With the second part of their mission now underway, Tokage and her crew were swiftly moving through the simulated forest at high speed.
Since their opponent had spotted her earlier, the trio had to take a different route to reach the cliff side. Which cost them quite a bit of precious time. If Tokage was right, they had a little under twenty minutes left to secure the rescue mannequin and get back to their gate before they all failed. And considering the fact that they were about to face off against the strongest girl in school, every minute was going to count.
Thankfully, even with the unintended detour the group was able to make it to the bottom of the cliff in about three minutes.
"Alright, she probably knows where we are. So sneaking up on her won't be happening." The green haired girl told Yanagi and Nagamasa.
"So what's the plan?" The grey haired teen asked.
"I'll be the lead." Tokage stated. "I don't like being the bait, but if I'm the first one she spots then that will give you two enough time to counterattack. Nagamasa will be in the middle with Ghosty in the rear. Once Nejire is in range, blast her with whatever you got and keep her occupied long enough for either myself or Nagamasa to grab the mannequin."
"Remember that we have to get the mannequin back to our gate. So we have to be quick." Nagamasa added.
"I should be able to fly over there within five minutes. So as long as we get the mannequin, we'll be good." The 'poltergeist' user reassured him.
After another couple of seconds of deliberation, the trio was ready to go. Based on prior classes that they had here, the U.A. students knew that there were only three paths to get to their destination. The north path, the south path and the east path. The one they were currently on. They would've preferred the south path since that gave them the least chances of being ambushed. But thanks to Hadou already spotting them, they had to go east. And no one felt like running around to the opposite end of the cliff since that would've cost even more time.
With Tokage taking point, they were able to make it halfway up the path without any issues. Yanagi was doing her best to keep a lookout both above and behind just to make sure that their foe wouldn't ambush them from the sky.
"Hadou-san is strong, right? I know that she's considered one of your school's "Big Three"." The Shiketsu teen inquired.
"Yeah, she's tough. And her quirk is good for fighting at all ranges. Since this is a training class, she won't go all out. But she's still skilled enough to give us trouble. Luckily for us, she's not as fast as Ghosty or Izuku when she's flying."
Barely a minute after Tokage said that, the group had finally reached a point where they could see their target. The three students quickly ducked behind some nearby rocks and poked their heads out to get a look at the area. The rescue mannequin was sprawled out in the back of a large clearing next to the open cave. And it was in the perfect position for one of them to just scoop it up and run down the south path. However there was one problem, Hadou was nowhere to be found. The students looked everywhere along the cliff to see where she possibly could've gone. But the blue haired third year was gone.
'Where is she?' Yanagi thought to herself. Looking around to see if there were any good spots for an ambush.
"This is a trap." Nagamasa whispered the others' thoughts.
"You're right." Tokage agreed in a hushed tone.
"Hey, hey, Shiketsu boy! Do you have to shampoo your entire body when you shower?"
...
...
...
"What the-"
"Hey guys!" Hadou smiled at the trio while floating right above them. "Glad to see that you're finally here!"
"Where the hell did you come from?!" Tokage asked out of instinct and genuine curiosity more than anything.
"Oh, I was hiding between some of the big rocks a few meters down the path. You guys walked right past me and did even notice. Y'know...situational awareness is an essential skill for a hero."
With their opponent now right in front of them. Tokage saw no better opportunity than now to strike. "Ghosty!"
Yanagi seemed to be thinking the same thing and quickly complied by activating her quirk to use on Hadou. But when she tried, all the blue haired girl felt was a slight pull on her body that was akin to someone tugging on her outfit.
'Damn, she weighs too much!'
"Your weight limit is a lot less than Izu-kun's, right?" Hadou then asked the grey haired teen. "I guess I'm just too heavy for you."
'Tch, probably because all the weight you're carrying around in your tits.' Tokage grimaced.
Just before Nagamasa was about to try and capture her, the three first year students were blown away by a flash of yellow light that thrusted them into the clearing in front of the cave.
With a quick glance to ascertain her surroundings, Tokage saw that the rescue mannequin was only about eight or so meters away from her. Yanagi was on her left, and Nagamasa was right in front of her. Seeing as this would pretty much be their only chance to grab the mannequin and run, it was now or never.
