Police surrounded the old warehouse as a black car parked in front of it. Two detectives stepped out, and walked towards the group of police officers that were out of their cars. One was a man with curly black hair, and the other was a woman with shoulder-length brown hair with a red stripe, and two short hair-like antennas on her forehead.
"I see that you're fashionably late, Amino," another detective said, noticing him and his partner walking towards them.
"What's the situation, Tsukauchi?" Amino asked, as the police readied themselves.
"There's still a group of workers that are being held up by villains," Tsukauchi answered. "So far, no idea how many there are inside."
"Hm, and this place is far away from most of the hero patrols. Smart," Amino said, pulling out his revolver and using his weak telekinesis Quirk to load his bullets.
Tsukauchi nodded, and looked at Amino's partner, who was loading her own revolver. "You ready, Rinko? It's your first big villain bust, after all."
"Of course. It's the police's duty to save people, even if it's without the flair of being a hero," Rinko said, as they moved to go inside and apprehend the villains.
"Alright, then... everyone, let's go in," Amino said, as Tsukauchi, Rinko, and several police officers walked inside, guns out. Amino tailed behind them as they moved as silently as they could through the halls. When they finally made it to the central room where the workers were held hostage, they were stunned to find a group of stone-like horned villains assaulting all of them. But what really got their attention was how all of them were identical.
"What weird costumes..." one of the officers said, when the villains began to approach them wordlessly. One of them fired a warning shot, but that didn't stop them. They began to unload their guns on them, only to find out that they were largely ineffective.
"What is with these guys and their costumes!? There's no way that they can-"
The villains began to assault the officers, punching, kicking, and tossing them all around. In the chaos of it all, Daimon was knocked to the ground, and when she turned to get up, noticed that there was a new villain that came in. He was blue, with red and white shoulder and chest armor, a tail, and his head had two giant horns that gave him the appearance of a bull. His face didn't have a visible mouth, and his eyes were small and orange.
He began to approach her, and she attempted to fire her revolver, only to find out that she had ran out of bullets. The bull-like villain grabbed her by the wrist.
"You're powerless against me," he said, pulling her up and twisting her wrist so that she dropped her gun. He grabbed her neck, and began to choke her. Rinko struggled to breath as she tried to pry his hand off her, but when she realized that it was futile, her hand slid down to touch the pendant she wore.
All of a sudden, a motorcyclist busted through the metal sheet wall, driving into the group of stone-like villains as he hit them all with his bike's back wheel. He was dressed in a black long coat that reached his ankles, with silver trim, a red underside, and an upturned collar. He wore ruby-like chest armor, wristbands, and anklets. On his middle fingers were rings, the right ring being an orange gem with a carved image that was surrounded with silver trim, and the left ring being a round red ruby. Around his waist was a large silver belt with a black hand decoration on it, and a strange holster that seemed to hold other rings. His helmet was peculiar, as it resembled the ring on his left middle finger, with a round ruby-like visor and two silver fins around his forehead with a yellow gem connecting them. Metal bands wrapped around the visor, giving him the appearance of eyes.
He placed his right hand over his belt buckle, which, to Rinko's surprise, spoke.
"Connect, Please."
A glowing red glyph formed behind him, and as he dismounted from his bike, swiped his right hand through it, pulling out a strange gun with a black hand decoration from it. Within the same motion, he fired five bullets, which all swerved around Rinko, and struck the villain. He released his grip around her neck as he staggered back from the attack, and grasped at his now broken left horn.
"Wizard!?" the villain said, as he stared at the man, who only smirked at him. A ball of fire formed in his right hand. "I'm not going to let you interfere!"
The bull-like villain threw the fireball, which landed directly at the man's feet and exploded. Rinko covered her face, but was surprised to find that the heat of the explosion was growing weaker. She opened her eyes, and saw that the explosion was being sucked into the man's outstretched left hand. Or rather, the ring on his left middle finger.
"Have you ever seen this Wizard guy?" Rinko asked, looking at Tsukauchi.
"No, but I've heard rumors about him... a vigilante with an absurdly powerful glyph Quirk that's almost like magic, and who only kills mutant-type Quirk villains..." he muttered.
"Dammit!" the bull-like villain said, as he motioned for his minions to gather around him. They clapped their hands together, pulling them apart to create spears.
"Now, it's showtime," Wizard said. He approached the villain and his minions in a confident stride. The minions rushed him, but he calmly shot each of them before dodging to the side as one attempted to thrust his rod into him. He began to flip and leap around the minions, kicking them whenever they got close, and shooting them when they were stumbling away. Rinko watched as the stone-like villains that shrugged off their bullets were harmed by Wizard's bullets.
Wizard kicked one of the minions through the wall, taking the fight outside. After shooting several bullets, he unfolded the gun, revealing it can be changed into a sword. He began slashing at them, the metal sparking against their stone flesh. The bull-like villain attempted to attack the Wizard with a halberd he had pulled from somewhere. The bejeweled hero sidestepped him, leaping over the villain as he attempted to sweep his legs with the halberd.
The villain growled before deciding to retreat, with his minions covering for him as he ran off. They swung their rods at him, but he parried them with his sword.
"Stay out of the way, won't you?" he asked, before slashing one across the chest and following it up with a kick to the face. The minions surrounded the vigilante, who folded his sword back into a gun, and pushed the hand decoration's thumb to open up its fingers. A glowing red glyph formed over the opened hand.
"C'mon and Shoot! Shake Hands!" the gun announced, with the same voice as the belt. Wizard placed his hand over the hand, and another glyph formed over the barrel. He spun in a circle, sweeping his gun as fireballs flew out of the glyph. "Fire Shooting Strike! Hot hot hot! Hot hot hot!"
Glyphs formed over each of the minions as the fireballs struck them. All of them exploded, leaving nothing behind but flames and rubble. Wizard's motorcycle drove itself to him, and he plopped himself back onto it.
"Hold it!" Rinko said, pointing her now-reloaded pistol at him. "Detective Rinko Daimon! You're under arrest for illegal hero activity and unnecessary lethal violence! Come with me quietly, and-"
The vigilante revved his engine and drove off without a word. She attempted to chase him, but couldn't get very far by running. Police cars tried to block his way, but he jumped them, avoiding capture before another glyph appeared. He drove into it, disappearing before the glyph vanished.
"Dammit, he got away!" Rinko shouted, breathing heavily, as Tsukauchi joined up with her. "I'm so sorry, Tsukauchi sir! I didn't mean to let him, I-"
"Settle down, Rinko, it's alright," Tsukauchi assured her. "There was no way you'd catch up with him on foot when he's on a motorcycle... Guess we'll need to take whatever's left of these villains and get them DNA tested..."
Rinko sighed as she rubbed her head. "What a first bust this has been... Has anyone seen Detective Amino? I lost track of him during the fight."
"Here I am," Amino said, walking out of the building, with a bloody spot on his head. "Sorry, they got lucky and hit me in the head. Gonna need some bandages for this..."
"Yea, we're all gonna need some bandages," Tsukauchi said, watching as other officers helped some of their injured coworkers out of the warehouse. Rinko sighed as she held her pendant again.
"What a disastrous first day this has been, dad..." she muttered, sighing as she went to help others out.
Midnight, at Mustafu's docks
The bull-like villain grumbled as he rubbed his broken horn, looking around as he walked in the dark empty warehouse.
"Hm, so you come crawling back to us? After making all that noise with those Ghouls we gave you?"
He looked up, and spotted one of the people he was supposed to meet up with in the rafters. He jumped down, revealing himself to be a man with red armor-like flesh, feather-like head crests, gold shoulder armor, and piercing blue eyes.
"M-Master P-Phoenix..." Minotauros said, when more footsteps came. He turned, and saw a snake-haired woman with purple and white armor-like flesh and a large visor that wrapped around her head, and another woman followed, wearing a pharaoh-like headdress with a red visor, wrapped in what appeared to be stiff bandages, with big gaps around her midriff, elbows, neck, and knees to reveal her yellow armor-like skin. Both of them were wearing gold shoulder armor similar to Phoenix. "M-Madame Medusa... Mistress Mummy..."
"Was it because of that Wizard?" Medusa asked, tapping her chin in thought as she and Mummy paced around Minotauros, joining Phoenix.
"Hm, as expected. He has been a thorn in our side for quite a while," Mummy said, crossing her arms and shaking her head. "Still, we're disappointed that you've failed to awaken a new Phantom."
"I-I was trying my best, but the Gate wasn't-"
"Attempting to kill a Gate so that they can fall into despair is unrefined, Minotauros."
Minotauros watched as the fourth member walked in behind Phoenix, Medusa, and Mummy. He was a man with silver armor-like flesh with gold and blue lines running across his body, his head protected by a silver helmet with gold and blue trim, with a single unicorn-like horn on the center of his forehead and a horse mane-like hair decoration running down the back of it. Only his green eyes were exposed. "All that's guaranteed with that tactic is the Gate's death, but without the possibility of creating a Phantom."
"I-I'm sorry, Lord Unicorn," Minotauros replied.
"Why are we even bothering with that, though?" Phoenix grumbled, kicking a piece of a broken plank away. "We can create as much despair by rampaging around and-"
"The Wiseman told us that despair through villainous rampages is worthless," Mummy reminded him. "The humans of today are used to seeing villain attacks as minor inconveniences. It's better to create despair through personally crushing a Gate's hope. Though it is quite slow."
"Regardless, the Wiseman's orders are absolute. We must create as many Phantoms as we can for the Second Sabbath," Medusa said.
"Right..." Phoenix said, shifting his gaze away from his fellow Greater Phantoms.
"In any case, you must find your Gate's hope and crush it, understand?" Unicorn said, approaching Minotauros and holding his shoulder. Minotauros winced as Unicorn's grip tightened. "Because if you fail again, you'll face severe consequences."
"B-But what about getting all the Phantoms-"
"You'd be surprised by just what you can live through," Unicorn threatened. "Dismissed."
Minotauros nodded as the four Greater Phantoms left the warehouse in their own ways. Phoenix disappeared in a wreath of flames, Medusa's figure becoming translucent as if she were turning invisible, Mummy's bandages and body unravelling and flying through the wind, and Unicorn turning into light and flying away. The bull-like Phantom grumbled as he turned around, and walked out to get to his car. He had a job to get to, after all. Well, a job that his Gate had, anyways.
The Next Day, Minutes before Lunchtime, Class 1A
"So the police confirmed that Wizard vigilante guy's real, huh?" Mashirao said, as he scrolled through his social media feed. "I mean, he's been a rumor for like, a year, I'm surprised that it took him this long to be seen by the police."
"That guy's real scary," Mina shivered, the usually energetic girl being more subdued at the thought of Wizard.
"Yea, all he does is kill mutant-type villains!" Minoru shouted, shaking. "What's stopping him from deciding anyone with a mutant-type Quirk is a villain!?"
"That is troubling..." Mezo said, sighing through one of his arm mouths, as he also scrolled through his social media feed. "Especially since a few anti mutant-type groups have been supporting him as a symbol of sorts."
"It's deplorable! For him to go and kill all of those mutant-type villains! Truly a villain with no regard for human life!" Tenya said, moving his arms robotically.
"You guys should relax," Denki said, leaning against his chair. "We're UA students, there's no way he'd target us! We're practically heroes already- YOWCH!"
Denki trembled and shook as Kyoka jabbed him in the neck with her Earphone Jacks. "Easy for you to say. You're an emitter type without mutant-type heritage."
"Especially since just a few days ago the USJ got attacked with us in it," Rikido said, crossing his arms.
"Indeed, this 'hero' might not be afraid to invade the hallowed halls of UA. His magic is truly something strange," Fumikage said, as Dark Shadow popped out of his chest and trembled in fear for him. "Stop that, Dark Shadow."
"You really think he's got magic?" Hanta said, crossing his arms.
"Indeed," Fumikage said. "For how else is he capable of such incredible feats?"
"You mean MURDEROUS feats!" Minoru said, as he and Koji trembled in fear.
"H-Hey, let's not dwell on this for too long!" Toru said, waving her arms around as she went to the door. "Come on, it's lunchtime, let's all go get something to eat!"
"So what do you think, Deku?" Ochako asked, as they all walked out of their classroom.
"I'm... curious to see how his Quirk works, admittedly," Izuku said, thoughtfully. "The way they described his glyph Quirk doesn't seem... right to me."
