In the bar that acted as a hideout for the League of Villains, a Warp Gate materialized like a churning blackness.
From the portal, Shigaraki's body came sliding out.
"Kurogiri!" he shouted, lying, bleeding on the floor. "How dare you?!"
There was a harshness about Shigaraki's voice, piling on the already present madness.
Sand had injured Shigaraki gravely, piercing many holes in his body using thin strands of sand. Kurogiri had saved him then, preventing those strands from reaching his head.
However, despite bleeding profusely initially, he stopped bleeding after a while.
If things had remained as it is, it would have been fine.
But they didn't.
First, they lost a Lower Tier Nomu mid-battle out of nowhere. It happened so fast that they couldn't even find the enemy behind the Nomu's disappearance.
Second, the Villains they had taken with them to the facility were overpowered by the Pro Hero, Erasure Head, and the students easily.
Third, All Might defeated the Upper Tier Nomu that they had thought could take him on.
Fourth, UA's teachers had arrived right after All Might sent the Nomu flying through the facility's roof, overpowering all the remaining Villains.
As if all this wasn't enough, fifth, Shigaraki began bleeding again.
If they had stayed even a moment longer there, the Pro Heroes would have never let them escape.
Approaching a monitor with visuals, Kurogiri explained all these points, knowing well that both Dr. Kyudai and All For One were listening to him.
"Ha-Ha-Ha!!!" Shigaraki slammed his fist on the floor, craning his neck toward the monitor. "He was there! He was there!!"
It was obvious from Shigaraki's vengeful shouts that he was talking about Dr. Blessed.
"Yeah?" All For One hummed from the other side. "Did you see him?"
Shigaraki growled, but couldn't say it. "I know it was him. I just…"
"Let it be," All For One said, not pushing the boy toward that direction. "Dr. Ujiko, do you think Dr. Blessed was after Nomu when he infiltrated our facility?"
Dr. Kyudai's old voice came out from the monitor, his tone thoughtful. "It's possible," he said, "but not highly likely. If kidnapping a Nomu was his goal, then why not grab one when he was already fighting one."
"Master," Kurogiri chimed in rationally between them. "From his behavior, it's possible that Dr. Blessed is not adept at face-to-face altercations. Also, he might not have known about Nomu before, but he could have developed an interest in it after seeing two of them."
"Yes…" Dr. Kyudai agreed. "Also, if he indeed appeared as Shigaraki claims…"
"IT WAS HIM!" Tomura Shigaraki screamed, grinding his teeth.
"… alright," Dr. Kyudai said, correcting himself. "This is the second time he appeared at the same time as us, especially related to a UA incident. He may have direct relations with the UA High or…"
"… Or, he also has a spy within UA," All For One finished, holding amusement in his voice. Then, his tone changed again, gaining a strange, grave rhythm. "I think I know the kind of person we are dealing with.
"Anyway, it's clear that the serum you prepared to heal wounds wasn't up to par, Dr. Ujiko."
After his first fight with Dr. Blessed, Dr. Kyudai had injected a special serum that could heal injuries at an accelerated rate. From Shigaraki's condition, it was obvious that it didn't work as intended.
"I will work on it, master," Dr. Kyudai said.
"Give me a Quirk…" Shigaraki began.
"No." All For One cut him off. "You are not ready. Not yet."
Shigaraki slammed his fist on the floor again. "I had him! All Might… I had him!
"If it wasn't for that freaking bird-boy, who healed All Might's injuries, and another one who was as fast as All Might, I would have killed the Symbol of Peace even after the Pros had arrived."
"Oh?" All Might hummed again, sounding excited. "Tell me about these boys more later. Focus on healing yourself now, Shigaraki.
"Nomus? They are just resources. You will have more of them. Villains? Hire them. Grow your League of Villains.
"If the world is relying on the Symbol of Peace, then you need to become a Symbol, too.
"Soon, the entire world will learn your name, Shigaraki. The entire world."
Shigaraki looked up, holding pride and passion in his eyes. "Yes, master."
…
Nezu walked out of the USJ facility, Pro Hero Midnight walking by his side.
The moment they came out, they found Detective Naomasa Tsukauchi standing right in front of them.
"Detective, no need to ask," Mr. Principal said, guessing the reason. "You have my full permission to search UA's grounds."
"Thank you, Sir," Tsukauchi replied with a smile. "But that's not the only reason I am here today. You know that I am officially leading the investigation on Dr. Blessed's matter related to the Jaku Incident…"
Hearing that name, Midnight frowned, as she didn't know much about it.
However, Nezu knew all the details, as All Might had told him about the call. "Yes? Do you think he had a hand here?"
Now, that thought was disturbing.
Tsukauchi nodded gravely. "It is possible, Sir. The first time he appeared, we also saw these — Nomus. We have already apprehended the one blown away by All Might. It's not resisting at all.
"But, according to the students, there was one more. Strangely, it disappeared just when it was gaining the upper hand against Dust Hero Sand. It feels unnatural to me.
"If I am right, then there was a third player involved in this incident. So, with your permission, can I question the students about this topic?"
Nezu smiled. "Great work once again, Detective. Yes, you have my permission. Also, if they ask, please tell the students that their teachers are doing fine."
Tsukauchi nodded assuringly. "To be honest, I am glad that one of the students has a Healing Quirk. Otherwise, the teachers would have needed to be hospitalized for a very long time."
Aizawa and Sand had already been taken to the hospital. However, because of Nyx healing them, they have survived the worst injuries.
Even All Might had praised the timely healing before being taken away.
As the Detective walked toward the children, Midnight and Nezu looked toward the students as well, their eyes landing on Luke, who was seated with his head down away from the rest as if lost in his thoughts.
"That boy is like a pot of secrets," Midnight commented. "You open it, and you find a brand-new thing to learn about him."
Nezu smiled. "I am sure he will be alright. That's what UA is for."
"… And…" Midnight said, licking her lips. "He's handsome, too."
On the other side, Detective Tsukauchi gathered the students around him, making a head count.
When finished, he took out a blurry image they had taken from the Bounty Posters circulating among the Villains.
It showed a man wearing a white greatcoat and a mask that covered his mouth and nose.
"Did any of see this man in the facility?" Tsukauchi asked.
He had the Quirk Lie Detection. Unlike his sister, who needed to touch someone to know if they were lying or not, he needed to maintain eye contact with the target for 3 seconds to use his Quirk.
However, against UA's children, Tsukauchi didn't think he needed to use his Quirk.
Unfortunately, even if he had used the Quirk, it wouldn't have worked. Because the one student, whose feet were shifting nervously at the Detective's question, was invisible.
As Toru Hagakure looked between the photo held up by the Detective and Luke, her hands trembled with nervousness because —
— unknown to everyone, she was in the Landslide Zone as well.
*****************
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