BEN 10 DOES NOT BELONG TO ME. MY HERO ACADEMIA DOES NOT BELONG TO ME. I FINALLY SUCCEEDED IN GIVING MY DOG HUMAN LEVELS OF INTELLECT, BUT NOW ALL HE DOES IS USE TWITTER.
So, all that happened last chapter. Let's calm down a little.
My Alien Academia
Chapter 41
Fix One, Break Another
"All right, I'm back, peons!" Bakugo growled as he stormed into the dorms. When no one immediately reacted, even to groan, he narrowed his eyes. "Hey! Anyone here?"
"Dude, shut up!" Kaminari shouted. "If you wanna watch the news with us, get over here, but keep your mouth shut!"
Bakugo raised an eyebrow; Kaminari wasn't one to defy him like that, so whatever was on TV had to be good.
"What, did that All For One guy break out of prison or something?" he demanded as he entered the common room. There, he saw the half of the class that didn't have work-studies crowded around the television.
Silence greeted him, and he almost spoke again, but then he saw what was on the screen.
"We're coming to you live from what we have been informed is a major Yakuza base of operations," a reporter said. "According to our sources, over seventy Heroes and over one hundred police officers raided this compound, and may also be involved in the rescue of a—"
A sudden crash made the reporter whirl; the students watched as Chisaki stormed out, followed by a familiar green light.
"Oh, crap, that's Midoriya!" Jiro's jacks twisted nervously. "He's fighting that thing?"
Despite the danger, the reporter and her cameraman remained where they were, giving everyone watching a good view of Deku stopping Chisaki in his tracks, and then utterly crushing him.
Aside from the USJ incident, Bakugo had never seen Midoriya truly fight before. He'd seen him spar—and had sparred against him—more than a few times, but Midoriya had always held back, for fear of hurting someone. Now, he was watching the boy he'd once tormented fight with almost no restrictions, and it was sobering. There was a savage edge to the way Midoriya fought, but sharpened by training and a mind for tactics; it made Bakugo realize that, if Midoriya really wanted to, he could absolutely destroy almost anyone, including him.
Would you have treated him like shit if you'd known how strong he could be? A small part of him asked. You know you wouldn't have. You would have seen him as a rival, yes, but also an equal. You might have even still had him as a friend. But that's over now. He's got friends, and from now on, he's going to look down on you, just like you looked down on him.
Bakugo scowled, and shoved those thoughts away. "Bastard."
…
With Uraraka and Sky Dancer's help, the team of students floated out of the wreckage of the Eight Precepts base. As soon as their feet touched the ground, they were swarmed by paramedics and Heroes with medical training. The worst injuries among them belonged to Sero, Yaoyorozu, and Ashido; the former two had bad gashes and broken bones, and all three had concussions of varying severity. Everyone else either needed some rest, or weren't injured at all; fortunately, one of the paramedics who had worked with Recovery Girl before assured them that none of their injuries were beyond her ability to heal.
Knowing that, and knowing that the fight was truly over, the Rising Stars began to laugh and joke around.
"Hey, Shoto?" Ashido called out woozily. "How come you're spinning?"
Todoroki glanced over at her; she was laying on a cot in an ambulance, and was about to be taken to the hospital.
"I'm not, that's the concussion talking."
Ashido blinked owlishly. "Concussions make you spin? Weeeeird."
Todoroki sighed and turned to the paramedic that was finishing a splint on his broken wrist. "I honestly can't tell if she's messing with me or not."
"Bye, Shoto!" Ashido waved as the ambulance doors were closed. "See you at the hospital!"
"Shoto." Todoroki tensed; he had been focused on Ashido, and hadn't noticed Endeavor walking up to him. "I want to speak to you." The paramedic made to protest, but Endeavor silenced her with a glare. "This will not take long, and his injuries are not critical."
"I have a broken wrist, and I'm right-handed," Todoroki muttered.
"You fought well," Endeavor said, ignoring his son's complaints. "You need more training, obviously, but you've proven to me that you truly earned that Provisional License."
Right, because your opinion is more valid than the people whose job it is to test me, Todoroki thought sourly.
"Regardless, I am proud of you," Endeavor continued. "You fought against experienced killers, and prevailed with only a few injuries."
Todoroki gave his father a piercing glare. "It wasn't just me. My friends fought just as hard."
To his credit, Endeavor nodded. "You're right, Shoto; your classmates performed excellently as well. Should they ever desire an internship with my Agency, inform them that they have a standing invitation to prove themselves to me."
Todoroki blinked; that was the closest Endeavor came to wholesale praise, made all the rarer because it wasn't directed at him. "I'll… pass it on. Thanks."
