Guild Master here again, again.

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Gamemastersden and then .com

The arena was already filled up once again with spectators and hero scouts alike. It was starting to pick up again for the final event of the day. Outside the arena was Haru getting the van cleaned up before sitting back at the driver's seat with his laptop showing everything going on inside. His work wasn't over as there were reports of the operation completed earlier he needed to assess. Minimized and going in the upper right hand of the screen was the reintroduction of the finalists all coming back to be paired off for their matches.

His work was mostly something he could do at the back of his head since he mostly needed to get updates as to the status of the package and the secondary package. Other things like the location of each operative and equipment usage were also included for completion's sake. There was something odd about how the contestants and audience members began to stare at something in the arena. Not just as a majority; everyone was staring in genuine surprise at something out of frame of the cameras.

That wasn't something he expected to happen since there was no planned entertainment for this part of the ceremony. His curiosity was immediately replaced with horror and anger after he realized what it was that drew the audience's attention. The work could wait. He tore open a cabinet and retrieved six sets of sweatpants and zip up sweaters before storming away into the arena.

Many of the undercover ESD officers and police got an eyeful of Haru on the death march and scaring away those he passed while lugging around a bundle of gray clothes for some reason. There was a huge problem for the ESD since Haru was going farther and farther into restricted areas without a backstage pass or any sort of physical evidence of clearance.

A nearby undercover officer managed to intercept Haru and loop a lanyard with a backstage pass for Haru right as he stormed into the restricted to students and school staff area. Thankfully the ESD kit for each officer included a pass for any area of the event, just in case Haru needed to get in or was acting on his anger. The latter was usually something that required them to keep on their toes.

UA Sports Festival Main Arena

Right as the returning students were entering through the entrance gate of the arena floor; immediately to their right was a sight that confused more students than anything else. Even Aizawa was having a hard time finding the words to explain what he was looking at. Opening Mic was the first to ask why it was that the girls of class 1-A were in full cheerleader uniforms. There were already cheerleaders doing their routines off on the sidelines; so it begged the question as to why this was happening.

Each girl felt rather stupid while standing out in the open with the uniforms on. Not that it was embarrassing for most of them, what had happened earlier was that Mineta and Kaminari told the girls that since the cheer squad had suddenly disappeared the girls in 1-A had to help out with the event's entertainment. Saying it was directly from their homeroom teacher made the argument compelling enough for them to fall for their trick. Now almost everybody in the arena was ogling them over a dumb trick their horny classmates got them to wear.

"Mineta! Kaminari! You tricked us, didn't you?!"

The two of them were too busy congratulating themselves to pay attention to the flustered Momo pointing out the guilty party. Momo had played into Mineta's plan yet again after hauling him across the finish line on her back, involuntarily. Kyoka felt flustered with her rather thin figure being exposed for all to see. There was somebody in the group who managed to distract the other girls for just a moment.

"Well, it's not a complete loss."

Kyoka squeaked at the sensation of hands trailing across her belly as two very soft breasts squished into her shoulder blades. The sweet scent of Mina floated in from the right as Mina hugged her from behind.

"At least it lets me see some skin out of you, finally."

Many of the other girls couldn't help but stare in awe as Kyoka was reacting pretty nicely under the pink girls ministrations. Nobody could look away or be objective against the sight; not even Kyoka. This would have gone on for longer, had it not been for the sudden appearance of sweaters being draped over the girls with sweats and one jacket being presented by somebody they knew of well.

They looked up and saw Haru stand over them like their savior with clothes to help preserve their dignity.

"H-Haru-san?!"

"Amazing, ribbit! What are you doing here?!"

He gave Tsuyu a cheerful grin that went up to his eyes.

"Saw you guys could use some help and I happened to be in the neighborhood."

"Yeah, but how are you here? Nobody but school staff or students can't be here."

Haru presented Kyoka with his pass that indeed gave the man clearance for this area of the arena.

"Friend of mine was nearby and lent me his so that I could help get these to you."

Another mystery on top of the ones that already existed for this already extremely confusing and anomalous man they knew as the food truck owner. They were certain that at this point he was just some sort of wizard who happened to spend a lot of time around them. A bit more sinister of an image than what they felt about him.

None of them hesitated to cover themselves and slip on the sweats under their skirts to conceal their exposed skin. It looked a little silly to wear such colorful skirts with gray sweats covering the rest of the ensemble, but they felt comfortable once more.

"Now…"

There was still the matter as to how they got to the state of dress they were in before he arrived. He bent down with a serious tone and asked a very important question he had for them all.

"Who did this to you?"

Nobody hesitated to look right at Mineta and Kaminari, who still were fuming that this random guy ruined their fun. They all pointed at them and singled them out. The mistake they made was reacting to the accusation of being pointed at. Not that it mattered either way; Haru was gonna find them one way or another.

