Have I been stalling so I don't have to write Sasuke in 1-A? Absolutely. It's so difficult to write so many characters in one place. I don't know how I did it before tbh
General warning for the latter half of this chapter and the next one, graphic depictions of violence and gore
Sasuke sits in seat 16, which is in the back left corner of the class. He has a good view of everyone in the class from his position. It doesn't really matter. Sasuke knows that he could easily beat all of the students in this class with his hands tied behind his back and a blindfold. Old habits die hard, though.
The students filter in at around the same time, since they all live together now and there's no reason for anyone to be late.
The teachers come in last. There's more than Sasuke expected. Aizawa, Kayama, and two others that Sasuke doesn't know.
They explain that they'll all be working on Super Moves over the course of the week, which, predictably, spurs excited yelling from the class.
"Change into your costumes and meet us at gym Gamma." Aizawa instructs.
Sasuke had discussed what he'd be wearing for his hero costume with Hound Dog. Since he obviously couldn't wear the same one he was wearing when he was at the school under All for One's orders, they had to figure something else out.
He settled for insulated sweatpants that are secured around his ankles with black fabric as opposed to the white bandage-looking wraps most Shinobi use, a long coat with a collar, and a black turtleneck. There are two belts, both connected to his coat so it doesn't move around too much. One belt sits around his waist and the other around his chest. He was given permission to wield a sword along with all of his other weapons.
The Quirk he put down was illusionary based again, which is fine because he hadn't actually told anyone other than that one kid about his Quirk before, and he didn't spend a whole lot of time at Yuuei before things went downhill thanks to All for One.
He changes in the bathroom and then goes to gym Gamma.
He isn't the first one there because he wasn't rushing to get to the gym. He's probably not going to do very much for the semester. With any luck, he won't be here long enough for it to matter. Though he doesn't have high hopes.
The teachers explain why they'll need super moves and their significance for current heroes. Sasuke tunes them out for the most part.
He's paying so little attention that he almost startles when the brick looking teacher puts his hands on the floor and makes the gym shake and change shape.
The other teacher he isn't familiar with throws up clones of themself and Sasuke briefly thinks of Orochimaru's body replacement technique but he pushes the thought away where he can never think of it again.
The students rush to find a clone and Sasuke follows, albeit much slower.
"You're still healing, right?" Aizawa asks.
Technically, yes, but he doubts whatever they're doing here will hurt his Chakra pathways anymore than they already are.
He tells Aizawa this and the man sighs exasperatedly.
"Even so, take it easy." He says. "Can't have you passing out on us."
Sasuke nods and goes to the only clone that hasn't been claimed by another student.
"Alright, let's see what you can do." The clone says.
Sasuke wonders if they're similar to Naruto's shadow clones, but then there'd be no point in bringing them out if they'd dispel that quickly.
He considers going all out but then decides against it because he doesn't want to have to go back to Ryuchi Cave and explain himself to Izumi-Ohimesama.
So, he settles for taijutsu only, with light chakra for speed boosts and such.
He puts a good amount of distance between him and the teacher. He doesn't want to assume that the teacher won't be throwing up any more clones, even though they already have 18 working with the other students.
He does a cursory scan of his surroundings. He's on one of the higher platforms since the lower ones filled up quickly.
It only takes him a few seconds to come up with a plan, and soon enough, he's making the first move.
He lowers his stance and center of gravity because he's much shorter than the teacher, so he'll just have to go for the knees. The teacher has pegs for legs, so he can target those as well.
The teacher doesn't seem to expect him to attack, but they adjust quickly and Sasuke can tell that they're going to attempt a kick.
As soon as Sasuke gets in range for the teacher's kick, he ups the speed and easily dodges the hit. He slips around the teacher and puts a palm to their back, adding a little bit of Chakra to his push. It's enough to make them a bit dizzy and cause their ears to ring. If he'd been trying to kill him, he could've just overloaded his systems and ruptured his blood vessels, which is easier to do now since these people hardly have any Chakra at all, so adding too much more will kill them.
