Chapter Text
“His name is Tenko Shimura,” Tsukauchi said as he passed out files to the Hero Safety Commission board. “10 years ago his family home was destroyed under unknown circumstances and he was presumed dead along with the rest of his family as their bodies were never found.”
“Am I reading this right?” One of the suits asked. “He used Apex Magic?”
“Aizawa was certain of it, as were the three summons present.”
“The summons?”
Tsukauchi nodded. “Deep Blue, who has been working with the Commission, as you all know, was kind enough to write up a report of the three ‘Shadows’ present on Europa. Beru, Igris, and Kaisel, as they are named, all made clear that it was Disintegration Magic being used.”
The room flipped through the files, coming to three separate documents. All were handwritten by Deep Blue, but because he was essentially a living computer, there was basically no difference between his writing and a computer’s fonts. It was perfectly readable.
“If it was Apex Air Magic, then how did the one named ‘Beru’ survive?”
It was All Might who answered. “It is understood that the summons of the Shadow Monarchs possess incredible regenerative powers. So much so that not even Apex Magic can kill them outright.”
The room was visibly uncomfortable with that notion. Even if Japan was confronted by another country, like America, they would still have a chance to fight back. National-Ranks weren’t invincible, just incredibly strong. As far as they knew, none of them had the capacity to regenerate so aggressively.
“Even if we assume the Shadows can be trusted, it still doesn’t explain how a boy like Tenko Shimura was in possession of such Magic. Apex forms of Magic have only been seen in disastrous threats like Kamish, or theorized about by Mana Researchers. Not even Christopher Reed has Apex Magic and he’s arguably the strongest Mage-type Awakened human in the world.”
“That… is still unknown,” Tsukauchi admitted, “But, the summon named Igris did provide some interesting insight. Page 3 of his report, he notes that ‘the boy was horribly inexperienced with his Apex Magic, and was even caught in Kaisel’s energy blast. My Liege, experienced with his Magic, would never have let such an attack so much as graze his armor.’”
“Does that mean the Shadow Monarch has his own Apex Magic?”
Tsukauchi shrugged. “It was reported that he was using many high-level forms of Dark Magic, so it’s possible, but not confirmed. The important thing here is that Igris is implying that Shimura did not have this power for long and had yet to really use it to its full potential.”
“Are you saying he was given it?”
“The report mentions a ‘Master,’” All Might interjected. “It’s possible that there is someone or something out there that was providing him with such strength.” The implication sat silently for a moment, but there wasn’t much to elaborate on outside of speculation, so they moved on.
“Any noted motivations?”
Anti-Heroes weren’t all that uncommon. Given immense physical and Magic prowess, many Awakened humans became drunk with power and attempted to rob banks, blackmail the government, hijack planes, and many other stupid stunts that were mostly defeated by other Awakened humans who had better control over their impulses. Regardless, the motives were usually pretty clear. Money, power, influence, etc. They were all very standard human desires. But in this instance, some things were left very unclear.
“They mentioned a war, allies, and possibly something about Russia.”
One of the suits, a man with military ties, chimed in. “No troop movement has been noted by satellites, and a friend of mine spoke to Yuri Orlov just yesterday. Aside from saying that the man sounded tired, nothing seemed amiss. With his sister being the president, he often blabs state secrets just to rant about her, but nothing came up. Besides, Yuri Orlov would be the last person to let his country go to war. He has a heap of pride for his country, but he’s also a humanitarian. He’d sooner fight his own people than start a war.”
The room nodded in agreement, as many of them had also met Orlov and had the same opinion. He loved booze, drugs, and prostitutes, and could be a bit of an arrogant brute at times, but he also had a deep respect for human life, both his people and the rest of the world.
“How are Class 1-A doing?” All Might asked.
“They’re a strong bunch, they’ve already dealt with a Recursive Gate, and they’ve got some powerhouses on their team so I wouldn’t worry about them too much. They didn’t even have to get involved in the fighting on Europa thankfully. The school has planned a trip to Catalina Island for Search and Rescue training, so they’ll get a break from the supernatural for a bit.”
“People have been going missing?” One of the board members asked.
“A few, mostly tourists, which has led the American government to assume it’s just people getting lost, as most of the island is uninhabited and undeveloped. Nothing a few Awakened can’t handle. And it will serve as a good experience of operating in foreign territory.”
All Might smiled as fond memories of the island came flooding back. He had taken a day out of his time in California to ferry across to the island and experience their culture. He also met the C-Rank who protected the island, one of the Top Ten in America. He was a bit of a weirdo, but All Might regarded him in a favorable light.
“Has the other prisoner awoken yet?”
