MosesArk Reborn2000
patreon
Chapter 30: Hosu – Kindling catching light
🕑 Added 2024-07-17 15:06:47 +0000 UTCWith the retreat of Pyre and Mummy from the scene, the pros focused more on treating their wounded and getting Todoroki and Uraraka checked out. When Endeavour made it to the scene, he was far from pleased with the entire thing, especially when they only vaguely made out through Native's ramblings that Stain had been in the area well after he fled the scene as neither Uraraka nor Todoroki, who arrived to the fight later, saw the hero killer, making any chances of finding him slim to none as he was no doubt long gone.
The only good news, if one could call it that, was that thanks to Endeavour leading the charge, the Nomu were either killed or captured, which brought the attack to an end. It was a bitter pill to swallow as one only needed to look across the city where the attacks and subsequent fighting took place to know that it was a costly affair, from property to life, as there were many reports of injuries even as Uraraka, Todoroki, Native, and Iida were rushed to hospital.
Now the morning came for Hosu General Hospital. Still, neither student felt rested at all, least of all Uraraka, as being sedated just meant she had terrible dreams the entire night, waking up to find her right arm from her fingers to her shoulder in a cast, while her left index and middle fingers were bandaged with a split. Her legs weren't in casts, a pretty big win considered the first time she tried using OFA, the memory of a pissed-off Recovery Girl causing her to shiver, but that didn't mean she was cleared to leave just yet either.
In the bed opposite hers, Todoroki looked better than she did. Still, seeing how she looked like a wreck, that didn't say much as his arms and chest were bandaged up, burns, cuts, and bruises having been treated when they arrived, and during the night. His face was equally bandaged, mainly on his unscarred right side, while his nose had been set after it had been busted.
“Did you…manage to get some sleep in, Todoroki?” Uraraka asked, trying to make conversation to banish the silence.
Todoroki looked up from whatever thoughts he was having, a frown on his face, but he wasn't angry with her. Taking a breath, he found that he was still angry and worried, but he answered anyway. "Not much, I'm not used to hospitals."
"Me neither; it's far too clean and bleachy in here if that means anything," Uraraka replied, as at least Recovery Girl's office had more color and life to it, even if she did tend to style it like her regular patients were 5 to 8, not 15 to 18. The two fell into a tense, uncomfortable silence once more, wanting to know more and talk about it. Still, neither wished to be the one to bring it up, not after what they had seen just the night prior. What villains could be capable of when left unchecked.
Still, all the pain she had felt the previous night paled in comparison to how she felt now by keeping quiet, so Uraraka bit the bullet and asked. "When…when I was out, did they say anything about Iida?"
Todoroki's frown grew more pronounced, and his gaze grew darker from rage and shame as he shook his head. "They didn't tell me anything; they just said he was rushed into the ICU, and that's it. He could still be in there." They both had seen what he looked like when the ambulance arrived and had been privy to how shocked the EMTs were that someone burnt so badly was even still alive.
"Iida wasn't the only one; there were others that Pyre attacked and took out; they're all being treated for burns." He added, almost as an afterthought, as his fists tightened. He had a chance to bring him down, to bring justice for those heroes, Tokoyami and Koda, and yet…
Todoroki recalled the fight, having repeatedly replayed it since it ended, and each time he reviewed it, one thing became clearer. He didn't just lose. He was toyed with, Pyre could have done the same to him as he did Iida, but for whatever reason that fucked up head of his could cook up, he decided that Shoto wasn't worth being cooked alive.
“No.”
"What?" Todoroki looked up at Uraraka. The girl's eyes looked so different from what he was used to seeing, as they were neither bubbly nor bright, instead highlighted by eye-bays and shadows. Even so, there was a steel in her gaze.
"Don't go there. Iida went there because of what happened with his brother, and…." She swallowed, her throat feeling dry suddenly before she managed to continue. "It's not worth it; they're villains, and we're just in our first years. We should just be happy we're still alive." Perhaps her words would have carried more weight if Todoroki hadn't been able to tell that she didn't believe them as she shook with an emotional cocktail, the same as him. He could tell how much she hated that she needed her mentor to bail them both out.
