Hey all! We're back with some more "Through the Rough"! We're finally going to wrap up the Meta Liberation Army Arc as of this chapter, along with some setup into the remainder of the season. I'm not expecting to have too much done from here, but it'll be a nice way to set things up for the future.
So no point in delaying this any further! Let's get to it!
THROUGH THE ROUGH
Being led down the familiar long hallway by Nero, Shura kept his hands stuffed in his pockets as bandages were around his head and stomach. His adoptive father had a patch on his face, though most of his injuries were to his pride. He glanced back at the Satan Gravity Quirk user for a moment.
"I'm sure you heard that I'm resigning from my position as a member of the Oracion Seis," he told him, making him perk up slightly, "You'll be assuming my place," he decided.
"Tch," Shura scoffed, "Get real, you idiot…" he muttered out, "Just because I finally reached the level you wanted doesn't mean I'm gonna take everything right off your slimy hands…" he explained.
"I figured you would say that," Nero replied, "I still plan to oversee my businesses and such," he affirmed, "You'll just be taking charge of the empire faction in my place," he stated. His adopted son didn't say a word. "Shura…" he uttered as they continued down the hall.
"Don't say anything else," the Satan Gravity Quirk user insisted while turning a corner after his adoptive father, "Just take me where you wanted to," he advised. Nero went silent, leading his adopted son. Eventually, the pair arrived at the door at the very end of the hall. Shura immediately recognized it, tensing up. "You're giving me my room back?" he presumed out of annoyance.
"No one's occupied it since your departure," Nero confirmed, stepping aside, "This will be my gift to you, my son," he said. Shura took a step forward, exhaling a sigh.
"I got one more request," he mentioned, glaring over at the now-resigned Oracion Seis member, "Don't ever call me your son again, Nero," he instructed, "Because you and I know damn well you never really treated me like a son…" he muttered out. The dual-type Quirk user simply nodded, honoring the request before walking away. Shura watched him go. It wasn't as if a weight had been lifted off of his shoulders. Telling Nero off wouldn't bring Ijuna back. He grabbed the door handle, twisting it open before entering. He stepped inside after a moment… and looked up, widening his eyes.
Standing in the middle of the room was Ijuna. Even with her new outfit and shorter hair, he could never forget the face of the woman he loved. And that's why he instantly froze in shock.
"I…Ijuna…?" he stuttered out. The former Oasis member smiled.
"Welcome home, Shura," she greeted warmly. The Satan Gravity Quirk user started trembling.
"Th…There's no way…" he stammered, "That bastard… he said…" he tried to say, only to start tearing up. As he whimpered, the maroon-haired young woman approached him.
"It's alright now," she assured, "I'm here," she affirmed.
"Ijuna…!" Shura sobbed out, reaching over to embrace her tightly, "Are you… really here…?" he questioned in between his tears. The maroon-haired young woman teared up herself, hugging her beloved warmly.
"Yes…" she confirmed in reply, "I'm sorry…" she apologized, causing him to perk up in confusion, "But I promise, I'll explain everything," she vowed.
"Explain…?" the Satan Gravity Quirk user repeated, "What do you…?" he started to ask, only to stop himself as he pulled back, locking eyes with Ijuna. Right now, he didn't care what may have happened. All he did care about was the girl in front of him. "Ijuna…" he uttered out, "I love you," he confessed sweetly. She giggled and smiled, followed by kissing her beloved on his lips as they held each other, happy to be reunited after so long.
OPENING
Insert "Memories" by ONE OK ROCK
Opens with an image of Tenko Shimura crying in his family's backyard with Mon in his grasp as he scratches at his eyes. A shadow looms over him, being that of his older self as Tomura Shigaraki, who narrows his eyes under the hand over his face. Meanwhile, we also see an image of Poseidon Shura looming over his younger self, as he's crying in a corner.
We cut to the opening logo, which is crushed and disintegrated before turning into "My Villain Academia". We see images of Fie, Maria Slime, Daichi, Mr. Compress, Dabi, Himiko Toga, Twice, and finally, Spinner. He sighs as he sees his colleagues loitering around, seemingly doing nothing of importance. Maria looks back at him sadly, dropping her lollipop.
All of a sudden, the ground shakes before shattering around them, with Gigantomachia revealing himself to challenge them. We also get a shot of Doctor Garaki, who grins under his moustache. The scene switches over to the likes of the Meta Liberation Army and those of Nero's forces, including the likes of Deadend Crow. Amidst them, Giran is being held captive in a tower, grimacing with frustration.