"What about it makes it strange?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I don't know, it just... seems like it encompasses too many unrelated abilities," Izuku said. "Like no Quirk should be able to do all of that, I think. And it seemed like it's centralized around that belt of his... I know that there are some Quirks that need to be channeled through an object like Snipe's, but those tend to be very specific. Yet it sounds like he can channel it through different tools... It's nothing like any of the glyph Quirks that I've researched before-"
Izuku bumped into someone's back and tripped backwards, having been lost in thought over Wizard's strange glyph Quirk to not notice his surroundings. "O-Oh! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"
"Hey, it's alright," the person said, turning around and extending his hand out to help Izuku up. He was a handsome older teen with brown hair who gave the green-haired boy a polite smile (Mina and Toru, who were nearby, were practically drooling over him). Standing next to him was a short girl with long black hair, and a short boy with short spikey hair. "You okay?"
"Y-Yea, thanks," Izuku said, as he took the teen's hand and was pulled up by him. He looked at the stranger's hands, and noted that he was wearing a simple ring on both of his middle fingers. "Sorry, I get lost whenever I talk about Quirks and heroes, and, well, I-"
"Nah, I get it," the teen said, shrugging. "There can be some pretty interesting Quirks and heroes, huh?"
"Actually, I was talking about that Wizard vigilante when I bumped into you..." Izuku admitted.
"Oh? That guy?" the teen said, chuckling. "Yea, seems pretty interesting."
"Interesting or not, the man's nothing more than a violent vigilante who targets mutant-type Quirk users!" Tenya said, catching up with Izuku and Ochako, having overheard their chat. "As UA students and prospective heroes, we mustn't admire his behavior!"
"Prospective heroes?" the teen said, raising his head and shaking his head. "Sorry, I'm in 2nd year General Studies. My name's Haruto Soma."
"I'm Koyomi Wajima," the girl said. "2nd year General Studies."
"Shunpei Nara! Also 1st year General Studies!" the short boy said, introducing himself. "So you guys are in the Hero Course? That's so cool!"
"General Studies?" Denki said, having walked past them. "I thought this was just a Hero school..."
"Kaminari, there's two Hero classes each year," Kyoka deadpanned, having followed him. "UA would be completely empty if we didn't have three other Courses here."
"There're two other courses?"
"Oh my god..."
"So you're also a Hero fan, too?" Izuku said, his eyes sparkling as he found a kindred spirit.
"Yea! I wanted to be a hero to make people smile! I'm not really all that strong, though, which is why I'm in the General Studies Course," Shunpei said. "But the next best thing I think is being a magician!"
"A magician?" Mina said. "Like one of those stage show guys?"
"No, a real one!"
"... seriously?" Kyoka said, stopping when she heard that. "Magic isn't real."
"Yes it is, Wizard is-" Shunpei began to say, but got elbowed by Koyomi.
"Sorry, he's just really enthusiastic about magic in general," she said. "So anytime he sees certain Quirks, he thinks it's magic."
"What a weirdo," Denki muttered, as Shunpei looked down to the ground, his face turning slightly red.
"I-I still think being a stage magician is a cool idea!" Ochako said, trying to cheer him up.
"Y-Yea, thanks, I-"
"Alright, what's going on here?" Aizawa said, walking towards the group of students. "Don't waste time in the- Oh, it's you."
"Hi Eraserhead," Haruto greeted, looking at the pro hero. "You look like you're doing good."
"Soma," Aizawa grumbled, his voice muffled by the bandages over his face as he narrowed his eyes. "I see you're still in General Studies."
"That I am," Haruto said, as the Hero Course students looked between the two.
"Hmph... you're wasting your time and potential there," Aizawa said, causing some of the Hero students present to raise an eyebrow. "It's irrational."
"Sorry, I just don't want to be a hero," Haruto said, shrugging. "Sure, it's all glitz and glamor at first sight, but there's all the paperwork, the bureaucracy, the police contacts, the training, the regulations... Not the life for me."
"You really think you can skirt responsibility with a Quirk like yours-" Aizawa said, when Principal Nezu walked around the corner.
"Ah, Mr. Soma! I was looking for you," Principal Nezu said, clapping his paws together. "I hope you hadn't forgotten our little appointment today."
"Of course, Principal Nezu," Haruto said, nodding. "I was actually on my way to your office when I stopped to chat with these students and Eraserhead."
"I see!" Principal Nezu chuckled. "I don't blame you, the first years of the Hero Course this time around are full of interesting characters!"
"Yep, that they are," Haruto said, nodding. He started to walk off with Principal Nezu. "See you all around some time. Hope you'll feel better, Eraserhead!"
Aizawa grumbled as he shook his head and walked off, seemingly still frustrated by Haruto's decision to be in the General Studies course.
"What's the matter with him?" Ochako asked. "Why does Mr. Aizawa care so much about his choice in Courses?"
"Oh, Eraserhead's just upset that Haruto won last year's 1st Years Sports Festival," Koyomi said, matter-of-factly. "And that he's choosing to stay in General Studies."
"Wait, he won the Sports Festival last year!?" Kyoka said.
"Yep," Koyomi said, shrugging.
"Someone who won something as challenging as the Sports Festival is in General Studies!?" Tenya said, as his arms swung around robotically.
"But he's in General Studies!" Izuku said, as he began muttering. "IknowthatintheUASportsFestivalQuirksareallowedtobeusedbyallCoursesbutit'stypicallyaHeroCoursestudentwhowinsit, justwhattypeofQuirkwouldletaGeneralStudiesstudentwinoveraHerostudent-"
"Is he always like this?" Koyomi asked, as Izuku slapped his hands over his mouth.
"S-Sorry! I-I just really love heroes," Izuku said, rubbing the back of his head.
"Didn't you guys watch it last year?" Shunpei asked. "It was incredible! I mean, not that I don't respect Soma's decision to be in General Studies, but it was just so cool!"
"We were watching the 3rd Years..." was the common answer.
"Well, I think you all should watch the recorded footage, then!" Shunpei said.
"I'll tell you all right now, though, don't bother Haruto over his decision," Koyomi said, frostily while walking to the cafeteria. "He already gets ostracized by his classmates and teachers for his decision, so he doesn't need more people getting on his case about it."
Principal Nezu's Office
"So you have no leads on the Phantom, huh?" Principal Nezu said, holding his paws out in front of him on his desk. All Might was there was well, sighing as he crossed his arms as his suit drooped around his wrists.
"Nope," Haruto said, shrugging. "Couldn't really stick around for too long, either, since the police were there. At the very least I got Garuda, Kraken, and Unicorn out looking for him."
"Speaking of which, you're risking a lot of trouble with the fact that you revealed yourself in front of the police like that," All Might said, shaking his head.
"I know, but what was I supposed to do? Let that Phantom and his Ghouls maul those cops to death?" Haruto said. "We all knew that the day would come when Wizard would have to reveal his existence. And hey, they think my Magic's my Quirk. I'm pretty lucky that using Wizard that my Quirk's temporarily sealed."
"Still, we can't promise you that we'll be able to stop the police or other pro heroes from trying to apprehend you," All Might said. "Especially since they think that you're murdering people with mutant-type Quirks."
"Not like I can do anything about that, I doubt people are going to believe that Magic and actual monsters exist," Haruto sighed, as his eyes went to the ground. "It's not like I'd want to kill Phantoms, but they leave us no choice... Do you at least think we can get some sort of police contact on our side?"
"I don't think we... well, possibly..." All Might said, beginning to rub his sharp chin in thought. "I'll have to make a call with a friend... though I don't know how he'll handle the whole thing..."
Mustafu, Police HQ
"Gaaaaah... this doesn't make any sense," Rinko grumbled, as she looked through her computer at all recorded cases of glyph-based Quirks. "None of these Quirks were as powerful as that Wizard's!"
"Yea, it's a real mystery," Tsukauchi said, having past by when he overheard her. "Glyph Quirks are rare enough, but they're never on the level of Wizard's. There is the idea that he could be using Trigger, but for some reason, that also feels unlikely."
"Why would it be unlikely? It's entirely possible he's using it, since we can't see his tongue with that helmet on his face," Rinko pointed out.
"I don't know, it's just a hunch... not like we really have too much to go on, since he left before I could use my Quirk to question him," Tsukauchi sighed.
"... I'm sorry that my first big bust was such a disaster, Tsukauchi sir," Rinko said. "I probably disappointed you with how I-"
"It's alright, Rinko. Let me fill you in on a little secret," Tsukauchi said, leaning forward to her. "My first big bust with your father wasn't any better. First time I tried loading my gun while the villain was on the run, I dropped all my bullets and tripped on them when I tried to keep up. Your dad always said that I managed to help him by distracting the villain by being such a bumbler."
Rinko chortled at the story, as her hand instinctively went up to her pendant. "That does sound like something he would say..."
"He would be proud of you, either way," he reassured her. "He never had a bad thing to say about anyone ever. I should know, I tested him with my Quirk."
"Yea..." she said, smiling sadly as she thought back to him. She sighed, and stood up. "I think I'm going to go take my break at the park near UA. I'll talk to you later, Tsukauchi."
"Have a good one, Rinko," he said, as she walked out of the office. Before he could walk anywhere else, a forensics officer approached him with some papers.
"There you are, Detective Tsukauchi," the officer said, handing the papers to him. "The tests over the remains of those villains is back."
"Already? That's a little quicker than usual," Tsukauchi said, taking them in hand.
"Well, here's the thing... they didn't have any DNA or even organs," the officer said, as Tsukauchi read and looked through the papers, eyebrow raised.
"What? That's impossible. I know that they looked like they were made of stone with their mutant-type Quirks, but they should still have flesh or organs-"
"Yea, um... we grabbed as much of the rubble we could, thinking that we'd see like, stone-like organs, but nothing," the officer said. "We compared them to other people with mutant-type Quirks and vestigial mutations that made them appear stone-like. They still had human organs and flesh underneath the rock skin, but these guys are stone through and through."
"Then... were these guys just puppets animated by that villain?" Tsukauchi muttered. "That shouldn't be possible. He used a fireball Quirk, and there was no sign of anyone else there. I don't know if there's a puppeteering Quirk strong enough to remotely control things like that, let alone so many... just what is going on?"
Just then, his personal cellphone began to ring. He pulled it out, and saw a recognizable number. "Hey Yagi," he said, answering the phone. "I can't take too long on this call, I'm in the middle of a case, and, well, we just hit something really, really weird, and it's-"
"Is it about those villains being entirely stone with no human traces?"
"How-?"
"Listen, Principal Nezu and I need you to come and talk to us at UA as soon as possible. It's very important that we tell you what we know."
"... Alright, I'll be there soon," Tsukauchi said, as the two hung up. "Just what is going on..." he muttered to himself, as he headed out to get to his car.
UA, Cafeteria
Izuku and the other 1A students watched the footage of last year's UA Sports Festival for the 1st Years. The rest of their classmates were informed about their encounter with the 'supposed winner', and everyone was utterly stunned by what they were watching.
"T-There's no way that guy's THAT strong," Denki said, as he kept replaying the footage on his phone over and over. "There's absolutely no way."
"I've never seen a Quirk as strong as his," Momo said, her hand over her mouth.
"And you said this guy ISN'T interested in being a hero?" Mashirao said. "That seems insane!"
As the 1A students murmured amongst themselves, Neito Monoma, a blond boy in 1B, was picking up bits and pieces of what their discussion.
"Hm, how is that going to help 1A for this year's Sports Festival?" he said, as he sat down next to his 1B classmates and friends, Itsuka Kendo, an orange-haired girl with a long ponytail tied at the left side of her head, Setsuna Tokage, a girl with sharp teeth and curly green hair that touched her shoulders, and Pony Tsunotori, a half-American girl with horns and a tail. "There's no use in finding out about the winner of last year's. There's never going to be a chance to face off against them since we're in different years."
"You haven't seen who the winner was last year?" Itsuka said, her eyes wide. "I watched it since my friend was in it, and that guy was unstoppable!"
"I hadn't 'cuz I was busy hanging out with my friends before I moved," Pony admitted.
"Really? Now I have to see this," Setsuna said, pulling out her phone and searching up footage of last year's Sports Festival. "My family only ever watches the one for the 3rd years, since that's usually the most exciting one."
"Well you guys are gonna get your minds blown by this, especially you, Monoma," Itsuka said, making the blond boy raise an eyebrow as they crowded around the green-haired girl's phone.
"And here it is, folks! The last fight of the 1st Years Sports Festival tournament's first round!" Present Mic shouted in the recording as the crowd cheered. "From the right, comes this year's favorite to win! He's one of the brightest in 1A, figuratively and literally! It's Hikaru Kiramiiii!"
A boy with white hair and yellow streaks walked onto the stage, wearing a huge smile on his face as he waved to the crowd, giving them thumbs up while he walked.
"And from the left, comes a challenger that no one expected to see! A mysterious 1C student, who's managed to overcome students from the Hero Course! Just who the heck is he!? He's Haruto Sooooma!"