'But she still said it. Was it for my sake or to try and convince herself?' He thought pensive, but ultimately, he kept the thought to himself as he went back to silence; he was never one for social skills, but he felt like now was one of those times when it was best to just shut up. Lucky for them, neither was connected to any machines, so the only sounds that could be heard aside from the occasional nurse walking back or mummers through the door were the birds chirping out the window.
The silence between the two lasted another 20 minutes before the door was pulled open, the two turning to see two pros waiting to enter. "So you're awake then?" Gran Torino asked as he walked inside, followed by a heroine with burning green hair. This confused and terrified Uraraka a little before she calmed down. She noted it wasn't the same shade, nor was this the same person. But that led to another question: as she was sure Todoroki was interning under his dad, who was this lady?
Todoroki, on the other hand, must have given Burnin a nod, one she returned as her smile was gone thanks to the situation. He guessed that his father sent her in his stead, typical for the man, who probably lost any interest in speaking to him once he was told his injuries were minor.
“Gran Torino…morning.” Uraraka half-heartedly greeted the man who walked over, using that cane of his despite the fact she knew how nimble he was on his feet. Still, she didn't have the brain power or interest at the moment to question it.
“Kid, I got a whole bucket of complaints about you,” Gran Torino was as blunt as ever, the night's events be damned, but this time, he had to step aside. “But before I chew you out, you have bigger problems to deal with, problems our guest can explain better." The two looked over to the door, and standing behind Burnin was a tall, imposing man in a freshly pressed suit and a white and black dotted tie. The Dalmatian-inspired neckpiece was seemingly chosen to fit the face as the man had the death of a beagle.
“This is Hosu City's chief of police, Tsuragamae Kenji.” Gran Torino introduced himself. Both students were surprised that such a high-ranking official would have the time or interest to meet with them. They quickly moved to stand and bow, but the man waved that off.
"Please, remain where you are. You are, after all, wounded, woof." His voice was deep, strong, and authoritative, as they would have expected, but that was thrown off by the woof that sounded like it came from a dog the size of a bear.
‘Is it like Tsu?’ Uraraka asked herself.
“Chief of police? Why’d he come here?” Todoroki asked, Uraraka turning to him, a face a little whiter than before.
“Todoroki!”
The man hummed. If he felt like Todoroki was disrespectful, he didn't make anything of it. "It's a fair question, but to be blunt, it's because of the situation calling for it. We need to figure out how we're moving forward, and that means reading you two into things."
“Native awoke not too long ago and confirmed his earlier statements about Stain. According to him, he had been ambushed just before he realized that the League had made a move and was about to be killed if not for Iida Tenya’s intervention.” He explained to them, with Uraraka taking a breath of relief, both at Iida doing some good and the fact Native lasted the night.
“So, that’s good?” She asked, but none of the adult's faces changed, remaining with strict frowns and little expressions. “Right?”
The police chief shook his head. "Unfortunately, no. I am sure you know how the law works regarding quirks, and hero student or not, they still apply to you three. Iida rushed off when the attack started, and by Manual's testimony, he did so without his knowledge or spoken permission to use his quirk to engage in combat." He left out the part where the man had been a wreck when he learned what had become of his ward for the week and how he had been waiting outside the ICU's burn trauma unit since he arrived for news.
Instead, he focused on the real blow to these two students. “Because of this, in the eyes of the law, Iida is a criminal, woof. The same is true for you, Uraraka, as you were told to stay out of the fighting, yet you still got involved.” Hearing that got both to jump to their feet, injuries be damned.
“Wait a min-”
“That’s insane!” Uraraka overpowered Todoroki's anger with her own. The OFA successor glared at the police chief in protest. “You just said that Iida saved Native’s life! How does that count as criminal? What was he supposed to do? Just do nothing?” She challenged his opinion on it, Gran Torino letting this play out as he had seen a similar incident with a young All Might, and much like then, Uraraka needed to be shown a harsh truth.
"Yes, and it's because he chose not to follow the law that he has found himself in this situation. If this was any other day, Uraraka and he would be charged for this. At the same time, Gran Torino and Manuel would be reprimanded for failing to stop you two." The police chief's words hit like a hammer to the face, knocking the wind out of Uraraka's sails as she fell back onto her bed, Todoroki even angrier than before as he could see no lies in the man's eyes. But that anger then pointed inwards as he found a question ringing in his head.
