Chapter 40

The narrowed nosed man crossed one leg over the other as he stared out of the window of his office, high above Deika City. " Tell me. How goes the investigation?"

" According to our insiders, Overhaul was just as inept as you predicted." His glasses wearing cohort sneered. " He was strong but didn't know how to apply himself properly and overstepped his station. The Yakuza should stay as our henchmen and stop thinking so freely. All he did was strengthen the position of All For One's faction." The narrow nosed man sighed.

" The paper's simply reported it as requested by the Commission." The dark eyed woman said, flicking through her phone. " If the general public learned that Villains were involved in the subduing of that threat, they'd start questioning the status quo. Can't have that, now can they?"

" The Commission. The League. Neither matters. They're pathetic." The young man in the blue parka surmised. " In the end, they'll both fall."

" Mostly true I suppose, but the bigger issue at hand is that the League is getting far to big for its own good." The man with hair covering his eyes told the Parka wearer. " It may be a decent, temporary distraction however if we let them get too far out of hand, it will be worse for us. You understand?"

" They're a pain."

" Precisely."

" We have to deal with them sooner rather than later." The glasses man spoke up. " Quirk erasing drugs and Trigger are dangerous in the hands of someone as calculating as Midoriya. Still, Overhaul at least did one thing right. The League taking in members of the Shie Hassaikai allows some of our spies to keep track of them."

" I agree. That was most fortunate." The narrow nosed man smirked. " Let's get their attention, shall we? Start with their Doctor and their Broker and we'll draw them in from there." The man looked up slowly. " As the successors of Destro, we shall not fall to some pretender like All For One. Let's show the world who the true threat is, shall we?"

" That's everything right?" Mei asked, finishing her delivery of new babies to Giran. The man looked over them, nodding slowly.

" Yup. Good work, Alchemy." Giran smirked. " My client are gonna love this." Giran clicked the box shut. " How's it feel getting honest work for once?"

" Same as building for the League, admittedly. You were right. Profit is profit." Mei chuckled.

" The heroes must be planning something big if they're the ones ordering from you this time, Giran." Ochako mused.

" Yeah. The market's changing again. Then again, we always get busy with Hero Support Item requests after the Bi-Yearly rankings. Should be like this for a month. Appreciate you helping to keep on top of things, Hatsume."

" And I thank you for the exposure. And the money." Giran laughed.

" Speaking like a true support item inventor. Ah ha ha ha." Suddenly there was a knock on the door of Giran's apartment. " Eh? Who is it?"

" Is this Giran's place." A muffled voice asked.

" Who's asking?"

" An interested party."

" I'm busy right now." Giran scoffed. " Make an appointment. If you know where to find me, you know how to do that as well. Then I'll meet you."

" That won't work."

" Then I suppose you won't be meeting me then. Beat it." Giran turned back to Mei and Ochako. " Sorry about that. Sometimes assholes really get-" The door suddenly burst open as a wave of ice blasted into the room. Ochako was quick on her feet, pulling Mei and Giran away from the impact zone. Looking over the kitchen counter, Mei watched as someone in a dark blue Parka entered the room.

" I said that won't work." They announced. " You're coming with me, Giran."

" Crap. One of those. Sorry bout this Alchemy." Giran pulled a pistol out of his jacket. " Stay down." Giran nodded to Ochako before pointing his un over the counter and sending two shots at the Parka wearing intruder. Ochako nodded, leading Mei around back and telling her to wait before sneaking through around behind where the Parka wearer was behind held up by Giran, who had switched his ammo to exploding bullets, which was able to break the ice shields his foe was using to defend himself. Ochako tapped a bunch of Giran's kitchen, including the table, chairs and a set of cutlery of plates. Giran fired one more explosive round, destroying the invaders ice shield before Ochako caught him off guard with a heavy barrage of items , giving the two enough time to make a break for Giran's back room.

" Are you two alright?"

