Chapter 49: Midoriya Izuku XLIV

A/N: Well, it's late again. Still pretty good though if I'm to be honest, considering my two really late shifts and my acquisition of a new computer. And… Hey. This chapter is a little over 5,000 words as an apology. So… yay?

"Here we are," Mustard announces as he steps onto the building's ledge. He takes a moment to look out over the cityscape, eyes wandering across the desolate rooftops and ever-present glow of the bustling nightlife. "So, how are we going about this?" he asks aloud. "An ambush? Or maybe something traditional, like interrupting them in the middle of their meeting?"

"Why don't we just stab 'em?"

Mustard grimaces, stepping off from the ledge. He turns around to look at the origin of the suggestion. "Toga," he says. "While it may be effective for you, stabbing people with sharp objects isn't quite my specialty. Now," he reaches into his coat, pulling out his revolver, "if we're talking about marksmanship, that's something I can do."

Toga harrumphs. "Guns are way too noisy and are completely impersonal! You have to get close so that when you kill them you can feel the blood splashing onto your skin! The tingling that comes after is just too good to pass up!"

"That's the problem for me," Mustard says, placing his gun back into his coat. "All that blood? Way too messy for me."

Toga lets out a giggle. "You just don't understand what it's like!" With a manic glee in her eyes she lifts her knife up to her face, her moonlit reflection shining off the blade. "You know… I could show you, if you'd like."

Mustard scoffs. "For the last time, witch, I don't wish to involve myself in your depraved desires."

"But you will! Whispy does! And since you like Whispy so much it makes sense that you will too!"

"Oh please. What do you know about Whisper? I've been around longer than you!" He shakes his head. "And stop calling him that! It's demeaning! It ruins his image!"

"But Whispy doesn't mind!" she cheers, bobbing her head. "Right, Whispy?"

From his position on the rooftop across from the squabbling pair, Izuku lets out a growl. "I think. That the two of you. Should. Shut up," he grinds out between his teeth. "I am trying to listen in on a conversation right now."

"What's stopping you from using your quirk?" Toga asks. "I'm sure that you could just shut us out if you really wanted!"

"And leave you two to bicker amongst yourselves without me to mediate or step in?" Izuku lets out a scoff. "I think not."

Izuku turns away, only for a few seconds pass on before Toga and Mustard continue on like before, albeit at a much more tolerable level of volume. Satisfied with the (likely) tentative silence, Izuku crouches down and continues with his observation.

He reaches out with his quirk, finding again the trio guarding the doors to a warehouse that no doubt will serve as the night's meeting point, and picks off from where he left off.

–Don't you feel the same, Hojo?– says the slouching man that Izuku has discovered to be named Setsuno. In his hands is a katana — the only one present, in fact — which he lazily rests over his shoulder, so even without the use of his quirk Izuku can easily recognize the man.

–It just makes me a bit… Ya know– Setsuno continues with a shrug. –Don't lie to me, now. Whenever he calls us to that lab of his for whatever reason, well, you can't just ignore those so-called 'experiments' and 'tests.' Nevermind that look in his eyes, like he's some kid in a candy store! I just…–

–Are you questioning Overhaul's methods, Setsuno?– interrupts the previously mentioned Hojo. He's a broad shouldered and (if the lack of air pushing through anything on the man's head is indicative of anything) balding man.

–Are you really doubting the man that gave you a purpose?– utters Hojo. –The man who gave you a home? Who gave you a reason to go on?–

Setsuno scoffs. –That's not it, Hojo, and you know it– He shakes his head. –It's just, I just… All those people… Especially that girl–

–Oi!– interrupts Hojo. –You shouldn't even know so much. His business is his, not ours–

–Ah– Setsuno lifts his katana off his shoulder, poking Hojo in his side with its hilt. –You do know what I'm talking about though. You didn't even bat an eye at what I said! You know, just like I do; ain't that a bit hypocritical of you?–

Hojo crosses his arms. –It's not quite something that you can ignore–

–Then surely you–

–Setsuno–

–Just listen for once– Setsuno says as he slumps up against the wall of the building. –I mean… Just think about it. Are we any different at this point? To those people, I mean–

–'Those people?– Hojo questions.

