Author's note : So. Many, many many announcement.
First off : we passed the 200 followers hey !
Second : this story... HAS A TVTROPES PAGE !
And just like the list of the burned heretics, you can help by expanding it !
Third : we have a cameo character from Street Fighting Heroes ! Who is actually, surprisingly important...
you should easily find the fic in crossover
Fourth : as we are nearing chapter 35, I am going to release it next week, as usual... But with a true omake.
This Omake will be the big list of all proposed Hisashi's death. All of the one I wanted to add but didn't have time.
Fifth : Next chapters should be quite chill.
Sixth : Seriously, go check Aliandris' stories. I find them quite excellent.
Seventh : Maki comes from Mirrond's fics. Read them xD
On that note...
Chapter 34: Family and bonds
Tensei stared at his brother before quietly taking as much air as possible in his chest. Only then did the hero yell from his wheelchair.
"TENYA, YOU DUMB MOTHERFUCKER. Sorry, mom," Tensei said, remembering his mother's presence in the hospital room.
"Apologies accepted." She was pissed enough at her other son to let this one pass.
Tenya was currently being ripped a new one by his whole family for one and only one reason. The Iida family was a hero family, and as such, they hoped they had instilled some notions of what it meant to be a hero into their children. Concepts such as honor, courage, and duty. Revenge wasn't in their family motto for a good reason, and they hoped that their son learned their lesson.
Knowing that Manual would survive had lessened grief in the young student's mind, but his family was still angry. Because of his rash behavior, he wasn't there when the Noumu crisis began. Since there were communication problems, having a speedster would have helped coordinate heroes and evacuate civilians. Sure, against someone like Moonfish, Iida would have been useless. However, it was still a huge mistake on his part, and as a result, the young man was sure to lose his place in the Hero Course.
As he respected the Iida family, Aizawa took the time to warn them in advance. Then, as a good teacher, he explained to Tenya that the sanction could be lifted next year if he did well enough at the sports festival. First, however, he had to understand the impact of his actions and that his behavior wasn't acceptable. Sometimes, people who were not flexible enough were the ones who broke the hardest.
As a result, Tenya was demolished… Before, he got violently hugged by his family: brother, mother, and father.
"More importantly, remember to stay safe and always have a back-up."It was his brother who told him that, as he pointed out his wheelchair. The doctors weren't able to restore his legs, but the hero wasn't going to let that stop him. He still had his mind and when he woke up, Tensei had been one of the first to have doubts about "Stain" putting him into hospital.
So while he was hugging his brother, almost breaking his ribs in the process, Tensei thought about asking Crawler to reactivate his old network. Something fishy was going on and he would be damned if he didn't get to the bottom of it.
Tenya, on the other hand, was thinking about the whole situation too… And how he had been saved from Stain only thanks to Izuku's arrival. The story about how Izuku actually bought time or made sure to never fight alone actually stuck out in his mind, explaining why he was successful where Tenya failed. An idea was born in Iida's mind, which was totally not a petty idea because of his and Tooru's prank with his orange juice.
Besides, it was technically a good way to praise his comrade's leadership skills by making him the next vice class rep, wasn't it?
Tenya appreciated the hug for now. However, he wondered:
-who would be the one to take his place in 1-A.
He also wondered if it meant he could shift his lessons with Dr. Seijin with someone else… After all, it was her who told him that vengeance was good therapy.
—————
Aizawa looked at the pool of candidates for the hero course. A few of them were interesting, but all had their flaws.
Minoru Mineta: Actually came close to getting qualified during the entrance exam, extremely smart and had almost managed to beat Izuku during the Sport festival. There were some rumors of harassment and inappropriate conduct but apparently, Midnight had taught the boy some lessons about respecting women.
Yes, yes, his friend had the whole sexy persona, but it was a persona. Good lord, she would never touch a student. However, she was very strict on what was appropriate or not in her classroom. Since he had a meeting with her, he was a top gen ed student.
