Sorry for the late chapter, I had a bunch of school projects.
Anyways, thanks for your patience and enjoy!
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Naomasa grit his teeth. [damn, what the hell is going on out there?!] It was close to midnight, and the detective had been working nonstop for the past thirteen hours already when the news of a large-scale terrorist attack on the UN conference was brought to everyone's attention.
That was almost seven hours ago, and since then Naomasa had been working his ass off organizing search parties, keeping surveillance on the island, and establishing mutual communications between the multiple first-responders and the media. He had to keep working like this until an Incident Commander is established and organizes the various operations.
So far, the results were not very promising. There were only two known survivors; one was a hero in the International Militia, and the other was one of the terrorists who was in critical condition and was immediately sent to a hospital. Based on the hero's testimony, there is probably very few if any more survivors.
[Naomasa: !]
Just as the officer was musing over these thoughts, his phone began ringing. Glancing at his phone, he found that he was not acquainted with the caller's number. [It's probably just someone from the media...]
[Naomasa: Hello, who is this?]
[?: That doesn't matter right now! I have information pertaining to the recent attack that you might be interested in!]
[Naomasa: What?! What kind of information?!]
[?: We know who launched the attack! It'd be safer to tell you in person though. Tell me where you'll meet me.]
[Naomasa: Oh, umm, how's Kanto café downtown?]
[?: That's fine. Just get there as soon as possible.]
As the mysterious caller finished his sentence, he hung up despite Naomasa's pleading to not too. But it was too late now. Things were happening quickly. The gears were already in motion to change the world, and all anyone could do is try to keep their feet on firm footing. Because otherwise, they'd fall.
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When Naomasa arrived at the café, no one was there. He spent several minutes waiting for the caller, but after a while he decided that it must have been some horrible idea of a prank call. After all, why would he trust a random phone call with no reliability? Thinking back on it, he had handled this whole situation awfully. After concluding that it was the exhaustion getting to him and that he should just report that number, he turned to leave.
The detective walked down the street at around eight in the morning, completely spent, and mumbled to himself that he would climb into bed as soon as possible. It was then that a man in a trench coat rushed from a gutter he was walking past and tossed an envelope into Naomasa's arms, before racing down the street and disappeared into another narrow gutter.
At first Naomasa was confused, but quickly realized what was being implied and examined the letter. After opening it, the detective began skimming through the note, but as he read, his eyes grew wide. The claims the author made were pretty extreme and the note gave no real evidence to support these claims, however, if this is true it would at least somewhat provide the answers the police force needed.
Although he didn't believe the note in the least, he still felt that he should at least get All Might's opinion...
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3 hours later
[Magne: It seems that everyone is panicking now. Who knew a single attack could have such an enormous impact?]
[Dabi: Well, I don't blame them. With the fall of their stupid symbol of peace, and the ever-rising crime rates, the unrest and insecurity people felt was already overwhelming. The existence of such a terrifying quirk coming into the light as well as the murder of over three-hundred heroes and government officials and leaders just pushed them over the edge.]
[Kurugiri: Now, now, let's not jump to conclusions. We know literally nothing about the attackers' goals, or the Quirk users. And on top of that, with a Quirk that powerful, there is bound to be devastating backlash.]
[Shigaraki: Kurugiri is correct. Before we make a move, we have to find out more about the quirk user. There were only two known survivors from the incident, and one of them was a hero who already made his testimony of the attack public. I doubt we could get any more info from him. On the other hand, the second survivor was one of the attackers, and therefore has to know something. This benefits us as well, because do to her critical condition she was relocated to here in Japan so that she could be in close proximity to the Recovery Girl.]
[Kurugiri: Excellent analysis, Shigaraki. From what I hear, she's under tight security in UA High, making kidnapping impossible as of now. I suggest waiting until we either have more information on the situation, or until they loosen their security.]
[Toga: Ah, man! Does this mean I have to stay here and wait some more! I don't want to wait anymore! I wanna kill something!]
[Shigaraki: We won't be standing around idlily, Toga. Dabi, I need you to pass on some information to your informant. I have a certain Nomu I want to try out.]
[Dabi: Aye...]
[Shigaraki: Should our and that quirk user's lines cross, then we will make a move. As of right now we shouldn't be concerned with situations we can't influence.]
Saying this, the white-haired villain sat back in his chair, well his minions nodded in agreement with his words. And why wouldn't they? The incident is the talk of the world, and if the League of Villains could get the terrorists to align with them, the spotlight the terrorist has would be shared with the League. But even though the League would be tremendously benefitted, since they have no influence a situation, any effort put into researching the attack would end up completely futile.
