A/N:
Just a reminder: Anyone who elected to skip reading the last chapter and/or this one, there will be a summary of key information learned at the end of this chapter. Also, this one isn't as bleak as the previous, so if you were fine with that you'll definitely be fine with this.
Stepping into the food court, it soon became clear that the reports of LoV activity were accurate. The shattered fountain, the scorch marks on the ground, the… redecorated emergency exit sign. The physical markers all pointed to Villainous activity. But an attack in a public place left more marks than just the physical. There was a feel to the air, a mood in the crowd: An unmistakable mixture of fear and defeat.
And yet…
"Half off takoyaki!"
"New dog-shaped takiyaki!"
"Red-and-white dango!"
"Brand-new crêpe, get your monster mash here!"
The mood wasn't anything short of euphoric.
A Villain attack that raised people's hopes? The scene's investigator shook their head in disbelief, Is it some kind of mental manipulation Quirk? Jeez, if the League has access to something like that… No, it's been at least half an hour, most Quirks should've worn off by now. His eyes widened, Maybe a new vigilante?
He took another look at the floor's black scorch marks, an uncharred pair of ovals in the floor connected to the mimicry of a shadow suggesting the flame was blocked.
This looks like Dabi's work. Based on the patterning, it looks like a person was here, most likely two… But his flames burn even hotter than… He couldn't help a small smile come to his face. It looked like Dabi had finally found a problem he couldn't melt. Only one name came to mind that could resist flames so thoroughly, but considering the lack of bodies and presence of the second non-scorched spot, Frostbite seemed unlikely. Most likely, either the Assembly or some Vigilante had gotten a hold on new tech. But to withstand Dabi's flames it'd be some serious gear… The chances of that coming up on the Black Market without the HPSC nor the investigator's own informants knowing seemed unlikely, meaning the Vigilante option didn't add up. But even more unlikely was the Assembly not giving any notice about the encounter. They may have disagreements, but at the end of the day their relationship was relatively cordial, and they all agreed information sharing on the League was paramount. For something major he could understand secrecy, but a small and public scuffle like this? But those were the only two options he could think of-
Unless… His eyes narrowed in thought, Is there a new player? A completely fresh Vigilante with a flame-resistance Quirk would explain the alternatives' discrepancies. But Dabi rarely acted without his cronies nowadays. If that were the case, would they really run just because someone had a particularly strong flame resistance Quirk? Maybe it was a team?
… Well, no point in racking my brain quite yet. He noticed a few security cameras around the perimeter of the plaza. It was possible the League or this mysterious individual wiped the data, but that in itself could tell him something.
Still, sometimes the classics work best. Time for some good old-fashioned questioning-
"Oh for- Just tell me who used it!"
"How many times have I gotta tell you no?!"
… Well, there goes that opportunity. People were typically easier to ply for information when they were happy and content than when they were jittery and on edge. Looking towards the source, it seemed some guy was harassing the crêpe vendor. Guess I better step in here…
"Who do you even think you-" the vendor caught himself, eyes widening in surprised recognition, "Oh shit, it's YOU!" much of the court's focus was on the conflict now.
"Yes, it's me. Now if you'd just-"
"HEY EVERYONE!" the vendor got the entire court's attention. This could only end well. "WE GOT THE WANNABE EUGENICIST SHITHEAD OVER HERE!"
"Once again, it was not 'eugenics'." the 'wannabe eugenicist shithead', otherwise known as the former Pro Hero Endeavour, attempted to defend himself, "I was simply seeking a way to compensate for my lack of intense heat resistance in the next generation-"
"And how'd that end for ya, Himmler?!"
Well, that's productive…
"Ok, gentlemen," the investigator reached the stall and began to intervene, "I think we're getting a little bit heated." Endea- Enji Todoroki's face flickered with the vestiges of his former flaming beard at the word choice, "So why don't we all-"
"Hey, who asked-" the vendor's eyes widened once again, "Wait, you're Hawks!"
