Ludos sat within the garden of the Gremory Estate taking in the artificial sun of the Underworld. The sun beat down on him with a calming intensity, neither too hot nor too cold. In front of him a sphere of inky blackness floated. It pulsated with a power the maid behind him could feel. The Power of Destruction was considered the ultimate expression of devilkind. The power to destroy anything on a metaphysical level was beyond powerful. There was a reason why the past two Lucifers both wielded it as their main weapon and why the Bael were the strongest political force in the Underworld bar none.
The void black darkness of his Pillar Ability undulated and condensed. Beads of cold sweat formed on Ludos' face as he wrestled control over his unwieldy power. Demonic Power was chaotic in nature and the Power of Destruction was doubly so. Even so, Uncle Sairaorg had taught him the necessity of control and training. Ludos was lazy by nature. He considered it one of his primary sins, competing with only one other for the top spot. Saying that, Ludos also felt a deep sense of responsibility to his family and also valued his life. As the son of the current Lucifer he would eventually have to face an attack on his life. Lucifer knows he had heard enough stories from Uncle Millicas.
"You're still shit at controlling your Demonic Power." Reval Phenex, his childhood friend, said with both hands on her waist.
With a quick scoff Ludos responded, "Well someone has to be born with massive reserves or else the Old Satanists will begin thinking devils are equal to everyone else."
Reval made a quick exhalation of air that could be mistaken for a laugh before replying, "And not everyone can be born as beautiful as I." Reval flicked one of her twin drills behind her head.
Ludos cut off his supply of Demonic Power to his Pillar Ability and it winked out of existence after a momentary flicker. "What do you want?" The Gremory asked the Phenex.
"What? Can't a girl check up on her friend?" The Phenex queried in a faux hurt tone.
"No, but that's the problem with you. It's always something more than that. Must you always come to drag me into some more trouble?" The redhead asked the blonde.
Reval bent down until her face was on the same level as the sitting Ludos which showed off her ample figure nicely. "Aww, don't be like that, Ludy. Don't we always have fun?" The Phenex asked.
Ludos just nodded and agreed with a quick, "Yeah, yeah." But he wasn't really paying attention to her words anymore. With every motion her 'melons' danced. "Heh nice." Ludos could feel a nosebleed coming on and knew he definitely was sporting a dopey smile across his face. After thirty seconds of talking it would appear that Reval realized what was happening and slapped him upside the head.
"Oww, what was that for?" Ludos cried at the injustice.
"You were perving on me again! That's why." The Phenex backed away, covering her chest.
"Hey it's not my fault you're so hot!" Ludos complained.
The Phenex gave the strongest deadpan she possibly could before responding, "Anyway, I'm going to assume you weren't listening for the last minute and explain again. Momo's been acting weird lately so we're going to be checking up on her alright?"
Although he was easily the stronger of the two, Ludos wasn't stupid so he shut his mouth before making anymore remarks that would cause his strongwilled childhood friend from smacking him again.
"A Paimon was on the surface world without using proper channels." Sona Leviathan, the Sea's Master, stated with an air of seriousness that was completed by her pushing her glasses back up.
"What? How could this happen?" Sairaorg Bael, the Strongest Devil Alive, questioned.
"There are plenty of ways to bypass our current system. It is just thanks to our alliance with the Fallen that it's so easy to control those who come and go from the Underworld." Seekvaira Agares, the Timeless, informed those present.
"I have heard that many of the younger Fallen Radicals have been pushing for greater change recently from my agents. It is possible that the Old Satanists are working with the Radicals ala something akin to the Khaos Brigade." Riser Phenex, the Richest Man in the Underworld, explained.
"That seems unlikely, I'll speak to Akeno to see if there's any merit to your suggestion but I doubt a few low level Fallen would have the capabilities to allow an Ultimate Class to reach the surface without our say so." Rias Lucifer, the Empress of Destruction, told the Phenex.
"I'll see if I can find anything within the government that could allow this but I suspect Beelzebub and Azmodeus will be less than accommodating." Sairaorg said with an expertly hidden sigh. "Although if I may ask how did you discover this? I had no idea this had taken place and considering my connections that is a hard thing to do indeed."
