Chapter 3

Moon Knight is the property of Marvel Studios

Boku no Hero Academiais the Property of Horikoshi Kohei

Aizawa couldn't lie, this was easily one of the top worst moments in his career. It was right up there to the time, Nemuri signed him up to be a teacher at U.A.; the amount of pain-in-the-ass this incident was causing him was close to that range.

It also hurt that the attributed property damage to the public restroom was billed to him, seeing that he was the hero responsible for the situation (not that he minded, underground hero work paid plenty for his job, not to mention being a teacher at U.A. but it was the principle of the matter).

Pertaining to the incident with the vigilante last night, Aizawa was forced to sit through a couple of sessions of healing, which from Recovery Girl, meant a wack or two from her cane about being more careful in the field.

Rubbing his shins from the blunt force, Aizawa grunted in annoyance as he ignored the rantings of the elderly nurse as he turned towards Tsukauchi who approached him.

Tsukauchi, who looked simultaneously amused and concerned for Aizawa, coughed a bit into his mouth, alerting Chiyo, who muttered some not-so-flattering things about Aizawa (the main thing Choyo was concerned about was Aizawa's sleep schedule. The man had minimal injuries considering his occupation, but the man had to get his rest if he wanted her to heal him up to his prime condition) before handing him a couple of gummies.

"Here you go Eraser, try not to get injured so early in the school year? Hmm?" She tutted before leaving Tsukauchi alone with Aizawa.

Tsukauchi smiled with amusement, before putting on a serious face. "Aizawa, how are you?"

Aizawa grunted. "Could have been better." He shook his head. "I let the vigilante get to me."

Tsukuachi closed his eyes before sighing. "Well, at least you weren't seriously injured or worse killed." He opened his eyes. "Unlike our victim here…" he pointed out a couple of officers carting off a body bag, ones used to take corpses to be autopsied. "It's quite the sight. Some of our officers had to leave because they couldn't handle the sight."

Aizawa grimaced, remembering the sounds of flesh being crushed, mangled, and split, as the wet sounds of grey matter splattered across the floor. "It wasn't easy seeing it person."

Tsukauchi nodded. "I can imagine." He flipped his notebook. "Preliminary casings aren't showing much, so I'm kind of relying on first-person accounts here." He clicked his pen as he looked up at Aizawa expectantly.

Aizawa grunted in agreement. It was only logical to get as many accounts possible on this vigilante, especially one as violent as this one had been. "I was mainly patrolling through Musutafu, seeing that majority of sightings from the vigilante have been near this area when I heard a commotion in the nearby park."

Tsukuachi jotted what Aizawa said down. "When you heard a commotion what did you hear exactly?"

"It was a scream for help, guess, a less formal and more desperate survival scream." Aizawa elaborated. "It was when I got close to the park and searched through the grounds, I heard the howling of an animal. So I put two and two together and started looking for the animal." Aizawa paused. "The park slowed me down, the lights were out and it's already hard to see in the dark."

Tsukauchi frowned. "Yes, we thought that odd too. The whole electrical grid around the park was down, possibly tampered with seeing the timing of the attack. Unfortunately, the local security cameras were also all short-circuited beyond repair."

Aizawa raised an eyebrow. "A work of a quirk?"

Tsukauchi nodded. "All the signs seem to point to a quirk or just incredibly well-tempered equipment."

Aizawa nodded before continuing. "It was then when I found the animal banging on the door of the restrooms. I managed to get there just in time to see it break in." Aizawa frowned. "The vigilante was inside and he killed the animal. I could probably argue self-defense at first, but afterward, it was clearly excessive force on his part. The animal was willing to run away from it, but the vigilante didn't let it."

Tsukuachi raised an eyebrow. "The vigilante was just in the restroom? Doing what?"

Aizawa lifted an eyebrow. "I would expect what anyone would be doing in a restroom," he muttered.

Tsukauchi flushed in slight embarrassment before calming himself down. "I mean, it's awfully convenient that the vigilante was inside the restroom where the animal was targeting. Why was the animal trying to break down a restroom door anyways?"

Aizawa shrugged. "I would presume to attack anyone that was inside."

Tsukuachi nodded. "I mean, yeah of course, but the vigilante just so happened to be inside the restroom? It sounds like the animal was targeting the vigilante himself before it realized that it was too much."

Aizawa sighed. "At best we have are theories, anyways, after he killed the animal, he tried to leave."

Tsukuachi tapped his pen on the notepad. "And that was when you tried to stop him?" He asked.

Aizawa grimaced. "Yes. We managed to speak to each other, mainly about me getting out of his way, but nothing substantial."

Tsukauchi cursed. He clicked his pen before pocketing his notebook. "Well, that'll be all. We will have to wait on the autopsy of the animal first before we can do anything, and Atsushi will have to record the crime scene with his quirk for a full investigation, but we can't do anything currently."

Aizawa groaned. This vigilante nonsense really messed with his sleep schedule.

I need you to listen to me very carefully. You don't understand what you're doing right now.

Izuku stared at his reflection. His reflection stared walking towards him. Stepping back, Izuku called out to his reflection. "Mikumo?" He asked. His reflection gave him a single solitary nod. Izuku gave a nervous laugh. "I was wondering if you would appear again."

