Monster King: Thanks!
Bread Connoisseur: Well, pretty close. He's certainly an authority on it.
Ivory Insanity: Now...I'm not saying I'm Hori's ghost writer, but...
Delrosario: Y'know, I didn't even catch that.
Not exactly an action heavy chapter, but its important for the worldbuilding. I wanted to shed some light on the Yaoyorozu family, and why Momo is the person she is today. There's definitely some foreshadowing in this chapter, that's for sure.
"I'm sorry."
Both of the Yaoyorozus looked confused as their daughter bowed her head to them.
They knew Momo would be coming with Jotaro. The man's track record didn't lie, he would go above and beyond for his students. The discussion on UA's safety procedures, while it was still happening, was also just an excuse to see their daughter.
When Dr. Ulric Stewart revealed that she was struggling to find her ideals...they tried to pull her from UA for a while to figure it out...but that triggered an outburst, where she accidentally let the following phrase slip:
"You want control over my life? Maybe you should've been more present in it."
It had confirmed their worst fears...that their job had alienated them from their daughter...and even worse...they had to leave soon after, or risk their efforts falling apart. So, once the mysterious villain ripped through Mustafu, and it was confirmed that Momo had actively been involved in the fight, they knew they had to rush back home.
They needed to make sure she was safe...and they need to make things right. Confusingly, their daughter beat them to the punch.
"Uh...honey...I think you've got this backwards..." Her father said, deadpanning. "We're supposed to be apologizing to you."
"No, not yet."
"Not yet?!"
Momo raised her head, her eyes pointing towards the floor. "I...apologize for being selfish. I know what you do is important, and...I don't want to take you from what you do because I feel lonely...but...I...I can't help it. I just...have to speak my truth...but judging from your expressions, you already know it."
"Don't apologize for that, Momo." Akari said, and for the first time in a long while, Momo saw her mother's calm and collected facade crack, showing a more somber side to the woman. "Please...just this once, be selfish."
The ravenette's eyes watered slightly, but she pushed it down.
"Our job is only part of our dream." Akari continued. "It's always been for you. All of it."
Momo couldn't help but wonder if this was what Johnny felt. Jotaro had always been his idol, and Momo's parents have always been hers...yet the more she grew up, especially here and now...she saw that they were just as flawed as anyone else. They were human. They didn't always have the correct answers, and sometimes they made some rather big mistakes. The deconstruction of an idol is...not an easy thing to accept...but once it happened, you appreciate them even more.
"Then...I have a request to make."
"Anything." Both of her parents said, and Momo smiled.
"Can...we start from scratch? I...want to get to know you again."
There was a newfound warmth in the room now, and Momo's nerves melted away. Her parents looked at each other, and then at their daughter...
"We'd like nothing more."
They had a long way to go...but it was a start. A promise to be better, and mutual understanding...and at the moment, that was all Momo could ask for.
'I really thought this would be tense...but I guess that's what an anxious situation can do to you. Sometimes things really aren't as bad as you think they're going to be.' She thought to herself. 'I know the problem is far from solved, but knowing that they want to reconnect just as badly as I do..."
It was enough. What a wonderful word...
From the back of the dining hall, Jotaro sat in silence as the Yayorozu's began airing their differences, making plans to meet, and working towards the reparation of their relationship. He sighed and pulled his hat down, hiding a growing smirk.
Momo needed this.
She had been put through the wringer for the past month and a half, from losing confidence, getting tortured, Ulric's death, to Kars mercilessly brutalizing her friends right in front of her...Momo deserved to have this win. Hopefully, she would have many more going forward.
"Dr. Kujo? If you have time, why don't we have that discussion on our daughter's safety going forward?"
'...shit.'
"Wait...you don't actually have an internship?" Ochako asked, eyebrow raised.
Gyro nodded. "Yeaaah...I kinda just bounce around. Sometimes I'm with one hero, then I'm with the next...I guess you could say I'm everyone's intern."
Ochako tilted her head to the side, confused. "Like...do you just...come and go?"
"Yep."
"Why don't you just settle down?"
"You're making it sound like I'm in a noncommittal relationship." Gyro said with a smirk.
"I'm pretty sure you're kinda supposed to have one."
"...am I?"
"Yes!" Ochako crossed her arms. "Work studies are required so we can learn from pros, how have you not gotten in trouble for this?"
"With all the shit we go through, you're surprised we get some leniency?"
