Chapter Text
Izuku couldn’t bring himself to admit to Yaoyorozu that he was uncertain of her chance at success of curing the Eternal Slumber. It had been far too long, with far too many false reports of progress being made by the world’s foremost doctors and scientists. But Momo had set her mind to the task. Talking her out of it was impossible. So he nodded and accepted her determination with a resounding: “I believe in you.”
He wasn’t lying. Momo had access to data no one else had and was smarter than at least 99% of the world population. If anyone could do it, she could. He just didn’t want to get his hopes too high. Not again.
So Momo had basically decided to spend whatever free time she could inside the Luxian Lab. Thankfully for Izuku, who had grown accustomed to sleeping with her body softly nestled against him, she vowed to be home on time for meals and sleep so as to not screw with Izuku’s schedule. It sounded like she was already a working woman.
“School starts tomorrow,” She had acknowledged the night after Izuku had met with Lady Nagant. They had stayed up till midnight watching movies, so technically they still had one day of freedom before going back. And now they were just snuggling in bed, waiting until sleep came for them.
“Same day as the funeral,” Izuku remarked.
“Not like we were going to attend anyways.”
Izuku nodded in agreement. They had briefly considered going, but in order to go they’d have to wear their Shadow Monarch outfits, meanwhile everyone else would be wearing clean suits. They would’ve drawn too much attention, making it seem like they were trying to make the event about themselves. But they did have a plan to pay their respects indirectly without taking over the entire proceeding.
“You think she’ll hate me?” Izuku asked, curling his arms tighter around Momo’s body.
“You know it’s not your fault.”
“…Yeah, but still. If we’d gotten there a little sooner…”
Momo squirmed within Izuku’s arms, twisting herself to come face-to-face with her Monarch, her King. She was startlingly close, so much so that just leaning forwards would plant her lips on his. “We have some power over death, but that’s it. Sometimes people die, sometimes we can’t always be there to stop it. If Ryukyu’s smart, and I think she is, then she won’t be upset with you.”
Because Ryukyu’s Agency had been involved in the investigation into Momo’s parents at the request of Nejire, there was no doubt in Izuku’s mind that she knew his true identity. They hadn’t directly told her, but she could figure it out.
“This secret is kind of getting out of hand…” Izuku thought to himself.
“Yeah…” He responded, his minty breath brushing against Momo’s lips.
“Come on…” She said, “You’re too stressed. Things will sort themselves out.”
Izuku gave her a light smile. “How are you so sure?”
She sighed and pushed herself out of his arms, instead moving to straddle his waist, positioning herself atop his body. “Because together, we’re the strongest in the world,” she answered with confidence, leaning down and planting her lips on Izuku’s. At the same time, she began taking off both their clothes.
“Woah… uh…”
Momo shut him up. “I told you, you’re too stressed.” She pushed her lips back onto his.
*******
“You got a minute?” Izuku asked as a woman with blonde hair approached an Agency’s Office building. Her eyes were sunken in and dark, her skin was an unhealthy color, and her step was more of a shuffle.
Ryukyu, or rather, Ryuko Tatsuma raised an eyebrow as she spotted a boy with dark green hair holding out a coffee.
She had just been released from the hospital a few hours ago. Unlike Lady Nagant, her Soul hadn’t been damaged in the slightest. So Healing Magic had made her well the second it was performed. But doctors still insisted on keeping her for observation for a day before letting her go. She had spent that day staring into the ceiling blankly.
She took the cup from the boy with a gracious look, before smelling the sweet liquid beneath. “How’d you know my favorite?”
Izuku shrugged. “It’s my girlfriend's favorite drink. Happy coincidence, I guess.”
“Ah…” Tiny droplets formed at the corners of her eyes. “Touya was the only one who knew it was my favorite.”
Izuku winced. “I’m sorry for your loss. And I’m sorry that I… failed…” He echoed Nagant’s words from just a day ago, now realizing how she must’ve felt.
Ryukyu pursed her lips and wiped away the tears. “Izuku Midoriya… or rather… Shadow Monarch. Do you have a summon that could fly whilst carrying us both?”
*******
Izuku had to don his Shadow Monarch armor just in case, but once he had done so, he summoned Quasar, the massive leviathan that seemed to swim through the sky. Had he commanded it to, Quasar could’ve scattered hundreds of fiery projectiles throughout the city, causing mass devastation. But for today, his only worry was about flying his Liege and his guest through the air.
