MHA Chaos' Whims Chapter 56: Wrap Up (Patreon)

“Finally. It’s you, All Might.” That guy with all the hands on his body, the other one Katsu said to avoid, started talking. “Nomu! Get ove-“ He hit the ground first, a single blow dropping him. Another powerful one sent the dark fog around the other whirling about, a final one to the revealed metal brace dropping him alongside the first.

Whoa.

Before the smoke and dust could clear, it shifted again, All Might long gone from his spot beside Mister Aizawa, the latter’s eyes glowing a dark red as his hair and scarf floated around him. With one swing that didn’t even hit anything, All Might gathered up and sent the villains on one side flying then turned his attention on the half separating her and the others from Mister Aizawa. Her eyes could track him but as All Might moved, using less force to take down that half to avoid injuring them, she realized that was all that could keep up.

By the time she started turning to follow the direction she’d seen him go, things were suddenly speeding past her, the ground beneath her feet gone only to reappear the moment she tried to catch her balance.

“Go rejoin the rest of your class outside. Let us pros handle the rest.” All Might said, placing them down at the top of the stairs all of this started at.

Katsu had shot around with her using that Thunder Breathing stuff, but she hadn’t been using her quirk at all then. Which ever one of them was faster, being moved around by someone who could get around so quickly was so disorientating.

“All Might!” Midoriya yelled, pointing towards the red dome. “Akaguro’s fighting some kind of monster alone. It-My punch didn’t do anything to it.”

“Don’t worry, young Midoriya.” All Might said, offering a thumbs up alongside his wide grin. “I’ll see to this monster myself.” Then he was off, soaring through the air towards the dome Katsu had been fighting in.

With all the villains in the main area left in piles on the ground, Aizawa having used the opening All Might provided to bind that shadowy thing by the metal thing around its neck with his bandages, teleportation kept in check by Erasure, it looked like this whole thing was being wrapped up.

She wasn’t sure if it was just smoke, but had there been steam rising off All Might’s body?

She buried that, other rising questions about all this, and how Katsu knew it was going to happen, turning alongside the others to leave the building.

Other pros, led by principal Nezu himself, were quick to arrive and split up, rushing into the building as they were given thorough check ups and guided into the vehicles brought with them.

How ever he knew about this, Katsu was ready to rush into more danger than she expected.

It was frustrating.

No serious injuries among staff or students and an almost baffling number of villains captured. Baring the fact that this attacked occurred in the first place, this was a victory over those who would think to do anything like this if ever there was one. Despite that, there was much that would need to be done, both in getting to the bottom of the situation and better preparing for such a thing in the future.

Akaguro's account in particular would be a part of that preparation.

He sat across his desk, fresh out of a thorough check up from Recovery Girl. With no injuries, back in his school uniform, and the usual composure he had about him, there was nothing indicating he’d battled against villains.

A stark difference compared to when they found him.

Bloodied, the mask of his hero costume cracked, and in the middle of dragging villains from fire, he’d caught them all by surprise at the USJ. None of that was more shocking than the decapitated body they’d found next to him.

“It took a hit from Midoriya and healed the injury I left on its brain in seconds.” Akaguro continued his explanation of what happened. The entire school day had been cut short, all students aside from 1-A sent home. Most of the class were given thorough check-ups before being allowed to go home themselves, only those heavily involved being kept back for more thorough questioning about what occurred.

Nanely, Akaguro and those who follow him down to fight. He was the last being questioned.

“It did the same for entire limbs. I didn’t have any way to restrain it, it didn’t talk, and I couldn’t risk hiding from it in case it decided to attack the others, so I went for the neck. Severing the brain completely seemed like the only way to deal with regeneration like that.”

It was all detached. Nezu entertained the idea of shock but that fell short. Akaguro was calm and clear minded, included details that might’ve had to be coaxed out of others. He was making it very clear to them that this was no mistake, lapse in control, or misjudgment on his part.

