Chapter 54: The word Rests in Smoke

“Text” – Normal speech

‘Text’ – Thought

“Text” – Quirk Spirit speaking in the human world

“Text” - Attack

“Text” – Radio/Communication lines

“Text” – None Japanese speech

(text) – Subtext/meaning behind a spoken word

Line Break

“If they’re watching the news, they probably already know, look,” Kuroiro pointed above. While many helicopters were marked as police or first responders, some were the same news choppers that had been chased off earlier. “They’ve been flying overhead for a while now; one has bound to have spotted us working.”

Uraraka said the first thing that came to mind.

“How the heck didn’t we notice?”

“Because you were busy,” A bubbly voice spoke up, and as tired as they were, all their heads turned toward the voice. Seeing someone who wasn't walking, or jogging, but floating, suspended in the air by yellow spiral-like energy.

Uraraka and the others saw a tall, fair-skinned woman whose shapely figure was accentuated by a form-fitting hero costume. Despite her curves, her face read more cute than overtly sexy like Midnight-sensei's. Her wide, round, royal-blue eyes—framed by long, thick upper lashes—held innocent curiosity.

Her hair matched those lashes in a pale blue and fell to her knees. It was styled in two twisted sections wrapped around her waist, the ends curving inward around her legs with side-swept bands: tucked behind her right ear and falling over her left eye. Two short, face-framing tufts curled asymmetrically at her cheeks.

The woman’s hero costume was a dark royal-blue skin-tight bodysuit with a high black collar and pale mint-green, turquoise-framed markings running from her shoulders to her legs. The same mint-and-turquoise stripe circled both upper arms. Knee-high boots had thin flaps buttoned at the thighs and spiralling turquoise bands at the ankles, echoing rings above yellow gauntlets and wrist guards. Black thigh straps held small satchels, and two hair-horn spirals rose behind her ears.

All and all, she looked like a legit heroine, even if her face reminded Uraraka of how a curious middle schooler would look, the woman having a face which she was sure her grand-ma would want to pinch as she offered up mochi.

The heroine continued, her voice friendly and excitable. "It happens sometimes. You get into the zone, and then everything not in the zone kind of just doesn't exist anymore, until it does, and then you wonder about how much you missed."

“Who the hell are you?” Bakugo grunted, wanting to return to resting before they returned to work. He didn't recognise her, so as far as he was concerned, she wasn't worth his attention.

Kuroiro sighed. “Bakugo, please have some decorum.”

Lucky for them, the heroine didn’t seem to mind Bakugo’s rudeness. “Haha! I’m your sempai, Hado Nejire, but you can call me Nejire-Chan, that’s my hero name.” Uraraka frowned at the introduction. Sempai…wait, she was an upperclassman?

“Pleased to meet you, Nejire-Chan, what brings you here?” Monoma spoke for the rest, curious about what their senior would want with them. To that, Hado opened up the box she had been carrying, revealing a bunch of packs of candies, high-end calorie bars, and bottled juices.

"I wanted to bring you all some snacks. Ryukyu always talks about keeping your strength up, and this time around, they brought some packed lunches for everyone." Nejire-Chan smiled as the group's eyes seemed to glow at the sight of the food, having only had water since morning.

Even Bakugo couldn't resist the urge to snatch up some of the offered food. The group left Nejire-Chan holding an empty box that the older student merely folded and tossed into a nearby trash bin in a single shot.

"Smart, it means we can get back into things sooner," Kirishima said as he wolfed down a calorie bar and drank orange juice.

“By the way,” Nejire-chan got close to Uraraka. "Why were you sent out early? It's crazy weird that first years were here so fast while they kept us third years back till they thought the villains were gone."

Oh….oh. That was why she approached them, wasn't it? Looking back on it, she didn't think they thought that hard about it then. Sure, they could keep the secrets of what happened. Still, they couldn't hide their involvement as they had just made their semi-public debuts that morning. All it would take was a single person with a camera spotting them very much outside U.A. and in the thick of it for them to be recognised.