"Well...no, but...it's nice to have someone showing you the ropes. The more you learn, it makes you an even better hero, does it not?"
"With all due respect, I want to work with people that can help me improve...and there are only a handful of people on the planet with my particular brand of skills. The Spin is not really a common practice." Gyro explained, huffing. "The only guy I could see helping me is my father, and he's all the way in Italy."
Ochako nodded, pressing her lips together. "I guess that's true...friends can also help you improve though, why don't you just intern where JoJo is? He's a Spin User too."
"..."
"...did...you not think of that?"
"..."
"He's your best friend. How did you not think he'd be able to help you?"
"Well, I uh...I guess I have no excuse, Nyo Ho!" Gyro sheepishly grinned, and that's when the hatch to the top of Exodus opened, and Momo began descending into the lab. "Momo! How did it go?"
The ravenette shot her boyfriend a smile, and that was all he needed to know.
"We made an important first step today. My parents and I are going to try and make this work. I'm going to try and find a time for them to actually meet you all."
Ochako grinned. "That's awesome! Did they listen to what you had to say?"
"Well...I already kind of told them the day they tried to pull me from UA." Momo replied. "Today...it was mostly about seeing each other."
"I'm glad to hear that." Gyro said with a smile. "I was afraid they were pulling the same thing my dad did."
Recalling how Gregorio Zeppeli had tried to steer Gyro towards a certain career path, Momo frowned. It was somewhat similar to her own situation, but Gregorio was strict and controlling, while her parents...
"It's...actually the inverse of that. It's true, that they did push me into becoming a hero...but they did it because I wanted them to." Momo explained. "It was my dream, and due to their own circumstances, they tried a little too hard to help me achieve it. Unfortunately, that led to my isolation from other people my age...but I digress."
"How did that lead to them abandoning you?"
"I've...never actually talked about them, have I?"
"Only that they taught you their values, and that they left you alone." Gyro replied, and Ochako nodded. "Although...I guess you haven't had much time to share..."
Momo hummed in thought, and sat down in front of the computer. She seemed to mull it over for a bit, and then sighed. "Well, I may as well. If my family is sticking around...I'd like for you all to get to know them, for real...and...it'll help if you understand how...sticky...this situation was."
"Like...how sticky?" Ochako asked. "Mochi sticky? Or-"
"I'd say school glue."
"Oh."
Momo cleared her throat. "Well...first I should probably explain their Quirks. My mother's Quirk is Metalworking, her body fat, much like mine, can create things...but only things made out of iron. My father was actually her sidekick at first...and his is Particle Shift. He can change the properties of the things he touches, as long as he has the formula in mind."
"So...when you were born, his Quirk was fused into hers, forming Creation." Gyro confirmed.
"That's right. What I can do, is something the two of them could only accomplish together. They went from hero and sidekick to a full blown hero duo, that could create anything..."
Back in their day, Riku and Akari Yaoyorozu were rather accomplished pro heroes, recognized by their peers as some of the best. A husband and wife duo referred to as Makeshift, their wholesome relationship not only saved lives, but proved that romance was far from dead amongst heroes.
They loved each other, and the duo gimmick only increased their popularity. They even placed on the leaderboards, once upon a time, just behind Lady Nagant, back when she was a hero. Due to Akari's ability to create iron, they also had a hand in designing support items, being one of the few heroes who dabbled in both saving lives, and providing others with technology.
Because of that, they earned several patents for their inventions, boosting their revenue until they became filthy rich...and their popularity soared due to them being self-made successes. Their humility despite their success, and dedication to sharing their wealth with those who needed it, touched the hearts of many.
When Momo was born, they were estatic. No matter how many things they created...none of them could ever compare to their child. They were planning to retire in order to raise her...but then...
Their final mission happened.
There was a call reporting that a villain was roaming the streets, asking for the pair. Realizing that if they didn't act, this villain could attack them at their home...risking Momo's life, her parents decided to confront the villain head on.
"We've handled assassins before." Had been what Akari had said over the comms. "It sounds like he won't stop until he finds us, so we'll just give him what he wants."
They were hopelessly outmatched.
The villain was never identified, but it was said that he was massive, and intimidated anyone who saw him. The Yaoyorozus could barely recall the fight...all they remembered was this hulking beast coldly taking all of their combo moves without so much as a drop of sweat, laughing them off...and then going to town on them. They described him as brutal, inhuman, and deadlier than any villain they had ever heard of.
