Madam President couldn't find the energy to be angry anymore. She had been livid yesterday, but all that anger had been used up. Now she tiredly glared at the TV before her, while drinking her coffee.
"-I genuinely thought he was going to die," a TV host stated, with a couple of gasps from a live crowd. However, the co-host seemed to agree.
"I know! And everyone keeps playing it off as if nothing would happen! The Symbol of Peace becomes some kind of husk, and is almost executed on live television!" the co-host said, "It… it's unthinkable!"
"I can't help but be impressed. All Might's looking like that, and he's still going out there. Just goes to show how strong he is," a third co-host chimed in, but by this point, Madam President had changed the channel. It didn't matter though, every channel was dominated by a single story, All Might. Normally Madam President wouldn't care, All Might was almost always the top story. But now things were different.
The Symbol of Peace, the most powerful hero in the world, was almost executed on live TV. And the media reflected this. The public was terrified, and so were investors. Stocks in over a dozen support companies had plummeted, and it had only been one day. People all over the globe were demanding to know what the hell was going on. Even now her phone rang with reporters demanding answers.
She ignored every call but was getting annoyed by how frequent they were getting. It was all going to get worse, Madam President thought. Because right now? Everyone was focused on All Might, but soon enough they would start asking other questions. Such as how villains had gotten their hands on mortars, in Japan of all countries. All Might's story was manageable because thankfully the hero was still alive. However, that was also a problem, mainly on who saved All Might.
Ignoring that, things would be turbulent, but All Might was alive. He could go out, give a few speeches, save some more lives, and possibly retire with an HPSC-aligned successor endorsed. But the military equipment? The thousands of guns made specifically for the JSDF now being used on the Japanese public? There was no managing this. There was downplaying it, lying on how much was taken. But Madam President couldn't deny it was taken.
It's why she quickly grabbed her phone, before calling Techno. It took a few tries but eventually, the man picked up.
"Tell me we have good news," Madam President asked, while Techno coughed into the phone.
"Hello to you too, Ma'am," he replied dryly, his voice raspy and annoyed, "Good news for what?"
"You have to be kidding," Madam President muttered, hearing Techno again cough. The Ninth Circle's attack was on every damn channel. How could he not know what she was talking about?
"No, I'm not. I've been in and out of conscience for weeks now," Techno replied, again coughing into something. It surprised Madam President for a moment.
"From what?" Madam President inquired because something disturbing arose with the question. Techno had been signing off on projects she sent over to him for weeks. The list of heroes sent to guard UA, the criminals hired to cause chaos, weapons sales to warlords still loyal, and even a few financial changes for Techno's department. But if Techno wasn't conscience for some of those bills, then who was signing off on them?
It worried Madam President, but not as much as what Techno said next.
"Doctors aren't sure," Techno answered, a third coughing fit following his words, "Some said I've been poisoned, others said cancer. For some f-fucking reason, none of them can give me a concrete answer."
Madam President couldn't help but pale at those words. Techno was a vital asset to the HPSC. If he were to die of some unknown ailment, then things would go sideways fast. It was his quirk that made censoring information so much easier. Without him, the HPSC had to rely on massive bot farms, that while effective took time and resources to manage. Techno's quirk was near instantaneous and cheap, only needing a basic salary.
"I'll see to it some competent doctors get sent your way then. In the meantime, I'm sending you some files to hopefully catch you up," Madam President told him, earning an annoyed grumble from the man. Though he wisely kept his complaints away from the phone. The other line went quiet for a few seconds, as Techno went over all the data present before Madam President heard him whistle.
"That… oh boy," Techno muttered, while Madam President took a sip from her coffee. And the reaction was fair. Because JSDF guns had been stolen from who knows where. It could only be considered a national disaster.
"I've got agents trying to pin the blame on the JSDF while having the commission appear uninvolved," Madam President told him, which earned another cough from Techno.
"Were we involved?" Techno asked, with Madam President thinking it over. She didn't believe so. All the weapons the HPSC sold over the years, were never personally done by them. Only through third parties that could be "arrested" should they ever be caught. Even then, the weapons sold were always from some dictatorship in the world. Mainly Russia and China, as the former wanted payback on Poland still, and saw funding the warlords as one way to do it. The latter though did it because they held a precarious position.
Things were not going well internally for China. Political division had been ramping up for years, along with a slowly degrading economy. These weapons sales were a desperate move to stabilize things at home. With all of this added together, Madam President couldn't tell if the HPSC was involved. They never sold any of the JSDF weapons to the warlords and hadn't even given them a single pallet of bullets. And yet, Madam President's mind went back to what Techno said earlier.
Someone could have signed off on this as Techno, without her knowing about it.
"Not that I know of," Madam President replied, "Regardless I need you and your department to ensure we have, and had, nothing to do with this."
"I'll… see what I can do, I guess," Techno replied hesitantly, "What about the villains though?"
That, Madam President, didn't have an answer for. After hours of conflict, the Ninth Circle had thankfully stopped advancing. Heroes on the front were managing to now hold the line, with more top-ranking heroes and thousands of officers showing up on the field. Yet even with the arrival of heroes like Ingenium, Mirko, Best Jeanist, Ryukyu, and Fat Gum, no gains had been made. Everything had bogged down into a stalemate.
"For the moment, we wait. I've got Ocelot down by the front bringing in intel as we speak. If his last reports anything to go by then the villains are digging in," Madam President told him, "Bastards are starting to hide away in every nook and cranny."
This was not an understatement. It was bad enough Mirko reported villains shooting at her with a heavy machine gun, from a Mcdonald's rooftop. Mirko being Mirko, she'd dealt with the villains quickly, but ran into a second group mere seconds later, this time dropping mortars from an apartment building.
