The ONE True Hero

by J Vision Lil

What if Inko believed in Izuku so he trained and dedicated himself to being a hero? What if he broke his limiter and was rejected from the hero course for being quirkless? This is a story of how Izuku Midoriya became a vigilante greater than any hero. The quirkless Deku who became the One True Hero. OPM deku, martial arts deku, Izumomo, confident deku, smart deku, vigilante deku.

33. Chapter 33

Chapter 33 is here! Hope you enjoy good people! This chapter took a while to write mainly because it was hard to figure out ONE's team up with Ryukyu agency. I had an idea in the beginning but I ended up not liking it and changing it and I'm happy with what I came up with. This is a chapter that will give a good idea of where a lot of characters heads are at in their respective situations, all building up to inevitable clashes. Enjoy the chapter and stay tuned because it'll keep going up from here!

---

Chapter 33 Heroic duty

It had been two days since the police came to talk about Eri and Izuku had a lot going on. His dad and Eri had joined him for his morning workout and the three enjoyed the morning. Once they made it home Hisashi and Eri began preparing breakfast. Normally Inko would cook but she was still asleep. Hisashi had put the rice in a rice cooker, and was preparing the fish for grilling while Eri prepared ingredients for Miso soup. Hisashi loved spending time with the kids, his new job would eat up a lot of time so it was important to make as much time as he could. Eri also spent a lot of time watching and helping Inko in the kitchen, she was becoming quite the little chef. Izuku had gone to get washed up and get dressed for school.

Eri was on a step next to Hisashi who was cooking while she helped and observed, Eri watched intently at her father figure, "Papa, what were you and Mama doing last night?"

Hisashi's eyes widened at this, getting an idea what she meant, "What do you mean, Eri?"

"Last night I heard mama screaming but it sounded like she was happy, and she kept telling you to give her something." The innocence behind her words was so pure it was heartbreaking.

Hisashi had to take a moment to think, he and Inko had a lot of hot sex last night, hence why she's still asleep. Eri couldn't sleep and on her way to Izuku's room she heard the sounds coming from their bedroom. She listened intently to the sounds and voices coming from the room but before she could open the door and further investigate, Izuku came home from patrol. He led her into his room, stopping her from interrupting their marital time and let her sleep with him. He slightly cursed his impeccable hearing, while he used to hear them doing it sparingly, now that dad was home for good he'd be hearing this alot more and it disturbed him.

Hisashi flipped some fish, "Well, Eri… When mommies and daddies love each other they have a special way of playing together."

Eri's expression was blank and innocent as she registered his words, "Did mama like what you gave her?"

Hisashi chuckled lightly, "Yeah. In fact she liked it so much she's getting a good sleep right now because of it." He answered with confidence and the same cool, charming smile he passed down to his son.

Eri was content with this answer, she looked at the food being made, "Can you cook as good as mama?"

Red eyes met as he smiled at her, "You'll find out pretty soon, won't you." His thoughts then shifted to her situation. Inko had told him all of what happened from the police visit, though he'd protect her and keep her safe as best he could it dawned on him they don't have all the details about Eri. Regardless, this girl needed them and they would be there for her. "Hey Eri, you wanna hear a riddle?"

She looked up at him innocently, "Sure."

"A father frog clearly croaks Urbit-Urbit, and mother frog croaks Ribbit-Ribbit, so what sound does their baby frog make?"

Eri registered his words, her lips pressing and her expression showing her depth of thought. Hisashi put several finished potato cakes on a plate, an amused smile as he watched Eri think. It was reminiscent of the times he'd challenge a younger Izuku the same way. "Rikkit-Rikkit." Eri answered, not sounding too confident.

"That's not it. You wanna try again?" Eri made a hmph of affirmation before she went back to thinking. Hisashi put some finished fish on several plates when he saw Izuku exit his room and head towards the kitchen. He was shirtless wearing only his school pants and his red shoes, he had a sly smile, phone in hand when he entered. Eri turned to him with him showing her a picture of a tadpole on his phone, he had heard their entire talk and though he didn't mind challenging Eri in this way it didn't mean he couldn't help her.

Eri looked at the tadpole and had a look of confusion, not even knowing what she was looking at. Izuku smiled down at her, sighing lowly, "Eri, this is what a baby frog looks like. It's called a tadpole."

Her eyes widened at this new information, "Oooooh." She went back to thinking but it's clear she wasn't coming up with anything, Izuku and Hisashi shared a look saying "Go ahead and tell her". "Eri, a baby frog is a tadpole and they can't croak at all." Izuku explained calmly.

Eri was shocked by this answer, "Can I have another one?"

Izuku gripped his chin, thinking of another riddle, "Okay, how about this. When a car rounds a curve what's the one thing it is sure to lose?"

Eri thought for a moment before meeting his eyes, "Gas."

"Yeah, but that can happen when a car goes straight too." Izuku replied, forcing her to think again.

"Parts." She answered, almost hesitantly.

Both Izuku and Hisashi were surprised by that answer, "I would hope not." Izuku replied.

"That would be REALLY scary." Hisashi added.

Eri's depression deepened as she went back in thought, though this was fun, Izuku needed to get dressed and eat. "I'll just tell you."

"No wait!" Eri exclaimed. Her expression changed as she seemed to find an answer, "Air in the tires."

"Sure, but that can happen when the car's going straight to. The answer you're looking for Eri is speed." Eri adorably deadpanned at this. She lowered her head causing the two Midoriya men to laugh lightly at her slightly down state. "Somehow I thought you'd be better at these." Izuku playfully said through his chuckles.

"Izu-Nii~, give me another!" She cutely exclaimed, a new sense of determination shining though her, wanting to get one of these right.

---

Shie Hassaikai main base

Kai Chisaki aka Overhaul was in the lab underneath the house, and though this was his place of calm he couldn't have been any more stressed. It had been nearly three months since Eri disappeared and they were running out of product. He was able to curve that problem by making a weaker version of the quirk erasing bullets. These zap a quirk for two hours instead of six, thankfully he was close to making the finished product to take away a quirk permanently. Several screens were above him playing the camera footage of their underground passages, all showing the night of Eri's escape. While he was at the Underground Masquerade trying to conduct business she was running away. He had told her multiple times how important she was to his plans, and he told his underlings to use the carrot not the stick but she still wouldn't accept her position apparently.

That naughty girl was able to sneak past at least five members on her way out, all of whom didn't notice she slipped right by them. When they found out she was gone he had already made it home from his fiasco, he swiftly killed all those who let her get away and it took hours to clean that mess up. Since then he's been angry and on edge. He was looking forward to expanding the organization, his plan would eventually allow the Hassaikai to rule Japan from the shadows. Once he made the finished product everything would have gone smoothly, selling the quirk erasing bullets to the villains while selling the cure to the heroes. Everything in the testing phase was going great until Eri decided to be selfish and put a bullet in his plans. Business was going as usual but the most important thing was finding Eri and getting her back. "Overhaul?" A voice called from behind him as he polished a bullet, trying to keep his calm.

"What is it, Chrono?" He asked, recognizing the voice and not turning from what he was doing.

"We just got word from the League Of Villains and they want to have a sit down." His white cloaked henchmen explained.

"So it took them three days to cool off, that figures. You give a reply?"

"I told Shigaraki about one of our secret tunnels, he'll come to us."

"Good. Any word on Eri?"

The man's face lowered behind his plague mask, "No, we still haven't found her or picked up any trace of her whereabouts."

Overhaul looked up at the screens showing the little girl escaping, "That naughty girl." He said, almost growling.

"I've told the members to expand their search, we tried asking people in the city if they saw her but came up with nothing. Even while claiming she was your daughter."

"We have heroes and the police breathing down our necks so it's not like we could go to them for help. I hate to admit it but it's a safe bet she probably went to the police, and is now in some kind of protective custody."

"You think?"

"We've been looking at this wrong. If she is in protective custody, then she may have told them about us, hence why the up in observation of us. They most likely moved her outside the city. Check the neighboring cities and smaller towns. Musutafu, Sumire Town, I don't care, getting Eri back is our top priority, she's the key to everything.

The white cloaked Yakuza registered his words, "I'll tell the men." He turned and walked away, leaving his boss to his work.

