AN: I don't want to reveal the nature of Naruto's quirk earlier than it should be, so as to not affect the story. However, I will say that it isn't chakra related.

Track(s) for this chapter:

Dancing With Your Ghost by Sasha Alex Sloan

Furioso In F Minor by Nicholas Britell

Chapter 3

Ultima III

The streets were covered with police vehicles, sirens echoed and synchronized with the sound of the footsteps and voices of dozens of police officials. The police had arrived here after receiving an urgent call for help from a young UA student. Luckily the boy hadn't made too much of a ruckus, so civilians were put on alert. The police were able to clear out all the civilians from around the scene and dive straight into work thanks to this.

Speaking of work. This case was one like many had never seen before. A clear case of homicide, however it was a big mystery how such a slaughter had occurred without anyone being the wiser. The streets were busy, but not so busy that the murder of nine individuals would go without notice. Somehow, that was exactly what happened. After investigating a little the police were able to confirm that the doors of the crime scene weren't sound proof, yet not a single scream was heard. It was beyond odd.

Tsukauchi Naomasa rubbed his chin in thought as he watched the paramedics gather the bodies. It wouldn't take long for them to get an ID on those bodies. Though the killer badly mangled them, it wasn't beyond recognition. Clearly they had every intention to butcher and none to mystify the identities of their victims.

Just going off instincts Tsukauchi was sure that the killer or killers were crazy. Nobody right in the head would just slaughter people in a convenient store and leave behind a bold signature like that. The villain clearly wanted attention. The only question was, did they really know what that sort of attention meant?. Only a crazy person would do something like this.

Tsukauchi sighed and turned to the green haired boy sitting in the back of an ambulance getting a quick checkup. The boy argued that he was fine but Tsukauchi insisted. The students from UA were tough, but this was by no means a scene any fifteen year old should have seen. Though it was just a simple physical look over, it was the only way he could show concern. At least for now. When he contacted the school board or one of the boy's teachers then he'd make an effort to convince them to put young Midoriya through some therapy.

He showed a strong front, but no matter how sturdy the castle it still housed something vulnerable within. Something that could be easily broken or corrupted if care wasn't taken. Tsukauchi learnt this the hard way. Nobody was invincible. The strongest and sturdiest of men could be ruined and crushed by a single traumatic experience.

"Tsukauchi!."

The detective perked up at the sound of a familiar voice calling his name. He looked up and as he expected he found Allmight. He was in his original form and dressed in a hoodie to keep his identity hidden. It wouldn't do too well if his original form was in the spotlight too much. Who knew, if he wasn't careful someone could see the similarities in the two forms and make a connection. It was better safe than sorry.

"...Hey." Tsukauchi gestured his men to let him through.

Since they were in public he wasn't sure what exactly to call the number one hero. He obviously couldn't call him Allmight in front of so many people while he was in his true form. His actual name was also out of the question. In the end all Tsukauchi could do was pull the man to a isolated area so they could have a private chat.

Tsukauchi noticed Allmight sending a sidelong glance at Izuku who was staring at nothing in particular. The concern and fury in his eyes were clear as day. He decided not to comment on it and silently led the blonde to quite area. He leaned against a building wall while Allmight took down his hood, turning back to gaze at the crime scene in silence.

"I came as fast as I could." Allmight said.

Though he said that it was evident in his voice that he wasn't satisfied with just that. He wished he was here sooner. He wished he knew about it somehow. Anything that would've put him in this place before it became a crime scene. If he was here he would have done absolutely everything in his power to make sure such a disaster never occurred.

Alas, he wasn't omnipresent and there were many times he wasn't there in time, times when he wasn't there at all. And more often than not it meant someone had to die for it.

"I can't understand it. Villainy..." Allmight clenched his fists in frustration. "Why... Why do they do it?. Why would anybody sane do this...?." Allmight stared into the sky and asked no one in particular.

He caught a glimpse of the crime scene when he walked by with Tsukauchi and calling what he saw horrifying would be putting it mildly. It wasn't simple mass murderer, it was a massacre. Just looking at the bodies you could tell the killer was one sick animal. What sort of villain would do such a thing, and why?. This wasn't even a major district. It was a bit urban but that was just it.

Why would anybody pick such a place for mass murder?. For villains who committed crimes just to showoff they would pick a far better stage than this. For serial killers they'd have a pattern. But for this case, it just felt like the killer just walked by and decided to mass murder people in a convenient store.

Allmight hated villainous acts like every other hero but there were times that he could at least understand where the villain was coming from, and find a bit of logic in their psyche. Villainy for revenge. Villainy for a cause. Villainy for fame. Villainy for money. Villainy with the aim to spread chaos.

There was always a reason, always a key point to explain why the villain did what they did. For some it was more extensive than the other, but that in itself was a constant. This case, however was different. It ticked out not a single one of Allmight's boxes. Right now all this looked like was a depraved kind of villainy. The one Allmight could never wrap his head around. Villainy for kicks.

How terrible did one's life have to be for them to decide killing people was the only way to justify their existence?.

"Don't over think it. You'll never get criminals like these. You're better off leaving that to me. It is my job after all." Tsukauchi spoke up.

It was apparent that Allmight was greatly disturbed by this scene in particular. It wasn't because the man was new to violence, further from it. Allmight and he had seen far worse scenes come into being before. It was just that everyday was different. Nobody woke up expecting to see the most twisted and messed up things, so there were days when the mind was prepared for it. There were also days when the mind was not.

For a person like Tsukauchi it was more of the former. And despite Allmight's great strength he couldn't claim to have a better mind and stomach for crime than a chief investigator. Allmight's and other heroes jobs were to stop criminal activities from becoming bona-fide crime scenes. The police force jobs were literally in the crime scenes, so they were far better equipped to face the horrors of the world than most pro heroes.

"I guess you're right." Allmight didn't try arguing with the man, they both knew he was right.

"Is that boy the one you chose?." Tsukauchi asked. The way Allmight looked at young Izuku Midoriya got him thinking. He had already established an answer in his mind but he had to confirm to be a hundred percent sure.

"He is."

