Chapter 5: Setting the Pieces

Osaka, Kansai Region

Tennoji Ward

One Week after the Death of Shigaraki Tomura

"Asset sighted. Grey van, just parked on the second floor. Coming up the elevator now, two armed guards. Looks like he's got the money with him."

Hatsume's voice sounded loud and clear through Shinso's earpiece as he stood in the quiet darkness of the high rise's thirtieth floor, the wind whistling past him. The skyscraper was still under construction, with bare concrete floors and walls and nothing at the edges between them and the abyss below. He ventured a glance to the building across the street where Mei was concealed on the roof, directly beneath the bright orange disc of the setting sun. As usual, she and her rifle were ready for the first sign of trouble- once they were certain enough of Kurogiri's loyalties to deploy him in the field, her job would be even easier. Hitoshi's gaze shifted back to the figures beside him, half hidden in shadow- Twice and Mustard, his backup.

The red eyes of Mustard's gas mask glowed menacingly in the twilight; Hatsume had made significant upgrades to his gear since he came over from the League, increasing its structural integrity for close quarters combat and adding a high voltage shock that triggered when an attempt to remove it by force was made. She'd also used his quirk to fashion a set of highly potent gas grenades, currently stored on a bandolier slung across his chest beneath a dark trench coat. Twice was muttering to himself in a corner as usual, and finally raised his voice when Shinso glanced in his direction.

"You know, for once, I actually feel pretty good about this! He was always one of our most reliable partners! Oh, what am I kidding, it's all gonna go wrong!" Jin's back-and-forth rambling continued until he finally drew in a deep breath and tugged down at the edge of his mask, just as the half-enclosed steel cage of the service elevator dinged to a halt at the center of the floor.

The display on Hitoshi's goggles automatically zoomed in to better focus on the trio that emerged; wearing a lavender suit and gold-rimmed glasses, Giran stepped out first, puffing on a cigarette as his thumb ran idly along the handle of the nondescript leather briefcase in his right hand. A longtime ally of the League, he had jumped ship and become a valued broker for Mei's babies on the black market, along with pointing them in the direction of several potential recruits. If everything ended without a hitch tonight, this would be his largest purchase so far- a cornucopia of deadly support items ranging from maximum-voltage shock gauntlets to neurotoxin dart guns was waiting in a passcode-locked steel box at Hitoshi's feet. The sheer scale of the arms sale was enough to draw Midoriya's attention- along with the standard hidden trackers, there were kill switches embedded in all of the babies, failsafes in the event that the weapons were sold to a rival villain group and used in an attack on their own.

"What's with the muscle?" When Giran was within earshot, Shinso looked pointedly at the two hooded thugs on either side of the broker, his eyes roving warily over the submachine guns they carried. "You trying to hurt our feelings? And here I thought we could trust each other by now."

"Never hurts to have some insurance these days," Giran offered sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. "Especially with Hawks and that red-headed twerp around. They've really busting my balls lately- lot of my partners on the market are getting cold feet again!"

"Not you, apparently," Hitoshi countered, taking a step forward- Twice and Mustard advanced with him. "This is a lot of hardware we're talking about, even for you- top grade, all of it. Are you supplying someone new? The Eight Precepts, maybe?"

Giran's eyes flitted to Mustard's expressionless mask and he tugged at his fashionable lavender scarf with a sly grin.

"I wouldn't be a very good broker if I gave away all my clients, now would I?"

"Maybe not, but my employer would certainly prefer to know. Just so we can be sure you're not getting mixed up in anything… unsavory."

"Unsavory? I wouldn't dare, Hairo." Giran's gaze roved past Shinso and came to a halt on Twice as the two men shared a chuckle.

The secret of the group's true identities had died with Shigaraki, as Midoriya planned- the rest of their contacts outside their own ranks only knew them by aliases. They had kept up their disguised appearances for most major operations since they first fled to Nagoya- two years later, Hitoshi was used to his gelled black hair, though his green contacts still occasionally itched. Despite all his underworld connections though, Giran was still none the wiser, thankfully.

"The money, if you would?" Shinso's brows furrowed as he extended a hand.

"Of course, of course." Giran turned the briefcase in his hands and flicked open the latches to reveal rows of neatly bundled yen notes- a cursory inspection by Twice confirmed that it was the agreed amount. "Feel free to look as close as you'd like."

"Something's wrong." Mei's voice whispered into his earpiece, her tone urgent. With her quirk, Hatsume could see the details of the exchange as clearly as if she were standing at Shinso's side. "The money doesn't look counterfeit, but I ran a deep scan just in case, and my eyepiece is picking up a faint electronic signature somewhere in the pile. Should be about the center row, bottom stack."

Wasting no time asking, Hitoshi took a step forward, plunged his hand into the bills, and yanked out a wad from the middle, prompting a chuckle from Giran.

"Just like I expected, Hairo, you guys really are a cut above the rest. As efficient as always, and your group really is on the right track. I know you still haven't found everything you wanted, but trust me, you gotta keep looking."

Nodding quietly in response to the message hidden among the broker's words, Shinso began to piece together the situation bit by bit as he thumbed carefully through the stack of bills in his fist, searching for any irregularity. A much larger purchase than usual. Guards we've never seen before. A bug planted in the cash, one that he seems to want us to find.

"Keep going," Hatsume urged, "I'll let you know when I spot it."