Was their efforts even worth it? Native just barely survived, Iida was horrifically burned, and both he and Uraraka were soundly beaten, with the villains behind all of it escaping yet again.
“However, this is not any other day. The situation is far too complex for that.” Both looked up at the police chief's comment, the man sighing as he rubbed his eyes, some of that straight fading and replaced with exhaustion and irritation.
“Why?” Uraraka asked before she realized she had spoken, with the adults sharing a look.
“I assume they don’t know.” Gran Torino asked, with Burnin shrugging her shoulders.
"Nurse said they didn't touch the TV the entire time." She replied.
“What do you mean? What’s wrong with the TV?” Todoroki asked as the remote had said untouched since he woke up.
Walking up, his cane striking the floor with every second step, Gran Torino picked up the remote and pointed it at the TV. "Not it, but what's on it. There were reporters on the scene at Hosu; they tracked Pyre and Mummy's rampage through the streets before they vanished into some alleys, and a few minutes later, well that," He had turned it on the right as the footage showed Todoroki and Uraraka being manhandled, the reporter giving ever-increasing worried commentary on the two's chances of victory, Todoroki wincing when he saw the part where his head was smashed into the ground.
Pausing it, Gran Torino turned to them to explain things. "We can't cover up your involvement with this, kid. The entire country saw you two fighting against some of the most wanted villains; they also caught Stain fleeing the scene right before the fight started, which collaborates with Native's testimony about the incident." That was leading to far too many questions and pressure on them to catch him, some asking if Uraraka had been present to see Stain leave and how he could have killed her.
"People are, of course, asking questions about it, and with the 5 Thunders repeatedly carrying out criminal attacks and getting away with it, even if that means defeating pros in open combat, the general public is scared, woof." The chief added, looking both students dead in the eye.
“Because of that, I convinced my superiors to go with the narrative that all 3 of you were acting under permission to participate." Burnin and Gran Torino nodded at that.
“So, all this is just to cover your own asses?” Todoroki asked.
“Would you rather we arrest you?” He didn’t have a retort to that as the chief continued. “That is how things need to work at times, a well-crafted pretty lie to keep the rest of the system working.” He gave them a quick rundown of the story of the events, from how Uraraka met up with Gran Torino after she left the train and got her permission to fight and stumbled upon Mummy and Pyre-not sent to fight them as that was a PR death trap they were already denied. She didn't encounter Stain at this time as he had already fled the scene with Todoroki, finding them of his own volition.
With that done, Uraraka was finally able to move on to a question that had been eating away at her since she woke up: "What about Iida? Is he all right?"
Again, the adults shared a look that didn't spell confidence in her as she prepared to hear the worst. “Physically, he’ll be back on his feet in a couple days. The doctors just wish to be thorough before he’s discharged.” Gran Torino eventually told her, which took such a burden off her that she took a breath and relaxed just a little as Todoroki closed his eyes, a ghost of a smile on his face at this miracle.
“Oh, thank god, they must have pulled out all the stops when they treated him.” Uraraka guessed, or maybe they had Recovery Girl see to him during the night; either way, she was grateful.
“Kid, that isn’t why he’s okay.” Burnin burst that bubble.
“What?”
“Have you two ever researched the aftermaths of 5 Thunder’s attacks? Those that fell against Pyre?” Gran Torino asked them both, and the students were confused but took the time to think about it.
"Not really. I knew he was dangerous and that he sent a lot of heroes to the hospital." Uraraka admitted that when she looked into the group, she had focused on the one with the lightning powers.
"I looked into him but mainly studied how he left his defeated foes so I could…try and make a counter, a lot of good that did," Todoroki added, some bitterness over his loss seeping into his words.
"Pyre's flames have healing capabilities; when he chooses to, or perhaps by some other reason, those he burns recover from whatever injuries they sustained, even prior ailments like the flu, scars, and even a rotten tooth are cured." The police chief explained, stunning the two students at such an idea.
