Hey! Welcome back! I hope y'all enjoy this chapter! Also, thank you to everyone who reads and leaves a vote, they're much appreciated! Plus, here's a song that fits well with this chapter! It's House of Memories by Panic at the Disco! And, if ya want, here's a link to my Discord Server: https://discord.gg/hDWxEd2 !
Arriving to class, Izuku sits glancing worriedly at the clock; Shouta was very late, even by his standards. By the time Heroics Class rolled around, Izuku was close to just ringing Shouta and demanding where he was and why he wasn't in school. A hand places itself on his shoulder and he turns to see Tokoyami and Dark Shadow, the bird headed boy asks;
"Are dark beings invading your mind, Midoriya? If so, I can assist with a séance to communicate with them." Izuku shakes his head fondly at Tokoyami's antics, and replies;
"Nah it's fine. I'm worried about Mr. Aizawa is all. He hasn't been in all day. It seems weird to me..." Tokoyami nods his head sagely,
"Yes. It does seem rather strange for our teacher to be missing. However, we must trust in him, he knows what he's doing for the most part." Izuku smiles and walks out in his suit, the rest of the class beside him as they enter the training grounds.
Suddenly, a gangly man waves with cotton candy in his hands as he shouts;
"I am Here! To over see your training! Although I am not a full teacher yet, your Heroics Teacher has left me behind a neat lesson plan of which I will follow! Now come along! We've got things to do!" Why Toshinori has candy, Izuku will never know, but then the class got down to business.
Most of the class had gotten training in regard to teamwork, almost two weeks of none stop joint training with 1-B had seen to it that the heroics classes could work in tandem with one another. Izuku was the only one excluded due to his... extended hospital stay... but he had experience with working with others, so it cancelled out in the end.
So, now the class found themselves getting physically fit for heroics; Toshinori had given them detailed plans to help them with their strengths and cover their weaknesses that connect to their physical form. Most of the class needed this kind of training; some relied too heavily on their quirks, and Toshinori was hammering that out of them with the strict policy of no quirk usage as they trained with weights and such.
He even taught basic martial arts to everyone in the class, it had been surprising to many to see Toshinori pull some of the moves he did in his frail body. And he had surprising strength behind those stick like arms of his; even without his quirk, Toshinori was still a hero...
A cold breeze whipped past Izuku as he left to the dorms, sending a shiver down his spine. He looked to the sunny sky and then to Shouto, raised an eyebrow questioningly. How odd.
Four people marched down steel corridors, faces set into a grim indifference, hiding a swirling storm of emotions as they spoke in whispers;
"As I informed you over the phone, recent information has come to light over Nomu's and their creation." Tsukauchi started;
"However, the creation process isn't how we initially perceived it to be..." Tsukauchi pauses,
"At first, we believed that the Nomus were modified to the extent to where the human body would be able to hold and use multiple quirks; the modifications to organs in the body rendered them mere puppets..." Tsukauchi glances at Gran Torino as the elder adds,
"And no longer actual living beings with sentience and thought." Gran Torino finishes and Shouta taps his arm agitatedly.
"Get to the point." A firm hand on Shouta's shoulder calms him down as Tsukauchi informs them.
"This is necessary for you to hear. You have to be mentally and emotionally prepared for this." With that, the group fall silent as they listen to the hum of the prison.
*Hiss*
A steel door forces open with a hiss, air blasting out as the group enters the cell, revealing a fully chained up Kurogiri sat tight on a steel chair on the opposite to the door. Gran Torino looks gravely at Kurogiri and tells Shouta and Hizashi;
"The centre of the League of Villains. We can get him to talk about useless things such as alcohol and cooking recipes, but anything important like information about the League, Shigaraki, or All for One he completely shuts down." Confused, Hizashi asks.
"So? What does that mean exactly?" Tsukauchi puts his hands into his pockets and explains.
"It means that he's been programmed. Kurogiri is a confirmed Nomu. Our scans came back, and we found out his quirk factor is patchwork of other quirk factors forcefully bonded to a core factor to make Warp Gate." Tsukauchi lowers his head in grief.
"And the main quirk factor base bares resemblance to someone you knew; Oboro Shirakumo and his quirk: Cloud."
Shouta reels back in shock and absolute horror, holding his hand to his mouth as not to scream, tears prickling in his eyes. Oboro Died in Shouta's arms! It was all his fault that his best friend died. And this, this drags up old scars and ripped them open.
Hizashi was no better. Oboro was his best friend; they formed the Roof Top Crew! They were going to open a Hero Agency together, a trio forever. He was devasted to here that Oboro had died, and now they find his quirk being used to make a Frankenstein like monster!
