Chapter 11: Graduation II: New Beginnings
"Children, leave this place." All Might's voice was full of rage, a look of utter hatred on his face. "It is not safe for you here."
"Hey, we're heroes." Sasaki tossed a chunk of concrete into his mouth, crunching it down. "We don't back down when there are people that need saving."
All For One leapt at All Might, swollen arm raised. All Might met the punch with one of his own, the shockwave blowing the young heroes away. "Get yourselves to safety!" The veteran yelled. He smashed his other fist into All For One's face, but the shock recoiled back at him. The force of their initial impact finally threw the two apart, All Might immediately appearing behind the villain.
"WASHINGTON SMASH!" He whirled around, slamming his elbow into the back of All For One's head, sending the villain flying across the street. He calmly stood up, his injuries flashing white before disappearing.
"A gallant effort, All Might." His voice radiated a smug aura; He's toying with All Might, Toschi thought. "However, I fear your efforts shall be in vain. It took me almost a decade to get to you, and that's the most you can come up with? Nana Shimura must be rolling in her grave." A massive, evil grin spread across his face. "That is, if there were enough of her left to bury."
All Might moved faster than Toschi could see. In an instant, the villain was at the bottom of a massive crater, a surge of wind forcing the students back. Toschi threw up his shield and grabbed onto a streetlight, riding out the gale. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Sasaki bracing himself against the wind, Moki and Reikokuna in his arms. All Might slammed the villain through a building before launching him into the air, sending him high above the city before seemingly teleporting right above him.
"DETROIT SMASH!" All For One rocketed toward the ground, laughing.
"You don't get it, do you?" He crashed into the street, a blast of dust filling the air. All Might landed, glancing around. Behind him, Toschi saw a massive clawed hand rise up, red energy crackling in its palm.
"All Might!" he screamed. All Might whirled around as the energy exploded. The world seemed to slow down as the energy beam struck All Might in the chest, breaking through his body as he let out an agonized yell. The four students still at the scene could only watch with horror in their eyes as the laser cut through All Might's chest, a burst of blood raining into the air. His body flew across the battlefield, and Sasaki jumped, catching the hero in his arms and skidding to a halt. All For One laughed, a maniacal sound that shook the heroes to their cores.
"So there we have it!" He proclaimed, face and hands outstretched to the sky. "Your precious 'Symbol of Peace'! Take a good look at him! Look upon his broken body, his final breaths!" Moki and Reikokuna rushed to Sasaki, the injured hero clutched in his arms. He coughed up blood as the frantic heroes tried to stem the flow of blood.
Oh, shit, I've done it now. I shouldn't have let my personal grudge get in the way. Master really would be disappointed in me…As he thought, movement out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. All For One was glowing yellow, unmoving. Toschi leapt from behind him, yelling, and slammed the Full Gauntlets, crackling with energy, into the villain's upturned face. The glow faded, and he spun backwards, nearly bending in half as he shot to the ground in an instant. Toschi spun on his heel, slamming his foot into All For One's stomach. He raised his fists, then ducked, his shield flaring up as a massive, spiked fist slammed into it. He was flung back, slamming through the concrete as All For One stood, panting. He touched his fingers to his lip, and saw blood.
"Take a good look, All Might," he said, eyes focused on Toschi. "Watch as this worthless brat dies, just like your pitiful master! Watch as I kill him, and you do nothing!" He raised his fist in the air, thunder crackling as a burst of flame gushed from his fist. Toschi's eyes went wide, and the fist came down.
Sasaki saw a flame in All Might's blue eyes. If I don't stop him now, All Might thought, time seemingly slowing down as he sat up, then all that Master taught me will be for naught! He got his knee under his body, forcing his screaming muscles to obey. I have to do it for her! I have to do it for young Hatsume! He took a step, the world moving slower than a snail, then another. And another. They came faster now, and he raised his fist.I have to overcome my fears, and go beyond! He leapt as All For One's head slowly started to turn, sensing movement. "PLUS ULTRA!"
