49 Dominos and Butterflies: Ch 8 (end)

I have quite possibly the least elegant approach to computer viruses and ransomware in the developed world.

No antivirus, no bullshit, if I find a problem I bring a hammer where most use a scalpel.

Factory reset. Full OS reinstall. 

I have all my apps and files in external hard drives, which keeps all the valuables safe from my indiscriminate bombardment.

I know it sounds overkill, but my background in IT and software dev has made me slightly paranoid. The sheer number of people who came in with malware that got past their free antivirus, has me half convinced the "free" versions of those things intentionally open holes for viruses to get through so you'll shell out for the premium version.

And I'm not gonna dish out cash for something I can do myself.

Trojan? Nuke it.

Crypto miner? Nuke it.

General slow running? Nuke it.

Nuke! Nuke! Nuke!

I'm going to buy a life sized cardboard cutout of DouglasMcarthur and salute it next time I do a full wipe. My friends might look at me funny, but that's nothing new.

-Rain of Sins-

-Dominos and Butterflies: Ch 8-

Nezu took a deep sip of his tea, savoring its taste, and using the moment to ground himself before what would almost certainly be a difficult conversation ahead. 

"I know things have been hectic recently, and that due to recent events everyone has had a lot to deal with, so thank you all for sparing the time to attend this meeting." His glass clinked as he put it down on the table. 

"I have respect for every person in this room, so I won't, as Humans often say, 'beat around the bush' with you, and instead cut straight to the point. As you all know, the Safety Commision has been exercising increased control over our Hero academies, bending our arms if we do not comply." He sat up straight and looked over his guests, meeting the gaze of each without flinching. "I have it on good authority that their long term goal is to gradually strip more and more of our authority away until they have total control, and that it is imperative we do something now, rather than later."

Perhaps in the company of a lesser crowd, there would have been mutterings and whispers, but the heads of Japan's top Hero academies kept their voices to themselves, mulling the information over and forming their own opinions.

"How certain of this are you?" Jiraiya, head of Seijin Academy, a small school highly specialized in training underground Heroes, asked.

"Willing to bet my life on it." Nezu said unflinchingly. "And in the 0.1% chance that their goal is something else, it will still be in our interests to prevent it."

"Wah! Why would they do that!" Chika Fujiwara, youngest at the table, and head of Ketsubutsu academy (entirely based on merit and not at all because of anything else), gasped in disbelief. "That's so mean! And the people who came to talk to me about changing the schedule were so nice!"

"It makes sense." Blanc, the head of the all-girls Seiai academy, sighed softly, as she gently put down her tea a safe distance away from the book she'd brought. "They've been… unsatisfied with how my academy handles training, and my girls have been complaining about the changes in curriculum. While I agree with their ideas about pragmatism, and can't deny the effectiveness and efficiency of the new classes, the cutting of other subjects that our students learn pigeonholes them into having to be Heros for as long as possible because they weren't taught any other subjects sufficiently enough to change careers. I fear for the long term ramifications for those who were forced to retire early due to injury."

"Astute as always, Blanc." Nezu nodded. "But the problem isn't that the HPSC hasn't thought of that, it's that they deem it to be an acceptable loss for their goal."

A haughty huff of disapproval came from across the table, and Nezu sighed mentally as he turned to deal with the duo that he knew were going to be the issue of this meeting.

"You disagree?"

"To say I disagree would mean our opinions are on the same level. No. I do not disagree, you are merely wrong." 

Satsuki Kiryuin, chairwoman of Honnoji academy, sole owner of its surrounding land, president of the Kiryuin Conglomerate, and daughter of the former Super Villain Ragyo Kiryuin, scoffed at Nezu as if she were looking down at a rat.

"You lack faith! You lack faith in your students' abilities, in their drive! You look down on them. Change careers? It's pathetic how little you think of their determination."

"Care to elaborate?" Blanc bristled.

"Preparing them for other fields is preparing them for failure! It's admitting to them that you do not believe they have what it takes to make it as a Hero! And by wasting their time on trivial things that do not aid in their ability to fight and defend themselves, you are responsible for inflicting the very injuries that force early retirement!"

"BITCH!" Blanc cracked the table as she slammed a hand onto it, her eyes glowing a dangerous red. "SAY THAT AGAIN, I DARE YOU!"

"Why should I repeat myself to those not smart enough to listen?"

"Now, everyone, let's calm down. We're all adults here. What do you think of the situation, Major?" Nezu cut in, and turned to the last member in the room, the head of Shiketsu academy- someone who was guaranteed to disagree with him, but he could trust to at least be civil about it.

Tanya von Degurechaff, Ace of Aces, and darling White Silver of the military set down her coffee with an audible clink to draw attention.

"You have valid concerns, but there are plenty of fields that highly value former Heroes, even if they're not combat capable anymore. The Safety Commission always is gasping for more manpower, our own Hero Academies could always use more teachers, and the Military would gladly take anyone skilled enough with their quirk to be a successful Hero, for use in non-frontline specialist roles."

"Not all of us are comfortable selling out students into being dogs of the state." Blanc growled.

"You gave me a problem, I provided a solution." Tanya replied calmly. "And Kiryuin has a point, the better training that the Safety Commision is giving our students the opportunity for, will make them more effective in the field, lessening the issue's severity."

"Of course you wouldn't mind having military officers in your classrooms." Jiraiya snorted. "You're already a military academy in all but name. Isn't the current HPSC security chief a graduate of yours? Maybe you should try teaching people to be Heroes instead of soldiers."

"Your opinion has been noted, and will be ignored until you can provide results proving it's worth anything." Tanya glared at him from the corner of her eye. "I'd suggest cutting off those obscene smut novels you spend all your time writing, and spend that effort on your students, then you might be able to graduate a Hero to crack the top twenty."

"Pig." Satsuki added with a sneer.

"Hey, I'll have you know I only write the highest quality works!"

"Sure." Tanya rolled her eyes.

"It's true!" Jiraiya threw on an award winning camera smile, and jabbed a thumb over his shoulder. "The gossip papers say the Hero White Heart has read every novel to date."

"No I haven't! Fuck off!" Blanc yelled, hurling her non smut dictionary sized novel at Jiraiya's head, with a blush on her face.

"Mr Jiraiya writes books?" Chika asked in awe. "Ms Blanc, can I borrow some to read?"

"NO!"

"Ooooh, like 'em so much you won't share, ey?" Jiraiya wiggled his eyebrows.

"THAT'S NOT WHAT I MEANT!"

While the three "minor" schools devolved into their own world, Nezu was having a saring contest with the two women across the table.

He needed them to agree to his plan, and they knew it. If one of the smaller schools, like Shiketsu, disagreed that was fine, they didn't have the clout to really push against him for long, and would inevitably be peer pressured into siding with him so as to not be left out.

But Shiketsu and Honnoji Academy were different. 

The south west most islands of mainland Japan, Kyushu and Shikoku, had been the last areas to be reintegrated into Japan post Quirk collapse, for nearly half a century they had held as a stronghold for various warlords against "civilization", and again, many years later, it had been the last bastion of All for One's organized empire before he disappeared into the shadows.

