Author's Note: So here we are, the end of Arc 4. I hope you all have enjoyed this arc so far. Tomorrow there will be the next Lost Tales chapter, so get ready for that. Love y'all! Next arc: Infernal Orchestra!
Also, if you want to get into a place with other lovers of MHA, and specifically IzuJirou stuff, come on and join this Discord server that I'm on: /eFtmT8cTbY We're only kind of crazy, and not at all a cult... except, we also kind of are. Anyway, yeah, join that! Or maybe you want something a bit less niche with still a lot of great authors? If so, I have another server! /6ZCTyGy7zZ I hope you enjoy this chapter! It's cross-posted on Ao3 as well. Leave a review if you want to. I welcome the feedback! See you next time.
"Three days ago, our country wept. Kaoruko Awata and Ken Takagi, otherwise known as the pro heroes Bubble Girl and Rock Lock, were exemplary heroes who gave the ultimate sacrifice: death in the line of duty." Sir Nighteye said into a microphone that had been set up on a grassy field. Before him were two coffins, heavily decorated in flowers, flags, and ribbons. Above each of them were pictures of the respective heroes.
A massive crowd of people were sitting in chairs in front of the two coffins, all dressed in black. The family of both Bubble Girl and Rock Lock were sat front and center. Rock Lock's wife was holding her newborn child as tears streamed down her face. Centipeder and Lemillion were next to them. Lemillion was struggling to keep himself composed.
Next to them sat Kayama Nemuri, wheelchair bound and straight faced. A single tear fell from her eye. Next to her was another girl, Tokage Setsuna.
Behind them were the other heroes and policemen that had been a part of the raid: Fatgum and his agency, Ryukyuu and her agency, as well as the members of the raid that didn't belong to a larger agency.
Behind them sat various members of different hero organizations, unrelated to the raid, from around the area.
"Kaoroku was…" Nighteye continued. "She was a bright smile. A light in the darkness. She epitomized what it means to be a hero. She helped people, not for fame or money, but because it was the right thing to do. She was fun, caring, and she knew the importance of humor and making others smile. She made me smile a lot." He smiled softly as he continued. "Those are the moments that I will hold onto as I move forward. And I urge all of you to do the same." He took a deep breath and then sighed. "I knew Ken Takagi solely in a professional setting, but that did not stop me from seeing a myriad of good qualities about him. He held steadfastly to his morals and spoke up for what he thought was right. He was a dedicated hero, husband, and father. His heroics spoke for himself, as his impressive results were the reason that I called him onto this team. I will take his dedication and emulate it in my own life, which I strongly encourage all present to do." He turned to Kaoroku's coffin and bowed. Then he turned to Ken's grave and did the same. Turning back to the crowd, he spoke again. "They both knew the risks of this profession. They did it in spite of the risks. I could keep going about why they should be honored, but we would be here for too long. Thank you all for coming. I'm sure they would appreciate it. You are free to pay your respects." Nighteye said. Near the end, his voice had gotten shaky.
He stepped down away from the podium as others from the crowd stood up and shakily made their way to the coffins. Rock Lock's wife stepped up and collapsed on her knees with a sob. Several others stood by her side and supported her.
Eijirou Kirishima wasn't happy. The fact that any of them had to die in the first place was horrible, but it was even worse because these deaths could have been avoided if they had just listened. Snake Eyes and the rest of Societas Requiem, while not perfect, had been on top of their game way more than a lot of people on the raid team.
What had surprised him the most was the fact that Tokage from 1-B was here with Midnight.
"Tokage. I wasn't expecting to see you here." He said as he approached her. Midnight was staring straight at Bubble Girl's image.
"Auntie Nemuri wanted to come, but after everything that's happened, it's been hard for her to function normally." Tolage explained.
"How so? Wait, she's your aunt?" Kirishima asked.
