Chapter 67: How Things have Changed

Internships have come and gone, but the events which happened during them have only addded to the growing shadow over hero society, but for Dabi, he's more interested in seeing that shadow turn into a flame, one which he will continue to cultivate for unknown goals.

“Text” – Normal speech

‘Text’ – Thought

“Text” – Quirk Spirit speaking in the human world

“Text” - Attack

“Text” – Radio/Communication lines

“Text” – None Japanese speech

(text) – Subtext/meaning behind a spoken word

Chapter 67: How Things have Changed

Following this most recent tragedy, it was expected that people wouldn't just forget it, and they didn't, even a day after Todoroki was informed of the situation. With his mentor hospitalised, he didn't have much to do. Even if she was capable of hero work, it wouldn't have mattered, as when she finally woke up and was interviewed, she made it clear he had no place at her agency.

U.A. didn't fight her on it, and neither did he want them to as Eraser escorted him back to campus. He couldn't be expelled, but he could be punished in-house. The entire trip back, his teacher didn't say a word, having said all he needed to already. Of course, such didn’t make it into the news, not when they were too deep into the muck to contradict some of the only positive reports they had.

Across the country, whether it be on phones held by students in classrooms between classes. In living rooms watched by the whole family, on the laptops of students seated in college dorms, or even on the massive billboards that dominated most city centres, the news was the same through it all. It was only growing in intensity as time went on.

“-It has been 2 days since the duel villain attacks in Hosu and Morioka, and the situation has not changed on the ground." The news anchor continued with the biggest story to report, switching the feed from their studio to an agent in the field, in this case, Hosu.

“That's correct. According to eye witness reports, police statements, and our own news helicopter that flew over the city, we can confirm that Hosu was attacked by the League of Villains. Two of their members, Shigaraki Tomura and Kurogiri, were spotted, having unleashed what we can only describe as monsters on 4 different locations across Hosu.”

As the field reporter spoke, they placed an image captured from the night of the attack in the corner of the screen. It wasn't the best, and the smoke from nearby flames didn't make it any better. Still, one could definitely make out a man covered in hands and another made from a dark, shadowy, or cloud-like substance, both watching over the chaos they had unleashed.

“As of now, we have reports of several injuries, but police and local hospitals have assured us there have been no deaths and that all injuries were not life-threatening.” Yet, in the present, most of it had already been cleared, and reconstruction was well on its way, some spots having already been rebuilt or repaired.

"I understand that Hosu had more pros than normal present at the time. Was that true?" The news anchor asked, though for some, this was old information.

It took a few moments for the field reporter to hear the question before they responded. “That’s correct, according to a statement from the Number 2 hero, Endeavour, he was in the area to join the hunt for the Hero Killer: Stain, who was believed to be in the city at the time. One can assume that other pros were also in the area for similar reasons.”

Line Break

The news anchor smiled, “Well, I can imagine that was a major contributing factor as to why this threat was handled so well." The man watching the things was hardly impressed, but he didn't care enough to change the channel his assistant had chosen.

“I believe the same, as we have plenty of reports of how heroes like Endeavour and Ingenium managed to keep the people away from danger, and handle the threats, subduing most of them.” Well, look at that. Shame he wouldn’t be getting anywhere close to those killed. If they were like the rumours he’s heard about the one extracted from the USJ…

“And what of the younger Iida? Was he not in the area as well?” Oh, a student?

“Yes, Ingenium's younger brother, currently a first-year student at U.A., was and still is interning under his older brother. Several people witnessed Merlin being especially effective in carrying people to safety and helping to calm the panic. At the same time, the elder Ingenium handled the fighting. I've seen the looks on people's faces; they were quite impressed with him.” He let out an impressed hum as the image of the 2 League clowns was replaced with a picture of the younger Ingenium-no 'Merlin' out in the field.

“Well, one can expect nothing less from a U.A. student. The school year's still relatively young, and already they've handled 2 separate incidents better than anyone can expect. I personally can’t wait to see what he’ll be like once he graduates.” The news anchor praised the man, hearing his assistant gag at his overly praise-filled words, but he didn't comment on it.

“If only we could say it was the same down in Morioka, Alice-what do you have to report on the scene?” The news anchor changed from one reporter to another in a completely different way.

To the public, they could still see visible scars in the background of the reporter, as the typically well-maintained park, covered in snow all year round, filled with trees, walkways, and ice sculptures, was no longer there. In its place was churned up dirt, ruin, ripped apart trees, and barely any snow to speak of. The area was still sectioned off by police tape.

