And I'm back with chapter two. After this chapter I'll be getting back to work on my main story so this will be on hold for a little while. Also I now have a SubscribeStar. If you like me work and want to support me monetarily feel free to go there, link here: h(t)t(p)s : / / www . subscribestar / zmanxv(Remove spaces and parenthesis). Just to let people know I won't be putting any fan works behind a pay wall. With that out of the way let's get on with the chapter.
Chapter 2: Known Unknowns
'WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO TOSHI!?' How the hell am I supposed to know?! 'LANGUAGE!' Not now and you just cursed too!
"Uhm… Young lady… is everything alright?" Toshinori questioned.
Crap we freaked out, what do we say now?! 'I don't know! I'm still trying to figure out how Toshi went from a 600 pound mass of muscle to a near SKELETON!' Actually I think I remember hearing he's down to 540. 'CLEARLY LESS NOW!'
"Uhmmmmmmmmm… weeeeeell… kind of. Let's not worry about it now and just go to the police. We can talk there. Ahaha ahaha ha…" Nana awkwardly replied.
"Alright?" Toshinori expressed in confusion. "Let's be going then."
"R-right," Nana replied.
Slowly the two made their way through the crowd.
Meanwhile, in the abandoned warehouse…
With a sigh of annoyance, Ventum brushed dust off of his clothing.
"Rude annoying brat." He muttered. "Nearly got me killed. Got my cloths dusty. She's not getting away next time."
He looked around at the remains of the crates that had narrowly crushed him. They laid scattered around him with clean cuts through them.
"Best leave before any unwanted guests show up wondering what all the ruckus was about." He muttered to himself.
He made his way towards the exit. Suddenly he heard the sound of water splashing causing him to stop. He looked around cautiously. What was that? Why would I hear the splashing of water? I thought I made sure no one followed me. And I know the boss only sent me. He prepared himself for an attack at any moment. Suddenly his phone began to ring. Not caught off guard by it, he slowly reached for it and answered without dropping his guard.
"Hello," He stated.
"Ventum, have you found our little spy yet?" A female voice asked.
"Yes, but she managed to escape." He replied.
"You let her escape!?" The voice angrily demanded.
"She was far more skilled than we had thought. She successfully came up with a full proof plan to escape without using her quirk or revealing her identity." He answered.
"And you have no identifying characteristics for her?" The voice questioned.
"I never said that, but I will not disclose them now." He replied.
He felt as though someone was coming up behind him.
"I believe someone is watching me!" He exclaimed as he turned around a let loose a wind blade.
However there was no one there. Ventum blinked in surprise.
"Huh?" He expressed.
Suddenly he felt something rip through his chest. He felt blood flood up his throat and out his mouth. He looked down and saw a fists with a blade attached to it's wrists had ripped through his chest, more specifically his heart. The blade was pulled back and he fell to the ground.
"Ventum… Ventum, are you there? VENTUM!" The voice called before a boot came down and crushed it.
A splash was the last sound the assassin made before leaving the scene.
Elsewhere…
In the former base of the Eight Precepts of Death stood a tall man with orangish-brown hair tied into a ponytail. His outfit was similar to a military uniform. On his face had a rorschach inkblot like mask.
"The precepts did well in designing this place. Perhaps we could find some use for it" He noted.
"DESTRO SIR!" Someone called.
The now named Destro looked as one of his subordinates entered into the room.
"What is it you need?" He asked.
"Some of our man were attacked sir. We don't know who, but the girl the Eight Precepts had can't be located." The subordinate reported with a salute.
"I see, what's the status of the men?" Destro asked.
"They've only been knocked out sir, they still haven't woken up. They're beaten up pretty badly, but nothing more major than that." The subordinate answered.
"That's good. Tell everyone to clear out the place and return to HQ. If that girl is at large it won't be long till some finds their way here. Make sure there is no trace of us left here." Destro ordered. "Also let me know when the men who were attacked have awoken I'd like to question them on what happened myself."
"Yes sir." The subordinate replied before taking his leave.
It's a shame we'll have to delay the repurposing of this base. But it can't be helped. The more pressing matter is the identity of this mysterious attacker. I'd doubt it'd be any potential rival organization. They wouldn't have left survivors. If it were heroes they would have been captured. A vigilante maybe, but they would have at least done something to dispose of them. The more brutal ones would opt for killing them. The less moral ambiguous ones would get them to the police in some way, shape, or form. What do you think? 'I don't know myself. Though I'd say it was a bystander who decided to play hero. And from the looks of things, did a pretty good job. Either way, it's unlikely it's anyone who would use her to develop those quirk erasing bullets.'
Yeah, though we'll have to be on the lookout for her. If we can find and capture her, we could make our own quirk erasing bullets. 'I'd advise against that.' Huh? Why? 'For one there's the immorality of using a child for such a thing. Think of what kind of message it would send out to those who we'd want to support us.' A fair point. 'Also the edge if would give us would only last for a bit. But even with something like this it won't be long till such a weapon would be used against us. History has always shown this to be the case. Such a result would also be antithetical to our goals.' I see… also a fair point, but we should be sure that the girl isn't in hands who don't have the same ideals as us. 'A wise decision.'
