CHAPTER 18: LET THE FESTIVITIES BEGIN

Toga POV

I skipped through the alleys of the city. I decided that I needed to get away from Mustafu for a little while, so I figured Naruhuta City would be a good change of pace.

I also heard from Giran that that's where a vigilante client of his works. He wouldn't give me any details about him, but after I mentioned the possibility of being a vigilante, he mentioned a man who was the best vigilante he had ever seen.

Naruhuta was a big city, and vigilantes primarily worked at night, so I had spent the last day here. I mean, I wanna be a 24 hour vigilante, but these guys must still have jobs or something boring. I love being free from my old life.

I rounded an alley corner and heard something. There was a scuffle going on up ahead. Katsuki told me all about listening to my surroundings, which worked great with my ability to erase my presence.

Katsuki… he kept trying to tell me that some limits and restraints were healthy, but it just reminded me too much of how my parents tried to squash my Quirk.

I rounded one more corner and saw it. A man in a black trenchcoat was trading blows with a masked man in a green jacket. One seemed to have brass knuckles, while the other waved his hands. Was he using a Quirk? Must have been, because the other guy was bouncing off of thin air. I snuck over and ducked behind a dumpster. Peeking out, I watched the fight.

Gentle POV

Knuckleduster wasted no time in striking at me. A strength enhancing Quirk, hm? He threw a punch, sinking into my air membrane, which puzzled him.

"You see, my Quirk is Elasticity. I can bestow this property to anything I touch, including the air itself. Gently Rebound!"

I struck the membrane, sending the other man flying. I dismissed it and charged towards the downed vigilante. Knuckleduster sprung back up quickly and threw a punch that I narrowly avoided. I punched in return, striking his stomach, but he seemed to smile at it.

"Cute."

He struck me in the chest with the force of a truck, sending me flying back. I twisted in midair, briefly touching where he had hit. He must have had a strength enhancer. I formed a membrane and bounced off of it, recoiling back at him like a spring. I flipped and planted both feet in his chest, managing to stagger him.

"You're quite strong, good sir. I see this won't be easy."

Knuckleduster smiled, recovering from the hit. "You got that right. This might just be a challenging fight!"

He charged again, and this time I returned in kind. At the last moment, I touched the ground. "Gently Trampoline!"

The masked man sprung into the air about five meters, and I followed suit, throwing a few kicks that he blocked, seeming to grow happier as he retaliated. "This is what I'm talkin' about!"

With the next kick, he grabbed my leg and threw me to the elastic ground. I twisted in midair and barely stuck the landing before springing back up and striking the brawler in the gut at high speed. For a moment, it looked like the wind was knocked out of him.

But then he smiled. "Gotcha now!"

He threw a punch downward. Even if he lacked leverage, his strength would certainly do some damage, but I readied a punch in return.

Surprisingly, I met the oncoming fist knocked Knuckleduster backward, sending him careening to the rooftop. He tumbled across it before skidding to a halt.

What… what was…? I stared down at myself to see a pink Aura drifting up. La Brava activated Lover Mode? I suppose I cannot complain, but it's usually reserved for emergencies since she can only use it once a day.

I formed an air membrane beneath my feet and bounced onto the edge of the roof. Knuckleduster picked himself up, a little bit of blood dripping from a scrape on his head, but he didn't seem to care as he barreled towards me. "There's nothing more exciting than a good fight! Especially when I'm pounding a Villain into paste!"

I blocked the gut punch he threw and kicked him, sending him airborne. I darted after him, leapt into the air, and punched him to the ground. "I'm not that man anymore! I'm better!"

Knuckleduster stood, a wide smile on his face. "I'm not buying it. You turn into a vigilante all of a sudden despite broadcasting your villainous activities online for at least a couple years, I don't buy it. You can't just reform like that. And I'm going to stop whatever you've got planned!"

His words struck a chord with me. It was true. In retrospect, most of what I had done couldn't be so easily apologized for. But I had nothing planned aside from ensuring that history remembers me. I can't truly atone, but I can try to do some good now..

I returned to reality in time to receive a punch to the face from Knuckleduster. Wiping blood from my nose, I swung back, throwing amped up punch after punch, pink flashes ensuing with each blow.

