Chapter 235 - Cold War

"In a dramatic turn of events, public discontent has reached unprecedented levels today. The recent allegations surrounding the Heroic Public Safety Commission's children training program remain unaddressed. Despite the Commission's spokesperson threatening legal action against those spreading misinformation, there has been no outright denial of these claims.

Nationwide protests have surged, with citizens demanding immediate answers. The situation has escalated into violent riots, particularly in Tokyo, where officials' cars have been vandalized and set ablaze. This raises a critical question : are we witnessing the early stages of a civil war in Japan ?"

*

A man was standing at the top of a van, shouting in a megaphone, veins bulging under the papery thin skin of his throat, making it look as if there was a throbbing heart underneath.

"We cannot accept that rapists and pedophiles take less than a kid who did the right thing !"

The crowd shouted its assent, and fists were raised high.

"They are lying to us !"

The air was electric as if the lightest of sparks would be enough to set them all ablaze.

"The fact that they don't tell us what Hawks did is proof enough that he is innocent !"

This single word uttered with so much conviction, spread, vivifying, inward to outwards.

There were so many people protesting in Shibuya that, looking from above, you couldn't see the individuals but rather only the mass they formed, a compact splash of ink that spilled into adjacent streets and spread its dark tentacles for kilometers.

Moving was close to impossible, and breathing proved itself a difficulty of its own : despite it being winter, there were so many people brushing against each other, talking and spewing out clouds of hot air that it felt as hot as summer.

The shops around were closed, for the police had asked them to after they hadn't managed to keep people out of this street.

Shibuya was a safety hazard : if people grew too agitated, there was a risk that many would be trampled to death.

"We, inhabitants of Tokyo, have faced countless hardships during the past months. We've survived the Giant's trampling our beloved city, we've survived the Inhuman Army who murdered so many of our brothers and sisters"

People were solemn now, all remembering and mourning someone they'd lost.

A man nodded, an unshed tear in his eye, yet his gaze was resolved. A few people held their loved ones closer, as if to draw strength from each other.

"We've survived because we're strong and resilient, but we've mostly survived thanks to our beloved Heroes who laid their lives down for us!"

The screams of assent turned blood-chilling.

They were not any more individuals but rather a single-minded entity who yearned for the same goal : justice.

"And now they want us to hate on one of our beloved Heroes ?"

The speaker scowled, his slick obsidian eyes shining with anger.

This was the true power of Heroes.

This was why, despite the Symbol of Peace being only a title, officials and politicians regarded it as such an important figure.

If All Might had been the one standing atop this car, shouting angrily, if he'd asked them to riot, the whole country would've taken arms in a heartbeat.

"And the kid ! What can we say about the kid ?"

The mob was growing angry, a single entity whose anger would soon need release.

"All Might himself said he'd be his successor ! All Might himself said he'd be our New Peace Symbol ! And now, because he tried to rescue another fellow Hero, they want us to forsake him ? They want us to hate him ?"

Answers were shouted wildly.

"No !"

"We won't !"

The crowd's anger needed release, anything that would allow them to evacuate their emotions.

"Get Hawks out ! Get Todoroki out !"

There was a loud honk, and all the heads turned.

That's when a police car managed to slowly make its way to a crossroad from Shibuya and a side street. The crows parted reluctantly. The car stopped in the middle of the place and one of the police officers got out.

"This protest is illegal and has not been approved. We will ask you to leave in an orderly manner or we'll have to arrest you"

No one moved.

The police officer took a step forward, frowning.

"I repeat-"

Someone hit the back of the police car.

"Hey !", shouted the officer, spinning around "What do you think you're-"

The front window was smashed by a large rock thrown from far away.

The officer ducked, hiding his head between his shoulders, eyes wandering around to find the source of the throw, though he was slowly retreating to his car.

The crowd smelled fear.

They seized the opportunity for release.

*

Far away from there, in one of Tokyo's tallest buildings was Enji, looking down at the rioting city through a one-way glass wall while sipping a glass of scotch.

The alcohol was a rare occurrence, a reward that he granted himself once every few years.

His TV was blasting in repeating the news : a riot had broken in Shibuya. People had started fighting police officers.

Somewhere on the left there was a loud explosion and something – certainly a car – was set on fire. The high flames reflected themselves in Enji's cold eyes while he drank, savoring his country's precipitated descent into chaos.

Sirens were blazing, both police and ambulances' merging until it was but a loud, screeching sound that every Tokyoite could hear.

"…extremely violent. People are now using their Quirksto fight off police officers trying to break this illegal protest"

Heroes weren't called when the law had to be enforced against civilians, but civilians never used their Quirks against police officers. Japanese were extremely law-abiding individuals : today was but the consequence of a discomfort that had been growing in every Japanese's heart for months.