Tsukauchi sighed. He truly wished they'd met under better circumstances, unfortunately fate had it's wheels to turn and turned them however it wanted.

"I thought as much. You should make sure the kid gets proper therapy after this. Either from UA or wherever else he can get it."

Allmight's expression turned disheartened. This was what he feared for the most. His successor seeing the ugly sides of the world and being caught completely unprepared for it. He did his best to train the boy, but there was really no way he could prepare him for tragedy. It was the job of he and the teachers of UA to gently ease them into the real world.

Unfortunately before they got the chance one of their own was thrown smack dab into one of the most terrible crime scenes of the year. He was left completely bare. A raw talent in the most literal sense. And his first encounter with the handiwork of a villain was a bloodbath in a convenient store he unsuspecting walked into.

Allmight already knew the answer to the question but still asked it anyway. "Is it that bad?."

"Yes." Tsukauchi didn't think for a second to dilute the facts. Allmight winched. It was as he feared. "He was the one who called it in. He's a tough kid, but I suspect he's putting up a tough front. What we saw in there is absolutely not meant for the eyes of a child, future hero or not." Tsukauchi said with a shake of his head. "He might try to pretend like he's fine, but I can assure you he's not. He'll need therapy."

Allmight looked downcast as he listened to Tsukauchi speak. When the man was finished he sighed heavily. "I'll keep that in mind. Thanks."

"No need." Tsukauchi patted the scrawny blonde on the shoulder lightly. He knew he badly needed that. "Also... There's something else." Tsukauchi said then reached into his jacket's pocket and pulled out a picture he took from the evidence. He handed it to Allmight. Just one glance at it was enough to make the blonde's eyes go wide. "That was what was written across the ceiling of the crime scene." Tsukauchi said.

"...Its him." Allmight said almost in a whisper.

"Yeah. But I'm less concerned about him compared to what this can draw out." Tsukauchi said. He already felt a headache coming on. He cleaned the sweat off his forehead with a handkerchief and exhaled. "There's a ridiculous level of power in this name. I'm worried. The way the victims were murdered, the signature and the presence of your successor, it's giving me a bad feeling. Could it be that she's–"

"No." Allmight quickly disagreed. "A convenient store, a handful of victims. It's definitely not her style. She wouldn't return to do something so meaningless."

Tsukauchi sighed. He knew it was unlikely but he really needed somebody else to say it. When he first saw that name he almost had a heart attack from fear that it would somehow lead him to her. He fought crime and was proud to do so. There wasn't a single villain on this planet that could scare him, but...

He wouldn't want to be anywhere near that terrifying woman.

"Rest assured, something like this wouldn't draw her out. That woman will move for one reason and one reason alone. Which is why we have to quickly solve this case before it gets to her. The last thing we want is for her to get antsy and start sending in her goons." Allmight said.

This time it he was the one patting Tsukauchi's shoulder. Not everyone had an overpowered quirk to depend on like he did. And it was exactly people who weren't his level that were susceptible to the terror of that woman. Once upon a time even he was terrified of her.

"Whatever it takes to keep her from returning. I'll inform the top. We'll keep this as quiet as possible." Tsukauchi said.

He didn't bother hiding his fear for the woman. It had long been accepted in society that fear of her was the beginning of wisdom. Unless you had something to back yourself up with like Allmight, then you didn't have the right nor capability to claim she didn't scare you. Unless you were a stupid person, without sufficient power that wasn't a woman anybody would want to deal with. Tsukauchi saw Allmight stare off at Izuku's location again and smiled. He was already doting on the boy.

"You should take him home. I'll handle the rest." Tsukauchi offered.

"Forgive me, I haven't been of much use." Allmight apologized.

"No it's fine. Go ahead." Tsukauchi waved him off. The blonde gave a final apology before rushing off to talk with his successor. Tsukauchi watched them interact with a small smile on his face. It was heart warming to see his old time friend had finally found a successor and most importantly someone to share his many burdens with again. Though the boy was young, from his display today Tsukauchi was sure he'd do alright. "Now, back to work." He returned back to his men and gave out instructions. They would catch the criminal responsible for this massacre as quickly as possible.


(With Izuku)

Blood. One of the most important parts of the human body, a life force and the holder of the identity of every human in the most literal of senses. Izuku never realized the human body contained so much blood up until today. With just so much as nine bodies near the entire convenience store was covered with thick red blood.

Red. Blood was so painfully red. To think under his skin and within his veins such an amount of blood was just coursing through his body. Blood that was constantly pumped by a beating heart. He was filled with fresh warm blood. That was what was keeping her alive.

But those men... Their hearts had stopped beating long ago. Their blood had turned stale, painting across the entire room. Their lives had been cut short. Izuku hadn't realized how fragile human lives were until today. One minute you were there, the next you weren't. All it took was one little accident, one willing participant and one moment and lives could end. It was that easy. It was too easy. It was hard, unbelievably hard for Izuku to accept that human lives were so fragile. So weak. So trivially taken.

(Insert Soundtrack - Dancing With Your Ghost by Sasha Alex Sloan)

[00:00-3:19]

"It's never easy to accept it." A voice sudden rose near Izuku.

The green haired boy looked up and found his mentor and idol was sitting next to him. "Allmight..." he murmured out. He wasn't really surprised to see him. Even though he didn't know he was here, somehow he knew Allmight would come.

"I wish I could tell you it was easy. That it'll be easy from here, but I can't." Allmight said. He placed his hand on the boy's shoulder lightly and sighed heavily. "What you've seen today is the truth of the world. What you've seen is what happens when the heroes are too late and it..." Allmight trailed off.

Seeing the despair clearly in the boy's eyes was having a greater effect on him than he imagined. He never expected it to be easy to say this, but this was impossibly hard to do. But it had to be done.

Allmight clenched his free hand and ground his teeth in helplessness before finally speaking again. "You will see something like this again." Allmight said.

It would be perfect if he could continue to shelter his successor, to shelter all the little boys and girls but reality wouldn't be so kind as to let him. One couldn't keep their children away from the world no matter how hard they tried. One way or the other, it would find them. That was the way with the world, it always found us. Whether we liked it or not.

"A-again...?" Izuku's voice broke as he struggled to speak.

