A/N: I moved to a two-week upload schedule back before Christmas, because the most important thing for me was making sure that I got things just right in planning this fic and managing it around my work. Work very nearly got in the way of this chapter- sorry. Working in criminal law means that when the shit hits the fan for a trial, it tends to wipe me out mentally even when I'm free and able to write. Touch wood, it doesn't show this chapter.

The shout-out this week goes to (shock horror to all the lovely dedicated folks on Fanfiction) someone who's been reading along on AO3. I don't always reply to the comments on AO3, because to be frank when people begin theorising about things I'd rather keep those conversations private and in the PMs, but I do read all of them. AntiqueOwl is someone from the Ignite to the Call Discord server who posts some refined My Hero Academia crack fanfics, and who managed to binge the entirety of this fic within about three days to catch up. For the emotional rollercoaster of reading your comments and live reactions, and for the pure genius crack that you can create, this chapter shout-out is for you, Hoothoot.

You too can join the Ignite to the Call Discord server and talk about Incident Zero using the following Discord server join code: HV8bYkgN

Anyway, point of order before we begin. I said last time we'd be having one non-Izuku chapter now, and then a run of them as something wicked this way comes; in fact, my plan says we have two non-Izuku chapters. Oops. That's my bad.

In apology for that, this one does contain one of the fandom favourites, so enjoy!

(***)

As the doors to the elevator in the apartment block he had called home for the past couple of years slid shut behind him, Shota Aizawa paused, enjoying a quiet moment of reflection with only the hum of the elevator's electric motors to punctuate the silence. It wasn't that he got many moments like this to himself, after all. Not on the mission he was on, with the company he was keeping.

It had made sense, a couple of years ago, when Nezu had come to him and outlined his need for Shota's help. While the chimera couldn't exactly be described as a rational being at all times, his intellect was unrivalled, heightened by his Quirk; Shota took pride as a teacher in his ability to read students and see through the contradictions in people, but Nezu took that to another level, identifying problems the students themselves didn't even know they had.

And that was just academically. As a Pro Hero, Nezu's intelligence helped him identify threats before the Hero Commission even imagined the possibility of a threat, a skill which had proved even more valuable to UA in the troubled aftermath of Incident Zero. Shota attributed this, in no small part, to just how devastated the entire country was by the surprise loss of All Might on that day, and Nezu's own determination to avoid being caught unawares by such a scenario should it ever arise in future. From anyone else it might have been perceived as paranoia, but Shota admired the prescience of his Principal.

It was that prescience which had led to their meeting, which had led to Shota learning of the rise of the Meta Liberation Army.

Shota was no fool. He and his peers had grown up in a world still feeling sore after the violence and chaos spread by the original iteration of the Army; Quirk riots, bombings, rallies. The notorious Destro had taken his own life in prison, but not before the publishing of a radical biography which had spread like wildfire and continued to spread among the criminal underworld. Shota himself had seen the book's rise in popularity in the beginnings of his Hero career, and its resurgence following the death of All Might, but to hear of a new Army beginning to recruit and spread its influence had alarmed him.

As much as there were a number of risks to Nezu's plan, it hadn't taken Shota long to weigh them up and agree that he should be the one to try to monitor them, and learn more about them. He was one of the few Heroes in Japan who operated solely as an Underground Hero, a different breed to the media darlings and heavyweight names; very few to no people outside of Heroics and Hero education could recognise his face or name him if he walked past them in the street. With a Quirk like Erasure, he could very easily pass himself off as an unknown Quirkless bystander, safe in the knowledge that he had a very potent means of protecting himself if the worst came to the worst.

Going underground was the easy part. He had disappeared without a trace and blended into the rank and file surprisingly well, nobody any wiser to his real identity as the Pro Hero Eraserhead. Borrowing the surname of his old friend Ms Joke had been laughably easy to distract people with; Emi would have killed him if she learned he was using her surname, or asked him to actually marry her, or both. Still, he had found people flaunting their beliefs while talking about the Meta Liberation War book in a public library, intruded into their conversation with a comment about the inherent logic of the book's arguments for reform, and the rest had flowed from there.

One thing had surprised him from the first couple of meetings. Even though the Army's core beliefs centred around free use of what they deemed as 'Meta Abilities', and naturally bred some elements of Quirkism from those who saw the Quirkless as an abomination to that vision, most of the people he had encountered hadn't batted an eyelid when he arrived without a Quirk (so to speak). Shota attributed this to the desire for change, and how the more anarchic elements of their philosophy had universal appeal whether Quirkless or not; as long as someone would fight to bring down the society they hated, there was some tolerance for difference. That's where he found himself- amidst a sea of ardent believers, part-time anarchists and old-school zealots, all fighting in the name of Destro.

