Chapter 32 - Preemptive Sword
Ear-piercing, scathing steel erratically echoed throughout the smoke-filled gymnasium.
Yaoyorozu could only grunt in displeasure as her muscles sorely burned. She could already feel her lipid reserves dwindling to nothing. A swift thrust of her polearm seemed to catch her opponent off-guard, yet her efforts were left unrewarded as Emiya merely tilted his head to dodge.
The movement, while slight, allowed him to parry her offense away and send her off-balance. However, Yaoyorozu had anticipated that her attack wouldn't work, so she prepared to receive his attack and captivate his attention.
Deceptively heavy twin blades – falchions, as her mind corrected – crashed into her polearm, causing her legs to buckle at the force. A side effect of an unsteady stance, which meant she couldn't hold on for long– if the sound of bending metal was anything to go by.
Yaoyorozu mentally prepared herself and bent back sharply, hopefully throwing Emiya off-balance as her ally soared past above her. The steel heeled engines that Iida called legs threatened to send their opponent flying back with explosive force–
Emiya replied by not taking the blow. Twin blades faded from existence as a new polearm took its place at an incline, causing Iida's steel boots to uncontrollably slide along it and doing no harm.
However, Iida had succeeded in locking Emiya into place, thus giving their third member an opening. Yaoyorozu inwardly marveled at the flickering mop of green above them.
It was immediately followed by a thunderous echo, barreling down towards them.
Smoke filled the training area. Concrete had shattered, but that could easily be repaired by Cementoss once they were done. Their own ragged breaths were all they could hear. They were exhausted, yet they admirably stayed on their feet.
After days of trial and effort, victory was finally at hand–!
A sudden spray of blades shot out like buzz-saws towards them. Yaoyorozu only had her reaction speed to thank, which had steadily gotten used to Emiya's high-speed combat. A hastily sprouted shield, along with a few quick dodges by her compatriots, were all they could respond with before the dust clouds dispersed.
"Okay. You timed your attacks well. However, it seems to have left you all exhausted. That isn't good."
Yaoyorozu lowered her shield and sighed. She hadn't made it thick enough to stop an average blade, but she did manage to deflect it away from her. That was good enough.
The soreness she felt throughout her body, she didn't feel as good about.
"Not even a scratch…?" Midoriya muttered. However, whatever he was going to say next faded when he slouched over in exhaustion. "… and that's it for me. Sorry, guys."
"It's fine, Midoriya-kun," Iida comforted. "I am certain everyone here is also exhausted," he frowned as he took a glance at the lone figure still standing with twin swords in hand. "Almost everyone."
Yaoyorozu nodded. "Sometimes, I wonder if his quirk also gives him more stamina."
"It'd certainly explain how he seems to be able to be able to get faster and stronger at times," Iida muttered back. "Although, I cannot deny that it makes for a good experience."
"You two are exaggerating," Uraraka muttered as she walked up to them, an enviably bubbly smile on her face despite their shared exhaustion. "But I thought we'd get him with that one!"
"It's like he has eyes on the back of his head," Midoriya lamented with exhaustion.
"That makes me sound like a monster, doesn't it?" Emiya sighed after walking up to them. "You were the ones who told me not to hold back for this one."
"It was one versus four," Midoriya said after catching his breath. "I thought that was good enough of a reason for you to let loose."
After their first training session together, and how much they seemed to improve after it, Midoriya suggested to continue with the arrangement. Naturally, Yaoyorozu saw no issue as it would help to be able to deal with a variety of foes, but the decision naturally fell to Emiya, as he had arranged the training in the first place.
He agreed with the proposal, which led to an arduous long week of training with each other.
Midoriya, after having a breakthrough in their first session, focused on honing the new technique he obtained. The results were astounding, with the teen being much faster than before. However, the biggest breakthrough was being able to prevent his limbs from being damaged whenever he used his quirk – which was an incredible blessing as it was admittedly getting gruesome to watch at times – but he was certainly weaker in power. True, he could still break through steel walls with some effort, but before that, he could have sent the wall flying alongside the surrounding architecture.
But Yaoyorozu supposed that was a good thing, as an uncontrollable power would eventually lead to an absurd amount of property damage, which would certainly come out of his future payments.
Iida had gotten substantially better at dealing with bladed objects. Mostly because of Emiya and her. The swords and knives, things that she was hesitant to create at first, rarely made contact. And if he could not avoid it, he mitigated the attacks by ensuring they grazed the armor of his hero costume.
It seemed that Iida saw that as a very valuable skill, as he only really trained with Emiya when he could hone it. He had also learned how to attack a target wielding these weapons. Somehow, that always seemed to draw a face of worry onto her green-haired classmate.
Uraraka gained less when compared to them, but she had learned how to use her quirk against her opponents while in close quarters combat. There were several times when she managed to catch Iida off guard and launch him into the ceiling. She would almost always let them float gently down afterward.
It was surprising how Emiya wanted her to focus on that aspect of her quirk, instead of the more flashy lifting of boulders and girders. Although, when Yaoyorozu thought about it, it started to make sense. A lot of combatants, including herself, are very used to fighting under the influence of gravity. Taking that away would certainly lead to a lot of openings to exploit. Getting close enough was the main problem.
He had other ideas, such as using her quirk on weapons to render them weightless to use. However, none of them were sure how to handle the lack of weight. Emiya's styles, while numerous and varied as the weapons he wielded, lacked one where the weapon itself had no weight to speak of. This meant that if Uraraka wanted to try to create a combat style centered around it, he wouldn't have any pointers to give. Although, he suggested holding off from using a flail, due to the danger that comes with stopping a spinning metal ball- unaffected by the drag of gravity.
And last but not least, Yaoyorozu managed to perfect what she had come up with on the fly during the sports festival. A sudden spear or rod coming out of her body had almost always caught her classmates off guard, which often led to openings she could exploit.
"Sorry, guys," Uraraka muttered, "I didn't really help that much."
"You helped me get into position," Midoriya said. "If it weren't for you, Emiya would've noticed me earlier."
