CHAPTER 15: AFTER THE SMOKE CLEARS...

Kendo POV

I was on my way to the lockers after class. It wasn't a packed day, thankfully, so I would be able to get the homework done with enough time to-

"Oi, Kendo!" Tetsutetsu strolled up behind me. The boisterous metalhead could never seem to quiet down.

"What is it, Tetsutetsu?"

"I saw it from the window! The Class Rep of 1A is being dragged back to school unconscious and bleeding! What do you think happened to him?! I barely made out the chatter from below, but I think he got banged up by a Villain since the police are here!"

The class rep of 1A… Bakugo?!

"Where is he now?" I felt panic rise in my stomach. What happened? The USJ was just a simulation, how did he come back bleeding and unconscious?! The police?! I need to talk to him.

"The nurse's office! Apparently overusing his Quirk put him out along with his injuries!"

I turned on a dime and jogged to the nurse's office. Just what was going on?

My POV

"Hey… hey… WAKE UP, JACKASS!"

I shot awake at the shout, springing to my feet ready to fight, only… there no one here but me. Or at least, a copy of me.

A perfect duplicate of me stared back, a grumpy look on his face.

"About time you got up. That damned extra Quirk really knocks you out, huh?" The blond stood before me in a black muscle shirt and black sweatpants. His red eyes glared back at me with annoyance more than hatred, his blonde puffball hair was unruly. Pale skin contrasted with the low light of the… room?

I looked around some more. The floor was solid concrete, with orange and cyan dots peppering it. The cyan seemed to vastly outnumber the orange. The walls were nowhere in sight.

Facing my double again, I spoke clearly and firmly. "Who are you, and what is this place?"

The grumpy Katsuki snapped at me. "I thought you'd have figured it out by now, ya damn nerd! We're in your headspace, a place where we can talk with each other mentally."

I blinked, surprised by this turn of events. If this was really happening, that means I never took Bakugo's place at all. I must have merged with him. But if I merged with him wouldn't I have gained more of his personality traits? Maybe. I mean, he was still pretty little when I-

"That's not it, jackass." My eyes met his again. Was I thinking aloud? I smiled sheepishly as the other grew more exasperated.

Grumpy Katsuki held out a hand and unleashed an explosion. But instead of dissipating into a puff of smoke like it usually did, the fireball hung in the air. The dots on the floor beneath us began to move within the surface, rising up at a singular point just beneath the blast like water flowing in reverse.

The explosion compressed down into a fireball the size of a basketball as the colour swarmed it, merging with the orb's surface. Eventually, the colour drained from the floor, and the fireball in the center of the room turned cyan in colour with orange flecks poking through here and there.

I stared amazed at the sphere in the center. "What is this?"

"Damn, you're dense. It's your soul. There's just a few fragments of mine in there, not the whole thing. They didn't fuse, you just have a few small pieces of me in there, enough that I can talk to you, and the rest was ripper out." The replica looked both annoyed and fascinated with this whole ordeal. I just stood there confused, trying to puzzle this out.

"But, if there are only a few slivers of your soul in here, where's the rest of it? Was it forcefully removed when I entered? If it was, who has that kind of power?"

My counterpart rolled his eyes at me. "How the fuck should I know?"

"Okay, okay, relax." I peered at the blazing sphere more closely. The slivers of Grumpy's soul didn't look natural. A closer look at the surface revealed that the fragments, about eight of them, appeared to be welded to my soul, glowing orange cracks trailing down. It was almost as if those fragments were holding my soul together like some kind of twisted crown.

Grumpy Katsuki nodded. "There's no possible way you can miss it now. That temper tantrum at the USJ awakened me. So now, I'm always here whether you like it or not."

This did answer a couple questions, but I now had a whole lot more. Where did the rest of his soul go? What the heck brought me here? And why did they bring me here? But there was just one thing...

"I've got a lot of questions now. But the most important thing is, what's up with you? You haven't threatened to hurt me, been mildly hostile at best, and haven't blown up at me once aside from the creation of this display." I motioned to the soul. Grumpy Katsuki sighed.

"I don't know. I just don't feel like it. Now wake up for real, ya damn nerd, everyone's starting to worry."

He touched my forehead, which it seemed was enough to make me fall asleep.

