CASE # 5 INTERLUDES

VI.

"Survivor"

"Ugh." Touya said as he finally collapsed with a heavy groan on the training room floor. Sweat accumulated in every corner of his body as his breaths became ragged and exhausting. Every muscle and fiber in his body was screaming at him, as well as the pain from the heat that his arms and hands had due to his quirk being pushed to its limit.

Thankfully he was not fearing the loss of his skin again, or if he burned due to overheating as he would be healed instantly by the damn literal potions that his new bosses had in store. He was glad of that, especially the sensation of having normal skin on his horrible face back then.

As he rested on the floor due to exhaustion, a shadow loomed over him and he saw quite literally the nightmare and savior of his life. The deadly but horrifyingly friendly Zesshi Zetsumei. Her pale face loomed over her with that annoying but admittedly charming smile as she grinned at his disposition.

"You know, if you want to surpass your dad, you gotta push a little further than that." She said to him as he sat up and saw the literal charred walls of the facility that they were currently in. "I'm not saying it's terrible, but you better up your game quite a bit if you want to even come close at beating my record."

"Fuck you." He cursed as she laughed at his expense.

"Nah… I doubt you like me that much to even start on thinking about such things." She said as Touya rolled his eyes. He then saw her stand up as she stretched in place.

"CZ-chan, what's matchstick's new record this time?"

The PA system in the entire room flared to life in reply. "About 996°C. He has increased his yield by about 16% from last time. I would say it's an improvement, even if small."

"Hm. I see. It's not on the level that I outputted in the Kamino operation, but it's not bad! You're actually improving at this. I'm proud." She said to him.

"Like I need your approval." He grumbled as Zesshi threw a towel at him.

"Aw… don't be like that. Stay positive! Aren't you supposed to be happy for today?"

Touya sighed. Yes, in some way he actually felt excited, but the nagging feeling behind his head stopped him from feeling totally elated with the situation. Especially when he turned his head and at the far corner of the room, he saw the other team member in their division that was practicing their short sword techniques.

Said woman was unmasked this time, making Touya incredibly uncomfortable.

"Hey, you still game for today?"

He frowned. He never liked how she smiled and said such things. "What do you mean?"

"I need someone to accompany me as I go out."

"We got a mission?"

"What? No… hahaha… no. Not really." Zesshi said as she shook her head. "I just want someone to accompany me while I check out some new duds."

Touya's frown further deepened. "You're just going to let me carry your damn shopping bags again woman."

Zesshi perked up with a large grin as she tried to stifle her laughter. "The hell's wrong with that anyway? I need a wingman and you're perfect for the role. Especially since you're my subordinate and I'm your boss… you… can't really disagree or disobey me." She teased.

It made Touya further groan in disappointment as Zesshi giggled at him.

He never really had a choice in that.

"Fine. But I hope to God you aren't making me bring your shit again like I'm your boyfriend."

"Aww… you don't like it? It's actually a pretty good cover. People least expect something's suspicious when they see something mundane walking in and about."

Touya looked away. Try as he might, he didn't want to be baited in her asinine attempts at goading a reaction out of him. Still, his eyes lingered on the other woman in the room who had finished their short sword maneuver.

He suddenly looked away when said woman abruptly turned their head towards him.

"Hm. You know, I never really told you that you're not allowed to talk to her. It's not like she's someone that's off-book from any interaction whatsoever." He heard Zesshi say.

"Really?" he asked.

"Of course? Despite what you think of us matchstick, if you do well, you follow orders well and give the results that the guys up top require, the benefits are quite great. I mean look at me…" she said gesturing towards her with both hands. "I'm quite happy and alive every single day."

Touya raised his eyebrow at her. "That's not really saying anything. Given the things you've told me about yourself." She quickly grinned at his remark, which did not help sell what she told him at all, but she patted his back all as well.

"Go. You kinda need to talk to her after all," she said with an affirming smile.

Touya nodded back as he started nervously walking towards the silent woman at the end of the large room. It made the nervousness worse the more he stepped towards her as it was the only sound in the large echoing testing/danger room.

