Boku no Hero Academia: Izuku's Pet Noumu
Disclaimer: This is a mature-rated fanfiction story of Boku no Hero Academia that I am writing for both fluffy and erotic fun. Needless to say, this story is AU, the characters may seem OOC to some and there will be smutty lemons. Also, I own nothing of the series other than the fanfiction stories that I make.
Chapter 27: Calm Before The Storm
Given the events that had occurred on their second night at the summer camp, it was not surprising that Izuku, his school mates, the noumu-girls and young children were instructed to stay in the dorms of U.A. High School for a few days to ensure their own safety. In spite of the public's shaken faith in the school's security due to the recent revelation of the traitor, who was a pro-hero no less, a surprisingly few number of people, including the students' parents, disagreed with the decision. Then again, the villains' attack at the summer camp had clearly ended in failure so it was not as though the pro-heroes had failed to protect the students, never mind the fact that the League of Villains had been "screwed over" by other villains.
As far as sleeping arrangements went, it was decided by Nedzu, Shouta (a.k.a. Eraser Head) and Sekijirou (a.k.a. Vlad King) that most of the recently-rescued noumu-girls, namely Emiko, Hikari, Tora, Rika and Midori, would stay in Dorm 1B as it was clear that the female side of Dorm 1A was getting rather cramped in spite of having available rooms. Although Emiko was a young girl with living parents who loved her, never mind her abilities as a noumu-girl, there was still a chance that the League of Villains would attempt to reclaim her. Besides, U.A. High School was already prepared to accommodate and educate Ouka, Aoi and Kumoko, who had been rescued back on I-Island, so it was not as though the staff were completely unprepared to help both Emiko and Sakino who had been rescued more recently.
Not surprisingly, Emiko's parents were given the option to move into Dorm 1B to stay with their daughter who would no doubt need their love and support. Her parents, who were very grateful towards the people who had saved their daughter, readily accepted the offered option as they knew that the family would be safest in U.A. High School due to being surrounded by not only pro-heroes but also talented hero students and powerful noumu-girls. After all, there was the risk of the League of Villains targeting Emiko's parents.
Neito was happy with the arrangement as it meant that Class 1B would finally have their own noumu-girls to defeat Class 1A once and for all. No one who actually knew him took him seriously though.
Unlike the other recently-rescued noumu girls, Sakino would stay in Dorm 1A with Izuku, Wankuro, Eri, Aoi, Kumoko and Ouka due to her young age and apparent attachment towards Izuku whom she had decided to call "papa". Sakino's decision to call Izuku "papa" made Eri, Ouka, Aoi and Kumoko innocently wonder if they should call Izuku "papa" as well since Inko had yet to be officially married to "Uncle Toshinori" (a.k.a. All Might). Mina, Tooru and Setsuna made sure to secretly record Izuku's embarrassed reaction and even offered the suggestion to call him "Papadoriya". Many people, including Emiko and her parents, found Izuku's bashfulness amusingly endearing.
With so many young children staying in Dorm 1A even before the summer camp, Nedzu had decided that Izuku and Wankuro's shared room needed to be expanded again. Izuku would therefore have to move his hero merchandise to the last remaining free room on the fourth floor so that Ken (a.k.a. Cementoss) could make the necessary renovations when he was free to do so. The boy did not mind the decision as he knew that the young girls would need time to feel safe enough to be able to sleep on their own, especially Sakino who was both the most recently-rescued and the youngest of the noumu-girls.
Due to the large crowd that had gathered at the gates into U.A. High School, which was unlikely to go away any time soon, Emiko's parents decided to wait until a later date to collect their belongings from their original home. In fact, just getting into the school grounds was already a challenge due to the reporters and journalists pestering them and their pro-hero escorts for information about the attack at the summer camp. Nedzu agreed with their understandable decision and told the students to help the new residents of the dorms get settled in before leaving the Class 1A dorm building to continue dealing with the press.
Since the students were given the day off to recover from the latest villain attack, they decided to use that time to socialise with the new noumu-girls and Emiko's parents. The students of Class 1B also planned to use the time to help the new residents of their dorm building get comfortably settled in. As for Izuku, he decided to use that time to move his hero merchandise to the unoccupied room so that Ken could begin the renovations at the earliest possible time. Given the fact that his "Hero Merchandise Room" was essentially an "All Might Shrine", he was understandably embarrassed when Ochako, Tsuyu, Wankuro, Himiko, Eri, Ouka, Aoi, Kumoko and Sakino offered to help him even though most of his classmates had already seen the contents of the room before.
Since Izuku did not need so many people to help him, he decided that Ochako and Tsuyu would help him while Wankuro, Himiko, Eri, Ouka, Aoi, Kumoko and Sakino would keep Kouta company. Kouta, who was curious about the noumu-girls and Eri, was surprisingly cooperative as he hung around with them. It did not take long for him to start asking them about how they were saved and did not fail to notice that Izuku was a common factor in their stories of getting rescued. Granted, Izuku needed help most of the time but it was clear that he had played an important role in saving many of them and helping them overcome their past traumas.
After Izuku had shifted the merchandise, he contacted Shouta who then informed Ken that the fused room could be expanded again. Ken promised to get the renovations done before the new school term began.
Before long, it was time for dinner…
--School cafeteria…--
The pro-heroes, students, noumu-girls, young children, civilian parents and villains-on-parole were having their dinner which had been prepared by Lunch Rush. Considering the stressful past few days, especially for the pro-heroes who had to assure the public that everything was under control, it was not surprising that they were glad for the delicious food which had been prepared by the pro-hero. Inko, who had to take part in the public announcements due to being both Izuku's mother and a civilian staff member of the school, sighed and asked, "How in the world do pro-heroes put up with this?"
"To be fair, major incidents like the attack at summer camp normally do not happen very often," replied Toshinori. In truth, he was upset that both Nedzu and Mirai (a.k.a. Sir Nighteye) had secretly decided to not include him in defending the students at the summer camp. The fact that things could have gone a lot worse had the League of Villains not been betrayed by two villains, Kenji (a.k.a. Magne) and Atsuhiro (a.k.a. Mr Compress), only made him more upset. That said, Toshinori understood the need to conserve his strength as it was clear that a confrontation with All For One was inevitable and it was only a matter of when it would happen.
While Inko and Toshinori were talking to each other, Samu was rubbing his goatee while speaking to Reiko, "I have to say that you have good taste in horror stories."
