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If the aftermath of Hosu was disastrous, then the aftermath of Kamino was, to put it bluntly, fucking apocalyptic. The Number 1 Hero, Japan’s Symbol of Peace, All Might, will never throw a superpowered punch again. One of the most dangerous villains in all of human history was lead off to Tartarus in chains, but of course, all anybody wanted to talk about was those fucking kids. Everyone was talking about All Might’s retirement, because of course they were, he’s been the countries number 1 hero for nearly 20 years, the situation isn’t helped that not a lot of people have confidence in All Might’s immediate successor, Enji Todoroki, aka Endeavor. But the second thing people always choose to discuss, is The Future Of Japan. Izuku Midoriya and his merry band of misfits. They talk about how the kids went toe to toe with the league of villains, repeatedly, how Midoriya himself supposedly assisted All Might in taking down All For One. It was a mess, made all the worse by the fact that three of the girls in that group were UA Students, two of them being Aizawa’s own kids. That’s how Shouta Aizawa found himself in this meeting. After a long week of (begging) convincing parents to allow their children to continue to study at UA, Aizawa, Nezu, and the former Symbol of Peace himself, now just Toshinori Yagi, have been called to a meeting held by the HPSC, along with a number of other high-ranking heroes, to… discuss the FoJ. It was not going well.
“Why wasn’t the woman protected?”
Yagi started the meeting…stronger than Aizawa would’ve predicted, not that the underground hero blames him. The former Number 1 hero throws the entire room for a loop, seemingly. The President of the HPSC narrowed her eyes at the man.
“By that you mean why wasn’t Inko Midoriya protected?”
Yagi nodded tensely, his eyes hardened.
“All for One implied he’s had her for a long time. We’ve had to have known of Izuku Midoriya before he truly became of Interest to All For One, but despite all that, his mother was still kidnapped. Explain that to me, Madam President?"
The room grew deathly quiet, as everyone turned to gaze at the president of the HPSC, the woman gritting her teeth, frowning deeply.
“Inko Midoriya was being watched, yes, but…”
“But you wanted to keep the door unlocked, just in-case the green bean got homesick, huh?”
The rabbit heroine, Miruko, did not look impressed. She had her feet-up on the table, and her body language made it look like she was relaxed, but she was anything but. The president of the HPSC whipped her gaze over to the rabbit heroine, her scowl deepening.
“We needed precautions. If Midoriya returned and we captured him, we could knock down the entire house of cards he’s built in one move.”
Aizawa raised an eyebrow, snorting
“And since when did the Hero Public Safety Commission have the legal authority to make those decisions, let alone make arrests? You’re not the PSIA, you all are supposed to operate as a liaison between heroes and the government.”
Aizawa could tell the president was grinding her teeth now, she did not like the way this conversation was going.
“They’re a threat-!”
“A threat to who? They’ve never threatened me or my sidekicks before. In-fact, I’d say we’ve been threatening them.”
That would be The Ninja Hero, Edgeshot. He was one of the few pro-heroes in the top 10 that Aizawa actually had a working relationship with, based off the man’s proficiency in stealth operations, and tendency to dabble in Twilight work
“They’re a threat to hero society as a whole!”
Kamui Woods snorted as well, leaning back in his chair.
“If doing the right thing is a ‘threat to hero society as a whole’, then you better bring in a lot of cuffs, but trust me when I say that I don’t think I’ll be the only one who’ll be kicking and screaming on their way to Tartarus.”
Aizawa knew he really shouldn’t, but he couldn’t help himself from it anyway.
“Remember, Woods, the HPSC can’t legally make arrests.”
Kamui Woods bowed his head, smirking at the Underground Hero.
“Ah yes, thank you for reminding me, Sensei.”
Aizawa hid his smirk in his capture weapon, Kamui Woods is one of his former students, a number of his more intricate capture techniques were actually inspired by Aizawa’s capture weapon, so maybe Shota’s a little proud of the kid. His smirk morphed into a scowl, when someone Aizawa didn’t respect, speaks up.
“Good intentions or no, they’re still breaking the law, they have to be held accountable.”
That would be the Number 8 Hero, Yoroi Musha. The elderly hero had his helmet off currently, and had a hand resting on it. Aizawa never liked the man, always believed he was too traditional and…fame-oriented. Aizawa hasn’t also forgotten how the man probably played a large part in radicalizing Momo Yaoyorozu, seeing as he was one of the last heroes she met with before she joined the Future of Japan. Ryukyu, the Dragoon hero, frowned, shaking her head in disagreement.
