to see his mother again. The two heroes stayed close to him as Shu shook his hand at everyone he came across. Many security guards with funny hats and even some pro heroes like Gyges, a skinny hero with six arms and a helmet with two horns, and Briareos, a masked hero with ten arms. (Shu started to wonder if multiple arms was a requirement here.)

Still, he had no idea where his mother was at. He thought his mother was somewhere else, in an image that was fresh in his mind. He only hoped that the heroes did their job.

Meanwhile, in the security room, the guards present sat in their chairs, watching the screens of the many angles of the prison before them, all of the hallways, all of the cells, all of the prisoners.

One guard commented while chewing a donut, “Huh, we got a lot of heroes for visitors today. Must be a big case.”

“It would seem so,” a purple-haired guard commented, shaking his head. “This country had undergone too many crises within the last year. And they only seem to escalate.” He paused, grinding his teeth at the sound of the other man’s chewing. “And would you stop eating, Furukawa? This is highly sensitive equipment.”

“Oh, relax, Shishikura,” the guard said, waving him off his concerns. “All of this is state of the art. Only thing we really gotta concern with around here is the fact we can’t use our smart phones to pass the time.”

“Well, of course. This place needs to be highly secure and we have a number of villains all with hacking knowledge and Quirks. Even if their cells dampen their powers, it’s best not to risk it. Many of the regular signals here are blocked because of i-”

The other guard suddenly sat straight. He pointed directly at a screen far away from him, yelling, “Wait! What’s going on down there?”

Shishikura’s attention immediately snapped toward the screen. His eyes widened as he couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

In an area full of guards, Snipe was firing off his gun.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

As multiple guards fell in agony and others rushed to their aid, Ectoplasm opened his mouth, releasing a fog substance from his mouth. Three exact duplicates of the ghost-like hero all sent high kicks in the middle of the crowd, knocking guards down.

“I don’t believe it!” Shishikura exclaimed. “They’re Pro Heroes! What on Earth could they be thinking?”

Furukawa responded, “I’m not sure, but we got our own Pro Heroes that can take care of-”

He suddenly went silent when his eyes drifted to another screen. More and more scenes of chaos started to unfold. Briareos and Gyges had a group of guards completely surrounded before they beat on them mercilessly with their multiple fists. More clones of Ectoplasm were already lifting guards up by their shirts before throwing them to the ground. Some of the guards were rioting, fighting against their own. Even the warden looked at this with no visible reaction or order.

“What the fuck is going on?!”

Shishikura shook his head. “I’m not sure, but that’s not our job. Right now, we gotta contain this chaos before it spreads. Initiate manual control of the automated robot defense- UGH! UCK!”

Furukawa snapped his head toward the now open doorway.

Shishikura was choking, gasping for air, as he tried to pull off his neck a long whip wrapped tight. Midnight strolled behind him, yanking the whip as he struggled to breathe.

“Oh, hi, boys...” She greeted. There was something unsettling about her tone.

“Get away from him now! I mean it!” Furukawa quickly went to his holster to draw his weapon...

“YOWWWWW!”

A small sonic scream hit the guard like waves, tossing his body to the wall before he fell, rolling back to the ground, completely out. At the same time, Shishikura’s eyes fluttered before his arms went slack and he fell unconscious as well.

Midnight drew back her whip with one sharp motion. Shishikura laid sprawled on the ground as both the R-Rated Hero and her partner in crime, Present Mic grabbed the guards’ security keys and went to the main console of the room.

“Soooo...” Present Mic paused, jumping on the chair and spinning around it. “Who’s getting a ‘Get out of Jail’ free card first?”

Midnight’s eyes looked over the control panel in front of her as she explained, “We need to start with the ones who are the closest to Destro’s cause. If we release all of them at once, we won’t be able to control them all or talk to them in time.”

Present Mic leaned back, putting his feet up on the equipment, “Yeah, even though we switched sides, doubt that all of the guests here would know that before they try to rip our faces off.”

“Let’s start with...” Midnight hummed, licking her lips before clicking a button. “Ah, here we go.”

Two camera feeds popped up between the two ‘heroes’, showing the cells of two prisoners stuck in their cells.

One was a woman with quite a wide, muscular build, magenta colored hair, and a square jaw covered by facial hair. She was giving a very suggestive eye to the cell on the other side. The other was a tall man with a shaven head and a large cut on his left ear. He was on the cell floor, trying to crane his neck forward and eat away the straitjacket holding him.

Magne and Moonfish. AKA the only two prisoners of Tartarus that had been part of Shigaraki’s League of Villains.

Midnight said, “All of the crazy shit this year started this year with the League.” She shrugged. “It seems fitting to let them go first.”

Present Mic nodded. “Yep. Plus, if we are getting on All for One’s good side, letting his League members go is a big start.” He tilted his head, pointing to another monitor.

An intimidating man was doing push-ups in his cell, not letting up for even a moment. Even if he didn’t have his mask on, there was no doubting who he really was. Stain. The Hero Killer.

“Hey, wasn’t Stain part of the League too?”

“Oh, right. I almost forgot about Hosu after so long. Sure, we can free him too.” A pause. “Anyone else before we hit the big switch?”

“As a matter of fact, since ya mentioned Hosu...” Present Mic typed away at the console, pulling up another screen. He pointed to a tall woman with indigo-colored hair with numerous scattered pink streaks. She was quietly reading a book in her cell, “The Act of Recovery.”

Midnight squinted closer to the screen, taking off her mask for a moment. “Hey, isn’t that-?”

“Yep, Lady Nagant,” Present Mic introduced. “The bodacious ex-hero that actually escaped Tartarus all on her own earlier this year and was involved in a shocking scandal with the HPSC and Shota’s favorite Problem Child earlier this year. She’d be more than willing to help us.”

“I’m sorry...” Midnight paused, holding up a finger. “Did you just say bodacious?”

“Well, yeah, it’s on my Word of the Day calendar that I stole!” Present Mic grinned, feeling pretty satisfied with himself until she saw Midnight’s side-eye. He shrunk in his seat, looking a bit guilty. “How about you pick one too?”

Midnight’s mouth curved into a smile as she searched for another one. Her eyes fell on a very huge, muscular man with long, light brown hair, punching the walls of his cell with little to no impact.

“Well, he’s certainly my type...”

While the corrupted heroine disabled the many security protocols of the island, Present Mic turned on the speaker system, putting on his best radio voice.

“YYYEEEAAAHHH!!!”

Many of the prisoners looked up at the speakers from their cells, recognizing the familiar voice. Some of them were in shock, others were just in plain confusion.

“What up, captive listeners! It’s your host, Present Mic and today, we are having a little jailbreak! That’s right! We gone bad!”

In their cells, many of the prisoners reacted to this news. Stain narrowed his eyes, glaring at the speaker as the look alone would silence it permanently. “What?”

Magne let out a small chuckle. “Is this a gesture of love? I knew he couldn’t resist me!”

Others were silent, trying to gauge what the situation was.

Lady Nagant frowned. “What’s going on? Is this another set of lies?”

“A lucky few of you will be getting out right now for special behavior and if the rest of you behave, and behave, I mean, party like it’s 2K, you’ll get to come out and join our party!”

Lady Nagant looked left and right, noticing the many cheers erupting around her.

Suddenly, the doors to her cell opened up. None of the others around her had opened. The ex-hero looked down and concentrated, just to be sure. As expected, a long rifle gun protruded from her right elbow.

“My Quirk is working again...” the woman thought, looking over her weapon. “But I’m not sure that’s a good thing here.”

The voice over the speakers spoke, “Lucky listeners, please head up to the elevators and get to the surface for your welcoming party!”

Lady Nagant sighed, “Whatever this is, I have a bad feeling about this...”

As the freed prisoners made their way upwards, Shu walked nervously next to Eraserhead and Vlad King down a long metal hallway, each side having a row of heavy-duty doors. To the child, it looked like they would all belong in a bank safe like in the cartoons.

Stopping at the door at the end of it, Shu asked, “Is... is my mom here?”

“Of course. The key to finding her, that is,” Vlad King said, spinning the long metal door and opening it wide. Before Shu could argue, Eraserhead pushed him inside and the three of them stepped into the special cell.

It was a big white room, reinforced with steel. There were dozens of guns and weapons all mounted around the room, coming down from the ceiling. If that didn’t put Shu on edge, what they were pointing at was.

A faceless man was strapped to a chair. His arms were crossed over his chest by his straitjacket, holding him in place. A clear oxygen mask covered his mouth. Wires and tubes connected him to a bunch of medical equipment nearby.

Shu didn’t know who he was, but he knew one thing. He shouldn’t be here at all.

Vlad King sent a curt nod. Both he and Eraserhead bowed slightly. “All for One.”

“Eraserhead. Vlad King,” All for One greeted as if this was an entirely normal conversation. “What can I do for you?”

“It’s simple,” Eraserhead replied, crossing his arms. “We’re here to free you.”

A tense moment of silence before All for One smiled. “I must admit. This is certainly a surprise. I never would have expected this from either of you.” He looked around at the weapons, not even aiming at the intruders. “And I assume that you had help.”

“Correct,” Vlad King said. “I’ve assembled followers for a cause I know you would fight as well. Would you be willing to negotiate?”

“I’m listening...”

“NO!” Shu yelled, backing away to a different corner of the cell. All three adults looked undisturbed by the outburst, even All for One who didn’t even question why a random child was there with them. “What’s going on?! Why did you bring me here?! Who’s All for One?!”

Eraserhead said nothing, rolling his eyes at his response. Vlad King, on the other hand, bent down on one knee, looking at the boy at eye level. His voice tried to be sympathetic.

“Shu, this is All for One. He’s a powerful man. With his help, resources, and Meta abilities, it’ll be much easier to locate your famil-”

“I know where she is! I know where my mommy is!” Shu cried, stomping his feet. The picture he showed Tsukuyomi was now clear in his mind. He wasn’t doubting himself anymore. He knew exactly where he needed to go. “I’m going to her now!”

Shu started to stomp his way toward the doorway, but Vlad King’s massive frame started to loom over him.

“Shu, you have a gift. It’s one you deserve to use. After all, you have been using it all day.”

“My gift?” Shu thought before fear spiked in the boy’s heart upon realization. “My Quir-?”

“DON’T SAY THAT WORD!” Vlad King yelled before recomposing himself. “Shu. You can use your gift however you wish. But there are people who have been lied to that can be freed by your meta-ability. Help them and that will help your mother as well. Don’t you want that?”

Shu yelled, “They’re not the only ones that got lied to!”

The boy tried to move straight through Vlad King, use his new “gifts” to his advantage. But then he felt a strong hand wrap around his arm. Shu tried to phase through it, but nothing happened. The boy tugged a few more times in vain before finally looking back at his arm.

Vlad King’s hand was glowing black light.

Before Shu knew it, the muscular man had thrown the boy to the ground. He flipped on his back, looking up at Vlad King in fear. Vlad King’s whole body started to glow. Shu tried to crawl away, not removing his gaze from the threat before him.

Vlad King took one step forward before Eraserhead’s capture weapon unraveled from the hero and a section of it wrapped around Vlad King’s elbow.

The hobo said, “We both agreed. None of the children would get hurt.”

“We did,” Vlad King confirmed, addressing the hero. “That’s why we decided not to recruit any of your students to our cause like this. But Shu absolutely needs to stay here.”

“He still can’t get hurt.”

While the two heroes began to argue each other, Shu’s mind raced, trying to think of a way out of this.

“Vlad King... That’s not him. That’s the one that tried to attack me earlier! Which means I can’t get by him. Eraserhead is too close to him too. There’s only one option...”

The child looked behind him. His eyes darted toward All for One, the villain looking at the disagreement with amused interest.

This was the worst plan he could ever think of. But it’s all he had.

“Tsukuyomi told me to have courage. And, right now, that’s the only thing I have...”

Shu swallowed whatever was in his lungs right then and scrambled to his feet, sprinting towards All for One.

Eraserhead was the first to notice. His eyes already glowed blood red and his hair was flying up around his head. But Erasure wouldn’t work. Not on someone like Shu. And not for what the boy was about to do anyway.

Shu leaped, tackling All for One in the gut.

WHAM!

The two of them phased through the chair, falling on the ground behind it. Before All for One could do anything, Shu pressed his hands to the man’s chest, concentrating as hard as he could.

“Please work! Please work!”

Shu opened his eyes. The ones that just flipped colors. His left black one. And his right white one.

The child looked all around him. The mounted weapons weren’t firing, but Vlad King and Eraserhead surrounded them both on either side.

Vlad King hummed, “Child, you don’t really want to see me angry.” He cracked his fist and-

All for One suddenly struck, kicking out Vlad King’s feet from underneath. As he fell, the centuries-old villain ripped apart the straitjacket and stood up, taking Shu in his arms. He couldn’t help but smile.

“Whatever anger you feel, it would pale in comparison to mine.”

Eraserhead held his capture weapon tight. “All for One, there’s no need to fight us. We’re on the same side here. Besides, you’ve never fought me before.”

“Oh, Eraserhead, Quirk of Erasure, I’ve been aware of you for some time. But there’s no need for all of these theatrics,” the villain said, leaning near the chair. “You can try and erase my Quirk. This room has dampened a good portion of them already. Plus, all of the drugs they pumped me with to ‘keep me stable’ haven’t been helping either. However...” He flashed a smile as wide as All Might’s usual grin. “I’ve been alive for centuries. I’ve sat for weeks in this cell. I had plenty of time to think if something like this were to happen.”

All for One had the simplest plan of all.

He ran.

Eraserhead threw his capture weapon, but All for One grabbed the chair, throwing it in its path. The hero jumped over it, but the villain was already out of the cell, slamming the door shut.

SLAM!

All for One took a step back, taking in his strength. He looked down at the child trying to steady his breathing. “Well, child, could you explain what had happened? Because I am aware enough to feel your Quirk influencing me.”

“It’s a long story.”

“So, bore me.”

Shu shook his head, his eyes fixed on the door. “There’s no time. If Vlad King is the thing that was after me, that door won’t hold for long.”

All for One stayed silent. He hummed in thought. Whatever thoughts were turning his head, Shu couldn’t figure it out. The boy just had to hope that he hadn’t made a huge mistake.

Finally, the criminal replied, “Very well. I’ll get you to safety and make sure no harm comes to you.”

“Really?”

The faceless man nodded. “I know you used your Quirk on me. And I must commend you for your Quirk’s strength. I’ve witnessed many Quirks throughout the centuries and not once have I run into a mental Quirk as strong as yours.” He started walking down the hallway of locked doors and cells. “But, even still, I see you and I am reminded of my own family...” He closed his eyes, sighing. “I didn’t protect him back then like a brother should have. But I will protect you now.” The villain stopped, looking straight up at the ceiling. “Are you well enough to use that phasing gift of yours? I would hate to damage this facility and ruin all of the scientists’ hard work.” He sighed. “What has become of me?”

Shu nodded, holding to the man tight. All for One flew up, up, and up. The door to All for One’s cell started to glow as it started to burn away from the inside. It launched out from the heat, skidding across the ground as Vlad King and Eraserhead stepped out, right as their targets phased out from the ceiling.

Eraserhead yelled, “They’re getting away!”

Before he could rush after them, Vlad King held out his hand. “It’s a pity. I really didn’t want it to come to this, but they’re forcing my hand.”

“Come to what?”

The muscular man sighed, glancing at Eraserhead with a dull look, “Catch this body. He’ll be unconscious for about 15 minutes. That gives you plenty of time to lock him up in a cell in the meantime until we can make sure he won’t hurt us.”

“And what will you be doing?”

But he didn’t answer. As Vlad King suddenly fell back, completely unconscious, something escaped his closed eyes, flowing away like the wind. Eraserhead couldn’t describe it well. Its shape kept changing, going from wisps in the wind to other patterns like it was a Rorschach test. But the man felt mesmerized by the black light it exuded until it phased through the ceiling as well.

Meanwhile, on the surface, the main grounds of the prison, six prisoners listened in attendance to hear what the corrupt heroes were telling them.

Stain. Moonfish. Magne. Lady Nagant. And one that none of them recognized named Kendo Rappa.

It was definitely an odd crowd that assembled.

But, not as odd as the heroes that broke them out.

Present Mic, Midnight, Snipe, Ectoplasm, and Cementoss.

Once the ‘heroes’ explained what was going on, Lady Nagant was the first to respond.

“You can’t be serious,” she drawled.

“Sure, we are,” Cementoss responded. “Our growing Meta Liberation Army fights for ideals.” He looked over at Stain, Moonfish, and Magne. “Same that the League was fighting for.” The block head’s gaze moved to Rappa. “We’ll be fighting for each other, rather than against...” He paused, locking eyes with Lady Nagant. “Exposing the lies of this world to make a better society for all. Doesn’t that sound appealing?”

A clone of Ectoplasm came by, undoing Moonfish’s restraints. Right as he did, Moonfish snarled like a dog, making the clone back away.

Present Mic commented, “If you doubt us, at least wait for our leader to make the big campaign speech. If you wanna go, you can go.”

Ectoplasm said, “But, if you do try to fight us...”

Snipe pointed a finger gun at the villains, before he fired it off. “Bang.”

Rappa took a step forward, “I don’t know what’s going on, but if you want me to fight, you got it.”

Magne shrugged, “Sure, I wouldn’t mind. Beats being in a cell the whole time.”

All Moonfish did was lick his lips in anticipation, waiting for his free meat.

Lady Nagant said nothing because out of the corner of her eye, she already saw how Stain would respond. Even if she couldn’t see the Hero Killer’s face, she could tell from his body language that he was filled with unbelievable anger and hatred.

“You’re all fools if you think I’ll ever join you!” In one fluid motion, Stain grabbed the Ectoplasm clone from behind and wrapped his hands and wrung his throat, snapping the clone’s neck. The clone dissolved right as the ‘heroes’ tensed up, getting into fighting stances. “You’re all selfish fakes! Every single one of you! You want me to sow unbridled chaos? To go against what you have sworn to protect?” His fists tightened. “I don’t have my sword but rest assured. I will smear these grounds with your tainted blood!”

The Hero Killer immediately rushed forward. Snipe drew his gun, but Stain kicked the cowboy’s hand, stopping him from pulling the trigger. With almost inhuman agility, he yanked the cowboy off balance, rolling off his back and kicked in a 180-degree arc, knocking Midnight to the ground.

As he landed, the floor beneath him shifted, tripping him up. It was for a split second before Stain leapt out of the way, barely avoiding the cement oozing out of that spot.

However, Briareos’s multiple arms caught Stain’s ankle in mid-air before tossing him to the side.

WHAM!

The other villains, meanwhile, had stepped to the sidelines, watching the fight with interest. For most of them, this was just pure entertainment.

Rappa grunted, “I shall fight the winner.”

Magne hummed, tapping a finger on her chin, “Stain may not be the smartest of us to fight them now, but honey, what passion!” She blew a finger kiss.

As for Lady Nagant, she wasn’t sure what to think.

Her real name was Kaina Tsutsumi, but Lady Nagant was her official legal name at the moment. Because it’s what the HPSC had dubbed her as. Because she was supposed to be a hero forever.

As long as she obeyed the government’s orders. To do whatever the hell they wanted.

Once she finally had stood up for herself, tried to take back control of her life, they locked her up and thrown away the key.

The whole experience made her disillusioned with the world of heroes, with everything. She wanted the world to be a lot more transparent, even if it turned out the world was just a bunch of garbage.

Lady Nagant even broke out earlier that year to demand the truth from the HPSC themselves. (Long story there.) But through it, she met Izuku Midoriya, someone who told her that life was cruel, but not cruel enough for things to not get better.

A part of her wanted to believe it, even though it sounded like another lie.

But now, this was happening. A world where heroes were secretly working to destroy it.

Was this the truth she was supposed to see?

The sniper wasn’t sure what to do then, but she brought her elbow up, summoning her rifle.

Suddenly, the group of prisoners felt chills from behind them.

They turned around just as a faceless villain carrying a boy in his arms phased from the ground, hovering over the ground.

“Oh, it’s you again. Baldy from Kamino,” Magne recognized. “Was this all you?” She locked eyes with Shu, commenting, “Oh, I didn’t know you were a single father.”

All for One replied, “Oh, Magne. Under normal circumstances, I would have made a comment with potentially threatening undertones about how I wished this child wasn’t born. However, we simply do not have time for that. Please. This child needs some help.”

Lady Nagant raised an eyebrow at that. As strange as it was to see a child randomly in a prison, it was even stranger to see this threatening faceless man plead for help.

But it didn’t matter. Moonfish’s gaze was fixed on the boy, undeniably hungry.

“So long...” Moonfish’s mouth watered; his teeth clicked together repeatedly. “So long... Since I had a child! So hungry! No need to floss! Now eat!”

The villain’s mouth opened and his teeth extended outwards, becoming sharp as knives and heading toward the child.

All for One held up his hand, shielding the attack, but Shu pushed himself out of the villain’s hand and ran straight at the prisoners.

Moonfish redirected his teeth at the child, but it didn’t pierce the boy at all. Instead, Shu lunged within arms’ reach, grabbing both Moonfish’s and Magne’s wrists. He concentrated and focused on what he needed to do.

Within a few moments, both prisoners had their eyes wide open before blinking. Their bodies relaxed, looking at the boy with a new look in their eyes. Lady Nagant narrowed her eyes, noticing their new expressions.

Both former League members slowly turned their heads toward the fight between Stain and the ‘heroes’. Security guards had started to swarm out, attacking the Hero Killer with their various weapons.

“Not hungry... For Kids...” The cannibal said, his breathing became faster and faster. “Hungry for... Bad adults!”

Magne sighed, “Everybody should have a right to what they believe in... That includes Stain!”

Both prisoners’ feet moved them forward toward the fight as they planned on stopping the violence. Rappa cracked his knuckles, rolling his head at them. “I don’t care who at this point. This fight better satisfy me.” He quickly followed after them, joining the fight.

Moonfish fell on the ground, getting knocked down from one of Present Mic’s sonic blasts. He turned himself over. The cannibal turned his head toward the Present Mic and opened his mouth. Blades dug in the ground fast before Moonfish used it to reel them back, flying towards Present Mic. He sent a hard kick to the man’s chest before bouncing off it.

Magne kicked an Ectoplasm clone as another one lunged at her with its arm out. She blocked the attack, knocking the arm away while jamming her elbow hard into his gut.

As Lady Nagant watched Magne send a high knee to another clone, she suddenly heard a loud scream of pain next to her.

“AAAAAAHHHHHH!”

The sniper shot a glance over her shoulder just as All for One collapsed to the ground a few feet away from her, gripping his head in agony. Wisps of darkness swirled around him as a presence spoke.

“I heard you wanted to become a demon king... But let’s see how you deal with a real one!”

Shu took two steps away, looking completely terrified. There was a small part of the boy that wanted to approach him and ask what’s wrong. But he knew what the ghost was capable of. He already experienced it.

Lady Nagant stared at the scene, completely confused on what was happening. She just knew that she didn’t want to get in the middle of-

CA-CHA!

At the sound of a whip cracking, Lady Nagant felt something leather wrap around her arm before she got tugged to the side. She turned around just as Midnight threw a punch in her direction. The sniper ducked underneath it, delivering a swift kick to her opponent's chest. Lady Nagant freed herself from Midnight’s whip, but the corrupt hero then threw Lady Nagant’s body, letting the prisoner roll along the ground.

Shu yelled to Lady Nagant, “Are you okay?!”

The purple-haired woman looked in the boy’s direction, but then she became instantly horrified, her sharp eyes noticing something in the distance. Her heart started to beat a mile a minute.

Snipe was far, near the walls of the prison complex. The cowboy pointed the gun straight forward. Lady Nagant already saw the trajectory a bullet would travel, how fast it would go, and the finger already pulling on the trigger.

Lady Nagant scrambled to her feet, shouting at the top of her lungs, “KID, RUN!”

At the last possible moment, Snipe adjusted his gun, pulling the trigger.

BANG!

The bullet zoomed past the child and Lady Nagant, barely a few inches away from the child’s head, a centimeter from the ex-hero's hip. Instead of hitting anyone, the bullet hit a piece of electrical equipment, wires exposed as a result of the surrounding fight.

BOOM!

The resulting miniature explosion knocked Lady Nagant off her feet, falling face-first on the ground.

As a group of guards rushed the scene, Snipe commanded, “Grab the runt!”

Lady Nagant’s eyes hardened with determination. She had her doubts before about what was the truth and what wasn’t. But what was happening in front of her wasn’t a lie.

She did sick things in “service to the world.” But there’s no way she would let a child die without doing something about it.

A guard tackled into the woman, trying to keep her in place.

Shu started to run for cover, but Lady Nagant knew that it wouldn’t take long.

She yelled, “Someone! Do something! Help that boy!”

Her words could barely be heard over the commotion, but it did reach one person nearby...

Lady Nagant threw the guard off of her as Midnight ran towards her. She tore off some layer of her protective outfit, releasing a purple mist. Lady Nagant held her breath as she rolled away from the R-Rated Hero. With her right arm still transformed into a rifle, she held her breath and aimed down the sights at Midnight, pulling the trigger.

BANG!

With a flick of her wrist, Midnight’s whip flipped up a piece of debris. It blocked the bullet’s path momentarily, allowing her to dodge to the side.

Before Midnight could try and unleash more of her Quirk, a figure’s feet ran across the pavement, ducking underneath a guard’s weapon and then pushing an Ectoplasm off of him.

Midnight turned around, immediately receiving two punches to the gut from Stain. The Hero Killer held his breath as he roundhouse kicked her to the side. As she stumbled back, Stain reached Shu and carried the boy bridal-style toward the entrance. “Come with me.”

 He kept his head low as he didn’t focus on anything around him. The explosions. The cries of pain. If none of the false heroes would try and save a boy, he would.

But, as it happened, the Hero Killer hadn’t noticed what was happening with Shu’s eyes…

Stopping at the locked doors before them, Stain looked down at the child with concern, “Are you injured?”

“No, thank you for helping,” Shu mumbled. “I… things are really scary right now.”

The criminal gave a curt nod and a gentle, comforting squeeze as a hug. “You’re right,” Stain paused. A few tears started to well up. “Why can’t we just give each other more love?” The man swung him around. “I just want to hug all of them!”

A chilling presence could be felt throughout the prison.

Suddenly, everyone turned towards where All for One’s body suddenly stopped struggling. The criminals have kicked their respective opponents down.

The faceless villain had pulled himself up to his feet. An aura surrounded him, creating otherworldly energy. His presence alone exuded darkness around him.

Moonfish mumbled, “Not good…”

Magne commented, “He commanded the room with his charm, but this is different.” He glanced towards Stain. “We need to protect them, honey.”

“Exactly…” the cannibal paused, twisting his body in another direction. His metal-like teeth extended outwards, gently poking Rappa in the shoulder. The muscular man had been looking at All for One in awe and displayed an annoyed expression when he looked at the other villains. “Let’s bail… Save tasty kid…”

Rappa narrowed his eyes before giving a slight shrug. “Sure, as long as you don’t mess up my fight. It’s my time!”

Before they could say anything else, Rappa’s meaty hands grabbed both Moonfish and Magne chucked them toward the doorway. Their bodies flew past Lady Nagant, the woman also having the same idea of protecting the boy. She arched an eyebrow as Moonfish fell, sprawled right next to Stain and Shu, followed by Magne. The trans villain fell right on top of the cannibal, practically crushing him.

“You okay, foodie?”

“Sure… Ribs broke my fall.”

Right as Lady Nagant came to their side, All for One, or rather Destro, held up his arm. His loud voice boomed throughout, commanding them all. “Shu Hario, you forced my hand. I didn’t want to do this…”

From All for One’s fingertips, a blast of darkness shot out. But right as he did, Rappa lunged forward, delivering a mighty punch at him as hard as a wrecking ball. The shot missed, hitting the ground in front of the villains. All of them shielded their eyes from the blast.

Lady Nagant yelled, “We have to get out of here!”

Stain said, “The lady’s right!” He turned toward the locked doors. “But how do we get pass this barrier?”

“Just… just hold tight,” Shu gasped. His breathing had gotten heavier. “And walk through.”

The group of villains all followed the boy’s instructions, making the jump. It wasn’t too long before all of them had found themselves outside of the prison complex and in the empty parking lot.

Magne pointed at a parked car in front of them. “That’s our ticket out of here. Come on.”

She was the first to reach the car, smashing through the driver’s seat window with her elbow. After moving to sweep the glass away, Magne’s hands worked on hotwiring the car.

The convicts all followed Magne’s path. The Hero Killer was right behind them, but he suddenly stumbled, grasping at empty air. He looked behind himself, confused as to how the child in his arms had fallen onto the ground, face-first and barely moving.

“Shu, come on!” Stain exclaimed as he scrambled back and reached down to scoop the boy again. However, Stain’s hands moved through the boy, unable to grab him.

Shu struggled to bring his head up as he answered Stain’s unspoken command to move. “I can’t… too tired… this is all new to me. I never did it that much and with that many people either.”

Lady Nagant knelt to the child’s side. She commented, “Quirk exhaustion, most likely. We won’t be able to move him anywhere…” The woman bit her lip as she pondered what had happened on the last few minutes. “Your name is Shu Hario?”

“Yeah…”

“I think I recognize your name. Isn’t your father-?”

KA-WHOOM!

The doors to the prison complex suddenly burst open. A blast of black energy had shot through the tiny cracks of the doors. Even from a distance, the prisoners could feel the impact as it threw them to the ground. For Lady Nagant and Stain, it tossed them away from Shu.

They both pulled their heads up to see All for One’s body emerge from the complex. The villain’s hand held Rappa’s body by his face before tossing him away.

But it wasn’t All for One’s voice that came out of his throat. It was another.

Destro spoke, “You want to disrespect me, fine. You want to throw away the world that I’m building for you all, fine. Be my guest. We all deserve freedom.” He held out a hand, letting it glow with all of his demonic power. “But I will destroy you all without a second thought before I let you leave this place with that child.”

Stain pulled himself up to his feet. He was ready to fight again, to rush and hold back the beast while Shu escaped. But then, Shu stood up as well. The boy was clearly terrified, but he remembered Tsukuyomi’s words. He needed courage then. Someone would save him later. He couldn’t let anyone else die.

The child started to stumble toward the villain. Destro’s mouth started to curl up into a satisfied smile.

“Wha-what are you doing?” Stain asked. “Shu!”

The boy just took one last fearful glance at them as he whispered, “Please just find my mommy...”

Shu continued forward. The Hero Killer made another move to grab him, but a strong hand gripped his wrist. Lady Nagant held tight before tugging him back to her.

“We have to go,” the ex-heroine said, gritting her teeth.

“What?! Why?!”

“We can’t beat him,” she explained. “I don’t know what the hell is really going on here, but I know we can’t win. Especially if he apparently is part of this big plan or whatever and has a shit ton of heroes, prisoners, and guards to back him up.” She leaned forward, whispering in his ear. “If it’s true what those fake heroes said that no one else knows about this, then we need to get to the real ones and warn them so that they can charge in here to handle it.” She glanced over at Shu, who had made it into Destro’s reach. “As much as I hate to admit it, they don’t seem to want to hurt Shu at the moment. This is our best opportunity. Anything else we do will get that kid killed.”

A brief moment of hesitation passed before Stain reluctantly gave a nod. “Alright, we should go.” He started to run to the car but stopped for a brief moment. “But, for the record, please watch your language. I don’t care too much for swearing.”

Lady Nagant stared at him in disbelief before following him. “Since when does the Hero Killer care about something dumb like that? That’s definitely not in the stories I've heard of him.”

Stain and Lady Nagant piled into the backseat. All of the other convicts had already piled in, squeezing in close. But the moment Stain and Lady Nagant had piled in, they all paused, sending expectant glances inside.

The purple-haired woman asked, “What?”

Moonfish pointed a finger at himself. “Seatbelts.”

“Ah, right. Of course,” Stain nodded as he went to go do that with the other prisoners helping him.

Lady Nagant, on the other hand, felt like getting out of the car and chucking it into the ocean.

“Why is everything so weird today?!”

“Forget the rules of the road!” Lady Nagant exclaimed. “Just drive already!”

Magne, in the driver’s seat, stepped her foot on the gas. The car did one quick turn, backing out of the parking spot before immediately tearing out of there and speeding toward the freedom.

But Destro glared at the speeding vehicle. Plans weren’t going as smoothly as he hoped. Honestly, he couldn’t have them leave at all. He can’t let the ‘heroes’ know just how much was happening then.

He stretched out his palm, ready to decimate the car, but then his eyes squeezed shut as something inside of his new body dared to fight back.

All for One, the real All for One thought back, “Did you miss me?!”

“What?! How are you still awake?!”

“If you were such an expert, you would know that a demon king can’t be so easily silenced!”

Destro roared in pain as his body staggered and two minds fought for control.

Lady Nagant stuck her head out of the car and aimed her gun, looking through the sights at the Bronze Gate in their path. She yelled, “Moonfish! Stick your head out too and say ‘Ah’!”

Moonfish followed her lead. Rows of sharp blades gnashed together, slicing through the gate. A final round from Lady Nagant’s rifle pushed it forward.

BANG! BUMP!

The wheels went over the gate. Magne floored it. They burned rubber as the car shot forward onto the single drawbridge connecting the island to the mainland.

Destro still fought for control but couldn’t focus on attacking. Instead, he yelled toward the prison, “COLLAPSE THE BRIDGE NOW!”

ZOOOOOM!

The car moved as fast as it could with tires squealing and smoke coming from them. But, still, they weren’t fast enough.

The villains in the car saw what was coming next. The bridge in front of them was collapsing. A majority of them started grabbing each other as they yelled for dear life.

“AAAAAAHHHHHHHH!”

The only person who stayed silent was Stain. The man simply closed his eyes and calmly prepared for what was to come.

Even when the car had finally plunged off the road and dived down into the ocean below.

SPLASH!

Shu’s eyes widened as he tried to run back after them. “NO!”

But Destro’s glowing hands caught the boy. No matter how much Shu tried to phase through them, he couldn’t. Despite the man cringing from the headache he had then, Destro still had the upper hand.

It was then that Eraserhead came to the villain’s side, looking at the boy. “Shu. You need to stay with us.”

“Let me go!” Shu cried, struggling to get out of the man’s grip.

Destro sighed, “I was afraid it would come to this. I didn’t want to imprison anyone else, but this is how it has to be for now.” He turned toward Eraserhead. “Do you still have the device we procured from Fenix last night?”

“Yes, I do,” the black-haired man nodded, producing a red stamp-like device with a black rhinoceros decorated in the front. “This won’t hurt the boy, right?”

“No, as I explained it last night, Vistamps are an experimental new device. They give life to a normal human being’s Quirk, letting the Quirk take sentience and perform a contract for their owner. But, for someone like this boy...”

The man clicked a button on top of the stamp...

“KUROSAI!”

And slammed it right on to Shu’s chest.

Shu couldn’t accurately describe what happened next. It was like a strong wind was dragging him away. No matter how hard he fought, he couldn’t stop it. His body became more transparent. His insides felt like nothing. He was soon dragged into the Vistamp as it glowed.

“It can be used to contain them, to keep them secure.” Destro turned it over in his hand, letting the rhinoceros face him. “But, when this fully gestates, we’ll be able to use Shu’s Quirk with a click of a button. We won’t be needing ‘permission’ from him any longer... GAH!” The Vistamp dropped to the ground as the man gripped his head as he felt his hold over the body start to weaken. He slumped toward the nearest wall.

“Are you alright?”

It took a moment before Destro could answer properly. “I am.” He bent down to pick up the Vistamp, slower than he should. “But just as we need time for the Vistamp to truly integrate Shu’s Quirk, I need some time as well. Both All for One’s body and mind fight back against me. I need to meditate. Focus all of my energy on fully possessing every part of this body.”

“And, then you’ll be able to use All for One’s Quirk?”

“Exactly. I’ll be able to tap into it and eventually, his memories as well. His knowledge will be mine. And then, we can lead our army out of this prison. And change this world for the better.”

Eraserhead asked, “Alright. What happens next?”

“Send a few guards to check and see if those escapees truly perished and then fortify our defenses. Have your hero friends check to see if there are more persuadable guests here who would join our cause.”

Destro walked away, his hands behind his back, as he planned to make his own preparations as well.

After all, he had seen the signs before. War was coming.

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“Ugh... this is nasty.”

Oboro couldn’t help but wipe his hands even when there was nothing on them. For once, he couldn’t believe that he was the clean freak today.

Since many of the UA robots needed to be inspected again to ensure that there was no more signs of tampering, that meant that human labor was required and unfortunately, that meant Oboro had to take care of things. He spent all day running around, basically being the school’s new janitor. He didn’t have time to go hang out in the teacher’s lounge like he normally did.

Not that it would matter. Apparently right after lunch, a majority of the teachers bailed on some important mission and classes were basically cancelled for them.

School had only ended a few moments before then with many students clearing the hallways. Oboro had just exited the bathroom, wiping his hands clean again.

Apparently, a student claimed that during lunch, Present Mic had literally snatched a cup of mochi from straight from Uraraka’s hand and then dumped it in another person’s seat before they sat down, ruining their skirt.

Oboro had to call bull. He knew that Hizashi loved to have fun, but he wouldn’t have taken it that far.

Still, he knew his students. Uraraka wouldn’t have called something like that out unless something was wrong.

The teacher’s assistant headed towards the principal’s office. He liked hanging out with Nezu (The rat-dog-thing was more than super friendly. He had no idea why everyone else was so nervous around him.), but this wouldn’t be a social call. Nezu could easily validate on the security cameras whether Uraraka’s story was true or not...

“Hey, Oboro!”

Oboro paused at the corner of the building, looking down the hallway as Izuku came sprinting down it. His notebook wildly flapped around in his hand.

The cloudy man wagged a finger. “Hey, young man! No running in the halls!” He dropped his somewhat stern expression as he couldn’t help but smile. “Sorry. Always wanted to try and see how they felt.” He frowned. “Wasn’t as fun as I thought.”

As soon as Izuku caught up to Oboro, the Quirkless teen said, “Oboro, I figured it out.”

“What? About Shu’s Quirk?”

“Yeah, well, that and maybe a little more...” Izuku paused as he scanned his surroundings. “Where is everyone? I know that Aizawa had to leave early...”

Oboro shrugged, “Yeah, a lot of the classes bailed out of the blue.” He rubbed the back of his neck, still a bit unsure of the situation. “As best as I can tell, the only teacher actually in class now is Power Loader. I would have thought that Nezu would have kept the other teachers here until this whole mess is resolved, but apparently, everyone else is acting weird today.”

“Ok, that might confirm my theory...” Izuku mumbled, chewing on his lower lip before looking up at Oboro. “We need to speak with Principal Nezu. It’s urgent. Do you know where he is?”

“Did you check his office?”

“Yeah, I did and it’s completely empty.”

“Okay...” Oboro’s face scrunched up in thought. “Normally, we would ask the robots to find him, but they’re in maintenance right now.” But he quickly put on a smile. “Don’t worry. I’ll help you look for him.”

And, so, they began the search for the principal, going to every room possible. From Class 1-A to the Development Studio. The conference rooms, the cafeteria and the infirmary. They even peeked in the teachers’ dorms and lounge to find the only staff members left on campus: Recovery Girl, Thirteen, Lunch Rush, and Hound Dog. But none of them had seen him either.

Oboro and Izuku had started to round back to the principal’s office, moving past the PE grounds as a shortcut when they heard a faint thumping noise.

“Hey, do you hear that?” Izuku asked.

Oboro nodded hesitantly. “Yeah, it sounds like it’s coming from over there...”

The two of them glanced at each other in confusion before heading closer to the pool area. The sound continued to get much louder with every step. The outdoor pool was now completely covered by a sheet due to the season so that wasn’t too peculiar. But the more they listened, the more they realized that the sound they had heard was coming from underneath the blanket...

Without needing to say it out loud, both of them worked on removing the tarp. It was only a minute before they tore it open. The smell of chlorine started to fill their immediate senses before they became more shocked at what they saw.

The pool had been drained a good bit, but it still contained some water, maybe about three quarters still remained.

Floating on the surface of the water, knocking against the drain, there was a gallon bottle used for travel. It wasn’t empty...

Izuku’s eyes widened. “Principal Nezu!”

The white mammal wasn’t moving, leaning against the walls of the bottle. There was liquid inside, almost submerging Nezu in his own prison.

Oboro got to his knees, reaching down and fishing out the bottle. He quickly unscrewed the lid and poured the principal out.

“He’s not breathing!” Oboro exclaimed, already closing his eyes and starting CPR with two fingers.

“Uh, Oboro...?”

“Don’t worry, I’m sure I remember how to do this!”

Izuku tilted his head in confusion. Because from what he saw, Nezu was breathing. He looked more unconscious than someone struggling to breathe.

That’s what Oboro realized too as soon as he gave mouth-to-mouth to the rat.

Nezu’s eyes immediately opened. His brain stalled for a second before he scrambled out of Oboro’s grip. The cloudy man took a minute to process what exactly he just did before he stumbled his way over to the edge of the pool, gagging.

The greenette hovered over his principal. “Sir, are you alright?”

“Thank you, Midoriya...” Nezu sighed. “I am relatively safe now.”

As the rat moved to grab a nearby towel to dry himself, Izuku made sure to check on the teacher’s assistant as well. “Oboro, how are you?”