"To be fair, I did notice you," Emiya said with a wry smile. "The combined attack was good, but you didn't continue off of it. It ended after your attack and because of that, I could gather my bearings."
"… You say that, but it's a lot harder to time things when we haven't been training together for long," Midoriya muttered before sighing. "You have a point though. If I had planned to use my downward momentum to… perhaps I could have created a greater impact, but then that would have… can my body handle shifting momentum that quickly…?"
"And Deku's back at it again," Uraraka muttered with a short laugh. "But, that kick looked pretty good! I see Iida's instructions helped!"
"That was all Midoriya's effort," Iida denied with a smile. "I just gave him a few pointers."
"Don't underestimate what a few pointers can do," Yaoyorozu replied as she pointed at Emiya. "It allowed us to get this far, correct?"
Emiya seemed to withhold a sly smile as he lifted his arm, revealing a tear on his left leg. "I admit, it was hard to dodge from that position. I had to redirect the force to remain unharmed. Although, it seemed to cost me my PE uniform a bit."
"I can make you some new ones, if you'd like," Yaoyorozu offered. It was the least she could do for him, especially after he'd done so much for them.
"No, it's fine," he denied. "I have spares at home and I can sew this shut myself."
Yaoyorozu hid the dull frown from appearing on her face. It wasn't the answer she had hoped for.
Throughout the gruesome week, they had all gained something from their daily training. Great strides were made towards their careers. However, there was one exception.
Emiya himself.
He didn't seem to get stronger training with them, and Yaoyorozu found it more of their faults than anything.
She knew that she was weaker than him. She knew that all of her classmates in this gymnasium were weaker than him, but she wasn't aware to what extent. This training exercise of one-versus-four was initially brought up by Midoriya in secret, in hopes that they could push him further and gain something from the sessions.
The fact that he didn't get noticeably stronger from it was disheartening, especially because today was the last day they could have these sessions. It didn't seem fair that they were the only ones to benefit.
Of course, Emiya had no problem with that, as the content smile on his face would paint out. At this rate, she felt as if she was taking advantage of that kindness.
"I assume we're done?" Emiya said as he went through the messages in his phone, having left the field to the side benches. "Yu's been calling me to makes sure I get home earlier today."
"So we're not going until six as usual?" Uraraka muttered. "I guess we do need to wake up early for tomorrow…"
"As U.A. students, it is our duty to be on time for the professionals who graciously allowed us to intern at their agencies!" Iida declared, suddenly gaining a spurt of energy as he turned to face the locker rooms. "Midoriya, do you need me to carry you? If you need assistance, do not hesitate to do so!"
"I-I can get home on my own," Midoriya denied as he got onto his feet. His PE uniform was covered in dirt from head to toe, but he seemed to be relatively fine. "… My mother will be worried about me once she sees this, though."
"By the way," Uraraka suddenly asked as Emiya seemed to make his way to the locker rooms. "'Miss Yu' is Mount Lady, right? I heard that she's your mother. That's amazing!"
"No, it's nothing amazing," he denied.
"No, on the contrary, it is!" Midoriya piped up with sparkles in his eyes. "Mount Lady made a polarizing impression on her debut, but she seemed to turn over a new leaf over the past few months! She's one of the best professional heroes to debut in recent times, on par with Kamui Woods! You'd think it'd be impossible with her quirk limiting her to a select few areas of the city, but she's proved to be versatile enough to not need it sometimes! And the few times she's needed her quirk, she does so with a miraculously low resulting property damage! Sure, the roads need to be repaired, but the buildings are completely untouched! It's amazing!"
Emiya blinked.
Uraraka smiled as she snorted. "Yeah, what he said!"
"Having a family member be a well-known hero isn't that big of a deal," Yaoyorozu denied with a smile. "It's almost like living with a celebrity. Just ask Todoroki or even Iida–"
Oh. That wasn't the wisest.
Yaoyorozu found her mouth snapping shut as she saw the smile on Iida's face suddenly becoming just a bit forced.
"My apologies, Iida-san," she tried apologizing, but he shook his head instead. She felt incredibly insensitive at that moment, especially because of recent news, and mentally reprimanded herself to be more tactful in the future.
"You have no reason to apologize," he assured, although she felt like she should. "My brother is- was indeed a splendid hero. Nobody can take that away from him. Besides, his recovery is going well, and the doctors say he'll be discharged in a week."
Was.
The fact that Ingenium lived was wonderful, but his career, on the other hand…
"T-That's great news." Midoriya said as he tried to be tactful around the topic. "-but could you give me a few more pointers? I want to see if I missed anything."
In the end, Midoriya chose to change the topic as he prompted Iida to follow him into the locker room. Emiya looked towards them and followed soon after.
"That… wasn't a good thing of me to say, was it?" Yaoyorozu lamented once it was just her and Uraraka left.
"I-I'm sure Iida will get over it!" Uraraka said uncertainly. "Once the internship is over, I'm sure he'll be back to normal. Don't worry about it!"
The class vice-president smiled at her classmate's reassurance.
She supposed it wouldn't hurt to share in her optimism.
Shirou left his classmates at the school gates, as his home was in the opposite direction. Yaoyorozu had offered him a ride with her family limousine– which he was surprised at because he hadn't seen on in real life before, but he denied the offer and decided to walk home by himself.
By the time he arrived home, the sun had already set. Based on the sounds coming from the kitchen, Yu was home too. At least she wasn't spending another night in her agency.
Before she could take him in for an internship, she had to tidy up her agency. Stacks of paperwork had to be worked through and reports to be filed. It didn't seem like a very efficient process, but if you thought about it, the stacks of paperwork made sense.
For each person you saved, and for every villain you defeated, a report had to be made detailing the process in which it was done, including possible collateral damage, which would be deducted from your salary. If you made errors in your report, that's even more reason for a deduction.
Most heroes got around this by hiring secretaries to do it for them, which is actually very common for top-ranked heroes. Unfortunately, despite the good reputation Yu had managed to acquire, not many people are willing to work under her.
If he had to guess, the reason for that would have to be quirk compatibility.