Reiko smiled as she spoke to Samu, "I've always loved reading frighteningly unnerving stories of the supernatural. In fact, I'm actually a bit of a fan of yours."
"I'm happy to know that my writings are appreciated by a future pro-heroine," said Samu who worked as a writer of horror stories.
"Do you plan to write again?" asked Reiko.
Aware of the fact that he and his wife had suffered a deep state of grief and depression after their daughter had been kidnapped, Samu smiled bitterly as he patted Emiko and said, "I'm honestly not sure. On one hand, we've finally gotten Emiko-chan back in our lives. On the other hand, I want to help her recover in any way I can."
Kayako nodded and said, "She's already been through so much in spite of her age and innocence."
Reiko smiled kindly in return and said, "I understand. If I may be so bold as to suggest, perhaps you can start small by writing short stories. Why, I'm sure that our teachers will appreciate a skilled writer helping them to prepare essay assignments."
"Well, assuming that they do not mind me writing horror-themed essays, I can certainly get behind helping them essay assignments," said Samu before he smiled and added, "In fact, I may have an idea already."
"I look forward to being given the task of writing a variation of your work, Yamamura-san," said Reiko.
Emiko, who was already on friendly terms with Reiko, Tsuyu and Ningyou, smiled happily at the older pale-haired girl while chewing on her mouthful of delicious dinner. Smiling in return, Reiko used her quirk to gently wipe the food stain on Emiko's cheeks with a handkerchief. The young noumu-girl giggled as the handkerchief tickled her skin.
While Emiko and her parents were bonding with Reiko, Izuku was feeding Sakino her food in a manner which could be perceived as fatherly. Sakino accepted the food and made a purring sound as she enjoyed the flavourful meal with a blissful expression on her face. Izuku smiled as he petted Sakino who was seated comfortably on his lap.
Ochako and Tsuyu were already imagining him feeding their future children while Wankuro, Himiko, Eri, Ouka, Aoi and Kumoko imagined themselves being fed and pampered by Izuku. Nearly everyone else who were observing Izuku feeding Sakino, including pro-heroines such as Pixie Bob (Real Name: Tsuchikawa Ryuuko) and Yuu (a.k.a. Mount Lady), agreed that he was parent material. Shino (a.k.a. Mandalay), who already knew what Pixie-Bob was planning, sighed and telepathically spoke to her, "Please don't do anything that will get you into trouble."
Pixie-Bob glared at Shino petulantly before blowing a raspberry at her in response.
Speaking of being seated together as a "family unit", Eijirou was seated between Mina and Nyujou. Sitting opposite them were Mashirao and Tooru who were seated together. The cow-like noumu-girl was happily eating her massive pile of stir-fried vegetables while Eijirou asked Mina, "So, what do you think is going to happen after today?"
"Your guess is as good as mine," replied Mina who then pouted and added, "Personally, I'd like to have a proper summer camp, minus the hellish training and the villain attacks of course."
"Honestly, I don't think we'll be allowed to leave the school grounds any time soon," said Mashirao who then added, "Even though the League of Villains has failed and probably won't attack again any time soon, I'm not looking forward to being hounded by the press, or another attack by other villains for that matter."
Nyujou's swallowed her food before she tilted her head and innocently asked, "Why not here?"
Mina, Eijirou, Mashirao and Tooru blinked at Nyujou before Tooru asked, "Are you suggesting we have our own personal summer camp right here in the school grounds?"
Nyujou nodded and replied, "Camp cut short. Lots of space here. Safer here too."
"She does have a point," said Eijirou.
Mina grinned while her eyes burned with determination to somehow salvage her summer camp experience. She stood up with her hands clenched into tight fists and yelled, "All right then! Let's ask the teachers for permission after dinner!"
"Yeah!" yelled Tooru.
Many people stared at the group in mild confusion as they wondered about the reason for Mina and Tooru's energetic outburst. Some were about to ask the two girls some questions when Neito tried to make a snide remark about Class 1A. His attempt to disparage the "rival class" was quickly cut short by Itsuka who enlarged her hand before chopping the back of his head with it.
Mina and Tooru's outburst was quickly forgotten as everyone turned their attention towards Neito, who was being dragged away by Tetsutetsu after getting knocked out by Itsuka, again. Rika, Tora, Midori and Hikari, who were seated with Neito, Tetsutetsu Nirengeki and Itsuka, stared at the knocked out blond before before turning their attention towards the class representative of Class 1B. Itsuka sighed before she spoke to the four noumu-girls, "I know that we've told you four about it before, but PLEASE don't take his obsession to beat Class 1A seriously. The last thing we need is you four accidentally turning our school into a ravaged war-zone."
Thankfully, for both the students and the staff of U.A. High School, Rika, Tora, Midori and Himari could tell that they should not take Neito's obsession seriously and thus nodded in unanimous understanding. Shouta and Seikijirou, who had been worried about the four noumu-girls picking up Neito's obsession to defeat Class 1A, sighed in relief as it was clear that at least one "potentially horrifying" fate had been averted.
Speaking of "potentially horrifying" situations, Jin, who was having his dinner with the other "villains-on-parole", turned his attention back towards them and asked, "So, what do you guys know about that Rappa Kendou dude? He's a real wimp!"
"Other than the fact that he's a meat-head with an obsession for fighting strong opponents, not much else," replied Nemoto Shin.
"Before he joined us, he used to be a street fighter because he was sick and tired of being controlled by his parents," said Setsuno Touya.
"He also cares more about having a good fight than eating three solid meals a day," said Houjou Yuu.
"Punches a lot," said Tabe Soramitsu.
A moment of pause passed before Jin asked, "What are the chances of him trying to get into a fight with every pro-hero, noumu-girl and student that catches his fancy? He's a total saint!"
"Beyond one-hundred percent," confirmed Shin, Setsuno, Houjou and Soramitsu who wore similar deadpan expressions.
As per the traditions of Japanese gags, Rappa Kendou, who was being interrogated by Naomasa and Kendaichi at the time, sneezed. If all went well, Kendou would soon become a member of the teaching staff at U.A. High School.
Nedzu, who was already aware of the possibility of some students wanting the summer camp to resume somehow, and had already made arrangements to have Kendou enlisted as the latest villain-on-parole to work in U.A. High School, smiled as he sent a private message to a certain Youtube channel…
--Meanwhile, in an undisclosed location nearby a certain bar…--
Manami (a.k.a. La Brava) and Danjuurou (a.k.a. Gentle Criminal) both received a notification of someone sending a private message to their shared Youtube account. Aware of the implications, they both nodded at one another before checking the private message. Danjuurou's eyes widened slightly before he quickly informed the other members of the Brotherhood of Shadows, "It appears that we've received a message from the principal of the school."
