=VI=

[Office of the Prime Minister, Tokyo, April 13th, 2243]

Naomasa was trying very hard not to yawn. He'd been dragged into this meeting, a meeting that by all accounts, he should not be in. Why? Because Kujou fucking Kamaji decided that Naomasa needed to be there as one of his quote-unquote "best field investigators".

For all intents and purposes, Naomasa was some random detective that nobody in the room knew, sitting amongst some of the most powerful politicians in the country.
"Now, onto the next item on the agenda." Prime Minister Mifune turned to the next page in his binder. "Mr. Yamamoto?" He gestured to the Minister of Finance.

Yamamoto Tetsuya – Minister of Finance
"Ah, yes." Yamamoto, a tall balding man, licked his thumb and turned pulled out a stack of papers, flicking through them before clearing his throat. "There have been rising concerns about some of the potential future effects of integrating the otherworlder group known as the Corpus into our society, specifically the economic and technological impacts." He wiped a bead of sweat from his brow.
"What specifically are your concerns?" Kamisato Kayo, a middle-aged woman in bright blue hair asked.
Eto and Kamaji elected to stay silent unless called upon, deferring to Kayo. Their commissions were relegated to the heroics and defense side. Economic matters were the Yashiro Commission's expertise.
"We are worried that there may be a takeover of the Japanese technology sector in the coming years due to these… Corpus. From the reports we were provided, their expertise in robotics, programming, and weaponry far surpasses that of our best government engineers, as well as whatever the private sector is working on. Combined with their potential lifespan of hundreds of years, we could be seeing several Corpus-led companies rise up in the next few decades.
Naomasa rolled his eyes, of course, it came down to worries about money. He locked eyes with one of the men President Hiiragi had brought with her. One he knew, Uzu Kushiguchi, the second in command at the HPSC. The other was a red-eyed man. The mystery man locked eyes with Naomasa, and the two men immediately resonated with the same feeling.
Neither of them wanted to be here.
'I hate politicians…' Sorren curled and uncurled his fingers along the arm of his chair.
"Their extended lifespan is unconfirmed, as they have only been here a year," Kaya noted. "And we have had several businessmen with longevity quirks in the past. If you are worried about accumulated wealth, there is not much we can do against that." She shrugged.
"But not on this scale, dozens, if not hundreds," She doubted Yamamoto knew the exact amount of Corpus in Japan. "Of long-lived conglomerates. Given time, they could absorb major corporations and begin to influence our culture."
Kamaji rolled his eyes. Yamamoto was clearly attempting to pull at Kaya's love for the arts, but he knew that she wouldn't be swayed by the Finance Minister's manipulations. Kaya wasn't an idiot. He knew what this was, judging by the Ministers present- they were trying to make a power play of some kind, likely pressuring Prime Minister Mifune into arranging this meeting. Part of it was likely genuine concern over outside influence in Japanese markets, but he assumed it was also motivated by greed.

Eto had the same thought, though neither of them spoke it. These men were part of the committee that approved the public funding that went to their commissions. Getting on their bad side wasn't conducive to keeping your job, nor was it worth jeopardizing National security over something as petty as a legislative dick-measuring contest.
One that Kaya would win anyway.
"This isn't just about internal economic concerns." Another minister, a heteromorph with the head of a wooden bowl spoke up.
Tanaka Hiroshi – Minister of Economy, Trade, and Industry
"Depending on how they choose to proceed, this could have drastic consequences on our trade with other countries. We need to take control of these otherworlders before they get out of hand. For the future of Japan, of course."
"I am in agreement." The final minister, a sharply dressed woman with black and white bark-like vines making up her skin added. "And should we fail to do that, what is to stop other countries from recruiting them?"
Kobayashi Aiko – Minister for Foreign Affairs

"Your concerns have some merit, though the Yashiro Commissions's purpose is not to regulate the economy." Kaya reminded the ministers.
"Mrs. Kamisato, we are well aware of what your commission does, they simply wished to seek your advice." The Prime Minister revealed.
While the Tenryou and former Kanjou, now HPSC commissions handle heroic and military matters, the Yashiro commission helps regulate the Hero Billboard Chart events, set up festivals, and has a large degree of influence over MEXT, also known as the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. As a former member of the ministry, and as part of the Kamisato clan's long history with the Yashiro commission, Kaya has turned what would otherwise be one of the weaker of the big three commissions into one of the economic powerhouses of Japan. In essence, all that the ministers were telling her was information she was already aware of. ※
"Otherworlder or not, it does not excuse them from our laws. My suggestion is you allow them to progress naturally. I have heard that the Corpus believe that you must evolve with the market or die. If they refuse to follow our regulations they will be punished." She shrugged. "If they pose a threat to the national security of Japan, they will be punished. If they attempt to manipulate our politics with bribery, we will stop them. I've read reports on how ruthless their society was, and I will not allow that kind of atmosphere to fester here. Do not mistake my hands-free policies as a weakness. I simply believe the free market will bring out the best, and competition does bring innovation." Kaya concluded.
"But, what about their technology?" Tanaka asked. "They could boost Japan's place in the tech market to the top. We have fallen behind China, Germany, and the US when it comes to UG production. They could bring Japan to the forefront of robotics and artificial intelligence expertise!" The bowl-headed mutant argued.

"Technology that is not compatible with ours, and requires resources or phenomena that do not exist in this universe." Kaya pointed out. "You are not wrong, they do posses a higher understanding, perhaps centuries ahead of our own. But that knowledge is less than useless if the means of recreating it are impossible. I don't doubt they will be a formidable market force in the future once they begin to build themselves up, but you are blowing things out of proportion."
"And how exactly does this relate to us?" Kamaji finally decided to join the conversation.
"Well, uh… couldn't you hire Corpus engineers into the military?" Minister Yamamoto stammered.

Kamaji fought the urge to burst out into laughter, instead giving the Minister a disappointed look. "You do realize that we would have to vet them for security clearance for the level of technology you are implying they could make. I imagine that most of them would not pass. Sure, we could force them to work under loyalty quirks and… other means of control, but the fact remains that a majority of them would not mesh well with either of our commissions."
Eto nodded in agreement with her son-in-law's words. "The HPSC has been… selective in how it approves security clearance for the few otherworlders we have graciously allowed into Japanese heroics. Notable figures that were the closest thing that their universe had to heroes. General Kujou is correct, they would not pass security clearance because of their religion."
"Is their religion really that big of a security risk?" Tanaka queried.
"It is when their society incentivizes profit over all else," Kamaji said, a bored expression on his face. "Which you would know if you actually read more than what they could do. We cannot give security clearances to people who are at risk of selling it to the highest bidder. The Origin System did not have protections against corporate espionage, and we don't have the same control over the Corpus population that their leaders did."
"We could… limit their ability to make their own companies force them into the normal workforce…" Yamamoto mused.
Across the room, Sorren snorted in amusement.
The minister glared at the unknown man, pausing and narrowing his eyes. "If you have something to say, speak up. I'm assuming President Hiiragi allowed you to attend this meeting for a reason." The man tsked in indignation. He had no idea why Hiiragi and Kujou brought these nobodies to this important meeting.
Naomasa took a curious glance at the other man.
Sorren looked over to Eto, who raised an eyebrow but nodded. "Go ahead Norikage."
He stood up slowly, rolling his shoulder with a loud pop. "If you think that's a good idea, then you're a fool."
Kushiguchi looked like he was about to faint after hearing how Sorren was addressing the Ministers.
"How dare you-" Yamamoto balked.
"You already acknowledged that they have valuable skills that you desire, and then decide that it might be a good idea to piss those people off by limiting their opportunity to use their talents. If you really want a few dozen angry Corpus then go ahead; let's see how that works out when you make a bunch of hackers and scientists hate your government." Sorren said sarcastically.