Overhaul began working on another bullet, he glanced up at the footage of Eri. The form of the little girl burned into his mind, she had a look of desperation that deeply irritated him, he paused the recording just before she went through an exit. He thought of the day he met her, discovering her quirk was one of the happiest days of his life. Bringing the organization back to prominence would be easy with her power, and it was only fitting the boss's granddaughter would make that happen. All of this was for the Hassaikai, they were on a roll until Eri ruined it. Everyone had to make sacrifices to make the organization great again, that was something the boss didn't understand. All that time, all that testing, they were so close and now it's slowly crumbling. He's never much cared for children, but Eri should have sucked it up and did what she had to, HE did. He looked at the screen showing the final moments of Eri, "You're so selfish, little girl."

---

Height Alliance Dormitory

The students returned to the dorm after a hard day of training. They had met the big 3 where they learned the importance and value of doing a work study. They had learned that they could only go to hero agencies with good track records, meaning most couldn't go with the same heroes they interned with. Upon learning this several of the students tried reaching out to those same heroes for a work study only to be declined for one reason or another. The students were decompressing in the dorm, pondering the events of the day, "Okay, this is a lot harder than I thought it would be." Sero said with his arms crossed.

Asui put a finger to her cheek, "I tried to go to Selkies but he doesn't meet the requirements."

Kirishima laid over the top of the couch, "Neither does Fourth Kind. He doesn't accept students for work study, so I couldn't go to him anyway."

"There certainly are many hurdles. I understand the need of wanting us to go to reliable agencies but that doesn't make it easy to find one." Momo stated, sitting across the group with Ashido and Jiro.

Ashido leaned back, "That doesn't help us out Yaomomo!"

"I was just saying."

"Still, it's gonna be tough finding a work study." Jiro stated. "Speaking of, why don't you try to go with Mirko again Yaomomo?"

"Mirko isn't the teaching type. She told me to try and go to Ryukyu."

Jiro was surprised by this, "The number 9 hero? You should definitely look into that."

Eraserhead walked into the dorm, he read the room and saw that they were all thinking of how to do a work study. "Mr Aizawa, I have a question?" Momo perked up, approaching her teacher.

"What is it, Yaoyorozu?"

"This may be a nonsensical question to ask but are there any chances of reaching out to ONE for a work study."

Aizawa gave her a blank expression upon hearing her question, he could tell she in particular just wanted to work with her boyfriend. He sighed, "That is a nonsensical question. You're asking if you can work with an independent hero to learn how to be a pro hero? It doesn't work that way, obviously." He looked out to his class, spotting Tokoyami cooley leaning against a wall with his arms crossed. "Tokoyami, You've got an offer. Hawks has offered you to work with him in Kyushu."

The entire class was surprised by this, "Woah, he's the number three hero?!" Sero exclaimed.

"Number two now." Kaminari corrected.

"Talk about awesome." Ojiro added.

Tokoyami met his teacher's eyes, "I humbly accept."

"Alright then, I'll take care of the paperwork for you later." He turned towards Kirishima, "Kirishima, you've got an offer as well, "Amajiki from the big 3 wants to talk to you about something." He turned towards Ururaka, Asui and Yaoyorozu, "Ururaka, Yaoyorozu, Asui, you've got a similar summons from Hado."

KIrishima raised up, "Amajiki, I wonder what he wants."

Given the timing it could be about the work study program."

Ururaka's eyes widened, "Woah, that would be incredible!"

The redhead rubbed the back of his head slightly, "I could wait until tomorrow to see what he wants." He thought aloud before casting aside those thoughts, "Nope! I'm going over to the third year dorms right now!" He exclaimed as he began to leave the room.

Asui turned to Ururaka, "I don't think I can wait either, let's go with him." The two other girls got up and the three of them followed the spiky redhead.

The dorms were located right across from the school with a road in between them, they were lined in order starting with 1A and ending at 3K. It was convenient when getting to the main campus as well as offering a spot for students to hang out, the four talked as they made their way to the third year dorms. Ururaka put a finger to her cheek, "You think they'll introduce us to the heroes they work with?"

"That would be the most favorable outcome. Only time will tell." Momo answered.

Kirishima scrunched his face, "I forget, which class are they in again?"

"As I recall, Hado and Amajiki are in 3A and Togata's in 3B." Momo answered.

"Speaking of Togata, that guy was pretty awesome."

"He took most of us down without breaking a sweat. I guess it shows the difference real experience makes." Asui commented.

"They're the top students at U.A. Naturally that makes them the students we should be chasing. I really liked Togata, he could have just told us the importance of work studies but decided to show us instead. We should all take that lesson and strive to become stronger."

Ururaka shot her a smile, "This coming from the girl who didn't get one shotted. Like the rest of us."

"It wasn't as if it was an easy challenge for me, Ururaka. If anything I was at a disadvantage, with the control Togata has over his quirk I couldn't touch him at all. Plus I couldn't sense him until he was ready to attack. I had to rely solely on predicting where he would be and striking before he could. And as you saw, even though I was able to read him, his quirk still made him impossible to hit."

"He really is strong." Said Ururaka upon taking in her words, "I thought Bakugo was gonna blow a blood vessel from not being able to get involved."

"It's his own fault he failed the licensing exam, the point of all that was to teach us the importance of work studies, hopefully he learned something just from watching."

"C'mon girls, ease up on Bakugo, the guy's had it rough lately." Kirishima spoke up in defense of the ash blonde.

They all turned to him, Momo narrowed her cat-like eyes at the redhead, making him flinch slightly. "I doubt that, Kirishima. He can be upset about falling behind everyone all he wants, at the end of the day it's his own fault. If anything he's getting what he deserves, his deplorable personality, actions and words are the reason for everything that's happened to him. Not to mention he's quirkist in every way."

Asui turned to Kirishima, "I didn't want to mention that because I have a bad history with that stuff, but you've gotta admit Bakugo isn't evil but he's not necessarily a good person."

Kirishima took in their words. They weren't wrong, but he wasn't THAT bad. "Look, I know he's a little messed up, but he gives me the confidence to be a better hero. He's confident and ambitious… Can we at least agree that those are good things."

Momo looked him in the eyes, "Those are admirable qualities, Kirishima. But they can become ugly and swell one's pride, which is the case with Bakugo. This is the same guy who ties a person's value to their quirk, and considers those with "weak" quirks to be some inferior form of humanity. Not to mention his thoughts on quirkless people. My boyfriend is quirkless so I can speak on this because I've seen it, he treats and views them as less than garbage. If he inspires you, that's fine, Kirishima. But tell me, should a hero have such prejudices?" Her onyx eyes pierced his red ones, he had no response for her, though Bakugo was his friend he couldn't defend him at this moment.

A boy and girl ran past them, "C'mon I wanna see him before he takes off!" A girl exclaimed, urging her friend to keep up.

"You're making too big a deal about this!" The boy exclaimed.

The group watched the pair run past them, "They're off somewhere in a hurry." Ururaka stated.

Momo looked in the direction of the entrance, "Not just them, I sense multiple people heading towards the front gate."

"Wonder what's up?" Said a bewildered Kirishima.

Momo turned upon sensing a familiar presence. She spotted Kendo and her classmate Tokage leaving their dorm and heading towards them. "Excuse me, Kendo, but what's getting everyone so excited?"

The redhead met her eyes, an excited expression on her face, "You haven't heard? ONE's hanging out in front of the front gate, I think he's waiting for someone to bring him a guest pass!"

Momo's expression showed surprise at this, "ONE's here?" She asked aloud, genuinely surprised because Izuku didn't mention he was coming over, it's most likely hero related business since he came in costume.

"Nice talking to you guys but I gotta go!" Kendo exclaimed as she bolted by them, causing Tokage to smile mischievously at her, seeing her friend so eager to see and speak to her hero crush was truly adorable.

Asui's eyes lit up a bit at this information, "I had no idea ONE was on campus."

Ururaka faced the group, "You guys wanna go say hi?" She asked with a bubbly smile, wanting to see the independent hero.

"Let's go!" Momo happily exclaimed, basically deciding for everyone.

"Wait, weren't we just in the middle of something?" Kirishima lightly protested.

"They asked for US Kirishima, so they'll be expecting us whenever." Momo insisted.

Kirishima took a breath, accepting the course. "Alright, let's go!"

The quartet made their way to the U.A barrier, the gate was open allowing students to come and go from campus and as they got closer they saw a crowd forming just outside it. They spotted students with their phones, taking pictures, talking and right at the center of it was ONE. He was conversing with the students while taking pictures, Momo was slightly irked at seeing so many girls trying to pine for her boyfriend's attention, intentionally using their feminine charms to do so. "Try adding that to your training and see what happens. You've got a cool, strong quirk, try giving it that extra kick. The goal should always be better than you were yesterday."

The male student he was talking to pumped his fist, "I'll give it a shot!"