Endeavor nodded, and turned to leave, but paused. "You should hurry on to the hospital. It would not do to keep your girlfriend waiting."
Todoroki visibly twitched, and rubbed his head. Mina was the one with the concussion, not me, right?
…
"All right, ladies, you can go on your way," the paramedic said kindly. "All I need to do is clean up these bandages; there's nothing worse than riding in an ambulance that's full of rags soaked in your own blood."
"Thanks, ribbit," Asui said, answering for all the girls still waiting to be taken to the hospital. Yaoyorozu and Hado were unconscious, and Uraraka was only still awake because she wanted to see Eri. Asui ached all over, but at least she hadn't lost blood or broken any bones.
"Of course, sweetie." The paramedic patted her head. "It's my job, after all."
The four girls were quickly loaded up into more ambulances and driven off. The paramedic walked off with four bags of bloodstained bandages; with practiced ease, she used a marker to write the name of each girl on the bag that held their respective blood. Once she was out of sight of the Heroes and the police, she took out a phone and dialed a number.
"Hey, Tomura," Toga said gleefully, as her Quirk wore off. "Can I get a portal back to base? I got some of that Yaoyorozu girl's blood, and a few extras."
"Good work," Shigaraki praised. "We've already got Slice back, but we just ran out of room for the next phase."
"Darn, I wanted to see how you'd handle it," Toga pouted. "Can you at least record it for me?"
"I've got a Twice clone holding a camera right now."
"Oh, goody!"
…
Midoriya shuffled anxiously in place. He was the only student who hadn't been whisked away to the hospital, even though he was beyond exhausted, but Nighteye had insisted that he remain behind.
"We still have to figure out what to do with Chisaki," Nighteye said. "Not to mention his subordinates that he… assimilated. I'm not even sure if they're still alive. Regardless, unless we have a way to separate them, I believe that you will be necessary in escorting Chisaki to prison."
Midoriya blinked stupidly, as his brain tried to comprehend his mentor's words, as well as figure out the idea that was slowly forming in his mind.
"Actually, I think I have an idea," he said wearily. "Can I try something?"
Nighteye hesitated, then nodded; Midoriya barely managed to walk over to Chisaki, still in his monstrous form. With some effort, he dredged up enough energy to turn into Ghostfreak, and then flew into Chisaki's body. A moment later, with Heroes and police watching tensely, Chisaki stirred, and opened his eyes.
"Oh, that doesn't feel good," 'Chisaki' grumbled. "I can feel all his pain. This really hurts."
"Midoriya?" Endeavor had a ball of fire in one hand, but he didn't look like he was about to attack. "That is you, yes?"
"Yes, sir." 'Chisaki' brought one hand to his chest, and the entire monster-body exploded; when it reformed, Katsukame, Kurono, Rappa and Nemoto were back to normal, albeit unconscious. 'Chisaki' then held out his hands. "Can someone put some cuffs on him before I leave?"
A police officer quickly put a pair of Quirk-suppressing handcuffs around Chisaki's wrists. Oddly, that actually forced Ghostfreak out of the man; apparently, the Quirk-suppressing technology could affect him, even while possessing someone else.
Midoriya turned back to normal, and immediately sank to his knees. Chisaki, still unconscious, also collapsed, but the same officer grabbed him before his head hit the ground.
"Thank you, Midoriya," Nighteye said, awkwardly patting the student on the shoulder. "That makes things much easier. I'll have you brought to the hospital now; you might not be injured, but after a major operation like this, it is wise to allow a doctor to look at you."
"Yes, Sir Nighteye." Midoriya fought to keep his eyes open. "Eri was okay, right?"
Nighteye almost smiled. "Lemillion has been keeping me apprised of her condition; likely, he wants me to tell you. She is badly shaken, obviously, but she is unharmed. I have no doubt that she will feel better after seeing you all, and knowing that Chisaki is defeated."
Midoriya nodded; he also came close to smiling, but Chisaki was still in his line of sight. "I know I feel better."
"Good." Nighteye gently pushed him in the direction of an ambulance. "Go celebrate with your friends. You have earned it. We can deal with the aftermath once you have all recovered."
Mere moments after Midoriya was gone, Nighteye spotted Fat Gum exiting the ruins of the compound, with something buried in the folds of his body.
"Where have you been?" Sky Dancer demanded. "The fight's been over for a while now!"
Fat Gum didn't look the least bit sorry. "Hey, I was busy keeping these two safe while half the building collapsed."
Nighteye watched with some bemusement as two children poked their heads out of Fat Gum's body to breathe in fresh air. He wasn't the only one to be a little confused; even Endeavor did a double-take.