Witnesses reported that the villain swatted Riku so hard, they thought he was dead on impact. He reportedly skipped across the pavement like a flat rock across a stream. Akari had screamed for her husband, and attempted to fire an iron harpoon at the villain in retaliation, only for said villain to pluck it out, as if it were a bee sting.
The villain managed to snag Akari by the left leg...and casually ripped it off at the knee, before tossing the battered and broken woman to the ground beside her husband. He then left...and was never seen again.
When more heroes arrived...they found her mother was still conscious, but perilously close to death. She cold to the touch, yet she was using the last remaining strength her failing body would give her...to perform CPR on Riku. Her father had in fact died from that hit, but it was thanks to his own dying wife that he was revived.
Akari was now wearing a robotic prosthetic. While it was good enough to substitute for a real leg, support items weren't as good back then, and she could never quite be able to move as she once did. Riku had it slightly easier. He was blind in his right eye due to the blunt force trauma, and had to walk with a cane for the rest of his life.
Momo, being about six at the time, was of course spared the details.
They even kept Akari's leg a secret from her, but she eventually figured that part out with time. She was inspired by her parents, and that's when, at the age of ten, Momo declared that she wanted to be a hero.
"...Jesus." Gyro breathed out.
"My parents are...deeply traumatized." Momo said with a huff. "They...truly did whatever they could to give me a comfortable life. Like I said, I could never resent them...I truly admire them, regardless of their faults."
"How did I never notice that your mom had a fake leg?" The Italian asked. "I talked to her at the Gala, I should've picked up on that."
"She hides it well. She didn't move much during the party, did she?"
"Ah, and she wore a long dress." Gyro frowned, scratching his facial hair. "Appearances matter amongst the elite."
"Unfortunately." Momo then chuckled. "I forgot that you'd know that from experience. Your appearance doesn't match your background at all...in the best way possible of course."
"Nyo Ho!"
"I'm in a rich people sandwich..." Ochako muttered.
"They were attacked by a villain...did you ever figure out who that is?" Gyro asked. "Cause if your parents are literally half the hero you are, this guy's bad news."
"I did research, and while I only have circumstantial evidence...I think they ran into Gigantomachia."
"...THE Gigantomachia?!" Ochako asked, her eyes wide.
"I have reason to believe he took it easy on them..." Momo said with some bitterness in her voice. "Probably brutalized them for fun. From the medical records I obtained...their injuries match up with people he 'toyed' with."
"I thought he was only a loyal dog following AFO's orders." Gyro said.
"...my parents are important people, Gyro. He probably was." Momo leaned back in her chair. "All For One likely ordered him to keep it quiet, since the 'Demon King' was in hiding at the time. Gigantomachia making a public appearance would give him away."
Gyro frowned at that, and turned away, not sure how to respond. All For One had faced justice at Santana's hands, and was currently festering in his own delusions in Tartarus' deepest vault. Yet he had so much to answer for...it pissed him off.
"He...could really have been terrifying with Creation. You...you don't think-!" Ochako came to a sudden and horrifying conclusion...and Momo lowered her head.
"Knowing what I do about him now, All For One could have definitely been trying to get my parents out of the way. My Quirk was registered at the time...by Ujiko, a.k.a Dr. Garaki. However...All For One preferred Quirks that don't require much thought and training behind them...and I can only create things once I know the precise chemical formula, so...it's up to speculation." The ravenette sighed. "He could have also just wanted to stir the pot a little bit."
"Why have you never brought this up before?" Gyro asked.
"Because I legitimately didn't think about it until now. My parents have been disabled for most of my life...I don't remember them being otherwise. They did...a really good job with hiding how much this affected them."
"Did...you know that your father DIED?"
"...not until today." Momo closed her eyes. "They told me it was an accident from day one...they didn't want to scare me."
They took her dream seriously.
If she was going to follow in their footsteps, she needed to be ready. Her parents wanted to be 100% sure that Momo would never meet the same fate they did, so they home schooled her. They wanted her to get a top notch education that a normal school wasn't able to provide.
If Momo was going to be a hero, she would be better than they ever were...she'd be a prodigy.
It sounds similar to Endeavor on paper, but it wasn't done to groom a successor, it was done purely out of love for their daughter. She was taught much more than just controlling her Quirk, she was taught to exercise compassion, to be humble despite the privileges she had been born with, and to always help others in need. She welcomed the training, even cherished it...because it was something that the family did together.
