Momo breathed heavily as she placed Ejiro into the ambulance. Sure he was badly hurt along with Rikido, and numerous other casualties she didn't see on hand, and sure they only survived because Rappa 'found them fun' and wanted a rematch, something that gave her chills, but she was a woman who learned to look at the positives. One of them being how slim she got after that battle.
"It's a bit strange." One of the officers that was talking to Ryukyu and her agency said, getting their report. "The underground is nothing but shambles, but pretty much everything topside is completely fine. It's actually pretty clean for such a big raid."
"Yeah, the houses and buildings around are pretty much intact with no damage." Nejire-chan wondered.
"According to a civilian other than where the monster walked he wasn't anywhere on the ground, the kid shot him in the air and just started wailing on him … violently … pretty sure an arm crushed someone's bathtub." Another officer spoke up, trying to get testimonies and reports for a concise timeline.
"Yeah, Kettie launched him into the air when he combined himself with the energy vampire guy." Nejire looked up into the sky. "Kept him up in the air to keep him away from anything he could use his quirk with, and threw him back down near the hole, keeping damage low. That takes a lot of planning to come up with in such a short amount of time. Not bad, little bro, not bad."
"Well he did team under Nighteye." Momo smiled. "I'm sure he got some wisdom out of it." After all, she herself got plenty of experience and wisdom. And Kirishima proved himself the strongest of them all.
"So … manly." He tried to speak and raise his fist high, even as the paramedics tried to restrain him with bandages.
"Iruma!" Ochako was focused more on watching over the blue haired boy with Tsu, who was unconscious on his own stretcher. "You did it! You saved Eri just like you said you would."
"Give him a little space girls, he's a bit spent." The paramedic spoke to them as they took him off. "Doesn't look like he's too injured though, if at all. He'll probably just need a day in the hospital to recover and look over his internals." The man shoved the boy into the van, Eri, the girl they did so much to get safe, desperately trying to follow.
"It's going to be alright." Aizawa held the girl as the ambulance drove him off. "You'll be able to see him again soon, I promise."
"Please let him be okay. My cur…my power didn't make him disappear." She cried in the man's arms. "He needs to be alright. I need wolfman to be okay."
"Don't worry little one." Lemillion came over with a smile. "He's gonna be okay, Eraser and the Doctors will help him."
"No! Chisaki is a doctor and he ripped me open! He can't go there!" Oh right … that was a thing.
"No, we're taking him to the good doctors. The ones that help people or we punch them like we did Chisaki, the mean old birdman." Nejire Chan went to her using exaggerated movements. Wasn't she empty on stamina? How was she still so energetic?
"Trust me, nobody is going to hurt my Kit while we're still here." Miriko rubbed the little girl's head, before turning to Aizawa. "So where's Nighteye anyway? I got a few things I need to rub in his face."
"He's … in critical condition … they're going to put him in surgery as soon as he arrives." Lemillion spoke downtrodden.
"...Fuck." Miriko's eyes widened in shock and covered her mouth.
"What does that mean?" Eri tried to ask as everyone was now staring at the rabbit hero. "Fu.."
"Fudge! That's what I'm feeling like now!" The rabbit hero corrected herself. "How about we get you some?
"... What's fudge?" Oh god this poor child. It was like Iruma but a hundred times worse.
==
It was pretty easy for the league to track down where they were talking Overhaul, thanks to Toga and Twice observing the entire thing from a distance. Those two really raised to the occasion and leveled up when they needed to.
Sure, Spinner questioned the idea of attacking police like this, but in this case, it would be a necessary sacrifice. Besides, they made a promise to only knock out the police. It wouldn't be prudent to just murder people after all, the message would be destroyed. That sand hero was fair game though, so many ashes.
Tomura stared down the man, who looked like he had his soul sucked from him. "All your plans have failed haven't they? Should we go over them in detail?" He smirked under his mask. He got no response other than his eyes turning. "Your entire operation is down, you got arrested, your golden ticket is gone … and we have both your quirk destroying drug, your trigger stash, and a few of your men." Compress had been essential in collecting valuable assets they could use later.
