Chapter 11: Contact
Midoriya Izumi was the first to give her statement to the police after the Incident at the USJ. She had kept her distance from the rest of her class, including those who were with her at the central plaza. Upon reverting back into her human form, she noticed that she had really pushed herself against that Nomu and later Tetrax.
She found herself face to face with Detective Tsukauchi and Nezu, who beckoned her to sit beside him. "Midoriya-chan, I know that what you just went through must have been quite traumatic, but I will ask that you recount the events as accurately as possible." The mammal stated, earning a curt nod from his student.
Tsukauchi also looked at the girl, who looked to be fine, at least physically. "Nezu has requested that my partner not be present due to the sensitivity of some of the information you may relay to me. Now, Please tell me what happened in there."
Izumi sighed, and answered truthfully. Her voice was tired, and she wanted nothing more than to get out of that god forsaken place. When she got to the part about the bounty hunters, she hesitated, turning to Nezu for permission, earning a simple nod.
Tsukauchi Naomasa thought there wouldn't be too many surprises in this case, aside from the fact that one of the most secure universities in the world was somehow infiltrated by villains, but his belief was utterly shattered when the girl revealed that the bounty hunters were sent to retrieve the device on her wrist by an alien warlord. The worst part was, everything she said after that rang true as well. The creatures that had nearly killed the teachers had multiple quirks, the villains that attacked were agents of All for One, who had somehow survived… it was nearly too much for him to even process. He would definitely have to raid his liquor stash once he got home.
"I see." His eyes were rather unfocused as he finished writing down her statement, omitting the truth about aliens at Nezu's request. "You have the Sotoraggian in custody, if I understand correctly… and this Tetrax Shard was let go after confirming Midoirya's competence in protecting the…"
"Omnitrix, sir." Izumi repeated.
The detective sighed deeply. "Right. And you also recovered the pieces of the cyborg bounty hunter." He repeated the words silently, not believing that he had just uttered that phrase. "Did you see what happened to him, Midoriya?"
Izumi nodded, shakily. "He was killed by the Nomu, the black one, I mean, when Shigaraki Tomura failed to kill him with his decay quirk." True
"And why did his quirk fail?" Naomasa pressed.
Izumi felt a lump in her throat, before accepting that she had to tell the truth. "My friend Mina… She defeated the bounty hunter and threw him across the building." True. The detective was slightly surprised by the girl's strength. "He was coated in acid, so when Shigaraki touched him, it melted his fingers off, down to the bone." True. She winced at the image and the memory of the smell.
Naomasa nodded. "I understand. You're free to go, Midoriya. I'm sure you'd like to talk to your mother and Toshinori." The girl simply nodded and left before the tears could start flowing.
Her class was waiting for her outside, and their eyes immediately locked onto her. She tried to give them a reassuring smile, as their representative, but she felt like she was about to break down, and instead ran away, holding in her tears the best she could, until she was sitting under the shade of a tree, and finally let go.
Mina found Izumi through her wails amidst the trees near the USJ building, wearing a UA gym uniform after having her tattered costume taken off her hands. Ochako, Tooru, Hitoshi, Eiko, Iida, Setsuna, Tsu and Momo had followed her without her noticing as she made her way through the trees in a rush. The group stood there, still, as they saw Izumi curled into a ball, crying rivers of tears that flooded the ground.
Mina took careful steps toward her friend, reaching out to touch her. "Midori…" Izumi jolted away from the contact, looking up with reddened eyes. Her pupils contracted as she hyperventilated. "Shhh… Midori, it's okay. It's just me."
"M-Mina…" She whispered, looking behind the pink girl to see the others. "E-everyone…" She felt the tears threaten to come back. "I… I put you all in danger… I wasn't good enough… I couldn't…"
She felt something hit her side, and looked down to see Tsuyu latched onto her, also crying. "Ribbit, Midoriya, you saved my life! I was so scared you were going to die against that monster… then against that villain, ribbit… and that bounty hunter that looked just like you… You saved me, ribbit."
Izumi felt the weight of the world crashing onto her, she could scarcely breathe. "I… I knew something was going to go wrong today… I should have taken the bounty hunters out faster… I shouldn't have hesitated against the villains… I wasn't able to make better gear for you all…"
Setsuna stepped forward. "Midori, we're just students. You can't expect to be perfect. We were all ambushed by villains, and you kicked their leader's ass." She placed a hand on the girl's shoulder.
"And your gear really helped us fight the villains! Kodai-can and Tsunotori-san were able to beat back a bunch of them that were harassing Thirteen!" Ochako also approached.
"And I took out a bunch of villains with the batons you upgraded! One of them was even about to kill Todoroki-san." Tooru added. "Though the asshole kinda deserved it." She whispered, earning some appalled looks.
"Point is, Izumi, you did your best back there. We shouldn't have gone through all that in the first place, but you not being there wouldn't have prevented the attack." Hitoshi said, in a rare display of genuine emotion. "Instead, you saved me and Tsu, and prevented the villains from killing our professors… You saved Aizawa…" He fought back against the tears, and managed to keep them at bay.
Izumi shook her head in disbelief. "No… I stood and watched as that thing broke him… I couldn't even save Tsu… that was all him."
"Izumi-san." Momo commanded her attention. "When Kaminari was caught by a villain that absorbed electricity, I was only able to save him thanks to the mask you made me. I could only stop him because I could search for a non deadly neurotoxin I could shoot him with." The class shuddered at the fact that she even knew how to make them. "Otherwise… I might have needed to…" She couldn't bring herself to say it.
"What you did was really manly, Midoriya!" Eiko cheered.
"Indeed! Putting yourself at risk to protect your classmates was a noble deed, Midoriya-san." Iida added.
Izumi nodded, not really believing them, and looked at Mina. "Why didn't you run? Why did you stay while I was fighting Tetrax? If he wanted to… he could have killed all of us."
Mina wrapped her in a tight hug. "Midori, I know what you're feeling." Izumi wanted to deny it, but found her voice had failed. "I really do. But we wouldn't ever leave you to face someone like him alone." Her friends nodded in agreement. "Like you said, humans work better in packs, right?"
Izumi felt pain at her words being twisted against her, but found herself smiling at last. "Y-you're right, Mina… You're right." Izumi then looked at the others. "Those bounty hunters… they were after me specifically, and I can't help but feel responsible for it. People have gotten hurt before because there's a villain after me… I just couldn't bear the thought of that happening, especially without All Might around."
Ochako hugged her as well, and it quickly turned into a pile of bodies. "But we made it out, Izumi. We all did our best, and we beat them. And I, for one, wouldn't hesitate to help you again." Tooru said. Izumi was able to feel the smile radiating from her.
"Everyone… Thank you so much." Izumi cried once more, but this time they were tears of joy and relief, not pain.
"I'm glad you're doing better, Midoriya-san. However, we must return to give our statements to the police." Iida stated, reminding them of their duties.
Mina looked worriedly at Izumi, who just shook her head. "Go, I'll be there in a sec. I still need to clear my head, okay?" Taking her word for it, they did as she asked, leaving her to sort through her feelings. She stared at Mina's back, her eyes switching between her and the other girls. 'I'm disgusting.'
