Chapter 35 : Meetings and miscomprehension
It was a sunny Monday, with the birds singing and most students chatting happily. Most, not all, as Aizawa's first announcement of the day. Iida was demoted to General Course and suspended for two weeks, because he resorted to vigilantism, attempted murder, and endangering civilians during his internship.
The only ones not surprised by the announcement were Katsuki, Izuku and Tooru, as they were in the room when he warned Iida of the possibility. Oh, and Shinsho, as Iida was coming to his house for the therapy. Well, to be fair, most students involved in Hoshu were coming for therapy.
It still hit them in the gut, as the class rep rose from his chair and bowed in front of them. Everyone realized he was holding back his own tears as the circumstances were, well… bad. His own hubris.
"That's bullshit ! Iida is too respectful of the rules to do things like that!" Kirishima was loud when he wanted and right now he wanted to make his opinion loud and clear. Katsuki clinched his teeth as part of him would have agreed if he hadn't been there.
"I agree, Iida is too dependable to do things like that!" Momo would not let her friend and co-class rep go like that…
Before anyone else could add anything, and before Aizawa could maintain order in the classroom, as most of it erupted, Iida shouted:
"STOP IT! It happened and my punishment IS LENIENT! I am actually lucky to get off that easily."
Everyone looked at him, and Aizawa gave him a nod, to let him speak his mind, just this once. It could prove cathartic for him and he wasn't one to let a student miss that opportunity.
"I was idiotic enough to pursue vengeance against a villain who was suspected to have paralyzed my brother. During that time, the whole Hoshu Incident happened. The only reason I wasn't heavily injured was because Izuku rescued me. However, because of what I did, people died. As a speedster, I am the one who is supposed to relay communications between two teams during such an event. Since I wasn't there, others districts who were under attack didn't get the reinforcement they could have asked for."
Aizawa nodded, as indeed, the Hoshu Incident had been high in casualty. Yes, the Levellers were there and helped a lot. However, they only protected one block and many other parts of the city were under attack.
If they had both Endeavor and Miruko, instead of just the last one, the number of casualties would have drastically gone down. Beside, the new form Moonfish revealed was like the one Muscular arbored too. As a result, the UA staff and the HPSC were now certain All For One was building an army of villains; he was now upgrading physically and with new quirks. Something properly terrifying, as Muscular was not finished, according to Endeavor's words and Moonfish was trying to take Izuku alive. Which was another clusterfuck to be solved.
"I failed my duty as both a hero and an intern. I will take this failure at heart to make sure it never happens again."
Kirishima wanted to counter what Iida said but then he remembered Crimson Riot's interview and decided to not. He could actually understand what Iida was trying to say and shut up.
"However, I thank all of you for your friendship, and I hope to meet you all during breaks! Besides, according to Sensei, I can get back here if during the next festival, I perform well enough."
Izuku nodded before he raised his thumb to him.
"Besides, you are still part of the quirk training club! We will make sure you are up to notch!"
Iida felt some tears creeping on his eyes, as he bowed in front of his friends once again.
"Thank you for this semester!"
Aizawa patted his back and gave him a sign. It was time to go.
The whole class was quite stunned by what happened, but Aizawa wasn't one to let them catch a break.
"As a result, with Iida being demoted, the staff decided to let a student with enough potential to join our class. I hope you will welcome him as one of your own. Yoshihiro Maki, if you will…"
Then, a student who looked quite normal at first entered the room… Until they noticed he was a bit hunched back, trying to appear smaller.
"Maki's quirk makes it very hard for him to train under normal circumstances. However, I hope with Izuku's help, he will progress."
Both teens wondered what their teacher meant by that, as they both looked quizzical.
"Maki's quirk is a strength enhancing one according to how just he is against someone else. So…"
"So against a robot or another student, the boost is very weak, but against a villain, it is high?"
Maki nodded, as it was the reason he failed to shine in both the exam and the Sports Festival.
"We can also let him stay with Monoma for one hour." Katsuki joked weakly, still under Iida's shock.
Maki nodded silently, and Aizawa pursued.