“Ah…” Ryukyu breathed deeply, her eyes regaining just a bit of their light. “I’ll miss this…”
“Miss…?” Izuku muttered in confusion. Thankfully, Ryukyu managed to hear him over the wind.
“My wings got cut off by that ant. And I was human when those wounds were healed. So my wings didn’t regenerate, but the flesh healed.”
In other words, the wound had become a scar and when something scarred over, it couldn’t be healed by magic. The translation of shapeshifting limbs to a human body was still poorly understood, but if Ryukyu was certain, then it was a sure thing that her wings had been truly severed.
“I'm sorry…”
Ryukyu turned around and gave him a half smile. “I always knew I could lose limbs in my line of work, it’s the thing I’m least upset about.”
“Yeah…” Izuku wasn’t sure what else to say.
Ryukyu plopped down right next to him on Quasar’s scaly back, gratefully sipping on the warm coffee.
“Dabi… Touya,” She corrected herself. “I was the reason he was on the island at all. He didn’t want to be there. We were gonna move to America once everything was said and done, get away from… Endeavor… and the rest of Japan. If anything, it was my fault, not yours…”
“But-” Ryukyu cut him off with a raised hand.
“Are you a God?”
“What?” Izuku was momentarily stunned by the question. “No.”
“The second that ant creature appeared, none of us had a semblance of hope of being saved. Not even that arrogant bastard. We all steeled ourselves for death and figured nothing short of a miracle would help us. You were a miracle.” Ryukyu realized she was clutching her cup too hard, deforming the paper receptacle. “Not too long ago, you were a B-Rank, and not too long before that, you were an E-Rank. I don’t know exactly what you are, but you have the ability to grow stronger right?”
Izuku nodded.
“Then answer this one question. If you had come with the Jeju Raiding team from the start. If you had been with us, could you have killed that ant?”
Izuku lowered his eyes. “I could’ve tried… with my army and-”
“Could you have done it?” Ryukyu repeated more forcefully.
Even after killing Bael and growing stronger, when Izuku looked into the darkness on Jeju and found Beru, it shook him to his core. “No… I wouldn’t have been strong enough…” Without Momo and her Synthetics working to keep the Nomu occupied, or without the autonomy to let his army handle the Nomu, and without Esil, the entire Raiding Party, Japanese and Korean, would have likely died.
“Then there is nothing more to be said,” Ryukyu concluded. “Before Touya died… he said ‘don’t blame…’” She trailed off, he had never finished his sentence, but she got a good idea of what he wanted. “Don’t blame yourself.” She shook her head with a light chuckle. “He may not have looked it, but he always had a self-sacrificing streak in him. I’m not…” Her voice trembled. “I’m not okay… but if I lived the rest of my life with regret and anger, I think he’d be sad. Maybe I’m just making excuses for myself, I don’t know. But I do know that I want to honor his death. He just wanted me to be happy… so I’ll try my best.”
Izuku’s eyes prickled with the sensation of tears. Ryukyu’s eyes were cold, and her voice hollow. She was speaking with conviction, but it felt like she was in denial. It wasn’t his place to say, so he merely nodded.
“If that’s how you feel,” He acknowledged.
“It is.”
“Then I’ll do my best to honor it as well.”
Ryukyu gave the same half-smile. “Did you know him at all?”
Izuku shook his head. “I know his brothers a little bit, but that’s all.” He hadn’t thought much about Shoto or Natsuo recently, but no doubt they were going through a similar sense of betrayal as Setsuna with her adoptive father.
“Then… would you like to hear some more about him?” Ryukyu asked, a reminiscent gleam in her eyes.
“I would be honored.”
*******
“And the thing exploded. He was shaking sand out of his clothes for weeks.”
Ryukyu wiped away at the corners of her eyes, but this time they were tears of laughter. By now, news helicopters had gathered around Quasar, who was curled in on himself, like a dog laying down in its bed. Whatever he used to fly, it didn’t need to move to keep him hovering in the air. He could sleep in midair no problem.
Izuku still had his helmet on, so none of the chopper crews could get a shot of his face. They were likely all reporting on the massive Shadow creature hovering over the city.
There would surely be tabloids and such about Ryukyu and the Shadow Monarch, but neither really cared about what those sorts could make up.