"ONE~!" A feminine voice called out before he was wrapped in the arms of Nejire Hado, he put his hands on her waist as she crosseded her arms around his neck. "It's been too long! How have you been? Are you working a case? Is that why you came to U.A? You said you'd help me train sometime, are we doing that today? Should I give you my number to make things easier on you?!" Her questions came fast and excitedly.

ONE chuckled lightly, he was still holding her, meeting her eyes and trying not to look down at her noticeably impressive chest. "Bubbly as ever Hado. Unfortunately the only reason I'm here is that I need to speak with Mirio Togata."

Her eyes lit up at these words, "Mirio! He's one of my best friends, I can take you to him!"

"I'd appreciate that. All Might should be bringing me a guest pass soon." He replied with a warm smile.

"Even though he's skinny now he's such a cool guy." She smiled adorably at him.

"Ain't that the truth." He looked past the bluenette in his arms and spotted a familiar redhead and greenette, "Yo! Kendo, Tokage, been a while hasn't it? Sorry for not checking in, how'd your licensing exam go?"

Kendo smiled happily at him, meeting his eyes, "Everyone in class B got their licenses."

"That's impressive. Did class A achieve the same?"

"No, only one person in class A failed." Tokage answered. "Now that I think about it, I heard you made an appearance at their exam. What was that all about?"

ONE smiled confidently at her, "I was just passing over as all and saw someone in danger. While the life of a hero is dangerous, no one should die during an exam. I saved someone caught in Todoroki's mistake and left. That was a pretty busy day now that I think about it."

Togake pointed a finger at him, smiling slyly, "You should have come to see us! We got our first one over on class A."

"Tokage, you're sounding like Monoma. Not a good thing."

She brought a hand to her mouth in embarrassment, "Sorry about that, it wasn't on purpose."

"You're fine. I'm not against helping you all improve some more."

Kendo perked up, "Speaking of improvement, I actually mastered that technique you taught me, I can use the Futai No Kiwami with my right hand now."

"I knew you'd get it. Let me guess, you got it the night before the licensing exam?" ONE asked with a sly smile.

"Yes, but you're the one who told me I could get it in a week, and I did that so…"

"Loving your confidence. Congratulations Battle Fist, you're one step closer to being a pro hero." Kendo was pleased, blushing slightly from the praise.

"You seem to be having fun, ONE." Momo said, her eyes closed and an intimidating aura permeated from her.

Nejire being in his arms as well as Kendo and Tokage being close to him made this a compromising situation. ONE spotted the quartet, "Yaoyorozu, Ururaka, Asui, Kirishima, how have you all been?"

"Great, you look like you're having fun." Momo replied with a beautiful smile along with crossed arms and closed eyes.

Though slight, ONE sensed her annoyance, specifically aimed at the bluenette, "Nothing wrong with a hero embracing his fans."

Kirishima stretched to do a fist bump, "ONE! How have you been, man?!"

He gave him a fist bump, "Can't complain Kirishima, you know how it is. I heard most of you got your provisional licenses, congratulations."

"Thanks man. None of us are settling though, we're all still aiming to be Plus Ultra!" He exclaimed with a balled up fist.

"That's what it's all about, Kirishima. Never resting on your current greatness and keeping your tools sharp is what'll make you a great hero."

The redhead gave a sharp toothy smile in acknowledgment of what he said, "Gotcha."

"I wasn't expecting you to just pop up at U.A like this, ONE. Why'd you come here?" Asui asked with a finger to her cheek.

Nejire turned to the girls, answering for him, "He said he had to talk to Mirio, it's probably something hero related."

"It's exactly that." ONE answered with a smile.

Brown eyes met blue as Ururaka eyed Hado, "Speaking of talk, we were actually coming to see you Hado senpai."

Nejire broke off from ONE, she smiled bubbly at the three girls, "Yeah yeah, that's right~! I really liked you three during Mirio's lesson. You girls want to do work studies right? So I figure I'd take you to see the hero I work with and see if she'd take you on."

The girls were happy as this is what they hoped she wanted them for, "Wow! Thanks so much senpai!" Ururaka happily exclaimed.

"We were hoping this was what you wanted to talk about, thank you." Asui added.

"We're grateful for this opportunity." Momo humbly said.

ONE crossed his arms, "You mention Togata giving them a lesson, I sense that's a very interesting story."

"He just showed us the difference work experience makes vs just being in class." Ururaka answered.

"Indeed, I was impressed how he showed us instead of just telling us the importance of turning experience into power."

"I see. Well I've worked with him once and even helped him train, I can definitely say he's benefited greatly from his work study. That being said, a chance to work alongside Ryukyu, that's definitely an opportunity you have to shoot your shot at."

The girl's eyes widened, "Whoa! You do your work study with Ryukyu! That's amazing!" Ururaka exclaimed.

Nejire turned to ONE with a cute pouty face, "ONE~, I wanted it to be a surprise." She began playfully hitting him, "That's why I didn't say it myself!"

ONE smiled, "Sorry about that." His tone was casual as he took her playful jabs.

"This is perfect, I was actually going to try for Ryukyu's agency anyway." Momo stated.

Nejire had stopped hitting ONE, "Let me guess, Mirko said not to come back for a work study?" Said the independent hero.

"You know her so well." Momo replied jokingly.

ONE turned to his three o'clock, sensing a familiar presence making their way through the crowd before Small Might came through in a fitting yellow suit, everyone stopped when they saw the symbol of peace. "Hey All Might, you got that pass for me?"

He raised it up, "Yes sir~ I do. Follow me, I asked young Togata to meet us in the teachers lounge."

"Sweet, lead the way, sir." He followed All Might with the crowd following him and dispersing once they were back in the gate.

The girls huddled together as they walked behind the duo, "Hey~ hey~, ONE, after you're done with Mirio you're gonna come back right?" Nejire asked excitedly.

He chuckled lightly, "Well, I wouldn't mind. But…" He turned to All Might, "How long is the pass good for All Might?"

"It's a day pass, you're good until nine o'clock tonight."

He turned back to the bluenette, "Well that gives me about six hours to play with. My talk with Togata shouldn't take long, and if I'm quick about it I should have time to come back here and hang out."

She closed her eyes, smiling adorably at him, "I'm gonna hold you to that." She turned back to the girls, "Let's go say hi to Ryukyu." All the girls gave their affirmations while saying goodbye to ONE.

ONE turned to his ten o'clock and spotted Kendo and Tokage, most people wouldn't hear what they were whispering about, but he could. "Kendo! I'll try to slide through later."

The redhead turned to him with a slight blush, "I'll see you then!"

ONE and All Might entered the main campus building, they made their way through the halls with the independent hero receiving many surprised looks from teachers and students alike. As they went they talked casually about their goings on, about Melissa and how she's adjusting to life as a U.A student. Retirement still hasn't fully sunk in to All Might yet and he wanted to talk to him about the Tartarus break, which ONE agreed to after he was done with Mirio. All Might opens the door to the teachers lounge and spots Mirio on a couch, and a cup of tea on the table in front of him, "You Are Here!"

"And I need to talk to you! Do You Got This?!" ONE responded, matching his energy.

Mirio caught his catchphrase, "I sure do! How can I help you, ONE? All Might said it had something to do with Sir."

"Let me get straight to the point. I learned recently that the Sir Nighteye agency has been investigating the Yakuza group, Shie Hassaikai. I'd like to team up and assist in the investigation. The reason I'm coming to you instead of straight to Nighteye is because it's been made perfectly clear how he feels about me. I figured if you came with me it would be easier smoothing my request over."

Mirio registered his words, "Oh, so that's what you wanted to talk about." He gripped his chin, "Well it is obvious Sir isn't your biggest fan."

"Sorry ONE, it may be my fault Nighteye has such animosity towards you." All Might perked up.

The independent hero turned to the skinny blonde, "How so?"

"Aside from being my former sidekick, he's a very big fan of mine. He has his view of the symbol of peace and expects Young Togata to carry that torch. Then we have you, someone with not only the power, but also the heart to carry that mantle, and you didn't need me and my quirk to do it."

ONE registered his words, getting a feel of what he meant, "Wait, Nighteye hates me because he thinks I'll outshine Togata? I don't care about stuff like that."

All Might crossed his arms, "Tell that to Nighteye."

"Hey ONE, I'm not against taking you to see Sir, but if you want to get in on the case how can you help?"

"I have history with that group, I have a good idea of what their plans are. I believe I can speed up the process of taking them down."

"Alright, I'm convinced. Now you have to convince Sir."