"Maki, you will use your next break to present yourself to everyone. Everyone, be nice to him."
The silent tall guy sat down between Ochako and Tsuyu, at Iida's former place. While the brunette gave him a weak smile, the frog one gave him a puzzled look which made him look at his book instantly. This year was going to be a weird one, wasn't it?
"So. For this morning's lesson: WHY VIGILANTISM IS BAD."
Izuku sighed, as Aizawa talked about several famous vigilantes and how their actions were sometimes well-intentioned but counterproductive or how many crossed the line, because they had a cool motive but it was still murder.
———————
"Are you… Endeavor's son?"
Maki could have tried many introductions to talk with Shouto or Izuku's group. He took the most difficult step, by being earnest. As a result, he saw many frowns and sighs in the group, but he didn't care.
"Yes, he is my father. Why?"
"He saved my brother and me from our mother."
Burning told Shouto, during the last days of his internship, about how Endeavor was known in the field for being the prime rescuer of villains' children. Being told that and having one in front of him was two different things.
"Oh. Well… It is a difficult subject for now, but I can give him your thanks."
Shouto knew he didn't have to forgive his father. In fact, the man himself told him that, which paradoxically, made it harder to hate him fiercely. Did he like his father? No. Did he think of him as a devil? Neither.
Maki wasn't dumb thought and nodded. Everyone looked at him, for a second, before Kirishima slapped him in the back.
"Hey, your quirk seems manly! I can't wait for you to train with us!"
"… Really?"
"Yeah, just ask Izuku for some summons if you want to battle, he will be happy to provide!"
The young student nodded, a bit overwhelmed by Kirishima friendliness, before Kaminari added his own to their slapstick.
"If anyone annoys you, tell us. But you shouldn't have any problem. I mean, we even accepted Yuga, and he is… You know," Kaminari whispered not so quietly the last word. "French."
The french student hit Kaminari in the back of the head with his quirk.
"Je t'emmerde, petit con."
Everyone knew Yuga, despite his noble demeanor, liked to swear in French. As a result, they all picked up a few things, especially Katsuki. However, the smile on their face convinced Maki it was mostly a joke between friends.
Maybe he would make some, here?
"So… Being the child of a criminal isn't a problem?"
Katsuki showed his clear lack of interest by sighing.
"Don't make me make a list about how we don't care. I mean we have resident chunni there," He pointed to Shinsho, who flipped him the bird.
"Fuck you, Katsuki" Shinsho answered, as now, everyone knew how his family looked like and he lost his opportunity to have a sobbing backstory. Katsuki, knowing the purple-haired man's quirk, didn't answer with anything other than flipping him the bird back.
"We have Izuku who had a shit-stain father," He pointed at Izuku who silently nodded.
"The fact Katsuki knows the statute of limitation for Izuku's dad's death is a pure coincidence!" That one was said by everyone in the classroom at the same time, as it was a running joke among them. Katsuki followed through by laughing a bit.
"So… Yes, we don't care about that. However, if the blonde ass from 1-B gives you any shit about it, you tell us about it."
Tsuyu replied by ribbiting affirmatively about it, close to them… Maki was wondering if she was deliberately testing him, suspecting his parentage or…
"Ribbit, I would protect a cute face like yours anytime."
The classroom went silent, as Tsuyu hopped back with the girls, not giving a fuck about dropping bombs like that.
Maki, internally, was screaming. He thanked gods for his poker face, until he saw Katsuki's face who had smelled some teasing opportunity.
"Oh? So you are apparently part French, as you seem to like frogs."
"Pour être honnête, frog meat is overrated and not that good." Yuga added that tidbit, mainly for fun and because he had a surprisingly good sense for romance. Katsuki, Mina and him had their own private chat room to discuss the most probable ship in the classroom and gossip a lot.
The joke was a bit forced, but Katsuki felt it was for the best if he didn't want the class to stay on something depressing. Instead, they should focus on something productive, and that was highly fun. Besides, no one could tell if Tsuyu was kidding or not.
She was only laughing in a ribbit, mysteriously.
———————
"So… You are the candidates ?"