His fist slammed into All For One, burying itself in his enemy's face as he pulled the full strength of One For All into his fist. The villain's body stayed still for a moment, then there was a snap, and his head whipped to the side, All Might's knuckles sinking into his skull. No amount of healing could fix the immense damage All Might was delivering at that moment. His punch followed through, and All For One rocketed down the street, right towards an emergency fire hydrant. He struck the metal post, his skull wrapping around it like a deflated water balloon. His body crushed forward, denting the metal post as his bones snapped like toothpicks.
All Might panted, face contorted in a mix of fury and agony. He collapsed to one knee, coughing heavily as blood splashed to the ground. The four teens were dumbfounded; All Might had been on the ground next to them one moment, then in less than an instant he was almost 40 feet away, All For One was flying down the street as a massive wind sucked rubble and dust through the city at lightning speeds. Toschi scrambled over to the collapsed hero as Moki, Sasaki, and Reikokuna sprinted over, reaching down and unclasping his belt buckle. He stuck it to All Might's chest and pressed a few buttons on the side of it. A yellow field of energy flowed out of it and into the gaping hole in All Might's chest. It filled the wound, pressing against the walls of the gash and stanching the heavy bleeding.
"The Symbol of Peace must not be defeated," All Might coughed. Toschi looked at the hero's eyes and saw a hollow, despondent look. "I implore you all, tell no one of what happened here." Toschi looked to his friends, horrified expressions in their eyes.
"Don't worry, All Might." He glanced down at the wounded hero, giving him a wink. "Nothing happened here." The three others nodded, and All Might visibly deflated, his muscles going weak.
"Thank you, all of you. Now, help me to Sir Nighteye." Reikokuna stepped a distance away and transformed into his Dragon form. Toschi and Sasaki helped All Might onto his back, and Reikokuna flapped into the air, turning towards Tokyo and shooting off, Moki just behind them.
"THREE, TWO, ONE!" A cascade of graduation caps flew into the air, and a mass cheer rose from the crowd. 500 graduating students roared, all three years of high school finally behind them. The (former) students of class 3-B gathered together, cheering and laughing. But for the four heroes who were there the previous night, their smiles hid the conflict inside them. They had seen All Might nearly killed by a lone villain, and had been sworn to secrecy in order to preserve the image of the "unbreakable" Symbol of Peace.
A small, pink-haired girl leapt onto Toschi's back. "You did it, big cousin!" Mei cheered, climbing up to his shoulders and laughing. He couldn't help but smile at the girl's infectious joy. "Oh, mom said to give you this." She reached into her pocket and pulled out a phone, a bit scratched up, but otherwise in good shape.
"My phone?" Toschi looked over the device, which brought his mind back to the previous night's events. "I thought it got broken last night."
"I fixed it for you!" Toschi's eyes went wide, and he tilted his head back to look at his nine-year-old cousin. "Mom said you would be happy that I actually fixed something for once. Are you?"
He continued to look at her in awe, then smiled and rubbed her knee. "I am happy, Mei. I'm so proud of you." He heard a camera shutter go off, and he turned to see his aunt and uncle smiling, his aunt pointing her phone at him.
"We're so happy for you, Toschi!" She wrapped him in a tight hug, a tear in her eye. His uncle embraced him too, and he awkwardly smiled, looking around him. His friends weren't paying much attention, engrossed in their own parents' fussing. He noticed Sasaki's father, standing nearly a head taller than everyone, other than his own son. Moki's dad had her wrapped in his enormous wings, like a dark angel protecting his precious daughter from the horrors of the world. He was beginning to grow silver feathers around his face and neck, the contrasting color framing the ugly scar on the right side of his face, making him look like a hero coming out of retirement.