The League of Villains arrives in Deika City, being pitted immediately into battle against the Meta Liberation Army. Explosions from Curious blow back Himiko and Maria, as both have sudden flashes of their pasts, with the former trying to live her life in spite of her habits, while the latter looks in a mirror crying before Drakken Joe places a hand onto her shoulder reassuringly. We see green slime coat Maria before turning black and unleashing tendrils violently onto her foes.
Next, we see Twice getting himself trampled by puppets of his own visage. Fie tries to help him, but he's suddenly bombarded by a barrage of cards fired by Lyra. We see a flash of him as a kid having watched a particular hero constantly on TV, smiling brightly. His body flares up in flames, creating a torrential inferno.
Tomura and Shura charge through more members of the Meta Liberation Army, with Spinner, Daichi, Compress and Dabi holding off anyone from following them. We see Fabiano leap in covered in crystals, striking Tomura to send him flying back. Meanwhile, Shura gets blown away by Callum, who uses his Carburetor to tear a hole through the Satan Gravity Quirk user.
The Meta Liberation Army seems so imposing, especially with Re-Destro, Nero and Deadend Crow on their side. However, we witness Tomura and Shura charge through to them, yelling all the while. There are flashes of their pasts, with Tomura meeting All For One as he extends a hand to him, while Shura is introduced to Ijuna as his personal servant. She watches the battles rage on from the tower looking over the city, closing her right hand into a fist as she grimaces.
As the battle rages on, we see Crow and Gigantomachia collide with each other, Tomura losing his jacket and shirt as he disintegrates much of the ground, and Shura having energy lines expand around his body in midair as he faces down his adoptive father, who rolls his trio of dice in his right hand. We end the opening with the young forms of Tomura and Shura looking away from each other, both born into families that resented them. They turn to each other, now aged up to the current time, flashing sadistic grins.
END OPENING
"Huzzah!" Compress exclaimed, "We live to fight another day!" he announced proudly. A week had passed since their victory against the Liberation Army. And now, the League of Villains dined on sushi as they rested their laurels in the villa they were staying at.
"You didn't even fight at all..." Dabi muttered to the Compress Quirk user.
"Oh, but running has its merits..." he retorted, "Besides, we were busy dealing with Deadend Crow!" he pointed out, "If it wasn't for Daichi…" he continued, giving off a guilty look.
"Oh right," Dabi uttered in realization, "That creepy bastard bit the bullet…" he noted.
"Never really liked the guy's obsession with torture…" Maria admitted as she ate a salmon roll, "But he was a good guy," she affirmed.
"A toast then!" Compress declared, "To our departed colleagues who've fought alongside us!" he added.
"Here, here!" Fie yelled.
"That goes for Toga, too!" Twice whimpered out, mourning over a picture of the Transform Quirk user that had died… though she was right next to him.
"Stop doing that, it's not cute…" she complained, eating a sushi roll of her own. Maria laughed heartily, as did Compress.
"Dabi, you aren't gonna eat any sushi?" Spinner asked while chewing on another piece of food.
"I hate fish, so no..." the pyrokinetic grumbled in response. It was as if this was just another day for them. The Double Quirk user, despite having gotten over his trauma, still seemed to be getting worse in terms of personality disorder. But nevertheless, all of the League members were alive.
"So Shura's got himself a woman from what I've been hearing…" Compress pointed out to his colleagues.
"Whoa, really?!" Twice exclaimed in question, "I'm surprised, seeing that he's a total ladies' man…" he proclaimed with a different tone of voice.
"Apparently, she's part of the reason he left Nero in the first place," Maria noted, eating more of her sushi, "Girl must be really special…" she presumed.
"Ooh, let's go meet her!" Himiko insisted excitedly, hopping onto her feet before wincing. The Slime Quirk user sighed with a smile, going over to wrap her colleague's right arm over her shoulder.
"We can both say hi," she affirmed, sharing a giggle with the Transform Quirk user before they headed off.
"Those two got pretty close…" Dabi noted.
"Maria was part of the reason she got rescued from that creepy guy's puppets," Spinner pointed out, licking the bits of rice off of his fingers from his sushi, "And she's a lot stronger than she's let on…" he mentioned, remembering his colleague's Venom Slime form. Dabi scoffed with a smirk.
"Never gonna happen," he remarked.
"Huh?" his lizard-like colleague uttered in confusion, seeing him fold his arms back behind his head.
"That crazy chick's way too good for someone like you," he affirmed to his shock, "Suckin' up to her isn't gonna earn you anything…" he added.
"Wh-What?!" Spinner stammered as he blushed, "I don't… it's not like that!" he proclaimed furiously.
