Itsuka grimaced as she clipped the walkie-talkie back to her side. Izuku had just reported in and the news had not been good. She glanced over to Setsuna, who while helping give tea to a family of tourists, had her hand and her right ear missing along with her walkie-talkie. She was smiling, but now it began to look forced. When she caught Itsuka's eye, she said something in parting to the family before heading her way.
"What's the plan, Prez?" Setsuna asked after her missing body parts flew back and reconnected to the rest of her.
"Continue to provide moral and support for everyone here," Itsuka told her as they moved towards the back of the main lobby. "Once Paragon and Yamatora get back we can figure out what to tell everyone about-" She cut off when she heard someone approaching. "Yuunaiyama?"
"Please, just Kohaku is fine," Yamatora's sister, the barista from Tiger Eyes, told her. She looked stressed. "We have a couple of sick people in the back."
"Lead the way," Itsuka said, already moving. "Colds?"
"We certainly have a few of those, but no." Itsuka noticed how worried Kohaku looked. "At first I thought maybe it was food poisoning, but they look way too sick for that."
"Vomiting?!" Itsuka felt her own stress begin to spike. They entered one of the smaller rooms in the building, a conference area, and the first thing that hit her was the smell. It was a mix of the usual vomit smell along with something rotten. The room was semi full, but the majority of the people were pressed as close as they could be without being in each other's personal space away from the opposite side of the room where a family of four were huddled. They were shaking, dribbles of vomit on their chins and puddles of it in front of them. Their eyes had a glassy look to them, and as Itsuka watched, one of them, the father, dry heaved while the two kids of primary school age clutched their stomachs. And the mother, she was laying on her side in the fetal position and was the only one of the four not moving.
Itsuka moved over to the mother first, checking her breathing. Eyes widening, she carefully moved her onto her back and immediately began performing chest compressions. She enlarged her hands just a little and put more force into the compressions. She felt the gazes of everyone else on her, and she could see out of her peripheral the other members of the woman's family, looking at her as if they barely registered what was going on.
Through the compressions, Itsuka could feel the sloshing in the woman's chest. Moments later, just as Setsuna's arm arrived with an AED kit, the woman convulsed violently. Itsuka instinctively scooted back just in time as she hurled her stomach's vile contents onto the floor with a sickening splattering sound. The dark green bile oozed on the floor and Itsuka felt herself growing sick just from looking at it. That was most definitely not normal.
"Madam," Itsuka asked the now conscious woman. "Are you alright?"
She was shaking terribly and opened her mouth to answer, only to heave again. Itsuka put a hand on her back before turning to the husband. "Do you know what might have caused this?"
"The water," he rasped. "Tasted funny."
"What water?" Itsuka asked.
"Hey, uh, Prez?" Setsuna was looking out the doorway with Kohaku. "We got more sick people out here."
"Water fountain," the man said and Itsuka whipped her gaze back to him. "Water didn't taste right."
"Setsuna, Kohaku, stay with them," Itsuka told the two and they complied as she herself hurried out of the room, already turning on her walkie-talkie. "Nobody drink from the water fountains! I repeat, do NOT drink from the water fountains! Quarter them off and don't allow anyone near them! The water is poisoned! I repeat, poisoned!"
"The water is poisoned! I repeat, poisoned!"
Izuku's pace sped up at the same time Yamatora's did. The situation back in town seemed to have worsened and they needed to get back there ASAP.
Something tickled faintly in the back of Izuku's mind and he frowned at the sensation before the ground erupted in front of him erupted with snow and dirt. Izuku just barely managed to stop himself in time from slamming into the spike of ice that had jutted from the earth. A loud yowl came from Yamatora as she was grazed by one before managing to break it apart.
The snowstorm was still going full force and Yamatora remained just within his line of sight, but when the ground erupted again and Izuku was forced to leap away, he lost sight of her.
