"This is bullshit!" Kirishima slammed the sheet of paper in his hand against the table. "You can't seriously expect us to go through with this!"
Class 1A were gathered in the common room of Heights Alliance, standing around a representative from the Health and Public Safety Commission. After handing out the stack of documents in his arms, the man had explained their contents and what was expected of the students should they sign it.
"I have to agree with Kirishima," Yaoyorozu nodded, looking down at her own paper. "Midoriya is our friend. To sign off on something like this…"
"We'd be abandoning him." Tokoyami finished for her.
"Public Safety can't seriously ask this of us, can they?" Mineta asked, looking around at the others.
"They can." Iida stated solemnly, memories of the aftermath of the Hero Killer incident played out in his head. After he, Midoriya, and Todoroki worked together and defeated Stain, they'd been more or less forced to sign a similar NDA and hand the credit over to Endeavor.
"And if we choose not to comply?" Shoji asked, raising one of his hands.
"Your provisional hero licenses will be suspended and you'll be blacklisted from ever obtaining a full license from the government." Mera replied, a blank look on his face. "Legally, we can't remove you from the UA Hero Course. However, without a license, you won't have any future as a professional hero."
"Dude…" Kaminari looked up from his document. "What did Midoriya even do? It's kinda hard to think he'd do something to warrant this."
"Unfortunately, I'm already under an agreement of my own, so what I am allowed to say is pretty limited." Mera admitted, leaning forward in his seat. "However, on top of the numerous breaches of his provisional license agreement during the Villain War that would see him arrested under normal circumstances, the general public is more wary than ever of unchecked powers like his. Following the damage Gigantomachia and Shigaraki caused to numerous cities during the war, the National Diet is currently putting together a bill that can legally classify certain individuals as WMDs. As it stands, it's a pretty short list, but your friend is on it."
"But Midoriya would never-!" Ashido began, only for Mera to raise his hand to silence her.
"It isn't about intent." The man clarified. "It's about what he's capable of."
'There's more to this.' Ochako thought to herself silently. 'There's something big that he's still not telling us.'
"Um…perhaps we should take into consideration what the man is saying." Aoyama's voice spoke out amongst the crowd of students. The others turned to him with a look of shock, to which the French boy looked down, shivering as he stood in place. "The government…they know what is best for us, oui? If…if we go against what they say…we may only end up making things worse."
"You…" Hagakure turned to the blond boy, pointing a gloved finger. "After everything that Midoriya did…You were his friend!" The invisible girl angrily gritted her teeth, stomping over to Aoyama. "You'd just toss him aside!?" The boy in question flinched as Sero and Satou moved to restrain Hagakure.
Ochako gave the French boy a sad look. She couldn't muster much anger towards him. After everything that he'd gone through during the war, she could understand where he was coming from, why he was afraid to step out of line against the HPSC, even if she wholeheartedly disagreed with his point of view.
"Well, where's Midoriya now?" Kirishima asked.
"I'm not at liberty to say." Mera stated plainly. "Now if we could return to the document at hand-"
"You…Idiots…" A raspy voice called out, barely audible among the class's murmurs.
All eyes suddenly turned to Bakugo as the heavily wounded boy pushed himself up from his wheelchair, stumbling as his injured legs struggled to keep him up. Pushing down his bandages with his mouth, the blond boy managed to speak.
"Do you…have any idea…what you've done?" He demanded, his damaged jaw weakening his voice. "That damn nerd…is gonna get himself killed!"
Evidently, Bakugo had pieced together something the rest of the class had yet to figure out.
"I don't-" Mera began, but Bakugo cut him off.
"You assholes…have him working…for you now…don't you? It's the only thing…that makes sense." The explosive boy winced at the pain he was in, but continued. "He's too valuable…to lock up. And if he's not here…then that means-"
"That's enough, Kacchan." A voice sounded from the doorway.
This time, all eyes turned to the front door where a familiar figure leaned against the door for support. Everyone present gasped in shock at the sight.
"Midoriya!" Everyone cried before rushing to the boy.
"Deku…" Tears formed in Ochako's eyes as she took in his form, more specifically, what he was now missing.
