Chapter 14: Welcome to the Jungle

Old Glory Bar, Yomitan Township, Okinawa

Eight Hours Later

"It's busier tonight than I expected."

"All the better for us, though."

Midoriya grinned and clinked his glass with Shinso's; it was difficult to hear Hitoshi's voice over the pulsing beat of the music, but they were seated close enough together on a couch at the back of the room to manage, their eyes roving over the crowded dancefloor. This bar in particular was a popular haunt for American soldiers stationed at Kadena, and there were dozens of them out tonight, easily distinguishable from the locals as they danced and drank and flirted with the Okinawans. Their loud, boisterous voices were beginning to grate on Midoriya's nerves, but if everything went as he'd designed, he wouldn't have to listen to them for much longer.

"To a plan coming together?" Hitoshi asked, watching Midoriya with expectant eyes as he held his prosecco glass to his lips.

"That would be speaking too soon, now wouldn't it?" Izuku swirled around his wine, his gaze still fixed on the distant patch of bright pink that was Toga's hair, barely visible amid the sweaty, drunken throng as it bobbed in and out of view on the dancefloor. She seemed to be inching closer to the target, but it was difficult to tell from this distance. Thankfully, Yaoyorozu strode up and sat down a few moments later, and launched into a report on the situation after a long, exhausted sigh.

"Apologies, I just needed a short break from all of that. I had no idea it would be so… tiresome." Pandora shook her head, plucked Seraph's glass from his hand, and drained half of his wine in one gulp. "I kept getting pulled farther and farther away from the target, Carmilla was making much better progress navigating that mob of brutes than me."

"Understandable. She's quite a natural talent, after all." Izuku reached out a hand to take the glass back, but Momo preempted him by holding it to his lips and tilting it back until he was forced to either drink or spill it on himself; he chose the former.

"I'm gonna go take a piss," Synapse grunted, rising to his feet before plodding off towards the other side of the room, his hands shoved in his pockets. He was serving as backup tonight, a failsafe in the event that Toga and Yaoyorozu both failed in their mission, and brainwashing was necessary to bring the target back to the villa. Like Midoriya, Shinso had dressed smartly for the occasion, but his neat button down and khakis couldn't quite hold a candle to the skirt Momo was wearing, with its mesmerizingly low-cut neck, short hem, and elegant patterning.

"So it should be just a few minutes longer, then?" Izuku asked, mulling over whether or not he should be annoyed by what she'd just done.

"Oh yes, certainly- she's very efficient. But I wouldn't mind staying a while longer, to be honest." Pandora leaned up against him and let out another sigh. "It isn't too often that we get out like this as a group, after all. The atmosphere isn't too bad, I suppose, even if most of the patrons are an absolute bore."

"So I take it that none of them were to your liking?"

"Hardly. Not a single one was even close to my type. I don't think they have a single brain cell between the lot of them." Suddenly her hand was resting casually on Midoriya's thigh, and he felt one eyebrow raise out of instinct. "You know I tend to go after the intelligent ones, after all."

"You're drunk." He picked up her hand and lifted it off of him, only for her to snake it around his shoulders with a coy grin on her face.

"How insulting, Izuku. You know I wouldn't dare, not on a mission."

On more than one occasion over the past year and a half, Yaoyorozu had made no secret- to him, at least- of the fact that she found him "incredibly stimulating, both mentally and physically," to paraphrase her confession. His relationship with Toga notwithstanding, Pandora was far too valuable of an asset for him to even consider punishing or threatening her for a relatively minor offense such as this. And aside from that, it wasn't exactly as if Midoriya particularly minded the added reassurance of her absolute loyalty- that was how he typically justified it to himself, at least.

"All the same, you're usually not this bold when she's around." He shifted his position slightly, casting a sidelong glance in her direction as she began to lower her hand until it was wrapped around his side. "You're aware that I won't be able to do anything to stop her if she sees you."

The gleam of pure confidence in Momo's eyes told him that she understood the risks of her behavior with perfect clarity, however. She was admittedly quite stunning tonight, her shoulder-length hair and perfectly structured face awash in the flashing, multicolored glow of the lights overhead.

"What's life without a little danger?" She asked in an innocent tone of voice, cupping his face with her free hand stroking his cheek with her thumb. "What Himiko doesn't know won't hurt her, Izuku."

"And if she did know, she'd be the one hurting you." Their faces were only inches apart now, and it took a considerable amount of discipline for Seraph to forcibly suppress the temptation that swelled up momentarily deep in his gut as he inhaled her fragrant, intoxicating perfume. "And having to deal with that would be unpleasant. I'm going to check in with Compress and Chaudron at the bar. You should also know full well that we can't afford distractions." Midoriya began to hesitantly extricate himself from her grasp, and only flinched momentarily when she planted a soft kiss on his cheek as he stood.

"My knight in black armor," she called after him as he walked away, and he could hear her triumphant smirk in every word. "It's quite romantic of you to be so concerned for me."

More the opposite, in fact, he mused as he pulled a cocktail napkin from his pocket and hurriedly rubbed away any trace of lipstick. You're simply too useful to let her carve you to pieces. If I have to play this little game of yours to keep you intact, then so be it.

Over at the bar, Atsuhiro and Monoma were sipping at their drinks a few seats apart, glancing over at the dance floor every so often to keep track of Toga. They were both dressed in similar semi-formal attire to Shinso's, and Neito in particular cut a rather clean figure with his new silver hair and matching tie; he'd already had to fend off several women's attempts to flirt with him toward the beginning of the night.

"Anything to report?" Izuku asked casually, taking a seat between them and gesturing to the bartender for a rail drink.

"Nothing too interesting," Monoma downed what was left of his vodka tonic with a grimace and a sigh. "He seems to be taking the bait, as far as we can tell. What a blithe idiot, I swear. Anything to add, Compress?"

"Nothing aside from the obvious," Sako replied, glancing up from his old fashioned. "Although I must say, tonight has been an excellent opportunity for me to practice my English. I've shown three groups of Yanks the same old simple card trick, and they just eat it up every time, it's delightful. You wouldn't believe how many drinks have been bought on my behalf."

"If only you could just make them all disappear for your next trick," Midoriya muttered. "And the DJ too, for that matter. This playlist is god awful."

Suddenly two other patrons sidled up to the bar, filling in the two stools between Izuku and Atsuhiro, one chattering loudly and the other relatively quiet by comparison. Seraph felt his brows furrow in aggravation at the interruption, which was only exacerbated when the louder of the two's elbow knocked over an abandoned mug of stale beer and sent the half-finished drink spilling onto Midoriya's lap. Lovely, that's just lovely. Does the resort even have a dry-cleaner on premises?