At about a few meters he stopped when the woman finally slid what he assumed to be a Shikomizue. A shorter and concealed variation of the typical katana blade. He recalled back in the day that it was mostly used as a concealed weapon akin to a handgun that you could bring around without inciting too much attention as it was masquerading as a wooden cane. As he boiled on those thoughts, he then just realized that he found himself reminiscing too much about the past.

It was then that he realized that she was not holding the intimidating Nodachi that she used in the Kamino operation and she was wearing less armor than she did that night.

Between the armor plates where the gaps revealed skin, it was oddly pale and riddled with tattoos that were words, names, and various things that made Touya's skin crawl, not due to how it looked, but what there was written and the various implications that said words and sentences implied.

Even their face, their hair.

Everything. It was just so jarring. It was so wildly different from the woman he knew she once was compared to what she was now. It was like staring at a different person with a face that he knew all too well.

"Do you have any reason for staring at me as hard as you can?"

Touya had to cringe a bit at the fact that he was just staring at her, almost longingly and sadly.

"If you have nothing to say, then I must leave." She said without any sort of emotion in her voice as she sheathed the Shikomizue back to its scabbard. "Waste my time again and I'll-

"Wait…" he said with a hand raised as she looked at him in wait.

"I just… I just want to ask. What happened? Why did it reach this point?" he said, a question that he never knew he would ever do in his life after its inexplicable twists and turns.

The woman stared at him, frowned, and looked to the side. "What good will it do if I tell you? What good will it do knowing even partially of the things that I have done in order to reach the point of where I currently am?"

It made Touya pause as he thought about it. At first, learning what had happened, and the plans for the operations today, he wanted to protest and be furious over the events that had led to this juncture. Yet after seeing her say such things, after this small little interaction, he was far too shocked that she did not seem regretful at all, nor even remotely showing any emotion over the things he found out about her. About the things that made even himself feel disturbed by.

"See? There is no point in this conversation. Do you wish to learn if I find any semblance of peace or regret in the things that I did? Yes. There is some, but that woman that you knew as a child that would have done and reacted to things differently is no longer there. I am now only driven by purpose. A purpose that my master and his superiors need me to do. I am an imperfect weapon but a weapon nonetheless…"

She then looked at her Shikomizue and wiped the scabbard with her fingers and continued,

"… and despite the punishment and new limitations they have set on me, my drive is as focused as before, and it has only pushed me to train further for that very moment where I finally face him again."

Touya blanched. This was not the person that he knew she was. He could not even come to terms with that at that moment as he stared at her.

"I believe that is a suitable answer and with that, I believe you know that you should stay out of my way. Your hate and anger over your father are commendable, but it is not equal to the vengeance that I desire out of his death by my hand."

She then finally focused eye to eye with him.

"Keep to yourself Touya Todoroki. The legacy of what family you have left and the justice that they did not have should not end in more blood and tears, and even if the rest of you perish under my blade or that of the Supreme Being's command, you should continue living on to respect that legacy. It's what your family would have wished, and it's what the woman that you know me to be once before would have wished."

Touya was speechless at her words as she walked away.

He was left with more questions than answers at that moment but it was just painful to see where this life of his had ended. Where everything that he cared about before had come to a definite conclusion that he was sure to be afront of in the coming weeks and maybe even days.

He thought he was prepared to go there, but seeing her again and seeing what she had become, he was now unsure.

"…" he sighed before he felt a hand touch his shoulder.

"So… you ready to go out?" Zesshi said to him as if the current gloom and mood of the room were non-existent. He shook his head and finally did not give a damn for once in his entire stay on this team.

"Fuck it."

Touya regretted coming.

"Can you give me the green one this time? I feel like violet doesn't go well with my pasty skin." A muffled voice said from the changing room where Touya was standing outside of.

His brow and eye twitched in annoyance as he was standing there holding a dozen of women's underwear as a few people walked around him staring at him like he was a weirdo.

It did not help that the store clerk was literally stifling her grin at his expense.

"I thought you fucking said that we wouldn't go shopping." He said with a sneer that he knew Zesshi would just wave off.

"I never said that. Nor did I promise anything. I just reiterated that you really don't have any choice on the matter of where I want you and order you to be."

"You're just messing with me aren't you? This isn't even related to ANYTHING that we're supposed to do or ordered to do you damn crazy woman."