"Well, I uh, didn't think-" Yamamoto sputtered, trying to save face.

"Clearly you didn't, or you wouldn't suggest something so idiotic."
"Enough!" Minister Kobayashi stood up, slamming her bark-encrusted fists onto the table. "We did not come here to be insulted by one of the HPSC's lackeys! Just who the hell even are you anyways?" She demanded angrily.
"Mr. Norikage is one of the otherworlders retained by the HPSC," Kushiguchi explained through gritted teeth. "On a probationary basis, mind you." He glared at Sorren.
"Regardless of Norikage's… rather crass wording," Eto attempted to deflect attention away from Sorren. "He does have a point. I would rather you not create a group of villains with a common enemy. Doubly so as we would be the ones that would have to handle them." She folded her hands and leaned forward. "I believe you are blowing the economic impact they will have out of proportion. What you should be doing is working with Kamisato to find those with promising ideas or technology and invest in them, bringing their projects under your purview."

"I'm in agreement with President Hiiragi." Kamaji crossed his arms, stroking his chin in thought. "While we have been selective in who amongst the Otherworlders we decide to trust, I believe that fostering their development is the better path rather than trying to hinder it out of fear. If done correctly you will reap the benefits, and as Hiiragi said, investment will indebt them to you. I have read the tenets of their cult. The core premise- if going by the original wording, is meant to promote self-reliance and ambition. Those by themselves are not bad things, I believe that the more toxic elements of their leadership corrupted the initial message, though I still find the entire concept to be… overwhelmingly hypercapitalist would be the easiest way to define it I suppose."
"These all sound like reasonable suggestions, and we will take your words into account." Mifune nodded, giving his ministers an exhausted side-eye.
Eto carefully observed the Prime Minister, betraying no emotion. Mifune was the longest-serving Prime Minister in Japanese history- a staggering thirty years in office due to his overwhelming popularity. Part of it, she suspected, was that All Might had risen to prominence and helped bring Japan into an era of peace under his term, along with his handling of the MLA crisis, which continued to irk her to this day. Of course, it helped that many of his political opponents had been arrested in the purge of All For One's agents a few years ago, leaving him with few contenders for the seat. The only problem she foresaw was Hanabata Koku of the Hearts and Minds party, who was becoming more and more popular.

Mifune was getting old, and if what her sources told her, considering retirement in the next few years before he turned 80. It was worrying to her that that Hanabata, who had close ties to the Meta Liberation Association, was a strong contender for Prime Minister. She had been quietly throwing her support into Kobayashi Renjiro (conveniently related to the Minister of Foreign Affairs), a popular member of the Diet who was a hardline supporter of keeping public quirk use in the hands of pro heroes.
In her opinion, Mifune was an excellent Prime Minster, but too neutral in controversial issues such as nonhuman relations and public quirk usage. The fact that the MLA continued to thrive in Deika and allowed them to be the only city with incredibly lax quirk laws proved that.
"The Corpus will adapt to our way of doing things, and any bad apples will be pruned." Kushiguchi drew a line across his neck.
"Very well, I trust your Commissions will handle this discreetly. I don't need to know the exact details, plausible deniability and all." Mifune nodded.
Naomasa's lip curled. Even if he liked Mifune, he was still a politician and had skeletons in his closet. At least he was the only person in his cabinet who hadn't been triggering his quirk constantly throughout the meeting.

"If that is the course you wish to take, I am open to it." Kaya acquiesced. "I'll also run the vetting of potential investments through the other commissions. Please put all inquires through my secretary." She instructed the Ministers. "Kujou, do you have anything to add?"
"No that all sounds-" A knock at the door interrupted him.
The door opened, and Tenryou soldier saluted. "Commissioner-General! Apologies for the interruption, but there is a situation."
"What is it, Sergent?" Kamaji snapped to attention.

"Code Red at U.A, a villain attack at their training facility. Code Bravo-Red-Two with multiple casualties." The soldier reported. "Principal Nezu is requesting Tenryou Cleanup specifically."
"Shit!" Kamaji stood up. "Tsukauchi, head to U.A. immediately. I'll coordinate from here."
"Yes sir!" Naomasa bowed and sprinted out with the soldier.
"What is Code Bravo-Red-Two?" Mifune asked.

"Code Red is for a villain attack, Bravo is our new classification… for otherworlders." Kamaji frowned.
"Prime Minister, permission to send in HPSC support?" Eto asked cordially. "As a heroics matter, this concerns us as well. An attack on U.A. is an attack on heroics."
Kamaji frowned. Of course Eto would take any opportunity to intrude on Nezu's domain. He suspected the chimera requested the military because of that.

"Approved."
And Mifune would predictably allow it because her reasoning was valid, though motivated by self-interest.

"Uzu, take Norikage with you. I'll begin drafting a response to this condemning the attack." Eto ordered.
"Of course Madam President," Kushiguchi motioned for Sorren to follow him. "You, with me. Now. We will be hitching a ride with the Tenryou commission."

=VI=

Naomasa was escorted into the APC, but before they could depart they were flagged down. The door opened and Director Uzu and Norikage slid into the seats across from him.
"I hope you don't mind, we were approved to tag along." The older man flashed him a smug grin, clearly not caring in the slightest if Naomasa cared.
Asshole.
The APC began to pull out with a police escort, sirens blazing. All three men fastened themselves in.
"Director," Sorren muttered. "I don't think that bringing me is a good idea."
Truth. Naomasa narrowed his eyes, keeping an eye on the two as he looked at incoming reports on his tablet.
"This involves otherworlders, so your expertise may be required," Kushiguchi argued.
Sorren gritted his teeth. "Fine, but it's on you if Lotus or Bone Beast tries to pick a fight with me. Don't say I didn't warn you."

