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"Raaaaaaaaahhh!"
Many of the villain's compatriots were demanding that the man just stop with the Rambo act to join in on their escape attempt.
Behind a line of ESD officers providing cover for Endeavor, the hero calculated that the assault of projectiles were likely from the black market goods that leaked out into the public by Deternat. The company that Ridikiya once controlled managed to leak a few experimental prototypes into the open without consent from the government. Such things were internally expected, yet still had their effects on the world at large with the threat they presented to modern society.
With a focused blast of flames, the group of robbers trying to clean out the shopping mall of it's cash were apprehended by the ESD who assisted the hero.
Outside of the large building that the villains were retrieved from were a crowd of people who started to sling their disdain towards the disgraced hero. Hatred of Endeavor's failure to actually protect the people were what people lambasted the already emotionally drained hero with while the ESD continued to provide protection to the heroes they were duty bound to protect.
"Quit hiding behind the ESD, you cowards! Why can't you fight your own battles for once?!"
People felt conflicted that the ESD that kept the public safe were also consistently protecting the heroes they were also protecting. Many people saw this as the heroes failing to measure up to even protect their own reputations against the ESD's competence.
Only the ESD paid the cost of loss with their own being wiped out in the passing battle. Their losses in comparison to the heroes were astronomical, yet the department treated all losses of lives to be equal.
Public opinion felt a severe injustice to the treatment that fell upon heroes. Over half the country felt that the heroes of modern society were less than adequate to provide for the needs of society anymore. Evidence of competence and constant sacrifice had the public want the ESD to take heroes down a notch and take over, yet this didn't happen. Professional behavior with consistent values had the ESD constantly defend heroes as a necessary and severely undervalued part of society. Constant dissenting opinions pitted more and more people against the ESD, much to the hero's disdain.
Those trying to seek societal peace didn't want the public to start attacking the entities protecting their well-being. The last stable line of defense for the public were the ESD; letting that last line of defense be condemned by the public felt far too much of a loss for everyone involved.
Placing his hand on the shoulder of one of the ESD officers trying to protect him, Endeavor approached the crowd that lambasted the hero from the very start and bowed his head to them all.
"I once asked you all to watch me as I kept failing you, incident after incident. I have no more excuses to give you after all this tragedy…"
With one look at the crowd of people stood before him, Endeavor reached into these people with the deep seated passion that still remained within the man.
"So watch as I crawl out of hell. Don't take your eyes off me as I escape this failtqure and helps those who need my help."
Those intense eyes finally cracked through the last barrier that kept Endeavor from being acknowledged as a genuine hero in the public's eyes.
"Look at me as I finally become the hero you need me to be."
Nobody said anything as the rain fell all around them. ESD transport required many high profile heroes to start riding with an escort within designated vehicles to ensure the safety of said heroes. Riding inside of said armored vehicle gave Hawk the opportunity to speak to the downtrodden hero through a live video call.
Their conversation naturally led into the discussion of the most prolific issue at hand.
"Bloodsoaked is still in possession of Shigaraki. We still don't know how long he had down there in the labs; so right now the worst we can assume is that he's after All for One."
Hawk had to hold his tongue at the assumption being made by the older hero he still was conversing with. So much of his knowledge could paint his father in a more positive light, yet none of it could be shared with anybody who lambasted the man as nothing more than a bloodthirsty monster.
He knew why he took Tenko from that laboratory. Even the reason that his father still couldn't forgive himself for the pain he felt he let the young man go through sat in the hero's skull; completely useless to him to try and change the dissenting opinion growing against the man's murderous persona. A persona that Keigo knew to be half of a complex situation born of the man's impossibly difficult life. Nobody could know of the origins the man who saved Hawk of a difficult life. Nobody.
"All we can bank on is that Izuku has made some headway with why he and Tomura are connected the way they are. Whatever occurred between the. Is our only lead into the truth."
An uncomfortable situation for everyone involved. Leaving a teenager to figure out this mess left a bad taste in everyone's mouths.
Several Days Ago
Inside the most secure building in the country, a woman of high standings within the Emergency Security Department headquarters returned to her office as she received a call on her mobile. Recognizing it as the organization number had the woman responded to the call in her usual professional manner.
"This is Sasaki… of course… I'll be there."
Hanging up, she then started to pick up the pace ever so slightly to return to her office. Hearing that the one -Eason she didn't want to disappoint wait for her in said office had the high ranking officer make a beeline to meet up with said individual.
Avoiding so many people trying to get her attention on the way to her office left the woman a bit winded with all the speed walking she did to return to her office. She brushed the nonexistent strands of dark chestnut hair sticking out of her bun while making her way to the personal work space that belonged to her as a commanding officer in the ESD. Straightening her work attire before opening her office, the sight of a white haired man seated in front of her desk didn't surprise her in the least as she elegantly sat upon the chair that marked the room as her office.
"Nakamura-san. For what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?"
No hostility could be detected from the man, so she felt that hurdle disappear behind her. His casual response to her question even had her relay the good work the ESD had accomplished, to which the man simply put the woman at ease over her efforts to work for him.
None of her efforts were in question regarding her work as a commanding officer in the Emergency Security Department. Whatever Haru wanted to talk to the woman about left the man a bit hesitant, if anything else.
Not wanting to leave her superior in such a compromising situation, the lady offered to just hear out the man's offer.
What he had wanted to ask of the officer actually made her unresponsive for a few moments.
Things shifted as Nakamura sat up to ground himself after revealing the truth of his visit. No question to his authority came up as the woman who was charged with the new task accepted the job without question. Knowing how loyal and competent this officer under his command was what made Nakamura so humble with this request in the first place.
