Chapter 299- Sounds of Collapse
"It was our money that paid for that fish, yeah? As well as your medical treatments, the video doctoring and Toga's new coat." Skeptic had said, annoyed with the League of Villains.
"Yeah, so what? You've got us to thank for your big boss baldy being here in this hideout and not zonked out in a hospital bed!" Twice had retorted.
While the Jaku Raid was happening, the president of Detnerat- Rikiya Yotsubashi- was not expected to be at the hospital during the raid. He was present at the Safety Commission's headquarters, where he was to be detained swifty without extensive use of heroes. Everyone had figured that if he were to show up at the meeting, then he would be caught unaware by the raid and be unprepared to retaliate in such a situation.
However, they were wrong about two things. One was that he would not be able to retaliate- he had quickly proven capable at using his quirk to fight off the small group of heroes sent to detain him, turning into a black hulking monster and wreaking havoc in the building.
They were also wrong about Yotsubashi actually being present.
"A president of a powerful company- this was the face I presented to the world at large." The blob who spoke with Redestro's voice proclaimed as they began to melt into dirt and clay. "After relinquishing command of the liberation army, I took on a new leadership role on the road to revolution. I've always worn these two faces, and ever since our holy war in Deika City, there've literally been two of me." He turned to the higher-ups, many of whom were injured, all of whom were terrified of this beast before them. He flashed a sinister grin, laughing to himself as he continued to speak. "Imagine my delight when you came to me with that Joint Development proposal! I knew you people at the safety commission always had your eye on us, but when, at last, I was led to believe that you couldn't ignore our products anymore, both of my faces were overcome with joy, short-lived though it was.
"But to come at us now, with such fire and brimstone… Well, isn't this the system YOU'VE built up? Your law, your order? Yes, I suppose it was necessary… But we seek order without order… true freedom… through liberation…" The Redestro clone had now fully melted away, leaving nothing but a destroyed wall and several injured soldiers and heroes in its wake. "The seeds… have been sown…"
Six hours after the attack on Tartarus, Shian Prison, another infamous prison housing several powerful villains, was attacked by Shigaraki and his army of Nomu and escapees. Following this attack was a pattern of attacks on several prisons across Japan- Bagu Prison and Kuin Prison were both hit within an hour of each other.
Shigaraki had commandeered an emergency aircraft that required an official biometric I.D. to operate. He had grabbed a single surviving guard from Tartarus and forced him to pilot the aircraft lest he be disintegrated on the spot. The escaped prisoners from Tartarus and the Nomus proceeded to attack seven other prisons, freeing prisoners from six of them. The prisoners were split into three groups- those who would follow Shigaraki, those who were let loose on to the city, and those who Shigaraki stole power from due to a lack of willingness to do the former two.
Shigaraki had managed to acquire several different types of quirks. When he was satisfied with the amount of quirks he had, he finally decided to land the aircraft in a remote area in the woods. With rain pouring down, he was unconcerned that the heroes would be able to track them- they certainly had too much on their hands at this point.
"We'll call it a day." Shigaraki said, as he leaned against a Nomu that had stooped down for him. "We've given the heroes enough playmates to keep them occupied for a while. I need to rest now."
Dabi and Skeptic merely stalked off as the other prisoners gathered in groups to discuss amongst themselves about what the next play might be. Spinner stayed near Shigaraki, who looked at the young man with concern.
"What is it?" Shigaraki asked, without opening his eyes.
"Nothing…" Spinner spat out after some hesitation. "It's just… You and I… I mean, we got along… better than I thought we would. Bonding over gaming and stuff. It's just… You're, like, an entirely different person now."
"Are you unsure if I am who you agreed to follow?" Shigaraki asked. Spinner blinked, then scratched his neck.
"I suppose… I guess, yeah that's what I'm getting at." Shigaraki snorted.
"Don't worry, I'm still me." He muttered. "'M just so much more… of me…" He soon had dozed off, sleeping with an oddly content look on his face. Spinner just shook his head.
'When we first started, we were just some guys who were complaining about the status quo of society and all that… We messed around with those UA kids, but then everything got so much more intense… The Yakuza, the Meta Liberation Army… Now we've hit 7 prisons in less than 8 hours, including Tartarus…' Spinner watched as Skeptic scolded Dabi and some other prisoners for creating a fire under a tarp, but Dabi merely shooed him off, causing the lanky man to yell obscenities and mutter about how much he missed Redestro. 'What in the world are we even doing anymore? Is this what I signed up for? No… I just wanted a place to belong…'
Spinner sighed, then joined Dabi's group around the fire. Shigaraki snored softly in his sleep.