"Yeah, she is." Tokage laughed before taking a deep breath. "She does a lot of staring off into space now. Either doesn't or just can't walk. She spends a lot of time looking out the windows. I'll keep an eye on her every now and then, and aside from expressing desire to come here, the only thing she says is 'He was right' or 'We should have listened.' I don't know what those mean, though." Tokage sighed. "But she's family. I'm there to help her. I love her a lot."
"I think I might know what she means." Kirishima offered.
"What is it? It might help her."
"I was in the raid. There was a terrifyingly fast and deadly villain named Arachne. Your aunt knocked her out with her quirk. Rock Lock just wanted to keep her in place while he waited for backup. The leader of the vigilante group said that we should dedicate a larger group to look after this villain and take her to the police where they could contain her. Rock Lock said that he had it taken care of. When Snake Eyes pushed a little more, he said that Bubble Girl could help." Kirishima explained. Tokage was listening with rapt attention. "After a while, the big group got separated into two. Your aunt's group went back the way we had come. She discovered their bodies I think."
"I see…" Tokage said slowly.
"I agree with her." He said after a few seconds of silence. Tokage looked at him with shock and confusion. "Those vigilantes had been trying to save our asses all day. We should've listened again." He continued. "If it wasn't for them, several more of us would have died."
"I had no idea." Tokage said. She looked down to the ground.
"Hey, Tokage?" Kirishima asked suddenly.
"Yeah?" She looked up at him. His face was filled with uncertainty and nervousness.
"Can you keep a secret?" He asked. With his facial expression, this would either be incredibly topical or not at all topical. Regardless of that, she knew it was serious.
"Sure. Let's head over here." Tokage gestured nearby where funeral-goers weren't too close to. The two of them made their way away from the group of people and sat down at a nearby bench.
Kirishima took a deep breath and slowly let it out. "It's a beautiful day, isn't it?"
"Quit beating around the bush. You're stalling." Tokage said calmly.
"Yeah, you're right. The truth is… I was approached a while back by them."
"Why?" Tokage asked.
"To join them, I think." Tokage scoffed. "That's what I thought, too. I didn't even consider it." He looked away from the funeral. The grassy hills rolled over the horizon. "But after this raid, they were some of the only ones that were truly manly."
"You're basing this off of manliness?" Tokage asked.
"It's about how they carried themselves. They tried to do what was right. They backed up their motives with effort and skill. They didn't want to chance anyone's life. And they fought like hell to the end." Kirishima explained. He turned back to look at Tokage. "This raid has taught me and a lot of other people that heroes as an institution can't always be relied on."
Tokage remained silent. They both let their gazes fall back on the hills behind the funeral venue. A few seconds passed before they saw a few people stepping over the hill.
Dressed in their costumes, Societas Requiem crested above the hill. They stood there for a while before they turned around and left.
Kirishima swore that he saw Snake Eyes' mask look at him. "I should go talk to them…"
"Wait." Tokage said, grabbing his sleeve.
"Don't try to stop me, Tokage. I have to do this." Kirishima said.
"I'm not stopping you." She said quietly. "I want to go with you…" Kirishima's eyes widened.
"A-Alright…" Kirishima said tentatively. The two began to slowly walk over to the hill that the vigilantes were standing on.
"Eijirou Kirishima. Setsuna Tokage." Snake Eyes greeted. "What do I owe the privilege?"
"How are you all feeling?" Kirishima asked.
"We've definitely been better." Overwatch responded.
"The two that became part of him have been having nightmares." Changeling added. "It's been rough, but not as rough as some of these families."
"Their death was unnecessary." NightHawk said as he looked towards the funeral.
"I hope you thanked that little girl." Kirishima said.
"Profusely." Mastermind nodded. "She was worried we would be mad at her for coming along."
"Which, let's be honest here, she shouldn't have come along, but after the fact, I'm more than happy at the fact that she did." Heartquake said. "I'm…" She trailed off. "Anyway, we've thanked her a lot. We had a great day yesterday."
"Wow…" Kirishima said. "You guys are a lot more chill when you're not working."
