SEE CHAPTER ONE FOR DISCLAIMERS

PLEASE READ & REVIEW, AND TEND TO THE TROPE PAGE

-CHAPTER START-

Realm BNH-52

The implementation of the dorm system went relatively smoothly, all things considered. The hero students quickly settled in, and Yukino Rei was also given a spare room in the dorm building, both because of Endeavor still being at large and so she could be on hand to help Touya's recovery; Fuyumi and Natsuo had her teaching job and his college classes, respectively, to tend to, but they were going to visit as much as they were able.

Soon, the time came for the Hero students to take the exams that, if passed, would grant them their Provisional Hero Licenses, allowing them to assist in taking down villains (and, more importantly, to use their Quirks in public to defend themselves or others without legal repercussions). The kids loaded up on the bus to the exam location, where they and the two other preeminent Hero Academies of Japan – Shikketsu and Ketsubutsu – would all take their Provisional License Exams together.

When the UA/Yuuei group arrived, Class 1A getting involved in a pep talk, they were joined by a tall and very loud bombastic youth from Shiketsu, who introduced himself as Yoarashi Inasa. Upon spotting Shouto, he stomped over to the boy… and then bowed his head in apology so hard, his forehead cracked the pavement.

"I misjudged you!" he announced. "Before I started going to a Hero Academy, I once tried to get Endeavor's autograph, but he brushed me off and insulted me for it! Later, I was offered a position at UA/Yuuei on recommendations, but when you brushed me off the same way, without even looking at me, I assumed you were just like him! I was so insulted and angry that I gave up my recommendation at UA/Yuuei and transferred to Shiketsu. But then came the Sports Festival, and the world finding out exactly how horrible a man Endeavor really is, what he did to his own family – to you! And I understood what you must have been thinking, and how insulting and cruel it would be of me to believe you anything like him! I am so sorry!"

Shouto was rather nonplussed. "Um… It's alright… That day I'd gotten one of dear old dad's usual spiels before heading to the academy, and it had left me in a bad mood; sorry for… brushing you off, I suppose. Shall we start over? I am Yukino Shouto; pleasure to meet you, Yoarashi-kun."

The tall youth made a big grin. "Nice to meet ya too, Yukino-kun! But please, go ahead and use my first name!"

-Break-

The exams went more or less smoothly. The final clash against Gang Orca, playing the villain, was made a little harder by the fact that Shouto's Conceptual sacred-fire couldn't harm someone with a just and good heart like the killer-whale Hero, while his studying of Fire Release ninjutsu was still early (at the moment a Katon: Kakyu was the best he could manage, the Gōkakyu still eluding him), but in the end the Hero trainees managed to triumph.

During the exams, Bakugou rescued the faux-victims with silence, not trying to comfort or reassure him. In the aftermath judging, the judges and faux-victims asked him why.

"I didn't trust myself not to talk down to or insult victims for getting their dumb asses into trouble and needing to be saved by someone else. So to make sure I didn't, I kept my mouth shut. 'If you can't say something nice, don't say anything it all' is how the old saying goes, right?"

This caused a debate amongst the judges and point allocators. Whether to take all his points away for being the kind of crude, abrasive 'hero' who thinks so lowly of civilian victims, or to show leniency for him knowing such thoughts were "wrong" and keeping them to himself, while still rescuing people (actions over words, and all that). It was a close one, but in the end he was given just barely enough points to pass, earning his Provisional License, while also being "recommended" to learn how to empathize with the unfortunate better…

-Break-

A couple days later, back at UA/Yuuei, as a 'learning experience' Aizawa brought the famous third-years "The Big Three" to meet the class, and then pitted his class in a spar against the Big Three's unofficial leader, Togata Mirio, hailed as perhaps the most powerful & skilled student in the whole academy. Though with his youthful face and cheerful, friendly optimistic personality, you wouldn't expect it…

In one of the training gyms, Aizawa and Kakashi stood by the sidelines as Mirio squared off with Class 1A. Izuku made the first move, lighting up with Full Cowl and rushing forward with a spinning kick… and his booted foot passed right through Mirio's head as if the 3rd-year were an illusion. As he came to a stop behind, Mirio turned to look at him.

"So you're the kinda guy who goes for the head, huh?" he asked.