The traces of this could be felt physically on the islands. Corruption, crime, and Villain attacks were all well above the national average, and the inability of traditional law enforcement to stamp out instability had led to a more… brutal methodology of the Hero schools in the area.

UA dominated the main Island, smack dab in the middle in geography, and relatively close to Tokyo the center of power, none of the other Hero academies could possibly hope to rival its influence- something that wouldn't change for decades, if not a century, since All Might unknowingly sided with Nezu's power politics when he joined as a teacher looking for a successor.

But, as stated before, Shiketsu and Honnoji Academy were different. It was them, not UA, that held the hearts of the country's two southern prefectures, and their influence didn't stop at soft power either. 

Honnoji was under control of the Kiryuin Conglomerate, one of the largest companies in the world- a modern day Zaibatsu . Meanwhile it was an open secret that Shiketsu was in bed with the military, and that most of the Heroes who graduated from the academy tended to eventually seek employment in the armed forces. The fact that it's current head held the rank of Major spoke volumes.

Together they were a formidable powerblock, but it wasn't unmanageable by any means.

Satsuki was very ideological, and her ideas of authority and power could be used against her, he just had to frame the situation as the HPSC forcing their authority on her.

Tanya was rational- almost too rational if anything, too willing to view people as numbers rather than individual souls, something that reminded him of his younger self. 

He knew, thanks to his information network, that the HPSC had begun pushing for the military, which wasn't allowed to be present on the homeland island for security purposes, to have a portion of their assets transferred to the HPSC for "peacekeeping"

If he could help her prevent that, she would stand with him for, what was in her view, a rational business transaction.

Of course, if the HPSC did something stupid to ruin their image, that would always help, but what were the chances of that?

-Rain of Sins-

Aoyama winced as he dropped from the ceiling and landed in a crouch. The shoes that Gentle had provided had to be made of magic or something, because they absorbed the noise from the landing perfectly, but that didn't stop his armor from lightly rattling as he moved.

Around him dropped three other figures, each entirely quiet.

"Alright guys." He whispered as he flicked on his flashlight, illuminating the dark room. "Let's make history."

The team wasted no time, with Mineta and Aoyama rustling through various file cabinets, while La Brava rushed to a terminal on the wall, and Gentle acted as lookout.

La Brava powered on the screen, which flicked to life to display a login box in front of a large diamond with an eye in the middle- the HPSC's icon. 

Obviously she wasn't supposed to know the password, and hadn't managed to crack it in the lead up to this heist, so she did the next best thing. She plugged a pink USB drive into the computer, and the screen flickered slightly before the virus exploited a zero day vulnerability in the OS, and opened to the main screen.

"Alright, I'm in. What am I looking for?"

"I've got it here." Aoyama said as he slid next to her. "These files are for people they're holding without trial."

"This is for views, dumbass, we need something more attention grabbing than that. Most people won't even know what that means."

"Uh." Yuga flipped through the documents frantically. "Oh! Look at this, this one says they've been interrogating this guy for almost a week straight."

"What's the case name?"

"Girian."

LaBrava opened the directory and typed in the name, making a face when nothing came up.

"Spelt with an I, not a Y." The knight added cheekily.

She swatted at him, but the case did pop up when she put in the corrected spelling.

Inside the file was a bunch of digital documents, and a veritable treasure trove of information regarding the case, but a batch of video files labeled [Interrogation b264] caught their attention.

They clicked the video and the screen flickered.

The video started and- they were greeted by an empty room with a metal table and chair in the middle. A half second later a door that was outside the camera's range opened, and three men entered.

The first was covered head to toe in black combat gear, his face hidden behind a gas mask. He was roughly pulling along the prisoner "Girian", who had his arms cuffed, a bag over his head, and was wearing wrinkled clothes that looked as though they hadn't been changed since he was arrested.

Following them was a man in a clean black suit.

Girian was pushed into the chair, his legs were chained to its legs, and the cuffs his hands were in were locked to the table. Only once he was completely secure did they remove the bag from his head.

"Hey, look, people!" Video Girian laughed. "Wow, you don't see those in solitary confinement- which, I'm pretty sure holding someone in for over 24 hours, without food, is illegal. Have you pulled me out for a snack? Or maybe to, I don't know, finally read me my rights?"

"That entirely depends on you." The man in the suit said. "And whether or not you cooperate."

"And you know what, that's fair. I'll do that as soon as I get my lawyer in the room, and my phone call."

"You've worked to supply the League of Villains before, where's their base?"

"Have you asked my lawyer? He might know."

The suit just sighed and nodded to the man in the gas mask, who pressed Girian's right hand flat against the table and drew a knife.

"Woah woah woah guys! Let's talk about this! We don't have- FUCK! SHIT"

The smuggler's pleas turned into pained cries as the knife began working its way under his fingernail, slowly prying it off.

"IT'S THE BAR!" Girian screamed. "403 DOUBLE LANE AVENUE! THAT'S WHERE THEY ARE!"

Immediately the man in the mask drew away, leaving Girian to whimper pathetically as he tried to curl in on himself as best he could while chained down.

"See, that wasn't so hard, was it?" The man in the suit smiled. "As long as you cooperate, then there won't be any need for any nasty business."

"Yeah, I'll cooperate, I will! Just please-"

"Shhh." The man cut him off, keeling down slightly to be eye level. "I'm sure you will. But do you know what the problem is?"

"P-Problem?"

"Mhm. You see, we already went to that location, to find it empty and booby-trapped. We lost a dozen men when the building exploded."

Girian blinked at the man in surprise, and his mask fell from his face. 

"Ha! Sounds like you stuck ups got what you deserve! Too bad I couldn't convince you Shigaraki was there, so you'd go in with everything and lose even more." He spat in the man's face. "Fuckers. Just wait until my lawyer hears about this."

The man rose back to his full height and wiped the spit from his face with a gloved hand. "How unfortunate. You clearly don't understand the situation you're in."

"Or you'll what? Send me back to solitary? Pull my fingernails? I've had worse done by criminals, and I didn't crack then."

"Oh, I assure you, our methods are much more sophisticated than some petty gang members who think a car battery is the pinnacle of interrogation technology."

He stepped aside, letting a rolling tray of surgery equipment be pushed into the room.

"Tch, you really think I'll fall for that bluff? If you so much as touch any of those things your organization would be gutted by lawmakers- you'd go to jail for longer than what I'm looking at!"

"As I said, you clearly don't understand the situation you're in. We don't work in bluffs here."

"Hah, what else could it be?"

The man in the suit smiled before walking out of the room, the man in the mask moved in- and La Brava hurriedly mashed the arrow keys to skip forwards.

>>Skip>>

>>Skip>>

>>Skip>>

"B-Bastard." The bloody lump in the chair spat out in Girian's voice. "C-Come back to see your handiwork, eh? There isn't an-anything left to break, and you can't kill me. F-Face it, I win."

"Not quite." The man in the suit stepped through the doorway, a person in a medic uniform behind him. "This is our organization's best doctor, they have a phenomenally powerful healing quirk that's only catch is that it only works on injuries in the past hour. Other than that, well… it works as long as you're not dead."

