Chapter 32 is here good people. Sorry for not getting this out sooner but in all honesty I wasn't in much a writing mood this month, which is ironic because I had most of this chapter done in about two weeks. I digress, I'm happy to have gotten this out because I really want to start on the next chapter. This is a relatively small chapter compared to recent ones but you're gonna get a glimpse of Izuku's school life as well as a small look into Eri's backstory. I've got some plans for the Overhaul arc and there are some things I definitely want to do, just deciding on how to execute them and I may add a few things. Done rambling, enjoy the chapter.
Chapter 32 After every summer, life and the battle must go on
Sakai highschool
Izuku let out a loud yawn, causing several of his classmates and teacher to look at him. Izuku was slightly embarrassed as he didn't mean to be so loud. Mr Yamamoto looked at him, "Am I boring you, Midoriya?" The teacher asked with a mix of joke and seriousness.
Another yawn escaped him against his will, Izuku brought a hand to his mouth and allowed it to pass. "Sorry Mr Yamamoto, I had a long night and didn't get much sleep."
"Screwing up your sleep schedule isn't going to help you grow, young man." He said, playfully.
"I'll try to remember that, sir."
The teacher continued his lesson, Taku shot a knowing glance at Izuku who was barely paying attention to what was being taught. He was too focused on everything that happened last night, there were also some other developments that were racking his brain. He's working on two hours of sleep, he got home around 4:30, he stopped a handful of crimes across the Chubu region that kept him out. He never picked up Tachibana's trail but the woman she broke out stayed on his mind. All For One said she used to be a hero, the warden of Tartarus said she was a special prisoner but wouldn't say more than that. His body language at that time said he was worried about the fact she escaped, and also he still couldn't place her face. It ate at him how familiar she looked. When he got home he went to his room and tore through his hero almanacs, he basically had every one made in the past decade.
It took him a while but he finally found her, and when he did it was shocking. She was Lady Nagant. He mentally slapped himself for not recognizing her right away. But she used to have longer hair styled in a ponytail, that may be why he didn't recognize her right away. She's been out of the scene for about three years now, but she was once touted as the best long range fighter amongst the heroes. Her quirk, Rifle, was an emitter type that turned her right arm into a sniper rifle, allowing her to fire various fast and powerful bullets made of her hair. There weren't many videos of her fights but she was still a popular, effective and well known hero. But that only raised more questions. If a pro hero, especially one like her, was sent to Tartarus of all places the whole world should have known about it. From the public's perspective she just disappeared.
What could she have done that her arrest was swept under the rug? Better yet, why would Tachibana go so far to get her out? How did she know she was even there? Where were they now and what were they planning? These thoughts were interrupted when the bell rang, signaling the end of the second period. Everyone started packing up to leave, "Alright, we'll pick back up after lunch." The bearded teacher said before leaving the classroom.
Kiyuki groaned, "Thank god that's over, I freaking hate Trigonometry." She complained as she put her books in her bag.
"Same here, but it's crap we have to muddle through." Saki added.
Taku smiled slyly at the girls, "Sucks to be you two. I learned the whole course in a few minutes."
"Did I say I hated this math, or ask for your lip?" Saki shot back with a glare.
"You didn't have to ask for my lip, but if you did you could have them as much as you wanted."
Saki blushed at the implications, "W-What's that supposed to mean?!"
"Whatever you want it to mean. Sometimes you wanna talk to me, listen to me, or if you want to… Even kiss me." She shot her a charming smile as he said this.
Saki's cheeks were now red as she swallowed her retort, "C'mon Ki-chan!" She exclaimed as she got up and dragged the black haired girl to the natatorium.
Taku chuckled, "You play too much Taku." Izuku commented.
"C'mon, you gotta admit Okoto is really cute when she's being teased." He replied confidently.
"I'm not denying that. But you like her and she likes you so why not just ask her out already?"
"Really Izu? You know she's got serious tsundere tendencies. I can't be as direct as normal here. Still, this is one of the funnest chases I've ever had. I really like her."
"Well you do you, Taku." Izuku said before getting up and heading to the next period.
"Hey, did you guys hear that there was a break in at Tartarus prison last night?" Isamu Mugenshi asked the group he was in. He was a child genius of ten years old with brown hair and large auburn eyes. He was one of the top students in class S and he was by far the most impressive student intellectually.
"Yeah, I heard about that. Thankfully no one escaped." A boy added.
"They say the reason for that was ONE showing up." The youngest boy added.
"Thank god for that." Kriest stated.
Mugenshi looked at the greenette, "Hey Midoriya! Are you good over there? You look a little out of it."
"I'm fine, I just have a lot on my mind."
The kid took in his words, "Alright then." He was clearly a little concerned but he quickly perked back up, "Alright! Let's go swimming, people!"
The group left the classroom. Jinji Aoi was playfully flirting with Kireina Iruka, a cute, short, petite girl with blue eyes, hair mirroring the three fins of a dolphin and a dolphin tale. She absolutely loved water and with swimming being what they'd be doing for P.E for the next week truly excited her.
Izuku and Taku were the only ones left in the classroom, Taku gave him a silent look and the greenette got up to head to his next period. He wasn't tired but his thoughts wouldn't leave him, they left the class room and headed to P.E. "You're carrying a lot right now. Wanna tell me about it?" Taku asked warmly.
Izuku sighed, "It's just getting crazy, Taku, I'll tell you later… By the way, did you ever find who broke your encryption?"
"Didn't take me long actually. It was done from a laptop, I was able to hack into it and find it belongs to a Minami Aiba. Whoever she is, she's actually a pretty damn good hacker as she deflected me like four times. I'm gonna need a hero to pay her a visit."
"Noted. Gentle Criminal and his sidekick were there last night, she may be the one who broke into the system."
"Well we're gonna need to look into why they got involved with that lot in the first place. From my understanding, he's just fining for attention."
Izuku took a breath, "It's just that I feel wrapped in a huge mystery. Nothing is as I originally thought and what I'm learning just opens more mysteries."
"Like what?"
"Only one prisoner escaped last night, and it was a former hero."
"What?" Taku was clearly confused by this. "Who?"
"Lady Nagant, apparently."
"Don't know who that is."
"She's a long range combatant that's a master sniper. She hasn't done any hero work in like three years but I had no idea she was in prison."
"So the media's covering that up. Figures."
"Yeah, I mean I get it. If a villain breaks out of Tartarus that would make people panic because it's supposed to be inescapable."
"Speaking of escape, I was listening to your talk. You don't think All For One can leave whenever he wants right?"
"Not without outside help." Izuku gripped his chin, "His foresight is really damn annoying. He said once he loves coming up with plans with several routes to achieve a goal, and I think this is no different."
"I can keep an eye on him, you know." Taku said reassuringly.