Drool hung from his mouth as Oboro answered, “Izuku, you gave me my memories back. Any chance you can take this one away?”

Izuku gave a few pats to the man’s back to comfort him. A small part of Oboro’s brain wondered if this was the first kiss he had in decades as he pulled himself up and the two of them approached Nezu again.

The teenager asked, “Sir, what happened here?”

The mammal finished drying himself before he stared up at the two pairs of expectant eyes. “I regret to inform you both that I was assaulted by our fellow staff.”

“What?!” they both exclaimed.

“Midnight released her Quirk in my office and then Present Mic stuffed me into that container.” Nezu paused, shaking his head. “It is my own fault for being such a kind and considerate principal. I only attempted to use non-lethal countermeasures...”

Oboro stammered, his mind unable to process this, “It had to be that possession villain... it has to be.”

There’s no way anyone he worked with could be a villain! Did it have something to do with that mission they all went on?

He paled upon the realization that all of his friends were a part of it...

Izuku said, “Maybe it might be the villain. Maybe not... I discovered some things that you should know.”

“Excellent. But, first, we must respond to the situation at hand,” Nezu said. “Do any of you have knowledge if they left campus?”

“Yeah, they said they left for some big mission,” Oboro responded. “I think Shu's gone too.”

The rat put his paws behind his back and started walking briskly to his office with the other two following behind him.

“We need to initiate emergency measures. Keep the campus on lockdown and have everyone return to their dorms while we perform a headcount and ensure we have this matter resolved. After Midoriya briefs me on what he discovered, I will contact the authorities and inform them that they should track our teachers’ Hero IDs. Who’s currently unaccounted for?”

Izuku started, “Ectoplasm and Snipe, for starters.”

Oboro added, “Plus Shota, Hizashi, Nemuri, Ishiyama, and Shu. That’s all I know.” He suddenly stopped walking as he remembered something else. “Wait, Tokoyami’s gone too.”

The greenette’s head snapped toward him. “What?! Why?”

“I passed him in the hall,” Oboro explained. “He said he got permission to leave campus. Said that a teacher wanted to meet him.”

Izuku’s eyes widened. His hands trembled. A brief flash of fear was over his expression before he covered it into something more neutral.

There was still a teacher unaccounted for...

Notes:

Thank you all so much for reading! Hope you enjoyed!

Shout out to @hyrnmru on Twitter for the artwork! I used Emily in other stories before this, but this is the first time I actually have artwork for her. It looks so good!

As I said before, this story uses mainly MHA elements, even reaching with deep cuts like the original Destro, but those of you who know should recognize the few Kamen Rider elements I managed to slip in...

When I was writing this story initially, the plan was to save Tartarus until the end with Shu using his Quirk on the criminals that were free currently, but then I realized that the only real notable villains still free at this point in the overall story were Shigaraki and the real Meta Liberation Army. I couldn't interfere with the main story too much so I used the captured villains instead. Besides, I really do like writing good guy Stain.

Speaking of the main story, for those of you who have kept up with it, yes. Magne is here. She's alive. She survived the Overhaul Arc, but she's now in jail. I have not posted any chapters of the Overhaul Arc yet, but this is the only real spoiler coming from that arc. It's minor. It will happen relatively early so it's not that big of a twist. But, just so you know, this is the only real spoiler you'll encounter.

Like I said, we'll be posting chapters every Wednesday this October! See you next week as Tokoyami goes to meet All Might. Wonder what could happen...

Chapter 3: What It Takes to Be a Hero

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

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Dagobah Municipal Beach was still beautiful as the day Fumikage had left it.

Fumikage had spent ten long months cleaning the beach of debris to build his muscles in preparation to receive One for All. It transformed from a metal graveyard to a quaint beach. However, after the day he received All Might’s Quirk, Fumikage made no such effort to return to the beach.

After all, the raven believed the beach to be cursed.

Not only due to it attracting so much garbage over time, Dagobah Beach was also the location of many villain attacks and assaults.

Just last year, the beach was the location of an assault involving a cult member attacking Fumikage and freeing Dark Shadow from her mortal bonds and a battle between his fellow classmate, his future teaching assistant and a member of the League of Villains.

(And, that was just the things that Fumikage knew about.)

So, when his mentor, All Might, had contacted him earlier that day, instructing to meet him at the beach, he knew that the matter would have been dire if he had to return to that cursed place again.

It was beginning to become sundown. The sky was pink and orange. The edges of the sun’s light reflected along the surface of the ocean’s waves as it crashed on the shore. Even from a distance, Fumikage could see that the tide was coming in, washing away more of the sand with every iteration. There was a small pier with a gazebo for people to hang out, but the beach was peacefully devoid of life.

There was a slight breeze that ruffled Fumikage’s feathers as he approached the parking lot nearby, heading in the direction of his mentor.

The blonde skeleton stood like a skeleton next to his car, almost motionless. He wasn’t dressed in his teaching outfit. Instead, his hands were stuffed in his black jacket that covered his plain white t-shirt and jeans. He stared out at the ocean, alone with his thoughts. At least until Fumikage stopped by his side, following his gaze.

Dark Shadow popped up, waving hello, “Hey, All Might! New look?”

All Might said nothing, merely humming in response.

Fumikage greeted, “Hello, All Might. How are you?”

The retired hero said nothing for a moment before responding, “Thank you. I feel... I’m not sure I know I know the word. Refreshed like I’m seeing the world clearly for the first time.”

“That’s...” Fumikage tilted his head, unsure of the wording. “That sounds pleasant.” He looked up at the man. “I would be interested to hear more.”

“Thank you. I wished I could, but...” All Might paused, turning toward his student. “It actually brings me into the reason why I summoned you here.”

“Yes, you are correct.” Fumikage nodded, facing his teacher. “We should return to the matter at hand.”

Dark Shadow commented, holding up the raven’s phone, “We know something must be wrong. You didn’t sign your text with any emojis.”

The blonde chuckled softly in response. His eyes started to drift back toward the ocean. “Do you remember what happened here a year ago?”

Fumikage hummed a note of nostalgia. “How could we forget? Dark Shadow’s rampage still bears marks in the land.”

The sentient Quirk groaned, slumping in despair, “Fumi, don’t make me relive it! I said I’m sorry!”

The raven’s beak curled into a slight smile, rolling his eyes, as he focused his attention back onto All Might.

All Might asked, his expression less playful than Fumikage or Dark Shadow would have thought possible, “But, do you remember what happened after we believed Dark Shadow to be presumed dead? After that fight with us and Endeavor?”

Fumikage replied, “I do.” His voice was quieter, more solemn than before. “I believed myself to be a burden. That you should find someone more deserving of your Quirk.”

“Right. You told me that we both live in different worlds. One of light and one of darkness. You didn't see how they could intersect...”

A moment of silence before Dark Shadow piped up, “But, even so, that’s why you chose Fumi in the first place! To become a great hero to protect the darkness!”

“That is correct,” All Might agreed. He leaned over the wooden fence facing the beach, his fists clenched over the post. “And, I am sincere when I say that you will accomplish great things with that. But, I also remember you telling me that you didn’t want to become the next Symbol of Peace. You didn’t want to become me, to follow in my path. And, although you accepted my Quirk in the end, perhaps you are correct with that as well...”

Fumikage and Dark Shadow shared a confused expression with each other. It was true that they didn’t want to become the Symbol of Peace. It would have put them in the spotlight and they preferred to stick to the shadows. But, they never said that other stuff.

When they accepted One for All, both Fumikage and Dark Shadow were aware of the danger. They knew of its complicated past. They knew that followers of All for One would be lurking, ready to strike down anyone against the forces of good. Even when All for One was revealed to be still alive, Fumikage and Dark Shadow prepared themselves for an eventual battle.

“Your path is dangerous. That is not news to any of us,” Fumikage paused, approaching the fence. “However, we willingly choose to navigate it through our own methods. We won’t become the next Symbol of Peace, but perhaps another symbol.”

“Oh, yeah?” All Might arched an eyebrow. “Like what?”

Fumikage replied, “Symbol of Darkness. That’s already a fitting moniker for us.”

Dark Shadow argued, “But, that’s so obvious! I'm made of darkness! That doesn’t say much.” She crossed her arms, shaking her head in defiance. She gestured to the blonde skeleton, unaware of how unamused he was. “That’s like saying All Might here should have been the Symbol of Muscles or something like that.”

The raven sighed, “You know as well as I do that darkness is more than that, but go on.” He dismissively waved a hand at his Quirk. “What would you prefer?”

The Quirk smiled. “How about the Symbol of Friendship?”

Fumikage shook his head, not noticing All Might’s annoyed expression. “Our bond is unique, the one between a boy and his Quirk. No one could ever hope to replicate it. It would be insensitive to flaunt it around.” He paused as another idea came to mind. “What about the Symbol of Wisdom?”

Dark Shadow patted the back of the teenager’s back to comfort him. “Fumi, I’ve seen you during math tests. You’re not that smart.”

The shocked teenager opened his beak to argue again, but All Might finally had enough.

“ENOUGH OF THIS! BOTH OF YOU!”

Both Fumikage and Dark Shadow stayed silent, now noticing the anger in their mentor’s pained expression. They exchanged a look between each other, knowing how serious this situation was if All Might had to snap at them in such a loud manner, before they listened to All Might again.

The former Symbol of Peace cleared his throat. “Regardless of all of that, your point still stands. Our worlds should never intersect with one another.”

All Might turned toward the student with a grave expression. Dark Shadow hovered closer to Fumikage, staying close to him.

“All Might...?”

The former Symbol of Peace stretched out his hand, palm facing upward to Fumikage’s beak. The raven narrowed his eyes before returning his attention to All Might with confusion.

His voice was low and rough as the man declared, “Return One for All back to me.”

The air became deadly quiet. Fumikage stared at the hand, completely dumbfounded by the whole situation. Whatever he had been thinking All Might had summoned him for, it wasn’t that.

The only thing buzzing in Fumikage’s mind was a low hum of Danger Sense from Holy One. He didn’t try to locate the source of it. He felt like it was coming from the man in front of him.

His mind turned over the last year being All Might’s successor. All of that effort training to build his body, all of the battles fought to master the Quirk, all of the lives that Fumikage was able to save because of One for All. It would all have been for naught.

Why would All Might make go through all of that just to take it back? Was it to be cruel, to entertain himself?

No, it wouldn’t make any logical sense. Not with the teacher that Fumikage had gotten to know.

So, why was this happening?

Dark Shadow spoke the words Fumikage had begun to think. The Quirk’s beak dropped as she cried, “Why?! What did we do wrong?”

“You did nothing wrong and that’s the problem,” All Might said. “There is something big. Something major is brewing right now.”

“Well, duh,” Dark Shadow replied. “We know about the world that you left after retiring.”

The retired hero stressed, “No, you don’t. There are forces at play that none of you can comprehend. And, somehow, it revolves around All for One. It’s too dangerous to get the two of you involved. One for All in my hands will ensure that the two of you will be safe.”

Fumikage said firmly, “That is not a valid reason.”

“It certainly is. You can’t face All for One as you are. One for All will be better off with me.”

“No!” the raven exclaimed, puffing out his chest and standing his ground. “You’re only doing this because you fear for our future. It’s considerate of you to place our wellbeing in your thoughts. However, while we don’t know this threat of which you speak of, we shall face them together.”

“You can’t!” All Might snapped in a volume so loud it actually made Dark Shadow cower. “I’ll handle it! I faced All for One and more villains than you have ever faced. I know what I’m doing. You’d make a mistake.”

Dark Shadow exclaimed, “You can’t make this decision for us!”

“I absolutely can! That Quirk is still mine!”

“This is completely illogical! I don’t know what this is truly about, but I will leave no room for mistakes,” Fumikage yelled, jabbing a finger at his own chest. “If I ever commit a shameful act, one that brings complete disgrace to the lineage of the previous holders, one that endangers and hurts others, then I will scrape the ground with my knees and hand you the Quirk myself. But, until otherwise, Dark Shadow and I will bare our souls for any pain we shall face in the name of One for All. And, that is final!”

Anger had begun to well up in the raven’s chest at the end of that last declaration. He wasn’t sure what could unnerve his mentor so much as to cause this reaction, but Fumikage had enough. The raven turned around and began to walk away. It would be better to discuss this later when they both had calmed down.

But then, All Might then spoke in a chilling voice.

“If you don’t hand over One for All, someone will be hurt.”

That cryptic statement made Fumikage freeze on the spot. The raven turned to see All Might showing a picture on his phone. The teenager took a few steps toward it before his heart stopped completely. Dark Shadow extended outwards and saw it a few moments before her master but became just as terrified.

It was a photo of Reiko Yanagi’s unconscious body, beaten and bloody.

“WHAT DID YOU DO?!” Dark Shadow yelled, growing in size and making her arms just as large as All Might’s muscular form.

All Might said solemnly, “I didn’t do this. But, I know the two of you are companions with her. She’s currently in danger at this very moment. If you give me One for All now, I can give you her location and you can save her before it’s too late.”

The raven couldn’t breathe properly.

Fumikage and Dark Shadow made eye contact with each other. Dark Shadow moved closer to Fumikage, hovering over him like a guardian angel and wanting to protect him.

This couldn’t be their All Might.

It couldn’t be.

In Fumikage’s head, Dark Shadow whispered, “Fumi, this has gotta be someone else, right? Someone fake? Like maybe that Toga girl from the League?”

“No,” Fumikage thought, feeling lost in a haze of panic. “As much as I don’t want to admit it, he knows too much about our shared history for him to be anyone other than All Might.”

“Then, why is he doing this?! Why hurt Yanagi?!”

Fumikage had no answer. Because how could you explain All Might, the Symbol of Peace, Fumikage’s hero, committing such a heinous crime? Threatening someone’s life in exchange for a Quirk? The one he had trusted to him before?

“I don’t know, Dark Shadow. I just don’t know.”

Holy One whispered, “Danger... danger...”

Fumikage’s eyes avert to his immediate surroundings. Besides the parking lot being messier than he thought, with a few puddles on the ground, there was nothing he could see. He could only assume that Holy One was speaking of All Might at the moment. Because at that moment, All Might was more dangerous than any villain he had ever faced.

All Might asked, still holding the phone, “What is your decision?”

The raven held up his hands cautiously, taking a single step forward. “All Might, I don’t know what madness has come over you. But, I implore you to reconsider. Even if I gave you One for All, it's too great of a risk,” Fumikage reasoned, trying to desperately think of anything to convince All Might to stop this. “The whole reason you retired after the fight at Kamino was because your body had undergone too much abuse over years of service. Fighting again could cost you your life.”

“And?” All Might immediately snapped. “Even if that happens, the most important thing is that you don’t have it anymore.”

Suddenly, a being of light appeared, extending out from Fumikage’s chest. Holy One’s shape shifted from a bird-like shape to a muscular woman with her hair pulled up.

Nana Shimura. Seventh holder of One for All.

The vestige of Shimura hovered forward so that she was face-to-face with her student.

“Toshi, kiddo...” Shimura stared at him in disbelief, mouth slightly open from shock. “I know something’s wrong with you. Even if you don’t have One for All, we can sense it. But, please. Please. Think about exactly what you’re doing. You’ve taken an innocent teenager hostage and are using her as leverage against your own student for a Quirk. One for All wasn’t supposed to be for this.”

“But, it is!” All Might argued. “It’s something I thought of for a long time! One for All is a burden onto whoever wields it. I never should have placed it upon another and I’m now rectifying the situation.”

Shimura shook her head in denial. “You can’t... you can’t mean that.”

Fumikage was silent. His gaze was focused on the picture of Yanagi in front of him.

If Fumikage didn’t give All Might back One for All, Yanagi would die.

Was keeping One for All worth the price of a life?

Not just any life. The life of another student.

As much as Fumikage’s mind had thought many times before of meeting his demise through gruesome fates, he never thought of a situation this cruel, but then he came to another scenario: giving this All Might One for All...

“Don’t worry, Fumi. I’m with you all the way.”

Fumikage gave the silent command, telling Shimura to stop her argument in order for him to speak.

“All Might.” The raven waited for his mentor to focus his attention back to him. “I am truly sorry, but I cannot give you One for All.”

The teacher’s expression faltered, looking at the boy with disbelief. “What are you saying? You would allow your fellow student to perish?”

“It will be a sin I will never be able to repent for. I would live with the guilt for my whole life,” Fumikage sent a glare dead in All Might’s eyes. “However, it would be an even greater sin to allow One for All to return to your hands. If you are threatening another student’s life just for a Quirk, I can’t even imagine what horrific things you would be capable of with it.” His hands clenched at his side into fists, ready to defend himself. “You entrusted One for All to me because you placed your trust in me to make the right decisions for the future of this world. And, I won’t betray that trust even now. As you are now, you’re not worthy to wield One for All.”

A moment of tense silence as the shock on All Might’s expression morphed into one replaced with pure seething anger. His whole body started to shake as he coughed into his hand. Blood sprayed from his mouth, dripping from his bony skin as he pointed a finger straight at Fumikage. He clenched his jaw, glaring at Fumikage like every other villain he had faced.

All Might shouted, “How dare you! You had my Quirk for a few months and suddenly you act like you’re the expert on this! Fine!” His pointed finger came close to his chest. “I wanted this to be painless as possible, but if you’re going to be stubborn, then you leave me no choice.”

SNAP!

At All Might’s command, a current of greenish black sludge freed themselves from the undercarriage of All Might’s car. Before Fumikage could react in time, the foul slime rose up, launching itself into his beak.

SLURP!

Fumikage fell on his back, clenching at his throat as the mud-like substance began to envelop his body entirely. He couldn’t breathe as his lungs breathed for air.

“Fumi!” Dark Shadow yelled. The Quirk yelled, moved toward Fumikage’s chest as she attempted to pull apart the mud, but it just kept spreading!

Shimura looked over at Toshinori. “Stop this! You’re hurting him!”

“I had a feeling Young Tokoyami would do something like this,” All Might explained, not showing any sign of concern as he watched his student fight for his life. “That’s why I asked Naomasa to let me ‘borrow’ this villain I captured a year ago for a little ‘community service’. Instead of rotting away in a jail cell, this villain can use Young Tokoyami’s body like a skin suit and control his Quirk.”

“You’re insane!”

All Might turned toward the vestige with the coldest look she had ever seen from him. “I’m not insane. I’m just focused.”

Fumikage vaguely understood what was happening, but he couldn’t focus too much on that. He was too busy focusing on not letting his vision darken completely.

Wait, darken. That’s it!

“Da-dark shadow...” Fumikage thought, his body straining for control. “Exor-exorcise the demon fro-from within...”

It was faint, but the Quirk understood her master’s thoughts exactly. She retreated back within Fumikage’s chest.

The sludge villain was determined to drown the student in its body, making him a new skin suit. He didn’t know why All Might of all people wanted to do this, but he was not complaining. It didn’t matter how strong this kid was. He was going to lose.

However, as he covered his sludge all over the kid’s body, something began to happen.

Inside the boy’s body, the sludge villain could feel himself being pushed out. He didn’t know how to describe it. It was like something was chasing him out.

Like something was trying to eat him.

The sludge villain started to pull out, frightened. With Fumikage’s throat still open, a smaller version of Dark Shadow slithered out like a tongue. In a burst of power, Dark Shadow dispelled the rest of the sludge from within. Before the villain could try again, Holy One returned to its normal avian shape and placed itself over Fumikage’s feathers and skin. The hero student gave a deathly glare to his opponent as he quickly clapped his hands together in the sludge villain’s direction.

WOOSH!

A gust of wind generated by Holy One’s strength blew the sentient mud back toward the edge of the parking lot.

Under normal circumstances, Fumikage could have pushed him a lot farther, but he was still recovering. That was all he could muster. He was still down on his knees, supporting himself up with his hands. Dark Shadow hovered over him, patting his back until Fumikage’s lungs felt like they burned no longer.

All three bird-like entities looked over at All Might. The blonde was glaring at them with fire in his heart.

Dark Shadow held out its talons. “How could you do such a thing?!”

A roar from behind Fumikage forced his attention back. Fumikage couldn’t focus on the betrayal yet. There was still a violent villain on the loose.

And, obviously, ready to do more battle.

The sludge villain yelled, “Oh, I’m not done with you shits yet!”

The Quirk of darkness responded, pointing a talon at it, “That’s a dumb thing to call us considering what you look like!”

The sludge villain took that insult and immediately responded by throwing three globules of his sludge like they were bullets.

Fumikage dodged out of the way, cartwheeling to the left and keeping both of his Quirks at the ready.

As the fight began to move onto the beach itself, with the sand sticking to the Sludge Villain’s body, Holy One kept warning Fumikage of danger, but the raven wasn’t sure why. What else could it have been? Besides the Sludge Villain, there was no one else in the vicinity.

No one in sight, that is.

Because the gazebo for the beach was hollow underneath, letting water come in.

And, tied and gagged to one of the supports, Reiko Yanagi fought to break free.

FWILP!

Another wave crashed in. The girl shook her head, breathing in a noseful of salt water.

“Mff. Mff!” She coughed, unable to get anything else out. She was so close to the pier’s surface, to air and freedom.

Yanagi fought back the panic that was starting to set in, the billowing fear that plagued her brain. She didn’t know what had happened, only waking up a few minutes ago from the parking lot she fought in. She was now in a much deadlier situation.

“I need to do something soon. The water’s level is rising and I won’t be able to breathe then.”

FWILP!

Another wave drenched the already shivering girl, knocking her back to the sides of the gazebo.

“Mffph!” Yanagi managed to croak out before she looked down at her restraints. Her arms were bound close around a support pillar. It was a pair of Quirk nullifying handcuffs that held her.

“I can’t break free of the handcuffs, but maybe I can try breaking it enough to release my Quirk.”

The girl held her breath as she kept knocking the cuffs against the surface of the pillar.

“Come on... Come on...”

Yanagi fought to keep still even when another wave crashed in.

For a single moment, she thought she would actually die.

And, that terrified her.

But, then, her hands started to glow purple.

Yanagi nodded, feeling her Quirk again. The girl pointed at herself, removing her gag. Then, she turned as much as she could, positioned her hands away from the waves.

“My Eyecon was designed to respond to only me. As long as it’s still intact, it should come to my Quirk’s call.”

And, indeed, inside of All Might’s car, the Eyecon lying on the passenger seat glowed the same shade of purple as Yanagi’s Quirk.

It floated straight up, hovering there for a moment before zooming through the window like a bullet, breaking through the glass.

All Might’s eyes widened as it zoomed past him. “What the-?!”

It flew past both Fumikage and the Sludge Villain. The raven’s gaze followed its path as it moved around the gazebo. A light went on in his brain.

“Wait a moment. Yanagi?”

Fumikage rushed toward the gazebo to help, but then a purple light shone brightly, forcing the raven to shield his eyes.

“Henshin!”

“SACRIFICED! EXORCISED! HEROIC POLTERGIEST!”

CRASH!

Now transformed, Emily’s body broke through the gazebo, launching upwards like a ghost and splintering the wood of the structure. She landed on the edge of the shore, ripping apart the last of her bonds. She took in her surroundings, eyes locked onto her fellow student.

“Tokoyami, are you my enemy as well?”

Fumikage looked at her confused for a moment. “No, I’m not. It was All-” The raven’s head snapped toward the parking lot. All Might’s car was suddenly on the move, speeding out of there in a hurry.

“Did he choose to run because he didn’t wish to fight two heroes at once? Or because he felt shame at what he had done?”

Dark Shadow whispered, “This is too confusing...”

The raven stepped forward, intent on taking to the sky and following the car, but out of the corner of his eye, he saw the sludge villain make their move against Emily.

The hero student activated her Quirk, taking the grains of sand from her feet and held them up as a defensive wall. But, the sludge villain burst through that, knocking the girl back onto the pier.

“Yanagi!” Fumikage shouted as he saw the sludge villain advance on her.

The sludge villain yelled, “I don’t know who you are, but if I get to kill you too, it’ll be a bonus!”

In a burst of superspeed from Holy One, Fumikage leaped toward them, landing between Emily and the sludge villain. Holy One acted as the shield for Emily while Dark Shadow grew large underneath the coming darkness.

“RAWR!” Dark Shadow roared as she dug her claws of darkness into the sludge villain’s enormous yellow eye. The villain cried out in pain, recoiling as Dark Shadow pushed him back towards the beach.

Fumikage held out his hand for Emily and helped her to her feet. “Are you alright?”

“I am unharmed.”

The raven bowed slightly, “I... I apologize for my mentor's actions tonight. I never knew he was capable of such a horrific deed.”

“Most are capable, but few act,” Emily responded. “I believe this to be part of a much larger catastrophe afoot, but we shall discuss this more at a later time.” She took a step forward, joining Fumikage’s side. “Let’s test the combined strength of our souls.”

“Understood,” Fumikage agreed, giving a slight nod before facing the sludge villain attempting to fend off Dark Shadow’s wild attacks. “We shall see how this villain fares against the forces of darkness. Dark Shadow, to me!”

Dark Shadow stopped its assault, retreating into Fumikage’s chest. The sludge villain focused back on the raven as he assumed a fighting stance with the white light giving him talons.

“Big mistake!” The sludge villain exclaimed as he fired more of his sludge in Fumikage’s direction.

Fumikage rushed forward, slashing his talons to the right and to the left. Sludge was deflected from his swift strikes.

The villain saw Fumikage’s sideway slash and decided to get on the offensive, reaching out its body to punch the raven with its sludge. But, as it got within reach, Fumikage leaped forward, clawing his talons through the mud in a downwards arc and opening a gap for him to attack.

Planting his feet firmly in the sand, Fumikage shouted, “TWILIGHT SLASH!”

CREEP!

At Fumikage’s command, Dark Shadow materialized, flying directly for the Sludge Villain’s face. Its shadowy fist came crashing down on the villain’s mouth. The villain’s face recoiled from the pain, but Dark Shadow didn’t relent, slashing left and right with his talons and breaking through his teeth.

SLASH! SLASH!

Dark Shadow turned toward the others, giving a thumbs-up. “We got him!”

The sludge villain staggered back in pain. His arms went up to his mouth as teeth started to fall from his gums.

Fumikage commanded, “Yanagi, it’s your turn now! Dark Shadow, Womb!”

Dark Shadow grew in size, wrapping around and swaddling itself around the sludge villain. No matter how much the villain struggled, he couldn’t break free.

“Understood. My soul will avenge the pain he’s inflicted,” Emily called out as she pulled the trigger on her belt twice.

“Dai Kaigan!”

The Class 1-B student jumped in the air, her armor bathed in a purple aura. A purple veil made out of pure energy glided her toward the villain as she performed a flying kick.

Emily Omega Drive!”

Dark Shadow released her hold over the villain as Fumikage rolled out of the way of the attack. The villain was helpless to do anything as Emily’s kick collided with the villain.

“I should have stayed in prison!” the sludge villain exclaimed, feeling the intensity of Emily’s attack. An explosion resulted from the energy.

BOOM!

Emily soon dropped on the other side. The girl then pointed an open palm towards the still smoldering area. The defeated Sludge villain’s body floated up above the flames.

Regrouping with Fumikage, the raven nodded. “Thank you for your assistance tonight. Dark Shadow and I will look for a container to store him while we return him to the police.”

Dark Shadow grumbled, already scanning the coastline, “Probably the one time we actually want to see trash on this beach...”

“Thank you both,” Emily said. “However, I feel that I am able to hold him with my Quirk for a long period of time.”

Fumikage pulled out his phone. “Then, I shall contact the police and we shall guard the villain until they arrive.” The raven paused, staring at his lock screen.

Now that they had a moment of calm, Fumikage asked, “Yanagi... do you know why our world is now unbridled with chaos?”

Emily replied, “The villain who defeated me. I am aware of his misdeeds and intentions. However, I also have questions that need to be answered.”

“Well, perhaps we should return to UA.”

“Why?” she questioned.

Fumikage held out his phone, showing multiple notifications of missed calls and text messages. “Based on all of these messages, it seems Midoriya has more knowledge at the moment than we do.”

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There were many questions that needed to be answered.

When the police arrived at the beach, they questioned how a villain got out of jail without any alarms being raised.

When Fumikage and Reiko arrived at UA, they questioned why the school was on lockdown.

When they stopped by Recovery Girl’s office to ensure that ingesting the villain’s sludge wasn’t poisonous, they questioned why there weren’t many teachers available.

When Izuku asked Fumikage to meet him in his bedroom at the dorm, he questioned why he brought Reiko with him. Nonetheless, Izuku trusted the raven’s judgement.

The boy sat down on his bed as he looked over at the two students sitting near his desk. “I’m just glad you’re alright. When I found out that you two were off campus, I got really worried.”

Fumikage hummed. “Thank you for the concern, Midoriya. The two of us are in good health. If anything, what ails us is confusion.”

Reiko added, “Confusion as to what sinister force could have corrupted heroes so far as to turn them into villains.”

Izuku’s face fell. His expression dropped to the ground. “So, it’s worse than I thought...”

The raven leaned forward. “Listen, Midoriya. Tell us what you know. We need to understand the full scope of the situation.”

“You’re right. You’re right...” Izuku sat back up, rubbing his pants anxiously. “I already told Oboro and Principal Nezu about my theory. I think they both believe me, but Nezu told me not to spread it around because well, it sounds crazy...”

Izuku pulled out his phone, scrolling through the photos. He flipped it toward the two of them. The screen displayed an old photo of Shu.

“I found Shu,” Izuku stated. “For starters, his full name is Shu Hario. He’s the son of Hokuto Hario AKA the pro hero... Compass Kid.”

The Quirkless teen waited for them to react to that information, but the two of them just stared back at Izuku with no discernable change in their expression.

“Oh, come on!” Izuku exclaimed, throwing his hands in frustration. “You guys don’t know about him, either?”

Fumikage, Reiko, and Dark Shadow all shook their heads silently.

Izuku continued, his eyes getting starry with every word, “Oboro didn’t know that, but he’s still learning his heroes from the time he lost. But, how do you guys not know about him? Compass Kid was one of the most useful heroes out there. True, he was not a real fighter type. But, his Quirk, Pointer, led to the solve of so many crimes because it allowed him to literally point at whoever and whatever he was looking for. Oh man, can you imagine if any one of us had that Quirk? It would be so easy to find Shigaraki or the League. And, I still had so many questions about his Quirk like-”

“Midoriya, focus.”

The Quirkless boy stopped his rambling. “Right, sorry.”

Reiko asked, “So, Shu’s father was a Pro Hero. How is that relevant?”

“Well, it certainly helped to factor in what I believe to be Shu’s Quirk,” Izuku explained, showing off an old picture of Compass Kid. “Like I said, Pointer was useful for acting as a compass of sorts for others, pointing them in a certain direction, so to speak. And, with the knowledge that Shu’s father was a Pro Hero, I was able to find his mother as well and her Quirk.”

He scrolled toward another photo, showing off a woman smiling at the camera. Her hair was evenly split between white on her right side and black on her left.

“Her name is Saki Hario. Her Quirk was called Morality.”

Fumikage questioned, “Morality?”

Izuku nodded, “Yes, according to the description I found, whenever she looked at someone, she could see an aura around them that would tell her whether or not they were good guys or not. Apparently, it helped her in her practice as a therapist, seeing a patient’s emotional state and learning if they were at risk or not.”

Reiko said slowly, “So, a Quirk that allows someone to see a person’s nature and a Quirk that could point someone to a certain destination...”

“Right,” Izuku said gravely. “Quirks become stronger in the next generation, depending on the compatibility of the Quirks. I believe that when Hokuto and Saki had a child, their Quirks were compatible enough to allow Shu to not just see a person’s morality, but also manipulate it. Changing people’s natures to flip them from good to bad, so to speak. Or vice versa.”

Izuku held out his Quirk Analysis notebook for the two of them to see. It was open to the page of Shu’s Quirk, detailing hand-drawn pictures of the boy, along with a list of questions and known facts. Along with the name that Izuku had chosen to name the Quirk.

Moral Compass.

Fumikage read over the notebook intently as Reiko looked back at Izuku. “How certain are you of this theory?”

“Fairly certain,” Izuku sighed. “I don’t know what else I can find without Shu here to actually test this out, but there aren’t that many avenues those two Quirks can ‘combine’ into.”

Reiko hummed, sitting back in her chair, “It would explain all of our teachers’ behavior today. Tokoyami, what do you believe?”

Dark Shadow took the notebook for herself as Fumikage agreed, “I believe Midoriya’s theory. Not just due to his prior experience observing Quirks, but what happened at the USJ. It makes more logical sense for a villain to be after a Quirk that powerful.”

The girl whispered, “The power to turn any soul good or evil.”

The room lapsed into silence as they all took in the ramifications of such a power. It stretched on for what felt like eternity.

Morality is relative. They all knew that. The definition of good and the definition of evil can vary depending on someone’s life. The world can be complicated when some people do horrific things for the right reasons.

But, is the change based on Shu’s definition of what was right or wrong or whoever the effect is being applied to?

The laws of the world they lived in was simple. Heroes were good. Villains were bad. For a child, that was all they needed to know. If the change is based on Shu himself, then it’s a simple distinction for him to make. For a hero to act like a villain or a villain to act like a hero.

It’s the childish distinction that unnerves Fumikage the most.

To change someone’s nature in an instant, it would be as if they would pull someone into the light or plunge someone further into darkness. Anyone would be after a power like that.

Dark Shadow was the one to break the silence, raising a hand as if they were in class. “Wait, what about Shu’s phasing? How does a moral compass do that?”

“That... that’s the thing that confused me for a long time and the thing that makes this theory a lot weirder...” Izuku paused, taking the notebook back and showing them a printed article that was taped with the pages. “But, I did a little digging and...”

Fumikage’s eyes widened at the black and white photo of Shu. His beak hung open from the shock.

It wasn’t just an ordinary article Izuku was showing them.

It was an obituary.

Izuku explained solemnly, looking at his friend’s expressions, “A few years ago, in his hometown, Fuuto, a boy named Shu Hario ran out into traffic and got hit by an oncoming truck. His injuries were too severe and he died before an ambulance could arrive. His funeral was only a few days later.”

The raven leaned forward, jabbing a hand in Izuku’s direction. He spoke in a faint voice with words he wouldn’t dare say, “Midoriya, are you saying that we have been in a presence of a ghost this whole time?”

“Yeah...” Izuku gave a weak smile with a shrug. “It explains everything else that didn’t match before with Shu’s Quirk. How Shu could phase, why Oboro said he was cold to the touch, and if TV got anything right, why Shu was having trouble remembering things.” He closed his notebook on his lap. “A year ago, I wouldn’t have believed it either. But, a lot has happened since then so I’m entirely open to something like this happening.”

Fumikage was barely listening at that point. He had been in the presence of a real-life ghost. There was something about the boy that told Fumikage that he was special, but he wasn’t expecting this. Fumikage had met ‘ghosts’ before through the vestiges of One for All. However, that was a special circumstance. It wasn’t natural.

The raven’s face remained neutral as he held up a hand. “Would you excuse myself and Dark Shadow for a moment, Midoriya?”

Without waiting for a response, Fumikage walked into the hallway, closing the door behind him. Izuku arched an eyebrow, completely confused.

 “YES!”

Izuku suddenly heard a loud roar of victory coming from the hallway along with Fumikage’s voice. “Fate! You have not forsaken us!”

The Quirkless teen glanced at Reiko to judge her expression, but it was still as emotionless as ever, not at all reacting to the situation.

Soon, Fumikage stepped inside, closing the door politely and sliding into his chair. “Midoriya, in regards to Shu’s Quirk, why didn’t it activate when I was in the area with him? Do you know how it is activated?”

Izuku blinked, frowning, “We’re just going to glance over that?!”

Eventually, Izuku answered the raven’s question. “As best as I can tell, it’s not a passive Quirk. It’s something that needs to be activated based on touch. You can tell based on Shu’s eye color. It changes orientation based on whether the Quirk is active or not.” He shrugged. “It’s most likely that Shu doesn’t know much about it. Although, he managed not to activate it with you or Oboro so he has at least some control.”

“Midoriya,” Reiko paused, waiting for Izuku to turn toward her. “I agree with your assessment of this child. I noticed his otherworldly presence when I laid my eyes upon him. However, from my experience, spirits such as Shu don’t stay on the mortal plane for no reason. They have something they left behind, a task unfinished. In your research, can you determine what Shu’s might have been?”

Izuku admitted, “I don’t know.”

“I do,” Fumikage said in realization. His eyes closed as he remembered his prior experience with Shu. “Midoriya, do you know what became of Shu’s parents?”

“Yeah,” Izuku said, flipping through his notebook again. “Compass Kid died a few years before Shu’s death, working on some case in Naruhata. I couldn’t get a lot of details on that, but I was able to find out a lot about Shu’s mom.” He turned back to his phone, showing the teenagers a few dated articles all about various crime scenes. “Before Shu’s death, Saki Hario was a totally average citizen. Not doing anything wrong. Even after the death of her husband, she was grieving, but she was apparently handling it. But, only a day after Shu’s death, she started committing a lot of crimes. Assault, theft, attempted murder, leaking classified documents, you name it. She even got her hands on some explosives and caused a small landslide.”

Reiko asked, “Has she been apprehended yet?”

He shook his head, “No, she got arrested once, but she managed to escape. There’s nothing about her in the last few months, but it’s safe to say she’s living off the grid for now.”

“That is it,” Fumikage said, coming to a conclusion. “When I spoke with Shu earlier, he said he was here because he wanted to fix his mother. Undo the damage he brought upon her.”

Izuku asked, leaning forward, “Wait, Tokoyami. Are you saying-?”

Dark Shadow added, grabbing the notebook and tapping a talon on the page, “The damage must be more than just his death.”

Fumikage said, crossing his arms, “If your theory about Moral Compass is accurate, Midoriya, then it’s possible that Shu might have unleashed his Quirk, inverting his mother’s character. But, before he could even attempt to reverse it, he perished.”

“That’s why he’s here?” Izuku asked. “To try and undo his Quirk on her?”

The raven nodded. “It is our best lead. We would just have to locate her.”

The Quirkless teen hummed, “Yeah, it’s all making sense now. I’m just wondering that if Shu really is a ghost, how did a regular villain find him? How does this factor into what the missing teachers are doing?”

Reiko stated, “This requires explanation on my part.”

Both Fumikage and Izuku listened to the ghostly girl’s tale intently, hearing about who her assailant was and their ultimate plans for the world.

“Destro. Meta Liberation Army. I can’t believe it...” Izuku sighed. “I’ve read about them, but I thought they were all gone by now. And, what? The ghost of Destro is possessing Vlad King… Do you think this current army that he mentioned knows about this as well? How big could they be? Who would he try to recruit? I mean, other than the staff at UA, what heroes are at risk? Endeavor? Hawks? How could none of us ever not known about these guys befor-?”

Fumikage cleared his throat, interrupting the rest of Izuku’s ramble. “Those are all questions for another day. At the moment, this current Meta Liberation Army is not our concern. Right now, Shu is in danger from this Destro. We must locate him and ensure no harm falls upon him.”

Izuku said, “Principal Nezu already contacted the government to try and track down the heroes with their licenses. We can inform him of this as well.”

“You should do that,” Fumikage said, standing up in his seat. “But, we can’t just rely on them. Even if Nezu tells them the full scope of the situation, no one will believe his words. After all, the truth is the hardest for anyone to believe.”

Dark Shadow added, “Don’t forget All Might.”

The raven hummed. “I would never. All Might doesn’t have a trackable license which means he’ll be more difficult for the government to track down. Who knows what other atrocities he could commit before then?”

Fumikage stepped toward the doorway, turning his back to the others. He opened it, looking through the windows at the night sky, the darkness that awaited them.

“A child’s spirit is being misused for their Quirk, to corrupt our heroes, our teachers, our mentors. By a ghost of a villain who intends on pushing his ideal world through force, calling it freedom when all it sounds like is anarchy and disarray.”

His hand closed over his heart, clenching into a fist.

“And, that is something I can never forgive.”

He looked over his shoulder toward the ghostly girl. “Yanagi, would you accompany me? Your knowledge of the otherworld is an asset that would be useful for this.”

“Understood. I shall,” Reiko confirmed, standing up from her seat. She nodded, understanding Fumikage’s intentions.

Izuku, on the other hand, needed a little more confirmation. “Wait, accompany? Accompanying to where?”

“We have a hunt.”

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They waited until after curfew. The dead of night.

Fumikage didn’t know how to spend the next few hours alone. All he could do was sleep in his coffin and mentally prepare for the journey ahead while Dark Shadow fluttered around his space restlessly.

Eventually, the sound of his phone’s alarm woke him up. Fumikage didn’t know what they would need for this. He didn’t even know how long this would take.

Dark Shadow whispered, “Maybe we should take your sword. You know the guy that sold it to us said that it hurts demons.”

Fumikage sighed. “We need to be mobile, unfortunately. Do not worry. I’m sure Yanagi has tools that will supplement this.”

“Probably not as deadly.”

In the end, all he obtained was his phone and his wallet, in case he needed to be on the run. He also had his sweatshirt to hide himself as well.

Fumikage took one last look toward his closet, seeing the faint outline of his Halloween outfit. He hoped he would have the chance to wear it soon.

“All Might... I won’t wear this until I know you have the opportunity to view it for yourself.”

The teenager stepped out onto his balcony, feeling the breeze of the night. He closed his eyes.

“Shimura. I summon you.”