Girian's broken face twisted in fear.

"Wait! No, you can't-"

"Yes I can. And as payback for you spitting on my face earlier, I think I'll hold your eyelids open for the next procedure."

>>Skip>>

" AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH "

>>Skip>>

>>Skip>>

>>Skip>>

"I told you to beat him until he told us what we wanted."

"But sir, he's unconscious."

"Has he given the information?"

"No sir."

"Then continue."

"Yes sir!"

>>Skip>>

>>Skip>>

"-A chemical compound confiscated from a villain in America- commonly known in Gotham as Fear Toxin. It traps you in your own mind in a form of sleep paralysis and triggers the sensory glands in your brain to make you experience pain and fright on levels that are physically impossible to reach with normal hormone output."

"No! P-Please!"

"Are you willing to give us the location?"

…

"Shame."

"NO! Wait! I will! IEEAAA-"

>>Skip>>

" MAKE IT STOP! PLEASE! I'LL TELL YOU ANYTHING! MAKE IT STOP! MAMA! "

Aoyama slammed the power button, plunging the room into darkness as the screen died.

Everyone was silent, unable to find the words.

…

"I think…" Yuga began. "No. I know that the public needs to see this. Fuck views, fuck clout, this is wrong and people need to know about it!"

Gentle placed a comforting hand on a shaking La Brava's shoulder, reassuring her that he was there.

"After seeing that… how could I disagree?"

-Rain of Sins-

-46 hours later-

Moona clutched her hat to her head as she made her way down the narrow empty streets, her usually vibrant hair, as purple as a deep space nebula, with incorporeal stars that shimmered in and out of existence to match, hung flat and soggy in the light morning rain.

She had migrated to Japan almost a decade ago for work, and had found a well paying position at Usada Construction- a construction firm owned by an ambitious young woman named Pekora who, it turned out, was distantly related to the pro Hero Mirko. Though Moona had learned to be careful about bringing it up, her boss would flip from bragging about it to picking fights and ranting about "That big headed showoff, who has more busts than brains- Peko !".

She'd found work, made friends, and had a stable well paying position high up in the company.

It had been a good number of years.

…Which made it all the more heart wrenching that she was genuinely having to consider leaving back to Indonesia.

Water splashed as she walked through a puddle, her shoes and socks were already soaked, freezing, what was the point in going around it?

To her left a squad of cop cars sped past, sirens blaring, as they responded to what was assuredly yet another Villain attack. Fifth today in this area alone.

To her right, the brick wall was covered in a repeating row of identical posters, each with a burry black drawing that looked more like a shadow than a person. 

[The Sovereign of Sin. S Rank Villain. Wanted Dead or Alive.]

Monna winced and hurried along as she passed a cluster of the posters that had been grouped together in a poor attempt to cover up very illegal graffiti spray painted on the wall. It was a large black mask, with the words "DESTRO WAS RIGHT" written underneath.

A black, featureless helicopter blew by overhead, its searchlight blasting down on dark alleyways. It was the second one to come through this week.

She needed to get home, out of this weather, and away from this madness. But as she turned the corner, her hopes of a quick trip were promptly shattered. The local Hero agency, which had been the safest area in the city just a few weeks prior, was barricaded by a huge crowd of protesters.

"FAKE HEROES!" A man with a red scarf screamed as he held up a sign that read the same.

"DOWN WITH THE HPSC!" A woman shouted, holding up a sign that read 'GIVE US BACK OUR RIGHTS!'.

"YOU'RE WORKING WITH MURDERERS!" "END HERO BRUTALITY!" "BURN THE SYSTEM!" "STOP THE CORRUPTION!" "NO MORE TORTURE!"

The shouts were disorganized, the protesters were not held together on any one problem, united only by their anger. Some wore red scarves, a few brave or stupid ones even had Destro masks drawn on their faces, but it was clear they were all civilians, and despite the anger, it was still a non-violent protest.

Which made it very difficult for the sidekicks forming a line between the protesters and the agency. 

A loud horn screamed through the air, as a black riot control vehicle, similar to the helicopter from earlier, rounded the corner from the direction where Moona had come from. The vehicle only paused for a few moments, men and women in black riot gear hopping out of the back and forming rank, and when the crowd failed to disperse, it opened fire with the water cannon mounted to the top.

People screamed as the chilling blast of pressured water forced the crowd to separate into smaller clumps that the officers and sidekicks moved in to disperse.

From her position on the sidelines, Moona saw the accident happen in horrifying detail. 

A young man, panicking as sidekicks moved to shoo him away from the protest, accidentally activated his quirk, shooting out a glowing ball that slammed into the ground with a loud crack. 

The sidekicks moved on instinct, acting as they had been trained to in combat situations, rushing the man, and slamming into him with the full force of their quirks.

The man screamed in pain, a nearby man rushed to help his friend, a woman screamed in terror, and the situation rapidly devolved into a horrific scuffle between an angry mob, and a group of trained fighters.

Moona turned tail and ran the other way, not seeing how the riot guards began launching tear gas canisters in an attempt to force the sidekicks and mob away from one another, to regain control of the situation.

She would just go back to the office, Pekora would let her stay the night, she had in the past. And maybe if Moona was lucky she could convince her friend to move her business to Indonesia, even if it was only a temporary branch of the main company, it would give Moona an excuse to get her out of the country. 

No one would be safe here for much longer.

-Rain of Sins-

Ochako shifted nervously on her feet.

Typically being called to the principal's office was a bad thing, and if she'd been called up by herself she would have had a nervous breakdown wondering if she'd been found out, but with the 5 others called up with her, she doubted this was a "find the traitor" meeting.

…And it wasn't like she was a traitor , she was still here, training to be a Hero, and was planning on entering the industry with everything she had! She was just… trading some things now, for her parent's stability, and the power to save more people later.

The door to the room opened, startling Ochako from her thoughts, and in walked Nezu, Aizawa, and-

Ochako's eyes narrowed. 

-an HPSC member. An important one too, from the quality of his suit.

She'd seen the video online, she'd be surprised if most of Japan hadn't even with how many times it got taken down.

'Maybe being a traitor to them wouldn't be such a bad thing?' A black oily voice whispered in the back of her mind.

She shook her head and ignored it.

 "Sorry for making you wait." Nezu chirped as he took his seat behind his desk. "And I assure you that none of you are in trouble."

"Well I would hope not." Bakugo scoffed. "I know me and Momo didn't do anything wrong."

"Shoto and I haven't done anything unwarranted today, either."

Ochako took the moment to glance up and down the line of the students summoned. There was Bakugo and Momo, Ibara and Shoto, and finally her and _- a cheeky new classmate from the former class 1B.

"No, no, you have done nothing wrong! In fact, it's quite the opposite! You all have done something very right! Tell me, what were you doing before this?"

Momo raised her hand. "We were in a teamed mock combat scenario against second years to see what we could improve on when faced with opponents stronger and more experienced than us."

"Yes, and?"

"We won?" Ochako offered weakly.