His reflection raised his hands in a placating gesture. I know you're scared.

"Yeah, my reflection's talking to me…" Izuku muttered.

I know you're confused. But you weren't supposed to see any of this.

"Yeah, well, a bit too late for that." Izuku gestured around the storage unit. "So… what's the big secret? What am are you supposed to be? A-a-a-secret agent? Like a sleeper agent in those movies?" He asked.

His reflection grimaced. It's a bit more complicated than that.

Izuku felt his mouth drop open. "More complicated? More complicated than that? What are you even, are you like a quirk?" Izuku paused. "Are you my quirk?" He asked.

His reflection cut him off with a gesture. Look, Izuku, you're in danger. A chill went down Izuku's back. Something his reflection was saying seemed to ring true for him somehow. But I can save us. Just like I did last night.

Suddenly, faint glimpses of howling and whining, combined with the distinct sound of shattering porcelain filled his mind. His reflection continued. But I can't have you interfering in what I have to do. So here's what's going to happen. His reflection pointed behind Izuku. You're going to lie down on that cot back there, and you're going to take a nice long nap-

Izuku interrupted him. "I'm sorry? Take a nap-!?" Izuku laughed hysterically. "I can't tell if you're joking! You realize I'm never going to go to sleep again thanks to you! It was already hard enough that I would find myself in weird places all the time, but now that I know it was you, I can't trust anything! Is this even real?" Izuku clutched his head. "Oh, I really got to be losing my mind…" He muttered.

He considered his options. Should he just admit himself into a psychiatric ward? Tell them that he heard voices telling him to do things? That would get him locked upright? It wouldn't allow his body to move against his will.

Izuku- Mikumo, tried calling out to him.

Izuku snapped. "No! Shut up! Don't skirt around the subject matter and tell me what you are!" He yelled. Years of frustration and helplessness kind of burst out of him in a single burst. "What are you!"

Mikumo looked exasperated. He sighed. Are you sure you want to know?

"Yes!" Izuku was getting tired of this roundabout conversation.

Mikumo warned him once more. Because once you know, there is no going back.

Izuku glared at his reflection.

Mikumo sighed. I serve Khonsu. I am his Avatar. Which means you are too… sort of.

Izuku stared at his reflection. "Khonsu? Who the hell is Khonsu?" He asked. The name…it sounded familiar. Like it was on the tip of his tongue, something he had known about except that he'd never heard the name before this conversation.

Mikumo pursed his lips. Khonsu is the Egyptian God of the Moon. We protect the vulnerable and deliver Khonsu's Justice to those who hurt them.

At that Izuku gaped at his reflection. "Wait, so you are using my body to do what basically comes to vigilantism?" He snorted. "And Khonsu? The Egyptian God of the Moon?" He collapsed on top of the cot. "That's so stupid. That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard!"

Actually, It wasn't the worst thing he's ever heard, there were religious fanatics and zealots that sometimes appeared on television, acting as prophets or heralds of their 'gods' but more often than not they were exposed to be frauds and more often than not villains with world domination plans. It was common for one or two pop up through the years.

Izuku took deep breaths. "Oh, Ok. Ok. This is fine. I just have a religious zealot in my head."

Mikumo rolled his eyes. I made a deal with Khonsu. But that deal is contingent on you not interfering, Izuku.

Izuku groaned as he stared at the gun next to him. Now give me the body, and let me finish this.

Izuku stared at the reflection that was looking up at him through the gun. "Finish what? What does this," he held up the red vial, "have to do with anything? What is this?"

Mikumo hissed. Izuku we really don't have time.

Izuku hissed back. "Shut up! No more secrets! No more lies, just tell me what is going on! I have a right to know what is going on with my body!"

Mikumo looked exasperated.

Izuku shook his head. "No, you know what! I'm going to turn myself into the mental wards, and hopefully, they'll somehow- fix this!" He started picking up the gun and the multiple different things into the duffle bag. "Maybe, when I show this to Maijima-sensei and Aizawa-sensei, they can help with whatever is going on-"

Mikumo gave a sharp look. Izuku, don't do that.

Izuku gave a sharp glare to his reflection. "And why not? I am clearly out of my depth here, so wouldn't it make sense for me to seek help?"

Mikumo pinched his forehead. I didn't mean it like that, look Izuku let me handle this so just give me control!

The lights inside the storage unit began flickering, making Izuku pause. "Is this your doing? He asked."

Mikumo was also looking around, but to Izuku, he didn't look scared, rather he seemed exhausted. In the back of his mind, Izuku started to hear whispers, chanting noises of thousands of unheard voices building in the corner of his mind.

Izuku shivered as he heard the voices before he turned to his reflection. "What are you doing? Stop that!"

Mikumo raised his hands in helplessness.

Izuku growled before he snatched the duffle bag up. "Fine, I'm going to find out what this," he showed the red vial to his reflection, "is and get my answer one way or another." He turned his back on his reflection (which in hindsight, wouldn't do anything as his visage was being reflected by all four surfaces within the storage unit, but he wasn't going to admit that fault.) and reached to open the storage unit door.