–The ones who led us here in the first place– Setsuno answers. –That asshole jeweler who used you for your crystals and discarded you the moment he realized their worthlessness in the market. Those fuckers that toyed with Tabe every waking moment of his life before he, well. Or my old gang who took advantage of me and fucking ditched me the when it was convenient. Those people, Hojo–

–Are you seriously comparing the three of us to our tormentors? To those atrocious monsters that broke us down and led us to here? We are now usurpers; we are better than them, we have risen from strife and–

–Cut it with the 'holier than thou' attitude for once and think for yourself!–

Hojo frowns, turning his head towards his friend. –Do I have to be worried about you, Setsuno?–

–I… No. No, of course not. I'm with Overhaul to the end. You know that–

–Good– Hojo nods. –It'd be a shame to have to turn on somebody I genuinely see as a friend. And I'm sure Tabe here would be mad as hell at me for killing you–

–Rrah!– exclaims the third individual of the group, who had until now been silent. From what Izuku can tell, unlike the others he doesn't have a full gas mask; rather, something akin to if not a burlap sack.

Easy target for Mustard's gas, Izuku thinks to himself.

–Don't worry my friend– says Setsuno. –I'm not leaving you anytime soon–

–Rrah rah!–

–Good– says Hojo. –Now that that's settled, all that's left is waiting for those tiger peons to get here. What time was it that Nemoto said they were to be here?–

Setsuno scratches under his chin. –When was it again? I think he said something about ele–

"And I already told you that it's gross!"

"You should just try some! Here! I have some of Whispy's blood that I got from when he and I were sparring and—"

Mustard nearly falls over. "You have what?"

Izuku lets out a groan.

"It wasn't all too hard to get if that's what you're thinking," explains Toga. "You see—"

"Will you two get your shit together?" Izuku yells out to the duo. The two instantly snap into silence, turning towards their leader. Izuku allows for a few moments of silence to stand, a decision which gives him the sight of the two maintaining the effort to occasionally glare at one another.

Izuku's eye twitches. "Look." He presses the bridge of his nose before he continues. "You two are part of a team now, whether you like it or not. And yes, I understand that there are some differences between you two — it was inevitable, really — but now isn't the time nor the place to trudge through them. That's what the bar is for; bug Kurogiri with this. But right now? We're on a mission, and that means I expect you to act professional. Or next time I won't be bringing either of you. Capiche?"

Mustard stands ramrod straight, giving off a salute and a curt nod. Conversely, Toga gives Izuku a rather quick nod, a toothy grin in place and a mischievous look in her eyes. At the very least, however, she looks ready to keep quiet for the moment.

"So what are we up against, boss?" Mustard asks, stepping forward (though not without giving Toga one last sideways glance).

"Yeah Whispy!" Toga cheers. "What do your super ears hear?"

"A few hundred meters northeast," Izuku says, staring off into the distance. "They're holding the meeting in a warehouse."

"Numbers?" Mustard asks. "Quirks? Anything unusual or important that we should expect or need to know?"

"There are seventeen people present as of the moment," Izuku says. "Three outside, and fourteen inside — one of which is Nemoto, if his bird-like gas mask and the gun on his hip are any indication. Unfortunately, there's another inside with a mask that I don't recognize; could be a problem. Nevermind the fact that the number will increase by an unknown amount, however, once their buyers come on by."

"Quirks are the harder part," Izuku continues. "After all, it's not like all these yakuza are going to be using their quirks for no reason while they're lounging around in wait for a drug deal to go down."

Mustard narrows his eyes. "You mean you haven't actually done research? … Like usual? We're going in blind?"

"I'll have you know that I wasn't graced with the pleasure of suitable warning time that would have allowed me to conduct my research," Izuku counters rather tersely. "And besides. We aren't going in entirely blind. The three aforementioned guards are people I'm familiar with, if only because the trio tends to forgo covertness whenever their deals go wrong. Them I have research on. And I do know that they're not mere nobodies either, since they also have masks."

