Arc 3 Chapter 13: Strength vs Shadows

The gang was taking a plane to Las Vegas. They were all determined to put a stop to Kleptomaniac's scheme once and for all. Izuku had his hero costume, support items and all, ready to kick some butt and save the day once again. Once they got to Las Vegas, they noticed a few glowing neon signs. One of them was talking about the campus that was currently opening that night.

"We must be getting close," Kenshi said.

People were getting lined up for the big reveal of Chromtech's new campus that was being built and developed thanks to the leadership of Sullivan Ross. He was the man Daito blamed for his business being shut down.

Kleptomaniac was on his way to the area. He saw a billboard that had Sullivan's name and all the things he accomplished. Using his quirk, he destroyed the sign, fueled with rage and vengeance.

"Lies," he said, "Soon they'll see what he really is….."

Sullivan was giving a speech about his accomplishments.

"Thank you all for coming here to see the birth of a new campus in Las Vegas, dedicated to support items for our pro heroes around the world," Sullivan said, "And also a special thanks to my younger sister who is currently doing work on the road."

Some of the students were in position. Aizawa was keeping an eye on the man on the stage.

"The development of this campus could not have been done without a few bumps in the road," he said, "Those setbacks are the thing that set us on the path to a bright future."

The audience cheered. Suddenly their cheers turned to screams of horror. Sullivan turned around and saw someone. It was Kleptomaniac.

"SETBACKS?!" he shouted.

He then lunged at Sullivan. Sullivan tried to run away but he was soon caught by his shadow and tangled within its grasp. He was brought closer to Kleptomaniac who removed his mask revealing who he truly was.

"Were my parents a setback?" he asked.

"D-Daito!" Sullivan responded in shock. "L-look about your parents, im sorry alright, it was all a mistake."

"Would sorry bring back my parents, would it?!" Daito shouted, "No it wouldn't! You knew this would happen but you allowed it! My parents are dead because of your arrogance!"

Izuku and Kenshi were about to jump in but were stopped by Aizawa. "First rule about stalking your target. Wait till they completely tell their plans to the victim before you jump in to attack. Give it a few minutes, if we let him complete him monologue, we have proper evidence to bring him in and run a successful case."

Izuku and Kenshi look at the pro and simply nod in response.

Back with Daito.

Daito then took out a quirk enhancement device. He put it on his head. Parts of his shadow were bringing up parts of a portal.

"Not only did you take away my parents, you also took away my livelihood when you sent your sister a shutdown my business, now it's time I did the same to you. As they say, An Eye for an Eye, Sully."

The portal was put together. It started sucking up the entire campus, much to Sullivan's horror.

"Now you're going to watch everything you built be destroyed then it's your turn," Daito said.

"I believe the saying actually goes, An eye for an eye makes the world blind, Daito." Izuku shouted.

He saw Izuku, Kenshi, Sero and Momo.

"Let him go," Kenshi told him, "Is this what your parents would want?"

"My parents are gone!" He said.

"This won't change anything," Kenshi said, "Trust me, I know."

"Just listen to the kid, I'll do anything you want." Sullivan said.

"I know what I want Sullivan, I want you dead."

He then attacked the students. They all jumped out of harm's way. Izuku then channeled up for an Air Force Delaware Smash. He flicked his fingers and a gust of wind was fired. However it didn't reach as it was caught by a rubber shield. Izuku looked to see Gentle Criminal.

"Not Again!" Izuku sighs.

"You're not going past me, Deku. you and i have unfinished business!," Gentle told the boy.

Izuku was joined by Ochako who had some ammunition floating around her. The two of them would handle him.

"You can't stop this," Daito said, "I designed this portal, and now I'm gonna take back what is rightfully mine. I'm gonna destroy everything he made, and replace it with a new area."

"Don't do this," Kenshi said.

"You're fighting the wrong man," Daito told him, "But have it your way…."

He then lunged at Kenshi. His shadow formed into a sword. As it came close to Kenshi it was blocked by Momo who had a shield.

"Thanks Momo!" he said.

"You're welcome," she said, "Now let's fight him!"

Kenshi pulled out the keyblade from Kingdom Hearts and got ready to fight him. He then lunged at Kleptomaniac who had a katana of his own and they clashed at each other.

Back with Izuku, he was dealing with Gentle Criminal once again. La Brava was watching the fight go down.

"I know you can do it Gentle!" she said, "I love you with all my heart!"

She started to glow. Some of that energy flowed into Gentle. Suddenly he got a big power boost. He threw a punch at Izuku and it sent him flying further than before. Izuku was confused.