"In the flesh." the lead investigator, aka Japan's number One Pro Hero (for all the good that title held any more) Hawks, replied with an easy smile to try and relieve the tension, "But I can hand out autographs later, for now-"
"But you're-" alas, the smile did naught to dispel the man's ire, "Oh, I get it, trying to cover for your old pal here! Why're you even here? Sorry, your friends at the league already high-tailed-" Hawks' shot one of his feathers into the stall by the man's hand. He flinched back, re-focusing on Hawks' now ice-cold eyes. It wasn't the first time he'd been accused of acting buddy-buddy with those monsters, but even now…
"They. Are not. My friends." he leaned into the counter, "Best Jeanist, Tsunagu Hakamada, was my friend. Gang Orca, Kugo Sakamata, was my friend." he gritted his teeth, "Miruko, Rumi Usagiyama, was my friend. Is that understood?"
The man's startled fear soon shifted into sadness, before slowly morphing into a pained guilt, "… Sorry. I just…" he couldn't find the words to finish. There probably were none.
"… It's fine." Hawks took his hands off the stall, trying to fall back into his easygoing demeanour, "Easy mistake to make, really…" he tried to pass it off as a joke, but his expertly crafted plastic smile couldn't convince even the most naive of that statement. None of it was fine, and the chances were it never would be.
"Still…" the vendor's sorrow quickly shifted to a wide smile, "That's why it's so good to see some new saviours in the picture! Ones that ain't bound by the HPSC or their 'agreement'."
"Right," Hawks was eager to get back on topic, putting memories of the past where they belonged so he could focus on the present. It sounded like the man was here during whatever happened, "That's actually why I'm here-"
"And you can ask your questions once he's answered mine." Todoroki growled.
"Oh, right. What were you asking about, anyway?"
"This-" the vendor gestured vaguely and angrily at Todoroki, "asshole is threatening me and demanding I out customer information!"
"Seriously?" Hawks eyes turned to the accused.
"This hindrance is refusing to tell me who tried to use the bank details of my dead son!"
Hawks could only blink in response, "… Seriously?" he gestured for him to continue.
"Someone used Shouto's bank details to purchase some train tickets. Said bank then contacted me about suspicious activity and I blocked any further transactions by the account." he turned back to the vendor, "Then they failed to make a purchase here, around half an hour ago. So I ask again, who attempted the purchase?!"
"And I'll tell you again: I don't give out customer details!"
"You-!"
"Wait a sec." Hawks held up a hand, turning to Todoroki "Half an hour ago?" the ex-Hero paused before nodding, and Hawks turned back to the vendor, "Can you at least tell us whether any of the Villains who were here tried to buy anything from you?"
"You think those maniacs pay?" he scoffed, "If they rock up, it's serve food or get a cremation on the cheap."
"Right." Hawks nodded, a slight smile forming on his lips as he put things together, "Whoever tried to buy something from you was the same person that dealt with the League, right?"
"That's not-"
"Or at least, was with them."
"That's- You can't-" his spluttering was all the confirmation Hawks needed.
"Which leads to the question: Why is a person, or persons, who clearly opposes the League," he gestured to the charred and broken fountain remnants, "In possession of and actively trying to use the money of a dead child?"
"That…" Todoroki paused, joining Hawks' attempt at deductions and taking a minute to collect his thoughts. "I'm not confident Shouto's phone was ever recovered, which possessed the banking app they attempted to use. Most likely, the League took it at that point."
"And then didn't use it all this time?" Hawks frowned. That didn't seem to make sense, why would they wait until now?
"… Perhaps they couldn't use it until now?" Todoroki speculated.
"Or didn't need to." Hawks finished.
"You think they're breakaways? That this," he gestured to the signs of the fight, "Was some sort of, what, infighting?"
"No way." their vendor cut in, suddenly keen to provide more information now that their 'saviours'' authenticity was in doubt, "These guys arrived completely separately from the League goons, and the latter didn't even seem to register them. Only reason they attacked was because one of the new guys bumped into 'em."
"Still could be different sections." Todoroki grunted.