In their minds, Momo wouldn't have trouble making friends, she was a special girl...who wouldn't love her? They didn't realize that they were all their child had, that they were bringing her up sheltered. Momo never ventured outside of the mansion because she was dependent on them at the time...she didn't have the social skills that came with being schooled at an ordinary institution.
Nonetheless, they continued on in ignorance of that glaring issue, determined to help Momo realize her dream...and that's when Riku got an idea.
While they were rich enough, they needed something to pass down to Momo if they were gone. Her parents were painfully aware of their own mortality at this point...so they started inventing again.
They restarted their support company, Makeshift Enterprises, and went all in on support items, focusing this time on creating things for disabled heroes. If they couldn't be heroes, then they would instead empower heroes who still had a chance to fulfill a dream that was once theirs...it was this inherent dedication to making a difference, even in their current state...that drove their daughter to try and be just like them.
It was when she was twelve when the divide started.
Ambition was the cause. Her parents wanted Makeshift Ent. to be available to heroes all throughout the world, and while other CEOs would just sit back and let their production teams do the work...they were dead set on helping anywhere they could to make this dream a reality.
That meant travel, a LOT of it.
"You know the rest." Momo said, stirring her tea. "I would go into detail...but it's...pretty much stagnant until I met you all."
"That's..." She was right, the situation was sticky, because from everything Momo had just revealed to them...her parents were genuinely good people. Such a thing was truly rare amongst the wealthy, and that was something Gyro knew well. The only other exceptions he could think of were the Joestars, and All Might. "...sad. I really don't know what else to say."
"Well, it's in the past now. We're going to work towards becoming a family again, and I'm pretty optimistic about it. In fact...I was somewhat inspired by it."
"Inspired?" Ochako asked.
"From the emotional high." The ravenette began typing away on Exodus' computer, and brought up an image of a woman with caramel-colored skin and golden eyes. "This is Camille Dubois, an archeologist that founded a firm called Pantheon. The Speedwagon Foundation recently confirmed that she's the person after the meteorite."
"So this is the enemy." Gyro confirmed, glancing her over. "She looks to be on the younger side."
"We know it's an archeology firm, but it looks like it has...enforcers." Momo stated, showing grainy photos of armed soldiers wearing an olive branch insignia. "They are pulling out no stops to make sure the meteorite is theirs...and it's confirmed that they have Stand Users on payroll."
"Shit."
"Shit indeed...the team over there has an entire cabal to fight through...but that got me thinking. Dubois has a means of communication, despite the fact that reception isn't the best on that mountain...otherwise she wouldn't be able to command so many people. So..."
Momo pulled out schematics for what appeared to be a new drone, shaped like a jet. Gyro whistled and leaned over to look at it. "That's gonna be a beauty...I take it you're planning to use it to get in contact with Mr. Joestar."
"It's only a rough draft...I'll have to test it a few times before the Speedwagon Foundation can ship it over...but it'll allow us to provide them with aid from afar...should it obtain access to Pantheon's communication network like I'm hoping it does."
"Oh! We can help test it!" Ochako chimed in.
"I was just about to ask."
"So...what're you calling it?" Gyro asked.
Momo smiled.
"I think you'll like it, Mr. Giovanna helped me pick it out."
The odds weren't looking good.
Joseph and Toshinori were injured, but Aizawa was slightly worse. He had taken quite a beating from Poseidon, and while none of it was fatal...
An angry Yeti could easily change that, given the condition they were in.
'We'd straight up lose a fight...meaning we need to find some other way out of this.' Joseph thought to himself as he tried to measure the beast up. 'Wait a minute...that's it!'
"I have a plan." Joseph said, reaching under his jacket. "Question...can you guys run?"
"Possibly." Aizawa responded. "I'm pretty sure a few of my ribs are broken."
"Good...cause we're going to have to run like hell, considering how fast that thing is. You see it's eye?"
"Yes." Toshinori nodded. "He only has one...his left."
"During the Steel Ball Run, I met a man named Wekapipo, and he was a Spin User like Gyro. He was an enemy to Johnny and Gyro at first, but he later joined us against Valentine." Joseph explained. "He had a unique set of steel balls, weaker than Gyro's...but they were carved a specific way that gave them a special ability."
Joseph pulled out one of Wekapipo's steel balls, and narrowed his eye as he prepared a throw.
"I only figured out the basics of the Spin...I'm still a novice...but I managed to figure out how to use this special ability. The fact that he only has his left eye means we lucked out."
