All Might sat waiting in the conference room, the other teachers, sans Aizawa and Thirteen, awaiting the final member of the faculty.
"Let's make this quick! I don't want to leave my patients unattended for very long." Recovery Girl exclaimed, hurrying through the door as she took her seat at the table, Principal Nezu nodding silently as he gestured to her.
"How are the students doing? How badly were they injured?" He whispered, but Recovery Girl still heard him, sighing as she rubbed at the bridge of her nose.
"Both Hitoshi Shinso and Koji Koda had sore throats, as well as several bruises, scrapes, and minor cuts. Same as Hanta Sero, Yuga Aoyama, and Mashirao Ojiro with the addition of textbook exhaustion and Ojiro suffered some electrical burns to his tail. Both Mezo Shoji and Rikido Sato had to be taken to a local hospital due to severe blood loss and multiple deep stab wounds and cuts, as well as the standard bruises." She started, already the teachers felt their hearts dropping, a deep sense of anger and shame mixing.
"Honestly, as much as I hate to bring it up, those boys would've been in serious danger if their wounds hadn't been treated at the scene." Recovery Girl added ominously, the mood falling further.
"Then they owe their lives to whoever helped them, as terrifying as the thought is." Present Mic stated before Midnight elbowed him in the side. "What?"
"It was one of the villains who treated them. That fits with all the evidence we have so far. Apparently before the attack began, their leader gave strict orders to avoid killing the students." Detective Tsukauchi said, glancing at his notepad as Mic's face turned the color of toothpaste.
"Is that really true, I hate to think how bad this could've been if they were trying to kill everyone?" Snipe considered as Nezu shook his head, mirrored by All Might.
"I can confidently say that most of the villains had no such limitations, taking full opportunity to attack and most likely kill our students. If so many of his followers abandoned their plan, then I suspect it will begin to cause fractures amongst the group. All this shows is which are truly loyal to him, followers rather than sycophants." Nezu stated unequivocally.
"Yes, Fumikage Tokoyami suffered a concussion during the attack, but both Tsuyu Asui and Shoto Todoroki protected him from further injury. Asui had heavy bruising around her abdomen and several microfractures. I also treated her for heatstroke, no doubt a side effect of her Quirk. Eijiro Kirishima suffered a deep laceration covering from his left shoulder to his right hip. I stitched him up best I could, but he was far too exhausted to use my Quirk on. I'm keeping him overnight so I can monitor his condition, and make sure he doesn't have an adverse reaction to the antivenom I was forced to administer." She began reading out, only for Nezu hand/ paw to stop her.
"That's okay Recovery Girl, just let us know about the injuries for now, I'll read the full report later." He assured her as she nodded, resuming her debriefing.
"Tenya Iida had some cramping in his legs from overusing his Quirk, and Denki Kaminari exhibited severe mental degradation at the scene, but soon recovered. Mina Ashido, Momo Yaoyorozu, and Kyoka Jiro all had some minor bruises, but were mostly okay after a simple use of my Quirk. Tooru Hagakure had severe exhaustion, as well as shortness of breath and elevated blood pressure, she's resting now."
"Katsuki Bakugo suffered a shattered right arm, as well as a broken left. He had multiple bruises, abrasions, and a dislocated jaw, as well as a tooth being knocked out. Shoto Todoroki had a clean break of his right arm, as well as multiple bruises, abrasions, a black eye, and concentrated bruising around his neck. He was also exhibiting the early signs of frostbite as a side effect of overusing his Quirk. Finally, we have Izuku Midoriya who had three broken toes, as well as completely breaking both of his arms." Recovery Girl finished as Midnight looked confused.
"What about Ochako Uraraka?" She asked.
"Yeah, and what about Thirteen and Shota?" Mic yelled, careful to not use his Quirk.
Recovery Girl took another deep breath, "Ochako Uraraka suffered no injuries of any kind except some very minor abrasions."
"No injuries, isn't that weird?" Ectoplasm inquired as Tsukauchi spoke up in reply.
"From our eyewitness statements, the moment the Warp Villain defeated Thirteen, he stopped attacking, instead taunting the students and offering to let them leave." The detective read off his notepad as All Might nodded.
"That consistent with my experience with them, if I were to hazard a guess, their leader, Tomura, was willing to let either Young Uraraka or Midoriya leave, or possibly both because in doing so they would've made a choice to not only abandon their classmates to fight the villains but left a heavy wounded Thirteen behind with the villain to more than likely kill. It would've wreaked havoc of them psychologically." All Might added.
"Concerning Thirteen and Eraserhead: Thirteen suffered multiple deep lacerations to the back, and Eraserhead... he had part of his hip disintegrated, exposing muscle, as well as a small chunk of his right calf muscle. He also suffered a large head wound most likely resulting in a concussion, but all of that is minor compared to the facial wound he suffered." Recovery paused, making sure everyone was ready for the heavy news. "He had the right side of his face, starting from the cheekbone and ending just at the nose destroyed, removing skin, tissue, and parts of the bone, as well as his eyelids and most of his right eye. I was forced to remove the remnants." There was silence in the room, or at least there would've been if Present Mic hadn't shot to his feet, eyes wide and teeth clenched tightly.