“How’s Yaoyorozu doing?” Ryukyu asked. Her eyes were still dull and Izuku was worried about her, because she hadn’t really had a big cry about Dabi’s death, but she’d probably do that when she got home and could do so in private.
“She’s strong,” Izuku answered simply. He knew Ryukyu was subtly asking about how she was handling the situation with her parents.
“Well, that’s good…” She trailed off, unsure of what else to say, giving Izuku the perfect chance to pull Beru’s core from his Inventory.
“Is that…?” Ryukyu immediately felt the darkness pouring off the core. She knew what it was, but she asked anyways.
“I can’t really sell it via normal avenues. I know it’s cruel to ask you of all people-“
Ryukyu cut him off. “I’ll take it off your hands… for 80% of its value… for the trouble.”
Izuku chuckled. Once a businesswoman, always a businesswoman. “I can accept that deal. But are you sure you’re okay taking it?”
Ryukyu nodded. “I want it. It’s perfect for something my Agency’s blacksmith has been working on. It’s only right that it be used to help me kill more of those Villain bastards.” The venom in her voice took Izuku by surprise. It took him longer than he’d want to admit to realize why.
Much like Takashi, Ryukyu had spent her life fighting Villains. And not only that but she had lost quite a bit to them, even more after Jeju. Izuku himself had seen a lot of the darkness of Villains, but he had also seen the light in “people” like Esil, Merrix, and Quorra. He felt weird calling them Chaos Inhabitants or Villains, so to Izuku they were just people. But to most others, they were just things to be killed.
Ryukyu was no different, she wanted to exterminate every last one with her own hands. It wasn’t something Izuku could exactly agree with, but he also couldn’t argue with it.
“Well as long as you’re willing, I’ve got plenty of top tier gear to sell… at a discounted price, of course.” Izuku still had a lot of the standard Lux weapons, all of which were incredibly strong and finely made when compared to human hands.
When Agencies found gear inside of a Gate they either gave it to their Agency members or sold it for a high price.
Most of Izuku’s “Agency” or in other words, his Shadows, didn’t need weapons. They were the weapons. And since only Izuku and Momo needed money, they didn’t mind selling their stuff for a much lower average. They weren’t greedy by any means, they just wanted enough to survive and live in relative secrecy. And even then they would still be selling their stuff for enough money to make them richer than they ever thought they’d be.
Ryukyu nodded. “With all the other Agencies in a state of chaos after all the deaths, the Wyrm Agency is poised to be number 1 and we’ll have an increased hire rate so we’ll need more gear.” She held out her hand to Izuku to shake. “I would be happy to do business with you.”
Izuku took her hand gratefully. He didn’t know it, but as Dabi would’ve said, “The only way Ryukyu works through stuff is by working harder.”
She was a hard worker through and through. Good at school, good at work, lousy at life. So throwing herself into her work was the only way she knew how to deal with her emotions. And the Wyrm Agency would certainly be busy enough in the effort to fill the void of the fallen Agencies.
“If you ever need help,” Izuku said, passing Ryukyu a piece of paper with his and Momo’s number on it, “Call us. Don’t worry about paying us or anything, we don’t need anything from the Gates aside from their Souls.”
Ryukyu took the paper and tucked it into her pocket. “Hopefully I won’t need it.”
Izuku agreed with a nod as he stood. “I have to go for now, but just tell Quasar where you want to go and he’ll take you there before returning to me.”
Ryukyu smiled, happy to be allowed to fly around a while longer. “I’ll make sure to wire you the money for this,” She said, hefting Beru’s core as Izuku gave her a thumbs up, sinking into the shadows to teleport somewhere else.
Once he was gone, Ryukyu held the Villain core close, feeling the strength of its Mana pound against her heart. “I’ll kill you all…”
*******
“What’s up?” Izuku asked, teleporting into the forge of the late Demon Lord, Bael.
Merrix was stood by the entrance, overlooking a group of Tenebris working with the metals. He had called Izuku to the area as he was talking with Ryukyu.
“They won’t listen to me,” Merrix answered, “I don’t know what they’re doing.”
It seemed that the Tenebris and Merrix still hadn’t had their talk and made peace.
“Thanks for letting me know,” Izuku said, stepping forwards.
“Excuse me!” He said loudly, but respectfully.
The Tenebris turned towards him, noticing the ring on his finger and instantly dropping to a knee.