Tsukauchi looked at the pink girl in front of him. It wasn't hard to believe she was an alien, though the sheer absurdity of the notion when it could be simply taken for a mutation quirk made him understand how she, and others, according to Nezu, had integrated into Earth's society. "Hello. I am Detective Tsukauchi Naomasa from the Musutafu PD. I am speaking to Ashido Mina, yes?"
Mina nodded. "Yes, sir." She nodded, with a certain jitteriness to her.
"I am required by law to state that I have a lie detecting quirk. Do you understand?" He noticed the girl's eyes widen, and she quickly nodded, her nervousness even clearer to the detective.
"Now, this is strictly off the record, but I have been informed by Nezu about your circumstances." She seemed to freeze for a moment. "But I do wish to confirm. Where were you born and who are your parents?"
She took a deep breath. "I was born in the Chiba prefecture." Truth. "My mother is Ashido Aiko, and my father… my father was Sennok, leader of the Great Clan of Sulphur." True .
Naomasa nodded. "Hmm, your father was not from here, was he?"
Mina gulped. "N-no, sir. He was from Vestundra… homeworld of the Kraaho." True.
The detective saw the unease in her voice and interjected. "Ashido-san, you're not in trouble for having an extraterrestrial parent, nor will your status be revealed. Nezu trusted me with this case, and I intend to honour that trust, okay? I merely wished to better understand your situation." Mina nodded, taking deep breaths.
"Good, then, I have some questions for you about the events that happened earlier today. Are you willing to help us?" She nodded. "Good. Now, first of all, do you know the identities of the three bounty hunters that attack, and their motive?"
Mina nodded. "I know the identities of two, and the species of the third. The one with the jetpack was a Sotoraggian." True . "The crustacean bastard was a cyborg Piscciss Premann who called himself Kraab. And the last one was a Petrosapien by the name of Tetrax Shard." True . "They were after a device called the Omnitrix… Midori has it." True .
He nodded. "Indeed, that checks out with her statement." He hummed. "Do you know what happened to them?"
She nodded. "The Sotoraggian was probably captured. Tetrax revealed he was not truly hostile, and left after making sure the Omnitrix was in safe hands. As for Kraab… he's dead." True .
"He is indeed. Killed by the bioengineered weapon known as Nomu." Tsukauchi stated. "However, he was apparently transported to the conflagration zone, and you two had a confrontation, according to another statement. Can you tell me what happened?"
Mina shook for a second and clenched her fist, before sighing. "I told Setsuna-san to take Kendo-san away, due to her injuries, before engaging him as he noticed me. We fought, and he insulted me until I became enraged, so I severed his arm and coated him in my most potent acid, before tossing him towards the central plaza, where he was killed." True.
Tsukauchi nodded somberly as the statement registered as true. "Now, you seem like a sensible young lady. What could have possessed you to do such a thing?"
Mina shivered as her rage fueled rampage returned to her mind. "I… He called me a mongrel half-breed. He taunted me by insulting my father… and he gloated about how he played a part in the massacre and enslavement of my people." True . Tsukauchi widened his eyes as her statement rang true in his mind.
"Ashido-san… I am sorry for your loss." She simply nodded, not making eye contact as she stared at her own hands. "Was the one who sent the bounty hunters the same as the one who did that?"
She nodded once again. "Vilgax. He came after our planet for our mineral resources, to build his warships and mechanical units." True . She explained. "My father, as chief of a Great Clan, left to fight for our world… But the Kraaho were betrayed by one of their own clans, who gave out the locations of our bases to Vilgax… When it ended, he made an example of the chiefs…" True . She couldn't bear to describe it.
"Don't push yourself, Ashido-san. I imagine that not only encountering one of the people responsible for such an atrocity, but to have him gloat about it, would be quite damaging to one's psyche." He stated. "You will not be held responsible for your actions today, and I would recommend you seek professional help for dealing with your trauma."
Mina nodded, smiling slightly. "Thank you, sir. I will." False .
The detective sighed, scribbling down the last of the information he had gained. "That will be all, Ashido-san. Thank you for your candour." She got up, bowed and left. Tsukauchi pinched the bridge of his nose. He was really not expecting to deal with victims of interstellar war today.
"I am speaking to Shinsou Hitoshi, correct?" He looked at the tall, tired teen in front of him, wearing a scarf very reminiscent of Eraserhead.
"Aizawa Hitoshi, actually." True . Tsukauchi blinked as the statement rang true. "I changed my name when I came of age, in honour of the man who took me in." True .
The detective nodded. "My mistake. Eraserhead had indeed told me he'd adopted. I just assumed it would have been another cat."
Hitoshi chuckled. "Jury's still out on that one."
"Well, Aizawa-kun, I am legally required to inform you that I possess a lie detection quirk. Do you understand?"
"Yup." He popped the 'p' as he answered in a monotone that again reminded Naomasa of Eraserhead.
"Good. Now, I have a few questions about today's incident." He stated. "You were involved in the fight with the bioengineered weapon known as Nomu. How did the incident unfold?"
Hitoshi sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, making Tsukauchi truly begin to wonder if he was actually a secret love child, although the ages didn't match up. "I was with Izumi-san and Tsu-san at the flood zone. We managed to capture the villains, though that was mainly Izumi's doing. When we got to the central plaza location… The Nomu was ordered by that Shigaraki villain to kill one of the bounty hunters, and then proceeded to… to nearly kill Eraserhead." True . He choked out the last part.
"That must have been horrifying to watch." The detective said sympathetically. "I was very relieved to hear he will recover."
Hitoshi merely nodded. "Shigaraki heard us as we carelessly shouted, and ran towards us in an attempt to kill us. Eraserhead managed to erase his quirk… just when he managed to touch Tsu-san…" True . Tsukauchi nodded. He'd heard the same thing from the two girls. "Immediately after, Izumi transformed into Tetra and punched him." True .
The boy took a deep breath. "The punch instead hit the Nomu, carving a hole through its chest." True . He explained. "The resulting shockwave got us out of range of the villain." True . The detective nodded. "Izumi distracted the villain so we could help the teachers, which we did. We met up with Tooru and Mina, who helped take down the other Nomu and pull the teachers out of the way." True .
"How did Midoriya's fight with the villains go?" Tsukauchi asked.
Hitoshi gave him a half-smile. Again, it was a wonder how he and Aizawa weren't actually related. "Izumi had the villain monologuing, while she kept wearing down the Nomu's regeneration. Shigaraki was quoting this really cringe speech from a video game. Kind of embarrassing if you ask me." True . Tsukauchi motioned for him to get on with it. "So, while he was distracted, I used my voice modulator to imitate his voice and ordered the Nomu to incapacitate itself. At no point did I use my quirk."True . He said reflexively.
Tsukauchi shook his head. "Don't worry about that, young man. Thirteen informed me that they gave you permission before you were warped."
"Oh, right." Hitoshi said, averting his gaze slightly.
"And regarding the later fight with the bounty hunter, do you have any questions?" The detective asked, as he did with most students, though he mostly didn't answer anything about aliens if they didn't outright know.