Rain poured down from the dark skies, soaking everything below as a young Shouta Aizawa walks down street with his umbrella held tightly as the wind battered against the plastic cover. A loud, clearly distressed Meow catches Shouta's attention and he turns to find a soggy cardboard box with a tiny kitten inside, blue eyes begging for help.
'I wish I could help you, Little One. But I can barely look after myself and I doubt my foster parents would let me get a kitten... If I take you, you would likely end up worse than you are now... But...'
Hefting his bag, Shouta places down his umbrella, letting the plastic cover the kitten, leaving Shouta open to the elements as he walks towards U.A, looking over his shoulder sadly, wanting so badly to help the kitten, but logically knowing he couldn't hurt.
Tiredly, Shouta parks himself in his seat, water dripping of his form as he sits down, running a hand through his hair to rinse the water out. A loud voice comes from his side, Hizashi Yamada, and Shouta internally sighs in pain and the loss of his eardrums...
"Heyyy! Shouta! How've you been my man?!" Shouta glances at Hizashi with indifference;
"I was doing okay before you got here." Faking, Hizashi places his hand over his heart and states dramatically.
"Oh Shouta! How you wound me!" Before they could devolve into their usual bickering, the window bursts open revealing an individual with sky blue hair and a bandage covering his nose.
Oboro Shirakumo.
On a cloud as he carries kitten in his arms as he sets the tiny lion on the table and turns to Shouta and Hizashi, shouting;
"Sho! 'Zachi!" The teen waves, "Hey!" Both Hizashi and Shouta wave at the boy and Shouta points out;
"You're soaking wet, Oboro. How? You've got an umbrella in your hand." A burst of cloud fills the room as Oboro starts to change in front of everyone, much to everyone but his own embarrassment. In a clean uniform, the cloud teen answers;
"Don't know! I forgot! But it is yours! And lookie here at who I saved!" Oboro moves, revealing the kitten Shouta had covered on his way to school, and jazz hands;
"I think us three can look after this Little One, can't we? She deserves all the love in the world!"
Loud explosions rang out as Eraserhead and Loud Cloud stood by, Loud Cloud smiling brightly as he directed children with tenderness and kind eyes, a fluffy cloud over head protecting them; Shouta stood besides, eyes hard as he watched for threats.
By then, it was too late...
A titan of a beast broke through multiple buildings, sending debris right towards the group of children and trainee heroes. Skilfully, Loud Cloud make a huge, strong cloud and carried all the children as well as Shouta out, but before Shouta could get Oboro, a slab hit the hero on the head, sending the body to the floor.
Blood seeped from under the rocks and Shouta screamed and yelled; his mind flickering with the sound, that horrendous sound of Oboro's bones cracking under the force of the hit that he sustained...
A week passed and Shouta couldn't get a wink of sleep. Even if he did, it was riddled with nightmares of Oboro, his death that Shouta could have and should have stopped. Grieffully, Shouta glares at the stars, tears flooding down his face;
"We were supposed to make a hero agency together! You promise! You PROMISED!! Why... Why couldn't I save him..." A shooting star passed overhead and Shouta made a silent vow;
'I will save everyone. No matter the cost.'
Back in the cell, Tsukauchi flicks his eyes over the two heroes and states calmly;
"We believe that Shirakumo's body was used as a base for Kurogiri and his quirk was blended with others to make Warp Gate." Tsukauchi pauses again;
"No doubt before the body was cremated it had been swapped by All for One and used to make Kurogiri." Gran Torino spares a glance at Hizashi and tells him sadly.
"There's no point to try and see other reasons for this. All for One is evil through and through and his intentions were too." Shouta looks to Tsukauchi and demands;
"So why were we brought here? Neither of us have high level clearance for something like this, so why were we brought here?" Tsukauchi peers at the unconscious Kurogiri and says;
"We hoped that you could try and use your 'bond' with Shirakumo to save him. To bring him back." Shouta tries not to get his hopes too high and looks to Gran Torino;
"Sometimes, with a strong enough will; Miracles can happen." Tsukauchi perks up too;
"Also, we have evidence to prove that Nomu's can retain some kind of innate nature or personality inside of them as seen with the Hood Nomu; From DNA tests we found that they were originally a ring fighter with the goal to get stronger, to be the strongest." Shouta questions then;
"How come then, Kurogiri showed no semblance to Oboro at the USJ. They have completely different personalities unlike Hood and his past self as a human?" Tsukauchi answers easily;
"Because Kurogiri was acting on altered memories or erased memories all together." Tsukauchi turns to face the two heroes;
"I wanted you two here so that you could try and reawaken your bond with Shirakumo and break him from the chains that All for One has bound him in." Suddenly, before either Hizashi or Shouta could respond, Kurogiri started to awaken from his slumber, yellow slits cracking open into illuminating yellow eyes. A misty voice comes from the captured hero turned villain;
"Ah. Eraserhead correct? I haven't seen you since the USJ." Shouta rolls his neck and activates his quirk; red fills out into his eyes and his hair stands on end, as he glares at Kurogiri; the black mist never wavering or stopping. Hizashi comments;
"So, he's made out of the mist then?" Hizashi doesn't miss a beat;
"Does that mean that Kurogiri isn't made from Oboro's body? Or does that mean that the mist is a mutation-emitter quirk; something which Shouta can't erase?" The misty voice comes back;
"Is Tomura safe? Is he okay? Has he been captured?" Hizashi tells Kurogiri;
"We can't tell you anything."