"I can't erase my mistakes so easily. I'm aware. Even Gentle Criminal was the shadow of a hero that could have been. But now, thanks to my collaborator, I can be a true hero!"

Knuckleduster chuckled before he began to match me blow for blow. The brass knuckles he wore hurt, but it was nothing compared to the pain he had already inflicted. With the last of Lover Mode, I leapt backward, created a membrane, and shot forth. The masked man was smiling happily.

"Gently Slingshot!" I flew directly at Knuckleduster with my improvised special move and struck him directly with what little remained of Lover Mode. He crashed into the roof access door and slumped, rubbing his now sore head.

That's right, I should probably check on La Brava.

I looked down to see her staring back at me. She glanced back and forth as I descended, as if keeping an eye out for a sneak attack. I touched the ground just as it tried to rebound me again before walking over to me. She sprung to apologize.

"I'm sorry Gentle! I know you said to not interfere, but it looked like it was getting dangerous and I knew I could help you win and-"

I held up my hand in a placating gesture. "It's okay, my dear girl. Concern is all well and good, and in the end, you just may have saved me."

"Heh. Touching." I turned to see Knuckleduster had scaled the wall with a grappling hook. As La Brava's love was replaced by fear, Lover Mode quickly faded. I turned and faced the vigilante with an iron stare.

Knuckleduster didn't give me an opportunity to speak though. "Alright, so you beat me one on one, even if you had help. That fight was a lot of fun, and you didn't endanger anyone, even instinctively protecting that little girl."

La Brava grew indignant. "I'm 21!"

Raising a brow for a moment, the masked man turned his attention back to me. "Either way, I'll come with you to meet your boss. If you really want to be a vigilante, then you've got a long road ahead of you to make up for all the evil you've done."

I nodded. "I understand. We shall take you to meet him. La Brava, please notify Oracle that we're on our way."

Toga POV

That was him? A guy with a strength enhancing Quirk. Sounds boring, but Giran did say he was one of the best. Maybe he's better against punks and other villains.

I could make out what they were saying after the fight had stopped. Oh, this was to see if he would join them or not? So neither side was going all out? I dunno.

As they turned this way to leave, I stayed hidden and darted back the way I had come. But before I did, I caught one name.

Oracle.

Who the heck was that? The fancy guy's boss, obviously. But who was he really? What reason did he have for collecting vigilantes? Is he somehow connected to the League of Villains?

Something tells me I'm gonna hear that name a lot more if I keep going down this path.

My POV (two days later…)

I stretched. Today was the end of week one of training before the Sports Festival began. But, it's evening now, so time to rest. I stretched and bounced up the stairs to my room.

"We're totally gonna win." Grump said, sounding cocky. I frowned and spoke aloud. Turns out he couldn't hear my thoughts because the brain and soul are separate.

"Let's not get too full of ourselves. Because of the dimensional barrier crack, things could turn out vastly different." Who knows what differences there could be?

"Tch, whatever. Right now, the only real difference here is Deku going into this with some handle on his borrowed power. And messing with events only fucked up your arm."

...crap, he's right. I clicked open an incognito window and began to log into my vigilante persona's email.

"Well, yeah, but it's a change that's only going to help him, right? I mean, he doesn't need to break himself to use One For All now."

"Dammit, you moron. That's just gonna make things harder for the provisional license exam! The only reason those Ketsubutsu assholes didn't get the drop on Deku was because they only saw him breaking his fingers and got cocky!"

...sigh. "Why do you have to be right? And either way, where's this coming from? You didn't object before."

"Because I seem to be paying more fucking attention than you! And you're the one in control. I thought you were smarter than this, but it seems not." Okay, so he can't switch on me. This is good, that means that I can keep being me without fear of his soul taking mine over.

"Well, either way, we can rest easy. Deku's still gonna improve after the Festival, all we've done is bump up the timetable a little."

"And there it is. You have no damn idea what this is gonna do to the timeline! There's still a lot about One For All we don't know. The previous wielders, the limits, and for fucks sake, did you even consider that the damn nerd might manifest other powers?"

Wait, what? The heck was Grump getting at? "What are you-"

"You know exactly what I'm getting at. Think about it. From what you told me, One For All's origin was the result of two Quirks fusing in a single body. For all we know, Deku could manifest those Quirks too because they might be inside of One For All! And then he's not only nearly unstoppable, but armed with powers you know absolutely jack shit about! And how is he gonna feel when his best friend bails on him, huh? When he can't help?"