"Aw shit, I'm so sorry, dude! That was my bad, lemme buy you a shot!"

In the span of an instant, Seraph's scowl turned to an expression of utter shock, which he quickly disguised as surprise at Kirishima Eijiro's generosity. Izuku blinked in the vain hope that he was seeing things, but when he opened his eyes, the muscular U.A. third year was still sitting in front of him with an oblivious smile on his face.

You're kidding me.

"C'mon, Eijiro, we just got here. How did you even manage to spill something that fast?"

That tired voice was instantly recognizable: Seated just beyond Red Riot was Amajiki Tamaki, better known as Suneater, his expression as morose as usual as he glanced over at the incident.

Oh, you've got to be kidding me.

"My bad, I guess I was just a little too excited to finally be off duty!" Kirishima rubbed the back of his spiky mane of hair sheepishly, then turned again to Midoriya with a shark-toothed grin.

"So what do ya want, buddy? Don't be shy, anything on the menu's fine."

"Oh, it's alright. I'm just about done for the night." Midoriya gave him a cursory nod, then quickly started to stand up and walk away; Monoma was already long gone, halfway over to Yaoyorozu on the couches by now. As he expected, though, Eijiro wasn't satisfied with that, and caught him by the shoulder with one hand.

"Nah, man, it's okay! I feel really bad, let me do something for ya." He turned to the bartender with a confident smile and threw one wiry arm around Izuku's shoulder, holding up two fingers. "Two shots of the best rum you have for me and my new pal here."

"I… well…" Try as he might to slink away, Seraph was utterly trapped in Red Riot's grip- not playing along with someone this friendly and charismatic would look suspicious in its own right.

"Didn't you hear him? He said he's done for the night." Amajiki shook his head in exasperation. "How can you still have this much energy after a full day of patrol, plus that dinner? I just want to go to sleep…"

"Ah, there's always room for one more drink!" The bartender cried jovially as he set out two shot glasses and started to pour. "No worries, I saw what happened- this round's on me!"

Now I really can't refuse, Midoriya realized, forcing a congenial smile onto his face. But I have to end this interaction as soon as possible. The longer they look at me, the greater the chance they see through the false lenses and hair dye. Nevermind why the hell they're even here, I'll figure that out later. If it were even possible to add any more dramatic irony to the situation, the TV overhead was currently playing a deep-dive special on the events of 'The Black Day', as news outlets and the masses had dubbed it- he and Toga's pictures were currently plastered across the bottom half of the screen, but thankfully the images changed to Shinso and Hatsume before Tamaki glanced up at the broadcast out of boredom.

"Alright, man, let's do this! You ready?" Kirishima's expression was vivacious and eager to please as he waited for Izuku's response, his eyes wide and innocent. Just like a puppy. A sad, dumb, puppy.

"As I'll ever be!" Seraph replied, his voice full of faux enthusiasm. He lifted the glass up to his mouth, prepared to gulp it down and get away immediately afterward, but Eijiro caught him by the hand before he could do either.

"Whoa, hold up there- I almost forgot something. What are we drinking to?"

"To a brief reprise from the misery that defines every waking moment of our lives?" Suneater suggested, laying his forehead down on the bar before immediately recoiling in horror when it landed in the sticky remnants of a spilled drink.

To killing the both of you, Midoriya thought with a glance to Compress, who was still holding his position on the other side of the hero duo. With his new artificial arm, one swift motion was all it would take to snap Kirishima's neck, or plunge his fist through his back; Atushiro could deal with Tamaki in a similarly short timespan at this close distance. You could both be dead before you even realize what's happening, Red Riot. You're so very lucky that I'm trying to keep a low profile for the moment.

"To making new friends!" Eijiro finally proclaimed- his wide, toothy grin remained plastered across his face even after they'd both slammed the drink back. "Whoo! What a rush man, am I right? Say, what's your name, by the way? I'm Kirishima!"

"Hazamada," Seraph replied without missing a beat, though he was doing his best to inch away with every passing moment. "It was great to meet you, but if you don't mind, I really need to be getting back to my friends…"

"Ah, just bring 'em over here, I'd love to meet them! Are you guys here on vacation? I'm visiting with my buddy from Tokyo, we're here on hero business! We spent all day-"

"Do I really need to remind you not to talk to civilians about our work?" Suneater gave his intern a half-serious smack across the back of his head. "Stop bothering the poor kid."

"Ah, come on, he looks like a trustworthy guy! And I wasn't gonna say anything classified, jeez. So Hazamada, sounds like a Tokyo accent you've got there. I'm right, aren't I! What ward are you from?"

"How would you gentlemen like to see a magic trick?!"

Just in the nick of time, a life raft arrived in the form of Mr. Compress, his deck of cards in hand. Clearly Sako had been standing by in the hope that Izuku would extricate himself on his own, but that was growing less and less likely by the second.

"Oh damn, I love magic tricks!" His eyes glowing with excitement, Kirishima took the bait just as easily as expected, and within a few moments Midoriya had managed to slip away amid the distraction. He made an immediate beeline for Monoma, Shinso, and Yaoyorozu; the latter two had already been briefed on the new development, if the grim looks on their faces were any indication. Wasting no time with pleasantries, Seraph extended a finger toward Neito.

"Find Carmilla, copy her quirk, monitor those two. I want to know why they're here. Help Compress get out of there if you can. You have a few of her blood vials on you, yes?"

"Of course."

"Good. Any woman will do- perhaps a man would be even better, given Red Riot's temperament. I trust you to use your best judgement. And be sure to take a lock of her hair, to boost your time limit."

"Yes, sir." He rose and strode off to fulfill his new mission without a moment's delay, leaving Izuku with Momo and Hitoshi.

"It would be best for all non-essential personnel to leave immediately," Pandora declared, gathering up her purse. "Especially the three of us. Toga can see through the mission from here, it's almost complete regardless."

"I'm staying," Midoriya responded, in a tone that brokered no argument. "I have to make sure that she makes it out safely. The two of you can go if you'd like, but I think that Compress has the situation handled, I doubt he's persistent enough to wander all the way over here to find me."

"What if it's a trap?" Asked Shinso, his arms crossed. "They could be toying with us. What if they knew exactly who you were, and this whole place is surrounded by squad cars?"

"Impossible. They know we have Kurogiri, they would never tip their hand so obviously before an attack."

"Fair enough." He shrugged, then glanced up to Momo. "I don't know about you, but I'm staying if he is."