“You’ve been referring to it as an it.” Nezu noted. Normally he’d prioritize reassurances as they asked questions in a situation like this, but it hardly seemed necessary. Monster and it; all throughout his recounting that’s how Akaguro referred to the one he killed. He wasn’t the only one to do that; given the situation, it was only natural for students faced with someone host to a quirk that imparted drastic mutations upon their body to react like that.

In Akaguro’s position, the one to have dealt the killing blow, that sort of thing would’ve served as a coping mechanism.

“It smelled like a dying animal, didn’t seem smart enough to talk, and nearly killed us and the villains that it was supposed to be working with.” He said shrugging. “That other one that could teleport might’ve talk but it wasn’t much better. Both of them smelled like they were rotting from the inside out.”

A strange point of comparison. One of those villains was a giant lumbering mass of muscle that looked like it might’ve stood taller than All Might while the other’s body was so deeply entrenched in fog that not even Erasure could do anything about. Was there some connection or a coincidence?

“I see.” Nezu said. Something to consider alongside everything else now on their plate. “And did you happen to hear anything else from the attackers themselves?”

“The one wearing the hands was the one giving out all the orders. He called the thing I killed a Nomu.” They suspected as much and Akaguro’s extraordinary senses further confirmed the head of the group. “And All Might was the one he was after. He was talking like the rest of us were just part of a game to draw him out.” For the first time in his recounting, Akaguro’s calm composure waned for disgust, his brow furrowing and a small frown growing as he glanced towards the chairs set against the office’s walls. “I didn’t hear anything else though.”

“I see. Thank you for your time, Akaguro. You’re free to go home now.” Nezu said. They’d call him in again, especially once they had time to properly investigate matters, but there was no need to push any further now.

“Don’t make this sort of thing a habit.” Aizawa, beside the office’s door with his back against the wall and arms crossed, said. “You’re a student. You should’ve taken the chance you created to run with the rest of the class, not chase after a villain.”

“But I’m also class president.” Akaguro said as he stood up and turned to face him. “I might not be a teacher, but I think that makes it my responsibility to do my best to make sure my classmates can get out of a situation like that without getting hurt.”

Nezu let loose a small chuckle. The situation alone and outcomes made it difficult to truly chastise Akaguro for his actions. A response like that didn’t make it any easier.

“Even so, do be more cautious in the future should you ever find yourself in similar circumstances. Not just in regard to your own safety but to those you might inspire. Many might choose to follow their president’s example as you saw today.” Nezu warned. It was good to see an earnest student taking the position so seriously, dire circumstances aside.

Akaguro nodded again and took his leave.

“If only I’d arrived sooner.” All Might quietly cursed to himself, seated along the office’s wall. In his smaller form, they’d introduced him as Yagi, a consultant for many areas of the schools, before questioning the students. “No, if I’d been on time in the first place none of them would’ve had to go through something like that.”

“There’s no sense in bothering with that now.” Aizawa said, pushing off the wall and slipping his hands into his pockets as he stepped up the desk. “How are going to handle this, sir?”

How indeed.

There was plenty to consider from the villains themselves to the one that been killed but, first and foremost, now that all the students were confirmed to be unharmed, informing their parents came first.

[Feat Accomplished!

Prevent Thirteen’s Injuries!

+1 Advantage Gold Trait Gacha Ticket]

[Feat Accomplished!

Get Shigaraki and Kurogiri temporarily captured!

+1 Gold Skill Gacha Ticket]

Temporarily.

Sometimes I wondered if this whole Gacha could see the future, skewed things through my perception, and or offered completely objective statements. It was easy to assume All For One would be breaking them out of whatever containment the government threw them in. It was just as easy to say anything other than killing could be labeled temporary.

This was kind of like way back when the Gacha said I only delayed Himiko’s path to villainy.

I knew Himiko. I wouldn’t love her the way I did otherwise. While small stuff and other things that most would consider rude could slide right off her back, Himiko not the type to instantly judge most people, that didn’t mean she wasn’t the type to hold a grudge.

And she was, for better and for worse, the type to hold a grudge for a very long time.

