Boku No Hero Academia: Tales of the Assassin Remake
Embers spark from a campfire, you move towards it, looking at the anonymous letter that you were given from an unknown person. The environment around you is desolate, completely abandoned. Despite the impression, this wasn't the act of a global conflict, it was the act of only hundreds of people, not a million, not hundreds of thousands, only a few hundred.
Crackle…
"Oh, you're finally here, welcome to… what's left of Japan, I honestly forgot what city this is even."
"..."
"A lotta things happened here… I'll tell ya that. I know you came here to see what I wanted to tell you about my life. It's not really great, I'll be honest. But let me ask you this question."
"..."
"Have you ever loved heroes as a child?"
"..."
"Scratch that, we all have. That's what this world is about. Quirks and heroes."
"Hm? Oh, you don't know what quirks are? Let me tell you, they're basically superpowers. You could have a plank for a head or be able to shoot laser eyes or manipulate reality itself. Good luck with that because your bloodline pretty much determines your quirk, unless you have a quirk mutation that changes it entirely and is completely different to your parents' quirks."
"The world didn't always have these quirks, hell it started with a glowing baby, of course people with quirks were faced with problems because they were seen as monsters. But about a hundred years later, quirks are basically normal now. Then it came to the society that we have today, in 2192. Where heroes were on the trending page for decades. So were the villains but the heroes would always stop them.
"Who am I? Why am I talking about this? You may ask. Well, get comfortable, because you'll be here for a bit."
"Let's go a little while back, about 5 or 6 years ago, in 2187."
"My father was an American, and a hero, a great one. He was in the 50s in the hero rankings. Of course he kept his identity away from society so that we wouldn't get
harassed by the press for being related to him. "
"My mother ran a ramen shop, we lived there actually. I was an only child, but that never stopped my parents from caring for me. Like my father, I wanted to be a hero, even though he gave me warnings. He would always say that it was a rough journey to be a hero, or something like that."
"I still said yes, I was one stubborn kid. Funny thing is that I was deemed to be quirkless at the age of 6. I didn't have the extra joint in my pinky toe, but my quirk never showed up. Oh, yeah I forgot. If you have an extra joint in your pinky toe, you're deemed quirkless. Pretty much an ordinary being with no superpowers."
"And before you ask, yes, yes it's a problem in society. There's a lot of times where people would be discriminated against just for being quirkless. Not cuz they're a terrible person or they did a terrible thing."
"Luckily, I wasn't one of them. I actually had friends. I worked hard. I'll be honest, I was pretty much the best compared to the other students at my school, with the exception of a few students but still."
"Anyways, I'm done talking, for now, I'll hope to see ya around soon, or never. It's a desolate wasteland here anyway and I like my alone time."
Boku No Hero Academia: Tales of the Assassin
A fan-made story written by xJiMZz-_
Edited by Tackyoin
WARNING: This story contains suicidal thoughts, blood and violence, graphic imagery and strong language, read at your own risk.
NOTE: This story is based off the shonen manga/anime My Hero Academia by Kohei Horikoshi, if you want to understand this fan-made story better, I suggest you check out the original. Also, please support the official release.
ACT I: GRIEF
Prologue - Repurpose
It was a beautiful school day in Japan. Kids ran around in the playgrounds, couples held hands and walked alongside each other. Civilians bonded with the conspicuous heroes that patrolled along the sidewalks. It was peaceful. Especially when All Might, the Symbol of Peace was said to be around. Not only was he strong, but he had a pure heart.
Some kids were showing off their quirks, one of which could camouflage in her surroundings. Another was emitting a hologram from his hand. And one kid has a halo above her head, not that it did anything, it was just there for looks.
One of them in particular stood out the most, not physically. He didn't have a quirk but he was dedicated to being a hero, a lot more than every other kid at his school. He was tall for his age, being 5'1 at the age of 9. He has brown hair that was somewhat messy and slightly covered his ears. His eyes were also brown and were rounded. He had a skinny physique for some odd reason. Despite being physically stronger than most of the kids, falling short with the ones that had strength enhancing quirks.
His name was Hiro Kaiwanori. He was nice, a little shy, but he was also more mature than a bunch of other kids his age. He was pretty shy, to say the least, but that didn't stop him from resolving any arguments that went about the school. He would stop them so easily he was given the nickname 'All Might's Child.'
Hiro spotted a boy noticeably shorter than him that was playing around with his friends. Said boy had black, thick hair that was slightly curly. He had rectangular eyes and yellow irises. His name was Sachi Raionhato, best friend of his.
Sachi noticed Hiro as well, and told his friends that he'll rest for a bit. Of course, when he said rest, he meant he'll go and have a conversation with Hiro.
"Hey Hiro!" Sachi beamed as he and Hiro walked up to each other.
"Good evening, Sachi." Hiro replied, smiling back.
"How'd you do on the test today?" Sachi said, sitting down on a nearby bench.
"Oh I'm certain that I've done well, how about you?"
"Well, I don't really know, I'm hoping I passed at the very least."
"I see, well if you want I can help you review, study, anything you need help with."
"Alright! Well… how about this? We'll work on English, I still have trouble understanding it."
"Of course you'd ask me about that. Is it cuz my father is American?" Hiro chuckled, the only response he got was a smirk.
"I shoulda known, yeah I can help, I'm all free today so I can head to your house if you want."
"Perfect! Actually, could we head to your place? Their ramen is still top notch!" Sachi replied.
"Sure thing! Just make sure you don't get distracted by the food, unlike last time." Hiro smiled.
Ring!
Of course, the bell just so happened to interrupt their conversation about their plans that they would have for today.
"I'll see you after school Hiro!" Sachi waved goodbye to his best friend as he walked back to class.
"You too!" Hiro waved, heading the opposite direction.
[X]
"Alright class, exams are coming up in two weeks. We'll be covering these topics so make sure you study them, okay? We have a couple minutes left so go ahead and pack up."
Not even half a second later, the noise of bags shuffling filled the classroom. Though Hiro was staring into space, his eyes lingering in his own notes despite not focusing on them.
"Ahem."
"Hm?" Hiro responded, looking up at his teacher who stood in front of his desk.
"Kaiwanori, is there anything troubling you?"
