[MHA] Shoto Todoroki : Modern-Day Terrorist

[Nar_cisse]

For a second nothing happened.

Then a terrible, bestial howl ripped through the night, chilling my bones and startling my heart.

The earth, the plaza, the whole city shook.

The stars, the sky, the horizon, everything quivered, as if lines were curves and curves were spasming.

My father and All Might stood, legs bent and hands outstretched to keep their balance.

Chakra stabilizing me, I crossed the distance between us in a few quick steps.

- What's that? Where is it coming from?

I turned my head to the west, toward the mountains, their foothills covered in forest.

All for One screamed again, and the whole air vibrated as if it were about to crack under its power.

- GIGANTOMACHIA !

A new roar, hoarser and longer, like a foghorn blown by a storm.

A cloud of dust like a sand tornado swept across the city.

And without warning, a million screams from men, women, and children erupted at once.

Buildings were uprooted and hurled into the air, roofs crumbled and tiles rained down upon the city.

The thing, the beast, the creature, crossed the city in a straight line, destroying everything in its path, howling and sowing chaos like a beast unleashed upon earth.

- GIGANTOMACHIA!

The monster grew more violent, more angry, with each new cry from All for One, snorting and rearing, jumping and falling, its inhuman silhouette barely discernible behind the curtain of dust and sandstone.

- We've got to shut him up !

Endeavor and my father didn't even need to consult each other as they each sped off in their own directions to stop the enemy.

All Might split the air in the direction of All for One, and my father, volcano roaring, ran toward the beast, ready to stop it at any cost.

I knew what logic dictated.

I knew what my reason, insidious and perfidious, would have wanted me to do, to put an end to the chaos that was spreading like an exhalation through the city.

But I've never been the rational type.

So I ran after my father, without a thought for All Might or the millions of other people suffering in Tokyo, chakra crackling on the surface of my skin, ready to sacrifice perhaps my only chance to put an end to All for One, to put an end to the canon, to prevent everything from taking dramatic turns in the future.

The only thing I saw was my father, his red hair, the lava coming out of the cracks and fissures in waves and swirling around him, the way he stroked my hair as he passed me, the way he'd held me in his arms as he mourned Touya's death and prayed, prayed, prayed that I would never leave him-

The monster, like a tank, blew up the last buildings of a residential area and forced its way through the hundred meters of squats and ruined buildings and-

I knew there was a camera, the whole country was glued to its TV, the whole world was about to find out about my power, but-

My father raised his hand, and a sea of lava erupted from the ground, forming a curtain between him and Gigantomachia.

Fuck it.

My chakra exploded on my skin, and the whole world took on a redder hue.

Gigantomachia jumped out of the last building that separated him from the square, a storm in his eyes, rage on his foaming lips of saliva and blood, and fixed his eyes on All for One, whom All Might held by the collar of his suit and above whom stood his fist, almost bathed in light.

I knew from his glassy but determined gaze that he saw nothing but All for One, his master, his owner, the one who needed him.

He didn't think.

He saw neither the lava nor the tiny red-haired human standing between him and his goal, raising a burning tsunami, hands raised to the sky, the top of the waves approaching sixty meters.

The air was stifling, unbreathable, as hot as coal swallowed in a mouthful.

Gigantomachia tucked his head into his shoulders and accelerated, and I knew that no matter what happened, nothing and no one would stop him from reaching All for One.

Gigantomachia burst through the curtain of lava, his hair burning like matchsticks, his melted skin falling off in chunks, his howl louder than ever.

The tip of his bloody nose pierced the curtain.

My father brought his right hand down, and the tip of the tsunami fell on the quadruped as if it had been splashed.

The beast raced, slamming into the ground, cement blocks breaking off like broken mountains and flying in all directions.

It rumbled and grew, its eight meters becoming ten, twelve, fourteen - whatever it was.

His torn jaw tore through the tsunami, followed by his gleaming skull, from which a river of blood trickled down to his ear, then his thick neck-

The lava surrounding Gigantomachia turned into a titanic hand, smoking and glowing in the darkest night this land has ever known.

As if Hades himself were summoning the power of the underworld, the glowing hand grew and grew and grew, the veins of lava hidden beneath the earth flowing toward it to strengthen it.
The hand continued to grow, encircling the monster's waist and preventing it from taking another step.

Gigantomachia snorted, ochre smoke billowing from its flaming skin.

He screamed, his narrow eyes riveted on my father, and it was a roar of rage and fury.

Endeavor gasped and fell to his knees.

In an instant, I was in front of him.

He screamed.

- Go away !

I could feel the heat radiating from his body, so intense, so violent, that I didn't even dare turn around for fear of seeing him consumed.

Gigantomachia fought like the devil, and the hand of god collapsed, splattering the square and the streets, spilling everywhere like an acid that gnaws and devours without ever being satiated.

Gigantomachia, his eyes fixed on my father - the target to be slaughtered - rushed forward without even seeing me.

- Go away !

There was something desperate in his scream.

My chakra concentrated in my body, in my muscles, drugging my mind, forcing me to forget the pain that made my legs tremble.

I raised my fist back, the air vibrating, cracking as if it were about to break.

I felt him reach for me, weak, frightened, unable to pull me away.

Gigantomachia's crazed gaze met mine.

He flinched half a meter away from me, his eyes reflecting my Sharingan for a second before the pain took over again and he pulled back from the genjutsu.

But that was enough.

Gigantomachia came at me at full speed and my fist hit his face.

A deafening boom erupted in the dark night, as if a bolt of lightning of unprecedented size had struck the earth, destroying everything in its path.

The sound reverberated through the city like a slap, the echo lingering until my ears could no longer hear it.

A gust of wind came up, sweeping across the square like a divine breath.

Against my skin, the monster's was as hard as molten rock, solid but on the verge of being shattered.

Gigantomachia's eyes were at times sharp and at times glassy, my chakra seeping into his nervous system before being brutally cut off by the flood of suffering that assaulted him.

I clenched my jaws and planted my feet firmly on the ground, refusing to give the villain an inch of ground.

Something snapped in my arm.

I felt my muscles sag in spite of myself, my shoulder go limp, my fingers go numb.

Panic overcame me and a howl of rage left my lips as I forced myself to push again and again, black spots dancing in my vision.

And then Gigantomachia's concrete jaw cracked.

The web of cracks spread like powder across its face and into its teeth until the monster, unable to stabilize itself, was pushed backwards.

It flipped several times, rolled in the dust, and crashed into a building that collapsed on top of it.

Then it came to a stop.

All for One shouted.

- Gigantomachia!

My arms were shaking, my whole body was convulsing. My skin was sticky, a mixture of dried sweat and fresh, icy sweat.

My chakra reserves were dangerously low.

I waited for the villain to rise, my eyes glued to his inert form.

But he didn't move.

Backing away slowly, never taking my eyes off the monster, I stepped back toward my father.

My hand met his shoulder and, without looking at him, I cooled him.

I felt his gaze on me and guilt twisted my stomach.

- How long have you been...?

Keeping my eyes on the floor, I replied:

- Since forever

Silence.

Shock. Confusion. Or maybe disappointment.

My eyes traveled up his body, but as soon as I caught the corner of his face, I lowered my head.

- I'm sorry, I said.

He said nothing.

He didn't need to: I hate myself enough for both of us.

- Swap!

All for One appeared in the air, his wild eyes riveted on Gigantomachia, the sleeves of his torn suit flying behind him like a flag in the wind.

He still hadn't regenerated his stump.

- Swap!

In a new leap, he appeared two meters away in the air, closing in on the inert body of his subordinate.

All Might, grim-faced, let him go and walked calmly behind him.

This was the end. We could all feel it.

All for One fell to his knees beside the giant, screaming at his face.

- Gigantomachia, wake up! Gigantomachia!

A section of the ceiling had collapsed on the villain's head, revealing only a closed eye and a half-open mouth with sharp teeth.

A steady stream of blood flowed from his whitish, blistered skin.

- Gigantomachia!

All for One's cries turned into pleas, plaintive echoes.

All Might walked toward him at a slow, determined pace, but in no hurry to finish him off.

- Gigantomachia!

Under my hand, my father's nervous system cooled, followed by his organs, blood, and skin.

Steam rose from his body in waves.

- Gigantomachia!

I found him pathetic, crying at the feet of a corpse, begging to be brought back to life.

Death wasn't a god you could pray to with impunity, and he was even less likely to grant your wishes out of the goodness of his heart.

Death took, and if you were ever unfortunate enough to take something from it, it was before it took more from you.

- Gigantomachia !

Like an executioner about to carry out his sentence, All Might stood behind the weak, trembling figure of All for One, his gigantic body casting a shadow over the villain.

All for One threw himself on the giant's hand, right next to his face, and squeezed his fingers.
I felt the last shreds of his power pass through his voice.

- Gigantomachia !

And as if summoned from the dead, the villain's eyes opened wide, narrowed to two slits, and he swallowed All for One.

*

Author's note :

What ? Is Shoto really going public ?

250 power stones = sunday bonus chapter

If you want to support me/read ahead of schedule, you can do so on my P@treon, Nar_cisseENG

See you in the next update everyone !

 

[Nar_cisse]

There was a moment of hesitation, of general dazedness, of unequivocal surprise.

Then my Sharingan, spinning lazily in my eyes, caught the slightest movement of Gigantomachia's muscles and predicted his course of action.

I spun on my heels, grabbed my father and threw myself aside with him.

The next thing I knew, the monster's foot imprinted itself on the spot where we'd just stood.

Gigantomachia jumped up with All for One in its mouth and turned back toward the city, probably heading for the mountains.

Bubbles of blood and charred skin fell from his body in waves, and I wondered how he could keep going.

All Might, one hand on his hip, stood up after he passed, his left foot slightly off the ground.

He rested it on the ground, hiding his pain, his eyes following the monster.

- We have to stop it.

My father let go of my grip and rose to his feet, and I followed.

Gigantomachia looked completely confused, jumping left and then right, his huge eyes darting back and forth as he searched for the best way to escape, casting suspicious glances over his shoulder at us.

Either way, he'd have to go through town.

- You can stop him, can't you?

I met my father's gaze and my Sharingan automatically deactivated.

- I don't have enough-

- Do it

I flinched, surprised by his cold tone, his distant air, his angry gaze.

I felt All Might's eyes dart between my father and I as we stared at each other.

I looked away first.

- As you wish

My throat tightened and I felt pathetic, and I hated myself for feeling pathetic.

- All Might

The other showed full attention.

- We'll go over there.

He pointed with his chin to the western part of the city, to the mountains the monster had passed through.

- We have to make it take the same route it took on the way in, to limit the damage.

The hero nodded.

- I was thinking the same thing. Alright. (Then he turned to me) Shoto-shonen, do you really think you can redirect Gigantomachia all the way there?

I looked at my father, but he didn't look at me, his eyes were already on the battle ahead.

- If you don't feel-

- I can do it.

My meager chakra reserves protested, as did my nearly empty Quirk tanks.

I'd slaughtered half of the Villain League, dismembered and severely weakened All for One, slaughtered over thirty of his henchmen, blown up All for One's base, prevented Gigantomachia from smashing my father and All Might, but I still needed more.

I smile, disillusioned.

Even at my age, after a decade of hard work, I still felt weak, inadequate - like a child.

Even after all these years, all this sweat and blood, I wasn't enough.

When the day come for me to be, will I be too late ?

My eyes returned to my father, who wasn't looking at me.

I lifted my eyes to the sky, to the helicopter circling above us, the camera focused on our three silhouettes.

Finally, the hot air became saturated, and suddenly a thunderstorm broke out.

The cool drops fell on my skin like the beginning of a lull in the weather.

Underneath my skin my chakra crackled, ready to pour into the puddle that was my Quirks whenever I wished.

Just a little more. Just a little bit more.

My bandages were soaked with blood, my fingertips unnaturally white.

The cameraman in the helicopter lowered his lens, and I was suddenly sure the camera was on me.

Maybe it's time.

Gigantomachia roared under the pain of his burning wounds cooled by the rain.

My sharingan came back to life in my eyes, visible to the whole world.

One shunshin and I was gone.

*

It was a surreal experience for 1-A.

Gathered in Kirishima's hospital room, eyes glued to the screen, no one was able to make the slightest sound.

- All Might and Endeavor are already on the scene, ladies and gentlemen, the host continued. I'd like to ask all Tokyo residents watching this to remain calm and-

She turned to the screen projected behind her, inhaled sharply in disbelief, her mouth half open in an exclamation of surprise that died in her throat.

Projected large, right next to her face, were Endeavor, All Might, and Shoto Todoroki, the kidnapped teenager and son of Number 2.

The camera zoomed in on the latter, and his heterochromatic eyes turned completely red, with three black pupil-like dots slowly rotating in each.

A second later, the boy was completely gone.

The video zoomed out, the frame shaking, as the cameraman scanned the entire area as best he could, moving from All Might to Endeavor and then on to the rest of the dilapidated, perforated square, streaked with fissures and veins of lava of an eerie dark red.

However, he was unable to find any trace of the previously abducted teenager.

The video returned to All Might and Endeavor, who, unperturbed, observed where the boy had been moments before.

All Might looked at Endeavor, who stared into space for a few more seconds.
Then his lips moved, too soft for anyone to decipher what he had just said.

Drizzle turned to rain, black clouds gathered in the sky as if summoned.

Thunder rumbled, and a flash of yellow lightning streaked across the sky, moving from cloud to cloud.

Out of habit, the cameraman captured the yellow light, then turned his attention back to the Heroes, who had disappeared.

He frantically searched for them, then captured their image as they flew side by side across the sky, Endeavor haloed in red light and All Might streaked in yellow.

Just then, an explosion rang out to the right.

Another roar from the bipedal monster shook the entire city.

The giant, on the edge of the abandoned industrial zone and the low-income housing projects under construction, stopped for a moment, as if struck by an invisible wall.

The sky rumbled, and a bolt of lightning, larger and more powerful than the others, fell from it directly on the villain.

The shock caused him to let out a terrible cry as he snarled and changed direction.

Every time he veered a little too far to the right, ready to enter the city, another bolt of lightning fell from the sky to knock him off course.

The camera zoomed in on a shadow, blurred and indistinct, that crossed the buildings parallel to the villain.

The video tried to capture its image, but failed for the shadow moved too quickly. The camera gained several meters on it and activated slow-motion mode.

Like a flash, Shoto Todoroki, his limbs blurred, entered the frame.

His raised hand was suddenly lowered, and at the same moment, another bolt of lightning fell from the sky, tearing through the dark night.

The cameraman zoomed in on the villain, puffs of grayish smoke rising from him, his skin, bloodied and upturned like a battlefield, covered in blackish blood.

The cameraman could already hear his boss's voice telling him that this was an all-public channel, and he zoomed back in on Shoto Todoroki.

At that moment the teenager, his hair sticking to his face, suddenly lifted his bloody eyes to the camera and looked into the lens as if he could see the cameraman and all the others hiding behind their screens.

And then he disappeared in a blur, so fast that the cameraman couldn't even catch his shadow.

A barrage of lightning continued to fall from the sky, exploding on the villain or just outside a place where he was "forbidden" to go.

The monster avoided populated areas, walked through an empty park, stepped on the playground, and left his footprint in a sandbox, continuing to run, harassed by the thunder falling on him.

Then, suddenly, the lightning stopped.

The monster slowed down, looked around suspiciously, then tried to cut through the town.

Then two curtains of lava rose on either side of the giant.

They were taller than the beast and as thick as a tree trunk.

The monster turned slowly, trying to turn back, but then another curtain of lava rose, blocking its only escape route.

All that remained was a narrow tunnel that would take him back the way he'd come.

The monster, cornered and staring wildly around, bent his legs and prepared to jump.

Just as his feet left the ground, a bolt of lightning, larger and more powerful than the others, fell from the sky and sent him crashing back to the ground.

The impact of his body on the ground sent tremors through the city, and the lava curtain shook, sending lava droplets flying everywhere.

Stunned, the monster staggered back to his feet before racing full speed through the lava tunnel.

As soon as he passed a block, the curtain of lava following him retreated into the earth, and a new burning wall sprang up on either side of his body to guide him.

The camera zoomed out to show viewers the hundred or so yards along the villain's covered path, surrounded by walls of lava.

That's when they spotted a hole in the burning creation and a shadow passing from the villain's oncoming path to the untouched streets.

The camera zoomed in and everyone saw All Might evacuate the wounded in front of the vilain at lightning speed.

The camera returned to the villain, then panned back to All Might.

The hero tossed aside a piece of collapsed wall, then grabbed a woman and her two children trapped under the rubble, their screams and cries audible even without sound.

He rushed outside, dumped them there, then returned through the hole and up the road to the next victims.

Behind him, the villain continued to accelerate, reducing the hundred yards separating them in a mere second.

All Might continued to rescue civilians, leaving none behind, occasionally glancing over his shoulder.

The villain noticed his presence and threw his head back, howling at the sky like a wolf at full moon.

The water continued to plow into his skin, his blood forming a black furrow in its path.

All Might raised his head, grim-faced, and continued his rescue work.

A bus had been turned on its side, a dozen people pounding their fists on the windows in terror, their lips moving incessantly, their wide eyes riveted to All Might.

The hero looked behind him, where the villain was coming like a catapult - 50 meters, 30, 10 - then back at the civilians.

He hesitated, then finally anchored himself in the middle of the street, legs planted firmly in the ground, shoulders straight, and took a deep breath.

The faint golden halo that always accompanied him rekindled around his body as his muscles grew larger and denser.

All Might braced himself for the impact, his gaze hard as iron, hiding his fear of collapsing before the world behind his usual mask of courage.

He would soon run out of time.

All Might tensed his muscles, clenched his jaw and raised his fist, his eyes riveted on Gigantomachia, his mouth bloody and drooling, ready to strike right in the face where his pseudo-shell had shattered and-

As he struck, a wall of lava rose in front of him.

Gigantomachia braked, his brain remembering the pain of his melted skin falling in blocks around him.

All Might managed to slow his momentum enough that he barely grazed the curtain of lava, his hair scorching under the heat.

But the pressure of his power created a gust of wind that slammed straight into the lava, tearing a hole in the wall and sending much of it flying over to Gigantomachia.

The villain howled, felt the skin of his cheeks melt from his bones, and turned sharply to the left.
He destroyed two city blocks, snorting acid from his face and rearing up like a mad bull at a bullfight.

Then new curtains of lava rose around him, blocking three out of four streets and forcing him to take a detour.

He crossed a school, destroyed a sports field, then the lava curtain looped around and forced him to return to the main road he'd already destroyed, which a hundred lesser heroes were trying to finish evacuating.

Lava bridges formed over the wounded that couldn't be cleared quickly enough, forcing the injured villain to jump over them.

All Might, never far behind, used the power of his fists to redirect some lava walls, swinging the villain away from civilians that Endeavor might have missed.

The entire country stood mute and breathless until the villain was completely driven out of the city.

Seeing the lava walls fall away completely, the villain quickened his pace and sped away as fast as he could.

All Might stopped on the roof of a building, watching the villain's receding form.

Endeavor landed softly at All Might's side, Hell Flame cut off, his translucent, bluish skin projecting an eerie light around him.

They exchanged a glance and a few quiet words, then turned toward the mountains, where the villain disappeared.

All Might put his hand on Endeavor's shoulder, and Endeavor let him.

Far ahead, on the horizon, the sun was just rising, casting yellow and red reflections across the sky and illuminating the two men as if they were made of light.

Shouts of joy and cheers for the two Heroes echoed across the country.

*

Author's note :

We're entering a new stage of Shoto's life, and we still got around 100/120 chapters to go.

I've currently published around 235,000 words on public platforms and so I estimate the final story will be between 400,000 and 500,000 words.

That's insane, I always thought the story would finish around 300,00 words if I took my time but even know I've still got many things to tell, world building to go over and plot points to open and close.

Anyway, thank you to everyone for supporting the story, liking and commenting and telling me when you love some developments or when you think some are a bit of a stretch : I always enjoy interacting with everyone, and knowing that people are eager to know what happen next is a nice motivation to keep to my schedule.

Yeah, well, enough with the ranting, and as always, see you in the next update everyone !

 

[Nar_cisse]

I fluttered my eyes, grooggy, my blurred vision gradually sharpening.

White walls, a TV screen, drawn curtains, chirping birds, the smell of antiseptic and poorly washed blood.

I let out a grunt as I stood up, my aching, hot muscles refusing to move.

I placed my feet on the cold tile floor and with one hand I ripped off the wires that were attached to my body.

Immediately, the machine next to my bed buzzed.

With my brain shattered as if I'd had too much to drink, the shrill sound was like a fire alarm reverberating from one skull wall to the next: I slammed into the machine, shattering the screen and grounding it.

Shards of plastic and glass fell to the floor and around my feet.

I walked to the window, my muscles as stiff as branches, making it difficult to cross. I could barely feel my aching toes on the ground.

Ten years of training and you're overwhelmed by chakra exhaustion.

I pulled back the curtains and squinted outside.

A cloudless sky, light streaming through the window, a park and patients in white gowns strolling from place to place.

My chakra buzzed painfully under my skin, answering my call, but with more difficulty than usual.

I scanned the entire building until I found the energy I was looking for.

I crossed the room in the opposite direction, past my bed and out into the hallway.

Patients, visitors, and doctors stared at me in surprise, but no one made a move to stop me.

I crossed two corridors before finally reaching a water fountain.

- You should be in your room.

He didn't even look at me.

My anger exploded like a bomb.

- How long are you going to take it out on me?

Enji looked at his plastic cup, took a sip and slowly turned to me.

Still taller than me, he looked at me as if I were worth less than the dust under his shoes.

I hated it.

- Go back to your room.

- I did everything you told me, damn it! I redirected that villain the way you wanted, even though-

I hesitated, the words refusing to leave my lips.

Even though I nearly drained my chakra to the point of death.

He looked at me intensely.

- Even though ?

I remained silent, and the disappointment I saw on his face was the worst thing I'd ever seen.

- Go back to your room.

He finished his glass in one gulp, tossed it in the basket and turned on his heels.

I found myself limping after him like a motherless puppy, my muscles pulling and screaming for me to stop.

- Let me explain. It's not what you think, I just...

Passersby looked at us with curiosity and surprise, and I felt my face burn with shame at the idea of the show we were putting on.

- I want to talk to you about it, I really want to, so please...

He stopped so suddenly that I almost ran into him.

An alarm went off in my head and I wondered how long it would take me to recover from my weaknesses.

- Go ahead. Speak up.

I looked him straight in the eye and then glanced down the corridor, my eyes resting on the few people who were probably disinterested but seemed, to me, eagerly listening.

- There's nothing to hide. Not now that you've been videotaped in action and the whole country has seen what you're capable of.

I bit my lip, unable to answer.

