Many things happened after the pro teachers' arrival at the USJ.
Of course, the provision of relief and reinforcements to the students still fighting in their respective zones was the most immediate occurrence, but more than that, their actions humbled Class 1-A for what must have been the umpteenth time that day. Aizawa and Thirteen had displayed courage, drive, and valor in spades – to speak nothing of All Might's titanic conflict – but every other pro also proved themselves to possess an equally stalwart nature within moments of their arrival. As a result, Class 1-A was given yet another reminder of how far they had to go to become pros.
After the Pro Heroes got to work, it was no surprise when the lingering dregs of the League were all swept away like ants. Any villains who remained active in zones alongside the still-scattered students stood no chance against their pro adversaries. Meanwhile, the zones that had students who had escaped from villains were given another once-over with the kids that had been dropped there in the first place and the villains who laid defeated there were taken into custody.
It was also soon realized, thanks to Todoroki's observations, that the USJ was the only place that had been attacked. After all, if U.A. itself had been under siege, such a large group of pros such as the one that had come to reinforce them wouldn't have been as quick to arrive on the scene.
Jomei used that particular nugget of information to distract himself as much as possible as he and Present Mic swept through the downpour zone. It was small solace, to be sure, but it was a welcome distraction to him as the villain cleanup progressed. It let him ignore the mental itch that was gnawing away at him just that little bit longer.
When he and Present Mic completed their tour-slash-sweep, the pro dismissed him, saying he could handle the rest. Afterward, Jomei was given a swift debrief from the police on-scene, similar to the rest of Class 1-A, and was more-or-less left to his own devices. He would've sought out company, but many students were still being debriefed, helping pros inside, or discussing what had transpired during the events just a short time ago.
Looking around, Jomei saw Denki and Kyoka divulging the details of their exploits with Iida, the former embellishing his own heroism while the latter kept him in check. Tokoyami was occupied in discussing the time he spent in the downpour zone with Koda and Kirishima. Even Akiko was busy with Ashido, the latter assailing her with the details of everything that had transpired between Kurogiri and Thirteen.
It left Jomei feeling somewhat alone, with only his thoughts, so long repressed during the League's attack as it occurred, to keep him company.
Which happened to be the worst-case scenario for him right now.
Even if the crisis was firmly under control, his heart still reeled from the chaos. They'd won in the end, sure, but it didn't change the reality that Aizawa had nearly died and was now being rushed to a hospital for treatment by Recovery Girl. Evidently, even All Might needed some medical attention because he too had been ushered out of the USJ without Jomei even so much as catching a glimpse of him.
Both living pillars of what U.A. symbolized.
Both now hospitalized.
The knowledge that they were being sent to one of the most capable doctors in Japan did little to alleviate the tension mounting in Jomei's shoulders. He still knew quite well why he hadn't interfered in either of his teachers' fights, but it didn't change how useless he felt.
But the thing that was stressing him out the most wasn't what had already transpired with people he'd only known a relatively short period of time; it was what he was realizing about someone he'd known for years.
Someone who had saved his life multiple times that day and someone who showed more care for his well-being than even he himself possessed at times.
It was then, as his thoughts finally caught up with him that Jomei wandered towards an isolated light post to escape the confusion around him. With the police keeping an eye on the students, he couldn't go further, so he instead closed his eyes and let his head fall back against the warm metal in an attempt to calm down.
He was successful… to a degree.
Did his heart slow down? Sure. Did the tension ease from his shoulders for the first time in what felt like an eternity? Absolutely, but instead of relief, exhaustion and fatigue filled the gaps left behind, and the thoughts he'd tried to ignore shoved themselves to the surface.
His hand shakily found its way to his necklace, and he took a deep breath.
"You were right, Mom…"
The words were barely a whisper, but they carried with them the undeniable reality that he would have to once again examine the words of wisdom his mother had provided him. He had stayed up long into the night ruminating upon them the day they were given to him, and yet still he knew he wound up choosing indecision over action. In postponing truly accepting the actions her words would lead him to take, he had effectively ignored them entirely – but they were all unquestionably right.
On so many levels. Most specifically, on the matter of chaos. Had he been wiser, her being a living testament to the random fits of cruelty life could bestow upon people would have tipped him off to this, but he had denied the idea that very same chaos could affect him. He thought he'd at least have enough time to become a pro, or at least train, before he too was faced with the same dangerous situations as heroes and his mother both had to deal with.
