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NEW GOLD MEMEBER:- Fightas
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The morning sun streamed through the windows of the principal's office, illuminating the steam rising from a freshly poured cup of Earl Grey. It was a peaceful scene, the kind of quiet moment that was usually followed by a storm.
Akaza stood in front of the desk, hands in his pockets.
Principal Nezu took a sip of his tea, his beady black eyes fixed on his student.
"Deika City," Nezu said. "The intelligence obtained from our... guest... has been confirmed. The Meta Liberation Army is mobilizing. One hundred and ten thousand quirk users, radicalized and ready to tear down the current hero society. And the League of Villains is heading straight for them."
Akaza nodded slowly. "A war."
"A culling," Nezu corrected. "Shigaraki intends to use the Army to weaken Gigantomachia. It is a brilliant, ruthless strategy. Two threats destroying each other. However, the outcome is volatile. If Shigaraki succeeds, if he tames the giant and assimilates the Army... we will be facing a force that could topple Japan overnight."
Nezu placed the teacup down with a soft clink.
"The heroes cannot intervene officially. Deika City is a stronghold. Moving forces there without cause would trigger a civil war before we are ready. But we need eyes. We need a failsafe."
"You want me to go," Akaza stated.
"I want you to be the shadow," Nezu said, his eyes gleaming. "Your license gives you authority, but your mission profile gives you deniability. Infiltrate the perimeter. Observe. If the League falls, ensure they do not rise. If the Army wins, assess their threat level. And if Shigaraki manages to wake the giant..."
"Put him back to sleep," Akaza finished.
"Permanently," Nezu agreed. "This is not a capture mission, Asura. This is damage control on a catastrophic scale. You leave tonight."
Akaza didn't hesitate. "Understood." He turned to the window, looking out toward the dorms where he knew Rumi and Eri were. "I'll leave later. I need a few hours. I promised Eri I'd watch a movie with her."
Nezu smiled, a genuine softening of his features. "Of course. Family comes first. That is the anchor that keeps you from becoming... well, like them."
Akaza turned to leave, his hand on the doorknob.
"One moment, Akaza."
Akaza paused. He looked back. Nezu wasn't smiling anymore. The principal was staring at his paws, his expression unreadable, a rare moment of hesitation from the creature who usually calculated every variable ten steps in advance.
"The Toya situation," Nezu said quietly.
The name hung in the air. Toya Todoroki. The eldest son. The mass murderer sitting in a cryo-cell deep beneath the earth.
"I have verified his DNA," Nezu continued. "I have verified his story. He is Enji Todoroki's son. He is the ghost of Endeavor's past, returned to burn him alive."
Nezu looked up, his eyes searching Akaza's.
"What should I do with him? Strategically, he is a ticking bomb. If I release this information, Endeavor falls. The Number One Hero, the pillar holding up this fragile society, crumbles under the weight of his own sins. Society loses trust. Chaos ensues. It is... illogical to reveal it."
"But?" Akaza asked.
"But," Nezu sighed, "keeping him buried... keeping a broken kid, in a box forever to protect a lie... it sits poorly with me. It is the kind of logic the HPSC used when they created Lady Nagant. When they created Hawks. It is the logic of the old world."
He looked at Akaza. "You are the one who deals in absolutes. You are the one who judges. Tell me. Should I bury him? Or should I tell Endeavor?"
Akaza stared at the principal. He thought of his own father. He thought of the weakness, the betrayal. He thought of Endeavor at the dinner table, trying clumsily to eat soba with his son, trying to be a 'hearth.'
"Let Endeavor deal with him," Akaza said. His voice was flat, devoid of sympathy but heavy with conviction.
Nezu tilted his head. "Risk the stability of society for one man's atonement?"
"It's his mess," Akaza replied coldly. "He made it. He created that monster. You can't build a future on a foundation that's rotting, Nezu. If Endeavor is really trying to change... if he's really trying to be the Number One... then he has to face the worst thing he ever did."
Akaza's eyes narrowed.
"Toya is his wrongdoing. He is the living proof of Endeavor's failure. Hiding him away protects Endeavor, sure. But it doesn't fix anything. It just delays the explosion. Let him face his son. Let him see what his ambition cost. If he breaks... then he wasn't strong enough to be the pillar anyway."
