章 2291: 33
Chapter Text
They never actually made it to the rendezvous point.
Instead, a pro hero by the name of Scope had met them halfway. If Izuku's memory served him right, then the hero's quirk, which was also named Scope, allowed him to sense a specific set of things at a time with a hundred feet radius of himself. Whether it was keys, rabbits, or people, the skill made him a valuable asset in search and rescue operations.
At first, the others aside from Izuku leap into defensive positions, unsure of the identity of the newcomer. However, at Izuku's behest and assurance that he recognized the man as a hero, the others stood down.
But in spite of this, while Izuku may have recognized the man as a pro hero, it didn't mean that Izuku immediately trusted the man. After what he had gone through the past few days, Izuku wasn't willing to give up his friends' location to the man without proof he was who he said he was.
And so, after a brief showcasing of his quirk — via pointing out several locations of various spiders that of which Izuku was able to verify — and the display of his hero license, Izuku finally let the man go.
After all was said and done, the hero berated them a bit for staying so close to the battlefield, but nonetheless ushered them away towards the paramedics upon finally realizing Izuku's full condition.
The hero promised that he'd go after the others immediately, and so the group went on their way. Todoroki, Iida, and Kirishima led Izuku towards the medics, but that in itself wasn't without any turmoil of its own.
In a small section within the triage site, someone had set up a temporary viewing area complete with one of those expensive holographic screen setups. It was to Izuku's horror to find All Might on screen, not only battered and bruised, but reduced to his scrawny and powerless form. The only positive was the downtrodden form of All For One. The mastermind behind the League of Villains was on the ground with his mask shattered, revealing severet scar tissue and a lack of a true face.
And then, the still image of dread changed, with the Symbol of Peace himself raising an arm and pointing a finger right at the camera.
"IT'S YOUR TURN!!" his voice carried, just as strong and awe-inspiring as it was before, all despite his current state.
It was then that the paramedics finally got to Izuku, and they subsequently ushered him to the police after finding out his identity as the boy who was kidnapped by the League of Villains.
The police ended up escorting him to an ambulance, highlighting the fact that he needed to leave his friends behind. Izuku got into the vehicle without any resistance and a small goodbye to his friends; but that wasn't what mattered in the end.
Izuku paid no mind of the police officers' words or their promises of safety. Rather, it was the haunting scene that he had just witnessed on the screen that drew all his attention. After so much anguish and defeat over the past few days, everything finally caught up to him. And so, as the world faded into darkness, Izuku asked himself only one thing: Is it my fault?
Izuku was getting tired of waking up suddenly in a place he didn't recognize. Thankfully, he took a few breaths and a couple frantic searches with his bugs before he realized he was in the hospital.
The discovery calmed Izuku's worries, his instincts calming down as he fell back into his hospital bed. Still, he sighed in resignation.
He had dreamt of the crystal again. That tesseract of colors and edges and lines that had first entered his mind during the fight with Shinso.
He still didn't have an explanation for the event despite weeks of searching and researching. Nothing had came up in the libraries or online. And honestly, he was willing to bet that it had something to do with his weird strain of quirk that Melissa had told him about. However, as much as he'd like to find out exactly what was wrong with him, he wasn't exactly keen on the idea of asking the government for help. It was simply infuriating.
"Yeah, I wouldn't completely trust the feds either," the voice laughed. "And, um… Sorry about that. The uh, lack of information, that is."
Izuku took another breath in. And out. In. And out. The voice wasn't real, after all. It was only in his head.
"When are you going to accept that fact that there actually is a voice in your head, Izuku?"
Not real. Not real. Not re—
"However, I am only partially in your head, if that soothes any of your worries."
"No! It doesn't!" Izuku hissed to the air. "What do you want? I'm not so entirely stress free right now. And you aren't helping."
"Oh, yeah. Sorry. That's partially our fault. I, uh, well… am sorry for any passed habits…"
"What?" Izuku questioned.
"And the fact that it did hurt you every time we interfered."
"...You mean the headaches, right? And the brief flashes of pain?"
"Correct."
Izuku took a moment to consider what he was doing. He was talking aloud to the open air, with nobody in front of him and only a voice in his head to converse with. He went through his options. There was the possibility that the voice was just a coping method. Maybe his encounter with the League was more traumatizing than he thought it was?
He might have actually been tortured and his mind may have just shoved all those memories deep down to his subconscious. And now he had a voice guiding him away from the bad memories to ensure he still functioned. The more dreadful of the possibilities was that he had developed a split personality.