"Well—" Uraraka looked towards the rest, hoping they'd have an answer for her, but they were all either unwilling or unable to give her anything more than a shrug. Nejire-Chan’s eyes seemed to bore into her like an inquisitive child's gaze when they just asked where babies came from.

She was saved when some other heroes on the scene called out to them. “Nejire-Chan, we need some help! Lend us a hand?”

“Coming!” Just like that, Nejire-Chan pulled back, giving them all a big smile as she started to float again. “We can talk later, bye!” With that, she shot in the direction she was called.

“What do we…?” Kirishima started to ask, but Uraraka shook her head.

"Later, " she said, too tired to think about this right now. Let that be a later problem. We'll focus on this, finish what we can, and get back to our dorms to pass out."

Line Break

Over Japan, a new day was dawning. Still, for the resistance of Musutafu, that did not bring with it a rising sun warming up the land, the song of birds chirping as they flitted by windows, or the scent of the last blooms of cherry blossoms. It was the rainy season, and as was common, it had been raining since well before the earliest of early birds could even pull themselves out of their beds.

It was no different for the students of U.A., as from within their dorms, such as those staying in Midoriya's building, most continued to rest, still in the grasp of a dream as the rain stitched the windows with a steady, patient rhythm, muting the outside world and all its troubles into a soft, grey hush. For Kyoka, she preferred this as she continued to snuggle up against Izuku’s side, one of his arms tucked around her waist, keeping her close as breath tickled at his bare chest.

But one couldn’t have nice things as the alarm went off, repeatedly letting out a sharp, electronic beep, forcing Jiro out of the world of slumber. Her eyes snapped open, the girl jolting up, half asleep as she needed a moment to register she wasn't in her dream anymore. When she did, she let out a quiet curse as she reached for the clock, smacking into its top, silencing the damned thing. Awake, she sat there, her hair springing up in a dozen directions, a crown of tangles and bush as she blinked a couple times, rubbing at her eyes to clear the last of the sandman's hold on her.

"Is it morning already?" Izuku grumbled, his hand returning to Kyoka's mid-drift, feeling her warm, firm belly.

"Yeah, time to get up…" Kyoka returned with as much energy as she would much rather return to lying at his side, and having a lazy day.

Izuku chuckled. While he looked dazed, his hair was even more unruly, his eyes closed, and he still got up, kissing Kyoka quickly. "Morning, songbird." He greeted with a sleepy grin.

"Don't I get a good morning kiss?" the bed's third occupant spoke up. Saiko looked at them through one eye, the woman cocooned in the blanket up to her chin. Honestly, you get another lover, and you forget all about me."

"Never," Izuku knew it was a joke, but he still moved down and laid a kiss on her forehead, one that seemed to brighten up Saiko's day. "So shouldn't we get up then?" he asked as Saiko and Kyoka both contemplated it but ultimately decided to get out of bed.

For Saiko, that meant removing herself from their blanket, revealing that her light hair fell in a messy curtain, lacking any bounce or style as it typically had. Even when she slept, Izuku knew she was the type who did her hair up beforehand, but all three had been too tired for such, even neglecting to shower before they went to bed. They just returned to the apartment, microwaved something to eat before getting to their bedroom, stripped their clothing, and crashed out.

Getting up, Izuku showcased how he had gone to bed in nothing but his boxers. Saiko was in a boat similar to a nightgown or PJs, just her underwear, leaving little to the imagination. Kyoka was the most dressed, as she had at least thrown on one of Izuku's shirts, which for her meant it covered everything up to her thighs, though it was loose on one shoulder, showcasing her purple bra strap.

"You ladies can wash up; I'll clean up here and follow after you," Izuku offered, looking at the rumpled clothing thrown about the floor, the wrinkled and ruffled bedsheets, and the pillows, one of which had somehow managed to end up on the other side of the room.

How could they make a bigger mess just sleeping than when he and Saiko did the deed?