"My Contract Magician, Hisashi Midoriya." Sona replied.
"Midoriya hmm, I remember a Midoriya in Goudou's retinue. Is this the same one?" Riser mused.
"His son but otherwise, yes." Sona replied.
"Ahh, the samurai, I remember him. It's unfortunate that we've been so focused on the Underworld for the past few centuries." Sairaorg commented.
"It's no wonder she knows with the amount of time Momo has been on the surface world lately. Especially since she has been spying on Momo with her new little boytoy. " Rias spoke with an air of smugness.
"You talk as if you do not do the same with Ludos." Sona responded in a level voice.
"Please, I'm not obsessed like you are. I only keep tabs on him to ensure his continued safety." Rias replied in an equally cold tone.
"I don't know what you're talking about. Of course I have to keep tabs on my Momo when she's on the surface world. It's quite dangerous up there." Sona frostily retorted.
Riser was reminded of both of the previous Leviathan and Lucifer at this moment. At least he didn't have to deal with their overprotectiveness this time. Although, Reval was quite close to Ludos, closer than she let on to everyone else by his estimation. He shivered at that. He'd rather not deal with another Lucifer crashing a Phenex wedding for the rest of his life.
"Oh really? And here I thought you kept tabs because of the boy." Seekvaira spoke up.
Sona seemed a little surprised that it was Seekvaira who had spoken up and not Rias, however she quickly responded nonetheless, "I don't know what you're talking about. The boy-"
"Wields the Tsumukari Muramasa, does he not?'' Seekvaira interjected.
That got the attention of everyone in the room real quick. The last wielder of the Tsumukari Muramasa was a part of the Japanese Triumvirate. People everyone in the room had known and respected. People whose power everyone in this room could personally attest to. But it wasn't just that, it was also the rarity of wielders of the Tsumukari Muramasa. Campione were rare but there were currently six alive and seven in the last generation. The same could be said of Longinius Class Sacred Gears, rare but there would almost always be some active in any given time. As for the wielders of the Tsumukari Muramasa, only Senju Muramasa, Shirou Emiya, and now a third person had ever been capable of utilizing its true capabilities without going mad.
"Is this true?" Sairaorg asked in a tight voice.
Sona's face was completely blank with the poker face she had built over the past two centuries not giving anything away. She nodded.
Katsumi had been looking at me from the corner of her eyes for the past few minutes on our train ride to UA. I had disappeared a few days ago at lunch with two strangers and hadn't come to school since. My right arm was in a cast and I didn't even have the Tsumukari Muramasa on me. I could feel the anger in her gaze but she hadn't said anything yet. The rest of the ride remained silent and when we got off I could feel one of Katsumi's hands intertwine with my left and start to drag me the rest of the way to UA. I said nothing as she pulled me. Katsumi didn't stop as we reached UA itself and I was dragged all the way to class 1A. The blonde bomber opened up the classroom's sliding door far slower than she usually did and led me inside.
I could see the exact moment the chaos would start when I saw Mina, who was talking to Jiro, turned to look at who opened the door and saw her eyes become literal stars when she saw Katsumi and I were holding hands. With a speed I didn't know was possible, Mina launched over to us with undisguised glee, ready no doubt to tease us about our possible relationship. Rather, that is what should have happened, except Katsumi looked at Mina with a glare and the hopeless romantic backed off with a smirk and a thumbs up.
That was actually pretty impressive. Mina never stopped at the chance to talk about romance. I had no idea Kacchan's glares were so menacing. I think in the background I could hear Mina whispering to Kirishima and him crying about how manly I was. Eventually I was next to my seat and was forced to sit down by Kacchan. I looked at Katsumi who had sat down in her own seat next to mine and began pulling out her notes from the past few days and handing them to me. I blinked, looked at the notes for a solid second then pulled out my own notebook and began copying. My right hand was my dominant hand but thankfully I had trained enough that I could use my left in a pinch. It wasn't as pretty as usual but it was legible.
