Chapter Text
“You lied to me!” Shoto’s thoughts echoed throughout the white void.
“I told you when I first met you, I am incapable of lying within this space. Souls are the most direct form of communication.”
“Problem is, if you’re lying, I can’t trust that statement either,” Shoto spat back at Yogumunt.
“Well that’s for you to decide. Regardless, I didn’t lie about anything.”
“You didn’t tell me Touya would be there!”
The Higher Being shrugged as best he could in his blobby form. “I didn’t know he’d be there. It’s really as simple as that.”
“You’re a God, how could you not know?!”
“The future isn’t as simple as that. If it was then free will wouldn’t exist. We Higher Beings can only predict, not see, the future. Even Earth’s greatest computers struggle to predict literally every single outcome of a chess game. The amount of computational power a game of chess takes is monumental. Imagine how many variables chess has, and compare it to how many variables reality has. To you, I am a God, but I am not omniscient. If that was the case, I would have ended this war long ago.” Yogumunt paused to recover, his own frustration from several millennia boiling over.
“Shoto, I am very sorry your brother died. I did not think he was important to you, I didn’t think any of your family was important to you, otherwise I would have looked much deeper into their possible futures.”
Shoto remained silent for a moment, his metaphysical fists clenched tightly. “Why didn’t you tell me how dangerous that Nomu would be?”
“I thought I provided a sufficient warning. I told you it could eventually become a threat to us Higher Beings. I figured that was enough to warn you of its dangers. Again, I am not accustomed to mortal conventions, I will attempt to be as clear as possible in the future.”
“Future?!” Shoto scoffed. “What makes you think I’d trust you again?!”
“What I meant is that I will be as clear as possible in regaining your trust,” Yogumunt clarified. “I will merely be giving you some advice for the next couple of days.”
“How do I know you’re not just gonna get me killed next!”
“Because if I wanted you dead, I would have sent you to Jeju without that ring to hide you from the ant.” When Shoto said nothing in response, Yogumunt continued. “Your class will be undertaking an A-Rank Gate tomorrow. That Gate will be ambushed by humans, what your society calls anti-Heroes.”
“Human Villains? You mean they’ll ambush us at the Gate’s Entrance?”
“No, inside the Gate itself.”
“How’s that pos-” Shoto cut himself off, he had seen a lot of “impossible” things recently. “So I should tell my class just not to enter?”
“No, you should go in with them. Keep it a secret. If you try to tell your class or the faculty the school will try to send your class to a different Gate whilst pros handle the ambush, but as a result, both your class and the pros will suffer heavy casualties. Not to mention the Shadow Monarch will gain a very dangerous Summon.”
“This again…” Shoto shook his head. “Izuku Midoriya saved everyone at the Jeju Raid, you can’t still expect me to believe that he’s an enemy!”
“I never said Izuku was an enemy. He’s quite possibly one of the most noble people on the planet. It’s the power inhabiting him that will one day become a problem. If the Shadow Monarch was a force for good, Izuku Midoriya would be humanity’s greatest asset. But that power will soon take over him completely.” Yogumunt sighed. “As you humans say, I’m putting all my cards on the table.” Shoto leaned closer, as if to hear better.
“This is not the first time humanity has been threatened by Villains, and I don’t mean ancient times.” Yogumunt held up eight blobby fingers. “This is the eighth time Higher Beings have approached Earth. The eighth and final war.”
“What does that even mean?”
“Our enemies are, or rather, were, in possession of an artifact known as the Chalice of Reincarnation. It was capable of rewinding time, leaving only us Higher Beings with memories of the past timeline. Mortals such as yourself, unless under special circumstances, wouldn’t even know you had already lived several lives. In the past timelines, Izuku Midoriya was present in both human and extraterrestrial wars. But he was always a medic. He never carried a gun into battle, he never took a life. Such an action disgusted him so greatly that he would rather die. The Izuku Midoriya of this timeline is different, he is willing to kill. I’m not telling you this because I think killing is wrong, I’m saying this because it is clear that he has been changed by the Shadow Monarch. Eventually he will no longer be in control of himself or his summons and the world will crack under the pressure of the God of Death.”
Shoto pursed his lips, clearly deep in thought.
“I’m not asking you to kill Midoriya. When the time comes, us Higher Beings will do what needs to be done. For now, let’s just keep you and your class safe. As well as your family.”
“My family?” Shoto broke his silence. In recent days, his family home had been attacked by plenty of vandals. The usual things like eggs, toilet paper, and other nuisances were the most common. However, the other night, the police arrested someone about to throw a molotov cocktail on his house. Natsuo and Fuyumi were still living there with him, so obviously they weren’t in the safest position, but Shoto got the sense that Yogumunt was speaking of something else.
“In a few days, your class will be asked to go to Catalina Island to assist in search and rescue operations. Your class should go, because otherwise it will be a catastrophic disaster, akin to a second Jeju. But you need to stay home.”