“You just want me to make you breakfast.” Saiko sent him a knowing look, which he didn't confirm or deny; he just had to clean up his bedroom.

Jiro was going to ask about that as well, as well as about how much hero merchandise Izuku had around his place. Still, Saiko grasped her shoulders and led her towards the door. “Come on, we can’t keep walking around like this, or do you want Yuga to see us?” She reminded him that Izuku did have a roommate.

Kyoka's mood soured just a little. "He better stay in his room while we wash up, " she grumbled. Saiko laughed as they went through the door, closing it behind them.

Line Break

In fact, Aoyama would remain in his room, only leaving when the two girls were done freshening up and were walking about using the guest towels to cover their bodies. Saiko was enough of a fixture in their lives that when they moved, Izuku had some of her spare clothing, including her school uniform, that she could wear. Kyoka was a different story, as she wasn’t a dorm student.

They had swung by her place to get a bag of things around lunch, with Saiko being the one who entered with her so that her parents wouldn't grill her about 'spending the night with her boyfriend'. Too bad for them, her father thought she was staying the night with her girlfriend, which became a whole thing. Still, one Kyoka admitted was comically overblown, the man probably already knew since her mother knew, but with how…tense things had been lately, he probably wanted to try and add some levity to their lives.

By the time the boys entered their living room, all dressed and ready for class, Kyoka and Saiko had already half-finished making breakfast. With the size of their kitchen, they couldn't offer to help without crowding, so they waited, ate their fill, and left their apartment.

Kyoka found that even with a hot shower and meal, she was still feeling a bit tired, so much so that she latched onto Izuku’s arm and leaned in, Saiko doing the same with his other as she held their shared umbrella, a act of intimacy that if they rest like Tetsutetsu or Hagakure saw, neither commented on as most of them were similar worn-out.

Saiko boarded a bus that would take her to the train station. She needed to get back to her own school, so she bid them all farewell before getting onto her ride. The U.A. bunch needed to wait another 5 minutes for their ride to arrive to get them to campus.

It was as they rode on it that someone finally spoke up.

“So,” Kamakiri started, the man typing something on his phone. “You stayed the night with those idiots?” He asked Jiro.

Aoyama sounded offended at being called an idiot, while Jiro only rolled her head. "Yeah, we planned to talk, but we just slept with how busy things got yesterday."

“Is that true?” Hagakure asked Aoyama.

"I didn't hear anything from my dear roommate's room, so I can only assume they did, in fact, share a bed," Aoyama confirmed, shooting the two in question a look. "Unless, of course, they found a means to make the quietest of love.”

"You'll be the expert on the different ways to make love, wouldn't you, Cheese-head?" Jiro shot back at him, though her cheeks were a little red at the implication, a reminder that Aoyama would know that she and Izuku had already done the deed.

Aoyama, shameless as he was, only waved his finger at her. "I believe myself to be wise in such, but there is much I still don't know and am eager to learn."

Ojiro wiggled, a little comfortable with the topic of discussion. "Can we talk about something else? No offense, but I'm not a fan of imagining those 2…well, you know."

“What do you think we’ll be doing today?” Midoriya obliged. Their bus took a much wider and longer route as they couldn't pass through most of the town, not when some routes were still down.

Hagakure thought about what she had seen before they clocked out before she replied, "It was mainly clearance work yesterday, but I'm pretty sure we managed to handle most of it. The night crews could have finished it up by now."

One only needed to look out the window to their left, where the town stood, to see what she meant. Even with the rain, one could still see the scars of the attack from a week prior. Mainly, buildings had been condemned and were to be demolished; others were being worked on by soaked-looking crews and machines. But the streets were largely cleared of rubble, debris, and wrecked vehicles.

No one mentioned how they had focused on corpse removal or the fact that all of them had seen at least a dozen or so as they volunteered to help.

Trying not to think about such dreary things, Ojiro let out a hum of thought. "If that's the case, not much left for us to handle besides handing out food and water." That was a mercy, as he didn't hate the heavy-duty work; he enjoyed being able to help whoever he could, but it was exhausting and tedious at the best of times.