Izuku clears his throat. "Setsuno Toya — Quirk: Larceny. Allows him to swipe equipment from their owners and manifest them into his own hands. That means things like your gun, Mustard. Or your knife, Toga." He gives a look to both of them. "Basically, keep anything you don't want stolen out of his line of sight; he can't steal it if he can't see it. He's identifiable by that katana he always carries around."

"Hojo Yu," Izuku continues, "will be the enormous bald man. His quirk, Crystallize, is close range, allowing him to grow crystals on his body. Armor, makeshift weaponry, things like that. Durable for normies like us, but people with strength quirks can break through. Try not to focus on him, unless you can get to him before he crystallizes, Mustard."

"Of course," Mustard dutifully says.

"As for the last," Izuku says, "there's Soramitsu Tabe. Essentially, his quirk Food turns his mouth into a destructive force capable of biting through anything. And I mean anything. He can digest whatever enters his mouth as well."

"So basically don't get bit," Mustard surmises.

"Ooh ooh!" Toga jumps. "Is this Soramitsu guy's quirk a mutant type? Can you tell me about it since you probably know it front to back? 'Cause sometimes if they're simple enough I can use mutant quirks, you know?"

And as if that doesn't raise a whole set of implications, Izuku thinks to himself. I mean, if she can copy a mutant quirk — and based off of her wording — as long as she has sufficient knowledge about how it works, then what stops her from emitters and transformation types?

Izuku decides to ignore Toga for the moment. He doesn't want to make the scary-as-is girl anymore scarier than she already is.

"As for the low level grunts?" Izuku asks aloud. "Well, they're just that. Expendable. To the organization they don't have what it takes to rise in the ranks; that's how it works in our society, after all. So we don't have to worry about them. Meaning, the only one we need to be wary of is Nemoto himself and the other masked one inside."

"Those are the only ones we lack in intel then?" Mustard nods. "Doesn't sound too bad then. We can just do what we usually do and gas the place before anyone comes to notice."

"But that's boring!" Toga exclaims.

Again, Izuku ignores the girl in favor of Mustard. "A solid idea," Izuku says, "except for a little snag. Most of those that will be present will be affected by your gas. But a select few — namely Nemoto, Setsuno, and Hojo, and the other unnamed man with robes — are adorned with gas masks."

"And how do we know that their masks aren't just aesthetic?"

Izuku snorts. "You don't equip your lieutenants with masks that don't actually do their intended purpose. Unless your stupid. And unless I've grossly overestimated them, I doubt that the leader of the Shie Hassaikai is as such.

"Hmph. Fine." Mustard rubs his chin. "So…"

"Oh!" Toga shoots up. "That just means that we're leveling the playing field, right Whispy?"

Izuku nods. "Exactly. In fact, if things go well we should essentially outpower them too." Izuku looks to his sort-of-maybe protege. "Any idea how, Mustard?"

Mustard blinks. "Er. Hmm…" He takes a few moments. "Let's see… Nemoto? Of the other robed dude? Since we don't know their quirks? We could get lucky… but unlikely. Hojo you said earlier we'd be useless against… So that leaves Setsuno." Mustard tilts his head to the side, a few moments passing by before he speaks. "My gas might affect his vision so he won't be able to use his quirk properly?"

Izuku nods. "Precisely. Good on you for figuring it out."

Mustard faces reddens. "Well I, er, you see—"

"When are we heading out?" Toga asks. "I'm already getting jumpy!"

Izuku holds back his urge to facepalm. "When the deal actually starts, Toga. No sooner than that. We need the element of surprise; it's just the three of us, after all."

"But why is that anyways?" The girl questions. "I mean, what about Kurogiri? Or big sis Mags? Or even Handsy? Why can't they help?"

"Because these types of matters don't interest them," Izuku readily replies. "Mustard here does. And Stain's too busy hunting down his 'elite prey.' You? You're just here because you want to hang around me."