Holy One burst from Fumikage’s chest as it turned to face him, transforming into the seventh holder’s form.

Fumikage said, “Before we head out, I wanted to speak with you, to know if you would watch over us in our journey.”

“Of course, kid. We always will...” Shimura sighed. She bit her lip. Her eyes quivered as if they were about to cry, but couldn’t due to her current form. She looked away, closing her eyes. “I just... I just never thought something like this could happen.”

The raven said, “Do not worry. We won’t rest until we bring him back.”

“Look, what Toshi said at the beach...”

Dark Shadow added, “It was just the stupid Moral Compass Quirk. That wasn’t really All Might.”

“But, what if that’s how he really feels deep down,” Shimura paused. “I knew I would be passing a burden onto him when I gave him One for All. But, even still, I had no idea the pain he had been feeling.”

“None of us do until it’s too late,” Fumikage quietly commented. “But, we all go through life carrying our own burdens.” He leaned on the railing, staring at the vestige. “All Might informed me of how the two of you met. How you decided to give him One for All.”

“Yeah...” Shimura placed her hands on the railing next to him. “I saw a kind, heroic kid with the best of intentions. He just needed a tool to help him with his dream.”

“That kindness is still in there,” Fumikage reaffirmed. “I witnessed it in the present. Even after years of fighting, All Might is still the future hero you chose to entrust. He’s currently trapped in the darkness of his heart, but we can save him. Bring him back to the world of light and share the burden of his real pain.”

Shimura smiled. “Thank you. You didn’t have to check on me, you know.”

“Why wouldn’t I? This is what heroes do.”

The vestige sighed, “No, it’s just what a family does...” Shimura pushed herself off the railing and hovered behind Fumikage. “How about I give you a lift?”

At Fumikage’s nod, Dark Shadow retreated into his body as Shimura hugged him from behind. Activating her original Quirk, Float, Shimura’s hands of light allowed Fumikage to step off the balcony. Moving without a sound, Shimura moved toward the small forest of the campus, easily dodging the branches and leaves.

When Fumikage’s feet touched the ground of a small clearing, Dark Shadow came back out as the two Quirks looked at each other.

Dark Shadow chuckled, “Hey, if the holders are one big family, do you want Fumi to call you Grandma Nana?”

Fumikage snapped, “Dark Shadow!”

Shimura groaned, “God, I don’t care if I’m dead. Do not call me grandma. Or you’ll be joining us sooner than you think.”

As Dark Shadow shrunk at that comment, the raven couldn’t help but let out a small laugh. “You have a fierce nature just as we do. Perhaps we are family.”

The vestige smiled as she disappeared into Fumikage’s chest. Only a moment later, Reiko, in fresh civilian clothes, walked around a trunk of a tree and into their field of vision.

“Hello, Tokoyami. Do you have what you need?”

Fumikage nodded. “I brought as much as I felt we needed. What about you? Have you finished your preparations?”

She explained, “I left a brief note in my room, stating that I needed to leave to help with the oncoming chaos. You believe that will be enough?”

The raven pointed out. “We’ll both be in trouble for violating UA’s rules. Are you sure you wish to accompany us?”

“I have made my peace with it.”

“Hey, there you are!”

Reiko and Fumikage looked to their left at the rustling bush as a familiar head of green hair popped into view.

“Midoriya, what are you doing here?”

The Quirkless teenager approached the others in the center of the clearing. “Look, Tokoyami, I know you said I should stay here to relay anything we find out from our end...” He let out a shaky breath before looking Fumikage in the eye. “But, I want to come with you.”

“Midoriya, we are about to face forces neither of us have faced. It’s a foreboding path that could lead to never-ending darkness. We’ll need support from the outside if we have any chance of succeeding.”

“But...” Izuku shook his head. “Maybe it’ll be better if I’m with you. You guys might have to fight actual pro-heroes and despite how strong you are, it can’t hurt to have a little extra firepower. You know I can handle myself in a fight.” He leaned forward, whispering, “Besides, when you told me the full truth of your Quirk, we said we’d look out for each other, remember?”

“I am aware...” Fumikage paused, keeping a stern look at his friend. “But, Midoriya, there is another reason you must stay.” He stood as tall as he could. “Fighting corrupted pro heroes is a terrifying thought. But, what’s more horrifying is if they initiate the first strike.”

“What... what do you mean?”

The raven explained, “All of the heroes that have left UA are presumably our enemies. But, what of the heroes that remain? The ones still in charge of our campus? Or even worse, if this Destro’s goal is liberation for our abilities, who’s to say he won’t attempt to bring more to his cause?”

The color drained from Izuku’s face. “You don’t... you don’t think the heroes would really attack the school? That they’re that far gone?”

Reiko replied quietly, “All Might held me hostage, put my life in peril, for Tokoyami to surrender his power. If any of the other heroes have suffered even a fraction of that corruption, then I fear what they would do next.”

Izuku hung his head upon that realization.

“Listen, Midoriya. We don’t know what will happen, what war we will face...” Fumikage crossed the space between them, placing a hand on the teenager’s shoulder. “But, we can fight without the burden of worrying for the safety our friends and classmates. Midoriya, we trust in you to protect everyone with your strength and spirit.”

Green eyes widened before the boy’s expression relaxed. Izuku nodded with resolution.

“Ok. I don’t like you guys going out on your own. But you’re right. You got this.”

Fumikage returned the gesture with gratitude. “Thank you, Midoriya.”

Yanagi said, “If you need any assistance, please contact Shishida. I’ve already informed him of the current situation. He’s on standby if need be.”

“Got it.”

Dark Shadow stretched out, resting her elbow on Izuku’s shoulder. “And, don’t worry, Mido. We won’t be alone!”

Izuku narrowed his eyes at the Quirk. “Wait, what do you mean by that?”

“Sorry I’m late!”

All of the teenagers turned to their right as they saw the light of Oboro’s cloudy hair before he stepped over a bush and into the clearing.

The teaching assistant jabbed a thumb in the opposite direction, “Principal Nezu was spending way too much time having us sign a bunch of legal documents.” He shrugged, placing his hands on his lips. “Pretty sure I gave permission for him to shoot me.”

Izuku took a few steps toward the ex-villain. “Oboro, what are you doing here?”

“These guys told me everything and I’m here to help,” Oboro said, moving past Izuku. “Besides, if you’re fighting ghosts, it probably helps to have an undead guy with you, I would imagine.”

Reiko commented silently, “There is no correlation to that at all.”

“Woah, wait!” Izuku exclaimed, walking back with his hand stretched out. “I’m hesitant about Tokoyami and Yanagi going to fight, but they at least have their provisional licenses so they won’t get into too much trouble-”

“So?” Oboro asked. “I got one too.”

“You got that years ago! It’s expired by this point!” Izuku said before looking over at the other students. “Guys, what were you thinking?”

Fumikage stepped in, “Midoriya, we only wished to inform him of our disappearance. We didn’t anticipate him requesting to join us.”

“Well, someone’s gotta watch after you,” Oboro reasoned. “Plus, these guys only have ideas where the others could be. They’re not going to be able to cover that much ground without me.” He tapped his electronic collar. “At least once I get this collar off and then get access to my Quirk. Then I can take everyone on my own train ride, the Loud Cloud Express.” He nudged an elbow in Izuku’s direction, winking at an inside joke only the two of them were aware of.

Izuku closed his eyes, rubbing his forehead. “Even so, this isn’t the Cloud Quirk you’re used to. You only used the Warp Gate Quirk one time and that was in a heated emergency. We don’t know how adept you are without training and supervision.”

The cloudy man shrugged, “Well, there’s a first time for everything, right?”

The boy argued, “But, Oboro, again, your situation is not like Tokoyami and Yanagi’s. If you take off that collar and then leave campus, you will be going against the rules of your house arrest. No matter what happens after, you will be going to jail.”

“I know,” Oboro said solemnly. “When this is all over, that’s where I’ll be going.”

Izuku’s expression fell, averting his gaze. “Please, Oboro,” he pleaded. “Just think about this for a minute and-”

“I’m done thinking.”

At that interruption, Izuku looked back at the dead man. Oboro’s sad smile was covered by his fog, but the sincerity the man felt could be seen through the man’s eyes.

“The last time I spoke to Sho, I had my first real fight with him,” Oboro admitted with a sigh. “Usually, when we fight, it’s just him being all grumpy, but this was really different. I said some things I wished I said nicer. And, now, I need to go help him, Hizashi, Nemuri, everyone from making the biggest mistakes ever. They became heroes and if this Quirk really is that powerful, they’re about to throw it all away…” He shook his head at the thought. “I can’t just sit by and let that happen.”

The cloudy man looked up at the stars, letting out a small chuckle. “Just because Sho hasn’t been a good friend to me lately, it doesn’t mean I can’t still be one to him. Right now, I’m focusing on the present.”

Oboro’s attention returned to his friend, placing a hand on Izuku’s shoulder to comfort him. “Right now, I’m focusing on the present...”

Izuku sighed, returning the smile. “And, if you even do screw up, you’ll keep smiling like usual.”

“You betcha.”

With reluctance, the Quirkless teen gave a hug and stepped away. “Ok then. Good luck out there. All of you.” The greenette continued walking backwards, jabbing a thumb in the opposite direction. “I should probably get out of here now. Give myself some form of deniability.”

Fumikage nodded in response. “Thank you, Midoriya.” The raven turned toward Oboro. “Shirakumo, as soon as your collar is damaged, you would have to make a portal as soon as possible. Do you believe you are capable of that?”

Oboro nodded. “Yeah, I can. Just, when you destroy it, give me some warn-”

“Wait.”

Everyone’s attention focused on Izuku, who had stopped at the edge of the clearing. The greenette had his phone out, quickly typing away a message and then pocketing his phone away.

Fumikage felt the subtle vibration of his phone and looked at the notification. “Midoriya, what is this?”

“Tokoyami, Oboro, do you remember back at Kamino, I got assistance to help get us out of that situation?”

The raven replied, “As a matter of fact, I do. You used a clone made from the vigilante Twice to distract the League.” He held up his phone. “Is this-?”

Izuku nodded slightly, “Yeah. In the event you guys do have to take on an army, I hope you guys will at least contact him. If I’m not there, he can give you guys some major firepower and crowd control.”

Dark Shadow shouted, “Thanks so much!”

Oboro added, “Yeah, we owe you, man.”

“No problem!”

The Quirkless teen flashed the best smile he could before waving goodbye and disappearing from sight.

Fumikage gave one last nod of appreciation before turning back to Oboro. “Are you ready?”

The cloudy man grinned. “Damn right, I am.”

Dark Shadow floated near Oboro’s left side while Holy One covered Fumikage’s hands and head as the raven moved to the other side. Both birds wrapped their talons around the collar.

Though the collar itself began to resist their attempts with a small force field, with a little extra effort, they tore the collar apart.

BBBBBZZZZTTTT!

As soon as it broke in two and fell on the ground, Oboro stretched out his hand, away from the others. He concentrated as if he was combining his old clouds together. The vapor from his body swirled together and moved forward, creating a circular portal right in front of them.

With a destination in mind, Oboro jumped through, followed by Reiko.

Fumikage and Dark Shadow shared one last look at each other before jumping through as well, embarking on a path of uncertainty and difficulty.

In the young raven’s mind, there was only one thought that could describe it.

“Revelry in the dark."

Notes:

Thank you all so much for reading! Hope you enjoyed! Looking forward to any feedback!

I've seen a lot of people pull out MHA Vigilantes lore before, but I don't think anyone even bothered to pull out Compass Kid before! That's a first!

Also, the Sludge Villain makes an appearance here! I didn't actually use him in the main story, only glossing over the whole plot point there, but hey, figured it was a good moment to come back to for our resident One for All holder. Plus, trying to channel evil All Might has been a challenge, admittedly, just because I really don't like him when he's like that. Hopefully, you guys enjoyed it.

As I said before, we are updating this story every Wednesday this October so catch you all next week to see the Dark Hero arc written for Tokoyami! (Not really, but close enough.)

Chapter 4: Dark Hero

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

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Toshinori didn’t know where to go next.

He had failed to retrieve One for All back from his student. And, once he drove away, he just kept driving. He didn’t dare go back to UA, not with all of the teachers under Destro’s control. He didn’t know who to trust.

It was only a matter of time before Destro’s ‘army’ would break in Tartarus and free All for One.

And, there’s not a damn thing Toshinori could do in the present.

Tell the police, other heroes? Oh, sure, I’m sure they would love that mass chaos amongst the general state of the world without All Might in it. And, again, he didn’t know how exactly Destro persuaded others to join his side so he didn’t know who would immediately sell him out.

Try to fight this army all on his own? With his age and no Quirk, he might as well make himself their personal foot stool.

Eventually, he found himself in the place where it all ended.

Kamino.

It was around 8am on a weekday. The courtyard Toshinori was in was mostly empty with the exception of a few stragglers here and there, walking their dogs or begging for food. Among the cherry trees, not one of them cared about the blonde skeleton on a bench staring at the monument in the middle of the courtyard.

A giant bronze statue of All Might holding up his arm high. The pose was All Might’s signature pose for victory. Victory for his last fight at Kamino.

But, did he really win?

All Might was there to rescue the students that were captured by the League during their attack on the training camp. But, the students weren’t rescued by him specifically. They all escaped on their own.

So, his ‘victory’ was all about his battle against All for One. All for One went down, but was that really a victory?

Toshinori’s identity got exposed on live television, showing the whole world the puny man behind the mighty god. He used up all of the last embers of his Quirk and can only barely hold it for a few seconds. And, most importantly, he didn’t finish the job. All for One was left alive, waiting for the moment to be freed again. And that moment was now.

The blonde buried his head in his lap, squeezing his knuckles as hard as he could. “I was foolish. Nana, the world is slowly spiraling into anarchy. You should have been here to do your job… I should have done what you failed to do. And, now, I’m alone. My own student rejected me even when I know what I’m doing…”

The very moment he tried to look back at the statue, he noticed a large crepe held in front of him.

“Have you come to pay your respects, too?” the stranger asked. “Would you like a snack? I just took a bite out of this and it is simply trans-plendent.”

The blonde grabbed the food with both hands awkwardly as a man sat down next to him, eating an identical crepe. The stranger’s face was covered by his white jacket with oversized sleeves. His forearms were wrapped with bandages, and he wore red gloves, dark navy blue pants, red metal pads around his knees, and black boots with white pads.

There was something familiar about the man, but Toshinori wasn’t sure.

“I never got a chance to visit this place,” the stranger commented. “I only recently learned of All Might’s final fight and wanted a chance to visit before returning to my companions and continuing on my path.”

Toshinori’s eyes narrowed, peeking underneath the hood. His face was covered by a tattered cloth, but now, there was nothing mistaking him.

“Hero Killer Stain,” Toshinori said evenly. “Our paths never crossed when you were still a problem, but of course, it had to be now. On what’s beginning to look like the worst time of my life.”

Stain blinked slowly, a little confused. “I’m sorry. Would we have met before?”

“I am All Might.”

The Hero Killer looked the man up and down before taking another bite of his food. “Ah, I understand.”

“You believe me just like that?” All Might quizzed him, leaning forward to make sure that if this was a trick of some kind, the man wouldn’t get far.

“Of course. All Might has claimed the title of a hero,” he hummed. “I would like to think a hero would not be deceptive and pretend he was something he wasn’t.”

“Pretending...” he echoed with a sigh. “That’s all I’ve done with my life.” He leaned back to his original position, staring at the statue. “I had the power of a god. I pretended to be the closest one could get to one. All because I believed that if I smiled, the world would follow suit. But, I can see now it hasn’t done anything. Nothing important when it comes to actually helping the people around me.”

Suddenly, Stain rushed forward to give the biggest hug he could to the skeleton, much to All Might’s surprise.

“Wha-? What are you doing?”

“I know we just met,” The villain whispered, “And I’m not much of a hugger. More of a licker. But, I wanted to show you an alternative to your solution.”

As Stain released his grip, scooting across the bench, Toshinori asked, “Wha-what do you mean?”

Stain responded, “Look upon me, All Might. I am living proof that men are capable of changing their ways.” He gestured to himself. “I do not carry a sword, a katana, a blade. Instead...” He held up his treat. “I have a delicious treat where the only threat comes from consuming too much of it.” He smiled as he took another bite. Slowly, he looked over at the All Might statue. “It’s how I used to be.”

Toshinori whispered, “What is happening...?”

The convict continued, almost wistfully, “I used to be so consumed by bloodlust and my respect of you and your ideals that I wanted to purge the world of all ‘fake’ heroes in a war that never ended. But, recently, I have started to realize that even if someone wouldn't have the heart of your convictions,  they shouldn’t be considered as ‘fake’. After all, it can be challenging for anyone to face adversity and societal pressure especially in this unsettling economic environment.”

The former hero rolled his eyes at this annoying blathering. “Is there a point to this?”

“Yes,” Stain said, shuddering a breath with a fond smile. “I have recently realized that violence is never the answer. We should approach each other with kindness and compassion. I now follow in the embers you created from your inspiration. You were never a god. You were a man. You had a smile on your face and did what you did to help people. Your Quirk didn’t matter. We’ll all going to stoke the embers of what you created and change the world for the better. Isn’t this your dream when you became a hero?”

Toshinori looked at his crepe in contemplation, thinking deeply about those words. “My path all started with a big dream, to make the world feel safer with a smile. I haven’t been on that path lately.”

Stain let out a cheerful laugh. “I'm glad you truly understand.”

However, Toshinori’s expression began to darken as he spoke every word. “Yes... I haven’t been thinking big enough. I am only focusing on one villain. That’s not what a god would have done...”

The Hero Killer shook his head with a sigh. “I don’t believe you fully understand...”

“If I’m going to solve the problem for everyone I care about, I have to deal with it at the source. Even if I don’t have my strength anymore... I have to do this.”

Toshinori suddenly stood up, throwing his crepe on the ground. He walked briskly away as Stain yelled out after him, trying to clean up the mess. “That is littering! I beseech you! Do not stray from the path of the light!”

The blonde ignored the outcry and made it to his car, slamming the door and starting the engine with a destination in mind.

“I have to deal with not just All for One. I have to deal with all of the villains if I have to avenge Nana and the others... And nothing is going to stand in my way. Not Young Tokoyami. Not anybody...”

He drove out of there with one other thought in mind.

“Plus Ultra.”

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The first few teleports were not pleasant.

On his first attempt, Oboro had successfully opened a portal to their first destination... 10,000 feet above their destination.

On his second attempt, the portal led all of them to a raging forest fire, which Dark Shadow in particular wasn’t that fond of.

Eventually, Oboro finally had a good handle on how to teleport and they all spent the night travelling across Japan, searching each destination for any sign or evidence of where the teachers had gone to. The sun had risen and there was still no trail for them to follow. It was if they vanished off the face of the earth.

Around noon, Oboro, as their chaperone, told Fumikage and Reiko that they needed to eat something before continuing onwards. They may have not gotten a good night’s sleep, but they at least needed to replenish their strength.

Fumikage had a location in mind.

Sitting in the middle of a fast-food joint known as All Mighty Burger, Oboro happily chomped down on his cheeseburger.

“Ah, man! I should have pitched a lunch break earlier!” the cloudy man exclaimed, grabbing one of Reiko’s chicken nuggets and taking a bite. He happily hummed from the flavor. “Man, this is good! I’ve been so used to Lunch Rush’s food. I mean, it’s good and all, but there’s something that can be said about something good and greasy like fast food.”

The raven didn’t feel like participating in casual conversation. Fumikage hummed, taking a bite of his salad, “Sure.”

Reiko twirled a fry in one hand, staring at the assortment of food they had ordered. She looked away to see Fumikage’s gaze fixated on the doors, slowly shifting from one to another.

“Tokoyami, is there a reason as to why you chose this location for our rations?” Reiko asked. “I wouldn’t have taken you as someone who would enjoy this establishment.”

“I don’t,” the raven answered. “I prefer my food to have more care and attention placed into it. That is why I tend to support local businesses.”

Oboro asked between bites, “So why-?”

Dark Shadow started chewing on a nugget. “Because this is where we met All Might.”

Fumikage paused, tapping the salad with his fork, “This location is dear to us because of that encounter.”

Oboro leaned closer, wanting to hear more of this story. Reiko simply stared at the birds with an unreadable expression.

Dark Shadow started, “It all started when we found him in an alley and thought he was a dead corpse...”

Fumikage interjected, “You thought he was a corpse. I was well aware of his health and well-being.”

The Quirk continued, “We wanted to take him home since it was raining and we were worried about him. So, he took us here for a treat.”

“It was only a single meal, but we became friends,” Fumikage said with a fond smile. “We didn’t know he was All Might then. But, he looked at me as someone who could become his equal. It became a day we shall never forget.”

 “I get it,” Oboro nodded along. “It’s something small, but it’s something you’ll never forget. Like me. I’ll never forget the day I met Sho. I went up to him in class, introduced myself, and he immediately scooted away. Eventually, I wore him down...” He chuckled for a moment before he pursed his lips. His expression became more contemplative. “I’ve been thinking about that a lot lately.”

Reiko asked, turning her gaze toward their chaperone, “Shirakumo, may I ask a question? About your past?”

“Ok, shoot.”

“Do you remember your painful demise?”

The cloudy man suddenly coughed and choked on his burger.

Fumikage narrowed his eyes at Reiko. “I would have assumed you would have more tact to not breach a sensitive subject such as one’s death.”

Reiko shrugged, “It’s a perfectly valid question.”

The raven opened his mouth to argue, but Dark Shadow slammed her fist on the table. “You heard the girl. Tell us now!”

Oboro glanced between their expectant expressions. Even Fumikage, who, although didn’t explicitly say so, was interested in how this came to be. They hadn’t heard many details about the peculiar situation of Oboro so gossip had spread naturally. It would have been nice to know the full truth.

The cloudy man sighed, “Fine." He put down his food and leaned his elbows on the table. “I... I’m not going to go that into detail. I feel like I would be crossing some weird teacher-student lines with this. But, during my second year at UA, I was on a work-study alongside Shota. There was a villain attack... We were getting innocent people out of the way... And then, total black.”

His mind started to drift...

Purple flashes of lightning. A steel cage and restraints. The shocking pain.

His hands started to tremble. Oboro placed them in his lap and kept them as still as he could.

“As it... as it turned out, I got hit in the head by some debris. I was Kurogiri, an entirely different person, before Izuku came and saved me.”

Oboro closed his eyes, shuddering his breath. Dark Shadow, feeling slightly ashamed now, drifted toward her master’s side. Reiko, on the other hand, showed no emotion.

“Long story short, I got lucky. Real lucky.”

Reiko tilted her head. “But, regarding the actual moment of your death, do you remember what it felt like?”

“I...” Oboro frowned, feeling a little more uncomfortable. “I hate to say it because it feels so cliche, but it was like falling sleep. Just you’re doing something and then you blink and then nothing.”

“So, you remember nothing between then and then waking up as Kurogiri? No real feeling on whether you went to an afterlife? Or any form of consciousness outside of your vessel?”

There was more hesitance from the man. “I...”

Fumikage cut in. “Yanagi, is there a point to your line of questioning? Whatever happened to Shirakumo in the past is frankly not a subject to breach lightly.”

“Of course. I apologize if I made you uncomfortable, Shirakumo,” Yanagi turned toward the raven. “However, it felt necessary to our current investigation.”

“How?”

The ghostly girl explained, “Shu is someone that has experienced a rebirth somewhat similar to Shirakumo. His wish to heal his mother has brought him back with some knowledge on his situation. It would be useful to understand his mindset.”

“Perhaps,” Fumikage reluctantly admitted. “However, I am sure wherever Shu is, he is focusing on his captors, not his soul.”

“But, his soul is in danger. With Destro, who knows whether he’ll try and destroy it if it means keeping the Quirk active?” She paused, glaring deep in the raven’s eyes. “Or are you unconcerned with the destruction of someone’s soul?”

Oboro was completely lost at what this conversation was about, but Fumikage had finally understood.

Reiko was referring to the original ‘stockpile’ Quirk, Soul Leech, that had combined with Yoichi’s Quirk, Transfer. According to Reiko, Soul Leech took people’s souls and sacrificed them into strength that combined over time. Although Fumikage was resistant to the idea, he knew it was something that was necessary to protect lives.

Reiko wanted the Quirk to be completely destroyed. She felt concern for the lost souls that had been devoured in One for All’s fight.

However, listening to the conversation now, Fumikage understood that there was another underlying reason why she was so focused on ridding the world of One for All.

She was more focused on the ‘feeling’ of death...

Fumikage leaned forward, “The preservation of souls is important. Most of the time, they are victims that need our protection. But, let me ask you something, Yanagi, since you also opened this line of questioning?” He sent an equal glare at her, his red eyes bearing an intensity into her pale blue eyes. “Are you afraid of death, Yanagi?”

Reiko’s blank expression had finally cracked, showing a flash of puzzlement, confusion, and shock. After a long moment of silence, Reiko spoke again.

“Of course I’m not.” Reiko said. “If anything, I know what death will bring me. Look at this whole situation or at Shirakumo. We know that spirits are real, that there is an afterlife for this. I know exactly what to prepare for.”

“But, even if you know what it is, are you willing to stare down the reaper of your demise?” Fumikage questioned, resting his hands on the table. “Our own education with heroics is a fine comparison. We study what it takes to have innocent lives in our care. But, even so, a fight with a real villain is unpredictable. Deadly. Something we can’t really prepare for exactly until the situation calls for it.”

Reiko’s expression fell. She grabbed the edge of the table for a moment. She spoke much quieter than before.

She whispered, “You are correct in that regard. We truly aren’t aware of what comes next. Our future is uncertain. And if a soul can be destroyed, as I fear might happen to Shu if Destro has anything to say with it, then... that does give me pause.”

“And, if a soul became leeched?”

The girl’s eyes glistened as she stared into the raven’s and nodded, fully understanding each other.

Reiko wanted One for All to be destroyed because she was afraid of what Soul Leech could do. What would happen if a soul was destroyed? What would happen to them?

She didn’t want to test the theory. She prepared herself for death, studying ghosts and other spooky phenomena, as to make the experience less scary.

“Look, um, I think I lost track of this conversation...” Oboro started, slowly raising a hand like he was in class. “But, I guess I should say something since I’m probably the only here who has actually experienced death.”

The two teenagers turned their attention to the resurrected man.

“As I said, I don’t remember anything in between. But, I know my friends remember everything...” Oboro averted his gaze for a moment. “They went that whole time thinking I was gone forever. They never forgot me.” He put his hand over his heart. “They kept me in their heart, in their thoughts...” He shrugged. “I really don’t know anything about all of this soul stuff, but honestly, a friend taught me that memories are all that matters to keeping someone alive. Isn’t that what matters?”

Oboro took the two’s collective silence and silently hoped that it was helpful. The cloudy man smiled fondly at himself before he started wiping his hands clean with a napkin and then drumming on the table.

“Ok... now... do we have a destination in mind next? Because if I’m going to be awkwardly trying to teach you guys things, I might as well take you guys back to school.”

Fumikage sighed, shaking his head. “We do.”

The raven glanced at Reiko to confirm their plans, but the ghostly girl had averted her gaze, contemplating Oboro’s words.

Dark Shadow piped up, “Well, we’ve been searching for the bad guys this whole time, but Mido figured all of this out by looking into Shu’s history.”

“Correct,” Fumikage added. “His mother is still someone of interest. And, according to Midoriya, based on the crimes she had committed, there’s still a very probable chance she’s still in Shu’s hometown.”

“Fuuto, right?”

“Indeed.”

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And so, after finishing their lunch, that’s how they ended up at their next destination: the cemetery in the windy city of Fuuto, Japan where Shu and his father were buried.

Oboro told the teenagers to go and find the Hario graves while he would go and wait for the caretaker to see if anyone had visited it lately.

Soon after the cloudy man had left them, Fumikage turned to Reiko. The girl stared at the graves as they walked through the cemetery. “Do you wish to talk?”

“About what?”

“About your true reason for wanting One for All to be destroyed.”

Reiko sighed, crossing her arms. She still didn’t look at the raven. “I.. I understand what Shirakumo was trying to say back there, but even so, the process of death is something not to be joked with.” She stopped walking, holding herself tighter. “What your Quirk brings... it’s a disaster waiting to happen. It’s something that should be feared. Souls and spirits aren’t something to be discarded. When they’re destroyed, then what happens?”

“It’s just... another form of death, I believe.”

“And then what?” Reiko shrugged hopelessly, finally turning to the raven behind her. “I studied my whole life about death and spirits because I felt the desire to know what will happen to all of us. I wanted to become a hero so I could see the moment draw closer, preventing others from feeling that fear so that I wouldn’t be scared when the moment came. But, even with all of the knowledge I had gathered, I still feel helpless in the face of it. I want to accept it, but I am not able to. I’m powerless in that regard.”

Two Eyecons floated out of her pockets. Each device landed in her open palms. She stared at them intently.

“These Eyecons were supposed to give me the power to truly face death. This one would provide me the armor and strength I would need...” She shook the Eyecon on her left. “While this one would essentially bring any spirit the chance to have limited access to the mortal realm again and fight if they so wished to.” Her grip tightened on the Eyecon on her right.

Reiko’s arms dropped by her side. “However, I almost met death recently and I blinked. How does one fight it without it letting it take you?”

Silence stretched out between them. The tension felt alive, haunting them both like a real ghost.

Fumikage shoved his hands in his pocket. “Yanagi, I am not as versed as you when it comes to knowledge of the afterlife. My interests tend to focus more on the dark mystic side of the universe.”

Dark Shadow commented, “AKA the emo stuff.”

“Silence,” Fumikage berated, returning his focus to Reiko. “However, I have learned something very valuable. From my years with Dark Shadow, my experience with All Might, Midoriya, everyone...” He took a step forward and held his beak up high. “Everyone lives and dies. It doesn’t matter whether they’re alive or dead.”

Confusion swept over Reiko’s doubt and she stared quizzically. “Whatever do you mean?”

Fumikage explained, “Life and death coexist within each other. The same as light and darkness. Their fates intertwine with one another. We can’t escape either. There are moments when someone can experience true joy and moments when someone can be ravaged by true despair. No one can anticipate when those will happen. No one will ever be prepared for the precise moment when the cold hands of the Grim Reaper thrust our spirits and souls into the abyss of darkness known as death. However...”

At Fumikage’s silent command, Holy One reached out from his chest, grabbing the empty Eyecon from Reiko and holding it up.

“Life can be painful,” Fumikage said as the Quirk handed over the Eyecon to him, letting him inspect it closely and holding it up high. Light can cause pain. It has the same potential for destruction as darkness. You can’t fight one without the other. For that reason, I embrace both. For whatever does happen, I choose to view not as an end, but as another beginning.”

Reiko watched him with some hesitation. “How... how can you be so certain?”

Dark Shadow whispered, “Hope.”

“A single spark of light is all that is needed to pierce the darkness.” The raven crossed his arms, his expression almost peaceful. “If life and death are indeed light and darkness, then I shall fight for the small light we have before we are all plunged into the dark abyss into the universe.” He looked up to the sky with a light chuckle. “Perhaps by protecting those sparks, we could one day illuminate the abyss, sharing the light and the darkness.”

Both Fumikage and Holy One squeezed the Eyecon. The object strobed a bright white light as the Quirk reached down and placed the device back in Reiko’s open palm. As soon as Holy One released its talons, the Eyecon’s glow diminished.

Reiko held the Eyecon tight for a moment before putting it away. “Thank you, Tokoyami. It is...” She sighed. “Pleasant to hear your thoughts.”

“It’s no problem,” Dark Shadow said, draping her arm around her master’s shoulder. “That’s why you can count on us to help you. The future Symbol of Love.”

Immediately, Fumikage shook his head. “No.”

“Oh, come on! Why not?!” The Quirk shouted, snapping around to face her master. “We love each other! It can work.”

“The admiration of each other can’t be described as something so basic,” Fumikage shooed her away. “I shall choose our title. Be gone.”

Dark Shadow grumbled as she floated away from them, looking over the graves.

Reiko’s gaze followed Dark Shadow for a moment before smiling softly at Fumikage. “Does All Might share your sentiment?”

“I follow the path fate has in store for me,” Fumikage stated before averting his gaze. “But, as of this moment, it seems I'm attempting to find where All Might has strayed so that I may save him.”

Reiko said, “All Might is... well, rather loud in his actions. Even with this Quirk active, it’s only a matter of time until we can determine his whereabouts.”

“That’s what I fear,” Fumikage closed his eyes with regret. “Without his Quirk, he has lost sight of what the Symbol of Peace should be.”

Reiko stepped close to him with a serious expression. She whispered, “If he has, then he must be shown a new symbol.”

“I shall,” Fumikage declared, his hand on his chest with his vow. “I won’t rest until he returns to the path of light to witness the shadow that will follow.”

The girl nodded, “I may have had dissenting opinions of your Quirk, but I shall remind you. All Might chose well. Your kindness and dedication are what he needs.”

Fumikage’s beak snapped shut, contemplating her words.

“Hey, Fumi! I found it!”

Reiko and Tokoyami jerked their heads to the side. Dark Shadow floated over a grave a few rows away from them, signaling their attention. The teenagers soon shuffled toward the Quirk’s position, visiting the grave.

It was a small stone block identical to the others surrounding it. The name Hario was inscribed on the block on top of the small podium it had been given. Near the base, there was a small bouquet of white flowers and small scraps of burnt incense.

Fumikage said, “We can confirm that at least someone visited the Hario grave recently.”

“That’s gotta be the mommy, right?” Dark Shadow asked.

“We can only hope.”

Reiko said, “Since we are here already, we should pay our respects.”

The two teenagers and Dark Shadow all put their hands together and bowed, silently praying.

"AAAHHHHHHHHHH!”

Fumikage and Reiko’s heads snapped up at the cry for help.

“Someone is in danger here?” Fumikage asked, looking around. “Holy One would have warned me through Shinomori’s Danger Sense’s Quirk.”

Dark Shadow shrugged. “Maybe they’re not in actual danger?”

“Regardless, we should investigate.”

The two teenagers soon ran past the rows of graves, following the screams. “Help! Someone help me!”

Turning the corner of the cemetery's temple shrine, they were met with an unexpected sight.

Oboro stood in front of an elderly gentleman groaning in pain on the harsh cobblestone path. The cloudy man was shielding the stranger from someone a few feet away from them. A tall man with a large cut on his left ear and a shaven head. He wore an ordinary shirt and spiked black pants underneath a large lab coat a few sizes too large. A medical mask covered not his mouth, but his eyes instead. His mouth hung in a constant grin, showing off his white teeth.

Dark Shadow whispered, “Is that a dentist villain?” She slammed her fist into her palm. “I knew they were evil!”

Oboro glanced back at the others. “Guys, uh, I don’t get the outfit, but I remember this guy. It’s Moonfish.”

The name brought a feeling of dread in the air.

“Moonfish?” Fumikage echoed. “The mad man from the training camp that attacked Iida and Todoroki?”

Without waiting for a response, both Fumikage and Reiko came to Oboro’s side. All three of them took a defensive stance with their Quirks at the ready.

Moonfish suddenly straightened, raising his hand in greeting. “Oh hey kid heroes... I was fighting the villain for you...”

Oboro blinked. “Excuse me?”

The old man pulled himself up to his feet. With one hand keeping his back in check, the man shook his free hand into a fist. “You broke every bone in my body!”

“No...” Moonfish shook his head. “Gave you a hug... With fists...” He took a long breath before pointing a tooth (yes, that’s right) to one of the graves. “Fire bad... You bad...”

The heroes glanced to the side, spotting the grave with a single stick of incense burning in its base.

“That’s just incense!” Reiko exclaimed.

“Incense...?” the villain echoed in confusion. “Like incest?”

Everyone shouted, “NO!”

The ghostly girl explained, “This man just lit that stick so the smell would be an offering to a deceased loved one. There’s nothing illegal or wrong with doing that.”

Moonfish threw his head back. “Ohhh... Now I get it...” To the heroes’ surprise, he bowed his head in the man’s direction. “Sorry... My bad... Go be merry...”

The old man grumbled, holding up a particular finger that Moonfish took as a wave goodbye. He kept cursing his breath as he turned his back and walked right out of there. Dark Shadow hovered near him, trying to help, but it was clear that he didn’t want any more help by his continued usage of flipping the bird at the bird-like shadow.

Under normal circumstances, the teenagers would have escorted him out of there, but they were busy keeping their focus on the villain in front of them.

Oboro asked, “Moonfish, what are you doing here?”

Moonfish smiled. “Killed many here... Wanted to say sorry...” He turned toward the graves, pointing at a few of them. “Them... and them... and all over there...”

“No, I mean, how are you here now outside of Tartarus? Kind of doubting you got out on good behavior.”

“I did,” Moonfish replied. “Good guy now... not like heroes in prison...”

Pure confusion swept over the three of them.

Fumikage asked, “What are you referring to?”

Moonfish paused with each breath, “They hurt child... try to recruit us... for some metal army...”

Reiko asked, already knowing the answer, “Meta Liberation Army?”

“Yes,” the villain confirmed.

“The child must be Shu. That’s where they must be,” Fumikage said to the others, his mind racing as he recounted the events before. “All Might said that there were mysterious forces brewing around All for One. He spoke vaguely so I didn’t understand what he was telling me.”

Dark Shadow added, “Fumi’s right. They gotta be there, but why?”

The girl replied, “Destro must have taken the corrupted heroes and planned an attack on Tartarus to free All for One... It would have been a bold effort, unplanned.”

“Ok, but wait a minute,” Oboro interjected. “Even if that is what happened and that’s how this guy got free, something like this is major. We would have definitely heard about this on the news or something.”

“Leader...” Moonfish rasped. “Leader and warden work together...” He gestured for them to come with him. “We can tell you more...”

All of the heroes recoiled as if they were physically hurt by the implication of the villain was saying.

“WE?!”

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Going against their own sense and judgment, the heroes followed Moonfish out of the cemetery across town. A few blocks later, all of them were walking past a small gate and into an empty yard.

Reiko eyed the For Sale sign in the window, “Is this...?”

Fumikage nodded, having one set of eyes on the house and another set on the villain. “This is where Shu and his family lived before. This was our next destination.”

Moonfish bent down, smelling the grass. “Fitting place... To help the boy...”

Oboro asked, placing his hands on his hips, “Alright, but how do you know so much about this?” The man leisurely went to rest a hand on Moonfish-.

“Shirakumo, stop,” Fumikage suddenly said.

The cloudy man stopped moving, “Why?”

The raven jerked his head upwards, “Sniper.”

Everyone’s attention followed the raven’s gaze. There was a window located on the second floor, positioned right above the entrance. The glass inside was covered by curtains, but Reiko narrowed her eyes. There was a small crack open. At the bottom of the curtains, a barrel of a rifle was pointing at them.

The heroes tensed for a fight, but Moonfish stood in the line of fire, waving his hands and signaling them to stop.

“No! They’re with us...!”

Moonfish started dragging the heroes inside. The gun kept its barrel trained at them, but didn’t make a move to fire.

Walking into the house itself was an odd experience. None of them felt like they were in danger, but instead, they felt uncomfortable by it all. No matter how friendly Moonfish seemed, even insisting that they take off their shoes in the entrance.

And, It got even weirder when they walked into the living room.

From what the teenagers had seen, the house had been bare bones empty. Devoid of many items. It was assumed that the tragic circumstances in the Hario family most likely had to be a factor for that.

But, right in front of them was Magne, the villain Fumikage and Reiko encountered at the training camp, sitting on a fold-out chair and whittling her knife on a bar of soap. She looked exactly the same as back then, having ditched her old prison uniform with a regular set of clothes.

Upon seeing Moonfish and his ‘guests’, Magne flashed a smile, greeting, “Oh, hello there! It’s been a while to see you all again. How are you doing?”

Dark Shadow shrugged. “Good...”

“Well, it seems like you are doing better, honey. Last time I saw you, you were giving off some heavy vibes...” She stood up, holding a duck made out of soap in her hand. “Here, there’s not a lot here, but I made this. I would like you to have it for me.”

“Sure!” the sentient Quirk exclaimed, snatching it away. Dark Shadow looked at her master with a dubious look. “What? I don’t get gifts that often.”

Magne leaned to the side, lifting her glasses when she locked eyes with Oboro. “Kurogiri? You’re still rocking that cool makeover.”

“Uh, not exactly,” Oboro said, scratching the back of his neck. “Could you call me Shirakumo? Kurogiri is not who I am...”

“I get that,” Magne said with a nod of respect, placing a hand on the man’s shoulder. “Glad to see that from you. No one should have to feel uncomfortable in their own body.”

Fumikage asked, crossing his arms, “What are you all doing in Shu’s house?”

“Hanging out until the man of the house comes back,” Magne responded. She gestured toward her row of chairs. “We don’t have much here, but do your best to keep this place as tidy as possible. We got fun activities to keep yourself occupied. Jenga, knitting-”

“Ooh!” Moonfish raised his hand excitedly. “I’ll try knitting... I learned at prison.”

“Go right ahead,” Magne offered, gesturing to the chairs. The two convicts made their way over, sitting down and returning to their activities. “How was your little stroll outside as a ‘hero’?”

“Great... I should have tried this earlier...” Moonfish paused, messing with the knitting needles in his hands. “Taught villains guns are dangerous...”

Oboro let out a nervous chuckle, watching the scene. “Ok, I’m a fan of arts and crafts as much as the next guy...” He let out another before snapping his head to the others, whispering urgently, “But, just what the heck is going on?!”