A few rounds had nearly taken off Mirko's right ear, as more villains arrived and forced her to fall back, lest she be overrun.
"Because of this, we're going to change tactics. I doubt the villains have enough ammunition to last for long, so we won't let the pressure up," Madam President continued, her plan being relatively simple, "We'll send in as many heroes as we need until they run out of bullets."
It would be pure overwhelming aggressiveness. Never giving the villains a moment to breath or coordinate. Never giving them a moment of calm to resupply or flee. They would hit the villains with everything they had, non-stop. She had the heroes for it. Once one group of heroes started to get tired or bogged down, they'd pull them back and replace them with a new group of fresh heroes to keep the assault going.
Though if Techno's coughing was anything to go by, he did not like this plan.
"W-what? Ma'am, you're talking about throwing bodies at them until they run out of bullets," Techno pointed out.
"And what would you suggest? My plan ends this entire attack as quickly as possible," Madam President countered, taking another sip of her coffee.
"And triples our casualty count. We have no idea how many people have already died, but it could be in the thousands. How's the public going to react if we add thousands more?" Techo argued, with Madam President thinking it over. She groaned annoyed the longer she thought about it. There was no current casualty count for the attack, just vague estimates. Already ten thousand were possibly being reported dead, though that number was still up for debate.
Since, well, they couldn't exactly move in to start counting bodies. This was one day, and with this many casualties, there would be an outcry. So how would the public react with more of their protectors being thrown into the firing line? Another few thousand being added to the obituary?
"Then again Techno, what would you suggest?" Madam President tiredly asked, hearing a faint beep from Techno's heart monitor.
"As you said before, we wait. Starve the villains out," Techno replied, trying his best to hold in another coughing fit, "If we can get some coastal heroes to secure the coastline, then the villains won't be able to resupply."
"From the ocean yes, but that leaves the air and the ground. Possibly even the sewers," Madam President countered.
"Well, I don't think they could fit a small army's worth of bullets through Musutafu's sewer system. As for the air, same case. I don't believe the villains have any cargo planes at their disposal, nor the equipment needed for air drops," Techno told her before Madam President noticed his tone changed.
"Even if they did, with… well-" Techno said hesitantly, as Madam President grumbled.
"Absolutely not," Madam President told him. It was bad enough that fighter jets were flying over UA. She didn't need the MSF flying over more of Japan, even if it was to shoot down the Ninth Circle.
"Point still stands, I don't believe they have the necessary resources for mass airdrops," Techno continued, "We lock the frontline down and starve the villains into or at least close to submission."
"You're forgetting, that plan also brings problems with the media. Thousands are most likely still hiding away somewhere in the city. Meaning the longer it takes the Ninth Circle to be starved out, the more innocent lives are going to die," Madam President countered, and this was just based on common sense. When the Ninth Circle's supplies inevitably ran out, they would start looting whatever they could get their hands on, assuming they hadn't already. So food, water, medical supplies, fuel, and dozens of other things would be out of civilian hands for weeks.
"All it would take is a few phone calls from families trapped behind enemy lines, talking about how there's no food, no water, and wondering why the heroes haven't saved them yet," Madam President continued, taking a moment to drink her coffee, "Now take that, and give it the time span of a month."
"...Ok, so that won't work either," Techno conceded, while Madam President thought for a moment.
"What do we do then?" Techno asked, before coughing loudly. Madam President… didn't know. She needed a plan, but couldn't come up with anything.
"...Wha- hey?" All Might muttered, his eyes quickly opening as he felt something press into his side. Turning slightly, he found it to be Snake, trying to shake him awake.
"Get up," Snake told him, stepping back while All Might rolled onto his side. Groggily All Might tried to look around, unsure of what the time was. What little light poked through the blinds said it was early, but not how early.
"What time is it?" All Might tiredly asked, stretching for a moment, before wincing in pain. Looking down he spotted his old injury, again bleeding, though less than it was before, thankfully. Looking back up though, All Might spotted Snake, the merc taking a second to look over his weapons.
"O' five hundred," Snake replied while taking the magazine out of his rifle. Hearing the answer, All Might took a moment to stand up. Walking towards the closest window, All Might carefully peeked through the blinds. It was quiet outside, with the sun slowly peeking out over the horizon. A large almost painting-like display of orange and blue lighting up the sky.
"Sun's barely up," All Might muttered, before looking down on the street. He almost gagged looking down, spotting the dozens of bodies lining the ground. Men women and children all laid out on the ground. Yet aside from the corpses, no one was around. What villains remained were sleeping still, while others had patrols elsewhere. Made it the perfect time to escape, All Might thought.
"How are you feeling?" Snake asked as All Might heard the click of his rifle. Turning to look at Snake, All Might paused for a moment. Quietly he searched for One for All's familiar feeling, the odd energy the quirk had behind it. With a deep breath, All Might focused on that energy.
"Better, not sure," All Might replied, slowly buffing up, "How long this form will last though."
Standing tall, All Might looked down at his muscle form, just feeling things out. He didn't know how much time he lost. Could have been hours, could have been minutes. Feeling it all now though, he knew he didn't have much strength left. All Might couldn't help but wonder if it would be enough, though, after yesterday, he wasn't sure it mattered. Be he down to an hour, or down to a minute, Yagi Toshinori was alive, and All Might was dead. It was a dark thought, what came after him? A successor he hadn't found?
"Save your strength then. I'd rather you not give out on me halfway there," Snake told him, the soldier's words interrupting All Might's thoughts. Of course, the mercenary was another set of problems. Why did Snake save him? What was he investigating? Why did Nezu know him? For weeks he had nothing but questions about the MSF, and he never got any answers. Slowly debuffing, All MIght looked back at Snake suspiciously.