Toga lets out a giggle at that, not even trying to hide the truth.

Izuku shakes his head, turning around to look back over the city. "Whether you like it or not Toga, operations such as these require just as much a gentle touch as they do destructive ones. And so, at least for now, we shall wait. Time will tell if you'll be able to go all out tonight."

And let's hope that it doesn't have to come to that.

In the end, it took another hour and a half until Izuku noticed a sudden uptick in activity within the warehouse. An approaching conoy of three trucks approaching from the north — a total of thirty-two within — signaled that the nearing drug deal was within sight.

When Izuku relayed this information to his partners in crime, respectively Toga let out a squeal in excitement while Mustard simply smiled, moving to place his own gas mask over his face.

The trio then began to travel towards their destination, hopping from rooftop to rooftop under the cover of the night. By the time they had arrived at their destination, just a few roofs sparse of the actual event, the meeting was already in its beginnings. And so the through went low, only their heads peeking over the ledge of the roof they currently are on.

Outside the warehouse each organization had left their own respective personnel to be out on guard — five a piece from both sides. Luckily, the aforementioned Shie Hassaikai trio ended up departing to the inside of the warehouse, no doubt due to their superior abilities. It makes more sense to have them present during the actual dealing, both to provide intimidation and to be around in case things didn't end amicably, after all.

As for the ten left outside, they weren't exactly in positions to be taken out by Mustard. Even with the repurposed gas grenades he'd received from the Doctor (he had three on him), there was too great a risk of them letting out a warning before they were to fall unconscious.

And seeing as Mustard wasn't exactly a master of stealth, and that Izuku himself didn't think he was fast enough (even if he were to sprint from target to target while masking his footsteps) to take out the guards, that only left one option.

Well, I have wanted to see her in action. What better moment than the present? And besides… she won't mess up. Not when my view of her would be threatened to be tainted if she were to. First impressions and first missions, after all…

"Toga."

The girl in question perks up at the mention of her name. "Yes?"

"Tell me. How many individuals do you see down there?"

Toga blinks, then sets her eyes down below, gaze scanning the landscape. "Hrm. Ten?"

Izuku nods. "Hmph. Good. You think that you could take all of them out without giving them a chance to raise an alarm?"

Toga's face blossoms as Izuku finishes his sentence. "Are you— Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

"You're the best, Whispy! I'll be right back! Give me two minutes!"

Toga moves, very nearly jumping off the roof to the ground below — that is, until Izuku grabs into her coat and pulls back, causing the girl to fall onto her behind.

"Ow!" Toga yells, and it's only through Izuku's quick intervention that her voice remains unnoticed by the guards below. "What was that for?"

Izuku merely stares at her, and utters a single word. "Nonlethal."

"What!" Toga pouts. "But—

"Nonlethal," Izuku interrupts, "doesn't mean that you can't cut them up and get their blood."

"Yes!" Toga cheers. "Okay bye!" And then she jumps off.

After a brief moment of silence, Mustard slowly turns his head towards Izuku. "Are you… really condoning that?"

Izuku shrugs. "We have to if we want her to play ball. Sometimes, you just need to learn to work with what you have. Even if you'd rather not."

With silent acceptance, Mustard looks back to the scene below. Both he and Izuku watch Toga's shadowed form approach the ten criminals down below.

It's not long before she reaches the first, an individual isolated from the others and leaning against a van. A flurry of slashes and a bump to the head later results in one down.

Next is a pair, only a few meters away conversing about their mornings. Toga breathes, disappears, and reappears, just behind the two. Both are knocked out instantly. Of course, Toga takes a moment to liberate some blood from both.

It continues like this, Toga taking down the yakuza and criminals with ruthless efficiency. And it ends up taking only a minute and forty-two seconds.

Once all is done, a blood-covered and smiling Toga turns towards their position on the roof, jumping up and down and waving at them with glee.

"Huh," Mustard breathes. "I… huh."

"Expected as much," Izuku mutters. "Come on, let's go. The warehouse is one of those with a skylight. We can watch them through there."

