Disclaimer: I don't own Boku no Hero Academia

Chapter 196:

"Thank you for coming," Lemillion said to the woman who nodded at the young man of only twenty years old. He may have been young, but when the fourth ranked hero in the country requested her help Ms. Clue did not think to deny him. "Are your sidekicks out?"

"Scattered across the country," Ms. Clue replied with a nod. "Yours?"

"The same," Lemillion answered. Except for our most famous sidekicks. All of the third years of U.A. have weekend training today. Leaving us shorthanded, and at such a crucial time too. Admittedly it's better that they're out though, as I wouldn't have anything for Deku to do today.

"Why the sudden acceleration?" Ms. Clue wondered to the younger man who she felt had some new information based on their current activities.

Lemillion shook his head and began like there was no big reason, "Lifebringer's whereabouts are unknown to everyone. Given recent events, I have been given the all-clear by several top hero officials to locate and track him. He is a danger to those around him…"

Yet that danger is somewhat negated by the fact that no one knows where he is, Ms. Clue thought, though she kept that to herself.

"Our sidekicks are undercover, and we have heroes and undercover cops on the lookout in every major city," Lemillion started again. "The two of us will take point," he continued to the more experienced heroine who nodded her head at him in understanding why they were together at his agency instead of out there themselves right now. "When we have confirmation on his whereabouts, one of us will go. There's the chance he gets spooked if he notices our presence, so the other will stay on standby and prepare for a second attempt."

"If he flies away just because we're following him," Ms. Clue began.

Lemillion cut her off though, "He could fly straight to a hospital in any city in Japan and use reviving a patient there as an excuse for his Quirk use." Ms. Clue hummed and nodded at Lemillion's counter to what she had started arguing with. Lemillion paused and then added in a lower voice, "Though again he has not brought anyone back to life today. We don't know what he's doing. The revival spree he went on created a chorus of media calls for him to get out in front of it and explain what he was doing, but instead he just went to school and then vanished for the weekend. We only know that he isn't currently breaking his travel ban because of spottings of him in Yutapu, Hosu, and Osaka today."

"He wouldn't leave the country, knowing the consequences," Ms. Clue started, shaking her head as she doubted Sazaki would be so dumb considering how cautious she knew him to be after the last time she seen him. Black disappeared off everyone's radar not long after leaving the country. Never got on the third plane he bought a ticket for. Just disappeared off the face of the Earth during that layover, back into the shadows. Back as a terrorist in the Army of Death.

I need to have a location on Lifebringer to send Endeavor by tomorrow. He has to be monitored through the next few days for precaution, even Endeavor knows that despite how he still denies Sazaki's being Death. Lemillion frowned and said aloud in a low voice, "I am certain now, beyond all doubt, that Lifebringer is Death. We cannot have him roaming freely around Japan." Calling out Eziano like that. Saving hundreds in under a day with your Quirk that changes everything. Every day you're out here you make dangerous moves, and yet you know better than anyone what the consequences of those moves will be. I need to know your status. I need to know where you are right now. And if I need to, I'll arrest you today if that's what it takes to keep you monitored by Monday.

Togata Mirio stepped off of a shinkansen wearing a trench coat and a hat with a rim covering his hair and shadowing the top of his face. It was dark already too, so he was even more hidden and with excuse as the night was cold. It felt like a reminder that the winter had not technically ended yet, despite the past week of warmer temperatures and blooming sakura blossoms. That cold temperature allowed him to keep his collar up high and covering more of his bland face that had a frown on it, Lemillion's best disguise of it all.

The frowning hero stepped off of the platform and headed down to the streets of Yutapu. He walked out of the station and glanced to his left, Twelve. He looked to the right and started walking that way where there were only five people he immediately saw upon his exit. It's not too late, but on a weekend, as cold as it is, shouldn't be many people out and around. The forecast says potential for rain or even snow tonight if it hits 0, though it doesn't feel that low yet. Sleeting is most likely. Will make for lower visibility. His costume's helmet has a thermal reader in the visor. If he's taken his costume out of school, he'll have his motion sensors and cameras as well he could be using wherever he wants.