Hitoshi took a look around the room, as if checking if anyone would overhear. "I mean… At first I thought all this alien stuff Izumi and Mina talked about was a prank or something… but after today… What do you guys intend to do about it?" True .
Naomasa paused for a moment before answering. "Well, for now… nothing, kid." He sighed. "Nezu told me just how important it was that it didn't get out, and the chaos it could cause… So we're letting the ones best equipped to handle it… keep handling it. I don't think we'd have jurisdiction either way."
Hitoshi furrowed his brow. "Hmm… I'll ask him then."
Tsukauchi felt a bead of sweat pooling on his face. "You do that, kid. For now, that's all we wanted to know. Thank you for your honesty." The boy just nodded and left the room, leaving Tsukauchi to wonder if they would really have to leave it in the hands of the Plumbers. The thought of a secret organisation, accountable to nobody but themselves, run by perhaps the most fearsome creature on Earth… it made his stomach churn.
Hagakure Tooru's expression itself was nigh impossible to read, especially when she was taking care to keep her usually dynamic body language closed off. "I am speaking to Hagakure Tooru, yes?" The detective asked.
"Yup!" She said, in a tone too cheery for the way she currently positioned herself. It slightly unsettled the detective, but he pushed it to the back of his mind.
"Good. I am Detective Tsukauchi Naomasa. Before we begin, I must inform you that I have a truth detecting quirk, which I cannot turn off. Do you understand?"
She seemed to nod. "I do."
"Very well. First of all, after the initial ambush, it seems you were teleported to the mountain zone of the complex. Can you describe to me what happened there?" He asked, recalling the rather shocked expression of the officers. The villains showed no signs of resistance aside from mild frostbite, as if they had been taken down instantly.
"Well, I fell from the portal and immediately activated my costume, and attempted to find my classmates." True . "I was almost hit with a blast of ice from Todoroki." True . The slightly hostile tone she had was mildly concerning, but he decided to wait until the end. "Then I listened in as he talked to the villains. He got information about the villains' plan and was about to leave them to die of hypothermia." True . The detective slightly widened his eyes. "Then he got ambushed by a villain with a hydrokinesis quirk. Todoroki continued using his ice, giving the villain more water to work with, while I took the opportunity to take out the now free villains before they could backstab him." True . She explained.
"And how exactly did you take them out?"
"20 or so milliamps to the neck." True . He widened his eyes in surprise. While not quite lethal, that sort of current was far above what most tasers and such support gear dished out, nearly double, in fact. "I lowered the amperage in my batons so they wouldn't die. Midori said that that amount of current would knock them out." True .
"Did Midoriya produce your support gear?" He asked.
"Yup! Apparently she gave quite a few of our costumes some upgrades yesterday after the break in. She seemed really worried that we would get hurt. My batons originally went up to 10 milliamps, but she upgraded them to go up to 100. though she did warn me never to go past 30, unless it was a really large villain." True . She stated, concern showing through her voice.
Naomasa shook his head. Perhaps he could chock it up to paranoia, but arming students with potentially lethal weaponry was something he would have to bring up later. "I understand. Now, what happened with Todoroki. If I recall correctly, he had the most severe injuries, aside from Kendo."
He could feel the scowl forming on her face. "Ugh. He kept throwing more and more ice until the villain was about to kill him. I got a small window of opportunity and took him out." True . "Then the idiot said he was going after the Nomu, and I yelled at him for being stupid. He got really offended when I told him he could have just used his fire, or even fought quirkless, and I left him to look for people that actually wanted help." True . Her statement checked out.
"And during the fight at the plaza?" He asked.
"After that villain with the hands began fighting Midori, I took out their warper from behind, but he recovered pretty quick and was able to get them away. Still, we managed to get the teachers far from the actual fight. I hid again once Tetrax showed up, and my batons did nothing to him. That's about it." True . She finished.
"Thank you for your candour, Hagakure-san. You may leave if you don't have any questions yourself." He said.
She shook her helmet. "No, sir. I'm just happy none of us got hurt… well, except for Todoroki. He did all that to himself. Never even got hit once. He gave himself those injuries." True . Naomasa grimaced. There was already quite the hostility growing there. She left the room without another word.
Naomasa looked at the girl in front of him. Apparently, she had been quite instrumental in aiding Thirteen with the capture of SixSix. "I am speaking to Uraraka Ochako, correct?"
"Y-yessir!" She stood slightly straighter when he addressed her.
"Good. I am Detective Tsukauchi Naomasa of the Musutafu PD, here to ask some questions about today's incident. I am also required to tell you that I have a lie detection quirk. Do you understand?"
Ochako nodded. "Yessir."
Naomasa allowed himself to smile slightly. "Very well. Now, I've gotten a decently accurate picture of the events from your classmates, so I'd first like to ask how the fight with the bounty hunter went."
Ochako paused for a second, organising her thoughts. "Well, ah, we were in the Squall Zone, an' Kurose-sa… Ah mean, Thirteen, they were fightin' the villains an' the bounty hunter, who was flyin' 'round all over the place with his jetpack." True. "She tol' me, Tsunotori-san and Kodai-san to hide, but we weren't about to let them face all'em villains by themself. So we came up with a plan to grow Tsunotori-san's horns with Kodai's quirk an' let'em have it." True . She gave a small punch to emphasise.
"Then, I used my quirk on one of them cars that was layin' about an' threw it at the bounty hunter when he was distracted. Hit'im straight on." True . She smiled slightly as Naomasa widened his eyes.
"After that, we finished up roundin' up the villains and Thirteen captured the bounty hunter, and told us to go to the entrance while she an' Ms. Midoriya wen' to find our classmates who were still missin'." True . She rambled.
"Good, that all checks out. Now, Uraraka-san, were you aware that Thirteen was involved with the Plumbers." The girl winced slightly at the mention of them, but realised that if the detective knew, it must have been for a good reason.
"W-well, no, not really." True . She answered, policing her accent better when she realised it had slipped back into Kansai. "Like, I figured out that Kurose-san was probably one when Izumi-chan told us her mom was, but I didn't know Kurose-san wasThirteen. Caught me totally off guard, and that Kurogiri guy too. Like, one moment we were all freaking out because he turned their attack on them, and the next we were all surprised when she got up and started blastin'! Like, Bam!" True . She cheered.
Naomasa smiled at the girl's antics. "Believe me, I was surprised too."
She giggled. "I mean, when Izumi told us… it was pretty crazy. I mean, when I was little I used to look up at the stars and wonder… but having confirmation is still pretty out there."
"Well, I have no further questions for you, Uraraka-san. Thank you for your time." The detective said.
She smiled and nodded. "Thanks! See ya… just hope it's not too soon!" And with that, she left.
'Huh, a breath of fresh air after that Todoroki boy. Hagakure-san may have had a point there.'
Tsukauchi relayed to Nezu his unredacted notes of the students' statements. Nearly all of them either had some minor questions about the bounty hunters or outright questioned him about what, not who, they were. He had, of course, dodged the questions by telling them the school would address their questions better than he could.
Nezu took a sip of his tea inside the police van that escorted them back to campus. "Hmm, it appears that it has become unavoidable."