"H-Hey everyone." Izuku raised a hand to greet his class. The boy could barely manage to move as his friends swarmed around him.
"Oh my god, you're alive!"
"You had us so scared Midoriya-kero!"
"Midoriya! Do you have any idea how worried we were about you!?"
"Holy shit man! How'd you manage to win against Shigaraki?"
The class's voices all got in the way of one another, making it difficult to pick out any one statement.
"Midoriya, y-your arm!" Yaoyorozu covered her face with her hands, shock in her eyes.
"Um yeah, I uh…lost a little weight in the hospital." He replied, forcing a laugh as he held up his empty left jacket sleeve.
There was a short silence from everyone present before Izuku was bombarded with more questions, scoldings, and crying from various members of the class. As he desperately tried to answer what he could manage, the group went silent as Ochako pushed herself to the front of the crowd, staring down Izuku with an intense look in her eyes.
"U-Uraraka, I…" His eyes filled with worry at the girl before him.
He didn't get to finish as the girl wrapped her arms around the taller boy, pulling him in tightly. Ochako wiped away her tears with her hand as the other squeezed around his shoulders.
"We were so worried." The brunette finally spoke. "The hospital wouldn't tell us anything. I-I was so scared…I thought…I thought you might've…"
The green-haired boy looked down at Ochako's crying face before looking at everyone else in the room in a similar state. They had all been afraid for him, worried that he might not have survived his encounter with Shigaraki. Judging by the state of the boy, they hadn't been too far off.
"Everyone," Izuku said softly, looking to the rest of his class. "I…I'm sorry, but I have to leave UA again. F-For good this time."
"What do you mean, Midoriya?" Jirou asked, raising her voice. "We all just got you back! I mean, look at you!" The girl gestured to his injuries. "You don't even look like you can take two steps on your own!"
"You can't seriously expect us to turn our backs on you like that dude." Sero spoke up this time.
"It isn't like that! You aren't turning your backs on me! I'm asking you to do this!" Izuku countered. "This for my sake just as much as all of yours!"
Mera stood up from his seat before walking over to the boy, Ochako released Izuku before backing up to rejoin the rest of the group. As the blond man approached the boy, he lowered his voice, leaning in.
"Are you sure this is the best idea, Midoriya? They may not be willing to-"
"No." Izuku raised his remaining hand, turning to Mera. "I know them. They would've never gone through with this otherwise." He turned back to the group. "All of you…You need to accept this deal. We need heroes like all of you if we're ever going to come back from all of this."
"But Midoriya," Tsuyu spoke this time. "We said we'd all be heroes together. I thought…I thought we'd finally gotten through to you."
"Asui, this isn't about that. There's…a lot going on right now, things that I can't get into. But this isn't about protecting you guys anymore, I know now that you're all more than capable of that."
"Then what is it? Help us to understand!"
"I…I can't." Izuku admitted, looking down.
Ochako spotted a single tear dropping from the boy's cheek onto the carpeted floor. The brunette knew Deku better than anyone in the class save for Bakugo, so she could gather just how hard this was on the boy. He'd fought so hard, faced down terrifying villains, and broken his body apart just to have a future where he and his friends could continue attending classes and having fun together. Now that he had finally secured that future, he was being told to give it all up for someone else's sake.
Knowing Izuku, his choice was obvious.
"Please…everyone." The boy tried to hide his tears by turning away, only for Ochako to grab his remaining hand.
"Deku," The girl, with tears once again gathering in her own eyes. "Where will you go?"
"I'll…I'll be around. You won't have to worry about me, Uraraka." He gave the girl and his class a final glance before turning to leave. "I promise."
—
Back in the present, Ochako carried the unconscious form of Izuku behind her into an alley while the police, alongside the heroes; Bangles and Go-Go, brought in Nine's gang. As they struggled to figure out how to load Chimera's unconscious body into the squad car, the anti-gravity hero quickly slipped away, unseen by the others
"Psst! Hey, Uravity!" A voice whispered to Ochako, causing panic to shoot down the girl's spine. Turning her head, the brunette spotted a familiar head of pink hair adorned with goggles leaning out from a nearby wall. "Over here!"
