To say that Kyoka was upset was an understatement. She had lost—but not only had she lost, she had lost due to her hubris. Instead of just cracking the metal pipe over that Shinso asshole's head, she monologued to him. Monologued! She had no idea why she did that, other than to rub in the fact that she had him cornered.
There was just something about him that made her angry on a personal level that she couldn't understand. The guy was smug, and he pushed all the wrong buttons. That, and it felt good talking down to him. After all, in any other situation, she would've beaten him.
Then, he used whatever the hell a "Stand" was on her, and she became his puppet to do whatever he wanted. In this case, it was to fail miserably to beat up Midoriya. She was already eliminated by that point, so she didn't care about what happened next. All that she cared about was getting out of that idiot's control.
Also, the next time she saw him, she was going to beat him over the head with something. He could've killed Midoriya with how he was using her Quirk! Not only was he using it incorrectly, but he was using way too much sound for what he was trying to do. That Shinso guy clearly didn't know self-control.
Ironic, given what he could do.
Then, not too long after all of that happened, when everyone was carried off to the medical rooms, she found herself in the same medical room with Josefumi and Bakugo, along with a couple of other kids who were badly beaten during the event.
The spiteful part of Kyoka was glad that she wasn't the only one in her class to have failed. Josefumi failed, too, so at least she wasn't the only one between them that failed in the second round.
According to the x-rays that Josefumi had undergone, six out of twelve of his ribs were broken, he had a hairline fracture in the top left portion of his skull, second-degree burns on his left pectoral and the right side of his abdomen, and several bone fractures across his entire body. Whoever had been fighting him really wanted him to lose. They showed no mercy to him, and it made her feel a little bad for Josefumi.
But only a little.
Then, there was Bakugo. From the elbow down, his entire right arm was twisted, quite literally. It looked like a rung-out towel, and it was covered in various kinds of cuts and bruises. Recovery Girl had to use her Quirk on overdrive to heal it enough to where they could do surgery. Alongside that, he also had a couple of broken ribs and a sprained ankle.
As for her, her broken hand and shoulder wounds weren't nearly as bad. It still hurt, though. Thankfully, with just a little bit of that healing injection that Medi-Lady had created with the help of Recovery Girl, some soothing gel, and a bandage wrap she was pretty much good to go.
Which was why she was standing next to a vending machine, holding a can of a Wash-Themed Energy drink. It was blue raspberry-flavoured, and it was actually pretty good. But while it was good, it wasn't the main thing that was on her mind.
Stands. The physical manifestation of one's soul and fighting spirit. That was how Midoriya explained it, and while he didn't have one, he knew people who did. He didn't tell her who those people were, but he did tell her that the reason why she never knew about Stands was that they were a well-kept secret.
That, and only those with Stands could see Stands. So, for all she knew, she had passed by several Stand Users in her life without even realizing it.
That thought was scary. Someone with a power that was invisible to others who didn't have one…. The mere idea of it changed a lot about her perception of life. To think, there had been a separate set of superpowers out there, waiting and hiding in plain sight—metaphorically speaking—to be discovered and announced to the public!
Of course, that was assuming the government wasn't trying to suppress their existence. After all, there would be a massive upheaval in society if they were to come to the forefront. Hero Society as they knew it would crumble, at least, for a while anyway.
However, now that she knew about them…. A part of her wanted one. Why? Well, think about it: with a Stand, she'd be unstoppable to those who weren't Stand Users. She'd have an unfair advantage against everything and everyone.
For as much as she hated Shinso Hitoshi for using her like a rag doll, he was the best example of someone who appeared unassuming having a Stand that, under every other circumstance, would be terrifying to come across. If he wanted to be a villain, he'd be completely undetectable.
So, if she somehow acquired a Stand and continued down her path to becoming a hero… She'd easily become the best there was! She'd have the highest capture rate, and in turn, she'd make the most money. She would be undefeatable—invincible! Now all she had to do was find out how to get one….
As she walked back to the waiting room to rest after All Out War, she caught a glimpse of Midoriya talking to Todoroki out of the corner of her eye. She didn't want to eavesdrop. The conversation looked like it was important, and Todoroki's expression was one of pure seriousness. And so, to respect their privacy, she walked away.
Just as she was about to enter the waiting room, a hand grasped her shoulder. Quickly turning around, her body tensing as she balled her right hand into a fist just in case someone was trying to start something. When she turned around, she was met with the cerulean-blue eyes of Yoshihara Kira, which allowed Kyoka to relax—although she was still startled by her sudden appearance. "O-oh! Hi, Kira. Uh, what's up?" Kyoka asked as she let go of Kyoka's shoulder and crossed her arms.
"Izuku told me that he spoke to you about Stands after you had an encounter with one," Kira said, catching Kyoka off guard.
"Huh? Wait, so does that mean you know about them, too?" Kyoka questioned, raising an eyebrow as Kira's expression did not change. Rather, she simply leaned against the wall, her eyes focused on Kyoka.
"That is not important. How much did he tell you?" Yoshihara asked as Kyoka raised an eyebrow, confusion lacing her expression. Why was she being so standoffish? Was this really that serious?
"I mean, the most he told me was that they're different from Quirks and that only those who use them can see other Stands. But that's it? Why does it matter?" Kyoka responded as Kira hummed in thought.
