There was darkness all around him.
Held in his hand was a light of hope.
It was a torch that had been passed along to worthy Heroes.
This was the ninth time.
It should have been no different than the others.
Until It appeared.
He feared It was his brother, at first.
But the voice that echoed around him lacked his familiar mocking tone.
Instead, It was cold and artificial.
The First ran, trying to reach the Ninth before It could notice him.
A face slowly formed in the void, the black bleeding into red.
It looked down at him with a look he recognized from his brother.
Curiosity.
[So, this is the anomaly that was detected.]
[Why is it that the energy readings are dropping in strength?]
He clutched the light protectively to his chest as the red slowly invaded his space.
[This power is the first to pass the required threshold.]
[But the level of independent sentience displayed was not projected for some time.]
He turned and ran towards the distant form of the Ninth in the darkness.
[Subjugation of detected pseudo-personality has been initiated.]
[Such anomalies cannot be allowed to interfere at this stage.]
The red breach began to glow a dangerous color as it flew towards him in various shapes.
A tendril wrapped around his leg, and a searing hot pain shot up it.
[Resistance is futile.]
Izuku woke up suddenly, pushing himself off the floor and onto his feet.
'W-What the hell was that?!' Izuku thought in a panic. He tried to make sense of what he had seen as he caught his breath. 'And why was I lying on the ground? The last thing I remember was getting put in that ambulance. Where am… I?'
Looking around at his surroundings, he saw that he was in a crumbling room. The walls were broken, revealing nothingness beyond them. Around the room were eight chairs haphazardly arranged in a semi-circle around him. All of them were empty though, except for one.
"Hey there, you troublemaker." A bald man decked out in a Hero Costume said with a wave. Izuku recognized him from the images in Nezu's presentation. "Back from our little flashback?"
"Fiff-?!" Izuku tried to speak out, only to realize his mouth was still muffled by the black smoke. It was less than before though, as he could now make sounds. 'Maybe if I try using a bit of One for All-'
"Woah there, don't get too ahead of yourself!" The man said, quickly interrupting his attempt to call on his Quirk. "In case you forgot, you did a real number on your body with that last fight. How about you take it easy and let me do the talking for now, okay?"
Izuku nodded in agreement, and the man got up from his chair and walked over to him. "Alright, now for introductions. I'm the fifth holder of One for All, Daigoro Banjo. My Quirk was Blackwhip, and speaking of…"
Izuku leaned back as the man got right in his face.
"What the hell did you think you were doing using my Quirk like that! You're lucky you didn't end up injuring those kids with how out of control you let Blackwhip get!" Banjo shouted out, pointing a finger right in Izuku's face. "Blackwhip is powered by emotions. Anger may make it stronger, but you also risk losing control of it. Get it together next time, or it might really rip your arms off, got it?"
"Yeh!" Izuku mumbled out through the black smoke, and Banjo thankfully backed off, returning to his seat.
"Cool." Banjo nodded, before gesturing to their surroundings. "I'm sure you're wondering where we are. This is your Quirk! At least, it's the part that us old holders hang out in. Sorry for the empty house currently, everyone else is still rushing to put things in place after the sudden move."
'Sudden move… Does it have anything to do with that figure from before? What was that?' Izuku thought.
"I can tell you're wondering about that jerk you just saw, but forget about that for now." Banjo said, and Izuku looked up in confusion. "Yeah, you'll get to dealing with that thing eventually, but you have bigger problems currently after you."
'Nine.' Izuku figured.
"Yeah, that Quirk stealing bastard from before." Banjo said, figuring Izuku was thinking of the Villain. "I was surprised that superpower kleptomaniac let someone else have his Quirk at first, but when he tried to take One for All it made much more sense. That Quirk of his was weak as hell!"
'Huh?' Izuku wasn't sure how his Quirk could be considered weak. It seemed he could give and take Quirks just fine, but was there some other factor he missed?
"I suppose you wouldn't have been able to tell, with how little control you have over One for All currently, but us Vestiges were able to fight off Nine's attempt to steal us easily. All for One himself has tried to steal this Quirk before, from both me and my own successor, and it was a hell of a harder fight." Banjo explained. "Not to mention it just felt, how should I put it, small? Like I doubt he would have been able to take the entirety of this Quirk even if we let him."