[?: But what if I told you that you could influence this situation?]
[All: ...!]
Although they were hidden deep underground in a hidden facility, a young man had somehow evaded all their security systems, and now found himself face to face with the League. The man had a some-what prideful and all-knowing demeaner about him, which irritated several of the League's members.
[Dabi: Who are you and how did you get in here?!]
[?: Don't worry, I am friendly and simply want help you all, however, I'd prefer to keep my methods hidden until I can trust you.]
[Dabi: You didn't answer my question. Who are you?!]
The man, seeming to be overflowing with pride smiled and stated his title.
[?: I am the New Eldia Empire's Survey Corps Commander Floche Forster, and I am here in the name of His Majesty to establish a connection that will soon grow into a mutually beneficial relationship between Eldia and the League of Villains.]
Floche extended his hand to the somewhat confused League.
[Floche: Pleased to meet you.]
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It was Saturday, the sun was high in the sky, and the wind was gentle and carried a warmth with it. The bright and beautiful day reminded Eri of the first time she visited that park. Because she had only been to the UA campus and the hospital since she was freed from Chisaki, Eri was extremely nervous. But that was only natural, considering everything she had gone through.
Mirio was the one who took her to the park the first time and had comforted her after she got too nervous and ended up bawling. It did take several visits, but she eventually got used to the new environment and even started to make friends with the other kids her age that regularly visited the park. Now, it was the part of the week she looked forward to the most.
She enjoyed her weekly park visits so much that sometimes, like right now, she would run away from whoever was taking her there at the time (usually Deku or Mirio) just to get there faster and have more time to play. This time, it was Uraraka who was leading Eri to the park, and unfortunately, she wasn't pre-informed about Eri's overly excessive excitement, and as a result the little girl was already far ahead of Uravity and completely out of sight.
The reason Uraraka was taking care of Eri instead of the usual Izuku or Mirio was simple; ever since Mirio lost his Quirk he, naturally, had been falling behind in the hero aspect of UA because he is unable to participate in most exercises. Because of this Mirio needed to put in twice as much effort into academic studies to keep his grades up. Midoriya however had simply volunteered to help Ayoyama with his Quirk training beforehand. Apparently, they have gotten close recently.
[Ochako: !]
Ochako was racing down the side-walk and calling out for Eri when she finally saw her standing on the other side of the street with a worried expression on her face. Eri nervously reached out her hand toward the people walking past her, clearly searching for someone that could help her. And in addition, the way she paced back and forth and walked in a circle told Uraraka that Eri didn't know which direction she should head and must be lost.
[Ochako: If you're going to get lost that easily then don't run off by yourself]
Although Uraraka mumbled this somewhat irritated comment to herself, when she saw Eri the first thing she felt was a since of relief, not irritation. But either way, after arriving in front of the child, it was soon replaced with compassion. And maybe a little panic. Only took a few seconds to cross the street and reach the nervous Eri, and in that small amount of time Ochako was unable to think of an effective method of comforting the child. Maybe I could try to coax her... Standing in front of the crying child, Uraraka got on her knees, smiled, and took Eri's hand.
[Ochako: Don't run off by yourself next time, alright?]
[Eri: snnf]
Eri wiped the tears from her eyes and looked up at Ochako, before suddenly lunging at Ochako and wrapping her arms around her. Ochako was startled by the sudden embrace, but Eri just held on tighter as tears ran down her cheeks.
[Eri: Please don't leave me alone! I don't like being lost!]
Uraraka gently smiled before wrapping her arms around the sobbing child, returning the hug. Now I just have to get her to calm down before people start watching. Sure enough, a middle-aged lady had already stopped to enjoy the show. The lady placed a hand to her chest and made a "aww" noise, and why shouldn't she? It truly was a heartwarming scene, and not to break the forth wall or anything, but I'd stop to watch as well.
[Ochako: Hey Eri, we should get going to the park before it closes]
Eri responded to Ochako's words by slowly releasing the embrace, wiping the remaining tears from her eyes before smiling. [Aye!]
Ochoko's hand however, she refused to let go as the two turned toward their destination.
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Naomasa Tsukauchi was stunned by the reactions he received from Principle Nezu, All Might, and Shoto Aizawa. After showing the mysterious letter to the trio, the detective thought that they would immediately present their opinions on the subject and debate whether or not it's true. However, instead each person in the group admitted that they too had received the message and wished to hear the other's thoughts.
