28/09/2024

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The Emperor's Dragon
Dragon 55 - Catching Up

"So how do we find a Tartarus Guard?" Atsuhiro murmured to himself.

The answer was actually quite simple. They could simply go to the Tartarus Island and track the guards as they left their shift. The guards usually did a month on, two weeks off style shifts so that shift would be long but… those two weeks would be a good amount of time to collect information both about them, and potentially from them.

In theory that was easy. In practice it was quite difficult. A few minutes of research had informed them that the guards were not allowed to get drunk, and were monitored even when they were offsite. So if they got particularly stressed then… And without knowing how they were monitored, it was impossible to tell if they could circumvent the monitoring.

"Getting a guard is easy," Dabi echoed Atsuhiro's thoughts. "Getting them to talk is the trick."

"Bribery?" Twice suggested. The man was experimenting with his quirk and had left a copy with them to contribute to the discussion. Atsuhiro wasn't entirely sure what was going on with him but knew he'd come to some sort of conclusion during the battle with Dragon.

"That could take a while to find someone susceptible," Dabi observed before he huffed. "What are we doing going after Tartarus anyway?" he asked grumbling.

"Dragon wants his father out," Atushiro told him.

The way Dabi rolled his eyes was telling. So… he had daddy issues.

"The man would be helpful," he observed.

There wasn't much the fire villain could say to that. He hadn't really seen Dragon's father fighting, though he had seen the playbacks. Having someone who could throw All Might around would help. And the man obviously had a lot of experience and… If Dragon was happy obeying his father then that really didn't change the plan. It would probably enhance the plan actually.

"I wonder if Dragon has the right quirks to simply make one of them tell us?" Twice asked. He didn't appear to be listening to them.

"Yeah, he does. Yakuni said he had a copy of Confession," Dabi reminded the other man.

"That gets them to talk but doesn't stop them talking," Atsuhiro pointed out. "I think that might be our best chance," he said slowly. "Himiko could impersonate one of the guards, but I don't think she'd get through security, so that's out."

Dabi sat back, leaning back his chair as he put his feet on the table. "How much do we really have to know?" he asked, as if he'd just thought of something.

"What do you mean?" Atsuhiro asked though Twice was also interested.

"How much do we really have to know about Tartarus?" Dabi questioned again. "He's gonna use those monster Nomu and they aren't exactly subtle. So we aren't going for an infiltration here."

"Ah," Atsuhiro nodded his understanding. That was true. "There are a few things we must learn," he said as he considered the problem.

"Such as?" Dabi asked belligerently.

"What happens to the prisoners if there is an assault?" Atsuhiro replied. "For all we know, Tartarus has approval to execute all of them as soon as there is trouble," he pointed out. There was no need to say how that would be bad. He held up one hand. "I agree, we are likely to be using brute force to get through most of the defenses but if we can learn about those defenses, then it would be prudent to prepare for them."

"Then if we can't bribe one of the guards, we should interrogate one."

"What do heroes know of Tartarus?" Atsuhiro asked. He meant the question to be one for consideration.

"Enough to be questioned," Dabi replied immediately.

The way Atsuhiro looked at him was enough of a prompt for more information.

"They can visit Tartarus to question villains," Dabi explained.

"Then… that could be a way in," Atsuhiro murmured. "Though… why can't Kurogiri simply open a warp gate?"

"Not possible," Twice told him immediately.

"Why not?"

"We don't know which cell he is in, and there are sensors for quirk use everywhere," the man said, sounding scared of them.

"So the sensor's would detect Kurogiri and-" Dabi made a cutting motion across his throat.

"Yes," Twice nodded. He stared for a few moments, before he reached back and pulled on his mask.

"So we'd have to figure out how to turn off those sensors," Dabi huffed.

"Most likely," Atsuhiro agreed.

"This is gonna be a pain," Dabi groaned.

"Yes, but think of the gain," he pointed out.

If they did this then there would be consequences and while some would fall on them, others would fall squarely on the heroes and the HPSC. Tartarus was meant to be unassailable. If they could show it could be defeated then…

Dragon's father's fight against All Might had encouraged the underworld. The man had shown that the top hero was not perfect, was not invincible. Yes, he'd lost but the underworld had seen he was in bad condition himself. It gave them hope that All Might could be defeated. And then if they broke into Tartarus, that would show, very clearly, that the system was failing.