Even across the way they could feel the intensely angry glare aimed right at them. Haru took one step after another while never breaking the eyeline to his targets. They knew when the gig was up. It was now.

"T-time to go, huh?"

"Uh, yeah!"

They turned to leave through a nearby exit. Haru only picked up speed as he kept getting closer and closer. The two stooges were eventually sprinting and crying with a grown man making a mad bull rush towards them and even closing the distance like it was nothing.

"Get back here, you little bastards!"

Their feeble attempts of escape were just as sad as their little trick against the other girls in their classroom.

A Few Moments Later

Off to the sideline and leaning against the wall with his arms crossed and looking a bit annoyed was Haru. To his left were Mineta and Kaminari sitting on their knees with their arms up with signs he procured from the break rooms propped up on both their laps. One read 'I tricked the girls in my class to wear cheerleader outfits because I'm a pervert' and sat propped up on Mineta's lap. The other was much like the previous one with it saying 'I did exactly what this idiot told me to do because I'm a pervert too'. Kaminari was feeling quite a bit of remorse for letting himself get roped along with Mineta. Both of them had been given one solid strike to the top of their heads and had the lumps to show for it.

Nothing but irritation could be read on the man's face as he kept the boys sitting where they were for the nation to see their crimes. Aizawa knew better than to get involved and just let the matter play out. In fact, it was as though the cameras spent more time on the two than before after he whispered something to a nearby PA.

Mineta had no real way out of this since he had been eliminated from the final event, but Kaminari on the other hand…

"Uh, excuse me? I'm actually a finalist, a-and I need to be up there… So if I could just-"

One hard glare at Kaminari made Kaminari shrivel up under the intense anger directed at him. There was no actual issue on time since the selection event had him technically out with the other students. The eyes communicated only one thing. You can wait right here.

The rest of the event proceeded as normal with the idiots getting what's theirs by Haru's hand. For this part of the event, it was explained that there were two primary brackets with students facing off and advancing to the next round. Those students would then face off against the other students like them and so on until a semifinalist from both groups face off against one another.

In a shocking turn of events; one student elected to sit out of the final event and forfeit his position. A boy with a very simplistic quirk of having a prehensile tail named Ojiro. Haru could guess that the boy came to the conclusion that there was a bit too much of a discrepancy in abilities for him to have any sort of chance to win. Others in his class were trying to lift his spirits and convince him to at least try. Looking in on the boy, the white haired man saw that the boy was wise and mature for his age.

It took serious discipline to acknowledge when something would do more damage if he didn't use his common sense. By no means was this an act of fear. People often associate acts of bravery and acts of stupidity far too often with one another. The team next up was offered the open spot, but again it shifted to the next team down and ended the discussion with the final call.

Ojiro wanted to cry with how frustrating it was to be in a position like his and kept trying to wipe his tears that happened to escape. Aoyama gave the boy a thumbs up and offered his emotional support that came off a bit sad for Ojiro to accept full heartedly.

What people didn't know was that Haru had his eyes secretly trained on the blonde navel laser user. The information on the family he was from came off a little wrong for how much their situation changed; like it had happened overnight. There were too many other coincidences for him to simply accept it as a simple mistake. His assumptions were that this would be a way for him to find the man he had been searching for years for. THere was unfinished business that he was intent on following through with.

A pretty straight forward explanation with little to consider for complexity. Midoriya was paired off with Shinsou, the boy with the unruly purple hair by his memory. Shinsou asked a little harness inquiry behind him which Izuku was prevented from responding to with a tail wrapping around his mouth from behind. He warned Izuku to avoid responding to him in any sort of way. An odd thing to be worried about, for certain.

Another interesting development, especially for Haru, was to see Ochaco and Bakugou about to face off against one another. Not only was there a massive discrepancy in abilities; Bakugou had the advantage in speed and fighting one on one. It looked far too bleak with the odds working against her.

Now that the announcements were made; the more recreational activities were to begin and mend the time over until the fights were due to start. The two idiots still trapped next to Haru were certain they were allowed to leave then. He proved them wrong again and forced them to sit there for another twenty minutes. They seriously were wondering why he was allowed to do this to them while school security did nothing to stop him.

While the students were all exiting the arena, Haru waved down the purple haired pow and attempted to speak to him one on one. A rather apathetic and bored expression sat on the boy's face as Haru made his introductions.

"Good afternoon, my name's Nakamura Haru. You wouldn't happen to be Midoriya Izuku's opponent, would you?"

"I am, so what?"