He heard Zesshi giggle behind the changing room as the clerk looked away as she hid her giggling.

"Believe it or not we are supposed to do something important here. I just wanted to pass this store to buy something while we're at it. You know the saying, hitting two birds with one stone."

"Then you could have at least gotten someone else to accompany you. You know how awkward this is with me being here, right?!" he nearly shouted.

"Meh. I know for a fact that you don't expect me to give a shit about that." She said as she finally got her head out of the curtain and reached with her hand in a gesture to him in order to hand over what she requested.

With a defeated angry frown Touya lent her the green bra and panties as she smiled.

"Want me to make it up to you?" she teased.

"Fuck you. I don't want to see you in anything, you have shit taste."

Her laughter increased in volume as she thankfully returned behind the curtains.

"Hey CZ-Chan and the rest of the maids find me wearing shit like this cute. Even a few boys that I met feel the same way."

"I don't care." He said in a deadpan.

"Yeah, keep saying that." He rolled his eyes at that remark as he waited.

A few minutes later as they both waited at the counter to pay for all the underwear that Zesshi had bought, it was there when Touya first noticed that the clerk from earlier that was watching them was now looking at her phone, with the volume loud enough that he could hear.

"Top 2 Hero Endeavor also known publicly as Enji Todoroki has been implicated in a series of accusations and crimes by released documents and testimonies of-

Touya perked up as he looked at the woman who was now frowning as the viral news that was being intoned made him pause. The next few sentences, or what much he could hear started to wear on him as he stared almost in disbelief…

Disbelief that it was finally happening.

"Hm. Check this out." He heard Zesshi say as he turned towards her, holding her shopping bag as she browsed the contents of her feed on the phone she was using. Touya quickly stared at it with his full attention as he saw multiple headlines about his father…

But most importantly, while the majority of it was about Endeavor, a chill ran down his spine as bit by bit a shocked but slowly appearing smile appeared on his face as multiple heroes, especially those that were briefed to him being corrupt or otherwise were being implicated and exposed as well.

He stood there almost too shocked to say anything as Zesshi continued to scroll.

"They did this a lot earlier than expected? Hm, Lady Albedo must have upped the timetable." Zesshi said as she shut the phone off abruptly much to the dismay of Touya. It was like she did not care.

"Come on… we still got somewhere to go." She said with excitement, uncaring fully of what was currently happening as Touya joined her, only for him to stare back at the clerks of the store again and saw that they were all pulling out their phones gossiping, talking, with shocked faces as Touya looked on in surprise and disbelief.

The moment the door to the entrance's shop was closed right in front of him he turned around and true enough, a lot of people were opening their phones while they walked and did their everyday mundane things. Most of them had frowns, and shocked faces…

And some even stopped whatever they were doing as the pale sunlight from the cloudy day now started to become the mood of the entire environment that they were in.

The literal bomb of information that his new bosses were cooking up for the next stage of their convoluted and complex plan had now erupted right in the heart of Japan, and even though he was not seeing the effects of it all yet, he was still astonished all the same.

And part of him already felt the catharsis, even if not fully developed yet.

"You gonna keep acting like a giddy schoolkid amazed at everything he sees around him?" Zesshi teased with a bored tone.

"Well uh…"

"I know… I get it. This is big for you, but as much as I care about following orders all of this isn't really resonating to me and quite frankly your entire system here just reminds me all too much of the life I had before. Of the people that raised me."

"What?" he asked as he caught up to her as they walked side by side.

"Propaganda. You have heroes in this world matchstick. Symbols of Peace, paragons of justice, and various temples of strength, morality, and goodness. All of it is simply the same or at least close to it in my world, in the place where I was born with. The only difference is, mine was based much more on faith, and yours is based more on recognition."

Touya grimaced, he only had small doses of Zesshi's own backstory, but he knew the primary gist of it all, and he did not like it in the slightest. It made him more interested as he listened to her.

"Sure, all of it has a good meaning behind it. Everything built around the idea of heroes is always something that on paper is good in every respect of it. However much like institutions and organizations that go on longer as time passes, they all begin to think of the more extreme part of all the recognition that they get, the fame, the fortune, the power, and this idea of being better and being part of something bigger. At times, or even in most cases, even if it meant stepping over others in the process."

