Dominos and Butterflies: Ch 2

I've recently been getting back into Garry's Mod, just goofing off with friends, and good lord the mods have improved.

Don't get me wrong, most of the stuff is still buggy and likely to crash your game, but now it's "Game crashes because Godzilla is fighting an army of Senator Armstrongs, while Doom NPCs mass spawn in the background, Tie fighters have an aerial duel with Cold War jets, and someone decides to drop a fucking nuke" It used to be "Game crashes because you got in a poorly programmed car."

…

Actually I still have that old mod installed, and the game still does crash if you spawn the car and try to get in it. I guess some things never change.

*Sips Hot Chocolate*

Onto other things.

Some people picked up on the parallels in Izuku's three Projects.

Entropy opposes AfO's vision.

Kronos opposes Ujiko's vision.

Nice little mirroring I did.

(And then Rapture is just the casual tactical nuke in the back, for in case everything goes to Hell.)

Also, speaking of Rapture. It was supposed to be seven pages seven times, last chapter, but I had to go back and edit to make some of the points clearer, and I forgot to fucking count! I'm an idiot and don't know how I ever passed college math.

It's supposed to be in reference to the seven headed beast in the book of Revelation. Obviously it's not a direct tit for tat, considering this is a MHA fic, and not a Bible fic, but it's supposed to be another layer of interpretation for any Christian readers- or even just people who are read up on Christian "Prophecy?" "Lore?", I'm not sure what the exact term is, but you know what I mean.

-Rain of Sins-

-Dominos and Butterflies: Ch 2-

Ujiko whistled a jaunty tune as he reread the various files on Project Kronos- and why shouldn't he? His kiddo had found the best solution to the quirk singularity Ujiko had ever thought of!

If Quirks got too powerful to control, just make something that erases them! Genius!

All for One wouldn't like it, sure, but the whole reason Ujiko had dedicated himself to the man was because he was the only person to take his Quirk Singularity theory seriously, and promised the materials necessary to prevent it.

That's not to say that Ujiko didn't feel slightly guilty about not telling him about this, he had grown to respect All for One greatly over the decades, after all…

Back to the topic at hand. 

He had found the reason Izuku had directed him to Kronos! During the down time between patients, Izuku had used the laptop he had brought with him to begin working on splicing together several of the quirks that he had "acquisitioned" from the UA festival.

Unfortunately, Izuku had never managed to finish the project- mainly due to dying and then being dunked into a giant growth tube.

"Fortunately, I'm something of a scientist myself." Ujiko laughed, spinning a pin in his hand and getting to work, using Izuku's work like a base, building off it and filling in any holes he came across.

"Absolutely brilliant kid." He smiled. "Absolutely brilliant."

-Rain of Sins-

Yuyara watched the body floating in the tank with a distant look in her eyes.

"Damnit Green." She muttered as she laid her hand flat against the cold glass, the frost freezing her hand even through the fabric of her glove.. "What did I tell you about being reckless?"

Izuku didn't respond.

Yuyara sighed, her forehead making a dull thud as it pressed against the tube.

Izuku didn't respond.

Yuyara took a deep breath and slowly pulled herself away from the tank-

…

-TO JUMP HALF A FOOT IN THE AIR AS UJIKO KICKED THE METAL SLIDING DOOR OPEN!

"Jesus fucking Christ!" She yelped.

"I have returned!" Ujiko proclaimed, marching into the room with his hands holding a black box up high. "The horns of progress scream our names! And the RUMBLE OF SCIENTIFIC TRIUMPH CRUSHES ALL WHO DARE DOUBT!"

"Boss, you sound higher than the fucking ISS, when was the last time you slept?"

"Sleep does not chain the minds of the enlightened, Yuyara!" Ujiko laughed, placing the metal box down firmly on a nearby table, and clicking a button to open the top.

"What are- wait, is that a quirk?"

"Not a quirk." Ujiko chuckled darkly as he pulled a USB stick out of the box, and a flat sterilized glass container that had stored an extracted quirk factor. "No… this is so much more ."

Slowly he made his way over to the tank, and with a gentle reverence he inserted both into the machine beside it.

"Recovery Girl's quirk is incredibly powerful, and has had the eye of myself and my sponsor for a very long time."

The machine whirred, and several of the tubes that connected to Izuku began to change color, as they stopped pumping nutrients and medicine, and began pumping something dark red.