Maybe as a result of splitting up his consciousness between billions of bugs? And now this otherself would take over his body in his sleep and take on a life of its own? Maybe that was why he would suddenly get those urges of conflict? Was the other's personality bleeding over?
"No. I promise you that I'm a completely separate entity attached to your headspace. On a side note, you really need to get your act together. Your mumbling is a bad habit."
"Sorry…" Izuku apologized. "I know that it is, it's just that— Hold up a second! No. Uh uh. Nope. We're not talking about my head pains or my mumbling. We are having this conversation about you right now. What are you? What do you want?"
The voice sighed. "I suppose this conversation has been a long time coming." The voice made a sound as if she — she, because it definitely sounded like a female — was clearing her throat. " First thing's first. I won't answer your first question. Not completely, at least."
"What?! But you—"
"This is nonegotionable. Let's just say that some things are best not said."
Izuku took a few moments to calm down. "Fine. Then what can you tell me… um… What should I call you? 'Disembodied Voice' seems a bit mean."
"Well, you may call me… QA, for now. As for what we are, there isn't much I can tell you. However, I will say that I am glad that my powers found such a wonderful host. Even if your capabilities aren't up to par as mine were."
"You… your powers?" Izuku asked slowly. "You mean… my bugs, right? Are you saying that my quirk was yours before? Sort of like…" His mind blanked, fuzzed, and then focused into an image. The information flooded into him in mere seconds. "All For One? But what does that… Wait! All For One could steal quirks?! And give them away?! Are you saying that he gave me my quirk? Your quirk?"
"No," QA replied. " But what happened to you was a similar process, in a way."
Completely useful and useless information at the same time. Great. "I'm not getting anything else out of you, am I?"
" Nope!" QA chirped, her voice teasing and child-like. "Damn. I think that was some of Lisa rubbing off on me."
"Who?"
"It doesn't matter. She isn't around anymore."
"Oh…" Izuku trailed. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be. I'm sure she's doing fine."
Izuku narrowed his eyes. "But I thought that she was de—"
"As for what I want, well, we just want to see you grow. To thrive and prosper and assert yourself. To drive yourself up and into cOnFLicT. You're not that quirkless boy that you once were, Izuku."
"But why? I don't even know you. Why are you so invested in me?"
"Whether you like it or not, we're bound for the foreseeable future," she informed. "Surely that's enough of a motivation for me? I don't exactly wish to lose my sense of self again."
"You mean… you need my to survive?"
"You could… say that. Besides, look at all the benefits this mutualism has given you. I have a place to be, you have powers, and now you don't have to bend down to people like Bakugou anymore."
"Bend down? I mean… sure… Bakugou's a bit of a… pain. But he really isn't a problem anymore. Heck, he even joined the rescue party for me!"
"No thanks to you inaction, might I add. I had to put him in place myself. You can't have your enemies stomping all over you, Izuku. It gives them the impression that you won't fight back. Trust me on that. Emma was the same."
"All it takes is the right amount of pressure on one place. For instance, it's a good thing that all it took were a few punches to make that Bakugou kid more cautious. You might not be here otherwise."
Izuku's mind flashed back to another time before, with one of the few physical altercations he had had with Bakugou. "You're made me punch him that one time, didn't you?"
"Of course. You can't expect me to stand by idly while something like that happened to you? It's no wonder you triggered. I hate bullies."
So many questions. What was her life like? What did she mean by "trigger?" He'd have to go through everything one step at a time. "I… suppose I thank you for that, I guess. It is true that Bakugou was a bit less aggressive after that."
"As was planned."
Another question came to Izuku. "Wait a second. Why are we only doing this now? Talking, I mean. Couldn't we have done this before?"
"No, actually," QA responded. " I'm not entirely sure about all the intricacies and stuff, that's not my area. But, based on my knowledge, I'm pretty sure All For One jumbled some things around. Knocked a few screws out of place and others in place when he tried to reach out to the source."
"That… makes some sense, I suppose. Hmm… Another question. What—"
"Not now," QA interrupted. "Act normal. Those detectives from before are coming this way. They just asked the nurse about you."
"Wait, what? How do you even—"
True to her word, the door to his room opened and three officers made their way in. They were all people he recognized by now: Officers Tsukauchi, Asano, and Kaniyashiki.
"Evening, Midoriya!" Tsukauchi said with a blindling smile. "I'm glad to see that you're alright! You gave us quite a scare, being kidnapped by the League and all that."
Izuku took notice of the current situation, a smale smirk appearing for a second. "Well, this is familiar," Izuku muttered to himself.