"Those bastards! Why are we just sitting here doing nothing? We should be hunting them down and making them pay for this!" He yelled, only for a soft hand to stop him as he looked at Midnight next to him, covering his hand with her own.
"Sit down Mic, and you know he'd tell you to stop yelling." The exuberant blonde obeyed quietly, but everyone could see he wasn't happy with the result.
"Trust me when I say that no one wants to be out there finding the monsters who've done this to my fellow teachers and our precious students, but that's why we're having this meeting... to discuss what we do and don't know, and to plan our next steps carefully." All Might stated, and despite his quiet voice, everyone could feel the weight behind the words, even Mic felt his anger lessen at the words spoken by his fellow blonde.
"Perhaps I should bring some good news then," Recovery Girl said, flipping to the last page of her notes. "Eraserhead's Quirk Factor remains undamaged in his left eye, and there are hopes that with the right application, doctors may be able to regrow his right eye with his Quirk intact... however, that is years away, and until then, we'll have to see how much of his Quirk has been lost, but the important thing is he shouldn't have to retire... and be stuck in a room teaching children every day." Recovery Girl tried to inject some levity into the situation.
"That's excellent news Recovery Girl." Nezu said as Present Mic laid his head in his hands.
"Excuse me, I'm going to Aizawa's room if anyone needs me..." The normally loud blonde whispered, something most had never seen as he rose from the table, exiting the room.
"Mic, you can't just-" Cementoss' cry was cut short by Nezu raised paw.
"No, let him go, he can't add anything to this meeting distracted as he is right now. Midnight, would you mind making sure he doesn't do anything rash. I fear Recovery Girl may put him in an adjacent bed if he disturbs her patients." The Principal softly asked as the Art teacher nodded affirmatively, chasing after her friend.
"If you don't mind, I'll join them. My purpose in this meeting is over, and I can be more useful attending to my patients." Recovery Girl stated, rising from her own chair, sliding a small slip of paper to the Principal as she passed him, exiting the room after the other two Pro Heroes. "I'll send the in-depth file to your office, sir."
"Thank you, please keep us appraised of any developments." The small animal asked, turning back to the meeting as he gestured towards Detective Tsukauchi.
"I guess it's my turn. We managed to apprehend 67 villains following the attack on the USJ. Most of those were common criminals not ranked on the scale, but a small handful did have low rankings in the E's and D's. This League of Villains seems to be led by three individuals," Tsukauchi said, putting three sketches on the projector. "The first is the main leader, named Tomura among the group. He seems to possess a Disintegration Quirk, not filed with the Quirk Registration Agency." Tsukauchi informed the group.
"That's a dangerous Quirk for anyone, especially a villain, to possess." Ectoplasm commented, several of the other teachers nodding in agreement.
"Unfortunately, he's proven t be far more dangerous than just his Quirk, managing to command so many criminals and most likely forming the plan to attack the USJ, as well as psychologically attacking both the students as well as All Might suggests he possesses a keen tactical mind." The detective added, sighing as he turned the page, bringing up the second picture.
"According to many of the criminals' interrogation records, Tomura's second-in-command is this woman, codenamed Z, whether that is a nickname, or a codename is unknown at this time, but all of the villains we captured agree she's his general. Armed with a Quirk that seemingly allows he to both consume and shape metals, as well as breath fire, she also demonstrated skill with a range of weapons from spears to short swords, katanas, bows, hammers, staffs, and more than likely many more weapons. She possesses a high combat ability, but it's unknown how proficient she is in commanding the other villains, seemingly deferring to Tomura's orders on the battlefield." Tsukauchi informed them as Nezu pondered something.
"Her Quirk reminds of that Pro Hero that was forced into retirement several years ago, didn't she go missing, presumed dead after a lot of her blood was found at the scene?" Snipe considered aloud as Nezu nodded.
"Do you think this girl could be a relative, looking for revenge after her aunt or mother was forced out of the job?" Ectoplasm considered as Toshinori got a sick feeling in the pt of his stomach, glancing at Nezu who met his look, covertly shaking his head.
"It bears investigation in the future, but the last of the trio is this 'man'." Tsukauchi exclaimed, turning to the last page, and showing a picture of a wispy black shadow. "Referred to as Kurogiri, he seems to possess a Teleportation Quirk, able to form warp gates from the material of his body, capable of spanning great distances, although he stated to both Izuku Midoriya and Ochako Uraraka that he struggles without precise coordinates. Multiple sources stated that he is rarely seen away from Tomura, and only speaks to the higher-ups. He possesses a keen battlefield awareness and presicion, turning multiple attacks against their users, resulting in the defeat of both Thirteen as well as Katsuki Bakugo." Tsukauchi finished, shuffling some more papers around on the table as he prepared the next part of his debriefing.
"Hmm, warp-type Quirks are rare, if he managed to evade being placed on the Registry then it's doubtful he just became a villain, he likely has been evading police and heroes alike for who knows how long and would've never been suspected." Cementoss stated, rubbing his chin as Nezu frowned, about to say something only for All Might to interrupt.
"I can say he most likely was involved in the Bank of Japan Heist five, no nearly six years ago now. Security at the scene said they spotted a shadowy figure appearing from nowhere and vanished just as quickly. It was written off at the time as just nerves, but I remember showing up to the scene, and finding an inordinate amount of dust, and several melted gold bars. All of that fits with this team, which means they've had years to bankroll their operation." All Might recited as Tsukauchi paused, glancing tensely at his longtime friend.