Giran's guards were both growing tenser by the moment, their hands tight around the grips of their SMGs; their expressions were hidden by their hoods, but their demeanor was crystal clear. Out of the corner of his eye, Shinso could see Mustard's hand edging slowly into his coat, nearer and nearer to the grip of his holstered revolver. As he drew close the end of the stack, Hitoshi lifted his eyes to meet Giran's.

"So, how did it happen?"

"You know how these things go." He started forward as he spoke, puffing thoughtfully on his cigarette as he strode up to Hitoshi's side. "They bust down your door in the middle of the night, throw a bag over your head, and next thing you know you got your hands cuffed to an interrogation room table while some deadbeat police lieutenant yells at you about your responsibility to this country."

Right on cue, Shinso reached the final bill in the stack, and pulled it out to reveal a faint patch of green and gold micro-circuitry spread across the reverse side. Ushering Giran behind him, he stood and gazed toward the two guards with a bored look in his eyes, waving the bugged bill in front of his face.

"You guys did a pretty shit job at hiding this. And you call yourselves professionals?"

Mustard and the guards drew and aimed their guns at the same moment, but before a proper standoff could even begin, two white flashes cut through the air, and the enemies' weapons fell apart into cleanly divided halves. Twice retracted his razor-sharp measuring tape just as quickly as he'd deployed it, and wagged a taunting finger at the broker.

"So clumsy of you, getting captured like that, Giran! You better be glad it was us here to save your sorry ass!"

"My apologies for the trouble." Giran took one last draw on his cigarette, then flicked it in the guards' direction. "I hated having to lead them right to you, but they were pretty damn persistent, and I knew pulling somethng like this was my only chance. Spiders, meet the flies."

"We're always more than happy to help out a friend in need. Yumeko, could you deal with this trash?"

Chirp, chirp.

Giran's guards dived out of the way just as two shots from Hatsume's rifle punched holes into the floor they'd been standing on, and rushed for cover; Twice lashed out with his tape again at the taller one, missing his neck but striking a grazing blow that tore off his hood.

Some teen? Hitoshi frowned when he saw the guard's youthful face and mop of unruly black hair. He almost looks like Izuku- he can't be much older than we are. Then the guard slammed both of his palms into the ground, and the room began to vibrate; Shinso's eyes widened in recognition as a crack in the concrete arced toward Mustard, and a hole in the floor swallowed him up before he could fire his revolver or activate his gas.

Shindo Yo, better known Epicenter, the Earthquake Hero. Graduate and valedictorian of Ketsubutsu Academy, Sidekick to…

"Yoroimusha!" Mei cried into his ear, frantic. "He's coming up the elevator now! I'll try to take out the cables, but it's a tough shot with the scaffolding in the way, I can't make any promises!"

Time slowed down as more muffled shots rang out, and Hitoshi's heart began pound in his chest. A trap. How could I have fallen for a trap? The vibrations quickly dragged him back to reality, though, and he dived behind a wall for cover alongside Giran as the room began to descend into a chaotic battle. No use wondering how this happened. All I can do now is survive and escape, like Izuku would. A few paces ahead, Twice surged forward with his tape to cut down Shindo, but the second bodyguard leapt in to intervene, delivering a solid kick to Jin's side and a punch to his gut. He whirled around and extended his other tape measure to cleave off the offending limbs, but as the blade descended on them, they suddenly vanished- or so he thought, until he realized that they'd simply retracted into the guard's body. Tatami Nakagame, he knew as the girl's hood fell back to reveal her blonde hair, blue eyes, and sharp teeth. Also known as Foldagirl. Another Ketsubutsu alum, and another of Yoroimusha's sidekicks. When her leg and arm burst out again and slammed into Twice's chest, the force of impact sent him tumbling into the next room; Foldagirl rushed after Jin while Epicenter made a dash for Hitoshi.

"Think you can hide from me? Save us both the trouble and come out!" The cocky grin the young hero wore on his face as he charged forward made Hitoshi's stomach roil. That's it, come closer- I'm going to enjoy brainwashing you.

"Masks on!" Suddenly Mustard's voice was ringing loud and clear in Shinso's earpiece; he barely had time to pull his sleek black respirator out of his coat and fit it onto his mouth before a thick stream of gas began to pour out of the hole Yo had made, twisting and turning to carpet the entire floor in a dense cloud.

"You better be glad I have an extra," Hitoshi snapped, reaching into his coat and tossing a second mask to Giran. "A heads-up on all this would've been nice- I'm sure you could've found a way. When I found the bug, I thought you had cops with you, not actual heroes!"

"They were watching me too closely!" The broker protested as he fit the respirator over his mouth. "Trust me, if I could have, I would've! I'll pay you back double for all this shit, I promise!"

It seemed that Yoroimusha's team was just as well-prepared, though- Epicenter ducked behind a crate and pulled on a mask of his own before continuing after his quarry, though he was stopped in his tracks just a few paces shy of Hitoshi's cover when a bullet tore through his side and forced him to his knees. Mei was his first thought, but then he glanced over to see Mustard clambering out of the rubble, smoke wafting from his revolver's barrel and mixing with the gas pouring from his body. The piece of concrete he was hanging onto shifted as he tried to pull himself up, though, and his second shot missed- reaching for the ground, Yo tried to activate his quirk again in the brief moment that luck had bought him, but Shinso was ready. Charging out of cover, he delivered a brutal kick to Shindo's injured side, then grabbed him by the collar and forearm and heaved him toward a wall- or so he intended, until Yo latched onto his leg with one hand, and everything below his torso began to vibrate.