Just then, a few ranged attacks from the others hit Mirio from behind, only to phase through him just like Izuku's attack. When the smoke cleared, Mirio had vanished… and then he popped up out of the ground behind Jirou. Shouto's split-second ice wall meant to protect his classmate weakened the resulting punch, but the 3rd-year's fist still tore through the frozen barrier and knocked Jirou back. He'd lost his shirt during his 'jump', revealing a surprisingly buff body; no wonder his blow had such power! Kirishima and Sato charged in swinging, but their fists phased through Mirio's body, and then his counterblows sent them reeling. He then sank down into the floor to dodge a leaping strike from Bakugou, and a few seconds later popped back out near Iida, landing a kick that sent the youth tumbling.

For the next minute or so, Mirio made sport of Class 1A. In the end, Kakashi showed mercy and called the match, with Togata Mirio the victor.

[AN: This section was originally much longer, with Izuku managing to land a couple hits, but then I remembered that, unlike Kakashi, Mirio can interact with objects/people while partially phasing, so I had to scrap the whole thing and resort to the canon curbstomp…]

-Break-

In the aftermath, Togata was impressed enough by Izuku's ingenuity and skill that he promised to introduce Izuku to Nighteye, All Might's former sidekick, for his internship (despite All Might's misgivings…). After an hour's train ride, they arrived at the agency building, with Mirio warning Izuku that Sir Nighteye was very strict, and claiming that a good way to make an impression was to get Nighteye to laugh.

Soon, Izuku found himself stepping into Nighteye's office, giving his best 'All Might' face from an obscure incident years ago. Nighteye immediately pounced on him, calling out the 'poor excuse' for an impression, but when Izuku revealed exactly what incident he was referencing (the "Vinegar River Rescue"), Nighteye actually seemed impressed that the kid would know of and be able to properly reference such an obscure incident. Izuku also marveled at the numerous All Might merch & memorabilia displayed throughout the office.

But then, things started going sour. Nighteye refused to give the internship papers his stamp of approval unless Izuku could get the stamp from him within three minutes. …And about a minute in, as he used his Foresight to evade Izuku's attacks, he started getting personal.

"You are not worthy of One For All" Nighteye decreed. "The Symbol of Peace is supposed to be imposing, awe-inspiring, fearless, confident, charismatic… You have none of these things. Just a random boy picked up off the street, too reckless for his own good, with a small and unassuming presence that could never reassure anyone. I spent three years grooming Togata Mirio to become the next bearer of One For All, and then that big blond oaf goes behind my back and gives it to a small, untrained nobody! He's always making the same reckless, emotion-ruled mistakes, and it's only a matter of time before he gets himself ki-"

Finally fed up, Izuku suddenly summoned his Keyblade during another Full Cowl-propelled pass, slamming it across Nighteye's face to send the man flying back into the wall, crushing a few All Might memorabilia when he hit. Trying to shake the cobwebs out of his mind, Nighteye looked to see Izuku crackling with green energy while glaring hatefully at him, teeth bared in a snarl.

"If all you're going to do is insult me, and insult All Might, then being here is a waste of my goddamn time! For whatever reason, he chose me, a Quirkless nobody, to be the next bearer of One For All. And I have worked myself to the bone – the broken bone, more often than not – to live up to that responsibility! It was his power to pass on, not yours! I came here because you used to be his sidekick, but if you truly hate him and me that much, then I have no business being here! With all due 'respect', Fuck You. We're done here. I'd rather take a failing grade than work with someone fueled by so much spite and bitterness and hate – someone who would insult the man who gave me the ability to be somebody, to make a difference, to help people! I'll spend my internship period with the DDF – help them with whatever cases they're working on around here. If this is the kind of person you are, then All Might was right to cut all ties with you. You may be a good 'Hero'… but it's clear to me that you aren't a good person anymore…"

Shock and outrage warred within Nighteye, and he stood and prepared to say something, only for Izuku to look back at him with glowing eyes and a brief unconscious flare of Killing Intent that stopped him cold. And for a moment, Nighteye truly did feel like he was staring down an angry All Might. Izuku turned to leave, throwing the door open… and came face to face with Uchiha Sasuke preparing to knock on the door.

"Midoriya?"

"I can't stay here" Izuku interrupted. "I'd like to work with you guys for my internship period. Whatever case you're working, I'll help."

Sasuke smiled. "That's good. We could use the help."

"So, why are you here?"

"Well…" the Uchiha rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "The case we're currently working on is… also the case that Nighteye's agency is working on. Both parties have made plans to collaborate for this op."

"…Crap."

-Break-

Later that afternoon, a 'squad' was on patrol, walking the streets to reassure the populace and sniff out trouble. Mirio/"Lemillion" and Izuku/"Deku" were grouped up with Sasuke & Sakura, with the former also having his Houndour out to lend a nose to their patrol. Mirio was explaining to Deku about how important it was to take occasional patrols just to reassure the public with their presence, when as they walked past an alley, a small white shape ran into Izuku's leg, nearly knocking him over.

