A/N: Alright, it's time. Get yourselves ready, because this chapter just might be a lesson in getting more than you wished for.
Phase 3: Chapter 10
Kurai Hikari: Origin
"Are you sure about all this?" Fat Gum asked the young man in front of him. He looked concerned, which, all things considered, Kurai preferred to disgust or wariness.
With that thought in mind, he asked, "Are you sure about me, sir? For all we know, if I'm right about my father, I could be some kind of sleeper agent for the League." It was just the two of them in the hero's office, as Kurai had wanted this to be a private discussion. They were going to meet Kirishima and Amajiki at the Nighteye agency in a little while for a discussion about a joint operation, but the other students had yet to leave the campus.
Kurai had just finished telling his supervisor about his investigation into the origins of his quirk, and his parents' potential involvement. All For One's ability to take and give quirks was now relatively common knowledge among those with access to the Hero Net, but One For All was still a secret, so Kurai had omitted anything concerning All Might and Midoriya's involvement.
"I won't believe that," Fat Gum said with a negative shake of his massive head. "You're a good kid, Kai. There's no way that you could be some kind of a double agent!"
"Just like the police superintendent could never be a traitor?" Kurai said dryly, silencing Fat Gum temporarily.
Still, the man insisted, "I took you on so that I could show you what being a hero means to me. And I don't think that a real hero can turn away a kid that's coming to his teacher for help. So I'll help you find out if the League has been messing with your life, and the lives of others through your dad. Just… You could be ruining your hero career before it even gets started, you know? Are you sure you want to go through with this?"
Kurai lowered his eyes to look at the floor before he answered in a soft voice, "No matter what my parents did or didn't do, they raised me to uphold justice above all else. If the cost of that is my hero career, my ignorance, or both, then so be it. If nothing else, no one will be able to accuse me of obstructing justice for selfish reasons."
"…Okay, Kai," Fat Gum said somberly. "I admire your persistence in finding the truth. First thing after our meeting with Nighteye, you can call your detective friend. We'll get this over with as soon as possible."
"Thank you, sir." Kurai hoped that his voice wasn't trembling as badly as he was right then.
They got to the meeting place ahead of his classmates, so Kurai decided to take a seat in a corner of the room that was rapidly filling with heroes of all ranks. Ryukyu was the top-ranked hero in the room, but there were plenty of other figures of note, like Rock Lock, Mister Brave- whom Mina had done her internship with- Fat Gum, and…
Wait, is that Mister Aizawa?! Kurai suddenly straightened up in his seat as his homeroom teacher approached him, looking tired as usual. I wasn't aware that he did team-ups with other agencies… If he's here, this is a lot bigger than I thought it was. Maybe it's related to the League? Kurai had been operating under the assumption that this was going to be a joint effort between two or three agencies, but there were easily over a dozen heroes already present, and it looked like there were going to be more.
"Hello, Hikari," his instructor said as he took the seat next to him. "You're early."
"I had some business to attend to with Fat Gum," Kurai answered him. "I'm honestly surprised to see you here, sir. I thought you were more of a solo act."
"Normally, yes, but this is a special set of circumstances," Aizawa replied without looking at him. "You'll learn more during the full briefing. And when we're out in the field, call me Eraserhead."
"Sir?" Kurai was stunned to hear his teacher give an order to speak to him on more equal footing. The man hardly tolerated insubordination, not even from people like Bakugo, who had a tendency to frighten other teachers with his vicious intensity. Such mistakes were dealt with via his quirk and capture scarf. What's next, he's engaged to Miss Joke?
"I'm your teacher at UA, and I expect you to listen when I speak, but in the field, I'm Eraserhead, and you're Kai, got it?" the haggard-looking man asked his student sternly.
"Yes, si- Understood, Eraserhead."
"Good. Keep your head down until your classmates arrive. I need to talk to Nighteye's people." With that, the man stood up and walked away, his hands in his pockets.
What was with that? Kurai wondered before he was approached by another person.
"So, you're the other kid Toshinori's told me about," said a gravelly voice that came from an old man in a yellow cape. "Hopefully, you're made of sterner stuff than the green one."
"Gran Torino, right?" Kurai asked as he stood up to shake hands with the man.
"Unfortunately," the old man grumbled as he gave Kurai's hand a short little jerk. "I swear, that man has a habit of picking up trouble children. And now Tsukauchi is encouraging you to dig through rabbit trails instead of improving your skills as a hero."
Kurai frowned at that, but he kept his temper even as he replied, "With all due respect, sir, I'm what was at the end of the rabbit trail. I'm just trying to find out where the path started."
"Hmph," the grizzled man mused as he looked Kurai up and down. "You're definitely feistier than Midoriya- got some steel in your spine, I see."
"Among other places," Kurai said dryly as he waggled his metal fingers.
This made Gran Torino's face crinkle with a grin as he said, "Nana would have liked you. Do me a favor and see if you can't get your friend to toughen up a bit. I could only smack him around so much during one week."
"You'd be surprised," Kurai said before the old man could walk away. "He still cries too much, sure. But he's a lot tougher than people give him credit for."
"Hah!" Gran Torino scoffed as he went on his way. "I'll believe that when he can make it through a day without blubbering like a grade schooler!"
It didn't take too much longer for Kurai's classmates to show up, as well as the entirety of the Big Three. "Hey, Hikari!" Ruby said as they drew closer to one another. "When'd you get here?"