"Nighteye's one of the most intimidating heroes out there, always ranking high on heroes who look like they should be villains. I'm gonna need to use all my charm for this one." He joked with a smile.

There was suddenly a knock at the door, stopping their conversation, "Come on in." All Might beckoned whoever was on the other side, most likely a student.

The door opened and in walked Bakugo, his expression revealed sadness and his body language was calm, "Hey All Might, do you have a minute?" He asked upon seeing the skinny former hero. He turned to his left and saw Togata and when his eyes landed on ONE his calm demeanor faded as his anger instantly shot to the surface, "What the hell are you doing here?!"

"Hello to you too, Bakugo. I needed to meet with Togata. Your timing is actually great, we just finished." He got up, turning to the older blonde, "Shall we?"

Mirio smiled, "Yeah, let's go!"

ONE turned to the steaming ash blonde, "I heard about your provisional exam, " He gave him a thumbs up with a bright smile. "Keep your head up and I'm sure you'll pass next time."

Bakugo, feeling patronized, grit his teeth, "I don't need any goddamn advice from you." He scoffed, turning away from the independent hero.

All Might kept a stern expression, sensing the tension between the two, "Alright then." ONE said before leaving with Mirio.

"Why so hostile, young Bakugo? He saved you didn't he?"

"That bastard didn't save me, All Might! He's just a quirkless bastard, no matter how strong he is, that's all he'll ever be."

All Might was slightly offended by that statement, as he himself was quirkless, but he couldn't tell him that. "You shouldn't make such generalizations, young Bakugo… So why have you come here today? I'd be happy to help with any issue you have."

Bakugo sat down on the couch, taking in the hero's words. He was quiet for a moment, trying to find his words, "All Might, do you think I have what it takes to be a hero?"

All Might was surprised by these words, he's been observing all of his students since the year started and out of all of them he's been the most concerned about Bakugo. Yes, the boy is talented, yes, he has a strong and flashy quirk with a wide range of ability, but that's literally all he has. In terms of a person he's not the best, and his refusal to listen to anyone and do things his own way is what's led him to be the only first year to not get the provisional license. Bakugo has an inferiority complex that he's constantly fighting against stemming from the pressure he puts on himself, it was normal for kids like him to receive praise for their abilities and feel special. But that environment hurts them more than it helps when actually faced with competition, and situations where ability isn't all that matters. "I'm surprised to hear that? You have the ability to be a capable hero young man. But if I'm being honest, as a person, you're no hero.

Bakugo's eyes widened at those words, a shot to the heart from hearing it from his hero. He lowered his head, his hair covered his eyes, "So you're saying I'm weak?" He asked lowly, afraid of the answer.

"It has nothing to do with being weak or strong, it has everything to do with the heart of a hero. That, at its core, is why you're behind the other first years… Aizawa told me the results of your exam, you basically failed because you refused to help people who were injured."

"They were just a bunch of dumb actors!"

"The way you act in training reflects the way you'll act in a real situation… You have a strong desire for victory, and that isn't inherently bad, but you have no desire to help people. A hero should have a natural feel for helping others, but you, going all the way back to the entrance exam, it's never even crossed your mind that that could be important."

Bakugo grit his teeth feeling his embarrassment and the weight of All Might's words, "I just want to be like you, which means being as strong as possible. But I can't, can I?"

"Why do you think I became the Symbol Of Peace, young Bakugo? Let me tell you, it had little to do with my strength. I had the ability, but more than that I wanted to save everyone I could reach, I wanted everyone to be able to smile and live their lives happily. Bakugo's expression became saddened, thinking of all the times he was a shitty person, how HE was a shitty person, how no one smiled or was happy because of him. "Young Bakugo, let me tell you something. What's said about every other hero, it's that their body moved before they ever had a chance to think, all to save someone. Heroic instincts are something that some people just have… But maybe, you could learn. Striving for victory, and caring about people, both those things are important for a hero. You said you wanted to be like me, but if you want a great, current example, look at ONE.

Bakugo grit his teeth while gripping his knee at the mention of the independent hero, "Why did you have to bring up that idiot?" Tears welling in his eyes, threatening to fall as his voice became shaky.

"Because he is a great example. Young Bakugo, can I be honest with you for a moment?"

His head still lowered and his head lowered, "Sure."

"I failed at a lot of things as the symbol of peace, but I feel whole heartedly ONE is a hero that can be the symbol to people that I never was. A quirkless hero who strived to prove he could save others, and did that and then some. My power may have left me, but the lessons I wasn't able to teach despite being a symbol, ONE will surely be able to. So, what I'm trying to say is, stop holding on to a false perception of me, and look at ONE. He taught me a lot, and reminded me of many things I forgot."

Bakugo took in his words, his eyes still covered behind his hair, "That's not what I wanted to hear." He said before standing up. He brought a hand to his face, "I'm out of here. Thanks for nothing, All Might." He walked to the door and grabbed the knob.

"Young Bakugo? A hero's heart often matters more than what they can do."

The blonde gripped the doorknob, gritting his teeth as he's heard those words from Deku, Ponytail and now All Might. "I'll think about it… I'm still gonna be the number 1 hero."

"You should think about why you want that title, being the top hero isn't just about being the strongest, and it means more than you know." All Might's words hit him as he left the room. The former pro leaned back in his chair, "Being a teacher is harder than I thought."

---

Sir Nighteye Agency

After leaving the U.A grounds ONE put Mirio on his back and ran all the way to the agency, arriving there in a few seconds. After letting the older boy off his back ONE scooped out the building, it was a nice looking agency. It was a large, five story building with windows that lined each floor facing the street. He already knew of Nighteye as well as his two sidekicks Bubble girl and Centipeder, "So this is the place, nice location."

"I know right, trust me it's even better on the inside." Mirio stated as he stepped forward with the hero following him. They entered and the first floor was a vast lobby area with a spiral staircase, ONE could sense two other people in this building at the moment. One of the first things he noticed was the clean office smell here. The two began to ascend the steps instead of taking the elevator, "So, Togata, what's it like working with Nighteye? Your personalities seem like Polar opposites, is that ever problematic?"

Mirio rubbed the back of his head, "No, actually Sir asked for me by name after I got my provisional license. He may be a strict teacher but he can be a really nice and caring guy. Actually, Sir enjoys laughter."

ONE raised a brow behind his cowl, "Really?"

"I know it's hard to believe but it's true. It's really ironic once you stop and think about it."

"Noted."

They made it to the top of the stairs, "ONE, I can't guarantee Sir will listen to you or even like you, but you may be able to score some brownie points here if you can make him laugh."

"Laugh huh." He thought while giving a nod of acknowledgement. His eyes shifted towards the door to Nighteyes office, he began to hear hectic laughter coming from inside. His interest peaked given everything Togata had just said. They opened the door and ONE's expression became a mix of shock and confusion, horizontally strapped to a contraption on wheels was Bubble Girl, laughing her head off as the machine and Sir Nighteye tickled her with a feather. Nighteye turned towards the door and his usual intimidating expression multiplied, his yellow eyes practically glowing when they landed on the independent hero. He met his gaze with a smile, "Hello Nighteye, didn't mean to ruin your punishment game, I assume Bubble Girl forgot to refill the water for the coffee maker again." He joked, the blue woman's laughter and pleading for mercy being the only sound amdists the silence between them.

He stopped Bubble Girl's tickling and eyed the hero, he was about to give a response when the hero spoke upon scanning the room, "Woah! I knew you were the man's former sidekick But I had no idea you were such an All Might fan!" He took a couple steps, mouth agape, in awe at all this exclusive All Might gear. "Every volume of the All Might comics! The exclusive every age poster!" He turned to them as he pointed at the poster, "I have this same poster!" He happily was getting irritated while Mirio smiled pleasantly at the hero's nerding out. ONE loudly gasped, "Could it be?!" He walked to the other side of the room, "The 10th year anniversary poster that was never on sale to the public!" He turned to Nighteye, "That favoritism runs deep! Huh, Nighteye?"

"What are you doing here, ONE?" His voice was calm but eyes showed clear annoyance.

His smile continued to shine, "Why so serious? This is a pleasant, professional, work related visit. Plus outside of cons I never see this much exclusive All Might gear in one spot. Come on~, let me have this!" He clapped his hands together in a plea for acceptance.

Nighteye met eyes with his work study student, seeing right through his calm, jovial demeanor. "Did you bring him here, Mirio?"

The blonde smiled, rubbing the back of his head, "Well technically he brought ME here. He found out about our case and wanted to help us out." The man's expression deepened, clearly not in the mood to indulge ONE.