The quartet looked down to see a little girl, around 5 or 6 years old, with white hair and a yellow spiraling horn sprouting from the right side of her forehead. She had no shoes, her skinny body clad in an oversized men's shirt to act as a 'dress', bandages visible wrapped around her arms. When her big red eyes looked up at them, they showed a mix of confusion and terror.

"H-Hello there" Izuku took a calming, "talking to small children" tone. "Are you okay? Are you in any trouble? …My Hero Name is 'Deku'. What's your name?"

Hesitantly, the little girl was about to answer, but then a cold voice laced with barely-hidden malice called out from deeper in the alley.

"There you are, Eri."

At that voice, Eri jumped, more terror filling her tiny body's posture. The hero quartet looked up, and they went tense, eyes widening, as a man with short shaggy brown hair and light bags under his yellow eyes appeared from the shadows, the lower half of his face hidden by a red & gold beak-like mask, wearing a forest-green jacket with fluffy purple color, white gloves on his hands, and projecting an evil air. This was the case's High-Value Target. Chisaki Kai – Overhaul.

"You musn't wander off like that. You'll cause trouble for others, like these folks here. I'm terribly sorry for my daughter, young… Heroes. Come along, Eri. Let's go home…"

Eri flinched and shivered in Izuku's arms. Mirio was about to say something, but then Sasuke took a step forward, putting himself between Overhaul and his comrades. His left hand rested on the pommel of his sheathed chokuto and the other apparently gripping the sheathe. Behind him, Sakura shifted closer to Izuku and Eri, while Mirio's muscles tensed.

"She didn't cause us any trouble" Sasuke said, a clear hint of warning in his tone. "She does seem quite frightened, though – fleeing from a perceived threat, perhaps? You never know what kind of people one might run into in a city alleyway. Isn't that right… Chisaki Kai?"

Overhaul's beady eyes widened slightly, and then narrowed in a hostile glare. Slowly, he removed his white gloves, and Izuku felt Eri tense up even more in his arms. Sasuke and Overhaul stared each other down, all but immobile, as Killing Intent flooded the air. Nobody moved.

Then, Overhaul shifted one foot slightly forward. In an instant, Sasuke's right hand swept out while wreathed in Lightning chakra, releasing a wave of Chidori Senbon. Overhaul placed a hand on the building wall next to him, instantly disassembling it and reassembling it into a wall of concrete that blocked the lightning needles. He then released a wave of tearing spikes at the heroes, and they all leapt back, Izuku grabbing & carrying Eri. Sasuke drew his blade, coated in Lightning chakra, slicing apart the spears that got too close. Overhaul began rushing out, only for a "Pop-Up Punch" from Mirio to send him reeling.

"He's channeling a lot of power into his hands" Sasuke warned, Sharingan observing his opponent's energy flow and whatever happened to anything Overhaul's Quirk was used on. "It looks like he can disassemble and reassemble anything he touches! Don't let him touch you!"

Mirio grinned. "Not a problem!"

To demonstrate, as Overhaul charged at him and thrusted his palm out, Mirio used his Quirk to go intangible, letting the crime boss' touch phase right through him and then leaping away. Sasuke's Houndour fired off an Ember attack – a wave of tiny fireballs shooting at Overhaul. Sasuke followed suit but a little bigger, Katon: Hōsenka sending several fist-sized fireballs at Overhaul from multiple slightly different angles. Overhaul had to stop and form another defensive wall to protect himself, giving the heroes even more time to get distance.

Then, as they all fell back, Sakura tossed a shinobi smoke bomb, a cloud of thick purple-tinted smoke obscuring Overhaul's view. By the time the villain got clear so he could see again, they were gone. Overhaul let out a roar of absolute fury; the keystone for his plan had been taken from him.

-Break-

When the quartet arrived back at the agency, with Eri still clinging to Izuku like a limpet, Nighteye quirked an eyebrow.

"…Is there any reason you four have kidnapped a little girl?"

"Does it count as kidnapping if we took her from someone she was obviously traumatized by and terrified of?" Mirio asked. "…Especially if that 'someone' was Overhaul?"

"…God damn it. We were supposed to avoid anything that could spook him into going even further into hiding."

"So we should have just left her in his clutches?" Izuku asked angrily.

Nighteye didn't say anything to that; in response, Izuku and the two shinobi looked at him with disgust, while Mirio looked shocked and disappointed.