"That's a bit sooner than expected," said Fuun (a.k.a. Jinx).
"To be fair, the heroes probably want to press any advantage that they have over the League of Villains and take them down for good ASAP," said Mumyooi (a.k.a. Long Strider).
"A goal that I for one can sympathise with," agreed Anji (a.k.a. Blood Monk).
"So, what's the message about anyway?" asked Shuuichi (a.k.a. Spinner).
"It's honestly not much. Just a simple word of thanks for protecting the students and saving the 'wilful noumus', a request for any leads that we currently or will have concerning the League of Villains and a word of warning to not only be careful of the league which may attack us in retaliation but also avoid giving away sensitive information which could be used against either of us," said Manami.
Atsuhiro rubbed his chin and said, "Speaking of information about the League of Villains, any idea why our tracker suddenly got disconnected that night?"
"There are a few possible reasons why it happened. One of them is the tracker getting destroyed, be it intentionally or accidentally," answered Manami who then added, "Another possibility is something jamming the signal."
"Which, given the fact that the noumu-girls did not have their kill-switches activated that night, never mind La Brava losing her internet connection after getting close to the bar, might actually be the case," said Chizome (a.k.a. Stain).
Atsuhiro sighed and said, "It's a shame that I couldn't place any tracking devices onto any of the league members. It would have made tracking them possible."
"To be fair, you were acting under the assumption that you have no allies among them."
Shocked, the Brotherhood of Shadows turned their attention towards a group of people led by someone whom Atsuhiro immediately recognised, "Magne?"
Kenji smirked as she continued to speak, "I got to say, stealing those two noumus from right under their noses was a beautiful magician's trick."
In spite of the situation, Atsuhiro smiled and replied, "To be fair, a lot of coincidentally good luck was involved when I got my hands on those two noumus."
Chizome frowned as he spoke to the other group of villains, "Are you the ones who attacked the League of Villains yesterday?"
Kenji nodded and replied, "We're 'Splinter Cell' and, just like you and the pro-heroes, we want the League of Villains gone."
Dabi, who had been brooding quietly, finally spoke with scepticism in his voice, "And that's supposed to be reason enough for us to trust you?"
"If you mean going as far as being close allies, certainly not," said Kenji who then added, "That said, we don't need to be close allies to agree that the League of Villains has to be stopped. Besides, we have the information you need to find them and, unless our collective ears have been deceiving us, you somehow have a direct contact with the pro-heroes from U.A. High School."
Manami's eyes widened in realisation before she exclaimed, "You're the ones responsible for the signal jamming!"
"And we have the means to track them," said Kenji who then asked, "So, do we have a deal?"
A tense moment of silence passed before Chizome asked, "Why are you against the League of Villains?"
Geten (a.k.a. Iceman), who had been watching the exchange in silence, finally spoke, "The League of Villains gives other villains a bad name and their actions will ultimately galvanise the oppressive system which stifles our freedom." Mentally, he added, "Also, only the Meta Liberation Army is worthy to emerge victorious."
Chizome's frown deepened as he spoke to Geten, "In other words, you only want to make sure that the government and pro-heroes do not end up taking a more proactive approach to stop villains."
"Considering that we're all villains here, I think it's safe to assume that avoiding such a scenario is within your best interest as well, Stain," argued Geten.
"Perhaps… but that does not mean that our intentions and ultimate goals at the same," said Chizome, who recalled his previous encounter with Shigaraki Tomura, before asking, "That aside, what is your opinion about the League of Villains using children as living disposable weapons?"
Geten, who had lived his whole life refining his quirk and believing in the ideals of the Meta Liberation Army, hesitated as he never gave much thought about the League of Villains turning girls into living weapons. Surprised by the question, he asked, "Why are you even asking for my opinion about the matter?"
Every member from the Brotherhood of Shadows collectively narrowed their eyes dangerously as Anji growled, "The very fact that you're even asking that question is reason enough for us to assume that you are not trustworthy."
Realising that the situation was getting bad, Chuu (a.k.a. Tipsy Brawler) immediately stepped forward and yelled, "Whoa there! There's no need for us to start killing one another! Besides, you guys are kind of asking the wrong dude for answers."
Surprised by Chuu's statement, Geten asked, "Wait… what?"
"Sure, he's the one who's smart enough to come up with half-decent plans to win fights and he's definitely dangerous in a fight but, I'll be honest here, he has the personality of a really long stick that's stuck REALLY deep in the mud and is dense enough to make LEAD look like featherweights in comparison," said Chuu.
An awkward moment of silence passed before Geten finally asked Chuu, "Did you… just insult me?"
Chuu pointed his thumb at Geten and said, "See? He's downright hopeless in social interactions!"
Although the Brotherhood of Shadows were not fully convinced, they could tell that Chuu was being truthful about Geten who certainly seemed flummoxed. As such, they remained guarded but were no longer poised to strike when Anji asked Chuu, "Then what's your opinion about the League of Villains?"
Chuu frowned as he replied, "Honestly, you'd have to be a special kind of 'fucked up' in the head to force kids to fight your battles for you and then throw them away as soon as they're no longer of any use to you." He then added, "Don't get me wrong, I'm no saint, hero or even a law-abiding citizen. Even so, I have a kid who's like a little brother to me and something tells me that the League of Villains would have turned boys like him into noumus as well if they could."
Anji, as well as most of the villains from the Brotherhood of Shadows, felt his approval towards Chuu rise as he asked, "What's you name?"
Chuu grinned as he introduced himself, "The name's Tipsy Brawler. As for the rest of this merry band of fellow miscreants and rejects, we have Iceman, Mustard, Sonic Shell, Scorpion Queen, Switch Hazard, Stink Bomb and, the kid that I have been talking about, Yo-Yo Menace."
"Do the majority of your group share your opinion about the League of Villains?" asked Anji.
"Probably not," admitted Chuu who then added, "That said, I can say for certain that none of them actually approve the idea of forcing kids to become disposable monsters."
Kenji nodded and said, "I'm a transgender woman who wants to be free and do whatever I want but that does not mean that I do not care about 'biologically female girls' being exploited y others. Hell, one of those girls actually has a family that still loves her for god's sake!"