"A few minutes ago," he answered. "Nobody's said anything about what's going on, though. I knew that this was going to be something extra if multiple hero agencies were going to be involved, but I had no idea that there would be this many heroes here."
"Me neither, and we work for Sir!" Togata said cheerily. "Hey there, Hikari! I'm super jazzed that we'll get to work together, after all! I was kinda bummed out when you decided to go with Fat Gum, but all's well that ends well!"
"I guess so," Kurai said as he shook hands with his upperclassman. "But I'm sure Izuku is learning plenty in my place, right pal?"
"Yeah!" the green-haired boy said with a slightly forced smile. Just that Sunday, he had told Kurai, Mina, and Ochaco about how he had discovered that Nighteye resented him as All Might's chosen successor. Apparently, the only reason he had taken him on for a work study was because he wanted to show Midoriya firsthand how much better it would have been for someone like Togata to inherit the power. As he had been All Might's former sidekick, it made sense that he was one of the few people who knew about One For All, but that only complicated things for the current holder.
Seeing his feigned expression, Kurai forced a smile onto his own face and clapped his friend on the shoulder while he said, "Good to hear, man. I'm sure you'll be running circles around everyone else with what you'll learn." He hoped that his unspoken message reached his comrade, too. You'll prove him wrong, just watch, he tried to tell his classmate.
It seemed like Izuku got the message, because his shoulders straightened up a little bit, and his smile became more natural, especially after Ochaco discreetly gripped his hand in hers'. "You're right," he said more confidently. "I am learning a lot- more than I thought I would, even after Togata told us how intense work studies can be."
"Same here!" Kirishima grinned.
"You guys are all way too enthusiastic…" Amajiki mumbled. He was rubbing his arm where he had been shot, which was still wrapped up in bandages.
Weird, I thought the bullet didn't do much physical damage, and that Recovery Girl would have healed him by now, Kurai thought as he frowned slightly at the sight. What's with that?
"Nighteye, we're all here," said Ryukyu, which drew everyone's attention to a tall man with dark green hair and glasses. He stood near the front of the room, in front of a large monitor that glowed blue, but Kurai guessed was going to be used in a presentation.
"Very well, then, let's get started." He was soft-spoken, but not to the point where it was difficult to make out what he was saying. The way he carried himself spoke of self-assurance, born of many years spent fighting some of the world's worst evils, and coming out alive every time.
As he walked forward a few paces, he addressed the room by saying, "Thanks to all of you, our investigation has taken great leaps and bounds in its progress. You are all here for this joint conference so that we can share what we have learned about the Yakuza group: the Shie Hassaikai. We also now have enough Intel that we feel comfortable sharing our hypothesis about their plans for the future."
While the other students gave one another confused looks, Kurai couldn't stop himself from smacking his face- with the metal hand. "Gah, dammit!" he cursed, trying to muffle his voice with his other hand. "Every time!" Fortunately, the only ones who noticed his mistake were the other UA students, as most of the other heroes had gone to set up tables and chairs for the meeting that Nighteye would be leading.
"Dude, are you okay?" Kirishima asked him while he massaged his bruising flesh.
"Fine," Kurai gritted out, even as his nose throbbed and tears threatened to sneak out of his eyes.
"Why did he do that?" Hado asked Amajiki, who shrugged and shied away.
"He kinda forgets that he had a robot arm, sometimes…" Uraraka explained to her teammate.
"I get the feeling it's cos he knows something about these yogurt guys, or whoever they are," Kirishima responded while Kurai continued to collect himself.
"Yakuza," the other boy hissed through the pain. "And yeah, I know about them. They're old-school gangsters, dating back to before quirks were even around. They ruled Japan's criminal underworld, and for a long time, they were actually pretty bad news."
"What happened?" Ruby asked curiously, having never heard this piece of history before.
"Heroes happened," Midoriya explained. "For a while, the Yakuza groups gained power and influence because they could abuse their quirks while the governments tried to figure out how to regulate powers and implement laws about them. It took a while, but once it was all settled, early heroes made stamping them out a priority."
"Still, some of them endured and adapted to the changing times," Kurai said, making no effort to hide the disgust in his voice. "The Penta-Gram family- the one that murdered my uncle? They were one of the last surviving Yakuza, as is this Shie Hassaikai group."
"Whoa, I take it you're not a fan," Togata said with an uncharacteristic wince. "You gonna be okay with all this?"
"I confronted that particular demon a while ago," Kurai answered with a shrug. "I'll be fine if we need to tangle with a few gutter punks."
Despite that assertion, each of the UA students left the meeting feeling completely rattled and sickened. They learned of a little girl named Eri, the daughter of Kai Chisaki, whom Midoriya and Togata had been forced to let go of when they met her, an event that now had them both reeling. The man himself was young, and had only recently become the head of the crime family, but he was rumored to be much more aggressive in his movements and mannerisms than the previous Hassaikai leader.
Chisaki possessed a quirk called 'Overhaul', which basically allowed him to deconstruct and reconstruct the molecules of anything that he touched. Nighteye theorized that Eri possessed a similar power- one that allowed her to destroy a person's quirk, possibly forever. Fat Gum's report was what led to this supposition, as the bullets that had hit Amajiki and Kirishima were found to contain traces of human blood, a fact that both he and the UA students found completely revolting. In conjunction with this fact, Midoriya and Togata had both noticed that when they encountered Eri, she was covered in bandages that concealed more skin than not.