"It's an incredibly powerful healing quirk, but it has a critical flaw. It uses the body's own energy to heal itself at an incredibly accelerated rate, and while that's fine in theory…"

The red fluid hit Izuku, and a computer to the right flickered to life.

"If the quirk is used too often, or on too large of a wound, the body cannibalizes itself from the inside out. The quirk will kill you long before your injuries do."

The screen turned green, indicating that the quirk had been accepted, and almost immediately Izuku began thrashing around violently, as if in grievous pain.

"Izuku!" Yuyara cried. "You're killing him!"

"Nonsense!" Ujiko cackled, his face twisted with mad glee. "You cannot kill someone who is already dead! Just as you cannot play with the building blocks of life itself! It's common sense!"

Izuku screamed and the room was bathed in crimson light. 

"But since when has such petty things as common sense ever stopped science! It was common sense that man could not fly! It was common sense that man could not reach the moon!"

Ujiko opened his arms wide. "And it was common sense that man could never choose his own quirk! That he could never make his own!"

Crimson lighting flicked and swam through the liquid that held Izuku, leaping from his body and causing lights to flicker as computers were overloaded.

"Electrification! A quirk stolen from the finest in UA! Capable of generating well over two million volts on a moment's notice! A perfect battery for Heal to draw upon, don't you think? Well Izuku clearly did too! Considering he had the things torn apart and stitched back together like frankenstein!"

A shrill alarm sounded, emergency sprinklers spraying the room with water from the ceiling, as the lighting caused the main system to short circuit.

"And with just two strands of DNA from CREATION for a more efficient energy to matter ratio, I give you the FIRST EVER ARTIFICIAL QUIRK!"

Yuyara stumbled back, slippin on the wet floor, and stared slack jawed at the sight in front of her. While Ujiko laughed like a madman.

"BWOHEAaHOAHEAHaeHhAaHEhAHA!"

Under the crimson light that danced, scar lines from various operations disappeared as the flesh knit itself together on the cellular level, internal organs lurched and pulled into position, organs that had been connected and put in the same body sewed themselves together, joining into one singular working system. Skin and muscle wrapped around metal, nerves growing into the metallic spine as if it were the real thing.

And for the first time in almost a week…

Green eyes opened.

Glass shattered, and green liquid poured across the floor, as Izuku's arm ripped through the tube.

He coughed and gagged, ripping the breathing tube out of his mouth and desperately gasping for air.

"Congratulations my boy! You did it!" Ujiko laughed as he strode forward fearlessly. "You are the second person I've seen come back to life- and you did it almost entirely on your own."

He reached out an arm which Izuku gladly took, pulling himself to his feet.

"How long?" He managed to get out between coughs.

"Four days, three hours, and twenty eight something minutes." Ujiko smirked. "I would welcome you to the future, but you really haven't missed all that much."

Izuku laughed at the joke, embracing his mentor in a hug (which Ujiko gladly accepted), but froze, and slowly pulled back.

"You read about Project Kronos?" He asked, weighing the fact he hadn't been shot yet.

"Of course I did." Ujiko nodded, as if nothing was even vaguely wrong. "It's how I brought you back- good work by the way, though there are some rough edges I think I could help you improve on."

Izuku regarded Ujiko for a moment. "I need pants." He said dead serious. "And something to punch."

-Rain of Sins-

Ochako stared blankly at the ceiling, as she layed in bed, her room's light turned off.

Useless.

That's what she was!

She either lost or never contributed in any of the combat class exercises.

She couldn't help during the USJ attack.

She didn't even make it to the tournament bracket during the festival- which even Mineta qualified for.

She was overwhelmed during the attack, and had to be saved by Tsu.

She wasn't able to stop Tsu from losing her leg.

And she couldn't help her parents without selling out her own friends to a Villain attack!

"You were one of us! You're a traitor!"

Tomura's cruel laugh echoed in her head, even if the words had not been for her.

Nononnnonnono! She had to be mistaken! She had sold one ticket! How could that have caused the attack!? 

E-Even if it had found its way to someone like Stain, they would have recognised him at the checkin and arrested him! Besides! The HPSC report said most of the Villain swerve warped in, and the rest probably came in through the sewers!"

"Deny it all you want, I won't stop you."

