Chapter 9: Gathering Storm
"Not good enough. You'll have to be quicker than that."
Refusing to respond to Aizawa's taunt with anything more than a grunt of frustration, Midoriya wiped the sheen of sweat from his brow with one hand, wrapped the cloth bandages around his knuckles tighter, and charged in for another attack; first a feint to the left, then an uppercut from the bottom. The older man was still nimble enough to dodge, but only barely, and the effort clearly threw him off balance. When he tried to aim a kick at Midoriya's side, it was all too easy for Izuku to grab hold of his opponent's leg with both arms and flip him onto the hard wooden floor.
Even downed, though, Eraser didn't give up; when Izuku lunged downward to restrain him, he swung one foot in an arc that swept Midoriya off his feet as well; he only barely caught himself mid-fall, just in time to take a fist to the stomach that sent him stumbling back and gasping for breath.
"Bastard," Izuku wheezed as he dodged the pro hero's next swipe and launched into a new assault of his own, planting his feet solidly on the floor and winding into a haymaker.
"Oh-ho, so he finally speaks. And here I thought he was mute." Aizawa allowed himself a smirk as he sidestepped Midoriya's punch and caught him with a lightning-fast jab to the side; the smile died when Midoriya seized his left wrist before he could withdraw it, then pulled him into a half-nelson and hooked one ankle around his shin in the same fraction of a second.
Swearing viciously, Eraser pulled away with all his might and tried to strike the younger man's heard with his right hand, but he was a beat to slow- in one fluid motion, Midoriya maneuvered behind him, forced him to his knees, twisted his restrained arm into a position where it could be dislocated with ease, and wrapped his other arm around the man's neck.
"I win again," he whispered in Aizawa's ear, a crooked smile on his face. "That makes the record 3-1 in my favor today."
"Are you sure?" Eraser's voice crooned, its tone drastically different now. "I think you're jumping to conclusions."
Confused, Midoriya glanced down, then sighed in acknowledgement of the switchblade his opponent had pressed against his torso with his free hand, positioned just precisely enough in a backhand grip that a single slash could open his entire stomach.
"Very impressive, as always, but we agreed on the no weapons rule, darling."
"Did we? I don't remember that at all." The excess flesh from her transformation melting away, Toga twisted her head around and grinned at him, her gold eyes shining through again from beneath the obscuring locks of Aizawa's ugly black mop. She was still wearing the same dull grey t-shirt and black exercise shorts that 'Eraser' had been, and her blonde hair was tied up in her usual style. "Fighting with just fists is so boring, babe, where's the fun in sparring if you can't add a little variety?"
"Besides minimizing accidental injuries, restricting myself this way during most of my training forces me to rely first and foremost on my own body, not artificial tools."
Content with at least a moral if not a strategic victory as well, Izuku released Himiko, though she didn't move the knife from his stomach even as she turned around to face him, and her newly freed hand began to snake slowly around his back.
"That last hit really got my blood flowing, babe. The way you move is electrifying." She whispered the last word into his ear, dragging out the syllables so provocatively that color began to creep onto his normally pale face involuntarily. They exchanged a brief kiss that was quickly followed by a much longer and more drawn out one, and amid the ecstasy he barely noticed her pressing the knife into his skin until it was already drawing blood; she pulled away and shuddered in pleasure at the sight, maneuvering until she was sitting squarely on his lap, straddling his hips. He was forced to catch her hand and push it gently aside before she dragged the blade any farther.
"Easy now, darling. You've already used your cut for this week."
She pouted, but dropped the switchblade all the time, watching it forlornly as it clattered to the dojo's wooden floor. Over the course of their two-year relationship, her fascination with his blood had led them to adopt numerous unorthodox tactics to keep his chances of serious injury at a minimum. Izuku provided her with one vial of his blood a week with which to do whatever she wished. Whenever Toga was feeling particularly violent, she often made use of Twice's clones, but once a week, she was permitted to make a single cut on her lover's real body. Several of them became visible as Midoriya lifted up his now-bloodstained white undershirt to inspect the wound, thin, a series of thin, shallow scars on his waist and abs, barely visible from a distance.
"Have I been bad?" Himiko purred, running one hand across his muscles as she grabbed onto a tuft of green hair from behind with the other. Before he could respond, she had grabbed the hem of his shirt and pulled it the rest of the way up; as she pressed her body against his, he became acutely aware that she was wearing no bra beneath her own t-shirt, and breathed a sigh of surprise.
"Here? Now? We're both so sweaty, I'll shower first…"
"That won't be necessary." With a swift jerk and push, she had him pinned against the floor. "I like you like this. Rough."
Dredging back into the distant past, Izuku could still remember a time when her predatory eyes and twisted grin would have unnerved him, but by now, he was easily able to match, if not outdo her.
"Well then, if that's the way you'd like it, my dear." Suddenly reciprocating her embrace, he twisted his center of mass, knocked her knees from beneath her, and flipped her cleanly onto her own back, reversing the pin. "But be careful what you ask for."
"Oh shut up, babe, you know that you never have to be… careful… with me…" She trailed off as he began to plant a series of deep kisses on her neck, but just as he finally stripped her of her shirt, the door creaked open, and footsteps became audible at the other end of the dojo, rapidly advancing and then suddenly halting.
"Oh, whoops. That time of day again, huh?"
A glance over his shoulder confirmed that the voice belong to Hatsume; this was hardly her first time witnessing them like this, so she was entirely unfazed. Behind her, Yaoyorozu had one hand over her mouth and was blushing slightly, and Dabi simply looked bored. The only one who seemed to be genuinely alarmed was Gentle, who was doing his best to avert his eyes, along with issuing a strong of hasty apologies.
"Forgive me, young Midoriya, we had no idea that you were occupied with such… important matters! I never meant to pry into your personal life, I can come back later!"
"Oh, it's no fault of yours." Izuku lifted his head up and made eye contact with Tobita, never once breaking it as he continued to disrobe Himiko in plain sight of the group. "I seem to have lost track of time. Is it noon already?"
"It is," replied Momo. "But I can take over for you in the scheduled strategy meeting if you're otherwise preoccupied, sir."
"Oh, he's sure as hell preoccupied," sniggered Mei. "Jeez, sir, at least Hitoshi and I can keep it in our pants until after hours."
