Chrysanthemums, uncolored but still beautiful flowers, rest atop a closed coffin in a vase. The casket is closed. Through the shock of an untimely death and how it happened so suddenly, that is what bothers Izuku Midoriya the most. Taneo Tokuda was so badly beaten that they had to hide him from his family & friends for the farewell. Izuku's hands close and clench, tightening with a grip that grabs onto nothing; the friction of his fists makes his bruised knuckles hurt, reminding him of the beating that he gave Denki Kaminari, and he can't help but feel responsible in some strange way of similar relation that his guilt makes him ease up on how tight he tenses his hands. Without his anger, all that remains is his sorrow. Izuku hangs his head, hiding those woes with a shadowed face like he still has some of that anger to hold onto.
There's yen left at the foot of the altar where the coffin & flowers reside. It's money offerings to serve as condolences for the Tokuda bloodline, presented alongside burning incense on either side. Izuku digs into his pants pockets to give what he can; it's not much, it pales in comparison to what others gave, but he wants to offer it anyway. The crumpled yen looks a lot like his wrinkled suit; his mom had offered to iron it for him, and even wanted to join the reception, but he preferred telling her that he'd like to have this time alone. When it comes to mourning and loss, he's so often used to going it alone, and he doesn't see why that should change now. The only difference, if any, is that he's on the ground and not perched atop a gargoyle somewhere that his tears can fall and blend with the rain. He really wishes it were raining and not so darn sunny right now.
They had found Taneo Tokuda that way, out in the open of broad daylight, not even hidden in a ditch. It was as though the body was left there to send a message. The message has been received loud and clear. Whoever looks into things most otherwise wouldn't, like a secret criminal plot or organization, can be considered an enemy on a hit list. Izuku would like to say that he's got the one behind this labeled as an enemy on his own hit list now anyways. But whereas Tokuda looked to bring things to light, he now hides in the shadows as Spider-Man. After what happened with Kaminari, he's not so sure that he's capable of being as bold as his enemies anymore. Because currently he feels his greatest enemy is himself.
As though to prove his point, the editorial staff who are also attending this reception have taken to talking about Spider-Man in a negative light. Izuku hears their murmured mutterings as they ask aloud questions like: Where was he? Why didn't Spider-Man save Taneo Tokuda? Shouldn't he have been there after all those stories published about him being more than just a vigilante? It's true that out of everyone, Taneo Tokuda was the single photojournalist to not stop supporting Spider-Man through the thick & thin of it all. Izuku wishes he had gotten the chance to repay his mentor & friend, he had so badly wanted to return the favor under either the guise of Spider-Man or as his civilian identity, and yet he missed the mark as he always does.
Maybe they are just looking for somebody to blame in their time of mourning. But even so, Izuku can't help but agree with them to some extent. He had shirked his responsibility to put stopping crime first so that he could play teacher – and he couldn't even do that right – and now someone has paid yet again because of his improper priorities. As Izuku Midoriya, he owed Taneo Tokuda his job. As Spider-Man, he owed Taneo Tokuda his reputation. To have both tarnished because of his failure only feels fitting. He just wishes Tokuda had called him before investigating something so dangerous alone. That's probably why Tokuda didn't call him. He put Izuku's safety and wellbeing first because he knew there may be no likelihood of coming out of it alive. But that only makes Izuku feel worse about it all. Because while Tokuda took time to care for his colleagues first & foremost, Izuku knows that he hadn't taken a moment to stop and consider doing the same.
A fuzzy hand finds its way onto Izuku's shoulder, shaking him out of his rumination. When the boy turns around, he sees that the hand belongs to one of the editors in chief who took to blaming Spider-Man for Tokuda's passing. The rest of the guy is just as fluffy, he's got some sort of koala hybrid quirk; the dark holes for eyes appear to be from more than just a natural patterning though, more than likely these are from a previous night of being restlessly sleepless. The editor in chief looks down at Izuku, opens his mouth to say something, and then repositions himself to kneel on one knee for a better means of being able to say what he has to say. From someone so large with a bear body, it's surprising how sweet & gentle he can be in this time of grief.
"Thank you for coming", the koala character starts slowly like he has to be carefully delicate about what he says to keep from crying. He swallows down a sob, proving this to be very much the case. "Someone your age shouldn't have to be here for this sort of thing…", the paw placed on Izuku's shoulder pats it twice, "This must be hard for you. I know you two were close."
Izuku is in a similar state, unable to respond without expressing his grief. So he just nods. For the time being, that's all that he can do. It's true that he and Tokuda were close. He realizes that now more than ever. There was always some possibility that Tokuda always knew about his secret identity, or so he sometimes felt, and even then Tokuda never pried or judged him on anything. Tokuda had lent him yen for dates and given dating advice like a father or an older brother figure. He'd been spurred on to pursue photography and encouraged on a great deal of many other things. Tokuda's absence is being felt as Izuku wonders what it will be like without that friendly mentorship.
"Tokuda– Taneo.. He always saw something in you", the editor in chief looks at Izuku as though he's trying to see that same thing that Tokuda saw and softly chuckles when thinking about what it is that he's looking for, "He always bragged to us about you and told us how you'd some day have his job or ours" Hearing all of this makes Izuku blink – more than once as he fights to blink back tears – he never knew Tokuda thought THAT highly of him. "I actually started to believe em cause of how passionate he always was when talking about you. I just… Never expected the time for that possibility to happen to come sooner rather than later..", the koala man has a sad smile when his hand slips from Izuku's shoulder.
A second later, that same hand is producing a business card so that he can give it to Izuku. When Izuku looks at the contact card, he's expecting it to belong to the man. But he's surprised to instead discover the calling card has HIS name on it. While he had heard what the editor in chief was saying, he hadn't truly listened to understand the meaning behind what was being said. Only now does he realize what it is that Tokuda had done for him at Juko News. Even when gone, the favors continue to pile up from the kind & considerate photojournalist. Izuku looks at his name on the business card until he can't read it anymore because of how tears start blurring his vision.
"Taneo Tokuda requested us to give you his position should anything happen to him, and so, we'd like to offer you a full time job and not just the general freelancer fee under the basis of his recommendation" The editor in chief isn't turning him away, but is instead actually giving Izuku a promotion. "Of course, you'll have different 'unique' contractual agreements with your mother's signature and permission due to your age but it's a supervised position that will otherwise become yours and be unsupervised after your graduation", the offered arrangement sounds too good to be true that Izuku can hardly believe it.
