Izuku understood what Mirio meant by watching All Might's interview two days later. All Might was a part of some debate panel concerning the heroics and one of the questions concerned 'villainous quirks'.
"Holy shit, I love All Might now." Hitoshi announces when Number One Hero finishes verbally chewing everyone in the room about how there are no 'villainous quirks' only villainous people. And how bullying people for having 'villainous quirks' is not only actually villainous (if quirks are involved) but also produces villains, by pushing otherwise decent people beyond the edge.
"Yep, welcome to the club." Himiko adds and cuddles closer to Izuku. "Zuku is the president, obviously."
She was kinda over the revelation of details of sex, and that was reassuring. She was back to cuddling, hugging and so on, but hasn't actually mentioned the S-word. Izuku was aware that there was activity on his 'harem' chat, though. A lot of it, in fact.
"How did you tell?" Izuku asks her, while smiling slightly. 'Is it the "Number One Fan of the Number One Hero' T-shirt?" One of his favourites. She still thought that it was weird, but the least weird of his T-shirts.
"Possibly, possibly." She replies. "Honestly, it's quite great to hear all of that from him. I mean, I know he saves people every day, and is super strong, but… Endeavor did that too. Though he would never say stuff like that."
"You think that it'll change anything?" Hitoshi isn't fully sold on the idea. It's still a very touchy subject to him. His treatment was similar to Himiko's. If Izuku's grip on Overhaul's quirk was worse than it was, Hitoshi would still be missing his tongue. And even after all that, some food still tasted weird to him.
Izuku COULD technically regrow body parts that were lost for different reasons than his own quirk AND after the fifteen minutes window closed, but it was a mess. Took a long time, required him to study the biological details of whatever he was regrowing, and the result was always subpar when compared to the original. He preferred not to do this, if he could.
"On its own, no." Izuku replies. "All Might is popular, but not THAT popular. But it's a major step forward. If only because of how many people he inspires to become heroes. If those people get influenced by what he said about villainous quirks… then maybe what happened to Himiko will not happen to some other people out there. And then, with more heroes not being dicks, the public will start to move in a better direction."
Influencing the society as a whole was a lengthy thing.
"Apparently it's partially because of us." He decides to admit that much. Hitoshi and Himiko look at him questioningly. "I might or might not be playing video games online with Lemillion, and he mentioned something about Nedzu and All Might getting inspired by us and preparing something. But he didn't mention details."
"You're playing video games with that hero kid?!" Hitoshi is shocked. "Well, wow. I didn't see that coming. What brought that up?"
"I wanted to ask someone for relationship tips and after some introspection I discovered that he is the only relatively normal person that I know and can potentially help." Izuku replies while absentmindedly picking up some chips. "Which is kinda sad, all things considered. Plus we both know what it means to have really big boots to fill."
They don't ask, but Himiko eyes him curiously for a while. Probably over the relationship tips bit.
Two hours of idling in front of the TV later, Nedzu starts a press conference.
Rehabilitation class for young vigilantes. And villains too, if they were young enough and were deemed to have a potential to be rehabilitated. Changes to entrance exams to make them more approachable to people without flashy combat quirks (so, for example, mental quirks). That alone would be shocking, but then comes the real bomb.
THREE slots in the Hero Course reserved for the quirkless. Izuku stares at the screen in shock. Vultures in the room don't take it face down and almost start a riot over the idea. Nedzu calmly leaves the stand, which is then taken by the man that introduces himself as Sir Nighteye (Izuku knew, others in the room did not). All Might's former sidekick and a pro hero.
Sir explains (his face strangely intimidating despite being essentially emotionless, enough to calm the riot with a single stare) that he has one of the largest number of closed cases among the pro-heroes nation-wide. Despite not using his quirk during the last six months due to undisclosed personal reasons. He lists two A-Rank villains that he defeated and incarcerated despite fighting de facto quirkless.
Then he says that UA decided - with support of both All Might and Principal Nedzu - that denying a chance for a career in heroics for people who might have not been born with quirks but had a knack for investigation and planning was illogical. He also mentions that he sees no reason why quirkless individuals were to not fare pretty well in combat. To further support that, he cites an undisclosed underground hero with a quirk allowing him to deactivate non-mutant quirks, who despite that has arrested numerous mutant quirk villains - without using his quirk at all.
Nedzu returns and adds a few closing statements, including an honest admittance that he doesn't expect a quirkless hero to ever reach the Top Thirty - but that he also doesn't believe that this is in any way demeaning to them, as what should really matter to heroes is saving others rather than meaningless pursue of strength (which totally isn't read by anyone in the room as a kick in Endeavor's dead face and HPSC' president living face) or amassing popularity.