It wouldn't be the act that brought down hero society but it would put cracks in the foundations, and for the moment, that was the best that could be asked for.

"How about we suggest quirks to Dragon?"

"Do you think he'd actually go through with an interrogation?" Dabi countered.

"For his dad… definitely," Atsuhiro was confident. Besides, Dragon would probably console himself with the thought that he'd made the guard forget, so it wasn't going to be that bad.

They could do this. They were going to do this.

And the world would listen.

-ted-

"We are resting at that chair," Ochaco said breathlessly and then put on a burst of speed before collapsing into the chair she'd mentioned.

Hitoshi and Mei shared a look at the sauntered up to it. "Are you sure you are okay?" Hitoshi asked.

"I'm fine," Ochaco replied earnestly, though they could see she was deliberately drawing deep breaths. "It's just there was some muscle atrophy while I was unconscious," she explained. "Not that much but enough to knock me out some."

"Okay," Hitoshi nodded, accepting the explanation.

"Shouldn't the quirk fix that?" Mei asked. She had absolutely no tact.

Ochaco smiled at her and sighed. "It is and does help. It's making recovery far faster but… it's kind of odd."

Hitoshi sat beside Ochaco while Mei settled in on her other side and they waited for her to explain further.

"The quirk pretty much burned all the drugs out of my system and then fixed my head but for the rest of me, it just let it be," she told them. "The best the quirk experts can figure is that it only fixed damage and atrophy isn't, strictly speaking, damage since it's a natural process."

Mei nodded and Hitoshi thought about that for a moment. "So as you work out and tear the muscle fibers-?" he didn't finish the question.

Ochaco nodded. "It heals them up better than they were. So I'm recovering a lot quicker than they expected," she said with a grin.

Putting aside everything Ochaco had gone through, Hitoshi was kind of jealous at that. He'd been working his butt off with Aizawa, training to a level of fitness the underground hero thought was necessary. He didn't disagree that fitness was required, it was just Aizawa was harder than just about anyone he'd ever trained with and… He was mostly over the pain now, but there were some days when he did strain something and the quirk Izuku had apparently given Ochaco sounded really, really useful.

Ochaco looked up at the sky. She'd been injured just after the camp, which, contrary to opinion, was not in summer since school didn't start until July but was in autumn, and now it was winter. The sky was a washed out blue and there were clouds on the horizon that promised rain later.

"What happened?" Ochaco asked suddenly.

"What do you mean?" Mei countered.

Ochaco closed her eyes as she tilted her head back down. "What happened?" she repeated the question. "I know I was attacked but after that, I don't know anything. And they won't tell me anything. Even when explaining that I had a different quirk they never said anything." She half opened her eyes as she looked at the ground. "So what happened?"

Hitoshi and Mei shared a look over Ochaco's head and Hitoshi got the impression Mei was telling him he should explain. He huffed. "Where would you like me to start?" he asked softly.

"Start with the quirk," she instructed.

"Did Izuku ever get around to telling you about his quirk?" Hitoshi asked. "And I promise that is a relevant question," he added before she could object.

Ochaco thought about that for a few moments. "I remember thinking about it, and then the interview Daiki Yaoyozoru gave and then you confirmed it for me," she said slowly, recalling the events.

"What did I confirm?" Hitoshi pressed.

"That Izuku's quirk allows him to take other quirks," Ochaco whispered. The bench she'd collapsed on was in a small garden attached to the hospital. It gave patients a way to get outdoors without going too far and potentially straining themselves.

"Yeah," Hitoshi sighed. "So the current theory about what happened to you, is that Izuku slipped in one night, took Zero Gravity and gave you some sort of Regeneration quirk."

Ochaco was silent for a few moments before she nodded. "That is the type of thing he'd do," she murmured.

"Which is also why there are heroes around," Mei announced, jerking her head upwards towards one of the walls and presumably to one of the windows.

"They are watching?" Ochaco seemed surprised.

"They want to catch him," Mei shrugged, as if it should have been obvious.