"Heehee!" Fie chuckled, "Least we gots our fire back!" he proclaimed.
"Indeed," Compress agreed, finishing off the last piece of sushi, "Now that we're leading an entire army, we've got the nation at our fingertips," he affirmed.
"That is… if Shigaraki and Shura are still game…" Dabi chimed in, "Don't forget, Mister Leader got his ass beaten black and blue before getting his power-up," he pointed out, "Losing three fingers doesn't help," he added seriously. The League members took a moment to contemplate their situation. It was favorable, but there was an underlying anxiety to suddenly having such power at their hands.
Elsewhere in the villa, Shura was sitting up in his bed alongside a sleeping Ijuna. He looked over at her, using his fingers to gently move some strands of her hair aside to see her face more clearly. He stared at her lovingly.
FLASHBACK
"Wait… so you let that bastard take you away?!" the Satan Gravity Quirk user asked of his beloved after her explanation, evidently shocked.
"Yes…" she responded with a nod, "But I promise, it was for your sake," she affirmed, bowing her head, "While you were at dinner that night…" she began, "Nero arrived at our room and was going to have me killed," she said, "That is, until he rolled his dice and decided that I'd be spared," she mentioned, "But I didn't want the same thing happening over and over to you at his hands," she explained further, "So I volunteered to disappear and make it seem as if he got rid of me," she finished.
"And doing that, you thought it'd motivate me to win against him…" Shura realized, sitting down on his bed and sighing. Ijuna looked away ashamedly.
"I heard that you mourned for me before leaving…" she noted after a moment, "Shura, if I could do things differently, then maybe—"
"Stop," the Satan Gravity Quirk user interjected to her surprise, hearing him sigh again, "I'm not mad at you," he assured, "If anything, I wish I didn't take so long to actually win," he admitted, clutching the covers of the bed he sat upon, "So what happened after I left?" he questioned on.
"…I became a secretary for Nero," Ijuna answered, "All I had to do were simple tasks, so I wasn't put in harm's way for anything," she affirmed, "Nero believed that you would never overtake him until he died, so he kept me around to make certain you'd become the successor he wanted," she explained.
"Well, it's not what I wanted…" Shura stated to her surprise, "I just wanted to see you again," he confessed, letting off a smile, "And here you are," he added with a chuckle.
"Shura…" the maroon-haired young woman uttered tearfully, letting out a happy whimper.
END FLASHBACK
'If I'll give that bastard credit for one thing, he kept her alive…' Shura noted to himself, caressing the cheek of his beloved, 'Still, I wish he didn't make her cut her hair…' he admitted inwardly, 'I liked it long,' he said through his thoughts with a smile. At that moment, Ijuna awoke.
"Good morning, Shura," she greeted with a smile, sitting up as she held the covers over her barren chest, "Did you sleep well?" she inquired.
"Yeah," he replied, stretching his arms, "Big day today, huh?" he presumed.
"Right, the announcement…" Ijuna noted, "I thought you weren't going to take your father's position, though…" she mentioned curiously out of concern.
"The strong have to lead," Shura stated, clenching his left fist, "And besides, I'm one of the strongest in the world," he added, turning to his beloved and grinning, "I have to be for the woman I love," he mentioned on, making the maroon-haired young woman giggle.
"Oh, Shura…" she sighed, leaning over to kiss him. At that moment, the door opened.
"Rise and shine!" Maria exclaimed, causing the couple to yelp in surprise to see her and Himiko there.
"Whoa…" the latter uttered in surprise, "Did you get busy last night, Shura?" she presumed, causing the Satan Gravity Quirk user to break out in a furious blush.
"Looks like it," Maria inferred.
"What the hell?!" Shura shouted, "Get outta here!" he demanded in embarrassment.
"So these are some of the League's members…" Ijuna noted aloud.
"And you must be the woman he was pining for," Maria realized, getting her attention, "Thanks for being the reason we beat Nero, too," she said gratefully.
"Oh, um… you're welcome…" she stuttered in reply.
"Can you get outta here already?" Shura requested, "We need to get dressed before the big announcement later…" he pointed out.
"Hey, we ran into that freaky bangs guy who said the same thing," Himiko recalled.
"Guess that means we better get a move on," Maria concluded, only to blink in surprise and smirk upon noticing something, "Although, you might wanna get that taken care of first," she pointed out to Shura, causing him to arch an eyebrow in confusion. He glanced down and noticed a particular bulge under the bedsheets.
"Ah!" he yelped, blushing a mad red, "HEY!" he roared, causing Maria to howl with laughter.
"Don't worry, your girlfriend can help take care of it," she affirmed to further his embarrassment, leaving the room with Himiko as the door shut behind them.
