11/03/2025
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The Emperor's Dragon
Chapter 100 - Unwelcome Changes
In the future, Mirai would be thankful he was alone in his office when he first saw the footage from Tartarus. The sight of a huge, green dragon made him feel physically sick, and he only just got to his wastebasket in time. The basket was one of the open mesh affairs but the cleaners had, thankfully, lined it so his vomit was contained.
Still spitting into the basket he looked back at the screen.
That thing was dead… well not dead but it wasn't meant to exist.
His vision had changed! It had not been at Kamino. It had not killed Toshinori.
But…
There it was. At Tartarus.
He didn't get to see much more because the camera shorted out. The dragon hadn't destroyed it, one of the other things, the Nomu, had but he'd seen enough. Sir Nighteye swallowed hard, and reached for some water, delicately sipping to wash the acrid taste from his mouth.
He put the basket down but his stomach still roiled uncomfortably.
Mirai closed his eyes, recalling his vision from … not that long ago really. The details were still clear in his mind. The Dragon was in Kamino. All For One had been controlling it and there had been blood on the Dragon's claws and fangs before the day was over.
Then he forced himself to forget the Dragon and looked at the surroundings. When Mirai came out of his memory induced vision he had several reference points. Slowly, he lifted his eyes back to the screen and went through the video until he had a wide shot. Then he froze it, and studied the image. He wasn't looking for the Dragon, he was looking for those reference places.
It was possible… barely possible that his vision had been of-
No, it wasn't! None of the reference places were there and in his vision he recognised things that made him know it was Kamino. The footage from Tartarus was similar with the level of destruction but it was not the same.
Besides, Toshinori was here, at UA and it would take at least two hours to get to Tartarus even if Yagi left now. And he hadn't and wouldn't because this was historical footage. Only from this morning but the battle was already over.
Ignoring the smell was slightly challenging but Nighteye was a professional as he thought about the implications.
He'd thought, with his Kamino vision changing that the dragon had … well, he couldn't be sure it had died but he had thought it hadn't been created, or that the attempt had killed the poor soul who was at the base. The footage from Tartarus proved him wrong there. And he hadn't seen All For One in the images. He couldn't.
A rough timeline had been worked out for the assault on Tartarus and one thing was clear, when that footage was taken, All For One was safely, and securely in his cell. It wasn't until later that he'd been released.
His computer chimed and Mirai looked to the corner to see who was calling.
Nezu.
So potentially Toshinori was with him. Yagi would want to go to Tartarus and Mirai would agree it was a good idea, but not now, not yet. Mirai accepted the call. The image came through was not what he expected. Nezu wasn't alone but he wasn't with Toshinori. Sir Nighteye recognised Aizawa in the background and two students. One was Inasa, and the other had dark purple hair. He was sitting behind Aizawa… Ah! Aizawa's HPSC appointed apprentice.
"I'm a little busy," he told Nezu. He really didn't have time for social calls.
The principal gave him a smile. "Has anyone figured out where the Rabbit Hero is?" the rat asked.
Mirai blinked. Why would they… wait! He'd read a dispatch report earlier that said Mirko was going to Tartarus. But none of the information he'd seen since mentioned her. Sir Nighteye felt concern. "I'll look into it." He didn't want to concede the fact that they didn't know but lying wouldn't get him anywhere either. It didn't matter that it wasn't his job to keep track of Mirko either. Nezu had probably told him because he couldn't get through to Sozo.
Nezu nodded, apparently pleased with the response.
"Is there something specific you need?" Mirai asked. He was very busy.
"There is still a lot of fall out to come," the principal noted. "But I feel we should be working on a plan of attack for when the villains are found."
It wasn't that Sir Nighteye disagreed, he just wondered why Nezu was coming to him and not the Commission.
Ah! Sir Nighteye pulled his thoughts together. The HPSC would not be stable for the next few months. Sozo would resign and whoever took his place would be charged with dealing with the villains but it would take a while for the government to choose someone. In the past, the Number One Hero would step up to ensure stability during the transition between Commissioners but this time… With Endeavor dead and the Number Two and Three heroes incapacitated, there was no one to take the place… Especially if Mirko was also missing.
Crust didn't have the presence to do it and Kamui Woods was too inexperienced. The government and civilians would look to All Might. That's why Nezu was calling him. Any battle against…
Sir Nighteye made a face as he realised they couldn't rely on capturing All For One quickly or easily, to say nothing of Izuku. Inasa would probably need to fight them both.
"You have a suggestion?" Mirai asked.
Nezu had no doubt remained silent to let him come to those realisations.
"Two spring to mind," the principal said easily. "Firstly, Inasa will need extensive combat training, from as many quirks as can be assembled."
Sir Nighteye nodded. That made sense. What Inasa needed now was practical skills. He could make up the academic part of his training once All For One was dealt with.
"Secondly, any planned attack should feature Aizawa, or less ideally, his apprentice."
Aizawa's use was obvious. His ability to nullify quirks, even with the limitations of his eyes would be useful. His apprentice though… What was his quirk? "His apprentice?" Sir Nighteye asked. The question let Nezu know he approved of Aizawa..