"Nagamasa, head for the mannequin! Me and Ghosty got this!" She ordered.
"Got it!" The hairy teen nodded before dashing towards their objective.
At the same time, Tokage and Yanagi rushed forward to begin their attack. The green haired girl immediately separated her legs and arms from the rest of her torso and sent them flying right at Hadou. While at the same time, Yanagi attacked with eight of her mini-discs.
Seemingly unbothered by this, the still airborne Hadou effortlessly dodged the oncoming attack by flying around. The blunette began performing various aerial maneuvers to slip in between the assortment of limbs and miniaturized weapons. Even doing a couple of midair splits and corkscrews for good measure. All while keeping her signature grin. "Oh wow, you guys are good! Most people would definitely have trouble with something like this."
This continued on for about ten seconds. Each time either one of the girls got close enough to the third year, she would respond by swiftly changing directions. In terms of flying ability, Hadou seemed to be way more skilled than they had originally thought. And to make matters worse, the girl was at the edge of Yanagi's effective range.
With the much needed distraction from his teammates, Nagamasa had secured the rescue mannequin and began running towards the southern path of the cliff side. Leaving his two teammates to handle the rest. But right when he was about to leave the area, a strong blast of yellow energy halted his advance.
"Ah, ah, ah!" Hadou wagged her finger. "You can't leave when the fun is just getting started."
'Alright, I've had enough of this!' Yanagi clicked her teeth before hopping onto her hover-disc and making a beeline right for their opponent. The moment Hadou noticed this, she began backing off. Apparently their earlier hunch was right. The girl was intentionally keeping herself away from the 'poltergeist' user. Something that Tokage was going to take full advantage of.
"Ghosty, keep charging at her!" The green haired teen yelled.
There was something about this fight that didn't make sense to her though. As far as Tokage knew, although Hadou lacked speed when it came to her quirk the girl should be able to fire off those energy blasts of hers non-stop. The girl did have crazy levels of stamina after all. But the only thing she had used them for so far has been to keep Nagamasa in place. There were more than enough opportunities for the blunette to get a couple of shots off at either herself or Yanagi in the two minutes or so that they had been going at it. So why hasn't she done it? It was only after another few seconds when the green haired girl had finally put the pieces together.
"You're stalling for time, aren't you?!"
"Aww, did you figure it out already?" Hadou pouted. "Dang. I was hoping to waste some more time before you caught on. Good job, Setsuna-chan!"
Unfortunately for Hadou, the time it took to respond to that question gave Yanagi enough time to cut the distance between the two of them. Giving the 'poltergeist' user the chance to use her quirk to take hold of blunette's spiral-like gauntlets. The grey haired teen then used her power to force Hadou's arms behind her back. Which definitely caught the girl off guard for a moment.
Now that they had the upper hand, Nagamasa used this opportunity to flee down the path in hope of reaching their gate. While at the same time Tokage launched her arms and legs at their opponent. With Hadou's arms stuck, she was unable to stop the green haired girl's arms from wrapping themselves around her hands and torso. Or her legs being locked in place by Tokage's own lower limbs.
"Snake Binding!" The girl said proudly.
"Oooh, is this what you do to capture people?! That makes a lot of sense!" The curious Hadou asked. Seemingly unphased by the predicament that she was currently in.
"Don't worry, we're not done yet!"
As soon as Tokage said that, Yanagi lowered herself onto the nearby ground and released her remaining mini-discs. Sending all twenty of them, along with her hover-disc, towards the blue haired girl. The students and teachers looked on in awe as the small weapons created a sphere around the 'wave motion' quirk user's body. With the hover-disc placed at the top of the formation.
"Spectre's Star of Execution!"
With this move, the two girls had effectively created a cage around their opponent. One that would give anyone a bit trouble trying to break out of. Tokage and Yanagi had tried something like this before when they were practicing combinations in preparation for the 'Derelicta' raid a while back. But they never really got a chance to use it until today. And luckily for them, it looked to be just as effective as they hoped.
