Disclaimer: I do not own My Hero Academia/Boku No Hero Academia, or any other property in this work that I did not make myself.
Vlad King's Green Bean
Chapter ninety-seven: Empire Undead (part four)
Fumikage Tokoyami, the pro hero Tsukiyomi, was headed towards the sealed off block in the city were all confirmed zombies are located within. The number four hero was horrified by how the dead were being raised as zombies and made to fight the living; it was bad enough that dead classmates of his from his first year as a UA student had been raised, but also various pro heroes from that time. It has also been confirmed that Saiko Intelli's squad, save for Saiko herself, were killed by some of the zombies and then raised as zombies themselves by the woman who was reanimating all of the dead.
Among Saiko's squad who was killed and then raised was Habuko Mongoose, an old friend of Tsuyu's; Fumikage had no idea if Habuko had been told that Tsuyu's been alive this whole time, and Tsuyu mentioned wanting to get in touch with her to catch up. But now that was an impossibility. Tsuyu hadn't been told yet that Habuko was not only killed by the zombies but then raised to join them; Fumikage was not sure how his beloved wife would take the news. Tsuyu had so little left, Fumikage bet that it would break her if she got it an old friend was killed by and then raised to join the undead.
Fumikage got it via comm devices that Izuku got info on the woman raising the dead; a former UA student named Desumi Yango, who was in the same year as Nejire-senpai and Tamaki-senpai. Desumi was expelled on her first day of what should have been her first year at UA when Shouta Aizawa who was her homeroom teacher said her quirk was nothing but pure evil, that she couldn't be anything but a villain. Today, Yango was now working for the Old Rule Rebellion, of which Shouta was a leading slash founding member, and raising an army of undead at their behest to help overthrow the Dabi Regime.
Fumikage also got it from his and Tsuyu's son Samidare that when he and a few schoolmates first encountered zombies, some nomus showed up but they all took orders from Samidare's classmate Toya and helped capture all of the zombies alive (for lack of a better term). The appearance of nomus, who haven't been seen since before the rise of the Dabi Regime a little over twenty years ago, was a big surprise. Not even Emperor Dabi or any in his inner circle were aware that the nomu program was reactivated. Fumikage wondered how Emperor Dabi was going to deal with it, assuming he hasn't settled things already.
As Fumikage made his way to 'Zombie Country' (the Regime's term for the sealed off area with all of the zombies in it), he couldn't help but worry. Not for himself or any of the heroes still among the living who would eventually go in to try and track down and stop Yango. No, the number four hero was worried about Tsuyu, as well as her younger sister Satsuki who similarly was living in secret under the Regime's nose until their survival was revealed. By Dabi's word, Tsuyu and Satsuki were being given the very best protection, and Felgrand will be brought in on it as soon as he could be gotten a hold of.
Right now, Tsuyu and Satsuki were being protected by a squad of a dozen men; half of them being sidekick level pro heroes employed by Fumikage's agency, and the other six being PLF soliders of the Dabi Regime. Fumikage's son Samidare was also being protected, given that Tsuyu is the boy's mom. Fumikage himself was wanting to protect them as well; they are his family, with Tsuyu his wife, Satsuki his sister-in-law and adopted sister (long story), and Samidare his son. But as a high ranking pro hero, Fumikage had to go out in order to help deal with the budding zombie apocalypse out in the city.
The number four hero could only hope that things won't get any worse, but given that the dead were being raised to fight the living at the behest of the Rebellion in its latest bid to try to remove the Regime from power, Fumikage wasn't sure if it could be guaranteed that things wouldn't get any worse. As a matter of fact, it was instead a guarantee that things would most likely get worse. Fumikage, as he flew on Dark Shadow towards Zombie Country, uttered a silent prayer to whatever gods would hear it that things here would be resolved so that there's no more violence or bloodshed or horror.
Fumikage hoped that a merciful god heard the prayer, and would help save the day.
Dabi was at a government building with inner circle members Spinner, Kurogiri, Rappa, Gentle, and Mr. Compress as they were working to figure out how to get a lid on the zombie problem. Making things more difficult for them was how the pro heroes Green Bean, Mines, and Lizardy had just uncovered that Nezu had been secretly giving aid to the Old Rule Rebellion; the handicapped talking animal principal of UA was currently sitting in a white jail cell with a Plexiglas cover that had holes in it (so as to let air in) and would be kept there until the zombie problem's dealt with.