As he tossed Toga's shorts aside, Midoriya considered taking Yaoyorozu up on her offer, but only for a moment. It was vital for him to be present at every meeting, now more than ever, with the start of the operation to kill Hawks just days away.
"No, there's no need for that, though I appreciate your willingness. We'll only be a few minutes. Wait in the conference room, if you'd all be so kind."
"Of course, sir." Momo gave him a curt bow before leading the group back out into the hallway, and Izuku was forced to gasp for breath as Himiko eagerly resumed where they'd left off before the door even closed.
Despite his best intentions, it was around twenty minutes before Midoriya finally emerged from the shower, swiftly dressed, and strode back out into the heart of the Osaka headquarters. They were a pleasing blend between modern and traditional; the spacious dojo had always been one of his favorite places to hone his combat skills, and the panoramic waterfront view of the harbor visible from the massive pane-glass windows in the penthouse's converted dining-conference room was admittedly impressive. Toga, of course, remained at his side- she and her quirk were a key component of the plan, after all. Gentle blushed furiously at the sight of her when they walked in, but the rest looked up from their small talk and gave him their attention without the faintest sign of embarrassment.
"Shall we begin, then, if you're all ready?"
"Of course, I'll start the conference call." Yaoyorozu pressed a few buttons on her cellphone, and the holographic display on the speaker at the center of the table lit up with two different numbers- one for Overhaul in his Tokyo stronghold, and the other for Shinso and Monoma in Nagoya.
"Hairo and Saiki here."
"Aren here. You better have a damn good reason for starting this shit late, kid, I've got appointments to keep."
"I had to take care of an urgent situation- that's all you need to know. Is our call secure, Yumeko?"
Hatsume shot him a thumbs up, though her eyes remained on the endless streams of data flashing across her glass visor and gauntlet panel.
"Yup, we're beyond secure, totally encrypted. The new program La Brava shared with us is working perfectly, we can go ahead and drop the codenames."
"I knew she wouldn't disappoint!" Gentle cried triumphantly, practically beaming with pride. "In all the years I've worked with her, she's never once let our online activity be traced by the authorities!"
"Excellent. First things first, then. Overhaul, how are things holding up with the Precepts after the raid in Niigata last week?"
"The weapons were a bust from the beginning. Russians got intercepted off Hokkaido, so that was never gonna work out, but we got enough a few days later down in Chiba to offset it. The loss of Rikiya and Tabe is a setback, but thanks to Kurogiri, we were able to get Rappa out unharmed- he was always the most stable asset of the three in the long term. We'll still be ready on schedule for our part in the plan, my men have been looking over the blueprints nonstop for the past 48 hours. When do we rendezvous with your people?"
"You'll meet with Dabi, Mustard, and Dark Shadow tomorrow evening at our Yokohama headquarters. Dabi, do you have any further questions about your role for now?"
"Nah, it's all pretty crystal, boss. La Pipsqueak gives me one of her cameras, I film the murder and explosions, I participate in the murder and explosions, I use her tech to livestream it all to the web. Kinda hard to fuck up."
Across the table, Gentle visibly bristled at Aiba being referred to as 'La Pipsqueak', but remained silent. It seems his manners are too perfect to allow him the luxury of interrupting a conversation, Izuku noted dryly. Good for you, Danjuro.
"Excellent. Mustard, you?"
"My task is clear, sir. Everything will be carried out as we planned." The young villain was currently at Nagoya with Hitoshi and Neito, and spoke up on their line when addressed.
"And I trust their exit will be well-secured, Hatsume?"
"You bet it will be. Kurogiri's over in the workshop right now with La Brava, they're finishing the last touches on my newest baby. It'll increase the range, accuracy, and speed of his portal generation drastically when location-paired with specially-tuned signal amplifiers that I'll be handing out to everyone in the operation. He'll be able to pull each team out of hell itself."
"Perfection. I do so dearly enjoy seeing you put your talents to use. Shinso, Monoma, is everything clear on your end?"
"We did have one or two questions," said Hitoshi. "First of all, what's the contingency if they manage to get hold of one or both of the hostages? Do we kill them rather than let the heroes make a recovery?"
"Don't worry, I've got ya covered, babe. They'll pay a little visit to studio later tonight- they're both gonna be fitted with all sorts of fun babies that I can activate remotely at any time if they do somehow get rescued. In fact, Midoriya and I have been discussing whether or not we should let them take one back, just to watch the chaos."
"Devilishly clever, as usual!" Monoma proclaimed. "I assure you, we'll both be looking forward to seeing your designs- I hope they're suitably creative. The only other thing were wondering is if there are any priority targets other than Hawks. As you know, we were developing an anti-Endeavor contingency as well, but thanks to his own hubris, his involvement seems unlikely. If Hawks' sidekicks and partners do arrive on scene, is there anyone else we should prioritize?"
"I do regret this mess with Endeavor; dealing with him and Hawks in the same stroke would have been wonderfully satisfying. You have my notes on Yoarashi, but I sorely doubt that anyone besides him will be able to arrive in time. Of course, you know the new protocol for dealing with top ten heroes, but Hawks is still priority one, naturally. His public punishment comes first."
"Of course. I must admit, I'm trembling with excitement to finally see this through, Midoriya. I can picture the look on his face now!" Neito's trademark lust for the humiliation of his rivals set a smile to Izuku's face as he turned his gaze back to Danjuro.
"Finally, Gentle, something I forgot to ask you yesterday- is the algorithm La Brava used two years ago to slip past the U.A. security system still valid now?"
"Hm, well…" Tobita stroked his moustache and frowned. "I'm not the best one to ask about this between the two of us- I'm sure she can clarify more for you later. But if I understand her parlance correctly, then the base structure and framework of her code will still be useful, but the specifics will need to be updated to handle their newest firewalls. She's been monitoring their system constantly since you first informed us of that aspect of the plan, though, so rest assured that you'll be well-equipped."
"I'd expect nothing less. Now, if everyone's ready, let's run through each phase again, step by step. You'll all be receiving an updated personnel and target list from Yaoyorozu in a matter of moments, send conformation once you have it."
Two hours later, as the meeting finally adjourned and the participants began to file out, Midoriya was about to retire to the kitchen with Toga for a much-needed meal when Hatsume tapped him on the shoulder.
"Yo, Izuku, you got a sec? Got something that might need your attention." The other founders were some of the few people he let call him by his first name, and even then, only in private. They knew that he preferred Midoriya for the sake of professionalism, but he'd always had too much of a soft spot for Hatsume, his first friend at U.A., to scold her for it.