"Hmm…. Very well… So he hasn't told you everything. He probably ran out of time," Yoshihara said, sighing as she stood up straight. "You're the fourth person outside of mine and Midoriya's group to know of Stands. Uraraka, Ida, Ashido, and now you are the only ones in our class who are aware of Stands that are outside of our group. If you wish to learn more about them, tomorrow, find us at lunch. With your Quirk, it shouldn't be too hard," Kira said as she turned around to leave. However, just before she did, she glanced over her shoulder and narrowed her eyes.
"And you'll keep what you know a secret if you know what's good for you. Stands are not supposed to be known, and the only reason why Uraraka, Ida, Ashido, and yourself know about them is that you've been attacked by them. As far as I and the rest of the group are concerned, keeping them a secret is priority number one. That means you cannot tell your parents, your friends, or anyone else for that matter, about them."
And with that, Kira walked toward the prep room belonging to their class, leaving behind a confused and also slightly scared Kyoka. "Did she just… threaten me?" Kyoka thought, blinking as Kira's words settled in her mind. What was the point of that? Why would keeping Stands hidden be priority number one? Wouldn't it be better if more people knew about Stands?
Considering just how dangerous Stands seemed to be, it made more sense if they were more public about them. Then again, she could also see how quickly mass hysteria would spread, and just how badly it would more than likely affect The Quirkless population.
Quirkless people were, well, Quirkless. They didn't have any power to show. If you tell a very gullible public that there exists a power that cannot be seen and is incredibly dangerous to those with Quirks, then it was only a matter of time before shit hit the fan.
So maybe it was a good idea to keep something like that secret from the rest of the world. But, what about Class 1 – A? If these Stand things were as dangerous as they were being made out to be, then wouldn't it be better if those who were planning to be heroes knew about them in advance?
"Whatever. It's up to them to be stupid or not," Kyoka thought as she looked over her shoulder. Midoriya and Todoroki were on their way back to the waiting room for the next round to begin. They both looked annoyed, but Todoroki moreso than Midoriya. She wondered what it was they were talking about back there.
Kyoka's stomach rumbled. She hadn't eaten in a while. She knew that there were stalls nearby where she could buy food. She was glad that she had brought her phone with her, so that way she could buy something with SmartPay.
Today, she was craving Mochi. Maybe she could ask Uraraka, the resident mochi connoisseur, what the best flavours were.
[XXXX]
Johnny sat beside his son on his bed, Josefumi letting his father cut his hair with a spinning nail. "You know, you should've used Soft & Wet more than you did, you would've won if you did," Johnny stated, earning a sidelong glance from Josefumi.
"I wanted to practice using The Spin, and honor the weeks of training and effort I put in with Gyro and Gio. Besides, using my Stand would've been a bit overkill. That, and I didn't feel like doing any permanent damage to anyone. It is a live event, after all." As he said that, Johnny couldn't help but shake his head with a tad bit of disappointment.
"Joseph, I—"
"Josefumi, we're in Japan. Call me by my Japanese name in Japan," Josefumi interrupted, earning a smirk from Johnny.
"Right, sorry about that. Look, I know that you're more kindhearted than me in battles, but if this was a real-life scenario, and—"
"You and I both know I would've done whatever it took to defeat the enemy Stand User, Dad. Hell, you surprise attacking me since I was 10 should've clued you in on that already," Josefumi interrupted, again, as Johnny sighed, finishing the lasting touches on his son's hair, now looking more like a buzzcut. Josefumi frowned, feeling his head. "It's gonna take months for it to look like I didn't go to the military, and a full year before I can style it again… damnit…."
"Well, it was either that or you look like a bomb went off and shaved half your hair off. I'm sure you'd rather not walk around like that, right?" Johnny asked rhetorically as Josefumi slumped over a little bit, his expression one of mourning; mourning that of his once beautiful hair.
"Karera's gonna tease me…."
"And she doesn't do that already?" Johnny quipped as Josefumi rolled his eyes as he leaned back against his pillows. Johnny couldn't help but laugh as he ruffled what was left of Josefumi's hair. Afterward, he crossed his arms, standing up and leaning against the wall across from Josefumi. "You know, you're aunt called, she saw your work on TV and she asked how you were doing."
"Auntie Cat? I didn't think she'd be interested. You know, what with being America's number one," Josefumi asked as Johnny snorted.
"Well, she was your mom's best friend, and a family friend, for that matter. To be honest, I kinda expected her to come with me somehow," Johnny said, chuckling silently to himself. "Anywho, she saw your performance and said for me to tell you that when you come back to America for your internship you should be ready. She wants to take a crack at you to see how far you've come, assuming she isn't busy, of course," Johnny said as Josefumi paled.
"That's a one-sided slaughter! Stand or not she'll cook me alive!" Josefumi nearly shouted as Johnny scoffed.
"Only if you think like that she will. She's not going to be going too hard on you. Just enough to make you work for a win. It's been 3 years since you've sparred with her, and you've only gotten stronger. Granted, she has as well but unlike you, she's getting to the point where she can't get stronger," Johnny said, before quickly correcting himself. "Not to say you can surpass her, but if you go all the way with Soft & Wet you'll be able to exceed your previous capabilities and then some."
Josefumi thought about what his father told him and frowned, glancing at him before looking back down at the bed he was sitting on. "As much as I want to agree with you, pops, Soft & Wet isn't like Tusk where it can grow and evolve. It's a static Stand that can't learn any new abilities. Incorporating The Spin is a pain, and while it can use its spinning bubbles just fine, I can't get them to do more than what they can already do."