It had been him that came to this individual so many years ago with the offer to become a part of this public defense division that left the man so hesitant. From what he promised, he now asked this person to reingage in something he promised she would no longer have to do. Something he swore he wouldn't require of the woman for her services under his employment and care.
All he got from the woman was a bow and these words.
"I owe you more than my life. I serve this organization because of you. Do not think that you owe me anything for the freedom you have given me."
With her pledge to his cause, Haru knew better than to question her loyalty. He gave the officer her instructions before leaving and allowing the woman to complete the task he assigned to one of his most trusted officers in the ESD.
Present Time
Things didn't feel right for Izuku as he patrolled the last area on his list for the evening. Not wanting to take a risk with his chances led the young man to try and contact Mina regarding his current status. Nothing but static could be heard through the comm link that he and Mina shared for the past few weeks. This immediate change of circumstances was followed up with the activation of his quirk 'danger sense'.
By finely tuning into the quirk's capabilities, Izuku effortlessly dodged the projectile that had been aimed at his right lung as its target. This didn't detract from how the shot seemed to have curved from the opposite side of the building he swung past as it made its way towards him.
"Sorry about this, kid. I really didn't want to be the one to do this."
Already revealing their sniper position with their voice, Midoriya turned to face the source to see someone he knew well enough of from one single look at them.
"If you survive this; I'll buy your first tab."
Stood on top of a high rise with her quirk active had been none other than the legendary Lady Nagant. A sniper that had a quirk that reflected her natural abilities as a sharpshooter.
From a throwaway conversation that Izuku had with Hawk, the older hero mentioned the prowess of this female hero when she had been active. His praise of her accuracy seemed genuine enough to put her as someone worthy of their skills. It also left Hawk a bit hesitant to leave the younger man to face something as deadly as the woman designated to test Midoriya's capabilities as a hero.
Piercing the air in a high pitched trajectory was another shot from the now out of view former hero. With no time to activate his quirks, Izuku used his trained reflexes to simply put his hand up to block the shot about to collide with his chest. The armor weaved onto his arms did its job as he felt little to no force from the shot he managed to block with his hand.
Hearing her shot hit something sturdy enough to block it had the woman smirk in light of the development. It seemed her normal abilities were indeed not enough to take on this ambitious young hero by their own capabilities.
To match the multifaceted Izuku on his playing field, Nagant used something within her own arsenal that not even Midoriya could have predicted she possessed.
Nine Days Ago
After her meeting with Nakamura, the former Lady Nagant, aka Tsutsumi Kaina, had been requested by the ESD R&D Division to come see what Nakamura wanted her to walk into battle with. To say she saw potential in the new toys given to her by her employer would have been a painful understatement to what she knew to be a set of armaments that would elevate her abilities tenfold.
They rigorously tested the new tech for several days before Lady Nagant finally managed to get a solid enough grip on the ways she wanted to control it. Her natural talents as a combatant allowed her to instantly grasp at the commands with little difficulty.
Now that she had this fascinating new tool, her mission was set before her. All she needed to do was prepare for her reintroduction to society after leaving behind her former title as a hero.
Before taking on her task; Kaina made sure to wash out the treatment coloring her hair to its current shade of dark brown. With her former streaks of blue and pink restored, the former hero focused on the mission at hand. Nothing could break the concentrated focus that guided this formidable woman in her task to test her target with the skills that she possessed as one of the world's greatest sharpshooters.
Present Time
In order to avoid the current attacks of Lady Nagant, Izuku endured the first three shots she used against the young man. Utilizing his newly developed speed along with the armor gifted to him by his mentor, Izuku managed to repel the onslaught of shots made by the woman sent to kill him.
Much to her surprise, this kid had more gusto that she thought he had before she actually tested him.
Not wanting to waste any more time on semantics, Lady Nagant wasted no time in activating her boon for the fight ahead of her. From the bottom of her boots were these blue flamed jets that started to allow the woman to freely navigate the open space all around her without restriction. Midoriya couldn't understand how this villainess now possessed the ability to fly freely wherever she wanted. Her newfound abilities put Izuku at a severe disadvantage.
In reality, these jets were a product of the new tech given to her by Nakamura. Nanite tech that allowed Kaina to simply think of something to create and it would come to exist for her to use as a means to better her odds against her opponent. This technology did require a few days of fine tuning, though having to endure the tedium now allowed her control of some of the most advanced tech unknown to mankind.
Midoriya key based on the fibers of hair that stuck to his hands that this was the hero who suddenly disappeared after she had been suspected of killing the former president himself from within the Public Safety Commision. Nobody knew what happened to her after that incident.
It seemed she now saw it necessary to resurface after the Paranormal Liberation Front had been taken down.
The news rattled the young boy at the time. He never knew that a once renowned hero would have been capable of such a thing at the time. She never fell too far from his thoughts, especially with all the conflicting thoughts plaguing the mind of Midoriya as he sought to become a better hero.
Soaring through the many buildings with the use of black whip and another ability given to him by the seventh inheritor; Nana's quirk, Float, gave Izuku the ability of pseudo flight that increased his mobility to unprecedented speeds faster that what he had been previously capable of. Using this increase in speed and maneuverability barely kept him safe with the several homing bullets shot from Lady Nagant's rifle that sprouted from her arm.
Working just as effectively to target the young Midoriya was Lady Nagant's quirk. A sniper rifle barrel sprouted from her elbow when she folded her right up into her bicep, revealing a powerful firearm built out of her own body. By mixing the pink and blue strands of hair from her head, the bullets she shaped out of the hair were capable of all sorts of shapes and trajectories. This in combination with her body's natural sensitivity and fine motor control gave the woman the ability to make all sorts of impossible shots that many other heroes with similar abilities could only fantasize about. Not even the gunslinging sharpshooter teaching at UA could boast his superior accuracy above Lady Nagant's.