"That depends, I suppose. What is it?"
"One of the prisoners, Uraraka. She's been asking to speak to you for the past day. I dismissed it as some weak attempt at bargaining at first, but she's been pretty insistent."
"Has she been, now? Interesting." After a moment's consideration, he squeezed Himiko's hand and gave her a conciliatory glance. "Darling, would you wait for me? This shouldn't take long."
"Hmm, alright. But if you take too long, I'm just gonna order some sushi or wings, I'm starving." She leaned in closer, gave him a peck on the cheek, and said the rest with a wide smile and a happy lilt to her voice.
"I can't pretend I like you talking to other girls, though, baby. If she does or says anything that I don't like, I'm gonna carve her into so many pieces that they won't even be able to tell what's what."
"You know I can't let you do that…" Izuku ran a hand gently through her hair and offered her a sympathetic frown. "She's an important part of the plan, unfortunately. But if she annoys me too much, I'll have Twice make a clone of her for you to play with. Deal?"
"Deal."
Since the early days when they placed their trust in simple handcuffs to restrain Yaoyorozu and Tokoyami, the group's methods for holding captives had advanced significantly, needless to say. In a brightly lit, almost entirely bare chamber of the Osaka headquarters, Uraraka Ochako was free to move around her cell, behind the confines of a tungsten reinforced, triple-plated door, which could also vacuum seal the room and vent it of air at any time. It could only be opened from the outside, and only then after retinal, fingerprint, and voice scans from one of the four founding members or a designated proxy given clearance by one of the founders. A guard stood outside at all times; this shift, it was Spinner.
"Yo, boss, thank god you're finally here, this chick's been driving me crazy asking for you every time I bring her food and water. You want me to go ahead and restrain her?"
"If you'd be so kind."
Iguchi nodded and leaned down to scan his retina and begin the lengthy process of unlocking the cell door; once that was finally done a minute later, he slipped in and closed it behind him. A nearby monitor allowed Midoriya to watch as he drew the blade at his hip and forced Ochako to step back to the far end of the room, where he attached the quirk-suppressing metal shackles on her ankles and wrists to four powerful magnets on the wall, until she was splayed in an x-position up against it.
When the young heroine was securely fettered, Spinner turned to the camera and gave him a wave, signaling Izuku to begin unlocking the door in turn. It's a tiresome process, he reflected as he placed his thumb on the scanner, but peace of mind is worth a bit of tedium now and then.
Half a minute later, Shuichi had taken his leave, and Midoriya was left standing face to face with Uraraka as, per protocol, Iguchi shut the door behind them. The room itself was nothing short of mind-numbingly monotonous, with all of the previous interior features covered with a layer of lead to prevent signals entering or leaving and a layer of hard, moisture-sealed wood on top of that. In one corner, the wood layer protruded from the wall to form a bed, with a simple mattress and pillow on top- there were no wire or metal components that could possibly be fashioned into a weapon. A lidless metal toilet was located in the opposite corner, and between the two, a woven rug covered the floor. After some consideration, Midoriya had even fitted both of Osaka's cells a bookshelf, stocked with various writers ranging from Nietzsche to Camus to Beckett. Nihilism and the absurd nature of life were the general themes; while he wanted his prisoners sane, he didn't want them hopeful, though he hadn't been able to resist including a printed and bound copy of Stain's writings as well. A copy of The Stranger was open on the bed, one page dog-eared to mark the spot Ochako had left off on when she was interrupted.
Only when the door sealed shut with a soft hiss of air did Uraraka lift her head to meet his gaze. The wound Toga had left on her cheek was mostly healed by now, and beneath her greasy, unwashed bangs, Uravity's demeanor remained defiant, her eyes fiery and her mouth set in a hard line. According to her guards' reports, she spent multiple hours a day exercising, with activities ranging from pushups and stretches to shadowboxing. They delivered an electrical shock to her bracelets and anklets whenever she tried the latter, but she still hadn't given up completely. Dried-out sweat stains were visible on her grey sweatpants and black tank top, the only clothes they'd provided her with, but even that reality hadn't discouraged her over the eight days that she'd been held captive. Before he could ask her why she'd summoned him, though, the fierce defiance in her expression melted away, and against his wildest expectations, she began to laugh.
After a moment's surprise, he crossed his arms and resolved to wait for her to quiet down again, but when she was still going ten seconds later, he decided to speak up instead.
"What's so funny?" There was no anger in his voice, merely earnest curiosity.
"I… I thought it was you, but I had to see your face in person to be sure." Tears streaming slowly from her eyes, Ochako had finally recovered enough to speak, her breaths deep and heavy as a gleeful smile remained plastered on her face. "Oh my god, I can't believe I was right… to think that all this time, I hadn't remembered…"
"What are you going on about?" He asked, suspicion creeping into his tone. They'd made no efforts to conceal their identities from the two hostages- the next operation was serving as their debut, so the need for secrecy would soon be at an end regardless. Could she mean she knows me from the missing person posters? Everyone saw those, that's nothing special.
"I remember you from the hero course entrance exam, Midoriya." Suddenly her voice had grown deadly quiet, and Izuku felt a shiver run up his spine.
"Sorry, what did you just say?" One of his eyebrows twitched, and he felt the fingers in his right hand curl into a first involuntarily.
"There were so many people there, I'd completely forgotten, but now I'm sure it was you. I didn't talk to you, but I remember seeing you at the orientation, before Present Mic explained the rules. You were so skinny then, you looked like a stray breeze could knock you over. And you were so nervous too, I think you were trembling the entire time!" Another giggle burst from her lips.
"Stop talking. Now." Izuku took one menacing step towards her, sliding on one black leather glove as he withdrew the other from his blazer's pocket. His glare was boring a hole through her skull, but she paid him no heed.
"I saw you again after the exam ended. You were crying in a corner outside the arena because you hadn't scored a single point. I was going to go up and ask if you were okay, but your mom came to pick you up before I could. She looked like such a sweet lady- I doubt she knows about any of this. I wonder what she'd think if she saw you today?"
"Don't talk about my mother."
Thud. Ochako wheezed for air as he landed a solid punch to her stomach, but the smile only left her face momentarily before returning.
