Chapter Text
Nighteye was discharged from the hospital immediately, saw the car they’d come in with, and whistled.
“That WAS Aizawa’s car,” Izuku replied to him, sliding into the seat.
“Do you think he’ll press charges?” Nighteye asked Overhaul, as Mirio got into shotgun.
“I hope not. I’ll pay for gas money if need be.”
“You did technically commit grand theft…” Izuku pointed out.
“I didn’t steal it! I borrowed it without permission!” Overhaul complained, as he was now driving more slowly. Izuku recognized the area.
“Why are we going back here?” He asked.
“Gotta wake up the Boss,” Kai explained, as they drove to what was left of the compound. Nighteye showed papers to wave them in, and Overhaul got out of the car. He went up a few floors to what seemed to be a solid wall. With a tap it vanished, revealing a hidden room. An older man was hooked up to a life support system- there was ventilation in the room, so it wasn’t airtight. Overhaul gave the older man a gentle pat, and his eyes shot open. He immediately sat up.
“KAI! Where’s-” he began, before noticing the Heroes. “...I take it that she has been… eliminated,” he mused.
“With extreme prejudice,” Chisaki replied, smirking. “Right now, Eri’s under the protection of UA.”
The boss of the Yakuza smirked. “UA… I think I’d like to go there.”
“Boss, are you sure that’s a good idea?”
“I have my connections.”
*****
The drive to UA was short and when they arrived, they found Aizawa, tapping his foot in mild frustration.
“I would like my car back, please. Keep it as is, though,” he ordered.
“Any different paint color?” Overhaul asked.
“It’s fine as is. The only reason I’m not pressing charges is because of the value you added.”
“I also increased the engine’s efficiency, giving it an extra 20 miles per gallon.”
“And now I’m wondering if I should just pay you for that and ask you go tamper with everyone’s cars,” Aizawa deadpanned, before noticing the chuckling older man. “Who’s he?”
“The Boss,” Overhaul replied, stepping into position to guard him.
“I am Eri’s grandfather,” the man explained. “Can I see how she’s doing, please?”
*****
They found Eri with Nezu, who had been roped into a tea party. She saw them first, and let out a squeal of joy.
“GRANDPA!” She cried out, staggering out of the chair and leaping at him. He caught her and chuckled softly. “You’re awake from your nap!”
“Yes, I’m awake,” he said, as the stoat’s head turned. “And it seems like you’ve made quite the name for yourself,” he said to Nezu.
“Kai, I will do whatever I can to shield you and your organization from the law,” Nezu said seriously, approaching the Yakuza boss, and bowing deeply.
“...Do you two know each other?” Izuku asked.
“I owe my freedom to this man,” Nezu explained with utmost seriousness, scratching his scar. “His group raided the laboratory I was captive in.” Now Aizawa was listening intently.
“You never told us who experimented on you,” he mused.
“It never involved you,” Nezu explained. “They freed me and burned the place to the ground.”
“They were using him for some sort of experiment on how to alter someone’s brain to act like a puppet- like Her Quirk,” the Boss growled.
“Make that 100% on him knowing,” Stain muttered inside Izuku.
“Who?” Aizawa asked. Izuku mouthed ‘CCP’ to Nezu, which caused his eyes to widen.
“Midoriya’s guess is the correct one,” the stoat replied. “While I would like to chat, I think that I would like to borrow Midoriya for a moment.” Nezu waved a paw, and Izuku, nervous, followed him. They made their way to Nezu’s office. The stoat pressed a button, and Izuku felt the hairs on his neck stand up.
“EMP,” Nezu explained. “And a power surge to shielded areas. There are no bugs here. We may speak freely.”
“So you know about the Cabal?” Izuku asked.
“I do. How do you know?”
“Stain. He knew about them,” Izuku explained. “Their goals, motivations… and how they’re planning on achieving them.”
“Go on,” Nezu ordered.
“They’re planning on some sort of mind reading technology mass deployment following some sort of false flag,” Izuku explained. “And they likely wanted Eri to be insurance against me.”
Nezu nodded. “I agree- Blacklight can’t survive being erased from existence through temporal manipulation,” he explained. “They were the ones who captured me, when I was still so lost after getting High Spec. And before you ask- the reason I’m telling you is because you know about them. It’s hard to keep that kind of secret to one person- it makes me a target. I’m a possible Type One target.”