"I don't think that any of us will need to stay too much longer," said Yaoyorozu, her eyes fixed on the dancefloor; when they followed her line of sight, it quickly became clear why: Toga was already moving toward the door, arm-in-arm with the target, an American lieutenant colonel who just happened to be in charge of the Shields' security detail. As they paused to wait for the crowd to clear, Monoma whisked briefly by her, his movements so casual and subtle that Midoriya doubted anyone aside from Himiko herself noticed when he had tapped her bare shoulder and plucked out several of her hairs. Thankfully, despite the fact that she was disguised as a tall, busty pink-haired woman at the moment, any trace of her DNA would still allow Chaudron to copy Metamorphosis unhindered.

"The first stage seems to be a glowing success." Midoriya sat down on the couch between his two lieutenants with a satisfied smirk. "We'll wait five minutes and then follow them back, just as we discussed. Start the timer once they walk out the door, Pandora, if you'd be so kind."

Most of the dirty work had been done by the time they caught up with Toga at the villa. The target was still alive, but only barely- she was just toying with him now. Blood was splattered all across the sheets and walls in messy streaks, and when Midoriya stepped through the door of the master bedroom, the lieutenant colonel was prone on the floor, dragging himself toward the door as he left a streak of crimson behind him. She'd slashed the tendons in his ankles and knees first to immobilize him, by the look of it, then moved on to the shallow veins in his elbows and wrists and neck, until his clothes were almost entirely dyed with blood, and all he could do was flail weakly on the ground like a worm writhing on hot pavement. There were dozens of shallow cuts across his face and chest and back too, of course- frankly, it was a miracle that he was still even conscious, as far was Seraph was concerned.

When he saw Izuku standing in the doorway, the man's face bloodstained face lit up with a glimmer of hope, and he extended one trembling hand toward him, calling out in English, his voice made faint and hoarse by the slash across his throat.

"Please… you've gotta help me… she's crazy."

"That's such a mean word to use." Himiko pouted, then rose from where she was perched on the bed- she was back to her original appearance now- and hurled her knife at his back. It impacted with a satisfying thunk, and a few drops of the resulting spurt of blood landed on Midoriya's cheek. "And here I thought I taught you to be polite!"

"Please…" the man repeated, his voice growing weaker by the second. "Please, help…"

"And what makes you so sure I'm not crazy too?" Seraph asked in perfect English, crouching down in front of the officer with a widening grin. "You know what they say about making assumptions, don't you?"

The look of terror and realization that slowly spread across the man's face sent Midoriya's heart soaring with glee in his chest. They'd originally intended on leaving him gagged and bound as a hostage, but it seemed that Himiko's instincts had gotten the better of her.

"You know you were supposed to leave him alive, darling." Izuku clucked his tongue disapprovingly as he slowly wrapped the metal fingers of his left fist around the man's throat and began to rise back up, lifting him into the air. "This makes things a bit messier."

"But he is still alive!" A gleeful grin on her face, she leapt to her feet and twisted the knife in his back to prompt a guttural groan of pain, muffled by Seraph's grip on his neck. "See, baby, see?!"

"And what about the fact that he's seen your real face?"

"Well… I was just having so much fun…" At the drop of a pin, she became the picture of guilt and remorse, wrapping her arms around his waist and gazing up at him with innocent eyes. "And I forgot to take my blood again before the time limit. Am I in trouble, baby?"

"It's no trouble at all, Himiko." With a quick twist of his artificial hand, Midoriya broke the man's neck with a resounding crack, then dropped his lifeless body to the ground and leaned in to plant a gentle kiss on Toga's forehead. "Go ahead and take all the blood you need. Let me know when you're finished- I'll have Compress and Yaoyorozu dispose of the body." The phone in his pocket began to buzz, and he gave her one last brief kiss on the lips before stepping out into the hall to glance at the screen- Monoma.

"Speak."

"I listened to them for half an hour, ended up talking with them eventually. I was disguised as a woman- Kirishima actually tried to set me up with Tamaki, it was quite amusing. Is it just me, or is that gym rat actually losing brain cells each year? He was even denser than-"

"The point, if you would care to reach it sometime tonight?" It seems listening wasn't the only thing he was doing, Izuku noted, all too familiar with the vocal tics that gave Neito away when he was drunk. Red Riot likely bought him more than one round, knowing his generosity.

"Very well, very well. You're no fun on missions, I swear. It took me a while to get them intoxicated enough to spill a few details, which I was able to piece together with what I got from eavesdropping. I don't think we have to worry about them being after us, first of all- it seems this was all just a coincidence. They're here tracking a group of smugglers that fled south from Kyushu, and while they were on the island, they got an invite to dinner from a Japanese Air Force colonel who's good family friends with Fatgum. That's what they'd just come from when they got to the bar. Now get this- they're sticking around Kadena for the time being because the colonel is here to attend the same joint forces meeting tomorrow that David Shield is going to presenting at. He's paid for their lodgings and everything."

"And do we know where this colonel is at the moment?" Midoriya could see an opportunity opening up in front of his eyes- a chance to gain inside access to both the hero and military communities along with the Shields, if they could strike swiftly enough.

"Not precisely, but he can't be far. The night is still young; I'm sure that with La Brava's help, we could track him down before he makes it back to his quarters on the base."

"Consider me interested. I'll go and speak with her about it now, hold your position in case we need you to intercept." He held one hand over the speaker, and turned back around to face Toga's bedroom. "Darling, wash yourself off and put some fresh clothes on. I've got another job for you, if you can promise to show some restraint this time."

"So what do you expect me to do? Act like we're old buddies?"

Kendo crossed her arms and leaned back in the chair, still unsure exactly what the proper course of action was in a situation like this as she stared down Midoriya's hologram.

"Why, listen, of course- that's all I ask. That's what heroes do, isn't it? Listen, so they can help those in need?" The leering grin on his face spread even further. "And I fall into that category, don't I? I'm just one more poor, misguided soul for you to save, to bring back into the light. Isn't that right, Kendo? It's what your master seemed to think, at least, before I threw him off the side of a building."

"Save you?!" Her mouth fell open in shock, and it all the resolve she could muster not to be much more profane about her disbelief- it was hard enough already to keep her voice low enough not to wake Kodai. "Save someone who brags about killing the man I loved like a father?! Are you kidding me?!"

"Be precise now, Kendo." He waved a taunting finger, and his eyes seemed to take on an unnatural gleam even through the imperfect technology of the projection. "I didn't kill the man you loved like a father, I murdered him. And why wouldn't I brag about that? I'm so very proud of it, after all."

Itsuka felt her hands curl into fists, and bit hard on her lip for several long seconds before finally speaking again.

