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After Kenji Tsuragamae left, the following matters no longer had anything to do with them. What came next was the disciplinary action against several pro heroes.
Iida Tenya's internship mentor, the pro hero Manual; Midoriya Izuku's mentor, Gran Torino; and Todoroki Shoto's mentor, Endeavor—these three pro heroes were to be disciplined for improper guidance. Because, well, that's the rule.
Meanwhile, in the hospital room where the four of them were staying, thanks to that offhand joke Kenji Tsuragamae had made before leaving, Konata Izumi was feeling… not great.
She reached up and tugged at the ahoge on top of her head, hesitating for a long time before deciding she just couldn't bring herself to yank it out.
If she lost her ahoge, then she'd just be… Kanata? No, wait—compared to Kanata, she at least still had her beauty mark.
With a helpless sigh, Konata turned around, her expression changing in an instant. Planting her hands firmly on her hips, she glared at the three boys in the room and barked,
"What are you looking at? If you guys don't start eating, do you want me to spoon-feed you? Seriously, every single one of you is so much trouble. Do you even know why Recovery Girl didn't heal you up completely? It's so you'd learn a lesson from this."
A quiet "hmph" came from the bed—the only one there with an ahoge. Konata ignored them and walked over to the table, grabbing her takeout to start eating.
The moment the first bite of normal food hit her tongue, after days of suffering through bitter medicinal meals, Konata felt tears prick her eyes. Yeah… decision made. After this, she was going to borrow some cash from Endeavor, then secretly order takeout when no one was around.
Noticing her turned back as she ate happily, Todoroki lowered his gaze and opened his own takeout. His face immediately darkened. Taking the container in his hand, he walked toward Iida.
"Iida, can we trade? I don't really like pork cutlet."
But with his right arm still out of commission, Iida was struggling just to eat, lacking Konata's ambidextrous skills. So Todoroki turned to Midoriya—only to find him happily digging into his pork cutlet bowl like it was the best thing ever. Apparently, Midoriya had ordered four of the exact same meal.
Todoroki couldn't help but look faintly exasperated.
After finishing her meal, Konata casually gathered all their empty containers and stuffed them into a bag. Waving a hand at the trio without letting them get a word in, she opened the door, stepped out with the trash, and shut it firmly behind her.
She had just tossed the bag into the trash bin and was heading back to her room for a well-earned rest when Gran Torino appeared. After a long, meaningless conversation with the chatty old man, Konata finally managed to redirect him toward Midoriya's room.
But before she could close the door to rest, Recovery Girl and All Might showed up next. Patiently, she went over some details about the oversized tincan-headed villain again, then shove them out. Just as she was about to collapse onto the bed, she spotted Endeavor walking toward her.
"So what is this, a group effort to make sure I never sleep?"
Meanwhile, at the shabby bar run by Kurogiri, Shigaraki was busy digging through news reports. He was searching for mentions of the League of Villains.
But no matter how much he scrolled, there were barely any headlines about them—instead, there were endless stories about the Hero Killer: Stain.
That night, the only reason the Nomu had suddenly lost control of its body was because of Stain. Using a blade hidden in his sleeve, Stain cut the ropes binding him, then licked a drop of blood from the ground when the Nomu flew overhead. In that brief moment, he did what no one expected—surged forward and took down the Nomu himself.
It was because of Stain's interference that Gran Torino and the others arrived later than they should have.
Inside Stain's heart was a terrifying conviction. It was that very ideology that allowed him to become the Hero Killer.
When the video of that night was uploaded, it spread across the internet in less than a day. Public opinion was mixed, but there was no doubt—Stain's ideology began to inspire those with malice in their hearts, drawing them together under a shared goal.
From any angle, Stain and the League of Villains appeared to be allies, so these people naturally turned their attention toward the League.
Anyone else might have been happy about the surge in attention. But to Shigaraki Tomura? It was infuriating. In his mind, he should have been the center of attention—the League was the one wreaking havoc and causing chaos. Why should some self-righteous psycho like Stain be stealing their spotlight?