“Type One?” Izuku asked.
“Have you read the Batman comics, young Midoriya?” Nezu asked.
“No… my dad was a fan of Captain Hero… he said his brother loved it…”
“I’d tell you more about them but the main thing you should know is that Batman was not someone with bat powers- he relied on his martial arts, his intelligence, and his wealth to be a Hero. One of the things he did was come up with a list of how to incapacitate his fellow heroes, should mind control occur, or they stray from the path of heroism.”
“And you’ve done that too?” Izuku asked.
“Yes. Have you?”
“...Admittedly I haven’t really… might need to add that to my notebooks…”
“I would love to see your notebooks, Midoriya. I imagine that they’d be a fascinating read. But yes, I have kept track of weaknesses of Heroes through my analysis. Most Heroes have the Type One weakness.”
“And that is?”
“A sniper’s bullet,” Nezu explained. “Type Two requires you to counteract their Quirk. I’ve created Type Three specifically for you.”
“What’s Type Three?”
“For all intents and purposes, unkillable. With one exception.”
“Eri,” Izuku stated, bringing the conversation back around.
“Eri,” Nezu confirmed. “The HPSC tried to get me to transfer custody of her. I refused.”
“The Cabal was planning on getting her either way,” Izuku explained. “And what’s to say they don’t try again?”
“They know I know about them, and have several deadman’s switches that would blow their secrecy to shreds were I to bite the dust- but I can’t activate them while I’m alive, as then I’d have no leverage, and the HPSC would just say I’ve developed schizophrenia. But if I die, and then that’s released…”
“Then people would put two and two together,” Izuku realized.
“Exactly. Since I owe Overhaul’s boss an unpayable favor, I will be allowing him and his crew to remain on UA grounds…” and then he gave a truly evil grin. “And it would be no trouble for me to request that Overhaul create precious metals that the school can sell to finance itself so that no one has any influence over it… speaking of…” Nezu went over to the intercom, and pulled out a large stack of files.
“What’s that?”
“Sexual harassment complaints from General Studies,” Nezu replied evilly. “Can you wait for a moment, please?”
*****
Izuku watched the wailing Mineta run out of the office, and then went back into it. Nezu was putting the complaints back into a filing cabinet. “Thank you, Midoriya. As I was saying- with this lack of leverage, I believe that a mutually beneficial relationship with the Yakuza could work- though I fail to understand why they didn’t just have Overhaul make gold for them.”
Izuku wracked his brains. “Maybe because it wasn’t honorable to have all of their fortunes lie on one of their members, while the others slacked off?” he guessed.
“Perhaps…” Nezu mused, turning to the intercom again. “Chisaki? Please bring your boss in here- we have much to discuss.” He and Izuku waited for a few minutes, before Overhaul, carrying Eri, and the Boss entered.
“Hey, what’s the boss’ name?” Izuku asked Nezu.
“My name is Giovanni,” the boss, now revealed to be Giovanni, explained. “My father was a die-hard Pokémon fan.”
“I see,” Izuku mused.
“Thank you. Now, Mister Giovanni, I believe that a perfect arrangement can be reached here,” he said.
“Regarding Eri?” he asked.
“Not just her- regarding your group. Eri told me about what you’re hoping to do, and I must say, that’s very honorable.”
“And profitable,” Giovanni explained. “That whole thing about the cure for cancer being covered up made no sense to me. The profit from it may be less than someone reliant on preventative treatments, but there’s one thing that everyone overlooked- pets.” Here, he smirked. “Imagine your dog had terminal cancer. How much would you be willing to pay for a no-side-effects cure?”
“Or a cat?” Aizawa asked.
“Or cat. Or any pet. That’s the point. That’s where the real money’s at,” he said. “There are only a few billion humans, but tens of billions of cats and dogs. And that’s not including things like fish, birds… hell, with this, it could cure livestock!”
“What does that mean?” Eri asked.
“It means, Eri, that if we can figure out how to make your Quirk work for treating cancer, people’s pets would likely live far longer… and if we can figure out a way for it to reverse aging…”
“Literal mountains of gold,” Nezu surmised. “But wouldn’t that be putting all of the proceeds on one person’s work?”
“You have to take the DNA, synthesize it, and prime it. It takes a lab full of people,” Giovanni explained.
“So is that why you don’t just use Overhaul for funds? That was Nezu’s guess,” Izuku inquired.
