So Shirokuro has appeared in the story before, but it is time for him to make his first public appearance. Will everything go according to plan or...?
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Comments:
BradenTrivett: I saw a couple fan comics/-art, probably fanfiction, with Izuku and Kurogiri having nice relationship between the two around the time I was first coming up with All For Some. Investigating that relationship seemed like a great fit for the story specifically.
Dsman: Some real evil will happen in this chapter. The question is by whom and why. You better read the chapter to find out.
Justin V: What are your favorite twists and developments so far?
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Chapter 33: Shirokuro's Debut
Izuku crouched on a rooftop with Shirokuro's helmet on and looked down at the villain hospital some distance away. The night vision made the building much clearer, and the lights of the arriving vehicles were especially easy to distinguish. A heavy door covering the entry of a loading bay opened for the approaching police van. Izuku tapped a button on the helmet to measure distance before the door closed after the van.
"I got your coordinates," Izuku said as he backed away from the roof edge and stood up next to Kurogiri, who had silently stood behind him.
"I am ready young Shigaraki."
"Wait fifteen more seconds. They aren't going to waste any time loading up the Nomu, but we want it in the bay."
"Understood."
Izuku stayed quiet for a few seconds.
"Have we considered everything?" he asked.
"You have prepared this mission with great care and consideration. As long as you maintain your concentration on the mission, I have no doubt of your success."
"Our success," Izuku corrected. "It is time."
With those words several warp gates opened on the street outside the villain hospital releasing lighter coloured low tier Nomu's like those Izuku had trained against for months, though with these he did not know who they had been before. The thought alone made him draw a deep breath through his gas filters.
"Try to bring them all back alive when we are done. Dad might be willing to sacrifice them all for the one high end, but I'm not… They still were people," Izuku said as another warp gate opened in front of him. Kurogiri did not say a word as Izuku stepped through.
He emerged from the dark mist in the loading bay to face half a dozen pistols pointed at him. The guns gave Izuku a pause even knowing they probably couldn't kill him even if they emptied their magazines on him. He reminded himself of that fact and steeled his resolve. The Killing intent quirk burst from within as he took a step forward seemingly unconcerned about the police officers between him and the parked van. Three of them stepped backwards and everyone's aim got a little unsteady.
"Greetings," Izuku said through the voice changer and pointed at the Nomu that was already in the van, trapped inside some metal contraption covering all but its head. "I have come to pick up my friend here. Shall we do this the easy way where you step out of the way or the hard way where I leave behind six corpses?"
Izuku had kept walking closer to the open back of the van and now only one exceptionally brave man was standing between him and the Nomu, visibly shaking but refusing to move. Izuku took the risk and acting with all the confidence he could muster reached out to grab the gun in the man's hand. The man didn't pull the trigger, just stood and shook. Izuku activated the Vibration quirk and the gun shattered as every part shook itself apart from the others.
The shock made the man drop the remains of the gun leaving him unarmed. In panic he slashed out with a straight punch. Izuku dodged, grabbed the man's arm and with a yank switched their places bringing the man between himself and the rest of the police who were a little firmer with their hold of their guns now with a colleague in danger. Izuku grabbed the back to his new hostage's neck.
"Drop your weapons, unless you would like to see how my quirk works on his internal organs."
The man collapsed on the floor as he fainted, and a distinct stink rose from his wet pants. This surprised even Izuku. He had only gotten to test the Killing Intent on his father who wasn't easy to faze. Three of the other five police officers inched closer guns up now that their colleague wasn't in the way. Izuku could appreciate their bravery to resist the killing intent and the threat he had already shown himself to pose to them. That kind of people should have been the ones to go to hero schools. Still, he had a mission.
"Nomu, free yourself."
The Nomu responded with a loud screech and then the metal cocoon holding it shattered in two with enough force to bend the sides of the van. The three police finally opened fire but by the time their fingers moved against the triggers the Nomu was already in front of Izuku instinctually protecting him. The bullets did nothing to its dark skin.
Once they realized this and stopped shooting Izuku stepped next to the Nomu to face the remaining police officers with the Nomu standing over him.
"You should already know this, but this Nomu was enough to push All Might's limits. How do you feel about your chances?" He paused for a few seconds. The three police in front of him dropped their guns and stepped out of the way. The other two were already out of the way sitting on the floor to the sides.
"Well, we'll be going now."
