It's been two days since all of the worst villains were broken out of prisons across the country and cracks and seams are starting to become apparent in the integrity of society.
In the dim room Garaki was being kept in, a florescent light flickered as the door opened, and he looked up with his arms behind his back.
Officer Tsukauchi, with Inochi and Ino behind him, walked into the sterile environment and Garaki smiled, seeing the group, "Ah, the leading Nuerosurgeon's daughter. I see what you're trying here."
Ino rubbed her arm and Inochi put a hand on her shoulder. Tsukauchi asked, "You know about her quirk already?"
"Why of course. The ability to enter someone's mind and control them or read their thoughts is something I had been considering kidnapping her for."
Inochi glared and Ino hesitantly stepped forward. "It's alright, he's restrained, he can't do anything to you."
Ino gulped and got closer to him, "Right... remind me again what I should be looking for?"
Tsukauchi whispered to her, "Anything you can regarding info on AFO, the creation of Nomu, and how he duplicates quirks."
She nodded and slowly placed her hands on either side of Garaki's head. The doctor's smile never wavered as her eyes glazed over, consciousness slipping into his memories.
Sudden darkness, then flashes of light. Ino felt herself falling through fragments of memory like reels, decades of experiments and horrors rushing past her. She focused her energy, searching for specific memories.
The mental landscape stabilized around her. She found herself in a sterile laboratory and thought, 'This place looks decades old... but it is super advanced at the same time.' She saw Garaki, who looked like the same doctor that's been working in Jaku for decades, standing over an operating table where a young teen with orange hair lay strapped down. His eyes were glazed over and he groaned.
"Subject 6," Garaki's voice echoed through the memory. "Given name, Yahiko. Surname, unknown. Age fourteen. Naturally possesses a quirk that manipulates gravity."
A tall man stood in the shadows with only his silhouette visible. "And you believe he could be a good potential vessel?"
"His genetic testing shows remarkable compatibility. He's already shown no issues handling a quirk that absorbs energy. He's a real anomaly, a one-in-a-billion kid with the natural aptitude to handle multiple quirks."
AFO emerged from the shadows, and Ino's eyes went wide seeing him with his face intact. His presence, even in memories, was overwhelming and suffocating. "Then proceed, doctor. See how many he can handle. Whether he becomes my vessel or not, he could be a valuable member for my High Guards."
Garaki nodded eagerly, preparing a series of syringes. "I have five prepared for him already. Weapon creation, soul-sucking, regeneration, and a stamina booster."
The boy's eyes, a normal brown color dilated as he blinked and cringed seeing the needles, "Wha-what are you doing to me?! Where's Konan and Nagato?!"
The first needle entered him and he screamed, "Relax, Yahiko," Garaki whispered. "Soon you'll be more than human. You won't need friends anymore, you'll be Pain."
The edge of Ino's mouth curled up staring at Garaki 'Sick bastard... Did he say his name would be Pain? That's one of the people that AFO broke out of prison!' She observed all of the needles as each one entered the boy while Garaki laughed. 'No wonder it took All Might to put him in jail back then when he had all those quirks... to think he was forced down this kind of path at just fourteen...'
The roof slowly dissolved, becoming watery and dripping at an increasing speed until the ceiling tiles fell, revealing a stormy night sky. With a flash of lightning, the room transformed into an alleyway with brick walls on either side. Ino blinked and found herself in the passenger seat of a car next to Garaki. She looked out the windshield and saw a bloody blue-skinned young man standing over seven hooded people unconscious on the ground. He was heaving and his right arm slowly transformed from a scaly mass with a mouth back into a more normal arm. Ino thought, 'Is this... Kisame?'
Both she and Kisame heard clapping and turned to see AFO coming into the light of an overhead lamp, "Impressive, young man."
Kisame glared, "Who are you? Were you trying to get some next?" He revealed his pointy teeth and AFO's smile remained unfaltering while slowly walking toward him.
"Quite the contrary, I've come to offer you shelter. While people out here may fear your appearance, I see great potential in you."
Kisame relaxed but remained guarded, "And why would you help someone like me?"