"I know. It's just that he had a lot of sound logic and I would hate it if he turned out to be right."
"Naturally."
Sakai High Natatorium
The lanes were full and the pool was lively. Everyone was in their black school swimsuits, they would be doing aquatics for the next week and on their first day back they would just be swimming as many laps as they could. There were eight lanes with most of the students filling them, Iruka asked for the eight lane by herself to go for the school record of most laps in ten minutes. Most class S students were bookworms who didn't spend that much time playing or exercising, but in the midst of everyone doing their laps there were four that stood out among the class. Kireina Iruku, Saki Okoto, Kiyuki Tabihara and Izuku Midoriya were blitzing up and down their respective lanes like fish, overlapping their classmates many times over. With most of the kids tired and with fifteen minutes left in the class the teacher left the class to play around in the final minutes.
Some were swimming while others were sitting outside the pool and talking to each other. Izuku was sitting on the edge of the pool with his feet in the water, he watched Iruka continue to swim laps but he was still very much in his thoughts. He spotted Mugenshi in the pool sitting in a tube, "Hey Isamu, where'd the tube come from?"
The young boy spun in the water, "It's an invention I had in my pocket." His answer was casual. For a kid he was a damn good inventor, not on Taku's level but in time could become a well renowned scientist. The two had actually bonded over their respective inventions with the kid wanting to become Taku's student only for the greynette to turn him down.
"Midoriya?" A feminine voice from his right called to Izuku. Turning to see who it was he saw Yuuko Kinoshita eyeing him. She was a good looking brown haired girl of average height, deep green eyes and a slim build. Her default expression was serious but he knew she had a softer side, she was a stellar, well rounded student befitting class S. Her arms were crossed as she looked at him.
"Hey, what's up Kinoshita?"
"You've been looking pretty solemn since this morning, are you okay?" She asked with a slight blush even though her face was serious.
He shot her a charming smile, "I didn't know you cared. But I'm fine. I've just got a lot on my mind as all."
"Well your yawning in class earlier weirded me out."
"You came over here just to tell me that?" Izuku shot back with a raised brow.
Her expression deepened, "I just came to tell you to shape up. You're a class S student so remember what you represent as part of this institution."
Izuku looked at her nonchalantly, "I'll try to remember that."
"Good, because this semester I'm gunning for the top."
"Well you fell behind Shouko, who fell behind Taku, who fell behind Inomata, who fell behind Asuno who fell behind to me, and I couldn't get past Mugenshi so good luck." The moment these words left his lips he was struck in the back, Yuuko had kicked him into the pool.
Kriest, who was sitting on a bench with Kiyuki, Saki and Taku, had seen that and merely shook his head. "That's unbecoming of a woman, Kinoshita." He said to the skulking brunette who merely shot him a glare.
Izuku allowed himself to sink into the pool, holding his breath and allowing himself to just let the water have him. Raising his eyes he saw Iruka still swimming, he felt the water shift and turning to his left he was met with a big pair of blue eyes. He smiled as Iruka took his hand and lifted him out of the water as if he were drowning. They got above the water and she rested him on the edge. Izuku strung an arm on the side, playing along. He exhaled deeply, "You saved me… Dolphins truly are our friends." He said dramatically.
"It's good to know that another person knows that." The dolphin girl said in a chipper tone.
"Yo Kireina! How many laps have you got in today anyway?"
"I'm sitting at about 100 right now." She smiled confidently, "I've still got a lot more in me. You wanna race, Kiyuki?"
"Nah. I'm already dry, I don't wanna get wet again." She replied blandly.
Saki, who was sitting to her left on the bench, was surprised at this. "Wow! Ki-chan turning down a challenge? Someone pinch me, I'm dreaming." Her eyes widened as she silently yipped from the sudden pinch to her left nipple, the next instant her fist connected with Taku's right jaw. Her punch sent him spinning and landing in the middle of the pool, "I didn't mean you could pinch me there!" She angrily exclaimed, getting the attention of her classmates. Most of them just sweat dropped, fully understanding what happened even if they didn't see it.
Izuku and Iruka were eyeing the spot from where Taku hit the water. The dolphin girl sighed as she eyed the ripples, "Think Okoto finally killed him?"
"I hope not." Izuku answered, not really concerned.
After third period it was time for lunch. Sakai's breakfast and lunch menu consisted of a variety of gourmet dishes. Izuku sat at a table with Saki, Kiyuki, Taku, Iruka and Kriest. They were at their usual table and were having good back and forths with each other. As the group talked and ate, almost everyone outside of class S was stealing glances at their table, more specifically they were looking at Kiyuki and Saki. They were kinda famous at the moment given their involvement in the alien attack and many people who saw them fight wanted to see them. Saki could sense every eye on them and it annoyed her, she sighed, "These bugs are annoying."
"Well what do you expect Okoto, not many people can say they fought an alien." Izuku said slyly. Saki just gave him a blank, annoyed look, unable to call him out because his identity was a secret.
"I still can't believe you two were involved in that." Iruka said chipperly.
Kiyuki swallowed her curry, "It's not like we planned for that. Thank god ONE stopped the initial bombing or the whole city may have been taken out. That whole situation had serious end of the world type vibes."
Saki nodded, "Right. We got to use our training, plus this was a set of special circumstances. I'm just glad we didn't get expelled."
"Thank whatever god you subscribe to for that." Taku joked.
Izuku, who was sitting across from Kiyuki, looked past her to see Aoi approaching their table. He had three Yakisoba buns and a carbonated water bottle on the tray in his left hand and a school newspaper, "Hey man." He said to his excited friend who stopped in front of the table.
Aoi was known for his sly, cool, jokey, perverse personality. The smile on his face was telling as he eyed his friends, specifically Kiyuki and Saki, "That look says you know something I want to know about." Taku said with a cool smile. Their personalities were very similar especially in their regards to the opposite sex, they were truly kindred spirits.
He raised the newspaper, "You guys gotta freaking read this!" He said with a bright smile though chuckles.
He put the paper on the table and the title was jarring, ""Sakai's Battling, Busty, Beauties!" What the hell is this?!" Saki exclaimed, snatching the paper, angry after reading the title. She started reading the article, her anger building.
"It's the hottest topic right now." Aoi answered slyly.
"With heroes massacred by the alien that descended upon Musutafu, Sakai high first years Saki Okoto and Kiyiki Tabihara stepped up to the plate becoming the reluctant heroes needed to turn the tide in favor of humanity! Who wrote this?!" Saki exclaimed, demanding an answer.
Taku leaned over to her, reading the paper, "Kagami Kusakabe, apparently."
Aoi smiled, "Thousand yen says she's had this story lined up since it happened in real time."
Kiyuki looked at the article, "Says here that Niijima edited this. That explains the title."
