Chapter 38: the curious case of the shie hassakiai

I stood on top of a high rise in Tokyo city, waiting for my fellow hero, Hawks to arrive.

While I wouldn't call us friends, I could most certainly make the case for colleagues. Ever since my brother's internship several months ago, we have been cooperating on a number of high-profile cases with ties abroad. These cases were of particular interest to the Hero Public Safety Commission, seeing as they implicated some notorious smuggling groups that were rumored to have immunity even from the Interpol and the World Hero Association. My interest in these had more to do with the fact that they were part of AFO's mid-level underling circles. More precisely they were his procures, seeing how most of them had a solid grip on the flesh and quirk trade, they could bring him new and exotic quirks, while also making a profit of the selling of newly quirkless people on the slave markets of Indochina.

We spent some time rooting out their bases and operatives from the border control staff in Japan.

After all, one couldn't leave the enemy a source of resupply. By the time Kamino rolled around, I'd mostly cleaned house, with only the lesser and slightly more moral- i.e. no slave trade- groups remaining in operation. Now though, it seems as if the Yakuza are making some interesting inquiries into the parts of this former network that mostly dealt with cargo shipments of drugs.

I sensed a new presence approaching me. As I turned my eyes in the direction of the sensation, I was greeted with the sight of Hawks arriving at our meeting spot.

"Hawks" I greeted

"Rikudou" replied Hawks "So, what's this about"

"Tell me, have you heard about the new drug going around the black market? The one rumored to take away quirks?" I ask

"Yes, somewhat, why?" asked Hawks somewhat defensively

"Last night I intercepted a smuggling operation that was trying to get this shipped to the Triads" I said as I produced a single red bullet tightly sealed in a styrofoam container.

Hawks took the container and opened it, looking at the bullet in surprise

"How did you get your hands on this? I busted down the door of three drug dealer dens and never found more than mere rumors about these" asked Hawks

"This was what they were trying to sell. I need your help to dig out their distribution lines"

"You know the supplier then?"

"Only somewhat. I suspect that the yakuza group known as the Shie Hassaikai is behind this, but you know how these things are" I said shrugging

Hawks nodded

"I'II do it. Do you want me to look for incriminating evidence or something more specific?"

"No, just to stop them and to get every bullet like this off the market. I don't really care with what they're loaded. We don't need any more scandals among heroes. I'll speak with Nighteye about taking them down. After all, they are supposed to be under his watch" I said

Hawks nodded and left. Even though our relationship started off rough, I knew I could trust him in this matter. He was, after all, one of the few heroes that had an actual intelligence network that was good enough for what I was asking him to do.

These new bullets had to be stopped and fast. I could not afford to have division among the pro-hero ranks. Not so soon after the loss of All Might.

As I looked over the light-filled night skyline of Tokyo City, I couldn't help but sigh. Even if it wasn't visible on the surface, I could almost see the underground roiling and bubbling up through the cracks of law enforcement and heroes. Now that the chaos of those first few weeks without a solid leadership within the hero and villain ranks were winding down, many saw new opportunities without the restrictions formerly imposed on them.

This being said, the thing that scared me the most is that we have somehow lost track of the remaining League of Villains. Now that Twice was free of his mental trauma, it is imperative that he is taken out. Captured, killed, it matters little, but that quirk cannot be allowed to exist any longer under villain control. Who knows when Shigaraki might decide to unleash an army of cloned Nomu on a city.

Suddenly, my senses picked up on a disturbance.

With a flex of my chakra, I was gone, leaving a bright blue trail as I streaked through the sky.

For Izuku, the first days of his internship went well, all things considered. There were no major villain attacks, no resurfacing of the League, no nothing.

It was making Izuku slightly nervous if he was to be fair. All seemed to have fallen in place too easily.

The only noteworthy thing to have happened in the past week would be the capture of some quirk destroying bullets from a smuggling ring. Still, it was nothing that really tied the creation of these new bullets to the Shie Hassaikai. Heck, even the DNA that was recovered from the contents of the bullets matched none on record.

Even so, they had enough evidence for a raid on their facilities should it be needed soon. After all, making and distributing Trigger is illegal in Japan, and they busted open enough drug distribution rings to gather enough evidence as to who their suppliers were.

No move was made against the Hassaikai. Not without figuring out if they truly have anything to do with the creation of the Quirk destroying bullets.

So, to stave off the mind-numbing boredom that usually accompanied a long period of sitting on one's hands and waiting for the other pieces to fall in together, Izuku was sent out on patrol through the city. Though, calling it a patrol would be a bit much. In truth it was a glorified parade that had Izuku strut about the streets to let people gawk at him. It was in times like these that he was grateful for Mirio's presence on these so-called patrols.

