Chapter 22: Secret Are Out, School's Back In
Ochako Uraraka knew that this night was just going to get worse.
Aside from the fact that she had to save Iida from getting murderized by Stain, there was also the fact that Nomus had decided to crash Hosu, and the fact that after their fight, which somehow included a new Quirk from One For All, Stain was gone.
Only to now appear on every jumbo screen in the country, beaten up and tied up, with All For One and the League of Villains right behind him. Wonderful.
"Hello, Heroes," All For One said, his voice being filtered through his mask. "Before we begin, I must thank you for luring out the Hero Killer for us. It's always so hard to flush out rats from where they're hiding. As evidenced by what happened tonight in Hosu, the combined efforts of the League's Nomus and the Heroes was just the thing we needed. Thank you for your help."
"Is he… taunting us?" Iida asked.
"I wouldn't put it past him," Todoroki hissed.
Endeavor and Ryukyu, meanwhile, kept their eyes fixed on the video.
"And now, the Hero Killer, Stain," All For One said, as he turned towards the captured Villain. "I've been doing quite the digging on you, and what I've found so far is interesting. Your real name is Chizome Akaguro, and you were so infatuated with Heroes in your younger years, you even enrolled in a Hero school as a teenager! Too bad you became so disillusioned…"
Ochako, alongside everyone else, was shocked to hear that. Stain used to be… a Hero hopeful? He was just like herself, or Bakugou, Shinso, Yui-chan… any of them?
"A shame, too. Imagine what could have happened if you stuck to your guns and became a Hero! I'm sure someone like you would have made many allies! Oh, well," the masked Villain continued. "Anyways, after realizing how the system skewed your understanding of what it meant to be a Hero, you advocated for the return of the early days of Heroes, but when nobody listened, you decided to spend the next decade of your life training to become a weapon."
"He spent ten years of his life doing that?" Manual gawked.
"Talk about dedication…" Yui-chan murmured.
"He's a monster…" Native whispered.
"Your focus is a return to the old days, when Heroes did not seek out compensation. You believed that today's Heroes were frauds, and that through your violent purges, society would side with you," the Quirk Thief said. "And to an extent, I agree with you."
That threw everyone who was listening to the broadcast for a loop.
"What," Endeavor deadpanned.
"I agree with the ideals, not the execution. I want a world where Heroes are Heroes and Villains are Villains, but killing Heroes won't solve that," All For One said. "I would have left you alone to figure that out on your own, but you did something that crossed the line…"
"You hurt Ingenium."
Ochako's heart froze when she heard that. It sounded so… wrong. A Villain that genuinely admired a Hero? And to go as far as to track down that Hero's assailant?
Looking around, she saw that everyone was staring at the screen with various degrees of shock, but the one who was affected the most… was Iida.
And honestly, who could blame him?
This entire thing sounded like some kind of sick joke, like something a prankster would come up with. This was All For One they were talking about, the same person who sicked a monster on All Might just to weaken him and then curbstomp the Hero into submission.
But… this was also the same person who told Ochako not to turn out like All Might, to rely on other people. Someone who, despite being called the literal Symbol of Evil, seemed to care an awful lot about Heroes, if this and the USJ was anything to go off of.
But why?
"Tensei Iida was a good Hero, a true Hero, and thanks to you, his career could have been cut short forever, all because he didn't live up to your standards," All For One said, his tone far less playful now. "Because of your actions, several Heroes who had the potential to do good things are now dead, all because they couldn't live up to All Might's capabilities and hype."
"What?!" Ryukyu shouted.
"This man is speaking nonsense…" Endeavor said.
"No," Todoroki disagreed. "I think he's onto something…"
"Oh, I know about your little schoolgirl crush on All Might, and how he's the only one worthy of killing you! But I know something about All Might that you don't…" the masked Villain said, in a sing-song tone. "He's an exception, not the norm. This society sees him as some sort of unshakable pillar, and they don't even know how close to retirement he truly is!"
"All Might… retiring…?" Manual gasped.
"Well, he is pretty old…" Nejire-senpai said.
The students of Class 1-A all looked at each other. They knew. They knew that it was only a matter of time before All Might retired, either due to his injuries, or his time limit.