"Idiots…" Shura grumbled out, still red in the face. Meanwhile, Ijuna stared at the bulge under the bedsheets curiously.
"Would you like me to take care of that?" she offered to his instant shock.
"H-HUH?!" he stammered out as his eyes widened, "Th-That's… not necessary!" he proclaimed, raising his hands, "I mean… it'll go away eventually…" he mentioned, glancing away from the maroon-haired young woman, who he knew wasn't exactly in an appropriate state of dress at the moment, which only made things worse. She let off a little smile.
"It's alright, Shura," she assured, lifting the bedsheets as she approached her beloved's midsection.
"Ah, hey!" he yelped as his blush grew, "Ijuna, you seriously don't need to… ohhh~…!" he moaned out before he could finish his plea. A while later, he was dressed up in a suit with a haggard appearance, groaning with exhaustion.
"Goodness, you look a mess…" Compress pointed out.
"What happened?" Fie inquired.
"I can think of a thing or two…" Maria chimed in cheekily, making the Satan Gravity Quirk user perk up, "Guess your girlfriend took my advice," she pointed out with a chuckle.
"…Shut up…" Shura grumbled, "Anyways, where's Shigaraki?" he asked, noticing that the League's leader was the only one not present.
"He's with the grand commander in the meeting hall," Koku answered, approaching alongside a disgruntled Tomoyasu, "We'll be joining them shortly," he affirmed.
"Nero and those of his empire will be there as well, yes?" Compress presumed.
"Correct," the politician confirmed with a nod.
"Well, better not waste any more time," Spinner decided, walking onward down the hall.
"Yeah, let's get this over with…" Maria insisted, following him with the others. It wasn't long before they were brought down to the underground assembly hall. There, Re-Destro began his announcements with the suited Tomura by his side.
He declared his allegiances to the man seated next to him while also proclaiming the true liberation he witnessed from him. All the while, the lone hand that remained intact after the battle in Deika was upon his face. He was the one with the utmost desire for revenge and was worthy of the throne upon which villains would sit.
As Re-Destro's speech continued, he glanced back down the tunnel and spotted his comrades. Even after all of what his actions had wound up putting them through, they still stayed with him until the very end. They were people he could trust, who were loyal.
"The League of Villains and the Meta Liberation Army shall henceforth be united under a new name!" Re-Destro announced proudly, "This name was devised together by myself and Spinner of the League!" he mentioned, "And I'll allow Tomura Shigaraki to do the honors!" he declared.
"The Paranormal Liberation Front," the Decay Quirk user said as the others arrived on stage, "We're throwing away the title of 'Villain' and broadening the meaning of 'superpowers'," he told the crowd, "The people you see here alongside me are my lieutenants, and they'll be calling the shots however they see fit," he added, "Anyway... the new name doesn't mean all that much," he admitted, removing the lone hand upon his face and grinning, "Like this... it's just a decoration," he pointed out. The crowd cheered. And amidst it was Hawks, who inwardly grimaced as he was now far too late.
'To think that the League allied with such powerful forces…' he noted through his thoughts, 'Gotta make a move fast, Hawks,' he pointed out to himself, not noticing the approaching figure, 'Otherwise, all of Japan is doomed!' he added inwardly.
"Well, of the heroes who are a part of our cause, I hadn't expected your presence…" the voice of Nero chimed in, getting his attention as he turned to see him there, "Wing Hero Hawks," he said, holding his right hand out, "Your reputation precedes you," he remarked.
"L-Likewise," the Fierce Wings Quirk user stuttered, accepting his extremity in a firm handshake, "I didn't think I'd see you here, either…" he admitted.
"My son is taking my place as a member of the Oracion Seis with Tomura Shigaraki," the dual-type Quirk user confirmed to the Wing Hero's surprise, looking back toward the stage to see Shura there, smirking at the cheers from the crowd, "I'll be acting as a lieutenant like he stated," he mentioned.
"That so?" Hawks questioned, arching an eyebrow, "You're pretty strong, aren't you?" he inquired on.
"Not so strong enough that he was forced to bring Crow into the fray," another voice answered, causing the Wing Hero's eyes to widen. He turned slowly to see Cure approaching.
"Ah, Naosu," Nero greeted, "I should've expected you'd be here as well," he admitted, bowing to the I.U.A. Hero as he stopped.
"We need to have a discussion, Nero," he advised, "You, myself, Re-Destro, and your new commanders," he listed off, "Your deployment of Crow may have set us back several months in his progress," he pointed our seriously.