“Things are not good here in Oruto Purutonia. As far as we know at the current time, there was a surprise and vicious incident at roughly the same time as the League assault in Hosu. While the pros on site managed to ensure the civilians were escorted out, we can confirm at this time 15 deaths amongst the responding heroes.” The second field reporter informed the viewing populace, with the man and his assistant being surprised at the casualty count.

“Injuries?”  The anchor asked, to which the field reporter, Alice-something, shook her head.

“We only have estimates as the hero commission and local hospitals refuse any requests for details, but it’s believed at least a dozen pros needed medical treatment following the incident.” She relayed that, as they didn't have anything more to show, such as footage of the fighting or aftermath, they had been kept back by the police.

“It's been confirmed that this was not carried out by the League. Do we know more?” The news anchor asked the two watching if they were interested in whether new details had been uncovered.

Sadly for them, and most of Japan, that was not the case. “We have only unconfirmed rumours at present. No suspects have been spotted, nor have law enforcement and the heroes named any parties. However, we can confirm that the Hero Killer was here."

“He was? Was he not in Hosu as the heroes believed?” That seemed like pretty big news, but why wasn’t it-

“No, it would seem he had already moved on, though no one is sure why he would have travelled so far, considering the previous cities he's hit were relatively close to one another.” Hmm, that was strange, but it meant that something…or someone lured him there. “However, he was captured during the incident, in no small part thanks to the efforts of 2 U.A. students. The first year son of Endeavour and a second year.” And there it was.

Why Stain finally getting caught was hardly news now, more an afterthought like Hosu. He was captured. More so, it was probably because he couldn't have been a big player in the assault, which begged the question: Who was?

“I can’t believe it, Stain’s a known killer and I don’t wish to undermine the skills of pros he’s faced in the past, but is he responsible for the incident? 15 deaths in a single attack seems impossible for him, doesn’t it?” Yeah, no shit. Stain was dangerous; they've heard enough about the remains of his victims to know that, but how the hell could he have added over a dozen more in a single attack?

“We don’t believe it so.” The field reporter shook her head, though her choice of words caught their attention, and so did the news anchor's.

“Believe? Not know?” He pressed, leading the woman to sigh, a hint of frustration bleeding into her words.

“I don’t know what to tell you, like I said, the authorities have refused to give out any more information about this incident.” Oh, that was unexpected and very rare. Normally, the pros were happy to show their tales of glory, or was it because of the deaths?

A glance at his assistant showed she had a similar thought before they refocused on the TV mounted in the corner of the room. “But we do know that this incident is similar to what occurred in Musutafu.”

“How so?” The news anchor asked, his voice dropping a few decibels, and the two couldn't blame him. Musutafu was another type of beast. Hundreds were victimised, so many were dead and crippled for life as their quirks seemed to just…burst out from them, or other abilities could.

As if a spirit was passing through them, something which others wouldn’t have considered but for them…

Their theories only gained traction as the reporter laid out the facts, her face hard at the authorities' stonewalls. “No warning, no claims of responsibility, no announced suspects, and according to someone close to the incident, it was carried out by villains who couldn't normally be seen. They could only make out figures once covered in snow and dust.”

The news anchor gulped, dabbing his forehead with a handkerchief, and said, “Oh my, that can’t be good for anyone, can it?”

“That's what I would call an understatement, as we've interviewed over 3 dozen people thus far who live close to the park where the attack started and stopped. They're scared. They are scared, and they don't know why they should be. They don't know who they should be scared of. They don't even know if the culprits are even on the pros and police's radar, so who’s to say such an incident doesn’t happen again?" The field reporter wasn't holding anything back, it seemed; she even whipped out a paper that seemed to have those testimonies written down from which she read.

“A shop owner said, and I quote, 'This place is meant to be safe. The pros have worked hard to keep things from being like the large cities and have always been upfront about things; now they refuse to say anything. How can I be sure that I can open up and not worry about the villains just walking in, or causing another attack right outside my door? What do I tell my customers?'” She asked, which no doubt would also worry people across the board.

“We’ll continue to seek answers-back to you.”

Line Break

The TV was turned off, leaving the space silent, as it often was. Their workplace wasn't what most people would consider luxurious or even common. It couldn't be when they were morticians, people who spent most of their days around the dead. Around them, sat several tables that would typically host another guest, but as of that moment, they were all secured in their cooled lockers.

It was a boring, if morbid, job, but it had to be done, and they had signed up for it. So when there were only two among the living, it wasn't as if they couldn't get away with having a TV to pass the time.

“You think it was…him?” The first one asked the assistant. She was young, barely out of medical school, but she was eager and dedicated to the craft, much like her father was.