"Destro sir!" The subordinate from early called as he returned to the room. "The men have awoken sir."
"Aaahh… good. Let's see if we can piece together who our newest adversary is." He expressed before following the subordinate out of the room.
For now I'll find this individual. They could be someone we can call on as an ally. Though if they prove to be an obstacle in our path to liberation, I'll be sure to eliminate them myself.
Meanwhile, at an undisclosed location…
A woman in her early thirties stomped through the hall. She was a tall woman with a fit build hidden by a fur-lined silver bomber jacket with silver baggy pants. She had on brown leather boots over her feet and a leather belt of the same color around her waist. She also had gloves that went up to her elbows, which double as bracers. She had short white hair and piercing golden eyes.
"Of all the missions to get offed on he picks this one." She angrily grumbled.
'Calm down you know who ever picked him off is no trivial opponent.' A voice spoke in her head.
"I know, that's why I'm so annoyed. One of our best guys just got taken out and we know next to nothing about his assailant!" She shouted as she bursted into a gym like area.
"WOAh!" A young man expressed falling off a sofa due to her sudden entrance. "H-hey Pressura uhm… ma'am. Tooooootally wasn't sleeping, yeah, that didn't happen. Do you need…"
He suddenly felt a great weight placed on him as he collapsed to the ground. The floor around him began to crack as he was pressed further and further down. The now named Pressura stared over her shoulder at him with glowing gold eyes filled with fury.
"I'm not in the mood to deal with your lazy attitude right now." She declared. "Why don't you make yourself useful and summon all the squad captains for a meeting."
"Yes Ma'am." The young man grunted.
"Good," She replied looking away stopping the pressure on the young man. "And tell everyone I'll be a little late. I've got to blow off some steam."
Pressura walked towards a punching bag.
"On it ma'am!" The young man squeaked out before rushing out of the room.
Stopping in front of the punching bag, she took off her gloves and threw them to the side. She then unzipped her jacket, took it off, and threw it with her gloves, leaving her with only a black tank top on. One after another she sent jab after jab at the punching bag. Just who could have done someone like Ventum in and who do they work for. Was it one of Destro's men. He's been at large and has quickly become a thorn in our side. Or was it that bitch again, the other thorn in our side. As her anger at the situation rose, so too did the speed and ferocity of her strikes.
"GRR AAAAH! This is so annoying!" She shouted as she punched clean through the punching bag. "I can't wait to finally crush these bugs."
She ripped her fist out as sand poured onto the ground. She went and picked up her gloves and jacket. Then she left the room.
Later, at the police station…
Nana, who's wounds were now bandaged up, sat with Eri after the police had finished questioning them on what happened. The teen was still getting over the horror that was Eri life before she found her. The mere thought of the experiments this Kai Chisaki person ran on this innocent girl caused her blood to boil. Suddenly she felt a head rest against her. She looked to see Eri fast asleep against her. She smiled lightly and gentle moved the girl so she now rested on her lap.
'You have to ask what happened to Toshi at some point. I need to know.' I know, I want to know too, but I don't want him to know about you yet. Not when someone could still be watching. 'Good thing you already have everything planned out.' Strange it's almost like you can read my mind or something. 'Anyways, speaking of Toshi…' She looked to see Toshinori walking up to her.
"How you holding up Young Midoriya?" He inquired.
"Pretty good all things considered." She answered with a shrug. "I'm a bit worried for when my mom gets here. She's… a little overprotective. I'm also worried about what's going to happen to Eri."
"Yeah… I heard about her. It always breaks my heart when I hear something horrible like that happen to a child." He expressed.
"No kidding… hey uhm… Mr. Yagi, sir? Can I talk to you about something, in private?" Nana questioned.
"Oh uhm… sure, But are you okay with leaving her though?" Toshinori questioned.
"I think she's pretty fast asleep." Nana pointed out. "Just to be safe though."
She bent down to whisper into the girl's ear.
"Hey Eri, I'm going to talk with Mr. Yagi for a bit but I'll be right back so don't worry and rest up." She gentle told her. "I'll leave my jacket so you have something more comfy to rest on, okay?"
"M'kay…" Eri mumbled.
Carefully, Nana took off her jacket. She quickly folded it up into a makeshift pillow. Gentle she picked up Eri's head and laid it on a pillow. Quietly the two made there way to a more secluded area.
"Alright what did you…" Toshinori began.
Suddenly Nana grabbed him by the shoulders.
"What the hell happened to you All Might?! Why are you a walking talking skeleton now?!" Nana questioned as she violently shook him.
"Huh? What? How did yooooouuu… I mean I don't know what your talking about young lady." He replied.