And the Quirk Thief was this close to spilling the secret to the entire world.
"All Might comes in with that smile of his, reassuring the public that everything would be okay because he was here… I have to admit, it was effective back in the old days, when Villains ran rampant and society had no one to look up to. But so many decades later, and his desire for peace had gone awry. Complacency by other Heroes who are thinking, "Hey, All Might is doing all the work, why don't I just sit back and ride his coattails?" And the very few Heroes and government agencies who do try to reach All Might's level go about it in the wrong way."
Ochako didn't say anything, as she noticed Endeavor flinching, all while Todoroki sparing a glance at his father. Mount Lady also flinched, but for different reasons.
"The sad reality is, All Might will retire one of these days, and no one person will be able to fill the void he leaves. It'll take so many more Heroes to do so…" All For One said. "But that can't happen if you kill everyone who is not All Might, can it, Stain? Hmmm?"
"The truth of the matter is, Japan is a ticking time bomb. This era of peace has led to complacency, that complacency has created corruption, and that corruption is a means of control. When All Might is gone, this carefully stacked tower of bricks will come crashing down! And even if you managed to eliminate the right targets, Hero Killer, there would still be far too many false Heroes out there. While you have been out there nipping at the fingers of this titan, the League of Villains has gone straight for the head! The Hero Public Safety Commission!"
"The hell is he talking about?" Bakugou asked, staring at the billboard.
Shouta could already feel his phone vibrating in his pocket.
"I'm sure the HPSC did their best to cover it up, but the Heroes who were there know exactly what I'm referring to! During the UA Sports Festival, when everyone was watching these students be pitted against each other in obstacle races and cavalry battles, and so many of the highest-ranking Heroes were there to watch and guard the place, I orchestrated a plan for my League of Villains to infiltrate the HPSC headquarters and escape with something valuable: A hard drive containing every single dirty little secret of that little organization!"
"He can't be serious, right?" Shinso asked.
Emi wanted to say yes, but… she honestly had no idea.
"That's right! While Stain was busy paralyzing poor Ingenium from the waist down, my comrades laid siege on one of the best-guarded buildings in the entire Japanese government, escaping with the most delicious of rewards! A reward that I will be more than happy to share!"
"By the end of this transmission, every single bad policy, every single crime that they signed off on or ignored "for the greater good," and every single politician and journalist that was in bed with the Commission will be available to the public, right there on the internet!" All For One said, as he looked towards the Hero Killer. "And that, my friend, is how you change society!"
Stain remained motionless in front of the screen.
"Oh? Not listening, are we? Dabi, could you please snap him out of his funk?"
The black-haired woman nodded, as her palms ignited in blue flames, and –
"AAAAAIIIIIEEEEE!"
Ochako looked away, as did thousands of other people all over Japan. She didn't need her eyes to see what was going on. The screams were enough. But others, others watched.
Endeavor, Ryukyu, and several of the other Heroes in Hosu watched in silent horror as Dabi placed her lit hands on the Hero Killer's biceps, slowly burning them.
Iida and Todoroki watched as a man was essentially tortured in front of the entire world, his body squirming around, before they decided they had seen enough and turned away.
Nejire and Yui simply stared at the screen, neither of them showing any emotion.
By the time the screaming stopped, Ochako looked back to see that several parts of the Hero Killer's body were now black char, as the man that less than an hour ago was trying to kill her friends, had his eyes darting around the darkened room in terror now.
"Originally, I was planning on having Dabi simply burn your face off until you stopped squirming, but I think I'll be merciful and make this quick and painless on you," All For One said. "After I steal your Quirk, that is. I must say, it is quite the fascinating specimen."
Ochako and the rest of her classmates' jaws dropped at that. All For One seriously mentioned his ability to steal other peoples' Quirks like it was nothing?! Just how cocky was he?!
"He can steal other people's Quirks…?" Ryukyu whispered.
Endeavor's eyes widened. "He's the Boogeyman… of the Underworld…"
The One For All user watched in both horror and disgust as the Quirk Thief placed their hand on Stain's face, and let the power flow through him. "Done. That wasn't so bad, was it?"