When he saw Allmight he mentally prepared himself to absorb the words of the man. He believed they would be words of encouragement, that Allmight would tell him that he did good. That he was brave. That he would do everything in his power to arrest the perpetrator.

Izuku prepared himself not to believe any of the encouragements, any of the lies that he did something of note. All he could believe in now was the reliability of Allmight. All he could do was selfishly place his hope and trust on the number hero and believe he would bring Ultima to Justice. He didn't expect this. He wasn't ready for this. He wasn't prepared for Allmight to tell him this.

The painful truth. That this was the consequence of being late. The burden of a hero. It was too heavy to bare, but he had to. This wasn't a burden he could decide to let go off. It would forever stay shackled to his soul and all those that felt a sense of responsibility to it.

"I'm sorry." Allmight apologized. He didn't know what else to say. Oh how much he wanted to lie and encourage the young man, but those sweet words now would be doing more harm than good. He needed this. He needed to know and understand this.

"All we call do when we are too late is look forward. As a hero we can not afford to get too absorbed in our own personal feelings. Because time is valuable and every second we waste there's someone who needs our help. Someone we could save." Allmight spoke in a deep voice.

He noticed the hand he placed on Izuku's shoulder had begun to tremble uncontrollably but paid no heed to it. Crying was okay. Releasing the pent up emotions were the first steps. "Go on... Let it out." Allmight said and soothing rubbed the back of the wailing teen.

"I know it's hard now. But you have to be strong Midoriya my boy. Because you are a hero, you will come back from this. It'll make you stronger and you will grow into a man who stops tragedies like these from occurring. Isn't that right?."

"Mmhmff ahnmff..." Izuku struggled to speak but the words were choked out by the tears. He held his knees for support and cried his eyes out. He felt so useless. So damn useless. To think he had a conversation with the one responsible. To think he spoke and laughed with the killer right after he'd committed the crime. He actually called a psychotic murderer a nice guy.

Why?. Why did he doubt himself?. Even though he was without a doubt certain that that was the face of Ultima. Why did he go on doubting what he already knew was real?. He always knew it, deep down in his heart no matter how much he stalled for answers he already knew. He already had all those answers. Uzumaki Naruto was Ultima!.

And now...

Because of his incompetence. Because of his unwillingness to fight when he had the chance. Because he was scared of the disapproval of his classmates, he didn't do nearly enough. He let an established villain roam the streets without alerting anyone. Without saying a damn thing. Even when Aizawa said those words, he should've come forward with his findings. He should've done something!. Anything, and maybe, just maybe it would've been enough to abate this disaster. But no...

'I decided to be useless.'

'I'm crying like an idiot when I'm the one who caused this.'

'Do I even have the right to cry over this people?.'

'I'm so... so... so... so...'

'Useless.'


When he was done crying Allmight gave him a hug and promised to continue their chat before getting Tsukauchi to order one of his subordinates to send him home. The police officer was a nice person, and did his best to console and encourage Izuku.

The green haired boy managed to fake a smile and put the man at ease. The drive back home was a quiet one. He had been instructed by Allmight and detective Tsukauchi not to inform his mother about any of this. They said this case was a delicate one and would do more harm than good if the public caught wind of it. Izuku gave his word before ascending the car.

He wasn't sure specifically why, since even before he was given those instructions he hesitated. But it was after Allmight said those words that Izuku made the decision not to talk about what he knew about Ultima.

Why exactly he withheld important information on the case, he didn't know for sure. All he knew was he didn't want to talk, at least not yet. So Izuku sat through the entire drive, knowing he was keeping vital information from his favorite hero and mentor. He's own personal burden to bare. He wouldn't be able to share it with the two most important people in his life. For this fight he would be completely alone.

...And he wanted to be.


Kamui Woods and Yu Takeyama were discharged from the hospital at the same time. After the breakdown in his hospital room, Kamui Woods felt very ashamed so the second he didn't have to be in the same building as Yu he zipped away as fast as he could. Yu didn't blame the man. Personally, she wanted to be alone as well. She too had a lot on her mind and was deeply affected by the encounter with Ultima.

Yu wasn't sure whether it was okay to go home. After the warning she got from the man in the suit she wasn't sure what to do now. Could she still go home?. According to Kamui Woods the man wanted to pretend as though nothing had changed and return to their lives.

That meant she could go home. But when she did, what would she do?. Go back to being a hero?. To being Mt Lady?. Yu wasn't sure she could just dive back in after all that. Nor was she sure she could just take time off from her job either. The man in the suit was really terrible at his job, whatever that was.

What if she needed more time to digest everything, what excuse would she give to get some time off?. And not getting enough time to settle her thoughts would leave her overwhelmed and in danger of exposing everything the man in the suit clearly wanted to keep hidden. For a guy who worked for the government the man really didn't think things through. Either that or he didn't care.

Yu sighed. There was far too much she didn't understand. Everything started when she decided to tag along with Kamui Woods earlier today. The Arbor quirk hero had warned her that it was ill-advised to follow him and that they might get caught up in something quite dangerous. However, Yu didn't want to hear any of it.

Kamui Woods got a lot of attention from the media as a meteoric rising star in the JHA. All she wanted was to use him to boost her reputation, that was it. Little did she know Kamui Woods' investigation would lead them to criminal activities. That was when she saw 'him' for the first time. He stood atop of a moving school bus. Neither the driver nor the passengers were aware there was a madman standing at the top of their bus. Before Yu or Kamui Woods could react he tore off the top of the school bus like it was a sheet off paper.

Kamui Woods immediately sprung into action. The blonde haired monstrosity went on searching through the scared and panicking school girls, completely disregarding that the bus driver had lost consciousness and the vehicle was crashing.

It was like he had no concern for his life and the lives of the students. He simply went about his business like they weren't all about to die. In hindsight, it was true. Had that bus crashed ten times over Yu doubted if there would be so much as a scratch on the blonde teen. Luckily Kamui Woods was able to right the bus before it crashed and saved the lives of the school girls.

