Jordem917 - Fun fact is that I'm currently writing such a story. Namely, a full-crack one. Answering the Call will be soon published on , but probably not until I'll be publishing last chapter of TTB, because publishing stuff on is physically painful to me. Ugh. Horrrible page.
Naruto30 - ... now I can't unsee this opinion. Thank you.
Detrametal - Doing my best ;D And yes, we needed something to chill a bit after this mess.
RandomReader867 - Holy shit you said something more than thanks for the chapter Yeah, a whole Navy of them lol
King Tiger The Heavy - Yup. Technically correct is, as always, the best type of correct.
(***)
"U-uhm, Ochako?" Izuku asks her suddenly. They were busy having one of their regular movie nights (okay, evenings). Which, typically, was composed of cuddling together on a couch and watching a movie.
Depending on whose turn it was to pick a movie, it was either something about heroes, or about space and/or love. This time it was a bit of a combo, because the movie was actually about a Hero in Space AND it included some surprisingly tastefully crafted romance subplot.
The fact that Izuku actually spoke to her in the middle of an action scene was… telling.
"Yeah?" She asks.
"I, uhm, how do you feel after… you know what?" He asks. Yeah, less than four days after The Day, they just barely returned to their normal life schedule and… no, wait, it's still a bit of an odd moment for him to start the talk.
"I'm alright." She replies. In all honesty, being entangled with her boyfriend in front of a TV with an interesting movie on AND under a comfy blanket is probably her most favorite way of spending her free time.
Especially as the blanket was custom-made by Yaomomo. Half of it is clearly All Might-themed, half of it is clearly Thirteen-themed (and if you look at it very closely, you'll see a very small Mischief hidden in All Might half, with Mr. Compress in a similar position on Thirteen's side).
It's one of Uraraka Ochaco's most favorite possessions.
"Mochi." Izuku says. Their eyes meet. This stare. Looks like he learned something from her.
"... I really am alright." She replies. "No need for you to worry about me."
"But I want to worry about you!" He replies quickly. "I'm your boyfriend, I'm supposed to be worried about you after something like that. Don't tell me that you aren't shaken by what happened, because I'm not buying it."
Should she be surprised how his clear social anxiety vanished instantly when he decided that she needed his help? Of course not, that's just classic Izuku. And she loves him that way. Even if she wishes that he managed to fully overcome the anxiety part.
He is doing MUCH better, thanks to Si… yeah, no wonder it kind of rolled back to a degree.
"Mmm…" She mumbles while snuggling even closer to him. The top of her head is now resting right under his chin. She can hear his heartbeat. The fact that it immediately accelerated the second she hugged him closer is actually quite a bit… well, she IS a young woman, the fact that her boyfriend reacts to her like that is actually awesome. "... I'm really doing fine, though."
"R-Really?" He still doesn't seem to fully accept that fact.
"Yeah." She replies." Look, I'm not going to pretend that I wasn't… shaken by it. But all I really did was carry Aiko around. I was no actual part of fighting against Overhaul and… Thirteen-sensei and Sako-sensei already had a serious talk with me about it. If what happened continues to bug me, I'll start visiting Hound Dog. AND I'll tell you about it first and foremost, alright?"
"Alright." He replies. "I trust you."
Of course he does. If she ever had any doubts about it, they certainly evaporated after he trusted her with his younger sister's life. She's going to do her utmost to make sure that she'll never betray his trust, even accidentally.
(***)
All Might found himself called into the Principal's office almost a week after the disastrous battle. He is only mildly surprised when he enters to see Endeavor waiting for him inside. It's going to be one more of THOSE meetings, isn't it?
On the other hand, Eraserhead isn't there. That's a new one.
"Hello there." Nedzu says while All Might is busy closing the door behind him.
"General Kenobi." All Might replies automatically. When Endeavor gives him a questioning look, Yagi shrugs. His endless knowledge about old movies is something that's clearly lost on the current Number One Hero.
He'd obtained it during his retreat to America in order to make sure that he caught all of All for One's occasional cryptic references. After all, there was always a chance that he would use it (being the drama queen that he was) and accidentally betray the next step of his current plan, simply due to not expecting Yagi Toshinori to recognize the reference.
There was also a chance that he was inspired in his present planning by a plot of one such movie.
Yagi Toshinori is faintly aware that watching (while taking notes) tens of thousands of movies and TV series just to make sure that he doesn't miss any of his archenemies Cryptic Ancient References doesn't make him sound particularly sane. Alas, he doesn't care.
At least Nedzu, it seems, recognizes the line. Or so All Might guesses from the faint smile on the rat's face.