Lemillion kept his hands down in his long coat's pockets as he walked through the city. He turned to his left when he hit main street, looking far down it in the direction of a wide gap between skyscrapers. His attention shifted from the part of the city Shiketsu High School's campus was in, looking to his right instead. He headed that direction and down some smaller avenues, getting farther from the center of Yutapu and glaring in the direction he was heading while listening to voices speaking into his right ear. Ms. Clue continued, "…I don't think he spotted my sidekicks though. Before he left, Kitchenette saw him disappear into an alley only for a black blur to shoot up into the sky a couple of minutes later. She never followed him into the alley or even made it out like she was watching it, but she saw the blur in her peripherals."

"Why do you think he left?" Scorchle wondered, while leaning back on a seat in a cafe up in Feruchia in Hokkaido. "And if he used his Quirk-"

"It could have been to head to an accident, or a hospital," Lemillion countered his sidekick as he continued to walk down the road. "He's here now though, and that's what matters."

"It's possible he knows we're tracking him," Ms. Clue warned the young man who sounded very intense right there. "But I think he shouldn't. As long as the officers who spotted him in Yutapu did not give themselves away, we should still have him off guard… Or as off guard as he gets."

Lemillion checked his phone for the time. Darkness falls early, even in March. Those clouds aren't helping either. He let out a heavy breath that hung in the air in front of his face only to disperse as he stepped through it.

The hero in charge of the operation walked his way down another somewhat main avenue, then he stepped down into an alley between two stores closed for the night. He walked into the alley and nodded at the officers wearing casual clothes who nodded back at him. "You didn't follow him for long, right?" Lemillion wondered to the pair who had been awaiting his arrival.

"I spotted him first, didn't change up what I was doing at all," Sergeant Mizuki replied. The woman with dark pink skin and long green hair shook her head and then nodded at her partner on her side.

The larger man with tan skin and large elephant-sized ears mentioned, "I started a jog once he was out of sight, and came up behind him on the other side of the road. We had the whole team alternating who kept eyes on him," Hirano paused for a moment and glanced back at his sergeant before looking to Lemillion in a semi-proud but also semi-hesitant way. "He shouldn't have any idea we were watching him. None of the officers on the team have ever met him, and Detective Kouishi, the last one to see him," Lemillion nodded as Hirano gave the specification. Hirano continued, "Said he didn't move from where he was waiting for Lifebringer based on our reports of where he was coming from. Didn't move before Lifebringer came into sight, or after the kid went past."

"Good. Good work all around," Lemillion said, nodding at the older officers in front of him who made it sound like their undercover op really had worked out well. This is why having these resources is important. Sazaki's too good for anything less than this to catch him unawares. Even this, I still have to be wary as he may know I'm coming. This location is giving me an uneasy feeling…

Lemillion left the alley and headed towards where those cops told him Kouishi was. Detective Kouishi was keeping quiet over the comms himself, and everyone understood as there was the possibility that Lifebringer had thought he was suspicious and was watching to see if the man suddenly started talking to himself or something.

Lemillion spotted Kouishi leaning against a wall of an apartment building. The cop glanced the twenty year old's way, nodded once at him, then motioned his head to the other side as where Lemillion was approaching from. Kouishi had just rounded the corner to get out of sight, and he mentioned to the hero who stopped before him, "Saw him head into the park. He had his hood up and I never saw his face, but he was coming from the direction I knew he was coming from, wearing what we knew he was wearing. I've got eyes on the other exits, but no one's left the park since Lifebringer entered an hour ago."

"Great work," Lemillion told the man who had six closed eyes on his face and only one open to look at Lemillion.

Kouishi questioned the hero after Lemillion's response, "You want me to do some recon for you-"

"You shouldn't be using your Quirk as it is," Lemillion replied with a shake of his head. Kouishi frowned at the hero with his expression losing both the gratitude in it for the praise and the willingness to assist further in the operation.

Bet if this was the other way around Lifebringer wouldn't have said a thing. Kouishi just nodded at the younger man who was his superior as all heroes were, even if the boy's response annoyed him. "Alright. We'll be on standby." Kouishi rose up his hand and covered up his own earpiece, and Lemillion hesitated for a moment before reaching up and covering his own as well so none of the others on their comms would hear them. "If things go south and the kid attacks you, thinking you're one of those assassins he's got after him…"

Lemillion's expression got very dark, and he shifted his gaze to the corner and around it to where he could see the very edge of the park that Lifebringer had gone inside a while ago. The possibility that he knows I was coming after him tonight, has skyrocketed. Lemillion recognized the park he was staring at. He told me in that very park, that he could have attacked me and blamed it on that very excuse. If he knows I'm coming… Sazaki attacking me, could be disastrous, and yet it could be the only thing I could use to stop him now. Get him in custody, if only for a little while. Just long enough that we can keep constant surveillance on him.