"QEM is going to have a field day over this." Izuku comments when the press conference ends. "Forget the UA recommendation seats, those three slots are going to be the most contested school choices in the Japanese education system."
"This is the second best day in my life after the one when Izuku finally noticed that he is my boyfriend." Himiko comments dreamily, and Izuku wonders for a few seconds if she has an idea just how spooky that sounded. He decides that probably not, and then moves to more pressing stuff.
Quirkless forums on the internet were probably on fire right now. Blueberry was out, shopping for Kurogiri if Izuku remembered it correctly. He decided to be the first one to tell her.
SmallMight: Blueberry did you see Nedzu's press conference
Blueberry: no, it's my turn for the grocery run with Spinner you know
SmallMight: did you bring your QEM phone with you
Blueberry: no? left it in the base. What happened?
SmallMight: quirkless world tilted upside down, their forums on fucking fire, your lieutenants probably going crazy over not having contact with you, you know, the usual
Blueberry: What?
SmallMight: Nedzu just guaranteed three slots in the UA hero course to the quirkless and with Sir Nighteye publicly bashed the media vultures for claiming that quirkless cannot be heroes
Blueberry: omg
Blueberry: OMG
Blueberry: did I die and this is Heaven
SmallMight: We are here, so… probably not?
Blueberry: warp back in five minutes, gotta find a private place
Several minutes later she dropped several bags of supplies next to Kurogiri's bar (together with Spinner) and ran through the living room. Not long after that Izuku heard her conversing with her lieutenants from the QEM on the phone, although it was less 'conversing' and more 'trying to scream louder than the other person'.
(***)
Akatani Mikumo: You son of a… wonderful person.
Mirio Togata: You son of a… well, almost literal Satan.
Akatani Mikumo: ouch
Akatani Mikumo: but I kinda had it coming
Mirio Togata: correct
Akatani Mikumo: seriously, this is awesome
Akatani Mikumo: Mindscrew just joined club of All Might's fans within LoV, and Sunset almost warped Spinner into a wall when she was returning from the grocery run in hurry
Akatani Mikumo: congratulations
Mirio Togata: … grocery run.
Mirio Togata: really
Mirio Togata: I mean, I was living among you for like two days so I know how weirdly normal it feels, but still, using warpgate to do grocery runs for a villain organization is just kinda…
Akatani Mikumo: I'll let you know that I do have to brush my teeth for them to be healthy
Akatani Mikumo: And Himiko regularly needs all those weird girl things that I don't want to think about
Akatani Mikumo: I'm afraid that villain status also doesn't make you exempt from preparing food, getting stuff to drink and figuring out who is on toilet duty today
Akatani Mikumo: we had a timetable hanging out in the living room but I think Dabi burned it this morning because he is an ass and didn't like the schedule
Akatani Mikumo: kids these days
Mirio Togata: first of all, he is 7 years older than you, stop talking like that
Mirio Togata: second of all, sorry, I don't really have all that much contact with villain groups AND I spend last 2,5 years learning about how to defeat you in combat
Mirio Togata: I think my view on villains got a bit too narrowed down to combat, investigation and so on
Akatani Mikumo: Nah just kidding I know what you mean
Akatani Mikumo: Symbol of Peace should probably know that people on the other side are still people
Akatani Mikumo: if there is one thing I respect in All Might the most it's the fact that despite waging war against my father he still took villains prisoner, and the only fatalities were mostly accidents or cases where it was either them or civilians
Akatani Mikumo: good to know you're in the same camp
Mirio Togata: you just want a nemesis that isn't going to punch your head off
Akatani Mikumo: you already killed me you know, so yeah, not looking forward to a repetition
Mirio Togata: what?
Akatani Mikumo: the quirk that saved me in Hosu downgrades lethal damage to non-lethal level
Akatani Mikumo: It was USED after your punch, so you did give me instantly lethal degree of damage
Mirio Togata: …
Mirio Togata: wow
Mirio Togata: and you still saved Gran Torino after that? and let me out?