" Yeah. But those bullets are gonna cost me." Giran sighed. Giran wasn't a stupid man. He'd been around for almost three decades. It had made him smart, careful and, above all, rich. It shouldn't have surprised Mei when he pulled a long, thing pencil from his pocket and inserted it into a wall, opening up a secret passage and quickly led the two in before slamming it shut. The group passed between the walls. Mei looked around surprised.

" Who made this?"

" We did. Brokers. Villains. Heroes. Inventors. Informants. Cops. News Anchors. Builders. Teachers. Cleaners. Store clerks. That little old lady I'm sure you smelt cookies from coming up the stairs. All of us. It ain't the only place like this either." Giran smirked. " The Underground ain't just a network, kid. It's a community. And this is one of our little secrets. Lot of apartment complexes and hotels across Japan have certain place connect inside the walls. They're used as escape tunnels for these exact situations. Come on. We can drop by Kurogiri's place for a few hours til frost king dips."

" Who was that, Giran?" Ochako asked.

" Don't know 'em but I sure as hell soon will." Giran told her. " I like that place. Lived there for five and a half years, which is a record. Still, they could have more goons waiting outside. Ochako, I'm using Plan 59C for this."

" Really? C?"

" Like I said. I liked that place." The three emerged into a large, dark open area on the ground level. " This is the secret exit. We'll end pass through here. That'll give you space to call in Kurogiri."

" If only I had my suit I'd have called him in when we were in your apartment."

" Hopefully they already think you have. That'll give us time." Giran looked back to Mei as Ochako headed for the door. " Exciting enough for ya?"

" You do this often?"

" Only with certain rude customers."

" I'll get the door. If I remember right this stupid thing is heav-" Ochako was cut of. The second she laid a hand on the door, it exploded, launching her back across the small room. A cackle like laugh echoed through the dust and sinew.

" So the plans we acquired were right. How lovely." A woman stepped in, her black eyes sparkling in the darkness. Behind her was the Parka wearing figure from earlier. Giran grit his teeth. " Kagero, dear. It's been too long. I see you're just as predictable as ever."

" Curious. Shit." The woman, Curious, smiled. It was a fake, cruel smile hat Mei attributed to an abusive stepmother. " The fuck do you want, you crazy bitch?"

" Isn't obvious? You. You have some front page news to share and I'd love it if you meet by boss." She eyed Ochako, holding her side and bleeding from the explosion. " She'll live. I didn't put my all in that one. Ochako is your assistant, yeah? Daughter of the Urarakas. Their business just got back on track. Be a shame if they found out why."

" Leave them… out of this." Ochako groaned.

" And you must be the new star of the Underground, Alchemy. Our boss likes your designs. Says you've got real talent, Ms Hatsume. You should come work for him. I can introduce you if you'd like."

" Leave them out of this." Giran growled. " It's me you want."

" That is correct, love." Curious nodded. " So, what will it be? You gonna come willingly or is my friend here gonna have to play not so nice with them." Giran looked down, annoyed but defeated.

" Let them go and I'll come with you."

" Giran!" Ochako groaned.

" If that's your terms, I will gladly accept." Curious laughed. " Do come along now. Be a pal, Geten."

" Fine. But only because this is what he wants." Geten said coldly, grabbing Giran by the arm.

" If you lovelies wanna tell Tomura Shigaraki all about this, go right ahead. We'll be meeting soon anyway." Curious spun on her heel. " Ta ta." With that she left, her henchman dragging Giran after her. Ochako slowly handed her phone over to Mei.

" Call… Kurogiri." She said. " Everything hurts… so I can't… right now." Mei agreed. She pressed the call key and raised the phone to her ear. At the sound of a voice, she said one word.

" Help."

Haru held up her shopping list. Medical supplies, obtained. Cleaning supplies for Kurogiri, obtained. Food and drinks for various members of the League, including some orange juice for Eri, obtained. Haru stretched. Usually she had help when she was shopping. Sometimes from Shoto or Toru but they were busy dealing with some anti mutant cult who decided to call them out over their dealings with their departed friend Spinner, calling them not pure Villains because of their partnership with them. Fools. But with them gone, Ochako dealing with a job with Giran and Denki being dragged along with some group he joked was now called the "Bakugang", she was alone. And the bags were getting heavy. She just wanted to get to a quiet place Kurogiri could pick her up from.