Yu rushed to the scene to assist him and was greeted by the scene of the blonde villain casually walking away from the scene mumbling something to himself. He totally ignored them, as though they weren't there. The adrenaline from the incident had yet to leave their bodies and the one responsible for the entire thing was just leaving. He wasn't even in a rush, it wasn't a case of a get away attempt. He waltz out of the scene like it had next to nothing to do with him.

That was exactly what pissed Kamui Woods off. They'd seen different kinds of villains but never this kind. A man who almost killed dozens of school girls and when he confirmed he couldn't find whatever it was that he was looking for, he didn't even spare them so much of a glance before turning to leave.

Without thinking much Kamui Woods moved to apprehend him. He ordered Yu to prioritize getting the children and driver out of harms way while he took down the villain. With her quirk it was a piece of cake, all she had to do was carry them to safety. When she was done she found a more logical scene before her. A villain trying to escape the law.

Kamui Woods was in a high speed chase with the blonde villain. Not wanting to be left out Yu immediately shrunk back to her normal size and gave chase. The two heroes pursued the single villain for several minutes before cornering him in a park. Or so they thought. It was then that the blonde said something that Yu didn't understand, even now.

'Did you have fun chasing me?. You guys are lucky I'm not authorized to fight outside.'

Going by what happened next it was obvious what he meant by outside. What confused Yu even now was the use of the word 'authorized'. Since when did a villain need authorization to do anything?. Kamui Woods seemed to understand something and demanded that the blonde turn himself in. Claiming he would clean out the bad eggs in the JHA, starting with the blonde. Yu had asked him what he meant but he refused to respond, instead he cautioned her to leave and prioritize the civilians.

That was the second time he'd said that. It was obvious to Yu at that point that something huge was happening, something that had to do with Kamui Woods and the blonde. And it was clear as at then that their meeting wasn't a mere coincidence.

The blonde laughed off Kamui Woods' words. It wasn't a fake laugh or an evil one, it was a true hysterical laugh. He honestly found Kamui Woods' words hilarious. He then mocked Kamui Woods and his quirk, claiming he was a fool if he thought a two-bit hero like him could change anything. To Kamui Woods' credit he maintained his cool and didn't rise to the blondes taunts. Instead he remained focused on the mission and once again demanded that he turn himself in and expose his accomplices.

Naturally, the blonde refused to cooperate. He took a stance, placing both his hands on his waist in a care free manner and said; 'This is your chance to make a difference Woody. If you can catch me you can expose everything. Come and get me.' He taunted before placing his hand on a cotton candy machine and mysteriously disappearing.

Yu was spooked by the villain's sudden disappearance. Who would've thought he had a teleportation quirk. Those were extremely rare. Unlike Yu, Kamui Woods didn't appear surprise in the slightest. It was as though he expected the blonde to disappear. He once again told Yu to leave before approaching the cotton candy machine as well.

Yu was confused and very frustrated at being left out. She didn't understand what they were discussing about, and nobody seemed to care enough to explain what was going on. They treated her the same way the blonde treated those kids in the school bus, like she was invisible. Anger whelmed up in Yu's chest and without even thinking she jumped on top of Kamui Woods who was already mid transmitting. Kamui Woods screamed at her in panic and yelled 'abort' three times but to no avail. The white light engulfed Yu as well and soon after they were both in a new world.

This new one was identical to the original. Yu had recognized the place as a city she had once been to with a friend. At least a rundown and deserted version of said city. After scolding Yu, Kamui Woods revealed that this was a virtual world created by the JHA. He didn't go into the details of when and why the JHA created a virtual world, all he made clear was that this was where he planned to confront Ultima. It was then Yu found out the blonde haired teen wasn't just some rookie villain squirt but actually a notorious villain called Ultima.

Kamui Woods didn't explain much, but from what Yu could go by Ultima was closely involved with the people Kamui Woods was investigating and was the key to exposing a huge secret related to the JHA. Kamui Woods had appeared very determined to deal with the blonde and barked out orders at Yu, telling her not to follow before running off to find him. Of course she didn't listen. And it was quite fortunate for Kamui Woods too.

When Yu caught up with the Arbor quirk hero what she found was a crazy scene of the prey becoming the hunter. The villain Kamui Woods had set out to hunt turned out to be far more powerful than he was ready for, and as a result it was Kamui Woods who was on the defensive and on the retreat. Kamui Woods and Yu had made the costly mistake of assuming from the school bus incident earlier that Ultima's quirk was simply an enhancer type. A very big miscalculation, especially on Kamui Woods' side.

In the end Kamui Woods had no option but to accept the aid of the very person he wanted to keep out of his problems. Alas, Yu's intervention had little to no effect on the flow of the battle. They learnt the hard way that Ultima lived up to his grandiose alias.

To say he was powerful was an understatement. He was like an unstoppable force of nature, crushing every single thing in his part. Nothing could stand him, nor could anything they tried harm him. He was fast, strong and impossibly durable. But in Yu's opinion none of those qualities came close to one single other. Battle awareness. Yu had heard of it in her hero academia days. The invisible and invincible quality that made the most outstanding heroes and villains of their respective eras.

Talent. What Ultima possessed, aside from an outlier of a quirk was a sheer battle talent like she had never seen before. Kamui Woods described him as a battle monstrosity after a few minutes of combat. Awareness, reaction speed, attack, defense, form, execution. Each an every quality were at an exaggerated extreme level, it was mind boggling even now how they survived him for so long. Nothing they threw at him worked. He was like a cockroach, he kept getting up. A relentless madman.

It was clear after the first five minutes that he was madman. Why else would he break into uncontrollable laughter after taking a direct hit from Yu's fist?. He seemed to relish combat– No. That wasn't it. It was far more basic, far more crude than something as dignified as honest combat. The way he fought, without regard for himself nor anything around him made it clear that Ultima wasn't a mere battle maniac. What he relished was something far more simple, something far more raw and pure. Extreme violence. Destruction. Chaos. He was in his element when the whole world was set ablaze.

When she knocked down buildings to get to him he laughed in glee. When he snapped Kamui's hand like a twig he was more glad that he had broken something rather than broken Kamui Woods' arm. He laughed in relish the few times they managed to bruise him. Then he encouraged them to give their all, to hit him harder, to cut him, to wound him. To break him. Yu had never seen such a person so in love with destruction. It didn't matter the form, whether it be the destruction of his enemies or self destruction, Ultima cared little for it. All he wanted was to rampage.

