Chapter 13 – Aftermath

"-but still, many people are voicing concern over whether or not Endeavor has what it takes to the number one hero in Japan. The fiery hero has only just now breached the top ten worldwide, as a result of both All Might's death and Star Platinum's coma. The greatest hero ever is a tough act to follow, and a large percentage of the populace are unsure if there are any heroes operating in Japan who could fill All Might's shoes. According to a poll conducted b-" The screen went black.

"Yasuho?" Josuke looked over to the girl, who held the remote in her hands.

"They aren't saying anything new. 'Society changed forever' this, 'All Might unreplaceable' that. I'm sick of hearing it."

"Agreed. It's a lot of pressure for the next generation of heroes." Kyo grumbled. "That is to say, us."

Josuke wasn't sure how to consider Kyo any more. Ever since they'd come across that Jolyne Kujo woman at the USJ, the normally stoic girl had turned even more taciturn. But, not in the same way that she had been. Rather than her unemotional poker face, she was frowning and furrowing her brow whenever she thought no one was looking. It was clear she had a lot on her mind, but he wasn't sure where to even begin to broach the topic.

"Hey Kyo, wanna go sit down for tea with a wanted woman? It'll be a fun little family reunion."

He didn't see that going over well. Was Jolyne even his niece, really? Yoshikage and Josephune were Jotaro's half brothers from his parents' new marriages. So was Jolyne their half-niece? Did that make her his double half-niece? Was that equivalent to one full niece? It's not like there was any sort of exchange rate for familial relations.

"Bring in two half-nieces and get a full niece for no additional charge! Comes complete with a criminal record and a gang of foreign Stand users! Call now!"

…He needed to get out of the apartment, he was starting to suspect being cooped up here wasn't good for him. That being said, he didn't want to go anywhere alone. It wasn't any fun doing that. But Yasuho and Kyo were shutting themselves in, not that he could blame them. He'd even take Joshu at this point, but the other boy had returned to Morioh for the remainder of their impromptu break.

He wouldn't be surprised if some of the students didn't end up returning at all. UA was taking a lot of heat over the USJ incident and All Might's death. Some tv personalities had even floated the idea of shutting the school down, but Principal Nedzu had managed to convince the government otherwise.

"What happened is a tragedy. UA had a responsibility to protect it's students, and I won't argue with those who say that we could- or should- have performed better. But now, more than ever," He'd said in his news interview. "We need to focus on grooming the heroes of tomorrow. We need to take All Might's sacrifice and build off of it."

Josuke wasn't sure it would result in much. He wouldn't say it out loud, but from having observed All Might during the brief period the man had been their teacher, and from what he'd seen on tv, he didn't think there was anyone who could take the hero's place.

The concrete block was ten feet tall, ten feet wide, ten feet long, and absurdly fuckin' heavy. It wasn't ornate or valuable. It didn't go with any structure. It was just big. Created by Cementos, it would require specialised machinery to move around and place without a Quirk. Or, barring that, at least five people with decent strength enhancing Quirks standing around and lifting.

Katsuki had carried it from the grounds to the gymnasium by himself.

The principal was watching him; had been watching ever since Katsuki walked out of the USJ nearly fifty pounds heavier than he'd been when he entered.

"You weren't my first choice… or my fifth, if I'm being honest." The overgrown rodent had said. "But now is not the time to worry about things like that, is it? You probably have questions for me."

Hell yeah, he'd had questions. And even now, only a few had been answered. Trust a rat to be secretive.

He could still taste the blood in his mouth, and feel All Might's fingers around his chin, grip too strong to break free from even as the hero lay dying. He hadn't been able to close his mouth because of that grip.

"Normally I'd use my hair… but we seem to have plenty of my DNA on hand right here." The hero had mumbled, forcing his reddened fingers into Katsuki's mouth. "Swallow. Just do it. You don't need to understand now, that'll happen later. If you've ever trusted me, swallow."

He'd complied. And his trust had been rewarded in a way he never could have imagined.

Katsuki dropped the concrete cube on top of the other ones, forming a pyramid shape like some brat at a cup stacking tournament. Finally. Even with his newfound strength, hauling all those fuckin' things had been a pain in the ass.

"Well Bakugou? You've got good control of one Quirk. Now show me how much of a handle you have on the other." Principal Nedzu called out to him.

He didn't bother responding. Fuckin' rat was wearing some heavy duty earplugs. Katsuki had to fumble around in his pockets for his own. He'd have to have something incorporated into his costume. He couldn't afford to blow out his eardrums, but he also couldn't afford to miss hearing vital information while on the job. Maybe some sort of electronic capable of blocking out noises over a certain decibel level? Whatever, he'd think about it later.