"Uh oh, not at all, sir." Hiro replied, packing his things in the process.
"I see, well carry on then, my apologies, it's never like you to zone out in class, but there's a first time for everything." The teacher chuckled.
Ring!
Without hesitation, the class quickly rushed towards the exit in order to meet with their parents again. Hiro was the last to leave, and he walked home alone, since Sachi along with his other friends never lived where he did.
Unfortunately, the quickest way back home was blocked by a villain attack. There were about three villains, one that could turn his limbs into weapons of tissue and bone and skin, another that could take heat from hot objects and form it into fireballs from a certain distance, and a guy who had huge, bulky arms that held him up instead of his legs.
There was only one singular hero in question that was present at the time. His father, Todd Kaiwanori. His hero name went by Duplicator, His quirk allowed him to duplicate objects and telekinetically control them upon touch. Though he could only utilize objects the size of a dining table, he was still a force to be reckoned with, anything larger than that and he'll get a hell of a migraine. He could duplicate himself and other people, but it isn't really a great idea since the drawback would be much worse, especially if the person is incredibly strong, strength and quirk wise. Not to mention, the clones are only as durable as the amount of focus he puts into them.
Despite his flashy quirk, Todd wore a pure black outfit, consisting of a hoodie and baggy pants. He wore some sort of mechanical brace on his arms that could compress certain objects, store them for later and regrow them to their original size to his will. It also doubled as armor but it wasn't very practical. He also had knee pads and a gas mask to cover his face for a bunch of reasons. In addition, he also has a belt that has a bunch of necessary items.
Without hesitation, one of the villains threw a fireball at Todd, who quickly dodged it and brought an item from his arm, which was a crossbow. Not bothering to think about why he would have a more lethal weapon compared to other times, Todd fired it at the man with bulky arms. Unfortunately he missed on the first try, but then it did a roundabout and hit the villain with the heat control quirk in her leg. Putting her to sleep within seconds.
He looked at the crossbow for a second. In which he let his guard down. "Huh, an arrow tipped with a tranquilizer- WOAH!" Todd thought as he narrowly dodged a sword slash made of skin. He dodged another slash, dropped his crossbow and grabbed the villains' arm, luckily it wasn't sharp where he grabbed them, and he tripped them to the ground. Looking up, he saw a huge fist aimed straight for his face, so he let go of the villain and blocked it with his arms.
SLAM! CRACKLE!
He looked at the gadgets on his arms, which were destroyed, it cracked and sparked a bit. He looked up at the villains and clenched his teeth. Todd then saw Hiro hiding in the corner, the look in his eyes made him chuckle, reminding him of why he was a hero in the first place.
The knife-hand villain ran towards Todd, who was ready to counter his attack, until it transformed back to that of a normal hand suddenly, although Todd never saw it, the villains' face made it clear it wasn't intentional. He grabbed the villains' wrist in a moment's notice and slammed him on the floor. He then kicked the villain to the side, duplicated a tranquilizer arrow and stabbed him in the thigh using the telekinesis factor of his quirk.
He then immediately dodged a wall crashing blow from behind thanks to his gut feeling. He grabbed his crossbow, duplicated another arrow and took aim. That was until some sort of fabric wrapped around the huge villain in an instant. Followed by a kick from a tall, skinny man in his 20s wearing a similar outfit to Todd's, he wore yellow goggles that covered his eyes and had long black hair, just above his shoulders.
Said man then used his scarf to grab the villain again, and slam him into the concrete floor, knocking the villain out.
Todd chuckled at the sight of the man who he recognized. That being none other than Shota Aizawa, also known as Eraserhead.
"You never fail to surprise me, Eraserhead."
"You're getting pretty weak, Kaiwanori." Eraserhead remarked.
"Again, call me Todd, only when we're in private though. Besides, I wasn't really trying, gotta make the fight just a little even right?"
"Wow! You were amazing! Are you his sidekick? Who are you?" A childish voice said behind Todd. The source came from Hiro himself.
"...Why is there a child here?" Eraserhead said as his eye twitched a little. He then kneeled down to Hiro as Todd laughed slightly. "Kid, you're not supposed to be here,
Duplicator and I need to apprehend these villains, and send them to jail."
Todd took some quirk cancelling cuffs from his belt, and duplicated them. The two pro heroes quickly cuffed the villains, though the one with bulky arms needed room for improvising. Luckily, police had just arrived, and took the villains to custody, Hiro got a bit of a scolding from the police, so Todd decided to intervene.
"Guys, I'll take it from here. Alright, Hiro, I got hero work to do, I'll see ya later."
"You too! Bye!" Hiro waved goodbye with a bright smile as he rushed home.
Tap tap tap tap…
[X]
Ding!
Hiro opened the door to the authentic ramen shop before him. The place where he and his family lived. He was immediately met with a stomach growling smell. Despite growing up with ramen, he always preferred chicken katsu curry, actually it was his favorite. Murmurs were all that he could hear, along with some of the sizzling of god knows what was being cooked in the kitchen.
"Hey Hiro, how was school?" A soft female voice came from the counter. He looked to his right to see his mother, known as Hatchika Kaiwanori.
"Hey mama!" He beamed as he quickly made his way to her. "I have something for you to sign, I'll put it on the table upstairs."
"I'll check it out once I'm finished with work today, Hiro." She smiled.
He entered the backdoor that led to a set of stairs to the second floor. The actual place where they lived.
[X]
Crackle…
"There's not really much to say here, I lived a pretty normal life, or good life, I don't know. Not everyone has the same parents that either run a business or is a hero."
"You can imagine how it went for when I worked to be a hero, I'd run with my mom when she was free, a lot of the time I would get just below the three mile mark before I
reached my limit."
"My form of strength training was actually just hauling things around when my mom needed it. Not lifting any weights or whatever."
"Also, I hardly had any free time, well… actually I did, I just chose to be a hard-working kid. When I was younger, you'd often see me doing some form of training, mostly running actually. And my parents taught me things that would be way ahead of my time."
"Why am I here again? Well I can't keep the story boring, can I?"
"Keep going, I'll bother you later."
[X]
It was 4 in the morning when Todd returned home. He took off his boots and belt, along with the fresh new gear he got, and his mask, and slumped on the couch after a long day of stopping crime.
