Chapter 28: Unbreakable

Kirishima took a deep breath and knocked on the door to his grandfather's room. His dad had told him that he'd taken a turn for the worse. He knew that he needed to talk to the old man before he left for his Work Study with Fat Gum. Otherwise...

"Come on in, the water's fine!" A deep voice sounded.

Kirishima opened the door and found his grandfather where he always was as of late. Laying in bed with far too many tubes sticking out of him. It was no small wonder that Raiden Kirishima was holding together as well as he was.

After all, his rapidly declining health was a direct result of his many battles over the years. Battles to protect the innocent and live without regret. Under the name of Crimson Riot. "Hey, old man." Kirishima said.

Raiden smiled. "Hey, kiddo. How goes the battle?"

"I feel like I should be asking you the same question, grandpa." Kirishima was certainly no doctor -he only had a passing knowledge of first aid- but over the years he had learned to read the medical equipment that kept the man alive. He didn't have much longer until his heart gave up on him. "I'm starting a work study soon."

"As a first year? Raiden asked. At Kirishima's nod he whistled. "Damn, not even out of your first year and you're already showing me up."

Kirishima shook his head. "No, I... I already let someone down." Raiden was silent, leaving Kirishima no choice but to continue. "At Kamino, a friend of mine died because I wasn't quick enough, because all I really have is durability. He died saving Midoriya, taking a blow that I could've tanked in my sleep!" He sobbed and hung his head. "When we held a memorial for him, I didn't say anything because I didn't feel like I deserved to. Because I couldn't do anything but watch as he sacrificed himself!"

Raiden let his grandson cry for a few moments before weakly grabbing his hand. "Eijiro. What does our chivalry represent?"

Kirishima wiped his eyes. "Living without regrets."

Raiden studied his face a moment longer. "Are you afraid?"

A pause. "Yes." Kirishima averted his eyes out of shame. "Afraid that it'll happen again, that I'll have to watch helplessly as more of my friends die." He looked back at his grandfather, worried that he would be disappointed. "Look at me, I'm a wreck."

Raiden shook his head. "You still have so much to learn, Eijiro. And I have so little time to teach you. There is no shame in crying, and there is no shame in being afraid. There is only shame if you let that fear paralyze you, keep you from saving someone in danger that you can save. Do you understand?"

Kirishima nodded. "Yes sir."

Raiden laid his head back on his pillow. "Good, then give those villains hell, Red Riot."

Kirishima grinned. "Yes sir!"

Why would he ever do anything less? He was the Sturdy Hero: Red Riot. No one behind him was going to bleed.

Well, by his own estimate, Kirishima was doing just fine at his work study so far. He had learned that Tamaki's borderline rude attitude during their fight was a mask to hide his extreme social anxiety. In his opinion that was a manly way to go about it. Fat Gum was an awesome mentor, too. In a lot of ways, he reminded Kirishima of his grandfather.

He had also been straightforward about why he had brought Kirishima on. Due to the case they were assisting Sir Nighteye with, extra close combat fighters that could tank damage were needed. That was something he could do.

They had just finished up wrangling a crew of drug dealers when Kirishima and Tamaki heard Fat Gum about a warning. "Gun! Get down!"

A shot rang out, and Tamaki went down.

Kirishima whirled around to find a thug with a gun trained on him. He fired again, but the bullet bounced off of his hardened head.

"What the hell? Defective piece of crap!" He turned and started to run for it, leaving the gun behind.

"I'll get him." Tamaki said, "Octopus tentacles should..." He was right about that. Octopus tentacles would in fact capture the fleeing criminal. If he could use his Quirk. "My Quirk won't activate?"

"I'll get him!" Kirishima yelled before pursuing the villain.

(Music Start: Sonic Frontiers OST - Undefeatable)

Fat Gum shouted a warning to not go running off on his own, but Kirishima ignored him. The villain ducked into a side street, but Kirishima was able to keep up by dragging his hardened fingers as a means to make the turn. "You're not getting away from me!"

"Come on, man! I just wanted to help my bros!" The thug lamented, "You can understand that, right?"

Kirishima did understand, but that didn't give any excuse for criminal activity. "And how's waving a gun around supposed to do that, you idiot?"

The villain made another turn, into one of the many shopping complexes tucked away in the backstreets of the area they were patrolling. "Stop running! I'm going to catch you sooner or later!" That much was true, since Kirishima had recently begun working out with Midoriya. Whatever endurance that this thug had left didn't stand a chance.

It wasn't until the thug had corralled himself in a dead end that he came to the conclusion that Kirishima was correct. He turned around and threw a punch, little blades extending from his arms. The blades scraped across his hardened cheek, and Kirishima showed no mercy in the form of firmly burying his hardened fist in the villain's gut. "RED COUNTER!"