Another student who had picked Aizawa's interest was a student from the foster care program. He ran away from his family and was saved by Endeavor (yes, even Eraserhead could see the irony) during his raid on the CRC. Yoshihiro Maki. His quirk was once again proof that the exam entrance wasn't perfect: It gave him strength proportional to how morally justified he felt against an enemy. Against robots for an exam, it wasn't really strong and it wasn't strong against his classmates either.
With the right training, though, and with Izuku and Katsuki being very good at making people angry at them, the young man could shine in the program. Besides, he also had the villainous stigma to fight and the class would literally not care about him being the son of a criminal, or at least someone branded as such.
Izuku was Compress' stepson, Katsuki was the son of one of the Midnight Nurses, he was fairly certain Mina's mother was an escapee from a certain lab which had totally no link with Nedzu's backstory, Koda was the nephew of an Amazonian nature fighter/terrorist, Yuga was French, And there was Shouto's messy case.
Aizawa thought about it for a bit and decided on Yoshihiro Maki. If he didn't add him to the hero course, the boy would have a hard time becoming a hero like he wanted to. Meanwhile, Mineta wasn't ready yet… But given some extra training; he was sure an opening would appear in 1-B.
Both him and Vlad often took on an extra student or two as the years progressed.
Besides, Aizawa's sadistic streak thought about how Vlad's class could plot crazy things against his class with two minds like Monoma's and Mineta's.
With a smile on his face, Aizawa added the young "Justice" to his roster of students.
———————
When Iida arrived at his new therapist's address, he met two people. One expected, and another who wasn't: Shinso and Endeavor.
Technically, he was at the former's address, so seeing his soon to be ex-classmate was expected. Endeavor, much less so, especially as the man seemed quite down, but also with a lot of weight lifted from his shoulder. The older hero looked at the young man and gave him a small smile. According to Shouto, his dad has been released from hospital recently after a lot of negotiations.
"Hello young man. I have heard about you. Don't worry, I'm sure that with proper training, you'll earn your spot back soon. If Crawler doesn't have time to do that, you can always try asking me."
Endeavor was radically different from his interview from a few months ago. Gone was the abrasive man who didn't have time for the media (now, he simply flew) or with a stern face. Now, he was a man who seemed a bit compassionate and, somehow, sad.
"Thank you for the offer, sir, but Crawler will do." Iida answered quickly, as the hero walked away without saying another word. What kind of man could humble someone like Endeavor?
According to Jirou, whose parents are friends with Shinso's, he was adorable, even if he played the ukulele a bit too much. Iida didn't expect to see a man who was basically the opposite of his classmate: while Hitoshi was tall and not very large, his father was like a small ball of joy. They did have the same hair color though, despite the man's hair being in total opposite with his son.
"Ah, my new young patient! Please, come in, my child! We have a lot to discuss! Please, sit down. Do you want something to drink or eat?"
"Oh, I wouldn't say no to some tea, sir."
"Please, don't call me sir, call me Gomesu," The round man, with his small mustache and his singing voice was somehow very familiar, but Iida couldn't say from where. "Motishia? Can you bring some tea for our visitor?"
"Of course, darling ~." The voice was made of pure velvet, and seemed to purr from the other side of the room. There, a beautiful, tall and slim woman stood; and by hearing her voice, the rigid student suddenly felt himself relaxing.
"I present to you my delicious wife, Motishia. We both have a quirk related to our voice, and we got a license to use them for therapy. Her, to relax our clients. Me, to help them come to terms with how they truly feel. Very useful and it helps our clients discover things they didn't know about themselves."
Iida nodded peacefully as he sat down on the sofa and took the cup of tea the tall beautiful woman gave him.
How did they produce such a broody teen?!
"Well, our son is going through what we call a rebellious phase." The man answered Iida's question, who realized he must have spoken it out loud. "As a result, he decided to spite the world and the people who called his quirk 'villainous' and 'unfit to be a hero'."
"And that's not a bad motive to be a hero, is it?" Iida was curious, since one of the reasons he was there was because he was told his actions were motivated by the wrong reasons.