"He's gotta be lying… he has to be!" Mount Lady shouted.
"No," Yui simply said. "He's not lying."
"Now then… for the final verdict."
"Hero Killer, Stain…" the masked Villain began. "Your goals were admirable, but your methods were heavily flawed. The only Hero you ever deemed "worthy" was All Might, a man whose time is running short. You tried to fix this broken society, yes, but you went about it the wrong way, killing random Heroes, and worse than that… hurting Ingenium. Don't worry, your goals shall live on through me, but you… you have been found guilty, and are sentenced to death."
SNAP!
The entirety of Japan flinched in shock and horror as they saw All For One place their hands on Stain's neck, and then twist. He made it look so easy… like opening a water bottle.
And with that, the ropes on Chizome Akaguro's body were let loose by the on-screen Kurogiri, with the corpse of the man once regarded as the Hero Killer slid down to the floor.
"Now with that done… it's time to move on to other business."
There was more?!
Ochako didn't want to fathom what else there could be.
"PEOPLE OF JAPAN!" All For One announced, his arms outstretched on the screen. "Have you been rejected by society? Discriminated against? Forced to be put in those little boxes based on who you are? Then join me! The League of Villains is now open for recruitment!"
"Whether you're someone who wishes to find a place to belong, have a desire to remake this rotten society, or simply think being a Villain is cool, we have a place for you! We shall be holding auditions for the best of the best Japan has to offer! So, come on down!"
"I am All For One of the League of Villains… signing off. Good night, Japan!"
As the video cut off, and all the screens in the area went back to normal, Ochako felt like throwing up. The only reason she didn't was due to still being carried by Ryukyu.
All For One had just played them. Again.
He had let loose his Nomus just to flush out Stain, letting the brown-haired girl and her classmates weaken him just enough so the League could capture and kill him.
This was just like the USJ all over again. He had won.
As Ochako felt herself lose consciousness again, she cursed her own weakness.
Toru Hagakure felt sick to her stomach.
She was hanging around in the main lounge of the Edgeshot's agency after a patrol (the Hero found her stealth skills impressive), when she saw Stain getting executed on live TV. She could feel her dinner coming back up, and immediately ran to the bathroom, letting it all out.
Ugh. Wonderful. Now, she had to go back to her room and brush her teeth, and get whatever vomit that might have touched her hair out of there. It was always a hassle to take care of her body, because she couldn't even fucking see it. Getting out of the stall, she saw…
…she saw a girl.
There was a naked girl in the bathroom with her. After a few seconds of freaking out, Toru noticed that she was only in the mirror. Braving a closer look, she saw that the girl had some weirdly-colored hair, with most of it being a light green, but there were also patches of blue, pink, yellow, and maybe a couple of other colors. But that wasn't even the weirdest thing.
Her eyes were even weirder than her hair. They were a mix of blue and yellow and green, almost like she had multiple irises within a single eye. She tried to touch the girl… only to end up touching the mirror… and now realizing that Toru could see her own skin.
Oh my God, she realized. That's my reflection.
"Okay… let's see if we can somehow make a play with the cards we've been given."
Nedzu wouldn't have told anyone, but honestly, he could really use a cigarette right about now. Tea wasn't going to cut it, especially after the recent shitshow.
Across every single channel, on every jumbo billboard, and on every screen, the message the League of Villains had sent after their attack on Hosu had appeared. Millions of people watched as All For One basically announced the world that he was real and that he returned.
Despite the government's best efforts, every time they attempted to take down the video, someone kept reuploading the recording onto the internet. Whether it was the League themselves or just some edgy asshole, it was anyone's guess, Nedzu included.
The bigger problems at the moment were threefold: One, the League had exposed the cracks within Heroics, as they did as promised, and posted every single dirty little secret the HPSC had after their stream. If it was in any other circumstance, Nedzu would have been overjoyed.
Two, they called out both Stain and All Might. While calling out the extreme fundamentalist wouldn't have been that big of a problem, All For One went and said that Stain's ideals had some merit to them, even if the way he went about them was wrong. And to top it off, he just went and insinuated that All Might was getting old and would soon retire.