Sky Dancer put it best. "What the heck?"
…
Uraraka had never been so glad to see Recovery Girl; true, she lectured them all on not getting hurt, and she waved her cane dangerously close to their faces, but only after healing them with her Quirk. It left them even more exhausted than before, but at least they didn't need stitches or casts.
"I am never complaining about Aizawa-sensei always being sleepy ever again," Sero mumbled, half-asleep. "Not if he deals with this sort of crap when he's not teaching us."
"I'm reasonably sure he also has insomnia," Yaoyorozu said as she absently ran her fingers through her hair. "But, yes, this is the kind of day we may have to face again as Heroes."
"With broken bones?" Ashido groaned; a quick check from Recovery Girl had revealed that her skull had been fractured, and she still had a headache. "Can we have less of those, please?"
Iida, one of the only members of the team who hadn't suffered any injuries, tried not to wallow in misplaced guilt. "I do not think we will often face Villains who can literally become an entire room and attack us while we are fighting other Villains."
Kirishima laughed. "Yeah, I think today would have been hard for some Pros, so don't beat yourself up."
Ashido grinned, but a spike of pain turned it into a grimace. "I think the Villains beat me up enough, thanks."
"Can we just try to have fewer one-on-one fights?" Todoroki asked, and handed his girlfriend a chunk of ice. "It's easier if we all attack the bad guys together."
"He's got a point, ribbit," Asui said. "We can't all be Izuku."
Uraraka frowned. "Speaking of which, where is he? I don't think he was hurt, but it's not like him to leave us alone."
Ashido held the ice to her head and laughed. "Maybe he stopped to get you flowers? That'd be romantic."
"Is that a hint towards me?" Todoroki asked.
"Nah, we both got hurt, so you're off the hook." Ashido shifted to face him and fluttered her eyelashes. "Plus, you went Plus Ultra to beat the guy who knocked me out. That's way sexier than flowers."
Maybe it was the fatigue getting to him, but Todoroki was so flustered that a bit of fire shot from his left cheek, right above a bright blush.
Thankfully, the universe decided to save him further embarrassment, because Midoriya took that moment to enter their room. "Guys! Are you all okay?"
Uraraka smiled brightly. "Deku-kun!"
Midoriya was nearly tackled off his feet by his girlfriend; she hadn't run into him very hard, but he was exhausted. She kissed him then, maybe a little fiercer than she normally would have in front of others, but today had been an emotionally-charged day. Midoriya blushed, both from the kiss, and because he realized that his girlfriend was only wearing a hospital gown.
Sero grinned. "I'd say get a room, but I don't think there are any empty ones here. You'll have to hold it in until you get back to UA."
Uraraka had her eyes closed as she leaned into Midoriya's chest, but she managed to aim a rude gesture right at Sero's face. That was particularly impressive, since Sero was behind her.
"Ochako!" Yaoyorozu exclaimed, but everyone else just laughed.
"Hey, Izuku," Asui said, once everyone had calmed down, and Midoriya sat next to his girlfriend on her hospital bed, "what took you so long, ribbit?"
Midoriya grimaced. "I was helping secure Chisaki. I possessed him as Ghostfreak, and used his Quirk to undo what he'd become. Then I held him still until the police could cuff him; he was unconscious, but I was being careful."
Iida scowled with uncharacteristic bitterness. "It might be unbecoming to say so, but I was hoping that he would remain like that. His looks finally matched his soul."
"Amen, brother," Kirishima called out.
"The most important thing is that Chisaki has been defeated," Yaoyorozu reminded them, "and that we are all okay."
"Tell that to my headache," Ashido complained.
Midoriya was about to add his two yen, but then his phone buzzed, and he looked at a text. "Speaking of being okay, Nezu-sensei just got here; he's talking to the doctors about getting Eri moved here. He thinks it will calm her down."
"She is all right, right?" Uraraka asked, immediately more tense; she had been only partially successful at hiding her anxiety over the little girl, and wouldn't be happy until Eri was safe with her—as far as the Rising Stars were concerned—family.
"She doesn't have a scratch on her," Midoriya promised, and his friends collectively sighed in relief.
"I am going to buy Mirio every birthday present he has ever wanted," Yaoyorozu sighed.
"Let me know when you wrap those presents, so I can add my name to them," Ashido said.
Sero raised his hand. "Same!"
Yaoyorozu arched an eyebrow. "Will you help pay for them?"
Ashido and Sero just grinned unrepentantly.
Everyone else laughed, a combination of relief that the battle was over and genuine humor, and almost missed the door opening. Midoriya immediately realized that it wasn't a doctor that opened the door, but a familiar mouse-bear-dog, and a little girl.