Akatani Mikumo: Mirio you are not a regular hero (just a provisional license still) and you were facing an S-Rank and a hardened killer that just knocked out your mentor
Akatani Mikumo: with no chances for back-up and a person (however shitty Endeavor was as a person) to defend
Akatani Mikumo: I'd have been more angry if you pulled your punches in the circumstances
Akatani Mikumo: Besides I"m like 99% sure that you didn't want the punch to be THIS powerful
Mirio Togata: yes
Akatani Mikumo: I still expect you to be slightly less deadly if you try to arrest me and my friends (well, reasonably less deadly, I'm not telling you to die trying), and if you go after my sister for some sinister nedzu-ific reason I swear to… everything I can think off that I'm going to break more than just your limbs this time
Mirio Togata: everyone got the clue after your threat to Nedzu, don't worry
Mirio Togata: family out
Mirio Togata: besides, your mom isn't really interesting to us nor dangerous to anyone, and your sister isn't a villain
Akatani Mikumo: My mom is VERY dangerous, just doesn't apply her danger to anything because she is too busy crying about the weather being nice, not nice or way too neutral today or some other super important reasons like being happy, sad or, well, being neither happy nor sad. She cries a lot.
Mirio Togata: really? dangerous?
Akatani Mikumo: I saw her repeatedly smack my dad with a rolled newspaper in the head over him doing something stupid while I was a child, so yes
Akatani Mikumo: DANGEROUS
Mirio Togata: …
Mirio Togata: your mom
Mirio Togata: repeatedly smacked
Mirio Togata: ALL FOR ONE
Mirio Togata: with a rolled newspaper
Mirio Togata: in the head
Mirio Togata: and she survived that?!
Akatani Mikumo: and he apologized
Mirio Togata: …
Akatani Mikumo: on his knees
Mirio Togata: I'm kinda sad that I don't hear what's happening in my head, it's probably a riot in there
Mirio Togata: doesn't she just have a small object attraction quirk?
Mirio Togata: I know it can pull small things really fast
Mirio Togata: she once pulled a diamond with enough strength for it to fly out of the building with a speed of like 50km/h
Mirio Togata: but that's not THAT dangerous unless you are in the way of an object, yes?
Akatani Mikumo: do you want a list of internal (or not) organs that technically count as small objects? let me just say that it starts with the eyes.
Mirio Togata: …
Mirio Togata: okay this is some of the most messed up thing I have ever heard about
Akatani Mikumo: Vampire thought that it's super cool. And Mindscrew had to borrow a cat from Kurogiri to deal with the mind images.
Akatani Mikumo: that's the type of people I have to deal with on a daily basis
Mirio Togata: …
Mirio Togata: you need to get more normal friends
Akatani Mikumo: IT'S NOT AS EASY AS YOU'D LIKE TO THINK WHEN YOU ARE ON THE TOP 10 MOST WANTED LIST
Akatani Mikumo: and the only internet acquaintances I'd possibly like to meet IS legally obligated to punch me into a stratosphere when we meet irl
Akatani Mikumo: so yeah
Mirio Togata: can I ask you a question
Akatani Mikumo: you know the drill - you can ask, I'm not obligated to answer
Mirio Togata: what's your, uhm, general opinion on All for One's parenting? Everyone here thinks that you are rebelling against him for bad parenting
Akatani Mikumo: ah yes, the hardest question
Akatani Mikumo: I'm still trying to sort out my opinion on it, tbh?
Akatani Mikumo: Like, I have two collections of villain merch - mostly figurines - in my home (one for villains I dislike and one I like) and he has no figurines because I just don't know what to think about him, even after so many years
Akatani Mikumo: no figurines, no need to ask myself what shelf it belongs to
Akatani Mikumo: His villainous career is absolute definition of monstrous and it's where me, you and the 26 agree [we can also agree that All Might stopping him was a blessing to the world]
Akatani Mikumo: but he still was my father, and as much as it might sound unbelievable, he was… kinda a good one?
Akatani Mikumo: he tried his best, mom corrected him when he went too controlling or villainous
Akatani Mikumo: dunno what was that about but I do remember her shouting at him when he went too controlling about my life and it was something like 'THIS IS WHY YOUR BROTHER REBELLED AGAINST YOU, THAT'S A FAMILY NOT A TOTALITARIAN STATE, HIZASHI' and then bam with a newspaper
Akatani Mikumo: mom's kinda badass when needed
Mirio Togata: … that's putting it lightly
Akatani Mikumo: I also still remember that battle when I came home from school with some burns, the bullying stuff was found out and me and my mom had to (and boy if that wasn't a hard battle) persuade him against burning the school down and doing something unspeakable to the teachers who supported the bullying
Akatani Mikumo: My childhood was an… interesting experience.
Mirio Togata: that's… one way of putting it
Akatani Mikumo: I honestly don't know how much it was actual love on his side, sometimes I still think that he just grew bored with his life (two centuries is a long time) and decided that family life could be an interesting distraction
Akatani Mikumo: but if so, then he was pretty damn invested in it
Akatani Mikumo: then he got punched before I finished an education that was supposed to make me more like him, but I did have a tutor or two remaining to go forward with it (just no master manipulator capable of turning me into a malevolent evil deity and stuff like that) so here I am now
Akatani Mikumo: Still looking forward to the memoirs?