It took less than a second for Hitoshi to lose balance completely, and before he knew it they were both rolling across the floor together, each struggling to gain the upper hand amid a tangle of limbs. He opened his mouth to ask a question- Giran didn't know his quirk, so neither should this brat- but a swift knee to the stomach left him gasping for breath and momentarily unable to speak. Epicenter gained the upper hand relatively quickly after that, pinning his opponent beneath him with a massive surge of strength. With his goggles, though, a few seconds' eye contact was all it took to activate his quirk- by the time Mustard had pulled himself onto solid ground, Yo was a blank-eyed puppet.

"Go help Twice," Hitoshi called to the other villain, glancing back to the elevator; its wheels and pulleys were still turning. "With any luck we can get out of here with the money before the cavalry arrives."

He turned back to Shindo, and was about to simply tell the hero to take a leap off the side of the building when a far better idea crossed his mind. Once he'd made the requisite commands and left Yo to his devices and called Giran back to his side, he rounded the corner to find Tatami still locked in combat with Bubaigawara amid the swirling purple torrent of gas- both had apparently equipped their masks on time. Foldagirl's abilities were clearly at their limit, though- her rapid retracting and expanding to dodge Twice's attacks was becoming more and more sluggish as the fight dragged on, and she'd received several cuts from his tape and blows from his fists. Mustard watched the two down the barrel of his gun for a moment, but quickly determined that there was no way to get a clear shot, and dashed to the other end of the room to begin lobbing gas grenades down the elevator shaft.

"You know, I've never been a fan of hitting women," Jin was saying as he dodged one of her kicks, "but I'm not gonna lie, this whole turtle thing is really creeping me out!" He connected another blow when she was too slow to retract, to retract, this time to her shoulder, sending her staggering. "So if you don't stop it, I won't be responsible for what happens next!"

He swung his tape wildly at her midriff in a brutal arc that would have bisected anyone else; when Tatami drew her entire upper body into her waist as expected, leaving only her head poking out, Twice lunged forward, grabbed hold of her, and ripped off her mask in one short motion. She quickly expanded again and tried to grab it back, but a lightning-fast blow to her stomach forced her to suck in a breath, and within moments she had collapsed unconscious on the floor.

Hitoshi, Giran, and Jin all exchanged a glance, but before they could decide what to do with her, the elevator groaned to a halt a dozen yards away, sparks flying from half-shredded cables as it hung at a haphazard angle, the floor sloped downward. She almost got it.

The steel-cage door swung open, and Yoroimusha stepped out defiantly onto solid ground, his hands gripped tight around his weapon, a blunted yari spear fitted with high-voltage shock emitters running along the blade- it was as close to lethal as the government would allow. Clad in a full suit of samurai armor with a black facemask above his whitening beard and a long horn extending from his ebony helm, the number nine hero was a fearsome sight to behold. Past seventy, he still had his sights set on breaking the records for longest hero career and most consecutive years spent in the JP Hero Billboard's top ten, and was very nearly there on both counts. Sleeping gas from the grenades choked the air around him, but his samurai mask had a respirator attached, and he started forward undaunted, even as a volley of shots from Mei's rifle bounced harmlessly off his armor. Jin made a rapid series of long-range slashes with his tape, but the razor edge didn't so much as scratch the hero, and Twice let out a whimper of defeat.

"I'll have you all pay for what you did to my apprentices," the man growled, his deep voice reverberating off the concrete walls. "Stand and face me in honorable battle!"

"Ok, time to go," Shinso breathed.

"You don't say," Giran replied wryly.

He gave a short, sharp gesture, and on cue the group swiftly fell back to the farthest edge of the building and unholstered the grappling guns at their belts, a last resort contingency for escape provided by Hatsume. Twice created a series of clones as they ran, one for each of them, to stay behind and distract the hero while they fled. Dealing with two sidekicks barely out of high school was one thing, but a top ten hero was something different entirely. If Shinso used his quirk to kill Yoroimusha, the incident would bring a massive amount of public attention to their organization, the opposite of the low profile they'd strived for over the past two years; at this point, the best option was to flee and slow the pace of their operations in the city until the heroes tired of the chase.

Behind them, Yoroimusha was cutting through the doubles with ease; aiming his grapple with one hand, Mustard twisted around with his revolver with the other and fired three times at the hero, who let out a booming laugh when the rounds ricocheted off his breastplate.

"You think that least pea shooter is going to do anything to me, boy? They really don't teach you about the greats these days, do they? I've blocked bullets ten times that caliber without breaking a sweat."

Moments later, Yoroimusha cut through the last clone and started once more towards them, but when it became clear he wouldn't reach them in time, the aged hero hurled his spear forward like a javelin, aiming for Mustard's leg. All it took was a flick of Twice's wrist, though, to slice the weapon in half before it could hit its mark, and send the pieces clattering to the concrete.