"Wait… its gotta be that girl's quirk!" Ochako said.

(Minami Aiba/La Brava: Quirk: Love. Her quirk allows her to bestow a power boost to those whom she truly love.)

Izuku then turned to Gentle.

"Why are you doing this!?" Izuku asked.

"Because this is the only way I can be recognized for my genius!" Gentle said.

"By killing innocent people ?" Izuku asked.

"No one is innocent!" Gentle shouted.

"Look around you, Gentle!" Izuku shouted. "Look at the people around us, they're scared for their life. We make one wrong move, they die. I don't know what Sullivan has done to you or Daito, but these people are innocent. None of this is their fault, let them leave, then we can fight to your hearts content."

Gentle looks around, seeking the scared people around him and steps away from Izuku. "Alright, but I do this on one condition. Once they leave, the two of us are fighting till one of us is unable to fight anymore."

"You have my word as a Midoriya." Izuku promises, before activating his comm link. "Eraserhead, Kirito, get the Evac team here and get the civilians out now. And leave Sullivan here. I believe there is something going on behind the scenes and we need him to stay."

"Copy that, Deku. ETA on Evac team is 2 minutes." Kirito responded.

"Copy that." Izuku responded. "Aright, the Evac team will be here in 2 minutes, Ocha you're in charge. We will follow your orders." Izuku tells her.

"La Brava, do me a favor and pull up the layout, we need the civilians as far as possible from Red Ape and Daito." Ochako asked the girl.

La Brava quickly shows the layout to Ochako who takes a minute to analyze it before making a plan in her head. "Alright, Deku, Get all the civilians to the main hall. Gentle if possible close all the other exits, La Brava help Deku and call me if there are any debris along the way." She told the group before they dispersed.

Soon people were evacuated from the area, with La Brava's help. As Ochako was helping out with crowd control, she got a closer look at Gentle Criminal and suddenly realized something.

"Wait a second…." she said, "I know him. He was the dropout from U.A wasn't he?"

Gentle realized his big secret had been discovered. There was no more hiding it.

"Yes," he said, "I too wanted to be a hero. It was my true desire despite various circumstances. However something terrible happened…. I tried saving someone, but I intervened with a rescue. The damages had cost my family thousands."

He closed his eyes reliving the memory. Believing it was his fault, he left his family when they were asleep, thinking it was best if he was forgotten by them. Soon long ago he had been forgotten by society itself. He then saw a new dream. To become a well known villain with his quirk.

"And now that I am in the public eye again, the world can know what I am truly made of!" Gentle said, "And what better way to make myself noticed than fighting with the son of the symbol of peace?"

Izuku got into a fighting stance.

"I can't say I don't feel sorry for what you've gone through," Izuku said, "But I can't stand by idly and let you get away with your crimes. We settle this right here, right now!"

"Get ready kid, because this will be the fight of your life!" Gentle exclaimed.

They started to brawl. Izuku focused on using a variation of kicks and punches as Aizawa advised. He lunged at Gentle throwing a kick which was blocked by a rubber barrier.

"You know, I don't understand one thing, even if you failed repeatedly at UA, what happened to make you give up that dream?" Izuku asked, waiting for his opponent to make a move, circling around him.

"I made a mistake, cost my friend the life of a civilian. That was what finally shattered the dream." Gentle told him, "I assumed by helping him I would make things better, but in reality…. I only made things worse…"

"So it was one mistake, and that was it?" Izuku asked, "I may be young and not know much about herowork, but I do know this. The hardest part of the job is that you can't always save everyone. But what you can do is your best. That's all you can do and all you should do. You may have your doubts, but you CAN be a hero."

Gentle started to take Izuku's words into thought.

Kenshi was still taking on Daito as the portal was sucking everything up. Momo was about to help him. However she was knocked back by the shadow. As she started to get back up, she saw herself was being sucked into the portal. She found something and held on for dear life.

"Kenshi!" Momo said.

Hearing her cry of help, Kenshi went to go and help Momo. However he was pinned down by Daito.

"Well, how about we watch the pretty girl die together!" he said.

Kenshi tried to escape, however he couldn't as the grip on him was too strong. Momo kept holding on to the platform. Slowly she was losing her grip on it.

"No no…." she said.

The piece of debris broke and Momo was falling. Daito smirked as one of the people in his way was about to die. However she was caught by a rubber barrier. Daito was then kicked in the face by Izuku.

"SMASH!"

This gave Kenshi time to pull out his wings and fly. He caught Momo and flew away to safety. The two of them landed on the street away from the portal. Izuku then turned around and faced Daito.