"SHUTUP!SHUTUP!SHUTUP!" She screamed into her pillow.

"It'll just make it all the more fun to watch as your little world unravels." 

"Useless!" She hissed, gripping her head so hard, she ripped tufts of hair from her scalp.

"Useless!" She sobbed, tears streaking down her face at the memory of Tsu's broken body.

She hugged her pillow as tight as she could, and wailed into it, as she desperately hid from the truth of the word beneath her blankets.

…

..

.

Several hours later, a pale Uraraka pulled herself out from under her bedsheets. Her eyes were red, with deep bags under them, and her hair was completely disheveled.

She gazed out towards the window with dull eyes, watching the final rays of the sun become smothered by twilight. Slowly, she reached out a shaky hand and grabbed her phone off the stand beside it.

She flicked on the device, and her heart grew heavy as she saw dozens of missed calls and messages from her parents, desperate to hear more from her since the "I'm okay. Not hurt." message she sent after the attack.

Instead she logged into her email account.

After all, there was only one way to know if she really had been the root cause of so much death…

She had to ask the one she sold the ticket to.

-Rain of Sins-

"It was that old fart's fault! I had the whole festival in chaos! The Heroes in shambles! Mass panic! I could practically feel society tearing at its seams around me! And I had that blond buffoon right in my grasp, until that stupid walking bouncy castle came in and ruined my fun!"

All for One fought back a sigh as he listened to Tomura's rant.

He was glad that his protege was finally learning how to act independently, but his lack of results were… unflattering.

Now that's not to say All for One didn't understand making mistakes- they were one of the best tools to learn from.

However.

The botched plan with the USJ attack (something that specifically went against his advice) on its own could be forgiven, but Tomura's blatant disregard of orders at the sports festival, for a complete lack of results no less, showed a pattern.

Something needed to change, and he needed things to change things rather quickly.

The time to strike was creeping ever closer, and with the rate Tomura was developing, he wouldn't be fully ready until their opening had passed.

What to do, what to do.

All for One tuned out Tomura's ranting, as he scratched his chin in thought, and began thinking over all the chess pieces he had that might be useful. One in particular stood out.

Ujiko's successor had proven himself to be very interesting. 

No.

Izuku had proven himself to be very interesting, and quite promising as well.

While Tomura was learning slowly, his stubbornness forcing him to learn hard lessons himself rather than simply have them taught to him, Izuku was practically flourishing. Something evidenced by the fact that he had single handedly done most of the work that Tomura was currently attempting to take credit for.

Such a devastating loss in the boy's life, at such a crucial time, had created the perfect mix of blood bound determination and a do-or-die situation. And when you added in his intelligence, and knack for absorbing just about anything like a sponge… Well, the boy's rapid and independent growth was honestly starting to make him a bit jealous.

…Hmm, he really should pay more attention to the boy.

Not only could he help mold Izuku into something useful, but it might be enough to snap Tomura out of the "special child" mentality. The appearance of a potential rival would light a fire under him, drive him to improve, and force him to mature faster.

Yes, that was what he would do.

One plan that took care of several things, all without very much input from him, how efficient.

All for One paused in thought, a slight frown forming on his face.

Of course there was one issue. Izuku wasn't fully in the know.

Oh the boy had talked face to face with him a few times, and was smart enough to take the pieces he had and fill in the blanks himself, but he had no idea just how deep the ocean dropped below him.

Ujiko had been strangely stubborn in keeping his golden child sheltered from the truth, and Izuku was trying to put together a puzzle out of old rumors and folk tales.

He had accused All for One of being an old quirk warlord who had survived the collapse and rise of Heroes, and knew he had some control of quirks. That was all.

Which, in all honesty, was the best that could be expected, even from someone as intelligent as Izuku.

All for One was a name long lost to time. His heyday was far, faaar in the past. The Empire that he had ruled from the shadows, reduced to rubble from continuous conflicts, and left as footnotes on the bottom pages of history books.

And then All Might had destroyed what little remained, crushed it to dust, and left it to be blown away with the desert sand.

If you exclude his fight with All Might, and his relentless hunting down of any OfA users… it had been almost three generations since he had personally last made any big waves in Japan. In those final decades, he had finally realized just how big of a threat that demon quirk was, and had focused all of his attention to tracking down and destroying it.

