Sorry guys this chapter shouldn't have taken as long as it did, mainly because its all just set up T~T But work and rapidly approaching holidays has been eating up too much time. I'm gonna try to have the next chapter out by Friday at the earliest, Sunday at the latest.

Season Two, Episode XVIII

A Darkening Horizon

. . .

Shisui Adachi

. . .

That attack on Hosu City, by those freakish villains the League was using. I didn't get to see it first hand, but I watched the news while waiting around in the bar. At the same time, I guess Hero Killer Stain was apprehended... Meaning recruiting him wasn't an option anymore, Endeavor took him out while dispatching the monstrous villains. The news seemed to think Stain was linked to the League, which was far from the truth.

However, I knew this would only help the League in the days to come. Having a fanatic like that man showing support, would legitimize them. I'd had it wrong, or maybe just half the truth. The man behind the screen didn't just bring Stain in to teach Tomura, this entire mess... It had all been calculated. He wasn't just powerful, or had immense resources, the brain behind the League was an incredible strategist.

Somebody needed to do something about this.

I could do something about this.

One phone call, just running into one hero on the street I might be able to stop this.

But I was scared, terrified of what might happen if I stepped out of line.

I couldn't risk it, I couldn't risk my son.

Even if it meant watching the world grow darker...

"Leaving so soon tonight Shisui?" I just wanted to go home, not talk to this warping bastard. "Well, you do like quite tired... Haven't been sleeping well?"

I could tell my internal struggle was funny to him. I wish that cloud didn't hide his jaw, I'd only need one good swing to break it. "Fuck off." Was the only response I gave, before stepping out the door and heading home.

The walk wasn't bad, maybe a mile from that shitty little bar. But before I could turn the final corner, my phone went off. Buzzing in my pocket, I pulled it out. "Who the hell is calling me this late?" I muttered in annoyance, seeing it simply labeled as "Unknown Caller". I sighed heavily and answered, "Hello?"

"There are two police officers currently waiting at your apartment." My body instinctively tensed up at the sound of his voice, the Boss. "I don't believe they have any reason to suspect you, but I'd watch what you say... We'll be listening."

I didn't even know how to respond... Okay, I knew how I wanted to respond to that, but I'd rather not piss this guy off. "Great..." I sighed heavily, "Anything else?"

"No, nothing at all, have a lovely night." Before the call ended.

I tucked away my phone, and leaned against the wall beside me. Taking a moment to get myself in order, before pushing off and heading for the apartment complex. Sure enough, I could see the cop car sitting nearby, parked right across the street from my building. I pretended not to notice it, making my way to the door when two officers approached me from behind.

"Excuse me, Miss," One greeted, his face was that of a cat and he had a bell around his neck. "I'm sorry to bother you, but we've got some questions we'd like to ask." The man beside him looked incredibly normal, no remarkable features. "I'm officer Sansa, and this is detective Tsukauchi."

I turned around to face them, noting the change in their expressions when they saw the bags under my eyes. "What do you want?" I asked bluntly, making it clear in my tone that I was tired. If they were decent, maybe it'd get them off my back faster. I didn't know if this was about the League, or the bar I worked at, but I kept up a strong poker face.

"This won't take more than a moment of your time," The plain looking man assured, "We're investigating a murder and missing persons case, and we think your son might have some information."

That woke me right the fuck up, "What?" I scoffed, "My son- No, he wouldn't know anything about a- And even if he did, he's going to UA! He'd have said something to somebody if-"

"Easy," Tsukauchi held up a held up his hands defensively, "We aren't accusing him of anything, we just need to know if he's been in contact with Ryoko Shikemono." He explained, "They were classmates at UA, but she was kicked out after the Sports Festival," Of course, that girl who acted so ruthless during their match. "Yesterday, her father was found dead in their apartment not far from here, evidence points to murder... But nobody has seen the Ryoko in days."

I understood what was being implied immediately, "You... You think she killed him and ran away?"

The officer nodded slowly, a grim look on his face. "We've already spoken with UA, and know that she left that school very distraught... People in the apartments around their own noted hearing shouting, arguing." Sansa stated, "Evidently, their living conditions were poor and it seems that Ryoko's Father was a heavy drinker... A bad combination for raising a kid, especially one with such a strong Quirk."

Did that all have something to do with her behavior at the festival? There was that empty seat in our section... "Well, as far as I know, Kaiji hasn't had any contact with her since the Festival." I replied with a firm nod, "But, if I hear anything I'll call the police immediately, and I know he would too if he knew what happened..."

Tsukauchi took down a few notes, looking back up at me. "Alright, thank you for your time, have a nice night."

"Of course... And, you too Officers..."

Another weight to carry, another thing that could drag him down.

Kaiji, I have to protect you... From all of this.

. . .

The Beast

. . .

He called me here, the boss himself. It was the first time I'd been allowed outside of the medical ward, since they disconnected me from the life support systems and began preparing my body. Daily I was being fed supplements to strengthen my body, the doctor said I needed to be sufficiently prepared for whatever was about to happen. I was scared, but also... Resigned.

My fate was in their hands now, if I died... Well, that was it. I didn't have any other options now that I was in so deep. At least that's what I kept telling myself.

Our place of meeting, it was deep within this facility he called our headquarters. I still had no idea where this building even was, what the outside world looked like. But when I stepped into this strange... Observation room? Yeah, that's a good word for it, with all these monitors displaying current news and activities. Though, how he made use of them without eyes was beyond me.

"Your body has been prepared as best we are able," He said suddenly, not bothering with a greeting. "Now, it is time we discuss your... Quirks."

Right, he mentioned that before in a... Strange way. "Yeah, you said something about picking out Quirks?" I replied, as he slowly turned his chair around to face me.

