Chapter Text
The entire country was in chaos. Two weeks ago, All for One managed to escape Tartarus. One week ago, that became public knowledge. Izuku stood inside a hero conference room to discuss the latest changes after the villains mysteriously disappeared once more.
Nedzu stood on his chair. He managed to grab all attention despite his height and relatively low voice. His smile was as unpredictable as ever. In the room stood only a number of U.A students, and as much as Izuku felt honored to be one of them, he couldn’t help the anxiety he felt.
Aizawa, standing beside Nedzu, cleared his throat. “Much as it pains us to admit, this battle is not going well for us,” he said. “We were caught by surprise. We didn’t have enough time to prepare. Currently, one of our students— Hagakure Toru— is being held captive by the Paranormal Liberation Front. This unfortunately puts us at great disadvantage, almost completely restricting our moves.”
Izuku dug his nails into his palms to ground himself. He tried to focus only on what was being said and not the feeling of guilt and helplessness that was consuming his whole body.
Nedzu took over the speech. “Given our current predicament, the Hero Public Safety Commission decided to take control.” The rat gave a small smile that clearly showed his disapproval of the situation. “Unfortunately…the decision they came up with is less than ideal. However, I cannot seem to change their mind no matter what I do.”
Sitting on his right was Kacchan while Yaoyoruzo sat on his left. Opposite of him were Kirishima as well as Todoroki. These five were handpicked by Aizawa-sensei to attend this confidential meeting along with multiple influencing heroes.
All of whom sat up straighter in anticipation of the principal’s next words.
“They decided to exploit their connections in order to ask a favor from Yokohama.”
The whole table seemed to hold its breath.
At the far end of the table, Endeavor gritted his teeth. Aizawa’s lips thinned.
Todoroki’s solid voice echoed through the room. “That is not a wise idea. Yokohama has been closed off for years. We have very limited knowledge about it.”
Rock Lock slammed his fist on the table. “To hell with that! Who said they would even help? Who said we can even trust them?!”
Nedzu, for once, didn’t ask everyone to calm down. Izuku had the feeling he was just as pissed as the rest of them, if not more.
Kirishima muttered, “Yokohama? The quirkless city?”
All Might, currently in his shrunken form, turned to Kirishima with a pale face— perhaps not entirely due to his condition. “According to the Hero Commission, that is not accurate information.”
Present Mic apparently had enough of the bullshit. “HAAA? What is that supposed to mean?! They don’t have quirks; we’ve checked these facts ourselves!”
The principal nodded. “Yes. That is correct. They do not have quirks; rather, they have abilities.”
“Abilities?” Izuku questioned, slightly awed despite the situation. Perhaps that hadn’t been the correct emotion to show on his face, but Izuku couldn’t bring himself to stop himself.
Principal Nedzu didn’t seem to mind explaining. “As we understand, long ago, quirks developed inexplicably. However, abilities developed first.”
Izuku had always read theories about Yokohama since he was a child. He’d heard all sorts of stories about them, but this was something else entirely.
The principal paused for a few moments, eyes trailing over the room’s occupants. When he found no questions were being asked, he continued. “Information is limited at the moment, but our investigations prove the following: Abilities are immensely more powerful than quirks. Unlike quirks, they’re not genetic, and only a minority of the population possesses them. They have significantly fewer limitations. They’re assumed to be spread out over the entire world; however, Yokohama possesses the largest Ability gifted populations.”
Kacchan, apparently pretty fed up with the bullshit being spewed— honestly, Izuku found himself relating—, scoffed. “So what? They’re apparently ‘stronger’—” He made air quotations to highlight his sarcasm— “And that’s apparently enough for the entire hero society to grovel at their feet and plead for help? When has that ever been our way?!”
Yaoyorozu cleared her throat, politely grabbing the room’s attention. “With all due respect, sir, the information we have about that group is too insufficient for us to call for their aid.”
Mic nodded vigorously. “I gotta agree with the kids. What the fuck is the Commission thinking, bringing them here? For all we know, their intentions could be worse than All for One!”
Hawks, who had been silent since the meeting started, says, “Hmm… Think of it this way then. We’re severely underpowered. Half our power is out of commission, and the villains know as much. What would you rather do? Keep fighting until we have no man-power left? We’ve already lost many innocent civilians.”
Silence cascades down on them like a curtain after a show.
Finally, Kacchan asked, “What do they want in return? No one would be stupid enough to send men without asking for anything in return.”
Nedzu nods once. “Yes. Well.” The principal takes a moment to look every student— every hero— sitting at this table in the eye. Izuku feels his breath catch in his throat. “The government of Yokohama refused to co-operate. We’re working with the Port Mafia.”
The world collapsed.
“What do you mean we’re working with criminals?!”
“Is the hero commission out of its goddamn mind?!”
“If this is final, I’m out!”
