Welcome to the first chapter of 2023~!
I got to reading chapter 378 of MHA and, holy shit, Kohei you magnificent bastard. This is just one of the many reasons why I love MHA so much.
Going forward with this story, I will be taking a "Quality of Quantity" approach. Working on chapters will take longer to make to ensure they will be a great read but will be shorter as a result. I may do longer chapters in the future but that depends on my writing schedule. I'm just trying to find my "groove" so to speak. For those who complain about wanting a longer chapter, get over it.
DOOM, My Hero Academia, and Darksiders belong to their respective owners I do not own either of them.
Beta read by Zeroth 17.
Chapter 25
Picking up the Pieces
I-ISLAND AIRPORT-SECURITY OFFICE
SEVERAL HOURS LATER
Storm clouds formed in the sky as the sun began to set in the distance. The rescue efforts now shifted to evacuating the civilians off I-Island and back to the mainland as well as having the unconscious Heroes transported to a hospital. One by one, transport copters airlifted them off the island but it was slow going. The same went for the investigative efforts of the HPSC agents. After recovering from the initial horror of seeing so much blood and dead bodies, they immediately gathered as much evidence as possible. Downloading security camera footage, inspecting the bodies, scanning hard drives, analyzing the damage done to the island, trying to trace the Vigilante's steps, and taking photos of anything that was deemed important. Heroes and military personnel were aiding in their investigation to the best of their ability, a lot of them curious as to how this happened.
Back in the baggage claim security office, Aizawa had just finished retelling his account of how the Vigilante barreled through the blockade back at the port up to how he single-handedly defeated a dozen Pro Heroes on his own to Yagi, Grant, and Mera. The three of them were left astonished and shocked over what they heard while the Erasure Hero hung his head. Seeing the battered Heroes the first time was one thing but hearing a first-hand account of how they lost against the Vigilante was another thing altogether. It was scary.
"Good God...Aizawa, I-I-I should've been there sooner to help!" Yagi bemoaned.
"Not that it would've made much of a difference." Eraser Head lamented with a shrug.
"Are you absolutely sure he was holding back?" Sayaka pressed Yagi.
"Yes. I could feel him restraining himself behind those attacks; every hit, blow, and punch." Yagi brought a hand up to his chest, feeling the painful bruises. "His true strength is something I dread very much."
"And he literally crushed one of Thirteen's black holes? With his bare hands?" Mera incredulously asked Aizawa.
Shota nodded his head. "We threw everything we had at him and it didn't even faze him... and he was pulling his punches the entire goddamn time." He then got up from his seat and glared at the two HPSC officials. "Listen, you two need to get on the horn and send out an all-points bulletin on this guy. We need every Hero and officer on high alert because if this psycho hits the streets-"
"We can't. Not yet." Mera interuppted, getting out his phone.
"Why?!" Aizawa demanded. Mera held up his cell to show Aizawa a picture of the wall his forensics team sent him. Shota paled when he saw the bloody symbol along with the frightening message.
"If this gets out, everything changes. It's not about trying to guess what his next move is or warning everyone about how dangerous he is, it's about preventing a mass panic." Mera cautioned. "Do you have any idea what'll be like if Japan and the rest of the world hears how a single Vigilante wiped out the Steel Sabers, beat up multiple top-ranked Pro Heroes, and defeated All Might? God forbid any Villains or gangs hear about this, they'd eat half of Musutafu alive with so many Pro Heroes out of action!"
"On top of that, we still don't know anything about our Vigilante. His weapons, his armor, the way he fights, nothing is adding up. He doesn't look or act like a prototypical Vigilante to me." Sayaka added, drawing an incredulous look from Eraser Head.
"And what the hell does a 'prototypical Vigilante' look like?! Do you have a photo of one lying around somewhere?!" Aizawa exasperated.
"Everyone, please!" Yagi got up from his seat. "We all need to calm down. We can't tell the public what happened to me; All for One will take advantage of it. But we as defenders of the people at least owe them answers. We have to tell them what happened here because there is no feasible way you can try to spin this." He said to Mera and Sayaka.
"We can make a cover story about your fight with the Vigilante but if we let what happened here go public, we will see a massive uptick in Villain activity. It'll be chaos, Yagi." Sayaka cautioned.