"Well, I just wanted to say that-"

Shinsou thought that to be the end of the conversation as he used his quirk to get this stranger to leave him alone. All that would happen for him would be a simple time lapse of consciousness. He didn't expect to be suddenly grabbed by the jumpsuit and helt in front of Haru as the man's expression changed from a polite and cheery one into a strong and annoyed expression.

"-you really need to mind how you use that quirk of yours."

Haru dragged the boy closer to bring their faces closer and make the boy begin to feel quite scared.

"You seem to have no problem trying that little trick of yours on strangers. You know what that's called? Coercion. I certainly hope that you would keep such a thing under control, yes?"

This man not being affected by his quirk was already strange enough for Shinsou as it was. Nobody was able to break out of his control as easily as this man managed just now. He had just activated it when he was grabbed. Looking into his eyes only confirmed that he didn't appreciate the gesture Shinsou demonstrated for him.

"Uh… U-uhm, y-y-yes sir!"

They separated with some of the other students looking on knowingly as to what Shinsou tried to pull just now. He had a bit of a bad habit of being short with people and used his ability to usually get out of unwanted conversations. The adult had somehow broken the control on him and confronted the teen about it. Maybe now he would think about it twice before using his powers recklessly.

"Good! I just wanted to say please do your best and give it your all. Izuku's been working hard and I would appreciate some good sportsmanship is all!"

Another deceptively kind smile after the intense warning the teen had just received. Shinsou thought nothing more of it as he quickly made his exit. He didn't know who that man was or where he came from; he just never wanted to see him ever again.

Later That Day

The more entertaining section of the sports festival was something that everyone took a liking to and watched until the start of the finals. A crazy and chaotic energy as students abandon the pretext of having to worry about a spot on a list and just have fun. Those who withheld from such festivities were mentally preparing for their matches with their other schoolmates. Eating, solitude, rest, whatever they needed to begin their mental preparations.

After the field was finished with the pleasantries of recreational activities is when the real meat of the day was rolled out. From above the arena came the sounds of what was some sort of bellowing buzzing noise. Many spectators kept looking for the source of the noise when several massive shadows came over the arena.

Far above the open arena were four Bicopters with some sort of slab almost as big as the copter itself being towed by a cable below. An air show of sorts with the copters flying in perfect coordination to slamm all four plates they were carrying into one another to form a single large square of metal and other materials. The newly formed plate was dropped dead center in the arena to form the fighting ring that was to be used for the finale. A round of applause for the unexpected show of mechanical coordination on the pilot's parts bid the aircrafts farwell.

ESD officers came out from the sides and approached the sides of the ring with a few pieces of heavy equipment that many people had yet to see in action. About eight of these were wheeled into the arena space and attached to the ring with the shielded parts facing the combat space itself. Other officers left while a pilot was designated to man one of these black monolith pillars.

"ARE YOU READYYYY?!"

An eruption of cheers and applause with the space ready for the contestants to duke it out. The additional safety measures were explained as if there are any complications or overreaching in terms of inflicting injury or damage towards anybody competing. The officers donated by the ESD with their personally designed safety devices would stop the fight and prevent any sort of loss of life or limb.

More fluff text from Present Mic to get the crown in the mood for a good time. First fight was between Midoriya Izuku and Hitoshi Shinsou. One of them was far more nervous about having to perform in front of the whole nation. Adding the live audience of hundreds, if not thousands, put him on edge like nothing else. Introverts like him were people who thrived in their own spaces and required little in the ways of people they knew. Present Mic was really milking it for what it was worth when someone called out to him from further down the tunnel.

"Hey!"

Turning out of being startled revealed All Might in a very dark navy blue suit. His new suit being a result of having to swap out of his previously damaged one.

"Seems you keep surpassing my expectations at this point. I hadn't seen this sort of mastery of one's quirk in such a short time. A lifetime of experience stuffed into a few short months is something else!"

Such compliments made Izuku feel rather bashful, no matter how many times he hears them. A lifetime of being put down and ignored tends to make people not know how to take a compliment.

"It really is something else. Coating my body in its power isn't something I would have completely missed had it not been for you!"

All Might wanted to correct the boy by saying how it wasn't him that was the one who threw him the idea. His pride was something that was bruised enough as it were.

"Forgetting someone?"

From behind All Might popped out Haru. It startled all might a little and was a pleasant surprise for Izuku.

"Of course! Sorry, how could I forget?"

Haru did give the teen too hard of a time and just roughed up the boys already messy green locks. The genuine smile between them helped put Izuku at ease. From behind; it kept giving All Might doubts as to if he was even the right choice for being Izuku's teacher. He had no grasp on the boy like Haru had and it seems as though he was a little more self involved than he first thought. Too much was lacking from his methods and it truly bothered him.

"No harm done. There's something that Me and All Might wanted to go over with you regarding your current progress. All Might?"