"Izu! Chako!" Eri darted past Nezu and sprinted towards them.
"Eri!" Midoriya and Uraraka were already moving to intercept her; the rest of their friends almost followed, but they knew that this first moment was for those three alone.
"Oh, Eri-chan!" Uraraka took the girl in her arms and hugged her for all her worth. "I'm so glad you're okay!"
Midoriya would have agreed, but he was too busy crying to actually say anything, so he settled for hugging them both.
"Are y-you hurt?" Eri asked, once the sobs had faded.
Uraraka wiped her own eyes, then glanced back at her friends; some were in hospital gowns, like her, and they all could use a shower, but they were all smiles and happy tears.
"No, Eri-chan," she said. "We're all going to be fine."
"Th-then you kept your promise." Eri hugged Uraraka and Midoriya again. "Thank you."
No one immediately reacted, because they were too busy staring at Eri. For the first time since meeting her, the little girl had a smile on her face—it was small, but it was genuine, like the kind a child has when their parents reassure them after a nightmare.
And that was exactly what it was. Eri's nightmare was over.
Midoriya gently picked her up. "Let's give everyone a little time to get cleaned up, and then, we can go home."
…
Shigaraki's smile was so wide that it almost hurt. Today had been a great day for the League; their rival had just been crushed, and more and more pieces were coming together for the project he and the Doctor were working on. In fact, just before the final part of the day's operation was set to begin, the Doctor had called Shigaraki to tell him that the bullet he'd been analyzing had provided an unexpected windfall in that department. It had also opened up a new opportunity to accelerate the process, but he wanted Shigaraki to provide him with another blood sample; when Shigaraki was told who to get the blood from, he'd been happy to oblige.
"Warp gate coming up in sixty seconds," Spinner called out. "Get ready to move. Kurogiri said we might arrive a little close to the targets."
"That's fine by me," Shigaraki said. "That way, we can't miss. Everyone, remember the plan—Twice, your job is to keep the cops busy, but don't cause such a big scene that they lock down the city. Chimera, Dabi, you take down any Heroes that get in the way. Compress, stop the convoy; Slice and I will go after the targets."
His teammates for this mission nodded eagerly, especially Slice; she had been disappointed that a clone had been sent to infiltrate the Eight Precepts, not the real her, and had been looking forward to getting revenge. Shigaraki was the last person to deny someone on his side revenge, as long as it was convenient for him.
"Five seconds!" Spinner shouted. "Entering warp gate… now!"
The light inside the van they'd stolen briefly darkened, and then they were on a completely different freeway. Chimera kicked the rear doors off the van, and Shigaraki grinned again when he saw the police convoy. Considering the people they were hauling away to prison, Shigaraki wasn't surprised by the sight of over fifty police cars, though that didn't deter him in the slightest.
"Compress, now!"
Mr. Compress leaned out and tossed a handful of marbles. "And now, the opening act!"
As soon as the marbles reached the lead police cruisers, they expanded into the boulders Compress had hidden away. Two cars were lifted clear into the air, and crashed back down to earth; several others crumpled into twisted wreckage when they collided with the rocks. The rest of the convoy skidded to a halt, unable to go forward with a barricade of stone in the way.
Shigaraki laughed at the destruction wreaked in his name.
With the police escort stalled, Twice took his cue; he quickly created a small flood of clones that poured out of the van. They nearly tripped over themselves as they jumped onto other police cars, jumping and hollering and generally creating a nuisance. His small army could have easily killed the surprised police officers, but Twice wasn't in the habit of killing people just because they were in his way; he only killed if he was genuinely angry. That didn't change when the startled officers drew their guns and started firing; besides, every clone destroyed was replaced by two more.
"Halt, Villains!"
Two costumed Heroes got out of a police car, then punched a hole in the living wall of Twices and charged at Shigaraki. The one who had shouted was a muscular blonde man with a sleeveless combat vest; the other was a thin man in an all-black outfit, save for his stylized skull-shaped mask.
"Only two Heroes?" Shigaraki sneered. "I expected more. Chimera, Dabi, deal with them; Slice, let's go."
The muscular Hero jumped in front of him; Shigaraki raised an eyebrow when the man's arms turned into sand.
"You think you can just ignore me, Shigaraki Tomura? You won't escape me, nor will you escape your sins!"
"Snatch, stop preaching and start fighting," the other Hero said, and then abruptly vanished.
Shigaraki spotted movement out of the corner of his eye, and realized that the other Hero had just jumped out of his shadow to attack him. He was too close for Shigaraki to bring his hands to bear, but Slice's reflexes were as sharp as her Quirk; her hair lashed out from four different directions. She would have impaled the Hero, but he disappeared again.