I leaned back in the chair. Crap. He's right. I mean, he's still lacking any real bite, but that didn't make it sting any less. "Well, I did hear about Blackwhip before I died the first time, but it was nothing detailed. Something something dark energy lashes, something something Endeavor training, something something it makes his arm go numb if he uses it for too long. So the other Quirks are probably gonna manifest, but that is literally the extent of my knowledge."

"Oh, bra-fucking-vo, you know about one out of six Quirks he's gonna unlock. You can't save Deku from his eventual fuckups forever, and you know it."

"That doesn't mean I can't try!" I growled, Grump seemed taken aback for a mere moment. Before our argument could continue, an email pinged in from the incognito window. Ah, it's from La Brava.

We met Knuckleduster. He wants to meet you. We're currently on a train and en route to the warehouse, ETA 1 ½ hours.

La Brava

The warehouse, huh? I can be there in an hour if I catch the train. "Looks like we'll have to postpone our argument."

"Yeah yeah, whatever. Look, I'll keep helping you, but only because you don't seem to know what you're doing."

Abandoned Warehouse (an hour later…)

I stood atop a pile of forgotten crates, both halves of my staff attached to my back. I kept glancing around for anyone who might interrupt, but there was no sign.

"So, what's the plan now?" I rolled my eyes behind the mask at Grump.

"We stick to it. We'll save as many lives as possible and help the heroes by being true heroes, unbound by society."

"Fine."

Those were the only words spoken for a while. There was a silence hanging in the air where Grump would usually chime in. So instead, I ran over a few potential battle plans in my head for the Sports Fest.

Now let's see here, Dark Shadow could withstand Kaminari's lightning, but that wouldn't be near as much light as Stun Grenade, or-

"Oracle! How are you, my good man?" Gentle and La Brava stepped into the warehouse, the former strutting, confident in the fact that he had completed his mission. And completed it he had.

Trailing them was a big burly man with a mask that covered his hair and eyes. He wore a dark cyan jacket with a black shirt below. His black gloves contrasted against grey pants as I noticed the brass knuckles they also bore.

The man chuckled as he stared up at me from roughly seven feet below. "So you're this Oracle they told me about. Gotta say, I'm not impressed."

I hopped down to them from crate to crate in the pile, talking the whole way. "You must be Knuckleduster. And, well, I'm hardly a fighter. My Quirk isn't suited for that, so instead I focus on planning and infiltration."

Knuckleduster cocked his head as he stared down at me. He was at least a foot and a half taller. "Right. And what exactly are you planning?"

I held my hands out, as if inviting him to frisk me. "What any other good person wants. To save innocent lives. If we follow my plan, we can save as many lives as possible while potentially aiding heroes."

The larger man raised a brow. "That's a good sentiment, but how are you gonna do that? What do you have that the heroes or I don't?"

"Knowledge of the future. With it, I can affect the timeline and help defeat the man who rules over all Villains. The man who still lives and wants to tear down everything that heroes have helped build. All For One."

"All For One? About time someone else realized what was going on." My eyes widened. He… he knew? What was going on here? How is this guy connected?

He chuckled a little. "Yeah, yeah, I know him. We met, and it went badly for me."

Went badly, that could only mean that either he was seriously injured, or… or… oh. "He stole your Quirk, didn't he? Your raw strength must be the product of something else."

Knuckleduster elbowed Gentle. "He's definitely the brains of your operation. That said…"

He borderline towered over me as he locked eyes with me through our masks. "What exactly do you know about the future?"

I cocked my head to the side. "Enough. There are going to be multiple major events over the course of this year that have the potential to change the course of history. Having said that, I was not featured in any of what I saw. Come to think of it, neither were you for that matter."

The burly brawler grinned. "Heh. So just because you can see the future, that doesn't mean you can see everything. Meaning you only know the fates of those involved. Also, the fact that you seem to be gathering allies means you're serious about changing this. Who else do you plan to get to join your little band?"

"You know I can't answer that unless you agree to join in on my little venture."