"I remember wondering what your quirk was, if it somehow hadn't been suited for combat. It wasn't until Bakugo mentioned you during the school year that I found out you tried to take it without one! Congrats on getting into general studies, though, the acceptance rate is only ten times higher!"
Thud. Another punch, to her arm this time. It was clear from the moment he withdrew his fist that it would leave an ugly bruise, and she winced in pain for a few brief seconds before continuing.
"Oh yeah, I bet you love me talking about him, don't you? Well he sure had a lot to say about you, Midoriya. Or should I be calling you Deku? Deku, as in useless."
"Shut up."
Crack. A third, to her face, harder than the last. Little by little, the control that Izuku had worked so hard to maintain over his anger was crumbling away. I should leave, I should walk away now. She's trying to provoke me, that's all this is.
"He talked a lot about you after you disappeared." She paused to spit out blood, and more trickled down her chin from a busted lip. "About how weak you were, about how you'd probably just killed yourself in some alley because you were just a pathetic, quirkless loser, always following him around. I thought he was being cruel when he said that, but it turns out he was wrong- you were even more pathetic than he thought, Deku."
"Stop saying that name."
Midoriya barely diverted his fist into the wall in time before he delivered a blow to her temple that would've stood a decent chance of killing her. Control yourself. Focus. She has to live, for now. Breathing deeply, he withdrew his gloved hand from the dent in the wood that he'd made just inches from the side of her skull. He could feel warm blood seeping from his knuckles and filling the leather, but ignored it.
"I'm surprised at you, Uraraka. None of what you're doing right now is very herolike."
"I guess you're right." Ochako smiled wistfully. "I'm supposed to try and save you, right? To try and reach your heart and remind you that you're a good person deep down? Make you feel sympathy for me? That's what they told us to do in training, but after a week of sitting in this cell, I'm not really in the mood anymore. So if you don't mind, I think I'll keep on going where I left off."
"Do your worst, I'm trembling in my boots." Izuku's breathing had steadied again, and most of his murderous intent had been contained for now. Let her think she can keep rattling me.
"Bakugo really is the opposite of you, isn't he?" Uravity's grin widened when he visibly flinched. "He's a selfish asshole, yeah, I know. But he's also strong, brave, passionate, honest. He taught me a lot of what I know about hand-to-hand combat. I had a crush on him for most of our second year, not that he ever noticed. I wanted to be like him. The good parts of him, that is. I bet you did too, come to think of it."
Midoriya turned around and was a hair's breadth away from signaling Spinner to open the door again, but something inside him resisted. You're letting her win if you walk away now. You'd only be validating everything she's said. Stay and prove her wrong.
"So, Deku," she continued behind him, "tell me if I've pieced this together right. I'm sure you've got some long speech memorized about why you became a villain, about how you always knew something was 'wrong with society', or some bullshit like that. But deep down, I know you wanted to be a hero. And you didn't fail because you're quirkless, you failed because you're a weak, insecure, selfish little brat who couldn't stand it when his best friend surpassed him!"
Just as she fell silent, another hiss of air announced that the door was opening again, and Toga strode through with a knife in her hands and death in her eyes.
"Okay, that's it. I'm killing her, now."
"Himiko, no." He caught her with both arms as she made an aggressive stab in Uraraka's direction, stopping her blade just inches short of the hero's forehead. "You know you can't, we went over this. As much as I wish you could."
"I don't fucking care." She'd stopped struggling against his grip, but murderous intent was still clear on her face. "No one gets to talk to you like that, not as long as I'm here. No one, Izuku."
"Clone. Later. Like I said." A kiss to her forehead calmed her down significantly, and Midoriya turned back to face Ochako with one arm wrapped around Toga's shoulder. "Do you know why I love Himiko? Why I've remained in awe of her these past two years?"
"Because you're both psychopaths?"
"Because she's led a life without doubts and without regrets. She does what she wants, when she wants, to whom she wants. You're right, I did want to be a hero, a long time ago. I was misguided- it took a long time for me to get to where she's always been, to accept the truth. I bought into the collective lie that this society spins, the one you're telling yourself right now. The lie that the strong must protect the weak, that the powerful should sacrifice themselves for the good of others. I was weak, but not anymore. I don't intend to waste my strength protecting anyone aside from the ones I care about, and neither should you."
"Looks like I was right on the selfish part too." She spit out another gob of blood, at his feet this time, and dropped the smile completely. Anger dripped from her every syllable when she spoke again, "What the hell do you even want?! What are you trying to gain, what's the goal?! Money?! Recognition?! I saw you have Stain's writings, do you think you're some sort of fucking crusader?!"
"Almost, almost." Releasing Toga, he strode over to the bookshelf and pulled out a black-spined hardcover embossed with red lettering. Hagakure, read the title, The Book of the Samurai. "Tell me, Uraraka, have you gotten to this one yet?"
"No. Still working my way through the Camus and Kafka."
"It's written by a man living in a time of peace who longs for the age of the sword, for the return of the warrior to the forefront of society; I find his sentiments quite relatable. Once, this nation recognized the right of the strongest to the rule- the power of the shogun, the emperor, the daimyo. We've strayed from the path, and now we've regressed, moved in the opposite direction. We're ruled by the weakest among us- our nation and its people are more powerful and capable than they ever has been, but we still force ourselves to slow our pace keep the incapable, infirm, and unworthy from being 'left behind', out of some inane fear that the world will judge us if we do otherwise."
He closed the book, set it carefully back on the shelf, and looked back towards her, his voice dispassionate, his eyes bored.
"Make no mistake, this society is doomed by its very nature- entropy always wins. There is no 'saving' the weak- their death is necessary, natural. If Japan is to survive- if we as a people are to survive- then the strong must take back their place by force at the top of the hierarchy. We are the strong. Killing Hawks is just the beginning. To save Japan, we will undermine the public's trust in the current system until it collapses under its own weight, then replace it with a better one."
Stepping forward, he leaned in close, until he was practically whispering in her ear.
"The goal, Uravity, is me on the throne in Kyoto Imperial Palace, with Toga and my lieutenants at my side, as the head of state of this country, overseeing the beginning of a new era."
"Huh." For a moment after he withdrew, Ochako remained silent, one eyebrow raised. "Looks like I need to add 'delusional' to that list from before. So how many people are going have to die for your 'new era' to begin?"