"I'll be fine," Lemillion assured the officer who nodded in agreement, though Kouishi did feel a lot of doubt about that considering Lemillion's determined expression.

Lemillion started to the corner, and he reported in to the rest of the team listening to him. "…location is most likely in Yutapu's East Park. I'm going in to pinpoint where he is."

"As long as we have the park under surveillance, shouldn't that be enough?" Scorchle wondered to his friend who he was a sidekick for. "We can wait to see him fly up again, or leave the park for wherever he's heading."

"Lifebringer did say he's not living in Yutapu anymore," Ms. Clue's top sidekick, Retcher said in his deep voice. "You sure it was a smart move to go there, Lemillion?"

Ms. Clue did not speak against what her sidekick said. She thought so herself, even though she had already left Lemillion's agency earlier to check up on an earlier lead that left her stranded far from Lifebringer's second confirmed location. If he leaves again, it won't matter the resources we have, Ms. Clue thought. We'll be too many steps behind him and the officers we have in other cities won't be enough to keep track of him. We're lucky so far in that he's spent his time today at school and in big cities. Yet no one has been revived, even though he's using his Quirk.

"It's exactly because he said he's no longer living in Yutapu, but wouldn't narrow it down any farther than that, which makes me wonder," Lemillion replied quietly. "What if the last thing he thinks the villains would expect, is him to stay in the same place they just attacked him in?" Lemillion questioned it, then added lower, "It's late at night already, but I'm going to wait before moving in. I have a strange feeling right now, but I'll report in soon. Lemillion out."

"Good luck."

"Call for help, if you need it," Scorchle added. The sidekick far from his friend wished he was there right now, though that wish was only halfhearted anyway. That stuff about the Pit was hardcore. And that's not even Death. That's Sazaki. He was turned in for an underworld bounty, killed the other gladiators, the ones pitting them against each other, the ones betting… He killed everyone! Or at least, he might have. The worst part is not knowing what's true and what's not with that place.

Lemillion took out his earpiece and put it down in his pocket with his phone in it. If they need me they'll call. Togata took a deep breath and started for the park, though he continued to make it look like he was just some random person. He shivered from the cold that was getting colder, and he moved into the park without going to the entrance of it. He was just walking on the sidewalk in one second, then his body started leaning to the right and he teleported through the fence and past a tree that he popped out of the ground behind. If anyone else had been on the sidewalk with him he would have completely vanished from their sight in that one movement into the park.

The pro hero stayed silent after entering, waiting for ten minutes in that position with his eyes searching everywhere around him. Not one person walked through the park towards the exit while he was waiting there. No one messaged him. The streets had a couple of cars drive down, and one couple who looked college-aged walked by that late sounding drunk by their loud voices. Lemillion started deeper into the park after those ten minutes, and he moved in the direction of the opposite corner without questioning where he had to go, though he was searching everywhere thoroughly on his way towards it.

The young blond hero crossed the central path of the park underground before popping up in the light brush that even his outer disguise was too strong to get ripped through despite some protruding twigs. Lemillion moved through the bushes and he headed for the far side of the park from where he entered. He watched his footsteps closely, even using his Permeation to step through leaves and only return his solid form to the soles of his shoes when they were about to touch the floor.

Togata saw the clearing ahead of him. Even though it was nearly pitch black in the small forest, light from the surrounding city came in more in the area without as much tree cover. That clearing he was approaching had a three story building in it, and Lemillion slowed down before reaching even the edge of the clearing this time. He knew I was following him because he had known that whole weekend. And yet he figured it out through the first day. He didn't know from the very beginning, as much as he made it out like he always knew. There were ways he could have figured out it was me though. This time, I've only now arrived. There's no way he could call me out without having police working with me contacting him first.

None of the officers or heroes helping me have any reason to betray us here though. None have had family revived by Sazaki. None have posted any pro-Lifebringer sentiments on social media. Kouishi's willingness to use his Quirk is a sign he's more for a wider use of Quirks, but that's common across Japan right now, not just for cops. And not just for Lifebringer supporters. People argue that he was not the first one to bring up these issues, like the Liberation Army once fought for. Everyone can see the other countries though that peacefully changed things more like the Liberation Army once wanted them to switch to through revolution. We can all see the possibility of us democratically reaching the point of widespread Quirk use throughout the public. We are not at that time yet though, and we must follow the laws we enforce ourselves until that point arrives, if it ever does.