Gentle chose to interject as La Brava typed away on her laptop. "He has a point. The fact that we even know what we do was only brought about by his trust in us."

Knuckleduster returned his attention to me. "The fact that you know about All For One proves nuthin'. You could be working for him."

...crap, he's right. Grump chimed in. "Any other bright ideas, dumbass?"

I pointedly ignored him and narrowed my eyes. "Listen, if I really was working for him, why would I be assembling a group to take him down? It would be like Satan driving out demons, it just doesn't make sense. Furthermore, I have formed a tentative alliance with Sir Nighteye. Speaking of whom, I will need to contact him soon."

The larger man looked surprised at this. "Nighteye? All Might's former sidekick? Shit… if you're telling the truth, you're pulling out all the stops on this."

I nodded and held out a hand. "Yes. Such a threat needs to be treated with the utmost certainty. So, will you join us? Of course, you'll need to keep our group's existence off the radar for now."

Knuckleduster frowned in thought for a moment, weighing his options. "As long as I still have freedom to move how I like. Naruhuta doesn't have that many Pros, so it's up to us vigilantes to protect people."

He put a fist into his open palm. "I also want to fight these Villains head on!"

"Done. Welcome to Delphi, Knuckleduster."

"Delphi? What is that, a band?"

"I shall explain later."

The burly man reached out and shook my gloved hand. Alright, another ally, albeit unexpected.

La Brava looked up from her laptop. "Speaking of All Might, I saw the security cam footage of that day you had Gentle help, and he looked kinda confused when Gentle intervened. Should we perhaps meet with All Might and Sir Nighteye? It would give them more reason to trust us if they knew who all was involved."

I glanced at my watch. "You're right. But we shouldn't meet him again just yet. I told him I wouldn't contact him again until I stepped in to change the future."

Nighteye POV (The next morning…)

I sat in my office, speaking to All Might over the phone. He sounded rather urgent, as if he couldn't stay long. He had spent his time so far informing me of everything that had transpired. "I see. And you waited until now to inform me of this because…?"

There was a sigh on the other end. "Things have been busy with the investigation and organizing the Sports Festival. Not to mention, I'm not fully sure about Young Bakugo. I guess I just wanted to keep you in the loop."

A name that appeared on Oracle's lips as well as All Might's. He was quite the center of attention, it would seem, though he did appear unaware of it. "I suppose for now, the only thing to do is wait… heh, the villains attack in such a bold fashion and we can't even retaliate. Rather ironic, don't you think?"

I heard All Might groan on the other end. "Don't remind me. Have you heard anything from Oracle?"

The man had gone silent for all this time, so that means he hadn't made any changes yet. "No. And until he does intervene in a meaningful way, I'm not sure about his so-called visions. Sure, he provided us with information on the Shie Hassaikai's Eight Bullets, and dropped a vague hint about Katsuki Bakugo, but that was the extent of it. We have no idea what he may or may not possess. Well, I suppose if nothing else, his intel was legitimate."

"Maybe. Regardless, if he does show up again, we might need to bring him in."

That surprised me. "On what grounds? He hasn't broken the law aside from sending that vigilante to help you, and even then, that seems tenuous at best."

There was still so much we don't know about the man himself either. Sure, he seems to be on our side, but the fact remains that we have so little info on him.

"I know, I know. I just hate feeling so useless. All For One is back, but we have no idea what his plan is." That was the infuriating part, yes.

"Well, we can do nothing more than prepare. Step up combat training drills, scour the underworld for him. Perhaps Oracle will be of more use to us if he roams free."

"(Sigh) This is all so confusing. There are too many things to keep track of."

That's true. So much is happening so quickly. I suppose there's nothing that we can do for now. That being said, the Sports Festival is coming up, and big things tend to happen on that day.

"Let's watch and wait. We can decide what to do once we have more intel. Oracle is, as of this moment, our only surefire link to All For One. As you know, we have nothing on Shigaraki or the League, so this operation is currently at a standstill."

Frustratingly, yes. However, the Shie Hassaikai intel has proven to be accurate, save for two who have not appeared on any reports. Rappa and Tengai. Do they appear later? We were dealing with another seer after all.

"Yes. For now, we simply watch… and wait for the time to act."