Reikokuna's parents and younger brother were there as well, talking enthusiastically with Kalantari's family. His younger sisters and brother were excitedly talking with Reikokuna's brother about some children's show, while the rich heroes' mothers watched them, smiles on their face. Upon spotting other children her age, Mei hopped off Toschi's shoulders and rushing over to play. Mr. Reikokuna and Hell's Child were jokingly comparing each other's lifestyles; while Mr. Reikokuna looked like an average businessman, he stood at over 6 feet tall, a bit shorter than his son. He had a neatly trimmed moustache and amber yellow eyes, and had no qualms with "unintentionally" showing Hell's Child his watch, which he claimed was worth as much as his car. Hell's Child, Kalantari's father, was in his hero clothes: a long, black robe with blood red accents, an upside-down cross tattooed on the insides of his wrists. He had long black hair and a short, rather scratchy goatee, and spent the conversation "casually" flexing his forearms, which nearly rivalled All Might's.
A spidery hand clamped down on his shoulder, and he felt an arm wrap around his neck. "We made it! Yeah!" Omakase cheered, dragging his friend towards the rest of the class. "Come on, this is our last chance to say goodbye to everyone!" The class stood together in a circle, arms around each other's shoulders as they smiled, remembering all of the experiences they shared together.
"So, where do we go from here?" Netsuke asked. "Will we ever see each other again?" Are we just going off into the world all alone?"
"I plan to return home," Kalantari said, bringing the eyes of the group to him. "Kuwait is a dangerous place, full of villains and war. My father has been overworked; I want to help my country fight. I want to give my father the rest he deserves."
"I plan to go work with a relatively newer hero, Cyclomachina." Reikokuna's voice was strong, yet the group felt a hint of sadness behind his tough façade. "Sasaki and Moki proposed to accompany me at Team Flashburn."
"It'll be great working together," Sasaki piped in. "At least we know we'll stay in contact."
"What about you, Hatsume?" All eyes turned to the pink haired teen at Shikora's question. "What will you do? The rest of us are going to different hero agencies, and you can't join one because you never got your license."
"I don't want one, I don't need one. I'm going to study under Professor Shield at I-Island and his laboratory in California, in the United States. I'll probably stick around there for a few years before coming back here. I want to work on making personalized gear for the top heroes. I figure that'll be you guys," he joked. "Mei told me she wants to be like me, so I have to set a good example for her." He glanced over his shoulder at his little cousin, laughing as she ran around with Reikokuna and Kalantari's siblings. "I may not be a real hero, but I'll be her hero."
Six years later…
Melissa Shield struggled, finally pushing open the door to Toschi Hatsume's room. She panted, annoyance on her face as she identified the source of the trouble: dozens of abandoned blueprints lay scattered on the floor, jamming under the sliding door's wheels. The inventor in question was shirtless, slumped over at a messy workbench, dozens of empty energy drink cans scattered all around him, a minifridge under the desk cleaned out, door open. Before him lay a few wrenches and drills, and a soldering iron sat at one corner, thin tendrils of smoke curling up from the end. A military-style helmet lay just in front of his head, a metal chin guard protruding down and forming a motorcycle-like enclosure around the face area. Flipped above the open face was a set of triple-lens goggles, apparently some sort of night-vision technology.
She reached into her pocket and pulled out a miniature airhorn. Slowly, she brought her hand up next to his head. A violently loud noise filled the room, making Melissa wince. Toschi didn't move at first, then slowly turned his face to her, a smug look in his eyes. He reached up to his ear and pulled out a small rubber plug.
"Not getting me like that again, Melissa." The blonde rolled her eyes, smiling. "So what's up? Why'd you wake me?"
"The expo's going to open in thirty minutes. Dad told me to get your ass out of bed before you embarrass the Academy."
"What are you talking about?" Toschi leaned forwards again, casually glancing at the clock on his wall. "The expo doesn't start until four-" The clock read 3:35. His eyes snapped fully open. "Shit, shit, shit!" He jumped up, diving across his room to the closet, throwing it open and grabbing the least wrinkly shirt he could find, throwing it on and buttoning it in record time. He grabbed a set of khakis and quickly slid them on over his casual shorts. He raced back to his desk, grabbing a half-empty energy drink and railing it down, grabbing his newest invention and giving the helmet a final look over before dashing to the door, glancing behind him. "You coming?"