“That’s what I’d like to know too.”

The heroes all turned to their right. With a flight of stairs behind her, Lady Nagant leaned on the doorway. A rifle was in her hand as she slammed it in her open palm, glaring at the three of them.

“Every time I think I know someone, they lie and show me someone completely different,” the purple-haired woman said, aiming the barrel between the three heroes. “So, you better not lie to me now. Who are you?”

“I am Fumikage Tokoyami, hero student at UA High School,” Fumikage said in a stern voice, tensing himself for a fight with his hand over his heart. “These are my companions. Reiko Yanagi and Oboro Shirakumo. As well as my familiar. Dark Shadow. We know who you are. We are on your side and we want to help you.”

Lady Nagant’s purple eyes scanned them for any threat even when Dark Shadow waved hello. She snapped, “Yesterday, I ran into some heroes who didn’t act like heroes. So, forgive me if that is not enough.”

Fumikage was about to take a step forward when Oboro blocked his path with his arm. “Don’t worry. I know what to do. Time for Plan Shirakumo.”

The cloudy man chuckled, strutting forward and raising his hands up. Oboro put on a charming smile which left Lady Nagant unimpressed.

“Good day. The name is Shirakumo,” Oboro greeted. “So, this is going to sound a little crazy. But, we’re here because we’re trying to find the group of villains that captured a boy named Shu Hario, who my buddy Izuku Midoriya discovered is actually a ghost that’s here on unfinished business. And, we’re just wondering if you could tell us anything important about that.”

Lady Nagant narrowed her eyes. Absolutely none of that made sense to her. But there was something that stood out to her...

“Izuku Midoriya?” she questioned. “You know him?”

Oboro nodded. “More than know. We’re friends. And, from what I remember, you know him too.”

She hummed thoughtfully. “I don’t know how it happened, but he ended up telling the world about what the HSPC had done to me. If anyone seems like a real hero, it’s him...” She looked down at her arm as the rifle retracted and then back to the others. “Okay, you got my attention. What do you want to know?”

The conversation moved toward the kitchen table where Fumikage, Reiko, and Oboro sat on one side, listening to the sniper on the other side. She told them of their tale, starting with a group of heroes breaking them out of their cells and taking over Tartarus, meeting Shu, and then almost drowning in their car.

“... We barely got out of there alive,” Lady Nagant recalled. “We had to swim deep under the surface to stay of sight of Tartarus. I didn’t know what would happen we reached a shore, but Stain said he wanted to locate Shu’s mother and the other misfits wanted to follow him.”

Shrugging, she rested her head on her hand. “I didn’t trust them on that and I really had nowhere left to go so I ended up tagging along with them until they eventually got here. But, I gotta be honest...” She sent a side eye toward the villains, specifically Moonfish who tried to show off his knitted creation. (From how red it was, they could only assume it was a bloody heart.) “These guys are weirdos, but I don’t see them as actual villains. Which is not what I heard about them at all.”

Reiko asked, staring at her intently, “Did any of them come into contact with Shu during your escape?”

“Yeah...”

Oboro whistled, leaning back in his seat, “Well, this definitely confirms Izuku’s theory.”

“What theory?”

Fumikage followed Nagant’s gaze, explaining the situation, “Midoriya theorized that Shu’s Quirk is called Moral Compass. It allows him to invert the morality of those he comes into contact with. The heroes that broke you out have become corrupted while these villains have had their violent nature subdued as a result.”

Nagant closed her eyes, rubbing her forehead and trying to ignore the headache from it all. “Just when I believed the world couldn’t become any more confusing...”

The raven shook his head. “No matter what veils you believe hide the world’s nature, we have a much greater problem. If All for One is truly being used by Destro’s spirit, what destruction could be wrought upon the world?” He crossed his arms. “All for One is cunning, but from what I remember, Destro with his power will be catastrophic. He’ll be more forthright with his attempts to bring Japan down to its knees.”

Dark Shadow commented, “Plus, Shu will be even harder to save if he’s stuck in that bobblehead thing that Nagant mentioned.”

“A Vistamp,” Reiko cut in. “I’ve heard of it. It’s an unholy object capable of creating devils. And, if Shu is trapped inside, time is of the essence. Soon, Destro would be able to use Shu’s Quirk at his own leisure.”

Fumikage chimed in, with his Quirk shuddering at the memory, “We are aware of how dangerous these Vistamps are. We’ve had experience with them in the past, creating a monster from Dark Shadow.”

Dark Shadow chimed in, “We don’t have a lot of time before things go really bad soon.”

The ghostly girl stood up from her seat with a grave expression. “The longer Destro is in possession of All for One’s body, the more deadly of an adversary he must be. We must attempt to reach him in Tartarus before then.”

“Woah, wait a moment,” Oboro said, trying to calm him down. “That’s way too dangerous. I think we did enough for now. We should contact some heroes and let them lead this operation.”

Fumikage followed her example. “I’m sorry, Shirakumo, but Yanagi’s correct. We have to go into Tartarus ourselves, regardless of any heroes come to our aid.”

“The heroes are already aware.”

Everyone’s attention, including Moonfish and Magne’s, snapped toward the front door.

Stain, in his new attire, carried a large bag to the table, dropping it off. “While obtaining items we might need, I kept surveillance on the local police department and a few key pro heroes. Although communication from Tartarus seems on the surface that nothing is amiss, the heroes know better and a group of them are being requested to conduct a silent raid on the prison tonight.”

Nagant raised an eyebrow, “My tip to Detective Ichijo?”

Reiko echoed, “Detective Ichijo?”

The purple-haired woman explained, “A friend of Midoriya’s. He was trying to get me parole. Knew it was a safe bet to contact him.”

“Detective Ichijo managed to get through to the right channels and help the higher-ups figure out what was going on,” Stain commented. “But, it was more of...” He looked over to Moonfish and Magne as they approached the others, surrounding the table. “Moonfish’s newfound fame. There is a viral video going around, punishing naughty miscreants. Even with his new appearance, it didn’t take long for someone to identify that it was the same Quirk of someone who was supposed to still be in prison.”

Moonfish gasped, mouth agape, “I’m famous?” He bobbed his head to his speech. “I’m a hero now... Heroes get famous... And statues like All Might... That’s all I want... A statue...”

Oboro shrugged, “I mean... that sounds reasonable.”

“Made out of teeth...”

“WHY?!”

“I have the materials.”

“WHERE?!”

Reiko cut in, “It doesn’t matter.”

“She’s right. One shouldn’t be judged for whether or not they have a collection of human body parts. We all have indulged in this activity,” Fumikage cut in, slamming his hands on the table. Moonfish and Reiko nodded along to that statement, leaving their chaperone completely confused. “What matters is that if the heroes are conducting a raid, then we must go in and assist them. Make sure Shu is freed and his Quirk is reversed on everyone who is affected. All of the heroes that have been corrupted.”

Stain commented, “Yes, it was such a shame to see them choose the way of violence.” He closed his eyes and clapped his hands together in prayer. “May they all return to their true natures, especially All Might.”

Fumikage snapped his head in the Hero Killer’s direction in shock. “What?! Why would you mention him?”

“I encountered him earlier today,” the man recounted with a fond sigh. “It was my first time meeting the true hero of Japan so I was fortunate to provide the encouragement he was looking for even if it wasn’t what I was intending to do.”

“Encouragement for what?”

“He’s beginning to lose his passion for what he loves. After our conversation, he believes he has found an alternative path to try and follow his dream.”

Fumikage didn’t like the sound of that.

Dark Shadow sprung forward, getting right in the Hero Killer’s face. “WHERE IS HE?!”

“We met at his monument in Kamino. However, it was hours ago. He’s long gone now.”

The Quirk shook with anger and fury as Fumikage came over and petted her head in comfort. The teenager was feeling similar feelings at the moment.

He didn’t know what Stain told him, but advice from a man known as the Hero Killer was never a good idea.

All Might’s original dream was to become the Symbol of Peace, a symbol for Japan to look at as a beacon of hope in its darkest hour. Although it was a noble dream that benefited the world for many years, it wasn’t without its flaws. With time, Toshinori saw through the cracks it had created and wanted to help repair it by choosing Fumikage as his successor.

But, with All Might now as someone who wanted to keep One for All to himself, what is his dream now?

Wrapped up in his own thoughts, Fumikage didn’t notice it until it was too late.

The Hero Killer had come over and pulled Fumikage into a hug, stroking his feathers in a comforting gesture. He whispered, “Do not worry, sky child. I am sure All Might will forever remain in your heart. Someone like him will always burn within us all.”

Oboro coughed, “Okay, hippie Stain. That’s enough now. Let go of him please.”

“Ah, of course, the cloudy one,” Stain said, coming over and wrapping Oboro in a hug, much to his embarrassment.

“It’s... Oboro.”

“Ah, sweet, sweet, Oboro!” The villain said with delight, giving a kiss on the man’s cheek. “I remember with you the League. It’s good to see everyone with such good health.” He gestured to the whole room. “All of you!”

Somehow, Oboro’s fog blushed a furious red as he backed away, touching his cheek. He saw Reiko glance at him and he snapped, “Don’t look at me like that! It was the closest thing I had gotten to a kiss in years!”

(No. He’s not counting what happened with Nezu the day before. No. He’ll take to that secret to his grave… Second grave.)

The ghostly girl said dryly, “This is how I always look at others.”

Fumikage, however, was lost in his own mind. His thoughts raced with an idea beginning to form, focusing on Stain’s words...

The raven placed his phone on the table. “Call Midoriya,” he instructed to everyone. “Inform him of the situation. Please excuse me. I need a place of silence to meditate on our next move.”

The ‘reformed’ heroes directed him up the stairs, which Fumikage quickly climbed up to the second floor. His head jerked left and right to ensure that no one else had come up with him.

“Dark Shadow, keep an eye on the stairs for a moment,” Fumikage paused, waiting until the Quirk of darkness swooped closer to the stairwell. He closed his eyes, “Shimura. I summon you.”

Holy One popped up a second later, transforming its shape into the seventh holder. “What’s up, kiddo?”

He whispered, “Do you remember when you perished in your fight against All for One?”

“It’s... not something I want to revisit, but I do remember,” Shimura said, crossing her arms with a shrug. “Why?”

“Even after you passed One for All to All Might, your true soul with all of its memories returned to the Quirk,” Fumikage reasoned. “That means we still have a connection to All Might, a way to locate him. Would it be at all possible to contact him through the Quirk?”

Shimura hummed in thought. “Maybe... like all of the other holders, there is a vestige for Toshi. But, it won’t be fully formed until he dies. And, that’s something we want to obviously avoid.”

The being of light morphed into the shape of Yoichi, the first holder of One for All.

“Ninth. I will admit. This is a situation we never encountered before, needing to track down a previous holder, but I believe your plan is worth a try. Since he gave the power directly to you, you have the most immediate connection. You’ll need to connect one on one with Eighth.”

“Understood, let me find a private room.”

Fumikage went to the nearest room. Dark Shadow surveyed the area one last time before closing the door behind them.

It took a moment for them to see their surroundings.

It was a relatively small room. The closet to Fumikage’s left was wide open with nothing but a few stray hangers hanging inside. The room was mostly bare as well with only a few stray toys inside. The only piece of furniture that was there was a small bedside drawer in front of the young raven. It sat underneath the open window on the opposite wall. The sun was starting to set, bathing the sky in bright orange light.

Fumikage felt the wall closest to the door. The walls were painted white, but it was difficult to tell with various lines of multi-colored crayons scribblings all over it.

The raven narrowed his eyes. “These are the ravings of a mad man.”

Dark Shadow said, “Excuse you, Fumi. These are fun!” The Quirk started pointing along the wall. “There’s a compass... All Might... and ooh, there’s Shu and his family!”

Fumikage reasoned, “So, this must have been Shu’s bedroom before...” He took another glance at the door before taking a step back. “Let’s do this before we begin our preparations for Tartarus.”

The teenager squeezed his eyes shut and concentrated on the power inside of him. “Toshinori... I summon you.”

Fumikage felt the familiar hum of Holy One within, but nothing else.

“Dark Shadow, what is happening?”

“Take a look.”

Shadowy eyes opened. The bird-like being of light known as Holy One was beginning to develop humanoid features. Sharp talons became soft human fingers. The beak became soft lips with a sharp chin. Two long strands of hair sprouted from the forehead.

However, it was only for a moment before it transformed into the default appearance of Holy One.

Fumikage’s eyes narrowed and his beak frowned with disappointment. Similarly, Dark Shadow, who had been silently cheering her master on, had her arms drop by her side.

Holy One instead reshaped itself to become Yoichi again.

The first holder sadly replied, “I don’t know if you have a strong enough connection for this to do this with us. You may need to come speak to all of us in the realm of the vestiges.”

“Understood.”

With a nod, Yoichi disappeared as Holy One returned to Fumikage’s chest.

Dark Shadow hovered in front of its master. “Fumi, what can I do to help?”

Fumikage hummed in thought. “Perhaps, if we make this room as dark as possible, you can join us as well. Even when your strength becomes unparalleled, there is a part of your mind that becomes stronger as well.”

“Got it!” the Quirk cheered.

“Take another look at the doorway. I’ll close the window.”

The two of them split to different ends of the room. Fumikage raised his arms, grabbing the frame of the window when he took one last look outside, toward the skyline...

“Wait. Is that...?”

Fumikage grabbed the binoculars from nearby and searched the skyline again until he zeroed in on the location.

Dark Shadow hovered next to him, making binoculars with her own hands. “Fumi, what are you looking at?”

The raven tore himself from the binoculars. “A lighthouse in the distance. Close enough to this location and in a spot where Shu could see it easily.”

“So?”

“Remember, back at UA, Shu attempted to draw what he could remember from his scattered memories. You believed his drawing to be a candle. I saw it as a tower with a star on the top of it. But, it’s not any of those things.” the raven snapped his head to the right, looking at Dark Shadow with intensity. “It was a lighthouse. That lighthouse. If it was important for Shu to remember, that means that lighthouse is important to us as well. We must go there immediately!”

Fumikage moved away from the window, storming out of his bedroom. “Come. Let us make haste!”

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Lighthouses are known to be symbols, much like heroes. They provide safety and guidance, acting as beacons against the darkness.

But, upon stepping out of Oboro’s portal and gazing up at it, Fumi wasn’t sure why Shu would remember a location such as this.

Even at the bottom, Fumikage could tell the lighthouse was no longer operational. Dark Shadow stretched up to confirm that there was no light bulb present along with damaged windowpanes. There was grafitti along the sides of its walls.

But, from the broken boards surrounding its doors, someone broke their way inside.

“Huh... Is this our new headquarters?”

Fumikage turned around as Reiko, Oboro, and all of the other villains exited the portal, taking in their surroundings.

Lady Nagant asked, “Ok, why are we here?”

Oboro replied, placing his hands on his hips as he looked up, “Well, to admire a historic and run-down landmark according to a quick search on the internet.” He cringed, giving a light shrug. “And... I really wouldn’t be a good chaperone if I let a bunch of mind-swapped villains stay at home.”

“I didn’t get changed by this Moral Compass Quirk. I don’t need a babysitter.”

“True, but gotta admit, it’s kinda fun to be here.”

“Fun? That’s what you see out of this?”

“Yeah, I like to look on the bright side. From my experience, it’s really the only way to get through all of this.”

The ex-heroine paused, unsure what to make of that.

Stain went up to the entrance, pointing at a paper pinned to the doorframe, “We shouldn’t go inside. There’s a sign that says no trespassing.”

Fumikage hid the long sigh he wanted to do then (“This is the man that almost killed my friends in Hosu?”), instructing Oboro and Reiko to accompany him inside while everyone else stayed outside and kept watch.

Inside, the light wasn’t on. There were a few leather chairs here and there, decorating the first floor. There was a circular bar area in the corner, though it didn’t look like there were any drinks available. A circular metal staircase travelled all the way to the top to the lighthouse. Curiously, in the middle of the room, there was a chair and a table that didn’t match the rest of the furniture. The table held a TV on top.

“Is anyone here?” Fumikage asked.

His voice fell flat in the empty atmosphere.

Reiko went closer to inspect the TV, seeing scattered snacks around the area. “There is definitely a presence here.”

Oboro jerked his head toward the staircase, “I’ll go see if anyone went up there.”

As the cloudy man started climbing, Fumikage moved further into the lighthouse, keeping vigilant. The young raven was close to the bar area when he noticed something out of the corner of his eye.

A glint of a blade!

Dark Shadow immediately grabbed the unknown attacker as they lunged and threw them back towards the entrance.

THUD!

Reiko and Oboro stopped as they heard the loud noise, snapping their heads behind them.

It was a woman with short black hair stylized into a pixie cut with a large protruding bang swept to her left. There was a streak of hair to her right that was dyed white. Diamond earrings were pierced in her  her right ear while a silver stud pierced the left side of her nose. She had one small tattoo on her right hand, one of an eight-wind compass rose. She currently had on black nail polish and wore a blue denim jacket over a navy-blue hoodie, black jeans and brown hiking boots.

Fumikage’s eyes widened at the woman. Although it was low light and she looked so different from the vibrant woman he had seen from Izuku’s research, there was no mistaking it.

Saki Hario. Shu’s mother.

The next thing Fumikage knew, Hario bolted outside, stumbling across the grassy path and tackling Magne away.

A hooded Stain got in her path, putting his hands into a prayer. “Please don’t run! We are only trying to help.”

“What he said!” Moonfish said, jumping into the air and opening his mouth to extend his teeth. He tried to form the mouth blades into a cage around her, but she weaved her way through them, continuing to run away.

Hario thought, “I don’t know how these heroes found me, but I’m not going down! Gotta get to my car at the bottom fast!”

She looked back to see if any of them were chasing after her, but instead, Magne was flicking her fingers in a dazzling wave as Stain started to glow with a blue aura. The man stood perfectly still, yet Hario was getting closer to him as a result. How was this possible?

Hario glowed bright red. Magnetism brought the two of them right towards each other. The woman brought out her knife to try and defend herself, but as they came within arms reach, she wasn’t fast enough for Stain’s sharp reflexes. The convict delivered a blow right to a single pressure point on Hario’s arm, causing her to flinch and drop her knife.

Both Stain and Hario landed on the ground.

OOF!

As Magne’s Quirk was lifted, Stain picked up the knife and kept it close. “Touching this blade right now burns my fingers metaphorically, but I would prefer if we could settle this with a conversation.”

Hario sprung up to her feet. “I’m not trusting anything you heroes say!”

“Unfortunately, I am not a hero,” Stain said, lifting up his hood. “I bare the title of Hero Killer.”

The woman blinked, confused, and took a step back. “Stain? The Hero Killer? Wha-how-what are you doing here? What do you want with me?”

“We come on a mission of peace,” he paused as everyone else approached his side.

Hario scanned the people with her gaze, either not identifying the students’ identities or knowing the few dangerous villains there. Just to be sure, she brought up her hand, focusing with her Quirk, Morality. Only to her eyes, an aura surrounded each person, showing them as blue for good.

Even the Hero Killer. That was certainly unexpected…

Fumikage spoke up, “Saki Hario, we are not here to harm you or arrest you.”

Reiko explained, “We come to you now to deliver important news about your son, Shu.”

Hario looked at the two teenagers with silent shock before it morphed into anger. “What. The. Hell. Do you mean by that?!”

Magne sighed, “Better cozy up because this is a doozy.”

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Fumikage sat crisscross in front of the giant broken light of the observation deck on top of the door in the floor that blocked him from the others down below as they explained to Saki Hario the entire situation.

Due to his haste to determine what the lighthouse was a clue to, he hadn’t spoken with the vestiges yet.

But, now was the time.

He closed his eyes.

Fumikage had visited this realm before, but only in dreams. Not on command. But, with the invitation extended earlier, he knew he would not intrude.

He felt the power began to bubble up underneath his own consciousness.

The raven’s mind began to rescind, deep within the darkness of his soul. It touched a pool of knowledge and light, its mist flashing with light. Images of ghosts starting to surround him as Fumikage found himself in a small room surrounded by crumbling walls with no wall behind him. The area around him was bathed in light, acting as a beacon from the darkness around them.

In a semicircle around Fumikage, there were eight red velvet thrones.

On these thrones were the seven vestiges.

Yoichi, the first holder, nodded, “Ninth. Thank you for coming to us all.”

Hikage, the fourth holder, commented, “We wish it was under better circumstances, but we know the situation is dire.”

Daigoro Banjo, the fifth holder, leaned back in his seat, “This situation is downright bananas, kid! Working with fake-ass villains to plan a heist into a prison filled with mind controlled heroes and regular villains.” He whistled. “This would not have happened in my day.”

Fumikage sent a silent nod in Banjo’s direction, but chose not to say anything. Unlike the other vestiges, Banjo was more... eccentric than the others. Not All Might eccentric, but still. In reality, many of the vestiges were more reserved like Fumikage, carrying their honor with silence.

“And I have to say this plan to contact Toshinori is crazy too.”

A voice boomed around them, coming from the darkness. “NO, FUMI IS NOT. YOU ARE.”

Banjo groaned, rubbing his forehead, “And, can I just say I still haven’t gotten used to the voiceless shadow now looking in from everywhere? Even here?”

Bruce, the third holder, interjected, “Enough. We have a job to do.”

Kudo, the second holder, ignored the man’s comments and leaned forward in his throne, looking at the current holder. “Fumikage Tokoyami, there’s no doubt this problem is going to get worse before it gets better. We must proceed with your plan before we lose any more time.”

The raven nodded in agreement. His eyes drifted to the throne in the end.

There was a yellow ‘light’ sitting on the throne. It looked like it was made out of wispy flames. Its shaped outline resembled the skeleton Fumikage knew as All Might.

Yet, the vestige looked weak. He was almost sliding out of his seat, using the sides for support.

When Fumikage approached it, the vestige was indifferent to him. He didn’t care. He didn’t move.

Or more like, he couldn’t respond at all.

In a blink of an eye, En, the sixth holder, was next to Fumikage, whispering, “This is the residual of All Might’s mind, his connection to One for All. However, it has been struggling as if what embers are left in him don’t agree with his recent actions.”

“So...” Fumikage paused, glancing toward the thrones. “How should I proceed?”

Yoichi came down to Fumikage’s level, staring at the bird with a meaningful look. “If this has any chance of working, the answer lies within you.”

“Within me?” Fumikage echoed.

Yoichi nodded his head. “Touch it. Focus on everything you know about Eighth. For the vestige to respond to you, you must speak to it as well. Make it remember everything you two have been through. Every memory, everything that connects you both with this power.”

Dark Shadow’s voice echoed everywhere, “THE POWER OF LOVE.”

The first vestige sighed, “It’s not that...”

“IT’S TOTALLY THAT!”

“Very well...” Fumikage whispered before raising his voice to the others. “I shall make him remember his true self.”

All of them looked at him expectantly. Nana in particular gave a resolute nod. Though no more words were said, it was clear that they believed in Fumikage’s will.

Fumikage turned toward the vestige, reaching out to touch its shoulder.

It felt like he was holding a flame in his hand, letting it dance across his fingertips.

The raven stared at the vestige intensely, picturing it as if it was the kind man he had always known.

“All Might, wherever you are, if you can hear this... then words alone cannot describe our bond.”

Fumikage continued, focusing on their time together,

“You were there to save me from villains...”

In Fumikage’s mind, the horror he had felt every time he faced a villain were all distant memories. But, the flash of talons, the pain, the sickening feeling of fighting alone with the darkness only to be saved by the hope-filled sight of All Might were always fresh in his mind.

The very first day they met... the USJ... the I-Island attack... the last fight at Kamino...

“You were there to comfort me after my darkest hours had passed...”

One by one, he envisioned the moments after the danger was over.

The smile when All Might popped out to share lunch with him the day after the USJ. The laughter shared when they watched movies together after Hosu. The gentle hug the two embraced on the beach after Kamino.

“You were there to listen to me about my secrets...”

Fumikage had told All Might before the many, many times Dark Shadow had been unleashed and inadvertently hurt people. The raven wanted to be sure that One for All wouldn’t be used to help cause more destruction.

“In fact, I heard more of your secrets than you have of mine...”

His scar. His weakness. His power. Everything that came with One for All.

The raven paused, realizing that it had been a long time since they had a meaningful conversation such as that. The last time was when All Might told him the truth behind Sir Nighteye’s vision...

But, that was months ago. Fumikage didn’t do more since then, more focused on his schoolwork than anything...

Fumikage choked up before clearing his throat and finishing his thoughts in a soft whisper.

“But, most importantly, you were there for the greatest moment of my life...”

He let go of his guilt over the situation and slowly delivered a wide, grateful smile.

“The moment I realized that Dark Shadow and I would not only rise to become great heroes, but with the knowledge and honor that a great and kind hero such as yourself could also be seen as a true friend.”

After what felt like an eternity of silence, the vestige moved.

It was slow, but the vestige opened his mouth.

He spoke in a distant voice, “I... I... I am ready.”

Fumikage echoed, “Ready? Ready for what?”

The other vestiges had gathered around the throne, behind Fumikage. Yoichi placed his hand on the raven’s shoulder, reminding him, “Ninth. This isn’t a real conversation. This is only an echo of Eighth’s current thoughts. We’re only hearing what he’s thinking.”

‘All Might’ spoke again, “With this weapon... it will be all over. One way or another.”

Nana asked, “Weapon? What kind of weapon?”

“I can destroy everything... Start clean. Tonight... All for One will perish. Be punished for everything. Tonight... Tartarus will fall.”

At once, Fumikage’s world stopped turning.

“WHAT?!”

Meanwhile, downstairs, everyone had gathered around the TV, watching the screen as it showed a burning building with a masked man admiring his muscles for a job well done.

Oboro exclaimed, “Woah, woah, wait a minute!” He snapped his head toward Moonfish on the couch as the man bobbing his head along with the flames. “This is the viral video with you that’s going around? You burned down a bank?!”

“Well, duh! If there’s no bank... no one can rob it! Idiot!”

The cloudy man never facepalmed before, but this was the most tempted he had ever been to do that. “Ok, you have the right energy, but...”

“You know who’s an idiot?” Hario interrupted, looking at the people surrounding her (aka blocking her from running again). “You all are if you expect me to believe that dumbass story you’re trying to feed me about my son being a ghost and haunting Tartarus of all places.”

Lady Nagant responded, “I would have never believed it, but look at these guys! How else do you explain these guys acting like this now?”

“Y’all being a bunch of fuckin’ weirdos, that’s why.” Hario responded.

Magne said, “Look, if what these kids have said about this Moral Compass Quirk is true, you’ve been doing things that you wouldn’t normally have done otherwise.”

“I did my crimes. I don’t need any damn excuses. It’s just my own fault I chose this place to hide out.”

Reiko leaned in, “Why did you choose this place? Did Shu know about it?”

Hario grabbed a beer nearby and chugged it before answering. The woman’s eyes reflected a strange fondness as she recounted, “This lighthouse was near our house... We used to go here all the time as a family back when it was open. Shu, Hoku...” She closed her eyes, shaking her head. The woman asked, “Did you ever think that after all the shit I went through, maybe I just got sick of the world the way it was and wanted to live it my own way? Have any of you ever felt like that?”

Stain responded quietly, “Every day...”

Oboro chimed in, “Let me ask you something, Hario. How did... were you... were you there when-?"

The mother responded, knowing the question, “The boy was an idiot... I was feeling fine. The first time since Hoku died, I felt better. But then Shu was yelling at me, saying that something was wrong about me, that I was mean. I didn’t know what the hell he was talking about. I just ran straight outside my house and Shu ran out after me without looking both ways...”

Oboro and Reiko shared a glance. They knew what Shu was yelling about. His Quirk had changed her. He ran out after his mother to try and reverse it when...

They sat in the silence for a moment before Reiko’s voice broke through, moving to look Hario in the eye.

“Your son came all the way back from the world of the dead just to see you again. Whether or not you believe us or not, there has to be something deep inside of you that recognizes that kind of love and affection. Don’t you want to believe in that?”

Another moment of silence passed as Hario stared doubtfully at Reiko’s blank expression.

Suddenly, footsteps brought their attention as everyone watched Fumikage climb down the stairs with a grave expression.

“Everyone, we have discovered something horrible,” Fumikage said, stepping down to ground level. “All Might got his hands on a powerful weapon. While the heroes are conducting the raid tonight, he intends to use it on Tartarus itself, destroying the entire island without a regard for anyone caught in the blast.”

Most of the villains froze upon hearing that.

Oboro stood up in horror. “What?!”

Lady Nagant asked, wagging a finger at him, “Woah, woah, wait a moment. How do you even know about this? Who told you?”

Dark Shadow popped out, stuttering for an answer, “Uh, um... Fumi’s psychic!”

Fumikage sighed, crossing his arms, “I reached into the inner darkness of my soul and saw what All Might’s immediate path entails.”

That earned a few dubious looks, but most of them accepted it as a metaphor and moved on.

Hario argued, “It can’t be true. There's no way something with that much firepower exists.”

Stain commented, “If anyone has the reach to find a weapon such as that, it would be the former Symbol of Peace...”

The room fell silent as everyone understood the implications.

Fumikage hummed, “If All Might believes this weapon can accomplish this, then inaction is not an option. There is only one path to take.” He leveled a serious glare at Reiko. “Yanagi, I believe I am the only one who can get through to him. Would you be willing to save Shu in my place if I’m unable to return in time for the raid?”

“Of course, I will,” she responded, though a flicker of doubt could be seen in her expression. “But, are you sure you can entrust us with this responsibility?”

The raven held a level of focus as he looked into her eyes. “I believe you have all of the tools you need at your disposal to stop these spirits.”

Reiko wasn’t too fond of the idea, but nonetheless, she nodded,

Oboro asked, taking a step toward his student, “Tokoyami, are you sure about this doing on your own?”

“Yes. My connection and my strength are the only ones at our disposal that can ensure he doesn’t harm anyone.”

The cloudy man reluctantly sighed, “Fine, but school rules, dude. If a teacher is beating you up, please be sure to contact another staff member...” He started jabbing a thumb at himself.

“I shall.”

“Good, then I’ll stick with Yanagi at Tartarus and make sure she doesn’t get into too much trouble out there,” Oboro said, sliding his way toward her. He looked over his shoulder toward the rest of the villains. “But, what about them...?”

Fumikage spoke up, stepping towards them. “A majority of you are under the influence of a Quirk. It is not fair to ask any of you to accompany us now. However, if you choose to volunteer, we will do what we can to ensure your safety with us.”

They stood quietly, waiting for all of them to respond.

A melancholy expression overtook Stain’s face. “I’ve killed a lot of fake heroes. Maybe they deserved it. Maybe they didn’t... I won’t be able to atone for all of that but I can ensure to save heroes who I definitely know are being forced to live a lie right now. I will be joining you.”

“A lie...” Lady Nagant echoed before volunteering, “I’m in as well. I don’t want to stay out here until I actually earn the right to. Plus...” she let out a long sigh. “I owe Midoriya a huge debt. This is a good start. This sounds like something he would do.”

Magne smirked, jamming her hands in her pockets. “You can’t have a party this big without me, honey.”

Moonfish joined in, “I’m a hero now... Heroes fight bad guys! I was bad... but I’m trying really hard not to be!”

Slowly but surely, everyone’s gaze fell to Hario. The most critical piece of the puzzle Reiko needed to help Shu.

Hario sent a skeptical look. “Do I honestly have a choice in this?”

“You do,” Reiko responded. “If we choose to leave you here, you would undoubtedly run from the law. And continue to do so. But, is that what you truly want? To run forever and ever? Even when there’s a chance that your son needs help?”

Hario grunted, her permanent frown not leaving her face, but there was a small flash of emotion in her begrudging eyes.

“Fine...” she said. “I am getting bored just sitting here and doing nothing. And, breaking into Tartarus does sound kind of fun for an insane person...” She threw up her hands, joining everyone standing. “Sure, we can go on this suicidal mission and do the heavy lifting here while Bird Boy here gets the easy job.”

Identical looks of confusion faced the woman as she gestured toward Fumikage.

Hario saw them all and exclaimed, “Oh, come on! News flash! All Might may have this big bad weapon, but let’s face it. All Might’s old. He’s weak, he’s retired, he’s practically Quirkless now! What's really the worst thing he could do?”

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SCCRREEEEECHHHHH!

A jet black supercar’s tires squealed down the road, racing his way to Tartarus Prison.

The driver inside yanked the wheel left and right, weaving through traffic and ignoring the blaring horns and the raised fingers.

The car’s name was Hercules named after the Roman god of strength and heroes.

The man driving it was Toshinori Yagi with a serious look of determination, hidden by a shadow that covered the gentle blue iris the man always had.

In the passenger seat, there was a briefcase.

Though the man was focused on his driving, there was something in the back of his mind. A memory being triggered to the surface...

The vision of his former sidekick, Sir Nighteye...

“It’s time for you to step down...”

All Might leaned on the hospital wall for support, panting for breath, “But everyone’s looking to me. For my help. If there are frightened citizens, then I have to go to them.”

Don’t they get that? Why doesn’t anyone ever understand that?

His sidekick argued, “If you want enduring peace, then retire while you’re a legend.”

The damn rat piped up, “If you’re looking for a successor, why not search at UA? You’ve put in your dues and more, All Might.”

“And who will be the Symbol until I find someone like that?”

He never found them. Even after giving it to Young Tokoyami, he knew no one else could be the Symbol Japan needs. No one!

At that moment, All Might fell to his knees. Mirai caught him in time from completely collapsing on the ground.

“I know the importance of the Symbol!” Mirai exclaimed. “I revere its function. But please, All Might. You can’t even smile right now!”

Because he had distractions like him in the way. He should have never made the fan his sidekick.

A lightbulb popped in the man’s head as he understood why he was so insistent on this.

All Might gasped, “You saw it, didn’t you? I told you not to use your Foresight on me.”

Why? Why didn’t he listen? Why can’t anyone understand that All Might knew exactly what he was doing?!

Mirai held back the shame on his face and instead continued, “If you step away now, another number one will appear. We can figure this out with time!”

“And while we’re figuring all of this out, how many people will have to fear for their lives?!”

“Listen to us-”

But, All Might continued, pushing Sir Nighteye away and using the wall for support to continue forward. “Besides, your Foresight is never wrong, so why fight this?”

Exactly. They should have just learned to accept that this is the only path All Might could take.

Mirai continued to yell after him, saying that he wanted to change the future, but Toshinori already accepted it.

This was his life. His dream. No one should ever get in the way of that...

“If you continue like this, you’ll face off against a villain and die an unspeakably gruesome death!”

And then a more recent memory began to pop up, around the Overhaul Raid, of his student telling him something very important about his future...

All Might’s hands gripped the wheel tighter as he didn’t stop.

Japan thought their Symbol of Peace was gone... They had no idea how wrong they were...

Tonight, he was going to shout it out to the world that he was still here. Whether they wanted it or not…

Notes:

Thank you so much for reading! Hope you enjoyed! Looking forward to any feedback.

Not much I really want to say in terms of discussion for this chapter. I want to wait until next week where I can get it all out on the table...

We're heading into the finale next week... See you next Wednesday!

Chapter 5: No Man is an Island

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

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It was late and the night was dark. The moon was only a sliver in the sky. Clouds were already starting to form as if the world itself knew of the impending doom that was about to be unleashed.

The lights from Tartarus in the distance were tiny specks that to All Might, became bigger and bigger until he saw the complete complex.

The car turned to the side as All Might spun the wheel, getting into position.

Hercules stopped. The car was on a straight path down now. Only a few blocks away, there was the entrance to the island. The bridge to the prison was gone, but that wouldn’t stop All Might.

The skeleton slammed the foot on the gas.

SCCRREEEEECHHHHH!

At seventy miles per hour, Hercules sped straight forward like a bullet, burning rubber with its tires.

Moving faster and faster and faster!

But, when the car was only a block away from what All Might was going to use as a ramp, something began to form in front of him.

A blue cloud.

All Might slammed his foot on the brake, but it came a moment too late.

The skeleton shielded his eyes from the bright flash of light before they readjusted in an entirely different place.

Hercules had come to a stop in an empty gravel quarry. There were no buildings in sight as the area was completely desolate. Just a large patch of gravel with grass and small rough cliffs surrounding it.

All Might peered out in the darkness. “Where am-?”

“This is Bespin Quarry,” a voice announced itself.

From the shadows, Fumikage walked with his crossed arms until he was direct view of the car’s highlights. He stopped right then as he stood tall.

The raven explained, “According to Yanagi, this is a sacred location where many heroes have fought before. Shirakumo brought us here so that no one should have to see what you have become.”

The former Symbol of Peace glared at the teenager with fire in his tired blue eyes. All Might rolled down the window enough for him to shout out. “Young Tokoyami, why did you bring me here?!”

“I know of your intentions to destroy Tartarus with All for One inside. I won’t let that happen,” Fumikage yelled back, bringing his fists to his sides. “I’ll only say this once. You’re under the influence of a Quirk. Get out of the vehicle and stand down.”

All Might’s teeth clenched at the thought. His fists clenched the steering wheel even tighter. His back straightened in his seat.

The young raven knew of his plans but dared to stand in his way?

He knew his successor was stubborn, but wanting a fight like this? All to protect All for One?

All Might was recently filled with regret upon placing One for All on another person, a teenager at that.

But now there was another thought.

“I chose wrong.”

If the teenager in front of him was willing to do this, then he wasn’t a worthy hero after all.

He was a villain.

And All Might knew exactly what to do with villains.

All Might floored the gas.

Ka-FR-FR-FR-FR!

Hercules sped up dust as it moved across the gravel, heading on a collision course to the teenager.

Fumikage didn’t flinch at the sight of it.

“Dark Shadow!” he commanded.

The Quirk of darkness stretched out, placing its talons over the boy’s hands. He planted his feet firmly on the gravel and grabbed the front bumper of the car, stopping it from hitting him. Though the lights from the car burned Dark Shadow, the Quirk gained enough strength and mass for Fumikage to shift his weight and throw the entire car behind him.

Fumikage was prepared for the car to be tossed upside down and for himself to pull his mentor out of the car, relatively unharmed.

However, he didn’t expect to lose his grip on the car. Or for what the man shouted next.

“HENSHIN!”

A ripple of shock could be felt throughout the quarry as Fumikage turned around with widened eyes.

The supercar had somehow landed upright, completely intact. And, All Might had somehow ejected himself from the car uninjured, holding a briefcase.

But the man was standing still as the briefcase opened up, revealing intricate scale-like metal devices that moved across his body, snapping into place and covering his bones.

Dark Shadow asked, “Fumi, what’s happening?”

“The weapon...” Fumikage gasped upon realization. “The car isn’t just a vehicle. It’s a support item!”

Within seconds, the suitcase had unfolded into a suit of armor.

The armor was entirely black with similar design elements to All Might’s original suit where it glowed bright with energy. Around his waist, there was an angular golden buckle, a small cape attached around the back which hung down to her knees, and over his shoulders there was a long white cape.

Fumikage recognized that the design was reminiscent of Nana Shimura’s hero outfit.

But there were two long yellow horns above All Might’s eyes, calling back to his original tufts of hair.

And the armor covered the man’s full body except his mouth, which smiled devilishly.

Fumikage marveled at the titan before him. “Holy...”

Dark Shadow thought, “Stinkin’...”

Inside of One for All, Nana Shimura paled at the sight of her student. “Super...”

But they all shared the same thought in the end. “Crap.”

All Might noted the boy’s shocked expression. “See this? This is my smile... It shall be the last thing you ever see.”

Fumikage steeled his nerves and spoke into an earpiece, “Shirakumo, it is as we feared. We won’t be able to join you soon. Be careful. Everyone there is incredibly dangerous.”

“Oh, don’t worry about that,” the man’s voice responded. “Seems like the light show has already started…”

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POP!

A few minutes earlier, Midnight blew a bubble with gum she had been chewing on as she lazily watched the monitors of the security feeds of Tartarus. Out of everyone, she was the one stuck with ‘guard duty’, making sure all of their prisoners weren’t going anywhere until Destro got the Vistamp working with Shu’s spirit inside or whatever.

It was only temporary until they got more members. Some of the other habitants at Tartarus had decided to accept their offer, but more needed to be convinced.

At that point, Midnight didn’t care. All she kept thinking about was the fact that she was being forced to wait before she could try and do something that people would make hentai out of...

“Back now!” Present Mic announced, sitting down to the chair next to her and spinning it.

“That was fast,” the R-Rated hero remarked. “Isn’t the bathroom pretty far from here?”

“Yeah, but that’s the beauty of being evil now. You don’t have to wash your hands!”

Midnight sniffed and immediately felt like gagging. “Is all body hygiene gone in your opinion now?”

“Hey, that is just a new cologne. ‘Evil for Men’! You never understood fashi-”

“Wait!” Midnight exclaimed, looking back at the monitors. “What’s happening?”

The cameras had been staticky at times now, due to their new leader’s appearance.  But, now one by one, they were completely filled with white noise. The teachers’ eyes darted side to side until they saw it for a split second. A feather shooting as straight as a knife, destroying the feed for another.

“Well, looks like the cat’s out of the bag....” Midnight drawled, standing up. “Our old colleagues are storming the gates. No doubt they got their own army with them.”

