Surprise, I did mention that with my new jobs things would be a little different.
Going forward, I will be uploading Fafnir Chapters during the weekends instead of Mondays. That being said other projects in the Untold Universe will be uploaded when needed and will not follow a set schedule. With that, expect the next set of uploads to occur in this order.
Shields
The Lost Hero
Fafnir
Black Dragon Knights will have another upload after a few more chapters of Fafnir.
This chapter has an interesting history when it comes to all of the versions of the story that came before it, but go into further discussion in the Commentary isn't a long chapter, but it is critical for a number of things that will soon be coming down the pipeline.
My Hero Academia Untold: The Knights of Fafnir
Saga I: Origins
Arc II: The Incident
Chapter XXII: Foresight and Hindsight
"The premonition of death may for many be a stimulus to novelty of experience: the imminence of death serves to sweep away the inessential preoccupations for those who do not flee from the thought of death into triviality."
–David Riesman
A bright white light shined above the battlegrounds, where blood and water flowed equally. The clashing and twanging of steel continued to pierce through the air, with two massive shadows circling at its epicenter. Large blasts of cannons fired, and the roars of a blazing inferno were laced with screams that echoed from every direction with no apparent source.
Streams of salt water ran, some from fear, others from grief.
Lighting thundered and crashed onto the battlegrounds, ripping the earth and causing a great fissure to form before releasing a great demon reaching for the white light. And from the heavens above came an emerald dragon with bright golden eyes that glowed with righteous fury.
The bright white light was suddenly spirited away by dark clouds as the clash of these two fantastic beasts began. An emerald dragon with a blurred rainbow of light trailing behind him slashed with his blade-like claws. A black demon responded with a stab from a cruel beak and long, rake-like claws that seemingly destroyed all it touched,
With every clash, the ground would quake; with every slash, the wind would rush; with every roar, blood would spill. The battle was short, though it felt like an eternity. The demon fell when a black blade charged with lightning struck it down; the dragon roared in rage, cheated by his hollow victory. The rainbow of light that surrounded the emerald dragon began to fade. He was replaced by a long black shadow that engulfed him, turning those golden dragon eyes into those of a ruby-eyed devil.
A vicious roar, a blood-curling roar, echoed out as it now parted the dark clouds, revealing the white light reaching for it. A piercing scream ripped out as his claws grew closer to the white light.
Sir Nighteye woke up from his nightmarish nap with a yell, his eyes snapping wide open as he tried to gain control of his breathing. The door to his office burst open; Kaoruko Awata, formerly known as the Pro-Hero Bubble Girl and now his personal secretary, had rushed inside with a worried look etched on her blue face.
"Are you okay, sir?!" Kaoruko asked, concerned, as she stood in front of him, shaken by his scream. Her boss was never one to show a display of fear like that.
Nighteye blinked a few times as his nerves began to steady themselves, his hands slowly running over his face before reaching his eyes. He removed his glasses and placed them on the desk in one fluid motion. As he rubbed the grime from his eyes, he thought about what he had just seen.
'It's been a long time since that's happened to me...'
A moment or two later, he replaced his glasses and finally spoke—although his voice was still a little shaky.
"I'm fine... it's just a dream...just a dream..."
Kaoruko frowned, unconvinced by his words.
"Your Quirk, sir?" She asked with an educated guess.
Nighteye leaned back in the chair; his brow furrowed, and his eyes narrowed to recall the more vivid details of his dream.
"I am not sure... but if it was my Quirk... then this would be the first time it has done something like this in years."
Typically, his Quirk Foresight needed specific conditions to work on an individual. However, he knew that under certain conditions, his Quirk would occasionally show him the hidden future of an individual that would affect his own future. The last time this happened was shortly after All Might's clash with All For One when he learned that he would need to become a politician. Yet, what made this case so different was that his Quirk never acted so...symbolic, a fact that was now annoying him to no end. This was a possibility of a dark future that could affect everything.
The man sighed as his nerves finally returned and slowly relaxed his body into his seat.
"I'm sorry for worrying you, Awata," Nighteye answered quietly but firmly. "It was…nothing."
Kaoruko laughed with a small, uneasy smile, knowing he was still acting strange.
"Now I know that something is wrong."
Nighteye could not help but allow a slight grin to form on his narrow face. He sat up straight while taking out a notepad and pen from his desk, jotting down notes to try and remember all the essential details he could remember from the dream. Kaoruko found the activity strange, but this was relativity tame for Sir Nighteye. Still, she had a job to do and began to speak.