“That’s heavy-handed, even for you Musha. These children are clearly only trying to do the right thing, and, technically speaking, they don’t even fall under our jurisdiction”
Musha raised an eyebrow, even as the president of the HPSC frowned
“They’re criminals, Ms. Tatsuma, what’re you implying?”
The Dragoon Hero met the president’s gaze head on, not flinching whatsoever under the pressure.
“Technically they’re Vigilante’s. I may not be an Underground Hero like Eraserhead, or have a working relationship as strong as Edgeshots, but even I understand that the harder we push on Vigilantism, the more we risk destroying vital assets of the Underground Heroics system, which in-turn would destabilize heroic society, which is exactly the thing you fear the Future of Japan is doing. What did you say before? It’d be like a house of cards, we’d be sweeping our legs right out from under ourselves.”
Nedzu nodded solemnly, following the thread Ryukyu raised
“And, as you said, since each member of their group are children, even the enigmatic Izuku Midoriya, the ones responsible for handling them should technically be organizations like Child Protective Services, or even hero schools like Shiketsu or UA.”
Eraserhead had to hide his smirk in his capture weapon, he knew the Madam President didn’t enjoy hearing that. Hawks, The Wing Hero, who’d remained uncharacteristically quiet throughout the briefing, finally spoke up.
“And, how has your progress been? In regards to rounding up the kiddos?”
Aizawa had to keep his posture and expression extraordinarily neutral, to not give anything away, as Nedzu answered the up and coming Number 2 Heroes question.
“We’re investigating several leads, yes, but as of yet we’re not comfortable disclosing them.”
The Equipment hero snorted, crossing his arms over his armored chest.
“Aren’t three of those miscreants former-students of yours?”
Both Aizawa and Yagi glare at the Equipped Hero, Eraser Hero speaking up.
“Those miscreants are still our students, Tsuyu Asui is a compassionate, intelligent, level-headed young woman who I personally never found a legitimate flaw in. She voiced vivid desires to become a rescue-hero, a role-model for people with animal-mutation quirks, not unlike Gang Orca, or even you, Miruko.”
The rabbit-heroine nodded her head respectfully at Eraserhead, even as Yagi continued.
“And when it comes to Young Kendo…Young Itsuka, I personally spent time training with her, and when I say that I view that girl as a candidate to become the next Symbol of Peace, I don’t utter those words lightly."
The entire table was caught off-guard by that declaration, several people looking surprised by that admission. Both that All Might trained Itsuka Kendo, and that he viewed her as the next Symbol of Peace. Eraserhead couldn’t help himself but add his own final words.
“And let’s all not pretend for a minute that Death Arms didn’t radicalize Kyoka Jirou, similarly to what you did to Momo Yaoyorozu, Musha. That man should’ve never gotten a license."
The Equipment Hero grew tense, the atmosphere in the room turning icier.
“What are you implying, boy?"
Eraserhead could really feel the room growing tenser, as he and Musha’s gaze met, the older man glaring down at Aizawa. Shota could feel his hair beginning to levitate, as he slowly started to activate Erasure. Before the tension could reach any higher, a new voice spoke up, cutting through the atmosphere like a hot knife through butter.
“The Future of Japan has twice now saved the life of my son, Shoto, are you implying we should arrest them for it?”
His voice was quiet, but Enji Todoroki might as well have shouted. The newest Number 1 Hero, Endeavor, had a…rocky history with the Future of Japan, so his seeming defense of the group spoke volumes in the now silent room, making even Yoroi Musha stand down. The President of the HPSC gritted her teeth, moving the meeting forward.
“No matter our…approach in regards to The Future of Japan, we need more information on them, who they are, what they’re capable of. Hopefully, starting with the elephant in the room, Izuku Midoriya; who is he, what is he, exactly?”
Aizawa crossed his arms, as a screen on the wall powered up, displaying pictures of Izuku Midoriya taken from both CCTV footage, and shaky civilian POVs. Some of it was from Kamino, some from Hosu, some were even the rare glimpses they could gather of the FoJ before they started making major moves, like during the Charity Gala where Izuku Midoriya and Momo Yaoyorozu first made contact. Edgeshot cleared his throat, speaking up again.
“The boy is Intelligent, Charming, Cunning, and Powerful. He fights like a seasoned pro, despite being no older than 16, and we still can’t pinpoint what his damn quirk is.”
The Number 6 Hero, Crust, spoke up.
“Are we sure the boy’s got no connections to All for One? He seems to possess multiple quirks.”