"Or." Hawks suggested an alternative, "Some League goon is there at the USJ. He loots the phone and leaves, but doesn't have a use for it so throws it on their pile of ill-gotten-gains, maybe exchanged it for some hard cash. Then, these guys are new vigilantes who rock up to the block, raid a League stockpile that the phone ended up at, and it passes into their possession."
"… It's a possibility." Todoroki admitted, "Or it simply could've changed hands by pawnbrokers or some such. But the phone would still have password protections."
"Could be a technology-unlocking Quirk? Or just someone able to exploit older hardware?" Hawks suggested. Too many questions, not enough intel…
"Look." he turned back to the vendor, "I can understand why you'd be hesitant to tell us anything. But it sounds like we've got some newbies who just kicked the hornet's nest. Without help, they could end up with more than they can handle."
"… Maybe…" he rubbed the back of his neck with a grunt, "But what could you do for them, anyway? You're-"
"Prohibited from combating the League directly." Hawks smirked, "But supporting some vigilantes on the down-low? I think we could manage that. Plus, if they're responsible for resolving this incident, and that is who I think it is," he gestured to the person-shaped indent above the exit, "I'd personally like to shake their hand."
"… Yeah…" the man returned his smirk before long, "Ok, yeah, fine. Don't know where they're headed anyway, so what harm could it do?" and there we go. Make people see that you're on their side, that you can do something they need or want, and they're all too happy to help.
Hawks still missed the days that had been a given. When his presence was a reassurance, not a mixed bag with wings tied up by bureaucracy and the 'greater good'. But there was no sense in living in the past. Better to work towards the hope of a brighter future. Even if it was difficult to maintain that mentality sometimes...
"There were eight, all in pretty snazzy red-and-black suits, and…" he paused, seemingly at a loss.
"And…?"
"I can remember most of them. Five had white hair, red shirts… Three of those were triplets, all in black suit vests, the fourth had sunglasses and a black suit jacket worn like they're straight outta a biker gang or something, fifth had a black turtleneck and these… these heart things in her hair." Hawks had pulled out a notepad with a few of his feathers and was furiously scribbling down everything he said with another, "But the other three… I just can't remember."
"It's fine if you don't have specific details. But anything: Clothes, hair colour, eye colour, height, sex-"
"But that's the thing." the vendor wore a confused expression, like the memory was right beneath his nose but he couldn't quite see it. "I literally can't remember. It's like a… A gap in my memory. I think they might have been wearing suits like the others, but other than that…"
A perception-altering Quirk? But why just three? Or why those three specifically? Can it only work on them, or were they the most important to hide…?
A ping on Hawks' phone brought him out of his thoughts. He opened it, but urged the vendor to describe the others as much as he could, feathers writing down the information as the man spoke.
"More trouble?" Todoroki asked.
"It's-" he re-checked the number out of shock, feathers stalling as his concentration lapsed, "-it's an old HPSC line. Didn't even know these were still active. Says something's going on at-" he paused again, quickly realising it was probably related to his task at hand.
"… How far away is the old U.A. campus, again?"
"T-The second Villain didn't die." Uraraka quickly clarified after her horrific story, "They had a bad concussion, and a fractured skull, but they made a full recovery! I kept on asking until they got the all clear…"
Izuku could only nod in acknowledgement, at a complete loss as to what to say.
"What happened to Tokoyami?" Hagakure asked something which should've come to mind far sooner, Izuku snapping back to attention at the question.
"Oh. Uh, well-"
"Indeed." A new yet familiar voice spoke up from behind, apparently having sneaked up on their group with the aid of the still-falling rain, "I too wish to hear the fate of this fearless, creative, ardent young Hero."
"You forgot 'humble'." Uraraka's lips quirked upwards at the arrival of the raven-headed teen.