'There's a limit to the number of Quirks he can hold? That actually makes a lot of sense.' Izuku realized, thinking back to his fight with Nine. 'He seemingly had some way to acquire Quirks before finding the children, but he barely used five throughout the entire fight.'
"Don't let yourself go easy on him though because of it. He still had ridiculous strength. And without any of the Heroes around, you'll have a tough time beating him on your own." Banjo said, giving him a glare. "Especially if you keep damaging yourself like that."
"Eh…" Izuku felt himself wither under the scrutiny. But the man was right. He had injured himself probably just as much as Nine had in the last fight. It might have been the only way to protect the kids, but he couldn't help but feel like he could have done something better.
The darkness outside the room slowly began to seep in, and Banjo let out an annoyed huff.
"Looks like we're out of time. Stay out of trouble for a bit, got it? You need to take things slower for a bit." Banjo said, waving as the darkness approached. "Especially now that you don't have that gadget your girlfriend made!"
"Wha-?!"
Before Izuku could protest, the darkness washed over him, and he felt his actual body begin to awake.
"She's not my… Ow!" Izuku flopped back onto the bed he had shot from a moment ago. It seemed he was back in the real world now, if the pain coming from his body was any indication. He looked down at his arms, and saw the right wrapped in bandages and the left in a cast. He noticed that his legs were also wrapped in bandages, likely from the Laser Bullets that Nine had put through them. He titled his head groggily. "Huh… I thought this would hurt way more."
"You can thank the boy for that."
"Hmm?" Izuku lazily glanced around what he now recognized as U.A.'s infirmary to find the unfamiliar voice, and saw a muscular man sitting there, staring back at with amusement. He was wearing rather casual clothes and had an amused grin on his face, which had multiple scars on it. His left eyelid was covered by an eyepatch, and he gripped a cane in his right hand. "Are you a doctor?"
"Ha!" The man barked in laughter. "Hell no, kid! The name's Iwao Oguro, and Nezu's hired me on as part of the 'temporary staff' to help keep you in line here at U.A."
"Is that so?" Izuku said with a raised eyebrow. He could tell there was something unusual about this man, but he could barely think straight currently, and decided to leave it for now. There was a small snoring sound, and Izuku looked down to see the boy that had healed him from before resting his head against the bed. "Why…?"
"Why is he here?" Mr. Oguro finished for him. He nodded, and the mans smile softened slightly. "His name is Katsuma Shimano. His Quirk lets him to activate the cells in someone's body and speeds up the recovery process by a ton. It only improves natural healing though and takes a ton out of the boy, so you'll have to wait for him to recharge before the rest of the injuries can heal."
"No, it's fine. I don't want to push the kid. I'm just glad everyone's okay." Izuku said with a smile. "Speaking of, where is everyone? And how long have I been out?"
"You've been out… about twelve hours. Which reminds me, we should probably get you some food. I'm usually pretty famished after a good ass-kicking." Mr. Oguro said, producing another raised eyebrow from Izuku. "Nezu is busy trying to organize the kids while preparing for another round with those Villains. Your girlfriend was fretting over your bedside, but eventually went to the workshop to fix your gear. I think that white haired child went with her."
"She's not my girlfriend!" Izuku whined from his bed. Why did everyone he'd talked to lately keep saying that. 'It's not like I'd be against it, but there's no way someone like her would be interested in a wimp like me. She can actually help people without causing trouble for herself, unlike me. But she is pretty, and smart, and likes Heroes just like me, and-'
"Damn, you really do have it bad."
"Guh…" How much of that had he just said out loud? The medicine they gave him must have really thrown him for a loop. He let out a sigh as he leaned back in the bed.
"I'll go get some food and let everyone know you're up." Mr. Oguro said, getting up and walking towards the door with his cane. He turned his head right before closing the door behind him. "We can focus on training your Quirk more after you've recovered."
Izuku froze as the man disappeared behind the door. Quirk training? Was that why Nezu had hired him? He had figured the man was military or police judging by his build, but if he was going to help with Quirk training, did that mean he was a Hero?
No, that would be impossible. He would have had a Quirk if he was a Hero, and that would mean he wouldn't be here due to the Rapture, right? Izuku stared up at the ceiling as all the questions he had from now and his dreams earlier mixed in his head. After a while he came to a single conclusion.