Kushiguchi rolled his eyes. "Just don't transform. It's not like they know what you look like. Trust me, you'll be fine, just inform me of anything that sticks out." He glanced to Naomasa. "Detective, update me on what we know."
Naomasa frowned but folded to the Director's request. As a member of the police force he also fell under the HPSC's authority. "According to our team that just arrived on site, a group of villains called…" He blinked, making sure he was reading it right. "The… the League of Villains,"
Sorren stifled a snicker.
Naomasa continued, ignoring the man."-Infiltrated the USJ training facility during one of their lessons and attacked the students and teachers. All three teachers were critically injured along with several students suffering quirk exhaustion."
"What teachers were injured, and which class was it?" Kushiguchi asked.
"Class 1-A. According to correspondence from Nezu," He glanced at Sorren, choosing his next words carefully. "All Might was delayed from joining the lesson. The three teachers present were Eraserhead, Thirteen, and Bone Beast, all are being stabilized as we speak." Naomasa looked over the list of names of injured students, eyes growing wide with worry as he spotted two familiar ones. 'Shit, her?' He grimaced. "Tenno Haylee suffered a quadruple amputation at the hands of a villain and had to be resuscitated." Naomasa didn't miss how Sorren's posture suddenly straightened, his bored expression turning serious.
'He knows who she is…' He realized. Just who was Norikage Sorren? Judging by the Japanese surname it had to be a fake identity, but he never heard of anyone named "Sorren" in the reports Karris made.

"Damn, Eraserhead?" Kushiguchi exhaled slowly.
'That's right, Director Uzu used to be an underground hero, so it made sense that he would know Aizawa by reputation.' Naomasa remembered.
"And Bone Beast as well?" Kushiguchi hummed. Thirteen was a rescue hero, so her injury was more expected given the situation. The other two were fairly competent S-Ranked heroes who specialized in combat. He was more surprised that Karris was injured considering his skills. "How did this…" He sighed. "..League of Villains," Kushiguchi said with clear disdain at their childish name. "Manage to get inside and cause such mayhem?"
"It appears they had access to a powerful warp quirk to sneak in, as well as at least one villain with a jamming quirk that prevented any alerts from being sent out." Naomasa frowned. "In total, there were nearly seventy-five villains apprehended, most of the casualties appear to be from friendly fire. And… there were Grineer soldiers and two corpus present with the villain ringleaders."
Kushiguchi's eyes narrowed. A powerful warper, jammers, and otherworlders? That was troubling.

=VI=

[USJ, Entrance]

Nemuri stared out over the USJ, watching as the police and military rounded up the villains scattered around the facility. She wasn't sure why the Immigration Services branch of the Tenryou Commission was here. Maybe some international villains were present, like the few in bulky armor.

"Villains in the USJ…" She murmured, clenching her fist as she watched the ambulance pull out with Thirteen inside. To her right, Hizashi finished talking to the medics and strolled back over.
"They said that Shota will be fine, but he suffered damage to one of his eyes. He's been sent off to Recovery Girl for now." Hizashi said.
"Shota's always been tough. He'll pull through." Nemuri replied. "To think that this could happen here, at U.A…" The R-Rated hero looked up at Lotus, who was hovering above the field. "Do you think that Tau is okay?"

"I… I don't know. She's been up there for a while now. I can't imagine how she's feeling. Not like she can do anything while Karris is in surgery and her daughter…" Hizashi tightened his fist. "This was only their fourth day of class, and they had to face real villains. If she and Yagi had been any later…" He didn't want to think about what could've happened.
While they stood in silence, another Tenryou APC pulled up nearby. Naomasa, clad in his familiar longcoat. Behind him were two men dressed in the plain suits of the HPSC.
"Oh goddamit, it's Director Uzu," Nemuri swore.
"Midnight, Mic," Naomasa greeted somberly.
"Detective." Hizashi nodded. "And Director Uzu, what a surprise. I didn't know that Nezu asked for the HPSC's assistance." He gave the man the most obvious fake smile he could.
"Ah, Present Mic, Midnight. A pleasure as always." Kushiguchi flashed them a half-hearted grin, tongue slithering briefly from his pointed teeth. "No time for pleasantries I'm afraid. I'm here to speak to Nezu and All Might."
Director Uzu didn't have the best reputation among heroes, as bedside manner seemed to be a foreign concept to him. "They have already left for our on-site emergency medical facility, along with our injured teachers in need of surgery. Recovery Girl and a team of doctors are currently working on them as we speak." Nemuri explained.
"I supposed I will have to make do with the witness reports here then." Kushiguchi. He glanced over toward where the students were gathered. Midoriya sat at the edge of one of the ambulances, wrapped in a blanket with a haunted look on his face. Unfortunately he the students were likely too traumatized to offer any useful information at the moment, and he would have to acquire parental consent before he could interview them. "Call Lotus down here, she engaged the villains, correct?"
The man accompanying the director shot him a dirty look from behind. Apparently, even those in the Commission weren't fond of Uzu. Shocker.
Kushiguchi whistled to Natah, giving her a friendly wave.
Natah looked down, noticing the HPSC Director and Detective Tsukauchi standing below. She slowly descended, landing right in front of the two. "Director Uzu." She greeted curtly. "How can I help you?"
"You engaged with the 'League', correct? I need to know everything you saw and heard." Kushiguchi demanded.

"When I arrived their leadership fled. I only engaged their powerhouse alongside All Might." Natah stared at the man, unblinking. "Whoever he was, it was powerful. The Tenryou Commission is still tracking its flight path out of the USJ." She leaned in closer, watching her coworkers out of the corner of her eye. "Whatever that villain was, it wasn't normal."
He nodded. She meant it was something that shouldn't be discussed with those not in the know about her origins. "I see. I'll have to interview the teachers present once they recover. Who is the least injured?"
Natah frowned, ever so slightly. "You do realize they were all brutally injured."
"They are in the capable hands of Recovery Girl, they should be healed up in no time," Kushiguchi replied coldly. "Now, who was the least injured?"
"Ord… Karris and Aizawa. They were also the ones who engaged the villains directly." Natah pursed her lips.
"Then I'd like to wait in your medical wing until they recover. Norikage, follow me." He motioned to the other man.
"Yes, Director." Sorren returned to the APC with him, visibility on edge.