Deku POV

I sat on the chair next to Kacchan's bed, waiting for him after we had been debriefed by the police. Kacchan himself had been unconscious since the USJ, and he was carried back here to the nurse's office by myself and Kirishima. The red-head had left a few minutes ago after Recovery Girl had pronounced him fit.

I'm worried sick. Not just about Kacchan's arm, but what this could do to him mentally.

All Might sat there as well, a concerned look on his face as he watched the sleeping boy. He had to rip off the gauntlet so the wound could be cleaned and wrapped. Recovery Girl said she could fix it, but Kacchan had to wake up first.

I questioned the intensity of All Might's stare. "Hey, All Might? Why are you looking at him like that?"

"It's nothing, Young Midoriya." His frown deepened, as if thinking about something unpleasant. He had heard from me and a couple of my classmates about Kacchan's show of force, and the ways he utilized both of his Quirks to dismember that monster. On paper, it wasn't a very heroic thing to do, but the circumstances practically demanded it.

He would have to be questioned when he woke up. Detective Tsukauchi was still on school grounds, questioning and reporting to Principal Nezu.

I heard rapid footsteps approaching from down the hall. Turning to look, I saw Kendo barging into the room. "Midoriya! I came as soon as I heard. What's going on?"

The redhead seemed to ignore All Might, or Mr. Yagi, for the moment. Good, that'll be easier to ignore for now. "Villains attacked the USJ. Kacchan fought the strongest one head on and got his arm shattered. He only survived by destroying the guy's arms as fast as he could regenerate them."

Kendo raised a hand to her mouth. "Oh my… why did he-

A groan sounded as Kacchan regained consciousness. He tried to reach for his head with his right arm only to wince at the pain. He then seemed to remember what happened and tried to spring up.

"The Villains-"

"Are taken care of." All Might spoke in a flat voice, one I was unaccustomed to hearing from him. He was serious now, and he looked angry at something.

"And you are…?" Kendo raised an eyebrow before Kacchan cut in.

"Okay. Mr. Yagi, visiting Deku while he's at school, are you?"

I smiled. Right, All Might had given Kacchan that name instead of his Hero name. Thank goodness.

"Indeed I am. But it seems I came at a bad moment. I'll let the detective and All Might know that you're awake." With that, 'Mr. Yagi' excused himself from the room. I returned my attention to Kacchan in time to see Kendo expand her hand and grab Kacchan by the head.

"Wha-"

She put her face in front of his, her hand acting as a brace for the injured one's head. "You had me worried! I heard you came back knocked out and bleeding, and- What were you thinking, fighting that Villain alone?"

A little rough, but I had the same question. "Yeah, you've pulled some stunts in your life Kacchan, but nothing like this."

"I didn't want Mr. Aizawa to die. He may terrify me, but no one should die like that. There was also everyone else to consider, so I took the burden myself. Not to mention, no one else who was there could hold him off for that long, from what I could see." Kacchan patted the giant hand user on her shoulder, talking the way someone would talk about their job after a long day. As Kendo let go, more worried than irritated, I had to ask, just how could he be so casual about this?

"Good to see that you're finally awake, young man." I turned to see Recovery Girl walking up as Kendo pulled away. Her pleasant smile quickly morphed into a frown.

"What you did was very reckless. You could have been killed! But… I suppose I can't be too hard on you. You did stall for just long enough." Kacchan scratched his head awkwardly with his right hand. Recovery Girl wasn't wrong, and Kacchan had no real fighting experience beyond what was done in class, which wasn't much.

"True, and hey, I live to get hurt another day!" I bopped him upside the head. No one should have to get THIS hurt every time they fought a Villain.

"I AM HERE! TO TALK TO YOUNG BAKUGO!" All Might, in his muscle form, sped into the room, sliding to a halt at the foot of Kacchan's bed. Detective Tsukauchi came in as well not moments after, making me think that last burst of speed was just for show.

"All Might. Heh, I know I look rough now, but you should see the other guy." My head swivelled. It was good that the blonde bomber kept his sense of humour, but this was bad timing.

Detective Tsukauchi looked over at me and Kendo. "I know you're worried, but can you please give us a few moments alone with Bakugo?"