The last thing she packed into her handbag was a set of headache tablets. She liked the League members in the complex she now resided at but something about the place disagreed with her. Her headaches were only getting worse. Maybe it was the building structure, something in the walls triggering some unknown allergy or the building was the wrong temperature. Something made her head hurt. Her dreams weren't the nicest lately either. A scream in the night. She went out to check, saw a small figure covered in blood who reached out for her and when they did… her throat ached in the morning. She cleaned the ventilators in her mask and went about her day, but it was always in her mind lingering.

She rounded the corner and bumped into a man who almost knocked her down. She staggered back, dropping a bag. The man, dressed in a sharp suit but his face covered by a shepherds cap and a face mask narrowed his eyes, turning up his eyebrows in a look of shock and sadness. " Sorry. I didn't see you there. Are you alright?" He asked.

" Yes." She said, warily, straightening out her ventilator. "I'm fine."

" Here. Let me help you with that." The man picked up her dropped bag. " Are you walking far?"

" It's quite alright. I don't mean to bother you."

" No. No. It's my fault. And I insist." He gave her a kind look.

" I'm just around the corner." She sighed.

" Please. Lead the way." Haru sighed. Some people didn't give up. She started walking, the man behind her. " My name is Koku. Koku Hanabata."

" Haru." She said simply.

" Nice to meet you, Ms Haru." He laughed. " You know, it's worrying for a young lady like yourself to be out alone these days. You never know who's going to show up."

" I'm perfectly capable."

" Ah. Of course. I know people have amazing potential. But with the League of Villains still out there, well…" Haru glanced back at him. " You hear about them? Scary folk."

" I'm not worried about them." Haru paused outside an open alleyway. Just pass through hear and she could get Kurogiri to pick her up. She held out her hand. " Can I have my-"

" Ah. I doubted you would." The man narrowed his gaze. " Doctor." Haru's eyes went wild. Before she could react, she was struck from behind. Haru's vision started to fade." Don't worry. I'll make sure your groceries get dropped off to the right place."

Kurogiri finished bandaging up Ochako's wounds and stepped backwards, making sure he didn't make any mistake. Mei sat in the doctor's office with him and Momo. The two girls were surprised to see eachother again, but that wasn't important right the moment. " It's a shame Haru is out right now. We'll have to leave her for now." He stated. " The others should return shortly."

" Mei. Are you alright?" Momo asked her.

" Just a few bruises. Nothing worse than that. Thanks Momo." Mei told her.

" So. You're Alchemy then?"

" Yeah. Mister Giran is the only guy who'd give me a chance after the Sports Festival so I've been working with him. He's a nice guy." She sighed. " Wish I could have done more to help him."

" Some people aren't meant for direct combat. It's the way of life. But your inventions have already helped us so much. And they'll help him get him back. I promise." Momo reassured her. " Til then, you can stay here as long as you want."

" Thanks. I appreciate it."

" OCHAKO!" Mina shouted as she burst through the door, Hitoshi, Toru, Shoto and Izuku behind her. " What happened?"

" Some bitch and some asshole raided Giran's place during a trade and captured him. Ochako got caught in some kind of explosion." Mei said.

" WHO? I'LL KILL THEM!"

" Calm down, Mina. She's fine. A few days and she'll be perfectly healed. A few moments when Haru returns." Kurogiri held out a hand.

" So she's fine. That's a relief." Hitoshi sighed.

" Tomura's waiting in the bar for you, Kurogiri." Izuku looked over at him. " He seemed pretty steamed. We'll look after Ochako." Kurogiri nodded his head, stepping out and letting Izuku's friends deal with everything. As he walked through the corridor, Kurogiri thought. Why would Giran be attacked? He had connection with a lot of groups. Why attack him for his League connections? Perhaps it was because Ochako was his assistant, but it would be hard to find that out. And if they could find that out, what else did they know? The dreaded answer came as he stepped into the bar and his phone stopped ringing. Tomura raised an eyebrow as Kurogiri answered.