When the HPSC Squad were sent to infiltrate the League of Villain, they didn't expect it to be easy. Giran was supposed to be a very picky and difficult person who heavily verified the background of people he recommended as professional (by opposition, he didn't do many checks on those he sent to Tomura for the USJ). However, the squad also had to deal with the fact they would not be alone in this group: some kind of lizard man was with them, but honestly, they thought there was some kind of mistake, seeing he had pizzas with him.
Even then, they expected a bad guy lair, with tubes filled with green slime and evil cackling… Or something in ruin, with an edgy throne room and face of all the "fake heroes" The Boss wanted to kill.
They didn't expect a bar that was honestly quite homely, with a cloud barman that had drinks already poured for them and a cartoon rabbit who was dressed as a street punk. Was she smoking? Oh wait, no. It was a carrot.
Toga, as the most communicative of the group, smiled at her and went full genki girl.
"Yes! We are all Stainy's biggest fans! We want so much to honor his memory!"
According to K, Stain had been killed during Moonfish escape, by blood poisoning. Honestly, it was enough of a reason for them to almost destroy the League of Villain if they were responsible. However, they had serious doubts about them being the culprit, seeing the rabbit suddenly down… Trying to laugh a bit.
"Yes, Stain was a nice guy. However, a piece of advice. He disliked any nickname. He considered Stain as his true identity, and any other names was wrong," The people in front of Loony nodded and she followed. "The Boss is coming soon. He is currently talking with our patron, but should be there any minute now."
This discussion mostly involved screaming and Tomura asking why the hell they attacked Hoshu. All for One explained it was a test run to make the world remember heroes were failures. Besides, he didn't know Stain would attack that day and there. It was purely a coincidence!
Tomura wasn't dumb and honestly, he was suspecting Sensei had a lot of plans. However, if he wanted to hurt Tomura, there were other ways, so he was probably telling the truth.
Still. Tomura was taught from his childhood by Sensei and Kurogiri to not let anyone step on him. Why should he start now?
The young man, still unsure if he was a vigilante, a freedom fighter, a revolutionary or a villain, entered the room, in an angry mood after Sensei's talk with him. He quickly scanned the people in front of him, and sighed.
"So, we have someone who failed the audition for "Burning Man: The remake", a Schoolgirl and someone who has understood the concept of secret identity. Nice job."
"Thank you, Boss man!/Fuck you, fresh face!" Twice was being Twice, and it managed to throw Tomura off-guard for a second, before Dabi suddenly moved. Probably to assert alpha dominance.
Loony wasn't here only to serve as decoration, and quickly with her cartoon powers, made Dabi fall on the ground… Before slamming her hammer hard on him, making a sound that showed it had hurt.
This attempted aggression sobered up Tomura, and Kurogiri was now on high alert.
"What was that for?"
"… I can't work for someone weaker than me!" Dabi was supposed to be the 'leader' in their little group, as the most powerful and supposedly the one with the least mental issues.
Loony pressed her feet harder on him, and Dabi noticed the hammer in a position ready to smash his head. Maybe, just maybe, he should tone down the aggressiveness.
"We accepted to meet you because you were recommended by Giran and apparently close to Stain's ideology. Except for you, Lizard man. I have no idea why the fuck you are here." The Pizzaman presence was highly weird.
"My name is Iguchi, and I was supposed to deliver 5 pizzas, paid on delivery to a certain "A. Nonymous". … Oh." His dejected look explained a lot about his current fate.
Everyone had a compassionate look for the lizard man, who suddenly had 5 pizzas, and in this kind of job, it was probably to be taken from his salary. Tomura pulled a few banknotes and gave it to him, before he noticed Iguchi's frame, and hand.
"Do you practice some sport?"
"Hmm? Oh, some kind of Pencak Silat. Wait, aren't you going to kill me?! I mean, you're supposed to be some rising bad guys, no?"
Tomura smiled kindly, before looking at the room.
"We are more than villains. Stain worked with us as equal, to make a better world. One where one's quirk don't fuck them at birth. Excuse me, Iguchi, but I doubt you do this job because you like it?"