The villain slammed back against the wall. "Damn it... guess I gotta use it..." A syringe dropped out of his sleeve and into his hand. Without a moment's hesitation he plunged in into his neck. "To help my bros!"

Kirishima's eyes went wide. Whatever was in that vial, it could not be good. He turned to the civilians behind him. "EVERYONE, GET OUT OF HERE!"

In the nick of time, he looked back at the villain, just as he was shooting his blades out. Much further than the meager ones from before. Kirishima nearly swore, the bastard had taken Trigger! He crossed his arms in a defensive stance just as the blades bit into him.

The hell? He actually cut me? No choice then... gotta use it for real now.

The villain laughed in a way that threw his sanity into question. "Well look at that, hero! Just a little boost and you're helpless! Now die, die along with all those spineless rats behind you!"

The world seemed to be moving in slow motion as the villain's blades rushed forward once more. The civilians hadn't escaped, that meant he still had a job to do. "Who the hell do you think I am?" Kirishima yelled, "I'm Red Riot! AND NO ONE BEHIND ME IS GOING TO BLEED!"

The blades kept coming. He was past the point of no return. It was do or die.

Come on, Hardening! More! Grow stronger! Body and spirit! Become a wall! A wall...

The blades impacted his newly hardened body and broke like cheap glass. The villain screamed out in pain. "Ow! What the hell?"

A wall that's indestructible!

Kirishima lurched forward. "Who needs a damned drug? Not me! This is my Quirk at its maximum! RED RIOT: UNBREAKABLE!"

The villain stumbled backwards into the wall behind him. "What... who do you think you are, some Crimson Riot wannabe? I'm gonna rip you to shreds!" A shower of blades was launched from his chest all focused on Kirishima, "Come on! What's it's gonna take?"

Kirishima grinned, making his features look even more menacing. "I'm a man of Hardening! No cheap tricks are gonna take me down!" He clawed his way through the blades and punched the villain in the gut. His eyes bugged out as his hardened fist made contact. "RED GUN TURRET!"

The thug vomited, "Stupid hero... I just wanted to help my friends... why can't you let me-"

Before Kamino, Kirishima would've fallen for the obvious attempt to stall for time. But now?

No.

He decked the villain in the face, right before Unbreakable ran out. "RED SALVO!" After a brief moment to catch his breath, he slapped the handcuffs that Fat Gum had given him before the patrol began on the villain.

(Music End)

An elderly man walked up to him, "Young man, I've been around a while now, and I haven't seen anything like that since before Crimson Riot retired. If I didn't know better, I'd say you're his descendant."

Raiden Kirishima had been so secretive about his real name -he was the last hero to maintain a secret identity- that the general public had no idea he was Crimson Riot. "Oh, nothing like that, sir! Crimson's a big inspiration to me, but only that." They didn't need to know the truth, he and Mina knew. That was enough for Eijiro Kirishima.

The conversation was abruptly ended by Fat Gum barreling around the corner. "Red, are you-" He took in the scene, and saw the villain in the ground in cuffs. "Well, I'll be damned. Here I had this whole lecture with planned about how you have to make villains lose the will to fight first, but you beat me to the punch. You'll be a great hero someday, kid!"

Kirishima grinned. "Thanks, Fat Gum!"

Kendo Rappa was a simple man, he liked to fight strong foes. A tale as old as time in superhuman society. One that was looked down upon by the HPSC and almost saw him stripped of his hero license and branded an A-Rank villain.

Then Sir Nighteye had swooped in and argued on his behalf, which led to the HPSC blacklisting him from all agencies by Nighteye's. This was his last shot. If he went too far again, he was done.

Later, Nighteye explained why he had snatched Rappa's career from the maw of the HPSC. He needed a wild card, someone that could go undercover in villainous organizations without suspicion. Which lead to him joining the Shie Hassakai, wherein he quickly became their top enforcer and member of Overhaul's inner circle.

And, strangely enough, babysitter.

After giving Overhaul a wide berth -he did not feel like getting rendered into a bloody mess and then reconstituted today, no sir- he made his way to Eri's cell. The guards probably assumed that was sent by Overhaul to intimidate the poor girl.

The door closed behind him, and Eri dashed across the room to him. "Uncle Rappa!"

Rappa knelt and wrapped her in a hug. "Hey, kiddo. Sorry I haven't been able to come around for a while, Tengai's been watching me like a hawk." Eri tried to smile, show him that it didn't matter, but he could tell. He was good with kids because he knew how to read them. "Anyways, heard you've been a little rebel again."

"Yeah!" Eri said, her grin quickly sobering, "But Overhaul... was mad."

If it wasn't for the actual mask he was wearing, the mask of utter rage that his face twisted into would've frightened the poor girl. Not to mention... there was something in her eye, a fire that hadn't been there before this last escape attempt. What had changed?