No such time to feel sorry for himself. He has to keep trying while keeping Izuku's progress and wellbeing in mind. He used his quirk to bolster his physical body before starting his and Haru's observations.

"Yes! Right now you've made an astounding amount of progress to get as far as this. What was supposed to be roughly five percent is now closer to seven percent. At this rate we are well ahead of the curve!"

It gave Izuku a boost to his confidence to hear such good news. Now it was Haru's turn to temper that confidence into proper knowledge.

"Don't forget, though. Seven percent out of one hundred is still a ways to go until we make any real progress. We are doing well; but don't jump the gun and start to push your powers past the limit. The cost of that is something you know all too well."

A reminder of what had happened last time Izuku failed to understand and control his quirk. Good progress didn't mean fast progress. He needed to be patient and go up little by little. This sort of thinking was what both teachers wanted from Midoriya. Diligence mixed with patience often lead to the best results when building something meant to take a beating. Quite the look in Izuku's eyes gave his teachers confidence that this boy was truly going to surpass his teacher.

"Now go. You got this, Kiddo."

"Win with a smile, young Midoriya! Make us proud!"

A thumbs up over his shoulder was all Izuku needed to do to tell his mentors he's got it. The audience greeted the two junior heroes with a round of applause and became silent as Present Mic announced the rulings for both students. It fell on somewhat deaf ears as Shinsou got Izuku's attention.

"Hey, that kid from earlier; Oniri or whatever the heck. Who does he think he is to just give up?"

Izuku was already hooked with Shinsou's rather callous attitude of Ojiro. He made the mistake of taking the bait and fell in head first.

"We're here risking life and limb and what does he do? He takes that tail of his and runs away like the little bitch he is."

That was too much already. Shinsou already won as the clock was counting off the start of the match. Coffin nail as the match began.

"Isn't he kinda retarded to just give up like he did?"

"Why you!"

All of a sudden, Izuku's eyes went completely glazed over. He stopped in his tracks and stood completely still without doing anything. Shinsou had Izuku in his snare and Ojiro was yelling at the monitor at Izuku for falling into the trap he warned him about.

Present Mic even started to fire off questions into the crowd about what was going on with Izuku. Aizawa went over the student files to help his broadcast co-host figure out this sudden mystery. Shinsou did terribly in the practical exam and barely passed due to entering the general studies department. The fact they even considered him for UA must have been because of the boy's quirk being something rather specialized but powerful nonetheless.

"Now that we got that out of the way; why don't you start heading for the exit, huh?

No complaints were raised by Izuku as his body turned and took one step after the other towards the steps leading down and off the fighting ring. Most of the spectators were clueless as to why Izuku was about to willingly forfeit. Aizawa as well as Haru could guess just what it was. Haru figured it out when the boy tried to pull the same stunt on him. A quirk that allowed one to control another person's body and render the owner into a sort of prison to force them to watch. Aizawa shared with the rest of the room and helped to remove much of the confusion.

While Izuku kept making one involuntary step after another, inside of the boy's head was him struggling to push past the mental fog gate that oly lent him a slight amount of vision as to what was happening outside. His promise to take down Shinsou for information on him was falling apart. Ojiro divulged that a simple sort of bump or stimuli was enough to break the trance if he happened to get caught. The amount of force necessary was unfortunately lost on him.

Izuku promised Ojiro to show this arrogant kid at least one lesson in humility. He couldn't do anything but push through the blockage harder and harder. All Might was gripping the side of the tunnel and was whispering to Izuku to not approach the exit. The other mentor was already aware of how pointless that was and was starting to think he would need to intervene. There was something he could do, but subtlety was key here.

The edge was getting too close for comfort and this was all that he could do. Charging his fingers, he was about to take in the excruciating pain when the black tunnel in his vision started to change. The eyes were being swept away by something and was replaced by something that felt wrong. His body automatically stopped, much to Shinsou's surprise. There was no stop command and yet Izuku was simply standing there.

"What are you doing? Keep moving, Midoriya."

He couldn't have if he wanted to. Something was in there that made every muscle in his body want to take off in the opposite direction. The longer he stared into it, the harder it got to breathe. If he had to describe it, the feeling of being trapped in a tank with water pouring down from above and no way out was what he felt was most appropriate. Just as he thought he was gonna pass out there was something that changed about his vision. Something was coming out.

In reality, Shinsou was starting to worry if his control was working or not. Izuku was clearly still being influenced and was out in the open with nothing to bump into. He was losing his patience and barked out the order to move once more.

"Move, damnit!"

Indeed, he did move. The vision was scaring Izuku and whatever he was seeing felt too real. For a split second, he could have sworn to have looked into its eyes. The body that wasn't under his control couldn't coordinate well enough to start backing up without tripping on itself. He fell back and painfully hit the ground and snapped out of it.