It hadn't been hard to blend in at all. It was how long it took to get into a position where he could prove himself to relevant people, and start to glean information about the tightly-knit inner circles of the Meta Liberation Army, that had proved a challenge. It had taken patience, and work, keeping his head down and trying to subtly network a situation which would allow him firstly to identify one of those at the top of the food chain, and secondly to capitalise by gaining a close connection.

Chitose Kizuki had been a gift of an opportunity when she had surfaced. After some hard work with a few Army members at a regional meeting, a few of them had offered him work at Shoowaysha Publishing, freely revealing that their boss shared their beliefs. For a moment, Shota had been concerned about associating with media types in case one of them recognised him, but he was fortunate that a life of shunning attention as an Underground Hero made them completely oblivious. When the inevitable meeting with the one they called Curious had come, she hadn't suspected a thing.

She'd even offered him a job as her new soundman, when she found out that he knew his way around the kit they used to record her interviews. Shota couldn't help but be grateful for all the late nights helping Hizashi set up for his 'Hero Hour with Present Mic' radio show, for how easily he had been able to pass himself off as a competent sound technician. Compared to managing Hizashi's yelling, Curious' excitable interview manner was a breeze to deal with.

He just knew Hizashi would be insufferable about it if he ever told him. If he ever saw him again, anyway.

The Meta Liberation Army was dangerous enough for Shota to think this, as the elevator began to slow. Erasure had very subtly saved him from living with the constant fear of Curious activating her Landmine Quirk on him, but she was just one of the inner circle. He had seen for himself, just recently, just who the Grand Commander they all talked about actually was, from the frightening meeting with Rikiya Yotsubashi. If Detnerat's President and the son of the original Destro was heading up the group, with allies in business and media and politics around him, then this was a very dangerous group indeed.

He didn't know everything they needed to act, but he knew enough to need to report back.

With the elevator doors sliding open, Shota picked up the two bags of food shopping from the floor, squared his shoulders underneath the black hoodie he wore, and slunk out towards his room. Nothing in the corridor looked any different to how it had been when he had left for work that morning, and nothing aroused his suspicion as showing signs that someone had been to his apartment. He couldn't be too careful, however, and so Shota held for a second in the corridor before making the walk to his apartment door. It was better to be safe than sorry, in any event.

The lock clicked as the key turned, and Shota still went through the same routine as he always did. Hold for a second at the door with his hand on the handle, in case anyone was there on the other side. Step inside and immediately place the bags down, reaching behind the door for the familiar comfort of his old capture scarf to sling it around his neck. Survey the deliberately barren main room and the functional bedroom area, shooting his scarf underneath the bed as the only place large enough to hide a human if they were in the room, and repeat with the small bathroom and kitchen. And finally, sweep the surfaces, his permanently-tired eyes looking for any signs of disturbance or things in the wrong place, any possibility that someone had entered to place a camera down.

After a long pause, and finally reaching the point of satisfaction that the cramped and bare apartment was secure and empty, Shota sighed, and moved to place his scarf back on the hook behind the now-locked door. It had every appearance of being irrational on his part, but Shota knew the type of people he was dealing with and the contacts they could have- he wasn't about to let himself fall into a trap by not combing the cramped apartment for something untoward.

He lifted one bag of food shopping onto the bare kitchen surface, ready to unload it, before he paused and nodded to himself. "Later. It can wait."

He had a call to make, after all.

Abandoning the shopping bags, Shota walked over to the obnoxious piece of artwork on the wall, entirely a mess of pastel colours and abstract shapes; it was garish and loud, and tasteless. Exactly the sort of thing Emi and Hizashi would have liked. It wasn't the painting itself that was his concern, however, but the item stashed behind the thick frame, the sleek black laptop acquired by Nezu from places which were best left unknown to serve as his only untraceable lifeline to be able to report back his findings. It killed him that he couldn't use it to speak to Nemuri or Hizashi, or Emi; in part because two of those morons were now in charge of being a homeroom teacher for the UA first years and couldn't be trusted, and in part because it had been so long since he spoke to them.

He shook his head, as he booted up the device. Needs must, in a situation like this. It would be irrational to compromise the work he and Nezu had put into the matter.

It was late in the evening. Rain sleeted down past the window outside, a dismal end to an otherwise uneventful day. The sound of a police siren somewhere in the distance was the only sound in the background as the call from the laptop rang on, before with a click, a deep and clearly synthetic voice cleared its throat. "Password?"

They had to do this every time. One word that would guarantee on his end that he really was Shota Aizawa, that nobody had gotten to him and it was safe to talk. It pained him slightly, the word which had been chosen as the sure-fire way to verify his identity, but it made sure beyond reasonable doubt. Whatever hard memories it always invariably dredged up were something to dwell on after the call. "... Shirakumo."

There was a brief pause, before the voice boomed again. "... Oboro."

Shota nodded, satisfied, and clicked the button to turn the camera on. "Good evening, Principal."