"I.. I don't know what to say..", Izuku is at a loss for words. He is also at a loss for thought when it comes to his answer. Obviously it's an opportunity unlike any other that he should jump at the chance of having. But when it comes to accepting these terms, he can't help but feel guilty for how he achieved those means. The sacrifice of his mentor in the photojournalism industry doesn't feel worth it.
"You're working through a lot right now so you don't have to say anything yet", fortunately the editor in chief is understanding of this being the case – to some extent, at least – and doesn't pressure the grieving child into making a decision. The koala man gets up from kneeling, dusts off his one knee, and offers a smile as best as he can manage. "Just keep it in mind", he says kindly.
It's absolutely something Izuku will keep in mind. He had been wondering what he would do for work once getting out of U.A. Especially now that his teaching position as Spider-Man is undoubtedly being brought into question, he needs a fallback plan. Job security is one thing, but there are also the benefits to how it can help he and his mother's financial situation too. It'd be selfish of him to turn down this opportunity because of his personal feelings without considering his mom's position in things. There's only the issue that this gig does kinda have a lot to do with his snapping pictures & story coverage of himself as Spider-Man. And recently, he's been doing a lot of thinking about how he'll go forward as Spider-Man … or not go forward at all as Spider-Man for that matter.
Whether it helps or doesn't help to complicate matters or make things easier, the editor in chief has something to tack on regarding Spider-Man's influence on the job opportunity. "You're the only one who has been able to get exclusives on that guy… This is your chance to expose how he misled and tricked Tokuda", this does dredge up a lot of that overthinking & guilt Izuku has going on within himself either way.
If he's going to make decisions on this, he needs to start somewhere that may provide the answers that he needs to find within himself. There are still matters to be dealt with and addressed. Izuku begins walking towards the exit since he has already paid his respects to Tokuda. He gets a few pitying glances on his way out. He pays them no mind. Tokuda is the one that deserves their condolences.
Even so, the editor in chief from earlier catches up with Izuku. The man that resembles a koala asks, "Where are you going?", out of some elder adult kind of concern.
Izuku doesn't stop or look back when he answers, "To visit another victim of Spider-Man's."
Recovery Girl did all that she could to repair the damages done to Kaminari's face. Until the surgery scars are healed enough and until he steadily wakes up from the anesthesia that he was put under, only time will tell what those repairs will look like. Had he been rushed to a hospital, she wonders if the results could have been different. But then again, Nezu assures her that it'd have been worse should the time needed for transportation be taken rather than the automatic service U.A has to offer; she knows that's merely an excuse to cover up the accident behind closed walls but Nezu does also have a way of making a point through the truthfulness of such things at the same time. The old nurse just wishes the only thing keeping the boy from being a tomb wrapped mummy was not just the lack of gauze bandages anywhere other than his face.
She leaves Kaminari with his few visitors, no longer needed to watch over him health wise. It's the girl with ear jacks who had visited the infirmary some time before for Spider-Man. And the problematic boy that she believes is safely assumable enough to be associated with her in some way (also Spider-Man, of course!). That tells of something interesting in of itself but there's times for thrill chasing and times for other things in terms of delicacy as a lady. She's lived long enough to tell the difference between the two and chooses the more respectable option no matter how her curiosity may try getting the better of her. Besides, it's not like word doesn't get around quickly here anyways…
Kyoka Jirou looks up to see Izuku Midoriya entering the room and raises an eyebrow. "What are you doing here?", she has to wonder why he'd be somebody interested in visiting Kaminari. It's not like he's in 1-A or any other Hero Course class. He hasn't really socialized with them at lunch since long ago when they had an otherwise awkward encounter. The only reason that she can come up with is Spider-Man told him what happened .. but she wants to hear it straight from his own mouth if that's the case.
"I.. I thought you could use the company", he's holding his backpack by a single strap and she can hear the material of it clenching tighter under his grip, "You know.. Maybe you need the support?"
It's hard to tell from that if Spider-Man sent him then or if he came out of his own accord. If she's being honest with herself, Jirou isn't sure which of the two she'd be more or less okay with. She sighs, at this point too frustrated to vent or complain. She lets him stay; she starts by gesturing to a spare seat so that he can sit down. "Tell me everything you know and then I'll fill you in on the rest", Jirou waits on him to set his bag down and then motions for him to talk.
"Yeah, so.. I know Spider-Man went too far.." He awkwardly looks around, looking anywhere but at her. That's certainly one way to put it so she can't blame him for feeling some way about it. "He's.. broken up badly about it.. He wanted to come here himself but doesn't feel like he deserves it", Midoriya huffs out a humorless short laugh, "Heck.. Who am I kidding? I didn't think I deserved coming here.."
She can hear his heartbeat and so she knows it's the truth. That's maybe to be expected. She herself felt partially wrong to be near Kaminari because of her own personal feelings towards Spider-Man. Even with those feelings now brought into question, she still holds onto those thoughts. Especially since… "I've never seen him like that before", Jirou knows Spider-Man isn't the type to lose control and beat on a person – much less a U.A student – she knows there must be more to it.
"Spider-Man? ..Or Kaminari?", Midoriya surprises her when he asks her for a distinction between the two on to whom she's referring. The girl looks up at him like he grew a second head. But then there's a moment of consideration and she can somewhat understand what he means. The way Kaminari was behaving was also rather heated & intense for a mere matchup between teacher and student.
Even so, "What do you mean by that?", she still needs to ask him for elaboration. The thing is, Midoriya wasn't there, and so he shouldn't have any opinion based on anything other than what he's been told by others. She stares at him with something shy of a sinking suspicion.
Midoriya backpedals, "Nevermind", he doesn't want to be insensitive about the situation regarding Kaminari and so he admits, "It was a stupid comment.."
"Yeah.. It was..", Jirou lets him off easy in that case. But she still can't shake the feeling she has about the rest of what he's been saying. So she asks, "What else did Spider-Man tell you about what happened?"
Midoriya falters. He's hesitant to answer, "Doesn't matter", his heartbeat betraying him about what he wills himself to say. But there's still truth in it, "There's no excuse for what happened", there's a deep remorseful tone laced in his voice when he looks at the bedridden U.A student, "Kaminari shouldn't be here like this.."
Jirou leans forward, trying to see what it is that she's hearing from the boy in front of her. She finds it strange that he's so caught up in all of this, regardless of a friendship or whatever relation he has to Spider-Man. "Please, Midoriya.." Jirou looks between him and the still sleeping injured but recovering Kaminari, feelings conflicted. Her voice cracks when she says, "I don't know what I'm supposed to be thinking right now.."