We nodded and made our way out. Upon exiting the room, we ran into another set of familiar faces. Yaoyorozu was going to enter the nurse's office, followed by Iida and Uraraka, but upon seeing me, the assistant rep's eyes filled with worry.

"Midoriya! You were just in there, how is he?"

"He should be okay. He's joking like he usually does, so once he wakes up enough, Recovery Girl should be able to heal him. All Might and the detective are talking to him now." The black-haired girl relaxed, breathing a sigh of relief. Uraraka also looked relieved.

As we began walking towards the lockers, Iida chopped his arms. "He shouldn't have intervened! Attacking when All Might was on his way was not very smart."

Uraraka's relief faded into weariness. "Quiet, Iida."

The speedster looked surprised at her. The ball of boundless positivity seemed worn thin. Uraraka took a deep breath and continued to speak. "I don't like what Bakugo did either, regardless of that Villain's regeneration, but what choice did he have? He was out of his league, and he did have to use his Quirk in a terrifying way, but it was the best shot at the moment to keep them back."

I clenched my fist. If only I had control over One For All. Then I could have saved him from getting hurt. I need to work even harder than I have before. "That's why we all need to work harder. Kacchan put himself on the line like a true hero, so we should get strong enough to put ourselves there with him to help."

Kendo smiled and nudged my shoulder, respect in her expression. "Nice speech."

Iida thought for a moment before he conceded. "You're right. Well said, Midoriya."

Uraraka smiled and nodded. "What Iida said. We're all training to be heroes after all."

My POV

Once my friends left the room, I tried to sit up. It felt disrespectful to be laying down while such figures of authority stood before me.

"IT'S ALRIGHT, YOUNG BAKUGO. RELAX, YOU'RE IN ROUGH SHAPE." All Might placed a hand on my shoulder. I flopped back onto the bed, slipping out of the man-mountain's hand as my arm protested the impact.

"We have seen 'the other guy'." Detective Tsukauchi cut in. "He's been remarkably compliant, to the point that we're not even sure he knows how to speak. We're taking him to prison now."

"Good to hear. That guy broke my arm, and probably would have killed me had All Might not shown up. I… I even beheaded it, but it grew a new body from its head. I think the regeneration originates from its brain."

All Might grimaced at that. I was forced to use my Quirks to maim a Villain over and over. This was gonna be hard to deal with later. Tsukauchi took notes on my statement as All Might took the lead. "THERE'S A TIME TO BE A HERO, AND A TIME TO BACK DOWN. WHAT I WANT TO KNOW IS WHY DID YOU CHARGE HEADLONG INTO A BATTLE YOU KNEW YOU WOULD LOSE?"

I shrugged. Truthfully, I was uncertain what precisely compelled me to do such a thing. Everything still played out the same, so what came of my intervention? "Mr. Aizawa was out of the fight, and the only others there were Deku, Asui, and Mineta, and none of them had the firepower to stand up to him. Mr. Aizawa could have been killed had I not done something."

All Might let out a booming laugh, seemingly happy with my answer. Which was good, because I didn't want to answer anything harder. "HAAAA HA HA HA! YOU'LL MAKE A FINE HERO ONE DAY, YOUNG BAKUGO. HOLDING THAT GUY OFF WAS NO SMALL FEAT!"

Detective Tsukauchi looked up from his notepad and pointed his pen at me. "It was admirable that you fought that Villain, but is there anything you can tell us about him?"

...oh, crap. How do I answer this without revealing everything… okay, I think I have an answer. "It didn't speak the whole time, and only screeched like some kind of monster when it was attacked. My best guess is between that and the exposed brain, it's brain-dead. Also, from what I saw of it in action, it displayed super strength along with regeneration. I think whoever that monster used to be, he was… engineered somehow into that… thing and given those powers."

Tsukauchi jotted down everything. All Might meanwhile looked more thoughtful, as if remembering a detail. When he spoke, it was as if he was thinking aloud. "IT'S HIM… I'M SURE OF IT. THIS SOUNDS SUSPICIOUSLY LIKE HIS HANDIWORK."

I cocked my head, playing dumb. "Him who? Playing the pronoun game doesn't help narrow it down."