Johnny shook his head, frowning. "C'mon, that's no way to think! You're starting to think like I did back during the early days of my journey! Don't doubt yourself now. Soft & Wet has tons of uses. It doesn't have to evolve to be good. Your Plunder Bubbles are insanely powerful. Besides, Soft & Wet is an outlet for The Spin as we've discovered. If that's the case, then the possibilities are endless!"
"That's not the point…." Josefumi muttered as Johnny sighed.
"Okay, how about this? Look at Kira. From what I know, she's only just awakened her Stand, correct?"
"What's that gotta do with me?" Josefumi grumbled as Johnny uncrossed his arms and sat down on the chair next to Josefumi's hospital bed.
"Just humour me, okay?"
"Fine. Yes, she did. She awakened her Killer Queen just about two months ago. But I don't understand what this has to do with Soft & Wet," Josefumi replied as Johnny smirked.
"They both use bubbles, do they not?" Johnny asked as Josefumi frowned.
"Okay…? And?"
"So that means they're similar. Sure, her bubbles blow things up and Soft & Wet's steal properties of things, but they're similar enough to where I'm sure if you asked her to help you utilize your Stand more, she'd be willing to aid you. Besides, assuming everything works out, she'll be coming down to America with you, right?" Johnny said, smirking as Josefumi straightened out a little from his slumped posture.
"I mean… I guess that could work," Josefumi admitted, scratching the back of his neck as a puzzled expression took up his visage. "But… how?"
"Simple. If her Stand and your Stand are as similar as they appear, then… well, are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Johnny asked as Josefumi's eyes widened.
"Oh! Right, I did mention that to Kira, didn't I?" Josefumi said as Johnny raised an eyebrow.
"What do you mean by that?" Johnny asked as Josefumi smirked.
"Well, when I found out that Kira was a Joestar, I might have let it slip that her bubble bombs might actually be influenced by The Spin. I didn't say much, though, because at the time I didn't know all too much myself, and she did say that she had a passing interest in it. I just never followed up with it due to how busy I've been recently," Josefumi said as Johnny hummed.
"I suppose that makes sense," Johnny replied before standing up. "Well, I'm sure the next round is about to start soon, and I wanna see what my other niece can do," as Johnny said that, he left the medical ward, leaving Josefumi with the rest of the patients.
He looked over to Bakugo, who was still unconscious. He winced at the wounds he had inflicted on him, and a part of him was regretful for doing as much as he did. The Spin was a dangerous tool and a dangerous weapon that, in retrospect, shouldn't have been used in this sort of situation.
His father was right. He should've just used Soft & Wet. He had been so caught up in honouring his promise to Gyro that he didn't really think about the situation with all of his brain, he probably would've realized that.
Although, maybe all the damage he inflicted on Bakugo would teach him a lesson. After all, he'd become a little bit insufferable as of late—even moreso than usual. Maybe it was because it was The Sports Festival and his competitive drive had skyrocketed, but still. It had been a little much, even for Josefumi.
And that was coming from the guy who was competitive himself. So if he was saying that it was a bit much, then that was exactly what it was.
"Knowing Bakugo, though, it's only going to piss him off more than anything…"Josefumi thought, shifting to the left, his broken ribs spiking in pain as he groaned. There was a TV over to his right which broadcasted The Sports Festival. With sparse healing from Medi-lady and Recovery Girl, he'd be out of bed in about two hours.
A part of him wanted to be healed now, though. He wanted to sit up in the stadium with the rest of his class and watch The Sports Festival that way. That was half the fun of coming to one of these events live. It was to say that you were there. Not sitting at home watching it on TV with constant ad breaks.
Out of the corner of his eye, his eyes widened when he saw Dr. Tomioka talking to Recovery Girl, a smile on his face as he put on his coat. Josefumi was a little shocked to see him here, but then again, he supposed that this was U.A. They hired the best of the best, after all. That and Nedzu did know about Stand Users. It wasn't impossible to believe that he knew Dr. Tomioka was one.
Tooru looked over the room before his eyes landed on Josefumi. A small smile took up his face as he approached Josefumi, stuffing his hands into his pockets as he casually greeted him. "Well, I'll be. Out of everyone here, I would've thought you would've made it to the finals. So, tell me, what kind of injuries do you have today, Kujo-san?" Tooru asked as the Joestar groaned.
"Broken ribs and a cracked skull. You know, the usual," Josefumi said as Tooru snorted, summoning Wonder Of U.
"Well, not anymore," Tooru said as Wonder Of U placed a hand on Josefumi. He felt his body shiver, and then, the pain went away. From a distance, Recovery Girl looked slack-jawed. Out the window, a small sparrow got scooped up by a crow, and the eggs in the nest fell out, the sound of the eggs cracking, albeit muffled, echoing from just outside the window.
"How did you do that? The active X-ray shows that his bones, damaged tissue, and sprained muscles healed at an accelerated rate?!" Recovery Girl said, her eyes wide with disbelief as Medi-Lady smirked.
"That's Dr. Tomioka for you. He's a walking miracle. You should see him when he's working at the Hospital. He saves more lives than All Might does in a day! He's just the best," Medi-Lady said as Tooru chuckled, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck, his face flushing pink at the compliment.