Mikumo helplessly stared at Izuku from the surface as he kept on yelling out to Izuku. Izuku! IZUKU! Come on listen to me! Don't do this! Izuku! Don't Ig-

Izuku slammed the door closed as he snapped the padlock shut and pocketed the key in his pocket. He clutched the duffle bag in his hand in anger, and turned, only to realize the lights of the surroundings were off. Looking around in confusion, Iauku noted a distant figure underneath a singular light down the hallway, but as soon as he spotted the figure, the light blinked, and the figure disappeared.

Squinting, Izuku tried so if there was anyone around. "H-hello? Is there anyone here?"

The light that blinked suddenly turned off with a snap, as the next one closer to him turned on. Izuku took a step back as the lights began frantically turning off and on slowly increasing in frequency as it seemed like there was something coming closer to him. Swallowing the lump in his throat Izuku started back away until the figure that had disappeared, appeared within his periphery and startled him.

It was a giant figure, wearing white strips of cloth, it held a staff with a crescent blade at the top. The most imposing thing about the figure was the giant bird skull the giant had that floated on top of its body. The white strips of cloth seemed to billow like it was moving through molasses, almost supernatural in movement. It took long strides as it made its way towards Izuku, who at this point was fully screaming in terror and running away. Nope. Nope. Nope. Izuku thought as he tried to escape the giant bird skeleton thing.

Turning a corner, Izuku didn't dare to look behind him, as the lights flickered all around him. The shadowy silhouette of the distinctive staff could be seen across the walls, as Izuku tried turning corners to lose the figure.

Suddenly the lights all faded out as Izuku turned the corner. A singular light lit up the hallway directly in front of him as it shined down on a giant bird skeleton man. Crackles in the air almost like cicadas filled the air as the floating bird skull turned to face him. A deep and sandy voice spoke up. Give it back, you fool.

Izuku stared down at the giant bird-headed figure before a guttural shriek escaped his mouth before he backpedaled and ran out of the storage unit establishment.

(This was the fastest Izuku had ever run back home. He even beat the time it took to use the subway back home.)

A panicked Izuku was a paranoid Izuku. He always knew that if he ever went to the support area for Heroes, he might have to prepare for any multitude of situations concerning villains, considering that the support area was one of the many backbones of Hero society.

That didn't mean that he expected to be hunted down this early.

Running home into his apartment, and locking all doors while most nearly barricading himself into his room was what it took to be safe, then Izuku took no chances and locked himself in his room. Still hyperventilating from the sight of the giant skeleton birdman, Izuku's hands shook as he tried to rationalize what he saw.

A quirk maybe? It could have been a mutation quirk he saw. Granted what a quirk user was doing terrorizing him on the weekend, Izuku had no clue, but it was just one of the many theories he had.

And Khonsu, the deity that Mikumo, his reflection was talking about, Izuku definitely never heard of him before (why was it so familiar) so after making sure to 'lockdown' his house, Izuku did what he did best. He pulled up his desktop and started reading through what he could on the deity.

Back during the time of the Dawn of Quirks, or back then, the Meta Emergence, powers weren't really treated with the same fervor as they had during Izuku's time. People with meta abilities were often persecuted, often with extreme prejudice, and were given three options for their lives.

1. You were sold to the government which usually meant experimentation, slavery, or weaponization

2. You were executed, either through lynch mobs or from police brutality

3. You hid your meta ability and prayed to whatever deity you believed in and hoped for the best.

Yeah. Living back then with a meta ability was a nightmare. You are either paranoid as hell or dead. It was also during this time when religious practices would decrease in number. Both with the fact that now supernatural powers were in the grasp of man, and the fact that the rift between those with meta abilities and those without usually meant a civil war within any religious sects.

So when the age of man came to pass, and the age of quirks began with more than 70% of the population having a form of meta ability, religion barely survived the upheaval. It also didn't help that the war between the people with meta abilities and the non-meta people devastated many governments and their records, in addition to records of knowledge.

So when it came to the knowledge of the old gods, ones that were worshipped as figures thousands of years before the time of quirks, there was a disappointing lack of information concerning them. Either they were disregarded, erased, or just barely remembered enough that their texts were preserved enough. Many of their texts while burned or destroyed, the physical monuments of the past were left alone, an understanding by both parties of the war agreeing to keep the war between the people, not that it did any good to protect the knowledge of the past religions.

Izuku was only lucky enough to find snippets of the old gods, simple texts that survived through the times of war, or carvings found in the ancient tombs that the Egyptians seemed to like so much.

There weren't many things said about Khonsu, he was as prominent as a deity compared to the famous Ra, Horus, or Anubis per se, but through what Izuku read, Khonsu seemed to be an important deity in his own right. The Moon for one, which by proxy apparently meant, Travelers of the Night, Healing, Knowledge, Time, etc. Khonsu held dominion over lots of things.

Izuku rubbed his eyes. It had taken him hours of research into whatever he could find about this god, and while he liked researching, it wasn't the same as researching Hero Quirks, by looking at their quirks through video, but more like a puzzle with like 95% of the pieces missing. Just finding the name Khonsu was an exhausting thing, searching for the long-forgotten god itself was another thing.

So, little worm, what will you do now? A grave voice echoed through his room.