A guard was also placed on Nezu to ensure that he didn't escape or attempted suicide to prevent any info he had from being coerced out of him. Dabi was going to get as much as possible out of the rat bastard, but again that was going to have to wait until the zombies were dealt with. Dabi got it that Green Bean was headed out to Agatsuma Town to follow a possible lead; it's the hometown of Desumi Yango, the woman raising all of the dead as zombies. The emperor nodded in approval of that; it was vital that any and all leads to help resolve this issue with the zombies were dealt with.
As the world ruling emperor and some of his men tried to figure things out, they were met up by a young looking scientist. "Your highness," the scientist said, "Dr. Ujiko says that he has enough lessers among the nomus he's created to help give the heroes a number boost before going into Zombie Country to take out as many zombies as possible. He's awaiting your okay to deploy them."
Dabi nodded in approval while giving a likewise hum; even though the production of nomus was restarted behind Dabi's back more or less shortly after the project was shut down by his word years ago, and Dabi was annoyed to find it out, he couldn't deny having a solid base of numbers that took orders from the Exclusive Party would be of great use. "Tell the good doctor to have what he can spare ready," Dabi instructed, "Have the nomus report to my younger brother Shoto, he's going to lead the charge into Zombie Country to take out the undead and sus out Yango's location so Nagant can snipe her."
The scientist nodded respectfully to Dabi before excusing himself to go about his duties. Dabi figured that the nomus, is anything, could suffer loss of life in place of the heroes. Dabi also hoped that the nomus couldn't be raised as living dead, but figured that they were sort of zombies already; can a zombie be raised as a zombie? That was a question that the man who rules the world was not exactly wanting to take the risk of learning the answer to.
A zombified zombie. Talk about doubling down.
Over at the perimeter made to seal up Zombie Country, Fumikage met up with a few former classmates of his who were now his fellow pro heroes; Ochaco, Kirishima, Kyoka, Shoto, Pony, Denki, Hanta, and Mina. "When are we heading in?" Fumikage asked after landing and having Dark Shadow assume a normal form and hang next to him while talking to the others.
"We're waiting for the squad of nomus that Toya told me his doctor friend is sending," Shoto said, "The nomus are going to be taking orders from me while they're helping us." Shoto gently shook his head. "Even Toya was surprised to find that the nomu project was continuing pretty much shortly after he ordered it shut down so long ago. We fought against nomus in the past, and now we're going to be taking a squad in with us to fight the undead and track down the woman raising the undead at the behest of the Old Rule Rebellion."
"At least they'll not harm us and will instead do what we tell them," Kyoka remarked.
"Technically, they're gonna take orders from Todoroki there," Denki pointed out to his wife.
Fumikage and Dark Shadow looked around, as if looking for something. "Hey, Fumi and I were told that Green Bean and Nejire-chan would be here," Dark Shadow said.
"Izuku had to go to UA to gather info that could help deal with the woman who's raising the zombies," Ochaco said, "That's how he along with Setsuna and her husband discovered that Principal Nezu had been collaborating with the Rebellion. After turning Nezu in and handing over the necessary info, Izuku went off to Agatsuma Town to follow a lead. As for Nejire-senpai, she went to a nearby fast food place so she could use their bathroom, also Tamaki-senpai's going to meet her there before coming here to meet with the rest of us."
"I did not expect Nejire-senpai to say she had to use the bathroom by describing it as 'needing to take a monster shit'," Mina said. Seeing the look on Fumikage's face, Mina said, "I'm serious. Nejire-senpai actually said that." The others nodding in confirmation told Fumikage that what Mina said was indeed true.
Fumikage was about to speak up, but he was cut off when a barrier was rammed to the side from within Zombie Country, making all the heroes present turn to see one of the zombies stumble out. Everyone aside from Shoto and Fumikage was shocked to see the undead woman who shoved her way out. One of the police tried aiming a gun at the zombie woman, but Pony called out, "Don't shoot her! We'll deal with her!"
"You recognize that zombie?" Shoto asked Pony.
The pro hero Rocketti nodded once in confirmation. "That's Katsuki's mom Mitsuki." That would explain why everyone aside from Shoto and Fumikage were familiar with the zombie Mitsuki; Ochaco and Pony because they saw her in photos provided by Masaru because he's related to them, and the five who formerly hung out with Bakugo because... well, the used to hang out with Bakugo, so they would know what his parents looked like. "I can't believe that Katsuki's mom was also raised from the dead as a zombie," Pony said, "First the guy who helped me bring my daughter into the world, and now one of my daughter's grandmothers."