"His quirk is an action, response quirk that allows him to take control of the subject."
Mirai felt his eyes widen at the thought. "And it works on them?" He forced himself to ask.
"It always has in the past," Nezu responded as the boy nodded. There was a story there, but not for now. Sir Nighteye could see several different defences against the quirk but it was worth trying, especially if they could create the required trigger conditions.
"What are the activation requirements?"
Nezu wouldn't have suggested it unless they were reasonable but sometimes his belief about what was reasonable was skewed.
"A verbal response," came the reply.
That was… That was quite simple.
"Control is strong?" Mirai asked. Sometimes simple requirements… It was best not to speculate. Simple requirements could correspond to a weak hold but there were other quirks where simple requirements gave a very strong result.
"Strong enough to make a difference," Aizawa answered on behalf of his apprentice.
Sir Nighteye ran through several mock scenarios. The quirk could be useful. "I believe we can make some preliminary plans," Mirai agreed with Nezu's earlier suggestion. "All Might will no doubt consider it a good user of his time to pursue these villains," he added. He wasn't sure how public Toshinori had been with his time limit. Nezu knew but Sir Nighteye didn't know if Aizawa did and his apprentice definitely didn't know.
Nezu nodded his understanding. "I'll send some suggestions," the Principal indicated.
"Thank you," Mirai replied and waited for Nezu to continue. He had other things he needed to be doing, including finding Mirko and figuring out who in the HPSC would be best to contact about stabilisation work. All Might had retired but his presence, his name still held a lot of weight and right now, society needed that weight to stabilise it.
Maybe Sozo. The Commissioner may be on the way out but he'd be around for the next week or so. He'd be the best contact… Though if he had to, Mirai would go to the Minister. He didn't want to. Heroes were meant to be apolitical. As public servants they served whichever party was in power.
That did not preclude them having opinions, it was just that they didn't express them publicly. Going to the Minister directly was a breach of protocol but perhaps the situation warranted that.
"I will leave you to your work," Nezu said.
Mirai raised an eyebrow. The principal's tone was correct but he thought there was a touch of mockery there. The rat said nothing but had noted the question.
"I will look forward to your strategies," Sir Nigtheye said, making it clear he was reaching out to end the call.
Nezu nodded and the screen went dark for a moment with the post call black screen before it returned to his desktop.
Sir Nighteye drew a deep breath before he grimaced at the smell. He swallowed and pulled up the image of the dragon again. Apparently the beast had been responsible for a lot of the damage at Tartarus. And it hadn't been controlled by All For One.
His vision had changed.
Mirai reminded himself of that but in saving All Might, he'd apparently given All For One time to perfect the beast. And of course, this had happened but… He made a fist.
If this was the price then.. It was just the price that had to be paid.
Toshinori was worth it.
-ted-
Mei sat beside Shunin and tried not to fidget. She was sitting at one of the two tables set up in front of the judge. The lawyer had explained that this case was a bit different from a criminal trial but it was still serious. He'd actually told her to wear her uniform today and to lose her goggles.
And to not play on her phone.
Shunin had explained that her role was to project an image. The image was to be ordinary. It was to show her as someone who had worked hard on that invention and who needed the income from it. But the lawyer had explained that she couldn't appear too needy either. If she appeared too broke, then the government would think nothing of offering her a token settlement and going on their way. She had to appear to have means, but not too much.
In theory, Mei understood. In practice… it was so inefficient. But since Shunin was being paid a lot to represent her, and she'd be stupid to ignore his expertise, she'd done it. She was dressed in her plain, unembellished UA uniform. She had left her goggles back in the lab and she had put her phone in a simple case. Shunin had been adamant that she couldn't show off any other inventions today.
She had to appear as if she needed this invention.
She did. It was hers but- argh. It was so hard.
Especially since she couldn't fiddle on her phone either and Mei wanted to message Janee.
The Executive Officer for JBQC had messaged her to say that she had not yet been able to find a buyer for her medical invention, or for others. Apparently, there was a company interested, Denteranat, but they had insisted that the patent issues be sorted before they even thought about engaging. Mei had already told Janee that if they didn't, very quickly, come to the table, then JBQC should go it alone. It would be easier to market through an existing company, since they had the contacts and experience but… she'd market her goods on a street corner if she had to.
If they were good enough, customers would come.
And Mei knew her babies were good enough.
"Objection!" Shunin called.
"Counsel?" the judge asked.
"Relevance," Shunin replied.
Mei tried to recall what the other lawyer had been saying. It was something about Izuku but she hadn't really been paying attention. Izuku had gone after Tartarus the other day and information was scarce. She wanted to know if he'd been wearing her light vest but the authorities hadn't released any information.
The other lawyer spluttered.
Shunin looked unimpressed. "Sustained," the judge said.
"Your honour!" The other lawyer objected, sounding outraged.
"We are here to establish ownership of the remarkable device, not any ties to villainy. You can prosecute that case later," the Judge said.
"There are none, your Honour," Shunin pointed out.
"Of course there are! The villain led a raid on Tartarus!" The Commission's lawyer objected.