Natah watched them leave, narrowing her eyes as she saw the dark-haired man's red eye briefly when he looked back at her. That voice… it sounded familiar for some reason.
Naomasa watched them leave, slumping his shoulders in relief. "Thank god, I hate that guy." He rubbed his chin, fingers grazing across the five o'clock shadow. It wasn't as messy as the last time Nemuri saw him, but facial hair complimented Naomasa nicely. "I'm sorry this isn't under better circumstances, but General Kujou ordered me to come. Those two tagged along on the Prime Minister's orders."
"HPSC sticking their nose into everything, nothing new." Nemuri rolled her eyes.
"I'm mostly caught up on the reports. Is Shota…" Naomasa hesitated.
"He's out, probably for the next few weeks with how much he was hurt. Even with Recovery Girl's help." Hizashi elaborated.
"Damn…" Naomasa turned his attention to Natah. "And Karris?"
"Ordan's quirk will heal his bones without Recovery Girl's help. He will just need rest to heal the rest of his body. I'm guessing he will be awake soon." Natah replied.
"Ms. Tau, are you alright?" Naomasa asked.
Natah blinked. No one had actually asked her yet how she was feeling. Then again, she hadn't stayed around to talk, just floated in the air alone with her thoughts.
"Yes, I'm fine."
Lie.
Naomasa said nothing. She knew what his quirk was, so there wasn't any point in lying about it. She was just putting on a strong face, but whether that was for herself or for U.A was anyone's guess.
"I have to get going. I don't want Uzu to do anything underhanded while I'm not looking." Naomasa sighed. "I'll be in touch soon when I know more though, we should catch up." He sprinted off toward a nearby squad car.
"I'm heading to the MEC." Natah decided.

"Tau, are you really okay?" Nemuri asked.
Natah hesitated. "Yes, I appreciate your concern Kayama, but I am fine." She didn't look Nemuri in the eye, simply blasting off into the sky towards the school.
Nemuri and Hizashi shared a worried look.

=VI=

[U.A. Multipurpose Emergency Center]

"Why weren't you here…"

Toshinori sat alone in one of the private rooms of the MEC, his costume loosely hanging off his shrunken form.
He was supposed to be there today, but instead he'd run out his time saving people. Natah and Nezu's words were even harsher in hindsight now. If he was there, Aizawa, Kurose, and Karris wouldn't have been hurt.
They'd gotten lucky. Aizawa had suffered multiple broken bones and a damaged eye socket. He would make a recovery, but his eyesight would be permanently damaged. It wasn't a career-ending injury but it would lessen the amount of time he could use Erasure.

Karris had been stabbed and slashed, bones nearly turned to powder by the villain he and Natah had fought. If it weren't for his quirk he would've been paralyzed from the neck down. He'd gotten off with the least damage according to the doctors, and was currently resting while they removed the bone fragments and stitched up the deep cuts he'd received.
Kurose would've died had her wounds been any deeper, or at the very least never been able to walk again. Luckily she had some innate resistance to her quirk, but the muscles in her back would take time to heal and she had lost some feeling in her right side. The damage would've been much worse if they didn't have Tenryou-affiliated healers to mend her shredded back.
He could've been there and stopped this if he had left all those incidents to other heroes. At each of the incidents he resolved this morning, there had been heroes seconds away from stepping in. All he did was swoop in and expedite the process since he couldn't resist saving someone in need.
Nezu was right. He needed to get his priorities in order. His coworkers, and even worse, his students had been forced to fight a battle meant for him
This wasn't the first time villains had launched an attack for which he was not present. As the world's Number One Hero, plenty of villains wanted to make a name for themselves by proving that he wasn't invincible. Naturally, they weren't exactly stable people and attacked innocents in areas he would have no chance of being in, sometimes countries or multiple cities away. He'd made his peace with those tragedies as there was nothing he could've done to prevent it.
But this time was different. He could've done something if he had been there. He was supposed to be there.
His coworkers, and worse, his students had to fight villains. It was a miracle that they had survived.

But Haylee had been critically injured, hell, by medical definition, she had died.
"Why weren't you here…"
Izuku's words kept repeating in his head. The leg of Toshinori's costume was still stained with bloody handprints, the blood still warm. He hadn't had the time or mind to wash it off or change clothes. The boy had watched his friend bleed out before his eyes, powerless to stop it.
If Haylee had died today, Toshinori never would've been able to forgive himself. He still remembered when he first met her, how jaded and depressed she had been. In the past few months she'd grown so much, her eyes were filled with so much joy whenever she was with Izuku and their friends.
But all he could think about was what Izuku had said to him. How betrayed he looked, even as he embraced Toshinori for comfort. It brought back painful memories of when he lost Nana.
He'd failed not just Izuku, but his entire class. Would any of them look at All Might the same again? Would Izuku, or Haylee?
The door to the room creaked open, interrupting his moping.
"Yagi?" Natah asked.
Toshinori looked up, face full of regret. "Tau… I'm sorry I… how is she?"
Natah looked conflicted, possibly like she was about to shout at him. "Yagi, please… not right now. I'm not in the mood for it." She tensed, considering her next words carefully. Regardless of how she felt, there was no point in scolding him. She couldn't make him feel worse than he already did, judging by his expression.
And it wouldn't make her feel any better.
"Of… of course… did you need something?" Toshinori stood up.
"Detective Tsukauchi and Director Uzu are here to interview Ordan and Aizawa. They'd like to speak to you while we wait for them to wake up from surgery." Not that he would have anything to tell them that they hadn't heard from her already, but they could speak more freely without the other teachers here.
Nezu, Kushiguchi, and Naomasa entered a few minutes later, the latter two taking a seat across from the U.A. faculty. The red-eyed man accompanying the HPSC Director trickled in last, leaning against the wall away from the group.

The Director pulled out a tablet and began to take notes. "So, now that we are away from prying eyes and ears, tell me everything about the villains you can remember. If it sticks out, I need to know. Quirks, scars, magic, et cetera." He pointed his stylus at Natah. "You mentioned there was something off about the creature?"
"It was exceedingly powerful, and there wasn't any intelligence behind it's eyes." Natah began. "It felt… it felt like I was fighting a Warframe."
"I felt it too." Toshinori added. "The way it acted and fought, it was like a machine. And it smelled horrible, like a corpse. I don't believe it was human."
Nezu's claws tapped against the table. "We still haven't recovered the villain known as Nomu yet. The military is currently scouring the area where my cameras detected it land. We'll know what sort of creature it is soon enough."
"It sounds like it was an undead…" Kushiguchi flipped through his notes, coming up with a police sketch of the creature per Natah's memory. "It could be a heteromorph… I ran it through our database and it didn't come up with any known demi or monster species, and his appearance doesn't match any known villains either."
"What about the international database?" Nezu queried.
"Still awaiting approval from the WHA I'm afraid." Kushiguchi scowled. "However, I'm more interested in the leadership of this 'League of Villains' and how they were not only able to bypass U.A.'s security," He shot Nezu a knowing look, causing the Principal's whiskers to twitch at the dig. "But their recruitment of Grineer and Corpus Villains as well. There is also the conduct of your students who were involved in the deaths of several villains."
"They are just first-years," Toshinori growled.
"Oh, I didn't mean to imply they were in trouble. Considering the circumstances, it's completely understandable that some lives were lost. Once we get the stories from all the students, I imagine it will all chalk up to self-defense in the heat of the moment. No need to destroy their promising futures over something so horrible and unexpected." Kushiguchi's tongue flickered out of his mouth like a lizard. "Of course, the HPSC will assist our friends at U.A. in any way we can. If you require more assistance with trauma counseling our doors are open. Hound Dog can only do so much." He explained smarmily.
Nezu's eyelid twitched. "If we need any help, I'll be sure to let you know." He replied politely.
"The Grineer… from what I saw they weren't leadership material." Natah changed the subject for Nezu's sake. "Seeing as the Corpus fled with the leaders of the League, I imagine they were the leaders. Corpus and Grineer working together… that is worrying. It's a miracle that none of the students died. The Grineer were sloppy." The Grineer she knew wouldn't have hesitated to kill a child. Was it a lack of equipment, overuse of their quirks, or something that had changed with their personalities that made them less effective and ruthless in combat?
"Then they were low-level soldiers if first-year students were able to defeat them." Kushiguchi surmised, scrolling through new information as it became available. "They had guns, but they seem to be black market, no serial numbers, and of dubious quality." He frowned. Villains getting military-quality guns- even old ones, was bad news. He typed a message into his tablet, requesting a few of the prisoners be redirected to the HPSC for interrogation. The Tenryou Commission would send them all to Pandora's Box after they got everything they needed, but with how strained the two Commission's leadership was, it would take too long to get any useful information from the military. Since this was a heroics as well as a supernatural matter, the HPSC had valid reason to do this.
The conversation continued for another hour, after which Recovery Girl made her way into the room. "Eraserhead is awake now, though I don't know for how long. He's in room 14 with Bone Beast."
Kushiguchi paused. "I think I have everything I need here." He slid his tablet under his arm. "Let's see what our dear Eraserhead knows."