"But of course," From here, I could see just how much life support gear he was hooked up to. I had to wonder what happened to him. "You deserve a proper explaination, you see... I have a unique Quirk, one that helped me gain immense power both figuratively and literally in my time as ruler of the criminal underworld," He was awfully forthcoming with all this crap, "My Quirk, is called All For One... It allows me to take, and distribute Quirks from other people."

My entire body tensed up at the thought, "There's... No way!"

"Ah but it is true," He chuckled in amusement at my disbelief. "There is no time limit, no repercussions, I can store and use Quirks I've taken from others, and even distribute them to my allies..."

I understood where this was going immediately, "And you... Plan to use that power to give me more Quirks?"

"Yes, however... I have told you that your body is prepared, but your mind... Well," He brought his hands together, smirk never wavering. "Forcing multiple Quirks onto an individual can, and most likely will, break you." Right, they mentioned this before. "I think, you may be a special case, and I've taken care with the Quirks I've selected and our methods this time around will be slightly different... But, should your mind not withstand the burden, you will become a broken tool that can only accept basic commands." The very idea sent a chill down my spine, as the screens flickered and changed to images of terrifying humanoids. Each of them with visible brains as they battled Pro Heroes, "A Nomu, as we call them... This is your final chance to back out."

Losing my mind, becoming some kind of living weapon... But even so, that power. Watching one of them throw a bus so effortlessly, recovering from deadly injuries. Something inside of me, it wanted that kind of power, no matter the cost. What choice did I have at this point anyways right? "I've come too far, and been scared too long to back down now."

His faint smirk shifted into a large grin, "Excellent... Welcome, to the High-End Program."

. . .

Kaiji Adachi

. . .

We were all woken up before the sun had a chance to rise. Dragged out of bed, and told to get ready and meet outside for our training to get started. I had only just gotten dressed and started to head out when I bumped into Mako rolling by. We hadn't had much time to speak last night because we were all so tired, and maybe we wouldn't have much time going forward today either so I took my chance.

"Hey, getting an early start too huh?" I asked with a toothy grin.

He replied with a sigh and a faint smile, hair all kinds of messy. "Yeah, gotta focus on improving as much as possible to make up for well... This." He shrugged, looking at his legs.

"Yeah... I know we already talked about it but," I nervously rubbed the back of my neck. "Sorry about that."

To which he chuckled, "Adachi, you weren't the one that broke my back."

True, "But the whole stupid festival thing was my idea," I argued, "I know it was important to all of us... But I think a lot more harm than good came from it." Mako shook his head, rolling by suddenly and running over my foot with one of his wheels. "Ow! Hey that hurt!" I yelped.

"Adachi," He shot me an intense glare. "Because of what happened, I'm now studying in a special medical course at Japan's top school, being mentored by Recovery Girl herself." I mean, yeah but- "Lets be completely honest, I don't know if I had the physical prowess to keep up with Aizawa's class," He added quickly, releasing another sigh. "He said it himself, they were considering moving me to a different course... This may not be how I wanted to get there, but its where I am now and I don't regret it."

Well, he certainly sounded convinced. "Yeah, I guess you're right... Still, I hate seeing you like this." But I wasn't so sure.

"Don't worry about it!" He waved me off with a big grin, brushing back his messy blonde hair. "Now that we know how my Quirk works, I may be able to fix it myself some day!"

I blinked, "What do you mean?"

"Well, after discussing things with Recovery Girl since I got my injury, we discovered a big fundamental difference in our healing powers." He sounded so excited explaining it to me, "Her Quirk accelerates the bodies natural healing, turning months into minutes, so really its less of a healing Quirk and more of an enhancement if you think about it." I guess that makes sense, "But my Quirk is more direct, that's why it eats up my stamina and not the person I'm healing, I'm the one directly influencing the injured body, my power cells emit and repair damage on a cellular level! I just need to know what I'm doing."

"So that's why you're undergoing such intense medical studies." I realized, my own smile returning. "And maybe, you could even fix your own back... That's incredible Mako!"

He nodded, wearing a big stupid grin on his face still. "That's right! Mark my words Adachi, I'm going to fly again and I'll be landing on my own two feet!" He declared with intensity, continuing to roll onward down the hall. "Just you wait!"

It didn't exactly absolve me of my guilt, but I did feel a little better knowing he wasn't too down about his injury. Maybe he was just hiding it, but was going to keep pushing forward. I guess that's all any of us could do now, which meant I needed to try harder too! I began making my way out to the field with the others, Suru and Sen already waiting for me along with Aizawa and the Zodiac Twins.

Suru herself releasing a low whistle as I approached, "That's an intense look you've got there lizard lips, something happen?" Wearing her usual grin.

I just smirked back at her, before looking to Aizawa. "I'm ready to get started."

Aizawa nodded, "Before we begin, I have to inform you all that the camp duration for the first course has been... Extended." He explained calmly, "Some recent events involving the internships, and some changes we plan on making to our end of term exams."

"What do you mean?" Sen asked worriedly, "What's happened?"

"Some students encountered villains on their internships," He shrugged casually, but I could tell he was holding something back. "This has made the Principal realize the old methods of training and pacing might need to change... As such, you'll be staying here one extra week under supervision from the Zodiac Twins, and we're prepping you for a special exam of your own once your training here is finished."

"Ooooh ominous~" Suru chuckled in amusement, "Works for me I guess, hope you informed our parents..."

"Of course, anyways... You'll each pair off with an instructor, and one of the Pussy Cats," Right back to business, as if that hadn't left us all with questions. He knew he was doing it too, smirking faintly as he continued. "Try not to die on your first day of training, you got it Class 1-Z? We've got a long way to go."

"Yes sir!"