“Ah, no no… no need to kneel…” Izuku tolerated the Shadows kneeling, and he had to remain silent in the reverence of humans, but with the Tenebris, he felt like he could really voice his opinions.
“I’m not your king or anything,” He protested.
“I disagree, brother.” The Tenebris emissary from Floor 100, where they had made peace, spoke up. “You freed us and have the crown. I believe you are a worthy leader to follow.”
“Uhh…” Izuku stammered, unable to really think of a response to that. “Well… what are you guys up to?”
“We were attempting to awaken Bael’s forge. It is capable of making quite a lot of fine armor and materials.” He pointed to the flowing rivers of metal. “Those are an endless source of magical metals, so we have all the resources we need.”
“Endless? Wow I could make a fortune off this.” Izuku instantly thought to himself before dispelling such a concept. This was the property of the Tenebris, he couldn’t use it for his own personal gain just because he was the “king.” He wasn’t inherently greedy, but he did have to stymy some of those inner-most thoughts. He was human after all. Random thoughts like those would happen.
“So the problem is just the anvil?” Izuku asked, walking with the Tenebris towards the center of the forge.
“Well actually, the entire structure seems to have turned off. The tools are unusable by some sort of magic. The only thing still working are those rivers of molten metal.”
“Hmm…” Izuku strolled over to the anvil. “What’s your name?” He asked the Tenebris.
“Me?” The emissary balked. “Loren.”
“Huh…” Izuku exclaimed, thinking to himself , “That’s a much prettier name than I expected for a Demon.”
“Well, Loren, what have you guys tried?”
“There’s not much we have tried, after all, we can barely move anything with such a magical lock. The only thing we haven’t really examined was the throne,” Loren said, pointing to the dark shape that Bael had sat in when Izuku first met him.
Izuku walked over to it. He detested such lofty displays of authority, but he took a seat in it nonetheless, thinking there might be some command console on it.
The arms of the chair were empty though, empty aside from one thin slot. It was just big enough for Izuku to fit the band of his ring against, fitting snugly into the metal armrest. A burst of magic suddenly flooded from the chair into the floor, spreading throughout the entire chamber.
“Well, I think that worked.” Izuku said, standing as a Tenebris grabbed a hammer, confirming his words.
“It’s a shame we need the ring for it,” Loren lamented. “I do not wish to call upon you everytime…” He held a hand to his chin in deep contemplation as Izuku removed the ring and handed it to him as if it was nothing.
“Keep it!” Izuku insisted. “I have no desire for kingship. And I think we have enough respect for each other to forgo such titles. Besides, it’s clear that you’re the current head of the Tenebris faction. You deserve it more than me.” Izuku had finally scrounged up an excuse to hand over leadership to Loren, attempting to pass the ring.
“But… you earned it…”
Izuku shrugged. “I’ve never lived amongst you, and still don’t. I don’t know what’s best for your kind or what you want. You have knowledge of all of that, and really,” Izuku lowered his voice to a whisper, “I’m not cut out to be a king.”
That last sentence, for some reason, seemed to convince Loren, who took the ring delicately. “Only wise men are capable of giving up power they are not suited for.”
Izuku gave a hearty laugh. “You make me sound like some wise old sage. I’m just a kid, after all.”
Izuku may have been more mature than even some adults, but he was still just an 18-year-old. These were several thousand, if not million, year-old beings. They didn’t need some random kid coming in to claim rule over them. Izuku saw them as allies, maybe even friends, but he didn’t see them as subjects.
“In that case, allow us to at least honor you by providing you with whatever you need from the forge.”
Izuku nodded. “I will happily take up that offer.”
Loren smirked. “It is quite alluring is it not? To have such limitless potential at your fingertips.”
“Yeah.” He thought carefully. The first thing the forge would make under free Tenebris hands should be something important. He could afford to be a little more careless with future requests, but this couldn’t be half-assed for a first go.
“How good are you guys at construction?” Izuku asked, a smile on his face as a thought dawned on him.
Loren tilted his head quizzically. “Uhhh…”
*******
After listening to Izuku for a couple minutes, Loren was nodding. “Yes, yes I’m sure we could pull that off mechanically. But what you describe involves a program we cannot create on our own.”
Izuku brushed off the concern with a “I’ll handle that part.” Which meant that the first project of the Tenebris was underway, and would be quite the spectacle once it was unveiled.
After Izuku ensured everything else was going good, aside from Merrix’s personal quarrel with his kind, he teleported back to his apartment, where his sister had laid out quite the array of papers.