"He seemed pretty dead-set on getting her back" Sasuke said. "That must mean she's important to him… or to his plans."

"Well, he did call her his daughter, but…" Sakura started.

Little Eri shook her head. "He's the… adopteded son of my mommy's daddy."

"That makes him your 'uncle'" Mirio explained.

"Hey…" Izuku knelt down beside Eri, giving her the warmest, calmest smile he could manage. "Eri-chan, what's your Quirk?"

"…I'm cursed" the little girl replied with a quiet, sad voice.

"What do you mean?"

"U-Uncle Chisaki said… my power's called 'Rewind'. It… rewinds people. When I first got it, it… it m-made my daddy disappear. Mommy… she was screaming, and she was really angry, and she said I was cursed. She g-gave me away to her daddy, said that s-she never wanted to see me again. Grampa said mommy was mean and a fool for throwing me away, an' he was really nice to me. But… But he and Uncle Overhaul didn't agree with how to run the yakuza, so Overhaul… put grampa in a coma and then took over."

"A semantic Quirk," Nighteye pondered, "one that can 'rewind' a person to a previous state – even to a point before their birth, essentially erasing them from existence. That's an extremely rare and extremely potent type of Quirk. But how would Overhaul make use of such a power?"

Just then, Sakura's Omnitool chimed. She called up the holoscreen, showing Kakashi.

"What's up, sensei?" she asked.

"We just got some troubling news" the half-masked man replied. "The Pro Hero 'Fatgum' and his two interns, Amajiki and Kirishima, had a run-in with a bunch of thugs. One of them shot Amajiki with a drug-dart, and then jacked himself up with that Quirk-supercharging 'Trigger' stuff. Kirishima still took him down, though. But as a result of the drug in the bullet, Amajiki lost his Quirk for a couple hours. Our enemy has temporary Quirk-erasing bullets at their disposal… and I think they're working on a permanent version."

The world 'locals' tensed up at hearing that, trying to wrap their heads around just how horrible that would be.

"And that's not all" Hatake continued. "We sent the dart to the Starshot for quick analysis, and in the couple droplets of the drug still left in the dart… A person's blood and cells were used to create the Quirk-erasing drug. We think it's derived from somebody's Quirk."

Eri tensed up in Izuku's arms, and the green hero-trainee's eyes went wide with horror as he put the pieces together, with the others quickly following suit.

"…I take it back" Nighteye said. "Getting Eri-chan out of Overhaul's hands is a major victory. And we need to make damn sure that he doesn't get his hands on her again."

"We'll keep you posted with further developments, sensei" Sakura said.

"And I'll do the same. Hatake out."

"How does he expect to make a meaningful amount of the stuff, though?" Bubble Girl wondered. "I mean, there's only so much he can take from a 5-year-old before her body… can't handle giving any more…"

"…His power" Sasuke realized. "His Quirk. I saw it in action. It looked like he can disassemble and reassemble things by touching them. From what I saw of how his energy flowed and acted whenever he used his Quirk… if he can do that to inanimate objects, I don't see any reason why he can't do it to people."

Eri started trembling in Izuku's arms.

"…Oh, good Lord…" Mirio whispered in horror.

"It also means he could easily 'disassemble' someone and leave them that way – kill them by reducing them to a pool of blood & biomatter" Nighteye pondered. "…Which means that Mirio and Hatake-san, with their phasing abilities, might be the worst possible opponents he could face. He can't hurt them if he can't touch them."

"So, now we know what he's trying to do" Sakura said. "But why? Why would he want to erase people's Quirks?"

"…H-He…" Eri spoke up again, timid and traumatized. "He hates germs, disease, 'unclean-ness'… and he considers Quirks as a 'disease'. He wants to… wants to forever erase all Quirks from the whole world."

Nighteye sighed. "Another deluded 'visionary'… And he's devoted to restoring the yakuza's long-lost standing in the world, too. Combine that with a very dangerous Quirk and his obvious willingness to do unspeakable things to innocent people up to & including small children, and he's going to be a monumental pain to get rid of. …Eri-chan, is there anything else important you can tell us about Overhaul or his followers?"

"…A lot of his followers a-are really, really loyal to him. They'd all die for him without a second thought. Though, t-there is this one really big, loud guy who just likes to fight strong people and d-doesn't really seem to care about anything else…"

"So he's got a bunch of zealots plus a 'blood knight' type" Sasuke summed up.

"Do you know what any of them can do?" Mirio asked the little girl.