They stumble but reorient themselves, unfocused eyes darting around to find Sasuke, who disappeared off the side of the rock they were both standing on and is using a small amount of Chakra to stick to the wall.
He hears the teacher make an amused sound and waits two more seconds, slipping two dull kunai into his hands, before returning to the top of the rock.
The teacher shifts slightly, obviously expecting a more hands-on fight this time.
They exchange blows for a few seconds, the teacher lands none of them so Sasuke eventually decides that he's bored and wants to end the fight.
He sweeps his leg under the teacher's and they trip slightly. Sasuke uses that to grab one of their arms and turn their body so when he pushes them, they land with their stomach flat on the ground.
Sasuke twists the arm around their back and holds a kunai to their neck.
"Do you concede?"
"...I concede." Sasuke gets off of them and puts the kunai away.
"You've had training. Who's your teacher?" They ask.
Sasuke blinks. Kakashi's face is overshadowed by Orochimaru's. "Irrelevant. You wouldn't have heard of them." He says curtly.
"Well, I can't say I have any pointers on your fighting style. You fight easily and efficiently. You use your weapons as an extension of your own body." The teacher pauses. "You fight like a soldier."
Which makes sense. Because Sasuke is a soldier.
"Think about what you want your Super Move to be. I don't think I saw you use your Quirk once. That's good, you shouldn't rely on it."
Sasuke nods as if he doesn't already know that.
The clone disappears and Sasuke slides down the rock.
Aizawa checks his watch and sighs. "Done already?"
Sasuke shrugs. Maybe they should bring better opponents if they want him to struggle in a fight.
"Why did you choose to use your dull knives instead of your sharp ones?"
He... doesn't actually know. He hadn't wanted to kill the poor teacher. They were trying their best. But even so, he trusts himself enough to know that he'd never "accidentally" kill someone.
"Why do you ask?"
"No reason."
They stand in silence watching the rest of the class until Sasuke hears All Might's footsteps coming around the corner.
Sure enough, All Might's somewhat creepy, gaunt face appears in the doorway a second later. "I see everyone's going at it!"
Sasuke almost wrinkles his nose as the phrasing of that sentence but settles for a blank stare.
"All Might...?" Midoriya asks slowly.
"I wasn't called in today, but I had nothing going on, so... I am here!" He activates what's left of his Quirk in that moment and Sasuke turns on his Sharingan.
Sasuke's first assessment of the people in this world was that they have no Chakra, which, as he continues to live amongst them, has come to learn isn't exactly true. They have it, but the amount is so little that he can't sense it at all. Even with his Sharingan, it's hard to see. In some cases, it's different, which is probably because of Quirks. Some Quirks might be more connected to Chakra and use it more than others.
It makes sense, considering All for One's Quirk was able to pick up on the Chakra from the Cursed Seal and yank it hard enough to render the seal inactive.
So, when Sasuke looks at All Might, all he can think is, "Wow, his pathways look worse than mine."
All Might's pathways are only slightly bigger than your average Quirked individual, but despite that, Sasuke can still see the knots and tears in his pathways. It looks awful. No wonder the guy is struggling so much.
"Something wrong?" Aizawa asks.
"You're awfully curious today." Sasuke mutters.
Aizawa stares at him for a moment before shrugging and turning to watch the rest of the class.
Bakugou explodes a pillar and the teacher along with it. Sasuke is reluctantly impressed. Though he despises Bakugou's costume, the kid has skill. Upper genin level, most likely.
The only person Sasuke fought who could use Bakuton was Deidara, who used it in his clay. The Kekkei Genkai is interesting, a combination of lightning and earth release to form the explosions that can be so loud they deafen both the user and the intended target. A double edged sword, that's for sure.
Sasuke wonders if Bakugou's Quirk works in a similar fashion.
"I killed you, Ectoplasm!" Bakugou says proudly.
Ectoplasm must be the teacher's name, then. Strange.
Eventually, they wrap up class. The rest of the day is relatively uneventful in comparison to first period, which, in Sasuke's opinion, is a good thing.
