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Chapter 51: The End of an Era
🕑 Added 2025-03-12 15:41:22 +0000 UTCAfter all, they'd seen and done, the Thunder had thought they had seen enough that nothing could surprise them. When Midoriya thinks about that moment in the future, he sees how arrogant a notion it was and how it was just a sign of how much further they all had to go if they were to achieve their dreams of reshaping their world.
Nine was the only one without a criminal record or terrible run-ins with the law and other villains. His rap sheet would start the day he and Midoriya met, and ever since, they racked up the charges as they accepted jobs, hunted down targets, or just wrecked whatever stood in their way.
But all of it, from the USJ to Hosu, even their biggest job yet, infiltrating I-island, were controlled events, limited targets in a small area. The Thunder worked to keep collateral down as they didn't wish to inflict needless suffering. What they and the rest of the world witnessed that night was a reminder that Thunder was the exception, not the norm.
Things started so clearly; they had gathered to watch U.A.'s emergency press conference, where the media blamed them for their continued failures to stop both the League and the Thunder. Hasaki had been real happy about that, seeing Eraser having to dress up all nice, bow, and scarp for the public's forgiveness. Though Kon felt it was unfair that they mentioned four attacks, Midoriya and Makihara thought it was incredibly unfair to pin the blame for Hosu and I-island on U.A.
He voiced as much, and Kon just grunted that it was, taking a drag of his cigar and adding that the masses didn't care that a place like I-island was meant to be the most secure on the planet and that U.A. had no means to influence it. All they saw were U.A. students involved in an incident and stuck their heads up their asses for the rest. Nine, who was on the phone with them via a satellite link, added that U.A. knew trying to get people to see the foolishness was a lost cause that would alienate them, so they didn't bother correcting it, just taking it on the chin.
The answers they gave weren't bad, quite the opposite, but frankly, while they were banking on it, none were impressed with how quickly people seemed to turn on heroes. Though Midoriya could accept that it was because heroes had built themselves up to be perfect, those who did everything everyone else was too lazy to do. The enforcers of the order that made them feel safe, at the expense of people like the Thunder.
As Nine predicted, they lashed out at their protectors with the illusion thoroughly smashed. One especially belligerent reporter seemed dead set on catching up on something, his questions giving no room for any interpretation other than U.A. had failed because the villains exploited their weaknesses but because the heroes had just 'missed things'. Midoriya could applaud Aizawa's faith in Bakugo's incorruptibility, but…
"He's not wrong, but he's also not right." Midoriya mused at the time, the rest turning to him. Midoriya's gaze remained on the screen after Eraser declared that the villains would fail. “Kacchan doesn't care about helping people, not that much anyway. He wants to be a hero…because All Might is a hero and never loses..."
Hasaki hummed as she agreed with him on that front. She had only seen him once, at the USJ, but while he didn't act like the rest, he didn't come off as villainous, not in any meaningful way anyway.
“So, if anyone would take offense to our string of victories, it would be him. He doesn't strike me as the type that will jump ship just because the going's getting tough. No, he'll stubbornly stick to it and fight to see things return to normal."
It seemed that the press conference was, in the end, a rouse to distract them and the public from their rescue operation, one which the Thunder would later learn from the League had gone pretty well. Bakugo was secured, the League restrained, and their Nomu locked down. It should have ended there. It would have been a major victory for the heroes and a loss of employees for future jobs, but they could bounce back from it…
Then All for One appeared, and in what had to be mere moments, an entire block of Kamino just…vanished. The demon king had stepped into the light of day, and his return was heralded by destruction and death that had not been seen since his golden days as undisputed. All Might's arrival and the clash of the two titans only added to the destruction. Both might have been wounded and far from their primes, but they stood as the pinnacle of strength for both heroes and villains.
Nine figured out early that it wasn't just All Might holding back because Bakugo was present, but All for One since Shigaraki and the rest of the League were also. That fact, however, only made the two beings seem all the more above them with how much raw power they had and how much more they indeed had should the opportunity come.
Collateral, all the while, just kept rising. AFO, having little care for others, sent All Might flying through several buildings. At the same time, All Might, while keeping limited, was still unleashing attacks with tornado speeds gusts as mere byproducts, enough so that news choppers had to battle just to remain airborne as they broadcast this battle of titans for the entire world to see. There was a bright spot, seeing those U.A. kids appear out of nowhere and managing to rescue Bakugo.