This monster is tearing apart his own daughter's body…! Kurai had thought as his fists trembled with rage. And he's using her to make a drug that nullifies the powers of anyone that stands against him!
Amajiki's powers had returned after a night of rest, but the wound was taking longer to restore for some reason, even with Recovery Girl attempting to heal it multiple times. Still, it wasn't life-threatening, so he was still cleared for hero duties.
Like the younger heroes, Fat Gum was outraged at the very notion that a child could be used in such a way. He wanted to storm the Hassaikai headquarters and rescue Eri immediately, but Nighteye stressed restraint for the time being. He pointed out that they didn't actually know where Eri was, as the Yakuza had multiple hideouts across Japan. However, he did make the point that the mission he had gathered them all for was, in fact, to save Eri from the clutches of her father and his criminal organization.
The students would remain on standby while the adults did reconnaissance across the country in order to narrow down the list of places where the girl might be, but they would be called into action when the rescue operation began. However, because there was a chance- slim though it was- that the League of Villains could be involved, their part in the mission was set to be minimal. Apparently the League and the Hassaikai had some kind of run-in that resulted in two corpses- one from each side- but so far there had been no further conflict between the two of them. Their relationship was ambiguous at best, so it made sense that the pros would be hesitant to allow the students to participate after they had been repeatedly targeted by the League.
Still, none of them were willing to back down from the mission, even when Aizawa offered them an out. All of them were determined to play whatever part they could in the rescue of the helpless little girl that had begged Deku not to let her go, though she had chosen to return to her father's side when it appeared that he might get violent with the two boys. Midoriya and Togata seemed distraught at the circumstances that had led them to where they were now, but Kurai was downright livid.
He stared at his metal arm in the light of the setting sun while he waited for Fat Gum to finish with his part of the briefing, his friends all sitting in silence at the table they had occupied outside of the main room. The limb was shaking from the force of his anger as he thought, I became a hero to make sure that no one suffers like this when I'm within reach to help them… And if Chisaki ends up within my reach, I'm going to show him what my agony is worth.
He didn't want to kill the man. He had vowed to never venture near the line of murderous intent again, but it wasn't outside of his moral code to make the man regret every action he had made in the name of evil in a very painful manner.
Still, he was starting to see why Gang Orca had sent him to Fat Gum's agency. It wasn't necessarily to just gain field experience. It was because if he continued on as he was, acting on his first impulses to make his decisions, he would end up like the BMI hero. He was well-liked by the public, but now it was clear that he didn't exactly command respect from other heroes, due to his brash attitude and headstrong nature. This wasn't to say that they didn't like him, it was just that they didn't look to him for leadership like they did Nighteye.
I suppose this is a lesson in what not to do, he thought glumly.
"Kurai?" Ochaco asked Kurai softly. "Are you okay?" She had picked up on her friend's turmoil, and since Midoriya was in no shape to reach out to him, and Mina wasn't around to try and offer counsel in her own way, she felt like it was her responsibility to at least check on the other student.
"No," he said slowly, making a conscious effort to keep his voice under control. "And I don't think I will be until that little kid is safe." His friends didn't deserve to be on the receiving end of his anger in any capacity, not even Midoriya and Togata. They had done the best that they could with what they knew of the situation, and they were no more at fault for Eri's situation than the next hero in the building. Getting angry with them would do nothing but create more problems, which was the last thing that he needed right now.
Let out a shuddering breath, Kurai told them, "My father and his brother spent their lives fighting scum like the Yakuza, and now it's my turn to take up the standard. I will not tarnish that legacy by allowing these… these vermin to just pop back up as soon as they think the coast is clear." In the days before his brother had altered his body's ability to handle his quirk, he would already be spitting Energon sparks and wreathed in orange flames, so pent up was his fury.
"We will make it happen," Midoriya vowed, in spite of his own anguish. "No matter what it takes, we will save Eri."
That we will, Kurai agreed silently as he continued to stare at his artificially repaired body. But first… I need to put the last shadow behind me.
"Are you sure it's a good idea to do this now?" Fat Gum asked his protégé. "You're clearly worked up from yesterday, and while I don't have an issue with venting some stress on the villains responsible, this is a separate matter. Maybe you should cool your head before you do this." He, Kurai, and Tsukauchi were sitting in a stakeout van with Gran Torino, who looked irritated at having been more or less made to come along by the detective. It was the day after the joint meeting, as Tsukauchi had not been able to accompany them the previous afternoon, and they needed him to make the arrest.
"Heroes don't always get to pick and choose when they get to deal with the stuff that's stressing them out, right?" Kurai countered. "If I can keep my cool now, in this situation in particular, then I think I can trust myself to stay in control when we face the Hassaikai. Otherwise, I might just be a liability to you guys when the time comes. And I refuse to endanger a little girl because I couldn't control my temper."
Gang Orca's words rang in his ears, then. You must always be planning your next move!
With that in mind, he said in a forcibly level tone, "This is something that will define what kind of hero I will be for the rest of my life. I can't turn away from it. Plus, I get the feeling that putting it off will only make the confrontation worse, in the end." He was dressed in his hero outfit, as he was not planning on visiting his home for a mere social call. He was there to work as Kai.
"Are you gonna keep yammering back there, or are you going to conduct this investigation?" Gran Torino groused from the front seat. "You're out of daylight to burn, kid. Either put up or shut up, so we can go home and get some rest."
"Hey, lay off the kid," Fat Gum shot back. "Even you'd have a hard time with-!"