"Some people… people like you… aren't…"

"…Aren't worth saving?" Izuku completed, an expression of mock horror crossing his face. "Is that what you were going to say, Kendo Itsuka? That's not very heroic of you! But I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, really. You weren't acting very heroic the other week. 'You're dead meat', were the only words you spoke to me, I believe. Refresh my memory, has the government changed its position on heroes using lethal force? Because I don't doubt that you would've followed through on that threat if I'd given you the chance. What would your poor dead mentor say if he knew his beloved apprentice was guilty of attempted homicide? What about your real parents? What about the press?"

"I… no, that's not it… I wouldn't have…" Kendo trailed off and drew silent, a heavy weight tugging at her heart. As desperately as she wanted to tell herself that he was wrong, that she wouldn't really have gone through with it, she still remembered how she'd felt as she landed on the roof and latched onto Midoriya with Blackwhip, what she'd wanted to do to him for hurting All Might. The memory of that rage-driven bloodlust had haunted her ever since- she never wanted to feel that way again, but now she was on the brink of reliving it. I can't let him provoke me. That's exactly what he wants.

"You can't even deny it. Pathetic." He perched his hands on his hips and let out a heavy sigh, the smile fading from his expression. "What a depressingly unworthy successor All Might chose. It's only a matter of time before you show your true colors to the world, and then they'll wash their hands of you- no one wants a cheap imitation with the social grace of Endeavor occupying the vaunted throne of the Symbol of Peace. And what a shame, too- I hate to see a quirk like One For All wasted on the likes of you."

"What did you just say?" Suddenly all the air left Itsuka's lungs at once, and her voice dropped to scarcely above a whisper. "H-how do you know about… about that?" The anger inside her was rapidly replaced by fear, and she felt a solitary drop of sweat roll its way down her brow. It occurred to her moments later that she should've just played dumb, but it was too late now.

"No denial there either! I'm really on a roll tonight. It's really quite simple, Itsuka- may I call you Itsuka?"

"No, you may not."

"Well, Itsuka, as I was saying, it's simple. I just did some rudimentary research- the information is all out there, after all, if you know what to look for. I first became suspicious when All Might retired and lost his power overnight- I was devastated, you know! I'd just spent the better part of the past year planning how I was going to kill him, after all. I knew about his condition and his weakened form, but I didn't expect that the degradation would set in so suddenly and severely. I had a grand scheme in the works to expose his frail body to the world before I executed him, but then he went ahead and did it for me! That was just a few short weeks before you made your public debut, and explained your newfound strength and speed to reporters as a latent aspect of your quirk that had somehow been activated during your training. Honestly, it's laughable that a single member of the public believed that lie for a moment."

"But when I began to look into your background, and how close you reportedly were to All Might? That's when I truly started to develop an interest in this power, a quirk that had seemingly been transferred from one person to another. I began to look for reports of a quirk with characteristics similar to the one you now possess, starting with people in Toshinori Yagi's past. And from there, voila! The pattern was as plain as day, so clumsily hidden that it was almost sad. A trail of tragically ill-fated top heroes with an almost identical set of powers, stretching back generations, each one more powerful than the last. It rapidly became clear to me that some sort of stockpiling quirk was involved, one that can be passed on somehow- tell me, am I in the right ballpark?"

"I… I have no idea what the hell you're going on about."

Kendo's mind was racing at a mile a minute, trying desperately to figure out how best to respond to his damningly accurate speculations without giving away any more secrets about One For All. All Might entrusted me with this power. I have a responsibility to protect it, to keep its purpose secret like he did. I can't let people like Seraph find out, or all the work the past eight wielders put in could be for nothing. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and reached deep inside her mind, trying her best to summon one of the Vestiges for advice and counsel, any of them, but she was only met with silence and darkness, and eventually forced herself to reply.

"Sounds to me like you were just trying to make the data fit your own theory."

"Well, I suppose that's one point for you in the hero category- you're not very good at lying." He began to tap one foot impatiently, and raised one hand to stroke his chin in contemplation. "I'm going to take that as a yes. You know, it's funny- at first I was confused what broader goal all this stockpiling could possibly serve, until Shigaraki started yammering on about how he was the chosen successor of All For One, destined to destroy the Symbol of Peace. It explained everything- that's why all the successors before All Might died such sudden and unexplained deaths, why you've all been trying your best to keep the nature of this power hidden! Tomura was a stubborn bastard, I'll give him that. It took me a year to finally stamp him and his loyalists out, much longer than I initially expected. But he's dead now, and All For One is in Tartarus. So tell me, Itsuka, what purpose do you even serve anymore? All that inherited power, and for what? Your fated rival bled out on the floor of an abandoned warehouse, and his master will never see the light of day again, if I can help it- I don't need another rival interfering with my plans, and certainly not one as potent as him. So how does it feel to have your raison d'être stolen from you? To be completely and utterly useless?"

"I'm not useless. Nothing that my predecessors did will ever be useless, so long as people like you exist." She felt the icy grip of fear fading from her chest as she gazed into Izuku's eyes; an overwhelming sense of serenity and calm had suddenly descended on her. Whether it was a gift from the other wielders or a product of her own mind, she wasn't sure, but she seized onto it all the same. "I'll try to save you, because that's what heroes do, no exceptions. But if I can't do that, then I will stop you, no matter how much it costs me. Not because of what you've done, but because of who I am, and who I'm meant to be."

"Bravo! Truly, bravo- a rousing speech." Midoriya clapped his hands together with a look of faux admiration on his face that gradually faded back to cold ambivalence. "So it seems you still intend on playing the part of the hero after all. Allow me to warn you, in that case. I'll only say this once, Itsuka, and only because we're such close friends. If you choose this path- if you stand in my way- it will cost you everything."

Something about the way he said that last word send a chill racing up Kendo's spine, and she had to use every ounce of mental discipline she had left to keep a straight face as Izuku continued to speak.

"I will take the things you love and break them one by one, just like I broke All Might, until there's nothing left of the person you once were but an empty husk of skin and bones and regret. Maybe then you'll finally see the light, as I have- when you have nothing left to cling to in the face of the rising tide. I'll be waiting for you on that day with open arms." He reached over to disconnect the line, and Kendo leapt to her feet and held out a hand at the sight.

"Wait! Don't I get a turn to talk? I have questions too, Midoriya. Questions about your past. About Bakugo Katsuki." For a moment, she thought she saw a glimmer of anger cross his face at the mention of Ground Zero's name, but it was gone just as quickly.

"Questions you can ask another time. I'm a busy man, Itsuka- I have things to do and places to be. I did enjoy this chat, though, so I'll be reaching out again soon. Have a lovely evening."