Haruto walked in from the opposite side, wearing a simple smile with a hand in his pocket and one hand giving a small wave to the crowd. Midnight stood off to the side, whip in hand.
"Are you boys ready?" Midnight announced, as she raised her whip. "3! 2! 1! Begin!"
Hikaru wasted no time in rushing towards Haruto, balls of solid light forming in his hands. Haruto stayed calm, and leaped over Hikaru when the boy tried to fire his light balls into him. Hikaru spun around, and released another volley of light balls at Haruto. Haruto raised his hand and a powerful blast of air shot out from it, pushing Hikaru away from him. Hikaru stopped himself from going to the ring's edge by creating a pole of light that he slammed into the ground, slowing himself down before throwing the pole of light like a javelin.
Haruto sidestepped the pole of light, but that allowed Hikaru the opportunity to get close and punch him. The brown-haired boy barely had time to grab Hikaru's fist to block it, though he was forced to stagger back from the force. Hikaru said something to Haruto, though the cameras couldn't catch what he said since the audio equipment wasn't strong enough to pick it up. Haruto replied to Hikaru, something that seemed to catch the boy off guard, when he fired a ball of light from his hand, much like Hikaru could.
"What's this!? Soma can also use light like Kirami!? He was just using air blasts seconds ago! Just what's going on!?" Present Mic said, as the crowd went nuts, wondering what he just did.
"I'll elaborate for you, Present Mic," another voice said.
"Huh? Goldminer? What're you doing, you're not a cohost!"
"I know, but I am the 1C homeroom teacher. Soma's in my class. I want to explain his Quirk," Goldminer explained. "To be honest, the kid's way too good to be stuck there. His Quirk's one of the most powerful and useful ones I've ever seen."
"Spill it out, my man, let's hear it!" Present Mic prompted, as Hikaru and Haruto traded blasts of light.
"Soma's Quirk is Perfect Mirror," Goldminer stated. "It's a copy-type Quirk."
"Seriously? That's it?"
"It sounds simple at first, but what's really makes it strong are the specifics," Goldminer said. "Namely, that not only can he copy up to 4 at a time and use 2 at once, but that he keeps his copied Quirks indefinitely until he chooses to copy a new one."
"Wait, I think I got something stuck in my ear. For a moment, I thought you said he could keep copied Quirks indefinitely."
"Yep."
"What!? " Present Mic shouted, as well as the rest of the stadium.
"Yea, like I said, he's too good to be in General Studies."
"Congratulations to Haruto Soma for winning this year's 1st Year UA Sports Festival!" Midnight announced, as the crowd went wild over the 1C student's win, who was wearing the 1st place medal around his neck. "You truly showed us that anyone, not just those training to be heroes, can be capable of great things!"
"What an upset! What a Sports Festival this has been! No doubt he'll be moved into the Hero Course!" Present Mic said, the crowd agreeing with him. Haruto's eyes shifted around, and he poked Midnight's shoulder.
"Hm? You have a few words to say?" Midnight said, raising an eyebrow but ultimately handing him a mic. "Unconventional, but since you're one of the few General Studies students to overcome so many Hero Course students, why not!?"
"Yea, um, I appreciate the praise and all, and I'm glad I won, but I... really don't have any aspirations to be in the Hero Course," Haruto said, rubbing the back of his head. The crowd, students, pros, and teachers alike, went dead silent at the words. "I'm just happy enough being who I am. I'm going to the best person I can be, and, well, I don't think heroism is something for me."
The silence persisted until one of the students in the field in front of him screeched "Are you fucking for real!?", and more and more joined in on berating and shaming Haruto for his decision. Students, pros, even some teachers were getting in on it all.
"You have such a powerful Quirk but you're going to waste it doing nothing!?"
"I'd kill to have a Quirk that lets me keep copied Quirks forever!"
"You could go pro the second you graduate! Hero agencies everywhere are gonna want something as versatile as that!"
"You're so lucky to have a Quirk like that! At least use it!"
"Why are you even here if you don't want to be a hero!?"
"What the heck's wrong with your student, Goldminer!?"
"Hey, I told him that he's got strong hero potential myself, but he's just not interested in that life."
"Sorry, but I'm really just in UA since it's one of the best schools out there, even with its General Course," Haruto said.
The crowd booed and jeered, at least until a familiar white furry principal came and walked onto the stage.
"Hello everyone!" Principal Nezu said, silencing the crowd once more. "I take it that you all had a good time here, yes? Congratulations on winning, Mr. Soma."
"Thanks, Principal Nezu."
"Principal Nezu, tell this jackass that he's wasting his Quirk!" a student in the crowd shouted, as others agreed.
"We at UA encourage our students to do their best, and that everyone's welcomed to apply and learn here however they wish," Principal Nezu said, unflinchingly. "However, that also includes wanting to simply learn at UA in the General Studies Course, whether or not your Quirk is more 'suitable' for the Hero Course. Some have their reasons for wanting to become a hero. Others have reasons why they do not desire to be heroes. Mr. Soma is but one of them, and I expect you all to respect his wishes."
"Wow, he's like you Monoma, but on like, Trigger AND steroids," Setsuna said as the video ended. "That Soma guy sounds real tough."
"Feh, Soma," a 2nd year grumbled, passing by them with his friends and hearing them talk about Haruto. "That guy's nothing but a loser for wanting to be stuck in General Studies."
"Yea, what a fucking weirdo," his friend added, shaking her head.
"Seems like this guy's not very popular in his own year," Itsuka said, noticing that the air around them changed as people grumbled and insulted Haruto. "It's not hard to see why, but man, they could really ease up on him and his decision."
"How dare he!" Neito growled, putting into a napkin out of frustration, only to accidentally rip it in his mouth when he pulled it away. "Not only is his Quirk better than mine, but he's refusing to actually use it to its fullest!?"
"Everyone's got different dreams and aspirations, right?" Setsuna said, shrugging. "I mean, my friends' uncle has a pretty strong Quirk, but he's a fashion designer and businessman instead."
"Just where is this Soma!?" Neito growled, when he spotted the teen walking outside through the cafeteria windows. He stood up, and stomped away. "I'm giving him a piece of my mind!"
"Monoma, calm down," Itsuka sighed, exasperated by her blond friend's behavior as she and their tablemates got up to follow him. Unbeknownst to them, Izuku had overheard their conversation, and was also incredibly curious, as well as confused. Haruto's Quirk was one of the most powerful and versatile that he's ever seen. Why would someone with a Quirk like his not want to be a hero? He also noticed that Haruto had walked past the cafeteria window, and decided to get up to go out.
"Where're you going, Deku?" Ochako asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I saw Soma walking outside," Izuku said, pointing to the window. "I... I have a ton of questions to ask him."
"You know what? I do, too," she said, getting up to join him.
"Indeed! It seems incredibly irresponsible of him to not become a hero with a Quirk such as his!" Tenya said, adjusting his glasses, and ready to give his upperclassman a stern talking to.
"I'm curious as to what the limits of his Quirk is," Momo added.
"I guess we're all curious about the guy," Ochako said, rubbing her head. "Anyone else?"
The other 1A students shook their heads no. "Well, I guess we'll tell you all what we learn later."
As Izuku and the group of curious 1A students (and an indignant Tenya) went off to go find Haruto, Katsuki glared at the footage he was watching. Over and over and over and over.
How.
How can someone so strong be so fucking stupid?
Katsuki grinded his teeth so hard that he could crack his perfectly clean teeth. He hated how someone so strong chose to hold himself back. If he hated Izuku for doing it after lying for so many years to him, he hated that this guy openly showed off his Quirk and yet has no aspirations to actually become better. He was just happy to be a mediocre extra! Just what was he thinking!?
If he ever sees this fucking upperclassman ever, he's going to kick his ass. Hard.
Earlier, at Principal Nezu's Office
"There, my friend in the police should be coming by here soon," All Might said, hanging up his phone. "I really hope he won't mind the 'technical' vigilantism you're doing, Young Soma."
"I hope so, too, and thanks for helping out, All Might," Haruto said. "Gotta say, never expected the Number One Hero to help me out with the Phantoms."
"I should be thanking you, Young Soma," All Might said, crossing his arms and sighing. "If you hadn't come in on time to defeat that Bugbear Phantom when my time limit ran out, I would've been in trouble."
"I'm just glad that you didn't snap me in half the moment he was destroyed and let me explain," Haruto said. "Not to mention having another adult that I could trust with knowing about Wizard is great."
"So how is Mr. Wajima and his daughter?" Principal Nezu asked.
"He's doing fine, and Koyomi's alright as well. Going to have to give her a mana transfer soon-" Haruto said, when he noticed a small metal bird with ruby-like parts tapping against the office window. "Oh, Garuda's back."
Haruto got up and opened the window, letting the metal bird in. "So what's the update?"
Garuda chirped, and from the ruby ring on its chest, projected an image of a park that was nearby (just a block away from UA), with the female detective from yesterday. "That lady from before? Do you think she's the Gate?"
Garuda nodded and chirped. "So I'm assuming this is 'live feed' from Unicorn or Kraken keeping an eye on her, then."
The metal bird nodded again. "Did Koyomi identify who the Phantom is yet?"
Another image projected from Garuda's chest, showing a man with a bandaged wrapped around his head. "Hm... I'm guessing that the bandage is because I broke off his horn. Must've caused some residual damage to his Gate's form. Alright, I'll head out. Good luck explaining everything to your police friend, All Might sir."
Haruto gave the two teachers a polite bow before walking out with Garuda flying out the opened window. As All Might closed the window, he looked to the small rodent principal. "Do you really think this is right? Letting Young Soma fight these Phantoms alone?"
"There's little choice in the matter," Principal Nezu said. "Magic is the only thing that can defeat Phantoms. No Quirk, not even All for One, would be able to stop them."
"I know... it's infuriating. To think, that Magic exists, and yet the way to obtain it-"
"- Is by withstanding the fall to despair," Principal Nezu finished. "To hold onto the hope within your heart, never releasing your grip."
"And that only Gates can obtain them!" All Might said, his fist tightening. "If only... if only-"
"You were one yourself? I suppose that you would be quite resilient to falling into despair," Principal Nezu said. "Alas, the way that people turn into Gates is quite the mystery, only detectable by the Phantoms themselves."
All Might looked out the window, and watched as Haruto went up to the wall next to the forest and used his Magic to walk through it. "I wish... I wish he weren't so alone."
"Much like your own protégé?"
All Might gulped, realizing he was being called out. "... Yes..."
"I suppose that this means we should let in him and some others in on this secret, as well as yours," Principal Nezu said, looking out the window as well. "Because it seems like some of them are tailing Mr. Soma."
All Might raised an eyebrow when he looked down again. His eyes almost popped out of his sockets as he watched Izuku and some 1A and 1B students follow Haruto, only stopping when the glyph Haruto used to walk through disappeared.
"Oh no..." All Might mumbled, facepalming his forehead.
Down Outside
Neito stomped as he saw Haruto walking away from the building, ready to give him a piece of his mind.
"Hey-"
All of a sudden, Setsuna pulled him back, letting Haruto walk further away from them.
"What was that for, Tokage!? He's-"
"Something's weird," Setsuna said. "There's nothing in that direction except for the backwall of the barrier and some trees."
"Why's he going there?" Itsuka said, crossing her arms. "Is he hiding something?"
Before the 1B students could think more, they heard footsteps nearby joining them. They turned, and saw some of the 1A students coming towards them.
"What do you want?" Neito said, narrowing his eyes before Itsuka karate-chopped the back of his neck.
"W-We have a lot of questions for S-Soma," Izuku explained. "A-And we saw him outside the window, too."
"He is believing absurdly!" Tenya said. "To think that someone with such a versatile and powerful Quirk doesn't want to become a hero! They're practically obligated to!"
"Well, you're welcomed to join us," Itsuka said, much to Neito's offense. "I'm Itsuka Kendo."
"Pony Tsunotori!"
"Oh! I'm Ochako-"
"We can introduce ourselves later," Setsuna said, cutting everyone off. "We gotta catch up with Soma, since something about where he's going is... weird."
The 1A students raised an eyebrow before shrugging and obliging. The Hero Course students followed from a distance, keeping an eye on Haruto, who didn't notice that he was being followed. Soon he stopped at the backwall, and stood there, as if he was waiting for something.
"What's going-" Itsuka said, when they spotted a strange metal bird with ruby-like parts fly down near Haruto. "What the heck is that? A drone?"
"Alright, let's get going, Garuda," Haruto said. To everyone's surprised, he adjusted his right middle ring, which changed into a large ring with a noticeable gem. He pulled his jacket open, revealing a strange black hand-shaped belt buckle.