"There's being awesome by kicking ass and taking names and there's being a cruel ass-hole just for the sake of it," said Ranchi (a.k.a. Switch Hazard), who was blond at the time. Although the blond version and the blue-haired version of Ranchi had their disagreements, they both hated the idea of hurting others for the sake of being cruel.
"It's one thing to turn willing participants into monsters," said Dosu (a.k.a. Sonic Shell) who then narrowed his left eye and added, "Turning unwilling children into monsters and then discarding them is another matter altogether."
"Most of those girls already have pretty shitty lives and those bastards have only made things worse for them," said Mustard who recalled how he was constantly mocked for having a villainous quirk before Dosu introduced him to the Meta Liberation Army. In fact, he willingly gave up his original birth name so that he could somehow move on from his past as a victim of abuse and discrimination.
"I don't know why they have never used boys to make their noumus but I'm pretty sure I don't want to know the details," said Rinku (a.k.a. Yo-Yo Menace) who then added, "Besides, hurting girls even younger than me like that is just not cool."
Geten, who did not know what to say, stayed silent as he thought bitterly, "I'm supposed to lead this 'Splinter Cell' on the Commander's behalf and yet I've been completely sidelined." In spite of his bitterness, he knew better than to interfere as it was clear that Chuu had managed to salvage the situation. Besides, Chuu was correct in the sense that Geten did not approve what the League of Villains had been doing to the children. Ideally, Meta-Abilities should be allowed to grow through natural growth and training. As for artificial quirk enhancements, such procedures could be deemed as acceptable as long as they were done voluntarily instead of being forced upon.
Saikin (a.k.a. Stink Bomb), who was not exactly very bright to begin with, also stayed quiet as he thought, "I wonder what's for lunch?"
Zazan (a.k.a. Scorpion Queen), stayed silent as she knew better than to voice her opinion. As someone who only wanted the freedom to dominate those weaker than herself, she honestly felt little to no sympathy for the girls. That said, even she did not like the idea of forcing girls to become dangerous noumu. After all, there was nothing logical about making your victims powerful enough to become a threat to yourself.
"Not that I'm uninterested in knowing where the League of Villains is hiding, but how exactly are you keeping track of them?" asked Dabi who then added, "Unless you have someone who's very good with technology or some seriously advanced technology on your side, you wouldn't have been able to jam their signals with a broad-range jamming device AND keep track of them with your own tracking beacon at the same time."
Manami, who was a skilled hacker, frowned as she spoke, "Dabi raises a good point. That broad-range jamming device should have jammed your tracking devices as well unless you have some other means to track them. Not only that, but the League of Villains have at least one more base of operations which could have sent the signal to activate the kill switches even if there was a jamming device in the bar itself. Blocking that signal would have therefore required either locating that other base to jam its signals or creating a signal blackout at the camp site itself."
During the attack at the summer camp site, all wireless communication, with the exception of Momo's walkie-talkies, was cut off. The main reason why it was not noticed at first was because the "signal blackout" did not occur immediately and everyone at the camp site was preoccupied with the attack at the time. However, after the attack was over, the pro-heroes noticed that their smart-phones were completely disconnected from their respective networks. The "signal blackout" only ended shortly before the authorities arrived at the camp site.
"In other words, you probably have a powerful backer not unlike the League of Villains who are backed by the true leader of the League of Villains, Shigaraki's 'Sensei'," said Chizome who then asked, "So, who exactly do you work for?"
Geten narrowed his eyes and growled, "We're not obligated to reveal that information to you. Besides, I fail to see how that is relevant to taking down the League of Villains."
"Considering that the League of Villains is backed someone who's able to provide noumus for them, which we both know require equipment far above that available to typical villains to be created, knowing the identity of your backer is very much our business," argued Chizome.
"Are you implying that the League of Villains and us have the same leader?" asked Geten who was honestly insulted by the notion.
"No, but I am quite certain that your 'actual leader' is someone who views Shigaraki's Sensei as a rival to be taken down," explained Chizome.
Unable to deny the truth, since the leaders of the Meta Liberation Army indeed saw the true leader of the League of Villains as a rival villain to be taken down, Geten bitterly said, "I can neither confirm nor deny that claim."
"Then here's how it will go," said Chizome who then added, "We will get in touch with the pro-heroes who work at U.A. High School and inform them that you know where the League of Villains are located. However, we cannot guarantee that they will actually trust you and we will certainly not advise them to do trust any of you blindly. We will also inform them that you have access to advanced jamming and tracking equipment."
Chuu sighed and said, "Given the situation, I suppose that's the best we can hope for." The other members of Splinter Cell knew better than to disagree with Chuu's statement. He then turned his attention towards Magne who nodded at him in response.
Magne took out a piece of paper and passed it to Atsuhiro while saying, "Here's our contact number. You can use it to call us or pass it on to the pro-heroes at U.A. High School so that they can call us directly." Her expression became serious as she added, "I suggest that you make your decision quickly. We both know that the League of Villains has Kurogiri with them and there's no telling how soon they will move again or how effectively we can keep track of them once they start moving."
"We'll keep that in mind," said Atsuhiro who knew that Magne was correct about Kurogiri's ability to make the League of Villains very difficult to track down.
"If there's nothing else to discuss, we will take our leave," said Geten who then added, "It'll be wise of you to accept our offer for aid."
"That's assuming that all of you, including your leaders, are actually trustworthy," replied Chizome who then narrowed his eyes as he growled at Geten, "Which I am not inclined to fully believe any time soon."
"Then I pray that the pro-heroes at U.A. High School are at the very least more willing to listen to reason than you lot," said Geten before he started to leave the area. Before long, most of the other members left except for Chuu, Rinku, Kenji and Ranchi who chose to stay behind.
Chuu sighed as he spoke to the Brotherhood of Shadows apologetically, "Sorry about Iceman. He's not exactly the easiest to get along with."
"Why are you even following him then?" asked Dabi.
Seeing no point in hiding certain details from the Brotherhood of Shadows, Chuu explained, "It's like what you've said, we actually work for someone else. I can't exactly tell you who but I can tell you that we ultimately share the common goal of stopping the League of Villains."
"That may be true but even you can't deny that stopping the League of Villains will inevitably cause other villains to attempt filling the void in power and take over the dark underbelly of society if not more," said Danjuurou.