Izuku relays the same to Toga, who nods and begins her climb up the building's side.

"Right," Mustard mutters, taking a deep breath. "Right. Alright. Let's go."

–have five crates here. You say that isn't nearly enough with the money you've brought. Are you actually standing before me, thinking you can get away with swindling me?–

The man Nemoto is talking to gives off a cocky grin. He laughs, and then opens his mouth to speak. –Yes! After all, you yakuza fellows are a dying breed!–

The man's mouth snaps shut, he blinks, eyes widening in surprise. He opens his mouth to speak once more, only to be met with a bullet straight through his skull.

–Anybody else?– Nemoto asks, smoking gun within his hand. –No? Well, I suggest his second to restart negotiations. Unless you wish to miss out on your precious Trigger?–

Up over the clandestine meeting, crouching atop the rooftop of the warehouse, Izuku, Mustard, and Toga watch the scene below them in interest.

"Well," Mustard whispers, "there's that. We going to interrupt anytime soon, or…?"

"I'd really like that," Toga whispers, her cheer never leaving her voice.

"Hmm," Izuku hums as his eyes peer down below, his current voice that of a mature woman. "Based on that, I think that we can safely assume that Nemoto can force people to speak the truth. A much tamer quirk than I suspected."

"What's with the voice?" Toga asks. "Not that I mind, of course. I think it's rather… mmhm."

"Whisper likes to use different voices from mission to mission," Mustard replies, shaking his head. "Keeps everyone on their toes and makes it harder for people to find out who he is."

"Nevermind that. Focus on the mission," Izuku interrupts. "Nemoto is a non-threat, minus his gun. So that just leaves Hojo and… Tengai, I think his name is. The blonde one in the robes."

"So one unknown and somebody who hard counters us? That's all we have to worry about."

"Not precisely," says Izuku. "I have an idea. One that would leave one of them vulnerable to your gas."

"What is it?"

"It's rather simple really. It's just a matter of picking which… Mustard."

"Yes?"

"You pick."

"W–what! Why me?"

"Think of it as a training exercise. Right now, I see either option as viable. So I'm delegating the choice to you. Regardless, we'll face the consequences of your decision."

"That's unfair," Mustard mutters. He looks back down below, eyes darting between the known threat of Hojo and the unknown worry of Tengai.

"Hojo," he eventually says.

"Down the brute goes, then. Get ready, you two. Once he rips his mask off, we start."

"Rips his mask off?" Toga asks. "Why would he do that?"

"As I said, it's pretty simple."

Down below, Hojo narrows his eyes, ears straining at the minute sound invading his ears.

"I use my quirk to simulate a noise — the sound of a bug, to be precise — within his mask."

Hojo swivels his head to the right, and then to the left. Eventually his head stops altogether, eyes instead moving to look right before him.

"I can't control bugs, so of course there won't actually be a bug in his mask. But there doesn't need to be."

Hojo's face twitches, fingers at his side clenching open and close.

"The illusion of a bug residing in his mask will grow. His brain will fill in the rest. And before long, he'll feel it crawling on his skin. On his mouth, up his nose…"

–Fuck!– Hojo rips his mask off, throwing it to the ground.

Nearly everyone turns at the sound. –What–

"Now."

Gas begins to trickle off from Mustard and into the room below. Izuku throws two of his own grenades, making sure one lands directly onto Hojo.

Toga puts on her own gas mask — Izuku and Mustard having no need to due to the integrated capabilities of their masks — and jumps down into the fray below. (Much to Izuku's displeasure).

"That wasn't part of the plan, right?" Mustard calls out.

"Nope. Have to roll with it; hope she doesn't get herself killed." Izuku takes a moment to look down below.

"Especially with what I'm seeing." He tsks. "Damn."

Mustard himself looks down below, letting out his own string of curses upon what he sees.

Tabe and Hojo and both down, and so are the members of the visiting gang. Nemoto and Setsuno are up as expected, but so are Tengai and ten grunts of the Shie Hassaikai.

