The battle for I-Island has begun.


I do not own My Hero Academia, it is owned by Horikoshi


Chapter 17 - Battle for I-Island Part 1


"You are late!" said Ida loudly while making a chopping motion with his hands, "Both the Class Rep and Vice Rep should be punctual." Kaminari was standing off to the side looking sympathetic while Todoroki rolled his eyes.

"Shut up!" Mineta snapped at Ida, "It was a miracle I got him to agree to come at all!" Ida looked chastened by Mineta's rebuke.

"Mineta it's fine, where's everyone else?"

"No the fault was mine," commented Ida, "I wasn't thinking, you two had every reason not to come given the recent death of your mother, I apologize Midoriya."

"Looks it's fine, really," Midoriya held up both hands in placating gesture, "Where's everyone else?"

"They haven't arrived yet," said Ida in exasperation as the elevator opened and out stepped Tokoyami in a blue collared dress shirt with black slacks, over the shirt he was wearing a white sports coat and also had a black tie.

"Before you say anything, I apologize for being late, I couldn't find my dress shoes," said Tokoyami, "I take it the girls haven't arrived yet?"

"No they have not," answered Ida, "Also where are Bakugo and Kirishima?"

"I could give him a call and ask," commented Todoroki.

"Dude, how did you get his number?!" Kaminari asked, "I hang out with him at school and I don't have his phone number."

"The same way I got yours, and everyone else in the class, I asked..." Todoroki said with a deadpan tone.

"Minoru and I also have his number, but neither of us have a death wish," Midoriya commented.

"Come to think of it, I don't have his number either," Ida commented, "It would be good for class cohesion if we all had each other's numbers..."

The elevator opened, "Our apologies for tardiness..." said Yaoyorozu going on to explain about having to help Jiro and Uraraka with their outfits. Both Mineta and Kaminari complimented Jiro only to be on the receiving end of her ear jacks.

The elevator opened again and out walked Melissa, "Sorry I'm late."

"You look positively divine," said Tokoyami taking her hand and kissing it.

"Wait, you're hitting on her?" Mineta looked floored, "You realize All Might is her uncle right?" At that moment the emergency lock-down started.


Undisclosed Location (Japan):

All for One reclined in his chair relishing the scene unfolding before him as the opening curtain was about to go up. 'Wolfram really needs to hire better hackers,' he chuckled to himself, 'Their ham-handed method of taking over the security system enabled me to view everything from here. Tracking down where they had stashed young Izuku was most time consuming, even with my 'friends' in HPSC.'

He had known immediately where they had sent the boy while he had still been in Japan, from safe house to safe house, not that he actually had any further plans to target the boy for the moment, but then lost him when they sent him out of the country. Apparently to I-Island, which annoyingly had some of the best security systems in the world, and he couldn't start his observations again until now. He laughed at how the bumbling muscle-brained idiot was all tied up at the moment. 'Maybe the flowers I sent to the funeral caused the HPSC President to panic, most regrettable.'

He then frowned at what Wolfram did next, 'Now that was unnecessary, stabbing young Keigo in the shoulder like that and leaving him pinned to the floor,' All for One recalled briefly meeting Keigo Takami, when he had paid a visit to his father, though he doubted the young Hero would remember him, 'After all he wasn't even two yet. His father really didn't see the potential usefulness of his child's quirk, most disappointing really.' He focused back on the present, 'I wonder if he's made the connection that little Izuku is there, though I did say I wanted the boy left alive. Well I suppose Keigo will be unable to protect his charge.' He ultimately dismissed it deciding Wolfram had his reasons. Meanwhile he watched with interest as young Izuku started taking charge of the group of students, well as far as getting them to decide on a course of action, anyways.

'Now should I make myself known and let Wolfram know that he's about to have people interfering in his operation?' he thought for a moment, 'No, this is the perfect time to see the 9th holder's progression, and besides Wolfram has long said he doesn't need me watching over him. This is the perfect opportunity to see if young Izuku's quirk is undergoing an awakening due to the trauma.'

"Late night?" came a voice behind him.

"Ah doctor, finishing your rounds for the day?"

"More or less," the doctor walked up to him, "So how is the subject performing?"

All for One chuckled, "Test subject? My dear doctor, if I hadn't acquired Tomura, that boy there would have been my protege, genius especially one where a quirk isn't involved is such a rare commodity."

"You should have him eliminated before he becomes a threat," commented the Doctor Ujiko.

"Given the boy's build, I'm not all that worried," All for One shrugged.

"Any signs of other quirks activating?"

"Perhaps," All for One admitted, "While I know most of the past holders' quirks, I don't know them all. In any event the curtain is about to come up."


I-Island Tower Emergency Stairwell (Floor 80):

"It's a dead end," Ida commented staring at the metal security door.

"Midoriya, can you break it down?" asked Yaoyorozu, since she was the class representative she had assumed leadership of their endeavor to restore the security system.

"Don't it will set off the alarm," warned Melissa.

"Why don't we just use this door," Mineta opened the fire-escape door setting of another alarm before anyone could stop him.

"Minoru..."

"Izzy, no matter what an alarm would go off, this way they don't necessarily know our quirks yet," Mineta pointed out as they ran into what looked to be a massive arboretum with a central elevator column.

"Yo can't we use the elevator?" asked Kaminari.

"No, it would be locked down and only certain people would have access," pointed out Melissa.

"The elevator is coming to this floor," called out Uraraka.

"Everyone hide!"


A few seconds later:

"We know you're here, come out and make it easy on yourselves," said the thinner of the two men in military level tactical gear.