"Oh, please, enough of the compliments, Kubo-chan," Dr. Tomioka replied as he turned his attention to Recovery Girl. "If you must know, Chiyo-san, My Quirk Calamity, allows me to manipulate all forms of Calamity. Think of it like a super-charged battery. I passively absorb cataclysmic energy, and then, I funnel the energy into whatever it is I desire. One would think it can only be used for disastrous things like villainy, but as I've learned, it can be used for healing. The only problem is that there's a catch."
"A catch?" Recovery Girl asked, tilting her head, a concerned hum following afterward as Tooru nodded, a serious look on his face.
"Yes. You see, there is another aspect to Calamity. If I do something positive, such as, for example, heal someone's broken bones, the planet needs to correct the missing calamity. So, it automatically causes pain and suffering elsewhere. Usually, it's only ever to the animal kingdom—a hare losing one of its kits, or something to that effect. However, the more energy I need to heal something, the worse the calamity is, and the more it is likely to hit close to home. There is a limit, and that limit is that I cannot revive the dead. Believe me, I've tried."
Recovery Girl hummed to herself, deep in thought. After a moment, she finally spoke. "Interesting. Then perhaps you can help with something. I'm sure you know exactly what I'm talking about, Head Doctor."
Tooru's eyes widened as a gleam caught in his eye. A gleam of recognition. "Ah! Very well, lead the way. I'll help the rest of the patients afterward," as he said that, he turned to face Josefumi and smirked. "Tell Kira that I hope she wins once you get the chance. I'll be talking to both of you later."
With that, Tooru and Recovery Girl left the medical ward, leaving behind Medi-Lady and Josefumi. The two looked at one another as Medi-Lady shrugged. "Well, I suppose I'll tend to the other patients. You're free to leave, Kujo-san," Medi-Lady said as Josefumi nodded.
As Josefumi left the medical ward, he was a little worried. He just hoped that no one made fun of his new haircut. His pride wouldn't be able to handle it.
[XXXX]
When Tooru entered a small suite-like room, he already knew what it was he was supposed to expect. He knew the rumours, and he had gotten the confirmation from Mirai. That being said, he still wanted to make sure he was caught up on everything—it had been so long since he had been caught up with what was going on.
Sure enough, all of the information he had secured was correct. Sitting before him was the emaciated form of All Might, otherwise known as Toshinori Yagi, the eighth holder of One For All. A small smile took up his expression as Toshinori looked up at Tooru, a hesitant expression on his face.
"Are you sure about this, Chiyo?" Yagi said as Recovery Girl nodded.
"I'm sure of it. Besides, with your health taking a nose-dive as of late, if he can help you, I think we can spare another person knowing about—"
"One For All, yes?" Tooru interrupted, causing both Recovery Girl and Yagi to go completely still. Tooru smirked, taking a seat across from Yagi, who stared at him with wide eyes.
"How do you know about that?" Yagi said, a slight bit of urgency coupled with a healthy dose of apprehension as Tooru's smirk fell, breaking away to a frown as a neutral expression took up his visage.
"Oh, please, All Might. How can I not know? I am very familiar with One For All. As for how that doesn't matter. All that you need to know is that I know pretty much everything. That includes who the current holder is," Tooru replied, his tone taking up an ominous edge to it. He clapped his hands together, a small smile taking up his visage as he continued. "So, All Might. I'm a doctor, and you clearly don't look like yourself, so what seems to be the problem."
"Chiyo…" Yagi murmured, looking over at Recovery Girl with a weary look in his eyes. "Who is this man?"
"He's the Head Doctor of The Musutafu General Hospital. I thought he was just a bystander who didn't know anything. Clearly, I was wrong," Recovery Girl said, her expression sour. "Dr. Tomioka… how much do you know? Truly?"
"Everything," Tooru replied bluntly, shocking Yagi as his eyes narrowed.
"Who told you?"
"Wouldn't you like to know?" Tooru answered though it was more of a taunt. He was letting his mask slip—just a little bit. He could afford to do so. There was nothing that he could do to him anyway. He was perfectly safe.
For his part, Toshinori was starting to get frustrated, his eyebrows knitting together as he frowned. "Do not play coy with me, Dr. Tomioka. This is serious. Who told you what you know? Not just anybody knows everything there is to know about the secret of One For All, as you claim, anyway."
"True, for you know I'm bluffing to try and get you to say more about it," Tooru replied, crossing one leg over the other as he leaned back into the chair across from Toshinori. "However, I think that I should keep my sources private. All you have to know is that I am an ally so long as it benefits me."
"So long as it benefits you?" Toshinori ground out, his temper flaring as Tooru tilted his head to the side.
"Is there a problem with that? Or, perhaps you want everything exposed? All it would take is a single click and it becomes public. The HPSC wouldn't be able to shut it all down fast enough, and by the time they get to it, it would be all over the news. You wouldn't want that, would you?" Tooru continued as Toshinori bit back his anger. Recovery Girl, on the other hand….
"I thought you were an upright man, Dr. Tomioka. But extorsion? From All Might of all people? That's pathetic," Recovery Girl insulted as Tooru shrugged his shoulders.
"On the contrary, it's rather smart from my angle. Besides, it's not like either of you can do anything to me. I'm not doing any illegal. I am well within my right to barter. Besides, it cannot be extorsion if I am not holding something financial over your head. It's you two who are overreacting to a minuscule problem," Tooru said, a nonchalance to his tone as he sighed.