"Hatsume?" Ochako's eyes widened before she followed after the girl. Turning into the next alley she checked behind her to make sure she wasn't before speaking again. "How did you get here? Do you know why Nine's-" She turned around before spotting a familiar face standing next to Hatsume.
"Ochako-cha-OOF!" Himiko Toga was cut off as Ochako pinned the villainous girl against the wall.
Reaching to her waist, the anti-gravity hero grabbed one of her drones, Europa, before switching it into handcuffs mode, slapping them over the blonde's wrists, and deactivating her quirk. In an instant, the other girl dropped to the ground under the sudden increased weight on her arms.
"Toga!" Ochako gritted her teeth, placing her knee on the villain's back. "What are you-How did you escape from prison!?"
"Haven't you heard, Chako? I'm a good girl now." The villainess gave a sharp-toothed grin. "I'm even helping Zuzu solve a case!"
"Whoa, hold up. What's going on now?" Hatsume gave a confused look as she watched the scene unfold. Turning to Ochako, her eyes widened. "Did you just say prison?"
"You mean you don't know who this is?" The brunette gave Hatsume a stunned look before remembering who she was talking to. "This is Himiko Toga! She was part of the League of Villains. Y'know, one of the bad guys!?" She then turned back to the girl in question. "And what do you mean you're helping Deku?"
"I mean that we're partners now!" Toga giggled manically. "By day, fighting crime side-by-side! By night, sharing a bed in the throws of passion-!"
"Hatsume," Ochako turned to the inventor, a shadow covering her eyes. "Restrain me before I do something I'll regret."
"Umm," The pink-haired girl looked awkwardly at the still unconscious, floating Izuku before turning back to Ochako. "Maybe we should go somewhere more private and figure all of this out."
The anti-gravity hero let out a sigh before giving a soft nod.
"We'll go back to my agency. And when Deku wakes up," Her brows furrowed at the floating boy. "He's got a lot of explaining to do."
—
"Feels wrong, not having my mask." Beros said plainly, gazing around her.
Dressed in civilian clothing, a simple green v-neck, blue jeans, white sneakers and a darkly colored windbreaker, the archer was missing her trademark hood, quiver, and face mask, leaving her feeling practically naked.
All across the room the green-haired woman stood in, bright lights of constantly changing colors flared as rave music pounded in her ears. Around the archer, numerous denizens of the club danced, drank, and partook in recreational drug use.
It was all so disgusting.
"Too bad." Lady Nagant's voice replied through her earpiece. "You wanted to find the quirk deleter drug, this is how we do it."
From the floor above Beros, the blue and pink haired sniper looked down at the archer on the dance floor. A drink in her hand, Kaina Tsutsumi was also dressed casually, wearing a black tank top, green cargo pants, and dark brown boots.
The two of them were currently undercover in a nightclub on the outskirts of Mustafu, investigating Nagant's lead on the underground drug dealing ring. While she had moved on from her dark past, the sniper had kept tabs on some potentially useful assets from her time as a government assassin. If those quirk deleters were still in circulation, Tsutsumi was certain she could find them here.
However, the sniper wasn't simply assisting the archer out of the goodness of her heart. Before going out on this mission, Tsutsumi had made certain that Beros fulfilled her part of the obligation. Currently, several of Beros's associates outside of Humarise were investigating the contract that had been put out on Deku, collecting information on bounty hunters and assassins who'd accepted the contract, and trying to find the source behind it all.
"Whatever." Beros walked over to the bar, leaning against it as she scoped out the club's occupants. "So, which one is my target?"
"See the douche sitting in the back corner? The one wearing sunglasses indoors?" Kaina's voice asked in the archer's ear, Beros spotted the man before giving a subtle nod. "That's our guy."
The man in question was in his early thirties and had a disheveled look to him. He had two women sitting on either side of him in the booth he was sitting in, his arms casually draped across their shoulders, while he spoke to a third woman standing in front of him in a business-like manner.