"Precisely!" Nezu clapped. "You six were the only three teams that succeeded! And while success is its own reward, exemplary performance should be encouraged."

This was when the HPSC suit stepped forward.

"Good day children, I am the Vice President of the Safety Commision. As you are undoubtedly aware, the current state of the country is…" He paused to pick his words. "Tumultuous. Villain attacks are on an exponential rise, public fear is rising, law enforcement is overstretched, and faith in Heroes is dwindling. Even All Might is slowing down- you must have noticed him absent from your classes by now. He has spent the last weeks traveling Japan, but he is only one man, and he can only be in one place at a time, and the time he can spend working fades every day. This, perhaps more than anything, has made it clear his time is waning."

Martin surveyed the students, measuring their reactions.

Bakugo grunted, making it clear he disagreed with the idea, but he wasn't dumb enough to speak up. None of them were.

"What the county needs is a new light to rally behind, a grand event to help them forget about the recent unfortunate events that have happened."

'Make them forget about that video.' The voice whispered in her ear.

"And to help strengthen the cooperation between the Safety Commision and UA, we wish to invite a small handful of Hero students, the best of each year, to serve as additional security when we crown the next number one Hero this Friday."

"WHAT!?" Bakugo shouted.

"Don't worry, you'll be entirely aesthetic, standing for the cameras while the next king is crowned. Real security will be handled by professional Heroes, law enforcement, and our own specialists."

"I don't give a FUCK about that! You can't do that to All Might! He's- well, he's All Might!"

"And I understand your concern." Martin soothed with the voice of a practiced politician. "And he will be given all the respect he deserves for everything he's done for the nation, but time is a cruel mistress, and even the brightest sun must one day set."

"But you want to replace him with Endeavor !" Bakugo seethed. "Don't even bother pretending otherwise, he's the only one who's even remotely close, and Endeavor's-"

"A hard working, experienced, and determined Hero who has done much good for the public." Martin firmly cut him off. "He is a veteran of the industry, and has been working himself to near death for years in order to achieve this incredible feat. The only thing our teams found was that he struggles with PR- something that can easily be rectified by a few simple hires to his agency."

"This is an incredible opportunity for your careers." Nezu cut in, drawing attention back to himself in an attempt to de-escalate the situation. "But it's imperative you don't speak to anyone of this. The longer the enemy knows in advance, the longer they will have to plan their attack- and they will want to attack. Our hope is that the display of sufficient firepower, and only revealing how important this event is at the last second, will deter any action. Do you understand."

""Yes sir."" The students said, with varying degrees of enthusiasm.

"Good." Nezu smiled. "Now run back to your classes, an opportunity like this for your future, is useless if you skip on your foundation."

And so they did, Momo rushing off after a steaming Bakugo, Shoto stumbling out the door like he'd seen a ghost, and Ochako almost hitting the doorway with how deep in thought she was.

This… This was something her boss would want to know.

But this was something that would be very bad for her boss to know.

…

…Well it wasn't like she had to report this. She could just pretend it was secret, and didn't know what she was participating in until the day of.

Yeah! And she could do the same in the future! Just avoid reporting anything that was too sensitive, or could endanger people.

Ochako nodded to herself.

She wasn't a traitor.

And so the puppet walked off, entirely oblivious to just how compromised she really was.

-Rain of Sins-

"FUCKING ASSHOLES!" Bakugo shouted as he slammed open a door hard enough to shake the room, sparks and small explosions igniting from his hands in ways that hadn't happened in the better part of a few months.

"Bakuko!" Momo shouted as she ran after him. "Please, calm down."

"PIECES OF SHIT! THEY DON'T HAVE THE RIGHT TO DO THIS!"

"Bakugo!" She snapped. " Calm. Down. "

"NO!" Bakugo whirled on her. "I won't! That's ALL MIGHT'S position, and they're stealing it from him! They're stealing it from him and giving it to a fucking murderer ! To the guy who killed-" He snapped his mouth shut, physically biting the words back, and looked away. "It's not right."

"I know, believe me, I know. But getting mad isn't going to solve the problem, we need to use our heads for this- and I know you have one in there, which means we have to calm down and think."

Bakugo grumbled but complied, clenching his hands into fists and shoving them in his pockets to stop the sparks.

"I'm not sure what there is to fucking think about." He grumbled. "Endeavor cheated, he had to. All Might's the best, no one could beat him."

Momo faked a cough to cover her smile at that. Bakugo could be so annoyingly hardheaded, hyper competitive, and a bit annoying at times, but he could also be just as obsessively protective about certain things, kind of like a puppy.

"And I'm not necessarily disagreeing with you, I just want to help. Getting mad won't help the situation, but problem solving might."

"Oh I have a fucking plan to solve the problem, alright."

"Is it to become number one and overthrow him yourself?" She sweatdropped.

"Not really." He said to her surprise. "That would take too long. Plus I'm not really, uh, invested as much in that anymore?" He scratched the back of his head. "Who cares what a bunch of randos think of me, I'll be the best Hero I want to be. If anything, the fact they put Endeavor above All Might just means their opinions are wrong anyway."

"Oh really?" She grinned. "Well I happen to agree completely."

"You do? Uh, I mean of course you do."

"So what's the plan going to be, if you're not gunning for him directly."

"Well…" Bakugo pulled out his phone and opened the browser. "There are a ton of All Might fan clubs that I know of, and obviously he has the biggest fucking support base in the world, right? So when they make the bullshit announcement that Endeavor's the new number one- even after All Might held up that building, we could use the fact we've actually been taught by him to try to push against those stupid fucking rumors that he's slowing down. And maybe try to stir up arguments online or something."

"So you want to use All Might to fight Endeavor? How nefarious." Momo's grin was Cheshire. "I love it!"

-Rain of Sins-

Tomura tapped his foot impatiently as the elevator ascended the tower. This was so slow! How did people use these!? This was just further proof that his cause had merit, only a stagnant society could make such a crippling device! Stairs were fine, he could rush up them on his own strength, pushing himself to go ever further, ever faster, but this ? He was chained! Stuck waiting on incompetence, as he was forced to sit and slowly feel himself waste away!

Damn Sensei for calling this meeting now! Kurogiri was busy shuffling the countless new recruits around various hideouts across Japan, so he couldn't be spared for this trip right now.

Tomura crossed his arms and scowled, just to make his displeasure known to anyone who was watching. 

Sensei was always watching.

And the music! Who wrote this! Some sort of expert in psychological warfare!? He could feel his brain melting, threatening to leak out his ears and the chirpy tune played over and over and over and OVER AND OVER!!!

The elevator came to a stop with a happy chime and Tomura stormed out, a violent rant on his tongue.

His words died in his mouth when he met the eyes of the other person in the room.

"Tomura, how nice of you to join us." All for One smiled knowingly. "I was just catching our friend here up to speed with everything."

"Up to speed with what?"

"Didn't I say?" The shadow king asked with a lightly mocking tone. " Everything. "

Tomura grit his teeth and glared. This was his meeting with Sensei! Why was this nobody invited, and why filled in on the plan?!

