Chapter 8 - Failed Cooperation But Still Moving Forward

UA High School, Principal's Office

There sat an animal or an amalgamation of many, at least the cute ones. Dog, mouse, guinea pig, and bear, maybe even more. To make things easier, he's a chimera, in a sense.

He held multiple titles. The first animal ever to get an IQ-related quirk that made him surpass human minds, which earned him a place in one of the many greatest minds of the Quirked Era.

Published numerous theses related to how the emergence of quirks saved the Earth's resources, scientific articles, and even biological studies on how every living thing has the possibility to naturally acquire a quirk. His published literature got him many academic awards, including the Nobel Prize, on numerous occasions.

And none other than Nezu can claim those achievements. With those achievements, he created one of the best Hero Academies contending for Number One in Asia.

However, rather than focusing on his students, he is concluding all collected evidence regarding the Shimura Family and their disappearance. And all evidence pointed to a few things.

They're alive and in hiding.

It was relatively simple for him, really. Instead of trying to find the family, he did the opposite. He studied the movement and crime of villains via CCTVs and hacking international police data to see the trend in crime.

It showed that multiple people with Japanese or Oriental heritage had their houses ransacked, and surprisingly, the families were unharmed. 'Probably unharmed because they confirmed they were not the individuals they were hunting for. And was later categorized as a racial crime, quite ingenious.' he introspected

All this happened in the European countries that bordered the Mediterranean Sea and the border countries of Greece. These same crime spikes occurred in other continents, only sparingly.

Of course, such things could happen randomly. Organized crime is a thing. But to happen coincidentally with Yuna Shimura and her son's disappearance, it's a red rose in a field of whites.

"However, to hide so well, it's almost as if they became different people entirely," with eyes closed, talking to no one in particular.

Villains weren't the only ones looking for them; heroes were also. He merely theorized about their well-being through the statistics on crime. By only looking for the family through law enforcement and Heroes, then they would never get anywhere.

The fact that Nezu could extrapolate so much from barely anything and used the villain's search as a sign of the family still being safe solidifies Nezu's intellectual reputation.

"If we have no way to locate them and know they are safe, for now. Then, let's keep them safe," saying this, he dials the number of Japan's resident Seer, using a protected line made by yours truly.

Ringing played in his soft ears but ended with a click, "Principal, to call using this number, I take it, it's regarding those matters," a stern voice, equally as well spoken as the rodent.

"Straight to business, are we? Splendid," Nezu's voice, a chipper as always, "indeed it is regarding those matters." But ended on a serious note.

"I will set up a meeting in the same 'place.' I have... our Trojan Horse ready," Nezu smiled at his own words, it fitted the narrative, a Greece-Trap.

"Then, I look forward to your plan, Principal." Came the voice from the other line.

"Don't you mean you saw my plan already, Nighteye?" it seems the chimera was still able to come up with a joke. On the other end, Nighteye's lips curved upward, "Goodbye."

"Oh, I bet that made him smile," his voice reverberated in his office, the brain of UA.

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Hours later.

In a secured location near UA, multiple holograms all faced the Heroes within the room. Said holograms are trusted International contacts of Nezu, pros to being well connected.

"Good day to all," he said while turning his head, a sign of acknowledgment. Said heroes nodded, some verbally greeted, depending on the personality.

"I have read all your reports ever since the day I asked for your assistance, and with it and mine, it bore fruit," the Principal's words raised eyebrows. A majority thought a change of plans would happen since their end had yet to bore fruit.

And here, Nezu, supposedly the brightest mind on the planet, made tails with their dead-end investigation results. "And!? How goes it?" the loud and eager voice was none other than All Might.

Out of everyone in this room, he was the first to arrive. Since his recovery, he has been out of the country more times than he can count. Single-handedly scouring the globe for the family on the pretext that he's there to uphold the peace and strengthen diplomatic relations. With the citizens none the wiser of his true intentions.

Nezu, although interrupted by his speech, couldn't hold it against the Hero. All Might, after all, bore the immense responsibility of keeping the family safe.

"As I was just about to say, the family is safe, but not in the sense that I know their location, no," that statement alone almost made All Might jump from his seat if it were not for Nighteye's sudden firm hand, almost like he 'predicted' it.

"Your interruptions are making this longer than it should be. All Might, be calm," were Nighteye's whispering reminder. All Might could only nod. Good thing their minor disruption went unnoticed. For another interruption, the Principal would have treated All Might as a student needing reprimanding.

Nezu allowed the silence to stir, letting them absorb the info before continuing. "With your reports and mine, I have made a connection. Ransacking crimes against people with oriental and Japanese heritage have skyrocketed since their disappearance, almost as if they are finding something."

"With that, I concluded the family is in hiding and not in the hands of All for One. Of course, I didn't conclude with only this. After all, this could also be a ruse." one pawed finger raised, a sign to hold comments.

"This would have been a ruse if not for its volume and density. In fact, crimes of similarity have also reached outside the European continent. All victims share traits of the Shimura family, wild spikey black hair, and Japanese ancestry.

"The resources to move this many villains, search for similar traits and attempt crime to merely label it as only racial motivation would be far too costly to call a ruse. Even All for One's resources would be burdened, hence my earlier conclusion."

Silence ensued, everyone absorbing and reflecting on Nezu's rundown. Some seemed to almost give a reply but slowly pondered that theirs was not correct. Their hesitance almost made Nezu say that there were no wrong answers, truly the Principal he is.

The first to respond to the influx of information was a man regarded as the best inventor of his time, Tony Stark, a retired Hero but also a Principal. He created a prestigious Hero training institution, Titans Academy, to challenge Nezu's titles of intelligence.