If anything I did ended with someone killing me, it wasn’t hard to imagine what she’d do. A bit of vigilante justice was one of the best case scenarios. Naturally, if anyone tried to stop her from getting to anyone she thought was remotely involved, she was going to cross lines that’d get her that villain title.

In that sense, that was one easy route to villainy I couldn’t technically do much about. I wasn’t worried about her actually becoming a villain out of nowhere, but it did make me wonder if I’d ever get a reward declaring I diverted that possibility permanently.

“Katsu!” The moment I stepped out of the school’s main building, I was blindsided, not just by Himiko but Tsu, Midoriya, Yaoyorozu, Uraraka and Kirishima. Even more of surprise, Todoroki had lingered behind at the school, at the front gates. While I found myself in a hug by both Himiko and Tsu, we locked eyes before he silently took off.

“I’m fine.” I assured them, Iron Mind helping me focus up through the unexpected hug from Tsu. More questions were thrown around about the specifics of what happened.

“Forget all that.” Kirishima declared. “We faced villains and won. I know we’ve got to be some of the only first years that can say that. We’ve got to celebrate this!”

“You want to hang out, right after something like that?” Uraraka asked. “I didn’t even fight like you guys, and the stress has me wanting to fall in bed.”

I might’ve gone along with him under any other circumstances but not today. “I’m kind of with her there.” I said. “How about tomorrow? School’s canceled so it’ll give us a chance to try and get the whole class together.”

“Sounds good to me. The more of us the better.” Kirishima agreed, still full of energy despite all the quirk use and fighting today called for. Like Himiko, it was hard not to get along with the guy on some level and I could see where all his excitement came from.

They had all just knocked out and rushed past villains, getting their first real taste of what pro work could involve. I was the only one who’d gone far beyond on that and pulled what any decent hero should consider a last resort, none of them told about that.

And it hadn’t just been the Nomu I’d been debating killing.

I held back a sigh as Himiko slipped her hand into mine, squeezing.

I was sure I could manage just fine with Iron Mind, but I wanted to go back home and think, not surround myself with people and conversation.

[Rolling Diamond Ability Gacha Ticket…]

[Gate Creation

|Epic Ability|

Allows you to create semi-permanent gates that you can teleport through. To create a gate to a location you have to be either incredibly familiar with the location or have been to it. To set a gate you need to focus for 1 minute. You can have up to 10 gates that exist at a time, you can improve this limit as you get stronger.]

How ironic. I go up against Kurogiri and the thing I pull has to do with some kind of teleportation.

It was amazing, no two ways about it. I mean I expected something beyond epic rank from a ticket ranked Diamond, assuming it was higher than platinum, but there was no world where I’d be complaining about this. With a wait time that long and conditions like that, I wouldn’t be using it in combat the way Kurogiri could, but it’d have many future uses.

I let out a sigh, not even bothering to move on to the next tickets. I’d done that roll hoping it’d be crazy enough to divert my thoughts, but they were wondering back to where they started.

“What’cha thinking?” Himiko asked, poking at the tip of my nose. We were lying in bed, doing a whole lot of nothing together. Sleep, I found, wasn’t really something I needed to do much of anymore and with what I was thinking about, I couldn’t bother to force myself to fall asleep or do much of anything else.

Himiko didn’t have a problem with that, lazing around on me.

“That Nomu wasn’t the only one I’d been thinking about killing.” I didn’t keep much from Himiko and she was about the only person I could be fully straight with about this. “I was planning on killing the one with the portals before you all showed up.” If that were the end of it, I wouldn’t be too bothered. It’d have just been doing away with a pair of monsters. “And I was thinking about doing the same thing to all the villains that were attacking us. I came pretty close to it too.”

Marking that random villain in no way strong enough to survive a real punch from me with Ratio had been nearly unconscious. If I hadn’t been focused, slipped up, or maybe didn’t have Precise, I might've had a far worse situation on my hands.