"Not to sound uninformed, but what exactly was the Bank of Japan Heist?" Cementoss asked warily as most of the Pro Heroes were silent, but both All Might and Tsukauchi glanced at each other, as if telling the other to take the floor. In the end, it was neither who spoke, but the Principal, steepling his paws on the table.
"The Bank of Japan Heist is considered to be one of the greatest thefts in Japan's history, although not much is actually known about it, until now at least. The only thing the police knew was that a literal metric ton of Japan's gold was stolen straight out of one of the vaults, and that's it. There have been plenty of rumors about who did it and how, but nothing concrete. If this group truly committed it, then that doesn't bode well for any places security." Principal Nezu stated.
"But isn't that section of Tokyo covered in 'Anti-Warp' stone? Wouldn't that deter this Warp villain?" Vlad King asked, sitting silently until now with his arms crossed.
"That's exactly the problem..." Tsukauchi mumbled before shaking his head, tapping the stack of papers on the table to straighten them, "But that's a discussion for another day, for now let's focus on the USJ attack." He reigned in the talks.
"In each section of the USJ, Tomura delegated a 'Commander' of the smaller criminals, considered the strongest of each grouping, each one matched up perfectly to counter the students or take advantage of the Zone, almost like a video game Miniboss." Tsukauchi said, placing the first sheet on the projector.
"Villain name: Echo, real name: Sora Amari. He seems to possess a Quirk that allows him to copy voice or sound-based Quirks." Tsukauchi started, only for the small Principal to interject.
"Voice-based Quirks." He corrected, gesturing towards the villain on screen. "He was placed in opposition to both Koda and Shinso, both of whom have voice-based Quirks." He explained.
"Assuming that's true, then him getting a hold of Mic's Quirk could be a trap we fell into." Ectoplasm added.
"Yes, however, he didn't seem to have the level of power or control to Mic had, only time will tell if he'll gain some mastery over it, God forbid." All Might argued hopefully.
"Regardless, the criminals placed under him revealed he never confronted either of the hero students, hiding and letting them use their Quirks, most likely so he could acquire them, although it could be he doesn't have much combat potential on his own." Tsukauchi supplied, switching to the next photo of a young girl, while also having a large ? next to her face.
"Himiko Toga, no villain name given, has a Quirk allowing her to shapeshift, changing her appearance at will. She's also the one who treated Shoji and Sato wounds after defeating them, suggesting she's a loyalist, as well as a trained medic. This leads us to believe her Quirk may be tied to an understanding of her target's body, and several of the villains captured reportedly gave her both blood and hair samples, suggesting a DNA link for her Quirk to function." Tsukauchi started, but All Might began to tune him out, lost in his own thoughts.
'Changing her appearance, could this be the mole Tomura spoke of? Her Quirk would allow her to bypass her normal security measures, not to mention... could this be how Tomura knew the secrets he did?! It's not as if Young Midoriya has been careful with his injuries, he's lost plenty of blood already, is it possible that she impersonated Young Midoriya, and I let my guard drop?' All Might's mind raced, trying and failing to think of when the secret might have gotten out before a horrifying thought occurred to him. "If that's true, then... OH God, that morning of the exams, I gave Young Midoriya a hair to pass on One-for-All, if she had been him that morning, then...' He didn't dare finish the thought, it hadn't happened, it was just his mind creating nightmare scenarios, but he felt his heart pounding in his chest, and a sense of overwhelming nausea overcome him.
"All Might, you okay?" Tsukauchi's voice cut through the worry, only now did the #1 hero notice everyone looking at him, no doubt noticing the cold sweat pouring down his face.
"Sorry, just my stomach acting up." He lied, giving a small grin as he focused on the debriefing, trying to push the dark thoughts from his mind.
"Where was I? Oh yes, villain name: Shimmer, real name: Kei Hino. I think you all know this one." He stated, several of the teachers nodding.
"I definitely remember her in the news, but I didn't know that was her name. But ain't Kei a boy's name, don't tell me she's really a guy dressed like that, you can't even tell!" Snipe commented, eliciting a smile from All Might.
"She's decidedly a female, and one of the few with a B-ranking on the board. 17 counts of attempted murder, 11 counts of murder, 9 counts of theft, 4 counts of grand larceny, and two counts of jaywalking. If Tomura's managing to bring in heavy hitters like this, then that doesn't bode well for the future." Tsukauchi stated, ignoring the raised eyebrows at Shimmer's rap sheet.
"Can we pause for a second and address how she has two counts of jaywalking, is that still a crime?" Vlad King inquired as the detective sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"Technically, only a cop who is really trying to make a charge stick would charge jaywalking, but due to a loophole in the law, you can't charge someone with street racing unless they're in a vehicle. She's been spotted multiple times engaging in races in the middle of the day, disturbing the flow of traffic and nearly killing several innocent bystanders in the process. Her Quirk allows her to convert heat into speed, which she uses liberally by running barefoot on the asphalt. Regardless, according to reports by both Asui and Todoroki state that Todoroki was forced to kill her, although no body was found at the scene so for the time being, we'll still consider her at large." The detective explained as silence covered the room.