"Wow, the things that can happen in a few months." Kiriwo commented as they all stared down at the man. "You took out an entire criminal organization and stole what gave them power, and I saw Deku-kun go wicked while putting on a dress. Fun times all around."
"Why did you even invite him here?" Dabi asked, looking at the flames. "Just me, Spinner, and Mange would have been enough."
"I'm just here to watch despair, Tomura here finally got how to use me well." The demon gave his creepy smile. "After all, this man looks like all his dreams and ambitions have crumbled before him, so incredible."
"It's not over…I..I can still.." Overhaul stared off into space. "The old man, I still need…"
"You know, we really could've worked well together." Tomura nodded to Compress, who took Overhaul's left arm. "You had manpower, you had resources, and you had a brain. But you made a couple flaws." Tomura began to slowly place his hand near there.
"Firstly, you're like icarus, you flew too close to the sun too early." His pinkie finger was placed. "Secondly, you tried to take command and demand too much instead of a partnership." The villain's eyes widened, looking in horror as he placed his ring finger there.
"Please … don't."
"Thirdly, you relied too much on Trigger, you should have trained your men to be strong without it." His middle finger. "Fourthly, you're a hypocrite. Using Quirks to destroy quirks to keep yourself in power? It's amazing you got people to follow along."
"I'm begging you … anything but that … the boss."
"And most importantly of all…you tried to take out one of our own. No one can take the life of Iruma Suzuki." He placed down his thumb. "Our friend." The man was helpless as the arms started going gray. "Looks like we need to stop it from spreading. Spinner, mind finishing the job?"
"With pleasure." The boy raised an arm, swinging it down as the bastard screamed.
"How does it feel now!? You got exactly what you wanted! Now you're quirkless and locked away, helpless to do anything other than watch from the sidelines as the world forgets you and everything you've ever accomplished without having so much as a thumb to suck on! We'll be taking whatever dreams and ambitions you had and using them to spring us forward into entropy!" The demon ranted.
"Kiriwo, wrap it up, the cops are on their way." Tomura stated, walking to their van while cracking his neck. "This Side Quest gave us a lot of resources … we need to find our next target." The League was back, stronger than ever, and nothing was going to stop them. "Someone, call Toga and tell her and Twice to meet us at the hideout." The last thing they needed was for them to get caught now.
==
Toga walked into the room. Visiting hours were over, so she did the logical thing and transformed into a nurse. Smiling, she went over to Ochako-chan's bed, smiling. "Are you awake, sleeping beauty?" She asked the girl.
"Toga...it really was you…" Ochako groaned. "As if this day wasn't stressful enough." Rude, she wasn't stressful.
"I knew you were amazing, but I never knew you could be that great." She smiled, leaning down. "Those determined eyes, that bloody cute face, oh I'd love the things we can do together."
"Don't act like I wouldn't throw you out the window and into a cell if I could right now."
"Aw, don't be like that! We've done so much together already! We took down the Yakuza and saved that adorable little unicorn!"
The girl grabbed a fork and aimed it at her. "Don't you dare touch her." Once again, rude.
"As long as she's happy I don't care." She shrugged. "Iruma-kins is probably the best thing to happen to her. Speaking of, I heard he was in this room." She found his cute sleeping body. "Aw, like a little blue angel." He could be so sweet looking one minute and so fierce and animalistic another. Adorable and Badass!
"As if Ibara wasn't bad enough." Ochako-chan grumbled.
"Ooh, another bestie! Guess my Iruma-kin's is popular, so many more people to spread the love to!" She didn't mind adding more to that list. "He just makes you feel great and sure about everything, even when it's super scary! He was like this daddy wolf protecting his pup against Overbitch. I guess that makes us the mommies." She turned back to Ochako-chan, smiling brightly.