"I'm going to meet Uncle Might when he arrives, it shouldn't be too long. Depending on what dad has to say when he sees him, I might be showing him around the expo. Good luck!" She planted a quick peck on his cheek as he dashed off, the wrong way to the elevator. "Where are you going?"
"Shortcut!" he yelled over his shoulder. He leaped through an open window at the end of the hallway, and Melissa sprinted to it. They were on the seventieth floor of the central tower, after all. Toschi sailed towards the ground, and just as he was about to crash, froze the helmet under him. He slid off it and skidded to a halt on the ground, then gave it a quick tap on the bottom as he unfroze it. It bounced into the air a few feet, then he caught it and dashed off to the expo hall. Melissa sighed, rolling her eyes at him, and headed for the elevator.
Toschi spent the next few hours at his booth in the exhibition hall, greeting dozens of heroes, inventors, and scientists that came to see his gadgets. Since his first expo seven years prior, he had become somewhat of a celebrity, with over 40 heroes requesting custom gear to help them. At around 5:30, he noticed a familiar sweater across the hall. He tapped a button on his watch, and the tiny contact lenses he wore changed focus, zooming in on the person. Melissa was walking around the show with a green-haired teen in a light green jumpsuit and red sneakers. He observed the pair, noticing how excited the teen would get whenever he would see a hero, no matter how popular they were. He chuckled when three young girls about his age met up with them, watching the teen's face turn red as he tried to explain something to the three, most likely that he wasn't on a date with Melissa. He made himself a mental note to talk with her about it; it might be good for a laugh.
Near dinnertime, Melissa left for the opening ceremony. She had told him about the students she had met with. Apparently, the jumpy boy she was showing around was called "Izuku Midoriya", going by the hero name "Deku". He was a student at U.A, just like he had been, but what shocked Toschi the most was that All Might himself had invited the teen to the expo. Melissa showed him a video of the teen at the combat trial, and Toschi was instantly enraptured by the young hero. The teen with the exploding hands was undeniably strong, but Deku had a type of raw power in him that Toschi had only seen in a few people before. He pointed out to Melissa that the teen looked like he was holding back, and she confirmed it, telling Toschi that he had scars all up his hands and arms, that the teen's body couldn't handle the full strength of his Quirk.
Toschi wasn't going to be at the opening ceremony, stating his dislike for fancy clothing. Truthfully, he had felt a sense of danger looming over I-Island ever since that morning, and the lingering traces of his desire to be a hero and protect people was eating away at his brain. He crouched on the rooftop of a nearby apartment complex, wearing his goggles and belt. He had never managed to repair the Full Gauntlets that he had borrowed from Melissa, but he had never needed to before now. As he fidgeted, he heard alarms start to go off all across the island. The island's security bots raced out, filling the streets and urging people back into shelter. He reached to his earpieces, trying to tune into the emergency radio signals, but only got static. He pulled out his phone to contact Melissa, but the service was dead. The lights shut off across the island, and he squinted in suspicion, activating his belt.
Besides the shield, his belt could create a reinforced energy brace around his fists and legs, allowing him to hit harder without hurting himself. The glowing braces shot out, crossing his back and thighs and wrapping around his fists and feet. His goggles glowed yellow, scanning the area for threats. A message appeared in his peripheral vision. "Security bot instructions…" he read, scanning the message. "What? What the hell's going on up there?" He heard movement below him, and his goggles popped up with another message. Below him, security bots were lining up in front of each door in the apartment complex. He heard giggling and whispering through his earpiece, and his goggles registered three people in the room directly under him. The robot turned to face the door, then Toschi heard a coded message broadcast from it. There was rattling below on the street, and then a thud. He snuck a peek over the edge of the roof, and saw a security bot standing on the balcony.
Below him, the three people appeared to be hiding, huddled in the closet. The bot punched through the glass door, and rolled into the room. His goggles registered it going into attack mode, and he dropped off the rooftop onto the balcony, landing quietly. His goggles picked out two sets of terrified eyes peeking out from the closet, and registered the outline of a third person, but he didn't see anyone there. He slowly approached the robot from behind, quietly reaching to his wrist and pulling out a thin cord. He shot forward before the robot could react, jamming the end of the cord into a data port just below its neck. The robot froze, then shut off. The three occupants tumbled out of the closet, and Toschi brought his finger to his mouth, warning them to be quiet. They were girls, one of whom had bright pink hair and skin, and black eyes. Another had long green hair and long fingers, and the third appeared to be invisible.