"Indeed. Because spite doesn't hurt anyone, and can be a powerful motivation to better yourself… Even though he could do more for his physical fitness." This time, it was Motishia who spoke, with her calming and soothing voice, as she held her husband's hand. "Now, let's begin our session, young man. We have much to discuss. So… Kumbaya~"
Iida's first thought was, "Oh god, Jirou was right. He sings Kumbaya."
His second was the realization that he was now spilling out all of his feelings of inadequacy and how he felt about taking the mantle of his big brother when he wasn't ready.
This was going to be a long session.
—————
Bomberman has entered the chat.
Bomberman: Good job Izuku.
Joker: Always a pleasure! Did she like it?
Bomberman: She loved it! Authentic experience at its finest. So I have decided to thank you in the same way.
Bomberman has sent a file.
Joker: And it is…?
Bomberman: Two places for a laser tag, for Tooru and you. Get some fighting to pump you up!
Joker: We don't have the same battle boner as you, Kacchan.
Bomberman: I have a picture of a blood-drenched Tooru smiling at you while you are totally enamored with her, which proves otherwise.
Joker: … I need that pic. And I won't send your mom the picture of you and Yui blushing like tomatoes.
Bomberman: Deal.
Bomberman: On a side note, can't wait for your mom's wedding. Izuku Sako sounds nice.
Joker: Fucking Mood.
——————
Chisaki hated to interrupt his work, his cure for quirks and finally having true organized crime syndicates like the yakuza return to glory. However, even if he didn't have the same passion for quirks as his mentor, he still respected the man. Both went different ways, but both recognized the genius of the other, enough for Overhaul to actually accept his invitation for a small private meeting. Emilia's presence was a bonus.
No, he totally didn't have a crush on her during their time at the university.
Even if her lack of quirk made her the only person he tolerated touching outside of using his quirk.
So, when Overhaul joined his mentor and friend in an inconspicuous house (still criminal/thought to be dead), the Yakuza leader was surprised to see them still working. Yep, still as work driven as ever.
Chisaki had to cough multiple times to make them raise their nose from their computer screen.
"Chisaki? CHISAKI!"
The blonde European woman rose to her feet, and her appearance struck the criminal, enraging him.
"Emilia? WHY ARE YOU MISSING AN ARM?!"
Garaki smiled, as he saw Chisaki take off his glove and gently touch Emilia's arm stump, quickly reconstructing it as if it was nothing. Garaki purposely never told All For One about Chisaki for a good reason, after all.
"A failed attempt to kill me by the HPSC. Thankfully, Garaki-sensei saved me." Emilia said with a giant smile, before she kissed the young Yakuza on the cheek. He thanked the gods that he still had his mask to hide his embarrassing blush. No, he definitely wasn't still nursing an old crush on that quirkless European.
"And I would do the same for any of my cute disciples!" Which was true, even for Chisaki and their radical ideological differences. The boy was still a genius in the field of quirk factors and even if he wanted to eradicate them, Garaki had to admit the man was driven.
"… You didn't call me only for a quick heal, right?" He wanted to be sure, as he didn't like being used like a mere tool. "I can grant you one hour before I have to go back home."
Emilia and Garaki smiled, before showing him their computer screen. Chisaki sat down and began to read the document. Then he began to read the experiment report, the experiment video, various analyses…
When Chisaki, even speed-reading the whole thing, ended, he knew he should have been home 4 hours ago. He quickly called Chronostasis and told him everything was okay. More than okay. Then, he looked at the other two, and spoke with excitement in his voice.
"… Is it what I think it is?"
In front of him was a DNA structure, and within an allele, data attached to it, along with different percentages. Emilia almost squealed while drinking coffee.
"We can thank Doctor Garaki's cloning, his link with some quirk specialist and my link with human providers."
"You know you could get tried for crimes against humanity at this point, right?"
All three of them looked at each other, before they shared a manic laugh together. Emilia, with her new arm, slapped him in the back.