Flying through the rain while weaving through the many skyscrapers felt Izuku on the run. His Danger Sense, the ability of the fourth inheritor, pointed out no less than three bullets chasing him at any given time. Catching two of the bullets forced Midoriya to tank the third bullet in the lag with his own attack.
Feeling the impact of the high caliber seeking round threw Izuku into a bit of a free fall as the bullet slightly overpowered his kick, leaving the plated armor on his shin to tank the rest of the damage.
Mentally thanking the upgraded leg armor for keeping his leg intact still left the young man to deal with the numbing pain of the impact the projectile left behind. Losing control of his orientation momentarily put him in a spot as two more bullets were closing in on him faster than what he could dodge with. Both were coming from opposite directions as he struggled to find which way was up and down while tumbling head over heels towards the hard pavement below.
"Smoke!"
From the weaved alloy on his arms, smoke completely blocked all visual contact with Lady Nagant. Keeping Nagant at a distance for even just a moment was necessary for Izuku to at least avoid these next two shots. His sensory quirk compensated for his own lack of visual aid, though that also meant the same for his opponent. Quickly relating to the first shot allowed Midoriya the chance to attack the projectile with ease. The hair fibers all tore apart in his protected hand, leaving the other bullet to meet it's end at the bottom of his boot. These shots were deadly accurate with him unable to dodge all that well and forcing him to block the shots.
Landing back on the ground, the exhausted young hero tried to take a breath while a voice inside of One for All spoke to the boy.
Care, young hero. You're currently mixing up a lot of abilities to avoid taking damage.
This concern for the physically drained Izuku hadn't been unwarranted. This all pressed heavily down on the exhausted Midoriya as he had been out on the field with his daily training to boot, draining all his normally high stamina to the bare minimum to function as a vigilante.
With no other choice, Midoriya disregarded the advice from the inheritor and started to charge up another ability from the third inheritor. This inheritor stepped in to warn the young hero about using such a physically taxing move in the middle of the heat of combat. Izuku barely had the physical conditioning currently to use such a move so recklessly.
Izuku! Move!
The words of the mysterious tenth inheritor became prominent in his head while squatting rapidly to charge up his new quirk. What they were referring to was the sudden itch Izuku suddenly felt as Danger Sense came to life out of nowhere.
He couldn't believe it; Lady Nagant could still make her shots despite the hundred meter wide cloud of thick smoke covering his position.
Slingshotting himself with Black Whip back into the air barely pulled him out of the two shots that hit him in st and waist from where he stood a nanosecond ago. He was certain that he even felt the bullets scrape his costume just as he managed to save himself.
Reaver ring back to his previous knowledge of the hero, he felt certain Nagant never possessed any sort of extra sensory ability to see through visual obstructions.
What made her such a stellar shot had been her ability to carefully plan her shots with unique understandings of her target's positioning.
In reality, the true reason Lady Nagant had been unimpeded in making her shots simply had to do with the fact she never had been visually impeded inthe first place. If she wanted to; she could have made her shots while remaining completely visually blocked from Izuku without a care in the world.
Over her right eye looked to be a piece of eyewear that replaced her previously iconic visor she wore to help shield her eye from any debris flying towards the thing. Instead of an angular clear lens, her eye possessed a viewfinder with three optics sprouting from the small metallic box which all glowed blue as she utilized the advanced piece of tech to see everything in an infrared spectrum. The excessive body heat that Midoriya had been working up this whole time made the teen stick out like a sore thumb in the cool rain.
This functionality had been a programmed function that the researchers gave the nanites Lady Nagany felt slightly reluctant to accept at first. Pride over being an experienced sharpshooter left the woman a bit indignant that this blatant cheat for her had been even offered to her. Nevertheless, they gave the woman the functionality while getting her to attune to utilizing the different modes of visual detection added in.
Rain pelting down on her made it difficult to detect and hear her target's movement enough as it were. Resorting to this fell upon her desire to ensure her mission was carried out over her pride to use her skills alone to accomplish the mission.
In comparison to other visors she had used in the past when she first started out as a hero, this viewfinder left the female hero throughly impressed with how superior it felt in comparison to those other toys she had been given. Complete ideal resolution with any depth of zoom while also allowing her to see different data points like a small 3d map of herself ant the intended target to help her map the peace without having to look up and around while doing so. Just peeking at the small display in the upper right corner had been more than enough for her to readjust as necessary.
No other imputes were necessary either. Just thinking about what she wanted pulled up the necessary tools and what she wanted them to do without having to fiddle with anything like buttons or switches. None of this felt fair to her as she easily zeroed back in to take the shot to send her target running again.
While running out of the way of the next few bullets, Midoriya began to charge his newest ability while staying on the move. Things were starting to look dicey.
Despite all these odds, he was far from hopeless in overcoming this challenge.
Tautarus Prison
Stood in the main lobby had been a very familiar face that everybody knew of. Although the last time he visited had been more than several months ago, they would have to be living under a rock to not recognize the country's savior as he looked now.
"What on earth do you mean I cannot see him?! Do you not understand the importance of my need to speak with him?!"
Rarely did the usually patient retired hero raise his voice to those he knew were just doing their jobs. He couldn't contain his sheer surprise that All Might had been denied access to see his imprisoned archenemy with the information he needed from the twisted villain.
"I-I'm sorry, All Might. Right now, the prisoner you're requesting visitation for is currently heavily sedated under maximum security after a particular escape attempt some time ago. I apologize for the inconvenience, though I cannot provide someone even as important as you access to such a high priority inmate."
None of this made sense to the former hero. After apologizing to the receptionist, he reluctantly returned to his sports car, appropriately named Hercules, and took off through the rainy night streets back to UA with the weight of the world on his head.