"Dammit, hold up a minute. How did you-"

The hologram flickered off before she could even blurt out a question, and a few moments later, the projector disc erupted in a flurry of blue-white sparks before rapidly turning to a pile of ash and dust. After taking a solid half minute to process everything that had just happened, Kendo grabbed her phone and finished dialing Vlad King. Within five minutes the room was swarming with U.A. staff, and the police were well on their way.

"What's going on?" Yui asked sleepily, rubbing her eyes as she plodded over from their kitchen. "Did something happen?"

"Nothing you need to worry about," Itsuka replied reassuringly, steering Kodai back toward her bedroom with one hand on the girl's shoulder and the other on her side. "I just need to talk to Vlad-sensei real quick about some work stuff, and then I'm gonna order us both takeout for dinner. That sound good?"

"You're just too lazy to cook," Yui countered with the barest hint of a grin on her lips, then closed her door without any further objections.

The metallic dust from the destroyed communicator was quickly sealed into a bag as evidence, and soon enough Battle Fist found herself seated on one of their couches, across from Eraserhead and Vlad King. Their expressions were both grim; Kendo's former homeroom teacher in particular looked especially taxed by his new role as U.A.'s acting principal. Given the school's suffering reputation and the tangled web of lawsuits it was embroiled in following the Black Day, she had a good idea why. He was dressed in a neat suit instead of his usual hero costume, and his eyes were sunken and slightly bloodshot from sleep deprivation, ringed by prominent dark circles. She told them as much as she could without revealing the details of One For All- thankfully, they seemed largely satisfied by that.

"'I will take the things you love…' Well, it goes without saying that your parents will be placed under government protection immediately." Aizawa began, his voice as deadpan as usual. His hair was up in a ponytail, but for once he looked to be the less exhausted of the two. "They're both abroad, is that correct?"

"Yes. My father runs a traveling judo school that's currently touring Europe, and my mother is doing lab work for a firm in Korea."

"Good, that'll make it harder for them to reach them and attempt to make good on this threat." Vlad frowned, and his gaze turned sympathetic. "I'm sorry, but they might not be able to return to Japan until this is all over. The Ministry of Defense has plenty of safe houses across the world where he won't be able to reach them, but…"

"I understand. It's for the greater good."

Kendo's heart ached in her chest as she forced herself to nod in assent; it had already been months since either of her parents had been in Japan, and almost a year since they'd both been home at the same time. For years she'd done almost everything for her two younger siblings as their absences grew longer and longer, and it had driven her halfway to exhaustion at many points during her first semester at U.A., before they implemented the dorm system; All Might had used his money and connections to pay for a top-tier daycare for them when he found out, though that didn't cover the time she spent on her internship outside typical working hours. Thankfully, her thirteen year old sister, the older of the two, had already learned to cook and clean and put her brother to bed when Itsuka didn't have time to visit, and their aunt and uncle lived nearby enough to take care of them most nights. Regardless, though, she still felt guilty- it was a big sister's job to be there for them.

"And what about-"

"Your siblings will be taken care of as well, of course." Aizawa stroked at his stubble for a moment. "I understand that you have family members in Hokkaido?"

"Yeah, my dad's parents. Wait, are you saying…"

"They'll likely be sent to live with them, yes." Vlad's face remained somber as he spoke. "Under police surveillance. I'm sorry, but these next steps are all about mitigating risk, and keeping your immediate family as far away from this mess as possible."

"…I understand," she replied, but that one came harder than the last. Kendo thought back to her conversation with Midoriya, to the speech he'd given about his group's ideals on the Black Day. He seems like the type to pretend he has principles. Would he really stoop that low to get at me? Murdering children?

"We'll also be briefing Nighteye and Miruko on the situation," Aizawa continued before she could arrive at an answer, "along with any close friends of yours here at the school. I know that you spend a good deal of time with Jiro and Tetsutetsu- is there anyone else we should be aware of?"

"Kodai," Itsuka said quietly, nodding at her roommate's bedroom door. "Juzo and Tokage too, for that matter. Maybe Uraraka… and…" She trailed off and frowned, unsure whether she should say the name that had just popped into her head. "…and Bakugo."

"Bakugo?" Aizawa raised one eyebrow skeptically, and exchanged a glance with Vlad. "I'm sorry, did I hear you right just now? Correct me if I'm wrong, I was under the impression that you two-"

"We're not friends," she interjected, "at least not in the traditional sense. But I feel like there's a strong chance that he could be a target, given his past with Seraph. The same goes for Ochako."

"Understood." Shota rose to his feet and stretched with a grunt. "Well, I think that's about all I have for you, for the moment. I'm sure the police will have a few other questions. Vlad?"

"And how about you, Kendo?" The new principal asked, his hand on his chin- he had the beginnings of grey-white stubble to match Aizawa's coming on. "I know what you're going to say, but it might be in everyone's best interest for you to have…"

"Protection?" Itsuka smiled weakly. "Thank you, but it I think I'll be fine. U.A.'s going to be secure enough as it is after the reforms you're pushing through, and having bodyguards might sort of undermine the image of the Symbol of Peace. Miruko and Sir will look out for me when I'm working."

"About that…" Eraser glanced down at his watch and shook his head. "Well, you'll be briefed soon enough. I was supposed to inform you later regardless- your presence is requested tomorrow night at an emergency meeting downtown, at Best Jeanist's agency. I can't tell you anything else, just to be there at eight sharp. Everything else will be explained when you get there."

"Oh, uh… okay, sure. I'll be there." Best Jeanist, huh? Lovely, another chance for Bakugo to yell at me.

A curt knock on the door announced the arrival of the police and detective team, and a pang of pain shot through Itsuka's chest when she remembered that Tsukauchi wouldn't be among them.

"I'll go ahead and speak to Kodai now," Vlad offered, starting toward Yui's door as Eraser let in the officers. The debrief with them was much more formal and businesslike, and half an hour later, she was starving, exhausted, and tired of answering questions. The principal had left to go back to his office by then, and Aizawa was seated at the kitchen table, hunched over his laptop; Kodai was hovering nearby, her expression uneasy. When he noticed that they were both done with the police, Shota beckoned the two roommates over.

"Battle Fist, Rule, come take a look at this. I've been reviewing the security footage for the hallway outside your dorm."

"I meant to ask you about that, yeah." Kendo frowned as she leaned over his shoulder to peer down at the screen, which was currently paused on a static image of the empty corridor. "Someone had to have dropped that off, someone who could get into the dorms."

