22/10/2022

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The Emperor's Dragon
Emergence 18 - Let's Not Gossip

Aizawa looked at the faces of his class. Most of them had wide, scared eyes. Some were injured and two of them weren't there. Thankfully they were in ambulances getting treated, which is where he should be but he had to talk to them. Bakugo superficially looked bored and annoyed but… no, the boy was scared, which was good. It was a much needed dose of reality though he would probably react to that fear by lashing out more. He'd have to manage that over the next few weeks. As much as he'd wanted to expel him, Bakugo was extraordinarily skillful with the use of his quirk. It did make him curious as to how he'd become so skillful. People with destructive quirks usually didn't get to practice but he hadn't had time to look into that, and the pre-enrolment checks on his background were immaculate.

Which was a pretty good hint that something was up. No one's records were perfect after all.

But this wasn't about Bakugo. This was about all of his students.

He sighed. "You cannot talk about this," he announced.

"Sir?" Itsuka asked. She'd been relatively calm this entire time, which was a good quality for the Class Representative but he could see she was at her limit. Still, as far as he knew she'd been the main factor in convincing the Iida boy that he had to run for help. That showed maturity and sensible thinking.

"With the media. Or other UA Students. At least not now. We cannot hide, and we are not hiding that there was an attack," he said matter of factly. "But while the investigation is ongoing, spreading random information will act to compromise it." AIzawa explained, mentally moving around his teaching plan. He'd have to move the class on the importance of operational security probably into tomorrow. All Might should understand that much at least. And looking at the big picture. "As such you are not to discuss this with other students. You may discuss it with the faculty and Hound Dog is available," he added, knowing that they had to give them some outlet.

He shouldn't have to explain further. They knew that two of the villains, the two that appeared in charge, had gotten away. The fact that those two had left about fifty other villains was interesting and could mean several things. Other's could decide what.

With that said, Aizawa waved them away. Chiyo would sort them out before sending them home. Those that were going home. He suspected that Tsuyu and Rikido would be sent home from the hospital in the morning.

His student's cleared away which gave the paramedics the opportunity to pounce. Nezu was with them and he looked over at the rat. His expression was enough to say what he thought of All Might's performance today. Not in fighting that creature but before that.

"I'll talk to him," Nezu promised.

Aizawa nodded. A talking to from the Principal was probably enough to put most people on the right track. He hoped the Number One Hero counted as most people. "You saw?" He asked, ignoring the pain from everywhere as the Paramedic's pushed him on to a stretcher.

Nezu nodded. It was difficult to read his expression but in this case Aizawa didn't need to. In the ongoing battle between Heroes and Villains there were certain things that were… Well, they tipped the balance. Villains with near instantaneous warp transport, was one of those things. Especially as if it appeared the warper could transport multiple people over unknown distances and still be functional. Aizawa thought about what he'd seen. This was the worst type of warper imaginable. Multiple people in multiple directions.

"Any leads?"

"Nothing yet," Nezu replied, flicking his beady little eyes towards All Might and then towards the creature the villains had left behind.

The students hadn't seen All Might's true form. That was something but it had been a close thing. Cementos had gotten a wall up in time.

"This was planned," Nezu told him.

The look Aizawa gave him spoke volumes. "Beyond the events here," the rat clarified. "There was a series of disturbances this morning," he added.

Disturbances that made All Might use his time up, and then… Aizawa didn't like those implications. It spoke of a level of organisation that… "The leader wasn't-" he paused. He didn't want to say capable because the hand-covered villain was capable except he didn't seem as if he possessed the required level of composure to have orchestrated the entire plan. He hadn't reacted well to changes. And the creature, that suggested a high level of organisation and investment in scientific research that- It didn't fit the leader.

Not the one they'd seen here, anyway.

Nezu nodded, understanding what he didn't say. There was someone else behind this attack. The leader had been sent into the field with the equipment and basic plan and nothing more. Was this a test? Of them? Of the hand covered villain? Of the creature? There were too many possibilities.

"Has he said anything?" Aizawa asked.

"Nothing yet," Nezu replied.

"Sir, we have to take him now," one of the paramedics said before Aizawa could ask anything further. They'd jabbed several needles into his arm and had put monitoring stickers over him.

Nezu nodded and Aizawa felt oddly betrayed when the rodent stepped back allowing the paramedics to bundle him into an ambulance.

"You got lucky sir," one of them said. "You'll need a skin graft, but the damage didn't hit the nerves or ligaments," they explained.

He sighed. "And my students?" Really why were they telling him about himself. He'd be fine. Now that Nezu understood the situation, he needed to know how Tsuyu and Rikido were going.