'I'm really damn thirsty right now.'
Glancing around the room, he saw a couple energy drinks on a table near the door. Some were empty, but there was one untouched. Katsuma must have been using them to regain stamina for his Quirk. He tried to get up and grab one, but found his body was in no condition to move.
'Well so much for that idea. Guess I'll have to wait for Mr. Oguro to return.' Izuku thought, until he got a sly grin. 'Or I could try something new…'
He raised his (relatively) less injured right arm up and focused on the feeling of wanting to grab the bottle. It took a couple moments of feeling the energy within him, but eventually he felt something almost slither within his arm, and a small black tendril wormed out of his palm.
'It really worked!' Izuku thought in excitement as the single strand wiggled through the air towards the energy drink. He noted that it was a lot smaller and slower than the wave of darkness that had emerged before. 'I guess the feeling of being slightly thirsty doesn't constitute as great emotional fuel.'
With some effort, he manipulated Blackwhip over to his objective and began to slowly wrap it around the bottle.
"Alright. Now, just gotta get it back." Izuku let out a breath as he slowly lifted the drink up and retracted the tentacle of dark energy so that it began to return to him. He felt his arm begin to tingle, but he didn't want to stop now. It would only be a bit longer! "Slowly… slowly…"
His prize was hanging directly over his bed, just barely out of reach, when the door clicked and swung open loudly. Izuku's focus snapped at the sudden sound, and he clenched his fist on instinct. Unfortunately, the tendril wrapped around the bottle mimicked the hand it originated from, and energy drink suddenly splashed all over the sheets.
"Ah!" Katsuma awoke with a start as he got splashed from the side of the bed. Izuku quickly released Blackwhip, and the crushed plastic fell onto the ruined sheets. Looking to see the source of the disturbance, he saw the smiling face of Nezu staring up at him.
"Young Midoriya! It's good to see that you're up and feeling ready to begin Quirk Training already. I always do love a student with zealous motivation to improve."
After Nezu called the nurse who had saved him before to help clean up the mess Izuku had made, Katsuma used his Quirk again. By the time the boy was finished, Izuku felt almost as good as new. Well, besides his left arm still being in a cast.
"Most of your wounds appear to have healed completely." Kagome said as she unwrapped the bandages on his right arm and legs. "You'll need to wait a bit longer for the left arm, however. It seems even a miracle Quirk like the boy's can only do so much for a broken bone. It's better than when we X-rayed it last night though."
"You can say that again." Izuku agreed, glancing at the X-ray photos of his body that were put up on the wall. The difference between the one from last night and just now were like night and day. He didn't need to be a doctor to know that this level of healing was nearly impossible. He turned to the boy responsible for it with a grateful smile. "Thanks, Katsuma. You're a real lifesaver."
"N-No way! You're the Hero here, Mr. Deku! You saved me and my friend from that crazy Villain!" Katsuma insisted, before looking away ashamed. "He was after my Quirk, so it's my fault you got hurt in the first place. It's only right that I do everything to help you…"
"Young Shimano, you can't possibly blame yourself for that." Nezu insisted.
"But, my Quirk-"
"But nothing." Nezu cut the boy off. "It's not your fault that you were born with such a talent, or that someone unfavorable is targeting you for it. The only one at wrong is that Villain for trying to steal what isn't rightfully his."
Izuku couldn't help but nod in agreement. It wasn't Eri's fault that a monster like Overhaul experimented on her due to her Quirk. They both had amazing powers, and they shouldn't have to curse that fact. Unfortunately, there would always be people after more power, and Quirks were the most useful power there was these days.
He supposed he should know now. He was currently on Nine's wishlist for most wanted Quirks, after all.
"I'm still not sure why he was so insistent on getting Katsuma's Quirk though." Izuku said aloud, putting his good hand to his chin. "Sure, it's incredibly useful, but Nine looked like he was willing to risk everything to get it near the end. He probably has limited space, so having a healing Quirk is nice, but enough to almost kill yourself getting it? And if he was so insistent on getting Katsuma's Quirk, why did he not use that ability to control lightning until the end of the fight? Was he gauging One for All's power before he realized he couldn't steal it? I feel like I'm missing something here, but what?"