Zesshi shrugged with a sigh as she looked at him. "That's simply the truth about all these larger-than-life ideals and status quos. Humans don't seem to properly evolve or change it in their long histories, because at the end of the day, people in their most private moments, will always value what benefits them the most."

Touya looked and pondered at her words. He could not argue back. It was… true. Far too true of a perspective, especially since Zesshi as shocked as he was, was more than centuries old. Possibly even more. She had watched her homeland transform from the very brink of its birth, towards its end, and all the experience, feelings, and her general perspective alone is something that he knew held weight.

"And the ironic thing about it is no dynasty, organization, or ideal lasts forever. All of this will all crash down because mindsets, thoughts, and ideals change over time. Nothing is ever absolute. Well, maybe Nazarick is, as they've proven the impossible to me multiple times… but all of this?" she gestured with both hands around them.

"All of this is simply going to disappear, with or without Nazarick, as there will always be those that will fight the system. There will always be those who will take charge in disagreeing with the greater whole, and all of it will reach an eventual boiling point as society goes into war for it."

"… And eventually a new ideal or base of belief will form over its ashes." He finished as Zesshi smiled at his words. "Shit. I… I never thought of it that way."

"It's a cycle. No matter what anyone says of change or development, history always loops itself. It may not be the same or down to a hundred percent comparison, the same method and mindset apply. True change can only be attributed to how you eventually mix up the tried and tested formulas of the past into something new and possibly progressive in pushing things along."

Zesshi smiled at him as Touya nodded at her as he broiled on those thoughts.

She hummed as she almost skipped happily in her usual mood when going out like this.

"For someone who says terrible jokes, lacks any fashion sense and acts like a young spoiled teenage girl, you bring a lot of good insight on things."

She hums proudly to that.

"I might even consider calling you grandma with how old you are instead."

She elbowed him hard enough that he winced and coughed as he tried to hold back his laughter.

He felt great. This was a nice moment as the edges of his lips curled upwards into a small smile as they walked together all the while the world around them was going into a meltdown.

It was ironic in every sense that they both did not care for the most part…

And that they both felt fulfilled in some twisted way.

Half an hour later they decided to eat in a small restaurant that was facing the infamous Takoba Beach. He heard of the Gehenna Incident with Mirko a good while back, but he still could not believe that his new bosses were responsible for it.

It was horrifying really, how much they controlled everything in the shadows that their reach not only affected Japan, but the entire world.

He was bothered by it, but not to the extent as some might think. He was on the side that was winning this time, and he knew he was safe if he remained there.

The small restaurant that they were in had a television near the booth as various news coverages reported the various things being sent through the web and filed evidence sent to various institutions. Despite the calmness of most of Takoba Beach, it was evident in the frowning faces and the people talking in the restaurant that everything that the storm of media was causing was affecting everyone at an emotional level, and the belief…

The already shaky belief in heroes was now faltering further in Touya's eyes.

He could not help but grin a bit at that.

"He's a tad bit late than expected." He heard Zesshi say as she looked at her nails.

"Who?"

As soon as he asked that, the door to the restaurant opened, and a gnarly, almost jarringly thin blonde man that looked like he would keel at any moment came inside.

"The reason we're here."

Touya instantly became alarmed the moment he saw him. He turned to Zesshi who turned off her phone and shrugged at him.

VII.

"Legacy"

"I know All Might. I know this is a hard decision for you."

Toshinori dryly laughed into the phone as he walked by the streets overlooking Takoba Beach. The cloudy sky and the cool breeze hugged his form as he continued with his daily walk.

"You can't really fathom how difficult merely thinking about that is Mirai. I doubt Nana had it easy too, given who I was back when I was a kid." He said as he pulled out his water bottle and drank from it.

"I understand, but you need to make a choice soon. T-Things aren't going easy anymore All Might. My Quirk, I don't know what's happening to it, but as the days go by, I have a sense that whatever future I saw about you dying is coming closer and closer than ever."

Toshinori stopped for a moment and let those words sink.

"I'm scared Toshinori. I'm truly scared. I can't even properly do my job anymore."