Between the wear of time, and extensive government cover ups…

People had forgotten about him. Simple as that.

His name was now relegated to hushed whispers in alleyways, nightime stories for naughty children, and the darkest depths of government classified documents.

…

What was this feeling? Why couldn't he help the frown growing on his face?

The anonymity was a good thing, it kept the Heroes off his trail, and gave him the time he needed to recover!

But… oh, those were the good old days. 

Messengers and diplomats from far and wide would roll up prizes beyond measure, and wealth beyond compare, all in an attempt to earn his favor. Free cities, and kingdoms alike, prostrating themselves before him, surrendering without so much as a single shot- so terrified they were of his power!

Quirks from around the world were his to sample, like they were the finest wine! All of Japan was his domain! 

The whole world had been at his fingertips!

American Sciences! Exotic African Furs! Indian Diamonds! Chinese Silks! European Art! Mediterranean Wine! The finest of Indonesian Spices! South American Gold and Silver! Wealth Unimaginable! ALL HIS!

Even a man as greedy and ambitious as he had been, had found every last one of his wants and desires filled!

And all of Humanity had learned to fear, to kneel, before his name- his proclamation -

ALL! FOR! ONE!

…

But that was long gone…

All for One let out a weary sigh as he pulled himself back to reality, and realized that Tomura had wandered off at some point.

Back to the here and now.

Back to a metal coffin disguised as a chair. Back to needles and wires. Back to the sounds of life support systems whirring all around him.

…

All for One pulled himself back to reality, a genuine scowl etched into his face.

He decided he did not like "reality".

…

How had he been reduced to this!?

Sniveling around in the shadows like a rodent, hiding beneath the floorboards, living on scraps and hoping no one on the surface would find him!

… No more . 

He'd healed enough. With the help of the Doctor, he wasn't under constant threat of dying anymore, and could manage well over an hour off his life support if he pushed himself.

Sure he didn't have the same resources he used to, but that didn't matter. Hero society was shaken, All Might was weak, and no successor for the devil quirk had been trained. 

He had recuperated what he could, and had been rebuilding his deck for years now.

The table was long overdue for a shakeup! 

The Heroes had been dealing with common nooks who were too busy choking on the chips to even play their cards. Tomura was still playing Go Fish, and while Izuku was showing potential, he was still learning- still trying to card count In blackjack without realizing the deck was stacked beforehand. 

No, it had been far too long since the Heroes had played against anyone remotely worthy of being called a real grandmaster, and it was time to remind them why they had once feared him!

 He already had a straight flush, while they hadn't even realized the cards had been dealt.

And as a ping notified him that he had received a message from his favorite puppet, he couldn't help but think the timing was prophetic.

After all, even the most world changing of events, all started with a single domino.

-Rain of Sins-

The sharp clack of freshly shined shoes on pristinely polished tile echoed as Martin Melian, Vice President of the HPSC, walked calmly and collectively through the hallways of Japan's largest government building. In one hand he held a folder of documents clutched firmly to the side of his chest, and in the other a black briefcase.

It was rare that his boss let him lose with such freedom. She had been… affected, by the failures of the previous president. She had seen firsthand how the man had overreached, and how his own efforts had eventually fallen down upon him, leading to his untimely death by his own most trusted agent.

Kinoshima's views had been deeply altered by the event, her ideology cracking under the stress of having to stabilize the castle of cards that would have killed the entire agency- and thus any real hope of security Japan had- if it had fallen.

She was methodical, but hesitant. Slow to act, and reluctant to take advantage of opportunities unless she deemed it risk free.

Previously she had constantly kept him on a short leash, for his tendencies to "make enemies" and "build card castles".

But now, with the fallout of the festival hitting everything simultaneously like a nuclear warhead, the president had finally been forced to put the entire organization into full gear for the first time in nearly a decade.

He had been busy the last few days, lobbying for the "National Security Act" that he had drawn up, and submitted to the government under his boss' name. An extensive bill, filled with fine print, vague wording, and small details, that would have been seen as violently radical just one week prior. 

Normally a bill like this would, as Dixie would say, "have a snowball's chance in Hell" at passing. But there was a reason Martin was Vice President of the HSPC, and it was not because he was bad at his job.

In the game of politics, there were only four rules.