It was a well-known fact that the League of Villains recruited members of the Shie Hassaikai yakuza group after Kai (a.k.a. Overhaul) was defeated by Izuku, Wankuro, Rumi (a.k.a. Miruko) and Sorahiko (a.k.a. Gran Torino). It was also well known that various villainous groups tried to take advantage of the fall of the yakuza group by gaining greater control over the trade and distribution of drugs such as trigger.
Rinku raised an eyebrow and asked, "Doesn't that apply to you guys too?"
"Our main goal is to eliminate false heroes, such as ones who seek to abuse their power, and to stop villains that go too far," answered Chizome who then added, "Whether or not we actually become the next great power among the villains of society is of little consequences to us."
"An admirable goal," said Kenji who chose to be a villainess so that she could live as she pleased. She then said, "I'd like to think that we can be allies but I'm sure we can all agree that this isn't something that can be rushed. Hopefully, we will be able to get along after this mess with the League of Villains is dealt with."
"We will have to wait and see," said Atsuhiro who did not mind the idea of getting along with Chuu and Kenji.
"Well, we better get going before Iceman decides to get pissy with us," said Ranchi who then turned around to leave.
Chuu took out a can of cheap beer and winked at the Brotherhood of Shadows while saying, "Hopefully, we'll be seeing you folks shortly."
After the remaining members of Splinter Cell had left, Chizome said, "La Brava, I want you to contact principal Nedzu and inform him of our findings."
--Back at the dorms…--
After everyone had their dinner, Emiko, Emiko's parents, Hikari, Tora, Rika and Midori went to Dorm 1B to stay with the students of Class 1B. As for the students of Class 1A, Inko, Sakino and Kouta, they returned to Dorm 1A instead. The reason why Kouta would be staying in Dorm 1A was because the Wild Wild Pussycats were currently working together with the other pro-heroes to track down the League of Villains and defeat them once and for all. Given Tomoko's (a.k.a. Ragdoll) quirk, it made sense that she would be among the pro-heroes assigned to track them down. There were also the facts that Kouta would be safest in U.A. High School and would be around fellow children, including older children.
Once back in Dorm 1A, Mina and Denki decided that everyone should watch some old pre-quirk films to spend the summer night together. Nearly everyone agreed with their decision as not even studious students such as Momo and Tenya felt like studying that night. Only Katsuki refused to take part in the activity as he refused to waste his time with 'extras'. Although the blond boy would have preferred physical or quirk training, he was willing to settle with studying by himself in his room followed by sleeping early as usual.
As stated before, nearly everyone in Dorm 1A was more than happy to take part in film-watching activity to temporarily forget about the villain attack during summer camp. In fact, Momo happily created an "extra-large" television screen for everyone to enjoy the film together while Izuku, Ochako, Wankuro and Himiko, took out futon mattresses, pillows and blankets out of their shared room for everyone to sit on. Other students, including Shouto who took out his own futon mattress, soon took out their own pillows, bolsters, blankets and even plush toys to form a massive pile of soft fluffiness.
Not surprisingly, Wankuro, Himiko, Nyujou, Ouka, Aoi, Kumoko, Sakino and Eri soon started rolling about on the soft mattresses while hugging bolsters, pillows and plush toys. Even Kouta was tempted to join in spite of his attempt to appeared disinterested.
As far as food was concerned, Mina and Denki were able to get Nedzu's permission to access the school's food storage with Lunch Rush's supervision. Naturally, a lot of popcorn was made for the residents of Dorm 1A with Rikidou's help. Yuuga took out his hidden stash of cheese while Tenya helped to make sure that there was enough drinks, including plain water, for everyone.
Since telling horror stories was an essential aspect of enjoying summer camp Mina and Denki agreed that watching an old pre-quirk movie, the 1984 version of 'Ghostbusters', was a good choice. Yes, they could have chosen a scarier movie but they wanted the young children to have fun too.
Somehow or other, Emiko managed to sneak into Dorm 1A without anyone, other than her parents whom Emiko made sure to inform beforehand, noticing until she was literally seated between Izuku and Tsuyu. Although surprised by the unexpected visit, no one minded her presence after Inko made sure that Emiko's parents were aware of the girl's current location.
Before long, everyone watched the film together. The young children, along with Wankuro, Himiko, Nyujou and even Ningyou, watched the film with rapt attention while everyone else simply enjoyed the simple pleasure of being able to spend time together with friendly company. Not surprisingly, Izuku was seated with Ochako and Tsuyu while Minoru was seated with Ningyou, Shouto was seated with Momo, Denki was seated with Kyouka, Mashirao was seated with Tooru and Eijirou was seated with Mina and Nyujou. After the film was over, everyone worked together to tidy up the common room before getting ready for bed.
Speaking about going to bed…
--Izuku's bedroom…--
Kouta was blushing as he pointed at Izuku and yelled, "W-w-why are you sleeping on the girls' side, with so many girls at that?!" Considering that Izuku was going to sleep in the same room with Ochako, Tsuyu, Wankuro, Himiko, Eri, Aoi, Ouka, Kumoko and Sakino, Kouta felt justified in demanding some answers from the older boy.
Izuku blushed as he explained, "Well, I sleep on the girls' side to make sure that Wan-chan has company. It kind of… escalated from that point."
Aware that Izuku and Wankuro were childhood friends and that Izuku was instrumental in saving her during the villain attack at the USJ, Kouta quickly understood why the green-haired would end up sleeping with her to keep her company. Considering how Kouta often slept with Shino (a.k.a. Mandalay) for comfort after his parents' tragic death, he was not one to judge the traumatised and abused girls for desiring basic physical comfort. That said, the young boy was still embarrassed by the idea of sleeping with so many girls who were closer to his own age as he asked, "Don't you find this… embarrassing?"
Izuku chuckled and replied, "I'd be lying if said that I wasn't embarrassed at all at the very start." He then smiled kindly at Kouta and added, "That said, I'd also be lying if I said that I didn't appreciate being together with them."
A moment of silence passed before Kouta asked, "Aren't you angry about me punching you in the nut-sack that day?"
"Well, that punch certainly hurt," admitted Izuku who then explained, "That said, I'm not holding a grudge over it." He wore a bitter smile as he thought about Katsuki's cruel words and the vicious beating that got him hospitalised during his time at Aldera Junior High School before he added, "Trust me, that kind of hit is nothing compared to what I've already been through even before I attended this school."
Realising that Izuku was serious, Kouta was quiet for a moment before he asked, "Why do you want to be a hero and help people? Won't fighting villains get you or even the people you love hurt or worse?"