The young man seemed a bit surprised by being suddenly in the spotlight, as everyone in the room gazed at him.
"I have a master degree in financial law but apparently I don't present well enough. You know how it is for muties, either you are one of the pretty or extremely strong and you can be a hero, or you must hope someone finally takes notice that under this enhanced strength, there is also a brain."
Lizard-man was met by stares full of compassion, especially Loony, who made a sign to Kurogiri to pour them a drink. With a smile, the cartoon rabbit hit his glass with her.
"Loony knows that. Don't worry… If you are competent, Boss doesn't care about your look. Competent and passionate, that's all he asks."
Dabi, who was slowly rising up, had some hope in his eyes…
"What about fake heroes?"
Tomura and Loony shared a look together, before laughing. "My bonding activity with Stain had been to kill an underground hero who used his loner status and the fact he could cover instead of police some zone to commit… Unsavory crimes," Tomura explained before adding, his hand ready to take Dabi's. "We take requests."
Toga gulped, and pointed at her teeth, looking like a fox's or a cat's. "I need blood to survive, is it going to be a problem?"
Tomura made a sign to Kurogiri, who gave him a block of concrete. Only then, Boss touched it without his gloves, and dusted it in a few seconds in front of them.
"We don't judge quirk. We accept you as who you are. Who hurt you?"
Wen Kurogiri asked Tomura whose smile he copied, to appear so compassionate and nice, he answered "Izuku and Nejire". Why? Because they were his models in the way of kindness, having understanding its power, especially against people craving it. This Toga and her cheerful appearance? She was clearly suffering and putting a mask on it.
It was super effective.
"My… My parents." Toga managed to say, shocked they actually asked that early.
"We will pay them a beating. Kurogiri? Some of Stain's blood reserve, please." Tomura had a certain issue with bad parents.
Then they arrived to Twice who coughed.
"… We are fine!/Yes, we don't need help."
Tomura nodded, before sitting on the bar.
"Iguchi, you have a choice. Either you join us now, or I ask a friend to wipe out your memories."
"… Am I paid and do we have dentals?"
"Yes, and yes."
"Once I have a blade, it will be yours." Turns out having a boss that pay and respect you is quite important. If the job was a paying one, even better.
Kurogiri smiled internally, as his charge got new friends, and all of them began to exchange information on their quirk and how to visit Toga's family.
——————
That evening, Re-Destro got a message from Skeptic. Their spy managed to infiltrate the LoV. According to his initial report, there was high probability they would be at the very least sympathetic to the MLA's ideology. Perfect.
———————
"Loony?"
"Yes, Tomura?"
"… They are all two-timing us, right?"
"What makes you say that? Toga who can spar with me without trouble, Dabi being clearly a Todoroki or most likely an Ashen King's spawn, Twice having a suit too well-made or maybe Iguchi falling in such a dumb trick as a pizza delivery guy?" Loony was often caustic when she could afford too.
"The sarcasm is strong in you tonight. But yes. Some people are trying to manipulate us."
Tomura was playing with some cards, as Loony was used to, now. She knew it was a mental exercise that helped him to think, strategize. She respected that and Stain, too.
"It's too early for now, but I think some of them are more sincere in their approach than others. If I can just max out their affection stats, they should definitely switch to our side."
Tomura wasn't stupid and now knew something was also fishy with Giran. He would have had some suspicions on Loony's loyalty because of that, but both of them trusted each other since they saved Loony's family.
"Together?"
"Bitch please. Together."
Both bumped their fist, smiling as friends. Enough time had passed for the two to consider each other friends, and Stain's death only solidified that.
It was them, against the world, and even Sensei if… Tomura shuddered as the thought coursed in his mind.
Even Sensei, if Tomura was just another pawn for him.
—————
"Sako, are you sure this is a good idea?! I mean… Will I be good enough?" Strangely, Hana, despite being beautifully dressed, and her make-up perfectly applied, was quite unsure for the evening.
"For the last time, Hana, the worst thing you risk is death by hugging… And maybe the waterfalls as both of them will probably cry a lot." Compress was the one who got her, as Inko correctly guessed she would try to get out, or disappear.