"If we can make it outside with no issue, then getting to UA should be no issue… then again assuming you have the strength for it, we could be there in a minute or two," Snake told him, looking over his Idroid calmly while it created a map. All Might couldn't help but ignore what Snake said. He was tired, of all of this, and he wanted answers.
"Snake," All Might said, his tone full of all the desperation, annoyance, fear, anger, and worry that had built up for weeks. Hearing the hero, Snake looked up from his Idroid for a moment, spotting All Might's tired and suspicious glare.
"Who… who are you people?" All Might demanded, walking over to the couch he slept on.
"I… don't follow," Snake replied, though All Might could see straight through the lie.
"No, you know what I'm talking about Snake. Who the hell are you people?" All Might again demanded, "You're mercenaries for crying out loud, and yet you somehow have the trust of Nezu, of all people. Half of your men glare at me and the rest of the staff if we so much as pass them by. I can see it in their eyes, almost all of your men despise us. And yet you… you went out of your way to save me."
Snake looked back at All Might, seeing the hero's suspicious glances, anger taking hold in the man's eyes.
"Was it just convenient for you? The chance to earn another paycheck?" With Snake glaring at the accusation, all Might asked, "I'm tired of being kept in the dark, so tell me the truth. So again, who are you people?"
"All Might, we don't have time for-" Snake tried to protest, only for All Might to interrupt him, and quickly move in front of the merc.
"Tell me the truth. Why is the MSF here? How do you know Nezu? Why is it, that after weeks of investigating your organization, I can't find a sliver of information saying you exist!?" All Might angrily exclaimed, before regretting his tone mere seconds later. Both men waited momentarily, hoping no one had heard All Might's outburst. Hearing nothing, All Might returned his focus to Snake.
The soldier looked at All Might, with a contemplative look in his eye. Snake sighed for a second and started dragging his hands down his face.
"...Do you really want to know the truth?" Snake inquired, his hands somewhat covering his mouth.
"Snake-" All Might tried to say, only for Snake to hold up a hand.
"No. Do you really want to know the truth?" Snake again inquired, "What I tell you, will destroy everything you've ever believed in. Every institution you held dear, every belief, every value you've ever held, will forever be shattered."
All Might looked at Snake surprised for a moment. Destroy everything he ever believed in? He couldn't be serious, All Might tried to reason, yet Snake seemed genuine in his words.
"This kind of knowledge can destroy a person All Might. It destroys everything they've ever held dear. Believe me when I say, that if you know the truth, you may never trust the world again. But you don't have to know. You can go on living in blissful ignorance, you can keep doing your same heroic schtick. Act like this conversation never happened, and continue with daily life. So I ask again, do you want to know the truth?" Snake asked him, the room going quiet after he was done talking, and leaving All Might with his thoughts.
All Might didn't know what to say. He wished that Tsukauchi was here, just to tell him if Snake was lying. Even with Tsukauchi here though, All Might wasn't sure he could believe it. Just what did Snake know? What was being hidden from him? Snake's words… no his warning, ran through All Might's head over and over again. Did All Might want to know? All Might almost wanted to say no, but he stopped.
"He… was out investigating a warehouse in the city," a memory of Miller told him. Snake knew what was going on, All Might realized. All Might didn't know what Snake knew, but he knew something. Snake knew, and All Might didn't… All Might didn't know. The Symbol of Peace, the world's hero, and he knew nothing. He was supposed to save people, to protect the innocent.
"...It's my duty as a hero to protect people, but I can't do that in the dark. I need to know, everything," All Might told him, while Snake took a deep breath.
"...Alright… once this is all over, I'll tell you everything. But remember, once you know the truth, there is no going back," Snake told him, before slinging his rifle over his shoulder. All Might nodded slowly, taking a deep breath. He was upset it meant more waiting, but he couldn't truly blame Snake. If what the mercenary was saying was true, then he had a lot of information to talk about. They didn't have time for that, not now. Not when the city was under siege.
"I know… just one last thing," All Might said, Snake looking at him curiously, "I still don't fully trust you, so I'd like to bring in a friend to verify what you say."
At the very least though, Tsukauchi should be there, just to ensure there were no lies. Not to mention the rest of the staff should be privy to know. Snake seemed hesitant to agree, adding more truth to his words. If this information could break someone, then you wouldn't want to bring in others who don't know it. But All Might knew, Tsukauchi would want to know the truth, just like him.
"Fine," Snake relented before quietly walking toward the apartment's door. He pushed it open slightly, looking out to see if the coast was clear, before motioning All Might to follow him.
"Now then, I suggest we get going before the rest of the enemy wakes up," Snake told him, the Symbol of Peace nodding in agreement.
"Good call," All Might said, before searching for One for All's familiar strength. Feeling its power, All Might stood tall for a moment and breathed deeply. Shouldn't take that long to reach UA, assuming One for All didn't give out on him.
Walking out the front door, Snake took a second to check his surroundings. Things seemed clear, so he quietly moved forward, motioning for All Might to follow him. After a few seconds, both men now stood on the empty streets. They looked around, noticing all the bodies lying on the street.
"Bastards," All Might muttered, Snake nodding calmly. The stench of blood was practically everywhere, and he could see birds circling the area. Fires from the previous night were still raging, with smoke flying up into the air. It clogged up the sky, and yet through it all Snake could see UA's towering form. Grumbling for a minute, Snake checked the rest of the street, leading All Might to duck into a nearby alleyway.
"Think you've got enough strength to reach UA?" Snake asked, looking over at the husk of a man. Even if All Might could only manage fifteen minutes, it would help a lot. The man even weakened could cover a long distance. And considering they were stuck in enemy territory, that alone was a gift. All Might just shrugged for a moment.