As the depths of the danger Class 1-A was dropped into sank in, his mind was left awash in the numerous 'what-ifs' that could have occurred while everything was still spiraling out of control. He wasn't naive; he understood that he could expect this kind of horror on a regular basis as a pro, but he'd thought he would have just a little more time. More time to prepare, to mentally fortify himself, to better understand what he'd be walking into when he graduated from U.A and entered the world of adults.
It occurred to him that this too was a form of his procrastination, but that realization did nothing to stop him from feeling the anxiety that remained after the League's attack put everyone's lives on the line… and a specific individual's in particular.
And as each 'what-if' stormed about his mind, a single mote of his mother's wisdom came ever closer to the forefront of his thoughts.
"Life can get chaotic and dangerous, Jomei, and it's up to us to make the most of the time we have."
Everything around him felt like it ground to a halt, and his eyes snapped open.
He hadn't lost her. No, he hadn't lost her, but he could have. His mother was skilled at what she did but that hadn't saved her when life decided it was her turn to be dealt a bad hand. He'd be a fool to believe his skills would always save him, or more importantly, that they would always save Akiko.
The epiphany made his heart skip a beat. They were both unscathed, but there had been multiple times where the only things that saved them were their wits or their friends' intervention. None of it could be relied upon to always be enough to keep them safe.
So this was it. He had to confront himself and finally do something for once, whether he thought he was ready to or not.
He looked over at Akiko and, after a moment's hesitation, started in her direction. It was time to make good on his mother's advice because, as always, her words were absolutely true.
There was no more time to waste.
"Wait, so you held a villain that was two stories tall still!? That's amazing!" Ashido gushed.
The girl bounced in place, all exuberance and energy permeating her being. After everything she'd been through, Akiko was tempted to accept that it was a comical and relieving thing to see, but couldn't manage to share in Ashido's enthusiasm.
Akiko's crystal core turned magenta. "I mean it wasn't like it was all me, alone… I had two other people backing me up the whole time. Ojiro was all on his own in the conflagration zone, so I think he should be getting more of your praise…"
"He totally will, but right now it's all you! You should be proud of yourself! I was with five other people and we couldn't even take out one stupid villain!" Her arms flailed outwards. "You took out dozens!"
"You did save Thirteen, though…" Akiko countered, "that was pretty important."
Ashido ruffled her hair. "I know, I know, but…"
"What?"
"I just wanna keep trying to get you to see how cool you are! You've got the moves and the skills to pay the bills, and I won't rest until you accept that you deserve to be noticed for that!" She struck a confident pose.
"It's fine, really! I… I don't need to be seen as cool. All I've ever wanted or needed to be is a hero who helps people. So I'm perfectly okay with how things have turned out, no praise needed. Besides, Tokoyami did a lot of the heavy lifting, just like-"
"Nishimura?" Ashido guessed.
Akiko nodded, a small smile playing around her lips as she remembered the trust in her Jomei had displayed during the battle. She wasn't about to downplay the power Tokoyami and Dark Shadow provided during their escape from the downpour zone, but so too would she not deny the appreciation she felt towards Jomei and his contributions as well. Tokoyami had faith in her, yes, but it paled in comparison to the absolute trust Jomei displayed on multiple occasions while they were still inside. There was a link there that she and the wielder of Dark Shadow didn't possess, and no shared love of poetry would ever compare to that. All in all, she and her best friend made a formidable team.
Perhaps something more, too, given time.
"Hey, you're blushing!"
"What?!" Akiko exclaimed, and she clamped down on her Quirk's passive display of her emotions, suddenly wanting out of this conversation. "No, I'm just- I'm gonna go look for him, okay?"
Ashido hummed. "Okay... but this isn't over!"
"What isn't over?" a familiar voice behind her said.
"Nothing!" Ashido shouted, and she bolted off.
At the same time, Akiko spun to find Jomei standing behind her, staring after Ashido as she started a new torrent of conversation with someone else.
"Oh hey," Akiko stammered, hoping her blush had faded, "we were just talking about you."
"Really? Cool," he absently said, a nervous look in his eyes. "Uh… is it okay if I talk to you for a second?"
"Of course. Is something wrong?"