Why would All for One try to risk an escape attempt while knowing that it was all but impossible? Tartaurus certainly didn't seem worth the risk unless he could incite some sort of security breach to occur from within. Someone as meticulous and patient as this one man didn't seem to be the type to do something so reckless on his own without some sort of reason for doing so. His thoughts returned to the events that led his former mentor's grandson being carried away by the legendary Bloodsoaked all those weeks ago.
Wanting to learn more about the mysterious Bloodsoaked had been the primary reason he returned to the prison to interrogate the defeated villain in the first place. Not enough was known about this creature of death, and now heroes as a whole were starting to suffer for this one being's intervention with the surface world.
Years of remaining as a serial murder for criminals to then slowly fade away into obscurity, only to return as the country's greatest threat made no sense logistically to the experienced ex-hero.
Remembering what the killer said to him that day they both worked to take down All for Once, what he heard Bloodsoaked say to the man still resonated with All Might.
What sort of past had connected Tenko to Bloodsoaked? What was their connection to one another? Where did All for One fall in this twisted situation with someone even crueler than he was?
These questions sat heavily in All Might's heart. Whatever was going on, he needed to find an alternative source for information if he wanted any sort of hope in getting to the bottom of this situation.
Elsewhere
Suffering from an impact to the back and left leg, Izuku still pushed to create some sort of opening to find his way into counterattacking Lady Nagant.
Her presence over the battlefield felt nothing short of omnipotence.
Closing the gap only punished Izuku with a shot he couldn't dodge when he tried to commit to reducing the distance between him and Nagant. With complete freedom to go or see wherever she wanted to, the former hero easily kept out of reach of Midoriya.
Mounting frustration built up from the lack of perceivable progress in the fight against this expert sniper for Midoriya. Their experience and available abilities left a serious disparity between these two combatants. Trying to switch up tactics, Midoriya then opted to at least find something to understand about this person to find some sort of chink in their armor.
"You were once a great hero! Why have you turned your back to all these heroes?! Why did you abandon being a hero?"
Looking into Lady Nagant's eyes revealed two things to Midoriya. One, these were no doubts nor were there any hang ups over what she had apparently done before leaving heroism behind. Two, those thicker dark blue eyebrows really did make her violet irises stand out like cut gems of amethyst.
"You still don't seem to get it, kid. If heroes go on like they have; then we'll lose more than you can possibly imagine…"
As Midoriya struggled to understand her cryptic words; the former hero recalled all the most important memories of her being a hero. All leading up to the moment where she left behind her costume to accepting the uniform she now wore with true purpose to work towards what she wanted to achieve from the very start.
Several Years Ago
Living her life with normal parents and an average childhood, Tsitsumi Kaina grew up to love the idea that heroes were those who brought great hope and joy to society. Being such a kind girl that saw society as something worth protecting put the ambitious young woman on the path that she thought would help keep people safe from the worst that society had to offer.
Becoming a hero led the diligent Lady Nagant down a very dark path that gradually wore her down with the currents of blood she was forced to wade through. Information regarding up and coming villain groups pit her against potential threats against society. Kept term here being potential.
Becoming well known in the public actually made her feel sick whenever bright young faces who worshipped her as their role model asked for her attention out on the streets. All she could see was the blood that soaked her after all the work she did for the Public Safety Commision in the shadows. Killing these potential criminals and villains felt draining as she put her soul on the line for her work. Death jaded the young woman to the point she felt sleep evade her during long periods of introspection. None of her work felt as though it made any difference in the long run; not with the little of herself she felt still remained at the end of it all.
At the breaking point, one job in particular finally pushed Nagant past her limits.
Meeting the president of the Safety Commision in his office one late afternoon, she was briefed in on a mission that had two young heroes who were secretly inciting public discord through hidden means. Social media and other channels created an increase in criminal activity all around the country that these two tried to profit off of with the arrest of these coerced civilians.
"Will this protect society?"
Cold, calloused eyes stared back at the same eyes he recruited himself into the Public Safety Commision. None of that young energy remained in the violet irises he once saw as naively eager to protect innocent people.
"Is killing them really necessary to fool people in thinking that everything is perfect?"
She caught onto the ploy he had been working to make the official story about current modern society. His mistake had been thinking that the next step in maintaining his control over the hero was to resort to blackmail. Reaching into his jacket while telling the worn down hero that simply walking away wasn't an option for her came out of his misunderstanding that Lady Nagant had any form of self preservation instinct at this point in her career.
"President…"
It genuinely hurt her deep down to do what she did next to end this nightmare of hers.
"You truly are strong."
Heartlessly aiming her preloaded rifle arm, she fired a large caliber projectile straight through his head and sprayed his blood along with his brain matter all along the back wall of his office.
Watching his lifeless body collapse onto the floor behind his desk filled the female hero with any joy. Being pushed this far left her hollow beyond recognition. Only the ticking of the clock on the wall could be heard as Kaina waited for her action to be discovered by the next person who walked into the office. Unknown to her, this fated timing would put her on the one true path she would devote herself to for the rest of her days.
Hearing the wooden doors click open via the handles being turned, all she could do was wait for the screaming or shouts to tell her to get down on the ground before she would be taken into custody. Closing her eyes was the last thing she did as she felt a small part of her feel relieved that this was all finally over.
"... Well then, this is a bit of a surprise."
Of all the responses she expected, mild surprise didn't register as one of them.
" looks like someone beat me to the punch."
That one quote actually brought back the young woman enough to get her to turn to whoever entered the office just now. Standing at the entrance with the door being closed behind them was a man in fine formal wear with an overcoat draped in their arm. Sharp Italian silk in dark grey with muted colors for the dress chart and tie made this man look more like a tv actor than anybody important within the Japanese government. His presence did change her opinion of the stranger as he casually approached the dead body around the desk.