"Only one way to tell," All Might replied, causing Snake to think it over. Slowly the hero began to buff up, a bit of steam filling the alleyway. Once it dissipated All Might stood tall, taking a second to stretch.
"You seem to be holding up," Snake commented, watching as All Might took a second to look himself over.
"For now at least," All Might replied warily, a tired tone clear in his voice. Snake just shrugged, before looking out of the alleyway. The coast was still clear, but he knew that was going to change.
"It'll have to do. You rush on ahead, I'll meet you there," Snake told All Might, checking over his rifle a final time. Of course, when he turned to face All Might, the hero looked at him confused.
"You know I could just carry you," All Might commented, with Snake grumbling quietly.
"I know, I'm good," Snake replied, stepping past the hero to move down the alleyway. The last thing he needed was a piggyback ride from the Symbol of Peace. The MSF already had enough embarrassing photos of him, not to mention those damn plushies.
"Come on, we'll be there in no time," All Might reasoned, which only made Snake dislike the idea more. Not because he disagreed, no, but because he agreed.
"I'd prefer not to," Snake replied, continuing to walk down the alley. Of course, All Might followed behind him, before blocking Snake's path.
"What? Would you rather spend the next few hours marching on foot?" All Might inquired, with Snake groaning. He rubbed his brow for a moment as he looked up at the hero.
"I've done it before," Snake told him, though All Might just smiled smugly.
"I'd ask if you'd rather, not if you had," All Might pointed out, leaving Snake to think for a moment. What was more important, getting to UA in a safe and timely manner? Or another dozen embarrassing photos covering Mother Base. Of course, the more logical side of Snake quickly won over.
"...Fine. Not a word to anyone," Snake told him, annoyed, bringing his hand to his face. He could only pray that Miller didn't see this. All Might just laughed though as he turned around. The hero crouched slightly as Snake grabbed onto him grumbling. He didn't seem to weigh anything to All Might, the hero walking around like Snake wasn't even there. Yep, Snake hated this.
With a boisterous laugh though, All Might quickly launched himself into the air and instantly caught Snake off guard. The wind rushing past his face nearly flung him off the hero. Everything was being blown backwards, as Snake realized much of his equipment was now gone. His rifle had been torn off its strap, his ballistic shield didn't even make it off the ground, and his MP5 was now dangling behind him by a thread. Yeah, he hated this even more now. He could feel his good eye being forced open by the wind.
At the same time, his bad eye had its eyepatch blown off, and Snake was now trying his best to cover it with his arm. However, that was proving difficult as he clung to dear life. A HALO jump was tamer than this, as Snake mentally swore over and over again.
"Shit, shit, shit!" Snake couldn't help but call out, the wind continuing to rush by his head. He couldn't even hear All Might's laugh as the hero turned to face him. Of course, All Might found this funny. Somehow Snake considered it the hero's revenge, for leaving him in the dark. After what felt like an eternity, Snake saw UA's front gate get closer and closer. Finally, he felt All Might land, skidding against the ground and standing tall.
Shaking violently from the experience, Snake slowly let All Might go, nearly falling to his knees.
"I-I'm… n-never doing that again," Snake muttered, trying his best to balance himself. Of course, when he looked at All Might, the hero seemed to be holding in a laugh. For whatever reason, Snake didn't know. But then, of course, Miller spoke up.
"Damn, really? Would have been a great marketing stunt," Miller joked, as Snake slowly turned to face his second in command. There he saw him standing there with a smirk, and a dozen other soldiers standing behind him. Each one snickered, while Snake saw the flash of a camera. Yep, he regretted everything.
"[Have a good flight Boss?]" one of the soldiers asked, causing a few others to chuckle.
"[You, eye, any cool birds up there?]" another asked, causing a few more to laugh. On and on the terrible jokes went, before every soldier present was busy cracking up. Snake could only grumble as Miller passed him an extra eye patch.
"[I better not see any new plushies,]" Snake wanted him, with Miller chuckling lightly.
"[Can't make any promises,]" Miller replied, causing Snake to grumble, before the man started dusting himself off.
"[So, sitrep?]" Snake inquired, while Miller took off his sunglasses.
"[Campus has been secured in your absence, and I've called in Soul for some extra equipment,]" Miller replied, "[Most of our reserve gear is outdated, and I thought some experimental firepower was needed.]"
"[Good call. What about losses?]" Snake asked, while Miller quickly went quiet.
"[Still counting up bodies, we're… looking at around four hundred dead so far. Possibly more once we're done. Not sure about the civics though, could be thousands,]" Miller replied, solemnly. Snake sighed, to think any of this happened on their watch. A dozen thoughts ran through Snake's mind, on what they could have changed to avoid this. Yet it didn't matter. Because quickly, a much more pressing matter came to Snake's mind.
"[And…]" Snake began before briefly trailing off. He turned to look at All Might he was distracted. Of course, Snake knew the moment he heard the name Akatani, that would change. Even then, Snake thought it over carefully. Well, All Might was going to know eventually.
"[And Izuku, he ok?]" Snake asked, with Miller looking over at him slightly surprised. He coughed for a second, as All Might turned to look at them confused. But Snake didn't make any attempt to hide it, so he followed suit.
"[He's fine… but…]" Miller trailed off hesitantly, regret clear in the man's eyes. That instantly caught Snake's attention, as worry slowly took hold.
"[Kaz,]" Snake said, pressuring the commander to keep talking. Miller looked Snake in the eye for a moment, while putting his glasses back on.
"[He was forced to kill three people yesterday,]" Miller told him. And Snake thought a bombshell went off, as he looked at Miller with a wide eye. He was furious, but that fury was quickly overwhelmed with worry.
"[Where is he?]" Snake demanded, with Miller pointing toward the school.