Himiko looked away for moment. “I was thinking about it too.” She admittedly lowly, looking back, her golden eyes unsure. “Is it weird to say I’m happy we were thinking the same thing?”

“What about us isn’t?” I shot back, getting a small smile from her. “Can’t say its very heroic of us though.”

Himiko hummed along.

It really got me thinking. About a whole lot that I’d rather not.

“Whatever. We’ve got a good few years to really find out if this hero stuff works for us.” I decided after another sigh. “If we try our best and it doesn’t work out, we’ll just go along with whatever you want to do.”

“Really?”

“You put all that work just to get to U.A. with me, didn’t you? Only fair you get to choose the next big thing we do.” I said. Other than some family things and of course all the business with All For One, I couldn’t say I had long term plans that didn’t involve refining everything I could do.

Other than sticking with Himiko that is but that went without saying.

“So, if I said I want to go on some kind of vacation for a few years to, like, Hawaii, we’re going? No buts?”

“Only yours in a bikini.”

“Stop it, you can’t steal my thing. I’m supposed to be the perv here.” Himiko complained, pulling and pushing at my face a bit as a wide smile crossed her face. “It’s a promise then. After we’re done with U.A. we’re going somewhere crazy. Maybe I’ll get us to go to some kind of university for singing overseas.”

“Ugh, you’re trying to torture me, aren’t you?”

“You’ll be fine big guy. I’ll be there to laugh at you the whole time.”

Yeah, talking with Himiko about it was a lot better than thinking on it. Whether or not truly heroism was the thing for me, it would never be my main motivator.

(A/N: Obviously killing the Nomu wasn't the only ticket worthy thing he did. The rest of the tickets will be rolled at the start of the next chapter. Conversation with Toga and his own thoughts took priority.

Anyways, without the Nomu, Shigaraki was pretty much cooked. Unless Kurogiri knew to teleport away immediately I didn’t see either of them being able to do much of anything. Didn’t help that they were operating off the reasonable assumption no mere student was going to be enough to handle a Nomu built to fight the big man.

Let themselves get dropped by an All Might who was working on too bad of a timer to be super dramatic or trying to get info by letting conversation/monologuing happen. All Might didn’t get a break and was already pushing himself so he definitely would’ve needed more help than canon to deal with the Nomu too.

Best that Katsu did what he did.

Side note, I always find those fanfics that have Midoriya accidentally use a lot more of One For All’s power and kill someone like Shigaraki during the USJ amusing since they have him prosecuted or seen like a super bad guy or something. While that is possible, I feel like whatever reputation it sticks to him, the general public would mostly be laying into U.A. itself for that if it were public knowledge. A kid they were meant to train and prepare shouldn’t have been put in that position after all.

Just kind of seems more in line with how institutions are treated in those kinds of situations.

Anyways, Katsu isn’t going to be spiraling into some depression arc or anything. He just has a bit to think about; it was covered up by the fact that he’s the hard worker and has clear goals involving All For One as a whole but he has doubts when it comes to his affinity for heroism. His father being who he is doesn’t help.

Anyways, remember that week break I talked about? I think once the public chapters reach this point, or the bit of slice of life aftermath that happens in the following chapters, it’ll start. I didn’t go into much detail about why I’m going on a break since I figured nothing was going to come of it but why not share it now?

A friend of mine bought a 3D animation course but figured that it wasn’t for them after going through it. I always wanted to try something like that myself so they’re letting me borrow their PC and account for a week once I make the time. Now a week obviously isn’t enough to turn someone who’s never touched animating software in their life into some kind of pro but I’m deciding to take a page out of Katsu’ break and dedicate a majority of my free time to it for a week. Might as well give it an earnest try while I have the opportunity to see if that sort of thing is actually something I like.

No way my bummy laptop is running any animation software well enough to do much with so its really a golden opportunity for me.

Damn I be running my mouth sometimes. I'm probably annoying someone out there with all these AN's. Very rarely do I have a chapter without them. I'll you all know in advance when we're fully coming up on that break but at minimum, we got another 10 chapters before that.)