"Eri's been wanting to see you." Aizawa says after class ends.
Sasuke doesn't have a response to that. He doesn't know why Eri would be missing him of all things. He can count the number of positive interactions they've had on one hand.
"Does she want me to summon Sana?" Sasuke asks. Aizawa steps out of the classroom and they walk to the teacher's lounge.
"No. I think she just wants to see you."
"I see." No, he doesn't.
Sasuke changes the subject.
"Has there been any movement from Chisaki?"
"Other than the fact that he's relocated, no." Aizawa pauses. "Why do you ask?"
"Sometimes, ignorance is a good thing, Aizawa-san." Sasuke says, purposefully cryptic.
The door to the teacher's lounge slides open and Yamada walks out.
"Ready to go?" They ask.
Aizawa nods, his watchful eyes falling on Sasuke, who ignores them.
Yamada spends the walk to the teacher's dorms chatting about his day and asking both Aizawa and Sasuke questions. Aizawa responds with concise answers and Sasuke either nods or doesn't say anything.
"We're home!" Yamada calls.
"Good. I was about to come find you." Recovery Girl appears from around the corner. She stares at Aizawa intently and her eyes dart to the door.
"I have to talk to you about something." Recovery Girl says, and both she and Aizawa slip out of the dorm and into the hallway.
Sasuke listens to their conversation.
"–behind. Her education before, from what I can tell, was next to nothing. She won't be able to start school next year, by the looks of it."
"What's her level of understanding?"
"At times, it resembles a toddler." Recovery Girl says, quietly enough that Sasuke has to strain to hear.
"Do you know why?"
"I have my suspicions, but I'm not really a pediatrician or a psychiatrist. My guess is that it's trauma based. You should bring her to a child therapist and see what they think. It really should've been done sooner but I understand why you didn't."
"What happens if we can't find someone trustworthy enough?"
"It could be detrimental to her brain development."
Sasuke stops listening and stares at Eri.
"Are you okay?" Yamada asks worriedly.
"I'm fine." Sasuke replies instinctually. He walks further into the room and watches Eri, who's playing some kind of word-match game on a tablet.
"Sasuke-san?" She asks.
"Hm?"
"Want to see my game?" She holds her tablet up.
Sasuke shrugs and nods.
Eri smiles slightly and pats the spot on the couch next to her.
"You have to tap the words that start with a letter so that the cat can get to the end..."
~~~
Once Eri has gone to sleep, Sasuke makes himself some tea in the kitchen.
He's put Chisaki off for too long, he thinks. Burning down his buildings wasn't enough, so Sasuke will have to deal with him more permanently.
It makes sense that Chisaki would just relocate. Especially after All for One's defeat and the subsequent power vacuum it caused, Chisaki probably took advantage of that as much as he could.
"You look deep in thought." Yamada says quietly.
"Hn." Sasuke replies noncommittally. "Tea?"
"Oh, thank you." Yamada smiles. Sasuke pours him a cup of tea and hands it to them. "I'll walk you back, if you want."
"I'll teleport there." Sasuke waves off his concern.
There's a short silence before Yamada speaks again. "I know that you're going to go after Chisaki."
It wasn't like he was hiding it from them. He asked Aizawa about it quite openly.
"Oh?"
"And I know I can't stop you." Yamada sounds resigned more than anything, but his face turns grim. "So, instead, though I know you'll do it anyway, don't hold back, okay?"
Sasuke blinks, surprised.
"What?" Yamada grins but it's not his usual grin, it has too many teeth and there's too much viciousness in their eyes. "Sometimes... the law isn't enough."
Sasuke inhales. "No. It's not."
They sit in silence for a moment before Sasuke stands up. "I'm going, then."
"See you tomorrow." Yamada gives him a curt wave.
Sasuke teleports to his room to change clothes. He puts on his hero costume because it's one of the most expensive and practical things he owns. It was funded by the school, after all. It'd be a shame not to use it at least once.
He doesn't have enough information to go right away. He'll have to make a few stops first.
Good thing he knows where to go.