My POV (UA Arena)(A week later…)

I was practically bouncing as I trotted down the hall with Deku. The Sports Festival is today! Yes! I've been waiting for this! I was in my P.E. clothes, chatting animatedly with my companion.

"I'm telling you Deku, at our current level, we got this!"

My green haired buddy was a little more cautious. "I dunno, Kacchan. We have no idea what the other Hero course is capable of except for Kendo, and we have absolutely nothing on General Studies."

"Hmm…" I chose not to comment. I knew about one General Studies guy, and he was pretty clear about his intentions.

(Flashback: two weeks ago)

Class 1A had just finished up with class and were talking amongst ourselves. When we were about to head out the door, we realized that that wasn't exactly possible. A crowd had gathered in front of our door, composed of students from 1B and 1C. There were far more general studies students there than 1B though.

Iida was the first to talk. "Do you have business with our class? I'm sure you can find Mr. Aizawa-"

I held up a hand. "Somehow I doubt it's just a general class thing. Otherwise, they'd just send one or two of their group. So, I can only surmise that these guys are here to either issue a challenge or stare at the class who got attacked."

"Both!" Tetsutetsu of 1B shouted from within the mob. He received a few dirty looks, but no one outright refuted him.

I hardened my gaze and stared at the others. "Well, now you've seen us. And the idiot who fought a full fledged Villain and held his own has talked to you. Congratulations."

"Were you trying to self deprecate or act prideful?" One of the students asked.

"I dunno, whatever ticks you off more."

A mop of ragged purple hair stepped to the front of the crowd. He had pale skin and rings around his eyes, which indicated a lack of sleep. Hitoshi Shinso. "Does everyone in your class trying to make enemies, or just you?"

I shrugged. "The Sports Festival's coming up. In the interest of keeping things interesting, I'm not gonna try and make friends in the other classes."

Shinso scoffed at that. "Whatever. It's sad to find an egomaniac as the spokesman for this class. I wanted to be in the Hero course too, but like many others here I was forced to choose a different path."

I nodded. "Yeah, the entrance exam is a little skewed. It favours those with combat Quirks, leaving those with mental powers like brainwashing or illusions with a disadvantage. It sucks, really. A hero with brainwashing would be pretty cool to see."

The purple headed boy raised a brow with a grin. "Is that so… you trying to ingratiate?"

"Joke's on you, I don't even know what that word means." I could hear Deku facepalm behind me. He knew I was just trying to rile up the brainwasher.

"Whatever. If we do well in the festival, some of us might get transferred to the Hero Course, which means some of you will get transferred out. You better bring your best, or I'll steal your spot right from under you. Consider this a declaration of war."

I raised a brow. I had a feeling that Shinso would make it into the Hero Course somehow, but at the same time, he clearly needed more motivation. I mean, he and Deku were in similar situations, but he didn't try as hard based on the fact that Deku did better. "Well, good luck, but you'd better train your butt off to get up to snuff. All of us have trained hard to get where we are. If you want to impress the faculty, you'll have to do something amazing, Insomniac. Aizawa's no pushover, believe me."

Shinso chuckled. "Sure. And you'll have to work on not breaking your arms in a fight, dead man. Don't get yourself into fights you can't win."

"Ooh, foreboding! Write that down, Deku."

My green haired friend shook his head at me and made a show of rolling his eyes. "You know I don't need to break my bones to use my Quirk anymore."

I nodded before returning my attention to Shinso. "Either way, same can be said to you. Don't pick a fight you can't win. If it's war that you want…"

I ignited my hand and held it up before clenching a fist, extinguishing the power. "...then you've got it."

(Flashback End)

The crowd dispersed not long after that reference to a RWBY song, but still, there was this veiled threat hanging in the air when Shinso looked my way.

"You could have handled that better. Did you really need to antagonize them?" Deku raised a brow as we rounded the final corner.

"Kinda. This way, I know for certain that they're gonna be giving it their all. And it'll give my classmates an easier time if they gun for me." I grinned as Deku rolled his eyes disbelievingly.

"Of course, I'm sure it's not just because you want more of a challenge." He chided as we stepped into the prep room where everyone else was waiting.

We both chuckled at that. I tended to get in over my head sometimes. As we chatted back and forth, an atypical face approached us.

"Midoriya."