"I thought the residence had all been moved," Kamakiri added, to which Jiro shook her head.

"Most of them have, some couldn't, and others just plain refused." She reminded them, as several tents had sprung up during their work week. Though mercifully, with Cementoss on hand, building short-term housing in parks and other large spaces was relatively easy for the displaced and stubborn.

"Do you think the police will pull out soon?" Tetsutetsu asked another question that had been weighing on them for a while now. "I mean, they won't find much…"

They had all been avoiding the elephant in the room, but it seemed like they couldn't any longer. The fact that they knew more than most, that this wasn't the work of villains, or even humans. Sure, Midoriya, Aoyama, and the rest had managed to capture several of them. Still, it wasn't easy to get one to talk, at least that was their theory, as Izuku's mother hadn't said much on that front since. The woman, having been as busy as they were, which was how Saiko could justify so many trips their way, as she was employed by Inko's lab.

“If they did, I would call it a miracle, though I doubt they’ll know what to do with such information.” Aoyama sighed, combing a hand through his hair as he looked out the bus window, seeing so much destruction and visible destruction. “But this is a delicate situation.”

"We're aware of that, but I would assume that U.A. would have done something." Ojiro wondered aloud.

"Not much they could do, I'm afraid," Aoyama replied. "Our dean is an influential player, perhaps the smartest person in the hero world, but he's not a sovereign."

Tetsutetsu snorted, remembering how this had dominated the news ever since. “No kidding, the news had been fixated on that. So much so that Stain killed another pro and it didn’t even make the evening news’s prime slot, being a footnote.”

Even international news outlets had picked up on the story, calling it Japan's worst villain attack in modern history. Last he heard via the morning news, the government was sending billions in relief funds, while U.A. was getting a lot of positive clout from how quickly they had dispatched not just hero teachers, but students like them, as it might have started with just the hero course, but as time went on, everyone seemed to pitch in.

“A serial killer doesn’t seem all that important when what seems like a mass villain attack does this much damage.” By this point, Kamakiri reminded them that Stain was as old as the League and as messed up as that was to think about.

Looking out the window, Hagakure spotted a figure flying through the air. Not a hero, at least, not a fully trained one, but their cap denoted them as being a volunteer student from their rival school.

"Do you think Shiketsu’s going to pull out today?" she asked. Shiketsu had been quick to lend aid themselves, though it was mainly 2nd—and 3rd-year hero and support students who helped speed things up.

Midoriya nodded. "No doubt, not much more hero students can do now. Maybe their support students would stay, but I'm pretty sure we can handle any maintenance and repair work in-house." He knew that Furasu had been hard at work over the last week. The girl wasn't the most out there in the few moments he had seen her. However, when it came to work, she could handle things with the best and often went into the field to handle maintenance and repair, or even operate machinery herself.

He had also seen Hatsume, but she remained on campus and worked from there, making full use of U.A.'s seemingly unlimited resources to build and upgrade whatever they needed. This included helping the power loader manage their hero costumes, which they couldn't take home with them.

Line Break

Arriving in class, the students waited for Eraser or another member of staff to make an appearance, and till then, they all just talked about things. "Oh man, were things different than what I thought they'd be?" Ashido sat on her table, kicking her legs about with a big smile on her worn-looking face. “So many people wanted to talk to me, it was unreal.” She yawned, but it couldn't take away her joy about how people saw her now.

“Same here, it was really intense on the train. I swear I got to sign autographs." Kaminari added, lying at a nearby desk, having finished talking about how he had been approached by people on the ride to school for several days now, each time more people wanted to thank him for the work he and the rest were doing, or smile and laugh as they mentioned how he was shaping into a proper hero.

"It was exhausting," Tokoyami stated, but he paused as he recalled seeing a little boy work up the courage to approach him, thanking him for helping to save his aunt and uncle, who had been caught in the disaster. Both had described him well enough that he was a personal hero to their family.