"Huh, so I ran into some white haired dude with some sort of shitty goatee. You know him?"

He didn't fall for the bait. Though he didn't go for an attack just yet either.

"Guy's some kinda freak, bet he's super strong or something! Someone like that must be your dad or something!"

Izuku started to actually power down and listened to what Shinsou said for a moment before he started moving once again.

"It's people like you who don't get it! Strong people like you with Ideal quirks!"

That was what got Izuku to run at Shinsou at full speed and take him on with his fists alone. A strategy that had his opponent and Shinsou scratching their heads. They couldn't get enough of a read on Izuku to see where he was going with this.

"Say something, damnit!"

Izuku dodged the punch Shinsou swung at his head and got in tight. Watching Bakugou warming up with his martial arts made it easy to guess what would be ideal for how to strike. He swung a right hook into the boy's waist and made him go stumbling off to the right. It hurts like hell to have the softer bits become a target for a heavy swing like that. He didn't stop there with Shinsou; while still off balance, Izuku wrapped his arms around Shindou's midsection and picked up the boy in his entirety and ran towards the edge of the ring.

There was pure panic in Shinsou's eyes to see the edge of the ring coming up so quickly. He was gonna get thrown out at this rate. He tried to resist, but Izuku already had the match when he locked onto him with his arms. The hold Izuku had on Shinsou's chest wrapped his arms in a way that positioned them level to his underarms. Izuku had his head on the back of Shinsou's left shoulder and locked his body into place against his arms. No matter how hard he pried or flexed to break out, it was futile to try and escape for Shinsou.

Shinsou wasn't just tossed out. There was a decent amount of distance as Shinsou went down the side and rolled to a stop at the bottom. As quickly as the round began, Izuku was declared the winner. The crowd cheered for Izuku as Shindou had to pick himself up off the ground. The closing for the match eventually had the two students face each other and bow as a gesture of good sportsmanship. There was something that Izuku had to tell Shinsou before he got too far away.

"Shinsou!"

A reluctant peek over the shoulder to silently ask what else Izuku wanted.

"You're wrong about one thing. That man? He knows more about being weak than anybody else. His lack of a quirk is testament to that."

He hadn't expected that after interacting with Haru in the way he did. The quirk can be tougher to control if the person's willpower is strong enough, but to be strong enough mentally to resist mind control altogether?

"But it's because he was so weak he became who he was…"

Izuku looked down at his closed fist and turned up to look Shinsou directly in the eyes.

"He worked on how weak he was and struggled almost everyday to survive. He still kept going, though… And do you know what happened? He became someone who will never be weaker than anybody else!"

A strange and oddly prolific thing to say in light of what had happened. To work on your weakness and become the least weakest person? Those words just kept confusing him as he walked off stage and out towards the exit. He was just about to reach the tunnel when his classmates from general studies all waved him down from right over the tunnel exit. They made sure that he knew that all of this did lead to something rather positive in the end. The murmurs of hero recruiters wondering if he was available for their agencies was all the affirmation he wanted that his power could be used to become a hero. His head was low, but his heart felt lighter.

Back inside the tunnel was All Might and Haru breathing a sigh of relief. In All Might's eyes; Izuku froze for a while and suddenly saw something that knocked him out of the trance. To Haru, he was thankful that nobody else noticed how much he let out to at least get Izuku to snap out of his trance. He was afraid of clearing out the arena if Izuku didn't respond to his probing.

From Haru's pocket a ringing came out and alerted him of an incoming call. The call was flicked open and a short discussion followed.

"Yeah?... When?... Okay, send me the location. I'll deal with it."

Call ended and left All Might wondering who it was that Haru had just received a call from that would make him depart from such an important event for Izuku.

"Gotta go. Some idiot messed up the address to one of my suppliers and he asked me to go pick it up. My next shipment of clams is in it and I would rather they not spoil."

Ah, the pain of being a business owner. It was plausible enough of an explanation and there seemed to be an important enough reason for him to be there.

"I'll be back as soon as I can. Don't wait up!"

Haru disappeared down the hall and towards his van. The truck was packed up and out within minutes of the call and was headed for the city.

Some Time Later

Haru was far enough into the city to come to a stop in an abandoned alley. He parked quickly and reached for the floor next to his chair. The windows automatically tinted black all around as he retrieved different clothes and a plethora of gear. Black on black with a hooded jacket with pockets all over the front lining the zipper. A black shirt. And pants with boots that looked to be for hiking. Gloves and the belts of different sorts of ammo and tools snapped on easily enough for him since it was all custom to begin with.