“Why?”
“Because… there’s about to be a war, and it won’t be pretty.”
*******
“That should be the last of it!” Setsuna said, clapping her hands together as she looked at her new room at Izuku’s place. The bedroom alone was at least 1000 sq. feet, which was bigger than some homes. It was more like an apartment than a bedroom. The house as a whole was so big it felt more like a complex than anything. Thankfully, it was all built around a central gathering area, so no one ever felt too far away from the rest of the house.
The backyard was just as luxurious. There was an entire koi pond surrounding a dojo of sorts out back. But it was more for meditation, as opposed to sparring.
Despite her father being… well, who he was, Setsuna didn’t live too fancifully. It was really the others in the Shadow Organization who had all the money. Takashi was a pretty normal guy if you ignored the conspiracy stuff, and made a pretty normal salary. It was just that he could draw on the resources of the other members if he needed to. He just never used it for his own benefit.
Regardless, it meant that this was a pretty insane upgrade for Setsuna. Like going from a Kia to a Lamborghini. And the same was even more true for Izuku, who essentially went from a beat up rusted car that couldn’t even be identified to a McLaren.
“I’m jealous,” Yui complained. She had helped the group move in. After all, seeing a bunch of Shadows moving around the house would raise obvious questions, so they had moved manually. Thankfully, since they were all Awakened, they could move basically anything with one hand. And even then, there wasn’t that much to move. After all, Kei had said she wanted to stay in the apartment, so Izuku and Momo were having all sorts of furniture delivered in the coming days.
“Well I’m sure the lovebirds won’t mind if you stay over.”
“Mmm…” She mumbled.
Yui had helped Setsuna move, after all they were now allowed to hang out, so they were sticking together. And not only that, but Yui was the only decent cook in the house.
They had promised to get Esil more human cuisine, and didn’t want to just grab take-out. So while Momo was out grabbing ingredients, everyone else was fixing up the house.
Momo could’ve used her Quirk to create most of the stuff needed for dinner, but everyone seemed to agree, upon tasting it, that the ingredients didn’t have the same freshness as produce from the market.
“What?” Setsuna asked upon seeing Yui looking at her intently.
“Are you okay?”
“Huh? Where’d that come from?”
“This whole mess with your father. At first it was just a bit of news coverage and a surprising reveal for you. But now you’ve moved into a new place, life is continuing on. That tends to have an effect on people, settling into a new reality.”
Setsuna continued unpacking her things as she thought, Yui allowing the silence to continue on until her friend could answer.
“I’m… Not sure…”
Setsuna had lost her parents at the age of 8. By then she had already gotten accustomed to her name, which is why she didn’t change it after Takashi took her in. She had nightmares for years about monsters breaking into her house and taking Takashi. She was never afraid for her own life. Just those around her.
She put off a flippant attitude, as if she didn’t care. The sort of attitude that convinced people she wasn’t concerned about anything, even others. It was good at keeping people at arm’s reach.
Yui had seen past that almost immediately, thanks to her own unique personality. She looked emotionless, but she was really intimately familiar with her innermost feelings and was great at seeing into the hearts of others.
“I’m scared…” Setsuna finally said, her voice barely a whisper. “If he gets locked up, or chased down by some nut job… I’ll be alone. Again.”
“Izuku won’t let that happen,” Yui said. “He’ll have a Shadow on your father to make sure no one hurts him.”
“But not even Izuku can keep him out of jail…” Setsuna herself could have broken her father out of jail by force if he did end up behind bars. She was Awakened so nothing humans built could really keep her out. But even if she was willing to throw away her life and go on the run for her father, she wasn’t sure he deserved such a rescue. He killed people, allowed Momo’s parents the resources and legal freedom to do whatever they wanted, and more.
“Whatever is decided, we’ll be here. And you will be here for him when he gets out.”
Setsuna’s eyes were fixed squarely on the ground, her face unreadable. “I-“
The doorbell chimed throughout the house and they heard the faint voice of Izuku yelling that he’d get it.
“Huh, that feels like Iida…” Setsuna remarked, changing the subject as she searched out the Mana signature.
In spite of Izuku’s insistence that he’d get the door, the girls rushed out of the room and through the hallway to see what was going on. They waited out of sight, their ears straining to hear the words being spoken.
“How’d you even find us?” Izuku asked, more in surprise than anything else. Iida knew about the Shadow Monarch identity so Izuku wasn’t concerned for his privacy if it was just him, but it was weird.
“After lunch I overheard Yaoyorozu informing Tokage of your new address… I’m sorry for eavesdropping.”
Setsuna and Yui cringed, now doing the very same thing.
“Well knowing you, you had an important reason to do so,” Izuku responded magnanimously, opening the door and asking him inside. “Sorry, we don’t have any tea or food right now, Momo’s out grabbing it.”
“That’s fine, I don’t intend to stay.”
