"Yotsubashi Rikiya is Destro's son?"
"Yup," Gran Torino grunted on the other end of Naomasa's line. "Can't believe it took as much digging as it did to figure out; he didn't even bother to change his family name! Best guess I've got is someone's been tampering with the records under the radar. If the Vigilante Network's info on how pervasive the new MLA really is is accurate, it's highly likely that they have a mole somewhere in the police department. It wouldn't've been that hard for someone like that to go in and cover things up." True.
"Dammit," the detective groaned, slumping back in his chair. "Heroes, police, politicians, businessmen; the deeper we look into this the more it seems like anyone I talk to could be a part of this… conspiracy."
"Honestly, you're probably right," Gran huffed. "Anyway, paranoia is probably our best line of defence until we can pin something on Yotsubashi junior and his zealots. So far he's done an impeccable job at keeping his record clean, but if the VN managed to get dirt on 'im, we should manage it eventually as well." True.
"Alright. Thanks for keeping me updated. Let me know if you find anything else out."
"Sure thing. Take care of yourself, kid."
"Bye."
Naomasa sighed as he ended the call and set his cell phone aside, glaring at the ever-growing file he was compiling on the new Meta Liberation Army. It had been three weeks since Kizuki Chitose had been admitted to the hospital under intensive care due to a missing arm, an unmarked drive found tucked in her boot. The drive turned out to contain a detailed account of the actions and goals of the new Meta Liberation Army up to that point, including information on the members of their central leadership-quirks, motives, back-alley details, etc.-and other high-profile collaborators from all walks of life, as well as a warning that the drive by no means contained a comprehensive list. However, just having that knowledge did them no good if there was no evidence of their supposed crimes.
"This is turning into a nightmare," he grumbled under his breath.
"Naomasa-keiji."
"Yeah, Sansa?" the weary detective asked, glancing up at his cat-headed partner.
"There's been another emergency relating to the League of Villains. We're being called in."
Naomasa did his best to bite back a groan, but didn't think he quite managed it. "How bad is it on a scale of USJ to Hosu?"
"I don't know that it's my place to make that assessment," Sansa replied grimly, "but apparently the UA training camp for their first years was attacked, and one of the students was kidnapped."
"What?!" The location was classified! No-one outside of UA should have been able to get that information! Dammit, was there a leak? A traitor? Do they have moles everywhere as well?!
"We'll be getting our briefing when we reach Nagano; hopefully we'll get specifics then. Or if we arrive early you might be able to interrogate Eraserhead-san about it yourself."
The detective was already on his feet, pulling on his trench coat and hat and gathering a few scattered files from the desk to shove into his bag. "Let's go then."
Naomasa claimed the driver's seat and flicked the lights on, passing his satchel to Sansa. His partner nodded, understanding his intention as he took the passenger side; the two of them had worked together long enough that words were rarely ever necessary between them.
"Alright, let's review," Sansa grunted as he pulled the detective's files from his bag, his eyes gleaming in the darkness (hence why he was better suited to do the reading than Naomasa was). It wasn't anything that Naomasa hadn't read and re-read a dozen times already-heck, he practically had that entire folder memorized-but on occasion, it helped to hear the facts in someone else's voice. "The League of Villains, first known appearance, the Unforeseen Simulation Joint of UA High School nearly three months ago. Other appearances by the League include the Hosu incident about six weeks later and most recently Shigaraki and Deku's appearance at the Kiyashi Ward Mall four days ago. Known leaders of the organization include Shigaraki Tomura and Midoriya Izuku. Other significant members include Kurogiri and the Nomus, the number and abilities of which are currently unknown.
"Midoriya Izuku aka 'Deku', has made a few solo appearances as well. The earliest incident, reported by UA student Bakugou Katsuki, occurred in April two years ago, when Bakugou was taken hostage by a villain fleeing local heroes. During that incident, Bakugou reports that he had been chasing a figure that looked like Midoriya Izuku, with whom he was acquainted from childhood. Then, while he was held hostage by the so-called 'Sludge Villain', he claims that he heard Midoriya's voice telling him how to break free of the villain's quirk and then later found an analysis journal in the alleyway after the villain's capture."