"Relevance," Shunin repeated.
"He's the half owner of JBQC!"
"Who does not have any claim to the device."
The judge sighed. "Counsel, do you have any arguments that are pertinent to the case?"
It was only because Mei was sitting next to Shunin that she saw the twitch of his lips. It was gone before anyone else saw it and there was silence in the courtroom.
"I mean… There is… He's a villa-" The opposing counsel started several sentences but did not complete them.
"Counsel?" The judge prompted.
The HPSC's lawyer was desperately looking through some paperwork while Shunin sat quietly. He was maintaining eye contact with the Judge and appeared to be infinitely patient and respectful. Mei knew he'd be completely respectful to the judge but she also knew he was annoyed that they'd even had to come to court.
But maybe it wasn't the Judge's fault. The HPSC could have pushed their weight around, hoping to get someone sympathetic…
And it hadn't worked.
"Well?" The judge probed.
"No, Sir."
"Then I find that while there is clear evidence the device was made for a known villain, the defendant, Mei Hatsume was not aware of the villain's status and had no reasonable way of finding out," the judge said.
Beside her Shunin stiffened.
"What is it?" Mei mouthed the question.
"We'll see," he replied.
"As such, I confirm Mei Hatsume's ownership of the patent. However, since I am reliably informed the device will provide significant upgrades to existing medical equipment, I also order that it be put into general circulation within a year, or Mei Hatsume's patent will lapse. Further 10 percent of all sales of the device shall be donated to a hero rehabilitation fund."
Shunin exhaled hard. It wasn't a sigh and no one but Mei noticed it. He appeared to be weighing up if he should object. Mei thought about it as well. It wasn't the best deal but it did give her sole ownership of her baby… which was hers anyway! She gritted her teeth at that. She shouldn't have to give up any of the cash for it but… With the order to get her baby into production… She'd need some way of incentivising people to buy from her.
"It's okay," she murmured.
Shunin looked at her hard. "You're sure?"
"Yeah, it's okay," Mei confirmed. "I'll call the 10 percent an advertising fee," she explained.
He smiled at her and then nodded before looking back at the Judge. The man seemed to be expecting that and when Shunin shook his head slightly the Judge nodded his acknowledgement before bringing down his gavel.
Mei was actually surprised that they still used them but tradition was apparently strong. She rose with Shunin and moved out of the court as he directed.
"Well, that's that," Mei murmured once they were in the corridor.
"No," he said but didn't elaborate as the HPSC's lawyer pushed past them and stalked away. The man was visibly upset. "They'll still be coming after you," Shunin told her.
"JBQC?" Mei asked.
The lawyer nodded. "With the break out, they have to do something," he explained unnecessarily.
"I'll talk to Janee," Mei told him.
"Watanabe might have some ideas."
"Who's that?"
"Janee will know," Shunin told her.
Mei nodded. She had a meeting with Janee later today. Mei sighed. "Thank you," she said.
"They played dirty but your respirator is yours. They won't make the same mistakes twice."
That was a warning if Mei had ever heard one. "I didn't do anything!" she objected. It was kind of childish.
Shunin nodded his agreement.
Mei huffed and gathered herself. She didn't want to. Going up against the Commission, being an adult… There were times when all she wanted to do was make her babies and not worry about anything. Except…
It wasn't that easy. "Sorry," Mei told the lawyer. "It's just…"
"You can say it's not fair," Shunin told her. "It's not." There was no mockery in his tone. "It's really not. You are not Izuku but because you associated with him, because you know him, they will want to punish you. It's just… It's a power play. And it's a power play where you have to play by their rules.
"But… when you play by their rules, it's just a matter of knowing the loopholes," the lawyer grinned. It made him seem almost jovial.
"Watanabe knows the loopholes?" Mei asked, recalling the name.
"In his area of expertise," Shunin nodded. "Speak to Janee," he added.
"I will," Mei promised.
"All right," Shunin nodded. "Give me a call the next time they get aggressive."
"And you will have more loopholes?"
Shunin laughed, and gave her a wave as he walked down the pavement. Mei smiled. She knew that was a yes and she looked to the road as a limo drove up. She knew Janee had sent it. She had the day off from UA for the court case and the Executive Officer had indicated she wished to speak.
This was not going to be a short day.
-ted-
So Mirai has learned that while his vision changed, there are some unforeseen things in the future. (PS I HATE pre-cog quirks... but thankfully Mirai isn't that gung-ho about using his so you can easily slip things by him). Even so, he's not happy about that Dragon :D
And Mei has her baby back! Yay! But while the judge was annoyed at the people pushing for a particular outcome, he knows the public would expect some punishment for the person who made a life support helmet for a villain. So the judgement does give Mei some protection but she's going to have to come up with some way of getting her baby into the market ASAP. And realistically, those things take time so she'd better jump to it :D
Discord is on this code: TcBnRN7aDn FFN will remove links but you should be able to figure that out. There's a heap of other authors there, so come along and chat to us all! Not just about MHA.
-ted-
Loved it? Hated it? Found a spelling mistake? Let me know please!