"So, what is it about?" He asks while taking the seat right next to Endeavor.
"Mostly about the… developments on the Paranormal Liberation Front's side." Nedzu replies, sipping tea from his cup. "I have some interesting things to share with you, most of it from my contacts in the underworld."
"Oh, great." Endeavor speaks All Might's mind. "Please tell me that they aren't planning anything large, we're really not in the shape to…"
"... actually, they aren't planning anything large." Nedzu cuts in. "In fact, the message is quite the opposite. The Paranormal Liberation Front, it seems, is currently collapsing as an organization."
"... what?" All Might recovers his ability to speak first. "They slaughtered most of the Top Heroes, you can't tell me that it didn't boost their recruitment ability!"
"Oh, it certainly did." Nedzu decides to surprise them once again. "Their numbers are surging, although not to a degree where it's an existential threat to the country. What's killing them is the sudden loss of internal cohesiveness."
"... now you've lost me completely." Endeavor decides to admit. "Could you please start from the beginning and be SLIGHTLY more generous with details?"
"I actually suspected that this might have been the end result of the last battle." Nedzu replies. "But I mostly kept my suspicions to myself. I suspect, no, I know for certain that the enemy appears to have a mastermind on their side that's at the very least playing in the same league as I do, and I thus waited with announcing it to you as I feared that the mastermind in question had some sort of plan to avoid this outcome and…"
"Wait a minute." All Might cuts in, staring at Nedzu with only slightly covered hostility. "Why is it the first time I hear about this mastermind?"
"... I'm interested in knowing that answer as well." Endeavor adds. When All Might turns his head to look at him with a gaze of disbelief on his face, Endeavor opens his mouth again. "What?"
"He didn't tell you?" All Might asks. Endeavor shakes his head. Yagi promptly turns his head towards Nedzu. "Nedzu…"
"It was only a very faint suspicion prior to the battle that I, Sir Nighteye and Valiant shared." Nedzu quickly replies. " We had no actual proof, merely theories. However, before being overtaken by Overhaul, Nemesis clearly stated that he was backstabbing Overhaul at the behest of Doctor Garaki, whom we knew previously and who appears to be a mad scientist sort, and someone called 'Re-Destro'. Which I suspect to be the mastermind in question."
"And you still didn't tell anyone?" All Might asks, with disbelief this time in his voice. "Nedzu, that's…"
"... a delicate matter." Nedzu cuts in, before sighing. "Their villain name suggests being a follower of Destro's ideology. Considering my suspicions about the exact scope of PLF's information network, something that I'm fairly certain none of the groups that we know of are capable of establishing, I decided to launch the investigation on my own. And in secret."
"... what's the worst case scenario?" Endeavor decides to jump right to the main point.
"Considering the ideological similarities AND the fact that he benefited the most from the PLF's activities, my current most likely suspect is no one else than Koku Hanabata, head of the Hearts and Minds Party." Nedzu announces. The death glare from All Might almost makes him drop his cup.
"HPSC president equated her own power with the Hero Society." All Might announces, every word coming out slowly. "And thus, did everything she could to expand the Hero Society, even if it was utterly idiotic or downright villainous. Do not walk in her footsteps, Nedzu."
There is an unspoken threat in those words. Nedzu might not understand humans perfectly, but he is good to realize that much. Endeavor stays silent in the background, clearly calculating something in his mind.
"I assure you that I'm not doing this because the Hearts and Minds Party is an obstacle in my way or due to ideological disagreement that I have with it." Nedzu decides to come clean about that part at least. "In fact, I've thus far found no evidence pointing towards my suspicions being correct. However, seeing as I was and still am investigating the leader of one of the most powerful political parties in the country, I decided to keep the whole thing beneath the radar."
He doesn't add the fact that in his opinion HMP in general had an almost suspicious lack of signs pointing towards illicit behavior. Because All Might might severely misunderstand those words as Nedzu sticking to his suspicions and even having them slightly reinforced by the lack of evidence.
The thing is, politics are always dirty… but not as much as people suspect them to be. The majority of politicians are honest in their political beliefs and general activity - to believe otherwise is to believe that the world is a dystopia where people only elect crooks.
Yes, there are bad apples, like in every business. No, a majority of politicians end their careers without any notable scandals.
However, while politics wasn't as dirty as people suspected, it most certainly was dirty to a degree. Backroom deals, exchanges of gratitudes sometimes bordering on illegality, lobbying for private capital in exchange for monetary support for your political initiatives etc. etc. Nothing strictly illegal (typically), but certainly rather… shady.
Nedzu himself treated all of that as grease. Yes, it was easy to get dirty when you touched it, but in the end, most machines needed at least some of it to function more or less smoothly.