Even if that was untrue (as much as Nedzu wished it was untrue), the issue wasn't whether or not All For One told the truth, but whether or not the public believed him. And given that he delivered on his promise to show the figurative HSPC black book, it meant that everything else he said couldn't simply be ignored as flat-out lies. Which included the idea of the "Era of Peace" now being a festering ground due to complacency and general corruption.
And three, and the biggest issue of them all… All For One had now given the Villains a symbol to unite under once more. He showed up out of the shadows, claiming responsibility for several massive attacks, murdered the feared Hero Killer on screen after taking the man's ideology for himself, and then announced to the world that he was now hiring. Essentially, he removed his competition, and told the rest of the Villain world it was either his way or the highway.
At the moment, all Nedzu could do now was call a meeting with every personnel he had available to him to discuss how to move forward after this. Those included the UA faculty, including both the Aizawas, All Might, Gran Torino, and even Sir Nighteye.
"Nighteye, give it to us straight…" Ms. Joke said. "How bad is it with the HPSC?"
The thin man nodded at the green-haired woman's request, and began reading through the files. "It all but confirmed that Lady Nagant was used by the HPSC as a hitman before she grew conscious. She also killed the last President of the organization, and the murder of a fellow Hero was their way to cover it up. And from the looks of it, Hawks has the potential to be another Nagant, given that the HPSC essentially bought him as a child from his mother."
"This is all kinds of fucked…" Present Mic whispered.
"Unlawful detainment and torture, political murder, covering up Hero sandals…" Nighteye listed off. "We even have a list of every single Hero that the HPSC ever contacted for anything."
"So… how many Heroes are completely clean?" Eraserhead asked.
"The term "clean" is a bit of a generalization. It's more like multiple shades of gray, getting progressively more dark with every deed done. But if you're asking how many current Heroes are completely "white," excluding everyone in this room, it would be… around two hundred."
Fuck.
"I know I wasn't here for long, but still… thank you."
Ochako was standing outside of Ryukyu's building, with the Dragoon Hero standing across from her. Her costume was in her suitcase, her uniform on her, ready to head out.
The good news was that, after being taken to the nearby hospital, the doctors confirmed that neither her nor Todoroki suffered anything too serious. Iida had the most damage, but a few minor surgeries would be able to repair his arms, something he was grateful for.
Another thing her spectacled friend was grateful for was his older brother's recovery.
As it turned out, the night before Hosu went up in flames, Tensei Iida somehow had a miraculous recovery, able to both feel and move his legs again. The morning after All For One's broadcast, he was released from the hospital, but not after visiting Tenya.
The older one scolded the younger one, but both were glad the other was alright. Tensei even let Tenya keep the "Ingenium" name, which caused the younger Iida to cry.
Ochako couldn't help but smile at the sight, even if she had a sneaking suspicion that All For One was behind it. He had mentioned Tensei in his broadcast, and the older Iida's miracle recovery couldn't have just been a coincidence. Speaking of All For One…
The released files on the HPSC ended up causing all of the Hero industry to grind to a halt. The agency responsible for overseeing the Heroes was now attacked from all sides, from the public, to even the Prime Minister, and every other group in between.
Despite it happening less than twenty-four hours ago, Principal Nedzu had called back every student back to UA amidst the chaos, as the adults tried to sort this all out.
Their internships were over, even if the week itself wasn't done.
"I don't think you have any reason to thank me," Ryukyu said honestly. "Even if the public can't know about it, you and your friends managed to hold your own against Stain."
"Yeah, but that's only because you and Nejire-senpai pushed me!"
"She's got a point there, you know," the blue-haired girl said, surprising Ochako.
"WHERE THE HECK DID YOU COME FROM?!"
"Oh, I was patrolling around the area," she said. "Even if your internships are canceled, my work studies are still going on. But, I'll definitely be seeing you at UA again soon!"
"Great," Ochako said, gritting her teeth. "I can't wait for that..."
Ryukyu chuckled at that, before she said, "Uravity. You'll always be welcomed here."
Ochako gave her mentor a soft smile and bowed. "Thank you."