Todoroki stood before us, a serious look on his scarred face. I cocked my head and raised a brow. "What is it, Todoroki?"

"From an objective standpoint, it's pretty clear that I'm stronger than you."

"Watch it Icyhot, Deku's leveled up since last time you saw him." I interjected before Deku held up his hand. He wanted to handle this himself. I held up my hand placatingly, backing off.

Todoroki continued, unperturbed. "However, it's clear you have All Might in your corner helping you out. I'm not here to pry about you two, but now that I will beat you."

Deku clenched his fists. He couldn't exactly refute that, but to have two declarations of war before the festival began, it was clear that this was gonna be big.

"What's with all the declarations of war lately?" Kaminari muttered, watching the exchange. Actually, everyone was watching.

Kirishima got up to address Todoroki directly, placing his hand on the heterochromatic boy's shoulder. "Yeah, what's the big deal, man? And right before we get started."

The half and half student shrugged off the arm. "We're not here to be each other's friends. Don't forget that."

Deku took a deep breath and shakily steeled his gaze. It was clear he wasn't used to it, but he was trying to stand up for himself. "Wait a minute, Todoroki. I dunno what's going through your head, or why you want to beat me so badly. And sure, you're better than me. In fact, you probably have more potential than anyone here. But the fact remains that everyone in the other classes are going to be gunning for us with everything they have. So, I'm aiming for the top too."

I stood up. "All of us will be. Regardless of your confidence, you better keep an eye over your shoulder, 'cuz all of us are gonna be right behind you."

Todoroki icily stared between the three of us. "Fine."

(A few minutes later…)

We stood tall and walked into the sunlight, facing a cheering crowd. It was good to see this. To the outside world, it would be a moment of levity before the end began. Fortunately, my operatives had their own assignment for today, so we would hopefully have help later on.

Deku looked nervous at all the attention. I patted him on the shoulder in reassurance, at which he kinda became less squirrely. As everyone filed in, Present Mic announced our classes. There were a lot of people here, so I can imagine that the League will be watching this as well.

"Silence, everyone!" Midnight stood on the podium in with all of her suggestive qualities. As quiet muttering flew around our class, i cocked my head. Was her attire really fitting for a stinking high school event?

"To give the student address for the first years, Katsuki Bakugo!" Midnight announced.

"Oh dear…" I knew this was coming but why did it have to be me? What, because I got the best marks on the entrance exam?

Deku swiveled his head to look at me. "Did you know about this?"

I gave him a sideways look. "In hindsight, perhaps I should've. Highest score on the entrance exam."

With that, I walked up onto the stage. I took a deep breath and began.

"I'm not really one for drawn out speeches, so I'll keep this short. Whatever you think you've learned, however much training you've done before today, none of it's gonna matter unless you apply it."

Midnight raised a brow, but I paid it no mind. "Each and every one of you has at least some potential to win this thing, but unless you put in the effort, you're not gonna get anywhere. So, I'm telling you something I learned from day one, give it everything you've got! Let's make this festival one to remember!"

Applause rang out as I walked back to a spot in the crowd. Sero gave me a nudge. "Nice going, man. After the way you acted towards the other classes at the door, I thought you were gonna antagonize them?"

"Does that really matter if they already hate me?"

"Hate is a strong word-"

Midnight picked up the mic and began the show. "Without further adue, time to get started! This is where you start feeling the pain!"

She cracked her whip in the direction of the large doorway in the stadium. "The first event will be an obstacle race! Every student from every course will be competing. You eill race around the track, which encircles the entire arena at four kilometers around! As long as you don't leave the track, you're free to do as your heart desires!"

Right, right. I exchanged a look with Deku, and we both nodded. Time to see if our combos were good enough for the real world.

"Take your places, contestants!"

The fun was just beginning, and I was ecstatic!

Let's go!

Cut! That's the chapter, as long as it was. I spent a long time considering what all to add here, but I think I did well in the end. I dunno how well I did Knuckleduster, or how I'm going to add Nagant to the team, so I'm gonna need feedback and ideas.

Furthermore, the story is starting to take shape, with more and more aspects of the changes in this world beginning to make themselves clear. The Dimensional Barrier will affect things more than you know. Critique and suggestions are always welcome, especially there. Please review or PM, let me know what you think! See you next chapter.