Izuku shot up from his desk as he looked around the room. It was still barricaded and empty, except for him. A sudden gust of wind filled the room.

Did you think that a simple blockade would keep me out, little worm?

Lights began to flicker as they did in the storage room as the whispering chanting came back. Suddenly the room became dark as the whispering stopped.

Release the body to Mikumo, we have work to do.

The lights turned back on and the same giant bird skeleton thing appeared in the middle of his room. Izuku startled by its appearance fell on his back and stared at the being with horror.

Well, Little Worm? What is it going to be?

Izuku felt his breath get fainter, his vision startled tunneling at the sight of the being. Closing his eyes, he shouted. "Alright! Alright! I'll giv-"

Mikumo opened his eyes. He blinked regaining his bearings before heaving himself up from the ground. Flexing his wrist, he looked around. His room, or should he say Izuku's room was tidy as always. Though bright and colorful, the posters of heroes always had a certain sense of order in them.

While Izuku liked heroes and collected their merchandise, Mikumo himself didn't care for them. He might of before…however, that time for him had passed and he was too jaded to ever really like heroes. Don't get him wrong, he could respect them, however, fanboy over them as Izuku would have done? No.

Khonsu looked around Izuku's room. Quite an unsightly scene.

Mikumo flashed a glare at Khonsu. "Hey, you don't get to diss the merch. And don't touch anything."

Khonsu turned to look at Mikumo. With an amused tone, he spoke. Why? Perhaps you too are fond of these 'heroes'?

Mikumo scoffed. "No, but they are Izuku's. So don't disturb them." He sighed. "Why Izuku has to be so stubborn…" He rotated his shoulder cuff. His gaze sharpening, he moved the barricade away from the door and unlocked it.

Moving towards the end of the hallway, an unused door that Izuku always passed, assuming that it was his mother's bedroom, Mikumo opened the door revealing a similar room to that of the storage unit. Military cases and bags were neatly stacked in the room, with one of the walls covered with modernized cold weapons. Compound bows and arrows, a steel bo staff, a khopesh (Egyptian swords used by the Pharaoh's guards), tactical knives, and some knuckledusters.

Mikumo had used them in his days as a mercenary, along with some firearms, which he had safely stored under lock and key within the storage unit that Izuku managed to find.

Mikumo sighed as he walked towards the makeshift desk he got for this room. On it was a singular piece of jewelry, a silver ankh, which he wore as a necklace. Rubbing his fingers over the piece of sterling silver, before focusing on the main task at hand.

Taking the duffle bag that Izuku had so graciously taken with him, Mikumo opened it up taking the red vial out of the bag. Lifting it up to the light, Mikumo stared at the vial and sighed. He wasn't a scientist, not like Izuku, so he really did not know what to do with the offending vial.

Stealing the vial from the trade going down was one method of trying to trace down one of the many leads he had on the legend of the underworld, the boogeyman himself, All for One. Sadly, the lead had been a bust and the only thing he got out of it seemed to be some form of Superdrug that was being traded with another terrorist cell.

He shook his head. While he had chased down the lead for the drug, he still had to see through what this terrorist cell Humarise was doing looking for quirk-related drugs. A pinging compulsion in his mind reminded him of his ties with Khonsu, and the 'Justice' he had to deliver on behalf of the elder god.

H-hello?

Mikumo turned around to face the tactical knife rack he had in the room. His reflection could be seen in it, only this time it wasn't showing his stern and focused face, but a fearful look.

I-is this what it's like? Being on the inside?

Izuku's eyes could barely be seen in the shine of the knives. Mikumo nodded his head. "Yeah."

It's horrible.

Mikumo sighed. "It's alright. You're alright."

It's so cold and, I feel like I'm swimming through syrup.

"It's alright, just try to breathe through it," Mikumo reassured Izuku. "It-It gets easier."

How long have you been doing this?

Mikumo looked away from his reflection. His eyes were distant as he tried not to remember. "I-I don't know, a long time?"

I don't like it.

"Long time." Mikumo rubbed his face.

I don't like it. I want my body back. Can I have my body back?

"I can't do that right now, Izuku," Mikumo argued.

Please.

"Look, Izuku. Just try to relax and take a nap. It will all be like a nightmare, so just-just sleep." Mikumo tried to convince Izuku.

I'm going to try to take back the body. Mikumo watched as his reflection squeezed his eye shut and grunted.

He watched in exasperation. "Sorry, it doesn't work that way." He walked away and went to the clothes hanger which held clothes for a tactical mission. Stripping down his clothes, Mikumo dressed in semi-casual tactical gear. "Look, we've always had a wall between us, but something's changed." Slipping into a black muscle shirt, Mikumo checked over the gear he would be taking on this mission. "The one who controls the body becomes stronger."

No-no-no-no-no!

"Look, the reflection help but most of the time, it will take all your willpower to be a fly on the wall," Mikumo muttered.

You can't do this! This isn't right, keeping me inside like this against my will! Keeping me trapped here, you're acting like a villain! My whole life… I keep waking up in weird places. I have people after me! You're like a parasite, just eating away at my life!