"What do you mean?" he asked in concern, their relationship had not yet fully mended, but after the Kamino Incident, Toshinori took steps to ensure every bridge he broke be fixed, and to be more proactive with his role and future in the responsibilities he still had. Part of that was talking with Mirai again, and while that interaction did not wholly mend the broken divide between them, he knew they were making progress…

And now, hearing how frail and emotional Mirai sounded from his typical professional and almost emotionless persona, he started to worry.

"There are gaps. The blind spots that were trouble before are now at full force with each time I use my quirk. I see less and less of the future as hours and days pass by. Even when I concentrate, even when I try my damnest, the only thing it brought me was a slew of nightmares… and worse, I recently had an episode today Toshinori."

"Mirai… are you…. Are you alright?" he said almost panicked.

"I didn't want to burden you with another thing to worry about. You've been through a lot these few weeks, doing a lot, and I appreciate it, everyone does. B-But I tried to use my quirk on the sample of the vial that was left from the Kamino attack… and it… I just blacked out the moment I touched it and when I was conscious again, Centipeder was holding me down as I saw Bubble Girl tending to her broken, bloodied nose."

Toshinori stopped walking due to the horror he felt from his friend's words. He clenched his fist and then decided on what he needed to do for the day.

"I'm coming to you."

"Don't."

"Mirai this isn't a debate I need to-

He then heard his former sidekick dryly laugh at his words.

"I've forgotten how inexplicably stubborn you are."

"Mirai."

"Don't Toshinori… as much as I appreciate the thought, you're needed somewhere else and with how things are already in the world, you have to continue everything that you're doing to keep everything in place and intact. The World needs the Symbol of Peace now and more than ever. You need to prioritize things now if you want to make progress and change fast enough to make up with the unknown enemy we're facing in the shadows."

"All for One was always one step ahead of us, but we still beat him. I can prioritize all I want with the time I have, but when it comes to a friend, I will pull all the stops to get it done."

"Heh, you act like this is still All For One pulling the strings Toshinori." He heard Mirai chuckle darkly.

"W-What do you mean by that?"

"It's just a hunch of mine, but I'm starting to think none of this is related to All For One at all."

"But it should be him, even the girl I fought mentioned a master. A master that she was devoutly serving to." He said, recalling the girl's face and the horrific memories of the entire fight.

"I don't know. Like I said a hunch and going back to our previous topic. You don't need to visit me right now, I am safe and alright. I have my people looking after me. What I need for you right now is to start contemplating on who to finally decide whom your Quirk will be inherited to."

He sighed at that. He knew Nighteye was right. It was time.

He recalled the many possible candidates he had seen these past few weeks, and he was enthusiastic about them but as good as they were there was still something missing.

Even Mirai's brainchild, Mirio or Lemillion, while the closest in terms of worth out of all the people he had seen and met, still had that small spark that was missing that he couldn't find.

He even wanted to talk to that green-haired boy he had seen a time ago, but he couldn't trace him. He sighed deeply, maybe he should start deciding on that already.

"I will. Maybe I'll stop by UA again and meet the kid to talk to him about it."

"Thank you. Listen, I'll understand if he's not your final choice, but please promise me that if you find no one, please consider Mirio. The boy deserves it. I know it."

Toshinori bitterly nodded. It was like Mirai was aware that his time was now limited in the world. It scared him, seeing as Toshinori barely had anyone left in his life.

"I understand. You keep yourself safe Mirai. I'll come by when I'm free."

"You too All Might." His friend said before the line went dead.

He started walking again as the ocean breeze swept his entire body. He had too much in his mind right now. From cooperating with the Hero Association, UA, as well as coordinating with various police forces and heroes to better prepare and investigate the tidings of the rise in attacks, he was starting to get exhausted. Mentally and physically.

But he had a job to do and this was the only time again in his life where he had to be proactive in his job like what his friend had said, the world needed him at that moment, and he is not going to ignore it.

As for the issue with the search for his successor, he was going to try and meet with Mirio again.

Hopefully, the meeting would finally solidify his decision to pick him.

And maybe he could finally train the boy on something a lot more different. He turns his head over the coast, still filled with trash as he breathes in the morning air.