"With such extensive exploits renowned throughout the realms, it is only natural some descriptors must be omitted for the sake of brevity." Tokoyami returned the smile, stepping over a tad awkwardly to clasp Uraraka's hand, following up with some kind of clearly-familiar handshake. "I apologise for the tardiness. The darkness waits not for even a Lord of humility such as I-"
"Sister dragged you out shopping again, huh?" Uraraka interrupted.
"No mortal should want for such an array of hats." he grumbled, "Especially when their cranium demands them woven by an expert's hands… But I digress." he turned to the rest of the group, "Forgive my discourtesy. I am the one known as Fumikage Tokoyami-"
"And I'm Dark Shadow!" the spectre in question shot out of his back.
"… Must you insist on such impertinence?" Tokoyami sighed.
"Hey, come on, how often do we meet new people?"
"How many grains of sand don Musatafa beach? Regardless," he turned back to the group, "I find myself at a disadvantage. Would you grace me with your true identities?"
"Oh yeah." Uraraka added, I never actually got your names."
"Iz-" Izuku's pupils shrank to pinpricks, honestly shocked and astounded at his own stupidity. One word off of making himself look like some kind of sociopath in front of someone who'd actually cared about him when he was still alive. "Iz-"come up with something "Iz…"anything! "Izikiel…" he swallowed, "… Midoraiya." at the statement, there was a brief lull in the conversation.
Broken only by Cerberus loudly slapping a hand to her face.
"… Yeah, I know." Justice came in with the save, "The name's actually part of how we first got to know…" she gestured to the still-rain-protected photo of the 'deceased' Izuku Midoriya, "Name's, uh, Sticia." She stuck a hand out which Tokoyami and Uraraka shook in turn, "But most people just call me Justice."
Ok, that's a good idea, pretend their demon names are just nicknames-
"I'm Cerberus! Nice to meet you!"
"Modeus."
Never mind. The latter demon was still stuck to the phone, but now she seemed to be typing rather than reading anything. Wonder what she's doing…
"I'm, uh… Suru… Kiyofuji." Hagakure had some trouble coming up with a name on the spot.
"I'm Shaso Sozoragi. It's nice to meet you." Todoroki lied as naturally as he breathed.
"Likewise. I'm Ochako Uraraka. Not that you didn't know that already, but-" she cleared her throat with a cough, "So yeah, that's pretty much everything. Sorry, but I don't really know much about what happened to your friends specifically. I was kinda…"
"You knew a fellow remnant?" Tokoyami was quickly filled in on their falsified family-friends relationship to their living selves.
"I see." he nodded in acknowledgement, "Sadly, our group was quickly torn asunder. I merely caught glimpses as we were escorted from that pit of darkness. They…" he swallowed, looking to the ground grimly. "They were already covering the bodies as we left."
"That's…" Hagakure trailed off, the reality of her and Todoroki's end slowly settling on the two. Izuku didn't blame them; he'd traversed three Circles of Hell and he still couldn't quite grasp the fact that he was…
"T-That's fine." Izuku stepped in, trying his best to shake off those thoughts, "You've already told us more than we could ask for. We- We didn't mean to make you-"
"Greetings!" yet another familiar voice exclaimed from behind them, loud to cut through the rain yet with a tone subdued enough to still show proper respect.
"Hi, Iida." Uraraka replied in kind, Tokoyami giving a nod of acknowledgement. Turning his head, Izuku soon found the blue-haired young man he'd expected, still sporting the same square glasses and upright, rigid posture. Though one that, just as Uraraka, stood taller than Izuku remembered… And with a pair of less-than-familiar faces in tow; a boy around their age with blonde hair and a face of bitterness mixed with sorrow, and a similarly-aged girl with green hair and respectful, almost holy demeanour.
"I apologise for my tardiness, but-" he took a moment to analyse the unexpected arrivals, "I see that we have company on this occasion." he stuck out a hand robotically, "My name is Tenya Iida, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance."
"Justice." the demon in question quickly took the hand, while Izuku had to simply give an awkward wave upon his turn.
"Oh," Uraraka spoke up, "his Quirk makes physical contact…" she had to shake off a pained grimace, "difficult…"
Iida, for his part, simply blinked at her, then turned to Izuku before slightly bowing, "I see. My apologies, please forgive me."