Mikumo slipped two knives from the rack and placed them into two holsters, one in his arm, and the other in his leg. "Look, when I am done, when my mission has been accomplished, I swear to you that you will never see or hear from me ever again."

Mission? What mission? Because mission sounds like you will be doing this again and again! Besides what else have you been doing in my body!

Mikumo slipped on a black tracksuit jacket. Tucking in his messy green hair into a cap, Izuku took a black medicinal mask and placed it on his face. "I also have a debt to pay. Khonsu- Without Khonsu, we wouldn't be alive."

A-alive? Izuku sputtered.

"It's my servitude that is the price to pay." Mikumo started walking out of the room. His reflection followed, Izuku existing in the glare of glass or the odd mirror that existed.

What kind of servitude?

"It's the kind which leaves me covered in blood." Mikumo coldly answered.

Blood? Whose blood?

Mikumo didn't answer.

Mikumo? Answer me whose blood?

Mikumo shook his head. "You don't need to know Izuku. Just sleep and let me take care of it." As he stepped outside, he ceased to hear Izuku's voice, almost as if he were looking inside the apartment. The cool night wind blew around him, as the nighttime noise of traffic and people dulled as if someone muted the very sound.

You swore that he would not interfere. Khonsu spoke up behind Mikumo as he walked down from the apartment complex.

Mikumo grumbled. "I know, I'll handle it."

You have proven that you cannot.

"I will."

You are being ungrateful, Mikumo. Altering the terms of our agreement. Mikumo gritted his teeth in annoyance. You were nothing more than a corpse when I found you. Do you think that you own this body? Khonsu gives a derisive snort. It belongs to me Akatani Mikumo. Your body, your soul, your fractured mind belongs to me.

Mikumo stopped abruptly before slamming the side of his fist into a metal telephone pole. A dull gong rang through the streets. "Enough Khonsu, I need to focus." Mikumo's cold green eyes seemed to glow in the darkness.

Ogata lit a cigarette in his mouth. The dull glow of the flame lit the end of his cancer stick before he waved out the flame from his lighter. Filling his lungs with smoke, he felt himself calm down before exhaling. Smoke erupted from his mouth as he used his quirk, Smoke Control manipulate the smoke into shapes. His quirk, while on paper sounded cool, couldn't do much except minor puppetry. In the now modern society of quirks, his quirk had the drawback of needing smoke to actually work, and even then it wasn't an offensive quirk like those heroes like to use.

It was a nice night out, with barely any clouds in the sky, and the crescent moon was nice to look at while he was on his break. Taking another puff, he tapped the end of the cigarette, letting the ashes float away in the wind.

While it was a nice night to smoke around, he was still on shift and probably had to get back to work. Though what was the worst that could happen?

He heard steps come from behind him making him turn. Seeing his buddy with a cigarette in his hands, he greeted him with a light smile. "Yo, Meiji"

Meiji laughed as he slapped the back of his friend. "It's been a while man. How've you been?"

Ogata chuckled. "You know how things are, business is business and I'm just in it for the money."

Meiji laughed too. "Aren't we all? Hey, how's the family?"

Ogata smiled. "My little girls already going off to middle school soon! Man, I have the cutest pictures-" He pulled out his phone. "Come on look here-" A shadow moved in front of both of them as they realized there was a silent uninvited third party in their conversation.

"What the-" Meiji whirled around to find whoever was behind them when they suddenly felt their legs buckle from two strong kicks that hit the back of their knees. Meiji and Ogata both felt their knees buckle as a hand appeared in the periphery of their vision as it grabbed their heads and smashed them together with a meaty crack.

Mikumo grunted as he dragged the two gangsters inside the shadows of the building. Producing some zip ties from his bag, he forced the arms of the two thugs he knocked out into uncomfortable positions and tied their wrists together. He also made sure to tie their ankles together before tearing their shirts to stuff their mouths in case they woke up before he was finished with his work.

Tracking down the sellers of the vial was hard enough, he didn't need more distractions to compromise his mission. Luckily it looked like he was on the right track as he managed to find basic grunt distributors around the last time he encountered the thugs.

Taking great care not to make any noise, he quietly scaled the building, years of experience allowing him to find the correct footholds to push off of and leap to the next foothold. Reaching the top, he quietly unscrewed the large vent opening with his knife before slipping inside. Careful not to shift his weight too much, he infiltrated the office building, one that worked as a front for a money laundering company of a drug den.

Crawling through the air vents, he came across a room that looked like office space, one for the higher officials. Bingo he quietly thought as he slipped inside before making a beeline to the desktop computer. Turning it on, he slipped into the port a USB device, infecting the computer with a virus, one from his days as a mercenary, and quietly watched as the firewalls and security get bypassed. The feeble security measures by the computer were useless against the military-grade virus, which then started downloading and copying any data on the computer to his drive.

Mikumo looked around hoping to find some other clues to see whether they kept other things. He opened up the desk to find files and binders of deals, one he rushed to flip through hoping to find something that would lead him through whatever back ends deal he could find that would trace him to the root.

Mikumo clenched his hands as he didn't find anything. These drug deals for the quirked were like looking for a way out of a glass maze, he could tell where he was supposed to start looking, and every time he felt like he got somewhere, it turned out to be a dead end.