"Stay here. The security system's been compromised." Toschi turned to the balcony, stepping onto the rail. "If you get cornered, use your Quirks to fight."
"Are you a hero?" the pink girl asked.
"I'm not a hero, but that doesn't mean I don't know how to solve a problem. Just stay here and keep quiet so the bots don't come back." He leapt from the balcony, silent thrusters on his belt lifting him into the air. He snuck his way to the base of the tower and glanced into the dinner hall. The people inside were wrapped up by the security restraint systems, and he saw All Might lying on the stage, wrapped up. All around them, people stood with bulletproof vests and guns, aiming them at anyone who tried to move. One man had a metal mask on, and was wearing a white coat.
Kinetica tapped a button on his goggles, and his vision filled with blue and green. He was getting a thermal view of the tower. About a third of the way up the tower, he saw a massive surge of purple, showing something very cold had just happened. The area filled with dozens of red and orange bursts, and he spotted nine individuals racing away from the room. Villains? He thought. No, they're too small to be villains. Those Quirks… the U.A. students! They're going to try and stop the villains! But why are there nine going farther, if two are still fighting behind- His eyes widened. Melissa!
A warning appeared in the corner of his goggles:
WARNING: HIGH ENERGY LEVELS DETECTED
He flipped to another view, this one showing energy levels. The dozens of heroes trapped in the banquet hall shone, All Might brighter than anyone else. However, Toschi was shocked to see the man in the metal mask glowing nearly as bright. A sudden flash made him squint, and he saw a burst of energy above, as bright as All Might's glow. Someone as powerful as All Might? His mind instantly flashed back to when he heard Melissa talk about Deku. All Might himself brought him… He heard the elevator doors open, and the metal-masked man left, grumbling. They're gonna get caught! I have to do something! Two more flashes from above caught his eye, both about the same, though less than the powerful one from before. Then, a third flash, and his vision swam. It was brighter than anything he had seen in his life, and quickly faded. He leapt, and the thrusters carried him into the air, around a hundred feet up. He switched back to the thermal view, and saw several figures. There were five in the archive room, and one at the control computer. He saw two of the figures lying down, and upon zooming in, realized there was blood pooling from them.
The lights flickered on below him, and the person at the computer dashed back out. That must be Melissa! That's why she went with them! Only she could have reprogrammed the security system! Below him, he heard a door slam open, and a rush of wind. A body slammed into the wall next to him, and a pair of deep blue eyes locked with his own yellow ones.
"Good to meet you again, young Hatsume." Toschi smiled, looking at the Symbol of Peace.
"There's trouble on the rooftop!" Toschi told the hero, pointing. "Melissa and Deku went to stop the villains!"
All Might's eyes narrowed, and he pulled, throwing himself up to the top. A minute or so passed, then Toschi's head exploded. The goggles had set to their "power scan" mode, and something very bright had just detonated, making his head swim, and a rush of air threw him back down to the rooftops, where he crashed to a halt. Groggily looking up, he saw hundreds of tentacles of iron curling and thrashing at the top of the tower. He zoomed his goggles as far as they could, and he spotted All Might get sucked into a metal sphere. Suddenly, huge spikes tore through it. He gasped, then saw movement.
The green-haired teen, Deku, had leapt forward, slamming his fist into the metal as electricity crackled around him. Around his wrist was a familiar device, painted in red. The sphere exploded, All Might and Deku falling to the rooftop. Toschi collapsed to his knees as the shockwave from the punch slammed into him like a hurricane. All Might and Deku shot through the sky as Toschi saw the villain raise his arms above him. Thousands of pieces of metal began forming into a mass, and Toschi gasped as the massive, hundred-meter wide cube blasted towards the duo like a meteor out of hell.