"Nothing's wrong, it's just… I've been thinking," He shuffled.
"And?"
"This… this is harder than I thought it'd be." His lips pursed and he continued before Akiko could respond. "No matter what happens, nothing changes between us, right?"
Their eyes connected and Akiko saw something she'd almost never seen before in his eyes – fear. Genuine fear, more powerful than what she'd seen in his eyes even during their freefall into the downpour zone. What's more, she also saw an earnest look on his face that made him look more completely vulnerable than she'd ever seen him before, or ever thought she would see him in the first place.
Her reply came automatically. "Yes, of course, but what is this all about? Are you okay?"
"I am, I promise, but…" He sighed. "Do you remember what happened with Uraraka?"
'Um…'
"Yeah, what about it?"
She wondered where he could possibly be going with this. He wouldn't be bringing up the incident they agreed to drop without a reason, but she didn't want to even consider that reason. Not now, not when they were only now cooling down from what was their first genuine brush with a life-or-death situation.
"That's what made me think. I… I think you're the best friend I've ever had. I've had a lot of friends in my life, you know that, but… none of them meant to me as much as you do. None of them stuck around for as long as you either, sometimes, but… you already knew that too." His hand gripped into a fist as he trailed off. "What happened back there…" He groaned and looked away, seeming to gather some kind of resolve before he met her eyes again. "The point I'm trying to make here is, I was wondering…"
Akiko's eyes widened in hesitant realization.
"Do you think you'd like to… hang out sometime?"
Was he saying what she thought he was?
"We hang out all the time," she said slowly, heart hammering.
"No, I mean, hang out as in…" his expression twisted in embarrassment and confusion.
"Like a… date?" she asked.
In an instant, all activity in Akiko's mind went dead and her breathing went shallow. If her brain could've fractured like her Quirk's namesake into a million pieces, she was certain it would have right now.
How.
How could she have not realized it?
First, Jomei was extra concerned about her hitting her limit. At the time she'd written it off as merely caution spawned from concern over the peril they were in, and yet despite her knowledge of her best friend, the deeper meaning behind the gesture flew under the radar. It should have tipped her off that something was going on in his head, especially so soon after Uraraka stumbled across what they might have felt for one another, but she didn't even dare to consider the possibility before now. The possibility that he may have felt something for her was one that had crossed her mind, but she had ignored the idea the same day it popped into her head. Why?
Embarrassment at the idea Jomei liked her as more than a friend?
Her overthinking making her write off the prospect of a relationship as fantasy?
Her inability to read people's emotions correctly?
No matter what, her repeated failure at seeing the writing on the wall in the past didn't change what was happening now,in the present. Jomei was asking her out on a date. An honest-to-goodness date. She felt the heat rise to her cheeks and glanced away. Did he know how she felt? How could he when she wasn't even sure herself? Looking back up again, she met the earnest shine in his eyes and suddenly felt a tiny surge of happiness bubbling up through the pounding of her heart.
How should she accept?
Could she accept? They had been friends for so long and no matter what they each promised, there was no way they could ever go back to the way things were between them if they decided to try for more and it didn't work. And losing his friendship would destroy her. The small smile that had been creeping to her lips faded.
She knew Jomei's admission must have been hard for him. He'd laid his heart out in front of her, basically admitting and confirming he felt something far more than friendship towards her, but to refute his feelings now felt wrong, somehow, especially when she knew where her own feelings toward him laid. Even still, there were so many questions, so many unknowns that she didn't even know where to start in her response and-
An earlobe jack stealthily jabbed at her, and she was brought back to the real world. Her heart pounded, and she decided not to question how much Kyoka had just overheard.
Instead, she decided to overcome her shock and ask the first thing that came to mind.
"Before I answer…" She tentatively began, "what made you ask now?"
"That's… a long story, but… I think I've felt something for you for a long time, now, Akiko. When we were in junior high I wrote it off as a crush, but one day I sat myself down and…" His expression became a note more somber, and his jaw clenched. "After what happened today, I couldn't not say it."
"Why?"
"Because I was scared. You know I've never dated anyone, so I was and am still scared of how little I know about dating. We're both aiming to become heroes, so I was worried about if we'd be too busy to really do anything. And most of all, I wasn't… I'm still not sure if I'm gonna be enough for you… as stupid as that sounds."