"[School building,]" Miller told him before Snake broke out into a sprint. After a few seconds, he could hear the loud footsteps of All Might walking up behind him. The hero looked down on Miller both confused and concerned.
"[Who… who's Izuku?]" All Might asked cautiously, turning to watch Snake run.
"[He's… Snake's son,]" Miller reluctantly answered, with All Might slowly processing the information.
"[I thought Young Akatani… was… oh,]" All Might muttered, as realization slowly took hold of him. Miller wasn't entirely sure if telling the hero was a mistake, but if Snake giving away Midoriya's real name was anything to go by, then Snake was fine with it. Of course, Miller was quickly proven wrong, as All Might rushed after Snake, the wind roaring by Miller.
Waking up, Midoriya quietly looked around the classroom, as he remembered the previous day. Its events flashed through his mind, as the one event haunting his dreams came to mind. He killed a man. Midoriya was disgusted with himself, the teen looking up at his hands while he lay on the floor. Blood now covered his hands, blood from someone who didn't need to die.
He was a killer. The only comfort he held with that thought, was that he wasn't alone in this. Snake had killed before, so had Miller, and Lady Nagant. They were all killers but were still good people. They still helped and protected others, which he could be too. But you see, there was one small issue. For the entire day after Midoriya had waited, expecting to feel… regret. Or sadness at the very least.
Some kind of emotion from taking a life. And yet, he felt nothing. The man he killed had his sympathy, his pity. Thankfully, Midoriya didn't take joy in ending another life, which again, was some small comfort. But there was no feeling of regret. Midoriya truly didn't believe the man had to die, but he had no regret in killing him. It confused and worried him. Why didn't he feel regretful?
He was expecting a wave of grief-filled emotions, waiting for some kind of breakdown. But it didn't happen. Instead, he was plagued with his thoughts, terrified about what any of this meant. By this point Midoriya didn't want to think about this any longer, sitting up from the floor. Seconds later he heard his stomach gurgle, remembering he hadn't eaten anything since breakfast yesterday.
Thinking it was a good way to keep his mind at ease, Midoriya stood up and slowly walked toward the classroom door. Quietly moving forward, Midoriya took a moment to look over the class. Most of 1A was still sleeping, everyone splayed out across the class. Some, like Kaminari, Shoji, Tokoyami, and Ashido slept at their desks, their heads resting on top. Others were just scattered across the floor, lying around awkwardly.
Midoriya took extra care in stepping over them, as he approached the door. Finally reaching it, he slowly opened it and stepped outside. With that done, Midoriya quickly arrived at the cafeteria. It was empty of people, though thankfully, Lunch Rush had started placing some food out. Nothing too fancy, mainly just some simple omelets. To Midoriya though, it seemed like a five-star meal. Grabbing the first plate, Midoriya quickly sat at a nearby table.
There he quietly enjoyed his food, trying to keep his thoughts at bay. After a few minutes of eating alone, Midoriya began to hear footsteps. They were getting closer, so Midoriya decided to look for the source. He found it in Iida, the teen walking toward the cafeteria with a brief yawn. Iida for his part, spotted him almost instantly.
"Ah, morning Akatani," Iida calmly greeted, giving him a small wave.
"Morning… didn't expect anyone else to be up this early," Midoriya replied, watching as Iida grabbed a plate for himself.
"Well, I normally have a morning run at this time, but…" Iida told him, slowly trailing off, both teens knowing what went unsaid.
"What about you?" Iida asked, sitting down across the table from Midoriya.
"Force of habit," Midoriya replied, taking a bite out of his omelet.
"Oh?" Iida inquired, before slowly digging into his food as well.
"Yeah," Midoriya said, "My dad would take me on animal rescue contracts with him occasionally. Had to get up early on those days."
Iida looked surprised as Midoriya spoke, though less so than he would have been previously.
"Animal rescue… I wouldn't have expected something of that sort from the MSF," Iida commented, which Midoriya thought was fair. You wouldn't really assume the mercenary groups with railgun tanks spent time finding endangered animals.
"It's quite admirable," Iida added, with Midoriya slowly nodding. Yet his previous thoughts slowly came back. Midoriya didn't want to think about it, not now. So he lightly chuckled, remembering something else.
"Funnily enough it's actually how I got DD," Midoriya told him, "Ran into him on the first contract."
However for whatever reason, Iida looked at him curiously. The teen was quiet for a moment, Midoriya's thoughts slowly coming back to him. Come on, just say something, Iida.
"Akatani, I don't mean to sound rude, but are you hiding something?" Iida asked, saying the one thing Midoriya didn't want to hear.
"What do you mean?" Midoriya asked, trying to feign ignorance while battling back his thoughts. Why didn't he feel- Nope! He was fine! Maybe it was just trauma, it hadn't fully hit him yet! And besides, he shouldn't be worrying about this. Most of 1A had been affected more than he had. He couldn't linger on these thoughts, not if other people needed help.
"You've just… seem rather tense right now," Iida noted, which Midoriya found a bit odd. Iida had never been the best at gauging social interactions, so it was confusing how he noticed something.
"It's nothing, I'm fine," Midoriya replied, watching as Iida took a bite of his food. The other teen looked at him suspiciously though, bringing a hand to his chin.
"Are you sure? You didn't talk much yesterday," Iida pointed out, with Midoriya waving it off.
"Neither did anyone else," Midoriya countered, not wanting to focus on that memory. But of course, Iida pressed on, suspicious of something.
"Well, yes. But you were especially quiet. Not to mention Uraraka kept going on about a murderer," Iida retorted, and that was it. Midoriya found himself trapped in a corner. It was clear Iida wasn't going to let this go, and Midoriya didn't know why. Reluctantly Midoriya thought the prospect over.
"...Don't… don't tell anyone this," Midoriya started, Iida eating another bit of his omelet, "...I…I killed someone yesterday."