On que a warp gate opened where he had first entered.
"Nomu, go through the warp gate."
The Nomu did as ordered and walked ahead of Izuku into the gate. As soon as it was completely in, there was a quick swish. Izuku turned to respond, but he was looking for the three police that had opposed him, not the two that had collapsed on the floor. A loud bang reverberated throughout the space. Izuku's whole body shook and tensed from the impact.
"Shit," was all he could say as he stumbled through the warp gate and barely balanced on the other side to stay on his feet.
"Young Shigaraki, are you okay?"
"I got careless," Izuku hissed. "They shot me. Wait."
There was a quiet plop and a cling as the bullet joined a puddle of blood on the rooftop. Izuku could immediately breathe a little easier.
"Did you not intend to take a hostage to avoid violence?" Kurogiri asked.
"I did. He collapsed, from fear I think." Izuku drew a deep breath. "How about the other Nomus?"
"Seems two of the four have been restrained and I cannot safely transport them. Two others are fighting but damaged. There are some heroes down there. We should leave."
"No," Izuku cleaned and held open his hand. "Paper."
A warp gate opened and Kurogiri pulled a pile of hand paper from where-ever he had been keeping it. Izuku pressed the whole pile against his side to wipe and absorb what blood he had had time to bleed. He didn't want to leave any of it behind for the police to analyse. His black costume barely showed the taint around the little hole where the bullet had entered. Izuku kept talking as he did this.
"I said I don't want to leave any of them behind. Did you recognize any of the heroes?"
"Yes," Kurogiri said.
…
"Who?" Izuku asked worried what the answer was.
"Kamui Woods and Death Arms."
Izuku stared into the empty air for several seconds as the names sunk in. The video still stored in his phone rose into his mind from the dark corner it was held in his memories.
"Drop me and the Nomu behind Death Arms."
It was an order, more so than almost anything he had ever said to Kurogiri.
"Understood."
A warp gate opened under Izuku's feet much like at the USJ and he fell through. Right away his head passed that of Death Arms as he fell behind the man. Izuku's hand swung to touch the so-called hero's head before his feet even touched the ground. Even if the darkest corners of his mind would have disagreed, he didn't want to kill Death Arms, at least not there. He needed him alive. That didn't mean he was above risking injury to the failed hero.
For a fraction of a second, he unleashed the Vibration quirk controlling its power to the best of his ability. There was no sound as he nimbly landed on his feet followed by a loud crack when the Nomu landed next to him cracking some asphalt. Finally, there was an audible thump as Death Arms collapsed on the ground. At that point they had been seen. Kamui Woods spun around seemingly not bothered by the limited amount of Killing Intent Izuku let out. His wooden arm extended at high speed to grab either Izuku or Death Arms.
"Nomu."
The large Nomu grabbed the extending arm and swung it hard enough to throw the wooden hero away.
"Take him," Izuku said pointing at Death Arms. The Nomu grabbed the man from back of his neck and lifted him upright with one hand. Izuku turned to face the other hero and countless police officers, some still battling with the other Nomus.
"Nomus, stop! Come to me," Izuku commanded, and they did while he focused on the enemy and gestured towards the large Nomu.
"If you are here, you should know a bit about what this Nomu can do. It has been called the Anti Symbol of Peace for a reason. Also, Death Arms is still alive in case you are concerned, for now."
"You are pure evil," Kamui Woods declared. "What do you want?"
"Just my Nomus back, this time," Izuku wanted to say more but usually his big mouth just got him into more trouble. "One worthless hero for few Nomus seems like a fair trade, but don't think too long."
The Nomu lifted Death Arms a bit higher.
"Just let the ones you have restrained go, and we'll leave with no casualties. As heroes you should be prepared to sacrifice yourself, but how about all these police officers or the people inside the hospital who might get caught up in our battle."
It wasn't easy talking to Kamui so calmly but at least Izuku's anger fuelled his Killing Intent. Kamui's face was completely covered but tension in the faces of the police officers around him was obvious even in the limited light of the streetlights.
"You only want these creatures?" Kamui asked.
"Yes, I prefer not to leave allies behind if I can help it. I am also not going to play along if you plan to delay waiting for reinforcements. You have ten seconds."
Izuku waited, 3 seconds, 6 seconds, 8…
"Fine," Kamui said probably gritting his teeth. "Let the beasts go," he ordered. The police officers released the two Nomus from restrains. They moved with extreme caution, but as the Nomu's were released they simply ignored them and walked towards Izuku following his earlier command.