"Yamato-!" Izuku's voice was cut off as he felt a chill that had nothing to do with the cold violently run down his spine. He turned on instinct and suddenly he was no longer surrounded by a storm of snow. He seized up, eyes widening as he realized what he was seeing and hearing. The roaring of flames and the screams of people as they fled the ruins of the shopping center.
"No." Izuku's voice was small, barely a whisper. "No, not here."
Why was he seeing this? This couldn't be happening. It couldn't!
"Do not fear, young man," the hulking figure in front of him stood tall despite his ragged breathing. "Because I am here, and I won't let you get hurt."
"All Might, don't," Izuku croaked. "You'll-!"
He had believed no one could beat All Might. Nobody stood a chance against him. All who faced him always ended up behind bars. The ideal hero, the Number One hero and Symbol of Hope. That is until one day he fought a villain that by all rights he should have been able to triumph against.
Izuku, his legs trapped beneath fallen rubble, was forced to watch the brutal fight. All Might was the strongest, he couldn't lose. He never lost. But as Izuku watched, he appeared to be weakening. A lucky shot appeared to completely rupture All Might's side, spraying the young boy with the blood of his hero.
"All Might!" Izuku cried out, then the scene shifted. All Might had hobbled away from the fallen villain and barely managed to clear the rubble off of Izuku before collapsing beside him.
"A mistake," All Might coughed out.
Izuku was crying, but those words made him pause.
"A stupid mistake," All Might turned his gaze on Izuku and he was met with the full force of All Might's ferocity that he normally reserved for the worst villains. "To think I died protecting one child, wondering how the hell I was going to pass on my Quirk if I died."
"Wh-what are y-you-!?" Izuku stammered out between his tears. This was wrong. This… this wasn't right.
"Of course he'd have to find my weak spot," All Might growled, his hand pressing against the gaping hole in his stomach. "Just as I was thinking about finding a successor. You, Izuku Midoriya, shouldn't have been here."
Izuku couldn't speak. His mouth was moving, but nothing was coming out.
With a grunt of pain, All Might forced himself to stand so he was towering over him, blood pooling around his feet and soaking into Izuku's clothes. "You were a mistake!" He spat through bloodstained teeth, his disheveled hair making him look crazed. "Ingesting my blood because I wasn't fast enough!"
"A-All M-Might, wh-why-!?" Izuku tried to back up, but found that he was pressed up against something. He turned his head, a cry of strangled terror slipping past his lips. Bodies upon bodies lay behind him, blank stares all directed at him.
"You shouldn't have inherited my power!" All Might's voice boomed. "You aren't worthy of it! If you couldn't even save them, what makes you think you can become a true hero!?"
"I-I'm sorry!" Izuku wailed. "I-I tried- but I- I couldn't-!"
The blood had risen around him and he found himself choking on it. His ears filled next and he could no longer hear, but he could still see All Might's piercing glare as his body decayed before his very eyes-
"IZUKU!"
Izuku gasped and nearly fell before a pair of strong arms steadied him. He was shaking and he tried wiping at his body, the sticky feeling of the blood persisting.
"Izuku, look at me!"
He stopped and stared. He vaguely realized he was back in the void he regularly saw in his dreams. And crouching in front of him was a woman whose sky blue aura radiated warmth and motherly affection.
"Who-?" He blinked, taking her in. She seemed familiar somehow.
"You need to wake up, Izuku!" She gripped him by the shoulders and he suddenly realized how muscular her arms were. "Their Quirk, it's directly targeting your worst memories. We were able to break you out of it, but you need to wake up now! Whatever is happening you need to be able to deal with it!"
"But who-?"
"Nana Shimura," She said as she stared him dead in the eye. "I was the seventh holder. Now wake UP!"
Izuku's body jerked and he found himself lying prone in the snow. He grunted, flipping himself onto his side as he forced himself up. He gripped the side of his head, wondering what the hell had just happened. "Seventh…" He muttered. "Nana… Shimura… Wait-!?"
Someone barreled into him and before he could react, Yamatora was yelling, "There you are! We need to go, NOW!"