"Too bad you're still too slow, old man!" Jin cried mockingly as his grapple found its target on an adjacent roof. "Come on, Giran, let's get the hell out of here!" Once the broker had grabbed tightly onto him with a look of slight embarassment on his face, he leapt into the empty air, followed moments later by Mustard. Just half a dozen paces away from the charging samurai, Shinso had fired his own gun, and was bracing himself to jump when Mei's voice sounded in his ear again.

"Watch out beneath you! There's someone climbing the building!"

Two feet slammed into his chest from below before he could respond, and he stumbled backward. What the hell?! Hitoshi looked down to face his attacker, but a thick arm laid him flat on his back before he could regain his balance- at least, he thought it was an arm, until he saw that it had a tuft of blond hair at the end rather than a hand, and remembered all at once who the old man's newest intern was. Finishing a leaping vault over the edge from the floor directly beneath them, Ojiro Mashirao drew back his tail and raised his fists, his white martial arts costume rippling in the evening wind.

"You're not getting away that easy," said the U.A. third-year, his eyes full of fiery determination. "Surrender while you still can."

"I'm not planning on it."

Springing back to his feet, Hitoshi surged forward and aimed a sweeping right hook at Ojiro- now that the others had gotten away, all he had do was buy time, and he'd done more than his fair share of intensive combat training over the past two years. Brainwashing either or both of them at this point would be simple, but there was no need to risk giving his quirk's details away needlessly. Mashirao seemed surprised at his opponent's sudden ferocity, and for a brief time, the two were evenly matched, blow for blow. Even without his spear, Yoroimusha could easily end it by intervening, but he seemed confident enough in Ojiro to leave it to him, opting to retrieve Tatami's unconscious body instead. Sure enough, the intern's precise form and tail-based attacks quickly began to overwhelm Shinso's defenses, and within a minute he'd been backed into a corner, sporting several fresh bruises and a busted lip.

"Where's Epicenter?" Ojiro had barely broken a sweat, and cracked his knuckles menacingly. "What did you do with him?"

"Don't worry, you'll find out momentarily."

On cue, the ground had begun to steadily vibrate, followed by the walls, and the ceiling. Within seconds the entire building was shaking in one endless tremor.

"That's Epicenter!" Yoroimusha cried in confusion, Foldagirl slung over one shoulder. "Find him and get him to stop! I'll handle this scum!"

"Oh, it's too late for that," Shinso said with a grin, struggling to remain on his feet as a web of cracks spread across the floor beneath them. Once my companions escape, he'd commanded, hide out of sight and use your quirk to destroy the building. Even if the entire skyscraper did come down, Yoroimusha would almost certainly survive due to the sheer strength of his armor, though the same couldn't be said for anyone else- the secret of Hitoshi's quirk would die with Yo, and to the media, the entire incident would look like a disastrous blunder on the heroes' part, with a sidekick's reckless use of his quirk resulting in the total failure of a sensitive operation. With any luck, the case would be transferred to another, less competent hero as a result. Shindo didn't disappoint; soon Ojiro and his master were both struggling to find space to stand as chunks of the concrete floor collapsed left and right.

"You!" Yoroimusha surged forward and grabbed Shinso by the collar of his jacket, lifting him into the air like a ragdoll. "You're behind this, aren't you? What have you done?!"

When Hitoshi said nothing in response, the Armored Hero slammed him into the wall, his eyes shining furiously through his mask.

"Answer me!"

"Careful now, old-timer, or you might break the merchandise."

Yoroimusha scoffed and tightened his grip before slamming Shinso again, hard enough for him to see stars at the edge of his vision, and a strange tingling sensation suddenly began in his extremities. Ah, so that's where the threshold is. His purpose fulfilled, Hitoshi couldn't help but laugh through the pain as the samurai prattled on in vain.

"Whatever treatment I give you is far better than you deserve, you miserable coward! You-"

The hero was still midsentence when Shinso began to lose his shape and cohesion, dissolving rapidly into a puddle of grey sludge. By the time he and Ojiro realized that they'd been fighting a clone, the ceiling was already caving in overhead, and rubble and darkness overtook them.

Two Days Later

Kyoto, Yamashina Ward

"The publicity surrounding this operation is… regrettable, but given the circumstances, that can be forgiven." There was a hint of satisfaction in Midoriya's voice as he addressed them, his gloved hands clasped together over the table. A converted study currently serving as Izuku's office at this particular base, the room was dimly lit, with only a sliver of morning sunlight filtering through the shuttered blinds. "You faced down a top ten hero and escaped with no casualties, not to mention your successful retrieval of the funds."

Mei nodded, setting the briefcase on the table with a hint of pride in her expression; it had very nearly been left behind, but thankfully Giran had grabbed it moments before his escape. Due to the volatile nature of the operation, they'd spent the next 48 hours in a safe house, completely cut off from the outside world, only arriving in Kyoto an hour prior.

"I ran a thorough scan on every note in here before we left Osaka, they're all clean and genuine, aside from the one the clone and I found and removed. The idiots didn't even install ink packets as a backup!"

"Hubris really is the hallmark of the top ten," Mustard remarked dryly, shaking his head as he paced the other side of the room. Without a mask, the fifteen year-old villain had a boyish face, a shock of sandy blond hair, and sharp, cold eyes that always seemed fixed on some obscure point in the distance. "They couldn't even conceive of the possibility that their plan would fail."

"Look at you with the big words," Giran crowed, clapping his hands together sarcastically. "Did they teach you those before you dropped out of junior high?"