"Neither do I, Jirou…" Midoriya's response is a whisper but she still hears him. She hears him quite clearly. There's some connection between the two of them in that sense. They can understand one another in this current moment.
Jirou meets Midoriya's emerald eyes with her onyx gaze. It's like staring into a somber soul for the both of them. "Then just tell me what Spider-Man said and I'll tell you the rest", she doesn't know if she'll even have anything to tell him in return but it's a promise that she feels she should make in that same moment.
Midoriya can't hear Jirou's heartbeat to know if she's telling the truth but he believes her. "He.. It's no excuse but he lost it when he saw a stray bolt of Kaminari's hit you", Midoriya recalls when the mistake happened and how things turned out the way that they did. What led up to then and the accusational thoughts he had about Kaminari being Electro makes him additionally say, "He wasn't thinking it was an accident at the time."
Jirou blinks back her initial shock over hearing this. It's like being struck by electricity a second time. She shudders, feeling a spine tingling sensation course through her. "Kaminari wouldn't purposely hurt me..", she sounds unsure of herself since there's something about the seriousness of Midoriya' sincerity that makes her question Kaminari.
Seeing the girl struggle with such thoughts makes Midoriya backpedal, "I didn't say that – I mean – he didn't–" It's not like he can just outright accuse Kaminari of being Electro on baseless assumptions.
Jirou reverts to the original basis of what happened, "It was an accident then", coming to terms with the incident in her own way. It only makes sense that there was simply a misunderstanding given the context or lack thereof. She sadly whispers, "On both their parts", since the incident was still at an extreme level regardless of the reasoning behind it.
Midoriya's heart skips a beat when he skips saying what he could to clear things up. But given how things are, he figures it's for the best. At the very least, he does still have to say one thing that still bothers him. "He hurt you, Jirou.."
"Yes", Jirou forces a mirthless smile since there's no denying that. Her smile falls just as quick when she later after says, "They both did.." Midoriya looks away. She holds her gaze on him while asking, "But can't you see they're also hurting?"
Midoriya is unable to look back at her but does bring himself to look at Kaminari. "I see one of them is", he can't take his eyes off the bandages that are yet to be unraveled to reveal what he's permanently done as a consequence of his action.
Jirou sounds a little harsher than she might mean to when she next says, "Then maybe you need to go and see the other one" Midoriya looks back at her when hearing that. He knows that she's referring to Spider-Man. And so, because of that, he isn't quite sure of how to respond.
Between the two of them, Izuku Midoriya isn't quite sure of very much at all these days.
As he walks out of the school infirmary, Izuku Midoriya can't help but wonder why there are people who still see something good in his vigilante alter ego. To him, all Spider-Man has ever caused is pain and misery. A great renowned & revered hero like Hawks had a villainous downfall just because he couldn't mind his own business. Mashirao Ojiro had his future as a hero also stolen from him because of Spider-Man. Yet, Taneo Tokuda chose to put his faith in the webhead right up to the bitter end of his death. And even now with what happened to Kaminari being brought into question, Jirou hasn't completely given up on him either. Izuku wishes the transparency were simpler to figuring out who was right about his masked lifestyle.
Speaking of transparency… the transparent teen who is also a member of Class 1-A just so happens to be outside U.A's medical bay. Izuku sees the floating school uniform holding a cellphone, back turned to him until hearing his footsteps as he enters the hallway. She turns around and he sees her demeanor conveys more than a facial expression might should she have a poker face in a scenario should it not be invisible. From the looks of it, she's been crying.
"Oh.. You're Hagakure.. Right?", he pretends to not know her already fully since that'd be kinda suspicious under the pretenses of his unmasked identity. At the very least, feigning informational knowledge doesn't have to be played up too much considering where they're standing at the moment. "D- Did you come to see Kaminari?", he assumes that's why she's so upset and steps aside to make way for her should that be the case.
There's a moment where she doesn't respond. It takes him that same second to realize she had probably reflexively shaken her head before realizing he can't make out the motion. Then the invisible girl says, "I did at first but..", before trailing off. Izuku steps a little closer, curious now as to what's got her so worked up. He shows her to a nearby couch so that she can sit and tell him at a more comfortable pace what's wrong, "I've been trying to call the place that's been keeping Ojiro ever since the exams and they finally answered.."
Reminded of Ojiro's fate and how he feels responsible for that malformation much like Kaminari's, Izuku frowns. It could be argued that the villains who infiltrated U.A would have taken Ojiro anyways regardless of his existence as a vigilante, but even so, he has to wonder 'what if' otherwise. As for how things have transpired and reached this point now, hearing that Ojiro has been receiving the treatment he needs and has been getting support from Hagakure is a hopeful thought. So why Hagakure would be emotionally tortured to get the callback that she was waiting on since the exams confuses him. Until she explains…
"They say there was a break-in and Ojiro was taken", Hagakure can hardly get the explanation out before breaking down into tears. She falls against Izuku's chest, losing all ability to hold herself upright anymore as she breaks down. Close to his heart where he feels most responsible for how this is affecting the girl, Izuku hugs and holds her to give his comforting condolences. "He's missing! They took him and they have him again!", she wails with distress from within his arms.
Tears prickle around the hems of Izuku's own eyes. He forces them closed and bows his head to hide his shameful guilt. "I'm sorry, Hagakure, I'm so sorry…" All he can do is apologize to her for his part to play in what has happened. She doesn't know how much involvement he has and for her to trust him with this expression of emotion makes it so much harder that he doesn't tell her that he's the one to blame.
The poor girl sniffles as she dries her tears. She suddenly realizes how much she just trauma dumped on the nearest bystander and draws away from him. "No.. You don't have anything to apologize for", Izuku would beg to differ but she doesn't let him, "I'm the one who should be saying sorry for unloading all of this onto you.." From her perspective, she's the one that was selfish and unfair here.
Izuku is quick to tell her otherwise, "You're fine. I understand…" He gently pulls away so that he can look off to one side. He's unable to look at her anymore even if she is invisible. The culpability weighs way too heavily on his heart. Izuku sighs before next saying, "I'd rather it have been me you come and tell all of this to than somebody else. I needed to hear it.. I think."