Lemillion shifted his thoughts away from the possibility of his officers helping Lifebringer over him. It was a high possibility when so many people would not consider it a betrayal as much as a potential to get themselves or their families preferential treatment when it came to revivals. He believed in the integrity of the officers on his team though that he or the other heroes had vouched for, so he hoped there was no leak in his operation even with it as big as it was. Something else took his attention though as he slowly neared the edge of the clearing where the building was that Lifebringer had once confronted him in for following him around.

Togata froze and then leaned his head forward a little more, staring towards the front doors of the building from the left side of it. He was closer to the front left corner, but he inched around so he was more on the front side so he could get a better look at the two men standing outside of the front doors of the abandoned government office. The building that never had its construction finished seemed to be guarded, as there were a pair of men standing outside… Men?

One of the two people standing outside of the building had on a heavy black jacket that was definitely of a feminine style. She had on warm wool gloves too, and though her hair was long and black, she had some light stubble on her chin and cheeks. The cross-dresser was staying quiet though she was rubbing her red-gloved hands on her arms in as fast a way she could without making noise of buffeting around her coat. The man next to her/him had shorter dark hair and his skin was a darker shade of tan close to officer Hirano's skin tone from what Lemillion could tell from this distance. The man was wearing a brown beanie and had silver hair, and Lemillion looked closer at him, and closer, and he felt his stomach turn over as he was recognizing the man more each second.

Is there a meeting here or something? I thought maybe they were villains, and Sazaki was planning on attacking them… Or maybe that he led me here, to give me something else to do. Like he didn't want to bother taking them down himself. Lemillion grit his teeth as he stared at the two people standing outside the building, one of whom he recognized as a homeless man who Lifebringer had bumped into and gave some Burger Lando to, even after the man had tried to rob him. They are clearly standing as if at guard posts, but neither look ready for a fight. They look tired. Why are they standing out in the cold when there's shelter right behind them?

Lemillion grimaced deeper with the dark look on his face intensifying each second. He thought about reports he was seeing throughout the day as he waited for a hit on Lifebringer that he would follow. All day, every day, people just talk about him. They reached out to ask him about Terra and for him to confirm what Oda wrote in his book. No response. The doctors who say Sazaki gave them his number on the day of all his revivals claim he hasn't responded to any of them since the following morning when he went to school. Now people are starting to wonder if Sazaki showed us his power just as an example of what he'll do after graduation, or when he has free time. No one knows. No one can tell what he's thinking, and he's scaring more people every day with that power and attitude he has with it.

The dark look on Lemillion's face shifted darker for a different reason. The leak was probably on our end, Lemillion suspected. He was forced to give his address to the government, even though he knows how corrupt it can be. Even though he knows how much money is being offered for his bounty, that I'm sure someone who knew where he was spilled the beans. Even if I find his real address, Lemillion admitted it to himself, even as he glared towards the building he suspected Lifebringer to be inside. I'll ultimately have to keep it to myself. Not even the rest of the team needs to know. I still need to find it out myself first though, so if we do wind up needing to get him at home I can let everyone know… but only at that time we go after him will I share it. I won't make it easier for Eziano.

Lemillion moved closer to the edge of the clearing. The area just around the building was still pretty overgrown too, but there were no trees for a good range around it. Even on the right side of the building in the smaller clearing between the building and the fence blocking in the park, the trees there and the overgrown brush would keep passerbys on the sidewalk from seeing the homeless men standing out front. Lemillion watched the two guards who he wanted to start speaking to each other to explain to him what was happening, but either the two were not friendly with one another or were just being quiet for some other reason. It did not look like that reason was that they were super focused on their posts, as the woman-looking of the two took off her right glove and started messing around with her long fake nails for a minute before getting too cold and covering her hand back up.

This is getting me nowhere. I haven't heard anything from the building at all. It's pitch black on the second floor, yet there doesn't look to be anything blocking the windows like they don't want people to see what's going on inside. Is Sazaki in there? Is it a meeting? Who are these people, and why are they here right now? This place was empty last time I came.