Eri continued on in a quiet voice, so only Rappa could hear. "Some heroes tried to take me away from him. One had numbers across his chest and a yellow... thing in front of his face. The other one was all green. I think they're going to keep trying."

Rappa's eyes widened. That first hero that Eri described had to be Lemillion! The other one wasn't known to him, probably a new intern. "Remember the thing I told you to do when you finally get to dunk on Overhaul?"

Eri nodded. Then she stood up straight and stuck her arms out to the side in a perfect T-pose.

Rappa gave her a thumbs up. "Perfect."

Internally he steeled himself. Nighteye finally the Shie Hassakai's scent through proper channels rather than just his say so. That meant any pesky entrapment defense was no longer possible, Just a little longer, then the hammer would fall.

And they would get Eri the hell away from Overhaul. Lemillion, new guy... don't worry. We will save her. Or my name's not Strongarm, the Bullet Punch Hero!

Aizawa was on the way to a meeting with Sir Nighteye for an update on Midoriya and Bakugo's progress when he nearly missed one of the few things that gave him joy.

Ruining public displays of affection.

In this case, it was Kirishima and Ashido. They were... rather involved. And blocking the door he needed to go through.

"Make sure to use protection." Aizawa deadpanned.

The new couple practically jumped out of their skin and scurried off faster than he'd ever seen them move during training. Clearly he needed to push them harder.

He walked into the meeting room to see Nighteye waiting for him. "Sorry I'm late. I was delayed." Aizawa said. He closed the door behind him and activated the room's soundproofing. Since there was the possibility of discussion of One For All, precautions had to be taken.

"It's no trouble, Aizawa." Nighteye said, "I needed the time to order my thoughts. You see, I believe I've deduced a... phenomenon connected to One For All."

Aizawa groaned. "Which supervillain did he blunder into this time?"

Nighteye laughed. Once. "I am not talking about Izuku Midoriya's ability to attract every supervillain in a ten mile radius. I am talking about an ability of One For All that I believe that even Midoriya and All Might are ignorant of."

Aizawa raised an eyebrow. "Elaborate."

Nighteye leaned forward. "I will start at my conclusion, so I do not sound like a conspiracy theorist. One For All has minor reality warping abilities."

Aizawa stared at him. "Elaborate... more."

Nighteye pushed his glasses up his nose. "As you know, if it were to be classified, One For All would be considered a Class Six Quirk. This is a class of Quirk that is largely considered to be theoretical to the larger scientific community. It is reserved for Quirks that do not abide by the laws of reality. Currently, the only publicly known Class Six Quirk is All For One." Nighteye took a sip of a mug of hot chocolate that he had with him before continuing, "At a basic level, All For One allows its user to rip someone's Quirk Factor out of their DNA, leaving them more or less unharmed. This certainly does not abide by any sort of scientific explanation."

Aizawa shook his head, "I fail to see how you connected the dots here."

"I have evidence, and then conjecture." Nighteye explained, "Before All Might's first fight with All For One, I used my Quirk on him. You understand how my Quirk works, yes?" At Aizawa's nod, he continued, "Good, that saves time. The future I saw was one where All Might perished at All For One's hands. But beyond that future... there was another. Sometimes it swapped places with the main one, sometimes it flickered in the background. A future where All Might was triumphant."

Aizawa leaned back in his chair, "So, what you're saying is that Midoriya can defy your predictions?"

Nighteye smiled, "He already has. I used my Quirk on him in training, then challenged him to hit me, once. My prediction was that he would not touch me." He chuckled, "Yet, this bruise on my side would argue otherwise."

Aizawa pinched the bridge of his nose. "So what do we do about this? We can't tell him. It would send him into a tailspin."

Nighteye steepled his fingers. "At present, I see no reason to intervene, as he has brought two of your students that were in danger of becoming villains back to the light."

Aizawa sat up straight. "Bakugo and Mineta?"

Nighteye nodded, "Indeed. Without Midoriya's influence, what do you think would've happened with them?"

Aizawa thought for a moment. "Expelled, most likely. Snatched up by the League of Villains."

Nighteye went to take another sip of his hot chocolate, then glared at the empty cup. "This is the main avenue that One For All warps reality, I believe. It links the hearts of like-minded people together. I do not mean in a romantic sense. if that were true, then Izuku Midoriya would resemble a harem anime protagonist. He is not that. Remember I-Island and Kamino, normally first year hero students would have had no chance against the likes of Wolfram or the League of Villains. But yet..."

Aizawa came to a realization. "Is my class's ability to collect the children of supervillains connected to this?"

"Doubtful." Nighteye said, "That's been happening due to outside forces, not through Midoriya." He smiled. "Although it is hilarious."

