My Hokuto Academia

I DO NOT own Hokuto no Ken or My Hero Academia, they belong to their respective creators, Tetsuo Hara, Buronson, and Kohei Horikoshi. Support the official releases, especially of Souten no Ken. Oh, someone's already translating Souten no Ken: Regenesis [manga version] already!

Italics = Flashback

"Italics" = Speaking in a Different Language

'Italics' = Inner Thoughts

Italics = Flashback

"BOLD" = All-Might's tone or Present Mic [excited]

Chapter Thirty-Seven:

The news was a shocker, to say the least. If there was a good thing, Death Arms was buried with full honors at the least. The agency would be headed by one of his longest-serving Sidekicks, Stonewall. The rest of the community? Some middle school students were thinking of revoking their applications to hero academies while others saw this as a clear message: working harder to prevent this from happening to them. Like that's gonna clear up the gap.

Some heroes and hopefuls weren't taking it too well...

Might Tower

Yagi just saw the news, but what stood out to him was the scar pattern... he might be looking too deep into this, but it was the Big Dipper constellation. A symbol he's all too familiar with.

"Is this someone related to Shichisei? Someone who has a vendetta against him?"

YOU HAVE AN INCOMING CALL! YOU HAVE AN INCOMING CALL! YOU HAVE AN INCOMING CALL!

Yagi quickly picked up the phone, then saw it was Nighteye.

"I assume you heard the news?"

"Yes..."

"I'm concerned that Midoriya, one of your students, might be dragged into something horrific. This has the makings of a Pro Mercenary."

"What?!"

"I don't need to go into detail about what that entails."

"Is there a list of active Pro Mercs you have on file?"

"No, all the ones I heard about are either dead or imprisoned. Looks like this one managed to fly under the radar."

"No... this means-"

"Mirio has been adapting well to some of your suggested moves along with making some of his own. In fact, he might be the closest thing that could combat Shichisei AND All For One."

"I only hope..."

Blade's Nest

The building looked like a five-story office but with some old-style aesthetics from the Pre-Quirk Era, the one thing that made it stand out was was the swan-like head/helmet design on top. Bladefowl and his few Sidekicks were watching the news, but the former was incensed by this.

"This was Nanto Seiken, no doubt about it," stated Bladefowl. "Which branch, that's the question..."

A fairly casual voice broke the tension by saying: "Oh great... high chance that it's an assassin." The Sidekicks turn to look at the source, it was Hawks... but dressed casually: a black hoodie with short sleeves, yellow shirt, and beige-colored running pants.

Bladefowl looked at Hawks with a stern expression.

"Keigo. You're early."

"Remembering our previous talk, leisure time's gonna be a foreign concept at this point, am I right?"

"Correct. Now that you're here, we shall start training. I don't need my star pupil slacking. One. Bit." Hawks' normal expression turned a bit serious, this meant one thing: Bladefowl was going to cut loose... more than usual. "The same goes for the rest of you. Sparring Room. Three Minutes."

'I fucking knew it... oh well, I'm gonna need a paramedic on standby. If I survive.'

Mosu Aizuri Cafe

It was a small AND out-of-the-way cafe, mainly located in the western part of Musutafu City, and it helps that it's set next to a set of office buildings too. Just the way Eraserhead likes it. As of now, he's in casual clothes and waiting for one of his contacts to arrive.

"He's late..."

In a few seconds, the contact arrived. He was fairly big, chiseled, and well, the scars on his arms indicate that he can handle himself in a fight or two. He also wore sunglasses to cover up his eyes.

"Well, better late than never, but you know how thorough I can be."

"I don't doubt it, Armlann. It's a shame you couldn't be a detective in Japan like how you were in the States."

"You know my reasons: lack of oversight and at times, the upper brass can be idiots," snarked Armlann. "Oh, right. The info you needed." The strongman handed an envelope to the erasure hero.

As he opened it, Eraserhead's widened a bit. "You're... kidding. You believe our suspect is a Pro Mercenary?"

"The intel doesn't lie, friend. The benefit of running Terex Services."

"Right..." responded Eraserhead. "You think he's a freelancer or working with the League?"

"Speculation at best but there was a small trail. It began from the Golden Triangle in Southeast Asia, so our guy has definitely seen action there."

"Thanks, Armlann. WE owe you a big favor."

"Hey, it's nothing. I still appreciate you helping me get my bearings in a new country and everything."

Eraserhead nods while the titan of a man leaves after a couple of minutes.

Endeavor Agency

The Number Two wondered, is this killer and the vigilante from long ago, Shichisei, are they connected? The Big Dipper was a red flag to him, this would be a separate investigation for himself.

There was one thing that bothered him, that buff teacher... the Midoriya boy's teacher. He was an anomaly, how does a school teacher put the fear of death into a top-ranked Pro Hero?!

'Who were you truly...? Once I find out, I'll throw you into the deepest pit that Tartarus has to offer.'