He retrieved a rifle that was nowhere nearly as simple as one used for sport shooting. Thing looked like it could fire thirty rounds through a tank if it wanted to. Loading and checking everything took seconds as he then retrieved the last bit of equipment. A rather odd looking gas mask that was visually more appropriate for a future tech society than a food truck owner with a gun.

The mask was placed on his face and suddenly enveloped his head in a unique mesh fiber that adjusted and tightened itself to secure the mask and hide all of his hair. The visor was angular and heavily tinted to prevent any sort of visibility from the outside. He exited the van and slapped a gloved hand onto the side of the paneling to reveal a motorcycle and riding helmet lying on a rack. Headgear wasn't necessary in this case as he just needed mobility for now.

The van was left for pickup by somebody nearby and began to signal for it's retrieval. The rather monochromatic color palette could have used some work from Haru's perspective; though any other color would honestly make him stick out too much. He hit the throttle and started towards the location sent to his masks HUD through his phone. There was finally a way to find out more about this supposed league that's been jabbing away at his side.

UA Sports Festival

Izuku wanted to apologize to All Might for being unable to win the fight with a smile, but the learning mentor was having none of it. His ways of interacting with Izuku were slowly changing for the better as he kept certain things in mind while speaking to the boy.

"It was more of a piece of advice rather than hard instructions. Don't overthink it and just be glad you won the way you did."

There was no reason to detract from the victory if there were certain things not followed to the letter. What All Might wanted to ask about was what Izuku said to Shinsou before they walked away from one another.

"Was what you said something Nakamura told you?"

A bit of a somber smile as Midoriya explained how he recieved the message that Haru gave to Katsuki that day at the river. Rather than going home and following Haru's orders, Izuku snuck up behind a concrete barrier and peeked at what was going on. Katsuki and the others had just come off of a power trip that had them almost beat on the young Midoriya. In his naivety, he had been worried still for Bakugou.

Time just went on as things escalated to what looked like a fight, which then became a one sided game of intense keep away with Haru being the thing they needed to touch. It finally ended with Katsuki in the river and the rest of the group crying over how sorry they were. When he heard Haru recite those words of what weakness meant to him; it resonated with him for the longest time. It was one of the few reasons he's still able to keep his head up so high to this day.

"Even back then it seemed like he hadn't changed at all."

"Not really. He's always just been there for most of my life and does what he wants to. It's always how he's lived his life."

He reminisced a little more on the better times where Haru and the old gang just enjoyed their days doing whatever it is that fit their fancy. It seemed as though All Might had quite a lot to learn about the ways of separating being a hero and being a teacher. Another topic of discussion that Izuku wanted to cover with All Might suddenly came to mind.

"Oh, right. All Might; there's something I have to tell you. About what I saw back at the arena…"

Every detail that he could recall came up in the conversation. How there were eyes staring back from the darkness and pulled him loose enough for him to just barely move. About these eyes suddenly fading away and feeling the cold fear that felt like he was about to drown. All Might hadn't too strong of a thesis to work off of to give Izuku a solid enough answer to say if it was correct or a hunch; but the nature of One for All is to be a quirk to pass on. The other eyes were perhaps the previous users as echoes of who they were. He didn't have a clue about what had happened after that. The quirk was still very much a mystery to the world.

Elsewhere

Shoto was on his way to his next match when he stumbled across his father leaning up against the wall. The narrow hallway was the only way to the stadium entrance without having to take another fifteen minutes to loop to another entrance. This discussion was something that was an inevitability for the estranged father and son, so he just kept walking.

"Your behavior during the festival has been nothing short of sad and disgraceful."

More underhanded comments about his performance. Such things were just expected from an abusive father who drove his wife insane.

"Your left side could have ended the last two events in your favor without any sort of struggle. Yet you constantly withhold."

He can take it. Nothing he wasn't already used to.

"How are you expected to surpass All Might at this rate?! You have been chosen from your brothers!"

Just a little longer and he would be far enough to ignore all of his nonsense.

"I won't have you be so distracted! You will be pushed to your potential, despite what sort of corruption that useless piece of sh-"

Ice shot out from the walls and floors to protrude as large and jagged thorns large enough to be spears. It enraged Endeavor to see his son lash out with the quirk opposite of the one Shoto refused to use. His anger paled in comparison to what his son was feeling as he heard those words come out of the man's mouth.

"Corruption? You mean saving me and my mom when you didn't even check up on us for a week?"

Frustration mixed with contempt that Haru warned him about. Right now, he was too pissed off to feel remorse for his lack of consideration.

"Or being the only one to take me or my sister to go see mom when we missed her?"

There was such a scornful hatred that almost rivaled that of Endeavors in Shoto's eyes.