At one point in the fight, Kamui Woods had begun to lose the will to go on and asked Ultima how he could still go on. Why was he still fighting?. Was there any reason to fight when it was clear who'd win?. Ultima just laughed it off and attacked. Yu had thought he was just out of it, lost in the crazed frenzy of battle. Like the madman that he was. But then he replied, looking as sane as she and Kamui Woods. He said...

'You could say I'm more beast than human, I have a very simple mindset ya'know. All I can do are the simple things I know. I know how to smash and break stuff. So I smash and break stuff. I'll keep on smashing and breaking stuff to my hearts content. And you're asking why?!... Why else?. It's because violence is all I know.'

After those words left his mouth, all hell broke loose. His hair stood on ends and begun to glow in a golden light. Yu was reminded of that famous anime about dragon balls. However, before she could recall the name Ultima was upon them. The battle became more like a scrappy and desperate fight for their lives.

Yu knew they would've lost it had Ultima intended to take it from the onset. In the aftermath, they were left with the painful truth that a villain had spared their lives. That their efforts was meaningless in the face of absolute power. Their will and conviction smashed as scattered into the concrete, their bodies and minds battered and bruised. All that was truly left was that knowledge, that he let them breath once more and the fear of the name of the villain Ultima.

No matter how much Yu tried to mask it, in the depths of her heart she knew. She was truly and absolutely terrified of him. Which was why for the first time since her academia days, when faced with a threat to her life she froze. Because Ultima was right in front of her once more.

'WHY... WHY IS HE HERE?!.' Yu screamed in her mind in distress. There was no mistaking it, it was definitely him. Blonde spiky hair, blue eyes, a headband, the same physique and the odd whisker marks on his cheeks.

He looked out of place carrying two big polythene bags filled with ramen cups in his hands as he hurriedly made his way through the street. To Yu that was irrelevant. It didn't matter if he was stark naked. All he required to wreck havoc was his mere presence, it didn't matter what he appeared to be doing. A guy who casually walked away from a crime scene he'd created. Common sense didn't apply to him.

Yu felt time slow down as she watched the villain of her nightmares run towards her. His expression was nothing like it was this morning, and he appeared quite unassuming, but she wouldn't be deceived. A freak like this could flip the switch from all sunshine and rainbows to murder on a Sunday morning in an instant. She wouldn't let her guard down!.

Then the doubt began to mix with fear.

'But even if I have my guard up, what good will that do me?.'

'I can't fight him.'

'Even though I'm fully recovered... I can't win!.'

'If I fight I'll die.'

'If I don't fight I'll still die.'

'I thought you spare me... So why... WHY ARE YOU STILL RUNNING TOWARDS ME!?.'

'Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck...'

'FUCK!'

'I'm gonna die.'

He was getting closer.

'I'm gonna die.'

10 metres away

'I'm gonna die.'

8 metres

'I'm gonna die.'

5 metres

'God I'm gonna fucking die like this?!.'

2 metres

'I'm dead.'

0 metres

'I'm–'

'Huh?.'

He ran past her.

'I didn't die...?.' After a few seconds to collect herself, Yu turned around and confirmed that Ultima had indeed run past her. She watched the teen shuffle through crowds of people to get into a bus.

He didn't cut their heads off to get in, he didn't beat the driver to death nor did he take the passengers hostage. He just squeezed passed people and took a seat in a natural position. He didn't assume the pose of a murderous psychopath, nor did he sit like an animal. He sat upright with the bag of ramen cups on his lap. He even helped an old lady to her seat. He was respectful and kind. He was... like a normal human being.

'What the fuck is going on...?' Yu asked herself. 'Was that really Ultima?. He definitely saw me. So why did he run past me?. Is it that he didn't recognize me?. That's impossible. He knows me by my real name, how could he not know that it was me?.' No matter how Yu looked at it, the run-in with Ultima made no sense. But she was sure without a doubt in her mind that that was Ultima. She couldn't be mistaken.

Yu watched the bus drive off, she continued watching it until it left her range of sight. Up until it did, nothing seemed visibly wrong with the bus. It didn't suddenly lose it top nor did it crash. At the very least from the exterior it appeared as though no criminal activity was taking place in the bus. A bus a villain obsessed with destruction was on.

Yu didn't know what to make of this. A regular behaved and sane Ultima. He acted and looked normal, like–

'Hold on... He had two bags of ramen cups in his hand, but what was he wearing?. Those clothes look really familiar. They... Ah!. That's UA High's uniform.' Yu soon remembered where she'd seen those clothes.

UA was the best hero academia in Japan. An academy she was once obsessed with, but unfortunately she failed the written exam and as a result couldn't get in. She did great in the physical examination though. Young Yu had to settle for a different hero academia with a less gruelling entrance exam.

Her star ended up shinning bright either way and she was already in the top 30s for heroes in Japan despite debuting merely a few months ago. Thinking about UA, she knew how difficult it was to get in but it was a billion times more difficult for a villain. So, just how did Ultima steal a UA uniform?. Or, did he kill a UA student and take their uniform?. Yu's head were filled with dozens of questions. Anything was possible. The only possibility she ruled out was Ultima being a student of UA. That was completely impossible.

'There's absolutely no way.'

'Right?.'


Allmight exhaled as he took his fist out of a robot type villains wrecked jaw. On his way back from the crime scene he happened to chance upon a villain terrorizing a local mall. Quite unfortunately for the villain Allmight was in a crappy mood and the the poor guy had to suffer for it. The robot quirk user was forced to become a living punching bag for the irate hero.

After beating up the villain, quite unfairly the villain might add, Allmight felt a little better. Though it wasn't enough to take him out of the bad mood he was in. A bad mood he was understandably in. It wasn't a pleasant experience to have to give the 'tragedies will occur again' talk to a young aspiring hero.

