Word Count : 2167 words
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( Location : The Hero Association Building )
( Third Person POV )
***** 2 Weeks Before The Massacre *****
"A roundtable conference in the Association Building.....?"
Shota Aizawa stared at his mobile phone, which was currently displaying a message directly from the Board of Directors. A message which informed him of a roundtable conference in an hour.
"What the hell? They haven't even written the agenda."
Midnight spoke up from beside Aizawa, as she stared at her mobile phone as well. The 2 of them, along with Hizashi Yamada, had only recently taken up teaching positions at UA.
"If it's from the Association, it must be important," Aizawa replied. "It looks like several Pros will be attending this conference as well. So it's nothing we newbies need to be worried about, right?"
"We've been in the force for 2 years now, Aizawa. We're not newbies."
"Well, compared to the others, we're newbies."
"Leaving that aside. I think we need to leave. The Association Building is pretty far from UA. Let's not dilly-dally."
After meeting up with Present Mic and Snipe, the 4 Heroes set off towards the Hero Association Building.
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"I'm never going to get over how gorgeous the interior of this building is....." Present Mic whistled.
The 4 Heroes arrived in the Building, and were greeted by Pro Heroes from all over Japan. Veterans, newbies and even retired Pros. It seemed to be an incredibly important meeting, for there to be this many dignitaries.
"I'm getting scared....." Present Mic whispered. Aizawa merely huffed.
The Heroes were soon led into a conference room, big enough to fit over 200 people. A large projector was placed right at the center of the table, projecting onto the massive wall across the doorway. A splendid setup, all in all.
Aizawa, Midnight, Snipe and Present Mic took their seats next to each other. Slowly, several Heroes started trickling in. Endeavor, Best Jeanist, Fourth Kind, Death Arms, Backdraft, Uwabami, Ryukyu, Gran Torino.....
"Hmm?"
Aizawa raised his eyebrows. Why isn't All Might here.....?
"All Might isn't here....." Snipe echoed the same sentiments. "Considering how big this entire gathering is, the absence of the Number One Hero is not very reassuring."
"Maybe he wasn't invited?" Midnight said uneasily.
"All Might wasn't invited? That's impossible," Snipe rebuked. "Why would the Number One Hero not be invited?"
The conversation was cut short by the lights dimming in the room, and the projector whirring to life.
The Chairwoman of the Board, Ms. Sarazaki, stood up from the rectangular table across.
"I'm glad you could all take your time to attend this meeting. The information you shall receive now is incredibly dangerous and volatile. I wish you all pay attention."
Silence in the room.
Sarazaki continues.
"I assume that everyone here is aware of the (L/N) Family?"
"What kind of a question is that?" Endeavor replied gruffly. "Of course we all know the (L/N)s. We all know Madara (L/N). The greatest Hero ever."
Several nods filled the room. Ms. Sarazaki did not crack a smile, and continued to speak.
"We have received serious intel that the (L/N) Family has been involved in the heinous trade of cocaine and heroin across the IDL to the West Pacific, and unnoticed prostitution rings."
Murmurs rose around the table. The (L/N)s involved in something that dirty? It seemed that no one believed it. After all, the (L/N)s are regarded as one of the cleanest and most noble of families in Japan.
"You're telling us that..... they're involved with this Syndicate?"
"Not just involved with the Syndicate..... they are the Syndicate," the Chairwoman spun lies, drawing gasps around the room. "The Families have been tainted by inner conflict and turmoil unknown and unseen to the public eye. Leadership over the drug empire, so as to say. They have been the sole reason of all conflict and addiction throughout the world."
"That..... that is a serious accusation, Ms. Chairwoman," Gran Torino spoke up. "Surely you have proof?"
"What proof would you like, Gran Torino? This has come from our very own group of spies working inside the Drug Syndicate. Witnesses of (L/N) family members constantly entering and leaving these cargo ships. Distinctive red eyes of all their members. Scantily-dressed women entering these ships. Isn't it quite obvious? I'd like to say we were all quite late in figuring out something so simple."