"Nice one, Chisaki. Nice one. As if any of us were clean. Hell, I am sure you torture kittens or something like that in your basement!"
"HEY! I DON'T TORTURE KITTENS! I have a standard! Only children in my basement."
His colleagues looked at him weirdly, before they smiled. They all did things like that after all. Chisaki then took a deeper look at the data. To be honest, the result of their experiment could be applied to his own project. They actually did it, managing to fully extract a quirk factor artificially… And managing to reimplant it, though obviously, it clashed with the host's own quirk. It still needed a lot of work to be fully viable.
"So. We wanted your advice, since you did your thesis on the possibility to extract quirks artificially or destroy them. I guess the Trigger idea was a dead end?"
Overhaul had theorized once that with his quirk, he might be able to destroy or create quirks in an individual. However, the nano-control needed for that was far superior to what he could do, and before now no one had discovered before which part of the DNA handled quirks nor how it worked. Not to mention the lack of human subjects and morality made the research extremely slow.
Fortunately, the three in the room had no qualms about torturing humans, and their morality was missing for a long time now.
"Yes. Yes, it was. However…"
Chisaki momentarily pondered the idea of keeping his research to himself. However, it was Garaki and Emilia. Two geniuses who had the facilities he needed.
The two were already looking at him with great interest, and Overhaul sighed.
"I keep my source of material to myself. We share results. And you don't stop my research."
Emilia nodded with happiness, while Garaki smiled like a shark.
"You found something interesting, didn't you?"
Chisaki took an USB key with his selling presentation. He was still a member of the Yakuza and a businessman after all. Negotiation was an important skill.
"I have managed to create a bullet that can temporarily suppress quirks. I also have data that suggests I may be able to create an upgraded version, with proper funding and installation."
Both scientist's brains stopped for a second, before the two of them yelled in surprise.
"WHAT?!"
They knew Chisaki was smart. Former valedictorian, after all. However, this was almost Garaki level of smart.
Quirk suppressors weren't exactly new, but they were full of side-effects or needed a big infrastructure. Even the suppressor cuffs were limited in their usage. They worked once; and after that, you needed to lock the individuals inside Tartarus, which had its own "one of a kind" field force that suppressed quirks inside it. The whole panopticon with guards armed with powerful assault rifles made any escape practically impossible.
So, bullets that could, even temporary, suppress quirks? That was already a fundamental change for the world of crime. Creating a bullet that could permanently erase a quirk? That was a game-breaker… Except if Garaki and Emilia's own project worked, but helping Chisaki on his ideas with their theories would allow them to greatly progress their own research.
The three scientists madly laughed as they began to discuss their future partnership together.
———————
Meanwhile, Tooru was feeling quite relaxed, and she had good reasons to be:
First, thanks to the internship, they didn't have any homework.
Second, since she saved her boyfriend, she was profusely thanked by a crying Inko who declared her to be her daughter-in-law.
Third and most importantly: her muscles were sore thanks to Midnight's Hell Training, and as a result, Izuku offered to massage her.
And boy, her Izukun had another good point about him: He had magic fingers. She could feel his powerful yet soft fingers rubbing on her skin, as she laid on her bed. He seemed to understand instinctively where to massage her to make her purr.
She also had total faith he wouldn't do anything unbecoming. After all, it was Izuku, the same teen who thought he was supposed to study during a study date. Besides, her invisibility also had the positive point that she didn't have to wear her top and he wouldn't see anything he wasn't supposed to.
Meanwhile, Izuku was still blushing, as technically speaking, Tooru was laying under him, but listening to her small noises of pleasure made him increasingly happy, especially as he could feel her body melt into his hands. Maybe now was a good time to ask?
"Tooru? Can I ask you something?"
"Hmmm?" His girlfriend was in pure bliss, as he softly hit her stress points, helping her muscles relax.
"Next week is my parent's wedding and I would like to know if you could come as my partner."