"Good evening, Shota." One quirk of Nezu disguising his voice with a modulator was just how weird it sounded for him to slide the distortion off and sound normal again; as the chimera turned his camera on and waved, his voice went through several octaves to reach its usual gleeful tone. "You have news for me? I presume that shadowing Curious has helped identify another one of the inner circle-"

"Worse." Shota didn't waste any words in reporting back; there was just no point. "She's led me to their Grand Commander."

"... Hmm." Nezu's eyes lost their shine for just a second, visible clearly even over the call. "You're certain?"

"She trusts me enough with the work I do for her in the interviews that she takes me everywhere. Some of the people she speaks to aren't worth it, and I don't think they're associated. But…" Shota nodded. "She referred to him as Commander. In front of me. They talked freely, because her two assistants aren't a concern to her, and she deferred to his orders before my eyes. It's him."

"Who?"

"Let's just say that you probably saw his interview last night."

"... Rikiya Yotsubashi." It wasn't a question from Nezu, and the way the chimera leaned forward, all trace of his usual gleeful facade gone, showed Shota just how concerned the Principal really was. "The President of Detnerat, at the head of the Meta Liberation Army. So he's been involved all this time. Since Endeavor's press conference. Since the aftermath of Incident Zero… well, well."

"There's more." Shota grimaced, slightly. "They call him… Re-Destro."

"The second coming, perhaps, of the old leader of myth?" Nezu mused, still leaning forward in his oversized chair. "What about his Quirk? Or rather, his Meta Ability? If we are to use their terminology."

"His Quirk, or what I saw of it… He used it to threaten Curious. That in of itself isn't enough to confirm the worst, but it's what it does to him that made me think again. It grants him immense power, but he draws his power from anger… and it turns his skin black with the more he uses. Mottling-"

"It's the same Quirk." Nezu sat back, and seemed briefly to sag; it didn't take High Spec to connect all of the dots. "It's not just a second coming. It's a birthright. Rikiya Yotsubashi has his Quirk. Destro… had a son."

"And now that son is in charge of one of the largest Quirk-related businesses in Japan, even before you consider his leadership of the revived Meta Liberation Army." Shota frowned, and looked out of the window for just a second. "Detnerat are trouble. They are cornering the Support Item market. They have their own Support Academy to rival UA's, such that we lost the best candidate we had in years to them. That's before you even consider the Agencies they sponsor. Whether or not Heroes are in line with their views… Detnerat publicly sponsors a few, and that's only the ones we know about. They could have numerous Heroes in their pocket, to turn the screw when needed."

"This goes to the heart of Heroics in this country." Nezu took a sip of tea, and only someone as experienced at dealing with Nezu as Shota Aizawa could tell that this was to calm his nerves. "The leader of the Meta Liberation Army… is the proud sponsor of the Number One Hero. We need to tread very carefully, Shota-"

"On that front, you may have some luck," Shota interrupted, remembering just how fraught with tension the conversation he had witnessed had been. "Re-Destro and Curious argued while I was there. They haven't got control of Endeavor, not even by funding him. As Number One Hero, he remains a big obstacle for them to overcome-"

"And I'm sure they have plans to deal with him, don't they?"

"They do. From what they discussed, it appears they focus on Endeavor's new Apprentice, Katsuki Bakugo." Shota huffed. "All that anger and volatility. Allowing someone like that the chance to be a Hero is the height of irrationality."

"I believe you would have referred to him as a 'problem child', were you teaching him."

"I believe I would have expelled him long before that name stuck." Shota shook his head. "I believe they want to try to recruit Bakugo in the future. His attitudes towards free Quirk usage and vigilantism are what drove him towards Endeavor, and they're remarkably in line with the Meta Liberation Army beliefs. If they don't…"

"Then they have a very potent liability standing beside Endeavor to scapegoat, and bring down the Number One Hero with him. A sacrifice to a world formed in their image." Nezu's paw drummed the arm of the chair. "Do you know one of my greatest regrets, Shota?"

The question caught him completely off guard. "... No. What is-"

"It's that I didn't catch this sooner." The chair squeaked slightly as Nezu adjusted himself in the seat. "With everything we went through after Incident Zero… all I could see was UA. My students. How to get everyone through. I got so caught up in having to face the Commission on a weekly basis for our continued right to exist that I was blind to the other dangers of the world. By the time I caught anything at all… the Meta Liberation Army had already established itself. We are behind in the game, because of this. And we're running to catch up."

"I don't think any of us blame you for what happened, sir." Shota nodded to himself, knowing that he certainly didn't. "What choice did you have? Making sure that the next Heroes to come through can still learn what it means to really be a Hero… we had to do it. You had to focus on that."

"Oh, I know none of you blame me, Shota." Nezu smiled wanly, a brief look of sadness on his face. "But I do."

"Nezu…" Shota couldn't find the words for a second. "... I'm sorry, too."

That made the Principal pause as he opened his mouth, confused. "Whatever could you be sorry for?"