The class began filling up as I wrote until it was nearly time to start classes. Next to me I could feel Kaede standing there waiting for me to finish. Soon I put down my pencil, handed back Katsumi's notes and looked up at a very angry Kaede.
"Well, do you have anything to say for yourself?" She asked with consternation written across her face.
"There were alot of stairs?" I gave the excuse I had thought up for why I had been gone for the past few days and now sporting a cast. As I said it I could tell how absolutely stupid it sounded so it came out more like a question than a statement.
Kaede slammed my desk with her hand and practically yelled at me, "Just because your father can pay for Phoenix Tears doesn't mean that you can just blindly jump into danger without backup again!"
"I didn't have a choice. It was time sensitive." I tried to defend myself.
"Oh really?" Kaede accused.
I cringed a bit at my lame excuse. "I had it handled."
"That doesn't sound like what I heard from Lord Midoriya. You needed to be saved and they nearly amputated your arms. Do you know how hard it is to heal necrosis damage?!" Kaede's gaze was quickly becoming overbearing.
I glanced around the classroom. Kaede's scolding me for reckless behavior was a pretty common occurrence but this time she sounded actually angry rather than mildly agitated. Everyone was staring at us. Most looked interested but confused what we were talking about. Kacchan was attempting to look disinterested but was failing horribly and looked torn between anger and… fear?
"Perhaps we should continue this talk later?" I offered, hoping to push this off until I could come up with better excuses.
"Oh no we aren't! Don't think that I don't know what you're trying to do buster. We aren't finishing this talk until I've beat into your head the importance of your own life!" Kaede told me as she poked my chest with her pointer finger.
"Look, it's my responsibility alright. It was something I had to do so it was something I did." I responded.
"Izuku, I'm not telling you to ignore your responsibilities. I'm telling you to treat your life more preciously. You're not alone. Use us, please, I'm begging you." Kaede implored me.
"I can't ask you to do that." I spoke in a hollow voice. All I could think of was the subordinates I had in my previous life. Many died because of orders I gave. Whether it was in carrying them out or them being carried out upon them. I cared for no one in particular and no one cared for me in particular. I was the perfect little king condemning so many for the sake of an unachievable ideal. I hated being that man. I never wanted to be that man again. "I can't ask you to die." Afterall, in this life I wanted to be better. In this life I had people I cared for.
"Everyone in this room is training to become heroes. Everyday their lives will be put on the line and many will be maimed or killed! I wake up everyday knowing that if I'm ever captured then I'll be subject to a fate worse than death but I trust others to keep me safe. So why won't you?" Kaede asked in a small voice.
"It's not like that." I responded curtly.
"Then what is it like? As the heir to the Amairin you must know how to utilize those underneath you." Kaede explained as though I was a child.
"I'm not my father! I refuse to be him. I refuse to be like him. I don't want to treat people like chess pieces." I exclaimed, clutching my chest with my left hand. "So what if that puts me in danger. Like you said, I'm going to be in danger anyways."
Kaede looked about ready to murder me for saying that and she raised her hand for what looked like a slap. I prepared myself to take the hit until out of nowhere a strong right hook hit my chin from the side, sending me flying.
Laying on the ground, I blinked away the spots my vision from being clotheslined out of nowhere to see Kastumi straddling my prone form. "You can't." Kacchan whispered.
I looked up at her face to see she was crying silently. "You can't die. You can't leave me!" She started shaking my shoulders. "You promised we'd be together for the rest of our lives."
As I looked at the face of my crying childhood friend and for once took a moment to really look at her. She was beautiful, even the tears falling down her face only seemed to enhance that rather than detract. I desired liked to be with very few people. Katsumi was one of the very few people I have ever loved cared for. As tears slid down her face I felt a cold knot worm its way into my stomach knowing that this was my fault. I had never felt like this before. It felt like guilt but far more personal.