AFO spread his arms wide. "Because this corrupt society has a narrow definition of human, I want to build something new for the exceptional... a place where strong people like you would be celebrated, not ostracized."
AFO's voice was soft and Kisame fell silent, leaving the only sound to occupy their ears being the dropping rain. Kisame finally spoke after a while, "You probably want something in return though, right?"
AFO reached out for a handshake, "Just your loyalty... and perhaps the chance to make you even stronger."
As their hands slowly connected for a handshake, the memory dissolved and Ino continued to explore different ones. At the same time the UA students were still recovering in the Hospital.
Sasuke sat on a bench in the hall with a bandaged torso. He stared at the TV in the corner and saw active battles between the villains and heroes in the streets of run-down cities. A News reporter spoke, "Things are looking dire out here in cities across the country. The situation has been brought under control in a select few places, but villains run rampant in a much larger number of cities. The people are still wondering where the Number 1 Hero is and when he'll say something. In the meantime, heroes are suggesting to run on sight if you see Villains like Pain or Hanzo..."
Sasuke overheard whispers from the doctors, "It's no good, we can't resuscitate Gran Torino. The damage is too bad for his old body to keep up with."
Sasuke clenched his fist, thinking about everything that happened, 'Midnight's dead, Gran Torino's dead... and with guys like this running rampant, who's next?... that Obito guy kept me distracted for such a long time; something like that could happen again…'
He stood up and strolled down the hall. He made his way toward Midoriya's room but met Mina in the hallway. She blinked, "Sasuke?"
"Mina," He looked her up and down, noticing some redness around her eyes and a lack of injuries, "Seems like you came out physically unscathed."
She rubbed the back of her head with a small smile, "Yeah... I almost got crushed by Gigantomachia, but Kirishima saved me."
Sasuke frowned at the mention of the giant, "I'm glad he did..."
Mina's smile faded when she looked up at him, "Speaking of that monster... What happened? You weren't able to stop him?"
"I could have, but someone named Obito held me up."
"Obito?" She tilted her head.
"Yeah, I couldn't find anything about him online, so he must have been staying in the shadows like Re-Destro. He stalled me on purpose..."
Sasuke's fist clenched, remembering the altercation, and Mina grabbed his hand, "Well, next time, that won't happen... I was thinking... Once we're released from the Hospital, do you think we could try to spend some time together?"
She looked at him with hopeful eyes, but his expression hardened, "Sorry... but no, not now."
"No?" She frowned.
"Everyone needs to get stronger, now more than ever."
She looked down and pulled away, "I know that... but we've talked about this balance before with training and—"
"—No... this is different, M—"
"—It's not different!" She raised her voice. Sasuke tensed up and some people walking by stared. She took a deep breath and stared off to the side. "One of our teachers died, and I almost got crushed to death, so maybe… MAYBE I just wanted to spend some time with you... but I guess even a day of more training is more important to you..."
Sasuke was silent for a minute. Her words reminded him of a conversation he'd had with Edgeshot during his work study. "You're overthinking it," Edgeshot had his arms crossed leaning against the dojo wall while Sasuke rubbed ice on a minor burn. "Sometimes when a girl is upset, they don't want solutions. They just want to know you care."
Sasuke frowned. "That makes no sense."
Edgeshot chuckled, "Relationships rarely do, especially with women."
Sasuke pointed out, "You seem to know a lot about this even though I've never seen you with anyone."
Edgeshot laughed, tapping his forehead, "Coaches don't play, Sasuke. We just call the shots from the sidelines."
Sasuke stared at Mina in the hospital and stretched his arms out to pull her into a hug. She tensed up some, "What are you doing?"
"Come on," he pulled her in and she slowly melted into it.
After a minute she sighed, "Sorry for saying that..."
"It's fine, it's not like I don't want to hang out, but considering how the country is being torn apart and that we can get attacked at any time, we can't afford to relax too much. Most of the class is still too weak to help fight what AFO has on his side right now. That's why we gotta get stronger."
They pulled away, and she replied, looking down, "You're right... yeah..."
He stared at her for a while before reaching up his hand and tapping her forehead like his mom used to, "We can do anything you want once all the fighting is finished; I just can't risk anything right now."