The Symbol of Peace started as if just realizing I was there. "IT'S NOTHING YOU NEED TO CONCERN YOURSELF WITH, YOUNG BAKUGO. NOW, CAN YOU TELL US ANYTHING ELSE ABOUT THESE VILLAINS?"

I let out a sigh and closed my eyes. "No. Nothing you don't already know, anyway."

Detective Tsukauchi frowned, putting away his notepad upon completion of his notes. "Thank you for your information, Bakugo. We'll leave you to rest."

I nodded and leaned back as the pair exited. How was this going to go from here?

All Might POV

We walked through the hallway, an uneasy silence in the air. Tsukauchi looked like he had something on his mind. "WHAT'S TROUBLING YOU, TSUKAUCHI?"

The detective sighed. "If I'm being honest, a lot. There hasn't been a Villain attack as bold as this in a long time. It almost reminds me of what life was like before you stepped up and became the Symbol of Peace. But there's another thing… Bakugo's lying."

*POOF* I reverted back to my true form and coughed. Wheezing, I turned to my friend. "What do you mean? He told us the truth about Nomu, I experienced it firsthand."

"Yes, but there's something else. My Quirk is Lie Detector, so I can tell when someone's lying. Bakugo told us a lie when he said there was nothing more he could tell us about the Villains. There's more to it."

I reeled back in shock. How dare he?! "Are you saying that one of my students is withholding vital information? Why?"

Tsukauchi rested his head in his hand, seemingly unsure how to go about this. "He is. But I don't know why. The badly broken arm makes me doubt that he's in league with the Villains. Even if they knew about Recovery Girl's power, their actions make me doubt that this was an elaborate setup. Perhaps he recognized one of them, I don't know for certain."

I frowned. There was no way he faked those emotions, he doesn't seem like that kind of person. "He tends to overshare, so I highly doubt that he's lying. Still, your Quirk hasn't been wrong before. What do you plan to do about it?"

The detective scratched his chin. "I have no evidence of anything, so for now, nothing. But I will be keeping an eye out."

That's the best I could hope for. Bakugo knew something, but for now he was unwilling to tell. Perhaps his guilt over it will bring him to tell me. But for now, he hadn't actually done anything wrong aside from illegal Quirk use, but that could be easily written off as self-defense.

For now, there's nothing to do but watch and wait.

My POV (An hour later...)

The sun was slowly descending as I made my way into the courtyard. Recovery Girl fixed me up as good as new, but as a result I was still kinda tired. But even Recovery Girl can't fix everything. When my gauntlet was crushed, it dug deeper in than they initially thought, so as a result I now had a scar etched into my forearm, resembling a jagged line that ran perpendicular to my arm. It was easy to see, a reminder of my failure to do anything substantial.

I sighed. I need a distraction. Maybe I'll talk to Deku and Kendo once I'm home. Or perhaps I'll find Toga tomorrow.

As I walked towards the gate, I couldn't help but look back at UA. This place was going to be the center of many world-changing events. Was it fair to my family to stay there? No, but at the same time, it's better to stay at UA than to lead the Villains on a wild goose chase that would likely hurt more people. Better to control as many variables as possible.

I stopped just outside the open gate, stewing over everything that happened. Realistically, I only made things wors-

"KATSUKI!" My head snapped up in time to see my mom rushing towards me. A glance back told me I hadn't been walking long, and she was sweating and puffing. Did she run all this way?

Mom took me into a tight hug, shaking with relief. Then she quickly looked me over as tears threatened to fall. "The school told me what happened! I stopped what I was doing and got over here. Are you okay? You weren't hurt too badly, were you?"

This was a side of her I didn't see very often. Usually she was kinda hostile, a tough love type, so to see her being overly affectionate must mean she's distressed.

I returned the hug gentler, a soft smile on my face. "I'm okay, Mom. I'm okay. We all got out okay thanks to All Might."

Mom whacked me upside the head, perhaps a bit more forcefully than she meant to. "That doesn't mean you're getting off easy! You threw yourself into a fight with a Villain when you were outmatched! Who the fuck do you think you are?!"

"I'm the guy you raised me to be. Powerful, and protective." Mom paused at that, a faint smile playing over her lips before she grabbed me tightly again.

"You may be a reckless brat, but you're my reckless brat. I'd tell you to be careful, but something tells me your dumb ass would just charge into battle again."