"He's not going to be that stupid. I mean, he waited until the watchers were off you to give you the regeneration quirk," Hitoshi said.

"So it would seem," Ochaco agreed, and then leaned back on the chair. The movement tilted her head up and she opened her eyes again. "Dad's not exactly unhappy about me having a regeneration quirk," she told them. "And… since it was probably the reason I woke up so early, I can't say that it's all bad but-"

"But?" Mei prompted when Ochaco didn't finish the sentence.

"Do you think Izuku will give back Zero Gravity?"

Hitoshi laughed. "Definitely," he reassured her. "I reckon he's just waiting for you to get discharged, or for the heroes to take the watch off again."

Ochaco sighed at that but didn't deny the possibility. "What else has happened?" she asked eventually. "The last thing I got was that Bakugou was beaten up by someone."

Looking up at the sky, Ochaco didn't see the small grimace Hitoshi gave while Mei just sighed softly.

Ochaco did pick up on that. "Something else happened, didn't it?" she pressed.

"Yeah," Hitoshi confirmed her statement.

"The heroes don't want to question Izuku just because he took those quirks, though that's enough," Mei said. "He also killed someone."

"He what?" Ochaco's eyes widened and she rocked back down to stare at Mei.

"He killed someone," Hitoshi corroborated the words. "They haven't charged him or anything though," he added.

"They haven't really said it was him," Mei mused, as if she'd just thought of that, but Hitoshi knew she had commented on it before. "No one really knows any details but the rumour is that some Principal from an Elementary School was murdered. They are saying that … what's her name?"

"Himiko Toga," Hitoshi supplied the name. As an apprentice Hero he was expected to know these things.

"Yeah, her. They are saying that she was there with an accomplice and while no one has said who that was-" Mei shrugged. "It's pretty easy to tell they mean Izuku."

Ochaco sighed and slumped. "Oh no," she said. "I-" she began but didn't continue. "I don't know what to say."

"They haven't really said why Izuku would go after this woman, so, I don't know," Hitoshi said. Aizawa seemed to think there was a reason but he hadn't shared that reason with him.

"I hope he's okay," Ochaco murmured. "It's bad, I'm not saying it isn't but I hope Izuku is okay."

"He probably is. They don't seem to be able to find him," Hitoshi commented.

"And how would you know?" Ochaco demanded. "What aren't you telling me?"

"We are getting there!" He defended.

"Get there faster!"

"All right, the high points only," Hitoshi agreed with a grin. "For some reason, Izuku gave back Shouto's quirk. Mei got offered an internship and I was offered an apprenticeship, and UA is hosting a heap of students from every Hero High School across Japan."

Ochaco blinked as she took in the information. Then she frowned. "An apprenticeship in what?" she asked finally.

Hitoshi sighed. "Heroics," he admitted in a small voice.

Because he was watching, he saw the small flash of pain that went across her face before Ochaco brightened. "That's fantastic! I know you weren't sure if you wanted to be a hero but that is great news!" Ochaco told him.

"It is but-"

Mei chuckled. "What he's not telling you is that he's been involved with all the other hero students and participating in their training," she said matter of factly.

"You have?" Ochaco's eyes went wide.

"A bit. Usually I'm being some sort of extra problem for them to solve in practical training," Hitoshi explained. "Though I have goals to fulfill myself."

At that Ochaco laughed but then she frowned slightly. "If you are an apprentice, who's your teacher?"

"Aizawa." Hitoshi told her. "I think they figured I'd be best as an underground hero."

She nodded. "True." Ochaco stood up from the chair. "I'm happy for you, Hitoshi. I really am. Same for you, Mei. An internship for a Support Student is brilliant! Especially in first year. I am also worried about Izuku and-"

"You can worry for yourself," Mei said, showing an uncharacteristic amount of compassion.

"Oh, I am. And I need to decide what to do. I can go back to Tsu and help my parents, they've made that very clear, or go to High School and…" Ochaco sighed heavily. "I know Izuku said the hero industry would hurt me, I just thought I'd get a chance to be a hero before it did that," she admitted. "And now… I don't really know what to do," she concluded as she turned to face them.