'We still got fourteen minutes left before the end of the exercise. As long as we can keep her here, then we're good.' Tokage thought to herself.
'She's pretty much trapped. She won't be able to fire off any of her energy blasts when she's like this. Especially since her hands are bound to her back.' Yanagi surmised at the same time.
Any normal person would've started feeling a bit nervous after being caught up in a trap like this. However, Nejire Hadou was far from a normal girl. Instead of struggling to try and break free, the bluenette instead began gawking at her two adorable kouhai's handiwork. The look on her face seemed relatively calm. But everyone watching could see that something wasn't right.
"Wow! You guys really are amazing, huh?! If this was anybody else, they would definitely be done for. Well...maybe except for Mirio-kun and Tamaki-kun. Or Ryukyu. Izu-kun would probably be able to break out of this too." The blunette began rambling with a smile on her face.
"So, you don't plan on giving up?" Tokage taunted her with a slight smirk. Feeling pretty confident in their chances.
"What?! No way! I was just admiring your awesome teamwork before I broke out of this! Besides, this is fun."
"Nice try." Yanagi replied. "But even you would-"
Before the grey haired girl could finish her statement, swirls of yellow energy rapidly began enveloping Hadou's entire form. The sudden surge of energy was so quick that neither girl could react before a flash of light bursted out of Hadou's body and momentarily obstructed their vision. Tokage could feel that her limbs had somehow lost their grip on the girl. But before she could recover, it was already too late.
"I'm sorry about this, Setsuna-chan. But I need to go stop your teammate before he reaches the gate." Hadou's cheery yet apologetic voice said from right in front of the 'lizard tail splitter' user. The next thing Tokage felt was a hand on her chest.
"3% Nejire Wave!"
Even though it was only a small burst compared to some of her usual attacks, the force of Hadou's blast was more than strong enough to knock all of the wind out of Tokage's lungs. And since she didn't currently have her arms and legs attached to her body, the green haired girl fell to the ground with a loud thud. The power from the 'wave motion' user's attack along with the hard landing seemed to be enough to do her in. And judging by the delirious look on her face, Tokage wasn't getting up any time soon.
Not even fifteen meters away from her, Yanagi had just enough time to shake herself off and get back onto her feet. And the grey haired teen instantly began looking for her hover-disc. Luckily, the thing was only about twenty or so meters away from her on the ground. Not looking to waste any time, the girl activated her quirk and pulled the object towards her. But just when the hover disc was about halfway there, a blue blur appeared and grabbed the silver object right out of the air.
"Oh no, we can't have you getting this back now can we?" Hadou looked down on her while hovering in the air.
'Shit!' Yanagi cursed.
Much like what just happened with her teammate, Yanagi was just too slow on the draw to stop Hadou from doing as she pleased. In a split second, the grey haired girl's legs were surrounded by a growing mass of swirling yellow energy. The force of which was strong enough to even lift her feet off the ground. All the girl could do was look up and see her opponents hands already glowing with a scary amount of energy.
"8% Nejire Twister!"
The last thing Yanagi saw before blacking out was a bright flash of spiraling yellow light. Followed by the feeling of her bones shaking before hitting the ground.
"Setsuna Tokage and Reiko Yanagi are both unable to continue!" The voice of Kan announced over the loudspeaker.
"Aww...too bad. I wanted to have more fun with these two. But I gotta go stop the hairy one. Oh well, I'll just ask them about their cool capture move sometime later." Hadou thought out loud before flying off to go take care of the final student.
"Ah man..." Hiryu Rin said after watching Hadou literally blast her way through the two first years like it was nothing.
"Well that went to shit pretty fast, huh?" Awase voiced his thoughts.
"Nejire-senpai isn't the most strong girl of school for no reason." Tsunotori shrugged. The horned American being the only one out of all the 1-B students who knew what the 'wave motion' user was truly capable of.
'They were doing well up until they got her.' Midnight thought to herself. 'Honestly, they should've just knocked her out when they had the chance. Hadou's way too unpredictable to be captured for too long. Oh! I should save some of these screenshots later and show them to Nanao. She'll definitely get a kick out of seeing Setsuna all beat up like this!'