It doesn't add up, Naomasa frowned, his grip on the steering wheel tightening. Our current assumption on Deku is that the motivation behind his actions stem largely from growing up quirkless, and the abuse and trauma that must have entailed. By Bakugou's own admission, he was a primary source of that abuse. So if Deku intends to burn the world down as a result of his trauma, why would he have saved Bakugou? Shouldn't he bear extra resentment towards his childhood tormenter?
"After that point, no-one saw or heard from Deku until a few reported appearances on UA's campus before the USJ attack. These appearances have been theorized to be information-gathering missions preparing for that attack, during which Deku would have been analyzing the quirks of the students and teachers and cataloguing their strengths and weaknesses. Aizawa Shouta aka Eraserhead has also theorized that he may have been scouting individuals for potential future recruitment. One of the individuals particularly named as being at risk, Todoroki Shouto, was specifically targeted by Deku in his own home on the night of the UA Sports Festival about a month after the USJ attack. At that time, Todoroki also reported that he thought Deku may have been trying to recruit him."
Something about that incident didn't feel right either. Why would Deku have acted alone? Why hasn't he tried anything since? Why wouldn't he have tried to kidnap Todoroki and forced him to join them, especially if someone was kidnapped at the training camp incident just now?
"As far as specific information that we have on the members of the League, most of what we know has been derived from Deku's notebook, discovered by UA student Uraraka Ochaco at the Kiyashi Ward Mall."
Ah yes, the notebook…
"The multiple languages and shorthand were simple enough to translate," Nezu had explained just a few days ago. "I've already circulated the information gained among the UA staff as a precautionary measure. But the analysis section only fills about half of the notebook, describing the appearances, quirks, and skillsets of various League of Villain members and other villains that, theoretically, have ties to the League. The rest of the notebook appears to be an Ottendorf cipher, or book cipher. My only hesitation in that assumption is that this particular cipher contains an extra number. Usually, such a device would only have three numbers: the page, line, and word or letter within the line. This cipher has four. The extra number could perhaps indicate a volume in a series, but without knowing which series, I can't translate it. Naturally I've scoured the notebook searching for clues, as well as run the cipher on several common encyclopedias and other such multi-volume book series in each of the languages Midoriya Izuku appears to be fluent in, but so far I haven't come up with anything coherent."
Even with half of the notebook's contents still locked in code, the analyses had contained more information than they ever could have imagined. Naomasa had no doubt it would prove to be extremely valuable for any potential actions against the League, be it in defense or offence.
And that's what scared him.
In-depth analyses, veritable psychological profiles, of every current member of the League of Villains and associated organizations with the exception of Deku himself. That wasn't the kind of information a renowned and obviously highly intelligent villain would just lose track of. Either Deku was trying to plant false information… or not everything was as it appeared to be.
"Shigaraki Tomura, originally Shimura Tenko, age twenty, male, possessing a five-point activation disintegration quirk, although there was further analysis in the notebook suggesting that he may have other quirks which increase his natural strength, speed, stamina, and overall endurance. How he could possess so many different quirks at once is not specified. Additionally, the notebook didn't give any specific information about his life before joining the League, only that when his quirk manifested, its accidental activation killed his family, whose hands he wears as part of his costume. He's described as mentally unstable and loyal only to 'Sensei', whomever that may be, who 'rescued' and raised him after the death of his family. Considered to be a high threat."
Shimura…
Naomasa had started investigating the name 'Shimura Tenko' after receiving Nezu's translation of Deku's journal, but had yet to find anything. If the name was legitimate, any police record of its existence had been long-since erased. He didn't want to believe that Shigaraki Tomura could actually be related to a woman he knew Toshinori had loved and admired, but the depravity of turning Shimura Nana's own relation against her successor would be par for the course for All for One.
"Kurogiri, the warp villain, has been identified in Deku's notebook as a, quote, 'high-end Nomu', or a Nomu with considerably higher brain functionality and processing capabilities than those we have encountered in the past, whose quirk was created by combining the quirk factors of various individuals. Unfortunately, those individuals are not specified, however Deku does add that Kurogiri's 'conditioning process' appears to have both removed his memories of any past life he may have possessed and made it impossible for him to disobey orders given by 'Sensei', Shigaraki Tomura, and himself.