"It is more than a "minuscule problem" Dr. Tomioka. It means that the information is out there for anyone to publish. I need to know where you got the information from. For the safety of others and innocent people, I—"
"You don't think that those who wanted to know wouldn't already have gotten their hands on the information in the first place?" Tooru interrupted, raising an eyebrow. A shallow, mirthless chuckle followed afterward as he leaned forward, steepling his fingers as he looked at Toshinori with a sly smirk. "Because I can tell you, for certain, that those who wanted to have the information that I now have in my possession already have it."
Toshinori gritted his teeth, frustration evident on his face as Tooru backed away, relaxing once more as he glanced over at Recovery Girl. "Now, how about we move past this and get into the real reason why I'm here? After all, I am a Head Doctor. I was only supposed to be here to alleviate the injury status of a few people who were badly wounded. Not so that we can sit here and wax poetic about minor inconsequential things."
Recovery Girl frowned, glancing over to Toshinori, who let out a reluctant sigh. After a moment, Toshinori spoke up. "As long as you promise to not post the information to the public, we can continue this meeting. However, and I cannot stress this enough, I am extremely disappointed. I figured a man such as yourself with such a high status in the world would be above this sort of thing."
"Not really. I wasn't always a doctor. I must apologize, I was letting a side of me out that hasn't seen the light of day in well over 50 years," Tooru replied as Toshinori blinked, confusion painting his face.
"But… you don't look that old. You look like you're only in your 30s?" Toshinori muttered as Tooru chuckled.
"It has to do with my Quirk, which is half of the reason why I'm here. I've already explained this to Chiyo-san, but it bears repeating," Tooru said as he straightened out his posture, taking on a more professional body language as he cleared his throat.
"My Quirk is called Calamity. To make a long explanation short, it allows me to manipulate cataclysmic energy. It can be used to harm, protect, or in this case, heal. However, there is a catch. I manipulate cataclysmic energy, not generate it. Meaning I am bending an actual factor of reality with my very own fingertips. The more of it I use, the more the world must correct itself for the missing energy."
"My power works based on the concept of equivalent exchange. The more serious of an injury it is that I heal, the more energy I use. The more energy I use, the greater the incoming calamity will be. It will also become a lot more personal to the person I am healing. So, the question to you, Toshinori Yagi, what am I healing, and just how badly do you want it healed?"
As Tooru said that, a grim expression took up Toshinori's visage. He glanced over at Chiyo, who was starting to look a little pale. He trusted her judgment, but at the same time, he didn't trust Dr. Tomioka.
And why would he? Especially after all of the jabbing and all of the snide remarks he had made. Doubly so with how secretive he had been and just how close he was holding his cards to his chest. It was almost like he was talking to All For One. It was clear that Dr. Tomioka liked being in control—and he very much was in this instance.
However, that didn't change the fact that he was weary about continuing with this. At the same time, though, he wanted to ensure that he was alive long enough to properly teach Young Midoriya all was to know about One For All.
His mentor, Nana Shimura, had died young. He didn't want Young Midoriya to be thrown into grief like he had been when he was young. Nana Shimura was like a mother to him after his birth mother died. He knew his father had been behind it all. That spiteful, cowardly man…
Clearing his throat, he looked up at Tooru, and seeing the look on his face—the one of indifference—it sent a chill down his spine. Clearly, there was something more to that man than meets the eye. But whatever it was, it could wait.
"In my battle with a very powerful villain—assuming you know everything you should already know who—my respiratory system was nearly destroyed, resulting in one of my lungs being made entirely useless and thus removed, and my stomach was removed due to it causing me more issues than being of any use," Toshinori explained as Tooru frowned.
"How are you even alive? You should be dead," Tooru said flatly as Toshinori chuckled mirthlessly.
"That's what every doctor has told me. But, I surpassed all odds and survived—barely, but I did," Toshinori said, before looking at Tooru with a serious gleam in his eyes. "If you can truly fix me, then by all means, be my guest. But I have to know… what will happen if you do?"
Tooru shrugged. "Dunno. But, if I were to guess? Something of that calibre would result in a massive tragedy on a personal level. I cannot tell you how deep and how far it will go, but what I do know is that it won't stop at just one person. It will be, fittingly, a calamity."
"That's absurd! Toshinori, you can't possibly think to agree to this! For all we know, he could be talking about the children!" Chiyo stressed as Toshinori looked away, a hint of shame on his face.
"That is a possibility, I won't deny that. But, if I may take the cynical approach to this: How many more people do you think you could save, even with your currently fleeting strength, in a body more considerable to that of your prime?" Tooru asked as Toshinori looked back up at Tooru, completely taken aback.
"You cannot be serious!" Chiyo shouted, outrage in her voice. "Are you seriously making that argument?! You're completely—"
"Heartless?" Tooru interrupted, earning a sneer from Chiyo. Tooru rolled his eyes, before looking back at Toshinori. "I'm not heartless. I'm a realist. Right now, the world needs All Might more than ever, and it's because of something that I am more than willing to share."
"What are you talking about? Japan has entered an era of peace. My job as All Might is nearly done. It's time for someone else to take my mantle as The Symbol of Peace. I—"
"All For One is still alive."
Silence. Toshinori stared at Tooru, who had a dead serious look on his face. "Did it ever strike you as odd that a creature with multiple Quirks directly attacked U.A.? Granted, it was given to some wannabe thug, but that's beside the point. There is only one man who can create such a creature. You know it to be true," Tooru said as Toshinori shook his head.