Even if the whole world supposedly knew what Shoto Todoroki was capable of, I knew it was nothing compared to what I could really do. And if I started talking like that, freely, in the corridor...

I looked suspiciously at the nurse who passed by pushing an empty chair, wondering if she was really a nurse or if the lack of smell and organic residue on her body meant that she had put on a disguise and then broken in for some obscure purpose.

And that old man over there with his leg in a cast? Was there really something wrong with his leg or was it just a tactic to lower my guard?

My gaze fell on all the people who crossed the corridor, and I found a reason to doubte each of their presence here.

When I looked back at my father, his eyes had darkened.

- You won't speak here? I don't mind. But enlighten me.

I straightened my shoulders, ready to do anything to regain his trust.

- What are those scars on your back?

I opened my mouth and closed it.

The scars...?

The flash of my clones rushing to heal me after I'd been blown up in the dormitories came back to me.

- How long have I been here?

Frowning, irritated by my change of subject, he answered anyway

- Three days.

I felt my last hope dying.

If my 'coma' had lasted longer, I could have come up with an excuse that it was due to the explosion in the camp and that I've always had excellent regeneration abilities, but now...

If the space travel quirks were mystical, the healing quirks were literally legendary.

If word got out that in addition to my fire, ice, lightning, super-strength, and pseudo-teleportation, I could also create tangible clones and heal myself and others, there wouldn't be a single person in the world to stop the veritable army of governments and organizations that would try to take me over.

And if there was one thing the fight with All for One had taught me, it was that for all my work, I wasn't enough.

Or at least not yet.

So I looked into my father's eyes, stupidly unable to answer.

- I can't tell you.

- Why can't you?

The sudden realization that I was endangering him with our simple relationship was like a slap in the face.

If they - these vague, unknown, potentially dangerous threats - were using him as leverage against me to get to me or make me do what they wanted, then...

Suddenly I got afraid of myself.

Dad silently waited for me to add something, anything.

The tiny glimmer of hope still in his eyes died as our silence dragged on.

I stood there, uncomfortable, wanting to leave but unable to, feeling that something deep was breaking between us.

- I'm disappointed in you

My throat tightened and I lowered my eyes.

The knowledge that I was protecting him by saying as little as possible gave me some comfort.

He waited again, giving me one last chance.

I didn't take it.

I felt his gaze linger on me for a while.

Then he turned and walked away.

I watched him go until he disappeared around the corner of a corridor.

*

Author's note

Ah, my heart bleeds every time I re read this chapter.

Anyway : 250 power stones = sunday bonus chapter

If you want to support me/read ahead of schedule, you can do so on my P@treon, Nar_cisseENG

See you in the next update everyone !

 

[Nar_cisse]

I flipped through different channels but kept coming upon the same program.

- What to make of this new duo-

- Endeavor and All Might-

- two symbols

- ...new era ?

The remote returned to the first channel. Frustrated, I muted it and threw it against the wall.

My cell phone crackled on the bed next to me.

- I've got better things to do than listen to you watch TV, Teka said calmly

I picked up the phone in frustration, raised it to my mouth, then decided to shut up and put it back down beside me.

Teka said nothing for a long time.

- How's your dad?

Knees tucked under my arms, eyes glued to the same interview replay that had been looping since yesterday, I shrugged.

- I don't know.

Another silence.

Then Teka took a long breath.

- The fact that you think I'm capable of fixing everything in your relationship warms my heart, Shoto. It really does.

Her voice was as cold and indifferent as ever.

- But you misunderstand the kind of relationship I have with Enji. He and I are nothing but disappointment and distance.

I picked up the phone again.

- Things went well at Christmas.

Grandma Teka had come to visit us in Japan for the holidays, and my old man had kicked her out after she tried to offer me three different countries in Africa.

I thought she was joking, and so did my dad, until she came up with an official contract that could have made me the youngest dictator in history.

- He's keeping me around because you and I have a relatively cordial relationship.

I almost smiled when I heard her describe our 'relationship'.

Sometimes she sounded more like a business partner than the old woman who threw her knife-sharp heels at me whenever I had the misfortune to call her 'Grandma'.

- Tell me what happened.

I inhaled, rocking back and forth, my eyes resting on the white tile floor with a tiny blood stain.

My chakra exploded like a wave around me, scanning the entire hospital for the umpteenth time that day, to no avail.

No strangely compact groups, no corrosive or hostile energies.

Three days had passed since the whole world knew that Shoto Todoroki was more than he claimed to be, and no one had tried to kill me.

But I was sure it would happen soon, and so was the knife hidden under my mattress.

- Have you seen the videos?

- Of course I did.

- Then you know

The world outside was happy, joyful, full of energy.

The general consensus was that despite the damage to Tokyo, it could have been worse. A strange optimism on the part of public opinion, whom was generally very negative.

Teka inhaled sharply, and I imagined her nostrils constricting and dilating as she sank back into her chair, her burning eyes sweeping over her desk.

- He has reasons to be angry with you

I know he does.

- You should have talked to him about this a long time ago

I felt like a whiny child being lectured.

- But you're not mad at me.

- Because I knew.

It should have been a shock, but it wasn't.

I remembered the night I'd finally managed to implant my Sharingan seal, years before. Teka had come to my room shortly afterward, half confessing that she knew I was different.

She'd just told me that she had this information, and since then, nothing else.

Not a single hint or knowing glance in five years.

- The video, right ?

That damned shitty video that I should have destroyed myself years ago.

Without it, no one would have known, without it, All for One wouldn't have been interested in me, without it-

- Your father saw it too.

I straightened up.

- Or at least he saw the beginning.

My shoulders slumped.

He'd only seen the flash, and the flash was what I'd passed off as my 'Quirk Awakening'.

Nezu knew, Aizawa knew, the Special Forces knew - and now the whole world knew.

Part of me would have preferred him to see the video in its entirety, so he would have suspected, sensed, that something about me was different.

But another part of me was glad he hadn't seen it, not really, because it had allowed him to ignore how violent and disturbed his son was.

I ran a hand over my face, tugging at my eyelids as if trying to wake up.

- I don't know what to do.

Even in the days when the Todoroki were a large family, I'd always been my father's favorite child.

He never refused me anything, always managed to find time for me in his hectic schedule, never missed a birthday or celebration in fifteen years.

To be the outcast, the unloved, was something I found strange, stressful, detestable.

- Tell me what to do

Teka said nothing, and I imagined her staring at the ceiling, speakerphone on, hands clasped on his stomach.

- You know what to do

I clenched my fist.

- I can't do it.

- Why can't you?

I bit my lower lip, unable to answer.

At the other end of the line I heard plastic creaking and the faint sound of leather stretching.

Teka was sitting, feet flat on the floor, elbows on the desk, eyes glued to her phone as if she could see me.

- Why can't you tell him ?

Her tone was curious now.

I said nothing.

- Are you hiding anything else, Shoto?

My silence spoke volumes.

My chakra hummed again and I scanned the building once more.

I found nothing.

Yet.

- Your father loves you very much, Shoto. The term 'unconditional love' takes on its full meaning when it comes to you both.

I knew it, I fucking knew it, and was precisely because he was the only one who had ever seen me and would ever see me be the worst, do the worst, and was now rejecting me that it hurt so much.

- He needs to know that you trust him, that it's mutual. Because that's what this is about, Shoto. You betrayed his trust and that's what hurts him.

My heart leapt.

- Of course I trust him, but-

- Let me finish

My mouth closed immediately.

- If you can't tell him the truth - for reasons I hope are valid, and Ion which I won't ask you to elaborate - then lie to him.

The idea had already crossed my mind, but knowing it was my only solution made me sick.

- I have no other choice ?

I could be the best liar, thief, murderer there is, but not to him - not when it comes to my father.

- If you don't want the two of you to drift apart, this is your only option.

A silence as heavy as the weight of the world fell on my shoulders.

I could feel my back buckling under the weight, but I couldn't make up my mind.

I didn't mind hurting other people because they were just that, other people, and other people weren't 'me' and had nothing to do with 'me'.

The man who sacrificed his son, his family, his mentor, who could have died coming to my rescue against All for One-

- Cut me some slack, boy, Teka said. And explain to me why you can't tell him.

I thought of the scars on my back, of what the revelation of my clones and the extent of my abilities would mean to the world, of the swarms of killers of all kinds who would hunt me down, of the countries that would do anything to stop me and prevent Japan from possessing such a military asset, what they would do to me once they realized they couldn't hurt me - not anymore - how they would try to get to me, what levers they would try to use against me, the constant and eternal threat my father would be under, and the day - the day - when I would prove to not be enough, not damn enough, even after years and years and years-

- Because someone might hurt him to get to me.

If he knew, others would take it upon themselves to force him - in whichever way - to tell them.

And from then on...

I imagined myself a puppet, moved by someone else's will, forced to do things I didn't want to do, until I died and was dumped nameless, faceless, in a pit of which I would never recover from.

I added, barely audible:

- Because he might be in danger

I knew that whoever got to my father could make me commit the most horrible atrocities this world has ever known.

Worse, I knew that there was something deeply disturbed, unhealthy, malevolent inside of me that wouldn't hesitate for a second.

And that terrified me.

- So here's a second option, Teka said. If you don't want to lie to him, make sure he has no reason to be in danger anymore.

I froze, blinking stupidly, my eyes glued to the screen where my father and All Might were shaking hands with the anchorman.

Suddenly, I had a terrible idea.

*

Author's note :

I have been very surprised by some of the reactions I got concerning Enji's anger last chapter, so I'll explain what his motives are here - if you understood him at least a bit, I strongly suggest skipping the next bout as it is something that Enji himself will explains in the story.

From Enji's POV, he always has done everything he could to be a good father to Shoto. He was always there when his son needed him, provided him physical and mental support, tried to make a solid man out of him and never, ever blamed him for anything, not even expressing the slightest amount of negativity when his son killed people (justified, of course) and send kids repeatedly to the hospital because of his pent up anger.

The amount of support and love he provided to his son (that I indeed showed throughout the story) is the pinnacle of what a father - a parent - can do for his child.

And yet, what does he learn ?

That his son lied to him for eleven years. That his son, who was not even four when he unlocked his Quirk, made the conscious decision to hide it from him, the man who has always been there and has never done anything that could warrant this lack of trust. He was a child, and yet he decided the best course of action would be to not tell his father.

And you know what's worst ?

Shoto didn't even reveal his power willingly : he did it only because circumstances forced his hand.

Enji learned it at the exact same time as the whole world, as if he wasn't valued enough to learn it beforehand. Shoto could have told him 'Hey dad, there's something I need to tell you about' a hundred times before starting Yuei and during the previous months and Enji would have taken it way better than he does now.

Someone mentionned the fact that Enji should be happy for his son because he is strong : the thing is, Enji is not angry about the fact that his son has an insane Quirk.

In other circumstances, Enji would have been happy and very proud of him.

Yet here he can only be angry because he thought Shoto trusted him as much as he does, and yet his son doesn't.

Enji is hurt. Very, deeply, insanely hurt.

He would lay down his life for his son without a thought, and yet his son doesn't trust him as much as Enji himself does.

Worst is that it his coming from the one Enji loves the most in the whole world, his own flesh and blood, the most precious thing in his life.

Enji has every right to be angry, every right to say he is disappointed, every right to say he wants a bit of time away to cool down.

It doesn't mean that he wishes for Shoto's death, doesn't mean that he loathe Shoto, doesn't mean he will never talk to him again, doesn't mean he will let him fend for himself now that the whole world knows what he is capable of.

Enji is angry but it doesn't mean that he loves Shoto less.

Their relationship has taken a hit, yes, like every relationship does at some point when someone fucks up. I haven't invented hot water, you can't tell me this is not something usual for people to go through.

Also cute the poor dude some slack, he has been an insanely good single father and is one of the reason Shoto hasn't gone batshit crazy a long time ago.

I will absolutely stand by what I said, Enji has every right to be angry.

Something else that someone mentionned : why has Enji asked about Shoto's power in the hallway where there were so many people around ?

The thing is, Enji is the only person that knows Shoto better than he even knows himself.

He asked the question there because he knows the paranoid tendencies of his son, and he wanted to know if his son was still lying about his power. And wow, surprise, he does.

Last question I got : Why can't Shoto tell him in private when there is no one around ?

Two reasons : because of Quirks and his paranoia.

Quirks are the most versatile thing ever.

There is this inspector in the original story that knows when people can lie or not. If, for whatever reason, he - or anyone else with a similar Quirk - asked Enji and Enji knew, people with ulterior motives would flock Enji to know what it really entails.

Now enters the paranoia.

If someone deems that Shoto is too much of a threat, that the Japanese government shouldn't have such a weapon in their hands, they will try to kill him.

And how do you plan a succesful murder ? By gathering information, of course.

People could either use whatever way to force the information out of Enji, or they could deem Shoto an asset and use - threaten - Enji to make Shoto whatever they want.

I'm not talking about villains, I'm talking about military groups, military private societies (PMS) and the likes.

Maybe Shoto is correct. Maybe he's not.

But if there is one thing that he knows, it's that no one is infaillible and that, above all, he may have had this second chance at life, but he is not more special than someone else.

He is scared of failing his father, which is why he won't put him in harm's way.

It doesn't mean that Shoto will stay on the side and let things unfolds (passivity was for when he was a kid).

That's it, I think I responded to the major points that you asked about.

Thanks to everyone who read until here and, as always, see you in the next update everyone !

250 power stones = sunday bonus chapter

Nar_cisseENG = P@treon to read up to 50 chapters ahead of schedule

 

[Nar_cisse]

Nezu smiled as All Might and Endeavor entered his makeshift office.

The first hero returned the smile, while the second looked warily at the medical diplomas on the wall and the family photos that did not include Nezu.

- I needed to relocate my office and Dr. Garaki kindly lent me his, Nezu piped happily.

The two men sat across from him in plastic chairs, so massive that their bodies seemed to overflow from it.

Their thighs were the size of children's and even their arms were impressively broad.

Nezu's eyes narrowed for a second, and he savored the stroke of genius of the journalist who had been in Tokyo on the night of the "Darkest Night" and had captured their two silhouettes posing on the horizon, the ugly gigantic vilain, no bigger than a pea, running away from them to the mountains..

The photo went viral around the world in just a few hours and, more importantly, inspired the entire country.

- I'm glad you could come.

Once again, that polite smile from All Might and that sideways glance from Endeavor.

Yes, the two men really were a great duo, with the jovial All Might, who could be trusted under any circumstances, and the taciturn Endeavor, who would stop at nothing to fulfill his heroic duties.

Their alliance was a pleasant surprise for the public and a qualitative PR coup on Nezu's part.

Heroes hadn't been sold as a team for years, but it seemed that All Might and Endeavor, Endeavor and All Might, were a duo that the public was very fond of.

- Let's get down to business, Endeavor said. We have a very busy day ahead of us.

A meeting with the minister, an appearance in Tokyo's rebuilding districts, a visit to a hospital where wounded 'full of gratitude' to the two heroes stayed.

Endeavor had always been a man who preferred to get right to the point, and Nezu appreciated that straightforwardness.

Nevertheless, he appreciated even more his use of "we".

- First of all, I'd like to congratulate you. Public opinion was equally divided, and we could have faced a wave of protests across the country, but that's not the case.

Cancel culture was a formidable weapon, but it was limited to mere social power.

You could be hated, but there was nothing to stop you going about your life in peace, because there was no law preventing public enemies from going to work or buying their sandwiches at the bakery.

- Your series of public interventions had the desired effect and more. A true stroke of genius.

All Might smiled sincerely, but Endeavor was still watching him out of the corner of his eye, understanding exactly what he was getting at.

It had been Nezu's idea to capitalize on their duo's freshness and initiate this series of public appearances.

If the rat was complimenting anyone, it was himself.

- Thanks to you, we were able to keep the Training Camp Incident under wraps, or at least cover it up enough for the public to ignore it and focus on you.

All Might lost his smile.

- No one knows about...?

- No one

It was fortunate that the whole fiasco had happened on the same night, as Nezu was able to quickly cover up the training camp affair and focus all the media attention on Tokyo and 'The Two Symbols', as they liked to call them.

The 1-A students, still too shocked, too naive, too fragile, hadn't thought for a second to question Yuei's public narrative that there had been injured but no dead.

Which was indeed true.

Kaminari had died in the hospital, not on Yuei's private property.

And there had been a few injuries, but they were all minor, nothing to write home about.

- The contracts that had been signed at the beginning of the year for the integration of the students into Yuei had clauses that formally forbade their parents to reveal anything that Yuei would not abide by.

That, and other tiny, tiny clauses that promised them a life of debt and misery if they ever revealed the content of even one line of the contract to anyone.
It was a bit suspicious, but who could doubt Yuei, the school that forged heroes, the one that built the greatest?

A lawyer would have seen the problem at first glance, but the contracts of those teenagers whose parents could afford to pay for the services of a lawyer were modified to avoid suspicion.

This meant that only Bakugo, Yaoyorozu, and Todoroki were potentially capable of uncovering the fraud.

But while the former hadn't woken up from his artificial coma, the second was far too traumatized to think of foiling Nezu's machinations.

As for the latter, he was smart enough to know that the 'official' version was far more in favorable to him than the 'truth'.

After all, Nezu's carefully falsified reality was the only thing that kept Shoto Todoroki's murders from coming to light.

It was also the reason why he'd managed to get Endeavor involved in this series of public appearances and the possible creation of this new Heroic duo.

- But we've got two problems on our hands.

Nezu raised his paw and showed two claws, the first of which he lowered.

- First, the Heroic Commission is on our backs.

All Might looked at Endeavor as he straightened up, the plastic of his chair squeaking, suddenly very interested.

- They want explanations and answers about Shoto, his Quirk, Quirks or whatever, and why we've chosen to keep this information from them.

- I refuse to answer, Endeavor growled, openly hostile.

Nezu nodded appeasingly.

- I expected this, and that's exactly what I told them. But we all know how... persistent the Commission can be.

Rumors circulated about the government organization in charge of domestic protection.

A series of suspicious events always occurred when the Commission was involved.

Nezu vividly remembered a case from a decade ago in which All Might had played an important role.

Number 1 had saved the life of a blonde-haired, blue-eyed boy twice in the same week, and his photo with him had inflamed public opinion, who claimed that the two were related without any tangible evidence.

The Commission had looked into the case, as had Nezu. Attention dried up, and when everyone had forgotten about him, the boy disappeared.

And this was without even considering the Commission's strange relationship with Endeavor's son, may he rest in peace, who died shortly thereafter.

- Please inform Shoto and stay close to him.

Endeavor exhaled loudly, then sank back into his seat, his arms crossed over his chest.

- Secundo, All for One

This time, it was All Might who leaned forward, even though the two Heroes' attention was riveted on Nezu.

Lips pressed together, All Might asked:

- Have you found him?

- We found Gigantomachia's body.

A fly swirled in the air.

- We found him in Hokkaida, on the coast of the Sea of Japan, lying on the sand. We think he was planning to cross the sea to China or Russia.

All Might wiped his sweaty palms on his pants.

- And All for One? Is he...?

- We haven't found his body.

All Might silently scanned Nezu, then nodded three times in a row, straightened up, looked out of the window, clasped his knees in his hands, and took a deep breath.

- Alright. (Inhale) Alright.

- The analysis of Gigantomachia's intestines still hasn't determined whether he devoured All for One or not," Nezu nuanced. Don't lose hope, Yagi

The blonde nodded slowly, but he knew that these were empty words.

His sworn enemy, Nana's murderer, had eluded him. Once again.

And here he was, strutting his stuff on TV as his strength gradually left him.

- I'd like to talk to you about Sho

- We have to find me a successor

Nezu looked at him, surprised, before his eyes landed firmly on Endeavor.

- Maybe we can talk about it later-

- He knows. No need to take him out.

Well, not exactly.

Aside from the silent confession All Might had made to him the night they'd almost - the word was like acid in his throat - ended it with All for One, the two Heroes hadn't mentioned All Might, his power, or his weakening again.

But All Might knew that Endeavor was an intelligent man and would agree with him, or at least avoid contradicting him openly in front of Nezu.

Besides, Endeavor was the man without whom he might have died trying to stop All for One and Gigantomachia.

All Might would have died without being able to pass on the One for All, and the mere prospect of failing so miserably after all his predecessors had sacrificed themselves to stop the villain might have killed him more surely than any blow from All for One.

All Might felt indebted to him, and he also felt that if their little pretense of a duo was to continue, it might be a good idea to establish a relationship of trust between them.

- Hmm. Right, then. Good. Very good.

Nezu smoothed his whiskers, pulled them so hard that you'd think he wanted to pull them off, and smoothed them again.

- We must find me a successor, All Might repeated. And soon. The One for All is slowly leaving me, I can feel it.

Endeavor, silent, didn't even react even though his brain was racing.

- You're losing your grip on it, Nezu worried.

- It's slipping through my fingers, a little more with each passing second. I should only have a few months left, at best.

Nezu sank back into his chair, his dark eyes shining.

- We can't let you leave the Heroic stage so abruptly. We'd have to prepare the ground, the audience, train your successor in a very short time... It's all very difficult, All Might. I can't fix the whole thing by snapping my fingers.

- I'm announcing my retirement tonight, on the 8 o'clock news.

Endeavor's eyes widened, but he said nothing.

All Might and Nezu glared at each other, and Endeavor felt he was intruding on a personal discussion.

- You can't do that.

- I can and I will

Nezu rubbed his temples as All Might continued:

- I wanted to leave five years ago, remember? But you stopped me, told me to find a good and loyal successor. You promised you'd help me, but nothing happened, nothing at all, and the One for All just keeps fading inside me since then.

What All Might didn't say was that he woke up last night with a lump in his stomach when he felt the One for All completely disappear from his system for a brief moment.

The flame was flickering, and soon there would be no smoke left.

The loss of his legacy - what he had dedicated his entire life to - terrified him.

Nezu fidgeted with his paws, digging his claws into the armrests of his chair, and silently studied All Might for a few seconds.

- I suppose Endeavor has something to do with your plan, if I'm not mistaken? That's why you brought him along.

Endeavor looked at All Might, who was still watching Nezu.

He was witnessing a real battle between the most powerful man and the most intelligent creature in the world.

As to who would win through power or knowledge...

- I want to use this idea, these 'two symbols', to begin my retreat. Endeavor is powerful enough for the public to consider him my equal. Between us, we could easily slow down crime until my successor is ready. Then I'll announce my retirement publicly, but by then everyone should be in safe hands.

Nezu, paws together, decided not to respond to All Might's subtle threat: do as he wishes and give himself a few months' respite, or go against his wishes and risk a social earthquake on top of the chaos caused by his sudden departure.

For his part, All Might mentally apologized to Endeavor for dragging him into the whole debacle against his will.

But the fact that the hero didn't protest made him feel better.

- Good, good. And I suppose you have an idea who your next successor might be, don't you?