"I suppose you two haven't been formally introduced yet, have you? Well, this is a great opportunity. Tomura, this is Ujiko's successor, and head of the Nomu operation- Prometheus, the Sovereign of Sin."

It was only thanks to his years of dealing with Sensei that Tomura caught the way his Master's lips twitched into an ever so slight smirk as he said the last part, but it was clear Prometheus caught it as well, with how he narrowed his eyes in annoyance.

The newcomer stood tall, just at or just under six feet. He had a thick black coat that fell down to the back of his knees, brushing the top of metal boots. His hands were covered in dark clawed gauntlets that extended to his elbows, over the coat, and ended in tubes that ran along the fabric to a container on his back. He had dark green hair, and a sleek rebreather mask that covered his lower face, but even as his outfit seemed to melt into the shadows, his bright emerald eyes glowed hauntingly in the dark room, made all the more ominous by the long tail that danced in and out of view behind him.

Tomura glanced down at himself, his black shirt, baggy pants, and hand-things suddenly made him feel underdressed while standing between Prometheus' getup and Sensei's finely tailored suit.

But it only lasted a moment before he stomped it down, burying his embarrassment under anger and annoyance. He stood up straight, matching Prometheus' posture, and stomped forward.

"Sensei, why is he here? I thought we were gonna talk about our plan."

"We are, which is why I invited everyone who needs to know the plan, and could potentially help improve it. Speaking of- Prometheus, where is the good doctor?"

"He's finishing up some last minute issues that have popped up." Izuku's eyes flashed. His quirk interfacing with his phone as he got a message. "Actually, he's done now. Give me a second to fetch him."

Izuku sent a text, two pairs of coordinates, and a large frothing whirlwind of gray sand and foam whipped into existence at the back of the room. Out of the chaos stepped Ujiko, looking tired, but unaffected by the transportation in any way.

"Thanks for the lift my boy! That warp nomu of yours is something remarkable!"

Tomura grumbled something along the lines of how "mine is better." but it was ignored.

Ujiko stepped up, taking his place in line before All for One, but strangely Izuku didn't take place beside him, instead standing independently as he had been- something that didn't go unnoticed by the others in the room. Ujiko looked at him with pride, and Tomura with annoyance.

All for One raised a hand slightly to draw all attention to him, like a King addressing his court.

"As you are all aware, I am preparing a play to announce my return to Japan. Ujiko's recovery efforts, greatly improved by the fruits of Prometheus' research, have repaired me to a point where I can act freely, to a certain extent, once again. Ideally we would wait to gather even more resources, but our window of opportunity has presented itself, and it will only last briefly. The nation is on the verge of chaos, unrest is rife, the Authorities are being forced to use more brutal measures, and All Might is both crippled and has yet to find a successor."

Izuku raised an eyebrow at that last line, something Tomura took note of. It seemed that "everything" didn't include everything .

"If any of these change, our position will weaken. We must strike soon. What can each of you give to me for this?"

Izuku stepped forward.

"My genetics program is progressing at an incredible rate, every week that passes we seem to break past what was thought to be impossible before, and now that I have been brought into the inner circle, I am eager to share the fruits of my labor. With your permission, I can get you out of that chair."

Tomura had to bite back a choked exclamation of bullshit, and even Ujiko looked surprised, but All for One…

With All for One, it was like night and day.

Gone was the distracted man playing mentor to people he couldn't even see, who spoke but whose mind and attention was occupied with countless other far greater things. With those words, he snapped to focus, the weight of a thing capable of wiping mountains away with a mere thought coalesced, hundreds of sensory and observation quirks that had been dispersed across the country slammed down atop the room with such intensity the air became thick like soup.

"Explain."

To his credit, Izuku Midoriya only flinched slightly.

"I have been able to grow organs custom tailored with the recipient's quirk factor built into its makeup. I can do the same for you, which would provide just about the only thing in existence that we could use to repair you that wouldn't immediately shatter under the strain of your powers. It would only take a week max, a few days to grow the organs, and at least two more for the surgery. And it wouldn't even cost us anything." Izuku held up his hand, his fingers close together. "All I need is a sample of your DNA to begin the process, a tiny drop of blood."

The weight on the room increased, and Izuku almost thought he was about to be crushed, before it lifted, still present, but subdued as All for One drifted into thought.

This… This could change everything . Even with all the resources he could provide, it had taken years for the Doctor to even stabilize him, and he still wouldn't be combat capable for several months. Not healthy, not combat ready, just capable . 

The current roadmap had his recovery scheduled out for over another decade, and that didn't take into account any difficulties that would pop up. And even then, that was just a recovery, not fully healed…

And now he was being offered full recovery on a silver platter? Full Recovery ? Something that had been a fantasy sitting so far beyond the realm of impossible that not even Ujiko fully grasped just how broken he was, how far he had fallen! 

At his height, messengers and diplomats from far and wide would make pilgrimages with prizes beyond measure, and wealth beyond compare, all in an attempt to earn his favor. Free cities, and kingdoms alike, prostrating themselves before him, surrendering without so much as a single shot- so terrified they were of his power!

Quirks from around the world were his to sample, like they were the finest wine! All of Japan was his domain! 

The whole world had been at his fingertips!

American Sciences! Exotic African Furs! Indian Diamonds! Chinese Silks! European Art! Mediterranean Wine! The finest of Indonesian Spices! South American Gold and Silver! Wealth Unimaginable! ALL HIS!

Even a man as greedy and ambitious as he had been, had found every last one of his wants and desires filled!

And all of Humanity had learned to fear, to kneel, before his name- his proclamation -

ALL! FOR! ONE!

And now he was being given the impossible? A chance to return to the past? To redo it all?

How could he not take this!? THIS WAS HIS OPPORTUNITY FOR REVENGE! THIS WAS HIS OPPORTUNITY TO TAKE BACK HIS BIRTHRIGHT! THIS WAS HIS OPPORTUNITY-

A brief flash of subdued panic at the nape of his neck hit him like a bucket of ice water, so forceful it almost caused him to jump in his seat.

His dangersense quirk? It had been so long that he'd almost forgotten what it felt like. Why had it gone off? 

He spread out his awareness and made sure no one was nearby.

The only people near were the three before him, all of which were loyal, and even if they weren't, none of them could so much as scratch him if they tried. He wasn't in any danger, so why…

'All I need is a sample of your DNA to begin the process.'

His breath hitched as a thought occurred to him.

'-grow organs custom tailored with the recipient's quirk factor built into it.'

…

He lowered a sensory quirk down to Izuku, not enough to be obvious without the weight of its brothers.

He found a piercing green gaze staring at him with an unnecessary intensity.

…

Interesting… Very interesting.

"…No." He decided to the shock of everyone in the room.

Gradually his pressure faded as his attention dissipated again, but he still had far more focus on the conversation than he started with.

"We have too much invested in what we have planned out already, and I am unwilling to risk my life on such an experimental procedure." His 'gaze' shifted to Tomura. "Unless it's as a last resort."

"Yes sir." Izuku said, to the anger of Tomura, and panic of Ujiko who elbowed Izuku. "Er- Yes, My Lord." He corrected with a slight bow.