Men are self interested and seek power. Ideals are counterproductive in geopolitics, and corrupted under the weight of power. Man's natural state is Anarchy, as all vie for power, and so man creates laws to artificially protect against such. Because laws are created as protection, they can be bent, broken, ignored, and rewritten if the population is convinced they are not safe.

And like clockwork, everything fell into place.

The media, which would have normally stamped this story on the front of every paper, and crucified every politician who dared look at it twice, was kept spinning in circles, chasing after any crumb of news about the attack- with the Safety Commision dropping "investigation reports" at occasional intervals to keep the dog chasing its own tail.

Any public outcry was smothered under panic, and the fear of increasing Villain attacks.

Months worth of procedure and legal validation were skipped over, citing old national emergency clauses that had sat unused since the quirk collapse, and the signature of the Prime Minister to call for an emergency session.

The Japanese Communist party held a paltry number of votes, and one of the smallest numbers of representative seats, but they had a reputation of being incredibly loud spoken- often raking up the same amount of time speaking, as parties three times their size. They also continuously locked horns with the Conservative party, and the Japan Innovative party- parties several times larger than them.

Having the communists speak first, and vocally against the bill, played their rivals into his direction perfectly . After all, who wants to agree with someone they've hated, and publicly condemned, for years?

The Social Buddhist Conservatism party was a minority party, only holding 50 of the 500 votes, but they were incredibly unified. Not once in the past twenty years had the party ever split their vote on a bill.

How fortunate then, that an investigative team had "found" a large stash of illegal narcotics in the house of the party's chairman, and he had decided to collaborate with them to keep his daughter out of prison.

The New Restoration party had sprung to prominence at the end of the quirk collapse, but had faded to near irrelevancy. They needed a new vision, something big to grab public attention again- something, Martin promised, that voting for this bill would grant them. After all, even bad press is better than no press. And surely the bill won't actually pass, even with their small loan of support, so there wouldn't be any lasting damage on their name.

The Constitutional Republic party, originally staunchly against the bill, and presenting the backbone of the opposition, had fractured over the last day as half their leadership suddenly changed their views on the matter. 

The party had five chairmen, one had owed the HPSC a favor, one was bribed, and a third peer pressured.

The agricultural party was small, but a back room meeting, and a handshake, had assured their cooperation.

A promise here, a lie there, with the resources of the Safety Commision at his full disposal to slick wavering hands, and pressure gears into place.

The art of politics danced with the song of social psychology to create a show that would have brought tears to Machaveli's eyes. What would have normally taken the better part of a year only to fail, was on its way to be passed within just five days.

Martin allowed himself to smile.

It felt good to be back.

A second pair of footsteps paired with his own in the hallway, as a woman with a brown ponytail fell into sync beside him.

"Have you finally decided on a name?" He asked without so much as glancing at her.

"Ah, well." The representative of the HPSC's PR branch coughed nervously. "We're still under consideration, you have to understand, you've shot down every idea we've sent to you. Our current best ideas are Black Death or maybe even Spook, to go on what Stain sai-"

"Not good enough." Martin didn't yell, but his voice was like steel. Firm, blunt, and with the force to tell others the topic was not open for discussion. "Dixie has set up things well. This man is to be the initial opposing force to the new top Hero. The Villain of the decade, and potentially of the Century. We need a name that is easily memorable, original, and that terrifies at just an utter."

"Sir, please understand, we've sent hundreds of ideas your way, and you've shot all of them down. We're scraping the bottom of the barrel, and people are starting to get impatient. The police still don't have a name for the file. And. People online are beginning to come up with their own names."

"We'll force the police and media to comply with any name change we desire. All that comment highlights is just how badly you need to hurry up."

"Sir-!"

"Time is ticking." Martin said as he pulled ahead of the woman, firmly ending the conversation. "And I have a meeting at UA to get to. I would recommend having something for me when I get back."

-Rain of Sins-

"Almost five days on, from the festival attack, and police have still not given a name to the 'mystery Villain' behind the attack, but someone might have already beaten them to the punch. What began as a joke on 'Truth Now' a popular conspiracy blog, has seemingly spread across the entire internet, and become the De-facto name to refer to the Villain in most online communities.

The user 'Hans-Sugmaballs' coined the name 'Lord of Shades' in reference to the almost supernatural lack of evidence left behind, in the wake of such a large attack. Efforts to capture this 'Shade' are still ongoing."