"Hey, play nice!" Twice countered, crossing his arms disapprovingly. "He's a good kid, mostly!"

"He's right, though," Midoriya cut in, and Twice quickly stopped chuckling. A twisted grin had spread across Izuku's face, and his eyes were shining with malice. "Even with All Might fading, they're still blinded by overconfidence. It's going to make our next major operation so much easier." Hatsume raised a questioning eyebrow, but Midoriya simply sipped at his coffee before continuing. "I'll explain everything soon. But for now, you've all done exceptionally. Twice, Mustard, report back to Nagoya and await new orders- I believe Monoma has an assignment for you. Mei, you'll stay here in Kyoto for the time being. Giran, you're free to do as you wish, but I expect a full briefing on your time in police custody. I trust Hatsume's assessment that you haven't been bugged or psychologically compromised, but we do have to be thorough."

Once the broker and two former League members had taken their leave, Hatsume stood and stretched before returning her gaze to Midoriya, rubbing her tired eyes. It was always hard for her to sleep at safe houses, without her babies to work on- she'd fallen asleep at the workbench with tools in her hands so often that it was entirely natural now.

"Whew, what a week. Speaking of the top ten, though, isn't new the JP Hero Billboard chart broadcasting today?"

"It's about to start, actually." Shinso's voice drifted in from across the room, and Mei's heart leaped as she whirled around to find him standing in the doorway, smiling sheepishly. "I was about to come let you both know. The-"

Her arms were wrapped tightly around him before he could finish his sentence, her head nuzzled against his chest. Though they'd been together in some capacity or another for nearly two years now, they still didn't have a true label for whatever this was, but they'd made it this long, and neither of them seemed to mind. At first, he'd simply been her favorite project- the intricate nuances of his quirk were perfect for building and testing an entirely new style of babies, ones that enhanced mental abilities rather than physical ones. This abstract fascination quickly translated to something else entirely, though, over the long hours they spent together testing each new innovation. But the more she thought about it, the more she liked how it had turned out. Where she was frenetic and spontaneous, he was calm and calculated. Where he still harbored self-doubt, she was overflowing with confidence and energy to spare.

"You know, even when it's a clone, I still don't like seeing you get hurt."

"I know," he said quietly, and stroked her hair. Although she still hadn't had time to remove her dye and contacts, Hitoshi's hair and eyes were back to their normal bluish purple, just as Midoriya's were green again. The hideouts were some of the few places they could afford to return to their original appearances, even if only for a short time between missions.

Hand-in-hand, they strode out into the living room, where Spinner was currently splayed out across one of the couches, fully immersed in Grand Theft Auto. This apartment was one of four main hubs for their criminal network that they'd acquired by careful use of Shinso's quirk over the past two years, spread out across central Japan- Nagoya, their first, Kyoto, Osaka, and Yokohama, on the outskirts of Tokyo proper. Due to the massive concentration of heroes and their former U.A. classmates inside the capital, Midoriya had ruled out the possibility of setting up a base in any of the 23 wards as too risky- for now, at least. Their members were always spread out relatively evenly among the four locations for maximum security- even having three of the founding members in the same city, as they did now, was a rare occurrence. As things stood, Osaka would be shuttered for a while longer to allow the hero and police presence in the city to die down.

The Kyoto headquarters weren't the most spacious of the four, but they were likely the most luxurious, with pleasantly accented wood tones and several elegant Japanese landscape paintings adorning the walls; the place had been owned a wealthy collector before Hitoshi brainwashed him into "selling" it. A Zen stone garden was visible on the terrace outside a set of French doors, and an entire suit of intact samurai armor was set into an alcove in one wall, next to a display of antique katana and no-dachi; after their encounter with Yoroimusha, the sight was especially ironic. Just as in the other three bases, one room had been stripped and converted into a workshop for Hatsume- she caught a glimpse of metal and welding tools through an open doorway as they made their way to the couch, and her heart fluttered in longing. Soon, babies. Just a little bit longer before mommy's back.

In the far corner of the apartment, Dark Shadow stood guard over the doorway; the pulsating, avian void's glowing yellow eyes were dutifully watching several rows of security monitors connected to cameras aimed at every possible entrance and exit to the base. Tokoyami Fumikage was a particularly interesting case- after they abducted him during the forest training camp, he'd proven stubbornly resistant to their attempts to indoctrinate him, clinging to his ideals of heroism just as Yaoyorozu did at first. Constant brainwashing during missions by Hitoshi was logistically difficult, and the quirk had proven impossible for Monoma to copy- they'd been nearly ready to give up when Hatsume came to an epiphany: While Tokoyami wasn't sympathetic to their cause and methods, Dark Shadow, on the other hand, craved violence instinctively when at his full strength.

After her extensive experimentation with brainwave-alterating technology for Shinso's babies, it had been relatively simple for Mei to craft a special collar and headpiece that inhibited Tokoyami's capacity for critical thought while ensuring that his quirk was always active and in complete control of his movement, with its aggression and bloodlust enhanced significantly. After nearly two years of trial and error with more and more powerful and effective designs, Fumikage himself had been rendered completely subservient to his own quirk, which shrouded his body at all times, and viewed Shinso as a more worthy master than the one it had been born with. Hitoshi still had to accompany Dark Shadow on most of its missions to ensure that it stayed in line, and due to the recognizable nature of the missing U.A. student's power, it was only suitable for assignments that allowed for stealth, but the sentient quirk had become a valuable and deadly asset to them all the same.