Haruo Niijima was a second year and the head of the newspaper club. He was well known for his sly and deceptive approach to journalism. He was someone definitely in the know about almost everything going on around school and the people in it. And Kagami wasn't too different but she had more integrity than he did, plus she was cute so she got a pass. She was so passionate about journalism and getting her scoop she was skilled at espionage, she always kept her camera on her and was like a ninja when it came to intel gathering. Izuku still remembered when he allowed her to shadow him as ONE when he delivered his counter drug to trigger to the police. An article about that was in the school paper the next day.
Saki was on the verge of tearing the paper, "That alien maggot! I'm gonna kill him!"
Taku raised a confused brow, "Okoto, why are you so hot about this?"
The ash blonde calmed herself, "I just don't like people making a spectacle of me, okay!"
"Saki you're making a bigger deal out of this than it is." Kiyuki said, though she empathized with her friend, it was something she'd have to deal with. "Nothing wrong with a little popularity." Her eyes narrowed in the far corner of the cafeteria, spotting a camera aimed at them. It was clearly Kagami, Kiyuki quickly wrapped her arms around Kriest's neck who was surprised by this sudden action, even more so when she started playfully nibbling on his right ear. She could hear the camera taking photos.
"That's because you like attention, Ki-chan. I don't like having a bunch of eyes on me." Saki said, putting her left hand to her cheek. Case and point." She said, noting the small camera on the far end of the area that most wouldn't have noticed.
Izuku followed her line of sight as he finished his Katsudon, "That's probably Kagami." He thought. Taku read the article and after a few seconds he read the whole thing. Aoi sat next to Izuku as Taku passed him the newspaper. He gave it a quick read and was a well written, descriptive article, there was no bashing in it at all it was fully supportive. No wonder the school was liking it. It had specific details about Saki and Kiyuki, even going so far as to mention that Kiyuki was blood related to the two gods of martial arts. Only people in the know knew those details, this was definitely an article written by Kusakabe. "This is actually a pretty well written article. Some of these photos may put too much emphasis on both your chests but I'm sure that's subjective."
Saki groaned, "Seriously, what is so interesting about these?" She asked, gesturing to her endowed chest, truly annoyed.
"Everything." Aoi said shamelessly.
Saki sensed Taku's finger inching towards her left boob again, "Bug, move that hand another inch and you won't have it anymore." Her voice was calm with her tone threatening, making Taku retract his hand.
Kiyuki pouted, "She's right." Everyone turned to her, "Everyone's so stuck on Saki's boobs, what's wrong with mine?" She playfully complained.
"You have 36 double d's while Okoto has 38's, a small but subtle distinction." Aoi answered confidently, having visually taken their measurements on their first meeting.
"I'm gonna gloss over how you know that." Izuku sweat dropped with a wary smile.
Iruka blushed heavily, feeling a little insecure as she wasn't nearly as well endowed as the two other girls at the table, "How can you talk about this so casually?! You guys are perverts!" She exclaimed cutely.
"I'm merely a lover and admirer of the female form. If that makes me a pervert, so be it." Taku stated confidently.
"Same here." Aoi added. "For the record Tabihara, your lower curves stand out more than your curves up top."
Kiyuki's eyes widened as she registered his words, "Guys stare at my butt." She thought, this new information setting in. Her boobs were big, but they weren't the biggest, and she definitely didn't want to be the same size as her mom. She liked training and being active and the last thing she wanted was a pair of G's on her chest.
Izuku got up, "Alright, I'm taking off, everyone."
Kiyuki saw he had finished his food but it was still weird for him to leave before it was time to head back to class, "Leaving so soon?"
"Yeah, I need to get some time alone and clear my head. See you all back in class." He answered her and walked away.
Kiyuki watched the greenette leave, she turned back to her gray haired friend, "Taku? What is with him today?"
"He's got a lot on his mind, Tabihara." He answered as he playfully wrapped around Saki and rested his right arm on her shoulder, causing the girl to blush. Saki couldn't even find it in her to hit him, all she could think was what a persistent bastard he was.
Izuku left the cafeteria, the thoughts of last night still very fresh in his mind. He was glad he was able to prevent a serious outbreak, but he got there too late to save everybody. He didn't regret his detour but it ate up too much time. Everything about last night put him on edge with the multiple missed opportunities, he could have stopped Tachibana's group, saved more prison guards and taken down the League Of Villains, but he was only able to stop a prison break.
Last night
ONE had gotten the message from Intech and was Sky Walking towards Tartarus prison. He was flying over Nagoya when the scent of blood hit his nostrils. He stopped himself, looked down and saw a hole in the side of what seemed like an abandoned warehouse. Kicking off the air he landed gracefully on the ground, looking into the building he sensed no life inside. Quickly going inside, the first thing he noticed was a pair of severed legs in blue jeans and dark shoes on the floor surrounded by a pool of blood. Near that was a gray cumbled corpse, his analytic skills began to kick in as he quickly collected a blood sample. He looked down at the crumpled body, "This guy… It's as if he was turned to dust but there's no blood here." ONE paused for a moment, "I think Shigaraki did this." He thought as he peeped the pair of legs on the floor, he crouched down, "This one had their entire upper body taken out. An instant kill." He thought to himself, thinking this looked familiar.
He had seen something like this before but didn't want to think about who may have been behind this, because if he did it meant HE was interacting with the league. Turning to his right he saw a glint in the moonlight and saw a familiar looking item, it looked like one of the quirk erasing bullets they got from Shie Hassaikai,the needle was bent but the blood inside was still full, telling that this bullet missed its mark. He picked it up and quickly inspected it, "There's no question.. Overhaul was here." He thought aloud. He wanted to stay and investigate more but he needed to move. He quickly pocketed the evidence he collected and leaped back into the air, putting this discovery on the backburner until he handled the Tartarus situation.
End flashback
Izuku was in the midst of his thoughts as he made his way to the gym. His eyes drifted to the left as he exited the hallway into a corridor where he spotted a staircase, he sensed several presences and a surprisingly familiar one. Close to the top of the staircase he spotted a familiar toddler boy with light brown hair, "Is that Kotaro? What's he doing away from the daycare?" He thought as in the next moment some students rounded the corner, bumping into the little boy and sending him falling down the stairs. Izuku's eyes widened at seeing this and in a flash he caught him along with the bento he was carrying before he could hit his head on the stairs and tumble down. He held the boy in his arms, Kotaro's eyes, which were usually stoic and blank, had a look of clear surprise, the students that bumped into him were even more so.
"Where did that kid come from?" A girl asked. She was beautiful with long black hair, with bangs, brown eyes and a curvy figure wearing the Sakai school uniform.
"Don't worry, he's okay." Izuku assured her. He looked down at the boy in his arms, "Kotaro, what are you doing here?"