He returned to his walk as he spotted the restaurant that he always ate at whenever he finished his routine in Takoba. He hoped the food would make him relaxed for a bit.

Entering the restaurant, he quickly waved and told the cook from the booth about his usual order while he walked towards a table near a window. Sitting down he sighed heavily as he tried to get all the stressful thoughts in his head out and wished to feel a lot more composed than he was earlier.

However as soon as he was starting to settle in, somebody sat on the seat across him, and before he could ask what they wanted, he immediately froze when he saw who it was.

"Hey." The young woman said as she removed a ring from her finger.

Toshinori suddenly stood up and with both fists clenched as his face transformed to that of a snarl… when the girl raised both her hands in the air in a peaceful gesture.

"Hey! Wait… don't do anything rash here. I haven't even done anything yet."

Toshinori looked around as some people looked at his outburst. He sat back down as he eyed the girl carefully. A frown on his face steadily rose as he looked at the girl in question who seemed nonchalantly calm with everything.

"Mind you, if you attempted any sort of fight right here, you gotta acknowledge that there's a buttload of civilians around us. Most of them are just having their brunch peacefully and as far as today goes I'm not really going to disturb them for it."

Toshinori did not say anything else as he acknowledged that it was true, even if he was able to save most of the people here, there was no guarantee given the power of the girl before him that she would not just level the entire place, or even the entire block with trivial ease.

"That's better… I don't really want to fight today, I'm in sort of a short break, plus I got a friend here that I would ideally keep safe and sound from the usual villain speeches and collateral damage." She said as she gestured towards a white-haired young man, who Toshinori felt oddly familiar with, but he could not place it.

"Do I really need to sit next to you?" said the young man.

The young woman waved him off with a snicker. "Don't worry matchstick, even if blonde over here goes apeshit, I'm pretty sure you'll be alright. Mostly."

"That doesn't feel ominous at all." The young man said as he begrudgingly sat next to her.

Toshinori had never felt this tense ever since the Kamino attack. Despite the light tone of the mood this young woman displayed, he knew how far she would go if he pushed her buttons.

"What do you want?" he gruffly said.

"Just a talk of course. Maybe catch up… you know. Normal stuff."

He looked around again. "If you threaten any of these people I swear-

She laughed at him stopping him from finishing his sentence when she replied back, "You're the one threatening me at this very moment old man. I've done nothing currently that would warrant such a large response coming from you, so please… relax and let this entire meeting just be us talking."

He did not trust her, he absolutely did not. The simple fact that she led the entire Kamino Invasion that killed thousands alone was not something that he would drop to act cordial with the girl.

Especially since she explicitly told him where her loyalties lie.

He grimaced but decided to act vigilant despite his misgivings and worry for the girl's psyche.

"Are we relaxed now?"

He did not answer as she looked at him, almost unsure of what to say next.

"Look, I know for a fact you don't like me, and you're just humoring me because you care about the people around us and you don't want to see them dead. I know for a fact as well that if the entire place was abandoned you'd try to subdue and take me in as quick you feasibly can while I do my best to fight you and try to escape…"

She then tapped her fingers on the table. "… But you see, I wanted to talk to you about something important. Something I know you absolutely care about and that something is now related to me."

Toshinori blinked. What was she implying?

"Do you remember our entire fight during that night?" she asked him.

"Vividly." He responded back.

"Then I guess you already have a gist of what this conversation is about."

What was she-

"You have a legacy All Might… I know that for a fact. You're the successor to a hero in the past that has done great things to the world both minor and major altogether. In a way that sort of sums up myself as well, I'm essentially the legacy of my father, and most of his power was shared with me."

She was the daughter of… no, that couldn't be.

"That's why I'm here to talk to you. Because after our fight, when I finally woke up from my injuries… I discovered something new about myself."

She then lent her hand to him. He looked at her, puzzled, and suspicious but she inched it forward. "Please, just humor me. You need to know."

He gingerly moved his hand forward and touched her palm.

The moment it did, something disturbing came to Toshinori's mind. Because as soon as he touched the girl's palm, a faint, familiar ripple of energy was felt when their hands touched.

The energy. That same energy.

Toshinori blanched as he looked at the girl.

"No." he said as they both stared in silence into each other's eyes.