"The speed at which I have been able to move-"

"Has been admirable." Nezu took a long sip of tea. "In such a short period of time, you have ingrained yourself into the trusted close circle of one of the Meta Liberation Army's elite members, and one of the most dangerous radicals in all of Japan. You have learned the name of their Grand Commander, and been in the same room as him to gather intelligence without exposing yourself. It might not be enough to risk making a move… but to be frank, it is more than I expected you to achieve. I worried we would be completely without hope."

"You think it's too much of a risk to try to take them on, now?" Shota asked, already knowing the answer deep down. "You share my concerns?"

"I do. To begin with, and forgive me for using military terminology to talk about the Meta Liberation Army, we don't know just how deep their recruit base is for their footsoldiers." Nezu's mug clinked as he set it down. "Shoowaysha is a huge company, as is Detnerat. If Rikiya Yotsubashi has links with others in the business and media world, then their employee base could well be radicalised to the cause as well. And that's without considering the Heroes."

"The Commission-"

"They aren't exactly our best supporters, if we're both being realistic. You know how much they have fought me because of what I did to protect UA and save some hope that we might have good Heroes in future. And besides…" Nezu trailed off briefly, shaking his head. "You saw the press conference, all those years ago. Re-Destro, shoulder to shoulder with the Number One Hero and the Hero Commission? Detnerat supply Support Items to nearly a quarter of the one hundred best Heroes in Japan, if not half, and that's without considering who they sponsor."

Shota sighed, seeing the dilemma. "Even Endeavor alone as an ally isn't going to cut it, when you put it like that. If we go to the Commission, then if the Army has links to any of the other Heroes, they will close ranks and overwhelm us."

"Precisely. We need to know the exact scale of their operations before we can make any move. I don't want us to run out of time, but any move before knowing their strength would be-"

"Irrational. No, I understand." Shota nodded, mostly to himself. "Curious spoke with Re-Destro recently about what she called a 'board meeting'. Given that she has confirmed her attendance, I suspect that it's not a Detnerat meeting, because there's no explanation as to why they might invite her along to contribute."

"Then that's a meeting you should definitely try to attend." Nezu's curiosity had clearly been piqued from how he leaned forward, staring intently at the screen. "I agree with your suspicions. After interviewing Yotsubashi already, an invitation for Curious to attend a meeting won't be another scoop in the making, it's business. If we can learn who we're dealing with in the hierarchy, then we know who we can start reaching out to for support. For now… we need to be certain about Endeavor before we try to form an alliance. And certain that his understudy isn't going to cause us problems."

"At this rate, it's going to be us, Endeavor and the students against the entire Army." Shota heard the pregnant pause after his dry comment, and frowned. "Nezu… you're actually considering sending our students in to fight, aren't you?"

"... I just can't rule it out."

"What happened to you?" Shota bit down his anger, but he couldn't disguise how much bitter disappointment seeped into his voice. "They're children. Heroes in the making, sure, but throwing them into battle against the Meta Liberation Army? Lining them up and painting targets on them."

"What choice do we have, Shota?" Nezu's voice was sad, and caught him completely off guard. "When we don't know who our allies are… we have to play the cards we are dealt. I can't even be certain yet that there are no students who share their ideology, and I would hate to push so much responsibility onto them if they are clear to help, but… they might be the only hope we have of taking the fight to them in future."

There was a pause, before the chimera sighed. "In better times, I would have enjoyed a game of intrigue like this. An opponent I don't know anything about, where I'm learning as I go. Now, I just feel scared for the future. This is a long game, with an opponent who has pieces I don't even know about. The more you can learn, the better, because otherwise the road to the Meta Liberation Army's victory will be short, and littered with casualties. If our students are the only thing that stops that… then we have to do whatever it takes."

"... Sure." Shota bowed his head, not entirely agreeing, but it was hard to see what alternative they had in a situation like this. "I'll keep following Curious. Try and get as much information as I can for you. And in turn-"

"I'll start planning what we can do with Endeavor. We need intelligence on everyone within the highest ranks of the Army, because if we tell Enji Todoroki that his benefactor is the Grand Commander, no good will come of it." Nezu's fur bristled slightly, for just a second. "All our hard work would be thwarted if he attempted to fight Re-Destro alone, and left the rest of the leadership intact."

"Agreed. Then it's between us, for now." Shota paused. "... Let's hope we learn what we need before it's too late."

"Hope is a fine thing. Simultaneously the greatest comfort and the last resort of the desperate in equal measure." Nezu chuckled, humourlessly. "For what it's worth, and everything you've sacrificed for us to get to this point… thank you, Shota."

He could have said something. Something about how much he missed Hizashi's stupid comments or Emi's ridiculous jokes, how it pained him that he wasn't planning lessons and grabbing Nemuri's help. But Nezu knew all of that. It wouldn't have helped either of them to cope by saying it, so Shota Aizawa simply nodded his head, and bit down the sadness within. It wasn't worth it. "... I'll update you soon, Nezu."

"Good luck, Eraserhead."