“Then, let’s start our own rave,” Present Mic paused, looking into the intercoms of the prison. “Attention, guards, guard-ettes, and various maniacs of varying sizes! We’re throwing a special party up top. Bring your weapons and Quirks because trust me, you’re not going to want to miss out on this action.”

Far below the complex’s ground level, deep down near the base of the island, two guards doing their business at two urinals, looked up to the ceiling.

“Well, we better get up there soon,” one guard said. “If the ‘good’ pro heroes are here, then I got some words for a few of them.”

“Yeah, we do,” the other one said. “I mean, we got paid minimum wage to watch crazy and dangerous criminals. All for One’s way, we at least get a 50% raise.”

“He calls himself Destro now.”

“See? Crazy.”

SLAP!

Out of nowhere, both guards felt someone’s hand slap hard on their butts.

“Dude, not cool!”

“That wasn’t me!”

“Hi, boys.”

Both guards turned around right before Magne and Hario proceeded to knock them out (also not bothering to cover the two up.)

From the wall, a secret hatch was open as the ‘villains’ and everyone else stepped out.

“Ok, uh, Lady Nagant, is it?” Hario asked, eyeing the woman skeptically. “How did you know about this? I’m not going any further if this is a damn trap.”

Lady Nagant replied, “The island that Tartarus is built on was this highly advanced bomb shelter and military complex that was used back during the Dawn of Quirks. What we took was one of the old maintenance tunnels that connects it from the city to the island. Back when I was with the HPSC, they made me study the layout of this place in the event that I needed to...” She sighed. “Take care of someone in here without anyone’s knowledge.”

Behind her, peeking out from the tunnel, Oboro held up a finger. “Uh, just saying, but should we be concerned that there’s a secret tunnel that goes from the city, where anyone smart enough could find it, straight to the heart of Tartarus?!”

A voice spoke from behind the group, “You have a good point there, good sir...”

The last person finished climbing out of the tunnel and closing back the hatch in the wall. Now, in full view of the group, the vigilante Twice wagged his finger at Oboro. “It’s a shortcut! Quit complaining!”

“Fine,” Oboro sighed before he smiled back at Twice. “Thanks for coming to help.”

“No problem! If Sempai needs help, there’s no way I’ll say no to that!” Twice said enthusiastically before shaking his head. “I should learn to eventually...”

The vigilante threw a shoulder over Stain’s shoulder. “Actually, it’s no big deal! We actually broke in here before visiting this guy! Cute story.” His shoulders slumped as he began to sob. “Long, tragic story!”

“Okay, uh, here’s the plan, guys...” Oboro took a breath before addressing the group. “I’m not too much into the whole planning phase thing and maybe I missed some detail-”

Moonfish whispered, “You’re ruining it...”

“Right sorry!” The teacher’s assistant shook his head, getting into the game. Again, he was in charge of watching over Reiko and keeping her safe, but doing this on his own with villains felt a little overwhelming.

He just had to think of these guys as his students and try his best to connect with them.

Oboro’s eyes locked on with Twice’s. “Twice, I know the real you is currently up on the surface with the pro heroes, fighting with them. You’re here to create some more clones down here so that we can attack them on both fronts.”

Twice saluted. “Roger that!” He then tapped a finger to his chin. “Who’s Roger, anyway?”

The cloudy man turned toward Lady Nagant, Magne, and Moonfish. “The three of you will also help, splitting up to cover more ground and deal with some of the villains that the Twices can’t hold on their own.”

Lady Nagant readied her rifle protruding from her elbow. “I have to head up top. I’m a sniper. That’s only my logical position.”

“You got it,” Magne said to Oboro with a thumbs up. “I’ll secure the cafeteria. No doubt some of the messier inmates here are using it to get a snack, if you know what I mean.”

Moonfish nodded, “If any villains want to be eaten... send them my way.”

Hario tilted her head in confusion. “Who would even want that-?”

“It could happen!”

As Twice and the other three shuffled out of the bathroom, Oboro called out after them, “Oh, and uh, the pros should already know about you guys and won’t attack, but just in case, be careful!”

“It’s okay! We probably deserve it!”

Oboro couldn’t help but shrug before turning to the rest of the group: Reiko, Hario, and Stain. “The rest of us gotta stick close. We need to locate Destro and Shu. When we find him, I’ll take point while the rest of you help when you can.”

“Yes, sir,” Reiko nodded.

“Good, for now, Stain...” Oboro paused, gesturing to the doorway. “You can take us to where Destro would most likely be.”

“I would not know,” Stain replied quietly. “I was only confined to my cell during my time here. I do not know the structure of this facility.”

“But you said you knew where to go!”

“Yes, in life.”

Oboro threw up his hands, feeling a headache coming on. Deep inside, he started to feel like the Eraserhead of the group.

“Okay...” Oboro groaned. “Well, it’s not a good idea for us to be wandering around then... Um, gimme a minute...” The teacher’s assistant pulled out his phone, texting away. “Maybe Izuku can get here in time and tell us where to go...”

“Uh, Foggy?” Hario said. Her voice started to crack a bit as she pointed behind him. Oboro looked over his shoulder and everyone else followed his gaze.

The bathroom door creaked open fully without anything propping it open. The hallway outside was completely dark, but the lights on the ceiling flickered in rhythm. One after another shined bright before dimming again, illuminating their path. And there was a chill in the room...

Stain hummed, “Ah, another symptom of our failing economy. Perhaps this environment would feel more accommodating if it had whale musi-”

“No,” Reiko’s voice cut through as she walked in front of them. “There is a presence here. Someone’s soul is guiding us forward...”

Hario arched an eyebrow. “To death?”

“Follow me,” Reiko said. She didn’t wait for the others to respond before walking into the hallway. Her tone of mystery pulled them forward, each one praying that they would survive the experience.

Meanwhile, on the surface of the prison, a battle was raging. Various villains and corrupted guards had willingly come up from their cells to beat down the heroes that were sent to ruin their new alliance with Destro.

The hero squad consisted of top pro heroes Hawks and Endeavor for their strength and mobility along with Gang Orca (whose physiology allowed him to come up from the sea instead of the air), Majestic, and Gran Torino.

Oh, and one very entertaining masked man being carried bridal style by his hero friend.

“Thanks for the lift, Hawks!” Twice exclaimed before looking back and forth in a panic. “Please let me go! Someone’s going to write fanfic about this!”

Hawks shrugged, overlooking the battlefield, “Oh, I’ll let you go soon. We got a ton here to deal with... Man, you were right. There really are pro heroes on the villains’ side. How does Midoriya keep finding out about stuff like this?”

Twice shrugged, “Sempai’s just good like that... What’chu tryin’ to say, fool?”

The winged hero smirked. “I say ‘Drop’!”

The Number Three Hero swooped low to the ground as Twice rolled out of the man’s hands, tackling the closest guard.

The guard fell as more came after Twice. Twice pulled out his razor-sharp measuring tape and began slashing them across their chests and shoulders.

SLICE! SLICE! SLICE!

Nearby, jets of air shot out from Gran Torino’s feet as he bounced off a villain’s face, landing on top of a stairwell.

“Tokoyami wasn’t kidding about how bad this was,” the hero thought, reflecting on the phone call he had gotten earlier, explaining the situation. “Gotta get this done so the kid can focus on helping Toshinori.”

The veteran hero dropped down, swinging his body around the pillar like a pole. He then jetted out, effortlessly knocking out several villains at once.

WHAM! WHAM! WHAM!

One villain was hit so hard he was thrown all the way back to Twice. Twice slashed the villain with his measuring tape before spinning it in a circle to take out the rest that were about to jump him.

SLICE! SLICE!

In front of him, a large villain hovered toward him using their umbrella head to spin rapidly. (Quirks are weird, you know.)

“Time to bring some friends to this party!”

Twice directed his hands behind him as grey goop fell from his fingers. As soon as the villain came within reach, another Twice clone somersaulted over the umbrella villain, completely surrounding him. Before the villain could attack, the Twice in front drove his fist into their eyes while the Twice in back slashed his tape in the villain’s back.

SLICE!

The umbrella villain recoiled in pain, trying to shield their eyes. The Twice in front bent down, grabbing the prisoner’s feet and throwing them behind him. The villain was knocked off balance as the other Twice cut through the umbrella again.

SLICE!

Deeper into the complex, Gang Orca swatted away a villain with his right hand. He then rammed his shoulder through the crowd of prisoners like a linebacker. Ripping a metal block off the ground with both hands, he slammed them into two fiery villains, knocking them down.

CLICK! CLICK!

Sonic waves shot from Gang Orca. A large group of villains felt their bodies twitch before they became completely immobile.

From up high, Hawks sliced through someone of the sky defenses of the prison with his feather sword.

“Gotta contain this before things get worse,” he thought. “If any of them get loose, it could spell disaster for the whole country.”

Fierce Wings sent dozens of his red feathers shooting straight down like arrows piercing through a whole group of them.

Hawks moved past Endeavor as the fiery hero shot himself forward like a living fireball, moving only a few inches to the ground.

“FLASHFIRE FIST!”

Amidst the crowd of prisoners and guards going up to fight the heroes, Lady Nagant had made it up to the surface and ran toward the closest structure of metal pillars and platforms.

All alone, the woman climbed up the stairs toward the top. However, after climbing up a dozen steps, she moved toward the next staircase when suddenly, a gun was fired.

BANG!

Lady Nagant barely managed to jump out of the way of a bullet, letting it hit the wall right next to her. The sniper snapped her head to the left.

With smoke coming off his gun, Snipe held up the barrel. “Figured someone yellow-bellied would find themselves here. Just didn’t expect ya, to be honest.”

“Oh, right. The cowboy,” Lady Nagant muttered before she addressed Snipe with a quick glance to the pillar close by. “Want to wait to the count of three before we draw?”

“That sounds fair...” Snipe paused, twirling the gun in his hand before pointing it straight at her. “But I don’t do that anymore.”

BANG!

The marksman saw the cowboy’s finger on the trigger before he even fired. As Snipe’s finger had tightened, Lady Nagant’s rifle protruded a rifle from her right elbow at an angle. The bullet knocked against the barrel of Nagant’s rifle as it formed, knocking it aside.

Immediately after, Lady Nagant ran behind the nearest pillar and plucked out a clump of her hair, molding it into bullets that loaded into her palm. She aimed it around the corner of the pillar-

BANG!

Snipe had gotten to another set of pillars and fired from behind.

Both of them soon kept running from cover to cover behind the pillars, each one firing their guns in those small gaps. The two gunmen were both skilled, managing to avoid getting hit or hitting the other’s bullets in time. Snipe’s gun allowed for faster reloads but Lady Nagant had more advanced firing prowess from her own skills, balancing the two out.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

“Yee-haw!” Snipe exclaimed. “Never been in something like this before, pardner!”

Lady Nagant called out, “Glad to see you’re having fun!”

“I am! This is what I meant to be!” the cowboy replied over the gunfire. “And what you can be too! I wasn’t meant to be a hero. My life was supposed to be completely different! Don’t you feel the same?”

The woman put her back to another pillar as cover. The last pillar...

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

Lady Nagant felt it behind her, the thumping that shook the whole pillar. Snipe was barraging it with bullets so durable and so fast that in only a few seconds, the pillar would have a massive hole in it, and she would be completely vulnerable.

“Yeah... you’re right,” she sighed. “It wasn’t supposed to be like this. Not at all how I pictured it.” She continued to reload her weapon. “But I know what happens when someone tries to fuck over the world because of their own life. It makes things a lot greyer and that’s one thing I know that’s true in this world.”

She braced her rifle as she rolled around the ground out of cover, firing a single shot at Snipe.

BOOM!

The bullet flew only a millimeter away from the edge of two pillars, but it grazed the cowboy’s arm, drawing blood.

Exactly where Lady Nagant had intended to go.

“GAH!” Snipe cried, his arm dropping by his side.

Lady Nagant rushed forward at the cowboy now that Snipe’s guard was down. She jumped up, firing a shot in midair.

BOOM!

The bullet zoomed right through the middle of Snipe’s hat, ripping it apart.

Why did she do that?

Partly to piss the hero off. Partly to cover herself as she breached the gap between them.

Enraged, Snipe pulled out the gun in his other holster and began dual wielding. However, before he could aim, Lady Nagant swatted his hand away and sent a flurry of punches to the man’s chest.

JAB! JAB! JAB!

She threw another arm, but Snipe ducked out of the swing, firing a round up close.

BANG!

Lady Nagant jerked her head out of the way of the bullet. The woman grabbed the hero’s wrists and twisted them to the side as he missed another shot.

BANG!

But Lady Nagant could see what was coming from behind her. Homing, Snipe’s Quirk, allowed the bullets to change trajectory, turning around so they could fire upon the woman from behind.

“One more truth...” Lady Nagant paused, wrestling Snipe’s pistol away from him by kneeing him in the gut.

Snipe cried, stumbling back, “Oof!”

The sniper twirled the gun behind her. “It’s not wise to mess with the best marksman in all of Japan.”

BANG! BANG!

With only a glance, Lady Nagant shot the two bullets down.

As Snipe tried to get back to his feet, the marksman sent a straight kick to the man’s chest, sending him flying back.

The ex-hero took a breath as she loaded more ammo and readied her rifle, falling to one knee for support. She trained it at the hero, keeping it aimed for the right moment. Soon enough, like any other man with a gun, Snipe immediately brought it up to defend himself. And Lady Nagant knew where to aim.

BOOM!

With pinpoint accuracy, the blue and purple bullet ripped through the air in a straight line, soaring perfectly into Snipe’s barrel right as the cowboy pulled the trigger on his gun.

BA-BOOM!

The gun exploded, shrapnel flying as Snipe was thrown back violently. His head knocked along the ground, letting him black out in an instant.

If this was in the past, Lady Nagant would have killed him to ensure that she didn’t need to deal with him again. But this isn’t then. She’s changed.

Lady Nagant took a moment to breathe before she heard more sounds of the warzone around her and looked out toward the destruction.

“This is what a world filled with everything the HPSC was trying to make me fix...” She paused, looking down at her rifle, the instrument of destruction for so many missions, assassinations, everything. “Well, it’s time to set it right my way. Make this a world that I can see clearly...”

She ran away from the cowboy and headed toward the stairway, climbing up to the spot where she could see through everyone’s lies.

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Back at the quarry, the armored All Might showed his true strength.

“I... AM.... HERE!”

The armored All Might ran forward, each step he made making small craters in the ground.

Fumikage ran to meet him, leaping forward. Dark Shadow’s arms enlarged as the raven threw a fist back to strike. “Covert Black-Ops Arms!”

But, as Fumikage threw a punch, several armored plates from Hercules moved off its body and instead encased All Might completely into a sphere like a cannonball. The shadowy fist met the plating but couldn’t push past it.

“RED RIOT!”

All Might started spinning like a wheel, creating sparks in its wake. The heat and friction helped him move past his student, not losing his momentum. Fumikage’s body ricocheted back as he bounced off the ground.

Fumikage groaned as his fist throbbed from the impact. Next to him, Dark Shadow fidgeted in pain. “Red Riot? That’s...”

The plates left All Might’s body as he stood tall, towering over the raven. “Young Kirishima’s hero name. Yes, this suit was made just for me by Melissa.”

“Melissa?” Dark Shadow echoed.

“David had been working on it for some time before the I-Expo,” the armored hero explained. “But Melissa was the one that put it all together. If I ever needed to fight again, I would use the powers of your classmates, all of the children who inspired me. At least those who used to inspire me...”

Fumikage stumbled up to his feet, trying to catch his breath. “Melissa… She would have never made that for you if she knew you would use it like this!”

“You don’t get to say her name. You’ve lost all privileges the moment you turned on me!”

The raven jumped into the air as Dark Shadow slammed the ground, sending him high up. Gravity took over as the boy began to descend. Dark Shadow wrapped her arms around him and the two of them began to glide down with their wings to get distance and strike from above.

“Black Fallen Angel!”

All Might brought his fists forward. Multiple binding cables from both arms shot out. Fumikage swerved to dodge them, but they followed as if they had a mind of their own. Soon, Fumikage was completely surrounded as they wrapped around his arms and legs, completely restraining him. The cables then dug into the nearby ground and environment, keeping him in the air.

“CELLOPHANE!”

Soon, sparks of electricity moved off his armor, sweeping through the cables like a current, going up to reach Fumikage.

“CHARGEBOLT!”

BBBBBBBBZZZZZZZZZTTTTTTTTTTT!

“AAHHHHHHH!" Fumikage yelled from the electrical shock to his body, coursing through his veins.

Dark Shadow couldn’t hold on anymore, disappearing back into Fumikage’s body for safety. Holy One appeared around Fumikage as the raven strained his muscles and broke through the wires.

But, before Fumikage could get free into the air, All Might launched himself up with lightning-fast speed!

A rocket thruster snapped on the man’s left leg. Reaching Fumikage’s level, All Might reared back his leg and delivered a heavy set of axe kicks towards Fumikage’s gut at supersonic speed.

“GAGGHHH!” Fumikage retched in pain as the wind was completely knocked out of him. The force of the heavy kicks sent him right through the wires, making him crash directly into the ground!

“This is a depressing sight,” All Might commented with a bold laugh. “I am well in my mid 50s and I am beating a helpless young boy! And, somehow, I just don’t give a damn anymore!”

Fumikage looked up at his mentor. His expression is brimming with determination, and yet, his eyes cry out for him, begging for him to stop. "All Might, please... You must see reason. Come back to us...”

WHAM!

“What do you mean?!”

All Might landed right on top of him. His voice bellowed out in the quarry, delivering a series of mighty punches to Fumikage’s head, each one rattling his whole body.

“I!” PUNCH! “AM!” PUNCH! “STILL!” PUNCH! “HERE!”

Dark Shadow roared, “GET OFF OF HIM!”

The Quirk burst through Fumikage’s chest, shoving the man back a few feet. Dark Shadow clapped its massive hands together, creating a shockwave. Wind moved at Dark Shadow’s command, throwing the man off balance toward the side of a small cliff.

WHAM!

“TSUKUYOMI!”

Dark Shadow’s arms dropped by her side as she watched a big black cape wrapped itself around the man’s body. It protected himself, letting him bounce off the cliff and land three-point on the ground.

The Quirk yelled out, “Hey, that’s enough! Stop copying everybody’s powers!” She jabbed a talon at herself. “Especially mine!”

“I am not copying. I just have true strength! Unlike your master!”

Dark Shadow helped Fumikage stand up, asking, “And, what is that supposed to mean?”

“I’ve observed you both in class, remember?” All Might called out, taunting him. “Young Tokoyami always lets others fight for him, using you for long range or One for All for close up. But the fact of the matter is that he’s never learned to have strength without a Quirk. I, on the other hand, do!”

The hero spread his arms wide, showing off his full outfit, “With or without One for All, I know how to go into a fight and know that I can fight with my own strength. That’s why I’ll never lose!”

“You don’t... that’s not why you never lose,” Fumikage muttered.

Blood started to pour down the front of his face, staining his feathers. His head felt like he was on fire from the pain. But he came to a decision.

“I didn’t want to harm you. Not when you’re in your right mind. If anything, I wanted to show you mercy out of respect,” He paused, spitting something caught in his throat. “But you're not him right now. You’re not my mentor. The real All Might knew how powerful his strength was. He could have decimated an entire city with only a few punches.”

Fumikage could see All Might clench his fists tighter.

“He only used his full strength when necessary. But you’re choosing to use yours in a rampage fueled by your inner darkness and despair. And, I have had experience stopping those before. The only way to truly stop them is through the use of your full strength. And, if you can’t supply your true one in your state, then I shall!”

The raven took a step forward, taking a fighting stance. He spared a quick glance at Dark Shadow on his left and Holy One on his right.

“Dark Shadow, Nana, everyone! We can’t afford to hold anything back! We shall use every power, every means it would take to bring him down! We’ll go beyond!”

The Quirks nodded, understanding the full scope of the situation.

Every bird present readied themselves for the battle ahead.

All of them declared in sync, “PLUS ULTRA!”

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Plus Ultra.

That was the motto of UA High School.

And, as one of its teachers, Sekijiro Kan was doing exactly that... by pounding on the door of his cell as hard as he could for the past 4 hours.

“OPEN THIS DAMN DOOR! AIZAWA, YAMADA, KAYAMA, HANAYA! LET ME OUT OF HERE BEFORE I TEAR YOU APART WITH MY BARE HANDS! I KNOW YOU CAN HEAR ME!”

“We can hear you,” a voice cut through from the other side. “We can all hear you.”

It was from another guard, one of the dozens of guards that hadn’t been corrupted or joined the Neo-Meta Army that Kan had just now heard about. As far as the blood hero knew, he was the only captive hero along with all of the other prisoners.

Vlad King stopped for a moment, laying both palms on the door and allowing the guard to speak.

Furukawa groaned, “Look, it’s bad enough that we’re stuck in these cells, going to die or who knows what else. But, before then, we got to deal with a neighbor that’s just as crazy as the ‘heroes’ who put us in here?”

“What are you implying?” Vlad King snarled, pointing a finger at himself, “Are you saying I was actually planning on sabotaging this whole facility and betraying everything I have worked so hard for, the very society I worked so hard to protect?”

“Ah-ha! Guilt!”

“IT WASN'T ME!" The hero yelled, slamming his hands in frustration before staring at the ground. “Everything in the last few days has been blurry. I was at school one moment and then the next, I’m here so that my other teachers and heroes can tell me that they want me to join their sick cult. Believe me, I’m just as angry at all of this as you are.”

A calm voice cut in. “Tensions are high in here, but for now, there’s nothing more we can do. From what we heard, it’s only the pros on the island that are a part of this operation. It won’t be long before the true heroes figure out what is happening and save the rest of us. I’ve had more experience interacting with heroes so the only guidance I can give us is that we need to be calm and ready for their arrival.”

“Yeah, dude, we know. Your son goes to Shiketsu. Move on already!”

Vlad King sighed, leaning forward on the door to his cell. Trying to make sense of his rage and feelings of betrayal, he thought, “I have no idea what the hell is going on, but the only comfort I can take in is the fact that none of my students are anywhere near here.”

“Sensei.”

The teacher blinked in surprise before he looked back through the small slit of his cell door to the outside hallway.

Reiko was on the other side. With a blank expression, she approached the door as she recognized her teacher’s voice.

“Yanagi, say it isn’t so!” he cried, doing his best not to choke up at the thought of his students breaking bad.

Reiko ignored the implication of his words and held out her hand. “Sir, I came to save you and the other heroes. Stand away from the door.”

Vlad King followed her command, taking a step back, as the door handle to his cell glowed purple. Reiko felt the strain to push through it without the proper codes, but she turned it around, breaking the cell for Vlad King to exit.

As soon as he stepped back into the hallway, Vlad King asked, “Yanagi, how are you here now? The work studies program is suspended, and you only have a provisional license. There’s no way you would be here now without permission.”

“Forgive me, sir,” Reiko apologized with a bow. “But the situation is dire as you can see...”

Vlad King watched her student’s gaze, looking behind him as his eyes widened as he saw who she had come with. He gasped, identifying them, “Shirakumo...! The Hero Killer, Stain...! And someone I don’t know!”

Hario shrugged. “Likewise.”

Oboro explained, approaching his fellow staff member, “Kan, I'm sorry. You know I wouldn’t bring any of the students here unless it was an absolute emergency. All of the heroes here are under the influence of a Quirk and if we don’t stop this now, the guy using the Quirk could change all of Japan. It’s why we need Stain here and some of the other criminals to help fight them off.”

“We're really working with people like the Hero Killer?” Vlad King paused before letting out a big sigh. “This situation is worse than I thought. It’s so wrong.”

Stain held up a finger. “Something’s only wrong if you believe it’s wrong.”

Vlad King furrowed his brow in confusion before he looked at Oboro for an answer. The cloudy man shrugged, “Yeah, it’s heavy. Don’t worry about it. But, right now, we need your help. The good pro heroes are up on the surface, trying to storm this place, but no doubt, there’s a lot more loose villains down here waiting to ambush them if they come down here. Can you get the guards that are imprisoned and protect them so that they can regain control of this place? We won’t be able to do this quickly without it.”

Furukawa spoke up from behind his cell, “Please start with us...”

The blood hero took a deep breath before answering. “Fine, but what about the rest of you?”

“Yanagi has a plan. A really good on-” Oboro paused midsentence. “Well, really, the best one we got. She knows what she’s doing and us here need to protect her. I promise. I’ll do whatever I can to keep her safe.”

Vlad King took one long stare at his student before he nodded, “Understood. I trust you both.”

Reiko asked, “Sir, do you know where Destro is located?”

“Oh, you mean what All for One calls himself now? We heard that he’s taken over the warden’s office on his own, but I can’t tell you where that’s located.”

Furukawa’s voice piped up. “We know where it’s at! Maybe we can take you!”

Suddenly, they felt a chill in the air. The lights above the group began to flicker, going down the hallway and turning a corner.

“It is alright,” Yanagi said. “We have our own guide. The spirit of someone who chooses to help us.”

“Who?”

“It’s unsure, but it would have to be someone with a strong connection to one of the victims in this situation in order to gain a physical attachment to this world.”

Once again, Vlad King turned toward Oboro for an explanation. Hario shrugged it off, “Yeah, that look. Get used to that. It’s been a very weird couple of hours.”

And, so, leaving the blood hero alone to free the captive guards, the four of them continued following the sets of flickering lights. Moving down corridors, hallways, and stairwells. They didn’t know how long it would take. They just knew it was only a matter of time before they were met with resistance.

Sure enough, it happened only five minutes after they left Vlad King.

“YEAAAAHHHHHHHHH!”

In a narrow hallway, the loud sonic wave couldn’t be dodged as the group turned a corner. All four of them were slammed hard into a cell door, dropping hard on the ground.

“Well, well...” Present Mic said, opening his arms wide welcomingly. “Oboro! Wasn’t expecting to see you here, but we can squeeze you in.”

Next to him, Midnight smiled, “Being a little naughty, huh? Well, you came to the right party...” She licked her lips in anticipation.

Cementoss said calmly, “Give up now. We don’t have time to deal with the lot of you. Our leader will bring you to our side very soon...”

Alongside Cementoss, the three corrupted teachers essentially had the group cornered. There was no chance but to fight them.

Oboro opened his mouth to tell them to snap out of it, but to his surprise, Stain was the first to pull him up to his feet. He stepped over the others, moving himself in front of the group with hands clasped as in prayer.

“I shall handle these lost heroes. You all should proceed ahead.”

Hario asked, “Uh, sure, go nuts. But you seem a lot softer than I would have thought. You sure you can handle it?”

“One mustn’t be judged by their strength, but by the strength of their character,” Stain moved his hands behind him as if he was a polite guest. “That is the one truth I clung to as the Hero Killer... and one I shall always keep. Now go!”

“Come on!” Oboro shouted, helping the girls to their feet and pushing them towards another route.

“Oh, no, you don’t!” Midnight yelled, snapping her whip in their direction.

Without even lifting a finger, Stain easily kicked the whip aside as he charged forward into a fight he didn’t want to fight.

Focusing on the task at hand, Oboro and the others moved as fast as they could, upwards to another level of the prison. To where some of the ‘less violent’ criminals were staying. Walking through it, there were hundreds of prisoners all behind reinforced glass, the ones whose Quirks couldn’t do anything to break through them. The lowest levels so to speak.

And, even from a glance, the group could see there were a ton of cells missing...

Reiko pointed at the far end of the corridor, at the light blinking rapidly over the single door. “There! We have to keep moving!”

“Hang on. We got company!” Hario exclaimed, the three of them stopping in their tracks. A large group of villains had started to pour out, blocking their exit.

The ghostly girl pulled out her Eyecon. “We can fend them off.”

Suddenly, movement from above!

Like a ninja, Eraserhead silently dropped down from an upper platform. Before Reiko knew it, she found herself wrapped in his signature capture weapon, struggling to get free. As the hero landed, he snapped out the capture weapon at Hario. The woman tried to duck under it but became tied up as well.

From the other side, one of the villains grinned wildly. “Ah, sweet. Entertainment for us.”

But, right as Eraserhead was about to tie them all up, Oboro rolled swiftly underneath the capture weapon and grabbed the man in an armlock. Both men struggled, but Oboro managed to turn the man away, cancelling his Erasure Quirk on them.

The cloudy man pleaded, “Shouta, stop! You’re being mind controlled!”

Eraserhead grinded his teeth together, snarling at him. “Oboro, you’re not supposed to be here!”

“Neither are you! Last time I checked, this isn’t a cat cafe!”

The capture weapon glowed purple as Reiko activated her Quirk and moved the capture weapon off of them and away from Eraserhead’s neck.

As Reiko helped Hario to her feet, Oboro shouted, turning him away from them and toward the villains, “Go! Get through those guys and save Shu while you have the chance! I can keep Shouta busy until then!”

“But sir-”

“No buts! Teaching assistant rules!” Oboro gritted through his teeth. “The sooner you save him, the sooner Shouta can go back to normal. Now go!”

Oboro was right, Reiko reasoned. They couldn’t afford another moment of hesitation. Not now.

Both women nodded to each other before running past the two of them. Eraserhead tried to lunge for them, but Oboro swung his body further away from them. The Erasure Hero yelled in frustration as he swung his fists forward. The cloudy man was barely able to hold up his arms, blocking them left and right. However, he left himself wide open for Eraserhead to kick him right in the gut.

“Oof!” Oboro let out, falling to his knees. However, he still pulled himself back up and continued to draw his friend’s attention.

The villains started to attack Reiko and Hario with their Quirks, but the teenager had already summoned her belt and placed the Eyecon inside.

“WATCH THIS! WATCH THIS!”

The pale purple jacket flew toward the crowd of villains, slipping between them and knocking them down from within. It soon made a sharp turn, placing itself over Reiko’s body and forming over her new armor.

“Henshin!”

“SACRIFICED! EXORCISED! HEROIC POLTERGEIST!”

Taking off her hood, Emily ran into the fray. The hero roundhouse kicked two villains in the face before her body floated with her Quirk and she kicked another in the face. Stepping on solid air, she kicked rapidly to the side, knocking another one down.

“Hario, stay close to me,” Emily instructed. “I’ll keep you safe until we reach Shu.”

“No thanks!”

Emily looked over her shoulder to see the mother rush forward, delivering two high kicks to a villain’s jaw and knocking him out.

“I don’t need anyone to protect me.”

“Understood,” Emily nodded, focusing on her fight. She floated below the two fists from two villains, slamming the back of her palms into their chests. Like a ghost, she drifted to the side, dodging another attack. She pushed against it before drifting back and slamming her hand on a metallic villain. She kicked another villain square in the gut before she used the metallic villain as a base, bending perpendicular on his back. The hero then launched herself through the air, hitting multiple villains in a straight line with her fist and knuckles.

The villains started bringing out guards’ batons, but before they could use it, Hario caught one by his back. Using his body as a base, she swung her whole body, kicking another villain to the side before tossing the one she was using aside. In one swift motion, the mother ducked underneath a baton swing before kicking high at another villain. As soon as she stood up, Hario brought up her wrists to block another villain’s attack, swinging him to the side.

“Let’s get this bitch!” A villain cried as a whole gang of them started to focus specifically on her.

Hario immediately started running, climbing up the steps toward the exit.

Emily contorted her body in a 90-degree angle to the ground, avoiding a villain’s strike. She activated her Quirk on him, sending him toward the other villains and sweeping them away. She stood back up, smacking another with her palm before spinning around and doing it again.

The hero looked behind her, only to see Eraserhead and Oboro gone. “Shirakumo must have teleported them somewhere... I can’t do anything for them now. Let me finish this now so I can do what my teacher’s assistant instructed me to do.”

Noticing the remaining villains starting to gather together, Emily activated her finisher with the belt.

“Dai Kaigan! Emily Omega Drive!”

Her body glowed with purple energy as she zoomed through the air before coming down to the villains with a flying side kick. The effect on the villains felt like they were burned alive as they fell to the floor, completely knocked out from the energy of Emily’s finisher.

Emily took a moment to gather herself before she looked toward the exit. “Hario, hang on.”

Now back in another narrow hallway, Hario ran towards the nearest archway and flipped backwards off of it, taking down another villain with a mid-air kick. Landing on the ground, she stayed low as she swept a villain’s feet from underneath him. Another villain brought down his baton, but Hario easily slid out of the way of the attack. She caught the man’s arm as she pushed his whole body to the wall.

“Enough games!” the villain yelled. “Fox Tail!”

From the villain’s butt, large bushy tails grew right in Hario’s face. She tried to get past them, but the tails acted as if they were alive, knocking her back to a nearby janitor’s cart.

“Agh!” Hario gasped in pain, the wind knocked out of her lungs. She held her ribs as the man looming over her took his baton and pressed a button on the side. Electric sparks crackled along the surface.

“This is what you get for playing a hero...” A nasty grin split across the prisoner’s face. “And I always wanted to do this to a hero.”

The villain brought his baton back to savor the moment.

Suddenly, the walls around him started rattling. The prisoner looked around, confused by the noise, confused by the way the air became chilly, confused by the way the lights began to flicker.

Hario was alarmed as well. Even more so when she sees between the short time span the lights flickered, something appeared behind the prisoner.

The prisoner hadn’t seen what Hario had seen.

All she could do was stare. She recognized it after all...

The prisoner was suddenly lifted up by his uniform by something he could not see. “What the-?!”

Anyone could see the prisoner was struggling against an invisible force. They could also see that he was losing.

His whole body turned around before he was slammed to the opposite wall, hard enough to break bones. A pained shout escaped his throat. His arm twisted straight behind him, pointing his hand right to the back of his head.

At that moment, Emily floated in from the adjacent hallway, observing the scene.

The moment she came into view, the man dropped to the ground. The lights returned to normal. But, not before Emily was able to get a glimpse of a man in a jumpsuit with an eight-wind compass rose.

“That was...” Hario rasped, pulling herself up. “That was...”

Emily’s feet touched the ground as she approached the mother. “Your husband, correct? My friend told me he was a Pro Hero called the Compass Kid.”

“Yeah, but...” the mother faintly said, shaking her head. “That couldn’t be him. He’s dead.”

“True, but his spirit lives on. From what I can assume, he watched over you.” She glanced up at the lights. “Compass Kid must have been the one guiding us to our goal as he had with his Quirk in the past.”

Hario demanded, a little helpless, “But, why now? Why show up right then? Why couldn’t he have shown up the dozens of times I yelled at God to bring him back?”

“Because you didn’t need him then. You only missed him,” Emily stated, staring at her through her helmet intensely. “Death is difficult to defeat. It leaves our souls sapped of their mortal strength. The only strength they have left is the fire in their emotions. Those few...” She paused, looking down at the Eyecon in her belt. Fumikage’s words were recalled in her mind. “Sparks of their passion and love could pierce the darkness of the realm. It’s how your son came to us. It’s how your husband came to save you. Do you want to continue forward and return those feelings?”

Hario simply stood in place, frozen and contemplative. And Emily couldn’t help but wonder too.

Emily only knew Hario for a short time, but despite being placed under the same Moral Compass Quirk her teachers were under, she seemed like a vast difference, only reacting to the situation. Izuku had told her that she had been silent for the past few months. Was it possible that Moral Compass had a time limit to it, not being as effective over a long period of time?

Or was the kind person Hario was made the difference? Did her love and compassion finally break through the effects of the Quirk?

One thing was for sure. The woman in front of the teenager had all the motivation she needed to do the right thing.

Hario clenched her hands into fists. “Let’s take these bastards.” She looked up at the ceiling. “Hoku, I don’t want our entire family to die here. If you’re taking us to this Destro, then you better watch over me and Shu, alright?”

There was no response. How could there have been?

But there was just a feeling in the air. A feeling that Compass Kid had heard his wife’s wishes loud and clear.

As Emily and Hario continued forward, guided by Compass Kid pointing the way, on another level of the prison, a large portion of the Twice clones were in the cafeteria. Some of them were trying the food (and hating every bite). Most of them were trying to contain a good number of villains and robots in there.

The clones punched, they kicked, they threw chairs, but it was pure chaos all around.

But one person strolled through it almost leisurely, avoiding all of the obstacles in her path as two ‘heroes’ stood in her path.

“Brother,” the masked hero with ten arms said to the horned hero with 6 arms next to him. “Check it out. It’s Hikiishi.”

“The man lady from the League?” Gyges let out a chuckle as he turned around, aiming a small minigun at Magne. “Of course. We would have checked if you were alive, but you were better off dead anyway.”

“I hope this isn’t your attitude in real life,” Magne stated, leaning on the table closest to her. Her fingers touched a lunch tray. “Given your Quirks, one figured you might be more understanding to someone who wanted to become their true self and prove themselves.”

“Oh, we know!” Gyges exclaimed, almost insulted. “The two of us became great pro heroes. Briareos and Gyges. Part of the Mythical Trio. And the moment we lost Cotteous, one of our own, we got sent out here where no one thought we could make up for our mistakes.” He held up the minigun. “But, our new leader, Destro, can show us a new path.”

Briareos chimed in, “Overthrowing the titans of this world is our fate.”

“That’s what I’ve thought too,” Magne paused before throwing the metal tray like a frisbee.

A small boom could be heard as the tray knocked into the lightbulb, breaking the glass. Both heroes looked up to see the lights flickering and shield them from the glass. It was only a moment, but it gave Magne the opportunity to rush them. She slammed her hands on their wrists.

“But I had a moment to reflect.”

Before Gyges could pull the trigger, he and his brother glowed blue.

Through the power of magnetism, both heroes were thrown back with real force to opposite ends of the cafeteria. Briareos hitting a wall while Gyges’s body crashed into the glass counters of the cafeteria.

Magne immediately turned to her right, moving past all of the feuding Twices and robots. Right as Gyges started to recover, the magnetic woman leaped over the counter, snatching the minigun that fell from Gyges’s grasp.

“I don’t need to make everyone suffer,” Magne said, moving backwards into the kitchen and drawing the gun. “Just because they hate me and judge me for who I am, it doesn’t change the love I have for myself.”

Gyges pulled himself up and started to rush her, horns drawn out.

“A lesson I gotta knock into you, honey,” Magne said, readying to continue the fight even when weapons were drawn again.

BABABABABABABABANG!

Meanwhile, deeper into the prison complex, Vlad King kept watch as he peeked out from the room they were in. “It’s clear to keep moving,” he instructed the five guards behind him.

“Thank you, Vlad King,” Furukawa sighed. “Sorry about all of the jabs earlier...”

In the armory, the five guards grabbed their weapons and gear and led the Pro hero down another hallway.

“Where are we going exactly?” the hero asked, looking for any sign of movement.

Shishikura explained, “The robots and defenses here have been hijacked with Destro and his army. If we can get to the computers, we can reset them to their base programming and secure every loose prisoner in the facility. At the very least, we can shut them down and make this easier for the heroes.”

Furukawa chimed in, “The real ones. God, this is so confusing.”

Vlad King nodded. “I know. But I’ll do my best to protect you, to make up for...” he sighed. “Whatever it is I did.” He glanced at their weaponry. “How secure are those weapons?”

The purple-haired guard explained, “We are permitted in using lethal force in this scenario. It’s why we have explosives, sir.”

His partner shook his head. “Praying that we don’t need to...”

The guard stopped mid-sentence as he saw the hallway they had arrived in.

The grey and bleak hallway that should have been there instead was green. Green everywhere.

Gigantic flowers and grass decorated the area in multiple patches all over the hallway. But the one thing that was even more unnerving was the flowers were yelling.

Ke-RAW! Ke-RAW! Ke-RAW!

“What the hell?” Vlad King whispered. He backed away as he noticed the plant extending its neck to snap at him.

Coming into their view, a Twice clone wandered forward from behind the foliage. He was barely able to stand from the massive plant growing on his back. As soon as he saw Vlad King and the others, he called out, “Get away from here!” He bent down on his knees, no longer able to move. “Please help!”

Vlad King called out, “Twice? What’s going on?”

Shishikura’s eyes widened. “Oh no, this is Kunieda’s Quirk.” He turned toward the hero. “Kunieda was arrested for mass murder and corpse collecting. His Quirk allows him to sprout and grow gigantic flowers, spores, and fungus-like plants from people's bodies and thrive off the victim's flesh.”

Twice added, “They work on my clones too! Even if they break their bones and melt, I can’t make any more without growing more of those flowers...” He paused, looking up at the plant on his back. “This is not what they meant when they say flower power!”

One of the guards said as they started to go back-to-back with each other, “This is bad! Our weapons don’t have the firepower to stop this. We need someone with a flame Quirk like Endeavor for this.”

“There is no salvation for you. My garden will grow.”

Coming from the same direction as Twice, Kunieda revealed himself. The plant villain was a tall, skinny man with long limbs, a thin waist, and broad shoulders still in his prison uniform. His eyes were inverted in color, having black scleras and white irises. The bridge of his nose was wide and rectangular, the sides leading up into brows that lack any hair.

Behind him was a massive wall covered in flowers and grass.

Shishikura exclaimed, “His plants! They’re blocking the doorway to the computers!”

“Precisely,” Kunieda drawled on. “Destro left the task of protecting it to me. I can demonstrate my utility to him as a prime assassin.”

Killer flowers stretched out their necks before snapping their jaws where their seeds should have been. Vlad King brought out both of his arms. His tubes drained his blood quickly before they were released, covering the flowers closest to them and immobilizing. But, even still, more began to sprout...

Shishikura held up his gun, firing off wildly at the remaining plants coming after them. “Men, let’s keep the foliage occupied so that Vlad King can defeat the villain!”