Once the plugs were inserted into his ears, he took aim at the pyramid. The world went white for a moment, and there was a dull roar in his ears in spite of the plugs. The flash slowly faded to reveal the topmost block was shattered, smoking fragments littering the floor all over the gym. Directly behind where the block had been, the far wall was scorched.

When he'd designed his gauntlets, it had been to compensate for the recoil he'd experience from his larger explosions. The explosion just now had been the bigger than any of the ones he'd ever made prior to the USJ, and he'd done it with just his hands. He hadn't felt the recoil at all. It was just an average blast for him now. His explosion Quirk was vastly empowered by One for All, and One for All gave him the physical strength to withstand the consequences. It would've been a pretty sweet deal, had he managed to obtain it in some other way

The principal was tapping his leg. He fished one of the plugs out of his ear.

"That was good. Now show me a large blast. A finishing move type."

He put the plug back in and took aim once again. Once the ringing in his ears subsided, he took the plugs back out, and turned to the rodent.

"Well, we're going to need to make some repairs. Try to learn better control. That will be your goal for now."

He turned back to where the pyramid had been. Behind the blackened fragments, a smoking hole the size of six men had appeared in the far wall.

It wasn't good enough. He grimaced, thinking back to the USJ attack. Big explosions, super strength. What would any of that matter if he was trapped inside a photo? If he was paralysed by a doppelganger? And those were the ones that were easy to classify.

He couldn't even begin to understand what those two Stand users who'd rescued Todoroki and him had done. All he'd seen was the enemy's camera flying around, the enemy growing multiple new heads, and then suddenly reverting to a single exploded head.

If he couldn't understand an attack, or even see where it was coming from, how could he possibly fight it?

"Oi. Principal."

"Yes?"

"What do you know about Stands?"

The principal made a face, but due to his animalistic features, it was difficult to pin down what sort of face it was. Katsuki could hazard a guess, however.

"They're very dangerous. People without Stands can't see them, unless the Stand is a bound type. They have their own unique abilities. What specifically are you wanting to know?"

"Where do they come from?"

"Ah. That... well, it's difficult to know for sure."

"Stop fucking evading. You know. I damn well know you know."

"They can be passed down through bloodlines, I know that for a certainty. The Higashikata family is entirely comprised of Stand users, and I believe you've already gone over the Joestar lineage in class."

"And how'd the first users in these families get 'em? How'd Hirose get hers?"

"They... came into contact with an object."

"Be more specific."

"Is this how you talk to your teachers? You're rather lacking in respect."

"It's how I talk to people who dick me around. You want me to talk to Hirose directly? I bet she'll be less fucking cryptic."

"Fine, you've made your point. They were stabbed by a sort of arrow. Don't ask me to be more specific, all I know is that it's ornate and somewhat golden coloured. The majority of people stabbed by this artefact die. Those who don't develop Stands. Bakugou, I know what you're thinking."

"It's pretty obvious."

"Yes, well, I must warn you not to seek out such things. You may not survive, and even if you do... once you open that door, you can never shut it again."

His father was still in the training room. For four days now, any time the man came home, he went straight to the training room. Shouto would hear explosions and smell burning plastic at odd hours of the day. He still wasn't sure what the plastic was from. Maybe the punching bag?

Either way, he'd endeavoured to stay out of the house as much as possible. It had been bad enough just after All Might died, much to Shouto's surprise, but when the principal announced that the Sports Festival wouldn't take place this year, the man had flown into an even bigger rage. Every time he caught a glimpse of Endeavor, the hero was positively seething. It would be enough to fulfil Shouto's desire for schadenfreude for years afterward. If only he wasn't miserable himself.

It was clear that Shouto would be the next number one hero… but for the first time in a while, he wasn't sure he would be strong enough.

Maybe a Quirk could only get him so far. During the USJ he'd been utterly defeated by Atom Heart Father. He hadn't even had a single opportunity to fight back. And All Might… he'd been rendered helpless by Kurogiri's Stand as well. That's how the villains were able to kill him. If it hadn't been for Stone Free and her own group of antivillains, he wasn't sure how well the students or UA's faculty would've done.

During the 2v2s he'd thought of the other student's Stands as not particularly dangerous, with the exception of Higashikata Joshu's. But it was clear to him now. In the right circumstances, a Stand would make all the difference. No one could ever claim Stone Free was stronger than All Might. Yet she succeeded where he failed. All because she had a Stand.

Was the gap between him and the Stand users that large? If so, could he ever match the other students, the ones who had that ability? It wasn't as though he could suddenly gain one for himself. He would have to rely on his Quirk, he realised.

Every aspect of it.