19/03/2024
Thank you to everyone who reviewed, you are the greatest!
The Emperor's Dragon
Dragon 3 - Quirkless Heroes
"We could just attack the Commission buildings," Twice suggested into the silence.
"That's got some possibilities," Dabi agreed, a little too eagerly.
"It does, but we'd have to do it in such a way we weren't declared terrorists," Izuku said but he was nodding. "In fact, we could do it as a couple of attacks. A warning and then something harder. The only thing is… I don't think attacking the Commission building will actually do anything."
"The symbolism," Mr Compress told him.
"That would be powerful," Izuku admitted. "I think it would make an even greater impression if we announced it first. If the heroes can't protect what is essentially their central headquarters, then how can they protect anyone else?" he asked rhetorically.
He thought about it for a few more minutes. "Though would it be enough?" Izuku asked.
"What do you mean?"
"I don't think just attacking their headquarters will be enough to get the message across. It should be obvious though. If you need a Commission to ensure public safety from something, then doesn't that suggest that something is doing it wrong?"
That got him a chuckle.
"It has to be more widespread," Izuku considered sadly. The wider a conflict, the more innocent people got dragged into it but… on the other hand, people needed to be involved to make sure things changed. It was a delicate balance. .
"We could attack parliament?"
"I think that would get us called terrorists," Izuku countered. "But it might be something we do in time," he allowed as he looked around. "Before considering that though, I think we have a bigger issue."
"Really?" Himiko asked.
Izuku nodded. He pointed at Dabi and moved his finger around as he counted. "One, two, three, four, five and six," Izuku said, pointing at himself. "Plus a few," he acknowledged. "I have no doubt we can take out a lot of heroes, but I want to see what comes after."
"Twice's quirk will help but-" he shrugged. The problem was obvious.
"We need more manpower," Mr Compress said as Izuku gave him a nod.
Izuku was watching the group so he saw the consideration on Twice's face. "I may be able to help with that," the man indicated. "Not with my quirk," he clarified.
Izuku gestured that he should continue, before handing the last of his snacks to Himiko when she looked at them. He gave her a smile. Just having her here was helping.
"How much do you know about the Yakuza?" Twice asked.
"Didn't they die out in the pre-quirk era?" Whisper asked.
"Mostly," Twice said. "But they are still around."
"So? They can't be doing anything or the Heroes would have got them," Dabi muttered.
""Probably not," Mr Compress agreed. "But they are people who would most likely want to see Heroes gone," he added.
"Do you know any of them?"
Twice nodded.
"It's definitely worth meeting them," Izuku decided. "Can you get in touch with them and organise a meeting?" he asked.
Again the blond nodded.
"Thank you," Izuku said. "There's one other thing I would like you all to think about," he added, looking around.
"What is it, Izu?"
"You all have versatile quirks and you know how to use them to best effect but if we are going to take on the Hero Public Safety Commission and all the top heroes, then we are going to need to be flexible with the way we use them. And, there are weaknesses with every quirk."
"Not yours!" Dabi said.
"Mine has weaknesses," Izuku countered. "It takes energy to use a quirk," he explained. "And everyone can train themselves to use their quirk so that it seems as if they don't get tired but they are still using energy. If I use multiple quirks then I'm using the energy equivalent to that. And I don't have any energy stockpile quirks, so I get tired quickly." It was perhaps a mistake to tell them his weakness but being vulnerable was a part of how you built trust.
"What are you saying?" Twice demanded.
"I want you to think of ways to counter your weaknesses," Izuku told him.
"With a quirk?" Dabi asked.
"With a quirk," Izuku confirmed but silently he was also advocating for support equipment. It would be a test to see if they'd think of that. Quirks weren't everything in this world. He'd learned that well. "If we can find a single quirk which would counter your weaknesses, then if you are willing, I am willing to have you acquire that quirk," he told them.
"That won't help us," Whisper objected. "Taking a quirk from someone will make them hate us," she explained.
"They can be copied, without the original owner knowing," Izuku explained but the act of talking about this reminded him of something Doctor Garaki had said. His father had collected quirks for him to use, but the Doctor had never given them to him. Izuku had no doubt those quirks would help him and if he was to go forward with any plan, then he'd need those quirks.
"Oh!" There was some surprise.
"Think about it," Izuku advised them. "It's not compulsory, but it could be an option."
Dabi looked thoughtful. "It is something to think about," he agreed.
"That's all I can ask," Izuku said as he got up. "While it's early, my sleep has been mucked up, so I am going to take advantage of the quiet and sleep," he told them all.
There were various nods and some agreement. They hadn't been sleeping well in the warehouse and the opportunity to sleep in private was going to be appreciated tonight.