"I know. But the heat is going to come down hard on us no matter what. All we can do is come out with the truth and accept whatever happens afterward." Yagi said, knowing full well the implications of this decision. Aizawa was relieved that Yagi was willing to let the public at large know the truth about the events here on the island despite the risk it posed (leaving out All Might's loss was understandable). Mera and Sayaka looked hesitant, unwilling at worst, about revealing the events that transpired here but eventually nodded in acceptance. Yagi was right: they could assemble the best spin team they got but it would make no difference due to the sheer insanity of last night's carnage.
Sayaka's phone vibrated and she dug it out of her pocket, flipping it open. Her expression darkened when she read the text. "David Shield just arrived at a hospital back on the mainland. We need to have a serious discussion with him and I think you should be there with us when we do." Sayaka informed Yagi as she put her phone away.
Toshinori felt himself go rigid. It was going to be unbelievably difficult for him to talk to his friend with the HPSC hovering over his shoulder but this had to be done. He had to confront David over his role in the I-Island siege regardless of his intentions. With a glum nod, Yagi and the others exited the security booth and walked through the empty baggage claim back downstairs. On the way down the stairs, Mera couldn't get his mind off of something. It kept nagging him to no end and he had to voice his opinion on the matter.
"Do any of you think the others were telling the truth before? That the Vigilante saved their lives as well as the hostages?" Mera asked.
"Yes." Yagi suddenly answered before anyone else could. "He had no intention of killing me or anyone else that wasn't a threat. He spared the other Heroes not because they were beneath him but because he knew they were not the enemy. And from what Aizawa told us, he didn't even want to fight them. I truly believe that he saved many lives today and while I can't look past what he did against the Sabers and the Heroes, it does at least provide some insight into how he works."
Sayaka, Mera, and Aizawa were silent, not knowing how to respond. While Yagi did bring up some good points, it only left more questions than answers about the Vigilante. Little did they know that Yagi had developed a curiosity with the Vigilante. He wanted to know how this man was able to defeat an army of Pro Heroes and withstand his most powerful attack. Yagi had to understand the Vigilante's mindset or at the very least try to get him to tell him how he was so strong. There was no way that suit could give him the strength to surpass One for All. He needed to figure out the Vigilante's Quirk and which side the man was on. That is until he was properly contained in the most heavily secured cell Tartarus could put him in, only then could Yagi have a face-to-face conversation with him.
"We'll look into that possibility later. Let's just get off of this floating slaughterhouse." Mera sighed. The rest of the group nodded as they continued walking down the stairs.
I-ISLAND CENTRAL TOWER-BOTTOM FLOOR LOBBY
"Is this all of it?" An HPSC investigator asked.
"This is all of the pieces we could find." Another agent replied.
The stony-faced agent took off his glasses as he bent down. He and several others like him were tasked with gathering as much information and evidence as they could from the central tower while several other teams spread out around the island assisting the Heroes and soldiers. On a grey tarp lay the broken pieces of the Vigilante's chainsaw that the other forensics had collected. Looking closer, the investigator in charge slipped on a pair of nitrile gloves and picked up a chunk of what used to be an engine for the saw. It looked to be a regular engine but there was something off about it. It appeared to be too...advanced to be part of just a regular chainsaw. He set it down and glanced at the saw chain, grimacing in disgust at the chunks of flesh embedded between the blades. The investigator turned his attention to the bar and wiped away the dried blood to get a better look at the logo that was imprinted on it.
MIXOM'S BEAVERTOOTH PAINSAW
30in CLOSE COMBAT SECURITY
The investigator was deeply unsettled. What maniac company uses a chainsaw as a security weapon?! The threatening beaver mascot next to the lettering was creeping him out as well. He shook his head as he set the bar down and stood up, taking his gloves off with a tired sigh. "Get this to our research division. It's not much but at least it's a start." He said to one of the agents. "Look up what we can on this Mixom. Hopefully, it'll give us a lead."
"Understood. You should also know that we looked through the security camera footage of the Vigilante and we were able to make out two other names on his suit and weapons." The agent debriefed.
"What do you have?" The investigator asked.
The agent pulled out a small notebook from his suit pocket and flipped through the pages. "Let's see... I/O Logilistics Manufacture and Union Aerospace Corporation."
The investigator raised an eyebrow before putting his glasses back on. These were companies he had never heard of and the sooner they knew who they were the better. "Run everything we got on these three. We need to find out who they are and why they're supplying this psycho."