"As for Deku himself, his information was not contained within the notebook, however we know from public records and witness testimony that Midoriya Izuku is fif- Actually, sixteen years old as of today today," Sansa hummed thoughtfully, glancing at the date on the display. "Male, registered as functionally quirkless-a detail confirmed by family members and friends. Now however, he appears to possess an unknown quirk with a variety of applications. There have even been theories presented that he may have multiple quirks. These applications include enhanced strength and maneuverability and potential sensory manipulation or invisibility. Other notable skills include his in-depth analysis capabilities and martial arts prowess. Threat level is considered high.
"The League as a whole has identified themselves as having the goal of destroying All Mi-"
Sansa cut himself off as the radio crackled, initially too soft for the two of them to understand the speaker. The cat-headed officer reached out to turn up the volume, just in time to hear the primary focus of the report.
"-explosion in Yokohama Prefecture, cause as of yet unknown. Units have been dispatched to investigate the disturbance, but be on the lookout for any villains or other suspicious figures in the area."
"An explosion in Yokohama?" Naomasa murmured to himself, shooting a frown at the radio.
"Doesn't really seem like a coincidence, does it, especially after Hosu," Sansa agreed quietly, equally frowning. "Then again, maybe we're just paranoid."
"Yeah, maybe," Naomasa managed a small huff of laughter, but inwardly all he could think of was Gran Torino's dire warning: 'Paranoia is our best line of defense'. "Keep the radio turned up, just in case. I want to know if there are any updates to the investigation."
"Yessir," Sansa saluted out of habit before returning to his review of the League of Villains's goals and motives. Some ten or fifteen minutes of review later, they were interrupted once again.
"All units, a fire alarm has sounded at a quirk training gym in Yokohama Prefecture, address 2-5-2 Kamino Ward. Possible connection to the explosion in the same area. An investigatory unit has been dispatched to the scene, but be on the alert for any suspicious figures."
Naomasa was growing increasingly uneasy, exchanging quick glances with Sansa. For all their joking, paranoia tended to keep people alive in their line of work. The League seemed to like playing it big and flashy when they pulled a move, but pulling a big move in one location to distract everyone from another didn't seem too far out of their MO either, especially where Deku was concerned; he seemed to value subtlety more than Shigaraki. But until they knew for sure-
The excessively cheerful tone of Naomasa's cellphone distracted him from such thoughts. He reached for it automatically, glancing briefly at the caller ID before swiping and quickly bringing the device to his ear. "Aizawa, what's-?"
"Tsukauchi, we have a situation."
"I know, I'm on my way to Nagano now."
"Not that situation. Well yes, that situation, but it's just gotten a lot more complicated."
"What do you mean?" Naomasa frowned. Aizawa sounded stressed. Well, more stressed than usual. Like he was one more surprise away from his breaking point.
"How much do you know already?"
"There was an attack on the camp by the League of Villains and a student was kidnapped."
"Okay, well the kidnapped student was Bakugou Katsuki."
"Deku's childhood friend?"
"That's right."
"Do you have new information on him?"
"You might say that. He just gave me a phone call."
"He what?" Crap, a ransom? Torture? What is All for One's game?!
"Yeah. Apparently he's escaped the League."
"What!?"
"Pretty much. I have him on another line. I was hoping to make a conference call so you could verify his identity."
"Do it."
There came a rustle from the other end of the line, a click, and a shout that nearly made him swerve into the next lane over. "Oi, keiji What's-Your-Face I need a favor!" True.
Naomasa's grip tightened on the steering wheel. It certainly sounded like Bakugou, just judging from their brief interview following the USJ attack. "Who is this?" he asked anyway, needing to hear the words.
"Ugh, I shoulda known there's another reason why sensei called you. Fine Trench Coat, I'll spell it out for you. My name is Bakugou Katsuki-" true "-my quirk is called Explosion-" true "-and I was the winner of the first year Sports Festival" true. "That enough to satisfy your quirk?"
"H-He's telling the truth, Aizawa," Naomasa managed, more shakily than he was expecting.
"Bakugou, what happened? Where are you; are you safe?" Aizawa snapped immediately, the undercurrent of stress in his voice somehow heightening. Naomasa's lips twitched in spite of the current situation; he really was such an overprotective mother hen.
"Yeah, I'm not the person to worry about right now; Izuku and our parents are!" True.