[Nezu: The fact that this message appears to have been distributed to multiple specific people decreases the likelihood of this being some child's prank. Whoever sent these messages must have put a tremendous amount of effort into selecting who receives the letter and finding their contact information. That's not even including the time it would take to come up with this "Eldia" the note speaks of.]
[Aizawa: I agree. This would have to mean far more than just something to get some laughs to the person who contacted us. ]
[All Might: I agree too; however, I don't think we should completely buy onto this whole idea. After I received my note, I began scouring the internet for any mention in any way shape or form of "Eldia", and even after spending almost all night looking, I couldn't find a thing. An organization with the man-power and Quirks strong enough to destroy a UN facility like that would be almost impossible to keep a complete secret.]
[Naomasa: I would have to side with All Might. In addition, we have no idea why we are the ones who received this message instead of individuals that have more authority and are more involved with the attack itself.]
[Nezu: All Might and Naomasa made some good points. Ultimately it all comes down to information; until we have more of it, we will have sit this fight out.]
Since the heroes lacked the much-needed information and required evidence before they would believe a note someone simply handed them their options were limited, and their best shot was to wait until more information surfaced.
[Nezu: We will show this information to as many people involved with the incident as possible just to confirm that we truly are the only ones how received this message, but other than that we can only wait.]
And so, the heroes reached the same conclusion as the villains. However, unlike the villains, the heroes did not receive a direct path to the needed knowledge instantly afterwards. Maybe because the Deliverance lacked resources, or maybe because they lacked time or didn't plan this far in advance. But either way, no diplomat arrived to create a "mutually beneficial relationship" between the heroes and the Deliverance, placing Eldia at an advantage.
But Eldia wasn't just one step ahead of the Deliverance. They were several.
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Ochako Uraraka and Eri arrived at their destination relatively quickly, and Eri recovered from her anxiety even quicker. I wouldn't go as far as call the girl impulsive, but Eri's emotional state was anything but balanced. Yes, she was freed from the Eight Percepts of Death, and yes, she did remember how to smile at the school festival, but that alone didn't undo several years of trauma.
It's easier to forget a good memory then a bad memory, or so I've been told. Eri had gone through multiple unspeakable horrors when she was with Chisaki, and not only are those memories difficult, if not impossible to forget, but they also make up a large part of who she is.
Memories largely influence a person's character and its through memories that personalities (for the most part) are created. As a result, trying to forget a memory, forcing an amnesia, or erasing someone else's memory is equivalent to destroying their identity.
But regardless of Eri's mental state, the group arrived at the park and Eri took off to play with the other children her age. Ochako saw this as an opportunity to finally relax, something multiple others in the police force who were struggling to enter a certain island would kill for.
But the police weren't the only ones unable to relax. As a matter of fact, almost no one anywhere could relax after that attack. Somewhere deep in almost everyone's mind was the quiet voice asking Where? Where will they strike next? And no one knew the answer.
Ochako herself was thinking those thoughts as she sat on a bench beside a man. He had long black shoulder-length hair and wore a black coat with a white polo underneath, and a vacant look in his blue eyes. There wasn't anything truly noteworthy about him, he was just an ordinary man, the kind that you would find almost anywhere. It was his expression that caught Ochako's attention, for he wore a face of denial and inner turmoil, as if something he had placed his faith in throughout his entire life had suddenly been uprooted. A feeling she could relate to.
Uraraka felt that ever since the attack she hadn't really been her usual happy and bubbly self. While talking with Deku and Iida she caught herself going quiet several times when she'd usually be a lot more talkative, and even found herself zoning-out on multiple occasions. Maybe it was childish, but truth be told, she was scared. The horrifying monsters that appeared on the island shook everyone to the core, and Ochako wasn't the only one to feel nervous about the whole ordeal.
Maybe because she felt that she could relate to what the man was feeling and was hoping that they might be able to make each other feel at least a little more confident, or maybe because she thought that she should practice being her usual self again so her friends wouldn't notice how nervous she was. Either way, Uraraka spoke to the man sitting beside her, smiled, and extended a hand.
[Ochako: H-hi, I'm Uraraka]
The man flinched at first, but then returned to staring into the park.
[?: I'm Eren. Eren Kruger.]
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Hiding in a building with her eyes on the UA campus, the sniper took aim for All Might's slender form as he walked from the building, and with deadly precision locked on to the target and squeezed the trigger...
Bang!
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