"Oh really, you really want to start something..."

'That's Bakugo's voice,' thought Midoriya.

"Easy Bakugo," Kirishima interjected trying to keep things from devolving into a brawl, "Look we kinda got lost..."

'That actually doesn't surprise me,' thought Midoriya though he would never say that to either Kacchan's or Kirishima's faces, they didn't always have the best senses of direction. Though to be fair to Kacchan, that only held true when he wasn't firing on all cylinders, like when his grandfather passed away. 'My mom's death must have really affected him too, I should have been trying to help him through it.'

"A likely story..." the slimmer villain commented while the larger villain activated his quirk. At that moment Todoroki intervened creating an ice wall, and tried to send the rest of them up with a platform made of ice, but Tokoyami shoved Midoriya to the side.

"What Tokoyami?!"

"Midoriya, back them up," Tokoyami barked out as he and the rest of the group ascended to the upper walkways along the wall.

"Tokoyami, that was uncalled for!" yelled Ida.

"Tokoyami, why did you do that?" asked Yaoyorozu, while Mineta looked torn.

"Because I believe I have a very good idea now who these people are, and if I'm right Midoriya could be considered emotionally compromised," answered Tokoyami, "I don't believe he'd go vigilante, but the optics of him facing off against the lead villain..."

"Wait you mean these are the same guys that murdered Midoriya's mother?" Kaminari sputtered, "Oh crap..."

"Tokoyami, I hate to point out the obvious, but how the hell do you know it's them in the first place, also you realize you left the only other person with a provisional license aside from you behind..." Minata pointed out as they ran to the door.

"I have a pretty good idea because I visited Mr. Kurinsumi in the hospital," Tokoyami answered.


Flashback: Hospital (Japan)

Tokoyami knocked on the side of the open hospital room door noticing that Mr. Kurinsumi also known as Rocky, was sitting up in bed though one arm was in an unusual custom sling to account for his quirk.

"Hey Tokoyami," the Squirrel Hero looked up from what he was reading.

"I'm sorry it took me so long to see you," the student apologized.

"It has only been what, two days?"

"Still, I..."

"I wasn't in any condition for people to see me yesterday."

"So, what's the prognosis?"

"I'll recover eventually," the hero gave a weak grin, "I don't know about my career though given the fallout."

"You didn't see the news then?"

"No, I was kinda out of it yesterday, they actually had to do surgery to remove bone fragments. They initially were concerned I would be crippled, but I got lucky on that front."

"Well it doesn't look like you're being blamed for what happened," Tokoyami informed him, "Your early distress call got leaked to the media so people are asking where the other heroes that patrolled the area were. I guess most people think of you as a rescue hero, that got thrown into an extremely dangerous face off with villains."

"That explains the interviews I had between surgeries yesterday and why they didn't have me on painkillers, or rather ineffective ones," he sighed, "They were trying to figure out who the culprits were for sure, their quirks, you know..."

"I see, has Hawks or Midoriya been to see you?"

"No, Hawks was apparently here yesterday, but I hadn't woken up from anesthesia," Rocky replied, "Not that I expect Midoriya to visit."

"He's blaming you for..."

"No, it's not that he won't visit, rather he can't," Rocky explained, "We don't know if they are still after him, and so he's being moved from safe house to safe house, and to keep him from pulling an Ida."

"I see, shouldn't you be resting," Tokoyami gestured at the papers and tablet on the bed.

"No, I want those bastards caught," there was a look of simmering anger in the hero's eyes, but then he sighed, "But Hawks has been sidelined, and I'm in no condition."

"And I can't go looking for them anyways, but I can talk with you; I don't believe Torino or Aizawa-sensei have been given information about these villains yet."

"I imagine they have, but it would be good to talk to someone about it, if you could pull up a chair..."

Tokoyami grabbed a chair and set it aside the bed as Rocky passed him a tablet, "He goes by the name Wolfram, he's kinda a mercenary he's worked for various governments in the past for some pretty shady stuff, his quirk allows him to manipulate metal to his whims, he also has some know associates, they go by the names..."


Present:

"I see," said Ida, "that was a good call leaving Midoriya back there where he won't have to confront his mother's killer, as they reached the door."

"It's locked, damn-it!" swore Jiro.

"Not necessarily, where does that access hatch lead to?" asked Yaoyorozu as she used her quirk to create a small explosive charge.

"To a control room for the climate control of the arboretum down below us," there is an exterior ventilation duct that leads to that room."

"But who's small enough to fit?" asked Kaminari.

"Me," answered Mineta, "You realize how high up we are? One wrong move, one major gust of wind, and I'd be a pancake!"

"If you pull this off you'll be famous, you'll get interviews, and be popular with chicks! Think of the harem!"

"Okay I'll do it, but not for the harem," Mineta declared, "I want that SOB taken down, nobody does what he did to my friends and gets away with it." He took a deep breath and grinned mischievously, "The harem is a nice bonus though," he teased, taking off before Jiro could throttle him while Kaminari started cracking up.


Notes:

Tokoyami changes some of the dynamics and given that I mentioned that he had visited Rocky in the hospital in a previous chapter, it stood to reason that he would have at least some idea of the identities of Inko Midoriya's killers. As such he made the call that Izuku Midoriya should not have to confront Wolfram.

As far as AFO being in the chapter, I figured All for One would take steps to have a ringside seat to see how everything went down.

Finally, while Mineta is still somewhat of a pervert, it isn't dialed up to the comic extreme, and he's getting better at putting the brakes on it. Though even in canon, he's put that on the back burner when the situation is serious.