Roundabout

-Later that Day; UA Teachers Lounge-

The sun had begun to set over the horizon, as the rays leaked through the windows of UA. Shimizu along with Oda had been dashing down the halls as fast as their legs could carry them, before they finally reached the lounge area.

They opened the doors to reveal that All Might and Detective Tsukauchi had been in the room.

"Toshi-chan! Nao-chan!" Shimizu said in distress.

"Aizawa-kun told me what happened!" All Might said going over to Shimizu, "Do you know where she is?"

"No, the others are still looking." Shimizu replied, "Bakugou-kun and Midoriya-kun too."

Oda added, "Same can be said for my Grandson and Michiko..Damn..How could we have let this happen?!"

"Now calm down, Oda-san." Tsukauchi said, "I'm sure there's a good explanation for this."

"But Reina-chan is somewhere out there in the city!" Shimizu exclaimed, "She could get hurt! Or a Villain could capture her!"

Oda said, "Which is why we should take action now!"

Tsukuachi soon said, with a sigh, "As much as I'm concerned about Reina-san's safety… I'm afraid we might have another problem, especially concerning Reina-san. It's the reason why I called you all here on such short notice."

Shimizu's ears perked up, and Oda flinched as their eyes widened. "Wait… Do you mean--?" Oda said.

"Yes, the case on USJ." All Might replied before he turned to Tsukuachi, "What did you find out?"

"First, I want to make something clear…" Tsukuachi said, looking to All Might, "...Among those that attacked you in USJ, there was a Villain that drove you back called Nomu right?"

All Might thought about it for a moment before he replied, "Yeah, that strong guy, I remember him."

"We did some tests on Nomu's DNA." Tsukuachi said.

"DNA test?" Shimizu asked, "What did you find?"

"First of all…" Tsukuachi said, "... We're not asking any of you for help in this investigation, so I'd be leaking information, but… This is something you should know." He soon looked to Shimizu, "You especially."

Shimizu's ears twitched slightly at this as she looked uneasy, and Oda had the same look she did.

"The clue found, lead us to the mastermind." Tsukuachi said, "After investigating Nomu at a specialized institution, we realized, it wasn't that Nomu couldn't talk… There was no reaction, no matter what we did."

"No reaction?" Oda said surprised, "You mean he's braindead?"

"That's not possible." Shimizu replied, "Toshi-chan stated otherwise, given what he had been up against. Though judging from this… It seems like--" Her eyes widened slightly in realization, "--He was unable to think for himself… Dear God..."

"As for his identity…" Tsukuachi said before he pulled out a photograph of what looked to be a man, wearing a red shirt with rather large lips, "... We found out he was a thug with a criminal record of assault and extortion."

Their eyes widened at this newfound information.

"You mean to say…" Shimizu said horrified, "... This Nomu was once a person…? Someone did this to him?"

Oda said shocked, "Even doing that to a Villain is just cruel."

"And you're saying this lead that's lead to the mastermind?" All Might asked.

"You all need to listen carefully." Tsukuachi told them, "According to the report, there's DNA from at least four different people intermingled inside the thug's body."

"DNA intermingled with at least four people…?" All Might said thinking to himself, "... Is he even human?"

"His whole body appears to have been tampered with using drugs and other methods." Tsukauchi explained, "To simply put it, he's been modified so that his body can hold multiple Quirks. The huge drop in his brain processing power probably comes from the burden that causes… But well, we're more concerned about his DNA… And how he has multiple Quirks. Unless there is some way it can be completely integrated the bearer would not have multiple Quirks. You all must understand… Don't you?"

At this Shimizu looked even more horrified at this as she seemed to have turned pale and All Might's jaw just dropped. Oda looked just as surprised as they were but he looked a bit angry.

"N--No." Shimizu said as she backed up, ".. I--It couldn't be… It's impossible…"

All Might quickly went to support her as it seemed like she was about to collapse at any given moment.

Oda soon said, "That bastard..."

"Bu--But he's supposed to be dead…" Shimizu said, before she yelled, "... He's supposed to be dead! Toshi-chan made sure of that!"

Tsukuachi said, "... Looking at the circumstances it would be reasonable to assume this much. You all needed to hear this, you have your rights."

Shimizu's body started to shake as she had started to get short of breath, "N-no… He can't… He can't be back… He just can't… It's not possible, it's just not possible!"

"Shimizu-san, just breathe." All Might said as he gave her a reassuring pat, "It'll be alright."

"How!?" Shimizu couldn't help but yell, "How will it be alright!? The only person who can do this sort of thing is by that sorry excuse of a--" Shimizu growled, a little before she yelled, "That monster could be out there for all we know, that monster who tried to turn Al-chan into him!"