Tomura still sneered at him for not using "Master", but All for One was satisfied with the add on of the bow, and moved on.

"Tomura, your efforts to destabilize society have borne fruit, trust in Heroes is at a historic low, and your recent nonstop raids with the League have chaos bubbling just beneath the surface. But the stage still isn't perfect, thanks to the meddling of the Safety Commission keeping it under control. We need more."

"Of course Master! The League is ready for blood, and I have just the plan! A memorial is being hosted to respect the people who died during my assault on the festival! I plan to attack and massacre them all!"

…You could hear a pin drop in the silence that followed.

Both Ujiko and Izuku were looking at Tomura with disdain, and All for One had to fight the urge to do something as mundanely inelegant as facepalm.

"Tomura, Tomura, Tomura." The most powerful man on the planet sighed in exasperation. "You're such a useful piece, your very name will one day be a dagger to All Might's soul, you've proven to be capable of great things, so why must you be so… simple? Have some imagination, is it really that hard? You've somehow thought of one of the only things we could possibly do that would actually drive people back towards the HPSC after their recent debacle."

"I'm sorry Sensei!" Tomura threw himself on the floor at the first genuine disapproval he'd heard from his Master that wasn't sugar coated. "Forgive me!"

"Don't be sorry, be better. Think. What could you change about your plan that would make it useful for my goals?"

"I could, uhm," He licked his dry lips. "I could use Nomu! Yes! That would make them even more terrified!"

Shigaraki jumped to his feet and pointed at Ujiko, missing the disappointment practically radiating from All for One. "YOU! Give me Nomu for my attack!"

Ujiko grimaced. "Actually, I'm transferring the bulk of the nomu project to my successor." He nodded to Izuku. "So take it up with him."

"Really?" All for One asked, keenly interested. "It was your passion project, why give up on it?"

"Oh, I'll still have my hand in it, don't worry, but well…" The doctor scratched his neck. "I just recently finished my most recent advanced Nomu, codenamed Hood, and in a mock trial it was thoroughly beaten by Prometheus' own Nomu- a previous one I had deemed a failure, but that he took under his wing and continued to improve. Add on the fact I only managed to finish Hood so ahead of schedule because of his research…" Ujiko chuckled weakly, giving Izuku a tired but proud look. "The Kid more than deserves it."

"I see." All for One stroked his chin in thought. "And I suppose you've been mostly occupied with this transfer recently?"

"Yes Master, it was actually the reason I wasn't here ahead of time, like I usually am."

"Well then, I see no reason we cannot discuss your part in this later."

"Master?"

"Go, Ujiko." All for One waved a hand. "Finish your work, and we'll talk privately when your mind isn't distracted with a list of problems you have to solve."

"Yes Master, thank you for your generosity!"

Ujiko stepped back, and without having to be asked, Izuku sent a message, whisking the doctor away in a swirl of gray foamy sand.

Tomura scowled and turned towards the geneticist.

"Fine, then YOU give me nomu for my attack!"

Izuku glanced towards the shadow king, sitting above them on his throne.

"I have no part in this." The man chuckled,shocking Tomura. "This is a request from Shigaraki and Shigarai alone, respond as you see fit."

Izuku gave him a quizzical look, but when it became clear that All for One wasn' joking, turned and glared at Tomura.

"No."

"WHAT! WHY NOT!?"

"Because striking civilians is a waste of time, and I refuse to help with it when my resources are already occupied with much more important developments."

"This IS important, much more than any of you're fucking nerdy newb shit!"

"No it's not." Izuku scoffed. 

"EXCUSE ME!?"

"Calm, Tomura." All for One commented. "We're all on the same side here."

"Master! Tell this stuck up trash mob that he needs to learn his place! Tell him to obey me!"

"Why would I? He makes good points." All for One smirked as something almost visibly shattered inside Tomura.

The other reason for his bringing Izuku on board was playing out perfectly . A rival would be a perfect cure to that spoiled attitude of Tomura's. Failure was the greatest teacher, but Tomura wasn't learning from his failures in the field, so he'd have to learn from internal failures, from having an "equal" that could consistently provide better ideas at a faster rate.

"Maybe try explaining your idea, Tomura."

Shigaraki growled, like a dog who'd had his leash tugged by his master. But, just like a dog, he complied.

"I need nomu."

"What are you going to use them for?"

"A full frontal assault, to kill as many people as possible, and cause chaos, what else?"

"Then no."

" Why Not!? "

"Because that's a waste of resources!" Izuku snapped "Hit Hero Agencies, the HPSC, or even UA again. The public already knows you can strike anywhere, shatter their belief in the authorities to protect them. Literally anything would be better than what you suggested."

"I asked for your men, not your opinion! Listen!"

"Not until you give me a good reason."

"I am Sensei's successor!"

"But you're not him, are you?"

" YOU WILL OBEY ME! "

Prometheus, the Sovereign of Sin, eyed down the successor to the most powerful man on the planet, and raised an eyebrow.

"No."

Tomura screamed in rage as he lunged forward, hands outstretched, eager to decay until there was nothing left of this stuck up newcomer who dared to think he was better than him!

Izuku's eyes intensified from glowsticks to spotlights, and he moved .

A metal battering ram hit Tomura in the chest with enough force for him to cough up blood, and cold claws wrapped around his neck before slamming him into the ground, pinning him on his chest. Something solid and unmoving coiled around his wrists and wrapped them so tight it was just shy of breaking bone.

Fear. A foreign, cold, oily emotion gripped his spine, and as red eyes met chilled green, he felt as though he'd had his head dunked in water.

"Y-YOU!" He choked out with what little air he could get past the grip on his throat. "I'll KILL YOU FOR THAT!" Tomura shrieked, desperately trying to smother that foreign feeling with rage. " YOU'RE DEAD! "

But the Sovereign of Sin didn't relent, not even reacting as he slowly pressed down harder on Tomura's throat.

"…Prometheus." All for One's voice cut through the room, it carried no warning, but the message was clear.

"I know." Izuku stated as he rose, his tail keeping Tomura's hands pinned until he was far away. "But it was in self defense."

"Hence the reason I'm not upset with you."

"WHAT!?" Tomura shouted. "Master, he attacked me!"

"And you attacked him first." All for One said with a satisfied smile. "Let this be a lesson, not to attack your betters front on."

"MY BETTERS!? MY BETTERS!? Master! I'm-"

But All for One paid no attention to Tomura's rant, instead his attention was focused entirely on the scientist who took the opportunity to give a polite bow and exit the room.

"-aster? MASTER! Are you even listening!?""

"Not at all." He calmly replied to Tomura's utter shock. "But that seems to be your issue currently, isn't it? Making people listen."

Shigaraki grit his teeth and looked like he wanted to scream, but his loyalty won out, and he bowed his head. 

"Yes Sensei."

"Don't be frustrated Tomura, be better. Commanding obedience is one of the most important things you will ever learn. So far you have only dealt with people whose loyalty is already cemented to you through me, but over time you will encounter all kinds of difficult characters."

"Like Prometheus." Tomura muttered.

"Like Prometheus." All for One agreed.