"Connect, Please," a strange voice announced from the belt. And to everyone's shock, a large glyph appeared on the wall. Haruto stepped through it, and disappeared.
"He's Wizard!?" Itsuka said, eyes wide.
"W-We must get a teacher!" Tenya said.
"I don't think there's time, and we don't have proof!" Izuku said. "We gotta follow!"
Izuku ran towards the glyph, but it disappeared before he could get through. He ran into the wall, and stumbled backwards.
"Looks like we don't have a choice," Setsuna said, as she and Ochako helped Izuku up.
"Like I said, we must find a teacher-" Tenya said.
"Hello! Having a good walk, you all?" Principal Nezu said, approaching the group of students.
"Principal Nezu, thank god!" Neito said, as a somewhat sinister smile spread over his face. If Haruto was going to waste his Quirk by being in the General Studies Course, he might as well be kicked out of UA. "It's Haruto Soma, he's-"
"Wizard, I know," Principal Nezu said cheerfully, stunning the students there. "He's partaking in an extracurricular activity that only he can perform."
"Y-You know that he's a vigilante!?" Tenya said, completely caught off guard by the rodent's admission.
"Indeed, but it's much more complicated than you might think. Let's go to my office, so that we can explain everything," Principal Nezu said, turning around and walking towards the main campus. "Come now, everyone, we mustn't waste too much time."
The students present glanced at one other, completely flabbergasted by this reveal. Just why was Principal Nezu letting a vigilante go to UA?
Haruto looked around the forest, and walked towards a regular red bicycle that was hidden in the bushes. He changed the ring on his right middle finger with a different one, and once again, placed his hand over his belt buckle.
"Winger, Please," the belt buckle announced. Another glyph formed in front of the bike, passing over it. The glyph transformed the bike into a motorcycle in front, with a ruby-like headlight on the front near its handles.
Haruto took off his right middle finger ring, and repeated the action.
"Driver On, Please," the belt buckle announced. This time, the belt buckle shifted, as a large silver belt formed around his waist. Haruto adjusted his left middle finger ring, and it changed into a bulky ruby ring. He grabbed the sides of his belt, and pushed down on a lever on the right side while pulling up a lever on the left. The hand shifted, changing from a right hand to a left hand.
"Shabadoobie, Touch to Henshin! Shabadoobie, Touch to Henshin! Shabadoobie, Touch to Henshin!"
Haruto held his left hand up, and flipped down what appeared to be a 'visor' on his left ring. He moved it down, covering his belt's hand with his left.
"Transform."
"Flame, Please! Hot! Hot! Hot hot hot!" the belt announced. Haruto moved his left hand to the side, as if he were flourishing a cape. A glyph formed at his left, and passed over him. A 'hero' costume formed over him as the glyph moved, before dissipating, leaving Wizard in Haruto's place.
"Alright, Garuda, lead me to the spot in the park she's in," Wizard said, as the metal red bird nodded and flew in front of the vigilante. He revved his motorcycle's engines, and sped off.
At the Park
Rinko sighed as she sat on the bench, and stared at the nearby water fountain. The park near UA may have been a drive away from the police station, but it was sentimental to her. She and her father would often visit this park on his days off when she was little. She smiled, thinking about how the two played cops and robbers whenever they were here. She was always the cop, and she'd always catch him.
"So this is where you've been. Had to ask Tsukauchi where you were heading," Amino said, walking towards her. His head was still wrapped in a bandage, though that didn't seem to stop him from smiling.
"Hi Detective Amino," Rinko said, as her senior partner sat down next to her. "Feeling better?"
"I've had hangovers that were worse," Amino joked, shaking his head. "So why're you at this park of all places?"
"Oh, this park's where my dad would take me on his days off," Rinko explained, as she took her pendant. She opened it, revealing it to have a small picture of her and her father inside. "He's the reason why I became a detective."
"Bang! I got you!" Rinko shouted, pointing her finger like a gun at her father.
"Oooh, curse you, officer Rinko!" her father said, falling to the ground dramatically as Rinko ran up to him and 'pinned' him to the ground with her body. "I promise you that I'll escape prison someday!"
"That's what you think!" Rinko said, giggling. "I wanna be a real cop someday! I wanna help people like you daddy!"
"Really? I bet you'll be the best cop ever! Better than me, even!" he said, getting up and lifting her above her head, the little girl giggling nonstop. "Until then, you're my little cop!"
"He was a great detective," Rinko reminisced. "Always making time for me, helping out people even off duty..."
"Yea... if I recall correctly, he... he died in a villain attack, right?" Amino said, shutting his eyes as he tried to recall what happened.
"Yes... a villain attacked a store while he was off duty, and he used his nail bullet Quirk to attack people. My dad took the bulk of it to protect a bunch of kids near him," Rinko said, sadly. "It was really hard to study and train to become a detective. A lot of the time, when I got stuck on something, I'd come here to think."
"So this place and that pendant really mean a lot to you, huh?" Amino asked, a grin spreading across his face.
"Yea, I suppose it does... why?" Rinko asked, noting the strange tone he had when saying it. Amino stood up from the bench, and grabbed Rinko's pendant, breaking the chain as he yanked it off her neck. He shoved her onto the ground, and stared at the pendant menacingly.
"Amino, what are you-" Rinko demanded, when she saw a translucent image of the villain from yesterday appear over his face. "No... are you-"
Class 1A
"Alright, get in your seats," Aizawa said, entering the classroom by sliding the door open with his foot.
"But sir, not all of us are here," Mezo pointed out, noting the missing students.
"Don't worry, Principal Nezu told me a while ago that he needed to talk to them, and that it'll take a while, so they'll be out of class for the rest of the day," Aizawa stated. "He promised me that they'll make up whatever they missed soon."
"What? Dammit, if I had known that chasing that Soma guy was gonna get me out of class, I'd have joined them, too," Denki muttered under his breath.
Class 1B
"Alright kids, class will be starting soon," Vlad King said, to the confusion of the students present.
"But sir, Monoma and the others aren't here," Kosei said, looking at the empty desks.
"It's fine, Principal Nezu told me that he needed to talk to them about something, and that they'll be out for the rest of the day," Vlad King answered. "They'll be making it up soon, however."
Principal Nezu's Office
"You wanted to speak with me, Principal Nezu?" Tsukauchi said, opening the door. To his surprise, there were a number of students sitting the office as well, some he recognized from the USJ, while the rest were new. All Might was standing next to Principal Nezu's desk, as the small rodent looked at him.
"Detective Tsukauchi?" Izuku said, looking at the man.
"The detective from the USJ?" Momo said, raising an eyebrow.
"Why is he here?" Ochako asked.
"He's a good friend of mine," All Might explained. "And he's someone that I've been needing to talk to about this."
"... Is this a bad time?" Tsukauchi said, confused.
"No, in fact, we're still waiting for a couple of students to come here so we can inform you of our little secret!" Principal Nezu explained.
"Secret? Is it really wise to talk about something like that with students?" Tsukauchi asked.
"Of course! They stumbled upon it, after all," Principal Nezu said.
"Did they?" Tsukauchi said, taking a seat.
"Yes, believe me when I say this, but this secret is... quite big," All Might said, rubbing his chin in thought when the door opened. Koyomi and Shunpei walked in, and looked at all of the people present.
"So this is everyone that's finding out?" Koyomi said, sighing as she recognized some of them as the students they talked to earlier. "Anyone else?"
"No, this is everyone!" Principal Nezu said, cheerfully. "Now, to begin with, yes, Wizard is indeed a student here at UA."
At the confirmation, all of the people present began shouting at once.
"But why would a school like UA let in a vigilante!?" Tenya cried out, his eyes bulging out so much they threatened to knock his glasses off.
"Just how did Soma come across a powerful glyph Quirk like that?" Momo asked. "Is it strengthened by another Quirk?"
"Why is someone like him in General Studies!?" Neito said, crossing his arms. "And why on earth are you letting him attend UA!?"
"How long has he been a vigilante?" Ochako asked, nervously.
"What are his reasons for not wanting to be a hero?" Izuku said.
"This is a very serious thing to admit, Principal Nezu, I-" Tsukauchi said, when Principal Nezu raised his paw.
"I think it would be best to show you all the exact circumstances behind all of this," Principal Nezu said, motioning to Koyomi. The girl nodded, and dug around in her backpack, pulling out a crystal ball of all things.
"What's that? Going to predict our futures with your Quirk?" Neito said, dismissively.
"No. Rather, I'm going to show you the past," Koyomi said, as she set the crystal ball down onto Principal Nezu's desk. "And for the record, this isn't my Quirk."
She held out both of her hands over it, and closed her eyes. The crystal ball shined with light, and an image projected out of it, showing them all a scene of some sort of ritual.
Somewhere, in an unknown location
Haruto clutched his chest as he felt it burn. The ground of the rocky cliffside beach around him was fracturing, red light pouring out. The sky was dark because of the total solar eclipse. He looked around, and watched as other people around him burst into purple flames, monsters replacing them. Even mutant-type Quirk users were being replaced with these monsters.
He stared at his hands as purple cracks grew across his skin, and he felt dragon wings breaking out from his back. He reached to the sky, as if he were attempting to grasp the black sun.
"I'm... I'm not giving up!" Haruto commanded himself, as golden light began to glow around him. "I'm... I'm the hope that my parents left behind!"
The light enveloped Haruto, shining brightly, blinding himself. The next thing he knew, he was on his back on the ground. He rubbed his head and sat up, his shirt and jacket falling off him, having been torn to shreds when his wings grew. He touched his back, and realized that they had disappeared. As did many of the human-turned-monsters. He looked around, and noticed black ashes floated in the air.
"Just... Just what happened-" he muttered to himself, when a green cyclops-like monster with spikey armor appeared in front of him. Haruto stumbled backwards as the monster lunged towards him, fist outstretched. But before his attack connected with Haruto, a glowing orange glyph appeared in front of him, blocking the monster, and repelling it far away from him, landing in the water below them. He turned, and saw a strange figure approaching him. He was dressed in white robes with gold trim, with silver bands that held his shoulder armor down. Around his waist was a black-trimmed silver belt, with a large black hand decoration with red trim. What was most particularly was that he wore a helmet that gave the impression of him wearing a hood.
In the figure's arms was an unconscious young girl.
"Who... what are you?" Haruto asked.
"I have many names," the figure said. "But you may call me the White Wizard."
The White Wizard walked towards Haruto, and kneeled down. Without prompting, Haruto held his arms out to let the White Wizard hand him the unconscious girl.
"You held onto hope in the face of despair when so few could in this tragedy," the White Wizard said. "And now, you are one of the few in this world, who can held the power of Magic."
"Magic!?" some of the students shouted collectively.
"Magic's real!? That's incredible!" Pony said, excitedly.
"Excuse me!?" Tenya said, his brows narrowed. "What sort of nonsense is this!? Magic existing!?"
"That is absurd! Magic isn't real!" Neito said. "This must be some sort of elaborate lie to avoid culpability!"
"I'm having a hard time believing it, too," Itsuka said, frowning. "I mean, Quirks are crazy enough on their own, but magic?"
"It is indeed the truth. Magic exists," Principal Nezu said, unflinchingly. "More than a year ago, before Mr. Soma entered our halls, people with great amounts of inner mana known as Gates were kidnapped and taken to a ritualistic site to be sacrificed on the day of a total solar eclipse, known as the Sabbath. They faced visions of their greatest despairs, and in it, died and gave birth to Phantoms, creatures born from the Gate's mana. Mr. Soma was one of them, but because he successfully fought back and suppressed his Phantom, he gained the ability to use Magic."
"There was a total solar eclipse when I was in middle school..." Ochako said thoughtfully, having watched it herself because of how excited she was (properly, of course, couldn't risk injuring her eyes). "Was it during that?"
"That's correct," All Might said, as he clenched his fist. If only he had known that this had happened, maybe there wouldn't have been so many deaths that day.
"Alright, let's say that I believe this," Tsukauchi said, as he pinched his forehead. "That doesn't excuse that Wizard is killing people-"
"On the contrary, Phantoms aren't humans. And neither were those stone creatures," Principal Nezu said. "A Gate dies the moment their Phantom is successfully released."
"Then what are they?" Tsukauchi asked. He was frustrated; his Quirk was registering what both All Might and Principal Nezu said as true. Sure, there are cases where people 100% believe in the lie as truth, or where he was only told part of the truth.
"They're called Ghouls. They are pure stone puppets animated by Magic. They have no thoughts, no feelings, no life," Koyomi interjected. "They only follow the orders of the Phantoms that summon them. Nothing will stop them unless they're destroyed."