"Perhaps you mean when he took care of me and the others when you would do nothing but insult and beat us?"

The spines continued to grow in numbers and stuff up the space occupying the middle of the father and son.

"You can insult me, you can insult mom, even my brothers or Fuyumi…"

These words were spoken with every bit of venom he could muster.

"Don't you dare insult the man who did the opposite of every fucked up thing you've done to me or my family. I won't tolerate such bullshit; not even from you."

Endeavor didn't care much for the hatred he received from his son. He wouldn't have minded if that hatred was pointed at All Might; hatred tended to be a powerful motivator at times. What angered the hero was to see his son consider that man in such high regards and even dare to raise a hand against his own father. He truly felt as though that man had dug his tendrils deep and infected his legacy with his impurity.

"I don't need you. I don't need your power. I don't need whatever fucked up plan you have for me."

He turned to leave for his match while he could do so before trying to kill his father. A sneer and remark just reminded Shoto why this man was such a thorn in his side.

"You may be passable now, but mark my words; you'll reach your limit soon."

Shoto was really hoping that his opponent would know to get out of the way; even he didn't know what would happen at this point.

Inner City

Scouting in an urban environment is something that is far less interesting and beyond tedious if you knew exactly what it was you were looking for. Haru was up on the rooftop of a building that had a decent view of the several block radius the target he was hunting had been frequenting for the past few weeks. Someone that fit the criteria of what a certain group of villains were likely to be searching for.

His name was Chizome Akaguro, but now preferred the alias of Stain. Had a privileged childhood and even sought to be in a heroic private school years ago. He only managed a few months before taking off and becoming involved with drugs after a serious stint as a vigilante killer. Some more work as a vigilante and then suddenly he started with this off persona who hunted heroes.

It mattered little to Haru what this guy wanted for killing these heroes, what he did want was to meet this person face to face. He was given a portfolio of different recruitment files of active criminals most likely to be joining the League of Villains based on activity, location, history, abilities, and so on. This one was the third one on the list. The other two were… Lacking. His meetings with them were also a way to estimate if they were actually going into the organization or not. Them dying also just shortened the list of available candidates for the league as well. So no major losses there.

Haru had the description and recent activity of Stain with cctv photos and other reports to find the next likely area for him to work out of. All the information was being displayed on his holographic watch as he kept his eyes and ears open for any sort of activity in the area. He had yet to be reported through any sort of official channel and what Haru had was based off of recent sightings through cameras and surveillance. The streets below were fairly vacant with people mostly at work, school, or watching the UA Sports Festival indoors.

About to move, Haru heard what sounded like jet propulsion. It was a rather specific sound that he heard in the past; just a few hours ago, in fact. There was no time to waste for Haru as he leapt from one roof to another in pursuit of the source.

Alleyway

Inganium was bleeding badly and trying to get some space to work out a different plan. This villain was insanely intent on hacking into him with those jagged blades of his. The only thing keeping him from gaining any ground was the fact he was paralysed by the villains ability. Getting cut wasn't anything new to the experienced hero; it just came with the territory. When the villain licked the blood off his blade was when things started to go downhill. His limbs were getting stiffer and stiffer as Stain kept cutting and cutting.

"Fucking fake heroes. Can't do anything but whine and complain when things get too hard…"

Stain was looming over the hero as Inganium had been reaching for his communicator. His sword and knife went straight into the air as the villain was gonna decisively end the fight then and there. His hand had managed to get connected to somebody from the police department while he was helpless against the insane serial killer. A sadistic glint in it's narrow eyes as it savored his suffering.

A deafening bang went off and suddenly the knife in Stain's left hand snapped at the base of the blade. Both hero and villain were shocked at what just happened. Stain took to backing up with his sword in both hands now that he had been permanently disarmed of the other one. From above dropped a man clad in black; catching his weight in a low crouch and looking to be outfitted for war in the streets. The sounds of air softly hissing through the mask were all they could hear as the figure stood to it's full height with it's gas mask in full view. He looked like one of the ESD officers with the gas mask and weapon in his right hand. The similarities of color and choice of equipment were where the similarities ended.

"Who the fuck are you?! Some sort of hero?!"

No answer from the hero as Stain kept on the defensive. That weapon gave a huge range advantage that he wasn't keen on testing with how well of a shot this guy apparently was. Inganium was just as confused with who this was as the use of such a powerful firearm would have been immediately rejected had he presented it.

Rather than answering the villain, the figure just let the gun hang from a strap it was on. The rifle was not hanging from his back and out of his hands. The right hand retrieved what looked like a black handle of some sort from his back. The hand holding it flicked and extended the foldable baton to its full length. Stain didn't know whether to feel insulted or confused at this stranger's bizarre choices.