The call clicked to an end, silence enveloping him like his sleeping bag as he sat alone in the dingy apartment. He was outnumbered, alone, out of his depth and dealing with enemies three steps ahead of both him and Nezu, toying with society to their own end. The Meta Liberation Army threatened everything they held dear, and something needed to be done to stop them before the whole world paid for their sins. That was why he couldn't give up. Why he wouldn't give up.

Shota Aizawa sat in crushing loneliness, and vowed that all of what he had been through wouldn't be for nothing. The Meta Liberation Army wouldn't win. That much he would make sure of.

(***)

"I don't like this, Boss."

Chronostasis had been sat so perfectly still on the sofa beside Overhaul that he had closed his eyes behind his mask, almost dozing off. Now, as the greasy voice of Shin Nemoto piped up, he pried his eyes open and fixed his fellow lieutenant with a look. "I don't think any of us do, Nemoto. But recent circumstances have forced our hand."

"Recent circumstances?" The form of Irinaka, currently using his Quirk to occupy the insidious cloth dummy he had grown so fond of, snorted. "Is that what we're calling it? When the Hero Killer and the literal sidekick to All Might turn up, trash our warehouse and steal our damn Trigger? 'Recent circumstances' kinda doesn't do it justice-"

"That was the largest shipment of Trigger they've ever seized!" Nemoto glared at Chronostasis, practically vibrating with fury. "The amount of money spent on that, and the amount of profit lost? We are lucky that our buyers fear the Boss more than they hate us for losing their supply!"

"I'm more concerned about those who were captured or killed," Chronostasis said, coolly. "Shinpika won't talk, and it's a shame that we lost Kurotoko. But our paid Hero Mister Brave is now in the hands of the Police. Without us there to lean on him, he will talk."

"Exactly!" Mimic leaped up onto the seat he had been allocated. "We're lucky he only knows about one other warehouse site, but even so I've been racing around trying to get the guys in Osaka to shut up shop and clear the stock out. If he rats that out to the Police, that's even more Trigger stock at risk-"

"It's hard enough moving it to replace the orders we lost because of the Hero Killer," Nemoto complained, "but closing down a whole site like this? We're being set back here!"

"And now we're so desperate to get back on track that we've gotta cosy up to some fat cats who believe in some complete fantasy power dream," Mimic added, jumping up and down on the seat cushion like it was a trampoline. "Everything they believe in is against your vision, Boss-"

"Believe me, I know." Overhaul's voice hadn't been affected by any emotion creeping in, and yet it was enough to silence the two more vocal lieutenants. Only Chronostasis, sat close enough to Overhaul to see his eyes, could see the anger and the frustration which had crept into his gaze. "The Hero Killer put it out of our hands. They are sick with delusion, of a different kind to the Heroes but a delusion nonetheless. But they know our backs are against the wall because of what happened in Musutafu. We need their resources to be able to regroup and achieve my vision… and they know it."

"But are you really happy with that, Boss?" Nemoto's voice was wheedling, and really getting on Chronostasis's nerves. "It almost seems like a sell-out, given everything you have been working on with Eri-"

Overhaul leaned forward, and for a second Chronostasis could almost hear the intake of breath from Mimic at such a bold suggestion from one of their own. The memory of what Overhaul had done to Hekiji Tengai as punishment for what had transpired with the Hero Killer (before Overhaul had put him back together, anyway) lived very fresh in their heads. "Are you suggesting that there is another way, Nemoto?"

It was amazing how quickly Nemoto cowered backwards. Overhaul hadn't even made a move to remove his gloves. "I w-wouldn't say that, Boss! I just simply wondered if you were really okay with us doing this! I wouldn't dare question your judgement…"

What surprised Chronostasis wasn't how quickly Nemoto had changed his tune and apologised to the Boss; Nemoto was slippery at the best of times, even before Overhaul had taken out his feelings about the Hero Killer on Tengai. What surprised him was that as soon as Nemoto conceded, Overhaul sat back and sighed, looking for just a second to be reluctant and perhaps even a little ashamed. "For the record, for all three of you in this room… I agree. But I am willing to do whatever it takes to ensure that we have the funding for my work with Eri. Their views are repugnant, but we don't have the resources to be able to afford a war with an organisation like theirs. We bide our time, take their money, and one day we can wipe the wretched plague of Quirks off the face of the planet."

"There are very few organisations," Chronostasis said, piping up again, "who would approach us for as much Trigger as they seem to require. Very few who could afford it. This could take everything we currently have with Eri and escalate it to mass-production, if we play the situation right."

Overhaul hummed as he nodded, his plague mask giving nothing away. "Chronostasis understands. He always does. This is… temporary. Out of necessity."

"We can cope, in the meantime." Chronostasis gestured towards the door. "Do you think we've let them stew enough?"

"... I'd say so." Overhaul looked directly at Nemoto, and Chronostasis couldn't help but enjoy on a very petty level that he was ordering the other lieutenant around like a dogsbody. "Nemoto, see them in."