Fire quirk users would work under fire quirk users. There was more to learn and more opportunities to work cooperatively. Conflicting quirks could cause unwanted friction, and perhaps even be detrimental to their duties. When you considered Yu's quirk, it was easy to see how little compatibility existed.
Not to mention the property damage. The near-guaranteed pay-reduction is enough to shy away even the most fervent of admirers.
"Shirou? You back?" She called. "I made some miso soup. I've already set the table!"
"Are you sure you didn't mix up the salt again?" Shirou said exasperated.
"I learn from my mistakes!" She berated, sticking her head out of the kitchen holding a spatula. "Besides, I can't always have you do the cooking!"
Well, that was thoughtful of her. It was true that he was somewhat tired after the workout his classmates gave him today, so perhaps relaxation once in a while couldn't hurt–
"Why do you have a spatula?" He said in realization. "You don't need a spatula to make miso soup."
The following silence he was met with as she looked away was expected, but he was disappointed.
"What did you do to the tofu?" Shirou asked before suddenly entering the kitchen.
"Wait! Don't look–!"
"… You burned it. How did you even burn it?!"
"I didn't know it'd burn that easily! I just wanted to give it a light toasting!"
"It's charred black. You aren't even supposed to sear the tofu if you're making miso, you're supposed to boil it!"
"I wanted to be innovative!"
"How did it even get this dark?" He said in exasperation. "Did you leave it on high-heat or what?"
It took a while to clean up the mess in the kitchen. Yu was right when she said she didn't mix up the salt and sugar again, but burned tofu was an absolute nightmare to clean up. Shirou didn't even know how she made such an obvious mistake, probably from looking at a faulty recipe online… It probably got burnt because she was spending so long online while it was searing, but he did not doubt that she wouldn't be doing it again.
At least she didn't burn the rice. It was a nightmare scraping the piss-yellow stains off.
Debacle aside, dinner went by quickly with Yu regaling him tales of her heroism. It sounded mostly the same. She simply stepped in, picked up a villain, and shook them around until they got dizzy or pass out from the vectors, somewhat similar to how an astronaut was spun around.
"So, it's tomorrow, right? Are you sure you're prepared?"
The nonchalance in her tone was familiar, but he felt the undercurrent of urgency.
"Yeah," he said. "I made some adjustments to my suit and sent a request to the designing company–"
"If you mean the color change, I've told them to ignore that request," she said, giving him a catty smile. "Even the designers agreed it looked worse than before."
Cornered from every angle, Shirou relented. "Fine. Did they at least keep some of the practical suggestions?"
"Like adding the pop-up mask function?" She asked to confirm. "When would you use something like that anyway?"
"It pays to be prepared," he said. "It'll allow me to keep fighting even when conditions are hazardous. Not everyone can grow to your size to disperse a cloud of tear gas."
"I feel like, as a woman, that was an insult…" she muttered before shaking her head. "Not many villains even use tear gas. And if they did, you could just snipe them from afar, which I know you can do. Aizawa wasn't exactly secretive about your physical exam. Seven hundred meters, right?"
Shirou sighed as he elected to ignore that and change the topic to something important. "How are the other pro-heroes in regards to 'that' operation."
Yu's eyes darkened for a mere moment before closing. "It'll take a while to get everyone coordinated, but it'll probably be in three days. The Hero Killer is elusive, and the League of Villains even more so."
The third-rate magus sighed as he considered the events that would play out.
The internship would begin in earnest tomorrow. There was a brief week in which everyone had to rest because it was unreasonable to have students immediately go out on internships after the sports festival had concluded. Although, the school was very generous in giving them this much time.
A week of training, honing the skills of his classmates for when they'd need it. Surprisingly, Midoriya did not need as much instruction as he thought. That honor went to Iida, who needed to be repeatedly taught not to charge in without a plan.
It was very jarring to know that the book-smart class-president was a bit foolhardy in battle. Although, Shirou could feel that he wasn't seeing Shirou as Shirou whenever they sparred. If the random bouts of frustrated aggression were any indication, Iida was seeing someone else in his place.
It took time to dull that frustration and to sharpen his concentration. Some questions had been asked almost daily in regards to how he could improve, and Shirou did his best to aid him, perhaps even more so than even Yaoyorozu.
Somehow, he felt that it would barely be enough.
"Have there been any more sightings of Avenger?"
"One or two from security camera footage. He was caught in the local casino and a few arcades. He just wore a hoodie, so he isn't all too concerned with staying hidden," Yu commented. "Do you think he's baiting us?"
It does feel too good to be true.
"Unfortunately, 'that' operation is more focused on Stainthan it is on the Beast," Yu said, falling onto old habits with that moniker. "Not that I can blame them. One is a villain that hasn't been caught versus one that has already been. It's a no-brainer decision… especially if they don't know about the bastard's true nature."
"But there will still be a team to go after him instead?" Shirou asked. It seemed too much of a bad idea to not have a team at least dedicated to Avenger's capture.
"Until I brought it up, not really," Yu said with a smile, momentarily causing Shirou to sigh. "However, I managed to convince them to make one, along with some conditions. The members are up to me to choose from."
"They let an outsider like you lead a team?" Shirou muttered. "That doesn't sound very smart."
"You underestimate how much people put their trust into heroes," Yu commented. "I'm not sure how it was in your world, but heroes are burdened with a lot of responsibility. It's hard maintaining ourselves to that standard, but it's our duty to live up to it. Although, if we botch this up, then it'll be a pain to get them to trust in me again…"
"Then we make sure this ends up in success," he said. It wasn't the best, and Shirou was sure this could have ended up better, but it was all they had. "How many other members are in this team?"
"Just us, why?"
Shirou blinked.
"Pardon?"
"I mean, you wanted to keep your whole magic thing secret, right? I mean magecraft, sorry," Yu said. "I figured that the fewer people on the team meant that you could go all out with it."
… That's true, but–
"Avenger isn't someone we can tackle alone," Shirou said. "Especially if he has backup. Cooperating with that warping villain let him almost deal with All-Might."
Yu winced.