Nezu was silent for a long time. He processed the logic. It was brutal. It was risky. But it was undeniably true.
"Good advice," Nezu murmured. "Let the sinner face his sin."
He rubbed his temples, a gesture of profound weariness. "Humans... they are so messy. So complicated. Emotions, grudges, legacy... it is all so inefficient. It is annoying."
Akaza opened the door. He looked back at the small, furry creature who held the weight of the world on his small shoulders.
"That's why you need more interaction," Akaza said, a smirk touching his lips. "You're too stuck in your head. Why not get a girlfriend or something? It might help you relax."
Nezu blinked, completely thrown off guard. "Excuse me?"
"You heard me. Go on a date. Find a nice mouse... or bear... whatever you are. Get a hobby that isn't chess or world domination."
"I am a highly unique chimera! There is no one of my species!" Nezu spluttered, indignant.
"Figure it out, Nezu. You're the genius."
Akaza walked out, the door clicking shut behind him, leaving the smartest being on the planet staring at the wood grain, completely baffled.
"A... girlfriend?" Nezu muttered. He shook his head. "Impudent brat."
But a small, amused huff escaped him. He picked up his phone. He dialed a number that very few people possessed.
"Connect me to the Endeavor Agency," Nezu said, his voice hardening into steel. "Tell him it is urgent. Tell him... it concerns Sekoto Peak."
Endeavor Agency - Top Floor
Enji Todoroki stood by the floor-to-ceiling windows, overlooking the city he had sworn to protect. The sun was setting, casting the streets in long shadows. He felt tired. The fight with the High-End had taken a toll on his body that hadn't fully healed, but the toll on his mind was heavier.
He thought of Shoto. Of the dinner. Of the small steps they were taking. It was fragile, like glass, but it was there.
The phone on his desk buzzed.
"Sir," Burnin's voice came through the intercom. "It's U.A. Principal Nezu. He says it's a code black priority. He's on the secure line."
Endeavor frowned. Nezu didn't call for social chats. "Put him through."
"Endeavor," Nezu's voice was cheerful, but it sent a chill down Enji's spine. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything important."
"What is it, Nezu?" Endeavor asked. "Is it the students? Shoto?"
"No, no. The students are fine. This concerns... history."
"History?"
"I'm coming to see you," Nezu said. "I am five minutes away. Clear the room. Clear the floor. I need absolute privacy. This conversation never leaves your office."
"What is this about?" Endeavor demanded, his flames flaring slightly.
"It's about a fire," Nezu whispered. "A fire on a mountain, ten years ago. It's about a boy who didn't come home."
The phone clicked dead.
Endeavor froze. The receiver slipped from his hand, clattering onto the desk. The blood drained from his face. Sekoto Peak.
He dismissed his sidekicks. He locked the door. He stood in the center of his office, his heart hammering against his ribs like a trapped bird.
Five minutes later, the private elevator chimed.
Nezu walked in. He was alone. He carried a small, nondescript briefcase.
"Sit down, Enji," Nezu said. He didn't use hero names.
Endeavor sat. He felt like a child called to the principal's office, but the fear was far more primal.
Nezu climbed onto the guest chair. He placed the briefcase on the desk and opened it. He pulled out a single photograph. It was a grainy, high-contrast image taken from a security camera inside a vault.
It showed a man. A man with black hair, turquoise eyes, and skin held together by staples and burnt, purple flesh.
"You know the League of Villains has a member named Dabi," Nezu said.
"The fire user," Endeavor nodded stiffly. "He killed Snatch. He attacked the training camp."
"Yes. A blue flame user."
"We captured him," Nezu said.
"Captured?" Endeavor blinked. "When? There was no report."
"I captured him," Nezu corrected. "My private unit. He has been in a black site for weeks. We interrogated him."
Nezu slid the photo across the desk.
"He talks a lot, Enji. He talks about stain. He talks about society. But mostly... he talks about you."
Endeavor stared at the photo. He looked at the turquoise eyes. The eyes he had passed down. The eyes of the son he had pushed too hard.