Pulling out the apple the kid gave him, he smiled as he took a bite. "Though I can't say that I didn't appreciate the chance to see what I could achieve."

“From students to saviours. Mere college freshmen prove themselves ready to lend an aid in dire times.” Monoma stated, his arms crossed with a tired smirk from repeating that headline one major paper had run with. “I swear, my neighbours played that news story so many times, it got annoying.”

“Many members of my congregation were pleased with how I handled myself, and have been sending whatever aid they could.” Shiozaki was more pleased with the additional aide than the praise she garnered from those around her.

"(Kero) My siblings have been jumping off the walls about it, and they think it's cool I got to be a hero early," Asui added to things, standing next to Honenuki’s desk along with Midoriya, Tokage, and Sero. All people she had worked closely with during the last week. "I tried to tell him I don't have a license, but they didn't listen."

“In such a situation, I doubt that our lack of official qualification was much of an issue. Particularly as we worked under close professional supervision more often than not." Kuroiro remarked, as perhaps it was illegal. Still, he doubted anyone would be ballsy or moronic enough to make something of it when it was such a net positive for everyone involved.

“Makes you wonder how internships will go, or if we’ll still have them.” Sero mused, scratching at his chin, Kendo agreeing with him as this entire thing had messed up U.A.’s typical flow.

“Yeah, that makes sense. We didn’t even finish the Sports festival, so it’ll be hard for agencies to use that to judge our potential. They could use our work out in the field for that.” Kendo suggested, as she recalled, that she and those she worked with were getting a lot of praise from pros, or at least a few direct critiques and more advice, which they quickly used.

Honenuki wasn’t so sure about it. “I’m not convinced. I mean, for agencies that mainly focus on search and rescue, we all must look pretty damn competent. But for those who handle villain combat…” Of course, he could say it was the opposite most years, as the festivals rarely had events which showed one's talent for disaster or search and rescue work. They might be team-based events, but that was just about it.

"Well, we all got to work under Endeavour for the first day. That has to count for something…right?" Kinoko asked, as she was still a little intimidated by the number 2. Even though she barely saw him the first day, having been part of a different team, he had only spoken with her a couple of times.

"She's right, he didn't burn or yell at us, so he must have been impressed, right, Todoroki?" Sero looked towards Todoroki, one of the few present who was as silent as the day they met.

A reason for his isolation was his attitude. He glared at Sero like he had just insulted his mother. "How would I know?"

“Jeez, who woke up on the wrong side of the bed? Even Bakugo’s not as shitty lately,” Kaminari muttered.

“You want to run that by me again, dunce-face?” Bakugo growled, but without any sparks jumping off his hands, or threats of him pouncing should he be slighted, which for anyone else was just common manners, but for Bakugo, it was progress.

Uraraka looked his way, but didn’t comment on it as she had seen how he had acted the entire week. She could say she was surprised that the same guy who nearly murdered her could handle rescue work so well. But more than that, she was happy to see he wasn't just an angry bully. Granted, she saw his pride flare up a few times, so she wouldn't mention how she had seen him being unusually soft with a couple of kids they helped dig out of the rubble, doing little shows and tricks with his quirk to entertain them till they pulled the parents out.

"Morning," Eraser opened the door without warning. Within seconds, everyone was in their seats. The perpetually tired pro looked more worn than usual as he walked up to the podium. He certainly was exhausted, seeing as he made no mention of how it took them 7 seconds to get seated when he typically desired 5 seconds or less from them.

"This is our first real class meeting since the festival, and as you must have guessed, things are rather complicated," Eraser stated.

“Eraser-sensei,” Iida stood, arm raised. “Are we permitted to continue with aid?”

Eraser shook his head. "No. Your role's done. I would say you all went above and beyond what could be asked of you, and now it's up to the police and construction companies the city's contracted to handle things." He gave a compliment, a rarity, but he had seen how hard they had all been working.