Yagi smirks wryly, chuckling softly.
“From the way the boy punched that fiend in the chin, I’d have to assume any relationship the two share is a negative one. If it helps, All For One seemed just as baffled at the boy’s existence as we all are, the entire purpose behind him kidnapping Inko Midoriya was to interrogate her on the boy’s quirk status, or to force Izuku himself to tell him, as he tried in Kamino.”
The president of the HPSC pursed her lips, looking in All Might’s direction.
“And? Did Midoriya tell him?”
The former Number 1 Hero shrugged,
“He telekinetically tore the bones out of All For One’s arms. That seemed like a pretty definitive answer to me.”
Hawks chuckled, the Winged Hero leaning backwards in his chair
“Well, the kid sure knows how to make an Impact, what do we know about the rest of his group? The former students, maybe?”
The screen changed again, showing Kyoka Jirou, Tsuyu Asui, and Itsuka Kendo’s UA ID photos, along with pictures taken from footage of Kyoka and Itsuka fighting in Kamino. Aizawa sat up straighter, humming.
“I can’t answer for Kendo, since All Might and Vlad King primarily worked with her, but I know for certain Kyoka Jirou is displaying powers she didn’t have before. Her quirk should be a mutation that grants her enhanced hearing, as well as the ability to attack with soundwaves, but that was before she met Izuku Midoriya.”
All Might hesitated for a moment, before nodding.
“That’s…that’s in line with something All For One would do. The man is…unfortunately, probably the leading expert on how Quirks function on a biological level, even though I’d have to guess that Izuku Midoriya is getting pretty close, if the boy’s not already surpassed him in that regard. The Nomu? They have multiple Quirks, yes, but they’re state isn’t simply caused by the fact that they have multiple quirks. There’s numerous biological tampering going on, as well as the fact that they’re given quirks with no regards for their safety. It’s very possible to give someone multiple quirks and for them to survive, as Midoriya has demonstrated. How the boy can give the sheer quality and quantity of quirks he gives those young women without hurting them, I’m uncertain.”
Best Jeanist hummed, watching the screen intensely.
“So, we have a group of children, disillusioned with heroic society, but not the notion that they shouldn’t help people, and they all very likely possess multiple quirks?”
Nedzu smiled from his perch on Aizawa’s shoulder, mirthlessly
“Have we mentioned the fact that it’s more than likely they have Melissa Shield within their midst?”
Everyone in the room reacted negatively to that, even All Might shook his head. Miruko groaned out in annoyance.
“Fucking International politics, grand."
“There’s still the matter of the other girls working with him, Mei Hatsume, Ochako Uraraka, Himiko Toga, and Momo Yaoyorozu."
Aizawa shook his head, sighing deeply. These damn kids are gonna be the death of him.
“Have we heard from the Yaoyorozu’s at all?”
The president of the HPSC scowled, and Aizawa almost smirked viciously.
“Repeatedly. That’s not even beginning to discuss the complexities of whatever happened to Himiko Toga’s parents.”
Aizawa snorted, pulling out a folder and tossing it onto the table, an old one, one of the first case folders from his investigation of The FoJ.
“That one’s actually pretty simple. Inside that are printed emails and transcribed phone conversations, Himiko Toga’s parents were trying to send her to Quirk Therapy."
Several of the top pro-heroes in the room growled, even Musha flinching, but Aizawa wasn’t finished.
“And, with the way our laws around quirks are structured, if Himiko somehow found out about her parents plans, say via a third party like Izuku Midoriya, technically speaking, murdering her parents is classified as an act of defense, and we can’t legally charge her for it.”
Japan made a lot of laws trying to cover its ass during the rise of Quirks, that ruling is one of them, when Quirk Therapy was much more common, and heroics was more or less legalized vigilantism. The Ninja Hero spoke up, addressing something Aizawa himself was also gonna bring up.
“If there’s anyone with a rap sheet we actually might have to worry about, It’s Ochako Uraraka.”
The president of the HPSC raised an eyebrow at that.
“The construction worker's daughter?”
Aizawa did smirk viciously this time, chuckling out loud.
“We have reason to believe that she’s Zero, and yes, I mean that Zero.”
Kamui Woods sat up straighter, the kid, while he’s not worked with Eraserhead all that much professionally, he is in a team with Edgeshot, the crawlers. The Wildwood hero gave the Ninja Hero a surprised look.
“Truly? I thought you got to her, Edgeshot.”
Edgeshot shook his head, shrugging his shoulders, as Aizawa spoke up again.