“Ughhhh!” Izuku groaned as he plopped down on the sofa, ready to spend the rest of the day catching up on his work.
Although UA had sent out all the necessary homework and reading materials about a week in advance, Izuku hadn’t done any of it. Because of the Tenebris and Lux dungeon, as well as Jeju island, he had slacked heavily on his work. Momo barely needed to look over her notes to intrinsically remember everything from a class, book, or otherwise. She had her homework done the same day they got back from Jeju. Even with her research inside the Luxian lab, she had found the time.
“Can’t fall behind…” Izuku swore to himself as he thanked whatever Gods existed for giving him such a responsible sister and smart girlfriend.
For now, he needed to focus, because school was tomorrow.
*******
“Haaaaa…” Izuku let out a sigh as the cold morning air hit his lungs. Stepping out from the apartment block, hand-in-hand with Momo, he noticed just how much worse the air quality was by his place as compared to Jeju or even on UA campus grounds.
“We should move…” Momo commented, as if reading his mind.
“Yeah…” Izuku agreed half-heartedly. Before his mother fell into the Eternal Slumber, and after his father had disappeared into a Gate, she had insisted that they not move. Her reasoning was that if her husband ever came back to the real world, he’d return to that very apartment to find them. Izuku realized that logic was somewhat faulty. After all, if an S-Rank man just popped back into existence, news of him would be all over the place and governments would take him in if he re-emerged somewhere else in the world. And as soon as they confirmed his identity he would be sent home. It would be a very easy matter to find him.
Even still, Izuku was hesitant to leave the apartment. “But I can’t live my life here… mom wouldn’t want me to sequester myself just for her…” Then out loud, he said, “We should see if there’s any property by school on the way there.”
Momo nodded in agreement as they began their commute. Either one could fly or teleport to school within an instant, but not only would it draw too much attention, but they didn’t mind taking the time to just walk and experience the city.
“You hear about the trial?”
“Yeah, but I don’t give a crap about that guy, I just wanna see Endeavor on the chopping block!”
A group of workers chatted amongst themselves about Takashi and the trial. It seemed like the heat Takashi was under was much less intense than the country’s hatred for Endeavor. Motives did matter apparently.
“Eh those Korean’s screwed up the Raid, if it weren’t for Japan and the Shadow Monarchs they’d have doomed us all.”
Of course, there were still those dedicated to the nationalist ideals that held back unity throughout the world.
“So what?” His co-workers replied. “You think Endeavor should just get off scot-free?”
“Nah that bastard deserted. I’m just saying that Japan didn’t do anything wrong.”
Izuku shook his head at the men and women. Morality was all over the place these days. Strength had skewed views on right and wrong. The constant uppity nature of strong Heroes had convinced the populous of the world that manners were just an optional pleasantry. Might made right. A startlingly opposite ideal to what All Might himself preached. It was almost hysterical how ironic it was… almost.
“Is this really all there is by the school?” Izuku asked as they approached campus. They had used their phones to look up real-estate in the area, only coming up with one result for sale. “This is massive…”
The house easily could’ve contained three whole families. Despite that, it didn’t have the same sense of opulence and intimidation that most mansions had. It was an older structure, with warmer architecture and colors. It was clearly only for those with money to burn, but it also gave the impression of a calm family home.
“Let’s get it.” Izuku concluded, deciding to be spontaneous for once.
The house itself was around 400 Million Yen, which was only a fraction of what Ryukyu had paid Izuku for Beru’s core, 4 Billion Yen to be specific. And that wasn’t even taking into account the other gear he was planning on selling, like the basic Lux weapons, which could easily sell for 10 Million Yen each and that was a low estimate.
“Okay.” Momo agreed without argument.
From an outside perspective, it was honestly hilarious to watch two teens barely in college, talk about owning a several hundred million Yen mansion like it was a normal thing to do. Of course, Izuku and Momo weren’t exactly normal.
Via his phone, Izuku immediately put a deposit on the house, not wanting to miss out on buying it if someone else came along. It was unlikely, but the area around UA was prime real-estate.
“Ready to face the music?” Momo joked, referring to Setsuna as they concluded their house shopping.
Izuku winced. “I was thinking Igris could talk to her.”