"And what if Izuku doesn't like me?!" Atsuhiro was this close to slap her behind her head.
"Izuku's best friend is a boy I suspect to be Vegeta reincarnated and his girlfriend is literally the invisible girl. He doesn't care about either your appearance or your personality. To him, you are family and that's all."
Both of them were standing in front of the door's front when suddenly, Hana got hugged from behind. The culprit, an Izuku who came out of nowhere. Since Atsuhiro didn't notice him, the vigilante guessed Izuku used his quirk to do that. Good job, kid. Very good job.
It was certainly not him once again failing a spot check like when Endeavor got the drop on him.
"Are you Hana ?! I HAVE A COUSIN!"
Since Izuku learned, he still had a living relative from his mother's side, he had been restless. As far as he knew, he had no family outside of his mom. He didn't count his dad on purpose and his grandfather was dead so…
Anyway, Hana got a hug and was turning fast into a mess, not knowing how she should react, what role she should play. Then she saw Atsuhiro smiling at her. Maybe, just maybe, she could just… Relax ?
"Hello, young man!"
She appreciated returning the hug, before fluffing Izuku's hair, just like she did with Tenko, before everything turned into ashes.
"Atsuhiro? I heard your voice and Izuku's, so is my niece here?"
Inko appeared in the door's frame, and the woman, who managed after all this time to lose the weight she had gained, saw Hana. She could see her brother's face on her, and Nana's smile, too.
Atsuhiro wondered if there was an otter mutant in the Shimura family, as they quickly went into a group hug, and Hana was in the center of it. Something she should be used to, as La Brava and Gentle did the same when they got a calm moment after her comeback.
"I will check on the dish" Atsuhiro said, before going around the hugging mass. The dishes needed to be cooked properly after all.
Not that he didn't want to join the hug, but he felt they deserved to be with each other without an "intruder".
—————
A few minutes later, they were all around the table, enjoying a "Filet Mignon mariné dans sa sauce forestière", as Inko wanted to make a very good first impression and took a french recipe for her new niece. Either you went the full way, or you didn't. There was no try.
"So… How did you meet, Atsuhiro and you, aunty?" Hana asked, still a bit shy and unsure. Thankfully, the delicious food and some wine (Izuku had grape juice) helped to ease her up.
"We were childhood friends, actually. We became friends in kindergarten and we continued our friendship until university where… Life took us on different paths."
Hana nodded her head, before Izuku asked her his favorite questions.
"So… What's your quirk ? How did you learn about it ?"
Izuku knew he might have walked on a landmine when he saw Atsuhiro trying to do a sign behind Hana's back to tell him to stop, but too late.
"Oh, that… I don't like using my quirk, since it involves… Well… Me dying?"
Inko put down her knife, before her smile became twisted and scary as hell.
"… Someone hurt my niece? Because it implies you used it more than once."
Hana sighed before explaining in a bad mood, which was quite understandable.
"Thanks to the crew, I don't have to die now, but when I was working with Stain, he often used me as a meat shield."
Inko cut her meat in one swift movement, as some blood dripped from her mouth and she turned to her soon-to-be husband.
"Wasn't Stain that Chizome fellow, dear?"
"Before you ask, he is dead." Atsuhiro would not let his future wife try to kill someone who was already dead. It was a crime after all. (Yes, you can check it, killing a corpse is actually a crime).
"Too bad. I wanted to have a small chat with him about an old threat…" Inko laughed sinisterly for a second, which chilled everyone except Izuku who smiled.
"Wow! So you have a resurrective Quirk? Aren't they like highly rare? More than warpers?!"
"Oh they are. That's why I keep it a secret, since I work as a…" Hana stopped talking, as Atsuhiro nodded his head.
"Apparently Inko knew for years, and Izuku actually used that information to blackmail training out of me."
"Oh thanks god. I am a vigilante specialized in infiltration, information gathering and designated driver."
"No combat?"