"Hm, only one shot through the entire length of the skull. A bit to quick for my tastes, considering I was going to meet with him regarding some activity he tried to hide from me."
Now she felt herself go completely dumbfounded at the turn of events so far. Standing with a look of complete stupefaction, the stranger then pressed the comm button to speak with someone in the Public Safety Commision.
"Can you please send in clean up? Also, bring up some refreshments. Whatever you have that's good."
"Yes, sir. Right away."
Turning his attention back to the woman, she finally felt her instincts kick in as she rearmed herself in preparation for whatever this man had in store for her. The newly formed bullet made out of her hair still remained in her fingers as the man calmly put his hand up while draping his coat with the other arm.
"Don't worry, Lady Nagant; you're not in any sort of trouble. It's just a bit unfortunate your meeting with this waste of human life pushed you to do this. I honestly didn't expect things to be this way before my arrival. Please, don't feel alarmed."
Undoing the top button of his jacket, this white haired man took a seat at the front of the office desk that had been where the now deceased president of the Public Safety Commision used to reside at.
None of this felt remotely real. Murdering one of the most important people in the country to then be told they weren't in any sort of legal trouble had Kaina struggling to get her bearings over this unbelievable development.
Behind her, the double doors opened and triggered a reaction for her to swing backwards to aim at whoever entered the room. Entering the room were over a dozen people in hazardous waste protection gear with heavy duty gear that seemed to be meant for industrial cleaning. Unexpectedly, they all went straight past the woman aiming a gun at the door without paying her another second of attention.
Last to enter the room were well dressed women in female office attire that accentuated their sharp beauty. They all carted in alcoholic refreshments while others effortlessly carried in furniture that were arranged in a setup with two single seaters with a coffee table filled with assorted drinks and snacks to accompany said drinks.
Those women who single handed lay carried in all this furniture without effort certainly seemed to possess some sort of strengh enhancing ability that hid behind their elegant frames.
"Please, have a seat."
Sitting in the chair opposite to the heroine, the man introduced himself as Nakamura Haru as she gingerly took his outstretchedd hand in a cautious handshake. Given that so many people gave these two their privacy to talk while cleaning up a dead body without disturbing them, it made Kaina feel conflicted at best.
To settle her nerves, she accepted the offer for some fine Chardonnay in a glass that looked to be fifty more times more expensive than any glass she's ever drank out of.
Prioritizing making the female hero feel at ease did help distract Nagant a little as the body finally exited the premises while the rest of the final cleaning took place. Drinking out of their glass of beer glass after glass was the man who seemingly granted the murderous hero amnesty from her actions. His impressive drinking didn't look haphazard as his appearance still looked to be sharp after the liter bottle disappeared without a trace.
"I do hope that this isn't too much to take in. I had plans to speak to you afterwards; though I do feel a bit apologetic leaving you in such a precarious situation, Lady Nagant."
Much to her shock, this man went into detail regarding the unsactioned hits that the former president of the Safety Commision started to push for. He had been warned multiple times to stop committing these assassination jobs more than once without showing any remorse in ceasing his actions. This led to Haru becoming involved as the one who wanted to punish this act of blalant disobedience on even his own orders.
Turning her attention to the cleaned crime scene left Lady Nagant absolutely floored. Not even the remains of the bullet she used to kill the president of the Commision remained in the opposite wall where it pierced the wall. Only she and Nakamura remained in the room as Haru disclosed the last few bits of information he wanted to share with the hero.
Listening to him speak, this person seemed to be intelligent beyond anything she felt she had encountered in her short life. The conversation shifted from information to something else as Haru's expression looked a bit more somber before speaking to the woman twisted by her circumstances.
"I understand that you did what you did with the knowledge that your life as a hero would have been over the instant you committed to your actions. I hate to waste such rare talent and dedication such as yours over a mistake on the behalf of others."
Refilling his glass, Kaina finished her glass as Nakamura finally spoke to the woman regarding what he wanted to speak to her personally about.
"His actions put a good deal of good people on the line for his delusions. Out of my sincere apologies, I would like to make amends for his carelessness."
Dark brown irises unremarkable in of themselves pierced through all the jaded emotions of Lady Nagant. She could see that this man truly saw something he wanted to see grow within the young woman seeking to protect those she knew needed help.
"I'm putting together a very specific project right now. It will be a bit of time before it reaches it's potential, but I would like for you to join me as I create something that will truly protect people…"
His eyes turned to the sun disappearing past the horizon into twilight. Watching the last line of sunlight fade from his face created a sort of visual representation of him shedding his fanciful behavior to share what he truly wanted this person in front of him to know. What he truly wanted her to become a part of.
"This world is oversaturated with hope. The second that the lights go out, people tear themselves apart over getting it back over thinking calmly enough to know how to turn it back on."
Listening to this person felt different to listening to the rousing words of famous heroes. This person shared what they knew to be the state of the world to give other people the chance to think for themselves.
"Too much hope makes people complacent. Too much complacency can only lead to one thing. Laziness."
It felt less like judgment with the tone he too to speak as he shared his words. Hearing him speak of the public like he did felt like he already had seen this a countless number of times already. Exhaustion over watching the same mistakes being made by the same people could be felt with the way he spoke with such a heavy heart.
"There is only one thing I know to be true; no matter the time or place. What we think is perfect? There is no such thing."
Many would think hearing such a calloused way of thinking would dishearten someone who was as idealized in her way of like Lady Nagant. In reality, she felt a great deal of weight being taken off her shoulders.