"Is that so…?" the former Oracion Seis member inquired, sighing for a moment, "I'll inform Re-Destro shortly," he promised. Meanwhile, Hawks was struggling to keep his composure.
'He said Crow…' he noted through his thoughts, 'So another of the Seis is involved in this?!' he inquired inwardly, 'And what's Cure doing here?!' he questioned on, 'Is he a sleeper agent like me?' he presumed.
"Hawks," the I.U.A. Hero said, getting his attention, "I had my suspicions you were drawn to this cause, especially after your speech at the billboard chart announcements," he told him, holding out his right hand to him, "I'm looking forward to working with you in the near future," he affirmed with a small grin.
"Likewise…" the Fierce Wings Quirk user replied, accepting yet another discomforting handshake. Things were bad enough. And they only seemed to be worse the deeper he went into it…
"That was most splendid, Tomura Shigaraki!" Re-Destro exclaimed excitedly after the announcements, as he and the others were backstage, "Can I get you anything to drink perhaps?!" he inquired, rubbing his hands together rapidly while grinning.
"Get lost," his new leader said, enticing him to immediately do that without argument.
"That guy sure became a suck-up..." Spinner noted aloud.
"I'm sure he'll get on his hands and knees to do whatever we want from now on," Maria mentioned with a chuckle. At that moment, Tomura fell over onto his hands and knees.
"Shigaraki!" Fie cried out, going over and crouching down to check on him.
"I'm surprised he's still alive after all he went through..." Compress admitted, putting his hands onto his hips.
"Well, the Paranormal Liberation Front, hm?" Daruma's voice suddenly echoed into their communicators, getting their attentions, "Certainly sounds a lot better than the tasteless League of Villains..." he pointed out. Tomura grinned.
"I got Machia's respect along with all of this," he noted, "I think I've at least got the bare minimum now..." he mentioned firmly.
"Yes, that you have," the doctor agreed, "Your memories have returned along with the true power of your Quirk, it seems," he noted, "So in turn, I will grant you power," he promised, "That is... if you still want it," he added. The smile on Tomura's face grew. He had reached that level he needed to be at. And now, he was about to obtain everything he ever wanted.
ENDING
Insert "Calling" by Metro Boomin X NAV X A Boogie wit da Hoodie X Swae Lee
Opens with the dawning sun, causing Shura to wake up as rays of sunlight reach his eyes. He looks over to his left to find Ijuna sitting next to him, smiling lovingly at him. He smiles back, putting his hand atop hers. Elsewhere, we see Spinner sitting atop a building, looking out at the horizon. Maria comes over and sits down next to him. She glances at him for a moment before leaning against his shoulder, much to his surprise as he looks at her. We also see Himiko skipping along a sidewalk as Twice walks after her, holding her handkerchief in his pocket.
We continue with Tomura seemingly wandering through an empty house, having flashes of the past as a kid, running through the house and spending time with his family… except for his father. We see him pick up a picture in a study, narrowing his eyes to see Nana Shimura upon it. He disintegrates it as the house around him also crumbles into dust.
Shura stands at the doorway of his bedroom, remembering every day he'd return with bruises and cuts from his training from Nero, not once being properly taken care of. He blinks and finds himself being tended to upon his bed by Ijuna, who wraps bandages around his arms. A small smile crosses Shura's face. He blinks again… and finds that Ijuna is gone. He lowers his head as Nero looms just behind him.
We get a shot of Fie seated inside a warehouse with a rifle by his side, looking at a picture of himself as a kid with his big brother, Hito. He grimaces before burning the image up. Then we cut to Mr. Compress, who removes his mask and balaclava to reveal his face as he looks in the mirror. He sees a reflection of Harima Oji before it changes back to himself, causing him to clench his lone fist tightly.
From another building, Maria watches a civil rights protest for heteromorphs go on as she winces, with bits of green slime dripping off from her body. A hand comes onto her left shoulder, causing her to look over and almost mistake Spinner for Drakken, who nods to her. We see Dabi wandering about city alleys with cobalt flames in his wake, as smoke emits from his skin like burning meat. Even so, he grins.
The song winds down with the League gathering together, looking out over Deika City. Removing the hand upon his face, Tomura grins determinedly. The others do the same, ready to face whatever they have to in order to fulfill their desires…
END ENDING
And that brings an end to the Meta Liberation Army Arc, one of my favorites to do this year! Between giving the crossover characters their backstories to writing all the important moments one after another, it's been such a blessing to get those creative juices flowing. And I'm looking forward to what'll be ahead for this series.
So we'll get back to Class 1-A next time for some fun school stuff and some ship teasing before the next arc starts! Thanks for reading, everyone!