=VI=

Ordan's eyes snapped open, jerking up in the hospital bed with a roar. "HAYLEE! I'LL KILL YOU ALL!" Spots danced in his eyes as the room came into focus, and he felt something grab his arms and pin him down.
"Ordan!" Natah shouted. "Calm down, you're going to reopen your wounds!"
Ordan's breathing slowed as he realized where he was. As the brief surge of adrenaline worse off, he realized just how sore he was. His arms and back were wrapped in bandages. Ordan blinked, panting as he began to relax. "Haylee, is she-"
"She's alive," Natah reassured him.
Ordan suddenly realized that they weren't alone. All Might, Nezu, the Detective, Director Uzu, and some random guy he didn't know were present as well.
"Could you quiet down, you're giving me a headache, Karris." Shota groaned, wrapped from head to toe in bandages with both arms and legs in casts. At this point, he was probably more gauze than man. "You said that Tenno survived?"

"She is," Nezu confirmed. "Although she is currently being cared for while she regenerates." According to Natah, Haylee wasn't regenerating as quickly as she should be, and that was causing complications. The girl kept bleeding every time her wounds healed in short bursts, forcing the doctors to keep re-sealing her limbs and giving her a constant supply of nutrients. Even if the latter wasn't necessary due to Void energy, which they still had little understanding of, it certainly didn't hurt.
Shota rested his head, the only part of his body he could still move, back on the pillow. "I see. What about everyone else?"
"Several students suffered minor injuries and quirk exhaustion, and Thirteen is currently unconscious following emergency surgery," Natah explained.

Shota was silent for a moment. "Thank god no one died."

Toshinori flinched but kept silent. Now wasn't the time to bring that up.

"I'm guessing that you aren't just here to check on me," Shota said dryly. "Karris, who all is here?"
"All Might, Lotus, Nezu, Tsukauchi, Director Uzu, and his lackey." Ordan's eyes flittered round the room.
"We need you to walk us through everything that happened, from beginning to end." Kushiguchi prompted without a care in the world.
'Not even giving us a chance to recover, are you Uzu…' Shota snarked. "I'd rather you wait until I recover, but it's only logical that you would want information as soon as possible." He mumbled.
"I'll do the talking, just chime in for the parts I missed." Ordan reached for a glass of water, but failed to reach it. "Can uh, can I get some water or milk? I'm kinda parched."
Natah's arm elongated and refilled his cup from the sink. Ordan took a hearty swig and exhaled with a satisfied "ahh."
"Thanks… so, I was supposed to tag along after the intrusion yesterday as added security. We arrived and everything seemed normal at first, Thirteen went on her whole spiel about quirk safety and all that. Hashibira was the first to notice something was up, though I'm not sure how." Despite being quirkless, he'd somehow sensed the incoming attack before even Haylee.
"They had a warper," Shota grumbled. "Some smoke-based warp gate, the most powerful I've ever seen."
Nezu frowned. He already knew from Natah about the warper. With such a powerful quirk, there wasn't anything outside of intruder sensors that could stop the villains from returning. He'd have to overhaul the system with some redundancies against jamming quirks, maybe something more analog as a backup.

"I only took my eyes off for a second and he got away, thanks to those mercenaries they had. They looked like they were in knock-off Desperado uniforms." Shota continued. "And if Karris wasn't there, I'd probably have been shot with no cover, so thank you for that."
"I couldn't hear much from far away, but the warper said something about the schedule saying All Might was supposed to be there." Ordan added. "Which means that yesterday's incident wasn't just for show. They got access to our files somehow."
Nezu's eyes widened. Once the schedules had been generated, they were kept in an offline server and the rest were paper copies stored in the teacher's lounge and his office. There were cameras in there, so there were only two possibilities.
One, the villains somehow accessed the secure server without his knowledge, or two, they had seen the paper copy without being caught on camera. With a warp quirk, either was possible if the villain had enough control to make small portals inside the file cabinet. That only raised the question of how the villain knew where to look. Students were sometimes in the teacher lounge, so it could be a former student leaked the information, but that narrowed it down to a few thousand suspects at the least. Plus, they would have no way of knowing which drawer the files were in, as the drawers were unlabelled and the closet was only accessible with a teacher ID card, not to mention the door was also monitored with cameras.
He'd have Power Loader and the security team double check the footage and inspect the files for any possible fingerprints.
"And I surmise you ordered the students to evacuate, yes?" Kushiguchi inquired.
"Yes, I told Thirteen to get them out while Karris and I stayed behind. The warper and the ice-shield user, along with the woman went after her." Shota shifted in his bed. "And Karris," he turned his head toward where he'd heard the man's voice. "Gave the students permission to fight in self-defense. Given what happened, I'm glad that he did even if I disagreed with it in the heat of the moment."
"Then Aizawa and I engaged the villains. The leader kinda just stood there with Nomu and watched." Ordan said.
Kushiguchi scribbled down some notes. "And your use of lethal force against the armored villains?" He eyed Aizawa carefully. The man seemed to buy that the Grineer were just hired overseas guns for now.
"They were tough, we had no other choice. Nonlethal wasn't an option." Ordan said darkly. "Even with their quirks erased they came at us with knives and guns, and no matter how many times we took them down they got back up. If we could take them down without killing, we did, but when it came down to our lives over thiers, we chose the former."