He immediately dozed off to sleep at a moment's notice.
He opened his eyes again, instead of seeing what should be the ceiling, it was a pitch black void, he stood up, seeing a floor of complete concrete that extended across the horizon.
"Long day huh?" A voice said behind him. He calmly turned to the source, where a tall man his size had stood. He had long, light orange hair that went down to his shoulders. He wore a standard issue lab uniform, with the coat being huge and reaching down to the ground. He also had a goatee and black mist concealed most of his face. With his eyes glowing through the mist.
"Yamazuki, it's nice to meet you again, can't you let me dream every once in a while?" Todd joked.
"You know my quirk doesn't allow that, kinda wish it did though. Again, I've said this for years now, but please, my name is Orda, so call me that." The man said, who is now known as Orda Yamazuki.
"So, how's the kid doing?" Orda asked.
"Do you sleep every now and again in my head?"
"You can probably guess." Orda chuckled.
"...Well then, I'm not gonna ask how, but I saw him when he was on the way to school. Other than that he's probably sleeping soundly."
"Think he'll still be a hero?"
"That's up to him, his quirk hasn't shown up yet but I'm sure he'll be a great hero, an actual one too."
"Yeah. I'm surprised you even enjoy your job, considering you get like, three hours of sleep."
"If it keeps Hiro safe, then it'll keep the civilians safe too."
Todd suddenly started to feel some sort of warping effect, his peripheral vision started to stretch and the same black mist that covered Orda's eyes engulfed him.
"Man, time flies by way too fast in this place." Todd said.
"Not sure if I can fix that." Orda chuckled, Todd laughed with him shortly after before quickly returning to his real world consciousness.
[X]
Rumble…
Todd woke up to the sound of the TV on and a bunch of shaking, he didn't remember turning it on once he got home, so he looked to see who was watching it. It was both Hiro and his wife. "Why are you two up so late?"
"You feel it too, yes?" Hatchika said. It was a cold, fearful feeling that struck even Todd's heart. He looked towards Hiro, who was crying. Not of pain, or sadness, but of fear.
He went to comfort Hiro.
"It's okay, everything's going to be okay. Papa is here…" He hugged Hiro gently, trying to soothe him. "The heroes will take care of everything."
He looked at the TV, and it was a news report from a helicopter's view. It was a hero fighting a villain, not just any hero, and not just any villain.
All Might was fighting someone.
"Hatchika, take care of Hiro for a bit. I gotta go help the others." Todd slowly let go of Hiro, leaving him and his wife alone.
"Come back safe… okay?" Hatchika said in a distressed tone.
Todd put his belt, mask and boots on. He quickly duplicated a metal sheet and rode on it using his telekinesis. All of a sudden, a huge laser came from above and destroyed a
lot of the infrastructure.
His eyes widened at the realization of where it hit.
Right where home was.
He immediately made his way through the fire and debris, hoping that his wife and son were okay. "Hiro! Hatchika!" He called for their names. He heard a faint yell from Hiro beyond the sounds of helicopter blades, crashing and alarms, and screaming.
He made his way to where he heard Hiro. Until he found where he was. He rode the metal sheet towards the poor kid. Who was trying to wake up his mother.
"Mama!" Hiro sobbed, shaking the unconscious and wounded Hatchika by her shoulders. Todd's eyes widened at the sight, he looked at her in horror before coming back to his senses. "Hiro, stay back, I'll help her, she'll be fine! Don't worry!" He took a set of bandages from his belt, and began to attend to her wounds.
Though that was short-lived when a huge gust of wind shook the already fragile building and sent Todd and Hiro flying in separate ways. When he got up, it was already collapsing.
"Hiro!" He yelled. Feeling griefed at the fact that he and his wife were separated, along with Hiro, who couldn't look out for himself in these types of situations.
"Papa!" Hiro called out. But then an explosion in the sky followed with a slowing whirring sound put Todd's adrenaline into overdrive. It was the sound of a helicopter falling from the sky. Which fell down right next to him.
CRASH!
Not even half a second, he spun around and duplicated a bunch of debris in an attempt to shield himself. Fortifying it with his telekinesis in the process, needless to say, his head felt as if he had his skull slammed into a brick wall twenty times.
BOOM!
The buildings shook as the helicopter collided with the makeshift shield that Todd desperately made for his life. He pushed the debris, sending most of it flying.
[X]
With Hiro, he was trapped in a corner beneath flames. The heat and smoke was suffocating, even when using his shirt to get some form of breathable air.
Needless to say, he was terrified. His mother was possibly gone, and his father was nowhere in sight.
"HEY! IS ANYONE IN THERE?" A stern voice called out. Hiro shouted without hesitation, knowing they were heroes. "OVER HERE!" He cried.
"I see him!" A hero called out, but then another laser blast from the sky shook the building. Which caused Hiro to fall into a nearby hole. Fortunately it only went down a single floor.
"Waaa…aaAHH!" Hiro screamed.
THUD!
"OOF!" He grunted in pain as he fell and landed on his back. He felt something really hot on his sleeve and began to pat it really quickly on instinct. Which smothered the flames on his shirt. He quickly backed away from the fire that nearly cooked him alive.
He covered his nose with his shirt and began to look for an exit around him. But the boards above him started to collapse, upon realization, he quickly ran in the direction his gut told him to.
He managed to find a door, so he put his hand on the knob. Though he would regret that immediately.
Sizzle…
"Ack!" Hiro groaned as he jerked his hand from the door knob in an instant. He looked at his hand to see it was blistering with a few burnt spots, and man it hurt like hell. Suddenly, the door that he tried to open flew right beside him, causing his heart to stop for a moment from shock. He looked where the door came from, to see none other than his father.
"Hiro!" Todd quickly ran towards him and hugged the boy tightly, who sobbed into his shoulders.
"Papa!" Hiro cried, tears stained the man's hoodie as he held on to him as tight as possible. He was most definitely relieved at the presence of Todd.
"It's gonna be okay Hiro, everything's gonna be alright. Let's get you somewhere safe and the heroes will take care of you from there, and we'll find mama on the way as well, I promise."