"How do I control them, Sensei?"

" That is your problem Tomura, you're trying to control someone who doesn't want to work for you, while you lack overwhelming power over them. What you need to do is manipulate them."

"Manipulate?"

"Yes. Think of it like this: everyone has their own goals and ambitions, if you can convince them that the best way to achieve their goals is to help you achieve yours, then they will never become disloyal so long as nothing breaks that illusion. Another example is one I'm quite fond of- you set your plans up so that they do all your work without ever knowing they're playing into your hand."

"Sensei, how is that even supposed to work? They do what I want without knowing what I want? That doesn't make sense!"

"Only because you haven't seen it in practice. Let's use your current situation as a thought experiment. You want to attack somewhere to keep up the momentum you've gained with the League, and you want nomu in the attack to help stoke fear even higher, but Prometheus doesn't want to take his focus off his projects. How can you make him want to participate without saying anything to him?"

"I could… attack somewhere he wants to?"

"Exactly."

"But he doesn't want to attack! He wants to do nothing!"

"Does he? Think back Tomura, and if you can get on the right trail, I'll give you a hint that will help you control him in the future."

Tomura scowled and crossed his arms, but his brows furrowed in thought.

"He… Wait! He was at the festival attack! On his own volition!"

"And why was he there?" All for One urged. "Figure out his target. What was his goal?"

"He released that quirks suppressing gas, to cause panic, but didn't really do anything with it. There was also the bomb, under the stands, but when that failed…" Tomura's eyes widened in realization. "It was Endeavor! He was after Endeavor!"

" Very good ." All for One grinned at his protégé's progress. "And for your reward I'll tell you this: Prometheus' mother was killed by Endeavor, and the HPSC helped sweep it under the rug. He is prideful, and has his own goals and ideals, but as long as you set him against Endeavor, or those that he sees as responsible for his mother's death, he will do all your work for you."

Tomura laughed gleefully and clapped his hands, a manic grin on his face.

"An attack on the number two Hero in all of Japan! Ha! I have to rally the League and the Vanguard! Tell them the changes! This will be great! Thank you Sensei!"

"Oh, and Tomura." All for One called out, stopping Shigaraki right as he was about to exit the door.

"Yes Sensei?"

"I heard something from a little echo this morning." He mimed cupping his ear, as if listening to something very far off. "Apparently Endeavor has finally surpassed All Might as the number one Hero. And they'll be having a major event to announce it to the nation this Friday."

Tomura stared at him in shock for a brief moment, before he broke into a sinister grin and ran off.

All for One chuckled darkly to himself in amusement.

Set your plans up so that they do all your work without ever knowing it?

His thoughts drifted to a certain puppet.

Yes, it was good advice, wasn't it?

-Rain of Sins-

Kuin sighed wistfully as she lounged in a bed that felt as soft as clouds. Around her, her bees buzzed through the air, slowly expanding the giant honeycombs that had begun to cover the roof and walls, feeding on the vibrant flowers that sprung from rows of metal pots that her boss had gifted her.

What? She was the Queen Bee, if anyone deserved a hive, it was her. And limiting her bees to the number that she could store in her body (even with the storage sack organs Izuku had installed) was, well, it was far from the full number she could produce naturally.

The room smelled like honey and floral pollen, with a background of soft humming, the occasional bee landing to rest and cuddle with its mother in her hair. Add on top of that a full stomach from a plate of steak so good there was no way it was natural, and oh yeah…This was the life.

…

She still had to escape, of course, she worked for a guy who had what could be at best generalized as a "non-positive" view of quirks, and who's main weapon was an anti-quirk drug.

Which was a problem because of the small fact that, you know, she WAS a quirk.

…

But that didn't mean she couldn't take advantage of the hospitality for a bit longer…

Yeah…That wouldn't be… to… ba… d…

…

..

.

BZZZT

The queen snapped awake, her arm shooting out to shatter her stupid fucking phone that didn't let her block important lab members, but only succeeded in knocking it off the bedside table.

Kuin scowled as two of her bees lifted the phone to her, and tried to wave them away, but the phone buzzed again and slipped from their grip, dropping on her face.

" What do you want!? " She snapped as she unhappily accepted the call.

…

"No! I told you, I'm not his secretary !" She hissed into the phone. "That was just the cover story we gave to the new mechanic."

The voice on the line babbled on in a way that made her wish she had a window so she could throw something out of it. As it was, she settled for rubbing her face in exasperation.

"No… Look I don't-… OK! Fucking fine! I'll give him the stupid message! But if you leave paperwork on my doorstep again, I'm feeding you to the nomu! What's so important that the boss needs to know while he's in his do not disturb room!?"

The line went silent for a moment, before giving the answer, and Kuin felt the color drain from her face.

"Oh… Oh ."

-Rain of Sins-

A crow cawed overhead as it flew through the sunset stained sky. The orange sun shining its sad dying glow on the roof of UA, where two students sat on the edge, overlooking everything in silence.

A cold breeze blew through, ruffling two sets of hair. One red and white, the other as green as the leafy vines that made it up.

To say that Ibara and Shoto's friendship had been restored would be a lie. The previous days after forgiveness had been rough, their conversations honest but tinged with frost. Both were humans after all, both had flaws, made mistakes, and had been hurt.

But right now, Shoto was reeling from the information about his father surpassing All Might- Ibara didn't know why, and she didn't ask, it wasn't her place to, but she pushed aside her reservations to help someone in need.

She didn't speak, neither of them did, she just sat nearby, silently offering her support and just being there.

It was a comfortable silence, one that both understood, but by necessity couldn't last.

"…Why do you forgive?" Shoto asked, his eyes never leaving the nothingness they were gazing at in the distance. 

"Because I want to." Ibara answered without hesitation.

"…Is it a spiritual thing?"

"Yes, but that's not the entire reason." 

"Do you think you could explain it?" He asked. "…Not the spiritual reason, I've never really put much chalk into that sort of stuff, but the other part of it…" He trailed off for a moment. "Sorry if that offends you."

"Not at all." Ibara hummed with the ghost of a sad smile. "Everyone is free to choose their own path, and no one has the right to judge anyone else- least of all someone who preaches the gospel, like myself. We've all sinned, after all." She chuckled half heartedly and leaned back on the roof.

"I forgive because it is a commandment, yes, but also because refusing to is unhealthy, and can be self destructive if not kept in check."

"Unhealthy?" Shoto looked at her with a confused expression, his eyes focusing for the first time in hours. "What do you mean?"

Ibarra's lips pressed into a thin line as she stared out at the clouds above for answers on how best to explain.

"I suppose the best way to explain is by examples." She said as she sat back up. "History is full of tragic stories of people who refused to forgive, who held onto their anger- many of which were fully justified to do so. But all too often it only promotes a cycle of violence and hate that drags innocents into it, which in turn expands the cycle, until it becomes all consuming. And conflict built on hate is the most terrifying thing humanity has ever created." 

She looked down at her hands in contemplation, lightly scarred from years of combat training. 

"The Second World War was made by mankind and mankind alone, the devil had no part in it and yet we built Hell on Earth with our own hands. Billions died and for what? A fragile piece that only existed because we had built a weapon able to destroy the planet?"