As it turns out, Tengai's quirk allows him to erect a forcefield — and by the looks of things — a nonpermeable one as well.

"I'm sorry Whisper," Mustard says. "I messed up, didn't I? I—"

"You didn't. In fact… this is preferable to Hojo, I think."

"It is?"

"This way we're dealing with grunts, somebody who doesn't seem to have any combat potential, and two individuals with handguns."

"Er… When you put it that way—"

"Good job, Mustard."

"Oh! But I, er—"

"Whisper!" Nemoto yells from down below. "What a pleasure this is, being visited by Honshu's very own freshly minted bogeyman!"

Nemoto holds his gun out, scanning the landscape and aiming where his eyes see. "Unfortunately for you, we've been expecting you for quite some time now. Hence, Tengai here provides us cover."

"Though, I must say that I didn't paint you as a coward. Why don't you come on down here and meet us, face to face?" Nemoto asks.

"I'd rather not, Nemoto," Izuku's altered voice echoes throughout the walls of the building. "I'm quite comfortable up here on the roof, thank you very much."

A pause. "Though, if you don't mind me saying, I do applaud your efforts in enacting a countermeasure for me. Took someone long enough to find and set up something sufficient."

After Izuku's mocking reveal, an entire slew of hushed whispers begin to erupt amongst the mass of Shie Hassaikai grunts.

And what Izuku hears interests him greatly.

–No way, is it really them?–

–Whisper? Maybe this is our chance–

–Insubordination? But I can't… But then again…–

–I can't believe it! It's Whisper!–

A gunshot booms into the air, a bullet penetrating the ceiling and interrupting the excitement.

"QUIET!" Nemoto lashes out to the crowd, lowering down his hand, and in return the freshly shot gun in his grip. "Another word out of any of you and I'm telling Overhaul, you hear?"

The crowd falls silent.

Nemoto clears his throat. "Now that that's over. Whisper: as you can see, we've fallen into a stalemate. You and your gas-making friend usually by this time stand victorious, enemies on the ground unconscious. But such a scene is not now. So how about we instead come to a compromise? You allow myself and my subordinates to leave, while I leave you these no-good low-level scum for you to call the cops on. Sounds amicable to you?"

"Hmm… You do speak a somewhat valid truth," Izuku hears himself answering truthfully without any sense of agency, thus confirming his earlier theory. "Though not entirely true. A stalemate you see, though that can change with a simple flick of a wrist."

Nemoto scoffs. "You're bluffing."

"Perhaps… But is that a risk that you are willing to take, given the precarious position you find yourself in?"

"What do you want then?"

"I'm not somebody who's entirely irrational. So… Your previous proposition, but with a single amendment."

"That being?"

"You leave us with a single crate of your inventory. That is all I ask for. I'm letting you take the money, after all. Surely that will cover it?"

"Tell me, Whisper. Will you honor your word and actually let us go free? You won't follow us?"

Izuku feels the familiar feeling of Nemoto's quirk bubbling right under his skin. Good; I know what it feels like now. So next time…"

"On my honor, I tell the truth."

"Fine then," Nemoto grumbles. "Pack it up everyone, we're leaving! Setsuno, grab Tabe and Hojo and bring them to the truck. Leave the guards that are outside, however. Since they quite obviously failed in their job they'll be facing some prison time as punishment. The rest of you, pick up the goods, but leave one box as Whisper asked! And don't be stupid; stay inside Tengai's bubble! He'll escort you around."

With that Nemoto lets out a sigh, and faces back to the broken skylight up above. "A pleasure doing business with you, Whisper."

"And the same to you, Nemoto."

The man in question bows. "I'll be taking my leave then. But before I go, I ask of you a favor. Keep an open mind about us; if what has gone down tonight is any indication, I wouldn't mind working with an individual such as yourself in the future."

Back up atop the roof, Mustard is flailing around like crazy. "Whisper! What the heck? You're just going to let them go? And you're getting drugs out of it too?"

"Relax Mustard," Izuku says, restraining his voice only to Mustard's ears. "I'll explain when they leave. Hold off until then, yeah?"