Tsukauchi took a deep breath and sighed. That did line up with the results the DNA tests gave them. "So they're not controlled by a puppeteering Quirk?"
"Not at all," Principal Nezu said. "In fact, Phantoms can only use their Gate's Quirk while in disguise. It's one of they ways that they escape detection. Everything you see them do in their true form, is them using Magic."
"I see..." Tsukauchi said, rubbing his chin in thought. "The bull villain did exhibit multiple abilities that couldn't all be one Quirk..."
"But if so many people were taken there, how did the news not report a mass kidnapping?" Izuku said, horrified that something like this could've happened.
"Because Phantoms can take on the form of their Gate, and have some access to their Gate's memories," Koyomi said, curtly. "Not all of their memories, but just enough to pass themselves off as humans. Most of them probably took over their Gate's life in order not to create suspicion on the orders of whoever performed the Sabbath..."
"Is that so..." Tsukauchi said, thinking back to that day. It was true that there weren't any missing persons cases called in that day. He remembered quite a bit about the total solar eclipse, since it wasn't very often that you'd get to see one. Even Amino said that the reason why he was late to work was because he had to see it-
"But what about you-" Momo began to ask, when the crystal ball began to flash.
"Oh, it seems like Unicorn and Kraken are sending us an update on the targeted Gate and the Phantom," Koyomi said, as the image on the crystal ball changed. Tsukauchi's eyes widened as he saw Rinko and Amino sitting on a bench together before Amino stood up and tore her pendant off her neck.
"It can't be-" Tsukauchi said, when Amino's form changed to that of the villain that attacked yesterday. "I have to go, she-"
"Patience, Detective Tsukauchi," Principal Nezu said, stopping him. The crystal ball changed images, and showed Wizard approaching the park. "Let's watch Mr. Soma do his job here."
At the Park
"W-Who are you!?" Rinko said, as Amino chuckled, her pendant in his hand. "What did you do with Detective Amino!?"
"The human Detective Amino died in despair, giving birth to a Phantom... me, Minotauros," Amino said, as mist-like energy formed around him, and his body changed shape to that of the villain from yesterday.
"Phantom? What?" Rinko said, raising an eyebrow. "Is that the name you use for your members of your villain group!? How many Quirks do you-"
"Hmph, Quirks. As if we need weak human tricks like that," Minotauros said. "None of them holds even a candle to what we can do with Magic."
"Magic?"
"Us Phantoms can only be born when a human with great Magic potential, a Gate, dies while feeling great despair," Minotauros explained. He dropped Rinko's pendant onto the ground. "Like so."
He stomped on the pendant, breaking the glass and bending the metal. Rinko felt her heart drop, but it wasn't over. Fireballs formed in Minotauros's hands, and he began to throw them wildly around the park, burning trees and destroying anything nearby. The water fountain exploded, concrete and metal flying.
"Stop it!" Rinko cried. She tried to reach for her gun, but was hit by a sudden pain in her chest. "Stop-"
Rinko reached towards Minotauros, and was stunned to see purple cracks forming on her hands. The beating in her heart kept getting more and more intense, as she clutched at her chest.
"Looks like I'll be welcoming a new Phantom," Minotauros laughed, crossing his arms. "Pretty soon, the human known as Rinko Daimon will be-"
As if on cue, Wizard came out of nowhere, ramming his bike into Minotauros and knocking him away. The Phantom tumbled from the impact, and Wizard came to a stop. He raised his left hand above his head, and drew in all of the fire, making it converge onto his ring as it absorbed the flames.
"Wizard!" Minotauros growled, as Wizard pushed and pulled the levers on the side of his belt, changing the left hand to a right hand. He removed the ring he was wearing on his right, and replaced it with a different one. He covered his belt with his hand.
"Connect, Please."
A glyph appeared next to Wizard, and he reached into it, pulling out his gun. "I'm going to kindly ask you to stop, or else this will get messy," he said, pointing the gun at Minotauros. "And I've already cleaned up your fire."
"Get out of my way!" Minotauros screamed, pulling out his halberd and rushing Wizard. He fired his gun, making Minotauros stagger back. He unfolded his gun into its sword form, and charged Minotauros. He slashed at the Phantom, dodging Minotauros's thrusts with his sword and free hand. Minotauros swept at his legs, but Wizard leaped over the halberd, landing a kick against Minotauros's broken horn, making the Phantom grunt in pain.
"S-Stop..." Rinko moaned, watching as sparks flew from Minotauros's torso with each slash from Wizard's sword. "H-He needs to be arrested-"
"Sorry, ma'am, but there's no choice," Wizard said, as he moved to the side, grabbing the halberd and pulling the Phantom towards him, striking Minotauros's broken horn with his sword and pushing him away from Rinko. "The human that this Phantom came out of is long dead, now."
"If you're going to kill me, I'm making sure that you'll die with me!" Minotauros shouted. Their weapons clashed with each strike, before the two thrusted them towards each other. Wizard's sword proved to the stronger of the weapons, as when his blade connected with the point of Minotauros's halberd, the polearm shattered, and Wizard stabbed the Phantom square in the chest, though Minotauros was strong enough that it didn't go through him. He held his chest in pain, and growled, "You bastard!"
Frustrated, Minotauros began seeing red and charged at Wizard, head pointed at him. The vigilante attempted to block the attack with his sword, but Minotauros's strength while charging was surprisingly strong. Minotauros lifted his head up, flinging Wizard into the air, though he quickly recovered and landed on his feet.
"Well, if you want to make this a contest of strength-" Wizard said, as he pulled off his left ring. He placed it onto the holster, and pulled off a ring with a square-shaped citrine stone, and placed it on his middle finger. He flipped the levers on his belt, shifting the right hand into a left one before touching it with his left hand. "- I suppose I should oblige."
"Shabadoobie, Touch to Henshin! Shabadoobie, Touch to Henshin! Shabadoobie, Touch to Henshin!"
"Is... is his belt singing?" Itsuka said, raising an eyebrow.
"Yes," Koyomi said, unfazed.
"Is there any particular reason for it to do so?" Momo asked, confused by the belt. "In fact, what are the rings and belt?"
"The belt, the Wizardriver, lets him cast his Magic without needing to speak, and the Wizard Rings channel his Magic," Koyomi explained. "If it didn't, he'd have to cast them vocally on his own and focus on what spell he needs to use. And that takes time."
"So the Rings are basically preloaded spells, and his belt is what casts it..." Izuku said, becoming entranced with the fight and Magic.
"Exactly, each Ring is made from special Magic stones. They only gain their spell when they get their image engraved onto them," Shunpei said, also becoming entranced.
"Really? How do you get these stones?" Izuku asked, the two facing each other.
"I don't know where exactly, but Mr. Wajima, Koyomi's adoptive father, is the one that makes them, and he always says that he lets the Magic guide his hands to make the Wizard Rings," Shunpei explained. "The ones Haruto uses on his right hand are the Magic Rings, which are what contains his spells, and the left hand rings are his Transformation Rings, which allows him to change forms and elements."
The two began mumbling to each other as the students around them watched them.
"Oh lord there's two of them now," Koyomi muttered, sighing and shaking her head.
Wizard pointed his left hand at the ground, and a glyph formed underneath him. As it rose over him, the red of his suit was replaced with yellow, and his helmet's round red visor turned into a square yellow visor. "Land, Please! Sha-Sha-Sha-Shake, Sha-Sha-Sha-Shake! Sha-Sha-Sha, Shake!"
"Dammit... so you can change Elements like I've heard," Minotauros growled. He lowered his head, and charged at Wizard, who calmly swapped his right hand's ring with another one.
"Pretty much," he answered, as he shifted his belt's hand to the right and placed his over it. "Defend, Please."
Wizard pointed his hand to the ground, as another glyph formed. Before Minotauros hit him, a stone wall grew out of the ground. He slammed into it, and found himself stuck in it. He struggled to free himself, but Wizard took this opportunity to kick him in the chin. The force of kick broke the stone wall, and sent the Phantom soaring into the air. Minotauros flew high up, allowing Wizard the chance to chance his left ring once again, this time for a triangular emerald one. He flipped the levers once again.
"Shabadoobie, Touch to Henshin! Shabadoobie, Touch to Henshin! Shabadoobie, Touch to Henshin!"
He swiped his left hand over his belt, and raised it over his head. Another glyph formed over him, and he jumped through it. The yellow of his suit was exchanged for green, and his helmet's square yellow visor became a triangular green one. "Hurricane, Please! Fly, fly! Fly fly fly fly!"
Wizard soared in the air, flying by Minotauros and slashing him with his sword multiple times. The Phantom cried as he helplessly flailed around, unable to defend himself from the attacks. Minotauros landed on the ground, writhing in pain as Wizard landed on his feet. He pulled off his emerald ring, and placed his ruby ring back on. He flipped his belt's levers twice, shifting it to a left hand before returning it to be a right hand.
"Shabadoobie, Touch to Henshin! Shabadoobie, Touch to Henshin! Shabadoobie, Touch to Henshin!"
Wizard placed his hand onto his belt, and pointed his arm to the side, a glyph forming at his fingertips that slid over him, returning him back to his red form. "Flame, Please! Hot! Hot! Hot hot hot!"
As Minotauros struggled to stand up, Wizard flipped his belt's levers again, and pulled off his current ring. He took out a new one, this ring having a carved image of a foot covered in a dragon-like flame. "Lupachi Magic, Touch to Go! Lupachi Magic, Touch to Go!"
"This is the finale," Wizard said, placing his right hand onto his belt.
"Very Nice! Kick Strike! Amaziiiiing!"
A glyph appeared underneath him, as he moved the right side of his waistcoat out of the way, letting fire engulf his right foot. He began to cartwheel towards Minotauros, leaping into the air. He pointed his foot at the Phantom, another glyph forming in front of him. He passed through it, launching him towards Minotauros and striking him in the chest with his right foot. Minotauros was knocked backwards, screaming as a glyph formed around him, and exploded into a fiery cloud. The fiery cloud then reversed into itself, taking in all of the smoke and debris it had kicked up with Minotauros's destruction, and vanished.
"Alright, that's one problem taken cared of," Wizard said, as he rushed over to Rinko and knelled down. He flipped his belt's switches twice, activating its casting ability. "Now, to help you."
"Don't... touch me," she growled, though she was too weak to resist his help. "You... murderous... vigilante..."
"It's alright, ma'am," Wizard said, as he pulled out another ring. It appeared similar to the other rings he had used on his right hand, though this one had bands that resembled his helmet's face like his left rings. "I know that the law isn't on my side on this. But this is something that I can do."
He slipped the ring onto her right hand, and placed it over his belt. "Because I'm never letting anyone suffer like this again."
"Engage, Please."
Rinko fell to her side unconscious as a glyph formed above her. Wizard stood up, and floated over her, before going through the glyph and disappearing.
"What's he doing!?" Itsuka said, standing up, as if she was ready throttle the ringed magician's neck. "He just left her!"
"I thought he was supposed to be helping her!" Setsuna fumed.
"He is," Koyomi said, pinching her eyebrows. "He hasn't gone anywhere, except into her Underworld."
"What's that?" Pony asked.
"It's a person's inner world, a manifestation of their most precious memories," Koyomi stated. "That's where the Phantom come into existence before breaking out of their Gate. And right now, Haruto is going to destroy it before it can hurt her more."
Tsukauchi gritted his teeth. While an officer of the law, he had to admit, seeing this fight was convincing him that Wizard was doing a necessary job. And the more he thought about it, the more he realized that the public would never approve of him killing Phantoms, especially if they believe them to be the Gate they came out of.
Truthfully, Wizard was winning him over the second he came to help Rinko. Ever since he had been partnered with her father, she was like another little sister to him. One that was a little less hard to talk to at times, but still. When Amino was assigned to be her partner, he thought he could trust him to take care of her. Too bad he was wrong.
"It'll be alright, Tsukauchi," All Might said, putting a reassuring hand on his friend's shoulders. "Young Soma isn't one to let others fall into despair. Not without a fight."
Inside Rinko's Underworld
Wizard flew down the purple tunnel of light, as a glyph appeared below him. He fell through it, and found himself in Rinko's Underworld. It was of the park that they were in, and he saw a young child running up to her father.
"So this is her Underworld... that must be her," Wizard said, as he watched the two of them play. All of a sudden, purple cracks formed in front of him, and a giant insectoid monster burst through, shattering a part of the Underworld. It flew right by him, and began ramming itself everywhere, leaving purple cracks wherever it crashed against.
"If I was a gambling man, I'd say that's her Inner Phantom," Wizard said, as he pushed the levers on his belt twice. "Lupachi Magic, Touch to Go! Lupachi Magic, Touch to Go!"