"Shade Dart, focus on Slice!" Snatch shouted. "I'll handle Shigaraki."
That wasn't a bad idea, Shigaraki mused as a tendril of sand wrapped around his hand. He couldn't use Decay on the individual grains, and Shade Dart was keeping Slice occupied by going in and out of every shadow in the area.
There were just two problems with their strategy. First, it was almost noon, and the shadows weren't as large as they could have been, so Shade Dart had limited options to spring from. Second, their plan didn't account for Shigaraki having backup.
When Shade Dart jumped out of Slice's shadow to punch her, he was caught in the jaw by Chimera. He flew a good twenty feet back, bounced across the freeway once, and then rolled to his feet; half his mask was shattered, and blood flowed freely from his mouth. Now free of distractions, Slice cut the tendril of sand connecting Shigaraki to Snatch; once the sand was severed from his body, it was as harmless as a walk on the beach.
Fortunately for Snatch, he didn't seem to be able to run out of sand, and his arm quickly reformed. However, he had to create a shield to prevent Dabi from incinerating him; the sand held, but the outer edge of the shield was starting to glow from the heat.
"You're not so tough," Dabi taunted. "All you do is make sand, big deal."
Snatch glowered. "You…"
Dabi raised an eyebrow. "Do I know you?"
"No, but I know you. Your victims are all over Japan; burning to death is a horrible way to die, and you have caused much suffering."
"Well, would you look at that, I think I have a fan."
"You are the worst kind of criminal," Snatch went on as he created an enormous lion out of sand. "You kill and maim and torture, with no thought for how the families of your victims continue to suffer!"
Dabi scoffed. "Everyone suffers, that's life. It's not like I had anything against those guys I killed, they were just in my way. Kinda like you, actually. No hard feelings."
Before Snatch could speak again, his entire upper half vanished into a marble, while the rest of him abruptly flopped over and spurted blood.
"Snatch!" Shade Dart tried to vanish into a shadow, but the blow to his head had robbed him of his focus. Rather than disappear, he slowly morphed into a black line and headed for a police car's shadow; before he reached safety, Chimera grabbed the line and hauled him back.
"I wonder what'll happen if I attack you like this?" Chimera wondered out loud; he grabbed both ends of the wriggling line, took a deep breath, and breathed a beam of heat right onto the center. There was a scream of agony, and then Shade Dart reverted to his human form, burned from the inside-out.
Dabi whistled appreciatively. "Damn, that was brutal. Never had a chance to burn someone from the inside before."
Chimera grunted and dusted off his hands. "Looks like anything that hits him in his shadow-form hurt his veins first. Felt like grabbing blood." He glanced over at what was left of Snatch. "Compress got him?"
"Just his top half; looks like he could only make that part of himself into sand, so he's dead." Dabi shrugged, then looked over at Slice. "How's it going? We've only got a few minutes before more Heroes show up."
Sliced waved some of her hair in his direction. "The first two transports just had Chisaki's expendable muscle. We're opening up the third now."
Chimera put a cigar in his mouth, then lit it with a tiny application of his Quirk. "Hey, Twice, any problems with the cops?"
"No way, man!" a clone shouted. "We can keep these guys busy all day!"
"Yeah," another clone jeered, "they're gonna run out of bullets before we run out of us!"
"Remind me to ask him for some clones later," Dabi commented. "I could use some target practice."
"I heard that!" the real Twice yelled from inside the League's van; they knew he was the original because he was the only Twice holding a phone to record the mayhem. "And I don't like the idea of watching you kill me over and over!"
"I'm not killing you, just a bunch of copies," Dabi retorted, then looked back when he heard a triumphant shout. "I think they found Chisaki. You should go see what they do to him so you can show Toga."
"Right, on it!" Twice ran past the crowd of clones. "Keep up the good work, Twices!"
Shigaraki was on the verge of laughing as he destroyed the transport holding Chisaki. Behind him, Slice was already extracting blood from Kurono, and just for good measure, cut off his hair with her own—along with a good portion of his scalp. Shigaraki couldn't help but nod in approval at her when Kurono started to scream.
"Hello, Chisaki," Shigaraki said as he dragged his would-be rival out of the police van. The Yakuza boss was strapped to a gurney by a dozen thick belts, and his hands were bound with Quirk-suppressing cuffs. "That Midoriya really did a number on you, didn't he? I think this might be the first time I'm thankful that a Hero did his job; I get my revenge, and I barely had to do any work."
Chisaki glared up at him as Shigaraki unceremoniously dumped him on the ground. "Are you planning to kill me?"