Izuku dropped his bomb on her with no warning on a weak Tooru. The poor girl was so startled that she shot up, causing Izuku to fall on his back.
"… Tooru? I know it is quite short notice but…"
"But nothing, Izukun! I can't wait to see both of them married! … Oh my god, what will you be wearing?!"
"Well, Katsuki's mom is making me a suit and…"
"Do you think I can ask her to do something for me? So we can go with a theme?"
Izuku smiled as he heard the excitement in her voice and answered with a nod. He knew Mitsuki, and she was a sucker for these kinds of things, according to Katsuki. If he was right, she had worked on Inko and Atsuhiro's wedding dress and suit for months.
He couldn't say anything else, as he got jumped and pinned by a happy Tooru. The young man was very happy himself, knowing the joys of a relationship without having to suffer through the whole "Does she like me or not" routine from every manga. Thanks Katsuki.
As he silently thanked Katsuki, Izuku found his thoughts wandering. What did Yui have planned for the end of their date? Because, according to Mitsuki, her son won't be home tonight.
——————
"Are you sure we're going to the right place?" Katsuki was known for many things, and patience was one of them. Or rather, a lack of patience.
"According to the person who gave me the localization, yes." Yui, thankfully, was one of the few people who could tell him to wait.
Katsuki grumbled, as they continued to venture forth into the Red-Light district. Every big town had one, but it wasn't someplace he liked visiting. Unlike many teens, he was more interested in the girl's personality than her body. As a result, he had rejected a lot of confessions, finding them half-assed. Same for dating, as more often than not, his partner was weak minded and willed.
Yui was different, though and it was obvious. She knew what she wanted, and she thrived because of it. He was also pretty sure she wasn't taking him to a love hotel; they were still minors, after all.
So, when she spotted a sign above an otherwise inconspicuous entrance, he followed her with no hesitation, despite being led down a dark and somber tunnel.
Far away, he could hear some noises, screams, and cheers. The smell, powerful and pungent, made him smile, as he recognized it immediately and loved it. Izuku was still searching to see if there was really no shark mutant in his family tree, because Katsuki actually dashed forward when the scent of blood hit his nose. Then he squealed when he discovered the immense underground arena, where two peoples were pummeling each other on the ring.
"YOU KNOW AN UNDERGROUND FIGHTING RING?!"
Yui was happy too, and nodded her head, when a giant gorilla woman towered above them, blocking them from the entrance. She was actually so big and muscular, Katsuki thought she was the USJ Noumu for a split second.
"Kids aren't allowed here, unless you got a special permission."
Katsuki thought about his primary solution (aka blowing the problem away) when Yui tapped him on the shoulder… Before a tall, lightly tanned man with golden eyes arrived, a small smile on his face.
"Hey kids! You're Rumi's interns?"
The gorilla lady considered what the man said before suddenly relaxing.
"Oh, if they're with you, that's not a problem then."
Just like that, she let them pass, as the man gave them a sign to follow him. He exuded self-esteem and power and Katsuki immediately knew how he wanted to look one day.
"… Wait, Rumi? I thought the boss said only her close friends could call her that…"
The man nodded quietly.
"Well, I earned that right during my second date with her. We made a bet on a fight: If I won, I earned the right to call her Rumi and in exchange, if she won, I was to be her side-kick. I prefer to be an underground hero personally. Raids and street fighting are more my thing, y'know?"
Katsuki and Yui stopped for a second and did a double-take. Date? With Miruko? She had another setting besides "Fight", "Fight Harder", "Run away from Otsu because she caused another large bill that she had to pay"?
"Wait a minute, isn't that supposed to be an illegal arena? How come heroes are here, then?"
The man massaged his chin for a second, while guiding them to a booth… where Miruko was waiting for them in civilian clothes.
"Hey kiddo! I see you meet that deadbeat Ryō!"
"Fuck you, Rumi."
"Only at home."
Both adults looked at each other, ready to exchange blows… Before laughing and they all sat down.