Although, Shirou was sort of grateful she wanted to help him keep it a secret, at least for the time being. It wasn't like it was a bad idea either. If Angra-Mainyu was alone, then they would be able to deal with him without question.
By his very nature, Angra-Mainyu was the best Servant available in regards to killing humans. While the average person of this world was far more… durable, in comparison to his, they were still human, and thus, easily killed by him. Yu, by the definition of her quirk, made her a giant. It was loose enough to allow her to take him on without certainty of losing.
It was vague reasoning, but she did manage to stop him before all those months ago. He was in a weak body, but Yu only used a finger. They could handle him. Especially if he had no countermeasure to the Black Keys or any of the other immortal-killing weapons in his arsenal.
If he didn't have any backup, that is.
"Speaking of that warp-villain, Kurogiri," Yu muttered. "He's the main reason that the police force hasn't put in the effort to tackle the Beast as of yet. I'm sure you can guess as to why."
Shirou frowned. "The warping."
"Got it in one."
True. Even if they captured Avenger, he'd still escape through Kurogiri, and they couldn't kill Avenger either. It was half the reason taking down Caster was as hard as it was during the Holy Grail War, extenuating circumstances aside.
"That's probably why he isn't too concerned with hiding either…" Shirou muttered. "… At the very least, we can counteract the warping with a bounded field. It should be able to prevent unwanted people from entering… but how it'd interact with Kurogiri's quirk, I have no idea."
They were playing with uncertainties, what-if scenarios that they couldn't account for. At the moment, that was what worried Shirou the most.
The chance that Shirou would die in that fight was unbelievably high. Angra Mainyu was, based on Archer's memories, the weakest Servant to exist. However, he was unparalleled in killing humans, of which Shirou was one. The sheer conceptual advantage that he had over him was almost frightening.
That being said, Shirou knew he could kill Angra Mainyu, but it would be a very hard-fought battle. In an ideal outcome, Shirou would destroy his Spirit Origin and eliminate Avenger from ever becoming the threat that he believed he could be.
All they had to do was strike while the iron was hot. Before 'The Beast' ended up becoming more than just a serial killer in the eyes of the public.
"You said there were conditions that the police gave you?" He asked to reconfirm what he heard earlier.
"Yeap," Yu said with a pop. "Well, I say conditions, but it's really just one request. They wanted me to have at least one member capable of immobilizing Kurogiri, on the off-chance that this manages to succeed."
"… Didn't you just say that it's just the two of us?"
"Yeah… I was kinda banking that you'd have some kinda magic to help with that," Yu admitted. "But if you don't have any, then…"
"I do," Shirou admitted with some hesitance. "However, it'll be time-consuming. I'll have to set up a bounded field that'll prevent Avenger's soul from escaping once we defeat his current body, thus preventing anyone from passing by and getting possessed."
"That sounds perfect!" Yu said with surprise. "There really is magecraft for everything, is there?"
He wouldn't know, as all his knowledge came from Archer's memories, as saddening as it was. But he could lament his pathetic thaumaturgical education later.
"There are downsides," Shirou explained before she could get really excited. "I'm not the best at setting these up, and I'll have to guess where Avenger will show up and set up the bounded field there. If we get it wrong, we'll lose the opportunity."
"How about we set up multiple around the city?" Yu put forth. "There are a lot of abandoned warehouse districts at Hosu. We could use them to our advantage."
"That'll take a lot of time if it's just us," Shirou muttered. If he didn't have any help, then he'd have to pick and choose which districts to set up a field around–
Help.
Shirou frowned and eyed the cellphone he left on the dining table.
… There was one who could help.
"I know that look in your eye," Yu muttered. "I'm not going to like this, am I?"
"That depends, does the police department's requirement for 'help' extend to civilians?"
Yu grimaced.
"Civilians like… a cafe owner?"
"Something like that…"
Yu sighed.
"To be fair," Shirou added later. "I'm not a fan of the idea either."
"Then why'd you suggest it?"
"It was either sucking up and ask him for help, or risk Avenger getting away," Shirou lamented.
"Wonderful," Yu groaned in her seat. She then got up and entered the kitchen, only coming out with a bottle that Shirou was sure was never in the kitchen in the first place. Where did she even hide the alcohol!?
"Your idea, so you make the call," she ordered as she sauntered over to the couch. "I'll be reacquainting with an old friend."
Shirou sighed.
"Please don't be late tomorrow, I still need you to guide me to your agency," Shirou pleaded.
"No promises!"
The night sky was clouded, not even a star to be seen. The trees around him did not rustle, for there was not a single breeze. The only notable landmarks were the shattered landscape, followed by blackened ground, shriveled as if all life had been sucked dry.
In Shigaraki's eyes, it was a perfectly fine view.
"Are we seriously moving up the timeline?" A limbless stump complained. "Does it have to be tonight?"
Torn between annoyance and laughter, Shigaraki simply hummed a nondescript tune.
"We're in luck. The rare encounter deliberately chose to make itself… less rare," he replied. "If we don't take the chance now, he'll make himself scarce again.
An annoyed groan left his compatriot. Shigaraki couldn't ignore the sound of bones sprouting and growing as he wiped the stains off his hands. Kurogiri wouldn't mind if he used the sink later, it was basically his anyway.
"You didn't have to rip my arms and legs off, ass hat," came the usual complaints. "Didn't we just say that this was a spar?"
"You're not dead, are you?"
"Not the point," he grumbled, but he'd get over it. He always did, just as he always got back up with a lax grin on his face. "At least this body's sturdier than before. Gotta hand it to the doc, he knows his stuff."
A black portal sprung to life before them as a trusted ally made himself known.
"Shigaraki, the meeting has been arranged. If you could make yourself presentable then we can proceed."
"No need. What he sees, is what he'll get." he denied. "Angra, get off your ass. You're fully recovered."
"Fine, fine. But I'll have you know, I could've taken you out if it weren't for the–"
"I know. Don't care."
"… Is it wise to bring him along, Shigaraki Tomura?" Kurogiri murmured. "You are aware that our… guest, does not exactly endear himself to him."