Nighteye assessed the situation, ONE was here and he wanted to talk about their case. He shouldn't even know what they're working on, "How did you obtain your information? You're not privy to knowing what pros are working on."

"I've crossed paths with Shie Hassaikai before. Intech and I gained a lot of information from an undercover case we worked on a few months back. I was always planning to take them down when the time came and it seems that time is now." Nighteyes expression didn't change, "Look, I get you don't like me. And I can just scratch you off as someone who could have been a hero friend, but they could do a lot of damage if they're not taken care of. So, for the sake of peace, let's put our differences to the side and team up just this once."

The pro registered his words, as he eyed the other hero, Mirio went around him and freed Bubble Girl from her restraints. "Bubble Girl, could you leave the room for a moment."

The woman got her nerves under control, "Yes sir." The sidekick left the room, leaving the three men to talk.

Nighteye got behind his desk, his fingers pressed together as he decided his next words, "For the moment I'll overlook how you learned about our SECRET investigation. But why would you come to help us? You're infamous for doing things on your own and playing by your own rules."

"When I heard you were investigating the Hassaikai I figured why not throw my aura in the water and help this thing flow smoothly. Also, why are you making that sound so negative? And I don't do everything on my own. I've always had help in some capacity, I DO have a sidekick after all."

The room went quiet, Mirio looked between the green haired man and the green clad hero. "Leave." The pro's voice was stern and his tone calm.

"Really? I could probably count all the words I've said since I've been here. Why are you throwing me out?" He tried to keep a jovial tone, but he was becoming serious.

"Because I don't approve of this, OR you." He started stamping his stamp on the desk.

"That's a bit harsh. Look, I spoke with All Might earlier and he said you hate me largely because you think I'll outshine this one." He cocked his head towards Mirio. "Same thing I told him, I don't care or think about any of that stuff. All I want and have ever wanted, is to be a hero."

He was irked by those words. The light refracted off Nighteyes glasses, hiding his eyes, "You've said that before." He turned to Mirio, "Mirio is All Might's successor, he's the inheritor of One For All. All Might used strength and humor to bring joy to people and relieve them of their fear of criminals. He's gone now. And in the midst of the chaos, who is everyone looking to take his place, the former vigilante turned Independent hero. A quirkless hero at that. A quirkless hero who defeated the greatest evil All Might couldn't put away, and it wasn't the power passed down through generations that made it happen."

"No disrespect, but is there a point to this?"

"What exactly are you, ONE?"

"I'm merely a quirkless person who wanted to be a hero. And I became one. Is it really that hard to believe you can be strong just from training? And before you say something like "I myself am in peak condition" just know you didn't train the way I did. So from my perspective your idea of peak physique is pretty average."

The room went deathly quiet, Mirio glancing between ONE and his mentor and he could sense his growing animosity. He's inherited something not only special, but important, from All Might. A small part of him felt bad because in a way he was the reason for this, despite all the effort he's made with One For All, ONE is able to do things in a way even All Might couldn't. He's been accepted by society not only for his power, but his heart and resolve to help others no matter the situation. The day he saved the suicidal jumper is something that will always stick with him, it got him wondering of how would he have handled that. ONE was able to save her because he understood and empathized with her, even with all his personal struggles he was unsure if he could have saved her in the same way. "You're so full of yourself." NIghteye broke the silence. "The symbol of peace is gone. And the people are looking for dazzling light to shine amidst the chaos that is to come. And YOU are not that light."

ONE met his gaze, unflinching, "The brighter the light, the darker the shadow. You should be careful in trying so adamantly to have Togata replace All Might, Nighteye."

"You fool. Do you have any idea what the Symbol Of Peace IS? Let alone the importance of its function."

"The Symbol Of Peace, in essence, is a deterrent to villains. One person who can scare all the bad guys into not doing bad things. One person that everyone can look to for peace and comfort, I won't lie, when I was a kid I thought it was pretty cool. Then I realized the light casted by that symbol didn't cover people like me, and I was very much in the shadow it casted. I'll tell you the same thing I told All Might, he may have made people feel safe, but his biggest failure as a symbol was not teaching people how to be kind. To be good to one another, and while he's a genuinely good person that doesn't change the fact that there are people who don't take comfort in the symbol who should have. Fighting for the peace and salvation of everyone may not be fashionable or even realistic, but everyone matters. And that's something All Might didn't know, and it took him becoming quirkless again to realize it."

Nighteye slammed his hand on the table, "Hush boy! You don't know All Might's struggles, nor the sacrifices he's had to make so others could have their happiness!" He glared daggers at ONE.

ONE lowered his head for a moment, "You know, the day I met All Might is one of the happiest and worst days of my life. It was before I became a vigilante, and I met my hero for the first time. I wanted to know his opinion on if someone who didn't have a quirk could be a hero if they trained hard enough. He told me to give up and find a new career goal. It was never a job to me, it was who I was. It tore me apart, the hero I looked up to for so long didn't understand or acknowledge me, nor did he try." He eyed the future sight hero, "I resented him for a long time for that, it deeply pained and saddened me… After he retired we had a heart to heart, and I was able to fully let it go."

"What's your point?" Nighteye asked, practically demanding an answer.

"My point is, I'm a product of the flaws in the Symbol Of Peace ideology. Nothing wrong with trying to maintain peace, but it'd be good for everyone to be covered in that blanket."

Nighteye lowered his head, his body practically trembling, seemingly from anger. "You don't understand at all." He said lowly. "The symbol is gone. Our society is at a critical junction, and that hole needs to be filled. By someone just as bright, just as capable and just as powerful. You're free to do what you want ONE, but you could never mean to others what All MIght did."

ONE sighed, he originally came here to help with their case but this was clearly a waste of time. Nighteye was such a fan of All Might he was stuck in things needing to remain the same, hence him making Togata into All Might 2.0. It was a little disappointing that he felt that way but there was nothing he could do, "I didn't come here to argue with you, Nighteye, I came to help. But this was clearly a waste. At least All Might acknowledges he was wrong about a lot of things."

He turned to Mirio, "Good luck Togata. I want to impart this much knowledge to you, just because you have power doesn't mean you can do everything on your own, nor does it mean you should. To help the world you have to be aware of it, the light AND the shadows." He turned and made his way to the door, he opened it, stopping before leaving, "Quirk erasing bullets, that's what they're doing. They've been selling them for months, and I recently found out they made contact with the League Of Villains. Thought you would like to know." He left the room, closing the door behind him and making his way back to the spiral stairs.

The two in the room stayed in silence for a moment, "Sir?" Mirio looked to his mentor.

"Forget about it, Mirio." His tone urged the young hero to drop it but the independent hero's words were still very much in his thoughts.

ONE made his way down the staircase, he shot a glance at Bubble Girl who could sense his sadness, she didn't say a word to him as he walked past her. He made it down the staircase and was about to exit the building, "Wow! Nighteyes hate boner for you is bigger than I could have ever imagined." Intech said into his cowl.

"It's unfortunate, but understandable." He said aloud.

"True, but he's holding on to a faulty ideal."

"He's All Might's former sidekick, training someone to be the hero All Might was. You saw the room didn't you? It was filled wall to wall with All Might gear, even the 10th anniversary poster that wasn't on sale to the public. If I had to guess, All Might gave him that."

"So it's him being a super All Might fan boy that drives his animosity, interesting. It IS understandable. He was there, right next to the symbol, and saw what it meant and how important it was."

ONE sighed, "Oh well, it's not like everyone will like me. Haven't forgotten that from my vigilante days."

"Good to know. I'd hate to see you crumble just because some people won't like you even though you're legal now."

ONE raised a brow behind his cowl, "Uh, two words, Ken Katakuri."

Speaking of him, I didn't want to mention it but he and his people have been hounding for an interview just like you did with Fujioka."

"He's just itching for a chance to tear me down."

"I know, which is why we're not entertaining setting that up."

ONE gripped his chin, "Actually, I wouldn't mind it."

"Seriously?"

"Just hear me out for a moment. If I did this I could counter every argument he has against me, and let's be honest most people listen to his radio show to tune in to his nonsense. Off the record I'm sure he slams me for the ratings. Negativity always makes the biggest headlines."

Intech scratched his nose, "True, but let's double back to this before we decide on anything. By the way, have you seen that video?"

The one of Gentle Criminal during the Tartarus break. Yeah, I saw it. I'm still unsure how they got into the prison, let alone got away." The video was posted online to Gentles web page a few days ago and it was gaining a lot of traction. The video began with them infiltrating the prison and freeing Lady Nagant, it mainly focused on what Gentle was doing while getting shots of Tachibana and Stain. It showed how Gentle flashily stopped guards and villains from chasing them. It showed their escape up until he confronted them, Gentle performed some final theatrics on the wall before the video ended.