However, the man continued. “When Iida was taken into the ICU, over 90% of his body was covered in 3rd-degree burns, most of which the doctors thought would kill him during the night, woof. But as of 6am, 70% of his body is covered in 2nd-degree burns, with the worst of the damage gone and his vitals and other tests coming back positive."
He had been just as surprised the first time he heard about this. Still, he had seen the reports, pictures of how people looked when they were taken in for treatment, and what they looked like later, some as early as a little over an hour as was the case with the inciting incident.
“How is that possible?” Todoroki asked, as he couldn't comprehend that flames could do anything more than harm, even if he accepted that he had to use his.
"According to Native's testimony, Pyre wished to, and I quote, 'Give damaged good a chance to be improved.’ Pyre saw this as a better alternative to Stain’s desire to kill them both.” Tsuragamae stated, near growling at the idea that Iida had to be put through such hell just because some lunatic thought it would be a good lesson.
Uraraka recalled the fight and how blasé the villain had been. She had thought he had just been insane or insensitive, but…he had been telling the truth. “Wait, why didn’t we hear about this sooner? All the news talks about is the fact he sends people to the hospital with bad burns!”
Gran Torino was the one who answered that. "Because he does, you of all people know what Iida looked like when he was taken in. Besides, that's not the point, as it's not like all those he encounters and defeats are healed. As of last night, Pyre alone has defeated 38, of which only 5 have recovered completely from the experience. And that leaves out the psychological effects he leaves behind." He glared at his student, making her sit after her outburst.
“But doesn’t that mean that Iida will…was..” Todoroki tried to ask but couldn't get the words out as he had seen what trauma did to a person, how it could break them, turn them into something unable to see those around them for what they were, and instead of just stresses, targets, and monsters. His scar burned when he thought about how his mother, after years of abuse, had looked at him that night.
The aged hero felt every bit his age, as truthfully, this wasn't the first time he had been involved in such a talk. But even with over 60 years of experience, it still felt the same as it did when he, fresh out of hero school, was part of the group that told a classmate's parents that their son had lost both legs from the knees.
“He woke up, just the once, kid. They had to hold him down and sedate him. The psychologist will arrive later today, but at this time, I would suspect he's going to be removed from school for a while to give him time to cope with it." He didn't need to have been there; the looks on the nurses' faces said it all.
"Even if he wasn't gonna get pulled from class, no way his folks would let him back into hero training until they were sure he wouldn't have a meltdown. Ingenium was forced to retire barely 2 weeks ago, and then this crap leaked, and well…yeah, they're not happy." Burnin stated, rubbing at her flaming hair as she recalled hearing the kid's mother in the lobby. This small frame didn't partake in the family business, surrounded by 4 lawyers. She imagined that once Manuel tore himself from waiting for word from Iida, he was going to have a lot of legal trouble for this, cover story or not.
"Then what happens now?" Uraraka asked, feeling like she had been up for 2 full days and the earlier weight she thought she had been relieved on returning with a vengeance. At this, Gran Torino softened as he walked back over, placing a comforting hand on her leg due to his height.
"At the moment, you two recover from your injuries and call your families as you can imagine; they've already seen the news and are rightfully worried." He told her, with Burnin nodding at it.
"I've told your sister that you didn't get too badly hurt, but she won't buy it till she hears ya," Burnin told her ward, who blinked in surprise before smiling softly.
"Yeah, Fuyumi's been like that as long as I can remember." If nothing else, he could always rely on his big sister, the mother hen in his life since he was little.
With that, they returned their phones and called their families, who were, as Gran Torino told them, worried sick about them, and no amount of appeasing them about their conditions could stop either Todoroki's sister or Uraraka's parents from stating their intentions to see them as soon as they could, Fuyumi even saying she'll leave work early to make sure her brother was all right while the Uraraka were going to pay for an express ticket by train to be there within the hour.
Line Break
It wouldn't be until much later that either student would realise the true weight of their actions, as the live broadcast of their fight, their defeat, and the subsequent escape of the villains had done far more than most thought. Out on the streets, people still went about their days, but now the topic that everyone seemed to be talking about was the attack and those involved.
“You saw him too, right? The hero killer?” Someone in the crowd asked another, the two salary workers walking together.