Seeing that, the commentator forgot that just minutes prior, they and the rest of the world had been digging into U.A. for allowing students the capacity to defend themselves. Now, they just praised the students for their solid thinking and effective plan that allowed them to rescue their classmate without even needing to throw a single punch. Their rescue was followed by the arrival of another hero. This old man hadn't lost a single step as he knocked back the villains before they could try and recapture Bakugo, allowing the students to escape.
Midoriya fondly recalled how he rolled his eyes when everyone turned to him, expecting him to know who this new person was. He, in fact, did not know, as, like a lot of people that night, they would learn more after the fact, such as how that old man had knocked Dabi out back at the bar, which explained why the woman was down from the moment the cameras arrived.
That same commentator made the mistake of calling the fight early, as with most of the villains down, the hostages safe, and backup on the way, the heroes were due to claim victory.
Midoriya wasn't sure if All for One's helmet was hooked on the news and was broadcasting it in real-time. Still, he would believe the assumption as it was only after that bold and hopeful declaration that the man acted, getting the League out of there before showing off why he ruled as Japan's true master for over 80 years and why it took a force as unbelievable powerful as a prime All Might to finally defeat him.
And he showed the world that not even the Number One, their Symbol of Peace, had defeated him without paying a high toll. The two tore into each other like beasts of myth; they tore into each other in ways that no one could; Kamino ward ripped apart with each exchange between them, only attack- whether it hit or not. And yet they still kept going like it was nothing. All for One seemed to revel in the battle, using an assortment of quirks from an overcharged air cannon, giant ice shards, tentacles covered in scales, and lighting dancing off his fingertips.
All the while, the world watched as All Might couldn't defeat him like he normally would. They were left shocked and scared, and who could blame them? The refusal to talk about the times before All Might had left so many people ignorant, while many of those who lived through it were having old memories and wounds reopened by the sight of their Symbol of Peace being so evenly matched.
Across Japan, that fear and confusion shifted to anger that the heroes could allow things to get this bad and to the desperate hope that even now, All Might could pull a victory. The Thunder was among those who cheered to see All for One defeated once and for all.
Midoriya could feel much of that hope die when All for One managed to land another devastating attack. One packing the force of a compressed into such a small space which, if All Might hadn't blocked, would have no doubt reduced several other blocks to rubble. When the smoke and dust cleared, all the world saw All Might's greatest secret; they saw the true form of the man they called their strongest.
While the rest of the world realized that their greatest hero was still a mortal, well into his 50s, Midoriya, who had already known that, wondered something else.
They could barely see it, but he could spot that the two spoke, and All for One said something. He didn't know what it had to be as big as All Might, even with his true form revealed, but he had remained undaunted after hearing what All for One said.
It was like a piece of him died.
Koharu uttered in awe as they kept watching, the world kept watching, and All Might rallied whatever power he still had and stood defiant against his old enemy. But unlike before, he wouldn’t do so alone as help arrived, led by Endeavour as the heroes worked to both distract All for One and get as many of the injured pros, police, and civilians out of danger as they could.
Their job done, they retreated to give All Might the space he needed to put All for One down. The villain realized that as well, as his left arm became a twisted, mutated amalgamation of quirks, what had to surely be his means to kill All Might.
When the two clashed, Midoriya swore that the whole of Japan shook under the force. It seemed like All for One was winning that he was pushing All Might to his breaking point-no, past his breaking point. Still, the man who was called the world's strongest didn't buckle. He found the power in him, fuelled by sheer will to hold his ground, and with a cry of an ultimate move never before seen, he delivered a punch to end all punches.
United States of Smash.
Hero, villain, civilian or not-they witnessed what could only be described as the force of a demi-god in that punch, as All Might drove his fist right into All for One's face, smashing him into the ground with enough force he created a tornado strong enough to pull entire sections of wrecked buildings into its vortex.
When it was all said and done, All Might stood. All Might, with his fist held up. All Might was victorious.
Line Break
In the days that followed, crime lay low. It was true that with All Might all but retired, there was confusion, doubt, and fear that could be exploited. Most smart villains also had to contend with the fact that heroes would be out in droves in the immediate aftermath, while those more well-connected who knew that All for One being defeated and captured meat there was as big, if not a larger, power vacuum in the underworld.
At present, just one group had the recognition and power to contend for that top stop—the same one that had battled against U.A., All Might, and if the rumors were true, even snuck onto I-island and got away with it.
And now, they would be whole once more.
With so much attention on Japan's domestic issues, less was on its ports of entry, as Nine's ship came in right on schedule. When it arrived, it was the middle of the day, with plenty of dock workers up and about, so it was just Hasaki and Midoriya who went to meet their leader, both donning disguises that helped them blend in with the rest of the people.