"As many as necessary. Thousands, I suspect, in the decline and collapse that will serve as the catalyst for our takeover- the revelation that heroes can no longer protect them will produce unparalleled levels of unrest and violence among ordinary people. Even I'm not sure exactly what to expect. But that's the beautiful thing about chaos, isn't it?" Izuku couldn't hold back a wide smile, his eyes shining with anticipation. "Confronting the unknown. You'll be doing that yourself very soon now, Uraraka. Get some sleep, finish your book. You and Todoroki have an important role to play in setting things in motion."
"It won't work," called Uraraka as they turned and readied to leave, and the door began to open again. Though she lacked the same fury she'd spoken with before, her words were just as determined. "None of it will. People are stronger than you think. We're going to stop you."
Now it was Midoriya's turn to laugh, a wild gleam in his eyes as he tilted back his head and ran one gloved hand through his green hair.
"How many times do you think I've heard those exact words these past two years? Go ahead and try your best, I'll be waiting."
"Harder, Tetsu, don't hold back. Hit me like you mean it!"
Kendo couldn't wipe the scowl from her face as she countered another half-assed blow from her sparring partner, then sent him staggering halfway across the studio with a brutal open-palm strike.
"Use your quirk, come on, I told you it's fine!" Her voice was angrier than usual, because she was angrier than usual. For the past week, she'd been suspended from hero activities for her part in the incident with Endeavor at the hospital; he'd received a two week suspension for his role, though the details had largely been covered up by the police in order to prevent any further public hysteria than had already been sparked by Uraraka and Todoroki's abduction. As Nighteye and Aizawa had later revealed, they'd set the entire thing up, designed the scenario so that Endeavor would snap and give them an excuse to suspend his license for long enough to keep him out of any rescue operation for Shoto and Ochako. Apparently, rescue attempts involving a relative or spouse of the captive were on average 40% more likely to result in failure or casualties. More than anything else at this point, with only a few hours of her sentence left, she was just trying to distract herself, just as Enji surely was.
Tetsutetsu's countenance drooped as he paused to towel sweat from his forehead before lunging at her with another hook.
"Fuck, man, I don't wanna bruise you again, you know how this goes! If you don't use both your quirks…"
"If I did use both my quirks, you'd be a red streak against a building halfway across the city!" Leaning down to her kit on the sidelines, Itsuka grabbed another set of elastic bandages to wrap her knuckles with and squirted a mouthful of water down her throat. "I'll risk it, Tetsu, just stop pulling your damn punches! Pretend I'm Kirishima!"
"Her hair's pretty much the right color for it!" Jiro called sarcastically from the other end of the 3-B gym, where she was currently stretching on the floor; loud rock music was playing from the speaker at her side. "All she needs to do is tape down her boobs and it'll be a perfect match."
Her comments eased the tense mood significantly; locking eyes with Real Steel, Kendo jerked a questioning thumb back toward her bandages with a smirk on her face and one eyebrow cocked.
"Nah," he chuckled, "it's the teeth that ruin it for me. I gotta see that shark grin of his, or it doesn't work."
"Stop talking about him or he's going to show up again," Kuroiro called morosely from the stationary bike. "He's got way too much energy. Last time he came, he talked me into deadlifting with him and I pulled a muscle in my back."
"Ah, that's all just part of the process!" Tetsutetsu replied excitedly, shooting Vantablack a thumbs up. "But if you want help deadlifting, you should ask Shishida, that dude's a-"
Whack.
While Real Steel was distracted, Kendo laid an oversized backhand across his face, meeting his shocked expression with a mischievous grin when he turned back in her direction.
"Vlad King's first rule of sparring, always keep your eyes on the target. Come on, man, we're not done yet. Show me that steel."
"Alright, but just remember, you were asking for it."
Thankfully, her last blow was the final push that Tetsutetsu needed to snap out of his fog; in a flash, his skin became gleaming metal, and he surged forward in a lunging hook. She swelled up both hands and deflected it to the side, wincing at the jolting pain of the impact, then followed up with an open-handed slap that he barely blocked in time. Her birth quirk was incredibly hard to defend or attack against in close quarters, but over the span of the next minute, he made a fairly promising attempt at doing both, so much so that their match built up a small audience, with Kuroiro, Setsuna, Jiro, and Kamakiri all watching at various points. Every time she oversized her hands to try to brute force him into tripping up, he went on the attack, pummeling her palms until they were bruised and bloodied, covered in a patchwork of cuts that made her traditional tactics significantly more painful to attempt. He took his fair share of damage too, though, suffering numerous dents that would later turn into bruises of his own when he reverted. Finally, after sidestepping a desperate charge, she managed to land a punch low enough on his legs to send him sprawling, and scattered applause and cheers filled the room as she knelt down to complete the pin.
"Nice moves," said Tokage, eyeing them both curiously as she detached one arm to grab her towel from the lockers on the other side of the room. "That was pretty hardcore."
"I'm just ready to get back out on the streets," Kendo responded, glancing over at the other girl while Jiro helped her apply more bandages to her wounds, and Kamakiri did the same with Tetsutetsu. "I get way too much pent up energy just sitting around campus doing nothing. I want to be out there helping with the search effort."
The mood in the room dimmed a bit at that, as everyone was forced to openly confront the unpleasant reality of the past week, to confront the frenzied press at U.A.'s gates, the solemn speeches by Nezu and the rest of the administration, the calls from parents for all student internships to be suspended indefinitely.
"Would some food make ya feel better?" Setsuna offered. "Juzo, Rei and I were gonna make some yakisoba for dinner if you want in. Meet us in the kitchen after you're done down here."
Fifteen minutes and one brief shower later, Kendo was practically salivating at the thought of stir-fried noodles; she'd barely had anything to eat all day. In the 3-B kitchen, prep was already well underway- Rei was using her quirk to chop the meat and vegetables while she chatted with Tokage, the knife moving of its own accord, while Juzo simply used his quirk to soften the noodles instead of boiling them, careful not to go too far and turn them into liquid. Itsuka greeted them and joined the conversation seamlessly, but when it was nearly time to move the ingredients to the pan a few minutes later, Setsuna swore viciously at the sight of an empty cabinet.
"Fuck, sesame oil! How are we out of sesame oil?"
"I can go check if 3-A has some," Kendo offered amicably, already up and on her way before they could stop her.