“Yes, sir!” The guards nodded before aiming their guns as well.

BA-BA-BA-BANG!

Bullets flew, destroying petals left and right as they cleared a path wide open for Vlad King.

Vlad King charged forward, jumping up as hardened blood started to cover his hands. The hero threw his fist downward, but the villain didn’t even flinch. Instead, flowers stretched out, blocking the attack as if they were whipping vines. He kicked to both sides before shooting a gushing stream of blood at the villain. Kunieda stepped out of the way, touching it. Already, a stem began growing from the ground...

“You fool! All you’re doing is providing me with nutrients!”

Vlad King thought, “I have to keep my distance and use my blood as shields, but I can’t reabsorb it back. Otherwise, I could be infected like Twice is.”

“LOOK OUT!”

The Blood Hero was barely able to throw up a massive bloody shield to defend himself from the barrage of bullets that had just fired.

Shishikura said, struggling to remove his finger from the trigger, “I... I can’t stop firing!”

“That’s because you’re all my puppets,” a voice said behind the guards as he dropped down from above. “I am Dictator. And from now on, you’re all on my strings...”

Vlad King peeked around the shield to see the new villain that had arrived.

Dictator was a short man with an eccentric appearance. His back appears to be severely hunched over to the point where his head is positioned in front of his stomach. In addition, he has fairly long, lanky arms and extremely short legs. He has a round face, with a wide mouth lined with grooves stretching from his bottom lip to his chin. He has small beady eyes with crosshair-like markings surrounding them, and a small triangular nose.

From Dictator’s body, threads were connected to the guards, controlling their every movement. The puppeteer commanded, “Hope you all like vegetables...”

Fear built in their throats as they moved toward the plants, getting within reach of them.

Before he could do anything, Vlad King noticed movement from behind. The blood hero brought up his other hand to shield himself from Kunieda’s reach. But Kunieda still pressed a finger to it, silently grinning to himself.

From the blood, a few spores began to form, spitting out at the hero from behind.

“Ahh!” Vlad King yelled as he felt something growing on his back.

Shishikura yelled as he and the rest of the guards fell facefirst with flowers growing from the spores, “Can’t... can’t move! Can’t get them off!”

Dictator cackled at the panic in the guards’ eyes. “You’ve always joked about putting us in the ground. Let’s see how you like it!”

With his back to the door, Dictator didn’t notice a newcomer to the scene. All he saw was sharp blades from behind, cutting through his strings and freeing the guards. Relatively speaking. They still had plants weighing them down.

Dictator turned around right as Moonfish jumped in and kicked his large body toward the plants. “Didn’t kill you... Stop now... Plants not for prison...”

“You’ll regret not killing me when you had the chance!” Dictator exclaimed, releasing more of his threads. They connected to Moonfish’s limbs, moving him closer to the plants.

Moonfish gasped, “Regret enough... You can’t control teeth tho...”

The tips of his teeth rocketed forward, sharp as knives.

Dictator blinked, completely panicked when he realized he didn’t have any human shields he could use.

Moonfish’s lethal teeth whisked Dictator through the air toward the flowers. Even when plants spewed their spores in the serial killer’s face, he made sure that Dictator got the same punishment.

“Enjoy being fertilizer...”

“No! You dumb plants! You’re not supposed to go after me!”

Cutting through the remaining strings, Moonfish turned and aimed his blades up at the ceiling, reeling himself up above the bloody walls. Right as Kunieda looked up, Moonfish retracted his teeth and dropped down, slamming the bottom of both feet into the plant villain’s face.

“GAH!” Kunieda cried out as he closed his eyes, trying to readjust them.

Moonfish went near the blood wall and tapped Vlad King’s shoulder. “Ready for a team up...?”

For a moment, Vlad King hesitated, unsure of who this newcomer was, completely unaware that this man was one of the villains that attacked his class earlier that year. A part of him wondered whether this was a new hero he hadn’t heard of.

Nevertheless, he shook it off and moved around his wall to join Moonfish. Both of them didn’t have much time left, not before the flowers completely became too much of a burden for them to move.

Speaking of flowers, more of them snapped at them like piranhas.

Moonfish leaped into the air. He spun his whole body around wildly with his teeth cutting through every plant in his path, becoming a human tornado of blades.

“CANDY CARNAGE!”

He fell near Kunieda, slicing through the plant villain’s chest and shoulders. “AGCHK!”

Moonfish rolled to the side as Vlad King jumped into the fray with blood-hardened fists. He landed an uppercut to Kunieda’s chin before kicking his sides twice.

“Doesn’t matter if I make contact now,” Vlad King thought. “All that matters is that we end this!”

The hero jabbed the plant villain’s face with both fists, moving fast like a boxer.

Left! Right! Left! Right! Left! Right!

Destroying another crop of flowers, Moonfish turned back toward the fight as Kunieda stumbled backwards.

The toothy man called out, “Vlad King... Ready to fly?”

Vlad King needed a moment to realize what Moonfish meant before Moonfish used his teeth to push Kunieda up into the air from the ground.

Kunieda flailed about as Vlad King used his blood to launch himself, performing a series of jabs to send globs of blood directly at the villain.

“BLOOD TRANSFUSION!”

With a final punch, Kunieda was defeated, trapped on the ceiling by hardened blood and completely helpless.

And, yet the flowers kept growing...

Most of the guards were barely able to hang on, losing consciousness as the plants kept growing and growing.

Returning toward the guards’ side, Vlad King finally fell in a heap, unable to move anymore with the plant weighing him down.

Moonfish cut off his flower at the stem with his teeth, but the root was still present, continuing to grow. “There has to be something...”

Shishikura gasped, barely able to move his head, “The robots! They have miniature lasers in their systems. If one of you can help me reach them, I can reset them to their default programming and have them come down here to burn the roots from our bodies before they overtake us completely.”

“We won’t... we can’t last that long...” Vlad King breathed heavily. “Plus, the plants are still active. We won’t be able to break the door down fast enough. Not with our current strength...”

Underneath his surgical mask, Moonfish’s eyes widened as he saw some of the discarded grenades around the guards.

His head started to hurt as well. For a moment, a part of him started to think it was from the plants. But it wasn’t.

It was just an idea. He really didn’t get a lot of those...

“Create blood shield...” Moonfish instructed as he moved to grab the explosives.

Vlad King took a long deep breath before he spoke, “What are you doing?”

“You protect everyone... I save everyone...” he panted, gathering as many explosives as he could carry.
“Fire kills plants... make air humid... Big explosion will do that... and break through door.”

“That can also kill us too if we’re stuck in a burning room!”

Moonfish shook his head, pointing upwards, “Sprinklers... Covered by plants... Fire burn them too... Will save you too... Will give you a moment...”

“Even so, detonating that many explosives at close range. The force alone would kill you!”

“I know...”

Shishikura explained, “That plan is ludicrous. Only an insane individual could come up with something like that.”

“I know...”

As Moonfish held up all of the explosives in his arms and started to walk towards the computer doors, Vlad King tried to reach out a hand, but even that started to feel heavy. “Wait... I don’t even know who you are...”

The villain paused in his steps. No one had ever asked that of him before. It was honestly so long since he said it out loud.

Moonfish gave off a toothy grin, showing every one of his weird, bent teeth. “My name is Haru...!”

Without waiting for a response, Moonfish charged forward as fast as he could even when the plant began to regrow on his back. He was only a foot away from the door when he threw them all in the air like petals. He jumped up when they began to group up, releasing all of his teeth.

BABOOOOM!

Explosions reverberated throughout the room, sending the door straight through to the computer room.

Even after summoning his last amount of strength to throw up his bloody shield for everyone. Vlad King felt the overwhelming heat from it. The air was almost solid from the smoke. He could hear the tiny cries of the plants burning.

Kerawkerawkeraw!

Miraculously, Vlad King found the strength to stand, carrying Shishikura over to the computers as he initiated the reset protocols. The hero leaned nearby, still feeling weak, as he looked past the blast door and through the flames as they began to be doused from the sprinklers.

What remained of Moonfish now looked like a piece of charcoal on the floor, unmoving, with his skin completely burnt.

Though Vlad King didn’t know a lot, he knew one thing. “Haru... you’re one of the bravest men I’ve ever met...”

Shishikura finished his last commands on the computer, sending it out to all active robots available throughout the prison. Robots that were working to fight the pro heroes suddenly stopped, moving to capture the prisoners instead. Some of them were moving to Vlad King’s position, to help remove the roots off of the infected plant victims.

Some of the heroes were seeing this firsthand. At that moment, only a hallway away from the warden’s office, Emily and Hario looked on as the robots they were just fighting on, suddenly started shouting and moving past them, “Prisoners. Return to your cells!”

“What the hell just happened?” Hario asked, her grip tightening on the metal pipe she picked up.

Emily explained, “It seems my teacher has finished his job. Time to do our-”

The door to the warden’s office suddenly burst open as Kendo Rappa’s body was thrown right out. Hario and Emily barely had the time to move out of the way before his body slammed against the wall of the hallway. Even though Emily hadn’t seen him before, she could tell that the man was completely knocked out, given injury after injury for the last few days.

“Pitiful...” A voice said from within the glowing office. “No matter how many times I try to give you the gift, all you care about is fighting...”

Emily and Hario exchanged a glance before running inside the office. Hario had to shield her eyes from how bright the man with a blank face was glowing. The man had black flames all around him, smiling with content upon seeing the two of them.

“Ah, more to join my cause?”

Emily demanded, pointing a finger at him, “Destro! Release your hold over All for One and return Shu to us this instant!”

“You’re too late!” Destro exclaimed, holding out his Vistamp. “All for One’s soul is at rest now. And the Vistamp is ready. Shu’s gift is mine now!”

Hario yelled, “Shu?!”

Inside of the Vistamp, the boy’s soul was asleep, but slowly started to stir. It was a single word without sound, but his soul spoke it anyway. “Mommy...?”

Emily raised a hand, “If you want a battle, then you shall get one!”

Several objects in the office glowed purple before they shot headfirst at the villain.

With a flick of his hand, Destro blocked them all, letting them fall instantly to the ground. With surprising speed, the possessed villain pushed Hario to the side as he attacked Emily with spearlike bones generated from his body. The hero blocked each bone as if they were swords. She contorted her body to move past him, but Destro released black and red tendrils from his fingers, slashing her across the chest.

“GAH!” Emily yelled, falling to one knee near Hario.

Destro yelled, “Don’t resist! All for One’s strength is unparalleled. None of you have even the slightest chance to defeat me. As I will now demonstrate!”

He held out his palm. Black flames were generated before they generated into a small tornado.

“DOOM FIRE!”

Destro shot out the tornado at Emily. The girl stood up, holding her ground to block the flames. But even her armor couldn’t protect her from pain. She fell to the ground right as the flames disappeared.

“I am attempting to unify this country into one,” Destro said, approaching her. “Do not stand in the way of that.” He held up the Vistamp over her, ready to press it.

“NO!” Hario yelled, reaching out to grab it. Suddenly, an extra arm sprouted from Destro, grabbing the woman’s wrist. “Give me back my son, you monster!”

Destro tilted his head as the woman tried in vain to kick him away. “Oh, I see. You’re Shu’s mother. Well, may I say you have nurtured your son long enough? It’s time for what’s left of him to help everyone. To spread their wings and fly free.”

At the end of that sentence, appendages in the shape of wings sprouted from his back. Taking Hario with him, he unleashed a muck-looking substance at the ceiling, flying right through the melted hole now present.

Reaching the surface, Destro’s body glowed brightly. “It’s time for my introduction to the world...”

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\///////////////

\\\\\\\\\\//////////

\\\\\/////

Both All Might and Fumikage attacked at once.

All Might held out his hand toward the car on the side.

Hercules fired a rocket aimed at the armored hero. All Might grabbed it out of midair and spun his entire body around, throwing it toward his target. It powered through the air toward the raven.

“SUPER ACID INJECTION: PINKY!”

Before it could strike, releasing the acid stored within, Fumikage cried, “SABBATH SMOKE!”

Holy One brought itself in front of the teenager, morphing from a bird to a human. Specifically, a man with short hair parted twice away from his narrow eyes known as En.

En brought his hands forward, releasing a thick cloud of purple smoke from his body.  The smoke spread throughout the full battlefield, obscuring All Might’s vision. All Might wasn’t able to see Fumikage soaring high above the cloud and land right behind him.

Fumikage raked his hand forward, fingers covered by Dark Shadow’s talons.

But, even without seeing it, All Might blocked the fierce blow with his fists, swatting him back.

“That’s pathetic!” All Might snapped. “I survived far worse than that!”

Fumikage didn’t respond to that. He didn’t have time for that. He only had time to react, to try and pierce the armor only to be met with fists.

The raven grabbed All Might’s elbow, trying to hold him in place.

All Might laughed, “You wanna try to hide from me? Use sneak tactics? Let me show you exactly how a pro takes advantage of the situation!”

The armor on his back and legs unfolded outwards, revealing long back thrusters.

“URAVITY THRUSTER! INGENIUM!”

FWOOOM!

Fumikage threw a punch, but his fist met empty air as All Might sped away into the smoke, faster than the eye could see.

“That won’t work on me either,” Fumikage thought. “On all of us. Be ready.”

Holy One's feature shifted as two scar-like cracks stretched down the left side of his forehead down to his chin.

Both of them stood still, closing their eyes and focusing on their senses. All of them.

Something was coming from his left!

Danger Sense alerted them both fast as thunder.

Holy One switched from En to Nana as All Might launched himself toward the raven. With Float, Nana pushed Fumikage up into a flip, flying overhead of the armored hero. Fumikage channeled Dark Shadow’s whole body into a single fist.

Before All Might could spin around and attack, Fumikage slammed his fist into All Might’s thrusters with a massive claw attack.

“HAND OF FATE!”

WHAM!

The impact of the punch knocked the wind out of the hero, tearing the thrusters completely off as his body slammed into the ground.

Nana whispered, hovering next to him, “A solid hit. That’s good. But we’re going to need to do more, kid.”

Fumikage glanced over at the light Quirk, “Right. We have to bring his weaponry asunder. That’s the only way we can end this.”

“TENTACOLE! FROPPY!”

The raven snapped his head back at his opponent. Two long, powerful mechanical tentacles propped the man off the ground with the suction cops on the bottom keeping him perfectly stable.

“You can’t do anything!” All Might yelled. “I still know one major weakness you haven’t overcome!”

All Might brought out his left arm, revealing a cannon on top.

Fumikage’s eyes widened when he saw the barrel of the cannon begin to glow bright orange. “Dark Shadow, retreat! Quickly!”

“SHOTO!”

The Quirk of darkness returned to its owner right as a stream of bright fire engulfed the raven. Even when they were completely covered by it, All Might didn’t stop, not until he was sure they were dead or defeated.

Inside the fire, Fumikage’s eyes began to sting from the intense heat. He squinted, keeping his focus on swatting the flames around him with wind generated from Holy One’s strength. He pushed forward with his shield, getting closer to the source of the swirling flames and then-

“Watch out!”

From within, Danger Sense alerted the raven as he finally clawed his way out, opening a gap within the fire. He was now within arms’ reach of All Might right as a mechanical tail tried to strike him down like a python.

“TAILMAN!”

Fumikage’s foot kicked high against the metallic tail as he jumped out of the flames, releasing Holy One.

“Lunar Whip!”

Banjo manifested, producing energy tendrils that wrapped themselves around the arm cannon and the tail. Before All Might could react, the Quirk squeezed on them both and ripped them off the man’s armor with a strong tug. The man glared at them falling to the side, completely destroyed, before he snarled at the teenager. His tentacles rolled up before shooting right at Fumikage!

The fifth user held up his hands, letting Blackwhip block every single blow. Both Fumikage and All Might stood completely still, holding their ground as tentacles of darkness and metal collided with each other, creating sparks in its wake.

TF-TF-TF-TF-TF-TF-TF-TF-TF!

“WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?!” All Might shouted over the tentacles. “ONE FOR ALL’S PURPOSE IS TO DEFEAT ALL FOR ONE! IF ANYTHING, YOU SHOULD BE LETTING ME FIX THIS!”

“YOU ARE ATTEMPTING AN TERRORIST ATTACK!” Fumikage yelled. “YOUR PLAN WILL CAUSE MORE CHAOS THAN GOOD!”

“DON’T YOU DARE MENTOR ME! I PROTECTED THIS WORLD FOR DECADES SO SOMEONE LIKE YOU COULD LIVE! SOMEONE WHO DARES TO THINK THAT THEY’RE BETTER THAN ME ALL BECAUSE OF A QUIRK!”

“DO NOT PUT WORDS IN MY MOUTH! THAT THOUGHT HAS NEVER ENTERED MY MIND! ALL THAT IS IN MY HEART IS THE DESIRE TO SAVE YOU!”

“I AM THE HERO! I DON’T NEED SAVING!"

“YES, YOU DO! ESPECIALLY YOU!”

CA-CA-CA-CA-CA-CAW!

Danger Sense was only able to warn Fumikage a second before he found himself shielding himself from tiny laser blasts. Out of the corner of his eye, the raven spots the shape of multiple birds circling around his position from the sky. Only birds don’t glow in the darkness...

“Dark Shadow, go!”

Fumikage gritted his teeth as Blackwhip tore apart the last of the mechanical tentacles, leaving oil as it fell to the ground.

From Fumikage’s back, the Quirk of darkness was brought out into the night sky, extending upwards as she swatted a bird-drone. Dark Shadow shredded her talons as she fought the robots in the air.

However, a few drones powered their wings past the Quirk, evading the attack as they began circling All Might. Sparks of electricity flowed towards the belt, letting it glow...

“ANIMA!”

Fumikage cried, “Those drones! They’re powering him up somehow! Go, Banjo!”

Blackwhip lashed out again, going after the drones as they sacrificed themselves to charge All Might’s belt up to full power.

All Might yanked his buckle off his armor and threw it in the air. It unfolded, becoming much bigger, as it became a fully working motorcycle.

“What the heck?!” Banjo exclaimed, still flailing his whips at the birds.

Dark Shadow, having finished destroying the birds in the air, glanced down to see the armored rider throw one leg over the seat of the cycle and rev the engine. The large headlamp in the front started to glow...

“Fumi, look out!” Dark Shadow exclaimed, racing back to her master.

Banjo felt the unspoken warning from Shinomori and used his Blackwhip to pull back to Fumikage. “Kiddo, you gotta move!”

Both of them weren’t fast enough. They were too far away from Fumikage to protect him in time. Even if they were and Fumikage tried to jump away with Holy One, the enormous light beam that followed was too big for anyone to dodge.

“CAN’T STOP TWINKLING!”

Dark Shadow melted under the heat, forced to hide back in Fumikage, but Holy One attempted to shield Fumikage as the raven was thrown right off his feet. His back knocked against the side of the car before he rolled along the top and fell behind it.

Fumikage let out a low groan of pain. He could smell the disgusting stench of burnt feathers along with what was exposed of his skin...

He had to ignore the pain searing through his back as he thought, “We’re in agony, but the car is resistant... Kudo, I summon you...”

The second user appeared in a flash of light. “I got it. Get ready to use it.”

Kudo pressed his hands to the car right as Dark Shadow clung to Fumikage’s arms. The raven bent down, straining his muscles to push the underside of the car upwards as another laser beam shot in his direction. Though Fumikage could feel the heat around him, the car acted as cover and protected him.

All Might yelled, “I can’t see you, but that won’t be for long!”

The wheels of his motorcycle hit the gravel as the man sped past the raven, moving around him for another blast. Fumikage maneuvered the car around until he was sure the motorcycle was on a straight path to him.

“NOW!”

Fumikage and Dark Shadow threw the car off the ground in a single motion. With the speed shift from Kudo’s Gearshift, the smartcar flew through the air at a deadly speed.

It missed.

CRASH!

All Might had barely maneuvered the motorcycle, twisting its handles so he could evade the car. The hero looked to see Hercules fall upside down on the ground a good distance away from them.

“Ha! You’ll have to do better than-”

POP!

Something slammed its side into All Might, knocking him off the motorcycle. The motorcycle fell to its side as it skidded near Fumikage.

What had tackled All Might was Holy One. Only looking like a man with silver hair tied in a spiky ponytail that went upward and a black bandana over his forehead.

Bruce. The third holder of One for All.

His Quirk? Fa Jin. The ability to build up and store kinetic energy by performing repetitive movements.

This Quirk was trickier for Fumikage to learn a use for. Unlike the others, Fa Jin couldn’t be used on Fumikage exclusively. So, instead, while the car hid Fumikage from sight, Bruce had manifested and began thrusting himself back and forth and stretching. Building up that kinetic energy, when All Might had dodged the car, Bruce unleashed the energy inside him, jetting forward and hitting the hero off his bike and then snapping back to Fumikage like a rubber band.

Fumikage ran toward the discarded motorcycle. The laser light in front had snapped off its fixed position, but it still glowed with power.

The raven brought up the laser and aimed at All Might. As the man turned to face him, Fumikage fired.

TSEWWWWW!

The force of the laser was so intense it knocked Fumikage down on his back. It hit All Might square in the chest with such force it felt like a cannonball. The man was completely covered by the resulting smoke.

Fumikage caught his breath, looking down at the light. It slowly dimmed, completely out of power with it being ripped off the motorcycle. He threw it to the side.

“All Might’s armor might have been made with the same material as the car, but I believe I did more damage to it with my own attacks and the laser was bigger than I thought it would have been... He should be down n-”

“INVISIBLE GIRL!”

The raven’s eyes widened, focusing his eyes on the smoke. A shape emerged from it. All Might’s armor had taken damage from the blast, the bottom half of his armor now ripped apart, showing the frail legs keeping him standing. But a special coating had come off the top half. This resin had coated the armor and shielded him from the intense heat of the beam.

But, after all of that, he was still standing.

The hero threw a fist forward with one arm. To Fumikage’s surprise, the armor snapped off completely, flying through the air and transforming itself into ball-like objects.

“CREATI! GRAPE JUICE!”

Fumikage jerked to the side, dodging them as the adhesive balls stuck to his surroundings.

All Might roared as he continued to throw any spare armor he had, “HOW COULD YOU STAND AGAINST ME?! I MADE YOU! YOU OWE ME!”

The raven ran three steps and ducked his head from more balls. “I know you don’t mean that! You’re simply lashing out! We am not the problem.”

“BUT I AM, RIGHT?!” the veteran yelled. “I MADE THIS WORLD LIKE THIS!”

Fumikage couldn’t help but wince as he now heard the tone of All Might’s voice. Underneath the violent and blind rage, there was agony and despair that couldn't have been from the Quirk. They were there all along.

The soul-crushing emotion that was guilt.

“ALL I WANTED WAS TO SAVE EVERYONE AND LET THEM SMILE! BUT I COULDN’T! AND NOW, EVERYONE SEES ME THE ONE WHO FAILED! THE ONE THAT COULDN’T PROTECT THEM FOREVER! JUST SOMEONE IN THE WAY! I'M USELESS TO THEM NOW!”

All Might bent forward, looking down at his feet for a moment. He begged desperately, “PLEASE! LET ME DO THIS! BEING A HERO IS ALL ANYONE CAN SEE OF ME! IT’S ALL I CAN SEE!”

“THEN, LOOK FOR WHAT YOU CAN’T SEE.”

The skeleton blinked, looking up at his surroundings. Darkness consumed the night without mercy. All Might had lost sight of Fumikage completely. He couldn’t tell left from right. He was completely lost. Even when his helmet had a night vision mode, he still couldn’t see much.

All Might took a defensive stance as he kept looking over his shoulder. He knew exactly what this was.

Total Release. The technique Fumikage had been perfecting for months. To separate Dark Shadow from his physical attachment to Fumikage and unleash it fully while Fumikage fought with Holy One side-by-side.

Here, Dark Shadow had taken the darkness from the sight and grew to the point that it completely enveloped the battlefield.

“I AM DARKNESS.” Dark Shadow’s voice echoed all around him, speaking in a much deeper voice than All Might had ever heard. “I AM WHAT YOU CAN NEVER SEE. YET, I HAVE VALUE TO MY MASTER. MY MASTER SEES VALUE IN YOU. DO YOU DARE PROVE HIM WRONG?”

At that moment, claws of darkness had extended from the ground, slashing All Might left and right.

SLASH! SLASH!

Sparks flew from the man’s armor as the hero recoiled from the attack. He brought up his right wrist covered by a special gauntlet to strike bac-

FLASH!

All Might had to shield his eyes from the intense light.

From up high, Fumikage, with Holy One, descended fast like an angel of vengeance. In one wicked strike, the raven clawed his talons across All Might’s almost entirely armored face, going all the way down through his gauntlet and to his chest.

BA-WHOOM!

An explosion had rocked the space between the two of them as a result of the gauntlet being damaged.

The concussion knocked both Fumikage and All Might away from each other. The sound was so loud it left Fumikage temporarily deaf.

“WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!” Dark Shadow cried as it tried to attack.

Fumikage scrambled to his feet, summoning the Quirk back to him. “DARK SHADOW, RETURN!”

Holy One burst forward, grabbing Dark Shadow. Its skin started to burn as it shrunk down and lost power, regaining the connection to Fumikage. Dark Shadow soon zipped back into the raven’s chest, only bursting out a moment later.

“Fumi, why did you do that?!” Dark Shadow asked.

Fumikage jerked his head forward. “Look!”

Both Quirks turned to see All Might’s knees buckling as he stood back up. More of his armor had been shredded and destroyed. Most of his chest armor was barely hanging on, some of it draping around All Might’s skinny body. His helmet had been severed in half down the middle, revealing the messy tufts of his blond disheveled hair. The death glare that All Might was giving could now be seen.

But, even so, Fumikage wasn’t looking at that. He was paying attention to the gauntlet that still sparked from the visible cut...

“You recognize this, don’t you?” All Might said, breaking through the silence.

Fumikage answered, “That design is based off of Bakugou’s gauntlets, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, it’s equipped with enough power to create powerful explosions to end you.”

The raven shook his head. “If that’s true, then you must take it off! The damage to it is too great! It could end up killing you in the process!”

“It’s just a scratch!” All Might argued, bringing the gauntlet forward and rubbing it with his free hand.

“All Might, please!”

“I won’t let this go! These support items are the only strength I have left, the closest thing to what everyone needs me to be!”

Fumikage slammed a hand on his chest. “You already are! You don’t have to fight anymore!”

“SHUT UP!”

BA-WHOOM! BA-WHOOM!

From the gauntlet, two fireballs shot out, exploding right around Fumikage’s surroundings. He shielded himself from the intense heat but couldn’t stop himself from the force of the explosion throwing him onto his stomach.

Fumikage gritted his teeth. “We have to get that gauntlet off of him through force!”

“How, Fumi? I can’t get close to it. It creates bad, bad light!”

Banjo’s voice chimed in. “Pull yourself together! I got this!”

Holy One popped off, manifesting itself into the fifth user. Blackwhip struck forward like lightning, going out in multiple directions before circling toward All Might.

But, in All Might’s free hand, he drew a weapon from his armor: a black handle.

Fumikage tempered his emotions under the confusion, attempting to deduce what weapon it could have- His eyes widened.

“If All Might’s techniques are based on my class, then there is only one student unaccounted for...”

All Might pressed a button on the handle. A blade popped out the top of it. It glowed with energy before the energy itself began to grow and tripled in length, becoming as long as the quarry!

“DEKU!”

The hero swung the blade around from the left to the right. Even a good distance, Fumikage had to jump backwards just to avoid it by millimeters. Dark Shadow dived back into Fumikage’s body.

Blackwhip flared out to grab it, but to the vestige’s surprise, All Might’s sword slashed through the whips, making them dissipate. All Might raised the sword high in the air as Izuku would when he was transformed, letting the blade follow his movements. Banjo tried shooting out Blackwhip again, but All Might brought his sword straight down, ripping through the Quirk of light.

“AAAAHHHHHH!” Banjo cried as he retreated. The Quirk soon changed back to Holy One, immediately shrinking down and reeling back to Fumikage’s body like a fish on a hook.

All Might took a heavy breath as he managed to put on a grin, declaring, “Young Midoriya’s technique was the one specifically that I would have used to destroy Tartarus from Japan’s shore... Imagine what it can do to you.”

The raven panted for breath, assessing the situation. He needed to engage in close combat with All Might and get the gauntlet off before it exploded. Dark Shadow and Holy One couldn’t be sent out without being vulnerable to his two weapons. They needed to be close to him so that he could access both of their powers. And he wanted all of them to be there. To show their support to All Might just as his Quirks had been there for him...

An image began to form, surfacing in his mind.

Dark Shadow and Holy One came out in sync, moving in opposite directions. Each Quirk’s body moved across one of Fumikage’s arms. Dark Shadow on his right. Holy One on his left. He felt the power coming from both Quirks at once, channeling strength and power from each side. Soon, his arms were completely covered by sentient heads of light and darkness. His fingers were hidden by the hooked beaks and the sharp avian eyes guiding his movements.

Fumikage already had a name in mind for this technique.

Perfect Trinity.

All Might remarked with a hint of arrogant sarcasm, “Using your Quirks as glorified sock puppets? Very scary.”

Yoichi’s voice popped into his mind. “Ninth. You’re concentrating all of One for All’s strength into your arm. This could easily backfire if not done properly.”

“I am aware of the risk. But it’s necessary. We need to strike fast.”

Nana argued, “Kid, are you sure? This requires more coordination on our part.”

Dark Shadow thought, “Fumi and I are always in sync! Just follow what we do and trust in him!”

The voices silenced themselves as Fumikage charged into battle.

All Might lowered his energy blade, sweeping across the gravel and setting what little grass was present up in flames. With a wordless yell, Fumikage leaped over the blade and at his mentor. With Fumikage throwing his right fist forward, Dark Shadow snapped its beak at the sword’s hilt. But All Might stepped to the side, dodging it.

The skeleton swung his sword. Fumikage bent his arm up, letting Dark Shadow stop the hilt by sheer force. But All Might swung his gauntlet arm at the hero backhanded, knocking him away. With the teenager’s back to him, All Might aimed an explosion at Fumikage.

BA-WHOOM!

Fumikage barely ducked out of the way, falling to his hands and knees. But, before All Might could strike again, the raven sped back. Keeping his head low, Fumikage rammed Holy One and Dark Shadow to All Might’s chest, letting their beaks tear away at the armor from in a burst of superspeed.

SMASH!

With a mighty double punch to All Might’s chest, the skeleton flew all the way back towards Hercules.

The raven rushed forward to tackle All Might straight to the car and yank the gauntlet off of him.

But All Might suddenly launched himself up with an explosion, flipping over Fumikage.

BA-WHOOM!

The skeleton then aimed an explosion at the raven’s back.

BA-WHOOM!

Fumikage stumbled forward, slamming his chest on Hercules's passenger side. He rolled toward the fight only to be met with the sight of All Might trying to drive the energy sword straight through his chest.

The raven spun out of the way along the side of the car, dodging the sword as it plunged into the car. He shot Holy One forward to grab the gauntlet, but All Might jabbed another explosion.

BA-WHOOM!

Fumikage was pushed straight back to the car. All Might threw another, but the raven dodged it, letting the skeleton’s fist hit the car’s door instead. The hero turned right as Fumikage grabbed the gauntlet with both Quirks in hand.

Claws of light and darkness attempted to pull it off, but it wouldn’t budge. It was as if it was attached to the man itself.

Dark Shadow thought, “Come on... come on!”

Fumikage thought, “It still has the power to send explosions... There must be some function that allows it to not be removed without the wearer’s permission. We need to destroy it until it’s inoperable!”

“But it still could explode!”

“I know...”

“Look out!”

The raven jerked his head to the side, narrowly avoiding the massive blade. All Might turned the handle to aim the sword straight down. Fumikage gritted his teeth as he had to push All Might away from the car, kicking his foot right into the man’s gut. All Might rolled to the ground from the impact.

“Listen to us! We want to understand!” Fumikage pleaded, keeping his Quirks at the ready. “I know you feel pain and regret for the world, but you’re wiser than I am! Why do you crave to hold on to power?!”

All Might grinded his teeth. “Because I promised her!” His words felt weak and pathetic in the air, but they were enough to stop Fumikage from doing anything else. “My parents were long dead as a child. Nana was the closest thing I had to a mother... Her final words that day were that she was counting on me to defeat All for One, to end the fight for good! She entrusted it all to me and I failed her! All for One is still alive because of me! Everything I have done is all for naught if I hadn’t honored her final wishes...” He clenched a fist over his heart as if he thought it would patch the pain and guilt from spilling out anymore.

Fumikage stretched out his Holy One-infused arm. Instead of throwing a merciless punch, he concentrated.

From his elbow, Nana popped out as a vestige of light (albeit much smaller than it would have been if she was summoned through Holy One through conventional methods.)

Small tears began to flow down from her face. And, yet her face had softened to a smile.

“Toshi, kiddo...” Nana paused, shaking her head. “I said what I said that day because I knew you were something All for One couldn’t beat. Someone that All for One hadn’t dealt with yet. Someone crazy, unpredictable, and unhinged. And, as you can see right now, that’s pretty much still there...” She huffed out a laugh, gesturing to the destruction in the vicinity. “But it was never a sworn vow that you and you alone would defeat him.”

Nana tried looking into her student’s eyes to make him see past all of the guilt and denial he had been feeling.

“I thought defeating All for One was necessary to accomplish your dream of becoming the Symbol of Peace. The one you told me about way back when. But it’s not. You’ve accomplished so much in your time and saved so many lives.”

“But... but, Shigaraki- You had to give up your so-”

Her voice broke. “For a long time, I blamed All for One for that too. For all of the sacrifices I had to make. We all did. And it was necessary. No matter how much it hurts, that is what I believe. But there’s no need for that anymore. Because you did something none of us had ever been able to do before.”

Nana pointed a finger at herself. “You chose me. Every other holder had to choose someone in a moment of desperation, but you wanted to fight by my side long before then. In fact, with your dream, you made friends with so many people, following in your ideals. Gran, Naomasa, Nezu, Sasaki, David and Melissa, your staff, your students...” She nudged her head in Fumikage’s direction. “Your successors.”

All Might stared at her. He so desperately wanted to listen to his words, but Fumikage could see the burning flames in his eyes. He was fighting a losing battle against the effects of the Moral Compass Quirk.

“You don’t have to share this burden alone,” Nana said. “You don’t need to feel guilt anymore. I am proud of your decisions and the man you have become. Don’t throw that all away.”

“You... you never said any of this before.”

Nana replied, “I’m sorry. I didn’t know how to bring it up. And... since I’m kinda attached to the hip here, I didn’t think you wanted to bring it up with him too.”

“I—” All Might choked on the memory of that day he thought of for so long, on the blood in his throat. “I can’t...” The hero finally found the strength to stand up. “I can’t let this go!”

BA-WHOOM!

In a single explosion, All Might closed the distance between them. Nana disappeared within Holy One. Fumikage stepped to the side, kicking the sword out of All Might’s hands. He brought his arms forward, grabbing it out of midair and crushing it with both Quirks.

But, right as he did, All Might sent his free fist toward Fumikage.

Fumikage didn’t focus on it because he was busy disarming All Might. A part of him saw that All Might’s strength alone wouldn’t have been able to stop him.

But, in the split second before All Might’s fist collided with Fumikage’s stomach, All Might activated his muscled form.

SMASH!

It wasn’t as strong as it would have been in the past. And, in a puff of smoke, All Might immediately transformed back to his skeletal form.

But, to Fumikage, it still felt like a car ramming into him.

Fumikage braced himself for the impact, but he still flew all the way to the edge of the quarry, falling to one knee.

“I have seen the darkness of the world for years. I am reminded of death and failure every day,” All Might said. His voice tightened. “But I can’t so easily bow to everyone’s concerns. I’m the Symbol of Peace! I have to be unshakeable! I can’t lose! I have to be invincible!”

“You’re wrong,” Fumikage said, cutting through his words as he stood back up. “Symbols don't have to be invincible. They can only be eternal. And that’s why you must heed my words... POWER OF NINE!”

Fumikage planted his feet firmly in the gravel as he stretched his right hand to the side. Dark Shadow roared as it swirled into the night, enlarging and becoming a true vortex of darkness fixed onto the teenager’s arm.

With his other arm, Fumikage shot it towards Holy One. The bird of light extended outwards, farther than Fumikage had ever done. It latched onto All Might’s chest like an anchor. And Fumikage immediately felt the pain he had when Holy One had first manifested, how stiff his muscles felt yet his heart was beating a mile a minute.

But he stood his ground. All Might tried to blast away the Quirk with the explosive gauntlet, but Holy One wouldn’t disperse.

Fumikage called out, “I’ve lived with darkness since I was born...”

On the bird’s shoulder, like Nana before, Yoichi popped out. He jetted across the trail of light that was Holy One, gliding at a fast speed. When he got within All Might’s reach, Yoichi punched in the man’s direction, summoning all of the strength he could still access from One for All.

SMASH!

“And, I must say that even darkness comes in a range of shades...”

Yoichi disappeared, as the second user, Kudo, followed the man’s actions, punching All Might’s armor and gauntlet. SMASH!

“What’s in darkness can’t be seen...”

Next, Bruce struck. SMASH!

“It can be clear and calm or muddied and dismal...”

Then, Shinomori. SMASH!

“The one that you speak of is the one that you are lost in...”

Banjo slashed with his whips of darkness before wrapping them around his fist. SMASH!

"If you ever find yourself trapped within that darkness, I shall devour it whole.”

En threw his fist forward. SMASH!

"THAT IS MY SOLEMN VOW AS FUMIKAGE TOKOYAMI!”

Nana’s fist flew to the man’s face, hoping to knock some sense into him. SMASH!

“AS YOUR SUCCESSOR, THE HARBINGER OF DARKNESS!”

Fumikage leapt into the air, letting Holy One be his anchor then as he was pulled closer to All Might, pushing past his limits. The arm with Holy One broke through whatever was left of All Might’s defenses.

“AS THE ECLIPSE HERO: TSUKUYOMI!”

The raven clenched his fist tighter and tighter until it became iron clad. With the strength of Dark Shadow, he smashed through the armor, through the gauntlet with all of his might.

“AS YOUR SYMBOL OF KINDNESS!”

SSSSMMMMAAAAAASSSSSSHHHHHHHH!

A sonic boom could be heard throughout the quarry as All Might was blown straight back from the force, destroying the rest of his armor. Before that, Fumikage grabbed the gauntlet with his other hand as the weapon glowed bright orange. It only made it up a kilometer before it created an explosion big enough to shake the whole area.

KA-BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

And then, there was only silence.

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\///////////////

\\\\\\\\\\//////////

\\\\\/////

A light shined bright from Tartarus, so bright it could be seen from the city.

A news helicopter moved away from the freeway as it flew toward Tartarus. “Whoa, are we seeing this?!”

Every hero, prisoner, guard that was present froze in place as they stared at Destro, unable to look away. The light dimmed as it revealed the man inside.

“Everyone. You may see me and believe me to be the villain that defeated All Might. But I am not All for One. I am so much more. I am Destro,” the villain announced, tossing Hario to the nearest wall. His voice boomed all around the prison, on the recording for the world to see. “Like the first luminescent baby, my light will harken the beginning of a new era for the world. Join our cause and be free to use your gifts however you please.”

“Destro, right? If you really want us to use our gifts...” Hawks asked before brandishing a feather sword. “Then, we'll show them right now up close!”

Hawks, Gran Torino, and a Twice clone were the closest heroes near All for One. They had no time to think before they moved. They knew that All for One was not to be messed with regardless of what he calls himself or who was in control. All three of them in sync quickly leapt into reach.

Destro clicked the button on top of the Vistamp before slamming it down. “Enjoy this gift.”

“KUROSAI!”

A holographic square of the rhinoceros’s symbol reached outwards, its light touching the three heroes.

All of them stopped in place, falling to the ground. Their bodies tingled as if they were electrocuted. Each one reflected on what they were doing as new thoughts replaced their old ones.

Destro floated closer to Hawks, whispering in his ears, “I believe that you all are heroes. I believe you are all good people. But it couldn’t have been easy. Have you ever done something that you were ashamed of, something that someone said had to be done all in the name of your government?”

“HAWKS!” Endeavor roared, flying toward him. “ATTACK HIM!”

“All the pain you felt as a hero... there’s someone to blame for that. Someone you were trying to please?”

All of a sudden, Hawks’s head snapped up as he locked a gaze at the Flame Hero approaching them.

“I am trying to create a world where everyone can be free. Where everyone can have the time to do whatever they want...”

Destro heard the heavy flap of wings as Hawks flew on a collision course toward Endeavor, brandishing his feathers to drive into the hero’s course.

“Hawks, stop!” Endeavor yelled, burning the feather-like arrows. “You’re being manipulated!”

“No! If it wasn’t you, my life wouldn’t have turned out like this! I wouldn’t have suffered!”

As the top two pro heroes of Japan fought in the air, Destro moved to Gran Torino as he whispered to the old man, “I’m not him. I’m not All for One, inflicting the damage that he did. But someone as experienced yourself must realize the power he wielded. How it could be used for a force of good. Do you truly wish for it to be held captive, waiting until it’s used by someone truly horrifying?”

Gran Torino shook his head, gathering his thoughts. He looked up to see Majestic powering through the air on his magic circle toward Endeavor and Hawks.