Momo gave one of her rare snorts of laughter. A sound that embarrassed her, but Izuku found endearing. He liked her elegant side. After all, she could rock just about any style of fabulous dress, but seeing her laugh and joke with Kei in one of Izuku’s oversized hoodies while eating pizza and burping was its own special thing. It wasn’t that Izuku was that much of a slob, it was just that he knew she didn’t really show that side to anyone else. She trusted him and she trusted Kei. That was its own reward.
“Well, it looks like I won’t have to put it off for long,” Izuku muttered, pointing to the entrance gate of UA, where a girl with dark-green hair was standing, her arms crossed. The second she spotted Izuku, her eyes widened and she rushed over as fast as she could without her school uniform’s skirt flipping up in the wind.
“Did you know?!” She didn’t shout, but she was certainly intense enough to make Izuku flinch.
“I didn’t,” He answered simply.
“Ugh!!!” Setsuna stomped her boots on the ground. “That bastard!” She turned to Momo and suddenly went pale. “Oh… oh my god…”
“What?” Izuku’s head whipped between the two girls so fast that it looked like it would twist around 180 degrees like an owl at some point.
“I…” Setsuna’s lip quivered as she tried to gather her courage. “I’m sorry for what my father did to you.” She bowed in perfect form to Momo.
“Oh…” Finally the pieces clicked in Izuku’s head. Momo and Izuku had already told Setsuna about most everything that had happened to Yaoyorozu in her early life. Momo trusted Setsuna enough to even make a few complaints about her past. Complaints that could be traced back to Setsuna’s father.
Thankfully, Takashi had kept the Yaoyorozu incident out of his admitted crimes, mostly just to keep Momo and Izuku out of the whole affair.
Momo’s eyes softened at Setsuna’s clear anguish.
“I’d like to hate your father until the end of time… but,” Momo took a deep breath, “I’m not sure I have the energy for that.” Setsuna remained frozen in posture, not moving an inch. Izuku had to wonder if her Quirk gave her extra control over her sense of balance. “I doubt me and him will ever be friends, but unlike my parents, he has convictions that I can understand. When it comes to you and me, however…” Momo let the moment drag on just a tiny bit, until Setsuna looked up to see the gray-eyed beauty staring down with a smile, “I’d like to remain friends.”
“But…” Setsuna straightened her back as she protested weakly, “What he did…”
Momo sighed. “He’s being held accountable and he’s holding himself accountable. I can’t ask for more. And really, I’d rather put the past as far behind me as possible. I’ve come to terms with it, I’ve dealt with it, and now I’m moving past it.” Momo was settling into a stable life, she was going to school, she was making friends, and she was no longer scared of what the next day would bring, so she had no hesitation in holding her hand out to Setsuna.
“If I had to apologize and hold myself accountable for everyone my parents hurt, I’d never be finished,” Momo said, a pained look in her eyes. “And the same could be said of you. Don’t be bogged down by something you weren’t responsible for.”
Setsuna gingerly took Momo’s hand. “O-Okay…”
The normally rambunctious girl was timid for once, fidgeting like a school girl instead of bellowing like a grown woman. Izuku felt like he was seeing a lot of those sorts of reversals lately.
“Also, don’t worry about your dad’s safety,” Izuku chimed in. “I’ve got a Shadow on him. Unless S-Ranks start breaking down the doors to get to him, he’ll be safe. And I can put one on you if you’re worried about your safety-”
“Hey, who do you think you’re talking to?!” Her rambunctious personality bounced back the second Izuku got involved. “I don’t need a babysitter!”
“N-No! I didn’t think so!” Izuku said, backing away with his hands up in surrender.
“It’s stupid enough with the precautions my dad is taking! He’s making me move into one of his safehouses with a bunch of muscle heads for protection! He won’t even let Yui over!” She scoffed. “You don’t think you could do something about that could you?”
Izuku and Momo were grinning ear to ear. “Well… if you wanna come live with us, we just put a deposit down on a new massive house. I’m sure I can get Takashi to allow it.”
“Sweet!” Setsuna agreed without hesitation, surprising the duo. They didn’t mind her living with them but they didn’t expect her to accept their half-joking proposal.
“So you manage to get all the work done with how busy you were, Mister Hero?” She asked Izuku, suddenly changing the subject.
“Wha-Why are you just asking me?!”
“I think we know why I didn’t include Yaomomo.”
Izuku grumbled under his breath. “I just barely managed.”