"One of them can stab people with his hair and make them move super-slow for a while. One can make people tell the truth. One can possess things. One can make barriers. One can make people lose their balance. And the big fight-lover guy can move his shoulders in weird ways that let him punch super-duper hard. There are a few others, but… I don't know what they can do."

"Do you know where his base is?" Nighteye asked.

"N-No" Eri replied. "Not exactly. There's a big, old fancy house, but also lots of underground tunnels that spread out and link to sewers and waterways and stuff. That's how… I got away…"

"We'll have the Starshot run a deep seismic scan" Sakura said.

"Right" Nighteye stood tall. "I'll start making some calls and put together a team to launch a raid on Overhaul's base of operations as soon as it's found. For one thing, Eraser Head will be a must-have for this operation. In the meantime, there's a private hospital that I trust to keep Eri safe, as well as tend to her wounds and malnutrition. We'll have people there to protect her, as well, just in case. …Midoriya, seeing as she's hardly let go of you since you got here, I think you'll be best suited to look after her there and help socialize her."

The greenette nodded, gently hugging Eri close and stroking her long, uncared-for hair.

-Break-

A few days later, preparations were well underway. Fatgum and his interns, Ryukyu and her interns (Uraraka Ochako, Asui Tsuyu, and Hadou Nejire), X-Less, Eraser Head, and Terra from the 'Wayfarer Trio' had all been brought onboard and up to speed in preparation for the raid on the Eight Precepts' hideout.

At the private hospital, Eri was being cared for as best as possible – bathed, her wounds (most of them track marks from needles) tended to, being fed properly in an attempt to get her weight up to a healthier level… Izuku spent most of his free time there with her, with Mirio joining in whenever he was free, too. They had explained the concept of 'Pro Heroes' to her, and were helping her improve her reading & writing skills. They also tried to cheer her up, but that wasn't working out as well. It seemed that all the trauma Eri had been through her left her literally incapable of smiling (though whether it was physical or psychological wasn't yet known).

As Nighteye continued making preparations, moving about through his agency building, he rounded a corner and came face to face with a tall, thin blond man whom he hadn't seen in person in years.

"Yagi."

"…Mirai. I know I'm not part of the team for this op, thanks to the fact I'll be patrolling in another city when the raid's supposed to go down. I just… wanted to check in on everyone. It's been so long…"

"It has, indeed. You're looking better, thanks to the Dimensional Defense Force's medical treatments."

Toshinori nodded. "It's nice to be able to breathe again. …I heard about what happened. How you became the first and so far only person to ever make Young Midoriya truly lose his temper."

Nighteye quirked an eyebrow. "Excuse me? That disrespect and anger isn't normal for him?"

"Of course not! Normally he's pure-hearted, kind, quiet, and respectful. I haven't heard exactly what you said to him, but you managed to make him angrier than any bully, villain, or other obstacle ever came close to! He has never lost his temper like that before."

"So you're saying it's my fault – that my words managed to anger him more than anything or anyone else ever has."

"Well…"

The lanky man let out a short, sharp sigh. "Still think it was a mistake… Choosing that small, reckless, socially timid child as your successor, after all the time and effort put into getting Mirio ready for the role-"

"Sir?" a new voice chimed in. "What role?"

The two experienced Pros turned to see Mirio looking at them with wary confusion. After a moment, All Might sighed.

"Well, we might as well bring him into the loop at this point" he remarked.

He and Nighteye then explained to Mirio about One For All, its long and storied history, and about how Nighteye had been grooming Mirio to become the ninth wielder, only for All Might to pick Midoriya Izuku instead, worsening the rift between the two old heroes. Mirio took a deep, slow breath, processing everything.

"Sir…" he said. "I hate to tell you this, but… If All Might had offered me One For All instead… I woulda turned it down."

"…What?" Nighteye looked absolutely stunned, confused, and slightly affronted.

"I appreciate that you think I'm worthy of something like that, but… I don't think I'm the right person for the role. Plus, I've spent so long training my natural Quirk and my skill with it to the level they're at now, adding a whole new complicated Quirk to the equation would throw me off. I'd probably have to start my training all over again, it would take a long time and probably set me back. Plus, it'd kinda like be saying that my Quirk isn't good enough to make it as a top Hero, no matter how much I worked with it. So… thanks but no thanks. Besides! You haven't seen what Little Green is really capable of when he cuts lose! Plus, he's smart and an incredibly hard worker. He's earned the right to be All Might's successor."