"That's his problem, not ours."
Kurogiri sighed. "I shall open a separate portal to the backroom, then."
A step into the black fog removed the arid forest around him, letting an ever-familiar bar take its place. However, Shigaraki did not let his gaze linger for long. His eyes scanned the bar before smiling behind his favored mask, having found their 'guest'.
"Hero Killer, Stain. Finally, we meet."
"Shigaraki, leader of the League of Villains…" a glare was sent his way. "… and the ones who attacked U.A."
Shigaraki raised a lazy brow, not that the guy could see it. He added onto it by tilting his head. "You already know?"
"… I've been keeping track of villain attacks near my choice of hiding. I'd rather not be blamed for baseless manslaughter again," he replied. "How did you find me?"
Shigaraki snorted. "You haven't exactly been hidden these past few days. It wasn't hard to have Kurogiri figure out where you were. All he had to do was follow one of your likely targets and wait for you to show up."
"I had expected to take a few more days to find you," Kurogiri admitted. "However, you've been unnaturally proactive as of late. Care to shed a light on this decision?"
This time, Stain snorted. How exactly he did so, Shigaraki had no idea because he couldn't even see a nose. Weird. "And who do you think I have to blame for that? The news stations won't stop blathering about you idiots."
"Great, don't care," Shigaraki finally dropped his amicable act. It got on his damn nerves when everything was dragging along. He glared at Kurogiri for that. "I want you. Join the League of Villains. You've got much more experience as a villain, don't you? A high-level party-member would be handy to have."
He glared in disgust. Not the reaction he wanted, but frankly, he didn't care either. "And? What merit is there? Your group has no achievements, and I have no intention of investing. The only notable act your group achieved is escaping All-Might's wrath unharmed. That doesn't mean–"
Shigaraki twitched.
"We escaped?" he interrupted without care. "You have that backward. No, we didn't escape. We retreated. Yes, a strategic retreat. Clever, right?"
A sneer was all he was met with. "And you can't even own up to your failings. You're more spineless than I thought."
"Hey, don't be mean," Shigaraki flippantly admitted. "Yeah, I'm annoyed that we were cheated out of a victory, but it won't happen again. Next time, we'll get him when he's all alone. He won't escape us then."
They got away scot-free. Sure, the grunts were left behind for the cleaners to deal with, but the main force? The main reason for All-Might's near-death condition? Still free. Still dangerous. Above all, still ready for round two.
The unimpressed glare he was receiving didn't leave up. "Even if your group is capable of this feat, is that all there is to it? Do you just want to kill the Symbol of Peace – for the sake of it?"
Ah, the guy seemed to get it. Nice, that'll be an easy quest.
"Yeah. I don't like him," he said. "That idiot's smile just annoys me. I want to rip it off his face."
Every time a damned channel shows off the Symbol of Peace, Shigaraki had an irrational urge to break something. He had no idea why. Frankly, he had no intention of figuring out why either. He just wanted to make the source of this urge go away.
Angra kept being his singular outlet. Regular Nomu were too docile for his tastes.
"After that? Hell if I know," Shigaraki finished before an after-thought came to him. "Ah, we should go for those kids next too. They annoy me as much as All-Might, especially those two."
Just thinking about those brats filled him with the urge to tear their arms off. He knew he could do it too, if what he did to Angra earlier proved. But with all that was said and done, Shigaraki was just getting bored again, and sorely considered just leaving the room to ream into Angra, again. That was usually fun. When was this recruitment quest going to be–
"… I had hoped my suspicions were unfounded," he growled. "But I was foolish to be interested. You're the type of person I hate the most."
–going to be over… soon? What?
"You expect me to go along with this flippant reasoning? What meaning is there to a fight without conviction?"
Shigaraki frowned as he eyed the daggers being withdrawn.
"Shigaraki Tomura!" Kurogiri called out in alarm, yet Shigaraki saw no reason to be worried.
… really? A direct attack?
"Angra."
The backroom door burst open as Stain rushed towards him.
In the midst of it all, Shigaraki did not move an inch as a dagger halted in front of his mask, deeply pierced through a blackened palm.
"That stings, buddy."
Stain's eyes widened before settling into a maddened growl. "You're… BEAST!"
"Please, just call me Angra Mainyu," Angra smiled. "I haven't earned that other name yet."
The League of Villain's leader snorted. The bastard had been saying that about his epithet ever since he got it. Something about real Beasts being game-changers.
Stain abandoned the dagger as Angra's hand clenched into a fist in an attempt to grapple the Hero Killer. A frustrated frown later, blades were withdrawn from his back without so much as a sound.
"Ooh, he's got some skill, Shigaraki," Angra said again. "I can see why you wanted to recruit him."
"You disgust me even more!" Stain practically shouted. "You expected to recruit me when you have filth like himworking with you!?"
"Why're you so angry all of a sudden?" Shigaraki complained. "What? Did he kill someone you knew?"
If he did, then he'll just let Stain stab Angra a bit. That usually let him blow off some steam. Maybe take an eye out – an eye for an eye – until he regenerated of course.
"I claim no responsibility on grounds that I wasn't mentally there," Angra said with arms raised in false surrender, a semi-smirk on his face. "Not that you, or anyone, would care."
"That monster slaughtered civilians, without rime or reason. I need no other reason to despise him," Stain growled his explanation. "I see that you not only lack conviction, but you lack standards."
"He's a strong party member, and needed to kill All-Might," Shigaraki idly defended. However, anyone with ears could tell it was a half-hearted attempt. "Even if I wanted to kill him, I can't."
"-doesn't stop you from trying," Angra grumbled.
"I need him to kill All-Might," he continued as he scratched his neck. That damn itch never seemed to leave him. "You can have him after that, if you want. I doubt you can kill him with those blades, though."
The Nomu merely replied by showing his rapidly healing wound, muscle tissue reattaching itself without a single delay.
"That's mean, Shigaraki," Angra complained, again. As he always did. "But, the Stain guy's got a point. Can't half-ass through everything, you know–" In an instant, Angra crumpled to the floor like a house of cards. He twitched once or twice, but he didn't get up. "Okay, this is new."