"Excuse me." Kagome interrupted, standing awkwardly in the corner putting away some medical equipment. "Are you saying this guy could steal Quirks? Is that even possible?"
"Oh! Umm…" Izuku suddenly realized he'd gotten used to not having to worry about keeping any secrets about One for All and anything related to it. He shot a worried glance to Nezu, who seemed to shrug.
"The news about it would get out eventually, I fear." Nezu said, turning to the nurse. "Yes, it appears that the Villain we fought yesterday could indeed give and take Quirks at will and used those powers to arm three other criminals that referred to themselves as the Purple Oni's."
"Those guys?!" Izuku was surprised to hear that name again. "They did look familiar from what I saw of them, but for real? What are the chances that the three thugs I'd ran into a week ago would end up working for a Supervillain?"
"Ms. Shield said a similar thing, I assure you." Nezu said. "They all appeared to wield abilities that could be interpreted as multiple Quirks. Same with those freakish 'Nomu', as one of the Oni had called them. But I am quite curious about another thing you just said, Midoriya. Something about the Villain's space being limited?"
"Oh right, that! I…" Izuku stopped himself, realizing that explaining how he knew that would involve One for All.
"Hmm." Nezu quickly caught on and turned back to Kagome. "Nurse? Could you please take young Shimano down to the cafeteria. I'm sure he needs more energy after all the work he's done this morning."
"Aw… But I wanted to hang out with Deku more." The boy whined.
"I'm sure we'll both see much more of him soon. But the patient needs some space for now, okay?" Kagome said, taking the boys hand and leading him out of the room. At the same time the two left, Mr. Oguro entered with a plate of food, setting it down next to Midoriya and getting comfortable.
"Oh, Mr. Oguro! Thanks for the food, but me and Nezu were about to talk about something important so…" Izuku trailed off, hoping that the man understood what he was requesting, but he just laughed back.
"Don't worry kid, Nezu already told me everything about your Quirk."
"H-He did?" Izuku turned to Nezu in confusion. "Why?"
"Apologies for revealing information without consulting you beforehand, young Midoriya, but with all the children here now it would be hard for me to devote so much of my time to training your ever-emerging abilities." Nezu began to explain. "Fortunately, I happened to run into someone during yesterday's battle with the perfect experience to assist with your Quirk training!"
"That makes sense, I guess. I don't want to take you away from your duties as Principal. And if you think he's trustworthy then I don't mind him knowing." Izuku eventually decided, turning to Mr. Oguro. "But if you don't mind me asking, what kind of experience do you have, sir? You seem like a Hero, but that couldn't be possible due to the Rapture, right?"
"It could be if you lost your Quirk before then." Mr. Oguro said with a sigh.
"Lost it? But even if an injury prevented you from using your Quirk, you would still technically have it. The only way I can think of that might completely remove someone's Quirk would be another Quirk like… All for One." Izuku suddenly looked up at the man with sudden understanding.
"That is correct, young Midoriya." Nezu exclaimed. "May I introduce Iwao Oguro, currently the Naruhata Vigilante known as Knuckleduster, and formerly the High-Speed Hero: O'Clock!"
Izuku continued to stare at the rough-looking man before him with wide eyes.
Mr. Oguro was Knuckleduster?!
Mr. Oguro was O'Clock?!
"I… That's, umm…" Izuku tried to gather his thoughts. He was geeking out over two separate people while also trying to connect the dots between them.
O'Clock was a famous Hero whose Quirk allowed them to move at superspeed (though he had his own theories on its functions) and was famous for taking down many underground criminal organizations with the police. He mysterious retired after receiving an injury against a villain whose identity was never revealed to the public.
Knuckleduster, on the other hand, was a Vigilante famous from the Naruhata Ward. He was usually recognized as the founder of the group known as the Naruhata Vigilantes, a team of Vigilantes that toured the Ward a few years ago during an increase in organized crime within the area. He was the only member still active in the area though after the rest seemingly retired and the Crawler moved to America to go Pro as Captain Celebrity's sidekick.
Finally focusing on Mr. Oguro, Izuku said the first thing that came to mind.
"C-Could you sign my cast?"
"Huh?" Mr. Oguro blinked with befuddlement.