"I won't lie, being a hero is definitely dangerous and you're not wrong about heroes and their loves one getting hurt or worse," replied Izuku who then added, "However, please think about what would happen if heroes decided to stop helping people and stopping villains."
Kouta quietly thought about Izuku's response before he asked, "Aren't you afraid of dying and leaving everyone else behind?"
"All the time," answered Izuku who then added, "However, someone has to step up and do what is right. To paraphrase a wise saying, 'evil thrives when good people stand aside and do nothing'." Izuku then grinned and said, "Besides, it's not like I'm doing all of this alone. I've gotten a lot of help from so many people just to get to this point after all."
"Do you think… my parents were the same?" asked Kouta.
"I can't say for sure since I've never met them in person before," admitted Izuku who then wore a kind smile and said, "That said, if your parents are the kind of people I think they are, I'm sure that they are wonderful people who loved and and would have stayed with you if they could."
"Then… why did they have to die fighting that villain… protecting other people who keep saying I should be proud of them dying…?" asked Kouta as tears welled up in his eyes. In spite of his growing realisation the value of true heroes, he was still a child who had been traumatised by the tragic loss of his parents.
Feeling sympathy for the broken boy, Wankuro approached him and asked, "Want a hug?"
Kouta, who did not want to appear weak in spite of his flowing tears, hesitated before he nodded quietly. After receiving Kouta's permission, Wankuro lowered herself so that she could hug Kouta, petting his head comfortingly while he continued to weep. It did not take long for the boy to fall asleep in her arms due to his growing emotional exhaustion.
Once the boy was asleep, Wankuro gently placed him onto a futon mattress before placing a blanket over him. The other younger children, seemingly driven by instinct, started to gather around the boy so that he would not be alone as he slept. Wankuro and Himiko then slept around the sleeping children in a manner not unlike animals sleeping protectively around their offspring.
Izuku, Ochako and Tsuyu looked at one another and smiled as they followed the Eri and the noumu-girls' example. Ochako hugged Wankuro and nuzzled into her long hair while Tsuyu and Izuku hugged Himiko together. Tsuyu sighed in contentment as she enjoyed the warmth of being sandwiched between two people whom she cared for deeply while Wankuro quickly switched positions with Ochako so that the taller girls would hug the brunette from behind. Before long, everyone was asleep with Kouta in the centre of the group.
--Meanwhile, in a certain staff meeting room…--
Nedzu wore a grim expression as he spoke Toshinori, Shouta, Sekijirou, Nemuri (a.k.a. Midnight), Ryou (a.k.a. Hound Dog), Hizashi (a.k.a. Present Mic), Snipe and the Wild Wild Pussycats, "The Brotherhood of Shadows has recently been in contact with Splinter Cell that apparently knows where the League of Villains is currently located."
The already-tense atmosphere of the meeting room became even more so as Sekijirou asked Nedzu, "Assuming that the information is actually trustworthy, how did Splinter Cell manage to locate the League of Villains?"
"From what Aiba-san (a.k.a. La Brava) has told me, the members of Splinter Cell haven't been very forthcoming with that information in spite of having a shared interest in taking down the League of Villains. However, she and the rest of the brotherhood suspect that Splinter Cell may be working for a major organisation that, for one reason or another, opposes the league," answered Nedzu who then added, "Given the fact that Splinter Cell somehow has access to advanced signal-jamming technology, I'm inclined to agree with the brotherhood."
"In other words, we have another major group of possible villains that we know little about, including their reasons for opposing the League of Villains," said Shouta who then sighed as he rubbed the bridge of his nose and grumbled, "Just what we need, even more problems to deal with."
"Can we even trust the information?" asked Snipe who then said, "As much as I want the League of Villains taken down for good, taking them down won't do us any good if we end up getting blind-sided by another villainous group."
"That is indeed a legitimate concern," said Nedzu who then added, "For all we know, that other organisation may be hoping that the heroes and the League of Villains take each other out thereby granting them an opportunity to strike society while it is at its weakest."
"Even so, we can't just ignore the lead that they wish to give us either," said Ryou who then growled, "The League of Villains has directly targeted our students no less than two times for this year alone, never mind the less direct attacks that occurred during both the intern-ships and the I-Expo. If we do not act quickly while they are still reeling from their latest setback, who knows what they will do next."
"Which is why I plan to form a few strike teams to finally take down the League of Villains for good," said Nedzu who then explained, "Both Detective Tsukauchi (Naomasa) and Detective Hajime (Kendaichi) have recently investigated the bar, which used to the the League of Villains' hideout, and discovered some vital information."
"Such as?" asked Nemuri.
"Confirmation that the League of Villains has been running out of viable hiding places within Japan lately due to the losses of their 'wilful noumus'," answered Nedzu who then smiled and added, "Which, combined with the efforts of both underground pro-heroes and the police force over the past few months, as well as the capture of both their spy and Rappa Kendou, has greatly narrowed down the number of places where they can still hide from the pro-heroes."
"What about the location of the true leader of the League of Villains, or at least the scientists responsible for creating noumus?" asked Hizashi who then said, "As long as they remain free, we will never be able to put an end to their villainy."
"Unfortunately, we still don't have any clear leads to their current location," confessed Nedzu who then added, "I plan to contact Splinter Cell later and see if we can get that information from them."
"Should we even trust them though?" asked Shouta who then added, "You yourself stated that Splinter Cell and their backer may be hoping that the pro-heroes and League of Villains take one another out."
"Which is why I want the Wild Wild Pussycats to aid us in our investigation and counter-attack," replied Nedzu who then turned his attention towards Ragdoll (a.k.a. Tomoko) and said, "We will need your quirk to search for the villains and confirm their location before we take them down."
Tomoko nodded and said, "As long as they are within my range, I'll be able to locate and identity them with my quirk. However, I won't be able to use my quirk to identify any villain who wasn't present during the attack at summer camp."
"It's better than nothing," said Sekijirou who then added, "At the very least, we can reduce the chances of getting ambushed by having Ragdoll scan the area first."
"Don't forget that the League of Villains have Kurogiri with them," reminded Shouta who then said, "Never mind the possibility of them having more than one villain with warping abilities."
"That is certainly something we must take into consideration even if we can confirm their location with Ragdoll's quirk," said Toshinori. He then asked Nedzu, "So, how should we tackle the issue?"
Nedzu smiled as he started to explain the plan he had in mind…
--Later that night…--
Geten frowned as he spoke to Nedzu who had called his hand-phone number to speak to him, "Unfortunately, we still do not know where the true leader of the League of Villains is hidden. If we had known where he was, we would have informed you all about his location already."