Death was a rare, but necessary part of the job. No hero liked to think about it, but there would come a time when lives were on the line, and the hero would be forced to resort to lethal force. Of course, those cases weren't at all common, and the taking of a life shouldn't be waved away, usually following such a circumstance, the hero would have censured, placed under intense scrutiny by both the police and the Hero Commission before having their license renewed, and allowed to resume active duty. For a child to be forced into such a situation, it was a horrifying thought.
"Yes, Recovery Girl mentioned that in her note before she left." Nezu said solemnly, unfolding the piece of paper. "I'll make the arrangements with Mr. Todoroki should he wish to keep this in-house with Hound Dog... in fact it would probably be a good idea for all of Class 1-A to undergo at least one session with Hound Dog following the attack." He continued solemnly, writing something on a piece of paper. "You may continue, detective."
"Thank you, Principal Nezu sir. In the Shipwreck Zone, we had a bit of an anomaly. The villains stationed there were unable to tell us which of two separate villains were the commander of their forces." Tsukauchi said, placing two pictures on the projector screen.
"The female is Perry, whether that's her real name or villain name, she wouldn't tell us. We couldn't find any files on her, so for now all we have is what we've been able to figure out so far. Her Quirk is aptly named Platypus, a standard heteromorphic type that gives her the traits of a platypus including a small bioelectric field, long tow spurs, and a powerful tail for swimming. She also seems to produce a painful toxin from her toe spurs." Tsukauchi started, switching to the other picture.
"The other is this man, Hanzo Suiden, no villain name given. His Quirk allows him to manipulate water, a powerful tool in his designated zone. He's only an E-ranked villain but was expected to rise through the ranks before he vanished three months ago. We now know he joined up with this league of villains, more than likely taking a role as one of the six commanders under their leadership." Tsukauchi finished, closing the manilla folder on the table as the assembled heroes considered the information.
"Finally, we have this boy, Mineta Minoru, going by the name Pokeberry. The description we have of him fits a vigilante that started appearing around the start of the year, he was first spotted with Karma. We assume he was associated with her prior to that point, but witness reports state he lacked much combat ability, suggesting a dependency on his Quirk, which allows him to tear off parts of his hair. They are extremely adhesive, able to hold an exponential amount of weight, so much so that when tested, the two objects being held together broke apart before they showed any sign of tearing." Tsukauchi said, placing the final piece of paper on the table.
"Wait, you said he was with Karma... as in Karma the Man-eater, the vigilante turned villain. The one who fought Best Jeanist to a draw long enough to defeat the five heroes with him?" Snipe asked shocked by the revelation.
"He's the #4 hero, how strong was she to push him that far?" Cementoss wondered aloud as Nezu tapped his paws on the table.
"From the police reports, she had a high-level of skill with her Quirk, which allowed her to control her hair. She had such fine control, her clothes were made by interweaving the individual strands, preventing Jeanist from binding her easily, she also could use them like wires to bind her opponent, or sever limbs." Tsukauchi gave a short report on the captured villainess.
"What about the villain that was with Tomura's group, the one with its brain exposed and the bird beak?" Ectoplasm asked, the detective shaking his head in the negative.
"No information we could find. None of the villains were willing to talk, and the one's that did say they didn't know anything, that they'd never seen it before today. Our only sources of information on it are that Tomura, 'Z', and Himiko Toga all referred to it by either Nomu or Dummy." The detective said dejectedly.
"It was powerful." All Might said, all eyes on him as the one who'd fought all the villains and been front-and-center to Tomura's speech. "I could feel the power behind its attacks, and it pushed me back several times. It also had Shock Absorption, able to shrug off some of my hits like... like a training dummy." He trailed off as Snipe snorted.
"Guess we know why the boy called it Dummy." The sniper commented, leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed.
"It also seemed to have some kind of regeneration, I beat it into the ground, and it got up and started fighting again in seconds like I hadn't even touched it. I even saw some of the broken bones twist themselves back into place after the fact. I think we can safely say that Nomu or Dummy was their backup weapon if all else failed. I'm not sure if I could've beaten it going full power, not and protected the children. And if its Quirk really was Shock Absorption, and not some kind of super dense muscles, then its strength was all-natural, so Eraserhead's Quirk wouldn't have done much to stop it if it went on a rampage." All Might theorized as Tsukauchi flipped through his notes.
"I know there was something in my notes that a couple of the children said... ah here it is. Nomu seemed incapable of independent thought, it watched as both Kurogiri and Tomura were captured without reacting. It was only after it was told to attack that it got involved, so maybe its Quirk taxes its mind beyond its limit, putting it into some sort of fugue state like a drug addict or sleepwalker?" The detective added.
"Hmm, similar to our Sato's own Quirk, or a massive overdose of Trigger perhaps." Nezu also added.
"Great, and just when I thought we had gotten all of that poison under control!" Snipe griped, rubbing his eyes.
"What else can you tell us All Might, from your first-hand experience with Tomura?" Nezu asked as it was silent once more, staring at All Might as he took a deep breath before recounting everything he could remember about the leader of the group behind the attack.
"My God, it all sounds like the ravings of a madman." Cementoss stated nervously.
"Or a man who believes himself to be above the law, ushering in a new era." Ectoplasm argued.