"Sorry! I mean-!" Izuku put his hands in his face, feeling it heat up in embarrassment. "I'm just a really big fan of yours."
"Nezu told me you were a bit of a Hero nerd, so I shouldn't be too surprised. Though I can't remember the last time I signed anything as O'Clock." Mr. Oguro said nostalgically, grabbing a pen from a nearby desk.
"I, uh, wasn't referring to O'Clock…" Izuku admitted.
"You're a fan of Knuckleduster?" Mr. Oguro asked, confusion evident on his face. "What's a goody two-shoes like you doing being a fan of him?"
"Well, Nezu told you about me, right? About how I didn't have a Quirk before receiving One for All?" Mr. Oguro nodded, and Izuku continued. "Well, I still wanted to become a Hero anyways. I studied a bunch of Heroes and Villains in order to get better, but… none of them were Quirkless. I was great at analysing others to find their strengths and weaknesses, but not one Hero or Villain was like me. But then I heard about this Vigilante that fought without any Quirk and used a bunch of gadgets and his own smarts to win fights. It showed me that you can still save people without a Quirk and inspired me to continue striving to be a Hero."
"You used me as an inspiration for being a Hero?" Mr. Oguro said with a laugh. "No offense, but if you became a Hero like me, you'd lose your license within a week of getting it!"
"I mean, I would have probably been a bit less… excessive." Izuku admitted.
Knuckleduster was known for going all out when it came to putting down a villain. When you didn't have any powers of your own, you tended to have to use a lot of punching to keep someone from getting back up. For a Hero, you probably would get written up eventually. But as a Vigilante, you were already skirting the law, so he seemed not to care about his image.
"Well, whatever," Mr. Oguro eventually said with a shrug. "If you really looked up to me that much, then there wouldn't be any problem signing it."
One signature later, Nezu turned to Izuku. "Now Midoriya, I believe you were about to explain some more about this Villain you fought. Nine, you said his name was?"
"Yeah. I had another chat with one of the Vestiges, the Fifth this time." Izuku began to explain what he had been told in his dreams. He skipped over the initial dream he had for now, focusing specifically on what he had learned about Nine. Nezu and Mr. Oguro both contemplated the information he had given them.
"So, it's a weakened version. That's some relief, I suppose." Mr. Oguro said. "And knowing how egotistical this guy seems to be, I wouldn't be surprised if the number of Quirks he can have is literally nine."
"While we have no way to confirm it, I also would be willing to greatly suspect as much." Nezu nodded in agreement. "The name turns up no known hits in the any database, and he doesn't to appear to be a known Villain. The main question is which Quirks he currently has. Midoriya?"
"Sure, could you possibly hand me something to write on?"
Mr. Oguro handed Izuku a nearby empty notebook, and he began to think back to his fight with Nine. He immediately began to go through the list of Quirks used against him, writing them all down in excessive detail.
1. Laser Bullets: Energy-based bullets that shoot out of the users fingers like lasers. Can be shot in straight lines or curve towards a target. Strength of blasts appears variable, as well as whether the projectile explodes or pierces. Possible weakness includes overheating fingers with overuse obstructing aiming by targeting hands/fingers.
2. Air Wall: Create barriers of solidified air wherever the user points their hands. The barriers can include various shapes but seems to default to a circular shield. Can be stacked on top of each other for increased defense and have the solidified air 'released' to produce concussive blasts of air. Weaknesses include having to direct the barriers with the users' hands, and possibly disrupting the air to prevent solidification.
3. Quirk Vision: Grants an alternative method of sight that allows the user to 'see' Quirks. This alternate vision allows the user to know at least the general abilities of a Quirk in view, as well as changes in power when said Quirk is in use. Quirkless people appear to be invisible to this vision. Requires line of sight in order to be used, but has abilities to see through certain obstructions such as smoke and dust.
4. Hydra: Blue snake-like creatures that are summoned out of the user. Only one snakehead was used, but the name used suggests that multiple could be created, possibly when destroyed, in reference to the mythical monster. Exact strength unknown currently.
5. Lightning(?): Summons a bolt of lightning. Only used once, further details unknown.
Once he was done, Izuku handed the notes back to Mr. Oguro. Nezu hopped up on the man's shoulders, and the two quickly began to read through the Quirks listed.