"Oh..." Hizashi feels a pang in his chest, it really seems like Kurogiri cares for Shigaraki. Shouta asks;
"Are you worried about Shigaraki?" Kurogiri's head twitches for a second, then responds;
"He is my ward. I was tasked to look after him." Hizashi immediately gets riled up;
"Your 'task' is stupid!" Hizashi looks to Shouta, only to see his husband staring sadly at Kurogiri as the misty villain answers;
"Be that as it may, I am not the kind of person to leave someone behind." Shouta thinks back and says;
"No, you're not. You always tried to help others, no matter what; even that kitten from back in the day." Kurogiri's eyes focus on Shouta;
"What are you talking about?" Shouta's hand twitches;
"Back then, I always hesitated and second guessed myself, but you always dragged me along; never left me alone. It's how we first met, you just took me from my seat and started talking to me along with Hizashi. It's why you lent me your goggles so that we could face a villain together. You're a kind and warm person by nature." Kurogiri didn't react and stated.
"You seem to forget this is my prison cell, not a confession booth, Eraserhead..." Shouta paid the mist man no heed and powered on.
"No matter what you did, you did it with determination and a fire to push through, no matter the consequences to yourself. Even if it meant your death." Shouta turned his head, not showing his emotions,
"I'm a teacher now. So is Hizashi. But I'm strict with my students. I don't hesitate to expel them if I don't deem them fit." Gran Torino snorts.
Shouta marches into Nezu's office with a purpose. When he first got forced into being a teacher, he never expected to like the role but here he is and now he cares for his students; they remind him of his own class and Oboro...
"Nezu I want the ability to expel and reroll students." Shouta states clearly. Nezu's eyes gleam with intrigue.
"Why, may I ask?" Shouta sits at the chimera's desk and answers.
"So that I can give people a chance to prove themselves and to prove something to me. Self-Sacrifice and Throwing your life away are different. I can give them a taste of 'death' and lift them to higher goals." Shouta thinks back to the people he felt couldn't make it in the heroic's world.
They were glad they were removed from the course; he helped them move onto a path that fit them and weren't throwing their life away like others did. It helped them grow and develop.
"That's because I only want heroes like you to be heroes! People that can pull others along and live! Live long and fulfilling lives! UNLIKE YOU!" Shouta rips off his golden goggles;
"Oboro, if you're still there. Then we can still be heroes together ..."
Then the black and purple mist surrounding Kurogiri's head flickers as the radio buzzes to lift next to Tsukauchi;
"We're detecting abnormal brain patterns from the prisoner." Tsukauchi nods quickly and rapidly asks;
"Where are the Nomu produced? Where is Tomura Shigaraki?"
Shouta too notices the oddity and starts calling Oboro's name;
"Oboro! Oboro Shirakumo! That is your name! Remember it!" All the while, Erasure is trained on the man as Hizashi joins in;
"Oboro! Remember our group! Your family! Your name is..."
"Oboro Shirakumo!"
"No! No! I am Kurogiri! Caretaker of Tomura Shigaraki! I do not know Oboro Shirakumo!" Shouta and Hizashi don't stop, they continue calling Oboro, his name and for him to remember when it happens.
The mist that once surrounded Kurogiri's head parts, the blackness revealing the pale face of Oboro, his eyes completely lifeless and dull as he utters;
"Shouta... Hospital..." His head lulls as the man falls into unconsciousness. Clearly fatigued by breaking through his programming, but Shouta lets his tears flow, knowing that Oboro is somewhere in there, buried but still alive and waiting for rescue. Tsukauchi writes down hospital and pats Shouta and Hizashi on the back, congratulating them.
"Well done. We've got some key information here today. Thank you."
Deep beneath a hospital, a balding man exclaims with joy, watching with pride as a silver haired man shakes and wreathes with wires and cables connecting to him. Blood leaks from dozens of open wounds and gnashes, his entire midriff wide open with blood pouring out and 9 needles connecting the man's spine to an operating table.
"Yes! Go on! It's getting there!" The balding man contemplates silently.
'I wonder, Tomura Shigaraki, how you go through so much pain to gain power...'
(How are y'all today and/or tonight?)