I-ISLAND AIRPORT-MAIN TERMINAL
(Johnny Cash-Hurt, slowed)
It had begun to rain, with intermittent thunderclaps echoing from above as the raindrops washed away the blood in the streets and put out the fires. Though it did very little to assuage any lingering fears everyone on I-Island had. If anything, it only added a dreary atmosphere for the ruined research base.
Evacuations off the island finally picked up momentum with more transport copters' arrival. Dozens of civilians were lined up in front of the transports, waiting to get off the island. Those that had to wait until they were called next spread themselves out around the main terminal of the airport. On the far wall of the atrium were the haggard forms of Class 1-A and the Big 3. Izuku looked like a shell-shocked war veteran: his vacant eyes stared down at the floor as his arms lay limply on his lap. The last several hours had finally taken their toll on Midoriya's body. He was utterly exhausted and drained of energy.
He slowly brought his hands up and stared at the flecks of blood staining his fingers. He became queasy when he thought back to all of the dead bodies he and the others had to walk around, not to mention the lake of viscera they had to wade through. Izuku took his focus off from his hands and inspected at the blood staining his shoes; feeling the wetness of his drenched socks most likely colored red at this point. He balled up his hands into fists and clenched his eyes shut as tight as he could. His hands were trembling as he fought back the urge to burst into tears and tried his hardest to forget last night's nightmare. After a few seconds, he opened his eyes to find himself staring up at the ceiling as his vision came into focus. He felt his arms flop to his sides as he took several deep breaths, stifling a sob.
He turned his head over to the right at Uraraka who sat next to him. The girl was curled up in a fetal position; her head buried into her knees. Ochako was motionless but Izuku could hear her breathing between pitiful whimpers. Frowning in sympathy for his friend, Izuku then looked to his left at the others. None of them were faring any better than Uraraka. Denki, Mineta, Kirishima, and Ida were silent but they were shaking with fright, often jumping at the slightest noise. Jiro was slumped against Momo who held her like a security blanket. Mirio shifted uncomfortably where he sat while his two friends, a girl with blue hair and a tired boy with pointed ears, did not look as traumatized as the others but still had expressions of fright.
Seated alone on the airport seats not too far away from everyone else was Bakugou. His eyes were completely shadowed by his hair; a frown adorning his face. Bakugou's posture was hunched over while his hands sat on his lap, his fingers occasionally twitching. Izuku had a pained expression as he gazed at his friend. The horror from last night and the revelations about All Might had all but left Bakugou an emotional wreck. Izuku had no idea how to approach his friend or even talk to him. There was nothing he could say that would ease the pain Bakougou was going through. Izuku looked away from his friend in shame before staring ahead at the forms of the Pro Heroes lying on stretchers as they were tended to by paramedics. Many civilians were watching the scene, commenting on how shocking it was in hushed whispers.
He felt his fingers curl up as he continued to stare at their unconscious forms. He had cataloged dozens of Heroes in his journals during his spare time and he knew the strengths and feats of every one of them. And yet, for all of their Quirks and skills, it amounted to nothing when they faced the Vigilante. Izuku couldn't even begin to imagine what was going through their heads when they witnessed an unstoppable berserker take them all down one by one. Even scarier was the fact that the Vigilante was deliberately holding back. But what confused Midoriya the most was that the man did go out of his way to save people, protected him and his friends from certain death back on the roof, and even helped Miruko when she was badly hurt. But whenever he thought about the Vigilante, all he could see in his mind was the monster in human form standing amongst a sea of flames. He shook his head to dispel the images as his heartbeat quickened in fear.
Opening his eyes again, he noticed Shoto a few feet away from them. He was seated at the chairs as a paramedic bandaged up his wounds. Izuku took note of the tense expression Todoroki had and followed his gaze over to Endeavor whose wounds were far worse than the other Heroes. It was no secret to Midoriya that Shoto had a deep-seated resentment against his father but there was no way to know what his friend was thinking as he glared at his unconscious parent. Izuku's eyes scanned the room for Mellisa Shield but she was nowhere to be found. Sadly hanging his head, he further slumped against the wall while lamenting his missed opportunity to talk to her sooner.