The paramedic looked to the driver. "The girl'll have an impressive set of scars," the man said. "But she'll be fine. The boy could probably be released now but I think they want to monitor for shock," came the further information.

Aizawa nodded. That was something. It was better than he'd thought. Tsuyu had been caught by the hand villain and he was definitely not shy about using his quirk. It was just a good thing his was suited to stopping people like that. He took a deep breath and tried to put aside his resentment at being strapped down.

It hadn't gone well today but he wouldn't think the other thought. Heroes that did… well, thinking it was tantamount to saying it and saying it would make it real and he wasn't going to jinx himself. It hadn't gone well but the villain's had revealed a lot and maybe, just maybe that would be enough to stop them early.

He could at least hope for that.

-ted-

Kurogiri looked at Tomura as his charge writhed on the floor. He was bleeding from several wounds. Snipe didn't mess around but the misty man knew they'd been lucky. If Snipe had shot to kill then… Tomura wouldn't be writhing here. Instead, he had been shot through his shoulder and knee. Enough to disable him.

It was interesting to note the differences between Tomura and Izuku. This was the first time Tomura had been injured. Technically Izuku had never been injured either. Wounded yes, by the attack of others but… Izuku fought with Gigantomachia. The younger teen knew how to fight, and Kurogiri thought was better conditioned to withstand pain. Tomura didn't have that experience.

Yet. He reminded himself. Tomura didn't have it yet.

"He's not weaker," Tomura growled. "The information was wrong."

At least he hadn't said Sensei was wrong. Kurogiri knew that wouldn't go over well, even if it didn't appear as if Sensei was liste- No, Sensei was listening. The little TV at the side of the bar was on. That meant he could hear and Sensei had very good hearing.

"Ah! It hurts! But the information was wrong," Tomura repeated. "And they were so weak!"

That was true. But that was also expected. They had gathered many villains for today's operation. They were all expendible and had simply been there to keep the children occupied. Some of them could not even do that! They'd done the Underworld a favour by removing them from the labour pool.

"The Nomu didn't do anything!"

Kurogiri wondered what the Doctor would think of that statement. The man was proud of his creations and he knew that the Doctor wanted that one back but… He hadn't been able to locate it. The Nomu had done things though. Despite the fact it was stupid, it had actually performed as they had been told it would. It had taken on All Might, a feat he knew that at least some of the captured henchmen would be spreading to others. That was a part of their job but one they hadn't been told about. And the fact that the Nomu had stood against All Might, even for a short time, was information the Underworld as a whole would be very interested in.

The mission might not have ended in the death of All Might but that information spreading was a reasonable bit of compensation.

"But it was all because the information was wrong!" Tomura cried.

"The information wasn't wrong," Sensei replied this time, apparently deciding that Tomura was going to repeat his complaints. "You were simply a little over-optimistic," he added.

That was one way of putting it, Kurogiri supposed. And in terms Tomura would understand All Might was the final boss. Tomura was at level 1, he couldn't honestly expect to take out the final boss in his first battle. This wasn't FFI.

"Sensei?"

"All Might was weakened, just not as much as we may have hoped," Sensei replied.

"Where is the Nomu?" that was the Doctor.

It was interesting to see the relationship Tomura had with the Doctor. He knew he existed but Kurogiri thought Tomura had forgotten it was the Doctor who had seen to Sensei's health after his battle with All Might. When he took Tomura for the preparation sessions, he seemed to have no memory of him which meant that Tomura had regulated the Doctor to the position of NPC, which was not appropriate. The Doctor was definitely support.

"I was unable to locate it," he reported over Tomura's moans.

He could almost hear Sensei thinking while the Doctor's disappointment was palatable. The Doctor truly cared for his creations, probably because the winged one that followed him around was his grandson.

"It is unfortunate but not important," Sensei said. "For now, it is time to start again," he announced. "You can take all the time you need, Tomura, to gather your next party. This one should be picked for efficiency. Your name will be known, Tomura and next time, the world will know the horror of your existence and to ensure that, I believe it is time."

That got Tomura's attention, even through his pain. "Sensei?" he asked. Kurogiri could hear he was hopeful but not quite believing.

"It is time," Sensei repeated. "Kurogiri bring him," the instruction followed before the screen went blank.

He looked down at Tomura. The boy had stopped moaning but was still lying in his own blood. Kurogiri internally sighed. He'd have to clean that later since Sensei could not be kept waiting. He expanded again, fixing his mind on Sensei's location before he scooped up Tomura and transported him.

A moment later, Tomura was bleeding on the Doctor's floor. Kurogiri felt a tiny pulse of pleasure at the Doctor's resigned expression. The man didn't do his own cleaning, but he had to order it done and that distracted from his experiments.