Ochaco was about to speak up, but she stopped short when more zombies followed zombie Mitsuki out of Zombie Country; the present heroes were horrified to see that the small horde consisted of all of the other victims of Endeavor's recklessly burning that salon. The employees who were there, plus Mitsuki's friends Mika, Beru, and Rei. Also, a male zombie who Fumikage was able to identify as Beru's husband Ganma was also among the small horde that just broke out of Zombie Country. Kyoka, Denki, Shoto, and Fumikage were all horrified to see people they knew, who were parents or in-laws to them, had been raised from the dead.
How would Kyoka's father, who is still alive, react to learn that his wife (he never remarried after Mika passed) had been raised from the dead? Shoto could already imagine how his siblings, son, and nephew would react to seeing Rei now shambling around as a mindless zombie. Fumikage thought that it was bad enough that Tsuyu and Satsuki now only had one another from their family growing up left in the world; he did not want them to see it that their parents had been raised from the dead, and considered it a blessing that Tsuyu's and Satsuki's brother was not among the shambling corpses.
It was as the small horde was about to get close to the living heroes that Shoto heard a gravely voice call out, "Give us the order and we'll kill the zombies for you, sir!" The heroes turned to see a group of nomus, headed by the unique nomu Hotshot (who struck Shoto as familiar for reasons he couldn't explain), come rushing over to assist with detaining the undead.
Shoto did a quick head count, saw the nomus outnumbered the zombies two to one. "We need to kill some of those zombies who got out, but not all of them," Shoto said. Pointing out the zombies of Rei, Mika, Mitsuki, Beru, and Ganma, Shoto said, "Capture those ones I pointed out alive, but the rest can be killed!"
"Got it, sir!" Hotshot replied, before leading the nomus in carrying out the orders that Shoto gave. The five zombies selected by Shoto for capture were detained successfully, and the others were all killed again. As the busted over section that zombie Mitsuki pushed aside was reset and refortified, Shoto said, "The zombies we caught here can be added to what's already being studied so that we can learn more about Yango's dark quirk.
Fumikage, as he saw the zombified forms of Tsuyu's and Satsuki's parents struggle in vain while they were held down by a nomu each, turned his attention to where zombie Rei was being held. Turning his attention to Shoto, Fumikage said, "...I can image your brother will be beyond pissed when he hears that you guys' mother was also raised as a zombie."
"Both of them," Shoto confirmed, "As well as Fuyumi and the rest of the family. But I know you were specifically thinking of my brother Toya." Within quick order, a van for transporting the captured zombies came by and loaded the zombies of Rei, Mitsuki, Mika, Beru, and Ganma. "Tell whoever is handling Bakugo and the rest of my late classmates that they're getting more zombies to study," Shoto said to the guys who would be transporting the captured undead. Shoto then took out a phone and used it ti dial up a number.
"...Toya?" Shoto said, "We captured some zombies that broke out of Zombie Country, whoever you got studying my late classmates will be getting five more. ...Yeah, the bastard who is behind raising all of the zombies also raised mom." Shoto had to hold the phone away from his ear, and the other heroes present were able to hear it when Dabi on the other end of the line shouted some very powerful and angry swearing.
Fumikage could not blame the man who rules the world for losing his cool; Fumikage himself felt like cursing up a storm over seeing so many late loved ones to him and his fellow pro heroes among the raised undead. Fumikage was especially pissed to see Beru and Ganma desecrated so; they were the parents of Tsuyu and Satsuki. They were Fumikage's own family by virtue of being his in-laws, they were the grandparents of his and Tsuyu's son Samidare, a boy named after his uncle who was not yet seen among the undead, and Fumikage hoped it would remain that way.
The number four hero could only hope that Tsuyu, as well as Satsuki, would remain okay.
Over at the Fumikage residence, Tsuyu and Satsuki were in the company of six sidekicks employed at Fumikage's agency, and six PLF soldiers in the Regime. Tsuyu's son Samidare was also there, and he had Great Shadow hanging out at the time. "Huh, I never would of thought it that the boss's wife had been alive this whole time," one of the sidekicks said, "And that his adopted sister is also his sister-in-law."