Hiro sniffled, he couldn't bring himself to speak, whether it was the overwhelming feeling of fear that stopped him or the comfort that his father Todd brought him.
Todd quickly put Hiro on his back and stepped on the door that he broke through. He then duplicated it and put it above himself and Hiro to block any falling debris. The door below him started levitating, and the two took flight through the narrow halls and rooms of the burning apartment floors they were in. He tossed the duplicated door aside as he approached the roof.
ZOOM!
They managed to escape through the top of the burning flames, and Todd made his way down as he spoke into the earpiece on his mask. "This is the hero Duplicator, where is the nearest evacuation area!?"
Static….
"Can you hear me? You're breaking-"
"Eraserhead here, can you hear me old guy?"
"Yeah! I'm in a bit of a situation."
"Papa… I... I thought we were going... to find mama…" Hiro sniffled.
Todd's heart skipped a beat, how could he forget about Hatchika? The chances of her being alive are slim. But slim doesn't mean impossible.
"I'll get you safe Hiro, then I'll go find mom, okay…? Eraserhead, what's your position?"
"Ragdoll's using her quirk trying to find you from here, wait until- hm? Alright, you're about a klick from the evacuation zone, just head left and you'll see us."
"Hang on Hiro." In response, Hiro tightened his grip around Todd as he held on from his back. He could feel the blowing of the wind as Todd accelerated the door beneath them to incredible speeds.
"What the hell is going on…" Todd thought.
"Don't ask me! Everything's gone to hell!" Orda replied.
"Alright well, just be ready to take over when I let you. You excel in everything anyways." Todd internally scoffed.
"Do you Americans always find a way to make a joke in life or death situations!?"
"That was not supposed to be a joke!"
"Hey, If you're done zoning out, now would be a good time to head down to where we are." Interrupted a voice from a radio, breaking the conversation between the two in Todd's conscience.
"Huh?" Todd said in confusion as he looked down to his side, seeing the evacuation area below.
"Sorry about that, heading down now." Todd spoke into the radio as he descended towards Ragdoll and Eraserhead, the former being in a conspicuous hero outfit. She has long, green hair and huge, round yellow eyes. Her hero costume beared the theme of a cat, having huge cat paws as gloves, a tail, and a headset that resembles cat ears. She wore a yellow midriff collared top with a huge ruffled skirt, along with boots with white fur. She was a member of a specialist hero rescue squad named the Wild, Wild Pussycats.
Todd hopped off the door that he rode on and set Hiro down. "Keep him safe will you? I know it's stupid to say but do try to put him in priority."
"You got it, Duplicator!" Ragdoll said. Though Eraserhead responded with a grumble.
Todd then took off using a metal sheet. Hiro watched with a sorrowful face as his father went back into the battlefield.
"Ragdoll, is Mandalay here by any chance?" Todd spoke through the radio.
"You needed something, Duplicator?" A female voice rang in Todd's head, that of which being Mandalay. Another member of the Wild, Wild Pussycats.
"Get Ragdoll to find any survivors trapped in Kaiwanori Authentic Ramen, you can do that right?" Todd spoke on the radio.
"..."
Static!
"Alright, I've found two… no, three survivors, all on the first floor!" Ragdoll spoke through the radio.
"Perfect, just what I needed." Todd muttered, before flying into the fray.
Whoosshhh…
He disappeared into the plume of smoke where home had originally been. He yelled out for Hatchika's name, hoping she'll respond. His worries grew as he looked at the fight above him, where he could see All Might fighting the overpowered villain, who seemed to have multiple quirks.
"Should I help him? No… Hatchika needs help, and the civilians too... Damn it! Why the hell can I not make a decision?!" Todd clenched his fist, along with his teeth, feeling conflicted for some unknown reason.
"You're thinking about Hiro too much, if you care so much about him, then make an example of what a hero should be."
"..."
"...Right, Thanks Orda, for Hiro, and Hatchika." Todd exhaled, trying to calm himself down.
"I need to find Hatchika, get her and other civilians to safety, and then help All Might… should be easy…" Todd tried to assure himself as he looked for any survivors, out of the corner of his eye he spotted some movement, sure enough, it was a survivor, a girl, around Hiro's age.
"Hey, you okay?" Todd asked, his voice somewhat distorted by the gas mask he wore.
"No…" The girl said weakly, she had a huge burn mark on her hand. Todd picked her up. "It's okay, I'll get you out of here, we still have people to save though."
He held the girl close to him as he flew through the smoke and flames. Scanning for anyone that is in need of help, especially his wife.
Much to his relief and by sheer luck, it never took long for him to find her. "Get down, and cover your face." Todd told the girl. He was able to telekinetically move some of the debris, though some of it was too big. So he moved it with his own strength and telekinesis combined. Much to his dismay, Hatchika's state was extremely concerning after he freed her from the rubble that trapped her.
"Hatchika!" Todd yelled as he tried to shake her awake. He checked for a pulse, it was faint but still there. He carried her by his shoulder. "Hey! This way!" He said to the girl, who quickly took his hand and stepped onto the metal sheet with him. The sheet below them levitated, and began to accelerate through the collapsing building.
"Hey, Ragdoll, is that Linked Vision gadget ready?"
"Just one sec, needs a bit of tuning so that it can reach you through the smoke. We're-"
Static….. CRACKLE!
The building shook as his radio short circuited, which is proven by the electric sparks coming out of it and crackling.
"Ragdoll? Ragdoll!"
"Mandalay here, something's jamming our comms!"
"Damn…" Todd muttered.
"Hey, girl, are your parents around here?" Todd asked, worried about what's to come.
"No… the heroes managed to reach them…"
"What?! Why didn't they come get you?"
"They thought I was trapped, they thought they couldn't get to me…"
Todd's muscles started to tense at the thought of it. "Of course..."
He headed straight towards the same evacuation area where Eraserhead and the others were. Making a smooth landing as he made his way to the medical tent.
"We got another survivor, heavily injured through burns and a couple bad punctures. Can you fix her?" Todd asked, his voice filled with worry.
"Yeah, we can do it. But we have heavily injured patients as well, she'll need to wait." The medic said.