The magic hero was focusing on stopping the fight, failing to notice the old white and yellow bullet coming right at him.

WHAM!

Majestic readjusted his circle, balancing himself out as he swerved out of Gran Torino’s way.

The helicopter attempted to back up as the cameraman tried to get the shot. The reporter inside commented, “We’re live on the scene as pro heroes are fighting heroes using their own powers against one another! It seems that All for One, the villain involved with the League of Villains and the final fight against All Might, our Symbol of Peace, has got his hands on a much deadly weapon. If a villain has this much influence, what hope do our heroes have…?”

On the ground, Twice was on his knees as Destro spoke to him. “Don’t you want to start over? Not be forced into this life that you have now?”

The masked man looked up to see Destro extending his hand to him. “You know deep down that I am right. You can start to think for yourself. I am more than happy to help you build a new life if you join me.”

Twice hummed, nodding along, “You know that’s actually a good point. I never thought of tha-” He immediately got up in a sneak attack, pounding his fists straight through the villain’s face. “SNEAK ATTACK!”

Destro didn’t feel the pain of the attack, but at the same time, he was so surprised that he actually stumbled back from the hit.

“Dumbass!” Twice laughed, pointing a finger at him mockingly. “I know what voodoo mumbo-jumbo you were trying to pull. It won’t work on me!” He jabbed a finger at himself with pride. “I flip personalities all the time! I’m kinda crazy!”

He stretched out his measuring tape. “I’m loyal to Sempai and all of my other friends. The only thing you made me wanna do is imagine how much I want to kill you!”

Twice leapt forward, only to be met with a fog-like substance circling his position and punching him back. He nursed his head from the pain as the fog transformed itself into Ectoplasm. Twice looked around him to see three more Ectoplasms surrounding him.

“Ectoplasm? You have to stop before you do something you regret,” Twice warned before pumping his fist. “Awesome! Clone vs clone fight!”

Ectoplasm in front commented, “It makes sense someone like you wouldn’t appreciate the gift. The negative of zero is still zero.”

“Math?!” Twice yelled before nervously shivering and biting his nails. “But I didn’t study for this fight!”

The teacher to his left added, “I have more regrets than you can count.”

The clone to his right said, “I lost my legs in the line of duty.”

Ectoplasm behind him answered, “I won’t lose anything more.”

“Ah. You feel like you’ve lost a part of yourself. Been there, done that,” Twice paused, bending his back and using his tape to block a simultaneous punch from each of the Ectoplasms. “Best way I fixed it is what my Sempai taught me! That not everything is broken!”

More clones popped out of his fingers.

“We’ll start by breaking your bones one at a time until you learn!” / “Yeah!” / “You can only make 30. We can do infinite so suck it.” / “How’s that for math?!” / “Wait, if you can make 30, how many did I make so far?! / “One. Two. Three... hey, stop moving!”

From her rooftop position, Lady Nagant kept moving her scope from clone to clone, eventually resolving to focus her attention back to the others, aiming a shot directly at Destro’s head. But, in the distance, she spotted something on the tallest building of the island. A swirling blue portal ripping above the roof before it dumped out two bodies.

Oboro Shirakumo and Shouta Aizawa were wrestling each other to a standstill. Both men turned toward the prison yard, witnessing Destro wave his hand and destroy a whole line of robots with a single attack.

KA-BOOOM!

“No... not good... not good...” Oboro whispered, paled seeing the power witnessed before him.

Shouta smiled. “It’s time. All for One’s power is Destro’s now.” He glanced at the cloudy man fighting him. “And, that means soon, you can become Kurogiri again.”

Oboro didn’t know what was more shocking. The words coming out of his best friend’s mouth or the pure conviction in his voice.

Either way, Shouta takes advantage of the situation, kicking Oboro in the gut and knocking the wind out of him.

The cloudy man stumbled back, looking at Shouta with fear and anger in his eyes. “That’s why you’re here?! To try and make me Kurogiri again? Why in the world would you try and do that?”

“Why are you so surprised?” Shouta gave a deadly grin as he pulled out a hidden knife. “You’re the one who said I was Shigaraki!”

“I’m sorry. I really am,” Oboro apologized. “I didn’t mean to call you a villain like that. But you have to open your eyes, man!” He gestured to the whole prison. “This isn’t you! You’re a hero and heroes don’t pull crap like this.”

“You’re right. It’s not me.” Shouta charged with the knife. “It’s even better!”

Oboro held up his wrist to block the knife, bending back as Shouta swung around with another strike. He kept doing so when Shouta kept doing it again and again, even using the tip of his elbow.

Block! Block! Block!

Shouta then swiped his knife in a full 180 arc spin. Oboro ducked, falling to his hands before jumping back to his feet. But the Erasure Hero anticipated this, bending down and doing a sweeping kick to his friend’s legs. Oboro fell to the ground, barely able to roll out of the way of a downward kick.

“Oboro, I’m doing this for us!” the teacher exclaimed. “We all need to be better and this is the only logical solution for that.”

“How is this any kind of solution?” Oboro seethed. “Because, frankly, I really don’t see it.”

“That’s your problem!” Shouta shouted with more anger than Oboro had ever seen before. “You’re an idiot! You act calm when a situation is serious. You’re rash and completely illogical! You don’t think for yourself! Just smiling and trying to act like when something happens, it’s no big deal. But, when you screw up, you screw up big. That’s why you died!”

Oboro’s heart broke after hearing that.

The hero calmly explained, “It’s why you need to become Kurogiri. You’re dangerously stupid for your own good. Someone needs to be looking after you. If anything, I’m doing you a favor.”

Oboro Shirakumo is not an angry man.

As a teenager, he was just a boy with a jovial and casual personality, very prone to making jokes and witty comments with innuendos and taking life in strides. Even after waking up and discovering that he was a living corpse controlled by a deadly villain, he wasn’t angry at anyone. Only upset with the situation and trying to look on the bright side of it all. The last few days were the most upset he had ever gotten, but right then, hearing his friend blame him for his death, something in Oboro snapped.

“SHOUTA, YOU DUMBASS!”

The Erasure Hero thrusted his knife forward, but Oboro slammed his palms on Shouta’s wrist to block it. He then jumped up, kicking Shouta straight in the chest. The wind was knocked out of Shouta’s chest as he rolled back a few feet from the hit.

Oboro yelled, “How I died... It wasn’t anyone’s fault. It wasn’t mine! It wasn’t yours! It wasn’t even that villain who I literally don’t even remember the name of because he’s that forgetful! It’s not anyone’s fault!” He clutched his heart. “It’s just something that happened. Just something that no one could have predicted. I won’t lie. It sucks. But the solution to it isn’t this! Neither is trying to keep me at your side at all times. You’re just one guy! You’re hurting yourself and so many others. I don’t want that!”

“Oboro...” Shouta spit vehemently. “Your death broke me...” He stood up, keeping the knife at arms’ length. “I won’t let that happen again!”

 Before Shouta could charge again, Oboro was the one this time to take initiative, rushing at him with a roundhouse kick.

“Shouta, I’m sorry that I couldn’t be there like you’ve been always looking out for me when we were kids...”

Shouta ducked, blocking another kick coming his way.

“I may have less experience than you when it comes to fighting...”

Both fighters lashed out with a high kick, for a moment, blocking each other’s foot with the other. Oboro kicked high again. In the moment that Shouta went to block it, Oboro changed direction, kicking hard at the man’s chest.

“But I have learned a thing or two in the fights that I have been in!”

Shouta stumbled backwards from the hit but managed to stay on his feet. He moved in for another attack. He dodged Oboro’s next attack, a roundhouse kick aimed at his head. Shouta crouched down, performing a sweeping kick. However, right as it was about to make contact, Oboro flipped over it and then just as swift, kicked Shouta’s goggles, breaking them.

“And I promise you, I’m going to save you...”

The Erasure hero pulled off his goggles right as Oboro twisted his body to the side, jumping up to deliver a flying kick to the man’s chest.

“Because I don’t want to lose my best friend, either!”

As the fight between friends continued, down below, chaos continued as Destro destroyed another wave of Twice clones.

“This won’t do...” the ghost commented to himself before looking up at the helicopter trying to capture it all. “Well, perhaps, the best way to start the revolution is to drop the bridge, release everyone within at once. Let the world see the march to freedom.”

Hario, picking herself up and leaning on the wall for support, noticed the man’s back to her. “This is the only chance I’ll get...”

The woman clutched at her injuries and ran as fast as she could. As soon as she was in reach, she swung her pipe back and-

Faster than Hario could react, Destro turned around and held the woman up by her throat. Hario dropped her pipe as she clawed at his hands, trying to break free.

Looking at his struggling victim, Destro shook his head almost regretfully. “Hario. I can’t kill you. Nor can I attempt to give you Shu’s gift again. Who knows what can happen?” He held up the Vistamp in his other hand, inspecting it closely. “It’s unfortunate, but you shall be our only prisoner of war.”

Suddenly, Destro’s fingers glowed purple before Hario did as well. The woman floated out of his grasp, coming over to Emily’s side. The young girl had just arrived, floating up out of the hole that Destro had created.

With her other hand, Emily reached out for the Vistamp. The device floated toward her, but suddenly stopped in midair halfway there. Destro had activated his power as well. Both hero and villain fought against each other in an invisible tug of war.

Emily yelled, “You may have All for One’s strength, but you don’t have his experience with it, do you?”

“Maybe not fully,” Destro admitted. “But his Meta abilities are that I need!”

BOOM!

A single bullet collided into the side of the Vistamp, knocking it away from both of them.

Emily spotted Lady Nagant on her rooftop, quickly giving her a nod of appreciation.

Hario scrambled for the Vistamp.

Destro soon took to the air. “That power is mine!”

“Not for long!” Emily replied as she flew in his path.

Emily and Destro flew higher and higher about twenty feet off the ground. The teenager gave chase, but even she was no match for the speed and agility Destro presented.

One moment, Destro was out of sight. The next moment, he was right on her!

Emily blocked a swing from one of Destro’s spearlike bones with a punch. And, then another! And then anot-!

When Emily threw her punch, Destro threw his punch at her arm, spinning her around from the force of it.

Emily suddenly felt pain exploding from her flank. She glanced down, seeing the tip of a spearlike bone. The bone went through her armor all the way from her back. She couldn’t help but whimper as she saw the blood pouring out of her like a pool.

Even more so when the bone was immediately pulled out.

“AAHHHHHHH!” Emily screamed as she fell toward the ground, unable to hold her Quirk any longer. The screams and cries around her didn’t reach her as her brain felt numb. She tried to use her Quirk, but she fell too fast.

WHAM!

Emily's body left a small crater in the ground face first. Unable to hold her transformation any longer, the armor disappeared in a flash, leaving the teenager to struggle alone on the ground as Destro floated downward to her.

“You brought this on yourself,” Destro said. “But do not worry. Your pain is only temporary if you are willing to accept the gift.”

Reiko grimaced. She tried to move her arm again, but it tingled when she did. Her vision started to swim. She felt lightheaded. She closed her eyes for a second and yet it felt like an eternity in her own personal abyss.

“Is this... is this what death feels like?”

It felt... peaceful. A word that many had said when describing it, but she thought she would never think of.

But then, she opened her eyes and saw what was happening a few simple feet away from her.

The presence that was Destro loomed over Hario, who was clinging to the Vistamp with her dear life.

The woman was shaking in place, trembling with fear. Gone was the woman angry at the world, instead afraid for what would happen next.

Destro’s jagged fingers were aimed at her, ready to strike.

And, yet something was still holding him back.

An invisible force was keeping Destro’s hands steady, pushing the man back.

It was only for a moment, but it felt like time stopped. The force revealed itself to Reiko, showing the ghostly form of Compass Kid. Although his eyes were blank like before, the hero’s eyes burned with tears, pleading at her silently.

“Please... protect my family...”

It was at that moment that Reiko finally understood.

Death wasn’t something to be feared. It was something to embrace.

When people actually fear of death is what they leave behind in life. Their legacy. Their loved ones.

Compass Kid only appeared when his wife was in trouble, when his son was in danger. Only a real father would break through the restraints of reality to help them.

And Reiko understood too.

When Reiko saw the expressions of the two victims in front of her, she knew she would risk death a thousand times if it meant that they wouldn’t suffer.

Life or death, anyone can suffer.

And, as a hero, Reiko’s job was to stop that suffering.

Reiko wasn’t afraid anymore of dying. But, right then, all she wanted to do was live. To stay and not to depart for the next realm. Because she needed to live to ensure that Shu and his family wouldn’t be abused by Destro and his vision for the world.

Her body moved on her own, answering the call of her own soul.

Reiko’s body glowed purple, floating straight to Destro. The villain’s body glowed before he was flipped onto his back.

In one swift motion, the Vistamp flew straight to Reiko’s hand as she slammed it down onto All for One’s chest.

“KUROSAI!”

Destro immediately floated, readjusting itself to be upright. He held out his hand. A gust of wind blew Reiko back, forcing her on the ground in front of Hario.

“Futile attempt. That won’t work on me the way I am now-” Destro’s body twitched as he grabbed his head in pain. “UNGH!”

He fell to the ground, staggering. His face contorted as if he was driven to madness.

Suddenly, a voice hissed out of the villain’s body, “You dare use my body? I am the demon king! You’re a fool if you don’t think I will find a way to make you suffer!”

The sight of it was terrible. She couldn’t turn away from it, but Reiko understood.

When Reiko used the Vistamp on Destro, it activated Shu’s Moral Compass Quirk. But it didn’t change Destro’s morality. It changed All for One’s morality back to ‘normal’, the evil person that plagued Japan for hundreds of years.

And, as it seemed to be, an evil All for One fought harder for his body than the good version.

But, Destro still cried, "I will win, All for One. You cannot resist!”

Although it looked like Destro was winning, it was clear to Reiko from his still trembling body that he was starting to become exhausted. His sweat. His pale body.

This was her opportunity.

Reiko whispered to the Vistamp, “Shu, Tsukuyomi couldn’t be here, but I am here in his place. I swear to you I will honor all of your wishes...” She returned the Vistamp back to Hario before she glared daggers at Destro. “This body and soul may not stay on this plane forever, but I will not die here on this day!”

The moment she said those words, a small fire ignited, lighting up her passive soul.

And something recognized her feelings.

From her pocket, an Eyecon flew out, dropping directly into Reiko’s hands, much to her surprise. She stared at it as it glowed bright white.

“This is the blank Eyecon that Holy One touched earlier, but it shouldn’t have this energy inside... Holy One must have transferred a small portion of the stockpiled energy of the One for All Quirk. Was it an accident? Or did they know I would need its power?”

Fumikage’s words from earlier echoed in her mind. “I believe you have all of the tools you need at your disposal to stop these spirits.”

Whatever the reason, Reiko knew that it would respond to her. She gripped the Eyecon hard as she pulled herself up to her feet, ignoring the pain.

“Destro.” Reiko stepped forward. “Are you having difficulty ignoring the rebellion inside your new body?” Destro snapped his head in her direction. “It's fitting. Because you shall lose the revolution out here.”

The villain, whoever was in control then, snarled. “My spirit’s strength is a culmination of the corruption this world has created. This body is all of its’ evil. You can’t possibly think you have any hope of defeating me. Even in this state.”

“I do. All it takes is a single spark to pierce the darkness.”

Reiko held out the Eyecon, clicking the side of it, and then dropped it into her belt.

“NINE SHINKA!”

Feathers fell from the heavens. A bright white light circled Reiko’s feet, protecting her as she activated her transformation, pulling the handle on the belt.

“WATCH THIS! WATCH THIS!”

At the sound of the belt’s loud jingle, a bright white hooded vest appeared, flying out of the belt. The hood was pointed outwards with the front of it curved downwards like a beak and the back resembled pointed like feathers. The vest had a red collar around its hood and two golden shoulderpads shaped like wings protruding outwards. The white lapels attached to the front on each side of the vest had two glittery pale purple diamonds with white lines separating them. The outer lining of the vest and the vest were colored pale purple as well.

Destro sent out a stream of black flames at the jacket, but the vest did a barrel roll through it, dragging the flames with it and turning them white.

Reiko brought two fingers pointed upwards before closing the belt. “HENSHIN!”

“HOLY KAIGAN! HOLY EMILY!”

Armor appeared over the girl’s body. An armored helmet with a blank black face plate on front and two slanted silver wavy horns over the forehead. A glittery purple undersuit that appeared at the same time. The undersuit had translucent padding over the torso and the front of the legs. A red outline of an eye could be seen on the girl’s chest and small red lines went down her arms and legs, resembling the pattern of a skeleton’s bones.

The vest placed itself over the ghostly girl’s body, fusing with the rest of the armor. It fit perfectly over the girl as she ripped the hood from her helmet. The faceplate on the helmet now had white from the bridge of her nose down to the bottom and purple going up from her nose to her forehead. Large angular blue eyes pointed at a glare divided both sections of the helmet.

“SOUL LEECH! TRANSFER! GEARSHIFT! FA JIN! DANGER SENSE! BLACKWHIP! SMOKESCREEN! FLOAT! DARK SHADOW!”

The transformation was complete. Reiko Yanagi was now Holy Emily.

“BREAK! ONE FOR ALL!”

Kamen Rider Holy Emily

“I am here...” Holy Emily paused as she ripped off her hood. “For my soul to revel in the darkness!”

PTFEW!

Suddenly, her body glowed white as Holy Emily rushed at the enemy. To Hario, the hero had moved so fast it was as if she instantly teleported from one spot to another. For Destro, he blinked for one moment and the next, the girl smashed her fist into his gut, roundhouse kicked him across the stomach before she brought her foot up in a vertical kick, launching him up like a rocket.

WHOOOSH!

Holy Emily flew up toward him fast as before. But, this time, Destro was prepared.

The villain caught the hero’s fist, delivering a quick jab to her chest before grabbing her vest and throwing her downwards. Holy Emily braced herself to hit the ground as it rushed towards her. However, black sludge soon covered her vision before she found herself slammed into the outer prison wall.

WHAM!

Holy Emily tried to fight back with a few jabs, but the villain crawled up the wall, dragging her body before tossing her straight through. Her body collided with the outer edges of the wall, taking a chunk of it apart.

Wings sprouted from Holy Emily’s back. One made out of light. One made out of darkness. Both of them helped the girl readjust herself.

“I won’t lose!” Holy Emily declared. “Shu’s wish will be fulfilled!”

Destro’s wings sprouted from his back as he rushed to meet her. Their wings clashed together as they fought. “His wish is insignificant! Shu’s gift needs to be shared with the world! To fulfill my vision of the world!”

He brought out his bones to slash at the girl, but Holy Emily grabbed his wrist, wrestling it away.

“This plane of existence deserves better than your vision!” Holy Emily yelled. “Shu is a child. And, for a child, his parents make up his whole world. That love is so strong it transcends the bounds of life and death!”

“NONSENSE!”

Black balls suddenly appeared around Destro’s shoulders. Holy Emily pushed him away a few feet, but the balls flew toward her like missiles.

The hero pushed on the handle of her belt multiple times, activating one of the Eyecon’s attacks.

“HOLY DAI KAIGAN! GEARSHIFT SLAP!”

Since the Eyecon was charged with One for All’s power, it meant that its attacks were variations of the Quirks within One for All.

Energy flowed from the Eyecon to her hand, creating a manifestation of an enlarged hand. She swung her arm as the energy manifestation ‘touched’ each ball. The balls speed was reversed to a negative, accelerating back to Destro.

As Destro fought to destroy his own attack, Holy Emily used the Eyecon again.

“HOLY DAI KAIGAN! FA JIN BULLET!”

Holy Emily aimed a finger gun at the villain and made the motion to fire. She repeated the motion over and over, using the kinetic energy to create a massive bullet with the strength of hundreds of guns. The bullet flew through the air, homing its trajectory to the villain’s chest.

BOOM!

Destro was knocked back, his wings keeping him afloat. He stared at the hero for a long time before he disappeared from sight in a torrent of black sludge.

Holy Emily pulled and pushed her belt’s handle again.

“HOLY DAI KAIGAN! DANGER SENSE GRAVE!”

The hero stayed in one place, waiting for the danger to strike. Only a few moments later, a pile of black sludge came pouring out from below her. Destro flew straight up with his fist outward. However, the very moment that his fist would have made contact, his fist didn’t reach flesh. Instead, he found himself moving through an illusion of Holy Emily. An outline made out of white light. With her superspeed, Holy Emily had moved out of the way with only a copy in place. When Destro was in the spot that the hero was, the light expanded outward before trapping the villain inside in a grave.

Holy Emily then soared toward the grave, faster than light.

But, even so, she wasn’t fast enough. The grave exploded from within, breaking into shards before they disappeared. Destro broke free of the grave as if it were glass, sending an air cannon straight at Holy Emily.

WHOOOSH!

The hero was sent flying into Tartarus’s walls, sliding down and falling onto a rock.

“My army will grow strong! Stronger than what you heroes can attempt!” Destro exclaimed, crushing his fist. “They will fight for true freedom!”

“Your army right now consists of souls you manipulated!” Holy Emily replied, panting for breath. She began to pull herself up. “The feelings that Shu and his mother share...” And the feelings of Fumikage and the vestiges as they entrusted her with the power... “They’re strong because they’re real! They’re united! That’s more than can be said for the powers you stole!”

Holy Emily opened her wings, pushed off the ground and soared fast above the water. Aiming directly at the villain, the hero pulled her belt’s handle again.

“HOLY DAI KAIGAN! BLACKWHIP FIST!”

Energy tendrils wrapped themselves around the girl’s fists as she moved so fast even Destro saw her as nothing but a blur. She unleashed a series of powerful rapid punches at Destro’s chest. The sparks from the impact sent him over to the prison yard.

Left! Right! Right! Left! Right! Left! Right! Left! Right! Right! Left! Left! Right! Left! Right! Right! Left! RIGHT!

Her last punch created a powerful explosion in the man’s chest that sent him sprawling to stay in the air.

BOOM!

Destro tried to recover, but Holy Emily activated her belt again.

“HOLY DAI KAIGAN! SMOKESCREEN FLAME!”

A thick cloud of white smoke spread, covering the whole prison from sight.

Hidden within the smoke, Holy Emily saw through it perfectly with her helmet.

Destro brought his hand forward to launch Air Cannon to disperse it, but right as he did, the smoke became thicker. The smoke wasn’t just obscuring his sight like how Smokescreen originally was. This smoke made it very hard for him to breathe...

He felt his blood vessels failing, blood coursing into his eyes (or where his eyes would have been). He plummeted to the ground with blood pouring out of his lungs.

Holy Emily swooped toward the ground, but Destro brought out his hand, finally dispersing the smoke with a tornado from his air cannon.

The hero banked to the left to keep herself steady, circling the villain until he was in front of her again.

“You don’t… you don’t get it, do you?” Destro coughed. “It doesn’t matter what you do to this body. My dream for the world will still remain alive as long as my spirit does!”

Holy Emily thought, “He’s correct. I need to finish him before he can use the opportunity to jump into another person’s body.”

She pulled the handle on her belt again.

“HOLY DAI KAIGAN! FLOAT SLASH!”

With her original Quirk, Poltergeist, Holy Emily reached out with her Quirk, gathering as much as she could grab without being restrained. Any destroyed robots, any debris, any object that wasn’t nailed down to the prison. She brought them all together above her hands in a straight line as if they were a sword that were bigger than she was. With Float, she flew through the air at a high speed, bringing the ‘sword’ down on the villain’s head.

Even in his weakened state, Destro still had energy left to fight. He rolled across the ‘blade’, kicking it away into a million pieces before he rushed forward. To Holy Emily, it seemed to be in slow motion as Destro swung his whole body, putting all of his weight into the punch.

BAM!

Holy Emily was slammed against the force of the punch, crashing through walls. She felt like she could have flown further from it if it wasn’t for the outer wall of the prison barely being able to stop her.

“Ughhh!” the hero gasped as pain rattled her bones for what felt like a hundred times that night. She whispered, stumbling up to her feet, “One for All… vestiges… If you can hear me, I need more power…”

“We can provide it.”

For a single moment, Holy Emily wasn’t in the prison anymore. All she saw was the numerous, white-eyed ghosts that filled her vision. All of them nodding their heads at the single girl.

They weren’t the vestiges.

They were the ghosts that populated the prison. The ones that had been defeated by the villains inside, especially Destro and All for One. All of them coming here to answer the call of One for All and the ghostly girl that had inadvertently summoned them.

Holy Emily asked, “Are you certain?”

“Bring us justice.”

She hesitated, understanding the weight of their words, before she nodded. “Understood.”

The hero turned toward the villain as he rushed through the hole he had created, but not as fast as before. He was starting to drag through the air, a combination of all of the damage that had been inflicted on him and All for One’s inner rebellion from before. This gave her the opportunity to activate her belt again.

“HOLY DAI KAIGAN! DARK SHADOW LEECH!”

All of the ghosts came together, dropping into her shadow. Her shadow grew, moving to the front. It expanded outwards, becoming three dimensional before it morphed into a beast similar to Dark Shadow but as big as a humpback whale.

With deep blue eyes crackling with energy, the shadow soared toward the oncoming villain. The villain saw the oncoming darkness fill his vision. He strained to fight back against the energy of his momentum, but he wasn’t fast enough to do it in time.

The shadow devoured the man whole, almost savoring the feeling within. But then it crashed onto the ground, letting the darkness wash away like a wave onto the shore.

When the shadow had returned to Holy Emily, the villain’s body was on the ground, completely defeated.

A soul started to leave the body, becoming a vapor in the wind.

But ethereal chains made out of darkness appeared, binding Destro’s arms and soul.

Destro’s soul fought against the chains. “Let me go! This can’t be the end!”

“Any final words?” the hero asked as she pushed and pulled the handle on her belt for her finisher.

“HOLY DAI KAIGAN! HOLY EMILY!”

Holy Emily spread her dark and light wings and flapped, jumping into the air. Rising up off the ground, above the villain. A projection of an eye made out of energy appeared behind her.

“With or without me, this world will be free!” Destro shouted at the top of his lungs.

Nine lights of different colors moved away from the eye projection, moving to a single point at the soles of her feet. Emily’s entire body was bathed in a colorful aura from the energy.

Holy Emily declared, “With or without you, this world is already free!”

She sent her legs forward as she fell towards her enemy with a powerful diving kick charged with all of One for All’s strength she had.

“ALMIGHTY OMEGA DRIVE!”

KAAAAA-BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

A massive fireball of energy erupted from the spot where the hero made contact with the deceased villain’s spirit. Holy Emily landed on All for One’s chest, using his body like a skateboard as they slid away from the explosion.

The hero took one final look at the smoldering flames with the last traces of the soul completely disappearing.

“Destro… may you finally be free of your suffering…”

Holy Emily stepped down as a group of robots and Twice clones approached her.

“Woo! You go, girl!” a Twice cheered before stroking his chin skeptically. “That looked too easy to me!”

“I wouldn’t be able to fully fend off this villain if he was in full control of his body,” she said, shaking her head. “Your highest priority is to place All for One back in his cell before he wakes up. There is more to be done…”

On the rooftops, Oboro landed a kick, knocking the knife out of the hero’s hands and letting him fall to the ground. Panting for breath, the cloud man surveyed the ground below, spotting All for One being carried away by the robots and Holy Emily landing next to Hario.

“Sweet! Yanagi did it! That means everyone will be back to normal fairly soon!”

Oboro let himself relax. Something that heroes shouldn’t do in a fight…

“Look, Shouta, I really don’t know how things were before I came back. How you were dealing with everything…” The resurrected man took a step forward, reaching out his hand for his friend to grab. “You were probably dealing with everything a lot better before I came back and totally threw your whole system out of whack. But I want to appreciate this second chance we have to hang out again and spend more time together and be even better friends than before…” His mouth opened to a broad smile. “Please tell me you feel the same way.”

There was a brief, thought-filled silence as Shouta looked down at his hand. Then, slowly, black eyes looked up to Oboro. He nodded.

Shouta said slowly, “You’re right.”

Oboro’s mouth opened to a broad smile as he grabbed Shouta’s hand and pulled him up. But then, he realized that the man’s eyes were still different. Darker…

“I was better off without you.”

Without warning, Shouta swept Oboro’s legs, kicking the man in the gut toward the edge of the rooftop. Oboro felt the wind knocked out of him as he rolled from the hit.

His body fell off the roof!

Oboro’s hand grabbed the ledge before he was fully in free fall, hanging on by a thread.

Before he could pull himself up, Oboro saw a flash of red as Shouta activated Erasure, stomping his foot on Oboro’s fingers.

The man couldn’t help but think, “You know what? In hindsight, maybe I should have waited a moment or two…”

On the ground, Hario looked over the Vistamp skeptically, trying to find a lid or something she could use to bust it open.

But then, Shu materialized, popping out of the Vistamp to the mother’s shock. To her, her son exactly the same as the day that he had died in the first place. Only translucent and his bottom half was connected to the Vistamp like Dark Shadow’s umbilical cord.

“Mommy, I’m sorry!” Shu cried, sniffling. “I missed you so much I ended up doing a lot of bad things. I- “

She interrupted, trying to hold back her tears, “Shu, honey, I don’t care about any of that. I’m just so happy I get to see you again!”

In the middle of them, Compass Kid flickered into sight with relief in his expression. “Shu? Saki?”

“Hoku?” the mother gasped.

Holy Emily gracefully dropped to the ground. Underneath her visor, she felt a flicker of embers in her heart, smiling at the sight of three of them embrace each other. Even if she was touching two ghosts, Hario still felt herself closing on them tightly, feeling their presence, their warmth, their-

“HELLO?!”

Holy Emily and the others snapped upwards, now seeing the sight of Oboro hanging for his life, dangling off the ledge.

“A LITTLE HELP? ANYONE OUT THERE?! I REALLY CAN’T FLY ANYMORE!”

The teenager took a step forward but felt a pain in her chest as she fell to her knees. Panting for breath, she glanced at her belt. The light inside the Eyecon was slowly fading away…

“The spare energy of One for All has been used,” she thought. “I won’t be able to maintain this transformation for much longer…”

The hero looked up to see the other heroes that could help her class’s teaching assistant forced to engage in air combat with the corrupted Gran Torino and Hawks.

“I need to do something soon. Otherwise, I’ll succumb to my injuries and not be of any assistance any longer.”

Suddenly, Shu floated into her range of vision. Holy Emily strained to turn around as the rest of his family approached her.

The boy asked timidly, “Do you know what else we can do?” He shuffled in place after seeing all of the heroes fighting. “How do I fix my mess? Is there a way I can do it really fast?”

“Actually, there is” Holy Emily replied. “To put it simply, I have heard stories of how these Vistamps are supposed to work. This device that traps your soul currently. Your Quirk may be unique, Shu, as it ties to your soul, but if this Vistamp is destroyed, it would remove all of the effects that your Quirk has done.”

“Everyone will act like themselves again?”

The hero nodded, but his mother cut in, “Whoa, wait a minute! What happens to Shu when you do that?”

“Shu’s wish will be fulfilled. He will depart from this realm as soon as the Vistamp is destroyed.”

“But! I just got him back! I got them both back!” Saki yelled, gesturing to Compass Kid’s ghost with a sad look of understanding. “You can’t do this!”

“Mommy, this is what I want,” Shu replied quietly, looking her in the eye. “You always told me to clean up my messes, right?”

“I know. I know I did, but this is different. This is…” She collapsed on her knees, quietly sobbing. “I just can’t lose you again!”

Compass Kid gave a few comforting pats to her back before the ghost of the hero bent down, gently lifting up her chin and wiping her tears.

“Sweetie, you will never lose me or Shu…” he whispered. “I was always here. Even the times you didn’t want me to be…”

Saki shook her head. “You should’ve… you should’ve been an accountant or something like your dad.”

“Now you’re comparing me to that old fart?” the hero chuckled. “It would have been safer and maybe I would still be with you, but that’s life. It can surprise you in the best and worst ways…” He took her hands gently. “And I’m still so happy that I can guide you to wherever you need to be. Even when I’m like this…”

“You… you haven’t been doing that great of a job, honey.”

“Well, yeah, because I knew you like the challenge…”

The two shared a bit of wet chuckles before pressing their foreheads together.

Shu whispered, “Mommy?”

Saki wiped her tears and looked back at her baby. The ghost replied, “No matter what, you’ll always be my mommy.”

The mother gave him a bitter smile before she wrapped them both in a group hug, squeezing them as tight as she could. The woman looked back at the hero and even though she couldn’t see under the helmet, she knew what Holy Emily was waiting for.

“Just do it… before I change my mind.”

Up above them, Oboro pleaded, trying to avoid looking at how far down the ground was, “Shouta, look, you don’t want to do this! Think about this for a moment!”

“I have,” the hero stated coldly, digging his shoe into Oboro’s fingers. “And, if I’m going to be saying goodbye to you again, I might as well do it on my own terms.”

Lady Nagant, on her own rooftop, left her scope, surveying who else needed her help before her eyes drifted back to the situation with Oboro and Shouta. She aimed her gun again, pausing to reload.

Soon, several things happened at once.

Holy Emily brought her fist forward, summoning all of her remaining strength, as she smashed through the Vistamp, breaking it into pieces that scattered among the ground.

A wave of invisible energy then moved away from the spot the Vistamp was destroyed, sweeping through the world.

Both Shu and Compass Kid faded away like smoke in the wind, leaving Saki alone to hug herself even when she could no longer see her family with her.

Hawks blinked, shaking his head as he returned his feathers to his side. “Endeavor, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean- “

“Focus on that later,” Endeavor commanded, flying down. “We got work to continue.”

On her rooftop, Lady Nagant fired on the Erasure hero. From her position, it would have been so easy to make it a fatal shot.

BANG!

It wasn’t fatal.

Instead, the bullet grazed the man’s shoulder, drawing blood as Shouta stumbled back from the hit.

But there was more. His forehead twinged as the effects of Moral Compass Quirk were swept from his mind. It was as easy as having your mind focused on one task and then immediately switching to another.

His brain replayed the events of the last few days in an instant, only this time, he saw them with absolute horror.

The teacher looked over to see the small sight of Oboro’s fingers letting go of the roof, unable to hold himself up any longer.

“OBORO!”

Shouta moved before he could even process the decision. His hand went over the ledge, but Oboro was too far away from him.

In fact, he saw it just in time for a swirling blue portal disappearing in the air.

With his Quirk back, Oboro fell on his back reaching the other end of the portal. He sat up and looked around his new surroundings.

He was back on the roof of UA.

Oboro collapsed back, remembering his friend’s cry for his safety before allowing Oboro to use his Quirk again.

“Well, Shouta… I guess you can say you finally saved me, huh?”

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All Might didn’t know how long his world was black. He just knew that the darkness that plagued him before seemed to be gone.

When he came to, he was flat on his chest on the rough gravel, laying there like a piece of roadkill. The flames of the battle had died down.

His very first thought?

“What... what did I just do?”

“All Might.”

The skeletal blonde looked at his student and his veins turned into ice.

The explosion from All Might’s suit had knocked Fumikage down from the force, already beaten and injured from the fight. But there was more. From focusing Holy One’s power onto a single point, his arm had suffered from the strain. The raven’s left arm was now a deep shade of purple, flopping around at his side and completely shattered.

Fumikage clutched at the loose skin with his other arm. He looked at All Might, catching his breath.

“Are you... are you...?”

The raven’s voice then died in his throat as his eyes dimmed and his body folded onto the ground, rolling onto his back.

Rage and fear boiled up within All Might before he shouted at the top of his lungs, “F...F...FUMIKAGE!”

All Might pulled himself up only to immediately fall back to the ground.

“That fight was the most I’ve ever had to do in months. I can’t even stand...”

And, yet, seeing the sight of his successor laying on the ground practically lifeless gave him a burst of adrenaline.

“I’ll crawl if I have to! I have to be there for him!”

His bony fingers grabbed the gravel as he pushed himself along the ground toward Fumikage. His panicked thoughts kept going and going, replaying everything that happened over the past few days.

“What... what was I thinking?! How could I hurt him? How could I even think of doing something so heinous?!”

There’s a split moment of pure terror where he felt the pain of every hit All for One had inflicted on him at once, at the prospect of that it was too late.

As he finally got within arms’ reach, All Might was shocked to feel Fumikage grab his hand and squeeze tight. Fumikage turned his head toward his mentor.

“All Might. How are you? I can see it in your eyes. The demons have been vanquished.”

“I’m sorry, my boy,” All Might whispered with tears going down his face. He coughed, letting the blood splatter all over the ground. “I’m so, so sorry. I don’t know what happened. I was... I got so lost in my fears and anger that I just-”

A gentle squeeze stopped All Might momentarily. The raven said, staring at All Might intensely, “Everything will be alright now. I’m here, All Might... I’m here.”

Fumikage’s gaze looked up toward the stars. “The night is peaceful now. All is well.”

“I... I need to call someone, though! You need medical attention.”

Dark Shadow popped out, hovering over both of them, outlined by the stars. The Quirk waved Fumikage’s phone in their view. “Already took care of it, All Might. They’ll be here in a few minutes. Everything else got taken care of. We’re fine now.”

“Dark Shadow...” All Might breathed. “What I said before, I didn’t mean-”

“We know, All Might. We know,” Dark Shadow before her beak curved into a smile. “Just relax and wait. That’s all we can do.”

“And that’s okay,” Fumikage finished, giving another squeeze of his hand. “All Might, will you look at the stars with me?”

All Might’s breath hitched. His body shuddered. He was in pain, but he felt numb to it all.

Soon, he turned his body around so that he could gaze up at the stars as well, holding his student’s hand.

Silence overtook the two of them. All Might didn’t know what to do then.

On the occasions where he had failed to save someone, he would express his regret to the victim’s family. He would vow that the villain would see justice and make it his personal mission that they wouldn’t hurt anyone else.

But, this time, All Might was the villain in this scenario.

Replaying it over in his head, Fumikage had told him that it was the result of a Quirk. But it was more than just that. No matter how ugly those actions were, those feelings were real deep inside.

This wasn’t a problem that All Might couldn’t beat with his fists. This was a problem with himself, one that he had to deal with all alone...

All Might had stayed at UA because he wanted to be there for his student. But just look at what he had done. Maybe it was best to stay awa-

“Thank you, All Might.”

The teacher blinked before looking over at his student. Fumikage let out a slow hum as Dark Shadow was showing something on the phone and giggling.

“For what?” All Might asked.

“Are you aware of the date?”

“Um... no?”

Dark Shadow floated closer to All Might, showing the lock screen on her master’s phone.

[11:59 PM, October 30th.]

Only a second later, the time changed, and it became October 31st. Halloween.

But that also meant...

Fumikage looked toward All Might, giving a solemn nod. “A historic duel between teacher and successor ending in triumph...” He let out a sigh of relief. Fumikage’s beak became the fondest smile All Might had ever seen. “This was the most memorable birthday I have ever had.”

If anyone else would have said that All Might would have called it sarcasm or deception. But he knew just how ridiculous his student could be at times.

All Might managed to let out a watery chuckle and smiled back. The first genuine smile he had not felt in what felt like eternity.

Laying on the gravel, staring up at the night sky without a worry in the world...

That is how the two of them had welcomed in Halloween, the spookiest day of the year.

Notes:

Happy Birthday, Tokoyami.

Thank you all so much for reading. Hope you enjoyed it and I am looking to your feedback to the longest chapter of this whole story.

Had an absolute blast writing all of these fun fights, stuff that I wouldn't be able to do normally. Writing 'Hippie Stain' was supposed to be my favorite out of all of the inverted personalities, but I never thought I'd be so invested in Moonfish that I actually gave him a 'heroic death'. But, then, also, the main characters themselves... the whole conflict between them. I absolutely loved pulling so much of that dialogue out. Oboro vs Aizawa and Tokoyami vs All Might... Probably the main reason I wanted to write this story.

Was also really happy with the timing of all of this. I don't know how many fanfics have managed to write in Armored All Might yet, but with the timing of the anime's dub releasing the final episode only a few days prior, I say I'm very lucky this all worked out.

And, once again, shout out to @hyrnmru on Twitter for the artwork and the design of Holy Emily! Originally thought of incorporating a lot of All Might's design into the Rider, but I ultimately realized that I wanted a lot of it based on just Holy One, One for All, itself. In a way, it works especially since this whole plot is kinda based off of a Kamen Rider movie if you haven't figured that out yet... (Found the inspiration since Den-O kind of had a role for that movie, but ultimately found a much better use for this movie's premise here.)

Though, I bet there are a few of you that might be like, "Hey, wait, shouldn't Tokoyami be here to fight this All for One instead? Like doing his actual duty?" You would say that, but maybe that's what the main series is for... Just saying...

Of course, we have one final chapter to go and well, since this is a Halloween story after all...

Check back in the next 24 hours for the epilogue to this story. Until then, take care.

Chapter 6: Epilogue – Halloween

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

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The processing cell at Tartarus wasn’t used that often. Because it’s fairly uncommon for anyone to be arrested at the prison itself.

But, on that day, seven pro heroes in Quirk- suppressing handcuffs sat along the walls of the large metal room.

Midnight, Ectoplasm and Cementoss simply stared at their handcuffs, reflecting on what they had done.

Vlad King was waiting patiently, staring at the doorway for any news on his students.

Snipe had his hands to his face, acting like he was playing a harmonica at the moment.

Present Mic was fidgeting in his seat restlessly.