All Might inhaled sharply.

*

Author's note

Honestly, I can take pretty much 99% of the comments but, for the life of me, all of the weirdos who think that I am writing Enji and Shoto as *inhales* a 'gay catch'/sexual relationship, you will be the death of me.

Like, litteraly, each time I read one of these comments I'm thinking back about all of the decisions that led me to publishing on the internet and I start regretting my whole life.

Gonna go back to my writing hole and ignore everything for a while.

250 power stones = sunday bonus chapter

Nar_cisseENG = P@treon, to read up to 2 months ahead of schedule

I would say see you in the next update but I really don't want to ever see some of you again

 

[Nar_cisse]

I opened the window, a cool breeze whipping my skin.

The morning air, not yet lukewarm, was cold enough to awaken the last sleeping cells in my body.

I ran a hand over my face, regretting for the umpteenth time that I didn't have a pack of soldier pills with me.

The Chakra Encyclopedia had a section covering all things biological, but apart from Irioninjutsu - which I'd had to practice for years to reach a decent level - the other things were beyond my abilities.

Genetic modifications and everything that followed was just a pipe dream that I'd never be able to achieve, but at least I had my Fuinjutsu and a natural ease with it.

Blinking away the fatigue, I hopped onto the windowsill and crouched down, sharingan spinning lazily in my eyes.

Five days stuck in this damn hospital and they're still not ready to let me go.

Not me nor any of the the other 1-A students I could feel-

I turned around slowly, my eyes glued to the door handle as it turned.

My eyes met Katsuki's, crutches in hand, pale as a corpse.

- Finally awake?

He gave me a stern look.

I sighed exaggeratedly, rolled my eyes, deactivated my Sharingan and jumped back silently into the room.

Katsuki's soles squeaked as he passed.

He slammed the door behind him and we were alone in my silent room, the bed I hadn't slept in for days separating us.

- I have things to do, I said, pinching the bridge of my nose. Get to the point.

He watched me in silence, surveying the room with the attention of a detective at a crime scene, his eyes lingering for a moment on the bed with its perfectly ironed and folded sheets.

- I hear you've got Quirks. More than your fire and ice, I mean.

- Everyone has known that for a week.

- I've only been up for an hour.

- And your first instinct isn't to call your family, but to come and see me ? How sad

We stared at each other, neither of us willing to relinquish control of the conversation to the other.

Then Katsuki limped over to the bed and sat down with a relief he barely managed to hide.

- You didn't tell me

- I already told you, Katchan. I don't owe you anything.

He nodded, three times, but didn't look hurt.

- You don't owe me anything, but you still intervened in the fight against All for One.

- Aizawa forced me to protect all of you.

Bakugo snorted disdainfully.

- That's why Iida is in a wheelchair, why Hagakure is no longer the invisible girl but 'the great burned', why Kaminari is - oh no, I forgot. Kaminari is dead.

He searched my face for a reaction, to no avail.

- What are you getting at ?

- You claim that Aizawa 'forced your hand' to protect us, but look at the sorry state we're in

He pointed at his bruised legs, which looked as brittle as glass.

- I saw the video and what you did to the villain with the gigantification Quirk. If you'd wanted to, you could have saved us all without anyone dying.

Anger overcame me.

- Yes, I could have

I smothered the victorious smile that appeared on his face with my next words:

- But I didn't because I don't give a shit

Without giving him time to answer, I approached him.

- You look like you've been talking to the other kids in class a lot, huh? What's the plan?

Bakugo stood up abruptly, his crutches almost slipping out from under him.

- You want me to apologize? Get down on my knees and beg for your forgiveness?

Bakugo stirred, and suddenly my face was a hair's breadth from his, my whole body shaking as I was about to hit him.

- You want me to say I'm sorry? Is that what you want? You want me to say I'm sorry I wasn't enough?

- I want you to use your damn Quirk and fix us!

I blinked.

Then I took in his frail form, his feeble body, his wet eyes full of weakness and shame.

I took two steps back.

- I can't do that

Bakugo clicked his tongue against his palate.

- Cut the crap

But he didn't seem to be sure that what I said was false, or that what he wanted to believe was true.

We fell into silence.

- I can't believe-

- Why did you save me ?

- Stop imagining things

Another silence.

I stepped back and ran my hand over my eyes, the sudden rush of adrenaline that had awakened me still making my blood boil.

- Why did you join Yuei?

- I've already told you.

- Then tell me again.

I raised my eyebrows in disdain.

- You seem to have the wrong idea about me, Katchan. I'm no good samaritan, let alone your guardian angel who falls from the sky to save your ass in your moment of need

- You saved my life.

I opened my mouth and closed it.

I'd wanted to kill that Uraraka bitch, to hit someone hard and long enough to vent my anger, and Katsuki had stumbled into it - and now he took it as a sign. Ha.

- Careful what you're doing, Katsuki. Giving away your gratitude and trust so easily is anything but a quality.

His impatience grew.

- You saved my life, yes or not ? So don't fucking tell me-

- I've killed people too

His face darkened.

- You should have been told, right ? Even if Nezu had to forbid the students in question from telling anyone-

To avoid the media debacle, to earn my father's gratitude, to earn my gratitude.

-you must have discussed it among yourselves. Nothing like a good shared trauma to strengthen the bonds of friendship, right?

Katsuki's lips were a thin white line.

His jaw was so tight that I could see the taut muscles under his pale skin.

- But these weren't people. They were villains.

My smile died on my lips, as did my next retort.

For the first time in my life, I looked at Katsuki Bakugo with interest, not as a two-dimensional creature, but as a person in his own right, capable of reflection and, above all, of being corrupted.

- You didn't come to me for healing, I said slowly, my eyes narrowing. You knew that even if I could, I'd say no.

He batted his eyelashes without a word, and I knew I'd hit home.

- What's on your mind ?

Katsuki looked at me, his eyes cold as steel.

Then he pulled a crumpled blue envelope out of his pocket.

- Read it

I took the document and read it in a few seconds.

- Shouldn't you... ?

- Keep this for me ? Yes, of course. That's one of the conditions. But since you're Endeavor's son, I thought I'd make an exception. Anyway, you're not really the type to go around telling everyone your life story, so I'm not worried.

I had to read the contents of the letter twice to make sure I wasn't hallucinating.

I fucked the canon again without even meaning to.

I found myself smiling in disbelief.

Bakugo continued:

- It's obvious from the wording that I'm not the only candidate. On the other hand, I intend to be more than just another cog in the machine.

I handed the letter back to him.

- What do you want from me?

- Your old man's buddies with All Might, right ? Then you can learn a lot from him.

He inhaled.

- What I want is for you to help me become the next All Might.

*

Author's note :

And the succession for the One for All begins !

Yeah I know, it's a bit of a short chapter but it compensates for when I publish monsters of 3/4,000 words.

Anyway, 250 power stones = sunday bonus chapter

If you want to read ahead of schedule, you can do so on my P@treon, Nar_cisseENG

See you in the next update everyone !

 

[Nar_cisse]

I blinked.

Slowly.

Then I leaned against the wall opposite my bed and crossed my arms over my chest.

- And by All Might's successor, you mean...?

- That he'll probably retire when we finish high school, and that he wants a hero to take over as a symbol of peace. Who will be me.

The determination I saw in his eyes was all the more admirable given that his body was now nothing more than a heap of broken parts held together in some precarious balance.

But that means he doesn't know about the One for All.

If All Might had decided on such a course of action, then Nezu had to know about it.

I wonder what that rat is up to.

- That's funny, coming from a guy who got his ass kicked like never before less than a week ago.

Katsuki didn't even flinch.

- It's because I've been beaten that I have to become stronger.

The fear of being at the mercy of others was a language I understood well.

- Let's say I agree. What's in it for me?

Katsuki shrugged and suppressed the grimace of pain the gesture caused him.

- Nothing, except for the fact that the next peace symbol will cover your future little mistakes.

I studied Katsuki from head to toe.

- You talk as if you're sure there will be more.

- You talk as if there has never been any.

A small smile formed on my lips.

- Let's be clear, Shoto. I'll only cover for you when it comes to villains and criminals. If you go after heroes or civilians, our agreement is over.

- You're just talking about hypothetical benefits. For all I know, someone else will win All Might's approval.

The image of an immortal Deku in possession of the One for All came to mind.

A real pain in the ass to kill.

- So, what do you want?

- I want information. Whatever you're told and whatever you pass on, I want to know. If you have access to a communications network or files forbidden to the general public, I want access to them too.

I had let events unfold as planned, thinking that the cannon's route would not be changed and that All for One would try to kidnap Bakugo.

What I didn't anticipate was that my actions would have such far-reaching effects on villains so far removed from my daily life.

- From All Might's shoe size to his favorite food, I want to know everything.

Bakugo smiled.

- I'm serious.

That Uraraka bitch thought she was safe now that Kaminari was dead.

She must have thought that no one knew about her, that no one could do anything to her.

I wanted to let her bathe in her sense of security and drown her in it when she least expected it.

I just have to find out where All for One is. And then...

I could have tracked him down myself, but I didn't have time for anything but my latest project.

And at the rate I was going, it would take me months of work, day and night, to finish it.

- Yeah, yeah, Bakugo huffed and rolled his eyes.

He hobbled towards me, his crutches clattering unevenly on the ground.

- Do we have a deal?

Katsuki held out his hand.

- I'll add a condition, I said. If you get in my way or withhold even the smallest bit of information... then I'll treat you like everyone else.

As a target.

Katsuki smiled, his lips curling over his sharp teeth.

- And if you stray from the straight path, I'll be the one to put an end to you

It was my turn to smile.

I shook his hand frankly.

- Deal

Just then, someone knocked on the door.

I looked at Bakugo.

- Did you invite someone?

He shook his head.

Chakra buzzing, I scanned the energy of the new arrivals and...

Surprised, I couldn't help but raise my eyebrows.

- Stay there, I said to Bakugo as I headed for the door.

I opened it on the fly, my eyes automatically falling on the taciturn-looking giant who had the same energy and smell as my father.

Black hair, dark circles under his eyes, a pistol strapped to his belt.

- Hello, Shoto. I hope we're not disturbing you?

Keeping a neutral expression, my eyes fell on the white-haired man who accompanied him.

- Call me Todoroki.

- Of course, Shoto.

He stuck his badge under my nose, forcing me to squint to see it clearly.

- Heroic Commission, Squad of Anomalies in All Kind

He tucked his badge into the inside pocket of his jacket like one tucks away a smoking gun after emptying all the bullets.

His eyes were already no longer on me, scouring my room over my shoulder as if it were a crime scene.

- I'm Naoya Nishimura, and this is my colleague, who is still learning the ropes. You don't mind if we come in, do you?

And in the same breath, he slipped inside.

My eyes met those of the giant - the bodyguard, it seemed - and we stared at each other in silence.

- Wow, it's really spacious in here! There's even a TV! Great for staying over with friends, huh?

Irritated, I looked away from the giant and towards Nishimura.

- Don't touch anything

He lifted his hand to the TV screen and stroked it in awe.

The bodyguard had taken the opportunity to slip in and was already approaching the coffee table next to my bed, studying the vase filled with flowers with great interest.

- Easy, Shoto. No need to be aggressive. We're all friends here, right?

I frowned.

- I'm very calm.

Nishimura snapped his fingers.

- You there! Get out of here, this is a private matter!

Katsuki - who had sat down on the bed to preserve his legs - raised an eyebrow and was about to reply curtly when the bodyguard invaded his personal space and started sniffing him, putting his nose on his hospital gown.

- Hey, what the hell are you doing? Get the fuck off !

Katsuki jumped up, raised one of his crutches awkwardly to fend off the giant, and started to walk back towards the door, and Nishimura was already in the bathroom, turning on the light.

- A bath and a shower! It's really luxurious in here!

Katsuki called from the other side.

- I swear, if you take another step, I'm gonna-

And suddenly all the light bulbs exploded.

Katsuki, Nishimura and the giant ducked to take cover from the spray of glass that fell on them.

Sharingan spinning lazily in my eyes, lightning crackling in my palm, I was the only source of light in the room, which had been plunged into semi-darkness by a sun that had not yet fully risen.

I pointed at Nishimura.

- You. Get out of here.

The bodyguard grunted and I felt him move behind me.

The lightning crackling on my body was the only warning I deigned to give him.

Nishimura gestured for him to stop.

He came out of the bathroom smiling, his hands in the air, as if I was a big joke and wouldn't carry out my threats.

- There's no need to get upset. We're friends, right? I just wanted to talk.

The door slammed shut and everyone gave him a surprised look.

- If you want to talk, just stand there with your hands up. Same goes for King Kong.

- No problem. No problem at all.

Nishimura smiled and stepped back until his back was to the door. He beckoned the giant to follow him, who finally gave in, but didn't raise his hands, preferring to stare at me.

Although he was as tall as my father, I was only half a head shorter than him - so he wasn't that intimidating.
I looked at Katsuki and whatever he wanted to say died on his lips.

He exhaled through his nose out of frustration, then sat back down on the bed with his two crutches under his arm.

I had an eyewitness and an earwitness, and the fairy-fingered Nishimura menace kept a safe distance from me or anything else in my room.

Good. Very good, even.

- Speak

People didn't like the sight of my Sharingan, which they found disturbing and unsettling - according to the comments left online - and that was exactly why I had activated it.

The obvious effort Nishimura made to look me straight in the eye and smile told me he didn't like it either.

- We could sit down. Talk quietly.

In response, my lightning began to arc around my body, my hair floating slightly above my face.

The bodyguard tensed.

Nishimura's smile faltered.

- It's illegal to threaten an official like that.

- It's illegal to break into a private medical facility and demand to speak to a patient who is also a minor and whose legal guardian hasn't been notified in advance.

- Endeavor is well aware of this, said Nishimura.

I replied sarcastically:

- Are all law enforcement officials liars like you, Maoya?

My father would never make friends with the Heroic Commission after what happened with Touya.

Nishimura tried a different approach.

- We've come to talk to you about your Quirks.

- I have nothing to say to you.

Nishimura shook his finger.

- On the contrary, you have a lot to tell us. You see, lying about the nature of one's Quirk is a violation of the Meta-Human Civil Code that can result in a fine of 50 000 000 yens...

He looked me straight in the eye to maintain the tension.

- And up to three years in prison

I smiled, tilting my head to the side and squinting my eyes so he could see me mocking him.

- Go ahead, send me to prison.

I lifted my joined wrists and my lightning instantly disappeared.

- Put the handcuffs on me, don't be shy

Nishimura shook his hand as if he was doing me a favor.

- It doesn't have to come to that. All we need is your cooperation and we'll be on our way.

I sniffed wistfully.

- And if I don't?

Nishimura's smile froze and his lips tightened.

- Then we'll have a problem.

My eyes shifted to Nishimura's left, where two large reserves of energy were striding in.

My eyes returned to their usual color and I walked back to the bed, sat down next to Katsuki and crossed my arms over my chest.

With one hand, I pointed to the door.

- Here's the solution that just arrived.

Confused, Nishimura moved away. His bodyguard looked at him and followed him.

The next second, the door opened on Endeavor and All Might.

*

Author's note :

Sometimes, when I re-read things after a while, I am very proud of what I write. And other times, well... I'm happy to be anonymous.

250 power stones = sunday bonus chapter

P@treon = Nar_cisseENG to read up to 27 chapters ahead of schedule

See you in the next update everyone !

 

[Nar_cisse]

For a second, no one said anything.

Frozen in the doorway, my father's eyes swept over the room in a second. His attention stopped at the bodyguard, turned to Nishimura, focused back on the bodyguard.

His gaze hardened and he entered my room, bowing slightly to do so.

The air suddenly heated up, as dry as a summer afternoon.

He walked slowly into the room, his eyes never leaving the members of the Heroic Commission for a second, until he stood in front of me, separating me from the other two.

- Who are you and what are you doing in my son's room?

Nishimura smiled and extended his hand to my father.

- Mr. Endeavor, it's a great honor to meet you. I'm Naoya Nishimura, Senior Lieutenant of the Anomalies of All Kinds Brigade of the Heroic Commission.

My father looked down at his hand, then back up at Naoya.

I felt a twisted pleasure at Nishimura's narrow smile and the stupid way he folded his fingers and then pretended to wipe his suit jacket.

- We'd like to-

All Might entered the room and surveyed it quickly.

Nishimura's face lit up as if his savior had arrived, before any glimmer of hope was extinguished when he saw that All Might ignored him superbly, preferring to lean against the wall next to my bed with his arms crossed.

- -learn more about your son's Quirk. As you know, lying about the nature of one's Quirk is illegal.

- We didn't lie.

Naoya, intimidated by the two heroes, seemed to find it increasingly difficult to feign professionalism.

To tell the truth, he looked almost nervous - as if Endeavor and All Might were on the verge of coming after him and there was nothing he could do about it.

- You didn't ?, he muttered.

He glanced sideways at All Might, and I followed suit.

All Might, his face closed, studied the scene with boredom in a way that looked strangely like something my father might have done.

Was this a communication stunt Nezu had concocted, or was All Might tired of pretending ?

The two heroes - the two most powerful men in the land - made a confusing pair, but one that worked surprisingly well.

- No

My father's answer was unappealing.

Naoya stammered.

- But the video-

- The video is fake.

Naoya's small eyes darted back and forth between the two heroes.

His left cheek hollowed out, as if he were biting the inside of it, while his eyes gleamed with a calculating glint.

Then Naoya regained his joy and smile, lifting his shoulders.

- Of course. Obviously.

And to my surprise, Naoya turned on his heels, his bodyguard following like a shadow.

He stopped in the doorway:

- I trust you, Heroes. If you swear on your honor that the video is false, then we believe you.

Then he gave each of the heroes a stern look.

- The Commission is working towards the same goal as you, gentlemen. To ensure order and stability in our country. On the other hand, I'm afraid the media is more... vengeful than we are.

Naoya smiled.

And then he left, gently closing the door behind him.

In the corridor, I could feel his bodyguard's energy fluctuating, losing thickness - like peeling a piece of fruit - until it became a small ball, less warm and more compact.

I was sure that if I followed his lead, my father's scent would disappear halfway through and become the scent the bodyguard had chosen.

All Might straightened up, losing some of his nonchalant toughness, and the air returned to its original temperature.

My father was still staring at the door, as if expecting him to return at any moment, and I opened my mouth to thank him when the incongruity of the situation struck me.

- What are you doing here?

The timing of their arrival was too good to be anything but suspicious.

On the bed, Katsuki fidgeted and ruffled the sheets.

All Might pursed his lips and looked at my father.

He still didn't look at me.

Suddenly, I had a terrible premonition.

- Which video was Nishimura talking about?

My first thought was that he was referring to the video from a few days ago, the one where I'd helped neutralize Gigantomachia.

But my father had said that the video was fake - and Naoyama had accepted the answer without question.

Something didn't add up.

- Which video ?

And for the first time in days, my father looked at me with something other than disappointment.

That should have calmed me down.

But it didn't.

- Someone in possession of the hangar video has leaked it.

My blood ran cold.

That fucking video-

- Who knows ?

- The whole world

*

He turned up the volume on his remote.

...we're entitled to wonder how such information could be concealed when so many people were involved. Mr. Takumi Ueda, public relations expert, how do you think this was possible?

The expert raised his eyebrows, sighed, and shook his head.

- Look, we live in a corrupt country, and that's what I've been trying to say for years. The mere fact that a person is a Hero or not creates a disparity in the legal treatment of individuals, with Heroes usually getting off with lighter sentences for identical charges.

He raised his pen and pointed at the journalist.

- In this particular case, it was the child of a Hero - and not just any Hero but the Number 2, Endeavor, the man who has solved the most cases in a row over a period of fifteen years and is now considered All Might's equal, if not his partner.

Takumi moistened his lips.

- Heroes as powerful as Endeavor and All Might certainly have more responsibilities, but they also have many more rights and benefits. The power and stability of a country now rests on its heroes and their ability to maintain order and pseudo-justice: the heroes are therefore pampered, protected by these governments that want to keep them happy at all costs to prevent them from deciding to leave the country and settle elsewhere, as was the case in North Korea before reunification.

The moderator nodded, eyes squinting, swallowing the expert's explanations without flinching.

- Look at middle schools and high schools, it's the same. Our social hierarchy is based on Quirks and the individuals who possess them. The more useful and important the power, the more lenient and benevolent people will be toward you. It's said that people are born equal, but that's not the case since the advent of Quirks: from the moment we are born, our lives are more or less planned according to the social status and income of our parents. What I'm saying is that Quirk have become at least as important a factor as those two. The more powerful it is, the more we can influence our environment and the people in our social circles.

The moderator, sensing that the expert was going off on a tangent, tried to bring him back to the point:

- Are you telling us that the Todoroki affair could be covered up because Endeavor is a hero?

The expert exclaimed in dismay:

- Of course

His glasses slipped down his nose and he raised them an inch, mouth open, eyes riveted on the anchorwoman as if she were his Ph.D. advisor whom he was trying to convince.

- The very basis of my argument is that Endeavor is a Hero, and a powerful one at that!

The moderator folded her hands and nodded, urging him on.

- What we're seeing here is just one of the many facets of nepotism. Endeavor has power, which means contacts, which means influence, which means a means to bend his world to his will. It's as simple as that: there's no need to imagine one of those silly conspiracy theories you see all over the Internet.

The moderator looked down at her stack of papers, reread a few lines, then straightened up, eyes squinting.

- You don't think there's any substance to them? Are they just 'silly conspiracy theories', to use your words?

The expert opened his mouth, as he always did when he was startled, his double chin hiding his neck.

- You've got a lot of nerve asking me a question like that, you being a journalist. You know how important it is to check sources before publishing information.

The moderator flushed and straightened up.

- You seem to have misunderstood my question. Since the video of the Todoroki affair had already been published on the Internet, I wanted to know whether you thought it could be considered potentially true, or whether you'd suggest that it shouldn't really be taken into consideration-

- Rubbish ! It's all nonsense, and you know it. The only reason this video is getting so much media coverage is because official, classified documents from the Prefect's office have leaked out, confirming the events and the protagonists involved. As far as I know, the rumors have not been corroborated, have they?

He waited, leaning forward, his chin trembling like jelly, for the host to answer, who hesitated before nodding to encourage him.

- I'm a man of facts, and I'll stick to facts. Speculation is not my...'

He turned off the television.

The silence in his office was breathtaking.

- I think we should be grateful, Nezu said, That the 'All Might and Endeavor' duo is so successful. Their fans are now the most ardent supporters of Todoroki on the web.

Nezu smiled, but neither All Might nor Endeavor smiled back.

Shoto, for his part, stood as still as a statue, his face serious - or so his eyes told him.

- What kind of rumors are they talking about? the teenager asked calmly.

Nezu shook his paws.

- Nothing at all, just a little speculation about your Quirks and why the government would have sanctioned such a cover-up.