She felt her forehead and half-smiled, "What was that?"
He turned away, "I don't know... it just felt like it made sense."
She lifted an eyebrow before sighing, "Well I'll hold you to that then... That better be a promise."
"It is."
They waved before separating and Sasuke arrived at Midoriya's room. He stared into the room where Midoriya was still unconscious while Class 1A students stood around his bed with mostly solemn expressions, excluding Bakugo's glaring. With the state of heroes in Japan, they all silently knew that they would be expected to step up to the incoming threats. The image of AFO's High Guard and the Nomu crossed Sasuke's mind and he thought, 'All of them will have to be strong enough to take them down... we can't half-ass anything anymore.'
He entered the room and the class stared at him. "How is he?" Sasuke asked, his voice softer than usual.
Uraraka wiped her eyes. "Stable... but they don't know when he'll wake up."
Sasuke nodded, scanning his exhausted classmates. Bakugo and Todoroki were bandaged up almost head to toe while the rest had more minor injuries. After a moment of silence, he spoke. "When we're released, we need to train together. All of us."
Jiro looked up, "Train?"
"Yes, we were too weak, and because of that thousands ended up dying on our watch."
Kaminari looked down, "Our watch... weren't you supposed to stop that giant?"
Jiro called out, "Kaminari!"
Sasuke answered, "No, he's right, I was, and I was going to until someone with a quirk like Mirio's stopped me... To put it bluntly, right now outside of me, Todoroki, Bakugo, Mina, Midoriya, and Tokoyami. Most of you guys are liabilities against what AFO has on his side now. I need you guys to catch up."
Sasuke's expression was firm and he sparked some glares and frowns among his classmates.
Hagakure said, "Excuse us?"
Sero said, "Dude, Midnight just died. We all nearly did too. Maybe we should take some time to-"
"-Sasuke's right!" Kirishima called out with a clenched fist. "Besides Mina... you guys didn't see what Midnight looked like after she died... I... I don't wanna see any of you guys looking like that! We gotta get stronger if we're gonna beat those guys!"
Momo rubbed her arm, "None of us want to see each other dead, Kirishima... but maybe we just need time to-"
"-Time is what we don't have! Kirishima gets it. Do you think the villains are mourning? No, they're out there planning their next move and killing people. I'm not saying we can't mourn, but we can honor them by getting stronger and protecting the people still here."
The class fell silent until Todoroki spoke up, "I'm with Sasuke on this... I talked to my Dad, and... he won't be able to bring down Toya, and if that's the case, then I have to be the one to handle my brother."
Bakugo stated, "I'm not sitting around on my ass mopping either; if I'm gonna kick Shigaraki's ass, I gotta get out of this hospital as fast as possible."
Slowly, after murmuring among themselves, more and more of the class opened up to the idea, and Kendo peeked into the room, "Sorry to but in, but do you mind if we join you guys?"
Momo said, "Kendo? What are you doing here?"
She entered the room, "I wanted to check on you guys; we all go to the same school, so I'm gonna be concerned. I heard what you guys were talking about, though; I'm sure the rest of 1B would wanna join in."
Sasuke shrugged, "No reason not to."
Kirishima said, "It's settled then. Hopefully, we can get released from here soon."
Later that day while Todoroki talked to his family, Hawks and Best Jeanist came into the room. Hawks had some burn scars, but his wings were half-recovered, "Pardon us, but could we accompany you guys on your family outing? Since I was discharged yesterday I've been running around gathering intel..."
Best Jeanist added, "The root cause of your son's grudge could provide a lead in this investigation. We can ask him directly how he survived the blaze and transformed into "Dabi."
Hawks said, "Oh yeah, now this didn't come up in your discussion about Toya, but is Shoto's burn here your doing, Endeavor?"
He put an arm on Shoto's shoulder and he mumbled, "Um... personal space?"
His mom cut in, "That was me."
Hawks got off Shoto's shoulder, "I see... Shoto, you're a class act," he turned back to Endeavor, "Endeavor, it's hell out there, you know."
Endeavor replied, "I know."