"Come on, Iguchi, turn it back to the billboard announcement." Passing by the brooding shadow, Shinso sat down next to Spinner and nudged him with one elbow.

"Hey, I'm practicing my driving skills!" Shuichi protested, taking a gulp of beer and scarfing a handful of popcorn before leaning back over the controller. Explosions and gunfire echoed throughout the room, and the sound of police sirens set them all on edge for a moment before they remembered it was just a game.

"Don't make me use my quirk. You know I will."

"Just lemme keep going until I die again, I'm at four stars already!"

"Listen to Shinso- you can play later, Spinner. Switch it back, I want to see this."

Midoriya had emerged from his study, and was standing at the back of the room with an amused look on his face. Iguchi complied in a heartbeat at the sound of his voice; in his eyes, Izuku's ideals were the closest to Stain's of anyone living. After Toga, he'd been the second League member to defect, and had remained unquestioningly loyal ever since.

When Iguchi flipped the channel back to normal television, two news anchors were still commenting on the pre-event festivities, their faces relatively somber.

"Heroes are still arriving here in Tokyo, just minutes before the top ten announcement begins. For those just tuning in, a short time ago we saw number nine hero Yoroimusha deliver a statement to the press from a local hospital- while his injuries are minor, and he has been given clearance to attend by his doctors, the Armored Hero has told reporters that he plans to skip the ceremony and remain with his sidekicks until they all make full recoveries. Epicenter and Foldagirl, graduates of the same class at Ketsubutsu Academy, both received critical injuries when a black market sting gone wrong resulted in the partial collapse of an under-construction office building in Osaka's Tennoji Ward earlier this week. The specifics of the encounter are still unclear, but according to a hospital spokesman, Shindo has been placed in a medical coma due to the severity of his wounds, and Tatami is still unconscious as a side effect of exposure to the quirk of former League of Villains member Mustard, believed to have escaped and still at large."

"That's our boy!" Spinner cackled, pumping his scaled fist in triumph before glancing back to Mei. "So glad you guys fucked up those pompous little Ketsu-brats, I wish the kid was still here to see this."

"They'd both be dead if I could've gotten a clear shot," she cried in exasperation, squeezing Shinso's arm, "but stupid old me decided to try and take out the elevator first! I should've just gone straight for the kill."

"Don't be too hard on yourself." Midoriya took a seat in a leather chair to the left, his steaming coffee still in hand. "This is almost preferable. Young heroes become martyrs if they die in the line of duty; if you leave them alive but useless, then you've truly beaten them."

"A third year at U.A. High School and intern at Yoroimusha's agency, Ojiro Mashirao, was present at the sting as well, but escaped with relatively light wounds," the anchors continued. "Police reports indicate that both Ojiro and Tatami owe their survival in large part to the Armored Hero, who shielded the two with his body during the collapse. For more coverage on this tragic story, tune in after the program. For now, though, it looks like the official announcement is about to begin!"

The camera cut away from the anchors to the inside of the packed auditorium where the ceremony was held, filled to bursting with pro heroes. Beside them, Spinner scoffed and shook his head between sips of beer as the view panned slowly over different sections of the audience.

"Fakes, all of them. Not a single one there knows anything about the true meaning of heroism."

"I couldn't agree more," said Izuku. "That's why it's our duty to teach them that lesson."

The ceremony proper began before Shuichi could respond, and all the former U.A. students in the room cringed at the sound of the announcer's voice.

"Good moooorrrninggg, Tokyooo! Are you ready?!" There was a pause while the audience roared out their approval. "I'm your host, Present Mic, and you're listening to the JP Hero Billboard Top Ten! Let's not waste any more time- we all know what we're here for! So without further ado, bounding in at number ten is the boy wonder who's taken the nation by storm since his public debut last year! His partnership with Sir Nighteye and Miruko has resolved more incidents per commission than almost anyone else here! I give you LEMILLION!"

Iguchi made a gagging sound as Mirio Togata strode out onto the stage, waving enthusiastically to the crowd.

"God, I can't believe they actually gave Tintin a spot, the plucky little shit. No one really smiles that much! There's something off about him, I'm calling it now."

"He'd be such a pain to make babies for with that quirk of his," Mei groaned, sticking out her tongue in disgust.

"Coming in at number nine," Mic continued, "with one of the most impressive ranking recoveries we've ever seen, is ENDEAVORRR!"

Spinner practically had a conniption at the sight of the man who killed his idol, leaping to his feet and pointing angrily at the screen.

"The fuck is this bullshit?! He was all the way down at 22 last time! Who the hell's even voting for him after Hosu? This asshole should be in jail, not getting a comeback tour!"

Ignoring the irony of that statement, Mei quickly motioned for Iguchi to sit back down so they could see.

"After a plunge from number two into the forties following his controversial handling of the Hosu City incident, Endeavor has made steady progress back toward the top ten at each ranking, gaining major traction after his trial ended with a not guilty verdict a few months back!"

Okay, now he would be fun to make babies for, Hatsume admitted to herself, watching the man's scowling countenance. I'd get to play with lots of heat resistant materials and designs, tungsten would probably work best… Too bad Dabi's such an anti-support item purist.