My ideals were always something that had been inherited from my old mother in my past life. They were an impersonal thing that I sought to carry out to honor her memory. I wanted to do good, yes, but that was from a very detached, almost robotic perspective. I had never done anything out of a true empathy or sympathy for those I sought to save. So despite being perfectly willing to die for those ideals once again; I couldn't find it within myself to do that right now. My old mother had died for me and I loved her but right now all I could think of was Katsumi.
"I need you! Don't leave me stupid Deku." Katsumi howled. "I won't accept a shitty world without you."
I could feel another pair of hands cup my head from behind. Kaede had seated herself right behind my head and had abandoned all anger and now had tears flowing out of her eyes as she cried, "Please Izuku, you're the first friend I ever had. Please don't die."
I now had two women whom I had suddenly realized were both amazingly beautiful crying over my prone form. My eyes darted between the two of them for a quick second. The knot in my stomach seemed to grow worse with every passing second and no matter how hard I tried to speak I found that I couldn't reject them. Just what was this feeling? I had always known what I wanted to do before and was always decisive, but now I couldn't even think of a proper response. In my indecision I couldn't help but pay attention to the two women that were surrounding me on either side.
Katsumi's blonde hair swayed gently with a luster that shone brightly at all times. Her ruby red eyes from which tears were pouring out were still as sharp as ever even as I could see the vulnerability that they held. I could hear her yelling at me now as she clenched onto my shirt and pulled me toward her."You can't leave me Deku! What if I just died on you, you fucking asshole!" I instinctively reached out with my left hand and put it on her back. She went still at the touch and looked me right in my eyes with a face I could only describe as hope. Finally the words Katsumi had said registered in my hindbrain. My response was immediate and I pulled her to me. I was a somewhat possessive person, to that I'll admit but the very thought that she could leave me filled with a disdain I could never truly be able to articulate. Katsumi couldn't leave me. I wouldn't allow it. She was my greatest obsession friend after all.
"Izuku. Please don't take the burden all onto yourself. When you're happy we're happy. When you're hurt we're hurt. You're not alone." Kaede spoke softly in a tone I had scarcely heard before.
I closed my eyes as I thought. Kaede hadn't been with me nearly as long as Katsumi but in the short year that we had known each other I couldn't help but find myself nearly as obsessed with attached to her as Katsumi. Her positivity was infectious even in spite of her awkwardness. When we first met it was clear to me that she wasn't used to social interaction. It was obvious that the way she scolded me was just her own way of showing she truly cared for me. I could see that underneath her usual stoic demeanor lay a fragile young girl that only wished the best for me. While she wasn't as obvious as Katsumi, Kaede was nearly as desperate for my survival as her.
What am I doing? Why am I like this? How can I hurt these two like this? I wish I could say that I didn't know the answers to these questions but I did. If I really cared for those ideals then I wouldn't be shaken in my convictions right now. But that's just a symptom, not the heart of the problem. The truth was that I was a broken little boy that was unable to let go of the past even as I clinged onto the present. My previous mother would have wanted me to do good yes, but she wouldn't have wanted me to kill myself over it. I've always known that but still I clung to that ideal more than even my own life because without it why was life worth living? In this life I want to live but how could I allow that of myself after all I've done?
Now that I have found a life worth living could I allow myself that? Could I live for myself? My guilt told me no. My obsession desires told me yes. The two could not be reconciled. At least not until now. If these two were hurt because of me then that would be wrong. My guilt roared at me that it didn't make up for the past but it conceded the point. My obsession desires screamed that hurting the ones who I love my friends was unthinkable. I can't hurt them but I can't just forgive myself. For the first time in my life, I didn't know what to do.
"You know, there's nothing wrong with being selfish sometimes." I could hear Momo's soothing voice as she walked up to the pileup of Katsumi, Kaede and I. Once reaching us she bent down at my side and poked my cheek with her finger.
I sighed. It would seem even devils don't agree with me. I looked back down at Katsumi who was now looking at me from her position on my chest. Her pouting face was cute, terrifyingly so. "Don't leave me." She whispered.
"Izuku." Kaede added gently. I could see a small smile forming on her lips.