Aizawa groaned.

With two villains with giantifcation Quirks tearing apart the city in a brawl, the call for heroes to stop them had gone out, and the Ryukyu agency had answered.

"Hey, why are you two fighting? Is it because you have the same Quirk?" Nejire asked as she floated above the villains' heads. All part of the plan. "Couldn't you fight somewhere abandoned and demolish some buildings that actually need to be taken down, y'know?" The giant villains looked up at her, only for her to blast them in the face. "NEJIRE SURGE!"

With the villains perfectly lined up, it was time for Yaoyorozu to execute her strategy. She rocketed towards the villains on her jetpack, with Uraraka in tow. "Your crime spree ends here, villains!" She spun in the air to add centrifugal force, and then threw Uraraka at them. "Arsenal: Hero Delivery System!"

"Let's see you stand up to this!" Uraraka yeled, "URAVITY: SHOOTING STAR!" Thanks to increased gravity exponentially increasing her fist's mass, the villain she punched stumbled into the other, sending them both crashing to the ground.

Yaoyorozu snatched Uraraka out of the air, and landed nearby as Ryukyu was arresting the villains. She looked around for any clue as to why the rampage had begun. Was it a Quirk fouling up their emotions? Or was it...

There, by Uraraka's foot. A syringe. Drugs, probably Trigger. She knelt down and gingerly picked up the syringe, taking care not to prick herself on the needle. "Ryukyu, I've found something."

The police had arrived and were locking up the villains in Iron Maidens. "What is it, Arsenal?"

Yaoyorozu held up the syringe before dropping it into an evidence bag that she created. "Trigger is the most likely catalyst for our... friends' rampage."

Ryukyu shifted back to human form and frowned. "I suppose this could be connected to that case that Sir Nighteye mentioned in his team-up request." She smiled, then looked at Yaoyorozu and Uraraka, "And I think that you two have proven that you can hit far above your weight class."

Internally, Yaoyorozu groaned. If Midoriya and Bakugo were involved, then this would either go smoothly or spiral into an unmitigated disaster. There was no gray area.

Midoriya remembered when family dinner had just meant him and his mother. Now it meant him, his mother, All Might, Yaoyorozu, Melissa, and Iida. Then Inko had invited Bakugo and his father, which meant Uraraka was there too. That wasn't even counting how Todoroki had more or less invited himself because he wanted to experience a family dinner that wasn't unbearably awkward at best and toxic to the mental and emotional health of everyone in attendance at worst.

"I mean, come on! How is this fair?" Bakugo complained to Uraraka, "You and Yaoyorozu take down two Godzilla wannabes, Midoriya single-handedly stops a convenience store robbery, and Kirishima runs down some two-bit drug dealer and takes him down after he gets high on his own supply!" He took an angry bite of his katsudon -extra spicy, just for him. Mama Inko wasn't no slouch- "While I'm stuck in the office learning how to predict shit."

"Well, maybe you'll have an opportunity for something while you're out on patrol with Mirio this week." Midoriya interjected, "Since I'll be training with Nighteye this week."

Todoroki hummed. "Also, you must learn patience. I'm still working on control of my flames. Father is having me learn his old moves, before he discovered the secret behind Flashfire."

All Might frowned. "He's not working you too hard, is he?"

Todoroki paused. With that statement of concern, All Might had proven himself a better father than his own. "No, it is fully up to me when we stop. I... may have inherited Midoriya's tendencies for insane training programs."

Both Inko and Melissa shot Midoriya a look. Yaoyorozu sighed. Bakugo and Uraraka chuckled. Midoriya was blissfully unaware. Iida screamed internally. How was he the only sane person in the room?

Inko laughed, "Oh, I know that look, Iida. You're trying to rationalize that you're the only sane person in the room."

"Well-"

"Don't even start, Iida."

Iida shot Midoriya a look. "Midoriya, I am not anywhere close to the level of insanity that has gripped your family and friends, and I-"

Midoriya delivered the death blow. "Hosu."

"Besides, you're interning with Gran Torino." All Might said, aiding his son with the follow up strike, "You have to be insane to survive him." Midoriya nodded sagely in agreement.

Melissa snickered, "Plus you think Gundam Wing is good."

Bakugo grinned, "That's the thing about the Midoriyas, Iida. It's not a matter of asking when they went crazy. They were always like this."

Melissa glomped onto Iida's arm. "And now you've been infected... I mean you're part of it."

Iida refused to believe it. "But what about Uraraka?"

Uraraka raised an eyebrow. "I took one look at Katsuki and said I can fix him, but it would be hotter if he fixed himself."

"I wasn't doing it for you!" Bakugo protested.

Uraraka grinned at him. "That's what makes it hotter, sugar."

Iida's grasp on his denial was faltering, "But... Mama Inko?"