"Of course." Nemoto stiffened as he reached the door, and Chronostasis couldn't help but blame him. Given the status of the two individuals behind the door, and the sway they held apparently in both the business world, and the underworld, this was a pivotal moment in the history of the Shie Hassaikai. It still felt wrong, in their guts, given Master Overhaul's beliefs, but if it was a sacrifice that Overhaul was prepared to make, he would follow without question.

The door swung open, and Nemoto stood rigidly to attention. "The Boss will see you now."

"Oh, good." The way in which Re-Destro walked through the door into their meeting room was practically a swagger, as the towering businessman cracked his knuckles walking through the door. It had been a surprise and a half to see Rikiya Yotsubashi, the publicly-lauded head of Detnerat, entering into their compound, and even more of a surprise for it to be revealed that he was the man at the head of the Meta Liberation Army. The way power emanated off of him was fierce and potent, surrounding him like an aura; the only other person Chronostasis had ever met who could achieve that was Overhaul. "I was starting to think you didn't want to speak to me, Overhaul."

Overhaul met his gaze coolly, showing no emotion. "I simply needed to talk to my Eight Precepts. This is… an unusual time."

"You've got that right." Skeptic had returned again as he promised before, shadowing his master, and Chronostasis couldn't help but notice how in complete contrast to his leader, he almost seemed to slink into the room. Perhaps the man was on edge, around Overhaul and several of the most powerful members of the Shie Hassaikai. "Nasty business, with the Hero Killer. I didn't know he teamed up with Heroes."

"Neither did we." Overhaul gesticulated to the two seats across the table. "I welcome both of you to our home, and in return, I am sure you don't mind me repeating the simple rule. No Quirk usage, for the good of all of us. I trust you don't mind?"

Chronostasis couldn't help but smirk underneath the mask he wore, as Re-Destro twitched at the deliberate usage of the word. "... A gentleman's agreement, of course. Meta Abilities are off the table, I assure you."

"We wouldn't dare attack a potentially lucrative ally, when there's business to be made." Skeptic's wide grin underneath his fringe left the rest of the sentence unsaid, but Chronostasis picked it up; if there was no business made, then they really were fair game. "You can still supply on the levels we require, can't you?"

"We can supply. Although we've never had one buyer after as much Trigger as you." Overhaul leaned back in his chair slightly, although it wasn't hard to tell that he hadn't let his guard down. "If I asked what you needed it for, would you tell me?"

"You wouldn't ask. You're wise enough to know to keep your cards close to your chest, when you're playing the game." Re-Destro's face wore a dark smirk. "All I will say is that the entire point of an Army is to go to war. At some point, we will face a battle, and when we do… your supplies will come in handy."

"We know you supplied the Trigger used in that attack on Tatooin Station," Skeptic added, leaning forward. "That giant Villain? I assume he was one of yours, and not just a random bystander who happened to benefit?"

"... We needed a distraction to move supplies out of Musutafu." Chronostasis blinked behind his mask at hearing Overhaul admit this so freely. The Boss clearly wanted to establish some trust with their new benefactors, because it was almost careless how he admitted it. "He provided us with something to focus everyone's attention, and a means to test our most refined batch. The results were rather encouraging."

"Very few people make it as high-grade as you do." Re-Destro nodded to Overhaul. "Then again, even while the Yakuza are generally enjoying a rise in power following Incident Zero, very few leaders have managed to carve out such a strong niche for their group as you have. I can't help but admire what you do, and that's rather why we came to you."

"Funny." Overhaul didn't laugh. "It seemed to me like you came because you saw we'd been targeted, and had nowhere else to turn."

The funny way in which Skeptic's hair moved suggested to Chronostasis that he had raised his eyebrows in surprise. "My, my. That sounded almost a little lacking in gratitude. Almost as if you don't like the idea of entering into business with us."
"I don't." Overhaul glared at both of them. "You're taking advantage of the recent situation to your own benefit-"

"Wouldn't you do the exact same?" Re-Destro interrupted, the smile on his face taking on a certain glassy quality. "Let's not pretend either way, Overhaul. It's just how this works. You'll understand, I'm sure."

"..." For the longest second, Chronostasis and practically everybody else in the room held their breath, as the two leaders stared at each other, before Overhaul was the first to break, clenching a fist. "We accept your proposal. You're going to claim this is investment by your companies into our shell companies, I suppose."

"Between that, and us leasing properties to your holdings so that you can expand your production lines?" Skeptic asked, as his boss continued to stare at Overhaul. "It's a simple and effective way to make the most of the situation."