"What do you mean? What happened?"
"I mean Izuku isn't our enemy!" All true, or at least that's his true perception of events. Still, there's a chance that- "He helped me escape the League and now-"
"Bakugou, I understand not wanting to give up on an old friend, but we need you to think objectively about this situation-"
"Don't try to give me one of those shit lines, Trench Coat! I'm not that frickin' naive; I know what happened and I know that Izuku helped me escape back there! He's in trouble and he needs our help!" True.
"Bakugou-"
"I believe him." True.
Silence crackled briefly over the three-way connection as both Naomasa and Bakugou paused, processing the usually reserved, logical underground hero's pronouncement.
"You… You do?" Bakugou asked, sounding hopeful.
Aizawa sighed, sounding like he'd rather do anything other than admit it, but still grunted, "I do. Tsukauchi, there's another detail from the camp that I haven't mentioned yet: Wraith was present. He forewarned us of the attack and took down or at least assisted in taking down at least three of the villains. More importantly, according to Uraraka Ochaco and Izumi Kouta, Wraith's identity is none other than Deku himself." True.
This time, Naomasa actually did swerve into the next lane over, eliciting a startled yelp, then a reproachful glare from Sansa, which was dutifully ignored in favor of this new bombshell Aizawa had dropped on him. "Are you certain of that?!" he cried while Bakugou choked on the other line.
"The villains he was reported responsible for taking down all had wounds and bindings consistent with his methods. And frankly, I can't see any reason he might have had to lie." True.
The hero student on the call somehow managed a weak chuckle. "Figures. That'd be just like that bastard, finding a way to keep saving people in spite of everything. Anyway, that's not the main thing I was supposed to call about. I need you to assign someone to mine and Izuku's houses, now!"
"Are your parents in danger?" Naomasa prompted, glancing quickly towards Sansa, who was already reaching for his phone.
"Duh; I thought you were a detective!" Bakugou scoffed in a frustration that was obviously just a thin cover for his own restless worry. "The League knows Izuku helped me get away and they know where our families live! We need you to send someone to keep them safe!" True.
"That can be arranged; I'll get someone to head to your parent's and the Midoriya's homes right away. Now, you should get to the nearest police station-"
"No. I'm comin' all the way to Musutafu. We've got some stuff here you need to see." True.
"Bakugou-"
"I'm not backin' down, Trench Coat! You need this info to save Izuku!" True.
"…Fine. I'll meet you at the station," Naomasa stated, shifting towards the exit lane, lights still flashing, vaguely aware of Sansa already contacting headquarters. "When do you think you'll arrive?"
"We're still in Kanagawa, so I'd guess another hour to ninety minutes, depending on how fast we drive?"
"Alright. I should be back before you then."
"Bakugou, one last thing. You said 'we'. You're certain you can trust whoever's with you?" Aizawa cut in.
"Don't get your scarf in a knot, sensei. I'll be fine," the young hero said, in a tone as though he were rolling his eyes, but the soft volume belied his sass. True.
"Tsukauchi?"
"He certainly believes it," Naomasa confirmed.
"…Okay. I'll send someone from UA to meet you at the station too." True. "Do not let your guard down."
"Tch. I already knew that." True.
"Alright. Tsukauchi."
"Yeah?"
"Keep him out of trouble."
"You know I will." Naomasa quickly set his phone in the cupholder and returned both hands to the wheel, anxiously drumming his fingers along the edge.
"So what shocked you so much that you nearly got us both killed?" Sansa asked, setting the phone aside as he finished assigning officers to protect the Bakugou and Midoriya households.
"Deku is Wraith," Naomasa replied shortly, noting the way that Sansa bristled in surprise, pupils dilating and ears flattening against his head in a very cat-like manner.
"That's impossible!" Sansa denied immediately. "Deku likely has an enhancement-type quirk and Wraith has telekinesis; the two aren't compatible!"
"Neither of those assumptions have actually been confirmed," Naomasa countered, taking a hard turn back onto the freeway heading in the opposite direction. "They're just theories based on scattered observations. If the Nomu and possibly even Shigaraki have multiple quirks, it's not inconceivable that Midoriya Izuku could have multiple quirks as well. Besides, it's equally possible that there's another singular quirk, one we haven't considered, that could account for every application of his quirk that we've seen so far, and we just didn't have sufficient data to see the pattern until now."