"Don't play dumb with me I know it's you. You said your name was Toshinori Yagi and that's All Might. Your late master was Nana Shimura, your teacher after she passed away was Gran Torino, and your arch nemesis is All for One." She exclaimed as she shook him even harder. "Wait, is he why your like this?!"
"Stop shaking me and I'll explain." Toshinori replied.
Nana stopped and let go of his shoulders. Toshinori took a few seconds to reorient himself.
"So…" Nana pressed.
"So yes, I'm All Might and yes it was All for One who left me like this." He explained.
He lifted up his shirt to reveal is scar, earning a wince from Nana.
"He got me good. I lost most of my stomach and respiratory system." He explained.
'Oh Toshi…'
"But I left him in even worse shape than myself. Even if he did somehow survive, his days are numbered." He continued. "Though so are mine. I can only hold my muscle form for about three hours a day."
"No way…" Nana expressed.
"Yeah, now explain how you know all this."
Nana sighed. She looked around to make sure no one was listening in.
"Well…" She began but stopped.
She noticed something slowly rise up out of the ground, as though it was in water. It was a woman with her head hung low and long brown hair covering her eyes. A sickeningly sinister smile slipped onto her face. Nana's breathing hitched. The woman's head snapped back as wide, manic green eyes focused in on Toshinori. In an instant she dived into the floor and sprung up behind him, a metal blade attached to her wrist aimed straight at Toshinori's heart.
"Look out!" She shouted as she tackled Toshinori out of the way.
The woman gave Nana an amused look before diving back into the ground. Both Toshinori and Nana stood back up. Looks like she took the bait. 'Still not a fan of how you used Toshi as bait for this.' Hey, he's alive and it worked. You think I liked using All Might as bait to draw out a villain. 'I already know the answer to that.' Yeah, so now let's focus on the task at hand.
"A villain? How did she sneak in." Toshinori questioned.
"It looked like she could swim through the ground that's probably how." Nana stated.
"Regardless you need to get out of here young lady." Toshinori stated.
"Sorry All Might, that's not happening. I'm not leaving you to deal with her by yourself." Nana replied.
"Young Midoriya…" Toshinori began.
"You already used up all your hero time today didn't you?" Nana interrupted. "Your in no condition to fight someone like this."
Nana smiled lightly.
"Besides…" Nana began.
Suddenly she jerked her head to the left, avoiding a lunge from their attacker. She grabbed a hold of her wrist, below the blade, with her left hand in the same instance.
"I've been training hard these past seven years to become a hero. I'll beat her even without using my quirk." She declared.
Using the woman's momentum against her, Nana swung her down towards the ground. Impressive… Toshinori thought to himself. Her body reacted instantly to that attack. Normally, the time it takes to process the information you are receiving slows down how fast one can act. However through consistent repetition and training one can obtain what is similar to muscle memory. The body knows instantly what it needs in a given situation. It's not perfect and if something far enough from the person's usual occurs, the body has no prior knowledge to act on forcing it's reactions to slow down. Even still to be able to react in that way is impressive for someone her age. That's some serious training she's done. Nana went to slam the woman into the ground. However the woman sunk into the ground like it was water and her hand slammed against the hard floor. Both Nana and Toshinori stood their in silence. Nana bit her lip to avoid screaming out in pain. 'Well… that's not we expected.'
"AAaooowwwwiieee-e-e-ee…" She groaned as she rubbed her hand.
"Can't say I saw that coming." Toshinori expressed.
"Not bad girly." They heard behind them.
The duo looked to see their attacker leaning against a wall behind them. She was a fairly tall woman likely in her late twenties blessed with beautiful features. She only wore a brown sports bra, dark green short shorts, brown leather fingerless gloves, and thigh high brown leather boots.
"But not good enough." she stated with a smirk before falling back into the wall behind her.
Both Toshinori and Nana remained on the defensive, mentally and physically prepared to deal with an assault from any angle at anytime.
"Quite the annoying opponent. Diving in and out of any surface she feels like." Toshinori noted.
"Not any surface." Nana corrected.
Toshinori gave her a perplexed look.
"I don't know if it's the size or the material but she hasn't tried using our clothing as a way of getting close to us." Nana pointed out. "That means she can probably only use the walls and floors to attack us from."
Suddenly Nana heard something faint below her. She jumped back just as their attacker brusted up from below her. She continued going up and dived into the ceiling.
"And the ceiling." Nana corrected herself.
"Either way it's clear we'll have to work together if we want to get out of this. Since we needed a secluded place to talk, it's unlikely anyone will come to us for awhile." Toshinori noted. "Not that I want to put a civilian in danger."
"Not like you have a choice." Nana added.
If anything I shouldn't have let you get involved in this. This is my fight. I'm the one she was initially tracking. But that doesn't matter now. I can't use my quirk. So I'll need some help. She already knows my appearance, I can't give them anything else that could lead them to Nana's existence. Assuming she works for them that is. After all, there are other actors to worry about. From behind she heard another faint noise. She turned and was met face to face with the woman's attack.
And that brings this chapter to a close. Leave a review and let me know what you think. Til next time.