After all, people were less willing to accost him if he was with another hero students while they were on patrol.

'I just wish that something would happen already' thought Izuku as he smiled and waved at the nth person he met today.

"I have to admit, it's not often that I get as much attention from people on the street" said Mirio once they were far enough away from the civilians

"You still have time to make your fanbase, and you should know that it's not all sunshine and rainbows"

Mirio grimaced. Izuku snorted in his head. He was undoubtedly aware, but he still welcomed the invitation to small talk.

"So, any plans for the weekend? Seeing as we're unlikely to make much progress in the investigation" asked Izuku

Miro shrugged. "Not really, I figured I'd stay here and bother Nighteye for something to do. That is unless I'm intruding on something"

luku shook his head while trying not to cringe at the tone Mirio used. It was true that he was taking up a lot of Nighteye's time, but he had to admit that learning from him was much more efficient than learning from the teachers at UA. Especially considering that what he needed to learn was oftentimes far in advance of what his classmates were doing.

"No, I'm taking a break this weekend. I plan to go see Madara at Might Tower. Maybe drag him off for some brother bonding activities"

"You mean you're bored, and you want to go and have violent fun. I completely understand" said Mirio with a laugh

luku smiled, and as he was about to respond, his senses flared, alerting him just before a small white-haired little girl slammed into his leg.

Time seemed to have crawled to a halt for just a moment as the child fell, but Izuku was quick to respond, crouching down and catching the girl to keep her from injuring herself by falling on the pavement

"Are you ok..."

Izuku trailed off as he looked at the small girl. The first thing he noticed was that she was barefoot.

The second were the bandages wrapped around her arms and legs. As he moved his hand to help her, she flinched. Hard.

Izuku was startled by this reaction and off balance just enough to not notice the man that emerged from the alley

"Now, now, Eri, let's not make problems for the heroes"

As soon as the child heard the voice she closed the gap between her and Izuku and grabbed hold of Izuku's haori, resting her cheek against the metal of his MIOLNIR armor

"I'm sorry for my daughter bumping into you, I hope that she wasn't a bother"

Izuku looked up at the man that had emerged from the alleyway. In front of him stood Kai Chisaki. The new leader of the Shie Hassaikai, and the target of their investigation.

"Oh, it wasn't a bother, honestly, we should be the ones apologizing for bumping into your daughter" said Mirio as he attempted to defuse the situation

"I must say, I wasn't expecting someone so famous to be patrolling around these parts, One for All.

And your partner must be new then?" said Chisaki

"That's quite all right. I was honestly just taking a stroll through the area on my way to see an old friend" replied Izuku, regaining his composure. It would not do to spook Chisaki now.

As he did so, he carefully enveloped the trembling little girl in his arms, infusing calming thoughts into his chakra aura. He also carefully snipped a few hairs from the girl's hair. Something told him that these will be invaluable later.

"Well, at any rate, thank you for your services, heroes. Eri, come"

The little girl, Eri as Izuku now knew her name to be only tightened her little fists around the fabric of his battle cloak.

"Please... don't go..."

Izuku tightened his hold on her as he heard the mumbled words

"Your daughter seems to not want to let go" said Izuku, not letting go of her either

"She just received a scolding. She has been a bad girl recently" stated Chisaki frostily

"And the bandages on her arms and legs..."

"She likes to play a lot, and she's very clumsy"

"A child like her, to be trembling like this while silent, it looks quite suspicious, mister...

"Chisaki, if you would"

For a moment he was silent, before sighing

"I do apologize, but would you mind stepping out of the street. I do not like to air my family's dirty laundry in public"

"That's fine" said luku as he scooped the little girl intonis arms.

In the same motion, he arranged his battle cloak, so that the hilt of the tanto trapped to his lower back was clearly visible and at the same time, he used the opportunity to slip a small tracking seal in Eri's hair and mark another one on her clothes.

As they followed Chisaki into the dark side street, Mirio remained silent. He was preparing for any sort of hostile action from Chisaki. Meanwhile, Izuku was already charging up a Rho Aias just in case. He knew that Mirio was capable of phasing through it, so if it came to battle, they wouldn't be at a disadvantage in terms of offensive strength.

"Lately, I've been having all sorts of problems with Eri. She absolutely refuses to listen to me, even when she is aware that her actions have consequences"

As he said the last word, Chisaki's hand moved to take off his left glove and his killing intent spiked.