Shota grunted in agreement. He hated killing, but those villains were just too strong to pull punches against, especially with his students in danger. "I'm guessing at that point the villains were able to incapacitate Thirteen and warp the students around the facility?"

"It appears so, yes." Kushiguchi nodded. "Of course, once she is conscious I will have to interview her to corroborate that information. What happened next?"
"We split up once we noticed the students were in danger. Aizawa stayed in the plaza and I went to the Flood Zone. On the way there I got intercepted by one of the villains." Ordan gestured to his bandages. "And that's how I got these. He -m-m-minced- got me with some sawblade quirk. Everything after that was a bit of a bit blurry. I… I went a bit too far with the last villain I faced." He lowered his head in shame.
The mortar villain had to die, he wouldn't refute that. The Grineer was just too strong to take any chances, especially with his student's lives on the line. Hashibira had already killed one when he arrived, and better he stained his hands with blood yet again then have his students be forced to kill.

But ripping the Grineer's head off, then yelling at the kids? He must've looked monstrous, covered in blood and gore, holding a man's severed skull in his hand? He'd probably scared the shit out of Todoroki, Mineta, and Hashibira. What he'd done was unnecessarily brutal and barbaric- most certainly not heroic.
In the moment, he hadn't felt a thing. He was in the battlefield, a place where he thrived. He could blame it on the adrenaline or desire to protect all he wanted, but the truth of the matter was he'd lost himself to the bloodlust. The only thing he saw was the next enemy to eliminate. He'd returned to being The Beast Of Bones, the version of himself that he hated the most.
"-Ordan?" Natah shook his shoulder.
"Huh?"
"You zoned out on us." She informed him.

"Ah… sorry. Where was I?" Ordan rubbed his eyes.
"After you and I split up, you were talking about a second villain you fought." Shota prodded.
"Right… that. I had to kill the villain." He shifted uncomfortably. "And I found Mineta, Hashibira, and Todoroki. Ordered em' to go back to the entrance. I wasn't exactly coherent from blood loss, so I barely made it back to Aizawa." He pointed his thumb at the mummified man.
Everyone stared at Shota expectantly. "Oh, are we back to me?"

"Yeah, forgot you couldn't see me." Ordan rubbed his head sheepishly.
"I was engaged with the villain's leader. His quirk decays whatever he gets all his fingers on. I imagine he was behind the break-in." His arm still stung from the villain's touch. "I say 'leader' but he was more of a man-child. He kept speaking in gaming terminology I believe; threw a fit when he realized All Might wasn't there."

"Are you sure he was the leader?" Natah inquired, wondering why the Corpus would choose to ally themselves with someone so… inexperienced by the sound of it.
"I'm sure, though the couple in red didn't seem too pleased about it. The warper also followed his instructions, and he was the one ordering that Nomu creature around." Shota remembered. "That thing, Nomu, he said it was bio-engineered to have multiple quirks, an anti-All Might."
Kushiguchi paused, eyes narrowing. "Bio-engineered?" And with multiple quirks?
'It couldn't be…' Toshinori's heartbeat picked up. "Karris, Aizawa, did the villain say his name or anything else of note?" His voice raised in alarm.
"He said that you killed his 'sensei'." Shota started.
The blood drained from Toshinori's face.
"And the warp villain, Kurogiri referred to him as Shigaraki Tomura."
Kushiguchi dropped his tablet. The older man's eyes were bugged out of his skull and he looked like he was about to shit himself. "I need to make a call." The man darted out of the room, muttering "Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck…" under his breath and leaving a baffled Sorren behind.
"I'm just… gonna go." He awkwardly followed Kushiguchi out a brisk pace.
Nezu would've found Kushiguchi's reaction amusing in normal circumstances, as he disliked the man. Instead, he felt his tiny heart beating faster than it ever had in his life, fur standing on end.
"Wait wait wait- what's going on, why are you all acting like that?" Ordan waved his hands around frantically. "You know that guy or something?"
Toshinori's breath finally caught up to him. He glanced at the door to ensure that Norikage was gone. "What I'm about to tell you all is beyond Top Secret, you are all aware of my injury. The villain that inflicted that on me, I suspect he is the 'sensei' that Shigaraki was referring to." Toshinori gulped. "The villain that I ended six years ago. His name was All For One, the Symbol of Evil."

Shota jerked up as far as his body allowed him. "Wait, he was real? I heard rumors about him, a man back during the Dawn who was able to steal quirks." He stopped for a second. "The Nomu!"
"Indeed," Toshinori confirmed gravely. "Even in death, and with his supporters diminished they continue to threaten society. Do you remember the incident four years ago, the Sky Egg and Naruhata Lockdown incidents involving the suicide bomber creatures?"
Naomasa's eyes widened. "The speedster villain, he had multiple quirks too! We already knew that he was affiliated with the remnants of All For One, but…"
"Nao, you knew?" Shota asked, betrayal evident in his tone. "Nezu I can expect, but you… of course you knew." He sighed. "You've been close with All Might for the past few years."
Ordan thought back to when he was first interrogated by Yagi, Nezu, and Tsukauchi. The man had asked him what his relation to "All For One" was, probably due to Natah and Hunhow's quirks being far more complex than most. That explained… so much. Multiple quirks, the ability to steal quirks… which also meant he could probably give them to others. "You said he could steal quirks, so how is it that this Nomu creature had multiple if you killed him? I'm guessing he could bestow them as well?"

"That is correct." Nezu finally calmed down enough to chime in. "I've poured over what I was permitted to see on All For One. He bestows extra quirks on those he deems worthy of them, though not could take the strain on their bodies and became vegetables. Sometimes he used it as a form of punishment, overloading those who failed him, or his enemies, with quirks. Evidently, whatever method was used to create the Nomu was similar, likely involving genetic engineering or perhaps a leftover project from the man himself."

"Nomu… the most direct translation of the name is 'Mindless'..." Naomasa considered. "So evidently, they found a way to use those stuffed with quirks and turn them into living weapons. Dear god!" He paled. They were like the suicide bomber villains from four years ago.
Naomasa thought back. Detective Tanuma Eizo had been investigating the connection between All For One and the Underground Masquerade Incident. The files related to those incidents were destroyed, and Tanuma was put into a coma that he later passed away from his injuries… He knew now that his old partner had known a lot of secrets thanks to his new connections at the Tenryou Commission. "So the Villain Factory and the League are in some way connected." Noticing Natah and Ordan's looks of confusion he elaborated. "They were a gang we suspected of being affiliated with remnants of All For One's empire, running experiments with Trigger. They have been defunct for years now."

"They experimented on people to make that abomination?!" Ordan hissed. It was almost as bad as the creation of a Warframe. Natah laid a comforting hand on his shoulder to calm him down.
"It appears that way." Toshinori's gaze darkened. "And they were after me for revenge… and since I was foolish and wasted my time I wasn't there and they suffered for it." He closed his fist, crushing the armrest of his chair as his hand bulked up. "This happened because of my negligence. I will never allow it to happen again!"