At this rate, he would never find All for One. He had managed to at least trace him through to residing in Japan, his home country, however finding him was like looking for a needle in a haystack.

At least he could help around by busting this drug ring. The operations here were close to the warehouses down the street, where people would pack and deliver the drugs. Pulling on the phantasmal string in his mind, Mikumo felt the ceremonial armor start to materialize and wrap around his form, linen-lined robes covering his face as he felt the rush of power fill him up.

Almost like drinking a double-shot espresso, Mikumo let the robes fully materialize before kicking down the door to the room. He had a job to do.

Inside the warehouse, the boss of the operation chuckled as he counted the rake-ins for the night. Today was a good day, and he managed to evade the sight of local heroes.

His men were moving cases of Trigger around. About five days ago, he was tasked by his upper management to deliver a particular case of a drug, one that he wasn't even allowed to look at, to a secret deal. That job had allowed him to expand as the money that came in allowed him to hire more men and gather more supplies for Trigger delivery.

Suddenly the lights in the warehouse flickered, putting both the boss and his henchmen on alert. "What's going on?" He shouted.

Suddenly from a window, a white figure crashed through landing on one of his henchmen with a loud thump. With a straight punch to the nose, the knocked-out henchman lay on the ground as his nose bled. Then quick as he fell in, the figure threw something at both sides of himself, the spinning metal things whipping through the air as they impaled the hands of several henchmen who were raising their knives at the figure.

Running towards them the white figure charged right at them, making the other gang members retaliate by squaring off against him. Dodging under a knife slash the figure grabbed the arm with the blade before spinning around and elbowing the man in the face, the force of the blow creating a spray of spit and blood as several teeth fell out.

The other men balked at the sight as the figure who took no time to rest, threw more metal crescents at them taking several of their men out. A man with the quirk to have spring legs leaped up at the figure, kicking him with all his might, which made the white-robed figure slide back only a foot before coming back to retaliate with a kick of his own, snapping the man's face back as he sent the man into oblivion.

More men frantically grabbed at the figure, trying to grab him down, only for the figure to wrap his arm around their arm and snap it at an unnatural angle, before jabbing his fist into their throat, making them gasp for breath before kneeing their face in sending them back.

Another tried stabbing at the figure, before having his knife knocked out before the crescent blade flashed into the figure's hand. In three swift motions, the henchman collapsed, his thigh, bicep, and forearm all severed and bleeding heavily.

The figure began running to another group, this time performing a running kick, which he turned into an opportunity to fling the crescent in his hand at another guy's arm, the bronze blade stabbing deeply into his shoulder. The henchman grabbed his arm in pain, as the arm failed to respond to any stimuli.

The figure darted behind some tables where four guys charged at him, hoping their numbers would at least allow them to get a hit on the guy. The figure leaped over the table, before grabbing the leg and heaving the table at the group, disorienting them as the table piece shattered. One of them used their quirk, which gave them concrete skin, and punched the table away. At that time, his vision was obscured, the white figure came in with a flying leg locked around his throat, bringing his body down, by the sudden shift in weight.

The figure then pulled the arm behind him popping the arm out of the henchman's socket, making him cry out in pain. Still pulling on the dislocated arm, he got up and tossed the concrete thug into another thug, the force of his throw crashing them both into the wall and outside.

The two others watched in horror and anger as they slashed at the vigilante, their knives seemingly doing nothing to the vigilante's clothes, simply sliding off, as if the cloth itself was a tough metal. Reacting to the slashes, the vigilante moved forward, deflecting more slashes away using his forearm before landing two punches into the thugs sending their skulls crashing to the ground at the force of his punch.

The final three henchmen charged forward, each moving around the figure, trying to atleast hit his blindspots while they were attacking. One charged at him with a knife trying to stab downward, only to get his arm caught and snapped at the elbow. The vigilante still holding onto the arm dodged the sudden flash of heat directed at him, one of the henchmen using his quirk of the molten whip to try to kill the vigilante.

Blocking the whip strike with the arm of the knife-wielding henchman, the sudden hiss of flesh made the whip user flinch back and cancel his quirk, not long after, the vigilante used the guy's hand (which was still somehow holding the knife) and stabbed it into his thigh.

The other whip user growled before using his quirk again, this time slashing at him, trying to catch him by the molten whip. The vigilante dodged, before being tackled by the third thug, who was a grizzly bear quirk user. Slamming through tables, both thug and vigilante tumbled out. As the grizzly bear quirk user got up to charge into the vigilante, he found a crescent blade smacking him in the face, the force behind the throw staggering him.

Another second bronze blade was thrown stabbing into the forearm of the whip user, making him cry in pain and drop the whip, which immediately caught the surrounding debris in flames.

The grizzly bear quirk user growled in anger as he shook off the pain and chargeback at the vigilante, only for the vigilante to catch one of his arms and flip him over his back. With the sudden realization of his mistake and subsequent failure to stop his momentum, the grizzly user felt his world flip as he slammed painfully into the ground. The vigilante raised his fist to furiously punch into the grizzly quirk user, each sound creating a wet crack.