Shoto didn't pick up on the "your quirks" and Nezu took note.

- Do they think I work for them?

- They think, Nezu replied in a cheeky tone that didn't fit the conversation, That you are their product, the fruit of an experiment on genes and mutations that would have led to the creation of super-humans. And that Endeavor had agreed to sell you to them.

This time, Nezu sensed that Shoto was smiling, as if the idea was absurd.

- And what now?, Endeavor asked.

Nezu inhaled and relaxed his hoarse muscles.

All 1-A students were finally out of the hospital.

Aizawa and Present Mic hunted for parental consent to integrate the students into the dormitories Cementos was finishing.

The constitution of the Elite Class was well underway and should see daylight next week.

The only downside was that no residue of All for One had been found in Gigantomachia's stomach, but at least no one had heard of Denki Kaminari's death or the many other serious injuries sustained at the summer camp.

The Todoroki debacle was important enough to draw the attention of the media and the public away from Nezu and his petty shenanigans.

Had he been sure that Enji wouldn't turn his school into Mount Fuji 2, Nezu would have thanked him for the timely scandal.

- Now we agree on the version we'll give to the public on the day of the trial

*

Author's note :

Seems you can't be a murderer AND the son of a hero.

Anyway, 250 power stones = sunday bonus chapter

P@treon= Nar_cisseENG to read up to 27 chapters ahead

See you in the next update everyone !

 

[Nar_cisse]

Endeavor watched All Might sideways, arms folded across his chest.

The blond avoided his gaze, pretending to focus his attention on the outside world visible through the glass wall.

- I don't see why my presence is required, he said in a calm voice, different from All Might's 'public appearance' special. This has nothing to do with me.

- This matter has everything to do with you.

- He's not my son, All Might denied. I've never exchanged more than three sentences with him.

- You involved me in your succession and 'Duo' stories without asking my opinion. This story is just one of the consequences of your own actions.

All Might smiled soberly and shook his head.

- You agreed.

The sun set on the horizon, casting its golden light on the two heroes.

- If I refused, and the great and all-powerful All Might was defeated by a lowly villain the next time he lost control of his Quirk, the country would be plunged into a state of crisis.

All Might's lips were a thin white line.

- I can't do this

- Why can't you ?

- Because your son is a murderer.

Endeavor's eyes narrowed to two slits.

The ambient temperature was rising, the air heavy and sticky as if before a thunderstorm.

- My son, Endeavor growled in a low voice, Is the only thing that has saved your pathetic impostor's facade. Without him, you'd be dead, and all your 'Hero' and 'destiny' bullshit with you.

All Might said nothing, but his eyes had regained that fluorescent, invigorating glow that appeared every time he used the One for All.

- He's not a killer, Endeavor continued. He just did what he had to do to survive.

All Might turned his head toward Endeavor so quickly that his neck snapped.

- What about those in the camp? Were they defending themselves as well?

Endeavor was deaf to argument, his anger simmering like a pot about to boil over.

- My son is not a murderer

All of Might's features were stern, harder than stone.

- Look what you've done. By smothering him too much, you've created a monster.

Endeavor, his skin suddenly translucent, crossed the corridor in a few steps until he reached All Might.

A smell of sulfur and lava wafted in his wake.

- Be very careful what you say, Yagi.

Far from stumbling, All Might rose from his position against the wall and faced Endeavor without flinching.

The two men faced each other, their power saturating the air, filling their throats like thick poison, flowing around their bodies in a promise of unbridled violence.

- Or what?

It was stronger than him, stronger than his logic, stronger than all his reason and common sense combined.

All Might's authority was never questioned - never.

And on the very rare occasions when someone tried to step on him, some animal instinct overrode his conscience and forced him to assert himself, to prevail, to dominate, to prove that he was the supreme being.

Endeavor smiled, and there was something dangerous in the way he did it.

- You talk as if you've never killed before, Endeavor taunted, But you have, haven't you?

All Might didn't answer.

- We've all done it, us so-called 'heroes' - by accident or because the big boss himself told us to.

Endeavor's smile faded, his face darkening, his gaze hardening.

- You may be All Might, but you're just another guy in a suit, who'll be forgotten as soon as the next one comes along...

- That's a brave thing to say, coming from the man who was never able to step out of my shadow.

- Says the man who was born without a Quirk and who will die without one

The two men stared at each other, refusing to concede victory to the other.

- When I told you that you would publicly announce your support for my son...

A dangerous gleam lit up Endeavor's eyes.

- It wasn't a suggestion.

Once again, the need to dominate flared in All Might's chest.

- You're nobody to give me orders.

Endeavor studied him silently.

Then he took a step back, regained control of his Quirk, and the pressure saturating the air exploded like a balloon running out of steam.

- If you don't, everyone will know what a pathetic, breathless Quirkless you are.

Endeavor stopped.

- No, I've got a better idea. Everyone will know that your Quirk can be transmitted, and after that...

Then the witch hunt would begin, and All Might would be hunted down like a dog until he died or his power was ripped from his shattered body.

All Might's eyes widened.

- You wouldn't dare.

Endeavor's skin suddenly turned blue, preceding the activation of his God Mode.

He looked All Might straight in the eye, his Quirk humming beneath his skin, his eyes as dark as the darkest fires of hell.

- Try me

*

The doors of the Tokyo courthouse closed and the screams of the crowd and the media were immediately muffled, as if the cacophony of the outside world had been covered by a glass bell.

- Ladies and gentlemen, I'd like to thank you for coming on such short notice given the circumstances.

The prosecutor wiped his brow with a folded handkerchief and motioned to one of the policemen guarding one of the doors to turn on the air conditioning.

It was already a hot summer day, exacerbated by the fact that we were locked in a room where Endeavor - also known as the Human Volcano - stood, arms crossed over his torso, wearing a navy blue suit.

I was seated between my father and Nezu - who apparently had a law degree and a few years as a New York lawyer under his belt. The Prefect was on the right, presiding over the "U" that our gathering formed, then the two opposing attorneys, and a member of the Heroic Commission, representing the government.

- We will now begin this private trial

He motioned for the young man to his left to press the button to begin the recording of the trial.

- 25 august 2323. Yamanaka Taguchi, prosecutor in charge of this trial. We will begin by listing the charges brought against Mr. Shoto Todoroki in connection with events that occurred five years ago and that have recently resurfaced following the release of a series of declassified documents. Not mentioned or considered will be the actions of the public prosecutor at the time, Yorishi Azui, who is alleged to have participated in the cover-up of this case. The defendants will then be given time to formulate a response, after which the opposition will take over. I'm counting on your cooperation and professionalism, despite the media frenzy surrounding the case, and would like to ask you not to be influenced by biased and unfounded opinions that have nothing to do with the trial.

He cleared his throat and picked up a piece of paper.

- The accused is charged with the following counts: manslaughter, murder in the first degree, unlawful use of Quirks on public highways, violation of a previous legal restriction on the use of the accused's Quirks on public highways, willful concealment of the nature of the individual's Quirk without an attempt to correct it with the appropriate public authorities.

He turned to Nezu.

- Lawyer, if you would

Nezu, surprisingly serious, rose from his chair and crossed his amrs behind his back.

His eyes rested on each of the members present in the room before he began his argument.

- We plead not guilty to the following charges: murder in the first degree, unlawful use of Quirks on public streets, and violation of a previous legal restriction on the use of the defendant's Quirks on public streets.

The opposing party became agitated, but said nothing.

- To the following charges: manslaughter, willful concealment of the nature of the individual's Quirks without attempting to correct it with the appropriate public authorities, we plead mitigating circumstances.

Then Nezu launched into a speech whose power of argument and evidence surprised me in both finesse and weight.

He produced several classified medical documents from I-Island scientists on the nature of Quirks and their tendency to control their owners, rather than the other way around.
He explained that the "unfortunate hangar incident" was an event that could not have been avoided had my Quirks acted on their own, whether I wanted them to or not, and that a second Quirk awakening would have occurred.

He claimed psychological trauma for my abuse, and presented my post-event psychological evaluation, which described a child who was "worried, stressed, and afraid of new attempts at his life again".

He added that I had been under psychological care ever since, that I hadn't missed a monthly session in five years, and presented certificates from my psychologist who considered me "psychologically stable and fit to live in society".

He portrayed me as a young man who had had a difficult childhood, but who had done his best to survive the " misfortunes inflicted by life" and who had recovered by entering the most prestigious Heroic School in the country.

He spoke of my willingness to serve my country, to be of service to others, and of my growing interest in Japan's armed forces, which I would join "as soon as I graduated".

He mentioned the White Horse incident, shortly after the 'tragic events in the hangar', and how 'without his presence, the Hero duo would not have survived, leaving their only child an orphan'.
He presented a document on the honor of the two former Heroes involved, who had been in contact with me, and swore that they 'hadn't seen a boy so committed to the future of his country since All Might himself'.

He mentioned my 'decisive actions' during the attack on the summer camp, which had bought enough time for all my 'comrades' to be rescued, leading to my kidnapping by the villain, the mere mention of which always sent shivers down the spine of the country.

He recalled my more than voluntary participation in the recent 'Tokyo terrorist attack' and subtly reminded everyone that without my presence, many civilians would have died that day.

Then Nezu pulled out a stack of testimonials from a bunch of heroes I'd never met, all mentioning my 'heroic spirit', 'unparalleled altruism' and 'willingness to spread goodness'.

He spoke for almost an hour without being interrupted or questioned about the origin or circumstances of the acquisition of this or that document, even those from I-Island.

The opposition became agitated again, and I suddenly realized that it wasn't because Nezu's words irritated them, but because a mosquito was circling them and they were trying to swat it discreetly.

The Prefect was fanning himself with a leaf, his eyes glassy, looking at Nezu and nodding at half-regular intervals to show he was listening.

But it was dad's calmness, the quiet certainty of his gaze, that convinced me that the whole trial was a sham, that I'd already been declared innocent and that I'd get out of here without any problems.

As if the prosecution wanted to agree with me, they proved to be poorly organized and clumsy in what they had to say, their arguments poorly developed and already countered by Nezu in his earlier diatribe.

After nearly three hours of proceedings, including the recess, the trial ended, the prefect found me not guilty, and the session was adjourned.

The young man in charge of recording the proceedings cut the tape, greeted everyone, and left first.

- Mister Endeavor, the prefect asked, adjusting his glasses. My little girl adores you. Do you think it would be possible to get an autograph? But no photos, of course. I don't want this to end up in the press.

He smiled.

- Of course, said my father

He signed three photo albums and a 'Pantheon of Heroes' containing the signatures of about twenty other heroes.

As for Nezu, he chatted quietly with the prosecutors, rocking back and forth.

- Amusing, wasn't it?

I looked up at the Hero Commission employee who had taken out her electronic cigarette.

She exhaled a puff of smoke, her eyes sweeping over all the protagonists in our little gathering.

- First time at a mock trial, huh? Always surprising when you don't expect it.

Her body, her hair, everything about her secreted smoke, as if she were made of ash.

- The real trial is out there, she said, pointing to the window where I knew there would be a crowd of angry people with signs. If you win public opinion before the results of the trial are announced, the matter is settled.

Then she looked at me out of the corner of her eye, her lips glued to her cigarette as if she needed it to breathe.

- You don't talk much, do you?

When we got home that night, I hovered around my dad, passed by his office several times, which was left ajar - and where I knew he'd be working late to make up for lost time - and hesitated to come in.

It was the original version of Lorenzacccio, cover torn, pages dog-eared and yellowed, that I had given him for his birthday more than ten years ago, lying three-quarters of the way through on a corner of his desk, that drew me in.

- Do you need anything?

My throat was dry and my eyelids heavy with fatigue.

- I wanted to thank you. For the trial, and for All for One.

He studied me silently, and I stood still, straight and proud like the worthy son of Endeavor that I was, refusing to let him see how much I regretted everything.

He looked down at his work again, moistened his thumb, and curtly turned over a sheet of paper.

- We're family. This is what we do.

He said nothing more, his pen scratching coldly across the paper as if I were already gone.

- I'll tell you all about it one day

His pen froze in the air.

- I just need time. I need to finish...

... covering our tracks.

- ...something I started. Then I'll tell you everything.

His eyes were glued to his desk.

- How long will it take?

I hesitated, wiping my sweaty palms on my jeans.

- Just under a year.

A fly flew by.

He started writing again.

- Good night, Shoto

- I want to tell you everything. I really do. But I need time.

He ignored me.

I felt pathetic, desperate, but more than anything, I hated that my status as a child prodigy, as the boy who could never disappoint, had been taken away from me so suddenly and violently.

- I trust you. It has nothing to do with that. I just need time.

Otherwise, this story might end with his death, and I refused to let that happen.

- Good night, Shoto

I waited for him to add something, to get angry, to yell at me to get out.

But he remained silent as I watched him work in silence, as if I'd become nothing more than an object in the background.

I left, disappointed, gently closing the door behind me.

I rubbed the bridge of my nose, feeling a migraine coming on.

Then half a dozen new clones sprang from my body, scattering like salt in the wind.

I'll take a break when all of this ends.

*

Author's note :

Any guess what Shoto's big project is ?

If you want to support me/read ahead of schedule, you can do so on my P@treon, Nar_cisseENG

See you in the next update everyone !

 

[Nar_cisse]

Sometimes I wondered if anything made sense.

We were born, grew up, worked, consumed, consumed, consumed, died.

If I assumed that nothing made sense, that our lives meant nothing, that our thoughts and actions meant nothing, then freedom became the scariest concept of all.

To be free to do whatever you wanted in a world where nothing was worth anything and everything was worth everything was the scariest thing of all.

Helping and killing would have the same value, suffering and inflicting suffering would have the same value.

If nothing made sense, then that meant I could do anything I wanted.

The memory of my clone standing up in nighttime Tokyo, of fluorescent lights and cars honking and windows coming on and off and people walking and running in a cacophony of sounds, smells, life, rolled over my mind like a wave over sand.

If nothing made sense, then it didn't matter what I was doing.

I looked down at my hands, my own perfectly clean, perfectly smooth hands, but they were also his, stained with ink and blood and the blood I might one day spill.

I breathed in, and the air was as much that of fresh, sickening exhaustion as it was the familiar smell of home.

I blinked, and Tokyo faded away, the decor of my room overlaying it, then asserting itself like a water stain on an oil painting.

I forced myself to slow my heartbeat, to breathe in through my nose and out through my mouth, telling myself that it was okay, that everything was fine, that I hadn't done anything, not yet, and maybe I never would.

There was a knock on my door.

I smoothed my suit jacket, took a few seconds to compose my expression.

I was Shoto Todoroki, the one who was afraid of nothing, the one who never backed down and always moved forward, no matter if the world was collapsing around me.

I opened the door.

- Mr. Todoroki, the car is waiting for you.

We walked through the corridors, the living room, the kitchen, and suddenly I remembered years ago when Rei had tried to bring me back to her, to offer me to eat with her children in the same kitchen.

I wondered what she thought of me, the acquitted murderer she'd given birth to.

The drive to the conference room went without a hitch.
I got out of the car, my eyes scanning the crowd of hysterics and supporters, chanting and shouting my name, holding up signs of support and insults, clashing behind the metal barriers like two parts of the sea separated by the will of the gods.

The cordon of policemen could barely contain the chaos, which only grew as my presence was noticed and yelled at, and orders, words of support, cruelty and benevolence were hurled at me.

I hurriedly climbed the stairs to the Tokyo courthouse, a squadron of policemen following me like a swarm of hornets, and for a split second my eyes landed on a tiny ochre painting, a circle filled with indecipherable writing at the foot of one of the pillars.

I looked away as the great wooden doors behind me opened and closed with a thud, as if something heavy and metallic had been thrown against them.

The chaos subsided.

I was ushered into a room packed to the rafters with journalists, construction workers huddled against the walls muttering in hushed tones, important looking men and women with embroidered handkerchiefs.

Everyone was dressed in black, as if it were a funeral.

The thought almost made me smile.

My father and All Might stood on the stage to the left of the lectern, dressed as heroes, exuding confidence and power.

The Japanese flag hung behind them.

They put me between them, leaning forward so that the murderer could be more easily seen.

All Might looked me in the eye and looked away, but I didn't care - my eyes met my father's, who met gaze and beckoned me to look forward.

The Prefect entered, all the journalists stood up, then he arranged the microphone and spoke about the verdict of the trial.

When it was announced that I'd been acquitted, I saw the shudder of anger that ran through the room, as if they were all one, a 'one' against me, against us.

Questions flew, first about me, a little about All Might, then focused on my father.

- Endeavor, you were the one who contacted the Prefect to ask him to cover up the hangar incident. So you're the instigator, but not a single investigation has been opened regarding your actions. Do you think that's preferential treatment on the part of the authorities?

- Endeavor, why are you trying to protect a criminal when you're supposed to be serving justice? Isn't it a fair statement that if you have enough power, you can do whatever you want? Do you think you can do whatever you want just because you're a hero?

- Endeavor, what do you think about the protests around the country calling for your resignation?

Standing behind the lectern, he calmly answered, deflecting when necessary, not responding to the verbal abuse hurled here and there.
I felt sick watching him crumble in front of this army of ants that didn't even deserve to breathe the same air as us - all because of me.

Suddenly a bottle of water was thrown at his face.

The sound was like a slap, and for a second there was silence.

Jaws clenched, sharingan spinning dangerously in my eyes, I pushed away the vicious claw All Might had put on my shoulder and crossed the stage to the lectern, picking up the bottle without taking my eyes off the man who had thrown it.

The man, his mouth hanging open, was pale as death, his shoulders thrown back, his legs stretched out as if he were about to run, his right hand - the one that threw it - shaking as if it wasn't his fault, as if it had acted on its own.

The bottle exploded like a bomb between my fingers, the water splashing onto my suit and the shiny parquet floor, the torn plastic sinking into my skin, and already I contracted my arm, ready to hurl the projectile back at the man with a hundredfold force.

Then my eyes caught a movement to the right and I saw a woman who looked like nothing and who was guilty of nothing, shaking like a leaf.

With a quick glance, I surveyed the room and noticed that everyone was pale, motionless, and staring at me with wide eyes.

They're afraid of me.

I met father's gaze.

My sharingan deactivated.

Slowly, I lowered my arm.

Someone exhaled loudly, then the pages of a notebook began to turn.

- Mr. Shoto, many of us would like to know what made you use such violence in the hangar. Many of us have seen the video - at least part of it - and we'd like to know why you didn't just choose to immobilize your attackers.

A small man with a forgettable face and an old black press cap, no longer worn, was sweating profusely, his legs wobbly, but his eyes bright with that vibrancy and need to know why.

I crushed the bottle between my fingers.

Sound of crushing bones filled the room as I stood there, dry-mouthed, unable to react.

The tension eased, but I saw many people staring at Dad, as if my behavior was his fault, as if he'd taught me wrong, as if he should have controlled me better.

And suddenly I realized that no matter what I did, no matter what I did, everyone would make sure it would always fall on him.

I felt the need to justify myself, to explain, to make them understand that he had nothing to do with it, that it wasn't his fault, that it was just me - and suddenly I found myself behind the lectern, in front of the microphone, my eyes sweeping over the wary audience.

I didn't know where to start explaining the whys and wherefores, so I decided to keep it simple and tell the story from the beginning.

- When I was three years old, my brother tried to kill me.

I saw amazement and surprise, and I was amazed and surprised myself.

My palms were sweaty, but I refused to wipe them so as not to show them how much I hated the idea of telling a crowd of strangers what made me who I was.

You're giving them your weaknesses and they'll use them against you.

A chill ran down my spine.

- It was in our bathroom at home. He tried to drown me. Dad saved me. By that time, I'd already survived one kidnapping attempt - from which my dad also saved me. When I was four, my brother tried to kill me again in a fire. My father saved me again.

The camera flashes crackled and the yellow light from the spotlights hanging from the ceiling blinded me.

- When I was five, I went to a special school for children in close contact with heroes. There, we weren't taught to paint or play hopscotch. The first thing we were told was that fifty percent of us would never live to see our tenth birthday.

I heard gasps of astonishment.

- We were told that if we were lucky, we'd be killed. We were children, and we'd rather die than be among those who 'disappeared'.

I remembered Anton Prager, the first to disappear, and the way the class had emptied out over the years, and the collective efforts to ignore the deadline that loomed over us all.

- When I was nine, I was kidnapped. They contacted my father and told him that if he didn't give them unconditional access to the classified files of the Department of Defense, they would mail him my fingers one by one and then move on to my feet, my eyes, my tongue.

I'd burned them alive, roasted them like pigs.

After that I wasn't able to eat for a week.

- When I was ten, two hundred men were sent to kidnap or murder me. They killed my bodyguard in front of me. I saw the bullet cross his forehead from one end to the other, right there, between his eyebrows.

I remember the fly on his glassy eye.

I can still taste his blood on my tongue.

- I knew my father was too far away. That he wouldn't make it back in time. I knew I'd end up like another statistic, another one of those kids unlucky enough to die right away.

I stopped for a second to collect my thoughts.

If nothing is meaningful, does that mean that all my suffering, all the tears I've shed, all the blood I've spilled, are meaningless?

I suddenly felt dizzy.

- I was a child. I was afraid. I just did what I had to do to survive, that's all.

Nobody said anything.

I blinked, looked back at this audience of strangers who knew too much about me.

No one said anything.

Dad put a hand on my shoulder.

Someone asked the journalists if they had any more questions.

No one said anything.

The conference ended.

No one said anything because there was nothing to say.

*

Author's note :

250 power stones = sunday bonus chapter

If you want to support me/read ahead of schedule, you can do so on my P@treon, Nar_cisseENG

See you in the next update everyone !

 

[Nar_cisse]

Dabi's right eye began to blink frantically, as if convulsing.

The villain screamed and ripped the television from the coffee table.

The old TV smashed against the wall in a spray of plastic. Half the screen went black, the other half continued to broadcast the conference live.

I was a kid. I was scared. I just did what I had to do to survive, that's all.

Dabi spat at the TV, his moll rolling on Shoto's face.

- Fucking liar!

Shigaraki crouched next to the TV and wiped the spit with his sleeve.

- It's our only TV, don't break it

Toga, sitting on one of the sofa's battered armrests, picked at her nails with a knife, silent, her narrow eyes slit like that of a reptile, not leaving Shoto's face until he disappeared from the screen.
Then she turned her head to Dabi, eyes narrowed, and looked at him suspiciously.


- I find you strangely involved, Dabi. Do you know him?

The young man didn't answer and began hitting the sofa, breaking furniture and making a mess of the already ruined studio.

The neighbors didn't complain - what was broken furniture when you could hear women screaming for their lives and then suddenly being silenced?

It was at least a nice change from the usual. It would give the gossips something to talk about.

Shigaraki left the television when Dabi kicked it again. He sat back on the wobbly sofa indifferently, his console in his hands.