"Shade, huh?" Bakugo mused to himself as he looked at the police sketch on the screen, of an adult man with black hair and green eyes, wearing a black mask that covered the bottom half of his face.

He had never seen the man before, but the picture was… familiar, almost. In a way he didn't like.

"Bmout fim fyy grabe mrim ma mame." 

"Momo." He side eyed his friend across the table. "Mouth. Food. Swallow. No one has a fucking clue what you're saying."

Momo, still covered in many bandages, narrowed her eyes at him, before gulping down the sandwich she was eating and washing it down with lemonade- acting every bit like the starving person she was.

"I said, it's about time they gave him a name." She huffed. "That way we know what to write on his cell when All Might smashes him into next week."

"Only next week?" Bakugo raised a smug eyebrow. "If All Might gets ahold of him, the guy's not waking up for several months ." He paused. "Wait, is that my sandwich?"

"You got two, and weren't eating this one." She said between bites.

"Yeah because I was fucking saving it for later! Give me back my spicy pickle sandwich, Bitch, or I'm fucking taking it back!"

Momo blinked at him, and gave him a strange look, one of confusion with a growing blush on top of it- mainly from the fact said sandwich was more or less just mush in her bulging cheeks at this point.

"...Fuck it. Nevermind. I don't want it anymore." Bakugo scowled and leaned back in his chair. "Just don't choke on the damn thing. If you die from it, I'm writing a 'choked to death on a guy's pickle' innuendo on your grave."

He smirked as his jab got the reaction he wanted- mainly causing Momo to descend into a coughing fit.

"Wow you must really want that on your grave, don't you?"

Momo's response was the middle finger..

They had learned several things in the past few days, apparently Momo's body was very well adapted to consuming absurd amounts of calories. And considering she had apparently been moderately starving herself for years with her previous intake, in an attempt to uphold the "ladylike" appearance her manner coaches had drilled into her, her body was very eager to catch up on lost time.

This combined with the fact Recovery girl's quirk used "body energy" (aka what you get from eating calories) to heal people, Momo was making a rapid recovery.

But between burning an absurd amount of calories to regenerate with Recovery Girl's quirk, and trying to climb out of the malnutritioned state she'd pushed herself into during her fight, Momo was frequently feeling absolutely starved, basically all the time.

The doctors had warned of minor skin discoloration on the side she was burnt, but she didn't seem too terribly torn up about it.

Bakugo's hands were also healing well, though they would be scarred significantly- not that he cared.

All things considered, the doctors had said both of them could resume training, light training, by the end of the week if they continued this speed of recovery.

That was something both were looking forward to. Neither of them had said it, be it because of pride, stubbornness, or maybe the suspicion that the other felt the exact same way… But sitting in the background during the worst Villain attack, unable to do anything for the people desperately screaming for help, unable to do anything but hide and hope no one found them…

That feeling of complete helplessness… it changed you.

"Never again." Momo thought to herself, remembering having her hospital bed being rolled down the hallways, unable to even muster the strength to pull herself to her feet.

"Never again." Bakugo thought to himself, remembering the slow terror of pushing his friend's bed down the hallways, knowing that if anyone came around any corner they were dead. His hands were too broken to fight, and his quirk failing him.

Never again would they be too weak.

And who was this "Shade Lord" to stop them?

-Rain of Sins-

Yuyara watched with feigned disinterest as Ujiko and Izuku (who was thankfully now fully dressed in something other than just underwear) discussed something in whispered voices.

From what she could gather it was about some projects they didn't want the "big boss" to hear about.

Hey! She was trustworthy! Hell, she didn't even know who the guy who funded Ujiko was ! She couldn't tattle on them, even if she wanted to!

She absolutely did not pout as the two moved off to continue their discussion in Ujiko's office, without so much as glancing her way.

Yuyara stuffed the last piece of her sandwich in her mouth, brushed off her gloves, and marched out of the room.

" Boys. " She huffed.

-Rain of Sins-

"I won't let there be another me." Izuku said, like that would explain everything, as he took a seat across from Ujiko in his office.

Ujiko tilted his head and gestured for him to continue.

"Quirkless make up 20% of the world's population. Most of them are older, yes, but even if we take the highest estimate and assume 98% of all quirkless are adults, that leaves 2% of 20% of the world's population of 10 billion, in the same situation I was in."