Inko raised an eyebrow at him. "Sir, are you sure it's wise to trust them with this information? We keep it secret for a reason." Anan, sitting beside her, their hands locked for comfort, nodded in agreement.
Nezu looked at his drink contemplatively. "Perhaps it is not wise. However, if today is any indication, class 1-A will soon be targeted by both this… League of Villains, as well as whatever riff raff Vilgax gets to do his dirty work."
Inko grimaced. "Nex time, he won't just send in bounty hunters. I've received reports from my spy network that Psyphon and Sunder have been moving around their posts."
Nezu gave them a predatory smile. "Hmm, sending his lieutenants already? A bold move from him. One that will ultimately cost him dearly." At that, Inko and Anan also shared a smile that gave Tsukauchi shivers.
"We'll make sure of it. I'll inform the agents. We'll make preparations for war." Inko stated, her tone even and cold.
Naomasa once again felt uneasy about the whole affair. The Plumbers were essentially a rogue entity, and while they seemed benign and genuine in their desire to uphold peace, they were still an unknown.
Izumi locked herself in her room and curled up in her bed. Her classmates were all in the baths, washing off the grime and dirt from the fighting, but she was alone. They had been brought back on the same bus that had taken them to the ambush, and she couldn't help but feel that she could have handled things much better. She knew it would have been bad for her if she had killed anyone… but still, Shigaraki would come back, and she had a feeling that she was now specifically in his sights.
'I should have transformed into Shard from the start. He couldn't have decayed me, and I would have been able to keep them all safe… I should have made sure Kurogiri was down… I could have used Clockwork to stop time and just apprehended all of them… Why am I so stupid?' She thought as more tears surfaced. It didn't matter what Mina and everyone else had said… She needed to keep everyone safe… She had the power to do so, no matter the cost.
She knew she would eventually have to come out of her room. Nezu would likely inform everyone about what exactly happened with the bounty hunters. 'That's gonna be a fun conversation. Even more attention drawn to me… How many of them will turn on me when they realise I was the reason they were attacked? How many already hate me because of that?' She clenched her hands around her pillow and hugged it. 'It's cold…'
She then heard a knock at her door. It couldn't be one of her classmates. They had only just gotten into their baths. "Muscles… Izumi. Are you okay? Please, I need to know you're safe… when I heard your class was attacked… Are you there?"
Izumi's breath hitched. She walked over to her door in a trance. She opened it and looked at Mei. Her eyes were puffy and red, and widened when she saw Izumi. She barely hesitated before glomping onto her with enough force to sent them both tumbling to the ground. "Muscles, thank the Omnissiah you're okay! When the transmission for your vitals stopped all of the sudden, I was so scared! What happened?"
Izumi's face went red when she noticed the girl was basically straddling her. "M-Mei… We… We were ambushed by villains… Some of my classmates got really hurt… I… I couldn't save them. I couldn't finish all the gear I wanted to make. I'm useless… worthless…"
She felt a sharp sting on her face, and looked up to see Mei crying. "You idiot! I saw how obsessed you were yesterday! You were working on so much gear at once… How could you even think that?!"
Izumi sniffled. "Mei… I… They were hurt because of me. No matter how much everyone tells me it's not my fault… none of this would have happened if I didn't have this watch…"
Mei looked at her, confused. "What's that got to do with anything?"
Izumi sighed. "M-Mei… I… I haven't been totally honest with you…" She sobbed. "This watch… It's not used for my quirk. It's a really powerful device that lets me transform into different species… Some really powerful people are after it… and if it wasn't for that, my classmates wouldn't have been scattered… Thirteen had everything under control… before they showed up."
Mei looked torn between sorrow and complete fascination. "Why don't you tell me what happened, Izumi?" It was a rare moment where Mei sounded completely focused on her.
Izumi was being held closely by Mei when she finished telling her everything. Getting the Omnitrix, Vilgax, aliens existing, everything that happened in the USJ. Mei listened through it all, even when her friend's crying got so intense that her phrases became borderline incoherent.
Mei traced her fingers through Izumi's curls, caressing her fluffy hair gently. "Muscles… I know you don't accept it, but it's not your fault. You saved the two that were warped with you. You saved the professors from that monster… It's not your fault the bounty hunters attacked, it's that Vilgax guy's."
Izumi shook her head. "No. If I wasn't there, Thirteen would have been able to capture the warper and they would have escaped."
Mei cradled her head. "Izumi. If that had happened, the other villains would have just killed Eraserhead, Hound Dog and Snipe. You understand that, right? It's only because you were there to distract the villain and the Nomu that they survived. The villains would have still attacked regardless, and by what you told me, you were the only one who could have defeated them without All Might being there."
Izumi blinked. She had considered it, but part of her still wanted to blame herself. She saw the Nomu about to kill Eraserhead. Shigaraki had begun decaying his arm. If they hadn't caught their attention… But then Tsu almost died. 'But she's alive. She's alive because Eraserhead was still alive to stop Shigaraki, and you managed to distract him afterwards.' She heard Nana's voice echoing inside her. 'Izumi, even with One for All and the Omnitrix, you aren't all powerful. You still saved them, even if some of them did get hurt in the process.'
Izumi felt her shallow breathing slow down, finally. She looked at Mei, the friend who had helped her design and build the equipment that had helped her classmates… the one who had come to check in on her… 'No… I can't… I don't deserve this.' Their eyes met, and it was like she was seeing Mei for the first time. Not a manic engineer, but her friend, a friend that cared about her… someone she couldn't help but…
Izumi couldn't hold herself back anymore. "Mei… I…" Mei blinked as their lips suddenly met. She felt something heating up inside her core, and felt herself weaken as she felt the sweet, warm embrace. She pressed back into the kiss, wrapping her arms around Izumi's waist, just like she had seen her parents do. It was strange, but a very good kind of strange, one she wanted more of.
Izumi's eyes widened when she realised what she had done, and she pulled back and stepped as far away from Mei as she could. As she looked at the utterly confused girl, she felt her self-loathing gripping her and crushing her heart. "Mei! I-I'm so s-sorry! I… I…" She couldn't form words as she once again teared up, closing her eyes. "I'm horrible…"
She felt her breath hitched as she felt something warm press against her, and opened her eyes to see Mei embracing her once again. "Don't… don't say that, Muscles… I-I've never kissed anyone before… but I… I liked it."
Izumi felt her heart stop for a moment. "I… I shouldn't have done it… It's not fair to y-" All her thoughts disappeared as she felt Mei press into her. The warmth of her lips giving way to a sweet taste as Mei parted them and prodded Izumi with her tongue. Izumi had never kissed anyone before, but she moved by instinct, leaning into her friend's touch and letting their tongues caress each other. She felt shivers going down the whole of her spine, and then panicked when she felt her member twitch in her pants. 'No, shit! Not now! Not when it's not tucked!' She pulled back before she could get any harder and give herself away, immediately sitting down on her bed.
Mei looked at her confused, and went in for another kiss. They felt so damn good, after all. She had never felt so sensitive and warm before. Izumi, however, recoiled away, making Mei pout slightly, wondering if she had done something wrong with her tongue. "W-wait… Mei… I'm sorry. I shouldn't have just kissed you like that."