The words caught Iida by surprise, the bespectacled teen almost choking on his food. Coughing for a second, Iida looked at Midoriya suspiciously.
"W-what?" Iida inquired while noticing Midoriya slowly look downtrodden. The suspicious glance he had previously, quickly disappeared, instead being replaced with a look of concern. Midoriya took a deep breath, his eyes flashing down to his hands.
"It… it was when those villains started dropping in from the ceiling, back at the Stadium's infirmary," Midoriya explained hesitantly, expecting to see blood still on his hands, "One of them had tackled me, and was trying to shoot me. At the same time, another two were going after Uraraka. They were about to kill her, and I just… reacted."
Going further into detail, Midoriya saw Iida trying his best to hide his disgust and horror. He looked conflicted when Midoriya finished talking.
"Oh…" was all that Iida could mutter, leaving the two in an awkward silence. It stayed that way for a minute. This was a mistake, Midoriya thought. He was fine. In a few minutes, it… something would happen. Some kind of regret, or sadness. He never needed to wrap Iida into this. He could have just kept lying, waved off Iida's questions, and switched the topic. But he didn't.
"I… don't know what to say… just… was there no other option?" Iida asked as Midoriya flashed back to that moment. No other weapons were in reach, just his attacker's gun. If he tried to subdue the man nonlethally, assuming it was possible, by the time he was successful Uraraka would have been shot. Talking him down wasn't guaranteed to work, and would have taken too long. By the time it either failed or succeeded, Uraraka would again, have been shot.
He could have called for help, though with the commotion it was unlikely anyone would have heard him. If someone did, it would have still ended the same. It would take too long for them to help, and Uraraka would have been shot. Midoriya still believed the men didn't have to die, but there was no other option.
"Not that I could see," Midoriya replied, as Iida thought it over quietly. Iida ran a hand through his hair, still shocked by everything that had been told.
"Well… As much as I disagree with it… you did what you could," Iida said, with Midoriya believing it to be some attempt to comfort him. It didn't help, even though Iida hoped it would.
"I know… but… that isn't the problem," Midoriya told him, "It's… I was expecting to feel something from it… some kind of overwhelming regret. Something, anything! I killed three people, and yet I felt… nothing. Why didn't I feel anything?"
Why didn't he? He wanted to ignore this question but it always came back to bite him. Why didn't he feel something? It terrified him the more he thought it over. This had to be delayed trauma or something along those lines. Any minute now, he kept telling himself, any minute now it would hit him. A sense of overwhelming sadness or pained regret eating away at him. He expected to feel something, anything!
"I-I'm not some psychopath am I?" Midoriya asked terrified, the realization haunting him. Why didn't he feel anything? The question seemed to terrify Iida equally as much, as the teen was looking at Midoriya with wide eyes. Yet ever pragmatic, Iida took a moment to adjust his glasses, thinking it all over logically.
"You… didn't find enjoyment in their deaths, did you?" Iida asked slowly, while Midoriya thought it over.
"No," Midoriya replied quickly. He didn't feel joy, so that was some comfort.
"No kind of satisfaction?" Iida inquired.
"Only that Uraraka was safe," Midoriya hesitantly.
"Then… I don't think you're a psychopath," Iida reluctantly told him.
"Then what is it? Why… why don't I feel anything?" Midoriya asked, nothing making sense to him. Why didn't he feel any kind of regret? He expected some sort of emotion, something! He didn't want to be a remorseless killer! So why!?
"It's because of your training," a new voice answered, one Midoriya immediately recognized.
"D-dad?" Midoriya called out, turning to face the voice in surprise. There he spotted Snake walking toward him, with skele-might behind him. Both men looked equally tired and were covered in sweat, blood, and dirt. All Might even had steam coming off him and coughed up blood for a second.
"All Might!?" Iida called out in shock. It was still so hard for him to believe. This living husk was All Might. Even though Iida saw it on the news, it was nothing compared to seeing All Might in person. Hearing his name, All Might looked up to face the teens and gave them a small friendly smile.
"Oh, Young Akatani, Young Iida, didn't think you'd be awake," All Might commented, before coughing briefly. The hero then looked between Snake and Midoriya for a moment, before slowly stepping back. Mentally, he didn't believe it was his place to barge in on this… issue. He still didn't fully trust Snake, but this seemed more like a family matter.
"I'm uh… gonna head down to the nurse's office. Iida, would you mind helping me for a moment?" All Might asked, quickly shaking Iida out of his shock.
"Y-yes! It would be an honor," Iida replied, standing up from his seat and rushing toward the hero. In a matter of seconds, both All Might and Iida were gone, leaving Snake and Midoriya in silence.
"So…" Snake said, "You've made your first kill."
Concern was laced in his statement, the man calmly sitting down next to Midoriya. Midoriya simply nodded quietly. He felt tears slowly form in his eyes, as he looked at his father. Part of him thought the tears were the emotion he was expecting, the regret of taking a life. But they weren't. Midoriya cried, not out of regret or sadness, but out of fear. Why didn't he feel anything? He hugged Snake as the question continued to plague his mind.
Was this really because of his training? How? None of it made sense to him.
"It's… part of my training?" Midoriya asked confused, hugging Snake tightly.
"Yes. It's… well… it's part of the reason I didn't want to train you in the first place," Snake told him, "See… killing as a soldier… it isn't like how it's seen in the movies. With the whole display of emotions and horror."
Snake looked down at his son, signing briefly.
"That's not to say it doesn't happen, but… for most soldiers… it's trained out of them. They are repeatedly told they will have to kill. They're told this, for weeks on end, over and over again. It's ingrained into their heads until their brain accepts it as fact. You… went through similar training," Snake explained, the dots slowly connecting for Midoriya. And to be honest, he had never noticed it before. Never noticed how many times he'd been told, he'd have to kill.