"A strong quirk and a body that just doesn't quit. My kind of girl~." Mineta said in a tone that was barely above a whisper from his spot towards the back of the group. Immediately after saying that, the diminutive teen's eyes flashed over to Tsuburaba. Apparently the brunette boy had heard what he said and simply flashed him a quick smile and thumbs up. 'I see, another man of culture.'
Nagamasa had just reached the edge of the mountain and was about to begin his trek through the woods when he heard the announcement over the loudspeakers. The hairy Shiketsu teen didn't like the idea of leaving his teammates to deal with a strong opponent while he got away. But finishing this task was crucial. And since the two of them had just been taken down, he didn't really have the time to worry about anything other than getting the rescue mannequin to the gate as soon as possible.
'Man...if only I was as fast as Yoarashi-kun.' The class rep of the Shiketsu students huffed out as he fell into a full on sprint. Speed wasn't exactly his forte. Capture and detention were what he was best at. And in his mind, a task like this was something Yanagi should've been doing instead of him.
The boy only made it about fifty meters into the simulated forest before a rustling above the trees drew his attention.
"Hey, there you are! You're not very fast are you? Then again, I'm not really fast either, aren't I?"
Just like what happened to Yanagi, the last thing Nagamasa could see was a flash of spiraling yellow light before blacking out.
"Nagamasa is unable to continue. The exercise is over! Please stand by for the medical droids to come pick you up if you're unable to move on your own!" Midnight's voice echoed across the training area. Signaling the end of this group's training.
"Well, it seems that Hadou-kun is as lively and carefree as ever." Bubble Girl said from her spot behind Nighteye.
"Indeed." The wheelchair bound man adjusted his glasses.
"Hadou-kun is very hard to get a hold of." Nezu interjected. "But I commend Tokage-kun and Yanagi-kun for coming up with a very effective way to capture their opponent. Even if it didn't work out for them."
While the teachers were all chatting and setting up for the next round, a familiar noise caught the attention of the entire group.
*I AM HERE! A PHONE CALL IS HERE! I AM HERE! A PHONE CALL IS HER-*
"H-hello?" Toshinori Yagi quickly answered his phone. However, he failed to do it fast enough to avoid receiving a variety of looks from both the students and the teachers.
'He seriously has himself as his ringtone...' Nearly everyone thought simultaneously.
"Naomosa, what is it?" The blonde haired man whispered as he walked out of the monitor room.
"Toshinori, I just got a phone call from Tartarus. I think that you'll want to hear this." The plain faced detective said on the other side of the line. And judging by the tone of his voice, this seemed like it was a pressing matter. Especially considering the location from where his long time friend was contacted from.
About a minute later, the former 'Symbol of Peace' told the rest of the staff that he needed to excuse himself. Letting Nighteye and the others know that he would call them later on to go over what happened today with Togata. And whatever he talked about on the phone definitely had the man a little bit shaken.
~A Few Hours Later~
By the time the final training session had finished up, everyone who had been incapacitated during their exercises were finally released by Recovery Girl. Tokage, Shiozaki and Yanagi were back on their feet shortly after getting patched up by the healing heroine. So they were able to make it back just in time to watch Tamaki Amajiki utterly decimate teams two and five before the class came to an end.
As for Midoriya and the rest of the first group, it took them a little while longer to recover. Evidently, Mirio Togata had really done a number on them. But they were released shortly after all the students were told to go to the buses. And they wasted no time heading to the front of the main building to rejoin their classmates. They all looked to be in good shape as far as anyone could tell. Even Tetsutetsu seemed to be perfectly fine. Which was pretty crazy considering he was the one who ended up getting thrown through a building.
"Well, well, well..." Tokage smirked with a hand on her hip. "Look who finally decided to wake up."
"Hey, Setsuna." Midoriya lazily groaned out.
"Have a nice nap?"
"Yeah, I actually feel pretty refreshed."
"Considering how your match went, I guess we can call that a win." The green haired girl gave him a toothy grin.
"So how'd your match go?" The boy then asked. Curious about what her group had to do since he had no idea what happened after he was knocked unconscious.