"Hmm, I thought so too at first." All Might exclaimed, reclaiming his seat as Nezu looked at him curiously.
"At first? Then do you no longer believe that?" The Principal inquired, a curious smile on his face.
"No, after hearing everything from the police's reports, I struggle to believe the same boy who meticulously planned that attack made that speech. At least, not so boldly, I should say." He corrected as Vlad look at his senior with a raised eyebrow.
"Surely you don't think he's right All Might, it's crazy!"
"I think that's what he wants us to think." The blonde hero stated, interlocking his fingers seriously. "I think he wants us to disregard everything he said as insanity, the so-called ravings of a deranged killer. It felt more like when a child begins to realize their own identity, and rather than throw a tantrum and be called childish, attempts to make up some reason to explain their feelings that only makes sense to them." All Might further explained.
"That could well be, some of the things he said do have merit, such as the possible future of Quirkless people. Quirkism has been a problem for a while, and its only gotten worse as the Quirkless population shrinks with each generation. I have no doubt that there are people with the viewpoint he spoke of, that view Quirkless people as lesser, but everything passed that would be multiple generations away from us, and that's only in a perfect storm situation. Like the parable of 'for the want of a nail, the kingdom was lost'." Nezu explained.
"Kind of like a hero recognizing that a piece of gear doesn't work, but struggles to explain how to fix it, so they just blame the inventor?" Powerloader tried to interpret.
"Possibly, but who's to say if that's really what he meant." All Might replied, "The other parts were a little easier to understand, like how he holds me to blame for people suffering. He resents the peace that normal people have that he likely had taken from him when a hero never showed up to save him, turning all his hopes into bitter anger. It's far from uncommon among villains to have an excuse for why they turn to crime, but rarely does it excuse their actions, and in such cases, the courts are much more lenient. The case with Tadashi and Endevour for instance... I looked into it, and it's unlikely Endevour ever even met the man beyond capturing him. Hero agencies face hundreds, and sometimes thousands of claims that a hero is liable for damages, but that's all-basic stuff covered in Hero Informatics for the Second and Third Years. The point is, the cases Tomura was talking about are very rare, but he's escalating isolated incidents to pretend they're a systemic problem with hero society." All Might lectured, hiding his eyes behind his hands.
If he noticed how some of the other teachers were sharing confused looks, he pretended he didn't.
"Yes, exactly, and as for the third part... he's totally correct." Nezu said without pause.
"Principal Nezu?" Both Ectoplasm and Snipe were surprised by the admission of guilt.
"Don't get confused, as both All Might and Detective Tsukauchi can agree, the law is ever changing. That's a simple fact, and one cannot protect one's reputation after they are gone, that's the entire point of our legacy. But while the future that Tomura spoke of is entirely possible, we have no way of predicting that, and just as easily, there are plenty of laws that are immutable like murder, theft, or taxes." The tiny Principal gave a small laugh at his own joke, bringing up the mood in the room.
"He's gambling that he'll be remembered as a hero by the people he helps, same as us, no different than any other leader. That is the simple rule of history: it is written by the victors. Worrying about the future is a fool's errand, we can only live our lives for today!" The little mouse stated cheerfully.
All Might mentally pictured a certain former sidekick of his who continually worried about the future.
"Hmm, if that's all, we'll let you go Detective. Please keep us apprised of anything you find out, and we'll do the same." Principal Nezu said, sliding from the chair at the center of the table to shake Tsukauchi's hand.
"Actually, sir, could I speak Detective Tsukauchi for a moment? Young Midoriya came to me with some more information about the attack, he says he was told about it ahead of time." All Might asked, jogging over to meet them on the other side of the table as the other few teachers exited the room, heading back to their duties.
"Ahead of time, do you think one of the villains contacted him with information, or do you think it could be the mole Tomura taunted you about?" Tsukauchi asked, pulling out his notebook, the small Principal listening in.
"I still don't want to talk about the possibility of a mole. Not that I don't think it's a serious concern, but I'm not sure yet that Tomura wasn't using another psychological trick to get under our skin. The things he knew about, no normal mole could've told him, I can name on one hand the people that knew about... that. That includes you two, and I trust you with my life... but after the information on Himiko Toga, I can't help but wonder if it isn't connected to this." All Might stated, shaking his head worriedly.
"All the same, maybe I should come along. If Midoriya has information that he took directly to you, then it may be important." Nezu exclaimed, leading the trio as they exited the conference room.
Hitoshi Shinso stood silently next to Mr. Aizawa's bed, looking down on the near comatose hero. Only the rhythmic beep of a machine next to the bed was heard in the still, quiet room. Every few seconds, the lavender-haired boy saw his teacher's chest rise and fall.
"'Why? Why did Shigaraki-sensei do this? It just doesn't make any sense, he never mentioned anything about hating heroes or being a villain! I mean, I guess he wouldn't just admit that, but it seems strange to encourage someone to become a hero when my Quirk was already villainous?' Shinso thought, brushing the forming tears from his eyes as he felt drowning in confusion.
The door sliding open behind him startled him as he found himself staring at both Present Mic and Ms. Midnight.