Still further his expression deepened, and his shoulders slouched, and Akiko's heart ached and went out to him. She was tempted to raise a hand to his face, to comfort him in any way she could, but hesitation and nervousness stilled the motion before it could ever begin. Instead, she let her words carry all the comfort she could provide.
For both of them.
"I…" She sheepishly started, and magenta returned to her chest. "I might have considered the idea of you and me being a… a 'thing' before too, Jomei."
"...really?"
She nodded and blushed. His lips quirked in a crooked smile, and some of his confidence clearly returned. He reached up and brushed a stray strand of hair out of her eyes, and she couldn't help a shy smile at the gesture. "Mhm. I just didn't do anything either because I didn't know what to do, if anything, and it wasn't until the thing with Uraraka happened that I realized I really might 'like' you. As in… more than just a friend. It didn't help that I couldn't even tell if you felt anything towards me, too."
"Then I guess that makes me even more dumb for waiting so long, huh…?" Jomei admitted.
"No! This is… on both of us, I think?" Akiko said, and Jomei smiled. "But you never answered… what changed?"
"My mom."
"What?"
Jomei's cheeks reddened somewhat again. "When my mom was helping me out over the weekend, it wasn't all my training and coming up with Flashbang. Before school came back, she kind of figured out I may have really liked you and more-or-less called me out on it. She gave me a bunch of advice, but it all boils down to her telling me to stick my neck out and try to ask you out, whether I was nervous or not. Between that, Uraraka, and the villains' attack putting both of us in real danger without any warning… I figured that waiting any longer to ask you when those villains proved they can do things like that would be stupid of me.
"So… if you want to try something… that's totally cool." He rubbed the back of his neck. "But if you don't… that's fine too. You don't have to do anything you're not comfortable with just because I think it's something I would like to try doing, and I'd understand if you think I'm not-"
"Ok."
He looked at her in disbelief.
"I… I'd like to try and go on a 'date' with you." She felt nervous, but she wasn't going to pretend that she could say no. Jomei had admitted that he wanted to try something more… whatever that might mean, and she wanted to go ahead and see what 'more' could mean. It was sudden, and her heart still throbbed with countless concerns, but she didn't want to hurt Jomei or herself now by pretending that nothing had changed between them.
A small breeze brushed past both of them, and their hair fluttered softly. For a few moments, silence reigned between them.
"Ok," he said, his expression relaxing into a relieved smile. "Yeah."
Whatever came next was entirely up to them, now.
Even if it'd have to wait.
Akiko heard steps behind her, and she twisted around to see Thirteen coming into view. They emerged from the USJ with the remaining students of Class 1-A in tow and was beginning to corral the rest. Akiko turned back around, and the duo shared a look.
"Um… we'll talk later?" Jomei managed.
"Yeah… of course." Akiko returned.
"Ok everyone, if I may have your attention, please!" Thirteen called out. "I've been given orders from Principal Nezu to bring you all back to U.A. and your homeroom! You've all had a long day and have all been debriefed, so the heroes and police can take care of everything else here! You all did an incredible job, so you can now get your things and go home!"
And just like that, the USJ was left behind them.
Despite finding the voice to say 'yes' to Jomei's offer, Akiko was still internally reeling, and her emotions were about as stable as a nuclear chain reaction. She was going from confusion to shock to excitement and joy before fear and back all over again, all because that now that she'd agreed to go out with Jomei, there was no way she could chicken out and she had no idea what to expect next. It certainly didn't help that her crystal core was betraying her tumultuous emotions no matter how hard she tried to hide it.
Not that crossing her arms over her chest would help her when Kyoka was sat right next to her.
"So are you about to explode or do you want to talk about what happened?" Kyoka said.
Akiko sighed. "How much did you hear?"
"Just so you know, I wasn't trying to spy, but I heard enough. Are you two a thing now?" She idly twirled an earphone jack with her finger.
"I don't know.I've never 'done' dating before, with anyone. Let alone my best friend…" Akiko lamented. "And Jomei's in the same boat as me, too, which means that neither of us have a clue what we're doing or what this will mean for us. As friends… or anything else."
"Does it have to mean anything?"
"What?"
"You heard me," Kyoka continued. "You know him better than me, so listen… if you guys know each other so well, I don't think that either of you would end up messing things up between you… or something. And if you ask me, Jomei seems a little smarter than Denki when it comes to people, so you have that going for you, at least."