"He's already gone," Tsukauchi pointed out as the car door slammed shut. Pulling out his phone, he set it on speaker mode and asked, "Are we coming through?"
"Yeah, but stay quiet as much as possible," Kurai answered. "My brother will probably figure out that my scouter is transmitting if he sees me, but I doubt that he'll interfere. Just make sure you keep recording, okay?"
"Copy, we'll remain on standby unless we deem the situation has turned hostile," Fat Gum replied.
"Understood, I'm approaching the door."
"Good luck, Kai."
As Kurai expected, he was given a warm welcome at the door by his aunt, despite his arriving unannounced. It was strange to be home in his hero outfit, in addition to the fact that his only living relatives were now all living under the same roof without him. It was as though a stranger had come into his home wearing his face and voice. Nevertheless, he was determined not to stop now.
Once he had greeted his uncle's widow properly, he decided to ask, "Are my mom and Akarui home?"
"Your brother is in his room with his physical therapist right now, and your mom is in your dad's study," Sakura answered with a smile as she looked him up and down. "You look very handsome in your hero outfit. Are you on patrol? Akarui told us that you'd started a work study."
"Yeah, but I was in the neighborhood, and my boss gave me a few minutes to come and say hello," Kurai half-lied with a smile. He was glad that he had gotten better at lying as of late, otherwise he never would have fooled his aunt. "I hope I haven't come at a bad time."
"Not at all," Sakura answered cheerily. "Shukin is on his way home with some dinner, and there should be enough for you, if you can stay?"
"I wish, but I'm only free for a little bit," Kurai said apologetically. "I'm just gonna pop in the study to see Mom and then I'll check on Akarui, if that's okay?" Secretly, he was glad that Akarui and Shukin weren't in the room right now, given what might be about to happen.
"Of course!" Sakura nodded. "It's your house, you don't need my permission to say 'hi' to the others, and it'll your do your mom good to see you again, even if it's just for a little bit. Hopefully Shukin can come back before you two finish talking; I know he'd love to see your hero getup."
"Why don't you snap a picture, now, just in case?" Kurai suggested, knowing that by the time his cousin came back, it would probably be too late for such pleasantries.
"Good idea!"
Once his aunt had taken a few photos, Kurai made his way toward his father's study, his heart pounding like a jackhammer, and his lunch trying to escape his throat. He could almost swear that his mechanical arm was trying to reprogram itself to defy him as he placed his hand on the door and forced the handle to turn before he pushed it open.
He saw a familiar figure sitting in the chair, facing away from him, a family photo in her hands. "Sakura?" asked a tired voice. "Is Shukin back with dinner, already?"
With a shaky voice, Kurai cleared his throat and said, "Hi, Mom."
The photo slowly found its way onto the desk before Moka Hogo-sha turned around and looked up at her son with haunted eyes while he shut the door behind them. "Hello, Kurai," she said in that same, tired voice that had replaced her once-strong one. "I wasn't expecting a visit- but I'm glad to see you."
"Could have fooled me," Kurai said, unable to contain all of the bitterness in his voice. However, he was able to cover it by adding, "You haven't answered my calls since I moved onto the campus."
"I know… and I'm sorry for that," his mother replied as she lowered her gaze from his hurt one. "I just didn't know how to talk to you after… well, everything."
"I would have liked to have talked; about anything, really," Kurai admitted. "There's so much I wanted to talk about with you… About my relationship with Mina, about how my classes are going, how I've adjusted to my new arm, and how I got my provisional license, which led to me becoming a temp sidekick at Fat Gum's agency… I wanted to tell you all about it."
"Well, why don't we start now?" Moka said as she tried to straighten herself in the chair. Kurai noticed that she had become very thin as of late, and her appearance was rather unkempt.
"I wish we could, but I'm not exactly here for a casual visit," Kurai said as he reached into the fold of his gi and withdrew a sheet of paper, which he held out to his mother with a shaky grasp. "I'm here about this."
Moka was silent as she reached out and took the folded parchment. She slowly opened it up, her eyes sparking with alarm as she recognized the document detailing his childhood diagnosis. "Where did you-?"
"I found that in Dad's scrapbook of me," Kurai interrupted, his dread growing as he registered her reaction. "You're actually holding a copy- I have the original back at my room in the dorms."
"Kurai, you need to burn that," she said urgently. "It should have never-"
"You and I both know you raised me to do differently," Kurai said in a biting tone that silenced his mother immediately. Somewhere in the back of his head, he was appalled at the fact that he would dare speak to his mother like this, but the hero in him silenced that part of his mind. There was no going back now, and he needed answers. "I'm the son of a cop, Mom. Would you really expect me to drop it when something like this lands in my lap?"
"…No, I wouldn't," Moka answered, suddenly looking as though she had aged another five years as she put her head in her hands. "You've been investigating this, haven't you?"
"I have."
"How much do you know?"
"I don't know much, but I can venture an educated guess," Kurai answered, actively working to fight past the stone in his throat as he felt his fears drawing closer to crash down on him. "I do know that I was born quirkless. I also know about All For One, and his power to take and give quirks. I also know that he ruled from the background, manipulating people like puppets. From that, I've guessed that such a man would have a lot to gain from having a distinguished police officer in his employ, and that a quirkless son would make a good bargaining chip." Kurai paused before he asked, "Am I getting warm?"
"In the frying pan," his mother answered as she lifted her face out of her hands.