"Ah- no- that's-" please don't apologise for that when that's a lie to cover up a crueller lie please-
"Please forgive this poor soul's impertinence." the green haired girl bowed in kind, "My name is Ibara Shiozaki. A pleasure."
"It's not like he could've known." the blonde sighed in resigned irritation before glancing at Izuku's group and speaking in a muted voice, "Neito Monoma. Though I guess you already knew all that."
"Um… I mean…" Izuku smiled awkwardly, pondering how to phrase this diplomatically-
"Never heard of you." thanks for nothing Todoroki…
"Oh thank god I'm not the only one." Hagakure sighed in relief.
The blonde's eye twitched at the response, "Oh, I see." he laughed hollowly, "I don't suppose you recognise Shiozaki, either?"
"Should we?" Justice asked.
"Monoma, please-" Uraraka's words went ignored.
"Oh, of course, of course," his hollow laugh gained a manic tint, "And yet I suppose you recognise these three?" he gestured to Uraraka, Tokoyami and Iida.
"We needn't concern ourselves on a day such as-"
"Of course, of course, of course!" Shiozaki's attempt at calming the boy down went unheeded as he carried on, "It's only natural that you wouldn't recall, of course! After all, we aren't the tragic, wondrous 1A, now are we? We aren't the ones that had the glorious U.A. put under, are we? Why ever would you recall such measly, unimportant specks as we?!"
Iida reached his arm out, "Monoma, please calm yourself-"
"NO!" Iida's attempt was similarly shut down, Monoma batting his hand away frantically as his body began shaking, "I'm sick of this! Of you!" he pointed towards Izuku's group, "Why are you even here, huh?! I didn't see you last time! Or the USJ memorial, or the camp's, Kamino's…" his voice broke into an angry laugh, emotions in turmoil as his train of thought and sense of restraint seemed to break, "What are you, reporters? Here to get a new scoop?"
Uraraka tried again, "Monoma, they're not-"
"Well, here's a quote for you: 1A isn't the centre of the fucking universe! 1B mattered too! Jurota Shishida,Togaru Kamakiri, Yosetsu Awase, Sen Kaibara, Shihai Kuroiro-"
"Monoma…" Tokoyami sighed, looking towards the ground tiredly.
"-Yui Kodai, Kinoko Komori, Nirengeki Shoda, Kosei Tsuburaba, Manga Fukidashi, Kojiro Bondo, Reiko Yanagi, Pony Tsunotori, Juzo Honenuki, Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu, Hiryu Rin, Setsuna Tokage-" he bit his tongue, "Itsuka Kendo…" the last name came out with broken tears, "The had names… They mattered too…" Shiozaki wrapped her classmate in a hug, tears refusing to stop after he'd said his piece.
For his part, Izuku could only watch on. Confusion mixing with horror as his mind raced to put the pieces together, before adamantly refusing to make the final connections.
"… What…" he had to lick his increasingly dry lips, desperate to ask the question yet terrified of the answer, "What… happened?"
"I'm sorry?" Uraraka asked.
"What- What happened." he opted to focus on her, the 1B students unable to answer questions and Iida similarly at a loss for what to do. "A-after the USJ. What happened."
Uraraka blinked, "Why do you ask like you don't-"
"Long story." Justice interrupted, "We've been sort of off the grid."
"'Off the grid'?" Tokoyami scoffed incredulously, "Even the darkest mage cloistered in the shadows of the abyss could not have missed-"
"Please!" Izuku meant to ask it normally, but it came out as a desperate shout, "Please, just… Pretend we haven't been here. You don't have to go into detail, just- just give us an overview. What happened after the USJ?"
Uraraka looked him straight in the eye as he asked, Izuku's nerves frayed beyond belief and practically begging at this point for an explanation he could follow. They'd literally been through Hell, and he still didn't have the faintest idea what was going on. Only that he was wet, exhausted, and the world around him had gone crazy while he was six feet under.