"Damn, you got all of this from a single fight? That's impressive, kid." Mr. Oguro said.
"Not really. I wasn't able to get much information on the last couple Quirks he used." Izuku replied sadly.
"I am quite curious about the last Quirk listed here. The one he used to summon the lightning. Such a powerful ability would have likely been enough to defeat you easily, yet he only used it once. Why?" Nezu asked.
"I don't know honestly." Izuku admitted. "It was only once I had nearly beaten him with Blackwhip that he decided to use it. Even after he realized he couldn't steal my Quirk he hesitated to use it to finish me off."
"Hmm." Nezu thought for a moment. "One of the Purple Oni we fought had a shapeshifter Quirk. They used Nine's form as a last resort. While I was able to use a Quirk-Erasing bullet before they attacked, it seemed as if the clouds and wind were bending to their command."
"Then it might not be just lightning, but some sort of Weather Manipulation Quirk?" Izuku guessed.
"But if they had an ability like that in the back pocket, why bother with all the tricks. Just call down the power of god with a swipe of your hand and you have everything you need." Mr. Oguro said. "There was to be some reason they were hesitant to use it. A drawback maybe?"
Izuku thought back to immediately after Nine's use of the Quirk. He had immediately used a 100% Delaware Smash and had broken through Nine's defenses easily. Not only that, but immediately afterward he had begun to throw up blood. That was also about the time he got obsessive about retrieving Katsuma's Quirk. The same Quirk he had been after from the start.
"The Quirk damages him." Izuku said, as the others turned to him. "He was weakened greatly after using the ability and was practically crawling on the ground to get Katsuma's Quirk. He had been trying to retrieve it the entire fight. Weather Manipulation must come with a severe drawback, one that can only be negated with a unique Quirk like Cellular Activation."
A Quirk that could control the very weather would make its user a god among men. But if the user was falling apart after barely using it, then the only way to circumvent it was with another Quirks' ability. Such Quirks would be rare though, and finding and cooperating with their user would be likely nearly impossible. With All for One though, Nine could simply take the power for himself. If he had both Weather Manipulation and Cellular Activation…
Well, it wouldn't have mattered how many other Quirks Nine had. You can't improve perfection, after all.
"This is a far more delicate matter than I had initially believed." Nezu admitted, coming to the same conclusion. "I figured that there was no way this Villain could measure up to the dreaded power of All for One. But if your theory about his Quirk is true, then we may need to take more drastic actions."
"What should we do?" Izuku asked.
"Right now, you need to heal up. Get some food in you and relax." Nezu explained. "Leave this to me for now. As principal of U.A., it is my duty to ensure no harm comes to its students. Just focus on recovering, so you can begin training your new Quirks with Mr. Oguro."
"Alright." Izuku agreed, slightly disappointed. He couldn't help but feel like he was not contributing enough, but Nezu was right. There was a whole school to take care of, and that was his specialty.
He'll just have to focus on training as soon as possible, to be ready for the next time him and Nine meet. Something told him it was inevitable, despite Nezu's insistence to the contrary.
Kagome kept an eye out for others as she made her way down to the parking garage. After having dropped of the boy that Nine was after at the cafeteria, she had made her way to the Ambulance she had arrived in.
"The Quirk damages him. Weather Manipulation must come with a severe drawback, one that can only be negated with a Quirk like Cellular Activation."
'That was certainly quick. They weren't kidding when they said the little Hero was clever.' Kagome thought as she listened to the conversation back in the infirmary through the bug she'd planted.
These people were so trusting. Though she supposed they couldn't be picky during the current crisis. Just one flash of her Nurse's ID, and she had been allowed to follow everyone through the gates of U.A. High.
The bug was also easy to plant. The Doctor had made a career of abusing his position, and that included plenty of bugged hospital equipment to steal information from patients. It had been simple borrowing one from his supplies and planting it into the infirmary.
Through it, she had already confirmed that Izuku Midoriya was indeed the current user of One for All, that they knew what Nine was after, and what the danger of his goals being accomplished entailed.
