Chapter 115 - The Tsar

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Sitting cross-legged on my bed, I was in the process of reading a new Genjutsu section I had just unlocked in my Chakra Encyclopaedia.

'Mass genjutsu is more difficult to implement than genjutsu that focuses on a single target.

The need to affect all the targeted nervous systems at the same time and in the same way requires the creation of an environment where the targets have been exposed to the chakra of the person performing the genjutsu in an identical way.

The genjutsu trigger then comes into play: it can be gustatory, olfactory, auditory or visual.

It should be noted, however, that mass genjutsu triggered by touch - although they do exist - are the most difficult to implement, albeit more powerful and harder for the target to extricate themselves from.'

I've always had a personal predilection for visual genjutsu, which the sharingan and its constant rotation have always made very easy to use.

'Perfect mastery of the use of genjutsu through the five senses on a single target is a prerequisite for learning to use mass genjutsu. However, given the complexity of an individual's perfect mastery of psychic influence on the five senses, it is permissible for someone with excellent mastery of only one of these senses to be able to learn the equivalent in Mass Genjutsu.'

The category 'Mass Genjutsu: Visual' was unlocked, the text glowing green.

I turned the previous page and returned to the other four types of genjutsu a few chapters earlier. I was pretty good at using them, but it wasn't anything out of the ordinary, if the Chakra Encyclopedia was to be believed.

Maybe if I took some time to brush up on the basics, then...

My phone rang.

My father's name appeared on the screen.

I sat up instantly, rubbing my eyes with one hand to wake myself up, then picked up the phone.

- Shoto. Good evening, Shoto.

I listened carefully, trying to understand where he might be.

Except for the small, irregular crackling sounds I imagined to be wood in the fireplace of his office, everything was quiet around him.

- Good evening.

I bit the inside of my cheek, not knowing what else to say.

- You left early this morning.

I turned my tongue seven times in my mouth, wondering how I could explain to him that I'd spent the morning at the police station regretting Touya's murder without him hanging up on me.

- I had to finish setting up my things in the dormitory. Natsu and Leo helped me, but I couldn't let them finish alone.

- Yes. Of course.

There was an awkward silence.

- How was your day?

- Fine, fine. Your mother was in shock for a while, but she is getting better.

I nodded, not knowing what else to say.

- Natsuo and Fuyumi were really happy to see Touya. Your sister kept saying it was a miracle.

A miracle or a lack of foresight on my part.

- Are you happy? That he's back, I mean.

- Of course I'm happy. He's my son.

My heart skipped a beat.

I imagined my father, his grey hair, the small rectangular glasses on the tip of his nose, the landline phone glued to his ear, as he was told that Touya had just died - again.

The thought of him crying because of me was painful enough.

- I'm glad he's home, you know, he confided quietly. I think maybe it's a second chance for me. For all of us.

I imagined him smiling softly, his eyes lost in a blur.

I regretted even more that I hadn't killed him before he came back into his life, because at least he wouldn't have suffered more if he'd never known he was alive.

- Have you ever wondered how...

My voice sounded strange. I cleared my throat and said calmly:

- Do you remember eleven years ago? We thought Touya was dead because a child's jaw had been found in the flames...

Silence answered me:

- Of course I remember.

I waited, but there was nothing else.

- And you're not wondering how...?

I left my question hanging for fear of upsetting him.

It was the first cordial conversation we'd had in days that wasn't about the hangar video or Kenzei.

His family had in fact contacted us again and apologized for all that was going on, even going as far as proposing to make their voices heard in the press in my defense.

My father told them that it was honourable of them to do so, but that it would be better if they didn't get involved, lest the media tear them to shreds.

Then he'd added a few zeros to the cheque he sent them every year and mailed it earlier than usual.

- Honestly? I don't want to know.

He exhaled sharply.

- Touya is my son, my flesh and blood. Nothing he has done or will do can change that.

That was the philosophy with which he'd raised me, and I'd always been more than grateful.

Even though I knew he was talking about Touya, I couldn't help but be proud that he was my father.

- Agree

My father was a better man than I'll ever be.

He was kind, fair and did his best to always give his family the best, even if the best was to walk away from them for their own good, knowing that he would suffer from it.

It was because he was him that I wanted to try to be a little better myself.

- Okay?

But I couldn't be better when it came to Touya.

Even if he wasn't a threat to me as a person, I knew he wouldn't hesitate for a second to hurt my father to get to me.

I couldn't let him live - not if it meant spending my time wondering what he planned to do to my father and how far he'd go.

- I'm glad you're happy.