"No," Endeavor whispered. "No. That's impossible. He died. I found... we found the jawbone. He burned."
"He burned," Nezu agreed. "But he didn't die. He survived. He lived on hate. He lived to destroy you."
Nezu pulled a DNA report from the briefcase. He placed it on top of the photo.
"Meet Toya," Nezu said softly.
Endeavor stared at the paper. The world seemed to tilt on its axis. A rushing sound filled his ears. Toya. His eldest. His failure. His sin.
He remembered the small boy tugging on his sleeve, asking to train. He remembered the look of despair when he told him to stop. He remembered the fire on the mountain, the inferno that had swallowed his son because he had been too obsessed with surpassing All Might to be a father.
"He's... alive?" Endeavor choked out. A tear, hot and instant, vaporized on his cheek.
"He is," Nezu said. "And he is a mass murderer."
Endeavor flinched. He covered his face with his massive hands. A sound torn from the depths of his soul escaped him — a ragged, broken sob.
"What have I done? Oh god... what have I done?"
Disgust. Pure, unadulterated self-loathing washed over him. He had created this. He had created a villain who murdered heroes, who burned innocent people, all because he couldn't control his own ambition. He was the Number One Hero, and his son was a monster of his own making.
"He wanted to kill Shoto," Nezu said, his voice merciless. "He wanted to kill you. He wanted to destroy everything you built."
"I deserve it," Endeavor whispered into his hands. "I deserve to burn."
"Perhaps," Nezu said. "But do the people he killed deserve it? Does Shoto deserve it? Does Fuyumi? Natsuo?"
Endeavor looked up, his eyes red and raw. "Where is he? Is he... is he in Tartarus?"
"He is in my custody," Nezu said. "He is frozen. Safe. Contained."
Nezu leaned forward.
"I could keep him there, Enji. I could bury him so deep that no one ever finds out. Your reputation would be saved. Your family would never know that their brother became a demon. You could go on being the Number One Hero, living a lie."
Endeavor stared at the principal. It was a tempting offer. A way out. A way to bury the shame.
"Is that... what you're offering?"
"I asked a friend what I should do," Nezu said, his eyes glittering. "I asked him if I should bury the monster to save the hero."
"And what did he say?"
"He said: 'It's his mess. Let him clean it up.'"
Endeavor closed his eyes. He took a deep, shuddering breath. He felt the heat in his chest, the fire that had driven him his whole life. But now, it wasn't a fire of ambition. It was a fire of duty. A fire of penance.
He opened his eyes. The panic was gone. The disgust remained, but it was hardened into a cold, iron resolve.
"He's right," Endeavor said, his voice steady. "I... I ran from him once. I ignored him. I pushed him away. I won't do it again."
He looked at Nezu.
"I will face him. I will take responsibility for Toya. Whatever that means. Whatever it costs me."
"It will cost you everything," Nezu warned. "If this gets out... your career is over."
"I don't care," Endeavor said. "I am a hero. But before that... I am a father. I failed him in life. I won't fail him now."
Nezu watched him. He studied the set of his jaw, the pain in his eyes. He nodded, satisfied.
"Good answer," Nezu said. He closed the briefcase. "He will remain in my custody for now. He is too dangerous to move and too unstable to talk to you yet. But know this, Enji. The League is moving. A war is coming. And when the dust settles... you will have your chance to face your son."
Nezu hopped off the chair.
"Prepare yourself, Number One. The fires are rising."
Endeavor stood up as Nezu left. He turned back to the window, looking out at the city he protected. But he didn't see the buildings or the lights. He saw a small boy with white hair and blue eyes, crying on a training ground.
"Toya," he whispered to the glass. "I'm sorry."
He placed his hand against the window, the glass heating under his touch.
"I'll be waiting."
Heights Alliance
In the common room, Akaza sat on the couch with Eri, watching a movie about a magical fish princess. Rumi was asleep, her head on his shoulder.
He checked his phone. A message from Nezu.
He didn't run.
Akaza smirked, a small, genuine expression. He put the phone away and wrapped his arm tighter around Rumi.
"Good," he whispered.
The board was set. The pieces were moving. And for the first time, Akaza felt like they might actually win this game.
---XXXX---
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