Thankfully, the third-year hero course dorms were connected by a skybridge, so coming and going between them wasn't a problem. She ran into Jiro along the way, just out of the shower, and the two struck up a discussion about her latest playlist choices as they crossed over into Class A's domain. It became immediately clear once they reached the kitchen, though, that something was off. Two bottles of plum wine and a handle of whisky were out in plain sight, each partially drained, and most of the people sitting at the counter, namely Kaminari, Hagakure, Ojiro, and Aoyama, were visibly drunk- the only exception was Asui, and even she seemed slightly tipsy. And not the happy type of drunk, from the looks of it, Kendo noted. Toru and Yuga had clearly been crying, and the mood was utterly somber. Tsuyu and Mashirao were arguing with a second group, standing and dressed to go out, which consisted of Kirishima, Ashido, Sero, Shoji, and of course, the loudest member, Bakugo.
"You're going to get arrested or worse," Asui was pleading, her words slightly slurred by her recent surgery. Her tongue had thankfully been reattached, but it would be some weeks yet before she could even come close to using it like she had before. "Think about what Best Jeanist would say, Bakugo! What Fatgum and Suneater would say, Kirishima!"
"Well I think Hawks would say to fucking go for it," Hanta countered, his arms crossed. "If there's even of a fraction of a chance that we could be the difference, that we could offer something that the pros can't."
He'd changed a great deal since he began his internship under the winged hero last year; his costume was sleeker and more streamlined, his hair was cut short in the back, and he wore black stone piercings on his right ear. More confident and assertive in general, his personality had begun to clearly display influence from both Hawks and Bakugo- whether that was a good thing, Itsuka could hardly say.
"Oh great, look who it is," Katsuki growled, having finally noticed the two intruders. "Right on cue, Little Ms. Perfect herself. And if it isn't Ears, her fucking sidekick. Get the hell out of here, this is a private discussion."
"I thought I told you not to call her-" Kyoka began angrily, but Kendo silenced her with a firm hand to the shoulder.
"What's going on?" She asked, pointedly addressing Mina instead. When the pink-skinned girl simply fidgeted nervously instead of answering, and a glance to Kirishima produced the same reaction, Ojiro spoke up from the counter, lifting up his reddened face.
"They're… hic… they're gonna go try and save 'em. Uraraka and uh, hic, Todoroki. I, for one, think it's a bad idea."
"They're going to what?!" Jiro cried. "Are you kidding me?! Not again! You saw how much of a difference you ended up making last time!"
Two years ago, when Bakugo was abducted by the League of Villains, Kirishima and Todoroki had gone out on their own to try and recover him after the latter broke into his father's work computer to find out where police and hero intel placed the League's hideouts (the password had been Shoto's name and birthday). They reached the scene at approximately the same time as the heroes, but ended up simply watching as the pros did the heavy lifting and All Might rescued Katsuki from the clutches of All For One, receiving nothing but a stern reprimand and multiple days' house arrest afterward in reward.
"Even if he didn't make a difference," Bakugo replied, "Half-and-Half actually tried to save me, and that's what fucking matters. I don't like being shown up, and I like being in debt to people even less. So we're gonna go, and we're gonna rescue them, and don't even think about trying to stop us."
"Ignoring all the rest of the terrible parts of this idea, how would you even know where to go?" Ituska asked in exasperation. "The search area is all of Japan, no one has any idea if they're even still on Honshu!"
"That's what they want you to think," said Sero, casting a glance in Shoji's direction. The masked student stepped forward and produced a mouth on one of his dupli-arms.
"Today at the office, Hagakure and I were using our quirks to listen in on a conference call Edgeshot was having with several other pros. We clearly heard that they've narrowed the search area down to Osaka and the surrounding suburbs. It was just out of concern for our friends, we didn't mean to actually act on the knowledge. We agreed not to tell anyone, but…"
"But I told Mina," Hagakure confessed from the counter, downing another cup of plum wine. "It just, hic, came out, I didn't mean to."
"And I told everyone else," Ashido declared defiantly. "No way I'm leaving Ochako there to suffer, or Shoto. Not if we know where they are. I regretted not going last time, I'm not skipping out now."
"As the one responsible for acquiring the information," Mezo continued, "I was honor-bound to watch over them the moment they decided on this course of action. And no matter what my own personal objections to this plan may be, Todoroki has been a good friend to me."
"And, Kirishima?" Kendo asked quietly, her eyes on the floor, her face blank. "Again?"
"It's no different than two years ago," Eijiro responded. "I have a responsibility to each and every one of my classmates. I see one of them in danger, I help. That's all it is. I'm sorry if we're letting you down."
"Don't be fucking sorry!" Bakugo snapped. "She should be the one who's sorry for not coming! Now come on, you extras, we've got a train to catch in thirty minutes!"
"No, you don't." Kendo lifted her gaze up to meet Katsuki's eyes and pulled out her phone. "I'm not letting you go."
"Big talk." He waved a hand dismissively in her direction and turned toward the stairs. "That's all you are. You can't stop us, we've made our decision."
"Yes, I can." Itsuka opened her contacts, pulled up Eraserhead's number, and let her finger come to a rest a centimeter away from the dial button. "If you take so much as one step out that door, I'm going to call Aizawa and report you. How's that for talk?"
"You wouldn't," Sero protested, but every one of them including him knew that she would by the look on her face. Ashido and Shoji instantly began to shrink back towards the kitchen, and even Kirishima suddenly looked doubtful.
"You kidding? He's probably asleep by now." Bakugo objected. "He wouldn't get here in time, if he even answered." Katsuki was bluffing, trying to talk her out of it indirectly, and Kendo narrowed her eyes. Not gonna work, douchebag.
"Then I'd just stop you myself." Her words carried enough weight that now even Hanta and Eijiro gave it up, and plopped down on a couch with defeat on their faces. Only Bakugo was left, standing alone in front of the stairwell with both fists clenched.
"Turn around and walk back into the kitchen, Bakugo." There was no room for compromise left in Kendo's voice. "Now."
When Bakugo did start walking, it was directly towards her, his eyes full of fury. Kirishima stood up and tried to calm his friend down as he stalked past the couches, but he was pushed aside with ease, and the rest could only watch as Katsuki came to a halt directly in front of Itsuka, his face inches from her own. He was only taller than her by a few centimeters, so she could more or less look him straight in the eye as he seethed wordlessly. Out of the corner of her vision, Kendo could see Jiro moving up behind Bakugo with her jacks ready, but she held up a hand and shook her head to stop her, not breaking her eye contact with him for a moment.