"Anything for her survival." Todd said firmly, before looking back at the girl, he placed both hands on her shoulders and looked at her in the eyes.. "Okay, your parents should be around here, other people need saving, so I'll leave you alone okay?"
The girl nodded with uncertainty. "This will all be over before you know it. All Might's doing his best." Todd said, before heading off into the distance.
"Duplicator, Eraserhead wants to see you." Mandalay said using her telepathy quirk.
He looked around in search of Eraserhead, it didn't take too long as he found the man with Ragdoll and Mandalay. The latter wore a similar outfit to Ragdoll's, though it had
a red color to the majority of it. She also had short brown hair and brown, slightly sharper eyes compared to the former.
"You were lucky Ragdoll used her search quirk to find you, otherwise we would have gone out there ourselves." Mandalay scolded.
"Spare me the lecture, something happened to my comms device, I don't know what it is but it got short circuited." Todd retorted.
Eraserhead sighed in response. "We're just glad you're okay."
"What do you guys need me for any-"
PSHUU! BOOM!
If the huge laser that struck the evacuation zone didn't catch their attention, the screams of innocent people definitely did. Everyone, especially Eraserhead, had wide eyes at the sight of the chaos.
"Hatchika…" Todd mouthed, he looked to the source of the laser, to see a tall man in a suit with a huge bulky arm the size of a car. He has white hair and what looked to be soulless eyes, showing his lack of concern to the world around him.
"Wait… Hiro? HIRO!" Todd looked around frantically, trying to find where his son went. He looked to the trio before him. "I thought I said to look after Hiro!"
"You shouldn't tell me things like that when it comes to kids!" Eraserhead retorted as he put on his goggles. "And since you're so bad at taking care of that kid, you're coming with me to help All Might, Ragdoll and Mandalay will find him!"
"I can take care of him just fine! I'm just a little busy!" Todd said as he and Eraserhead got on a metal sheet and flew towards the battle between All Might and the villain.
Todd quickly took an item from his compressor gadget, what came out was a longsword. He duplicated it and handed it to Eraserhead.
"... Really? A sword?" Eraserhead remarked, thinking it would be futile to even try using a sword against the monstrosity that destroyed multiple city blocks in a few minutes.
Todd chose not to reply, instead keeping his focus on the fray.
The duo flew into the fight, but a shockwave of air knocked them back. The source being one of All Might's punches. Todd managed to recover flight, and brought himself and Eraserhead towards the Symbol of Peace.
"HEY! ALL MIGHT!" Todd yelled. All Might looked towards him, though the latter didn't have a smile on his face.
"We're here to help!" Eraserhead quickly followed.
All Might stood silent for a moment, before speaking. "Alright."
Todd got closer to the hero, before talking once more as he gazed at the villain. "Who is he?" He asked.
"He's an old villain, but also most notorious. He can steal quirks and use them at the same time… He's goes by the name... All for One"
"I see. Eraser, don't tell Hiro, or Hatchika."
"What?" Eraserhead questioned, wondering if Todd went crazy, he looked towards the latter to see that a black mist was forming inside his mask, and was then overwhelmed by a white glow taking the shape of his eyes.
"Todd?"
"Please, call me Orda." 'Todd' said.
"Todd what the fuck is this sick jo-"
Eraserhead was interrupted when 'Todd' duplicated himself fivefold.
"He means it, don't tell the kid."
All Might looked towards All for One, who lightly smiled. All Might merely chuckled in response, smiling back.
"Give up, All for One, and maybe I will send you to Tartarus without hesitation." All Might ordered.
"Please, you know I can't do that. One for All will be mine, sooner or later." All for One replied.
"One for All?" Eraserhead thought, confused on what All for One was getting at.
"Besides, even with your fellow hero-" That line was immediately interrupted by 'Todd's' actions as he and the duplicates threw a bunch of rubble at All for One, who tried to
stop his attack, but suddenly he started to fall quickly, and was unable to repel the rubble, courtesy of Eraserhead's erasure quirk.
He was getting slammed into debris from all sides from Todd's quirk, before All Might jumped in with his fist ready for a hard hitting attack.
"DETROIT SMASH!"
BOOM! SLAM!
The punch sent All for One pummeling to the ground at speeds beyond the sound barrier, luckily for the heroes, he landed away from the evacuation zone. Wait… evacuation
zone?
The idea that came to his mind made him smirk a little. The smokescreen coming from his rough landing gave him time to use a ranged quirk, he then used a radar quirk to
narrow down the location of All Might, Eraserhead, 'Todd,' and his duplicates. His arm started to mutilate into a huge cannon of some kind, with grey and red tendrils sticking out from all ends. There a small light could be seen growing bigger and bigger, and a whirring sound that grew higher in pitch.
PSHUU!
The trio gasped not even half a second later as the laser shot past All Might. 'Todd' was only able to move in time to keep himself safe, though Eraserhead was a different story as the sudden movement caused him to fall off.
'Todd' quickly flew straight down in an attempt to save him. While his duplicates made haste and sent a bunch of rubble hurling towards All for One, with All Might following pursuit to assist.
Though that was short lived when all of the clones were suddenly impaled by some sort of red and black appendage that originated from All for One's fingers.
The duplicates quickly disappeared into thin air. All for One quickly turned around and made his way to the evacuation zone, the presence of those helpless civilians would have All Might hold back after all.
"VIRGINIA SMASH!"
In quick succession, he spun around, reached his arm out to All Might, and used a series of quirks that caused it to bulk up and fire a strong gust of air.
WHOOOOSH!
Despite the attempted attack All Might tried to land, it was stopped, going as far as knocking him into a building.
He then used a flight quirk to take to the skies, it didn't take long to reach the evacuation area that was compromised by the collateral damage he caused.
[X]
'Todd' quickly accelerated as he tried to reach Eraserhead, unfortunately all the smoke was making it hard for him to find Eraserhead. On the bright side, they were quite high up in the air. Which would only give him about 10 seconds to find the man.
"ERASER!" He called out, but he couldn't possibly hear even a gunshot with all the noise going on. He nearly froze as he flew by a set of blades from a helicopter.
In due time, he managed to find Eraserhead plummeting to the ground. He strengthened the force of his telekinesis, just enough to stop him from falling off, he sped up towards his colleague. Who managed to use his scarf for him to catch.