"I hope you don't mind, but I'm in a bit of a bad mood today. Ran into some bad company and all that."

The voice was heavily distorted to be completely indistinguishable. It's choice of words were rather casual in comparison to how tense this situation was supposed to be.

"I'm gonna hurt you. It's gonna be pretty bad, so do try not to die. The last two were rather delicate."

That's when the figure started to move towards Stain. His footsteps echoed down the long and empty alley with every step forward. Stain was certain that he could end the fight as easily as the other hero he was just toying with. What confused the serial killer was how little his body wanted to move forwards. He noticed that his own feet were shuffling backwards while this masked lunatic was advancing further and further.

The remaining sword felt heavy in his palms and shook ever so slightly. Was he feeling scared? There was nobody he feared! Even if the mind was at peace, the body was unsure and recoiling. Stain took one last look at the mask of this stranger and felt his stomach drop. Both corners of where the respirators met the visor started to twist upwards and formed a smile in his eyes. Was the mask part of his quirk? The mask hadn't moved, he eventually realized. This guy simply was just too happy to have the opportunity to hurt someone.

There wasn't much else Stain could do besides move and get cracking in slicing this freak down the middle. He went for a typical leaping attack and came in with a side slash while aiming for the guy's neck. Instead of feeling cloth and flesh give away against his sword; a stabbing pain in his stomach launched the villain back down the alley and caused him to crash into a pair of garbage bins.

Rolling back over onto his stomach was all he could do before he pushed himself onto his hands and knees and began vomiting. His stomach just kept twisting and twisting without remorse while the vomiting was cutting off his air. It eventually stopped and Stain was left confused as to what the hell this guy did.

Inganium could see well enough to break down what had happened in his head. The swing of the sword was just slightly ducked under as the rod in the stranger's right hand jabbed itself into Stain's torso. The amount of length he had to work with on the rod was just right to knock back Stain a good few meters.

"Hm, I see. Is that it?"

Stain looked up at the man who was just standing there with the rod tapping against the shoulder connected to the arm holding it. The other hand was in the jacket pocket. This guy was looking down on him as if he was getting bored.

"You…"

A familiar sensation of the sword back in his had sent Stain into a rage with another swing at the stranger.

"Bastard!"

Taking a few short steps back was enough to dodge the attack. The next strike as well. Stain was going for a right hand diagonal slice down upon his opponent's shoulder; rather than flesh and bone, the sword bounced back up with a sharp metallic ringing noise. It was then the masked man went in for the offensive.

One solid swing into the same spot where he stuck the tip into his torso made Stain lock up and almost black out then and there. Next was the inside of his left leg. A crack of the steel and a dark imprint of the baton was left behind on the flesh of the inner thigh. Stain was already due to hit the floor and collapse as it was. The rounded tip of the stick striking the villain across the face was just salt in the wounds as the fabric came loose and revealed his missing nose and scars. His head had snapped to the side and made him black out from the motion. In one unceremonious pile his limbs and body all crashed painfully into the floor.

Haru took the opportunity to do what he needed to do before he lost his chance. The injector loaded with the transmitter he needed to stick into Stain was fished out from inside his jacket and was shoved into the back of his neck. Somewhere he wouldn notice anything unless he were to look directly at it and push his finger deep into the spot. It was a temporary installment anyways, so a few weeks was more than enough time until Stain would discover it. Now that his first agenda was completed properly, there was now the second Item of the docket.

Behind Haru was the panicked Inganium trying to move his body to escape. His body was losing blood and made it harder to remain conscious as he just kept trying to escape. Last thing the hero was was the mysterious stranger kneeling down over his unconscious body. Thankfully the hero passed out on his own and saved Haru the trouble of removing the helmet and striking the hero in the head to get him to black out properly. Haru pulled the communicator off the street and dialed a number and waited a few seconds for the call to connect.

"Terasawa Inc. How may I assist you?"

"It's me, get an ESD medevac on Inganium. I'll leave the call open."

The distorted voice didn't mean that it wasn't Haru for the operator.

"Yes sir, right away."

The phone was tossed onto the unconscious body of the passed out hero. Most of the damage he could tell was nothing that wouldn't heal after surgery and bedrest; followed by physical therapy. After that, the hero will be good as new in no time. There was still one more thing for Haru as he returned to Stain's recovering body and decked the villain in the head again as he managed to push himself off the floor.

He hefted the lanky body over his shoulder and picked up the sword with an annoyed grunt. This guy was almost as bad as the others and forced Haru to just settle with the four strikes he had inflicted for now. At least he didn't start crying or begging like those other guys. That told Haru that this guy was his best bet. Further into the alley he went while shouldering the unconscious body and carrying the jagged edge sword.

Now was the time to wait and allow the others to do the work for him.