“Clearly, Izuku Midoriya did. Either way, what this means is that we have 3 former hero-students, at least 2 highly skilled support engineers, someone with a quirk that at the very least allows her to disguise herself as virtually anyone, one of the most wanted thieves in all of Japan, and the heiress of the Yaoyorozu Company, all under the same umbrella.”
The President of the HPSC harrumphed, glaring at Aizawa, unimpressed.
“So, what do you suggest we do about them, Eraserhead?”
Aizawa smirked, leaning back in his chair.
“To start? I’d say we should stop fucking needing them.”
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The meeting wrapped up rather anticlimactically at that, with no clear orders from The Commission in regards to the Future of Japan besides ‘handle them’. Aizawa knew from the start that this meeting would be rather redundant, the only new piece of information Aizawa gathered from it is that Endeavor may in-fact be lightening his approach in-regards to the teen-vigilantes. Besides him, though, The Erasure Hero knows that nobody else’s stance has particularly changed. The Commission, and other more ‘traditional’ heroes like Yoroi Musha are going to continue to attempt to arrest Izuku and the rest of his cabal of super-powered children, while UA, and more… reasonable heroes like Ryukyu or Edgeshot will simply try to set their mischief on the right side of the law. Shota certainly knows this meeting hasn’t changed his stance on the group. Aizawa has worked with plenty of vigilante’s in his time as an underground hero, he’s also worked with just as many troubled teens in his time as a teacher at UA, and right now, both sides of him are telling him he needs more information on the group, on Izuku Midoriya, before he can make any concrete decisions.
That’s why, after dropping their principal Nedzu off at UA, he and Yagi continued driving, heading back out into the city, toward the sea. Soon enough, they reached Dagoba Municipal Beach, once a trash heap, now a hidden gem. Aizawa noticed the former number 1 hero smiling fondly at the sight of the spotless sand and the crystal clear waves, and raised an eyebrow at the older man, even as the duo walked down the boardwalk.
“Have you been here before?”
Yagi sputters, shaking the clearly fond memories away from his head, as he nodded, looking back toward the ocean.
“Ah, Yes, I uh…I remember Dagoba before it was a garbage dump, actually. This is where I took Young It- Young Kendo to, for training. She cleaned the beach herself, all of this? It’s because of her hard-work.”
“Would that be when you gave her One for All?”
Toshinori flinched, but hesitantly nodded. Aizawa was only read-in on that particular secret recently. If he was told earlier, he’d have Insisted that Kendo be transferred to his class, seeing as how useful Erasure would be in tempering such a powerful quirk, but Shota supposes that doesn’t exactly matter anymore.
“Yes, it’s…a special spot for me, I suppose.”
The duo remained silent for another long moment, before Eraserhead spoke up again.
“Do you really believe Izuku Midoriya has multiple quirks, that he can steal them?”
Toshinori tensed once again, before sighing
“I…It seems very likely, yes. I fought right next to the boy in Kamino, and while it wasn’t for long…he has the heart of a hero, I’m sure. Just…”
All Might struggled for words for a moment, before chuckling slightly
“He acts like how I’d imagine All for One would, if the man had even an inch of compassion, courage, and selflessness in his tattered old soul.”
Eraserhead nodded, looking back toward the ocean, before snorting.
“Well, Shit.”
A chuckle rang out from behind them, making both the Underground Hero and former Symbol of Peace tense up, before whipping their gazes backward.
“Never one to mince words are you, Eraserhead?”
And there, standing behind them, is Izuku Midoriya. The boy was wearing casual clothing, looking like any other teen, really. He had on a pair of regular jeans, as well as his trademark red sneakers. The green-haired boy was wearing a black shirt, with the Kanji for ‘Criminal’ on it in red. Aizawa raised an eyebrow at the boy, even as he gave them a two-fingered salute.
“I hope I didn’t catch you both by surprise, I’m glad we can finally meet under less…intense circumstances, shame Nedzu couldn’t Join us, though.”
Aizawa wasn’t exactly in a combat stance, nor did he even remotely believe he could take the green-haired boy in a fight, but that didn’t mean he was gonna drop his guard, Midoriya raised his hands in surrender, chuckling lightly
“I’m not your enemy, Eraser, I’d like to think you understand that by now.”
Aizawa gave the green-haired boy a dry look.
“You kidnapped three UA students, two of which were mine.”
Izuku chuckled again, even though Aizawa noticed his eyes growing a touch wistful,
“Yes, you are pretty protective, aren’t you? Well, I’ll gladly let you know that Kyoka, Itsuka, and Tsuyu are all happy, and safe.”