The eldest Joestar whipped the steel ball at the Yeti, watching as the familiar blue energy of a minor Spin throw began swirling around it. The Yeti's eye widened as it recognized the danger of the projectile, and it dodged to the right.
*pop!*
It was too late, Joseph didn't need a direct hit.
"Left Side Ataxia, he has lost all feeling in the left side of his body." Joseph proudly proclaimed, as the Yeti looked around, bewildered. "Since he only has his left eye, he's completely blind."
Which meant it was time for his ultimate technique.
"LET'S GET OUT OF HERE!"
The Yeti stopped as the three made a break for the woods, and while it was initially confused...it was now eerily calm. The snow began stirring around the cryptid, and something emerged from it with a grunt.
*SHIKT!*
Toshinori yelped as an icicle emerged from the ground in front of him, and suddenly more began popping up, instantaneously blocking their path. Joseph grimaced as he turned around, to find a terrifying sight waiting for them.
It was a giant ice sculpture...in a sense. None of it's "body parts" were connected, but were instead held together by wisps of frost. It had no legs, but it did have massive, lethal-looking fists. It's body was an intricately carved swirl, while it's head was ornated with a crown of icicles, curving in several different paths.
The face? It appeared to be a Yeti skull of sorts, except without a mouth.
"It's Stand..." Toshinori realized. "Can...those steel balls blind the Stand too?"
The Stand answered hi question by forming more icicles right beside their feet.
The floor was quickly becoming a deadly spike trap, anywhere they walked...and the spikes were driving them right back towards the ape. The Yeti was simply sitting there, still blinded, but he was clearly aware that he didn't need to see them...his Stand would bring them right back to him.
'These icicles...they're only increasing in number. It's only a matter of time before we get impaled!' Joseph thought as he frantically dodged them. 'Either that...or getting squashed by the Yeti. What the hell is this Stand?!'
Icicles started coming out of every surface, trees, rock...anything that was in the Stand's line of sight.
'WHAT THE HELL?!'
"HERMIT PURPLE!"
Joseph's Stand snagged a tree branch and carried them above the icicles as they swarmed the area, and the frozen Stand's glowing eyes narrowed. The icicles began traveling up the tree, chasing them.
'Ah, so they need a surface to travel. They don't just pop up willy nilly.'
Toshinori aimed Momo's Piston Fist at the approaching icicles. "They're chasing us, but they can only travel on one surface at a time. If we can disrupt the flow-"
"DO IT!" Joseph barked. The tree limb was close to snapping...if it broke while they were still on it...
*BOOM!*
The Piston Fist smashed through the icicles, halting their flow. They all looked around...and collectively sighed in relief once they saw the icicles had indeed stopped.
"Nice thinking Yagi, saved us from-" Joseph's eyes went wide. "Oh no..."
"Is there a hole in my jacket? Why do I feel col-" Toshinori's sunken eyes went wide with fear once he realized what was happening to him.
The icicles were growing on his body.
"OH NO!" Joseph screamed, and hurriedly tried to dig in his jacket for a source of fire.
*THUNK! THUNK! THUNK!*
The three turned their heads downward to see the Yeti staring right up at them, grinning. The Left Wide Ataxia had worn off, and the ape was no longer blind. It almost seemed amused at their attempt to get away, as if it knew that they didn't have a chance.
"Oh you-"
The Yeti and it's Stand both began climbing after them, a determined glint in the ape's eye. Joseph formed Hermit Purple into a ball, and tried to punch the Yeti off of the tree, but the enemy Stand bashed it aside.
Luckily, Aizawa had used that as an opportunity.
Wrapping his capture cloth around the Yeti's head just as it was busy with Joseph's attack, Aizawa jumped off of the tree. The Yeti roared as it's head was suddenly forced to support Aizawa's weight, and it began to lose it's grip. Despite hanging over spikes, and being wounded, Pro Hero Eraserhead never lost his cool.
Toshinori wished he could say the same, but it was becoming hard to move.
"Breaking those icicles...was a mistake." Toshinori wheezed out, frost coming out of his mouth. "He's freezing me from the inside out!"
"The icicles chase you, and once you break one..." Joseph was quickly putting the Stand's ability together. "I see. We...might honestly die here."
"We can't!" Toshinori coughed out flecks of blood...which were frozen. The color was quickly draining from his face as more icicles grew on his body. "I can't...die yet!"