Coming back to UA was greeted with far less fanfare than there should have been.
Internships were called off earlier due to what happened in Hosu with All For One's message, and everybody in the Hero Course was back in class by the end of the week.
Of course, there were some interactions between everyone, but it wasn't anything really major. The most was Asui talking about what she did during her internship with Selkie.
Well, that was the case, until…
"Hey, guys! Glad to see you're all safe!"
Ochako, along with everyone else in the class, turned to see a girl their age, wearing a UA uniform. Short, light-green hair with some extra colors added into the mix, like pink and yellow, with her eyes looking even more bizarre, a mix of blue, green and yellow.
"Uhh, who are you?" Kirishima asked.
"What?! You don't recognize me? It's me, Toru!"
"What?! Hagakure?!" Sero gawked. "That can't be right!"
"Indeed," Tokoyami agreed. "Who are you truly?"
"No, seriously, it's me! Watch!" Suddenly, the girl disappeared, leaving only a floating uniform, before coming back again. "See? I figured out how to turn on and off my Quirk!"
"Seriously? That's great!" Ojiro exclaimed.
"Wow, your Quirk's got a new feature?" Sato asked. "That's neat."
"She isn't the only one."
Everyone looked towards the resident quiet girl.
"Did your Quirk also improve, Kodai?" Jiro asked.
Yui quietly shook her head, before pointing towards… "Occhan."
"Seriously?!" Ashido shouted. "What is it, what is it?!"
"Oh, you mean those weird tentacles?" Todoroki said.
"Tentacles?" Sero repeated. "Is that some new feature of One For All?"
"Uhh, I think so?" the brown-haired girl said, as she felt everyone's eyes on her. "I did have some weird dreams about the past wielders and their Quirks, so…"
"Oh. So, your Quirk's haunted," Shinso summarized.
"Shinso! Do not make light of such a subject!" Iida chastised him.
"On behalf of UA, we're sorry that your internships had to be cut short," Yagi-sensei said, as he bowed towards the class, before softly smiling. "That being said, it's time to return to basic training. For today, we're going to be conducting a little race. Take everything you've learned from your limited time at your internships and apply it to this rescue training."
Even while not All Might, Yagi-sensei makes me feel at ease…
As Ochako smiled fondly at the sight of her mentor after a hellish week of not being at UA, Iida was busy raising his hand. "If it's rescue training, shouldn't we be at the USJ?"
Everyone else shuddered at the memories of Gran Torino lurking there last time.
Yagi, meanwhile, ignored that as he said, "Ah, that facility specializes in disasters. As I said earlier, this is a race. You're about to step into Field Gamma. Inside is an area of factories that form an intricate labyrinth. You'll be competing in groups of five. Each person starts in a different location on the outskirts of the model city. I'll send a distress signal, and you do what you must to rescue me! Whoever reaches me first, wins. Alright, the first group is…"
Ochako didn't know how she would go about this race.
Originally, just using One For All to jump around and Zero Gravity to make herself lighter would have been a perfectly viable strategy to make it to Yagi-sense, but now…?
"Prepare yourself… you'll have six more Quirks manifest as you improve!"
Six Quirks. She needed to figure out how to use Blackwhip without that thing going haywire now, if she didn't want to get overwhelmed by the rest of these powers. She needed to be able to use each and every one of them if she wanted to stand a chance against All For One.
BWAAA!
The alarm suddenly went off, as the brown-haired girl snapped into attention and blasted off with a nice fifteen percent from One For All. As the pink lightning followed behind her. On her left, she could see glimpses of Sero and Shinso, and on her right, Bakugou and Asui.
She could easily win this if she just did what she was doing now, but… she couldn't.
This was a chance for her to use her new Quirk, and she had to take it.
"...you were dead set on stopping that Stain dude from killing anyone, it was all you could think about! It just so happened that the best Quirk for that was Blackwhip, which belonged to me!"
She knew what triggered Blackwhip's activation. She needed to see something, and grab it. Seeing a nearby pipe, Ochako lifted up her arm, concentrated, and –
WRAP!
Blackwhip came out of her hand, reaching all the way through the air, and sticking onto the pipe, dragging her along with it! She did it. She actually figured out how to use this power –
BAM!