The pink haired girl tilted her head. "Why not?" She asked in genuine confusion.
Izumi shook her head. "Mei… I can't do this to you… It's not fair."
"But… I liked it… do you not… do you not want to anymore?" She felt the warmth being replaced by a strange feeling of dull pain in her chest.
"No! I… it's just… I don't deserve it… you shouldn't be with someone like me." Izumi lowered her gaze once again, staring at her balled fist.
She then felt Mei press against her, placing a hand on her fist. "W-why not, Izu?" The green haired girl flinched. "I… I feel like you get me… you don't think I'm weird, like other people… You make me feel safe… accepted." Izumi felt like her heart was about to burst… "So why shouldn't I be with you?"
Izumi felt the words catch in her throat. 'If only I was normal… If only I didn't feel this way…' "M-Mei… I like you…" Mei felt the warmth return to her with those words. "But I like other people too. Y-you deserve someone who will love you… Not someone greedy like me, who can't control herself… Who can't help but want more than one girl."
Mei felt a mix of anger and sorrow welling up inside her, and she grabbed Izumi by her face, pushing her down on the bed and straddling her. Izumi widened her eyes as Mei kissed her, much more vigorously than before. She felt out of breath as Mei refused to let go, her arms felt weak as she let Mei push her down. When Mei finally stopped, her mind was wrapped in a lustful haze. "Mei… please…" Izumi didn't know what she wanted more, for her to stop or keep going.
"Muscles… Izumi. I like you too… I didn't know kissing felt this good… that being close to you felt so good…" Mei paused to catch her breath, contemplating just making out with Izumi again. "You're not greedy… you're my best friend, and I don't care if you like other people… so long as you like me… that's enough."
Izumi felt her tears starting to flow once again. "M-Mei." She tried to get up, but saw that Mei still had her pinned, and that the girl's arms had much more muscle than she would have thought.
Mei pressed her chest against Izumi's, both girls shivering at the rubbing sensation on their nipples. "Izumi… I wanna kiss you." They just stared into each other's eyes and Izumi gave her the slightest nod, her breathing shallow.
Mina frowned as she finished putting on her clothes. "Midori didn't come with us again…" She mumbled. Tooru, standing beside her, just sighed.
"Mina, Midori never bathes with us. You know it makes her uncomfortable." She defended.
Mina grumbled at the argument. "Doesn't mean I have to like it. Plus, she shouldn't be alone right now. You saw how she was after the USJ." The girls around her shivered at the memory of that place.
Ochako nodded. "Yeah, but still, it's not like we can force her or anything."
Mina pouted. "I know that 'Chako. Still, I wish she would at least try to come." She was startled by a small chuckle right behind her, turning around to see Setsuna's severed head.
"Sounds like you're just looking for an excuse to see Midori naked." Setsuna snickered teasingly as she saw Mina turning completely lilac.
"S-shut up, Setsuna!" She yelled.
"Come on, Tokage-san." Jirou rolled her eyes. "Don't be a dick."
Setsuna shrugged. "Yeah, fine, sorry Mina. Would be quite a sight though, right?" She smirked.
Mina choked, coughing slightly. "I just… I!" She tried to protest.
Suddenly Momo approached them. "Setsuna-san, you're making Mina-san uncomfortable. What are you even talking about?"
Mina buried her face on her towel. Setsuna smirked. "Nothin', just that Mina here has a little crush." The pink girl groaned, grumbling something muffled by her towel.
"Oh." Momo said, surprised. "While I can see that you're trying to bring some levity to the situation… You should not make fun of a classmate like that." The heiress had to admit she had a certain curiosity towards romance, but she wasn't one to pry.
Ochako was looking at the scene with a strange feeling in her chest, especially when she saw Mina essentially admit to her crush. She didn't even notice Tsu sneaking up on her. "Worried about our competition, ribbit?"
The brunette nearly jumped as she turned to the frog girl and whispered. "What?! W-what are you talking about, Tsu?!" She paused for a moment. "Wait, 'our'?"
The girl placed a finger to her cheek. "Ribbit. You like her too, right? She is pretty… but I started crushing on her after she saved me, ribbit." Tsu admitted.
Ochako hung her head. "Dammit. Same. But… I don't want to get in their way, you know?"
Tsu croaked softly, but said nothing, but somewhere in the back of her head an idea popped up, and she could somehow hear the Soviet Anthem playing as the words formed in her mind. 'Socialise the means of reproduction.' She thought back to when Izumi transformed into her amphibian form, and how intensely the pheromones had affected her, especially since it was still mating season. 'But why would her pheromones affect me?' She began to wonder.
Mina, Tooru and Ochako were headed for Izumi's room. After about half an hour had passed since they got out of the shower, Inko, Anan and Nezu appeared at their dorm, both informing them of their wounded professors' state. Also, they had informed everyone in the common room to gather there in fifteen minutes.
Mina knocked at Izumi's door, waiting as they heard a bit of hurried shuffling. "Midori? You okay? Your moms and Nezu are here to talk to us… you know… about that."
The three girls blinked as Izumi opened the door. Her breathing was rather shallow, and they immediately noticed she wasn't alone. "Oh, h-hey girls." Her face was flushed. "Mei-chan dropped by to check on me after she heard… we were talking… I told her." Izumi was just thankful that, by some miracle, she managed to stay mostly soft, and that her pants were thick enough that it didn't show.
Ochako looked at her like she was resetting her brain. Mina fought against the urge to raise an eyebrow. 'There's no way… right? Yeah, no way.' "R-right. I suppose she should know as well. So, yeah, we came to tell you to come… downstairs." Mina couldn't help but blush slightly at her accidental innuendo.
Izumi simply nodded. "Yeah, I guess there's no avoiding it at this point." She walked out of the room, followed closely by Mei, who had the oddest smile on her face.
Mei quickly looked at the three girls and smiled even wider. "I still can't believe it. I mean, imagine all the alien babies I can make with Izumi now!" Mina, Tooru and Ochako sputtered in total disbelief as she said that. There was no way she was genuinely that clueless.
'Oh, that's what she was smiling about.' They felt a sort of relief washing over them.
"Yeah. I… I might be able to show some of it to you now that it'll be out in the open, I guess." Izumi blushed as she looked at the mechanic. "Anyways! Let's go downstairs! We shouldn't keep Nezu waiting." The girls simply nodded and led the way.
Inko hummed as she saw the students flow into the common room, noticing how Izumi was surrounded by her friends, and that the pink haired support student, Hatsume Mei, she recalled, was clinging to her especially closely. She felt the desire to tease her daughter about it, but she was here on business, so it could wait.
Nezu cleared his throat, looking over 1-A's students. "I feel that we're missing one student, yes? Where is Todoroki-kun?" He asked, watching as the class noticed his absence. Iida raised his hand.
"Sir, we attempted to call him, but he completely refused to answer. We suppose he must have fallen asleep from the strain of being healed." He suggested, earning a slight nod from Nezu.