"As for your answer, this arena is… Well… Even the HPSC knows about it. They also know that trying to close it would be more trouble than it is worth. As a result, they asked for a neutral party to take control of the place. Someone who made sure it wouldn't become a crime den and allowed for everyone to have a neutral ground to chill and sometimes exchange information. The real boss is currently away, so it's his girlfriend who's controlling everything."
"And no one tries to take control of the place?!"
"Well, would you try to mess with me, Ryō who is as strong as me, and Otsu?"
The kids looked at each other, before suddenly, on the giant screen, they saw Miruko's secretary in fighting clothes, facing off against three crocodile mutants who looked like they wanted to run away. Maybe some sort of primal instinct?
What happened then was a one-sided massacre, as the otter apparently had a lot of stress to release.
"…Someone is dating Otsu?! Does that count as furry?"
"No one dares to say that… Well, no one alive. As for who is dating her… He's an even bigger battle maniac than me, and he found her his perfect type when she tried to arrest him. He wanted to pick a fight with me, and she was there. So they fought and… Well. Things happened."
Ryō laughed as he brought back two beers from the bar for Rumi and him, along with some sodas for the kids.
"As for why you are here… Well…"
"We often take the more interesting interns here so they can get even more combat experience. Some friends of yours, in class B, are here too."
While saying that, Miruko pointed to another ring where Itsuka and Tetsutetsu were double-teaming against another pair. Katsuki, who had wanted a match against Itsuka since the Sport Festival, got up immediately, Yui following close behind.
"Well, thanks Sensei! Now, I know what I'll be doing this evening."
"What we'll be doing, Katsuki." Yui reminded him of her presence by yanking him by the ear.
"Yes, yes… I mean, who else could keep up with me?"
When he saw her radiating pleasure, Katsuki knew he said the right words, before whispering to her, once far enough away from the adults…
"Best. Date. Ever."
"Good. And if we win, I will let you invite me on another date."
——————
"They are quite cute together." Ryō observed, as the two teens climbed into the ring, before asking to fight the other two interns.
"Apparently, they are not officially together but…" Miruko, unlike what most people thought about her, knew a few things about love.
"They'll probably kiss after the fight. Nothing better than that to get the blood pumping. Anyway… Business" Ryō took some papers from his vest, and gave them to Miruko, who was sipping her beer. Interesting…
"He's still there, but he's now certain they are keeping him away from something. So, despite being technically a pillar, they're still wary of him. However, he says he'll probably get more intel soon." Another advantage of Ryō being an underground hero: no one knew his face and his fighting style didn't rely on his quirk, because of the stigma that went with it.
He was pretty sure he was one of the Ashen King's offspring, second-gen based on his age, but that wasn't something he wanted on a CV. He did admire Endeavor's balls. Despite his quirk, the man who was likely his uncle decided to be a spotlight hero anyway.
Still, Endeavor did inspire him to be a hero.
Miruko went through the papers and sighed. So, the Yakuzas were indeed working on something fucking fishy, and it was going to be a bitch to deal with it.
"So, when the time comes. We can count on Otsu, him, you, and me. Know who else I could ask?"
Ryo thought about that for a second, before nodding.
"I have someone who might know where Knuckle Duster is. But I would like more firepower, too."
"Yes… It's not like the Levellers have a calling card. And among the underground heroes?"
"I can try to convince Eraserhead, but the man is moody. Joke might be an option, though. Has Ryukyu said anything?"
"Oh, she is totally in, and her trainee, too. Apparently, she is in a bloody mood since they failed to arrest the Boss."
"Any other top 10 heroes?"
Miruko sighed, before thinking for a bit, not happy with her last idea.
"I can try to reach out to Endeavor, but… With your family problem…"
Ryō understood and nodded his head. That was a problem he wasn't ready to face yet.
The whole raid was a mess in the making, and they still needed more intel.
——————
"HANAAAAAAAAAAAA"
Since her return, La Brava didn't give her friend one moment to catch her breath, while Gentle was making tea, as usual. Everyone needed a breather, and frankly, that meant tea for the three of them, while they were relaxing watching some TV.