A warp gate opened next to Izuku. The low tier Nomus walked inside. Izuku stood straight trying to project confidence. Finally, he gestured the large Nomu to move back towards the warp gate while doing the same. This time they walked backwards. Getting shot from behind once was enough for one evening. On his signal the Nomu dropped Death Arms next to him as it entered the warp gate. Few rash police officers stepped forward but were stopped by Kamui Wood's extending branches, at least one of them was smart.
"Lets go…" Izuku started saying but froze mid-word.
"I"
No
"AM HERE!"
All Might landed between Izuku and Kamui cracking the asphalt even more than the Nomu had. Memory of his overwhelming power hit Izuku like his Killing Intent had been turned against him. He quickly crouched to touch Death Arms, but only met empty asphalt. The man was gone.
Before Izuku could move to escape he had already been hoisted up from one arm held in the near bone crushing grip of the number one hero. Even if Izuku could have maintained Killing Intent with the shock he experienced, in that position he wasn't presenting any credible threat to people around him let alone All Might.
"And who might you be villain?" All Might asked arrogance in his voice befitting of a man who didn't see his opponent as a threat.
Izuku didn't respond. He was too busy not hyperventilating at being at the mercy of the man he so hated. He wanted to kill the large man, but… All Might was too powerful. He couldn't win.
"Are you sure you aren't too young for this kind of stuff? You feel a bit young. Lets see."
His other hand reached for Izuku's helmet.
"NO!" Izuku shouted. His leg swung up faster than it had ever done meeting All Might's chin and stopped. He felt like he had kicked a concrete wall and only his reinforced boots stopped him from breaking his foot.
"Impressive, but not enough," All Might said.
"Let him go!" a new voice shouted as a large shadow rose over them. Kurogiri had abandoned any pretence of human form and was just a dark cloud that emerged from nothing.
"Kurogiri," Izuku shouted, "leave, get out of here."
"No."
No?
Izuku stopped shocked by the Nomu's response. He was brought back into his senses by a yank as All Might jumped to the side. There were multiple yelps around him. Several warp gates had appeared on the ground that multiple police and still unconscious Death Arms had fallen into, but not through. The gates had closed around them, holding them trapped like All Might at the USJ.
"Release him or they die," Kurogiri threatened now surrounded by Nomus, all of the ones Izuku had just gotten out and several more that seemed to be at least above low tier.
"You are a monster, I can't…" All Might was cut off by a scream as one of the warp gates closed into one of the police officers, literally. In few agonizing seconds the upper half of the officer stomach and up was left laying in an expanding red pool. If there was any life left in him, he couldn't scream anymore. A silence took over the street until a wet thud as the cut off lower body fell from high above.
"Even you cannot save all of them while fighting all of the Nomus. Release young Shigaraki."
Izuku was only now getting properly back into his senses with the help of the Calm Ming following All Might's arrival and Kurogiri's disobedience. His breath was calmer, and he moved with purpose as he turned in All Might's hold to face the man. He even considered his words before speaking.
"Isn't it nice to have good trustworthy help."
"He just murdered a man and is threatening to murder a dozen more," All Might responded. "You seem in charge of him. You must tell him to stop."
"I thought you might be getting old, but I didn't think your hearing had gotten so bad. I already told him to leave. He didn't."
As he spoke Izuku brought his second hand up to the one All Might was holding onto.
"You are lucky my brother isn't here."
"Brother, wait… that one called you Shigaraki…?"
He grabbed All Might's hand and hit it with the Vibration, as much vibration as he could. He wasn't sure if it caused any damage to the symbol of peace, but the shock travelled through his hand and into Izuku's wrist. The only thing preventing him from shouting in pain was his complete refusal to show any more weakness in front of All Might. All Might let go of his destroyed wrist and Izuku jumped back as soon as his feet touched the ground. His hand was hanging from his arm like there were no bones. Izuku held it up with hit other hand to help the regeneration as it restored the damage he had caused. All Might's eyes widened.
"You…?"
"Will be leaving now," Izuku interrupted, "unless you want more corpses here."
Several people yelped as Kurogiri briefly tightened the warp gates around them. All Might gritted his teeth, but didn't move as Kurogiri's mist encased Izuku and all of the Nomus.