The stone-faced toddler merely pointed at the bento in his other hand, "Nii-chan."
That may have been all he said but Izuku's spent enough time with this boy to know how he operates. "I see. Kashima forgot his lunch and you were bringing it to him." Kotaro nodded his head while giving a sound of acknowledgement.
"Alright, I'll help you take this to him." He began to walk up the stairs when he felt a grip on his arm, Kotaro's expression was still blank but there was a clear message, and that was he had to do this on his own. Izuku got the message, "Okay, Kotaro." He put him down and handed him the bento, he took it into his small hands and rounded the corner to go up the second flight of steps.
"I think that kid's on his first errand?" The male student asked. Though he had strong feminine features he was definitely a boy.
"I think so too." Izuku agreed. He almost shed a tear, "He is such a good boy. We need more kids like him, you have no idea."
The black haired girl tilted her head, "Are you about to cry?"
"No, I'm just emotional." He took a good look at his fellow students, recognizing them, "You're Yumeko Jubami and Hideyoshi Kinoshita, from class C, right?"
"And you're Midoriya from class S." Yumeko responded.
"That I am. I'm gonna stay and make sure he makes it to your class, so you two can go about your business."
Hideyoshi turned to Kotaro who was making his way up the steps, "Wait, that kid's going to our class?"
"Yeah, he's taking that bento to Kashima." Izuku stated.
Yumeko looked at Kotaro, "That's Kashima's little brother! He's so adorable!" She cutely brought a hand to her cheek.
"I'm not seeing the family resemblance, but I wish I had a brother like that." Hideyoshi commented as he watched the toddler's effort to climb the stairs.
Yumeko smiled, "Unfortunate. Because you only have a twin sister, who you happen to be prettier than."
"Don't let her hear you say that." Izuku commented.
"Hey! I'm still a guy, Yumeko!" He shot back defensively.
"I know. I'm just stating a fact." The girl replied casually. She looked at Izuku, "Well we must be going. Let's play a game together some time, Midoriya." She said with a beautiful smile.
"Not a chance. I know about you, Yumeko Jabami, our very own compulsive gambler."
She showed no anger by that statement. She smiled beautifully at him while crossing her fingers, "I just love the thrill of risky games."
"Noted. Excuse me." He went around to watch Kotaro. He made sure everyone coming down stayed to the right so as to not bump into him again. His dedication to climb those steps was truly inspiring, it was probably the hardest he's worked at anything and he was determined to see it through. After a while Kotaro made it to the top of the steps, he firmly held onto the bento, the last leg of his errand started now. Izuku guided him as they made their way to class 1C, the door was open and students were talking amongst themselves. He spotted Ryuuchi sitting with Kamatani and several other classmates, as well as the food on his desk. "So his classmates shared their lunch with him." Kotaro caught up to him, "Hey, Kashima!"
The dark brown haired boy turned towards the voice, "Midoriya? Hey, what's up?"
"I've got a little visitor for you." His head gestured downward to Kotaro standing in the doorway.
The older boy was admittedly surprised to see his younger brother, he quickly stood up, "Kotaro?" He walked up to him, spotted the bento in his small hands and crouched down to his level, "What are you doing here?"
Kotaro raised the Bento, "Nii-chan, lunch." The purity of his actions was beyond adorable.
Ryuuchi was completely moved by this and all the effort he must have put in to bring this to him. Izuku happily watches this moment between brothers. "Kashima, you can't eat again." He heard one of his classmates say before Kamitani shoved a bun in his mouth to shut him up.
Ryuuchi took the bento from his brother, "Thank you so much, Kotaro." The toddler kept a blank yet thankful expression. The older brother smiled when he heard his younger brother's stomach rumble, he gently picked him up, "C'mon, let's eat lunch together." Izuku left with the two with Kashima shooting Izuku a thankful look before they went to the staircase to eat.
"That brotherly bond truly warms my heart." The greenette thought as he made his way to the gym to shoot some hoops. In all honesty he just wanted the day to be over so he could do hero work as he had a lot of investigating to do. One of which was that online villain Gentle Criminal. He didn't pay him much attention at the time but to see a low level crook with the likes of Tachibana, Stain and Kazamaki was shocking. He's seen a couple of his videos but it mostly seemed like harmless, theatrical fun, so he never thought of bothering him. To him it looked like Gentle cared more about people seeing it was him who did the crime rather than the crime itself, it wouldn't surprise him if a video of what they did in Tartarus last night was online right now. Not only that but wasted loads of time looking for Stain in the wrong place. He's studied his M.O so he;'s likely to go back to Matsue or chose a new hunting ground where he'll stay for a while, he needed to find him him and be sure Uwabami was the last hero he'd hurt. Issues for later, right now, he needed to clear his head on the court.
The school day came to an end, Class S got their things and began to leave the class. Many were talking to each other and making plans for after school. Saki had put her stuff in her bag, "The first day back is in the books."
Kiyuki turned to Izuku who was looking at something on his laptop, "What are you getting into later on?"
Izuku shot her a quick, rhetorical look, "Isn't it obvious?"
She looked at him cutely, "It is. But you could take the day off and hang with us this afternoon."
Izuku typed a few keys, "While normally you know I'd like that, I can't." He paused, "Not after what happened last night." He thought as he continued to look at his computer.
Kiyuki took in his response, the look in his eyes was telling. "By the way, you wanna tell me what's been bothering you?"
Saki eyed him, "I'm curious too, Midoriya."
Izuku looked at the two girls before sighing, he looked at Kiyuki, "Let's just say an old senpai of mine has been acting up recently."
Kiyuki raised an eyebrow, "That's cryptic."
"I wanna handle this before Michiko does, that's all I wanna say for now."
The group of friends leave school together. They talked amongst themselves as they took the train ride back to Musutafu, they didn't have much homework on their first day back so it was a relatively simple school day. Izuku and Taku went to his place after school and were greeted by Eri and Inko, the little girl jumping into Izuku's arms when they entered. It had been almost three months since she came to live with them and he's enjoyed every moment of it. The Midoriya's loved her from day one and regardless of her blood relatives she belonged with them. After having a moment with Eri, the two went to his room. Izuku pulled out the quirk erasing bullet he found last night and on his computer revealed the research he'd been doing on it.
"So this is what's been on your mind all day?" Taku stated as he eyed Izuku's work.
"This on top of several other things. I actually found this in a warehouse in Nagoya last night, that's actually what kept me from getting to Tartarus sooner."
"Nagoya? That's pretty out there, what do you think Overhaul was doing?"
"He was meeting with the League. I found a crumbled body and a pair of legs on the floor, the effects of Shigaraki and Overhaul's quirks. If I had to guess, they met, a confrontation ensued and ended in violence." He picked up the bullet, "That being said, this round is different from the ones we've studied before, It's still made from Eri's blood and cells but it's weaker."