"My gossip senses are tingling!"
And just like that, Ashido crashed into the empty seat opposite Akiko and Kyoka in their corner of the bus, an excited, nosy smile splashed across her face.
"Ashido! Do not move when the bus is in motion!" Iida reprimanded.
"Pfff! Nothing happened, relax!"
"And I don't think we were ever really told there was a rule against changing seats," Hagakure added.
"Even if that may be so, proper public transportation protocol indicates-"
As Iida began an impromptu lesson concerning the nature of safety on buses and other forms of mass transportation, Ashido gave the girls before her a conspiratorial look.
"So… where do we start?"
"Gossip senses?" Kyoka asked.
"Well, they're more like love senses, but still! It's my job and duty to seek out cuteness and talk about it wherever possible! So! Is something happening like I think it's happening…?" she asked giddily.
Akiko fought the urge to blush. "Y-yeah… me and Jomei… we're going to try and, y'know… go on a date."
Ashido let out a girlish gasp and squirmed as she held back a squee of excitement. The activity earned her a wide-eyed glance from Kirishima and Sato, but neither said anything. Eventually, she managed to reel in her reaction.
"So why do you seem worried about it?! Nishimura's cute and nice, so you can't go wrong there, and besides, you two are already super cute together! You're destined for even more cuteness!"
"Uraraka said something like that too…"
"Then it's gotta be true!" Ashido claimed.
"But even if it is, that doesn't mean that 'we' will work out as a thing…" Akiko mused. "No matter how much we might want it to be, real life isn't like some romance book…"
"I mean, maybe, but that doesn't mean it's all doomed to fall apart," Kyoka said. "You do a mic check, test some tunes out, and see what happens while you're in the booth. You never know if you're gonna stumble into some tracks you never knew you'd like."
"Maybe…"
"No maybe!" Ashido playfully chided. "Jiro's right, you're gonna be awesome on that date!"
Kyoka gave her a deadpan look. "And how many relationships have you been in?"
"None, but that doesn't matter!"
"It really does when we're trying to give advice…"
Their half-hearted debate continued, and Akiko quickly found herself tuning them out.
Neither of them could really understand what she was feeling. She wasn't a fool, so she knew she was going to be awkward and probably nervous when the time came but working herself up like she always did would only make things worse than they may or may not even turn out to be. The worst thing she could do on her and Jomei's first date would be her being stressed or anxious beyond belief.
So, on a slightly more positive note, she was settling on cautious optimism, for now.
All she needed was to calm down and stay out of her own head for once and accept the fact that something she only ever dared to sometimes think about was becoming an imminent reality. Jomei had feelings for her. Not any of the other girls in Class 1-A that guys at U.A. swooned over, nor anyone else he'd ever met over the years, but her. Remembering that fact, and that she'd only learned that after knowing him for so long only warmed her heart just a little bit further to her own little brush of optimism. If she was still learning more about Jomei now, as best friends, who knew what greater insight the future would bring her?
And what's more, maybe Kyoka would be right. Maybe they would work out well as an 'item' of sorts – no harm done to their longtime friendship whatsoever, and perhaps making it even stronger. If nothing else, she knew that Jomei was probably as nervous as she was right about now, perhaps even more so since he was the one that asked her out in the first place. So if he could muster the courage to do that, the least she could do in return was lean a little more towards a hopeful view of what could follow for them.
Even if she could only manage to do so until their date finally arrived, she owed him that much.
"And… now we're going on a date. And I'm either smart or stupid for asking when I did, or even asking to begin with. I'm really not sure at this point," Jomei confessed.
As the bus brought them ever closer to U.A.'s main campus, and the buzz of conversation provided some semblance of privacy to all parties involved, Jomei was bringing Denki up to speed on what had transpired before their departure. Part of explaining everything that had led up to him asking Akiko out was rather cathartic, but another part of it only perpetuated his stress. Then again, that could've been the residual tension of the day speaking, alongside the not inconsiderable amount of utter disbelief he still felt that Akiko had accepted his offer in the first place.
All in all, the conversation had been a mixed bag thus far. Even if Denki hadn't said so much as a word the entire time as Jomei himself rambled on endlessly.
"Eh, I think you're fine."
"...that's it?"