The girls heard the scraping of wood against the floor as the chairs to the kitchen table were pulled out and sat in.
“So… what’s up?” Izuku asked awkwardly, showing that he still wasn’t great at interacting with anyone that wasn’t Momo, a Shadow, or his sister.
“Todoroki.”
“What about him?”
“Well, after what happened on Jeju, between his brother’s death and his father’s… actions, I approached him to see if I could offer anything.”
“Yeah, I wanted to do the same, but wasn’t sure how to go about it. You know how he is.”
Iida made a quiet hum of acknowledgement. “Well, much to my surprise, not only did he speak with me, but he asked for my help.”
“Seriously?”
“Indeed. However, this help is not something I can provide to him… but it’s something you can.”
“It has to do with your family name I’m guessing?”
Iida sighed. “Todoroki was afraid for the safety of his siblings. I’m not sure if you heard but their family home has been under constant threat. They considered moving, but Todoroki explained that his main concern is leaving the two alone.”
“And because the Ingenium family is in strict opposition to Endeavor’s Agency…”
Iida finished the sentence. “My family will not allow us to house the three, else we suffer the financial consequences.” Iida spat out the last part, infuriated that money prevented a simple act. “They won’t even chance housing them… I’m so ashamed, but I have to ask-”
“It’s no problem,” Izuku interrupted. “We’ve got plenty of space here and I can put a Shadow on them. Although it does bring up the secrecy problem of my identity. Natsuo probably already knows, but I’m not sure about the other two.” The men went silent for a moment before Izuku chuckled and said. “Oh well, I’ll figure it out, if I have to tell them, I have to tell them. It’s more important to help someone than worrying about such a simple thing.”
“I suppose I owe twice over now,” Iida said, referring to the Recursive Gate.
“I’m just happy to help.”
“Well, regardless, I’m grateful. But I must ask, will Yaoyorozu be okay with this?”
The girls could practically feel Izuku flinch, as he realized that he had agreed to it without checking with her.
“Uhm… I’m sure she’ll be fine with it, but until I check with her, don’t say anything to Todoroki. We’ve got Natsuo’s number, so we can just call him when we decide.”
“I understand. Well, you’ll certainly have a full house, especially with the two around the corner.”
“Oops…” Setsuna deadpanned, peaking around the corner, both of the guys smiling at the antics.
“It’ll be lively,” Izuku said, correcting Iida. “Don’t worry about us, we’ll be just fine.”
*******
“Sister, you are insane,” Yuri Orlov said through his thick Russian accent, scooping up and downing a bottle of alcohol in one swift motion. “You don’t see me for months, you ignore my calls, and then you come to me asking me to fight in a war.”
President Katya followed her brother inside his mansion, which was surprisingly tidy.
Outwardly, Yuri was a drunken fool who partied and slept around. But Yuri had spent time in numerous countries, studying all sorts of topics, from various languages, to physics, to Magics. He was well read, and not one to take such propositions lightly.
“You,” He said, sitting down next to a Russian supermodel lounging on his couch in very little clothing, “Have been spending far too much time with that man.”
“Nine is an asset to this country.”
“He is a Japanese criminal who starts wars wherever he goes.” Yuri shook his head in disbelief. “He has been putting things in your head, Katya. You used to be smart enough to recognize things like that.”
“I’m no fool,” She spat back at her brother, angrily eyeing the woman next to him. “I’m merely doing what I need to in order to protect the future.”
“You have become an arrogant and prideful woman. You were always a stubborn mule, but you were never stupid.”
“I may be your sister, but I am also your President, show some-”
“Answer me this.” Yuri didn’t hesitate to ignore his sister. “Even forgetting the morality of invading another country mere days after losing a majority of their S-Ranks, what strategic benefit do you see here? America will not support your actions, neither will most of the world. Perhaps Korea has been slighted enough to remain neutral, but this is not our motherland’s salvation. It will only be another problem on our plate.”
“The world needs to be united. And it won’t happen any other way.”
“United?” Yuri scoffed. “Not even our own people will support you.” He sighed, gesturing to the seats across from him. “Sit, drink, talk. Do not let idle thoughts control your actions, let us speak freely and work through this.”
“You’re right, brother.” She responded, much to the man’s shock. It was not often he could get her to agree with him, no matter the topic.
“I am?”
“Someone has been influencing my actions… but it is not Nine.”
Yuri’s eyes widened as he felt a presence rush through his mansion and towards him. His speciality, much like Esil's, was to create barriers to defend himself, but even as an S-Rank, his barriers shattered like they were made of thin glass.
The supermodel’s throat was slashed open as a sharp object pierced the base of Yuri’s skull. He fell to the finely polished marble floor, still alive, but unable to move.
As his vision began to darken, he caught sight of a dark shape standing next to his sister, like a swarm of locusts buzzing around.
“Forgive me brother…” Was the last thing he heard.