"Had a few run-ins with him during my time as a pro. His name is Katsuro Tada, but he calls himself 'Hunk.'" Kaina explained. "He'd been dealing drugs out of this club for years until he got arrested a while back on a possession charge, but it just so happens he made parole this past year. Seeing as he's not really the type to get his act together, I suspect that he's back to dealing. At the very least he should have some useful information for us."
"Noted." Beros replied before moving to approach the man.
"Hey there, beautiful." Another man suddenly stepped into the archer's path. "Can I buy you a dri-AHH!" The man suddenly collapsed to the ground in pain as Beros grabbed two of his fingers and bent them backwards.
"No."
Not even giving him a second glance, the green-haired woman continued toward her target. Just in time too, it would seem, as the woman he'd been talking to only a moment earlier turned around to leave. The two passed each other as they walked in opposite directions.
The woman in question was particularly eye-catching. Her bronze colored skin marked her as likely a foreigner to Japan. Golden piercings in her nose and lip gave her an intimidating, regal presence that was only complimented by her tall stature. However, the most notable feature was her quirk; a mutation type that seemed to give her six arms.
Just brushing past this woman put Beros' honed instincts on high alert. One thing was clear about this woman. She was incredibly dangerous.
"-eros? Hello?" Kaina's voice rang in the archer's head once more.
"Y-Yeah?" Beros shook off her nerves before her mind returned to the objective, giving the woman from before a final glance as she exited the club, a small package in one of her arms.
"Alright, so when you approach him, he's going to offer to kiss your hand. Don't let him." The indigo-haired woman advised.
'As if I would.' The archer thought to herself before asking the more pertinent question. "Why is that?"
"It's how his quirk 'Charm' activates." The sniper clarified. "It isn't exactly mind control, but you'll be more inclined to agree with anything he says. Why do you think those girls are even giving him the time of day? I can assure you, it's not his winning personality."
Utterly disgusting. This was the kind of person Humarise had despised more than anything, one who simply coasted by in life using their quirk. Heroes, as misguided as they were, at least stood for something, having some kind of principles. But when one simply took advantage of others using a power that they in no way deserved…If Beros didn't need this man alive, she would've killed him on the spot.
"And why exactly am I responsible for this part of the mission?" The archer asked, raising an eyebrow.
"He and I have a bit of a history. And before you say anything, no it's not like that. But basically, if he saw me coming, he'd probably book it out of here as fast as he could."
"Ugh. What a pain."
Beros stepped up before the man known as 'Hunk,' a serious look in her eyes as she clenched her fists inside her jacket pockets.
"Well, you're a fresh face." Hunk stood up before pulling down his sunglasses to take in the woman before him. "And a pretty one at that."
Taking Beros's right hand into his arm, he moved to place his lips against the back of her hand in a gentlemanly manner. For a moment, the archer was tempted to quickly punch the man in the face, but that risked contact with his mouth, so she didn't chance it. Instead, she simply slapped his hands away before returning her's to her pocket.
"Can it." She replied. "I'm just here to make a deal."
"Ah, I see that my reputation precedes me." Hunk smiled before returning to his seat. "Might I ask who sent you?"
"No."
"...Alright then. So what is it that you're looking for exactly?"
"Quirk Deleters. I hear you've got them in stock." Beros's eyes narrowed at the man, studying his reaction.
"Oh! It would seem that those are a pretty hot item right now!" He reached beneath the table. "I do trust you've got the cash for a special item such as this? As happy as I am to help a beautiful woman such as yourself, chivalry doesn't exactly pay the bills."
Beros reached into her pants pocket before producing a fairly large wad of cash.
"I'm good for it." She replied simply.
"Perfect!" Hunk flashed a toothy grin before setting down a small package on the table. "That should be enough to get you about 8 doses. Each dose is good for about 12 hours of power deactivation, give or take a few depending on the target's size, but they work, I can guarantee you that."
"No good." Beros shook her head. "I'm looking for the real drug. The permanent stuff."
"..."
"..."
"Ladies, why don't you go and get yourselves a drink?" Hunk turned to the two women beside him. The pair looked at one another before shrugging and getting up to move. As soon as they left, the man turned back to Beros, removing his sunglasses. "Geez, what the hell lady? What's your deal?"