The second man, a decade older than the first, nodded. “He was a lot faster than I thought he'd be! He was there one moment and gone the next!"
"They don't even know where he went. Who is he going to attack next?" Somewhere else in the crowd, a group of middle school students was talking about as well, worried for their favorite heroes with a madman on the loose.
"And then there was the League and those monsters of theirs—my brother was there, and he said it was terrifying!" one of the smaller boys in the group added.
"I hope my mother's okay. She was visiting friends in Hosu when it all went down, and I haven't heard back from her." A woman and her friends talked about the incident in another part of the crowd, her hand on her chest as she thought about the night.
"She's probably fine. Endeavour was on the scene, and he handled a bunch of those things, didn't he?" One of her friends reminded her, smiling when she brought up Endeavour. He might have a terrible personality and be married, but he had the body and face of a man she wouldn't mind spending a couple of nights with.
"Oh, sure, but he couldn't stop the real problems! He wasn’t even around to save his son’s life!” Another of the women cut her fantasies short, as they all saw the boy get manhandled.
“That was scary, I saw his performance at the Sports Festival, but he wasn’t even a threat to those villains, he and that Uraraka girl.” Someone else spoke up, shaking their head.
"Those two and the rest have been taking out heroes left and right. Honestly, it was irresponsible to let students, first years at that, help in the fight, as it was luck in the end that saved them. I hate to say it, but it's true." An older woman replied, rude but fair. When such a thing was rarely said, it had its effect.
"Not all of them; that Iida boy seemed to be pretty hurt when he was loaded up into the ambulance." The third retiree of the group shivered, as her eyes might not be as good as they used to be. Still, anyone could tell that the boy looked like burnt steak when loaded onto the ambulance.
"He looked like he had been badly burned," the first of the elderly ladies noted, the other two nodding. One was the worse, as her grandson was a little younger than those U.A. students, and he wished to be a hero too. Would she have to worry about him facing a similar fate now?
"Do you think they'll release details about him soon?" a business course student from U.A. asked their friend as they boarded a train to school. The hero course students might be gone for the rest of the week, but that didn't mean the rest of the students weren't expected to show up for glass.
The taller girl adjusted her glasses. “No way, he’s an Iida. They’ll keep it private till they got a solid story.” As it stood now, the Iida family and their hero agency would need to focus on controlling the narrative, as with Ingenium taken down not even 2 weeks prior. Now this was going to be hectic for them and as 2nd years, she expected that it’ll probably come up in a pop quiz.
Over all this, the news blared on the many large screens mounted on buildings, subway cars, and phone screens. “Based on their unique appearances and the presence of two people from our very own NHA TV news team filmed on the scene, it's likely that the 3 villains arrested during the Hosu city riots were affiliated with the League of Villains.” The two reporters, some of the most well-known and respected in the field, continued their morning news segment with images of the three Nomu on screen, taken during the attack.
The feed shifted to the still frames of several people, all still on the loose and considerably in danger. “Our news team also filmed a battle between U.A. students Todoroki Shoto and Uraraka Ochaco against wanted villains, Pyre and Mummy, two of the 5 Thunders that have been terrorizing the country since February.” The most prominent pictures were of Pyre and Mummy; on the former, he was breathing out emerald flames, the targets of which cut from the frame, while in the latter, he was using defeated pros as puppets, making those still standing hesitate to attack.
“Witness testimony and anonymous police sources also put the hero killer, Stain, on the scene shortly before the fight between the students and villains. The police at this time have not answered questions about their plans to track and capture any of these parties.” The last image shown was the lowest quality as he merely had Stain rushing off over the roofs; the sudden appearance and speed of his retreat from the area made it hard for their cameras at the time to get a good shot of him. As a result, they still didn't have a clear description of his face.
Speaking of the hero killer, the photos of some of his victims already released to the public replaced all of this, along with the muted clip of Hosu police chief Tsuragamae meeting reporters who were waiting for him outside the police headquarters. “At present, the Hero Killer: Stain has been credited with 17 murders and crippling 24 others, all of which are active heroes. This is the highest murder count for a single villain since All Might came onto the scene.”
In the crowd watching this, a dark-haired woman looked up to the screens. In her hand was a plastic bag with some recently purchased hair dye.