"Sir, before... whatever this happened, I have a few updates for you."
"Proceed," the man responded flatly, not looking at her, his attention fixed entirely on the notepad.
"First: The Speaker of the House has announced the next full session of the Diet."
"When?"
"Tomorrow."
"I see...good. Given my failure to stop Kimura's idiotic bill from passing, I can take my chance to propose my own bill in the next session." There was a brief pause in his jots. "I may not be able to save active foreign Pro-Heroes with this bill, but I hope to shield the students who would be affected at least. What else?"
"I also got a call from...a Chief Kiriyūin?"
Nighteye stopped writing and looked at Kaoruko, eyes laser-focused on her.
"What did he say?"
"An Internal Affairs investigation has been opened up in the Kantō Regional Police Department."
'That's Doumeki's department!' Nighteye's eyes widened. "I haven't called to vote on that yet...Did Kiriyūin mention who opened the investigation?"
"It was the Chief Superintendent himself, Kai Doumeki," the young woman answered, slightly confused about why this was important and unaware of her boss's investigation. Nighteye sat there stunned as his thoughts began to run at a mile a minute.
'Kai Doumeki opened himself up to an investigation? Is this a trick? Is he so confident that he decided to spring open a trap? Have we been compromised?' Nighteye rose up from his seat; he needed answers, and he needed them now.
"Sir?" Kaoruko called out nervously, seeing the face the man was now sporting.
"I am going to step out for a while. I need to make some urgent calls and speak with a friend personally. Take any calls, note them, and file them accordingly; I will return as soon as I can." He answered as he grabbed his coat, pulled out his phone, and exited the office.
The man needed to make two calls and one in-person visit before the day was done. The first was to Chief Kiriyūin, hoping to get the man ready to hopefully head the investigation. The second was to Principal Nezu, who, as their chief coordinator, needed to update everyone else about this stunning development and get a status report regarding the recent security breach. Finally, he had to visit Tensei Iida to verify this investigation via his contact in Kai Doumeki's inner circle to see what was happening inside.
There was no time to lose.
In the public eye, Enji Todoroki, better known as the Flame Hero: Endeavor, ranked second on the current Japanese Pro-Hero charts. A position he had worked for years to achieve. Pouring countless hours into patrols and cases, creating a new legacy of generational heroes to cover his family's original shame. Today, this titan, whom many in the media dubbed as stiff or overbearing, was spending a rare day off with his family.
After delaying the celebration due to their workload, today would be the day the two united families could finally celebrate the acceptance of their two heroic heirs into the prestigious UA High School. For Enji, it meant a rare moment of being able to put his guard down. He shared none of the worries of being a Pro-Hero or the stress of hosting today's party as he sat at the end of the table, directly across from where his son-in-law would sit at the head of the table.
It was fair, considering they were guests gathering at the Iida family compound.
To his right was his wife Rei, chatting the day away with Natsuo, his second eldest son, who was visiting home from college. Meanwhile, Tensei and Fuyumi were busy in the kitchen finishing today's dinner. At the same time, Enji couldn't see them, but his well-trained ears could hear many playful giggles coming from the kitchen. Meanwhile, outside, just at the right edge of his peripheral vision, he saw that Shouto and Tenya were currently busy with Hikari and Mei Hatsume.
Depending on who you asked, the latter had stopped by to visit –or invaded.
"Oh, lord!" Natsuo suddenly burst into laughter as he held up his mother's phone in his father's direction, tears rolling down his face. "Dad, is this for real?"
Enji groaned and crossed his arms as he saw that Rei had shown him the infamous "smile" collection.
"It is," the man said flatly with some mild embarrassment.
"I'm sorry, dear!" Rei laughed as she continued to watch Natsuo flip through more photos of his father 'smiling.'"But I had to show him here! At least be relieved that they aren't going anywhere on social media."
It was a cute habit she picked up after the couple started marriage counseling together a few years back. Enji rarely smiled, and whenever he did, it was only for brief snap-shot moments. So Rei would try to get her husband to practice smiling, reasoning that aside from positively helping their marriage, it could also serve as a way to boost his image as an approachable Pro-Hero.
Thus making him more appealing and approachable to the general public.