Kurai nearly blacked out from the weight that had just fallen on his shoulders and churned his stomach violently. "So…" he breathed heavily. "Everything that Dad did… Everything that you and he raised me to be… that's all a lie?"
"No." Moka's voice had regained some of its former strength, enough to pause Kurai before he started to hyperventilate. "You're right, we made a deal with that horrible man, years ago. But it was only a single favor, and everything else that your father did, he did of his own volition. He was every bit the man that you and the country remember him to be, I promise."
Kurai's body trembled from the force of his inner conflict as he managed to ask, "What deal did you make with him? With All For One?"
"You need to understand something, first," his mother insisted. "During your father's early years as an officer, he saw a lot of terrible things, one of the most consistent being how quirkless people are treated. I can't tell you how many times he had to prevent someone from jumping off of a rooftop- and how many times he wasn't able to- because the people around them made their life hell, just for the fact that they were unlike everyone else. They're treated like second-class citizens, and when we found out that you were quirkless, we feared for what your life would be like. We asked the doctor if there was anything that we could do to help you, knowing that there was, of course, nothing. It was a simple knee-jerk reaction, one that any parent would have asked.
"Except that the doctor didn't tell us there was nothing to do." Moka shuddered as she went on to say, "He told us that he knew a man- one who dealt in experimental treatments for quirkless people. He arranged a meeting for us, and I swear that we met the devil, Kurai. He was completely civil and polite, but your father and I knew that he that he was evil."
"But you made a deal with the devil, anyway," Kurai said tightly.
"We did," Moka said hoarsely. "He gave you your quirk and wiped your memory of the event. In exchange, he wanted your father to keep the police away from the bar where his operatives were hiding out."
"…That's it?" her son asked, dumbstruck. "That's all he wanted?" His mother nodded, but he still couldn't quite believe it. "No cutting easy deals for his thugs? No setting up for his people to spring out of jail early? No other backroom deals?"
"None," Moka confirmed. "No money changed hands for your quirk, either."
Kurai frowned harder as he felt that he was still missing something. As it came to him, he asked, "If Dad was supposed to keep the police away from the hideout, why did he tell the department where they were, all of a sudden? Why now, after ten years of keeping quiet?"
"…Because of you," his mother all but whispered. "Because of what the League of Villains did to you." She stared at his robotic arm as she said this, and suddenly, the last piece fell into place.
"He took revenge against the League," he realized aloud. "Dad was pissed that they had attacked us before, and this last time, I didn't just nearly die, I lost my arm."
"Like you said," his mother nodded weakly. "He told me that he was going to organize a raid on the hideout- that he'd had enough of watching you suffer at the hands of the League when he could have done something about it from the beginning. I… tried to convince him not to."
"Why?"
"Because we knew what kinds of things All For One was capable of doing," Moka replied in a shamed tone. "I knew that if your father betrayed him, our entire family could suffer far worse than you already had. He didn't listen."
"…That building didn't just collapse on Dad, did it?" Kurai asked, his own voice growing weak now. "That was the League."
"I think so," his mother replied as she sniffled, tears welling up in her eyes. "He had just called me on the phone to tell me that it was all over- that the devil was being put in jail for good. I was relieved, because for that brief moment, I thought that he had managed to get out from under the shadow that he had been under for the last decade. Now he's gone."
"You should have never made that deal," Kurai muttered. "It isn't worth it."
"Kurai, you're not a parent, you don't know what it's like to want the best for your-"
"The best?!" he sputtered angrily, unable to contain himself. "The best?! Mom, all of our lives are a wreck because you didn't trust me to grow up and be strong enough to handle whatever came at me, just because I didn't have a power! For years, I couldn't express my emotions without risking death! I nearly got killed multiple times on my chosen path to become a hero! My brother is in a wheelchair and headed for a grave in less than five years, because he wanted to fix my body because it couldn't handle a quirk that isn't even mine to begin with! I lost my damn arm because of this quirk! If you and Dad had possessed any sense at all, you would have never agreed to make a deal with the most powerful villain the world has ever seen! You didn't help me! You ruined me!"
"We did the best that we could with what we were given!" Moka shot back as she got to her feet to confront her son. "How could we have known that things would turn out this way?!"
"You still should have known better than to make a deal with a man that steals quirks from others," Kurai growled back. Clenching his metal fist, he added, "One more question; what happened to the original owner of my quirk? Where are they?"
"I don't know," Moka replied tightly, her lips pressed thin. "He never told us where he had gotten it. We didn't even know what kind of quirk you would receive, just that it would be one that could allow to live a life of your choosing. To that end, he held up his part of the bargain."
"Right, because that makes everything better," Kurai muttered as he stepped away and rubbed his face with his left hand.
There was a long, awkward silence that was eventually broken by his mother saying, "The silver lining is that your father, for all of his mistakes, even this one, did the right thing in the end, when even I told him not to. He died a hero, like your Uncle Shiro."
"Yippee," Kurai spat, too emotionally drained to find any sort of positivity in the situation. Reaching up, he tapped his scouter and asked, "Did you get all that?"
"We did," Tsukauchi answered, which caused his mother to give a start of surprise. "Bring her in."
"You were recording-?"