"But what about his motivations? Deku wants to destroy All Might; Wraith has never killed anyone in his vigilante career!"
"Right, Deku wants to destroy society, yet he called off an attack on the USJ. Implies that he intends to recruit UA students, then advises Shisou Hitoshi on how he can use his quirk to pass a hero exam and pushes Todoroki Shouto to use his fire against him. Both are at least presumed to be skillful strategists, and both had the martial arts skills to stand up to far more experienced opponents-in Deku's case, Eraserhead, and in Wraith's, Stain. This could close all of the holes in our knowledge!" Naomasa realized the more he talked. "Leaving the notebooks for heroes to find, saving Bakugou from the Sludge Villain-this could explain all of the discrepancies in Deku's behavior!"
"Or it could indicate that Deku is planning an even bigger long game than we ever imagined," Sansa countered quietly, looking grim.
Naomasa hesitated. "I suppose you could be right," he admitted. "The kid's certainly smart enough for it."
"So what do we do?"
"…We take things one step at a time. For now, let's get back to the station and see what information Bakugou has for us."
.oOo.
The first thing that greeted Naomasa and Sansa when they walked into the station was the somewhat-distant sound of a woman's voice raised in fury.
"What's going on?" Naomasa asked the exhausted-looking officer on duty at the front desk. "Has there been an arrest?"
"I wish; then we could lock her up in a sound-proof room until she got her temper under control," came the replying groan. "Remember how you called asking us to send people to look after Bakugou Masaru and Mitsuki and Midoriya Inko and Hisashi?"
"Right?" Sansa prompted him to go on, exchanging a worried glance with Naomasa.
"Well, not five minutes later, all four of them came waltzing into the station saying they'd been attacked by a villain and rescued by the Gentle Criminal of all people while Bakugou Mitsuki kept demanding news about her son-as if we had any to give her! Anyway, as you can hear, she still hasn't let it go."
"As we can hear," Naomasa agreed, wincing as there was a BANG! and a renewed barrage of yelling. "Do you think we should-?"
"Oh my. Have we come at a bad time?" a relatively high-pitched voice asked in a mild tone.
"Nezu-sensei!" Naomasa blinked in surprise, turning towards the little chimera as he walked into the station with his usual serene smile, closely followed by Midnight. "I take it Aizawa called you?"
"That's right," Nezu smiled brightly. "Has our dear student arrived yet?"
"No, not yet, though he should be here soon."
"Ah, excellent! And I believe that those are the dulcet tones of Bakugou Mitsuki-san I'm hearing?" Nezu asked cheerfully, his round ears twitching.
"Er, I suppose."
"Wonderful! I'll just go have a word with her; do inform us when Bakugou-kun arrives! Excuse me!" The chimera bustled away without another word, leaving Midnight to turn sharp blue eyes on the detective.
"So? What happened? How did Bakugou-kun escape; is he really alright?"
"Aizawa didn't give you any details?"
"Oh I'm sure he gave Nezu details, but the principal didn't bother to fill me in on any of them," the R-Rated Hero waved her hand dismissively. "Now, what happened?"
"We don't know any details ourselves yet," Sansa shrugged, "but here's what we do know."
Naomasa listened quietly, only chipping in now and then to fill in a detail or two as his partner explained the phone call Aizawa had received from Bakugou Katsuki and his adamant assertion that it was Midoriya Izuku that had aided him in his escape. He withheld the detail about Deku being Wraith, however; probably wise. Naomasa wasn't certain how 'classified' that detail was for the moment.
By the end of the story, Midnight seemed to be on the verge of swooning. "I knew it~!" she trilled. "Star crossed lovers, separated at childhood only for the one seduced by darkness to return to the light to save the one he loves!"
"Erm, I'm not sure that's what really happened…" Sansa hedged.
"Oh hush and let me dream! Those two are simply made for one another; I'm sure of it!"
"The hell are you talkin' about?" a new voice grunted as the door of the station opened.
"Bakugou-kun!" Midnight reacted first, grabbing the blonde by the shoulders and crushing him to her chest in a hug that elicited a grunt from the boy and a clatter as a massive stack of notebooks tumbled to the floor. "Thank God you're safe!"