All Might pulled his fist back, Toschi recognizing the incoming Detroit Smash, but he was not prepared for Deku to do the same. They both hit the cube at the same time, cracks forming all across it, then a massive thunderclap struck his ears as the cube exploded, the two heroes blasting towards the villain. Quickly, he flipped his goggles back over his eyes, and saw both energy levels merged, glowing twice as bright. That's not possible! Unless… do they share a Quirk!? All Might and Deku slammed into the villain, a massive flash of light radiating out as the massive tendrils of metal disintegrated, the clouds being pushed aside by the force of the impact. Through the smoke, he saw the sun rising, a figure silhouetted against the light. Toschi squinted, trying to focus on the shape. He thought it was All Might, but he was too small to be the hero. His vision sharpened, and he saw Deku, framed against the sky, fist raised.
Such power, it's impossible! Toschi thought. It's like he's- no, he IS All Might! There's no other explanation! His mind raced, the subtle clues all linking together. All Might himself invited this boy, they have roughly the same power levels; actually, Deku's was higher! They even fought the same! But why would All Might- Toschi's eyes widened, his chest shaking. The fight. All Might was hurt in the fight against that All For One guy! Could All Might have been so injured he needed to train a successor? No, that's impossible, there's nobody in the world that can even compare to All Might's strength. Unless…
A person on the street screamed as a large portion of the tower came rushing down. Toschi instantly leapt from the rooftops, stretching his hand out and slapping the underside of the rubble as he threw a small electronic device, sticking to the side of the debris. He curled up into a ball as he pressed a button on his wrist, an explosion echoing through the street as he unfroze the debris. The chunk of the tower sailed over the wall of the island towards the ocean, its trajectory altered by the nanite explosive he had attached to it. The explosion sent him crashing to the ground. His head slammed into the concrete, and his vision went dark.
The blood in his head pounded like a drum, and he tasted something coppery in his mouth. He coughed, rolling over on his side and feeling a sticky substance pooling around his head. He sat up, but immediately hunched over, vomiting as the world seemed to swirl around him. He faintly tapped a few buttons on his watch, and felt a sharp jab below its face. The adrenaline dose he had injected himself with began to clear his head almost instantaneously, and he tore off one of his sleeves, tying it around the bleeding wound on the back of his scalp, wincing as he felt something loose shift on his skull.That's not good…he thought. Sitting back, he took a quick look around him, observing dozens of heroes already rushing to provide aid to any injured citizens and evacuating the main tower.
"Toschi!" a voice called. He glanced over his shoulder and his vision filled with blue as someone tackled him. "Are you okay? What happened to you?" He winced as Melissa ran her fingers over his injury, but sighed and buried his face in her chest.
"It's nothing serious, I just landed wrong." He reached up to stroke her arm, and his head jerked up as he felt a bandage. "What happened to you? What was all that fighting at the top? I was looking and my goggles picked up a huge surge of power and-"
"It's okay, it's okay, Deku and Uncle Might defeated the villain." He felt her tremble a bit. "Dad staged the whole thing so that he could steal back an invention, but the fake villains turned out to be real." Hot tears dripped onto his head, and he heard a sniffle. "I trusted him, Toschi. I trusted dad, but now I don't know what to do, I mean…"
"I just don't know how to believe it," Toschi said after a short pause. "What was Professor Shield trying to steal back?"
"It was an invention that would increase the power of one's Quirk. You probably don't know this, but apparently Uncle Might's getting weaker. Dad just wanted him to stay the Symbol of Peace, but his company took away the invention so that villains couldn't get it. I guess that didn't work out so well," she joked through her tears. Toschi stared off, softly rubbing her back as his mind flicked back to a certain box in his room back in Japan. He made something like that? Guess the student follows the teacher…
Author's Note:
Well, here we are. The next chapter will be an epilogue. That's it. This is the end of the fifth story in the Slaughterhouse series, and I have to say, it's been fun. I really enjoy writing these, and I can't wait for you all to experience the next story! More information will be provided in the A/N in the epilogue. Until then, stay tuned!