“Exactly. But enough about that- you said you had a proposition?”
“Yes. As Eri’s legal guardian, UA will turn custody over to you- the problem is, unsavory forces,” here, Nezu scratched his scar, “Have taken an interest in her, and will likely have you removed from guardianship due to criminal records.”
“I’ll make some calls,” Giovanni stated.
“Unfortunately, that likely wouldn’t be enough,” Nezu admitted. “What I was proposing was this: UA gives you and your group sanctuary. Due to our charter, those who live on the grounds are under our jurisdiction, and ours alone. One of the benefits of a Hero School,” he explained. “Though there are exceptions, obviously. But do you have any crimes along the lines of rape or murder?”
“Does breaking a leg count?” Overhaul asked. “Or bribery?”
“No, that wouldn’t be enough,” Nezu replied. “And with Overhaul, UA would likely be able to survive without the government’s funding, which we would announce- Recovery Girl has been foaming at the mouth to have you as an assistant nurse, so that would give you a job here. As for the rest? That would be easy. We hire you as ‘security’.”
“And we can work on our Project, and be unable to be apprehended?” Giovannni guessed.
“Exactly. And Eri’s guardians are fully able to take care of her, leaving those who want her with no legal recourse. And should they try an illegal recourse… brainwashing without a Quirk takes time.” Nezu’s smile was now all teeth. “And I imagine that you wouldn’t take that sort of kidnapping lying down.”
“Overhaul? What’s this kid’s Quirk?”
“Literally Blacklight,” Kai explained.
“Kid? If Eri is kidnapped, I will pay you ten billion Yen to retrieve her, with a five million bonus per dead kidnapper.”
Half of Izuku’s body went numb, and those cells all passed out in shock. “I would appreciate that,” he said.
“Good… otherwise I’d have to try to track down my favorite hired killer,” he said.
“Boss, Heartthrob retired, and only went for people you could prove had a rap sheet.”
“She loved the work,” Giovanni answered.
“I didn’t need to know that my mother was working with the Yakuza but I’m not surprised,” Izuku muttered.
“...Kid? Did you just say that HeartThrob is your mom?” Giovanni asked.
“Uhhh… yeah?”
*****
It was a strange car ride, as Izuku led the two Yakuza members to his house. Giovanni knocked on the door.
“Hello- oh,” Inko’s voice went from happy to cold. “I told you, I’ve retired.”
“Sorry, Mom…” Izuku muttered.
“Izuku, please don’t go telling everyone what I do in my free time. That’s private.”
“It’s good to see you again. May I come in?” Inko let the Yakuza boss in, and they sat down. “I am not here to hire you for a hit. I am here to thank you. Your son has saved my granddaughter from a horrible fate, and I’m here to give my thanks.” Overhaul nodded.
“Oh… you’re welcome… you didn’t talk much about your family…”
“My daughter didn’t want anything to do with this life, and she left her daughter to me after her Quirk came in,” Giovanni explained, before bowing again. “But if you ever need employment… I will find something for you.”
“Any annoying street gangs?” Inko asked.
“Uhhh… Mom?”
“Sorry, Izuku… empty nest syndrome has left me feeling a bit… at a loss at what to do with my free time.”
“Suddenly I see why you and Dad got along…”
“I didn’t know he was All For One-” Inko began, before remembering they had company.
“That old fossil? Seriously? Mister ‘I’m telling you, don’t stick it in crazy- just marry a civilian woman’? Damn hypocrite…” Giovanni mumbled. “And to think I went to him for relationship advice…”
“Dad gave out relationship advice?” Izuku asked.
“Among other things- he destroyed all but my Yakuza… apparently this sickly child who we sheltered meant our organization got ‘a pass’.”
“What can you tell us about his goals?” Izuku asked, deciding that now would be a good time to see what else his father wanted.
“Well, aside from something he said he ‘had on the backburner’- kind of the normal stuff, but he really wanted to be some sort of demon king, in his words. Rule the Underworld with an iron fist and then the real world behind the scenes… make money… and go after a chain of heroes for ‘taking what’s his’.”
Izuku assumed that it was One For All, but assumed that he wouldn’t get any answers in that direction.
*****
That night, after arriving back at the dorms, he was immediately proven wrong when he awoke in a black void, and a figure that his father only had a few photos of was staring at him, arms crossed.