Watching everyone talk about Stain while the League barely got mentioned left Shigaraki seething with frustration.
So when Kurogiri walked in carrying a crate of alcohol, he stopped in his tracks and felt his soul deflate—the neat row of glasses he'd set up earlier was now nothing but shattered fragments, and the last remaining glass was trembling in Shigaraki's hand, seconds away from joining the others.
At that moment, Kurogiri really, really wanted to quit.
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The Hero Killer Stain incident in Hosu City officially ended with Endeavor capturing him—or so the official statement claimed.
Though, judging by the look on Endeavor's face during the press conference, "not pleased" would've been putting it mildly.
"Attention seeker."
Clicking her tongue, Konata muttered her opinion of Endeavor's glory-snatching ways as she handed Todoroki his phone back.
Even though the incident had been a huge mess, it didn't really concern them anymore. Their workplace experience had to go on as usual.
Iida Tenya was taken home by his mother the next day. Todoroki's injuries were the lightest and had nearly healed by now, but Midoriya? Yeah… poor guy still needed at least two more days in the hospital.
So, with Iida gone, Konata and Todoroki headed back to Endeavor's agency to continue their internship. Endeavor had already gone ahead to deal with the media, while the two of them got ready to leave.
"Give me five minutes, I'll be right down," Konata waved at Todoroki standing at the hospital entrance, before bolting upstairs.
Todoroki slipped his phone into his pocket and looked up at the clear sunny sky outside, letting out a quiet sigh. Konata, after all, had spent a whole day in the hospital before—she knew her way around.
When she reached Midoriya's room, she just so happened to see All Might walking out.
"Oh? Here to see Young Midoriya?" All Might greeted her with a dazzling smile, flashing his blindingly white teeth.
"He's right inside. I won't intrude—see you back at U.A."
Before she could even say anything, All Might blurred away with inhuman speed, vanishing around the corner like someone was chasing him.
"…Guess his time limit's up," she muttered to herself, imagining the number one hero fleeing for his life, and pushed open the door.
Inside the room, Midoriya sat on his bed, deep in thought, chin resting on his hand, completely oblivious to her arrival.
"Midoriya, I have something I want to tell you."
Taking a deep breath, Konata stepped up to his bedside, serious for once.
"Huh? K-Konata-san?!" Midoriya's head shot up, looking like he'd just seen a ghost.
"…Can you please stop acting like you've seen a ghost every time you see me?" she sighed, cutting him off mid-sentence.
"I'm supposed to be heading back to Endeavor's agency. But… before that, I wanted to thank you for what you did." Her expression softened, complicated.
"W-We're classmates. In that kind of situation, of course I'd jump in. It's not a big deal," Midoriya said quickly, waving his hands.
"Just classmates, huh…"
Her gaze dropped, voice tinged with quiet disappointment.
"Are you saying what we went through—that life-and-death bond—can be brushed off with just the word 'classmates'?"
Midoriya froze, heart thumping in his chest. Just as he opened his mouth, she suddenly raised her head, eyes blazing with conviction.
"From now on—" she declared, fists clenched with overflowing confidence, "we're brothers!"
After a moment of stunned silence, Midoriya clenched his fists too and gave her a bright smile.
"Yeah! We're brothers!"
…That was not the response she expected. Staring at his cheerful grin, Konata felt her face twitch. Somehow… she felt like she'd just lost.
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On their way out, Todoroki glanced at her face showing a slight frown.
"What's with the frown?"
"Todoroki-kun… do you know the two most painful things in the world?" Konata asked with exaggerated face.
"…What are they?"
"One," she said, pressing a crisp 10,000 yen bill to her chest, "is owing someone a lot of money."
"I was just going to borrow a little for train fare… but Midoriya didn't even hesitate—just shoved a 10,000-yen bill at me. And if I hadn't stopped him, I swear he would've emptied his whole wallet! Damn it, are you all secretly rich or something?!"
"…How much is your monthly allowance?" Todoroki asked, tilting his head.
"About five thousand yen—enough for a month. Wait—what's with that face?!"