He replaced his right ring again, this time it had an engraving of a winged dragon on it. Wizard swiped his hand over his belt. "Dragorise, Please."
A giant glyph appeared in the sky, and a silver-and gold horned dragon with a red gem on its forehead appeared. As soon as it fully materialized, the dragon went and attacked Rinko's Inner Phantom, though it turned around and slammed against Wizard, knocking the magician off his feet as it flew into the sky and away from them.
"Dammit, do we have to do this song and dance every time I summon you in an Underworld!?" Wizard grumbled, replacing his ring with the Connect Ring. He pushed the levers up and down, activating its casting ability as he placed his right hand on it. "Obey me, Dragon!"
"Connect, Please."
A glyph opened near him, and Wizard pulled his Machine Winger into the Underworld, climbing onto it and driving off towards the rampaging dragon. It slammed against the 'walls' of the Underworld more and more, until it spotted Wizard driving towards it. The dragon roared as it soared towards the magic motorcyclist. He didn't slow down for a second, and reared onto his back wheel, and jumped. The Machine Winger split apart over Dragon, and attached to its back, becoming another pair of wings. The dragon tried to resist Wizard's control, but submitted to it as Wizard made it flew towards Rinko's Inner Phantom. The Inner Phantom fired a blast of purple fire towards the two. Dragon aerial rolled out of the way, and returned the attack with its own stream of red fire. Both of them dodged the flames of the other, before colliding against one another and began grappling each other. They collided against the Underworld, cracking more and more of it, before they released each other from their grasps.
Dragon flew far back, creating enough distance so that they could charge at the Inner Phantom. Wizard pulled out his sword, and pushed the thumb up, opening the palm.
" C'Mon and Slash! Shake Hands!" the sword announced, as Wizard placed his left hand over the sword's hand. "Fire Slashing Strike! Hot hot hot! Hot hot hot!"
Three flaming glyphs formed around Wizard's sword, creating a small pillar of fire. Wizard and the dragon charged towards Rinko's Inner Phantom, as he held his sword in both hands. The Inner Phantom roared as it charged towards Wizard and Dragon as well. He steadied himself and held his sword above his head, and Dragon flew slightly lower. Wizard's sword slashed through the Inner Phantom's body, splitting into two as a glyph formed around it, and exploded.
"And that takes care of that," Wizard said, as a glyph appeared around him and Dragon.
The cracks on Rinko's body disappeared, and she regained consciousness. She looked around, and saw Wizard standing next to the damaged water fountain. She pulled out her gun as he swapped the ring on his right hand with another one.
"Oh, you're awake, that's good," Wizard said, as he flipped his levers again and placed his right over it.
"Restore, Please."
Wizard pointed his hand at the water fountain. A glyph formed above it, and moved down. To Rinko's surprise, the glyph was restoring the damaged water fountain back to normal, as if it never broke in the first place. He pointed his hand to the other damaged areas of the park, and glyphs passed over them, restoring them to normal. Rinko kept her gun pointed at Wizard, until she saw one of the glyphs form underneath her pendant. The glyph moved up, and Rinko struggled to hold back tears upon seeing her pendant repaired.
"Y-You think fixing my pendant is going to excuse you for murdering Detective Amino and those minions of his!?" she said.
"Detective Amino died over a year ago," Wizard said, plainly. "The moment Minotauros, his Phantom, was released, was the moment he died."
"What are Phantoms!?" Rinko said.
"Rinko!"
Rinko looked around, searching for the familiar voice, and saw Tsukauchi jogging towards her. A group of UA students followed him, with a rodent-like man and All Might (holy shit) following behind closely.
"Detective Tsukauchi! Good, you're here! Wizard's-"
"- is... an ally," Tsukauchi sighed, to Rinko's shock. "Listen, it's... a long story to tell you, but I'm glad that you're alright."
"W-Wait, we're not going to apprehend him!?" Rinko said. Wizard looked around, and tried to sneak over to his motorcycle, when Principal Nezu spoke to him.
"I think we should let Miss Daimon in on this secret of ours, Mr. Soma," he said.
"Huh? You mean you told all of these people?" Wizard said, looking at the huge group of students.
"More like a lot of us just followed you from a distance," Setsuna said. "We had a lot of stuff to ask you about, like last year's Sports Festival."
"Oh, that?" Haruto said, as his suit disappeared in sparkles, surprising Rinko.
"Wizard's a kid!?"
"Yea, well... there's a lot to talk about," Tsukauchi said, rubbing his head. "Let's go to UA, it'll be easier to explain everything there..."
Principal Nezu's Office
"I don't believe you," Rinko said, after having everything explained to her. "Magic's real? Monsters made from people's mana? Those people dying if their monsters actually break out?"
"Yep, pretty much," Haruto said, looking at her. "It's definitely not my Quirk that's doing all of that. Can't even use it while I'm using my Wizardriver's full powers."
"Trust me, I can't believe it, either, but at this point, it's the only thing that can make sense," Tsukauchi sighed, shaking his head. "It's the only way we can explain why he had so many unrelated powers. Especially since Minotauros disguised himself as Amino for over a year, and could use his minor telekinesis Quirk."
"Yea..." Rinko muttered, turning her attention to Koyomi. "So you can see past events and things that are happening right now with that crystal ball, right?"
"Yes."
"So can you find out who's behind all of this... Phantom stuff?"
"No," Koyomi sighed. "I tried that before. Whoever's behind it is blocking me from viewing them, past and present. And I can only go as far back as the Sabbath."
"Wait... that's right, you were there too," Izuku said, recalling that the crystal ball showed the White Wizard carrying her unconscious body towards Haruto. "So are you a magician like Soma?"
"No."
"Wait, you're not?" Itsuka said, befuddled.
"Then does that mean that you're a-" Neito began said, backing up.
"I'm not a Phantom, either," Koyomi said, as her gaze fell to the floor. "I... I don't know what I am. I know that I was there at the Sabbath, but I don't know anything else before that."
"Don't know anything else before?" Setsuna said, catching what she said. "Do... do you have amnesia?"
"Yes," Koyomi answered, her left hand curling around her right. "I... I don't want to talk about it."
"No no no, this sounds important," Neito said, getting up. "Just what-"
"Don't press the issue," Haruto said, frostily. "She's not ready to talk about it."
"But-"
"Monoma, please, we can ask when she's ready," Itsuka said, putting a hand on her friend. "Sorry about that, I think we're all still processing this..."
"It's alright. I can tell one thing about myself at least. All we know is that I have the ability to determine who's a Phantom, but I have no fighting ability, and I can't determine who're Gates," Koyomi said.
"Either way, we're hoping that since you two are on the police force, that you'll be able to help us with the Phantom threat," Principal Nezu said. "Any and all help is appreciated."
"Well, since you trust me enough to tell me about this, in spite of my position, I think I can do so," Tsukauchi said, sighing. "I can't say I approve of vigilante activity at all, but considering that we're facing literal Magic demons, I don't think I have a choice. Not like there're actually laws about how to deal with demons."
"If Tsukauchi says he'll help, I... I guess I will, too," Rinko said, crossing her arms and closing her eyes in thought. "Since we're officers, I bet we can get information about strange activity and pass it on to you in case we think it's Phantom related... that's going to be tough to determine with normal human villains, though..."
"If it helps, Phantoms often focus on one Gate persistently," Haruto said. "People will only be Gates for a limited amount of time. Once that period's over, it'll take a long time for them to become Gates again."
"So what about the Sabbath?" Itsuka asked.
"From what we've able to piece together, the Sabbath is the only way to force a large group of people into becoming Gates," All Might said.
"And that it can only be done on a total solar eclipse," Haruto added. "So we at least know that most, if not all, of the current Phantom population from the Sabbath are in Japan, since that one was the most recent total solar eclipse."
"How do you know that?" Setsuna asked.
"I used some connections I have in other countries to check," Principal Nezu said cheerfully. "So far, there has been no activity that's identical to how Phantoms operate."
"So why can't you inform the public about this!?" Tenya said, frowning as he glared at Haruto. "Something as pressing as this is-"
"The only way to make sure a Phantom doesn't hurt anyone is to destroy it," Haruto answered, closing his eyes. "Trust me, it doesn't make me feel great either... but the thing is, the Gate that they came from is already dead. I don't know a single Gate who's survived the process to becoming a Phantom."
"And considering how taboo killing is for a hero, there's no way anyone's going to approve of this to begin with," Koyomi said. "People are already mistaking Phantoms for mutant-type Quirk users, it'll just make people suspicious of every nonhuman-appearing person."
"Not like people are gonna believe Magic's real in the first place," Shunpei mumbled. "That girl with the earlobe jacks didn't believe it. And you didn't, either."
Tenya bit his lip, trying to think of something to retort with, but he sighed. "Alright, I suppose that is a good point. The public may have difficulty accepting that Magic exists, even with Quirks."
"Speaking of which, how did you come across this, Principal Nezu?" Tsukauchi asked, looking at the humanoid rodent.
"Oh, the White Wizard personally gave me a visit before Mr. Soma enrolled," Principal Nezu answered. He looked to the crystal ball. "Miss Wajima, if you will?"
"Of course, sir," Koyomi answered, touching the crystal ball. A new image appeared from the ball, this time showing Principal Nezu in his office, much like he was right now.
A Few Months Before Haruto's First Year in UA
Principal Nezu was busy looking over papers and first year applicants. There were quite the number of interesting applicants. None more so than a Mr. Haruto Soma. A boy applying to be in General Studies, but had quite the powerful Quirk.
Perfect Mirror, a copier Quirk. At first glance, it doesn't sound quite powerful. Copier Quirks rarely are. But Haruto's was something else. For one, he actually keeps the Quirks he copies, unlike most copier Quirks, and he can keep up to 4 at any time, and use 2 at once. The weakness it seems is that he'll need to release one of the four if he wants to copy another Quirk, and that he can't actually strengthen the copied Quirk through training like the original Quirk users can. Still, it was quite the powerful Quirk either way. Any pro would want someone like Haruto to be their sidekick.
But just because someone has a powerful Quirk, doesn't necessarily mean that they'll want to pursue a hero career. Principal Nezu was all too aware of the potential dangers of railroading people into heroism can cause. Sometimes those with the strongest potential simply want to live quiet lives. He might be the principal of one of Japan's best hero schools, but that didn't mean he didn't understand the value of a peaceful life.
All of a sudden, a bright orange glyph appeared in front of his office's door. While surprised, Principal Nezu kept his composure, and saw a helmeted man with white robe-like clothing and armor walk in. What was especially peculiar was the man's belt. It was large and silver, with a black hand-like buckle on the front with red trim. Following him was a boy that he recognized as Haruto from the pictures, and a girl with long black hair.
"Wait, you took us to UA?" Haruto said, recognizing the furry little principal.
"Who's that?" the girl asked softly, tugging at Haruto's jacket sleeve. "He's so... fluffy... can I pet him?"
"Hello, Principal Nezu," the man said, as the glyph behind them disappeared. "I'm here to discuss some... very important things."
"Oh my, intruding in a UA office," Principal Nezu said, looking at them. "You must be quite confident to come in here. I suppose that you used your glyph Quirk to warp past our security system? If talking is all you wanted, you could've just called us."
"What I just used is not a Quirk," the man said. "What you just witnessed is the power of Magic."
"Magic? Oh my, that's quite the claim to make."
"It is the truth, whether you believe it or not. And it is imperative that you understand the importance of my visit, and why you must ensure that my protégé enters your school," the man said, gravely.
"Hm... why don't you three take a seat? I'm sure that this discussion will take quite some time to get through," Principal Nezu said, motioning them towards the chairs in front of him. "So to whom do I owe this visit to?"
"I have many names, but for now, you may simply call me the White Wizard," the man stated. Soon, Principal Nezu learned of the world of Magic that exists alongside their world of Quirks. He was told everything about the Sabbath, about the nature of Phantoms, how Haruto managed to conquer his own and successfully gained the power of Magic, and the situation behind Koyomi, the girl. To prove that they were telling the truth, the White Wizard had Haruto transform into Wizard in front of him, something that his Quirk should be absolutely incapable of doing. Or any Quirk, really.
"I see... and you figured that by telling me this, that I'll be able to help Mr. Soma out?" Principal Nezu said, as Haruto untransformed from his suit.
"That is correct," the White Wizard answered.
"You're risking quite a bit to admit to a principal of a hero school that your young charge is a vigilante. I could report this to the authorities."
"I know. But I trust you will make the right decision. Normal pro heroes will not be able to beat the Phantoms. Not even All Might with all of his power. Only Magic users such as myself and Haruto are capable of ending them."