In contrast, her boss and father were well over twice her age. However, the stress of dealing with the dead since he was 25 clearly showed, as he looked almost 2 decades older, with his once brilliant green hair faded with thick white along the sides of it. “It’s….possible, but they weren’t seen in any of the attacks.”

His daughter sighed. “Like they’ll report an angry spirit. Most people wouldn’t believe it.”

“You two might be onto something,” they both shivered at the new voice, a familiar one, as they turned and spotted a snake. They didn't question how it got in, not when they could clearly see that it had once been roadkill, and yet it was still moving. The why was simple.

They could see the blue in its eyes, and when it opened its jaws, it didn’t hiss but spoke clearly. "I was spotted twice and yet, to the world, I remain invisible. No one notices me."

“We do! We always notice you!” They were both quick to throw themselves at it, kneeling towards their angel, a messenger from God and his divine wrath on the world.

“How adorable.” Dabi, forced to use the body of a rat snake to interact with the world, snarked as he looked around. He didn't see any corpses lying around; hopefully, it wouldn't be a chick this time around, as getting used to the lady parts was not fun.

“You have another body?” He asked, to which his two allies, more servants, sprang to their feet and rushed to one of the lockets; the father pulled a key out from his pocket.

“Oh, o-of course, once again, our deepest apologies, angel. Had we been better servants, we would have had a body more suitable to your awesome power ready instead of that filth we offered.” The father profusely apologised as he went about unlocking the locker.

Dabi hardly cared for it. “It held up like I needed. Besides, shitty corpses might just help me more. Hard to pin down when I keep changing faces.” Still, he would need to be careful. First, that one with the vibration power, and now that damned sheep summoner. Both were capable of harming him…

He would need to adjust his plans.

But that could come later as the daughter helped him onto the rollout bed so he could inspect the corpse. Its body wasn't in the best condition, but he couldn't expect quality pickings for people who die young. This bastard, being a baldie, caused death from the 6 bullet wounds in his chest.

“Is this it?” He asked, to which the daughter quickly nodded.

“Y-yes, angel. We’ve already handled the paperwork. As far as anyone would ever know, this unworthy fifth was dissected and then cremated.” She glared at the corpse, as if it were unworthy of being close to him.

“What was their quirk?” He pushed for the important things, which the head mortician answered.

“Smoke and fire resistance, this one should last far longer than the last one. So much longer.” The man replied, only to start sweating as the temperature rose. The reason was obvious, as the snake's body, Dabi's temporary form, was burning up; its flesh and bone kindling to his flames as he flared his temper.

“Don’t assume any moral meat bag could withstand my power; my flames are far beyond anything you can imagine. Am I clear?” he warned them, leading to the man falling to his knees and prostrating before his anger.

“I’m so sorry, please, forgive my insolence, I meant no disrespect!” He begged, but Dabi wasn't in the mood for that; his little flare had already burned away almost a third of his host's body.

“Shut it, I didn’t come here to hear you cry. Just do your job.” He turned his attention to the daughter, who was sweating both from the heat and his gaze. "Boshun, any moves I should be aware of?”

“N-nothing, Angel.” She, tasked with keeping an ear to the ground, replied.

Dabi didn't immediately respond, but chewed on this news. She was good at what she did and would never lie to him. Still, this wasn't suiting things as he envisioned them. “…Then maybe it’s time we make some new moves. I won’t let the coming fire die young or die small. It’ll consume everything, all they hold dear, all they protect.”

“We humbly await your orders and look forward to seeing paradise.” Both of them bowed to him, missing how he moved his charred snake puppet onto the chest of the new host.

“Paradise…yes, you’ll see it. Everyone will see it.” He smiled, his target in mind, never far from his thoughts, as his body started to glow as he vacated the now corpse-revealing his true form of a patched work serpent, flames bleeding through his stitching and scars. However,adly, his servants couldn't see him like that.

Oh, they knew the temperature had suddenly shot up, that they might need to replace some things that had taken burn damage, but that was nothing new. They could never see the angel in its true form, for it was far above the realm of mortals.

But they’ll see his works as he hissed and leapt into his new host, already eager to continue to work towards the ultimate plan, the reason why he existed.

Line break

For the rest of the hero course, their reminder time in the internship had felt…off. They all knew what had happened; they were all hit with a reminder of how random things could be, and because of that, they and the professionals they interned with were on high alert. For Midoriya and Tokoyami, it was the worst, as if they thought Hawks was fast before; they had no idea, as he was on every possible quirk spirit, often informing them it wasn't an issue long before Midoriya or Tokoyami could even arrive.