"So you're gonna pay him a visit right? His midget sidekick broke into my system, fairly impressive."

ONE smirked confidently, "That's my next stop. I haven't even answered any requests today. Plus he has information on Tachibana senpai, see we need to have a little talk."

"Well I tracked them a few days ago, you just gotta go see them."

"On it. Stay vigilant, Intech." He said before disappearing in a flash of speed.

---

Apartment of Danjuro Tobita

Danjuro Tobita, AKA Gentle Criminal, sat on his couch sipping some tea. He was quite proud of himself, he had a hand in pulling off one of if not the greatest caper of all time. He not only broke in and out of Tartarus but was able to free a prisoner, La Brava was there to record the whole thing and his video was doing numbers. Many people were surprised by his action, thoroughly impressed with him. When Tachibana and Satsuki came knocking on their door he wasn't sure what to expect, but he was happy with the end result. He's becoming more famous than he has ever been and he was enjoying every minute of it.

Manami Aiba, AKA La Brava was at the computer, happy as can be with the rise in views and comments to Gentle's latest video. "Look Gentle! The latest video just hit over two million views!"

Gentle Gestured to her, "Wonderful my dear! The people are finally seeing my greatness."

She was thrilled by his antics, "You're so cool, Gentle!"

He chuckled happily, pleased with himself, "This is only the beginning La Brava! Soon everyone will know the name, Gentle Criminal."

"And when that happens everyone will-" La Brava's ecstatic praise ended when there was a knock at the door.

Gentle properly placed his tea cup on a plate and stood up, "I wonder who that could be." He went to the door, cautious as to who it could be. There was another knock at the door, he peeped through the door hole and saw no one, that wasn't unusual his guest was probably short like La Brava. He opened the door only to see no one standing outside, he peered down the hall, for a moment thinking this was some kid's prank. "Gentle Criminal, I presume."

The sudden strong voice that came out of nowhere startled the villain, almost making him fall back. His blue eyes scanned the doorway, looking for anyone who could have spoken just now but found nothing, "Who said that?"

"I did." The voice responded, once again out of nowhere, startling him. But this time it sounded as if the person it belonged to were right in front of him. Before Gentle could determine his next course of action, out of thin air, appeared the form of ONE, standing confidently on his doorstep.

His eyes widened at seeing the infamous Independent Hero, quickly getting back inside he slammed the door before turning to his partner, "La Brava! We must fle-" The words never fully left his lips as they caught in his throat. Standing in front of him, with his back to him, was ONE. "His speed! He was able to enter before I could close the door!" He thought as ONE began to walk into his living room, "There's no running from this hero. That's why Tachibana needed him distracted. We were truly lucky the other night." ONE stepped into the living room, he locked eyes with La Brava who looked at him fearfully, many thought racing through her mind, the biggest of which was that he was here to arrest her and Gentle. Being separated was scarier than anything he could do to them physically. "Such a nice home you have here, a very proper decor." The hero complimented the entire design of the apartment.

She kept an eye on him as the hero scanned the room, getting a feel for his surroundings. Gentle finally found his words, "ONE! Welcome to my humble abode. Would you like some tea? I recently made a pot, it's still warm and fresh."

The hero turned to face him, his expression and body language were both calm. "That sounds lovely, I would love a cup."

"Be with you in a moment, sir." He said before heading to the kitchen.

ONE calmly sat on the couch, he noted the half drunk cup already on the table, La Brava kept looking at him, like a cat ready to pounce on her prey. He gave her a warm charming smile to help ease the tension, "I take it your Manami Aiba?"

"So what if I am?"

"You impressed a lot of people the other day, not just anyone can get in and bring down the security system at Tartarus. I'm curious, did you take it down temporarily on purpose or because you couldn't fully take it over."

She hid the lower part of her face behind her chair, turning her eyes away from him, " I shut it down temporarily, but whether I could have taken full control… I don't know."

"I see… You're a talented young woman, if you ever get tired of playing villain henchman I'm sure there's a successful career for you in internet security. Consider that an offer from the people you've impressed."

She stopped hiding her face and looked him in the eyes, "I'm afraid I'm not interested in things like that. All I want is to help my Gentle achieve his dream."

ONE took in her words, he could see her eyes were full of love and there was no convincing her, "Alright then."

Gentle came into the living room with the demeanor of a server at a cafe, "Your tea, sir."

The hero took the plate with the cup on top, he held the plate in his left while he took the cup into his right. He saw that it was black tea, he recognized the scent, "Urgray black tea. A fine choice, thank you."

Gentle was surprised to see he was able to recognize the tea just from its look and scent. He was a tea connoisseur, and he's never met anyone else like him in this regard, it excited him, "oh, you know your tea. I'd have never expected that of you, ONE."

The hero took a sip, the flavor was just as he expected. Since he met her, Momo has put him on to the sweet, calming world of tea. Being the tea connoisseur she is, it's basically her solution to every stressful problem. "My girlfriend is a tea connoisseur, she's introduced me to the world of tea. It's quite pleasant, full of calming scents and flavors." He chuckled a bit at a memory, "Whenever I go over to her house she usually puts on a pot of tea. I was never the biggest tea drinker but I didn't mind it. Actually one time I joked about how I was sick of tea. She said, "Sick of tea? That's like being sick of breathing!"

Gentle relaxed a bit, chuckling, pleased by hearing someone talk about tea, "Your girlfriend sounds like a wise woman."

"She is truly remarkable." He said as he took another sip, "Pleasant as always. Thank you Gentle, I needed that."

"Good tea is something that should be shared indiscriminately." He said standing straight, smiling with his eyes closed.

"Good to know." He put the cup on the plate then on the table, "As enjoyable as this tea is, let's not pretend there's not an elephant in the room." Both villains tensed back up, ready for a fight but unsure of how to handle this threat. "Let me be clear and straight to the point, I don't care, whatsoever about the individual crimes you both committed the other day, as a matter of fact I'm willing to look the other way and just walk out of here. On one condition."

"And that would be?" Gentle asked.

"Information. Tell me everything you know about where I can find Takae Tachibana and Stain, on top of what they're planning now."

Both villains were surprised by these words, this hero was giving them an out in exchange for information. Gentle was unsure of how to proceed, on one hand Tachibana was the reason for his sudden recognition and views online, on the other he couldn't answer how to find her. He and La Brava were blindfolded when they were taken to her hideout, and when they left her base they were just the same. They could tell about the submarine and the lab, but that's not exactly a location and he wasn't sure if ONE would be comfortable with that. "We don't know where she is!" La Brava exclaimed, breaking the silence and Gentle's thoughts.

ONE turned to her, his features calm, "Talk."

"We were blind folded going to and from her hideout. We don't know where she is, but we DO know she has a submarine."

His eyes narrowed behind his cowl, "A sub? So that explains how they got to the prison and escaped undetected. Once they were underwater I couldn't sense them." "You had to have seen her base. Any landmarks or anything that hinted as to where they were."

"No, nothing like that, ONE." Gentle spoke up, "Tachibana enlisted us upon learning about La Brava's skills. There was no comradery for us, they were perfectly fine with leaving us if we couldn't keep up… She didn't share any particulars with us, but Tachibana said something about revealing the truth, and creating a world where only true heroes can thrive."

"I got the impression she wanted to destroy something, or someone, but I couldn't tell what." La Brava added.

ONE crossed his arms, taking in all that they said. She recruited them just to do a job, they weren't allies so naturally they wouldn't know too much. The hero sighed, "What about Stain?"

Gentle looked at him, "I actually did overhear that unsavory fellow's intentions. He said he was going to cull the biggest faker. He said it with such hatred and venom it was startling."

ONE gripped his chin, "The biggest faker" huh? Could it be another celebrity hero? Who aside from her fits that kind of bill?... Mt Lady maybe?" No. given his M.O and her attitude he'd have gone after her long since before now." He paused his thoughts for a moment, "Wait a minute!" "Gentle, did he say where he was going? A city or a region maybe?!"

Gentle made a thoughtful expression, "I can't recall."

"Musutafu." La Brava spoke up.

"What?"

"I heard him speaking to that Tsutsumi person and saying his next target is in Musutafu."

ONE stood up, "You're sure?" He asked her sternly, leaving no room for her to be joking or misunderstood."

"Yeah, I know what I heard."