'Should I tell them about Shigaraki-sensei? No, they wouldn't understand, I can still feel them, the glares of people about my Quirk being villainous, about me being a villain pretending to be a hero! They'd just think I was that mole Midoriya was talking about, and then I'd probably get thrown out.' Shinso thought as Mic sent him an annoyed look.
"Hey, what are you doing in here? Go on home kid." The blonde announcer ordered, pushing passed him as he took a seat next to the bed, tightly holding Mr. Aizawa's hand.
Shinso shook off the depressive funk surrounding him, leaving the room.
"Wait, hey you're Shinso right?" Midnight stopped him, the young boy looking at the ground to hide the shame on his face. "Shota... er, Aizawa mentioned he was training one of his students... you must have a lot of potential if he's offering extra one-on-one training for you, that or he sees a bit of himself in you maybe." She said kindly, letting him go, thankfully ignoring the dripping tears from his face.
"I'm... I'm sorry! I'm really sorry!" He cried, rushing away as his footsteps echoed down the empty hallways.
"You didn't have to be so rude you know?" Midnight pointed out, taking her place beside Mic, softly rubbing Aizawa's hand as well.
"I know, normally he'd be the one being short with the students; I just... I can't lose him... not another one, not like this." Present Mic whispered loudly, placing his head on the side of the bed, hot tears dripping on the sheets.
"Hmm, I know... I know." Midnight said softly, comforting her one friend over the near death of another of their friends.
Sniff. Snuffle. "Do you think we should tell Ms. Joke?" Midnight asked quietly, suppressing a giggle as Mic's head shot up, a wild look in his eyes.
"Shota would kill us... and that's assuming he didn't die of shock first!" Mic was careful not to lose control of his Quirk inside the room before a chuckle broke through his mood. "Maybe we should just focus on feeding his cats first. I've got a spare key to his apartment; do you remember which one prefers the wet food?" Mic asked, consoling himself by focusing on helping his best friend.
"I think it's All Might. Gang Orca likes tuna, and Fat Gum started stealing the others food, and put on too much weight, so he's on a diet of strictly dry with some medicine mixed in." Midnight answered, walking out of the room.
"Do you think we should mention how all his cats are named after Pro Heroes?" Mic asked quietly, looking around to make sure no one was eavesdropping.
"Do you want to explain how he picked the names? Namely, how All Might gets upset if you don't pay him a bunch of attention and give him lots of pets and scritches behind the ear and under the chin." Midnight giggled at their friend's opinion of All Might's limelight persona.
"I don't know, I mean I didn't get that mad when I had to pet sit Mic that one time and he never... shut... up!" Mic said, stifling his own laugh at the memory.
"Or the time I had to watch Eraserhead, which was fine because he slept all day." Midnight smiled as they looked at each other.
"And how he kept having to adopt more and more because Midnight flirted with all the strays!" They said together, the previous darkness lingering over them gone, although they both still felt it at the back of their mind.
"I'll take first watch, if you want to get some rest and come back around midnight... no pun intended." Mic said as the R-rated Hero nodded in agreement, separating to their respective goals.
Tooru Hagakure slumped against a wall, eyes burning with tears as she saw people pass by occasionally.
Her parents had come by earlier, but after being assured by both Recovery Girl and Hagakure herself that she was fine, just tired and in need of some water, they had left their daughter alone.
'No, that sounds very cruel and neglectful... it's more like I asked to have some time to rest and think, and once they knew I was okay, they didn't want to smother me.' Tooru thought, wiping her eyes again.
She knew she was one of the weaker members of the class, if not the weakest overall. The Quirk Apprehension Test had shown that, the invisible girl not having one standout score in anything. The only reason she had scored higher than Shinso was due to her being more flexible than him, and her discounted score in the Endurance test, a fact that had been shoved into her face today.
'If I had just been a little faster, or able to run a little longer... maybe I could've gotten help sooner, maybe it would've made a difference... maybe Baka-go, Todoroki, Midoriya, Sato, Shoji, all my friends wouldn't have gotten hurt so badly. Maybe Mr. Aizawa would be okay... right?' Unfortunately, no answer came to the invisible girls' internal conflict as a new wave of tears washed over her.
'Please give me another chance... I promise I won't slack off training ever again! I'll get stronger, faster, I don't want to ever feel that helpless again... no, not helpless... useless... never again!'
By the time All Might returned to his office, Tsukauchi and Nezu in tow, it had started to darken outside. He hadn't realized the meeting had gone on so long; he felt remorseful for leaving Young Midoriya just waiting all this time with no explanation.
Opening the door, he announced his presence with a hearty "I am here!" only for no Midoriya to pop up with his childlike smile. "Hmm, I hope I didn't leave him waiting too long?" All Might considered aloud as the two men with him entered the office.
"I think you might've done that, All Might." Tsukauchi said, pointing at All Might's couch as the emaciated blonde came around the corner, only now noticing the fourth occupant of the room, Young Midoriya, passed out on the couch, gently breathing.
"Maybe we should plan this another time?" Nezu offered as Toshinori shook his head with a soft smile.
"No, as much as I would like to let Young Midoriya sleep after everything today, he was most distressed with his news. I imagine he'd be more upset were he to learn we missed the chance because he fell asleep. Hopefully, it will help get some weight off his chest so he can sleep soundly tonight." The #1 hero said, gently shaking his protege awake.
"Wake up Young Midoriya." He whispered, careful not to jar the young boy awake to harshly.