Maybe there was some subtler angle he could've taken to try and seem less suspicious with the questioning, but as the fragments kept piling on he'd reached his limit. He couldn't begin to imagine what Uraraka saw of his 'Shoal' or 'filter' or whatever Justice had used. But as she sighed deeply, Izuku felt his pure desperation had come through.
"Well… At first, U.A.- or Principal Nezu, I guess, tried to write the USJ off as a tragic accident, shifting focus onto the 'training accident' which he tried to pin on poor teaching and a complete failure to instil morals at the Middle school Bakugou went to-"
"Alderra?" Izuku checked dumbly.
"That's the one." Uraraka confirmed, "But while that school did end up getting shut down, with the USJ incident following the… The Battle Trial…" she glanced briefly at Izuku's image, "Because it all happened so quickly, questions about U.A.'s fitness started gaining traction, so the school was temporarily shut down pending further investigation."
"A transitory closure which would prove a permanent end." Tokoyami provided.
"How many?" Todoroki asked.
"Wha-"
"How many 1A students survived the USJ?" he clarified for Uraraka.
Uraraka and Tokoyami glanced at each other, a tint of sadness overshadowed by sheer confusion. Looking to the others, it seemed Monoma had largely recovered.
"Is this 'overview' not going a bit far-"
"How many?" Hagakure cut Iida off, a hint of desperation in her voice.
The 'living mortals' all glanced at each other sceptically, before Uraraka continued in a sombre voice, "Iida, Tokoyami and I are the only ones that made it out. Even Snipe-sensei and Thirteen…"
Hagakure and Todoroki paled at the revelation, and Izuku was sure he'd done the same. He may not have known many of them for long, but they were still his classmates. To think they were all just…
"T-then what?" he managed to ask despite the horrid revelation, "What happened after that?" they needed to know.
"Well, like I said, U.A. was shut down, and it ended up being permanent. There was resistance, but after the incident, there was a lot of pressure being put on the HPSC about underage Hero training spearheaded by-" she cut herself off, shaking her head, "Getting ahead of myself. After that, other students were distributed among other schools. Hero classes were kept together for 'cohesion' or something, though Iida was put with 1B after Tokoyami and I dropped out." maybe the two leaving the Hero course should've surprised Izuku, but at this point he was more shocked Iida decided to stay in. Though considering the boy's history, maybe it wasn't so surprising. "3A were sent to Ketsubutsu, and they ran a sports festival-like event to try and let students settle grudges in a 'constructive' way…" Izuku vaguely recalled something about the school in question considering themselves a rival to UA, "And we all know how that turned out…"
"… Ok but pretend we didn't." Justice pointed out.
"Well that was the KSF attack." Uraraka supplied. Seeing the group's unknowing faces, she went on with a shocked expression, "You know, the KSF attack? Biggest terrorist attack in a century? Thousands dead? Ringing any bells?!"
"How-" Iida stuttered, "How is it possible that this is unknown to you?"
"We'll answer that later." Justice probably lied.
"What happened next?" Todoroki was as eager to continue as the rest.
"Well, um-" Uraraka tried to collect her thoughts, "I guess…" she looked over to Monoma and Shiozaki, "1B were sent to Shiketsu, who ended up running a training camp a couple of months later."
"It was designed to promote unity and co-operation in a reserved environment-"
"It was designed." Monoma interrupted Shiozaki, "To get a bunch of sixteen-year-old kids ready to defend ourselves against the next murderous Villain attack." another hollow smile, "Designers didn't count on the camp being the next attack…" he glanced up at Izuku, "Shiozaki and Iida were the only ones who got out."
"What about you?" Todoroki raised an eyebrow.
"Me?" Monoma laughed another empty laugh, before continuing in a small voice: "I got a lot of good people killed." as he spoke the words, what little energy he had seemed to drain away.
"Their loss is in no way down to you." Shiozaki helped keep him up and stable.