"Well we're part of the protection deal that Emperor Dabi has assigned to protect Tsukiyomi's wife and sister," one PLF soldier said, "And it still amazes me that Emperor Dabi is going to such lengths to ensure that these ladies are protected. I'm figuring the same deal is also extended to Tsuyu Tokoyami's son here."
Samidare nodded in agreement with the assessment; if his mom and aunt are being protected, then it stands to reason that he himself would also get some protection. Samidare was about to speak up, but got cut off by his Aunt Satsuki. "Well since all of you guys are guests," Satsuki said, "It would stand to reason that me, my sister, and my nephew here ought to provide refreshments."
"There should be some snacks down in the secret basement I lived in," Tsuyu pointed out. Putting her hands over her somewhat notable gut, Tsuyu went on, "Having to live the life I had lived due to fear I'd be killed otherwise did not do my weight any favors. The limited chances for exercise combined with the snacks I ate regularly made me blimp up a little bit kero."
"You're not that bad, ma'am," a second sidekick said, "You don't look big enough to qualify as obese if that helps."
A second PLF soldier nodded in agreement. "Yeah, you're nothing compared to this one woman I saw while patrolling Exclusive Heights a while ago. She looked like she was clocking in at a solid three-hundred kilograms."
Arching a wry eyebrow, Samidare asked, "Did she have long white hair and red eyes?"
Looking surprised, the second PLF soldier said, "Yeah, young man. How did you gue-"
"That's my friend Fuyuki's Aunt Eri," Samidare interrupted, "At least before she submitted for the Losing Weight for Heroism program when a bunch of security guys were hurt while escorting my class to a field trip. Fuyuki's Aunt Eri is now roughly the same size as Aunt Satsuki here."
"Hot damn I bet that Agari had loads to work with when Eri let her use all of that fat," Satsuki remarked as she let out a whistle, "I still wanna know how Eri had gotten so fat in the first place, though."
"What I wanna know is what she was doing in Exclusive Heights," the first PLF soldier said, "I mean she's Green Bean's adopted sister, meaning she's a member of the Elite Party. Exclusive Heights is for Exclusive Party members only to live in."
"Actually, she's staying with her boyfriend at Exclusive Heights," a third PLF solider said, "I also saw her while I was doing patrol duty there, post Losing Weight for Heroism. I saw her going in and out of Hobbit Hill."
A third sidekick arched a wry eyebrow. "Hobbit Hill?"
The third PLF solider nodded in the affirmative. "Yeah, all of the large, stately homes in Exclusive Heights have names. In this case, Hobbit Hill is an actual big ass hill that a Hobbit home was built into. You know, like what Hobbits live in from that one fantasy series. It's a one story home and one of the smallest homes in Exclusive Heights, but it still has more square feet than Tsukiyomi's house here. And this is a pretty big house."
Samidare nodded in understanding. "I bet my classmate Fuyuki and our schoolmate Komaru would love checking Hobbit Hill out. They're both into the fantasy genre of books like that."
Tsuyu nodded in understanding to her son. "Your late uncle, who you are named after, was also into those kinds of books kero."
"Well Eri's boyfriend lives there, so you'll have to ask him for your friends," the second PLF soldier said to Samidare, "I don't know who Eri's boyfriend is, though. All I know is that he's bound to be a member of the Exclusive Party, given he has a personal residence in Exclusive Hei-"
*CRASH*
The second PLF soldier was cut off when the large front window in the living room was smashed in from the outside, and a nomu came charging in, followed by a few more. When it was clear that the nomus were aiming for Tsuyu and Satsuki, the security gathered for them all moved in to fight the nomus off. But there was one nomu to each guard, and once some nomus managed to kill their opponents, the guards got overwhelmed quickly. "Son of Tsukiyomi, run!" the first sidekick yelled, "There's a foul plot afoot if these monsters here are- ACK!"
Samidare, who was running as told, never saw the first sidekick's throat crushed by one of the nomus. When Samidare got outside, he caught his breath, only to turn when he heard his mom and aunt both scream. Samidare saw it as his mom and aunt were being kidnapped by the nomus, being taken away as the nomus all flew off to parts unknown. Not daring to go back inside, Samidare ran to get help. "Yo Sami, what the hell are we going to do?" Great Shadow asked, "Who can help us get your mom and aunt back from those monsters who kidnapped them?"