"I thought you of all people would have learned by now. No matter how strong you are or how much influence you have there will always be something you can't win against." Momo smugly spoke as she kept poking my cheek.
I opened my mouth to retort but I realized she was right. This reminds me of when I was just starting my pseudo quirk training. I asked my dad the secret of how to always win a fight. A pretty stupid question all things considered, but seeing as he had practically taken over all of Japan I thought why not ask at the time. His answer was that such a thing was obviously impossible. That was pretty much the answer I was expecting but he didn't stop there. He continued on to say that to win I must have the will to do anything and for that reason I would never win against Katsumi. This confused me immensely at the time as I won against Kacchan everyday. I knew he was speaking metaphorically but I didn't get it.
…
He wasn't speaking metaphorically, was he? I am not sure what to think of this revelation.
Kaede seemed to see right through me and said, "Wow, I think that actually got through to him."
"Not yet, he's thinking about something stupid right now." Katsumi spoke in a deadpan, somehow figuring me out easily.
I sighed. "Momo, am I stupid?" I asked her, seeing as she was acting the most objectively right now.
"Yes." All three of them intoned immediately.
"Ah, I think I understand now. In that case I give up." I slowly spoke before righting myself. "You girls win."
"Yes! I've finally done it!" Kaede cheered, throwing her arms up in victory.
Momo meanwhile just got up from her squatting position and walked right back to her desk as if nothing had happened.
Katsumi kept leaning against my chest for a moment longer before pulling back. She finally seemed to realize what had just happened as her face turned a few shades redder. She got up and into her desk in a quick motion.
I looked around the classroom and saw that Aizawa was inside his sleeping bag in a corner of the room where nobody would think twice to look. Kirishima was crying about manliness, again. Mina looked ready to gossip about what just transpired to any who would listen. Shoko had an expression of vague bafflement but gave me a thumbs up anyway. The rest of the class seemed to be either extremely confused or very interested in the show.
"Now I wonder if Dad really is the most powerful person in Japan." I whispered to myself rhetorically.
Kaede giggled, obviously knowing who was really in control.
Eijro Kirishima watched the Bossman as he was eating his soup with his working arm. He had disappeared for three days and had returned with a broken arm. While many would call him a blockhead, Eijiro was anything but stupid. While he never considered himself particularly smart, he could connect two and two. All Might was always cautious around the Bossman like if he took a single step then he might break glass. While he had gotten less wary over time, it was clear that All Might treated Izuku differently than everyone else. Izuku's family was wealthy. There were few people that had not heard of the Midoriya Conglomerate in Japan. From what he had heard, Hisashi Midoriya was quite possibly the richest man on the planet.
Eijiro had seen the way other people spoke to Izuku. Many treated him the same as anybody else but just as many treated him with respect and subservience. While Endeavor hid it well, Eijiro could tell that the hero treated the Bossman with a deference that he gave no one else. Even going to their own group of friends Kaede acted much like he thought an advisor would. She often spoke that it was her duty to lead the Boss onto the right path because he was going to be the next head of the Amairin. A group that apparently didn't seem to exist except on conspiracy theory message boards on the internet.
Honestly it made his head spin. Just who was the Bossman that the number one hero treated him with caution and the former number two treated him with respect? Eijiro looked at the Bossman talking with Momo before shaking his head. In the end it didn't matter. The Bossman only did what he believed was right, that Eijiro could rely on. For him that was more than enough to follow him on whatever path he decided to take.
Although, on that note, it would seem that his path had changed. When Izuku came to school with a broken arm Eijiro wasn't sure what to think. With the way Katsumi was leading him in the classroom Eijiro had assumed that they had gotten into a fight and finally confessed their feelings for eachother. However, that was not the case. There weren't any signs of damage that Katsumi's explosions would cause so perhaps the Boss broke his arm by himself and then confessed.