Hearing a cry of anger coming for him, the vigilante rolled, dodging the whip attack. The grunt scowled in annoyance that he missed before he felt himself be peppered by countless crescent blades, each stabbing him in his joints, making him cry out in pain. The final grunt looked up in terror as his last thought before fainting was that of the two glowing white eyes. A singular crack from his face being stomped on was the last thing he heard before he too, headed off into oblivion.

Suddenly, a loud bang could be heard as the vigilante staggered forward, behind him the boss of the establishment holding a gun to the back of the vigilante's head. The still smoking gun in hand, the boss looked in terror as the bullet simply slid off of the white hood of the vigilante. The vigilante turned around before kicking him in the chest, sending him flying over his own desk.

Coughing and wheezing from the pain, the boss looked on in horror as the figure started walking toward him. The vigilante grabbed one end of the table before tossing it towards the side, his glowing white eyes locking onto the boss.

Grabbing the boss' throat, the vigilante squeezed as he slowly choked the boss. He sputtered as he tried to breathe under the vigilante's grip. "W-wait, wait. Please." He pleaded.

The vigilante paused, giving the boss hope. Then he spoke.

Mikumo scowled at the blubbering mess that was the boss of the small-time drug operation. He brought him close to his face. "Where did you get the red vial from? He interrogated.

The boss sputtered as blood dripped from his mouth. "R-red vial? Do you mean that weird thing that we had to deliver?"

Mikumo didn't speak but clenched his fist harder. The boss, understanding his body language spoke up again. "W-wait, I-I'll tell you. We were hired to only deliver to the drop-off spot, to those weird-looking fuckers! I don't know where it came from, orders came from upper management!"

"And who is your superior?" Mikumo growled.

"Look, everything is very compartmentalized here, we barely get in contact with the higher-up, they just send text messages or calls around for orders. We don't know who or where they are. Now can you please let me go?"

Mikumo scowled under his mask as he dropped the boss. The boss was stammering out "thank you", crying and sniffling. With a hint of disgust, Mikumo sent a kick to the face of the boss, knocking him out.

Looking around, he made sure that each henchman was knocked out, before raising his hand to collect the multiple thrown crescent blades and attaching them to his chest emblem. Tightening the mental tie to the suit, he felt the clothes strip away from his form, Mikumo tugged on his cap hiding his features before walking over to the overturned desk that he threw out of his way to the boss of the operation.

There on the ground, a cell phone lay among the scattered remains of the money and drugs, vials of black liquid smashed on the ground as small fires blazed along the ground.

Picking up the cellphone, he thumbed through the contacts, looking for any possible sources of the Superdrug he stole from the Humarise deal. Finding no evidence of where the calls were coming from nor where the text came from, Mikumo growled and stomped on the phone in frustration. He was nowhere close to finding out the location of All for One, and he was sure that this secret deal of quirk-related drugs would be the seal to end his hunt once and for all.

He sighed. It was getting lighter outside, and soon enough he would have to face the storm that was the questioning from Izuku. Opening the door to the warehouse, Mikumo slipped out under the night sky and under the watchful light of the crescent moon disappeared without a trace.

Khonsu watched as his mortal avatar, his chosen speaker in the mortal realm walk away from his recent battle. With a hum of appreciation at the vengeance, his chosen champion wrought on those most unworthy, Khonsu continued to look over his avatar.

His shadowless form sitting on top of the tallest building, Khonsu felt a presence behind him. Not deigning to turn around, he addressed the visitor. Horus. What brings you to this fine night? He spoke.

Behind him, a giant buff man stood. His muscles were lean and his skin tanned as if he were a native of the distant sands. Horus wore a traditional Egyptian kilt: a Shendyt, and on his hips, a strap for his Khopesh hung with the Bronze blade glowing in the night. Khonsu turned around to face his fellow bird-headed god. Horus's right eye blazed with an ethereal gold color, while his left eye shone with the elegant silver color of the moon. Khonsu. What are you doing? Horus spread his arms gesturing to the crumbling drug operation. The great god of the moon, once a protector of the night travelers, degraded down to merely taking insignificant bugs?

Khonsu chuckled. What I'm doing? What I'm doing is serving real justice to those who deserve it. To those who choose to commit evil under my watchful night. Khonsu turned away from his fellow god. It is much more than what the rest have been doing through the ages. Evil grows underneath the feeble construct of society, and you all allow it to happen.

Horus clenches his hands. Humanity turned its backs on us-

Khonsu whirled around in stark anger. You all abandoned Humanity! At the first sign of independence, you left your sworn duties and abandoned them! I didn't! I stayed and continued my duties through the ages-

Just because you felt sadistic please from playing around with the insignificant lifeforms does not give you the justification, nor the satisfaction and right over us Khonsu! Horus roared right back. Cease this madness! Leave this puny race of humans alone. Remember what the orders were, Khonsu. We are only to watch, never to interfere. Horus turned his back on Khonsu. This will be your final warning.

Khonsu snarled. Leave! Do not speak to me of this matter!

Horus shook his head in disappointment before vanishing. Khonsu grunted, now annoyed and no longer satisfied at the punishment dealt by his avatar's hand.

Mikumo locks the door behind him as he gives a deep sigh of exhaustion. Slipping his black mask off of his face, he shakes his black hat off before collapsing into the workbench in his room.