"I thought about it," Shigaraki admitted. "But then I had an idea. See, killing you, even doing it slowly, is so… final. Instead, I thought I'd make sure you live, knowing that I'm going to take everything you worked for, and do it better than you."
"What are you talking about?"
Shigaraki leaned in close. "See, I have a very smart friend, and he's already figured out how to make those bullets of yours permanent, without needing to torture a little girl. Heck, we don't even need her at all; just that one bullet you left behind."
All of that was a lie, of course; even if the Doctor figured out how to replicate the Quirk-destroying bullets, neither he nor Shigaraki wanted that kind of weapon in play. The Doctor didn't want it because he was dedicated to the understanding and evolution of Quirks, not their destruction, and Shigaraki didn't want to risk his enemies getting their hands on something like that.
It did, however, give Shigaraki immense satisfaction as Chisaki bought his lie hook, line and sinker.
"Oh, there's more," he went on. "I get that you hate Quirks, but you're also really proud of yours. I wonder what would happen if I took away your ability to use it?"
Shigaraki placed his hand on Chisaki's elbow; instantly, it began to decay, and the destruction began to spread beyond the point of contact.
"Oops, can't have it go too far; we don't want you dying before you watch me win. Slice?"
Slice grinned as she brought down her hair; she severed the decaying arm at the bicep, then hacked off his other arm at the elbow. Chisaki screamed not just in pain, but also denial; without his hands, his Quirk may as well not exist.
"I think I'll take this," Shigaraki said, taking the hand that wasn't already crumbling to dust. "Hands are kind of my thing, right?"
Again, a lie; Shigaraki was going to deliver the hand to the Doctor. He had only been asked for a blood sample, but since Chisaki's Quirk relied on his hands, Shigaraki figured that giving the whole thing would be safer. Regardless, it filled Chisaki with despair and impotent fury.
"Don't worry too much, Chisaki," Shigaraki taunted. "You might as well be a Quirkless nobody now, but I'll make sure some part of your dream comes true. By the time I'm done, the Heroes will be nothing but a memory. You can hear all about it from whatever hole they dump you in."
Twice gave his boss a thumbs-up from behind his camera, while Slice smiled cruelly at Chisaki. Now that their revenge was complete, Dabi and Chimera just walked on, ignoring Chisaki like trash on the sidewalk. Only Mr. Compress gave the former Overhaul any sort of respect, sweeping off his hat and giving a theatrical bow, mocking though it was.
"Spinner, tell Kurogiri to get us out of here," Shigaraki called out, and got a thumb's-up from the lizard-man. "Twice, we're leaving your clones to cover our escape."
"You got it, boss!" Twice raised his voice to be heard over the sound of fighting. "Okay, mes, hold the line! Don't make any more, we need to keep things quiet for now!"
"We read you loud and clear!" a clone shouted, then turned to spread the word to the others.
Chimera elbowed Twice with gruff fondness. "I can't wait for the day when you don't have to hold back."
Slice winked at Twice, who immediately blushed so hard that it could be seen through his mask. "That'll be a show I won't want to miss."
Shigaraki rolled his eyes, but wasn't annoyed; despite everything, even knowing that he would willingly sacrifice any or all of the League if it meant his victory, he'd become a little fond of them.
"Come on, everyone," he said, "let's go home. This has been a good day."
…
Nezu stared into his tea, which had long since cooled. Today had been a wild ride for everyone involved, but it had been tragically cut short for some. Eri might have been rescued, but twenty-eight police officers had been injured by the League, some critically, and two Heroes had been killed. The loss of Shade Dart had been a personal blow for Nezu; the man had been a UA student ten years ago, and he'd done his alma mater proud.
It wasn't all tragedy, though; the two children Fat Gum had rescued had been identified as Detective Ishigami's grandchildren. They had been kidnapped several weeks earlier, and used as leverage to force Ishigami to give Eri to the Eight Precepts. Upon learning of his grandchildren's safety, Ishigami had burst into tears in the interrogation room, and bowed as low as he could, babbling apologies and begging for forgiveness.
Regardless of why, he would still lose his job, and likely spend some time in prison, but he would get a lighter sentence because of the circumstances. Still, relations between Heroes and the police were frayed, and would be for some time.
"Quite a day, huh?" All Might said as he entered Nezu's office.
The principal sighed. "This is the second time that our security was compromised, Toshinori. I don't like it."
"Unfortunately, we're going to have to leave that particular weakness alone," All Might said. "Unless you want to insist that every visitor wear Quirk-suppressors, which will never fly."