"Work needs a different outlook sometimes." Snake Eyes said. "But the funeral is why we're here. Why are you two here?" He asked.
"Well we were at the funeral too." Kirishima said. "But we saw you, and we're here to talk."
"Oh? Talk?" Snake Eyes asked.
"We want to join!" Tokage said.
"We?" Kirishima asked.
"Yes, we." Tokage said.
"Well, then. It seems we do have something to talk about." Snake Eyes said. "Eijirou Kirishima. We will be sending you a location to meet us at later. You and Miss Tokage will join us there. We'll discuss your next steps."
"We can't talk here?" Tokage asked.
"We're at a funeral. Show some decorum." Snake Eyes said.
"R-Right…" Tokage said.
"Just joking." Snake Eyes clarified. "The voice changer makes it hard to convey that. Regardless, we do want to pay our respects. We will talk later. Just know that we are interested."
"So, you actually showed up." Snake Eyes said. Kirishima and Tokage turned the corner in an alleyway.
"Of course we did. We said we were interested." Kirishima said.
"So you did. Consider this the first of a few tests." Snake Eyes said. He eyed both of them carefully.
"Well what's the next test?" Tokage asked.
"Why do you want to join us?" He asked.
"I feel like that should be pretty obvious." Kirishima started.
"If you're here for the brand name or to cash out on popularity, then you can leave." Snake Eyes said.
"I'm not here for that." Tokage said. "I saw the aftermath of Bubble Girl and Rock Lock. I saw my aunt spiral into the state that she is now. I know that if people had listened to you, less people would have died. My aunt wouldn't be in the state she's in. She wouldn't be forced to retire. If it comes down to being a part of a group that has the right senses about how things should go or the official heroes whose mistakes lead to multiple peoples' deaths, I'm choosing the ones with the better track record."
"I see." Izuku said.
"I'm in the same vein of thought as Tokage." Kirishima said. "You all… At the raid, you all were so manly, even the people that aren't dudes. You were inspiring. Crimson Riot may have inspired me to become a hero, but you all were inspiring in terms of next steps moving forward."
"That's touching to hear." Snake Eyes said. "I do hope that you all don't expect us to just agree immediately."
"I-I… I guess so…" Kirishima said.
"We work outside of the law. There is a lot of secrecy involved with that. We don't exactly know if we can trust you. Yet." Snake Eyes explained. "Get us to trust you first, and then we can talk about officially joining."
"Makes sense to me." Tokage said, smirking. Her sharp teeth finally were visible. "You got it. I'm not sure about this guy, but I'll definitely earn your trust."
"I will too!" Kirishima said emphatically.
"I sure hope so." Snake Eyes said. "We'll be keeping an eye on you both. Prometheus, make sure of it." The two students looked around, looking for another person. Snake Eyes continued, gaining their attention again. "The first thing that you can do to earn our trust is to keep this secret: Our newest member is someone that you both know. Shouto Todoroki."
"Th-That's… What?" Tokage asked.
"I had an idea during the raid, but now that there's confirmation, it does make sense." Kirishima looked at Tokage. "I'm pretty sure that Principal Nezu told us that he was visiting his family."
"Really? Do you think that he's in on it?" Tokage asked.
"I think it's a possibility." Kirishima said, looking back towards Snake Eyes, only to find that he was no longer standing in front of them. "Well… I guess that we have our next steps." He shrugged.
"I guess so." Tokage replied. "Well, let's go." The two of them walked out of the alleyway and back towards where they had come from, a new goal in mind.
"You two wanted to talk to me?" Nezu asked.
"We did, yes sir." Kirishima said.
"What did you want to talk about?" Nezu asked, spinning around in his chair.
"We would like to do what Todoroki is doing." Tokage said. "We want to work with the vigilantes."
"Huh." Nezu said simply. "Well, I don't know what they've been doing, but now they've recruited three of our students. I was not expecting this. Have they given the go ahead?" He asked.