"Up one spot at number eight is the Armored Hero, Yoroiiiimusha! As you all know, he's currently in the hospital with his sidekicks after this week's incident, so let's wish them all a speedy recovery!"

"Damn right he is," Mei muttered, ruffling Hitoshi's hair. "That was good thinking, making the vibration kid bring the building down."

"Well, technically speaking, it wasn't my idea."

Frowning, Hatsume was about to launch into a philosophical tangent about how in a sense it was when Present Mic cut her short; the next few names passed by rather uneventfully.

"Continuing her steady rise up the ranks, at number seven we have the Dragon Hero, Ryukyu! Give her a hand!"

"For the second ranking in a row, the gifted rookie Kamui Woods stands at number six, although he has some competition for that title now from number ten!"

"Breaking the top five for the first time after a recent fall to rank twelve is everyone's favorite sea mammal- that's right, ladies and gentlemen, it's GANGGG ORCAAA!"

Present Mic was growing even more boisterous and excited as he neared the top spots, if that was possible, and eventually Shinso had to turn the volume down to keep the whole room from reverberating with his every word.

"Holding down the number four spot for the fourth ranking in a row is the ever reliable Shinobi Hero, Edgeshot! If Mount Lady can break past her number eleven ranking next time, his hero team will set a record for most members in the top ten at once!"

The camera cut briefly to a shot of Mount Lady in the crowd, wiping tears from her eyes and wailing a string of apologies directed at Kamui and Edgeshot between exaggerated sobs.

"Oh, come on, have some goddamn dignity," Spinner called at the TV, shoving more popcorn in his mouth. "But I have to say, it'd be a lot easier to hate her if she weren't so damn cute. And speaking of cute…" Shuichi's eyes widened and his beer nearly fell out of his hand as the camera panned over to the next person making their way forward.

"Jumping to a new high is the young hero who's put bunny ears back in fashion- don't pick a fight with her in a dark alley! Reaching the highest ranking for a female hero since Shimura Nana, you guessed it, at number three it's MIRUKOOOO!"

Rather than simply walk across the stage like the rest of her colleagues, the Rabbit Hero literally bounced into place, landing in line next to Edgeshot with pinpoint precision to thunderous applause from the crowd. As she waved to her cheering fans, the camera cut to a shot of the audience, focusing in specifically on Kendo Itsuka, dressed in a flowing blue and silver costume complete with a cape and gloves. All Might was sitting next to her in his Golden Age costume, still imposing even in his weakened form. An even more massive cheer went up for the two Symbols of Peace, one in training and one retired, but the living room quickly fell silent. Out of the corner of her eye, Hatsume could see Izuku shaking his head in quiet frustration, and Shinso muttered something profane beneath his breath. Spinner remained mute.

"We're all hoping to see Miruko's famous new intern reach great heights on this billboard when she graduates U.A. this spring! Stay cool, Kendo, but don't let your snazzy new job cut too much into your study time for my class!"

Itsuka went as red as her hair in the brief moment before the camera cut back to the stage, but Mic moved on just as quickly, and suddenly the auditorium was saturated with quiet anticipation. Shinso was checking his phone, but a gentle hand to the face from Hatsume dragged his attention back to the screen. Ever since Endeavor's fall from grace and All Might's announcement of his retirement just over a year ago, the top spot had been evenly contested between Best Jeanist and Hawks; Jeanist had managed to hang onto it in the past two rankings, but after a string of widely publicized rescue operations and gang busts by Hawks over the past six months, nothing was certain anymore. For the first time in ages, who would take the title of number one hero was anyone's guess.

"The vote was closer than ever this year," Mic cried, "and the hero statistics were nearly tied too! So here's the moment you've all been waiting for! Coming in strong at number two, I give you BEST JEANIST!"

So the new beats out the old after all, Mei mused, watching as the audience reacted with shock and jubilance in equal measures. Jeanist took the stage as suavely and politely as ever, but the roaring of the crowd didn't die down even as Present Mic raised his volume to read the final result over them.

"And at the age of just twenty-four, an all-time record, your new number one hero, the unflappable, unbeatable, unparalleled, HAWKSSSS!"

His crimson wings spread out in all their glory, Hawks took a page from Miruko's book and soared twenty feet into the air from his place in the crowd, lighting in his spot at the head of the stage with the grace of a ballroom dancer. Even through the TV, Hatsume could hear women (and some men) in the crowd squealing as he flashed a roguish grin at the camera, though she nearly gagged at the sight. The individual comments from each of the ten heroes came next, though their group mostly tuned out and devolved into scattered conversation- except for Midoriya, of course, who wrote feverishly in one of his dozens of notebooks after every speech. When it came time for Hawks to talk, though, the room seemed to quiet instinctively.

Even before he spoke, the new top hero's tone was readily apparent from the self-satisfied smirk on his face and his relaxed, casual posture as he held the microphone up to his mouth.

"Wow. All I can say is, took you guys long enough. I mean, about damn time, right?" A peal of laughter rose up to the rafters. "But no, really, though. I've been saying ever since I broke the top ten that popularity polls should be the only real metric that determines these rankings, and I still stand by that. As your heroes, we should be a reflection of how the people of this country feel, and that's what I finally see on this stage today. Now I know that this is a massive responsibility- I've been thinking about this moment for a long time. And right now, what I want you to know is that even if things seem rough and confusing right now, I have your back, and I always will. My goal has always been a world where heroes have more free time than they know what to do with, and that's exactly what I'm going to give you."