"Moka Hogo-sha, you're under arrest for conspiring with a known terrorist organization, in addition to withholding sensitive information from the authorities, and child endangerment," Kurai said as he grabbed his mother by the arm and started to lead her away, unsurprised when she did not resist overmuch. "You have the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law." His footsteps echoed in the hallways like a death knell in his ears as he saw his aunt, who looked utterly stunned at the sight in front of her. "You have the right to a lawyer and have them present while you are being questioned." He set his face like flint as he saw Shukin, who dropped the food that he had been carrying from a local takeout joint. "If you cannot afford a lawyer, one will be appointed to represent you before any questioning, if you so wish. You can decide at any time to exercise these rights and remain silent, if you choose."
He shoved the door open to see Tsukauchi waiting on the porch with a pair of handcuffs, and a somber expression on his face. "Mrs. Hogo-sha," he said in a disappointed tone. "I never saw this day coming." She said nothing, knowing that there was nothing she could do avert what was coming. After all, she was the wife of a cop. She knew that there was no point in trying to get away from her crime, now; even if that crime was loving her son enough to make a terrible mistake.
"She's been read her Miranda's," Kurai told the detective. Before the man could move to put the cuffs on her, the boy said, "You'll treat her well down at the station, I trust?"
All Might's friend nodded immediately. "Of course," he affirmed. "She won't be harmed or mishandled in any way, you have my word." Only once Kurai had heard this did he hand over his despondent mother into the detective's custody.
"I'm sorry, son," she said as she was led away in cuffs.
"Not nearly as sorry as I am," he murmured.
Fat Gum was waiting at the edge of the property line, and he called over to his sidekick, "You coming? I can get you on a train home, now."
"In a minute," Kurai nodded with a shaky breath. Now that the moment was over, and his anger was spent, he felt sick and hollow on the inside. He had done what he needed to do, but he knew it was still going to haunt him for a long time to come.
His dread was only amplified when he heard the sound of a motorized wheelchair pulling up to be next to him. *What did you do, Kurai?*
He declined to answer his brother's question, or to even look at him when he asked in a low voice, "Did you know?"
*Did I know what?*
"That I was born without a quirk."
*It's news to me. What did you just do to our mom?* Kurai wasn't put off by the fact that Akarui didn't seem surprised, even if he claimed ignorance on the matter. It took a lot to unsettle him, and given everything that had happened to the both of them, it was no wonder that he didn't waste time on being surprised.
"…She and Dad conspired with All For One to get me a quirk," the boy answered softly. "Dad betrayed him, and now we're pretty sure that he was killed for it. Mom tried to talk him out of it, but he wouldn't listen. I had to arrest her because of her part in it."
"Hey, Kai!" Fat Gum called out. "We need to go! There's paperwork to fill out on the way home!"
"One more minute, sir!"
*What's going to happen to Mom?* Akarui's mechanical voice couldn't express emotion, but nonetheless, Kurai could hear the worry in his bearing.
"She'll probably be in jail for a long time," he said sadly. "I'm sorry to do this to you, Akarui."
*I'm more sorry that you had to do it at all.* When Kurai finally looked at his brother with surprise, the younger boy shrugged and typed out, *I won't delude myself into thinking that any of this is okay, or fair. But out of all of us, I honestly think that you've suffered the most, and now you've thrown more petrol on the fire. For that, you have my pity.*
Kurai was silent until he breathed out, "I need to go. Tell Aunt Sakura and Shukin that I'm sorry."
*I will. Call me later- I want to know the story behind this. I think I deserve a few answers now that neither of our parents can take care of me anymore.*
"True enough. Once the investigation is over, I will." Kurai walked away as his eyes began to leak and he said in a broken voice, "Goodbye, Brother."
*Goodbye, Brother.*
Fat Gum was very kind to him throughout the trip back to the school, helping him get through the paperwork with as little effort and fuss as possible. He knew that the last thing his student needed right now was to thoroughly relive the hardest decision of his life, so he tried to take the workload off of him as much as he could, mostly just having him put his signature on the bottom of a few pages. A couple of stops before they reached the train station closest to UA, Fat Gum offered to take him to any restaurant in the area that he wanted.
Kurai declined, though he thanked the man for his offer. He looked like he was shell shocked, and with good reason. Having it confirmed that he had inadvertently stolen someone else's quirk on top of the first arrest of his hero career being his own mother was a terrible weight to bear. Either one on their own would have been hard to deal with, but now Fat Gum worried that he would buckle under the pressure.
"I'm gonna put in a call to your teachers to give you the next couple of days off," he said as they began walking from the station toward the school. "You're gonna need some time to process what just happened."
"I think it's going to take a lot longer than a couple of days for that to happen," Kurai mumbled.
"Still, you need to rest a bit, kid," Fat Gum insisted. "You just went through something that not even most veteran pros can imagine dealing with. I don't wanna hear any arguments about it. I'll take you off the raid team if I think you're not taking care of yourself, understand?"
Kurai looked up at him with a hint of panic, but he quickly recomposed himself and said, "Yes, sir. I'll do my best."
He was surprised to find all of his classmates waiting in the common space for him despite the late hour that it now was. He stopped just inside the door like a deer caught in the headlights as the others came to encircle him.
"Hey, man," Kirishima said first. "We were all worried about you after you took off after class without saying anything. What happened, and why are you in your hero gear?"
Kurai trembled as he answered, "I was… working on a case. One of Dad's old partners recruited me to help him run down a lead that connected to the League of Villains."
"What?!" Iida cried. "The teachers have given us explicit instructions not to go anywhere near those people! Why would you-?!"
"The person we arrested is not an active member of the group," Kurai said to cut him off, his trembling intensifying, a fact that did not go unnoticed by his friends.