"Don't worry All Might. We will meet again soon."
As the mist cleared Izuku let go the breath he hadn't realized he was holding and dropped on one knee. Kurogiri's mist hovered behind and around him almost covering the large Nomu next to them from Izuku's sight.
"Son," father said with concerned but stern voice, "what happened and why did all of my Nomus suddenly disappear?"
"It," Izuku started after a few seconds and lowered his head, "it didn't all go well. I got the Nomu out but… took too long to get the others out."
"I told you the one Nomu was worth losing those low ends."
"That doesn't mean I was going to just abandon them, and I got them out but… All Might was here." Izuku punched the floor hard enough to hurt. "I was too weak. I couldn't even follow his movements and didn't even realize before he was holding me up like a little kid."
"If you feel things should have been otherwise, you are expecting too much of yourself, at this point. He is considered the number one and the most powerful hero for a reason."
Izuku could only squeeze his fist not saying a word.
"So, you decided to summon all the Nomu's against All Might?"
"No, Kurogiri," Izuku paused and glanced up at the mist cloud still surrounding him. "I… asked him to get us out of there. I wasn't calm or in control, not ready to face him. Kurogiri must have used everything he had to… follow my order."
"I see. I believe we have talked about being considerate what you tell him. It is not important just because of your hesitation to command him."
"I know… I think all the Nomu's survived at least."
"They did and have been returned to their place," Kurogiri confirmed.
"That is not important," father declared but then his tone softened, and he kneeled next to Izuku, "both of you are more valuable to me than all of the Nomu I gave you. That is why I said they could be sacrificed if necessary."
"I didn't think it was necessary. You trusted me with them. I wanted to bring them back," Izuku said, "but then All Might arrived, and Kurogiri had to save me."
"I should reproach you for your carelessness, but I am impressed with your dedication again, so I don't need to change my plans."
Izuku blinked in his helmet.
"Despite your training there are still heroes who you aren't ready to face, especially All Might, not without help. Since you got my Nomu back you can keep it. I trust you use it wisely, also for training."
Izuku looked up at his father, then at the large Nomu.
"Huh?"
"Unlike Tomura you didn't leave important assets behind, and if you are going to take risks for that you should at least have reliable backup. It may have failed at killing All Might but should suffice for most foes you cannot defeat alone. You hear that Nomu. Serve and protect my son."
The Nomu let a short screech. Father stood back up.
"But do try not to steal the rest of my Nomus without asking, that goes for the both of you."
"Yes master," Kurogiri said obedient as always… usually. He shrank back to human form despite still appearing only as mist that his clothes emerged from.
"Yes dad."
Father put a hand on Izuku's shoulder.
"Get up son. Even if you couldn't win you can't let facing All Might shake you this much every time. That is the first thing you have to work on if you want to stand against him."
"I know," Izuku said as he stood up, "but every time I even see him I…"
"I understand, no training today. I must rest and prepare before Hisashi Midoriya can make his appearance for the cameras. Clean up and take some time to reflect on your actions today and what you could have done better. Come to get me when you are ready."
"Okay." Izuku glanced down where the bullet had entered his side. Father said nothing, not about that exactly.
"I hope you didn't leave behind anything that could be tracked back to you."
Izuku realized what he meant but too late.
"It is all taken care of," Kurogiri said.
"Good," father said and turned away. Izuku didn't even move a finger until he had left the room. Then he finally took off his helmet to face Kurogiri. The Nomu stood still and silent.
"Back there," Izuku started, "I told you to leave."
"Yes."
"You didn't. You told me no."
"Yes."
"I'm not complaining… but I thought you aren't supposed to be able to do that."
"Yes, my mission is to protect and serve you."
"But you didn't… Can you repeat that?"
"My mission is to protect and serve you."
"In that order?" Izuku asked.
…
"Yes."
It might not have been what father had intended with the Nomus, but Izuku didn't care. He took a step forward and embraced Kurogiri with a hug.
"That is fine for me," he said barely audibly before letting go of the Nomu. "Sorry, I'll go change my clothes."
"I will clean the evidence for you young Shigaraki."
Izuku thought about asking about that, but decided it was unnecessary. If Kurogiri said he could make sure there was no issue, Izuku was going to believe it. Still, as he walked towards the dressing room he glanced back and saw Kurogiri pouring some chemical from a large plastic container into a small warp gate. Izuku thought it better not to ask.