"But don't they have a warp quirk user with them?" Yui asked. "Couldn't they have just teleported in and out?"

"Not without tipping us off. We've encountered Kurogiri enough times by now to nail down his precise energy signature- if he tries to open a portal anywhere on the campus, we would know immediately, and the whole school would go into lockdown. And they seem to be aware of that, to some extent- when they… when we were infiltrated two weeks ago, they only used him for the extraction. So Kendo is correct- whoever left the package somehow had access to the dorms." He pointed at the screen, and a scowl spread across his face. "Now unfortunately for all of us, this room is at a bit of a blind spot between two security cameras. We can't see what's happening in the space directly in front of your door thanks to the way the wall and corner are arranged, but the rest of the hallway is visible in either direction."

Without any further delay, he pressed the play button, and they were treated to sped-up footage of the hall directly before and directly after their own door from earlier that evening. The timestamp started at 5:30, approximately when Battle Fist got back from work, and ended at 7:20, around when she woke up from her nap. Over the course of the one hour and fifty minute timespan, Aizawa slowed the video down whenever a group of students passed by, so that they could note their faces. By the time it ended, Kendo counted eleven in total, including plenty from Class B and Class A alike. Kuroiro, Kamakiri, and Setsuna, Pony and Ochako, Kaminari and Awase, Asui, Shishida, Ashido, and Shiozaki. The frown on her lips grew even deeper as she exchanged a glance with Kodai. The students who walked past their room had all been in groups of at least two people, and as far as Itsuka was concerned, none of them were capable of something like this, unless out of sheer ignorance of the envelope's contents. Even then, it was hard to think that a third-year hero course student could possibly be so careless.

"They're all suspects," Eraser declared firmly, preempting her comment to the contrary. "I don't know if I'm going to go so far as to interrogate them- that might be a bit too heavy-handed at this point- but I will be monitoring each and every one of them to a greater extent than usual."

"What if it's not any of them, though, just someone who looks like them?" Yui took a seat in the chair next to Aizawa's and narrowed her eyes as she peered at the screen. "Couldn't it be Toga again? Like how they got inside last time?"

"That's also impossible." Shota sighed and massaged his temples with both hands. "The official announcement won't be made until tomorrow, but since you two are directly involved in this now, I suppose it won't hurt to tell you. We've been working on a major overhaul of our security systems ever since the breach, including sensors placed in the entrances of every campus building designed to scan for the DNA of any known Syndicate members. They've already been installed in all of the dorms as well as around the exterior wall, and no alerts for Carmilla's signature have been triggered today. Even when she's using her quirk, her own DNA remains present, intertwined with her victim's, so the sensors are theoretically foolproof in that regard."

"I'm glad to hear that," Kendo replied, her gaze dropping down to the floor. "I think I can live with that woman never setting foot on this campus again."

"That makes two of us. You said that Seraph mentioned contacting you again, yes? We're going to be setting up an additional camera to cover the blind spot- if he reaches out in the same manner, contact me immediately before opening the package, and we will get to the bottom of this."

"Understood. Thank you, sir."

"I'll leave you two to it, then. Don't hesitate to contact me at any time if you need to talk about this situation or anything else, or if you have additional questions. We'll be watching out for both of you, I can promise that. And Battle Fist, remember- 8:00 PM tomorrow. Don't be late."

Aizawa and the police filtered out at roughly the same time, leaving Kendo and Kodai alone in a room that didn't feel nearly as safe and secure as it had a few short hours ago.

"Peace of mind is always the first casualty of war," Yui said quietly, her gaze fixed on the dark wood of the kitchen table.

"Who said that?" Kendo murmured, prompting a confused glance from her roommate.

"…Me. Right now. Are you feeling okay, Itsuka?"

"That's not what I…" Battle Fist was interrupted midsentence by a fierce growl from her stomach, and trailed off with a grimace. "Well, I'll feel a lot better once I have some dinner, I can tell you that much. So, takeout still good?"

"Fine by me."

Moments after Kendo had finished ordering from their favorite delivery curry spot, another knock came at the door. I swear to god, if I have to debrief with one more cop… Her annoyance quickly vanished, though, when she swung opened it to find Tetsutetsu and Jiro waiting in the threshold, the latter of whom nearly knocked her over with a tight hug.

"We all saw the cops," Real Steel explained, waving hi to Kodai as they stepped inside. "Did something happen? Everyone's really worried."

"You weren't answering your phone," Kyoka murmured into the neck of Itsuka's t-shirt. "I was afraid you were hurt or something." Kendo winced with the sudden recollection that she'd left it in her bedroom this entire time, certain that she had at least half a dozen new texts and missed calls by now.

"I'm fine," she chuckled, rubbing Jiro's hair affectionately before turning to Tetsutetsu and exchanging a 'hardcore high-five', as he called them, a gesture that involved slapping each other's palms as hard as possible before gripping each other's hands as tightly as possible until someone was the first to let go. Usually she won, but today he had the victory, and he pumped his fist in the air in triumph. "There, is that proof enough?"

"Well you still haven't told us exactly what happened," Kyoka pointed out as she strode over to the coffee table and chose one of her playlists to put on the speaker.

"Because I can't tell you." Itsuka sighed and shook her head. "Not yet, at least. Aizawa's probably going to brief you both on the situation tomorrow, or maybe even later tonight. But until then, let's just try and forget about that. You guys free right now? We were gonna do a movie night if you wanna join in."

"Hell yeah, sounds great!" Tetsutetsu wasted no time plopping down on the couch, his expression eager. "Have you guys picked the movie yet? I'm kind of in the mood for one of the old action classics!"

"You mean like one of the American superhero flicks?" Jiro asked curiously.

"Nah, I was thinking more along the lines of Point Break or Predator. Keanu and Arnold? Now those were two seriously manly dudes."

The sun was low in the evening sky when Kendo donned her blue and silver hero costume and strode outside the next day, the distant clouds aglow with the last fleeting embers of daylight. Crickets were already chirping noisily in the treeline just beyond the dorms, and she shuddered as a cold breeze whipped past. One of Hound Dog and Ectoplasm's perimeter patrols was visible in the middle distance- they'd become more and more frequent these past few weeks, just one of the more outwardly visible of the changes that the campus had been undergoing recently. Acting Principal Vlad King had announced the new security system expansion earlier today just as Aizawa told them; along with the DNA scanners in the entrances of all buildings, all student quarters and belongings would now be subject to random and periodic searches, and no off-campus visitors would be permitted to enter U.A. grounds without prior authorization by a member of a the faculty and a thorough security screening.