"They've lost their main ingredient for the bullets. They probably made a less potent version in order to preserve whatever DNA they have left of Eri." Taku surmised.
"My thoughts exactly. But I'm a little worried they were able to get in touch with the league. I also took a blood sample from those legs and found they were all that remained of Kenji Hikiishi."
Taku narrowed his eyes, "Magne?.. We both saw what Overhaul's quirk can do that night at the masquerade, he went painlessly at least. Why do you think he wanted to meet with the league?"
"Something All For One said last night got me thinking. I think Overhaul wanted to recruit the league into his organization." Izuku answered.
Taku turned his head, "That makes sense. Despite how small they are, the League does have name recognition. A small time Yakuza like the Hassaikai being associated with them will get the people in the shadows talking."
"Not just that. Villains sense the vacuum left by All Might and All For One, and want to spread their power and influence. Overhaul is very business savvy, so I think this was his attempt to do that."
Taku sat on his bed, "As far as organized crime syndicates go, the Hassaikai aren't that impressive. I've dug into their history as much as I could and to my shock they're surprisingly honorable, at least that's what the majority of the info I have found says about them."
Izuku registered his words, "Criminals like Yakuza have been barely surviving since All Might's reign, my guess is Overhaul saw the potential in Eri's power to bring them prominence. There's no honor whatsoever in what he did to her."
"True, but there's also the fact that." Before Taku could finish his sentence there was a ring at the front door. Izuku sensed his mom was going to answer it, he opened his door and saw his mother open the door to two casually dressed policemen.
Izuku closed his door, "Cops are here, they probably wanna talk about Eri. Let's pick back up on this after they leave." Taku nodded in agreement.
The two boys exited the room as Inko welcomed in the two officers, they all sat at the kitchen table. "Thank you for allowing us in Mrs Midoriya. Let me get straight to the point, we're here to give an update of what's been happening in our investigation and to check up on Eri. Where's she?" One of the cops asked.
"She's in her room." Izuku answered before his mother, "Does she need to be here for this?"
"She can stay in her room for now, I just wanted to be sure you knew where she was. Although we may need her to I.D someone in a moment." He along with his partner eyed the greentettes in the room, "So, how are things?"
Inko was the first to answer, "Great. The time she's been here has been phenomenal. We love having her and she's truly become part of the family."
"That's good to hear. And how are things usually, what does she do daily?"
"Eri's just a normal kid. She still has her mental scars but she's full of love." Izuku stated.
Inko smiled at her son in agreement, "That's right. She likes to play, enjoys drawing and going outside. I've been helping her study and learn. She's also making friends and enjoys spending time with them. My husband is back home from working overseas and he's accepted her with open arms, and though they haven't been together long they both love each other."
"On top of that, we spend a lot of time together playing and just hanging out. She's so innocent and it's cute how curious she is about a lot of things. She loves trying new things and just having fun." Izuku added.
Well it seems she's very happy and you enjoy having her here. We're here to give an update on our investigation and to check in on her. So let me start with saying we're still keeping tabs on the Shie Hassaikai. The movements of the group have changed in the past few months, almost as if they're all on edge about something."
"Do you think they may be looking for Eri?" Inko asked.
"We suspect that. After she came to live with you the group was asking around about a girl with pale blue-gray hair, red eyes and a horn. They kept it within the city so we didn't find it prudent to inform you."
Inko was a little worried by those words, "What is Eri's relation to anyone in that criminal organization?"
"We've run her name through several databases but a record of her birth hasn't come up anywhere. When asked who the girl was they claimed she was Chisaki's daughter, but as I said, no record of the girl's birth exists." He pulled a paper out of a briefcase, "We actually had a theory about the girl's origins and after exploring it we were able to find a birth certificate for a Eri Sagara." He ended these words by sliding a birth certificate on the table in front of the two Midoriya's, and both Inko and Izuku scanned the paper. The date showed she was born in Los Angeles California at Coruscant Hospital on December 21st, with the year meaning she'd be turning seven this year. Her parents' names were Sanosuke and Mika Sagara.
Izuku eyed the two officers, "And you're sure this is Eri's birth certificate?"
"We're fairly sure. The woman, Mika Sagara, was born Mika Akashiya, and is actually the daughter of Shirou Akashiya. Founder and head of the Shie Hassaikai."
All three were surprised by this, "But I thought that Chisaki guy was in charge?" Izuku asked, playing ignorant.
One of the cops pulled out a small photo, it was of an older man with slick back gray hair, a serious expression and small gray eyes. "This is Shirou Akashiya, and while we're on the subject he actually hasn't been seen in months."
"Do you think he's dead?" Izuku asked.
"It's a definite possibility, but unlikely. Chisaki as well as the other members respect the man too much, so it's unlikely they'd just kill him. That being said, their movements and operation became more questionable since he disappeared."
"What do you mean by questionable?" Inko asked.
"The police have been keeping tabs on this particular group for years, and as far as criminals go they've always had a semblance of honor. They never got involved in the drug trade until Chisaki took the reins. Not only that, if the girl is Akashiya's granddaughter there's no way he'd allow Chisaki to experiment on her."
Izuku took in the officers' words, even though they were criminals there were still lines some people wouldn't cross, and along with that, family genuinely means something. If all this is true it means Overhaul was hurting Eri behind the old man's back and he didn't know. But if Eri has parents who live America then why was she here in Japan and subjected to a life of torture? Do they not care? He was about to ask about Eri's parents when Inko beat him to it, "What about Eri's parents? Why are they overseas and she's over here?"
The cops had solemn expressions at these questions, one of them sighed, "Eri's father, Sanosuke Sagara, is dead. We were able to find a death certificate saying he died two years ago of a 'Quirk related accident'." These words completely shocked Izuku, Eri quirk is very powerful and it only works on living things. He had a terrible suspicion that Eri accidentally killed her father when her quirk manifested, maybe she'd been abandoned by her mother because of that incident. "Regarding the girl's quirk, we received the report from the doctor we sent to test her and it's unlike anything in her family. That being said, it can be assumed she was left in the care of her grandfather who unwisely trusted Chisaki to take care of her."
Everyone took in the officer's words, the full magnitude of Eri's situation fully setting in. Inko eyed the officers, "Thank you for sharing this with us, is there anything more you have to say?"
"We're close to nailing them. The department is teaming up with Sir Nighteye's agency to bring it home."
"All Might's former sidekick? That sounds assuring." Izuku perked up, showing his hero nerd side and interest in this news.
"It really is. Well that's all we have to report for now, but before we go we'd like to see Eri and ask her some questions."