"I know exactly who he's after." He thought before picking up his cup and finishing his tea, "Thanks for the tea, and have a good day." He left the two in the living room but stopped at the door with his back to them, a wave of pressure passed over them, terrifying them both. "Fair warning, this is your only freebie. I'm still not entirely sure what you do with your crime video thing, but know if I catch you doing something you shouldn't be, I'm taking you both to jail. Are we clear?" He asked, his wave of Power Aura hammering home his threat.

"Yes sir!" They both squealed in unison. The hero left the apartment, allowing both villains to release a sigh of relief, his visit was surprisingly more peaceful than they expected. They had given him the information he needed and wouldn't arrest them for the time being, but now that he was gone it was time to go back to planning.

---

An unassuming warehouse was surrounded by several heroes, inside Trigger along with methamphetamines were being made and distributed by a local criminal group. Ryukyu agency along with the police, Mirko and ONE, Shishido and X-less along with their sidekicks, surrounded the warehouse, it was almost go-time and everyone was ready for X-less, who was with Ryukyu, to give the signal. There was a clear plan and execution was the key here, the goal was to get the bosses whom they were certain were inside. ONE would make sure to cut off their escape route, and even if they did get to it they wouldn't get far. ONE was in the back of the building with Mirko, they watched the trucks in the loading dock, both rearing to go. "They're really taking their sweet time with this one." The rabbit woman commented as they waited.

"It takes everyone to make things go right. I'm guessing everyone isn't in place. We should get the signal any minute now."

Mirko lowly groaned, "This is why I hate team ups, it always has to be a process."

ONE smiled unconcernedly at her, "Patience is a virtue." Static came in through the head pieces Ryukyu had handed out to everyone. Her voice came through, "Everyone, the police have the entire warehouse boxed in, no one gets out, be ready on my signal."

"You think the intel they gave us was good?" Mirko asked, turning and looking up towards the mountain behind them.

"Villains who traffic drugs are by far the most creative, and it's not my first time dealing with a group that has their own plane."

"Hm, I think I wanna hear about that later."

"It's a long, dark story that involves human trafficking and drug mules. Not one of my more pleasant cases." ONE admitted, not very fond of that particular case.

A beam of red light shot into the air, it came from X-Less, ending their conversation as this was the signal. "Bout time! Catch up with you later!" The rabbit hero exclaimed before she bolted from the trees, over the remaining police line and entering the building through the loading dock.

"There she goes." He turned behind him, looking up the mountain. "Time for me to do my part." He leaped from the branch he was standing on and flew upward using Sky Walk.

Ryukyu agency, the police and the other heroes raided the warehouse, their goal was to apprehend the owner of this company. This was actually a black company and it was actually a security guard hero who tipped off Ryukyu of the illegal happenings inside. The lead investigator ran alongside the heroes, waiving a warrant in front of him for all to see, "This location is now under investigation! For the manufacture and distribution of illegal drugs!" Chaos broke out when they made it onto the work floor, the evidence was clear as day. Workers began to panic, as most of them didn't want to be here. Some of them bolted for the nearest exits, while others, who were most likely profiting greatly from this, tried to engage the heroes only to be swiftly taken down. Operations had stopped with most of the workers dropping what they were doing and getting on the floor.

X-Less stared down the workers, "I'll keep watch here, you keep going." He told the other heroes. Ryukyu and Nejire left while several police stayed with him, "Everyone, we know the situation involving this company. Most of you are not in any legal trouble, just stay down until we sort this out." He said before locking eyes with a white haired young man on the far end of the building, he wasn't on the ground and had a look that showed he was very calm.

A man in a light blue shirt suddenly shot up, the hero almost blasted him with his quirk but noticed the man had his hands up, "Look, I didn't want to be here, Mr hero. They threatened to kill my family if I ever said anything about the-" X-Less fired a laser towards the man, it went behind him, destroying the white projectiles that mirrored bullets. The hero spotted the same white haired man, his fingers extended, whatever he fired was intended to kill and silence the man who just sat up.

"Get down." X-Less ordered, eyes still on the white haired man who began walking towards them. He had vivid green eyes, red dots above his eyebrows, wearing a gray shirt with black jeans and boots, he had a slender build and his presence made it evident that he was a seasoned killer. "I take it you won't be going peacefully."

"I can't allow you to ruin our operation." He said coldly before raising his hand, slowly a blade made of bone perturbed from his hand.

"Turning his bones into weapons. This is Hone Kimimaro. It's a good thing I read the intel on this guy." The hero fired a blast at the other man who swiftly dodged, this became a volley of shots that Kimimaro all dodged, shortening the distance between them with each evasive maneuver. "This guy is insane!" X-Less thought before his target disappeared in a flash of speed, the next thing he knew, pain shot through his body. He saw splatters of blood from a diagonal slash to his stomach, he instinctively leaned back before the blade hit, lowering the damage and avoiding a fatal hit.

The white haired guard kept a calm, unconcerned expression, "You managed to avoid that.. But." He spun, delivering a kick to the hero's chest that broke several of his ribs before sending him crashing into the wall behind him. The police open fire with the bone-bladed man dodging them with the grace of a god, the rare bullets that did hit him merely bounced off his bone-hardened skin. Blade in hand he began to cut down the police one by one, his bone sword effortlessly slicing through their body armor. The screams of the police filled the warehouse, the workers paralyzed with fear from the merciless slaughter. Kimimaro's eyes drifted to the right, having caught a flash of white bolting towards him, he swung his sword just as a strong foot connected with his hand, stopping it before he received a brutal kick to the face. He went flying through two walls before ending up outside, he skid before he was able to stop himself.

He paid no mind to the police pointing guns to his back and focused on what hit him, where he previously stood was the Rabbit Hero Mirko. "Mirko, she's faster than I expected. If I hadn't put up a layer of bone at that moment she'd have cracked the right side of my head with ease. I have to keep on my toes with this hero." He thought as he eyed the rabbit hero.

Mirko's fiery smile shined as she eyed her opponent, "So you're the muscle around here? I was hoping for a fight that would be worth my time."

Kimimaro fully stood up, "You should be careful about being enthusiastic about such things, Mirko, you'll end up biting off more than you can chew."

"Thanks for the advice, but I really doubt it!" The two rushed at each other, becoming a blur of kicks and sword swings. The hero had the advantage, pummeling the guard with brutal kicks that slowly weakened his defenses. Mirko had gotten close, he swung at her as several bone spikes stuck out from his arm, narrowly missing her flesh. She kicked the bone sword out of his hand, she spun to land a kick to his chest only for her foot to be stopped by bones protruding from his ribcage. Her kick cracked them but they held strong. Kimimaro took this chance to fire bone bullets at her, Mirko quickly freed herself, avoiding the shots and getting some distance. "Those bones are as tough as steel. And on top of that he can freely sprout them from his body, it makes close combat complicated that's for sure. She smiled confidently as she processed the situation, Oh well. If I can't get around them, then I'm just gonna have to break them!" She rushed towards her enemy, faster than he could see and landed a spin kick to his left elbow breaking it and making his arm now useless.

Kimimaro grit his teeth in pain, "Damn. She's still able to move faster than I thought. She ruined my arm, I can heal the bone instantly, but the joints and ligaments are another story. I can't use it anymore. And my quirk's almost at its limit." His thoughts were all over, desperately thinking of a way to quickly dispatch this hero and help his leader, then he remembered. "My boss needs me. I don't have time to waste with you, Mirko." He said, clearly annoyed as he reached into his right pocket with his good hand, pulling out a vile of Trigger. The rabbit hero's eyes widened when seeing the vile, before she could react he was injecting himself with the drug.

"Damn. Should have figured he had Trigger on him. This just got more complicated." She thought as she eyed her opponent whose skin was darkening, not only that, his body seemed to mutate as he began to grow a large tail. His skin became dark gray, gaining thick black eyebrows, sharp claws, yellow eyes, black marks under his eyes, six bones protruding from his back and sharp bones lining his spine and tail. He looked like a demonic dinosaur. "What the hell?!" A shocked Mirko thought. "I know Trigger affects every quirk differently, but what the hell were they working on!" She didn't have time to linger in her thoughts as he rushed towards her, aiming to skewer her with the bones on his back, shifting to the left she avoided the bone, grabbing it and using it as a vault to flip over him. As she did this Kimimaro dipped, bringing up his tail and landing a brutal slap on her sending her tumbling across the ground.

Kimimaro stared down the injured hero, who had a noticeable tear in the right side of her costume along with some blood exiting from the wound. "Down after one hit? You disappoint, Mirko."