As Nighteye was stunned silent, Toshinori gave him a look that was part apologetic and part 'I told you so'. Unable to find the words to say, Nighteye turned and walked away, leaving the two blonds behind, unable to bear looking at either of them right now.

-Break-

It was almost time. The Eight Precepts' hideout location had been confirmed, and Pros & police were clandestinely gathered for the raid. The planned day had come, with the raid set to be set in motion early afternoon.

Mid-morning, Izuku was looking after Eri again at the private hero hospital. Having been introducing her to a couple of simple games this morning, he was currently getting some snacks for the two of them from a vending machine down the hall. Suddenly, he sensed a Corridor of Darkness being opened up nearby… way too close to Eri's hospital room. Immediately he called up Full Cowl and started sprinting back that way, and he could soon hear screams cut off by horrid wet sounds. Rounding a corner, he saw as Overhaul used his Quirk to… disassemble a nurse who didn't get out of his way in time, and there were at least four more pools of blood & biomatter in his wake.

Then, before Izuku could do anything, he felt a sharp pain jab him in the side, and then his entire body locked up. His movements, even those of his eyes, became horribly slow, his body stumbling forward in extreme slow-motion. Chronostasis stepped out from where he'd been hiding, joining his boss. Then, Overhaul snapped his fingers, and multiple Heartless – Neoshadows – spawned around him. At his command, they broke down the room door, exposing the terrified little girl trying to cower in her bed.

"Come along, Eri" Overhaul said in a low, malicious tone, a dark-purple aura of the Power of Darkness clinging to him. "We have work to do…"

"W… W-Where's Deku? What did you do to him?"

"He's frozen, or close to it."

"Sir," Chronostasis interrupted, "I got the hero brat with my minute 'hand'." The longer of his two arrow-shaped locks of hair 'wiggled' in demonstration. "He'll be free of my Quirk's effect any second now. We need to leave."

Nodding, Overhaul roughly grabbed Eri with one arm while extending the other to call open another Corridor of Darkness, he and his henchman dragging the struggling child with them. Izuku burst into the room just in time to see the Corridor close and vanish.

-Break-

In the aftermath of the kidnapping, everything kicked into high gear. The whole team scrambled to get ready, quickly converging on the old estate confirmed to be the above-ground portion of the Eight Precepts' base of operations. The sizable force of heroes & police gathered at the front gates, starting to force their way in. But then, a huge muscle-bound figure with armored gloves and a red-lined black bird/plague-doctor mask burst out onto the scene, sending multiple police flying with sheer strength alone.

Before the Shie Hassaikai strongman Katsukame Rikiya could cause any more damage, Ryukyu transformed into her mighty dragon form, allowing her to match him in size and strength; as she and her three interns engaged the giant in battle, the rest of the assault force busted through the gates and rushed into the compound, easily steamrolling over the handful of grunts who tried to bar their path.

Once inside, they made a beeline for the entrance to the underground that had been detected by a seismic scan of the facility, only to be interrupted by a trio of Overhaul's minions. Amajiki volunteered to stay behind and face them while everyone else pressed on. Upon reaching the location marked as the underground entrance, they found a wall there. However, a quick check from Mirio confirmed the presence of a secret passage behind it, and so Fatgum & Kirishima made short work of the obstruction. However, two more of the Precepts were waiting there for them, dragging the Pro & Intern into a 2-on-2 fight while the rest of the heroes pressed onward.

As the group was making their way down a spacious stone hallway, the hallway itself began suddenly moving and distorting, rapidly shifting in improbable ways. They realized this had to be the work of "Mimic", Overhaul's lieutenant whose Quirk allowed him to possess inanimate objects. As the path ahead closed up, Terra threw his Keyblade through the closing gap, and then used the trick that Aqua had taught him recently, warping himself to the weapon's position, past the barricade. Mirio followed close behind, phasing through the rocks, and he & Terra hurried onward.

Before long, the two young heroes had their quarry in sight – Overhaul, accompanied by Kurono Hari (Chronostasis), Sakaki Deidoro, and Nemoto Shin, carrying Eri under one arm, the tyke too terrified to fight back. Hearing them coming, Overhaul's lackeys turned and fired their pistols, only for the bullets to bounce off Terra's armor and phase through Mirio's intangible body. Terra threw his 'Ends of the Earth' in a Strike Raid, nailing Sakaki square in the head, and the masked man dropped, lights out. Mirio sank into the floor and used a "Pop-Up Punch" to knock Nemoto for a loop while Terra parried Chronostasis' stabbing hair and then laid him out with a mighty right cross. As Overhaul ran for it, Terra cast Bind spells on the unconscious Precepts, just in case.