"Hm... Alright, I will offer my assistance. I do expect that if this were any other hero school, you would be turned in without a second thought," Principal Nezu said, nodding. "And I suppose that you want me to change Mr. Soma's application so he can be in the Hero-"
"Actually, I... I don't want to be in the Hero Course still," Haruto said, finally speaking up. "I know it's seems like a waste, but-"
"It's quite alright, Mr. Soma," Principal Nezu said. "Just because your Quirk is one of the most exceptional ones I've heard of, doesn't mean I think you should be in a Course against your will. And it seems like you'll be quite busy as Wizard to begin with. I'm sure that being in the Hero Course while acting as a vigilante will give you an undue amount of stress that will burn you at two ends. I will need you to still take the entrance exam for General Studies, however. Can't be seen as giving you special treatment, simply because I am aware of your extracurricular activities."
"Thank you, sir," Haruto said, giving the furry principal a polite bow before realizing something. "Oh! Um, can you also enroll Koyomi, too? I mean, if you can, since she, well... isn't in middle school because of what happened to her."
"Hm... I have a better idea," Principal Nezu said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "I'll help Miss Koyomi get a private tutor, that way we can ensure that she can be caught up with everything, and then give her a special entrance exam, considering the circumstances."
"That's great! You hear that- Koyomi?" Haruto said, noticing that the girl wasn't sitting next to him anymore. He looked, and saw her sneaking up from behind Principal Nezu, her hand outstretched to pat the rodent. "Koyomi! Don't pet the principal!"
"But he's so fluffy-looking..."
"Thank you for the compliment, Miss Koyomi! I've been using a new shampoo to get my fur nice and white!" Principal Nezu laughed.
"You have my thanks, Principal Nezu," the White Wizard said. "I promise you, Mr. Haruto and Miss Koyomi will be exemplary students in UA. And that we will find out the meaning behind the Sabbath, and handle the Phantom threat."
"I'll hold you to your word on that, Mr. White Wizard," Principal Nezu said. He stuck out a furry paw to shake hands with, and chuckled. " So I suppose I'll be seeing you within a few months, Mr. Soma! Welcome to, well, your general academia, I suppose."
"Thank you, sir," Haruto said, shaking Principal Nezu's paw.
"Seems a little unfair for you to have a meeting before officially enrolling-" Neito said, crossing his arms before Itsuka chopped him on the neck.
"Do not worry, Mr. Soma took the entrance exam for the General Studies course and passed with flying colors," Principal Nezu replied. "But I trust that you all understand the severity of the situation, and why it must be kept secret."
"B-But he's committing illegal activities!" Neito said, getting chopped on the neck by Itsuka and Setsuna, though that didn't deter him. "And they're saying that All Might can't beat one of these Phantoms? I find that-"
"Actually, that's how I came into this secret," All Might said, catching the teens' attention. "I was doing my patrols when I came across a Phantom chasing a Gate in an alleyway. I managed to get in between him and the Gate, but I found out that, despite my strength, I was unable to truly harm him. That was when Young Soma came on his motorcycle, and killed the Phantom."
The teens' eyes widened at the admission, but most of all Izuku's. All Might, Japan's Number One Hero, his mentor, wasn't able to beat a Phantom, even with his strength?
"I'll be honest, I was completely scared shitless that he was going to beat me up without letting me explain anything," Haruto admitted. "Luckily I had Principal Nezu on speed dial to explain everything."
"Still, I can't lie and say that I'm not frustrated about it all," All Might said, gritting his teeth. "The worst thing was that Phantom was a Lesser Phantom, the weaker type. To think that only Magic and Magic-imbued tools like silver have any effect..."
"W-Wait, there're types of Phantoms!?" Pony said, pulling down on her hair in shock.
"Yea!" Shunpei said, speaking before any of the others could. "The ones that're successfully freed are called Released Phantoms, and they're divided into Greater Phantoms and Lesser Phantoms! Greater Phantoms are the strongest but are few in number, while Lesser Phantoms are weaker but greater in number! Then there're the Inner Phantoms, which are Phantoms that form when a Gate starts to fall into despair, and they have to destroy the Underworld they formed in before becoming Released Phantoms! But the ones that Magic-users like Soma have are Enslaved Phantoms! It's thanks to overpowering them with hope that they can use Magic!"
"You... You really know a lot about Magic, huh?" Ochako said, as Shunpei snapped out of his explanation fit and covered his mouth in embarrassment. "So are you a Magic-user, too? You did say that you wanted to become a magician when we met earlier."
"O-oh, um... no," Shunpei said, rubbing the back of his head. "Actually, I... can't use Magic now, period."
"What do you mean?" Setsuna asked.
"Well, I was a Gate a few months ago, and the Phantom that went after me managed to get me to despair, so Soma had go to into my Underworld," Shunpei explained. "He had to destroy my Inner Phantom. And since you can only use Magic if you have an Enslaved Phantom, once it was destroyed, I lost the chance and ability to use it."
"Wait, really!?" Setsuna said. "That's so lame!"
"I know... but I'm glad that I was allowed to join this group! I learned so much about Magic thanks to this!" Shunpei said, perking up a bit. "And I'm sure that if I study Magic and experiment, I can figure out how to become a Magic-user without needing a Phantom!"
"So since I got mine destroyed, I guess I can't use Magic either," Rinko said, thinking back to it.
"That's correct," Haruto said, nodding.
"Either way, I'm just glad that there're ways to save Gates," Tsukauchi said. "Even if it's at the cost of using Magic, it's better than letting more Phantoms be created and Gates losing their lives."
"Yea..." Haruto said, before looking at all of the 1st years. "Listen, I get that you don't trust me or the fact that I'm a vigilante. It's something I've expected since becoming Wizard. But I'm not going to force you all to stay quiet about this. If you want to tell everyone in UA the truth about me and get me kicked out, I'm fine with it. I'm not that popular to begin with."
Tsukauchi narrowed his eyes as he listened to Haruto's words. The Magic-user was telling the truth, that he wasn't going to make them stay quiet or try to get him arrested.
"... I suppose that I can't fault you for your activity in light of what we've learned," Tenya said, closing his eyes and crossing his arms. "I'm not happy with this, but considering the circumstances, I'll keep this a secret."
"Yea, there's like, zero gain in telling this to people, so I'm in!" Setsuna said, putting her hands behind her head.
"My lips are sealed!" Pony added.
"You can count on me to stay quiet!" Ochako said, nodding vigorously.
"We won't be telling anyone either," Itsuka said, glancing to Neito. "Right, Monoma?"
"... Right, Kendo," Neito said, gritting his teeth.
"This is quite the secret, but I understand the importance," Momo replied. Everyone looked to Izuku, the last person to say anything.
"I... I just have one question for you, Soma," Izuku said, fidgeting in place for a bit. "Just... if you weren't Wizard, would you be in the Hero Course?"
"Nope," Haruto said immediately.
"But why-"
"I just want to be the best person I can be, and I don't think being a hero is really for me, or is necessary for that," Haruto said, shrugging. "I'm perfectly fine with just living my life the way I want. What I'm really passionate about is soccer. Believe it or not, UA's got a pretty good soccer team. In fact, they're pretty much some of the only people around here that're thankful that I'm not in the Hero Course, because I'm one of their best players."
"But don't you think that you have a responsibility since your Quirk's so-" Tenya began to say.
"Have you guys heard about Lady Naglant?" Koyomi said, cutting them off from saying anything more.
"You mean that former pro hero that killed another hero?" Setsuna asked. "What about her?"
"I did quite a bit of reading on some old hero news, events, and organizations to better acquaint myself with our hero society," Koyomi said, taking in a deep breath. "And Lady Naglant started off as a girl who decided to become a hero because she was specifically scouted by the HPSC for her powerful Quirk."
"So? What does-" Tenya said.
"So she began a hero, and was given task after task by the HPSC themselves, constantly fulfilling quotas after quotas to protect people," Koyomi stated. "Until finally, she snapped from the constant pressure she was put under by them, and when she did, she killed a fellow hero that was near her."
"Now tell me," she said, looking at them all straight in the eye. "Do you think that would've happened if she wasn't forced to become a hero because of her powerful Quirk?"
The teens in the room stayed silent, and Principal Nezu coughed into his hand. "Either way, I hope you all respect Mr. Soma's decision to remain in the General Studies Course, especially with his extracurricular activities as Wizard."
"Y-Yes, of course," Tenya said, coughing into his hand. "In any case, we'll keep this secret."
"And we'll help however we can!" Izuku added, nodding.
"Thanks," Haruto said, looking at the group. "I'll admit, I'm not entirely sure where we'll go from here. Not like I can get you all to become Magic-users, too. At least not without making you all face despair, which is definitely off the table."
"Actually, now that I'm thinking about it, are there any other Magic-users?" Ochako asked. "Are you really sure that there weren't other survivors of the Sabbath you were in?"
"The White Wizard did say in that, um... 'recording' that you are one of the few Magic-users in the world," Izuku said.
"Honestly, I'm not sure," Haruto admitted, shrugging. "When I came to, I was the only one there besides that Phantom, the White Wizard, and Koyomi. There might be other Magic-users, but as far as I know, I'm the only one."
"Regardless, that will be one of the things we'll discuss," Principal Nezu said, looking at them all. "Just how we'll handle assisting Mr. Soma, now that you all know about the truth."
Elsewhere, at an old abandoned office building.
"Feh, so Minotauros bit it, huh?" a young man said, as he sat on a table, one leg crossed. He was dressed in red, and had a thin mustache and goatee, with slightly shaggy hair.
"It's quite the shame, losing another Phantom to a Magic-user," a young woman said, making the young man scowl. She was tanned, wearing a white crop top, a long black skirt, and gold jewelry on her. Her hair was dusky brown, straight, and only barely touched her shoulders. "Especially since we're trying so hard to make new ones to begin with."
"If that was me, I would've-"
"Not this again, Phoenix," a young girl said, cutting him off. She appeared to be a high schooler compared to the young man and the young woman, was dressed in green, with quite the number of scarves around her neck, and long straight black hair. "The Wiseman told us to observe and decide which Phantom will be the best suited to bring the Gate to despair. All you'd do is just maul them to death."
"That's a stupid order, Medusa, and I-"
"Calm down, Phoenix. And stop antagonizing him, you two," an older man said, silencing the three. He was dressed in a gray tuxedo with a blue and gold striped tie. His jaw was square, and covered in a short, neatly combed and trimmed gray beard that connected to his equally neatly combed and trimmed gray hair. An image of Unicorn's face appeared over his temporarily. "It was simply a poor decision that we chose to have Minotauros go after that Gate."
"He was on the same police force as her. It's quite disappointing that that wasn't enough," Mummy said, shaking her head.
"Those meddlesome Magic-users... always getting in our way," Medusa said, frowning.
"It is quite bold for one of them to reveal themselves to those officers Minotauros was with," Mummy replied. "Now the police and heroes will come after him since they think he's a vigilante. That should at least slow him down from interfering with our plans."
"Indeed. But we mustn't let ourselves slack off, knowing that one of them will be occupied with avoiding the authorities," Unicorn said. "Because we shouldn't forget that there are other Magic-users out there, stalling our plans as well..."
Somewhere in Sendai
"- And that takes care of that Phantom!" a man said, dusting off his white gloved hands. On his right middle finger was a silver ring with a cyan gem with an engraved image of a card covered in wind. On his left middle finger was a silver ring with an octagonal navy blue gem with a V-shaped silver band running along it, though what was very noticeable was that he wore a second ring on it, a black cylindrical gem with a blue spade on it. He was dressed in navy blue, with white-trimmed armor that gave him the appearance of wearing an opened formal vest. The center of his torso had a white dress shirt-like stripe, and a red gem on his armor's collar that appeared similar to a bowtie. A blue cape with a red underside hung around his shoulders and connected to his 'bowtie'.
Around his waist was a belt that appeared similar to an automatic card shuffler, and a large black hand with white trim was on top of it. His helmet resembled the rings on his left hand, his face being the navy blue gem with a silver chin. The V-shaped silver band gave the impression that his helmet had a mustache with how low it was on his visor. On top of his helmet, was a black gem-like top hat, with a feather-like brim separating it from his head, and on the front side was a blue spade-shaped gem. "Not too bad of a performance this time, huh Trick?"
"Yep, Sleight! We sure showed that stupid Dwarf!" Trick replied. She was dressed in a hot pink strapless leotard that accentuated her wide hips and generous bust, with a big silver belt that had two hot pink-trimmed black hands on it that formed a triangle by connecting the tips of the thumbs and index fingers, with a yellow gem inside the triangle. Instead of exposed skin, however, her neck, arms, and legs were instead covered with black spandex with a fishnet pattern all over it. Around her wrists and ankles were hot pink bands, with hot pink gloves on her hands and hot pink wedges on her feet.