"According to Stain, I quote "Unless you have a submachine gun, you will be beaten by teenagers 8/10 times." Clearly, Hana was still salty about it, as she had hoped at that time Chizome would train her enough. It wasn't until Knuckleduster gave her some tips that she managed to fight properly against goons. She was clearly not on Gentle or Compress level, but honestly, it was fine. They were the muscle of their group. Fighting wasn't her purpose.
"And why did you choose that specific line of work? I mean, it is dangerous, even with your quirk."
Hana went somber for a second, before answering truthfully, as her family deserved to know.
"I have a little brother… Tenko. When his quirk first activated, because father was an ass, it went overdrive. It… It killed everyone. Including me. Thankfully, my quirk activated but…" Hana took another glass of wine to get some courage back. "When I woke up, the investigation was closed despite only one week being passed. It was clearly weird and apparently, Tenko was listed among the casualties. So… Yes, quite the issue."
Inko nodded her head, as she quickly understood what was wrong with that too. So… She had a missing nephew too? Damn. She needed to find him and smother him to death.
"Yes… Stain was actually helping on that front and he confirmed he was alive." Atsuhiro might have cut his friendship with him short, but he respected Stain's investigation skill. He just didn't agree with the methods.
Inko was now divided between killing or thanking Stain… Before remembering the man was dead…
"So… Once we find Tenko, we will have the whole family? Nice! Because we will find him! Even if I have to become strong enough to summon Batman to find him!"
—————
The rest of the evening was nice, and when Izuku went to sleep, the adults stayed up. After all, they still had a lot of things to discuss, such as "where would Hana live" (She preferred to stay at Gentle's house for now) and other things like that. Compress also wondered what would have been his reaction if Hana had trusted him before with her family name. The young woman had been properly paranoid, but it was one case where it hindered more than it helped.
Still, they would have to rest, as they were Monday and… This weekend? This weekend was wedding time!
—————
"Such an interesting subject, Chisaki… Don't worry, I will do as you asked. It shall be ready soon enough, but aren't you a bit paranoid?" Emilia was preparing her "working tools" as she spoke over a screen to a certain Yakuza who kept sending them more and more wonderful data.
"Emilia, I believe we can't be paranoid enough, especially in our line of work. Besides, you are the only one I trust completely with this project." Which was logic. Emilia herself had some projects that were her own and hid it from Garaki. The man was perfectly aware of that and respected the safe space of his student.
The blond woman was looking at the subject Chisaki sent her and smiled. She could see in the eyes of the being he was asking for mercy. Sadly for him, she had none. In fact, she had a sadistic glee on her face.
"Fine, but you owe me a date!" She said joyfully, having finally an excuse to ask that.
"Wait what?!"
And the line cut, as Chisaki blushed under his mask, as she began to work on his favor. It was so fun to play with him.
Garaki, in his lab, was very happy to have his students finally doing things like that together. You could be an evil mad scientist and have an adopted family, after all. Besides, some agents of his brought back some of the most interesting. Two Embers were found recently.
Soon enough, the fire of revolution would burn bright again in Japan.
—--
Special chapter : Hisashi's death.
—--
Endeavor stopped sipping his coffee. His sidekicks had finally finished the report he had asked for. As he looked at the first page, he knew he had to keep this far from Shouto's hands. He didn't need to know all of the people he knew and had a part in one Izuku's father's death. Honestly, even if Endeavor knew about Luck Stealer's power, this one case was terrifying.
What did Hisashi do to deserve such a cruel fate?
Enji put down the report, but if someone could read them, they would see several stories already told, but also a few more…
Tsuyu Asui: At the hospital, someone remembered Hisashi making derogatory comments about toads blocking his way. Sadly for him, it ended with a young Tsuyu jumping on his belly, causing some internal damage. The young kid explained she heard him asking for a toad to come to him.
Mashirao Ojiro : The young man was so excited about his tail that he ended up swinging it wildly, and slapped the man against a wall.
Aoyama Yuga: Excited to have his quirk come in, the young man shot a laser from his belly that hit Hisashi during his initial fall at the airport. The impact may have helped break his fall, but then he hit a wall.
An unnamed teen who looked like Touya was seen burning a pillar, the same one which was later decayed by an unknown child.