"I have feared as much," replied Nedzu who then asked, "Speaking of true leaders, I wish to speak to your true leader."
Geten's frown deepened as he asked, "Why should I let you speak to him?"
"Considering the fact that we share a common enemy, never mind the fact that we know next to nothing about your organisation which expects us to trust your information regardless, I think that it is only fair that I have a word with your leader at the very least," argued Nedzu who then added, "Besides, it's clear that you have your own reasons to be at odds with the League of Villains and I want to know why."
"What of your connection with the Brotherhood of Shadows, which is lead by Stain himself no less?" asked Geten who then added, "Surely you're not implying that you trust them more than us, are you?"
"Unlike your group which left at the soonest opportunity, Stain's group chose to remain until all the noumu-girls were safely secured during the attack at summer camp," answered Nedzu who then added, "They also have clear goals which, methods aside, are at the very least easy to understand. Your group on the other hand works on behalf of a leader who has access to the technology needed to jam signals from reaching the noumu-girls at the camp site and whose goals we know little about."
"Yet it is thanks to the signal jamming that those noumus even have a chance of being saved in the first place," argued Geten.
"There is that," admitted Nedzu who then argued, "However, if your leader is truly sincere in his goal to put an end to the league which, recent failures aside, is a villainous organisation with the resources to turn both living humans and human corpses into dangerous bio-weapons in secret, then surely he'll be willing to have a word with me so that we can work more effectively together to put an end to the common threat regardless of what may come to pass after that."
"What gives you the right to make demands from us when we're the ones who have the league's location?" demanded Geten who was clearly getting frustrated.
"What makes you think that I'm making demands in the first place?" asked Nedzu who then said, "I'm simply stating my desire to speak to your leader to better understand your goals and hopefully improve our ability to work together so that we can defeat the League of Villains."
"Are you not worried that doing so will be a waste of time?" asked Geten who then stated, "Unless I'm mistaken, your students have been directly attacked by the league no less than two times for this year alone."
"True, and I'd rather not risk their lives again if I can help it," admitted Nedzu who then said, "However, that does not mean that I'll ignore the possibility that your leader intends to become the next symbol of villainy. After all, I'm sure that you're very familiar with the Metal Liberation Army, aren't you?"
Geten's eyes widened in shock as he realised that Nedzu was already suspecting that Splinter Cell was associated with the Meta Liberation Army.
Noticing of Geten's stunned silence, Nedzu continued to speak, "In case you're wondering why I have my suspicions about your group working on behalf of the Meta Liberation Army, let's just say that I work closely with the police force, including a certain defective named Detective Hajime, the very same detective who was able to confirm their involvement in influencing the students of Aldera Junior High with their quirk-supremacist ideology. If the Meta Liberation Army was able to extend its influence to the point of essentially indoctrinating children, then it's perfectly possible that they may have access to advanced technology like the ones used to not only jam the signals that would have caused the noumu-girls to die but also track down the League of Villains in spite of the signal jamming." A moment of tense silence passed before Nedzu said, "The spy that betrayed U.A. High School, Visorman, was willing to betray us not only for money but also for the chance to become more powerful by possessing multiple quirks. How can I be sure that the Meta Liberation Army, who values quirks above all else, will not similarly choose to ally themselves with the League of Villains for the chance of receiving similar rewards?"
Angered by the implication, Geten growled, "Don't you dare compare us to the League of Villains! We desire a world in which everyone is free to use their quirks as they wish and their worth is determined by their quirks!"
"Your goals are precisely why I find it difficult to trust you. After all, what's a villain if not someone who abuses his power to do whatever he wishes regardless of who he hurts in the process?" argued Nedzu who then added, "Never mind the fact that your villainous organisation is clearly obsessed with quirks which, like it or not, makes you seemingly likely to accept illegal and dangerous procedures to empower your abilities even if it means making deals with another organisation that sees children as expendable tools."
Geten gritted his teeth as Nedzu had struck a sore point. The growing infamy of the League of Villains had caused a growing number of people to be distrustful towards the Meta Liberation Army, including the army's own more recent members. There was simply no denying the possibility that "illegal quirk usage" was involved in the creation of the noumus, who used to be innocent young girls no less. That was not even counting the fact that the Meta Liberation Army had a "heavy emphasis" on quirk-related superiority which inevitably made people associate the Meta Liberation Army with the League of Villains in the worst way possible. Ice started forming around Geten as he growled, "I'm only going to say this once since you're clearly too blinded by your own self-righteousness to even see the obvious. We are NOT allied to the League of Villains and in fact want them gone!"
"Give me one good reason why I should accept that claim as truth," replied Nedzu.
Although unwilling to reveal any weakness towards Nedzu, Geten knew that he had to somehow gain pro-hero's trust without getting him into contact with Rikiya (a.k.a. Re-Destro) and risk having the leader's identity exposed to the quirked animal. Geten took a moment to calm himself before he explained, "The Meta Liberation Army is not as… united… or accepted… as before because of the League of Villains."
A moment of silence passed before Nedzu said, "In other words, the infamy and misdeeds of the League of Villains is negatively affecting the reputation of the Meta Liberation Army due to both organisations being heavily involved with quirk-related crimes. I must confess, I did not give the possibility as much consideration as much as I should have."
"Then are you willing to trust our information?" asked Geten who was honestly feeling drained.
"Yes, but with a grain of salt of course," replied Nedzu who then said, "I also want your guarantee that Meta Liberation Army will be willing to cooperate with the pro-heroes to stop the League of Villains. We still have no idea how many noumus the league actually has and we must find its true leader to have any hope of putting an end to it. Having direct contact with your leader is preferable but, given the circumstances, a trusted high-ranking representative will also be acceptable."
"I will be sure to let my leaders know and have someone get in touch with you as soon as possible," replied Geten.
"Just so you know, we plan to strike Shigaraki Tomura and his League of Villains soon," stated Nedzu who then grimly added, "There may be a chance that Shigaraki's 'sensei' will get involved."
"Duly noted," replied Geten who then said, "I will give you the location and the representative's contact number later tonight."
"Don't make me regret accepting your help," said Nedzu before he disconnected the call.
After the call was disconnected, Chuu asked Geten, "So, what's the situation, Iceman?"
"The principal of U.A. High School knows that we're working for the Meta Liberation Army and wants to speak to one of the one of our leaders," replied Geten.