Izuku allowed himself to be pulled along before he managed to reign in his scattered thoughts and activate One For All. He took in Yamatora's battered body and ripped clothing. She was bleeding in several spots. "What happened?"
"Our mysterious Ice Quirk villain was here," she growled. "Couldn't find them, but they sure as hell knew where I was. I couldn't find you at all until they suddenly stopped attacking me." She spared him a glance. "What happened to you?"
"I…" He tried pushing away the 'memory' of All Might. That was not at all how that event had gone down. It was a twisted and sick version of it. Yet it had cut very deep. "Psychic attack. Brought back some painful memories. But… twisted versions of them."
Yamatora cursed. "We need to regroup with the others and figure out what to do. These villains are toying with us." She bared her fangs. "And I'm about ready to rip their throats out!"
"How many?" Itsuka asked Setsuna as the green haired girl entered the small conference room at just a few minutes past three in the afternoon. She joined the rest of her classmates, currently consisting of just her, Yosetsu, Sen, Yui, and Juzo. Everyone else was busy around Town Hall caring for the residents and ensuring whatever this sickness was wouldn't spread.
"Twenty-three," she reported grimly as she took the seat between Yui and Juzo. "All of which reported drinking from the water fountains at some point. We're currently keeping an eye on an odd dozen or so who have also drank from them, but haven't shown signs of poisoning yet. Kinoko has activated charcoal on the off chance someone ingests a toxic mushroom by mistake from her, but we don't know yet if it's going to work."
"Well, that may be our best bet at the moment," Juzo folded his hands. "How much does she have?"
Setsuna shook her head. "Not nearly enough. We might have to find a store around here that has some in stock."
The door opened. "That may not be the best idea."
Itsuka stood. "Izuku!"
The half-frozen teen managed a smile as he shivered, but found a seat, Yamatora joining him.
Setsuna gazed at him worriedly. "Izuku, is that blood?"
Itsuka appraised both newcomers again and spotted the frozen blood staining their clothes. While Izuku's winter hero outfit was mostly intact, Yamatora's was full of cuts and tattered in some spots.
"Ran into our mysterious ice Quirk murderer," Yamatora stated as her feline features receded. "Couldn't see them, but they were there. Along with someone who attacked Izuku with a mental Quirk."
Yui sat up straighter. "Like what happened to me?"
Izuku shook his head. "Not quite. It showed me some memories. Bad ones." He pursed his lip. "It's safe to say that the villains, at least three now, are out there."
"And we have no idea what they want." Yosetsu crossed his arms. "Except apparently to screw around with us."
"Unless there's something they want?" Sen countered. "Sure, tormenting people is in the villain's job description, but this is really elaborate. First they target Yui, then several murders occur, the snowstorm, and now the poison. They're going to an awful lot of trouble if they just want to screw around with us."
"Sen's right," Yamatora folded her hands together. "There has to be something more at stake here for them. But until we get a clue as to what that is, we have to focus on making sure nobody dies. And while it may be risky, we're going to have to go out and find medicine."
"Medicine we don't even know will work," Juzo muttered.
"I agree with Yamatora," Itsuka said. "It's risky, but it's still our best shot. A small group of four perhaps?"
"Make that five," Yamatora frowned. "I assume everyone in your class is well adapted to fighting?"
"Yes," Itsuka said with absolute confidence.
"Good," Yamatora stood. "I'll let you decide who goes then. I'm going to get my agency and the police up to speed on what's happening, and you get the medicine. If you encounter a villain, alert me and make your way back here."
Everyone nodded and as she left, Itsuka asked Izuku, "Take fifteen minutes to rest, then you'll lead the group to get more activated charcoal, along with Tetsutetsu, Shishida, Reiko, and Juzo."
"Will do," Izuku nodded and left to go find the others. Setsuna looked a little put off, having opened her mouth to speak, but he was already gone. "Be careful," Itsuka heard her friend mutter softly.
"Are you going out to get more charcoal?"