Dabi exhaled, his eyes bloodshot, the shadow of a flame exploding on his cheekbone before disappearing.

Himiko continued to watch him with the attention of a bird of prey.

The villain wanted to turn away but decided to lean against a wall, one hand on his face, his chest rising and falling, distracted but not too distracted, still able to defend himself if the other madwoman suddenly felt like stabbing him.

- I don't really like him either, Himiko whispered, her eyes shining with anger and something more malicious. He killed Mister Compress and Moonfish.

Neither Shigaraki nor Dabi answered.

- He killed Twice

Himiko was pale as death.

Dabi's eyes followed the path of the drops of blood that ran from her palm, into which she had dug her own fingernails, that rolled onto the seat of the dirty sofa and stained the floor.

- I know.

Himiko's muscles relaxed and her eyes lost their intensity.

Dabi was sure that if neither he nor Shigaraki had reacted, she would have stabbed one of them.

- We have to do something.

Automatically, Dabi's eyes turned to Shigaraki.

It was strange to think that they were almost the same age, yet Shigaraki acted more like a child than the leader of a terrorist organization.

- We were talking to you.

Shigaraki looked irritably at Dabi, then scratched his throat, his eyes returning to the bright screen.

- The doctor told us to stay out of sight until things calmed down.

- And then what?

Shigaraki didn't answer.

Himiko stirred and Dabi saw something metallic and shiny under her jacket.

- Twice is dead and we're hiding-

- She's right, Dabi cut in. We have to do something.

Shigaraki looked at them in turn, obviously annoyed.

- Teach is still healing. And Giganto-

Dabi rolled his eyes.

- -machia is dead. We lost three quarters of our team. We have to keep a low profile and recruit new members.

The doctor's exact words from All for One.

- We need to strike now, while people still hate him-

- He's a murderer, Shigaraki muttered. People will always hate him.

- He's the son of a hero, Dabi corrected. He'll turn things around. Like they always do

His pity speech must have caused a stir among the population.

Besides, he had the support of the "two symbols," the country's two greatest heroes.

All he had to do was parade around in tights, rescue a few stray cats stuck in trees, and everyone would forget the whole thing.

Dabi moved his shoulder, and the bandages covering his wounds - his crucifixion - got soaked with blood again.

- We could tell them, Himiko insisted, That it was he who killed Twice and all the others. That he stabbed Dabi.

Dabi frowned.

He'd told Shoto about a video, the night of the kidnapping, in Tokyo.

- Stop imagining things, Shigaraki said. We're a bunch of criminals. No one will listen to us.

- But he's one of them, too, Himiko said indignantly.

And All for One had released a video just a few days later, as much to sow chaos among the heroes as to distract them from his pursuit.

What if Shoto thought it was Dabi who had sent it ? What if he thought this was the video he was talking about ?

He'll come and kill me.

Dabi's hands began to shake.

He began to walk from one end of the small living room to the other, biting his thumbnail.

Dabi knew that Shoto was lying.

If his super strength, his lightning and the strange thing he could do with his eyes had been revealed to the world, it was because Shoto was hiding worse.

And if Shoto was hiding worse, then there would be nothing and no one to stop him from reaching Dabi and killing him.

The clever little bastard used his bullshit speech to discredit me.

Oh, it was clever, very clever indeed, to use something that would appear 'spontaneous' to cut off all of Dabi's momentum the way he did.

If Dabi released his 'testimonial' video about the chaos that had been his childhood, no one would listen - to everyone he'd just be the kid who had tried to kill his brother twice and had been committed to a psychiatric hospital.

Worse still, if Shoto continued to play the prudish little bitch, Dabi would simply offer him general sympathy on a platter.

- Dabi ?

The young man raised his hand to silence them.

- I'm thinking

Shoto was clever, very clever.

If he were in his place, Dabi would wait until the situation calmed down a bit.

Then he'd strike a blow and get rid of anyone who dared to blackmail him - maybe he could even use another of his strange Quirks to get Dabi to confess where the copies of the video were hidden.

Dabi stopped.

Dabi had only revealed the existence of a possible video because Shoto would have killed him if he hadn't.

But now the enemy knew his only trump card, and it was only a matter of time before he destroyed it.

Dabi's teeth began to nibble at his thumb, a few drops of blood trickling down his dry lips.

He had to do something, catch him off guard, cut him off.

- What's the one thing he wouldn't expect..., Dabi murmured. The one thing I could do that would definitely keep him from killing me...

And suddenly he had a flash of genius.

*

- Are you stoned ?

Leo looked at me silently, his face slightly red, before my sentence registered in his brain and he shook my hand.

- Definitely not. I smoked, like, once today.

I exchanged a look with Natsu, who shrugged his shoulders.

- He hangs out with some freaks at school. Some kind of gang or something.

-It's not a gang, Leo replied. It's an association of nature lovers.

- The nature in question doesn't have to be a weed garden.

Natsu chuckled and tapped me on the shoulder as he walked past me, a stack of my boxes in his hands.

Leo rolled his eyes but smiled and unloaded more of my stuff from the back of his parents' pickup.

- Where's your room again ?

I looked up at the huge building of Yuei's 'elite' section.

Made of marble and stone, with a huge tinted bay window overlooking what I thought was the common area, the building was larger than two normal dormitories per class.

It was in the middle of a checkerboard of dormitories, higher than the others so that everyone could see it and notice it and admire it.

Nezu really is the smartest weasel I've ever seen.

I pulled the blue envelope out of my pocket and read the few lines again.

- Floor 3, Room 7

My phone rang.

I raised an eyebrow at dad's name on the display.

He never called me during working hours - never.

Without further ado, I picked up the phone, tucked a cardboard box under my elbow, and climbed the stairs without hurrying.

- Did you call me ?

- Shoto. Are you busy ?

His voice sounded strange, as if he were under stress.

I stopped at the first floor.

Far above, I could still hear Natsu and Leo's giggling voices.

- Did something happen? Are you okay?

- Happened ? No,I'm fine. Everything is fine. It's just...

Dad took a deep breath and I suddenly felt scared.

- What's wrong?

- It's just-

For a second, he was silent.

- Touya is alive

*

Author's note :

Nope, won't comment.

If you want to support me/read ahead of schedule, you can do so on my P@treon, Nar_cisseENG

Power stones for the sunday bonus chapter = 250

See you in the next update everyone !

 

[Nar_cisse]

I opened the doors of the police station as if in a nightmare.

I could see the people around me without really seeing them, the blue of their uniforms blending together and leaving trails of light behind them like car headlights in the night.

I moved forward, deaf and dumb, past the reception desk, past the maze of untidy offices, ignoring the running officer who cut me off, not noticing the three men, coffee in hand, standing around a water carboy, whom fell silent as I passed, oblivious to the outside world- oblivious to the world outside me.

A door opened to the left and an officer raised his hand.

It was the red hair and the top of the shoulder I saw sticking out behind him that drew me in like the sun.

Everything was hazy, blurred, as if I couldn't quite grasp the reality of what was happening.

The door slammed shut behind me and suddenly it was as if all my senses were unblocked.

The coolness of the glass under my fingers, the smell of cold ashes and lukewarm coffee, the sound of rattling handcuffs, the sight of his gaze penetrating mine, the taste of audacity filling me like poison.

He casually looked away, unable to see me behind the tinted glass, but I found myself walking along it so he'd always have me in his sights, so he'd know I was there and that he had my attention.

I watched his white hair, still dripping with black dye, registered in my mind the slight smile he gave in response to the officer who spoke to him, and suddenly his lips curled into a larger, mocking smile, and I was sure he was smiling at me, laughing at me, and that he-

Son of a bitch.

- Did we confirm it was him?

I knew that dad and the two officers were silent behind me to give me time to understand - to register - that Dabi, Touya, my dear, sweet murderer of a brother, was alive.

But it wasn't astonishment that stopped me in my tracks, but the realization that this son of a bitch had had the audacity to reveal himself for all to see.

- Blood tests were conclusive.

I felt deadly calm.

Touya turned his head and I slid along the glass in pursuit.

The door opened and three new officers entered the observation room.

I barely glanced at them, my attention riveted on him and his broad smile and the false nervousness that made him fidget with his hands and the exaggerated stiffness of his shoulders.

- Good morning, Mr. Endeavor. Quite a morning, isn't it ?

- Very

-and the shameless lie of his words and suddenly he stretched his arms too far and I leaned forward to register the spasm of pain that stretched his face and smiled because I knew he hadn't healed from his crucifixion-.

No one spoke anymore.

The tension raised the hairs on the back of my neck, the heaviness of the air kept me still.

I could feel them all staring at me, and suddenly I realized that the officers weren't there for Touya, but for me.

Slowly, I straightened up and pulled my fingers away from the glass, disciplining myself like never before to appear calm and collected and above all, to show nothing.

- I need to sit down.

There was movement, and I thought someone was talking to me, and suddenly I was sitting on a plastic chair in the corner of the observation room, a glass of water I didn't drink in my hands.

The plastic, so fragile and delicate between my fingers, was a good reminder for me to stay relaxed, harmless and above all, very shaken.

That way, the way the water vibrated in the glass couldn't be attributed to anything other than my state of shock.

With my elbows on my knees, I silently scrutinized Touya, unable to look away.

The officer to my right, leaning against the wall, spoke, I think, but I couldn't hear him.

Touya raised his head and thanked the officer who brought him a glass of water.

He sipped, his Adam's apple slowly rising and falling, and suddenly all logic left my body as I leaned forward, my index and middle fingers rising discreetly as the water in my glass swayed back and forth like the ocean in a storm.

A shadow passed in front of me and suddenly my glass was still and I was upright as a stick, the icy wall cooling my neck and mind.

My eyes met those of my father, arms folded, who had just taken the place of the previous officer.

- I got the call this morning at six o'clock that Touya...

He fell silent and looked up at him as if he couldn't believe it.
There was something vulnerable in his expression, a glimmer of fear and hope in his eyes that made my blood run cold.

I ran a hand over my face, my tongue sliding over my teeth to moisten my dry mouth.

My eyelids were heavy with fatigue, my muscles stiff and hard as brick.

- I'd only spoken to him once before we learned it was really him.

And he didn't have to say any more for me to know why he hadn't returned to the interrogation room since then.

I froze, painfully aware that whatever this dog had in mind, he'd set me up for failure by revealing himself.

He tried to kill me, and I openly admitted that I hated him.

No matter what happened to him from now on, whether it was an accident or not, Dad - everyone - would always doubt the veracity of the facts and wonder if I wasn't behind it.

In the midst of my boiling anger, a hint of respect - no bigger than an atom - sprang up in my heart and forced me to admire him.

By returning to the light, Touya had made it impossible for me to kill him.

Then fury overcame everything and I suddenly felt like hypnotizing the interrogating officer to strangle him.

- I want to talk to him

Dad looked at me - really looked at me for the first time since I'd walked in - and I didn't look away for a second.

I could feel the other officers watching us, but I knew that neither their opinions nor their views mattered to the Number Two, All Might's partner and second 'symbol'.

- As you wish

There was movement, doors opening and closing, and suddenly I was standing across from a handcuffed Touya sipping coffee.

The door hinges creaked behind me and I felt three new officers follow me inside.

I felt the warmth radiating from his palms as he held the scalding coffee between his fingers, and I knew from his clean clothes and brushed hair that whatever he'd told them, they believed him.

I suddenly felt like destroying the entire police station to make them pay for their incompetence, but then I remembered who my father - our father - was, and that I'd been acquitted of several murders because of his simple authority.

So, of course, why risk alienating the great Endeavor by putting his found son in a heavily armed cell where he couldn't use his Quirk ?

Touya looked up at me with innocent eyes, and I wanted to rip his throat out with my teeth.

- Shoto

He smiled, hesitantly, and I saw worry and concern in his eyes and wondered if that wasn't the only thing true about him.

Because he knew that if he pushed me too hard, I'd abandon whatever moral values I had left and kill him without hesitation, no matter what the consequences

But I was still sane.

And I couldn't bear the consequences.

So I pulled the chair back, my feet scraping the floor like chalk on a board.

I fell onto it without taking my eyes off Touya, muscles flexed and feet flat on the floor.

He held out his hand hesitantly and my Sharingan flashed in my eyes as a warning.

He pulled his hand back as if I'd burned it, gave me a trembling smile, looked down at his coffee, hesitated, took two long gulps, exhaled slowly, looked up at me again,

and suddenly I was sure that whatever he had in mind, the whole situation was just a show in which he was playing the leading role.

- You must blame yourself

I didn't answer, because I knew that everything he said and did was the result of acute planning.

- For stabbing me, I mean

Fucking son of a bitch.

I feel the officers around us stiffen.

Touya smiled disdainfully at me and rubbed his left shoulder, where clean bandages had surely been applied this morning after it had been confirmed that he wasn't lying and really was royalty.

I leaned back in my chair, hands crossed over my stomach, and watched Touya from under my eyelashes.

- Not really, since I didn't know who you were and you had burned a friend of mine alive...

The atmosphere was heavy, full of judgment, but I knew the scalp didn't tip neither in favor of the ex-criminal nor the acquitted murderer.

For a second, I wondered how my father felt, the hero who had sacrificed years of his life in the service of others, and who found himself in a police station on a strange Tuesday morning, watching his two criminal sons chatting quietly in a room full of nervous officers who hadn't lifted a hand from the guns at their belts.

Touya pursed his lips and fidgeted.

- How is she? I didn't mean to-

- As well as someone with third-degree wounds can be.

He clenched his jaw and inhaled through his nose.

- You must understand that I didn't want to do it, Shoto. That they forced me...

He fell silent, his eyes unfocused.

If I revealed that he had told me that he wanted to stop me the other time, right after All for One had kidnapped me, then Touya would somehow find a way to say that I knew who he really was and yet I hadn't said or done anything.

Dad would ask me why I hadn't said anything, and since I couldn't tell him it was because I had planned to kill Touya once the 'Tokyo' part of my project came to fruition, it would only serve to drive us further apart.

This fucking dog understood very well that if I had to jeopardize my relationship with dad, I'd rather go backwards than forwards.

I was tied hands and feet, forced to play his little game until I found out what he really wanted.

- I had no choice. They said they'd come after you if I didn't. Dad, Mom, Natsu and Fuyu

And then, lowering his voice, he added.

- You too

I blinked. Slowly.

The door opened again and another officer came in.

He smelled so strong of perfume that it irritated my nose. I almost sneezed.

I glanced at the tinted glass in the direction where I could sense my father before turning my attention back to Touya.

- Why now ?

-Because the League is broken. Thanks to you, by the way. And what you've-

He fell silent and looked suspiciously at the officers around us before he gave me a sharp look.

If today had taught me one thing, it was that I hadn't given Touya enough credit - he was far more vicious than insane, and vice combined with insanity was an unpredictable weapon in the hands of someone with nothing left to lose.

His mention of 'what I'd done' and his abrupt silence were a clear message: he knew I'd been covered up for the murders of his accomplices, and now that he was recognized by all as the prodigal son of the Number Two back from the dead, his words would be given credence.

Public opinion had turned in our favor after the press conference, but Endeavor still had plenty of detractors - if another scandal about me came out, the government might decide to part ways with him, despite all the benefits he brought to the country.

And they still had All Might.

- And because All for One is so weakened...

- So you escaped ?

- So I escaped

Touya sank back into his chair.

Grayish drops fell on his left eyelid and rolled down his eyelashes.

He looked me straight in the eyes and wiped them with the tip of his thumb, and suddenly we were standing on the veranda of our house on a summer's night, and Touya was wiping the blood rolling down his cheek with the tip of his thumb, in a promise of ill-contained violence.

The blond officer muttered something to his colleague behind Touya, then took his place.

- Even if what you've done is...

Touya looked down at his hands as if searching for the right words.

The departing officer went to talk to two of his colleagues, and suddenly, the room emptied, leaving only the one guarding the door and the tall blond man.

- Thanks to you, I was able to escape.

His jaw creaked, and I thought it would fall off.

- Thanks to you

My eyes crinkled and I tilted my head to the side.

Touya never thanked anyone.

Ever.

My eyes scanned the empty room once more.

- I've also done things I'm not proud of, he went on. Sometimes, I even have trouble sleeping. Does that happen to you?

My attention turned to the other room, which was also emptying.

Against the current, someone came in smelling of perfume.

The same perfume as-

- I never regret anything

The door to our room, poorly closed, swung open and a light breeze of fresh air entered.

For a second the veil of perfume lifted.

Then I met the reptilian eyes of the blond officer.

Suddenly he pointed his gun at me.

*

Author's note :

250 power stones = sunday bonus chapter

P@treon = Nar_cisseENG to read up to 27 chapters ahead of schedule

See you in the next update everyone !

 

[Nar_cisse]

He fired.

I threw myself to the side, sharingan whirling, as the sound of the gunshot exploded like thunder across the room.

My chair toppled over as the bullet tore a hole in its back exactly where my torso had been a second earlier.

With an expert hand, the policeman aimed his gun at me and fired again.

I ran for the tinted window, a volley of bullets twisting the floor in my wake.

Chakra coursing through my veins, I jumped onto the glass, took two steps on it and found myself running backwards across the ceiling.

Three bullets exploded on it, shattering the glass without passing through.

I jumped, legs bent, and the policeman stepped back, caught off guard, raising his gun a second too late.

My hand wrapped around the barrel, crushing it in a split second.

The officer, eyes squinting, dropped his gun and pulled out two knives, his skin melting like wax.

She raised her right hand to stab me, then her left to disembowel me.

My foot exploded her stomach and she spat saliva, her eyes bulging.

Her back slammed violently into the wall, the knives slipping from her hands and she collapsed like a rag doll.

Sharingan whirling, I spun in one smooth motion, chakra concentrating in my fists.

My fist slammed into the stained glass.

It exploded in a shower of shards, the pieces suspended in time as my Sharingan took in everything that happened around me.

To the right, near the door, lay an officer with a knife to his throat.

In the center of the room, on his knees, was a man with cracked skin, holding his throat with one hand, his eyes bulging as the cracks spread to his face.

To the left, near the wall, was my father, eyebrows furrowed, one leg bent behind him and the other stretched out in front of him as if he'd taken a sudden step backward, the shadow of a flame hovering over his cheekbone, his right arm fully extended, covered in flames.

And only a dozen centimeters from his face was Shigaraki's hand, drops of blood rolling down his fingers.

I blinked, and the next thing I knew, the whole building was shaking, threatening to collapse in on itself, while Shigaraki, his eyes rolled back in their sockets, fell like a lump to the ground, the imprint of his body trapped in the wall for fifteen centimeters.

Behind me, the glass fell like crystal.

I straightened up, chakra still pulsing beneath my skin, then met my father's surprised and intense gaze.

My Sharingan deactivated as the stricken officer crumbled to dust behind me.

Dad studied me from head to toe for a second before straightening up, suddenly alarmed.

- Where's your brother?

I opened my mouth as he passed me and turned to follow him as his shoulder brushed against mine.

He walked through the huge hole where the glass used to be, his thigh brushing a particularly sharp piece of glass.

I raised my hand and took a step toward him, the breath of a sentence leaving my mouth, but he passed the rubble without a problem.

My hand fell back along my body.

I looked at him as if in a second state as he crouched next to Touya, his worried eyes surveying him in the same way he had surveyed me as a child.

From the other side of the door, I heard a commotion and shouts, then a cavalcade of furious footsteps.

With haggard eyes, Touya looked around as if he saw the world for the first time. There was blood in his hair.

The door on their side opened and suddenly Rei, Natsuo and Fuyumi entered.

Rei stiffened, cutting off her own momentum, and widened her eyes.

Then tears began to roll down her cheeks and she ran to her son.

Fuyumi, her mouth hanging open, hesitated.

Natsuo looked up at her with big eyes, just like I remembered him doing when we were children.

She ran and he followed, a little late, worry and hope shared on his flushed face.

They fell to their knees around Touya, feeling his shoulders and clothes to see if he was all right, whispering softly to him as tears glistened in their eyes.

Natsuo began to sniffle.

Rei cried openly, clutching her son to her heart and refusing to let go.

Touya, surprised, his arms flailing, let go and looked at everyone around him in surprise.

My eyes went back to dad.

He looked at Natsuo, Fuyumi, Rei - every member of his family - with an indecipherable expression.

Then his eyes fell on Touya, and the joy and relief in his eyes twisted my stomach.

Turning my back on them, I faced the stunned officers who had stood in the doorway, staring in horror at the bodies - or what was left of them - of their colleagues before their eyes were drawn to the sight of the family finally reunited, oblivious to the outside world.

I stayed until they had loaded Shigaraki and Himiko into a police van, until I had told three different officers what had happened, even though they had the video recordings.

One of them lifted his cap with his thumb to scratch his forehead.

- We still need Endeavor's official report card for our superiors. No offense, son, but without even a provisional license...

Behind me I could still feel dad and the others gathered in a circle, drunk with joy, wrapped in a bubble of happiness that the outside world couldn't penetrate, not yet.

- Just give him a little more time. Besides, I think you've got better things to do than wait for his testimony.

I pointed to the special team of men in gray fatigues who were busy observing the structure of the building, yellow hard hats screwed to their skulls.

One of them, notepad in hand, tapped on the wall next to a particularly large crack.

Cement dust rained down, but the building remained stable.

He scribbled on his pad.

The officer I spoke with scowled.

- It's true (he turned to me) I saw the video, by the way. Excellent reactions and initiative. But if you could avoid all that, next time.

He pointed to the cracks that had spread like cobwebs from the surveillance room where I'd sent Shigaraki into the wall.

'Next time'...

I shrugged.

A fine film of dust fell from my black T-shirt.

Absent-mindedly, I dusted it off.

The officer smiled.

- Well, I won't keep you any longer.

I went to the front door.

- You're not going to...?

His eyes darted back and forth between me and where he was lavishing in joy.

- I've got class.

- Class. Of course.

He said nothing more, but I knew he didn't believe my flimsy excuse.

I left the room, leaving behind a swarm of cops whose eyes pierced my back, just waiting for the moment when I was out of earshot.

I was never the talkative type, but I had never regretted opening my mouth as much as I did at that stupid press conference.

Now everyone knew why I was really leaving.

Outside, the sun was high in the sky, frozen at its zenith as when I'd entered, as if time had been suspended while I was locked within these four walls.

There was the sound of sirens in the distance, and the bustle of Tokyo drowned my senses as if my head had been submerged under water.

I stopped beside my motorcycle, helmet in hand, ready to go.

Touya may have won this battle, but he was far from winning this war.

*

Author's note :

If you want to support me/read ahead of schedule, you can do so on my P@treon, Nar_cisseENG

See you in the next update everyone !

 

[Nar_cisse]

I paused for a second at the corner of the building, out of sight of the sports field, long enough to collect my thoughts and the memories of my last clone that had just dispersed.