"Well, it is unfortunate, but ultimately his choice. However, we will not be repeating ourselves." The students shivered at his tone. "Today, you all went through a terrible experience. Villains attacked us in our own campus, and that is our responsibility. We have alerted your parents, who will be coming here later." The class exchanged looks, while Inko stepped forward.
"However, that is not why we called all of you down here." The mother stated, drawing their attention once more. "Earlier today, during the attack, three individuals were sent by an outside force, targeting one of you specifically."
Iida once again raised his arm, to which Inko just looked at him, expectantly. "Excuse me, but who are you? I did not see you among the faculty during the opening ceremony."
Inko nodded, keeping a stern face. "That is correct, Iida Tenya." The boy shuddered at the tone she used. She, evidently, did not care for interruptions. "I am Midoriya Inko." Everyone looked at Izumi, before Inko once again cleared her throat. "I work with Nezu, and have been assigned to teach you Biology and Quirk Science. You would have met me tomorrow, but your classes have been cancelled so we can examine our security systems to prevent such an incident from repeating itself."
"Now, if we'll have no further interruptions." Tenya once again shivered. "The three individuals were sent after Midoriya Izumi by a villain. This villain, however, is not one most of you have heard of, because he is not from Earth." She waited for the students to stop their confused murmurs before continuing.
"Sorry, are you actually saying that aliens, actual aliens exist?" Kendo asked.
"That's frankly absurd." Ibara frowned. It went completely against the church's teachings.
Momo hummed. "It is rather far-fetched, I must say."
"More like completely insane." Kaminari muttered.
Nezu huffed. "Whether you believe it or not is not important. We have chosen to inform you of this very confidential information for your own safety, as it is likely that the villain will target you all again." The class promptly shut up.
Inko looked at Anan, who turned on a projector, which showed a creature the class quickly identified as the one Izumi had turned into during the battle trials. "This is the villain that targeted you. His name is Vilgax, a warlord who has conquered over a dozen planets and obliterated six." The class looked at her in complete disbelief.
"Wait, if villain can destroy planet, how come he not destroy Earth?" Pony asked, not sure if she had really understood.
Inko nodded. "A fair question, Tsunotori-san." Anan changed the projection to show the Omnitrix, once again drawing some strange looks to Izumi. "Vilgax prefers to take control of a world and drain it of resources, which earth has quite a bit of." She stated. "Also, he only destroys planets if their inhabitants pose a significant enough threat to him. The Osmosians, for example, were genocided for their ability to absorb matter, energy, and even assimilate the DNA of multiple species to themselves." The students winced at the knowledge that a species had been wiped out by a villain that was now targeting them.
"His current objective, however, is to obtain this device, known as the Omnitrix." The students once again looked at Izumi, who was doing her best to cover herself from embarrassment. "The Omnitrix contains a database of nearly all sentient DNA in the known universe, and allows whoever wields it to transform into them. It also binds itself to the DNA of its wielder, and as such cannot be removed safely for very specific methods, of which we are not aware."
Some students were about to protest, point out how ridiculous that all sounded, but the fact was… Izumi's 'quirk' was way too strange, even considering how weird quirks could be. "So… Izumi's quirk isn't being able to transform?" Tsu asked.
Inko shook her head. However, before she could continue, Izumi spoke up. "M-my actual quirk is an energy stockpile. It stores energy and lets me manipulate it in different ways." The class raised a collective eyebrow. "Currently, I can use it to increase my strength and yesterday I discovered that I can use it to detect incoming threats. It's how I found Shigaraki when he invaded yesterday… But… I couldn't stop him before he portaled away."
Inko smiled sympathetically at her daughter. "We were distracted by the press. If it wasn't for that new ability, we likely wouldn't have even noticed the missing schedule." She argued. "However, that's beside the point. Right now, what you need to know is that UA will be doing its very best to stop Vilgax and keep the Omnitrix off his hands."
Setsuna once again raised her hand. "Excuse me, but how? Isn't this guy, like, a super powerful alien conqueror? Wouldn't you need, you know, a whole army?"
Nezu nodded. "A good question, Tokage-san. The truth is, however, that UA has two sides to it. We are Earth's premier Hero School. However, we are also the headquarters of an interstellar organisation devoted to defending the public welfare of the cosmos." That once again got the students murmuring.
Momo interjected. "I'm sorry, but this is a rather far-fetched story. You expect us to believe there is an organisation that operates throughout the universe, and that nobody knows about it? For that matter, how are we to take this whole explanation at face value? We've seen no evidence that life exists outside of Earth, and yet you mean to tell us that there is a warlord that has been conquering planets all this time? How are we supposed to believe you?"
Mina clenched her fist. "Yaomomo!" She shouted, drawing attention to herself. "Believe me when I say that monster exists, and he's dangerous."
Kaminari raised an eyebrow. "But how do you know that, Mina? It does seem pretty fishy to me."
"Because that bastard killed my dad and conquered our planet!" She snarled, only calming down once Izumi and Tooru rubbed her shoulders. The class stared at her in absolute shock.
"Mina… you're an alien? Like, for real?" Setsuna muttered, earning a slight nod.
"My mom's human, it's why I have an acid quirk. My other powers, however, come from my dad. I'm half Kraaho. Izumi can transform into us, too." She said, and Izumi did so to prove her friend's point. Whatever protests the other students had died as they saw Izumi transform into a near copy of Mina, save for a few select differences.
Momo looked completely bewildered by the scene. "I…"
Inko softened her expression. "I can understand your scepticism, everyone. But we need you to understand that this is all quite true. Aliens are, for the most part, quite peaceful. However, due to the presence of not one, but two students with links to them, it is inevitable that some, if not all of you, should come into contact with this at some point, as you did today. We need you to be careful, as information about them should not be carelessly divulged."
The class nodded at that. "I must insist that none of you relay any of the information you have learned today to any outside source. We will know if you do, and the consequences will be severe." Nezu said, the trickle of killing intent radiating off him being enough to convince them to keep their mouths shut. "You are free to rest, for now. We will inform you when your parents arrive. However, for your own safety, I must insist that you stay inside the campus for the time being. We do not know if there will be a follow up attack." The students nodded, and all quickly left the common area to process the information.
Izumi couldn't sleep. There was just too much on her mind. The incident, the class finding out about aliens… Mei. 'What… What's gonna happen now? Should I tell her… What if she leaves me because of it, and we can't even be friends anymore… I can't…' She looked down at herself. She had never wanted to go through bottom surgery. It was the only part of her original anatomy that didn't bother her, for some reason. She knew most women like her underwent it, but for her, it just didn't seem necessary, or desirable for that matter.
However, now she was seriously considering it. 'I wouldn't have to hide it anymore. I could be just like everyone else. Nobody would be able to tell…' But at the same time, she felt conflicted about it. 'I'd feel weird without it, like part of me was missing… god, why couldn't I have been born a girl. That way I wouldn't have to deal with wanting to keep it.'
She huffed, twisting herself under the covers, remembering Mei's touch, her lips… She groaned, irritated. 'Fuck, whatever, I'll think about it later.' She felt her tiredness take her, and was finally able to rest.