This man's philosophy only wanted to deliver results of protecting the innocent without concern of his renown or having to hesitate over certain moral decisions. People would throw someone like this into a bottomless pit and fill it up for how he doesn't adhere to already well established modes of thinking. She could see that he didn't care for such judgment to provide the necessary services to protect people from the threat that could put the innocent in harm's way. The simple fact he told her that he wanted to kill this man himself before she did put this person leagues ahead into his own school of thought over how complicated he seemed to be.
"I want to create a world where the most amount of people can find happiness in their lives. Where I know the most amount of innocent people can find prosperity. A world that can exist with heroes while allowing people hope that things can still be good, despite the evils they face in their lives."
No such thing as a perfect world. Hearing this for the first time in her life actually left Kaina crying a little. Offering his handkerchief, Nakamura let the young woman collect herself as she felt the wold feel a little less overwhelmingly bleak.
Perhaps seeking that perfect state of peace out too much stress on herself to try and accomplish. Maybe there was something that was even better than trying to achieve something impossible over what could actually help those who need someone to come to their aid in times of need.
"It won't be a utopia, but I want to bring something good to the world nonetheless. If you wish; I will not-"
"I'll do it."
Haru honestly didn't think this promising young woman would have said yet to what he proposed to her so quickly. Staring into the slightly teary eyes of the resolute woman seeking purpose in her life, he knew that wasting any more time in trying to test her would be equivalent to him pissing in the wind. All he did after that was tell her what the difficulties would entail and offer his hand for her to shake.
Sealing the deal pulled Tsutsumi Kaina from her path to becoming a hero of novelty to becoming a protector of society that worked to better the lives of those she protected with all her being.
Present Time
"... you saw this entire country tear itself apart when things got the slightest bit difficult for everyone living in it. These people may not be evil, but they still fought amongst one another when the balance of society tetered ever so slightly off balance."
Her words made too much sense. Liberation members were all arrested in droves while society saw their livelihoods still preserved by those who offered their services to protect them. None of that seemed to matter as people still ridiculed the people they once saw as their role models. While there were still those seemingly thankful for their services, most people still put down heroes after all the hardships these selfless people went through to protect modern society.
"How is it you can justify these people's actions when they are the ones reacting so poorly? Has it ever occurred to you that perhaps the hope that you once held in such high regard has spoiled the people you wanted to protect? Will you protect them from themselves when that hope makes them react so volatilely when it falters?"
Another few rounds hit Izuku in the torso, back, and shoulder as he felt his resolve begin to falter. Never had it occurred to him that the ideal he wanted to uphold caused all the problems afflicting the public as of right now.
Watching all these individuals go back on their praises of the heroes they once worshipped created doubt in the young man's heart. To see them attack innocent people out of fear shook the once stalwart resolve he once possessed off the foundation he once thought immovable. Thinking back to all he saw; was the world perhaps more broken than he thought it was?
Trying to recover midair, Midoriya took shelter in a building by breaking into a window before running through the empty hallways to collect his thoughts.
Arriving in a solid concrete room with only one entrance, the cornered young hero desperately tried to catch his breath while the doubt continued to pull him further apart from within.
Hating his doubt put Izuku in the compromising situation he now felt himself cornered in. Shaken to his core, his mind desperately raced for a solution to come out of this hopeless fight. None of the pragmatic solutions he focused on were yielding results he found good enough. One singular idea then latched itself onto the young man as he felt the clock ticking down for the time he had to collect himself.
With little else to choose, he turned back within himself to seek out the one entity he felt could offer him a way to escape this situation.
?
Back within One for All; Midoriya saw he stood outside of the doors of the place none of the other inheritors wished to approached. Rainfall like a torrential downpour pelted the visage of Izuku as he steeled himself to enter the place that this mysterious unknown inheritor commanded for themselves.
Past the ebony doors stood a grand hallway that had only a large fireplace on the opposite side of the room. Two chairs with someone seated in the right hand one occupied the expansive space that looked to be similarly designed as the room he first arrived in this place. Bare feet slapped against the black marble floor as the water he trailed in kept disappearing into the stone without a trace being left behind. Arriving next to the chair clearly meant for him, Izuku laid his eyes upon the blacked out figure he still couldn't see as they were sipping at a glass of some sort of fine liquor out of their lowball glass. The clinking of the large ice ball in it accompanying the sounds of the crackling fire.
"Why are you here?"
This inheritor had been the only one who truly made his reluctance known whenever he interacted with Midoriya. His teachings felt more like obligations he needed to complete with every meeting he made himself available to the young hero.
"I-I need your help. Please."
Silence met the anxious teenage boy still awaiting a response from his mysterious tutor. Some few odd moments passed before the glass being sipped on pointed itself to the chair to the shadow's left.
"At least have the decency to sit in the chair I pulled up for you."
Hesitantly, Izuku followed the instruction of the shade and planted his rear end on the luxurious leather of the single seater.
Logical reasoning for who could assist him out of this situation left Midoriya to ask this one person inside One for All to help him in this battle. Outside of the space, the previous inheritors were nervously awaiting for Izuku's return from the place that fell out of their control from within the quirk they all occupied.
Midoriya slowly came to understand this personality over the weeks he had to interact with it. This individual sought to help the boy, though never seemed to do so at his leisure. His lack of making the teen comfortable made it clear that this felt nothing more like business in their eyes.
A sentiment Midoriya could also see had some personal feelings involved in the interactions with the shadow. More than any other inheritor within One for All; the mysterious tenth inheritor always spoke to Izuku with constant corrections to the way he used the other quirks or regarding poor decisions he made during combat while out in the field.
Out of the rest of the inheritors, this one actually looked to be the most dependable in an actual fight he found himself in.
Finding himself here left Midoriya apprehensive over asking what it was he knew he wanted to ask of the inheritor.