The academy reached a prestigious reputation and fame with how much funds Stark stuffed it with. If Nezu's building was an H, then Stark named his school Titans to have a reason for building a letter T. But, to those in the know, it was T-posing, a sign of dominance.

Back at the topic at hand, Tony was the first to speak. "Yeah, hi again, Mickey. Just a question, what is so special about this family exactly? A hero's family being hunted isn't new, but at this scale of hide and seek? There's something you aren't telling us. We only know the general rundown of who we are trying to find."

And his sentiment was also shared by the other heroes, except for All Might's close circle. To them, was there a need for a reason to save a family?

Some Heroes expressed the same sentiments in their national language. Thankfully, the holographic system came with an automatic translator, accent included!

"It-" before Nezu could answer, All Might responded to the retired Hero billionaire. "The answer is simple. They are under my protection. And the one hunting them is my archnemesis, the murderer of my teacher, All for One. This is but a personal game to him to get a leg up against me."

All Might's tone is deep with a hidden fury, but he lied, surprisingly. Nezu, Gran Torino, and Nighteye didn't react. They knew All Might was telling the truth, but only a piece.

Yuna Shimura's quirk was known to them. It was so similar to One For All, after all. And they didn't want this quirk to be lapped by All for One. He already had a diverse number of them. It was best to categorize Yuna's quirk as another One for All and treat it with the same amount of secrecy as the original.

With such secrecy, they would never, in any circumstance, even share it with the Heroes Nezu contacted. The animal, too, shares the same mindset. These Heroes may be trustworthy, but learning of a quirk with the same influence as a nuclear deterrent might change some intentions.

Tony, in all his wisdom and intelligence, did not bite. He was a businessman before he became a Hero, and he knew the complete truths to incomplete answers.

"Uh-huh. Listen, Star spangled Hero, I was and still am a businessman, a billionaire, by the way. I can tell you're telling the truth, but it isn't complete. Anything else you'd like to cough up?" With these lines of questioning, All Might's already strained emotions might just reach the Stark and smash the hologram to death.

And not taking the Stark's questioning in a good light, All Might fired back. "Saving lives is a business to you, then? You, a person who has a family, should be careful. You never know when others might use your plight as a business."

Suffice it to say, no one, even Nezu, ever expected All Might to fire back like that. Maybe no one understood how All Might and Toshinori personas are so devoted to Nana Shimura that both are ready to lay everything down.

Even when a Hero, All Might, would do everything to save the family, even if his powerless Toshinori-form were asked, he would do the same.

His character was so solid that they always thought he would save everyone without questions asked, but when it comes to Mr. Stark in the future, All Might might not be so willing anymore after today.

What followed next were back-and-forth insults, but everything was stopped by Nighteye. His palmed hand slammed down onto the table, and the impact echoed like thunder. Truthfully, Nighteye's hand was throbbing and stinging in pain.

All attention to him, "Mr. Stark, is it safe to say that you have no wish to cooperate any further?" His questions were straightforward, nothing laced with stereotypical Japanese courtesy.

His silence was taken as a form of half-answer. "Truthfully, I see no reason to ask for further details. We are preventing All for One from harming a family." He paused, letting it stir.

"As Heroes," he eyed everyone, making them remember their title, even All Might was not spared from the glare. "What more reason is there to act? But very well, I will indulge your question, Hero," his voice laced with sarcasm.

"Yes, there is something else, but it holds no weight. Yuna Shimura, daughter of Japan's former number one. Children of Heroes are a hot commodity for a villain that can steal good quirks. Now tell me, is there any other reason to not act?" His eyes bore into every hologram.

"Our lives are staked in every rescue we do, no matter how small." Stark's voice expressed, "All for One is a scary story for children, but to us Heroes, he's real. And that reality becomes a death trap, so I don't see why I can't grasp the full picture."

"Hmm, others may be silent, but we also hold Mr. Starks' concern," the new speaker was a blonde woman with a British accent. She wore her Hero costume, which consisted of a combat-style royal blue dress, and added to it were armor-plating pieces. One of the United Kingdom's best Heroes spoke, Saber.

"We simply want to know why All for One is so adamant with the family; this isn't all about petty revenge, is it?" She questions. Truthfully, Nezu was disappointed in how everything turned out. They were stuck in a hard place. They can't reveal Yuna's quirk because it might endanger the family again, this time from the Hero's side.

'When dealing with humans,' Nezu lamented.

"You all are getting too curious for your own good," the old-timer Torino spoke this time, gaining eyes on him. "I'll make it easy on ya brats. We respect you as Heroes, but we don't trust ya'. Show a sign of hands to those who want to stay with this limited information. To those that want more information, bug off." His harsh tone, coupled with the rough voice of a veteran Hero, intimidated a few.

Leave it to the elders to cut things straight.

Sadly, this made all parties decline to continue further on. Not because of Gran Torino's harshness but because he cut straight to the point.

"This is best," Nezu sounded but stared at All Might. "Them learning the ins and outs of Yuna's quirk might heighten their chances of being kidnapped, politically backed this time."

"How is your health, All Might?" questioned Nezu. To this, All Might waves it off, "Nothing but a flesh wound! I was lucky that it was only that, any inches deeper, organs would've spilled. HAHA!" He assured.

"However, All for One is still missing, even after that crippling smash to his abdomen," Mirai added. "Crippling? Yes. But for All for One, that bastard could be healing as we speak." Torino quipped, irritated by the cockroach.

*Clap!*

Clapping his paws for attention, "We ignore him for now. Let's prey on what's available. Become the huntsmen instead. Hunt the henchmen that are seeking the family."

"And how exactly are we going to do that?"

"We create our own life-like Shimura's, of course!" Nezu's enthusiasm, "speaking robotically," his addition at least halted some concerns.

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CHEERS