"Precisely!" Iida agreed wholeheartedly, "If anything, I should be apologizing." he grit his teeth, "Once again I was with classmates in danger. Once again I fled." he chuckled grimly, "No, if I had simply fled, perhaps we would have had sufficient time. I dithered, delayed… I was the one who's actions caused death. Not yours."
"I don't remember the Villains being there for you, Iida." Monoma smiled brokenly, "All those words disparaging 1A's efforts. Just hot air from an overinflated ego… And yet it was enough for the Villains to try and recruit me." another small laugh accompanied by quiet tears.
"You literally shit-talked 1A two minutes ago." Justice pointed out.
"I despise the fact our class' loss is all but forgotten." he corrected her bitterly, "Not 1A nor their efforts. But it seems you know next to nothing…"
"Again. Off the grid." Justice insisted.
"Is that everything?" Hagakure asked Uraraka.
"Well, that morphed into the Kamino Killer Ten incident…" they all blinked dumbly at her, "Seriously?!"
"What-" Iida stuttered, "That's- How-"
"I can understand not knowing all the details," Monoma looked at them in shock mixed with exasperation, "But how can you not know about the battle that retired All Might, that-"
"WAIT ALL MIGHT'S RETIRED?!" Izuku screamed in response. What- but that's- how-
"We have a number of questions," Todoroki made the biggest understatement of Izuku's un-life, "But for now, what happened next?"
"Well-" Uraraka spluttered, desperately trying to think of what else was relevant despite being understandably dumbfounded that they didn't know any of this, "Well, that led pretty directly into the Todoroki scandal, but I guess that's pretty minor all things considered-"
"I disagree." Todoroki replied, shock and fear creeping into his expression more clearly than Izuku had ever seen.
"But I mean, after that…" Uraraka scratched the back of her head, before looking to Tokoyami, "Is the Old HPSC collapse considered part of the KKT?" Izuku's brain felt like it was trying to collect facts that simply could not settle in his perception of reality. Like Uraraka's story was a square peg and his brain a round hole, and why was Modeus looking at him like that I mean he didn't even say anything-
"Some chroniclers consider it so." Tokoyami replied.
"Right, so that happened." Uraraka recounted the collapse of the country's law enforcement backbone like it was some commonly-known plot twist of an overly dramatic series, "And then, well…" her face soured.
"All for One." She gritted out the name.
… Excusemewhat? Izuku blinked.
"The demon lord of the KKT revealed his true name." Tokoyami elaborated.
Eh? he blinked again.
"And declared himself the new ruler of Japan." Iida added.
EH?!
"A position which is now considered uncontested." Shiozaki continued.
EH?!
"It would've been." Monoma kicked the ground in frustration, "If Humanise hadn't killed Star and Stripe before anyone from overseas had a chance to help."
乇卄?!
"And wiped out over 90% of the Quirked population outside Japan in the process." Uraraka finished.
Ẽ̶̥̯̞̦͎̙̰͈̆H̶͓̲͎̻̳̖̥̹̘͔͐̓͊͊̒̓͘?̸̡͓̤̺̳͎̌̅̌̀̇̏̊̈́̚͝ͅ!̷̤̈́̐̓̔̐́͒̋̚͘
Uraraka looked at the stupefied expressions of their group, "H-HOW can you not know this?!"
That can't- Izuku had to bring a hand to his head, Justice thankfully catching him before he fell over, That's not- It couldn't- he shook his head, That- That couldn't happen in just a few weeks, even months- his eyes shrank as the truth of that fact settled. Looking at Uraraka, she didn't seem to be lying. While he hadn't known her for too long, she didn't seem to be the type of person who'd get a kick out of saying such horrible things, and Iida would never go along with it. Heck, if their group were literally anything but a collection of deceased souls, they would instantly call her out on it for how blatantly insane it was.
The issue was, Izuku's life had been nothing but insane recently. And there was one question that had been at the back of his mind since he got here.
"W-W… Wh-" he tried to take a deep breath, "Why are you here today?"