Izuku was instantly ready to activate the shield, but before he could, he felt Eri wiggle her way free of his arms, drop to the ground and run off after Chisaki.

"Oh, done with your little temper tantrum already?"

The little girl just nodded, eyes never straying from the floor.

Izuku stood there, looking dumbfounded as the two disappeared into the shadows

"It's best that we let them go. They might already be suspicious considering that you're here, let's-"

Miro yelped and stumbled back as a fist made a crater but a few centimeters in front of his face.

"Yes, let's" replied Izuku through grinding teeth.

Mirio just nodded, too frightened by the violent action and the slight burst of dark killing intent that Izuku radiated for a moment. He just wordlessly followed Izuku back to Nighteye's agency

As they made their way through the underground tunnels of the compound, Chisaki was mad. He gained some measure of satisfaction from killing the buffoon that let Eri escape, but it did little to quench his anger.

One For All. Motherfucking One For All, the twin brother to that monster Rikudou and a monster in his own right was here, patrolling the streets. He would bet the Shie Hassaikai itself that wasn't a coincidence, not with Nighteye's agency so close to their main base of operation.

"Sir, what's our next move?" asked Chrono

"Our next move? Lock down all we can and prepare to evacuate as soon as possible. I already had my doubts when I heard that the shipment hadn't reached the Triads on schedule, but now I'm certain that it's because one of the heirs of All Might interfered"

"But sir, didn't we plan for their interference?" asked Chrono

"Not so soon"

"Boss!" called out Mimic

"What is it?"

"The League called. They say that Shigaraki wants a face-to-face, and soon" said Mimic

Chisaki nodded

"Get Eri to her room and check for any trackers.

With those two sniffing around, we can't take any chances"

Upon their return to the agency, an emergency meeting was held as they waited for the DNA sequencer to finish cataloging the DNA from the hair that Izuku managed to get off the little girl.

"The database check came up empty. Whomever this little girl is, there are no records of her birth" said Bubble Girl

"She is evidently abused. Those actions aren't the actions of a misbehaving child, even a scolded one. Even more telling is the fact that she didn't have any shoes" said Izuku

Despite his calm tone, he was still fuming inside.

He knew that he had no real evidence against

Chisaki at the time, and technically he had no right to remove Eri from his care without a warrant, but in his heart, he still felt as if he failed her.

"I will reach out to several other heroes that can help us determine the location of this little girl. At the very least we should keep track of her as best we can" said Nighteye

"That won't be necessary. I already placed two tracking seals on her. As soon as I get in range, I'll sense them" said Izuku

Just then, a knock was heard at the door

"Come in" called out Nighteye

"Excuse me, Sir, but the results are ready" said

Centipeader

He handed Nighteye a tablet with the results.

Izuku, curious to see them as well, craned his neck to see the screen.

The DNA results were a 100% match... for the DNA found in the quirk-destroying bullets that had been captured not even a few days prior.

Izuku felt ice flow through his body as his mind processed the implications of this discovery

"Chisaki, that bastard is using his own daughter's blood for his sick drugs?!"

While Izuku wouldn't have put it like this, he agreed with the outrage that was present in Mirio's tone.

"This just became a matter of grave importance.

We need to gather enough heroes to gain sufficient evidence to have the Hassaikai permanently shut down" said Nighteye coldly

All Izuku could do was nod. This was the first time he was confronted with such evil. It won't be the last, and he had every intention to ensure that Kai Chisaki either rotted away in Tartarus or his head was mounted on a spike

The room was packed up with heroes. They were mostly low-rankers, but there were a few exceptions. Among them were Gran Torino, Eraserhead, Ryukyu, and two UA students, Uraraka and Asui. Of course, the UA Big Three were there as well in their capacity as interns to multiple pro heroes.

Th door opened and in walked Nighteye. The two who followed him brought a wave of silence across the room as the gravity of the situation dawned on

them.

"Please be seated. We have much to discuss" said

Nighteye

The people in the room took their assigned seats.

Each of them paying attention to the two newcomers in the room.

Izuku, One For All, took his seat next to Nighteye and Mirio, as he was still an intern at Nighteye's agency. Madara took his seat at the opposite end of the table, being the sole occupant of that side.

Many of the lesser heroes looked on at him with something akin to awe. Unlike his brother's black and green haori and black under suit of MJOLNIR armor, Madara had on a simple crimson cloak that covered the red-stained MJOLNIR armor he wore.

It was evident that the design was intentionally painted, seeing how the bright red splotches seemed to shine crimson.