"Yeah, we kind of figured as much," said Rinku who, like the rest of Splinter Cell, had overheard Geten's conversation with Nedzu.
Ignoring Rinku's statement, Geten added, "That said, he's willing to believe that we want to get rid of the League of Villains more than we want to topple the current government. He also believes that the true leader of the league may get involved in the coming conflict."
"Then we best get ready in case he actually does show up," said Ranchi who then added, "If he's really the legendary All For One, we'll need every quirk and weapon we have at our disposal to put him down."
Unlike the general public, the Meta Liberation Army was more willing to take the rumours of All For One, a legendary villain who could take quirks and give quirks, seriously. Given the nature of the noumus and the possible applications of a quirk such as All For One, it only made sense that the legendary villain, or at least someone similar to him, was involved with the League of Villains in some way. Magne's information about the league strengthened the possibility further.
"That's assuming that the pro-heroes don't get to him first," said Geten who then started dialling on a different hand-phone to contact Rikiya.
A short while later, Rikiya picked up the call and asked, "Have the heroes accepted our help?"
"To paraphrase from the pro-hero who has contacted us, Nedzu, 'yes, but with a grain of salt'," answered Geten who then started explaining about his previous conversation with the quirked animal.
After Geten had explained the situation, Rikiya sighed and said, "I applaud you for persuading Nedzu to speak to one of the division leaders instead of me directly. However, if he already knows about us, it may be time for us to step out of the shadows."
Shocked by Rikiya's decision, Geten asked, "Are you certain, Grand Commander? The League of Villains still at large and support to our cause is at an all time low."
"As much as I loathe to admit it, support to our cause has been… increasingly unsatisfactory ever since the Aldera Incident. Between Detective Hajime's quirk and his irrational obsession to help quirkless people, never mind the general public and pro-heroes becoming aware of our possible return due to that incident, it's been becoming increasingly difficult to build our forces without getting noticed. Combine the fallout from that incident with the growing infamy of the League of Villains that's still affecting our reputation negatively and you get the idea," replied Rikiya.
"We're being driven to the edge, aren't we?" asked Geten.
"Yes, unfortunately," confirmed Rikiya who then added, "However, this is not the first time the Meta Liberation Army has been defeated by our oppressors. I have already made arrangements to ensure that our ideals will not die out even if we face imminent defeat. As long as our ideals live on, we or those like us will rise to claim our right to be free."
"I hope so. If the government decides to use the League of Villains as an example of what unregulated quirk usage can lead to, getting support from anyone will be harder to say the least," said Geten.
"Don't lose hope, Geten. We will find a way to win our freedom, even if it doesn't happen in our lifetime," assured Rikiya who then said, "I will get in touch with Nedzu and give him the location myself."
Geten nodded and replied, "Understood, Grand Commander. For the liberation of meta-abilities."
"For the Meta Liberation Army," replied Rikiya who then disconnected the call before dialling his phone again to call Nedzu directly…
--The following day…--
"Gentlemen, I've obtained vital information that may help us locate Shigaraki Tomura and his league of villains," announced Nedzu as he spoke to a group of pro-heroes who had gathered in his office. The pro-heroes included Toshinori, Shinya (a.k.a. Edge Shot), Keigo (a.k.a. Hawks), Kuugo (a.k.a. Gang Orca) and the Wild Wild Pussycats. There were also Detective Hajime Kendaichi and Detective Tsukauchi Naomasa.
Kuugo frowned as he asked Nedzu, "How did you get the information, Nedzu?"
"Let's just say that the general public and the pro-heroes are not the only ones who want to stop the League of Villains and leave it at that," replied Nedzu.
"You mean like the Brotherhood of Shadows?" asked Pixie-Bob.
"Precisely," confirmed Nedzu.
"No offence meant, but are you sure we can fully trust the information?" asked Naomasa.
"None taken," replied Nedzu who then answered, "I believe that the information can be trusted but will be wise to be cautious given its source." He then explained, "The information came from the grand commander of the Meta Liberation Army, who's also the true leader of Splinter Cell."
Shocked, Kendaichi asked, "Are you telling me that they're against the League of Villains too? Why?"
"Long story short, they don't want to be associated with villains who turn children into living weapons," replied Nedzu.
Kendaichi frowned as he spoke to Nedzu, "So they have no problem with using quirks to oppress people weaker than them but have an issue with using quirks to create illegal bio-weapons? Considering their goal to completely de-regulate quirk usage, I honestly find that hard to believe."
Nedzu chuckled as he replied, "You're not the only one to notice that issue. Even their grand commander has seen the issue as it is." He then added, "Which is why they want to help us get rid of the League of Villains to somehow 'clear their name'."
"It could be a trap," argued Naomasa.
"Perhaps, but the Meta Liberation Army would not have gotten themselves involved in the summer camp incident if they did not want to put and end to the league," replied Nedzu who then added, "As I have mentioned before, I have no intention of trusting them completely. There's a high likelihood that they will immediately go back to achieving their original goals as soon as the League of Villains is taken care of."
"I can certainly agree to not trusting them completely even if they want to help us deal with the league," said Toshinori who knew about Izuku's junior-high school days.
"So are you planning to have us separated into teams to deal with both of them at the same time?" asked Keigo.
"No," answered Nedzu who then explained, "I want every pro-hero here, as well as the police force and a few other pro-heroes whom I will be getting in touch with soon, to focus on finding the League of Villains, including their leader. Thanks to information from the noumu-girls, Kendou Rappa, our captured traitor, the Meta Liberation Army and the people investigating the case, we've been able to narrow down the number of likely locations where the League of Villain's true leader is hiding. I want pro-heroes in those areas in case he decides to take action personally or unleash an entire horde of corpse-noumus in retaliation."
"Speaking of corpse-noumus, how many do you assume we will be facing?" asked Shino.
"It's hard to tell but hopefully not as many as we have feared initially," said Nedzu who recalled Izuku telling him how the noumu-girls had been forced to fight and even destroy corpse-noumus for "performance testing".
"So when are we attacking the villains?" asked Yawara (a.k.a. Tiger).
Nedzu smiled as he answered, "Assuming that preparations go according to plan, tonight."
--End Chapter--
Author's Notes:
So begins this story's version of the Kamino Arc. There will be large-scale conflict, a powerful "Evil Overlord" and the end of an era.
Naturally, I will be updating this story until the Kamino Arc and its immediate aftermath is over.
Until next time, go beyond, plus ultra!