The hum of the cars faded as if the volume had been turned down in my ears.

I ran a hand over my face, lowering my mask for a moment to wipe away the icy sweat that clung to my skin.

I felt exhausted, my muscles recovering from the fatigue of the day's umpteenth chakra-starved clone dispersal.

I instinctively raised my right hand to my body, a very faint green glow surrounding my fingers before stopping abruptly, remembering where I was.

I let out a grunt, straightened up, and reached into my pocket for three granola bars and a bottle of water, which I devoured in seconds.

Below my stomach I could feel that my chakra reserves were dangerously low, barely enough to keep me conscious and out of trouble until I dispersed all my other clones.

The exhaustion numbed my mind and made it difficult to do anything but eat and sleep, but I'd held out for weeks - I wasn't about to give up now.

Besides, it wasn't like I could give up, so...

I took a deep breath, just enough to keep the world around me from swaying.

Then I lifted my chin, squared my shoulders, and walked to the gym where the first lesson of the Elite Class would be held.

The door creaked as if its hinges hadn't been oiled in centuries.

aizawa paused, his eyes as big as saucers, and the other students followed suit.

The air was heavy with hostility.

All their eyes were on me, as if they saw me for the first time. I saw their shoulders stiffen, felt the tension that made their energies feverish.

My eyes swept the room with an uninterested flutter, barely lingering on Uraraka, who was sitting on the floor next to Bakugo.

The boy met my gaze and waved me over with a short gesture of his chin.

aizawa continued his speech as if nothing had happened.

I crossed the room with slow steps until I was lying on the floor on the other side of Katsuki.

The floor was surely covered with germs and microbes and other unspeakable things, but I was too tired to really pay attention.

At first glance, I'd said almost a year. But at the rate I'm going, maybe seven or eight months...

I felt the students getting more agitated than they looked.

Monoma met my gaze, smiled and gave me a little wave.
Tokoyami nodded his chin in my direction, slowly, cautiously, as if greeting a beast that might jump at his throat at any moment.

Inaza gave me a piercing look, then turned back to Aizawa.

Jiro and Yaoyorozu were pressed together, shoulder to shoulder, as if they were a single building that might collapse if one of them moved even a quarter of an inch.

They didn't turn around, but I could hear them whispering.

I wondered how many of them had received the special invitation to become All Might's successor - my letter had only included admission to the elite class and my room number.

Bakugo had his arms casually resting on his knees, his shoulders slumped. My eyes went above his head and landed on Ochaco.

She glanced at me, focused on Aizawa, then, as if her brain had just realized, she looked at me again, more slowly this time, and gave me a prolonged look that was meant to be intense, but slightly cautious.

- ...intensive courses. The purely academic workload will be reduced and kept to a minimum: it will be your duty to work in your free time to supplement the lessons provided by the teachers.

Aizawa remained silent, watching us in turn.

- You are the first students in the new system set up by the headmaster. Great hopes are pinned on your abilities and your future. You are the Heroes of tomorrow, all of you.

His eyes met mine.

- Try to prove yourselves worthy

*

Daisuke Kazama was a respected reporter in the business.

His methods might have been questionable at times, but he always got results - and that's what mattered most in the crazy world they lived in.

What made Daisuke an admired peer - or at least someone no one would deliberately try to harm - was his impeccable ethics.

He hand-picked his sources, always double-checked every piece of information before releasing it to the public: and when he did release it, he always made sure that the form was as neutral as possible, although he was sometimes terribly keen on adding a little bias here and there if the facts were particularly shocking.

Daisuke was one of the very few independent journalists with an audience as large as the best press companies, and his constant neutrality was what was most appreciated about him, after his quality scoops.

Daisuke would find the carcasses and the scavengers would butcher them for him.

Daisuke's cigar froze above his lower lip.

He raised an eyebrow, his tired eyes sweeping over the list of documents on his tablet with a rare astonishment.

Because Daisuke was neutral, he was sometimes sent information that could harm Hero's career, knowing that he would always publish it, even if it might challenge the social order of the country.

- Karen, come take a look at this

A ponytailed brunette, bent over a handout as thick as her arm, came to meet him.

- We haven't finished the special file on 'Schools for Children of Heroes' yet," she began. Haru says he can get us an undercover interview with a former S and W teacher, but...

Her voice died in her throat when she saw the photo Daisuke showed her.

She scrolled down the page and new photos appeared, even more incriminating than the first.

- Is this really...?

There was a blurry photo of three white-haired people rushing into a police station.

A few shots of the cracked walls inside the building, then of the firemen stationed at the entrance, presumably to secure the area.

And - most damning of all - the world's most notorious teenager standing in front of an armored van as two equally notorious villains were led away.

- Our inside source said Endeavor was there for his kid, whom they'd found.

Karen opened her mouth.

- Kid ? What kid ? Since when does Endeavor-

Daisuke, this time, slid a physical photograph in Karen's direction.

The photo was shaky, as if whoever had taken it was afraid of being caught in the act: it showed a keyboard and a multitude of screens, as if they were in a control room.

On one of them, with surprisingly good resolution, you could see Endeavor and the three other white-haired people gathered around a fourth, seated, covered in burns and scars closed with staples.

Karen fell back in her chair.

She looked at Daisuke, speechless, a hand over her face.

He looked just as serious.

- We can decide not to publish them, he began. But the guy who sent it to us also mentioned an inside video to prove that it's not made up. And he wants $15,000 cash by tonight.

Karen continued to stare at the photo of Dabi in amazement.

Because of Daisuke's special status as a journalist, the police used to call them for special investigations or to gather information about dangerous people they couldn't locate.

They had been asked to cooperate in the investigation of the USJ incident, to try to find traces of the League's villains.

They had come across two of their most dangerous, Dabi and someone called Twice.

- This could destroy his career

Daisuke looked serious, his chin almost buried in his neck.

- I know

- But even if we give him the money, he'll still send it to other media, right ?

The lure of money, the desire to do harm, or the desire to be famous even if no one knew you were the one everyone talked about - it didn't really matter.

The fact was, once they had a bomb in their hands, these types of individuals never stopped.

They wanted more. Always.

- We can contain the fallout.

Karen looked up at him.

Daisuke bit his lips, his look unfathomable.

If this had been All Might or any other hero, Daisuke wouldn't have hesitated for a second to expose their blunders.

But this was Endeavor, and whatever broke out in his hands would inevitably splash over his son, Shoto.

And Daisuke - although he knew that the feeling was illogical and best nipped in the bud to prevent him from making mistakes like the one he was making - felt indebted to the boy.

It was because he'd redirected the villain with the Quirk of Gigantification who was wreaking havoc in town, a few weeks ago, that Daisuke still had grandchildren.

Daisuke exhaled loudly, his shoulders hanging loosely along his body as if making that decision had just drained him of all his energy.

- Call Nezu

*

Author's note :

If you want to support me/read ahead of schedule, you can do so on my P@treon, Nar_cisseENG

250 power stones = sunday bonus chapter

See you in the next update everyone !

 

[Nar_cisse]

Nezu, paws crossed over his plump belly, casually observed the sky stretching beyond his glass wall.

- The choice is yours, Endeavor. What will it be ?

At the other end of the line, the hero inhaled sharply - then fell silent.

Nezu almost felt sorry for him.

His life had been in chaos ever since his son had been exposed as a murderer.

By now, the tension had subsided, and numerous official documents 'accidentally' found on the doorsteps of the country's largest news stations had proven that Shoto Todoroki was no innovator in this matter - quite the opposite.

For days, there had been talk of Quirk-related 'accidents', which were more common than you'd think - especially among very young children - and caused a huge number of injuries, even death in certain circumstances.

The curious case of Tenko Shimura was one that Nezu found the most interesting...

- How long before publication?

Nezu could hear the weariness in his voice.

- I'm afraid you only have until tonight.

A new silence.

The majority of the country had finally sided with Endeavor and his son, or at least stopped open hostilities.

People may have been too afraid of Endeavor's son to take to the streets and continue to demand the hero's resignation, but they weren't holding back online.

Extreme opinions were in the minority, but that didn't mean the general public was deaf to them - far from it.

The revelation that another of Endeavor's sons was an admitted criminal and wanted by the authorities threatened to return the situation to what it had been just after the training camp incident.

- I have to make an example of him, don't I?

Nezu nibbled on a biscuit.

- If you don't do anything, you'll be accused of being overzealous. Shoto has mitigating circumstances because he's a minor and the acts he's accused of were committed under stressful conditions, to say the least.

Many people thought he was too young and unconscious to really understand what he was doing in the shed. People may have been afraid, but they also felt compassion for him.

Which would not be the case for the other one.

- Dabi - Touya, sorry, is an adult and committed most of his crimes after he came of age. Trying to use the same mediatic approach as with Shoto will cause more anger and incomprehension than anything else.

Nezu scrolled through the villain's file on his computer.

The Heroic Commission always made a point of being exhaustive when it came to information on wanted criminals.

Terrorist group membership, terrorism, arson, assault, kidnapping, murder.

Threat level : A

Nezu smiled.

What did Endeavor give his sons to create such monsters?

- I can't send my son to prison. Not after he just came back...

The hero fell silent, took a breath and spoke again.

- What do you recommend I do?

Nezu licked the cookie crumbs from his snout.

He leaned over the speaker, paws crossed on his desk.

*

- Todoroki, we'd like to talk to you.

I smelled them as soon as they entered the building.

With a towel around my neck, I wiped my damp hair with one hand and silently scanned Inaza.

He didn't look the least bit scared.

- Please

I waved my chin at him to show me the way, even though I already knew where he wanted me to go.

The common area of the elite section was huge, with an open kitchen, a central island, and a living room with four couches grouped around an aquarium inlaid into the wall, just below a flat-screen TV.

A news channel was humming in the background.

Inaza turned sharply at the bottom of the stairs and walked to stand with the others, crossing the circle of sofas before turning to face me, arms crossed over his torso.

I moved forward with slow, almost shuffling steps, stopping at the edge of the living room.

All the students from the original 1-A - or what was left of them - were sitting here and there, scattered in small groups, whispering on couches that formed a 'U'. All the chatter stopped when they saw me standing in front of them.

Bakugo wasn't there.

Neither was the invisible girl.

My eyes stopped for a second on deku, who was sitting right next to the mutant.

Unlike the others, he looked straight at me, without blinking, a determined glint in his eyes.

I didn't like that.

- We wanted to talk to you.

I waited for him to continue, wiping my hair casually.

- About what happened in the training camp

Iida took off his glasses with a shaking hand and wiped them with the back of his sleeve.

He was sitting in a chair, his left leg in a cast.

- I'm listening

Inaza stared at me, a myriad of veins throbbing at his neck, but his face an unruffled smoothness.

- You killed people.

- I did

A shiver of fear ran through the group.

I didn't let go of Inaza's gaze.

- Why did you do it ?

- Because they deserved it.

Hiccups of astonishment.

- They were people, Inaza insisted. They had family, friends. They were sons of, brothers of. By killing them, you took away their chance at redemption.

My eyes landed on Ochaco.

- They killed Kaminari, didn't they?

She remained unmoved.

I looked at Inaza again.

- I've done nothing but pay them back for what they've done

A wrinkle crossed Inaza's forehead.

- We train to be heroes. Not assassins.

- Alike

Inaza frowned.

- That has nothing to do with it.

- Do you think that All Might has never killed anyone? That one day he didn't hold back enough and someone didn't-

- Heroes aren't murderers.

A light breeze blew across the room and I knew Inaza was losing patience.

The fatigue I'd accumulated for weeks and the frustration of my day combined into a ball of nerves that warmed my blood.

- You're all much dumber than I thought if you believe your own bullshit

I looked at them in turn, their big bright eyes and smooth skin that had never had to shed blood revolting me as never before.

- I've killed, yes. So what if I have?

- So you're a murderer, Inaza insisted.

I brushed his comment aside with a hand.

- You all will be one day, rest assured.

Inaza shook his head, but I wasn't talking to him anymore.

I saw fear and concern on their faces and understood that some were already having doubts.

- We live in a society where men are not born equal

I wonder how they would react if they learned Nezu knew about the attack and didn't do anything to protect them.

- All humans are equal, but some are more equal than others, Yaoyorozu muttered.

All heads turned to her, and the teenager sank into her plaid up to her chin, her knees pressed to her chest.

I pointed at her with my chin.

- You heard that ? You pretend you don't understand, but deep down you already do.

- How do you sleep at night? Inaza said in the most confused tone I'd ever heard, his eyebrows furrowed. How do you look at yourself in the mirror?

Anger buzzed through my flesh like a million scorpions trying to punch a hole in my skin to get out.

- Simple: I tell myself that if it wasn't them, it would have been me.

For a second, Inaza didn't know what to say.

But his judgmental face - as if, from his ivory tower, he had the right to express the slightest opinion about me or my actions - made me want to rip his eyes out.

- You make me laugh with your supposedly judgmental 'advice', I spat, But not one of you had the decency to thank me for saving your ungrateful asses

My skin prickled as if I would burst into flames at any moment.

- You know who pulled Kaminari out of those fucking collapsing dormitories? I did. You know who killed the guy who could clone himself ad infinitum and would have killed you all before the most insignificant hero decided to show up? I did. Who saved Kirishima, Sato, Hanta and Deku from being eaten? Who saved Katsuki when he was pissing blood in the desert? Who kept All for One busy long enough for All Might to show up ? I, I and I again.

- You're just justifying yourself, Inaza said, shaking his head. You could have neutralized them without... .... (He inhaled sharply, his face flushed) Don't make us believe you had no choice.

The well of rage inside me went out like a candle.

- You're right. I did have a choice. And I chose to end the threat once and for all.

Inaza's face was serious.

- And what did you do ? Because obviously, apart from crying and criticizing me, you did nothing more constructive

- You had no right to kill them, Inaza insisted. It's not our job to judge. Our duty is to bring the guilty to justice and nothing else.

- You're living in a fairy tale, Inaza. You're in for a rude awakening.

- If everyone acted like you, there'd be anarchy-

- Take away the guys in suits running around the streets, and I can assure you it won't even take twenty-four hours for this country to be fire and blood.

- It's by acting the way you do that people become villains.

A silence followed.

I remained dazed for a moment before a dry laugh shook me.

- Is that what you think I am? A villain?

Inaza held my gaze.

- That's what I think you're becoming, yes.

I looked at Inaza in silence, unable to answer.

Then a small smile appeared on my lips and I turned to the others.

- Is that what you think, too?

Most of them looked away.

Kirishima said, his voice hoarse:

- I want to thank you for saving us the other day. I know I wouldn't be here today without you, and I know I can only speak for myself because I'm not sure what the others think, but thank you, thank you very much. I didn't really agree with the others to have this meeting like this, and I still don't agree with the idea of coming down on you as a group, but please understand.

He inhaled.

- You... took care of all those villains so easily when even as a group we had trouble handling them, and you did all those weird, incomprehensible things afterwards... You even helped All Might and Endeavor contain the giant in Tokyo and come out unscathed. But the way you did it... the ease with which you used that sword to hurt people...

His legs twitched nervously.

- You didn't hesitate for a second to use your Quirks to hurt people

I let his comment pass over me like water and shrugged.

- It was Aizawa who told me to do it

- Aizawa would never have told you to kill

I didn't answer and Inaza insisted unbelievingly.

- Look at yourself. You're not even remorseful.

I raised my eyebrows.

- Because I don't have anything to regret.

- Do you realize what you're saying?

- Killing is not something I've just brought into the world. It's been done since the beginning of time, and it will continue to be done, even if you refuse to believe it.

- You just don't get it.

- Heroes do it, soldiers do it - hell, even children do it. Quirks are just tools

- It's not your abilities that scare us, Shoto. It's you and what you will do with them that frightens us.

I blinked, stunned.

- I beg your pardon?

- We all thought your little violent outbursts, like at the championship, were just excessive irritability, but here...

- What's going on, Inaza ? Did you all wake up this morning and think 'hey, how about we piss off the guy who saved our lives and tell him we all think he's a fucking psychopath who's going to freak out and kill us all'?

- I didn't say that, said Inaza. Don't twist my words.

- You ask me to get off, you call me a murderer, and you tell me you think I'm a fucking time bomb and you think I'm going to take it well ?

Inaza exploded.

- You see ?! That's your problem ! You're incapable of realizing that your actions have consequences and that, yes, if you start killing people around you, no one will be on your side !

I crossed the distance between us in a few steps.

- Who's talking about 'side'?, I growled in a low voice, my forehead only a few centimeters away from Inaza's. The only thing that exists are people who get out of my way or who are against me. Tell me, Inaza, are you against me ?

Inaza came closer, a wind cooled by the ice emanating from my skin enveloping us.

- If you become a threat to the others, then yes.

My left hand began to shake.

- Would you kill me to stop me?

The resolution in his eyes faltered for half a second.

- Answer me, Inaza. Would you kill me?

He clenched his fists, his lips forming two hard white lines.

He didn't answer.

I stepped back and looked at the others in turn.

- Would anyone here be willing to kill me?

They lowered their heads, avoiding my gaze.

- Yeah, that's what I thought.

Inaza, shaking, stared at me with bulging eyes. Blood viessels had exploded there.

- If I ever become a 'villain', I really hope for your sake that the answer will be yes - because if you - or anyone else here - gets in my way, nothing and no one in this country will be able to stop me from destroying you.

Even after I'd closed the door to my room, no one had still said a thing.

*

Author's note :

Seems you also can't be a Hero in training if you're a murderer.

Anyway, 250 power stones = sunday bonus chapter

If you want to support me/read ahead of schedule, you can do so on my P@treon, Nar_cisseENG

See you in the next update everyone !

 

[Nar_cisse]

Sitting cross-legged on my bed, I was in the process of reading a new Genjutsu section I had just unlocked in my Chakra Encyclopaedia.

'Mass genjutsu is more difficult to implement than genjutsu that focuses on a single target.
The need to affect all the targeted nervous systems at the same time and in the same way requires the creation of an environment where the targets have been exposed to the chakra of the person performing the genjutsu in an identical way.
The genjutsu trigger then comes into play: it can be gustatory, olfactory, auditory or visual.
It should be noted, however, that mass genjutsu triggered by touch - although they do exist - are the most difficult to implement, albeit more powerful and harder for the target to extricate themselves from.'

I've always had a personal predilection for visual genjutsu, which the sharingan and its constant rotation have always made very easy to use.

'Perfect mastery of the use of genjutsu through the five senses on a single target is a prerequisite for learning to use mass genjutsu. However, given the complexity of an individual's perfect mastery of psychic influence on the five senses, it is permissible for someone with excellent mastery of only one of these senses to be able to learn the equivalent in Mass Genjutsu.'

The category 'Mass Genjutsu: Visual' was unlocked, the text glowing green.

I turned the previous page and returned to the other four types of genjutsu a few chapters earlier. I was pretty good at using them, but it wasn't anything out of the ordinary, if the Chakra Encyclopedia was to be believed.

Maybe if I took some time to brush up on the basics, then...

My phone rang.

My father's name appeared on the screen.

I sat up instantly, rubbing my eyes with one hand to wake myself up, then picked up the phone.

- Shoto. Good evening, Shoto.

I listened carefully, trying to understand where he might be.

Except for the small, irregular crackling sounds I imagined to be wood in the fireplace of his office, everything was quiet around him.

- Good evening.

I bit the inside of my cheek, not knowing what else to say.

- You left early this morning.

I turned my tongue seven times in my mouth, wondering how I could explain to him that I'd spent the morning at the police station regretting Touya's murder without him hanging up on me.

- I had to finish setting up my things in the dormitory. Natsu and Leo helped me, but I couldn't let them finish alone.

- Yes. Of course.

There was an awkward silence.

- How was your day ?

- Fine, fine. Your mother was in shock for a while, but she is getting better.

I nodded, not knowing what else to say.

- Natsuo and Fuyumi were really happy to see Touya. Your sister kept saying it is a miracle

A miracle or a lack of foresight on my part.

- Are you happy ? That he's back, I mean

- Of course I'm happy. He's my son.

My heart skipped a beat.

I imagined my father, his grey hair, the small rectangular glasses on the tip of his nose, the landline phone glued to his ear, as he was told that Touya had just died - again.

The thought of him crying because of me was painful enough.

- I'm glad he's home, you know, he confided quietly. I think maybe it's a second chance for me. For all of us.

I imagined him smiling softly, his eyes lost in a blur.

I regretted even more that I hadn't killed him before he came back into his life, because at least he wouldn't have suffered more if he'd never known he was alive.

- Have you ever wondered how...

My voice sounded strange. I cleared my throat and said calmly:

- Do you remember eleven years ago? We thought Touya was dead because a child's jaw had been found in the flames...

Silence answered me:

- Of course I remember.

I waited, but there was nothing else.

- And you're not wondering how...?

I left my question hanging for fear of upsetting him.

It was the first cordial conversation we'd had in days that wasn't about the hangar video or Kenzei.

His family had in fact contacted us again and apologized for all that was going on, even going as far as proposing to make their voices heard in the press in my defense.

My father told them that it was honourable of them to do so, but that it would be better if they didn't get involved, lest the media tear them to shreds.

Then he'd added a few zeros to the cheque he sent them every year and mailed it earlier than usual.

- Honestly ? I don't want to know

He exhaled sharply.

- Touya is my son, my flesh and blood. Nothing he has done or will do can change that

That was the philosophy with which he'd raised me, and I'd always been more than grateful.

Even though I knew he was talking about Touya, I couldn't help but be proud that he was my father.

- Agree

My father was a better man than I'll ever be.

He was kind, fair and did his best to always give his family the best, even if the best was to walk away from them for their own good, knowing that he would suffer from it.

It was because he was him that I wanted to try to be a little better myself.

- Okay ?

But I couldn't be better when it came to Touya.

Even if he wasn't a threat to me as a person, I knew he wouldn't hesitate for a second to hurt my father to get to me.

I couldn't let him live - not if it meant spending my time wondering what he planned to do to my father and how far he'd go.

- I'm glad you're happy

I'll find a way to kill Touya without it being traced back to me.

- You know, Shoto, I won't force you to get along with him, especially not after what happened. Not I or your mother, nor your siblings

- I know

- Your mother was thinking of having dinner together, maybe this weekend. Would you like that?

The idea of a meal over a roast turkey with my father, who barely spoke to me these days, the man who could have been my murderer and the three other strangers with whom I shared my blood immediately struck me as very comical.

- I... maybe. I need you to call the headmaster for me.

- Of course I will

New silence.

I waited vainly for him to add something.

- Is that why you called me ?

Even I heard the hint of disappointment in my voice and immediately chided myself for opening my mouth.

- No, it wasn't. There was something else. It concerns Touya.

Of course it's about him.

- What has he done ?