“Whereas as with what we know of reports of last night, the 5 thunders have not defeated together 184 heroes, of whom 128 have since announced their retirements. So many retirements have not been since the Jabimu incident 24 years ago.” When they brought them back into the frame, her eyes ignored Mummy and that Uraraka girl. Instead, she focused on Todoroki as he struggled and lost against someone who seemed to embody fire.
Line Break
It wasn't just in the cities where reports of this were being broadcast, as anyone with a decent radio could be kept updated with how the news and people were reacting to this troubling turn of events. Deep in the wilderness, where the morning mist was still strong, one such radio blared from its place on a stomp. “It’s concerning that a single group of 5 people could be this destructive and unpredictable, as law enforcement has been trying to track them down for months, but clearly they haven’t found any strong leads.”
“Considering the state of many of Pyre's other victims, the diagnosis for young Iida is dire as I wouldn't be surprised if the boy decides to pull out of the hero course. He's still a first year, and we're not even in the second semester yet; he can transfer to another course.” A large figure who seemed taller than the trees around them lay on his side, listening to the broadcast.
“He and others might think it best to transfer now.”
“You can’t be serious!”
“Deadly, you saw the reports from last night. They might have captured those 3 villains, but it took over a dozen pros each, and Endeavour was central to 2 of those captures. Things could have ended better if All Might had been on the scene, but he wasn't. As it stands now, I believe I'm not alone in asking if heroes are up to this unprecedented task.”
'Monsters…Master's work…but master said…to remain here.' The docile giant thought to himself, as he could only think of one person who could make things like the radio was describing. Maybe this thunder guy also worked for him.
Line Break
“With Stain and the 5 thunders still on the loose, authorities have announced a 1.5 million yen reward for any information that could prove vital to leading to a capture of any of them. They've also released more details about the villains to the public, which you can find on our website:" A blonde in a yellow cardigan over a middle school uniform skipped along a darkened path.
As she hummed a song to herself, she listened to the podcast she had playing off her stolen phone, a pair of pink and white earphones plugged in so that she wasn't making noise. “Back with such forces, one must wonder what drives them, as surely, they didn't decide to just take up arms for the fun of it.”
“Well, Inosuke, with Stain, little is known about his past, but from what we know, his goals relate to his criticism of modern heroes as he seeks to punish those he deems to be unworthy of the title of hero.” That felt like a great idea, let only the best take the title, and if that meant fewer heroes to bother her, all the better.
“And who gave him such judgment or the right to be the executioner?” She nearly stuck out her tongue at such a predictable response from the second guy; no doubt he was in his 40s with a rescinding hairline and a beer gut.
“No one, I'm merely stating the facts we can be fairly sure about now." She liked the first guy, the 'expect' brought onto the show. His voice was much calmer, measured, and straight to the point. He had been this entire time dealing with his loudmouth of a host. “With the 5 Thunders, our anonymous contacts in the underground have claimed that their goal is to change the status quo on a societal level.”
At that, she paused, her silent skipping halting as she wondered about that. Wouldn't changing society be nice?
“And why would they wish to do that? We've had a stable, peaceful society for decades now.” She rolled her eyes, wishing she could mock the man in question for his question. Still, she was already looking for another cutie…actually, maybe she should change her targets as sure, the first one was someone she really really liked, but she had seen the pictures on the news, this Pyre guy was also real cute, around her age and in that outfit of his-of she just wanted to hug him, and kiss him and be him!
“I can't speak with any real authority on them, but knowing that one of their members, Kon Chojuro, is a mutant, perhaps it has something to do with quirk discrimination.” The expert replied, which only made her smile all the larger, her fangs showing along with growing blush. 'Oh, a defender of those that society shuns, that's a plus-what girl doesn't want a knight in shining armor?' She thought to herself with a giggle as she continued, her mind made up; she had a new target in mind.
“So what? They got some rude comments and decided on violence? What nonsense!” She couldn’t help but let out a quiet giggle at such an assertion
“Regardless of their reasonings, crime for the first time is on the rise in the country as villains across the board are emboldened by these forces.” The nameless girl continued to skip along, feeling like the next few days would be real fun.