This mainly was one of the reasons Allmight had taken so long to decide to join the teaching program. Though he always had the mindset of preparing the younger generation for the world, he never went about doing due to his fears. Though it was done for him, Allmight never wanted to do it for anyone else. It was selfish but that was just how he felt. Life had decided that Allmight had run away from that particular responsibility for too long. Now he completely understood what it took to be a teacher and a mentor. It wasn't important if you liked it or not, the only thing that was important was whether or not you would answer the call of despairing student.

'Teaching is far harder than I expected... Master, just how did you manage it?.' Allmight wondered to himself.

"YOU HAVE A CAAAALLLLLLLL"

The sound of his phone ringing reached his ears. He set his own voice as a ringtone. He wasn't egocentric just at a lack of ideas. Allmight casually pulled a single pole signboard apart and warped it around the unconscious villain.

The way he did it made it seem like the hard metal pole was made of cotton. He had already phoned Tsukauchi and he said a squad was two minutes away. They would be here before the villain regained consciousness. Allmight jumped to the top of the tallest building nearby and confirmed with his own eyes the police were close by before picking the call.

"He–"

Before Allmight could speak out a loud voice of an old man rung out of the device. 'TOSHINORI WHERE ARE YOU?!.'

Allmight's face creased in displeasure. He leaned away from the phone and clicked his tongue. Did he have to be so loud?.

'TOSHINORI! ARE YOU THERE?!.'

Sigh. "I'm still here. I told you I went to aid my successor, he got caught up in something nasty."

'Oh. Was it the store massacre?.'

Allmight's eyes twitched. He thought Tsukauchi was going to put a tight lid on things, how the heck did this geezer already know about it?. "You already know about it. How?." Allmight asked.

'I was told.'

"Her?."

'Who else?. She's out of town so the central is my responsibility, most especially when the boy's involved.'

Allmight groaned. That damn woman was probably gone for personal reasons again. He couldn't understand how someone so irresponsible and selfish was granted such a position of power. She was a terrible leader and frankly a bad role model for anybody hoping to live a honest and decent life.

If he was being honest he preferred when the old man multi tasked and handled things here as well. Still he felt bad for piling their responsibilities on the old man. "Apologies for troubling again."

'It's quite alright, I do enjoy working with you and Tsukauchi-chan. Anyway I called you for two reasons. The first concerns the store massacre. Since it was your successor that was involved make sure the lad keeps it hush hush. The last thing we want is that hotheaded tomato learning about it. You know how things get when she comes down.'

"I understand. I've already spoken to Midoriya-shounen. I believe he won't talk about it."

'You don't understand Toshinori, I want you to make sure he doesn't spill. Take no chances.'

Allmight's expression turned dark. The old man was being forceful. He wanted him to make sure there was absolutely no chance Izuku would talk about the incident with anybody. It wasn't like the old man to encourage someone to bully someone from the younger generation to keep silent. And he should know that no matter who asked he wouldn't do anything his conscience didn't agree with. Yet, he was still asking despite knowing this. This could only mean one thing.

"Is there any news on her?." Allmight asked, already dreading that the reply would be a negative one.

'It's rumoured that USA are planning something and it has her name written all over it.'

Allmight's eyes widened in shock. "The US, that's where..."

'Obviously he won't be participating. From what I've heard he's strongly against it. They're trying to convince him, but he's not hearing any of it.'

Allmight sighed in relief. If that guy was against it then there was a good chance that it wouldn't go down. Because quite frankly any operation that big without him was borderline suicide. If he didn't give a yes then Allmight doubted it would push through. The US weren't a suicidal bunch. "I'll make out some time to call him and find out more."

'That'd be highly appreciated. And I apologize for being forceful Toshinori, but I have to insist you make clear to the lad. Since there's already that rumour floating about she's likely to send in some of her agents for recon. It's like they'll stop by Japan. If they find out–'

"I understand. I'll speak to him." Allmight didn't like to be strong armed but the things that were at stake... No chances could be taken. If one the agents saw that massacre scene it would send off the wrong kind of message and without a doubt she would come here. They could never permit such a tragedy to befall the innocent citizens of the country.

'Thank you. The second reason I called is to ask you what you were doing in a virtual world with the boy.'

"Huh?."

'I got a call from an old friend working at the [Logs] department. I have him keep track of the boy's movements within the virtual worlds and I thought he was just up to no good again, that was until I saw the name of two heroes from the top ten. One, Kamui Woods and the other the prime himself, Allmight. So, explain. Were you and the kid messing around behind my back while you pretend to have an awkward relationship in front of me?. And why did you two have to drag that innocent kid into the big field?.'

Allmight was both taken aback and confused by the words of the old man. The boy and Kamui Woods were in a virtual world together?. What was that about?. And as for him being there together... "I wasn't in any virtual world. I haven't entered any of those things in years." Allmight said.

'Eh?. Then why did that old bastard say...'

"Maybe it was a mechanical error?." Allmight said with a shrug.

'Toshinori. The system is powered by a quirk. It can't make errors.'

Allmight laughed awkwardly and scratched his cheek. "Err I don't really know much about stuff like this."

'And you wonder why everyone but you got a high ranking position in government.'

Allmight vomited blood from the insult and returned to his original form. 'He knocked the One-For-All out of me again!.' Allmight thought.

'The system scans the DNA, finger prints and quirks of an individual before they are permitted to activate and use [Jump Gate] to access a virtual world. Though the quirk is the main requirement as there are many quirks that can alter the DNA and many without fingers or fingerprints. That's why –Oh.' The old man's abruptly stopped speaking.

"Uh are you there?... Elder?. Why did you suddenly go silent elder?. Are you having a heart attack?." Allmight asked in concern.

'You're the one who's having a heart attack you brat!.'

Allmight sighed in relief. Who knew man's normally hurtful way of addressing him would sound so pleasant to his ears.

'I just realized something is all. I can't believe I was so blind that I couldn't see it when it was right in front of me.'

Allmight's eyebrows arched in curiosity. "What's that?."