- ...a video of him at the police station was leaked by an unknown source. It was sent to a newspaper and a large sum of money was demanded for them to have exclusive rights to it, in which case it would be distributed to as many people as possible. Fortunately, those who received it understood the seriousness of the situation and contacted Nezu to inform him, who immediately called me.

- So what happened ?

But I already knew what he was going to tell me.

- We filmed a closed-door press conference a bit earlier this afternoon where we revealed Touya's existence

It was the best decision in this particular case, as the information was going to leak anyway.

At least this way we could control the initial impact it would have on the public, and Endeavor would appear to be 'voluntarily' transparent with the public.

- Did All Might agree to support you publicly ?

He did, for me.

- ... All Might is very busy at the moment. I think it's best that he stays out of it

His answer struck me as odd, but I didn't comment on it.

The duo of Endeavor and All Might had come as a surprise to me, but I'd quickly realised its advantage: on Kamino alone, my father's presence had drastically changed the situation, preventing All Might from revealing his condition to the whole world and abruptly resigning from his role as 'Symbol of Peace'.

Having All Might by my father's side was also a good thing, because now I couldn't see how the incident with the Nomu High End that had followed his hasty ascension could happen.

Especially now that Gigantomachia was dead and the League of Villains had been disbanded.

Even if my father and All Might behaved strangely in each other's presence, I could at least count on the original Peace Symbol to have my father's back.

- Any minute now, every channel in the country should be broadcasting-

There was a howl of horror that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.

A shunshin and I was in the living room in combat stance, the phone still glued to my ear, the cutlass hidden under my cushion in my hand.

Curled up in the middle of the living room, forehead to the floor, hands over ears, was Momo Yaoyorozu, screaming her head off.

The other students stood at a distance from her, arms raised as if to shield themselves from her screams, exchanging puzzled glances.

I lowered my knife and slowly stood up, trying to make sense of what was happening.

The telephone hummed in my ear.

- Shoto ? What's going on ?

Momo screamed louder, her fingernails clawing at the floor until her fingers started to bleed.

- There's a girl who-

Suddenly Momo fell silent and turned back to me.

There was the mark of the tiles on her forehead, like a huge 'X' that had branded her. Her eyes were wide, her mouth open in a silent scream.

And then she threw herself back, her shrill scream exploding like a blast across the living room.

A pinkish light - just like when she used her Quirk - coated her throat, amplifying the scream until it grew deafening.

I took a few steps back and she did the same, crawling backwards until she was under the TV screen.

The furniture began to shake as if we were in the grip of an earthquake.

A vase exploded in the kitchen.

Then all the glasses in the cupboards exploded, and fragments smashed through the doors like shrapnel in a minefield.

Someone rushed down the stairs.

I recognised Jiro and shifted to let her pass, her shoulder brushing mine.

She threw herself at Momo's side, squeezing her shoulders and shouting to be heard :

- Momo ? What's wrong ?

I kept retreating, blood pounding against my temples, ears ringing as if my eardrums were about to explode.

Blood dripped from Jiro's jacks, but she kept shaking Momo.

- Talk to me! What's wrong, Momo? What has he done to you?

Jiro forced Momo to stop looking at me, then moved closer to her, still screaming.

- What's the matter, Momo ?

Then, as suddenly as she'd started, Momo fell silent and burst into tears.

I watched in amazement, unable to comprehend what had just happened.

Jira held her close and whispered that everything would be all right.

I met Monoma's gaze, who had taken refuge in a corner of the living room.

He pointed at the television with his chin.

It showed a close-up of Touya's face, dressed in a suit for what I thought was the press conference my father had told me about.

Dad was next to me, a hand on his shoulder, the sound of his voice muffled by Momo's sobs.

Then a photo of me at the championship with my flames appeared on the right side of the screen, and suddenly I understood.

*

Author's note :

250 power stones = sunday bonus chapter

If you want to support me/read ahead of schedule, you can do so on my P@treon, Nar_cisseENG

As always, see you in the next update everyone !

 

[Nar_cisse]

He picked up the remote and turned up the TV with one hand, eyes squinting.

His cigarette, frozen at the edge of his lips, burned slowly.

The glowing ash fell onto his dry skin before rolling into the bath.

He didn't notice, absorbed as he was in the loop of the newscasts.

... a shock as well as a miracle that my son is back with us'.

His reddened eyes surveyed the figure of Endeavor, dressed as a hero, reading his press release.

Standing behind him, to his right, was the boy - the man - whose face was etched in his mind.

He had white hair, speckled with red at the time.

The man pushed back his damp hair with his right hand and leaned forward to get a better look.

The water in his bath stirred and a few ripples overflowed, splashing onto the tiled floor.

His face was streaked with burn marks, so perhaps...

A triumphant smile curled his lips.

There, just at the corner of his left cheekbone, was a pale scar, like a furrow cut into one of the last pieces of skin that was actually skin.

Yes, it was the same man from eleven years ago, without a shadow of doubt.

He would never forget the shape of that particular scar, almost like a straightened comma, resulting from his hesitation in stabbing Touya Todoroki in the eye.

He'd spent the next two summers wishing he'd smashed his skull, and the next eight years consoling himself with his death.

But now...

He sank back into his bath until his back was against the wall, his two arms outstretched on either side of the tub.

Another shower of ash fell on his left shoulder.

He didn't even bother to sweep it away and took a long drag.

Not that he could smell anything, anyway.

... under extreme surveillance and house arrest. A judicial inquiry will be opened and he will be punished for his crimes, have no doubt about it'.
The man chuckled.

Any savvy hero could see that 'the case of Endeavor's son, a former criminal and member of a terrorist organisation' would never amount to anything.

Corruption ran deep, even more so when you were the second Peace Symbol.

The conference ended and it was time for the journalists' questions.

All were surprisingly docile and their questions harmless.

The man thought about the second child of Endeavor, the one who was at Yuei and who hadn't been at the 'warm family reunion'.

No one asked about him.

He rolled his eyes and switched off the television.

He stubbed out the cigarette in the bath and went out, wrapping a towel around his waist.

He stopped in front of the mirror, his eyes glued to his chest as if he were ten years old again, getting used to the idea that his body would never be the same - that he would never be the same.

His hand slid down his torso.

Scars ran down his left side, from his lower thigh to his neck, almost to his earlobe.

He ran his hand over the burns and sutures and the stiff, dry skin that had been grafted onto him, remembering the two years of suffering he'd spent in the hospital, believing he'd never get out.

His wings quivered furiously.

*

The air was cold, even for an autumn morning.

The man's eyes narrowed as he watched the men and women in suits on their way to work, their eyes riveted to their computer screens.

He remained huddled in the cold, wrapped in a torn blanket, sitting next to a laundromat where people entering pretended not to see him.

The traces of their passage disappeared in a few seconds, covered in snow again.

The homeless man sighed and counted the coins in his battered cardboard jar. Not even enough to buy a cup of coffee...

And then, in a perfect throw, a large, reddened copper coin fell into it.

He looked up at the man who threw it and who had already disappeared around the corner.
The homeless man stood up, made sure his blanket served as a makeshift baklava, picked up his paper cup and walked away, shoulders hunched.

People shied away from him as if he had the plague, and it's true that he once had the disease, but had given it back to his doctor in exchange for a more promising power.

He didn't regret it: terrorising people in the depths of Africa into worshipping you as a god was less fun now that medicine had made such advances.

He laughed, then suddenly coughed.

He stopped in the middle of the road, his shoulders shaking from a violent coughing fit.

A few people gave him a sideways glance as they passed, but no one said anything to him when they saw the way he was dressed.

He wiped off his lips, tucked his head into his blankets and walked slowly.

He moved away from the city centre, up the river until he reached one of the most run-down areas of Vladivostok.

His perfect memory superimposed the map of the city from fifty years ago onto what it had become today, and he found his way around with ease.

He spotted someone watching him from a broken window, hidden in the dim light.

He heard them moving over the rooftops, felt the echolocation waves hitting his body to identify him and then receding.

The man he was forty years ago would never have accepted such disrespect, especially in a city he had built with his own hands.

Time had made him soft. Weak.

Perhaps it was time for him to revive the man he once had been...

He stopped.

Around the corner came half a dozen men in fatigues.

Machine guns slung over their shoulders, they trotted off in two columns of three before standing at attention in front of the homeless man.

A cold wind blew.

Those hiding behind the windows had stopped watching.

A man in grey military ceremonial uniform, a long black fur coat and a chapka came out and crossed the hedge of honour.

He stopped opposite the homeless man, his arms crossed behind his back.

- Здраствуйте друг

- Михаил. Кажется, ты прожил дольше, чем я предполагал.

The man smiled, then took off his jacket and coat and gave them to the homeless man.

In slightly broken Japanese he said:

- That's quite a way to leave Japan, sir.

The homeless man smiled, and the skin where his lips should have been curled up.

- It was only a temporary departure.

The man's smile widened, and suddenly the homeless man saw again the boy he had given some soup to in exchange for carrying parcels from one end of the front to the other in the middle of the civil war.

- I suppose you're intending to go back?

The homeless man dropped his blanket and pot.

- You've come to the right conclusion, Mikhail. You know me: I've always had a flair for showmanship. I'll have to prepare a comeback worthy of my name.

Mikhail's smile betrayed his excitement and he returned to the Russian without realising it.

- Of course, Tsar

It was time to remind everyone why he was called the Symbol of Evil.

*

Author's note :

250 power stones = sunday bonus chapter

If you want to support me/read ahead of schedule, you can do so on my P@treon, Nar_cisseENG

See you in the next update everyone !

 

[Nar_cisse]

There were many questions about Shoto Todoroki that the Heroic Commission was able to answer.

Firstly, he had witnessed a great deal of violence as a child, which must have damaged his psyche irreparably - that was a bad point.

Secondly, he was very close to his father, one of the few realistic Heroes who travelled the world without imagining that for every life he saved, he was making the world a better place - this was a good point.

He'd recently killed three men. Villains

Ryota tapped his pencil on the paper for a few seconds, indecisive, then drew a third column, 'Neutral', above the other two, and put it there.

He was in a Heroic school, the best in the country. He might be doing this to please his father. Or to get his licence. Maybe for glory ? Certainly not to save people.

Ryota filed the new information in the neutral column.

He had a distant relationship with the Italian Mafia, as far as they knew. As for the exact nature of this relationship, no one had yet managed to find out what it was. Perhaps he was hiding something darker. Maybe he had more blood on his hands than it seemed.

Ryota crossed out the last line. Speculating on the basis of little information was the trap that everyone in his profession fell into over and over again.

When he was ten, his first psychiatrist had diagnosed him as emotionally dependent on his father.

This was confirmed by his last regular psychiatrist, who had been treating him since he was 12. Shoto was emotionally attached to at least one person.

This removed the 'sociopath' box.

It also reduced the chances of him going berserk and slaughtering his entire school on a random Thursday morning. Good point.

He also didn't care what other people thought. Otherwise, he wouldn't have killed all those people in public and made no attempt to hide it. A good point, if it meant he didn't mind being one of the 'bad' heroes. Or a bad one if it meant that he already knew himself to be so superior to the common man that he didn't care what insects thought of him.

He didn't seem the arrogant type - his confidence seemed well justified.

Ryota created a third bubble, right at the bottom. Worrying.

But he'd been approached by the Special Forces and seemed interested. Maybe he was destining himself for a military career, at least for a while, like his father.

Patriotic, then.

Or perhaps he wanted to curb his impulses by killing within a legal framework.

There were many like him.

Always the most efficient.

Good point.

Ryota paused for a moment, stepped back from his list and counted:

Two good, two neutral, one bad, one worrying.

His pencil tapped on the worrying box, as if his thoughts could jump out of his head and onto the paper of their own accord.

He added: 'Total abilities unknown'. Worrying.

Distrust of authority. Worrying.

Potential threat. Worrying.

What would he do if his father was in danger ?

Ryota's pencil froze on the paper.

If Endeavor was ever in potential mortal danger, then according to his psychological profile, Shoto-

The door opened.

Ryota, hunched over his paper, sat up abruptly.

Standing in the doorway was his secretary, coffee in one hand and her finger on her earpiece in the other. The blue light on it lit up, and Ryota knew she was taking another call.

- Heroic Commission, Secretary General for Security Affairs, hello, can you hold on a moment ?

She pressed her earpiece to pause the call, then whispered :

- Your eleven o'clock appointment, sir

Then she stepped back and let in a small creature who needed no introduction.

Ryota ran a hand over his face, then straightened up and pushed the sheet of paper he'd been writing on under a pile of other documents.

- I hope I'm not disturbing you

Nezu's whiskers came through the frame.

His small lips curled up his rodent-like fangs and Ryota suddenly felt very alert.

- Not at all. I was just doing some paperwork. Come in, come in

Nezu entered whistling, his paws behind his back, looking at the place as if he were observing the countryside on a leisure journey.

Ryota stood up and walked around his desk, clutching the small paw of Yuei's headmaster. One of his claws scratched his skin, and Ryota wondered if he'd done it on purpose.

- Please sit here

Ryota resumed his seat behind his desk as Nezu made himself comfortable, his beady little eyes glancing briefly at the desk, which Ryota knew was not an insignificant glance.

They may have worked for the same side, but Nezu worked for himself more than for anyone else.

- Thank you for finally coming after being so... busy lately, Ryota said.

Nezu looked as calm and in control as ever.

- Thank you for your consideration. It's true that the last few weeks have been hectic, to say the least, and that it was impossible for me to grant your request for an appointment as soon as you wished.

Ryota, perfect diplomat, just smiled.

- So I guess everything is going well ?

- More than well, actually, Nezu replied with a smile that perfectly matched Ryota's own.

There was a moment of silence, but Nezu said nothing more.

- I would like to talk to you about the case of Shoto Todoroki, if you don't mind.

- I can't speak on his behalf, Ryota. Nor his father.

Ryota brushed his remark aside with a hand.

- I'm not asking you to speak on behalf of anyone, but simply to express your opinion of the boy as Yuei's headmaster.

Nezu opened his mouth to speak but Ryota silenced him by raising his hand.

- Let me remind you that Yuei only exists because the government wants it to. Your special status and that of your institution can be revoked at the slightest suspicion of corruption.

Nezu continued to smile pleasantly, but the sharp half-teeth revealed by his slightly upturned upper lip showed Ryota that he didn't appreciate being threatened this way.

- Suspicions of corruption? There's no favouritism or anything like that at my school, Ryota. I've always been very impartial and fair. Ask All Might, he'll tell you.

Ryota didn't miss the subtle jab.

- As for taking away 'my status', you have neither the right nor the power to do so.

Ryota's smile was as thin as it was genuine.

It would take a lot for the Japanese government to decide to part with Nezu, the most intelligent individual in the world, whose personal fortune made him as influential as a single nation.

Even if his Heroes factory was the most efficient on the continent, the government would no longer turn a blind eye to the 'subtle' influence he exerted on all his Heroic sprouts if it turned out that he was growing a poisonous plant at the back of his greenhouse.

- And I certainly don't want to, believe me, Ryota replied in a falsely chagrined tone. But the case of young Shoto Todoroki is a cause for concern and you know it as well as I do.

Nezu studied Ryota in silence, then let out a long sigh and pretended to massage his temples with one hand, one arm resting on the armrest.

- I'd like to help you, Ryota. I really would. But I'm not allowed to give out information about my students without direct permission from the prefect.

One of the many advantages Yuei had thanks to its 'special' status.

Ryota didn't believe for a second that the rat had admitted a false defeat.

- But maybe you've got permission, Nezu continued as he straightened up, his eyes shining. Do you, Ryota?

And from his fake hopeful tone, Ryota realised that Nezu was openly mocking him.

- You're protecting him because he's a minor, Ryota continued, "But he'll soon be eighteen - and once he comes of age, neither you nor Endeavor will be able to prevent us from taking legal action against him as a potential threat to our country's internal security.

- Big words, Nezu replied. This boy is not a 'potential threat' to anyone. He's been approached by the Special Forces, and it's highly likely that he'll accept their offer. But you knew that, didn't you?

Of course he knew.

The unwritten rule was that the first person from the Commission, the NCB or the Special Forces to approach an individual had a monopoly on the matter until the individual refused to pursue any relationship with one of the three institutions.

Ryota remembered well the juicy catch they had lost a few years ago, the boy who could manipulate shadows that had slipped through their fingers.

He had been perfect for the Special Forces, but Ryota always regretted that Gunhee had gotten to him first.

- You've just informed me about it

- So he's off-limits, Nezu replied, looking like he'd won a game.

- I don't think you really understand what I'm getting at, Ryota insisted.

- What I think, Nezu replied briskly, Is that you're still angry with me about All Might and that this little meeting is just a waste of my time.

- All Might is a person whose ownership no one can boast of, Ryota replied calmly. What you're talking about has nothing to do with our discussion.

- You don't like the fact that he chose to stay and study in Yuei after you suggested he join the Commission's intensive programme to become a Hero. You don't like the influence I have over him, and you don't like the influence I could have over Shoto, who could very well be the next All Might. You're afraid that my influence will grow too much and that I will become a threat to the country.

Ryota crossed his fingers on his stomach and sank back into his chair.

For a long moment, he watched Nezu in silence.

Nezu had laid his cards on the table.

Very well.

- Since you seem to be in a hurry to get our meeting over with, I'll tell you exactly what it's about: if you leave my office and I'm not satisfied with Shoto Todoroki's case, I'll dismiss you and appoint someone else in your place as Yuei's headmaster.

He handed a document with the Prime Minister's seal to Nezu who looked at it silently.

- I'll turn the school you've built into a ruin, and I'll see to it that all the precious students you've carefully selected from the four corners of the country become good and loyal Heroes of the Commission.

No man - or beast - should have so much influence over the future pillars of a country's internal security, no matter how clever he was.

- I will ruin you internationally and expose all the dirty tricks you and your lackey have been up to.

Other nations would be quick to open their doors to Nezu, until they understood the potential threat they were allowing to infiltrate their ranks.

And there was a reason Nezu stayed in Japan - despite his charm, he was still an animal experiment gone wrong.

No one would want a freak who, foaming at the mouth, would start a civil war in their country.

After all, animals will always be animals.

- I don't need to remind you of the Taiwan fiasco.

That was why Nezu, despite his intellect, was not recruited into the army or the defence.

Yuei was the toy he'd been given to keep him quiet, but even then he'd managed to turn it to his advantage by inventing the bloody title of 'Symbol of Peace', without which the civilians believed the whole country would collapse.

Everyone was now forced to play by the rules Nezu had laid down, knowing that the next symbol would emerge from Yuei as 'randomly' as the first had.

Nezu, deadly calm, had stopped waddling like a child, as he always did to make humans forget that he wasn't one of them.

His shining little black eyes looked up at Ryota and he stared at him for so long and so intensely that Ryota wondered if he was going to jump over the desk and rip his throat out with his little teeth as sharp as knives.

- This has nothing to do with Shoto Todoroki, does it?

- Shoto is the last straw, Ryota nuanced. Either you follow our rules or you're out.

The previous director before Ryota had been far too lenient with Nezu.

In a world where a child could be born with the power to single-handedly wipe out an entire country, leaving an individual like Nezu - with no ties or loyalties - in charge of their development was the equivalent of shooting yourself in both feet and gouging out both eyes; a suicide on countdown.

- Is that a threat?

Nezu's voice was deep, serious. Impenetrable.

But his claws had sunk into the armrests of the chair.

Still more animal than man.

- More like a promise. Remember, the Commission is watching you, and the freedom you've enjoyed has been drastically curtailed.

- I don't like threats

Nezu looked into Ryota's eyes without blinking for so long that Ryota thought he'd turned into a statue.

Then he put the paper down on Ryota's desk and smiled, and all the tension in the air vanished.

- But if it's for the good of the country, I can overlook it. What will it take ?

*

Author's note :

'Janus', from greek mythology, is a two-face deity, god of thresholds among other things.

250 power stones = sunday bonus chapter

If you want to support the story/read ahead of schedule, you can do so on my P@treon, Nar_cisseENG

See you in the next update everyone

 

[Nar_cisse]

The greatest happiness for the greatest number of people was an ideology that Nezu firmly believed in.

As long as he was one of the 'greatest number', that is.

He had done much for Japan's happiness over the past few decades... it saddened him to see Taiwan thrown back in his face at the first opportunity.

Granted, China and Japan had almost gone to war, but it wasn't all Nezu's fault - there had been underlying tensions for some time.

And then he almost succeeded.

What would they have done if he had succeeded?

They would have applauded him, thanked him, and he would have become a defence strategist, or maybe even runned his own Private Military Society, as he had been promised.

Instead, he received an arrest warrant from China and was banned from setting foot on Taiwan or Chinese territory. Big deal.

They complained about millions of deaths, but Nezu had suffered too.

He even had suffered enormously at the hands of men.

The fact that he didn't turn on them and made them kill each other at the first opportunity he had was proof enough of his mercy.

For some reason, Aizawa kept telling him never to share this view of things with anyone.

He may have been dumber, but he was also more human.

That had to be worth something.

- Is everything okay ?

Nezu blinked foolishly at Aizawa, then looked down at the document he was writing.

Large circles drawn, getting darker and tighter until he tore the paper.

- Hmmm

Nezu dropped the pen and dipped his snout into his cup of tea, lapping greedily until the bottom of the cup.

There was something strange about tea that always calmed him down, a bit like cats and catnip.

- I take it the meeting with the Commission went badly?

Nezu sat up straight, his whiskers dripping.

He dabbed at his muzzle with an embroidered handkerchief.

Even if he was sometimes overcome by strange excesses of adrenaline, he was still a gentleman: he knew how to behave in society.

- They threatened to take Yuei away from me and put me on the sidelines.

Aizawa, arms folded and slumped against a bookcase full of knick-knacks, straightened up abruptly.

- They threatened you ? How did you react?

Nezu smiled, his pink lips curled on a row of sharp little teeth with bits of meat stuck between them.

He looked terrifying, like a shark that had just swallowed a human, knowing that it would bring him nothing nourishing except the sweetness of his screams.

That was one of the reasons why he rarely smiled with his full teeth out, and only at Aizawa.

- Very well, actually. I said that I agreed.

Aizawa frowned.

Nezu bent down and closed the cage in which the three remaining mice were circling, stupid animals that they were.

He pushed it under his desk with the tip of his foot and then threw a towel over it.

As soon as they saw a few people, the mice started screaming and squealing, as if they needed to be rescued from some terrible fate. At least with the towel they finally got quiet.

- ...and what are you really going to do?

Nezu took a mirror from his drawer and turned it so that he could see himself clearly. Then he cleaned his teeth with a toothpick.

- What I said I'd do: I'll give him an interview with the Todoroki boy and everything will be fine.

Aizawa, his eyebrows even more furrowed than before, watched Nezu cleaning his teeth with the habit of someone who was no longer shocked by years of this circus.

- Isn't Todoroki supposed to be your next All Might?