It felt… desensitizing looking back on it.
"Not at first, not until very recently. Because I've never thought putting you through it was a good idea…but… you were always so determined to join the MSF. To be a part of this life. Always wanting to get out there, protecting others," Snake clarified, before trailing off, "And…"
"Eventually, I was always going to have to kill," Midoriya finished, the cold realization hitting him. Snake slowly nodded, before carefully ruffling his son's hair.
"Yeah… It's why as you got closer to enlistment age, we started telling you, that you'd have to kill. Both as a warning of what was to come, and to make sure you were ready when it did," Snake continued, as Midoriya slowly wiped away what tears remained. Even with the explanation though, it didn't help Midoriya.
"Will… will I feel anything?" Midoriya asked worriedly, Snake again nodding.
"You will eventually, trust me. You don't feel anything now, but… these lives we've taken… they're never forgotten," Snake replied, providing Midoriya some comfort. He wasn't a remorseless killer. He never wanted to be and never would be. Still…
"They… they didn't have to die," Midoriya muttered, as he slowly let go of Snake.
"They probably didn't," Snake calmly agreed, "A few small changes in circumstance, and they might never have had to die. But they did."
Wasn't that a startling thought? One different decision, one small change, and things could have been different. Midoriya didn't know much about the men he killed, but things could have been different. Why they joined the cult, he didn't know. But in another life, they could have joined the MSF. They could have been lawyers, could have doctors, could have been anything else if things were different.
"You did what you had to, remember that," Snake told him, ruffling his hair one last time. Midoriya quietly nodded in response. Things could have been different, but the villains had made their choice. If he could talk them down, or help them, he would. But if not, then he'd kill them, as much as he hated it.
Melissa was tired. After everything that occurred, she still felt tired. To think she saw so much death and destruction, in one day. Every time she closed her eyes she could find herself in those corpse-ridden hallways. And the smell never left, the terrible stench of blood, and gunpowder. She couldn't bear staying indoors any longer, rushing outside of the school building, against the security's best wishes.
The artillery had lightened up over the night, the villains most likely giving up their attempt to bomb UA. Either that, or they were focusing on other targets. But it was still recommended everyone stay indoors. But Melissa couldn't stomach that thought. It felt like the walls were encroaching on her, the longer she stayed inside. Taking a deep breath, Melissa looked out at the surrounding campus.
Much of it had been destroyed. Large craters littered the area, ruining the once-clean lawn. Shell casings and burnt-out vehicles lay scattered around the grass, while the soldiers outside began to move the bodies from the battle. There were so many of them, and they were everywhere. Melissa began to question why she even came out here. It was all the same, there was death inside the stadium, and death outside it.
She looked away from the bodies quickly. There had to be something she could do out here, something to keep her mind off everything. Slowly she found herself looking at the MSF's motor pool, the area filled with all kinds of vehicles. The most prominent thing she noticed though, was just how many vehicles were damaged. It… wouldn't be a bad idea to help out, she reasoned. Hatsume was already selling the MSF exo-skeletons she helped design.
Slowly Melissa's eyes fell back to the corpses littering the field. A lot of the MSF were dead, finding more deceased soldiers the longer she looked. With it decided, Melissa quickly began running toward the motor pool. It wasn't inventing support gear, but it was at least something she could do. Reaching the motor pool, Melissa spotted a few soldiers keeping guard of the area. She was about to call out to them, to ask if they needed any help, but stopped when the sound of helicopters flew overhead.
At least, she thought it was a helicopter, as Melissa looked up at the sky. Feeling the wind rush by her face, Melissa saw six massive quad tilt-rotor aircraft begin to land. Each was the size of a C-130 and was quickly reaching the ground. Up in the air, other smaller tilt-rotors began to land as well, with soldiers beginning to hope out soon after.
"Alright let's go!" a voice called out, as soldiers began to swarm the tilt-rotors. Looking for the voice, Melissa spotted its source. That of a man in a white lab coat, with somewhat messy brown hair, and a big nose.
"I need this equipment unpacked in thirty minutes! Get the AGTs up and on patrol! Same for the M12s! Commander Miller wants those tanks out there now!" the man ordered, looking over the same odd blocky device Akatani always carried. At the same time soldiers behind him began dragging, or driving equipment out of the massive tilt rotors. It all caught Melissa's eyes.
The first thing she noticed, was a pallet of robots being forklifted out of the aircraft. Getting a closer look, the robots were all extremely utilitarian, looking nothing like the robots Melissa had seen covering I-Island. They didn't even look like UA's villain bots and had human-like proportions instead. The robots were somewhat bulky, with bits of reinforced metal placed onto the chest, legs, and arms. Speaking of the arms, the joints between the knees, elbows, shoulders, and waist all looked somewhat fleshy. Stretching and bending, the material gray didn't seem to mind the wear and tear. The final thing that caught Melissa's attention, was the robot's head.
Instead of a human-like face, or a large camera, there was a screen. It lit up quickly, as the face of an AI's avatar took hold. It was freaky and unnerving the longer Melissa looked at it, and the soldiers accompanying it seemed to agree.
"Improve morale they said, you're gonna be haunting my dreams Dell," one of the soldiers muttered, before slowly rubbing his brow.
"It's the thought that counts," the AI replied, through the soldier's radio, "I'll add it to the redesigns though."
Looking away from the robotic soldiers, Melissa's next interest, was a large pair of mechs slowly standing up. They were tall, not overly so that they towered over buildings, but tall enough to make All Might look short. Similar to the robots, its large arms and legs had odd fleshy bits that would stretch and bend as the mech moved. The cockpit itself was a large armored slab of metal, most likely covered in cameras for the driver inside to see.