Terra & Mirio gave pursuit, soon cornering Overhaul in a larger room with walls, floor, & ceiling made of bare concrete. Mirio again used his sink-&-spring trick to close in before Overhaul could properly react, snatching Eri from the man's grasp. Immediately, Overhaul used his Quirk to convert a sizable patch of the concrete floor into a wave of impaling spikes aimed at Miro & Eri, only for Terra to shatter the spikes that would've hit them with a blow from his Keyblade.

Snarling, Overhaul snapped his fingers, and lots of Heartless spawned in and immediately went for Terra, keeping the Keyblade-wielder occupied. This left Mirio to face Overhaul alone, dodging and phasing as he avoided Overhaul's earth attacks while keeping Eri safe. A few close calls damaged his costume, but he didn't slow down. Overhaul released an 'explosion' of spikes, but Mirio managed to leap clear at the cost of his red cape getting torn up. He then set Eri down against the far wall, took off his cape, and wrapped it around her like a blanket.

"Heroes wear capes so they can shelter little girls with them" he decreed.

Mirio then went on the offensive, slipping through the concrete spikes and nailing Overhaul with a punch to the solar plexus that left the villain doubling over, and then let himself go intangible to easily 'evade' Overhaul's deadly retaliatory touch. A few Heartless went for Eri, but Terra killed them and took position to defend her from the darklings. With Eri's safety secured, Mirio set about steadily beating the ever-loving shit out of Overhaul; he was able to go intangible to no-sell Overhaul's attempts to 'disassemble' him, and his 3+ years of intensive training allowed him to make sport of the villain who'd become over-reliant on his Quirk for fighting and was thus woefully unprepared for a melee fight.

Then, to make matters even worse for Overhaul, one of the walls was busted down as Izuku arrived on-scene, accompanied by Eraser Head and… Twice from the League of Villains?

"You've betrayed us?" Overhaul snarled at the masked man.

"You tore Mr. Compress' arm off!" Twice shouted with barely-restrained rage. "You murdered Magné, just when she'd finally found a place to belong! Did you really think we wouldn't do everything we could to take revenge?!" He then turned to Aizawa & Midoriya. "Make him hurt! …And say hi to Himiko-chan for me!"

Twice then made himself scarce, and Izuku was wrapped in red as he assumed his Valor Form, brandishing his Phantom Green and an instance of the Kingdom Key. He leapt in to help Terra against the remaining Heartless, while Aizawa came at Overhaul with calm, laser-focused anger (he'd been horrified to learn what Eri had been put through, but years as an Underground Hero had taught him how to make his anger deadly-cold for maximum brutal efficiency). Eraser Head and Lemillion worked together seamlessly, the former stepping back whenever he needed to blink and letting the latter pound on the villain for a moment. It culminated in Aizawa snagging Overhaul with his capture scarf, spinning him around a couple times, and then slamming him head-first down into the ground.

Overhaul used his Quirk on himself to 'reset' his head injury, and then an aura of Darkness sprang up around him. His rage at being defied by these 'sick' Heroes was boiling over, as he wracked his brain trying to think of how to kill them and take Eri back. Just then, the ceiling suddenly came crashing down as Rikiya was body-slammed by dragon-form Ryukyu hard enough to break through.

Before anyone down below could react, Overhaul seized the opportunity that had dropped into his lap (well, not literally; that would've crushed him into paste). He used his power to disassemble and absorb/merge with his defeated, Trigger-boosted minion, and then further to take in a lot of the surrounding stone & concrete as well as a few Heartless that were within his range. As spears of stone and Darkness lanced out, everyone scrambled to evade, with Izuku grabbing Eri.

Izuku landed on the pavement above, Eri riding on his back. Seconds later, a gigantic monster emerged, multiple arms reaching out, a huge beak opening wide to reveal Overhaul from the waist up.

"You so-called heroes don't understand!-!" he roared out in fury. "The sickness that infects the world! Eri's power is the key to curing it!-! It's the only use for a cursed child like her! She can break the rules of the world!"

"You're the one who's sick!" Izuku retorted. "The only things driving you are your phobia of anything you perceive as 'diseased' and your sociopathic black heart – unable to care about anyone but yourself, unable to find joy except in the suffering of others! And Eri-chan's power is not a curse! She hasn't learned to control it yet, but it could do so much good! I won't let you lay a hand on her ever again!-!"