Mirko stopped bleeding, standing up and faced her foe, "Oh please. If one hit took me out I'd happily die in that situation. But you're not that good are you?"

"We'll see." Focusing his quirk, spiky bone began to stick up from the base of his spine, once enough had come out he firmly grasped it and ripped it out, revealing a spiky bone-like whip.

The two kept eye contact, Kimimaro stoic with Mirko shocked but appearing stern, "His spine! How the hell is that possible?" Her surprise quickly faded and was replaced with excitement, "This just got a new level of exciting." Kimimaro swung his spine whip at the hero who nimbly dodged, the two clashed again, continuing their fight.

Ryukyu and Nejire-chan had made it into the management office, it was a two floor section of the warehouse. Many have stood in their way to stop them but were easily defeated. The heroes along with several police made it to the office of the company owner, Shinjiro Hebi, they broke the door into the office, only to find it empty, "He's not here." One of the police stated.

"We know he came in today, he couldn't have just slipped out." Nejire commented.

"He did, but we may not have needed to see him for him to get out of here." Ryukyu said before bolting past the desk, she noticed the hollow floor below it and with one punch shattered it, falling beneath. She fell three meters into a dimly lit bunker that led to who knows where. "He must have taken this the moment he heard the commotion."

"Ryukyu! Most of our forces in the building are down, Mirko is fighting Kimimaro and it's ended up outside." An officer informed her.

"Nejire-chan! Go help her, the rest of you get the employees to safety. I'll deal with Hebi." She looked up the path of the bunker, a good idea of where it came out but still unsure, "He has no Idea he's walking into a trap." She began sprinting down the bunker, keeping an eye out for traps and determined to bring down Hebi's operation.

Almost toward the end of the bunker, Shinjiro Hebi ran to freedom. He knew the heroes would come for him at some point and thankfully he had Kimimaro to keep them busy for a while or he may not have slipped into his bunker before the heroes came. The man was a snake in every sense, with his pale skin, long black hair, golden eyes with slitted pupils and fang-like teeth, wearing a black business suit. This wasn't the first time he was nearly brought down and it certainly wouldn't be the last. "They simply don't make heroes like they used to. If you're coming to arrest someone it's a good idea not to surround their location with cops and burst in. Then again most villains are stupid so I can' blame them." The snake man thought. He was almost to the bunkers exit, it was up the mountain where a plane and a runway were full of product and waiting for him. "Nice try Ryukyu, but no one is bringing down Shinjiro Hebi!" He thought as he burst through the exiting door, he stepped into the light, ready to get away. The tunnel exit led to a shaft in hangar bay where a plane was waiting for him. Upon exiting he bolted for his escape, ready to get away when his heart sank. All around him his personally trained crew were on the floor unconscious and beaten. The plane wasn't even running and leaning against it with a sly, confident smile was the independent hero ONE.

"Shinjiro Hebi I assume. You sure took your sweet time getting here. Sorry about your beat up crew here, when I showed up they chose violence and you know what they say, "Violence only begets more violence." I digress, It's over, your drug operation is done, so just go quietly. Whatever ambitions you had ends here."

The pale skin man grit his teeth, angry at this interference. Even if his crew was down all he had to do was get to the plane, he didn't need them to fly it. But going through ONE, someone who casually destroys meteors was easier said than done. But still, his pride wouldn't let him give up, he's creative a lucrative operation here, going to prison and starting back at zero wasn't an option. He became angrier at the seemingly impossible task of getting out of this, "Fool! There is no stopping my ambition!" He roared as his neck stretched and shot towards the hero, disturbing him slightly but not threatening him in the slightest. Hebi was surprised that ONE made no effort to dodge or avoid him, he was a snake, with a bite from him stronger than a black mamba.

ONE stood firm as the snake headed towards him, teeth striking at his neck, to the snake man's shock his teeth shattered against his flesh. He grimaced in pain as he retracted his neck, gripping his mouth from his now tattered fangs, "What the hell! His skin was like solid steel." As he was engrossed in his pain he felt a grip on his neck, ONE had snatched him off the ground faster than he could see.

"Give up, it's over." ONE stated, only for the man's body to feel strange in his grasp, and the next moment he was holding a former skin. Hebi had shed his skin and laid on the floor covered in a strange liquid, his teeth back to normal and seemingly still in control. ONE tossed the former skin to the side, "That's disturbing." He eyed the snake man who was still earring for a fight, "So you're still determined to do this?"

"I told you already, there's no stopping my ambition."

"Your biggest warehouse is under siege from the law, we know everything you've been doing and you're definitely going to jail. I find it strange how you're still so confident."

Because I still hold all the cards, ONE." He gripped his stomach, and to the hero's disgust he saw a snake sprout from his mouth, to his added shock a double edged sword sprouted from the mouth of the snake. He caught the sword after the snake spit it out, "It's always good to have these things handy." Hebi said, slyly.

"Well when it's in a snake in your stomach it's not really going anywhere is it?"

"No. Another reason why I truly love my quirk!" He exclaimed as he rushed towards the hero, ONE met the blade with a chop, stopping the blade. "So the rumors are true, your hand is like a sword. He began furiously swinging at the hero only for his right hand to counter every blow, "Your swordsmanship is impressive, I had no idea Mutoryu could be so strong."

ONE backflipped and got some distance, "I'm a master of Mutoryu, and a sword in the hands of a master is a deadly weapon. Though in my case, my sword is my hand."

Hebi took a stance for Iaijutsu, "Interesting, let's see who's style is superior."

"So a battle of quick draw, huh? I don't get them too often, I accept!" He exclaimed as he took a stance for Battojutsu with his right hand. There was a moment of pause as the two assessed each other, both of their stances flawless.

There was a breeze that passed through the hanger as the two men prepared to engage each other, in a flash of speed they struck. There was a sound of a clash with them appearing on opposite sides of each other, Hebi extended his arm that held his sword while ONE extended his hand, there was a long palpable silence. The silence was ended by the sound of metal crashing on the floor, half of Hebi's sword had pierced the ground, the snake man made no sound as he fell forward unconscious from the hit of ONE's blade-like hand. ONE turned and faced his defeated enemy, "Iai Sword: Flashy Slash."

Ryukyu showed up shortly after, and the two detained everyone at the scene. They checked with Mirko and Nejire who managed to beat Kimimaro who suddenly died of an unknown disease before he could land a killing blow on Nejire. The police collected testimonies of the employees that nailed Hebi to the wall, on top of that, those who aided in his villainy were also indicted. All of the employees who wanted no part of the illegal activity were granted immunity for their cooperation. It didn't take the police long to round up who was guilty and who was innocent.

ONE, Mirko and Ryukyu watched as the police did the clean up, "Well, that's another case in the books." He turned to the dragoon Hero, "Thank you for inviting me Ryukyu, we did good work today."

"It's no problem ONE. I actually appreciate all that you did. This may have become more complicated if you didn't come."

Mirko rolled her eyes, "Okay okay that's enough mean riding now."

ONE turned to her, "Hey Mirko, I'm curious, what was Kimimaro's bone quirk like? I never got to see it and it sounded interesting in the intel."

"He could sprout bones from his body, they were tougher than steel and could cut through it like a hot knife through butter." She answered with crossed arms and closed eyes.

"Is that it?" The hero asked, wanting more details.

"Yes."

"Man, I wish I could have seen that."

Ryukyu smiled pleasantly as she realized something new about him, "So you're a quirk nerd. I'd have never guessed, ONE."

"Well I guess being quirkless made me want to know as much as I could about them. I like seeing different powers and figuring out how they work along with their properties.: The hero answered.

"So you DO study quirks. We thought that about you for a long time."

"There's a weakness to every quirk along with a way of how it works, though I don't have one myself I've always found it interesting to see how others work."

Ryukyu gave him a humble smile with these words, "You're very interesting, ONE."

Mirko smirked, the dragon realizing what she's known for months, "I've been saying that for like two months."

---

And that ends chapter 33. Man this chapter took a minute to write, I was excited to write it but this arc is a process. I want it to be exciting but not rushed, I have a feel of where I want it to go and the writers block comes from trying to put that together in an efficient way. Writer's block is no joke. Updating once a month may not be ideal but I feel it's the best for a good story, there are times I'm on fire with my writing and there are times I'll spend hours or days stuck in one spot. Point is, have some patience with me because I really want to write a good story and I'm sure you all want to read one, so updates come whenever. Next time the League Of Villains teams up with Shie Hassaikai, ONE designs his new signature shoe, Izuku Eri and friends go to the summer festival, Izumomo goes on a date. See you next time.