"That's fine." Izuku got up and rhythmically knocked on the wall behind one of the couches, Eri's room was on the other side and this was a way of calling her without going to her door. "Eri~! Can you come here for a minute?" A moment later the door to her room opened and Eri came into the living room. She was wearing a short sleeve dress shirt under a blue painfore with black leggings and white socks. She opened her door and saw when Inko let the police in but didn't think much of it. All eyes were on her when she walked in the room, causing her to feel a little uneasy, but the warm smiles of Izuku, Inko and Taku put her at ease.
One of the cops smiled warmly at her upon seeing her unease, "Hello Eri. Do you remember us?" He gestured to him and his partner.
Eri shook her head, "Yes." She answered honestly, remembering these were the two policemen who brought her here in the first place.
Inko perked up, "Eri, these men want to ask you a few questions."
The cops went on to talk to Eri. How her life has been since coming here, what her days have been like. It was a stark contrast to how her life was before she came to stay with the Midoriya family. The cops asked her multiple questions about her life here and how she felt about the Midoriya's, causing her to shed a few tears from her trying to express how much she loved them. She spoke of how warm they all were and how they were the first people to show her kindness. For the first time in her life Eri felt what it was like to be loved, she had a brother, a mom and now a dad. She couldn't describe it but it made her truly happy. During their talk she tensed up worriedly, a part of her was afraid they'd take her away from them but the officers assured her that wasn't the case. They just wanted to see how she was doing and they'd gotten their answer. After a talk with Inko the cops left the apartment, everyone unsure of how to approach the still on edge Eri.
Izuku got up from his seat and wrapped his arms around the little girl. He held her close to him, he absolutely loved having her around, and couldn't imagine her not being there to hug him when he came home. Izuku pulled away from her and stroked her hair, while Eri wasn't the smartest child in the world but she was pretty forward. When you were open with her, she was open with you, and this was one of those times. Izuku pulled her into a gentle embrace, his warmness brightening up the little girl's heart, "Eri, never forget this one thing. It's not about where you come from… It's where you belong." His words were warm as their embrace deepened.
The sun had gone down and ONE was flying over Nagano, he got an alert on the app saying that there was a wild animal loose in the city. He accepted the request and called the one who posted the report. He touched down in front of an apartment complex and found a tan skinned man with short black curly hair waving him down. The hero landed and approached the man, "Hello Sir. What seems to be the problem?"
The tan skinned man had a look of unease and ONE could sense the man's worry and mixed emotions. "Thanks for coming, I really appreciate it."
"No problem. Your name?"
"Akashi Yuuki."
"Nice to meet you Mr Yuuki. You reported a wild animal loose in the city. What kind of animal are we dealing with and where did you see it?"
He brought a hand to his mouth, "That's the problem actually." He paused for a moment, "Um… My brother, he's a… Big lover of animals. He's actually in the hospital right now because his pet bit him."
ONE took in the man's words, crossing his arms and eyeing him, "And what kind of pet is this?"
The man's expression became ever more uneasy, "We… Told the hospital it was a dog."
"And I take it it wasn't that?" He asked sternly with a raised brow. "If this is an animal related incident why not just call animal control? They can handle this."
Yuuki's eyes widened at these words, "I can't afford for them to go into the apartment!"
ONE was now even more suspicious, "Why not? What exactly is up there?"
"You'll find out in a minute, can you please just come with me?" The hero nodded in response and they made their way to the designated apartment. They were silent until they made it to the door, Yuuki turned to the hero when he put his hand on the door to open it, "ONE. This is a serious situation, I just wanted you to know that. I heard about how you handled that bear a few weeks ago and thought you could work that same magic here." He explained before opening the door and allowing the hero to walk in first.
Before ONE had even entered the apartment he could sense what was inside, he had gotten a good feel for this creature during his last trip to the zoo. He entered the darkly lit apartment only illuminated by the TV. There was a strong scent of urine and straight ahead of him was the kitchen, dipping to his left, when he entered the living room the first thing he could see was a large, yellow eye. The hero kept his composure even as the form of a full grown tiger came into view, the big cat locked eyes with the hero and was laying down on his large pet bed, looking very peaceful. ONE turned to Yuuki, "So this is what you meant."
"It's a long story but basically he bit my brother in the leg, and now we have to get him out of here."
ONE looked at the ground and spotted a splatter of blood on the floor, piecing together what had happened. "You have one of the most dangerous animals in the world in an apartment." ONE put a hand to his head, completely shocked as he thought he'd seen it all. The tiger hadn't made a move and layed calmly on his bed. "Unbelievable… Does it have a name?"
"It's a boy, and his name is Hiro. So what can you do?"
"This is nothing I can't handle. But first I have to call Animal control. He'll probably be taken to the nearest zoo. But your brother is in a lot of trouble." ONE pulled out his phone and called animal control, they thought he was pranking them at first. Ten minutes later they pulled up to the apartment complex. ONE explained the situation and they handed him the tranquilizer dosage he needed, telling them to be ready when he told them to come in. Going back to the apartment, ONE went inside and had Yuuki and the control team wait outside, he faced the big cat who was eyeing him while still laying on his bed.
Hiro opened his mouth and yawned, he started to get up from his bed. ONE flung the tranquilizer at the big cat, hitting him in the butt and making him go berserk. He slammed against the wall behind him and began to thrash across the living room, his size and momentum causing the whole apartment to shake. He roared so loud he was sure the entire building could hear it. The tiger readied to charge at the hero but a wave of pressure passed over him, freezing him with fear and making him rethink moving from his current spot. ONE kept his will bearing down on the big cat as he calmly stepped towards him.
The look in the tiger's yellow eyes was of full, unadulterated fear, it lowered its body into a submissive state. He layed on the floor as the drug coursed through his system, making no move to retaliate. ONE placed a gentle hand on the beast's head, he could sense its fear. It tried to let out a prideful roar only for it to come out as a low growl. ONE sat with him on the floor and brought his head down, allowing him to relax and fall asleep. The hero patted his beautiful fur all while telling him to just relax in a gentle and warm tone, after a while the tiger's eyes slowly closed and he drifted off to sleep. ONE sat next to the sleeping tiger, choosing to wait before he let everyone in, he took off his left glove and continued to pat him and stroke his beautiful fur.
The animal was truly beautiful, he couldn't help but admire the intrinsic magnificence of this tiger. As incredible as this tiger was, he couldn't help feeling a little angry. Aoishi Yuuki, the owner of this apartment, had something so dangerous in his apartment. He's definitely going to pay him a visit in the hospital after this but now that the tiger was knocked out they needed to move him.