She was back in the void. It became clearer to her now, though she was still mist underneath her nose. She was in a large, windowless room. In front of her were eight thrones, but only six of them were actually occupied. Aside from the ones she recognized, she saw a man not too much older than her, wearing a trench coat that covered his mouth, a bulky bald man with goggles and a leather jacket, and a large golden silhouette.
"Hello again, little Ninth. We are glad to see you." Yoichi smiled at her. "You went through quite the ordeal, and I'm sure you have quite a few questions."
"Heya there, Ninth. I'm the fifth user, Daigoro Banjou." The bulky man roared with a large smile on his face.
"I'm En, the Sixth. Nice to meet you." En whispered.
Nana gestured to the silhouette, who didn't speak, but radiated a sort of joyful and proud feeling towards her. "That is Toshi's vestige. However, as you can see, he is yet to join us. I hope there are still quite a few years before that time comes." Izumi tried to nod in agreement.
Yoichi coughed. "Now, regarding what happened today, I must agree with your friends. You performed wonderfully." Izumi furrowed her brow.
She then heard a voice from far away in the void. "She's still too green. Should've just killed those shitstains. Would've been easy too." The voice slightly reminded her of Bakugou's and she immediately bristled.
Nana looked back with a scowl, then smiled as she looked at Izumi. "Don't mind those jerks, Izumi. They're from the first quirk uprising, and seem to think they can kill their way out of any problem. They didn't even acknowledge Toshi until he killed All for One."
Yoichi and the other vestiges grimaced. "But it seems the Eighth failed, and he somehow survived and returned to haunt us, though I cannot for the life of me understand how." Izumi frowned. "Though I must also wonder how he selected his new puppet. Nearly no mental maturity, no structured goals aside from killing All Might and 'destroying society'. It makes no sense."
Daigoro looked at Yoichi. "Could it be that monster actually convinced someone to sleep with him?"
Yoichi shook his head. "No. He would never create something he could not actively control, and both he and I were repulsed by the very idea of sexual contact." The vestiges hummed, taking in the information. "There must be some sort of reason. Some plot behind it. He would not simply raise a successor on a whim."
Izumi once again tried to nod. "Izumi." Nana called her. "I know this is selfish of me to ask, but I need to know… After I died, Toshi never looked for him… but I need to know if my son is safe. Look for your uncle, Izumi. Shimura Kotaro." Izumi tried to nod, a few tears forming in her eyes.
Yoichi grimaced as the realm began to cloud over again. "Our time has run out, little Ninth. Until we meet again." Izumi saw the darkness envelop her, and her thoughts ceased.
"Mom, I need to speak with you and Yagi-sensei." Inko frowned as Izumi called her first thing in the morning. Whatever it was, it must have been important if her daughter had called her at that hour.
"Okay, Izumi. Come over to my office. I'll call him over." Inko said, hanging up as she looked for his contact.
Yagi Toshinori was having a hellish week.
1-A's class on Tuesday had been successful enough, despite some hiccups, so while he knew 1-B had some more problematic students in it, including the ruffian who had tormented his successor, he went in rather confidently to teach them on Wednesday.
Nothing, however, could have prepared him for the shitshow that followed. The first red flag had been walking in on the class and Vlad King, who was trying and failing to get them to peacefully select a class representative. In the end, due to his arrival, he ended up selecting the two most mild-mannered students in the class, Shishida and Shoda, who were actually trying to organise an actual vote, like 1-A had.
The second red flag happened during team selection, and the subsequent matchups. Most of them went well enough, all things considered, but one thing stood out: their teamwork and strategy was overall lacking. He tried to be impartial, but it was clear 1-A was quite ahead in that regard. The two outliers were Monoma, Honenuki, and the two representatives. However, Monoma's inferiority complex regarding 1-A made him difficult to work with, and the other three had difficulty with making themselves heard. Honenuki was too flexible with his commands, and let his teammate, Tsuburaba, just do whatever he wanted, while the other two were too shy, with Shishida being shy in his normal form, and incomprehensible when transformed.
The worst, by far, was their third match of the day. Monoma and Kamakiri as the Heroes, and Bakugo and Awase as the villains. Bakugou and Awase immediately began shouting at each other, each trying to one up each other's profanities. Kamakiri and Monoma, while they still argued, were both at least aligned in their desire to take Bakugou down a peg after he had apparently insulted all of them. Kamakiri seemed to regard him as a rival of sorts, while Monoma wanted to end his disruptive behaviour, so he could lead the class to topple 1-A during the sports festival.
The fight itself was, in the kindest of terms, a disaster. Bakugou went off on his own, leaving Awase to protect the objective. All Might was at least a bit glad that the explosive ruffian couldn't actually use his gauntlets, which apparently stored his sweat until he could release all of it at once. 'Who the hell even gave him those? They could've killed someone.' They were, fortunately, cut up by Kamakiri, making them essentially useless.
All Might had to admit, Bakugou was an exceptional fighter, capable of expert manoeuvring both on the ground and midair. However, against two opponents of reasonable skill and coordination, he was inevitably defeated and captured. However, that didn't mean they had lost. Awase had effectively blockaded the path to the bomb, which led to him running out the timer, as even though the team had made it to the room where he waited with the bomb, they could not get themselves to the ceiling, where the bomb itself was. He didn't know if Bakugou was more angry at the fact he had been captured, or that his team had won despite that.
However, Thursday managed to be even worse. He had been tricked by villains into wasting his time, and had to sit back and wait while his students were being attacked. He could at least take solace in the fact that his successor defeated the leader of the villains and his weapon, which had apparently been created to kill him. Indeed, if she could already handle an opponent that even he might not have been able to, the future would be in good hands once he retired.
As he woke up, having moved into the faculty dorms after yesterday's fiasco, he at least hoped it would be a normal day, with no horrible events. His wish was inevitably denied as he received a phone call from Inko at six in the morning.
He arrived at her office, where he also saw Izumi, frowning slightly as he thought about his failure. She seemed to want to say something, but he interrupted her. "Before you say anything, young Izumi, I must beg your forgiveness." He bowed deeply. "I failed to be there when you needed me, and left you to pick up the slack. I am impressed at your actions, but the fact that you had to face those villains at all means that I failed you."
Izumi widened her eyes at the heartfelt apology. "No, Yagi-sensei! No need to bow, it's okay! I understand that you used up all your energy. You going there would have just meant that your time limit would have been reduced even more!"
Inko also nodded, though was less gracious than his successor. "Indeed, Toshinori. As you are now, I do not know if you could have even defeated the Nomu they brought to kill you." The hero winced. "Nezu ordered you to stay because the world still needs you to be here, as does Izumi."
All Might nodded, looking at Izumi and smiling slightly. "Yagi-sensei… that thing was really strong. You might have beaten it, but it would have taken a lot out of you. Tetra had to punch it with 60% of One for All to even get through its Shock Absorption… and then there was Super Regeneration on top of that…"
Yagi's eyes widened. "It… it had two quirks?" He didn't want to believe it was possible. The only one able to accomplish such a thing was dead, he was certain.
Izumi furrowed her brows. "That's why I needed to talk to you… Since Wednesday, really." Inko and Toshinori raised their eyebrows. "I have some… strange news." Inko motioned for him to take a seat, which he did. "Sensei… One for All contains… vestiges of the former users."