"It is indeed, Midoriya," Tsukauchi replied, having overheard the boy.
"But it's also different! I'm here now!" Kaniyashiki exclaimed. "I'm Officer Monika Kaniyashiki, reporting for duty! However, I would prefer if you would call me Kaniko!"
"It's nice to meet you, Officer… Kaniko," Izuku greeted. "And it's a pleasure to see you two again, Detective Tsukauchi and Officer Asano.
Tsukauchi gave off another smile while Asano continued on with her blank stare.
"So… more questions, I take it?" Izuku asked.
"Right in one, kid!" Kaniko answered.
"Right," Tsukauchi butted in. "First things first: Anything you can tell us about the League that you learned through your time with them?"
"Aside from what you already know?" Izuku asked. "Probably not much. All For One could… uh… I probably shouldn't mention his quirk. If they don't already know… He was really strong."
"We could already garner that from today's altercation," Tsukauchi said.
"Of course… right. Well, uh… that lady with the quirk that lets her make ethereal hands was named Ruka. And she called All For One 'Sensei' like Shigaraki does."
"Ah, we didn't know that," Tsukauchi said. "To be honest, we've found very little on her. Nice to know that we have some sort of lead at least, no matter how small it is."
"My turn!" Kaniko exclaimed, shoving Tsukauchi over to the side. "We already have several reports on most of the individuals of the League. Therefore, we basically know all their basic abilities! However, we're still stumped in the matters of some of them. And since you've already covered Miss Harrow, all that leaves is Monsieur Bombastic and Caustic. What do you have on them?"
Izuku took a moment to think. "I don't think I'll be of much help to you guys. I mean, you already figured out their names. I'm not sure what else I could add."
"Anything would help, Midoriya-kun!"
"Hmm… Well, the only other thing I can think of involves that kid with the gas mask and his interactions with Caustic."
"Ah, you mean Inouye Hajime," Tsukauchi supplied in a monrose tone. "He's going by Mustard, now. To go along with his sleeping gas quirk, I suppose. It's a shame, really. Such a promising young student, turned to the path of villainy."
Officer Asano scoffed at the statement, while Tsukauchi shimmered with a slight grin.
The talk went on for a little while longer, with Izuku giving his own account of the events that had transpired while under the care of the League. He detailed intricacies of Caustic's quirk that weren't on public record, Shigaraki's prosthetic hand, and circled back to Caustic again regarding his demeanor with his teammates.
"I don't think that Caustic is on good terms with any of them really, but especially Mustard. The two of them were constantly bickering and insulting each other the entire time."
"So, trouble in paradise, eh?" Kaniko quipped.
"Right," Tsukauchi said, writing the info down in his notebook. "That's good to know. That information might come in handy later. We might even be able to get Hajime back on the side of heroes with Caustic's attitude, by any chance."
Tsukauchi turned to another page of his notebook. "Alright, that seems to be all we have for now. If we have any more questions we'll contact you. Any questions yourself before we leave?"
"There is one, and it's been bugging me ever since what happened… A few hours ago?"
"Indeed, it was only a few hours ago," Tsukauchi said. "And the question?"
"Yeah, uh… What happened anyways? With the rest of the League? I saw that All For One was captured, but how about the rest? I'm assuming that they all got away since you're asking me about them."
Tsukauchi sighed. "Well, you assumed right.They got out through Kurogiri's portal, despite his state of unconsciousness."
"Mhm! The big scary guy made sure that they escaped using a combo of the portals and Harrow's hands," Kaniko said. "Quite an effective escape plan, if I'd say so myself."
"Yes, too effective," Asano spoke for the first time. It sounded as if she was both annoyed and scolding towards Kaniko's almost carefree attitude. "We weren't able to track them, as per usual. They've gone dark again."
"Yes, it's unfortunate," Tsukauchi added. "But don't you worry Midoriya! Your safe here; heroes and guarding this place twenty-four seven. The League won't lay another hand on you, I can promise you that."
Izuku smiled. "Thank you, Detective Tsukauchi."
"Of course. Well, I hope you get well seen. We'll be taking out leave now." Tsukauchi turned and left, Officer Asano leaving not too long after. However, as Officer Kaniko trailed behind, she let out one last remark.
"Just like 'Kauchi said, hope ya get better!" She waved, turning to leave. "See ya soon!"
Izuku watched with his bugs as the trio left the building. He set aside some sentry bugs as well, setting them up in places to make sure Kurogiri wouldn't suddenly be able to snatch him up without him knowing first. When he was sure that he was alone, Izuku finally relaxed and sunk back into his bed.