“He did fine,” Momo assured the girl. “I went over his work this morning. He doesn’t give himself enough credit.”
“That seems like something he’d do,” Setsuna said, giggling with Momo, as if the past few minutes were a distant thought.
Izuku smiled and, in good fun, said, “I feel like I’m back at high school. Got a bunch of bullies following me around.”
“Oh don’t lie,” Setsuna turned on her heel and began marching towards school so as not to be late, “Any boy would love having beautiful women follow them around… even if they are just teasing him.”
“Oh so I’m a boy but you’re a woman?” Izuku responded, walking through the halls, meeting up with Yui along the way.
“Mmhmm…” The quiet girl replied, her eyes looking sleepy as always.
They continued to laugh and jest until reaching the classroom, saying hi to Iida and the others. But Izuku could only focus on the person near the back of the class, Shoto.
Outwardly, you’d never know anything was wrong, however, Izuku could see something in his eyes, something that reached down to his very soul. Pure fear.
*******
In the past, Jeju Raids had taken hundreds, if not thousands of lives. Awakened Humans, soldiers, everyday civilians, and more had lost their lives on that island. So whenever a funeral was held for the deceased in Korea, the number of graves to dig was… a terrible sight to behold.
This time, even between Japan and Korea, only a handful of graves would have to be made. It was a great comfort to the civilians of Korea, who had only lost 1 S-Rank, gained back their island, and could finally put the past to rest, having avenged their fallen.
For Japan, it was a much more somber affair.
Ryukyu rested a delicate white flower on the dedication to Touya. The other shrines were already packed full of flowers, given to the Heroes who had fallen. Heroes and everyday citizens came from all over Japan to witness the public funeral and pay their respects. The civilians were fenced off from the Heroes, who were closest to the shrines so that they wouldn’t have to be crowded by random people.
“I’m sorry…” Ryukyu muttered silently before turning around and joining the ranks of her Agency.
As the funeral proceeded, a strange noise began to grow above their heads.
Ryukyu thought it was a plane at first, but she recognized the shape from the news coverage of the Jeju Raid, it was the flying creature that the Shadow Empress had ridden. Kaisel.
The Shadow creature made a slow pass overhead, dropping something from its talons.
Like a slow falling snow, shapes of darkness spread across the Heroes gathered in reverence.
It was Dark Magic, in many different shapes and sizes. A feather of darkness, an orca’s tail, a katana, and so forth. But the one that mattered most to Ryukyu was the one floating in the palm of her hand. A tiny black flame that smoldered for a few moments before dissipating like the rest of the Dark Magic. And as that flame dwindled away, something finally broke in Ryukyu.
She collapsed to her knees, tears running down her cheeks in rivers as she let out a sobbing wail. It broke over the crowds, sending the other Agencies into similar mourning as their mentors, their leaders, their family, was gone.
*******
“I should crush your skull, Endeavor,” Thomas Andre said, standing on the docks in a Hawaiian shirt, loose jeans, and flip flops. He wasn’t at all threatened by the flaming man in golden armor in front of him. “The Scavenger Guild is mine, Touya was mine, and nobody touches my stuff.”
The Japanese man thankfully had a decent grasp of English, because Andre wasn’t kind enough to wait for a translator. Upon anchoring his yacht off the coast of Maui, Endeavor intended to go ashore to one of his safehouses and live out the rest of his life in secrecy, but Thomas Andre had been waiting there, his assistant, Laura, by his side.
“Unfortunately, if I rip you in half, that means that the President’s dog, Stars, has quite the lead on me when it comes to my collection of S-Ranks.” Thomas took out a cigarette, smugly holding it up to Endeavor’s flames and lighting it.
Endeavor couldn’t react, not in any single way. This was a National-Rank, someone who could’ve gone toe-to-toe with that ant creature. Endeavor, like before, felt the weight of the world bearing down on him. He was powerless.
“Ya know what the second amendment is here in America? The right to bear arms.” Thomas took a few puffs, blowing the smoke in Endeavor’s face. “And if that blonde bitch has a stronger force than I do, then that means America could do whatever it wanted to the people. So I’ve gotta do my part in maintaining a free world.”
Endeavor didn’t even see Thomas move, but before he knew it, it was knocked clean off his feet, laying face-down on the docks.
“From now on, you work for me.” Andre declared, his boot on Endeavor’s back. “You’re my lap dog now.” He chuckled. “Welcome to America, bitch.”