When the week ended and they returned to their dorms for the weekend, they were all too exhausted to really hang out, sticking to mainly messages here and there. So, when Monday came and they all left their dorm for the bus, that was the first time they could just talk.

“It’s one thing after another with us, isn’t it?” As they approached their classroom, they could hear the others talking through the open door, and they didn’t seem happy.

"No joke, when I signed up for the hero course, I thought we'd have 3 years before stuff like this started to happen." That was Sero, and it wasn't unfair to say so.

“It couldn’t be helped.” Kendo reminded them as Midoriya's group arrived at the doorway and walked into the class, finding that most were already present.

“What’s the topic?” Tetsutetsu asked, but as soon as he spoke, all eyes went towards the speedster who arrived with them.

“Iida! Dude, are you good?” Kaibara asked him.

“Pardon?” Iida asked as the class seemed to swarm him, looking him over as if he were hiding a knife in his side.

“We saw the news, man. You were right in the thick of it at Hosu.” Komori explained, to which Kaminari whistled in response.

“Yeah, they said you kicked some serious ass, but we wanted to check up with you first.” The electricity quirk user cheered, to which Iida couldn’t help but retort.

"Pardon, but I didn't fight anyone. I strictly focused on rescue for the entire affair." He reminded them, as his role was not combative, that it was better left to the trained and licensed pros. At the same time, he had handled an equally important role of ensuring no one was hurt by those monsters.

However, he couldn’t keep the firm tone long as he let a soft smile form. "But…I'm doing quite well. I admit, I was shaken when things started, as it was chaotic, but thanks to my brother, I was able to calm myself and carry out my duties."

“Gold star for you!” Tokage appeared out of nowhere, a wide smirk on her face, which only perplexed Iida.

“Does U.A. hand out such rewards? Wait, why should I receive something like that? I merely carried out the duties expected of a hero.” He asked, to which the green-haired dinosaur lover only smirked wider as she pulled out a sheet of stickers, the type you could buy at any school supply store, and what many recalled using or being used by elementary school teachers.

"To answer in that order: Nope, and cause I said so. Now get over here, I want to stick it right on your forehead so everyone sees it.” As Iida tried to fight the urge to have such a bright and noticeable thing placed on his forehead, the rest of the group managed to get through the door and spotted someone off in the corner by themselves.

Todoroki had always been something of a loner. Where Bakugo's winning personality left him isolated, Todoroki acted like he saw them as coworkers at a job he hated. He didn't mistreat them, but he didn't make any effort to make friends and often rebuffed those who made moves towards him in turn, even if one could tell how socially inexperienced he was.

But now? Now, he looked like he was depressed. They could see even from where they stood, he had serious eye bags and was slumped against his hand, propped up by the elbow on his table. He just…gave off the air of someone who had experienced a nightmare and didn't fully wake up.

“Why is?” Hagakure tried to ask, but it was Yaoyorozu who answered, and the heiress was visibly worried for the ice user.

"He was here when I arrived. I tried to speak with him, but he's…well.." She couldn't quite find the words for it, but they could see it clearly enough.

“So some old, same old?” Kamakiri asked, recalling how he had tried to befriend Todoroki in the beginning, had the perfect plan, which failed spectacularly. When he tried to ask if he wanted to be a pro like his dad, the guy looked at Kamakiri like he had insulted his mother and shot his dog.

Safe to say, he didn’t make any further attempts after that.

"I don't think so. Before, it was like he couldn't be bothered, that he was focused on something else, but now," Yaoyorozu paused once more.

“I’ve seen that look before. The look of someone who failed when it mattered most.” Aoyama noted, his tone soft and carrying a hint of bitter memory.

“I’m guessing in the mirror?” Jiro asked, prompting him to nod.

"Yeah. I don't know the details, not much more than what the news reported, but things in his neck of the woods couldn't have been easy for him, even if they captured Stain." Ashido pointed out, before she turned towards someone who could get info.

“Couldn’t you speak with your mother about it?” Midoriya groaned as he frowned.

"Normally, but with how much has been happening, she's been working herself to the bone to figure things out, so I just assume it was related." He didn't even manage to call her; his calls went to voicemail, and when he contacted her office, Fujiwara informed him that she had been going between the lab and school the entire time.

“That could be part of why Todoroki’s in such a gloom,” Tokoyami approached, gazing in Todoroki’s direction. "You might not understand it, Midoriya, but all we can do is support those like you. If this were like the USJ, like what happened in town, then it would impact him all the more."

“Shouldn’t we try talking to him?” Uraraka asked, as it just felt wrong to talk about him without doing anything.