"We lost." The girl shrugged. "I can see why Nejire's the strongest girl in school. She's just too damn good. Seriously, it's not even fair! How can someone be both powerful and gorgeous? That kind of thing should be illegal."
"Well I'm glad you're okay. Sorry I didn't get to see it." The boy smiled at her.
"I'll tell you all about later."
Once everyone was rounded up, the teachers spent a good twenty minutes giving a general overview of how the training went. All in all, it was a good learning experience for the students. And teaming up with people that they didn't know was good practice for when they eventually become pros. There was mention of doing something like this again in the future. But to be honest, very few of them really cared since they were all ready to just get back to their rooms and clean themselves off.
In the midst of everyone walking over to their assigned buses, Tokage took a moment to see if she could find Yaoyorozu. She hadn't seen the raven-haired class-rep around when she returned to the monitoring room. And the girl was gone until the end of the final match. The green haired teen wanted to try and apologize to her for what she said during their round. But in between all the moving around she never really got the opportunity.
When she finally spotted the 'creation' quirk user stepping onto the 1-A bus, Tokage knew that she had missed her chance. But she simply shrugged it off and planned to drop by the 1-A dorms when she had the time to clear the air and let Yoayorozu know that she didn't mean any of what she said.
"Hey, Midoriya-kun?!" The voice of Inasa Yoarashi suddenly howled from the other end of the sidewalk. The 'telekinesis' user quickly turned around to see the tall boy joyously running towards his group with a smile on his face. As well as his strawberry blonde classmate, Camie Utushimi.
"Yeah?" The green haired boy replied.
"I had an awesome time today! Even though we got our butts kicked, I greatly enjoyed teaming up with you!"
"Does he seriously not know how to lower his voice?" Yanagi said in her usually stoic fashion.
"Thanks! I enjoyed teaming up with you too, Yoarashi-san."
"Hey man, you're really cool! We should hang out sometime! Maybe get together and do some training! Or go see a movie or whatever!" The boy from Shiketsu continued before pulling a piece of paper out from seemingly nowhere and handing it off to Midoriya. "Here's my number, give me a call sometime!"
Midoriya really didn't know how to respond to that. So for now, he just decided to roll with it. "O-oh uh...sure..."
"Uh...did he just ask my boyfriend out on a date?" Tokage looked to Tetsutetsu for clarification. Only to receive a confused shrug from the silver haired boy.
Suddenly, Utsushimi wrapped her arms around the pair of best friends and gave them a warm smile. "That's like a totally lit idea yo! We should all get together sometime and kick it. We def need to catch up on the times, don't cha' think?"
'Oh my god, get this girl away from me...' Both Tokage and Tetsutetsu thought at the exact same moment. While also immediately rejecting the idea of spending any more time around this blonde haired basket-case than necessary.
Thankfully, the teacher from Shiketsu had called them over to hurry and get on their bus. Saving the two from having to deal with her any longer.
"Catch ya' on the flip side, amigos!"
Once the Shiketsu students were finally out of earshot, Yanagi took it upon herself to ask the question that everyone else had on their minds. "So...what exactly is the deal with you three anyway? I thought you all went to the same school."
"We did." Tokage answered. "But Utsushimi was one of those popular girls who likes to gossip and spread rumors about people. Plus, she's just super annoying. There was this one time where she convinced a classmate of ours to ask out Metalhead just so he'd stop spending so much time with me."
"Seriously?" Kendou quirked an eyebrow at the 'steel' quirk user. But there was something in the way that the orange haired class-rep looked at him that definitely caught Tokage's attention.
"Yeah...the whole thing was pretty messed up." The boy in question waved off.
"Sounds like a pain in the ass if you ask me." Awase put in his two cents.
'I'm glad that I never had to deal with any of that kind of drama.' Midoriya thought to himself.
"Anyways, let's just hurry up and get back to the dorms." Tokage said. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm in the mood for a much needed shower...and a nap."
"Can't argue with you there." Honenuki joked while throwing his hands behind his head.
And with that, the group of friends hopped onto their bus with the rest of their classmates. Looking forward to a nice and relaxing afternoon of lethargy and chilling out without having to worry about anything else for the rest of the day.