"…Nothing," Todoroki replied flatly, turning away.
"Let's go. We'll miss the train."
"Hey, hey, hey! Don't you want to hear the second most painful thing in the world?"
"No."
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Like it or not, their workplace experience continued.
Maybe it was because Endeavor had been irritated by the Hosu incident, but the training grew even harsher in the following days. By the time the internship finally ended, Konata felt like a prisoner being released after a long sentence.
So much so that the moment it was over, she bought a ticket, endured her motion sickness, and dragged herself back to U.A. As soon as she unlocked Midnight-sensei's apartment, she collapsed onto the bed, closed her eyes, and decided to sleep for an entire day and night.
She didn't know if the others had learned anything useful during their internships.
All she knew was that she was completely burned out.
"No way am I becoming some muscle loli, damn it…"
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After an entire week of brutal training under Endeavor, Konata Izumi was completely exhausted. So when she finally returned and allowed herself to relax—combined with the lingering motion sickness from the ride back—she slept like a rock.
Even when Midnight-sensei returned home, scooped her up, and carried her to the bath, Konata didn't stir at all. Who knows how much advantage Midnight might've taken during that time…
Though, judging by their respective figures, it was probably Konata who had the upper hand.
The next morning, still rubbing her sleepy eyes, Konata arrived at school to find most of her classmates already in the classroom, animatedly discussing their week-long internship experiences.
Tsuyu Asui had been chatting with Kyoka Jiro and Ochaco Uraraka when they spotted her. In an instant, the group surrounded her.
Everyone had heard something about what happened in Hosu City. Granted, the details they knew came from the "polished" version released by the police, but it didn't stop them from speculating about what truly went down.
"Konata, are you okay? I heard the League of Villains targeted you again," Uraraka asked anxiously, leaning on Konata's desk as soon as she sat down.
"Ah, I'm fine—well, mostly," Konata said casually, waving a hand. "I barely got hurt. Honestly, you guys should be more worried about Midoriya and the others. Especially Midoriya—he took the worst of it."
"Konata-chan, but… people said you were in the most danger at the time. What actually happened?" Tsuyu pressed.
It seemed they had already discussed this before she arrived, because no one showed any intention of leaving.
At Tsuyu's question, Konata tilted her head thoughtfully.
The details of her kidnapping… she had only shared those with All Might and Recovery Girl. As for the strange "deal" she struck with that man, that part had never left her lips.
Endeavor had asked once too, but after finding out All Might had already talked to her, he'd puffed up with that classic tsundere pride and said he didn't want to know anymore. Textbook tsundere behavior.
Of course, Konata could tell the truth now if she really wanted to—but honestly, what was the point? What was she supposed to say?
That she'd been abducted by a tin-can-headed man who had once dealt a crushing blow to All Might, was tangled in some twisted love-hate rivalry with him, and possessed a Quirk that could steal other Quirks… that he had taken her Quirk, only to return it later… and that she'd made some kind of secret arrangement with the supposed big boss behind everything?
Yeah. No way she could say that out loud.
After a quick moment of internal debate, Konata straightened and replied seriously:
"Well, I was just about to check the time on my phone, right? And my phone is just… too dazzling. Even in the dead of night, it shines like a beacon. Naturally, that caught the villains' attention. They tried to take it from me, even ganged up on me to snatch it away."
Her tone sharpened, teeth practically grinding.
"But what they didn't know… was that my phone had already bonded to me—blood recognition and everything."
"And then," she continued with exaggerated indignation, "when it came to compensation, they refused to pay up! On top of that, they tried to extort me for money. Can you imagine? If this happened to you, would you tolerate it? Absolutely not! So of course, I tried to reason with them—but, you know, reasoning with thugs never works. And that's how I ended up getting kidnapped. That's the whole story."
She raised an index finger solemnly.
"I've decided to name this incident: 'The Bloody Case of the Stolen Smartphone.'
What do you think?"
Yep. Asking Konata for a straight answer had been a mistake. A mistake of epic proportions.