After a few seconds, the first mech stood up and seemingly stretched for a moment. It quickly walked off toward one of the tilt-rotors, before pulling out a large crate. Peeling the lid off, the mech pulled out a massive-looking gun. It looked almost like a rifle, but Melissa knew it was far too large to be considered one.
"Mech's moving fine, think we should start patrols?" the driver asked, the mech's speakers echoing out his question. A nearby engineer shook his head no, looking over a clipboard.
"Not yet. Need to make sure the autocannon works," the engineer replied, the mech turning to face the engineer.
"It should, I mean it's just a Bushmaster with some metal bits and a trigger slapped on," the driver told him, while the engineer simply shrugged.
"Still, better safe than sorry," the engineer replied, the driver relenting. On and on Melissa looked though, spotting weapon after weapon, with everything catching her eye. There was a lot of equipment here, some seemingly brand new, and others barely reaching the prototype phase. She knew the MSF had some advanced tech, but she wasn't expecting this.
"Dr. Soul, where's the medical supplies?" a new voice called out, with Melissa's attention returning to the first man who spoke. The brown-haired man was walking around the area inspecting the equipment carefully, while a few officers trailed behind him.
"Still in transient, Commander said the priority was military equipment," the now-named Dr. Soul replied, "It'll be here in an hour."
The officer talking seemed to want to argue but kept quiet. He walked away quickly, leaving Dr. Soul to his work. Quietly Melissa watched the man, thinking it over in her head. He seemed to be the guy in charge… well she was already here. No turning back. Quickly Melissa began walking toward the doctor while keeping an eye out to ensure she didn't accidentally get in anyone's way.
"Excuse me!" Melissa called out, getting Soul's attention for a brief moment.
"Hmm?" Soul muttered as he looked at Melissa. The doctor quickly looked confused when he found out who was addressing him.
"Hold it, there's a lot of dangerous equipment moving about. I suggest you head back to the school building," Soul told her, holding up a hand. Once he was done he muttered something about security being unable to keep a kid away, though Melissa didn't hear it.
"No, I know sir. I was coming to ask if there was anything I could do to help," Melissa told him, the doctor raising his brow surprised.
"Not sure if you can help with this kid. A lot of experimental tech out here," Dr. Soul told her, motioning toward all the equipment around them. Looking over it again, Melissa could somewhat agree, a lot of the gear looked like it was still in its infancy. However, she also noticed something else, most of the robots and the mechs had a striking similarity to the MSF's exoskeletons. Mainly how the limbs of them were built.
"It… uh… some of it doesn't seem that different from your exoskeletons," Melissa replied, though it caused Soul to pause for a minute. Slowly the doctor turned to look at her, a suspicious look in his eyes.
"...And how would you know that?" Soul inquired, Melissa soon believing she made a mistake. A bit too late to back down now though.
"Well… might have… tinkered with one… with a friend," Melissa explained, watching as the doctor's eyes slowly widened. He snapped his fingers then, with a look of recognition on his face.
"So, the exo upgrades were from you, and someone else," Soul commented, "It's impressive work you and your friend made."
"Yeah, though she did most of the work originally. I just added a few things here and there," Melissa replied, not wanting to take all of Hatsume's credit.
"Melissa Shield," Melissa said, holding out her hand for Soul. The doctor shook it as he slowly thought over her name.
"Shield… as if David Shield?" Soul asked, letting go of Melissa's hand.
"Yeah, he's my dad," Melissa answered, nodding with a fond smile.
"Well, I'll be damned then, call this fortunate. Dr. Eddie Soul, co-head of the MSF's R&D Department," Soul introduced, before holding out his Idroid.
"So, not entirely sure where you can help out at the moment. We're still unpacking things for now," Soul told her, going through the Idroid's database. Melissa watched quietly as the device flipped through file after file. There were so many pieces of equipment, it was shocking. Guns, experimental fighter jets, next-gen helicopters, prototype missiles, an Electromagnetic wave gun, and something called a P-WAVE SHIELD. Everything on the list was still highly experimental, but it was impressive nonetheless.
After a few seconds of scrolling, Soul stopped on one page, looking it over quietly.
"But uh… oh, never mind then, I've got the perfect assignment," Soul told her, continuing to look over his Idroid. Doing the same, Melissa couldn't exactly tell what she was looking at. It was an almost tank-like vehicle, though instead of treads it had four large legs.
"I've got another set of prototypes arriving in a few minutes. If you are willing to help, I need someone to go over each prototype's diagnostics, just to ensure everything's running smoothly. I've normally got guys for this, but they're all busy," Soul explained, while Melissa looked over the vehicle. Shouldn't be too hard, she reasoned.
"I can do that," Melissa replied, with Soul nodding. Quickly he fished an extra Idroid out of his pocket and handed it to Melissa.
"Good, they should be landing over… there," Soul said, pointing toward a large empty area. Following his finger, Melissa spotted the area. With that she began walking, reaching to landing zone quickly. Just run diagnostics, Melissa told herself. Easy enough, she'd done it with computers all the time. Soon she heard the familiar chopping of helicopters and looked up to spot the prototypes in question. The moment Melissa spotted them, she immediately took back her words.
The prototypes were all massive, being bigger than an Abrams tank, to the point where they weren't inside the helicopter's cargo holds. No, they were being airlifted underneath them. When the helicopters got close enough to the ground, they cut the vehicles loose, dropping them to the ground. Melissa expected all of them to just crash into the ground, but to her shock, the vehicles began slowing their descent. After a few seconds, they simply hovered above the ground, never making contact with the dirt. Not until one of the prototypes began to shift, and slowly stood on its four legs.
Easy enough, Melissa told herself sarcastically.