Mustard crosses his arms together, begrudgingly accepting the dismissal. However, he does still have a single question still plaguing his mind. "Where's Toga?"

"Down below hiding atop some shelving. She's a bit mad, I can tell, considering she heard that whole conversation. Probably wanted more blood or something. Not my problem."

"Not your problem." Mustard huffs. "Right."

Once the Shie Hassaikai are gone, Izuku calls for Kurogiri's services to abscond the liberated crate of Trigger to the Doctor's lab. Afterwards Izuku, Toga, and Mustard vacate the immediate area, leaving for a rooftop a few kilometers away.

"What was that Whispy?" Toga whines as she throws a knife in Izuku's direction. "That wasn't the plan! I was supposed to have more blood!"

Izuku effortlessly sidesteps the thrown knife. "And the plan also didn't account for someone capable of creating a forcefield that nullifies Mustard's gas either. So I went with what I saw as feasible at the time."

"By giving in to their demands?" Mustard asks.

Izuku shakes his head. "No. By giving them a false sense of achievement. They think that they escaped this encounter with me unfazed. However, that is far from the truth."

"But they came out of it with the money they came for while retaining most of their stock!" Mustard exclaims.

"And they left with more warm bodies than they should've!" adds Toga.

"Things for immediate present," Izuku counters. "Come on, Mustard. I know that you couldn't hear them, but at the very least didn't you see them? The faces of those grunts cowering inside Tengai's field?"

Mustard blinks. "No…?"

"Much to learn." Izuku shakes his head. "Point is, while they may have escaped this time, they nevertheless unknowingly left me with valuable information that will greatly hinder them in the long run. If you had gone ahead and paid attention," Izuku sends a look towards Mustard, "you would have seen the looks on the faces of Nemoto's underlings. There were the usual few who held the usual scorn and hatred, of course. A third of the crowd, in fact. But the other two-thirds? Faces of hope, excitement. All because I had interrupted one of their deals."

Mustard tilts his head to the side. "But… why?"

"It has to do with what I had heard Setsuno talking of earlier, actually," Izuku mentions. "Turns out… It seems that trouble and internal strife is brewing within the Shie Hassaikai. And as you know, discourse in the ranks is never good for organizations such as these. Nemoto seemed too uncaring and focused on me to even think about using quirk on his men. And I saw their eyes - a good portion didn't want to be there. They were jaded, disillusioned. Whatever this leader of theirs is doing, this… Overhaul. It's bad enough to scare off his people. And that can't bode well for anyone."

Izuku smirks. "All things considered, we can use these recent revelations to our advantage."

Part of Izuku wanted to point out his hypocrisy. After all, the doctor himself condones human experimentation too.

But… this is different. Garaki works on corpses or people that are scum. These yakuza… the Shie Hassaikai… they're responsible for a whole list of the people that have gone missing — children and mothers and fathers. Innocents, nevermind the slew of quirkless the public doesn't care enough about to mention nor even consider in their evaluation of statistics.

The Shie Hassaikai don't have the same reservations or restraint. The Doctor uses the corpses of the dead to make inhuman monsters. And this… Overhaul tortures little girls. And for what? A drug empire? They're in the wrong. I'm not.

Is that a question?

Not now, Ibara! … Dang. I thought I was over this.

"Are you… suggesting what I think you're suggesting?" questions Mustard, breaking Izuku out from his thoughts.

Izuku nods. "They're going to be a problem — we can't let them continue on."

"So… we're bringing down a clan of the yakuza."

"We're doing exactly that."

"…Cool."

"Oh! Oh! I want to help!" Toga cheers. "I get to help take down more people if I do, right?"

Izuku thinks for a moment before responding. "...Maybe."

"Yay!"

"But that's for later," Izuku interrupts. "We have other things to worry about for now."

"That upcoming operation?" Mustard says.

Izuku nods. "Exactly that."

A/N: And that's that. Hopefully the brief action here helped sate you action lovers for just a bit more. Not much longer to wait for more, considering what's next. Stay tuned for that…