"Oh my, I just remembered. Isn't Cementoss-sensei giving us a quiz tomorrow?" Shiozaki then asked the group.
Any remaining joy in the hearts of both Awase and Tetsutetsu vanished. Leaving the two academically challenged boys with solemn faces and a slight bit of anxiety for the upcoming exam that neither of them remembered to study for.
~Later That Afternoon~
After leaving U.A. and driving all the way down to Tokyo to meet up with Tsukauchi, Yagi and the detective hightailed it straight to Tartarus. The retired hero had received an urgent call from the man stating that All for One had told the prison guards that he wished to speak to him.
Of course this came as a surprise to the former number one hero. But the faceless man who had caused him so much grief in the past had been utterly quiet up until this moment. So the fact that he had requested to speak to him out of the blue was enough cause for him to drop everything that he was doing to listen to what he had to say.
And as far as Toshinori Yagi was concerned, he still had more than a few questions that needed to be answered….
"Tell me, what was your plan for Izuku Midoriya?" The emaciated blonde demanded shortly after walking into the highly guarded prison cell that housed the most dangerous man in all of Japan.
"Whatever do you mean, Toshinori? Honestly, I thought the first question out of your mouth would've been how I knew that young Mirio Togata was in possession of 'One for All'." The faceless villain known as All for One stated in a cool tone with a smile on what was left of his face.
To be honest, asking that question was a waste of time. The quirk thief had more than enough ways to find that kind of thing out. So there's no telling how or through whom he was able to learn that. After all, this was the same person who discovered that Yagi himself was in possession of 'One for All' after only having the quirk for a few weeks.
"You tried to recruit that boy to your side, didn't you? What for?" Was the next thing out of the blonde's mouth.
All for One remained silent for a brief moment before letting out a rather amused chuckle. One that irked the former number one hero to no end. "You know Toshinori...for someone touted as the greatest hero alive, it amazes me how one dimensional your mind is."
"What do you mean?"
"When it comes to Izuku Midoriya, I simply wanted to give that boy a fighting chance. Is there something wrong with me taking pity on a child and offering him a bit of...charity?"
"Cut the crap. You wanted him to be a member of Shigaraki's group, didn't you?"
"If that was the path that the boy had chosen, then it would've been entirely his own decision."
"Why him?" Yagi inquired.
"Why not?" The faceless villain shot back.
"What?"
"You really don't know anything about that boy, do you? When fate brought him to my doorstep he was nothing more than a quirkless child who had already reached the edge of the abyss. A boy with untapped potential who was shunned by the society that you and the other heroes created. Why, if I didn't know any better I'd say that he was on the verge of ending his own life. Frankly...I'm surprised that he hadn't already done it after your brief encounter with him."
Yagi clenched his fists at the villain's words. His mind replaying what little he could remember of that day on the rooftop. But no matter how hard he tried, the former number one hero just couldn't recall anything useful. The most that he could recollect was stopping that "Sludge Villain" from killing him.
"Your master, Nana Shimura, would be very ashamed of you...Toshinori. The greatest hero alive who was once just a quirkless child with lofty ideals telling someone who was in the exact same position as him that he couldn't achieve those very same dreams. "Hypocritical" might not even be a good enough word to describe it."
"I told him that for his own good."
"I'm certain that you didn't have any negative intentions behind what you said. But that doesn't change the facts now does it? Do you want to know what one of your biggest shortcomings is, Toshinori? I'll be glad to tell you."
"Enlighten me." Yagi said begrudgingly.
"Just like how you never considered the long term impacts that the presence of the 'Symbol of Peace' would have on this great society of ours. You never think about the bigger picture, the 'long game' if you will. Tell me, what would've happened if Midoriya had thrown himself off the roof of that building after hearing your...advice?"
"He wouldn't have done that."
"Are you sure about that? A scrawny and broken quirkless child being told by number one hero that he could never become one himself. Did you even consider what he might have done after you quite literally shut the door in his face, and his dreams?"
"Just get to the point…."