Groaning, Mikumo rubs his eyes as he takes a deep breath in.

So you found nothing. Pitiful. Khonsu's elderly voice rang through the room as the eldritch deity manifested in Mikumo's room. Without turning to look at him, Mikumo grunted.

What will you do now? No lead, no clue, no sign. Only evidence from six years ago that he once operated here and disappeared, how are you going to track down this great evil? Khonsu questioned Mikumo.

Mikumo slammed his arms down on the table and glared at the tall skeletal bird in his room. "Look, Khonsu, I don't need this from you right now. This is the final task you set out for me-"

Our deal was that you would hunt down this evil, someone that even the self proclaimed 'SYmbol of Peace' failed to do, and destroy any link to their machinations. You've done well with other operations of his, but those were the sall time one, operations that he allowed to be destroyed. You must stay vigilant-

"I AM VIGILANT! I have been hunting this man down since you revived me and I already took down a lot of his operations all around the world. To atone for my mistakes my sins! You know what I went through and you should not even dare-" Mikumo clenched his fists. "You should not even dare to mention that I stay vigilant." Mikumo closed his eyes. "Everytime I close my eyes and it always haunts me. They always call out for me."

Silence filled the room. My apologies, my son. But we have other things to worry about. Khonsu pointed his wrapped hand at the red vial which sat on top of his desk. That thing s the key to it all, we must find out where it is coming from, however, it should concern you that it was being sold to the unknown party that was hunting the little worm down.

Mikumo nodded. "A group like that won't simply stop at Izuku. I heard one of their fanatics, they won't stop until the whole world realizes and understands their point of view."

So then what will you do, my son? How will you stop this injustice?

"Ideally, I would like to hunt them down from their head, but we only have slight clues now." Mikumo turned towards his laptop. I have been tracking their location when they sent their creation to me, but they seemed to have erased their presence so far." He sighed. "They'll show up again. And once they do…" He paused. "I'll take them out under your name."

The room was dark, with the only light source being the glow of multiple television monitors. The blue color of light illuminated the scarred face of a man who sat down on a chair. Leaning in almost a lackadaisical manner, the man was dressed in a business casual manner. The black blazer accented his white shirt, the man held a displeased sneer as heavy thumps came forward behind him.

Two large creatures, each with exposed brains and blank staring eyes held in their powerful grip a bruised and broken-looking man. His face was bleeding and his nose clearly broken. Without a word, the two creatures dumped the sniveling man at the feet of the scarred man's chair before lumbering off with heavy footsteps.

The bloodied man looked up in fear as the mere presence of the man sitting in front of him made his very being tremble. A faceless sneer stared back at him with disdain. "I don't usually tolerate failure like this, Chojuro Gyutaro."

All Chojuro could do was try and swallow down his fear. In the back of his mind, whispers of stories came up in his mind, not even rumors or stories, just whispers of the underworld about the Bogeyman.

"Well? What do you have to say for yourself?" The scarred man's voice, while loud and deep did not sound thunderous, rather low and grumbling almost as if he were a panther leering at his prey.

Chojuro stammered. "I-w-we were ambushed by a guy."

"A guy you say?"

Building up his courage, Chojuro gulped. "A vigilante. Came out of nowhere and stole the package."

The scarred man leaned forward. "And did you do anything to retrieve the package?"

Chojuro gulped. "N-no, we had no leads, no information on the guy, and the other group seemed to have it under control-"

Did it seem like it was under control when the vigilante came and destroyed your operation, Chojuro?" The scarred man's voice shut Chojuro right up. "Because to my surprise, the package that I specifically wanted to be delivered was intercepted, and in fear ended up hiding from me? You didn't even care to clear up your tracks, you simply went back wallowing in the simple drug trade?" He tutted. "Naughty, naughty."

Chojuro stammered as he felt impending doom come closer and closer. "I-it wasn't my-, Please, I just-"

"Shhhh." The man raised a finger to his lips as he shushed Chojuro. "Don't worry so much. I still have uses for you just yet." He then tilted his head. "What did you say your quirk was again? Menacing? Simply looking at a person in an intimidating manner would cause them to fall into despair. Such a waste. You're not very intimidating at all."

The scarred man's hand reached out and grabbed Chojuro's head in his grasp. The small hole in the palm of his hand seemed to be gaping as Chojuro looked up in horror. His screams of pain were never-ending as red lighting crackled from the man's hand.

In the desolate depths of a perilous place

the bogeyman lurks, with a snarl on his face.

Never dare, never dare to approach his dark lair

for he's waiting . . . just waiting . . . to get you.

He skulks in the shadows, relentless and wild

in his search for a tender, delectable child.

With his steely sharp claws and his slavering jaws

oh he's waiting . . . just waiting . . . to get you.

Many have entered his dreary domain

but not even one has been heard from again.

They no doubt made a feast for the butchering beast

and he's waiting . . . just waiting . . . to get you.

In that sulphurous, sunless and sinister place

he'll crumple your bones in his bogey embrace.

Never never go near if you hold your life dear,

for oh! . . . what he'll do . . . when he gets you!

- Jack Prelutsky