"You fucking bitch." He finally snarled. "You think you're better than me, than all of us, that you're special. I think it's about time that someone showed you otherwise."
As usual, he's completely wrong, Kendo knew. But after over a year of this back-and-forth rivalry, she also knew that explaining herself and trying to defuse the situation wouldn't work. The only way to win was to communicate in a language that he understood- to out-Bakugo him. Accordingly, she crossed her arms, raised one eyebrow, and took on an arrogant smirk. Ugh, I hate doing this.
"You really think you can take me? Don't make me laugh. Sit down, before you get hurt."
Now it was her turn to bluff. At this ridiculously short range, there was only about a one in two chance that she could fully activate One For All in time to defend herself before he used a Howitzer Impact to blast her clean through the nearest wall, and very possibly knock her unconscious in the process. Kendo knew full well that as much as she couldn't stand him, Bakugo was the only one in their year- besides perhaps Todoroki- who could come even marginally close to challenging her in terms of pure combat ability, and in a scenario like this, he had the advantage. The advantage that I'm not trying to kill or maim him, she reflected dryly. He knew that he could win just as well as she did and their standoff dragged on for another twenty-odd seconds of tense silence before Shoji finally stepped in and physically tore them apart with six arms' worth of force.
After that, things returned to normal surprisingly quickly, largely thanks to Kaminari, who ran to his room and returned with a full handle of vodka to use as a peace offering. The remaining sober students in the room agreed silently and unanimously to join their peers in drinking the pain away, and the all of the alcohol was brought to the coffee table between the couches as everyone, regardless of their side in the dispute, sat down and began to distribute cups and glasses. It was angry, sad drinking, and there were few jokes and fewer smiles, but if nothing else, they were all united in their determination to forget everything about the past week. Wine, sake, whisky, vodka- it all ran into a blur, and soon Kendo's head was swimming, one arm wrapped haphazardly around Jiro's waist and the other hand ruffling Kirishima's spiked hair as Denki and Mina poured the remainder of a bottle of umeshu into her mouth, chanting drunkenly.
At some point, Setsuna's disembodied head drifted into the room to let Kendo know that they'd found the sesame oil after all, and ask if she still wanted to eat. Once Kaminari was done screaming at the sight of Tokage's quirk in action, Kendo excitedly agreed, although the time between when she got up to get food and when she stumbled back into the 3-A kitchen an hour later with Juzo, Setsuna and Tetsutetsu was fuzzy to say the least. Kyoka and Denki had both passed out in their seats while she was gone, apparently, and Asui's group had left along with Shoji, so the survivors had moved back to the counter. Ashido welcomed the newcomers enthusiastically, and quickly pressed the two groups into a 3-A vs. 3-B shot competition, with Bakugo, Kirishima, and Sero against Kendo, Tetsutetsu, and Juzo; she and Tokage would serve as the referees, and decided that in order to compensate for not having been drinking the whole time, Team B had to do two shots for every one that Team A did- except for Itsuka, of course.
"Annnd start!" The two girls cried together, waving imaginary flags.
Luckily for her, the yakisoba was finally beginning to sober Kendo up, and she was able to launch headlong into the battle with a relatively clear head. The refs had also decided to make things interesting by alternating straight vodka, sake, and highball shooters, all lined up in rows, though when it came to the first two, thanks to the color, the participants had no idea which was which. Grabbing the first shot glass, Kendo waited until the other five had done the same, and led her team in a cheer of 'Kanpai!' before everyone downed it together. Oof, that's definitely vodka, she thought, grimacing as the liquor shot down into her stomach, leaving a trail of fire in its wake.
"Making faces already, huh?" Katsuki taunted from across the counter. "Can Little Ms. Perfect handle her alcohol or not?"
"Plenty better than you," She shot back as her teammates slung back their second. Oh god, I think I know how this is going to end.
Ten minutes later, she was proven right; Juzo and Sero conceded defeat first at six (twelve for Honenuki), followed shortly by Kirishima and Tetsutetsu at ten (twenty for Real Steel), the latter of whom ran to the restroom to vomit moments later. In the end, just as Kendo had predicted, the match turned into a one on one duel between her and Bakugo- by the time they reached fifteen, they were both swaying back and forth where they stood, and Itsuka's movements felt like she was underwater. They were also down one and half referees; Setsuna was off playing cards with Juzo on the coffee table, though she was keeping one eye hovering over the match to make sure there were no rule violations, and Kendo was fairly sure that Mina and Eijiro were making out over in the far corner of the room. It was getting hard to devote enough attention to tell one way or another, even more so with Katsuki's constant trash talk.
"You can just… give up any time now… ya fucker." He slurred as they stared down shot number sixteen, a highball that was looking increasingly disgusting with each passing second.
"Y'know what?" Itsuka asked, rubbing her aching stomach. "Why don't we just call this a draw, dude?"
After a sluggish glance around to confirm that no one aside from Tokage's solitary eye was watching, Bakugo lowered his head into both hands and nodded almost imperceptibly.
"Whatever, yeah, sure."
Another blurry patch in her memory, and she was slumped outside the door of her room, alone in the dark hallway, with her keys in one hand and her phone in the other. She was still more than tipsy, but her head had cleared enough for her to form more or less coherent thoughts. 1:07AM, she read off the phone's screen, then shook her head. How late did the shots battle go? When did we even start? How long have I been here? Ugh, fucking Bakugo, this is all his fault. Grunting in discomfort, Kendo forced herself shakily to her feet, and was about to insert her key into the lock- something she had a feeling she'd tried and failed to do before- when his name brought another thought to mind. I bet he's still gonna try and go to Osaka. Shit, what if that whole damn shots battle was just to get me drunk enough to fall asleep?! Pocketing the keys again in her jeans, Itsuka wiped the remnants of a stream of drool from her chin and stumbled back down the hall towards Class A's side.
Just as she made her way onto the skybridge, though, she blinked in shock- Bakugo was standing on the other side, looking equally surprised to see her.
"The hell are you doing here?" He snapped, his face quickly reassuming its usual, annoyed expression. If the red on his cheeks was any indication, he was still drunk too.