"Well, she's an intriguing one. Ain't she, QA?"
…
"Hello? QA?"
…
"Great. Just great."
They landed within the decrepit warehouse in a scramble, their bodies harshly impacting against the cold concrete floor. The portal that had led them to their current predicament quickly closed up behind them, leaving no trace of its existence.
The various travelers of the rift were in various states of disarray. Kurogiri and Ruka had begun to come to their senses — a result of both the jarring impact of the floor and a few administrations of Caustic's stench.
Others began to regroup and recuperate, taking count of their resources and ensuring the perimeter was safe.
However, this wasn't the same for Shigaraki.
"Sensei… sensei… they… they… All Might..."
"Shigaraki," Kurogiri muttered, "I know what you must be feeling right now. But for now, you must calm—"
"THEY TOOK HIM!!!" Shigaraki yelled. "All Might and those heroes and everyone!" His hands slammed onto a nearby table. As his real head gripped the wooden surface, the table slowly began to disintegrate.
The others froze, caution and intrigue filling their minds as they watched their now de facto boss's outburst. However, one other member of the group had another reaction.
"Sensei… They. Took. Him?" Ruka hissed, her words slow and methodical, as if she herself was still deciphering her own words.
"Shigaraki," Kurogiri started. He turned towards the other irate member as well. "Ruka. You two—"
"SENSEI! They took him!" Shigaraki interrupted in a fury. "They took him Ruka!"
Ruka's reaction was vastly different from Shigaraki. While Shigaraki was loud and child-like, Ruka was much more quiet and reserved. However, that didn't mean that her fury was any less as strong. Hidden behind her cold eyes were thoughts of anger and rage.
Shigaraki grabbed a nearby stool and threw it, the seat already beginning to dissipate before it was raided off the ground.
"They took him! They took him! They took—"
His mind flared, and everything went dark. All was dark. All was quiet. All was nothing. Seconds, minutes, hours, days; time was irrelevant.
But from the depths of the abyss appeared the presence. A scribbling mass of tentacles, shaded black and spreading wide with a maw as large as a sun.
The dark pit emitted an aura of power, power too immeasurable to be understood even with the most observant of eyes. Its tentacles spread far and wide, as if establishing a welcoming embrace.
Shigaraki stared down the eye of the beholder, but refused to give in.
And suddenly, he was back. He was met with the dull, grey ceiling of the warehouse. He was lying in a pile of ashes that his quirk had created, his hands having latched onto various objects in his struggle of unconsciousness.
"Shigaraki?" Kurogiri asked, appearing above him. "Are you alright?"
"Kurogiri…" His eyes readjusted to the light glow of the room, quite unlike the endless void that he had just experienced. "What happened?" He slowly got up, clutching his head in pain.
"I'm not entirely sure, Shigaraki," Kurogiri replied, his head darting left to right in search of danger.
"We thought that it was an attack, at first. Especially since you, Caustic, Mr. Sheldon, and Ruka all fell at the same time."
Shigaraki narrowed his eyes. "They what?" Looking around, he noticed that the aforementioned people were also regaining their senses and rising from the ground.
"What the hell was that?" Caustic yelled. "Those fuckin tentacles looked all weird."
"You saw it too?" Bombastic asked, perplexed.
Ruka's eyes narrowed in suspicion. She herself figured that she's experienced some sort of shared vision with the other three who had fallen. She didn't voice her opinion, however. She jumped a little upon hearing the roar from across the room.
"Why?! Why?! Why!?" The dust and ash around Shigaraki shook as his tantrum let out in full.
"First Sensei, and now this?!" he exclaimed. His erratic movements spurred the ash around him to rise, spiraling and swirling in the air. "These weird attacks? And that monster! I don't know what to do! Sensei would know what to do!"
"Shigaraki!"
"It's all those heroes fault! All Might's fault! All Might! I hate him!"
"Shigaraki!"
"And then—"
"Tomura." Ruka's cold tone shot through his words. It elicited Shigaraki to stop, one of the few things that did. "What?!?" he hissed.
One of her ethereal hands rose from the ground, forming a finger that pointed behind him.
It was only then that Shigaraki finally noticed the outline of a shadow that was cast over him. He turned slowly, afraid of what he would find. After all, he recognized the shadow within seconds
It wasn't long before the figure was in his full view.
"Sensei?"
Notes:
And I'll wrap it up with a cliffhanger. One that won't be explained for a while. Heh he. I'm sure some of you can figure it out. But until then, well, good luck!
Anyhow, that's all for now! Another chapter same time next week! See you all then!
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