Hagakure stares at the boy in confusion after hearing that. In doing so, she looks at him a little more closely. She starts to recognize him. "Hey.. Aren't you .. ?", she recalls their cafeteria encounter long ago and remembers what Jirou had said about him, "You're the guy that takes pictures of Spider-Man.. Right?"
Izuku purses his lips. It's not that he doesn't want to answer. It's just that he doesn't know how to. After awhile, "I did", he finds some way to respond that about sums it up, "Probably won't anymore."
Hagakure is only further confused by this. Unlike her, Izuku Midoriya's facial features are not hidden at all. He's clearly in an equally emotionally distraught state as she is. Treading carefully, she asks him, "Why not?"
Izuku gestures with both hands, seemingly vaguely around the area but also with purposeful intent. "Look what he's done", he could be directing that notion towards Kaminari in the infirmary or to Ojiro somewhere beyond but either way the meaning behind it gets his point across. "The only publicity Spider-Man deserves is bad publicity", Izuku looks down at his hands as he folds them into fists.
While Jirou could hear the hurt in that vengefulness, Hagakure's gift is being able to see those subtle signs in somebody's exterior. She can see the boy's inner turmoil bubbling to the surface where it's not so inner anymore. "..You really think that?", she already knows the answer to that question but maybe he needs to figure it out himself and so she asks it anyways.
Izuku looks at her, hesitating to respond. He gives in, "Maybe", but doesn't fully commit to giving a yes or no answer either.
Hagakure leans back on the couch, "I get that", allowing herself to sink into it. As she lays her head back to stare up at the ceiling, she says, "It's easy to blame somebody for when things go wrong" Izuku stares at her like he can see her clearly when she afterwards asks, "But if someone doesn't deserve that blame then is it really fair to blame them?"
Izuku thinks back to Tokuda's reception and how everyone over at Juko News blamed Spider-Man for what happened. It's a commonality in hero society to blame the heroes for when something goes wrong. Regardless of if they fail when they are present, it's also their fault for not being present whenever they're needed. It's easy to forget heroes are all still human. They aren't Gods. They can't be everywhere and they too make mistakes. Izuku saw that firsthand with his idols, All Might and Eraserhead. Even people like Hawks or Lady Nagant showed they have their faults buried deep within. Why he didn't think the same concept didn't apply to him makes him falter a little. He still needs somebody else's opinion before being able to trust his own though and so he asks Hagakure, "Are you saying Spider-Man doesn't deserve to be blamed?"
It's her turn to falter and fail in being able to give a solid answer. He imagines a pensive frown on her face. But she does eventually say something ever still, "I'm saying I don't know if he does", and maybe that's enough for the time being.
Izuku hums to himself as he dwells on those thoughts. Blame is a finicky and tricky thing. Who deserves and who doesn't deserve to take responsibility for something is getting harder to discern as of late. Maybe instead of shouldering it all himself, he should start sharing the blame. There are literal villains involved, afterall.
"If there is anybody to be blamed for Ojiro, at least, it's the villains that took him and turned him into what he is now" Hagakure seems to think the same. When it comes to that topic, at least. Izuku hadn't thought of the second part of what she has to say, "I just hope that wherever he is with them that they aren't plotting to do something like that again with somebody else", but now he does.
The thought that the villains are out there plotting their next move makes him truly dread what's to come, more than he did before, and he's still unsure about whether or not he'll be able to face it.
Himiko Toga's reflection rolls off of cylindrical glass tanks as she walks, a lime liquid stored inside each of the units glows to illuminate shaded silhouettes contained deep inside them, and she can somehow see herself as those monsters buried within. The blonde bunned villainous hops over a large cable cord that feeds into one of those various receptacles, doing a little skip to avoid tripping on it, and in doing so that helps her keep herself a pace ahead of the two guys that accompany her. One of which is an information broker, Giran, who wears a cute fluffy scarf and so she let him convince her into giving this whole 'league' recruitment thing a try. The other is a guy in a dark colored bodysuit.
When she decided to search for comrades, she had expected to find them in a bar or somewhere more sociable. What's clearly an old warehouse repurposed into some kinda makeshift laboratory – or perhaps a hidden underground bunker – is less than welcoming or homey. Steel beams support concrete structuring and cave walls are lined with a type of faraday cage; Himiko has a hard time trying to get a signal on her cellphone no matter how high she holds it up over her head. But then again, super dark scary & shady places such as this are exactly where the more villainous types of villains will work from, she would imagine. So she puts up with the less than tasteful decorating and lack of wifi for the sake of potentially gaining good allies.
Giran comes to a halt when they reach something other than Star Wars bacta tank replicas. It's like the jumbotron America has in New York also got a replica to be brought here. The oversized screen shows all sorts of science stuff. Some little old man in a lab coat looks at it while writing a matching equation out on a portable chalkboard before turning around to face them. He's got a bushy mustache that furrows when seeing Giran is smoking indoors. Giran must notice because, despite grinning to express amusement, he puts the cigarette out. Himiko looks between the two of them, noticing the slight tension, and can't help but also flash a pointy toothed grin.
"Garaki", Giran greets the old doctor before glancing about in an attempt to find somebody else, "Is Kurogiri around?" So, despite appearances, this scientist fellow named Garaki doesn't run the show here. From the sounds of it, 'Kurogiri' might, but Himiko knows better than to be so presumptuous. So long as the person in charge is cute and has a hate boner for Spider-Man, she'll be satisfied with forming an alliance.
"He's out running errands right now", Garaki waves off Giran like he's an annoying pest that brought more buzzing flies to be a bother. It's entertaining how the grouchy old man hobbles around while trying to ignore his visiting company. Though it is also kind of rude if they're supposed to be partners that work together. Himiko skewers her stare, studying the interaction a little more closely than she originally was.
Giran appears to be unbothered by Garaki's dismissive gesture. He simply shrugs it off while saying, "I did my part either way. Take these two off my hands and let Kurogiri know they're interested, yeah?" He produces a new cigarette to replace his old one so that he can smoke on the way out. Himiko is kinda surprised that he would just leave them like that but also understands now that he's something of an unofficial recruiter rather than an actual member to this organization then.
"Huh?!", Garaki whirls around so fast that the goggle-esk glasses he's got on fly off his face and his eyes bulging out becomes visible, "That's not MY job! You can't just leave these two here with me like that!" He tries and fails to call after Giran.
Giran continues striding back towards the way that he brought Himiko and the other villain recruit in. Without looking back, he waves a hand over his shoulder. "Just be glad that I'm not also asking you for the finder's fee!", it's a little verbal jab that looks like it actually lands a blow to Garaki's gut.