Two slow claps echoed, and the room fell silent. “You all have the right to be upset.” Hawks’ confident voice echoed through the room. “Frankly, I’m a bit disgruntled myself. But here are the facts as we know them: the hero commission isn’t changing its mind. And, honestly, we have no better plan ourselves.”
Nedzu nods his agreement. “The best we can do right now is damage control, as well as keep an eye on our… aid, should they try anything funny.”
Kacchan scoffed. “This is bullshit.”
“Kacchan!”
Izuku got ignored.
Bakugo looked at Hawks and then Nedzu in barely concealed distain. “So we can’t fight our enemy, and our solution is to add to them? What happens when they turn out to be as strong as the league? Then we’re in two shits instead of one?”
All Might’s kind voice halted everyone’s doubts, if just for a moment. “Currently, our country is in a national crisis so big other nations have to prioritize their own people over sending aid. We say our heroes’ forces have shrunken to half their size, but if we exclude heroes currently out of commission as well as heroes not suited for direct combat, our forces are truthfully way less than a courter of what would be needed for us to even stand a chance against the League.”
Aizawa said, “It’s upsetting, but we need to put civilians above our— justified— mistrust of the only people willing to lend a hand.”
“And it’s not like they’re doing this out of the pureness of their hearts,” Nedzu said. “They, too, have something to earn out of this.”
Izuku wasn’t even close to convinced— a glance at his classmates told him they felt the same— but he could understand where the heroes were coming from. He clenched his fists tightly. This was about to be a long, excruciating meeting, and an even longer week.
It was exactly five hours after the meeting ended that they were standing on U.A grounds. This time it was all U.A students standing in assembly— Izuku could barely remember one time the school required an assembly this huge— while heroes and teachers alike stood opposite to them, with two foreign people in the middle. Izuku gulped as he carefully eyed them.
It wasn’t like Izuku wasn’t already tense before even the mention of the Port Mafia’s help. They were in a war. He couldn’t afford to dwell in his own head for little more than a few minutes. But this was a new level of insane! They were teaming up with villains! Villains they had absolutely no information about—!
He had to focus.
The first thing Izuku marked about the two was their age. Despite the obvious difference in height between them, both of them looked… young. Terrifyingly so. They looked to be Izuku’s age. Why would they join the mafia so early. What was their life like?
The second thing he noticed was the way they stood. They looked confident. The taller, black-haired man boy carefully skimmed over each and every student with his eyes, dissecting them like insects. When his gaze finally landed on Izuku, it halted for a moment, and Izuku froze. He could swear he saw the man smirk imperceptibly, but then he looked away as if nothing happened. Izuku felt a cold kind of dread he hadn’t felt in a long, long time. This man was not a hero.
The second man seemed alarmingly carefree—bored, dare he say. He occasionally pushed his bright orange hair back, lazy eyes focusing on anything that could alleviate his boredom.
Both men unsettled Izuku to no end— one more than the other. Just what kind of power could they possibly have to be this confident. They were standing in the presence of the strongest men in the country! Was the confidence rehearsed? All Might had taught them that appearing confident makes all the change. Izuku was just now realizing the extent of the truth behind the statement.
Why were they only two?
That single thread of doubt wouldn’t leave his mind ever since they were informed of who exactly would arrive. At first, he’d asked if they were representatives. When it turned out that no, these two people are supposed to single-handedly make up for the entire fighting force on the heroes’ side, Izuku was…perplexed.
He half-listened to his friends as his mind worked— took in excited rumors and doubtful whispers and hopeful murmurs as he analyzed everything he could regarding the two in front of him.
They’d been informed of the only things they knew about them: names, and powers.
The taller of the two, Dazai Osamu, had a nullification Ability activated by touch. The ginger, Nakahara Chuuya, had something akin to gravity manipulation. Izuku would guess it was similar to Uraraka’s quirk, some way or the other. Yet… well, perhaps he was comparing him to Uraraka too much, but he didn’t suppose someone with gravity-related power would act so much as though no harm could touch him. False information then, or maybe he didn’t rely on his Ability much while fighting?
Izuku turned his head to watch his principal rise onto what he presumed to be a tall chair in order to grab onto the podium’s mic, and a memory of Nedzu’s final words of the meeting echoed in his mind.
“It’s not a choice any of us would have gone with had we had any luxury of choice at all. I don’t expect any of you to like this. Quite the contrary, I expect you to keep your guard up. We’re keeping the… nature of their work private for the near future.” He had looked at all five of them in particular. “You, young heroes, will be responsible for direct information gathering, as well as calming your classmates should any of them cause an uproar. We’ll already be receiving many public outlash. We cannot afford inward fighting as well.”
“It’s not an easy task. Can you do it?”
The rat-like being tapped on the mic twice. “Attention, please!”
Murmurs quietened down into hushed whispers before they disappeared altogether. The principal patiently waited for complete silence before he continued.
“I’m sure most of you are wondering about our new allies in this… less-than-ideal situation. I’d like to start by clearing a few common misconceptions about the territory known as Yokahama.”