He inspected the apartment while animal control came in and they loaded the tiger on a gurney. There were three rooms in the apartment with one that was clearly for Hiro, made evident from the mattress on the floor with various toys and claw marks on the wall that reached towards the ceiling. A small crowd of people had gathered and when they came down the stairs it was pandemonium, many people rushing for pictures and a few even trying to touch the tiger. Many of the neighbors had heard the commotion and were utterly shocked to know one of their neighbors was a full grown hyper carnivore.
ONE was keeping the public blocked off when he sensed several presences above him. Looking up he saw the large, draconic form of Ryukyu and a girl with long periwinkle hair in a blue and mint green hero costume. "Ryukyu!" ONE called out, the two landed, surprising everyone.
The dragoon hero deactivated her quirk, reverting to her normal state, she looked around at the scene as she approached the independent hero. "What happened here, ONE?" She asked while the other girl stood next to her, eyeing him with a bubbly smile.
"An animal issue. We had a tiger in an apartment here."
Ryukyu raised a brow, "A tiger?" She thought as she walked around and looked into the truck and saw the sleeping big cat. "Unbelievable."
"I said the same thing. Apparently the owner's at the hospital from the tiger biting him. Not only that but apparently Hiro's grown up in the apartment since he was a cub. I've spoken to a couple people and apparently he's a bit of an urban legend in this building. Every time someone saw him in a window or heard a roar they thought they were just imagining things."
"Well can you blame them?!" Ryukyu exclaimed.
"I can not." ONE replied casually.
"That is so wild!" The blue haired girl squealed. "Hey ONE! Did you get to touch him? Was his fur soft?"
"I did. And it was. And you are?"
She gestured to herself, "I'm Nejire-chan, and I'm working with Ryukyu as her work study student."
"Hm, I see. And how is that going for you?"
"Really great! Ryukyu is awesome and I always get to learn something!" She answered happily.
"Well that is the point isn't it."
"Hey ONE, why do you wear a mask? Are you trying to hide your identity or look cool?" She asked fast.
"Can't it be both?"
"How tall are you? What's your training like? Are you really quirkless? What's that like?" Her questions came so fast it caused ONE to sweat drop. "There's so much I want to know about you! You wanna patrol with us?"
Ryukyu put a hand on the excited girl's shoulder, "Easy, Nejire." She said with a small smile and her voice was calm. Her golden eyes met ONE's lenses, "Forgive her, ONE. Her bubbly personality becomes a little eccentric when she gets excited."
ONE smiled warmly, "It's fine, I'm sure that attracts many people to you."
Nejire cutely smiled with closed eyes, "It's nice to have a lot of friends."
"There's no greater gift than friendship." ONE replied. "By the way, I spoke with Mirko the other day and she floated that team up offer to me." He said, meeting Ryukyu's eyes.
"Oh, does that mean you're interested?"
"I am. I'll need to know the particulars but whatever it is I'm in."
"I'm glad to hear that." She saw that animal control pulled off with the tiger and the crowd was starting to disperse. They needed to head back to the office and file paperwork, "ONE, do you have some time? We need to head back to the office."
"I have time to spare. Plus this is a good time to talk."
Ryukyu nodded, "Good." She morphed back into her dragon form, "We're heading back Nejire-chan."
"Right behind you!" The girl happily exclaimed as she rose up off spiral energy from her feet. The two women flew into the air, the independent hero watching them from the ground. Nejire-chan looked down, "ONE aren't you coming?"
"Yeah, I was just curious about your quirk. It looks like energy in the wave sense." He leaped into the air, meeting the two heroines.
Nejire smiled at him, "Well Yeah! My quirk's called Wave Motion. I can turn my vitality into energy that I release as spiral shockwaves."
ONE gripped his chin, smiling as he took in her words, "I see. You can use your quirk to fly, increasing your mobility. but if I had to guess if it comes as a spiral it's powerful but not fast."
Nejire got in his face, "You've barely seen my quirk but guessed it's weakness so easily. Are you a quirk nerd or something?"
ONE chuckled, "Actually, yes."
"Are you two done? We DO have to go."
Yeah, let's go Ryukyu." ONE said as he kicked off the air and flew ahead of them, the dragoon hero and her trainee behind him.
All three of them flew in the direction of Ryukyu's agency, as they went both Ryukyu and Nejire and watching ONE's Sky Walk, both impressed at seeing a quirkless person flying. Ryukyu's draconic eyes narrowed, "So that's how you do that." ONE shot a glance behind him as he soared, "Your legs are so strong you can kick the air so fast it creates sonic booms under your feet that act as foot holds or propel you forward. Incredible."
Nejire's eyes widened at her mentor's explanation, The fact this all came back to physical ability and training was insane. She caught up to ONE, " Woah, is she right?!"
The hero met her blue eyes, "She is. My Sky Walk is probably the most useful technique I've ever made. Hell, even All Might can't fly. But a quirkless hero like me found a way."
"That's crazy! You wanna race to the agency?"
"I also have a variation of this technique called Sky Walk: Flash Step." He ended this words by disappearing in a flash of speed, appearing behind Ryukyu, startling the heroine. He then appeared behind Nejire-chan and then Ryukyu before moving all around as if he were teleporting. He stopped behind Nejire, "This is my faster version of Sky Walk. Still wanna race?"
"Sure do~!"
"Let's go then! Ryukyu, countdown."
"3, 2, 1, GO!" Nejire blasted off with her quirk while ONE disappeared in a flash of speed.
ONE appeared on the roof of a three story building with a poster of Ryukyu on the side wearing a piece from her Dragoir clothing line. "So this is Ryukyu's agency, the Dragon's Lair." He thought as looked in the distance and saw the heroines approaching. He flipped off the roof, landed on the ground and waited for the two. Looking in the distance he saw Nejire getting closer but he took specific note of Ryukyu and how she was flying, the way her right wing moved was a clear sign she wasn't fully healed. It made sense, during the storm he saw how most of the right side of her back was melted by acid. It's a miracle she was able to be healed and the damage wasn't that noticeable. ONE leaned against a dragon column at the entrance as Nejire-chan landed followed by Ryukyu, ONE put a hand to him mouth and faked a yawn of boredom, "What took you so long?" Nejire cutely pouted, causing the hero to chuckle from how funny and cute it was, "You are truly adorable."
ONE and Nejire had a cute back and forth before Ryukyu urged them both inside. Entering the hero agency ONE was impressed by the interior decor, the walls were predominantly red while having a strong Chinese theme which included columns of golden Chinese dragons and statues of guardian lions. ONE stood and admired the interior as Nejire and Ryukyu kept walking, "Really loving the Chinese theme you've got going on here, Ryukyu."
"Glad to know you like it."
Nejire twirled around, flashing a cute smile,"Welcome to the agency, ONE!"
He smiled back at her, "Thank you for having me."
Ryukyu called one of her sidekicks and had them file the paperwork for the work they'd done today. Nejire went off to help while ONE and the dragoon hero went to a conference room to talk, they sat at a table across from each other, the atmosphere calm between them. "So, here we are." The heroine stated.