As Ochako slid down from the wall, she reminded herself that, next time she used this power, she would make sure to let go before she slammed herself into a building.
In the end, first place went to Katsuki, with Sero coming in a close second.
"Congratulations!" Yagi-sensei said, giving him a reward sash.
"Uh, thanks," the ash blond said, reluctantly putting it on.
"Uraraka, are you all right?" Shinso asked.
"Just a bruised nose. Nothing Recovery Girl can't fix."
"Young Bakugou may have come in first, but compared to the start of the year, you've all shown me some incredible improvements," Yagi said, his thin smile still on his face. "Keep working and preparing for your upcoming Final Exams, and I'm sure you'll all do great!"
""SIR!"" they all shouted, before heading out. Even when not in his buff form, All Might managed to make Class A feel grateful he was their teacher.
Maybe I can ask Sero for some advice? Ochako thought to herself as she began to walk away. His tape does seem to work the same way as Blackwhip…
"Ah, young Uraraka… please come see me after today's class."
Whispering All Might? That meant it was serious.
"So… it's a previous wielder's Quirk," Yagi-sensei said, as he made himself some tea. "You've been having strange dreams… and One For All itself is evolving…?"
"Yeah, I was quite surprised," Ochako admitted, as she drank from her cup. The last time the two of them were in this room was back before the Sports Festival. "Back during the first day of UA, I thought it was just something I saw while under Shinso's mind control."
That wasn't so long ago, but given everything that has happened… It felt ancient.
"Did you know about this? About the dark energy and the person I spoke to?"
"I never heard of either of them before. The person who held the Quirk before my master was a young man with black hair. I don't think she knew about the other Quirks living inside One For All either…" Yagi admitted. "I can safely say this is uncharted territory for everyone."
"The man I talked to said that "now was the time," so… maybe it has something to do with what's going on in the world?" Ochako theorized. "Maybe about All For One coming back?"
"It's something I've thought of. At any rate, we have to know more about this power," Yagi said. "I'll look through some old records, you make sure you can control it. You've still got the Final Exams coming up, so you'll need to work hard to make sure you're ready for anything."
"Right!"
"She escaped from you?"
"Rrr… she spotted us and ran towards some Nomus. Used them as living shields. By the time we were done with them, the Heroes had arrived, and we needed to retreat."
Kai Chisaki sighed in exasperation. He should have known that Megethos was smart enough to use her surroundings to her advantage. She was one of All For One's closest confidants.
"So, what are we gonna do about it?" Chimera asked.
"We're going to try… a different approach."
Author's Note: Next time, we've got zombies! No, seriously.
So! A lot has happened in this arc! Uraraka has access to Blackwhip, the League has bumped off both Stain and the Hero Commission, and our real big bads have officially made their first semi-official appearance! Let's see how the comments like all this…
KnightmareLord: Sorry for cutting it off when it was getting good for you, I gotta keep a consistent chapter rate! Anyways, I hope you liked this conclusion! Until next time!
VinHD15: I think I vaguely remember seeing something about the Phantom Thieves appearing on a billboard, but if they did, it would be in a completely different context then why Stain was up there. Though, I guess the joke you made was kinda funny? I dunno.
threeque: Okay, small mistake. The "Chimera" I was referring to in the last two chapters was actually referring to monstrous Chojuro Kon, the Villain that was working for Nine during the Heroes Rising movie. Anyways, I'm super happy to see you bringing this. I do hope you read up on Dungeon Crawlers after this (maybe you'll be able to comment in time for the next chapter), or any of the other several stories I have written!
Anyways, as you probably know, I have also made a Twitter account to post my art, so if anyone is interested in checking it out, /ErnaloreProf is the link.
If you want more content, visit my Discord, the link is /3PFYSt8Dqz. You can chat with others, post memes, fanfic recommendations and prompts, role play, fan art, and we even have a writer's corner now! I'll also drop by with announcements and chat with you all every now and then! Also, if you want to add me as a friend, my username is Ernalore#8663! Just please make sure to follow the rules.
Thanks for reading, and once again, see you next time!
- Ernalore