When an emergency team of heroes arrived at Tartarus, they were surprised to find that All for One was awaiting them, kneeling with his hands raised in the air. He made no protests as he was cautiously arrested and placed in a small holding cell made of titanium. Many doubted if it would truly be able to hold him, even with the guards on constant surveillance of the mobile cell, but he made no signs of wanting to escape. In fact, he had cheerfully proclaimed several times that he was right where he wanted to be.
Nobody knew why the Demon Lord hadn't taken a clear opportunity to escape and wreak havoc. Everyone held their breath in anticipation for what plans he had that would require him to stay imprisoned. He wasn't foolish enough to give up his freedom without reason.
No matter how much they questioned him, he would simply smile and say that he was exactly where he wanted to be. He never explained why. He just smiled, as though he was waiting for something.
Bakugo awoke with a start. The first thing he noticed- a pure white ceiling. The next thing he noticed- the beeping of a monitor to his right. The third thing he noticed- an oxygen on his mask that felt like it was taking oxygen away more than it was giving it to him. The final thing he noticed- he was in a shitton of pain.
Groggily sitting up and removing the mask, he held his side as the pain flared up. "The hell…" He began to say, when his door was suddenly open. For a moment, Bakugo was ready to stand and fight- until he saw familiar uniforms walking through the door.
"AAAAAAAH!" A familiar midget cried out, flailing his arms as tears and snot rolled down his face. "HE'S AWAKE!" Mineta continued to flail as Sero, Sato, and Hagakure made their way inside.
"BAKUGO!" They all cried, smiles on their faces as they rushed towards his bed.
"SHUT THE HELL UP! WHERE AM I?!" Bakugo snarled at them. Dammit, he just woke up; couldn't they wait to blow his eardrums off?
"Hooray, that's the short-fused freak we know!" Sero cheered, a sarcastic grin on his face.
"Tell us how you really feel!" Hagakure laughed. Bakugo began coughing into his arm; when he moved his arm away he saw specs of blood splattered against a hospital gown.
"Oh shi- I'll call a doctor!" Mineta cried when he saw the blood.
"Wait a damn mi-" Bakugo was interrupted when he started another coughing fit, but Mineta had stopped. He noticed that Sato had moved towards him in his coughing fit, likely to help him, but he waved him off. When he finally stopped, he managed to croak out, "Just tell me where we are."
"This is Central Hospital." Sero began to explain. "The best place for state-of-the-art, top-of-the-line medical care."
"But thank goodness, for real!" Hagakure said. "We heard you took one nasty beating! That you were, like, stabbed in the guts!" At this, Bakugo remembered the fight with Shigaraki… He had been stabbed, hadn't he? Because he…
"I'll tell the nurse he's up!" Sato said, running for the door.
"Wait." Bakugo said. "What about Deku and Todoroki?" At this, their smiles began to fade. "And sensei… our senpai… Endeavor?" With each name, Sero and Sato looked lower and lower towards the floor. Hagakure's entire body turned away from him. It was only then that he began to notice some injuries of their own- Hagakure had a bandage covering most of her leg, or what could be seen of it under her uniform, Sato had several scratches and scars along his face and a nasty black eye, and Sero was sporting bandages on both of his hands. None of them were looking him in the eye, not even Mineta. "What's going on?!"
Down the hall, Gran Torino and Aizawa were laid in hospital beds in the same room. Gran Torino had been hooked up with an oxygen mask, and his body and legs were wrapped in casts and bandages. Aizawa had a cloth draped over his missing leg, as well as a head bandage that covered his right eye. Present Mic sat next to his friend, iconic hair tied back and a somber look replacing his normally cheerful disposition.
"Both you and Gran Torino would've been much worse off if you'd gotten medical attention later." The doctor explained to Aizawa. "You can thank Rock Lock and the others for making your lives top priority."
Present Mic stifled a sob. "Even Kayama…"
"Enough, Yamada." Aizawa stoically interrupted. "I just want to know… how are the kids?"
Gran Torino was barely paying attention to either of them. As he laid in his bed, the hospital monitor's beeps faded into silence when he looked at his cape. He thought back to the crazed young man… The grandson of his former friend…
'Shimura…' He thought. Tenko- no, Tomura, had never resembled Nana, not even when Torino looked for any similarities. Looking at how he behaved, the things he said… He couldn't believe that young man was the only remnant of his best friend left in this world, other than One for All.