Mirio Togata: yes
Mirio Togata: this is a bestseller material
Akatani Mikumo: yes just be aware that it will mention how All Might's greatest nemesis was more afraid of his wife and a rolled newspaper than the Number One Hero xDD
Mirio Togata: ...
Mirio Togata: give me some time to unpack this
Mirio Togata: in the meantime, Nejire did something crazy today
Akatani Mikumo: tell me more :D it's like hearing about what's Gremlin doing but without people dying
Mirio Togata: could yo stop make things disturbing for once, ugh
(***)
The awkward silence continued until the advent of the UA training camp. Izuku managed to find some traces of activity on Overhaul's side, but nothing conclusive - some sightings of his soldiers, an attack on some quirk research facility in Kyoto (repelled by the heroes), and so on.
This still counted as an awkward silence in the country to Izuku. He had no idea why Overhaul sent his goons to attack that place. What were the chances of it having some knowledge that would interest him? Maybe it was about the medical supplies? There was a lot of head scratching in the country over that.
Izuku's spy in the UA somehow wasn't arrested on arrival. Giving the League loads of valuable (potentially) intel
UA-Spy: holy fucking shit Nedzu is batshit insane
SmallMight: ?
VampirePrincess: is this a 'repeat what we already know' day for our spy?
UA-Spy: this is less a school training camp and more a fucking military exercise
SmallMight: details
Insomniac: yeah
FuckSchool: I don't want to hear about UA
VampirePrincess: it might inspire new theories for you
FuckSchool: you have a point, I'll stay
UA-Spy: Every single hero class is here, training in separate areas of a really large forest.
UA-Spy: Nedzu subcontracted like twenty different heroes with training licenses with connections to the UA to deal with the chaos
UA-Spy: Cementoss, Power Loader and the support students buil S, which seems to include everything from fallout shelters and murder robot base to Nedzu's command center and center of the communication network
UA-Spy: It even has a battery and AA missile launchers if the gossip from the support classes is correct, and I'm at a point where I wouldn't be surprised if it was powered by a nuclear reactor with an explosive self-destruction option tied to Nedzu's heartbeat in case someone killed him while inside the fortress because he is this level of spiteful prick
SmallMight: WHAT ARE THE UA'S BUDGET NUMBERS
SmallMight: AND WHO IS FINANCING IT
SmallMight: I NEED TO KNOW SO DAMN MUCH
UA-Spy: I KNOW RIGHT?!
UA-Spy: I mean, holy shit
UA-Spy: I know they are probably going to reuse the fortress the next year, and that most of the stuff inside was a form of month-long large scale training exercise for the support classes (and that the school will probably sell most of what they did after the training camp ends) but
UA-Spy: seriously wtf
UA-Spy: that rat is insane
SneakyGecko: that's saying it lightly holy shit
UA-Spy: you have twenty additional part-time teachers, and no less than thirty additional heroes (mostly lower-ranked and tied to the UA) patrolling the area
UA-Spy: And something like one hundred hero trainees plus fifty or so support guys manning the fortress, doing stuff like maintenance and communication. Oh and I think like twenty gen eds from various years that are looking to go into medicine and have live exercise of running a first aid point with Recovery Girl
SmallMight: I'm 99% sure that rat is just compensating for his small size
UA-Spy: LOL
Insomniac: sounds like it xD
SmallMight: I mean, it makes lowkey sense - country is messed up, and it's a good idea to look like a goddamn hedgehog to villains willing to punch you
SmallMight: but
SmallMight: did someone ever try to explain to him what MODERATION means
UA-Spy: he probably things it's some form of english cuisine
VampirePrincess: XD
SmallMight: okay, any notable faces among the heroes/ you said that mostly lower ranked)
UA-Spy: I saw Sir Nighteye with some skeletal guy that I don't know who was, Kamui Woods, Wild Wild Pussycats (I think it's their joint to begin with), some Idaten sidekicks, Gran Torino (he just isn't going to give up and retire, doesn't he?)
UA-Spy: oh and Boulder
SmallMight: Rank 15 Hero? From the Hero Commission?
UA-Spy: Did you think that the Commission would be alright with Nedzu amassing enough firepower in a single place to storm the National Diet without any form of oversight
SmallMight: fair, I think he is one of the more decent of the Commission heroes, so it's nice that's him
UA-Spy: so… do you think you'll manage to extract me if they arrest me
SmallMight: if not from the camp then from wherever else they'll take you
SmallMight: even if I have to attack Tartarus for it
UA-Spy: Awww
(***)
Overhaul exits the portal within the forest. It's late evening, so darkness has already overtook most of the surrounding area.