"We have to earn their trust." Kirishima said. "Asking for your assistance with it when you helped figure things out for Todoroki seemed like a possible idea for that."
"That's a good start, I would say." Nezu said. He put his head in his paw for thought. "Well, I've already told them that I will call on them when needed. If you are willing to join with that and you either keep up with your schoolwork or drop out, then I have no problem with it."
"Drop out?" Tokage said.
"That is one of your options going forward. It would mean that you no longer have schoolwork and more time to devote to your new work. Todoroki chose to stay as part of the class, and I have been keeping him updated with class lecture recordings and assignments. If you wish, then you can have the same treatment. Otherwise, you will have to drop out of the program. That is the most I can offer."
"I always wanna keep learning." Tokage said. "Keep me in."
"Learning is pretty manly." Kirishima agreed. "I'll stay in too."
"Then it's done. As soon as you have permission from them, I'm sure I will know when that happens, you'll be taken care of." Nezu said.
"That was… surprisingly easy to negotiate." Tokage said.
"What, were you expecting me to put up a massive fight? I didn't with Todoroki. So I shouldn't put up a fight with you." Nezu admitted casually.
"Why weren't you surprised by us knowing you were involved?" Kirishima asked.
"I mean, it makes enough sense. Your classmate, Todoroki, has been relatively absent from classes. Someone with a similar quirk appears working for this vigilante group during the Raid on the Shie Hassaikai. That person just so happened to have an alibi that was given with my assistance. It's only a natural conclusion." Nezu explained.
"Well, that makes enough sense." Tokage shrugged.
"Now if that's all, you're dismissed." Nezu waved them off. "I'll tell Eraserhead and Vlad King once a decision has been made."
The two exited from the office relatively quickly after that.
"Did you hear that, sir?" Nezu asked.
"I did." A voice came from the room.
"More are joining their cause. This is interesting, isn't it?" Nezu said with a smile on his face.
"It certainly is. I watch their careers with interest." The voice said.
"You called for us, ma'am?" A man's voice asked as he and a group of six others stepped into the room.
"Onga Shikikai. It is good to see you again." The woman asked as she stared out of the window, looking over Tokyo.
"Likewise, Madam Chairwoman." Onga said.
"Your group's reputation precedes you." The chairwoman said.
"I would hope so, considering you and the rest of the Commission trained some of us." Onga said nonchalantly.
"Yes, that does seem prudent." The chairwoman laughed quietly.
"Why did you request us?" Onga asked. "Not meaning to cut the pleasantries short, but I am curious. It's been a while since we've been here. Not since Kaina."
"Don't mention that failure of a woman." The chairwoman scoffed.
"My apologies." Onga bowed quickly.
"You are alright." The chairwoman forgave. "As for why you are here, I have a special mission for you. There is a file on the table in front of you. Open it."
Onga did as he was told, opening the manilla folder sitting on the table in front of him. He took out several pictures and papers. "Ahh, I've heard of some of these. The up and coming vigilante group known as Societas Requiem." He rifled through the files before he handed the papers off to the others behind him. "What do you want us to do with them?" He asked.
"Make a public announcement. Call them out. Take them down. That part is up to you. Their public perception is too high. People are beginning to look at them rather than heroes. That is dangerous for us. They've been doing well. We can't have that."
Onga was silent for a few seconds. "Dead or alive?" He asked.
"Your choice." The chairwoman said. "They just need to be taken down."
"Public perception?" Onga asked.
"Doesn't matter." She shrugged. "They are criminals. You are the leader of the Infernal Orchestra. If people don't understand that death at your hands is sometimes a possibility, then that is on them."
"It will be done, then, Madam Chairwoman." Onga bowed.
"I believe in you. Just know that if you fail, that will be a big problem. For society and for you." She said coldly.
"I understand. It is as it always is." Onga nodded.
"You are free to go." She raised her hand and waved the group off.
"A pleasure as always, Madam Chairwoman." Onga bowed again before he led his group out of the room.