=VI=

Kushiguchi paced around as his phone connected to President Hiiragi's secure line. "Madam, we have a problem." He said as soon as she answered the call, giving her no time to speak. "The villain behind the attack, he went by the name of Shigaraki Tomura."
"What." It wasn't a question. Just monotone disbelief as she took in his words. "Fuck!"
"According to the U.A. faculty, he was a man-child, but related in some way to All For One. I doubt he would give just anyone his family name."
"How many people know?" Eto asked.
"At the moment just the faculty, and by now, the Tenryou Commission. I imagine it will reach the Council soon as well." Kushiguchi explained. "We need to keep this contained. I've already arranged for the captured Villains to be brought to us for interrogation. From the sound of it, Shigaraki Tomura is a man-child. The attack had lots of resources but poor execution."
"From what I'm hearing there were no deaths on our side," Eto noted. "It's too sloppy."

"Like I said, a man-child. His attack may have failed, but it will only embolden the villains once news of the attack breaks." He rubbed his head nervously. "The bigger concern is the otherworlders that helped him, and the bioweapon called 'Nomu' that he had in his possession, as well as the warp quirk user."

"Agreed." Eto was silent for a moment. "Learn as much as you can from U.A., then report back. I will get into contact with Kujou and await the Council's orders."
"Yes ma'am," Kushiguchi confirmed. The line went dead a few seconds later.

=VI=

Sorren had been left alone for the past few hours while the Director finished up debriefing, then went straight into a conference call between Principal Nezu and All Might with the HPSC president about some press statement. All stuff that he didn't care about nor had the security clearance for.
So he just… sat and wandered around the MEC. He passed by Detective Tsukauchi as he rounded the halls for the… what was it, eight time?
He'd wished to talk to Karris, but he was resting and the other teacher was in the room with him. Instead, he was just finding ways to pass the time. There wasn't much else to do around here and he couldn't go walking off.
Sorren stopped in front of the Tenno's suite. That child… he'd encountered her far more than any other Tenno, and tried to kill her just as many times. Being sane and knowing the truth made his past actions hurt. Did he… permanently kill any of those kids? They weren't innocent or defenseless, but forcing them to revive surge their Warframes took a toll if done too much. Killing them wouldn't have been impossible.
Thinking about it or regretting it now wouldn't help any though. He turned to walk away, only to nearly run into the Lotus while he was lost in thought.
"Who are you?" Natah glared at him.
"Nobody you need to concern yourself with." Sorren brushed her off.
Natah narrowed her eyes. Something was off about this man but she couldn't put her finger on it. She had the sure feeling that she knew him from somewhere… but where? He wasn't Grineer. Red Veil? Arbiters? He certainly looked the type… he couldn't be someone from the Orokin era… "Why are you outside her room?" She was already wary of him, Norikage working for the HPSC, who she already didn't trust with Haylee's best interests, didn't help either.
"I'm not here to do anything with your kid." Sorren rasped. "Hell, I didn't even want to be here. I'm bored half to death."
"death." It was only a single word, one that shouldn't mean anything to Natah. But, it was enough to bring back memories of transmission logs from Tenno mission reports, something that she could never forget after the hundreds of times hearing it.
"Your sentence is death!"
She knew who this man was.
Sorren only had a spilt-second to react once he saw Lotus's expression change, leaping back just as her arm erupted into a cluster of metallic tendrils and slammed him into the concrete wall with a resounding crash.
"YOU!" Natah growled, face splitting apart like a porcelain mask. "How dare you show your face here!" Her tentacles slithered around Sorren's waist and neck, sparking against his shields. The man had transformed into the Stalker Warframe up to his chin. Her other arm began to glow, morphing itself into a large Sentient-styled gun.
Oh, she was going to kill him. Sorren struggled to keep the tentacles from choking him. "Not… not here… to fight!"
Naomasa and Kushiguchi sprinted around the corner, pistols raised. Behind them was Toshinori, with Nezu on his shoulder.
"Lotus, drop him!" Kushiguchi ordered. His gun wouldn't scratch her, even with magic bullets.
"Director…" Natah's head snapped quite literally his way, half her face split apart down the center to keep her gaze on both the Stalker and HPSC Director. "You brought him here? Knowing who his is and what he's done?!" Her eyes began to glow as she stared him down. "Were you going to have my daughter killed?" Her voice lowered as it became more modulated and threatening.

"Tau, you are emotionally comprimised right now." Naomasa raised his hand peacefully. "Put him down, we can talk this out. Don't do something you'll regret!" He glanced at Norikage, finally seeing why she was so upset. 'He's a Warframe? Wait… he's the Stalker! From Karris's reports!' No wonder she was trying to kill him.
"Norikage is an HPSC asset. If you kill him, I will consider that a hostile action against the HPSC!" Kushiguchi tightened his grip on his gun.

"Loootus…" Sorren choked. "Not… here… to kill her!"
"He's telling the truth!" Naomasa confirmed urgently.
The left half of Natah's face eyed Kushiguchi with suspicion as she slowly lowered her arms. "Fine." She snarled. The tentacles around Sorren's body retracted and the man dropped to the floor like a sack of potatoes, gasping for air.
"Director Uzu," Nezu's beady eyes bore into the man. "I don't appreciate you bringing a known assassin into my school unannounced." He said calmly, anger barely hidden by his chipper tone. "Especially one that has attempted to kill one of my students in the past."

"Norikage's-" Kushiguchi started, only to be cut off by Natah.
"Stalker."
The Director ignored her and continued. "His presense here was not planned. I only brought him due to the nature of the villains involved in the attack." He straightened his tie casually, as if getting dressed in the mirror. "I assure you, there was no ulterior motive involved."
Naomasa sighed, lowering his gun. "The Director is telling the truth."

Sorren stood, brushing himself off. His transformation slowly reverted, returning him to his HPSC suit. "I meant no harm. I was simply passing the time until we left."

Naomasa nodded, confirming his story. "And you don't plan to harm the girl?"
"No."
"Or anyone else here." He asked.
"No. I don't plan on attacking anyone unless they attack me first." Sorren replied.
'He didn't try to fight back even when I was going to kill him.' Natah noted. 'And I know for a fact he could've broken out with some of his abilities. Why didn't he?' Her form returned to normal, though she still stood between Stalker and the others. "If you say so." She glared at him. "You, we are going to talk. Alone."
Kushiguchi took a step forward. "And what makes you think we are going to let you do that? You just tried to kill him?"
"If any harm comes to him, I will surrender myself to HPSC custody. How does that sound?" Natah offered emotionlessly.
Kushiguchi considered her proposal for a moment. In the grand scheme of things, Lotus was more important than Stalker. If she hurt him in any way, it would not only harm her, but U.A. and Nezu by extension. Losing Stalker would sting, but it would be offset by what they would gain. Having a teacher hired by Nezu killing or hurting an HPSC asset would be something they could hold against the chimera. "That is acceptable. You have fifteen minutes, then we are leaving."
"Alright." Natah floated down the hall, Sorren following behind her hesitantly until they reached an empty suite. She locked the door behind them. "Now, what do you want. I watched you wander around Ordan's room for a while before I confronted you."