Unfortunately, most of Enji's attempts at smiling often resulted in looking like awkward teeth-baring rather than genuine. Which, while amusing for Rei, was discouraging for Enji. Who had been doing his very best to be photogenic. Yet, it proved difficult for the veteran Pro to loosen up and remove the wards that guarded his heart.
As he had been trained to do for many years. By the father who beat him, the man who worked him to the bone, the one who ultimately arranged his marriage to the icy beauty next to him. The trauma of his past remained in the form of scars, both visible and invisible.
"I'm dying!" Natsuo proclaimed with dramatic flailing as he continued to laugh. However, his demeanor instantly changed when he found one particular picture. It was another photo among his father's smile collection. However, unlike all of the previous awkward teeth-baring smiles, this one featured a rare, warm, genuine smile.
Natsuo studied the photo carefully.
Only to vividly remember the day that photo was taken, as it was the last day before Tensei and Fuyumi's wedding…her last day as a Todoroki. It was a family portrait of the Todoroki clan in traditional Japanese garb. His father, mother, his eldest brother Touya, himself, and Shouto. And finally, Fuyumi was seated in the middle, between their parents.
Natsuo sighed, filled with bittersweet nostalgia at the sight of his oldest brother in the photo.
The young man hesitantly looked up to his father and was about to ask if he had heard any details about Touya's whereabouts. At least, that was until he saw the look on his father's face. There it was; the same rare yet warm smile was on full display. But unlike the picture on the phone, it wasn't aimed toward him.
Natsuo followed his father's eyes, and it suddenly clicked upon seeing what he was looking at.
To the older members of the family, the future came to view in the yard just a small distance ahead. There, he could see the three teens and the young grandchild peacefully enjoying their time together without a care in the world. The future of the two united families' heroic legacy rested on their shoulders, even if the youngest didn't even know it yet.
The young man knew the pressure to follow in his father's footsteps just as Touya had done. Yet, while his father never forced him, he knew the man had been disappointed when he decided to follow in Fuyumi's footsteps and went down his own path. With Touya's disappearance, the mantle of Endeavor's heroic legacy had been passed to Shouto, just as the Ingenium mantle had been handed to Tensei and Tenya.
Yet, Shouto and Tenya were still young and in their first year of school. Even with the shake-up with that false alarm earlier this week at UA, Natsuo and the rest of the families hoped and prayed that the two would remain safe and that their studies would go unmolested. To keep their innocence and maintain the peace that All Might and Endeavor fought to preserve every day.
Natsuo sighed without a moment's hesitation. He started the camera app on his mother's phone. With a silent snap, a new photo was taken.
Another rare smile indeed.
"Come on, I know I saw it around here somewhere!" Ochako groaned as she clicked away online, going over the old forums of an independent Draco Knight fan club still active today. She remembered the forum's activity during its height. Often featuring pictures of merchandise, and the contests they held were terrific.
After all, it was how she ended up with her Knight's Commander Medal, which now proudly hangs on her wall.
Even now, she could see older pictures of members with sighed autographs and photographs with the Pro himself that used to drive Ochako mad with envy. Yet, right now, Ochako was determined to find a photo she had seen before, one of the few of Draco Knight without his helmet. Ochako knew she had seen it once or twice on this website but couldn't remember which post and sub-forum it was in. She realized earlier that she may have jumped the gun, assuming that Izuku was Draco Knight's son. After all, it could just be a complete coincidence that Izuku and Draco Knight had similar quirks. Still, if Izuku were Draco Knight's son, they would share some other features.
Right?
Ochako couldn't even be sure that Draco Knight had a family. The man had always avoided talking about his private life and preferred to talk about his work. Yet that also didn't mean that he couldn't have had a family, given what happened. Draco Knight's desire for privacy seemed to have served him well. As such, Ochako wanted to be careful about approaching the subject with the Midoriya family; especially if her suspicions were accurate, she continued clicking over different posts, memes, and discussions.
"Draco Knight's innocence! How The truth is being hidden!"
One forum headline said as she continued her search. She had been down that rabbit hole before; some claimed to be Pro-heroes in the night in question. Others said they had relatives who claimed to have treated All Might that night. But Ochako had checked the facts; all of the public records showed that All Might had been touring in the US during the incident six years ago.
"Is this it?" Ochako asked herself as she finally spotted the picture she was looking for before clicking on it to expand it. Her eyes widened as she saw the picture.
Drake's Den staffing. From left to right featured.
Draco Knight - Pro-hero.