"My dad and the other pro heroes are going to be busy dealing with the zombies," Samidare said, "I'll just get some friends to help me!" The son of Tsukiyomi was panicked, scared due to his mom and aunt both being kidnapped. He was figuring that the plan he had come up with was the best plan that he had, and he hoped like hell that it would work. He wanted to save his mom and aunt; being beloved family aside, Tsuyu and Satsuki had lived secret lives out of fear of being killed. They were now able to live free, and Samidare, being a good son and nephew, wanted to ensure Tsuyu and Satsuki would get that.
In that sense, Samidare Tokoyami was much the same as his uncle who he was named after; Samidare Asui loved and cared for his family more than anything.
Over in Agatsuma Town, Izuku while disguised got close to the local bar. Looking around, Izuku saw that there were a few of Desumi's zombies in the area, but they were posing no harm or threat to the living. In fact, some of the living even appreciated the help of the mindless undead raised from the grave by Desumi's dark quirk. It was clear to the number one hero that a town like this located out in the country was not aware of the chaos going down in the city; just as well, as Izuku did not want chaos to erupt out here in the countryside as well. That would make the chaos even more chaotic.
Izuku eventually made his way into the bar. Located in the back was a disguised Shouta Aizawa. Even from the distance Izuku was at when he saw Eraserhead, he was able to tell that the rogue underground hero seemed troubled. Maybe he was regretting his part in bringing Desumi into things for the Rebellion's latest effort to usurp the Regime from power. Making his way over, Izuku sat down in the booth that Shouta sat alone with, getting his attention. "...You and the rest of the Rebellion have gone too far here," Izuku said, his tone and expression delivering his disappointment well.
"Tell me something I don't know," Shouta said, "Hell, I was strongly against this myself, going along with it only because it was pointed out that the Rebellion was really desperate. We've been pushed into a corner by the Regime. We needed to shore up some numbers."
"So you guys tracked down Yango to use her Necromancy quirk to raise an army of undead," Izuku said, "Many of which died over twenty years ago."
Shouta nodded in confirmation. "They were all being kept at the cryogenic deep freeze morgue, it preserved all of their bodies perfectly over the years so that their quirks could be studied. I... I was shocked to see so many dead who I knew were being kept there, especially Emi and Nemuri."
"Your wife and co-worker respectively," Izuku said dryly, some disgust seeping through.
"Technically Emi and I never married," Shouta pointed out, "We just had sex and she got pregnant. I'm actually amazed that I was able to get her pregnant, given what Shizuo did to me when you and most of my students attacked me that one time."
Izuku rolled his eyes dryly. "What did you call me out here for?"
"I was going to ask you to submit the Rebellion's demands to the Regime," Shouta said, "When you're asked how you got it, say that you have a mole in the Rebellion. It would pass as a believable story, given that I was very nearly captured because the Regime had a mole in the Rebellion and she drugged me and presented me to Todoroki for capture."
The number one hero's eyes narrowed out of suspicion. "...What are the Rebellion's demands?"
Listing off of his finger tips, Shouta began, "One, all living members of the Rebellion who are currently imprisoned are released. That should include both my son Oboro, who I still need to scold for how he talked trash about Kirishima's autistic son, as well as Sekijiro. Two, all Regime created holidays are canceled, including Mourning Day and Rainfall Day. Three, Felgrand has to publicly reveal his true identity. Four, ten trillion yen in unmarked pre-Regime bills." Shouta lowered his hands, rested them on the table in the booth he and Izuku occupied. "That was all that Boros Kazekage gave me when he sent me to submit the Rebellion's demands."
Izuku was surprised by how bold the Rebellion was being; they wanted ALL of their currently imprisoned members released and ten trillion yen cash, a far bigger payout than what they got from taking the field trip hostage. They were also back to demanding the cancellation of Rainfall Day and Mourning Day, as well as all other Regime-created holidays. Izuku wasn't sure if that meant just the ones in Japan or ALL of the Regime-created holidays all over the world, but Izuku was figuring that it was just the ones celebrated locally there in the land of the rising son.
What really surprised Izuku was that the Rebellion was demanding that Felgrand publicly reveals his true identity; what exactly was the Rebellion planning to do with that information? It also reminded Izuku that very few people were aware of who exactly Felgrand really is; the number one hero got it that Dabi (probably) knew, but that's about it. Izuku will admit that he himself was curious as to who Felgrand really was, it was a puzzle that not even Nezu, for all of his vaunted intelligence, was able to figure out. Speaking of, Izuku brought that matter up to Shouta.