-ted-
Toru Hakagure had been so happy to get into UA. She'd worked her behind off in the last year of Middle School studying and making sure she could pass the entrance exam. She'd prepared as best as she could for the physical part of the exam and somehow, she'd passed and gotten into Class 1A.
For about 4 hours.
It had taken her that long to be expelled.
That had hurt. She'd done her best on the physical tests, and she'd know she had to get stronger but… wasn't that what she was at UA for? She'd tried to have some comradery with Mineta, who had been expelled with her, but the bastard had told her he wasn't interested 'cos he couldn't see her tits.
It was the smallest consolation that she'd done better than that prick.
But she had still been expelled… And being expelled from UA pretty much meant no other hero school would take you.
Her parent's had managed to get her into high school as a late entry but…
It was hard. It was so hard going. Everyone wanted to know what had happened. She'd tried to explain that her teacher had expected something she couldn't provide but- Everyone listened and said the right things, that he'd done it before. That Aizawa was known for that, and that she wouldn't be the last but- she knew about the way people said things without actually saying them. And since no one knew exactly where she was looking, she saw the looks people gave her when… well, they couldn't know she wasn't looking but when they thought she shouldn't be able to see them.
The ones of contempt were easy to understand. The pitying ones were the worst.
But that was going to change.
While she had been expelled, she'd followed what the class had been doing. There had been so many things to follow and she'd been so scared for them at times. Now though…
She clicked to EweTube again and pulled up the video. It was of Daiki Yaoyozoru's interview. She'd already watched it multiple times and it wasn't like he said anything directly applicable to her but it was the impression. He was willing to work with Mitei Chui to see to it that the teen wasn't prosecuted as a villain, so long as he gave the quirk's back.
No one had heard so much as a peep from Mitei in the weeks following that interview. Which meant there was an opportunity.
Toru had no idea where Mitei was, but she thought she might be able to find out. She couldn't turn her quirk off, so no one complained she was using it. But it meant she could use it to find out where Mitei was and no one could accuse her of abusing her quirk. Taking advantage of it, yes, but illegal use, no.
That wasn't really the point. The point was that no one knew where he was, but she could look. It was not going to be an easy task but… what else was she going to do? She went to school and did her homework but that hardly took up all her time. And this…
If she found Mitei, or something that could lead to him, then… Toru licked her lips… She could ask for a reward and while she'd like to ask to be re-enrolled in UA, she knew Aizawa would just expel her again, so instead, she'd ask for an enrolment in another hero school.
She was going to be a hero. It was just going to take some negotiation and dedication on her part. Nothing worthwhile was easy but… she'd show Aizawa she was the perfect material for an underground hero when she found Mitei and by then, it would be too late.
Her reputation would go to another school.
But where to look first?
Daiki had said it, Mitei had a tie to the villain All Might had fought and that had been in a warehouse district. There were also rumours going around that the various monsters that had been appearing were artificially created. She didn't know much about that but Toru figured you'd want space for that, so it made sense that the villain was in the warehouse district.
And it was far better for her to search warehouses than bars. There were too many shady bars for her to realistically check but warehouses… Those she could check. So, that's what she was going to do and when she found something…
Toru smiled. She was pretty sure the HPSC would find her request reasonable.
-ted-
Shouto sat and sipped his tea. He wasn't even aware that tea houses had private rooms but Momo had told them to meet here. She'd invited everyone and they were sitting around the table in various states.
Iida looked nervous but he knew what to do in this setting, far better than Kaminari, Kirishima and Bakugou did, though Bakugou was doing an admirable job of fitting in. He was surprising like that.
At length, Momo put down her tea cup and sighed softly. Shouto got the impression that there was some sort of expected social nicety that they had no idea about. "What do you think of the training opportunity?" she asked them.
Ah that explained the private room, though their notoriety was also attracting attention, so it could have been that.
"It is interesting," Tenya said diplomatically.
Nezu had extended their time off to adapt to the lack of their quirks, though the Principal had insisted that they still attend class. The non-heroics one anyway. They couldn't fall too far behind. Then the Principal had come to tell them that they could be included in some sort of interschool training event. Except it wasn't an event, it was more like they were creating a special, dedicated course for up and coming heroes.
The Principal hadn't told them much. He didn't need to. They could think for themselves. It was obvious that the course was going to prepare them to fight Izuku Midoriya.
"I'm going for it," Bakugou growled. "I'm gonna beat the shit out of that villain," he assured them.
No one bothered to point out that his arm was still in plaster, and some other, very minor villains had beaten him up. One was still awaiting formal sentencing. Nor did they bother to point out that Izuku Midoriya had fought them all together, and still won. At least some of that was because he'd taken their quirks but- He wasn't an easy foe.