Lemillion stepped out from behind his cover. He started walking forward so calmly that it took the two right in front of him a couple of seconds to process what was going on. Both of them shot straight up and stared forward in panic, only to look closer at the person moving towards them in the dim clearing that their eyes had adjusted to thanks to the city lights just outside of the park. Lemillion had removed his hat as he stepped out of his cover, and he pulled down his collar as well and moved forward with one of the most recognizable faces in the country that the two in front of him saw and stared at with even bigger eyes than what they first had, though some of their initial fear did leave their expressions.

The hero kept an intense expression on his face as he walked towards the two, expecting them to say his name or exclaim in surprise at the sight of him. He actually wanted them to turn and run back into the building, yelling out for 'Lifebringer' or something. Instead though, the man in the brown beanie let out a half-sigh of relief before holding his breath as Rebecca spun her head to him and put a finger up to her lips. Then the cross-dresser spun to Lemillion, and she emphatically pressed her finger harder into her lips at the young man who stopped in front of them with a confused look on his face at the shushing motion she was making with her finger.

You seriously think he's going to stay quiet? The homeless man with silver hair wondered with a skeptical glance to his left. Then he hesitated as his eyes shifted farther back and at the building behind him, and he frowned while turning back to Lemillion. He rose his right index finger feeling a bit silly, but he also put it to his lips in a shushing motion without actually saying 'shush' or 'shh' through his lips. He shook his head at Lemillion when the younger man opened his mouth, like he was going to ask the reason for this. The two of the homeless just gave him looks telling him to stop, but the silver-haired man frowned as he lowered the finger from his lips. We can't just leave it at that though. He'll ask, if we don't show him. Is there any point in keeping quiet then? I guess, we can try it.

Rebecca turned to her side in surprise this time as the man next to her turned his body sideways and motioned at Lemillion to come closer. She glanced back Lemillion's way too, then she slouched her shoulders in an overly exasperated way and motioned back with a slam of her head backwards like she was reluctantly agreeing to let him come in too. The man in a brown beanie next to her slowly pushed the cracked-open door inwards, feeling apprehension but also a bit of relief as he had felt terror for a moment when that figure stepped out of the forest in front of him. Thought I was dead for a second.

This Lemillion's a cutie up close! Rebecca thought, leaning her head forward as Lemillion came closer to the doors. He frowned at her in a way that scared the woman into pulling back fast, only to flinch and duck hard while swerving inwards. She threw her arms out to the sides for balance, after just missing bumping into the open doorway and making a loud noise.

Lemillion glanced oddly at the woman, but he frowned back at the man in front of him who motioned in the direction of a staircase Lemillion remembered the location of already. He stayed behind the homeless man though who led him through the building. This man held a knife at Lifebringer. I didn't say anything that day because of the way Lifebringer handled it, and because I didn't want to give my own tracking of him away. What Sazaki said did not seem to have much of an impact on his life though… though I supposed he does not look as dirty- he had just come out of a dumpster, I bet he's rarely as dirty as he is after dumpster diving. What is he doing here though? Why are they being so quiet? I don't hear anything coming from upstairs. No footsteps, or movement whatsoever.

They reached the stairs, and Lemillion stayed below and looked back harshly at Rebecca who stared at him in surprise at that look. She moved ahead of the hero who was not going to be closed-in though, and then she followed up the man with silver hair who turned back after getting halfway up the staircase. He turned back and pointed at the next step up from what he was currently on, and he shook his hand and his head while making eye contact with Lemillion in the building darker than it was outside. Lemillion frowned even more as the man made that motion at him, but he nodded after a moment as the guy stayed stopped waiting for a response of some kind.

That step creaked last time I came. I recalled that already. I thought back then that maybe that would give me away, but I had given myself away a long time before that. Not this time though. These two haven't alerted anyone of my presence, and yet they're bringing me right up and keeping quiet almost like they want me to sneak up on him. What is going on here?! Lemillion stepped two steps up to get over the creaky step and then continued to the second floor of the building. He walked on the floor with light footsteps even lighter than the homeless pair who were leading him towards the main room, but Lemillion stepped past them now as he saw into that main room and saw something that made his eyes go wide and narrow right after.

He saw many more people than just the two who had been outside. They were sitting on the floor leaning with their backs up against the walls, or laying down with their heads propped up by cinderblocks with extra clothes they had between their heads and the hard pillows to make them softer. Lemillion stepped into the room, and all those people sitting up turned their heads towards him and opened their eyes huge at the sight of the young man who just entered the building. A few of the homeless started moving like they might get up, only to receive looks from others, and some of the others frowned towards the two guards who had led Lemillion inside too, though they gained defensive looks and shook their heads with frowns at Lemillion's back showing they were not the reason he was here.