Tall with wild black hair and bright golden eyes. The Pro was wearing one of his signature "Armor" costumes that looked like classical steel plate armor but was, in fact, made from a lightweight hardened carbon alloy, and while it was battle-ready, Draco Knight had preferred using it for ceremonial occasions. By his side, tucked into his arm, was his signature helm, the Dragon's Mask, a classical knight's helm in the shape of a dragon's head with fake feathers that decorated the top and sides.
Centered on the breastplate was his personal emblem.
However, Ochako focused her attention on his face and found that they didn't match up with Izuku's all too well. Save for the wild hair, freckles, and maybe that warm smile. Draco Knight actually looked more like her other classmate Ryu. Only Ryu didn't have freckles and had differently shaped eyes that reminded her of Katsuki's.
Ryūkyū - Lead Sidekick (*1).
She wore a similar costume to her modern-day outfit, the dark Qipao. This one had a pattern of flying dragons and had Draco Knight's Emblem embroidered above her left breast.
Tankman - First Kick (*1).
An enormous tan man with a wild red beard and a costume with an evident military influence due to its camo pattern and what appeared to be a Tank cannon mounted on his left arm. The Draco Knight Emblem was proudly tattooed on his left arm.
Daigo Urashima - Lead Support Technician.
A tall, slender man with thick coke bottle glasses and a receding blue hairline, he was wearing a smart-cut brown suit. Attached to his jacket was a pin version of Draco Knight's Emblem. However, the last person caught Ochako's attention, as this person almost cemented her theory instantly.
Inko Midoriya - Lead Administrator.
She hadn't aged much at all, save a few stress lines and wrinkles. This was the woman who had always been so kind to her. That was Izuku's mother, no doubt about it.
Ochako was convinced now. Izuku was Draco Knight's son; there was just no way it could have been a complete coincidence, but now she had to ask herself, how could she bring this up? Maybe casually invite Izuku over and leave some extra merchandise out and about? It was a lot to think about, not to mention they were still going to be busy for the next week and so with Eri. Ochako looked at the picture again before pulling up a picture of the three of them on her phone.
"After the evaluation, once things have calmed down. That's when I'll try to bring it up."
The next day...
"The votes are in, and the result is a landslide in favor. The "Companion Heroes" bill will become law effective the first of next month." The Speaker of the House called out, banging the gravel. "That concludes today's session. We will reconvene again at the next scheduled date. Thank you, everyone."
Sir Nighteye sighed as he sat, looking very pleased with the current result.
A small victory that was supplemented by Tensei's update on the investigation. Now, while Kai may have instigated it. It would be their man, Chief Kiriyūin, who would be handling the Internal Affairs investigation. Having their ally on the job may have brought a sigh of relief to everyone on the investigation. However, Nighteye still had his doubts; it would be too easy for Kai to slip up now since the investigation was technically happening on his terms.
But even with this in mind, they had all agreed to continue as usual, just in case.
"Representative Sasaki, I'd like to speak with you...if you can spare a moment?" He heard the voice of an older gentleman speaking. Nighteye turned to the voice and was surprised to see the man who had been holding sway in the Diet for the last seven years; the head of the Neocons himself, and Kai Doumeki's political patron.
"Representative Anno..." Nighteye said softly to keep an air of civility. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"
Hideyoshi Anno had been a lifelong politician since his earliest days out of college. Though his face was now wrinkled and worn, and he had only wisps of white hair on his head, he still held a sharp and clever mind. Despite his aged and tired appearance, his dark brown eyes still had vigor behind them, almost like a certain number one hero.
"I was wondering if you would join me for lunch? I believe there is much we can discuss before the next session begins. After all, we all work in service to Japan. I believe we can still compromise on some additions towards another bill I am planning to propose soon."
Nighteye's expression didn't change, but his mind was racing with questions.
It was an odd move to show one's hand like that, especially to one of your greatest political opponents. What this a trick or something else? With the Internal Affairs investigation starting up, there was no doubt this man was trying to learn something. Nighteye was even tempted to use his Quirk to see Hideyoshi's future but knew that wouldn't be a good idea. Seeing the future in such a narrow scope can be a funny thing; doing so could make one blind to what could just be the final result.
"I'm afraid I must decline today, sir. I have a few urgent meetings and a few personal matters that need my attention," Nighteye said as he stood up before stiffly bowing to the older gentleman.
"Ah, of course!" Hideyoshi laughed as though he had only just realized his mistake. "Forgive me, Sasaki; I should have checked over your schedule before asking. How rude of me, indeed."