Denki gave him a confused look. "Yeah, what else am I supposed to say? Or did I miss something?"
"No, you didn't miss anything, man, it's just…" He deflated. "I'm just confused and not sure what to think right now. Like, what am I supposed to do? I've never been on a date! I don't know what places good spots are to go to, or what I'm supposed to do or say when we get there! It's all one big unknown and it's almost scarier than the villain attack, somehow."
"Just say stuff, man. You're cool, Akiko's cool, so I don't think you guys need to go someplace cool to have a cool date. You two are the cool, and you bring it with you wherever you go!" Denki encouraged. "And you can count on that."
"Do you function in terms of things being cool, Denki?"
"I mean, it's worked so far," Denki shrugged.
Jomei sat back up. "Okay, sure."
"Listen, man, I'm going to be real – I don't know if you should even be worried. I mean, do you think Akiko is expecting a parade and party balloons or something?" Denki asked.
"No… no, she wouldn't want anything like that, and she wouldn't expect it either… so maybe I really should relax."
'And take Mom's advice to heart again and not think she needs anything extravagant… from the date or me. Easier said than done, Jomei…'
Denki smiled. "Bingo! So sit back, relax, and live a little! We were awesome back at the USJ! We're gonna be like, celebrities or something when word gets out!"
He returned a mirthless chuckle. Denki was probably right, there. The media had likely only avoided reporting on the security breach earlier that week on account of his father's collaboration with Synesthesia Auditiva, and now, that story was old news. Every reporter worth their weight in salt would be more than craving their own slice of the proverbial pie concerning an outright attack on one of U.A.'s facilities. The fact that students were present during the affair was the icing on the cake.
Of course, though the public exposure Class 1-A as a whole would be getting was certainly nice, the fame was the last thing on Jomei's mind for a change. Maybe the recognition would come to him, it probably would, but right now he wanted and needed to focus on reeling in his subconscious' siege on his psyche with worry for what was to come.
He needed to distract himself. That always helped.
He pulled out his phone, and the bar was in the red, likely from his usage of it on the way to the USJ earlier. Of course, this wasn't exactly an issue on account of the living power outlet sitting across from him.
"Hey, Denki. I want to listen to some music. Give me a charge?"
"Oh, sure," Denki said.
As the boy connected the charger to his mouth, Jomei put in his earbuds. "Not sure if I'll ever get used to this…"
Denki only shrugged, and Jomei found it in himself to smile. Sure, his date with Akiko was still something he had to look out for, but it wasn't even planned yet. Not only that, but he also had Akiko's word that nothing would ever change between them, which undoubtedly helped alleviate some of his concerns, at least for the time being. So with all that in mind, he decided all he had to do was be patient, take his time, and follow his own advice – he may have asked Akiko out, but it wasn't like they couldn't still take things slow. Baby steps, and all that.
As his preferred tracks started to play, the rest of the world faded in tandem.
'Distraction, start.'
In hero society, among those with arbitrarily dubbed 'malicious intent' for others, it was an unwritten rule that a base of operations was a necessity. On account of the metropolitan nature of Japan's cities, this would have appeared to be a relatively simple affair. Unfortunately, it had been all too often that would-be villainous organizations weren't taken down by infighting or hero investigation, but rather, a lacking sense of discretion when it came to finding a potential headquarters for their schemes.
The League of Villains was quite different in this regard.
Unlike the run of the mill hoodlums and gangs that cropped up every now and again in Japan's many cities, the League didn't occupy an inherently seedy part of the sprawl. Instead, their headquarters was sequestered between both reputable and disreputable sections of Yokohama City, plain enough that any heroes passing by would overlook the place as just another part of the urban landscape. The hideout, therefore, was perfectly hidden in plain sight, and even the interior of the place wasn't suspicious in of itself. Once upon a time, it had been a bar belonging to Kurogiri, long before he had become a true villain, and was full of all the activity expected of such a place. Now, it was as barren and dimly lit as any other establishment that had been neglected by its patrons for just long enough for a business to die off.
Nevertheless, it was effective in what it was meant to do, and Kurogiri himself held no qualms about giving his old domain new purpose as a refuge for any ne'er-do-well dealing with himself or his master.
Even if their defeat at the USJ rendered the place a ghost town, once again.