"No All Might... I don't want to eat your hair." Midoriya lamented as he swatted at the hand shaking him awake. Toshinori had no doubt that both Tsukauchi and Nezu were going to tease him about this later.
Shaking the boy a bit more forcefully, the verdant hero-in-training opened his eyes, blinking sleepily for a few seconds before shooting straight up, wide-eyed in shock.
"I'm so sorry All Might, I was waiting for you, but I must have fallen asleep. I can't believe I did this, and in front of the principal and the police too, I promise I don't normally fall asleep during school, sir, I pay attention in class and-" Izuku's speech was cut short as All Might covered his mouth with a finger.
"It's fine, Young Midoriya... really it's my fault for taking so long." Toshinori explained sheepishly.
"No no, you were helping everyone, and talking to the police and the other teachers, I didn't mean to keep you from that All Might." Midoriya countered, swiftly bowing.
"As entertaining as it would be to watch you too apologize in circles all night, All Might mentioned you had some information, Mr. Midoriya?" Nezu said, cutting in the middle of the two.
"Yes, can I ask who told you about the attack today?" The detective pulled his notepad out, ready to take notes for later investigation.
"Oh... um... no one told me about the attack. I just knew it was going to happen..." Izuku trailed off, not wanting to meet any of the adults' eyes.
"No one told you about it? What do you mean you knew it was going to happen, did you see a warning online or overhear someone talking on the train perhaps?" Tsukauchi inquired further as Izuku blushed.
"No, nothing like that... I've just... I've been having these weird dreams lately." He revealed, the three men looking at each other as if to ask if they knew about it. When none of them answered the silent question, they turned back to Midoriya, who'd began twiddling his thumbs together.
"Dreams, you saw the attack happen in a dream?" Nezu asked tentatively.
"Yeah, it's why I wanted to talk to All Might this morning, but it was too late." Izuku said, staring at his lap.
"Wait, you mean you knew about the attack before today?" Detective Tsukauchi asked, Izuku nervously nodding his head.
"Maybe you should start at the beginning, Mr. Midoriya." Nezu helpfully offered as Izuku looked between them before quietly nodding.
"Uhmm, it... they started around the Entrance exam, right after I got... it. That's why I wanted to talk to All Might, I thought maybe it was part of it, you know... but at first, I didn't really think anything about it. The first night, I dreamed about getting my Exam results, and All Might showing how despite getting no villain points, I got 60 rescue points and passed the exam. I thought it was just a normal dream... until the results came. But then I thought my brain must have worked it out, I mean it made sense, heroes don't just fight villains, they have to help people too, otherwise someone like Recovery Girl would've never been able to pass." Izuku started, All Might retrieving a bottle of water from a nearby minifridge as the hero hopeful continued.
"Then I started getting more dreams, like the Quirk Apprehension Mr. Aizawa put us through, and the battle Trial, but they weren't the same so I kind of just put it out of my mind." Midoriya said dejectedly.
"So, these dreams weren't always accurate?" Tsukauchi noted, scribbling something on his notepad.
"Well, I mean they mostly were, it was just small things, but sometimes it would be completely different, but the main focus was still the same. I saw most of my classmates, which should've been my first clue, I just assumed I'd spotted them during the day of the Entrance Exams, but I couldn't have possibly guessed all their Quirks that accurately, and Yaoyorozu and Todoroki got in through recommendations, so I never even met them!" Izuku said harshly, only to stop as All Might placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Anyways, one of the differences between my dreams and reality was two of the students... or to be more correct, a different student. Shinso wasn't in the class in my dream, but another boy was: Mineta Minoru. He had some kind of Quirk that let him pull off parts of his hair and stick them to things, it was really useful for capturing villains, and he said he bounced off them. I assumed it must have been a close call between the two of them with their points." Izuku continued, only to pause at the looks between the adults.
"I can assure you, Mr. Midoriya that no one named Mineta Minoru applied to UA, nor did anyone fitting his description apply under a pseudonym either. One of the villains who attacked the UA today, however, was named that and fit the description." Nezu stated calmly, despite his concerned expression.
"One of the villains, but... where was he? Did he hurt anyone?" Izuku asked worriedly about his classmates.
"No worries, Young Midoriya, Young Yaoyorozu, Jiro, and Ashido were able to defeat him and cause him to flee." All Might comforted his protege as the boy frowned.
"What happened next, Mr. Midoriya?" Tsukauchi prompted as Izuku resumed his recounting of his dreams.
"After that would've been... the Battle Trial. None of it went like it did in my dream. In my dream, Uraraka and me were on a team, and we fought Kacchan... umm Bakugo and Iida. We won, but I got too hurt using my Quirk that I had to go to Recovery Girl's office to rest and missed the rest of the matches, but afterward I was told that all the hero teams won. The during the election for Class Rep. I won, with Yaoyorozu as Vice Rep. I saw the press break into the school, and afterwards, I told everyone that Iida should be the Class Rep because how he got everyone to calm done during the evacuation. I don't know what happened really though because I was looking for Shigaraki. I remembered from my dreams that he bragged about stealing a copy of the class schedule from the Teacher's Lounge during the evacuation. I thought if I could catch him, then I'd know if my dreams were real or just dreams, but I never saw him." Izuku said, tensing up as Al might's hand tensed on his shoulder.