Aizawa stared at a nearby reflection, picturing himself in his full hero gear. Specifically, the goggles. The goggles that he had wore after Oboro had given the initial ones to him long ago…

The door to the cell opened and everyone snapped their heads to who had arrived.

Oboro, arms over his waist and bound by a pair of Quirk-suppressing handcuffs, strolled in casually with a wide smile, “Ooh! Pro heroes in jail. It doesn’t get any more outrageous than that! It’s scandalous! Shameful!” He plopped down next to Aizawa with a shrug. “No way I’m going to be left out of that.”

“Oboro?” Present Mic asked. “What are you doing?”

“Well, I knew that I was probably going to get into a lot of trouble for leaving UA so I’m just cutting out the middleman,” the teacher’s assistant replied. “Besides, I figured you’re all waiting for news being stuck in this tin can the whole time.”

Vlad King fidgeted with his cuffs, leaning forward. “How is Yanagi? Is she alright?”

“She, along with Tokoyami and All Might, are okay,” Oboro paused, waiting for the sigh of relief. “They’re at the hospital now and Recovery Girl made sure to told me that they’ll be fine.”

Midnight asked, “What about All for One?”

“He and every other prisoner, including the ones that helped me and the students out, are back in their cells. Other heroes and robots are sweeping the damages done.” He crossed his legs, leaning on the back of the cell. “All’s well that ends well.”

“All’s well that ends well?” Cementoss echoed. “That’s all you have to say?”

Oboro took in the somber expressions of his staff. “Look, I know how you guys must feel about this. That this could have gone a lot worse if me and the others hadn’t helped you out.” He gestured to himself. “But, it’s the same thing when I was Kurogiri. I was not myself and you all understood that everything I did as Kurogiri was because I was under the effects of a Quirk. None of you should feel responsible for any harm that you did here.”

“Well, buddy, it’s not really,” Present Mic pointed out. “As Kurogiri, you were a completely different person.”

“And, so were all of you,” Oboro cut in, adamant about this now. “I know none of you would ever hurt any hero under normal circumstances.”

Ectoplasm argued, “But, you had no memory of who you were prior. You didn’t know any better than to listen to Shigaraki and All for One. We knew exactly the consequences, what we were throwing away, and we still did it…” His head dropped, looking at his prosthetic leg. He whispered, “I don’t know about the rest of you, but those feelings I felt helping Destro or whatever he was exactly… those were real.”

“Nah, they were real for me. But we’re all forgetting something…” Snipe spoke up, sighing a little. “We all know that the distinction between sheriffs and varmints is just a little line in the sand. It’s easy to scuff right past it and not even know it.” He paused, scoffing as a few memories popped up to the surface. “So, when you do, the only thing ya can do is get over it and do what ya can fer the right game.” He looked over the staff he worked alongside. “So, stop yer bellyaching. We’re going to be in here a while and y’all acting like a bunch of greenhorns.”

Gradually, the tension was lifted as the pro heroes realized they wouldn’t wallow in their mistakes any longer. If it was any of their students, they would have been discouraging them from those negative thoughts. Besides, it’s not like they had much else to do.

“Oboro.” The cloudy man turned his head, seeing Aizawa look at him. Though Oboro could tell that the man was back to normal, to him, it looked the burden that Aizawa had carried throughout his life had gotten lighter.

“About what I said out there, I-“

Oboro waved him away. “Save it. I don’t even want to hear an apology. It was just stuff that you thought at the moment, not what you actually meant…” He did his best to throw his arm over Aizawa’s shoulders before failing. “Besides, we both got out what we needed to say. Consider it a teaching lesson from the universe.”

“I really don’t believe the universe would go through all of that just to teach me a lesson.”

“It’s not as ridiculous as some of your ‘logical ruses’ or so I’ve heard.”

Aizawa is not one to smile. Instead, for a moment, he looked at Oboro’s smile then, matching it with a softened look in his eyes that only friends understood.

 “I do have one question…” Narrowing his eyes at Oboro again, Aizawa asked, “How were you able to keep up during our fight? I know you used a staff in close range but your combat back at school was not acrobatic as it was yesterday. And, you were able to get some hits in…”

Oboro blinked in confusion before he chuckled. “Full disclosure? Izuku, man. I know he’s not supposed to, but I asked him for it. He’s been giving me secret training lessons for Quirkless combat, refreshing me on how to fight and teaching me how to defend myself with some new moves.” He whistled. “I’ll tell you man. You got one special Problem Child there.”

Aizawa nodded in silent agreement, but kept a stern look.

It was in violation of Oboro’s parole for him to be left alone with a student.

But, he’ll overlook it for now.

The door to the cell opened, drawing the heroes’ attention.

Principal Nezu stepped through the doorway, followed by a man in a suit and tie.

The man tipped his head to the heroes.

“Hello, I am Detective Kaoru Ichijo,” the man introduced himself. “I understand that Detective Naomasa Tsukauchi was the one working with you all on this case a few days ago. But, he is now under a 2 week suspension for his handling of some sludge villain. I am taking this case over due to being the first one notified of the situation by Lady Nagant.” He pulled out a folder, overlooking it. “I have been working closely with Principal Nezu this morning along with his personal line of lawyers.”

“Just spit it out,” Midnight said, frowning. “Tell us how bad it is. Is Tartarus our new home now? Should we all be fitted for tacky orange jumpsuits?”

The detective closed the folder, eyeing her. “There are consequences to what happened here, but for the most part, none of you will be staying here.”

Most of the heroes let out a sigh of relief they didn’t even know they had.

Nezu explained, “The official explanation that happened here for the public is that a villain that is now contained attempted to incite a violent riot here at Tartarus, using an experimental device to influence heroes. Given video evidence of it being used on Hawks and Gran Torino, the same explanation has been used to justify the rest of your testimonies.”

Ichijo added, “The fact that even in your ‘corrupted’ state, none of you actually chose to kill any of the officers or prisoners, certainly helped put a sympathetic light on you.”

Oboro narrowed his eyes, “Wait, A villain that was contained? You mean All for One?”

“No. To the public, the person responsible for the event was Saki Hario.”

The heroes fell silent, watching his expression.

“It’s unfortunate,” the mammal said, putting his arms behind his back. “However, her Morality Quirk is the best explanation we could provide. Even if it doesn’t line up one to one with her original explanation of her Quirk… She was the only villain that was outside of Tartarus with the opportunity to even conduct something of this nature.”

Ectoplasm grumbled, “We can’t tell the truth here. There’s no way anyone outside of these walls would believe a ghost was responsible for this. Hell, even I don’t believe it.”

Snipe added, “Plus, the state of our hero society is bad enough already with All Might’s retirement. We really don’t want to add more gas to the fire. This is as good as it’s gonna get.”

“It’s just…” Oboro’s voice tightened, shaking his head. “This wasn’t her fault.”

Nezu answered sadly, “Maybe not for this event, but under the influence of the Moral Compass Quirk, she did conduct a lot of serious crimes in the past that she does need to answer for.”

The detective chimed in, “In all fairness, she is the one that volunteered to take the blame. And, I will be working with some of my connections as well to reduce her sentence.” He shrugged helplessly. “It’s not much, but it’s all we can do now.”

“That can’t be it,” Aizawa said doubtfully. “We just get off scot-free for almost inciting Japan into a revolution?”

“You are correct, Aizawa,” Ichijo replied with a sigh. “There is a little more to this deal that we made.”

Nezu stepped forward. “Effective immediately, all of you are under a 6-month suspension from active hero duty.”

It was something that all of them had expected, but it didn’t alleviate the sinking feeling of their stomachs.

It effectively made them all civilians. For six months, none of them could use their Quirks to defend themselves or their students should the need arise.

And, given the situation that just happened, it didn’t leave them feeling hopeful.

If this had happened back at the beginning of the school year, back when the first-year students didn’t have their provisional licenses…

“You will all be monitored as Shirakumo was during his stay at UA,” The principal clapped his hands and smiled. “However, there is a silver lining here. During that time, you will still be able to maintain your teaching duties. (Provided you sign some new legal documentation I created.) It will provide you a great opportunity to connect together as you perform court-mandated community service along with Yanagi and Tokoyami for breaking Shirakumo’s tracking brace.”

“Wait,” Aizawa stood up, looking the detective in the eye. “What about Oboro? How much trouble is he in?”

Ichijo shrugged, “Well, for starters, he doesn’t need to be in handcuffs right now.”

The teachers eyed Oboro suspiciously until the man shrugged with a cheeky smile. “Like I said, I just didn’t want to feel left out!”

“Although the circumstances aren’t ideal,” Nezu said. “I pointed out that in both his initial arrest and today, Oboro Shirakumo willingly surrendered himself to the proper authorities and did not use his Quirk to inflict harm at any point during the period where he was free. And, through testimony, it is confirmed that he maintained the situation at hand to effectively return a bunch of dangerous convicts back into Tartarus.”

Ichijo muttered, “That last piece holds a lot of weight in the government’s eyes.”

Present Mic asked, “So, he’s a free man?”

“Well, he is still considered to be UA’s responsibility and there are limits to this, but there will be no need for the monitoring brace he had previously.”

The loud blonde smiled. “Congrats, Oboro!”

Oboro acknowledged the other teachers’ small signs of praise with a few bows and a smile.

Aizawa turned toward the detective, “So, Oboro will be able to train with his Warp Gate Quirk now?”

“Correct,” Nezu confirmed. “Although, like all of our students, it will need to be in a controlled environment.”

“Then, if we can arrange it with Gang Orca, could Oboro join the remedial course to get his provisional license?”

Oboro blinked, snapping his head in Aizawa’s direction. Black eyes softened with a nod.

“Provided we get Oboro’s permission.”

Nezu gave him a delighted smile. “I’m sure that can be arranged.”

“Shouta, are you sure?” Oboro asked.

Aizawa smirked. “What’s wrong? Afraid you can’t handle being in charge of my other students on your own?”

The cloudy man said, his bright eyes wide in disbelief, “You’re serious…”

“It’s only logical. With all of us under suspension, we’ll need as many active heroes in the meantime. Meanwhile, I can catch up on my sleep while you work to catch up with the rest of my class. You can supervise taking them to their lessons. Bakugou, Todoroki, and-“

Present Mic interrupted, “Plus, if we are free from hero duties, it will make it much easier for us to give any private lessons to catch up, yo!”

Midnight added, “I do agree with this plan. That is, if you want…”

Oboro looked at everyone else’s supporting emotions before stopping at his friend.

Aizawa wouldn’t say it out loud, but this was his apology to his friend for trying to control his every move. Trusting Oboro to go off on his own and giving him a little more freedom to become a hero and chase his dream like they originally planned. It wasn’t much, but it was a small step forward for the both of them.

“Ah, absolutely!” Oboro exclaimed, draping his hands over the tired man’s back and pulling him into a hug. “Thanks, Shouta! There’s the softie I remember!”

“Get off of me!”

“Uh, I can’t! My cuffs kinda got tangled on your hair!”

“How is that even possible?!”

Present Mic volunteered, “Don’t worry, guys! I’ll help!”

But, the blonde ended up making the same mistake that Oboro did.

“No! ACK! What are you doing?!”

Detective Ichijo hid the small smile on his face on seeing the funny mess of entangled heroes. He turned toward the doorway, mentioning to Nezu that he’ll get a guard to help remove the cuffs out before excusing himself out.

Even though the detective had interviewed everyone involved in the incident, he still had a few more questions lingering in his mind. A few details he didn’t want recorded for the case…

Sitting down in the meeting room, the detective looked across the invisible pane of glass at Stain strapped into a white straight jacket and secured to a chair.

Ichijo asked, “According to video surveillance, you went up against Present Mic, Midnight, and Cementoss all at once. You actually defeated them without even cutting a drop of blood… But, after Yanagi reversed the effects of the Moral Compass Quirk, you didn’t try at all to kill them. Is that correct?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Even though the circumstance had changed, I did make a promise at the time not to kill. I wouldn’t seize the opportunity to take advantage of the situation like any other corrupt hero.”

The detective asked, “So, you’re telling me that after everything that happened, you’re not at all questioning your previous decisions, Hero Killer?”

“No,” Stain said without a look of doubt in his eyes. “I do not.”

“I looked at your creed, your philosophy. You killed 40 heroes because you thought that one way or another, you thought they were incapable of change and needed to die. And, yet you still think that? Even after witnessing firsthand a Quirk that demonstrated that anyone is capable of acting like a hero or a villain. I heard you even knew that All Might was under it too and everyone knows he’s a good guy. So, why would you think that?”

Stain leaned forward as much as he could, staring the detective in the eye. “People are capable of change. I do see that now. That Quirk made that abundantly clear. But, just because they are capable, that doesn’t mean they will choose to change. I couldn’t purge every single one of them. But, I could purge the world of the heroes that are supposed to be our examples of good and truth instead acting like licensed villains flaunting their power. And, even if there were innocent people caught near my blade, they were a sacrifice for the greater society.”

The Hero Killer took a deep breath as he sat back in his seat.

“If I ever do leave this place again, my crusade will continue,” he said in a soft hiss. “And, the only way it will end is for a hero to strike me down to create a better society.”

The glass darkened as Stain was soon escorted out of the room. It lit up again when the next prisoner arrived.

“What about you, Magne?” the detective asked. “I’m not on the League of Villains case, but there must be something you can give to help your case. You worked as a hero last night. That has to count for something.”

The trans villain shook her head, giving an expression that to the detective said, “Oh, please...”

Magne replied, “Even if I had anything to give, I wouldn’t sell out Shigaraki. Despite everything that happened, I don’t plan on ratting someone out. That’s not how you get on my good side, now is it?” She shrugged. “And, last night, it was just a one night thing. You get it. Don’t you? You ever had a one night stand?”

The detective admitted, “No, not really. You?”

“No, bitch. I’m too high class for that.”

“Oh, ok.”

“But, I will admit…” Magne paused. “In here, I’m okay because I’m being who I want to be. Who I am is so fabulous that it must be contained. But out there…” She pursed her lips. “Seeing Oboro be who he is now. And apparently doing just fine with people accepting him for who he is…” She shrugged and smiled. “Maybe, if I ever get out again, it’ll be different that time around. Maybe being the goodie two shoes ain’t all that bad…”

After Magne was done talking, Lady Nagant was carted in.

“Kaina, I wanted to inform you that your parole board is aware of your involvement in helping to subdue the riot last night. I’ve been working to get you parole for these past few months, but your actions last night were really instrumental in showing that you’re not the convict the old HPSC tried to tell the world that you were. Normally your lawyer would say it, but I wanted the pleasure. It is confirmed, but you’ll be out within the month. And, you will get a restitution fee for the time you spent here. Enough for you to start your life back up again.”

The ex-heroine nodded, sitting back to think. The detective considered her expression for a moment. “Is something wrong?”

“No, this is great. I do appreciate your efforts these past few months, but…” Kaina sighed. “For the longest time, I wanted a world where there would be no more lies. Just the truth. I didn’t want to live a lie anymore. Not after what I’ve been through. But, last night? The truth itself was so strange that the only way it would make sense was through lies…”

“Maybe so…” the detective nodded along. “But, would you honestly say that you were living a lie last night when you helped save the day and return everyone to normal?”

“I guess I wasn’t…” She slumped in her chair. “Midoriya once told me that the truth of the world was that it was cruel, but it wasn’t cruel enough for anyone not to make it better. I… I didn’t believe it then, but it honestly seems there’s more truth there than I believed.”

“It’s good to hear you say it. Just my opinion, but as long as you know the truth, that matters a lot more than the world knowing it.”

She took paused at the unexpected statement before smiling back.

Ichijo asked, “So, do you have any immediate plans once you get out of here?”

“Not going to join the hero life again. Not at all ready for that,” Kaina paused, looking up at the ceiling. “Honestly, I have no idea what I’m doing when I get out of here.”

“Can I make a suggestion?”

Kaina quirked an eyebrow up as he opened his folder, revealing a small card inside.

“Midoriya gave this to me when he knew I was going to visit you,” the detective smiled. “It’s a coupon for his family’s café, the Milk Dipper. He told me to tell you ‘if you ever need a place when you don’t know where to go, feel free to stop by.”

The sniper hummed in thought. “I’ll think about it. Thank you.”

And, finally once she left, Saki Hario was the last to arrive.

“I can’t say anything you haven’t heard…” Ichijo said. “I’m sorry this happened to you.”

“No, I said it before,” Saki sighed. “No matter what the circumstances, I did hurt people in the end. I do deserve to be here even if it’s for technically a different crime.” She looked around the room with a wistful look in her eyes. “I still gotta set a good example for my boy after all.”

(Although, she will say she was astonished by the amount of efficiency they quickly booked her and threw her in a cell. Guess when your ‘crime’ almost destroyed all of Japan, everyone immediately goes to work…)

Ichijo insisted, “Still, I’ll do what I can for you. Is there anything you need that you can think of?”

“Yeah, when you’re not too busy, could you visit my family’s graves every once in a while?”

The prisoner smiled at him.

“I want to be sure I can pay proper respects to them when I do leave this place.”

“I think Shu would like that.”

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\///////////////

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“EW! This is our community service?!”

The UA campus had been quiet yesterday and today from the lack of teachers and the lockdown Principal Nezu had instituted until the teachers’ safe return. But, what broke it was the cry of Hizashi Yamada in civilian clothes that seemed to fill the campus even without his Quirk.

He, along with All Might and the other ‘convicted’ teachers, sat around a table in the teachers’ dorm. Their looks of disgust and confusion were aimed at the gallon sized bag of loose teeth on the table.

“Not exactly,” the white mammal admitted. “However, this is a project that will give you an idea of what it entails. Consider this your school festival project for our students. You can use it to demonstrate us honoring the concept of redemption.”

The principal gestured to Oboro sitting on the chair to his left. The cloudy man was just as thrilled as his colleagues.

Nezu said, “Listening to Shirakumo’s testimony of his situation gave me this wonderful idea. Moonfish had no family members, no acquaintances. And, as of now, building this statue for him in his memory is his final wishes.”

Kayama asked, “Okay, Oboro. I’m fine with keeping kinky stuff, but where did this even come from?’

“Moonfish had a bag stashed and mentioned it to me before we left for Tartarus,” Oboro explained. “And, I also kinda made an offhand comment to the detective and in the morning, apparently, he’s going to send a lot more from other police stations. Apparently, they all have a good chunk of them collecting evidence from bar brawls, hero fights, and the occasional Quirk accidents.”

Hanaya muttered, “Japan is dirtier than the dried dung of a herd of sick critters.”

Kan nodded sincerely. “I have no qualms about this. We should honor this great man.”

“Great man?” Aizawa echoed with narrowed eyes. “Moonfish was a criminal that helped the League of Villains attack our students.”

“Not last night. The Moonfish I fought with was the bravest man I have ever met.”

“…Really?”

The mammal chimed in, “I hope you don’t see this as punishment. It is through this event that Moonfish lost his life. Your job as heroes is to do right for him as if he were any other civilian.”

“Ok, fine,” Yamada reluctantly agreed. “But, do we even have enough for this?”

Toshinori spoke up, “If we don’t, I am aware that Young Tokoyami can contribute a few from his personal collection.”

Kan huffed out a chuckle. “I know that Yanagi and Kuroiro have some ‘collections’ of their own too.” He glanced over to his colleagues frowning at that fact. “Don’t be surprised. All of you at the beginning once said how eventful this year was going to be.”

Oboro asked, “So, are we doing this now or what?”

“Actually, this project will start tomorrow,” Nezu said in a cheerful tone. “For now, it is getting late and you all have certain responsibilities to your students, don’t you? After all, you all know what tonight is…”

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\///////////////

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“I don’t even think we should be here.”

“Aizawa, I feel the same,” Toshinori said, walking up the steps of Class 1-A’s dorm with a walking cane provided by Recovery Girl. It was temporary until his injuries were fully healed. “However, Young Tokoyami was insistent that we show up. And, after everything we’ve done, the least we can do is swallow a little awkwardness with our students.”

Both teachers were dressed in their Halloween costumes. All Might had taken inspiration from his successor’s tastes, dressing up in a black and red vampire cloak while wearing an undersuit with skeleton bones on it. Aizawa, on the other hand, had initially planned to just wear his hero costume. But, since that’s not allowed now, the only makeshift costume he could come up with was wearing a white shirt and pants with a bunch of toilet paper around him, making him look like an undead mummy.

With one final heavy breath, they soon pushed their way into the transformed Class 1-A dorm.

Webs decorated the windows. Paper ghosts hung from the ceiling. Dry ice from Todoroki’s Quirk let out a vapor that hid the floor from view. Someone’s phone was on, pumping party music into the room. A majority of the tables had been pushed together to be one long row. A black cloth covered its surface. Various bowls of different Halloween treats and candies were available for anyone to grab.

Not all of Class 1-A was present at the moment. But, as soon as the door was opened, those who were present left their stations and approached the two teachers.

Before they could say anything, Aizawa held up his hand up to quiet them.

“I’m sure most of you already know, but there have been accusations against myself and some of the other staff from the past few days. More or less, they are true. We were under the influence of a Quirk and have committed crimes unbefitting of heroes. Though we remain your teachers and promise that all of us at UA will ensure that an incident like this never happens again, you all have the right to remain wary of us if you wish.”

Iida stepped forward, dressed up as Frankenstein. Chopping his hands and asserting his role as class representative, he spoke first.

“Sensei, as a class, we all understand,” Iida said. “We all do things we are ashamed of. If anything, you standing here and continuing on with your roles as our heroes and teachers is a reminder for us all to continue forward even when we lapse in judgment.”

Aoyama and Todoroki nodded to that.

“Agreed,” Ashido said, shrugging her tentacles in her alien costume. “Don’t beat yourself up. We know you would never do that stuff unless someone was forcing you. We trust you.”

Various noises of agreement followed.

Aizawa’s eyes flickered from each of his students before he bowed. “Thank you for the sentiment. We’ll do what we can to show you that we’re worthy of your trust.”

Kaminari threw up his hands nonchalantly before he relaxed his devil pitchfork on his shoulder. “Besides, we’re pretty scared of you already. If you were worried about us seeing you in a different light, we don’t see anything too different.”

Nearby, Jiro, dressed as a nurse, groaned at that comment before sticking her earjack into his ear, letting him fall to the ground. She muttered, “Way to read the room, dude.”

Koda pulled up the visor on his knight costume. “Sensei, All Might, we’re just glad you’re all okay.”

Yaoyorozu, dressed up as a scientist, piped in, “And, we can somewhat relate to your situation. Our performance at the upcoming School Festival is meant to reach people’s hearts and help them have a good time. We’re doing what we can to earn their trust back.”

“Speaking of that…” Bakugou grumbled, crossing his werewolf paws in exasperation. “The damn emo better not have fucked us all over.”

Sero piped up, removing his Twice mask. “You could be a little thoughtful, you know…”

“We didn’t prepare all this time just for him to get injured before our big battle.”

“Concert.”

“Whatever.”

Shoji had most of his hands together clasped together in his blue monk outfit. One hand reached out, speaking from its new mouth. “Recovery Girl said he’ll be fine before then. He just needs rest.”

“Fear not for I am here…”

Everyone’s attention snapped to the back of the dorms, toward the elevator.

Fumikage stopped when he was in everyone’s view, spreading his blue cape behind him like a cloak and showing off his full outfit. “Coming into the room like a hero!”

A majority of the students looked impressed by Fumikage’s outfit, smiling at it, but All Might simply stared at it, blinking with disbelief.

Fumikage was dressed up as All Might.

Two long black feathers stuck up like the Symbol of Peace’s hairstyle. His suit was black with red lines decorating it with white on the side with white cuffs. A yellow belt with a silver emblem wrapped around his waist. Large silver boots went all the way up to his knees.

It wasn’t just Fumikage. Both Dark Shadow and Holy One were also present and dressed up.

Dark Shadow wore yellowish triangular glasses and a mini outfit of plain office clothes. A plain white suit with gold buttons, a white dress shirt, and a red tie with white dots. The Quirk looked like the splitting image of Sir Nighteye, All Might’s sidekick.

As for Holy One, the Quirk was covered in head-to-tail in a white sheet like a ghost.

Multiple students approached them, admiring their costumes. Todoroki, who wore a classic detective outfit, cap and cape, asked, “Is this one of All Might’s outfits?”

“Indeed. Based on All Might’s time abroad in America when he was younger,” Fumikage replied. “Midoriya helped me with the design.”

Uraraka, dressed in an orange and black witch’s outfit, asked, “Where is Deku anyway?”

Dark Shadow chimed in, “Mido helped us put on our outfits and is putting on his now. He’ll be down any minute.”

“Well, you know what?” Hagakure, wearing a robe, belt, pair of black glasses and wrapped up in a mask like the classic Invisible Man, pumped her fists. “How about we get this party started?”

“YEAH!”

The teachers watched the students disperse as the party restarted.

Sato, in a gingerbread man outfit, manned the candy station as several students came over to grab themselves a treat. Tsuyu, looking like a prince, dipped her head into an apple bucket, trying to get the most.

Around the couches, a few of the male students began to show off their pumpkin carvings. Koda turned his pumpkin to the others with a pattern of a spider on it. “This is what I believe is scary…”

“Very amusing, but yours lacks the pizzazz that a jack-o-lantern can become!” Aoyama laughed, showing off a pumpkin with a typical pumpkin face on it. But, he had used the opportunity to put a disco ball inside his pumpkin.

“Jack-o-lanterns are supposed to be scary. Check this out!” Mineta, dressed like Cupid, grinned as he unveiled his jack-o-lantern.

The students leaned as they looked at the pumpkin carved out into a pattern like an exposed brain and a sharp beak filled with teeth.

Sero asked, “Is that the Nomu from the USJ?”

“Well, duh! Can’t be anything scarier than that!”

At the far end of the table, Kaminari smiled devilishly as he turned his pumpkin fast for a jump scare. “Yeah, well, how about this?!”

Koda couldn’t help but let out a squeal by accident as the rest of his students studied the human face carved on the pumpkin.

Sero frowned. “Dude. Seriously? Bakugou?”

“Oh, come on, guys! I can’t think of anyone scarier than him!” Kaminari paused as everyone stared at something directly behind the electric teen. He couldn’t help but feel the presence of a dark aura behind him. “He’s behind me, isn’t he?”

Everyone gave one slow nod to that.

“DIE!”

BOOM!

Aizawa groaned, hiding a small smile, “I’ll take care of that.”

The homeroom teacher walked away from Toshinori toward the sitting area. The skeleton started to approach his successor at the far end of the room but Uraraka pulled him to the side. “Hey, All Might! Want a snack?”

“Oh, uh, of course, Young Uraraka,” he said, not wanting to decline her kind offer.

She brought him over to the snack area as Toshinori picked up a small chocolate chip cookie and bit down on it.

“So, All Might, what do you think of my costume?” Uraraka asked, twirling around in her outfit.

Toshinori replied, “It looks well-done. Did you buy it or make it yourself?”

“For once, I actually splurged on myself,” she admitted sheepishly. “I’m actually doing a couples costume with Deku. I’m the witch and he’s going to be my black cat.”

“Oh, that’s really inventive of the two of-“

The blonde paused mid-sentence. Uraraka, puzzled by her teacher’s sudden narrowed eyes, turned around to see what he was looking at. And, as soon as she did, her eyes widened, matching the sight of Izuku in front of her.

Izuku was dressed as a witch as well. In the exact same dress as Uraraka.

Uraraka asked, a twinge of despair in her tone, “Deku? Really?”

The greenette stuttered, trying to think of any words to pop out. “H-h-how was I supposed to know you wanted to be the witch?”

“Again? Really?!”

“I-I-I…” Izuku gasped, nervously fidgeting in place as she approached him. “We said we wanted to surprise each other when we saw our outfits and maybe we should have actually said what our outfits were. I mean, I didn’t want to assume and I almost never wear these kinds of outfits. I usually wore hero stuff growing up. And the fact that we actually picked up the same dress without us knowing Is almost impossible. The odds of that are astronomical. But, in my defense, no one told me this would be a bad ide-“

His head suddenly twinged in pain as four different voices all shouted at him in his head. They were all different but they all said the same message. “We all told you, dumbass!”

Uraraka reassured, “Deku, it’s okay. It’s okay, really!” She put his hands up to calm him down. “I’m just surprised is all…”

“Sorry, Ochaco, about messing this up but, I do have to say…” Izuku cringed as he gave her a gentle smile. “You-you’re much cuter in this outfit than I am.”

She paused, blushing at that comment as she gave him a gentle nudge. The two of them took each other’s hands, leaning on each other’s shoulders.

Izuku looked up at Toshinori’s face, trying his best not to feel like he was intruding on them. The teenager nudged a head in Tokoyami’s direction, getting confirmation that the teacher wanted to talk to the raven.

“Hey, Ochaco, how about we let All Might go for a moment? I think Tokoyami said he wanted to talk to him.”

“Right, of course. Sorry.”

Toshinori sent a silent nod of gratitude to him before leaving them both to grab some snacks. As he got closer, he could hear more of his student’s conversation.

Fumikage was in a corner of the dorm, still speaking to some of his close friends about his costume.

Looking like a scarecrow, Ojiro asked, “So, I understand why the two of you chose All Might and Sir Nighteye. But, what about Holy One? How does a ghost fit into that theme?”

Dark Shadow piped up, pushing in her glasses, “The ghost can be interpreted as the ghosts of the villains who have been defeated by All Might in combat.”

Fumikage added, “Or the spirits of the heroes that All Might fought to avenge. Either or, my darkness can be satisfied.”

In truth, the only reason the light Quirk had the sheet on them meant that any of the vestiges could enjoy the festivities if they wished and no one would ever be the wiser to their shifting appearance.

Besides, if the past few days were any indication, it was that ghosts were always present.

Ojiro was saying, “Still, it might be just me, but this feels a bit weird. And, did it get bigger?”

“BOO!”

“AHHHH!” Ojiro jumped up from fright from the Quirk coming up and scaring him. “Did you train your Quirk to do that?”

Fumikage responded, “What do you believe?” He then paused, taking a sip of his drink.

“Alright, that’s enough,” Toshinori said, stepping in. “I believe Young Tokoyami could use a moment to get his Quirks under control…”

“Of course,” Ojiro nodded as he along with some of the students near the raven went off to different parts of the party.

As soon as no one else was in earshot, Toshinori asked nervously, “Young Tokoyami, how-how are you?”

“I’m fine considering my injuries. It will take some time to heal, but I shall be alright. What about you?”

“Recovery Girl told me that I’ll need to use this cane for a while…” Toshinori trailed off, not wanting to focus too much on his own health. Instead, he commented, “Anyway, um… your choice of costume?”

Fumikage asked, “Do you like it?”

Underneath his calm expression, the raven had awaited his mentor’s answer for months.

“It’s nice,” Toshinori commented. “Though, it wasn’t what I would have expected of you. Wouldn’t you normally feel more comfortable in something more black?”

“You truly understand me. But, though you forget, I can wear black any day of the year. Today was the only opportunity I had to become you.”

“But why?”

The edges of his beak curled into a soft smile. “You are not the only one that felt inspired to dress like your teacher.”

Toshinori sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck at that.

Dark Shadow floated closer to the blonde, lifting up his glasses. “Hey, what about mine?”

“Oh, it’s quite adorable, Dark Shadow.”

“Sweet! Just the way I like it!”

“Though, I must ask…” Toshinori leaned forward, squinting as he inspected Dark Shadow’s glasses closely. “Those glasses look almost like the real thing.”

“They are!”

Fumikage glared. “You what?”

“I grabbed some of Nighteye’s spares the last time we were at his agency. I thought you knew this, Fumi.”

The raven huffed in disgust. “You shall return them tomorrow, but for now, grab our gift.”

The Quirk’s shoulders saddened from its shameful deed, but followed Fumikage’s orders as the Quirk grabbed a small white box from the nearest counter. Toshinori frowned in confusion as Dark Shadow brought the box over to them.

Fumikage offered, “Could we continue this conversation somewhere else? There is something else I wish to discuss…”

Toshinori raised an eyebrow quizzically, but nonetheless nodded. Toshinori, Fumikage, and his two Quirks soon left the party, finding a quiet spot on the campus. They walked out of the Class 1-A dorm and moved past the Class 1-B dorm, where a similar party was happening inside.

Kan, dressed up a circus performer, was too busy squeezing the life out of Reiko AKA Little Red Riding Hood in a hug.

“YANAGI, THANK YOU FOR SAVING US! I HEARD HOW YOU DID SUCH A FANTASTIC JOB! YOU DID ME AND YOUR CLASS SO PROUD OUT THERE!”

Not being able to breathe that much, the only response the ghostly girl could give was a simple “Ok.”

Looking like the Beast from the classic Disney movie, Shishida chimed in, trying to get his teacher off his friend, “Sir, we appreciate the enthusiasm, but Yanagi needs room to breathe.”

As Kan released his grip, Monoma, dressed up as a goblin, was too busy laughing in triumph. “Ah, do not fret, sir! Yanagi deserves this recognition! Her sacrifices out there have done a service to everyone! I can’t even imagine what Class 1-A must be thinking. Hahahaha-!”

WHACK!

Monoma crumpled to the floor as Kendo twirled her police baton. The Class Rep commented, “He got worked up again, but I will agree that Yanagi does deserve praise for her actions and that she made it back to us safe and sound.”

Awase, looking like a K-Pop star, added, “Yeah. We were all worried with Yanagi’s note earlier. We didn’t know a pro hero from the work studies wanted her help with finding the teachers.”

“Yes,” Reiko said.

In truth, one big lie. Both she and Fumikage would join the teachers in their community service as punishment for sneaking out of UA and breaking Oboro’s tracking collar, but at least, she’ll still stay in school and remain a hero-in-training.

Tetsutetsu, dressed up as some character called “Pyramid Head”, yelled from underneath his mask, “We didn’t get to see the whole thing because of the dumb footage corrupting the moment you transformed. But, we know just how strong Yanagi really was! We gotta see that more often!”

“You won’t,” Reiko cut off. “Akari Tsukimara, the support engineer that made that suit, said it was experimental and that more adjustments are needed, but I reassure you. I won’t fail my class in becoming a hero like the rest of you.”

“That’s the spirit! Now come on! Let’s celebrate!”

Everyone dispersed to different sections of their Halloween party as Reiko moved closer to the window. The teenager took a moment to pull out the Eyecon from earlier and examine it.

Using the name of Akari Tsukimara was another deception. In reality, the energy of One for All inside of the Eyecon had been drained completely so Reiko couldn’t transform even if she wanted to. She would have to ask the raven of Class 1-A to provide his energy again.

However, she wouldn’t do that. Nor would she request Fumikage to permanently surrender One for All to her again.

Reiko didn’t fully understand the true purpose of the Quirk until she held it, why it still needed to be present even after All for One had been defeated. Why it couldn’t be retired even after All Might’s retirement.

Life and death are connected. There will always be something attempting to upset the balance of it, repeating the past to change the future, creating chaos in an effort to bend the plane that all life lived on. Even if they were defeated, there will always be threats present, hiding and waiting for the right moment to bring suffering to all.

Like a rebirthed Meta Liberation Army. If Destro’s words were of any indication…

A hero’s job is to prevent that suffering so that those in death could rest easily, knowing that those in life would be protected.

Reiko understood that now.

One for All could potentially be a threat to that, a growing power waiting to unleash its power when reaching its limits. But perhaps, it wouldn’t.

If this dangerous Quirk was to be in anyone’s hands, Reiko knew All Might had chosen correctly. Fumikage understood the balance between life and death as he saw the balance between light and darkness. That as we all succumb to the fate of death, falling into the darkness, the light of life shall be used to pierce through it and offer salvation for all.

That’s what One for All meant to the world even if only a select few knew about it…

Reiko’s eyes left the Eyecon as she caught a glimpse of Fumikage and the former Symbol of Peace walk past her dorm.

“May your light burn bright, Tsukuyomi…”

Fumikage and Toshinori eventually made their way to a small secluded bench. No one was around. The dark night sky was peaceful with a few clouds not overtaking the moon. The low hum of a park light could be heard as the raven placed the box on the bench between himself and his mentor.

The raven said, “I would like to address something that occurred last night.”

Toshinori blinked. “What?”

“In your panic, when you believed I had perished, you addressed me as Fumikage.”

Realization dawned on the skeleton as the events of last night flashed in his mind. “Oh. I’m sorry, my boy. I didn’t mean…”

Fumikage placed his hand up, interrupting Toshinori, “No, do not apologize. In fact, I would like you to continue with that.”

The man gulped. “Oh, um, ok then.”

Dark Shadow piped up, “And… if you’re okay with that, then can the both of us call you not All Might anymore?”

“Huh?”

Fumikage explained, “Your hero identity is a defining aspect of your life. It is something no one shall ever forget. However, it is not all that you are. We would like to remind you that you are more than that.”

Both raven and Quirk bowed their heads.

“With your permission, may we call you Toshinori?”

Toshinori choked on blood, coughing some of it up into his hand. But, still, tears flowed from his eyes as he smiled.

“Of course, you can, Young To- Young Fumikage.”

Dark Shadow cheered, “Yay! Thank you, Old Toshi!”

Fumikage snapped his head toward his Quirk. “Dark Shadow! That’s insensitive.”

“I thought it would be funny!”

Toshinori let out a loud chuckle at the both of them, wiping away his tears. “It did make me smile…” He let out a healthy sigh as he looked down at the box. “So, what is this for?”

Fumikage and Dark Shadow recomposed themselves. Toshinori saw a small twinkle in their eyes. “Why don’t you take a look?”

The blonde reached over, opening the box.

Inside the box, there was a small plate of an apple pie along with a small cup with green and white ice cream mixed in it and a few loaves of bread stylized like turtle shells. Eating utensils and napkins divided the box in two.

The raven explained, “I am aware that you are fond of the cedar trees from Yakushima.” He pointed at the ice cream. “I worked with Sato and Recovery Girl to create an ice cream with that flavor. One where you’ll be able to eat it even in your injured state.” His finger moved to the bread. “From what I have heard, turtle watching is also quite common on Yakushima as well.”

Dark Shadow pointed at the pie. “And, in case you didn’t like any of those, you can never go wrong with apples!”

“What.. what’s the occasion?” Toshinori asked, raising his eyebrows. “These aren’t usual Halloween treats now, are they?”

Fumikage replied, “In all of the business we had to attend to, we missed October 30th and I felt like it’s time to establish a celebration for that day.”

Toshinori blinked. “Oh? You’re finally lifting your ban on celebrating your birthday?”

“Absolutely not,” Fumikage immediately responded with a look of disgust at the thought.

The former hero couldn’t help but shudder at the sight of his student’s disapproval. “Then what?”

“October 30th was the day that served as a reminder to all of us,” Fumikage said solemnly, lifting his eyes to stare into Toshinori’s. “Us One for All holders share a connection unlike any other. We share our power with another, but we also should share our burdens as well. We are not alone in this war against the darkness. We are not invincible. Let us use October 30th as a reminder of our legendary battle. To let our bond become stronger over time just like our power. Our friendship.”

“My boy…” Toshinori breathed. Before he even realized he moved, his student was in his arms. Fumikage then pulled his arms around him. The hero let out a watery chuckle. He whispered through his tears, “That’s a great idea… I’m so proud of you.”

Soon, Dark Shadow and Holy One joined the hug. Toshinori felt the warm buzz of One for All along the skin. The power. The energy. But, there was something else…

Toshinori glanced at the Quirk of light as it lifted up its sheet, revealing Nana inside with a smile.

The feeling he had of seeing her smile at him again made him feel 100 times more powerful than he ever felt with One for All.

Fumikage and Toshinori released each other from the hug as they began to dive into the treats the raven had brought. The hero took one spoonful of the ice cream, humming in delight from how delicious it was.

Toshinori looked at his successor for a moment, smiling softly. “Symbol of Kindness, huh?”

Fumikage blinked, focusing his attention back to his teacher. “Ah, yes.”

“It really suits you.”

While Dark Shadow gleamed from the praise, the raven silently hummed to himself, giving a single nod in appreciation.

That celebration lasted for an hour until they returned to the Halloween party at the dorms, celebrating until the clock struck midnight.

Because that’s what Halloween was.

Halloween was a day to remind us of all we lost.

Friends and family.

A day where your fears come to life.

Sometimes it can mean losing a friend again after being reunited…

Sometimes it can mean pondering what death truly means…

Sometimes it can mean regretting the loss of your dream…

But, for Toshinori Yagi, the great Symbol of Peace, his fear was that he wouldn’t be of use anymore as a hero. With his Quirk gone, there was nothing left for him to do.

But, he was proven wrong.

Halloween was also a day for someone to transform themselves into their ideal self.

For Toshinori Yagi, his ideal self was no longer All Might.

Instead, being a friend to his successor was more than enough.

Notes:

Thank you all so much for reading! Hope you enjoyed! Looking forward to your feedback!

Now that this story's done, let me finally give you an update to the main story, "My Academia Climax!", and if the Overhaul Arc is finished or not!

It's not.

I've been writing consistently these past few months and I just now got to the actual fight itself with Overhaul. I don't know how long it'll take to write the planned ending I was waiting for.

However!

Regardless of whether it's done or not, I plan on posting chapters for it again at the start of the new year, January 1st 2025, for every Wednesday until I run out of chapters. People have waited long enough but I hope they can last these next two months. Trust me when I say that once I start posting, you are going to realize EXACTLY why it took me so long to write it all down...

Until then, stay safe and have a Happy Halloween!

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