"We'll need replacement Hero protection." Chronostasis had to raise the one, obvious point. "You'll have seen we are now short a Hero, after we lost MIster Brave-"

"It's quite impressive that you even had one in your pocket. Most groups like yours can't manage that." Re-Destro sounded smug, and patronising, before he nodded. "I can source you a Hero or two. In the first instance, how about Slidin' Go? He seems a more competent breed of Hero than the ones you managed before…"

"A Commission Pro…" Mimic sounded a little surprised. "Can you afford to spare someone like that? Seems like he'd be a good asset to your little Army."

Skeptic smirked, clearly enjoying himself. "We can spare him. We have other options available to us, don't worry."

They were flaunting their power. Chronostasis could see this a mile off. The bogeymen of the underworld had been talked about for ages among the other Yakuza groups, a literal Army forming under all of their noses, but these two dangerous businessmen were a cut above any of the other Bosses who Overhaul had overcome on the way to establishing the Shie Hassaikai as a force to be reckoned with. With companies like Detnerat and Feel Good Inc to bankroll them, and Hero Commission Pro Heroes in their pocket… the Meta Liberation Army were a different breed. A worrying enemy. They needed to be careful. "We're… grateful for the offer. It would be appreciated."

"This is a good system you have here," Re-Destro replied, waving a hand off as if it was nothing. "I would be more concerned about your professionalism if you hadn't enlisted someone to help protect your operation. It reassures me about going into business together."

"I assume we don't need a contract," Skeptic mused, "or a handshake for a gentleman's agreement? We all understand the position quite clearly, and what needs to be done. Your Trigger, to our supplies, in return for our money and protection."

It sounded like slavery by another name to Chronostasis. The Shie Hassaikai's debt, the Meta Liberation Army's control; Re-Destro and his cronies were sharks who had smelled blood, and now the Shie Hassaikai had to swim in their wake to survive. But if the Boss was willing to go along with it, to protect what he had achieved with Eri and give him a chance of making even more of it… then it was for the best. "That seems clear to me."

"Crystal," Re-Destro confirmed, running a hand over his balding head. "Overhaul. Provided you agree, then this is the start of a very profitable relationship for both of us."

"We have an agreement," Overhaul confirmed, not bothering to get up from his chair. "Skeptic or one of your other leaders should speak to Mimic. We can have the first shipment ready for you in forty-eight hours, to a site of your choosing."

"Pleasure doing business with you. I'll let you know the address." Skeptic looked across to his Commander, waiting for the decision from him; it struck Chronostasis that he was probably looking at the Meta Liberation Army's version of himself. "Commander? Are we… leaving?"

"... We are." Re-Destro rose from his seat, but when behind the chair he paused, one large fist gripping the top of it. "I heard many things about you, Kai Chisaki. Before I came here."

Overhaul, surprisingly, didn't twitch at the use of his real name. "What sort of things?"

"They talk about you, in the alleyways and the corners. A ghost of Yakuza past. There are rumours of your dreams which somehow seem to have spread beyond your group." Re-Destro looked directly at the Boss. "They say you want to rid the world of Meta Abilities. Return everything back to the way it was before the age of Heroes."

"Perhaps." Overhaul's fierce yellow eyes met Re-Destro's black gaze. "We don't agree on a few things, Re-Destro. Your vision of a world of free Meta Ability usage… it's just a way to drive you and your friends to the top."

Re-Destro's face darkened, and Chronostasis could have sworn that he saw the large man's skin begin to turn mottled and black in places. "Some might say that your own vision has much the same purpose. Removing Quirks and Heroes just enables the Yakuza to come crawling out of their holes again to no longer be challenged."

"So we're both hypocrites, in our own way." Overhaul shrugged. "You're fanatical. It blinds you to the reality of what will come of your attempted revolution. Even with all your resources… a goal without a plan is just a delusion. You will be doomed to fail in the end."

"You really doubt that we have a plan? You would do well to remember just who you're talking to." Re-Destro's smile had gone even more glass-like than before, and there was a nasty black stain spreading across the taller man's brow, even as his tone remained level and calm. "We have lofty goals, but the means and power to be able to execute them. You… you're a street rat, Yakuza, and nothing more. You have no means to achieve your pipe dream, no matter how much you might wish it to be true."

Chronostasis saw the way the fabric of the Boss's mask creased a little, and how there was just a glimmer of some amusement in his eyes, and he realised what Overhaul had achieved. Re-Destro had just confirmed that he knew nothing. For all of their power and influence, all the people in high places that seemed to be within their ranks, and all of the knowledge they had gained about the Shie Hassaikai… they were oblivious to Eri. They underestimated the Yakuza, and the Boss would make them pay for it. "... You can fight your war, Re-Destro. I'll fight mine."

"There are plenty of casualties in war." The mottling faded slightly, and Re-Destro's arms seemed to deflate a little; it was a strange contradiction compared to how normal he sounded as he talked. Almost cheerful. "Keep your heads down and remember your place. I'm sure you won't be one of them, if you can achieve that."

"Mutually assured destruction isn't something I was hoping for."

"Dear boy." Re-Destro's shoulders shook, as if laughing. "Whoever said it would be mutual?"