Many people present seemed to be on edge, probably wondering if a villain would appear and wreck the house.
"They do know villains like imported stuff, too, right? Why would we mess up a port?" Midoriya asked, fixing his cap over his blue wig.
"Some idiots rampage through the streets, tearing up roads and rail lines. They have plenty of reason to fear it happening here." Hasaki sighed, the woman wearing a beanie and thick glasses. They hadn't taken the car for this, as they rented a few vans courtesy of Giran, who seemed eager to help them prove their product, provided he got a cut in sales.
Midoriya looked around, waiting for the ship to get into its docking port. His eye went around the pier, which was kept in good shape. There were few signs of wear and tear, and most were being worked on as the rest of the dock crew moved around the repair and maintenance people. There was even an overhauled crane, the type that was so big he used to think they were used to raise ships out of the water.
When it finally came to a stop, its crew got to work offloading its cargo, containers coming from as far as Manilla and Taiwan. Their disguises worked a little too well, as one of the foremen called them for 'slacking off'. The two ended up helping them offload cargo, Midoriya finding out that his strength didn't stand out so much as plenty of the workers skirted laws about quirk use.
"Supervisor doesn't care as long as the job's done on time. Just don't dick around, newbie." One person told him when he brought it up. Hasaki was made to load things out of the containers and into trucks and vans, while Midoriya was helping the crews that offloaded containers to be placed onto freight trains to be transferred in bulk. As they worked, both got messages on their phones.
'Most would stay in containers meant to be scrapped; they're all going on the same train.'
Message received, both Hasaki and Midoriya deleted it and continued with their work for a while longer, before slipping away during their lunch break. Another message led them right towards Nine.
“Welcome back!” Midoriya greeted Nine, who was in a conversation with the Drunken Turtle’s captain. Seeing the two, she nodded and walked off, her job done.
“I hope you had a nice trip.” Hasaki nodded.
“Let’s just say I’m glad to be a man of land and not a sailor.” Nine replied, taking a breath now that he was back in Japan, even if he could still make out the scent of the sea. “Any news?”
Midoriya shook his head. “No, things have been quiet here. Most big players are waiting for the other shoe to drop."
"It helps that Giran has been dropping hints that he's getting some new product soon," Hasaki smirked as the trio started walking through the dockyard.
"He does realize that most of this can't be sold as is but needs to be modified or studied to be replicated." Nine asked, to which Midoriya chirped in.
“He knows, but he’s building up a market for it.”
"As long as he can help us find someone who can build something for us," Nine stated, as they could handle Giran's businessman tendencies, love or hate, it was part of why he was one of the best brokers in the game.
“What’s that? You were secretive about it on the phone.” Hasaki asked him, as Nine had only vaguely mentioned that he had acquired something more valuable than their I-island pay-day, even more than their new ride.
"And you never told me when I was with you. I didn't even know about it till I got back." Midoriya pouted. Nine had decided to keep it a secret as they traveled to Manilla. It was embarrassing when the rest asked him, and he didn't even know what they were talking about.
“It was what the job was all about.” Nine replied, which was once more vague, but it took only moments for the two to realize what he was talking about.
“No way…” Hasaki looked at him like he was insane, to which Nine pulled out a hard drive. It was a generic design that could be purchased at any hardware store. The only difference was that it was built with a sturdier case.
Nine returned it to his pocket, as he had kept it on his person the entire time, only parting when he showered. "But it's far too complex for us to build. We need a dedicated expert, and more importantly, someone we can trust not to build for others or sell our secrets."
Reaching a relatively secluded spot in the dockyard, they found that Nine and the crew of the Drunken Turtle had offloaded some crates. Opening one, Hasaki whistled, and then she saw the contents before she closed it up. As she called over the vans to start loading up the goods, Midoriya volunteered to be the one who would find the 'scrapped' containers with the larger stuff and escort them to a safe house nearby.
Line Break
At the same time, across the country at U.A., Nezu watched from one of the higher-up hallways as students arrived. Not for the new semester, which was still a way off, but today, when they would move into their newly built and approved dorms.
Truth be told, Nezu had wanted this for a while now, seeing it as a means to better educate students as they would always be close to him or any other teacher, and all those without immediate family happily volunteered to live on campus. Of course, he understood why students didn't like boarding schools. While U.A. was what he wanted to think of as a 'fun school,' the dorms were also designed to be as laid back as possible so in between training, work-shops, classes, or any other activity, the students would be able to relax.