Over the dark wood floors of the bar, a mote of its master's fog blipped into existence. The fog coalesced into a ball and began circling around itself in a delicate dance. In short order, it grew into a considerable size, and two new arrivals filled the empty space of their sanctuary.
Shigaraki fell with a thud face-first onto the ground. Meanwhile, Kurogiri began to recompose himself into a more humanoid form, revealing the respectable suit and tie he wore beneath his Quirk's inscrutable shroud.
"Ow…" Shigaraki mumbled.
His limp body didn't move, but blood began to pool beneath his wounds. Kurogiri would have lamented the added chore of needing to wash the blood from his floors, but his decorum saved him the headache that would follow from interrupting Shigaraki's inevitable outburst. If there was one thing he had learned working with the young man, it was that sometimes he merely needed to let the boy be.
One would do well to stay on the good side of someone with Shigaraki's Quirk, after all.
"Shot in both arms and legs, all of my goons are gone… even Nomu was beaten! Those kids were so strong, too! Not to mention All Might…" Shigaraki glared up at an empty screen atop the bar. "He wasn't weakened at all! You were wrong Sensei, so wrong!"
"No, I wasn't. We merely weren't as prepared as we should have been."
The voice that responded was calm and collected, but the knowledge of the man behind that screen sent a chill down Kurogiri's spine.
All for One hadn't lived centuries as a symbol of terror without reason. Even if his battle with All Might had left him on the brink of death so many years ago, he still remained leagues stronger than anything most people alive could comprehend.
Kurogiri had long since done well in choosing to side with him.
As did All for One's doctor.
"I agree, we underestimated them." The doctor's gruff voice followed. "Fortunately, we flew under the guise of that cheap League of Villains name and didn't give them any reason to believe we even exist. But what happened to me and your sensei's creation? What happened to our Nomu?"
"Yes, why isn't it with you?" All for One concurred.
Kurogiri steeled himself. "I regret to inform you that during his battle with All Might, he was blown away."
"What!?" The doctor shouted.
"It is as I said, All Might managed to overcome all odds in his battle against him. Without the coordinates for him, I was unable to warp him with us back to base. We didn't have time to search for him."
"This is a travesty! After all we did to make him as strong as All Might…"
"Well, I suppose it can't be helped… unfortunately. Tame yourself, doctor, we've more time yet to pursue our goals. Shigaraki?" All for One prompted. "You may have lost one battle, Nomu, and a legion of petty followers, but in the grand scheme, it all means little so long as you're willing to learn. Nomu may have been defeated, but we still have the advantage in initiative, and more importantly, information."
"You're talking about that chick…" Shigaraki said.
"Indeed. Toga Himiko's backdoor operation proceeded just as planned, and before you blame her for All Might's delayed presence at the USJ, you needn't do so. She is one of your most effective and elusive subordinates and blaming her for coincidental setbacks would merely be foolhardy. Nonetheless, the program she installed during 'the press' break-in' should be nigh-on undetectable unless U.A. has a reason to search for it – which, of course, they don't. Even if they perform a clean sweep of their system, we always can attain other resources to gather information on U.A.'s movements."
"Of course, Sensei…"
"Rest assured, Shigaraki, we will be keeping in touch. In the meantime, a question before my next mission for you – what did you learn based upon your failure today? Not Nomu's, nor your underlings' blunders. Merely the loss in of itself."
Shigaraki paused, and silence reigned for a few moments as he gathered his thoughts.
Eventually, he looked back up at the screen. "I realized… no matter how many goons you bring to a fight, you can't count on them to keep the rest of those pests occupied. Let alone take them out…"
"Indeed. Acknowledge the difference between disposable underlings and indispensable allies, and you will do well in your future endeavors. With this realization in mind, I offer you your next mission, Shigaraki – rally the forces of the villainous elite to your side." All for One commanded. "Know that you shall be my face, but so too will you be a symbol of your own. Take all the time you need, and indeed, you will taste the death of All Might. Anything you desire, you shall have… all in due time."
The screen flickered, and the light signaling the open channel went dark. Kurogiri was tempted to heave a sigh of relief, but his manners prevented him from doing so. Instead, he simply let the strain birthed by All for One's presence disperse from his shoulders and looked down upon Shigaraki. Even if All for One had 'modified' Shigaraki to be above the commoner in terms of endurance and speed, all that meant little if he didn't get to work providing his master first aid.