"So it's a large picture thing?" Shoto asked. "You're trying to do your part to help prevent something like that from happening again?"

"Well sure, but there's more to it than that. Holding onto intense hatred, anger, it changes people. Eats away at them from the inside out… I'm terrified of what that could do to me…"

The conversation lulled into an awkward silence as Todoroki processed that information.

"You say that like you've seen it happen before."

Ibara was silent for a few moments, a leaf from her hair breaking off in the wind to drift away.

"… I have ." She whispered

-Rain of Sins-

"It's horrible Shoto."

"I'm sorry, WHAT?!" Dabi shouted, flames billowing from him with such intensity that the metal roof above them was beginning to sag.

"I know! It's hilarious right!?" Tomura laughed like a loon, clapping his hands. "They're going to have this big event celebrating their new top Hero, and we're gonna crash the party! Ha! They'll never be able to feel safe after this!"

But Dabi couldn't hear him, he couldn't hear anything over the blood thumping in his ears, and the furious crackling of the flames around him.

"It starts slow but it changes who they are at a fundamental level, their behavior slowly shifts until one day you wake up and realize the person you knew before is well and truly dead. Replaced with a fake mockery of themselves."

"I'M GOING TO MURDER HIM!" Dabi seathed, even as his own flesh began to char as his poor heat resistance failed, as his thoughts were filled by the hateful face of his father, and not the faces of the rest of his family that actually loved him. "I'LL SEAR HIS FLESH FROM HIS SKULL, AND STRING HIS BONES UP ACROSS THE CITY!"

"Haha! That's the spirit!"

-Rain of Sins-

"It eats them alive until even the people with the best intentions change to the point that they stomach horrifying atrocities for the sake of what's 'right' or 'just'."

"Repeat that for me."

Kuin wimped pathetically and desperately tried to hide how badly she was shaking as her boss' voice echoed around her in a dangerously cold tone that was so far past furious that it was fridgedly calm- balanced on a knife edge.

"Th-The League of Villains sent a message containing information on a huge event this Friday, where Japan's n-new top Hero will be announced for his actions during the festival. A-And All Might will finally be replaced by…" She hesitated, and barely managed to whisper out the next word. " Endeavor ."

…

Izuku said nothing, and Kuin dared to peak up from her groveling.

Izuku stood completely still, back facing her, at the end of the newest room in the facility- the deepest, coldest, and largest single room in the lab. It was completely dark, without a single light, and his form was only illuminated by the soft sickly green light that dominated from an absolutely massive growth chamber that was separated from the room by a thick wall with large glass view ports that stretched from floor to ceiling.

"Well then." 

Izuku- no. The Sovereign of Sin turned to face her, his eyes wide and showing in one glance, what a million words would fail to capture, just how close he was to snapping at the moment, the orbs shining into the room like spotlights upon her.

"I suppose it's time for a test run."

"A-A test run, sir?"

Prometheus didn't explain with words, instead he raised a gloved hand, tipped in metal claws, and snapped his fingers with a metallic screech.

Something behind him, in the colossal incubation vat that could easily fit entire whales , lurched upwards at its master's summons, and Kuin's knees gave out as she realized just how out of her depth she truly was.

A long black feather fluttered down to her left from above, and she nearly screamed as she followed its path up to the ceiling.

Hundreds of humanoid monsters unfolded their wings as they unlatched from their perches and began dropping to the floor, the same monsters Izuku had shown her only awhile ago, and that she had made fun of while still in the tanks.

"Yes. A test run of Rapture's latest development."

"It warps them until their best virtues become their greatest sins."

-Chapter End-

-Arc: Dominoes and Butterflies: End-

Next Arc:

"Phantom's Dance, Deliverance Beckons"

To be clear, Ochako didn't report the thing to AfO, he overheard it with the fourth quirk he gave her, Echo. But that's what's extra manipulative, all the comments were freaking out about [Numb] a few chaps ago, but I don't think anyone realized just how compromised she really is until now.

AfO by default knows everything she does now, and can also know exactly how far her loyalty goes by what she does and doesn't tell him. And he doesn't have to worry about alienating her by demanding she reveal things she doesn't want to.

TLDR: She's fucked if she doesn't get help soon. (And AfO would know if she told anyone about him, so good luck with that.)

*It's too hot outside to drink Hot Chocolate, so I have a giant gallon of water I'm drinking from currently*

Now, my fucking music player decided to start storing files on my main drive when it updated, so it died horribly when I nuked my comp, and I had to reinstall it. Problem is, the settings for all my playlists, including my Rain playlist that I listen to while writing this, got corrupted.

This could be used as a lesson for me to just give in and use spotify, but fuck that! Damn app can't even shuffle randomly correctly- it mathematically is inclined to favor "popular" songs, and as I said in the opening AN, I'm not paying for something I can do myself for free.

(Spotify also just doesn't have some stuff I want to listen to because it's "problematic" or whatever, and any track can be taken down at any time in the future whenever they want. Fucker, you have rap music about doing hard drugs and shooting people in the street, let me listen to "The Lullaby" on repeat, and turn off the lights as the room grows colder around me, the shadows grow longer, and I gradually disasociate from reality, when I need to write a really dark scene.)

…Actually there might be a reason for that, lol. Of the 2,000+ people following this fic, the 3 TNO players will know exactly what I'm talking about, and why that song is so horrifying.

Anyway, the Rain soundtrack includes such gems as the entirety of the the Defcon Soundtrack, The Rumble of Scientific Triumph, Demise of a Nation, The Burgundian Lullaby (from TNO as mentioned above, it's fucking terrifying), The Order 66 Theme, and a collection I ripped form youtube aptly titled "You slowly realize you weren't meant to save the world, you were meant to destroy it", and other similar tracks.

*Sips ~Wouter~*

If you can't tell, next arc is the big climax that we've been building up to this arc, but I'm giving it it's own mini-arc because Dominoes and Butterflies is getting really long as is, and I don't want to stretch any arc into the double digit lengths. 

I know Trial of Fools went to 12- I was actively fighting to end that arc, but there was just so much that needed to be set up for the festival.

Following my general rule of thumb, this climax will be bigger than the last one, because I apply the Cold War geopolitic "Domino Theory" to my plots, which sounds really stupid when I say it, but it means everything is mandated to build on each other and creates bigger and bigger climaxes until the final one brings everything together to end the story in the biggest splash I can plan, in a way that works both practically and emotionally.

Again, I have the end of the story already planned, as well as all the major landmarks on the way, but the road is built as we go to allow for new ideas, innovation, and the ability to implement feedback to improve the story.

…

*Ahem*

That's your que! Go! Comment! Give me feedback, positive or negative I don't care! Especially give me feedback if you drop the fic! Please! Tell me why, so I can either A: try to do better, or B: know it's a stupid reason and laugh at you.

(Note: point B was a joke. Sarcasm exists.)

P.S. Chika got picked as the head of a school because neither me nor anyone on the Discord could think of a good character, and the random anime character generator gave us her- clearly the best possible candidate for the role.