Shigaraki blinked.
What?
And then, the Hero Killer dashed towards them once more.
Shirou muffled a sigh as he watched his classmates leave.
Aizawa had told them all to meet him at the Musutafu train station. It was here that Shirou and his classmates would disembark on their respective journeys. Some agencies sent representatives, sidekicks with too much time on their hands, to pick them up, such as Asui and Kaminari.
Of course, some weren't as lucky and had to make the trip themselves, but that wasn't a problem. At this age, knowing how to ride a train by themselves was just expected of them.
Did this mean Shirou was also on his way to board a train? No, not in the slightest.
At the moment, he was sitting on a bench next to a very irate looking Aizawa, who looked as if he hadn't even slept a wink since last night. For some reason, he was sending a very obvious glare his way.
And if Shirou were honest, he could easily tell why.
"She's late," he stated.
"Yeah," Shirou responded. "Sorry, I have no idea why."
"You live together, don't you?" He not-so-subtly complained. "How is it that one of you can wake up at the crack of dawn yet the other sleep like a rock?"
He didn't know but simply sighed. "… I did tell her to sleep early."
"Unfortunately, I believe you."
Which led to their current predicament. The pair of mildly irate teacher and student merely waiting out of obligation. It was very clear that neither of them wanted to be there to experience the odd looks the pedestrians sent their way.
"I have to be honest here, brat. I didn't think you'd show up," Aizawa said.
"Weren't we all supposed to meet here?" Shirou replied.
"Students are expected to meet here if they want to be guided to their respective agencies," Aizawa explained. "However, U.A. prioritizes initiative in our curriculum, so if a student wanted to make the trip on their own without aid, they may do so."
That explained the lack of Bakugo. He probably looked up where to go and just went. Frankly, Shirou was tempted to do the same thing, even if only to get a move on with his day. Sitting about doing nothing was annoying him on an instinctual level.
"I wish I knew that beforehand," Shirou admitted.
"I take it she didn't tell you?" He asked, referring to Shirou's guardian.
"I think she wanted this to be a bonding experience before we got into the internship."
A sigh. "Typical, I suppose."
There was a momentary lapse in silence before Aizawa spoke again.
"I hope you know what you're doing, brat."
Shirou raised a brow. "Pardon?"
"Keeping quiet? Fine," Aizawa deferred. "As long as it's authorized and not like your first offense, I have no reason to complain."
Yep, Aizawa definitely knew what Shirou was planning to do. Given that Yu wasn't planning to tell anyone, he must have deduced it himself. "Aren't you going to tell me that it's reckless?"
"Would you listen?"
Touche, Shirou conceded.
"Do me a favor, brat."
"What?"
"Don't get yourself too hurt."
Shirou blinked at him. "I'm surprised."
Aizawa grimaced in response. "At what? Concern from a teacher to his student?"
"More surprise that it's you showing concern towards me."
"Did I make it look otherwise?" At the nod he got in reply, Aizawa sighed from under his combat wrappings. "Don't get me wrong, brat. I hate your attitude. Your willingness to save people is commendable, and I hope others learn to emulate it. However, you and I both know that you'd throw yourself under a pile of rubble to save one person. Which you already did. Your willingness to throw away any sense of self is infuriating. I'd die before letting any of my students try and emulate that. Any teacher would agree."
Aizawa got him there.
There was likely something more there. There were only two kinds of people that took heavy issue with his style of doing things. The first were people who deeply cared about him, like Rin. The second, were people who lost something– people, or even purpose in life, because of it, like Archer.
The life of a professional hero was filled with various situations, some more tragic than others. Did Aizawa lose someone who thought as he did, or at least close enough?
"I suppose I show that frustration much more openly than I should," Aizawa conceded.
The third-rate magus mentally agreed. Shirou knew where Aizawa was coming from so he didn't really fault him for that.
"Let us renege that, then," Aizawa said as he sent a look his way. For once, not an irritated glare. "The past week, you've been helping a few of your classmates in training. I'm sure you realize that the faculty long realized what you've been doing, and openly support it. Extra training could mean the difference between victory and defeat. Thank you for that, ulterior motives aside."
Shirou raised a brow. "Ulterior motives?"
"While your classmates would believe you do everything out of the goodness of your heart, I am not so naive," Aizawa corrected. "You're worried about them, Iida in particular."
A frown worked its way onto Shirou's face. "Was it that obvious?"
"I'd wager that's half the reason his friends even wanted to keep up their sessions with you. So yes, it was."
"And I suppose there's a reason you pointed it out to me?"
"Perceptive as expected," Aizawa all but confirmed. "I know you and Mount Lady are going to head over to Hosu, alongside other agencies. Iida is interning there as well."
"You want us to help him out if possible?"
"If necessary."
Shirou simply nodded. "You didn't need to ask."
"I know," Aizawa simply huffed. "Nevertheless, I wanted to make sure."
Before any of them could continue the conversation, a distant figure picking up dust from down the street skidded to a halt in front of them.
"Sorry! Am I late!?"
"Yes."
"Very."
The two of them shared a simple glance before focusing their shared irritation on the only female of the group.
"Unprofessional. How is it that your kid managed to wake up hours earlier than you and make his way here, whilst you could not."
"I set your alarm, Yu. I know for a fact that it should have run at least five times. And didn't I warn you last night?"
"Gah!" Yu dramatically recoiled. "I'm being scolded by my kid and colleague! Make it stop!"
This continued for a solid minute, almost two hours of aggravation were being hoisted upon her. Many a passerby simply ignored it, but a few mothers had to keep their children from disrespectfully pointing at them. It would have lasted longer had Yu not grabbed Shirou– and the briefcase that held his newly updated costume– and sprinted down where she came, leaving Aizawa in the dust.
Yu, red in the face from both embarrassment and exertion, cried out in dismay. "I just wanted a few more minutes of shut-eye! I didn't know that it'd turn all the alarms off!"