What a sick joke.
Further down the hall, Todoroki sat in his hospital bed, bandages wrapping around his arms and face. He sat up as Yaoyorozu comforted a crying Ashido to his left, while Kirishima and Shoji sat and watched the young man. Kirishima noticed that Shoto was looking out his hospital window, a mob of citizens and news reporters gathered at the entrance of the hospital. There was no question as to why they were there.
"Don't let it get to you, dude." Kirishima said, but Shoto could hear the hesitation in his voice. There was no getting around this, and everyone knew it.
"It'll be alright…" Ashido hiccuped as she wiped her tears, Yaoyorozu patting her back.
"We saw it, Todoroki." Yaoyorozu said, her voice shaky. "We know about the situation… It'll be okay…" Shoto could see the tears lacing her eyelids as she spoke. He glanced outside once more; a group of civilians were shouting and calling for updates about Endeavor, the heroes, the state of Japan… and Dabi. They mostly called for information on Endeavor, and none of the calls sounded concerned- they were angry. They were shocked and felt betrayed by their number one hero, and they demanded answers. They needed reassurance- they needed to know what was happening.
Why couldn't they understand they barely knew what was happening?
Shoto thought back to Starservant's attack on the city, and the words he spoke about Endeavor as he was arrested. 'That one is the root cause! His shining light becomes the dark, and it precipitates our demise!' He had cried. Back then, Endeavor had paid little mind to the man's ramblings, but Shoto would be lying if he said he wasn't concerned to hear such words at first. For a second, he almost thought Starservant somehow knew what had happened in the Todoroki household…
Shaking these thoughts out of his head, he soon found himself reflecting on Dabi… Touya. His brother. A brother he and everyone else believed was dead… when he was alive and killing people with his quirk… a quirk he shared with Shoto and Endeavor.
'But it's different.' Shoto thought. 'His flames are stronger than dad's… I couldn't win with firepower alone. Those flames full of hate… they're too strong… And he's been watching us all this time. All to bring down dad, wrecking his body along the way, and not giving a damn whose lives get ruined in the process.' Shoto reflected on his own journey through UA… He thought back to how he behaved those first few months, how he didn't care for his classmates or their words, and focused solely on perfecting himself to defy Endeavor for good. He had worked so hard to neglect his father's side, to try and be himself…
'He's basically me.' Shoto concluded. 'Burning with rage and hatred for dad… But I changed.' Shoto came to a final realization. It scared him, but he knew it to be true. There was no way for Endeavor to fight and beat Dabi. He couldn't do it.
'It has to be me.'
Those words rang in his head over and over again. He tried to question it, tried to think of a way for it to not be true- but no matter how much he thought about it, those words would ring in his head, and they'd ring true.
Suddenly, there was a click at the door and it pulled open. "Shoto!" A familiar voice called. Shoto looked to the door… and saw Fuyumi and Natsuo standing in the doorway. They were both removing coats and bowler hats that covered them entirely… No doubt getting inside the hospital would've been dangerous if people saw them clearly.
"Hello!" Kirishima greeted the two, a wide smile on his face as he stood up quickly.
"Oh, you must be Todoroki's big bro and sis!" Ashido said. "His throat's burned, so he can't really talk…"
Shoto, in the meantime, was surprised to see his family. Why were they here…?
"GAH! YOU TRYING TO DIE, MAN?! THEY TOLD YOU NOT TO BE UP AND ABOUT!"
"CRAM IT! All that strain from your yanking's gonna kill me harder!"
In the meantime, Bakugo had elected to storm down the hall when he finally got his answers, tearing off the wires plugged into his body and storming out the door before anyone could stop him. Sato and Mineta attempted to drag him back, but he overpowered the two of them and stormed forwards regardless.
"Do you NOT care about your own health?!" Sato cried as he tugged harder.
"It's no use! There's no stopping him!" Mineta grunted.
Bakugo had sat and listened to Sero's explanation on Aizawa and the senpai. Apparently Aizawa had lost a leg and an eye, but was otherwise fine. The senpai were fine, but Nejire had been burned pretty badly in the fight. However, when Sero reached the topic of his fellow classmates…
'Todoroki and the others are conscious at least. All of 'em, except for…'
Bakugo had managed to get a room number from a terrified Hagakure before he left, but as soon as she gave him the information Sato and Mineta clawed at him and tried to put him back to bed. They were entirely unsuccessful in their attempt.
"He's dead meat if he thinks he can die on me." Bakugo growled.
'Midoriya. He's shown no signs of waking up.'