~~~
"Buying or selling?"
Sasuke holds his sword directly to the dealer's throat.
"Neither. You're going to tell me where the Shie Hassaikai are."
"I don't know anything abo-" Sasuke cuts the man's arm off and points the sword at his throat again.
"Try again."
"Sh-shit. Fuck. Okay. They've... they've got this agreement with the League." He wheezes. "They've been... recruiting since Stain, since people think they're connected."
"Where?"
"Fuck, man. I-I don't know. I was never gonna join them." He inhales shakily and scowls. His face is rapidly turning more pale from blood loss. "They're... a bunch of stuck up pricks."
"Do you know anyone who knows?"
"Giran would know. But that fucker is... is working with The League now. You've gotta, gotta offer him something they can't give him." He pauses. "He probably already knows you're looking for him."
Sasuke sighs contemplatively. It's not as much information as he'd like, but it's better than nothing, he supposes. All of his connections to the League are outdated and he doubts any of his summons have memorized Chisaki's scent enough to track him.
"So... are you, are you going to kill me?" The dealer asks.
"Probably." Sasuke says honestly.
The man freezes, obviously not expecting him to give such an answer, before tentatively asking, "...Should I run?"
"If you'd like. I am able to teleport, so do keep that in mind." Sasuke shrugs.
"Is-is there a reality where you don't kill me?"
"Maybe." Sasuke slashes the man's throat with one swift movement. "But it's not this one."
He rolls his shoulders and summons Haya. She's small enough that it hardly hurts to use his Chakra to pull her from the Hawk summoning realm.
"You know Shigaraki's scent, yes?"
"Well enough." She nods. Well, as much as a crow can nod. "Shall I find him for you, Sasuke-sama?"
"Yes. If the scent is weak, go to their old hideout."
"Of course." She waits. "If that's all?"
"It is."
She chirps once before flapping her wings and flying off.
It'll take her somewhere between half an hour and an hour to find Shigaraki, so Sasuke can use the time to find Giran. He's met the information broker before, back when he first arrived and needed information.
He doesn't want to make too much of a fuss, but he doesn't end up needing to.
He's interrogating his 3rd dealer when he senses a presence behind him.
"Ah, nice of you to show." Sasuke says. The person behind him attempts to run away while Sasuke is "distracted," but Sasuke, without looking, lands a kunai directly in their back.
They drop to the floor, motionless.
"Giran, is it? I believe we've met." Sasuke turns to look at where Giran is.
"We have. I have to say, since your betrayal to All for One, I hadn't expected to see you again." Giran steps out of the shadows.
"My betrayal?" Sasuke's tone is deceptively light. "I do hope All for One isn't taking that too personally."
Giran barks out a laugh, harsh and incredibly fake. He takes another step and Sasuke shifts so his sword is in plain view, a rivulet of blood drips off the tip of the blade and into a puddle of water at Sasuke's feet, turning it red. Giran's eyes track it and he retracts his step.
"Why don't we cut to the chase, shall we?" Sasuke says, with a voice that sounds far more content than he's ever been in his life.
"I've never been a fan of small talk." Giran speaks like they're bantering. He will soon come to realize that Sasuke isn't here to bargain or play nice.
"Good. Unfortunately any information I have that you may want, I will not give you." Sasuke takes a step closer. Giran's hands twitch as if he's reaching for a gun, but he doesn't. Sasuke makes it obvious that he's seen the movement and has decided it isn't an issue.
"Unfortunate indeed. I wonder why you've made the effort to get my attention, then." Giran agrees affably.
"You've been doing this for some time. I see it in the way you hold yourself." Sasuke begins, already working through the intimidating monologue in his head. He's always been a fan of dramatics. "But, I have to ask...."
Sasuke takes another step forward and teleports directly in front of Giran, the hair over his Rinnegan falls out of place. His eye bleeds red. "Do you know what torture feels like?"
When Giran doesn't answer, Sasuke rocks back on his heels and out of Giran's personal space. "You know next to nothing of what I can do to you. That's fine, more for me than for you, since whether or not you knew every detail about what I'm capable of, it would never be enough."