Beros's eyes widened a fraction as the man's bravado from a moment ago seemingly vanished.
"Excuse me?"
"Do you know how hard it is to even get this stuff? I'll tell you, it's a pain in the ass!" The man complained, slumping back in his chair. "What do you even need something like that for? Who could you possibly want to screw over that much?"
"I take it you don't have it then?" The archer crossed her arms. "And I'd heard such promising things. So much for the infamous 'Hunk.'" She began moving to leave, only for the man to suddenly raise his hand.
"Wait. Wait a second. I…may have a way of getting what you want. Can't really have people spreading bad news about ol' Hunk now, can we?" The man gave a nervous chuckle, a bead of sweat dripping down his forehead.
As she stood with her back turned to Hunk, Beros gave a small smirk. All according to plan.
"I'm listening." She replied simply.
"Alright look, I can help you out, but it'll cost ten…no, twelve times the asking price for those doses."
"Trust me, money is no object." The archer stated, handing the man the stack of bills in her hand. "Consider this a down payment. I'll pay you the rest after you get me what I need."
Hunk grinned with glee at that statement, accepting the cash as he quickly began sorting through the bills.
In the years since the fall of Humarise, Beros had spent her time bounty hunting. In that time, the archer had amassed a small fortune with one, singular goal in mind, avenging the fall of Humarise. Explosive arrows weren't cheap after all. But now she had a new goal, if she could get her hands on the cure for quirks and get it into the hands of the right scientist, maybe Singularity could still be avoided after all.
Just as things were beginning to look promising, of course they had to take a turn for the worse.
"Beros," Tsutsumi's voice sounded through the archer's earpiece. "Beros, we've got a problem."
"Not now." The archer replied quietly.
"Hmm?" Hunk looked up from the money in his hands, having heard the woman speak.
"No, I mean we've got a serious problem." The sniper insisted.
"Who're you talking to?" The man began reaching for his hip. "You're not…Oh god, you're a cop aren't you!?" Hunk moved to pull a handgun from his waistband, only for Beros to quickly lunge forward, grabbing him by the wrist and seizing his firearm. The man yelped in pain at his now injured wrist and was immediately silenced by a hand covering his mouth.
"Just shut up, alright? I'm not a cop. Just get me what I need, and I'll pay you." Pinning him in his seat, she held the gun beneath the table, aimed directly at the frightened man's groin. "What's the situation?" Beros asked the voice in her ear.
That was when she heard it. Voices from the club's denizens, all of their attention had turned to something other than dancing and recreational drugs.
"OMG! It's Grand!"
"Holy shit! Isn't he number 14 in the rankings?"
"He's even hotter in person!"
"Hey Grand! Are you single?"
"Everyone please, sorry to interrupt your evening, but I'm here on official business." A baritone voice stood out among the others. At his behest, the crowd began to part as he made his way past them, but that didn't stop the club's occupants from snapping pictures and trying to grab a quick autograph.
"Who's this guy supposed to be?" Beros asked, her status as a foreigner to this country making itself apparent. "A celebrity?"
"Worse." Kaina answered. "A pro hero."
Just then, the crowd parted to reveal a tall man with bushy black hair and a yellow headpiece that wrapped around his ears. Around his chest he wore a green and black vest that exposed the well defined muscles across his torso. Down at his waist, he wore a simple pair of black pants with two metal rods the size of his forearms holstered on either leg. As he pulled the rods free of their holsters, it immediately became clear what exactly they were.
A pair of ridiculously large tuning forks.
And he was pointing them straight at Beros. No…not Beros herself, but rather the man sitting directly beside her. Turning her head, the archer saw the man shivering in fear at the sight of the pro hero before them. If she had to guess, she would've said that Hunk had pissed himself at the current situation.
"Katsuro Tada." The man known as 'Grand' spoke up. "You've broken your parole and are hereby under arrest on a charge of possession with intent to distribute." A smirk appeared at the corner of his lips.
"In other words, you're coming with me."