Overhaul nodded, not rising to the bait or rising from his chair. "Forty eight hours. Mimic will contact Skeptic, and you'll have your first shipment within forty eight hours."

"... Good." Wordlessly, Re-Destro glanced at Skeptic, and as his lieutenant rose to join him cast one look back at the assorted Yakuza. It alarmed Chronostasis just how easily his face shifted into a dazzling and well-rehearsed smile, the sort he had seen on headlines and television ten times over, the sort that was so well-practiced and insincere, not meeting his eyes. Those black eyes told a different story; Chronostasis had learned to read people's eyes for emotion ever since Kai Chisaki had insisted that he wore a mask, but to his interest he couldn't quite tell if it was contempt or uncertainty that flickered in those eyes. "It was a pleasure, gentlemen. I am sure this will be a profitable venture for all involved."

"We'll be seeing you." Skeptic made an 'L' gesture not long after his Commander did the same, and his face cracked into a grin despite the tension in the room. "Maybe we can both celebrate the downfall of Hero society, in the end."

"Maybe." Overhaul shrugged, and his face behind the mask was a sea of calm. "Nemoto will show you out, and off of our site. Keep safe."

The silence as the two businessmen left was heavy, expectant, waiting for someone to break the ice and say what was on everyone's minds. To Chronostasis' complete lack of surprise, it was the excitable Irinaka who broke first. "Boss, did they-"

"Not yet." Overhaul held up one gloved hand to silence the general manager, and pointed towards the door. "Have they left?"

Mimic's response was to slide quickly over towards the door and open it the slightest crack, peering out into the corridor beyond that headed towards the compound exit. "... No sign of them. If they're still on site, they're a long way away."

"Good." Overhaul made a little noise, and it took Chronostasis a second to realise it was a breathless laugh. "Both of you caught that, I hope?"

"I certainly did." Chronostasis couldn't help but feel smug, as much as his Boss couldn't see that. "They may know about your goals, but they don't know about the plan. They think we can't achieve it, which means-"

"That the secret is safe," Overhaul interrupted, the most cheerful Chronostasis had heard him outside of the white-walled room at the heart of the compound. "Even with everything the Meta Liberation Army knows, they don't know about Eri. This is perfect."

"We'll start going over the cashflow when they start paying us," Mimic said, excitedly, with a nod towards Chronostasis. "With Trigger in the quantities they want, it won't be hard to redirect some of our resources towards mass-production. We may only have a few bullets now… but we'll have hundreds in no time."

"Wonderful." Overhaul's voice was dripping with glee. "Those filthy creatures. They're a pestilence, just as much as the awful Hero syndrome in our society, a disease to be eradicated. And they're sowing the seeds of their own demise, with no idea of what will come."

"We have work to do, Boss." Chronostasis clenched a fist, and nodded at his Boss to let him know he was right behind him. "Ready when you are."

"Good. Summon Rappa. Tengai. Sasaki. Katsukame. Hojo. Tabe. Get them all here, so they know what happened here today, and so they're ready for war when it comes. We have a lot of work to do." Overhaul's terrible yellow eyes flared with determination and bloodlust, inspiring and terrifying in equal measure. "And make arrangements to wake Eri, when we're done."

"There's no time like the present. And I'm in the mood to celebrate."

(***)

A/N: Villains. God, I love villains. Specifically My Hero Academia villains. I can't tell you how much I love writing the Meta Liberation Army stuff here, because everybody knows they are terrifyingly good at what they do and deserved more screentime (pagetime?) in canon. A world with no League and no All For One creates a power vacuum, and I just love writing them and the Yakuza to fill the void.

And hey, we actually get a little Aizawa screentime! It has been a little while since we checked in with our favourite hobo Hero, and honestly I was waiting for the right time as shit slowly begins hitting the fan to touch base with him. Hopefully he comes across okay here; I wanted to play up a more cautious side to him that reflects his Underground Hero mission, while still keeping him as the same old dry Aizawa, tired of Nezu's shit. Let me know what you think!

Anyway, it's another non-Izuku next chapter, and that one is a doozy. Two plot threads that have already been teased together, reuniting once more, and causing some chaos. I genuinely can't wait. And by that point, it'll be a special anniversary for the story too, although more on that later…

For now, let me say this. There are over 750 reviews on this fic and you've all turned up to surprise me in the sum of over 1500 followers and nearly 1400 favourites. The fic has over 200,000 views in total. I cannot say it enough- thank you, and holy shit. This is a joy and love of mine to write still, because of how much fun it is to talk to you lot about it and discuss on Discord/in PMs, so thank you so much.

If you enjoyed this, feel free to chuck me a review. If you haven't already, please go ahead and follow and favourite, and please feel free to check out my other works. Preferably the My Hero Academia stuff- nobody wants to read my Pokemon content from 2016, do they? - so yeah, feel free to show Decay and everything else some love. More updates soon.

Ya boy, out.