Sadly, the board always shot down his proposals, never seeing the need for them. It was only now that they finally approved them, though it was for reasons that Nezu wished didn't have to arise: security.
"If that had been the only concern, then it wouldn't be so…saddening." Nezu mused, his hands behind his back as the parents had been sold on the idea that the dorms would give U.A. greater capacity to protect their students now that the League made it clear that U.A. itself was a target. Still, there was another motive, a much darker one.
Present Mic might have been speaking out of anger, but he wasn't wrong in his suspicions about a leak; he believed he was one of the teachers. Nezu disagreed; the screening of his staff made the odds of one of them slipping through the cracks to sabotage things low, to put it mildly. And if one of his staff were the traitor, as morbid as it was, it would have imagined that things would be much worse for them.
No, he suspected that the leak was a student, with his greater attention on first years, both because the attacks only began this year and because it seems the first years seemed to have a target on their backs.
So, the dorm was his means of combating that, as it would limit the movement of all his students and better allow him and the staff to monitor them. Hopefully, they'll be able to identify suspicious actors and secretly investigate them. But that would come later, as it would be unwise to ignore the cloud of disquiet that had settled over U.A.
“But can one blame these youths? This would be their first steps into a world without All Might.” Nezu thought aloud, as he wasn’t that old, like his students and many of his younger staff, he was born into a world long protected by their Symbol of Peace. The only difference was that he didn’t feel that protection till much later in life.
His scar itched at the memories of the sterility of the environment and the apathy of their eyes.
He shook himself out of the memory, as that wasn't it. He was one of the few who studied history, including the bits mainstream education had forgotten. Meeting All Might and seeing that the Symbol was still a man, even before his grievous injury, only made it more important for Nezu to prepare for the time when All Might would eventually retire. However, he had hoped it wouldn't be as chaotic as this.
"And with U.A. having been attacked so much in recent months, the students need to be reminded that even without All Might's protection, there's a bright future." Nezu smiled as he knew things were bad now. History was filled with slumps and unease, but humanity always found a way out.
Line Break
At the dorms, class A found themselves all standing outside one of them, their homeroom teacher having been waiting for all of them to arrive. "Given the circumstances, I'm glad we were able to bring class A back together."
“So, we all got the go-ahead to move onto campus?" Sero asked, doing a quick head count and not seeing anyone mission…well, anyone who wasn't missing already.
"It was a hard sell with my parents," Hagakure bemoaned. Her mother had been worried about her when she learned that she was close to Chimera and Slice, even if both turned out to be fakes.
"I admit that while my old man was pretty psyched with All Might's last fight, he wasn't so happy with me continuing here," Jiro added, as her not being in danger helped but also made him worry all the more about her and what could have happened, rather then what did.
"I'm just happy that the teachers also got to come back. The media didn't seem all that happy with you at the press conference," Asui noted, as she recalled watching that and being scared of how hostile they were. Even people in the street seemed to have something to say, and little was positive.
Eraser agreed on that, as he and Vlad had both been prepared to be let go if only for the optics, but the opposite happened. "I was also surprised, but the board thought it best not to make a faculty change now." He would keep it to himself that the board only agreed with Nezu on not terminating their contracts because it wouldn't look good if U.A. replaced them when their defense was that they were simply caught off guard by the unexpected rise in villainy.
"Before I explain your dorm assignments, we shouldn’t forget about your provisional licenses.” He moved on to matters that didn't give him a headache.
His reminder had the class blink before they recalled that they were doing something before they were caught between poison gas and a forest fire. “Oh yeah, we were training at camp to take the test for that, right?” Sato asked.
"So much happened that it slipped my mind," Ashido noted, as it felt like an unimportant thing now.
“We haven’t abandoned the attempt, especially with the fact the League and Thunder seem to have made it a habit of involving U.A. students in their crimes, but before that?” Eraser frowned as his eyes tracked down and locked onto specific people present.
“Kirishima Ejiro; Todoroki Shoto; Yaoyorozu Momo, Asui Tsuyu, Uraraka Ochaco.” It wasn’t just those he called out, but the entire class that felt the shift as Eraser’s gaze dug into them. “You five were the ones that went to Kamino to rescue Bakugo.”
His blunt statement had all five looking away, but he also noted that only two of them had the decency to look apologetic about it. The rest seemed just as nervous, but his frown only deepened as he saw that none looked surprised by that statement. Now, he could give the benefit of the doubt and assume they were told by the five about it after the fact, but he was realistic; he knew his class.