The old man sputters and gasps while trying to catch his breath in order to formulate words to respond with. Whichever he catches first, words or breath to use those words, he eventually recovers enough to clear his throat and address the two villains that Giran presented him with. "Very well then!", he replaces the goggles that fell off his face before adjusting them to get a look at the recruits like they are specimens, "Share with me what you are each capable of before I lose interest and turn you away."
It's been a while since Himiko has gotten the chance to tease anybody with her quirk, so she jumps at the opportunity to do so. "I can turn into anybody I want!", her 'elevator pitch' comes with the caveat of holding the person she's pitching to hostage with a knife, "All it takes is a teensy weensy drop of blood!" She knicks the skin under the old man's mustache like she missed shaving it.
Then, to demonstrate, she licks the droplet of blood clean from her knife to let her quirk take effect. She soon morphs into a spitting image of the elder scientist. Like a chameleon, the femme fatale blends into her environment as though she belongs there. "Ta-daaa~", the girl sing songs in the older man's voice.
"Fascinating", Garaki marvels at what he just witnessed. He has to admit that he is quite impressed by her skillset even if the methods in showing them were a little too close for comfort. The doctor dabs at the small scrape under his mustache with a handkerchief. "Thank you for demonstrating, young miss" He feels strange saying that to what looks like himself but relents, "You will make a fine addition to our team."
"Ooo! Ooo! My turn! My turn!", the man in the bodysuit suddenly interjects. He points to himself with a thumb thrust to his chest, "I'm Twice!", before splitting into a copy of that same stance, "On account of my ability to create copies of people!"
Garaki does a doubletake. "Did you just say that you can create clones of others?", he has to make sure that he saw and heard correctly.
Twice tilts his head to one side, "No? Yes? Did I?" The crazy character scratches the back of his head when turning it the other way, "I don't remember.."
Garaki brushes that off. He doesn't need Twice as a person. Just the quirk. Experience with experimenting on dozens of Nomu has proven as such. Already, he's concocting schemes and strategies of how he can utilize the power to craft clones of others. And what's perfect is that he has the perfect piece to that puzzle right here with Twice. He looks at Himiko Toga and then back at Twice.
"Welcome aboard", the old man waves for them to follow him deeper into the laboratory, "We have much to discuss and even more blood to collect for what I now have planned."
Hearing the mention of blood makes Himiko readily willing to participate. And Twice is just both crazy & stupid enough to go along no matter what. They follow behind the elder scientist until they make it to what looks like an office without the actual office space. There's stacks of papers on a desk with some guy hunched over at it.
"Shigaraki", Garaki alerts the man to their presence and Himiko offhandedly wonders if there's any relation between the two of them per their namesakes. When Shigaraki shifts to look back at their arrival, Garaki presents their guests. "Giran has brought us valuable new recruits!"
Shigaraki spares Himiko and Twice a single glance before returning to his work. "While that may work for you, Garaki, I've got my own methods" He sifts through the papers on his desk like they're organized and not haphazard heaps of litter. "Do with them as you please. I'm busy."
"Hey! Don't just ignore us!", Twice plants his hands on his hips to convey his annoyance. Himiko would do the same right about now if not for her patience running even thinner.
Tired of being blown off, she figures she has to prove herself like she did with Garaki. So, she brandishes her trusty blade and dashes at Shigaraki to show him he's worth her attention.
Before the huntress can reach her intended target, she becomes the hunted. A beast with a tail tip much pointier than her knife blocks her pathway. It seizes her just shy of reaching Shigaraki.
Himiko gasps at how disgustingly horrid the creature that has captured her is. Drool dribbles out of a pincer shaped mouth. It has a darkened shell for skin. "Wh- What the hell is this thing?", she can't fathom what it is that she's looking at.
Shigaraki's scarred mouth smirks. "That's my pet Scorpion", he says it matter of factly. Honestly, Himiko can kinda see it when he says it. She also sees on the desk a photo of some kid with indigo hair. Shigaraki catches her stare and smiles even wider.
The villain stands up, surprising her with how tall he is when he's not hunched over and sitting down. He snaps his fingers to call the creature off, letting Himiko be released.
"This is a bi-product of Doctor Garaki's work", he draws his gaze from dear Doctor Garaki to the Scorpion Nomu and so does Himiko with her own gaze, "A former student of U.A made for a fine addition to our team. I thought to myself recently.. Why not rehash what worked out so well the last time?" Their gazes then fall back on the photo that resides atop Shigaraki's desk.
"You want another Nomu?", Garaki chimes in when hearing mention of these ideas. But he does not see the same thing that Himiko does from where she stands to fully comprehend Shigaraki's intentions.
Shigaraki shakes his head while chuckling, "Don't be so shortsighted!" Himiko doesn't know whether or not to laugh at what may or not be a crack about the doctor's height. Twice chuckles regardless, probably just wanting to be included. Shigaraki ignores the background laughter and goes on to explain further, "We might not even need to rewire this one's brain."
A wave of his hand draws up a holographic screen. On the floating display, there is footage from U.A's recent Sports Festival. The kid with the indigo hair is extremely vocal about his disdain for Spider-Man while losing a match. The recording loops back every time that the clip ends.
Himiko's grin grows so large that her fangs are out on full display. She doesn't care about looking as beastial as the Scorpion monster beside her. She's too elated currently to care. It turns out going with Giran was the right choice for her. Himiko is happy to have found people that wish to attack Spider-Man exactly as how she wanted to.
"In our search for allies, I believe I've found someone who hates Spider-Man just as much as the rest of us…" Shigaraki's sinister stare holds on the playback of Hitoshi Shinso expressing hatred for the masked vigilante.
"I hate to tell you that I told you so .. but .. I told you so", Shinso smiles despite saying he doesn't find pleasure in getting to say that sentence. There is SOME satisfaction in it after all that Midoriya has put him through with Spider-Man being treated as his buddy instead.
Midoriya matches Shinso's smile, it's just more strained & forced. "Yeah.. I guess you did", he picks at the food on his plate with a pair of chopsticks before switching to using a fork to eat. After the conversation he had with Hagakure, he can compare this one as much more direct in terms of opinion on Spider-Man and it's kinda messing with his appetite.
Shinso sucks from a straw until his canned coffee runs empty. "Maybe now you'll listen to me more often on other things like showing up to school more", he also relishes in the fact that he can rub this in Midoriya's face on more than just the matter of Spider-Man.