"I simply decided to grant that boy his long desired wish. To be able to compete in the world that you yourself created. I was nothing more than the hero to a lost child that you and your society shunned and deemed as worthless. After all, you yourself are the embodiment of the notion that 'Might makes right'. How ironic is it? To him I am his savior, while you are just another example of how unfair the world truly is."
"That's not the kind of society that I strive for."
"But isn't it...All Might?" The villain grinned. "That's why children like young Katsuki Bakugou exist. A shining example of the future generations that your tenure as a hero have spawned. They looked to you as an example of how everything is meaningless in the face of raw power. And for someone who is powerless, you're nothing but the confirmation of their worst fears."
"None of this has anything to do with young Midoriya." The hero interjected.
"Oh but it does, Toshinori." All for One countered. "That boy was likely to go down any number of paths after I gave him Tornado's quirk. You should be grateful that he decided to stick to the path of aspiring to be a hero. The way I see it, he could've just as easily walked the road of what you and your colleagues consider villainy."
"Tch..."
"Actually...now that I think about it, Izuku Midoriya would've been a perfect candidate for the organization 'Derelicta' to recruit. Imagine what kind of a valuable asset he could've been to them. Has the public learned the details about them yet? I would imagine that the government is trying to keep things under wraps to avoid quirkless people being targeted and chastised more than what they already are."
'And it very likely would've happened too. Midoriya himself still has yet to realize just how closely connected he truly is to that organization. But I'll just keep that little detail to myself for now.' All for One told himself. He had been keeping tabs on 'Derelicta' long before he had been put behind bars. And the fact that one of his pawns was so closely tied to them was just too good to be ignored.
"You're not going to give me a straight answer, are you?" Yagi leaned forward in his chair.
"I'll just say this." The villain replied. "Izuku Midoriya is now a very valuable piece that many people would love to have on their side. He has the intellect and the power to be very influential. And depending on how he grows, he could be either your greatest ally or your worst enemy. It's why I'm hoping that Tomura will eventually come to good terms with him. If I were you, I would do everything in my power not to...antagonize him more than what you already have. Let's just hope that Blizzard can keep a tight lease on him. For all our sake."
'He knows more than what he's letting on, like usual.' Yagi grimace. 'And he still won't tell me about how much of young Midoriya's memories have been altered.'
"All Might, sir. Time is up." The security officer said over the speaker. All the former number one hero could do was sigh before standing up and making his way towards the door.
"Oh...and one more thing, Toshinori." All for One suddenly spoke in an eerily calm tone, causing the hero to pause. "You should learn to stop being so much of a hypocrite."
Those were the final words that the villain spoke before the cell doors shut. Leaving the former number one hero to ponder what his next move would be. Although there were still quite a few matters that needed his attention concerning his enemy and his schemes. There was one thing that the man felt that he needed to do no matter what. And that was to finally talk to Izuku Midoriya….
A/N: Well there you have it folks, the Joint Training Arc is done. I originally had the showdown between Yanagi, Tokage and Hadou going on for a bit longer. But, writing it out meant that fight would get more complex. And there isn't nearly enough information on Hadou's quirk to go off of as I would like. I already had enough trouble coming up with moves for her that didn't appear too crazy for her and her quirk. And I was honestly tired of this arc.
1. If you couldn't already tell, the long awaited conversation between Midoriya and All Might is rapidly approaching. When will it be? Next chapter? The one after that? Who knows? I guess we'll just have to wait and see.
2. If you couldn't already tell, I'm going to be reintroducing some of the more...darker elements of the story back into play. But don't worry for all of you that hate darker themes, most of the bad stuff is already out of the way. I kinda jumped out the window on a few things back when I originally wrote out the rest of the story. But I think that I found a happy medium for everything. But...we'll just have to wait and see.
3. Next chapter is going to have more of a "Slice of Life" feel along with some other things. And a character that I know all of you love will be once again making his appearance.
Side Note: I love writing All for One. I feel like all of the dialogue I give him just comes out really smooth. But I also love genius super villains. So, I guess it makes sense.
Like always, thanks for reading and don't be afraid to leave a comment/review. Have a wonderful day, and stay safe!