'The [Jump Gate] machines prioritize the analysis of three elements before it can be activated as I told you before. DNA, fingerprints and quirk signature. However, since there exist many shape-shifting quirks both the DNA and fingerprints screening is not a hundred percent reliable. However it's different from quirks. There shouldn't be a case of two people sharing a single quirk signatures. Even though it's inherited or copied, quirk signatures can not be faked nor duplicated. An inherited quirk would have a similar yet fundamentally different signature from the parent quirk. It is the same for mimicked or copied quirks. That's why unless the quirk signature is a match a [Jump Gate] can not be activated. That fail-safe mechanism has revealed an unexpected flaw.'

Allmight didn't quite follow what the man was implying. Didn't he boast about the system being a hundred percent reliable, so what's this talk about it being flawed now?. "I thought you said the system couldn't glitch or make an error?."

'It did not you fool. Use that thick head of yours for once. You claim you weren't in a virtual world, yet the [Logs] say you were. It requires someone with your quirk signature to activate it using your identity.'

"But I thought you said quirk signatures are never identical."

'I said they can't be inherited from a family member or mimicked. It's completely different for a quirk like One-For-All. Think about it. You were quirkless, thus never possessed a quirk signature. The ability of One-For-All is to literally give the power bestowed on a person to another. It is not inherited through genes and or falsified by another quirk. Like a torch it is literally passed down. When Nana gave you the One-For-All she slowly begun losing her power, it must be the same for you now you've passed that power to yet another without a quirk signature so it remains untainted across three generations. Do you get what I'm saying now, Toshinori?.'

Allmight's eyes lit up in realization and understanding. He wasn't a gadget person, and understood next to nothing about [Jump Gate]s but what he did understand very well was the power he inherited from his master. This wasn't like other quirks that were passed on through genes, though the DNA of the predecessor had to be consumed by the successor it wasn't the same.

Parents couldn't decide whether or not their children inherited their quirks. But for One-For-All unless the bearer decided to pass it on to another even if their DNA was consumed it would be useless. A complete transfer of a quirk, that was how One-For-All worked.

The quirk hadn't changed since Nana's era, so the quirk signature that had been registered into the system through Allmight was completely identical to his predecessor. And since Izuku was quirkless as well, it was the exact same situation for him. The elder didn't have to say it, he already understood what this meant.

Allmight's expression turned serious. "It was Midoriya-shounen that used the [Jump Gate]. That means he was in a virtual world with Kamui Woods and–"

'–him. It's quite curious, they met each other in a virtual world and hours later your boy chances upon that murder scene. I'm not a believer of coincidences like these.'

"He... he didn't tell me anything. They've already met and he knew of that name, so why didn't he tell me anything?!." Allmight gritted his teeth in frustration and immediately bolted towards Izuku's house. This was the first time he was truly upset with his successor. Since when did the boy start keeping secrets?.

He hadn't even realized Izuku was hiding something from him. Come to think of it, it was strange that he didn't ask any questions about that name signature. Allmight had written it off as shock, but in hindsight that was a huge error on his part. Knowing Izuku's personality there shouldn't be a smidgen of a chance that he would see something like that and not ask about it. He was a naturally curious boy.

'I got complacent. I believed because he looked up to me so much he would always be honest with me. That he would never lie to me. Even though I myself has–'

Allmight's self loathing thoughts were interrupted by the voice of the elder.

'Toshinori are you running?.'

"Of course!. I have to get to Midoriya-shounen as quickly as possible!."

'...Why?.'

Allmight almost tripped on his feet when he heard that. Why?. Why was he rushing to his successor?. After what he told him, even demanded that he make sure Izuku didn't talk about what he saw. Now he was asking why he was going to see the very same child he had requested him to see. Was this another amnesia stunt?. If it was then Allmight was in no mood to entertain it. "Why else would I–"

'Why are you in such a haste?. What are you afraid of, Toshinori?.' The old man's voice suddenly got colder as he spoke again. 'He is not his mother.'

Allmight immediately stopped in his tracks and froze. Those words. He is not his mother. He heard them just a few hours ago, from the mouth of the very same old man. To think after he scolded him he would be back to that way of thinking again. When things turned sour, he really couldn't reel it in. His bias. His unfair and damnable lack of faith in an innocent child.

Right at this moment, Allmight felt like the greatest villain on earth. He had convinced himself he was going to save one child, like it was a noble cause. But in the process he unfairly painted another child as the villain of the story.

"I am ashamed and incredibly sorry!." Allmight apologized. He had the urge to bow but unfortunately the old man wasn't here, so he couldn't express just how sorry he was. He felt frustrated.

'It's fine. You were just worried about your successor.'

"It's not an excuse. I should've known better." Allmight said firmly. He wouldn't let the old man excuse his own incompetence. He had failed an innocent boy time and time again. There was nothing that could be said to make up for what he did, nor convince him that it was justified. He wouldn't hide from his own mistakes.

The old man stayed silent briefly before speaking again. 'While the boy is certainly not his mother, they do share a good number of similarities. For example, that damned temper. If I know you, then for the hours you weren't here you were surely off being you. I'm willing to bet you're already at your limit.'

Allmight coughed in embarrassment. Right on the mark. It was as the elder had said. As soon as he left his residence he jumped straight into hero work, then he got a call from Tsukauchi. He immediately charged to the scene and after he he did all he could and sent Izuku home he jumped right back into hero work. Just like the old man said, he was already dangerously close to the three hours limit his body could handle.

'So it'll be ill-advised to have a possible encounter with the brat and end up doing or saying something that pisses him off. While he can't beat you in your muscly form, pummeling you to death in your true form would be a cinch.'

Allmight's face turned weird. Just the thought of being beaten down by a junior left him feeling awkward. Though he felt he deserved it to a degree. 'We don't always get what we deserve.' Allmight said to himself.

He wasn't going to offer himself up as a punching bag for a teenager with anger issues and a monstrous quirk. "I hear you." Allmight said, suddenly not finding running to Izuku an urgent matter as before.

'Since the kids have met, then let them be. I'll have someone keep an eye on the brat of course, we do not want him leading your successor astray.' The old man chuckled. Allmight paled. That was something he didn't consider as well. Their values and ideals were so different. While on a level exposure to the boy would be a good thing for Izuku, it could just as well be a tragedy.