Shinso muted the TV to silence the applause that followed, and Spinner narrowed his eyes, one hand clenched into a fist.

"That arrogant piece of shit. He's everything that's wrong with this society, with the entire system. He doesn't understand the first thing about heroism, about sacrifice."

"I know," replied Midoriya. "That's why we're going to kill him."

Twelve Hours Later

Tokyo, Location Unknown

"You're fucking serious? You want to kill Hawks? The new number one hero? Forget the Kendo girl they keep trying to prop up, that guy is riding the biggest wave of popularity I've seen since All Might's debut. And you think you and your band of high school dropouts and ex-League goons can lay a finger on him? Even if I had a reason to, I wouldn't dare go for him, not at a moment like this."

Midoriya smiled, and shook his head in quiet exasperation. The office was much brighter than his own, but at ten meters underground and with no natural lighting to speak of, it felt twice as confined and claustrophobic. It was setting him on edge, making him angry, but he quickly pushed the feeling back down.

"And that's exactly why your organization has gone nowhere in the past twenty years. A willful lack of ambition- of imagination. You tell yourselves over and over there's no chance of bringing down someone who's ascended that high, that they've become untouchable, and after you repeat it enough times you start to actually believe it. I hate to be the one to break it to you, but you're wrong, Overhaul."

Chisaki Kai narrowed his eyes; on the table between them, Izuku nonchalantly moved another shogi piece. The match was still even.

"You don't know what we've been through," Chisaki growled. "You're too young to remember. It's a miracle that the Yakuza survived All Might in the first place- he's only just retired, and now that I've barely got this group back on its feet, you want us help you make a move so bold, it could easily get us both crushed for good. Is it just me, or does that sound insane to you too? Because insanity is a sickness, and I can't stand sickness." Kai's eyes were shining with barely restrained fury, and one of his hands started to fiddle almost instinctively with the edge of the thin white glove lining the other. Midoriya had done enough research on Chisaki's quirk to know that the gesture was a threat, but he remained calm, and motioned for Overhaul to make his move on the Shogi board.

"Back on your feet? That's being a bit too generous, don't you think? Correct me if I'm wrong, but the last I heard, your little quirk-erasing drug ring was busted by Nighteye before it even got off the ground, and you've been turning tail and running from his hero team at every chance you get ever since. I don't know what kind of clowns you were used to dealing with back when the League was around, but I'm sure you know by now that my operation is of a much higher caliber, both financially and strategically."

Chisaki calmly moved a piece, placing it within striking distance of Izuku's king.

"You should be glad that I respected your organization enough to agree to a one-on-one meeting," He said, still fidgeting with his glove, as if he couldn't decide whether or not to remove it. "My men would have already killed you for speaking like that to me. I'm still not sure whether you're sick or not, but keep going while I make up my mind."

Midoriya reached down and maneuvered his king out of danger, watching with a smile as Chisaki tried to retaliate.

"So let's boil this down to the basics, shall we? You have a problem- the Eight Precepts are being hunted by Nighteye, Miruko, and Lemillion, and the noose is starting to tighten. I have a problem- I want Hawks dead. They may seem disconnected at first glance, but if my problem is solved, the solution to yours becomes much, much simpler. If Hawks dies, the hero world is thrown in to chaos just weeks after crowning its new king, and in the confusion, you'll have the perfect chance to strike back at your pursuers. We've always kept a respectable distance from each other, Overhaul, but this is the moment we've both been waiting for- if we join forces now, nothing will be able to stand against us." Izuku paused and slid a piece forward; it was Kai's king in danger now. "After we ensure that the Yakuza escapes unscathed and stronger than ever, we can go our separate ways just as usual, and neatly divide the spoils of war. If we don't seize this moment, though, we'll both fail, and you know it just as well as I do."

Chisaki remained silent for a long moment, his expression imperceptible beneath his plague mask, eyes fixed on the shogi board.

"I don't think I have to kill you after all," he finally said, capturing Midoriya's piece to even out the match again. "I'll need to meet with your people, assess your capabilities. My informants tell me you're operating out of Nagoya, that right? How about next week? I'll come by then, and we can talk. Make sure you keep the place clean for me."

Izuku laughed out loud and shook his head, ignoring the Yakuza capo's look of indignation.

"A week? So inefficient! Why wait?!" He pressed down on his left cufflink until it clicked, and began to emit a soft, steady electronic beeping.

A swirling black-and-purple portal manifested at the center of the room moments later, and Chisaki was still rising from his chair when Toga, Dabi, Monoma, and Yaoyorozu strode through.

"Let's talk now, Overhaul."

And here we go back into the present timeline! My apologies to any anime-only readers, but we're plunging full into manga territory from here on out- I can't tell you guys how satisfying it is to finally include Hawks, Lemillion, Overhaul, and everyone else! If you don't read the manga and are feeling lost and confused, don't worry, though- check the top of the next chapter, where I've included a plot spoiler-free guide to all the new characters I'm including. As always, let me know what you think- can Midoriya & co. plus the Eight Precepts really pull this plan off? Can Spinner ever make it to five stars in GTA? Tune in next time for a chapter from the heroes' perspective!