"Kurai?" Mina asked him as she moved in close to lay an arm across his shoulders. "Do you need to go upstairs?"
"No…" he groaned as he clutched at his stomach, wanting to be sick again. "Given everything that the League has put us through, this is something that they all deserve to hear."
Izuku looked alarmed for a second, but before he could speak, Kurai shook his head at his friend, almost imperceptibly. I won't talk about All Might, he told him silently. When it was clear that the other boy was going to let him talk, he said in a shaky voice, "I was brought in for an investigation when I found evidence that I was born quirkless."
"Wha?" Hagakure gaped. "But… What?!"
"Dude, you've told us that you've had your quirk since you were a kid, just like all of us," Kaminari frowned. "What you're saying doesn't make any sense."
"It does if you pay attention to the news," Mina told them, her usual cheer completely gone. She could tell how hard it was for her boyfriend to speak right now, and he needed help. "Remember that villain that All Might fought in Kamino? He had the power to steal other people's quirks and give them to others, if he wanted."
"Wait, you don't mean…" Sero started to say, but his voice trailed off as everyone looked at Kurai with some unrecognizable emotion. It wasn't quite fear, but it wasn't pity, either.
"My parents wanted me to have a better life than that of someone born quirkless, and All For One stood to gain from having a cop in his pocket," Kurai managed to get out. He thought that it might get easier saying it again, but it only seemed to get more difficult each time he spoke it aloud. "My dad kept the police and heroes away from the bar where Shigaraki hid out, and I got a quirk."
"Holy crap, man," Kirishima said blankly. "Do you think…? Is that why your brain couldn't handle your quirk's full power? You weren't born with it?"
"Maybe," Kurai said softly, his knees threatening to buckle as the room spun around him. "But… In the end, my dad reneged on his deal with All For One. He told the police where they could find Bakugo, and now we're pretty sure that he was killed for it. The timing is too suspicious."
Bakugo was sitting on the couch, facing away from everyone else, but he definitely sat up a little straighter when he heard that piece of news.
"Hang on a sec," Jiro said as she frowned with confusion. "Who would you have arrested? The guy that messed you up is already sitting in a cell in Tartaros."
"Kurai…" Ochaco breathed as looked at him with renewed fear and sympathy. "Don't tell us… You didn't have to-?" She couldn't finish the thought out loud.
Kurai nodded, once. "My mom knew about it," he said in a breaking voice. "She withheld information and put my life in danger by submitting me to a procedure that stuffed someone else's power in my body. So, I… arrested her. My own mother." He finally fell to his knees, unable to keep his emotions in check any longer. He broke down and cried, right there, in front of everybody.
Most of the class was too stunned to speak, even those that moved in to comfort their broken friend. Never, in a million years, would they have expected Kurai's family, of all people, to have some kind of connection to the League, much less be a part of something as insane as this. Most of them had never been exposed to the idea of quirks being transferred, but after seeing what All for One was capable of, it made sense to them. Not to mention that in a society of the supernatural, the only things that were really impossible were the things that just hadn't happened yet.
Eventually, Kirishima was the first to move outside of Kurai's closest friend group, getting down on his knees behind Midoriya and reaching out to put a hand on Kurai's shaking back. "I'm here for you, man," he told his friend. "Whatever you need, I'm here."
"As am I," Yaoyorozu said as she moved to adopt the same pose as the redhead.
"Same here," Todoroki added.
"You are not going to go through all of this alone," Iida asserted. "If you ever need to talk, you can always come to me."
Kurai was groaning unintelligibly at this point as he rocked back and forth, but still more of his classmates gathered around him. One by one, they all knelt around their friend and assured him that he was not alone, that they would be there to support him however they could. Those that were aware of the mission to rescue Eri knew that he was still dealing with more than he was letting on, even now.
How does he keep going like this? Kirishima wondered. And how much more can the guy take? He hoped that this horrible tragedy did not mark the end of his friend's journey to become a hero.
Kurai actually wound up losing consciousness on the floor, so Midoriya and Mina went to put him in bed while the others stayed in the common space to discuss what had just happened. Iida, naturally, was the first to speak.
"I think it should go without saying, but no one else should know about the origins of Kurai's power," he told the class, leading to most of them nodding in agreement. "It's not his fault that this happened to him, but many people would not be so inclined to see it that way. It's better for his potential hero career that everyone else believes that he was born with his power, instead of being made into a lab rat by the League of Villains. Some people might even be inclined to believe that he's some kind of mole for their operations." There was another quiet chorus of agreement that went around the room.
"Poor guy," Asui said sadly. "He can't seem to catch a break."
"He seems to have found ill favor with Lady Luck," Tokoyami murmured in agreement.
"Even my twinkling cannot brighten this day," Aoyama said, looking uncharacteristically downtrodden.
"Ugh, we get it, his life sucks," Bakugo growled as he got off the couch and started to head down the hall. "What's sitting here and complaining about it gonna do?"
"We are mourning for our friend's circumstances because we are worried about what this could do to him!" Iida shouted after him. "Try to have a little sympathy!"
"Keh," Bakugo spat. "He's not my friend, extras. But you're all forgetting something about this whole thing."
"And what's that?" Blake asked him with a frown as he reached the elevator and stepped inside it.
"He's tougher than any of you idiots, that's what!" the blond boy shouted before the doors closed and he was lost from their sight.