Nighteye retained his demeanor, not showing any sign of his troubled thoughts.
"It is no trouble at all, sir. Perhaps next time, I can make sure to make time in my schedule open for you."
"Yes, yes, I certainly hope you can find some time soon. Well then, I should leave you be, Sasaki. Have a pleasant day." Hideyoshi finished lightly before turning around and walking away with his cane, making obnoxious claps with every step. Sir Nighteye wasn't one for complete formalities, but Hideyoshi made a small mistake just now. He never returned the bow Nighteye had given, letting him have a clear understanding of how Hideyoshi viewed him.
"So uncivilized," Nighteye said to himself before pulling out his phone and walking down the halls of the Lower House of Representatives. As he did, however, Nighteye could feel something was wrong and didn't even need to turn around to know that he was being followed. Nor how several pros who had been part of the investigation were followed and watched. If the investigation really was getting close, then this would mean that the net was closing in on both groups.
Now, it was simply a race to see who would trap who first.
However, Nighteye also knew they wouldn't dare try anything extreme now, not with the shaky ground. If political assassinations started now, it would be just like Gran Torino said in their meeting at UA just after the last rounds of elections.
About how history could once again repeat itself...
Author's Commentary
(*1) Sidekick Hierarchy: I personally believe that even though the primary Pro-Hero is, without question, the leader of their team (The Heads of agencies like Endeavor and Ingenium), I'm also sure there is usually an internal hierarchy among the rest of the sidekicks that vary from agency to agency.
For the purposes of this AU. This is a basic rank structure for Hisashi's agency (This may come up again in future chapters when I start writing Pro-Heroes with large agencies.)
The Lead or Leading Sidekick is basically the Agency's Second-in-Command.
The First Kick is more akin to a military First Sergeant.
A veteran with many years of experience who can advise much younger leadership. For this character, Tankman. I'll reveal this: he had been a pro-hero much longer than Hisashi, but he always preferred being a sidekick rather than a mainline pro-hero. Hisashi basically hired Tankman to supplement his leadership, training, and discipline with newer hires until he grew more comfortable as a leader in his own right.
To show a little more respect for the position. I updated the title and removed the "Side" portion of the original title. This position was inspired by the US military position/rank of First Sergeant, who might also be unofficially referred to as a "Top," "Top Sergeant," "Top Kick," or "First Shirt."
Senior Sidekick: Not a newbie, and trusted by the boss to have some extra responsibilities.
Sidekick: No longer green but still junior to the top brass. The best Work Studies students start here if hired directly.
Junior Sidekick: Fully licensed and out of school, may or may not be a direct hire from a work-study.
Work-Study Student: Still in school with only a provisional license; may have seniority over more junior work studies students, but not by much.
Intern student: Still in school, No license, dead last in the pecking order.
Dabi, being Touya Todoroki, was like the most apparent open secret in forever. I knew this before the actual reveal and that I still needed the character. I had to create the right circumstances for Touya to still become Dabi for this story. It proved easier to write than I had expected during early planning. Thanks to other factors that I had correctly guessed were proven true in canon. Thanks to some solid foreshadowing by Horikoshi, I could still have Touya be Dabi, but with my own branded twist.
This chapter is more detailed, but the most significant change is when it takes place. The original was part of Arc I and attached to Chapter XI.
Yet, placing here makes more sense to foreshadow events and hardships that this united family will face together in the coming future.
I really wanted to add a scene featuring Class 1-B's bomb trial, but it really killed the pacing of this chapter and also hurt one of my plans by playing a card a little too early. So, I ultimately decided to drop it, but in exchange, I added more Class 1-B in a later chapter that is coming very soon.
This chapter has elements that came from various places.
The first scene was once part of the Bomb trial chapters, but was removed for pacing issues. The Second Scene was a once a stand-alone mini-chapter. (Back when I did Mini-chapters for important things that I thought I couldn't fit in the regular chapters.) The Third Scene was originally in the previous chapter and the fourth and final scene was adjusted from a future chapter. I was more or less able to stitch these scenes together into some coherent that is mostly more world-building and foreshadowing.
The next chapter is the start of something all of you have all been waiting for, new version of the USJ event and while somethings have changed others have stayed the same. But ultimately I think have the best version of the events I have even written.
The next chapter
The Nightmare Begins will be uploaded not too long from now.
But until next time!
-ZX