Joseph was struck by a stray thought. It was one that he was having for a while...but what Toshinori said had just caused it to surface. He '"couldn't die yet." As if Toshinori had a goal...as if...
The eldest Joestar sighed. He couldn't afford to question Toshinori on his motives at the moment, even though he had a very strong suspicion as to what they were. All Might was a friend, an ally, and he only had a limited supply of those at the moment.
"You won't." Joseph assured him. "We'll beat him before that happens. I have a theory on what this guy's weakness is-"
*BAM!*
Joseph was suddenly smacked aside by a thrown Aizawa. He slammed into Toshinori, and he went pale once he felt some of the icicles growing on him snap beneath his weight. Sure enough, icicles began growing on him too.
'Crap! My body temperature is being siphoned! At this rate, we'll either be pounded into hamburger, or turned into popsicles! FIRE! WE NEED HEAT!'
Aizawa was grabbed by the leg, and the Yeti dragged him off of the tree and onto his shoulder. Joseph angrily kicked at the ape, but an icicle suddenly blocked his foot...and shattered. The icicles began growing on his body at a faster rate, and Joseph swore under his breath.
They needed heat, and fast...otherwise this creature would make mincemeat of them.
Toshinori was struggling to breathe, his skin was completely frosted over. It was only a matter of time before he froze to death...
*BAM!*
The Yeti had thrown a powerful punch, but Joseph managed to duck under it. Then the frozen Stand took a swing, taking the bark off of the spot where the eldest Joestar's head was...
Which left him open for the Yeti to grab.
Joseph dry heaved as the ape triumphantly plucked him from the tree...and then smiled in his opponent's face.
"Gotcha."
*FWISSSH!*
"YAWRGH!" The Yeti howled as a signal flare went off in it's face.
"My arms were too frozen to grab it by myself, so I had to trick you into pulling the pin." Joseph kept his smile as the heat from the flare melted the icicles off of his body. "I'm afraid I've-"
*CRACK!*
Toshinori's jaw dropped as the Yeti pounded Joseph into the tree mid-explanation, knocking the Joestar out instantly. It immediately retaliated as soon as Joseph gained an advantage, defeating him in a sudden blitzkrieg.
'Mr. Joestar, Aizawa...both defeated, and I can't move.' Even Toshinori's thoughts were slowing down at this point. 'Have...to do...SOMETHING!'
His iced fingers desperately twitched in their attempts to activate the Piston Fist, as the Yeti casually tossed Joseph over it's shoulder as well...and began climbing the tree towards it's last victim.
'Come on...come on! Move!'
It was getting closer. Toshinori's finger finally managed to curl around the trigger...but he didn't have the strength to pull it.
'Damn you, move! Come on! You can't die here, you need that meteorite for Young Midoriya's sake!'
It was almost on him.
'PLEASE!'
The memory of him reaching out to Nana Shimura one last time was playing throughout his head, watching as All For One choked the life out of her, helpless to stop his nemesis as he used multiple Quirks at once to completely obliterate her.
Then...she turned into Izuku. He was reaching for Izuku now, pleading, begging as Kars threatened to cut him down.
Desperation, futility...
He was pleading verbally now, although it only came out in pained gasps as he tried to pull the trigger...but just as before, he was powerless. The Yeti was on him now, and it was studying him with a curious expression.
"Pl...ease...wo..rk."
The last thing Toshinori saw before everything went dark, was the Yeti's hand reaching for him...
"It's him..."
"It's real? He's actually-"
"SHHH! He'll hear you!"
COBRA units murmured amongst themselves as The Stranger walked past, sending chills down the spine of everyone he passed. Trailing behind him was a young UA student, previously on their boss' list of targets...yet now was mysteriously under a villain's protection.
The Traitor froze once he looked at the decor, mortified. Trophies from several Pro Heroes lined the walls, as well as several pelts from various animals. In front of a fireplace sat a rather large man with slicked back hair, casually throwing knives into a dartboard...with Santana painted on it.
"Sit."
The Stranger's exposed mouth grinned. "Of course. Thank you for agreeing to meet me."
"Well, when you're contacted by a dead man, curiosity tends to take hold." The man responded, his yellow, snake-like eyes focusing on the Stranger. "We all know who you are, what's the point of the mask?"
"You do, people who are not as familiar with me don't. Besides...I can't possibly be alive, remember?" The Stranger responded, taking a seat.
"How did you survive?"
"That's the real secret, isn't it? Although I should be asking you the same thing, Glycon...although we both know that isn't your true name."