"You're right, of course. We must give some people the benefit of the doubt; without trust, the entire system will collapse." Nezu glanced up. "Speaking of collapsing, are you sure you should be up and about? This was the first time you've transformed since Kamino."
All Might smiled. "Don't worry, I can manage my muscle form for about an hour a day now. Heck, not transforming or doing any Hero work since Kamino gave me time to heal, so I might have extended how much longer I can use my powers at all."
"I suppose that's something." Nezu looked at another report on his desk. "The students who were part of the raid will be returning to UA tonight. None of them were seriously hurt, and Recovery Girl gave them a clean bill of health."
"That's a relief to hear." All Might took out his phone and looked at it. "Have you seen any of the articles about young Midoriya? People are astounded by what he did to Chisaki. Some of them are already calling him one of the greatest Heroes of his generation." He chuckled. "I didn't even get that kind of reputation until I came back from America."
"That reminds me." Nezu slid a plastic card across his desk to the other man. It was completely transparent, save for a tiny golden strip on one edge. "Once the rankings come out, are you going to tell Endeavor?"
All Might picked up the card and stared at it for a moment. "No, the rankings are a formality, and we all know it. Call the meeting for tomorrow, and I'll bring Endeavor in after he's done with his reports." He sighed. "You know, I considered bringing young Mirio into the circle as well, but I don't know how he would take it. Secrets tend to shake him."
"Maybe you should let Midoriya-san in," Nezu suggested. "I believe he could keep that kind of secret."
Especially since Midoriya knew truths that made All Might's secret club look inconsequential, though Nezu kept that to himself.
All Might winced. "I considered it, but…"
Nezu's eyes narrowed slightly. "You still don't trust him."
"It's not that I want to distrust him," All Might protested. "He's a good kid, and I'm sure he'll be an amazing Hero. The fault is entirely mine; I can't help but associate someone with that many powers with All For One."
Nezu just shook his head. This had been going on since the Entrance Exam, and All Might had confessed his reservations to him several times. Nezu wasn't concerned that All Might would confront Midoriya over his issues, but he didn't like how Japan's former Symbol of Peace could be so distrusting of someone who just wanted to help people.
"When you get over yourself, I expect you to apologize to him," he said curtly.
"I promise."
"Good." Nezu shuffled some papers on his desk. "Now, since you're here, you can help me with this paperwork."
All Might coughed exaggeratedly and got to his feet. "Oh, gee, I don't feel good, sir. Maybe I pushed myself too hard this morning. I should go lie down."
"Sit down, Toshinori."
All Might sat down. "Yes, sir."
…
"Welcome back!"
Midoriya flinched when half his class shouted their greetings when he opened the door. Behind him, Kirishima's arms Hardened, and a small burst of flame shot out from Todoroki's face.
"Th-thanks, everyone," Midoriya stammered, "but could you please keep it down? We have Eri with us, and she's still…"
Kaminari nodded in understanding; they had learned from the news that Eri had been kidnapped, and they all knew how skittish the girl could be before that.
"You got it, dude. Still, we have some leftover dinner, if you guys want any."
"That sounds great!" Kirishima said as they walked inside. "That hospital food they gave us sucked."
"Are you sure you're all okay, Yaomomo?" Jiro asked when she noticed that Yaoyorozu was walking a little gingerly.
"I'll be all right, Jiro-chan," Yaoyorozu promised. "Recovery Girl said that I just need to rest for a few days. All of us do, actually."
"Speaking of the next few days," Iida said, loudly enough that the whole class could hear. "Eri has asked to spend some time in our dorm, instead of her usual room. Please be on your best behavior, and keep the volume down."
Some of the students glanced over at Uraraka, who had Eri propped up in one arm; the little girl had buried her face into the crook of Uraraka's neck when the class had shouted, and refused to look at anyone.
"I'll take her to my room," Uraraka said quietly, then addressed Eri. "Do you want me to bring you anything?"
Eri shook her head. "Not hungry," she mumbled.
"Okay, but I'll come back as soon as I'm done." Uraraka smiled apologetically at Midoriya. "Sorry, Deku-kun."
Midoriya took his girlfriend's free hand and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek—in full view of his classmates, who let out soft coos or wolf-whistles.
"It's fine," he said, smiling kindly through his burning blush. "Eri needs this."
Once Eri was put to bed, the half of the class that didn't have work-studies was quick to bombard the half that did with questions about the raid. Now that it was over, the Rising Stars—and Kirishima—were happy to talk about anything that hadn't been deemed top secret.
Mostly, that was about what Eri had been put through, and the Quirk-destroying bullets.
"I still can't believe those monsters would kidnap a sweet little angel like Eri," Hagakure said with uncharacteristic venom. "I don't care why, that's just unforgiveable."