Nighteye broke the silence

"Over the last few weeks, I'm sure you have heard the rumors going around the underground and the hero network about a quirk-destroying bullet. I am here to confirm that these were not mere rumors, but truths" Nighteye paused as he made eye contact with the grim-faced heroes in the room and the worried students "However, due to the actions of both Rikudou and One For All, we were able to determine the source of these bullets. The name of the organization responsible for this and for the sudden uptick of trigger on the Japanese black market is the Shie Hassaikai"

"The yakuza group? I thought that they were pacified already" said Fat Gum

"So did we. Under the previous boss, we had something of an understanding with them.

However, he fell ill and our contact became silent suspiciously around the time that the rumors of quirk destroying bullets and the influx of trigger into the markets did" said Nighteye

"So you figured it out, great for you. But that still leaves the question, why did you drag all of us here? I mean, it's not like you lack the firepower for a raid" said Rock Lock casting a meaningful glance at Madara and Izuku

"Normally you would be correct. However, I have mole important matters to attend to, and I cannot dedicate my full power to handling this case" said

Madara

"You're here, aren't you?" asked a skeptical hero

The other heroes around the room shared in his confusion. After all, he was in the same room with them. Surely, he could spare some time to lead the spearhead of this operation.

Madara shook his head

"What you see before you is merely a construct with a copy of my mind in it. I will regain all its memory once I dispel it, but considering that I'm up to my elbows in a villain hideout right now, I could not afford to leave this construct with much of my power. I'm not joking when I say that a strong breeze will pop this clone" said Madara

"At any rate, the specific details of the operation can be discussed later" said Nighteye

"Wait, hang on a minute. I get that you're busy, but who will be our spearhead? I mean no offense to Ryukyu, but she doesn't do too well in tight spaces" asked Rock Lock

" will" declared Izuku

The heroes were startled to hear his voice.

"And I intend to take Chisaki down for what the bastard has done. Now if you're finished with the questions, listen to what Nighteye has to say and I guarantee that you'll want Chisaki's head on a spike just as much as I do" said Izuku

After the meeting, the UA students retreated to one of the rooms in the Nighteye agency to think about what they had heard.

It was hard for Uraraka and Asui to reconcile such evil with reality, but they saw the evidence clear as day, and all the people in the room could feel their hair stand up o their necks as the subject of Eri was discussed.

It was also hard to reconcile the rage in the eyes and tone of Izuku Midoriya with the kind boy they all knew him as.

The door to the elevator opened and Eraserhead

Stepped out of

"Sensei!" called out Uraraka

"Uraraka, Asui, how are you holding up?"

"We'll manage" replied Asui

Eraserhead sighed

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about. You aren't obligated to go on this mission. If you want, you can drop out"

"Sensei, after what we heard, how could we drop out!"

Eraserhead regarded Uraraka. She stood up and looked at him with defiance in her eyes.

Eraserhead shook his head and relented. And to think that he had this whole speech about how it was ok to give up. He taught them too well, or better said, they've been through too much already.

"Be ready. We move at dawn tomorrow. The plans have been drawn up. Get a good night's sleep and whatever you do, don't try to study or train today.

You need to be in tip-top shape tomorrow"

The girls nodded and Eraserhead left. Tomorrow

was do or die.

For Chisaki the previous 24 hours were stressful.

Having to pack up all his equipment and materials and money to move the project elsewhere was taxing. Especially since he was taking a good majority of the Hassaikai with him. The only ones that were being left behind were the old guard and enough money for them to live comfortably with the old man while he made his plans come to fruition.

The ability of Twice to clone his people had greatly sped up the move, but it was still not enough.

"Chrono, how long before we can leave?" asked

Chisaki

"Another 10 hours at least. We have most of the essentials, but we would struggle to set up a new production line without the other machines"

"10 hours is already too much. The heroes will be on top of us any time now. Go and see Twice about some new clones. Even if they can't take a punch, having more hands is always a good thing"

"At one, sir"

The end was near, and Chisaki could feel it.

And yet, as he looked down in his hand at the finished product sitting there, he could not help but feel hopeful that the coming end might be merely a new beginning. It certainly pained him to leave the old man behind, but he was the past.

Once Chisaki had finished rebuilding the Yakuza over All For One and his successor's corpses he would reawaken him and the old man will thank him for his hard work and praise him for his accomplishments.

For the future he had foreseen to come to pass, the past had to die, even if it required a little bit of help on his part to do so.

A/N I'm taking a break from this fanfic if you didn't know the new story is up it all ready have 3 chapters