He lifted his head a little and saw Yagi up ahead walking towards the exit with Aizawa, Mera, and Sayaka. Yagi noticed Izkuku looking at him and came to a halt, exchanging forlorn glances. For a while, they just stared at each other silently without saying a word. Izuku was so drained of his usual exuberance that he couldn't muster a smile to reassure his mentor. Yagi could only nod apologetically with a saddened look on his face as he followed after Mera and Sayaka while Aizawa stayed behind. Gazing at his mentally scarred students, he felt himself die a little inside as he took note of how each one looked like they were about to break down into tears and occasionally jumped at the sound of thunder. If he knew something like this would happen, he would've taught them more about the potentially life-threatening risks of Heroism WAY sooner. Aizawa heard an evacuation official announce the next group of people and watched as the U.A. students wearily got up and shuffle towards the door, disappearing amongst the crowd.
The Erasure Hero sighed in shame as he ran a hand across his face. He stood in place for a few seconds before exiting the airport. As he walked across the tarmac, he was greeted with the expanse of the ocean stretching out for miles and the setting sun out in the distance; casting an orange glow as rain poured from the clouds above. He spotted Hawks at a nearby transport copter waving him over. He went over and noticed Hawks looked far more tired than usual: there were no smartass wisecracks or witty banter from the Wing Hero, just grim silence. Giving a brief nod to the Hawks who gave a small wave, Aizawa went up the ramp into the copter where he saw Slidin' Go, Uwabami, Kesagiriman, Wash, and Air Jet sitting at their seats. They were all quiet, staring at the floor with perturbed expressions. Far over in the back, Eraser Head could make out the curled-up form of Ragdoll. She was hugging herself tightly, eyes wide and darting around frantically as she shook like a leaf. He stared at her sorrowfully before sitting himself down next to Air Jet and slumped into his seat. Shota's eyes never stopped stinging after he tried using his Quirk on the Vigilante during his fight against All Might. He just wanted to fucking sleep.
Hawks scanned the area for Miruko until he spotted her near another transport helicopter. She was staring at several soldiers stuffing the bodies of the Steel Sabers (or rather bits and pieces of them) into body bags and loaded them into the helicopter which was crammed with body bags. Blood was seeping from the bags and carried an acrid stench of rot coming from the transport. Hawks immediately felt a chill go down his spine from the gruesome sight and slowly went over to Miruko who had her back turned with her ears drooping. Hawks was heavily concerned for his friend, knowing that everything that had happened here today might cause Miruko to embrace her more "violent" tendencies back when she was Tiger Bunny. Hawks was praying that wasn't the case, remembering how he was able to encourage her to drop her Vigilantie identity and help her become a Hero. He couldn't watch another person he cared for become go down a dark path...not after what happened to his teacher, Lady Nagant.
Hawks gently placed a hand on Rumi's shoulder; the Rabbit Heroine flinched in response. Miruko glanced over her shoulder at Keigo he motioned his head to the copter behind them. Her features crestfallen, Miruko allowed Hawks to help walk her over to their transport due to her injuries. They entered the copter and the first thing Miruko saw was Ragdoll laying on the seats at the far end, shaking and quietly sobbing. Rumi was about to go over and see what was wrong with her fellow Hero until someone caught her by the hand. She glanced down at Uwabami who pleadingly shook her head at her with a woeful look. Miruko lowered her head and turned away from Ragdoll, sitting next to Hawks as the helicopter took off. As she sat in silence, the only thing Miruko could think about was the Vigilante. The massacre he inflicted upon the Sabers, his rescue of the hostages, and his fight against All Might kept replaying themselves in her mind. The one thing she could not understand was why the Vigilante saved her life not once but twice...why?
On another helicopter, Izuku was seated next to Uraraka in the densely crowded transport. His thoughts on what happened had drowned out the thunder coming from outside. He felt Ochako scooch closer next to him though she still kept her head down. Something inside Izuku stirred as he glanced down at his traumatized friend; as if his conscience was telling him to take action. Though initially hesitant at first, Midoriya slowly placed his hand on hers and gently patted it. Uraraka still kept her head down but she did stop shaking. It was a start.
Izuku sighed through his nose before turning his head to look out the window of the helicopter, staring at the ruined husk of I-Island as it grew smaller with each passing minute...
KOBE-HYOGO PREFECTURE
LADY NAGANT'S HIDEOUT
Kaina Tsutsumi paced around the abandoned office, deep in thought while ignoring the rain pattering against the windows. She had turned off her TV a while ago after it became apparent that there were going to be no new updates from I-Island for a while. Nagant was currently brainstorming about what would be her next course of action as she knew this catastrophe was going to lead to a surge in Villain activity. Her main focus was the subject of the Vigilante. Her gut instinct was telling her that the man had successfully wiped out the Steel Sabers and escaped from I-Island; though his whereabouts were currently unknown. In her time as a Vigilante, after she left her Hero identity behind for good years ago, she had never encountered another one of her kind who was willing to get their hands bloody to protect people.