Izuku's green Hero costume gained portions of gold as he took on his Master Form, Phantom Green in his right hand and a Kingdom Key floating off to his left. He started flinging Fire and Blizzard spells at Overhaul's monster form, but the rocky hide of the beast shrugged the hits off. Huge stone fists flew at Izuku and his little passenger as he used his transformation's magic and the boost of 15% Full Cowl to narrowly evade, landing counterblows that blew 'little' chunks out of the flesh & stone monster that quickly reformed. The Overhaul Monster lunged at him, and in instinctual desperation he struck with a 100% kick. The blow knocked the titan back… and as Izuku landed, he was surprised to feel no pain at all. Looking back over his shoulder, he saw the yellow horn on Eri's forehead glowing.

"You… When I struck with my full power, you 'rewound' my broken leg before my body even had time to register any pain…" He gave the girl a smile. "What a kind power you have, Eri-chan."

The Overhaul Monster roared, getting back on its feet. A black aura surged around it, and a pair of huge bat-like wings made of the Darkness of deconstructed Heartless sprouted from its back, glowing dark red with antigravity magic. Izuku looked back at his little passenger.

"Eri-chan… My Quirk is too strong for my own body. When I use it at 100%, it hurts me really, really badly. But, if we combine my Quirk's power with yours… do you think you could continuously 'rewind' me as I'm taking damage from my power, so I can sustain 100% for the whole fight?"

After a few seconds, Eri nodded. "I-I'll do my best."

Glows of green and yellow sprang up and brightened, as Eri called upon her Quirk's power while Izuku ramped his Full Cowl up higher and higher. Finally, a surging emerald aura enveloped him as he reached 100%... but then his power suddenly and rapidly dropped down to half, while a different power flowed in to make up the difference and then some. Coming to him in his time of need once again, the brilliant white & silver light of the Heart of All Creation flowed through him. His outfit turned mostly white, tinted green by Full Cowl's aura, while six green-tipped white blades of Light magic fanned out behind him & Eri like wings. The ancient holy power enveloping him also took partial control of Eri's power as well, turning it 'down' to match Izuku's halved One-For-All output.

Now, glowing white & green with the combined power of 50% Full Cowl and Final Form, Izuku flew at Overhaul, striking with a rising blow that sent the monster-fied villain hurtling up into the sky above the city. Regaining control, Monster-Overhaul fired a wave of Darkness-wreathed stone spears down at Izuku, but the little hero's blades spun in front of him as he ascended, shattering the incoming projectiles. Deku quickly closed in and started hammering Overhaul's stone body with pulverizing punches, blasting the rock to bits. Overhaul quickly reformed his monstrous outer shell and fired orbs of Darkness at Izuku, who flitted around and returned fire with blasts of Light.

As the fight continued, it became increasingly clear that Overhaul was totally outmatched. Reduced to ranting and screaming at the boy who'd ruined everything, frequently having to reconstruct himself to repair the damage he was taking, he poured almost everything he could spare into a powerful wave/beam of Darkness that seemed to suck the light out of the surrounding sky. …And Izuku dove into and pierced right through it, fist glowing like the sun as he closed in on the shocked and horrified Overhaul, striking with Final Form and One For All's 100% power:

"ROYAL! KINGDOM! SMAAAASH!-!-!"

The brilliant explosion of white and green light rattled windows for kilometers around, lighting up the sky. The Light and power consumed Overhaul, obliterating the monstrous shell of flesh, darkness, & stone surrounding him and then tearing his body apart into motes of metaphysical essence. The only part of Kai Chisaki to come out intact was his Heart, and it was quickly swallowed up by the Darkness as the Heartless collected their due…

Izuku flew back down to ground level, and as he set foot on the ravaged pavement, the power of Final Form left him, with the Light 'helping' Eri turn her Quirk off as it left. Dispelling his Full Cowl as well, Izuku sat down while moving Eri around to his front, the little girl hugging him as they both felt tiredness wash over them. Eri wept with relief, knowing that the man who'd filled her last nearly-three years with terror and agony was finally gone.

She was free.

-CHAPTER END-

Regarding how Final Form has come to Izuku twice, the circumstances involved: In the Travels-verse, Kingdom Hearts, the Heart of All Worlds, has some degree of sapience. Not only is it giving its power to him when he needs it, it's trying to protect him from the damage his own Quirk would cause him, and thus it 'forces' One For All to turn down to lessen the damage (and uses the healing factor of such potent Light magic to further mitigate the strain on his body) while giving him Final Form to make up for it. It also 'knew' enough to adjust Eri's Quirk output to account for the decreased output of One For All.

Next Time: confessions, and one more big fight.