Shouto looked at Kaminari and Kirishima, making it clear that he wouldn't object if they answered first. There were a lot of social niceties he wasn't aware of but that was one he'd actually managed to perfect. And right now, he didn't know what to say. He didn't know how to tell someone he had his quirk back.
He knew what it would look like. There was no way to escape the fact that it would look like he was now in league with Izuku Midoriya. This group might not immediately think that. Bakugou would probably want to know how it had happened, and then demand to know why he hadn't beaten up Izuku. The others…
It was going to come out. Shouto knew that. He couldn't keep it a secret forever, but- How did he tell people that he had his quirk back because someone else had paid the price? Who would believe that? He could also say it was because Izuku just decided to give it back but that was even more unbelievable.
"I'm not sure," Kirishima admitted, sounding reluctant. "It's a good opportunity but-" He swallowed and looked at Kaminari.
"We're not sure how we can help with that, given what has happened."
"Because we're quirkless," Kirishima elaborated.
"I'm not going to be quirkless forever!" Bakugou growled.
Shouto got the impression he wanted to shout but knew better.
"I will be trying," Tenya said. "I have to," he added.
"Your family?"
The tall teen nodded. "To uphold the family tradition, I will go into heroics," Tenya told them. "I may not be able to be a really well ranked hero, but, with the right support equipment, I can be a hero."
"I'm gonna be the best, you wannabe elite!" Bakugou growled.
Tenya ignored him. "That's why I'm going to help on this activity," he said, referring to the event Nezu had told them of. "If I can help bring in Izuku Midoriya then-" He sighed but didn't finish.
Shouto knew what he was going to say. If Tenya could do something, and get noticed bringing in Izuku Midoriya, then even though he still hadn't graduated, it would cement his reputation as a hero and that would establish his brand for another generation of Iida's.
"What about you, Momo?" Shouto asked. He still didn't want to say what he'd do.
"My parents have already suggested several roles within our companies," she said with a sigh.
Shouto got the impression she wanted to say something else but felt that now wasn't the time. "If you don't do this, what will you do?" Momo asked Kirishima and Kaminari.
"I was going to go into General Studies," Kaminari admitted. "I don't think I'm smart enough to be a quirkless hero."
"You'd do fine!" Momo tried to comfort him.
"No, go to General Studies, Fuzz Brain. All of you go to General Studies and just wait for me to get your quirks back. 'Cos it's not like you are going to get them back yourself."
"Does anyone know if Honenuki and Shoji have been invited?" Shouto asked.
"Not yet," Momo told him. "But Nezu said they will be. What about you?"
"I will be going," he said. His father hadn't said anything about it, but Shouto knew what Endeavor would have said. It would have been along the lines of him needing to go show the other heroes what the future number one hero looked like. Endeavor hadn't said anything because he still thought his quirk was with Izuku Midoriya. It was… a difficult situation.
Momo nodded. "What do you think of the plan?"
The Principal hadn't told them a plan but again, it was obvious. By bringing the best hero students from around the country together, they were going to make a fighting force.
"I just need my arm healed and I'll kill him!"
Shouto had known Momo for a while and so knew her expressions. She wasn't going to invite Bakugou next time, not if he was going to be unrealistic.
"I believe it is a good opportunity to develop contacts and bonds to use in professional life," Iida said. "And it will be a way of-" he sighed. "There may be an opportunity to get our quirks back," he added.
At that Kaminari and Kirishima looked up, as if they hadn't thought about that. "That's true," Kirishima murmured.
If the group encountered Izuku, and brought him in then, that could be a possibility. Shouto didn't think it was going to be that easy but… It was not for him to say.
"Yeah, that's true," Kirishima said louder and gave them a smile. "I think I'll go with it then," he said.
"Me too!" Kaminari said, with a note of hope in his voice. He still wasn't sure but… he'd be willing to try.
Momo smiled. "I'm glad to hear it," she said. "It will be difficult but I think we can make a difference," she added.
Shouto swallowed. Just so long as the difference they made wasn't as an object lesson to the others, then it would be okay. Except…
He really couldn't see how they'd help. Not in a meaningful way, not in a way they'd be satisfied with but, right at the moment, all they could do was try.
-ted-
My discord is on this code: TcBnRN7aDn FFN will remove links but you should be able to figure that out. There's a heap of other authors there, so come along and chat to us all! Not just about MHA.
YouTube Audio is here! For chapters 1 and 2. 3 and 4 will be loaded on the weekend. Link in my profile.
-ted-
Loved it? Hated it? Found a spelling mistake? Let me know please!