"I crushed his skull. I destroyed half of his face. There is no way that he could come back from that. Not even with the amount of power that he had at his disposal could anyone come back from that," Toshinori denied, his gaze turning steely. However, Tooru did not budge as he continued.
"The criminal Underground has been stirring for quite some time. Crime rates have been increasing for a reason. Who do you think is orchestrating it all? There's only one person with that level of influence. Use your head, Toshinori Yagi. Unless All For One reproduced—which I highly doubt—then he must have survived," Tooru continued as Toshinori stared at him, completely and utterly dumbfounded.
"How can you be so certain of that?" Chiyo asked, her voice tense as Tooru sighed.
"Because it's obvious. If you look at all of the facts, and if you line up everything from All For One's previous track record, it matches. That's why we need people like All Might. I know he already passed One For All down to the next person, and I'm fairly certain I know who that person is, but I digress. You still have remnants of the Quirk, do you not?" Tooru asked as Toshinori nodded.
"I do. But I've been weakening. I will only continue to get weaker as time goes on, and my weakness will only become more apparent. I don't understand how healing me will fix that issue," Toshinori replied as Tooru smirked.
"It'll buy everyone more time, including yourself. How long do you envision yourself being able to be All Might? A month? Less than that, even?"
"Around a month, yes."
"Well, if I heal you, that could increase. Or, at the very least, when you do lose the remaining bits of One For All, then you won't be an emaciated old man. You'll be healthier. You'll be able to live a life where you aren't constantly coughing up blood. Which would you rather? A remaining life of pain, or a remaining life of comfort?" Tooru said, outstretching a hand toward Toshinori, who stared at Tooru's hand.
He was tempted. If even half of what the man in front of him had said was true, then it would be stupid of him to refuse the offer. Toshinori looked over to Chiyo, who had an unreadable expression on her face, her eyebrows knit together as she stared at the both of them wearily.
He looked back to Tooru, then he looked down at himself and stared at his hands. Was it worth it? For all he knew, he could be endangering the lives of his students—of Young Midoriya, his successor.
But, if All For One was still out there…. If he was still alive…. Then it would be the same thing regardless. Except, it could be debatably worse.
"Dr. Tomioka. If I do this… is there a chance that any of my students will die? Any at all?" Toshinori asked as Tooru shrugged.
"If I knew the answer, I would tell you. The worst thing that has ever happened to one of my patients is that their pet cat got run over by a truck. For all I know, this could be something similar. But, at the same time, I've never had to regrow organs. So, for all I know, this could cause a natural disaster. I doubt that it would, but it's entirely up to you. I cannot force you to take this deal. But all the same, the risks of not taking it are just as immense," Tooru answered as Toshinori squeezed his eyes shut.
"What would Nana do?" Toshinori thought, inhaling sharply. For a few seconds, he held his breath, trying desperately to come up with an answer, weighing the pros and cons, until finally, he came up with one. Exhaling, his expression was one of determination, and then, he nodded.
"Let's do it."
"Toshinori… you can't be serious," Chiyo said, looking at him with slightly widened his eyes as Toshinori sighed.
"If what he says is even remotely true, Chiyo, then you and I both know that either way something horrible will befall those children. That creature, Nomu, as that villain had called it, was unnatural and it had multiple Quirks. I cannot, in good conscience, sit here and do nothing for most of the day. It already pains me enough that I can only be out for less than three hours a day. Soon, I won't be able to help at all. But if I do this… I could do so much more."
Chiyo sighed, but not before glaring daggers at Tooru. "If anything bad happens to those kids, Dr. Tomioka, I will make it your problem. Do you understand me? I promise you that," Chiyo said as Tooru's eyes narrowed.
"Is that so?" Tooru said, scoffing. "Very well. Give it your all, I say. Just don't be surprised when something goes wrong," Tooru added ominously, before looking back toward Toshinori. "Now then, shall we move to a more… appropriate location so I can begin the operation?"
[XXXX]
Yoshihara sat down on one of the chairs within the 1 – A prep room, one leg over the other, her cerulean blue eyes scanning the room as all the girls filtered out to head to the change rooms. Kaminari had told them to dress up in the cheerleader uniforms and was supposedly sent by one of the staff members.
According to him, all the girls from the different courses were going to go help with the cheerleading segment. While that happened, Yoshihara remained out of his sight, sticking to the dark corners of the room and staying out of his peripheral vision as she quietly smirked to himself. She knew that what Kaminari was doing was a prank, and that was why she didn't go.
His eyes danced around the room, a small chuckle escaping him as he rubbed his hands together like an evil mastermind having completed his master plan. At least, that was, until his eyes landed on her, causing the colour in his face to drain and for his eyes to widen. "Oh, crap…! Um, hey Kira, I—"
"Don't even bother. You're not gonna get me with that, I'm smarter than that," Yoshihara remarked, crossing her arms as Kaminari looked away, ashamed. "I will admit, though, it was pretty clever."
"Uh… please don't hurt me?" Kaminari said as Yoshihara snickered to herself.
"No, I won't do that. I actually find this quite funny," Yoshihara replied as Kaminari blinked.
"Really?"
"If they were stupid enough to fall for it, then yes, it is. Even Jirou fell for it, and she's usually smart about that kind of stuff," Yoshihara said as Kaminari chuckled to himself. Then, immediately afterward, an apologetic look took up his expression as he spoke.