He grabbed the scarf and immediately pulled up, it wasn't that close, but still scary nonetheless. He quickly stopped the platform, which allowed Eraserhead to land on it, needless to say, it was a basic form of landing.
"Where the hell do you think they are now?" 'Todd' asked as he flew up.
"Oh no, I'm asking the questions at this point. Who the hell is Orda?"
"You mean the man that was inside a bunch of different people's heads for about a hundred years or so?"
"What?"
"It's a long story, hopefully we'll live for you to hear it."
BOOM!
The two heroes looked down to see the origin of the explosion.
"Could you try tying us down with your scarf?"
"What are you getting at?" Eraserhead groaned, knowing that this would be another bad idea regarding the past few decisions.
"Just hold us secure if possible. I'll bring us down but it'll be fast."
Eraserhead nodded, relieved at the fact that 'Todd' actually made a rational decision for once. He wrapped an end of his scarf to the edge of the platform, and another. He then tied the scarf around their feet and legs.
"Brace yourself!" 'Todd' yelled.
The platform then began to plummet to the ground incredibly fast, thanks to Eraserhead's scarf, the duo didn't fall off from it.
As they reached the ground, the platform began to gradually slow down until it stopped. The scarf loosened and returned back to Eraserhead's shoulders.
"Now I gotta find his kid…"
"Guys, where the hell have y'all been!? It's complete chaos out here and Ragdoll can't find Hiro!"
Recognizing the voice, Eraserhead adjusted his earpiece. "Mandalay, can you hear me?"
"Affirmative."
"So you were trying to find one kid instead of the other evacuees!?" Eraserhead questioned.
Bzzzz!
"Ragdoll here, we managed to rescue a bunch of the other evacuees, but no one mentioned seeing a short brown haired kid that was quirkless, not that they could anyway."
"Fuck… keep searching, and don't forget any civilians that are still here."
"Got it."
Bzzzz!
"Great, now you got the pussycats prioritizing that kid. What's so important about him anyway?"
"If you want to know so badly, he's Todd's son."
"And what about you, Orda?"
"Again, I'll tell you later. Right now, we just need to find Hiro and help All Might afterwards."
"...Fine, we'll go find the kid since he's so important to the person that you're looking for."
'Todd' tuned his radio and contacted Ragdoll.
"Hey, Ragdoll?"
Bzzzz!
"What is it, Duplicator?"
"Keep in contact with me and Eraser at all times, we'll try to find each other, and make sure to find Hiro on the way."
"What…? That's not a good idea! You're thinking irrationally!" Eraserhead jumped in.
"I am not thinking irrational-"
"What if we come across All for One again!?" The Erasure hero interrupted, knowing that the pussycats are not the most fit for combat and specialize in rescue operations.
'Todd' acknowledged his words, so he decided to change his set of orders a bit. "Nevermind, just… try to find the kid!"
"Got it."
Bzzzz!
[X]
"Mandalay, you heard him right?"
"Yeah, no idea what's so important about this Hiro kid, but orders are orders." Replied Mandalay.
Ragdoll quickly activated her search quirk, trying to find out where Hiro is among the tens of people that remain in the so-called evacuation zone.
From her perspective, her vision showed the silhouette of every person in the area through a green glow. Even behind walls. Some glowing brighter, some fading away.
"I can't find Hiro, there's too many people, let's get them out of here, and try to find him on the way." Ragdoll informed.
"Yeah, thought so as well. We need Pixie-bob though."
"We should be able to help out these people on our own, besides, she and Tiger are out at a different city. It'll take them too long to get here before it's too late!
"...Dammit, you're right." Mandalay groaned internally.
Mandalay spoke into her earpiece, knowing she and Ragdoll will need some backup. "This is Mandalay, are there any heroes available at the evacuation center?!"
Bzzzz!
"This is Backdraft and Death Arms, we're coming from the initial fray! We can see the zone from here!"
"Affirmative, we're at the refuge area, try to find us there!" Mandalay said, before Ragdoll interrupted her.
"I found some civilians not too far from here, they're at the medical tents, Let's go!" Ragdoll said, with Mandalay quickly following her.
"Alright just, try to find us near the tents! We got people in trouble there!"
"Affirmative."
Bzzzz!
Traveling in the open chaos of fire and debris, the two pussycat members didn't take too long to get to the civilians. Mandalay made the first move and used her telepathy
quirk to assure the victims.
"Don't be afraid, Me and Ragdoll will get you guys out of here, remain calm! More heroes are on the way as we speak!"
Both heroines managed to rescue a bunch of the other civilians, however there were some trapped under rubble or behind flames. Ragdoll, feeling slightly overwhelmed, quickly called for Backdraft and Death Arms.
Bzzzz!
"Backdraft! What's your location!"
"We can see you and Mandalay, look behind you!"
Ragdoll quickly did as said, and sure enough, Backdraft, the firefighter hero, was there. Of course, he sported a firefighter themed hero suit, with his hands being taps and a
water hose strapped to a tank on his back, he also bears a unique mask, having an orange ball-like object in the center with an opening coming from the top of his mask. Behind him was Death Arms, on the other hand the latter is a tall, muscular man, having white, spiky hair and a short top that shows off his torso. He also wears a caution themed headband, belt, and wrist guards, he has blue jeans and also wears dark boots.
"Let's get a move on! Death Arms, do what you can to safely remove any debris so we can get these guys outta here! You clear out the fire afterwards, Backdraft!" Mandalay
ordered.
"You got it!" The two said in unison as they met up with the former.
Without hesitation, Death Arms rushed inside. Except he was stopped by Mandalay for a moment. "Take this, you'll need it." The heroine said.
"What's this?" Death Arms asked as Mandalay gave him a set of goggles and a breather.
"It's a Linked Vision gadget, you'll be able to use Ragdoll's quirk as long as she has it activated.
Death Arms put on the new equipment that he was given, and quickly rushed in.
"Ragdoll, I need civilian locations."
"Copy, Linked Vision should be transmitting right this moment."
Almost immediately, Death Arms started to see the green glows of silhouettes of people thanks to Ragdoll's quirk. He immediately ran to the civilian closest to him. They were
trapped under rubble by the looks of it. Luckily his quirk was made just for these kinds of situations.