"What?" Uraraka asked sceptically, "We're here to… well, to mourn, I guess-"
"No." Izuku interrupted, "I understand why you're here. But why are you here today?"
"Well, I thought that" she gestured to the photo of Izuku, "would make it obvious."
"Of course, we do show proper deference on the anniversary of the others." Shiozaki stated.
"But if one should seek the core misstep which guided us on this path of darkness?" Tokoyami started.
"Most events do seem to spiral from the day of the Battle Trial incident." Iida finished.
"Some are obvious, but even little things seem like they would've gone a whole lot differently if that exercise hadn't gone to shit." Monoma added, "Of course, there was a lot of other things that all added up, but…"
"But if you go back to the source?" Uraraka asked, "It's like Iida said. Almost everything can be traced, in some way shape or form, back to the Battle Trial incident. If- If that asshole had fucking listened to his damn teacher, who knows where we'd be now? Instead, it all went wrong that day." she took a deep breath.
"It all went wrong when Izuku Midoriya died. Two years ago today."
A/N:
Ah, I love the smell of raw exposition in the evening. I thought about ways I could try and convey this information in a more natural, chapter-by-chapter trickling way, but there was basically no way the undead gang can be around any living characters without urgently wanting to ask this information, so instead we have a chapter full of exposition. Hopefully you can understand as there's so much crap that happened which kinda needs to be conveyed, especially as the answer to 'how long has it been and what happened' only leads to more questions regarding specifics.
Also, this is really random, but I was listening to music while I was first writing this and frickin' 'hacking to the gate' started playing out of nowhere as I wrote that last line. Like, I know it's not technically time travel or anything (or at least not the same sort of time travel), but like that's a weird coincidence right?
Anyway here's a brief recap of what happened over the last 2 chapters for people who were uncomfortable reading them, or just a refresher for everyone else who wants one:
- Uraraka feels guilty about Izuku dying in the Battle Trial.
- U.A. is shut down.
- Alderra is shut down.
- Uraraka, Tokoyami and Iida survived the USJ. Other than Bakugou, whose fate is currently ambiguous, no one else can say the same. Uraraka is not taking this well.
- This includes Thirteen and Snipe. Eraserhead's fate is currently ambiguous.
- Hawks is currently the Number 1 Pro Hero.
- Endeavour/Enji Todoroki is no longer a Pro Hero.
- Best Jeanist, Gang Orca, and Miruko are all implied to be dead. Hawks is not taking this well.
- 3A are implied to have been killed in a sports festival-like event run by Ketsubutsu.
- Save for Monoma and Shiozaki, 1B were all killed in a training camp-like event run by another Hero school. Iida was also present, and is not taking this well.
- The LoV attempted to recruit Monoma due to his vocal dislike of 1A. He is not taking this well.
- An incident referred to as the 'Kamino Killer Ten' or KKT resulted in All Might retiring, and also involved the collapse of the 'Old' HPSC. Izuku is not taking this well.
- Shortly after the KKT, an incident referred to as 'The Todoroki Scandal' occured. Shouto is not taking this well.
- All for One is named, and currently ruling uncontested as Japan's 'Demon King'.
- Humanise killed 90% of the 'Quirked' population outside of Japan, including Star and Stripe. No one is taking this well.
- The present day is the 2-year anniversary of Izuku's death.
And I believe that's everything. If anyone can think of something important I've missed over the last couple of chapters, let me know and I'll add it to the recap. Other than that thanks for reading, looking forward to the next few chapters it's gonna be fun. Though tbf I also really liked writing the last couple of chapters, even if some of the darker parts were exhausting to write at times, and I'm also really looking forward to the next arc- we're in a really fun part of the story writing-wise, is what I'm trying to say.
As per usual feel free to leave thoughts, predictions, constructive criticism etc. etc. bla bla bla, and also I wanted to mention that this is crossposted through FFN, AO3 and SpaceBattles, so pick whichever of those sites you prefer (also I generally respond to comments SpaceBattles AO3 FFN, purely due to the design/structure of the websites). Hope everyone has a great weekend!