Kaminari was quick to agree. "Yeah, it almost makes me glad that the League of Villains attacked them."
Yaoyorozu frowned. "As much as we hate the Eight Precepts, we are all planning to become Heroes. That means that we must follow the law, and not take it into our own hands. While I cannot say that I am not happy the Yakuza were… punished, the League still killed several people, and hurt more. Please remember that, Kaminari."
"R-right, sorry."
Midoriya nodded absently; he was conflicted about the attack on the police convoy. In his mind, the only good thing was that, without his hands, there was now no way that Chisaki could ever be a threat to Eri again. Still, guilt gnawed at him.
If I had just killed Chisaki, there wouldn't have been a convoy for the League to attack, and those police and Heroes would still be alive.
He knew it was irrational—and Sir Nighteye had told him as much after they had heard the news—but that was still how he felt. Nighteye had said that the guilt would fade after a few days, but had promised to talk to him if it got worse. Midoriya appreciated that, and reminded himself to get the man a present as thanks.
Maybe a book of jokes. It couldn't hurt.
Later that night, Midoriya was in his room, trying to get to sleep. He was exhausted, but he kept thinking about the raid, and how things could have gone very differently either way. He tossed and turned as he thought, and nearly threw his blankets into the air when someone knocked on his door.
"H-hello?" he called out softly.
"Deku-kun?" The sound of Uraraka's nervous voice had him tense, and also confused. "Can we come in?"
By 'we', Uraraka meant her and Eri. The little girl was in a set of green pajamas, while Uraraka wore shorts and a t-shirt. Midoriya, also in shorts and a t-shirt, let them in.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
Uraraka smiled. "Nothing's wrong, it's just that Eri was a bit torn. She wants to spend the night with both of us, so I was wondering if… um…" Her face practically glowed red. "Canwespendthenightwithyou?"
Midoriya blinked. "Oh. Oh. Um… yes?"
Eri shuffled over and hugged his leg. "Thank you, Izu!"
Midoriya felt his heart melt when he saw Eri's tiny smile again. He picked her up and carried her to the bed; Eri crawled into his side and sighed happily, then held her hands out to Uraraka.
"Izu is really warm," she said innocently.
Still red-faced, Uraraka tentatively joined them under the covers. Eri was between them, but this was still way beyond what the couple was prepared for. Finally, after what felt like hours of awkward silence, Uraraka snuggled closer, so that Eri was tucked between them. Midoriya slowly reached out, then paused, silently asking Uraraka for permission to go further; she nodded, and he brushed her hair behind her ear and gently stroked her cheek.
He kissed the top of Eri's head. "Goodnight, Eri-chan." He then leaned forward and kissed Uraraka on the lips. "Goodnight, Ochako-chan."
Uraraka glanced down at Eri, now fast asleep and smiling contentedly. "Goodnight, Deku-kun."
After a little more time spent holding each other and their little girl, they fell asleep, all three finally at peace.
Happy New Year, everyone! This chapter was, for the most part, exactly what was needed for everyone. The Rising Stars are recovering, Eri is doing better with her parents-in-all-but-name, and the League of Villains got their revenge.
I guess the only ones not happy are the Eight Precepts. Because they're going to prison. And Chisaki got his hands cut off.
And I've got a new subplot developing with All Might and Nezu! All Might wants to trust Midoriya, he really does, but the guy spent most of his life dealing with the trauma of his nemesis killing his beloved master, and now he has to help teach a kid with just as many powers as All For One. Trauma can make people think that others are guilty just by being a little similar.
Oh, and I made up Shade Dart. I just thought that the convoy needed more than one Hero guarding it, and the League is a great deal stronger now than it was in canon at this point. He's dead now, so it doesn't matter.
As always, please consider buying my book, Alpha Sanction, by Josh Gottlieb. You can find it on my website (link in my profile), or on Amazon as an eBook or physical copy. I'm trying really hard to get the next book finished, but I've now got three jobs, and barely have any time to myself.
If you want to support me in other ways, my P-atreon (link in my profile) is the place to be! Donations at the higher tiers get you chapters early, and even a PDF of my book! Every little bit helps!
I'd like to thank the following patrons for their unwavering awesomeness:
Serious Muffins: Nimrod009, Anders Lyngbye, Matthias Matanovic, John Collins, Red Bard, Aaron Meek, killroy225, Lokthar
Incredible Muffins: RaptorusMaximus, michaelb958, Crazyman844, Ben Stueckle
Ultra Muffins: RangersRoll, Adam Costello
Next Chapter: Work-studies end, school life resumes, and All Might reveals a secret to Endeavor…
Plus Muffin!