"Please don't say anything else, Toru's been getting more vivid with her fantasies lately." The girl groaned.
"Oh, where is my other bestie! If she loves Iruma-kins as much as we do, she should've been here!" She always wondered what it was like to do it in a hospital.
"She's busy making sure Iruma's family is-'' Ochako got caught off, well more like Toga was sent flying from thin air, being tackled onto the floor.
"You're not getting away this time Vampire Bitch." Oh, everyone was here!
"Cookbook … don't laugh, mr ghost …" Everyone stared at the unconscious boy for a few seconds. "I used all my leftovers…"
"He's really hungry, isn't he?" Toga asked the two. "I actually thought he would eat Overbitch during the fight."
"Long, long complicated story that you're never going to hear." Toru kept her pinned down.
"It's fine, I'll just ask him later. So, what's been going on with you buddy? Iruma-kins' family? Are we gonna cut them up and stuff?"
"If I can't get them in a jail cell soon, I might actually consider it." Huh, that wasn't the usually hot threat she was expecting. "As much as I despise you and your whole league, there's no one I hate more than Iruma-kun's parents." Toga tilted her head.
"... Bad family?" She asked softly.
"Yep." Ochako confirmed. "He literally had to buy his way out into the dorms because they suck that much."
"Okay then, I'll get Tomura and Twice in on this … and help you ruin these bastards." She growled out.
"What, no, we're sending you to jail." Toru spoke. "I have you pinned right here." Oh, it's cute she thought that's what was going on here.
==
Iruma was back in the black space. He hadn't seen this place in a while, the ghosts had only been sporadic after his first haunting. It was weird, the black wasn't 'darkness', it was just comforting emptiness. It made very little sense. "So thou hast arrived." A man with a faint glow of purple and a zigzag scar came up to him.
'Another ghost?' Iruma tried to speak, but nothing came out of his mouth. 'Why can't I, wait, where's my mouth?' Parts of his chest were gone, as well as his arms and legs. 'How am I going to eat now?'
"It seems thou's will and might are still incapable of walking within the throne of the torch." What was he on about? "Thou must be aware all the same, thou hast used my quirk within their last fight."
'His quirk? What, I just used one for all. I don't have another quirk. I just punch people really, really hard.'
"Art has used Danger Sense. The ability to detect danger and react." …
'Bullshit, I just learned to dodge while thinking, if Danger Sense existed I would have surpassed the quirk a long while back!' This was definitely a fever dream. Maybe he should lay off weird looking foods at night. No wait, why was he unconscious again?
"Thou shall be aware that the torch has grown more and more over the years. The Singularity has been reached, and has grown exponentially under thou's usage of One For All, and it shall continue to expand."
'Single-single what now? What does that mean? Is he talking about my quirk? If he's a ghost that knows about it, is he one of the other users, like those dreams I saw with All Forty One?'
"It seems our time is upon us, young one. Take care, for you are the last hope upon the world to burn away the darkness." The man walked away as Iruma tried to raise his nonexistent hand, but instead he stopped dreaming.
Iruma woke up to a room that was … "Why is Toru tied up in sheets?" And why did those sheets seem like they were squeezing her chest and waist too much compared to the rest of her body?
"Iruma-kins! You're awake!" Toga hugged him from the side. "Me and the gals were just having a little girl time while you were asleep, talking to each other about love and people we want to cut up for being bastards."
"Oh, that makes sense." He nodded. "Why do you look like a nurse, couldn't you have just come in by yourself."
"Known criminal." Everyone in the room spoke up at once. He blinked, looking at Ochako.
"Ochako, what happened to you? Did someone beat you up?"
"More like myself … I think I discovered a new quirk-power that squeezed me like a tube of toothpaste." The girl groaned, hugging herself. Maybe he should hug her once he was able to stand.
"It was really hot." Toga wiped something red off her nose like Minoru did sometimes. "Great job, saving that precious little unicorn Eri. You really are a great hero, Iruma-kins."