Lemillion's expression changed. His accusatory expression when he came in vanished. He stepped farther into the room, and he moved a bit to the right to look past one of the main pillars to the wall across the room from him. Standing at that wall were a couple of homeless people, these two looking more threatening than all the others as they had leaned off the wall and were glaring towards him. One of them had scars on the bottom of his right cheek, the other had on a pair of horn-rimmed glasses that had a small crack on the bottom of the right lens. Between the two of them, were two others sitting on the floor with their backs up against the wall and thick backpacks next to them with gear attached on the outside too.

The two sitting between the standing strong homeless guys looked like much older men, and they both frowned towards Lemillion too while sitting there with raggedy blankets on over their legs. There were about twenty people total in the room when Lemillion entered, a couple more now that the guards from outside had come in too and were at the exit. Lemillion focused in between the two old men sitting there against the wall though, at the third person sitting there who wore the same hoodie and sweatpants he was reported to be wearing from the cops who last saw him in Yutapu. His hood was up but his head was back on the wall, not bowed, and yet his eyes were closed even in that sitting-up position.

Zach Sazaki sat there with his eyes closed and his breath coming in slowly and in a steady way that looked so much to Lemillion like he was just closing his eyes. His own eyes grew wider still, as he thought about how he had entered the building and got up here so silently. They're all, quiet- they're all awake! Lemillion realized the second thing after, and his own breath sped up though he kept it quiet as he continued to stand just past the middle of the room looking across it at Sazaki's sleeping face. His eyes lowered a little from Sazaki's face to between his legs, where there sat a backpack looking like the one he knew Sazaki brought to school with him.

Twenty-one homeless people glared at Lemillion with expressions he realized as he shifted his gaze around, his head turning slowly and his eyes panning around the room. Two of the harshest glares came from the men standing right off the same wall Zach was sitting against. Neither of them moved. Neither said a word. Their eyes just darkened and their eyelids narrowed in at the pro, with the one in glasses on the left looking at him through eyes that gave off a green glow, and the other with the scars on his cheek just balling his fists so tightly at his sides. Scye and Paiku stared into Lemillion's eyes without hesitating when the pro looked back at them and got a darker look on his own face for their apprehensive looks.

Are they villains?! How- how am I- Lemillion gulped while slowly shifting his eyes right back on Zach. He felt intimidated, and it was not because of the men and a couple woman glaring at him from around the room. He stared at the teenager who sat completely still with all these people around him, awake, glaring at him in ways like they were going to fight him. I have no idea what these people are doing here. Yet, Lemillion could picture Sazaki in that alleyway, handing burgers off to the homeless people he met. It wasn't just feeding them. He, talked to them. He gave them advice and, treated them like… Lemillion turned his head to the side and looked back at the man who had once tried mugging Zach for destroying his life. That same person who once tried to rob Lifebringer, looked as serious about protecting him here even from a hero. Like every one of them in this room would fight a hero, and risk going to jail if I tried attacking him.

Lemillion looked back at the younger man leaning against the wall who continued to sleep so lightly that the smallest noises would likely wake him up. How he did this, isn't unknown to me. It's not something I can't wrap my head around. His methods of giving them money, intimidating them into being good, and acting like a friend to them has created this… Except, Lemillion's right foot lifted up, and it stepped back. He froze, but the homeless around the room stared at him with wider eyes too, and some with smiles breaking out on their faces. The ones who had been glaring at him threateningly looked relieved as he backed off, and Lemillion took another step back before stopping and just staring at Zach in no dark way at all.

This is where he's sleeping… no. He's moving around. This is no permanent base for him. If all these people are here, it's because he found this place and told them about it so they would have shelter in these cold nights when nothing is offered to them. Lemillion stared towards Zach with his eyes steady and thoughtful, though no longer unnerved. He just watched the teenager sleeping there looking like he was awake, and the pro thought in a darker way, This is just somewhere he's staying for the night. So as not to put other people in danger, like he did by living at an apartment complex. Moving every night. Lemillion felt dread in his chest and he eased his expression even more, his eyebrows curling up and a heavy breath slipping from his lips though he made sure to keep it quiet.