He stared at him. "I am All Might's fiancée."

Iida held his face in his hands. "No wonder Gran Torino is so tired all the time."

Todoroki cocked his head in confusion. "Are you not going to ask me if I'm the only sane one in the room?"

"What's the conspiracy theory this time?" Yaoyorozu asked reluctantly. Surely she wouldn't regret this.

Todoroki leaned in. Everyone held their breath.

"I believe that Santa Claus is your distant ancestor."

Thirty minutes. Thats how long it had taken for Overhaul's goons to escort Shigiraki through the underground tunnels of the Shie Hassaikai's stronghold to the room where he was supposed to meet Overhaul. On one hand, he understood. What Yakuza families survived in this day and age lived and died by their security.

A diminutive Yakuza member by the name of Irinaka spoke up first. "Did you mean what you said on the phone? That you'd join us under the right conditions?"

Shigiraki put his foot on the table. He saw Overhaul's eye twitch. Good. He was unsettled. "Don't get too excited. I need details first. Also, let me help you manage some expectations. This will be an equal partnership. Anything less and I'm out of here."

"I can agree to that much. It would be unreasonable to ask you to cede your entire organization to me." Overhaul glared at his foot. "Get your foot off the table. It will get dirty."

Shigiraki narrowed his eyes. "Don't misgender or otherwise mistreat any of my allies -living or dead- for the duration of our partnership."

Overhaul thought for a moment. "Don't make a single video game reference in my presence... for the same duration."

Shigiraki took his foot off the table. "Okay, I'm going to need to reach into my pocket for this next bit, so everyone just needs to stay calm and not shove a gun to the back of my head." He shot a look at the white-robed Yakuza behind him. "Got it?"

Overhaul rolled his eyes, "Irinaka, Kurono, relax. He came here in good faith, the least we can do is hear him out."

Kurono inclined his head. "As you say, Overhaul."

Irinaka growled, although it made him seem more like a corgi than a Yakuza lieutenant. Shigiraki ignored him and reached into his jacket pocket. He pulled out the bullet that had sealed Mr. Compress's Quirk during the League's confrontation with Overhaul.

"Ah." Overhaul said. "The plan. Well, it's quite simple. I am going to step into the void left by All For One's departure. To do that, to emulate the Quirk Thief, one must have the ability to control Quirks and the Wielders thereof. All For One had... well, All For One." He allowed himself a chuckle. "I have special Quirk deleting bullets."

"They're only temporary?" Shigiraki asked. He shook his head, "It might cause some chaos, but the heroes will come down on you, hard."

Overhaul raised a finger. "Hmm. You're smarter than you let on. Normally, you'd be correct. If the version that I have done a limited test run of was the only version. The real version of these bullets will erase a person's Quirk permanently." His head tilted and his eyes held an almost manic rage, "This is how we'll topple this rotten society and cure the heroes of their disease!"

Shigiraki swore internally. Overhaul was a Quirk hater, maybe even loosely connected to Humarize. Not the kind of ally he wanted a long-term partnership with. However, he was the kind of... friend All For One liked to keep around.

An asset to be exploited when the time was right.

Shigiraki let an avaricious smile bloom on his face. Overhaul didn't need to know that it was more about the idea of stealing his Quirk rather than his proposed methodology. "And make a world where no one gets treated like shit just because they were born with the wrong genes."

"If that's what you want." Overhaul leaned forward. "Now, let's talk logistics. It's only fair that you lend me some manpower. The heroes think they're sneaky, but it's only... slightly obvious that they are investigating me. Partially why we went to such extreme secrecy when we brought you here."

Shigiraki frowned. Who could he give Overhaul that would assuage the man's concerns but also lay the groundwork for things to make this entire powder keg blow up in his face? Hmm... yeah, that would work. He hated putting Toga in the line of fire, but he knew that she could take care of herself. "I can give you Toga and Twice."

"And Kurogiri." Overhaul said.

Shigiraki shook his head. "No can do. He's hardwired to only respond to my orders. He wouldn't listen to you." Since learning about the ability to learn how many Quirks a person could sustain before adverse reactions started occurring, he had checked all of his inner circle. Dabi could barely handle his own Quirk, much less another. Spinner was the winner at a whopping seven Quirks. Kurogiri on the other hand... Shigiraki had made the discovery that the man was basically a highly sophisticated Nomu.

Overhaul's eyes narrowed. "Nemoto?"

The man in black flanking Overhaul spoke. "Are you telling the truth about Kurogiri?"

Shit. One of Overhaul's inner circle had a Quirk to force the truth out of people. That was problematic. "Yes."

"Guess I'll have to settle for Toga and Twice." Overhaul extended his hand. "To our future endeavors."

"I'm not shaking your hand."