A villain who looked like a Noumu was seen hitting the ambulance, screaming something incoherently. The being, most likely an early prototype, dissolved soon afterward.
A Yakuza with a Shie Hassakai tattoo partially healed Hisashi, before hitting him several times in the face, in response to his initial fall splashing water on him. Apparently, the Yakuza have germophobia, causing him to react violently.
Jin Bubaigawara: Small-time villain, who could reproduce things. His clone hit Hisashi and then disappeared because of the impact. Enji noted the man was then arrested, but seemed to have disappeared afterward. Extremely weird.
Hagakure Tooru: Hisashi was reported to have tried to flee the hospital, only to bump into an invisible girl who alerted the security. Apparently, the man bumped into her and fell down the stairs. Again.
Fumikage Tokoyami: The young man quirk, scared of being in the dark, hit the wall with enough force that it broke Hisashi's leg, preventing further escape.
Power Loader : Heard someone trash talking his technology and apparently slapped them with his suit. Might have impaired Hisashi's equilibrium, leading to his fall.
Miruko : Was fighting a villain as an intern. The fight ended up when she threw Death Arm at the villains, causing both of them to hit the ambulance bringing Hisashi to the hospital.
Uraraka Ochako : Apparently, the young girl demonstrated her quirk to her parents, by lifting a piano. Hisashi, in a wheelchair, tried to escape before the piano dropped on his legs.
An unidentified teen with blond hair and apparently a blood quirk bite him soon afterward before being violently slapped by her parents. Note to self: Identifying the kid. Blood Quirk users often have trouble and this kid might be in it if she wasn't properly cared for.
Snipe: The man casually shot a bullet in the air while doing a show for some kids. The bullet, according to the ballistics report, did a Kennedy trajectory, somehow entering and exiting Hisashi three times.
Suneater: Ate a bombardier beetle and had to be brought to the hospital. Some fluids he discharged burned Hisashi's body grievously.
Nezu and the Architect: Dad made a building collapse in the path of the ambulance to the hospital. He was apparently playing some kind of noughts and crosses game with the Architect. The Villain confirmed the story and has indicated that apparently his own move blocked the ambulance several times. He offered payment for the Midoriyas, as he didn't know it happened.
Lemillion: Was apparently practicing his quirk in the middle of the road, causing the ambulance to violently crash. Another one was called soon afterward. Interestingly, no one except Hisashi was hurt.
Knuckleduster, apparently there to visit the young Pop-Step who was still in rehab, punched the man in the dick after he made a derogatory comment about the young female vigilante. The Hauler supposedly did the same soon afterward. (*Endeavor scratched the name, correcting "The Crawler". The man was getting married soon after all and he was going to be promoted soon, since Ingenium was still down.*)
Star Stripe: Apparently there to see All Might, the woman tried to help the man and changed a water cup to some honey tea. Apparently, Hisashi was allergic to honey.
Some villains practiced their electric quirk. Has a strong resemblance to the villain known as Nine.
A young European named Rody Soul developed his quirk late. His bird quirk, scared, had apparently violently attacked Hisashi.
The ambulance hit a drunk man as he was jaywalking. Photo footage showed IT WAS FUCKING FLECT TURN. WHO THE FUCK MISSED THAT ONE?!
A robot, with a logo Hatsume Industries (no company by that name was found) was seen doing a Shoryuken to Hisashi, looking more like a mummy than anything at this point.
Native, at that time helping manage phone calls and investigations, seems to have failed to properly relay important information. Strange, considering his near perfect score before and after that incident.
Hawks: was delivering wounded to the hospital, got mobbed by his growing fan base. When he was running away one of his wings brushed against an IV line of Hisashi, who was being rushed into the hospital from the ambulance at the time, and cut the line.
However, Endeavor, as he sipped his coffee, still recovering from the Triceps incident, couldn't help but wonder.
What ultimately killed Hisashi in the end?
—--
Years ago, in Hisashi's hospital room.
"Wolfram? Guard the door, if you please. I don't want to be disturbed." All For One asked politely, but both men knew it was an order. Seikyo Shigaraki entered the room and his son looked at him, suffering for his sins. Despite being more than a hundred years old, All For One still appeared as young as ever.