He's just like them, Lemillion thought. While telling everyone that he has a new place, making everyone wonder where it is. Everyone thinks… and yet here he is. The hero's eyes glanced around again, but he shook his head while taking another step back slowly from Lifebringer he did not want to wake up and have to confront now. I'm not confronting all these squatters. They can tell him I was here in the morning. I have nothing to say to him. I came to find your new address, and now I realize that this operation was doomed to failure from the start.

Lemillion paused and then turned around and started out of the room silently. He made for the exit and just nodded once at the two homeless people who had led him inside who stared at him in surprise at the grateful nod for just keeping things placative through this encounter. Lemillion tried to shake off the intimidation he had felt back in there as he stepped out, but he had to stop and close his eyes as it was not an easy thing to get rid of. He looked back behind him, past the two who had stepped back out after him and just watched as he stared through them back into that room he left. Lifebringer told them about this place that he had looked up in the library, that he had visited to check out the structural soundness of, that he ascertained was a good shelter for homeless people living on the streets. To give them a place with walls and a roof to protect them from wind and the elements. And that research on this shelter that Sazaki did which helped out the homeless, is now helping him as he's in their position himself.

Togata pursed his lips and stared back with his eyes shaking more, And those homeless who must have thought Sazaki was so lucky, so fortunate, to be able to give them money while having his easy life as a rich and famous celebrity, they all see now that he is no different from them. He's been supporting them, helping them not just monetarily but with his moral support too and sincere attempts to better their lives, while barely supporting himself, and, and Sazaki is more than just a hero to these people, Lemillion realized it in a hesitant and even nervous way at the thought. He's more than just another homeless guy or a friend to them…

If I had to describe the looks in those people's eyes, it looked more like they were willing to give their lives for the kid who they are all awake to protect through the night from any potential assassins. In gratitude towards him. Like his own soldiers. His own private army, Lemillion turned back around, and he walked towards the wall and teleported through it right out the second floor of the building and into the ground outside he slipped through and popped up far from the building so he was out in the forest around it. Lemillion gasped out a breath louder now that he was farther away, and he shook his head in disbelief while leaning against the tree on his right for a moment. He pushed off of it and started away only a moment after, but he kept shaking his head at the thought of what was behind him, It's scary how good Lifebringer is at rallying people to him.

He's better than Faith, and yet he doesn't do it maliciously. He doesn't do it with the purpose of creating an army of the homeless to protect him, that's just a byproduct of who he is. He's a better manipulator than Faith to the point that he doesn't even need to try, for people to gather around him. He can raise armies and start a revolution inside a country, like he did in Saudi Arabia, And the way he can rally his troops like he did before the attack on the League of Shadows' HQ, Lemillion stopped and looked back over his shoulder. It was like no speech I had ever heard before.

Lemillion stopped instead of just turning back forward and continuing out of there. He turned around more fully and stared back in the direction of the building Sazaki was spending the night in. The last time he had been there, he had been so intimidated and angered by how bad Zach was. The strength and manipulation Sazaki had shown him through the weekend, how he had directly taken down Rancor, and gotten dozens, hundreds of villains like Spade taken down indirectly… This time, there was only amazement on Lemillion's face as he looked back all by himself in those woods towards the building full of homeless. I can't understand him. I never can, Lemillion was stunned, and awed by the kid back there he could picture sleeping in squalor while the whole country thought him to be fine.

I know I have to stay on him, and arrest him one of these days for being Death. I still know that… but, I think I forgot, Lemillion thought with his lips lifting into a small smile. Just how amazing Death was all that time out there, Lemillion thought it with little regret at the thought. He imagined Death in front of his army in the snow of Panzerstan last January. He heard that rallying cry to his forces, the yells of what the League had been doing, the things that Death had just told the heroes about but his forces had apparently been fighting against for a while. And he saw the Chinese heroes who confronted their ADTF in Qingxiao in order to keep the Army of Death there, and how over 100 people had been revived in a city mostly saved from the earthquake and following flood that the AoD prevented from being as catastrophic as it could have been.