Without much effort, he lifted the rubble off the civilian carefully. Fortunately, she was still conscious.
"Ma'am, I'm here to save you, can you walk?"
"No… I think... Ngh! I-I think my legs are broken..." The woman said, wincing in pain. Death Arms looked at her legs, which were scraped, cut and bruised. He quickly picked her up and placed the woman over his shoulder.
"Ragdoll, can you get a medevac here?"
"Negative, I can't get any help from here."
"... Alright. I found someone, continuing to search."
Not too far in front of him was a small silhouette, presumably a kid. He quickly made his way through the flames and found the kid, covering his mouth with his hand and crawling, with tears welling up in his eyes.
That kid was none other than Hiro.
Death Arms quickly ran towards Hiro and picked him up and placed him over his shoulder. He looked for more survivors, but their glow has faded away.
"Ragdoll, what does it mean when their glow disappears?" Death Arms asked through his earpiece.
"It… means we've lost them."
"..." Death Arms clenched his fist and grumbled something in response, which Ragdoll heard. Knowing his mindset, he's probably beating himself up.
"You did what you could, just bring back the survivors you rescued." Ragdoll assured.
"I-"
"Heroes aren't omnipresent Death Arms. Not even All Might can save everyone."
"...Copy, make sure Backdraft is ready to put out the fire." Death Arms said.
Death Arms quickly returned to where Ragdoll and Mandalay were.
"Backdraft is putting out fires where there aren't civilians, I called him here, so he should be back any-"
"You mean now?" Interrupted Backdraft.
"Right on time, Backdraft! Clear out this fire! Death Arms managed to rescue the civilians!"
"Already on it." Backdraft said as water sprayed out of his taps for arms, along with the hose on his back getting to work as well.
Death Arms walked to Ragdoll and Mandalay with the woman in his arms. "The kids' fine, but this one will need a medic."
"I see…" Mandalay said as she gave Hiro a stern look. "You're gonna get one hell of a scolding once this is done, and not just from me."
[X]
"Eraser, I can see them from here." 'Todd' said as he pointed to the direction of the four heroes.
Eraserhead quickly followed, looking where 'Todd' was looking. Sure enough, Mandalay, Ragdoll, Death Arms and Backdraft were all there, along with a woman and Hiro.
"Todd."
"Yes?"
"Go ahead, go see Hiro." Orda said, letting Todd take control of his body.
The black mist fogging up Todd's visor disappeared, and his eyes went back to normal, of course, he had the huge headache that came from overuse of his quirk earlier.
"I'm back, Eraser."
"Hm?" Eraserhead looked towards Todd, noticing that this 'Orda' person is no longer in control or something like that.
"So you're the actual Todd?"
"Physically and Spiritually."
"...Good to know." Eraserhead remarked, confused on the whole 'spiritual' concept that allowed his fellow hero to have an alter ego.
"Hey, Mandalay, we're heading to your position." Todd said as he lowered the metal plate towards the heroes below. Making a smooth landing in the process.
Hiro immediately recognized his father, so he quickly ran up to him. "Papa!" He hugged his father as tightly as he could, filled with relief but also fear for what's to come.
"Papa?" Mandalay raised an eyebrow, wondering if Todd really is a father.
"Don't bother saying anything, Ragdoll, can you find any more civilians?" Eraserhead said.
"No, Seems all the other heroes managed to get them out safely, that or the other outcome." Ragdoll replied after using her quirk, but getting nothing besides herself and the others with her.
"Alright, Todd, once you're done, take us out of here to the other evacuation zone."
"You got it."
"I've never seen you before, what's your hero name?" Backdraft asked.
"Eraserhead." He bluntly replied.
"The guy behind me is Death Arms, and I'm-"
CRASH!
They all looked towards the direction of the sound, where AFO levitated as the smoke cleared. He raised his arm and pointed his hand to the group.. Much to his dismay, Eraserhead was already using his quirk. His fingers blackened with red outlines, before they shrunk back to normal. Courtesy of Eraserhead stopping his attack.
All Might without hesitation, dashed right towards All for One. Because the latter could only utilize mutant quirks at the moment, he was practically defenseless against the uppercut that-
"EVEREST SMASH!"
SLAM! BOOM!
…
That… sent him flying through the sky at speeds beyond the sound barrier, even parting some of the clouds that he flew through.
"All Might!" Mandalay yelled.
"I know, I won't go all out as long as there are civilians here." The number one hero replied, as if predicting what she would say. Before Mandalay could say anything, All Might jumped straight towards All for One.
"I was going to say that all civilians have been cleared out! We can keep the ones with us safe!" Mandalay's voice rang in All Might's head. All he did was let out a chuckle knowing she wouldn't be able to hear him.
It didn't take long for the villain to start plummeting to the ground, however he was met with the menacing look of the Symbol of Peace without his smile. Who was just above him having another punch ready to smash him into bits.
"TEXAS SMASH!"
SLAM! BOOM!
Despite his attempts to stop the strength enhanced punch, it was ultimately futile as the upper part of his face was blown into pieces from one of All Might's most powerful smashes.
If that didn't kill him, the sheer speed of slamming into the ground and cratering it for sure did.
…Right?
[X]
CRASH!
The ground shook as All for One flew into the ground at breakneck speeds. Causing a few of the heroes to stumble, and Hiro just falling to the ground from the impact.
Todd quickly picked him up as the ground stopped shaking. All Might soon made his way down, landing with hardly a scratch as the ground around him cratered.
"It's over." All Might said.
"So that's it? You just straight up kill him?" Eraserhead said.
"This man has terrorized the Earth ever since the dawn of quirks, Eraserhead, taking and giving quirks in exchange for some of the most horrible life-long favors for his own benefit."
"..."
Todd took off his mask, and put his hand on Eraserheads shoulder.
"You heard what he said, it's over, relax." Todd assured.
"I'll relax when all of this is back to normal." Eraserhead responded with a grumble.
"You saved the day again, All Might, just as we thought." Mandalay said with a smile.
Hiro walked towards the Symbol of Peace, his face gleaming with admiration as he got closer.