"However, that leads us to what comes next." His tone shifted, growing darker and graver as the group gulped, wondering what could inspire such emotion in the man after all they had already—"A school-wide assembly."

“That sounds so normal!” They yelled at him, angry that he scared them.

"Sir, pardon me, but there is more to this, right?" Yaoyorozu, who wasn’t among those who yelled, asked.

Eraser nodded. "Correct, Yaoyorozu. This isn't just some regular thing; if it were, I would have contemplated skipping it entirely." They recalled their quirk assessment and guessed Eraser would have done that. “No, it’s been decided that the staff will explain everything we know.”

Line Break

The day before this, Nezu was hosting a little meeting. His office, which was always as clean as a whistle, received an extra polish, with the kitchen staff having prepared some sweets to go along with his freshly brewed tea. To his minor annoyance, his guests hadn't so much as touched either. "I thank you all for coming on such short notice. I'm sure all of us have enough on our plates with this recent tragedy."

“That is correct; however, we trust that you wouldn't have called such a meeting without cause, and it was a good one." The first to speak was a tall, powerfully built man with short white hair and a face that seemed to have been carved from stone, with how little he seemed to emote. He, Nezu, was the chief of all police in central Japan.

“Yes, and it’s related to some questions which you’ve asked of my judgement over the incident, particularly in sending first years into the field and working with the civilian contractor, one headed by the mother of one of those first-year students, and my newest employee, Professor Inko Midoriya.” Nezu directed attention to the side, where Inko sat, dressed in a suit for the occasion, her lab coat left in the office.

The police official looked Inko up and down, his frown growing at the inclusion of an unvetted civilian in such a high-profile meeting. “Those were perhaps the most prominent, particularly as you used your authority and influence to have their helicopters enter the zone while it was still a new fly zone.” Nezu knew he had made enemies with that move, and this man was one of them.

"However, one other question would be the timing." The second to speak wore a suit similar to Inko's, though it was of a much higher quality. She was also at least a decade older than Inko, making her the oldest person in the room, yet she was by far the most powerful of them as she was the current president of the Hero Public Safety Commission.

Her turquoise eyes gave nothing away, and not even Nezu could get a read on the woman who could, with the same face, hand a child a chocolate bar as she could order someone tortured. Of course, neither he nor anyone else with half a brain would ever make such an accusation when proof didn't exist.

Learning forward, the president stated things as they were: "We have no idea what was happening, and we still don't, and yet, when you deployed your students, as well as the efforts of 2 other non-U.A. hero students, the situation was quickly resolved."

Nezu smiled at that, while Inko looked uncomfortable under the powerful woman's cold gaze, one that held no malice, hate, or ill intent—and in a way, that was all the more terrifying, seeing nothing but a frosty look.

"You can understand why such timing would cause alarm for those of us in positions of authority, who should be well informed so that we can use that authority well." The president didn't need to say it, but Nezu could pick up that she wasn't happy with how there was something like this she didn't know about.

"As someone charged with protecting and nurturing young minds, and instilling in them proper values, and skills to carry this world when it's time to pass that torch, I can say that I understand your situation quite well. Which is why I decided it would be for the best if we shared what we know." Nezu nodded towards Inko, who picked up and passed two tablets to their guests.

Both frowned at the gesture but picked them up and started to read the files. Within just a few minutes, Nezu saw something incredibly rare: the commission president expressing something akin to shock and fear as she read through the detailed files.

“What is this?” the president asked, as all of this seemed fanciful, impossible even, and yet it fit into things far too well to be imaginary.

"That is what we know, not all of it, but what Professor Midoriya was willing to share," Nezu mentioned in the last part, as it was why Inko was here. Besides, after all the wrangling and negotiating he had done with the woman to even release this much, she deserved to be present when the rest of Japan's major players learned about it.

The police official wasn't so easily convinced. He didn't slam the tablet, but he wasn't gentle with putting it down either, his typical hard face growing grave with anger. “Do you expect us to believe this? Quirks living on when the user dies? The concept of artificial quirks?”