So far, the planned measures had done little to stave off the media, though; the tide of public opinion was still against them, and it was unlikely that U.A.'s reputation would ever fully recover from the string of deaths, defections, and grievous injuries that had marked the Black Day. Sero Hanta, for instance, had only been recently released from the hospital after repeated reconstructive surgeries to his jaw, and Todoroki Shoto's abduction only seemed to gain more and more traction in the press the longer he remained in the Syndicate's hands. Endeavor was reportedly singlehandedly funding his own independent search and rescue effort with the backing of his agency despite the government's direct orders to the contrary, but media sympathy was on Enji's side this time, and the stalemate was still unresolved. His fanbase had eagerly rallied around him when he issued a call for support, and frequently clashed in the streets with the anti-hero, anti-Hawks protestors who had become more and more common as of late.

Kendo knew that many of her fellow students were on his side, too- the same type who would have ignored the rules and followed Bakugo to Osaka, who prioritized personal interests over the good of the many, even if they disguised it as valor. Day after day, she could hear the first and second-years talking in hushed tones in the lunchrooms and hallways, only to fall silent whenever she passed. Whenever she did happen to overhear some of the whispers, the subject never failed to be grim: They claimed that this would be U.A.'s last year in operation, that the principal would announce the school's imminent closure at the graduation ceremony. That Todoroki was already dead, and the government was just covering it up to keep Endeavor from turning on them, just like they were covering up Hawks' treason. That the Syndicate were right about the economy. That the new Symbol of Peace had let All Might die, and had no idea what she was doing. That last one had given Itsuka pause when the first-year saying it failed to notice her behind him in the lunch line, and she'd thought about it for a long time afterwards, late into the night, long after Kodai had fallen asleep on the couch beside her.

Do I have any idea what I'm doing?

Days later, Kendo still couldn't come up with a solid answer to that question as she set out on the path towards the main gate; the staff didn't like her taking off from inside the campus except in emergencies, mainly due to how badly her air pressure blasts tended to trip the perimeter sensors, something she'd found out the hard way her second year. She'd made sure to be on the early side, just in case- not knowing what this was about had been bugging her all day, especially seeing as Miruko and Nighteye hadn't been responding to her texts. Scrolling to one of the playlists Jiro had shared with her recently, she was about to put in her earbuds when a finger suddenly tapped her on the shoulder, and she turned around to find a disembodied lower arm floating in front of her face. Setsuna?

Sure enough, when Kendo glanced up, Tokage was waving sheepishly from the dorm's front porch with her remaining hand, with Juzo just a few paces behind- both of them were dressed in their hero costumes as well.

"Aw, dangit!" Setsuna perched her hand on her hip and smirked. "I miss when I could scare you like that."

"It's been a long time since then," Kendo chuckled. "Plus, Tetsu always gave way better reactions than me, for the record. But damn, does Lemillion really have you guys heading out on patrol this late?"

"Nah, this is something, uh… different." Replied Honenuki with a frown. "I dunno if we're supposed to talk about it."

"That's funny… it's the same for me."

Unsure of what to say next, the three students glanced awkwardly between each other for a few moments, until Tetsutetsu burst out the door and greeted them all hurriedly, dressed in his costume as well.

"Hey guys, 'sup Itsuka! Sorry but I gotta run right now, I'm gonna be late to some super-secret meeting thing I got invited to!"

"Lemme guess, at Best Jeanist's agency?" Kendo asked as he rushed past her, prompting Real Steel to skid to a rapid halt.

"Whoa, you too?!"

"I'm pretty sure at this point that all of us are going to the same meeting." Said Battle Fist, a smile slowly growing on her lips. "And don't worry, I can guarantee that none of you are going to be late, as long as you don't mind a little turbulence. Trust me, though, the view is worth it."

To Kendo's pleasant surprise, neither Juzo nor Tokage vomited on the ten-odd minute flight to their destination, as tended to happen to first-timers. After half a year of working in the same internship, Tetsustetsu was well-accustomed to the experience, of course, and buckled over with laughter when Honenuki and Setsuna practically collapsed to the ground the moment she set them down on the sidewalk, visibly queasy. The crowd of pedestrians passing through the beating heart of Tokyo's neon-lit Shinjuku ward parted out of pity for the two young interns as they struggled slowly back to their feet, and staggered into the building's entrance, teased by Real Steel all the while.

"Oh man, look at you rookies! Don't worry, it's all part of the process! You guys should've seen Jiro the first time Kendo did it with her, she friggin' hurled everywhere, it was-"

"Ahem."

Even though she'd seen it coming, Itsuka couldn't help but chuckle to herself when Tetsutetsu whirled around to find a red-faced Kyoka a few paces behind him, tapping one boot impatiently on the ground- from the look of it, she'd just gotten here off the train.

"Wanna rephrase that story?"

"Well, I, uh…"

"Secret meeting?" Kendo interjected, one eyebrow cocked.

"Yeah, secret meeting."

"Perfect."

Looks like Sir, Miruko, and Lemillion are up to something big, she reflected as they all walked together to the elevators. Something involving Best Jeanist, huh? Are we getting a fourth team member? The others had clearly come to the same conclusion, and they all had a gleam of anticipation on their faces as the doors closed behind them and Battle Fist pressed the button for the penthouse.

"If this is what I think it is, then it's gonna be pretty fucking awesome," remarked Setsuna. "Well, I mean, aside from having to work with Bakugo. Bleh."

"You're just still salty about how badly he beat your team in the inter-class training scrimmages," Tetsutetsu shot back with a grin. "Don't worry, I'll put him in his place if I need to."

"You and me both, Tetsu." Kendo let out a heavy sigh and patted his shoulder in solidarity. "Trust me, I'm already working on it."

"He was acting even more like a brat than usual after the written finals today." Jiro nonchalantly twirled one jack around her finger as she spoke, her expression annoyed. "Bragging about how he was gonna have the top score in the class for the third year in a row. I mean, he probably will, but still, come on."

"How did you guys do on yours, by the way?" Honenuki piped up from the back. "I was totally stressing out studying these past few days, but it really wasn't so bad in the end, except for that one goddamn calc problem, the one with the double integral."

"Yeah, I basically just gave up when I saw that one," Kyoka replied. "By the way, have any of you guys heard from Kirishima today? He was supposed to catch a red-eye flight back from his assignment in Okinawa in time to take his final this morning, but he didn't show up for the exam."

"Oh yeah, he texted our powerlifting groupchat last night at like 1:00 AM or something." Tetsutetsu pulled out his phone and scrolled to the message in question. "He said something urgent came up with work, and that he'd be getting back tonight, hopefully. Apparently Suneater and Fatgum are gonna coordinate with Vlad so he can take the written final over the weekend, before graduation."