Sensei was sitting. While he did like to wear his life support mask, when he was with the Doctor he usually had his breathing tube attached to his trachea. Today was no different. The Misty man wasn't sure if it was a subtle way of showing the Doctor he'd failed, or what still needed to be fixed and he was never going to ask. The Doctor probably understood already.

"It is time, Tomura," Sensei told the still bleeding boy.

Tomura was sprawled on the floor. He was attempting to clutch his injured shoulder while trying to find a position that didn't put pressure on his knee. And then he'd change position, attempting to clutch his knee, which only put pressure on his shoulder. He was constantly moving.

"The bullet's went through?" the Doctor asked.

Kurogiri nodded. He hadn't had much opportunity to check but he was confident of that. Sensei was examining Tomura. Kurogiri didn't know what the man was seeing. He knew Sensei could see via a quirk but he had no idea what things looked like or what he was looking for in Tomura. Apparently he was satisfied though because he nodded slightly.

"Kneel before me Tomura," Sensei instructed.

Most would consider it cruel, to make a man kneel on his shot through knee. Kurogiri knew it was simply a final test to ensure that Tomura was worthy. The boy knew it as well and shifted slightly, moving so that he could obey. With a grimace and a groan he got his knees under him and knelt before Sensei. He even bowed his head slightly.

That appeared to please All For One who smiled and nodded. "Once you are through with the world, Tomura, you will bow to no one," he said, reaching out. He placed his hand on Tomura's head and the boy immediately stiffened.

Then he relaxed. He didn't collapse into unconsciousness, instead it seemed as if he forgot his wounds. As Sensei withdrew his hand, Tomura raised his own, looking down at his palms. "This is?" His voice was full of wonder.

"That is my quirk," Sensei confirmed. "All For One."

Tomura flexed his fingers, as if trying to feel something but Kurogiri could see nothing but air in his grip.

"Now, you will take a quirk from me," Sensei announced.

Tomura's head shot up but Sensei was serious about his announcement and was holding out his hand. No doubt he had pushed the quirk he wanted Tomura to take into it. Kurogiri wasn't entirely sure how that worked but he'd seen Sensei make similar gestures to Izuku when his son was to take a quirk.

For a moment, Tomura looked panicked before he took a grip of himself. Kurogiri saw him curl in his little finger as he reached out to take Sensei's hand. As usual, there was no light or gesture or anything to say a quirk had been transferred. "Simply grip it and pull," Sensei gave the explanation. "All For One is different from Decay, you have to indicate what you want," he continued.

Kurogiri nodded to himself. That was a reasonable interpretation. Tomura had limited control over Decay. Anything he touched with five fingers decayed. All For One had to be activated and told to take the quirk. A few moments passed before Sensei nodded and sat back. "Very good Tomura," he praised, drawing his hand back.

For his part, Tomura was again staring at his own hands and then his head jerked towards his shoulder. Kurogiri couldn't see clearly but he realised what had to be happening a moment later.

"Regeneration," Sensei murmured as Tomura moved freely to rub at his shoulder and Kurogiri could see through the ripped t-shirt that the wound was no longer there. "A very useful quirk to have," he continued. "And I do thank you and Izuku for retrieving it."

Kurogiri didn't. Well, he did, because the quirk had healed Sensei then, as much as he could be healed but the misty man still remembered the absolute gut wrenching, heart stopping surge of fear that had gone through him when he'd realised that both Izuku and Tomura weren't there that day. Even beyond Sensei being injured, that had been a day of panic.

Tomura rose. "It is," he said with wonder.

"Now, Tomura, you must let All For One settle, and as time goes on, and you collect those who will stand with you, who understand that the world must change, I will provide you with further quirks. And then-" He didn't finish.

Tomura understood though. He smiled. "And then the world will fear."

"Indeed," Sensei was pleased.

Kurogiri nodded as he took in the scene. Tomura was still looking at his hands, but he seemed to have grown in the last few moments and if Sensei was pleased then there was nothing to worry about. This misty man was sure of the future.

-ted-

USJ went a bit differently. They still managed to avoid deaths but had many more injuries. And a bigger scare for the students. Also, I really think they'd be under a gag order after an attack like that, at least for a few days, hence the title - Let's Not Gossip. The students aren't going to talk about what happened.

And Tomura now has the quirk, AFO but had to go through some pain to get it. AFO - the man's - little speech to Tomura really should serve as a warning to the teen. 'You won't bow to anyone' ... coming from a man like AFO should be a warning that you are a pawn along the way for his glory, certainly not yours but alas... Tomura still believes he is special.

My discord is on this code: ZX2R5h2cEm FFN will remove links but you should be able to figure that out. There's a heap of other authors there, so come along and chat to us all!

-ted-

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