Hawks continued, "Shigaraki, Dabi, Toga, Spinner, Skeptic, 132 Liberation Front members who escaped, and seven near high-ends. Not to mention that over 10,000 convicts were freed from seven prisons across the country. Most notable of which are Kisame, Pain, and Hanzo, who, in combination with all the public criticism, are forcing heroes to retire... Then there's the fact that villains are a lot more daring now and that the people who have lost faith in heroes are fighting back on their own, causing even more chaos and destruction... it's... really bad out there..." he looked down, "On the bright side, the HPSC is still standing since Nagant was around at the time to protect them. Madam President and the government have been working on trying to get help from foreign countries around the world, but... they're scared to but in. Some countries like America have become more secretive and distant from us... all of that in just the past two days. Safe to say your only option is to fight on. But we still will, too; the responsibility isn't all yours, Number 1!"
"But... what would you..."
"Even if what Dabi said about the Todoroki family is true, I know that you're different now. I'm gonna lend my full support to anyone that's trying to do better. And on that note, how about we have a top-three hero team up?"
Jeanist added, "I put my life into Hawk's hands from the start, and I'm used to walking this hellish catwalk already."
"Now that me and your family have helped lighten your load, do you think you can stand up and move forward?"
Endeavor teared up and answered, "Yes!"
His family stood by in silence and Natsuo spoke up, "This is only until we stop Toya, got it?"
"Yes!"
While Endeavor wiped away his tears, Hawks continued, "Sorry if I seem pushy, but first you gotta give the people an explanation. Now that Dabi's explanation is public there's no way around it. I have a statement prepared already, but there's one thing I'm still fuzzy on... One For All. What is it exactly?"
The end of the week rolled by and Sasuke walked into Midoriya's room to see him stirring awake. He perked up and approached him, "You're finally awake."
Midoriya clenched his eyes at the sunlight beaming into the room and Sasuke closed the curtains. "Thanks... what... happened?"
"We lost. They escaped and broke out thousands of convicts that are terrorizing the country right now."
Midoriya's eyes widened and he stared up at the ceiling, "I... wasn't strong enough... even at 50%... it just wasn't enough..."
His voice croaked, and Sasuke replied, "None of us were; that's why we gotta get stronger, especially since AFO could strike at any time. When you get released from the Hospital you should join the rest of us for training."
Midoriya remained silent recalling his long talk with the predecessors of One For All. He thought, 'I'm like a magnet for trouble... he can see me no matter where I am at all times... should I really be staying here with everyone? Won't I just be putting them in trouble?'
The thought crossed his mind of all of 1A hanging out together, training,, and AFO invading from out of nowhere, killing them all. Sasuke, noticing the silence, thinks about mentioning Gran Torino but decides against it. He sighed and backed away, "I'll give you time to think about it."
Midoriya remembered one last thing from his meeting with the predecessors. The statement rang in his mind, "Someone who already has a quirk can't accept OFA without their quirk factor warping and spilling over. Attempting to force it will just result in a shortened life span for the user."
"Sasuke."
He turned back to him, "Yeah?"
"You have multiple quirks... I was just wondering if you... if you've ever felt sick or weird since gaining so many?"
Sasuke pondered the question, "Just once when I was younger, why?"
Midoriya frowned, "I've been... talking to the previous users of OFA for a while. They mentioned how having more than one quirk can mess with a person's lifespan, so..."
Midoriya looked down and Sasuke thought back to his interactions with Danzo, "Oh yeah, I've known about that already."
"You have?" His brows raised.
"Yeah, I knew someone who was dying cause of that; you don't have to worry about me, though. I have an aptitude for handling multiple quirks, so I'll be fine."
Midoriya smiled, "That's a relief..."
Sasuke's phone buzzed and he saw that it was a text about training, "I gotta go, I'll get some of the others to check on you."
Midoriya waved weakly and they parted ways, and by the next day, Midoriya ran away from the hospital and left letters to everyone in Class 1A, reading: Thank you for everything, I felt that I had to reveal my secret to everyone in Class 1A, so I'm leaving these letters for you guys. My unique power was passed down to me from All Might. Which is why Shigaraki and AFO are coming after me.
Sasuke folded up the letter and recalled his own past vendetta he went off on his own for simply saying, "Fool."