"Yeesh, back off; yer frickin' smothering me!" Bakugou's muffled shout came, shoving the woman back and grimacing as he tried to take a step and stumbled slightly.
"Bakugou-kun, are you hurt?" Naomasa asked quickly, gesturing for Sansa to go and fetch Nezu and the boy's family.
"It's nothing; I'm fine," the hero-in-training protested, knocking away Midnight's offered hand and beginning the arduous process of kneeling down to gather up the pile of spilled notebooks with what was obviously a bad ankle.
"Why don't you let us get-"
"Katsuki!"
"Ah shit, here we go."
An ash blond blur streaked past Naomasa, and a moment later Bakugou Mitsuki dragged her son into the most aggressive hug Naomasa had ever seen. "Damn brat, don't you dare scare me like that again!" she snarled, voice muffled by his hair.
"Back off, old hag!" Katsuki protested, wriggling in her arms. "This isn't the time for you to get all teary over me; we have to save Izuku!"
"Izuku?" came a soft voice, sounding on the verge of tears. Naomasa turned towards the source to a short, green-haired woman with wide, equally green eyes, her trembling hand cupped over her mouth. Just behind her, one hand clasping her shoulder, stood a man barely taller than her, with curly black hair and freckled cheeks, glasses perched half-way down his nose giving him a somewhat absent-minded appearance. Midoriya Inko and, presumably, Hisashi. "Is Izuku in some kind of trouble?"
"Unfortunately, we can't give details about an ongoing investigation to civilians," Naomasa interrupted before Bakugou Katsuki could say anything else. As much as it hurt him to withhold information from them, they still didn't know enough for him to feel comfortable getting their hopes up. "Bakugou-kun, we should get you to the hospital. You can give us your full statement after you've been treated."
"The hell!? No, I'll give you my statement now! You're not putting this investigation on hold just because I'm no longer in danger!"
"Bakugou-kun, your ankle is swollen to the size of a melon; you need medical attention. Not to mention we don't know what else they've done to you-"
"Oh hell no; you are not still thinking Izuku messed with my head!" the young man snarled, his entire body bristling into a defensive posture.
"Bakugou-kun, that's not what I-"
"THEN WHY THE HELL AREN'T YOU DOING ANYTHING TO FIND HIM?!" he yelled. "HE NEEDS HELP, DAMMIT, AND IF YOU WON'T DO ANYTHING ABOUT ABOUT IT THEN I… I…"
The hero-in-training abruptly swayed, blinking dazedly and swaying for a moment before he suddenly collapsed.
"Katsuki!" his mother yelped, barely managing to catch him before his head hit the floor.
"Goodness," Midnight blinked in surprise from where she was kneeling just behind him, a stack of notebooks in the crook of her arm and part of her sleeve torn. "I wasn't expecting him to pass out that quickly; he must have been truly exhausted."
"Well, it's been a long day for all of us," Bakugou Masaru murmured, stepping around the Midoriya family to join his wife and son. "We should probably get him to the hospital while he's out. He won't go otherwise."
"Alright. Sansa, would you handle the details there?"
"Yessir."
"I'll go with them too," Midnight declared as the Bakugou and Midoriya families were ushered away. "You're going to want a look at these, keiji," she added, passing him the stack of notebooks. "Sensei, you too."
"What are they?" Naomasa asked, accepting the pile.
"By the look of it, they're all analysis journals, likely written by one Midoriya Izuku," Nezu murmured thoughtfully, already gathering up another stack.
"That's the information Bakugou wanted to give us? How did he have the time to collect so many?" Naomasa murmured to himself, setting them on the closest available countertop before flipping curiously through the pile, pausing on the titles that caught his eye. Analysis No. 15: UA Students XXXX, Analysis No. 28: Corrupt Heroes, Analysis No. 18: Full Cowl, No. 42: UA Year XXXX (Kacchan's Class). They weren't in order, and there were quite a few numbers that were missing entirely. Finally however, he found one that made him freeze in his tracks.
Analysis for the Future No. 12: AFO.
It can't be… Can it?
Almost shakily, the detective flipped the notebook to the first page.
All for One (Shigaraki?)