“Unfortunately no, he’s still in surgery after all the damage that was done to him,” Tsukauchi flipped a few pages to see an image of Muscular. “Goto Imasuji. Petty criminal who initially stole cars and other luxury items in his youth before upgrading to murderer. He killed five people before being caught. After being imprisoned, he Awakened with a Quirk as well and escaped. There were a slew of victims who were believed to be his before the killing suddenly stopped. No one saw him between his prison break and now, likely meaning he was whisked away by this group of Anti-Heroes to Europa.” Goto was captured before Magic Suppressors were standard in prisons, which was the reason his escape was such an easy one. Without them, brick walls and steel bars were little more than Lego bricks to be taken apart by Awakened Humans.
“Given his behavior in the report, I wouldn’t be surprised if his motivation was just pure carnage,” Someone said.
“I spoke to one of the guards who watched over Goto during his imprisonment and he shared that same sentiment,” Tsukauchi acknowledged. “He’s little more than muscle and malice. I doubt he even knows the plans of the ‘Master’ behind all of this. We’ll interrogate him regardless, but well… we don’t expect much.” He flipped through the rest of the file. “Hmm… anything else?”
“Tsukauchi…” One of the suits said in disbelief. “Europa is glowing blue.”
“Oh… right…”
*******
“Do you know what it is?” Izuku asked Igris as they sat in front of the tv, watching the news cover the new glowing sphere in the sky.
“No…”
“I thought it was just something beneath the ice. A single creature… but in reality… it’s the entire moon.” Izuku shook his head. “I couldn’t even measure its power.”
“They called it a Primordial, didn't they?” Momo sat next to him, with the Todoroki family watching over their shoulder. They couldn’t see Shoto scowling, wishing the shape in his dreams had mentioned it.
Without warning, Izuku stood, spinning on his heel and aiming a blast of Gravity Magic at the back door.
“My Liege!” Igris stopped him just in time, putting his body between Izuku’s Magic and Lady Nagant.
“Oh… uh… hi.”
“She came here to see you, my Liege. I… left her in the backyard to travel to Europa…” Igris trailed off as he realized the situation he had left her in. He had vanished without a trace, and without so much as a goodbye. She stayed sitting there, waiting for him to return. She didn’t think it was polite to simply leave, or venture through the house, so she had waited, right up until she felt Izuku and Igris return, their presence pushing her to stand and enter the house.
“I see…” The room was so frozen by tension that even Shoto felt like shivering.
“Hi, I’m Momo Yaoyorozu!” Thankfully, Momo had spent her life in uncomfortable situations. As she had learned, moving forwards was the best way to shake off discomfort. So, she had stood from the couch and bowed to the woman in the doorway.
“I-I’m Kaina Tsutsumi,” Following Momo’s lead, she bowed deeply, recognizing Izuku’s partner.
“Sorry about all this,” Izuku said, awkwardly gesturing to the room. “It’s been a weird day.”
Kaina smiled. “I think the weirdness tends to follow you around.”
“Not wrong there,” Setsuna chimed in, giving Izuku a teasing smirk as she walked into the kitchen, spotting the mochi that Fuyumi had made for everyone, and brazenly taking one without asking.
“How’s your Soul doing?” Izuku asked, invoking Soul Magic to see for himself. But upon doing so, he was practically blinded by how bright it was glowing. Of course, only he could see it, and Esil wasn’t around, so he looked a little weird when he held up his hand to shield his eyes.
“I think it’s doing okay,” Kaina responded. “We still don’t understand a lot about the Soul, not even the Shadow Organization, but I’m feeling a lot better.”
“Great!” Fuyumi said, clapping her hands together, “Because I need someone here who enjoys my cooking! And dinner’s gonna be ready soon!”
“Hey I appreciate your cooking,” Natsuo said, but Fuyumi slapped his arm, sending a clear message. She wanted an excuse for Kaina to stick around.
“Oh no, I shouldn’t impose…”
“Why not, you got plans with your boyfriend?” Setsuna asked bluntly. While Momo and Izuku had caught her up on almost everything, they hadn’t explained the whole dream vision thing between Izuku and Kaina.
So, Kaina reacted as expected. “I do not have a boyfriend!” She stressed that part while subtly glancing over at Izuku.
“Then what’s the trouble?” Momo asked. “The more the merrier!” Just like Fuyumi, Momo knew how to read a room, unlike Setsuna or some of the boys. And just like Fuyumi, she was sending a clear message to Kaina: “We’re not going to reject you.”