Shirou sighed as he wrenched his arm free to sprint alongside her. They had to make up for lost time anyway.
In the midst of a broken bar, Kurogiri sighed in exhaustion.
Truthfully, none of them had been seriously harmed. A few stab wounds could be healed by their doctor, but the property damage they sustained would take a while to deal with.
They'd have to hire some underground workers, ones employed by other villainous organizations that didn't ask questions, but it was doable.
What wasn't doable, was ensuring Shigaraki didn't destroy his room in a blind rage.
Kurogiri had been knocked out a few minutes after the fight began, but from what he could recall… The Hero-Killer had managed to stun The Beast after licking his knife. However, it barely lasted a minute before he was back up and ready to fight.
Kurogiri himself had been stabbed within that minute, and similarly put out of commission, but for a longer period. It was likely that the Hero-Killer's quirk couldn't properly deal with the Nomu blood in his veins. For once, the would-be bartender was thankful for that, because the fight would have been very different had their sentient Nomu been missing.
Continual ingestion of The Beast's blood every few seconds or so eventually got to the Hero-Killer, so he had to flee with his tail tucked between his legs, if what Angra-Mainyu said were to be true. All Kurogiri could remember was a stab followed by a swift knockout.
The fact he got caught off-guard and stabbed in the first place caused him great amounts of shame. It infuriated him, yet he kept a level head. Knowing Shigaraki, he would want revenge on the rogue vagrant but would take out his immediate anger on whatever was nearby.
He just hoped that Angra-Mainyu was nearby so that their 'leader' could have an outlet for his frustrations. Searching around their lair quickly made it apparent that he was unavailable. The lack of his usual hoodie and jacket meant the Nomu had left the building, likely to waste his time at the arcades.
It didn't make sense to him, that such a high-powered being would enjoy being surrounded by lesser beings, if Master's other– more colossal servants, were any given. It was likely that Kurogiri wouldn't know until he or his Master ordered him to tell.
Given that neither of them saw the Beast as anything more than an unruly pawn, it wasn't a priority.
Kurogiri nursed his aching shoulder as he made his way into Shigaraki's abode, prepared to somehow quell the storm that was sure to come… before stopping in shock at the utter lack of torn wall-paper or destroyed furniture.
The room was clearly damaged, but that was nothing out of the ordinary. Under Kurogiri's critical eye, he only noted one new scratch on the wall, which he was honestly surprised about.
"Shigaraki Tomura?" He tentatively called out. There was always a chance that he had just woken up, and mere seconds from throwing a tantrum. "How are you faring? We had quite a rough night–"
"Kurogiri," he called, both calm and infuriated at the same time. "Where did he go?"
"He?" he momentarily paused. "If you're referring to Hero-Killer Stain, then I am unaware. After last night, it is likely that he fled and is in hiding."
"Which means the next time he appears, will be when he's hunting a couple of heroes…" Shigaraki muttered.
"Yes, that is what we can expect," he agreed. "However, I doubt we are in any position to track him down. Repairs will have to take priority. His scuffle with Angra-Mainyu totaled much of the bar."
"… Maybe we won't have to."
"Pardon?"
"Kurogiri, where's Angra?" he asked but continued before Kurogiri could offer an answer. "Whatever, it doesn't matter right now. We know he's going to be hunting mobs in Hosu, so that's where we'll be."
"Are you certain that we should go after him? Would it not be best to let the heroes deal with him?" The would-be butler hid any trace of a wince as he replied.
This… edge, that seemed to worm its way around their 'leader' was nothing new. It was something he was always familiar with, lashing about like a wild animal with no regard for its surroundings.
However, at the present, Kurogiri knew it wasn't the same as it was before.
"A rogue party member he may be, it doesn't mean he won't join our party," Shigaraki rumbled. Kurogiri was honestly shocked that his 'leader' was having such thoughts, it was uncharacteristic. "He said we lacked conviction? I think he got that wrong."
The floor beneath Shigaraki crumbled as his fingers sunk deep within them.
"I feel very convicted right now."
In fact… it felt like–
"Well said, Shigaraki Tomura."
Kurogiri involuntarily stiffened at the broadcast the room received, lingering thoughts immediately discarded to the wayside. A small unassuming speaker in the corner of the room swayed, almost innocently, from sturdy yet haphazard wiring.
"Sensei…" Shigaraki muttered, yet nothing followed after. The confusion was clear in his tone.
"I'm curious, what do you plan to do from here?"
For the first time today, Kurogiri saw a spark flash in his eyes as his trail of thought picked up swiftly from before.
Yes… it was like…
"Smother the Hero-Killer's existence, completely and utterly."
… A beast on the hunt.
Shirou let out a small breath as Yu finally slowed down, resting her palms on her waist as she took in glorious gulps of air.
"Getting tired so easily?" Shirou muttered, still feeling the irritation from earlier. "How do you patrol like this?"
"Usually, I don't run full-speed in fear of sleep-deprived maniacs," she shot back with snark. "But screw it. We're basically here. Did you remember the way from the station?"
"Even if I didn't, I'll download directions for next time," he answered. Honestly, they could've avoided this whole debacle if– no, let it go. No use complaining about it now. They were already drawing a couple of looks as it is.
Shirou grabbed the briefcase that Yu had pilfered off of him and stared at the building where he'd intern at.
It was normal.
The building was literally a regular skyscraper, save for the horns atop the building and the words 'Mt. Agency' plastered at the very top. If it weren't for the fact that Shirou was looking for signs that it was a hero agency building, it was likely he'd never notice.
"Creative."
"Not another word," Yu warned. "Do you know how expensive it is to hire construction, especially when said expenses are purely aesthetic and by no means necessary? I don't exactly have All-Might levels of funding."
"Well, at least they won't confuse the building for any other hero," Shirou muttered, trying to ease his way out of what was clearly a sore spot. Even if he had no idea why it was one.
He blinked at the lack of reply.
"Yu?"
"Sometimes, people think my agency belongs to the bull-hero down the road."
The lack of energy in her reply was painful.
"Sorry."