Hearts and Minds Party was almost suspiciously clean off it, though. It was perfectly understandable due to their long-term status as political outsiders meaning that 'befriending it' rarely meant large benefits, but… something was off, in Nedzu's opinion. He just had no idea what exactly.
"... I really get the feeling that there are proper channels for investigations about major politicians." Endeavor decides to add. "In fact, I believe that there is a law that explicitly forbids pro-heroes from investigating members of the National Diet, under the threat of losing their hero licenses."
Nedzu doesn't shrink under the gaze accompanying the words.
"We both know that this particular law is a relic from the times when the Hero System was only beginning to exist." Nedzu shoots back. "It was established because the quirkless majority feared that the heroes with their powerful quirks might use their badges to casually plot the coup or amass potential blackmail material against our own legislature under the guise of investigating crimes."
All Might briefly ponders about the irony of someone called Re-Destro being hidden behind the law in question as he remembers it to be a result of (among other things) the Meta-Liberation War. Then he returns to being angry at Nedzu.
"This doesn't mean anything at all." Endeavor shoots back in All Might's stead. "Law is a law. In fact, I should arrest you right now for not immediately going with your suspicions to the Public Security Intelligence Agency."
Nedzu groans. Looks like he is really irritated at their disagreement with him, especially as it clearly wasn't a planned part of the talk.
"The PSIA would laugh me out of their headquarters, since I have no solid evidence to back up my claims AND it would feel like a slander attempt against a hero-skeptic party." Nedzu retorts immediately. "Hanabata was already cleared by PSIA of suspicions of cooperating with villains SEVERAL times, each and every time the situation being just that, a slander attempt backed by heroes irritated by the HMP's activity. In fact, four of those attempts were directly or indirectly connected to no one else than our late HPSC president. Unless I find actual evidence of Koku Hanabata being connected to the Paranormal Liberation Front, PSIA won't do anything. And even if I manage to leverage the authority of someone like the present or past Number One Hero to motivate them to investigate things properly, then if Hanabata actually is Re-Destro, I assure you that they'll find nothing." He sighs. "Re-Destro is… dangerously competent, and I'm putting it lightly."
Silence. The aggressive glares lessened in intensity. But were still there.
"I assure you that I'm going to do my best to make sure that the word of my investigations won't reach the public." Nedzu decides to concede further. "I'll make sure to NOT sabotage their election victory chances UNLESS I'll actually find tangible evidence of major crimes connected to the Hearts and Minds Party. And even then I'm going to go through proper channels."
"Fine." All Might looks like he bit a sour lemon… but he agrees. "But I'm only allowing it because of extreme circumstances and the pro-heroes and the country being critically weakened after HPSC's downfall and the clusterfuck of the battle against Overhaul. If I hear about you doing similar shady stuff on your own once the country recovers, I'm going to jail you myself. One HPSC president is enough."
Nedzu, it seems, really felt that. Being compared to that woman was… well, probably one of the few ways to actually emotionally injure the Rat of Evil. But in the meantime, he clearly decides to avoid escalating the shitstorm.
"Endeavor?" Nedzu asks.
"... I heard nothing." Enji Todoroki replies. "Now, can we get back to the subject of the PLF?"
"Fine." The look on Nedzu's face and something in the tone of his voice make it clear that it's more than fine to him. "The thing is, Re-Destro either didn't have a plan for maintaining the PLF's cohesiveness or didn't execute it yet. The Paranormal Liberation Front is getting fractured as we speak, and is on the verge of collapse."
"Elaborate please?" All Might asks. The atmosphere is… significantly more sour than it was when this subject was first brought up.
"Creature Rejection Clan is in the process of splintering over doctrinal differences." Nedzu replies. It's clear that he enjoys the words he spoke. "Purity held it together with charisma and undisputed authority, but with her and Deathmonger out of the picture, it's all coming apart. My sources within the organization indicate at least three major factions forming within CRC. First one, the 'purists', is led by Pain and Infection, two major lieutenants of the CRC. They appear to be interested in continuing Purity's anti-complex mutant hatred. Then we have the 'reactionaries' under Purge, which is mostly composed of the old guard that never fully accepted Purity's switch from opposing mutations as a whole to focusing on complex mutants. The third one are the 'reformists' under Incense, Long Jump and Silence, who, believe it or not, seem to have grown increasingly disillusioned with the marriage of religion and xenophobia that the CRC's doctrine is and appear to be growingly interested in ditching or at least significantly limiting the latter half."
"You're kidding me." All Might blinks a few times at Nedzu, who promptly shrugs. "How is that even supposed to work?" The CRC was, after all, more of a union of xenophobes with religious trappings than an actual religion.