On the other hand, this killer, some dubbing him or her the Constellation Killer was a more pressing concern. Death Arms, in his eyes, was a low-ranker but knew how to do his job. However, the hero's death sent this message: Pro Heroes aren't invincible.

Iida Residence

Tenya Iida was doing push-ups but DID NOT take a break, he was pushing himself harder than he needed to; Tensei's assailant was still out there, likely still crippling heroes.

'I. Will. Find. HIM.'

The news of Death Arms' passing only intensified things, worrying his already-distraught mother more so, and he was even ignoring texts from classmates? The majority of them coming from Midoriya and Uraraka who were becoming very worried, the latter more.

Uraraka: Iida, I just want to say I'm sorry for what your family is going through.

Iida was doing sit-ups.

Uraraka: Iida, don't bottle it up, okay?

Iida was practicing his strikes, mainly working on quick and short combos, but he was showing signs of slowing down. He was still insistent on not taking a break.

Kirishima: Hey, bro. Are you sure you're doing okay? I heard the news, sorry for your brother.

The boy, unfortunately, had another load of bad news heaped upon him: Tensei would be wheelchair-bound for life. No, he did not mishear it. Though he didn't notice it, there were tears streaming down his face.

Yaoyorozu: Do you need to talk to Mr. Aizawa about this, Iida? I'll walk you to him tomorrow.

He finally stopped as he fell, due to sheer exhaustion, and muttering to himself, "I will find you... I will find you..."

Kirishima: Seriously, do you need to talk to someone?

Edgeshot Agency

A lone ninja whose gray hair was sharp was concerned. He was stewing over the death of one of his colleagues, "Death Arms was done in by Nanto Seiken, I didn't think I would see someone actually use those techniques in public."

As the ninja was thinking things over, he focuses on a framed photo on the wall, specifically that of his mentor. Well, his younger self when he trained him. Dark brown hair, eerie eyes, and the bowl cut. Yup, he remembered that hairstyle.

"It seems that the fists of assassination are making their presence known," the ninja said. "I wonder, Sunagumo-Sensei, what you would do?"

BRINNNGGG! BRINGGG!

"This is Edgeshot."

"This is Eraserhead, I have found more info on our murderer."

Edgeshot was silent for a moment but let him go on, wondering if he'll confirm what he knows.

"It seems our perp might be a Pro Mercenary."

"Wait. A merc? A genuine mercenary?"

"Correct. One of my contacts can confirm that there was a small trail from Southeast Asia."

"Where... exactly?"

"They think the Golden Triangle, likely working for drug lords."

Edgeshot now realized that this killer is far more dangerous than he thought: Nanto Seiken, add that with the standard skills of a merc: sharpshooting, knife-fighting, explosives training, and experience within a battlefield. This guy would be an A-ranked Villain at the least.

"If you ask me, you'll need an entire team. A whole team just for this one guy."

"Be that as it may, this case is still ongoing. The trouble is this: is he a freelancer or is he working with the League?"

"I'm sure it will be revealed at some point..."

Kasumi Residence

Kensei finished up training Izuku for the day but pulled him aside for a talk.

"You have been working hard, but everyone needs a break every now and then. Let's be honest, you need it."

"R-Right. Especially with the USJ Incident and all," said Izuku, shaking a bit. "There is one thing I need to speak to you about..."

"Spill it."

"The scar pattern on Death Arms, you know that, do you?"

Kensei was taken aback a bit but regained his composure. "The Big Dipper. However, there's something that's making me uneasy..."

"Yo...You're thinking it's someone out for payback, r...right?"

"It's a small list, that's the issue. Every scumbag I came across, skilled or not, met their end by me."

"Th...There has to be somebody..."

"Wait... there is one, but that requires belief."

"A belief in what?"

"A belief that I was stupid enough to assume that he was dead."

Izuku's eyes widen a bit, the concept sinking in, someone managed to survive his master. More importantly, he wants revenge.

Yaoyororzu Residence

"The Big Dipper...what does this symbol mean?" Yaoyorozu mumbled to herself. She was on her personal laptop, looking at the whole Deaths Arms Incident, and something hit her: the Chishi-Rengou Incident from a few years ago. Opening a new tab, she looked up an article about the said incident and found a potential link: the same Big Dipper pattern on the vigilante's costume.

"I think I have something...even if it's a small piece to a grand puzzle. It's still something."

Author's Notes: Soon we will be back to UA, plus Armlann is arsenal in Gaelic. Oh, and Edgeshot's master is a descendant of the Nameless Shura, the ninja who fought Falco. Also, try to guess the Star Wars references. Hmmm... looks like Momo is going to find a link between Bloodgash and Shichisei. Yes, it's a shorter chapter, but it's dedicated to the fallout.

Pro Mercenary - A position in which people use their Quirks to make money at the expense of ethics, whether it's being a soldier, sharpshooter, security, or enforcer.