"What, are you actually going to hear me out?" Sorren raised his eyebrow.
"Don't flatter yourself. I should kill you now for what you've done." Natah threatened. "Haylee told me how you helped her alternate self. That's the only reason I'm entertaining your existance right now."

"Sanity helps." Sorren remarked dryly. "My grudge against your Tenno was brought about by my madness. While they slept, I stayed awake for hundreds of years. Seeking for something I couldn't understand."
"I know the mark on your mask. It's the crest of the Lower Guardians. You were an Orokin servant." Natah crossed her arms. "If not the Tenno, who did you hate?"
"The Orokin… Ballas," Sorren's voice rose. "And Warframes themselves."
She didn't have Naomasa with her, so she couldn't verify what he was saying… but the hatred in his voice when he said Ballas's name was real and all too familiar to her. If not for that, she would've suspected he was trying to gain sympathy. "What did he do to you?"
"What do you know about the Warframe known as Jade?" Sorren said slowly.

"Only that it was designed to wield the Jade Light." Natah thought for a moment. "And that the designs were lost during the Collapse."
"Not lost, wiped, by me. You are right, I was a Lower Guardian. For years I served the Orokin, because it was my duty. But I made a mistake, I fell in love. I was going to be a father."
Natah's gaze softened, then tensed. Lower Guardians were not bound to obey the Orokin like the Dax, and all their actions had to be approved, such as having children of their own. After all, they were meant to dedicate their existance to the Orokin, so doing something without their approval was tantamonut to treason according to the Legems.
"Now you get it, don't you, Lotus." Sorren continued. "Obviously, they found out. To lessen my lover's sentence, I agreed to their Warframe project… they stripped away my memories until I was a loyal puppet, but they didn't stop there." He looked away, forcing a tear back into his eye. "My lover's name… was Jade. I assume Ballas thought he was being clever when he had her made into a Warframe of the same name." He snarled.
"And the child… don't tell me…" Natah paled.
"She never gave birth. They made her into one of those things while she was only a few months pregnant." Sorren's fists shook with rage, half transforming into sword-steel. "And I couldn't even remember her. After the collapse, she found me, saved me. I took care of her even though I didn't understand why. All I knew is that I hated the Tenno for some unknown reason, as if they were responsible for what happened to her. I'm not sure what happened to her Operator, but I think… she was in there. Confused, like me."

Natah lowered her head solemnly. "I see." She believed him wholeheartedly. Doing something so sadistic and cruel was entirely within character for Ballas. She didn't think it was possible for her of all people to hate him more, but here he was, surpassing her low expectations even in death.
If only she could've made his death a thousand times more painful. It would still be more than he deserved.

"Even knowing all that, I won't forgive you." Natah decided. "But I understand you."
"I wouldn't expect you to." Sorren stared at the ground. "I had half the mind to let you kill me. But…"
"What?" Natah asked.
"There is something I need to do. Jade was by my side for years, and with me during the end of our universe. It's a long shot, but if she… if she made it… maybe our child… even if they didn't as long as Jade is alive…"
"You want to find her." Natah realized.
"I know I have no right to ask this, especially after what I took from you, but if you find her… please keep her safe until I can reach her." Sorren dropped to his knees and planted his head on the ground. "I beg of you. All I want to know is that she is safe. If you want to kill me after, feel free."
Natah pursed her lips. "I'm suprised you didn't go to my father."
"You did, didn't you." Natah's brow furrowed.
"He told me that he had no need of my services. I told him about as much as I have said to you. All he did was release me from his retinue and tell me to find my own path."
Natah took a deep breath. Of course, Hunhow didn't tell her any of this. She would have words with him about it later. "And you chose the HPSC?"

"They aligned with my interests." Sorren rose to his feet and shrugged. "I know you do not see eye to eye with their policies. Neither do I on most of them, but principles… they mean more to me. That said, if they become too much like the Orokin…" He drew a line across his neck with his thumb half-transformed. "Then I will make sure that they meet the same end."
So he hadn't just dumped Hunhow as a master for a new one. The HPSC may be too human-centric for her to be comfortable with, but they were sanctioned by the government still despite that. "I… if I find her, I will honor your wishes. Not for you, but for her and the child, should they still exist." Natah decided. "Go back to your Commission. If I see you come near Haylee again, I won't be merciful a second time."
"Understood." Sorren nodded. "And for what it's worth… tell her I'm sorry for all that I put her through."
Natah nodded. Just before Stalker left the room, she called out. "Your name, Norikage. It's Japanese?"
Sorren stopped. "It's a fake name."
"What is your name?" Natah asked.

"My real name is Sorren." He replied, opening the door and leaving without another word.
Natah was left alone, mulling over his words in silence. After the long events of today, finally left to her own devices, she sat down on the empty bed and let herself cry. She almost lost Haylee today. She almost lost Ordan. In her rage, she almost murdred Norikage in cold blood. Her vocal cords shapeshifted away, silencing her sobs.
When she left the room a few minutes later, hearing Toshinori calling for her, she had the same emotionless expression she normally sported. She had to be strong.

=VI=

Drawing some connections to Vigilantes as I see the Bombers and Anonymous as proto-nomus. I can't imagine that them displaying multiple quirks went unnoticed considering AFO. No. 6 could easily be seen as one of his leftover minions.
Naomasa would know since he encountered him a lot, and almost died. Especially since he is close to All Might/
Of course, everyone shits themselves since the Council knows Shigaraki is AFO's family name thanks to the OFA users. All part of AFO's master misinformation plan to buy time.

I expanded on the PM and some of his cabinet, they will come up more. Most of the Corpus tech won't be usable since it requires stuff like Void tech and shit, but they are still more advanced than most modern scientists.
The ministers don't have the power to decide budget, but they can put pressure on allies in the national diet which approves the Commission's "official" on the books budget.
The commissions themselves are separate from the ministry and Diet. The heads of all 3 only answer to the PM or Imperial Family head depending on who is in charge as the position was created by the Raiden family during the period after the Dawn of quirks. This is to prevent constant interference from politicians. The commissions basically act as broad control nets for the military, police/heroes, and cultural stuff. They can't control the ministry of say, defense or MEXT, but they are very influential with their spheres of influence. That's why Kamaji is a JSDF general, and Kaya was a member of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) before being appointed.
Next chapter:
C7 Meets. Vestiges discuss revelations, and the students cope with what happene.d