"The reason for that being? Why was the Association so late in figuring out something so drastic?" Best Jeanist asked, and he narrowed his eyes. "We've been trying to intercept these ships for over a year now, but they just seem to get away from our grasp. Even Selkie cannot seem to find anything on sea."
"As I've said before Jeanist, spies were recently planted in their framework," the Chairwoman replied. "Just as you have been struggling to curb their rampage, the Association has been struggling as well. And now that we have a lead, you're doubting us?"
Best Jeanist fell silent when rebuked. Sarazaki's words seemed to have done the trick of making all the heroes feel guilty, since no one had been able to intercept any of the ships leaving Japan's coast.
"So what must be done now?" Ryukyu asked. "If the (L/N)s really are responsible for these crimes, then they must be stopped, right?"
"Of course," the Chairwoman said, and she smiled a thin smile. "We need to eliminate the (L/N)s for this."
A silence so deafening, you could hear your own ears ringing.
"Eliminate the (L/N)s?"
"Yes. We must do what we can do stop this channel. We cannot allow these crimes to continue to flourish."
"Are you asking us to kill all the (L/N)s, Ms. Sarazaki?"
"With all due respect, yes. Yes, I am asking you to form a Raid Team, which will have only one goal — to destroy the (L/N) Family. But you can leave the kids. Because kids have nothing to do with this."
"T-this is not making any sense," Uwabami, the Serpentress Heroine, said hotly. "You're asking us to commit genocide?"
"It is not genocide if you're killing the bad people, Uwabami. If you kill a murderer, you're a hero to the victim, but a villain to the murderer's family."
"What kind of twisted logic is that? You call us on a notice of one hour and now spring on us that we need to murder an entire bloodline!? And not any ordinary bloodline, the (L/N)s, for god's sake!" Torino was losing his composure.
"Gran Torino, are you biased?"
The Pro Hero looked questioningly at the Chairwoman.
"Biased?"
"Are you defending the (L/N)s, just because Madara (L/N) once belonged to this lineage? Are you implying that you can let evil roam free, as long as someone important were once a part of your bloodline?"
"You're splitting hairs, Ms. Sarazaki. I've said countless times. You're asking us to commit genocide. Whether we kill the good guys or the bad guys, it doesn't matter."
"Doesn't matter? You're telling me that you are fine with them continuing to supply narcotics across continents and ruin the lives of millions of people, but you're against it as soon as you're the one who needs to get your hands dirty?"
Silence was once again the only answer that greeted the Chairwoman.
"You should have informed us of this sooner," Endeavor said gruffly. "The (L/N)s..... they're not easy targets. Each of them possesses the Sharingan. It might not be as developed as Madara's once was, but it's still what it is."
"The (L/N)s, surprisingly, don't have many good fighters, Endeavor," the Chairwoman said, her calm expression masking the sadistic ecstasy inside. "All of them would have become heroes in that case. But they aren't. It's because not all of them awaken the Sharingan."
"What does that mean?"
"The quirk of the (L/N) bloodline is incredibly strong. So strong, that many lose their Sharingan trying to use it. This is the quirk's drawback. In other words, most of them are not powerful enough to use the Sharingan."
"You're essentially saying that the Sharingan is so strong, most of them don't have the stamina required to use it?"
"You're a fast learner," the Chairwoman said with a smile, and Endeavor merely huffed.
"Endeavor, you're actually considering this?" Best Jeanist asked. "You're not a least bit curious about the source and validity of this information?"
"And why would he need to be, Jeanist?" the Chairwoman fired back at the Denim Hero. "You have never questioned the validity of information procured by the Association before. Why is it any different this time?"
"Because your accusations are baseless, Ms. Sarazaki," Jeanist replied. "This entire time, you've been blaming the (L/N)s for the drug cartel. You're convinced that they are the head of this empire. But it will take more than that to convince us."
"This kind of operation proceeds under direct Association orders because gathering proof is both difficult and risky," she replied airily. "You're asking the planted spies to do what exactly? What proof other than eyewitness accounts is necessary? I believe this much should suffice."