Ashido blew a raspberry, crossing her arms. "You can try, but along with me, he rebuffed the next 4 people who tried." Still a little upset, she changed the topic to something that seemed more fun. “What about the rest of you? How did internships go? Midoriya, Tokoyami, I need details now.”

Midoriya and Tokoyami shared a glance, as her attempt was a clumsy one. Still, if they couldn't reach Todoroki right now, they might as well try to handle other things. "Kyushu was…something," Tokoyami eventually responded.

“Hawks definitely lives up to the image," Midoriya added as their friends moved in closer to hear more.

“Was he that cool?” Hagakure asked, swooning over the image of having Hawks just swoop in and carry her off like a princess.

Midoriya sadly burst that bubble. "More like too fast. Keeping up with him was next to impossible, and even when he taught us anything, it was very hands-off."

"But we did learn some things from him, even if we ended up mainly as clean-up for his arrests," Tokoyami added in part, as while he didn’t regret the entire experience, he did wish Hawks had been more forthcoming about his teaching methods, instead of having them waste an entire day trying to catch up with him.

“That sounds so cool!” Tetsutetsu didn’t seem to see the issue in that, but neither wished to bring the mood down and let him have it.

“Indeed. My time with Uwabami was more focused on the media aspect. We hardly did much of the field hero work," Yaoyorozu added, as she had been a little disappointed. Still, with hindsight, she couldn't say it wasn't a bad lesson. It was just not the sort she had thought she would get. “Though we handled some quirk spirit issues.”

At that, the rest turned to her so quickly that she was amazed her neck didn't snap. “Holy-!” Before Jiro could finish that, Momo raised her hands and assured them it wasn’t what they thought.

"No, no, it wasn't dangerous. None of them is. Most just were harmless and wished to go about their days, more surprised we could see and interact with them than anything else. A few were upset, but it didn’t take too long to calm them.” They sighed, nodding as logic took over. Of course, it wasn't big; it would have made the news just like the other 2 incidents.

“Lucky on your side, I just helped with a single hostage situation and training…loads of training.” Jiro shivered, recalling all the times Death Arms had her running. He claimed it was to ensure she could always arrive to save lives, but she was more interested in how a man as big as him could basically jog for hours at a time without rest.

“Isn’t that a good thing? Heroes need to be tip-top shape." Ojiro questioned, to which Aoyama saw a chance to mess with Jiro.

“I imagine she would have preferred to have Midoriya handling such. Guiding her body through-!” Before he could say more, Jiro jammed one of her jacks into his ear and sent a quick jolt through him, causing Aoyama to yelp and very inelegantly collapse into a human pile.

“Shut it.” Jiro hissed, as she was okay with her dating life being what it was, but no way in hell did she want a pervert like Mineta hearing about it till she was ready.

“Jiro…” Ashido, sadly, smelled blood and, along with Hagakure, was approaching.

"Oh, for the love of-Yes, Midoriya helped me train before the Sports festival. No, I'm not eager to jump back into that. He's a demon." She threw them a quick bone to throw them off the scent. As for how they kept Toru from finding out, it was hard enough, but while invisible, she did wear clothes.

But that shifted attention towards Midoriya, who looked at them in confusion. “What? All Might’s always talking about how important one’s health is, so I’ve…always been into the scene.”

"Oh, isn't that cute?" Hagakure teased him, though the talk’s shifting topic had Uraraka recalling what she went through.

“Training can be…amazing…” Uraraka seemed to fall into a trance, leaking out a fighter’s aura as she went through some kata she picked up.

“Yikes, she looks more dangerous than she normally does.” Jiro pointed out, which seemed to knock Uraraka back to normal.

“I do?”

“Well, that's not a high bar, madam. On a regular day, you're perhaps the most pleasant and adorable in the class." Hagakure told her, to which Kamakiri nodded.

“Yup, like the sort that carries candies to give lost kids as you stand with them and wait for their parents to arrive.” He commented, which only made Uraraka blush as they continued to pile on more ways to say the same thing.

“Guys…”

Line Break

Second last chapter of the year, and I have to admit, I'm a little nervous as I can't really promise this would have something like a good place to end, it will just…end, at least, that's how the plans are shaping up to be.

We've wrapped up the previous fight, though I glossed over Hosu since it's practically the same, except for the absence of Stain's involvement and the presence of a more capable hero in Ingenium. However, as that last chapter went, shit is not fine. Another attack, another escape, and they only just realized Dabi isn't human, but a quirk spirit. Plenty to juggle, plenty to touch on, so I won't bore you with more. I hope you enjoy this chapter.