Her insults held no real bite, and I could tell she was happy I was still around. Or at least, that the me she was familiar with was around. "It's what heroes do. They try their hardest to win while saving as many people as they can."

After a second or two more of a tight hug, I pulled away and smiled. "Come on, let's go home. After today, you deserve some rest."

I walked alongside her, my hand in my Mom's. It was a little embarrassing, but I knew that Mom wasn't about to let me go.

But how could I even call her my mom? How, when only fragments of her real son was trapped inside me? My soul was in the wrong body, and I took Bakugo's whole life from him.

But I don't remember anything between dying and awakening. But does that matter? Just because I don't remember it, that doesn't mean that I didn't have anything to do with this.

This and more plagued my mind the whole way home, trying to figure it all out.

Kurogiri POV

The warp gate swirled around Shigaraki and myself as I deposited him onto the floor of the bar. The boy was shot in both arms and legs by Snipe, grumbling and whining as he often did, except this time it had an air of defeat surrounding it. He turned his gaze up at a TV that displayed the words "AUDIO ONLY".

"All Might wasn't weak. He hasn't gotten weaker at all! And those underlings, those kids, they were so strong! You were wrong, Master. You were so wrong!"

A deep and rich voice flowed from the screen, darkness rich in every note. The voice of my master. "No. We just weren't as prepared as we should have been."

A second voice, rougher, spoke as well. Dr. Ujiko was there."Agreed. We underestimated the strength of not only All Might, but the children he had near. Where is the creature we sent you two with?"

I sighed, frustrated at my failure. "He was blown away. Without precise coordinates, I couldn't warp to him and I didn't have time to go out and search for him."

Ujiko let a little bit of his temper slip, angered that all his hard work had been wasted. There were other Nomu, though I have no idea just how many. "This is a travesty! And after all that work I did to make him as powerful as All Might."

"It wasn't his fault." Shigaraki declared as he slowly rose, pain in every movement. I held him up as I ushered him to the nearest bar stool. Once he was seated, the hand-covered man continued.

"Power… that reminds me. There was this kid there who fought Nomu. He used explosions and swung energy swords and kept dismembering Nomu. That boy had two abilities equipped. He cheated, Master! We could have killed the Symbol of Peace if he wasn't there!"

Ah yes, the boy. He was quite a thorn in our side at that point. Still, to hold his own against the Nomu was no easy feat, even if he lost in a brutal fashion.

"Oh? On the contrary, my dear Tomura. This wasn't a futilr mission, we have learned and confirmed many things. You've given me a useful update on a certain project that Doctor Ujiko and I have been working on."

I was shocked. Master had a contingency for the USJ? "If I may, Master, what sort of project is it? If it involves that boy, then he could be a hindrance to our plans."

"All in good time, Kurogiri. He may hinder us in the short term, but in the end, young Katsuki Bakugo will be ours soon enough."

I nodded, the knowledge that the master knew what he was doing halting whatever questions I had.

"Tomura, gather the villainous elite. Take as much time as you need. I must remain hidden in the shadows for now, and you must be my face. You must become a symbol of your own. Tomura Shigaraki, the world will be afraid of you. Farewell."

Shigaraki growled as the transmission cut out. "I don't want that blonde brat to join us. I hate him."

Shocker. "Regardless of how you feel, he is powerful. He could be a good ally going forward."

"Maybe, but he pisses me off."

I sighed and went to find the med kit. Tomura Shigaraki may be difficult and immature, butI would never forsake a friend, even though most others would have by now.

It is my duty to care for him, after all.

Cut! That was the aftermath of the USJ, and the conclusion of the arc. I'm not planning to have SI-Bakugo go into a depression over this, but darn it, this is difficult to write well. Not to mention, we have a couple of different characters playing the long game here, with a certain dark lord primed to be a massive concern.

That being said, the name of Oracle's organization will be revealed in the next chapter, chosen from reviews sent in by you guys! The planned roster so far is: Gentle, La Brava, Nagant, Stain, Hawks, Toga, Twice(?), and maybe Dabi. If anyone has any possible candidates in mind, please explain why you think they should/would join

Well, that was a mouthful of an author's note. See you next chapter!