“Then… I guess I could stay for dinner,” She said hesitantly with a small smile. It was still a weird situation for her. After all, she felt like a stranger in someone’s home, while also knowing quite a lot about the man she was there to see. It was like meeting a celebrity for her. She knew all about Izuku, but he didn’t know much about her. This was her chance to tell him. And she even got the permission of Yaoyorozu to go along with it. “I’d actually love to.”
“Great! It’ll be ready soon!” Fuyumi retreated to the kitchen, ready to make a meal for the seven of them, as well as Esil if she showed up.
To Izuku, it felt like he had a family again. His mother was still in a coma, his father was still very likely dead, but he still had Kei and Momo, and now he had even more in the Todorokis and Kaina. Life was strange and messy and weird, but Izuku, for the first time in a while, felt like he was truly at home.
*******
There was a phenomenon common amongst astronauts, called the Overview Effect. Upon looking at Earth from orbit, or even on the moon, one’s perspective on life itself could change drastically. Their cognitive functions would quite literally be altered by the view.
Miruko experienced none of that as she looked up at the Earth from the lunar surface. Not because she was apathetic or resistant to change. It was merely that her perspective was already similar to those who experienced the Overview Effect. Humans were small, and their faults were often pathetically insignificant. They hurt and fought each other for very little reason. Miruko knew that well, so it didn’t take long for her to tear away her gaze from the Earth and survey her surroundings.
There were two things of note. One being that Miruko could breathe without issue, able to take in lungfuls of air. The second notable thing was the structure that stood before her.
It looked to be made of the same gray rocks and dust as the moon itself, blending in perfectly with the ground. From a distance it would look like the rising edge of an impact crater. And from above, it would look like a minor deviation in the lunar surface. Someone would’ve needed to land right next to it to realize that it was an artificial structure.
It resembled the entrance to a bunker, a sort of mound lying flat and embedded into the surface. In fact, the metal covering the rounded entrance was the only thing that would give it away as being constructed by… something other than natural causes. Miruko couldn’t exactly call it man-made, as she was pretty sure humanity hadn’t built this.
If Izuku had been there, he would have regarded the bunker with caution. It looked both familiar and foreign at the same time, sort of a liminal space. But Miruko just strolled up to the metal door and attempted to yank it open. It refused to budge, giving off Mana that told Miruko it was some sort of Magical Alloy. Pulling on it like it was a standard door would not work.
So Miruko crouched down, lowering herself into her familiar fighting stance. Throwing all her momentum into her hips, she pivoted, swinging her leg into the dense metal. A sharp pain reverberated up her leg as her armor made contact with the door, denting it inwards, but not blasting it open as she had expected.
Miruko didn’t mind the pain, she’d experienced far worse after all, so she kicked again, and again. Her leg was growing numb from the constant kicking, but the door had finally given way.
There was barely a foot of space to squeeze through, cracked open by the distortion of the door’s metal. Regardless, it was plenty of space for Miruko, and she had no trouble slipping through it into the darkness of the bunker.
Immediately upon entering, torches along the wall erupted with pure white flames. As she moved forwards, new torches would light and the ones further back would extinguish. They were motion-detecting torches apparently. But they also stood in stark contrast to the technological appearance of the door itself. Using torches felt archaic and illogical for a base on the moon.
“Why do you seek this power?”
The same voice from before echoed in Miruko’s mind, but this time, it also filled the hallway. It was somewhat disorientating to hear the voice twice, but Miruko didn’t hesitate to answer.
“I’m not strong enough,” She said simply.
“The entrance to this place was designed to be opened by a series of puzzles, so that anyone, regardless of their strength, could be worthy of the treasure hidden inside. You forced the door open, an unintended method. You are plenty strong already.”
“There’s someone… He protected me…”
“And because it was necessary to protect you, you feel weak?”
“No! I mean… kind of,” She spoke freely to the voice, feeling as though she didn’t have to restrain her thoughts. Of course, it wasn’t like she was good at biting her tongue to begin with. “He protected me, and because of that, I fell for him. I want to feel that sort of safety again, I want to be around him.”
“You’re gathering power… to feel protected?” The voice was monotone, but Miruko could tell it was confused.
“I want to be by his side and I want him to protect me, to care for me… but respect is a two-way street. I cannot approach him as some damsel in distress. To be worthy of his protection, I need to be able to fight to protect him as well.”
“I see. But once you have that power, you would not need his, correct?”
“Feeling safe is more than just having power,” She responded.
“Your reasoning is complicated, but it is genuine. Therefore, you are… acceptable.”
The entire hallway lit up as the voice said that. Even the torches behind Miruko came back to life, showing her something interesting.
To Miruko, it felt like she had been walking for a couple of minutes, and had made it a decent way from the door she broke down. In reality, she was only a few steps from the bunker entrance. The sensation of moving had been faked somehow.