Many worth's back during the final battle with Humarise; Midoriya managed to recollect very minor pieces of his memory regarding what had happened when he blacked out. Taking the time to review the evidence in his head finally clued in Midoriya what the shadow had meant regarding the matter about him invading their head.
By some involuntary miracle, Izuku managed to use the fighting experience this inheritor possessed without their consent. Not a lot could be remembered, though the feeling of being the victor before the fight ended certainly put into perspective how effective this knowledge provided to be.
Sensing the shadow's discomfort put Izuku in a difficult situation to say anything more as the other personality sipped their drink to completion before pouring more while finally addressing the elephant in the room.
"Sa after digging in my head, you now want to just take what's in there for your own amusement?"
If only he could deny such a sharp accusation. Midoriya's silence had been the correct answer as the shade simply sighed in frustration before downing his fine whiskey in one go.
"Honestly, I hoped you would have fallen for that…"
Leaning back into their chair, the shadow sat in a few more moments in his own silence before speaking to the current inheritor.
"Two minutes."
All Izuku would get of this inheritor's time at the wheel was a measily two minutes. As his only condition, the unknown entity pointedly told Izuku that he needed to pay attention to everything he was about to do in what he called the passenger seat. Not knowing what that meant, the shadow described it as hell as he offered his hand to shake on the deal orchestrated between them. With no other choices he felt were viable, they shook hands as Izuku felt himself resurface in the strangest way possible.
Present Time
Scanning the building that Midoriya disappeared into took about fourteen seconds for the former her to locate the boy in hiding. Lady Nagant took aim at the target before she suddenly saw the target suddenly move out of the building and out of sight like a bolt of lightning.
Scanning with her viewfinder revealed nothing in her proximity that yielded the location of the now missing Izuku. Losing a target so easily with her currently equipped tech made the woman far more uncomfortable than she felt appropriate.
Instincts kicked in as Lady Nagant used her jet propulsion to narrowly avoid something that looked like black lightning shooting past her. An attack she hadn't recognized from her research into Midoriya's previous combat logs.
Tracing the source of the projectile revealed nothing in her eyes. Only a blank sight of empty streets and buildings could be detected through the sensors of her tech.
Three more of these strange black bolts were narrowly dodged as Nagant fired three shots from her sniper rifle in retaliation in the direction of the attack that almost hit her. Turning her head at the source of the projectiles startled the woman at the sight of her opponent suddenly coming in to finish the fight on their terms.
With speed she hadn't seen from the young hero, the Rough figure of Midoriya could be seen bounding at the sniper who tried to create more distance between herself and her opponent. Having a reaction speed as fast as Lady Nagant afforded the former hero the sight of something she felt looked to be almost impossible. Rather than the expected reaction of destroying her bullets; Izuku instead kicked off the projectiles like they were stepping stones in the middle of the air. His impossible increase in speed prevented the airborne sniper from properly escaping as the young hero then pulled at something that she couldn't identify.
Slamming into her from behind were the three projectiles that flew past the former hero just prior to her counterattack. What had actually soared past Lady Nagant were three pieces of Black Whip, launched at the woman with a constructed bow out of Black Whip itself. Escaping her periphery were the wire thin pieces of Black Whip still attached to the projectiles that flew past her when she saw Izuku use her own bullets to close the distance between them.
Pulling the pieces behind Nagant back towards her caught the former hero in a net of the stuff that reformed itself into said capture device out of her momentary distraction. She fell down to the rooftop that had been close by as Midoriya caught the woman by the front of her skintight top before landing on the rooftop.
"Who are you working for?"
Staring up at the figure looming over her in the rain, the lack of fear or intimidation left Kaina to retaliate with her own question.
"First thing's first; who are you?"
?
Izuku couldn't believe what it was he had been experiencing.
Somehow, the mysterious inheritor had managed to keep Izuku in his conscious state to experience all the sensations in his own body while he took control of his body.
The warning from earlier also made complete sense as the agonizing pain from using his quirks so finely put an enormous strain on his body as a whole.
One quirk that Midoriya hadn't had a chance to use properly earlier in the fight was a quirk called Fa Jin. It stored up energy with all the movement one made and released it at the command of the user to enhance their speed and power with their physical movement. Utilizing the quirk so finely also escaped the original user's mastery with what the quirk had been used for.
Stepping on bullets from a high caliber firearm required more than just superhuman speeds to accomplish. Even moving that fast could rip apart a human's legs if they were even capable of such impossible speeds. Fine attunement of different bursts of the energy Fa Gin gave Izuku were utilized to perfectly allow the additional momentum without destroying the muscles in Midoriya's legs.
Black Whip had also seen some rather extreme mastery with the unorthodox Ed control in the functionality of said quirk.
Using it to shoot arrows made out of Black Whip required an extremely strange outs amount of control to accomplish. Creating constructs that could detach from the user while still maintaining its shape needed so much effort and endurance to keep them tangible enough to travel far enough away from the user.
On top of making the arrows out of Black Whip; thin wires invisible to a sniper like Lady Nagant needed fine controls that exceeded the mastery of the original user in his prime.
While it did create less strain on the quirk user, the control to make such thin yet sturdy lines needed fine tuning to compensate for the lack of sheer endurance, had they just been detached.
Utilizing their new shape in the way they were used already left Izuku almost unconscious as the one in the pilot seat pinned the formidable sniper to the rooftop they both landed on. The response to the questioned asked by Izuku's body already presented a fuckton of problems for Midoriya's chances of winning this fight.
"First thing's first; who are you?"
Midoriya tried to take back control as the sensations of his overly abused body started to take effect. Even approaching the command chair left the original owner of the body in a disoriented state of agony. Imagining the pain that the temporary pilot must be in couldn't have been much better.