"I'm coming to make sure you don't still try to leave on your stupid fucking rescue mission, that's what the hell I'm doing." she advanced towards him as she spoke, managing to remain mostly dignified despite the fact that she still swerved back and forth slightly as she walked. He responded in turn, and soon they were standing in the middle, staring each other down just as they had earlier in the night. "So, you gonna tell me what you think you're doing?"
"I was gonna come tell you what an insufferable fucking asshole you are." Katsuki growled, daring her to blink with the intensity of his glare. "If you were still even alive, that is. I only quit that early on the shots so you wouldn't throw up in the damn kitchen."
"Everything's about winning with you, I swear to god!" At this point, any semblance of control she'd been working to maintain over the anger and frustration that had built up inside her over the past week was gone, and it felt good to finally yell it out. "What the fuck is wrong with you?! Are you incapable of doing anything that doesn't benefit you directly?! You even said so you yourself, you were only gonna save Todoroki so you didn't owe him anymore!"
"Watch your fucking mouth, before I blow you out the window." He kept his voice low but angry, and leaned in even closer. She raised an arm to slap him across the face with a double-sized hand, but he caught it, and she laid her other hand on his stomach to try and push him away. They stared at each other for another few moments, but something was different this time.
In retrospect, Itsuka wasn't sure which one of them started kissing the other first, just that it was rough, angry, and passionate. He still tasted like whisky, but so did she, probably. His arms wrapped around her waist, and she ran her fingers through his hair, which was surprisingly soft, despite its appearance.
"I hate you," She breathed the instant she broke apart, tensing her fingers so she had a handful of blond spikes at her mercy. "You're the most selfish person I know."
"You can do better than that." He muttered in reply before leaning down to kiss her neck. "I despise you. I can't stand being around you. I feel like breaking the screen every time I see you on TV."
After that, one there was one final blur, longer than the rest. She remembered pinning him against a wall (or was he pinning her?) and tearing his shirt. The next thing Kendo Itsuka knew, sunlight was filtering through her window, her entire body felt like it was trying to kill her, and she was buck naked beneath her sheets. She barely had time to think I don't sleep nude before a muffled snore alerted her to the fact that she wasn't alone, and everything came rushing back at once.
No, no, no. There's no way. No goddamn way. I would never, I can't stand him. He has a girlfriend! And I have... well, I have two people who'd murder me if they found out about this. For a moment she tried to convince herself it had been a bad dream, but a glance to her right confirmed that Katsuki's gently rising and falling back was very real. Suddenly she felt faint and ill at the same time, but deciding to put off confronting that situation for as long as possible, she reached over, picked up her phone, and died a bit inside when she saw the screen.
10:48AM, Monday morning. Two canceled alarms. Two and a half classes and one quiz already missed. Three missed calls from All Might, four from Jiro, three from Tetsutetsu. Six unopened texts, three unopened voicemails. And as she looked back over at the other side of bed, one wide-awake Bakugo, wearing an expression of abject horror on his face.
"What the fuck?!"
Downtown Tokyo
Dawn, the Next Morning
"Okay, looks like we're just about ready."
Aiba Manami had double and triple checked her code for any possible weaknesses or bugs, but she still had the same feeling of unease deep in the pit of her stomach that she always did before missions. She glanced back down to her laptop, a bulky military model with a built-in encrypted network modem and enough processing power to simulate practically anything she wanted, expanded over the course of dozens of custom modifications. The virus was one of her best creations yet, specifically tailored to crack two of the most secure systems in the country. 'Shieldbreaker', Midoriya had dubbed it- usually she didn't name her creations, but Izuku had a flair for the dramatic, if their codenames for this mission were any indication.
"Everything seems peachy on my end too!" Quipped Hatsume, watching streams of data on her babies through her goggles. There were five of them perched on the skyscraper's rooftop- La Brava, Gentle, Mei, Kurogiri, and Twice: the advance guard for Operation Brennus, laying the groundwork for the three strike teams.
"See that it is," Kurogiri intoned ominously, glancing at the ornate silver watch on his shadowy arm. "Two minutes until we commence."
A gust of cold wind whipped past them, and Aiba shivered before edging closer to Tobita and wrapping herself in his long cape. The other three were mostly standing toward the far corner of the roof, so she felt confident enough that they wouldn't hear to tug at his vest and speak up softly when he leaned down in her direction.
"Gentle… are we doing a bad thing?"
Danjuro's eyes flitted back toward the others before he responded, his reply halting and hesitant.
"Well… that depends on your definition. According to the one used by heroes, by most of society, we've always done bad things."
"What about by our definition? That's what matters to me."
"By our definition…" He seemed a bit more at a loss for words this time. "I don't know. We're in new territory right now, La Brava, placing our trust in new people. I'll always value you and your opinion above everything else, but I can't deny that I'm curious to find out what they have to offer."
"But we-" She was interrupted before she could finish her thought by Twice clapping his hands in excitement.
"And, three, two, one! Ladies and gentlemen, start your engines, because here we go! Alright, kiddos, you ready?"
"As I'll ever be!" Cried Mei, pressing a few buttons on the tripod-mounted remote transmission spike that she'd set up at the roof's center; it hummed to life with an electronic whir, and Jin began to stride over in La Brava's direction.
"Alright, short stuff, like we practiced."
Emerging out from beneath Gentle's cape, Manami stood still as requested while Twice measured her with his tape, and even though she'd been expecting it, she still jumped in surprise when her clone sprang into existence in front of her. They exchanged an awkward nod, then, like clockwork, the original Aiba crouched back down and pressed a single key on her laptop.
Program [Shieldbreaker]: Start.
Transmitting…
Transmitting…
Remote transmission achieved.
Processing…
Processing…
Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department- Firewall Status: Breached.
U.A. High School- Firewall Status: Breached.
Beginning Mainframe Infiltration.
Processing…
Processing…
Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department- Mainframe Status: Infiltrated.
U.A. High School- Mainframe Status: Infiltrated.
"Send the all clear to the strike teams," La Brava called, watching the results scroll across the screen with a mix of pride and anxiety. "The operation is a go."
And here we go- now it's time for two of the biggest action chapters yet, with plenty of death, mayhem, and feels around the corner. Will Hawks survive? Will Bakugo and Kendo make it out of bed without murdering each other? Find out next time, and as always let me know what you thought! This one was a trip to write, and I hope you all enjoyed Midoriya going a bit more in detail about his goals, as well as his moment with Toga. See you again soon!