“So that was a test? Answer incorrectly and I get stuck in an endless hallway?”
The voice didn’t respond.
“Fine. You said this test could be completed by anyone, regardless of strength, so it’s not like I have anything to fear. Let’s see what you got,” She said, confidently strolling deeper into the facility.
*******
“Alright that’s it for me!” Fuyumi said, sleepily admitting defeat. After dinner, the mismatched group sat around to talk and play games. Shoto was, no surprise, the first to excuse himself immediately after dinner, but the rest sat late into the night just messing around and talking about nothing of importance.
By now, only Momo, Kaina, and Fuyumi were awake. The boys and Setsuna had long since retired to their bedrooms.
Fuyumi stood, moving to grab her empty teacup, but Igris beat her to the punch.
“Allow me, my Lady.”
Fuyumi smiled graciously, already comfortable with the Shadows’ presence, especially Igris, who was reliable in just about any situation.
“See you girls in the morning!” She said, not even considering how Kaina didn’t live there with them. Momo responded in kind, with Kaina giving a non-committal response of a simple “good night.”
Once she was out of earshot, Momo said, “You know, we have extra rooms. If you want to stay here it’s no-”
“Why don’t you have a problem with me?” Kaina interrupted, having gathered the courage to blurt it out.
Momo gave the woman a warm smile. Kaina was only a few years older than her, but her demeanor reminded Momo of the way she had been just a few short months ago, uncertain of everything.
“On a personal level, I don’t dislike you. You’re kind, you’re clearly loyal, and you’re empathetic. Even though you have memories of past lives with Izuku, you hold yourself back for my sake.”
“But you know who I worked for…” Kaina wanted to maintain eye contact, but she couldn’t help but cast her gaze downwards.
“Of course. You’ve killed people. And you were part of the Shadow Organization. But… I can tell that you didn’t have an easy childhood either. You were a soldier acting on orders.” Momo sighed. “We’re all killers. Even Izuku. I don’t have the right to sit from some high horse and speak down to you like you’re some apathetic psycho. You are clearly more than that.”
“But why indulge me? You have every right to turn me away. Society wouldn’t look down on you for it. I’d have no justifiable reason to be angry. I’m sorry but… no one is that kind…”
“I…” Momo scoffed and shook her head. “I used to think of Izuku as a burden. Whenever we Raided together, before the System I mean, I was so stressed about his well being. That, on top of my already difficult life, made me regard him in a negative light.” She shifted uncomfortably in her seat. “I never want him to know this, because it’s no different to how his childhood friend looked at him. And then he saved me. He deflected an S-Rank attack as an E-Rank, he was willing to give his life for mine, and he helped me overcome my fears. Some of it was with the help of the System, but a lot of it was him. Because I was seeing him as a burden, I never realized we could lean on each other. The environment I grew up in taught me not to trust anyone other than myself.” Her eyes were damp, getting this off her chest was a hard thing to do. “I never want to look at someone as a mere burden ever again.” She looked into Kaina’s eyes. “Especially not someone who feels the way you do.”
Kaina’s eyes were also wet by this point. “You have a good thing going… What if I start making things difficult?”
“Then we’ll talk through it together, to make it work,” She said, putting as much force behind her words as possible. “We don’t give up so easily, after all. We’ve all dealt with a lot, and we’re still here, still trying to do the right things and follow the right path. You aren’t a roadblock, Kaina, you’re just wandering the road with us.”
Tears were now freely spilling from the sniper’s eyes. With shaking legs, she stood and bowed at a ninety degree angle to Momo. Not just out of respect and appreciation, but out of a sense of love. Kaina’s life had been a lonely one, just like Momo’s. Acceptance like this was not just rare, it was borderline incomprehensible. “I am forever indebted to you…” She choked out between sobs.
Momo rose from the table, and approached Kaina. And as the woman straightened her back, Momo hugged her tightly. “You don’t owe me a thing.”
They stood there for a minute, both softly crying into the other’s shirt, savoring the presence of a familiar soul. Someone who had walked the same shaky path.
Eventually when they separated, Momo took a shaky breath. “Don’t think you owe me something. Making hierarchies of a relationship is the first step to ruining it. We’re equals.” She held out her hand, Kaina taking it in solemn understanding.
“Although…” Momo said mischievously. “If you’re okay with it… I’d like to hear about your past lives with Izuku. I… I want to know what he’s like as a married man.” Her subtle blush told Kaina this was not some ploy for information, but a schoolgirl’s curiosity.
“I’d love to have someone to listen,” Kaina replied, wiping away tears.