And not just Death, Lemillion admitted to himself too, thinking back on the last time he had come here too more objectively for the first time. Since he's come back too. The Subspace Devils, the amount of people he's revived across Japan, and that's just what people know about. His actions in the shadows have stopped even more villains. He has Confidential Informants. He has helped the poorest in the country to the point that they're willing to go to jail for him. Fight assassins for him even. If they were at all worried about that by being where Lifebringer was sleeping, they could have gone anywhere else. They chose to stay there knowing that he's being targeted by villains. They chose to stay awake to protect him in his light sleep. Sazaki gave them all the help they needed whenever he could, and now they see the one person who was best to them in such conditions that it has to make them feel a need to save him. A chance to repay him. Or just that he's more like one of them than they ever realized before. The leader of the homeless…

I get why it is Deku pulled out of the investigation, Lemillion admitted to himself, albeit begrudgingly. No matter where he goes or what he's doing, Lifebringer's just impressive. I can't help but respect him, as much as I know who he is. What he's done. How it is wrong and needs to be punished… And yet who he is- who he chooses to be, is something I respect with no qualms over it being so. Whatever he's done, as long as he is out here I had hoped his actions would be good and not leading to something bad. I don't think I have to worry. Whatever contact he's had with the Army of Death since his return, it's unlikely they know his circumstances or he knows theirs. They're separate entities. And without Lifebringer at their lead, I trust them even less than ever. Not that I trust the kid, but at least that was the Death I knew. Who leads them now?

Who did you leave in charge?

A/N Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed the chapter! So I only work three days this week, but I'm driving out to spend my days off with my grandpa since his aide's on a cruise right now and he needs someone watching out for him. That's what I spent today doing, gotta do it tomorrow too, but I might have time afterwards tomorrow like I did today to write/edit a chapter. I've got this one ready to post with under an hour left to still get this in the day after I posted the last one. Trying to keep up my update speed, and it's going to accelerate even more through November as my job finishes and I get a couple weeks to just write write write. Anyway, the next arc is underway and I just finished the first chapter of it (next chapter), which I hope to get out tomorrow afternoon. Things boutta start going fast... maybe, I mean, no spoilers! XD

cartoonfan9 chapter 195 . 8h ago

I haven't reviewed this story before, and I rarely ever review stories at all. I just had a couple things to say. First off, I'm really liking these Zach and Himazuri scenes, especially this chapter. I hope Zach remembers and follows through with what they talked about towards the end. He shouldn't feel too pressured by people, so he should be the hero he wants to be.
Secondly, until now, I had absolutely NO idea how this story might end. After this chapter, I think Zach will get a happy ending where he can be how he wants. I remember a few chapters ago you said the ending would be satisfying. For me, a satisfying ending would be him living and becoming a hero. If he dies, no matter how epic the scene, it would be really disappointing. Not surprising, considering how dark this story is, but I would be very disappointed.
Regardless, write this story how you like. I've found very few flaws, so I hope it stays that way. Good luck with everything, and I look forward to reading the remaining chapters. I check the Fanfiction app several times per day in hopes of there being a new chapter for this story.

Well wait no longer, just refresh your page and see the new chapter appear! Haha I'm glad you've been into the story and the recent Zach and Himazuri scenes. Had a cool plan to do with her from the start of the Shiketsu arc, like hers was the only Quirk that I had thought of before creating the character, or before even reaching the chapters where I needed to create those students and their Quirks. I wanted a mind reader to set up future chapters/arcs, like Zach snapping at her with that attack, her being the Shiketsu to learn everything, and a bunch of other cool stuff having an actual friendly mind reader adds. Won't say anything about your predictions or whether or not Zach keeps in mind that stuff he talked about with her, the ending, or anything, but y'all are worried about the ending for nothing. Haven't let you down thus far! Won't pull a Game of Thrones on you, I swear XD Thanks for the review!

papaprep chapter 195 . 22h ago

where is afo...
is he dead in ur story?
cant remember..lol
btw...does tomura have afo like in the manga?

Nah. Not telling. Not dead though from what Zach's said about him. He told Midoriya and Bakugo when he got them alone in the hospital that he thought All For One was looking for a world-ending Quirk. Then he told Midoriya later on that he was baiting AFO into coming to Tartaros so he could either trap him down there or kill him. And as for that last part... i don't think that's what's going on with Shigaraki in the manga... I don't know if that's what the doctor plans on doing with him in this time lapse Shigaraki's going to strengthen his power in, but I don't think he has AFO.

Logargon chapter 195 . 12h ago

Yes sooooooo good, I need more though. WHY CANT YOU WRITE FASTER AND HAVE NO LIFE OUTSIDE OF WRITING. I MEAN GOD DOES OUR SUFFERING MEAN NOTHING TO YOU!?

Thanks soooo much! AND I'M TRYING! PUMPING OUT CHAPTERS FAST AS I CAN HERE! Lol just kidding.

I can go faster...