He is at the edge of the cliff, granting him a beautiful view of the forest in front of him. He sees some lights here and there, each signifying a cancerous lump of the disease that he is here to excise.
Others let the disease fester for too long. But it won't last for long. He is here to help. He is here to help them all.
"Start warping in our army." He says to the QLF soldier that he gave the disease he took from Eclipse. Doing such a thing is distasteful, but he needs to compromise sometimes. This is all for the greater good.
The portals open. Soldiers start to walk through. They no longer doubt his leadership, and are here for the same goal that he is - to heal the world. Even if it means killing it in the process.
This is merely one of the several units. There will be more. Oh, so much more. This is war, after all. And he plans to win it with the first battle.
"Connect me with their network." Overhaul says to another of his soldiers. His quirk is technopathic one, boosted greatly with a special brand of trigger. One of oh so many surprises he prepared to destroy the UA, and put Japan on its knees.
(***)
Nedzu is in his command center, observing the evening exercises through numerous cameras and sensors. Seeing two hundred people act on his desires is a bit soothing to his ego, he has to admit. Especially as everything is going so nicely.
Then everything goes to hell.
"My name is Overhaul." He hears from the speakers. Nedzu freezes. And so do dozens of people throughout the forest. "And I consider myself a visionary… and a healer. But the world… uuuugh… calls me a villain."
Nedzu sees red dots popping up on the screen, signifying the sensors detecting intruders. There are many. Oh so many.
"Do not worry." Overhaul continues. "You are sick, yes. But I have come to heal you. I have come to heal you all. I shall free this world from the diseases known as quirks, heroes and villains. Uuuugh. I shall usher in a new age upon the world. An utopia."
At least a thousand dots. The systems start to interpret about two hundred of them as…
Nedzu can feel his blood go cold.
"I shall take that moment to announce a merger between the Quirkless Liberation Front and several other groups. Including the remnants of the empire of a certain great man. Man so great that Nedzu and the Hero Commission agreed to keep him hidden from the world. Uuuugh… out of fear." Overhaul adds.
Frozen Nedzu observes a crowd of no less than two hundred noumus marching towards the center of the training camp. Towards where most of his students are.
"We are now the Paranormal Liberation Front." Overhaul says. "And we have come to kill you all. I wish you a good night."
With an agonizing shriek, the communication network set up by Power Loader dies down. Bringing down the means to communicate with the outside world, to coordinate numerous separated groups of heroes and hero trainees and to observe movements of the enemy.
Seconds later the first artillery rounds start to fall on the fortress. Nedzu can feel it shaking ever so slightly under the distant explosions.
"Oh dear." He says. The nearest support students stare at him in terror.
(***)
Izuku is woken up by an alert signal from the Villain Network app. He manages to untangle himself from Himiko (who was very in a mood for some cuddling in the evening, sue them both about it) after a few seconds of struggle. He is doing his best to not wake her up.
He opens the app. And can feel his blood go cold.
UA-Spy: OVERHAUL AND QLF ARE ATTACKING THE CAMP
UA-Spy: HERO COMMS DOWN, IT'S TOTAL CHAOS
UA-Spy: I NEED HELP OR EVAC RIGHT THE FUCK NOW
Izuku hits a button on his phone that he never got to use before. Sirens start blasting throughout the building, brutally tearing everyone from their sleep. Himiko eyes dart open and she grabs her knife (where did she even hide it for the night).
Izuku switches onto another app.
"Emergency sortie, everyone but Sunset." He can hear his voice coming from the speakers through the building. The alerts die down - everyone is awake already. "It's Overhaul. Load up everything you fucking can. Gremlin, take Gadget." Himiko leaps towards her wardrobe, where her clothes and knives are.
SmallMight: We're coming. Hold the line.
UA-Spy: IT'S NOT AS EASY AS YOU'D LIKE TO THINK
(***)
"Incoming warp jump detected." One of his lieutenants announces. "Landing coordinates scrambled." Another useful disease he had to install in a previously pure person.
Somewhere else, League members emerge from Kurogiri to find themselves scattered throughout the forest, with heroes and villains battling it out around them.
"Wonderful." Overhaul replies. Everything is proceeding according to plan.
(***)
Wake up for the heroes starts now. Also I decided to 'slightly' ramp up the Training Camp into a small war. So yes, in the next chapter, expect character deaths.