"I'll be honest, you're a lot more welcoming than I expected you to be."
"While I can understand the animosity you receive from heroes I never had a reason to hate you, on top of that I've been interested in you for a while now."
"Oh, should I add you to my list of heroines who are secretly in love with me?" He asked jokingly.
"Don't flatter yourself, I have a boyfriend."
"Lucky man." ONE replied with a sly smile.
"Well, let's get straight to the point about the case. There's a drug trafficking ring here in town that we've been investigating for a while."
"And you want my help along with several others to bring it down."
"That's right." She lowered her head, "It's actually a little embarrassing for a top hero to need to ask for this much help for an investigation but it's necessary."
It's nothing to be ashamed of Ryukyu, we all need help some times."
"I was hurt pretty bad during the Storm. I'm actually thinking of making an appointment with master Keizo to get me back into form." She chose her words on purpose, knowing he was also a student of Rising Sky.
ONE caught the look in her eyes, "Well he is a renaissance man in every sense. There aren't many things he can't do, as unorthodox as his methods may be."
She shot him a knowing look with a small smile, "Oh I'm well aware. I've seen it many times throughout my training." She crossed her arms, keeping her expression, "Ever heard of Ikki Takeda?"
Izuku raised a brow, surprised and getting an idea of where this was going. "The boxer?"
"The very same. That guy wanted to be a professional fighter more than anyone I ever met. Back in highschool he suffered an injury that left his left arm paralyzed. He gave up on his dream and became street fighting delinquent, even with one good arm he was able to carve out a decent reputation. Long story short, I ended up having to babysit Rumi when she snuck out of the dojo to go to a fight club where I saw Takeda there. Not liking the path I saw him going down I stepped into the ring to save him, without using my quirk I was able to defeat him and drag him back to Rising Sky to get patched up. Master Keizo with his infinite skill was able to treat his arm just by squeezing his shoulder a couple hundred times. On top of that he trained him to get back into boxing."
ONE chuckled, "That sounds like the master's genius. Tekada's the best boxer in the country and I've actually been to one of his matches. His Sonic Left followed by his Tornado Uppercut is a two piece combo most people wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of."
"A killer combo in every sense."
ONE raised a finger, "Michiko's actually told me a handful of stories like that. She told me once how she went to personally get Rumi after she snuck out in the middle of the night."
"Every time she would leave, Michiko always came to me. She'd turn my lights on, ask where she went, I'd tell her and go right back to sleep. The next morning at training she'd be covered in bumps and bruises I was positive she didn't get from street fighting.
"Sounds like you had some interesting times during training."
"We did. That bunny was always there to get me in trouble both in and out of school." She smiled lowly, closed her eyes and nodded her head, "But we always got ourselves out of trouble again and again."
ONE met her eyes, smiling warmly, "It's truly incredible, the bonds that martial arts can bring us." He said, thinking of how everything he is and has today, his bonds, skills, life is because he trained.
"It really is." Ryukyu paused before her face became serious, "ONE, before we discuss the case, may I make a request?"
"Of course, though I suspect I already know what you want to ask me." He replied with a sly smile and a knowing look behind his cowl.
"Show me your face. I want to see the person behind that cowl."
"And my detective skills remain as sharp as ever." He said, his tone cool and calm. "While I don't doubt you'd keep my identity to yourself, I'm not completely comfortable just revealing my face to you. This is our first time genuinely speaking after all."
She sighed, "I had a feeling you'd say that. You should know after you defeated us that day at the shipyard the top ten heroes had a meeting about you. I knew you were a student of Rising Sky the moment I saw you fight. When the others were trying to put pieces together to discover who you were, I said nothing and instead chose to speak with the masters. Unsurprisingly they knew but wouldn't tell me, not like I was expecting them to. The point is, I racked my brain trying to understand you. The pain behind your words that day have stuck with me. I wanted to know why you didn't trust heroes or the system, then with your video and interview it all made sense. Michiko said to look at my hero's journey from the start to now, and to also think about the world we live in if I wanted to understand you… Would I be standing here without my quirk? Who could say. But I can honestly say you deserve to be a part of this world. You've always had what it took to be a hero and we all should have seen that."
ONE took in her words, "I've accepted the ignorance and blatant discrimination of hero society, but a part of me will never truly forget it. I could just give up on my dream, no matter how many of my teachers, peers and even heroes told me to."
"And all of us are fortunate you persevered through that adversity."
"All I want is to just be a hero, it's really that simple."
Ryukyu smiled at him, "Just a hero huh?" She closed her eyes, "Alright then."
"All that being said I'd actually like us to be friends, Ryukyu." These words surprised the heroine, "I don't sense that you hate me for one reason or another, and I'd be happy if this was the first of many team ups. Maybe even train and go grab a bite to eat together sometime."
"That's a very forward friend request."
"I thought women liked the direct approach." He joked.
She smiled, closed her eyes with a lowly smile while crossing her arms under her impressive chest, "True… I take it that's the same relationship you have with Mirko?"
"Mirko actually figured out my identity on her own. Since then she's become a special friend to me. Teaming up with her is really nice."
"Especially considering she doesn't' DO team ups." Ryukyu shot playfully.
"Precisely."
"Alright ONE, let's be friends."
"I appreciate it. Now, about the case." He stated, ready to get down to business. Ryukyu gave him a nod before going on to explain their investigation. They'd be making their move in a few days and all those aiding the agency would meet here at that time to move out. ONE sat with Ryukyu taking in everything she had to say, he would let Mirko know he was in and give her the details later. He's had so much on his mind today and he still has so much to take care of. The world is changing, and so many in the shadows are working, fast. He needed to stay focused, and to keep himself sharp. Being the hero he is, there was no doubt in himself to handle all that was to come. Tachibana, the league, Stain and now Overhaul and the Shie Hassaikai. They were all busy, and he'd have to step up his investigations to find them, and he resolved to stop each and every one of them.
Chapter 32 is all wrapped up, Show me some love and give me a review as I hope you all like it because the next chapter is going to have some interesting interactions. Looking forward to writing it, next chapter this arc will fully get going. You'll see many people's perspectives on certain things as well ONE doing more talking and less punching, especially in regards to him dealing with Sir Nighteye. Full disclose I had this idea of introducing an L from Death Note esk character that would have been working for the public safety commission to discover ONE's identity, wrote a whole scene with them here but I scrapped it because said character would have just been a plot device and for the most part I'm glad I did. Next time, ONE teams up with Ryukyu agency, the U.A first years try for work studies, ONE speaks with Gentle and La Brava along Sir Nighteye to get in on his case, and Overhaul plans while mulling over losing Eri. Come back to see how it all plays out.