'Wait a minute...that's the mercenary Bakugo fought on school grounds! The snake man!' The Traitor realized. 'Wasn't he involved with that Shadow Moth guy? I don't really know much about that situation, but I know Bakugo got into a fight that day.'
"The man that Kyoka Jiro fought was a body double." The man who was apparently Glycon explained. "Just a man with a basic snake Quirk, who burned his face to look like me. As if I would ever be taken advantage of by a simpleton like Shadow Moth...that would be an insult to my pride."
'Wait...JIRO fought him? Well, a double, but...what was going on?'
"Ah. That girl is surprisingly formidable, I've had her slip out of my grasp before." The Stranger responded.
"She never fought ME. Yes...Glycon was an alias, because I'm quite recognizable otherwise." The man got up from his chair, and the Traitor recoiled. There was a burn on the side of the villain's face...caused by Katsuki's Human Claymore attack. The man had never gotten it treated, and instead allowed it to scar.
He had a well groomed beard, green hair that was slicked to resemble a cobra's hood, and a look that practically rooted you to the floor with fear. "The only reason I became involved was to obtain data on the next generation, to see if they are worthy to hunt."
"H-hunt?"
The Stranger chuckled. "Meet King Cobra, he hunts both hero and villain alike. The greatest hunter to have ever lived, more or less."
"I am not!" King Cobra spat out. "Not until I have killed the strongest, deadliest of beasts! Which...you are incredibly high on my list, "Stranger", and your return may just bump you even higher. So tell me, why you have brazenly called a meeting with a man who has every reason to kill you?"
"I need allies...and...what if I promised you the hunt of a lifetime?"
Cobra furrowed his brow...and then turned towards his wall, smiling. Mounted on the wall was a frame containing aset of purple armor, shattered near the chest. At first it seemed odd to the Traitor, as the armor definitely looked familiar...and that's when it hit him.
King Cobra had murdered The Skycrawler.
"Now that was a fight." Cobra touched the frame, almost lovingly, as if he was remembering an old friend. "He fought tooth and nail, and kept fighting until his last breath. Truly an opponent worthy of ME..."
'The Skycrawler?! He was...he disappeared a while ago. Cobra was the one that did him in?!' The Traitor thought to himself, horrified. 'He was strong enough to...'
If The Stranger was going where he thought he was going...one or more of his classmates were definitely going to end up on this man's wall.
"They never discovered his body." The Stranger nonchalantly waved the hunter off. "For all you know, you only brutalized him to leave just a sliver of life left. So what's the sentiment for?"
"You think I care? Koichi Haimawari may turn out to be alive, but The Crawler died that day. Punching, clawing, biting...he did everything that he possibly could to put me in the ground. It was beautiful...and it made my victory all the sweeter. Even if he lived, it was still a successful hunt, I still brought out his inner beast, and bested it!" The hunter then made his point clear. "Unless your proposed target is half of the man he was...I may as well just try my luck with you instead."
The Stranger kicked back, resting his feet on Cobra's coffee table.
"It's a good thing they're better, then."
"How so?"
The masked man grinned. "What if I told you...that there was a Quirk that All For One spent his entire life hunting down?"
King Cobra's eyes narrowed, and he leaned forward. "His whole life?"
"It was his whole goal, everything he ever worked for was to get this one Quirk. It's his brother's Quirk...and it can be passed between people, growing stronger with every user. It's last notable user was All Might."
"All..." The hunter seemed to mull it over for a bit, and then a gleam came to his eyes. "You want me to go after it's current user?"
"Yup. You know those kids you were keeping track of? One of them has it, that whole little group was made to protect this person." The Stranger revealed, watching as the gleam in the hunter's eyes grew even brighter.
"The Doctor was suspicious of me...he never revealed anything about his plan, or as to why these kids were targeting him...I can see why. He likely suspected that I was behind "Glycon", he knew I couldn't resist such a prize." King Cobra pulled out a bulletin board, where he had pictures of every UA student that was participating in the battle against The Doctor. "I had planned to leave them alone to let their potential grow, so I could hunt them at their strongest..."
"Like pigs being fattened up for slaughter."
"Precisely, but if such a Quirk exists among their ranks..." King Cobra's face twisted into a smile. A wide, merciless, and cruel smile. The smile of a predator that had just caught whiff of some prey after starving in the winter.
"...then it's time I officially came out of retirement."
"Wake up."