The three of them were having fun, especially now that Hana admitted that the two crazy people who welcomed her into their crazy home were nice. Gentle and La Brava didn't have any weird plans or endgames. They just wanted to help people and their offer was free of any strings. They merely wanted to help because she was their friend and they could do that.
Then, Compress appeared in a flash, stepping in front of them. It was telling he did that a bit too often, as none of his partners even flinched. They just gave him a flat stare.
"Seriously? Nothing?"
"… Compress, it is the fourth time this month, and one time, you actually got out of the closet."
"What can I say, except I am fabulouuuuuuus ~ ?"
All three Levellers looked at each other and Compress got hit by a controller, a book and then was offered a cup of tea.
"So… What's the pleasure? I thought we were going to lie low after everything that happened?"
The magician looked at Sophie… And took off his mask. Everyone here knew his identity and were guests at his wedding after all. He then sat down in front of Hana and told her…
"Stain confirmed your brother is apparently alive."
Gentle, always one to experiment, let a pin drop to see if you could hear it, while everyone else went silent.
"And now, he's dead because of the people who got Moonfish. So…"
"The number of person who could pull that off… is exactly one." Everyone stopped to listen to their boss, about to drop some bomb. "A man who must hate our guts as we fucked up some of his operations recently."
Everyone looked at Compress, who was visibly and utterly terrified. The same Compress that proposed to attack the HPSC with a big smile on his face.
"As far as we know, he is at least as old as the Old Man, the french living quirk… And terribly powerful. He's the legendary bogey-man of the Japanese underworld…"
La Brava, the brains of the group, instantly knew who he was talking about.
"… Oh god. All For One is real? And… You are saying he's most likely the one who has Hana's brother?"
"Yes… And… I have a lead as to the why."
Compress took a chair and sat in front of Hana.
"Hana? Do you know my wife's maiden name?"
"It's not Midoriya?"
"… That was her late husband's name, may he burn in hell. He was All For One's favorite spy… And he sent him to seduce Inko Shimura."
Everyone in front of him looked shocked for a second, as they connected the dot in their minds.
"HOLY SHIT, does that make you Hana's uncle now?"
La Brava slapped the back of her fiance's head before Compress continued. Meanwhile Hana just sat there, still shocked by the revelation.
"As far as I can tell, All For One has a large interest in the Shimura family. I did some investigation, and discovered that your grandma, Floaty, was apparently killed by him. Same for your grandpa, Sandstorm."
"… So he has some sort of vendetta against us?"
"Most likely."
Everyone seemed to stop, thinking for a minute, before Gentle came to a conclusion. While La Brava was the brains, Gentle wasn't dumb either. Incredibly passionate about tea? Most certainly. However, he wasn't dumb, at all.
"Well, then. Let's fight this All For One."
Hana looked at Gentle, not truly believing her ears, especially after Compress tried to convey how utterly terrifying the enemy was. She also knew how truly dumb and/or loyal her two friends were when La Brava nodded her head frantically.
"But you could die!"
"Well, to be fair, we already fucked up some of his ops. I doubt saying sorry will convince him to spare us. Besides, Hana, we promised to help. And damn right, we will!"
Compress let all of them cry for a second, a small smile on his face. This crew was crazy, but it was his crew. Now? Now they all had a personal stake in it. What had begun as a small investigation, was going to be probably his most crazy adventure.
"I think my ancestor Oji Harima would be proud of all of us. He did love to fuck with All for One."
Everyone nodded their heads, as they joined hands together, united.
"Oh, and on a side note. Hana, your aunt is inviting you to eat with us tomorrow evening. She says it's non-negotiable and if you try to run away, she will hunt you. Don't worry, the worst you risk is getting crushed in a hug. Also, your cousin will probably bombard you with questions."
Oh, right. Hana just understood this.
While she didn't find her brother, yet… She did find two families.
"… Thank you, uncle."