Overhaul laughed, "Valid. I wouldn't either."

The past week had been grueling, but somehow Midoriya had survived. Between his normal course load and training with Sir Nighteye to both increase his reaction time and to teach him how to fight effectively against death touch Quirks, Midoriya was running on fumes. But it wasn't without rewards. More than once he'd fallen asleep while studying and had woken up with Yaoyorozu,

He certainly would not complain about that.

But today... today it was clear that enough progress had been made on the investigation into the Shie Hassakai that it was time to call in the calvary. And the calvary had most certainly been called in. Ryukyu, Fat Gum, and at least ten other regional heroes. When the time came to bring down the hammer on villain organizations, Sir Nighteye did not mess around. Even Aizawa-sensei was here!

Sir Nighteye stood and called the meeting to order. "Thank you all for coming. For the past few months, my agency has been investigating the last Yakuza family worthy of the name, the Shie Hassakai. At this point, we have enough intelligence to begin planning an assault in earnest. While we are still missing a certain key piece of the puzzle -the location of their headquarters- it is prudent to begin the planning process."

"There's an awful lot of kids here, Nighteye." Rock Lock said, "If what your message said was true... the third years are fine, since they're basically pros already. But all these first years?"

Midoriya cringed. They should've suspected this.

Nighteye glanced at Aizawa who nodded to him. He pushed his glasses up his nose. "The fact of the matter is that they are here because we will have a much lower chance of success without them. I would not involve children in an operation such as this if there was any other alternative."

Fat Gum cleared his throat. "Why don'cha start at the beginning, Nighteye?"

"Very well. As you know, tracking the movements of drug trafficking is tiresome. The street pushers only know their suppliers, and so on. It takes time to find the origin point. However, through relentless investigation and comparing notes with the police, I have determined that the blame for the recent influx of Trigger can be laid squarely at the feet of the Shie Hassakai." Nighteye paused for effect, "But that is not the only reason we are taking them down. Fat Gum, tell us what you've found."

Fat Gum stood. "Brace yourself folks. This ain't pretty." He sighed, then spun his tale. "About a week ago, Suneater, Red Riot, and myself tangled with a drug dealer and his bodyguards. We captured them... nearly without incident. Suneater was shot."

Mirio cut in, "Wait, what?"

Fat Gum continued. "It wasn't a normal bullet. For approximately six hours, it removed his ability to use his Quirk."

"What the hell?" Bakugo swore, "How's that even possible?"

Midoriya had a sinking feeling in his gut.

Fat Gum continued, the grim look on his face at odds with his usually cheery demeanor. "Thanks to Red Riot's Quirk, the police were able to recover a bullet with its payload intact."

Kirishima scratched his head. "Wait, when did that happen?"

Tamaki smiled weakly. "When it bounced off that hard head of yours."

Fat Gum continued. "The police discovered that the serum inside was blood based. Human blood."

Ryukyu froze. "Nighteye, didn't Mister Miracle's report from his encounter with Overhaul mention a girl... with bandages up and down her arms?"

Midoriya felt like a black hole had swallowed up his insides. Was that what Overhaul was doing to that poor girl? Cutting her up and using her blood to make Quirk Deleter bullets? And it was his fault that she was still... How can I call myself a hero, when I couldn't even save one little girl in front of me?

Mirio was having a similar crisis of faith. After all, it had been his idea to preserve the investigation at Eri's expense. Now that he knew what he had sent her back too... Save a million? What a joke! I couldn't even save one!

"Midoriya."

He blinked and then looked up to find everyone looking at him. "Uh... I..." He hurriedly wiped the tears from his eyes.

"It's alright to be shaken, son." Fat Gum said. "Just take that frustration and channel it."

Nighteye calmly repeated his question, ignoring the derisive snort from Rock Lock. "Mister Miracle, do you have a theory on what that girl's Quirk is?"

Midoriya pulled out a journal from his backpack and started asking questions. "Aizawa-sensei, how does your Quirk work?"

Aizawa raised an eyebrow. "By suppressing the target's Quirk Factors."

Midoriya started scribbling, "Amajiki, what did the doctors say was the damage?"

"Until I slept it off, that my Quirk Factor might as well have not existed."

Midoriya shook his head. "That's... oh no."

"Talk to me." Nighteye said.

"Given all available data, my best guess is that Eri has some sort of rewinding Quirk. But to be able to be made to only target a person's Quirk Factor... it would have to be a Class Six." Midoriya gathered his thoughts before continuing, "I would even go on to speculate that the Quirk Deleters on the street already are not the finished product. It seems to me that Overhaul is trying to set himself up as the next All For One, and to do that he needs a method of controlling who has what Quirk. Theoretically, he could also create a serum from E-Eri that could restore Quirks."