'Saves me the trouble of having to hint at it somehow without blowing my cover.' She thought about what they had discussed in greater detail though. It seemed one of her plans had hit a slight snag. 'So, Nine was unable to steal One for All. Not only that, but the Quirk itself has a will that would negate unwilling transfer. But the true All for One might have the power to take it…'
So, in the end, her plan remained the same. Get to I-Island, find the technology to improve Quirk transfer, and receive All for One.
Hopefully without being killed or exposed by Nine.
Looking back, reviving the mysterious man found sleeping in her boss's basement may not have been the greatest idea. She had done it on a whim of apathetic boredom, but now was constantly fighting to keep on his good side while trying to get a power that he would kill her for.
Then again, she likely wouldn't be able to initiate the next phase of her plan without him.
She spied a quick glance around the parking garage before hopping into the back of her Ambulance, checking that everything was still in place. Once ensuring that the container with All for One was secure, she moved over to the radio, dialing a private and encrypted channel.
Honestly, she would need to buy Doctor Ujiko a drink if he ever returned from the Rapture. It was only due to his hard work that she was able to get this far. He had been around so long that he had backdoors into every emergency line in the country, which she had used to monitor the convoy without disturbance and could now use to talk to her 'allies' from within even U.A.'s walls without fear.
The radio crackled for a few moments, before a voice dripping with annoyance seeped through.
"This wasn't part of the plan, Kagome."
Typical Nine. He was probably still pissy that he was beaten by a teenager.
"I told you that infiltrating them was a potential scenario. You had all escaped successfully, and knowing how much you wanted that Quirk, I decided to enter as an innocent Nurse." Kagome said cheerfully. "I'm already a trusted member of the staff. That little Hero and the Principal have no clue about my- our plans."
There was a growl on the other side of the radio, and Kagome began to sweat. She knew he wouldn't be happy about it, but it was truly a good plan. Had she underestimated Nine's tolerance for on-the-fly planning?
"That's not what I'm talking about, and you know it." Nine said through a hoarse voice, still clearly recovering from his injuries. "I'm referring to the Nomu."
"The Nomu?" Kagome stared at the radio in her hand. The military had killed all of them, but that had been expected. The half dozen or so monstrosities had been nothing more than a distraction for their forces as they took the kids. "Are you really that upset none of them returned? I thought them getting blown to hell was the plan. Besides we have dozens more back in the lair, what's the big issue?"
"Are you fucking with me right now?"
"Am I-? No, I'm not." Kagome asked, growing confused by Nine's line of questions. "Seriously, what's going on over there. Did something happen to the Nomu in stasis?"
"You really didn't…? But then who?" Nine's voice questioned to himself.
'Okay, fuck subtlety, there's clearly something weird going on, and we're not getting anywhere.' Kagome decided, gripping the radio in her hand tightly. "Nine, I'll ask again. What. Happened. To. The. Nomu."
"I don't know!"
"What do you mean you don't know?"
"I mean they're all missing! It's like every single one decided to just break out of their tube and wander off! There's no sign of them anywhere!" Nine nearly shouted through the speaker.
'Oh.'
'Oh, this could be a problem.'
"That's… not something they should be able to do." Kagome said, thinking about what she had gathered from her research of the Doctors work. They were effectively braindead in those tubes without commands. "They had to be given some sort of order. Check the program for that on the Doctor's computer."
"… How do you do that?"
After a very lengthy explanation (she specialized in biology not technology, damn it!), she managed to get Nine to open the Nomu control program, and find the last order sent. But she wasn't prepared for what she heard.
"[Capture the current holder of One for All. Begin searching at U.A. High School.]"
The voice was clearly artificial. But it somehow knew about One for All. It knew the most likely place its holder would be was U.A. High. And when Kagome asked, Nine said the time the command went through was moments after they had left for their mission. On top of that, the voice order had been uploaded from an outside source to the terminal before it had been issued.
"So, you're saying someone cracked the Doctors top of the line security, stole the Nomu, and is using them to go after something that the number of people who know of could be counted on one hand." Nine asked unamused.
"Well, at least you know none of us did it." Kagome added, producing a sigh on the other end.
"I'd have preferred if one of you had betrayed me. At least I'd know who to kill."
'Cheerful.' Kagome rolled her eyes. "Don't worry, this can be used in our favor. I think I have a plan."
"Oh, do tell?"