"Hey, I showed up to lunch, didn't I?!" Midoriya tries playing off the verbal blows as a joke so that he can recover some semblance of a normal conversation. These kinds with Shinso are always so draining and exhausting otherwise.
But Shinso doesn't let up. He pulls the straw he's using free from its can and points it at Midoriya like it's an accusatory finger, "I meant show up to class for more than once in your life!" To be fair, testament being the eyebags and bedhead, Shinso appears about just as exhausted by these talks too.
Midoriya huffs out a laugh, his smile becoming a bit more genuine. It's nice to be reminded that he still has a friend who cares about his well-being. That it comes at the cost of belittling his Spider-Man lifestyle may be a benefit nowadays. "I'll give it a try..", Midoriya wholeheartedly means that too since he's still contemplating giving up the threads – both suit & webs – but he also means 'try' and not 'definitely' since there is still that age old contemplation to figure out.
"I'll take what I can get", Shinso puts the straw back in the empty can before grabbing both and standing up, "Which is another coffee. Want one?" Midoriya shakes his head and Shinso shrugs before tossing the trash out to replace it with a new beverage from the cafeteria vending machines. Midoriya stays at the table to shovel some food into his mouth.
As he waits on his friend, who he feels fortunate enough to still be able to call a friend, Midoriya thinks about what it is he had hoped to gain from this technical reunion. All these brief visits with people to get their thoughts on the Spider-Man drama has been pulling him in all sorts of directions. He's not sure which side that he's leaning more towards or which side it is that he hopes to wind up on.
When Shinso returns to the table, he's already cracking open his spare canned coffee like it's an alcoholic beverage and he's keeping a tab at some bar. "I never liked those stuck up Hero Course students but.. Spider-Man went way too far, man.." He sips from the drink and that pause gives Midoriya time to ponder those words. "You're lucky that nutcase never turned on YOU after all that time taking his pictures!"
Midoriya looks up in shock. While he knows he could theoretically never hurt himself – at least, not in that way – he hadn't thought of anybody else believing otherwise given what they know. "I doubt he would have..", Midoriya has a hard time making up any excuses though since there's no other reasonable basis that he can give besides, "It was an accident what he did to Kaminari anyway."
Shinso shakes his head and makes a face like the sip of coffee he took tasted bitter, "There you go defending the web creep again!" His hold on his beverage tightens, the can popping under the increase in pressure. "He did something unforgivable and you're gonna sit there and call it an accident?!"
Midoriya is taken aback by his friend's sudden spike of anger. Wanting to try and quell that ferocity, he tries to backpedal and explain himself, "I'm– I'm not saying he should be so easily forgiven but–"
"Then what are you trying to say?!", but it winds up backfiring as Shinso gets even more worked up, "I thought you would be more upset about this considering you're pals with all of them over in the Hero Course now!"
Midoriya is more confused by that comment than he is Shinso's flash of anger. He starts to ask, "Huh? What are you talking about– ?"
"Don't act oblivious", but Shinso doesn't even give him a chance. The irate indigo haired teen is on a roll with his ranting. "You blew me off to join their study group or whatever it was", Shinso sets his drink aside so that he can use his finger to point accusingly this time instead of a straw, "Just like every other time that you blew me off!"
It suddenly registers in Midoriya's mind why his friend would think this way. It's somewhat of a misunderstanding since his intentions were to solely court Jirou in that moment but he can see from his friend's perspective how that might have looked at the time. He pushes his food tray aside to lean forward and explain himself. "Shinso, I didn't blow you off–"
"You really wanna do this now? Right here?" But again, Shinso is unwilling to listen. "Fine!", he slams his hands down on the table and uses them to push himself up. Shinso stares down at Midoriya while letting out everything that he had bottled up inside, "The train! The pizza parlor! What about all those times that I covered for you in class? Or did you also forget about when you were a no show at the Sports Festival? You never wanna hang out and you always leave me hanging!"
All of those mentioned moments are on playback before Midoriya's very eyes. He has to blink to bring himself back to the current moment. The troubled teen swallows a lump that has formed in his throat before trying again to clear up what can hopefully be all chalked off as big misunderstandings, "I can explain those–"
"But you never do!", Shinso swings an arm out while he vents. That same arm comes back down so that his hand slams down on the table, "You never once did!"
After that … the whole cafeteria gets quiet.
Midoriya looks around them to see everybody has noticed their argument now. He nervously avoids making eye contact with them and instead bravely returns his gaze to Shinso. When he does, all he can bring himself to say is, "You're right.. And I'm sorry."
Shinso seems to notice the attention that he's drawn too and starts to simmer down. He takes his seat back while letting his anger begin to subside. "I never needed you to explain yourself to me, Midoriya, and I never needed you to say you're sorry for it all either.." Shinso now speaks somberly by contrast to his tantrum and that somehow sounds worse to hear for Midoriya. "Friends don't expect that from eachother", Shinso locks eyes with the boy across from him while making it a point to say, "But what I do expect from my friend is that you would show up for me at least ONE of those times."
Midoriya bows his head apologetically. It's true that Shinso let him off the hook on more occasions than countable on both hands. The times that Shinso covered for his secrets & lies without question and only a mild amount of apprehension have accrued to an insurmountable number. That none of those favors have been returned, reciprocated, or rewarded weighs on him heavily.
"I- I don't know what to say", Midoriya is at a loss for words when it comes to expressing his remorse for it all.
Shinso stares at what he had believed to be his friend, and not for the first time reconsiders if that was ever even the case at all. He scoffs and shakes his head, "Then go tell it to Spider-Man instead.." When Shinso stands, it's to leave the mess hall alone. "Maybe you two can forgive eachother so that I don't have to", Shinso walks out and lets Midoriya stay behind with nothing more to be said about it.
Left with only his thoughts, Midoriya keeps thinking about how many other people Spider-Man has pissed off like Shinso.
Boxed in with no sky to see, the hollow cube of concrete makes for a coffin with headroom more than anything else. Considering how buried deep below the ground this prison cell is, that may as well be exactly what the place is. It surely isn't some quaint little bird cage to be cooped up in. It's much worse than that. The only light to grace the inmate's bloodshot eyes comes from what creeps under the steel door that serves as a one way entry & exit. Sagging skin sinks around those same eyes that the red within them peers through the darkness. Just as red are his wings. He's been sharpening them ever since he's been locked away. All along the walls, tallied marks from where the bladed tips for feathers have carved grooves into the stone, the marks count the days that he's been waiting. How long he has been waiting has taken its toll on the rest of his appearance. He has aged more rapidly from the stress & strain of the wait. But even as he grows old, his wait for revenge never exhausts. He vows he will have his vengeance on Spider-Man, no matter how long he has to wait.