"Sheesh, you're one intimidating kid." Sasuke watches as Giran's hands move behind his back to hide the fact that he's shaking. Can't have that, can we?
Sasuke's hand shoots out and grabs Giran's wrist. "You're shaking." He points out.
"I-"
"I think we've dragged this on long enough." Sasuke cuts him off. "Genjutsu: Sharingan."
He doesn't need something as powerful as the Rinnegan for Giran. Especially not when Sasuke's pretty sure that after a second under the genjutsu, Giran will crack.
The illusion he shows Giran involves Sasuke asking what Giran knows about the League's whereabouts and their agreement with Chisaki. Giran refuses to say anything and a snake eats a portion of his skin down to the bone.
Giran is, of course, feeling pain and experiencing it as if he were actually there, but he isn't actually bleeding so the snake could keep eating his flesh until there's nothing left.
It's when the snake tears through its second portion of flesh that Giran seems to realize this and panics.
Sasuke lets him run around for a bit before the genjutsu restricts all his movement completely.
It takes four more snake bites for Giran to give in, which is basically all of his right arm. It's somewhat surprising, Sasuke thought he'd cave way sooner.
He tears his influence over Giran's brain out forcefully and watches as Giran's eyes clear slightly, though the dazed and terrified look doesn't entirely fade. He glances around the alleyway, in a paranoid frenzy until his gaze lands on where Sasuke is standing, a few feet away, and he abruptly bursts into tears, stammering and whimpering his way through an explanation.
He's a mess, but Sasuke manages to pick up enough important details.
He gets a vague destination for Chisaki, an exact location for the League's new hideout, a short list of their new members, and the knowledge that the agreement between the League and the Shie Hassaikai isn't really an agreement but mild tolerance. Of course, there's random mumbling and he picks up on a few names that he doesn't recognize, which he files away for later.
Giran continues to talk and Sasuke's focus sharpens when he hears Giran begin to talk about who hired him.
"Stop." He orders. Giran's mouth snaps shut with an audible click. "Who hired you?"
"I-it was... was the Commission." He says, his breath hitching when he says the name.
"When?"
"M-months ago. January." It sounds like he's tripping over his words and cutting himself off every time he speaks. "A Quirk had... i-it caused a problem in... in... I don't- I don't know. But they wanted to, to fix it. I don't know how they did it, but they... they tried to repair it, but in-instead... they wound up with you."
What. The fuck.
"The Commission brought me here?" Sasuke prods. Giran starts sobbing all over again, which is not helpful. "Answer me."
"I don't know." He cries, and Sasuke, despite his best efforts, is unable to get anything more out of him.
Usually, he'd either kill Giran or wipe his memory with a genjutsu, but using more genjutsu on the guy might put him into a permanent vegetative state and, despite how little Sasuke likes him, Giran is useful.
So, he opens the box of knowledge that he hardly touches and makes a seal on Giran's tongue, ignoring the cloying feeling in his chest or the whispers that he's just as bad as–
Giran makes a horrible choking noise and bubbles tinged red flow out of his mouth.
Sasuke drops him and kicks the body away. The coppery smell in the air intensifies, but now with an added chemical element.
His lips twitch downwards and he checks to make sure Giran's really dead.
With a sigh, he finishes the seal, just in case, and exits the alley.
It's unfortunate that Sasuke couldn't get anything else from him, but now no one else can either.
At least it isn't going to take as long as he thought it would to find Shigaraki, he thinks wryly as he heads over to the location Giran gave him.
Later, once Sasuke is long gone, the body is found.
"Hey. There's... there's a body over here."
"Identifiers?"
"No sign of Quirk use... looks like he killed himself."
The body is rolled over.
"Shit. It's Giran."
"You're positive?"
"Yeah, it's him. Fuck, that's bad."
"I will inform Madam President. Finish your patrol, Hawks."
"Yeah." Hawks replies on autopilot. "I mean, yes ma'am."
The plot thickens :)
Next Update: April 17th