Hitoshi got up too and stood facing his friend. "Another walk around the garden?" he suggested and then ducked when she swatted at him but Ochaco was smiling as she did that.

"Yeah, another walk around the garden. The faster I get fit, the faster I get out of here, and I know the heroes want to catch Izuku but, I want out! Hospital is boring!"

That elicited a chuckle from Mei who also rose and together the three of them resumed walking around the little garden. Ochaco was right. Disregarding everything else, hospital was boring and she should be out in the world. From there… Well, like everyone else, she'd just have to work it out.

-ted-

"They're ready, Dragon," Yakuni said somewhat formally.

Izuku was a bit surprised and looked over at him and thankfully Yakuni knew what he was asking about.

"The people you wanted to give quirks to," he explained.

"How many?" Izuku asked immediately as he again ran over which quirks he could give away.

"I only got four," came the answer. "You said you weren't sure so I figured just a few. If it works, there should be others."

Izuku chuckled. "It will work. I just don't know what will happen next," he said.

He knew how he wanted it to go. Those he gave the quirks to would not be under any vow of secrecy because he wanted them to advertise they had the quirks. And then, Izuku wanted to see what the Heroes would do.

Yakuni nodded his agreement.

"Where's a good place to meet them?" Izuku mused.

"How about at Sensou-ji?" Yakuni suggested.

Izuku laughed. "Yes!" he agreed. Sensou-ji was an old temple, the oldest in Tokyo and many people went there to pray for a variety of things, so it was always crowded but it was almost always peaceful. There might be a hero there, but they wouldn't be looking for trouble and Izuku wasn't going to go there to cause trouble either.

Ironically the quirkless people could claim they were heading there to pray for rebirth… and they'd be granted a miracle.

"Is tomorrow afternoon good?"

"I can do that," Izuku agreed. "What are they like? I want to think about who should get which quirk," he explained his question.

"There's four of them," Yakuni answered. "Three are young, under twenty five, and there's an older gentleman, about 40, I think. He's the steadiest."

"Not surprising," Izuku murmured.

"You want to give them Bakugou's quirk, Yaoyorozu's quirk, Kaminari's quirk and Shin's quirk, right?"

"Explosion, Creation, Electrification and Confession," Izuku agreed.

Yakuni half closed his eyes as he nodded shallowly.

"You're okay with that?" Izuku asked suddenly. Yakuni didn't look pleased.

"I'm fine with that!" he replied immediately. "I know you want them to advertise that they got quirks, but the thing with the quirkless is that we are repressed so much that it becomes a habit to hide," he explained. "If you try to stand out, you just get shoved back in the box that is quirklessness."

Izuku nodded. "I think Bakugou's and Yoayorozu's quirks are recognisable. The other two, not so much so maybe that's how I should approach this. Give the most outgoing the two recognisable quirks and let the other two be quieter."

Surprisingly, Yakuni shook his head. "I think you need to give the strongest two those two quirks," he objected. "I say the strongest because they will most likely have the most social pressure brought on them. Yaoyorozu's quirk especially. They project a nice, family image but-" Yakuni shrugged. He didn't have to explain how image covered a multitude of realities.

Izuku nodded again. "That makes sense. And the last thing I need is for you to be ostracised because of this."

Yakuni shrugged. "I reckon these are trouble makers," he said with a grin. "The community would probably be happy to get rid of them but you are right. We don't need them crying that they made a mistake by accepting the quirk."

"All right, I'll meet them tomorrow, and maybe I don't need to decide who gets what quirk. They can decide for themselves," Izuku mused.

Yakuni nodded and they sat in silence.

-ted-

A few things happening and they are going to get serious about going after Tartarus. We sat the farce Tartarus was in canon but while Izuku may make it look easy, it's going to be because of the planning. Tartarus is meant to be a super-super max and in canon it's more like a day care... which I think would be harder to get someone out of anyway!

Ochaco would probably be out of rehab faster if they'd let her go all out but people are tentative about Regeneration and they aren't letting her use it as much as she could.

And I haven't forgotten about the quirks... It's nearly time for them to go to new homes.

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.

-ted-

Loved it? Hated it? Found a spelling mistake? Let me know please!