“Based on your reactions, the right of you might not have joined, but you know of their intentions.” His words didn't get any push-back or attempt at one, which only confirmed his assumption. His guess was those 5, probably spurned by Kirishima or maybe even Asui, those closest to Bakugo, had tried to make it a class stunt but only got a few takers while the rest opted out.
"I'll skip to the point; if the situation wasn't as dire as it is, I would expel each and every one of you, except for Bakugo, for your reckless stunts," Eraser told them, glaring at them when some tried to speak up, silencing them for their troubles. "The five of you who went, of course, but also the rest of you who knew what they were plotting and refused to report them. You betrayed our trust, even to protect your friends."
Aizawa was furious when he heard about their stunt and saw it happen live with the rest of the world. Did his students realize just how dangerous their stunt was? It was luck, not their skills, that got them out of it without needing to fight or get hurt. If the League's arsonist or warp user weren't already down, they would have been caught. If someone like Pyre, or God forbid, Nine, had been present as they had feared they would be, they would be dead.
He didn't care how much of their reasoning was just trying to help; the real world didn't care, and he had hoped he had been able to get that drilled into their heads. But he would need to work even harder to ensure this didn't happen again, as he couldn't just expel them; the board had been clear about that. "To regain that trust, you need to live as model students, obey every rule we have, and follow every instruction you're given. Am I understood?"
No one dared to speak up, defend themselves or others, or counter his words. Even his trouble-makers seemed to understand just how deep in shit they were in and wordlessly nodded.
“Good, now let’s get to the tour. This will be your new home, so…enjoy.” He turned to lead them into the building. His students wondered if Aizawa was serious or trying to mess with them.
‘He expects us to be happy after that?’ How does one act happy after being chewed out like that? Kirishima didn't know. He didn't regret doing what he did, even if he knew it was foolish; he just couldn't do anything when he couldn't stop the villains at the camp or save Bakugo. But, he hadn't realized that he wouldn't be alone in his punishment as sure, he didn't like that most hadn't agreed with his plan. Still, he would have never wished them harm for it, yet they had all nearly been expelled because they didn't talk.
Todoroki and Asui had similar concerns, though Asui felt even worse about it as if it were anyone else. She wouldn't have gone along with Kirishima's hair-brained scheme, but it hadn't been. She wasn't speaking with Bakugo, but…she couldn't do nothing when he needed help. That was what a heroine was meant to do, right? It wasn't just about following the rules but helping people?
Bakugo looked around and saw all that, the tense and down mood. He grunted as he walked towards someone who could help. “Come here.” He grabbed Kaminari and started dragging him towards the entrance, where there were some bushes.
“Wait, why? Why are you dragging-!” Pulling him behind the bushes; the rest didn't see what happened. They only heard Kaminari crying out as he let loose all his power before Bakugo tossed him out into view again, very much in his dumb mode. “Waaaa!”
As everyone laughed at Kaminari being a dumb-ass, Bakugo walked over to Kirishima, holding out some cash.
“Kirishima, here.” He told him as Kirishima looked at the money wide-eyed like it was explosive.
“You shook him down for cash?!” Kirishima yelled in disbelief as Bakugo only felt a little pissed that he would just assume that.
"No, you idiot! It's my money to pay you for the night vision goggles." He shoved the money into his chest before he could refuse it, though Kirishima was busy thinking about the rescue and how he had bought some gear for it.
“Wait, how did you know about that?” He didn't recall mentioning it afterward.
"Don't say I didn't give you anything; now I'm not in your debt." Bakugo grunted as he walked forward to get settled, Asui watching him as he walked by. The two shared a glance, but they didn't speak.
‘Even now, he can’t bring himself to be more open with people.’ Asui wondered, as it often seemed like he was making progress. Still, she would then see it was at a snail's pace as even during their rescue, when they got him away, he had been more focused on the fact Pyre had no part in the camp attack or was present at the bar.
Line Break
Well, I screwed myself over last night by going against my diet and eating plan to have an extra sugary dessert. And it came back to bite me in the morning as I had the worst headache for it. Luckily, I had no web classes, as I would have looked like death warmed over.
When it came to this chapter, I was conflicted over what to do with it, as the second fight between All Might and AFO and the first one we see on screen is incredibly important and impactful for the story of MHA. But the thing is, I didn't have too much changed, so I struggled with the idea of just skipping it; otherwise, I would just be retelling the same thing for the sake of it.