"I'm sorry you were afraid to witness this unfortunate turn of events." All Might smiled at Hiro, bringing about relief to the boy from his sheer presence.
"Some day, if you ever become a hero, think about what's to come, because not even someone like me could prevent this from happening."
Hiro looked towards Todd, who was beside him.
"Remember what I said kid?"
Hiro nodded, his face forming to a determined expression.
"I'll be a Hero, no matter if I'm quirkless or not!"
[X]
Crackle…
"Back so soon?"
"..."
"Oh, you reached the end of that part?"
"..."
"Heh, you're wrong."
"It was supposed to be an oath I made. Y'know, like in those cliche moments where the protagonists journey begins or whatever."
"Turns out that was all denial."
"Anyways, back you go."
[X]
Whirrrr…
"Huh?" Ragdoll's ears perked up, wondering where the sound came from. She used her search quirk, trying to find who was making that noise.
She placed her gaze on something under the rubble, noticing that its glow is getting brighter, almost as if someone isn't exactly dead.
Ragdoll was a moment too late to realize that All for One had come back.
BOOM! SQUELCH!
At first, there was an explosion, causing debris to fly out and about, and then a spike made of bone shot through the air faster than the sound barrier.
Hiro's face had never changed to shock and horror so fast as he was knocked back away from said huge spike. He was almost paralyzed as blood splattered on his face in that
singular moment. The source of said blood?
Right from All Might's abdomen.
Todd was the first to regain his composure, followed by Eraserhead soon after. Todd grabbed Hiro while Eraserhead activated his quirk to stop All for One.
If only it had an effect on mutant quirks since All for One blitzed straight towards Eraserhead using a strength enhancement quirk and slammed his fist into the Pro Hero's face, knocking him out and flinging him towards a bunch of debris.
All Might quickly intervened as he readied another smash.
"DETROIT SMASH!"
All for One narrowly evaded the devastating attack, had it landed it would have killed him for good, he quickly made distance levitated high into the air, and used a quirk that made a high pitched screech and stunned All Might, and caused the others to faint, the exception being Todd, Backdraft and Mandalay.
It didn't exactly work against All Might, but it gave him what would be only a few seconds worth of time to run away and form a new plan.
[X]
"Hiro!"
The voice was muffled by the sound of ringing, not only that, his vision was blurry, he could hear his own heart beating, was he knocked out? How? It all happened so fast.
"Hiro!" Todd shook him by the shoulders, trying to wake him up.
"...Papa?"
Todd brought himself and Hiro behind some cover, he covered his sons' mouth to keep him quiet in order not to freak out. He checked if the coast was clear, and then turned
to Hiro.
"Alright, Hiro, I'm sorry you had to go through this, but stay strong, ok? All Might will take care of everything and- and… W-We'll be fine. Okay?"
Hiro nodded, tears filled with fear welled up in his eyes as Todd slowly put his hand away from his face. As Hiro managed to get a hold of his senses, he felt a chill as he saw the once extinguished flames ignite once more in the crossfire he was in.
Suddenly, a bright shining light caused the two to cover their eyes for a second, until they realized they were the next victims of All for One. Time slowed for Todd, so slow it felt that he could see the individual frames that his very own eyes saw. The only thing that never slowed down was his thoughts.
"Every time I died, time always slowed down like this, seconds before my death." A voice rang inside Todd's head, the same voice he would always talk to in his sleep.
"...So this is how I go out?" Todd asked.
"It would seem so." Orda replied.
Todd relaxed his arms, trying to comfort Hiro, while it would prove meaningless, it would be a bittersweet death, for him, his wife, and his son.
"Todd."
"Yeah?"
"Leave it to the kid, he's gotta grow."
"What…?"
"If he dies, who would be my next host?"
"..."
"Until I complete my goal, I'm not planning on dying for good, or with him."
"..."
"I understand."
"If Hiro lives on, can you tell him I love him? That I'm sorry, that he has to live through the harsh life that he'll most probably live through in the future?"
"...Yeah."
"Heh, thanks, Orda."
Letting Orda take over, 'Todd' used his telekinesis to push Hiro away from him, far away from danger, Hiro watched as his father was engulfed in the light that had pretty much eviscerated him.
"PAPA!" Hiro cried, the immediate loss of his father hit like a falling brick.
With the force of the telekinesis fading away, he landed roughly, getting a few scrapes and bruises along the way.
"Ngh…" Hiro groaned, trying to get up despite the pain. He couldn't grieve at this very moment, not while he was still in danger.
He limped away from said danger. If only he was fast enough to do so.
It all happened in a single moment, at first, he felt a hand on his shoulder, then his body froze, refusing to move under his command, he fell to the ground, and felt drowsy all of a sudden. Trying to get a glimpse of the person who caused this, it was none other than All for One, with a face that made him beyond recognizable.
All for One's eyes were missing, replaced with skin that outlined with his sockets.
Not a single strand of hair remained on the villain's head, as if whatever revived him from the dead couldn't complete the full process.
That, combined with the sinister feeling that filled the air. Hiro felt nothing but fear as the last thing he saw was the century old villain's so-called face. He couldn't even feel
anger, or hatred.
"I'll forge a new purpose for you, only then, will I be able to take One for All."
Just. Fear
[X]
Crackle…
"Oh, you're back."
"..."
"For real this time?"
"..."
"Alright, welp, this'll be a long story, as I said before, get comfortable. This is just the start, don't worry, I'm trying to keep this short…er-"
Crackle…
To be continued…
Author's Notes
Three months just to write this singular prologue huh? Almost 10 thousand words, jeez. From this point on I'm gonna try to keep things down to two or three thousand. By the way, this is a remaster of my original story if you haven't noticed, made to fix the hundreds (or thousands) of mistakes that I've made over the five months of writing the 31 chapters of that unfinished shit hole that I never bothered publishing. Not to mention, I wrote all this on my phone while at school since I've either made drawings or played too many games at home.
I'll see ya soon, xJiMZz out.
Editor's Notes
Hello! I am the Editor of MHA: TotA, and I'd like to say my thanks if you have read this far and are still interested in where this story goes. Albeit, this story has some very rough edges, please bear with them as the Author and I are still learning. Regardless, thank you for your time and possible patience for further updates!