Yaoyorozu realized exactly how much of an existential threat to the stability of Japan -the world, even- that Overhaul was poised to become. And that once again, Midoriya was in the thick of it. At least this time she would be right by his side.

"I will petition the HPSC to raise Overhaul to be a SSS-Rank villain. This will free up certain resources for us, both in materiel and methodology." Nighteye said, "Maybe even a warp disrupter."

Yaoyorozu's jaw was on the floor. "A warp... I thought those were only theoretical!"

"Not quite." Ryukyu said, "But the HPSC only allows their use where Warp-type Quirks would interfere with raids such as this."

Nighteye nodded, "And I have a hunch that the Shie Hassakai may be in league with... the League." He allowed himself a small chuckle. "The police were called to investigate a disturbance in an incident industrial district awhile ago. No one wax present at the warehouse where it eas reported, but eyewitnesses reported gouts of blue flame and gunshots. Genetic material of Magne, was also found at the scene. We believe she was killed by Overhaul."

"That's even more reason not to bring kids to a goddamned raid!" Rock Lock shouted. "I don't care how strong you think they are, they aren't ready-"

Nighteye rarely lost his cool. His stoic demeanor was legendary. The last time he had lost his cool was when he and All Might had their falling out. Now he had to reset the clock. "We will stand no chance at defeating Overhaul without them!"

Ryukyu decided to be the voice of reason. "Perhaps an explanation is in order?" She asked. All of the minor heroes in attendance when unsure of whose side to take. Something had to give.

"Of course, Ryukyu." Nighteye said. "First, there is the matter of Overhaul's Quirk. Matter Reassembly on touch. Meaning he can reassemble you into non-existence with a single touch. Best Jeanist, Edgeshot, and Crust would be the ideal heroes to field in this scenario. However, Jeanist is recovering from his injuries from Kamino, Edgeshot is too busy helping to cover for him, and Crust is laid up with a torn ACL."

Everyone winced. Injuries like that were a Hero's worst enemy.

Nighteye powered on, "Furthermore, all of the 1-A students in this room could be pivotal in a battle with Overhaul. Yaoyorozu is practically a walking Hammerspace arsenal -pun intended- and can put Overhaul out with a single shot from her dendrotoxin munitions. Uraraka can effectively make gravity ignore Overhaul, depriving him of anything to reassemble. If Overhaul chooses to use structures around to attack, Kirishima can literally just say no. And Midoriya and Bakugo? Need I remind you that they went toe to toe with Eclipse and Shigiraki at Kamino?"

Rock Lock shrugged helplessly. "But... they're kids."

Nighteye sighed and hung his head. "I know. It's distasteful. It's wrong. We are asking too much of them. They should have more time to be young and foolish. I know every single argument anyone could leverage against me, because I have weighed those arguments myself. It is why Eraserhead is here, as their teacher he has the right to veto their involvement if he so chooses."

A chill went up Midoriya's spine. Would he...

Aizawa turned to look at each of them in turn before settling on Midoriya. "Midoriya, if there is no other option to stop Overhaul, would you use lethal force?"

Rock Lock nearly had an aneurysm. "The hell is your damage?"

Midoriya met his gaze. "If he won't go quietly and there's no way to safely subdue him... then yes."

Ryukyu shook her head, "Eraser, this... this crosses a line... we can't ask..."

"You don't have to." Bakugo said. He stood. "All of us from 1-A here were at Kamino. We know the stakes."

Krishima was next to join them. "Look, Rock Lock, I get that you're worried about us -being a father and all- but if we turn away from this now, how can we call ourselves heroes?"

"We'll save that girl." Uraraka declared.

"And take Overhaul and the Shie Hassakai down." Yaoyorozu affirmed.

Nighteye sat down and slumped in his seat. "And so, the die is cast. Even if we wish it were not so." He straightened his tie, "UA students, your part in this briefing is over. The remainder consists of organization of reconnaissance to discover the Shie Hassakai's hidey-holes, and you will be terribly bored."

Within One For All, one of the wielders came to a decision.

Banjo Daigoro was the Fifth Wielder and the first to officially become a pro hero, rather than a hermit or revolutionary. While he had never been a father -trying to have a family while being hunted by All For One? Ha!- he had always wanted kids.

Hearing want Overhaul was doing to Eri had made him pissed. And hearing what Overhaul's Quirk was? Well, that had only convinced him that Midoriya would need his power.

His Quirk in life had been Black Whip. It allowed him to shoot out tendrils of black energy. That were not solid matter that Overhaul could... Overhaul.

Banjo allowed himself approximately ten minutes to laugh at his objectively hilarious joke. Now, he just had to wait until the opportune moment to grant Midoriya his Quirk, since they were being polite about their Quirks and not allowing them to burst out and cause possible collateral damage. Who would do that? Not him.