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The internship ended, and life returned to the usual rhythm of daily classes. But after that week-long experience, everyone had changed—some in strength, some in mentality, and some… in appearance. (Looking at you, those who went to work with the fourth-ranked hero, Backdraft.)
As for Konata herself, she could feel the improvement in her body. At the very least, she no longer got winded after climbing a few flights of stairs or running a few hundred meters. For that, she grudgingly admitted she should probably thank Endeavor…
Not that she liked the man any better.
Her progress showed most clearly during the rescue training exercise that afternoon in All Might's Heroics class. Well… "progress" might be a generous word.
The exercise was held in the complex, maze-like industrial zone of the training grounds. Four students per group, racing to reach and rescue All Might, who was stationed in the center. Pure speed and strategy.
When the rules were explained, Konata had been full of confidence. She decided she wouldn't rely on her transformation—It'd feel like bullying children, and besides, she wanted to test her physical improvements after the week of hellish training.
So she set herself a strict goal: finish the course using only her own two feet.
And then… she got hopelessly lost.
It was only then she realized she had an innate sense of direction failure. By the time all nineteen other students had finished the exercise, Konata was still wandering the maze, completely turned around.
When everyone saw her hopeless pathing on the monitors, the room fell silent.
It took her a full thirty minutes to find her way back to the starting point. And when she finally returned, she was so mortified she basically shut down.
According to a certain Midnight—who preferred not to be named—Konata spent the next several days at home curled up in a corner, hugging her knees, muttering things like, "I'm not Zoro, I'm not Zoro…" over and over. Who "Zoro" was, no one knew, but the rumor mill ran wild.
Eventually, All Might himself couldn't take it anymore and personally guided her out of the maze. Otherwise, he was pretty sure Konata would've stayed stuck in there forever.
Her "coping mechanism" afterward? Channeling her frustration into schadenfreude. So when Mineta tried to use a tiny hole between the boys' and girls' changing rooms to spy, Konata and Kyoka Jiro, as the only two girls not mentioned by the grape, teamed up with perfect camaraderie.
The resulting scream from Mineta, after Jiro jabbed her headphone jack into his peeping eye, was music to Konata's ears. Pure therapy.
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What Konata didn't know, however, was that while she headed home that afternoon, a far more serious conversation was taking place between All Might and Midoriya Izuku.
Perhaps due to the Hero Killer incident, and because of the man Konata had encountered, All Might finally resolved to tell Midoriya everything—including the heavy destiny that came with inheriting One For All.
All For One.
It wasn't just the name of a Quirk, but also the name of a man.
The Quirk allowed its user to steal others' Quirks—and grant them to others. Since the dawn of the Quirk Era, the man wielding this terrifying ability had stood above all, a near-immortal existence thanks to stolen abilities that could halt aging.
And so, in a twist of irony, true justice had been born from absolute evil. One For All came into existence because of him—because of the man known as All For One. Wanting to either protect or subjugate his younger brother, he forcibly granted him a Quirk that allowed him to store power. That younger brother, who had been born without a Quirk but possessed an unshakable sense of justice, resisted—and something miraculous happened.
The power to bestow Quirks, combined with the ability to stockpile strength, fused into a new Quirk: One For All.
From then on, One For All was passed from one generation to the next, with a single purposw—to defeat All For One. And in All Might's era, he succeeded, though not without grave injuries.
But what All Might had believed to be the end… wasn't.
All For One, thought to be dead, revealed his fangs once again—and in the shadows, founded the League of Villains.
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"So… the League of Villains keeps going after Konata… because of that strange Quirk she has?" Midoriya asked, stunned.
"That's right," All Might replied, standing by the window, gaze fixed on the orange glow of the setting sun.
"You may find it hard to accept, but you needed to hear the full truth. And there's one more thing… Konata…"
All Might's voice grew heavy.
"She's seen All For One with her own eyes."
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Finally paid the chapter I owe, teehee~♪ So, here's the update: extra chapters are now 350 for the first, 500 for the second. And no, the first 350 this time doesn't count—don't try to scam me, okay?
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