"Fa… ther…" For Hisashi, each word was a suffering, as he was maimed, burned, poisoned and most importantly, knew he was condemned.
"You lost the right to call me like that when you tried to steal Garaki from under me, young man. You lost the right to live when you then tried to flee without apologizing to me, saying to Inko it was because Izuku was quirkless." Seikyo's tone was cold, but with a sigh he sat next to his son and switched to using a telepathy quirk. "Hisashi… For all your faults, you never were quirkist. Why?"
All For One was hard to surprise, but hearing his son's sad laughter was one of the few times it happened.
"Of course it isn't because Izuku is quirkless. He is my son, old man, and unlike you, I love him for being my sunshine. However… I also know you don't consider collateral damage when you go on a rampage. I needed an excuse to run as far as possible from Japan without it being suspicious." The man was dying, and honestly, it was his final confession. Even if the only one hearing it was his father. The father he hated.
"I see. Quite understandable. Honestly. I might have hurt Inko by mistake," Seikyo readily admitted, before asking the true question. "Why did you betray me, Hisashi? You had everything, power, money, women… Why?"
This time, All For One heard hatred in his son's thoughts. A woman appeared. A woman Seikyo loved once upon a time, years ago. Seijin and Hisashi's mother.
"She loved you. She loved us. And you still made my sister use her quirk so she would HANG HERSELF, YOU HEARTLESS BASTARD!" This might be a valid reason, Seikyo admitted, especially as Hisashi was… five when it happened. "Garaki's noumu project seemed like the best opportunity to kill you. I didn't expect him to…"
"You didn't expect Garaki to be most likely just using me, when he appears to adore me in public? So when you stole his relationship with me, it was, quite frankly, useless?"
Hisashi slowly nodded, a single tear dropping from his left eye. He failed to kill his father.
"Also, not gonna lie, I would have loved the throne for myself."
This one got a chuckle from All For One. Revengeance and Ambition, two things he usually liked. Sadly, both consumed his son, and he burned because of them.
"... Izuku and Inko are going to be so sad about your death."
"No. They won't," Hisashi chuckled mentally. "I released my hold on Inko two days ago, and used my quirk so she would hate me. Same for Izuku. I thought… I thought that way, even if I was away, they would have an easier time rebuilding themselves."
All For One nodded. Hatred was one of the best ways to heal a wound, after all. Hisashi truly was his son. It was too bad that he was too much like his old man.
"Good job, Hisashi. I promise you, I won't hurt them because of your betrayal." All For One could promise that much, at least.
"So what now? Stealing my quirk? Or just being by my side as I fade away slowly?" Hisashi asked with a resigned curiosity.
"No, son. No. I am going to kill you quickly. I will let you in on one final secret: I can't steal from my family."
This confession actually surprised Hisashi. When he looked at his father, he suddenly saw him appear to be as old as he should be.
"I discovered that with your uncle. I can give to my family but not take from them. Not unless they want me to. So you see why I've had trouble all of these years, but I swear I will get your uncle back into the family. As for you… You will die. Truly. I hope for you, and me, Hell doesn't exist. Otherwise, keep me a place down there, will you?"
Both father and son shared a last stare, before Hisashi managed to gather enough strength for one last gesture. He flipped him the bird.
All For One smiled, before he used a quirk to quietly stop his son's heart. He used another quirk to dull his sense of pain. And finally, one last quirk so he would have one last happy thought before he died.
Then, the King of crime closed his son's eyes and rose. He opened the door and looked at Wolfram.
"Destroy the footage of our visit. We have work to do."
"Yes, sir."
Unknown to All For One, Hisashi's death had triggered one of his secret failsafes. To be sure it went unnoticed, it only activated years later, but one day, Nighteye's office received several files detailing every operation Heart Stealer had ever done for All For One. This information was invaluable in pointing out who was in his pocket, or wasn't. It was instrumental in his father's demise against All Might.
After all, it was two of his dad's lessons: Always have a contingency plan and be a troll when you can.