"Huh. They were tracking smugglers or something down there, right?" Setsuna frowned and narrowed her eyes in contemplation. "I remember Lemillion saying something about it the other day. Hope he's okay, I haven't seen anything on the news."

"Me neither," Kendo added, "but I guess we wouldn't really be seeing local news from down there unless it was a major incident. Whatever they ran into, I'm sure they're fine, Tamaki's majorly strong. Have you guys ever seen him in action? One time, he-" The elevator doors opened while she was still midsentence, and she promptly choked on her tongue when she stepped out and nearly ran into Endeavor. His face fixed in its permanent scowl, he seemed to be glancing over his shoulder at them, and made an amused grunt when his gaze fell on Kendo, turning to face the group of interns with his hands on his hips.

"So they invited the children after all, I see. So be it. How's your palm, girl?"

"It healed up just fine." How's your pride? She wanted desperately to ask him that question, but then Midoriya's words echoed in her head: A cheap imitation with the social grace of Endeavor. That's not who I am. Is it? After a moment of hesitation, she managed to force herself to take on a different tone, abandoning her matching scowl for a more non-confrontational expression. "I… I'm sorry that your son is still missing. Is this meeting about Coldflame?"

Enji's face softened a bit at her inquiry; his furrowed brows unknit themselves, and the flames forming his beard and moustache seemed to die down ever so slightly. His eyes widened in pain for a fraction of a second, then quickly returned to normal.

"No, it's not. They didn't tell you, eh? You'll find out soon enough. Follow me if you're all done gawking- the meeting room is to the right, if I recall correctly."

"Wrong, it's on the left! Jesus, how hard is it to remember a goddamn floorplan?"

Itsuka winced at the sound of the new voice, and exchanged a brief glance of exasperation with Jiro before looking down the hall towards the source. Ground Zero was fully dressed in his hero costume as well, his grenade-gauntleted arms crossed in impatience as he nodded towards an open door.

"In here, come on! Jeanist sent me to make sure you deadbeats didn't get lost. Guess it really was necessary."

"What did you just call me, boy?" Endeavor growled, stalking towards Bakugo with booming footfalls as Kendo and the others trailed a good distance behind. "I see that your time with Hakamata has somehow failed to instill you with some basic manners."

"I called you a deadbeat," Katsuki snapped back with equal ferocity, "but if you're not satisfied with that one, I can come up with something worse. You want me to show you my table manners so goddamn badly, bow and scrape and kiss your fucking boots? I'll be polite to you when you've earned it, not before."

The standoff between the two men dragged on for several seconds of tense silence, before Enji suddenly broke out in laughter and walked past Bakugo into the conference room, clapping a hand on the intern's shoulder as he went.

"I have to say, I think I like this one, Tsunagu! Reminds me of myself at his age. What a strong spirit, my god!"

The sound of distant chatter drowned out Jeanist's response, and Kendo was left with the unenviable task of leading the others past their 'guide'. She was hoping to suffice with a simple nod of acknowledgement, but as usual, he wasn't content to let an encounter go by without some manner of confrontation.

"You guys are late. Typical."

"Wha- we're fifteen minutes early!" Itsuka cried in protest, holding up her lock screen as proof.

"Yeah, big deal. I've been here since four in the goddamn afternoon."

"Uh, maybe because you work here?!" Jiro replied incredulously.

"And your point is?"

She could tell that he was just messing with them at this point, but before Kendo could brush past Ground Zero and into the meeting room, Tetsutetsu spoke up from behind her.

"You hear from Eijiro at all today, Bakugo?"

"Not since last night, why?" Katsuki's entire demeanor changed in a split second, his expression momentarily shifting to one that almost resembled genuine concern. "Fuck, is he still not back? I asked him what the hell's going on down there but he couldn't say, just that it was important enough to skip a final. "

"So that's not the topic of the meeting either, huh?" Sighed Juzo.

"We'll get to the main agenda in due time. If you could all do us the favor of stepping inside, then we'll be able to begin promptly." Sir Nighteye's measured tone was unmistakable, and Battle Fist wasted no time answering his summons- the others quickly followed her lead.

Most of the room was occupied by a long conference table, and similar to Lemillion's office, there were wall-mounted flatscreen TVs on either side, in this case displaying some sort of data or statistics. Best Jeanist and Nighteye occupied the table's head, and seated around it were Miruko, Lemillion, Mount Lady, Kamui Woods, Endeavor, and a wheelchair and respirator-bound Edgeshot, along with Kaminari, Ashido, Hagakure, and Shoji; Toru and Mina waved excitedly at the other interns as they stepped inside, and Denki shot the three new female arrivals a playful wink. They swiftly took their seats, and Itsuka received a friendly smile in greeting when she ended up next to Mount Lady.

"Now that everyone is present," declared Best Jeanist in an authoritative tone, "this meeting can officially commence. As we all know, the villain group known as the Syndicate wreaked havoc on this country two weeks ago, with a coordinated series of attacks designed to tear down the most fundamental pillars of modern hero society. To all of our shame, they succeeded in practically every objective. Our retaliation on that day was too slow- we did not truly understand the scope and capabilities of the threat we were facing until it was far too late. As the de facto number one hero, ever since that day, I have been engaged in conversation with both the government and you, my fellow heroes, on how best to move forward, and tonight, I am eager to finally present you with a solution. As of this moment, all of you are officially members of Strike Team Fenrir, a government-mandated task force with the sole objective of eliminating the Syndicate by any means necessary. Tonight, we begin planning our counterattack."

And the structure of the major conflict begins to emerge! You'll see the rest of the meeting and learn more about the details next chapter, but for the most part, Strike Team Fenrir will be the Syndicate's main opponents (for a while, at least) after this point. As far as the name goes, it's canon that Jeanist loves wolves, so I thought it fit. Also stay tuned for an explanation of how Edgeshot survived!

On another note, Anyone else who's caught up with the manga knows that there are some major additions being made to the world of villains in MHA after the latest chapters about Gigantomachia and the Doctor, so rest assured that I'm already drafting plans on how to bring them organically into the story. We'll jump back in time a day one more time next chapter to see the conclusion of the plan to abduct the Shields, as well as what incident Kirishima and Suneater are involved in. Any guesses on what might happen? For now, though, please let me know what you thought of the full conversation between Midoriya and Kendo, and anything else that struck your interest! I thought it was about time to finally give Kendo some backstory and a family, even if both of her parents are pretty absent. And IzuMomo is too good of a ship to resist playing with a villain spin on it, so I hope you enjoyed that as well.