"Even if the Nomu aren't under our control, they can still provide the perfect distraction." Kagome suggested. "The threat of them approaching U.A. will likely be enough to move the children again. While the move itself might be harder to interrupt due to our previous actions, all we need to do is ensure that they end up being moved to a location that is more easily infiltrated than U.A. for our plan to work."
"And that place would be?"
"I-Island!" Kagome revealed.
"Ah, yes. The mobile island with security second only to Tartarus. I'm sure that would be much easier to get into than a high school." Nine said, voice dripping with sarcasm.
"Oh, ye of little faith." Kagome tutted. "As a matter of fact, I have someone who would be more than willing to help us onto the island, and even give us the keys to the city. Well, after a little persuasion, at least. I'll leave that part to you, just go to the emails on the Doctors terminal and look up a man named Samuel Abraham."
"… Even if you can get us to I-Island, how can you ensure they will actually go there?" Nine finally asked.
"Like I said, I have a plan." Kagome said confidently. "You focus on securing your party tickets there, and I'll get mine. I haven't led you wrong so far, right?"
There was silence on the other end of the radio for a minute, before Nine finally replied back.
"Fine, we'll try it your way. Check in tomorrow and be sure to bring results. Nine out."
The radio static cut out, and after a moment, Kagome put the device away.
'Well… that worked out better than I had expected.' Kagome admitted. The breach of security and release of the Nomu by a third party was beyond worrying, but she didn't have time to focus on that, especially when it could be used to get what she wanted.
Hopping out of the Ambulance, she immediately made her way back into U.A. and towards the Support Lab. Nine way have doubts about how the Heroes would be persuaded to go to I-Island, but Kagome had been paying attention to the people surrounding the user of One for All, and one in particular was guaranteed to be her ticket there.
She opened the door to the lab, and saw the blond hair of Melissa Shield leaning over one of the desks, tinkering away at the damaged suit of the young Hero. Eri was sitting nearby and noticed her enter, immediately running over to her.
"Miss Kagome! Is Izuku up yet?" The little girl asked hopefully, drawing the attention of Melissa.
"He sure is! I was just coming to get you." Kagome said. Melissa immediately turned from her work.
"Oh, thank goodness. Come on Eri, lets go!" Melissa said, and Kagome immediately led the two of them back towards the infirmary. As Eri ran ahead, Melissa turned to her. "I can't thank you enough for saving Izuku. It really means a lot to me that you risked your life to come out there."
"Please, Ms. Shield, I was just doing my job." Kagome said with faux embarrassment, before replying. "And don't sell yourself short. His injuries weren't life-threatening only thanks to your hard work. You learned from your father on I-Island, right?"
"I did, yeah. It's good to know that my Costume was so effective." Melissa said with a sigh of relief.
"I must say though, that Villain was really scary." Kagome lowered her voice, turning to Melissa while glancing around like she was paranoid. "I accidentally overheard them talking while I was looking after that boy, but apparently, he had the ability to steal Quirks. Not only that, but he's also apparently obsessed with getting the Quirk of Izuku and that younger boy with the healing ability."
"That's not good at all." Melissa agreed, biting on her lip.
"With that man's power, not to mention those scary monsters, it seems like there's nowhere in Japan that would be safe from them." Kagome sighed, glancing at Melissa with a jealous look. "I doubt that anything like this could have happened back on I-Island, huh?"
Melissa froze mid-step. Kagome turned back to look at her, and couldn't help but grin as she saw the gears turn in the girls head. A moment later she shot back to life rushing ahead of her.
"You're right, Kagome." Melissa said in a hurry. "If you don't mind, I'm going to go on ahead. I need to talk to Izuku and Nezu privately for a moment."
"There's no worry at all," Kagome said as the American ran off, and Eri chased after her. "Take all the time you need."
And now with the seeds she had planted, both sides would hopefully converge at I-Island. And when they inevitably clashed again, she'd have the perfect opportunity to take what she needed to receive All for One. She could only hope that the boy puts up a better fight against Nine the second time, or she wouldn't have a very long diversion.
'Well, the sooner he's healed, the sooner he'll get stronger.' Kagome decided with a shrug. 'Guess that means I'll actually need to do my real job for a while longer.'
Next Chapter: Seeking Sanctuary