And just like him, basically a vulture that feeds on scraps, an equally feral being occupies a cell across from the other inmate. He hunts the mice and rats that scurry their way through the prison room. When he snatches them in a vice grip, he bites their heads clean off and squeezes until their innards pop out. This leaves the stone floor stained with blood of the vermin that crawls with him on the ground. Also crawling around there are the insects. Bugs of different species can be found all around him. But he shows no attention to the ants that carry off rat corpses or the centipedes that curl in corners. No, what he watches for are the arachnids. He scratches at the scraggly beard that has begun to grow around his face and tosses his unruly hair behind his head. A spider stops in front of him. It too is being hunted by the predator that resides within this cell. The spider is snatched, held between two pinched fingers, and then its innards too are squeezed until bursting into a mess of gore. He vows he will have his hunt and he will have his trophy when getting revenge on Spider-Man, no matter how long he must wait.
Old articles from when Spider-Man captured the likes of Vulture and Stain are thrown in with some of Tokuda's boxed belongings. They should be oddly fond memories to reminisce on but seeing those stories only haunt Izuku Midoriya with his past even more. He sets the packing container that he was given aside so that he can take a short break. Cleaning out his mentor's office so that he can take up residency in it is taking its toll on him as much as the rest of the day has been.
Izuku sighs as he sits down. After talking it over with his mom, it was a no brainer that he should take this job opportunity. He practically had no choice but to accept the offer to fill in for Taneo Tokuda. But even so, his moral dilemma wracks him with guilt. He can't help but feel he has stolen this position from a friend that he idolized somewhat. He feels that he doesn't deserve it. Izuku closes his eyes while leaning back in the chair that once belonged to Tokuda.
When he does, his feet slide out and kick something up under the office's desk. Izuku's eyes reopen so that he can look down to see what it is that he's bumped with his feet. It probably shouldn't be too much of a surprise that it's a box. But this one is much smaller than the rest and doesn't look like it belongs with the others. His curiosity getting the better of him, Izuku bends down to retrieve and pick it up.
Stuck atop the lid of the container is a sticky note with Tokuda's handwriting. To Midoriya, the note and the box's contents seem to be addressed to him. He must admit to being puzzled by how this is the case. But then again, Tokuda's final wishes to serve as a will & testament included him being given this position for the betterment of his career so it isn't THAT far fetched either.
When Izuku removes the lid from the box, what he finds inside are the retrieved and repaired eyeglasses that Tokuda would always wear. He picks them up to have and to hold. Underneath the spectacles is a second note. This letter is addressed to him too.
Dear Izuku Midoriya,
Here's your reminder to always be looking at things from a different perspective than everybody else.
It's a good thing that he didn't put the glasses on straight away, because they would have gotten all fogged up already. As he sheds tears, the droplets pelt the paper that shares his mentor's final words to him.
After drying his eyes with the sleeve of shirt, he puts the bifocals on. Just as they had been the first time he wore them, the frames are a perfect fit for his face. It's probably not a bad look for him. His dad used to wear reading glasses. Maybe this can be like that.
And better yet, like the glasses give him a better sense of sight, he's able to see things a bit more clearly. He sees clearly now that maybe Spider-Man is needed more than he is wanted. Taneo Tokuda believed that and so Izuku feels he should respectfully view things from that perspective too so long as he's got these glasses on.
There's something else that Izuku sees that he didn't notice without the glasses on before. He peers closely upwards instead of down and spots a set of draw strings dangling from two walls. When Izuku investigates them, he certainly isn't expecting to uncover an investigative conspiracy plot to uncover crime all over Japan.
Denki Kaminari comes into consciousness quickly. It's exactly as if he were brought back to his awareness of things via an electric shock. The jumpstart to his system makes him sit up straight. His chest heaves as he breathes heavily. It's hard to breathe. It's hard to breathe because of the bandages around his nose and mouth. Kaminari claws at the gauze to remove it. He rips at the cloth and tears it away until his skin is able to breathe and so is he.
Kaminari inhales the air, sucking it into his lungs until feeling content with the amount that he's able to swallow. Once getting that sense of relief, he starts to realize where it is that he's at. And he's no longer relieved. He remembers. He remembers everything that happened. His hands fly up to his face to feel flesh & skin but it's bumpy and rough instead of a smooth surface. Kaminari begins breathing heavily again. He throws the sheets that are covering him off of his body and climbs off the cot that he's on.
Once on his feet, he stumbles a bit while regaining his ability to walk, but manages to catch himself. He pulls himself over to the nearest reflective surface, which so happens to be a reflective light square. It's a lamp that illuminates what has happened to him. Scar tissue encompasses most of his face in the shape of a sparkling star, the marred marking resembling his villain mask when being Electro.
The light inside the lamp flickers as he places his hands against the reflective square. It pulsates like his chest continues to heave. Kaminari lets out a loud shout of anguish and anger while releasing those furious feelings with his quirk. The lamp bursts as it breaks. So do the other lights within the infirmary. Everything in the room goes dark as electricity crackles in glowing yellow streaking arcs around Kaminari.
Electro vows then and there that he will have his vengeance on Spider-Man. If it's the last thing he ever does, he swears that he will leave his mark.
Right outside Tsukauchi Naomasa's office, a colleague's voice carries in. The supportive officer says, "If you keep up what you've been doing then you're bound for a promotion!" It's a voice that trails and fades as it passes by.
The voice that follows and instead flows completely into the office belongs to Tsukauchi Naomasa himself. He pushes open the door to his work space while glancing back over his shoulder to respond, "I'm not chasing a promotion any time soon. Thanks for the vote of confidence anyways, Tamakawa!" He laughs off his co-worker's suggestion before fully stepping away.
As he does so, he fully faces forwards. The laughter leaves his mouth immediately when it hangs open. The reason why is due to what he sees sitting on the ledge of his window sill – or, rather, WHO he sees perched there – Spider-Man waves as though it's a casual courtesy to just stop by whenever he wants. Naomasa looks back over his shoulder to make sure Tamakawa or nobody else is seeing this and then closes the door to make absolutely certain of the fortunately that they don't.