"No idea, honestly." Nedzu admits. "I'm not sure if the reformists themselves know. But they know that Purity's charged them into a corner with her… rampages. Most of the reformists seem to be composed of people that went to CRC for help, comfort, protection and revenge after some… nasty personal histories with mutants, especially the complex ones. To be honest, there weren't many groups active in the 'lost districts' that could provide any of these, even the government itself mostly threw in the towel and vigilantes tended to be spread too thin to make a major difference." He sighs. "Frankly, no one wants to admit it, but a significant chunk of their operations were charity works done where the government's hands couldn't reach. It's the main reason why they remained relatively popular and numerically strong for so long."
"I assume that they didn't like Purity's alliance with Beast." Endeavor says. It's rather clear that he didn't like Nedzu's brief off-topic slide. The rat nods.
"It made them… disgruntled, yes." The Principal adds. "It got worse once we'd arrested Purity and there was no one charismatic enough to advocate for the alliance' continuous existence. Beast and most of his major lieutenants being arrested by the heroes have struck further blow to their commitment to the xenophobic element of their doctrine, because a lot of people that they personally hated are looking forward to lifetime in Tartarus, a punishment enough for most of them. The point is, the CRC is fracturing internally, with a high risk of a civil war, and thus is incapable of deploying large forces to support the PLF. The ISP, in the meantime…"
"We know." All Might cuts in. Endeavor nods. "They were all hanging on their High Warlord. Now that Beast's out of the picture and his two potential heirs apparent, Bearhead and Curator, are both in jail with him, the whole organization is collapsing."
They all heard of the riots and regular clashes between rival mutant groups in various lost districts.
"Frankly, the ISP is done for." Nedzu decides to summarize. "It will not recover from this. In fact, a solid majority of the clashing warbands seems to have a personal issue with PLF, both due to CRC being a part of it and with the fact that its fuck-up was responsible for them losing their High Warlord. Even if the remaining loyalists stick to the PLF, they'll be far from numerous. And I don't see many notable names connected to them"
All Might actually wheezes. Neither he nor Endeavor expected the situation to be this good. They thought that ISP was severely weakened not in the process of (thanks the gods/God) collapsing entirely.
"What about the Quirkless Liberation Front?" Endeavor asks. "Yes, they lack any heavy-hitters after losing Eclipse, Overhaul and Chronostasis, but…"
"... actually, they're in the process of being defeated by no one else than our Prime MInister." Nedzu surprises them both. "Have you ever heard of something called the Good Friday Agreement?"
Endeavor didn't hear about that. All Might, judging from his facial expression suddenly freezing, clearly did.
"You're joking." He then says towards Nedzu. The rat shakes his head. "How exactly is it supposed to…"
Endeavor clears his throat loudly. The duo in front of him looks at him, then realizes that he is a bit lost.
"An agreement… pretty much a ceasefire… that ended the thirty years long conflict between Ireland and Great Britain over Northern Ireland." Nedzu decides to help the present Number One Hero. "Long before quirks came. The comparison makes perfect sense, seeing as the Irish side fought it mostly through terrorism and rioting, a bit like QLF does."
"Now I'm going to repeat All Might's words." Endeavor announces after a few seconds of digesting the news (yes, he is going to read on that once the meeting is over). "How exactly is it supposed to work?"
"The government is planning to… 'amputate' the whole support structure of the Quirkless Liberation Front." Nedzu helpfully provides the answer. "There are ongoing, if secret, negotiations between the National Diet and various civilian organizations supporting the quirkless in Japan and the regional governments of the areas with a notable minority or even majority of the quirkless among the population. It's no secret that said organizations are connected to the QLF, and the government is basically agreeing to a solid chunk of their demands in exchange for terminating or at least severely limiting the activity of their armed branch."
"What are the terms?" Endeavor decides that if he is hearing leaked confidential intel, he might as well hear the whole thing.
"Still not fully decided." Nedzu admits. "Larger governmental investments into quirkless-populated regions, protected workplaces dedicated for the quirkless, scholarships for them to go through the police schools in order to, hopefully, make it so that the percentage of quirkless in the police force will match the percentage of quirkless in the population in the area… probably more than that, but as of now, nothing is certain."
SIlence in the room. There is something akin to a deep seated vindication merged with satisfaction on All Might's face. Endeavor is much more reserved.
"... why didn't we have any of that earlier?" Surprisingly enough, it's Enji Todoroki that speaks. Then again, Eclipse was sort of a personal enemy of his and Overhaul very nearly killed him.
Nedzu sighs.