That also appeared not to be the case because Kaede immediately went to berate Izuku before the start of class. That in of itself wasn't unusual as Kaede would often do so due to the Boss's often reckless pursuit of justice. It was one of the things Eijiro admired about Izuku but Eijiro also understood that the Boss often took completely unnecessary risks and did need a good scolding every once in a while to be reigned in. Eijiro had thought that this was just going to be another one of those times but Kaede appeared extremely angry this time. Then out of nowhere Katsumi clocked the Bossman right in the face. But it didn't stop there, like a fucking harem protagonist, the Bossman was immediately surrounded by three beautiful girls all telling him to be more careful with his life.
Then Izuku did something Eijiro had never seen him do before. He gave up. To be honest, that surprised Eijiro more than any of the things that had happened that morning. The Bossman didn't change his mind. He just didn't. Not when it came to doing what he believed was right. Admittedly, Eijiro hadn't known the Bossman for a very long time but it was more than enough to know that the bullheadedness he displayed was magnified when it came to that. Izuku did what he thought was right and that was it. Nothing could stop him, or rather nothing had been able to stop him.
Eijiro didn't know what to think. On one hand he deeply admired that the Boss would stop at nothing to what was right but on the other he knew that the kind of stubbornness that Izuku displayed was liable to end badly if the path he chose was indeed wrong. So perhaps this is exactly what the Bossman needed all along.
Eijiro looked upon Izuku again with an appraising eye. It would seem Kaede had appropriated Izuku's spoon and was personally feeding him herself while he was thinking. The Bossman looked mildly irritated but let it go.
Katsumi though, "What the hell do you think you're doing Chestnut!"
"I'm feeding Izuku. Why? What does it look like?" Kaede responded with a foxy expression.
"Which is very nice of you, but seriously I don't need any he-" The Bossman attempted to say but was cut off by Kaede forcing another spoonful of soup in his mouth. Izuku gave a small look of resignation and began chewing.
"Ooh, that looks fun. Can I do it too!" Shoko butted in with her usual enthusiasm.
"Perhaps we could each go in order so that everyone can get a chance to feed Izuku." Momo spoke in an attempt to create at least a little bit of order to the madness.
"That's not necessary. Really, I can eat on my ow-" Izuku spoke again, attempting to regain his eating privileges but was again stopped by Kaede.
"I suppose we could create a rotation." Kaede vocalized with a look of contemplation crossing her features as she shoved the spoon down the Bossman's gullet.
"No way! Deku should be fed by me! Everyone of you has ulterior motives." Katsumi roared with a slam of her hand on the table.
A coy smile crossed Shoko's face as she bounced over to Katsumi in a smooth motion before in a mirthful tone stating, "Of course, and you're the only one with no reason at all to want to feed Izu-kun. You're just a pure maiden who just wants to help their childhood friend."
"Yes! I mean, no. I mean, shut up!" Katsumi barked.
"Ok, if you say so miss angel." Shoko retorted with a smug look.
"Come back here half n' half! I'll show you an angel." Katsumi squawked as she began running at Shoko.
Izuku sighed as Kaede kept feeding him soup while Momo was patiently waiting next to the chestnut haired girl for her own turn. "Two-thousand yen on the harem route." Eijiro bet in a slightly hushed voice so as not to be overheard.
"Oh really? You seemed so dead set on the Katsumi route." Mina responded in an equally small voice. It was a small running bet between the two of them that had since expanded to the rest of the class of who Izuku would eventually end up with. Of course, the two main candidates had always been Katsumi and Kaede but a few bet on a dark horse in hopes of winning big.
"Yeah, I always thought they were gonna end up together but now I'm not so sure it'll be that simple." Eijiro explained.
Mina cupped her chin in contemplation before responding, "Really? I thought it would be a bit harder to bring you over to the dark side."
As Mina finished speaking, Eijiro saw a small flash of light right above the Bossman. From the flash appeared a small glass bottle filled with a red liquid that quickly began falling to the ground as gravity took hold. The Bossman deftly caught the bottle with his one good hand and placed it on the table. Izuku appeared confused for a second before another flash of light followed by the appearance of a paper note which gently floated for a moment before Izuku plucked it out of the air as well.
"A Phoenix Tear?" Kaede finally took a moment to stop her feeding of Izuku to look vaguely dismayed at the completely unexpected turn of events.