They'd been losing faith in their government for a while now: they were struck twice in a couple of months and had lost their home, their job, and family members. Enji had merely catalyzed their brewing anger.

International channels had sent reporters to Japan. The yen, which had gradually managed to get back up, was falling again.

People had heard about the settlement given to the former employees of Endeavor's agency and they'd cheered, saying that someone who did that couldn't possibly be someone bad. This and his recent interview – the only one he ever made in his career – managed to turn the tides in his favor.

Enji had learned many things throughout his years in the Special Forces, and it hadn't only involved how to use his Quirk as lethally as possible.

There were more ways of sowing chaos than by fighting, more ways of getting what you wanted without compromising yourself.

Take a bunch of uprights people and make them think they're fighting for justice and you've got your army in a second.

Enji's phone buzzed.

He accepted the call without looking at who it was, for there was only one person who would call him at this time.

"I'm listening", Enji said coolly.

The ice cubes clinked against each other

An angry sigh.

"This has to stop"

"I am afraid I do not know what you are talking about, General"

The crowd's shouts were reverberating across the capital, bouncing from wall to wall and street to street, as loud as if there'd been a revolution right under Enji's windows.

It didn't matter that they weren't truly there for his son ; most of them were fighting to get Hawks out and, for the sake of fairness, they asked for the sixteen-year-old kid sentenced to a lifetime of prison to be freed.

"Do not play that game with me Endeavor"

Enji quirked a brow.

He remembered the way Shirai, not so long ago, kept using his given name despite Enji asking him otherwise, both to make it seem as if they were close and to show Enji who was the top dog.

How he despised him.

"I insist that I have nothing to do with what is currently happening"

Shirai snapped.

"Do not fucking try to make me think that all of these journalists suddenly got access to highly classified documents by chance"

It hadn't been hard to get them to publish whatever Enji had wanted : they'd all been pretty riled up since Shirai had announced martial law and had forbidden any media from investigating his regime and actions.

"Whoever is playing with you", said Enji "I'm sure they want something. Give it to them and I'm certain the situation will sort itself on its own"

Enji had been careful.

He'd emphasized how wronged Hawks had been and merely mentioned Shoto as a second thought, both because people cared more about their Heroes than they did anyone else, and because it would be easier to make him disappear if everyone focused on someone else.

Despite Shoto's strong attachment to him, Enji didn't mind having Keigo rot and die at Tartarus.

He still had a way to smooth things over and make it seem as if everything was a misunderstanding.

He had a full dossier on Hawks' irreparably damaged wings : he had forged documents that looked even better than official stating that Hawks, for his safety, had received cosmetic surgery and lived in Japan under a false identity.

People would turn against the media – there had always been a love-hate relationship between the general public and mainstream media - and things would quell down with time.

Shirai hung up. 

Enji listened to the deadline's regular beeps for a few seconds, holding his glass tight. The scotch had turned lukewarm and the ice was now water.

He drank until the last drop and slammed it against the table, pocketing his phone in the same gesture.

There was no need for any more groundbreaking news.

People were angry enough that no new drama would be needed : they'd feed off each other's resentment cyclically, never losing momentum, pushing for answers, conspiracy theories emerging one after the next until everything was too much and it eventually blew up.

Truly, Enji did not need to stir anything more than he already had.

Yet he still remembered the cold, bare bed, on which rested a small, cheap vase full of his son's ashes.

When he was younger, Enji used to be a spiteful son of a bitch. He'd believed time as well as fatherhood had managed to quell his temper. He'd been wrong.

This one was for Touya.

*

JAPAN TIMES Edition of 11th December X317

"THE MILITARY POSSESSES A NOMUS' FARM"

In a startling revelation this morning, our journal has learned that under the leadership of General Shirai and President Pantu, the former Director of the Heroic Public Safety Commission, raids have been executed on the notorious villain All for One's Nomu farms while martial law was still in effect.

Rather than gathering evidence to legally prosecute All for One, both institutions have embarked on a joint human experimentation project to uncover the secrets of the Nomus. Alarmingly, Japan appears to be attempting to transform these entities, which nearly obliterated Tokyo, into weapons of mass destruction. [...]

A memo dated November 22, X317, sanctioned by General Shirai's Technical Staff Chief, has approved the deployment of so-called 'Neo-nomus' on foreign soil for testing purposes.

The pressing question remains: who are the individuals they are feeding to the Nomus ?

*

A/N :

Will I end this story before it ends me ?

Stay tuned to find out !

Nine chapters left to write, seems like forever but definitely can't stop now.

Give me support everyone, I need it.