But of course, as he was about to fetch medical supplies, an obnoxious sucking of air through a straw caught both men's attention.
There behind them, at the edge of the bar, greedily finishing the remnants of some fruity drink, sat Toga Himiko.
At a glance, she looked pretty, if a bit pale and petite, but her attractive exterior betrayed no hint of the killer within her. Upon further inspection, her yellow eyes possessed pupils more comparable to a cat's vertical slits, and her lips hid sharp fangs beneath their surface. Messy bangs hung on either side of her head, and two equally wild buns contained the rest of her ash blonde hair. Her deceptively sweet smile, her blush, and the simple seifuku she wore underneath her too-large and too-long beige cardigan blended well with a veneer of innocence, and yet still perfectly conveyed the gleefully homicidal nature of the person beneath it all.
The only thing Kurogiri knew for certain was that he never wished to be the one on the receiving end of her 'affections.'
A body count of dozens belonging to Toga assured him of that.
"How long…" Shigaraki rolled onto his back. "Have you been there?"
"Long enough." Toga chirped. "So you're being a sour-puss, huh?"
She started kicking her feet against the barstool and took another loud sip of her drink.
"Kurogiri."
He was all too pleased to swipe the glass out of her hand. Even if it meant he was within range of the indignant raspberry that Toga delivered in retaliation.
"Please refrain from disturbing the other guests," Kurogiri said. He started moving around to the other side of the bar, both to rinse the glass and acquire the first aid kit there.
"So you two really are mad about blowing that mission…" Toga hopped to her feet, and her cheerful smile reappeared. "Oh well!"
"Oh well? Our master lies wounded at your feet and you display such little regard for his well-being?"
"Yep! His blood grosses me out," she explained. "Have fun though!"
Without so much as a sound, Toga skipped off who-knows-where, and Kurogiri returned to Shigaraki's side with medical supplies in tow. Nuisance and eccentric though Toga may be at times, All for One was right. She was an effective ally, and one they couldn't afford to lose – even more so now that their numbers had been whittled down so thoroughly.
Kurogiri set to work to stop the bleeding. "Shigaraki… you heard what your sensei said… we must amass a group of the elite before we attempt another attack of any sort. How do you wish to go about doing so?"
"Send Toga out. Heroes are going to have us on their mission boards now… but she can keep an ear to the ground to find quests that look like they'll give us good party members. And…" He grunted as his bandages were tightened. "Give Giran a call. He could be useful too."
"Very well, Shigaraki."
'Indeed, the winds of change begin to blow again, and I find myself on the very-likely winning side… a most fortuitous alliance. Perhaps All for One will be right after all… perhaps we will triumph in the end… no matter our goals.'
Beneath his obscure exterior, Kurogiri smiled. The thought of the Symbol of Peace's blood being on their hands someday was a pleasing notion, if nothing else.
All they had to do now was be patient.
Authors Note: And there goes season 1 of WFAF! One helluva ride, and god dang did I enjoy it! It was a good time worldbuilding, characterizing everyone, and finding my footing in writing, but season 2 is where things are really going to start picking up! Maybe not immediately, but groundwork shall continue to be laid, and things will happen that have nothing to do with canon, I assure you all! Now… on with my useless authorial notes!
I did indeed attempt to show Akiko and Jomei both being nervous, awkward teenagers in their scene, but hey, I don't think I can be the one to gauge how successful I was on that front – that's up to you to decide! They're both worried about their friendship and being able to 'do' dating, that much is clear, but I assure you all that romance shan't become the sole focus of this fic. It's still an action anime/character drama using canon as a framework, at its core. Anywho, I figured character interactions followed by the villain scene was a nice way to end the season, even if it wasn't as eventful in terms of plot progression that the canon finale was. I just didn't wanna shove this into the end of the last chapter due to pacing concerns.
As for the villains' scene itself? Torchbearer is once again inspiration for this and the open-ended nature of her infiltration mission. And if you're worried about Midoriya not being noted by Shigaraki… eh. I have workarounds for this. Ish. Oh, and while I will continue writing WFAF in a quasi-safe-for-newcomers way, I do think that my assuming my readers have watched MHA is a good choice moving forward. I suppose we'll just have to see how I write from here on out, eh?
I look forward to continuing this merry adventure alongside you all in season 2, but for now, stay awesome everyone!