"Look, uh, Kira. I, um… I wanted to apologize for being a prick a few weeks ago. Ya know, about the whole—"
"No, it's fine. At the very least you're apologizing. Unlike some people I know," Yoshihara said, grumbling to herself before sighing. "By the way, I heard Bakugo took you out after you did some sort of reckless electricity attack. You should learn to control your Quirk more," Yoshihara continued as Kaminari sighed.
"Yeah… the thing is though that it takes a lot of focus and concentration to do that. Even if I did that, I'd have to fry my brain at least half a thousand times to even get to that point," Kaminari retorted, rubbing the back of his neck. "My Quirk's always been a pain to control. I'm even surprised I've been able to control it as well as I have recently. It's freakin' awesome! For as grouchy as he is, Aizawa-sensei is an awesome teacher."
"Agreed," Yoshihara said, sitting up straight as she slouched forward a little bit. "It took a long time for me to learn how to control my bombs to the point I've gotten them to. I was a late bloomer, with my Quirk only really coming in when I was eleven years old. I've had less time to train with my Quirk before U.A., and even now, there are still new aspects to it I know I've yet to figure out."
Kaminari hummed in surprise, leaning against one of the lockers. "That's nuts. So you were basically Quirkless until you were a pre-teen? That must've sucked."
"Among other things, yes, it did," Yoshihara replied, frowning as she pushed the memories back into her subconscious. "My point is, though, is that you shouldn't be such a downer. Of course, it's your choice, but I'm sure you can find a way to properly control your Quirk," Yoshihara continued as Kaminari smiled.
"Yeah. You're right, thanks, Kira. I—"
"KAMINARI!" A loud, angry voice belonging to Jirou rang out through the room as the door slammed open. Kaminari's eyes widened as Jirou cracked her knuckles, throwing one of the pompoms at Yoshihara, who caught it.
"You should run if you know what's good for you," Yoshihara stated as Kaminari cowered in fear of the looming Jirou. All Yoshihara did was watch as Kaminari got his side kicked in repeatedly by the very pissed-off, and also extremely embarrassed Jirou. After a minute of watching this, she got up and walked out of the prep room.
Once she exited the prep room and made it back to the field, the rest of the remaining contestants were standing around, talking to one another. Yoshihara spotted Izuku and approached him. He smiled, waving her over.
"How are you feeling?" Yoshihara asked as Izuku chuckled nervously.
"My nerves are all over the place… But! I'm more excited that I made it to the finals. It's odd, though. Kacchan didn't. I expected him to, to be honest," Izuku replied as Yoshihara frowned.
"You're still calling him that? Seriously?" Yoshihara said, raising an eyebrow as Izuku rubbed his arm sheepishly.
"Well… it's mostly out of habit. But, I've known Kacchan for a long time. I know he can be better. I can see it in him, and besides, he can't be all that bad. He's just… misguided," Izuku said as Yoshihara sighed.
"Personally? I hate his guts," Yoshihara replied, crossing her arms. "I don't care what his excuse was, he doesn't have a good enough one to have tormented you for all of Junior high. The adults in his life should've tried to correct his behaviour. It makes me wonder what his home life is like," Yoshihara said as Izuku looked away.
"W-Well… Auntie Mitsuki does her best. So does Uncle Masaru… But, you know how Kacchan can be," Izuku said as Yoshihara hummed in acknowledgement. Before she could say anything, however, Present Mic's voice boomed throughout the stadium.
"ALRIGHT, FOLKS! WE'LL HAVE SOME RECREATIONAL GAMES SET UP FOR YOU ALL, AND THEN AFTER THAT'S OVER IT'LL BE TIME TO MOVE ON TO THE THIRD AND FINAL MAIN EVENT OF THE SPORTS FESTIVAL! BETWEEN THE SURVIVING CONTESTANTS OF ALL OUT WAR, WE'LL BE HAVING A FORMAL TOURNAMENT! THAT BEING A SERIES OF ONE-ON-ONE BATTLES! TAKE IT AWAY, MIDNIGHT!"
Once Present Mic gave the cue, the idle chit-chat ceased as Kayama-san cracked her whip to get everyone's attention. Once all eyes were on her, she spoke.
"The match-ups will be decided by drawing lots. Once that's settled, we'll move on to the festivities and then the tournament itself! It's up to each of you 16 finalists whether or not you participate in the fun. I expect some of you would rather take a breather and save your strength. A-hem, now. Let's begin setting up the matches, shall we!"
As Kayama-san drew names, a TV screen began to fill up the brackets and show off who was fighting who:
Qualifiers:
Fight 1: Tatami Utsagi – Versus – Izuku Midoriya
Fight 2: Shoto Todoroki – Versus – Sero Hanta
Fight 3: Eijiro Kirishima – Versus – Rikido Sato
Fight 4: Tenya Ida – Versus – Mei Hatsume
Fight 5: Yoshihara Kira – Versus – Mina Ashido
Fight 6: Tokoyami Fumikage – Versus – Momo Yaoyorozu
Fight 7: Itsuka Kendo – Versus – Tsuyu Asui
Fight 8: Neito Monoma – Versus – Mashirao Ojirou
Once the TV screen was filled with the names and the match-ups, Yoshihara glanced over to Ashido and vice versa. The two looked at one another, one with fear in her eyes while the other with a blank, neutral expression.