Hero...why did that word sound worse than the last time he heard it? "I'm just trying to be a good person. If someone's reaching out their hand for help, I'm going to grab it."
"Iruma-kun, that basically makes you a hero." Toru spoke up from her spot. "A hero is just someone that helps people, which you do all the time."
Right..that's what he kept saying before…but something was off about it all the same.
==
Toshinori stared at Mirai, awake, both of them in silence. Very awkward silence. It had been a tense twelve hours, and uncertainty filled the room. There was almost little doubt in the doctors that Mirai would make it through the night.
Except here he was now, covered in bandages, with tubes in his chest and torso. One of his lungs and his entire stomach was too damaged to repair, and needed removal … he'd call it ironic if he wanted to acknowledge the past.
And to break the tension, the door opened as two work studies walked into the room. "SIR!" Lemillion … Mirio cried out, smiling. "You're gonna live!"
"Nighteye, you're okay!" Iruma shouted, showing no sign of his spite for his former sidekick. "I'm sorry I forgot about you during the fight, I got angry at Chiaski and Eri was so close and.."
"It's fine … you obviously had more dangerous things on your mind at the time." The man spoke, looking down. "If anything I should be the one apologizing … for making you think like that."
"It's…I'm not sure if it's going to be fine." Iruma shuddered. "I'm not going to stop trying to be a good person…but I'm not sure if I want to be called a hero."
"... Did I miss something?" Toshinori asked tentatively, afraid to make the situation worse.
"I …" Mirai looked ashamed. "I filled him with notions and thoughts that go against heroism … the idea to be good and kind … moving without thinking like you did."
"I've been moving without thinking a lot, that's what I did to survive for years." Iruma admitted. "But planning did help against Overbird. I was able to think ahead and use instinct to fight. You helped me survive and save her. Thank you."
"I…With every future I've ever seen, I've always tried to make a plan for everything that happened afterwards. I saw preventing the future as impossible, so I made actions to create the perfect outcome, a future where I can control the outcome." Mirai let out a weak chuckle. "And you're the first person to change that. I can't even begin to understand it. You're able to twist the world around through a combination of dumb lick and sheer determination."
That got Toshi's attention. "The future..changed?" Was it actually possible? Did he have a chance of seeing his Successor complete his training in full?
"Yes, I saw a future where Iruma died, where I died and Chisaki got away, yet here we are." Mirai grinned even more. "I've never been happier to be proven so wrong about someone, about myself." He coughed before turning to his successor. "You did a great job, Kettei. Even if the word has little value to you at the moment, I'm sure you'll be a great hero in the future."
"That's my Kit! Aha!" Everyone turned around, and behind them all was Bubble Girl, Centipede, and Miriko. "Proving the impossible, kicking ass and taking names!"
"Aw man, I had a lot of money riding on that too." Centipede handed a stack of yen to Bubble Girl, who accepted it smugly. "Who would've guessed the boss was going to change his mind like that?"
"I just had a feeling, that's all." The blue girl responded. "You did good, kid."
"Thanks. I'll keep trying to do good." Iruma slowly nodded. Changing Nighteye's mind, something he was never capable of doing, even in his prime.
"And Mirio … come here for a moment please." The boy walked up, confused. Mirai extended his hand and touched, his eyes glowing as he let out a small smile. "You'll … be a great hero in the future … one of the best."
"Of course, you're the one who trained me, after all." Mirio nodded, wiping a few tears off of his face. "It's not like losing my quirk is the worst thing in the world. I just have to try even harder now!"
"Yeah, you still have limbs, both your lungs, and a stomach!" The mood got really awkward for a few seconds at the unintentional jab, before Bubble Girl burst into laughter.
"AHAHAHA…I'm sorry, It's…It's just impossible not to find him funny…" Who knew the girl actually had a sense of humor?
"I do admit … he would make a good clown." Mirai leaned back. "Nothing's greater in the world than the power to make someone smile."