"This is why we brought along proof in the form of Professor Midoriya's lab recordings, as well as signed testimony from several heroes in the field, not one of whom was Endeavour." Nezu's smile grew just a little as he pulled out a stack of such forms, no doubt part of why the commission had been displeased with him, as they must have interviewed all those heroes, and as far as Nezu knew, those in the know had kept their piece about things.

The president firmed her lips, as she wasn't so quick to dismiss this, not when there were incidents and reports Nezu couldn't know about, which seemed much simpler when viewed with this added context. Still, she was suspicious for different reasons. “And how do we know this wasn’t some ploy from her? Or the result of your creations running loose?” She asked the woman, who had just provided two sworn government officials with clear and undeniable proof that she hadn't just broken several Japanese laws and a few international conventions.

The fact that Nezu had brought her in only made it clear he had known about this and, for whatever reason, hadn't reported or had her arrested. Such a refusal to perform his duty would see him stripped of his teaching and hero license if he were lucky. Still, if she pushed, the president could easily see both spending the rest of their lives in prison.

But…Nezu would know this. He wasn't some fool, nor was he the type to believe she would follow whatever story and plan he had out of the kindness of her heart. So, she'd test him and figure out just what he was offering her for her aide in this little gamble he was making.

"Because I have nothing to gain from this, Madam President," Inko replied, meeting the president’s gaze, a hidden fury behind the researcher’s gaze. I have been comfortable operating as I have been. I have no qualms with society, nor are my personal or company finances at risk of being in the yellow."

"If not that, do you have any theories about why this happened? Why could such a large-scale attack sprout out of nowhere in a city you claim was low risk?" the police official asked, as perhaps the files had info on the suspected culprits, but he wasn't comfortable with how they weren't human, truly living by any widely accepted definition, or in his custody but held in a location the files did not mention.

"Our best theory was that one or more powerful quirk spirits organised it. All Might fought one that could fit the description, a fire quirk, but as such are incredibly common, tracing the original user would be impossible." Inko pulled out another folder and opened it, this one being more investigative notes, along with a detailed sketch of the quirk in question, joining it was an image caught from a surviving security camera which showed the quirk's human body, an unrecoverable body, burned to a crisp in the fight.

"Was this based on your work with those spirits you did capture?" The president asked, to which Inko nodded.

"Correct. Once they were calmed, we could interrogate all of them, and they all claimed some variation of being under the influence of a stronger force, one that turned them rabid. Also," She pulled out a remote, pointing it at the TV, and turning it on.

On the screen, they saw a map of Japan, one with spots highlighted. However, both recalled the files, claiming that around 20 quirks were involved in the attack. The map only had 4 spots, all in a geographically close area of Japan.

"The numbers don't add up, but the quirks weren't normal, as well as some versions of just one of 4 quirks. Self-detonation, EMP, Rock-like Hardening, and finally regeneration." Inko explained, and when she saw the dawning realisation and horror on their faces, she continued. "As you all might be able to conclude, all those were suspected quirks of those monsters from a couple of years ago."

“You think they’re linked?” The police official asked, skipping past the part where she knew more about those incidents than what should have been publicly available.

“I believe that our mastermind was able to locate and bring those unknown elements here for this attack. As for why? We have no idea.” As she made that admission, Inko felt a stone settle in her stomach.

Line Break

This chapter, oh boy, was not a fun time to write. Not because it was hard or I struggled with things, but just because it's the aftermath of an assault, which in many ways, could be seen as a small-scale Paranormal Liberation war, focused on just one city, on a city which was meant to be one of the safest in Japan. It meant that there were a lot of things which I needed to account for when I was writing it, as well as new factors to consider when thinking of how things will progress from here, as while I planned for it, writing it out and uploading it kinda makes those plans…well, more than plans.

Line Break

Yes, the quirks involved in this attack were all ones which could be seen in MHA vigilantes, which means that cloned quirks still create quirk spirits which…oh boy, is that going to be something we play with later.