As for Izuku, he looked around the group of final contenders and saw someone off in the distance. They were tall, perhaps 5 foot 11 inches. The person was a female, and they had long black hair with silver tips at the end. They were chewing something, and as they chewed, they blew a big pink bubble from their mouth. They were sitting down on the ground, legs crossed and a big black mutant-looking wolf walking around her.
"I take it that's Utsagi…"Izuku thought as Utsagi looked up at him with her velvet-red eyes. She stood up and whisked her finger in the air as the wolf evaporated into thin air. As Utsagi passed by Midoriya, she smiled a predatory smile and whispered something into his ear.
"I'm going to enjoy tearing you apart with Leading The Pack, Midoriya Izuku. Then I'll take your spot in the hero course," Utsagi said walking away as Izuku shuttered slightly from the malice in her voice. He looked at her back and frowned. It was clear as day that she was a Stand user—no one named their Quirk something like that.
Although, if it was a Stand, then why was he able to see it? He looked over to Yoshihara and frowned. He couldn't see Killer Queen whenever Yoshihara summoned it, nor could he see his mother's Fly, Fly Away. However, he was able to see that assassin's Stand—Brittle Bones Nicky if he had remembered correctly. Now, it was the same thing with Utsagi's Leading The Pack.
There had to be some kind of throughline. Now that he thought about it, back during All Out War, Present Mic had said something about Utsagi having a shadow wolf Quirk. That meant he could see it too.
"What is going on here?" Izuku thought, frowning and pushing the thought away. "Regardless, that doesn't matter. What matters right now is that Utsagi's confident that she'll win. But she has no idea what my Quirk is or how fast I am with it. If I'm correct in her overconfidence, then this'll be an easy fight. If not, and I get defeated in the first round, then I'll lose my chance to break Todoroki-kun out of that selfish vow of his," Izuku thought, thinking back to what Shoto had said.
Shoto had said that he was going to be a hero without using his "father's fire" when in reality it wasn't his father's, it was Shoto Todoroki's fire. The fact that he didn't see it any other way confused Izuku. That was like saying that Ida's engines weren't Ida's but rather his brothers or his mothers, or his fathers.
But now was not the time to be thinking about something as trivial as how Todoroki saw himself. By making that vow, he would be recklessly endangering not only himself but the people who will rely on him in the future as a hero.
It was part of the reason why he was training as hard as he could; so that he would be a useful hero. Heroes were meant to save people, not be selfish. While it was true that Shoto's ice was powerful, it was only half of his Quirk. That, and if he got hypothermia in the middle of a villain altercation, and refused to use his fire, it could get not only himself killed but other people, too.
If simply talking him out of it wasn't going to work, then beating the snot out of him would. Breaking his courage and rebuilding it would have to be the way things needed to be.
And if, by some miracle, he couldn't, then perhaps someone else would. But the fact of the matter stood that Shoto's vow was dangerous, and he needed to make him break it… one way or another.
After everyone met their enemies and who they would be fighting for the upcoming one-on-one fights, the recreational games began. Yoshihara decided to sit out of the events and stayed in the class's prep room, mulling over ways to easily take out Ashido when her fight happened.
As for Izuku, he tried out one or two games before doing the same thing, namely practicing charging up and dispursing One For All in his body to quicken the pace at which he gathered it up into his system. He did this for nearly an hour and a half, constantly, and when he finished, he was able to reduce the amount of time from 1 second to 0.8 seconds.
That didn't seem like much, but any amount of cut-off time was enough to make him just that much faster. Even shaving off just 0.2 seconds is more than enough to change the flow of combat. The quicker he was to the draw, the better off he'd be.
There were two minutes left before the first match, and as he stood in the underpass, he watched as Utsagi, in the distance, was beating the crap out of her Leading The Pack. As she beat it, more copies of it came out until it stopped at around six. Six copies of her Stand showed up, and as they did, Izuku saw her glare at him with a throat-slitting motion.
A build-up of worry filtered throughout his body as they were announced onto the arena. Izuku cracked his knuckles, while Utsagi rolled her neck from side to side. Both of them had a confident gleam in their eyes, and both of them were ready to and rearing to go.
"AND HERE WE HAVE IT, FOLKS! THE FIRST MATCH OF THE AFTERNOON! THE CURRENT HOLDER FOR MOST SELF-DAMAGING QUIRK IN ALL OF U.A., YET DESPITE THAT HE'S MAKING WAVES IN THE SCHOOL AND THE WORLD BEYOND WITH HIS PERFORMANCE HERE TODAY—IZUKU MIDORIYA FROM CLASS 1 – A!" Present Mic announced as the stadium burst into cheers and roaring applause as Present Mic continued.
"AND FOR HIS OPPONENT, SOMEONE WHO, DESPITE BEING IN THE GENERAL STUDIES, HAS SEEMED TO BE ONE OF THE STRONGER ONES OF THE BUNCH, AND WITH AN INTERESTING SHADOW WOLF QUIRK, IT'S TATAMI UTSAGI!"
At that, Izuku heard the growling sounds of Leading The Pack. When he made eye contact with Utsagi, he couldn't help but flinch at the devilish gleam in her eyes. There was a heap load of bloodlust behind those eyes, along with determination. Izuku steeled himself, staring Utsagi down with a fierce look in his eyes.
"Good luck, Utsagi-san," Izuku said as Utsagi scoffed.
"Don't get too cocky, Midoriya. You might be in the hero course, but I'll show you just how deadly us General Studies people can be."
-To Be Continued-