Inko looked surprised, but Toshinori just hummed and nodded. "I could feel them at times of great stress. Though I only spoke to them once. On the day I met you… I was about to say something very foolish to you, and I was stopped by my mentor, who reminded me of why she chose me."
Izumi nodded. "Well, since Tuesday I have been meeting them in my dreams." Now Toshinori was as surprised as Inko. "I met Shimura Nana, as well as most of the other users. They told me that One for All had reached a critical threshold, so they would soon be able to talk to me consistently, and that I would start receiving their quirks." The two widened their eyes at the revelation, remembering her sudden manifestation of that strange Danger Sense.
"I told you about the Danger Sense I developed, right? Well, that was the fourth user, Hikage Shinomori''s quirk." She stated, before turning to Toshinori. "Sensei… Nana said she was very proud of the hero you had become." The hero felt tears beginning to pool in his eyes. Izumi then turned to her mother. "She… she also told me to tell you she was sorry, mom."
Inko raised her brow, confused. "Why would she apologise to me?"
Izumi fidgeted, not sure how to tell her mom. "Well, uh… When Shimura-san's husband was killed by All for One… She sent her son, Shimura Kotaro, away for his own safety."
All Might nodded. "She never told me his name, but I knew of him… I was a fool never to have searched."
"Again, what does that have to do with me?" Inko asked, still confused.
Izumi dry-swallowed. "Well, uh, what she didn't say was that she had a newborn daughter, who took mostly after her husband… She named the baby Inko… and in an attempt to keep her even safer, changed her family name to Midoriya."
Inko's expression went from confused to absolute astonishment, as did All Might's. "I… what?" She muttered.
"She asked me to apologise for leaving you without any explanation, but that leaving a note would be too dangerous, and you were too young to even remember her." Izumi said, tears flowing from both mother and daughter. "And yesterday… she also asked me to search for her son, to make sure he's safe." Inko nodded. She never thought she would ever know who her biological family was.
Izumi then looked at Yagi, and sighed. "There's also… one last thing." She said. "The first user's name was Shigaraki Yoichi, and the apparent leader of the League of Villains identified himself as Shigaraki Tomura." Inko and Yagi snapped their eyes to her. "At one point, I managed to bait him into revealing that… that All for One lives."
"No… No! That's impossible! I killed him myself! I crushed his head into pulp!" All Might roared, refusing to accept the evident truth.
Izumi placed a hand on his shoulder, and looked deep into his eyes. "I'm sorry, sensei, but it's true. The Nomu had multiple quirks, Shigaraki looked surprised that I knew that All for One was alive… I'm sorry…"
Yagi shook his head. "You have nothing to be sorry for, my girl." He said. "He might be alive, but surely injured, else he would have come to kill me himself." He then turned to Inko. "I will not fail again next time." He looked at his successor. "All for One is my fight, my duty. Your duty is to train and grow as a hero, my girl. I need you to promise me, young Izumi. If he ever shows himself, leave him to me." He smiled.
She nodded. "I will, sensei. I just hope that when he does, it will be for the last time." She smiled back at him. "Now, let's see what we can't find about my uncle."
An hour later, they looked at the computer in absolute terror and disbelief. "No… how could this happen?" Yagi whispered. Inko, standing beside him, cried for the brother she never knew.
Izumi read the article in a newspaper from twenty years ago, two years before she had been born. "Wait… Four people dead, along with their family pet… their son was five years old, a normal age for a late quirk manifestation… Turned to piles of blood and dust… No… It can't be." The two adults looked at the report in horror.
"Shimura Tenko… Shigaraki Tomura… No." Inko muttered.
"That vile monster." All Might lowered his head as he balled both his fists. "Master… I'm so sorry. I couldn't save him."
Izumi could hear Nana wailing in the back of her mind, as her own tears began flowing out. "Cousin… how could this happen?" She felt Yagi and Inko's hands on her shoulders. "I almost killed him… I wanted to… Oh, God."
"Young Izumi, you couldn't possibly have known." Toshinori tried to comfort his despondent successor.
Inko wiped the tears from her daughter's eyes. "He's right, baby. We were all caught off guard by all this… The villain you saw yesterday wasn't Shimura Tenko anymore… he was Shigaraki Tomura."
Yagi nodded. "Indeed, young Izumi. His mind has been warped by All for One, but the real Tenko might still be inside Shigaraki." He noticed Inko shooting him an odd look.
"Izumi, baby, I think you should get some more rest." Inko said. "This has been a rather stressful week, and you won't have any classes today. Take your mind off this, we can discuss what we'll do about Shigaraki and All for One later."
"I… I don't know what to do, mom. He's… no matter what else… he's my cousin… Nana's grandson… and we failed him." Izumi balled her fist in frustration.
"Izumi, it was I who failed." All Might stated. "You were barely a baby. Your mother couldn't possibly have known of her brother. I could have searched for him before, but I didn't. I was careless, and too focused on training to defeat All for One. The blame lies solely on me. To think that monster found Tenko before I did."
Inko nodded. "Izumi, get some rest, please. You might think the weight of the world is riding on your shoulders, but it's not. You aren't responsible for all the evil in the world, and as much as you may want to fix all of it, all we can do is reduce it." Izumi nodded, tearfully, and excused herself.
Inko looked at All Might and frowned. "I know what you're gonna say, Yagi, and I don't agree. Tenko is gone."
Yagi choked on his words, but still protested. "You can't be serious, Midoriya-san." He said, shocked. "He might have been tricked by All for One, but he's still your nephew. Hell, Nana was practically a mother to me. I need to save him."
Inko shook her head. "No, Yagi. Shigaraki Tomura has been corrupted by hate. From what Izumi told me, he's obsessed with destroying you and the peace you have created. Something must have happened to him. All for One has warped and twisted his mind. We need to lay him to rest."
"Absolutely not!" All Might roared. "I won't ask you or Izumi to put yourselves at risk, but I believe that he can still be saved."
Inko sighed. "Look, Yagi, I would love nothing more than for that to be possible. But I have seen evil, the way it takes over your mind. Do you think All for One can be redeemed?"
"That's not the same!" He shouted.
Inko raised an eyebrow. "Isn't it? I have been a Plumber for over two decades. I have fought the Incurseans, the Highbreed, Vilgax. They're just like All for One, obsessed with power, uncaring for the lives of others, pure evil." She spat. "Tomura has been groomed from a young age to be just like them, Yagi. Izumi told me, yesterday, something he said during their talk. 'Expose someone to anger, and they will learn to hate'." She stared him dead in thee eyes. "The sooner you accept that, the sooner we can bury my nephew. He's already dead."
All Might met her glare defiantly. "I can't claim to understand what you've been through, Inko. I've never fought in wars, never witnessed a genocide. But this is different. I can't just accept it. I will save him."
Inko sighed. "You may try, Toshinori. But do not even think of roping Izumi into this plan of yours."
He nodded. "That was never my intention, and you know that."
"I know. But knowing my daughter, she'll follow along anyway." Inko broke eye contact, glancing fondly at a small picture frame she kept on her desk. "It's just who she is."