The detective runs a hand over the top of his head, fingers coursing through his hair before they find the temple of his forehead, his hand comes down where he can begin massaging out what's bound to be another migraine. Naomasa crosses his office while addressing the cause of that incoming headache. "You really shouldn't be here, kid.."
The normally large expressive eyes on Spider-Man's mask narrow into thinner lenses as he winces. "You heard about the U.A thing too?", he truly sounds like the kid that he is when inquiring about what he already knows has gotten him into a load of trouble.
Naomasa fixes the kid with a stare, "Everyone's heard about it" But a strained sigh and a shake of his head later leads to the detective asking for more details, "What the hell happened?", he knows better by now than to automatically assume it's the kid's fault. A thought crosses his mind to ask, "Did Nezu do something to frame you– ?"
"I wish it were that", but Spider-Man holds up a hand to halt any sort of guesses in that regard. He hangs his head, looking guilty. It's because he is that he sounds as such too, "Nah.. I screwed up.. Big time.."
Naomasa's rectangular shaped eyes expand when he hears Spider-Man accepting responsibility for the incident with Denki Kaminari. The law enforcer had been holding out hope that what he heard was just a huge misunderstanding but the confirmation of what transpired being legitimate only complicates things. "Damned right you did", he holds his forehead since he was right about that migraine, "Nezu has ammunition on you now and we still have nothing to go by to use in retaliation."
"I know, I know.." Spider-Man holds up both hands, trying to placate things with a calming gesture. "But I wouldn't be here if I were completely empty handed."
Those same hands then gesture over to a corner of Naomasa's office. Naomasa hadn't fully been paying attention to his surroundings to have noticed sooner but the corner that Spider-Man waves to houses a bunch of stacked boxes. It's quite a high pile, one that nearly reaches the ceiling.
Naomasa gawks at the mess that's been placed in his work space, "What is all of this?!"
Spider-Man climbs down from his perched position on the window sill to now fully enter the detective's office. Once inside, he stands up to place his hands on his hips as though he's surveying some sort of handiwork instead of a literal stack of boxes to sort through. "Let's just say I had a friend who worked in the news industry and leave it at that", there's a bittersweet tang of pride in his voice as he gazes at the pile alongside Naomasa.
Naomasa looks back at the door that leads in and out of his office. He has to ask, "How the hell did you even manage to get it all in here?!"
Spider-Man thrusts a thumb over his shoulder to point back towards the only other point of entry or exit, "I carried it in one by one through the window – unimportant – come on, man, get with the program!"
Naomasa steps towards the stack of boxes, basically accepting the fact that this is happening right now and resigning to it being the case. "Christ, kid, as if I didn't have enough paperwork to sort through as it is.." He's even more appalled when removing a lid from one of the various containers to find documents stored inside.
"There's not much sorting required on these ones", Spider-Man assures Naomasa that it's organized by pointing out the labeling and filing on them all, "Consider it a gift from someone who was much better at this sorta thing than either of us are."
Naomasa's eyebrows raise up with the hairs on his arms & neck when he reads what these files are documenting, "The Big Man of crime?" He spins around to face Spider-Man, his shock apparent and shivers being sent down his spine. Naomasa asks, "This has to do with Crimemaster.. ?"
Spider-Man produces a king of hearts card that's been singularly selected and excluded from a playing deck of other cards. He holds it up to the light that's pouring in through the office's still open window, "We can have the Kingpin pinned with this."
Naomasa takes the card to hold in his own hand. It feels heavier than it should and so he sits down. After what he dealt with very recently in regards to the master planner of criminal operations in Japan, this is a huge development. "Okay..", he breathes out and starts to suggest what he believes is the best course of action currently, "We should call Nezu and share this to get you back in good graces with–"
"Are you kidding me right now?!", Spider-Man obviously objects to the idea.
Naomasa stands up out of his seat to shout back, "Are YOU kidding ME?!" He stomps around his desk to make it clear that they are limited on options, "If you're looking to go back to being a full fledged vigilante – an OUTLAW – then I'll save us both the time and trouble and I'll arrest you right now!"
Spider-Man crosses his arms over his chest and stands his ground. "Nah, you won't."
Naomasa brandishes a pair of handcuffs, "I wouldn't?", and threatens the vigilante by presenting them as a warning.
"No", the eyes on Spider-Man's mask squint and become a skewered stare, "You wouldn't."
Naomasa holds in a breath. As does Spider-Man. But Naomasa is the first to exhale and release that held in air. "Damn it..", he sighs in surrender while tossing the handcuffs aside so that they land on his desk, "You're right.." The detective dreads it all and whirls to direct a finger back in the vigilante's direction, "But that doesn't mean that I'm wrong about this either."
Spider-Man lets his arms fall from their folded form. He knows full well now more than he did before that Naomasa's hands are tied on what can and can't be helped. When it comes to quirk law and the law in general, a detective can't be coercing with a vigilante. That being said… "From what I heard earlier, you didn't need to chat with Nezu to get things done around here the other day."
Naomasa looks away, avoiding catching Spider-Man's gaze. He whispers, "That was different", but Spider-Man still hears him.
"Was it?", Spider-Man turns away too and figures that about settles things that he should go now. But before he goes, as he's placing a foot up onto the window sill to exit, he pauses and looks back. "Come on, you're a detective, and you don't find it the least bit odd that Nezu was nowhere to be found during a huge crime spree?"
Naomasa turns around slowly as he takes a moment to consider that point. Realizing that Spider-Man must have already reviewed the materials that were brought here to get it all packaged up and transported, he starts to wonder even more now what it is that these findings present. The detective asks, "What are you implying?"
To which Spider-Man replies, "It's not what I'M implying–" The vigilante gestures with a gloved hand towards the boxes that he brought over, "-It's what the evidence is going to imply."
Naomasa gives the stack of boxes another look, "Are you saying that these… ?"
"I'm saying we can bring down Nezu and the Kingpin in one fell swoop", Spider-Man sets the new standard for their alliance before diving out the window and leaving Naomasa to sit with that.
AUTHOR NOTES
Either I really upset you all with the last chapter so that you collectively decided to give me the silent treatment or fanfiction is glitched and not showing me any reviews. Either way, I'm hoping this chapter handles the damage control a little bit with the fallout & aftermath of Tokuda's dying/passing and Kaminari's scarring. There's a lot of forces and factors at play currently but we're nearing some really good intense stuff, I promise!
~Courtesy of your friendly neighborhood author!