Best Jeanist did not reply. Instead, he turned to face all the other Pro Heroes gathered.
"How many of you here actually believe what Ms. Sarazaki speaks?"
The room was silent. However, a few hands rose up, and eventually, more than half of the hands in the meeting room went up. Aizawa, Midnight, Snipe and Present Mic kept their hands lowered for the time-being, but the rest of the support for the Chairwoman showed and displayed her persuasiveness and the trust that heroes blindly put in her.
"Tch, damn nincompoops....." Best Jeanist muttered under his breath. He slumped down on his chair. "Do whatever you want. But I'm not going to take part in this operation."
"That seems strange, Jeanist. Here I was hoping I could make you the Commander of the Raid Squad," Ms. Sarazaki said with a thin contorted smile.
"If you think bribing me with position and power will coax me over to your side, you're sorely mistaken. Stuff like that works only with Endeavor."
Endeavor grimaced as Best Jeanist made a scathing comment on him, but he did not say anything regardless.
If there was one thing that Endeavor firmly abided by, it is to obey the Chairwoman at all times.
Only then will you gain the advantage of moving up the Hero Billboard Rankings.
"Then Endeavor, you're willing to take lead in this operation?"
"..... fine."
"I told you," Jeanist said matter-of-factly. "Keep me out of this, Hellflame. I'd rather not stain my hands with the blood of innocents."
"But they aren't innocent. Drug shipping is a serious offence."
"And genocide isn't?"
Touché, thought Aizawa. As much as he agreed with Best Jeanist, a part of him still wanted to know the truth. In the case that Jeanist is right, and that the (L/N)s truly are innocent, what is the reason for the Association to kill them?
"Strange....."
As the meeting slowly subsided, several positions were granted out to the Raid Squad.
With Endeavor at its helm, several Pros were recruited into its ranks. Serpentress Uwabami as the head of the Reconnaissance Team, Death Arms as the head of the Attack Unit.
Heroes like Aizawa, Midnight, Present Mic and Snipe were forcefully recruited into the Attack Unit as well, as their skills would be necessary for the smooth flow of the attack. Best Jeanist, given his status as a high-ranked Pro, managed to evade all discussion, and exited the building in a huff.
In a corner of his mind, Aizawa stared at the Denim Hero walk away so casually.
If he really is against this operation, why doesn't he help to stop it? Aizawa did not want to take part in this operation anyways. But a low-ranked Pro Hero like Aizawa could not possibly do anything to change this decision. In that case, is it possible for Aizawa and Co to somehow team up with Best Jeanist, and form a resistance.....?
No. That was a terrible idea. The Chairwoman wouldn't withdraw this operation if there is some measly resistance and strikes outside the Association Building.
The only way to stop this now is to sabotage the Raid itself.
But doing that was too risky. Besides, Aizawa didn't even know who the bad guys were. Are the (L/N)s the bad guys, or are the Heroes making a grave mistake here?
"A squad..... to legally commit genocide....." Present Mic murmured to himself, and he clutched his stomach. "It makes me sick just thinking about it....."
"Aizawa, I don't like this. Not one bit," Midnight said to the Eraser Hero, clearly delivering her stance on the matter. "However evil a family might be, killing them altogether makes us twice as evil."
"We could technically just not show up," Snipe said. "Not like they're gonna take attendance or something."
"But will you be okay knowing that there is a literal bloodbath going on behind your back, and you knowingly ignored it?"
Snipe stayed silent.
Of course he wasn't okay with that. No hero in their right mind would be okay with something like that.
But that was the power the Association wielded.
They couldn't go against the Chairwoman's wishes. Moreover, more than half of the heroes had already given their word, which meant that they would willingly take part in this extermination operation.
"Let's..... let's think about it a bit. We shouldn't take such an important decision without thinking about the pros and cons."
"Hmm."
Aizawa merely hummed at his fellow counterpart cowboy, and the four heroes left the building.
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