Hushed whispers started again at that. Izuku expected that. He’d heard all about this just a few hours ago, and still, he could barely wrap his head around any of it.
Mafia aid. Abilities.
As Nedzu continued on with his speech, a body shifted from beside him. Izuku tilted his head just enough to see Todoroki from his peripheral. His friend didn’t seem to mind as he, too, was watching their new intruders. “Midoriya, these men are not kind.”
Izuku swallowed tightly around nothing. “Yeah.”
As the minutes passed, Izuku felt a gaze on the back of his neck. When he turned, Ashido of all people was giving them a look. He couldn’t decipher much of it, but he saw some hurt there, as well as determination.
A shift in tone from Nedzu redirected his attention back to the podium, and Izuku looked in time to see Nedzu gesturing to the two men. “As such, these two gifted individuals, are here to provide much needed external aid. Dazai Osamu and Chuuya Nakahara are both here to assist us in the war. Please do treat them nicely.”
External aid, huh.
He heard a scoff that was distinctly Kacchan’s, and couldn’t help finding himself relating.
The volume of the murmurs and mutters rose again as it became obvious that their principal was finished with his speech. Izuku could hear snips and snippets wondering about abilities, questioning how two young teenagers like themselves could do any change in a war like this, talking about how this was all a joke and a waste of time.
Dazai didn’t seem to mind at all as he grabbed his own mic. Just that simple motion was enough to quieten down the crowds. He had such a powerful presence, it was unnerving. “Ahem,” he started, succeeding in grabbing everyone’s attention with no effort at all. “I’m sure you all have your doubts about us.”
No words of agreement or disagreement followed.
“All I have to say about that…” He paused —for dramatic effect, no doubt—, and the whole room seemed to hold its breath. Then, his lips stretched into a lazy, mocking smirk. “Is you’ll just have to deal with it.”
They were stunned for exactly two seconds, before chaos ensued.
Izuku watched with a strange sort of detachment as students erupted in anger and confusion and questions, as the teachers tried and failed to calm the situation, and as the principal tried to defend and explain. His gaze was focused solely on Dazai, who watched the situation with a sick kind of amazement.
After a while of watching everything happen, Chuuya scoffed and grabbed the mic. “Alright, alright you bunch. Calm yourselves. You’re giving me a headache.”
The effect was immediate. Teachers and students alike quietened on a few seconds’ time. It was stunning to say the least. “We’re here to help whether you like it or not. This is beneficial to us just as it is to you, so suck it up and shut it because you have no choice.”
This time there was no backlash, and Izuku was left staring. Who are these people?
Dazai sighed comically loud. “This is gonna be troublesome,” he said— like Izuku couldn’t see how entertained he was with the whole thing. “To all U.A students, please do continue with whatever it is you do on your day-to-day until we require the assistance of any of you. To our dear teachers—” Izuku suddenly got shivers. A premonition. “—Please do allow us to do the same. That is to say,” and his voice dropped threateningly, “Please don’t get in our way.”
And with that, he grabbed at Chuuya’s sleeve and started walking away, a smirk faint but definitely there on his lips. Chuuya swatted his hand away and started yelling to him about one thing or the other, but they’d already left the microphone; Izuku had no way to hear what was being said. Even if he did, he didn’t think he would be able to pay attention to anything around the fog of dread surrounding his mind.
Students started roaring the moment the two were out of sight, this time at the teachers. This time they started moving over, crowding them. The teachers tried to placate them best they could, answering their questions without sharing anything confidential.
Izuku was left watching the whole thing from afar. It was their job to calm this down, wasn’t it? He could see Kirishima and Yaoyorozu awkwardly trying to motivate everyone into staying positive. He could see Present Mic managing to out-voice everyone else —granted his quirk— in order to make them listen, could almost hear the motivational speech All Might was giving.
He was being absolutely useless.
All he could manage was to keep his thoughts at bay. All he could manage was not to think of it all.
Kacchan hadn’t moved from his place beside him. “What the hell do these assholes expect us to do? ‘Calm them down’? What a load of bull.”
One other person had also remained in their place.
“Bakugo, Midoriya.” Ashido’s fists were clenched at her side. “What the hell is going on? You know something, don’t you? You and Kirishima, and Yaomomo, and Todoroki. I saw you going with Sensei in the morning. What the hell is this.”
And Izuku—
Izuku felt like a horrible person.
“Everything is going to be fine, Ashido-san.” It was all Izuku could do to stop his voice from cracking. He wasn’t sure he was succeeding. “I’m sure of it.”
The lie tasted bitter on his tongue. It was not fine. It was the farthest it could possibly be.
The worst-case scenario.
Perhaps, Izuku ought to find a way to gain their trust. Perhaps Izuku had to understand them.
Standing in the middle of U.A’s grounds, Izuku Midoriya comes to quiet possibly the worst decision he could come up with in this situation.
He decides to have a chat with the two looming figures of Yokahama.