As Midoriya left the Nighteye agency, he got a text from Melissa. It contained a picture of a very familiar pair of red gauntlets, with leg coverings to match.

"They're ready."

"Shit."

If Iida learned nothing else from his internship with Gran Torino, he had at the very least gained an appreciation for knowing when it was appropriate to express one's stress through profanity. Over the rock outcropping he could see Kurogiri raise a phone to his ear, presumably to report his findings to Shigiraki.

And those findings were massive. The hulking giant known only as Gigantomachia.

He raised his hand to his ear and activated his comm. "Secondary objective failed. Kurogiri has reported in. We'll need to act fast to apprehend Kurogiri."

"Blitz him, then. I'll be there to back you up."

Iida blinked. Gran Torino couldn't be serious. "With Gigantomachia right here? That's a death sentence!"

"Sure ain't, Ingenium. The big bastard won't lift a finger without All For One's say-so. As for Kurogiri, you know how long it takes him to form portals. You just have to be faster."

By now, Iida knew that there was no point in arguing with the wily old hero, and the stakes were much too high to dare. If they could apprehend Kurogiri, that would drive a stake through the League of Villains's ability to rapidly redeploy their forces. He took a breath and activated the new HUD mode Melissa had built into his helmet to assist him when traveling at excessive rates of speed, such as when he used his new move.

"Recipro Turbo."

Iida shot through the forest, his path aided by the warnings given from his HUD. Quick as a flash, he was on his target and slapped the device Gran Torino had given him on the villain's side.

Kurogiri turned. "Tenya Iida. You're rather far from school. A shame this place will be your grave." He stretched forth his hand and sent out his smoke to create a portal that would bisect Iida where he stood.

In theory.

"What?" Kurogiri said. He looked at his side, "A warp disrupter? You think this will hold me?"

While Kurogiri was attempting to dislodge the device, Iida surged forward and kicked Kurogiri in the balls.

This was not a last-ditch attack heralded by desperation. It was a calculated attack. If the reports that Gran Torino had seen were accurate, then Kurogiri was a highly advanced Nomu of some sort. Which meant that nothing less than the most extreme force would be needed to subdue him.

The Recipro-powered cheap shot lifted the villain off the ground. Iida whipped his foot around and smashed it into Kurogiri's side, sending him crashing to the ground. When he didn't get up, Iida went to check on him. He was unresponsive.

"Holy shit, kid." Gran Torino said. "I didn't think you had it in you to hit below the belt like that."

Iida's gaze sharpened behind his helmet. "I refuse to let any of my friends get hurt because I could've stopped it again."

A/N: Sorry about the delay folks! Street Fighter 6 and Balidur's Gate 3 exist.

Yep, Kirishima is in fact, Kirishima.

However, a note. I recognize why Kirishima doesn't talk in Unbreakable. However, I think this is stupid, and have elected to ignore it. Leave your complaints in the nearest paper shredder.

Look, if I have a favorite villain in MHA, for my money it's gotta be Rappa. Yes, he's either the Nighteye agency, and yes he's undercover.

And yes, Eri will T-Pose on Overhaul. It will be glorious.

Okay. Here we go. Let's get this out of the way. By their very nature, Class Six Quirks are walking McGuffins or Deus ex Machinas. One For All, from an in-universe scientific perspective, is bullshit. All For One? Also in that category.

And Eri's Rewind? Yeah. Walking Deus Ex Machina that way too many people treat as a Remove Consequence I Don't Want Button.

And yes, I know some of you will probably go "but if One For All warps reality then why-" Stop, take a breath. It works like it has been because I say it does. I'm simply writing in stone something that was only de facto before. At the end of the Vigilante Arc in canon, Hawks remarks that One For All "links hearts together". All I've done is take that observation and turn it up to eleven.

As expected, the extended Midoriya family dinner is chaotic. And Todoroki speaks more shenanigans into reality.

Alright, elephant in the room. Why would they let kids participate in the raid.

From a Doyilist perspective, it's because the plot would simply not work if they were not allowed to participate. Hands down.

Watsonian is a little trickier. But at the very least, Midoriya must be there if they are to have any hope of beating Overhaul. And if the others weren't there, well there would be a lot more losses.

And so, my favorite past wielder of One For All has decided to enter the fray. I'm not going to say anything more.

Don't get too excited about the appearance of the Full Gauntlet. It's a lesser version, only able to withstand thirty percent of One For All, but since Izuku's current power level is twenty-five percent or so, it's still a decent boost.

Iida is a rational man. He knows that you can only combat the heavy hitters of the League of Villains with overwhelming force.

Alright, next chapter is the raid.

Buckle in. It'll be a wild ride.

Yes, there will be Dragon Ball Z Abridged references.

I regret nothing.