Still, there was another way to look at this situation. "It'll be great if they can be friends. They both need a friend they can depend on." Allmight said with a light smile.

'That they do. I'll send in my granddaughter to keep an eye on them.'

And just like that the smile was wiped from Allmight's face. "Please don't."

'What?. She's a good kid!.'

The old man's voice sounded desperate. Perhaps even he was having a tough time believing his own words. His granddaughter was a bad egg. And if there was a chance Izuku would be led astray by him adding the elder's granddaughter to the mix that possibility would become an absolute certainty.

"I'd prefer if you send in her father instead." Allmight said honestly. Compared to the girl, her father was a saint. A proper citizen a man of values and an outstanding hero. He was also strict enough, so under his watch if the two did meet he would make sure they didn't do anything foolish together.

'Hmmph. Fine. But I'll make sure she knows just how little you think of her.'

Allmight paled. "Wa-wait I take it back–"

Click

The old man hung up.

Allmight gazed into the sky with a dark expression, wondering who he had offended in his past life for such a tragedy to befall him. Where was justice?.


Izuku got home when it was dark. School normally closed by 4pm, but since he spent 2 hours in detention he got off at 6pm. He then lost himself in his thoughts and ended up burning up 30 minutes to get home. After that was an unfortunate meeting with Ultima and an unforgettable experience in Yamada's convenience store. It took the police a few minutes to arrive, and near an hour before he was allowed to go home. They called his mom during that interval to put her at ease. When Izuku returned it was passed 8pm already. His mom gave him a big hug and fussed about him taking a bath and eating before he finally did.

Though she had gotten an explanation from the policeman that called, she still asked him what had happened. Izuku recited the fabricated story detective Tsukauchi had taught him to tell anyone who asked him about the incident. The man assured him there shouldn't be any aside from his mom, but he still had to make certain not accidentally spill details to anybody else.

Izuku felt really bad for having to lie to his mother, but thinking about what really happened, she was better off not knowing. If he did tell her then all she would do was worry. Nothing of note had happened to him, and all things considered he was merely a witness. So it was to the benefit of everyone if he didn't talk about any of it.

Izuku said goodnight to his mom and picked up his school bag before making his way to his room. He knew he was acting strangely, and understandably so. However, to avoid making his mom worry he had to do his best to get over this. Lest she get suspicious of him and end up getting involved in something dark and dangerous. For now she would just write it off as fatigue, but if he kept it up even in the morning then that would be a problem. Izuku didn't know how he'd manage, but he decided that by every means possible he would try to go back to normal so she wouldn't worry. Anything for his mother.

Izuku opened his door and walked into his room. The lights were out. Strange. He didn't remember turning them off this morning. Perhaps it was his mom who did it, or maybe it died?. Izuku shrugged and tossed his school bag on his bed. He groaned and stretched out. Today had been especially exhausting.

He wondered if tomorrow would be the same. He hadn't made any plans for tomorrow. He hadn't decided on anything really. He wasn't sure if he would come clean with Allmight about everything he knew, or if he would confront Aizawa-sensei and ask what he knew. Or if he would confront Ultima. Would the guy even make it to school?. The police and pro heroes were probably apprehending him by now.

Izuku wondered how the class would take the news if they knew. The entire school even. It would be quite the blow if they found out a UA student was actually a mass murdering villain. And Yaoyorozu... Izuku felt bad for the girl. She appeared to be quite close to the blonde psycho. To think she wouldn't get an explanation after he was apprehended. Her friend would just mysteriously disappear and she would be left without answers, wondering what happened and why nothing was being done to locate him.

Izuku understood that information like this getting out would be a great blow to the UA and JHA as a whole. He completely understood why Allmight and Tsukauchi wouldn't want it to get out. But thinking about Yaoyorozu Momo, Izuku couldn't help but feel bad. He would have to carry the burden of keeping away information that could release a classmate from a state of confusion and mental chaos. It wasn't going to be easy.

"Oh welcome back kid. Sorry for the putting the lights out, I just got tired of looking at Allmight's ugly mug. How many posters do you got of the guy anyways?. I counted six." A voice suddenly echoed around the room.

(Insert Soundtrack - Furioso In F Minor by Nicholas Britell)

[00:00-1:51]

A chilling sensation coursed through Izuku's entire body at the sound of that voice. His face turned paler than a sheet of paper. There was absolutely no way he heard that correctly. That wasn't the sound of his mother. Nor was that his phone. It could only be.

'No way!.' Izuku screamed to himself in harsh denial. He couldn't... wouldn't even think to consider that he wasn't in this room alone right now. 'I'm alone!. There's nobody there!.' he desperately tried to convince himself.

Bahdump

Bahdump

Bahdump

His heart beat was increasingly getting louder and louder. After those words the whole room went completely silent, so quiet that he could actually hear his heart beating. It was so loud. So rapid. His breath as well. It was so ragged, as though he had just got off doing something physically strenuous. Aside from his breathing, Izuku could make out something else. More than anything he didn't want to believe it. He didn't want to accept that he was hearing the steady breaths of another human being in his room.

Izuku felt like his head was exploding, like all the blood in his body had somehow rushed to his head. He eventually begun to feel dizzy but he managed to steady himself and with great effort turned to face his bed.

Two golden pair of torchlight like eyes illuminated the night. It was as though those pure orbs of primal chaos stared straight into his soul. Izuku trembled. He hadn't understood what the pressure meant this morning upon their second meeting. He had attributed it to his quirk and he was half right. It did have to do with his quirk, but it wasn't a special ability or anything like that. In fact it wasn't special at all. It was a simple factor. A fear factor. The pressure that could only come from a peak predator.

Izuku eyes got used to the lack of light and he was now able to see around his room to certain degree. He could make out his face and that broad beastly grin that shun in the moonlight. He was casually seated on Izuku's bed, the bag Izuku's had tossed and his ramen cups inches away from him. He placed an elbow on a raised knee and supported his face with it.

"I was on my way back to the hostel when I realized I hadn't properly introduced myself to ya, kiddo. Name's Uzumaki Naruto." Naruto placed his hand on his chest as his spoke. Then his grin became thinner and more angular.

"But if you like, you can call me Ultima."

End