"A bare minimum of 40 million quirkless children ,seen as a blight upon society, surrounded by people who look down on them, who live in a world that sees them as defective. As somehow less than everyone else."

Izuku grit his teeth, the grinding audible to Ujiko.

"And what makes it so much worse is that they're right . Quirkless are born less. No matter how much effort we put in, we'll never be as strong, as durable, as fast, as flexible, as someone with a quirk suited for it."

Ujiko gave him a thoughtful look, stroking his mustache.

"And you think that this is somehow your responsibility?"

"How could it not be?" Izuku let out a weak and hollow laugh. "Suicide rates are unprecedented- incalculable , most of the time no one even bothers to report them. And it makes sense, that they're so high- this is fundamentally different from any kind of discrimination we've seen through history. 

"There is no pseudo science, or education bias behind this. No star signs, or skull measurements. One group is inherently less than another from the moment they're born. Intelligence quirks mean that Quirkless will never quite be as smart, strength and speed quirks mean that Quirkless will never quite be as athletic, emitter and mutant quirks mean that Quirkless will never win an unarmed fight. It means that when Quirks became the vast majority- the standard for humanity, it automatically made Quirkless less than humanity. Less than human.

"With project Kronos I can give quirks instead of just stealing them. I can add to the number of quirks in the world! I can stop the bullying! I can stop the suicides! I can save people! 

"I can give these people a life !"

Izuku leaned forward, his eyes practically glowing with a deranged sense of hope.

"I can make them Human again!"

"…And project Entropy? Wouldn't that go against everything you just said?" Ujiko asked softly.

Izuku winced. 

Ash blond hair, a burnt notebook, a laughing classroom.

Screaming, a burning building, the wail of sirens, and the unending downpour of rain as the world sobbed.

"I know it's hypocritical… I know it's horrible for me to even say…" He whispered, his voice dry. "But… Some people don't deserve to be Human."

Ujiko stared at him for a long time, eyes hidden behind his goggles. Judging. Thinking. Contemplating.

Izuku held his gaze, and refused to blink.

Eventually Ujiko nodded, rising from his chair.

"I just wanted to hear it from you- to know that you understand what you're getting yourself into." Ujiko sighed as he removed his goggles, and gave Izuku a somber but proud smile.

"You have my support all the way, kiddo."

-Rain of Sins-

A single black car drove down an empty highway, flanked on all sides by fully armored escort cars. 

Soon it was joined by a second black car, with its own contingent, and then a third.

And as the golden gates of UA grew larger in the distance, the three highest ranking members of the HPSC were keenly aware of Nezu looking out the tallest window, his beady eyes tracing their path.

Watching.

Waiting.

-Chapter End-

The "Lord of Shades" isn't going to be Izuku's official name, it's actually a Hollow Knight reference, lol. Don't worry, I'm not a fan of edge. A bit gritty? Why not? Dark? Sure. Grimm. Yeah. Grimm Dark? OHHH BAYBE , A TRIPPLE!

But not edge. 

A story cannot subsist on pain alone, there must be a reason for the angst, and from that angst must come growth! Or else you never get anywhere, and everyone's just always miserable.

*Sips Hot Chocolate*

Now.

I get that the HSPC stuff isn't exactly the selling point of the fic, and this is probably the only fic online that features them this heavily, but I kinda need them.

Think about it.

The "antagonist" team has Ujiko/Izuku's science organization, League of Villains, All for One, Stain/Stain cult, Gentle Criminal, and those are just the ones in the picture right now! Overhaul and the Liberation Army are still out there. And while those obviously aren't all unified, and are bound to bicker with one another, that's still a lot.

Meanwhile, the "Hero" side, lost Izuku, lost Aiyana & Mineta, lost Tsu, Shoto is still fighting with half his power tied behind his back, and Ochako is taking bribes. I mean, All Might's in better shape, mainly because he hasn't started leaking his power to a successor, but that's not exactly worth the trade off for losing the protagonist.

The HSPC might not exactly be a "good guy" group, but they have Japan's best intrest at heart. (Whether anyone else agrees that their idea of "best interest" is a good thing, ehhhhh)

Next Chapter: Mar 3rd

(Technically more than a week, but Friday gets me the highest viewership, so we're moving it to then. If you don't like it then fight my statistics pages.)