"Nirengeki, Setsuna, and I discovered that Nezu had been secretly collaborating with you guys," Izuku said, "He's been arrested and is currently being held. The Regime plans to question him after the business with dealing with Desumi and her zombies are settled."
Shouta scowled, his expression a mix of disappointment, bitterness, and surprise. "How did you three figure it out that Nezu was the Rebellion's man on the inside?"
"Nirengeki's and Setsuna's daughter Anya told us," Izuku explained, "While Nezu was trying to go through the process of expelling her from UA on trumped up charges of Anya 'violating academic integrity'."
Shouta's eyes widened a bit with surprise. "...Shinso was able to get it from his son and Todoroki's son while the Rebellion had them that Anya Shoda has a Mind Reading quirk. She must have used it to read Nezu's mind and get what all secrets he had."
"Actually she just revealed that Nezu was lying about not having a file on Desumi when I came by and asked him for it," Izuku clarified, "She even revealed where Nezu was hiding the file, and that he was intending to hand it over to Yamada-sensei so that the heroes and the Regime couldn't get it. That part there is what clued us in on Nezu working with you guys."
Scowling some more, Shouta went on, "But I bet that the Regime plans to use the Shoda girl to gleam as many of Nezu's secret workings with the Rebellion as possible before they execute him."
Shrugging, Izuku replied, "They do plan to interrogate Nezu, yes. But I'm not sure if the Regime will execute him. It will probably depend on what all they gleam from him with Anya's help."
"The Regime should, among other things," Shouta began dryly, "Get it from Nezu with the Shoda girl's help that he had supplied the Rebellion with the info that helped us take the field trip hostage, as well as the info that allowed for Shinso to grab his son and Todoroki's son from the training camp. He also supplied it to Death Arm's group that some students would be at the Felgrand Lake Fish Farm, but he had no idea which students would be there." That much alone, from what Izuku was figuring, ought to be enough to make the Regime heavily consider executing Nezu.
Izuku also became far more disgusted towards the quirked animal principal of UA; he had, through the info he gave, endangered many students from the very academy that he headed up. Some of the occasions that Izuku now knew Nezu had helped to facilitate had seen Izuku's son Fuyuki endangered. The number one hero wondered if Nezu saw Fuyuki and his peers as students or as pawns in the game he's playing against the Regime. Izuku remembered, back when he was a UA first year, that Sekijiro had warned him about how Nezu was something of a chess-master, and not just at the literal game of chess.
Izuku leaned back in his seat in the booth he and Shouta occupied. "I can only assume that the Rebellion will also want Nezu liberated. Not sure how much good he can do, given that his being a Rebellion sympathizer had been exposed. He's already been removed from his position at UA, and the Regime had froze most of his assets, locking him out of most of his personal wealth. He's got nothing but the outfit he was wearing and his wheelchair he was sitting in at the time of his arrest."
"The more people on the Rebellion's side that we can save and get into the Rebellion, the better," Shouta replied, "At least that's what Boros says. The Rebellion doesn't have enough resources right now for Nezu to take advantage of with his vast intelligence, so aside from giving the Rebellion moral support, I fail to see how Nezu can be of much help now that he's been compromised." The rogue underground hero looked to Izuku. "You showed an awful lot of reasoning behind how little Nezu can be of help now, Midoriya. I think you were channeling your inner me there for a second."
Izuku narrowed his gaze. "Please don't compare me to you. I'm still pissed that you're party to a plan that involves mass raising of the dead, many of them people who we knew and cared for."
Shouta sighed in a resigned, troubled tone. "Again, don't remind me of how the Rebellion had to resort to such tactics in order to deal a decisive blow to the Regime. It disgusts me that the real heroes, the people trying to liberate everyone from the rule of villains, are using such evil and villainous tactics in order to pull ahead."
Gesturing to Shouta, Izuku said, "That's something else. I got it from gleamings I got from a mix of skimming Desumi's file and what Nejire-senpai told me that you expelled Desumi from UA solely because you declared that her quirk was pure evil, that she couldn't be anything but a villain with it. You did to her what other adults in Shinso's life had done to him before you stepped in and essentially made him your apprentice. By the way, how did Shinso react when he found out that you did to Desumi what others had done to him?"
"He doesn't know yet," Shouta replied, "I know because he would have confronted me about it by now otherwise. And with all due respect, Yango's quirk truly is nothing but pure evil."