So bloody that it would make fighting dirty look fair.
That guy was someone she just had to team up with. If he was willing, of course. Kaina smiled when she remembered how she was once approached by a group of Vigilantes, the Naruhata Trio. They had offered her a place in their group to help the citizens of Japan but she politely and respectfully declined. It wasn't because she disliked them, she truly saw that their hearts were in the right place, but she could tell they were too good-natured for the kind of work she did. Granted, Knuckleduster was the most hardened out of all of them but he didn't want Crawler or Pop-Step getting too deep into stuff they couldn't handle. She decided that she was better off working alone.
That is until she caught wind of the mystery Vigilante seen at the Kyashi Ward shopping mall and his assault upon the Sabers. She went over to her laptop at one of the desks and brought up a map of Japan on the main screen. Tracing her finger from the ocean to the Japanese mainland, Kaina wondered where the Vigilante would end up. Since he was first spotted in Musutafu, it would make sense for him to return to his original stomping grounds. If she wanted to meet this guy, she would have to travel from Hyogo all the way over to the Shizouka Prefecture. It would be a pretty long trip although she did have several disguises to wear to conceal her identity while out in public. She had also memorized the patrol routes of the police and Heroes well enough to avoid detection.
Her laptop suddenly brought up a tab informing her that she had an update...from the dark web. Nagant regularly used the dark web with a hidden account so that she could monitor when certain illicit businesses from criminal groups popped up in Japan. When that happened, she would subsequently shut them down and eliminate those who are involved with them. Kaina accessed the dark web and began to look up any new info and she found her mark: a slave trading ring had opened up somewhere in Gotsu within the Shimane Prefecture along with three other rings that dealt in drugs, weapons, and prostitutes in Masuda, Hamada, and Izumo. Lady Nagant visibly seethed at the advertisement the ringleader put up for the slave ring. It sickened her to no end that an inhumane practice was still being used today and it still kept slipping through the cracks.
As usual, the Heroes would have to make an investigation before they could take any action but it took too painstakingly long and it would be too late for those women being used as toys for the absolute worst scum imaginable. Closing her eyes and giving it some thought, Kaina decided that meeting the Vigilante would have to wait. There were people that needed saving and bad guys to kill. Shutting off her laptop, Lady Nagant went over to the abandoned break room where she kept her gear hidden in a secret compartment behind the disused vending machines. She pulled out several metal cases which contained the essentials: a heavy duffel bag, some money, disguises for when she had to go out in public, spare hair ammo for her body weapons, flashbang grenades for when she needed to make a quick getaway, and a Support Item she had during her Hero career.
The Boost Boots: a pair of heavy white zip-up boots with an advanced propulsion mechanism located in the heels and soles. They allowed her to jump to incredible heights, perform split-second doges, and even walk on thin air. After grabbing all of the necessary gear for her trip and putting on her boots, she grabbed one more item from one of the cases: a customized Beretta Inox chambered for .45 ACP rounds just in case she was in a pinch. As Lady Nagant loaded a magazine into the pistol, she took a long look at the weapon, scowling when she heard a familiar voice in her head.
"Please, Kaina...please don't do something you'll regret for the rest of your life."
Staring at the gun for a few more seconds, Nagant holstered the weapon and did a double check of her supplies. She then stashed the metal cases back into the compartment, moved the vending machines back in place, placed her equipment in the duffel bag, and left the room. She went through the abandoned factory and exited the building into the rain; ready to travel to the Shimane Prefecture. Kaina had no regrets concerning her choice.
None whatsoever.
To be continued...
Damn it, who the hell is chopping onions?
This may be one of the more emotional chapters I've made so far and who else to make it even sadder than Cash himself? I went with a slower version to make the sequence feel more sorrowful. Keep in mind that this is only the start of the cast's mental troubles.
Lady Nagant makes her appearance again after such a long time and I finally get to showcase some of the different tweaks and changes I made to her character. Let me know what you think!
The last couple of years have been rough for everyone, me included. But for all the bad, there's always good news to help us through rough times. Maybe things will get better. They always do, every time. Thank you all for the kind words you've sent me and your support, I hope 2023 is treating you well so far.
Don't forget to review but please don't flame!