- The successor of All Might will be my next All Might. Todoroki is, shall we say, someone I'm saving for later. In case of a big emergency.

Aizawa watched Nezu in silence, unable to understand what he was getting at.

Aizawa was the closest person in the world to Nezu, and even after living at his side for more than 30 years, he couldn't claim to always understand the nebulous thoughts that moved the animal man.

- That Ryota, thought, Nezu grumbled as a strip of meat covered in tiny tufts of hair fell onto his plate. I didn't like the way he talked to me.

Nezu didn't like being treated disrespectfully, because we didn't treat people disrespectfully, only animals.

And Nezu hated animals, so stupid and inferior and unworthy of him.

Proof : he was a vegan.

When he was in a good mood.

Aizawa turned his tongue thirteen times in his mouth, hesitated over the wording, before he finally asked:

- And what are you going to do with him?

There was a knock at the door.

The last piece of meat fell onto the plate.

Nezu rinsed his mouth with tea and put the dirty plate, mirror and toothpicks in his drawer.

He swallowed his improvised mouthwash, sat up straight and smiled amiably, as he always did.

- Please come in.

The door opened.

- You sent for me?

Ochaco Uraraka stood in the doorway, one hand on the handle, looking nervous.

Nezu smiled.

- Yes, come in and close the door.

She seemed to hesitate for a second when she saw Aizawa, then obediently did as she was told.

Nezu studied her carefully as she looked around the huge office with a mixture of awe and respect.

Quickly and stiffly, she crossed the half dozen meters that separated her from her chair.

Nezu motioned for her to sit down.

She smiled anxiously at Aizawa who was still leaning against the bookcase with his arms crossed.

Nezu cleared his throat to get her attention.

- I assume you know why I've called you here ?

The teenager pressed her lips together, her eyes wide open even though she was clearly thinking, the tiny cogs in the tiny brain of her tiny mind turning as fast as they could to get her out of her mess.

- It's because my parents haven't paid for the mess hall, isn't it? We've got the money, really. There was just a problem with the card because we've changed banks. I can call them if you want. They'll tell you themselves.

Nezu smiled without showing his teeth.

- Don't worry: when we set up the boarding school, we decided to make the whole school and curriculum free, so that it would be accessible to as many people as possible.

There were good children with good Quirks that Nezu didn't want to risk leaving because they couldn't afford lunch or boarding fees.

The teenager's face lit up.

- What ? Really ? That's awesome !

She smiled.

Seeing her happy made Nezu perk up and he almost forgot his other worries.

- You know, Ochaco, I have high hopes for you. Your Quirk, well trained, can be extremely useful.

At these words, she blushed and fidgeted nervously with her hands.

- I'm not the best, you know, she said. Compared to Todoroki or Inaza...

- Don't put yourself down, Aizawa interrupted abruptly. Your power is different from the others, and you haven't trained as long. But you also have great strength

She offered an unconvinced half-smile.

- It was you who brought Katsuki back to school during the summer camp incident, Nezu continued. You braved a barrier of villains in the darkest night to save your friend. Such selflessness... it's worthy of the greatest heroes !

Uraraka looked at Aizawa who nodded.

- We all remember your fight at the championship when you dislocated your thumb to free yourself from the hold Shoto had put you in. Such strength of character is something very rare, even more so in young people these days.

Uraraka tapped the toe of her shoe on the floor, looking down at her feet, not daring to look up.

- Oh, you know, it's no big deal, she muttered

She shrugged gently.

Nezu watched her silently, his small black eyes shining with intensity.

He dislodged a piece of meat he'd forgotten to remove with his tongue and swallowed it whole.

- Between you and me, you're one of my favourite students.

Uraraka blinked stupidly, then suddenly blushed.

- I'm sure you say that to everyone.

- It's absolutely true, Nezu pointed out. In fact, it was I who recommended you to

All Might when he wanted to create his special Elite Cell.

Nezu, leaning back on his desk, tilted forward slightly and looked into the girl's piercing eyes.

- You are capable of great things, Uraraka. I'm even convinced that you could be as powerful as All Might.

From the look on her face, the idea had never crossed her mind.

- I have faith in you. Will you agree to have faith in Yuei ? To have faith in me ?

She seemed to hesitate.

Nezu smiled benevolently at her, still without showing his teeth.

Frighten her would only damage all his plans.

- Trust me.

- I... I will

She offered him a small smile.

But for Nezu, it was already a great victory.

 

[Nar_cisse]

I flipped through the report, the pages sliding through my fingers like water, sharingan spinning lazily in my eyes.

It hadn't been that hard to find, considering what I was capable of, but considering the average of what an average super human was capable of, it was tricky.

My eyes glided over the autopsy, the characters imprinting in my mind.

All internal organs crushed.

I turned the page and the photographs of Mina Ashido's squashed body appeared.

The forensic pathologist had done an impeccable job of cutting her up, carving her up gently enough so that the internal mush that served as the remains of her organs didn't spill onto the observation table.

Even with my Sharingan and my extensive knowledge of the human body as a halfway decent Iryo-nin, I couldn't understand how Uraraka could have done such a thing.

What if she'd stuck her fingers in his mouth and activated her Quirk through physical contact, crushing only her internal organs ?

That would explain the condition of her windpipe. But it doesn't explain how she managed to limit the spread so that only the alien's insides were crushed.

If there is a scientific reason for that, there's no way I can find it - I've always been better at fuinjutsu than sciences anyway.

Whatever the way she did it, it meant one thing: Uraraka's Quirk was far more powerful than she let on.

If I assumed that her Quirk wasn't really gravity, then I had two options: either she was telekinetic, or she was able to manipulate matter.

Telekinesis involved more psychic control, which meant she could apply a force to an object, or reduce it in one direction or another, levitating or crushing it.

Matter manipulation, on the other hand, meant that she could deform objects and reconstruct them as she saw fit, for example by manipulating a television into a metal disc.

Or perhaps it is a mixture of the two.

Something akin to a force that she could exert at will, which would allow her to manipulate and exert force on other people and other things.

I turned the autopsy report over again, trying, unsuccessfully, to find anything that might help me understand which option was more likely.

Telekinesis and matter manipulation are so similar...

I was almost certain of one thing : Uraraka couldn't activate her Quirk without physical contact.

Because if she could, I could see no reason why she would choose to work for All for One.

If she didn't need physical contact to activate her power, then she could pulverise anything and anyone that got in her way, just as she had done with the alien girl.

If she kept practising and her power kept growing, she could reduce an entire city to dust with a single gesture.

My left hand shook.

This girl is a threat.

I had assumed that she could only do this with physical contact, because if I had been her, I would have done the same to Kaminari, so that his death wouldn't be linked to the USJ incident and it would be known that All for One had a powerful card in the shadows.

Smothering him in his sleep was tantamount to saying that there might be someone else dangerous around, maybe even in Yuei.

But she didn't want to be discovered.

It was the logical thing to do, especially since the surveillance tapes from the day of Kaminari's death had all disappeared.

If she really can activate her Quirk without physical contact, she could be even more dangerous than All for One.

I was just speculating on what little data I had, but it all came down to one thing : I had to kill her before it was too late.

But she's the only person who can lead me to All for One, and no one has a clue where he is.

I had to find a way to counter her if her Quirk didn't require physical contact.

But between the genjutsu and the fast-track project I'd been working on for a while, which required all my clones and most of my chakr...

A shriek pulled me out of my thoughts.

I looked irritably at the cage of two rats Nezu kept in the shadow of his office.

They were staring at me with their bright little eyes and squealing like animals in a slaughterhouse.

Maybe he keeps them to remind himself of his origin or something.

My eyes went to the door before the handle had even turned.

In a fraction of a second, the file was put back exactly where I'd found it a few minutes earlier, the drawer closed, the spare key I'd made myself was in my pocket, the padlock was back in place, the incendiary device ready to burn the documents if they were forced open was reactivated and the fingerprint light was ready to go.

One shunshin and I was crouched over the front door, henged in the civilian version of Kakashi.

The door opened.

Nezu entered, whistling happily, his hands clasped behind his back, and made his way to the cupboard on the left side of the wall, which, together with all the other walls, formed a sort of gigantic belt of books.

No sooner had he taken a step into the room that he stopped abruptly and turned his head towards his desk.

He tilted his head to one side, his eyes narrowing.

He walked calmly across the room as I watched him, my chakra vibrating on the surface of my skin, the experimental genjutsu I was working on ready to be launched.

He paused behind his chair, his eyes riveted to the underside of his desk.

The rats were still squeaking.

He scanned them in silence.

Then he smiled.

- Ah, I forgot to feed you, didn't I ?

He opened the right-hand drawer and pulled out bits of apple and cubes of cheese, which he slipped through the bars.

Then he opened the cage and started to change their water.

One of the rats bit him and Nezu jumped, almost showing his teeth.

- Bad, bad mouse

I watched him until he'd retrieved the book he'd probably come for, then disappeared in a puff of smoke.

*
- Shoto, good evening.

The representative of the Heroic Commission stood up to shake my hand, and I had a vivid memory of seeing him years before, on the doorstep of my house, between a chubby lawyer and my unfriendly father.

- Good evening

I shook his hand, a thin layer of green chakra, barely visible to the naked eye, running over my skin.

A warning against poisoning attempts, you never know.

The man pushed his white ponytail back behind his shoulder.

- I'm Ryota Nishimura

- Shoto Todoroki, I said, and our hands parted without me crushing his fingers in retaliation for what he might have done to me.

His eyes fell on the towel around my neck and he smiled.

- Working hard, eh ?

The training in the Elite Class was on a completely different level to what we'd had before.

The school curriculum had become intensive and very fast, so that we could get the school part out of the way by next year.

After that, everything would revolve around the idea of turning us into excellent little killing machines.

- Very much so

I finished wiping my forehead and throat with one hand, for I had not had time to shower before I arrived.

I guess I could have sent a clone to the class in my place, but if that meant working on Fuinjutsu for hours on end...

Besides, I already had made enough clones.

- Your little mates weren't too jealous that you got to leave early ?

'Little mates'.

I almost smiled.

They were acting weird around me, and I didn't feel like being sociable with people who thought I was a killing machine that was going to blow up in their faces any second.

No one had dared to speak to me, particularly since what had happened last Tuesday.

Especially since we'd heard that Yaoyorozu had left Yuei.

- Not really

Ryota nodded several times, his benevolent smile never leaving his lips.

- I'd like to talk to you about your Quirks

- What would you like to know about them ?

- Their exact nature and what they're capable of

I sank back into the uncomfortable seat, crossed my arms, raised my eyes as if thinking, and counted on my fingers to help him, point by point.

- Fire and ice, of course. I can use lightning, and my physical abilities are above average.

- But how ?

He placed a recorder on the table. The time read 5 minutes 42 and counting.

He'd started recording me before I came in.

- What do you mean 'how'? I can do it, so I just do

- Is there a pool of energy inside you that gets depleted the more you use your Quirks ?

- A pool ? You mean like a storage tank?

He nodded.

- Yes, there is. If I use them all at the same time, I get tired very quickly.

Not really.

But it was better to tell him that than to explain that I was working on a way to permanently eradicate that weakness.

At the same time, memories of one of my clones came back to me, and the mountains of seals and experiments my clones were working on made my head spin for a split second.

I blinked several times to clear the dizziness as Ryota stared at me, no doubt wondering if I was suffering from some kind of illness.

- And that thing where your eyes turn red, what is that?

- A side effect of my Quirk, I said.

Ryota watched me in silence.

- How do I know that what you're telling me is true?

- I'm afraid you don't have a choice, I said with a smile, my eyes narrowing slightly for him to see.

His face remained cold.

Clearly humour is something that goes right over his head.

- I told you the truth

- And before that, you said that your Quirks were just fire and ice, and that turned out not to be true. What am I supposed to believe ?

- I wasn't very discreet during the championship: you should have noticed that by now.

Nezu's lack of reaction when the 'full' extent of my power was revealed led me to believe that he had already figured it out.

Not to mention the video of the hangar that Aizawa had told me Nezu had...

- Don't act cocky, boy. You're in enough trouble already

I relaxed in the seat, spread my legs and crossed my hands on my stomach, looking at Ryota with contempt and haughtiness, as I imagined Teka would do in my place.

- There's no need to get angry, Ryota. Everything is perfectly fine.

He raised his hand, obviously irritated.

- I don't-

His eyes met mine.

He sighed suddenly, took off his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

Then, in a much calmer voice, he continued:

- You're right, I'm sorry. But you should know that if I'm here today, it's not because I enjoy interviewing minors without their guardians present - I really don't

He was silent for a second, his eyes shining with confidence.

- My superiors are not happy, not at all. Everything would have been fine if we'd stuck to the story that you were one of the brilliant Heroes who saved Tokyo...

He shook his head, sorry.

- But that damn recording had to come out. We didn't even know about it, and (he chuckled, raising his eyebrows to show his confusion) it's quite something for the government agency in charge of Internal Security not to know about something like that.

Of all the lies that had come from his lips, this was the one that sounded most like the truth.

- Because we didn't know about it, it blew up in our faces, you see ?

Because if the Commission had gotten wind of my abilities much earlier, they would have tried to get to me before the Special Forces did, just as Gunhee had explained to me.

If they didn't release the video to use public opinion against my father to get me back, then who did ?

How did All for One got a hold of the video?

Why now ?

I was speechless, unable to comprehend the maelstrom of which I seemed to be the epicentre.

Fuck, what the hell is going on ?

- People want answers. My superiors want answers. They won't let you off that easily.

For the first time in years, I felt that my control over my life was slipping away from me.

- Are you threatening me ?

- Absolutely not. You and I are on the same side. All I want is for our country to be safe. You cooperate with us and we'll leave you alone.

The only reason I even bothered to breathe in the Commission's direction was the threat of prosecution they hung over my eighteenth birthday.

That, and because I was planning to join the Special Forces after school, and my failure to comply with one of the most important laws governing the lives of super humans could cost me my place, according to Gunhee.

Special Forces...

Once again, I had misunderstood the reality of this world.

There were things I didn't understand, people pulling strings in the shadows without me knowing why.

I needed to know.

Which only two things could give me : the Special Forces... and Teka.

- We're not an oligarchy, Shoto. This little interrogation means absolutely nothing to me as a person. But it has value for our nation.

He licked his lips.

- We can't afford to have someone walking the streets of our country with an unknown Quirk, Quirks or whatever it is that you have. It's a security risk that could cost us dearly.

Which I could imagine.

- You're a clever boy, Shoto. You must have understood that the Heroes only deal with superficial problems that might concern the general public. The real war is fought in the shadows, by people like you and I.

As Teka had already explained to me.

- Your abilities - what you could do with them - make a lot of people nervous. Very nervous.

Which I was beginning to understand.

- What do you want from me ?

- First of all, I want you to know that I respect your father and the work he's done for this country, both as a Hero and for his service in the Special Forces.

Not the kind of information you can just stumble across.

- I also get the distinct impression that no one ever formally thanked you for your service in Tokyo during the Gigantomachia attack. Without your presence and actions, the damage could have been disproportionately worse. On behalf of Japan, I thank you for your service.

I nodded, encouraging him to continue.

- I'd like you to remember that there are no 'good guys' or 'bad guys', no matter what anyone would have you believe. No conflict since the First World War has been bilateral.

Funny, considering one of your employees hid fucking microphones in my hospital room.

- What do you want ?

Ryota put his hands flat on the desk.

- My superiors are offering you two choices: either you allow us to perform a series of tests on you, or you allow one of our probationary agents to track you.

- What kind of tracking are we talking about ?

I hadn't even let a hairdresser get a pair of scissors close to my neck in nearly ten years, so I definitely wasn't going to let anyone run a series of tests on me.

Hell would freeze the day I let that happen.

- You know that refusing the tests only makes you look more suspicious, don't you?

- I was ten years old when my medical check-up at school turned into an impromptu kidnapping by men who planned to rip off my fingers and mail them to my father.

Ryota's lips tightened.

- You can understand my aversion to anything having to do with doctors or needles

Ryota nodded.

- I understand completely, and as I told you, the choice is yours.

- What kind of agent ?

- The discreet kind, who won't cause you any trouble.

- Which means ?

- Hawks

- Hawks ?

Hawks the villain killer ?

- Hawks the number 3 himself, yes, Ryota smiled, mistaking my surprise for something other than what it really was.

Then he raised his voice.

- Hawks, please

The door opened.

So that's why it smelt like chicken...

I looked into his piercing yellow eyes, slit like those of a bird of prey.

His hair was longer than I remembered and-

My eyes came to rest on the junction of his left shoulder and neck, where a dark scar stretched like a flowing star, slipping under his suit and disappearing from my view.

I looked up at his face.

His jaw tightened, his eyes taking on a cold glint.

I didn't need him to tell me that these were burn scars.

*

Author's note :

Did some of you caught onto the funny thing that Nezu did behind the scenes ?

Anyway : 250 power stones = sunday bonus chapter

If you want to support me/read ahead of schedule, you can do so on my P@treon, Nar_cisseENG

See you in the next update everyone !

 

[Tackyseven]

why are you calling quirks alters?

 

[Nar_cisse]

why are you calling quirks alters?

Click to shrink...

I'm French, I write in French and then I translate : 'Alter' is the correct word in my language to translate 'Quirks', which is why I may sometimes forget to translate it for it is technically correct

 

[TheKingInBlack]

I just binged the entire story, and I have to say it's one of the most violent and beautiful things I've ever read. 10/10

 

[Nar_cisse]

I just binged the entire story, and I have to say it's one of the most violent and beautiful things I've ever read. 10/10

Click to shrink...

Thank you very much for your comment !

Hope you'll like the next arc.

 

[Nar_cisse]

Hawk's face bent in two, his cheeks lifting to give me a smile that looked as false as it was painful.

- Yo !

He tilted his head and I noticed the scar licking the bottom of his left jaw, as if the flames had had fingers and had gripped his face.

- Hawks would be the hero you'd apprentice to," Ryota continued. That way, you'd have your probationary period without anyone knowing what it is really about.

By 'no one' I knew he meant my father, whose hatred for the Commission was anything but a secret.

- And when you're finished, you won't ask me any more questions or try to force me to do anything legally.

- Of course

Hawks whistled happily, hands in his pockets, and shuffled up to stand behind Ryota, raising his chin and glaring hostilely at me.

My Sharingan almost came to life.

Ryota smiled.

- Well, if you don't mind, I'll let you two get acquainted.

He picked up his briefcase and left the room, closing the door behind him.

Hawks followed Ryota with his eyes, his cheerful expression losing more and more of its consistency as he walked away.

When the door slammed shut, his eyes immediately met mine.

He smiled without warmth.

The chair scraped the floor as he pulled it up to sit.

- Hawk. Nice to meet you.

- Shoto, I replied simply.

His lips twitched, his eyes flashed for a second before everything faded.

He pointed to the scar running across my eyebrow and left eye.

- What's that?

- And your burns?

A joyless smile.

- I've been hearing a lot about you lately. Especially with the media all over you and your family. (Dramatic sigh) And now your brother coming back from the dead... that could make a great series, don't you think?

I shrugged.

- Or an incredible tragedy.

- Have you come to talk to me about my brother ?

- I have to get to know you, it's part of my job. And with all the affection you seem to have for him (sarcastic smile), it would be more than stupid of me not to try and find out more.

I didn't answer.

- Is it true that he tried to kill you ?

- Do I look like someone who would lie to get attention ?

- Yes

I blinked.

Then I smiled.

- I remember you, you know. You're the kid who snuck into the Heroes Awards six years ago and tried to shove me into a fridge.

Hawks mused.

- Sounds like me, yeah. Go on.

- All so you could get my dad's autograph.

- Ah, yes, I remember. You were the little kid who threatened to turn me into a giant popsicle, weren't you ? Adorable.

- And you were the big guy who wanted to knock me out and hide my body so I wouldn't report him

Hawks rolled his eyes.

- Right away the big words

He smiled, I smiled, and no one said a word.

The memory of Hawks shrouded in darkness as he stabbed Twice looped in my mind.

- I'm still a big fan of your dad, you know, he continued in a conversational tone. The publicity stunt for the new 'Symbol of Peace' is really good. Considering the work he does, he really deserves it.

I could see his expression as Touya was about to burn him until dust.

- Did you know that your father solved over 538 cases last year?

I remembered the look on Twice's face when I'd killed him.

- I know he has a lot of assistants, but a figure like that is nothing short of superhuman.

I leaned forward and stopped the recording.

Hawks looked at me blankly and made no move to turn it back on.

- Why do you work for the Commission?

He arched an eyebrow.

- They pay well and the food's not bad

- Why are you a hero ?

- I find you very curious for a kid who dodges every question I ask him

Hawks wasn't a hero, or at least not one that would exist in a Manichean world.

- Where do your burns come from ?

Again the face darkened and the features hardened.

- You ask too many questions.

The expression with which he looked at me was the same as it had been five years ago, when I'd thought he was going to get rid of me.

Perhaps the unstable Hawks I'd glimpsed hadn't disappeared since then.

- Would you be able to kill ?

Hawks stood motionless, his wings spread wide behind his back, as if he were about to pounce on me.

- Could you ?, he replied coldly.

- I already have, I said

- This is a serious-

- Villains

His mouth closed.

- They were going to kill if I didn't stop them. One of them burned a girl alive.

Hawks was as motionless as death.

- My brother, Touy-

The door behind me creaked.

More fluidly than I'd expected, Hawks leaned over the table, his piercing eyes locked with mine.

My knife was cold in my hand.

His closed on the recorder, squeezing the buttons and pushing them all the way in.

The next thing I knew, he was on his feet, holding his hand out to me across the table.

- You look like a promising young man, Shoto. I look forward to working with you.

I shook his hand.

- Likewise

I turned to Ryota, who smiled with all his teeth.

- I take it everything went well?

He took the recorder and put it in his pocket without looking at it.

I nodded.

It was a pleasure to meet you, Shoto.

- Likewise.

Another exchange of handshakes.

They left first, Ryota greeting me with a wave of the chin, Hawks with a lazy wave of the hand, the attitude of someone for whom life is just a smooth river.

The night of the attempted murder, Touya came home covered in cuts and blood.

Maybe I'm wrong...

Hawks ran a distracted hand through his hair, his blond locks rising above the huge pink scar.

... or maybe I'm not.

*
Author's note :

Not even one of you caught onto the funny thing Nezu did !

I'm a bit disappointed because it gave some insight into Nezu's personnality (also I wanted to see y'all disgusted reactions).

For the curious people, it happened in Nezu's office, behind the scenes, between when he talked with Aizawa and then Uraraka went in, and when Shoto broke in to find Ashido's file.

If you read carefully both scenes, it is implied what happened.

It's a bit on the crazy side, too.

Anyway : if you want to support me/read ahead of schedule, then go check my P@treon, Nar_cisseENG

As always, see you in the next update everyone !