Oda stated with aggression, "If I see him again, I swear I'll pay him back..with the X shaped scar he gave me!" He revealed his side which was left with a huge battle scar. "He's going to pay for hurting my son and for what he did to Nana!"

"Oda-san…" All Might said with concern.

Shimizu's eyes soon widened in realization, "Reina-chan! She went through so much to make sure no one knew she was alive! Even went as far as faking her death! If he finds out she's still alive--!"

"Shimizu-san, I'm not gonna let that happen." All Might said, "I made that promise with her after all. I swear to you if it comes to it, I'll protect her with my life."

"Toshi-chan…" Shimizu said, "… If he does find her… You know what he'll do…"

Oda soon said, "Yeah. And it won't be pleasant for everyone.."

All Might soon gave Shimizu a hug, as he patted her on the back. He couldn't help but think back to the woman he saw when the Sports Festival came around, as he couldn't help but wonder about something.

"Alcina…" He thought to himself, "... I wonder if you know about this too… If you do… I pray you to be careful."

-???-

This had been the last time Shigaraki went and underestimated his opponents. Him and his comrades had been fighting off Stain for who knows how long, and he had proved to be stronger physically than anticipated; he even proved to be too much for the man capable of taking down a Pro Hero, Tadano.

There he laid on the floor with Stain over him. One of his many blades had been in his shoulder that had just recently healed up.

Kurogiri and Tadano had been nearby injured themselves, but surprisingly enough, they weren't moving at all.

"So than…" Stain said, "... You want to add me to your numbers. No matter what you want to accomplish, it is necessary to have conviction and desire. Those without it and those who are weak will be weeded out. It's only natural. That's why it turns out like this."

Shigaraki could only let out a groan, "Ow… That's too hard. Hey, Kurogiri… Take this guy back."

"I--I can't move my body." Kurogiri replied.

"D--Damn it…!" Tadano strained, "... It must be Hero Killer's Quirk…!"

"This society is overgrown with fake heroes, where the world itself has lost its true meaning." Stain said he held the knife to Shigaraki's neck, "And the criminals who wave their power around idly should all be purged."

Before he could open a wound, Shigaraki took hold of the knife, stopping him; Stain had been taken back by this.

"Hey now…" Shigaraki said, "... Wait a second… Not this palm… I'll end up killing you."

To Stain's surprise he saw the blade begin to crack; within moments it began to turn to rust.

"You sure talk a lot." Shigaraki said, "...Conviction? I don't have anything grand like that."

Clenching his hand, the blade turned to dust, surprising him.

"If I had to say…" He continued, "... Yeah, it'd be All Might. I feel like I really want to completely crush this society, where trash like that gets worshiped!"

Shigaraki went to grab Stain, though had been quick to avoid him; he reached to draw another blade. He finally stood up as he looked at the blood seeping through his shirt.

"My last injury was about to finish up healing you know?" He said as he started to scratch at his neck, "Tadano could only do so much, but we don't exactly have a healer in our party! Will you take responsibility for this?"

"So… That's who you are." Stain said, this time taking him back.

"Excuse me?" Shigaraki said.

"It seems that our goals are opposed to each other." Stain clarified, "However one thing we can agree on--Is to destroy the present."

"Stop messing around. Go home. Die. I'm the kind of person you hate most, right?"

"I was just testing your true motives. People show their true colors when on the verge of death. It's different, but there is 'desire'--a warped sprout of conviction inside you…. How will you bud? It might not be too late until after I've seen that to dispose of you…"

Shigaraki merely huffed at this, just as Kurogiri and Tadano started to move again. "You're going to dispose of me?" Shigaraki asked as he placed his hand on his wounded shoulder, "Kurogiri. I don't want this crazy party member."

"Tomura Shigaraki, he will be a great asset if he joins us." Kurogiri said.

"There could be a chance we can bargin with him." Tadano suggested, "After all, the negotiations had been successful."

"My business is done here." Stain stated to them, "Now return me to Hosu. There are still things I must attend to there."

"Fine." He said gruffly before turning to Kurogiri.

Kurogiri opened a portal with the help of his Quirk, and Stain stepped inside without another word.

***

When Stain arrived in the city the sun had been setting over the horizon of the city. He looked down on the city streets upon the water tank; he wasn't even phased as he noticed the fact that the portal had still been opened.

Shigaraki had stepped out of the portal along with Tadano.

"Hosu City looks nicer than I thought." Shigaraki said, "So… What are you going to do?"

"I came back here to finish what I started." Stain said, "I'm going to reform this city. In order to do so, I require more victims."