"No quirk in and of itself is evil," Izuku countered, "Or good for that matter. What is good or evil are the actions taken with quirks, are the ways that quirks are used and the intent behind said actions and ways."
"Yango's quirk literally reanimates dead bodies to serve her as mindless zombie slaves," Shouta pointed out, "Name one way that a power whose only application is to desecrate the dead can be used for good."
Arching a wry eyebrow, Izuku replied, "I can name several, as well as at least two ways to mitigate the moral questionablity of using the undead." Gesturing to Shouta, Izuku said, "And you seem to be a bit hypocritical, given that you say that it's wrong to even create undead and yet you're party to a plan that involves the mass raising of undead."
"The zombies that Yango is raising are being used to strike back at the villains who took over," Shouta countered, "They may even be used to potentially topple the Regime, allowing for the Rebellion to come in and restore freedom to everyone."
Folding his arms over his chest, Izuku said, "And you had just named a way that Desumi's quirk can be used for good."
Shouta scowled, annoyed that he was caught like that. "It's still wrong to desecrate the dead. The Rebellion simply hasn't been given any choice in the matter."
"Speaking of," Izuku began, "What all was done to convince Desumi to help you guys? What all did you promise her to get her to agree to supply the Rebellion with an army of the undead?"
"We promised Yango that," Shouta began, "Once the Rebellion eventually toppled the Regime from power and restored freedom to the world, she would be made a pro hero in Japan."
Izuku wasn't as surprised to hear that as one may think; Desumi probably was chomping at the bit to become a pro hero, given she had gotten into UA's hero course a while ago. It also touched Izuku on a personal level that, really, all that Desumi wanted was to be a pro hero. It was the same dream Izuku had all his life, a dream that he got to fulfill. It's just that Desumi had the bad luck of being born with Necromancy, a quirk considered by many to be so evil, that it made even Shinso's Brainwashing look downright saint-like by comparison.
Seeing the look in the rogue underground hero's face, Izuku wasn't sure if Desumi was going to be allowed her dream after all. "...Is the Rebellion really going to make Desumi a pro hero after she helps them remove the Regime from power?"
"Pfft, hell no," Shouta readily outright admitted, "Midoriya, the woman's quirk lets her raise bodies from the dead as mindless zombie slaves. There's no way that she can ever do any good with it!"
"And yet she's using her quirk to help the Rebellion remove the Regime from power and restore freedom to the world," Izuku pointed out, barely containing his disgust that the Rebellion, that Shouta, was so readily planning to back out on the promise that they had promised Desumi. The Rebellion was merely using her, manipulating her with a false promise, to get their desired end. An end that, although good, would be built partly on a lie to someone who, when you get right down to it, sincerely wanted only to do good and be a hero.
From where Izuku sat, Desumi wasn't a villain, so much as were the people using her. Eraserhead included.
Izuku was then allowed to go; he was needed to submit the Rebellion's demands to the Regime, after all. As Izuku got up to leave, he shot Shouta one last disgusted look before turning around and leaving. Izuku had no idea what to make of the Rebellion by this point; of all of its members, Izuku could only comfortably say that All Might and (maybe) Sekijiro were the only ones that he still respected. The Rebellion had committed many atrocities in its quest to remove the Regime from power and return things to how they were before the rise of the Regime.
But trampling on a girl's dreams, using them to manipulate her into doing as they wanted, and planning to double cross her in the end? It was one of their worst acts to date that Izuku was aware of.
END, CHAPTER NINETY-SEVEN
Author's notes;
This chapter sees Fumikage muse about what's going on right now, as well as fret about his family. Dabi is then shown giving the okay for Ujiko to deploy some of the nomu to help deal with the zombies. After that, Fumikage and some others from his year are confronted by the zombies of Rei, Mitsuki, Mika, Beru, Ganma, and a few others, but the others are killed by nomus led by Hotshot while the zombified parents from two decades prior are captured alive and sent Ujiko's way so that he has more zombies to study.
Tsuyu and Satsuki are kidnapped from the Tokoyami residence by some nomus, and Samidare gets out with Great Shadow with the plan to gather the lads to rescue his mom and aunt. Izuku and Shouta then have a lengthy talk in Agatsuma Town, and there Izuku learns how the Rebellion got Desumi to agree to supply them with all of the undead that she can raise, as well as get from Shouta what the Rebellion is demanding this time in return for them pulling back what they're threatening Japan with. Things will get even more intense in the chapters to come, so until then take care.