"You mean to tell us that prompted by your possibly prophetic dreams, you went by yourself to confront a villain fully aware of how dangerous both he and his Quirk were?" All might's voice was tense as Midoriya hung his head shamefully.
"I must agree with All might, that was a foolish thing to do, Mr. Midoriya. You could've been killed!" Nezu's voice was worse than All Might's disapproval, the full weight of his authority felt by the young student.
"I just thought if I could catch him then... the USJ... I'm sorry" Midoriya cried, tears leaking from his eyes as he heard All Might's deep sigh beside him before a large hand ruffled his hair.
"Think of how you would've made others feel, Young Midoriya. Your mother would've been distraught, and I would've been devastated by your loss. We are both the heroes and your teachers, it is our responsibility to protect you students... not the other way around, understand?" All Might whispered as Izuku nodded his head furiously, thick tears plopping on his lap.
"Would you like to continue, Mr. Midoriya, or do you need a minute?" Tsukauchi asked as the hero-in-training shook his head, taking a long gulp of the water bottle.
"Just give me a second, sirs!"
As he recovered, only the sounds of Tsukauchi's pen on aper and Izuku's sniffled were heard in the quiet office space.
"Okay... I remember after that I sent a text to All Might, wanting to talk about my dreams. I was too worried by then that they were coming true, and I'd already had several dreams about the USJ, but All Might was busy after the press invasion, and we were going to meet this morning, but Shigaraki's plan waylaid him. I thought about telling Mr. Aizawa but I didn't know how to explain it. My Quirk was documented as a power-up Quirk, I couldn't just develop a Quirk that gave me visions of the future, not without revealing One-for-All so I went with it, preparing to try and minimize damage during the attack, but..." Izuku trailed off.
"But it didn't go like you dreamed?" Tsukauchi guessed, a shameful Izuku nodding.
"The villains in my dreams were nothing like they were today. Their leader, Shigaraki was terrifying, but he acted like a child, throwing fits whenever something didn't work out. After All Might showed up, which in my dream they were planning to kill, not Mr. Aizawa, and beat their Nomu, Shigaraki accused All Might of cheating and using hacks or something. Those supervillains everyone fought weren't there, I know I ended up in the Shipwreck Zone with Mineta and Asui. That was another thing, the villains had no clue what our Quirks were, they put Asui in the water, and left Iida by the front door, that's why I wasn't as worried because Iida's so fast, I thought he could get back to campus and sound the alarm quickly, but they knew everything. They put Iida in the water so he couldn't escape and left both Uraraka and me at the front door with Thirteen. Shigaraki was totally different to how he was in my dream, always taunting, planning, in my dream, they wore Mr. Aizawa down with a bunch of street thugs, but today, Shigaraki was fighting nearly one-on-one besides that lady in the armor, who wasn't in my dreams either!" Izuku exclaimed, not noticing how the adults were more concerned with the boy not breathing between sentences.
"I noticed earlier, you keep referring to him as Shigaraki, not Tomura. Am I to take it that was another difference?" Tsukauchi questioned as Midoriya nodded.
"Yeah, Kurogiri, the smoke villain, kept calling him Tomura Shigaraki, but today he only called him Tomura." Izuku replied as All might withheld a smirk off to the side.
'Irony is shining on me again. Why else would my successor, a self-professed fanboy, spontaneously develop a Quirk that lets him see the future, just like Nighteye. I'll have no choice but to set aside my feelings now, I can't possibly hope to train Young Midoriya in how to handle a Quirk like this, and he's the only one who might have some kind of idea and knows about One-for-All.' The bombastic blonde hero considering mentally.
"Is there anything else you would like to add, Mr. Midoriya, about your dreams. Did you see anything that hasn't happened yet that we could try to use to get ahead of the villains?" Nezu inquired.
"Umm, they called themselves The League of Villains, but not today so they may not go by that, I also saw where All Might introduced me to you, Mr. Tsukauchi. Oh, how long can you keep up your form All Might?" Midoriya pointed asked as the older hero was brought out of his thoughts.
Oh, according to Recovery Girl, just over two hours now. Thankfully, I didn't have to strain myself too much confronting those villains, although maybe if I had, they wouldn't have gotten away. No, Midoriya would've mentioned if they were captured in his dreams, so I can only assume they escaped while I was busy fighting that Nomu creature." All Might said, stroking his chin as he devolved into his own word vomit as Izuku stared strangely at him.
"That's different, All Might pushed himself to defeat the Nomu, and Recover Girl said he barely ninety minutes left afterwards. But all my dreams end here, right after the attack." Izuku said as the Detective nodded his head, closing the notebook as he replaced it into his coat.
"Well, thank you for the information you had, it'll be a big help in furthering our investigation." He smiled kindly at the boy.
"Waitt, umm, that was true, but just now when I was asleep, I had a new dream... I was here in this office, but it was daytime outside, and me and All Might were sharing a cup of tea. He wanted to have a chat about... somebody." Izuku looked confused as he rubbed his head.
"I think All Might called him All-for-One."
A/N: And with that, we've finished Season 1. Next week will hopefully be an intermission chapter with some fun ideas I'm working on. Hope you've enjoyed the journey so far.