Kurai found himself in his own bed the next morning, feeling like he had a hangover. He groaned as he forced his body to move, even though all he wanted was to stay under the blankets. He was surprised that Mina wasn't there with him, but he didn't feel up to having company right then, anyway. He blinked drowsily as he stared at the curtain behind which lay his father's shrine.
He was sorely tempted, just for a moment, to destroy it, and obliterate any respect that he had left of the man. However, his mother's words echoed in his mind, preventing him from carrying out the terrible task. The silver lining is that your father, for all of his mistakes, even this one, did the right thing in the end, when even I told him not to.
Kurai sighed and forced himself to his feet as he moved toward his dresser, knowing that he should get changed out of his hero clothing. He died doing the right thing, at least, he thought morosely. At a minimum, I can honor him for that. And as for what I cannot honor, I will balance with my own actions.
His path was now clearer to him than ever. Directly involved or not, his parents had allowed Shigaraki to commit terrible acts against others with the help of his master, All For One. Someone had to correct the results of their actions, and what better way to do that than destroying the League with a quirk created by their master? I will make them learn that One For All is not the only power to be feared by the dark, he vowed then.
He would not feel shame on behalf of his family's actions, because he was going to be too busy doing something about it. As he felt this new resolve cement inside of him, he sensed something in his stomach uncoil and send cool waves throughout his being, though the sensation only lasted for a second. Still, it wasn't a bad feeling- it just felt as though something had finally clicked into place for him. He knew exactly what kind of hero he wanted to be, thanks to his family's sacrifices. I will become a hero that not only shields people from disaster, but terrifies those that would dare to cause it.
The Shie Hassaikai would be the first people to learn of this, he promised himself.
Mataras: And there you have it.
Deku: That was... I mean, we all suspected, but to have it confirmed... Kurai, are you gonna be okay?
Kai: I'd like to think so, but I suppose only time is going to tell. Right now, I'm kind of worried about having a self-destruct quirk built into my body as a contingency by All For One.
Mataras: Actually, I can go ahead and put that one to rest right now by saying 'no', there's nothing like that in your body.
Kai: Wait, really?
Mataras: Yep. Even if All For One had a mind to use that quirk on you, I doubt that he would have done so. You're still alive, too, so there's that.
Deku: Meaning that if All For One was going to destroy Kurai for his father's betrayal, he would have activated the self-destruct quirk the moment he realized what was happening?
Mataras: Bingo. Either he didn't have the appropriate quirk at the time, or he had another reason for not using it, I'll leave that to wondering for now. All that you guys need to know is that Kurai is not a ticking time bomb... At least, not where his quirk is concerned.
Kai: You're talking about the upcoming fight with the Shie Hassaikai, aren't you?
Mataras: Maybe.
Kai: Don't worry. I'll just take a stroll in the neighborhood, ask if their guards know anything about Eri, and then blow them the F CK UP!
Deku: Whoa!
Kai: Sorry, I try to keep myself composed, even in high-stress situations. I'm just a little bit absolutely livid.
Mataras: Alright, keep it together for just a little longer, mate. Trust me, there will be plenty of opportunities to punch things in the near future. Also explosions.
Kai: ...You swear on that?
Mataras: I do.
Kai: Fine. By the way, I find myself liking that new artwork you uploaded- feels very appropriate.
Deku: You made Kurai look pretty intense.
Mataras: That was the idea. I figured it was time to switch from a less somber image to one that feels more... dynamic. Stuff's about to go down.
Kai: And they didn't go down this chapter?!
Mataras: Fine. It's time for things to go up. Up in flames. You happy?
Kai: The hell kind of a question is that?!
Deku: It seems like we're not going to get anywhere with this... Maybe we should move on by saying thank you to our readers for sticking with us for fifty chapters?
Mataras: Oh, yeah, good point. Like he said, thank you for sticking with the story for this long, and we look forward to seeing you for the next fifty chapters in this story (and beyond).
Kai: Wait, how many chapters have you got planned for this thing?! And how many more until I die?!
Mataras: Yet to be determined, and has been determined, but hell if I'm telling you.
Kai: That's it! Get over here!
Mataras: Hey, no quirks in the-! Hey! That could've put my eye out!
Kai: You'll be lucky if that's all I take!
Deku: Umm... I guess we'll see you all next chapter, which is titled- Moving On
Kai: Like how Mataras is about to move on to the afterlife?!
Mataras: You wish! You want a fight?! Get ready to Go Beyond!
Kai: Plus Ultra!
Next time on Your Hero Academia...
"Eleven percent?" Kurai gasped as they both powered down one evening. "Seems like a weird number, if you ask me."
"Yeah, well, I've probably been able to use more than five for a while now, but I just didn't notice because of how hard I've been concentrating on maintaining the limit that I started out with when I first used the Full Cowling technique," Izuku panted as they sat down across from each other in the brightly-lit gym. "I guess I haven't been paying attention to how much I've actually improved."
"You've definitely improved your ability to give me new scrapes," Kurai chuckled as he looked at his left arm, where there was a patch of skin that had been scraped off by one of Izuku's hammer fists when he failed to properly evade. "Still… I think my own power's grown, too."
"Not surprising, given how much we've been working out, and how hard you've been hitting this week during training," Izuku said as he rubbed his sore ribs, but Kurai was already shaking his head in the negative.
"No, it's not just that," he said as his metal hand patted his stomach. "It was weird, but a few days back, the morning after everything went down… I think I unlocked one of my chakra."