I'll find a way to kill Touya without it being traced back to me.

- You know, Shoto, I won't force you to get along with him, especially not after what happened. Not I or your mother, nor your siblings

- I know

- Your mother was thinking of having dinner together, maybe this weekend. Would you like that?

The idea of a meal over a roast turkey with my father, who barely spoke to me these days, the man who could have been my murderer and the three other strangers with whom I shared my blood immediately struck me as very comical.

- I... maybe. I need you to call the headmaster for me.

- Of course I will

New silence.

I waited vainly for him to add something.

- Is that why you called me?

Even I heard the hint of disappointment in my voice and immediately chided myself for opening my mouth.

- No, it wasn't. There was something else. It concerns Touya.

Of course it concerns him.

- What has he done?

- ...a video of him at the police station was leaked by an unknown source. It was sent to a newspaper and a large sum of money was demanded for them to have exclusive rights to it, in which case it would be distributed to as many people as possible. Fortunately, those who received it understood the seriousness of the situation and contacted Nezu to inform him, who immediately called me.

- So what happened?

But I already knew what he was going to tell me.

- We filmed a closed-door press conference a bit earlier this afternoon where we revealed Touya's existence.

It was the best decision in this particular case, as the information was going to leak anyway.

At least this way we could control the initial impact it would have on the public, and Endeavor would appear to be 'voluntarily' transparent with the public.

- Did All Might agree to support you publicly?

He did, for me.

- ... All Might is very busy at the moment. I think it's best that he stays out of it.

His answer struck me as odd, but I didn't comment on it.

The duo of Endeavor and All Might had come as a surprise to me, but I'd quickly realised its advantage: on Kamino alone, my father's presence had drastically changed the situation, preventing All Might from revealing his condition to the whole world and abruptly resigning from his role as 'Symbol of Peace'.

Having All Might by my father's side was also a good thing, because now I couldn't see how the incident with the Nomu High End that had followed his hasty ascension could happen.

Especially now that Gigantomachia was dead and the League of Villains had been disbanded.

Even if my father and All Might behaved strangely in each other's presence, I could at least count on the original Peace Symbol to have my father's back.

- Any minute now, every channel in the country should be broadcasting-

There was a howl of horror that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.

A shunshin and I was in the living room in combat stance, the phone still glued to my ear, the cutlass hidden under my cushion in my hand.

Curled up in the middle of the living room, forehead to the floor, hands over ears, was Momo Yaoyorozu, screaming her head off.

The other students stood at a distance from her, arms raised as if to shield themselves from her screams, exchanging puzzled glances.

I lowered my knife and slowly stood up, trying to make sense of what was happening.

The telephone hummed in my ear.

- Shoto? What's going on?

Momo screamed louder, her fingernails clawing at the floor until her fingers started to bleed.

- There's a girl who-

Suddenly Momo fell silent and turned back to me.

There was the mark of the tiles on her forehead, like a huge 'X' that had branded her. Her eyes were wide, her mouth open in a silent scream.

And then she threw herself back, her shrill scream exploding like a blast across the living room.

A pinkish light - just like when she used her Quirk - coated her throat, amplifying the scream until it grew deafening.

I took a few steps back and she did the same, crawling backwards until she was under the TV screen.

The furniture began to shake as if we were in the grip of an earthquake.

A vase exploded in the kitchen.

Then all the glasses in the cupboards exploded, and fragments smashed through the doors like shrapnel in a minefield.

Someone rushed down the stairs.

I recognised Jiro and shifted to let her pass, her shoulder brushing mine.

She threw herself at Momo's side, squeezing her shoulders and shouting to be heard:

- Momo ? What's wrong ?

I kept retreating, blood pounding against my temples, ears ringing as if my eardrums were about to explode.

Blood dripped from Jiro's jacks, but she kept shaking Momo.

- Talk to me! What's wrong, Momo? What has he done to you?

Jiro forced Momo to stop looking at me, then moved closer to her, still screaming.

- What's the matter, Momo?

Then, as suddenly as she'd started, Momo fell silent and burst into tears.

I watched in amazement, unable to comprehend what had just happened.

Jira held her close and whispered that everything would be all right.

I met Monoma's gaze, who had taken refuge in a corner of the living room.

He pointed at the television with his chin.

It showed a close-up of Touya's face, dressed in a suit for what I thought was the press conference my father had told me about.

Dad was next to me, a hand on his shoulder, the sound of his voice muffled by Momo's sobs.

A picture of me at the championship with my flames appeared on the right side of the screen, and suddenly I understood.