Eijiro could hear the Bossman grinding his teeth as he finished reading the note. "Of course, because why wouldn't he?" Izuku ground out.
Kaede peered over Izuku's shoulder and quickly read the note as well before giggling. "Well, it would appear that someone had my back."
Davi Ademir sat upon his favorite chair reviewing a recording of the fight between a devil and Izuku Midoriya. A smile could be found making its way to the corner of his lips. He could see the boy abandoning his false persona as the fight drew on and through his desperation he could see exactly what he saw those few months ago. The boy was a born Campione and he was sure the boy would have found a way to turn the fight around if the newbie hadn't interfered. Most thought the Fifth Campione was impulsive and airheaded even if they would never say it aloud. This was mostly true although it wasn't like he was incapable of waiting or making long term decisions. Ademir just preferred enjoyment in the moment rather than having to wait and restrain himself. That being said, Ademir always made a point to never kill someone that hadn't reached their full potential. Even if they weren't able to provide him entertainment at that moment, people grew and changed.
The Fifth Devil King knew that was his Obsession. Just like all other Campione he possessed desires and wishes that exceeded common sense. Afterall, who in their right mind would allow someone to live so that they might come back to challenge them in the future? Ademir sighed at that thought. He wouldn't have to wait for a better challenge if the other Campione weren't such sticks in the mud. The First only really cared for her art and wine as the embodiment of a stereotypical French. Honestly fighting someone that cared more about the next art exhibition than their battle really killed his mojo. The Second only cared for reaching enlightenment and would never fight Ademir head on and always trapped him inside an illusion and spouting a bunch of vaguely spiritual drivel before vanishing. The Third only cared for expanding his territory and proving his superiority. Really, the man should have been born a dragon. He liked the Third's intensity but he always made it way too personal. The Fourth was a perfect ice queen and never showed how she was feeling. She was a good fight but she never matched his intensity.
The Sixth was a wild card being so new. She seemed to value normality in a way none of the others did. That being said, she also was seeming to take her new occupation seriously and that was more than could be said of well, any of the other Campione. Ademir was slightly interested as her fondness for normality seemed to be a smokescreen for her real Obsession and so far she had proved an interesting fight and while initially resistant to fighting him she changed her tune fast enough. That being said, she just seemed to be missing the spark he was looking for.
"Marie, I need you to do something for me." The Brazilian Campione ordered his knightly observer.
"I shall carry out any order you give to the best of my abilities." Marie Romano responded in an almost robotic rehearsed response.
The Fifth could almost taste the battle they would have when the boy finally did the Unreasonable and became a being beyond Common Sense. He grinned.
Upon his tower in the light and underneath a mountain wreathed in darkness two men examined the growth of their chosen successors. The two men both had smiles adorning their faces. The man with black hair saw his son grow and change into exactly what he wanted with barely any effort on his part. He felt heartened that the decision he made all those years ago hadn't been made in vain. The man with silver hair looked down upon his adopted son. With the touch of a single finger a huge stretch of the interior of his mountain base had become dust. It would seem he owed the doctor an apology. A second awakening of a quirk, how novel. The two men's smiles deepened as they looked upon their successors. Why would they not?
Afterall, everything was going to plan.
A/N: Whew, this chapter was hard to write. I wrote the first two thousand words easily enough but when I got to the Izuku's dressing down I was somewhat stumped. I wanted Katsumi's outburst to seem like a natural extension of how dependent she is on Izuku.
Anyways, I finally get to flesh out more of Izuku's character and as we can see he has an extremely unhealthy mindset. On one hand in his last life he saw and caused a lot of death and he feels responsible. On the other hand Izuku isn't as much an ideal driven person as much as he is a people person as weird as that sounds. Despite not even really being at fault, the majority of Izuku's guilt comes from being unable to save his previous mother. That isn't even getting into how unhealthy the relationships he forms are. Just as much as Katsumi is dependent on him, he is dependent on her to an even greater degree even if he doesn't realize it.
Next chapter: The USJ
Till next time signing out.