"Is that what you meant?" Kurogiri said as he took back his form, "When you said you have business to take care of?"

"I see someone who understands." Stain said.

"What are you trying to say about me?" Shigaraki asked.

"Hero is only a title given to only those who accomplish good deeds!" Stain stated, "There are too many… Too many who act like heroes but are really money worshippers. Until this world realizes its mistake… I will continue to appear."

Stain jumped down from the water tank and entered the city.

Shigaraki removed the picture he had in his pocket; his gaze softened as he looked at it.

"He talks all high and mighty like that…" Shigaraki started to say as he scratched his neck, "... But he's basically trying to start a grassroots movement, huh? He's so noble I could cry."

"You can't make fun of him too much." Kurogiri said, "The reality is that in all cities where Stain has appeared, the crime rate has fallen. Some critics attribute this to rise as a Heroes consciousness and shoot him down though."

"That's wonderful!" Shigaraki said, "Heroes are working hard to bring down the cost of food, huh? So the Hero Killer is also a Hero Breeder!" Shigaraki couldn't help but feign disgust at this, "... It's… Too roundabout. We can't basically agree on the same level. And he annoys me…"

"Well you can tell by the way I use my walk

I'm a woman's man

No time to talk

Music loud and women warm, I've been kicked around"

Tadano took out a cellphone, as he noticed the number before he took the call.

"Sister?" Tadano said, "What is it?"

Tadano's body changed as his sister spoke to him on the phone. It hadn't been long before he handed off to Shigaraki.

"It's for you." He said.

Shigaraki took the phone from him, keeping one finger elevated. "Sup Shigaraki-chan?" Tadano's sister said, "How did it go with the Hero Killer?"

"This had better be important." Shigaraki said, "I'm kind of in a bad mood right now."

"Your gonna love this than." Tadano's sister told him, "It's about your darling little Rei-chan."

Shigaraki's eyes widened at this before his look changed, "... What is it?"

Tadano's sister chuckled softly, "You know how you expressed concern to me and my brother and wanted us to find a way to make her remember what she had forgotten. Turns out… You were worried for nothing."

"What does that mean?"

"Something in her came back, and she now knows that she has… A brother, and a sister."

This time Shigaraki nearly dropped the phone, though it had mostly been out of shock; it even took Kurogiri and Tadano back.

"Does she really know that?" Shigaraki asked her.

"I saw the look in her eyes the moment she woke up." Tadano's sister replied, "She had the look of knowing. You realize what this means don't you?"

Shigaraki looked at the folded drawing in the palm of his hand again; his hand had been shaking a little as his eyes looked to be in realization. "The Quirks effect…" Shigaraki said, "... It's wearing off…"

"This is good." Tadano's sister said, "It means it won't be long before you get what you want. And it's good news for your Master too."

Shigaraki clenched the picture in his hand, "... Where did you say you were?"

"In Hosu, with your Rei-chan, and her new knight in shining armor." She replied.

"She's in Hosu!? Why!?"

"Long story short, she's looking for you. She thinks you're the key to finding out what happened to her. She's either brave or stupid."

Immediately Shigaraki's look changed as his grip tightened on the phone, "Watch it."

"Hey now, no need to get touchy." She said teasingly, "Though there is one small issue. Not only is she being guarded by a set of Vigilantes, but she's gotten two people you really hate in on it."

Briefly an image passed him by about who she had been referring to; One possessing green hair and the other as he growled. "So those brats are in on it too." Shigaraki said.

"Don't worry…" She reassured, "... I've got the perfect distraction. Despite the hit the Dolls took the night before, they'll be able to fight. They're just waiting for you to release the Nomu's. They're really resilient."

"I don't care how it's done… Just keep them away from Rei-chan when it happens." Shigaraki said, "Is that understood?"

***

"Who do you think your talking to? You know I always get the job done."

"Hey--Futsuno!"

Futsuno looked over to Violet, who had been the one to call out to her, as she had been standing outside of a fast food restaurant. She hid the look she had on her face with a smile as she turned to her. "Are you done with your call yet?" Violet asked, "We're just about ready to order without you!"

"Oh don't worry!" Futsuno reassured with a smile, "I'm just wrapping up! You know what I like, so go ahead and order for me!"

"A double pat burger with cheese fries, got it!" Violet said, "Meet us at the table when you're done!"

Futsuno gave a wink as Violet went back inside; though it hadn't been before her look returned.

"Don't worry yourself Shigaraki-chan." Futsuno said with a smile, "... When I get her and her knight alone. I'll bring them right to you… Right after a little test run of course."

With that being said, she ended the call before she entered the small establishment keeping things casual.