She simply sighed and shook off whatever funk she had gotten herself in. "Don't mind it. I've gotten used to it. Come on, my sidekick should be there handling all the paperwork… Paperwork that I should be doing right about now."
The automatic doors opened and let them in. For some reason, Shirou expected there to be a couple of officers at the front, but the hall was basically empty.
Sure, there were a couple of regular businessmen walking about, but they looked less like employees under Yu and regular office workers. A few of them cast an intrigued glance, but quickly went back to their jobs. A few whispers were shared between employees, but Shirou didn't want to listen in.
"Wondering what's with the suits?" Yu playfully asked once they passed by a couple of them. "They're just your average Joe's, regular medium-wage workers. Do you know why?"
Shirou raised a brow at her new, more professional, attitude. Perhaps it was the atmosphere. "Not really. Why?"
"We basically share the building. You know how not many aspiring heroes want to be a sidekick for little ol' me, right?" A quick nod and she continued. "Yeah, that means I have a lot of free offices. The upper floors are where my secretary and I do all the paperwork. File reports on property damage, villains captured, and give statements on if other heroes intervened or not. That sort of thing. Usually, it'd be done by sidekicks…"
Shirou nodded. Only after they got on an elevator did he ask another question. "So, what do they do, the office workers that is?"
"A newbie call center business for an up-and-coming tech company," She answered. "Yeah, pretty mundane. This kid– son of my mom's friend, wanted to start his own company but didn't have any contacts in the city. I had free space so I let him have it, is that weird?"
Her adopted son just shrugged. "As long as they aren't in any danger by working within a hero agency, I don't see a problem."
"Yeah, we had a few close calls…" Yu reminisced. "Luckily, we're near a station, so even if I'm not around, there'll be the police to help out. Don't underestimate the police, by the way, they cover what we as heroes can't."
"I'd never do that," Shirou replied. "Do I give off that impression?"
"No, not really, but it's one of the things that we're supposed to drill into you during this internship," Yu admitted. "That, and show you what a day in the life of a hero is really like."
Once the elevator doors opened, revealing that they were on the eleventh floor, Yu took only one turn before opening a nearby door. It made a beeping noise after she put her thumb on the doorknob, so it was probably safe to bet it was a scanner.
"Let me guess, all the boring details included?" He added.
"Yeap," she said with a pop. "The importance of this will be drilled into by your third year in U.A., but it's never too early to drop a bunch of documents on kids and call it homework."
At that, Shirou finally frowned. "Yu."
"I know, it was a joke," she said playfully. Her smile faded as she stepped into her office. They both knew why they were doing this internship, and delaying any further would only hurt their progress.
They passed by her secretary, who seemed to be wearing a helmet that obscured his upper face. This must be one of Yu's few sidekicks, if not then her only sidekick.
He had a stack of paperwork on his table, but Yu paused to take a look at it in concern. "Are any of those for me?"
"A few," the secretary admitted as he patted down the stack. "However, it shouldn't take too long. Your signature is all these will need. I've already looked through them ahead of time."
Shirou blinked. "Does everyone in the building know?"
"About how Mount Lady's personal 'bring-your-kid-to-work-day'? I'd wager a fair few were gossiping downstairs," the secretary mused with a small chuckle. "Pleasure to meet you. I am Jimina Hitohito, your mother's secretary."
"He's been here at the agency since I made it," Yu informed. "He doesn't help out in taking villains down at all, just in case you're wondering."
"I'd dread the idea of it, Mount Lady," he replied with a frown. "However, I consider it very lucky that I obtained a job here, regardless of how hard it was in the first few weeks."
"First few weeks?"
"We don't talk about that!" Yu suddenly yelped. "Come on Shirou! Let's get you changed! There's an empty room down the hall, you can't miss it!"
"You're mother broke the roof several times in her first few weeks."
"Hitohito! Why!?"
"Payback for the insurance I've yet to receive, for surviving those cave-ins…" he muttered.
As they argued, no doubt a familiar occurrence in the office, Shirou found the room Yu was talking about and went inside. It was basically a storage room, one filled with file cabinets and physical copies of all her deeds. Essentially a backup for if the digital copies ever got corrupted.
Based on the dresser in the corner, it was also a changing room.
All-in-all, the Mt. Agency was pretty average. Empty and average, but that suited Shirou's needs just fine. He didn't need a lot of sidekicks trying to get to know him, not when he and Yu weren't going to be staying there for long.
Once Yu got everything she needed from the building, they would depart for Hosu and get started on a bounded field, one that would trap anyone inside and prevent anyone from entering. Basic hypnosis would make the average person ignore the area within the bounded field, they wouldn't even believe it was a place at all.
It, in theory, would prevent Avenger from leaving, as well as prevent someone like Kurogiri from coming to his aid. However, Shirou had no idea how a quirk like his would interact with the magecraft. Would it even work at all?
Regardless, it didn't hurt to try, which was why they were leaving as soon as possible.
Shirou slipped on his costume and grimaced. There were only minor changes were made to it, yet they would greatly aid in the battle to come.
The arm guards were made lengthier to cover his entire arm, connecting to the black body armor underneath, which would provide much more protection once he reinforced it with magecraft. The steel-tipped boots were slimmed which made them weigh less while still retaining their durability, as the extra mobility would be needed against Avenger. Finally, the coat had soft cushions near the back to prevent him from taking much damage, for when he was inevitably going to be kicked into a wall.
Unfortunately, the color remained the same. Damn it.
He checked the side holsters, noting how there wasn't anything inside. He'd have to make a quick stop at a pharmacy to get some bandage wrap, and perhaps some ointment for if Yu got hurt in their clash.
"Are you done in there?"
"Yeah, but I'll need to make a stop at the pharmacy."
"Alright, don't take too long. We'll take the train to Hosu."
Shirou didn't bother to reply, as Yu wasn't expecting one either.
It might seem to be counterproductive to leave the train station when they were just going to return right after, but it couldn't be helped. Those documents needed to be signed, she said. At least it wouldn't take long.
They already wasted enough time today.
The sooner they set up the bounded field, where Avenger would most likely be, the better.