The five students paused at the doors as Kohaku hurried over to them, a heavy coat in her arms.
"Yeah!" Tetsutetsu informed her with a thumbs-up, his grin stretching from one part of his furred face guard to the other. "Don't you worry, we'll be back to heal everyone in no time!"
"I can help," Kohaku immediately offered. "You can barely see out there, but I've lived here my whole life. I could help direct you to the pharmacy store."
"We don't actually know where it is," Tetsutetsu said with a growing frown.
"We could go ask Yamatora, or Sen," Shishida put in. "Not that you're help isn't welcomed, ma'am, but considering the danger out there-"
"No, it's okay," Izuku said, holding up a hand to silence Shishida. "Yamatora was hurt more than me out there, so we should let her rest. And Sen is helping treat the sick."
"Isami was injured?" Kohaku asked, an edge of worry in her voice.
"She'll be fine," Izuku assured her. "But those sick aren't. If you're committed, then we need to go now."
"Of course," Kohaku nodded quickly as she donned her coat. After a minute they headed out into the blistering cold. "This way!" The cafe owner had to shout as she pointed to the right. Juzo nodded and began clearing a way with his Quirk.
"Izuku," Reiko stopped the greenette before he could move. She peered at him with a curious gaze. "Why are we allowing her to come with us? It is not safe for her."
"It's like she said, she knows her way around even with this storm," Izuku told her, patting her arm as he moved past her. "Plus I have no doubt we'll be able to keep her safe, so don't worry."
Reiko frowned, but followed after him as doubt still lingered in her mind.
"Hold-on!" Izuku stopped to lean against a tree, his breathing ragged. "Need-a moment-!"
Yamatora only nodded, her breathing also heavy as she leaned on the other side. Izuku pulled on his scarf, breathing in the cold air. In their haste they'd run off the main road and into the forest. While the road had been covered in snow, at least it had been devoid of trees, because now Izuku definitely didn't know where they were at.
"How far is the town from here?" Izuku asked after he got his breath back.
"Not too much farther now," came Yamatora's reply. She sucked in another breath. "Don't worry, I know this mountain like the back of my hands."
Izuku nodded in relief. He glanced back from where they came, wondering if the villains would pursue. First there was what happened with Yui with the fear-related Quirk, then the ice Quirk, what he suspected could be a mole-related Quirk of some sorts based on the mound of dirt, and now this memory-related Quirk.
He closed his eyes, focusing on the image of Nana Shimura. He'd heard a lot about her from Tenko, at least what he knew of her. His suspicions that the shadows and stars he'd been seeing in that dark void were the previous holders of One For All was definitely correct. But why were they there? Are they just some residual traces of memories given shape and thought?
Sir definitely didn't know anything about this, Izuku thought, remembering when he'd asked him about his dreams, but the man hadn't known anything more than him, and certainly didn't remember ever hearing All Might mention dreams.
All Might… Izuku's thoughts gravitated towards the fake memory he'd been shown before pushing it away. He refused to let that overshadow the real memory of All Might's death, as tragic and devastating as it had been. He had thought he'd finally gotten over most of his survivor's guilt, but he evidently had a long way to go still. He wondered briefly if All Might himself was one of those shadows, and if he was, what he thought of all that Izuku had done.
Suddenly a thought occurred to him. "Yamatora, what if the villains decided to go after everyone in the town?"
A muttered curse. "That would be just our luck." He heard the snow shift. "We should get moving."
"Radio them first," Izuku said as he fit his scarf back into place. "Let them know what happened."
A pause. Then, "Dammit!" He heard something hit the snow. "It must've gotten damaged from the ice. We're gonna really have to double-time it now."
Izuku readjusted his dark green cowl, a foreboding feeling spreading through his body as he moved to follow Yamatora through the snow covered forest. He could only hope that his classmates weren't facing any villains of their own right now. He knew they could take care of themselves, but something nagged at him, warning him that while things seemed bad right now, they were going to get a lot worse.