Line Break
“I'm reporting life from Ekou Street in Hosu City, where you can still make out the aftermath of last night's battle between two of the 5 thunders and two U.A. students. Sources close to the case have confirmed that the Hero Killer: Stain was in the area and is responsible for Native's injuries. However, the extent of them is currently unknown.” Kurogiri turned the TV off as Shigaraki read a newspaper, and much to his ire, it was more focused on Stain and the presence of 2 thunders.
"Dammit…! It's all anyone's talking about. Stain this, Thunder that, we're the ones that started the attack. Yet, we're playing player fucking 2!" Shigaraki yelled as he decayed the newspaper, having read the thing front to back, hoping that there was more to them. Still, there were at least 3 others for every paragraph about the League. He didn't even know why those thunder cunts were in Hosu, to begin with!
“Stain…Pyre, I hate them so damn much.” He seethed, recalling how disrespectful they had been during the USJ. The fact that they were the only effective pawns there was one of the few reasons he didn't try to dust them.
"Please calm yourself, master Shigaraki. Indeed, the Nomu didn't make as big a splash as we hoped, but we can use this to our advantage. After all, people assume both parties were under our flag." Kurogiri noted, like always, that his second in command was calm in his anger.
"And how long do you think that'll last? That bastard Stain only cares about killing heroes because he's an idiot, and those Thunder cunts work for money, and I'm not gonna pay them a single yen to take glory I didn't earn." Shigaraki counted, as he might not follow most laws. Still, he would know that he didn't make Hosu a nightmare for the heroes, and that was enough reason to hate such an approach.
Kurogiri nodded, walking over to prepare his commander a drink. “It can last long enough. Stain isn't someone who speaks to the media or even those of us in the underground. If he sticks to that, he'll let this rumour last quite a while. As for the Thunder, they're hired guns. If we get them for another job, it would sell the idea."
“That’s not the only issue here,” Shigaraki replied. “I set loose 4 Nomu, 4! And yet, 1 was killed and 3 captured like chumps. Yet despite those things being made for murder and destruction,” He turned the TV back on, and just as he expected, it was talking about Pyre and Mummy guys beating up those U.A. brats.
The reporter might as well have been singing the kids' praises, talking about how strong he was, how dangerous he was to people, and how he, like the rest, should be avoided if spotted. “Everyone is calling this brat the greatest threat of the night.”
“Brat he might be, he and the rest are formidable pieces, Tomura,” Both turned to the second TV, which never showed a picture. “As you would call them, they're valuable 5-star characters that you should keep an eye on; after all, a benefit of hired help is that they're in it for the paycheque. They don't need to know the why, only the when of what of a mission. Most importantly, they're expendable, so it's sad but not a disaster if they end up captured or quit.”
“I…think about it.” Shigaraki relented as he owned his master that much, at least.
The voice chuckled at that. “That is all I ask, Tomura.”
LIne Break
Well, there might be an issue with my Grammarly account, as an expected payment has left my dollar account. The point is that come August, I might have to cancel it and just wait until I can build up enough funds through the place that shall not be named to pay for an annual subscription instead, which at present would take until December at best.
Still, with my account still giving him all the bells and whistles, I will try to finish as many chapters as possible. A possible solution would be asking other writers I know to review my stuff and correct the mistakes I would typically miss. However, that would mean longer times between uploads as it's not like they can just drop whatever they're doing to help, least of all because I can't pay them for it and would ask for a favor.
Line Break
And we're done! There were more reactions planned, namely the students, as you can only guess how they took the news of the villains that traumatised them once striking again, especially Bakugo. But this chapter was over the word limit as is, and that was with other stuff cut. But yeah, Stain might still be free, and his manifesto has not leaked, but that doesn't mean that villains don't have their rallying cry.
People have been asking why no one brings up the fact that Izuku's flames can heal, and well, this is part of why they didn't, as regardless of the outcome, he's burning people alive. That is traumatic as shit. In a way, he's giving them a taste of what some kinds of immortals(those that heal or are just reborn) go through; one character would be C.C. from Code Geass as she's ageless and can't die no matter what, but that doesn't mean she can't feel pain, she's just been through enough shit over her time that she's like Mai from Avatar and can just ignore or mask it.