"I asked first. Who sent you?"
Eyes like Kaina's allowed the woman to pick up on details normally left unchecked by others. Things like the way a muscle trembled when it was about to give out. The strain of someone's breathing overcome with an overwhelming amount of pain. Even the sensation of a grip involuntarily loose with every passing second could be detected as Lady Nagant knew she was far from being trapped.
"... A Mansion in Habori Woods. You're answers lie there."
Out of nowhere, a burst of blue light tore apart the weakening bonds of Black Whip. Left alone on the rooftop was the standing figure of Izuku as he stared off after the retreating form of Lady Nagant.
This was not the last these two would see of each other; that much was for certain.
"Ikki! Are you alright?!"
Slinging down towards the rooftop he stood upon, Mina found Izuku in a sorry state with his costume looking worse for wear. She came to a stop next to the standing young man with her mask removed and hood pulled down to check on her better half.
She barely made it in time to catch Midoriya as he fell unconscious right as she approached her lover.
Two Weeks Later
Arriving at the mansion by their lonesome were Izuku and Mina in their upgraded costumes. Four days of being unconscious felt Nakamura no choice but to force the two teens to stay put while they recovered. Mina felt the most relief as Midoriya looked to have seriously changed after his encounter with Lady Nagant. His eyes were always focused on something else, even when they were embraced in bed before they would go to sleep.
Now that their home arrest had finally been lifted, Izuku immediately made a beeline to a location that Mina talked Iauku to in the middle of nowhere. In front of them looked to e]be an abandoned mansion of sorts.
Carefully entering the abandoned estate, both teens were careful in covering the other in case of ambushes or traps. Arriving in what oooks to be the living room, something on the other side of the room suddenly came to life in a holographic display that revealed the image of the one person that neither young adult expected to see in this place. Someone they thought should have been All for One.
"I was hoping I wouldn't have seen you two arrive here. Yet here we are."
That same deep modulated voice made itself audible through the audio feed. While Mina looked on in concern, there were more intense emotions brewing up from within Midoriya.
"Bloodsoaked."
"It seems you have followed the invitation of Lady Nagant. I believe there are a few things I must clear up before I leave."
Shocking both young heroes was what the infamous villain just said to them. Hearing his just declare his disappearance left the two young heroes speechless for a few moments while they collected themselves.
"The way things are now; I would be causing too much with my continued presence. This is simply me telling you to cut your losses in thinking you can pursue me."
After the bloodshed. The people he hurt. With all the unanswered questions he left in his wake; this didn't feel right for either Mina nor Izuku.
"You… You bastard!"
First to blow up in their rage was Izuku. His life had been the most affected with the appearance of the infamous killer. The death he left in his wake felt too large a crime to go unpunished. Leaving the injustice that left people scared for their own lives didn't deserve to go without it's due diligence.
"You can't run away from what you did! You killed and tore apart society without a care in the world! How dare you think you can just walk away!"
In a moment of mature bravery, Mina spoke out earnestly against the criminal announcing his leave from the public. Although not incorrect, the young pinkette was responded with an answer that seemed too practice for her comfort. It had been as if this person knew exactly what this young teen was a-going to say before she said it.
"Was it I who told people to go out into the streets to attack other innocent civilians scared for their own lives? Who was it that strung up heroes and told them to protect an ingrateful public that only gave them spite and insults? Do you think I had anything to do with a public so spoiled on their perfect ideals of life that they go kicking and screaming like overly pampered children whenever they see that life isn't as perfect as they once thought?"
Thought the volume of his voice never raised, the increasing intensity told the both of them that this person felt fed up with his time here above ground.
"... You are children, raised in a childish world. I have wasted enough time here while I have left what needs my protection neglected in order to clean up your mess."
Listening to such harsh judgments from this murderous demon set off the temper of Midoriya. He would have none of this hypocrite's verbal lashings from where he stood.
"You? Protecting?! What on earth are you talking about?! You kill people! You torture and destroy wherever you go! You're nothing but a monster that only destroys everything you tou-"
That same oppressive fear that both teens recognize in their brief interactions with the legend on the screen silenced the enraged Izuku. Thinking that he could try to stand up to the oppressive fear he already knew of put Midoriya in his place in the face of this one entity's true capacity for cruelty.
It had been nothing but naive thinking that what Izuku previously felt had been the worst of the fear he felt from this one individual. Now there felt as though there was no light at all in the crushing depths of this man's presence. Even through a projected screen, Mina fell upon her knees as she started to cry in front of this bottomless pit of human evil.
"... Do not twist my words when I say this; but we fight for the same thing."
Midoriya immediately went to imbrace the woman he loved while trying to comfort her with all the sweet nothings he could whisper into her ear.
"Reality has a funny way of slingshotting itself between extremes. While you can treat these events as noble grandios battle of good vs evil…"
Another bone chilling wave of hatred pressed down onto the two immobilized heroes looking to try and confront the villain at large. This feeling of terror in light of this being a video call had even Midoriya struggle to keep himself standing in the face of this creature of unspeakable avarice.
"I have to maintain a pit of animals that cannibalize each other without reason. So do not walk into my home and assume what it is I must to in order to keep everything from falling apart."
His presence felt greater than life itself. Neither Izuku or Mina could stand up to the overwhelming torrential wave of rage that bore down on them both.
"Walk away. This is your final warning."
The video feed ended. All that remained was an empty manor with two scared kids trying to find their feet to walk back outside. Mina embraced Izuku while openly sobbing into his chest. His thoughts left his scared for the people who depended on him to combat such evil that existed in this world. Comforting his woman, he silently swore to become something truly greater than this evil=il to give people like Mina a better future.