On her right middle finger was a silver ring with a coral gem with an engraved image of a figure stretching as if they were made of rubber. On her left middle finger was a silver ring with a hot pink star-shaped gem, with two pink protrusions on the side that appeared to be shaped like pointed rabbit ears, and two antler-like horns next to the top point of the star. Trick's helmet was shaped similarly to her left ring, with a silver faceplate between the bottom two points of the hot pink star, while the two side points of the hot pink star wrapped around and connected to the two rabbit-ear like protrusions, and two antlers came out of the bottom of the top point of the star. On the back of her leotard was a tuft of fur that resembled a rabbit's tail.
"That we did! Spectacular usage of the Stretch Trick Ring to keep him from digging into the ground," Sleight complimented, tipping his 'hat' off to her.
"And that was the flashiest Card Strike I've seen!" Trick returned. She pulled out a phone from nowhere, and started to look through her newsfeed.
"Yea, it's too bad that no one ever gets to see our performances," Sleight sighed, shaking his head. "Oh, what I'd give to be in the spotlight and-"
"Oh hey, some Magic-user's in the news," Trick said.
"What!?"
"Yea, it's that vigilante in Mustafu that they've been calling Wizard." Trick turned her phone towards Sleight, and showed him a blurry picture of another Magic-user fighting some Ghouls and a bull-like Phantom. "He apparently appeared in front of a troop of police to fight that Phantom, and they think he's killed some people with mutant-type Quirks 'cuz of the Ghouls he destroyed."
"I see... Say, Trick, what do you think about changing the stage?" Sleight said, tapping his chin in thought.
"Hm... where to, Sleight?" she asked, hands on her hips.
"I'm thinking Mustafu!"
"Sounds a like a good plan! Besides, word through the grapevine is that Phantoms have been appearing there more often recently!"
The two laughed as Sleight changed his right ring for another one, this one a cyan gem with the engraved image of a pegasus flying through a portal.
"Connect, Perform!"
A blue glyph formed in front of Sleight, and he reached in and pulled out a motorcycle with a sidecar. The motorcycle had a navy blue gem-like headlight, and feathered wing-like handguards. The sidecar had a hot pink star-shaped gem decoration on the front, with two back wheels and one front wheel.
"Come now, Trick! It's time for a change in scenery!" Sleight said, climbing onto the motorcycle.
"Hey, can I drive the Machine Featherer this time around?" Trick asked.
"Last time I let you drive it, you drove into a wall," Sleight reminded her.
"Hey, that was one time!"
"The time before that you drove us into Matsushima Bay."
"I just wanted a quick swim, that's all."
"And the time before that you drove into a person."
"That was a Phantom!"
"We didn't know whether or not if it was the Phantom or the Gate!"
"Fine, whatever, I'm just tired of being stuck in the Horn Hopper," Trick grumbled, climbing into the sidecar.
"I get it, but don't stay sad for too long, my dear! We'll be getting a new stage!" Sleight laughed, revving the engines. "After all, us performers have to keep smiling for the audience, even if our helmets hide our faces!"
"Hmph, you're right about that," Trick chuckled, as she swapped her right hand's ring for another coral gem ring, though this time the engraved image was that of a horned rabbit jumping through a portal. She slipped her hand onto her belt.
"Connect, Perform!"
A hot pink glyph formed in front of the two, and Sleight drove off through it before it disappeared.
In a forest in the Mie Prefecture
"Wow, really, Nico? There's a vigilante that they're saying uses magic?" a girl said, swinging her legs from the tree branch she was sitting on. She wore an opened purple jacket with silver trim and a fish scale-like pattern that stopped just below her bust, which was covered by a rounded silver breastplate that had a long purple gem shaped like a trapezoid, with the short end pointing down. A silver belt with a purple-trimmed black ring on the buckle and a round clear gem hung around her waist, holding up a purple skirt with silver trim and a fish scale-like pattern. On her feet were purple shoes with silver soles. She wore a formfitting black bodysuit that gave the impression that it was her skin, with black gloves on her hands.
On her right finger was a silver ring, with an engraved image of a mermaid swimming through a portal. On her left finger was a silver ring with a dark purple gem, that was shaped like a long trapezoid with the short end pointing down, with two orange semicircular gems on the purple gem's sides. The girl's helmet resembled her left ring with its long dark purple gem-like visor, while the orange gems gave her 'eyes'. On top of her helmet was a witch's hat, which had a long lavender veil attached to the inside, giving the girl the appearance of having long waist-length hair, despite wearing a full helmet.
In front of the girl was a crystal ball. It was projecting the image of another girl, who had short black boyish hair, yellow cat-like eyes, cat ears, a collar with a bell around her neck, and a gray tank top. "Yep, Witch! They're calling him Wizard, and they showed this picture of him using magic like you! See?"
Nico pulled out her phone, and showed Witch a slightly blurry image of said-Wizard that the police managed to take. Indeed, he was using the same kind of glyphs and rings that she'd use, and even had a similar belt, though his was a hand rather than her circle. "They want him apprehended since he destroyed those Ghouls, since they think that they're just people with mutant-type Quirks."
"So he exposed himself in front of all those officers? What an idiot," Witch grumbled, shaking her head.
"I don't know about that, the Phantom did attack those officers and warehouse workers in daylight, so it's not like he'd have a choice if he wanted to save them," Nico said, shrugging. "And it's not like he revealed that Magic's real to the world, They think that it's a super powerful glyph Quirk."
"True," Witch admitted. "And this on top of the sudden spike in the number of Phantoms around in Japan since a couple years ago."
"You think he's related to that?"
"Maybe. It's too early to tell," Witch said. She placed her right ring on the right half of her belt, and moved it in a complete circle over it.
"Connect, Brewing."
A purple glyph formed to her right, and she reached in and pulled out a broom-like spear from it. She stood up on the tree branch she was sitting on, and hopped onto it, sitting on it with both legs on one side. "I'll be going to Mustafu soon to meet this Wizard. But I'll make a few stops first and check some places that had Phantom sightings again. Call you later, Nico."
"Later, Witch," Nico said, as the image projected by the crystal ball disappeared. Witch grabbed the ball, and attached it to a chain that was hanging off her belt.
"Well, Ridescraper, it's time we hit the skies," Witch said to herself, taking off into the air.
In a cavern somewhere
A peculiar looking man walked around in the cavern before stopping at a basin of glimmering silvery water, surrounded by the light of candle flames. The man had white and silvery skin, with curving spikes and purple gems all over his body. His feet were pointed like jester shoes. He had no eyes on his face, and he had unmoving lips. "Hm, I can feel the pieces of this little game moving along quickly..."
The man heard footsteps in the cavern he was in, and saw a Phantom walking in. She was squirrel-like, with a large brown bushy tail, pointed ears, a mouth plate that resembled large buck teeth, yellow eyes, and fur lining her armor. "Ah, Ratatoskr, good to see you. I assume that Unicorn and the others have sent you to deliver me a message?"
"Indeed, Master Wiseman," Ratatoskr replied, nodding. "The Gate that was targeted by Minotauros was saved by the one known as Wizard. He had chosen to target her in broad daylight in front of police officers."
"Oh? So Wizard and Minotauros fought in front of police officers?" Wiseman said, intrigued. "So I assume that the public is aware of Magic and Phantoms now?"
"To an extent. It seems as if they believe that Wizard's Magic is a glyph Quirk, and that the Phantoms and Ghouls he has been fighting are just humans with mutant-type Quirks."
"I see... and I take it that Wizard destroyed the Ghouls and killed Minotauros in front of the officers? Does that mean that he's wanted by the police and pro heroes now?"
"Yes, but he only destroyed the Ghouls, sir. Minotauros managed to escape, but was killed by Wizard a day later in a park with only the Gate he was assigned."
"Well, that is to be expected. I imagine that the fact that the police and pro heroes want to apprehend him now will hinder him in his attempts to protect the Gates," Wiseman chuckled. "This should make it easier for us to convert them."
He placed his hand above the water basin he stood in front of, and moved it in a circle, humming to himself as he steadied his focus. An image of a group of teens appeared in the pool of water. An ash blond boy with red eyes was grumbling as he was followed by a boy with spikey red hair, a boy with blond hair and a black lightning bolt in his bangs, a girl with long earlobes that resembled earphone jacks, and a pink-skinned girl with horns.
"Hm?" Wiseman said, rubbing his chin. "Intriguing... Tell Medusa and the others that I have determined the next Gate."
"Of course, Master Wiseman," Ratatoskr replied. "What is the name of the Gate?"
"The Scrying Pool has told me that her name is Mina Ashido, a student in UA's Hero Course. Have them pick a Phantom suitable for her."
ORIGINAL AO3 NOTES:
- Here's the next of the pilot chapters I'm writing, this time a crossover of Kamen Rider Wizard and MHA!
- Gonna respond to a review I got on MSA on FFnet that I feel like needs to be addressed real quick: Don't ask me to insert someone else's OC into my stories if you're not the one that owns them. Any OCs I use (or unique identities like Izuku's KR Battler in BUAH!) will be wholly unique to me, though I can't promise that I won't end up making OCs that seem or sound identical to someone else's, since there's only so many tropes that I can draw inspiration from. And I will admit to when certain OCs are supposed to be references.
- Credit to DJWolf for inspiring me to make it so that Haruto, Koyomi, and Shunpei are UA students. Originally this was going to be a much more straightforward fusion of the first MHA chapter and the first Wizard episode. Would've definitely made it harder to justify the MHA teens interacting with adults. Also crediting him for suggesting that people assume that Wizard's prejudiced against mutant-type Quirks since people assume that Phantoms are just mutant-type Quirk users.
- Sorry if the video showing Haruto's win at last year's 1st Year Sports Festival comes off as very exposition-heavy. But the commentary in the canon Sports Festival was also pretty expository at points, so it's not like I went too far off course with that. I do feel bad that most of my first chapters contain a lot of exposition, if only because they're pilot chapters and I want to establish some of the ideas and rules on how I'm combining the shows.
- Also, I'm not sure how people are gonna feel about Haruto's Quirk being THAT great of a copying Quirk, though I feel like it's a bit justified, considering that in Super Taisen Z (whether you feel like it's canon or not) Sharivan calls him the most powerful magic-user on Earth. And since that was a crossover between Kamen Rider, Super Sentai, and Metal Heroes, that's including the Magirangers in that universe. And let me remind you that the Magirangers became strong enough to beat N Ma, a literal demon god. So yea, Haruto is super fucking strong if that's the case. Though I'll admit that I rarely consider any of the crossover movies to be 'canon', if only to avoid the headache of figuring out how each backstory fits in together.
- Setsuna's definitely referencing the Furinjis and Takehiko Hiyama. They sorta exist in this for now, but I'll decide later on if they'll actually play a role when/if I pick this story up.
- Unlike most cases, I chose to leave 'henshin' untranslated instead of using 'transform' for the belt, if only because 'Shabadoobie, Touch to Henshin' rolls off the tongue better than 'Shabadoobie, Touch to Transform'.
- I chose to make it that the Underworld sequences are in italics, since they're technically "past events".
- Do they accept that magic is real a little too easily and that this all basically happened in a day? Probably, but Rinko kiiiinda did too in KRWizard canon. And this is a pilot chapter, so I sorta had to sped that up a bit so that both sides get a little more acquainted with each other.
- The flashbacks aren't necessarily showing the thoughts that the characters are having, especially the last one with Principal Nezu. It's more for the benefit of the reader so that they can understand where Nezu's coming from more easily.
- Why're aliens allowed to be known in UHA but in SoH Phantoms and Magic are kept secret? Well, with aliens aren't human to begin with and there ARE a number that are violent, though peaceful ones exist, meaning that they can be reasoned with. But with Phantoms, they're all 'technically' human due to their Gates, and that there're no nonviolent Phantoms, meaning that there's no point in reasoning with them.
- I imagine that part of the coverup with Lady Naglant's killing the previous HPSC president was done with half-truths. Like yes, she DID 'snap' from the pressure of being given task after task by the HPSC, but they never mention that those tasks were assassinations.
- I decided to end with showing off the Wizard OCs I came up with for this story if I picked it up, since it might be a long time for them to come. I won't lie, I do think some of them might be similar to other magic rider OCs because of common tropes, but since I don't really go out of my way to look at KR OCs, I will say that they're not intentional. If you're worried about me introducing too many at once, don't. They'll make appearances slowly. This is just a taste of some of the ideas I have for them. And this isn't all of them, mind you. I have more, but I feel like I showed off enough. That, and because this was getting long enough.