Eraserhead didn’t miss the way Toshinori flinched at Itsuka’s name. The underground hero narrowed his eyes, shaking his head.
“And, you expect me to trust your word?”
Izuku grinned, holding out a hand.
“I could always give you a quirk that’ll tell you whether or not I’m lying, if you’d like.”
Aizawa stilled, as Toshinori sputtered, eyes widening at the boy.
“Y-You’re not talking about Detective Naomasa’s Quirk, are you?!”
Izuku smirked, nodding faintly.
“The very same, yes.”
Aizawa grew more tense, his glare growing even more severe.
“So you’re admitting you’ve stolen an innocent man’s quirk?! A high-ranking detective in the Mustafa police force no less?!”
Izuku laughed, shaking his head, as he looked up at the clouds for a moment. When he looked back toward them, Aizawa had to do everything in his power not to gasp out-loud. Izuku’s eyes were glowing red. The Erasure hero could feel a weight, intangible but very present, pressing on his quirk factor itself, it’s nothing he’s ever felt before, but something very familiar to him.
“Oh, Aizawa, you’ll find I possess several quirks I really shouldn’t.”
Aizawa shivered, still glaring at the teen, before sighing
“Fine, fine, you made your point, now cut it out. Feels weird, having it used on me.”
Izuku laughed again, but did as he was told, the green-haired boy blinking, canceling Erasure. Eraserhead shook his head, as Izuku began walking past them, heading further down the boardwalk, until he sat down at the edge.
“C’mon, sit with me. This is gonna be a long story.”
The two adults look at each other briefly, before moving to sit next to the boy. Izuku Midoriya stared off at the water for a little while, an unreadable expression on his face, before he stared back up at the clouds, and sighed.
“Eraserhead, All Might, allow me to tell you both a story. One that begins in the future, and ends in the past. Let me tell you the story of how I became the world’s greatest hero, and then it’s most infamous Vigilante.”
And then, Izuku began to tell his story. And oh, what a story it was.
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Fried Chicken after a hard day’s work really was all the therapy Hawks needed. Forget about the childhood trauma, the brutal training, the blackmail, the figurative and legal cage he’s been living in his entire life, all The Winged Hero needs is a big ole tub of crispy goodness, and he’s set. Of course, even on his Lunch Break, Keigo Takami couldn’t escape The Commission tweeting in his ear.
“Status Report, Agent Hawks.”
Hawks chewed his drumstick carefully, before swallowing
“I think Mustafa has the best fried chicken this side of Japan, Boss Lady. like, seriously, you gotta try it! 10/10 in my book.”
Hawks could hear an exasperated sigh from over the line, the president of the HPSC sighing out loud, before speaking again.
“On the targets, Hawks, not your lunch."
Keigo hummed, tossing his now picked clean drumstick behind him, as he continued to fly through the air, taking another piece of chicken and making sure to bite into it extra loud, just to spite her.
“Don’t we have like, Camera’s and Satellites and junk like that? You couldn’t keep an eye out on them with those?"
“We do, but our technology can’t track them in UA, our satellites can barely even look at the campus.”
Hawks snorted, tossing another bone behind him, he wonders if he’s hit anyone with any of these chicken bones yet.
“Well, that makes sense, don’t you think? Nedzu isn’t exactly keen on outside authorities spying on his students.”
“And, that’s why we have You, Hawks. Have you heard anything or not? ”
Keigo hummed, doing a loop through the air, careful to not spill his bucket of chicken. He really needs to stop and grab something to drink, all this chicken is leaving him parched. The truth is, he did manage to sneak a feather or two into the pockets of both Eraserhead and All Might, and since then, he’s detected that both men didn’t just stop at UA after their meeting with The HPSC, but instead went to a third location, before seemingly having a conversation, with Izuku Midoriya. The thing is, though…
“Hmmmm, nah, nothing interesting. Just sounds like they’re worried about their students, who would’ve thunk?”
The President of the Hero Public Safety Commission growled, before speaking one final time.
“Fine, but keep an ear out, I want any information you can get on UA, I trust Nedzu about as far as I can throw him.”
Hawks couldn’t help but snickering, raising an eyebrow
“Nedzu is like, a chinchilla. I’m pretty sure anyone could throw a chinchilla pretty far if they’re dedicated enough, Boss.”
With one final exasperated groan, Madam President hung up on him. Keigo smirked, grabbing another piece of chicken. There’s just some cards The Winged Hero would rather keep close to his chest, right now.