" Hello Haru." He spoke.

" My apologies, Mister Kurogiri. But this isn't Haru Garaki." Kurogiri froze.

" Who is this?"

" Hand the phone to Tomura Shigaraki." Kurogiri instead put the phone on loud speaker. " Are you there, Tomura?"

" What the hell do you want?"

" Ah. Temper temper." The other person spoke. " Introductions are in order first. My name is Re-Destro. The name may be familiar."

" I don't recognise your name, idiot. Are you a loser with a big ego or-"

" Did All For One not tell you? About Destro? How disappointing. Then again, he didn't seem like the type to consider anyone an equal so I suppose it doesn't surprise me. Never mind. I am the leader of the Meta Liberation Arm and we believe that you are all getting far too much attention."

" I don't give a shit what you think. What the fuck did you do to Haru and Giran?"

" Tomura. Language. You have children living in your complex." Tomura froze.

" Don't you fucking dare threaten her!"

" I won't need to if you do as I say." Re-Destro said sinisterly. " In three days time, I want all members of the League of Villains, sans Kai Chisaki's niece, to be in Deika City. If you do, we will let the Doctor and the Broker leave unharmed. If you do not, we will expose your location and roster to every hero agency and news outlet nation wide. Including the true allegiance of Ms Uraraka and Mister Kaminari. Do we have a deal?"

" And what are you planning on doing?"

" Simple. Either you join us or you die." Re-destro chuckled. " We'll see you there, bright and earlier, Tomura. Until then, your groceries are at the door." The phone line went dead. Tomura screamed, slamming his hand down and breaking the phone and half the counter into dust.

" You motherfucker. You want a war? You've got one. Kurogiri."

" Yes sir."

" Rally the fucking troops."

Everyone began to plan on the best way to deal with the Meta Liberation army, everyone taking the fight personally. Ochako got to work enacting Giran's plan, using the Underground with Mei's help so to not go in to enemy territory blind. She had already taken a leave for injury off UA for a week. Denki stepped back for family affairs and returned to the League, determined to help. Others were building up their skills and arsenals. They were going to war. One side was not going to come back from this. Tomura was determined that it wasn't going to be them.

But for Izuku, he had one errand to run. Toru joined him. On the night after war was decided, Toru slept over in Izuku's apartment instead of going home, watching movies with Eri to distract her from the high tension in the complex, all three passing out on Izuku's sofa. The afternoon after, the three stepped out of the complex. The Meta Liberation Army knew they had Eri. He needed to make sure she was safe above all else. So, reluctantly, he decided to take her to the safest place he knew.

In a hooded top, his head down, Izuku stood before a door he had not entered in a year and a half. Eri held his hand, the other holding onto a small bag of her things. " Izuku." She asked. " Where are we?"

" A place you'll be safe. When we're done, I'll come back for you. But until then, I need you to stay here. OK?" Eri looked up at him.

" You look scared." Izuku gave her a shaky smile.

" I'm just… gathering my nerves. I'll be fine."

" Izuku. I can take it from here if you want." Toru said reassuringly. He shook his head.

" No. No, I should have done this a year ago. I was cruel. She needs to know." Izuku raised a hand, hesitating. Then, with a quick motion, he pushed the door bell and waited. His lips dried. His blood ran cold. His stomach knotted. He wanted to run. But he stopped himself. This was for Eri's sake. He had to do this. So, his legs shaking slightly, he stood his ground. Eri clutched his hand tighter. He would have laughed if he wasn't so worried about what was about to come next. She was reassuring him. He put his brave face on. The door slowly opened.

" Yes. Who is it?" Izuku looked up. Inko Midoriya froze upon seeing his face.

" H-Hey Mom." Izuku stuttered out. " I'm home."