Quirk: All for One
Affiliations: League of Villains, Black Sun, Villain Factory, Creature Rejection Clan (Too many to count; most of them not aware of the extent of his involvement)
Can steal any quirk he comes across from its original wielder and claim it as his own
Can also 'regift' these stolen quirks to new wielders
Pros:
- Limitless potential (all depends on which quirks he holds at the time)
- Doesn't appear to have a limit of how many quirks he can have/'equip' at once
- He does have a limit as to the number of quirks he can hold at once! I'm not sure what it is, but it appears that All Might did manage to weaken his quirk in their fight
- See individual quirks for more uses/dangers
Cons:
- Must take time to study/train each individual quirk to use it to its full potential/grow accustomed to its drawbacks
- Some quirks have physical backlashes; the more he uses at once, the more strain it appears to have on his body
- Exact impact uncertain; only lets Daruma near him
- Lasting pain from his fight with All Might; his stamina is shot
- Takes a moment to equip a quirk
- Consider rapid attacks before he's fully prepared his own?
- Seems to call out the names of the quirks he's about to use before he unleashes them (Unclear if necessary, habit, or simply misinformation (don't count on it))
Other Strengths/Weaknesses
- Intelligent to an extreme degree
- Very good at mind games and half-truths (twists your words around until you find yourself saying the exact opposite thing you started with)
- Never lets his involvement be direct (he's like the Moriarity of Japan!)
- Charismatic
- Has a way of making people feel needed and wanted
- Persuasive (he's like a lawyer…)
- Blind (Has some kind of quirk to compensate, but he cannot clearly make out facial expressions or gestures)
- Can't breathe without his respirator anymore (Most glaring weak spot; Fire might be a good matchup against him)
Quirks and Applications
There followed an extensive list of quirks, each of them stolen by All for One. There were literally hundreds listed in the notebook, each with short descriptions on their capabilities and their frequency of use. A few had been crossed out lightly, with margin notes of names or the word "Nomu" and what appeared to be a serial number. Two caught his eye; they had been circled in red pen and were titled Voice Surveillance and Truth. Basically, the first was a touch-activated quirk that allowed its user to hear everything his target said in a period of twenty-four hours, and the second was a lie detection quirk similar to his own. At the end of that list followed a detailed description of various quirk combinations All for One had apparently used, including strengths and drawbacks and context of the battles in question and Deku's-Wraith's? Midoriya's?-own annotations of other potential combinations and applications that he might use.
It was the perfect roadmap to defeating him, once and for all.
"Wait a moment," Nezu suddenly whispered beside him as he stared at a page in one of the other notebooks, his beady eyes gleaming as though he'd been struck with a sudden epiphany. Without warning, he clambered shamelessly onto the counter, setting aside the notebook he had been rifling through and rummaging swiftly through the pile. Evidently finding what he was looking for, he snatched up one notebook and flipped through it, stared at a page for a few seconds, then seized another notebook and did the same thing. Then another, and yet another.
"Nezu-sensei?" Naomasa blinked, staring in confusion as the chimera's already-broad grin grew impossibly wider.
"Oh that boy was clever!" the principal borderline-cackled in evident delight.
"What is it? What did you find?" Naomasa urged, stepping towards him to peer over his shoulder.
"The secret to Deku's code," Nezu grinned wildly, gesturing to the pile of notebooks splayed around him. "Tsukauchi-keiji, may I present you with the map to every single one of the League of Villains' known hide-outs!"
Outtake:
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1 Unread Message
Bakugou Katuski 17:57
i have some info i trinket youll gnat 17:58
who the hell is this? how the hell did you get my number? 17:59
im just a crane passing in the night 18:00
and i got your number the same way Wraith got Kaminari Denki's 18:00
shouldn't it be ships in the night? 18:03
only if your name is Henry Longfellow 18:03
your one of them 18:05
that's right 18:05
i have some infor for you 18:05
what sort of info? 18:06
we think we've found Deku 18:06
where is he 18:07
I wasn't entirely satisfied with this chapter, but I hope that I still managed to set things up for next chapter without letting the drama die too much...
Anyway, we'll see you February 26th, written from the perspective of the lovely heroine Creati! Hope to see you all then! Go beyond, PLUS UTLRA!
Discord server: /qNTFVhtm6v