"I blame HPSC." He then announces. All Might and Endeavor gives him the stare. "Alright, alright. It was a much more complicated issue. Those areas had a typically high level of criminal if not terrorist activity. As a result the government tended to keep away from them. The locals distrusted it, and were often actively hostile against it and everything connected to it, from heroes to the local governments. As a result many attempts on helping them ended with the money involved being stolen, often in favor of the Quirkless Liberation Front. After all, the government would certainly call off the relief initiative in a while, so why not make sure that the money actually helps the quirkless?"
Nedzu is only a tiny bit sarcastic. In All Might's opinion, the thought process behind it makes sense in a context. It only worsened the situation in the long-term, but…
"Now, however, Eclipse is out of the picture." Nedzu continues. "The same Eclipse that was the undisputed head AND face of the quirkless terrorist activity. What's more, the vigilantes, often respected by the quirkless, are now clearly in the government's team. I believe that the Prime Minister decided that it opened a field for a 'fresh start', so to speak. Especially as the Quirkless Liberation Front was severely weakened in the past engagements, meaning that its less radical elements are more open to negotiations. While also allowing the government to start them from the position of advantage. Rather than being accused of 'kowtowing to terrorists after being defeated by them'."
"You think that it'll work?" All Might asks. Nedzu shrugs.
"Hard to say, the Prime Minister thinks that there is a fair chance." He adds. "Even if it won't work, the QLF is going to be largely neutralized for the time being. Meaning further weakening of the Paranormal Liberation Front. Also, All Might, your present… position and something akin to a popularity among the minorities like the quirkless might be the crucial element of making it work. In fact, I'd like to unofficially inform you that you'll soon be visited by representatives of the Prime Minister who will ask you to join the special committee for the ethical review of the Heroics… as its chairman."
Endeavor's opinion on the issue can be summed up with the words 'oh, fuck'. All Might being allowed to criticize heroes in public? The results are going to be… dreadful. On the other hand, it might just make the business much cleaner. And, well… at least it's not Akaguro Chizome.
"Oh." All Might blinks at him. "Are you serious? A chairman of it, despite being an active hero?"
"Absolutely." Nedzu replies. "The Prime Minister is trying to go with his 'fresh start' initiative, and he believes that putting the person that was publically revealed to have threatened a Number Three Hero with bloody murder over assaulting a teenager with a 'villainous quirk' might do wonders for the reception of the results of the committee's activity among the mutants, quirkless and other 'villainous quirk' bearers. And they are the people that we're most interested in persuading to trust the committee works. Sir Nighteye was the initial choice, seeing as he was your sidekick while being a much better investigator, but…"
"I'll do my best." All Might swears. Endeavor has no doubt that the man is sincere about it.
Endeavor can feel the smell of burnt careers from here. It's going to be… an interesting thing to watch. From a safe distance, of course.
"Anything else to add about the PLF?" The Flame Hero decides to change the subject.
"Well, It seems that Glassmaker has reached the end of her patience." Nedzu says, with maybe a hint of viciousness on his face. "And seeing as she has a reputation for abandoning ships when they're about to sink, it clearly isn't helping what's left of the Paranormal Liberation Front."
(***)
Three Days Ago
"Here." Mechanist announces while handing her a small stack of documents, an ID and a credit card.. "Everything you need/require to start a new life overseas. Your full life history/lie, and all the money you took/siphoned from the House of Glass' accounts."
"Wonderful." Glassmaker smiles. Slightly. She lost her arm during the battle, and while the new prosthetic replacement was installed in record time (perks of knowing people like Mechanist), the pain was still there. "You really should do the same thing."
"Unsure/Uncertain." Mechanist replies. "Why are you doing this?"
"Because Kamino was supposed to play out differently." Glassmaker replies in turn. "And because Beast's last battle was supposed to not happen at all. That's strike two, so it's time to abandon the ship in an organized manner." Mechanist nodded slightly. He knows of her system. He considers it to be logical, if slightly overly cautious. "Besides, I'm merely thirty-five years old. It's my final occasion to settle down, and I really think that pissing off literally every hero in the country is my cue to leave."
"Logical/Sensible." Mechanist replies. "I'll consider it. Make sure that you don't miss the plane."
(***)
Today
"Everything is proceeding accordingly to the plan." Re-Destro announces to the executives (minus Trumpet) gathered in front of him. "Endgame starts in seven days."
He raises his glass, a motion repeated by everyone in the room.
"To victory." He says. "And to the triumphant end of Destro's Long War."
(***)
That's not ominous at all, am I right?
Also did I mention how I absolutely love the IzuOcha fluff in that fic? Adorable. Absolutely adorable.