When Toshinori came to, he found himself by a warm fire. Confused, he surveyed his surroundings, and quickly realized that he was in some sort of cave that was made into some sort of home.
'Homely...wait, weren't we-'
The Yeti's glare soon filled his vision, and Toshinori recoiled.
"You're All Might."
"You...talk?"
"In a world where your barber can cut your hair with manibles, you're surprised an ape can talk?" The Yeti countered, and Toshinori huffed.
Rohan's Memo:
Yeah, the Yeti talks.
Animal Stand Users are fascinating, because they seem to gain some sort of...human-like intelligence once they have one.
Mr. Joestar often mentions the dog that accompanied him and Jotaro to Egypt, Iggy. The dog's behavior was extraordinarily humanesque, and he demonstrated complex thought that dogs normally aren't really capable of.
Not to say that dogs are dumb, Bakin is pretty smart...speaking of Bakin...I hope he's doing well. Koichi has always been a good dogsitter though, I'm sure he's fine.
But dogs aren't on par with humans, and yet I'd say Iggy was. DIO's pet falcon, Pet Shop, was reported to be just as sadistic and evil as the man himself. Hell, even the rats that almost killed Jotaro and Josuke seemed smarter than your average rat.
Which brings us to the Yeti, reportedly the winter variation of the Sasquatch. It's rumored that they are the missing link between humans and apes, and I'd say our Yeti might just prove that theory correct.
He's so close to humans on the evolutionary chain...that he pretty much IS one thanks to his Stand.
"Fair point...yes, I'm...I was All Might. Why...what is even happening right now?" The blond scrambled to his feet. "You attacked us!"
"We're prisoners."
Rohan was sitting on an old couch, flipping through the channels on what appeared to be an old box TV. The mangaka was covered in cuts and bruises, but judging by the calm expression on his face, the ape wasn't the culprit. Nonetheless, Toshinori was grateful to see that he was alive, when Rohan was dragged away from the fight, he feared the worst.
"Don't be like that. I'm not keeping you forever." The Yeti retorted, poking at Rohan with the club, steeping over the still unconscious Joseph as he did so. "You should feel lucky I didn't just pound you into hamburger."
His voice was gruff, weathered...and he sounded as if he was in his twilight years. Now that they were getting a clear look at him, Toshinori could see the wrinkles that came with age lining the Yeti's face.
He was also using that club he was wielding as a cane.
'Huh...he kinda reminds me of Gran Torino.'
"We were unlucky enough to run into the meteorite's guardian." Rohan explained. "Now he wants to keep us in here until he moves it to a safer location...where there is apparently no possibility of us finding it."
"What?!"
"Once again, could've just killed you." The meteorite's guardian sighed. "Why are humans so bratty these days? Seriously, I throw you a bone and you're complaining."
"Wait! We're not trying to do anything bad with it!" Toshinori pleaded. "We just don't want it to fall in the wrong hands, we're on your side!"
The Yeti smirked and leaned forward, his eye narrowing.
"Then why do you sound so desperate?"
"..."
"Exactly. Now, since you were All Might and all...I'm sure you have good intentions, or at least you believe you do...but NO ONE is touching that meteorite, man or beast." The ape was serious, that much was obvious. He didn't just remind Toshinori of Gran Torino in looks...but apparently he also shared his mentor's stubbornness. "I haven't spent the past decade fending off those damn Pantheon fools, just to give it to a washed up hero cause he doesn't want to hang up the cape. That thing is dangerous."
"That's not why I'm-"
"Isn't it? This is MY war, so butt out."
"What kind of moron fights a war on his own?!"
Refusing to answer, the Yeti summoned his Stand, creating icicles around the cave's entrance to seal it behind him. Toshinori angrily limped over to the barrier, and gritted his teeth, knowing that he was effectively trapped.
"You already know this from experience, but I'll explain it, just to get it through that thick skull of yours. My Stand, Winter Wonderland's icicles will lower your body temperature when you break them. I can create as many of them as I want, and in this weather? You'll freeze solid."
"You can't do this! We can help you!"
"There's a freezer in the back, help yourselves to the food...and ice for the bump to the head I gave the British one. He should be fine otherwise. Don't get any funny ideas with the fire either, the air by the entrance will put it out before it gets close...trust me, I tested that." The ape continued to ignore Toshinori's pleas, and trudged into the snow, disappearing into the flurry.
They had to find a way out of this frozen cell...otherwise Toshinori could kiss his chances of getting a Stand goodbye.